Glorantha: The Gods War – Dragons
Glorantha: The Gods War – Dragons Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
II. Components
Dragon Components
The Monsters components list includes these Dragon pieces: Black Dragon; Brown Dragon; Red Dragon; 3 Dragon Rewards; 3 Dragon Loyalty Cards (Black Dragon, Red Dragon, Brown Dragon).
The Brown Dragon Loyalty Card (recommended no more than 1 dragon be used in a given game; Combat 4) reads: Setup: Place the Brown Dragon on the Spike. No units may be summoned into a Dragon's area. Council Phase: At the end of each Council Phase (just before the Action Phase), the last player in turn order may discard a rune to move the Brown Dragon to the area of his choice; it immediately battles his selected empire. If that player cannot or does not wish to activate the dragon, the next player in reverse turn order gets a chance, and so forth. If no player is able or willing to activate the dragon, the Brown Dragon does not activate that Council Phase. Special Ability — Rage (Post-Battle): Units routed by the Brown Dragon remain in place. However, the activating player earns 1 rune per "routed" unit, whether or not the Dragon survives. Kills are scored normally. The Brown Dragon may destroy a building in the area if it is the only unit remaining after battle. (If a player battles the Dragon during the Action Phase, no player takes any runes.) Killing the Brown Dragon: You must score 3+ kills against it, or 2 kills if your hero is present. The Dragon is routed normally. If the Spike shatters while the Dragon is on it, it is also killed. In this case, no player takes the reward, and all players with one or more runes must discard one, gaining no effect.
XIII. Monsters
Monsters is an expansion for Glorantha: The Gods War; it contains 9 Monsters that can be added to your game. There are three types of monsters: Dragons, Chaos Monsters, and Cosmic Monsters. We recommend that you restrict yourself to no more than one Monster of each type, and note that you may play with fewer than one Monster of each type. Experienced players may choose to add as many Monsters as they feel comfortable using.
Dragons
Dragons are placed on the map at the start of the game; they move and attack as part of the Council Phase. Dragons can be attacked at any time, but they only attack on their own initiative during the Council Phase.
Dragons tend to be a balancing element, since their attacks are controlled by one of the weaker players. For any relevant game purposes, Dragons are classified as greater gods.
Placement Rules
If players cannot agree on which Monster(s) to place we recommend that the game's owner make the final decision, after wisely weighing his friends' words.
- Dragons are placed at the start of the game.
Monster Card
From top to bottom, Great Monsters have a number of special features:
Placement: This explains where and when the Great Monster is placed on the map.
Movement: All monsters have specific triggers for their movement and abilities. In general, players cannot move monsters through the use of gifts or special abilities. For example, Storm cannot use Teleport to carry a monster along with Storm King.
Special Power: Each Monster has its own special power, which describes how and when it inflicts itself upon the world:
- Council Phase (Dragons only): Dragons apply their powers ONCE, at the end of each Council Phase. The details of the Dragons' actions, and who controls them, are specified on each Dragon's loyalty card. If more than one player qualifies to be a Dragon's controller, then the Dragon does not act.
Combat: As with all units, Monsters have a Combat rating. Dragons instigate battle when they activate, but most Monsters only fight if they are attacked. Though Monsters are affected by gifts, runes, and special abilities, they cannot be destroyed by them – see below, "How to Kill," for details. Example: Sunspear cannot be used to kill Monsters – it always fails against them.
Battle Ability: Most Monsters have battle abilities (usually occurring during Post-Battle) which generally do something undesirable to their enemies.
Killing a Monster: Though Monsters may be affected by gifts, runes, and abilities, they cannot be killed by them. Each Monster can only be destroyed in one specific way, as described on their cards. Monsters are difficult to kill – in every case, some special result or procedure is required in order to destroy them. Once destroyed, a Monster is removed from the game. It will not return.
Reward: A player that kills a Monster is rewarded for his efforts. These rewards are described on the Monsters' cards.
Being Routed by a Monster
If a player controls a Monster when it attacks, that player chooses the area to which routed units are sent. If a player attacks a Monster directly, that player decides where to send any of his units that were routed by the Monster.
XIV. FAQ
Runes (Dragon items)
Q. If the Illusion or Chaosium rune is used to duplicate the Monster or Dragon rune, what happens? A. We have provided three separate Monster and Dragon tokens for just this purpose – these tokens are differently-colored, so that players can tell the tokens apart.
Q. What is the cost of the unit created by the Monster or Dragon runes? Can I put it in the Chaos Rift? A. Its cost is zero. It can go into the Rift, but since its Power cost is zero it contributes nothing to closing the Rift.
Monsters (Dragons)
Q. Do Monsters and Spawn technically count as units? If killed, do they increment the Mad God's marker? A. Yes, and yes.
Q. Dragons and Spawn attack when activated; when they attack in the Lady of Disease's area, does the activating player have to pay 1 VP? A. No. It is the dragon that is attacking, and not the player.