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Defenders of the Realm The Expansion FAQ V1.2

Monarch City:

Can Monarch City be tainted, and if it becomes tainted do the heroes lose?

The official answer is yes; adding a 4th Minion (or 3 , or 3 of any minion plus an On Fire Token) will taint Monarch City causing them to lose the game.

Design Note: It is my opinion that adding the automatic loss condition (especially against the Dragon Generals) may be too harsh for some groups and I recommend that players desiring an easier game agree on a House Rule that states if Monarch City becomes tainted for any reason, but a 5th minion is not present - the game does not end. Place the Tainted Crystal (that can only be removed by a ’s skill (Cleric or Druid) or the use of a Purple Special card for a Heal the Land Action.

Thematic perspective: The Tainting of Monarch City in this case is limited to the land outside of the walls of the city, walls that contain magical gems protecting the inhabitants from the toxic destruction of the ’s troops. The Royal Council, within the safety of the walls, fights on even though the city is under siege by the Dark Lord's minions and the countryside has been laid to waste.

If playing where Monarch City can become tainted and the game not end, can any color card be used by Heroes to heal the land or extinguish the flames?

Monarch City and the Inns are purple locations, so the only method of extinguishing flames or healing these locations in the rare event they become tainted would be by the player discarding a Purple (Special) Card to perform the action of using a hero skill.

To remove a fire token from Inns and Monarch City, do you just discard a Purple (Special) card and automatically succeed in putting out the flame or do you still have to roll the dice.

You must still roll a 4+ to extinguish any flame, however keep in mind a Special card not used for the special ability or the dice to fight a General is not removed from the game, but placed in the Hero card discards to be redrawn after shuffled.

Heroes:

How do hero wounds work exactly, if they occur in the middle of the turn do you take a wound from your unused actions? Or can you take them from a used action? Example: A has 5 hit points/actions and initiates combat with a Dragon General in his area (1 action used). He fails to slay it and gets wounded for 4 damage - does he have 1 actions remaining or no actions remaining?

He would have no Actions, as damage is always removed from remaining actions for the turn first.

In most cases the Hero will take no wounds until after having spent all of their actions of the turn (Zealots and fighting Generals are the exception) so if a Hero has 5 actions and spends 1 to move to a location with 3 minions, then spends 1 action to attack- missing on all dice, the hero has 3 actions left to attack again or leave the area. Only if ending their turn with minions would they suffer damage.

Keep in mind, healed actions are not available on the turn you heal them - only the next turn.

Cleric: Is the Cleric's Power altered in anyway to face any of the new races?

Yes, she has + 1 against Zealots. Additionally, her power to heal the land has not changed.

Can the Cleric add +1 to the die roll when attacking fire ?

No - they are not demonic or , so the magic in her mace will not assist the attack like it does with Demons, Undead, and Zealots (who are also evil).

Dwarf:

Does the Dwarf get his Dragon Slayer ability (re-roll) against the Dragon Masters (new blue minions for Sapphire the High Dragon General)?

No - they are Wizards, not and this makes them very difficult to beat when all Dragons are in play.

Does the Armor of the Dwarf (and ) still protect them against the new minions?

Yes – their armor still blocks 1 wound from Minions. This means that they can face the Zealots and not take any wounds between each round of combat, as well as reduce 1 wound from minions on their location at the end of their turn.

Eagle Rider:

If in sky, is the Eagle Rider affected by fire? Also, is the Eagle Rider subject to the berserk power of the zealots?

The Eagle Rider is affected by fire (Smoke actually) but not Zealots. When attacking from the sky, he remains free from the Zealot berserk attack each round and at the end of combat, but he cannot escape the damage from smoke inhalation.

Ranger:

Does the zealots’ berserk power work if the Ranger attacks from an adjacent location (Archery)?

No - The Berserk ability is a melee attack, therefore it cannot be made at an attacking force not located on the same space, so the Ranger’s archery attack at a distance would keep him safe from the Berserk attack of the Zealots.

Sorceress:

Can the Sorceress use her Shape Shifter ability to cancel the Zealot's (the new black minions) Berserk ability?

No - They strike her each round because she is attacking them, therefore they strike back. At the end of her turn she can still avoid their damage as she has essentially left combat and her appearance is the same as all other Zealots, but while in battle she is vulnerable to their Berserk ability. She would however get her attack bonus while in their shape - so she needs to use it well or suffer damage.

Does the Sorceress power work against Zealots?

Yes and no. The Sorceress gains the Bonus of her attack and at the end of her turn would not be attacked by Zealots, but in the heat of battle if she fails to slay all Zealots at a location, they attack with their Berserk ability.

Wizard:

Can the Wizard use his Wisdom ability to ignore a drawn Global Effects card and draw another card?

Yes - The Wizard's Wisdom skill enables him to treat Global Effects like any other Darkness Spreads card (remember – he can use this skill on his turn only) therefore, regardless of the Global Effect (Bad or Good) he can discard it and draw a replacement Darkness Spreads Card. The new card drawn must be played, even if another Global Effect as the initial Global Effect never occurred.

New :

If the Paladin or the Dwarf (both of which already have Armor) complete the for the Dragon Scale Armor, does the Quest provide an additional benefit with Dragons and Dragonkin?

Yes – If the Quest is completed by the Dwarf or Paladin, they gain the added value against Dragons and Dragonkin, essentially upgrading their armor. It would not increase their Armor ability against any other minion.

Example: If attacked by 2 at the end of a turn, the Hero would not be able to block one point of damage with their innate armor skill and another point of damage with the newly gained Dragon Scale Armor? However, if ending their turn with 2 Dragonkin, they would be able to block both attacks with the new armor as it provides the bonus against Dragons and Dragonkin. The Dragon scale armour is just more effective against Dragons and Dragonkin so it will prevent one wound from any minion or General (not including wounds from ) and will prevent a second wound if the enemies present are Dragons or Dragonkin.

New Special Hero Cards:

When using a mix of Generals and/or a mix of Special Cards, do these cards only provide dice against the generals pictured in the icons or, as the text states against "Any General?"

The term “Any General” means any General - not just the General pictured on the Card. All Special Cards that state Any General may be used against any of the Generals in the game even if the picture of that specific General is not on the card. This will be more important as we add new Generals in the future.

New Darkness Spreads Cards:

When drawing the new Darkness Spreads card Dark Lord Assassins instructing the player to turn over a Hero card and all Heroes at that color location are attacked, what happens if a Purple (Special) Card is drawn?

All Heroes in Monarch City or one of the Inns would be attacked – the assassins of the Dark Lord can reach you anywhere.

Is the Wizard able to use his Wisdom Skill while the Mana Drain Global Effect is active?

Yes – this Skill is based on his knowledge and wisdom, not his magic.

Deck Building – Mixing and Matching of generals in Darkness Spreads Deck: When using some Dragon Generals but not all, how should the Darkness Spreads deck be built with respect to the Patrols and Orc War Party cards, and their replacements from the Dragon expansion?

When Gorgutt is in the game, use the Orc War Party and Orc Patrols cards and when Hemlock is in the game use the Assault on Monarch City and Dark Magic cards. Since 2 cards show Sapphire as the moving General and the movement is into Monarch City so they are easily traded out, however 2 of these cards show Varkolak moving into Monarch City (one is a move anywhere) so they need to be added if Varkolak is in the game even if Gorgutt and the Orks are not. When one of these cards for varkolak comes up the placement of minions would be like Quiet Night since the Orcs are not in the game, but the movement of the General would occur if his next location is on the card.

I have modified my original answer to this question as I look toward more new Generals in the future and the simple rule to follow when building the Darkness Spreads deck is that all active Generals’ movement cards be added to the deck. This may create some situations where the placement of the Minions or Special Actions would not apply. When that occurs, the placement would be like Quiet Night for the turn and the General would move as noted on the card.

Does using the new Generals with the Orcs unbalance the game? My concern is that all of the Darkness spreads cards for the new Generals only add one green minion when a green location?

The best way to keep the Orcs whole and the from being too powerful is to use the following simple rules for set up and game play:

1) Choose the 4 Generals being used in the game based on the movement icons that match them as the cards put into the Darkness Spreads deck. (Note Sapphire will only have either the Orc Patrols and Orc War Party if Gorgutt is in the game or the Dark Lord Assassins and Dark Magic if Hemlock is in the game while the other Generals automatically manage this issue in set up by which ones you choose.)

2) Any text cards that would not apply in game play (like Orc Patrols when Orcs are not in the game) is treated like Quiet Night and no minions are placed, but Generals would still move if their movement icon instructs them to do so.

3) If using Imps, any Darkness Spreads card that instructs the placement of more than 1 green minion will be reduced to only 1 green minion.

4) If using Orcs, (and this is optional) any location card that instructs you to place 1 green minion will always become 2 green minions (not including Orc Patrols or Orc War Parties that will remain 1 green minion).

This may sound complex, but it is actually very easy to manage and keep the Orcs whole when mixing and matching.

While using the original decks (they are mostly identical for green, black, and blue), it is apparent that I can't use the base deck for Brimstone as he travels differently. How do players handle this in set up?

Using the set-up guidelines identified above should resolve this problem. Use all Brimstone movement icons when building the deck if Brimstone is in the game. If the Orcs are not in the game treat the Orc Patrols and Orc War Party cards as Quiet Night for minion placement but Brimstone would still move.

Global Effects Cards:

If you draw a Global Effects card as your first Darkness Spreads card and then at any point in the same turn draw another Global Effects do you ignore it?

You would ignore the second Global Effects card drawn keeping the first active.

If, in the Early War, you draw 2 Global Effects back to back, do you now draw a third card or are you done drawing cards for that round?

You will always draw and activate 1 normal Darkness Spreads card each turn, so the first Global Effects a player draws becomes active, if their next card drawn is a Global effect it would be discarded without effect and another Darkness Spreads Card drawn until you get a normal Darkness Spreads card that places minions and moves Generals.

Are the Global Effects cards discarded into the discard pile or removed from game?

Removed from the game. Global Effects can only occur one time in the game and should be discarded to the box rather than the Darkness Spreads discard pile.

The Quests of the Council Global Effect: Do the players keep two Quests until the end of the game? Are the Quests discarded (with the Global Effect card) when it is removed from game by a General moving or a new Global Effect?

Each Hero moves to Monarch City when this Global Effect goes into play and gains 2 Quest Cards to add to the 1 they have. Then each player reviews the 3 in their possession and discards down to 2 Quests each. So they will not have 3 quests, but 2 quests per Hero at the end of this Global Effect' immediate activity. Heroes will not retain 2 Quests the rest of the game. As they complete these Quests they [u]will not[/u] draw a new Quest until they complete both of the ones they currently possess and then draw back 1 Quest when they have no Quests in their hand. So this is a temporary benefit not lost when the Global Effect is discarded because this Global Effect is an immediate action only, but ends as Heroes complete their “bonus” Quest.

Note: The Monk from the Heroes Expansion would hold 3 Quest cards when this Global Effect is activated as she always holds 2 Quest Cards as a natural skill.

Can you ignore a good Global Effect like the Quests of the Council?

No. All Global Effects, both good and bad, are beyond the control of the players. The Quests of the Council represents the ruling body of the Realm and when the Council calls, the Heroes must obey. Players may implement a house rule that a positive Global effect can be ignored, but thematically when the King and the High Council call the heroes to Monarch City, it is unlikely that they could refuse.

How exactly does the Mana Drain Global Effect work?

The card lists only a few examples, but all magic abilities are lost. No heroes may Heal the Land, the Cleric loses all her bonuses in combat as well as her Heal the Land because her skills are Magical. It affects the Wizard’s ability to teleport and cast Fireballs because they are magical, but does not effect Wisdom because it is a skill. As a rule of thumb, when considering if an action is effected by the Mana Drain examine if the action involves a learned skill, or a magical ability. If magical, the action is blocked.

The Global Effect Magic Armor grants +1 to each General's wound level. When this card leaves play, do the Generals retain their +1 wound level provided by this card?

No. Global Effects are only active while the card is active, so when this Global Effect ends, the General's lose their Magic Armor.

Design Note: From my perspective, the armor actually remained, but the magic protection it provided has been drained through the spells of the Wizards in the White Tower supporting the Heroes or some other magical support of the Realm.

The Global Effect that closes the Inns states Heroes cannot take Heal actions or take Rumors actions at the Inns. Can they still travel to the Inns?

Yes - the buildings are still there, just vacant. Heroes may hide out in them to avoid minions, but with the Inn closed, there is no ale or stew available to aid in healing and no hunters and trappers to share information about the enemy.

Does the Global Effect card Gate Drain prevent the Wizard's Teleport skill (which works as a gate!)

No – the Wizard does not use a Gate to teleport, he uses magical mana – therefore, he can still teleport when Gate Drain is in place, but not when Mana Drain is active.

New Generals:

Brimstone:

Page 5 of the Rulebook states that an On Fire location is tainted by 3 minions of any type, however the Brimstone Agent card states only 2 demons are required to taint an On Fire location - which is correct?

Both statements are correct - 3 of any mix of minion or 2 Demons on a location with an On Fire token will taint the land.

When a red location with one and an On Fire token has another Demon added by the Darkness Spreads card to the location to taints it – if a 3rd demons is added at a later time is the location tainted again?

Yes. Keep in mind, this would not occur if both were added at the same time (2 Demons added to a location with 2 Demons and an On Fire token would taint only one time and overrun), but if 2 Demons and an On Fire token with 1 taint token receive another Demon by any means another taint token would be added to the location.

When a location with 3 minions (or 2 demons) is set on fire, does the location immediately become tainted?

Yes, add a tainted crystal when this occurs.

If 3 fire elementals appear at a location, causing an On Fire token to be added, is the location also immediately tainted?

Yes – so in many ways Fire Elements can be more dangerous than Demons.

How does BrimStone’s Fire Breath power work if the hero also has Re-Rolls through skills, Quest Rewards or Battle Luck cards?

Player Skills, Quest Rewards, and Battle Luck would still provide their normal re-roll for the combat, but the player would need to determine when to use that re-roll - either on the initial set of rolls to establish successes, or when taking all of the initial successes and rolling dice for them as final hits. The choice of when the player uses any re-rolls is another critical decision the player will have to make.

If a location is On Fire the rules state that the player must spend an extra Action to enter it (2 actions). What if the Hero enters it by Gate, Wizard Teleportation, Horse or Eagle? Does it cost you two actions or does it cost the Horse and Eagle 2 movement?

All methods of entering a location On Fire require a second action token to be spent - Gate, Horse and Eagle. Example: I am flying on an Eagle and have moves 2 spaces and now want to move into a location On Fire, I move into the location for 1 movement (total now 3 movement) and discard 1 Action. I can now stay in the area and maybe fight, or try and put out the fire by spending another action (providing I have some left) or can continue moving as there remains 1 movement for Eagle flight.

Design Note: The expenditure of the extra action is not just the time it takes to move into or through the area, but also the smoke inhalation, heat exhaustion, and general demoralization of seeing the Realm in flames. What happens when Brimstone’s 10th On Fire token is placed on the board?

If no fires are extinguished prior to the next Brimstone movement, he would automatically jump into Monarch City and the Heroes lose the game.

Hemlock:

The wording "...holding up one for the player on their right to draw 1." of Hemlock's Venomous Breath is confusing. How specifically does facing Venom’s Combat Skill work?

The Hemlock Combat Skill card should state “holding up one card of each color”. So after shuffling one card of each color (maximum of 5 colors) from their hand, they hold these cards out to the player on their right to randomly draw 1. The player will now lose half (rounded up) of this color card from their hand. The player may choose which cards of this color to discard.

Hemlock’s minions, the Imps confuse me – could you elaborate on them in greater detail in the examples below?

Example #1: A Darkness Spread card instructs the player to add 1 to a location that already has 3 Imps. At the same time, each adjacent location has 3 minions of other colors but no Imps.

In this example, the minion ability is replaced by the basic overrun rule since the minion (Imp or any other) is the 4th minion to be added to the location. The location would not gain an Imp, but a Tainted Crystal and follow normal overrun rules. Since each adjacent location has 3 minions already, no additional Imps would be added to the board, but each adjacent location would gain a Tainted Crystal.

Example #2: Darkness Spreads card calls for 1 Imp to be placed at a location where there are no Imps and less than 3 minions. 3 Adjacent locations each have 3 minions but no Imps. What happens then with respect to overruns and taints?

An Imp is added to the location identified on the Darkness Spreads card since the location would not overrun by adding the Imp. Next, the Imps fast flying ability is resolved with an Imp jumping to each surrounding location that has no Imps on them, but since these adjacent locations already have 3 minions on them, no Imp is added to them but each would Taint as the fast flying Imp would have been the 4th minion and therefore results in a Tainted Crystal rather than an Imp being on the location.

Example #3: The Paladin or Dwarf ends their turn with 3 Imps at a location, do they discard 3 Hero cards or does their armor mitigate the loss by 1 so they only lose 2 cards?

The armor reduces the loss to the Imps by -1 just like wounds. Additionally, the Eagle Rider when his combat style is Flying is totally protected from the Imps as he is considered to be flying too high for the Imps to reach.

Optional Rule: For those of you that want a tougher game, you may wish to make a house rule that states Armor will not prevent loss of cards to Imps. Thematically, this idea would be that the imps are confusing and confounding the Heroes when stealing their supplies - therefore they are not being attacked, but becoming bewildered by the remaining Imps. So, armor would not protect them from the loss, but the Eagle Rider in sky would still be protected.

Example #4: Since there are never more than one Imp placed at a location at one time, what happens if a second Darkness Spreads cards in the Mid or Late War make an imp appear at the same location as the previous card drawn for the turn?

The Imp identified on the Darkness Spreads card is always placed and each card is considered a different event. The fast flying Imps ability (Imps placed on each adjacent location) is the only situation where more than 1 Imp will be added to a Location. If the Darkness Spreads card identifies a location to place an Imp that already has one or more Imps, the Imp will be added. Additionally, in the card setup of the game, first 3 cards that for set would place 2 Imps in any location shown (no fast flying – so they do not spread out) and of course Hemlock starts the game with 3 Imps on her location. So, you can have more than 1 imp in a location, just not through Fast Flying actions.

When the Green Dragon Slayer travels by eagle/horse and passes through locations containing imps, do the imps die, or are imps slain only in the location in which the hero ends his movement?

Imps die as the Slayer passes through their location. This was a specific rule to get the pesky imps under control as often they are spread out one per location and too time consuming to defeat without this rule.

Do the green Imps do fast flying during game set up? Which means even during the first 3 darkness cards (2 minions of each color in theory) you only put 1 and add another in each adjacent location without an imp? Or would you put 2 without any quick flying?

No , they do not do fast flying. You add the number for the card set up (2 or 1) to the locations on the Darkness Spreads cards for game set up just like any other minion in set up.

Onyx:

Would you explain in greater detail the "Parry Hit and Counterstrike the attacker" by resolving the following examples?

Example #1: On a roll of 4 dice the result is a 1, a 2, a 4, and a 4 – 2 misses and 2 hits.

The word Counterstrike was used because it only applies when the target (in this case Onyx) is being hit - so if the roll was a 1 - 2 - 4 and 4 as noted above, the 1 and 2 become Parries and Counterstrikes - making the two 4's miss and resulting in 2 wounds to the Hero.

Example #2: If the same attack with 4 dice had rolled a 1, a 2, a 3, and a 3 – all misses.

In this attack by the Hero rolling a 1 - 2 - 3 – 3 missed on all attacks and since there are no successes for Onyx to parry, there are also no Counterattacks from the Dragon General.

The Simple rule to keep in mind with Onyx’s Parry & Counterstrike is that the Hero must have inflicted a wound on the Dragon in order for her to Parry and if no Parry is possible, then no counterstrike can be made against the attacking Hero.

Does the Paladin's "Aura of Righteousness" protect him from the Black Dragon at all times?

The Paladin's Aura of Righteousness will protect him from 1 wound dealt by minions, a General, or an Agent of the Dark Lord.

Lord Sapphire:

When playing the Cavalry Sweep card with the Dragon Masters in play, does the condition of removing Dragonkin apply to the Dragon Masters as well?

No - the Dragon Masters are not the same as Dragonkin and therefore this card does not restrict the player as it does with Dragonkin.

Agent of the Dark Lord – Onyx:

Are the purple cards used to defeat the Onyx Agent of the Dark Lord discarded to the Discard Pile or the Box where they can be used again after the deck is shuffled?

They are discarded to the Box. Using Special Cards to defeat an Agent of the Dark Lord is like using them as Dice in a battle with a General, therefore they leave the game.

The Agent of the Dark Lord Onyx’s card states that to defeat him you discard any number of Special Hero cards (all as a Group) and roll a die for each card discarded. Do all Heroes that are committing special hero cards need to travel to this location to participate?

Yes, just like fighting a General the active player can initiate combat with the Agent of the Dark Lord and all heroes on the same location may participate.

The Harassing Attack of Onyx the Agent of the Dark Lord states that heroes either lose 2 Hero Cards or suffer 2 Wounds. If the Paladin or the Dwarf was the attacker, does their armor protect against one of these wounds meaning that player would take 1 wound or lose 1 card?

Yes, the armor of a Hero will block the loss of either 1 wound or 1 Hero card.

Agent of the Dark Lord - Hemlock:

If the Eagle Rider was attacking from the sky and has less than 3 Hero Cards of the color required to defeat the Agent Hemlock, does he take no wounds but still be required to discard as many cards of the attacking color?

Yes - when the Eagle Rider is attacking from the sky he suffers no wounds, so that would carry over to this situation against the Hemlock - Agent of the Dark Lord, but the attack still occurs, so he would discard as many cards of the attacking color he had in his hand.

Does armor protect against a wound from cards at an Inn with Hemlock the Agent present, and in Battle?

Yes – Armor would protection from wounds to Hemlock the Agent for each card the player could not discard in battle to defeat her. Additionally, when drawing cards in the Inn, armor would protect against 1 wound from each Hero card drawn.

When Agent Hemlock is in an Inn, Heroes may not enter that location. However, to attack Hemlock, a Hero must spend 1 action at Hemlock's location. Does that mean Hemlock can only be attacked when he is in Wyvern Forest?

Hemlock in the form of an Agent of the Dark Lord can be attacked at any location in her path, the Wyvern forest or an Inn. Players can attack her at the Inn, but may not enter an Inn that she is at without attacking her as her presence blocks entry.

Agent of the Dark Lord – Brimstone:

If 10 locations are on fire and a hero spends a purple card, does Brimstone still move, but not set the new location on fire?

No, Brimstone is pleased to have set the realm ablaze and just sits back and watches it burn. From my perspective, if all the On Fire tokens are on the board the Heroes have enough problems to deal with.

On Brimstone's Agent card, the "Extinguishing the Flames" ability doesn't mention having to roll two dice and get a 4+, as is documented on pg. 6 in the rulebook. Do you only have to roll the dice when Brimstone is a General, and not when he's an Agent?

Yes – players only roll dice to extinguish fires when Brimstone is a General, not when he is an Agent of the Dark Lord. When Brimstone is an Agent, the player will spend 1 Action and discard a Hero card matching the color of the location to extinguish the flames.

When Brimstone is an Agent and a Hero ends their turn at a location On Fire, does the hero take 1 or 2 damage and will armor prevent any damage?

You always take damage from fire if on a location with an On Fire token at end of turn, regardless of its source. When Brimstone the Agent sets a location on fire with heroes present, each Hero immediately takes 2 wounds that cannot be blocked by armor. If the Hero ends their turn at a location On Fire they suffer 1 wound that cannot be blocked by armor. Keep the Agent Brimstone’s attack separate from locations on fire damage to Heroes as they are two different things.

When it says that you can use 4 completed quests to defeat Brimstone only if the rewards associated with these quests have not been used, does that give Heroes an option to not use the reward of quests whose benefits are immediate such as Scouting Quests or the Rumors Quest?

Yes – Players may choose not to take the reward and hold it to use against Brimstone the Agent of the Dark Lord. Once they make this decision they may not change their mind later and accept the Quest Reward unless it is an item or something that can be used at any time. If the quest provides an immediate reward, like gaining a card for scouting or help from the Amazons, the time has passed and the opportunity gone. If a Reward could be used later or is an item, then yes they could now use it.

When locations are on fire, I understand it takes 2 Demons to taint the land and 3 of any other type. Does this mean any other 3 of the same color minion or any 3 minions will taint the land if on fire?

When a location is On Fire, 3 Minions of any type or mix, or 2 Demons will taint the land when it is On Fire. They do not have to all be the same type.

Generals and Agents of the Dark Lord:

Are Generals Agents of the Dark Lord? Can I use a Card that stops an Agent from Moving to Prevent a General from Moving?

Generals are not Agents of the Dark Lord. Generals and Agents are two different members of the Dark Lord's army and in the Dragon expansion they have different cards (Agents or General) even though they use the same Dragon Miniatures in play. Cards that target the Agents, have no effect on Generals, just as cards that target the Generals have no effect on an Agent of the Dark Lord. So, you could not use a card that stops an Agent from moving to prevent a General from moving.

VARIANT - Royal Blessing:

The Royal Blessing tokens grant several benefits, one of which is a re-roll of all dice for all Heroes in a battle, when and how is the re-roll applied?

The use of this Royal Blessing is a great advantage that the players will collectively have available and be used any time they decide when to use it. When used (at any point of the combat) all dice previously rolled (including hits) are discarded and all heroes that have already attacked up to this point must re-roll all their dice. I prefer to wait until after all have rolled and only use the token as a last option, but I can see where there may be times that the token should be used in mid battle. Players should strategically keep in mind that this is the only Re-Roll that can be used against the Undead Champion Varkolak making it very valuable in that battle.

Variant - The KingÊs Champion Rewards:

Is the 'Vast Acres' fame reward a positive reward or a negative punishment? It seems to be a negative reward compared to the others.

Actually the Vast Acres can be very beneficial as the player can start far from Monarch City and make a significant dent in the invading minions very quickly. It is true that the location of the Acreage (marked with the town token) if tainted can hurt the Hero, but that is part of the story that I like about the reward. Keep in mind, one of the goals of the Kings Champion Rewards is to expand story and the Vast Acres does that well.

Does Minor and Major Fame Heroic rewards combine for the same action? Example: A Hero completes a Quest that requires dice to be rolled - does he draw 1 Major Fame Token (for the success) and 1 Minor (for the attempt) or only the 1 Major Fame token since the roll was successful?

The Minor and Major fame awards are cumulative meaning that a Hero gains the Minor Fame for the action and the Major Fame for the success. In the example above, the Hero would gain 1 Minor Fame token for the act and 1 Major Fame Token for the success.

SCENARIOS:

When setting up games, the rules state to combine the 6 new Special Hero cards with the old Special Hero cards and then randomly discard 6 in the box. While I understand the concept there are many more than 6 "new" special hero cards included in the expansion – how do I address this?

The expansion includes all of the Special cards (New and Base game) so you can play the first scenario without mixing any cards. To eliminate confusion in the future, I recommend just setting the original Special cards aside and using the Dragon Expansion Special Cards to have a single full set. Using this set, shuffle the Special cards and deal 6 into the box without looking at them to keep the base game balance.

Easier Game: If you do not remove any special Cards (which is an option to make the game easier) the game will be easier for the players as they have more Special Resources. If using the Winds of War Variant posted on BGG, it is less important to discard 6 Special Cards because the variant restricts play of Special Cards. Keep in mind, depending on what cards are lost to the box, the game becomes more uncertain as you can not plan 100% on that card that stops a General from moving, or pushing a General back to appear in the game.

The Dragon Expansion provides many new Sapphire Hero and Darkness Spreads cards. If these cards are all added to the base game cards players are now flush with blue cards, and Sapphire moves much faster than other General toward Monarch city. Is this the intention, or are players supposed to make some distinction between the new and old Sapphire cards.

It is not the intention to use both sets of Sapphire cards. Use only 1 set of the Sapphire Cards - do not use both. The full set of Sapphire cards were added to the expansion so the Scenario with the 4 Dragon Generals could be played directly out of the box without any mixing and matching of cards , but both sets of Blue Cards (base Game and Expansion) are not to be shuffled together in the game. The same is true for Hero and Darkness Spreads Cards - use only 1 set, not both (exception Orc Patrols and Orc War Party). The one change you will need to make regarding Sapphire’s Darkness Spreads cards in set up is in relation to Hemlock and Gorgutt. If Gorgutt is in the game, the Orc Patrols and Orc War Party Cards are added to the deck. If Hemlock is in the game as the Green General, the Assault on Monarch City and Dark Magic Cards are added to the deck.

The Setup section of Scenarios 4 and 5 states "all 4 of the All is Quiet cards should be added to the Darkness Spreads deck." What is meant by "All 4" since the base game only has 3 All is Quiet cards? Is this an error?

No error but the phrasing is incorrect - it should be use 4 All is Quiet Cards. You should use 3 from expansion and 1 from base game. Keep in mind if returning to the base game set up with only 3 All is Quiet cards.

In the game set up, do the 3 Fire Elementals with Brimstone immediately set the land On-Fire and add a Tainted Crystal? What if through Darkness Spreads card draw set up 3 or more fire elementals appear at the same location?

Yes – the 3 Fire Elementals with Brimstone start a Fire and the land would also become tainted - so Brimstone starts on a location with 1 Fire Token and 1 Tainted Crystal. Additionally, if 3 Fire Elements appear on the same location during set up then the location is set On-Fire and a Taint Crustal added as well.

Scenario 5 – The Burning Land starts with the base four Generals: Gorgutt, Balazarg, Varkolak, and Sapphire. When a General is defeated, the instructions say Brimstone enters the game, and to add the Brimstone cards to both decks. Does this mean there will be cards for all five Generals in each deck? Or, should the cards for the defeated General be removed when adding the Brimstone cards?

Players should add all Brimstone cards to Hero Deck and Darkness Spreads Deck (These are any cards with Brimstone's Picture on the card (as movement in Darkness Spreads or as Attack Dice in the Hero Deck). No cards are removed and this addition will tint the decks to more Red, and if you have yet to slay the Demon General will give you problems in keeping the Demon Horde in check – so beware.

Scenario 5 – Adding Brimstone cards Continued: Should any purple cards depicting Brimstone be added to the Hero deck, or only the Red cards?

Only the Red cards - Special cards are established at the start of play and not altered afterward by this scenario.

Scenario 5 Victory Condition - Do the Heroes have to defeat Brimstone in addition to the remaining three Generals to win the game?

Yes - If Brimstone appears, he becomes a General marching toward Monarch City. A key strategy of this scenario is to keep Brimstone from appearing if possible.

Components:

How are the two tokens with Brookdale image on them used?

These Building tokens, while not discussed in the rules, are included to identify the King’s Rewards of Vast Acres and the Mayor of Brookdale Village for players using the new King's Champion variant.

Comparing Sapphire's Darkness Spreads cards from the base game to the expansion it appears that all the cards are the same except for one is this a mistake, or by design?

We made 1 change to Sapphire's cards and that came out of play testing that dropped 1 card and duplicated another. This is not a mistake and pumps her up slightly in the High Dragon Mode.