Rogue Dungeon: 2nd Edition Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Dungeon Board Setup
• Player Board Setup
• Game Overview
• Heroes
  • Primary Abilities
• Skills
• Game Difficulty
• Monsters
  • Weakness Icons
• Maps
• Dice
• Gameplay
  • Room themes by color & shape
• Events
• Combat
  • Combat Round
• Combat Example #1
• Combat Example #2
• Gameplay Example
• Monster Special Abilities
• Large Dungeon Maps
• Clarifications
• Variants
• Credits
  • Special Thanks!
• Hero Reference
  • Monster Special Abilities Reference

Game Components

• 1 Dungeon Board
• 3 Player Boards
• 56 Monster Cards (10x level I & V, 12x level II, 11x level III, 13x level IV)
• 8 Boss Cards
• 10 Hero Cards (double-sided)
• 94 Room Cards (19x red, 30x yellow, 13x white, 12x green, 10x blue & 10x purple)
• 12 Map Cards (double-sided)
• 94 Loot Cards
• 21 Cursed Loot Cards
• 26 Specialty Loot Cards
• 67 Starting Loot Cards
• Health Tokens (double-sided): 6x, 6x, 6x
• Weapon Damage Tokens (double-sided): 3x, 3x, 2x, 1x
• 50 Gem Tokens (15x red, 15x yellow, 5x white, 5x green, 5x blue & 5x purple)
• XP Tokens (double-sided): 4x, 4x, 4x
• 1 Dungeon Level Counter
• Modifier Tokens (double-sided): 2x, 1x, 1x
• 12 Ability Counters (3x Strength, 3x Agility, 3x Intellect & 3x Vitality)
• Luck Tokens (double-sided): 4x, 2x
• Floor Tile Tokens: 4x green, 6x red
• Status Tokens (double-sided) Ensnare / Sleep: 4x
• Charge Tokens: 6x
• 10 Mini Meeples
• 1 D6
• 3 D10s
• Playing time: 30-60 minutes
• Players: 1-3
• Age: 12+

Dungeon Board Setup

Choose either the Dungeon or Tomb setup.

Dungeon setup: Include all monster, map, room and loot cards with the Dungeon icon or no icon, and exclude cards with the Tomb icon.

Tomb setup: Include all monster, map, room and loot cards with the Tomb icon or no icon, and exclude cards with the Dungeon icon. Set the red room card "Demon Sanctuary" aside and do not shuffle it into the red room deck.

1. Monster & Boss Cards: Shuffle and separate the monster and boss cards by card back. Place the level I monsters cards on the dungeon board and set the remaining monster and boss cards aside.
2. Dungeon Level: Place the dungeon level counter on I. This is the current dungeon level.
3. Dungeon Map: Randomly choose five map cards and place them on the dungeon board. Place the hero meeples on the "upstairs" icon of the top map card.
4. Loot Deck: Shuffle the loot cards and place them face-down on the dungeon board.
5. Specialty Deck: Without shuffling, place the specialty loot cards on the dungeon board. Cards from this deck are not drawn, but found and taken in specific situations as directed by other cards.
6. Cursed Loot Deck: Shuffle the cursed loot cards and place them next to the Specialty Deck.
7. Room Cards & Room Slot: Shuffle and separate the room cards by card back and set them aside. When room cards are drawn, place them face-up in the Room Slot.
8. Battleground: When monsters are drawn during combat, put them face-up in the Battleground on the dungeon board. The Battleground may also be used for displaying loot offered by various traders or merchants.

Player Board Setup

1. Hero Cards & Hero Slot: Each player chooses a hero card and places it on their own player board.
2. Starting Loot & Loot Slots: Find each hero's starting loot cards and place them face-up on the player boards. All loot cards have a loot type icon in the upper left corner matching the loot card slots on the player boards. Also take the 3 "Camping Gear" cards from the Specialty Deck and distribute those amongst the players.

Loot type icons:

• (Sk)ills
• (P)otions
• (T)reasures
• (Sc)rolls
• (W)eapons
• (A)rmors
• (H)enchmen
• (E)quipment

3. Abilities Track: Place the four ability counters on the matching ability tracks according to the starting values shown on the bottom of your hero card.
4. Token Slot: Take Health, Luck and Weapon Damage token amounts shown on your hero card and place them on your player board. Place all additional or unused tokens in separate piles and set them aside.

Discard: Cards are discarded face-up into a discard pile. Other cards may refer to this set of discarded or used cards as the Discard.

Game Overview

Rogue Dungeon was foremost designed to be a solo dungeon crawler reminiscent of old school roguelikes and CRPGs, but also allows up to 3 players to join the fun. As heroes explore the dungeon, they will face devious traps and fight dangerous monsters, collecting loot and possible allies along the way. Players will need to figure out how best to use their hero's abilities, skills, items, equipment, experience and luck to survive the dungeon.

Gameplay is dictated by exploring the map of each dungeon level and resolving each room card the heroes encounter. Various events such as combat, ability checks, trading and camping can occur, depending on the room card and actions the player takes. Heroes must progress through five levels of the dungeon and vanquish an ultimate enemy boss to win the game.

Heroes

Heroes are unique and have different starting abilities, skills and equipment. Abilities such as Strength, Agility, Intellect and Vitality determine whether heroes can perform skills and how well they can navigate traps, fight and inflict damage. Abilities are tracked by single counters on the player board's Abilities Track; whereas Health, XP and Luck are tracked by one or more tokens.

Strength: Ability to bend, break, lift and move heavy or strong objects.

Agility: Ability to move, run, jump, duck, climb, evade or aim.

Intellect: Ability to deduce, reason, know or perceive things or be awake.

Vitality: Ability to rest, heal or be resilient. Vitality determines the maximum amount of Health your hero can have (Vitality cannot exceed 11).

Health: How much damage your hero can take before dying. Whenever Vitality increases, Health increases the same. Health does not decrease when losing Vitality, unless it is greater than the reduced Vitality. Health may never exceed Vitality!

Luck: How lucky your hero is. You may spend 1 Luck token to:

• Reroll one of your die rolls.
• Change one of your die rolls by +1 or -1.

Heroes use a primary ability to wield their weapons and it determines how likely they are to hit in combat. Primary abilities appear on hero cards and Weapons (weapon type loot cards), depicted with a splat along with normal ability icons. Heroes with more than one primary ability may choose which one is used at anytime except during a combat round (see Combat).

Primary Abilities

Strength, Agility, Intellect.

Weapon Damage: How much damage a hero does in combat from a successful attack. Weapon Damage is the number of Weapons a hero has matching their primary ability, but does not exceed their lowest ability, which also includes Vitality. Weapon Damage is always at least 1 (even with no Weapons).

Example of Weapon Damage: Our hero's primary ability is Strength. She has 4 Weapons but only 3 matching Strength; however, her lowest ability is at 2. Our hero's Weapon Damage in this example would be 2. Even Weapons that do not match a primary ability have utility. Most Weapons have a one-shot or discard ability, and they may also be traded.

XP: (Experience Points) How much your hero learns and improves during your adventures. Heroes can acquire experience by defeating monsters and traps. You may spend XP tokens at any time to:

• Spend 5 XP to gain 1 Vitality.
• Spend 5 XP to gain 1 Luck token.
• Gain +1 (Strength, Agility or Intellect) paying the cost printed in the next ability track square. (Ex. Increasing Agility from 6 to 7 costs 12 XP.)

In addition, XP may be used to repurchase hero Skills (see Skills and Rest Phase).

Loot cards: There is no limit on the number of loot cards heroes can have or where they may be placed. Loot cards may be referred to simply by their type: Weapon, Armor, Skill, Potion, Scroll, Equipment, Treasure or Henchman, implying a loot card of that type. Unless otherwise stated, loot cards may be used at anytime, ex. after drawing a card (room or loot) but before resolving it's text, after an ability check or combat roll, or before, in-between or during combat rounds.

Skills

Skills (skill type loot cards) have a minimum ability requirement to use them. For example, in order to use their 'Hand of God' Skill, a Crusader must have at least 7 Strength.

Some Skills may be repurchased by paying their XP cost during the rest phase. For example, 'Hand of God' may be repurchased for 8 XP during the rest phase. If a Skill does not have an XP cost shown, it may not be repurchased. Skills may not be traded, given away, wagered or stolen, and can only be discarded when used.

Game Difficulty

Players may wish to scale the difficulty of their play experience by adjusting the number of dice rolled for any D10 roll and choosing one of the rolled dice as the result. If a player rerolls, they reroll all the dice. Here are the recommended difficulty levels:

• Beginner: Roll 3 D10s.
• Intermediate: Roll 2 D10s.
• Expert: Roll 1 D10.

Monsters

Monster card anatomy (example: Giant Cobra):

1. Level: Monster difficulty and how many XP heroes would gain for defeating it.
2. Health: Amount of starting Health tokens for the monster (also it's maximum Health).
3. MAV: (Monster Attack Value) How difficult it is to hit the monster (see Combat).
4. MDM: (Monster Damage) How much damage the monster does when it hits.
5. Special Ability: An effect triggered by a combat roll (see Combat) matching the number shown (see Monster Special Abilities).
6. Weaknesses: Specific loot that may injure, kill, charm or otherwise affect the monster.

Weakness Icons

• Meaty Rib
• Flute
• Holy Water
• Wolfsbane
• Garlic
• Torch
• Pint of Ale
• Hunk of Cheese
• Speak to Animals Scroll
• Magic Mirror
• Turn Undead Scroll
• Silence Scroll
• Transmute Rock to Mud Scroll
• Energy Core

Maps

1. Entrance Stair: Heroes begin a new level here.
2. Gem Icon: An unexplored room or persistent room (see Exploration).
3. Gem Token covering a Gem Icon: A room that has already been explored.
4. Corridors: Heroes may move thru freely.
5. Walls/Earth: Heroes may not move thru.
6. Exit Stair: Heroes proceed to the next level.

Dice

D10 refers to rolling the 10-sided die numbered 1 through 10. D6 refers to rolling the 6-sided die numbered 1 through 6. One Luck token may be spent to reroll or change a roll by +1 or -1. A hero spending Luck may only affect their own rolls. Luck may be used more than once on a single die roll. When rerolling, you may reroll until you get a different result. Modifying a roll beyond the maximum or minimum die value, results in the maximum or minimum die value. For example, increasing a D10 roll of '9' by 2 becomes just '10'.

Gameplay

A game turn happens in 3 phases: Exploration, Resolution and Rest. Phases must be completed by all players before proceeding to the next phase.

Exploration Phase: Hero meeples indicate where heroes currently are in the dungeon and colored gem icons on the map card represent unexplored rooms (see Room themes by color & shape). You may move your hero meeple through hallways and corridors to an adjacent gem or stair icon. After moving your meeple onto an uncovered gem icon, cover the gem icon with a matching gem token. Then draw a room card matching the color of the gem icon, place it face-up in the Room Slot on the dungeon board and resolve that room card in the resolution phase. Heroes do not need to stay together and may separate; however, if multiple heroes explore the same room, they must resolve it together. Heroes may go back to the entrance stair.

Gem tokens placed on the map card denote rooms that have already been explored and resolved. However, some room cards may be persistent, denoted by a gem icon on the front of the room card. When you draw a room that is persistent, place the matching gem token onto the face-up room card instead of the map. Treat persistent rooms as unexplored rooms and if explored again, you must resolve them again. Gem icons of the same color have different orientations to uniquely identify them and gem tokens should match the icon's orientation when placed on a room card.

Exit Stair: When you move your hero meeple onto the glowing red 'downstairs' icon, you may descend to the next dungeon level if all players agree. Discard the remaining monster cards from the current dungeon level. Discard the top map card, all gem tokens and all persistent room cards. Advance the dungeon level counter to the next level. Place all hero meeples on the entrance stair of the top map card and place the monster cards for the new level on the dungeon board.

Boss Encounter: Once you decend the exit stair on level V, you encounter the boss monster. Draw a boss card and resolve combat. Once you defeat the boss and any summoned monsters, you are victorious and have won the game! (See End of Game)

Resolution Phase: When you draw a new room card or explore a persistent room card again, resolve all the written text and events including combat on the room card. Room card text referring to "all heroes," means only the heroes in that room. A room is considered 'Failed' by default unless any 'Pass' conditions are met for rooms that trigger conditional effects (see Gameplay Example).

Players may resolve rooms in whichever hero order they choose. However, when players do not agree on hero order, use the following priorities:

1. Heroes using specific cards named in a room.
2. Heroes spending or using a Treasure.
3. Heroes with the most Health > Vitality > primary ability > XP > D10.

Rest Phase: After resolving a room card, keep persistent rooms face-up with a gem token on them; otherwise, discard the room card and any loot cards on it. During the rest phase, heroes have the opportunity to camp (see Camping) or repurchase discarded Skills. After the rest phase, proceed to a new exploration phase.

Room themes by color & shape

• Red Oval: Monsters or combat
• Yellow Teardrop: Traps and hazards
• White Rectangle: Trading and exchanges
• Green Square: Boon or beneficial
• Blue Circle: Specific item requirement
• Purple Triangle: Weapons or combat bonus

Events

Ability Checks: To make a Strength, Agility, Intellect or Vitality check, roll a D10. If the result is less than or equal to your hero's (or Henchmen's) ability, you have passed the check. If the result is greater, you have failed. A '1' always passes and a '10' always fails. A modified ability check is an ability check with a modifier applied to your ability level before the roll.

Modified Ability Check Examples: Ex 1: Our hero must make a (Vitality – 2) check. If our hero's Vitality is 5 and Vitality is modified by -2 for this check, we subtract 2 from our Vitality and need to roll a '3' or less to pass. Ex 2: We need to make a (Strength – 2) check. Our hero's Strength is 2 but our dwarf gives us 5 Strength, so we need (5-2) = 3 or less to pass.

Camping: When a hero discards a 'Camping Gear' card during the rest phase, roll a D6 and all heroes in the same room gain that much Health +1. If the roll is less than the dungeon level, the heroes are attacked by a wandering monster unless they are on a stair icon (either entrance or exit) or campfire icon (see Large Dungeon Maps). Draw a monster and resolve combat. Heroes gain Health from camping before combat.

Trading: Some rooms cards allow heroes to trade or discard loot cards to gain other loot cards. During trading, Treasures as payment count as two loot cards. Heroes may not trade their Skills.

Trading Example: A 'Guild Merchant' offers five loot cards at a rate of two-for-one. Our hero discards 'Gauntlets' and 'Rope' for a 'Mace'. She also discards a single 'Gold Cup' for a 'Healing' Potion, since the 'Gold Cup' is a Treasure and counts two loots for payment.

Hero Trading & Henchmen: Heroes in the same room may give loot to other heroes during the rest phase or in white gem rooms; otherwise, heroes may not exchange loot. Heroes may never trade Skills. Henchmen bonuses are considered common to all heroes in the same room.

Charming: Heroes may encounter monsters that can be charmed by certain loot cards and become your friend (see Weaknesses). When you charm a monster, discard that monster from combat, take the corresponding Henchmen from the Specialty Deck and place it on your player board. Also draw a loot card from the Loot Deck and gain XP tokens equal to the monster's level.

Charming Example: During combat with a Wolf, our hero discards a 'Meaty Rib'. The Wolf is discarded, then our hero draws one loot card, gains 1 XP and takes the 'Charmed Wolf' Henchmen from the Specialty Deck.

Teleportation: When a hero uses a 'Teleport' Scroll, combat ends at any phase of a combat round (see Combat) and face-up monsters are discarded. The current room is immediately resolved and discarded or set aside in the case of persistent rooms. Skip the rest phase and immediately go to or wait for the next exploration phase; however, you must move the hero meeple(s) to a different room (gem icon/token) or stair icon on the map card.

End of the Game: If your hero reaches zero Health during the game, your hero is dead and you lose the game. If you have defeated the boss and combat has ended, you are victorious and have won the game. You have saved the realm from despair! Many tales of your epic quest will be told and songs sung about your legendary adventures.

Hero Prestige: A measure of how legendary your hero's victory is. After winning the game, Treasures and Henchmen are each worth one Prestige.

Example of Hero Prestige: Bag of Gold + Jade Idol + Sellsword + Wiseman + Enchanted Direwolf: 2 Treasures x2 + 3 Henchmen x3 = 5 Prestige.

Combat

Some room cards specify to draw monsters and some may have monsters directly on the room card. Draw monsters from the current level monster cards already on the dungeon board and place them face-up in the Battleground. If all the current level monsters have been drawn (this is rare), draw from the next level's monsters. Place Health tokens in the amounts printed on the monster cards. Heroes continue to go through combat rounds until combat is ended.

Combat Round

Each round of combat happens in the following seven phases and covers action for both heroes and monsters. One hero is chosen to engage one monster each round during the Targeting phase. There are not separate monster turns!

1. Check Status: While heroes are asleep or ensnared, they may not evade, discard cards or inflict any damage directly to monsters. However, card effects from cards that are not discarded may still apply, such as persistent Skills. Heroes may make a (Strength+2) check to remove an ensnare token or Intellect check to remove a sleep token.

2. Evasion: Heroes may try to evade combat if a Boss is not present. To evade, you must roll a D6 for each monster that is not ensnared or asleep. If any evasion roll is at or below a monster's level, you fail to evade and you must target that monster, who also gains an MAV bonus equal to the failed roll. If evasion is successful, discard all face-up monsters and combat has ended. You may discard loot to increase an evasion roll by +1 for each loot card or +2 for each Treasure.

3. Targeting: Choose a hero to engage a monster and place a D10 on the monster card to indicate that it is being targeted. Roll a D6 for any ensnare or sleep tokens on the targeted monster only and remove the token if the roll is at or below the monster's level. The targeted monster gains a +1 MAV bonus for each other monster in combat that is not asleep or ensnared. If players do not agree on which hero engages, use the following priority list:

   1. Who least recently made a combat roll.
   2. Who has the most Health > Vitality > primary ability > XP > D10.

4. Combat Roll: Roll the D10 that is on the targeted monster and place it back after making the combat roll. During or after the combat roll, any card effect that would inflict damage to a monster is not resolved until the Apply Damage phase of the combat round. Note that Luck tokens may be spent to reroll or modify the combat roll by +1 or -1.

   MAV: Calculate the monster's attack value. The printed card value plus any bonuses or modifiers. HAV: Calculate your hero's attack value. Your hero's primary ability level + combat roll + bonuses or modifiers.

   (HAV > MAV): The monster is considered 'hit'. (HAV < MAV): Your hero is considered 'hit'. (HAV = MAV): Both are considered 'hit'.

   Automatic hits/misses: On a combat roll of '10', the monster is always hit and the hero is never hit. On a combat roll of '1', the hero is always hit and the monster is never hit.

5. Monster Special Abilities: Check if the final value of the combat roll after applying any modifiers matches any of the special ability numbers printed on the targeted monster card (see Monster Special Abilities) and resolve the effect if the monster is not asleep or ensnared.

End of Combat: If all monsters have been defeated, you are victorious and combat has ended. Otherwise, begin a new combat round. Remove all ensnare and sleep tokens at the end of combat.

Combat Example #1

Ed the Crusader encounters a Ghoul and a Giant Cobra. Ed's primary ability is Strength which is 6. He has 3 Strength Weapons and his lowest ability is 3 so his Weapon Damage is 3. Ed has a 'Shield' Armor, 'Sellsword' Henchmen and a 'Turn Undead' Skill. Ed has 7 Health Tokens.

Round 1

Check Status (round 1): There are no ensnare or sleep tokens on heroes.

Evasion (round 1): Ed is not evading.

Targeting (round 1): Ed targets the Giant Cobra. The Giant Cobra gains a +1 MAV bonus from the Ghoul. Ed gains a +1 HAV bonus from his 'Sellsword'.

Combat Roll (round 1): Ed rolls a '4'. The Cobra's MAV is 10 + 1 = 11 Ed's HAV is 6 + (4) + 1 = 11 (Tie) Both Ed and the Cobra are 'hit'!

Monster Special Abilities (round 1): No abilities were triggered.

Apply Damage (round 1): Ed takes 3 damage, but discards a 'Shield', reducing the damage by 4 so he doesn't lose Health. The Cobra takes 3 damage, now at 2 Health.

Loot (round 1): No monsters were defeated. Another round of combat begins.

Round 2

Check Status (round 2): There are no ensnare or sleep tokens on heroes.

Evasion (round 2): Ed is not evading.

Targeting (round 2): Ed targets the Giant Cobra again. The Giant Cobra gains a +1 MAV bonus from the Ghoul. Ed gains a +1 HAV bonus from his 'Sellsword'.

Combat Roll (round 2): Ed rolls a '5'. The Cobra's MAV is 10 + 1 = 11 Ed's HAV is 6 + (5) + 1 = 12, the Cobra is 'hit'!

Monster Special Abilities (round 2): Ed is poisoned by the Cobra so he loses 1 Strength and is now at 5 Strength.

Apply Damage (round 2): The Cobra takes 3 damage and is killed!

Loot (round 2): The Cobra was defeated. Ed draws one loot card and gains 3 XP tokens. The Ghoul remains and another round of combat begins.

Round 3

Check Status (round 3): There are no ensnare or sleep tokens on heroes.

Evasion (round 3): Ed is not evading.

Targeting (round 3): Ed targets the Ghoul. Ed gains a +1 HAV bonus from his 'Sellsword'. The Ghoul does not gain an MAV bonus.

Combat Roll (round 3): Ed rolls a '3'. The Ghoul's MAV is 11 + 0 = 11 Ed's HAV is 5 + (3) + 1 = 9, Ed is 'hit'! Ed now decides to use his 'Turn Undead' Skill on the Ghoul and rolls a '4' with the D6.

Monster Special Abilities (round 3): No abilities were triggered.

Apply Damage (round 3): Ed takes 2 damage, now at 5 Health. The Ghoul now takes 5 damage from Ed's 'Turn Undead' Skill, killing it!

Loot (round 3): The Ghoul was defeated. Ed draws one loot card and gains 3 XP tokens. Ed is victorious and combat has ended.

Combat Example #2

Mia the Monk and Baz the Bard encounter an Assassin Vine and a Hobgoblin. Since Monks have multiple primary abilities, Mia chooses to use Intellect for this round of combat so her Weapon Damage is 2 because she only has 2 Intellect Weapons. She may only choose her primary ability at the beginning of a combat round and would not be able to later change her primary ability to Strength during Apply Damage phase to do 3 damage.

Round 1

Check Status (round 1): There are no ensnare or sleep tokens on heroes.

Evasion (round 1): Baz and Mia are wounded so they will try to evade combat. Mia makes a D6 evasion roll for the Hobgoblin first and rolls a '3', which exceeds it's level. Mia then rolls a '1' for the Assassin Vine, which does not exceed it's level, failing the evasion roll.

Targeting (round 1): Mia must target the Assassin Vine since she failed it's evasion roll. The Assassin Vine gains a +1 MAV bonus since the failed evasion roll was a '1' and another +1 from the Hobgoblin.

Combat Roll (round 1): Mia rolls a '5'. The Assassin Vine's MAV is 8 + 1 + 1 = 10 Mia's HAV is 5 + (5) = 10 (Tie) Both Mia and the Assassin Vine are 'hit'!

Monster Special Abilities (round 1): Mia is ensnared by the Assassin Vine and an ensnare token gets placed on Mia's hero card.

Apply Damage (round 1): Mia takes 3 damage from the Assassin Vine, now at 1 Health. The Assassin Vine does not take damage because Mia is ensnared.

Loot (round 1): No monsters were defeated. Another round of combat begins.

Round 2

Check Status (round 2): Mia is ensnared and needs to pass a (Strength+2) check to remove the ensnare token. She rolls a '7' on the D10 which is greater than her 3 Strength plus 2, so she remains ensnared.

Evasion (round 2): Mia is ensnared so the heroes may not try to evade.

Targeting (round 2): Baz discards a 'Pint of Ale' to place a sleep token on the Hobgoblin then targets the Assassin Vine. The Assassin Vine does not gain an MAV bonus since the Hobgoblin is now asleep.

Combat Roll (round 2): Baz rolls a '2'. Baz decides to discard a 'Crossbow' to increase his combat roll by 2, which is now '4'; however since the 'Crossbow' was one of his 3 Agility Weapons, Baz's Weapon Damage is now only 2. The Assassin Vine's MAV is 8 + 0 = 8 Baz's HAV is 5 + (4) = 9 The Assassin Vine is 'hit'!

Monster Special Abilities (round 2): No monster special abilities are triggered.

Apply Damage (round 2): The Assassin Vine takes 2 damage, killing it.

Loot (round 2): The Assassin Vine was defeated. Mia and Baz each gain 1 XP, and Baz draws a loot card. The Hobgoblin remains and another round of combat begins.

Round 3

Check Status (round 3): Mia is ensnared and needs to pass a (Strength+2) check to remove her ensnare token. She rolls a '5' on the D10 which is equal to her 3 Strength plus 2, so Mia is no longer ensnared.

Evasion (round 3): The heroes do not try to evade; although they could evade successfully without rolling since the Hobgoblin is asleep.

Targeting (round 3): Mia targets the Hobgoblin. The Hobgoblin is asleep and rolls a '4' on the D6, which is above it's level, so it keeps a sleep token.

Combat Roll (round 3): Mia rolls a '4'. Mia discards a 'Mace' to increase her combat roll by +1, which is now '5'. If Baz had the 'Mace', he could also discard it to affect Mia's combat roll, because the 'Mace' says "increase a combat roll". The Hobgoblin's MAV is 10 + 0 = 10 Mia's HAV is 5 + (5) = 10 (Tie) Both Mia and the Hobgoblin are 'hit'!

Monster Special Abilities (round 3): No monster special abilities are triggered.

Apply Damage (round 3): Mia takes no damage because the Hobgoblin is asleep. The Hobgoblin takes 1 damage from the 'Mace' and 2 damage from Mia's Weapon Damage. The Hobgoblin is dead.

Loot (round 3): The Hobgoblin was defeated. Mia and Baz each gain 1 XP, and Mia draws a loot card. The heroes are victorious and combat has ended.

Gameplay Example

Exploration Phase: Our hero, Ed, moves from the red gem to the yellow gem icon.

We draw a yellow room card and place it in the Room Slot on the board. The gem icon on the room card signifies this is a persistent room, so we place a yellow gem token on the room card.

Resolution Phase: Ed encounters 'Swinging Blades' and must make an Agility check. Ed has 3 Agility and 4 Health tokens.

You dodge your way down a hall of deadly swinging blades. Make an Agility check. Fail: Take damage equal to dungeon level. Pass: Gain 2 XP (once per game).

Ed rolls a '5' on the D10, which is higher than his Agility, so he 'Fails' the ability check and takes 3 damage, since he is on level 3.

Rest Phase: We set 'Swinging Blades' aside in case the yellow gem is explored again. Ed now has 1 Health and decides to camp. He discards a 'Camping Gear' and rolls a '2' on the D6. Ed has 5 Strength and uses his 'Blessed' Skill which adds +1 to the camping roll.

The camping roll is now '3' so Ed gains 4 Health and is now at 5 Health. The camping roll is not below the dungeon level, so Ed is not attacked. This concludes the rest phase and Ed now begins a new exploration phase.

Monster Special Abilities

• Absorb Attack: Instead of taking damage, gain Health equal to hero's weapon damage.
• Berserk: Gain +2 MDM until the end of combat (not cumulative).
• Charm: Hero must discard one Henchmen.
• Curse: Hero must discard one primary ability Weapon.
• Dragon Scales: Reduce damage taken by 4.
• Drown: Hero loses 1 Health per Armor or Treasure they have.
• Energy Drain: Gain 3 Health. Hero loses 1 Vitality.
• Enfeeble: Hero has 3 Vitality until the end of combat (see Clarifications).
• Ensnare: Place an ensnare token on hero.
• Evade: Reduce damage taken by current Health.
• Explode: Monster dies and all heroes take D6 damage.
• Extra Attack: Hero takes damage equal to MDM.
• Fear: Hero must discard one Henchmen.
• Fire Breath: Hero takes D6-1 damage.
• Fire Web: Hero loses 1 Health per round during each damage phase until the end of combat.
• Flame Strike: Hero takes D6 damage.
• Frenzy: Gain +2 MAV until the end of combat (not cumulative).
• Grasp: Place an ensnare token on hero.
• Hurl Boulder: Hero takes 3 damage.
• Hurl Rock: Hero takes 2 damage.
• Insanity: Hero loses 1 Intellect (min 1).
• Invisibility: Gain +2 MAV until the end of combat (not cumulative).
• Life Drain: Gain 2 Health. Hero loses 2 Health.
• Lightning: All heroes take D6+1 damage.
• Melt Armor: Hero must discard one Armor or Weapon.
• Paralyze: Hero loses 1 Agility (min 1).
• Poison: Hero loses 1 Strength (min 1).
• Reflect Attack: If monster is hit, hero takes their own weapon damage instead of monster.
• Regen: Gain D6+1 Health.
• Ring of Fire: Gain +1 MAV until the end of combat (may be cumulative).

Large Dungeon Maps

The large dungeon maps on the reverse side of the dungeon board and player boards are meant to be an alternate game mode for players who want the feel of "one big dungeon" instead of going through five separate smaller dungeon levels. This mode of play needs significantly more table space since there may be many persistent rooms to keep in play, especially when playing the Tomb setup.

Place one of the large dungeon maps in the center and all the card decks above it. The dungeon board, dungeon level counter and single level dungeon maps are not used.

Instead of tracking the dungeon level, numerals on the gem icons indicate the dungeon level of each room, in addition to color, shape and orientation of the gem icons. Resolve room cards using the level of it's gem icon (Ex. drawing monsters of that level for an encounter). Each gem icon on a large dungeon map is unique and has a corresponding gem token with the level numeral on the token back.

It may be helpful to group persistent rooms based on their level. For example, having separate rows of persistent rooms for each level. The level I, yellow, teardrop shaped, gem icon matches the 'Crushing Wall' room card. The level II, white, rectangle shaped, gem icon matches the 'Skeleton Trader' room card.

Campfire icons indicate locations where heroes may camp without being attacked by monsters (similar to stair icons).

Exploring the boss icon triggers the boss encounter. If the boss is defeated, the heroes win collectively, even if they are separated. However, if the boss is victorious and there are still heroes remaining in the dungeon, place the boss back on top of the boss deck and the boss encounter may be triggered again.

Clarifications

Room text indicating to make a check then also state "Pass if" a specific loot is discarded, means discarding the item causes you to pass the check even after you fail the check.

"Once per game" means you may only trigger the effect once per game. It may be helpful to place XP tokens on the card if the effect hasn't been triggered.

Acid Pool: The Strength check is optional. You can gain 2 XP for passing the (Agility-2) check once and then later another 2 XP for passing the Strength check.

Alchemists Lab: You may spend XP after D10 roll but before drinking the Alchemist's potion.

Armored Guardians: If you choose to make the Agility check and pass, you may also do the Strength check with a +2 bonus instead of -2.

Bull Mech: Taur can be taken with an empty 'Energy Core' regardless of the Strength check and all heroes still gain 2 XP.

Combat Training: You may spend XP before exchange.

Deal with the Devil: May only roll D6 after deciding.

Demon's Lair: If you have not seen Lilith already, you have 3 ways to get her to join you; otherwise, she sends 2 monsters to attack you. If you have already seen Lilith, you must fight her instead.

Dark Room: You may only discard one 'Torch' per hero.

Enchanted Obelisk: You may choose an ability in case of ties for highest or lowest ability.

Maze: Only draw a loot if you failed an Intellect check on '2-3'. You gain 2 XP for the passing the room and an additional 2 XP per Loaf of Bread discarded.

Mosaic Floor: You get to reveal the floor tiles at or below your Intellect. You must start on a bottom square.

Mystical Fountain: Heroes may heal before drinking.

Mystical Portal: With the 'Gem of Seeing', you do not need to discard a loot for option (b) or discard a Treasure for option (c).

Necropolis: You can only get a Weapon if you discard a Pick Axe.

Pit of Spikes: If you failed 1st check, do not do the 2nd.

Royal Crypt: is D10 <= (Sum of all hero Strength's minus 2 per hero)?

Secret Alcove: You have the option of not doing it, but must make both checks if you do. If you discard one of the items, you pass all checks even after making check.

Stone Door: Henchmen may modify hero Strength.

Temyrial's Trial: You must choose an ability before rolling. "Immediately" means directly after the roll. You may not spend XP after with the discount. You may spend XP before rolling.

Throne Circle: 'Energy Core' bypasses room (not a pass or fail) and may be used after making the Agility check.

Trapped Demon: If you have not seen Lilith already, you have 3 ways to save her and if you don't, the room 'Demon's Lair' is replaced. If you have already seen Lilith this room becomes a trap instead.

Unholy Altar: You must have 7 Strength to discard 'Hand of God'.

Discarding a loot may only be used for one purpose. For example, you may not discard a 'Loaf of Bread' as payment or consequence of another card effect and also gain 2 Health for discarding the 'Loaf of Bread'.

"any damage" means damage being taken by any hero in the same room from any source.

"a combat roll" means any hero's combat roll.

"Lose Health" cannot be blocked or reduced.

"dungeon level" numeral the dungeon level counter is on, or gem icon numeral for Large Dungeon Maps. 5 for Boss encounter.

"cursed loot": any loot card with the cursed loot symbol.

Amulet of Protection: Works on all specials except: Absorb Attack, Berserk, Dragon Scales, Evade, Frenzy, Invisibility, Regen, Ring of Fire, Stone Flesh, Summon, Teleport, Wall of Ice.

Art of the Deal: Treasures do not count as two Treasures for trading. Treasures still trade one for one.

Battle Axe, Halberd, Javelin, Mace and Throwing Blades: If doing both effects, damage must be applied to the same monster targeted by the combat roll.

Bloodlust: Applies for weapons that inflict no damage.

Blood Rage: Applies after MDM in damage phase.

Boots of Agility, Breastplate of Vitality, Gauntlet of Strength and Helm of Intellect: The effects are permanent even after discarding. Taking it from the discard does not circumvent "strictly once per game".

Boots of Burden, Breastplate of Decay, Gauntlet of Weakness, Helm of Insanity and Cursed Shield: You may spend XP before taking the "when taken" effect.

Bribe Monster: When charming a monster and the 'Charmed Monster' Henchmen is not in the Specialty Deck or Discard, you do not get to take a Henchmen.

Dispel Magic, Lightning and Turn Undead Scroll (Cursed): Discarding for any purpose triggers effect.

Flail and Flame Whip: Apply -1 MAV to the same monster targeted by the combat roll.

Gem of Seeing: Automatically pass rooms listed without discarding the Gem. "Invisibility" monster special ability has no effect.

Hand of God: Applies to damage taken by other heroes.

Inspiration: Applies on combat rounds for any hero.

Mech Suit: Does not drain mechanical monsters.

Necromancer's Wand: Lose 2 Vitality if you discard. Only applies to your combat rolls and ability checks.

Resist Magic: Remove charge tokens if repurchased.

Sands of Time: Does not affect loots or monsters in the Discard, or damage taken by heroes. This effect can happen at the end of the resolution phase such that the room could be completely done again, even circumventing "once per game".

Enfeeble: Keep track of the hero's Vitality level before becoming enfeebled with a separate counter or other method. Restore the hero's Vitality to this "unenfeebled" level at the end of combat. However, Health is not changed or restored at the end of combat. Any effect or action that changes the hero's Vitality after becoming enfeebled, affects the hero's "unenfeebled" Vitality level.

Variants

Fast Variant: Choose how many dungeon levels you wish to play (I-III). During setup, set aside the 'Tomb of the Lich King' (red gem) room card. If you wish to play to level IV, set aside 'Pit of Despair' (red gem) room card instead. Play as normal until after you resolve the 'Exit Stair' on the last desired level. Once on the next level, in lieu of a final boss encounter, explore and resolve the room card you set aside.

Random Rooms Variant: During setup or entering a new dungeon level, randomize the gem tokens and place them face-down over the gem icons on the top map card. Flip and reveal the gem tokens when you explore them. Draw and resolve room cards matching the revealed gem tokens. Treat all rooms as non-persistent rooms (they always get discarded after they are resolved).

Ascension Variant: Play as normal, except for dungeon map cards, treat 'downstairs' icons as entrance stairs and 'upstairs' icons as exit stairs during gameplay.

Credits

Rogue Dungeon (2nd Edition) 2023 by Cerberus Gate Games

Art Director: Jon Bonnard Smith Game Designer & Mechanics: Albert Danysh Game Designer & Concepts: Chad Maniccia

Special Thanks!

Lead Playtester: Charles Tabony Charles has been invaluable helping us playtest all versions of the game including the digital version available on Steam. Other Notables: Sidonia, Nutmeg, Fig and Rowan

The Dungeon Dive (www.youtube.com/@TheDungeonDive) We have had tremendous support and feedback from The Dungeon Dive community. Seriously, we probably would not have done this game without their support. We really love the content and discussions on this channel. It's great to have a channel devoted to all things dungeon fantasy.

Rob's Table Top World (www.youtube.com/@seahawk8601) Rob's channel has some really great review content. Thanks for your support during the last week of our campaign.

Spirit Blade Productions (www.patreon.com/spiritbladeproductions, www.youtube.com/@christiangeekcentral) Thanks to Paeter for the suggestion of using multiple dice to scale the game difficulty in his review video. We used your idea!

The Emerald Tavern Games & Café (www.emeraldtaverngames.com) Thanks to Eric, Kim and staff for putting up with Albert who uses the store as an office for 24/7 game development and is probably responsible for all White Petal shortages.

Hero Reference

The following is a condensed quick-reference, reprinted on the back of the rulebook.

Turn Overview

• Explore: Move hero meeples on dungeon map.
• Resolve: Place gem token and draw matching room card.
• Rest: Resolve all written text on the room card. Discard room card and heroes may camp.

Combat Round Roll to remove ensnare and sleep tokens. (D6 <= level) for monsters. Heroes check (Strength+2) for ensnare or Intellect for sleep. Heroes may try to evade, (D6 > level) for each monster. One hero targets a monster and makes a combat roll with D10. HAV: Hero's primary ability + combat roll + modifiers. MAV: Monster card AV + other monsters + modifiers. Resolve monster special ability based on combat roll. If (MAV >= HAV) Hero takes MDM damage. If (HAV >= MAV) Monster takes hero Weapon Damage. When a monster is defeated, gain XP = monster's level and draw a loot card or two loot cards for level V monsters.

Luck Spend 1 Luck token to reroll or change your die roll +1 or -1.

Ability Checks Pass if D10 <= Hero (or Henchmen) ability +/- modifiers.

Spending XPs (may be spent at any time!)

• 5 XP -> one Luck token
• 5 XP -> +1 Vitality
• Regain hero Skill by spending XP cost during the Rest Phase by 1 (see cost below):
• Increase Strength, Agility or Intellect by 1: 1 -> 2 -> 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> 6 -> 7 -> 8 -> 9 -> 10 1XP 2XP 3XP 4XP 5XP 6XP 8XP 12XP 16XP 20XP 25XP

Monster Special Abilities Reference

• Absorb Attack: Instead of taking damage, gain Health equal to hero's weapon damage.
• Berserk: Gain +2 MDM until the end of combat (not cumulative).
• Charm: Hero must discard one Henchmen.
• Curse: Hero must discard one primary ability Weapon.
• Dragon Scales: Reduce damage taken by 4.
• Drown: Hero loses 1 Health per Armor or Treasure they have.
• Energy Drain: Gain 3 Health. Hero loses 1 Vitality.
• Enfeeble: Hero has 3 Vitality until the end of combat (see Clarifications).
• Ensnare: Place an ensnare token on hero.
• Evade: Reduce damage taken by current Health.
• Explode: Monster dies and all heroes take D6 damage.
• Extra Attack: Hero takes damage equal to MDM.
• Fear: Hero must discard one Henchmen.
• Fire Breath: Hero takes D6-1 damage.
• Fire Web: Hero loses 1 Health per round during each Apply Damage phase until the end of combat.
• Flame Strike: Hero takes D6 damage.
• Frenzy: Gain +2 MAV until the end of combat (not cumulative).
• Grasp: Place an ensnare token on hero.
• Hurl Boulder: Hero takes 3 damage.
• Hurl Rock: Hero takes 2 damage.
• Insanity: Hero loses 1 Intellect (min 1).
• Invisibility: Gain +2 MAV until the end of combat (not cumulative).
• Life Drain: Gain 2 Health. Hero loses 2 Health.
• Lightning: All heroes take D6+1 damage.
• Melt Armor: Hero must discard one Armor or Weapon.
• Paralyze: Hero loses 1 Agility (min 1).
• Poison: Hero loses 1 Strength (min 1).
• Reflect Attack: If monster is hit, hero takes their own weapon damage instead of monster.
• Regen: Gain D6+1 Health.
• Ring of Fire: Gain +1 MAV until the end of combat (may be cumulative).
• Rust Armor: Hero must discard one Armor or Weapon.
• Sleep: Place a sleep token on hero.