Lava Beetle

Lava beetles have adapted to life in their freezing environment by generating

their own body heat through an unknown internal process. This same biological
chemistry gives them their defense mechanism – expelling a stream of sticky,
boiling, liquid goo explosively from their abdomens at anything they deem a
threat. The bigger, more brightly colored beetles shoot fluid so hot that it’s
flammable. Lava beetles are hive creatures, but sometimes groups of patrolling
beetles are seen away from their home, foraging for the nest.

Shade
It’s unknown whether these undead creatures are the result of necromantic
magic, or if they are merely tormented souls unable to find peace. Whatever their
origin, these ghostly aberrations look like tattered, hovering, hooded cloaks, their
raised hoods empty save for twin points of frozen light where their eyes used to
be. Shades hate the living, and their jealousy causes them to moan and wail as
they seek to snuff the life from all who venture close. The most evil shades have
a blue glow to their “eyes,” while the eyes of lesser shades are yellow.

Medusa
Tangled and twisted approximations of human women, medusae are a horror to
behold. Although the myth that gazing upon them turns the viewer to stone is
not true, it has its basis in the potent petrification magic these creatures
command. The most powerful medusae, often called hags, can use their many
limbs to cast multiple spells simultaneously.

Wendigo
Common folk say that wendigos move on the winter wind, and only breaths of
icy air ever betray their presence. Wendigos are lanky, white-furred
monstrosities with long limbs and nightmarishly large mouths filled with razor-
sharp teeth. Wiry and fast, they can scramble across even the slickest surfaces,
and cling to walls and ceilings underground. This, combined with their silent,
stalking gait, makes them extremely difficult to see coming. Young wendigos
have a pink coloring to their mouth and tongue, which becomes a deep purple
color the older and larger a wendigo grows.

Ice Wyrm
These creatures are huge, segmented, wingless drakes, with an evil disposition
matched only by their ferocious tenacity. Their rock-hard scales are rendered
even more stiff and impenetrable by the frozen environs where they make their
homes. Elongated necks enable cobra-like strikes, and the giant, toothy maws
of the largest Ice Wyrms make the possibility of being swallowed whole very
real indeed.

2 Rulebook
The Tomb of Ice All cards from The Tomb of Ice expansion are
Thank you for purchasing this expansion to Descent: Journeys marked with a small skull symbol on their fronts,
in the Dark. This expansion includes new game components, to allow you to separate them from your
new rules, and new quests sharing the common theme of Descent: Journeys in the Dark cards.
adventure in frozen, northern climes.

Using This Book New Heroes

These new heroes can be easily incorporated into The Tomb of
This rulebook contains new rules for use with Descent, changes
Ice. Simply shuffle the new heroes in with the others when
to and clarifications of the core game’s rules, and answers to
choosing heroes at the start of the game.
frequently asked questions about the game. While The Tomb of
Ice is designed to be used in its entirety, it is possible to play
using only some of the new elements, such as the new heroes,
New Monsters
The new monsters in this expansion appear in the new quests in
new monsters, new Feat cards, or new Overlord cards.
this rulebook. Additionally, the overlord can spawn them in any
The Quest Guide section of the rulebook begins on page 14. of those quests through the use of the spawn cards included
with this expansion. The overlord may use all of the monsters
from this expansion in addition to all of the monsters from the
Components base game.
Below are summary descriptions of the various components
included in The Tomb of Ice. They should help you identify New Map Pieces
the components and introduce you to how they are used. The new map pieces are used in the new quests in this
rulebook, and give players more options for constructing new
This Rulebook (the second half of which is a Quest Guide) quests.
6 Hero Sheets
6 Plastic Heroes
21 Monsters
Stealth Die
The transparent stealth die is used when
2 Tan and 1 Red Plastic Ice Wyrms
attacking a figure (monster or hero) that has
2 Tan and 1 Red Plastic Medusae
the Stealth ability.
2 Tan and 1 Red Plastic Wendigos
4 Tan and 2 Red Plastic Shades
4 Tan and 2 Red Plastic Lava Beetles
New Props
110 Cards The new props included in this expansion are listed below.
10 Monster Reference Cards Ice
12 Overlord Cards Any figure entering an ice space has a chance to
17 Fighting Feat Cards slip and fall, ending its turn.
17 Subterfuge Feat Cards
17 Wizardry Feat Cards
2 Town Store Cards Monster Eggs
4 Copper Treasure Cards Monster Eggs are possible monster re-spawn
4 Silver Treasure Cards locations, and their function is defined by the quest
4 Gold Treasure Cards they appear in.
1 Relic Card
10 The Road to Legend Monster Reference Cards
Frozen Sarcophagus
5 The Road to Legend Incident Cards
Frozen Sarcophagi are found in crypts and
2 The Road to Legend Location Cards
tombs. This prop’s effects vary by quest.
4 The Road to Legend Dungeon Cards
1 The Road to Legend Rumor Card
1 Stomach Tile Monster Stomach
43 Map Pieces Heroes consumed by monsters with
9 Room Pieces the Swallow ability (see page 7) are
20 Corridor Pieces placed on this tile.
4 Intersection Pieces
8 Dead End Pieces
2 Inside/Outside Transition Pieces New Treasure Markers
26 Prop Markers These markers represent the invisibility
1 Sarcophagus Marker potions introduced in this expansion
19 Ice Obstacle Markers (see page 7) and the Ring of Rogues
6 Monster Egg Markers relic featured in the new quests. Invisibility Ring of Rogues
1 Clear-colored Stealth Die Potion Relic
10 Treasure Markers
9 Invisibility Potion Markers
1 Relic Marker
Rulebook 3
 New Cards Expansion Rules
This expansion includes new cards for the shop and treasure
decks. The new Ring of Rogues relic can be acquired in the This section contains rules for the new game elements included
new quests included with this expansion. with this expansion.

New Overlord Cards Treachery

Four of the new Overlord cards are intended to be added to With this expansion, the overlord player has the ability to
the Overlord deck from the base game (one copy each of customize the Overlord deck from the base game using
“Lava Beetle Scouts,” “Shade Spooks,” “Lone Medusa,” and treachery.
“Lone Wendigo”). The other Overlord cards have a colored,
hexagonal gem between their threat cost and threat value. Most of the new Overlord cards have a hexagonal, colored gem
This gem contains the card’s treachery cost. See “Treachery” between the gems for their threat value and their threat cost –
on this page. this is their treachery cost. At the start of each quest, before
the game begins (step 6B), the overlord receives a certain
Feat Cards amount of treachery with which he can customize his base
Feat cards are similar to Skill cards in that they both have the Overlord deck.
same three deck types: fighting, subterfuge, and wizardry.
However, unlike Skill cards, heroes draw and play additional The overlord’s base deck consists of all his cards that have no
cards from the Feat card decks as the game progresses. treachery gem: This includes all the cards from the Descent
core game, as well as one copy each of “Lava Beetle Scouts,”
“Shade Spooks,” “Lone Medusa,” and “Lone Wendigo,” which
are new to this expansion.
When customizing his deck, the overlord player swaps out
cards from his base deck for cards that have a treachery cost.
Each quest states how much treachery the overlord receives
when playing that quest. This information is found above the
chest contents chart for that quest. (Treachery for quests from
the core game’s Quest Guide can be found in the “Treachery
for the Original Quests” sidebar.)
Fighting Subterfuge Wizardry Treachery comes in three types: events (green), traps (purple),
Feat Card Feat Card Feat Card
and monsters (red). Power cards are paid for with event, trap,
New Monster Reference Cards or monster treachery as well, depending on the color of their
The new monster reference cards provide the game rules and treachery gem. In order for the overlord to add a card that has a
statistics for the new monsters featured in this expansion. See treachery cost to his deck, he simply spends the listed amount
New Special Abilities on page 7 for a full description of each of treachery (making sure to spend the proper type), then adds
new ability listed on these cards. the card to his Overlord deck, removing any one other card of
his choice from the deck. The overlord may swap out as many
The Road to Legend Components cards from the Overlord deck as he wishes in this manner, as
long as he has enough treachery to pay for them all.

The Treachery Gem

This expansion contains Monster, Incident, Location, Dungeon,

and Rumor cards that can be used to add elements from The
Tomb of Ice to the Advanced Campaign introduced in The
Road to Legend. These cards are only used in that campaign.
The treachery gem on the new overlord cards may be
Additionally, all of the map pieces included in The Tomb of either green (for events), purple (for traps), or red (for
Ice expansion are double-sided. Their front sides show the monsters). The number in the hexagon indicates the card’s
dungeon terrain used in standard Descent play, while the treachery cost.
reverse sides show outdoor terrain used with The Road to
Legend expansion.

4 Rulebook
Example: Steve, the overlord, receives three event treachery,
two trap treachery, and two monster treachery at the start of a Feat Cards
quest. He finds this information on the quest map, above the In addition to the Skill cards they receive normally, The Tomb
chest contents chart. He decides to add “Prowling Wendigo” of Ice introduces Feat cards that hero players can receive and
(one monster treachery), “Host of Haunts” (one monster use. When drawn, Feat cards are always placed into a player’s
treachery), and “Spell of Thunder” (two event treachery) to his hand without being revealed.
deck. This leaves him with one event treachery, two trap
treachery, and no monster treachery. He then adds the three Feat cards can never be traded with or given to other players.
cards he chose to his Overlord deck and chooses three other
cards to remove from it, in this case, choosing an “Aim,” a Feat Cards Setup
“Gust of Wind,” and a “Hordes of the Things” card). During setup, after the Skill cards have been dealt to the hero
players, separate the three Feat decks (fighting, subterfuge, and
Unspent Treachery wizardry) and shuffle them individually. Then, each hero player
For every two points of treachery (of any type or combination draws the quantity and selection of Feat cards indicated by the
of types) left over after customizing his deck, the overlord starting skills section of his hero sheet.
draws one extra Overlord card to start the game, up to a
maximum of eight cards.
Example: Continuing the example from above, Steve has one
unspent event treachery and two unspent trap treachery, for a Starting Feat Cards
total of three total points of unspent treachery remaining. He
draws one extra Overlord card to start the game (giving him
four cards total), and the final point of treachery is wasted.
Resetting the Overlord Deck
At the end of the game, the Overlord deck is restored to its
original condition, removing all cards that have treachery costs
from it and returning the original cards to it.

Treachery for the Original Quests

The overlord should receive the treachery listed below
when playing the nine quests from Descent: Journeys
in the Dark.
Event Trap Monster
(green) (purple) (red)
Into the Dark 4 4 4
The Brothers Durnog 4 2 4 Karnon’s hero sheet shows the starting skills 2 fighting,
Problems of Life and Death 3 3 4 0 subterfuge, and 0 wizardry, so he would draw 2
Spoiled Brat 3 3 3 fighting Feat cards during setup.
Last Wishes 4 4 2
The Eternal Guardian 3 2 5 Arvel Worldwalker’s hero sheet shows the starting skills
The Black Blade 3 5 4 2 fighting, 2 subterfuge, and 0 wizardry, so she would
The Trapped Ruins 2 6 2 draw 2 fighting, and 2 subterfuge Feat cards during setup.
Old Friends 5 3 3

Playing Feat Cards

Each Feat card lists one or more triggering conditions that
determine the timing and situation in which it can be played.
Hero players may play Feat cards at any time as long as the
triggering conditions have been met. After playing a Feat card,
the hero player simply follows the instructions printed on the
card, resolves its effects, and discards the card onto a discard
pile for that feat type.
Important: Each hero player may only play one Feat card per
turn. So, for example, each hero player may play one Feat card
on his turn, and one Feat card on the overlord’s turn.

Rulebook 5
 Drawing Feat Cards Obstacles And Props
When a hero player activates a glyph, all hero players may
draw one Feat card (unless their hero sheets state differently). The following section describes the new props included in The
Additionally, some quests’ treasure chests yield Feat cards as Tomb of Ice.
rewards. When a treasure chest lists a Feat card as a reward, all
hero players may draw one Feat card (unless their hero sheets Ice
state differently). Block Movement? No
Block Line of Sight? No
When several players must draw Feat cards at the same time,
they may decide among themselves what order to draw them Any figure (hero or monster) entering an ice space as part of its
in. If the hero players cannot agree, the overlord player chooses movement must roll a power die. If the result of the power die
for them. is a surge, that figure’s turn ends immediately. All other die
results have no effect. The power die roll must be made even
Each hero player may only draw from Feat decks of the types when entering an ice space from another ice space.
they are able to draw from during setup.
When a figure enters an ice space occupied by a friendly figure
and a surge result is rolled, the moving figure is placed on the
last space it occupied before entering the ice space, and its turn
Drawing Feat Cards ends.
Large figures are affected by ice, but only if they make a move
that results in the entire figure occupying ice spaces.
Familiars are not affected by ice.
Figures with the Fly ability are not affected by ice.
Figures that are moved onto an ice space using the Telekinesis
skill are not affected by ice.
Heroes and monsters may jump across ice using the same rules
for jumping across pits (i.e., by spending three movement
points for each ice space crossed.)

Monster Egg
Block Movement? Yes
Block Line of Sight? No
Monster eggs can be attacked as if they were normal monsters,
Okaluk and Rakash’s hero sheet starting skills are 2 fight-
using the wound and armor values described in the quest.
ing, 1 subterfuge, and 0 wizardry. Whenever Okaluk and
Rakash draw a Feat card, they may draw a fighting or
subterfuge card because they have a starting skill of those
Frozen Sarcophagus
Block Movement? No
types. They may not, however, draw a wizardry Feat card.
Block Line of Sight? No
Frozen Sarcophagi have additional effects that vary by quest.

When a hero player draws the last card in a Feat deck, the hero Tree
player shuffles all the discarded cards of that feat type and Block Movement? No
creates a new deck. Block Line of Sight? Yes
If a Feat card deck runs out of cards and there are no discarded It costs two movement points to enter a tree space. A figure in a
cards of that feat type, the hero players cannot draw that type tree space is considered to have the Shadowcloak ability. Large
of Feat card, and must draw another Feat card type, if able. monsters only need to occupy one tree space to benefit from
Unless otherwise stated on a player’s hero sheet, a player’s this ability. Spaces containing more than one tree have the
maximum Feat card hand size is four. If a player already has same effects as a space containing only one tree.
four Feat cards in his hand, he may still draw Feat cards when
able, but then must immediately discard back down to four.

6 Rulebook
New Treasure Ghost
Figures with the Ghost ability cannot be attacked by adjacent
The following new type of treasure is introduced in The Tomb figures using a melee attack.
of Ice.
A figure with the Reach ability can attack a figure that has the
Invisibility Potion Markers Ghost ability using a melee attack, as long as both figures are not
Invisibility potions are elixirs with magical adjacent and the Ghost figure is within range of the Reach figure.
concealment powers. When a hero picks up
an invisibility potion, he may immediately Shadowcloak
equip it for free if he doesn’t already have three equipped A figure with the Shadowcloak ability is only affected by
potions. Alternatively, he may place the potion in his pack if it attacks made by adjacent figures. The figure does not suffer
isn’t already holding three unequipped items. any wounds or effects from attacks originating farther than one
space away.
A hero may drink one equipped invisibility potion by spending
one movement point. Tread Ice
When a hero drinks an invisibility potion, his player places the Figures with the Tread Ice ability are immune to the effects of ice.
potion marker on top of his hero’s picture on his hero sheet.
Swallow
While the invisibility potion marker remains on the hero, that A monster with the Swallow ability that makes a successful
hero gains the Stealth ability (see below). At the start of his turn, attack (i.e., an attack that causes at least one damage before
that hero must roll a power die. If the result is a surge, the applying the effects of armor) against a hero within three
invisibility potion wears off, and the invisibility potion marker is spaces of it can choose to swallow that hero.
removed from the hero sheet. All other die results have no effect.
If the monster chooses to use its Swallow ability after a
A hero cannot have more than one type of potion active at a successful attack, the hero suffers the attack damage as normal,
time. A hero who drinks a new potion while an old potion and that hero’s figure is then removed from the dungeon and
marker remains on his hero sheet must remove the previously placed on the stomach tile.
placed marker, which is then replaced by the new one.
While a hero is placed on the stomach tile, the following
Heroes may purchase invisibility potions from the town shop conditions affect him:
for 50 coins.
• At the start of each of that hero’s turns, that player rolls a
Note that invulnerability potions, from the The Altar of Despair, number of black power dice equal to the number of
can also be purchased from the town shop for 50 coins. wounds the hero has remaining (i.e., the number of
additional wounds it would take to kill him). Blank die
results have no effect. Each die result that is not a blank
New Special Abilities causes the hero to suffer one wound (ignoring armor).
The following section describes the new special abilities in The • The hero cannot use any ability or skill that requires
Tomb of Ice. advancing, running, battling, or readying (except for placing a
hero order).
Stealth • The hero can only make one attack per turn, and can only
When a figure with the Stealth ability is
attack the swallowing monster. Any such attack the hero
attacked, the attacking figure must roll the
makes ignores the monster’s armor, however.
transparent stealth die in addition to the
dice that figure rolls normally. • The hero can only use one hand’s worth of weapons.
Alternatively, the hero may make an unarmed attack as per
If the result of any die used in the attack roll is an “X,” the page 19 of the Descent core rule book.
attack is a miss.
• The hero cannot use surges or fatigue.
When a single attack roll would affect multiple figures (for • A swallowed hero remains in the stomach until either he or
example, an attack using Blast, Breath, or Sweep), and any of the swallowing monster is killed.
those figures have Stealth, a single stealth die is included in the If the monster is killed before the swallowed hero dies, the
attack roll, but the stealth die’s result is used only for the swallowed hero is removed from the stomach tile and placed on
figures that currently have Stealth. any space, of that hero player’s choice, that was occupied by
Multiple sources of the Stealth ability do not stack. A the swallowing monster when it died. If a hero on the stomach
maximum of only one stealth die is rolled for any given attack. tile is killed before the swallowing monster dies, the hero’s
figure is placed on the town tile, and all the normal rules for
Example: Okaluk and Rakash start the game with the Stealth hero deaths apply.
ability. Even if Okaluk and Rakash drink an invisibility potion,
any figure attacking Okaluk and Rakash still only rolls one A monster may only have one hero placed on its stomach tile at
stealth die in the attack roll. a time. Once a hero has been swallowed, a second hero cannot
be swallowed until the previously swallowed hero is killed.

Rulebook 7
Map Pieces Descent Core Game Rule
Map Piece Labels Changes and Clarifications
To help make dungeon setup easier, some map pieces in The The following rules have been changed or clarified to improve
Tomb of Ice are labeled with a letter for easy identification. the game.
The letter symbols below are used in the Quest Guide maps to
show orientation and placement of those map pieces. Overlord Cards
The overlord starts the game by drawing three Overlord cards
from his deck. The overlord can discard cards for threat at any
time, even during a hero player’s turn.

Quest Monster Placements

In the first quest “Into the Dark,” one of the razorwings in Area 3
is placed off the map. It should be placed one space to the south.
In some cases the Quest Guide calls for more monsters than are
included in the game. For these quests, use other monster
figures or tokens to represent the extra monsters as necessary.
These instances are detailed on the errata sheet available on
FFG’s website.

Drinking Potions
Snow on Map Pieces Each hero may only drink one potion (of any type) each turn.
Some map piece spaces depict snow. Snow does not affect This prevents players from using certain overly powerful potion
movement or line of sight in the The Tomb of Ice quests. combinations.

Cost of Vitality Potions

Additional Rules Vitality potions cost 50 coins, not 25 as listed on page 20 of the
The following rules are introduced in The Tomb of Ice. core game’s Quest Guide.

Stomach Tile Selling Treasure from Chests

The stomach tile is an off-board Heroes can no longer immediately turn in a treasure card from
location that is its own single space, a chest to receive its full value. Instead, they must carry the
and it is not adjacent to any other item back to town and sell it for half value in the town shop.
spaces. Because of this, any attack,
ability, or card that would normally Buying Treasure Cards from the Shop
affect adjacent spaces (for example, Aura, Blast, and Sweep Heroes can only buy treasure cards from the shop if they’ve
abilities, or the Feat card “Protect Thyself”) has no effect on the opened at least one chest of that color. For example, until the
stomach tile or any character on it. heroes open at least one silver chest, they cannot buy Silver
treasures from the town shop.
Shiver and Aura 4
Because Shiver has the Aura 4 ability only during the overlord’s Small Monsters and Staircases
turn, and not on the heroes’ turn, it should be noted that if the By using one movement point, a small monster may move from
Telekinesis skill is used to move monsters adjacent to Shiver, one space containing a staircase to any space containing a
Shiver’s Aura 4 ability deals no damage to those monsters. staircase of the same color.

Aura Knockback and Large Monsters

The Aura ability can stack. For example, if the Feat card Large monsters (monsters that occupy more than one space) are
“Sparks of Pain” (Aura 4) is played on Shiver, Shiver gains difficult to affect with the Knockback ability. For each space
Aura 8 during the overlord’s turn. beyond the first that the monster occupies, it is moved one less
space by Knockback. For example, an ogre occupies four
spaces, so it moves three fewer spaces when affected by
Knockback. A dragon, on the other hand, occupies six spaces,
so it would move five fewer spaces.

Pits and Line of Sight

Figures in a pit can see into the spaces adjacent to the pit.
Breath Template Clarification
The flame from a Breath attack billows around obstacles. It where the Breath attack starts to the target – while staying
usually affects all figures under the breath template, but can be within the breath template – then the target is affected. Breath
blocked by walls and closed doors. Essentially, if a small flying attacks cannot be made through staircases.
figure could trace a legal movement path from the square

Breath Attack Blocking Examples

The diagram above shows how a section of the dungeon looks just In the above example, the Breath attack billows around the
before a Hell Hound makes a Breath attack. curve in the hallway and through the rubble obstacle, reaching
both heroes under the breath template. Notice that a flying
In the other three diagrams, the spaces that are shaded yellow show
figure standing on the “start” (left-most) space of the breath
which spaces are affected by the Breath attack, and the red
template can trace a movement path to both heroes.
squares show the spaces that the Breath attack is unable to reach.

In the above example, the Breath attack is almost entirely blocked In this example, a closed door has been added. The door blocks the
by the dungeon walls. Even though the breath template reaches the Breath attack, so only one of the heroes is affected by the attack.
heroes, a flying figure on the “start” space of the breath template
would not be able to stay within the confines of the breath template
and trace a legal movement path to either of the heroes.
Rune-locked Doors and Named Monsters Frequently Asked Questions
Named monsters may open rune-locked doors, whether or not
the heroes have the runekey to that door. However, named The following sections answer frequently asked questions about
monsters still cannot open any door leading into an Descent: Journeys in the Dark. This is version 1.3 of the
unrevealed area. Descent FAQ.

Landrec the Wise The Hero Players’ Turns

Landrec the Wise’s special ability should state that he “receives Q: Can a hero give any type of item to an adjacent hero, or just
2 free surges on every attack roll.” weapons and potions?
A: A hero may give any item (but not money) to an adjacent
Skye hero at the cost of one movement point per item.
Skye has the Fly ability, but can also end its movement in the Q: When can a hero equip items?
same space as another figure. A: A hero can equip, drop, or place items in his pack at the
beginning of his turn, just after refreshing cards. In addition,
Card Revisions whenever a hero receives an item from another player or from a
(Replacements for the following cards are included in The Well chest, he may immediately equip that item, dropping or placing
of Darkness expansion.) other items in his pack to free up the hands necessary for the
just-received item.
Beastman
Beastmen have +1 Damage instead of Pierce 1, and Master Q: Does a hero have 360 degree line of sight?
Beastmen have +2 Damage instead of Pierce 2. A: Yes, as the rules state on page 4, “The direction a figure is
facing has no effect in the game. Heroes and monsters are
Skeleton assumed to be constantly looking around and can therefore see
Skeletons have Pierce 1, and Master Skeletons have Pierce 2. in all directions.”
Q: Can stunned heroes perform movement actions (such as
Bow drinking a potion)?
The Bow (shop item) has Pierce 1.
A: Yes, if the stunned hero chooses a move half action. A
stunned hero can also spend fatigue for movement points.
Bow of Bone
The Bow of Bone (Silver treasure) should not have “++: Burn.” Q: Can a hero that chooses the “Run” action use his movement
points for purposes other than moving (such as drinking a
Golden Armor potion)?
The complete abilities of Golden Armor (Silver treasure) are: A: Yes. Whenever a hero receives movement points, he can use
• +3 Armor them for any movement action, including moving, drinking a
• Your base speed is reduced to 3. potion, opening a door, etc.
• You cannot equip Runes. Q: In town, are you limited in how many items you can buy or
• You are immune to Grapple and Daze. sell and do you have to buy and sell in any specific order?
A: You can buy and sell in any order and as often as you like.
Dragon Scale Mail
The complete abilities of Dragon Scale Mail (Gold treasure) are: Q: Can a hero rest in town?
• +4 Armor A: Yes.
• Your base speed is reduced to 3. Q: If a chest has 2 Copper treasure tokens, does each hero
• You cannot equip Runes. draw 2 Copper treasure cards?
• You are immune to Bleed, Burn, and Poison. A: Yes.
Q: When a chest contains curses, can the overlord use the
threat generated by the curses to play a trap on that chest?
Does the trap go off before or after the rest of the chest
contents are distributed?
A: Curses are always the first thing distributed from a chest,
and threat from curses may be used to play a trap card in
response to opening the chest. The rest of the chest contents are
only distributed after the trap card (if any) resolves. In the case
of a Mimic or similar card, this could be several turns later!
Q: Can familiars jump over pits? Can they use transport glyphs?
A: No on both counts.
Q: What is the proper timing of events that occur “at the if possible. Monsters can always move through or attack into
beginning of a player’s turn”? spaces containing glyphs.
A: When multiple events may occur “at the beginning of a
player’s turn,” such as a hero affected by multiple different Q: Under what circumstances can the overlord receive threat
status effects like Burn and Bleed, that player may decide in for rolling surges on an attack roll?
which order to resolve them. The player must resolve all “start A: The overlord may spend two surges on each attack roll to
of turn” effects before proceeding with the rest of his turn. gain one threat. He may do this on any attack that hits a hero.
This represents a change from previous FAQ rulings on this
Q: A hero who has been Transformed by either Curse of the subject.
Monkey God or Dance of the Monkey God may move up to five
spaces and may not take any movement actions. Can that hero Q: Can the overlord play more than one “Rage” card on a
take other actions, such as receiving an order token or single monster?
declaring a Run action? What about a hero who is both A: No.
Stunned and Transformed? Q: When does the overlord play Power cards? The Well of
A: A Transformed hero may not declare any action. He may Darkness rules summary on page 28 and the core rulebook
still use any skills that are appropriate (e.g., Acrobatic, seem to disagree.
Telekinesis) and may spend fatigue for extra movement points. A: The rules summary in the Well of Darkness rulebook is in
A Transformed hero who is stunned may only move (i.e., he error; refer to the main rule book instead. The overlord may play
must choose the “only move” option for being stunned, not the a Power card at the beginning of his turn. Remember that when
“only attack” option), which in most cases has no effects a player has multiple effects that occur at the beginning of his
beyond those of being Transformed. A Transformed hero who turn (such as spawning and playing a Power card, for example),
has an order token placed on him by means of another hero he may resolve them in any order. Thus, an overlord may draw
with Leadership may still use the order, except that he may not cards, discard down to his maximum hand size, and then play a
make an attack with a Guard order. (Note that while Guard and Power card, spawn card, and/or any other cards that are played
Aim orders are useless to a Transformed hero, they may still be “at the beginning of turn” in any order. He must resolve all these
placed on him by a hero with Leadership.) effects before proceeding with activating monsters.
Q: How does Grey Ker’s ability work? Can I declare a Battle
action to activate my Battle Cry power, and then declare an
Advance action to activate my Relentless power?
A: Grey Ker may still only declare one action per turn. His
ability allows him to change what action he is taking mid-turn
(provided that the new action is legal), but changing his action
is not the same as declaring a new one. For example, Grey Ker
could declare a Battle action (potentially triggering Battle Cry
or a similar skill), spend some fatigue to move, make an attack
roll, and then change to an Advance action to move his speed
or to a Ready action to place an order token.

The Overlord Player’s Turn

Q: When the overlord is controlling a hero through “Dark
Charm,” who decides how to spend the surges and power dice?
Can the overlord move the character and attack, or just make a
single attack without moving?
A: The overlord controls the hero for that attack, including the
hero’s use of surges and power dice. The overlord may also
play cards such as “Aim” with the attack. However, the
overlord player cannot move the character, or force the hero to
spend fatigue to add to the attack.
Q: Is the effect of the overlord’s “Dodge” card that the hero’s
attack completely misses, or that the overlord can force the hero to
re-roll dice rolled for the attack, as with the hero dodge orders?
A: The “Dodge” card allows the overlord to force re-rolls.
Q: Can a monster end its movement on or be spawned on a
glyph of transport?
A: Monsters can end their movement on or be spawned on
unactivated glyphs, but cannot end their movement on or be
spawned on activated glyphs. If a monster is on an activated
glyph, the overlord must move it off the glyph on his next turn,
Special Abilities Miscellaneous
Q: Can an attacker using Knockback move the target in any Q: How much fatigue would it cost a hero with Telekinesis to
direction, or just straight back? Also, can the target be knocked move a hero out of a pit?
back into a pit? A: One fatigue.
A: The attacker with Knockback can move the target in any
direction, including into a pit or other trap. Q: Can a player with Telekinesis use it to move a hero that is
caught in a web?
Q: Do special abilities stack? A: Yes. However, the web token would stay with the moved
A: Special abilities that require you to spend surges are hero.
designed to stack. So if you have an ability such as “+: +1
Damage and Pierce 1,” and you pay 3 surges, you gain +3 Q: Can a hero kill another hero in order to trigger “Divine
Damage and Pierce 3. Some items may explicitly limit your Retribution”?
surge spending/stacking, but those are the exception to the rule. A. No. Divine Retribution only triggers when an enemy figure
kills the hero.
Q: Does Sweep affect friendly figures? When a figure has both
Sweep and Reach, does it strike every creature in range or only Q: If a flying monster passes through a hero that has Holy
those to which it has Line of Sight? Aura, does the monster suffer a wound for the space it
A: Sweep affects only enemy figures, never friendly figures “shares” with the hero?
(unless Dark Charm is played, of course!). For the purposes of A: No.
a Sweep attack, figures do not block line of sight – that is, a Q: When a chest explodes because of the “Explosive Rune”
figure which is completely behind another figure (friendly or card, does the hero standing on the chest suffer wounds, or just
enemy) may still be affected by the Sweep attack. A figure that the heroes adjacent to the chest?
is completely obscured by rubble, a closed door, or some other A: The hero standing on the chest suffers wounds.
effect that blocks line of sight would be immune to the Sweep
attack, however. Q: Why can’t I jump over water like I can pits?
A: As every hero knows, the dank water found in subterranean
Q: When making an attack with the Guard order, can a hero caverns is usually infested with deadly bloodsquids, ready to
use abilities such as Cleave that grant extra attacks? What pull an unwary hero to his doom at a moment’s notice. As a
about other special abilities? result, only the most acrobatic heroes dare to leap across even
A: When making a Guard attack, a hero retains access to all the most innocent-seeming pools of water.
appropriate special abilities unless otherwise indicated. This
includes abilities such as Cleave, Quick Casting, and Rapid Q: What happens when a figure in a pit space moves to an
Fire that may grant an extra attack. adjacent pit space?
A: Pit spaces that are adjacent are considered to be part of the
same pit. Moving from one pit space to another does not
require any extra movement points and does not inflict damage
in the same way that entering or leaving a pit does.
Furthermore, if multiple figures are in the same large pit, all
may trace line of sight to each other as if they were on normal
floor spaces. All normal line of sight restrictions still apply, of
course.
Q: Can Relics be destroyed by effects that destroy items, such
as the Frost ability?
A: Relics may not be destroyed ever for any reason. This is
NOT true of Dark Relics, which have all the same
vulnerabilities as normal items.
Q: If a master monster is killed via some indirect means, such
as being knocked back into a pit, a hero’s aura ability, a
lingering effect, or a familiar, who gets the bounty of coins?
A: No one. A “killing blow” must be the product of an attack roll.
Q: What happens when a rolling boulder or crushing wall
moves across potions/chests/glyphs/runekeys/other tokens?
A: Any token not specifically mentioned, either individually or
as a class, in the rolling boulder or crushing wall rules is
completely ignored by the boulder or wall. This includes
familiars, potions, coins, chests, runekeys, and many others.
 Credits
Expansion Design: Jason Steinhurst Brian Harbour, Steve Horvath, Kevin Joy, Travis Joy, Daniel
Additional Design: Kevin Wilson Juranic, Luke Juranic, Evan Kinne, Cameron Klym, Colin Klym,
Additional Flavor Text and Quest Design: Daniel Lovat Clark Rob Kouba, Joseph Lang, Gabriel Laulunen, Monte Lewis,
Editing: Mark O’Connor and Jeff Tidball Andrew Navaro, Steven Odhner, Mark O’Connor, Thaadd
Graphic Design: Kevin Childress, Brian Schomburg, and Wil Powell, Joe Rakos, Casey Ryan, Julie Sherry, Channing Smith,
Springer Wil Springer, Jeremy Stomberg, Neil Thomson, Chris Thornton,
Art Direction: Zoë Robinson Ryan Thornton, Bryan Wade, Kym Wade, Thomas Walsh, Phil
Cover Art: Jesper Ejsing Webster, Joe Young, and other members of the FFG staff
Monster and Hero Art: Felicia Cano Production Manager: Richard Spicer
Additional illustrations created by Banu Andaru, Frank Walls, and Executive Developer: Jeff Tidball
the artists of the Descent and Runebound lines. Publisher: Christian T. Petersen
Lead Playtester: Mike Zebrowski © 2008 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. No part of this product may be
Playtesters: Matt Anderson, Wade Altmeier, A.J. Anderson, reproduced without specific permission. The Tomb of Ice, Descent: Journeys in the Dark,
The Altar of Despair, The Well of Darkness, The Road to Legend, Fantasy Flight Games,
Bexley Andrajack, Jaffer Batica, Brett Bedore, Scott Berry, and the FFG logo are trademarks of Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. Fantasy Flight Games is
Chris Brown, Curtis Brown, Kuen Chan, Kevin Childress, located at 1975 West County Road B2, Suite 1, Roseville, Minnesota, 55113, USA, and can
be reached by telephone at 651-639-1905. Retain this information for your records.
Daniel Lovat Clark, Joe Clubine, Stephen Crowley, Brett Cuneo,
Ben Daniels, Misti Daniels, Rob Edens, Matt Findley, Nate For additional material, support, and information, please visit us on the web:
French, Matt Foster, Tod Gelle, Laura Gerald, Michael Hurley, www.FantasyFlightGames.com

Map Legend Treachery

The treachery that the overlord receives
for each scenario is indicated in three
colored gems above the chest contents
Vitality Healing Invisibility Encounter Tree information. For example, the gems
Potion Marker
Treachery
2 3 4
Copper Silver Gold Gold Pile Ring of
Chest Chest Chest Rogues indicate that the overlord has 2
treachery to spend on cards with purple
treachery gems, 3 treachery to spend
on cards with green treachery gems,
and 4 treachery to spend on cards with
Yellow Blue Rune Red Rune Frozen Sarcophagus red treachery gems. Remember that
Rune
the overlord must swap out a card
from his base deck for each card he
purchases with treachery.
Rubble Monster Pit Water Ice
Egg Map Piece Labels

A B C
Gray Red Blue Unactivated Activated
Stairs Stairs Stairs Glyph Glyph Some map pieces are labeled with a
letter for easy identification. The
symbols above are used in the Quest
Guide maps to show identification
Blue Rune-locked Red Rune-locked Yellow Rune-locked Unlocked and orientation of those map pieces.
Doors Doors Doors Doors
Door symbols with triangular endcaps mark the divisions between dungeon areas, but Note: Red-bordered monsters are
are otherwise identical to standard door symbols (i.e., those with rectangular endcaps). Master Monsters.
Special Abilities Summary Leech: For every wound token lost due to a Leech attack, the target
also loses 1 fatigue and the attacker is healed of 1 wound.
Aura: Enemy figures that move into a space adjacent to a figure with
Aura suffer 1 wound that cannot be reduced by armor. Morph: The overlord chooses which attack dice a monster with
Morph uses (the attack must include at least one red, white, or blue die).
Bash: A figure with Bash may roll up to 5 power dice with its attack.
If any of the power dice roll a blank, the attack misses. Otherwise, the Necromancy: When a hero with Necromancy deals the killing blow to
attack gains “: +5 Damage and Pierce 2.” a small, normal, unnamed monster, he may choose to animate that monster.
The monster stays on the board and is returned to full health, under the
Berserk: If a monster with Berserk is wounded (i.e., currently has one control of the hero. A hero may only animate one monster at a time. The
or more wound tokens on it), it rolls all 5 power dice when attacking. monster activates after the player’s hero, and afterwards must roll a power
Black Curse: All enemy figures within 3 spaces of a figure with die: The monster is killed on any result except a power enhancement.
Black Curse receive –1 Range and –1 Damage to all attacks they make. Pierce: Pierce attacks ignore X points of armor.
Any enemy figure that deals the killing blow to a figure with Black Curse
receives 1 curse token. A hero’s conquest value is increased by 1 for each Poison: Wound tokens lost due to a Poison attack are replaced by poison
curse token on him. tokens. When receiving healing, the victim removes poison tokens rather
than gaining wound tokens, until all poison tokens are removed.
Blast: Blast attacks affect every space within X spaces of the target (only
spaces with line of sight to the target are affected).* Quick Shot: A monster with Quick Shot may attack twice each time it is
activated.
Bleed: Bleed attacks that inflict at least 1 damage† on the target cause
a bleed token to be placed on the target. Victim must roll a white die for Reach: Allows a figure to make melee attacks targeting figures 2 spaces
each bleed token on next turn: Victim suffers wounds equal to total away.
result,** then discards all bleed tokens. Shadowcloak: A figure with Shadowcloak is not affected by attacks
Bolt: Bolt attacks use the Bolt template to determine which spaces made by non-adjacent figures.
they affect.* Sorcery: After making an attack roll, a figure with Sorcery may add X to
Breath: Breath attacks use the Breath template to determine which spaces either its range or its damage, and may split the bonus between the two.
they affect.* Stealth: When attacking a figure with Stealth, the attacker must roll
Burn: Burn attacks that inflict at least 1 damage on the target cause a
† the stealth die in addition to the dice the attacker rolls normally. If the
burn token to be placed on the target. Victim must roll a power die for result of any die used in the attack roll is an “X,” the attack is a miss.
each burn token next turn: Discard a burn token for each , then victim Stun: Stun attacks that inflict at least 1 damage† on the target cause a stun
suffers a wound for each remaining burn token.** token to be placed on the target. Normal monsters that begin a turn with a
Command: A figure with Command adds 1 to the range and damage of stun token may do nothing else, while heroes may take one half action
all attacks made by friendly figures within 3 spaces. and master monsters may move or attack once. Figures discard 1 stun
token each turn. Named monsters cannot be stunned.
Dark Prayer: A monster with Dark Prayer generates 1 threat for the
overlord for every  it rolls when attacking, instead of every 2 . In Swarm: A figure with Swarm may roll 1 extra power die for every
addition, the figure gains +1 Range and +1 Damage for each . other friendly figure adjacent to its target.

Daze: Daze attacks that inflict at least 1 damage† on the target cause a Swallow: A monster with Swallow that makes a successful attack (i.e.,
daze token to be placed on the target. Victim must roll a power die for an attack that causes damage†) against a hero within 3 spaces of it can
each daze token next turn: Discard a daze token for each , then victim choose to swallow that hero. The swallowed hero suffers the attack
rolls 1 fewer die for each daze token that remains when making attacks. damage as normal, and is then removed from the dungeon and placed on
the stomach tile. See page 7 for details of the conditions affecting the hero
Fear: When an attack affects a space containing a figure with Fear, the placed on the stomach tile.
attacker must spend X power surges or else the attack misses.
Sweep: Sweep attacks affect all enemy figures within melee range.*
Fly: Figures with Fly may move through obstacles and enemy figures,
and may end their movement on obstacles without taking damage. Tread Ice: Figures with Tread Ice are immune to the effects of ice

Frost: Frost attacks that inflict at least 1 damage† on the target cause a Trickster: The Overlord’s cost to play Trap cards is reduced by 1 threat
frost token to be placed on the target. Victim must roll a power die for for each monster with this ability in play.
each frost token next turn: Discard a frost token for each . Heroes with Undying: A figure with Undying rolls 1 power die when killed. On a ,
any frost tokens remaining must role 1 power die when attacking or using the figure is instantly restored to full health.
a shield: On a blank, the weapon/shield shatters. Frosted armor checks for
Unstoppable: A figure with Unstoppable is immune to Daze, Grapple,
shattering if it is dealt 5 wounds.
Knockback, Stun, and Web.
Grapple: Enemies adjacent to a figure with Grapple cannot spend
Web: Web attacks that inflict at least 1 damage† on the target cause a web
movement points until the figure is dead.
token to be placed on the target. Victim must roll a power die for each
Ghost: Figures with Ghost cannot be attacked by adjacent figures web token next turn: Discard a web token for each , and victim may not
using a melee attack. spend movement points if any web tokens remain.
Ironskin: A figure with Ironskin is immune to Aura, Bleed, Burn,
In all cases, X is equal to the rank of the special ability.
Pierce, Poison, and Sorcery. In addition, all damage dealt to the figure by
*If more than one figure dodges the attack, only 1 re-roll may be made
Blast, Bolt, or Breath attacks is reduced to 0.
(first dodging player to the attacking player’s left decides who re-rolls).
Knockback: Knockback attacks that inflict at least 1 damage† allow the ** Damage dealt ignores armor.
attacker to move the target up to 3 spaces in any direction. †
Determine whether damage is inflicted before applying the effects of armor.
Leap: Figures with Leap can move up to twice their movement in a Special abilities expansion symbols:
straight line (horizontal or vertical, not diagonal), then they may make one
attack roll against all figures in the spaces moved through, ignoring rolled The Altar of Despair The Tomb of Ice
range.* See page 9 of Descent: The Altar of Despair for details. The Well of Darkness (None) Descent: Journeys in the Dark