Dungeon Run Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • The first time you open the box
• Object of the Game
• Anatomy of a Hero Card
• Ability Cards
• Anatomy of a Treasure or Artifact Card
• Encounter Cards
  • Anatomy of a Monster Card
  • Anatomy of a Trap Card
  • Anatomy of a Stranger Card
• Dungeon Tiles
• Game Setup
• Abilities
• Player Turns
• Hero Actions
• The Move Action
  • Placing Dungeon Tiles
• The Escape Action
• The Battle Action
  • Quick Reference: Blocking Hits
  • Example of a Battle Action
• Heroes Battling Heroes
• The Equip Action
• The Search Action
• The Advance Action
• Free Actions
  • Disarming Traps
  • Assist: Free action on other hero's turn
  • Sabotage: Free action on other hero's turns
  • Rally: Free action
• Defeated Heroes and Monsters
• Loot Pile
• The Boss and the Boss Lair
• Monster Roaming
• Rerolling Dice
• The Endgame
  • Escaping From Heroes in the Endgame
  • Defeated Heroes in the Endgame
  • Owning the Summoning Stone
• Victory
• Solitaire Dungeon Run
• 5-6 Player Dungeon Run
• Glossary
• Optional Rule: Beg for Your Life
• Special Dungeon Tile Rules
  • Ancient Bridge
  • Cursed Stone
  • Den
  • Glyph Room
  • Library
  • Portcullis Room
  • Underground Channel
  • Well

Components

• 1 rule book
• 8 hero playing pieces
• 8 hero cards
• 4 dungeon boss cards
• 26 dungeon tiles
• 80 ability cards
• 38 encounter cards
• 22 treasure cards
• 4 artifact cards
• 4 player references
• 40 wound markers
• 24 training markers
• 20 dice
• 1 First Player token

The first time you open the box

1. Remove all the decks & figures from their plastic packaging.
2. Carefully remove all the cardboard dungeon tiles and markers from their frames.
3. Throw away or recycle the waste.

Object of the Game

Dungeon Run is a 1-6 player game where you are a hero from one of the factions of Itharia. During the game, you will use your guile and skill to maneuver through a dungeon while seeking the ultimate goal: a Summoning Stone. Use your negotiating skills to forge allegiances with some players while keeping others in check. Destroy monsters and gain treasures that will help you defeat the dungeon boss - but that is only half the battle. Once the boss is slain, it's every hero for himself! Exit the dungeon with the Summoning Stone under your control, or destroy all your fellow adventurers to be the Dungeon Run victor.

The dungeon lies before you. Don't walk – RUN!

Anatomy of a Hero Card

Each player will play a hero whose profile is found on their hero card. An example: Addolgar Vayne, Questing Knight of the Vanguards, Human, Prayer training, Brawn 4, Magic 4, Skill 1, Life 7, with ability Turn Undead ("Add your skill rating to your magic rating when attacking an undead monster or undead hero."), Blessed ("You remove 1 extra wound marker when you rally."), and Summoner ability Cursed by Dusk ("At the end of each of your turns, remove 1 wound marker from your card.").

1. Hero Name: Each hero has a unique name to help identify them.
2. Hero Title: A summation of the hero's background.
3. Race: A hero's race may affect its interactions with other heroes, treasures, or monsters they encounter in a dungeon.
4. Training: This is used to determine which treasure and artifact cards a hero may equip and use as they travel through the dungeon.
5. Brawn Rating: This measures a hero's physical strength. It is most commonly used when attacking with traditional weapons such as swords.
6. Magic Rating: This measures a hero's magical strength. It is most commonly used when casting spells in combat and interacting with enchanted dungeon features.
7. Skill Rating: This measures a hero's ability to perform actions that require specialized training. It is most commonly used when attempting to disarm traps or escape from nasty critters.
8. Life Rating: This measures how many wound markers a hero can receive before he is defeated.
9. Ability: This is a special rule that applies only to this hero. Each hero has at least 1 ability that allows them to bend the rules in some special way.
10. Summoner Ability: This is a special power that functions like a normal ability; however the hero can only use it when he has the Summoning Stone. Get the Stone and watch your hero turn into a force to be reckoned with.

Ability Cards

As the heroes kill stuff, they will get stronger. They will also gain more abilities that let them bend the rules and cheat their friends of victory.

Ability cards provide additional abilities to a hero when they are placed by his hero card. These abilities function just like the ones printed on each hero card, and allow the hero to gain a variety of exciting new powers. Each hero has his own personal deck of ability cards.

Example ability card: Direction Sense — "When you draw a tile, you may instead draw up to 3 tiles. Place 1 and shuffle the others back into the pile of dungeon tiles."

Anatomy of a Treasure or Artifact Card

There are many treasures to be found in the dungeon. Treasures can make you more powerful, but heroes are limited to treasures they are trained in using. Artifact cards work exactly like treasure cards, but are not a part of the treasure deck.

Example: Flaming Sword — Slots Used: Primary Hand, Enchanted, War/Magic/Talent training. "Roll 1 extra die when attacking with your brawn rating. This is increased to 2 dice if attacking a beast monster with your brawn rating."

1. Treasure Name: Each treasure has a unique name.
2. Slots Used: This indicates which inventory slots are filled if a hero equips this item.
3. Enchanted: Some treasures count as being enchanted as indicated here.
4. Training Indicators: Only heroes with an indicated training can equip a treasure card. Otherwise it is placed into their loot pile. Some treasures will have more than one type of training associated with it. As long as a hero has one of the listed types of Training, they can equip the treasure.
5. Ability: This indicates the benefit conferred to a hero for having this treasure card equipped. These abilities function just like the ones printed on each hero card.

Example artifact card: Doom Glaive — Slots Used: Primary Hand and Off Hand, Enchanted, War/Prayer training. "Roll 2 extra dice when attacking with your brawn rating. Once per game, you may attack with 4 extra dice instead of 2. If you do, discard the Doom Glaive after that roll."

This is an artifact card. Note that it is laid out identically to a treasure card, the only differences being its background, and the fact that its card back says Artifact instead of Treasure.

Encounter Cards

When heroes explore the dungeon, they will be set upon by vicious monsters, slowed by clever traps, and even meet strangers who offer aid. These events are determined by the encounter deck. Encounter cards are made up of monster, trap, and stranger cards.

Anatomy of a Monster Card

Example: Wolf — Monster, Beast type. Ability Hunter: "When this Wolf roams, it roams 2 tiles instead of 1. This wolf must stop if it roams onto a tile with a hero that is not knocked out." Attack Rating 5, Defense +, Escape +, Life 4.

1. Monster Name: This indicates what kind of monster a hero is facing. A particularly rare monster may also have a unique name.
2. Type: Monsters are divided into 4 types: humanoid, undead, beast, and animate. Certain abilities may affect certain types of monsters differently.
3. Attack Rating: This is how many dice are rolled when the monster attacks. The more dice, the more likely the monster is to hit its target.
4. Power Rating: If a monster's attack roll matches any of the numbers shown in its power rating, those numbers each count as a potential hit scored on the target.
5. Defense Rating: When heroes make attacks against monsters, they must roll this number or higher to score a hit.
6. Escape Rating: When a hero rolls to escape this monster, he must roll equal to or higher than the monster's escape rating.
7. Life Rating: This indicates how many wound markers a monster can receive before it is killed.
8. Ability: Like heroes, each monster has at least 1 ability that causes it to act differently from other monsters.

Anatomy of a Trap Card

Example: Scything Blades (Trap) — Disarm: "Choose brawn or skill and roll that number of dice. Every roll of 4+ is a success. 2 successes are needed to avoid taking damage." Damage: "3 wound markers."

1. Name: This indicates what type of trap a hero has uncovered.
2. Disarm Requirement: This indicates which of a hero's ratings can be used to attempt to disarm the trap. It also indicates how many successes (a roll of 4+) are needed to disarm the trap and keep it from harming the hero who found it.
3. Damage: This indicates the trap's effect if it is not disarmed. This is normally how many wound markers a hero receives, plus any special damage that may have unique effects.

Anatomy of a Stranger Card

Example: Dwarf Artificer (Stranger) — "The Dwarf Artificer has sworn vengeance against the dungeon boss, and will sell an ancient weapon to a hero who vows to slay the dungeon's master." Special Rule: "As a special action, a hero sharing a tile with the Dwarf Artificer can discard 2 treasure cards in exchange for the Doom Glaive artifact card. Once the Doom Glaive has been received, the Dwarf Artificer is removed from the game."

1. Name: This indicates what type of stranger a hero has uncovered.
2. Special Rule: Each stranger has a special rule that may dictate placement of the stranger, as well as how to encounter it.

Dungeon Tiles

Dungeon tiles depict the dungeon halls and rooms the heroes will be running through. The Dungeon Entrance and Boss Lair are the beginning and end of the dungeon, and have a red color. Standard dungeon tiles are gray in color, and special dungeon tiles are green.

When a standard dungeon tile is placed, the hero placing it rolls a die to see what the tile contains.

1. Treasure Rating: If you roll 1 of these numbers, a treasure will be found.
2. Encounter Rating: If you roll 1 of these numbers, you will draw an encounter card.
3. Hallway Exits: Heroes move between tiles via these exits. But you probably guessed that.

When a special dungeon tile is placed, the player placing it does not roll a die like a standard tile. Instead, they follow the rules listed for the tile.

1. Name: Each special dungeon tile has a unique name.
2. Rules Summary: Each special dungeon tile has its own unique rules, found on the back cover of this rule book. Those rules are summarized on the tile for speedy game play.
3. Hallway Exits: Heroes move between tiles via these exits. Anyone hear an echo?

Game Setup

To begin your Dungeon Run, remove the contents from the box and follow these steps:

1. Set up the dungeon tile pile: a. Place the Dungeon Entrance tile in the center of the table, and place the Boss Lair off to the side. Shuffle the 4 dungeon boss cards and place 1 face down under the Boss Lair dungeon tile. This will be the boss for this game. Place the other dungeon boss cards back in the box, being careful not to look at them. b. Divide the remaining tiles into 2 groups: standard dungeon tiles (gray), and special dungeon tiles (green). Shuffle the standard dungeon tiles and place 4 per player face-down in a pile at the center of the table. Shuffle the special dungeon tiles and place 2 per player face-down in the same pile. Place the other dungeon tiles back into the box without looking at them. They will not be used in this game. Now shuffle the pile you created (making sure not to look at any of them) to form your dungeon tile pile. Place the pile where all players can reach it.
2. Set up the decks & marker piles: a. Shuffle the encounter cards and place them face-down by the dungeon tiles. Do the same for the treasure cards. This will create the encounter and treasure decks. b. Set the 4 artifact cards to the side of the table, and pile the training and wound markers next to them.
3. Determine the First Player: a. Each player takes a player reference card and rolls a die, rerolling ties. The highest roller takes the First Player token and can make fun of the other players. Don't worry - I'm sure it won't backfire on you later.
4. Set up play area: a. The First Player collects the hero cards, chooses 1 hero and passes the remainder to the player on his left. Players take turns choosing hero cards, passing the remainder clockwise, until each player has a hero. A player cannot choose a hero whose training is identical to a hero that has already been chosen by another player unless all 4 training types (Prayer, War, Magic, and Talent) have already been chosen. Players then collect their 10 matching ability cards, shuffle them and create a face-down ability deck near their hero card. b. Each player then customizes their hero by drawing 2 ability cards and selecting 1 to place face-up besides their hero card. Unused cards are discarded next to each hero's ability deck. c. Each player takes their corresponding playing piece and places it on the Dungeon Entrance tile. d. The remaining hero cards are removed from the game, along with the matching ability decks and playing pieces.

Your Dungeon Run is ready!

Abilities

Abilities are special powers that allow heroes and monsters to bend or break the rules. Each hero has its own unique abilities, and may earn additional ability cards throughout a game, giving it even more ways to take down monsters and opposing heroes! Each monster has at least 1 ability which makes it different from its peers. When the text of an ability differs from the rules, the ability's text takes precedence. Each hero also has its own Summoner ability. This ability is only ever in effect when that hero has the Summoning Stone artifact card equipped.

Player Turns

The First Player gets the first turn, and play proceeds clockwise. Each player may perform up to 2 hero actions in any order they desire, and then play passes to the next hero. Once play has returned to the First Player, all monsters have the chance to roam. Afterward, the First Player passes the First Player token to the hero on his left, and a new round of turns begins.

Hero Actions

There are 6 basic actions a hero may choose from. They are:

• Move
• Escape
• Battle
• Equip
• Search
• Advance

It seems like a lot, but after a couple of turns you'll feel pretty comfortable with them. An action can be chosen more than once in a turn. Some actions will have players roll dice equal to their brawn, magic, or skill ratings. A player can always roll at least 1 die, even if a respective rating is lower than 1.

Note on special actions: Sometimes abilities or treasure cards will give heroes special actions. These actions may be chosen from in addition to the ones above, but they still take up 1 of the actions that make up a hero's turn.

The Move Action

A hero cannot use a move action when he shares a dungeon tile with a monster. The monster is cranky and doesn't feel like letting the hero just waltz off.

Moving lets a hero move from their current dungeon tile to another. A hero using this action chooses 1 of the hallway exits on the dungeon tile he is on, and announces he is moving through it. If another dungeon tile lies adjacent to the exit, he places his playing piece on that tile. If no dungeon tile is adjacent to the chosen exit, the hero draws a new dungeon tile and places it adjacent to the exit, moving his playing piece onto that tile and following the dungeon tile placement rules below. If no dungeon tile can be placed by the exit a hero selected, the hero cannot move and loses the action for that turn. When a hero ends an action, any discarded dungeon tiles are shuffled back into the pile.

When a special dungeon tile is drawn, read its rules summary aloud to the other heroes and follow its directions. Each special dungeon tile has its rules explained in detail on the back cover of this rule book.

Standard dungeon tiles do not have special rules, but instead have 2 ratings printed on them: the treasure rating and the encounter rating. When a standard dungeon tile is first placed, the hero placing it rolls 1 die.

• If the number rolled matches a number found on the treasure rating, that hero draws a treasure card and places it face-down on the tile without looking at it.
• If the number rolled matches a number found on the encounter rating, the hero draws an encounter card and places it face-up on the tile.
• A die roll may correspond to both an encounter card and a treasure card. If that happens, the treasure card is always placed face-down under the face-up encounter card.

Heroes only roll for standard dungeon tiles when the tiles are first placed – they do not roll each time they move to the tile, so once you've rolled for a standard tile, you won't do it again for the rest of the game.

If a drawn encounter card is a stranger card, a hero must read the card aloud and decide if they want to interact with the stranger or not (if able). If the card is a monster or trap, the drawing hero must react to the card immediately (see battle or disarming traps below).

Placing Dungeon Tiles

There are 2 types of dungeon tiles found in the pile of dungeon tiles: standard (gray) and special (green). Special tiles have their own unique rules.

A dungeon tile cannot be placed in such a way that it creates a blocked hallway exit. If a dungeon tile cannot be rotated in a way that allows all exits to connect to other exits or empty spaces, the tile is discarded, and a new dungeon tile is drawn.

The Escape Action

Escaping is similar to moving, but it only occurs when a hero is trapped (sharing a tile) with a monster. A hero may attempt an escape action when he shares a dungeon tile with a monster. The hero rolls a number of dice equal to their skill rating. If any of the numbers rolled are equal to or higher than the monster's escape rating, he has successfully escaped. A hero that has escaped a monster chooses an exit on his current dungeon tile and moves his playing piece as if he was completing a move action. If a new dungeon tile is placed by an escape action, follow the placement rules above.

Abilities or rules that affect a hero that is moving will not affect a hero making an escape action, since the two actions are similar but not the same. If a hero fails an escape action, the monster he shares a dungeon tile with immediately makes a free attack (explained below).

The Battle Action

Whacking the snot out of monsters is an important part of Dungeon Run. A hero sharing a dungeon tile with a monster card may announce he is battling it. Likewise, when a hero draws a new monster card, he must immediately battle it – this "surprise" battle is mandatory, but does not count as 1 of the hero's 2 actions for the turn. If the hero is unable to attack the monster due to special rules, the monster gets to make a free attack. Likewise, if a hero spends an entire turn on a tile with a monster but doesn't make a battle action during that turn, the monster receives a free attack.

A battle takes place over 3 phases. If a hero or monster is ever granted a "free attack" it is not considered a full battle action. That hero or monster rolls to attack, but the defending hero or monster will not be able to roll dice in response.

1. Battle Action Phase 1: The Monster Attacks. The monster immediately responds by attacking first. The First Player rolls a number of dice equal to the monster's attack rating. Each number rolled that matches the monster's power rating counts as a potential hit against the hero, and is set aside. The other dice have no effect on the attack.
2. Battle Action Phase 2: The Hero Attacks. The battling hero then attacks. He selects either his brawn or magic rating (usually whichever is bigger), and rolls a number of dice equal to the chosen rating. Note that some treasure, artifact, or ability cards may add dice to this roll. The more dice the better!
3. Battle Action Phase 3: Damage is Resolved. The battling hero then allocates his dice rolls to the monster, choosing some to block the monster's potential hits, and assigning some to count as hits against the monster.

Blocks: A Hero may use any die rolled to block hits, as long as the die's number matches the number of the potential hit it is blocking. So for instance, if a monster's roll of 2 is a potential hit on a hero, that hero may use a 2 that he rolled, to block the potential hit.

Hits or Blocks: Any die rolled that is equal to or higher than the monster's defense rating may be allocated as a hit to the monster, or can be used to block a hit the monster scored on the hero.

Resolve: If a die is used to block, the hero removes it, and then removes 1 of the monster's potential hit dice.

Quick Reference: Blocking Hits

• Cannot Block: Any die below the monster's defense rating that also does not match the number of any potential hit.
• Can Only Block: Any die that matches a potential hit against the hero but is below the monster's defense rating.
• Can Block or Hit: Any die that is equal to or higher than the monster's defense rating.

Once a hero has decided which, if any, of the monster's potential hits he will block, any remaining unblocked hits cause wound markers to be placed on the hero's card. He receives 1 wound marker for each hit he takes.

Any hits allocated to a monster cause the monster to receive wound markers. Place 1 wound marker on the monster's card for each hit it takes.

After any wound markers have been placed on the hero and monster cards, determine if either party is defeated. If the monster card has a number of wound markers equal to or greater than its life rating, the monster is slain and placed in the attacking player's loot pile. If the hero has a number of wound markers equal to or greater than his life rating, the hero has been defeated (see below). It is possible for a hero and a monster to defeat each other at the same time.

Heroes or monsters that survive a battle action keep whatever wound markers they have on their cards, making them more likely to succumb to future battles.

Example of a Battle Action

Dorgan, the Dwarf treasure Hunter starts his turn sharing a tile with a Slime, and the hero chooses to battle the monster. The Slime has an attack rating of 2, so the First Player rolls 2 dice for the Slime. The rolls are 1 and 3. The Slime has a power rating of 3, 4, and 5, so only rolls of 3, 4, or 5 count as hits against the hero. The First Player sets the roll of 3 aside as a potential hit on Dorgan. Now Dorgan may attack back. He chooses to use his brawn rating since it is his highest and he rolls 5 dice. The rolls are 1, 3, 4, 5, and 5. The Slime's defense rating is 5+, so Dorgan has scored 2 potential hits on the Slime. He decides to allocate his roll of 3 to the Slime's roll of 3, thus blocking the Slime and preventing its hit from damaging him even though it was below the Slime's defense rating. The remaining successful rolls of 5 are allocated as hits to the Slime, and 2 wound markers are placed on the Slime's card, leaving the Slime wounded but still alive. In the future, Dorgan may opt to try to escape, or use another battle action to try to finish the Slime off. Of course another hero might swoop in and try to kill the wounded Slime himself. The jerk!

Heroes Battling Heroes

As shocking as it sounds, heroes may choose to battle other heroes who share their dungeon tiles. It's risky business, and won't help make friends, but sometimes people need to be put in their place. Hero versus hero battles can only take place if there are no monsters present on the tile. Angry baddies are much more threatening than your "friends".

Battles between heroes work similarly to battles against monsters, with only a few differences. Each hero selects their brawn or magic rating, and rolls that number of dice. Heroes possessing abilities allowing them to force an enemy to reroll dice, do so now. Afterwards, the hero who was attacked sets aside all of his rolls of 4 or higher as potential hits. The attacking hero then does the same, but he may also choose to allocate his rolls of 4 or higher as blocks instead of hits. In other words, the hero who initiated the battle has the option to block, and the defender cannot! If either hero has armor they may now roll for it, and finally each hero receives a number of wound markers equal to the number of hits he received.

During the endgame (see below), if a hero initiates a battle with another hero and would be killed by that battle, he must allocate his dice that could block hits to do so until he has no more dice to block with, or until he has blocked with enough dice so that he will survive the battle.

The Equip Action

Sometimes a hero needs to change the gear he has equipped, or trade with another hero on his dungeon tile. A hero using this action may change what treasure and artifact cards he has equipped. Using 1 equip action allows a hero to add, remove, or swap any treasure or artifact cards he has equipped, with any he may have in his loot pile. A hero may also use an equip action to trade any treasure, artifact, or encounter cards he has with another hero who shares his dungeon tile. No hero has to agree to a trade with another, and both heroes must agree on the terms of the trade. Trading does not require a separate action – a hero may swap around his cards and trade all as 1 action, though he can only trade with 1 hero per action. A hero cannot make more than 1 equip action per turn if he shares a dungeon tile with a monster card. The monster has no interest in watching you play dress-up.

A treasure or artifact card is considered to be equipped if it is face up by a hero card. While equipped, a hero enjoys whatever effect the card offers. A hero can only equip a treasure or artifact card if the training listed on the card matches the training listed on his hero card. If a hero lacks the proper training he can only place the card unequipped in his loot pile. An unequipped card offers no ability or bonus of any kind to its owner.

Each hero has a primary hand, off hand, head, and body "slot" which may be assigned a treasure or artifact card. No slot can ever have more than 1 card assigned to it. Each treasure and artifact card lists which slots, if any, that it takes up when equipped on a hero. Some treasure cards do not list a slot. There is no limit to the number of those treasures that can be equipped to a hero.

The Search Action

If there is treasure lying around, then you want to grab it! A hero on a dungeon tile that contains treasure or artifact cards, but no monster card, may make a search action. The hero reveals all treasure or artifact cards on his tile, reads what they say aloud, and then takes them. The player may choose to immediately place any cards face up by his hero card (equipping them), or place any cards in his loot pile. To place a card face up, the hero must possess the training required by the card as detailed above.

The Advance Action

Heroes can learn from their experiences in a dungeon, and become stronger and wiser. The magic-soaked dungeon ramps that learning up to super-powered levels! The advance action lets a hero discard any 2 encounter cards in his loot pile to place a training marker by his hero card. Each training marker boosts 1 of a hero's ratings by 1 point. You cannot boost your life rating. In addition, a hero using an advance action draws 2 ability cards and chooses 1 to place by his hero card, discarding the other. Discarded ability cards are never reshuffled back into their deck – when an ability deck runs out, there are simply no more cards to draw. Note: The dungeon boss card counts as 2 encounter cards for the purpose of advancing.

Free Actions

The following are some examples of free actions that can be taken at different points during the game. Free actions do not take up one of the 2 actions that make up a hero's turn.

• Disarm: Immediately upon drawing a trap card.
• Assist: When a hero sharing a space with you attempts to make a battle, disarm, or escape action. (optional)
• Sabotage: When a hero sharing a space with you attempts to make a battle, disarm, or escape action. (optional)
• Rally: After successfully disarming a trap, killing a monster, or assisting another hero. (optional)
• Summon: Only during the Endgame and only with the Summoning Stone (optional - see Endgame for more details).

Disarming Traps

As mentioned above, a hero who draws a trap card must immediately attempt to disarm it. Each trap card lists which ratings can be used to disarm it. A hero then rolls a number of dice equal to the selected rating, and each roll of 4 or higher counts as a success. If the number of successes rolled equals or exceeds the number listed on the trap, the hero has succeeded in disarming the trap, and the trap card is placed in the hero's loot pile. If the hero fails to roll the required number of successes, the trap goes off and triggers some sort of consequence. Each trap has a damage rating which indicates how many wound markers a hero receives (if any), plus any special damage or effect that may further impact the hero's performance. A trap that is not disarmed is discarded after it is resolved. If a trap causes a hero to receive a number of wound markers equal to or higher than his life rating, that hero is defeated (see below).

Assist: Free action on other hero's turn

Some obstacles are simply too difficult for a hero to handle alone. A hero who shares a dungeon tile with another hero may request or be offered an assist when he makes a battle, disarm, or escape action. Heroes do not have to assist each other, nor does a player have to accept an assist against his will. Assists must be announced prior to any dice being rolled. Heroes who provide an assist select their brawn or magic rating (not including bonuses from ability, treasure or artifact cards), and the hero receiving the assist may add half that number (rounded down to a minimum of 1) to the total number of dice he is rolling. A hero cannot assist a hero he is battling or sabotaging (see below).

Sabotage: Free action on other hero's turns

A hero sharing a dungeon tile with another hero may attempt to Sabotage that hero's battle, disarm, or escape action. A hero announces he is sabotaging before the other hero makes a die roll. The sabotaged hero rolls 2 less dice if 1 or more heroes announced they are sabotaging that action. However, if the sabotaged hero manages to successfully escape, disarm a trap, or hit a monster, each hero who sabotaged him receives 1 wound marker. A hero cannot sabotage another hero he is battling or assisting. A hero being sabotaged will always be able to roll at least 1 die.

Rally: Free action

Whenever a hero successfully kills a monster, disarms a trap, or assists another hero, he may immediately rally. Remove 1 wound marker from the hero's card. This free action is optional, but highly recommended! Note: You cannot rally if you are defeated.

Defeated Heroes and Monsters

When a monster is defeated by a hero, it is killed and that hero places the monster in his loot pile. When a monster dies outside of battle, it is placed in the loot pile of the player who caused it to die.

If a hero is defeated before the endgame (see below), he is knocked out and he loses any remaining actions for that turn. Tip the hero's playing piece over and set the number of wound markers on his hero card to half his life rating (rounded down). The knocked out hero must leave behind 1 of his treasure or artifact cards face up on the dungeon tile he was defeated in. This card may come from his loot pile. If a hero who is knocked out is suffering from any negative effects imposed on him by traps, those trap cards are discarded. Heroes who are knocked out cannot be battled or targeted by the abilities of other heroes. Knocked out heroes cannot assist, sabotage or trade with other heroes. When the hero's next turn comes around, stand the playing piece back up. The hero is no longer considered knocked out, but must miss the rest of his turn.

Loot Pile

Each hero has their own loot pile kept by their hero card. Heroes place defeated monsters, disarmed traps, and unequipped treasure and artifact cards face-down in their loot pile. Cards in loot piles can be used in various ways as detailed in these rules.

The Boss and the Boss Lair

When the last tile in the pile of dungeon tiles has been placed, the Boss Lair tile is then immediately placed at the end of the current hero's action. The Boss Lair is always attached to the dungeon tile that is farthest from the Dungeon Entrance, assuming the Boss Lair will not illegally block any exits. If the Boss Lair would block exits, it is attached to the next farthest tile. If multiple legal locations for the Boss Lair exist, the First Player chooses where the Boss Lair is placed among those choices. When the Boss Lair is placed, the dungeon boss card is revealed and placed face up on the Boss Lair.

A dungeon boss behaves similarly to a monster card, and counts as a monster card for the purposes of abilities, treasure and artifacts. When a hero defeats a dungeon boss, he places the dungeon boss card in his loot pile like any other monster, and then immediately places the Summoning Stone artifact card face up on the tile that the boss was defeated on.

Monster Roaming

Once each hero has taken a turn and play has cycled back to the First Player, all monsters that do not share a dungeon tile with a hero, will roam. The First Player moves each roaming monster in the order he chooses to an adjacent dungeon tile. Monsters cannot enter tiles that already contain other monsters, or enter tiles whose special rules forbid it. A monster must roam if it is able to, so the First Player cannot elect to have a monster stand still if it could instead move onto his own dungeon tile. When any monster other than a beast roams, any treasure or artifact cards underneath that monster move with it. If a monster enters a dungeon tile occupied by a stranger, the stranger is discarded. Monsters may roam out of tiles with knocked out heroes.

Dungeon bosses also roam, but the power of the Summoning Stone lets them teleport! A dungeon boss that roams may be placed on any dungeon tile not already containing a monster, along with any treasure or artifact cards underneath that boss, and any cards attached to that boss.

Rerolling Dice

There are numerous abilities and items which can allow or force a hero to reroll dice. A hero can only choose to reroll their dice once per action, even if they have multiple means of doing so. Likewise, a hero can only force another hero to reroll dice once per action, even if they have multiple means of doing so. In some cases a hero may reroll his dice, only to have another hero force him to reroll them again, or vice versa. This is allowed as long as 1 hero is not the cause of more than 1 reroll in a single action. If a situation should arise in which multiple parties could cause dice to be rerolled, the First Player decides who will cause a reroll first.

The Endgame

The Boss is dead. Someone has the Summoning Stone. They are now the Boss!

When the dungeon boss is defeated, the Summoning Stone becomes available. When a hero picks up the Summoning Stone artifact card, the endgame begins! Heroes that are defeated after the endgame begins (not including those that are currently knocked out) are killed, and they lose the game. In addition, any hero equipped with the Summoning Stone takes and keeps the First Player token at the beginning of each round – the First Player Token will never leave a hero as long as they have the Summoning Stone artifact card equipped.

Escaping From Heroes in the Endgame

Because of increased hostilities between heroes, no hero can use the move action when sharing a dungeon tile with another hero during the endgame. During the endgame, a hero must make an escape action to leave a tile shared with a hero, with a roll of 4 or higher always equaling success. Unlike with monsters, if a hero fails to escape another hero, no free attack is made. If a hero shares a tile with a monster and another hero during the endgame, he uses the monster's escape rating to determine if he can escape or not.

Defeated Heroes in the Endgame

If a hero is defeated during the endgame he is killed, and is out of the game. Any treasure or artifact cards that hero had equipped or in his loot pile are placed face up on the dungeon tile he died on. If that hero was defeated by another hero, the triumphant hero may receive any or all of the defeated player's treasure and artifact cards and may immediately equip them as if he had performed a search action, or place them in his loot pile. All encounter cards and markers the dead hero had are discarded, and their playing piece is removed from the game along with their ability cards.

Owning the Summoning Stone

A hero equipped with the Summoning Stone artifact card now has the power to become a mighty Summoner! That hero's Summoner ability may now be used. In addition, the owner of the Summoning Stone takes control of the encounter deck, and gains access to a new action – the summon action.

Summon: Free Action. The summon action does not count as 1 of a hero's 2 actions per turn, but must be completed as the first action of their turn. That hero draws and plays the first monster card he finds in the encounter deck, placing it on any dungeon tile not already containing a monster. Monsters placed this way, on tiles containing heroes, do not trigger battles or free attacks. Any other cards drawn are discarded. If the encounter deck runs out of cards, the summon action can no longer be used.

Victory

A hero immediately wins the game if he has the Summoning Stone artifact card and survives to the end of his turn while on the Dungeon Entrance tile, or if he is the only hero left alive within the dungeon. If the last heroes alive in the dungeon both die on the same turn, all players must immediately swear vengeance against one another and play again!

Solitaire Dungeon Run

Dungeon Run can be played by only 1 player with a few notable changes to the rules. A solitaire game allows a hero to test their dungeon survival skills and score their attempt afterwards. The changed rules are:

1. Ability cards are not used. Do not draw them when starting a game and do not draw them when using the advance action.
2. Ignore the portions of monster or hero abilities that refer to other heroes.
3. A defeated hero is killed, never knocked out.
4. A player immediately wins the game if they kill the dungeon boss.

A hero who has won or lost a game of solitaire Dungeon Run can score his performance using the following guidelines:

• Each treasure card that is equipped or in his loot pile: 100 points
• Each artifact card that is equipped or in his loot pile: 200 points
• Each encounter card that is in his loot pile: 100 points
• Dungeon boss card that is in his loot pile: 300 points
• Each training marker on his hero card: 300 points
• If the hero survived: 300 points

5-6 Player Dungeon Run

Dungeon Run can be played with 5-6 players, though there will not be enough dungeon tiles to meet the requirements in the setup rules. Build the pile of dungeon tiles using all tiles in the box, and be prepared to bash your friends over every scarce resource. Alternatively, if you have access to a second copy of Dungeon Run, you can add those tiles to the mix.

One new rule is introduced for the 5-6 player variant: If the deck of encounter cards is ever empty, shuffle all discarded encounter cards together to make a new deck.

Glossary

Adjacent: Two tiles are considered adjacent if they share an exit.

Attack Dice: The number of dice rolled to determine hits against a monster or a hero during an attack.

Base Rating: Some abilities refer to your base rating. That is the printed rating on your hero card, not including any training markers or other abilities.

Defeated: A monster or hero is defeated when it has a number of wound markers on its card equal to or greater than its life rating. A hero defeated before the endgame, will be knocked out. A hero defeated after the endgame will be killed. Defeated monsters are always killed.

Free Attacks: There are 2 attacks in each battle. If a hero or monster is able to make a free attack, the opposing hero or monster cannot roll dice to attack back.

Killed: When a monster is killed it is placed into a hero's loot pile. When a hero is killed (only during the endgame) it is removed from the game and he has lost.

Knocked Out: A hero is knocked out when it is defeated before the endgame. See "Defeated Heroes and Monsters" above for more details.

Optional Rule: Beg for Your Life

The rules allow heroes defeated before the endgame to keep playing. The game is designed with this in mind, and it prevents players from being eliminated and having nothing to do. But if all heroes agree before the game, you may play with the Beg for Your Life rule. When a hero is defeated before the endgame, all other heroes raise a hand into the air. If all other heroes give a thumbs down, the defeated hero is killed and is out of the game. If at least 1 of the other heroes gives a thumbs up, the defeated hero is merely knocked out. Heroes will usually want to vote thumbs up since they know their own lives may be on the line in the future, but it gives them the chance to exact retribution. Ah, game table politics!

Special Dungeon Tile Rules

Ancient Bridge

When entering this tile you must attempt to cross the Ancient Bridge. Roll a number of dice equal to your skill rating. If you only roll 1s, you fall from the rickety bridge and receive 10 Wound Markers. Otherwise you pass safely this time.

Cursed Stone

Heroes on this and adjacent tiles cannot use hero abilities.

Den

When entering this tile, if no encounter card is present, roll to see if a new encounter is generated.

Glyph Room

A powerful glyph binds monsters to this tile but also protects them. Draw and place 1 encounter card when this tile is first revealed. Only assisted heroes can make a battle action against a monster on this tile. A monster cannot roam from this tile. The dungeon boss is not hindered by the Glyph Room and can roam normally.

Library

As a special action, you may research the books. If you do, roll a die. On a roll of 1, an evil tome saps your strength. Place 1 wound marker on your card. On a roll of 5+, you find a volume detailing the dungeon's history. You may secretly look at the dungeon boss card.

Portcullis Room

You cannot exit this tile by normal means. If you wish to exit this tile you must make a move action and roll a number of dice equal to your brawn rating. Any roll of 4+ allows you to move away. Failure to roll a 4+ causes you to receive 1 wound marker. A monster cannot roam from this tile. The dungeon boss is not hindered by the Portcullis Room and can roam normally.

Underground Channel

When entering this tile you must try to leap across the water. Roll a number of dice equal to your brawn rating. 2 or more rolls of 4+ lands you safely on the other side. If you are trained in Talent you may use your skill rating instead of brawn. If you fail to land on the other side, you flounder in the water and have to swim to the other side. Place 1 wound marker on your card.

Well

Draw and place 1 encounter card when this tile is first revealed. If no monster is on this tile, you may as a special action discard (toss into the well) 1 treasure card and roll a die. On a roll of 3+, you receive the Sword of the Well Spirit artifact card. If the Sword of the Well Spirit is already possessed by a hero or is on a tile, rolling a die has no effect.