The Red Dragon Inn 9: The Undercity
The Red Dragon Inn 9: The Undercity Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 40-card Dale Deck
- 15-card Mushroom Deck
- 4 Rake Tokens
- 40-card Jett Deck
- Momentum Tracker Card and Token
- 40-card Petra Deck
- Hellfire Tracker Card and Token
- 15-card Petra Boss Deck (used only in the Boss Battle Variant)
- 40-card Terci Deck
- 14-card Patient Deck
- 9 Medical Supply Tokens (3 Bandages, 3 Splints, 3 Salves)
- 40-card Ygella Deck
- 8 Deck Dividers for use in The Character Trove
- 30-card Drink Deck
- 6 Player Mats
- 59 Gold Coin Tokens
- Fortitude and Alcohol Content Markers (5 each)
- Alternative Fortitude and Alcohol Content Tokens
Variant Components:
- Team Variants: 8 Potion Tokens
- Prize Variant: 3 Prize Cards (Dale's Finest Mushroom, Speedy Runner's Stopwatch, Straw of Misdirection)
- Pub Crawl Variant (requires The Red Dragon Inn 8): 6-card Tavern Drink Deck (The Undercider), 1 Tavern Card
- Otto Two-Player Variant: 5-card Berserker Faction, 5-card Spelunker Faction
Introduction
Object of the Game
Keep your Gold and stay conscious. If you run out of Gold, or if your Alcohol Content is ever greater than or equal to your Fortitude, you are out of the game.
Getting Started
Shuffle the 30-card Drink Deck and place it where everyone can reach it. Leave space for a discard pile next to the Drink Deck.
Each player chooses a character and takes all the material for that character.
Shuffle your Character Deck and place it next to the space labeled Deck on your player mat. When you must discard Character Deck Cards, place them next to the space labeled Discard on your player mat.
Take 10 Gold and place it near your player mat where everyone can see it. This is your "Stash." (For games with 2 players, take 8 Gold instead. For games with 7 or more players, take 12 Gold instead.) Put the extra Gold to the side. This is the "Inn."
Place a red Fortitude Marker on the 20 on your player mat to track your Fortitude. Place a clear Alcohol Content Marker on the 0 on your player mat to track your Alcohol Content.
Take a card from the Drink Deck and place it face down next to the space labeled Drink Me! This is your Drink Me! Pile. Do not look at the cards in your Drink Me! Pile yet.
Draw the top seven cards from your Character Deck. This is your hand. You may look at these cards, but you must keep them hidden from the other players.
Choose someone to go first.
On Your Turn
Your turn consists of four Phases, which must be played in order: Discard and Draw, Action, Order a Drink, Drink.
1. Discard and Draw
You may discard any cards from your hand that you do not want and then draw from your Character Deck until you are holding seven cards. You may not play any cards or effects until you have finished drawing cards.
If you draw the last card from your Character Deck, shuffle your discarded Character Cards and put them back on the Deck space on your player mat.
If you are holding seven or more cards you may opt to keep all of them and draw no new cards.
2. Action
You may play one Action Card. To play an Action Card, read the title of the card out loud and pick the affected player(s). Give other players a chance to respond to the card, then follow any instructions on the card and discard it to the Discard space on your Player Mat.
If you play a "Gambling? I'm in!" card, you start a Round of Gambling (see "Gambling" below for more details).
If you cannot or do not want to play an Action Card, you don't have to.
3. Order a Drink
Take the top card from the Drink Deck and place it face down, without looking at it, on top of any other player's Drink Me! Pile.
If the Drink Deck runs out of cards, each player must pay the tavern 1 Gold to serve up a new round of Drinks. (See "More Drink Rules" below for details.)
4. Drink
Reveal the top card of your Drink Me! Pile, follow the instructions on the card and place it in the Drink Deck discard pile. Some of the instructions on Drink Cards are represented by icons:
- Gain [X] Alcohol Content
- Gain [X] Fortitude
- Lose [X] Fortitude
- Add a Chaser - see "Chasers" below
If you don't have any cards in your Drink Me! Pile when you have to drink, you start to sober up; reduce your Alcohol Content by one.
Ending Your Turn
After your Drink Phase, the player to your left goes next.
Sometimes and Anytime Cards
Sometimes Cards can only be played under certain conditions. Each Sometimes Card tells you when it can be played in its text.
Some Sometimes Cards allow you to Negate or Ignore another card. These cards are described under "Negate and Ignore Effects" below.
You may play multiple Sometimes Cards in response to the same game event, even if they are multiple copies of the same card. However, you must play the cards one at a time and give your opponents an opportunity to respond to each one.
Anytime Cards may be played at any time, even if they interrupt another player's action.
Relevant Sometimes and Anytime Cards may be played in any phase of a turn, either before or after the special action for that phase. For example, you may play an Anytime Card during your Discard and Draw Phase before you discard and draw.
If two or more players would like to play Sometimes or Anytime Cards at the same time, see "Timing" below.
Losing the Game
Running Out of Gold
If you run out of Gold, it's back out to the Undercity for you. You are out of the game.
Passing Out
If your Alcohol Content is ever greater than or equal to your Fortitude, you fall unconscious and the party continues without you. Your Gold is divided between the Inn and any players still in the game. Split your Gold in half. One half, rounded up, goes to the Inn. What's left gets split evenly among the remaining players, with any remainder going to the Inn. You are out of the game.
If you run out of Gold or pass out, you don't lose immediately. First, finish resolving any cards that have been played but have not yet resolved. After these cards resolve, you have one last chance to play Sometimes or Anytime Cards to save yourself or attack others. If you can't save yourself, then you're out of the game.
If you have any cards in your Drink Me! Pile when you lose, put them in the appropriate discard pile(s).
It is possible for multiple players to lose at the same time. If this happens, first determine which players are passing out. Each of those players divides their Gold among the players who aren't passing out, as described above. After this, if any players have no Gold, they lose the game as well. This means that if one player passes out and another runs out of Gold simultaneously, the player who is running out of Gold could be saved by getting a share of the Gold from the other player!
If all remaining players would lose the game simultaneously, the game is a tie between those players.
Gambling
When a player plays "Gambling? I'm in!" as their Action, this starts a Round of Gambling. When a Round of Gambling begins, normal play is suspended and each player must ante 1 Gold, putting it in the middle of the table (making sure not to get it confused with the Inn's Gold). This counts as "losing Gold" for the purpose of cards which affect that.
The player who started the Round of Gambling is currently winning ("in control" of the Round).
Play proceeds clockwise around the table from the player who started the Round. On your turn you may either play a Gambling or Cheating Card or pass.
Play a Gambling or Cheating Card: Playing either of these two types of card gives you control of the Round of Gambling. The card you play may have other effects, as well.
Pass: You may choose to pass instead of playing a card. You may pass even if you have a Gambling or Cheating Card that you could play (and it is often correct to do so!). If you pass, you are still in the Round of Gambling and may play Gambling or Cheating Cards later in the Round, as long as the Round does not end first.
Ending the Round
If you play a Gambling or Cheating Card and everyone else passes, the Round of Gambling ends, and you win. Take all of the anted Gold and add it to your Stash.
As soon as the last player passes, the Round of Gambling ends immediately. You may not play cards that would affect the Round after this point unless the card explicitly states that you can.
If a card effect says that you win the Round, the Round ends immediately, and you take the anted Gold.
When the Round of Gambling is over, normal game play resumes. The player who started the Round moves on to their Order a Drink Phase.
"Winning Hand!"
"Winning Hand!" is a special Gambling Card, because only Cheating Cards (and a few specific other cards) can be used to take control after it has been played. If "Winning Hand!" is played and it is followed by a Cheating Card, then any Gambling or Cheating Card can be played next. Just remember:
- A Cheating Card can be played after anything.
- A Gambling Card can be played after anything except a "Winning Hand!"
Card text of "Winning Hand!" (Action, Gambling): Take control of a Round of Gambling. The next card to take control must be a Cheating Card.
Card text of "Gambling? I'm in!" (Action - Gambling): Start a Round of Gambling. (Each player, including you, must ante.) - OR - Take control of a Round of Gambling.
Leaving a Round of Gambling
Some cards allow you to leave a Round of Gambling. If you leave a Round of Gambling, you cannot play Gambling or Cheating Cards for the rest of that Round, but you may still play Sometimes or Anytime Cards. You are no longer affected by cards that require you to ante, such as "I raise!" Any Gold that you previously anted stays in the pot.
If you play a card that requires players to ante, then immediately leave the Round (for example, with "Gambling? I'm in!" followed by "Can'tcha see I'm sharpenin' my tools?"), then the Round proceeds normally, but currently has no winner. If the Round ends before any player takes control, all anted Gold goes to the Inn.
Forcing a Player to Leave a Round of Gambling
Some cards force a player to leave a Round of Gambling. When a player is forced out of the Round, each player, including the one being forced out, has a chance to respond with an appropriate Sometimes Card.
If there is ever only one player left in the Round, the Round of Gambling ends and the remaining player wins.
Running out of Gold During Gambling
If you run out of Gold during a Round of Gambling, you will remain in the game at least until the Round of Gambling ends, even if you leave the Round of Gambling or are forced out. Ignore any effects that force you to pay or ante Gold. If you do not win the Round of Gambling, you are out of Gold and out of the game!
If you play a card that would require players to ante, but you cannot ante (because you are out of Gold and cannot use a card like "How did this get in my snack pouch?"), then no player is required to ante.
Gambling Example
On his turn, Jett plays "Gambling? I'm in!" to start a Round of Gambling.
Dale plays "Can'tcha see I'm sharpenin' my tools?" to leave the Round of Gambling. He does not have to ante, but he cannot play any Gambling or Cheating Cards for the rest of this Round.
Jett, Terci and Ygella each ante one Gold. Since Jett started the Round, he's winning (in control).
Terci goes next and passes.
Ygella plays "I raise," a Gambling Card that forces all players in the Round to ante an additional Gold. Jett, Terci and Ygella each ante one more Gold (bringing the pot to 6 Gold). The "I raise" card also puts Ygella in control of the Round of Gambling, so she is now winning.
Jett plays "Winning Hand!" This is a special Gambling Card that can only be beaten by Cheating Cards. Jett is now winning.
Terci plays "I'm a doctor, not a cheater", which is (of course) a Cheating Card. Terci is now winning.
Ygella passes.
Jett plays "Gambling? I'm In!" In addition to starting a Round of Gambling, "Gambling? I'm in!" can be used during a Round to take control. Jett is now winning.
Terci passes and so does Ygella.
Jett wins the 6 Gold in the pot.
More Drink Rules
Running Out of Drinks
When you reach the end of the Drink Deck, each player must pay one Gold to the Inn to get the tavern to bring more Drinks.
After each player pays one Gold, shuffle the discarded Drink Cards into a new Drink Deck. This happens instantly, so the Drink Deck is never out of cards. Drink Cards that have been put on Drink Me! Piles remain where they are.
Drink Events
Some cards in the Drink Deck are Drink Event Cards. If you reveal a Drink Event, follow the instructions on the card. Cards that affect Drinks do not affect Drink Events unless they specifically say that they do so.
Example Drink Event, "Round on the House!" (Drink Event): Reveal a Drink (with possible Chasers) from the Drink Deck. If you reveal a Drink Event before revealing a Drink, discard it and reveal again. Each player (including you) drinks a copy of the revealed Drink.
Chasers
If you reveal a Drink Card that has the phrase "with a Chaser" in the title and/or the "+" mug icon (for example, "Wine with a Chaser"), reveal the next card from the deck from which you revealed the previous Drink. If you reveal a Drink Event before revealing a Drink, discard it and reveal again. If it's a Drink Card, add its effects to the original Drink. If it's another Drink with a Chaser, add its effects to the original Drink and continue this process.
If no cards remain in your Drink Me! Pile when you would reveal a Chaser from it, or if you reveal a Drink Event as your Chaser, there is no additional effect. Do not continue revealing cards, and if you revealed a Drink Event, discard it without taking its effects. You do not sober up if your Drink Me! Pile runs out while revealing Chasers.
The Drink Deck is never out of cards, so if you run out of cards while revealing Chasers from the Drink Deck, follow the "Running Out of Drinks" rule above and then continue revealing Chasers.
The original Drink and its Chasers all count as a single Drink. A card that allows you to Ignore a Drink will Ignore the original Drink and all of its Chasers.
No player may respond to a Drink until all of its Chasers have been revealed.
Chaser Example 1: Dale drinks from his Drink Me! Pile and gets Wine with a Chaser. He reveals the next card on his Drink Me! Pile and gets Dragon Breath Ale. He adds the effects of both Drinks, for a total Alcohol Content of 6. Dale plays "This'll keep the vermin offa my crops" to Ignore the Drink, so he gains no Alcohol Content.
Chaser Example 2: During a Drinking Contest, Terci reveals Light Ale with a Chaser from the top of the Drink Deck. They reveal the next card from the Drink Deck and get Round on the House! Since Round on the House is a Drink Event, it has no effect as a Chaser and is discarded. Terci gains 1 Alcohol Content.
Discarding and Drawing
Some Drinks cause you to draw cards, discard cards or reveal cards from your Character Deck. If a Drink includes multiple such effects due to Chasers or other effects added to the Drink, resolve them in the order of your choice. However, you must fully resolve one such ability before moving on to the next - you may not interrupt one ability to resolve another.
Drinks That Aren't Discarded
Some Drinks, such as the Old Fae-shioned in the Star Mole Tavern Deck, instruct you to do something with a physical Drink Card other than putting it in a discard pile after it resolves. In certain cases, multiple players can end up being affected by such an effect, but only one of those players can move the physical card. If that happens, start with the player who controlled the Drink when it resolved, or the active player if the Drink had no single controller (like in the case of "Round on the House"). Then proceed in turn order among all players who were instructed to move the Drink, skipping any players who Ignored the Drink or passed it to another player. The first player in that order takes the indicated action with the physical card. If no player is eligible to take the action, the Drink goes to the Drink discard pile as normal.
Old Fae-shioned (Drink): Put this card in front of you. While it's there, you may play it as a Sometimes Card with the effect "Ignore an Action, Sometimes or Anytime Card that affects your Fortitude."
Example: On her Drink Phase, Ygella reveals Old Fae-shioned. She plays "This'll curl your whiskers!" to split the Drink with Petra. Ygella and Petra each gain 2 Alcohol Content. Since Ygella is the first affected player in turn order, she puts the Old Fae-shioned in front of her. Unfortunately for Petra, she does not gain the benefit of the Drink.
Ordering Additional Drinks
Some cards allow you to order additional Drinks during your Order a Drink Phase. When you do this, you may put the Drinks face down on any other players' Drink Me! Piles. They can all go to the same player, or they can be distributed however you like among multiple players.
Other Rules
Minimum and Maximum Fortitude, Alcohol Content, Gold
Your Fortitude and Alcohol Content can never go below 0 or above 20. Your Gold can never go below 0, but it has no maximum. If the Inn runs out of Gold Pieces, use some other markers as a substitute.
If a card effect cannot fully take effect due to these limits, the card still takes effect as completely as it is able.
Example: Petra is at 0 Alcohol Content. Fleck (from RDI 2) plays "And now I'm going to play something really sad" to make each player lose 1 Alcohol Content and pay him 1 Gold. Petra cannot lose 1 Alcohol Content, since she is already at 0, but she still must pay Fleck 1 Gold.
Negate and Ignore Effects
Some Sometimes Cards allow you to Negate or Ignore another card.
When you Negate a card, you completely prevent it from resolving. The Negated card goes to the appropriate discard pile. None of its effects happen.
When you Ignore a card, the card resolves normally, but it has no effect on you. It still affects other players as usual.
Cards do not Negate or Ignore other cards unless they specifically use the word "Negate" or the word "Ignore." So, for example, cards which reduce or redirect damage, reduce Alcohol Content, or pass Drinks to other players are not Negating or Ignoring anything.
Many cards allow you to Ignore a Drink. You may only play a card of this type on a Drink that would affect you in some way. You may not Ignore someone else's Drink unless that player first passes it to you or splits it with you, or if you would somehow take effects from it.
Some cards allow you to Ignore a card that affects your Gold. You may not use such a card to avoid a Gold payment on a card that you played yourself. You may still use cards that reduce payments or pay with Gold from the Inn, however.
Some cards allow you to Ignore an Event. This includes Drink Events, Tavern Events, Sea Events and Dungeon Events. You may not Ignore an Event after it has started resolving in order to selectively Ignore the later parts of the Event. (This can be relevant for cards like Drinking Contest.)
Negate Example: Jett plays "Sorry 'bout the claws" on Ygella. Ygella loses 2 Fortitude, then plays "Careful! They swarm when threatened" to try to hit Jett back. Jett responds with "I don't think so!" Ygella's card is Negated, so it has no effect. Jett loses no Fortitude.
Ignore Example: Ygella plays "Group hug!" to make each other player lose 1 Fortitude. In response, Jett plays "Rise above adversity" to Ignore the card. Jett does not lose Fortitude, but the other players do, since Ygella's card affects them normally when it resolves.
"I don't think so!" (Sometimes): Negate a Sometimes Card. This card can only be affected by another "I don't think so!"
"Oh hey, alcohol is sterile!" (Sometimes): Ignore a Drink. (Reveal the Drink first!)
Cards That Affect Your Fortitude, Alcohol Content, Gold
Some cards specify that they can be played in response to a card that affects your Fortitude, Alcohol Content or Gold. A card affects one of these attributes only if it would directly change that attribute when it takes effect.
If a card would normally affect an attribute but can't because that attribute is already at its minimum or maximum value, the card is still considered to affect that attribute.
You may not Ignore a Round of Gambling with a card that allows you to Ignore a card that affects your Gold.
Card text of "Uh-oh! Time to dig our way out of trouble!" (Sometimes - Pet): Ignore an Action, Sometimes or Anytime Card that affects your Fortitude, Alcohol Content or Gold. You may not use this card to Ignore a Round of Gambling.
Example 1: Terci plays "Tip the Barkeep" to make Ygella pay 1 Gold to the Inn. In response, Ygella plays "Uh-oh! Time to dig our way out of trouble!", allowing her to Ignore the card, since it would directly change her Gold.
Example 2: Ygella reveals Wine on her Drink Phase. Dale plays "Mushroom spores, pixie dust, same difference!" to add 1 Alcohol Content to the Wine. Ygella may not play "Time to dig our way out of trouble" here, because Dale's card is not changing Ygella's Alcohol Content directly - it is changing the effects of the Wine.
Example 3: Ygella reveals Dragon Breath Ale on her Drink Phase. She plays "I've drunk stronger stuff running down cavern walls!" to Ignore the Drink. Jett plays "I don't think so!" to Negate Ygella's Ignore card. Ygella may not play "Time to dig our way out of trouble" here, because Jett's card is not changing Ygella's Alcohol Content directly - it is Negating Ygella's card that would allow her to Ignore the Drink.
Example 4: Ygella wins a Round of Gambling. At the end of the Round, Gerki (from the original Red Dragon Inn game) plays "Um...I know you think you won, but..." to take the pot. Ygella may not play "Time to dig our way out of trouble" here, because Gerki's card is not directly changing Ygella's Gold. It is affecting the outcome of the Round of Gambling.
Timing
Whenever any card is played or a Drink or Event is revealed, each player (in turn order, starting with the player who played or revealed the card) may play relevant Sometimes Cards in response.
If no player has any response to a card, that card resolves and its instructions are carried out.
If a player plays a response to a card and that response resolves, each player (in turn order, as above) has another opportunity to respond to the original card. If no player does, the original card resolves.
Timing Example 1: Jett reveals Light Ale during his Drink Phase. He is holding "Parkour!", which would allow him to Ignore the Drink. He chooses not to play it, since the Drink only has an Alcohol Content of 1. Dale plays "Mushroom spores, pixie dust, same difference!" to add 1 Alcohol Content to the Light Ale. After Dale's card resolves, Jett will have another opportunity to play "Parkour!" to Ignore the spiked Light Ale, even though he previously chose not to respond.
If two or more players are instructed to reveal and drink Drinks at the same time (for example, with the Drink Event "Drinking Contest!"), they first reveal Drink Cards and Chasers, as appropriate. After that, in turn order (as above), players may play Sometimes Cards that modify Drinks. Anytime Cards may also be played here. When no player has any further responses, each player drinks their Drink simultaneously.
If two or more players wish to respond to the same game event with Sometimes or Anytime Cards, players should take back their plays, then play and resolve their Anytime Cards in turn order, beginning from the player whose turn it is. After that, they should play and resolve their Sometimes Cards in the same way.
If a situation arises in which two or more players are each waiting for the others to act before making a decision, the deadlock should be broken with a similar method. In turn order, beginning with the player whose turn it is, each player declares their choice, then the game continues normally.
Timing Example 2: Jett is at 12 Fortitude and 10 Alcohol Content. On his Drink Phase he reveals Elven Wine. In order to keep from passing out, he plays "Parkour!" to Ignore the Drink. Terci (sitting to Jett's left) and Dale (sitting to Terci's left) each hold an "I don't think so!", and each suspects that the other is holding one. Both Terci and Dale are interested in Negating Jett's Ignore card, but neither wants to be the one to spend their critical "I don't think so!" To resolve the deadlock, first Terci, then Dale must either play a response to Jett's card or choose not to. If neither Terci nor Dale decides to play "I don't think so!" on Jett's card, he Ignores his Drink and remains in the game.
If two or more players wish to respond to sequential game events that occur as the result of a card being played, then players should take back their plays, then play them sequentially.
Timing Example 3: Ygella plays "Group hug!" to make each other player lose 1 Fortitude. At this point, Jett wants to play "Rise above adversity" to Ignore the effect and Terci wants to play "Take that and call me in the morning" to hit Ygella back. Since the game event of responding to Ygella's card happens before the game event of players losing Fortitude, Jett plays his card first. Once that card takes effect, Ygella's card resolves, causing the other players to each lose 1 Fortitude. After that happens, Terci may play their card to hit Ygella back.
Self-Splitting Drinks
Some Drinks, such as Mead, have their own built-in split effects. When a player reveals one of these Drinks, players first get an opportunity to affect the Drink. When players are done affecting the Drink, the player who revealed it may choose a player with whom to split it. Players then have another opportunity to affect the split halves of the Drink. Because players have an opportunity to affect the Drink after it is split, the two players sharing the Drink could end up taking different effects from it!
If a self-splitting Drink is the result of a Drink Event or is revealed as a Chaser to another Drink, it may not be split with another player. The player drinking the Drink takes its full effects.
Mead (Drink): If Mead was not the result of a Drink Event or Chaser, you may split it with another player (round up). Mead cannot be affected by any other card that splits a Drink.
Example: Jett reveals Mead during his Drink Phase. No player alters the Drink, so he decides to split it with Terci. This creates two copies of Mead with 2 Alcohol Content each (half of 3 rounded up). After this, Dale plays "Mushroom spores, pixie dust, same difference!" on Terci's Mead, giving it a total Alcohol Content of 3. Each player then drinks their half, so Jett gains 2 Alcohol Content and Terci gains 3.
Round on the House
The card Round on the House is similar to a split effect, but is not considered a split effect. When a Drink is revealed for Round on the House, each player immediately receives a separate, independent copy of that Drink. Players do not have an opportunity to affect the Drink before it is copied, but may affect the individual copies afterward.
Drinking Contest
When a player reveals a Drinking Contest card, each player, starting with the player whose turn it is, reveals the top card of the Drink Deck. If that card is a Drink Event, it has no effect and counts as a 0 Alcohol Content Drink. If it is a Drink with a Chaser, the player continues revealing Drink Cards as appropriate. Once all players have revealed one or more cards from the Drink Deck, players may, in turn order, play Sometimes Cards that modify Drinks. Anytime Cards may also be played here. When all players are done playing cards, each player drinks and discards their Drink, then the player who revealed the Drink with the highest total Alcohol Content receives one Gold from each other player.
If two or more players tie for the Drink with the highest total Alcohol Content, the tied players repeat the process of revealing, modifying, drinking and discarding Drinks until there is a clear winner. If all tied players but one pass out during this process, the remaining player wins the Drinking Contest and does not continue drinking. If all tied players pass out during this process, the Drinking Contest has no winner.
If a player would win the Drinking Contest and pass out at the same time, that player collects Gold for winning the contest, then passes out.
If a player passes out during a Drinking Contest, that player loses the game, but does not split their Gold among the other players until after the Drinking Contest is completed. Players who lose the game in this way still must pay one Gold to the winner of the Drinking Contest before splitting their Gold.
Cards that increase or decrease the Alcohol Content of a Drink will affect the outcome of a Drinking Contest. If a Drink is split, Ignored, or given to another player, this does not affect the outcome of the contest. If a player somehow takes extra Drinks during a Drinking Contest, these extra Drinks do not affect the outcome of the Drinking Contest.
If a Drink's total Alcohol Content is less than 0 (such as Pot of Tea), it counts as a 0 Alcohol Content Drink in a Drinking Contest. The Drink will still affect your Alcohol Content as normal.
If you run out of Gold during a Drinking Contest, you will remain in the game at least until the Drinking Contest is finished. Ignore any effects that force you to pay Gold. If you do not win the Drinking Contest, you are out of Gold and out of the game!
Card text of "Drinking Contest!" (Drink Event): Each player reveals a Drink from the Drink Deck and drinks it. The player who reveals the Drink with the highest Alcohol Content (even if they avoid the effects of the Drink) wins 1 Gold from each other player. If there is a tie, the players who tied reveal and drink again until there is a winner. The effects of Drink Event Cards are ignored and they count as 0 Alcohol Content.
Drinking Contest Example 1: In a Drinking Contest, Petra reveals Wine (2 Alcohol Content), and Jett reveals Light Ale (1 Alcohol Content). Dale plays "Mushroom spores, pixie dust, same difference!" to increase the Alcohol Content of Jett's Drink to 2, causing his Drink to tie with Petra's. Petra and Jett each gain 2 Alcohol Content, then the Drinking Contest continues.
Drinking Contest Example 2: In another Drinking Contest, Ygella reveals Dragon Breath Ale (4 Alcohol Content), and Terci reveals Dark Ale (1 Alcohol Content). Ygella plays "This'll curl your whiskers!" to split her Drink with Terci. Terci gains a total of 3 Alcohol Content and Ygella gains 2 Alcohol Content, but Ygella still wins the Drinking Contest.
Drinking Contest Example 3: Petra has 1 Gold, and reveals a Drinking Contest on her Drink Phase. As Drinks are revealed by each player, the Drink Deck runs out, so everyone pays 1 Gold to the Inn to get a new round of Drinks. Petra pays her last Gold, so she will be out of the game if she does not win. She reveals a Dragon Breath Ale and wins the Drinking Contest, receiving a Gold from each other player and staying in the game.
Cards that "Change the Effects of a Drink"
Several cards allow you to Negate a Sometimes Card that changes the effects of a Drink. Negating or Ignoring a Drink, passing a Drink to another player, splitting a Drink, and increasing or decreasing a Drink's Alcohol Content are all considered changing the Drink's effects, so such cards can be played in all of these cases.
Cards that Order Drinks, force a player to drink, or directly increase a player's Alcohol Content do not count as changing the effects of a Drink.
Altering or interacting with a Drink Event does not count as changing the effects of a Drink, since a Drink Event is not a Drink.
Negating a card that would change the effects of a Drink does not itself count as changing the effects of a Drink. (Quite the opposite, in fact!)
Splitting Drinks
When a card is played that can split or duplicate a Drink, it creates separate, independent Drinks. A card that affects a Drink can only affect one of the split Drinks unless it specifically says otherwise. If a Drink is altered before it is split, then the altered Drink is split.
To split a Drink with one or more Chasers, first combine all like numeric effects (Alcohol Content, Fortitude, drawing cards, etc.), then split each combined effect in half, rounding up.
Split Example 1: Ygella reveals an Elven Wine (3 Alcohol Content). She plays "This'll curl your whiskers!", which splits the Drink into two Drinks with 2 Alcohol Content each (3 Alcohol Content split in half, then rounded up). Dale then plays "Mushroom spores, pixie dust, same difference!" to add 1 Alcohol Content to one of the two Drinks. The result is one Drink with 2 Alcohol Content and another with 3 Alcohol Content.
Split Example 2: Dale plays "Mushroom spores, pixie dust, same difference!" as soon as the Elven Wine is revealed, making the Elven Wine a Drink with 4 Alcohol Content. Ygella then plays "This'll curl your whiskers!", creating two Drinks with 2 Alcohol Content each.
Character Rules
Dale the Mycologist
Dale is a farmer who made the unusual choice (for a pixie, anyway) to move to the Undercity to cultivate mushrooms. He is known for the fine quality of his crops, both culinary and medicinal.
Setup: Shuffle the 15-card Mushroom Deck and put it next to your player mat. Reveal the top card of the Mushroom Deck and put it in the "Planter Box" above your player mat, then put a Rake Token pointing to the topmost number on that card. The Rake Token indicates the Mushroom's current Harvest Value.
Mushrooms: Dale's Mushrooms are planted in his Planter Box and grow over time. You may Harvest these cards to enhance cards you play from your hand. At the end of your turn you will Gather any fully-grown Mushrooms that have not yet been Harvested.
Plant: To Plant a Mushroom, reveal the top card of the Mushroom Deck, put it into the Planter Box and put a Rake Token on the topmost number on that card. The Planter Box may hold a maximum of four Mushrooms. If you would Plant a Mushroom but there are already four in the Planter Box, reveal the Mushroom you would plant, then either discard a Mushroom from your Planter Box to make room for the newly-revealed Mushroom or discard the newly-revealed Mushroom. No player may take any game actions until after you have made this choice. If the Mushroom Deck runs out of cards, shuffle the Mushroom discards and use that as the new Mushroom Deck.
Grow: To Grow a Mushroom, move its Rake Token down one spot. In most cases, this will cause the Mushroom's Harvest Value to increase. If you would Grow a Mushroom whose Rake Token is already pointing to its bottom-most number, nothing happens.
Beginning of Turn: At the beginning of your turn, before your Discard and Draw Phase, first Grow all Mushrooms in your Planter Box, then Plant a Mushroom.
Harvest: Many cards in Dale's Character Deck have an improved effect if you Harvest Mushrooms from your Planter Box as you play them. When you play a card with a Harvest effect, you may discard Mushrooms with a total Harvest Value equal to or greater than the Harvest number listed on the played card. If you do, the Harvest effect happens. If a Harvest effect uses the word "instead", it replaces the base effect. Otherwise, the Harvest effect is added to the base effect.
Harvesting is an additional cost that you must pay as you play the card. You may not wait to see if other players want to respond, then decide to pay the Harvest cost. If you pay a Harvest cost and your card is Negated or Ignored, you do not get your Harvest cost back. There is no additional effect if you overpay a Harvest cost, and you may not pay a Harvest cost multiple times on a single card.
Example card, "Nosiree, those aren't edible." (Action): Pick another player. They lose 2 Fortitude. Harvest 3: They also gain 1 Alcohol Content.
Gather: At the end of your turn, you must discard any Mushroom whose Rake Token is pointing to its bottom-most Harvest Value. If any card discarded in this way has a Gather effect, resolve that effect as you discard the card. A Gather effect may be responded to as though it came from an Action Card that you played from your hand. Note that The Evershroom is an exception to the "forced Gather" rule. It is never Gathered - it simply stays on its bottom-most Harvest Value for as long as you like!
You do not get the Gather effect for any Mushroom used to pay a Harvest cost, even if that Mushroom was on its bottom-most Harvest Value.
Jett the Courier
The fastest courier in the Undercity is ready to deliver any package at lightning speed. After hours, he likes to relax at the Star Mole Drinking Hole, but he generally likes to keep moving, even while off-duty.
Setup: Place the Momentum Tracker Card next to your player mat with Jett's Hat Token on the "0" space.
Momentum: Many of Jett's cards cause his Momentum to change. In addition, many cards have a different effect depending on his Momentum, which can range from 0 to 3.
If a card causes you to Gain or Lose Momentum, that is part of the card's effects, so if the card is Negated, you do not gain or lose the Momentum. If it gets Ignored or otherwise altered, your Momentum changes as normal. You may play a card that causes you to lose Momentum even if you have less Momentum than the card would make you lose.
Spending Momentum: If an effect allows you to Spend Momentum, that is an additional cost to play the effect, so you must have at least that much Momentum to spend in order to activate that effect. If the card is Negated or Ignored, you do not get the spent Momentum back.
Beginning of Turn: At the beginning of your turn, before your Discard and Draw Phase, gain 1 Momentum.
Example card, "Sign right here and there you go!" (Action): Pick another player. They pay you 1 Gold. If it's your Action Phase, you may play another Action Card this phase. You may spend 2 Momentum. If you do, put the top card of your Drink Me! Pile onto that player's Drink Me! Pile.
Petra the Devious
Petra earned her "devious" moniker by maneuvering her way onto the governing board of the Thieves' Guild. Her passion for plotting and scheming makes her a dangerous foe!
Setup: Place the Hellfire Tracker Card next to your player mat with the Hellfire Token on the lowest-numbered space. Be sure to use the side that says "Hellfire" unless you are playing Petra as the Boss in the Boss Battle Variant (see "Boss Battle").
Schemes: Many of Petra's cards have the subtype Scheme. These cards have a different effect if they are played from the Plotted Cards area than they would have if played from your hand. If a Scheme is played from the Plotted Cards area, use the effect marked with the Scheme icon. If a Scheme effect uses the word "instead", it replaces the base effect. Otherwise, the Scheme effect is added to the base effect. A Scheme played from the Plotted Cards area may be responded to just like a card played from your hand.
Example card, "It's better with a drop of this!" (Sometimes - Scheme): Reduce the Alcohol Content of a Drink by 2. (Reducing a Drink's Alcohol Content below 0 reduces it to 0 instead. Reveal the Drink first!) Scheme effect: Instead, add 2 Alcohol Content to a Drink.
Plotting Cards: After your Discard and Draw Phase, or whenever a card says so, you may Plot a card from your hand. To do this, put a card from your hand face down into the Plotted Cards area above your player mat. You may put any card face down in this way, but you may only play Schemes from the Plotted Cards area. There is no limit to the number of cards that can be in your Plotted Cards area.
Hellfire: Petra's Hellfire causes her to deal periodic extra damage. When you gain Hellfire, move the Hellfire Token up on the circular Hellfire track. If the Hellfire Token gets to the "fire" spot, resolve the effect at the bottom of the Hellfire card, then move the Hellfire Token back to the first spot. If you would gain Hellfire that would move you past the fire spot, first move to the fire spot, then resolve the Hellfire effect, then continue gaining Hellfire.
Beginning of Turn: Before your Discard and Draw Phase, first discard all Plotted Cards and gain 1 Hellfire for each card discarded in this way. Then Discard and Draw as normal. After this, you may Plot one card from your hand.
Other Rules: You may look at your face-down Plotted Cards at any time. Plotted Cards may be played as though they were in your hand, but they are not actually part of your hand. This means, for example, that you may not discard them to effects that cause you to discard cards from your hand. It also means that a player may not look at them if they play an effect allowing them to look at your hand. Petra may Plot only her own Character Cards. She may not Plot other cards that could end up in her hand, such as Murgath's Blessings.
Boss Battle: Petra may be played as the Boss in the Boss Battle Variant (see "Boss Battle"). If you do this, be sure to shuffle in the 15-card Boss Deck (with dragon heads in the corners). In addition, Boss Petra uses the "Boss Battle" side of her Hellfire Tracker Card, which has a more powerful ability when it fires!
Example card, "This is fine." (Action - Scheme): Each other player loses 1 Fortitude. If you have at least 2 Hellfire, pick another player. That player loses an additional Fortitude.
Doctor Terci
Doctor Terci is one of a small handful of non-magical healers in town, always ready to discreetly provide medical help to Undercitizens in need. Terci will ply their craft anywhere in the privacy of their office, or in a busy tavern!
Setup: Shuffle the 14-card Patient Deck and place it next to your player mat. Reveal the top two cards from the Patient Deck and place them in the "Waiting Patient" slots above your player mat. Keep the 3 Salve Tokens, 3 Splint Tokens and 3 Bandage Tokens near your player mat.
Medical Supplies: Many cards in Terci's Character Deck have a Medical Supplies icon in the bottom left. When you play such a card, take one of that Medical Supply Token and put it on your player mat after all other effects on the card have been carried out. If the card has a split icon with multiple Medical Supplies, choose one of the tokens shown.
Patients: Terci's Patients can be treated with the right combination of Medical Supplies. At any time, you may spend a Patient's required Medical Supply Tokens from your player mat, putting them back into the supply. If you do, take that Patient Card into your hand. It now counts as a card in your hand of the given type (representing the often non-monetary compensation that the Patient gives you). Patient Cards in your hand act like any other cards in your hand - you may discard them to effects that cause you to discard cards, and they count toward your hand limit.
Beginning of Turn: At the beginning of your turn, before your Discard and Draw Phase, fill any empty Waiting Patient slots by revealing new cards from the Patient Deck. Note that you may not discard Waiting Patients unless a card specifically says that you may do so. To get more Patients, you'll have to treat (or discard) the ones you have, then wait for new ones to come through the door!
Other Rules: If a card that would give you a Medical Supply Token is Negated, you don't get the token. If it is Ignored or otherwise altered, you do. If you would gain a Medical Supply Token, but all three of that particular token are already on your player mat, you don't gain anything. If your Patient Deck runs out, shuffle the Patient discard pile and use that as the new Patient Deck.
Example: During a Round of Gambling, Terci plays "Sometimes, my patients actually pay me!" (Sometimes: You may play this card when you are about to lose Gold. Use Gold from the Inn, rather than from your own Stash.) to avoid paying Gold. They take a Salve Token and put it on their player mat. Later, they use that Salve Token to treat the hung-over adventurer ("A hung-over adventurer", a Sometimes Patient: Add 1 Alcohol Content to a Drink). They remove the Salve Token from their player mat and put the Patient Card into their hand. It now counts as a Sometimes Card that can spike a Drink.
Beastsergeant Ygella
Ygella is a high-ranking member of the Runoff Rangers, a team of experts charged with keeping the Undercity safe from the many wild beasts that live under the surface. She is highly skilled at befriending those wild beasts and enlisting their help!
Pets: Many cards in Ygella's deck have the subtype "Pet". This is shown both by the type line under the title and by the paw symbol in the upper left. Several of Ygella's cards refer to Pet Cards, allowing her to get fancy with those cards!
Example card, "Ooh, he's taken a lichen to you!" (Action - Pet): Pick another player. They gain 2 Alcohol Content.
Team Variants
General rules for all team variants are described here. Rules specific to each specific team variant are described below. Read this section first, then read the section explaining the team variant you wish to play. For more detailed Team Variant rules, including card-specific notes for previous characters, consult the RDI 6 rules, available on the SlugFest Games website (https://slugfestgames.com).
When you play on a team, you are working together with your teammates. You each have your own Character Deck, hand of cards and Drink Me! Pile as normal. You can look at each other's hands and consult on the correct plays to make. You win or lose the game together.
Drink Rules
Each player in a team game has their own individual Drink Me! Pile. Each player's Drink Me! Pile starts the game with one Drink Card on it, as usual.
You may not pass a Drink you are about to drink to a teammate or split a Drink with a teammate.
When the Drink Deck runs out of cards, each team (not each individual player) pays 1 Gold to the Inn to get a new round of Drinks.
Shared Fortitude, Alcohol Content and Gold
A team has shared Fortitude, Alcohol Content and Gold. Each player may have their own player mat if they like, but only one player per team tracks the team's Fortitude, Alcohol Content and Gold. When any player on a team gains or loses Fortitude, Alcohol Content or Gold, the team's shared stats are affected. Each team starts the game with 20 Fortitude, 0 Alcohol Content and 10 Gold. As with the individual game, your Fortitude may not go above 20 and your Alcohol Content may not go below 0.
Potion Tokens
In a team game, each team starts with a number of Potion Tokens specified in the rules for the specific variant being played. A team may discard a Potion Token at any time to choose one of the following effects: gain 6 Fortitude OR lose 6 Alcohol Content OR gain 3 Gold from the Inn. These effects may not be Negated, Ignored or affected in any way.
Shared Defense
Players on a team may play Sometimes Cards to defend each other! This includes cards that reduce or Ignore Fortitude loss or Alcohol Content gain, cards that Ignore Drinks or Events, cards that pay costs with Gold from the Inn or avoid paying, cards that avoid a Round of Gambling, or even cards that "hit back" after losing Fortitude.
You may play a Sometimes Card whenever you or a teammate meet the conditions that would allow you to play that card.
Example 1: Ygella plays "Ooh, he's taken a lichen to you!" to make Terci gain 2 Alcohol Content. Terci's teammate Jett plays "Rise above adversity" to help them Ignore Ygella's card. The team gains no Alcohol Content.
Example 2: Terci plays "Tip the Barkeep" to make Petra pay a Gold to the Inn. Petra's teammate Ygella plays "How 'bout a fancy rock instead?" so that Petra doesn't have to pay.
Example 3: Deirdre and Fiona (from RDI 1) are teammates. Deirdre reveals a Dragon Breath Ale. Fiona plays "Nothing like a little belt of liquid courage!" on it, so the team gains 4 Fortitude instead of 4 Alcohol Content.
Shared Turn Structure
A team takes their turn together, by playing the usual four phases in order. A player may not move on to the next phase until her entire team is ready to move on.
Discard and Draw: Each player on the active team discards any cards they don't want, then they refill to their hand size simultaneously. A player may not see what their teammates have drawn before deciding what cards to discard.
Action: In any order, each player on the active team may play one Action Card. A player plays and completely resolves their Action Card before their next teammate acts. A player may not play an Action Card on behalf of a teammate. If a player on a team doesn't play an Action Card, that doesn't allow her teammates to play extras!
Order a Drink: The active team Orders the number of Drinks specified in the rules for the specific team variant being played. An ordered Drink may be placed on any opponent's Drink Me! Pile. You may not Order Drinks for a teammate.
Drink: In any order, each player on the active team drinks the top card of their Drink Me! Pile. A player reveals and completely resolves their Drink before their next teammate drinks. This means that you must decide whether or not to Ignore your Drink before seeing what Drinks your teammates get!
Remember that you may Ignore a Drink on behalf of a teammate!
Skipping or Repeating Phases
If a player plays a card that makes a player skip or repeat a phase, or repeat the special action associated with that phase, the player playing the card chooses which player on the affected team skips or repeats that phase or special action. Only the chosen player is affected - their teammates are not.
Example 1: After each teammate has played an Action Card, Chronos plays "Timewarp" to get another Action Phase, choosing himself as the affected player. During the extra Action Phase, only Chronos may play another Action Card, not his teammates.
Example 2: After ordering Drinks, Chronos plays "Timewarp" to get another Order a Drink Phase, choosing himself as the affected player. During the extra Order a Drink Phase, Chronos may order a single extra Drink for an opponent. His teammates may not.
Example 3: Gog (from RDI 2) plays "Gog say you drink MORE!" to make Petra drink again during her team's Drink Phase. Only Petra drinks again. Her teammates do not.
"Your Turn Ends Now"
If a player's turn would prematurely end, that player (and only that player) stops taking game actions. They may not play cards for the rest of this turn, they Ignore all effects, and they do not participate in phases for the rest of the turn. That player's teammates continue with the turn normally, though. The "Ignore all effects" shield does not affect them.
A character who is "not there" due to a turn-ending effect may still be chosen to act as the team's Champion. That character automatically Ignores the effects of whatever they are the Champion for.
Example: Kaylin is under the turn-ending effect of "Private pixie time" when one of her opponents reveals a Drinking Contest. Kaylin's team chooses Kaylin as their Champion, thereby automatically Ignoring the Drinking Contest (they don't draw a Drink and don't risk any Gold).
Gambling, Events and Team Champions
Many card effects, such as a Round of Gambling or a Drinking Contest, would normally force multiple players on a team to face off against one another. In these cases, the team chooses a player to act as their Champion. A team chooses a Champion in each of the following cases:
- An Event would affect all players
- A Round of Gambling begins
- A player plays a card that would affect "each player (including you)"
If a player reveals a Drink Event, starts a Round of Gambling, or plays an "each player (including you)" effect, that player is automatically chosen as their team's Champion. If a team reveals a Sea Event or Dungeon Event at the end of their shared turn, they still choose a Champion for the Event, regardless of which teammate revealed the card. If a member of a team Crawls to a new Tavern in the Pub Crawl Variant, each team chooses a Champion, including the team that Crawled.
Each time a team must choose a Champion, they may choose a different teammate. In other words, you do not need to choose the same player to be your Champion for the entire game.
Drink Events: When a player reveals a Drink Event that would affect all players, the player who revealed the Drink Event is automatically chosen as their team's Champion. Each other team chooses a Champion, then the Drink Event resolves normally, affecting only the chosen Champions. However, each Champion's teammates may still play defensive Sometimes Cards to help out. (Note that this means that a team's choice of Champion often doesn't matter in the case of Events. See "Static Effects" below for an important exception!)
Event Example 1: Boss Petra reveals "Round on the House!" The Challengers choose Zakhan (from RDI 5) as their Champion so he can gain some Drunken Chi. Petra reveals Wine from the Drink Deck. Petra and Zakhan each gain 2 Alcohol Content, then Zakhan decides to increase his Drunken Chi by 1.
Event Example 2: Dale and Terci are on a team. Terci reveals "Round on the House!", so they automatically become their team's Champion. After each other team chooses their Champion, Terci reveals Dragon Breath Ale. Dale plays "This'll keep the vermin offa my crops!" to Ignore the Drink on Terci's behalf.
Other Events: If a team causes a Tavern Event, or reveals an Event Card that isn't a Drink Event, and that Event would affect all players, each team chooses a Champion, then the Event resolves normally, affecting only the chosen Champions. This applies to Sea Events, Dungeon Events and Tavern Events.
Event Example 3: Petra and Dale are on a team. At the end of their turn, they reveal the Dungeon Event "Feats of Heroism". They choose Dale as their Champion, so they gain 1 Alcohol Content rather than losing 1 Fortitude.
Round of Gambling: When a player begins a Round of Gambling, that player is automatically chosen as their team's Champion. Each other team chooses a Champion, then the Round continues with only the chosen Champions participating.
Players other than the Champions are not included in the Round, even if the card that started the Round would normally prevent players from avoiding it.
A Champion chosen for a Round of Gambling stays Champion for the entire Round. A team may not switch Champions in the middle of a Round of Gambling.
Players other than the Champions may not play Gambling or Cheating Cards during the Round. They also may not play any cards that say that you may not play them if you have already left the Round. However, they may play cards that could otherwise be played during a Round.
Gambling Example 1: Jett plays "Gambling? I'm in!" to start a Round of Gambling. His teammate Terci sits out, since Jett is automatically their team's Champion. The Dale/Ygella team chooses Ygella as their Champion, then the Round of Gambling continues.
Gambling Example 2: Terci plays "Gambling? I'm in!" to start a Round of Gambling. Later in the Round, their teammate Gerki (from RDI 1) plays "Grab a coin while no one's lookin'!" to steal a Gold from the pot. This is a legal play, even though Gerki is not participating in the Round of Gambling.
Gambling Example 3: Terci plays "Gambling? I'm in!" to start a Round of Gambling. Later in the Round, their teammate Gerki plays "Oh, I guess the Wench thought that was her tip..." to end the Round and cause all of the anted Gold to go to the Inn.
"Each player (including you)": When a player plays a card that affects "each player (including you)", each team chooses a Champion to take the effect. The player who played the card affecting everyone must be chosen as that team's Champion. (Note that this rule does not apply to cards that affect "each other player" - see below.)
Example: Deirdre (from RDI 1) plays "Let's toast the Goddess!" to make each player drink from the Drink Deck. Deirdre is automatically her team's Champion. Each other team chooses a Champion, then each of the Champions takes a Drink from the Drink Deck.
Targeting Other Players
Another player: If a card requires you to pick one or more other players (using the phrase "another player" or "other player[s]"), you must pick players who aren't on your team. If a card requires you to pick more than one player, you may not pick the same player multiple times, but you may pick multiple players on the same team. (If you pick multiple players on a team, follow the rules for "each other player" below.) Note that which player(s) on a team you choose is often not relevant due to shared defense, but Static Effects sometimes lead to game states where the choice matters (see below).
Pick a player: If a card says to "pick a player" (like "Tip the Barkeep"), you may choose any player, including a teammate or yourself.
Each other player: If a card affects "each other player", it affects each player that isn't on your team. Note, however, that shared defense means that a team may reduce or Ignore such an effect with just one card!
Example 1: Jett and Ygella are teammates. Petra plays "This is fine" to make each other player lose 1 Fortitude (without the additional Hellfire effect). The Jett/Ygella team loses a total of 2 Fortitude.
Example 2: Jett and Ygella are teammates. Petra plays "This is fine." Ygella plays "Good thing I was wearing my great-grandmother's bucklers!" to reduce the Fortitude loss by 2. The Jett/Ygella team loses no Fortitude.
Each player (including you): If a card affects "each player (including you)", each team chooses a Champion to take the effect. The player who played the card affecting everyone must be chosen as that team's Champion.
Redirection: A card that redirects an effect to another player may redirect it to a teammate of the person who originally played that effect, even if that teammate couldn't have been targeted originally.
Example: Jett and Ygella are teammates. Ygella plays "Someone's got ants in their pants!" to make Boss Daareka (from RDI 6) lose 2 Fortitude. Daareka plays "My, what selfless adventurers you are!" to redirect the effect to Jett. The Jett/Ygella team loses 2 Fortitude.
Static Effects
Some characters have cards or other objects that stay in front of them and provide an effect that is "always on" while the card or object is in play. These Static Effects include things like Kaylin's "Private Pixie Time", Wulfric's moods, Erin's forms, Cormac's Rage Tiles, some of Wrench's Gizmos, some of Keet's Artifacts and some of Torglesnarf's Minions.
Static Effects only affect an individual player, not that player's teammate(s). In most cases, an attacking player can play around Static Effects by simply targeting a teammate that isn't defended by a Static Effect, but this isn't always possible!
Card text of "Someone's got ants in their pants!" (Action - Pet): Pick another player. They lose 2 Fortitude.
Example 1: Kaylin is on a team with Dale. Wulfric is feeling Loyal, so any Fortitude loss that Kaylin would take is reduced by 1. Ygella plays "Someone's got ants in their pants!" and decides to target Dale. The Kaylin/Dale team loses 2 Fortitude, since Dale gets no help from Wulfric's Loyal mood.
Example 2: Ygella is on a team with Cormac who is on Rage Tile B, which makes him deal extra damage, but take more Alcohol Content from Drinks. Ygella plays "Someone's got ants in their pants!" to make Terci lose 2 Fortitude. Ygella deals no additional Fortitude loss because of Cormac's Rage Tile. (She also takes no additional Alcohol Content from Drinks that she drinks!)
Example 3: Jett, Erin, Wrench and Kaylin are on a team together. Erin is a Tree, Wrench has a Buckler in a Box, and Kaylin has Wulfric feeling Loyal (all of which reduce Fortitude loss they would take). Boss Petra plays "First rule of villainy: Burn it with fire" to make each player on the team lose 1 Fortitude (among other effects). Erin reduces her Fortitude loss by 2 (to a total of 0), Wrench reduces his Fortitude Loss by 1 (to a total of 0), and Kaylin reduces her Fortitude Loss by 1 (to a total of 0). When Petra's card resolves, the team will lose a total of 1 Fortitude (because Jett didn't reduce the 1 point done to him).
Two-Headed Dragon
Two-Headed Dragon is a team variant in which players play in two-player teams rather than individually. Like all team variants, it uses all of the rules under "Team Variants" above.
Hand Size: 7
Potion Tokens: 2 per team
Setup: You need an even number of players. Divide into teams of two. Teammates sit next to each other so that they can see each other's cards.
Each team takes one player mat to track Fortitude and Alcohol Content. The other teammate may also use a player mat to hold their Character Deck, discard pile and Drink Me! Pile if they choose, but that player mat should not have Fortitude and Alcohol Content markers on it, since Fortitude and Alcohol Content are shared.
Each individual player has their own Drink Me! Pile that starts the game with one face-down Drink Card.
Each player shuffles their Character Deck and draws 7 cards from it.
Each team takes 10 Gold and 2 Potion Tokens.
Order a Drink Phase: During a team's shared Order a Drink Phase, that team orders two Drinks, which they may place face down on any other players' Drink Me! Piles. Drinks ordered by a team may go to the same player, to the two players on an opposing team, or to two different teams.
Boss Battle
Since Petra is a villain, she can be played as the Boss in a Boss Battle! Boss Battle is a team variant in which one player (the Boss) plays against a team of 2, 3 or 4 other players (the Challengers). Like all team variants, it uses all of the rules under "Team Variants" above. For the purposes of this variant, the Boss counts as a "team of one". So, for example, the Boss is always the team Champion when such a choice is needed.
Playing as the Boss is tough! We recommend this variant only for experienced Red Dragon Inn players.
Hand Size: 7 for the Challengers; 8, 9 or 10 for the Boss depending on whether there are 2, 3 or 4 Challengers, respectively.
Potion Tokens: X for the Boss; X for the Challengers, where X is the number of Challengers. (Note that the Challengers get X Potion Tokens total, not X per player.)
Challenger Setup: The Challengers sit on one side of the table so that they can see each other's cards. The Challengers use one player mat to track Fortitude and Alcohol Content. The other Challengers may also use player mats to hold their Character Decks, discard piles and Drink Me! Piles if they choose, but those other player mats should not have Fortitude and Alcohol Content markers on them, since Fortitude and Alcohol Content are shared.
Each individual Challenger has their own Drink Me! Pile that starts the game with one face-down Drink Card.
Each Challenger shuffles their non-Boss Character Deck and draws 7 cards.
The team of Challengers takes 10 Gold and X Potion Tokens, where X is the number of Challengers.
Boss Setup: The Boss player chooses a villainous character to play and takes the cards and player mat for that character. (It is not possible to play a Boss Battle with a non-villain character as the Boss.)
The Boss shuffles their Boss Cards into their Character Deck. For most Bosses, including Petra, this will result in a 55-card Character Deck. (The Boss Cards are the ones with the dragon heads in the upper corners.)
The Boss draws up to their hand size (8 if there are 2 Challengers, 9 if there are 3 Challengers, and 10 if there are 4 Challengers).
The Boss puts one Drink Card face down on their Drink Me! Pile.
The Boss takes 10 Gold and X Potion Tokens, where X is the number of Challengers.
The Boss's Turn: The Boss always goes first. On the Boss's turn, they take the usual phases in the usual order, but with some different rules:
Discard and Draw: The Boss discards any cards they don't want, then refills to their hand size (8, 9 or 10, depending on the number of Challengers). Petra must discard Plotted Cards before this step and may Plot a card immediately after it.
Action: The Boss may play up to X Action Cards, where X is the number of Challengers. (Exception: during the Boss's first turn, they may play up to 1 Action Card if there are 2 Challengers, or up to 2 Action Cards otherwise.)
If the Boss plays Action Cards that require her to pick one or more players, she may pick any of the Challengers. The Boss is not required to target a different player with each Action Card.
The Boss's Action Cards are played and completely resolved one at a time. The Boss leaves the Action Cards they play face up near their player mat so that players will remember how many Action Cards the Boss has played so far. (This is particularly important after a long Gambling Round!)
Example: Boss Petra is playing against Dale, Jett and Terci. She plays "Hot and sharp, just like me!" to make Dale lose 2 Fortitude. Jett plays "Rise above adversity" to defend Dale. Petra leaves her first Action Card near her player mat and plays her second Action Card, "Pick your poison" to make Terci lose 1 Fortitude. The team cannot defend, so they lose 1 Fortitude. Finally, Petra plays her third Action Card, "Do you smell burning?" to make each other player lose 1 Fortitude. The Challengers lose 3 Fortitude. Since Petra's Action Phase is over, she discards the three Action Cards she played and proceeds to her Order a Drink Phase.
Order a Drink: The Boss orders X Drinks, where X is the number of Challengers. (Exception: during the Boss's first turn, they order 1 Drink if there are 2 Challengers, or 2 Drinks otherwise.) Ordered Drinks may be placed on any Challengers' Drink Me! Piles. The Boss may give the ordered Drinks to any Challengers (all to a single Challenger, spread out among all Challengers, or any combination thereof).
Example: Boss Nerodia is playing against the team of Dale, Jett and Terci. During her Order a Drink Phase, she orders 3 Drinks. She decides to give 1 to Dale and 2 to Jett.
Drink: The Boss reveals the top Drink from their Drink Me! Pile and drinks it.
(Observant readers will note that the Boss's special first turn is essentially a "half-turn", rounded up.)
The Challengers' Turn: The Challengers take their shared turn exactly as described in "Shared Turn Structure" above. An important point to remember is that each player may play up to one Action Card during the shared Action Phase. If a Challenger doesn't play an Action Card, that doesn't allow one of her teammates to play an extra one!
Order a Drink: During the Challengers' shared Order a Drink Phase, they order one Drink for the Boss (one Drink total, not one Drink per Challenger).
Two-Headed Boss Battle
The Two-Headed Boss Battle variant is the same as the Two-Headed Dragon variant, but with each player playing a Boss Deck!
Hand Size: 7
Potion Tokens: 2 per team
Setup: Each player follows Boss Setup as described under Boss Battle above, but with a hand of 7 cards.
Order a Drink Phase: During a team's shared Order a Drink Phase, that team orders two Drinks, which they may place face down on any other players' Drink Me! Piles. Drinks ordered by a team may go to the same player, to the two players on an opposing team, or to two different teams.
Leaders and Lackeys
The Leaders and Lackeys variant is the same as the Two-Headed Boss Battle variant, but with each team consisting of one Boss and one non-Boss character. The hilarious combinations are nearly endless with this variant!
Hand Size: 7
Potion Tokens: 2 per team
Setup: Each Boss player follows Boss Setup as described under Boss Battle above, but with a hand of 7 cards (regardless of the number of players in the game). Each Lackey player shuffles their puny non-Boss Character Deck and draws a hand of 7 cards.
Order a Drink Phase: During a team's shared Order a Drink Phase, that team orders two Drinks, which they may place face down on any other players' Drink Me! Piles. Drinks ordered by a team may go to the same player, to the two players on an opposing team, or to two different teams.
Other Variants
Otto, Our Mechanical Friend (Otto Two-Player Variant)
The mechanically-minded adventurers Wizgille and Wrench have teamed up to build an automaton to join in on the party when the tavern is a little empty. Otto adds an automated third player to a two-player game! The Red Dragon Inn works for two players even without this variant, but you may want to try playing with Otto if you want a more tactical and unpredictable mode of play where gambling takes on more importance. (If you've never played the game before, however, we recommend at least one game without Otto to familiarize yourself with the basics.)
This product includes 10 new cards for Otto, which come in two different factions that determine his style of play: Berserker and Spelunker.
Setup: Place Otto's player mat so that one of his 0-6 tracks is oriented toward one player and the other is oriented toward the other player. Place a Fortitude marker on each of the 6's and an Alcohol Content marker on each of the 0's. Choose two of Otto's factions and shuffle them together so that he has a 10-card deck. The other factions will not be used this game. (Note that you can mix any of Otto's ten factions if you also have factions from another RDI product!)
Because Otto counts as a third player, the non-Otto players start the game with 10 Gold instead of 8. Otto always goes first.
General Rules: Otto cannot win or lose the game - he simply acts as a foil to the two other players. When one of the non-automated players is eliminated, the other immediately wins. Player turns, including Otto's, proceed clockwise around the table as usual.
Otto does not have a hand of cards, so he may not draw or discard cards. Otto has no Gold. If he would pay Gold, he pays with Gold from the Inn. If a player pays Otto Gold, that Gold goes to the Inn. Otto does not have a Drink Me! Pile - when he must drink, he drinks from the Drink Deck. Players may not Order Drinks for Otto. There is one exception: The Wench (from RDI 7) may give her Special Reserve Drinks to Otto.
Two Fortitude-Alcohol Tracks: Otto has two separate Fortitude-Alcohol tracks - one for each player in the game. If a player causes Otto's Fortitude or Alcohol Content to change, only that player's track is affected. Other actions (such as drinking on his turn) cause both tracks to be affected.
If Otto "passes out" on a track, reset that track to 0 and 6, then that player may either gain 1 Gold from the Inn or draw 2 cards from their Character Deck. Otto is never eliminated from the game.
Otto's Deck: At various points in the game, you will reveal a card from Otto's Deck and follow the instructions in one section of the revealed card. If Otto's Deck runs out, shuffle his discard pile and use that as the new Otto Deck. This happens immediately, with one important exception: if Otto runs out of cards during a Round of Gambling, do not reshuffle his deck until the Round is over.
Otto's Turn: Otto only has two phases on his turn: Action and Drink. He does not Discard and Draw, and he does not Order Drinks.
On Otto's Action Phase, reveal and discard the top card of the Otto Deck and follow the instructions in the "Action" box. If the instructions specify a player such as "the player with the most Fortitude" and the players are tied on the specified attribute, both players take the effect.
On Otto's Drink Phase, he drinks a Drink (with possible Chasers) from the Drink Deck. Any Fortitude or Alcohol effect he takes from that Drink affects both of his tracks. This remains true even if one player alters Otto's Drink.
Example Otto cards:
- "Otto deploys climbing spikes!": Action: Each other player loses 1 Fortitude. Sometimes (Action, Sometimes, Anytime): The player who played the card loses 1 Fortitude. (The card still takes effect.) Gambling: "Pass."
- "OTTO ANGRY NOW!": Action: Reset both of Otto's tracks. Sometimes (Action, Sometimes, Anytime): The player who played the card loses 2 Fortitude. (The card still takes effect.) Gambling: Otto leaves the Round of Gambling. (If that is illegal, Otto passes.)
Targeting Otto: Otto counts as a player in the game, which means that he can be affected whenever a player plays a card that uses wording like "pick another player," "each other player," or "each player." When a player plays an effect that affects Otto's Fortitude or Alcohol Content, only that player's track is affected.
Example: Petra plays "This is fine" to make each other player lose 1 Fortitude. Jett loses 1 Fortitude, and Otto loses 1 Fortitude on the track closest to Petra. Otto's track on Jett's side is not affected.
If a player card causes Otto to be affected by a Drink or an Event (for example, Deirdre's "Let's toast the Goddess!"), only that player's track is affected.
Gambling: Otto always antes with Gold from the Inn. If it is Otto's turn to act in a Round of Gambling, reveal the top card of his deck and follow the instructions in the bottom box, labeled "Gambling" or "Cheating". If the play he makes would be illegal (for example, an effect labeled "Gambling" after a "Winning Hand!"), he passes instead.
Example: Dale plays "Winning Hand!" to take control of the Round of Gambling. Berserker Otto reveals a Gambling Card with the effect "Otto leaves the Round of Gambling." Since a Gambling Card can't take effect after a "Winning Hand!", Otto does not leave the Round. He passes instead.
Remember that Otto's Deck does not reshuffle during a Round of Gambling. If he runs out of cards during a Round, he passes until the Round is over. Reshuffle his deck afterward.
If you are playing with the Prize Variant and Otto starts a Round of Gambling, he does not add a Prize to the pot. If Otto wins a Prize, it returns to the Inn with no effect.
Responses: When Otto is affected by a Drink, Action, Sometimes or Anytime Card that affects his Fortitude, Alcohol Content or Gold, reveal the top card of the Otto Deck and follow the instructions in the "Sometimes" box. The instructions may refer to a certain card type in bold, such as "Action, Sometimes or Anytime" or "Drink". In that case, the response only applies to that type of card. If the card that triggered Otto is not of the specified type, Otto does not respond.
Otto's "Sometimes" effects count as Sometimes Cards. This means, for example, that they can be Negated by "I don't think so!"
Some of Otto's response effects refer to "the affected track(s)". This means the track(s) that are affected by the effect that triggered Otto. If an effect triggers Otto but affects neither of his Fortitude-Alcohol tracks, then any response that refers to "the affected track(s)" does nothing.
If a non-Otto card says that it can be affected as though it were an Action Card, then Otto reveals a Sometimes effect in response.
If Otto would reveal a response during a Round of Gambling, but his deck has no cards, he does not respond.
Choices: If a non-Otto card gives Otto the choice to pay Gold, discard cards, lose Fortitude, gain Alcohol Content, or split a Drink, Otto chooses not to do so, suffering the consequences of that choice.
If a card would force Otto to discard cards, nothing happens. If there is a penalty for not discarding enough cards, Otto ignores it.
For any choices not covered by the previous paragraphs, Otto always chooses the first option. For example, the Dungeon Event "Staring Contest" (from RDI 6) causes Otto to lose 2 Alcohol Content on both tracks.
If a card requires Otto to bid or secretly choose some amount of something, he always chooses zero.
Other Otto Rules: If Otto would ever make an illegal play, he instead does nothing. Otto may not be used in a Team Variant game.
Some cards refer to the player to Otto's left or right. The player to Otto's left is the one after him in clockwise turn order.
Otto is affected normally by Natyli's Debuffs, Remy's Marks and Amundyr's Scarabs. Extra damage from such components affects only that player's track.
If Otto would get an Artifact from Keet, that Artifact is discarded instead.
Otto never targets Wrench's Gizmos or Torglesnarf's Minions except with cards that affect "each other player".
Daareka may not target Otto with a card that allows her to make choices for a player.
The Wench may give Special Reserve Drinks to Otto. If Otto has Special Reserve Drinks in front of him, he treats those as the top cards of the Drink Deck whenever he must drink during his Drink Phase.
Warthorn may not give his Story Cards to Otto.
If Otto gets a Blessing from Murgath, he immediately reveals it and plays it for its healing effect. The effect is applied only to the Otto track closest to Murgath. If the Blessing doesn't have a healing effect, it is discarded.
If Otto gets a Drink that instructs Otto to keep it in front of him, he takes its initial effect, then discards it.
If a card would force Otto to play an Action Card, or give him the opportunity to play an additional Action Card, he instead does nothing.
The Bar Deck Variant
The Red Dragon Inn is designed to be played with a 30-card Drink Deck, so that the deck will run out during the game and force everyone to pay Gold to the Inn. However, there are now many more than 30 unique Drink Cards available across all expansions. If you'd like to play with a Drink Deck of more than 30 cards, use this variant.
Setup: Shuffle together all of the Drink Cards you wish to use for the game. This is the Bar Deck. Count out 30 cards from the Bar Deck face down and use those cards as your Drink Deck at the start of the game.
When the Drink Deck runs out, each player pays 1 Gold to the Inn, as normal. Then, take the next 30 cards from the Bar Deck and use them as your replacement Drink Deck. If the Bar Deck runs out during this process, shuffle all of the discarded Drink Cards and use that as your new Bar Deck.
The Bar Deck must be made up of Red Dragon Inn Drink Cards, with the backs marked "Drink Deck". Tavern Drink Cards for the Pub Crawl Variant may not be used in the Bar Deck. However, it is possible to play a game with both the Pub Crawl Variant and the Bar Deck Variant. Simply use the Bar Deck as the Red Dragon Inn Drink Deck and use the usual Tavern Decks for the other taverns.
The Prize Variant
Some promotional cards, including Dale's Finest Mushroom, Speedy Runner's Stopwatch and Straw of Misdirection in this product, have the type "Prize". The Prize Variant provides an optional way to spice up Rounds of Gambling. To play with this variant, add any number of unique Prize Cards to the Inn at the start of the game.
Whenever a player starts a Round of Gambling, that player must choose one of the Prize Cards in the Inn and add it to the pot before players ante. The player who wins the pot also takes the Prize and follows its instructions at the appropriate time.
Using a Prize will cause it to move to the Prize Bin, a holding pile for used Prizes. The Prize Bin ensures that each Prize must be won once before any Prize can be won again. If a player starts a Round of Gambling and there are no Prizes in the Inn, move all Prizes from the Prize Bin to the Inn, then choose a Prize as normal. If a player starts a Round of Gambling and there are no Prizes in the Inn and no Prizes in the Prize Bin, that Round of Gambling simply doesn't include a Prize.
If the pot goes to the Inn, the Prize in that pot goes to the Inn with it.
Stealing Gold from the Pot: A Prize is not Gold, so it cannot be stolen from the pot with cards like Jett's "Wanna see a coin trick?". Stealing Gold from the pot does not cause you to win the Prize, even if you happen to steal the last Gold from the pot.
Taking the Pot Without Winning the Round: A few characters, including Gerki, Torglesnarf, and The Wench can take the pot without actually winning the Round of Gambling. If they do this, they get the Prize.
Captain Whitehawk: If Captain Whitehawk takes half the pot with "What a coincidence, I happen to have the same hand!", the original winner chooses whether to give the Prize to Captain Whitehawk or to keep it for themselves.
Events: If an Event Card starts a Round of Gambling, the active player chooses which Prize to add to the pot.
Teams: In a team game, a Prize is won by the individual player who takes the pot. That Prize may only be used by that player, not by that player's teammates.
Straw of Misdirection: After you win this Prize, you must play it on the next Drink that you would drink on another player's turn, even if that Drink would be beneficial to you. You may give the Drink to any other player - the active player or some other player. Players may respond to this effect with cards like "The Barkeep thinks you should stop playing with the drinks."
Prize card texts: Speedy Runner's Stopwatch: At the end of your Action Phase, add this card to the Prize Bin, then your turn ends. (Do not Order Drinks or Drink.) Dale's Finest Mushroom: When you win this Prize, add it to the Prize Bin and gain 1 Fortitude. Straw of Misdirection: The next time you would drink a Drink during another player's turn, add this card to the Prize Bin and give that Drink to another player. This effect counts as though you played a Sometimes Card on that Drink.
Card-Specific Notes
Can'tcha see I'm sharpenin' my tools?: This card may Ignore any Event, including Drink Events, Sea Events, Dungeon Events and Tavern Events.
Folks say I'm outstanding in my field!: This card ends your turn, but unlike some other turn-ending cards, it does not cause you to be "out of the game" for a time. Your turn simply ends, then the game proceeds normally.
Here's a tough row to hoe: When you play this card, you must choose whether to Plant or Grow, as well as which player will lose 2 Fortitude, before any player has a chance to respond.
Hot five!: This card's first effect includes a number, so it can be affected by cards that change numeric effects, such as Strength Potion. However, this card's second effect does not include a numeric effect, so cards that change numeric effects won't do anything.
I guess I'll stick with this hand: This card counts as a Cheating card if you choose its first effect and a Sometimes card if you choose its second effect. Disregard the card type corresponding to the unplayed ability.
Look. Dastardly schemes don't plan themselves: This card may Ignore any Event, including Drink Events, Sea Events, Dungeon Events and Tavern Events.
Ridiculously flexible: This card may Ignore any Event, including Drink Events, Sea Events, Dungeon Events and Tavern Events.
Something on the Rocks: This Drink always gets a Chaser, even though its title doesn't include the phrase "with a Chaser".
Sorry, I'm on patrol duty: This card may Ignore any Event, including Drink Events, Sea Events, Dungeon Events and Tavern Events.
That tears it!: You may play this card with its Harvest effect in response to a card that can't be Ignored. If you do, you won't Ignore the card, but you will cause the player who played it to lose 2 Fortitude. You may also play this card against Fortitude loss that doesn't allow you to hit back, such as Amundyr's Scarabs. In that case, you will Ignore the Fortitude loss, but not hit back.
The monsters kicked open the door!: Discarding an Action Card in this way does not count as playing it. It has none of its usual effects. The Action Card you discard must be in your hand. You may not (for example) discard a Plotted Card, a Mushroom or a Waiting Patient. Terci may discard a Patient from their hand with the subtype Action, though.
The Star Mole Drinking Hole: A Character Card is any card that could legally be shuffled into your Character Deck. It includes any card that started the game in your Character Deck, as well as any card that could be added to it, such as Vlazlo's Forms and Roxana's Recipes. It does not include side deck cards like Mushrooms or Patients (even Patients in Terci's hand). If a player is unable to put a Character Card on top of their Character Deck, they do nothing.
Too hot to handle: You may play this card in response to a card that can't be Ignored. If you do, you won't Ignore the card, but you will cause the player who played it to lose 1 Fortitude. You may also play this card against Fortitude loss that doesn't allow you to hit back, such as Amundyr's Scarabs. In that case, you will Ignore the Fortitude loss, but not hit back.
Wanna hold one?: You must reveal the Pet Card you get out of your discard pile before putting it into your hand.
A race? You're on!: This card's first effect includes a number, so it can be affected by cards that change numeric effects, such as Strength Potion. However, this card's second effect does not include a numeric effect, so cards that change numeric effects won't do anything.
Who wants a Spelunker Snack?: If your Character Deck runs out of cards while revealing, shuffle your discard pile into a new Character Deck, then continue revealing.