Dragonscales Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• The Villains and Their Villainy
• Credits
• Components
• Game Setup
• Playing the Game
  • Using Your Player Screen
  • The Card Decks
  • Step 1: Roll Dice
    • Action Symbols
    • Wild Dice
    • Using Treasure or Villainy
  • Step 2: Choose Actions
    • Using Wild Dice
  • Step 3: Take Actions
    • Action #1: Defend
    • Action #2: Dragon Rage
    • Action #3: Villainy
    • Action #4: Loot
    • Action #5: Attack
      • Slaying a Dragon Head
    • Action #6: Flee
  • Step 4: Reset
• Treasure Cards
  • Stealing Treasures
• Villainy Cards
  • Undead Minions
  • Victory Points for Villainy Cards
• Villain Wounds and Death
  • Death of a Villain
• Trades and Deals
• The End of the Game
  • Victory Points
• Conditional Bonuses and Penalties
  • If the Dragon Was Vanquished:
  • If a Player Escaped:
• The Most Villainous of Villains
• Optional Rules
  • Experienced Players May Choose Their Villainy Cards
  • Villains Are Only "Knocked Out"
  • Dice Are Always Visible

The Villains and Their Villainy

Each villain has their own unique advantages, tactics and style to achieve their ends. There are many different strategies they can choose on their path to victory: Some may try to attack Archerex directly, while others may use stealth and guile to grab his treasures and flee the lair.

The game ends when either Archerex is slain, or one villain has fled his lair.

If the dragon is slain, glory goes to those who helped defeat him… and shame will fall upon those who tried to run away!

If, on the other hand, a villain escapes with an armful of treasures, woe be to those who remain to face the dragon's wrath!

The object of the game is to score the most points by choosing the right combination of fighting, grabbing treasures, and running through the lair. Depending on how the game ends, there are different ways to earn bonus points (and penalties)!

Credits

Game Design: Richard Launius Art Direction: Stephen Gibson Illustration: Alex dos Diaz Rules: William Niebling Game Development: Bryan Pope and Colin Meller Story and Characters: Dr. Thomas Allen Graphic Design: Stephen Gibson and Kris Aubin Production: John Rogers Project Manager: Walter Barber Updated Design Playtesters: Jan Kriz, Lewis Bronson, Erik Pope, Danielle Pope, Benjamin Pope, Stephan Walters, Alfiya Pope, Jae Holdsworth, Trae Lenox, Dr. Jason Medina, Robert Trent Bush, Mike Richie, Ivan Madd, Joshua Sprung, Alexander Mont, Patrick Connor, Dylan McInnis, Stephane Honnorat, Ray D'Arcy, Matthew Burch, John Rogers, Tony Gullotti, James McCroan, Katie Krause, Preston Patillo, Alex Studebaker, Dawn Studebaker, Scott Studebaker, Tiffany Pope Original Design Playtesters: Pete Shirey, Brooke Rogers, Scott Rogers, Steve Avery, Britton Stanley, Ryan Launius, Keith Blume, Sean Brown, Zev Shlasinger, Philip Schweier, Heidi Schweier, Hillary Wilson, Christian Wilson, Asher Pinsler, Jason Maxwell, Mark Zoghby, Stefan Brunnelle, and Alan Reeve.

Components

• A game board with 3 sections: A Dragon's Lair, a Dragon's Heads section, and an Action Board
• 5 Villain miniatures
• 35 Action dice, 7 in each player's color
• 5 Player Screens, with helpful information on the inside, to keep your dice hidden from your foes
• 8 Combat dice
• 1 Movement die
• 57 Dragon wound cubes (19 blue, 19 red, and 19 yellow)
• 1 First Player token
• 1 Protection token
• 5 Villainy card decks, each with 16 cards
• 12 Bonus and Penalty Markers
• 44 Villain wound cubes
• 32 Treasure cards
• 24 Dragon Rage cards
• 8 Poison wound cubes
• 25 Dragonscale tokens

Game Setup

Place the game board in the middle of the playing area.

Each player chooses a villain to play. Take your villain miniature and place it on the "Entrance" space of the Dragon's Lair.

Fold your player screen and place it in front of you.

The Dragon's Heads section of the game board shows all 3 of the Dragon Heads. Place a number of color Dragon wound cubes on each of the three Dragon Heads (yellow, red, and blue), according to the number of players. Place the cubes on or near their matching color head:

• For 3 players—place 13 Dragon wounds on each Dragon Head
• For 4 players—place 16 Dragon wounds on each Dragon Head
• For 5 players—place 19 Dragon wounds on each Dragon Head

Take the Dragonscale tokens, the Villain wound cubes (including the Poison wound cubes), the Movement die, and the Combat dice, and place them near the game board for easy access for all players. These items are referred to as the "Hoard."

Shuffle the Dragon Rage cards and the Treasure cards separately and place both decks, face-down, in their respective locations on the game board.

Shuffle your Villainy cards and create a face-down deck next to your player screen, then draw three cards for your starting hand.

Always keep your Villainy cards secret from the other players… until you unleash them on your rivals in a daring surprise move!

Give each player three Dragonscales to start. Place your Dragonscales in front of your player screen—you can always see exactly how many Dragonscales each player has.

Take all seven of your Action dice and place them behind your player screen.

The owner of the game chooses one player to start (including themselves) and gives that player the First Player token.

Playing the Game

Dragonscales is played in rounds. Each round is divided into four steps, which are played in order:

1. Roll Dice
2. Choose Actions
3. Take Actions
4. Reset

All players play in each step, and you cannot begin the next step until all players have finished the current step.

Using Your Player Screen

Your player screen allows you to hide information from the other players, such as the dice you are rolling. Dragon wound cubes you collect are also kept behind your screen.

Some information cannot be hidden, however. The number of Villain wounds you have suffered, and any Dragonscales you have, cannot be hidden behind your player screen. You must always place them where all players can see them.

The Card Decks

During the game, you will play and discard various cards. Each deck (Dragon Rage cards, Treasure cards, and each player's Villainy deck) will have its own separate face-down discard pile next to it. If any deck runs out of cards during the game, reshuffle its discard pile and create a new face-down deck.

Unless a card says otherwise, you cannot look at the cards in any deck or discard pile at any time.

There is no limit to the number of cards you can hold in your hand, be they Treasure cards or Villainy cards.

Step 1: Roll Dice

During this step, all players play at the same time.

Each player rolls all seven of their Action dice to determine their actions for the round. You always roll your Action dice secretly (behind your player screen), so the other players don't know what you are plotting.

You may reroll any or all of your dice twice during this step to try to improve your roll (so, you can roll dice three times in total). After each roll, you may set aside and keep any dice you wish, and you can change the dice you have kept after each roll.

Action Symbols

Each symbol on the Action dice matches one of the six actions that you might be able to take during Step 3: Take Actions:

• Defend: Useful for healing and to protect yourself from wounds or theft.
• Loot: Lets you take Treasure or Dragonscales from the Hoard.
• Villainy: Allows you to draw Villainy cards or steal Dragonscales.
• Flee: These let you run through the Dragon's Lair, moving closer to the Exit.
• Attack: Gives you a chance to inflict wounds on Archerex, but at the risk that the dragon will wound you!
• Dragon Rage: Archerex has spotted you and will attack! This is bad, but unfortunately you cannot reroll them!

But be careful! Each die has a Dragon Rage result. If you roll this symbol, you have attracted the attention of the dragon, and he will attack you later in the round. You cannot reroll any Dragon Rage symbol that you roll. Each time you reroll your dice, you risk rolling more Dragon Rage symbols, so you must be careful lest your greed undo you!

Example 1.a: Mezerax rolls his dice, and gets a result with two Attack symbols and one Defend symbol among others. He is hoping to attack Archerex this round, so he keeps both of his Attack symbols. He also keeps the Defend symbol, to try to protect himself from Archerex. He re-rolls the other 4 dice.

He's very glad he kept that Attack symbol now! He must keep the Dragon Rage symbol he rolled, and the Defend symbol will help protect him. Seeing that he has a Dragon Rage result, he changes his plans and sets it aside with his Attack and Defend dice. For his final reroll, he rerolls the dice he kept before.

Could be worse. He now has a Dragon Rage result, but at least he has Defend to offset the damage, and Attack results to grab some Treasure with.

Example 1.b: Tatyana rolls her dice, which come up with several Wild dice among the results. She could combine either or both of her Wild dice with the Defend, Loot, or Flee results. She could even combine them with the Dragon Rage result if she was feeling particularly foolhardy. She cannot use them as an Attack, because none of her other dice show that symbol.

Remember to keep your dice hidden behind your player screen when you roll and reroll them so your opponents don't know what you're up to!

Wild Dice

Three of your dice have a Wild symbol on one face, instead of one of the other symbols. You can use a Wild die as any other symbol, but only if you combine it with another die that shows that symbol. You cannot use one or more Wild dice by itself.

You do not have to choose which dice you will pair your Wild dice with until Step 2: Choose Actions (see below). This makes Wild dice a powerful tool: You may be able to wait and see what your opponents are up to before you commit your Wild dice, so you can use them for the greatest effect!

Using Treasure or Villainy

Some Treasures and Villainy cards may allow you to change or manipulate the dice that you roll, give you additional rerolls, or even allow you to reroll any Dragon Rage symbol that you roll. If you want to use one of these cards, play it from your hand, pay any Dragonscales required, then carry out the effects (see "Treasure Cards" and "Villainy Cards" below).

Step 2: Choose Actions

Once everyone has finished rolling (and rerolling) their dice, it's time to reveal your evil plots! During this step, the players take turns placing their dice on the Action Board section of the game board, starting with the First Player and going clockwise around the table.

When it is your turn, you must reveal your dice and place all of them on the Action Board in the rows that match the symbols showing on your dice. You must place all of your dice that show the same symbol in the same box.

You must always place your dice in the box furthest to the left as possible, in a box that is empty or where another player placed fewer dice than you have (just push the weakling out of the way!). See Example 2.a.

If another player has already placed dice in the row for your action, compare the number of dice you are placing with the number of dice they placed in that row:

If you have fewer or the same number of matching dice as that player, you must place them in a box to the right of the box they used. See Example 2.b.

If you have more matching dice than that player, move their dice one box to the right to make space for your dice, and put your dice in the now-empty box. This may, in turn, bump someone else down in a villainous chain reaction! (What fun!) See Example 2.c.

Important: The number of boxes available in each row is always equal to the number of players in the game -1. So, in a four-player game, you can only use the three leftmost boxes in each row, and you cannot place any dice in box #4. If there are no useable boxes left in a row, or if a player is bumped out of the last useable box in their row, those dice are not placed and instead go back to the player, who will not get to take as many actions this round (too bad for them!)!

There is one exception to this rule: You can always use all five Dragon Rage boxes, regardless of the number of players! Thus, it is always possible for every player to place dice on the Dragon Rage row (to draw his attention to get attacked)!

Playing Hint: As you can see, there is an advantage to going first. If another player ties you for the number of dice you place, they cannot bump you out of the way. They can only take a box away from you if they have more matching dice than you.

Remember: Each player places ALL of their dice before the next player goes. Once all players have placed their dice, this step is complete.

Example 2.a: Grimmveil rolled several Villainy symbols, so he must place them in the leftmost box in the Villainy row of the Action Board. Note that Grimmveil could not place those dice in the Defend or Loot rows, because they show the symbol for Villainy. Also, he could not split his dice into 2 boxes, and he could not put them in a box further to the right.

Example 2.b: Tor'Lok also wants to Villainy this round, but he only has one Villainy die. He must place his die in the second box, to the right of the one Grimmveil has claimed.

Example 2.c: Villainy is very popular this round, and Savathene wants in on the action. She has two Villainy dice. That's not enough to beat Grimmveil, but it's more than Tor'Lok has. So, she bumps Tor'Lok's die 1 box to the right, and places both of her dice in the box between Grimmveil and Tor'Lok.

If she had three dice, she would still have to place them between Grimmveil and Tor'Lok, since Grimmveil placed his 3 dice first.

Example 2.d: Mezerax was late to the Villainy party, and there is no place for him to place his die. He can't bump Tor'Lok out of the way, since he doesn't have more Villainy dice. He doesn't get to use that die this round.

If Mezerax had more Villainy dice, he would bump everybody down 1 box and claim the #1 box for himself (and push Tor'Lok right off the row!).

Example 2.e: Grimmveil got two Wild results on his roll. He could attach one or both of them to his Loot action, but he wants to protect himself from the dragon's attack later in the round. He adds them to his single Defend die so he has three Defend dice, allowing him to push Savathene out of his way and claim the #1 box. So evil!

Using Wild Dice

If you have any dice showing the Wild symbol, you must decide which dice to pair them with now. Remember: You cannot use them on their own—you have to combine them with at least one other die that shows an action symbol.

Step 3: Take Actions

In this step, you will carry out the actions you chose during Step 2. All actions are resolved in the order they are shown on the Action Board, starting from the top and going left to right. The Defend action is always resolved first, with the player whose dice are in box #1 going first, then the player in box #2, and so on. Once all of the Defend actions are complete, the Dragon Rage actions are resolved, followed by Villainy, and continuing down the Action Board until the Flee actions are complete.

If a box has no dice in it, skip that box. Sometimes, an entire row will have no dice on any of the boxes. For example, it is possible that no one will choose to take a Defend action that round.

When it is time for you to resolve an action, remove your dice from the box and follow the instructions printed on it. Place your dice behind your player screen, ready for use again next round.

The Defend, Villainy, Loot, Attack and Flee actions are voluntary; players may freely choose to take these actions, or not. The Dragon Rage action is not voluntary, and must be completed. Let's look at the various actions, one at a time:

Action #1: Defend

This action allows you to heal your Villain wounds or get protection from wounds and theft.

• Box #1—You may either heal up to three Villain wounds (remove the cubes from in front of your player screen and return them to the Hoard) OR you may gain protection for the rest of the round. If you choose protection, you take the Protection token from the Hoard and place it by your player screen. While protected, you cannot gain any Villain wounds and no player can steal anything from you until the end of the round. At the end of the round place the Protection token back into the Hoard.
• Box #2—You may heal up to three Villain wounds.
• Box #3—You may heal up to two Villain wounds.
• Box #4—You may heal up to one Villain wound.

The Protection token is a handy visual reminder that you have wisely chosen immunity to wounds and thefts for the round. Feel free to wave it at anybody who foolishly forgets about your invulnerability!

Example 3.1.a: Grimmveil has the most Defend dice (in box #1), so he could heal some of his Villain wounds, but he decides to take the protection option so he'll be safe from the dragon this turn. Savathene had the second most, so she can breathe a sigh of relief and get rid of all 3 of her Villain wound cubes. Nobody else placed any dice in this row, so the Defend action is complete.

Action #2: Dragon Rage

During this action, Archerex gets to attack those foolish enough to attract his attention. This action is divided into four parts:

1. Reveal a Dragon Rage card (3.2.a): First, turn over the top Dragon Rage card from the deck and reveal it for all players to see. This is done even if no players have dice in this row.

2. The Dragon Attacks (3.2.b): Then, resolve the dragon's attacks. The top part of the card shows the five boxes of the Dragon Rage row of the Action Board. If you have dice in any of those boxes, you are attacked by the Dragon, and receive the Villain wounds shown on the Dragon Rage card for that box (see "Villain Wounds and Death" below). Archerex makes a separate attack against each player, inflicting the number of Villain wounds shown on the Dragon Rage card.

   Sometimes, the card will also show a bonus, such as drawing a Villainy card or gaining a Dragonscale. Just because the dragon is attacking you, it doesn't mean you won't get an opportunity to grab something valuable! You get the bonus even if you don't suffer Villain wounds for any reason. So, if you have the protection token from the Defend action, you can avoid taking Villain wounds from the Dragon Rage and still get a bonus!

3. Event (3.2.c): After the Dragon Rage attack is resolved, an event occurs. The event is shown in the middle of the Dragon Rage card. Sometimes, the event will be a special action that Archerex takes, but it might be a special opportunity for the players as well. The event may even be an additional attack made against one or more players (which will clearly be stated as an attack). Simply follow the instructions on the card.

4. Enraged Action (3.2.d): The bottom of the Dragon Rage card shows an additional action that Archerex will take, but only if the dragon is enraged. Archerex becomes enraged if any of his three heads have been slain (see "Slaying a Dragon Head" below). If the dragon is not enraged (all three heads are still alive), ignore this section of the card.

After all parts of the Dragon Rage card have been resolved, place it in the discard pile.

Note: If something prevents you from taking Villain wounds, you still count as being attacked, if a card or some other effect is triggered by an attack (aren't you lucky!).

Example 3.2.a: If the card shown here was turned over, the player who has dice in box #1 would receive 3 Villain wounds (ouch!), the player in box #2 would receive 2 Villain wounds, and the players in boxes #3 and #4 would each receive 1 Villain wound. The player in box #5 is lucky and doesn't take any Villain wounds! (Box wound values shown: 1→3, 2→2, 3→1, 4→1.)

Example 3.2.b: Tor'Lok rolled the most Dragon Rage this round, so he takes the brunt of the attack; Tor'Lok suffers 3 Villain wounds, but gets to draw a Villainy card as a consolation. Savathene rolled the second most Dragon Rage symbols this round, so she suffers 2 Villain wounds from this attack, but gains a Dragonscale as a bonus. Grimmveil rolled the third most Dragon Rage this round, but he has the protection token this turn, so he takes no wounds.

Example 3.2.c: Now that the normal dragon attacks are over, the event is resolved: Archerex attacks Tor'Lok again because he is the closest to the Exit (Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!), who suffers a third wound.

Example 3.2.d: "Get Off My Pile!" the dragon roars. Since he is enraged (because one of his heads has been slain), the players must follow the instructions in the bottom section of the card. Every player who has dice on a box in the Loot section of the Action Board is attacked (again—poor Tor'Lok!) and suffers 1 wound.

Remember! Only perform this second action if the dragon is enraged. Archerex becomes enraged if any of his three heads have been slain (see "Slaying a Dragon Head" below).

Action #3: Villainy

This action lets you draw Villainy cards and steal Dragonscales from the other players.

• Box #1—You may draw two Villainy cards from the top of your Villainy card deck, look at them, and choose one to add to your hand. The other card is discarded. In addition, you may steal one Dragonscale from another player (unless they are protected this round).
• Box #2—You may draw two Villainy cards, look at them, choose one to add to your hand, and discard the other; OR, instead of drawing Villainy cards, you may steal two Dragonscales from another player (unless they are protected this round).
• Box #3—You may draw one Villainy card and add it to your hand.
• Box #4—You may take one Dragonscale from the Hoard.

SAVATHENE, SPIDER ASSASSIN

Savathene lurks in her dwelling far below Archerex's lair, despising the brightness of the surface world and all those who live within it. Using stealth and poison, she has preyed on unwary adventurers for decades. As a collector of trinkets, she takes treasures from her victims and uses them to decorate her elaborate webs.

Now she feels it is time to venture into Archerex's lair so she can add his trinkets to her web as well… and remove a rival for the attentions of adventurers!

Example 3.3.a: Tor'Lok has the most dice in this row, so he draws 2 Villainy cards, keeping 1 and discarding the other. Then he gets to steal 1 Dragonscale. He would like to steal it from Grimmveil, but Grimmveil has protection. So, he steals 1 from Tatyana instead. Mezerax is next. He decides that Dragonscales are worth more than Villainy cards, so he takes 2 Dragonscales from Tatyana also. Furious, Tatyana goes next, drawing 1 Villainy card with which to plot her revenge.

Action #4: Loot

This lets you draw Treasure cards or take Dragonscales from the Hoard.

• Box #1—You may draw two Treasure cards from the top of the Treasure card deck, look at them, and choose one to keep. The other card is discarded.
• Box #2—You may draw one Treasure card from the top of the Treasure card deck; OR you may take three Dragonscales from the Hoard.
• Box #3—You may take two Dragonscales from the Hoard.
• Box #4—You may take one Dragonscale from the Hoard.

Example 3.4.a: Savathene draws 2 Treasure cards, chooses 1 to keep, and discards the other. Then Tatyana decides to take 3 Dragonscales.

Action #5: Attack

This action lets you attempt to wound the dragon. When you attack, you will use the Attack dice. The number of dice you roll depends on which box on the Action Board your Action dice are in:

• Box #1—You may attack with 8 Attack dice.
• Box #2—You may attack with 6 Attack dice.
• Box #3—You may attack with 4 Attack dice.
• Box #4—You may attack another player instead of the Dragon. Choose 1 player to attack: they receive 1 Villain wound from the Hoard (of course, if they are protected this round, they cannot receive any wounds, but you can attack them anyway, if you want to waste it).

Making an attack against the Dragon is similar to rolling your Action dice: First, roll all of the Attack dice you get to roll. Then, you may re-roll any or all of those dice up to two times to get the best result you can (but watch out for the dragon's counterattack!). There are three possible results on the Attack dice:

• The dragon hits you! Just like rolling Action dice, if you get this result, you cannot reroll it and you must suffer the effects.
• You hit the dragon!
• You miss!

After you roll (and reroll) the dice, you get to inflict Dragon wounds on the Dragon Heads of your choice. Determine the number of Dragon wounds you inflict, as shown on the chart below. Then, take that many Dragon wound cubes off of the Dragon Heads section of the game board, in any combination you choose. Place the Dragon wound cubes you have chosen behind your player screen, so the other players cannot see them.

After resolving your attack against Archerex, the dragon counterattacks! You receive a number of Villain wounds (see "Villain Wounds and Death" below) determined by the number of dragon-hits you rolled, as shown on the chart below.

Number of hits → Number of wounds inflicted:

Hits rolled	Dragon wounds inflicted
1 or 2	1
3 or 4	2
5 or 6	3
7 or 8	4

Playing Hint: Since you inflict Dragon wounds on the dragon first, you get to claim your Dragon wound cubes even if your villain is killed by the counterattack!

Slaying a Dragon Head

If all of the Dragon wound cubes on a head are removed, that head is slain, and no one can collect any more Dragon wound cubes of that color. Once a Dragon Head is slain, the dragon is enraged, and the effects of the Dragon Rage cards are increased (see "Action #2: Dragon Rage" above).

If all three heads are slain (have no cubes remaining), the dragon is vanquished and the game ends immediately.

Example 3.5.a: Only Tor'Lok is brave enough to face Archerex this round. He rolls all 8 Attack dice. He cannot reroll the dragon-hit results and he wants to keep his hits, so he rerolls the rest of the dice. He could reroll again, but he decides it isn't worth the risk and stops rolling.

His hits are enough to do 2 Dragon wounds to the dragon. He takes the first Dragon wound cube from the yellow head. Since that's the last Dragon wound cube there, that head is slain! From now on, Archerex will be enraged. Tor'Lok takes the second Dragon wound cube from the blue head. Both Dragon wound cubes go behind Tor'Lok's player screen.

Since Tor'Lok did not vanquish all three of Archerex's heads, the dragon attacks back. He rolled some dragon-hit results, so Tor'Lok suffers 1 Villain wound.

MEZERAX, THE MIND BENDER

This bizarre and mysterious otherworldly creature has been watching our world from his own dimension for some time. Technically, he is a Psyoculus, wielding horrific psychic powers that can warp minds and bend reality to his will. For impossible eons, he has sought a way to enter and dominate our world.

Now, he will slay the one creature that can threaten his domination: Archerex… and drain the power from his scales to fuel his unspeakable designs!

Action #6: Flee

This action lets you move your villain miniature closer to the Exit. The number of spaces you get to move is determined by the Movement die.

• Box #1—You get to move first. Roll the Movement die: You may move your villain miniature a number of spaces up to the number you rolled plus 1.
• Box #2—You move second. Roll the Movement die: You may move your villain miniature a number of spaces up to the number you rolled.
• Box #3—You move third. You may move your villain miniature up to one space.
• Box #4—You don't get to move, but you may take one Dragonscale from the Hoard.

When you flee, move your Villain miniature on the path. You may only move forward on the path (towards the Exit—there's no going back, now!). You may stop on any space up to your maximum movement, or choose not to move at all ("move zero spaces"), but you cannot move backward on the path (unless a card specifically says you can…).

After you move, you may activate the space your miniature lands on (follow the instructions written on that space). You can only activate a space when you use the flee action, and only if you are actually able to move (even if you "move" zero spaces)—so using box #1, #2, or #3 of the Flee action. Box #4 says "Take 1 Dragonscale," but it does not allow you to move, so you can't activate a space (it's hard to find an advantage when you trip!).

If you move your miniature onto the Exit space, you have escaped from Archerex's lair! The game ends immediately.

Note: Some cards will allow you to move your miniature or another player's miniature. When a piece is moved in this way, you do not get to activate the space you are moved to (unless the card specifically says otherwise). If a card allows you to increase or alter your movement as part of a flee action, you still get to activate the space as normal.

Example 3.6.a: Tatyana gets to move first since she has dice in box #1 of the Flee row. She rolls the Movement die and gets a "2," so she can move up to 3 spaces (box #1 lets her add +1 to her Movement roll). She decides to only move 2 spaces, so she can grab 2 Dragonscales from the Hoard.

Grimmveil moves next, rolling a "3" on the Movement die. After a moment's thought, he moves the full amount, landing on the Exit space! Since Grimmveil reached the Exit, the game ends immediately, which means that Mezerax doesn't get to move.

Step 4: Reset

After all of the actions have been taken, the round comes to an end. All players take back all of their Action dice and place them behind their player screens. If you had the protection token, place it back into the Hoard. The current First Player passes the First Player token to the player on their left. Then a new round begins with Step 1: Roll Dice.

Continue playing, round after round, until either Archerex is defeated, a villain reaches the Exit, or all of the villains are killed.

Treasure Cards

When you gain a Treasure, keep it face-down in front of you as part of your "stash." There is no limit to the number of Treasures you can have in your stash.

Your Stash must be kept in front of your player screen at all times. Although other players can see how many Treasures you have, they can not look at your face-down Treasures unless a card effect says otherwise. You may look at your own face-down Treasures at any time.

Each Treasure card shows a title, a Victory Points value, a Dragonscale cost, a duration icon, and the card's effects.

Victory Points: Each Treasure card has a blue gem with a number. If you hold that Treasure at the end of the game, you are awarded that many Victory Points. For example, the Orb of Insight is worth three Victory Points at the end of the game.

Most Treasures also have some magical effect that you can use if you possess that item. There are two kinds of effects:

• One-Use Treasures have a symbol on them. These items can be used only once. To use such a Treasure, turn the card over, follow the instructions on the card, then place it in the Treasure card discard pile. (This means that you must lose the Treasure, and its Victory Points, in order to use the effect. Sad, but true.)
• Ongoing Effect Treasures have a symbol on them. These Treasures offer a (more or less) permanent benefit to whoever holds them. In order to use one of these Treasures, you must first activate it by paying the Dragonscales shown on the Treasure card (return them to the Hoard). If the Treasure does not show a Dragonscale cost, it can be activated for free. Then, turn the Treasure card face-up and place it in front of your player screen. You receive the benefit of that Treasure as long as you have it, and you still get the Victory Points at the end of the game.

Playing Hint: Unless the Treasure card says otherwise, you can use or activate it at any time! So, you can keep it hidden until the time is right to surprise your rivals…

Example: Grimmveil uses the Mimic Scroll to take a Villainy card out of Mezerax's discard pile and add it to his hand. Then the Mimic Scroll goes on the Treasure discard pile.

Example: Mezerax decides it's time to activate his Gleaming Shield. He pays 2 Dragonscales to the Hoard then flips over his Treasure card. From now on, any time he suffers any Villain wounds, Mezerax can roll an Attack die. If he gets a hit or a miss result, he suffers 1 less Villain wound.

Stealing Treasures

When a card or ability allows you to steal a random face-down Treasure card, you choose a player and take all of their face-down Treasure cards, shuffle them, and choose one randomly. You do not get to choose any of their face-up (activated) Treasure cards unless the card or ability specifically says that you can choose a face-up Treasure card (plus, it's rude!).

Villainy Cards

As befits villains of their stature, the five characters each have their own bag of tricks and schemes. These are represented in the game by Villainy cards. Each villain has their own unique deck of Villainy cards.

Villainy cards may allow you to attack another player, steal from them, or manipulate dice rolls and actions. Most Villainy cards can be played at any time, even in the middle of another player's turn or action (an evil laugh can really complete the effect!). A card will tell you if it can only be played at a specific time.

When you play a Villainy card, follow the instructions on the card then place it face-down in your own discard pile.

If your Villainy card shows a number of Dragonscales at the top, you must pay those Dragonscales (to the Hoard) when you play the card (after all, true evil isn't free).

Each Villainy card shows a title, a Dragonscale cost, a primary effect, and — on some cards — a secondary effect with its own Dragonscale cost.

Example: Mezerax has a Villainy card called Mind Control. He can play it to prevent a player from attacking another player, including himself. So, if Savathene plays a Villainy card to poison Mezerax, Mezerax can play Mind Control to interrupt and prevent her attack. He could even use Mind Control to prevent her from attacking another player (why would he want to? What evil scheme is Mezerax up to?).

But it gets even better! There is a second ability on the Mind Control card. For a cost of 1 Dragonscale, Mezerax can instead change the target of the attack to the player of his choice. So, he could use Mind Control to prevent Savathene's attack, or pay the 1 Dragonscale to make her attack somebody else, like Tor'Lok. Bonus!

Some cards have multiple effects: a first effect followed by a secondary effect that you must pay additional Dragonscales to use. Unless the card says otherwise, if you pay those Dragonscales, both effects of the card are resolved.

Undead Minions

Grimmveil has some Villainy cards which represent his mostly-mindless undead minions. At the end of each round (during the Reset Step), he can play one Minion card from his hand by paying one Dragonscale and placing the card face-up on the table (like a Treasure card). Grimmveil can later "sacrifice" and discard these minions to use their special abilities. He can sacrifice multiple minions during the same round, if he wants to.

Grimmveil can have as many minions in play at a time as he wants, but he can only summon one per round.

Victory Points for Villainy Cards

Each Villainy card in your hand is worth one Victory Point at the end of the game.

Playing Hint: In most cases, you are better off using your Villainy cards during the game to gain an advantage, rather than saving them for their point value.

TATYANA, QUEEN OF VAMPIRES

One of the last of the Ancient Vampires, Tatyana rose to become the most terrifying and feared of her kind. But recently, a young, modern breed of vampire has risen to power, challenging her ancient covens. Their numbers and strength grows daily, and now Tatyana must find a way to put them in their place.

To vanquish the usurpers, she requires a certain artifact laying forgotten in Archerex's hoard… and the blood of a certain three-headed dragon wouldn't hurt!

Villain Wounds and Death

Each time you receive a Villain wound, take a Villain wound cube from the Hoard and place it in front of your player screen. The other players always get to know how many Villain wounds you have.

Villain wounds can be healed—removed and returned to the Hoard—through the use of the Defend action and various cards.

Poison: Savathene has Villainy cards that she can use to poison another player. Villain wounds caused by poison are marked with Poison wound cubes (instead of regular Villain wound cubes). Poison wounds count as Villain wounds for all purposes, except that they cannot be healed.

Note that a player cannot attack themselves.

Death of a Villain

If you suffer enough Villain wounds to equal or exceed your villain's maximum Villain wounds (shown on your player screen), your villain is dead (oh, woe!). You are now out of the game, and you can no longer play cards, roll dice, or take actions. However, you could still win the game! Count up your Victory Points as normal at the end of the game. You may have perished, but your infamy as a villain will live on forever!

Trades and Deals

You can make deals with the other players, to help or hinder each other as much as you wish. You may freely trade Treasures, Dragonscales, and favors as you see fit. For example, you might offer to use a Villainy card to heal another player in exchange for 3 Dragonscales. Or you might ask another player to attack somebody else, offering them a Treasure card to do so. However, deals are never binding: You (or the other players) may always break your promises later.

Remember: You are a villain—be clever and devious!

There is one restriction: You can never give your Villainy cards to another player to use. Your Villainy cards represent unique abilities that only you can use. (Note that a few cards allow you to use another player's Villainy cards, and these are an exception to this rule.)

The End of the Game

The game ends immediately when one of the following occurs:

• A player escapes from Archerex's lair by moving their villain miniature to the Exit space.
• Archerex is vanquished by having all Dragon wound cubes removed from all three Dragon Heads; or
• All of the villains have been killed.

When any of these situations occurs, stop playing. You do not take any more actions or finish the current round.

TOR'LOK THE UNCONQUERABLE

This two-headed giant has proven himself the true champion of the arena, competing against all challengers and winning every gladiatorial combat he has ever fought. His notoriety has grown so far and wide, that he can no longer find worthy opponents to conquer.

As the ultimate challenge, he has decided to face down Archerex, winner take all… and carry off the treasures of his lair to build the greatest arena ever seen!

Victory Points

Now it's time to add up your Victory Points and see who is the most infamous villain!

You score Victory Points for the following:

• Treasures: Add up the Victory Point value of all Treasures you hold—both face-down in your stash and face-up activated Treasures.
• Dragonscales: Every 2 Dragonscales you have is worth 1 Victory Point (rounded down). For example, 5 Dragonscales are worth 2 victory points at the end of the game.
• Villainy Cards: Each Villainy card in your hand is worth 1 Victory Point.
• Dragon wounds: Each Dragon wound cube you have behind your player screen is worth 1 Victory Point.
• Villain wounds Suffered: You lose 1 Victory Point for each Villain wound cube and Poison wound cube you have.
• Dragon Head Trophies: All players compare their Dragon wound cubes of each color. The player who has the most cubes of a color gets the Trophy Head Bonus marker for that head (worth 6 Victory Points). The player with the second most cubes of that color gets the Kill Assist Bonus marker for that head (worth 3 Victory Points). If there is a tie for the most, they split the bonuses for first and second place (discarding any leftover points). If there is a tie for second, they each get 1 Victory Point.

Playing Hint: In general, it is better to use your Dragonscales as needed throughout the game, rather than save them for their end game score value.

Conditional Bonuses and Penalties

Depending on how the game ends, the players also receive additional bonuses or penalties as follows:

If the Dragon Was Vanquished:

• The player who dealt the final, killing blow gets the Dragonslayer Bonus marker (worth 5 Victory Points).
• If you are playing a 4- or 5-player game, whoever dealt the fewest Dragon wounds to the dragon gets the Weakling Penalty marker and loses 5 Victory Points. If more than one player is tied, they all lose 5 Victory Points. There is no Weakling Penalty in a 3-player game.
• If you are playing a 4- or 5-player game, the player closest to the Exit gets the Coward Penalty marker and loses 5 Victory Points. If more than one player is tied, they all lose 5 Victory Points. There is no Coward Penalty in a 3-player game.

These bonuses and penalties are awarded only if the game ends because Archerex was slain (all three heads were killed).

If a Player Escaped:

• The player who escaped gets the Escaped! Bonus marker (worth 10 Victory Points).
• The player closest to the Exit gets the Almost Made It! Bonus marker (worth 5 Victory Points). If more than one player is tied, they all get the bonus.
• If you are playing a 4- or 5-player game, the player farthest from the Exit (closest to the Entrance) gets the Slowpoke Penalty marker and loses 5 Victory Points. If more than one player is tied, they all lose 5 Victory Points. There is no Slowpoke Penalty in a 3-player game.

These bonuses and penalties are awarded only if the game ends because a player reached the Exit.

The Most Villainous of Villains

The player who has the most points after all bonuses and penalties wins the game! If there is a tie, they share the victory.

Example: In the above example, the game has ended with Grimmveil reaching the exit space. Let's look at how his opponent, Tatyana, did in terms of Victory Points:

Treasures: Tatyana has 2 Treasure cards, each worth 3 Victory Points, for a total of 6 Victory Points.

Dragonscales: She has 9 Dragonscales. She gets half that much in Victory Points, rounded down, for a total of 4 Victory points.

Villainy cards: Tatyana's 3 Villainy cards are each worth 1 Victory point, for a total of 3 Victory Points.

Dragon wounds: She has 5 blue Dragon wounds and 3 yellow Dragon wounds, each worth 1 Victory Point, for a total of 8 Victory Points.

Villain wounds: Tatyana suffered 3 Villain wounds and 1 Poison wound, each worth -1 Victory Point, for a total of -4 Victory Points.

Dragon Head Trophies: This game, Tatyana dealt the most Dragon wounds to the blue dragon head out of all players. She dealt the second most Dragon wounds to the yellow dragon head. She has earned the blue Trophy Head marker, worth 6 Victory Points, and the yellow Kill Assist marker, worth 3 Victory Points, for a total of 9 Victory Points.

Conditional Bonus: Because Tatyana was the closest to the exit when Grimmveil escaped, she gets the Almost Made It bonus marker, worth 5 Victory Points.

In this game, Tatyana's ending score was 31 Victory Points!

Optional Rules

GRIMMVEIL THE UNDYING

Once a legendary knight, renowned for honor and loyalty, Grimmveil and those under his command were all slain by Archerex centuries ago. Now he has returned as an undead king, more powerful than he dreamed of being in life, and all of his former knights obey his every command as his skeletal minions.

He has come to Archerex's lair to seek revenge for his death… and to use the power and treasure he'll gain to further his own dark ambitions!

Experienced Players May Choose Their Villainy Cards

Once you have played a few games, and players know the Villains and what they can do, you may allow the players to choose which three Villainy cards they start the game with (instead of dealing them out randomly). Each player looks through their Villainy deck before the game starts and secretly chooses three to start with in their hand. The rest of their cards are shuffled as normal.

Villains Are Only "Knocked Out"

If your group does not like players being eliminated, try this alternate rule:

When a player receives enough Villain wounds to equal or exceed their maximum, they are "knocked out." They are only out of the game for the rest of the current round and all of the next round. During that time they are completely "out" of the game: They do not roll dice, play cards, nor take any actions. They cannot be targeted by, nor affected by, any cards or attacks. At the end of the next round, during the Reset Step, they are back in the game again. Remove all of their Villain wounds and Poison wounds (they are restored back to full health).

When a player is knocked out, each of the other players takes 1 Dragonscale from the Hoard, and the player (if any) who delivered the final wound takes 1 additional Dragonscale—This is your reward for knocking out one of the nasty villains!

Dice Are Always Visible

If you prefer to have all dice always visible (or don't trust the other villains!), try this alternate rule:

Action dice are always visible and never hidden behind your screen. Always roll all of your dice out in the open where everyone can see. For each re-roll, players must simultaneously choose which dice they are keeping and re-roll at the same time. Between re-rolls you may look around the table to see which dice people have rolled so far.