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Descent quest

Instructions & quest guide

Created by Mark Thomas

v.1.0 last updated 9/16/2009

what is descent quest?

Over the years there have been a lot of board games in the “dungeon crawl” genre. It’s arguable that none of them have

really claimed the title of “ultimate dungeon crawl”. Descent: Journeys in the Dark is the current “king” of the genre,

but an old favorite called Warhammer Quest has some features that are not present in Descent. Each game has its

advantages, and Descent Quest is an attempt to mix the best parts of both games. Specifically, Descent Quest (referred

to as DQ from here on out) makes Descent a fully cooperative game, like WQ. The game is no longer played with an

Overlord. Additionally, the dungeon difficulty scales to the number of heroes, so you can play with a single hero, or

possibly even more than 4 heroes. Finally, DQ uses dungeon cards like WQ, meaning the dungeon is different every

time. You no longer know what path you’ll be taking. While it’s best played with the dungeon cards, the rules can be

used without the dungeon deck in order to play standard quests.

What do I need in order to play?

All you need to play Descent Quest is this document and the Descent board game. This document contains new cards

that will describe the dungeon areas and the monsters therein as well as special events that can happen while exploring.

You’ll also find a table that determines what rewards you’ll receive for defeating your enemies. As for Descent itself, all

you really need is the base game, but this game uses content from every expansion except for Road to Legend (Well of

Darkness, Altar of Despair, and Tomb of Ice). Expect Road to Legend support soon. To fully enjoy the game, you will want

the expansions. No elements from Warhammer Quest are needed for the game.

What is included?

In this guide you have the instructions, of course. In the back you will find cards that you will need to print. While it’s

true that some cards have “wasted space” on them, I chose to keep a consistent format so that there would be room for

future expansion. Some cards do require the extra room, so it’s necessary that it is present on all cards. If you want to

save some ink, only the Quest Guide and Dungeon Cards really need to be printed in color. The following types of cards

are present:

- Event Cards. These are random events that can happen every turn you are in the dungeon. Some of them

are pulled from the Overlord’s bag of tricks, but others are quite different. The results can be good or bad…

usually bad.

- Dungeon Cards. These are empty sections of dungeon (often more than one piece per card) that you will lay

down as the cards are drawn.

- Objective Area Cards. Objective Areas are the final areas of the dungeon. See below.

- Monster Spawn Cards. Each time you enter a new area, you will draw a monster card to see who (or what)

is lurking in the area.

- Door Cards. Each exit in an area has a door placed in front of it. When opening a door, you will first draw a

door card to see if any special events occur.

The Treasure Guide lists all the loot you can receive after winning a battle, and what dice rolls will produce it.


The Power Guide lists all the dark powers that run rampant in the dungeon, punishing lingering heroes.

The Quest Guide lists various pre-configured “Boss Battles”. While most of the dungeon and its contents are randomly

generated based on cards and dice rolls, the final room of the dungeon is handmade and can contain special rules.

Setting up the game

Preparing a new game of Descent Quest is much like preparing a game of regular Descent, except you don’t set up the

board based on a quest map. Note: If a rule is not specifically mentioned in this manual, assume that you follow the

rules of Descent. After printing this manual, cut out all the cards and divide them into their respective decks. Follow

these steps to set up the game:

1. Choose your heroes as you would in a normal game of Descent, including skill selection, equipment purchases,

etc. For best results, choose from 1 to 4 heroes. The game is fully playable with one hero, but certain monsters

such as Shades can cause difficulties for a wrongly-equipped lone hero. Additionally, you can take more than 4

heroes, but the rooms can get quite congested due to the extra monsters that will spawn.

Note: You may re-draw any feats or skills that would be useless in your current arrangement. Examples would

be anything involving taking cards from the Overlord, or if playing with one hero, anything that only affects

other heroes. Some feats or skills involving threat are still useful (see below). You may also re-draw any skills (or

treasures during the game) that assist with line of sight such as Boggs the Rat. Traditional rules of spawning are

not used in Descent Quest… when monsters show up, the only thing you can do about it is fight!

2. Select the monster stats for the number of heroes + 1 (if you have 2 heroes, use the monster cards with the 3 in

the corner).

3. Count out 20 threat tokens and place them in a stack. Each turn, the pile will deplete. When it’s empty, bad

things happen. See below.

4. You start the game with 5 Conquest tokens. If you run out, it’s game over. You will still receive conquest from

glyphs as normal… if you find any, that is.

5. Shuffle the Objective deck, and draw the top card, face down. This will be the goal of your quest. It’s best not to

look at it; it’s more exciting that way. You can set the rest of the Objective deck aside; it will no longer be

needed.

6. Shuffle the Dungeon deck. Draw 4 cards into one stack, and 4 cards into another stack, both face down. Shuffle

your Objective card into one of the stacks, then place that stack beneath the other stack. At this point you know

you will be traversing at least 4 dungeon areas to get to your objective, but it could be up to 8! You can set the

rest of the Dungeon deck aside.

7. Shuffle the Event deck and place it face down nearby. It will be used throughout your

quest.

8. Shuffle the Door deck and place it face down nearby. It will be used any time your

heroes want to open a door to reveal a new area of the dungeon.

9. Set up the dungeon entrance so that it looks like the picture to the right. Place a door,

but you do NOT need to draw cards of any type in the starting area. You also don’t need

to reduce the threat pool or draw for an event until after the door is opened.

10. Place your heroes, and go directly to the “Sequence of Play” section.


Sequence of play summary

Each round (starting after the heroes have opened the initial door), follow these steps in order. Below these brief

descriptions are details about each step. If you are not ready to explore the dungeon further, skip steps 2-4.

1. Remove h threat tokens from your threat stack and place them in another stack.

2. Explore (if next to a door)

a. Draw Door card

b. Reveal new area

c. Determine Glyph (any duplicates on two power dice)

3. Draw Monster card to populate new area

4. Determine ambush (blank on one power die)

5. Determine Event (surge on one power die). Do this every round.

6. Combat

7. When combat is complete, consult the Treasure Guide for loot. Continue with Step 1.

Sequence of play details

Step 1 – Threat

The dungeon is a dangerous place, and the longer you are in it, the more dangerous it gets. The “threat pool” starts with

20 threat tokens in it. Each turn, move h tokens into a separate pile. “h” refers to the number of heroes. For example, it

will take 2 heroes 10 turns to get through the pile, but it will only take 5 turns for 4 heroes. Once the threat pool is

empty, roll all the standard attack dice (red, blue, yellow, yellow, green, green, white) and consult the Power Chart to

see what power comes into play. Use a paper and pencil to keep track of what powers are currently in play. The powers

can stack, so you could very well end up with 3 “DOOM!” powers in play. The process then starts over with your newly

created threat pool (the discarded tokens). Certain skills or feats that involve taking threat from the Overlord can be

used to reclaim threat from the “discard” pile. Skills or feats involving the increased cost of playing Overlord cards are

not applicable here.

Step 2 - Exploring

As in regular Descent, the heroes move throughout the dungeon by spending movement points. This takes place even if

you are not in combat. If you are adjacent to an exit of a dungeon area, you can choose to continue exploring. If there is

a door (there usually will be), draw a Door card and follow any instructions on it. The hero spends two movement points

to open the door, just in regular Descent. This has caused some confusion among players, since it can seem like the first

hero’s turn is being split into two parts. This isn’t really the case; even if the heroes choose to open a door in the middle

of a turn (usually not wise), you should think of such an action as being similar to revealing a new area in regular

Descent. The new area is set up (described below), and you must see if you’ve been ambushed. If you are ambushed,

the heroes’ turn ends. If not, continue with the heroes’ turn as normal.

After resolving any instructions on the card (you may not actually get to open the door until several turns later!), draw a

Dungeon card and turn it over. Lay down the appropriate map. Place a standard door at all the exits. Descent Quest does

not use rune-locked doors. You may have to orient the map pieces differently depending on your current dungeon

configuration. If you are unable to make the dungeon card work as designed, adjust it so that it is as close as possible.

Next you need to determine if the new area contains a glyph of transport. Roll two power dice. If you roll two power

enhancements, two surges, or two blanks, place a glyph of transport in an appropriate place in the new area, usually in


an end cap. If the dungeon card has specific instructions on it, follow them immediately. This can include placing

various map elements such as mud, potions, etc. Dungeon card instructions can override ANY rule listed here.

Corrupted Terrain

Corrupted terrain serves a slightly different purpose in Descent Quest, but it still involves threat. If a hero suffers

a wound while on corrupted terrain, the threat pool also loses a threat token on a one-for-one basis.

Forked Paths

Sometimes an area will have more than one exit. When this happens, divide the remaining dungeon cards as

equally as possible between the available paths. Do this by dealing from the bottom of the deck, alternating

between the paths. For example, if the area has two exits, deal the bottom card from the dungeon deck (still

keeping it face down, of course) and place it by one of the exits. Next, take the next card, again dealing from the

bottom, and place it by the next exit. Repeat this process until the rest of the dungeon deck is split between the

exits. If the heroes run out of dungeon cards and still haven’t found the objective area, they have reached a

dead end and must backtrack. If some other event such as a cave-in forces them to turn around, merge any

remaining dungeon cards in with those of another path. This ensures that the heroes will eventually find the

objective area.

Step 3 – Monster Spawns

Draw a card from the Monster deck. Generally, monster cards will have you roll a single power die to see what monsters

are in the new area, but some cards may have specific instructions on them. Once you’ve determined the monsters you

need, place them according to the Monster Behavior guide below.

Monster Quantities

Many monster cards have quantities of monsters like 2 + h, or 1 + h (max 4). In all cases, ‘h’ refers to the number

of heroes playing. When a maximum number of monsters is specified, do not exceed it, even if the formula

would normally have you do so. See the example below for more information. If you are asked to place more

monsters than there are available figures, use masters or other tokens as replacements.

Step 4 – Determine an Ambush

Roll a single power die to see if you have been ambushed. If you roll a blank, skip to step 6 and the monsters activate

immediately! Ambushes automatically remove Guard orders!

Step 5 – Check for Events

Every round of the game, the heroes must check to see if a special event happens. The only exceptions are while the

heroes are still in the starting area, if you’ve been ambushed, or if a card specifically instructs you to NOT check for an

event. Roll a single power die to see if an Event card is played. If you roll a surge, draw an Event card and execute its

instructions immediately.

Step 6 - Combat

At this point, there’s a good chance that your heroes are surrounded by monsters, so it’s time to fight! Combat in

Descent Quest follows all the rules from Descent. The differences come in with regards to the initial placement of

monsters and their behavior. This is of course due to there being no set map pieces or Overlord. If the heroes have been


ambushed, the monsters activate first, skipping the heroes’ combat turns. See the Monster Behavior guide for more

details. Note: Guard orders can be used at any time during the monster activation period, unless you have been

ambushed. For all intents and purposes, consider this time “the Overlord’s turn”.

Step 7 - Treasure

When all monsters that were spawned via the monster card have been killed, consult the treasure guide to determine

the party’s reward. Monsters that spawn as a result of events have their own rewards printed on the event card.

Assuming the heroes still have remaining conquest tokens, repeat the sequence of play.

Remember: Check for an event every round, even if the dungeon does not currently contain any heroes. A trip to town

is not a holiday! You also lose threat tokens every round.

Sequence of play example 1

In this example, our party is made up of Nanok of the Blade and Runewitch Astarra. Nanok has reached a doorway of the

current dungeon area, and decides to explore. First the player draws a door card. He gets lucky this time; nothing special

happens. Nanok spends two movement points to open the door as normal. The player turns over a dungeon card and

adds the indicated pieces onto the dungeon. The player then draws a

monster card. Since it is a standard monster card, he rolls a power die

and gets a surge. The card indicates that a surge result will spawn 1 + h

Ferrox (max 3), 3 + h Skeletons, and 1 Manticore. When you see “h”

referred to in this way on cards, it means “the number of heroes”. To

finish our example, we would have 5 Skeletons (3 + 2), 1 Manticore,

and 3 Ferrox (1 + 2). In the case of the Ferrox, a further rule was

specified that there be no more than 3 Ferrox regardless of how many

heroes there are. Following the rules of monster placement, the Ferrox

are placed at a range of 4 from where the heroes enter the area. Usually monsters are placed in the order they are listed

on the card, but regardless of order, melee creatures are placed first. The Skeletons are placed next, at a range of 3 from

the last Ferrox. Finally, the Manticore is placed at a range of 3 behind the Skeletons. See the Monster Behavior section

for more details on monster placement.

Once the monsters are placed on the board, the player rolls a power die to see if the party is ambushed. He

unfortunately rolls a blank, indicating an ambush. He does NOT roll for an event card, and the heroes do not move any

further this turn. The monsters immediately activate according to the monster behavior rules. Once they have all

activated, play continues… assuming the heroes survived.

Sequence of play example 2

In this example, our party is made up of Brother Glyr, Trenloe the Strong, Tetherys, and Runemaster Thorn. The heroes

have adventured into the dungeon for 4 turns already. The threat pool has 4 tokens remaining. It’s the beginning of the

round, so one of the players takes the remaining threat tokens (one for each hero) and moves them to the ‘discard’ pile.

All of the threat has now been used, so the player rolls all the attack dice (except for the stealth die). He adds up the

range and damage, which comes to 10 and 13 respectively. Consulting the power guide, he sees that the “Wrath” power

has come into play. Each hero is now worth one more conquest point if killed. He takes the discarded threat tokens, and

they now become the new threat pool, to be depleted all over again.


The heroes are not ready to explore a new area; they are still in the midst of combat. A player rolls a power die to see if

they need to draw an event card… he gets a surge. Turning over an event card, they see that an ogre spawns in the area,

following standard monster spawning rules. First, a blue attack die is rolled to see if the ogre is upgraded to a master.

Luckily the result is not an X; it’s just a standard ogre. Next, a power die is rolled to see if the ogre ambushes the heroes.

Event spawns get a special roll for this; they ambush on a surge. Unfortunately for the heroes, a surge is exactly what is

rolled. The ogre immediately activates. After its turn, the heroes get to take their turn, attacking the remaining monsters

and the newly spawned ogre. When the heroes’ turns are complete, all the monsters activate in turn, including the ogre.

Monster behavior

Without the benefit of a pre-determined map specifying monster locations or a human Overlord controlling their

behavior, Descent Quest has rules governing where monsters should be placed on the map and how they behave when

it is their turn to activate. These rules should be fine for most any circumstance, but by all means if there is ever a

situation where you think a monster should not follow the rules in this guide, feel free to do as you please; there is no

Overlord to upset.

The philosophy behind monster behavior in Descent Quest can be summed up with

these points:

- Monsters are selfish; they are only concerned with their own attacks.

- Monsters are cowards; they always retreat after attacking, if possible.

- Monsters are fair; they evenly divide themselves amongst available attack

targets whenever possible.

- Monsters never close doors but they will open them. They only do this in

order to get at the heroes.

Monster Placement

When placing new monsters on the board, we divide the monsters into the groups that

are listed on the monster spawn card. For example, if our card says “2 Master Razorwings, 1 Golem, 1 Master Skeleton”,

we have three groups. The first group is placed at a range of 4 from the nearest hero. Place monsters in the order they

appear on the card, but just in case, melee creatures are ALWAYS placed first. If there is multiple melee groups, as in this

example, place them in order of appearance on the card. Once the first group has been placed, place the next group at a

range of 3 behind that group, and so on until all groups are placed. See the example in the Sequence of Play section for

an illustration of this. When there are multiple squares available that satisfy the range requirements for placement, fan

out the monsters as best as possible. This helps avoid effects like Blast and Aura from devastating the monsters before

they have even had a chance to activate. Finally, if there is not enough room to place all

monsters while maintaining the desired gaps between the groups, you can place a group

on the OTHER side of the heroes, starting again at a range of 4. If that is not possible,

drop the gaps between the groups to a range of 2 or even 1. Finally, if there truly is not

enough space to spawn monsters, they will not be placed at all. Note that if a card calls for more monsters of a given

type than are available, use masters or other replacements as needed.

The Morph Ability

When placing a creature with Morph, follow these guidelines: if the monster will immediately have line of sight to the

heroes and can be placed at a range of 4, consider the attack to be melee. Otherwise consider the attack to be ranged or

Spawning on both sides of the

heroes


magic. Choose based on the target; if the target is weaker against a given type, use that. It’s what an Overlord would do.

Above all, handle the Morph ability so that the monster’s attack can be as devastating as possible.

Monster Attacks

Monsters will attempt to follow the “one on one” rule from Warhammer Quest; this means that if there are 4 monsters

and 4 heroes, they will each attack a hero. If there are 7 monsters, 3 heroes will have 2 monsters attacking them while 1

hero only gets attacked by 1 monster. However, monsters will only attack heroes who are actually in their line of sight; if

only one hero is visible, he will be attacked by all the monsters! If monsters have no line of sight to any heroes, they will

move in the direction of the heroes (they are aware of the heroes’ presence). Once they gain line of sight to at least one

hero, determine who will be attacked following the one on one rule. The following exception exists for the one on one

rule: creatures with Swarm will attack the target previously chosen by another Swarm creature. For example, if a kobold

attacks a hero based on the one on one rule, other kobolds will ignore the rule and try to attack that same hero.

Each round, the nearest monster to the heroes activates. Once his target is chosen, he will move toward that target as

follows:

- Ranged monsters will stop at a range of 3

- Melee monsters will stop when they are adjacent, unless they have Reach, in which case they will stop at a

range of 2.

- Monsters will actively avoid heroes with Aura whenever possible. If there are NO monsters available that

can attack the targets without entering the Aura, they WILL do it, even if it spells their doom.

Once a monster has reached the desired range, he will make his attack. Upon completion of that attack, he will use any

remaining movement points to retreat away from the heroes. Exceptions to this rule are as follows:

- creatures with the Swarm ability will NOT retreat if there are other Swarm creatures in the area

- if retreating will only move a monster closer to another hero, he will stand still

- if he has already suffered wounds from entering an Aura, he will stand still, in hopes of avoiding further

wounds. Note that you may find that playing as Shiver makes this game far too easy.

Once the monster’s turn is over, the next-nearest monster activates, and so on until they have all activated. If a monster

spends all his movement and has not reached the desired range to his target, he will attempt to make an attack if

possible (on any valid target), rather than losing it. Monsters with Breath will always use it if they can attack multiple

heroes, regardless of how many fellow monsters they may damage. Monsters with Blast will attempt to target spaces

that will maximize the number of heroes affected, again with no regard for other monsters. Monsters with Knockback

will always attempt to knock heroes into an environmental hazard (pit, lava, etc.) if possible.

Optional Rules

You may find the game too easy or too hard, primarily based on your party makeup. These are some optional rules that

can help to adjust difficulty.

- Have Skeletons stop approaching at a range of 4 (5 for masters) since they get a range bonus.

- Add 1 damage for every 2 surges monsters roll.

- Use Road to Legend silver or gold dice for the monsters. These could follow with the treasure level of the

dungeon.


- Use Road to Legend silver, gold or diamond monster cards. These could follow with the treasure level of the

dungeon.

- For single heroes, roll twice when revealing a new area to determine if there is a glyph.

- Have single heroes start with 6 CP, reducing 1 CP per hero after that.

- Don’t play with feats.

- Increase the size of the threat pool.

Event cards

Event cards can have any number of effects. You may see references to the “current area”. This is intended to mean the

last dungeon card turned over. Sometimes effects will take place in that area, even if no heroes are in it.

For events that are traps (you’ll know them when you see them), consider these “trap cards” for purposes of feats,

abilities and skills that can mitigate trap effects.

For events that result in lingering effects such as burn or frost, the heroes may roll for their removal immediately after

receiving the tokens. This is because events take place directly before the heroes’ turn.

Some event cards spawn new monsters. When you spawn these monsters, roll a power die. On a surge, the monster(s)

activate immediately. When they are done, the heroes’ turn resumes, then other monsters (including those just

spawned) will take their turn. This is essentially a bonus attack that the event card monsters receive.


Treasure guide

There are three stages of treasure in DQ: copper, silver and gold. The level is determined by how many dungeon cards

you have turned over. If you have turned over 1 – 4 dungeon cards, you are in the copper stage. 5 – 7 cards puts you in

the silver stage, and anything beyond that is gold level. Unless otherwise stated, each reward is per hero. If you roll

something that is not on the chart…sorry, you find nothing! Further notes: Treasures are ALWAYS available to purchase

in town at your current treasure level, even if you’ve never found any. Actual treasure chests (usually found in Objective

areas) grant 1 treasure per hero and 2 conquest points total.

Dice Roll Copper Reward Silver Reward Gold Reward

50 coins 100 coins 150 coins

100 coins 150 coins 200 coins

50 coins + health potion 100 coins + health potion 150 coins + health potion

50 coins + vitality potion 100 coins + vitality potion 150 coins + vitality potion

50 coins + power potion 100 coins + power potion 150 coins + power potion

50 coins + invisibility potion 100 coins + invisibility potion 150 coins + invisibility potion

TRAP! Roll a blank or take 2 wounds TRAP! Roll a blank or take 2 wounds TRAP! Roll a blank or take 2 wounds

150 coins + 1 Poison token 200 coins + 1 Poison token 250 coins + 2 Poison tokens

invulnerability potion invulnerability potion invulnerability potion

Copper treasure Silver treasure Gold treasure

Copper treasure + 50 coins Silver treasure + 100 coins Gold treasure + 150 coins

Copper treasure + 100 coins Silver treasure + 150 coins Gold treasure + 200 coins

Copper treasure + 1 Curse token Silver treasure + 1 Curse token Gold treasure + 1 Curse token

Copper treasure + 1 potion of choice Silver treasure + 1 potion of choice Gold treasure + 1 potion of choice

2 Copper treasures 2 Silver treasures 2 Gold treasures

2 Copper treasures + 1 Curse token 2 Silver treasures + 1 Curse token 2 Gold treasures + 1 Curse token

TRAP! Roll a blank or get a Stun token



2 Copper treasures + 1 power potion + 1 feat

2 Silver treasures + 1 invisibility potion + 1 feat

2 Gold treasures + 1 invincibility potion + 1 feat

2 Copper treasures + 1 Curse token + 1 feat

2 Silver treasures + 1 Curse token + 1 feat

2 Gold treasures + 2 Curse tokens + 1 feat

2 Copper treasures + 100 coins + 1 potion of choice

2 Silver treasures + 150 coins + 1 potion of choice

2 Gold treasures + 200 coins + 1 potion of choice


Power guide

As described earlier, when you have depleted the threat pool, you must roll to see what dark power comes into play.

These powers are stackable, so multiple copies of the same power can occur. Some powers may specify a maximum

number of times they may come into play. If you have already reached the maximum number of times a power can

come into play and you roll that power again, ignore the result; no additional power will come into play. For this chart,

roll all standard attack dice (red, blue, yellow, yellow, green, green and white). Add the range on all dice. This number is

down the left of the chart. Add the damage on all dice. This number is across the top of the chart. Below the chart are

descriptions of the powers; some of them behave differently than they do in regular Descent.

RA

NG

E

DAMAGE

2 - 5 6 - 7 8 - 9 10 - 11 12 - 14 15 - 17

2 - 4 Wrath Greed Urgency Envy

5 Trapmaster (max 2) Unholy Swiftness (max 3) Brilliant Commander

6 - 7 Unholy Swiftness (max 3) DOOM! (max 4) Trapmaster (max 2) Dire Warnings

8 - 9 Master! Master! Dark Armor (max 4) DOOM! (max 4) Brilliant Commander

10 - 12 Dire Warnings DOOM! (max 4) Dark Armor (max 4) Unholy Swiftness (max 3) Wrath

13 – 14 Envy Trapmaster (max 2) Master! Master! Dire Warnings

15 - 17

Brilliant Commander- The first creature in the first group of a spawn card gets upgraded to a Master. He remains in the

same group.

Dark Armor- All monsters get +1 armor for each Dark Armor in play.

Dire Warnings- When a hero opens a door, his turn ends immediately. Ambushes occur on a surge instead of a blank.

DOOM!- All monsters roll one extra power die for each DOOM! in play.

Envy- Heroes are no longer able to trade equipment.

Greed- Deplete a threat token from the pool for every treasure card the heroes receive. This does not apply to treasures

the heroes purchase.

Master! Master!- Monsters from event cards are automatically upgraded to master level, no die roll is required any

more. This only applies to cards that specify dice rolls.

Trapmaster- Event trap cards cause 1 extra wound for each Trapmaster in play.

Unholy Swiftness- All monsters get +1 speed for each Unholy Swiftness in play.

Urgency- One extra threat token is removed from the pool each round for each copy of Urgency in play.

Wrath- Each hero is worth an additional conquest point for each copy of Wrath in play.

Quest guide

When you finally reach the objective area, consult this guide to see how you should lay out the map. Each objective area

usually contains special rules regarding the dungeon leader, his minions, or the nature of the objective area. You do NOT

roll for an ambush when discovering the objective area. You also do NOT draw a monster spawn card. You DO continue

to draw event cards each round, and you also continue to deplete the threat pool. Note that unless otherwise

mentioned, any chests in objective areas follow the “Treasure Level” rules listed earlier. Also note that unless otherwise

mentioned, your goal is always to kill the leader(s) of the dungeon. This results in an immediate victory as his remaining

forces will flee in terror at your display of might.


Bells of fire D’dhe’Ceville is a master demon with 6 extra wounds per hero. He is immune to Aura and Burn. The two master hellhounds have 2 extra wounds per hero and 1 extra armor per hero. They are not named monsters.

Command Central ‘alTh’gha is a master chaos beast with 4 extra wounds per hero. ANY monster in this area has the Command ability. If the monster leaves the area, Command is lost. ‘alTh’gha may NOT leave the area.

Corpse run This objective has no “boss”. The question mark indicates the location of a dead comrade (choose any available hero figure). One hero must pick up and carry the body back to the start of the dungeon; all other glyphs are disabled. The hero carrying the body can only use equipment in one hand (either a shield or a one-handed weapon) and can carry nothing in his pack. His speed is reduced to 4. Event cards are drawn during the entire trip back. Every other round AFTER the body has been picked up, the altar of evil spawns more monsters. Draw a monster spawn card and roll a die as normal; the monsters are placed adjacent to the altar.


Crypt of the undeath The Master Skeleton directly to the south of the sarcophagus is Captain Lansing. He has 5 extra wounds per hero, and 1 extra armor per hero. Standing adjacent to the sarcophagus and completing a Prolonged Melee(4), Ranged(4) or Magic(4) action will destroy the sarcophagus. This causes all Masters EXCEPT for Captain Lansing to lose the Undying ability. This prolonged action must be continuous; if it is stopped for any reason, it must be started over from the beginning.

Fungi of Doom Lady Ssihthz is a master naga with 6 extra wounds per hero. She also has the Knockback ability.

Gust of wind Gust is a master dragon with Shadow Cloak and Iron Skin. He has 5 extra wounds per hero and does +2 damage. The beating of his wings in such a small area forces tremendous wind through the entire area. At the end of a figure’s movement, roll a yellow die. Based on the rolled range, move the hero that many squares in the direction of the wind. If the figure hits a wall he takes 1 wound ignoring armor and will continue to suffer a wound each round he is against a wall. Figures larger than 1 square or those immune to Knockback are not affected.


Lair of Horgrim Horgrim is a master ogre with 4 extra wounds per hero.

Waltzing death

All monsters here have standard stats. The small hallways are not attached to the main room. Each round, rotate the

room 90 degrees clockwise. In order to win, the heroes must defeat every master monster in the area, and exit via the

glyph of transport in the hall with the wendigos. Flying figures may not fly over the rubble blocking the halls.


Feedback

If you want to contact me with suggestions, comments, etc. feel free to email me at [email protected].

Credits

Game Design, Card Text / Dungeon design, Documentation: Mark Thomas

Card Design, Some Card Text: Jack Reda

Testers: Mark Thomas, James Russell, the BGG Community

Descent: Journeys in the Dark is © Fantasy Flight Games

Warhammer Quest is © Games Workshop

Thanks to Shawn Riordan for making Tile System, an invaluable tool. Tile System, not Shawn.

Change log

.84: fixed error in treasure chart, various rule clarifications, monster spawns re-ordered (melee always appear first), sequence of play quick reference

.85: door cards added, door rules added. Swarm ability behavior change. Some potions dropped from treasure chart. Objective area rule clarifications. New objective

area, Gust of Wind

.86: sequence of play revised, with details added. Card changes: dungeon page 4 (new), event pages 1, 2, 3, 6, door page 2, objective page 1. Two new objective

areas, Corpse Run and Waltzing Death.

.87: fixed text omission on dungeon page 4, extra optional rule added

.88: Power chart implemented, threat pool rules added. Knockback rule clarified. Corpse Run text revised. Event card spawn rules revised. Sequence of Play modified.

New sequence of play example added.

1.0: Play Sequence clarified, FANTASTIC new card art by Jack Reda, as well as some new cards (door and event) by Jack Reda.

descent quest - hot seat gameshotseatgames.com/comic/descent/descent_quest_rules.pdf · descent:...

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