Fist of Dragonstones: The Tavern Edition Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Object of the Game
• Setting up the Game
• Playing the Game
• A Game Round
• Character Auctions
• Tied Auctions
• No Bids
• Scoring and Victory
• Standard Characters & Abilities
• Special Characters & Abilities

Components

Component quantities and appearance may vary from the counts and images shown here. Any variance will not negatively impact gameplay.

• Fairy Gold coins (65)
• Fairy Silver coins (2)
• Common Gold coins (18)
• Common Silver coins (40)
• Red Magic coins (2)
• Black Magic coins (2)
• Blue Magic coins (2)
• Purple Magic coins (2)
• White Dragonstones (4)
• Standard Character cards (8, gray title box)
• Special Character cards (66, multi-colored title box)
• Red, Yellow, and Blue Dragonstones (36)
• King's Favor token and card (1)
• Special Scoring die (6)
• Dragonstone Storage bag (1)
• Player screens (6)

Object of the Game

Players bid on various character cards in a closed-fist (blind-bid) auction. The winner of each auction can then use the card's powers to gain coins, Dragonstones, place spells on other players, or win scoring points. The first player to earn three points on the Special Scoring die wins the game.

Setting up the Game

1. At the beginning of the game each player receives:
   • a. 9 Fairy Gold coins
   • b. 2 Common Gold coins
   • c. 5 Common Silver coins
   • d. 4 Dragonstones, randomly drawn from the Dragonstone Storage bag.
   • e. 1 Scoring die. The die is placed in front of the player, with a blank side up.
   • f. 1 Player screen. All coins are placed behind the screens hidden from other players. Dragonstones are placed in front.
2. The remaining coins and Dragonstones are placed in the center of the table and make up the "bank" that players can draw from. Magic coins, along with Fairy Silver and White Dragonstones, are rewards granted by a few of the Special Characters which may enter play.
3. The Witch card, King's Favor card, and King's Favor token are set aside, face up, and the 7 other Standard Character cards are shuffled and placed in a pile, face down, in the center of the table.
4. The Special Character cards are shuffled and placed in another pile to create the Special Character deck.

As a general rule, the scores and Dragonstones of all players are public knowledge. Scoring dice and Dragonstones are placed in front of the screens, while all coins are kept hidden behind the screens.

If the bank runs out of stock of any type of Dragonstone or coin, that item is not available to the players.

Note: When the rules only say "Gold coins" or "Silver coins", this indicates either the Fairy or Common type of the mentioned coin.

Playing the Game

The game is made up of rounds. Each round consists of a series of bidding auctions for each of the eight Standard Character cards, plus three Special Character cards. After each auction, the player who wins the card then uses the powers of that card.

At the end of each round, the three Special Character cards used that round are set aside and three more cards from the top of the pile are included in the next round.

Rounds continue to be played until a player scores three points.

A Game Round

1. Character Deck Setup

   In the first round, select a player to draw the first three cards from the Special Character deck. In subsequent rounds, the player with The King's Favor draws four cards from the Special Character deck, chooses three, and discards one.

   The player who drew the Special Character cards should now read them aloud, so that each player is familiar with the cards' powers. The three Special Character cards should now be shuffled together with the Standard Character cards (leaving the Witch aside) before the first auction. These are the cards to be auctioned after the Witch auction. Place the King's Favor card at the bottom of these character cards as a reminder to reward the last player to win an auction in the round the King's Favor token.

   If there are no Special Character cards left, all discarded cards are shuffled together to make a new draw pile.

2. Witch Auction

   Because the Witch character can be used to cancel the powers of the remaining cards, she is always auctioned first (see Auctions below). The player who wins the Witch auction receives a Black Magic coin and places it with his unspent coins behind the screen.

3. Auctioning other characters

   The other characters are auctioned, one by one, in drawing order. Simply turn over the top card of the draw pile so every player can see which character is being auctioned. After every auction, the winner, if any, uses the character power before the new character is auctioned. When all eleven characters have been auctioned and played, the round is over.

4. End of the round cleanup

   a. Return Coins - All Common coins, both Common Gold and Common Silver, are ONE USE ONLY. After they are spent, they go directly to the bank. All Fairy coins, both Fairy Gold and Fairy Silver, are MAGICAL. After they are spent, they go in front of your player screen. At the end of the round, they are returned to you and placed behind your player screen, and then can be used during the next round.

Character Auctions

When a character is auctioned, a player can bid any combination of Fairy or Common Gold coins, from those stored behind their screen, to win the right to use the character's power. Players can also choose to bid nothing, but should still participate in the auction by bluffing a bid with an empty hand.

To bid, players take the number of coins they wish to bid and secretly place them in their closed fist. All coins bid will be considered spent, no matter whether they win or lose the auction.

All players reveal their bid simultaneously by opening their fists. All Fairy Gold coins bid are spent and placed in front of their screens and will be returned to the players at the end of the round. All Common Gold coins bid by the players are permanently spent and, because they are not returned, go directly to the bank.

The player who won the auction now uses the character action.

Tied Auctions

When two or more players bid the same number of coins, the players who tied will bid again, but this time using only their Fairy or Common Silver coins. All Common Silver coins are permanently spent and go to the bank while the Fairy Silver coins are spent and placed in front of their screens. The winner of this tie-break auction can then use the character action. If players tie again or there are no bids, the character card is discarded, but the coins bid are still spent.

No Bids

If no Gold coins are bid for a character, all players may reclaim one Fairy Gold from in front of their shields, if available. In the first round, the character being auctioned is discarded. After round one, the King's Favor token will enter play and the player holding this token may optionally spend a Gold to claim the character which received no bids. The King's Favor token is then passed to the opponent with the least points. In case of a tie, the current holder of the King's Favor token may pass it to the tied player of his choice.

The King's Favor token must always be passed even if its ability, once triggered, is not used.

Scoring and Victory

When a player scores a point, he turns his Scoring die, adding the point scored to the face up side. The first player who turns his Scoring die to three is the winner.

Standard Characters & Abilities

Witch

The Witch is always auctioned first in the round. The player who wins the Witch auction receives a Black Magic coin. He may bid this token in any of the following bids during the round. When players reveal their bids, if a player has bid his Black Magic coin, the character being auctioned is cursed and its special powers are canceled. The money spent on the bid is still spent.

Note: If the owner of the Black Magic coin doesn't use it during the round, he must give it back at the end of the round.

Note: The second Black Magic coin is used only if the Ghost or Doppelganger character replicates the Witch. A third Black Magic coin is not an available resource in the game.

Magician

The player who wins the Magician auction can pay any four Dragonstones to the bank and score one point; or take four Common Silver coins from the bank.

Sorcerer

The player who wins the Sorcerer auction can pay four identical Dragonstones (same color) to the bank and score two points; or take one Common Gold coin from the bank.

Thief

The player who wins the Thief auction takes one Dragonstone of his choice from the second highest bidder. In case of a tie for second bidder, he may steal a Dragonstone from the tied player of his choice.

If only one player bids for the Thief, all other players are considered second, and he may steal from any one of them.

Note: If there is a tie-break auction for the Thief, the second bidder referred to in the character action is the second bidder of the tie break auction.

Note: If the second bidder has no Dragonstones, the Thief can steal a Common Gold coin from him. If he has no Common Gold, the Thief can steal a Fairy Gold coin. If there is a tie for second highest bidder, the Thief must choose, if possible, to steal from a player who owns at least one Dragonstone.

Wizard

The player who wins the Wizard auction can pay three Dragonstones, one of each color, to the bank and score one point; or take three Common Silver coins from the bank.

Red, Yellow, and Blue Dragon

The player who wins any of these Dragon auctions takes one Dragonstone of the dragon's color from the bank.

Special Characters & Abilities

Most Special Characters have an instant effect. Some may have a delayed or a permanent effect, as indicated by symbols on a card's layout.

• Dragon symbol (silver): The character card is actioned immediately. The card will be auctioned again in the next round.
• Red Dragon symbol: The character card is actioned immediately and then discarded.
• Hourglass symbol: The character card is kept in front of the player to be used once, later in the game. The card is then discarded once used.
• Infinity symbol: The card is kept in front of the player and has a permanent ongoing effect from now on, as long as it is in the player's possession.
• Magenta coin symbol: The player wins a Magic coin or White Dragonstone which can be used later in the game. The card can be kept as a reminder of the coin effect, but is not considered a possession of the player.

Alchemist

The player who wins the Alchemist auction takes three Common Gold coins from the bank and places them behind his screen.

Ancient Dragon (2 cards)

The player who wins the Ancient Dragon auction takes one Dragonstone of his choice from the bank.

Baby Dragon

The player who wins the Baby Dragon auction is rewarded with one random Dragonstone. Place a Red, Yellow, and Blue Dragonstone in the Dragonstone Storage bag and randomly pick one.

Bandit

The player who wins the Bandit auction steals all Common Silver coins in the possession of the player of his choice. If the player chosen has no Common Silver, take one from the bank.

Beggar

The player who wins the Beggar chooses another player. This player must give him either one Gold coin or one Dragonstone. The choice is made by the chosen player, not by the Beggar.

Black Death

The auction for the Black Death is won by the lowest bidder, who loses 1 point. 0 is considered a bid for the Black Death. In case of a tie, the tie-break auction is won by the player who bid the least Silver. If there is still a tie, all the tied players lose 1 point.

Blind Woman (permanent)

The player who wins the Blind Woman keeps this card and places it in front of him. From now on, he can use his red Dragonstones as if they were of the color of his choice.

Brigand

The player who wins the Brigand auction steals all Common Gold coins in the possession of the player of his choice. If the player chosen has no Common Gold, take one from the bank.

Country Witch (magic coin)

The player who wins the Country Witch auction receives a Purple Magic coin. Later in the game, he may bid this coin in any auction to have the auction won by the second highest bidder. The Purple Magic coin must be bid in the auction, together with Gold or Silver coins, to be effective. It cannot be played after the bids have been revealed. The Purple Magic coin is returned to the bank after it is bid.

Crook (hourglass)

The player who wins the Crook keeps this card and places it in front of him. Later in the game, he can play it when there is a tie in a Gold auction between two or more players, no matter whether he is or not one of the players involved in the tie. When he does, he is considered the winner of the auction and applies the effect of the auctioned character.

Dealer (permanent)

The player who wins the Dealer keeps this card and places it in front of him. From now on, he wins all ties in Silver auctions. He does not need to be one of the players that was involved in the tied bid.

Doppelganger (hourglass)

Keep this card in front of you. Later in the game, spend it to trigger twice the power of a non-scoring character with the magic-coin symbol or the red Dragon symbol that you've just won.

Dragon Rider (permanent)

The player who wins the Dragon Rider auction keeps this card and places it face up in front of him. From then on, he adds one to all his bids in Gold or Silver for Dragon characters.

Note: The Dragon Rider is effective only if its owner bids at least one coin. It doesn't work with a bid of 0, which is considered no bid at all.

Druid

The auction for the Druid is held bidding with Common Gold only. The player who wins the auction scores 1 point. In the case of an auction with No Bids, the Druid is discarded; normal "No Bids" rules are ignored.

Dwarf (3 cards)

The player who wins the Dwarf auction takes Common Silver coins from the bank equal to the number specified on the card.

Dwarven Shaman (magic coin)

The player who wins the Dwarven Shaman auction takes one Fairy Silver coin from the bank. Fairy Silver is Silver, but returns to its owner at the end of the round like Fairy Gold.

Elf (permanent)

The player who wins the Elf keeps this card and places it in front of him. He also places all his Dragonstones behind his screen. From now on, he plays with his Dragonstones hidden from the other players.

Enchantress

The player who wins the Enchantress auction can pay any five Dragonstones to the bank and scores two points; or take one Fairy Gold from the bank.

Fairy (2 cards)

The player who wins the Fairy auction takes one Fairy Gold coin from the bank and can now play with this extra Fairy Gold until the end of the game.

Fairy Queen (magic coin)

The player who wins the Fairy Queen auction takes one Blue Magic coin from the bank. Later in the game, he can add this coin to his bid in Gold or Silver after the bids from all players have been revealed. The Blue Magic coin is returned to the bank after it is used.

Note: The Blue Magic coin cannot be added to a bid of 0, which is considered no bid.

Forger

The player who wins the Forger auction loses to the bank all his Common Silver and Common Gold coins, then takes from the bank as many Fairy Gold coins as he had Common Gold.

Generous Dragon

The player who wins the Generous Dragon takes one Dragonstone (Red, Yellow, Blue) of his choice from the bank. Then all other players also receive a Dragonstone of the same color.

Note: If there are not enough Dragonstones of the chosen color, the winner of the auction decides which other player(s) do not receive Dragonstones.

Ghost

The player who wins the Ghost auction claims one of the characters already auctioned this round (even if it was not won or was cursed by the Witch) and plays it as if he won this character. He cannot choose a character with an infinity icon or an hourglass icon.

Gnome

The player who wins the Gnome auction takes two Common Gold and two Common Silver coins from the bank.

Goblin

The player who wins the Goblin auction draws a character at random from the pile of cards that have not yet been auctioned this round. He then plays that card as if he had won this character. The drawn character card is then placed with the characters already played this round.

Note: The Goblin is passed on and discarded if he is the last card drawn in the round.

Goldsmith (magic coin)

The player who wins the Goldsmith auction takes one Magic Amulet (Red Magic coin) from the bank. Later in the game, he can spend this Magic Amulet in an auction to double the value of the Gold or Silver coins he bids. For example: Four Common Gold coins, plus the Red Magic coin, is worth eight Gold coins. The Magic Amulet is returned to the bank after it is bid.

Halfling

The player who wins the Halfling auction takes from the bank as many Common Gold coins as the difference between his bid and the second highest bid. If he wins it in a Silver tie-break auction, he takes the difference between his Silver bid and the second highest bid.

If the second highest bid is 0, the winner takes as many Common Gold as his bid.

Illusionist (hourglass)

The player who wins the Illusionist auction keeps this card and places it in front of him. Later in the game, during the auction of his choice he can make two bids, one in each fist. He decides which fist to open after having seen the other players' bids. One of the two bids can always be zero.

Imp

The player who wins the Imp auction may claim a character of their choice from the pile of cards that have not yet been auctioned this round. He then plays that card as if he had won the auction for this character. The drawn character card is then placed with the characters already played this round.

Note: The Imp is passed on and discarded if he is the last card drawn in the round.

Innkeeper (2 cards) (hourglass)

The player who wins the Innkeeper auction keeps this card and places it face up in front of him. Later in the game, he can play and discard it to cancel an auction immediately after the bids have been revealed. Players take their bids back (including any Magic coins) and the auction is played again.

Basically, the situation is brought back to what it was before the players made their bid, and players bid again.

Note: The Innkeeper can be played on the auction cancelled by the Witch, in which case the Witch takes her Black Magic coin back.

Kobold

The player who wins the Kobold auction draws the first card from the Special Character cards. He then plays that card as if he had won the auction for this character. The drawn character card is then placed with the characters already played this round.

Manipulator (hourglass or infinity)

If the winner of the Manipulator and at least one other player have infinity or hourglass characters, he swaps such a character with one from another player. If he has no such character and at least one other player has at least one, he steals one. If no other player has such a card in front of them, he may draw and claim the first infinity or hourglass card from the top of the Special Character deck. Discard all unclaimed cards.

Merchant

The player who wins the Merchant auction can buy as many (Red, Yellow, Blue) Dragonstones as they wish by paying to the bank one Common or Fairy Gold, or three Common Silver coins for each Dragonstone.

Mermaid (permanent)

The player who wins the Mermaid keeps this card and places it in front of him. From now on, every time he pays Dragonstones to the bank, he can use any one non-Blue Dragonstone as if it were a Blue Dragonstone.

Miser

All other players must give to the player who wins the Miser auction one item of their choice. This is resolved in clockwise order, starting with the player on his left. This item can be a Common coin, Fairy coin, Magic coin, or Dragonstone.

Necromancer

The player who wins the Necromancer auction may score one point by paying all of the coins bid in the auction, including Fairy Gold, to the bank.

Note: The player who wins the Necromancer auction is not bound to use this power. This allows him to retain the Fairy Gold coins that he bid.

Pixie (permanent)

The player who wins the Pixie auction keeps this card and places it in front of him. At any time, the player who owns the Pixie card can spend one Common Silver to take one Fairy Gold in front of his screen and bring it back behind his screen.

Psychic

The player who wins the Psychic auction rolls his Special Scoring die. If the resulting roll is within one (+/-) of the player's current score, this becomes his new score.

Puppeteer (permanent)

The player who wins the Puppeteer auction keeps this card and places it in front of him. From now on he always is the player who draws four Special Character cards and chooses three at the beginning of a round.

Note: The Puppeteer's Special Character selection ability takes precedence over the King's Favor.

Quack Wizard (2 cards)

The player who wins the Quack Wizard auction pays all of his Dragonstones to the bank and scores one point. If the player has no Dragonstones, he scores the point for free.

Rainbow Dragon

The player who wins the Rainbow Dragon auction takes all the Red, Yellow, and Blue Dragonstones from the bank and places them in the Dragonstone Storage bag. He then chooses a color (Red, Yellow, Blue) and draws Dragonstones one at a time from the bag until he either: decides to stop and keep the Dragonstones he has drawn; or he draws a stone of the chosen color and must give back all the Dragonstones he has drawn.

Note: If there are no more Dragonstones of a color in the bank, the player cannot name that color.

Rat King (hourglass)

The player who wins the Rat King auction keeps this card and places it in front of him. Later in the game, he can discard it to win the auction for a character in which all players bid empty fists.

Note: The Rat King takes precedence over the King's Favor ability and cannot be used on a tie-break auction, or on an auction cancelled by the Witch.

Robber

The player who wins the Robber auction steals a coin, at random, from behind another player's screen. It can happen that the coin stolen is a Black, Blue, Red, or Purple Magic coin or Fairy Silver.

Rogue Trader

The player who wins the Rogue Trader auction gives all his Dragonstones to another player of his choice (even if he has no Dragonstones at all) and takes all that player's Dragonstones.

Seer

At the beginning of the next round, the player who won the Seer auction will draw four Special Characters and choose the three that will be auctioned this round, without revealing them to the other players. He will also be able to look at the order of the character cards after they are shuffled, and before the first auction (the Witch) takes place.

Note: The Seer has precedence over the King's Favor and Puppeteer, whose special character selection abilities are canceled for the round.

Silversmith (hourglass)

The player who wins the Silversmith auction keeps this card and places it in front of him. Later in the game, when a character card is revealed for auction, he can play and discard the Silversmith to have the auction for this character bid only with Silver coins. In case of a tie, there is a regular tie break auction, also with Silver coins. In the case of an auction with No Bids, the Silversmith is discarded; normal "No Bids" rules are ignored.

Note: The Silversmith cannot be played for the Stonecutter or Druid auction.

Sorcerer Apprentice (2 cards)

The player who wins the Sorcerer Apprentice auction pays two identical Dragonstones (if he has them) to the bank and scores one point.

Sorceress

The player who wins the Sorceress auction pays two Dragonstones (if he has them) to the bank and scores one point. He chooses which one of his two neighbors also scores one point.

Stonecutter (2 cards)

The auction for the Stonecutter is held bidding Dragonstones, not Gold. Ties are still settled by Silver. All Dragonstones bid are lost to the bank, and the winner of the auction scores 1 point. In the case of an auction with No Bids, the Stonecutter is discarded; normal "No Bids" rules are ignored.

Note: The Black, Purple, Red, and Blue Magic coins cannot be bid on the Stonecutter auction.

Troll

The player who wins the Troll auction chooses one Dragonstone from another player. That Dragonstone is returned to the bank.

Two-headed Dragon (2 cards)

The player who wins the Two-headed Dragon auction takes two Dragonstones of each color (Red, Yellow, Blue) from the bank and places them in the Dragonstone Storage bag. He then randomly draws two Dragonstones from the bag to keep. The remaining Dragonstones are placed back in the bank.

Usurper

The player who wins the Usurper auction takes from the bank as many Common Silver coins as he bid Gold coins in this auction.

Warlock (2 cards)

The player who wins the Warlock auction can pay two Dragonstones of his choice to any one other player and score one point; or take three Common Silver coins from the bank.

Wise Dragon

The player who wins the Wise Dragon auction places all the Red, Yellow, and Blue Dragonstones from the bank into the Dragonstone Storage bag. He then draws as many random Dragonstones as there are players from the bag, chooses one, and passes the remaining ones to his left neighbor. His left neighbor then does the same, and so on until the last player gets and keeps a single Dragonstone.

White Dragon (2 cards)

The player who wins the White Dragon auction takes a White Dragonstone from the bank. White Dragonstones are considered wild and can be used as the color of the player's choice.