Dungeon Saga Origins Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • The Heroes
  • The Monsters
  • Bosses
  • Dungeon Tiles and Furniture
  • Counters and Tokens
  • Cards
• Setting Up The Game
  • Hero Cards
  • Monster Cards
• Order of Play
  • Enemy Models
• Movement
  • Furniture
  • Blocked Squares
  • Doors
• Portals
• Arcs
  • Front and Rear: Further Out
• Breaking Away
• Actions
  • Fight
    • Maximum and minimum Armour values
  • Shoot
  • Cast Spell
  • Use a Feat
  • Explore
    • Finding a Secret Passageway
    • Finding Treasure
    • Treasure Chests
    • Exploration Cards
  • Marauding Monsters
  • Revive
  • Trade
• Traps
  • Floor Traps
  • Surprise Traps
  • Trap type
  • Types of Trap
• Damage
  • Heroes
  • Boss Monsters
  • Minion Monsters
  • Healing Damage
• Large Models
  • Movement
  • Fighting
• Ending The Game
• Quest Specific Events and Items
  • Crippled Heroes
  • Playing Further Games
  • In Between Quests
• Improving Your Heroes
  • Learning Heroic Boons
  • Minor Heroic Boons - Cost 4xp
  • Common Heroic Boons - Cost 5xp
  • Superior Heroic Boons - Cost 6xp
  • Legendary Heroic Boons - Cost 7xp
• Buying Equipment
• Using and Carrying Equipment
• Customizing Your Game
  • Making the Game Easier
  • Making the Game Harder
  • Monster Table – Threat Levels and Random Spawn Point Roll Table
• Automated Overlord
  • Head Henchman
  • Villain of the Moment
  • Difficult Decisions
  • Monster Placement
  • Automated Interrupts
  • A New Threat – Moving Spawn Points
  • Activating Monsters as the Automated Overlord
  • Monster Behaviours:
  • Monster Status
  • Behaviour Cards
  • Default Monster Behaviour
  • Boss Monsters
  • Special Considerations for Bosses
  • Summary of New Terms

Components

The Heroes

Rordin (Dwarf Fighter), Danor (Human Wizard), Madriga (Elf Ranger), and Orlaf (Human Barbarian).

The Monsters

Zombie x2, Skeleton Warrior x2, Dwarf Revenant, Skeleton Archer x2, Ghost x2, Armoured Zombie x2, Zombie Troll.

Bosses

Undead Dwarf King, Zombie Troll Tyrant.

Dungeon Tiles and Furniture

3x Game Tiles, Chests, Secret Passageways, Doors (Closed), Doors (open), Medium Furniture, Rubble markers (Blocked Squares), Large Furniture, Small Furniture.

Counters and Tokens

Revive Tokens, Portal Tokens, Health Counters, Gold Counters, Key Tokens, Interrupt Tokens, Spawn Point Tokens.

Cards

Hero and Boss Character Cards, Exploration Cards, Legendary Gear Cards, Equipment Cards, Spell Cards, Monster Cards, Feat Cards, and Dice.

Setting Up The Game

• Each Hero player should take the model and Hero card representing their chosen Hero and a single Revive token. Each Hero only gets one Revive token and they cannot be traded or used between Heroes. Heroes always start a game with full health. Place a single Health Counter on the first space at the top of the track on the right of the card.
• The Overlord player uses the quest section of this book and sets up all the board tiles being used as shown in the quest being played. They should set aside all the models, tokens and counters ready for play and sort the cards into their various types: Exploration, Spell, Legendary Gear, Equipment, Monsters and Feats.
• The Overlord player takes the 4 Interrupt tokens and places them in front of them.
• The Monster cards (both Minions and Bosses) should be kept face up in front of the Overlord as a reference during the game.
• The Exploration cards should be shuffled and placed face down within reach of the players.
• Each Hero Player should select ONE of the two Feats available to their Hero from the appropriate card, placing the chosen Feat face up.
• The player with the Wizard Hero should choose 2 of the 3 spell sets available (Petty Magic, Hydromancy & Pyromancy) and takes all the Spell cards for each set (a total of 6 cards). The remaining spell cards are then placed back in the box.
• If a Hero finds or spends any gold, the player should use the Gold Coin counters from the store to track this. They are marked in denominations of 10, 25, 50, 100, 250 and 500.

Hero Cards

Each Hero Card describes:

• The Name of the Hero
• Movement – this shows how far the Hero can move
• Combat – this shows how many dice the Hero rolls when fighting
• Ranged – this shows how many dice the Hero rolls when shooting
• Armour – this shows how tough the Hero is
• Special Rules – any special rules that apply to this Hero
• Health Track – this is used to track any damage the Hero takes during the game. When a hero reaches zero Health – they are Crippled and must be revived! Beware though – a hero can only be revived once per game
• Feats allowed

Monster Cards

These are used as a reference for the Overlord player. They show the player which models to use and also:

• The Name of the Monster
• The type of Monster (Minion or Boss)
• Movement – this shows how far the Monster can move
• Combat – this shows how many dice the Monster rolls when fighting
• Shooting – this shows how many dice the Monster rolls when shooting
• Armour – this shows how tough the Monster is
• Special Rules – any special rules that apply to this Monster
• Damage Target (Minion Monsters) – this shows the amount of damage a Hero must inflict on this type of Monster in order to destroy it and remove it from play
• Health Track (Boss Monsters) – similar to Heroes, this is used to track any damage taken during the game. When a Boss reaches zero Health they are removed from play

Order of Play

The game is played in Rounds. In each Round, all the Heroes will each take a Turn. Once all players have taken their Heroes' turns, then the Overlord player will take their Turn. Once all players have taken their Turns, the Round ends and a new Round begins with the Hero players again.

The Hero players may take their Turns in any order they wish. However, each Hero must complete their Turn before the next Hero begins.

When a player takes a Turn with a Hero, they may both Move and take an Action (act) with their Hero. A Hero model can Move then act, or act and then Move. Players may not take part of their move, act and then Move again afterwards.

In their Turn, the Overlord player may use some or all of the Monsters that are on the board and in play. A Monster model can Move then act, or act and then Move. A Monster model may not take part of its Move, act and then move again afterwards.

Additionally, the Overlord player has the ability to Interrupt the Hero players' Turns. This ability allows the Overlord player to move a single Monster model outside of the normal Order of Play. If you intend to play as the Overlord, see page 20 for more details

Enemy Models

To Hero players, Monsters are enemy models. Conversely, to the Overlord, Heroes are enemy models.

Movement

All the tiles being used for a game make the playing surface, which is known as the board.

Each tile is divided into two different types of area: Rooms and Corridors. Rooms are identified and enclosed with solid walls. Corridors are represented as blue/green passageways. Sometimes a corridor will be split into more than one area or blocked with a Rubble marker.

The board is divided into a grid of squares which are used for all movement and other game mechanics. Each square may only be occupied by a single model at any one time (unless they have a special rule stating otherwise).

Hero and Monster cards both show how far that model can Move during its Turn, counting each square moved as they go. During its Turn, a model may move a number of squares up to its Movement value.

• Models may move diagonally as long as movement into one of the squares either side of the diagonal would normally be permitted.
• A model must clearly face one of the four sides of the square it finished its move in. A model that elects not to move any squares, can still be turned to face a new direction as its movement for the Turn. A player should state which way a model is facing at the end of its move so it is clear to everyone.
• Hero models may freely move through squares occupied by other Hero models but not Monster models.
• Monster models may freely move through squares occupied by other Monster models but not Hero models.
• No models can move through walls (unless granted by a special rule). There must be an open door or Secret Passageway within a wall in order for a model to move through it.
• No models can move through any furniture, including treasure chests (unless granted by a special rule).
• No model can stop in a square occupied by another model.
• Simply turning on the spot is still considered to be moving, even if the model doesn't change square.

Furniture

Furniture on the board will be either High (like a bookcase) or Low (like a table). Treasure chests are always Low.

Blocked Squares

Some maps will show where the Overlord player should place rubble markers showing blocked squares. These are used to represent solid walls, collapsed tunnels or simply dead ends. No models can move or see through these squares.

Doors

Doors are either open or closed. Monsters cannot open closed doors.

A Hero model may open a closed door that is in its Front Arc (see below). It costs one square of movement to open a door. Once opened, flip the door token over to its open side. Once opened, doors remain opened for the remainder of the game.

As soon as a door is opened, the Overlord player must place any Monsters, doors, floor traps and pieces of furniture for the Room or Corridor that has been revealed as shown on the map for the game being played. Secret Passageways are not placed and remain hidden.

Portals

Some quests will have magical portals that can transport Heroes to other areas of the map. Monsters cannot use portals.

Moving onto a square that has a Portal token will immediately transport that Hero to the other opposing Portal token placed elsewhere on the board. This doesn't cost the Hero any Movement but they must then move off the Portal as soon as possible (they cannot remain on it unless there is no other space to move). Even if the Hero has no Movement left to spend, they must still be moved off the Portal by 1 square if possible. If the destination Portal token is blocked for any reason, the model at the transporting Portal is not moved but will move on their next Turn if the token is unblocked.

Arcs

The 5 adjacent squares around the front of a model, based on its facing, are called the Front Arc. The 3 adjacent squares behind the model are called the Rear Arc. Models can see, shoot and fight into their Front Arc (and beyond). Models cannot see, shoot or fight into their Rear Arcs and are more vulnerable to attacks from that position (and beyond).

Note that walls will block an arc from extending beyond them.

Front and Rear: Further Out

Some actions like shooting or casting, have an effect beyond the squares adjacent to models, within their Front/Rear. Essentially, all the squares behind a model are in its Rear, and all the ones to the front and sides are in its Front. Remember that the "Arcs" (Front and Rear), are only those squares directly adjacent to a model.

The squares in front of a model, and projecting outwards, are in its Front. The squares behind a model, and projecting outwards, are in its Rear.

Breaking Away

A model that wishes to move out of a square that is in one or more enemy models' Front Arcs, must attempt to Break Away. First, each model with a Front Arc covering the moving model gets a Free Strike. Each model making a Free Strike makes a fight attack against the moving model using the normal rules and modifiers. Once all attacks have been resolved, if the model is still alive, it may continue with its movement.

Of course in a tight situation, that may mean it is attacked each time it moves before it can get away!

Actions

When a model acts (performs an action), it may perform one of the following:

• Fight
• Shoot
• Cast Spell
• Use a Feat (Hero models only)
• Explore (Hero models only)
• Revive (Hero models only)
• Trade (Hero models only)

Fight

If a model starts its Turn with an enemy model adjacent to it and in its Front Arc, or moves so that this is the case, it may Fight as an action. A model may only attack one other model with a Fight action.

When a model Fights, it is the attacker and the other model is the defender. Both will roll dice to see what the outcome is. Players should use different coloured dice for each model.

Step 1: Roll dice. Both models roll a number of dice equal to their Combat value, modified if the following conditions are true (these are cumulative):

• -1 die if the model is outnumbered (it is in the Front Arc of more than one enemy model). It is possible for both models to be outnumbered at the same time!
• -1 die for the defender if the attacker is completely within its Rear Arc.

No model may ever roll fewer than 2 dice, regardless of modifiers.

Step 2: Discard feeble attacks! The attacker now discards any dice that are less than or equal to the defender's Armour value – these were too weak to cause any damage. If that means the attacker has no dice left, the attack has failed and the Fight action is over!

Step 3: Determine Hits. If the attacker has any dice left, compare them to the defender's dice by matching them into opposing pairs: the highest attacker's dice with the highest defenders' dice, the second highest with the second highest, and so on.

Each pair in which the attacker's dice result is higher than the defender's scores one Hit against the defender. If the dice results are equal or the defender's result is higher, a Hit is not scored for that pair.

If the attacker has more dice than the defender then each remaining die that is unopposed also scores a Hit!

Step 4: Determine Damage. Models react differently to being Hit. See the damage section on page 15 to find out the effect.

A model that has more than one piece of equipment to use when attacking in a Fight (for example, the model might be carrying two different weapons such as a pike and a sword) can only use one at a time. The Hero player chooses which weapon they are using before any dice are rolled for the Fight action.

Maximum and minimum Armour values

No armour is perfect. Regardless of modifiers for spells, items or anything else, Armour values never go above 5. In other words, a 6 will always find a chink in the armour.

Because no model can ever roll fewer than 2 dice, any modifiers that would reduce this further, reduce the model's Armour value instead, to a minimum of 1.

Once a model has been reduced to 2 Combat dice and 1 Armour, then it cannot get any worse and any extra penalties are ignored.

Shoot

Models with a Ranged value may shoot at enemy models, provided that they are visible to the shooting model. For a target to be considered visible there must be an unobscured straight line from anywhere in the shooter's square, through their Front Arc, to anywhere in the target's square. If the line passes through another model, a wall, High furniture or a closed door, the target is not visible and the shot cannot be taken.

A shooting attack is made by following the same steps as for a Fight (see page 10) with the exceptions noted below.

Step 1: Roll dice. Step 2: Discard feeble attacks! Step 3: Determine Hits. Step 4: Determine Damage.

When determining the dice to roll, the shooting model (attacker) rolls the number of dice shown by their Ranged value and the target model (defender) rolls a number of dice equal to their Combat value, modified if the following conditions are true (these are cumulative):

• -1 die for the shooter if the line of sight is not adjacent to the shooter.
• -1 die for the target if the shooter is completely within its Rear.

No model may ever roll fewer than 2 dice, regardless of modifiers. Also, see the box on page 11.

A model that has more than one piece of equipment to use when shooting (for example, the model might be carrying two different weapons such as a bow and throwing knives) can only use one at a time. The Hero player chooses which weapon they are using before any dice are rolled for the Shoot action. Models cannot shoot at targets that are in their Rear, or in their Front Arc. Models can shoot at targets that are fighting so long as they are visible to the shooting model.

Cast Spell

Spell cards represent powerful incantations and arcane knowledge. If a model has Spell cards (such as the Wizard Hero), they may select one of the spells the model knows and cast it. The rules and effects of the spell are resolved and the Spell card is then discarded to the box. Each spell can therefore only be cast once per game. If a spell requires the target to be visible, determine if the casting model can see the target using the same method as the Shoot action above.

Use a Feat

Each Hero has a unique Feat that they can accomplish once per game. At the start of the game, each player will have chosen which Feat their Hero has taken for the game. A Feat must be used as described on its card as the Hero's action for a Turn (before or after movement). Once the Feat has been used, the Feat card is discarded to the box and cannot be used again that game. Feats can only be used by the Hero that matches the name on the Feat card.

Madriga cannot see or shoot enemy models A, B and C. A is in her Rear. Visibility to B is blocked by a wall, and visibility to C is blocked by the High furniture.

Madriga has clear visibility and can shoot model D. She can also see model E as the treasure chest is Low furniture. She will suffer a -1 die modifier if she elects to shoot this target.

Explore

Heroes can Explore their surrounding area in search of Secret Passageways or long lost treasure. A Hero cannot Explore if they are adjacent to an enemy model, if there is an enemy model in the same Room as the exploring Hero or if an enemy model is present and visible to the exploring Hero in a Corridor.

An Explore action is always resolved in the following order:

1. If a Secret Passageway is present in the Room or Corridor being explored, the Overlord reveals it and that Explore action ends. The Heroes have stumbled upon a hidden passage that grabs their attention ahead of any treasure!
2. Once a Secret Passageway is revealed, the Hero players may continue to search the same Room or Corridor for treasure by performing a new Explore action.

OR

1. If no Secret Passageway is present in the Room or Corridor being explored, the Heroes are focused on searching for treasure instead!

NOTE: Hero players cannot choose the order between searching for Secret Passageways and treasure.

Each Room and Corridor (including those that contain treasure chests) can only be Explored once for treasure. The Overlord should keep a record of what has been explored as the game progresses.

Finding a Secret Passageway

If a player Explores and a Secret Passageway is present in the Room or Corridor being searched, the Overlord must reveal it. They must place a Secret Passageway marker and reveal the contents of the area beyond as shown on the map for that quest.

Additionally, roll a single die. On a result of 2-6, all is well. On the score of a 1 however, the Heroes have set off an alarm or disturbed a denizen of the dungeon! The Overlord player may now also place a Marauding Monster following their rules. Play then continues as normal.

Finding Treasure

If a Hero player Explores and a Secret Passageway has already been revealed or doesn't exist in the Room or Corridor being searched, they are considered to be searching for treasure! The exploring player takes the top card from the deck of Exploration cards and reads it aloud. It may be nothing, equipment to keep and use, a deviously placed trap or even a Marauding Monster! If a trap or Marauding Monster is encountered, the Overlord player follows their normal rules.

Treasure Chests

If a Room or Corridor being explored contains a treasure chest, a Hero player must take the top two cards from the deck of Exploration cards, rather than one, when searching for treasure, resolving them one at a time in the order they are drawn. The presence of a chest represents a greater chance of reward but also the risk of more danger!

Exploration Cards

Unless an Exploration card says to keep it, once the effects are applied, they are discarded. If the Exploration deck ever runs out, shuffle all the discarded cards and place a new deck face down.

Marauding Monsters

When a Hero player explores and finds a Marauding Monster, either via an Exploration card or when revealing a Secret Passageway, the Hero's Turn ends immediately. The Overlord may then immediately place one Monster of the type shown for the current adventure, in any square adjacent to, or within 5 squares of the exploring Hero. The Overlord may then activate the new Monster placed.

The Overlord then rolls a single die. On a score of 5 or more, they may place one additional Monster of the same type and activate it.

Revive

A Hero that has been reduced to zero Health on its Health Track for the first time is considered Exhausted. An Exhausted Hero cannot move and must spend their next action to Revive. The model recovers all of its Health and its Turn ends. The spent token is then flipped over to the 'Interrupt' side and handed to the Overlord player, granting them an additional opportunity to Interrupt (they may still only Interrupt a maximum of twice per Round, however).

Note that each player only has one Revive token, so once it has been used, there's no getting back up a second time! If a Hero is reduced to zero Health again, it is removed from play and can take no further part in the current game being played.

Trade

A Hero may give one Exploration or Equipment card they have in their possession to another Hero they are adjacent to so long as neither Hero is also adjacent to any enemy models.

Spells and Feats cannot be traded.

Traps

There are two types of traps featured in the game: Floor Traps and Surprise Traps.

Floor Traps

Floor traps use trap tokens to indicate the starting square and any trigger squares connected to it. To determine which squares will trigger a trap, follow the line of squares in the direction of the arrow on the placed trap token until it reaches a wall or board edge. Floor traps are triggered when a Hero moves onto the trap token or any one of its trigger squares. When this happens, the Overlord player flips the trap token to reveal its reverse face. If this displays a trap image then a trap is successfully triggered! However, if the reverse face reveals an orcling, then it is a false trap where nothing happens. The trap token is removed from play and the Hero may continue their Turn.

Surprise Traps

Surprise traps occur when a Hero performs an Exploration action that triggers a trap as part of the adventure text (revealed by the Overlord) or when an Exploration card is drawn that reveals a trap is triggered.

Trap type

When either a Floor, or Surprise trap is triggered, the Overlord player rolls a single die to see what type of trap it is (see the table on the next page). The effects of the trap are immediately resolved, the trap is removed from play (if it is a floor trap) and the Hero's Turn ends immediately. Each trap will only trigger once. Monsters may freely move over traps without triggering them.

The location of floor traps on the board may vary each time a quest is played and some quests will have more than others. During quest setup the Overlord player places all the trap tokens to one side with the stone and arrow image face-up and shuffles them around to mix them up. Without revealing the reverse side, the Overlord then chooses where they want to place the trap tokens from the possible squares shown on each quest's map.

Types of Trap

Dice score:

• 1-2 Poisoned Darts: If a poisoned dart trap is triggered, the Overlord player immediately attacks the Hero that triggered the trap using 3 Combat dice.
• 3-4 Gas Trap: If a gas trap is triggered, the Hero player must roll a single die. If the result is equal to, or less then their current Armour value, the Hero is safe. Otherwise, the Hero suffers one damage.
• 5-6 Falling Rocks: If a falling rocks trap is triggered, the Hero player must roll a single die. If the result is equal to or greater than their Movement value, the Hero suffers 1 damage.

Damage

Models suffer damage in different ways.

Heroes

Heroes only suffer a maximum of 1 point of damage per attack, regardless of how many times they are Hit. Damage on Heroes is cumulative. Use the Health Track on each Hero card to keep track of the damage each Hero has suffered. At the start of each game, place a Health counter on the first Heart symbol at the top of the Health Track. The Health counter should be moved one place towards the skull symbol at the bottom of the Health Track with each point of damage taken. If the Health counter reaches the skull symbol on the Health Track, the Hero has been reduced to zero Health! The Hero is considered Exhausted and the model is placed lying down in the square it is in. Exhausted Heroes must be Revived in a subsequent Turn.

If a Hero has already spent their Revive token and is again reduced to zero Health – there is no hope! Remove the model from play. This Hero will take no further part in this game and is considered to be Crippled.

Boss Monsters

Boss Monsters have a Health Track just like Heroes do. When a Boss Monster is revealed, they begin with full Health. Boss Monsters suffer 1 point of damage for each Hit they take. Damage is tracked using a Health counter, just like Heroes. When a Boss Monster is reduced to zero Health, it is destroyed and removed from play.

Minion Monsters

Minion Monsters are automatically destroyed and removed when an attack scores the number of Hits (or more) listed on the Monster's card (the Damage Target). If an attack scores fewer hits than indicated, the Monster remains in place with no damage taken.

For example, a skeleton warrior has a Damage Target of 2 and so requires 2 or more hits scored on it with an attack to remove it, whereas a zombie troll requires 3 or more.

Healing Damage

Sometimes spells or potions may heal a model and it will recover Health it previously lost. Move the Health counter back up the track as appropriate. No model can recover more Health than it started with.

Large Models

Models such as the zombie troll that cover 4 squares (2x2) are called Large models.

Large models still have a Front Arc and Rear Arc but they consist of more squares. The 8 squares around the front of a model, based on its facing, are the Front Arc. The 4 squares behind the model are the Rear Arc. This means a Large model could be in an enemy's front and rear arcs at the same time. It will only cause the penalty for attacking from behind if it is fully within the enemy's Rear Arc however.

Movement

Large models may only move straight forward, diagonally forward or straight backward. To change facing while moving, Large models must spend a point of their movement for each quarter turn (90°) they wish to make. Move the model a single square at a time, ensuring that for the entirety of the movement, the whole of the model's base remains on the board and on squares permitted by the normal movement rules for single-square based models (page 8).

To pass through a door, a large monster must have enough movement to fully finish its movement on one side of the door or the other – it cannot be on both sides of a door or wall at once!

Fighting

Large models always count as outnumbering single-square models even if they are the only model in contact, and even if they are in contact with multiple enemy models. In this case they will also be outnumbered themselves.

Ending The Game

The game ends if all the Heroes have been Crippled. In this case, the Overlord player wins. Mwahahaha!

Otherwise, the game ends and the Heroes win if they complete the objectives outlined in the quest being played.

Quest Specific Events and Items

Some maps and quests will tell the Overlord player to reveal things or trigger events as the Heroes progress through the game. Sometimes Heroes will also find specific pieces of equipment, like Legendary Gear or potions while searching or interacting with objects and models that are prompted by quest specific events or rules. The Overlord player will reveal these at the appropriate times.

Crippled Heroes

If a Hero is Crippled in a quest, in addition to taking no further part in the current quest, they will lose all the equipment they were carrying as well as all gold and items they found during the game. However, any Legendary Gear that Hero has found is kept if the player chooses to use that same Hero again – their health is considered restored in-between quests and they can continue to fight on!

Playing Further Games

A party of Heroes that successfully complete a quest can now choose to play the game again, attempting the same quest or playing the next one in the Quest Book. To develop a sense of story and to see Heroes progress, players often like to keep the same Heroes through many adventures as part of a connected campaign, collecting gold, items, Legendary Gear, buying equipment and gaining Heroic Boons along the way.

In Between Quests

Not everything can be kept between quests however! Legendary Gear, purchased equipment and gold are all retained between quests, but any items that Heroes find or are granted during a quest that is displayed on an Exploration card cannot be retained and must be discarded before playing the next quest.

Hero players are free to trade their equipment and gold between games if they wish.

Each Hero's Health Track is restored to full and any spent Revive tokens returned to them between games.

Improving Your Heroes

If the same Heroes are used from game to game, they have the chance to gain experience. This experience (or XP for short) represents small, gradual increases in things like their timing with a weapon, greater knowledge of the area or even just better luck! As a Hero's XP accumulates it can then be spent - much like gold - between quests to gain improvements that the Hero can uses in future quests. These improvements are called Heroic Boons.

Heroes earn XP in the following ways:

1. +1 XP for successfully completing a quest i.e. not getting Crippled
2. +1 XP for successfully completing a quest without using their Revive token

Heroes only ever reduce their earned XP by spending it e.g. a Crippled Hero does not lose any XP

Learning Heroic Boons

Heroes may spend their hard-earned XP in-between quests when they return to their camp to learn a Heroic Boon - perhaps they do some extra sword training, study from ancient books, pray for better luck or some other activity that grants them a benefit in their chosen area.

Heroic Boons are represented in the game by a number of tokens stored as an overall pool, some of which cost more XP than others. When a Hero has enough XP, they may choose one or more Heroic Boons from the available pool BEFORE buying equipment from a visiting merchant. Players take it in turns, starting with the Hero who has the lowest amount of XP, to choose one Heroic Boon each, reducing their earned XP by the appropriate value indicated on the table below.

Further Boons may be then learned, following the same process until all players have finished. Each Hero can only have one of each Boon at any one time. Unless otherwise specified, Boons may be used at any time during a quest and once it has been used, the Heroic Boon token is returned to the overall pool and is once again available to learn. Heroic Boons may be retained between quests if they have not been used.

The list of available Heroic Boons to learn are as follows:

Minor Heroic Boons - Cost 4xp

• Athletic Dash – Move 2 squares before or after performing an action. This is in addition to normal movement
• Secret Map – Have the Overlord reveal one room/passageway in a quest before opening its door
• Merchant's Favour – Display an extra 3 cards when you buy equipment from a merchant
• Local Renown – Receive a boost of +30 Gold when you buy equipment from a merchant

Common Heroic Boons - Cost 5xp

• Foresight – Draw the top 2 cards of the Exploration deck and choose to either return them in your preferred order or discard both of them
• Sixth Sense – Ignore the effects of a triggered trap
• Transmute Spell – Select a discarded spell during a quest and return it to the Spellcasters hand for the cost of 40 gold from their hoard
• Lucky Charm – Re-roll any 1 of your dice results (even any 2nd results already re-rolled)
• Well Drilled – Adjust any 1 of your own dice results rolled by +/- 1 in value (e.g. turn a 3 result into a 4)
• Defiant – Stance: Re-roll any 1 of your dice when defending an attack (2nd result stands)
• Eagle Eye – Re-roll any 1 of your dice when making a shoot attack (2nd result stands)

Superior Heroic Boons - Cost 6xp

• Offensive Skill – Gain +1 dice when making a single attack of any kind
• Defensive Skill – Gain +1 dice when defending a single attack of any kind
• Unbound Spell – At the start of a quest, after choosing your starting sets of Spells, you may take a single extra spell from a set of Spell cards remaining

Legendary Heroic Boons - Cost 7xp

• Feat Mastery – During a quest, perform your 2nd Feat
• Improved Constitution – At the start of a quest, increase your Health Track by +1

Buying Equipment

As players accumulate gold from game to game, it can be spent between quests on new equipment. Heroes always camp close to their adventure location and between quests visiting merchants pass nearby offering equipment for sale. However, the merchants can't guarantee what's for sale on each visit or in what quantities. When buying new equipment, the players should shuffle all remaining equipment cards then roll a die and refer to the following table to see what type of merchant is visiting camp:

• 1-2: Basic Trader - Draw up to 3 Equipment cards
• 3-4: Local Merchant - Draw up to 5 Equipment cards
• 5-6: Exotic Caravan - Draw up to 7 Equipment cards

Lay the drawn equipment cards face up to see exactly what is available - these represent the only new equipment options the Heroes can buy on this visit. The players can only make one merchant visit between each quest. Equipment cards detail the types of equipment available, the effect it will provide, and the cost in gold.

As long as the players have enough gold in their personal hoard, if they wish to purchase a piece of equipment, they should take the appropriate available card and reduce the amount of gold they have by the value indicated on the card. A Hero may only have one of each piece of equipment, e.g. only 1 Helm of Battle, only 1 Shield etc.

Using and Carrying Equipment

To use a piece of equipment or Legendary Gear during a quest a Hero must choose to Equip it. Unless specified otherwise, when something is Equipped, the Hero receives the benefit or may use its effect as described on its card. Equipment and Legendary Gear all have Keywords such as HELMET, FIGHT, BODY displayed on their cards which indicates the type of equipment it is. A model can only equip one piece of equipment or Legendary Gear with a given keyword at any one time. A Hero can't equip 2 HELMETs for example.

For any equipment or Legendary Gear that is not equipped, the Hero is considered to Carry it instead.

All Heroes have a Carry limit of up to 2 pieces of equipment or gear. Heroes may freely swap between equipped and carried gear during a quest, before or after their movement. If a Hero exceeds their Carry limit by purchasing or trading new equipment, or receiving new Legendary Gear during a quest, they must immediately trade or discard equipment/gear until they are within their limit again.

Gold and items displayed on Exploration cards do not count towards the Carry limit of a Hero.

The list of Keywords used are: FIGHT, SHOOT, ARCANE, TOOL, HELMET, ARMOUR, SHIELD, TALISMAN, BODY, HANDS, FEET.

Customizing Your Game

If you want a different challenge, or to adjust the game to suit the players involved, the ideas listed below are popular ways to help or hinder Heroes and Overlords. You may decide to use some or all of them, or even create your own. How helpful or devious do you want to be?

During setup, the Overlord can adjust the Exploration deck to make the game more predictable for the Heroes. The COG icon identifies the cards that introduce unexpected dangers during Exploration. Some or all of these cards can be removed from the deck to make gameplay easier to suit your gaming group.

Making the Game Easier

...for the Heroes

• At the end of each adventure give the Heroes an extra 25 Gold each to make the game easier by letting them buy equipment earlier.
• Allow Danor to take all 3 sets of Spells on each adventure.

...for the Overlord

• Allow the Overlord to place 1 additional Monster (of the type defined for the adventure) when a Marauding Monster card is drawn.
• When revealing a room or corridor, allow the Overlord to place a single Monster 1 Level higher than is shown on the map (see table below for Monster Levels). E.g. placing a Ghost instead of a Zombie.
• Where Skeletons or Zombies are shown on the map, the Overlord may place an extra 1 of that Monster type adjacent to the one shown.
• Allow the Overlord to place 1 Spawn Point on the board when setting up an adventure (see the Monster table below to determine what Monsters to place). Roll a dice for a new Monster at the start of each Round.
• Allow the Overlord to increase the Movement value of all Monsters by +1 for the duration of a game.

Making the Game Harder

...for the Heroes

• If a Hero does not perform an action on their Turn, then the Overlord can spend an Interrupt token to open an unlocked door before the next Hero's activation
• Reduce the number of Revive tokens the Heroes have to 2. They are now a shared resource between all 4 Heroes that can only be used twice in each adventure - can you decide who gets to use them?
• When Heroes have used their Revive token they are considered "Injured" for the rest of that adventure. Reduce either their Fight or Shoot value (whichever is highest) by -1 (to a minimum of 2). For Danor, instead of reducing his Fight or Shoot value he discards 1x unused spell at random.
• Make Revive tokens "One Use Only" for the entire campaign.
• Remove the Revive tokens from the Heroes completely! Mwhahahaha!!!
• Allow the Overlord to re-use any Monster already activated with an Interrupt during their normal Turn at the end of a Round.

Monster Table – Threat Levels and Random Spawn Point Roll Table

Monster Type	Monster Level	Spawn Dice Result
Skeleton Warrior or Archer	1	1 or 2
Zombie or Armoured Zombie	2	3 or 4
Ghost	3	5
Dwarf Revenant or Zombie Troll	4	6

Automated Overlord

Dungeon Saga Origins is an ideal game to begin your dungeon crawling journey with family and friends but unfortunately, it's not always the case that everyone that wants to play can get together at the same time! Rather than letting such real-world limitations be an obstacle to enjoying more time with your favourite dungeon delving heroes, the introduction of the Automated Overlord will enable players to play co-operatively or take on the dungeon alone without needing a dedicated Overlord player.

The Automated Overlord mode does this by providing decisions for you to determine how different enemies will behave in a range of situations. It also alters some basic rules to provide increased threat to the heroes in the absence of a human Overlord's tactics, and creates roles for the players to undertake some of the enemy housekeeping tasks.

Solo Play Note: If you're playing the game solo then you will already know that you'll be performing all the roles, and decisions should be made in favour of the Overlord role if in any doubt!

Head Henchman

If you're playing co-operatively with other Hero players, consider giving this role to the most experienced player or the owner of the game. This role will function as the Automated Overlord's Head Henchman who will handle all the administrative tasks for playing the game. The Head Henchman's job is to organize and setup the various game elements like cards and tokens that the Overlord would normally manage. They will also handle all interactions with the Quest Book by reading the special rules and checking the maps for what should be revealed when a door is opened. It is important that this role should do their best not to reveal any information from the quests to the other Hero players that they shouldn't know in advance.

Villain of the Moment

When playing co-operatively with other Hero players the Villain of the Moment is an additional role that will move around the player group. This role is tasked with controlling enemy Monster models based on their behaviour charts and rolling any dice for the Overlord during the normal game sequence. If the next action for a Monster to take is unclear, the Villain of the Moment should act in a reasonable manner that gives the Hero players the best challenge and game experience. The role is switched to a different player at the end of each Round, rotating around the player group in a clockwise fashion.

Difficult Decisions

If the circumstance occurs where a particular rule, model placement, or how a Monster should behave is unclear, the Villain of the Moment makes the final decision to keep the game moving forward. If they are unsure or are worried about any bias towards (or against!) the Heroes then the provided Overlord Coin token can be tossed, calling heads or tails to determine the choice to take.

Monster Placement

When a Monster model needs to be placed on the board as a result of Exploration, due to a special rule or an event (not from being revealed from the adventure map where its position and facing is already defined), the position and facing of the model is determined as follows:

1. Place the Monster as close as possible to the cause of it being revealed.
2. Place the Monster in the Rear Arc of a Hero where possible. However, if the model has a Ranged attack, it should be placed in a position where it can use it against the Heroes, in the Rear of a Hero if possible.
3. Place the Monster so that as many Heroes as possible are in its Front/Front Arc whilst protecting its own Rear Arc.

Automated Interrupts

The ability for the Monsters to interfere with the Hero players' Turns is still an important interaction even for an Automated Overlord, but it needs help knowing when to make that decision! Automated Interrupts follow the normal rules for when they are permitted to be made – the Automated Overlord must have Interrupt tokens available, they can't be made before the first Hero Turn, and there can't be more than two played in a single Round.

If the normal conditions above allow, Automated Overlord Interrupts are determined immediately after a Hero's Turn ends in which they killed one or more Monsters or Bosses. The Villain of the Moment role then looks at the last Exploration card on the discard pile to see if an Interrupt icon is displayed. If an Interrupt icon is shown on the card, The Villain of the Moment then tosses the Overlord Coin. If the result is a Head, then an Overlord Interrupt will be used if there are any remaining, and there is a monster available to activate.

The Villain of the Moment role then activates a revealed Monster, choosing the model with the highest Fight or Shoot value that can attack a Hero. In the case of multiple models with the same attack value available, the Monster that has to move the farthest is activated. The target of the attack is determined by the Monster's behaviour type. If there are no Monsters that can make an attack then the furthest Monster from the Heroes is activated. Once the Interrupt is completed, an Interrupt token is discarded as normal.

A New Threat – Moving Spawn Points

At the end of the Overlord Turn, perform the following checks:

• If a map tile (A1, B2, etc) containing a revealed Spawn Point has no Hero present on it, the Villain of the Moment moves the furthest Spawn Point from the Heroes to a map tile that has Heroes on it.
• If there are no Spawn Points currently revealed in the game and no active Monsters on the board, the Villain of the Moment places a new Spawn Point on a map tile that has Heroes on it.

New or moving Spawn Point tokens are placed five squares away from the Hero model with the lowest health. If there are multiple valid Hero targets available, the Villain of the Moment decides between them.

Activating Monsters as the Automated Overlord

The most involved role of any Overlord in Dungeon Saga Origins is the control of Monsters eager to battle the Heroes who have ventured into their lair! The Automated Overlord determines which currently revealed Monster acts by assessing their distance from Heroes and what action it will take by using the Behaviour card matching the Monster.

1. The order of Overlord activation begins with the Monster furthest from any Hero and then proceeds to the next furthest and so on.
2. How a Monster behaves is determined by its Behaviour type which is labelled on the Monster card as well as its current status on the board. Once you know the Behaviour type, refer to the matching Behaviour card to begin checking what it should do relevant to its status.

Monster Behaviours:

The Monster Behaviours found in Dungeon Saga Origins and summary of what they mean are listed as follows:

1. Mindless – This type will target the closest Hero based on movement distance, taking as direct a path as possible unconcerned with benefits/modifiers that could come into effect.
2. Vicious – This type will target the weakest Hero (lowest current health). It will move to positions that protect its Rear Arc whilst trying to follow as direct a path as possible and will avoid positions that grant Heroes a benefit/modifier if it has the chance.
3. Cunning – This type will target Heroes where it can gain the greatest benefit/modifiers as possible at the least risk to itself. This includes moving around Heroes into their Rear Arc, joining or creating outnumbering possibilities or otherwise fulfil conditions to perform special rules and abilities that generate modifiers/maximum possible attack dice. It will try to position itself to protect its Rear Arc and use obstacles as cover to do so. If it has Ranged abilities this Monster will shoot then move away from Heroes to reduce its chance of being targeted and seek safety and support with other Monster models.
4. Swarm – This type will target Heroes which are already adjacent to another Monster or where the greatest chance of outnumbering exists. They will move to seek or provide support to other Monster models and use obstacles as cover if available taking a direct path to the target.

Monster Status

This is determined by a Monsters current position on the board relevant to Hero targets and are listed as keywords:

#	Status	Meaning
1	Engaged	Hero model in its Front Arc
2	Flanked	Hero model in its Rear Arc
3	In Sight	Hero model within range of an attack and is visible (without moving)
4	Close	Hero model in range of an attack and visible after first moving
5	Far	Hero model is outside range of any attack even after moving

Behaviour Cards

Now that we know what Behaviour types there are, and the different statuses possible for Monster models, we can understand how to make a decision for a Monster. Looking at an example Behaviour card for a Mindless Monster here:

MINDLESS Target: Closest Movement: Direct Boss Initiative: +2

• ENGAGED? Perform Fight Attack
• FLANKED? Change Facing and perform Fight Attack
• IN SIGHT? Perform strongest available Distance Attack
• CLOSE? Take minimum movement until within range of 1) Distance Attack or 2) Fight Attack and perform that Action
• FAR? Perform full movement towards Target

Each Behaviour has a preferred Target type and a preferred Movement style associated with it. These are listed just below the main Behaviour card title and determine how an Automated Overlord controlled Monster chooses its targets and performs its movement. If multiple entries are listed, they should be read in a priority order from left to right, with the Monster always preferring the left most entry as its priority and if available, entries.

The decisions a Monster may take are listed as a flow of status keywords and responses on the main body of the Behaviour card, where you start at the top status keyword and pose it as a question. If the answer to a question is "YES", the Monster will perform the recommended response (action and/or movement) against its target as described beside that status keyword.

If the answer is "NO" you then move to the next status keyword below and pose it as a question, flowing through all the status keywords until you are able to answer "YES" for the Monster being activated and perform its response.

Status keyword questions should be posed in the form of:

• Is the Monster Engaged with a preferred Hero target?
• Is the Monster Flanked by a preferred Hero target?
• Is the Monster In Sight of a preferred Hero target?
• Is the Monster Close to a preferred Hero target?
• Is the Monster Far from a preferred Hero target?

NOTE: Remember to consider a Monster's Special Rules on their Monster Card when determining its preferred Target, Movement and response to its status.

Default Monster Behaviour

Whilst the Automated Overlord rules provide a variety of Monster behaviours, there are some things a Monster won't do unless the direst of circumstances arise:

• A Monster will not move out of or within a Heroes Front Arc so that otherwise moving through the remaining entries it offers Free Strikes against it
• A Monster will not change its facing to expose its Rear Arc that wasn't previously exposed

The only exception to the above is unless doing so prolongs the Heroes chance of winning, as decided at the time by the Villain of the Moment role.

Boss Monsters

The activation of Boss models is slightly different from normal Monster activation as described above. As more skilled, more aggressive and more devious (or stupid!) leaders of the enemy forces they may decide to activate earlier or later than normal. This is called Boss Initiative.

The Behaviour type of a Boss has an impact on when they activate in the form of a Boss Initiative modifier displayed on the Behaviour card associated with the current Boss.

When it is the Overlords Turn but before any other Monster is activated, roll 1 die. Adding the +/- initiative modifier displayed on the Behaviour card for your Boss use the Boss Initiative reference card to then determine where in the activation order the Boss chooses to become involved this Turn.

2 or less: HOLD BACK The Boss chooses to watch as other minions assault the Heroes first. Activates last this Turn.

3-4: SUPPORT With an evil and otherworldly calmness, the Boss waits their turn to strike. Activates as normal this Turn.

5 or more: CHARGE! Leading from the front with a loud cry the Boss launches into an attack! Activates first this Turn.

Special Considerations for Bosses

• Interrupts – Bosses will only activate during an Interrupt if they score a 5+ Charge result for Boss Initiative.
• Spells – If a Boss has access to use Spells cards, they will attempt to use them as determined by their Behaviour card. However, if the effects listed for the spell are not covered by the Behaviour card when determining if it can or should be used, the Villain of the Moment player can choose to prioritise a Spell ahead of using the Behaviour card. Bosses will always do their best to not waste the effects of a spell!

Summary of New Terms

To keep the information on the Behaviour cards as short and clear as possible, some new terminology has been used that are explained in detail here:

• Optimal – An attack that rolls the highest number of dice + lowest target armour possible i.e. outnumber and/or Rear, Rear Arc
• Distance Attack – Any attack possible that does not require model adjacency i.e. Shoot, Cast, Ability, Feat
• Closest – The target within the least number of squares or adjacent
• Weakest – The target with the lowest current value on their Health Track
• Ambush – The target with the optimal number of modifiers possible, preferring Rear Arcs attacks
• Support – A Hero with another Monster model already adjacent or that is close to a Monster where a chance of outnumbering the Hero exists in next Turn/Round
• Protect – Movement taken will attempt to protect the Monsters Rear Arc as much as possible
• Direct – Movement will follow as short and direct a path as possible
• Cautious – Movement will make best use of obstacles, terrain and other models to protect itself i.e. avoid outnumbering, keep obstacles between itself and Heroes