Defenders of the Realm FAQ

The Game Board

What do those triangles stand for in the middle of some of the black routes?

These are the routes the Generals follow on their path to Monarch City.

It's clear just by looking at the cards in the deck. Or look at Example 2 at the bottom of page 12: the series of spaces Varkolak passes through on his route to Monarch City corresponds exactly to the black arrows on the board. Having them on the map just makes it to know where each General will advance next without having to memorize it.

What are the Treasure Chest icons on some locations for?

These icons are used by the Rogue with some of her skills. They will also be used by some of the new heroes in expansions.

Is there an Inn in Monarch City?

The answer is no - not in game terms that would allow players to take Rumors actions in Monarch City.

Design Note: The reason there is no Inn in Monarch City is that the central location makes it too easy to gain cards through the Rumors Action. My logic in not placing an Inn there from a thematic perspective (and yes, once again, all my design work is based on how it works with the theme) is that while the city is full of Taverns and Inns, as are many of the other cities throughout the Realm, but these establishments are not out on the frontier where the trappers, hunters, and woodsmen would be coming into and sharing information of what they have seen of the enemy in the surrounding lands. So, while you can heal in Monarch City like at any other Inn, you cannot gain the valuable enemy information from Rumors that awards you Hero cards.

Winning (or Losing) the Game

If a Darkness Spreads card identifies minions to be placed on the board and you do not have enough minions to meet the requirements of the card – you lose correct?

Correct - You can have all the minions of one or more colors on the board and have a turn to knock them back, but if the next darkness Spreads card would place 1 more and all are on the board - the players would lose at that point.

If you add the last Taint Crystal to the board you also lose, so if there are 11 Tainted Crystals on the board and you place the 12th – you lose, correct?

Yes - if you place the 12th Tainted Crystal on the board - the players lose immediately.

Is this intentional? It seems to me that it would be simpler to describe the losing conditions if you threw away one of the Tainted Crystals.

Yes - this is intentional. The minions are troops that players can defeat and therefore even if all are on the board you have a chance of removing them through combat. The Tainted Crystals are more like a clock - as the land becomes tainted (if not healed by the heroes) it is becoming too corrupted for mankind to live on. You keep the Tainted Crystals beside the board so you have an obvious count of how bad the situation is. If you get down to just 1 in reserve you know you are desperate and need to heal the land or may suffer an immediate loss should the last one be added to the board. All things considered, when you play this game it is an ever shifting balance that the players are choosing between, fighting troops, healing the land, working on Quests, and preparing for and attacking Generals. It is a tough balance and makes for interesting games whereby no two games are ever the same.

The KingÊs Champion

My most immediate concern is that this game has a single winner and I am curious to know if the game would work well as a straight co-op?

The game can be played as a pure co-op with the players winning or losing as a group. The King's Champion individual Victory Condition can be ignored if the players choose. All game play will stay the same - no change at all. Players that land the killing blow to each General would still gain the Slayer card and the abilities that come with being the Slayer. Likewise players would still strive to complete quests for the benefits they bring. But at the end of the game, the players would not calculate the Victory Points to establish the King's Champion. They win or lose collectively. One final note, if the players lose, there is no King's Champion. That calculation would only be done if the players win.

Is this actually a co-op, or a "looks cooperative but really only one player wins"?

The game is designed as a pure cooperative game. Like Arkham Horror’s First Citizen of Arkham, the recognition of the King’s Champion was put into the rules for people that like to recognize an overall winner of the game, but the other players remain winners also as stated in the rules. Others do not lose because 1 player is named the King's Champion - all live in the glory they achieved.

This game is not about back stabbing, or taking advantage of other players to be named Champion of the Realm. Players that take that strategy will lose as there is no champion when the Realm falls (all players are losers).

If you are looking for a direct confrontational game with the other players, Defenders of the Realm is not for you. If you are looking for an epic fantasy game that requires strategy and cooperation - it is. If players are using the Champion Scoring - their play in striving to be the Champion of the Realm should be like working to be the best at their professional life, working to be recognized for the extra achievement. Few (and I hope none) of us would back stab the people we work with to get a better raise or bonus.

Using the Champion of the Realm rule is up to the players. It is not a tacked-on rule, nor does the rule override the victory of the other players making one a winner and the others losers - it is more like a team that wins the Super Bowl and one team member is named the MVP - all are still winners.

In summation, it should be noted that the rules never state there is a single winner, the clearly state the players win or lose as a group, there is also an overall winner that is hailed as the legendary King's Champion. It is the title of Kings Champion that the individual wins, all players have won the game. It appears that some people have interpreted the King's Champion to mean there is a single winner. And some go as far as to believe there is a single winner and all others lose, but those interpretations would be incorrect.

Quests

If you discard a quest card for the written bonus does it still count as 1 victory point toward King’s Champion at the end of the game?

Successfully completing a quest gets you a point. If you use it or not, or discard to use does not matter.

The following is recommended to track Quest Rewards:

Place completed Quests with outstanding rewards so the card is under your Character card with just the Reward section showing beneath the card. When a Reward is used turn the card upside down so the bottom portion of the back is showing. That way all players can know how many rewards you still have to play (also easy reference for the player) as well as how many total quests each player has completed. The player's active Quest is placed beside the Character Card. This method has worked very well in keeping track of the active Quest, Rewards, and Used Rewards that remain victory points to be named King's Champion. I recommend the same with the General Slayer Cards when taken. Slip them under the Character Card so that just the Slayer section shows.

The King of the Gryphons Quest Reward states - Discard this quest card at any time to move up to 2 Heroes to any 2 locations. Must these be 2 different locations, or may both heroes be moved to the same location?

The 2 Heroes may be moved to the same or 2 different locations.

Are quest rewards transferable?

No – Quest rewards are for the hero that gained the reward and may not be given to another player.

If four players are engaged in a battle with a General and lost while one of the heroes holds the Quest Reward War Banner of Valor to ignore the wounds and other effects of losing a battle to a General, does that reward protect all four players?

No - the Banner protects only the Hero that holds it.

House Rule: Some of you may want to make a house rule that it protects all heroes in the battle providing the Hero with the Banner was in the battle. Under this House Rule, the Banner would prevent all damage for all players from a General.

Does the "Find Magic Gate" Quest Reward of add 2 dice to any combat roll, including a battle against a General work against Varkolak?

Yes - These are 2 additional Dice, just like the Dice the player is using from Hero Cards, so he may use them against Varkolak.

Does he "Amulet of the Gods" Quest Reward of Add +1 to all dice rolled in combat, including Generals work against Varkolak?

No - The +1 Amulet is a combat bonus and the Undead Champion prevents combat bonuses against him – he is immune to any attack magic.

Does the War Banner of Valor Quest Reward of Ignore the wounds and other effects of losing a battle to a General work against Varkolak?

Yes – because this item is not an attack item, but a protection item, it may be used.

Does the "Amarak's Blessing" Quest Reward of Ignore the special ability of a General in combat work against Varkolak?

Yes - This card actually nullifies all Generals' special abilities - so if played, Varkolak has no Special Ability - this card takes affect before any battle would begin. Additionally, this is a special card that works for all players – all would ignore the special abilities of the General as this card is a blessing from the great Amarak, the mightiest Wizard the Realm has ever know, and the Wizard that centuries ago sacrificed himself to banished the Dark Lord that has now returned.

Can I use Quest Rewards any time?

Quest rewards are all different in when they take effect. Many are immediate - like scout a General where the reward is that you look through the deck at take a card that matches the General's color as well as those that get help from the Amazons, Elves, or Duke. Others are items that you get immediately - some one time use and others ongoing effects, like the Boots of Speed or the Unicorn. Another example, The King of the Gryphon Reward to Move 2 Heroes is one that can be done anytime the player desires. Additionally, cards that stop Darkness Spreads and Stop a General from moving can be done anytime they apply - much like a Special Hero Card.

Are all quests one shot deals or not? If the card does not say to discard can it, can I try multiple times to complete them?

All quests are not a one time action pass or fail. Many are actions that do not have any dice rolls to pass, but require the Hero to go some where and spend an action, like Scout a General. Some require the Hero to go multiple places and spend actions, like organize the militia. However, some Quests are a one time event representing going into a Dungeon to find something and the player spends and action to roll X number of dice and must get a number (usually a 5 or a 6) on one of the dice to succeed. If they succeed, they take the card and have the Reward. If they fail to get the required die roll, they discard the Quest as a failure.

What about the Unicorn or the War Banner - they look like Quests you search for and you do roll dice? Why do they not say discard if failed?

The Unicorn and War Banner are unique in that the player may spend actions seeking them, each action granting a single die to be rolled. While the failure of the roll does not cause them to be discarded, I have seen players chase these quests (which have very valuable quest rewards - so I understand their motive) to the detriment of realm as minions spring up and generals move while the Hero spends multiple actions (and in some cases turns) chasing the elusive Unicorn.

Design Note: These 2 cards are not in error by not having discard if failed - this was the way I intended them and not because they are of such great assistance to the players (although they are very valuable, especially if obtained early in the game). For me, the design of these quests (as well as every aspect of the game design) was to focus on theme first. Create a fantasy world that the players can truly become heroes and as such pursue what they wish. So, in design these cards, I wanted a Unicorn in Unicorn Forest that a player could pursue as a steed and I wanted them to have the opportunity to chase the mythical beast until they could catch it, or until all players became frustrated with the player pursing it. It is kind of like King Arthur's Questing Beast in that regard. As for the War Banner, I felt like it was important to have a famed item that everyone knows where it is, but it is just hard to obtain. In the other quests, most read they are fabled or rumored - when the hero fails, the item was just not there or some long gone adventurers already took it. So, that is the story behind the Unicorn and the War Banner .

Does the Amazon Envoy reward happen immediately - or can I save it and use it later?

All quests where you request help happen immediately. Therefore, make sure you complete them when they bring value.

Design Note: The reason the requests to the Duke, the Elves, and the Amazon occur immediately is because a hero has gone to these groups expressing the desperate need the Realm has of their warriors. After the great job the Hero does in communicating this desperate struggle the realm is in with the minions of the Dark Lord, it would not make sense for them to delay their support.

Can minions placed on quests be used to meet the placement of minions on a Darkness Spreads card?

Yes - you may take the Minions off the Quest to meet the placement requirements. This sets your Quest back, but keeps the Realm from falling, at least for a brief moment.

Playing the Game

The following section addresses questions related to game basic game play.

Daylight -Actions

Can players reserve actions? I ask is because of Battle Fury. Let's say you have a 2- player game with a Cleric and Rogue. The Cleric spends 5 of 6 actions on her turn, but leaves one action point unspent. On the Rogue's turn, he uses the Hammer of Valor to move the Cleric to a location with minions. The Cleric then uses Battle Fury by spending her unused action. Would this work?

No, you cannot reserve actions. If a player ends their hero's turn with actions remaining, all remaining actions are considered exhausted.

In the example above, since Special Cards can be played any time, even on another player's turn unless they require an action (and only the Battle Fury Special Card requires an action), the player with the Hammer of Valor could play the card while it is still the Cleric's turn and move the Cleric to the location with minions enabling them to spend their last action point to play their Battle Fury and defeat all minions at that location.

Strategy Tip: The Hammer of Valor is a much stronger Special card than it may appear to be as it enables the players to get 1 Hero into a battle with a General. While it can be used for other purposes, like moving to a location to build a Magic Gate, or to a location to prevent a taint threat, one of the most valuable uses is to quickly get a hero to join a team combat with a General that is at the doorstep of Monarch City. Couple this card with the Quest Reward of the Gryphon King that moves 2 Heroes to up to 2 locations and you can get 3 heroes to join the active player in a battle with a General very quickly.

Can Heroes move through Minions?

Yes – each location on the board is considered to be very large (an entire forest, mountain range, or city) so the heroes and the small band of warriors that may be traveling with them can move through the area without combat if they desire.

Since heroes can move through minions, can you also move out of spaces that have minions present at the start of your turn?

Yes, you can move through spaces with minions and out if spaces with minions. Each location on the board is a huge area, so heroes can travel through these without engaging the enemy if the wish. It's only when you camp in a location (end your turn) that you will be spotted and suffer damage.

Are there any limits to the number of times a hero can perform the same action on a turn?

Unless the action states a limit (like Rumors at the Inn limited to 2 per turn), you can perform them as many times as you wish and have an action point remaining. Actions – Heroes Skills

Do hero abilities apply even when it is not their turn? Specifically the Eagle Rider and the Sorceress joining in a battle with a General?

When the Heroes are activated as part of a group attack, they can use their hero skills if they are viable against the General. Since the Sorceress can only change shapes at the start of her turn, she could not change shapes when activated by another player as part of a team attack, but would stay in the current form and if the General is of that race would get her +1 against the General. The Eagle Rider would in this same situation be he would be activated to fight in a 4 team attack against a General keeping his current attack style - On the Ground for the Bonus of re-rolling ALL dice (or none - not just failures) against the General, or In the Sky and not be subject the Losing Combat penalties of the General if the battle ends badly.

Barbarian

Local Support states if ending turn at an Inn or a Black location to draw three hero cards and discard 1 keeping two. Is this in addition to the evening phase enabling the Barbarian to gain 4 cards in a turn?

No, the local support is referring to the evening phase, which is why it is at the end of the turn (should more specifically be at the end of the daytime phase). Instead of just drawing the top two hero cards, she draws three choosing the best two cards to keep. This skill is similar to the Rogue. If the Rogue is at a treasure chest for the evening phase, she draws and keeps three hero cards instead of two. In both cases these would not be additional cards to the 2 they draw at the end of the turn, just an enhanced draw.

Are minions defeated using the Slayer ability counted as defeated minions for the Barbarian’s Famed Warrior ability?

Yes - Minions defeated with the Slayer Skill will trigger the Famed Warrior ability providing you slay 2 or more minions in a single attack. When the Barbarian becomes a Slayer, they truly are a Famed Warrior!

When the minions flee from the Barbarian, does the Barbarian player choose the direction each of them flees?

When Minions flee the Barbarian, they are actually routed troops fleeing home in fear of the famed warrior that is attacking. Therefore, they are removed from the board.

Cleric

The Cleric's Turn Undead ability reads "If ending a turn in a location with Undead, move all Undead minions to any adjacent location(s). Clarification on the Cleric’s Turn Undead skill. If at a location, after combat and there remains some Undead minions, does the Cleric’s Turn Undead skill move the remaining minions from her location preventing all damage or does she Turn Undead after suffering the damage?

The Cleric uses her Turn Undead Skill as she ends her turn with the Undead. This is a free action to her and is part of her turn, so it occurs prior to suffering any damage from minions on her location. Therefore, when her turn is officially over there are no Undead on her location so she suffers no damage.

Can moving Undead minions with the Cleric’s Turn Undead skill cause an Overrun and Taint?

It could, but doubtful the player would chose to Turn Undead moving them to a location that would cause a taint and overrun since this is an optional action.

If the Cleric ends a turn in a space with multiple Undead minions, can each be moved to different adjacent locations?

Yes, the Cleric can divide the move of multiple Undead minions to any combination of surrounding locations.

Example: The Cleric spends her last action to move to Father Oak Forest with 3 Undead Minions on the location. Since her turn is over, she uses her Turn Undead skill to move the Undead minions in the following manner: She moves 1 to Pleasant Hill where 1 Demon is currently located. She moves 1 to Brookdale Village that already had 1 Undead located on it. She moves the last 1 to Wolf Pass that is currently empty. She chose to move none to Seabird Port as the Undead General is currently located there with 3 undead minions and a move to that location by any number would have caused tainting and an overrun. The Cleric's Sanctify Land ability reads - May spend an action in a location with no enemy minions present that is Tainted to heal the land (no card required). On a roll of 5+ remove the Tainted Crystal." Does the Cleric only get to roll only 1 die, unlike the 2 dice granted by the Heal the Land action to other players?

Yes, but she may roll 1 die per Action spent, so if she moved into the location for 1 action and killed the minions located there for another action, she would have up to 4 actions remaining to attempt to heal the land. Her power of healing the land is superior to the other heroes because 1) does not require a hero card to be discarded, and 2) is not limited to a 2 dice roll to succeed or fail. 5

The Cleric rolls only one die to Heal the Land with her power by spending 1 action. Can she discard a hero card matching the color of the location and spend 1 action to use the generic power like other heroes to roll two dice?

Yes - she can, but often it would not be prudent to spend a card when she can Heal the Land by spending actions.

Dwarf

The Dwarf's Dragon Slayer ability reads "May re-roll any failed dice in combat against Dragonkin". If the Dwarf rolls 3 dice against Dragonkin, fails on 1 and succeeds on 2, can he choose to re-roll just the failed die?

The Dwarf's skill enables him to just re-roll the failed dice. He may keep the successes.

Note: The Dwarf’s Dragon Slayer skill may be used against Dragonkin minions and Sapphire, the Dragon General.

Expansion Note: The Dragons Expansion will introduce 3 new Dragon Generals. The Dwarf’s Dragon Slayer skill may be used against each of the Dragon General’s as with Sapphire.

Is there a Limit to the number of times the player may use the Dragon Slayer skill? If he re-rolls a failed die, and it fails again, can it be re-rolled until it succeeds?

The Dwarf’s Dragon Slayer re-roll is a 1 time bonus. His skill enables him to re-roll any failed dice 1 time for each combat action.

Example: He spends 1 action to attack 3 Dragon-kin, rolling 3 dice (1 die per minion being attacked) and gets a 3, a 4, and a 6. He has 1 hit and uses his Dragon Slayer skill to re-roll the 2 dice that failed to hit. This time he gets a 2 and a 5 for 1 hit. He may not re-roll again, but if he has more any actions remaining he may attack again for 1 action and could roll 1 die and if it fails re-roll it 1 time.

Eagle Rider

The Eagle Rider's Ground Attack ability reads "May re-roll all dice one time each combat against minions and Generals (except Undead General)..." If the Eagle Rider rolls 3 dice, fails on 1 and succeeds on 2, his only options are to accept the result, or re-roll all 3 dice - correct?

Correct. When the Eagle Rider chooses a Ground attack (meaning he dives low to get a better shot, but in doing so exposes himself to damage from the enemy) he may re-roll his entire attack and this would include any hits as well as the misses.

When the Eagle Rider takes his turn with Sky Attack, the Hero card states that - he may end turn in same location with enemy minions or Generals but suffers no penalties (Fear, damage, or loss of cards)." Does this mean that the Eagle Rider using Sky Attack is immune to penalties inflicted after a failed attack on a General?

Yes - When the Eagle Rider chooses Sky as his attack style, he is safe from all enemies on the ground - the General's attack as well as minion attacks. The Sky attack style represents him firing arrows at the enemy from a height that prevents him from taking damage. This is the key decision the Eagle Rider player must make at the start of each turn, especially the turn before battling a General - do you want the re-roll against the General (I do, except against Varkolak as it would not count) or rather be free from injury if the battle is lost? Ranger

Can the Ranger attack from an Inn?

Yes, the Archery skill of the Ranger enables him to attack any adjacent location so he could sit in an Inn and attack the location that is adjacent to it.

The Ranger's archery skill, is it used against all minions 1 square away (multiple locations) or is it against 1 square?

The Ranger can attack one of the adjacent locations for 1 action as if he were in that Location. He cannot attack all adjacent locations at the same time for 1 action.

Example: The Ranger is in Monarch City at the start of his turn and there are 2 Orcs in Father Oak Woods, 1 Dragonkin in Bounty Bay, and 2 Undead in the Dancing Stones. For 1 Action he can attack any one of these locations without moving into them so he spends his first of 5 actions to attack the Dancing Stones with 2 Undead and rolls 2 dice getting a 3 and a 5 result. He kills one of the Undead. He spends a second action to attack again rolling 1 die and hitting the undead with a 6 6 die roll. He decides to move into the Father Oak Woods as his third action. He spends his forth action attacking the 2 Orcs in Father Oak Woods and since his target is in a green location with him he gains the +1 die bonus for Woods Lore and rolls 2 dice (one for each Orc present) gaining a 2 and a 4 hitting both (You need a 3+ to kill Orcs and he achieves this with his Wood Lore Bonus). With four actions spent and the desire to end his turn on a Green location to gain the Elf Support extra action next turn he looks at all adjacent spaces and sees that he has 1 Dragonkin in Rock Bridge Pass and 1 Demon in Pleasant Hill. Because the Demon is easier to kill than the Dragonkin (the Demon requires a 4+ to hit and the Dragonkin a 5+to hit) he spends his fifth and final action firing at the Demon and gets a 4 removing it from the location. He ends his turn by Drawing 2 cards, flipping his 5 action tokens back face up (and adding 1 temporary Action token from supply to be used on his next turn) and then resolves 1 Darkness Spreads card since the game is in the Early War status.

Rogue

What is the purpose of the Treasure Chest symbols on some of the spaces?

At present the Treasure Chest icon pertains to the Rogue’s skill Thievery. When she ends her turn on a location with a Treasure Chest icon, she gains 1 extra Hero card at the end of her turn. In the future, the Treasure icon will be used by more heroes, Quests, and Global Effect cards.

Design Note: The Treasure Chests are all located on spaces that are cities, towns, ports, and strongholds - the locations of wealth and commerce in the Realm. The Rogue, though a true Hero of the Realm, just cannot help herself from doing what comes naturally on these locations and that is taking a little of that wealth from the cities.

Sorceress

The Sorceress' Ambush ability reads - If in the same shape as an enemy, add +2 to each die rolled against them on the first attack made. The bonus only applies to the color of minions that the Sorceress has shape-shifted into, correct?

Correct - for example, this only works against Demons if she is in Demon form.

The Sorceress ability indicates that the first attack is at +2 against creatures of her shape. Does this mean that she gets +2 for her first attack in each space she initiates combat? Example: She attacks in space A, at +2. She moves to space B, where more of the creatures in her same shape are and gets +2 against them. She attacks the group in space B again, but does not get the bonus this time. She moves back to space A and attacks the last remaining minion there, but gets no bonus, because she attacked there earlier in the turn.

You are correct in that the shape-shift attack bonus only applies to the first attack at each location. Any additional attacks while she is on that location without leaving would not get the +2 bonus. However, if she left the space and returned to it later in the turn to attack any survivors from her first attack, she would get the bonus again as it would be her first attack upon entering the space (even entering a second time).

Design Note: The bonus works because she is able to sneak into the minion lines and attack when they are most vulnerable, therefore the powerful +2 bonus to each die rolled. It is then lost, because even the most dim of soldiers will realize the attacker standing in their ranks with blood on their weapons and bodies at their feet must be the enemy. But if she leaves the space, whether to attack somewhere else or to just enter again, she will be able to sneak into their ranks and attack again. From a design perspective I wanted to leave this option open to the player if they failed to kill all the minions in the attack and did not want to continue fighting without the shape-shift bonus. But I also wanted to make it costly and it is. The player must spend 1 action to leave the location, another to return and a 3rd action to attack again - that would be half of their Actions points - pretty costly. Few self-respecting sorceresses would lose that many actions pursuing this strategy, but it is possible.

When the Sorceress is in form of a minion. Is she allowed to 'fly over' Monarch City with an Eagle, or 'ride by' it with horses if she isn't actually ending an action in its location? No, If she is in the form of an enemy, the Archers in Monarch city will attack her in the if she tried to fly over, and the Guard would attack her on the ground. In enemy form, she may not enter Monarch City even if her intent was to pass on by.

Can the Sorceress give up her shape (Minion Token) if one is to be added by the Darkness Spreads deck to meet the requirement when none remain in the minion pool?

The Sorceress can give up her shape and become human form again, but doing so will inflict 1 wound on her as she does not have sufficient magic to change shapes except at the start of her turn. Of course doing so saves the realm at least for 1 more turn, so I would think she would be more than willing to make this sacrifice.

Sorceress has attacked a General while in form of the enemy. She loses and must return to Monarch City. However, she can't enter a city while in enemy form?

If she lost all her actions, she is dead. When a hero loses all Action Tokens, they die and a new Hero is started by the player. All Quest Rewards and Hero cards of the deceased are discarded and a new Hero Started at Monarch City with 2 New Hero Cards and a New Quest. If however, she is defeated and still has life points she reverts to human form. In her broken state the magic shape is lost and she becomes human - a mangled, bleeding human fortunate to be alive. In a game where the heroes were planning an attack on Balazarg, The Sorceress was the 2nd to enter the Demon General space after the Barbarian. The Rogue joined in last and initiated the attack on the General. The Sorceress had already assumed the red minion form - the rules stated that the first attack against the general will be +1. We played it such that only the Sorceress' hero cards which successfully contributed to the attack had +1 whereas the Barbarian's and the Rogue's cards had to roll normally. Is this correct?

You played correctly. The bonus is for the Sorceress taking the form of her enemy, causing confusion and gaining advantage in the battle applies only to her attack – regardless of when she makes the attack in a team attack on a General. This bonus does not carry over to the rest of the party, as she is the only one in the shape of the enemy. The general would assume that he has support from one of his troops – only to be stabbed in the back.

If the Sorceress shapeshifts into an Undead, is she also immune to fear?

Yes, so great is her transformation that she is completely confident that she is safe from the enemy’s discovery. Additionally, the magic calms her and keeps all fear from her.

Design Note: You will notice that if a skill of a hero has limitations it is noted under the skill. The Shapeshift Skill has no limitations, while the Ambush skill is limited to +1 against a General - therefore she is safe with the minions she is impersonating.

Can the Sorceress change shape when leaving Monarch City or an Inn?

Yes, her character card states that she cannot enter Monarch City in the shape of an enemy minion - she can however when starting her turn on those locations change shape as she leaves.

Wizard

Can the Wizard use his Wisdom Skill on other player’s turns to discard the Darkness Spreads card they draw.

No – the Wizard player may only use this skill on his turn related to his Darkness Spreads card draw.

The Wizard's Wisdom ability states, "When drawing a Darkness Spreads card, it may be discarded and another one drawn, but the new card must be used." Please clarify how this works.

When drawing a Darkness Spreads Card it may be discarded, and another one drawn, but the new one must be used.

Note: In the Middle and Late War this skill may be used for each of the Darkness Spreads Card drawn (2 for Mid War, and

3 for Late War).

Example: During middle war, for instance, the Wizard draws the first Darkness Spreads card that depicts minion placement and general movement. The player now decides to keep it or draw a new one. If drawing a new one, then THE NEW ONE MUST BE USED per the skill. Then the Wizard player draws a second Darkness Spreads card which will be used only to determine if a General moves. The player may now discard this card if they wish and draw another, but if they do so, they must use the new card drawn. Per the skill's note – the discard ability may be used for each Darkness Spreads card drawn (1 in the early War, 2 in the Mid War and 3 in the Late War), and with each draw, the player has the choice to keep the card or draw a new one. Each time a new one is drawn, as the skill states - THE NEW ONE MUST BE USED. So, in the Mid War the Wizard will be drawing 2 cards, the first is for placement of Minions and Movement of Generals (the Wizard player can discard this but must take the next) then they draw another for movement (and the Wizard can discard this one, but must take the next). The same process would be used for late War when 3 cards are being drawn.

The Wizard's Fireball skill states - Discard a card matching the color of the enemy minions to be attacked and roll combat dice. A 2+ incinerates minions, regardless of type. When on a location with 2 blue and 1 red minion and the wizard discards a blue hero card to cast his Fireball spell, does he now rolls 2 blue and 1 red dice slaying each on a 2+, or does the Fireball spell only effect Blue minions since he discarded a

Blue card.

The spell is activated with the discard of a Hero card matching the color of any of the minions present and the dice rolled all will successfully incinerate the minions of all colors present on a roll of 2 or greater, even minions that do not match the color of the card played. Does the "Amulet of the Gods" quest reward ("The power of the amulet adds +1 to all dice in combat") stack with Wizard's "Fireball" skill ("... roll combat dice -A 2+ incinerates minions...")?

Yes - the Amulet bonus of +1 stacks with the Fireball Skill of the Wizard. Therefore, Minions are automatically slain unless using the House Rule that die rolls of 1 are always failures, which I use for a more challenging game and recommend to all experienced players.

Does the wizard's teleport ability allow him to move to any location once per turn?

The Wizard may teleport to any location one time each turn - no card is required. The player just chooses a location and moves to it. His teleport, though limited to one time per turn, is very strong as it enables him to even teleport to Monarch or any of the Inns as well, and there are no Hero cards that enable that to occur.

Can the Wizard use the teleport ability to move to any magic gate on the board as listed in the number 1 part of the movement by Magic Gate action?

Yes, he can choose any location to teleport to and is not limited to Magic Gates. As stated earlier only 1 teleport per turn.

Can the Wizard use his Wisdom ability to discard the Monarch City Darkness Spreads card?

Yes, the Wizard can always use his ability on his first Darkness Spreads card drawn (there is more than 1 card drawn on his turn in the Mid and Late War). However, the re-shuffle of the Darkness Spreads and Hero cards should still be performed if he discards the Monarch City card. Basic Actions

Build a Magic Gate

Can a magic gate be built at an Inn location?

No, players must use a Hero card to build a Magic Gate and no Hero cards have the Inn locations on them. There is a Special card that allows for a Gate to be built anywhere, but Inns should be restricted because they are too small for a gate to be built on them.

Design Note: The Inns are never overrun and Gates cannot be built on them for the same thematic reason that Heroes can walk past Minions on other locations. Each Location on the board is considered to be a vast area (and entire town, forest or mountain range) but the Inns are small finite locations and as a result not attacked by the enemy that is working to gain strategic hold of the Realm and could care less about the Inns. Since a Magic Gate is actually a pretty large circle of stones, one could not be built in a small Inn.

Rumors at the Inn

Can you spend one action at the inn to choose one color and draw 2 cards then spend another action to choose a different color and draw 2 cards on the same turn?

Yes, you can change colors between Rumor Actions. Since each action is independent of the other, you may change the color you request each Action spent. So I can say Red on my first Rumors Action and flip 2 cards taking any Red as well as any Special cards (purple cards) and then spend a second action and call Green flipping 2 cards and taking any green as well as Special cards.

Design Note: The Rumors in the Inn Action is the only action that is restricted to a maximum of 2 per turn, primarily to prevent players from sitting in the Inn and cycling through cards, but from a thematic perspective it represents the limited number of people in the inn with information about the enemy. 9 Heal the Land

Can you attempt to heal a tainted location with minions and/or a general on it? The Cleric’s Character Card states the location must be empty of enemies to use her power, but the rulebook does not make that specification for the action that anyone can do.

While the Cleric has a restriction to use her skill, any players discarding a Hero card matching the color of the tainted location while on the location can make a roll to heal the land as described in the action. Since the Cleric does not have to discard a card to Heal the Land, her skill is more restrictive as to when she can do it - she may only heal the land when no minions are present.

Design note: I wanted to make the Cleric have some restriction on her skill since she can spend any number of actions on her turn to heal the land - very powerful, so I established that she could not perform the sacred rites of her order when minions are present as their un-holiness corrupts her blessing. Other heroes can Heal the Land with minions present as they are casting a spell, or using a spell scroll by discarding a card - in other words paying a price to do so.

Healing Wounds

How do you track wounds and how do wounds effect your actions?

When you take wounds you move the Action token(s) off your sheet and place them face down next to your character card. Actions lost are not refreshed at the start of the next turn. At the start of your next turn, if you had 5 Actions originally and were down 1 you would flip over the 4 remaining Actions on your Character Card (unwounded actions) leaving the lost (wounded) action that is off your card face down.

Now, when you are alone (no enemy present) you may heal by spending 1 action. The Healing action on any space other than Monarch City or the 3 Inns only returns 2 action tokens (heals 2 wounds), but when in Monarch City (and no Minions are present) or at an Inn you gain all lost actions (heal all wounds) for 1 Healing Action. When you heal, you place the lost action(s) face down on your character card as if you had already used them on your turn. Important: You do not get to use the actions you heal on the turn you restore them.

Engaging Minions in Combat

Are Minions "removed" by Hero Cards or Special Skills (like the Barbarian) counted as "defeated" minions for purposes of completing such quests?

No - Only Minions defeated in combat by the hero may be used for the purpose of fulfilling quests.

We would like a further point of clarification about whether minions "defeated" by the Special Cards Battle Strategy "Defeat all enemy minions on any 3 locations" and Battle Fury "Defeat all enemy minions at your current location" count as defeated minions for quest-fulfilling purposes?

The Defeat All Enemy Minions on any 3 Locations Special Card is an action not performed by the player (no action spent, not on the locations, etc...) and therefore the defeated Minions are not claimed for any Quests.

The Battle Fury Special Card requires the hero to be on the location and spend 1 Action – therefore, Minions defeated with the play of this card Do Count toward Quest fulfillment.

In an example where we have killed the Black General and my Hero enters a space with two black minions and a green one. Spending 1 action to attack...with this action, would the Slayer skill remove all black minions AND allow me to roll against the green minion, or will it require two actions to accomplish this?

That would be 1 Action. The Attack is the action and it enables the player to attack all minions on the location. In this case, 2 of the Minions are subject to the Slayer rule, so no dice need be rolled for them, the other minion would require a die to be rolled.

You are the Dwarf with re-rolls against Dragonkin. Furthermore, in this example you have a Unicorn Steed, which gives you rerolls on misses. Now, on top of that, you have a Special Hero card (Battle Luck) you could use to get rerolls. Do these rerolls stack?

Meaning, in this situation, it would appear you could roll against three Dragonkin, and then use your reroll as a Dwarf, and any remaining misses reroll yet again due to your Unicorn Steed and if you failed and feel spunky, could use your Battle Luck Hero card to roll yet again?

Yes, each of the re-rolls would be available to you in a single attack, but only once each attack. You are just really heroic when you achieve this combination.

Suffering Wounds:

What are the rules for fear? I didn't see them mentioned in the rule book. I see it mentioned on some of the characters cards - like the Paladin ignores it.

The Undead Minions cause 1 extra wound for Fear when a Hero ends their turn with any number of Undead Minions.

Example: A player ends their turn with 2 Undead Minions, they lose 2 Actions (Suffer 2 Wounds) to the Minions' attack and an additional 1 Action (1 Wound) to fear for a total of 3 Actions lost.

When does a Hero end their turn related to wounds?

Does this occur after all actions are played/passed during Step 1 – Daytime or does the Hero's turn officially end after Step 3 – Night?

We have run into a situation where Darkness Spreads cards have caused an overrun, which ended up placing minions in a space with the current Hero.

In regard to suffering Wounds, they are applied to the hero when they have completed all of their actions - the end of the Daytime Phase of play and prior to drawing Darkness Spreads cards. Any minions that may appear on the hero’s location by a Darkness Spreads card or an overrun will not do wounds to the hero.

Is there a penalty for ending your turn on a space with a General?

No - the Generals never attack the Heroes. Each location is considered to be very large (entire forests, cities, mountains) and the General is behind the lines directing his minions from his headquarters. Generals prefer to order their troops to attack the area in battle, recognizing that as the leader of the army they are too valuable to be on the front lines, and that goes for attacking the Heroes as well. The Generals are deadly warriors though, and once their troops have been eliminated and the heroes attack their headquarters and them directly, they often show the heroes how deadly they can be.

Attacking an Enemy General

When participatin g in group combat, is the General's win/loss condition determined at the end of each hero’s turn at combat or after all the participating heroes have attacked? For example, if the Rogue and the Ranger are fighting Gorgutt, the Orc General, and the Ranger attacks first but does not score enough hits to slay the General, does the Ranger become wounded and moved back to Monarch City before the Rogue makes her attack rolls?

Players determine the win or loss condition at the end of combat after all heroes have attacked. So, if after all heroes have made their attack rolls Gorgutt remains alive, each will suffer the penalty of losing to Gorgutt.

Note: Gorgutt is special because of his parry skill requiring that all heroes roll their dice as any hits scored by the first character may get cancelled by 1's rolled by the second or third hero’s roll.

As an extension of the question above: does Sapphire the Blue Dragon heal between the rolls of each player or only at the end of a team battle?

The Blue Dragon would not heal until all characters have made their attack rolls.

11 Player 1 and Player 2 end their turn on a General and are waiting for Player 3 to join them to initiate the attack. At the end of Player 2's turn, he draw's his Darkness Spreads card that indicates the General moves to the next location on his path. Do we do:

A) The General moves, Player 1 and 2 can no longer help out in the battle

against the general. Player 3 has the choice of fighting him alone, or try to

gather again on someone else's turn.

B) The General moves, Player 1and 2 move with the General. On player 3's turn he can initiate the battle with all 3 players.

When gathering to team attack the General and he moves, the General has outfoxed the heroes. They will need a way to get the group together at his new location, or let the next player tackle him alone. There are Special Hero cards and Quest rewards that might help get the group together outside of the normal turn structure, as well as the Special Prevent a General from Moving card. So, based on your options above – A is correct.

When the active player calls on you to help fight a general, can you refuse, or is it compulsory?

No - You may refuse. You are an independent hero of the Realm and you can use your judgment as to what is best for the

Realm and you. It is not compulsory.

To be part of a team battle, must you commit 1 or more hero cards (dice), or can you commit 0 cards?

If you wish to be part of the attack on the General you must commit 1 or more dice. They can come from Hero Cards or Quest rewards.

If you commit 0 cards, are you still considered to be fighting the General?

If you are in the location and choose not to commit cards to the battle with the General, you are not in the Battle and may not assist later in attacking, nor would you suffer the penalty the attacking players will if they fail or the Hero Card Reward should they win. Thematically, each location is very large which is why you can be in a location with General and not be attacked, he is in his camp and you are elsewhere. When with other heroes in a location attacking the General and you chose not to attack with them, they are in his camp but you are far from the battle.

When multiple heroes battle a General, do all players state how many cards they are committing to the battle prior to anyone rolling dice? If so, in what order do the players state how many cards they will commit?

All players must commit all cards to be used at the start of the battle. All players should place the cards they are committing on the board. If there is a question of who commits first, the active player must commit first and then clockwise around the table from the active player. At this point, the active player (who is the commander of the assault on the General) determines who will attack first. After that attack is resolved, the commander picks the next attacker and so on, usually positioning so he/she can be the slayer. If the General is slain before a player uses their cards, those committed are still discarded.

If you lose to a general and get sent to Monarch City and are still alive, can you continue using actions if you have any left?

If you are the active player that initiated combat - yes.

What happens when one or more heroes attack a General and lose, suffering the appropriate wounds, lost cards and moving back to Monarch City if there are a couple of minions on the Capital?

If the Hero had actions remaining they could move from Monarch City or attack the minions located there. If not, they would suffer 2 more wounds for the 2 minions on the location.

After losing a battle to a general and moved back to Monarch City where 2 minions reside, could the hero heal if they had any actions remaining despite the minions being present?

No - Heroes may not heal with Minions on the location.

Design Note: This may sound harsh, but the players are in control of the board and should be aware that attacking a General while minions are camped in Monarch City could lead to this result. Thematically, this represents that the healers are too busy with the minions attacking the city to care for the wounded heroes being carried through the gates. The heroes are attacked while they were being transported to the city (resulting in the additional wounds). Therefore, players need to consider the risk when attacking Generals, not only of the General himself and the penalties of losing to him, but to the rest of the board conditions, especially if Monarch City is under attack.

Can all hero skills be used against Generals?

No. Hero Skills are clearly noted if they can be used against a General, or if they change against a General. For example - The Ranger can use his bonus when fighting in a Green location, the Dwarf can re-roll failures against Sapphire, the Sorceress can gain +1 if in the shape of the General's minions, and the Eagle Rider can re-roll all dice if fighting from the ground. Additionally – it should be noted that Varkolak the Undead General cancels all of these skills and prevents all re- rolls whether from Skills, Rewards, or Hero Cards.

Which is used when attacking Generals – their To Hit Numbers on their General Card, or the dice icon number on the Hero Cards being played? This is in question because some Special cards show a number that does not match up to all General’s To Hit numbers.

Always use the To Hit Number on the General cards. On all cards with the General's picture the die number is also the To

Hit Number, but on some of the Special Hero cards that can be used on any General we just showed an average number.

So, if using a Special card’s attack die that shows a 4 against Gorgutt, the To Hit remains a 3+, and if it was against

Sapphire the To Hit Number would remain a 5+. The Special card just provides a die.

When losing to a General that has a penalty that requires a die roll, is there 1 die roll applied to all heroes, or does each roll the die separately?

When heroes lose to a General and they have to roll a die for their wounds, each hero should roll a die that was in the battle rather than a single die roll being applied to all. When doing a single die roll, it is possible for the blow to be either too light (a 1 was rolled and all lose 1) or too harsh (like what you experienced by rolling a 6). This rule should apply to die rolls for wounds and lost hero cards- each is rolled separately. By doing this, each hero suffers a different number of wounds and cards lost. Also, keep in mind armor that prevents wounds from minions, also prevents a wound from a General.

If a card committed to a battle with a General is not used because the General is slain before the player rolls, do they still discard the card?

Yes – all committed cards are discarded.

GeneralÊs Combat Skills

Lord Balazarg

Balazarg's Combat Skill states - Players must roll a die for each card to be played prior to the battle. Discard a card for each 1 rolled." The player must discard one of the cards that was to be played in the combat, correct?

Correct. The cards lost are from the combat cards committed.

Balazarg's Combat Skill states that players must roll a die for each card committed in combat, and discard them on a 1. However, the rulebook says that you roll for each red card committed. So are Special cards committed in combat not affected by Balazarg's Corruption?

No - Special Cards must be committed at the start of combat and suffer the corruption roll like red hero cards. Therefore, they may be lost prior to rolling combat dice against Balazarg.

The wording on Balazarg's Corruption implied that players rolled dice equal to the committed cards, and then chose which cards to apply the failures to. If you have cards with 2 combat dice, so you roll for them separately from the single die cards?

Yes - each card is rolled individually and therefore a double dice card will be lost when the die rolled for that card is a 1 result. You do not roll all dice and choose the cards to be lost.

What does D3 on Balazarg's card refer to? I couldn't find a reference to this in the rule book. D3 is an old role-playing term referring to "creating" a range of 1-3 on a 6 sided-die (so a roll of 1 or 2 = 1, a roll of 3 or 4 = 2, and a roll of 5 or 6 = 3).

Can the Eagle Rider's use his Ground Attack style that enables him to "re-roll all dice one time each combat against minions and Generals be used to re-roll a 1 on Balazarg’s Corruption Skill?

No - the corruption of Balazarg occurs before any battle rolls, so the Eagle Rider may not re-roll, nor will Battle Luck allow a re-roll against his skill, only on combat rolls.

Gorgutt the Savage

When attacking the Orc General with all four characters and the second player slays the General, would the rest of the heroes still need to roll for hits and parries because of the Orc Genera’ls ability?.

Yes. Against most Generals the battle would end as soon as the slaying blow is landed, but not against the Orc General. Since parries carry over (1's rolled parry a hit) from one player to the next, they work in reverse also. Therefore, all players must roll all dice even if in a 4 hero attack the Orc General was slain by the second hero rolling. If the 3rd hero rolled a 1 and no hits, he has blocked one of the earlier attacks (coming back to life with 1 wound remaining on his wound track). So, it is possible for Gorgutt to appear slain, only to be brought back to life and possibly slain by a later hero in the combat. Keep in mind this can only occur with Gorgutt - all other Generals are dead the moment they lose their last wound - no further heroes need roll.

Gorgutts special parry ability makes all 1's rolled parries – blocking a hit. If the Ranger has the Amulet of the Gods and fights Gorgutt on a green location, he gets +2 to all die rolls. In this situation, would a 1 rolled on the die result in both a hit and a parry, effectively negating all effects of that die?

Yes, in this situation a roll of 1 would be both a hit and a parry, unless playing with the house rule that 1’s are always misses no matter the modifier.

If the Rogue had the Unicorn Steed which "grants 1 re-roll of failed dice (any number) each combat" and is attacking Gorgutt who "parries successful attacks for each 1 rolled, can they use the re-roll on the 1’s rolled in the combat?

Yes – The parry skill is only applied after all re-rolls. Any 1’s that would remain after the re-rolls eliminate a hit.

If your hero has a special ability or Quest reward that enables you modify your dice roll, does that make it impossible for Gorgutt to get parries? Example: Assume the Sorceress has taken the form of a green minion, so gets +1 when she attacks Gorgutt. She rolls the following dice: 1,1,2,4,5,5

Any natural 1's rolled against Gorgutt are parries. Modifiers of any type (skill or Quest) do not override Gorgutt's Parry Skill. So in the example above - the Sorceress landed 1 hit as 2 were canceled out.

Gorgutt has 2 Red (major) Wound squares on his General card. If he is reduced down to 1 wound, one whole round passes before he begins to heal - but once he advances to 2 wounds (also a major wound), does he wait another full round or does he begin to heal normally after the first round?

If you inflict enough wounds on Gorgutt to leave him with just 1 wound, he will not begin the normal healing process for 2 entire rounds. After 1 round (actually the end of the player that initiated the attack on the general) advance his token to the 2 Critical Wound space. Now there is another round, advancing his wound token to the 3 wound space at the end of the turn of the hero that initiated combat with him. Now that he is no longer wounded, he will heal 1 wound at the end of each player's turn - so be sure and take him out before that.

Also, remember that a critically wounded General will not move if activated. So, if you have Gorgutt or Balazarg sitting on

Monarch City's doorstep and are not sure you can take them out, you may risk it to at least critically wound them and prevent their moving.

Design Note: While Gorgutt has the most wounds overall, he also is the easiest to wound and you can Critically wound him easier - which makes him a good target to attack if you can get past his parry ability. The Demon General Balazarg has only 1 Critical wound box because of his scales and dark magic, but like Gorgutt, if you get past his corruption with enough dice, you have a good chance of slaying or at least critially wounding him. Now Sapphire and Varkolak are different stories. Sapphire regenerates, so critical wounds (actually any wounds) are not going to help. You must slay her or she heals completely after dealing out severe damage to the the attacking heroes. Varkolak is already dead - so it is impossible to critically wound him - and with his combat skill eliminating any special skills or re-rolls, make sure you have enough dice to kill him, or the realm most likely will not survive.

Varkolak:

Varkolak's card states - Players may not use any re-rolls or special skills against Varkolak. Does that mean that the Sorceress ambush ability does not apply against Varkolak (assuming,of course,that the minion placed on her card is black)? What exactly is special skills?

That is correct - no Hero skills work against Varkolak. So, the Sorceress, even in the shape of the Undead would not get her +1 Bonus. Other skills, like the Attack Style of the Eagle Rider on the Ground that grants his re-roll (because no -re-rolls are allowed) even though this is not s special skill. The Eagle Rider could avoid damage if the battle is lost to the Undead Champion by being in the sky, but he could not use his re-roll if Ground Attack. The Ranger could not gain his +1 bonus for the attack if it occurred in a green location, the Cleric cannot get her +1 to attack Undead, and the Barbarian may not Rage. Many of the heroes' skills state they cannot be used against a General, but those skills that may be used against a General may not be used against Varkolak.

Additionally, Quest rewards (like the Unicorn re-roll) cannot be used against Varkolak. Rewards that provide a re-roll or increased skill may not be used. In future Hero expansions there will be more heroes with skills that would not apply against Varkolak and more Quest rewards that could not be used when fighting him, but the ones above give you the basis for how his combat skill works against heroes.

Last but not least, no Battle Luck Special cards can be played to grant re-rolls either - basically, the heroes may not use any skills that would give them an advantage in a battle with the Undead Champion.

Design Note: Varkolak, because he is the Champion of the Undead has increased skills that only time in the world of the dead could grant him. Therefore, he can sense that the Sorceress is living and not of his ranks negating her skill. His undead body can handle the diving attack of the Eagle Rider with uncanny precision defense. His prolonged skill of ambush and combat is too keen for the Ranger's ability to ambush him in the forests. Varkolak's skill, like his existence as a undead is a contradiction to the living world and is reflected as such in the game.

Rewards Gained by Defeating a General

If 3 heroes attack and slay a General, do they all gain the 3 Hero card reward, even if they failed to land a hit on the General?

Yes - All players involved in the Battle with a General, whether they rolled dice, hit the General or not gain the 3 Hero Card reward if the General is slain. Likewise they suffer the penalty if they lose the battle to him.

Slayers

The Ranger has vanquished a General and finds himself later in an adjacent location to a few of that General's minions - with his Slayer ability and Archery ability, is he is able to remove all the adjacent minions of that General's color without physically being there?

No - The Ranger Skill does not work with the Slayer Skill. The Slayer Card states that when spending a combat action in a Location, the Slayer defeats all of the type. No combat roll is required, but the action is restricted to the location the Slayer is on.

Design Note: The Slayer's ability is gained because the minions now fear the Slayer. They know of his fame and fear him, therefore they run at the sight of the Slayer - becoming routed troops fleeing in fear and open to the slayer's attack. The Ranger's Archery Skill would not reveal him to the Minions as the slayer and therefore not cause the rout in fear as he approached, but just an Archer firing at them from a distance - therefore the Ranger's Archery skill would not work with the Slayer action.

What happens to the minions their General is defeated?

After a General is defeated, his minions remain on the board and will continue to spawn, taint locations, and overrun. The only change is that now there is a Slayer for that race that can defeat all minions of the slain General at their location by spending an action - no dice roll required.

In the night phase, do the minions still spread from darkness spread card even the General is defeated?

Yes, as stated above, the minions still spawn, overrun, and taint the land.

What if you lose all your Actions as Wounds to Generals or Minions?

Your hero is dead. When a hero dies their character card should be placed in the box and the player chooses another hero. All rewards and their active Quest are discarded. In the rare event that all heroes have been used (you are having a lot of deaths) the player is out of the game while the others play on (although it looks pretty bleak). I use a house rule that if enough heroes are slain that one player is out of the game (no hero to draw as a replacement) the game ends as a loss for all.

When a hero dies, do they also lose any Slayer cards gained from defeating enemy

Generals?

Yes - When a hero dies all slayer, quest cards, and hero cards are lost with him. The player starts a new Hero, fresh with 2 Hero cards just like at the start of the game.

If I have unspent actions and lose to a General, do I lose the actions (wounds) from unspent Life Tokens first, or can I choose to lose the Action Tokens from those already spent?

Wounds suffered from Generals will always be applied to unspent Actions first, and then spent actions.

Evening Phase

Is the hand limit only applied to the active player since a player other than the active player could get more than 10 cards in hand due to participating in a successful battle against a general?

When you are the active player, you must discard down to 10 Hero cards at the end of your turn after you draw the Hero cards for the turn. If it is not your turn and you go over the limit by participating in a victorious battle with a General, you must discard down at the end of the active player's turn as well - you may not keep cards over the limit of 10.

Night Phase . Overruns and Tainted Land:

What is the advantage of removing the tainted crystal for the heroes?

The requirement to place the 12th tainted crystal is a game losing condition for the heroes.

16 Can minions be placed on an Inn due to an overrun from an adjacent location?

No - Minions never are placed on an Inn.

What triggers the tainting of a location - placing the 4th minion (3rd Demon) of a single color, or placing a 4th minion, regardless of the mix of colors on the location?

The 4th minion of any type to be added to a location that contains 3 minions of any mix of colors would taint the land and create an overrun. For Demons to taint at 3, all 3 minions on the location must be Demons.

Just to confirm, the 4th minion (3rd demon) doesn't actually get placed, correct?

That is correct concerning the 4th Minion - at no time (other than in Monarch City) will there be more than 3 minions on a location. There is no limit for Monarch, but of course the players lose if 5 ever invade the Capital. A 3rd Demon would be placed and that would cause tainting (providing all 3 at the location are demons), but not an overrun - only a 4th of any kind to be placed (but not actually added to the location) causes an overrun.

Demons cause Taint with 3 Demons on a location rather than 4. However, they still cause overrun with the 4th minion. Is taint also caused when the 4th minion is placed and an overrun occurs, or only when the 3rd is?

Yes, if there are 3 Demons in a location and a taint crystal, then a Darkness Spreads card adds a 4th Demon to this location, the 4th Demon is not added - the location is overrun so another taint crystal is added to the location and 1 demon is added to each adjacent location (which may cause additional taints to occur, but not additional overruns). If there are a mix of three minions on one location, for example 2 Demons and 1 Orc, and a Darkness Spreads card adds another Demon to this location, the new Demon wouldn't get added because it would be the fourth minion, correct?

That is correct – the Demon would not be added. A Taint crystal and an Overrun would occur. Keep in mind, the Demon power is only related to 3 demons tainting without requiring the 4th and an overrun situation, so adding the 3rd demon to a location that has a mix of 2 Demons and 1 Orc triggers the over-run for a 4th minion and a single taint crystal placement for the overrun renders the Demon power inactive in this situation.

If there are 3 Minions on a Location and 2 are to be added, does this cause 2 Taint Crystals to be added?

No - If there are 3 of any type of minions on a location and 2 Minions are to be added, the location becomes Tainted only 1 time (add 1 Taint Crystal) and the minions to be placed by the card that caused the Taint & overrun adding 1 minion to each surrounding location.

If there are 2 minions in one location and the General movement card calls for General plus 2 Minions to move into that location what happens to the 4th minion?

If one or more minions appear with a General would cause the location meet or exceed the 4th minion on that location, it follows the same Overrun and Tainting rules as normal. A Taint crystal gets placed on the location, and an overrun to all adjacent locations occurs.

Do the minions on the tainted land move to adjacent locations or do you take the color of the minion that caused the overrun and place new minions on all adjacent lands leaving the current minions on the location that was overrun?

A minion in the color of the minion that caused the overrun is taken from supply and placed in all adjacent locations and a Tainted crystal is placed in the overrun location.

Defenders of the Realm Cards

Darkness Spreads Cards

The Orc Patrols Darkness Spreads card reads "Add 1 Orc to each Green Location that is currently empty." Does a Hero prevent a space from being considered empty?

No - A Hero does not prevent the placing of an Orc in a Green space when the Orc Patrols minions are placed.

17 For Orc Patrols, does a General prevent a space from being considered empty?

No - A General is not considered an Orc Minion and will not prevent the placement of the Orc minion.

If the Orc Patrols card also advances a General, is the space the General moves to also considered to be occupy for the purpose of emptiness when placing Orc minions?

First of all, the General would move after the Orc patrols are placed as the movement of the General occurs after placing troops, so the move would have no effect on the placing of Orc Patrols minions. Furthermore, Generals do not count when placing Orc patrols – only other minions. Additionally, for those of you that want a tougher game, try playing with a house rule that only Orc minions will prevent the placement of minions for Orc Patrols.

On the Orc War Party card, it states Place 1 Orc minion on spaces that have 1 and only 1 Orc minion," are other minions of other colors taken into consideration? In other words, would I place one Orc on a space that had 1 Orc and 1 Undead (for example) or would I only place the minion on a space that had 1 Orc and no other minions?

You can actually play this card at 2 levels, Base Game and Advances as shown below:

Base Game - Orc Patrols: Add 1 Orc to each green location that is currently empty - meaning if no minion (of any kind) is present in a green location add 1 Orc to that location. Heroes or Generals being present will not prevent this from occurring.

Advanced - Orc Patrols: Place 1 Orc on each Green location that is currently empty - means place 1 Orc if there are no Orcs in the location regardless of other minions that may be present. This can have a big impact to the game, but most players like the challenge of facing the Orcs at a higher level and if you have played a game with me (as those of you that played at Origins can attest) you played at the more challenging level. When the Orc War Party card is played requiring you to add 1 Orc to each location that currently has 1 Orc and only 1 Orc on it, if there are other minions on the space and 1 Orc, is the new Orc added?

Yes – regardless of any other conditions, if there is 1 Orc and only 1 Orc on the location when placing Orc War Party Minions, another Orc is added.

When the Monarch City Card is drawn for just General Movement in the Mid or Late War, since it is a Special card does it get played anyway?

When drawing the Monarch City card for a General Movement in the Mid or Late War, it has no effect other than 1) No General Moves (as stated on the Card) and 2) All Cards are Shuffled, which puts it back into the deck.

Note: Keep in mind when reshuffling Hero Cards that played Special Cards are never reshuffled - they are 1 time use cards whether for their special event or dice against generals. When used, Special Cards should be discarded to the box out of play.

Special Cards

Purple (Special) Hero Cards - The rules state a purple card can be played at any time, even on another player's turn. Therefore, can a Special Card be played after a Darkness Spreads card has been drawn, but before the minions have been placed or the general moved? For example, if a Darkness Spreads card would move a General into Monarch City (thus causing the game to be lost), can Battle Strategy be played to move the general back one space before applying the effects of the Darkness Spreads card? Another example is playing Battle Strategy after drawing a Darkness Spreads card but before placing the minions, to avoid taints and overruns.

No - Once a Darkness Spreads card is drawn, the actions on it must be carried out (minions placed and Generals moved) with one exception. When a Darkness Spreads card states PREVENTS, the card is an interrupt card and may be played to prevent the action from occurring (Prevent a General from moving, Prevent a General from Healing). A card that does not state Prevents, must be played prior to drawing the Darkness Spreads card or after, but not while the actions are being completed. The same is true for Quest Rewards.

18 Can I play my Special cards immediately after fighting a General and failing to kill him to keep from losing them to his Lost Combat penalty? For example, two heroes are fighting Balazarg, but they fail to kill him. Before losing all their remaining cards, can those heroes play their remaining purple cards, knowing they'll be forced to discard them anyway?

No, Heroes that lose to a General suffer the wounds and lost cards immediately. While the Heroes are struggling to survive the blows dealt to them by the General, they are in no position to play Special Cards - so players need to think about the consequences of losing before they charge into battle with a General.

If for some reason a player discards (loses) a purple Special card without playing it - does it get put in the discard pile (and potentially reshuffled), or is it still removed from the game?

Yes, if a Special Card is lost without using the Special Ability or the Combat Dice to fight a General it should be placed into the discard pile rather than the box and out of play. Cards placed back into the Hero Card discard pile will only be reshuffled by the Monarch City Darkness Spreads card or when the Hero deck is exhausted.

Want a Tougher Game? For those of you that want a tougher game, play as I do - Special Cards are always discarded to the box whether played or not. This rule can be especially painful if the Evil Imp Minions from the Dragon expansion are being used.

If a player uses a Special card’s die to attack a General is it discarded out of the game since they did not use the special ability of the card?

Yes – any time a Special card is played it is discarded out of the game. Note however that you do not have to commit the Special card Battle Luck at the start of combat with a General. You only commit a Special card at the start of combat with a General if you are using their Attack dice at the bottom of the card. Regardless of how you decide to use them, for Attack dice on a General or for their Special Ability they are discarded into the box and out of play - so choose wisely.

The Special Card Battle Luck grants re-rolls to misses for the active player. How do you use this in a group attack?

Since this is a Special Card it may be played by any player on the Active Player (which is the player that is currently rolling the dice). The player playing it does not even have to be one of the attackers. In a team attack against a General, all players in the battle are active when they are rolling their attack dice.

If a Special card is used in combat against a general only as an extra die or two, are they still removed from the game afterward?

Yes they are removed from the game - A Special Card used for the special effect or Dice against a General is discarded from play.

Are Special card that state "Any General" also considered any Color, for purposes of Healing Tainted land, casting the Wizard's Fireball, etc?

No - It is just a Special card that has attack value against any General. It may not be used to heal the land or the Wizard's spell. In the Dragon's Expansion you may need these cards to put out flames in the Inns.

Can Special cards that do not involve rerolls be used in combat against the undead general with their special ability?

Yes - You can prevent him from Healing, or stop him from moving. You may not play Battle Luck, use Hero Skills that allow re-rolls or bonuses, nor may you use bonuses from Quests (like re-roll from Unicorn or +1 from Amulet) as some examples.