Preview DungeonQuest Revised Edition

Clenching the chalice tight in his hand, Hugo ducked and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid the troll’s giant fist. He stood up again, moved quickly to the left, and swung his sword into the troll’s thick neck and pushed the blade through with all his might, beheading the monster. The dying troll tumbled down to the ground. Hugo turned to leave the room only to find himself at the edge of a bottomless pit. He grabbed onto the walls in order to avoid falling in. And then he realized the chalice was no longer in his hand, but clanging against stone as it tumbled into the abyss.

In DungeonQuest Revised Edition, one to four players take on the role of heroes and venture into Dragonfire Dungeon, aiming to steal as much loot as possible and escape before the sun sets and the slumbering dragon inside the dungeon wakes up. Inside the dungeon, you’ll wander maze-like corridors in your search for riches. Any chamber you enter may be filled with gold, booby-trapped with swinging axes, or inhabited by an enraged monster. Deep within the dungeon is a treasure chamber, where the bravest heroes can find unfathomable wealth, but the treasure chamber is where the dragon sleeps, and if she catches you, you may not survive the flames.

If you’re familiar with DungeonQuest Third Edition, you can find out more about how DungeonQuest Revised Edition is different on the game’s description page. Hearkening back to classic editions of the game, DungeonQuest Revised Edition features a streamlined combat system and the Torchlight variation, both discussed in today’s preview, along with other minor changes to improve gameplay. The downloadable conversion guide that can be found on the product support page enables owners of DungeonQuest Third Edition to play using the rules, combat system, and character sheets of the revised edition.

Whether you’re just discovering this fast-paced dungeon raiding game, or have long been a fan of other editions, you can learn more by clicking the thumbnail on the right to download the Learn to Play guide for DungeonQuest Revised Edition (pdf, 2.9 MB) from the support page. You will also find there a detailed Rules Reference guide for the game.

Monster Fighting

Dragonfire Dungeon is an ever-changing and dangerous labyrinth, full of twists, turns, and unexpected challenges. You move through the dungeon by randomly drawing a chamber tile and advancing into that unknown space. Many chambers have specific effects that you resolve the moment you enter them: spider webs might block your path, or the chamber might revolve so that you cannot leave the way you came. Once inside the chamber, you will frequently draw a card to see if you trigger a trap, discover a crypt, encounter a monster, or provoke a wizard’s curse. Your hero’s strength, agility, armor, and luck will frequently be tested in the quest to overcome the dungeon’s traps and obstacles. Sometimes you will move forward unscathed, far more often you will have to fight some sudden threat in order to obtain the treasure you desire.

Combat in DungeonQuest Revised Edition has been streamlined and sped up from other editions of DungeonQuest. When a monster ambushes a hero, the player on their left draws the monster from the monster deck and governs it in combat, revealing the name of the monster but keeping secret its health and any escape penalty. The players controlling the hero and monster secretly select one of three combat cards which determine whether they use a melee, ranged, or magical attack. Then, they simultaneously reveal the chosen cards to see if their weapons match up, or if your hero is trying to fight magic with fire.

For example, Hugo the Glorious is ambushed by a skeleton. You select Hero Melee, while the player controlling the skeleton selects Monster Magic. As shown on the Hero Melee card, Hugo deals one wound and suffers none. And, as shown on the Monster Magic card, the monster suffers one wound and deals none. The skeleton is weakened, but since it has a health of three, it continues fighting. At this point Hugo can either try to escape by testing his agility and taking wounds equal to the monsters escape penalty– none, in this case. Or he can continue to fight until the skeleton is slain. Weigh your hero’s agility against the risk of being wounded carefully, for monsters are only one of the dungeon’s many dangers.

Catacomb Crawling

Some chambers allow you to descend into the catacombs, where even more ghastly threats and treasures await. Down below you may be overrun by a horde of rats or bitten by a venomous spider, or come upon a flying carpet that will ease your journey. One key advantage of going through the catacombs is that you control the direction, of your movement. If you can survive the dangers that lurk there, braving the catacombs may enable you to reach the treasure chamber long before your opponents who navigate the labyrinth above. Moreover, concealed in the catacombs is the most valuable piece of loot in the whole dungeon: the gigantic diamond. Find it, and then find your way out of the dungeon before the dragon wakes up.

When you descend, you place a travel marker in the chamber where you descended, facing whatever direction you like. At the start of your turn you draw a catacomb card instead of drawing a new tile. If you draw an exit card, you can decide whether to exit back to the dungeon or continue in the catacombs. When you do choose to surface, count the catacomb cards you’ve drawn and move that number of spaces. Then, turn your marker ninety degrees, roll a dice, and move that number of spaces. You may surface in space explored and made safe by other heroes – or you may once more venture into the unknown.

Exploring by Torchlight

In regular DungeonQuest game play, you have no way of knowing the dangers before you. The Torchlight variation introduced in DungeonQuest Revised Edition allows you to see one step ahead. When you enter a chamber, draw tiles for every possible exit out of that space, so that your immediate options become clearer. In your next turn, move into one of those chambers, draw tiles to see what your options are, and then resolve the effects of the chamber you’re in. You may be able to avoid traps, or to head directly towards the treasure chamber rather than being led away by the labrynthine corridors. Or, you may simply have to choose the best of two evils.

The Torchlight Variation gives you increased agency in your journey through the dungeon. It also speeds up the game, since players have some control over where they are going. But Dragonfire Dungeon remains treacherous, and more adventurers find death in its walls than emerge triumphantly with bags of gems. You may avoid a bottomless pit only to be attacked by a lingering shade, or crushed under a ceiling collapse.

Fight, Raid, Run!

Fight your way towards treasure chamber’s plentiful riches, plunge into the haunted catacombs in search of gold, or seize the first piece of loot you encounter and run for the exit before the sun sets and the dragon stirs. Use the Torchlight variation to peer ahead into the maze of corridors, or experience the thrill of never knowing what chamber you’ll enter next. The surprises and dangers you’ll find in DungeonQuest Revised Edition are as incredible as the riches to be stolen from the dragon’s lair.

Pre-order your copy of DungeonQuest Revised Edition today!

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