The D&D Adventure System Board Games: FAQ

This is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) article in HTML, adapted from the unofficial FAQ PDF posted by Rocco Privetera on the BoardGameGeek forums. Questions are labelled (WotC) as an official answer from Wizards of the Coast; (Designer Comment) for posted answers from the designer of the game; or (BoardGameGeek Consensus) for general agreement on the BoardGameGeek forums.

(WotC): When you draw a second tile with Long Hallway, do you draw a second Encounter card?

You draw only one Encounter card if both the Long Hallway and the revealed tile have a black triangle. You only draw one encounter card, ever, during the villain phase, with the exception of one curse that makes you draw a second encounter.

(WotC): When you draw a long hallway, and place the second tile, does the second tile get a monster also?

It does.

(WotC): Are villains worth any EXP?

Villains are worth experience equal to their levels.

(WotC): Can you pass treasure items to another player?

You can give treasure to another player only when you first receive it from a kill; after that, no.

(BGG Consensus): When a monster is killed on another player's turn by a spell or object that wasn't the active hero's (like a monster moving onto a blade barrier token left by a different hero), who gets the treasure?

The hero who kills it.

(WotC): If an encounter says to place a treasure token but we're not in an adventure with tokens, what do we do?

Drop a treasure card instead.

(WotC): The rules state that when a monster moves to a new tile, it moves to the appropriate scorch mark. How does that work when heroes aren't adjacent to the scorch mark? Does the monster have to spend a 2nd turn moving to the heroes?

If a Monster Card specifies to place a Monster in a specific location, such as adjacent to a Hero, that card overrides the rule for placing a moving Monster on the scorch mark.

(BGG Consensus): When moving a monster through a tile with no scorch (like the start tile) where does he go?

Player's choice. Treat it as if there was a scorch mark with a figure already on it.

(WotC): Can the flying carpet technically fly over the Pit Trap if there isn't enough room to place the carpet piece on the same tile? What about other tiles with markers?

The flying carpet can move to another tile that already has a marker.

(WotC): Can any of the powers specifically work on the Hero using them? Most notable is Lay on Hands. Also, do powers that state they affect "any hero on the tile" include the one that used it?

A power that works only on an adjacent Hero does not work on the Hero using it. For example, the Paladin cannot use Lay on Hands to heal herself.

Unless a power specifically says "any other hero" or "any adjacent hero", an "any hero on the tile" rule includes the same hero casting/using the power.

(WotC): When monsters make a new room tile in the villain phase (usually due to sentry actions) as part of their action, do you still draw a 2nd encounter card if it's a black triangle? Or are you past that point in the villain phase?

You do not draw an encounter card when a Monster places a new tile. Drawing encounter cards happens first in the phase, before monsters act.

(BGG Consensus): Do you get a treasure for each Legion devil you kill, or only for defeating all three?

The rules state you get a treasure each time you kill a monster. So, you get one for each defeated (limit of one per turn as usual, if a player kills more than one monster) legion devil.

(WotC): When a hero is Slowed or Immobilized, does special powers with movement also get affected?

When a Hero is affected by conditions like Slowed or Immobilized, they are slowed or immobilized for the move action. However if a power (like the Fighter's Cleave attack power) has the Hero move as a part of the power, they would still move as a part of the power (the slowed or immobilized condition only affects the independent move action, not movement included as part of a power).

(WotC): If a hero is slowed, what happens to powers that use speed?

It should be noted that if a hero has this condition and uses a hero power that states to move their speed, their speed at that time is effectively 2 (slowed) which may alter the affect of that power card.

If a power card states to move 1 tile or to another square on that tile etc.. (not specific to that heroes speed), the slowed condition will have no effect.

(Designer Comment): If you are dazed, since you can only move or attack, can you move twice (like a normal turn)?

As per designer: It is important to read the rulebook (not the marker) for the definition of Dazed: "Instead of your normal Hero Phase, you may perform only one of the following actions: Move or Attack." (page 8) Neither of these options is "Make two Moves."

(WotC): Can I ever draw more than one encounter card in a villain phase (due to special cards, no placements, etc)?

No. A player can only ever draw one encounter per villain phase (although there is a CURSE that draws an additional Encounter card).

(WotC): If I am playing a monster and draw a new monster and it's a duplicate to one I already control, do I play it?

Each player can only control one type of monster. If the player draws, for any reason, a duplicate monster card, the card is discarded and a new one picked. This includes sentry actions. Each player can only have one kind of monster in their queue of monsters.

(WotC): Does the rage drake get to keep the damage (the 6) its already taken when it's flipped over to enraged, or does it get reset to 0 so it needs 10 more?

It keeps the damage and needs 4 more to kill it.

(WotC): How does the crossbow of speed work?

Instead of moving, you can attack with it. This means you can make two attacks in one turn (one normally using an attack action, then one using your movement action to use the crossbow).

(WotC): When large monsters are placed in overlapping tile sections – like overlapping a wall, or two tiles – is the monster in both tiles? Can a large monster squeeze through corridors two squares wide?

The rules state that large monsters can squeeze through corridors, and that they do overlap two tiles. In that case the monster is considered in all the overlapping tiles, and any tile one away from those overlapping tiles is within 1 tile.

(WotC): When a monster summons a new monster during the villain phase, does it get activated during the same phase?

Since the monster is placed in the player's "villain queue" after the summoning monster, the next villain "in the queue" is the newly summoned monster, so yes, it gets activated. From the rules: "Sometimes a Monster requires you to place a new Monster. Add that Monster Card to the end of any Monster Cards you control. The new Monster acts during your Villain Phase." It probably should say "acts during the phase it was placed and subsequent villain phases as normal."

(WotC): Does a caltrop or blade barrier spell created on a monster's square do them damage if they don't move?

No. The monster must move ONTO the square to take damage from it. For example, if the caltrop is placed on a scorch mark, and a moving monster moves from tile to tile onto it.

Also monster's moving through the square but not ending on it take no damage from it. They have to end their move on it.

(WotC): Is the magic throwing shield and ring of shooting stars a free attack made every turn? On top of the normal attacks a player makes?

Yes to the shield. It is one free, extra, attack per turn.

No to the ring. It says flip after use, so after using it once, you flip it over.

(WotC): When an item is flipped over (the ones that say "flip over after use") what does that mean? How can you use it again?

Items that are flipped over are not used again during the game unless another item lets you re-flip it (like the Pearl of Power). You can flip over items to be used again between games in a multi-game campaign setting. Otherwise, items that say "flip over after use" are considered single-use items.

(WotC): When a player is knocked unconscious (from being reduced to zero HP) do you skip his encounter and villain phases?

No. Play the phases as normal. The only changes are that monsters (and villains) ignore unconscious players.

(WotC): When you enter a chamber, or a boss encounter, or some other ending condition where you're playing adventure rules at the end of an adventure, do you stop drawing encounters on villain phases where you don't explore?

No. On any villain phase during a turn where you did not explore, you draw an encounter, regardless of the scenario unless it specifically says otherwise.

(WotC): When I draw chamber tiles that say to place a monster on each tile, do I place them on the scorches?

You always place new monsters on scorches, except when the scorch is occupied, then its player's choice.

(WotC): Volcanic Vapors: If I start my turn on a tile with this hazard, do I take damage? What about if I run through the tile but don't end my turn in it?

If you start your turn in the tile, you are poisoned at the top of your hero phase (technically before your hero phase), and take a point of damage.

If you move through the tile, and exit it, you are poisoned, but you may end the hero phase outside the tile. Roll as usual at the end of the hero phase to see if the poison condition is removed. In that case at the top of your next hero phase you won't take any damage.

(WotC): Elven cloak: does this work every turn?

Yes. During your exploration phase, instead of you (the cloak owner) drawing the monster card, placing the figure, and putting the card in your villain pile, you may choose to have the player on your left to do so instead.

(WotC): Does a sentry (Kobold, Duergar) standing in a room with a hero and non-adjacent to that hero really just stand there?

Yes. It's guarding.

(WotC): Is the Start tile one tile or two?

It's considered to be two tiles for the purposes of movement, combat, etc. From the rules: The Start Tile actually consists of two separate tiles that are already connected; treat each as its own tile for the purposes of movement and counting tiles. Note that there are no scorches on the tile and all squares, including the steps, are valid play areas for placing new monsters and moving monsters when they move from tile-to-tile.

(Designer Comment): Are traps like the boulder and whirling blades that appear in a tile with a hero supposed to move out of the tile? Its first action is to move into the tile with the closest hero. Doesn't it mean it moves immediately?

No. Designer clarification says they remain with the "closest hero", i.e. the one in the tile.

(Designer Comment): Are daily powers considered attacks?

Yes. According to the designer as well, they require an attack action to use.

There's some discussion still about daily powers that say they do not use an attack action (and so wouldn't, regardless of the general designer comment) and powers that use a hero's move action (can it be both a move and attack action). Current no clear answer is available on that.

(WotC): With regards to items and stackable bonuses, what can you stack?

You can never use more than one attack or defense item BONUS per hero, so you can't use both a +1 sword and a +3 sword at the same time (since those are bonuses from items). However you can stack a bonus (from a card) with an item's attack value (from a card); you can stack a bonus, an attack value (from a card or power), and additional bonuses from power or spells (with no limit in the rules mentioned on powers). You might stack +2 AC armor and +2 AC cleric's shield spell, for example.