Dungeons Of Draggmar

Dungeons Of Draggmar Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components

A - 90 Dungeon Room cards
B - 42 Hero cards
C - 68 Item cards
D - 30 Curse cards
E - 40 Fame tokens
F - 15 Dungeon Level tokens
G - 17 Dungeon Threat tokens
H - 20 red cubes (for health)
I - 4 blue cubes (for skills)
J - 4 Reference screens
K - 1 Fate tracking token
L - 1 First Player token
1 Neoprene Draggmar map
1 Neoprene card-organizer mat
4 player meeples (standees)
1 rulebook in 5 languages

Enemy Factions

The dungeons of Draggmar are inhabited by four different factions, dark empires that pursue their sinister ambitions. Each faction has its own bosses, powerful monsters that fill the hearts of heroes with dread, although fame and wealth await any heroes mighty enough to defeat these bosses.

UNDEAD are those fallen adventurers who once sought glory in these treacherous lands, now forever cursed to dwell in their crypts, dungeons and fortresses. Heroes harmed by the Undead are often cursed.
GREENSKINS is the name given to orcs and goblins who inhabit ruined cities and castles and proclaim themselves "kingdoms." Greenskins usually fight a little harder than the other factions, especially in the lowest-level dungeons.
BANDITS should be considered fallen heroes, Lord Contractors and other competent agents. They are driven by greed and are known for stealing items from unsuspecting heroes.
DEMONS draw their power from the weak devotion of cultists and their rituals. Those who confront demons are often cursed for this privilege.

Heroes

WARRIOR is hardy, skilled with heavy weapons and armour.
VAGABOND is a stealthy opportunist who can extract the maximum benefit from any situation.
RANGER is talented at maximising loot and avoiding harm.
MAGE commands powerful spells and can alter items.
PRIEST has divine healing power and can use heavy weapons.
INQUISITOR is a fearless devotee of their gods, which allows them to use both priestly and magical items.
HUNTER is an experienced explorer who never turns down well-paid work, able to use the items of Vagabonds and Rangers.
WARLOCK prefers to kill first and demand payment afterwards. They usually do not bother to ask questions and can use the items of Warriors and Mages.
PALADIN tirelessly seeks out evil to cleanse the land of it, using the items of Priests and Warriors.

Setup

Unfold the Draggmar map (L) and place it on the table.
Take the 12 Dungeon Level tokens (F), 4 for each level. Shuffle them face down and place one token face down on each location on the map, except the City and the Fortress of Death. Return the 3 remaining Dungeon Level tokens to the box.
Give each player a player screen, which contains rules references and a way to hide from the furious companions after you have robbed them blind or left them to die.
Unfold the card-organizer mat (M) and place it on the table.
Place the supply of "1 Fame" and "5 Fame" tokens within easy reach of the players, then give each player five 1-Fame tokens.
Shuffle the decks and lay them out appropriately on the game mat.
Remove the following 3 cards from the Level 3 Dungeon Room deck (A): Cultist Hansen, Cultist Borgen and Death Mage. Set them aside for now.
If you are playing with the Rift expansion (not recommended for new players): remove 2 Portal cards and the Boss card (General Velos) from the Rift deck. Shuffle the Rift deck, then shuffle the 3 removed cards into the bottom half of the deck.
Place the Fate token (I) on space 15 of the Fate track at the top of the game board. Ask each player to choose a Standee (K) and place it on the map at the City location.
Give the most experienced player the First Player token.
Lay out 3 Item cards from each level face up to form a 3x3 grid of cards. (If you are playing two-player or solo, use only 2 cards per row instead.) This is called the "Market."
Read the variant rules at the end of this rulebook, as you may wish to use any of the expansions. "Undead Crusade" adds pressure, as players must break through a Dungeon Rift that blocks their way, but it also provides an additional opportunity to earn Fame! "A Dead Elf Tells No Tales" adds both items and monsters to the game. Look for powerful "epic" items so that you can handle the wicked elves and claim their substantial Fame rewards!

Note: the setup text refers to the map as (L) and the card-organizer mat as (M), and to the player standee as (K). The component list in the source prints the First Player token as L, the Fate token as K and the standees and mat without these letters; the references are transcribed as printed.

Game Map

The map diagram labels the following: Fortress of Death, Enemy Type, Path, City, Dungeon. Note: Access to the "Burial Mound" location is made by the same path as to the "Mines."

Round

Each round consists of 4 Phases:

Phase 1: Deployment
Phase 2: Hiring and Market
Phase 3: Dungeon Crawl
Phase 4: Keep and Discard

Whenever a step follows "turn order," it starts with the player holding the First Player token and proceeds clockwise around the table, one player at a time.

Phase 1: Deployment

Step 1: Scouting

Each player "Scouts" one Dungeon Level token face down by turning it face up. This reveals the level of that dungeon. Players may discuss their decisions and intentions simultaneously (there are no turns here).

If no face-down Dungeon Level tokens remain on the Draggmar map, reduce the Fate track by 1 to show the growing power of the Death Mage.

Solo game: you Scout up to 3 face-down Dungeon Level tokens on the game board.

Step 2: Deployment

In turn order, each player places their Contractor standee in the dungeon they want to explore this round. The chosen dungeon must have a Dungeon Level token; the absence of one means the dungeon was cleared earlier and cannot be explored again.

If you are playing with the "Undead Crusade" expansion, Rifts may be active on the game board. A standee cannot be placed in a given location if it would have to move along a path past an active Rift to reach that location from the City.

Then reduce the Fate track by the level of each dungeon that was not explored this round and in whose location there are standees. This does not apply to Rift dungeons.

Hint: While monsters become stronger the more heroes they fight, heroes fighting together have a larger set of items to use, and therefore their chances of victory generally increase.

Once all of a player's standees have been placed, proceed to the next phase of the round.

Phase 2: Hiring and Market

Step 1: Hiring

In turn order, each player takes a turn in which they may hire items and heroes for use in the upcoming Dungeon Crawl phase.

Level 1 items and heroes are free and may be taken at no cost.
Level 2 items and heroes cost 2 Fame.
Level 3 items and heroes cost 3 Fame.

To buy a card, the player must first make sure they already have no more than 7 cards; if they have 7, they cannot buy any more cards. They then pay the card's cost in Fame before adding it to their hand.

A purchased card may be taken either from the top of the corresponding deck or from the top of one of the card stacks displayed in the Market. Once for each item bought from a deck, the player may pay 1 Fame to discard that item card (face down) and take a second card from the same deck.

Items may only be used by heroes of the type indicated in the effect of the item card. The hero type is shown in the upper right corner of its card.

If a deck of items or heroes runs out of cards, shuffle the corresponding discard pile and place it face down to form a new deck, then continue the game.

Items

Items are valuable in Draggmar and can help heroes survive. Item cards can increase the attack and defence values shown on each hero's card for the duration of passing one dungeon room.

(Overloaded): Effects of items with this keyword work regardless of how many items are already equipped on the target hero.

Step 2: Trading

Players may now exchange their items for cards available in the Market. In turn order, each player is given the opportunity to swap any number of their items for the top card of any stack in the Market that has the same level as the item being replaced.

Players continue to take turns trading in the Market until all players are ready to move on to the next Phase.

Hero Skills

Each standard hero may use one of the active skills described on its card, once per Dungeon Crawl. Some heroes will have two skills to choose from. Use the blue cubes provided as a reminder of whether a hero has used its skill during a Dungeon Crawl.

Epic heroes are marked with a purple gem in the upper left corner of the card, and unlike standard heroes there is only one of each level (1, 2 and 3). An Epic hero's skill is always active and states which two types of standard heroes it counts as when determining which items it may use and which it may not. For example, Paladins may use all items that can be used by Warriors and/or Priests.

See the "Skill Reference" for a more detailed description of each of the standard heroes' activated skills.

Phase 3: Dungeon Crawl

Each group of heroes gathered in a dungeon location (a "Group") plays its own Dungeon Room cards and fights monsters on its own turn (there are no turns). Groups in dungeons of the same level share the decks, drawing cards from them only when needed.

All players in the group perform the following actions:

Step 1: Draw a Dungeon Room card from the top of the Dungeon Level deck matching the dungeon's level.
Step 2: Apply the effect of the Dungeon Room card. Some effects may resolve later, so players should keep track of them.
Step 3: Each player in the group must have a hero face up in front of them. If a hero from the previous dungeon room is still face up in front of them, they must use that hero again. If not, they may play a hero from their hand. If they cannot or prefer not to do so, this player has failed the Dungeon Crawl and gains no benefit from it.
Step 4: Each player may play item cards face up next to their hero to help the hero, limited to 1 weapon, 1 helmet and 1 armour. "Scroll" items may count as either weapons or armour. The text of each item will show icons indicating which hero types can benefit from that item.

Note: Items will be discarded after this dungeon room has been passed, whether or not their effect was actually used.

You may activate the skill of your current hero if you have not already done so during the Dungeon Crawl. You may spend 1 Fame to increase your hero's attack or defence by 1 during the passing of this dungeon room.

Step 5: If the dungeon room is a trap, its effect applies to each hero whose level is not higher than the Trap's level. Players may use a Lockpick of the same or higher level to disarm the trap, allowing all players in their group to ignore its effect.

If the dungeon room is a chest, its effect is provided only if a player in the group is able to open it, usually by using a skill or a Lockpick item of the appropriate level. As with monsters, rewards from chest items are shared among the participants, who then must decide which player receives them.

If the dungeon room contains a monster (indicated by its having attack and defence values), its health is reduced by the attack of each hero fighting it. A monster's health equals its defence multiplied by the number of heroes fighting it. If this health is reduced to zero, the monster is defeated.

If the monster is a boss and is not defeated (it still has health), it takes no damage and instead automatically kills all heroes it is currently fighting. Otherwise the monster's attack now deals damage to each hero, reducing its health. Use the red cubes provided to track how much health a hero has lost. If a hero uses an item that provides defence, that item absorbs damage up to the amount of defence it provides.

After all damage and effects have been resolved, heroes who have no health left have been killed and are discarded.

Step 6: Add the dungeon room card to the "Fame" pile for this dungeon.

If a monster with the loot symbol (small chest) is defeated and any of the heroes in the group survive, turn over one card from the top of the Level 1 Item deck, and those heroes decide among themselves which player in the group keeps the item. Some monsters, when defeated, instead award Level 2 or Level 3 items, as described in detail in their effect text.

If the players cannot agree on who should receive an item, the player with the most Fame decides.

All cards played are now discarded, except unresolved Curses and active heroes.

Step 7: Split up.

Players in each group may, at this step, "split up" into smaller groups; for example, a group of 3 players may split into a group of 2 players and a group of 1 player. Separated groups cannot rejoin during the Dungeon Crawl; however, when a player plays a new hero, it may join an existing group in that dungeon if all members of the group agree.

Hint: You may want to pass several dungeon rooms with other heroes to collect useful items, then split up and continue exploring alone, since defeating a boss alone allows you to keep it as a trophy, increasing your Fame at the end of the game.

Curses

Curses are generally negative effects applied to a player (or hero), most often because of the effect of a Dungeon Room. A player may have several curses active at once, and they remain attached to that player/hero until their effect is resolved (even between Dungeon Crawls).

When a curse is applied, the specified player takes a card from the top of the Curse deck and places it face up in front of them.

Once the effect of a Curse card has ended, discard it. If there is no way to resolve the curse, discard it. Discarded curses are placed in a pile next to the Curse deck.

If the Curse deck runs out, shuffle this discard pile into a new face-down Curse deck, move the Fate track down by 2 spaces, and then continue the game.

The icon at the top of a Dungeon Room card indicates that this card is a boss.

Bosses and Clearing a Dungeon

Each Dungeon Level deck contains 4 bosses, which are encountered at random while exploring dungeons of that level. Encountering a boss will be the last room of a Dungeon Crawl and cannot be skipped by any effect. To complete a Dungeon Crawl, the boss must be defeated.

Each hero who fails to kill the boss will be killed by that boss.

If the group is killed, each player in that group may play another hero from their hand to form a new group to fight the boss. If the boss was killed, this backup group simply clears the dungeon, as described in the section "If the Boss Is Killed." If the boss survived, it is considered to have taken no damage in the previous battle.

If none of the players can or wish to play any more heroes, the Dungeon Crawl ends at the boss card, and all cards played in this Dungeon Crawl are shuffled back into the Dungeon Room deck from which they were drawn. Then the Fate track is reduced by the value of that dungeon's Level token.

If the boss is killed and at least one hero clears the dungeon, remove from the game the level token required for that dungeon, and increase the Fate track by the value of the removed token. Each player with a hero that cleared the dungeon receives Fame equal to the Fame value of each card passed during the Dungeon Crawl, which is shown in the upper left corner of each Dungeon Room card.

If the heroes of several players kill the boss, it is set aside together with all the other cards passed during the Dungeon Crawl. If one hero kills the boss, that boss card is taken as a trophy by that player, who places it in front of them together with all the other cards passed during the Dungeon Crawl. This will bring additional Fame to that player at the end of the game.

Note: Give all players time to complete the Dungeon Crawl, to ensure that all players move to Phase 4 together.

Phase 4: Keep and Discard

Heroes grow stronger as they pass through dungeons before eventually retiring.

The owner of each Level 1 or Level 2 Hero in a group that is passing a dungeon may keep that Hero by paying 1 Fame, which would otherwise be discarded at the end of the round. Each kept Level 1 or Level 2 hero is upgraded: the player looks for a hero with the same name in the next level's hero deck. If they find such a hero, it replaces the kept hero, which is discarded.

In turn order, each player may then place any of the items in their hands onto the Market, making these items available in the next round during Market trading.

Once players are ready, the round ends and they discard all their cards (except Curses whose effect has not yet ended). If a player discards a Level 1 or Level 2 hero that fought the dungeon's boss and survived, they may "level up" this hero by taking a hero with the same name from the deck one level higher (if one exists).

Winning and Losing

If the Fate track reaches 0, all players lose.

If a participant successfully passes the Fortress of Death dungeon and defeats the Death Mage, the game ends and the player with the most Fame is declared the winner!

Boss Fame bonus: When counting each player's Fame, they receive Fame equal to the Fame value of each boss card they have placed in front of them as a trophy.

Challenging the Death Mage

Players may explore the Fortress of Death and try to win the game as long as, during this game, at least 3 Level 3 bosses and 2 Level 2 bosses have been killed. Each player in the group who fails to win in this dungeon loses 5 Fame. Provoking the wrath of the Death Mage is rarely popular with the locals!

Note: If you are playing with the "Undead Crusade" variant, an active Rift in the 4th Rift location will block access to the Fortress of Death!

When a group decides to explore the Fortress of Death, prepare the Fortress of Death deck by taking the 3 elite dungeon cards (Cultist Hansen, Cultist Borgen and Death Mage, which you set aside before the start), then add as many Level 3 dungeon cards as there are players, +2. Shuffle all these cards together and form a face-down deck. This deck is used for the single exploration of the Fortress of Death before all cards in it are returned to their original positions.

To clear the Fortress of Death dungeon, a participant must pass all the cards from the Fortress of Death deck. Bosses cannot be skipped, and they must be defeated; however, defeating a boss does not end the Dungeon Crawl. Only after the group passes all rooms in the dungeon is the Fortress of Death cleared, and the game ends!

Fate Track

The Fate track represents the growing danger in Draggmar as the power of the Death Mage increases.

When the Fate track reaches 0, the game is lost by all players.

If the Fate track is below 11, all dungeon levels count as 1 higher, up to a maximum of Level 3.

If the Fate track is below 6, all dungeon levels are raised by 1 more (in addition to the previous effect), up to a maximum of Level 3.

Level +1 tokens are provided to help players track and remember changes to dungeon levels, or players may use discarded level tokens if available.

When playing the "Undead Crusade" scenario (see "Undead Crusade" on page 11): green spaces show when a new Rift will appear. Each Rift will appear in specific numbered locations that correspond to the number on the green spaces (in order from 1 to 4).

Skill Reference

Once per Dungeon Crawl, each standard hero may use its skill. If a skill's effect does not specify a condition, these skills should be applied only immediately after the next dungeon room is revealed by the Hero.

The descriptions are given for each skill, not for each hero. The heroes who possess these skills are listed above each description.

Standard Hero Skills

Warrior, Level 1: Discard this hero's revealed dungeon room and replace it with another from the same deck, or swap this Warrior for a hero from your hand.

Warrior, Level 2: Increase this hero's attack or defence by 1 for the remainder of the Dungeon Crawl.

Warrior, Level 3: Increase this hero's attack or defence by 2 until the end of the Dungeon Crawl, or swap this Warrior for a hero from your hand.

Ranger, Levels 1, 2 and 3: Increase this hero's defence by 1 against the current dungeon room.

Ranger, Levels 1 and 3: If the current dungeon room is defeated and the participant receives items as a reward, you receive an item matching the level of the rewarded item.

Mage, Levels 1, 2 and 3: Choose one of the items revealed in the Market or in a discard pile, or equip another hero. Swap it with an item in your hand that has the same level.

Mage, Level 1: Increase this hero's attack by 1 relative to the current dungeon room.

Vagabond, Level 1: If you defeat the current dungeon room, you receive 1 Fame. OR increase this hero's attack by 1 relative to the current dungeon room.

Vagabond, Level 2: Cannot be used against a boss. This hero does not count as a participant of the Dungeon Crawl in this dungeon room.

Vagabond, Level 3: "Disarm" any trap-type dungeon room so the participant is not harmed by its effect, or unlock any chest-type dungeon room so the participant receives its reward. OR choose a player and take an item card from their hand. When choosing the card, you may look at the backs of their cards, but not at the faces.

Priest, Levels 1 and 2: Choose one item card played by a player during the passing of this dungeon room. After this card has been used, it returns to its owner's hand instead of being discarded. OR remove the specified number of red damage cubes from the heroes of the group.

Priest, Level 3: All instructions that apply to you from Curses are ignored until the end of the passing of this dungeon. OR choose a Curse that is currently applied to you and transfer it to another player.

Epic Heroes

Hunter, Paladin, Warlock, Inquisitor: Each of them has an effect stating which two types of heroes they may use.

Variants

In the case of a difficult challenge, when you face monsters whose faction type matches the faction type of the dungeon locations, rate these monsters' attack 1 point higher.

For a more brutal challenge, reduce the Fate track for each player who fails a Dungeon Crawl, not only for each group that fails.

Playing Solo

To play solo, simply play as normal but with a limit of 10 cards instead of 7.

Play as if you were two players in each Dungeon Crawl; play with two heroes in each party.

This gives you fewer resources than several players would have, but you also do not need to worry about any other greedy Lord Contractors trying to steal your fame!

Undead Crusade (Expansion)

The mighty Undead Crusade marches on Draggmar, a force so fierce that even the Death Mage trembles at the mere mention of its name. A thousand years ago, General Velos sold his soul to "the nameless demon" in exchange for immortality, ensuring victory for the general and his army.

However, after the battle was won, the army and the general discovered that the price of glory was high: a curse that left them to rot forever. Now they return to claim the lands of the living and make them their own.

This expansion brings the "Rift" dungeon obstacles containing General Velos's wicked Undead crusade into Draggmar!

Changes to Setup

Shuffle the 15 Rift cards into a deck and place it face down on the card-organizer mat. Place a Rift token on each of the green spaces on the Fate track. Rifts prevent players from moving along paths to reach the dungeons behind them.

Rifts may be removed only by a group that has completed a Dungeon Crawl in their location. A Dungeon Crawl in the Rift deck can be completed either by defeating General Velos or by visiting one of the two "Portal" cards in the deck.

When the Fate track indicator drops to a green number or passes it, place a Rift token on the corresponding numbered space on the map. Up to 4 rifts may exist on the game board at the same time (they will appear in spaces numbered 1 to 4).

Each time you pass a Rift dungeon, the Fate track increases by 2, or, if you fail to pass a Rift dungeon, the Fate track decreases by 2. At the end of each round, the Fate track decreases by 1 for each active Rift.

If several players or groups clear Rifts, they take both cards from one Rift deck until General Velos is killed or a Portal card is drawn. As a result, up to 3 rifts can be closed in a single Dungeon Crawl.

As with ordinary dungeons, when a Rift dungeon is completed, all Rift tokens and all rooms in that Rift dungeon are removed from the game, so removing all 4 Rift tokens or all Rift cards are both ways to permanently close all Rift dungeons.

A Dead Elf Tells No Tales (Expansion)

Draggmar is full of bandits and criminals (not to mention the endless monsters roaming the dungeons), but the Dark Elf Conclave is the guild of the most dangerous and prolific criminals in all of Draggmar. Both Lord Contractors and heroes see many opportunities to earn additional rewards by delivering the heads of the most wanted Dark Elf criminals in Draggmar...

This small expansion adds 2 stronger monsters - "Dark Elves" - to each Dungeon Level deck and 6 epic items to the item decks. They are marked with purple gems in the upper left corner of the cards.

Setup

Shuffle the 6 Dark Elf cards (2 for each level) into the Dungeon decks corresponding to their level.
Shuffle the 6 epic items (2 for each level) into the item decks corresponding to their level.