The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The Adventure Game: Dawnguard Expansion Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• New Heroes
  • Redguard
  • Bosmer
  • Breton
  • Argonian
• New Rules
  • Day and Night
  • Clan Volkihar
  • Vigilants of Stendarr
  • Factions
  • Threat Tokens
  • Forts
  • Fort Cards
  • Levelling up the Fort
  • The Dawnguard
  • Fort Character Cards
  • Vampire Spawning Deck
• Faction Rules
  • Vigilants of Stendarr and Dawnguard
  • Vampires
  • Hunger
  • Feeding
  • Threat Event Deck
  • Roaming Vampires
  • Molag Bal
• Scenarios
  • Chapter 1
    • Setup
  • Chapter 2
    • Setup
    • Contested Skill Tests
  • Chapter 3
    • Setup
• Hunger Diagram

Components

• Player Figures x4
• Threat Tokens x20
• Roaming Monster Tokens x16 (two designs: Boethiah's Chosen and Vampire)
• Fort Tokens x2
• Day/Night Token x1
• Fort Cards x2
• Event Cards x30
• Status Cards x15
• Item Cards x74

The text of the Item, Event, Status and Fort cards is printed on the cards themselves and is not reproduced in this rulebook.

New Heroes

Redguard

Descending from proud lines of warriors and seers, their nomadic costumes brought the Redguard from their native place in Hammerfell in every province in Tamriel. Fearsome fighters, their ability with sword and shield is second to none.

• Adrenaline Rush (Once per Game Turn): In Combat, lose 1 Health to restore all your Stamina.
• After Learning One Handed: Add 1 damage to [one-handed weapon icon].
• After Learning Alteration: If an Alteration spell is equipped, 1 [pink hand icon].

Bosmer

Commonly referred to as Wood Elves, these Mer enjoy the simple life and are in tune with nature. Their archery skills are the stuff of legends, from Skyrim all the way to Valenwood.

• Command Animal (Once per Game Turn): Make a [animal icon] attack itself this Combat round.
• After Learning Alchemy: Once per Game Turn, when you collect [blue and gold orb icon], roll an Alchemy Skill Test. Collect an additional [blue and gold orb icon] for every [black diamond icon] you get.
• After Learning Archery: Add 1 damage to [white bow icon].

Breton

Renowned sorcerers, the natives from High Rock have a rich and controversial history. Often seen around Tamriel selling their services as mercenaries or trading goods, they are distantly related to the Forsworn in Skyrim.

• Dragonskin: In Combat, any time you lose Health due to a [pink hand icon], restore 1 Magicka.
• After Learning Conjuration: Summon: Draw 2 Cards, Pick One.
• After Learning Speech: When selling any item, gain 2 additional Gold.

Argonian

The inhabitants of Black Marsh have reptilian features and are often discriminated against in Skyrim. They tend to live close to the water and are famous for their dexterity and innate regenerative abilities.

• Histskin (Once per Game Turn): In Combat, lose 2 Stamina to restore 1 Health.
• After Learning Lockpicking: Every time you gain any Gold, roll a Lockpicking Skill Test. Gain 1 additional Gold for every [black and white symbol icon] you get.
• After Learning Light Armor: If a [light armour icon] is equipped, Rest regenerates all Stamina.

New Rules

This expansion follows all the rules of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim The Adventure Game, but also adds a few new ones.

Day and Night

The expansion includes a circular token. This is the Day/Night token. When the [day side: plain ring] side is face up, it is daytime. When the [night side: crescent] side is face up, it is nighttime. Most Event cards will feature the Flip icon. When this appears, the Day/Night token is flipped. If a Quest shows the Day icon, it can only be attempted while the [day side: plain ring] side is face up. When a Quest features the Night icon, it can only be attempted while the [night side: crescent] side is face up.

During the [night side: crescent] (when the Day/Night token is flipped with the [night side: crescent] side up), all characters roll an additional die when rolling for Sneak in Combat. During the [day side: plain ring] (when the Day/Night token is flipped with the [day side: plain ring] side up), Vampire players increase their Hunger by 1. Check the Hunger rules on page 8 for more information about this.

Transcriber's note: the printed cross-reference "Hunger rules on page 8" points to page 8, which contains the Factions section. The Hunger rules are on page 12 (see Faction Rules > Vampires > Hunger). Printed text kept as is.

Clan Volkihar

Lord Harkon, leader of Clan Volkihar, has pledged himself to the Daedric Prince Molag Bal. A thousand innocents were sacrificed to seal the pact and Molag Bal rewarded Lord Harkon by turning him and his family into pure-blooded Vampires. Lord Harkon is now looking for a way to fulfill the Tyranny of the Sun prophecy.

Vigilants of Stendarr

The Vigilants of Stendarr is a militant order of priests and nomads founded in the aftermath of the Oblivion Crisis. They are dedicated to protect the land from Daedric influence, by bestowing the blessing of Stendarr on the population, providing healing when needed and eradicating Daedric cults all across Skyrim.

Factions

During Chapter 1, players will be offered the chance to pledge their allegiance to two different factions: The Vigilants of Stendarr or the Volkihar Clan. Players can choose their allegiance freely. All players can side with the same faction, or enlist on opposing sides.

When that moment comes, any player choosing the Clan Volkihar side, will Draw a Vampirism card. Read the Vampires section on page 12 for more information.

Players cannot place [threat token] tokens on the active Quests of players from a different faction. For example: when a Vigilant of Stendarr player has to add a [threat token] token, they could add it to an active Quest of another Vigilant of Stendarr player, but couldn't add it to a Vampire player's active Quest.

Threat Tokens

During the game, players will sometimes be given the option of placing Threat tokens on empty spaces on the board. These represent small pockets of chaos and disarray spreading across Skyrim. Each turn, after moving, if a player has moved through or ended their movement on a Threat token, they must take that Threat token and place it on one of their faction's active Quests, on a World Quest or on the Stronghold Chart. These Threat tokens can only be removed from the board by taking them, or through the effect of an Event card.

Forts

There are two new spaces on the board, represented by the Fort tokens. Castle Volkihar is placed north of Haafingar, and the Hall of the Vigilant is placed in the middle of The Pale, shown in the pictures below.

At the start of Chapter 2, the Hall of the Vigilant token is flipped, so it represents Fort Dawnguard. The token is now placed East of Riften, shown in the picture below.

The newly created spaces on the board are only accessible to players of the relevant faction; at the beginning of the game, Vigilants of Stendarr cannot enter Castle Volkihar, and Vampires cannot enter the Hall of the Vigilant, unless a Quest requires the players to move there.

Picture captions printed on the map pages: Castle Volkihar; Hall of the Vigilant; Fort Dawnguard.

Fort Cards

Each faction has their own Fort card. This card represents the bonuses and abilities the Fort provides to the players. On Chapter 1, the Fort card also shows the defenses of the Fort — in the case of the Hall of the Vigilant — or the reinforcements sent by Clan Volkihar to defend a specific place. Once Chapter 2 begins, both Fort cards are flipped and the Hall of the Vigilant card becomes the Fort Dawnguard card.

In all Forts — Hall of the Vigilant, Castle Volkihar and Fort Dawnguard — players can browse any Market deck, purchase any type of Component for 5 Gold and Upgrade and Enchant items as if they were regular Strongholds.

Levelling up the Fort

Vigilants of Stendarr and Dawnguard players can work towards improving and gaining recognition within their faction. To do so, players can assign any number of [purple star token] tokens they gain to their Fort card instead of gaining them themselves. Once the Fort card has gathered enough [purple star token] to level up, all [purple star token] tokens are removed and a Gold token is added to the Fort card to show it has levelled up. The Fort now provides new bonuses to the players of that faction.

Players can go to the Fort to recruit new Followers or acquire new items. If the Fort is levelled up to a point where a new Follower or any new items are available, a player in the Fort space can just Draw the specified Follower card from the Numbered deck, or the specified item card from the Dawnguard Item deck. If a Follower card is not available (another player already took it) just Draw the next numbered card. Each player can only Draw 1 copy of each different Follower or item during the game. Items gained in Forts can be sold. In that case, [card with slash icon] the item card.

The Dawnguard

The Dawnguard is an order of Vampire hunters that was founded by the Jarl of The Rift during the Second Era. The reasons behind their disbanding are lost and only rumors remain. With Clan Volkihar's influence growing in Haafingar and Skyrim, Isran, former Vigilant of Stendarr, decided to reform the ancient order to face the Vampires' threat.

Fort Character Cards

The two Fort Character card decks — Fort Dawnguard Character cards and Castle Volkihar Character cards — are put in play at the beginning of Chapter 2. These work the same way as Wilderness or Town cards, but can only be drawn when the player is in Fort Dawnguard or Castle Volkihar. Each faction has their own Fort Character cards; a player cannot draw Fort Character cards of the opposing faction. These cards represent relevant characters of each faction that will give the players Personal Quests, allowing them to increase their standing within the group.

When drawing Personal Quests from cards in these decks, the Fort Character cards are not removed from the game; during Chapter 2, after drawing a Fort Character card, the player places it back at the bottom of the deck. Some Quests of the opposing faction will discard some Fort Character cards. Cards discarded this way are not removed from the game, but placed in the Fort Character card deck's discard pile. If either of the Fort Character card decks is exhausted (all the cards are in the discard pile), the deck is not shuffled back until the end of the Chapter. During Chapter 3, the Fort Character card decks are still present.

Vampire Spawning Deck

Due to the negative influence of Clan Volkihar, new creatures roam Skyrim, making exploration more dangerous and more rewarding. These new creatures are contained in the Vampire Spawning deck. This deck is organised like a regular Dungeon deck (with number 7 at the bottom and number 0 on top), only this deck has three cards with the number 7 and only one with the number 0. Whenever a player is prompted to add a card from the Vampire Spawning deck to a Dungeon deck, the player takes the top card of the Vampire Spawning deck, and checks the back. Then, the player shuffles the card with the top three cards of the deck that matches its back. If the Vampire Spawning deck is exhausted, ignore any instruction to add cards from it to a Dungeon deck.

Faction Rules

Vigilants of Stendarr and Dawnguard

In many ways, the Vigilants of Stendarr and the Dawnguard work similarly. Their power comes from their items and Followers, and they take advantage of the board being as clean of Threat tokens and Roaming monsters as possible.

Vampires

Vampire players have a few rules that make them different from regular players. Each Vampire player receives a Vampirism card as soon as they join the faction. This card lists a series of bonuses and disadvantages they gain or lose as their Hunger increases. Vampire players cannot regenerate [red Health icon] when the Day/Night token is flipped with the [day side: plain ring] side up. As their Hunger increases, they also lose the ability to regenerate [green Stamina icon] or [blue Magicka icon]. As a result, Vampire players will roam around the world wounded, tired and unable to regenerate. Vampire players taking a Rest action in Combat or using spells, potions, or abilities will be able to restore their tracks normally.

Increased levels of Hunger can also prevent Vampire players from Exploring Wilderness and Strongholds. This means that they can't draw from the Wilderness or Town decks, access the Market or Upgrade and Enchant their items. A Vampire player can always enter a Stronghold or a Wilderness space to complete a Quest.

As Vampire players gain restrictions as their Hunger increases, they also become more powerful. Once a player is turned into a Vampire, they gain access to the Drain spell. This spell card — as well as Vampiric Servant, gained when the player's Hunger increases — can be equipped at any time, and doesn't count towards the limit of 4 items in the player's backpack. Increased levels of Hunger give the player additional Armor and new powers.

All the bonuses and weaknesses derived from Hunger stack on each other and are lost once the player's Hunger is sated, only to be regained as the Hunger increases again..

Hunger

Vampire players can accrue up to three Threat tokens on their Vampirism card. Each of them represents a new, higher level of Hunger. Each turn, after drawing an Event card, if the Day/Night token is flipped with the [day side: plain ring] face up, all Vampire players add 1 Threat token to their Vampirism card. If any Vampire player already has 3 Threat tokens on their Vampirism card, they must feed immediately.

Feeding

A Vampire player can feed at any point during their turn. This doesn't constitute an action. When a Vampire player feeds, place the Threat tokens on their Vampirism card in the following:

• Up to 1 Threat token on Quest cards (any of their own active Quests or a World Quest)
• Up to 1 Threat token on the Stronghold Chart
• Up to 1 Threat token on the player's current space on the board
• Up to 1 Threat token on the Threat Event deck

The player cannot place more than 1 Threat token on each of these four options. For example, a player with 2 Threat tokens could only assign 1 of them to the Threat Event deck and 1 to one of their Quests or a World Quest.

If the player is forced to feed by a game event (such as having to add 1 Threat token before drawing an Event and having already 3 Threat tokens on their Vampirism card), the player must feed immediately, before the game progresses. Choosing when and where to feed can make a significant strategic difference.

Threat Event Deck

Clan Volkihar is powerful, and its influence spreads all across Skyrim. As the Vampire players work with the family, they get to see the effects of that influence.

Each card in the Threat Event deck has a number on the back, together with the Threat token symbol. This is the number of Threat tokens that Vampire players have to place on that card to add it to the Event deck. At the end of each turn, players check if the number of Threat tokens on the top card of the Threat Event deck matches or surpasses the amount needed. If it does, remove all Threat tokens from the card and place the Threat Event card on top of the Event deck. Threat Event cards do not feature the Flip icon; players can use this to their advantage.

Players can add Threat tokens to the Threat Event deck in any of the following scenarios:

• When the Starting Player Draws an Event card, they can add 1 of the Threat tokens from the Event card to the Threat Event deck.
• When Vampires feed, they can add 1 of the Threat tokens from their Hunger to the Threat Event deck.
• When specifically instructed by an Event or Quest card.

Some of the cards in the Threat Event deck have the number zero on the back. These represent events that are negative for the Vampires, generally caused by their blind ambition and greed. At the end of the turn, if the top card of the Threat Event deck has the number zero, add the card to the top of the Event deck. If the next card has a zero, add it as well, and so on until the top card in the Threat Event deck has a number other than zero.

Roaming Vampires

The Dawnguard expansion includes a new series of Vampire Roaming Monster tokens. When the game prompts the players to place a Vampire token on the board, use any Vampire token, either from the original game or from the expansion. It is recommended that you place all these tokens in a bag, and draw a random one.

Vampire players can move through Vampire tokens or end their movement on top of them, without triggering an Encounter. This means that Vampire players can use these tokens to block the way of Vigilant of Stendarr and Dawnguard players across the board.

Molag Bal

Molag Bal is the Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement. His hunger for mortal souls is unquenchable and this reflects in the unquenchable thirst for blood of Vampires, of which Molag Bal is forefather. He is in a perennial fight with Boethiah.

Scenarios

Chapter 1

After centuries in Attribution's Share, Boethiah's Oblivion plane, the heroes are sent back to Skyrim. Boethiah gives them a chance to win their freedom. The only task required of them is to help the Daedric Prince in her eternal fight against Molag Bal. They are reborn, rebuilt, recreated from their ashes.

Setup

• Set up the game as explained in the Setup section of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim The Adventure Game.
• All characters start from scratch, even if you are playing with characters from a previous game. Players are allowed to change their character cards.
• Take the Chapter 1 Event cards for the Dawnguard expansion game, shuffle them and place them on the game board.
• Shuffle the Chapter 1 Threat Event deck and place it next to the game board.
• Order the Dawnguard Numbered card deck and the Small numbered card deck by number and place them in the Numbered deck box.
• Place the Spawning deck next to the game board. Make sure these cards are sorted numerically, so the top card is number 0, and the three bottom cards are number 7. (Printed as "Spawning deck"; this is the Vampire Spawning deck.)
• Place the Castle Volkihar token and the Hall of the Vigilant token on the board (check the Forts section on page 5). (The Forts section is on page 9; the printed page reference is kept as is.)
• Place 3 [hollow diamond marker] on the Castle Volkihar card and 3 [hollow diamond marker] on the Hall of the Vigilant card.
• Place the Hall of the Vigilant and the Castle Volkihar cards beside the game board.

Each time the [threat token icon] appears on a card, move one [hollow diamond marker] from the Hall of the Vigilant card to the Castle Volkihar card. Each time the [winged figure icon] appears on a card, move one [hollow diamond marker] from the Castle Volkihar card to the Hall of the Vigilant card. At the end of the Chapter, the total number of [hollow diamond marker] in the Castle Volkihar and the Hall of the Vigilant cards will inform the setup of the Chapter's final Encounters.

Draw 556 and read it for all players. You are now ready to play.

Chapter 2

Clan Volkihar has destroyed the Hall of the Vigilants, leaving the bodies of the Vigilants to rot in the mud. Their influence is growing in Skyrim, but the Dawnguard is being reformed in the East. Sides have been taken, the time of reckoning is approaching.

Setup

• Remove all [purple star token] and Gold tokens from the Hall of the Vigilant card.
• Flip the Hall of the Vigilant token and card to the Fort Dawnguard side and place it on the board (check the Forts section on page 9).
• Take the Vampire Character and the Dawnguard Character decks from the box, shuffle them separately and place them next to the gameboard.
• Remove all Chapter 1 Threat Event cards from the Event deck.
• Take the Chapter 2 Event deck and shuffle with the current Event deck.
• Place the resulting Event deck on its slot on the gameboard.
• Shuffle the Chapter 2 Threat Event deck and place it next to the game board.
• Draw 577 and read it for all Vampire players. Draw 578 and read it for all Vigilants of Stendarr players. You are now ready to play.

If playing this chapter as a standalone scenario, each player must choose to either be a part of the Vampires or the Vigilants of Stendarr. They must also level up their character twice and choose one equipment card and one basic treasure card. This applies to any new players joining a campaign as well.

Contested Skill Tests

The Dawnguard expansion introduces Contested Skill Tests. These follow the normal rules for Skill Tests, but they can also be performed by more than one player at a time, belonging to two different factions. When this happens, each player rolls the Skill Test as usual, comparing their result. The possible outcomes are as follows:

• All players fail the Skill Test: the Skill Test is considered a Failure.
• One player succeeds while the other fails: the player who succeeded in the Test reads the success section and receives the reward.
• Both players succeed: the player who achieved the highest number of icons required to succeed, reads the success section and receives the reward. If, after the Pushes, the players are tied, the Skill Test is considered a Failure.

Chapter 3

As soon as the fight for the control of the Demetrius is over, Oviron Salith appears back in Skyrim. The heroes' old nemesis returns. Memories of their time in Oblivion wash upon them. They need to find out why Boethiah let him go.

Setup

• Keep the previous chapter's Threat Event deck.
• Take the Chapter 3 Event deck and shuffle it with the previous chapter's Event deck.
• Place the resulting Event deck on its slot on the game board.

Draw 599 and read it for all players. You are now ready to play.

Hunger Diagram

Draw and resolve an Event card.

Check the Day/Night token.

• Night [night side: crescent token, reads "SNEAK (1)"]: Play the turn normally.
• Day [day side: ring token, reads "+1 HUNGER"]: Does any Vampire have 3 Threat tokens on their Vampirism card?
  • Yes: Vampire players with 3 Threat tokens on their Vampirism card immediately feed. All other Vampire players add 1 Threat token to their Vampirism card. Play the turn normally.
  • No: All Vampire players add 1 Threat token to their Vampirism card. Play the turn normally.