Dragonscroll Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Set Up
• Play
  • 1. Draw and Place Tile
  • 2. Move Dragon
  • 3. Fireballs and Goats!
  • Fighting Wizards
  • i) Bonus Action
  • ii) Fireball Tokens and Dragonscroll Cards
• Royal Family Tiles and Cards
• Game End
• Variants
• How to Build Your Very Own Flaming Tower of Death

Components

• Tower of Death set-up ball (large)
• 4 dragon pieces
• 5 village pieces
• 64 tiles
• 33 broken minstrel tokens
• The Flaming Tower of Death
• 9 dwarf pieces
• 12 goats
• 9 elf pieces
• 36 fireball tokens
• 9 red fireballs, 1 black wall ball
• 15 orc pieces
• 5 wizard pieces
• 8 knight pieces
• 4 character tokens
• 60 cards: 4 character cards, 5 destiny cards, 3 royal family cards, 27 Dragonscroll cards, 12 Bonus action cards, 5 wizard cards, 4 help cards

Set Up

• Go get the table you used for Spellbound, you know…the big one.
• Make up the flaming tower of death (see How to Build Your Very Own Flaming Tower of Death).
• Shuffle the five wizard cards and place face down to side of tower.
• Place each of the three royal family cards beside the wizard cards (3 point side-up).
• Shuffle the Dragonscroll cards and place them face down in a stack next to the royalty cards.
• You might want to go get a small dish to keep the fireballs in. Hey, balls are round – they roll around!
• Place the village pieces, wooden pieces, fireball tokens and broken minstrel tokens close by as a supply.
• Each player takes a character card, the corresponding dragon piece and associated three bonus action cards.
• Each player places the three bonus actions cards in front of them so that they have three different actions available. They then place their character card to the side of the bonus action cards.
• Each player places two fireball tokens onto their character card.
• Take the four starting tiles and put them together, in the centre of the table, to make a 2x2 grid with one colour of dragon made up (it is like the world's easiest jigsaw). For your first game use the silver dragon side face up.
• Shuffle the remaining tiles and place in a stack(s) face down (volcano side up) as a draw pile.
• Each player draws three Dragonscroll cards from the draw pile. This forms their starting hand.
• For 2-3 players: Remove one of the elf (green arrows) and dwarf (yellow axes) destiny cards. Shuffle the remaining three cards and deal one to each player (discard the left over card with two players).
• For 4 players: Remove the orc (red clubs) destiny card. Shuffle the remaining four destiny cards and deal one to each player.
• The player's destiny card is kept face down next to their character card. A player may look at their own card, but it is kept secret from the other players until the end of the game.
• If needed, there is a help card for each player.

Play

The starting player is the last person to have seen a goat. Seasoned gamers may think we are now trying to actively troll them after all these years and randomly draw a character token.

On their turn, a player performs the following three actions in order:

1. Draw and place a tile
2. Move your dragon
3. Fireballs and goats!

(On their very first turn, a player places their dragon on one of the starting tiles before taking their turn.)

i) They must also take a bonus action at any point during their turn. ii) If they are able, they may gain fireball tokens and play Dragonscroll cards.

When a player's turn is finished, play continues with the next player clockwise.

1. Draw and Place Tile

• The player draws a tile from the draw pile, turns it over and adds it to the known land.
• The new tile must join with at least one existing tile.
• When placing a tile, it must be placed so any side touching another tile's side matches terrain (mountain to mountain, forest to forest, grassland to grassland).
• It may be placed anywhere in the known land (does not need to be near a dragon).
• After placing the tile, the player adds any foes (dwarves, elves, knights, orcs and wizards) or goats indicated on the tile.
• If there is nowhere for a tile to be added, it is discarded from the game and a new tile drawn in its place.

Example: Fundor is the starting player. He places his dragon piece onto one of the starting tiles, then draws a tile. He draws a grassland tile with one forest edge. He will be able to join this tile to a forest or grassland edge, depending on which way he orientates it. He cannot join it to a mountain tile as there is not a mountain edge on the tile. He adds the tile to the land. He then places a goat and orc piece onto the tile (as indicated by the symbols on the tile).

• If any enclosed areas are created within the land, all spaces in that area are filled - no matter how large. The player draws tiles from the draw pile until the area is filled (volcano side up - do not look at the other side).

Example: Snot draws a grassland tile with a forest edge and a mountain edge. He adds it to the land, creating a hole in the process. He fills the space with tiles drawn from the stack, volcano side up.

• If a village tile is drawn, it is placed using the normal terrain to terrain rules and the corresponding village piece is placed on it (see Villages). The player then takes another tile to add to the land (if this tile is also a village, the player again places it before drawing another tile, and so on).

Example: Snot draws the red village. He adds it to the land and places the village piece on top. He then draws and places another tile.

• A village tile has a coloured building symbol which shows whose village it is (e.g. red = orc, yellow = dwarf).
• The area where tiles can be placed is restricted by the size of your table. Tiles may not be placed so they overhang a table. Existing tiles should not be moved around to allow placement of new tiles.
• Tiles with a crown are covered in the section Royal Family Tiles and Cards.

2. Move Dragon

• The player must now move their dragon to a new tile, unless unable to move (unlikely).
• A dragon may move freely across any number of tiles of the same terrain that touch orthogonally. However, it MUST stop on a tile if either:

  • The terrain in the centre of the tile changes (the dragon is allowed to move through two small edges placed together)

    OR

  • It moves onto a tile with a knight present (dragons cannot help themselves when it comes to fighting knights - they are like catnip to them).

• A dragon may pass through a tile with another dragon or a village piece on it, but may not stop on the same tile.
• Volcanoes are impassable. Dragons may not move onto, or over, a volcano tile. Combustible creatures and molten lava do not mix!

Example: Birroth is able to travel to the tile on the far right. He is allowed to move through the two mountain edge pieces joined together. He only has to stop when terrain in the centre of the tile changes. He could finish his movement on any of the tiles along his route if he wanted.

Example: Fundor moves along the grassland. He must stop when he lands on the tile containing a knight.

Example: Birroth moves along the grassland. He cannot stop on the village tile, but may pass through it. He must stop if he meets a knight, or the terrain in the centre of the tile changes.

Example: Sudreth moves through the forest. She must stop when the terrain in the centre of the tile changes.

3. Fireballs and Goats!

A dragon fights all foes in range. You are a dragon - rain down fireballs from above!

• A foe is in range if the piece is on the same tile as your dragon (dwarves, elves, knights, orcs, wizards).
• Orcs are also in range if they are on an adjacent tile (orthogonal or diagonal).
• When fighting a dwarf, all other dwarves in that mountain range will join in the fight and are considered in range. However, the pieces remain on their tiles.
• When fighting an elf, all other elves in that forest will join in the fight and are considered in range. However, the pieces remain on their tiles.
• When fighting a wizard, turn over the top wizard card to see which wizard appears (see Wizards).
• The player rolls their fireballs down the Flaming Tower of Death to see where their fireballs land. They roll a fireball for each fireball token they have.
• The tower has the foes' symbols printed on each side. For each fireball that comes out a side of the tower, the player defeats one of the corresponding foes.
• For each defeated foe, the player picks up a corresponding foe piece from any within range. These foes are captured and placed on the dragon's character card. Note – some wizard spells may increase the hits needed to defeat a foe.
• The rear section of the tower is for knights and wizards. If a fireball lands in this section, the player may choose if it hits a knight or a wizard.
• If the player's dragon is next to a village (either orthogonally or diagonally) the player must also roll the wall ball down the tower. Foes on the same side as the wall ball are safe and are not hit (see Villages: Wall Ball).
• If a fireball leaves the tower completely, it is a complete miss. Fragor Games accepts no liability for scorch marks left on your table.
• If the tower set-up ball bounces out of its place into one of the sections, it is treated with the same effect as the wall ball. Replace it back into the tower afterwards.
• After picking up any defeated foe (if any), the player also takes any goat that is present on the tile their dragon is on, and places it onto their character card. Goats are not considered foes, although they are tasty!
• A player does not have to fight to pick up a goat. A player can still pick up a goat on the same tile if there are no foes in range.

Example: All four elves in the same forest are in range. The orc on the adjacent tile is also in range. The elf on the bottom right tile is not in range as it is not in the same forest. Fundor is surrounded by foes. The wizard is not on the same tile, so is not in range. The elf is not on the same tile so is not in range either. The dwarf is in the same mountain range, but no dwarves are being attacked, therefore the dwarf is not in range. The orc on the top right tile is not adjacent, and is not in range. The other orcs are either on an adjacent or the same tile - they are in range. The knight is on the same tile and is in range. The goat is on the same tile and will be collected after the battle.

For a dragon, victory is an empty battlefield! If the dragon failed to defeat every foe in range, they must either:

• take a broken minstrel token and place it on their character card - they can't leave any of those pesky bards to tell stories of failure!

  OR

• discard one of the Dragonscroll cards from their hand.

Example: Birroth has finished his movement and is preparing to fire down some fireballs. There are two orcs and one wizard in range. He has two fireball tokens, so can roll two fireballs down the Flaming Tower of Death. However, he must also roll the wall ball as he is standing on a tile that is adjacent to the elf village. One fireball lands in the orc section. This is a hit on one orc. The other ball lands in the knight/wizard section. However, the wall ball also lands here, meaning no fireballs in this section count. The wizard cowers behind a wall! Birroth chooses which one of the orcs he wishes to capture, and places it onto his character card. One orc and the wizard remain undefeated. Because Birroth did not defeat every foe, he must take a broken minstrel token. Finally, Birroth captures the goat that was on his tile.

Fighting Wizards

Those pesky wizards and their teleportation spells mean that a dragon can never be sure which one will turn up! If a player's dragon is on the same space as a wizard, the player must turn over a wizard card before firing their fireballs, and apply the card's effect. If the wizard village has been discovered, there is an additional effect to apply.

When a wizard is defeated, the wizard card is added to the dragon's story (the wizard piece is treated as a normal defeated foe). If a wizard is not defeated, the wizard card is returned to the supply. Whether a player defeats the wizard or not, all the remaining wizard cards in the supply are then shuffled and placed face down to form a new supply pile.

• Rhurob
  • Rhurob is not defeated if the player is required to take a broken minstrel token (when the dragon has not defeated every foe in range).
  • Wizard Village effect: In addition, Rhurob requires two hits on a single turn to defeat.
• Grager
  • When rolling fireballs the wall ball is added (if the wall ball is already to be added there is no effect).
  • Wizard Village effect: In addition, the dragon uses one less fireball this turn.
• Henkris
  • Henkris requires two hits on a single turn to be defeated.
  • Wizard Village effect: Henkris now requires three hits on a single turn to be defeated.
• Iongle
  • For every broken minstrel token a dragon has, they must use one less fireball this turn.
  • Wizard Village effect: In addition, the wall ball is added.
• Brigar
  • All foes other than Brigar require two hits to defeat this turn.
  • Wizard Village effect: In addition, Brigar also requires two hits to defeat this turn.

i) Bonus Action

During their turn, a player must choose one bonus action (and only one). A player can choose their bonus at any time between their actions. They may even choose their bonus before doing anything else on their turn, or after they have taken all their normal actions.

After choosing their bonus, the player turns over the relevant bonus action card. This will mean the player will have a different choice of bonus on this card for their next turn. Fragor Games trusts you are intelligent enough to remember if you have already taken your bonus this turn!

A player may choose a bonus that gives them no benefit e.g. extra fireball when not fighting, but they must still turn the corresponding card over.

The bonus actions are:

• Tile - Draw and place a tile. Take a tile from the stack and play face up onto the land.
• Dragonscroll Card - The player takes a Dragonscroll card from the supply and adds it to their hand. A player may hold a maximum of five cards and must discard down to five immediately if they take a sixth card.
• Fireball - The player may add one extra fireball when using the Flaming Tower of Death for this round. It has no benefit if chosen once a player has already rolled their fireballs.

ii) Fireball Tokens and Dragonscroll Cards

Increasing fireball tokens

• At any time during their turn, a player may eat any mixture of 3 foes and/or goats from their stock to permanently increase their fireball tokens.
• The foe/goat pieces are removed from the character card and put back into the supply. The player then increases the fireball tokens on their character card by one.
• A player may do this as many times as they like on their turn. A dragon can never lose their fireball tokens – they are permanent.

Playing Dragonscroll cards

• Players add to their dragon's story by playing Dragonscroll cards. These can be played at any time on a player's turn when their dragon completes the requirements for that task. The first card added to the story is slid underneath the character card leaving the text showing. Subsequent cards continue to be added to the bottom of the cards already played.
• Players start the game with three Dragonscroll cards in their hand. More can be gained by taking the Dragonscroll card bonus action. If a player ever has more than five cards IN THEIR HAND they must immediately discard down to five.
• The card shows what is required to fulfil the deed. It also shows how many points the deed is worth.
• A player may only play ONE OF EACH TYPE of Dragonscroll card during their turn.
• The three types of card are as follows:

a) Discovery (play after completing a forest / mountain)

The dragon has discovered an impressive forest or mountain by completing it. This card has a picture of tiles. The type of terrain in the picture depicts whether the player has to complete a mountain or forest. The number of tiles shown depicts the minimum number of tiles, either two or three.

The terrain must be present in the centre of the tile - edges do not count towards the total needed. A player may only add this card to their story if THEY complete a mountain/forest of the specified number of tiles.

IMPORTANT – the forest/mountain must be complete with no open sides. Sides joining a volcano tile are considered closed.

Example: Birroth places a tile which joins to a forest. The forest is now complete, as it can no longer be added to. The forest is two tiles in size. Any small forest sides attached to the forest do not count towards its size. As he completes it, Birroth plays 'the snaid forest' card from his hand. He can do so as he has completed a forest of at least 2 tiles, as shown on the card.

b) Munch (play at any time)

The dragon increases their infamy by chomping down on some foes and sometimes goats. This card shows the type and number of what needs to be eaten. To add this card to their story, the player must eat the matching number of foes/goats from their stock (on top of their character card). The eaten foes/goats are placed back into the general supply.

Example: Birroth plays the 'Merry Band' Dragonscroll card from his hand and adds it to his story. He then returns 4 creatures from his character card back to the supply.

c) Fireball Frenzy! (play after fireballing foes)

The dragon spreads fear throughout the land by incinerating a number of foes in the one battle. To add this card to their story, the player must defeat a foe for each fireball shown on the card. This must be done on a single turn. Note – because of wizards, some foes may need two hits to defeat.

Foes defeated in a fireball frenzy are incinerated immediately and not kept for eating later! Place the corresponding number of foes back into the general supply. If the player defeated more foes than required, they may choose which foes go into the supply and which go onto their character card.

Example: Fundor rolls his fireballs and scores three elf hits and one orc hit. He plays the sizzle card and adds it to his story. To fulfil the sizzle card, he must return 3 of the defeated foes to the supply. He chooses to return 2 elves and the orc. He places the final defeated elf onto his character card. (In this example, he would also take a broken minstrel token as one elf remains undefeated).

Royal Family Tiles and Cards

Some tiles have wandering royalty, keen to get home to their home village (dwarf, elf, orc). A dragon stopping on one of these tiles may pick up the corresponding royalty card (if it has not been picked up already) and place it beside their character card. The dragon is now carrying royalty on their back! A dragon may only carry one royalty card at a time (they are heavy!).

A player may deliver them to any tile that is adjacent to a village (orthogonal or diagonal).

• A player will gain 3 points for delivering them to their home village or knights' village;

  or

• 1 point for delivering them to any other village.

After dropping them off, the player turns the royalty card to the appropriate side (showing 1 or 3 points, depending on which village they were left at) and adds it to their story.

If they wish, a player may use the royalty card as one of the three 'foes or goats' to increase fireball power (royals are just as nutritious as commoners!). If they do, the royalty card is removed from the game and the dragon experiences a fleeting moment of shame and indigestion (no effect).

Example: Snot lands on the tile showing the elf prince. He picks up the elf prince from the supply and places it beside his character card. In a later turn, Snot lands on a tile adjacent to the elf village. He is able to deliver the elf prince here. Snot takes the elf prince card, turns it to the corresponding side, and adds it to his story.

Game End

When the last tile is drawn, the current player finishes their turn as normal, and then the game ends.

Destiny Cards

Each player has a destiny card which they keep secret until the end of the game. The destiny card is the finish to a dragon's story. Each destiny card gives points depending on the number of a certain foe pieces remaining on the dragon's character card when the game ends. When the game ends, the players turn over their destiny card and add it to their story.

Remember, those foes that have been eaten or incinerated do not count towards the total (as the dragon will no longer have the foe's piece).

Example: The game ends and all players reveal their destiny card. Snot scores points for the number of elf pieces on his character card. He has 3, so his title is 'Draco the Fearsome' and he adds 4 points to his score.

Scoring

When the game ends:

• Players reveal their destiny card and add it to their story.
• Players now count up all the points on the cards that make up their story (all other cards are ignored).
• They then subtract one point for each broken minstrel token they have.

The dragon with the most points has the best story and will have their story recorded as Dragonscroll! The winning player should read out loud their story from beginning to end, while the other players look on in quiet appreciative amazement. A round of applause is also customary.

If there is a tie for most points, the tied players have a 'flame off'. A small band of ugly hideous orcs appears. Each tied player rolls a fireball for each fireball token they have down the tower. The player that hits the most orcs is the winner. If there is still a tie, the tied players 'flame off' again until there is a winner.

Variants

Wild Dragon Variant

Play as normal except:

• Each player starts with their character token on their character card.
• At the end of their turn, a dragon may challenge another dragon to a flame off (as per tie-breaker rules).
• The other dragon must be on an adjacent tile (orthogonally or diagonally), and still have their character token.
• When a dragon is challenged, they discard their character token (each dragon may only be attacked once per game).
• The losing dragon places a broken minstrel token onto their character card.

Wilder Game Variant

As 'Wild Dragon Variant' except:

• The losing dragon takes a broken minstrel token for the difference in hits between the winner and loser.

Shorter Game for Two or Three Players

For a quicker game for two or three players, remove 15 tiles from the game set-up. Do not remove any starting, village or Royal Family tiles.

How to Build Your Very Own Flaming Tower of Death

1. Take the 8 base side pieces and slide one into each slot round the base. Make sure the longest edge of the base side piece is at the bottom.
2. Place the Tower of Death set-up ball in the centre of the base.
3. Slot the tower legs into the four holes on the base, so that the feet of the tower touch the ground.
4. Slot the 4 tower sections together. Matching punch-out shapes go on opposite sides (impossible to put together wrong…). Be careful not to break the legs when doing this. When complete, this tower section can be stored without taking apart again.
5. To make the dragon - slot the back of the dragon into the back of the two dragon sides.
6. Push the head of the dragon down onto the slots on the top of the dragon sides. This completes the dragon.
7. Slot the completed dragon onto the top of the tower with the head of the dragon facing the same side as the orc symbol. To slot the dragon onto the tower, line up the slots on the bottom of the dragon to the tabs that extend out the sides of the tower.

With your Tower of Death now complete, watch as people wander over to exclaim how awesome it is and ask what on earth it does.