The Furry Honeypot Adventure

Dungeons and caverns are dark forbidding places, where dark creatures lurk and prey on the
unwary. Only the bravest or most foolhardy would dare to enter them. But that is where your Quest
has lead you. Does your band of gallant Adventurers have what it takes to survive the Dungeons and
return triumphant with your Quest fulfilled? Or will your bones lie chewed and your skulls hang as
one more adornment in the Horde’s lair?

The Game

A game for 2 (or more) players. One player controls the band of intrepid Adventurers as they
descend into the Dungeon. The other player controls the Denizens of the Dungeon, and influences
the layout of the Dungeon itself.

This game requires 2 packs of standard playing cards which will form the game deck for each player.

Each card has a numerical value (picture cards including the Ace are valued Jack 11, Queen 12, King
13, Ace 14 and Joker 15). These cards will be used to randomly determine outcomes in the game.

Players will need at least 5 models to represent the Adventurers. They will also need about 10
models to represent Horde warriors and additional models for Brutes and Monsters if they choose to
include them.

The game uses hexagonal tiles to represent the dungeon passages. There are 30 passage tiles, 1
Entrance tile, 1 Objective Tile, 1 Cell Tile, 2 Obstacle tiles, 2 Trap Tiles, 2 Chest Tiles, 1 Barracks tile
and 6 Lair Tiles.

There are also cards for determining Lair inhabitants and Chest contents. (Or maybe a table for each)

Preparing for the Quest

To start the game, one player will control the Adventurer party and the other will control the
Dungeon.

The player controlling the Adventurers must select a party of five models from the following options:

Warrior, Thief, Mage, Ranger, Archer or Cleric

An Adventurer Party can consist of more than one of the same Adventurer archetypes if the
controlling player wishes, but there are benefits to having a range of skills that each archetype can
provide.

The player controlling the Dungeon must determine the type of denizens that inhabit and defend
the dungeon. This will usually be determined by the range of models available to the players.

There are three categories of Dungeon denizens: Horde, Brutes and Monsters. The Horde are the
most prevalent creature to be found in the Dungeon and will be the main antagonists. These are
warriors that pose little threat individually, but are dangerous when they fight in greater numbers.
Brutes and Monsters may or may not be encountered by the Adventurer party. These appear in the
Dungeon as random Encounters, but are a more serious threat to the Adventurers.
Players must decide on the difficulty of the Quest. This is the number of random Encounters they are
likely to face in a game. These are determined by the number of Encounter tiles included in the
game.

Easy Game: 3 Encounters

Standard Game: 4 Encounters

Hard Game: 5 Encounters

Very Hard Game: 6 Encounters

To prepare Encounters, take the following Encounter tiles: 2 Obstacle, 2 Chest, 2 Trap, 1 Barracks,
plus 1 Lair tile for each Monster, or Pair of Brutes, or band of 3 Horde Warriors you are playing in the
game (up to a maximum of the number of Encounters your game difficulty is set at).

For example: The Dungeon controller has a Troll, a Minotaur and 6 Orc models to field in a Standard
game. This is 2 Monsters and 3 Brute pairs. As a standard game has 4 Encounters, only 4 Lair tiles are
added to the encounters.

The Dungeon controller takes the remaining Dungeon tiles. The Entrance, Trapdoor, Cell and
Objective tiles need to be removed. Then the remaining Dungeon tiles are shuffled and split into 2
groups of 15 tiles. The first group is the upper stack. The second group is the lower stack. Place the
Objective tile into the lower stack. Now distribute a number of Encounter cards (determined by the
difficulty of the game) between the two stack, starting with the lower stack.

Now shuffle each stack well. Tiles will only be drawn from the lower stack when all of the upper
stack tiles have been drawn. Your Dungeon is now prepared for exploration.

The Adventurers

Warrior – Warriors represent soldiers, knights and men at arms. They are well equipped for battle
and used to fighting alongside their comrades. A warrior has armour which provides +1 to all red
defence cards in combat and -1 to the card value of enemy missile attacks. A warrior can also
Support a friendly model in combat on the same tile. They can be equipped with a long or a short
weapons for combat

Ranger – Rangers are trackers and guardians of the wild places. They can guide the unwary through
dangers and have a range of survival tricks up their sleeves. A Ranger has the Pathfinder ability and
can Support a friendly model in combat in an adjacent tile. They can be equipped with a long or a
short weapons for combat.

Thief – Rogues, Scouts, Burglars… whatever they call themselves they are useful in a dungeon quest.
Thieves don’t like being caught in the open, so can move quickly when they need to. They can also
outwit the attempts of most owners to protect their valuables. Thieves have the Nimble and
Pathfinder abilities. They cannot use long weapons (where would you hide them?)

Archers – Archers are talented with the bow. Skilled in the use of an elegant yet powerful longbow
or maybe a sturdy crossbow. All Archers have a bow and can make Shoot attacks. They are also
equipped with a short weapon for combat

Mage – Wizards, Witches and Sorcerers. They all dabble in the art of magic. Some of their spells can
come in very handy when dealing with the denizens of dark. Their ability to read without having to
move their lips can help too. Mages start with the game with 3 spells of their choosing. They also
have the Scholar ability. Mages can typically use simple magic to shed light from their staff or wand
and have Illumination. They can be equipped with a long or a short weapons for combat

Cleric – Pious servants of their chosen god or gods. Their skills in healing make them a great asset
and their powerful faith makes them surprisingly handy when taking on eldritch horrors. Clerics
cause 2 wounds on successful combat hits against undead or daemonic Dungeon denizens. They also
have the Heal and Scholar abilities. They can be equipped with a long or a short weapons for combat

Adventurer Abilities

Heal – an Adventurer with Heal can attempt to restore a wound to a fellow Adventurer in the same
tile or an adjacent tile. This is a special action. The healer must draw a card from their game deck. If
it is a heart then wounded Adventurer regains 1 wound.

Illumination – reveal any In Shadow areas in line of sight.

Pathfinder – This Adventurer has the knack of overcoming obstacles, bypassing traps and finding
hidden passages.

Scholar – This Adventurer is well read. Amongst other benefits of a classical education, they may use
a scroll in one action (they do not have to spend an action trying to read it).

Support – This Adventurer can aid a comrade in battle, either by providing defence or using thrown
weapons and dirty tricks. If the Adventurer is not engaged in combat, they can add 1 additional card
to a friendly model’s combat hand.

Spells

 Detect – Can be used to help find hidden doors or to see around corners. A Mage can use a
Detect spell to reveal a tiles that are adjacent to a visible tile and connected to a passage.
 Magic Missile - Can be used to make a ranged attack on models in a tile within line of sight.
Draw one card from the player’s game deck for each model in the target tile. A black number
card causes 1 wound, a black picture card causes 2 wounds. Horde and Brute warriors are
allocated wounds in such a way as to remove a warrior before allocating remaining wounds.
 Repel – Can target a tile visible to the caster. All models in the tile can be moved individually
into any available adjacent tile.

The Dungeon Denizens

Horde warriors – These are the most numerous of a dungeons defenders. Goblins, Kobolds, Skeleton
Warriors and Albino Penguins are typical examples. Horde warriors will be deployed as dungeon
reinforcements or in a barracks tile. They have 2 wounds each, so have a combat hand of 2.
However, they are small enough to fight as a group in the narrow tunnels of the Dungeon. Up to
three Horde models can be placed on any one tile. They can make combat attacks collectively. So
two Horde warriors have a combat hand of 4. Three Horde warriors have a combat hand of 6!

However, they lack courage and at the end of a combat round, if there is a Horde warrior with only
one wound, it will withdraw and be removed from the board as though it was a casualty. In combat,
wounds are always allocated to a wounded warrior first (his comrades probably use him as a
sacrificial shield).
Horde warriors can be armed with either long weapons, short weapons or bows. If they have bows
they can Shoot, but get no bonus for attack card suits in combat. If warriors are making a combined
combat attack, use the most common weapon type in the group. If there is an even mix of weapons,
declare the weapon being used if there is an even mix of weapons. The model with this weapon will
be the last to be removed in combat. For example, if 3 Goblins have a bow and two swords between
them, the sword is the most common weapon. If they had a sword, bow and spear, then they could
decide to use the spear as their combat weapon. Any wounds the Goblins receive will be taken on the
sword or bow armed Goblins first.

Horde warriors deployed as Reinforcements, or in a Barracks tile should ideally be of the same type.

Other Horde warriors types can be brought into the game via Lair tiles. This is not essential, but it
makes the dungeon more thematic. For example a dungeon may be primarily occupied with goblins,
but there may be a group of undead zombies lurking in the depths of the dungeon. These two
groups may co-exist, but they will never combine forces on the same Dungeon tile.

Brutes – These are the bigger and nastier warriors of the Dungeon. Orcs, Bugbears, Troglodytes and
lesser Daemons are typical examples. Brutes are deployed in pairs when a Lair is revealed and a
Brute card is drawn. Brutes have 3 wounds each, so have a combat hand of 3. Up to two Brutes on a
single tile can combine their combat abilities in the same way as Horde warriors. Wounds are always
allocated to a wounded Brute first. A dice or marker may be needed to keep track of Brute wounds
during the game.

Monsters – Monsters are huge individuals that lurk in the Dungeon. They vary in intelligence and
form but always have at least 5 wounds, so have a combat hand of 5. They also count as 3 models
when moving through the dungeon or being targeted in shooting attacks, due to their great size.
Other abilities come with individual monsters. Here are a few examples:

Savage – Huge fighters such as Trolls, Ogres and Minotaurs. They have tough hides or armour so gain
+1 to Red Defence cards in combat. They are also immensely strong, so all hits in combat cause 2
wounds.

Burrower – Great Worms and Insects. They can move through dungeon walls when tiles are adjacent
and no passage links them.

Venomous – Giant Spiders and Scorpions. Each successful hit in combat will weaken the Adventurer
in addition to any wounds received. All cards played by the Adventurer in the remainder of the Turn
get a -1 penalty for each venomous hit taken.

Daemonic – A creature from another plane of reality. These monsters can use an action to perform a
Magic Missile attack and have 1 additional wound.

Swarm – Not a single monster but a writhing mass of smaller creatures such as rats, insects or tiny
daemons. Swarms are more agile so can move two tiles for each action. They do not carry weapons
or armour (apart from teeth, claws and exoskeletons), so get no bonus for any card suit in combat.
Magic Missiles treat this swarm as 3 models in the target tile.

Infectious Denizens – These are typically Undead Horde such as zombies, plague daemons. If a
model is killed or captured by the Infectious Denizen, they are not removed from the game tile, but
are instead replaced with another Infectious Denizen of the same type if available. They effectively
become a reinforcement for the Horde and are activated by the Dungeon controller from now on.
Obviously there is no hope of rescuing a captured Adventurer who has succumbed to infection.

The Turn

Each turn is resolved in the following sequence:

1. The Adventurers take their actions

2. The Dungeon controller places Dungeon tiles from the top of the tile stack when they can be
seen by an Adventurer
3. The Dungeon controller takes actions
4. The Dungeon controller resolves any combat exchanges resulting from denizen actions
5. Each player returns all discarded cards back into their respective game decks and then
reshuffles the deck ready for the next turn.

Exploring the Dungeon

Each Dungeon is a chaotic array of tunnels. Some parts have been built with purpose, others have
been carved out randomly by natural phenomenon. The Dungeon controller places the Dungeon
tiles as they are revealed by drawing them off the top of the tile stack. Each tile has a passageway
marked on it with different turns and exit points. Although the tile drawn will have been randomised
when the stacks were shuffled, the Dungeon controller can make a choice as to how exactly the new
tile is placed, as long as this conforms to the placement instructions. Each tile can fit a maximum of 3
models on it.

A tile is placed when an Adventurer can see it. Adventurers can see tiles that would adjoin the tile
they are standing on. If an adjacent tile is a straight passage, then Adventurer can see the tile it
would connect to as well. If this tile is also a straight passage then the next tile is placed face down.
This tile is said to be In Shadow. No Adventurer can see more than 2 tiles either side of their current
tile unless they have a lantern or a Mage with Illumination (in which case the tiles may be revealed).

When a passage curves or divides then an Adventurer can only see further when they reach that tile.

To begin a Quest place the Entrance Tile on the table and place the Adventurers on this tile.
Normally you cannot place more than 3 models on a single tile, but it is assumed the entrance has
more space as Adventurers are coming down the stairs (Denizens are still limited to 3 models on this
tile and the stairs do not count as an unexplored passage end).

The Dungeon controller now places the tiles that would be revealed to the Adventurers down each
of the three starting passage ways. If an encounter tile is revealed at this stage, shuffle it back into
the lower stack and draw another card from the upper stack.

Once all visible passageways have been revealed, the game is ready to start. New tiles will be placed
during the game as Adventurers move and reveal more passageways. A passage tile that curves,
cannot be placed so that it is blocked by another tile, unless there is no other choice on how to
position it.
The Objective Tile

This is the purpose of the Quest. A player must find the Objective tile in the Dungeon and complete
one of the following objectives. Note: Players can decide in advance what the objective will be, or
draw a card from the game deck and match the drawn card suit to the objective.

No Adventurer can enter the Objective tile, but they must be adjacent to the tile to complete the
objective requirements.

♦Slay the Beast! – A malevolent creature has been venturing out from the Dungeon and causing
havoc on the local kingdom. This may be a young dragon, a vampiric daemon, or the Horde king. The
Beast will not (or cannot) leave the objective tile. It is protected from all ranged attackes by scales or
magical shields. It is cunning and strong. This means it adds +1 to all red defence combat card values
and causes 2 wounds on a successful black attack card hit. The Quest is complete if the Beast is slain
(whether or not the Adventurers make it out of the Dungeon alive.

♥Rescue the Princess (or Prince or Democratically Elected Leader of the Peoples). This afore
mentioned individual has been held captive by the Horde. They can be released as per the Captive
rules. The Adventurers must then lead the royal out of the Dungeon by bringing them to the
Entrance tile. They count as an Adventurer who can only perform move actions. If compelled to fight
in combat, they are immediately re-captured and the Quest is failed.

♠Find the Sword of Blahdeblar. A magical weapon of rare craftsmanship is locked within the
Dungeon. The Adventurers must overcome the lock. They must do this by using a special action to
play a combat round against the Dungeon. Both the Adventurer and the Dungeon start with a
combat hand of 5 cards drawn from their game decks. The suits of the cards have no effect, only
their face value. Adventurers with the Scholar ability gain an extra card to use in their combat hand.
As soon as an Adventurer wins an exchange they may take the weapon. It grants the wielder +2 to
the value of any Attack card in their combat hand. It may be passed to any other Adventurer in the
same or adjacent tile by taking a special action to do so. The Adventurers must bring the weapon to
the Entrance tile to complete the Quest. If the Adventurer carrying the weapon is slain or captured
then the Quest has failed

♣Bring back the Necronomicon! A book of Dark Magic must not remain in the hands of the Horde.
To take the book, the magic words must be recited. An Adventurer may take a special action to
speak the magic words and retrieve the book. The Adventurer draws 5 cards from their game deck.
They must have at least one card of each suit represented in the drawn hand to have remembered
all of the magic words. Models with the Scholar ability may draw an extra card. For each missing suit
from the hand, a Brute appears in the Objective tile and will attack the Adventurers that summoned
them. The Brutes move freely in the Dungeon controllers phase, and will be considered daemonic, or
some sort of undead spirit or animated statue (a creature of magic summoned by the book). Either
outcome allows the Adventurer to collect the book and use its spells. It counts as a scroll of
unlimited uses, with the Detect, Magic Missile and Repel Spell options. The Adventurers must bring
the book to the Entrance tile to complete the Quest. If the Adventurer carrying the book is slain or
captured then the Quest has failed.
Encounter Tiles

As Adventurers explore the dungeon and reveal new tiles, they may reveal an Encounter tile. These
tiles have different effects as described:

Barracks – This is the sleeping quarters of the Horde warriors. When a Barracks is revealed it will
contain 3 Horde warriors.

Chest – A chest holding potential treasures and artefacts has been found. Draw a Chest card to
determine its contents.

Lair – This is the resting place of a Monster, a pair of Brutes or a band of 3 Horde Warriors. Draw a
Lair card to determine which of these is found in the Lair.

Obstacle – An underground stream, or ravine, or tangle of roots blocks the Adventurer’s path. An
Adventurer may enter this tile, but to leave it they must draw a number of cards from their game
deck, equal to their current wound level. If at least one picture card is drawn they may move to an
adjoining tile. Otherwise they must remain in the Obstacle tile and try again when they next have an
action. A model may fight a combat exchange while in the Obstacle tile, but if they lose the exchange
they cannot retreat and will be captured. A model with the Pathfinder ability may draw an extra
card to help overcome the obstacle. If they successfully pass the obstacle, they can clear the
obstacle for others. Treat the obstacle as a path from now on.

Trap – A hidden pit, or spring loaded spikes and darts will be triggered by a model moving adjacent
to this tile. If an Adventurer adjacent to the trap has an action remaining in their turn, they can
attempt to disarm the trap. To do this they need to draw a single card from their game deck. If it is a
red card, the trap is disarmed. Otherwise the trap is activated. Draw a card from the game deck. If it
is a black number card, halve its value (rounded up) and deal this many wounds to the Adventurer
that activated the trap. If it is a black picture card, then the Adventurer suffers no wounds, but has
been captured. If a red card is drawn, then the trap missed its target or was faulty and failed to
activate. After any of these outcomes, the trap is no longer set and the tile is simply treated as a
passage. A model with the Pathfinder ability may re-draw the card to attempt to disarm the trap.

Adventurer Actions

At the start of the turn each Adventurer gets to take their actions. An Adventurer can choose up to
two actions in any order from the following options:

Move: The Adventurer moves to an adjacent tile. An Adventurer can move onto a tile with another
Adventurer on it, so long as that tile has not reached its maximum capacity of 3 models. Adventurers
on the same tile are assumed to be able to move past each other if they wish to move onto an
adjacent tile. An Adventurer cannot move into a tile containing a denizen model, or move in a
direction that would pass through a dungeon wall.
Attack: The Adventurer may make a close combat attack on denizens in an adjacent tile. See close
combat for full details of this action

Shoot: The Adventurer may make a ranged attack if they have a bow or magic missile spell. The
details of a magic missile spell are described in spells. Bows (or crossbow, or arquebus ) can target
any visible tile with a denizen on it. Friendly Adventurers do not block line of sight, but you cannot
shoot through a tile with a denizen on it to target a denizen on a more distant tile. To shoot, the
Adventurer draws a card from their game deck. Monsters are hit on any black card. Warriors (Horde
and Brutes) are hit based on the number of models present on a tile:

1 Model- a hit is scored if a black picture card is drawn, 2 Models – a hit is scored if a black card of 6
or higher is drawn. 3 models – a hit is scored if any black card is drawn. Monsters typically count as 3
models.

A hit from a bow causes 2 wounds. This will normally kill a Horde denizen outright, but only wound a
Brute. Because of the limited effect of an arrow against a Monster, it will only cause 1 wound on a
hit, unless a black picture card is drawn. This represents an arrow making a critical hit against a weak
spot in the monster’s tough hide or scales, and will inflict 2 wounds.

Search: The Adventurer may attempt to find a hidden passage in their tile. This usually occurs if an
Adventurer party has reached a dead end and needs to find another way into the dungeon. To
search, an Adventurer must draw a card from their game deck. If it is an Ace, a hidden door is found.
Place the Trapdoor marker on the tile the Adventurer was standing in and place the Hidden Passage
tile on a clear part of the table (representing the start of a lower level of tunnels). There is only ever
one Trapdoor in a Dungeon, so further searches will not reveal any more. A model in the tile with
the Trapdoor has line of sight to the Hidden Passage tile and vice versa. Combat can be fought
between these two tiles, as though they were adjacent but the model on the Trapdoor tile counts as
being on high ground relative to the model on the Hidden passage tile.

An Adventurer with the Pathfinder ability may draw two cards per action when searching. An
Adventurer using a detect spell will make a successful search action if they draw any picture card.

Special: The Adventurer undertakes an action described in an encounter tile or chest card (eg disarm
trap or read scroll).

Dungeon Denizen Actions

The sole purpose of denizens is to drive out the invaders of their dungeon home. Any denizen in an
adjacent tile to an Adventurer will attack it in close combat as a free action at the end of the
Dungeon Denizen Actions phase. The Dungeon controller may choose 3 other actions in this phase:
Move, Shoot, Reinforce. These actions can be taken in any combination and the same action may be
used several times.

Move: This action has different effects for different groups of denizens

Horde warriors are small, quick and nimble. Individually they can move through dungeon passages
very quickly, but they tend to get in each other’s way when they move in greater numbers.
Determine the number of Horde warriors moving from a single tile as a single action. 1 Horde model
can move 3 tiles, 2 Horde models can move 2 tiles, 3 Horde models can move 1 tile. Horde warriors
moving as a group must start and end in the same tile together.
Brutes are larger but better disciplined when they move about the dungeon. Up to 2 Brutes on the
same tile can be moved 2 up to 2 tiles together as a single action (ie one Brute moves as fast as two).

Monsters are large and cumbersome and only move one tile per action.

Denizens of the same type can move onto or through a tile with denizens of the same type (up to the
tile limit of 3). Denizens of different types cannot stop on the same tile together, but can move
through a tile if has not reached its maximum limit.

Dungeon denizens known their own territory and are not affected by traps or obstacles (treat as
passageways).

Shoot: Denizens armed with a bow or similar missile weapon may spend an action to make a ranged
attack against an Adventurer (chosen by the Adventurer’s controller) in the closest tile in line of
sight. The effectiveness of this attack is determined by the number of models missile armed denizens
making the attack.

1 Model- a hit is scored if a black picture card is drawn, 2 Models – a hit is scored if a black card of 6
or higher is drawn. 3 models – a hit is scored if any black card is drawn

A hit causes 1 wound on the target Adventurer.

Reinforce: Horde warriors will move in from all parts of the Dungeon to defend their territory. The
Dungeon controller can use an action to bring a single Horde warrior onto an unexplored passage
end. The maximum number that can Reinforce a single tile in one turn is determined by how many
unexplored passage ends are on that tile. A Barracks tile counts as having one passage end (small
burrows that the Horde crawl out of).

Combat & Resolutions

Combat is fought when Adventurers and Denizens move into adjacent tiles to one another. This is
achieved by an Adventurer taking a combat action after moving into such as tile, a Denizen finishing
their move in such a tile, or an adjacent encounter tile being revealed that contains Denizens.
A combat round consists of a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5 Exchanges. Each Exchange
represents the combatants either striking a blow, dodging or manoeuvring for advantage in the
melee.
The winner of each Exchange is determined by both players comparing the value of a card played
from their Combat Hand.

The Combat Hand

At the start of a combat round each player will form their Combat Hand. Both players are dealt face
down-cards from their game deck until they have a total of 1 for either each remaining wound of the
model/s. Denizen Horde and Brutes use the collective wounds of each surviving Warrior in a group.

A model will also get bonus cards if it is supported by the following:

 A nearby friendly model has the Support ability and is able to use it.
  Their unit has a skill that gives Combat Hand bonuses
 Their unit is on higher ground than the enemy: +1
 Their unit is defending a palisade or defensive position: +1
All of these bonuses are cumulative. This may mean that a unit may end up with quite a large
Combat Hand!

Exchanges
The combatants will then play through a number of Exchanges equal to the combat hand of the
player holding the most cards – up to a maximum of 5. The advantage in holding more than a 5
card Combat Hand lies in having a wider choice of available cards to play during each Exchange.
Any unused cards after a combat round has ended are simply discarded.
If both players have less than 5 cards, simply play out the reduced number of Exchanges.

Panic!
If a player has fewer than 5 cards and also less than their opponent, then their cards for any
remaining Exchanges after their Combat Hand is exhausted, are drawn blindly from the top of the
draw deck as they frantically attempt to parry.
In addition, the best result they can hope for is to block their opponent’s blow and win the initiative–
they can cause no hits, and nor will their winning Defence Cards have any effect for the remainder
of the combat round.

Advantage
In each Exchange, the player holding the Advantage will always choose and play their combat card
AFTER their opponent has played and revealed their card.
In the first Exchange of a combat Advantage is determined by the following:
 An Adventurer initiates an Attack action has the advantage
 A Denizen that fights a round of combat as a result of moving into an adjacent tile to an
Adventurer has the advantage
 An Encounter tile is revealed that contains Denizens and results in them being adjacent to an
Adventurer in the final combat phase (and none of the previous two situations have
applied), each player draws and reveals a card from their game deck. The player with the
highest value card has the initiative ( in the event of a tie, draw again)

Winning & Losing an Exchange

Once both combat cards are played and revealed, their values are compared. The player with the
highest value card will win the Exchange. Aside from giving the Advantage for the next Exchange,
the winning card will also have an effect based on its suit.

After applying any hits or other effects, the winner of the Exchange places their used combat card to
the side. The loser merely discards their card.
At the end of the combat round the player with the most winning cards is the overall victor of the
combat round. In the event of a tie, the Denizens claim victory and the Adventurers must withdraw.
After determining the victor, these cards are also placed in their respective discard piles.

Drawn Cards in an Exchange

Because of their length, any unit armed with long weaponry facing foes armed with short weapons
will win a drawn Exchange.

Otherwise however, if the result is a draw, both combatants are unharmed and neither player wins
the Exchange – both cards are discarded.
The Advantage holder however has squandered their opportunity – the Advantage passes to their
opponent for the next Exchange.

The Suits – Combat Effects

As previously mentioned, winning combat cards will also have an effect based upon their suit. Of
course the primary aim of a melee is to kill or wound your opponent, but outcomes can also be tricks
or feints that leave your opponent wide open for a follow-up strike!

The 4 playing card suits are divided into black Attack Cards – spades and clubs, and red Defence
Cards –hearts and diamonds.

Defence Cards – Red

Feint Cards cause no damage, but give the winning player a bonus in the next Exchange of the
combat.

 Hearts – Feint – The winner of an Exchange with a heart may change the suit of the card
they play in the next Exchange. This is declared just after revealing it.

 Diamonds – Dodge – The winner of an Exchange with a diamond may change the suit of the
card their opponent plays in the next Exchange. This is declared when it is revealed.

If a Defence Card wins the final Exchange of a combat round, it does not give a bonus in first
Exchange of the unit’s next combat!

Attack Cards – Black

Attack Cards primarily cause hits and wounds on a target model. Though usable with any weapon,
each black suit is closely aligned to a particular weapon length:

 Clubs – Bludgeon – Short weapons such as a club, knife, sword or axe.

 Spades – Stab – Long weapons like the spear, staff or polearm

If a unit is armed with the weapon tied to the Strike Card played, they gain +1 to the value of the
card.
Example: An Adventurer armed with a sword – a short weapon – plays a 7 of Clubs in an Exchange.
His card value is therefore increased to 8.

Attack Cards – Wounds, Kills & Overpowering

A hit from an Attack Card equates to 1 wound. It’s worth remembering that the Exchanges of a
combat round are considered to happen nearly simultaneously. Therefore a unit’s Combat Hand size
is not reduced in the current combat round when suffering wounds.

If a winning Strike Card is at least triple the loser’s total, then the attacker Overpowers their enemy
and causes 2 hits.
Due to their brutal blows, short weapons only have to double their opponents score to Overpower.
Red & Black Jokers
Jokers are played as either suit of their relative colour and, with a value of 15, will generally beat all
other cards. If a player wins an Exchange with a Joker, they may then decide which of the 2 suits it
represents.

If two Jokers are played in the same Exchange, this heralds a bad omen! Perhaps the noise of battle
has disturbed the spirits that haunt the dungeon or the powerful blows trigger a rock fall in the
tunnels. Aside from the normal outcome of the Exchange, ALL models on both sides of the battle
take 1 hit immediately if they are in the same or adjacent tile to a model that played the Joker.

Winning & Losing the Combat Round – Rewards & Penalties

Regardless of actual damage caused, the winner of a combat round is the player who has won the
most Exchanges. This is simply determined by comparing the number of each player’s winning
cards.
If it is the Adventurers that have won, they hold their ground against the Dungeon Denizens. In their
next turn they may use their actions to move away or continue the fight.
If it is the Dungeon Denizens that have won, they push back all of the Adventurers from the tile they
are in to an adjacent tile of their choosing. If the Adventurers cannot be moved into an adjacent tile
(because they are in a dead end or the passage they can retreat into is already full of models) then
they are captured by the Denizens and removed from the board.

In the case of a draw, all Adventurers in the tile that was attacked must still retreat, but they may
choose where they retreat to. If they cannot retreat they are captured by the Denizens and removed
from the board.

Capture
When an Adventurer is captured by the Dungeon Denizens, they are held prisoner in a dungeon cell.
Take the Cell tile and shuffle it into the lower tile stack. If and when the tile is revealed, all captured
Adventurers are placed in the tile. They can be released from the cell to re-join the party, only after a
rescuing member of the Adventurer party performs a successful release action. To perform a
successful release action, an Adventurer must draw a picture card (of any suit) from their game deck.
This counts as a Special action. Freed Adventurers retain the same equipment, skills and remaining
wounds they had at the point of capture.
If the Cell tile has already been revealed in the game, any Adventurer that is captured is permanently
removed from the game (it probably best not to speculate as to what happened to them).
 A COMBAT EXAMPLE
Adam’s Dwarf Warrior Gimlet uses an Attack action against a pair of Goblin Horde warriors he
moved adjacent to this turn.
Gimlet is armed with a hammer – a short weapon, while Ara’s Goblins are armed with spears – long
weapons.
Both players now draw their starting combat hand.

Adam draws 5 cards as Gimlet is unwounded and has 5 wounds remaining. Gimlet is also adjacent to
Kandras the Ranger who has the Support ability and is not currently engaged in combat, so he
receives one extra card, for a total combat hand of 6 cards:
K♣ 8♦ J♥ 10♣ 2♥ and 10♥

Ara would normally have a combat hand of 4: 2 for each of his Goblin warriors. He draws 4 cards:

A♣ Q♥ 8♥ 9♠

There will be 5 Combat Exchanges in the following combat, as Gimlet has 6 cards (one more than will
be used).

Exchange 1 As Gimlet used an Attack action he starts with Advantage in the first Exchange.
Ara’s Goblins must therefore play the first card. Ara plays his Q♥. Adam could reply with his K♠ but
decides to let Ara take the first exchange since, when losing against a ♥, Gimlet will not suffer a
wound. He therefore strengthens his hand by playing his lowest card – the 2♥.
Final totals are Ara: 12 & Adam: 2.
Ara wins the exchange with the Q♥. In the next exchange he can change the suit of his own card
using the ♥ defence ability “feint”.

Exchange 2
Since Ara now has the Advantage, Adam must play first. Thinking that Ara may have already played
his best card, Adam plays his K♣ with a smile. His grin fades somewhat when Ara plays his A♣ and
then, using the ♥ feint ability from the first exchange, promptly changes its suit to a ♠! Both players
gain +1 to the value of their Strike cards due to their weapons being linked to the card suits played –
Adam’ short weapons to his ♣, and Ara’s long weapon to his ♠.
Final totals are Ara: 14+1=15 & Adam: 13+1=14.
Ara wins the exchange again and, struck by a lucky blow, poor old Gimlet takes a wound…
At the end of exchange 2, the remaining combat hands are as follows:
Adam: 8♦ J♥ 10♣ 10♥ & Ara: 8♥ 9♠

Exchange 3
Sweating somewhat, Adam must play first again. He plays his J♥. Surely Ara can’t have any more
high cards can he? At last luck smiles on Gimlet as Ara ditches his 8♥.
Victory to Adam: 11 to 8!
th
After winning with a feint, in the 4 exchange he will be able to change the suit of his own card.
Exchange 4
Each player now has the following cards remaining Adam: 8♦ 10♣ 10♥ & Ara: 9♠
Ara must now play first. He can only play the 9♠ in the hope of landing a hit. As it is a long weapon
suit its value will be raised by +1 to 10.
Adam cunningly replies with his 10♥. Why? Firstly, he changes the card’s suit to ♣ using the ♥ feint
ability from his victory in the last exchange. The +1 value added from his short weapon when
playing a ♣ brings his total to 11.
Ara loses, and one of his Goblins takes a wound.

Exchange 5
It’s the final exchange of the combat round. Ara must play first, but having no cards left in his hand
he must now draw Panic cards from the top of his deck. He draws the 5♦.
Adam has still has 2 cards to pick from. He plays his 10♣, and again adds the plus 1 short weapon
bonus for a total of 11. Victory to Adam 11 to 5. And because Adam has more than doubled Ara’s
score, the hammer of Gimlet causes two wounds. One Goblin is already wounded, so he allocates
the two wounds to the other Goblin, killing it outright!

The End of the Combat

Both players now compare the number of exchanges they won in the combat:
Adam’s 3 to Ara’ 2 means that Gimlet is the overall victor of the melee!
Ara’s remaining Goblin only has one wound left. As a Horde warrior he withdraws from combat and
is removed from the board. Gimlet holds his ground and inspects the spear wound to his thigh.

Completing the Quest

The purpose of the Quest is to find the Objective tile and return to tell the tale. If an Adventurer
party completes the Quest requirements then they have won.

If all members of the Adventurer party are killed or captured before the Quest is complete then they
have failed (obviously)

If the layout of the Dungeon results in the situation where no further tiles can be laid and the
Objective tile has not been found, then the Dungeon defeated the Adventurers … for now. Maybe
there is second entrance to the Dungeon that they have missed….. but that is another Adventure.

Playing with more than 2 players.

One player is the Dungeon controller. The other players divide the Adventurer party between them
and control their chosen models. This can potentially allow the game to be played by 6 players. A 7 th
player can be included as an additional Adventurer if the game is played at its hardest level.

Player with less than 2 players.

Solo play is challenging but can be achieved if the Dungeon in run as autonomous. This means
denizens are generated and move with the intent of stopping the Adventurer party in the most
effective way possible. Combat hands for Denizens are dealt as per Panic. However, two cards are
drawn and the highest is played against the Adventurer.
Chest Cards

 Scroll – A scroll contains a single use spell. Adventurers who wish to use the spell, must first
spend an action to read the scroll in the same turn they cast it. This means they will need to
use to actions to cast a scroll spell. An Adventurer with the Scholar ability can read and cast
a scroll spell as a single action.
Spells include: Detect, Magic Missile and Repel
 Healing potion – An Adventurer with a healing potion may spend a special action to drink it
all and regain 1 wound. One use per potion
 Magic Sword – Counts as short weapon which adds +1 to all black card values
 Magic Armour – Adds +1 to all red cards in a combat hand and can only be hit by a missile
weapon on a black picture card
 Lantern – Reveals tiles that are In Shadow and visible to the lantern holder.

Chest equipment can be given to another Adventurer in the same or adjacent tile as a special
action.