TM

QUICK-START RULES

BEGIN YOUR ADVENTURE HERE!

NEW TO DECK-BUILDING GAMES? CHARACTER SCREEN
A deck-building game starts each player with a small deck
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29 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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of cards. Then, during the game, players acquire new cards—

C.
N
FEATURE SLOT 1 FEATURE SLOT 4

usually from a large, common selection—that build their deck NAME

during play. This provides a dynamic, changing style that 343 devotion class: cleric

xp level
race: human

makes each game experience new. 1

FEATURE SLOT 2 FEATURE SLOT 5
8 equipment pack

OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME

FEATURE SLOT 3 FEATURE SLOT 6

“There is never doubt. There is only the

calm of knowing that one is called.”
ALLEN MORRIS • ™ & © 2017 WIZARDS • 9/16

In Dragonfire, players assume the roles of their favorite Dungeons &

1. Equipment Pack: The unique build of Basic Market cards that form your
Dragons® Characters. During a game, the players face a number of
starting draw deck.
encounter cards, representing monsters and villains. Each turn,
2. Health Track: Numbers and icons along the top of a character card represent
they have the opportunity to play cards against encounters and
how many Hit Points (HP) your character has remaining.
purchase more cards to increase the strength of their decks.
3. Class Type (Character Screen Color): This indicates your Class Type and will
While players must face encounters individually, cooperative
often determine where monsters will attack. All Character screens fall into one
play is the name of the game: players will need to work together to
of four Class Types:
defeat all the enemies!
This quick-start rules guide is designed to allow a party to dive : Arcane (blue) : Deception (red)
into the action as quickly as possible. : Devotion (green) : Martial (black)

SETUP
The following walks you through the specific details on each card CHARACTER STARTING STATS
you need to know for playing, as well as the setup for your first game. For the purpose of these quick-start rules, the starting
hand, starting gold, and starting HP are identical for all
1. SELECT A CHARACTER SCREEN players, as shown (i.e., ignore the stats shown on the
Character screens):
Find the Character screens in the box. Ultimately players can use

4
whatever combination of Character screens are available. Howev-
er, for the most balanced first experience, we suggest the following
Character screens—all Humans—based upon the number of players.
4 6
• Two, Three, & Four Players: Fighter, Cleric, Rogue, Wizard
• Five Players: Fighter, Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Wizard 2. BUILD YOUR EQUIPMENT PACK
• Six Players: Fighter, Fighter, Rogue, Rogue, Cleric, Wizard Players then build their characters’ Equipment Packs (their
The following are the only details of a Character screen you starting deck), which will consist of seven cards (provided players
need to worry about for these quick-start rules. are using Humans, as suggested). Find the Market cards, then sepa-
 ™
QUICK-START RULES

rate out all the Basic cards. Each Character screen, next to the start- MARKET CARDS
ing HP icon, includes a series of Class Type icons that details which Each Market card has the following stats:
Basic cards make up the character’s Equipment Pack, as follows: 1. Name: The name of the card.
5
: Cantrip (Basic Arcane) : Stealth (Basic Deception) 2. Damage: How much damage the card deals, if any. 2
3
3. Cost: How much gold the card costs to buy from 1
: Grace (Basic Devotion) : Glory (Basic Martial) the Market.
4. Class Type: Each card has a Class Type—
Each player thoroughly shuffles their Equipment Pack to form Devotion, Arcane, Deception, and Martial—
their draw deck and draws a starting hand of 4 cards (as indicated with a corresponding color and text for clarity. 4
1
ARCANE (CONJURATION)

Some effects, card abilities, and Adventure CLOUD OF DAGGERS

in the Character Starting Stats sidebar on p. 1). rules refer to Class Type. 5 Requires Arcane Class.

Any extra Basic Cards not placed into Equipment Packs are
ASSIST
Arcane Class: All colorless levels on one
5. Card Ability: The card’s special abilities (which 6 Wizardencounter this turn are -1 .
placed back in the box. can include damage), as well as requirements Class: All colorless levels on one
encounter this turn are -2 .
to purchase and/or play, if any. “One blade. That’s cute.” –Mikos, the Conjurer
DAVID RAPOZA • ™ & © 2017 WIZARDS • 10/28

TWO- AND THREE-PLAYER GAMES 6. Assist Ability: This ability appears on some cards.
In two-player games, both players You can use Assist abilities only during another player’s turn to help them.
2
must act as two different Class Types.
In three-player games, one player well). Those six cards represent the Market, and you’ll be able to
must act as two Class Types.
buy those cards during your turn to enhance your deck.
Those players still select one
The above are the only details of a Market card you need to
Character screen as their primary
Class Type, but for the purposes of worry about for these quick-start rules.
DEVOTION
encounters, Dragonfire effects, Skill
BLESS
Checks, and any “Requires X Class” 4. CREATE THE ENCOUNTER DECK
KOBOLD PACK
ASSIST
Deal 1 damage of any color.
rules on Market cards, they are also Find the twenty cards that make up the Dungeon Difficulty 1
“The question is not which path to take. The question is,
considered to be the second Class Type
are you worthy of the path you are on?” –Udoendithas
ERIC BELISLE • ™ & © 2017 WIZARDS • 2/28
Deck. (On the front of each card, in the bottom, left-hand corner,
as well. (You can take the other Class they’ll have a single Dungeon Environment symbol .) Remove the
Type marker as a reminder of the additional Class Type.) two Location cards (they are landscape-oriented) as they won’t be
In both instances above, any player that has two Class Types used here. Shuffle the remaining eighteen cards, and place them
exchanges one of their Equipment Pack cards for a Bless Market
facedown in the middle of the table to create the Encounter Deck.
card (exchange a card of the color you have the most of).
4
Reveal Starting Encounters: Now reveal a number of encoun-
ter cards equal to the number of players. When the first encounter
is revealed, place it facing the character whose Class Type color
matches the encounter’s color. (If there’s more than one such
character, randomly determine the card’s placement between the
matching characters.) Distribute and reveal the rest of the en-
CLASS TYPE MARKERS counters, starting with the next player to the left of the first as-
signed encounter and moving to the left.
The Encounter Card example on the next page shows the only
details of an encounter card you need to worry about for these
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quick-start rules.
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Ignore any of the following elements that appear on any cards:

FEATURE SLOT 1 FEATURE SLOT 4

NAME
4 devotion class: cleric race: human

3 xp level
• All symbols, as well as any text that accompany them.
3. FIND THE CLIPS AND GOLD TOKENS
FEATURE SLOT 2
8 equipment pack
FEATURE SLOT 5

• Any “Dispel Magic” keywords.

Now find the clips and gold tokens and place them into a com-
mon pile. Then, as indicated in the Character Starting Stats sidebar
FEATURE SLOT 3 FEATURE SLOT 6

ADDITIONAL
“There is never doubt. There is only the
calm of knowing that one is called.”
(see p. 1), all players place a clip on the 6 spot of the Health Track
ALLEN MORRIS • ™ & © 2017 WIZARDS • 9/16

on their Character screens and take four gold tokens.

The rest of the tokens are put into a common pile on the table. ENCOUNTER RULES
Some encounters include the following additional rules.
4. CREATE THE MARKET 1. Number of tokens (3) 2. Token Damage Track 1
Take the Market cards—there should be no Basics as you’ve 3. Token Attack Strength 1
already built your Equipment Packs and placed any unused back
in the box—and shuffle thoroughly. Then reveal six cards and lay HUMANOID
them face up in the center of the table (two rows of three works
TOKENS:
1
3 1 1 3

1
2
Vicious, greedy, and dangerous in numbers.
2 Beware the traps they set.
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QUICK-START RULES

ENCOUNTER CARD KEYWORDS

Each encounter card has the following stats: Some encounters (or other cards) contain the following keywords.
1. Name: The name of the encounter. KOBOLD PACK 1
• Summon: Reveal an encounter card from the correspond-
2. Damage Track: This set of icons shows the path ing Encounter Deck and place it facing that character. Re-
you must follow to defeat the encounter. You 4 veal cards until you find a card that matches the indicated
must clear each damage level on the track, in 7
color/type, and bury the rest at the bottom of their deck.
order, from top to bottom.
3. Encounter Type: Each encounter has a type (in
“Summon any” means revealing and placing the very next
this instance, Humanoid). Some effects, card 2 card in the deck.
2
abilities, and Adventure rules refer to this type. For these quick-start rules, the Red Slaad simply sum-
4. Encounter Color: Each encounter has a color that 4 1 mons the very next card from the Dungeon Difficulty 1
corresponds to the Class Types: black, blue,
green, and red. Some effects, card abilities,
3 HUMANOID 1 Deck (i.e., ignore its usual rules for the summon).
TOKENS: 3 1 1 5 • Surprise: An ability on encounter cards that triggers
and Adventure rules refer to this color. This
encounter is black.
1
Vicious, greedy, and dangerous in numbers.

when the card is put into play, either by drawing it from

Beware the traps they set.

6
5. Card Ability: Some encounters have abilities that
CONCEPTOPOLIS • ™ & © 2017 WIZARDS • 16/20

the deck or due to an effect.

affect the game, usually causing problems for the
party. An encounter’s ability might be always in effect, or it can trigger when
• Vanquished: Immediately apply this effect when this en-
the card is first turned face up (SURPRISE and TOKENS), when it is defeated counter is defeated.
(VANQUISHED), or at other times as described by the ability.
6. Attack Strength: The damage the encounter deals to the character it is facing when
the encounter attacks.
7. Gold: The amount of gold the defeated encounter is worth to the party.
THE ADVENTURE
TOKENS: [X] THE VILLAGE IS ATTACKED:
A HERO IS BORN
encounter In the dead of night, a deep bark wakes you as flames race up the
tokens thatching of your cottage. This night will test your mettle. Will you be
swept away and forgotten, a nameless tragedy of evil raids? Or will
When TOKENS X is present, X equals the number of encounter to- you rise up and defeat the monsters?
kens that are immediately put into play. Following that number is the Will the morning find only ash, or a hero forged from the flames?
damage track and the Attack Strength of each token placed this way.
• Damage Track: A colorless number means that dealing that The Village is Attacked: A Hero Is Born is a quick-start Adven-
amount of damage, of any color, eliminates that token. For ture for Dragonfire that will have you casting spells and flash-
example, 2 means that 2 points of damage of any color ing blades in no time!
delivered in the same turn eliminates each token.
• Attack Strength: Tokens can have an Attack Strength 1
of 0 and higher. During the Take Damage phase (see p. 6),
all tokens (along with the card that spawned them) attack,
SEQUENCE OF PLAY
each dealing the indicated damage. This quick-start Dragonfire Adventure is played across a num-
ber of rounds, with each round consisting of each player at the
The following additional rules govern the use of Encounter tokens. table taking one turn.
(See page 12, in the Dragonfire Rulebook, for added clarity, if needed.) Shuffling Discard Piles: Unless specifically stated otherwise,
• Unless specifically stated otherwise, all tokens must be never shuffle a discard pile of any type to create a new deck unless
defeated before the card that spawned them can be dealt you must reveal a card from that deck and are unable to do so.
damage.
• Each token is considered an encounter and has the color ROUND ORDER
and type of the card that spawned it. If an effect applies Once all the setup above is complete, determine who will be
to that card’s color and type, it also applies to the tokens. the first player. (We recommend the Martial (Fighter) Class Type
• Because each token is its own encounter, you cannot split should be the first player.)
damage from a single card among them.
REVEALING ADDITIONAL ENCOUNTERS
For this quick-start Adventure, at the end of every round (i.e.,
after all players have taken a turn), draw a number of encounters
equal to the round number, assigning the first encounter to the
matching Class Type—as noted above—and then, starting with the
player to the left, assign the rest (after round one), one per player.

3
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QUICK-START RULES

For example, at the end of round one, draw one additional encoun- Sword Icons (Martial Class only): Some Martial cards include
ter; end of round two draw two additional encounters; and so on. one or two Sword icons on the left-hand side. If any Martial Class
player plays a total of three Swords on their own cards during the
TURN ORDER same turn, that player may immediately draw a card. To draw a
The player taking their turn is considered the active player. second card in this way, you must play enough cards to make a
Each turn is divided into a number of phases, played in order. A second full set of three Sword icons.
player must completely finish the Play Cards phase before moving
onto the Apply Damage phase, and so on. SKILL CHECKS
Page Numbers: Page numbers for each phase are included in pa- When you must make a Skill Check, reveal the top card of
rentheses beside the headers in the following section. These quick- your draw deck. If it matches your Class Type color, the check
start rules include rules to cover most situations. However, if players is a success; if it does not, the result is a failure. The text on the
find an unusual situation, check that section of the full Dragonfire card describes the effects. Always bury the revealed card (place it
Rulebook for a more robust depiction of the rule, along with examples. at the bottom of the draw deck) after each Skill Check.
Class Type Specific: Skill Checks might specify a Class Type,
PHASES OF A TURN which may be different than your character’s Class Type. For ex-
1. Play Cards ample, if a Devotion Check is called for, you must reveal a green
2. Deal Damage (Devotion) card to pass the Skill Check regardless of your Charac-
3. Take Damage ter Class Type color.
4. Replenish Multiple Class Types: If playing with multiple Class Types (see
5. Market p. 2), you are considered both Class Types for Skill Checks.
6. End Turn
ASSISTS
1. PLAY CARDS (P. 14) Some cards have Assist abilities, which you can use only during
During this phase you play cards from your hand one at a time. another player’s turn to help them.
(You may choose to play no cards if you want.) If your cards have An Assist ability has its own section at the bottom of the card,
any effects other than damage, resolve those effects when you play separated by a line. Only the text below the line is an Assist.
the card, but don’t discard it yet. Instead, place the card next to the If you play an Assist, the rest of the card is always ignored (ex-
encounter(s) where you plan to deal the card’s damage. (You may cept any Class Type Requirements, which always apply).
change your mind on where to apply the damage later, but you Damage: Unless specifically stated otherwise, the damage
may not change the text effect once applied.) icons in a card’s upper left corner are never applied when us-
Text Effects: When playing cards, text effects are always ap- ing the Assist from that card. Either you’re using the effect
plied except: above the line—including damage, if any—or you’re using the
• If there is a cost associated with the text, such as a Skill Assist.
Check, removing the card from play, and so on.
• If the text includes the term “may.” 2. DEAL DAMAGE (P. 15)
Once you finish playing cards and applying all text effects that
In both instances above, the player chooses if they will apply are not damage, all played cards deal damage. Choose an encoun-
the effects (and pay the costs, as appropriate). ter where you’ve placed cards and deal the damage generated to
Healing: When an effect heals you, increase your HP by the the encounters as explained below. Then put all those cards aside
amount healed. You can’t go above your starting HP total (6 for to indicate those have been resolved. Continue this process until
quick-start characters). If an effect would heal you to beyond your you’ve resolved all of your damage effects.
starting HP, any extra is lost. You defeat encounters by dealing damage. The damage a card
Discard: You can discard any number of cards from your hand deals is indicated by the icon(s) in the upper left corner. Some
during this phase; those cards have no effect. Discarding is not consid- cards deal special types of damage, as indicated by the text on the
ered playing a card and they are immediately placed into your discard. card. Such instructions take effect during the damage step, not
Placing in the Discard: Cards that are played in this phase when you first play the card. Cards with Assist abilities might deal
are not placed in the discard until the last step of the Deal Dam- damage as well. Any text or damage icons that appear in the Assist
age phase. portion of the card text takes effect during this step, not when the
Assist is played.
ADDITIONAL RULES Damage is represented by icons indicating a specific amount
Some card effects have special rules, as follows. and color (see below). Damage can be variable based on other con-
Requires X Play: You can’t play this card unless you played an- ditions, or it might clear one or more levels on a damage track.
other card of the specified type this turn. There are two types of damage icons:

4
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QUICK-START RULES

• Colored : Each colored icon represents 1 on your turn you need to deal a total of 3 damage, in any combina-
point of damage of that color. Each color corresponds to tion of colored or colorless damage.
the four Class Type colors (blue, red, green, and black). Defeating an encounter might take several turns of play-
• Colorless 2 : The number inside the colorless damage ing cards (including Assists). When a level on a damage track is
icon indicates how many points of colorless damage it cleared, that level remains cleared for all players; use a clip to in-
deals (in the example icon provided, 2). dicate which levels have been cleared.
Partial damage dealt to a level is removed at the end of each
DAMAGING ENCOUNTERS player’s turn. In other words, if you do not defeat a level in one
Encounters have damage tracks consisting of colorless or turn, any damage applied to that level in that turn is lost.
colored damage icons. Each row of the track is a level, which is Order of Damage: You must clear the levels on a damage track
cleared by dealing that type and amount of damage. from top to bottom. Unless a card effect states otherwise, you
A colored icon on an encounter’s damage track requires dam- must deal damage to the topmost uncleared level.
age of that color to clear, although any color of damage can affect
a colorless icon (unless a card specifically states otherwise). Color- CLEARING A LEVEL EXAMPLE
less damage can’t affect colored damage icons on a damage track. If a damage track level requires 4 damage to clear, and you
deal only 3 damage to it, that level will reset at the end of your
turn. The next player will still need to deal 4 damage to clear it
during their turn. ORC WARCHIEF
5 7 3

DEFEATING AN ENCOUNTER
5
When you clear the last (bottom) level of an encounter’s dam-
ARCANE (EVOCATION)
age track, you defeat the encounter. If the encounter has a Van-
DECEPTION
ARCANE (EVOCATION)
MAGIC MISSILE quished ability, immediately apply that effect.
TWIST THE KNIFE LIGHTNING BOLT Deal to up to three different encounters.
Requires Deception Purchase: You can’t buy Requires Arcane Play: You can’t play this card
this card from the Market unless you played a unless you played another Arcane card this turn. ASSIST
Deception card this turn. 1 to up to three different encounters.
DEFEATING AN
Deal 2 consecutive levels of Deal
ASSIST
damage to an encounter.
There can be great power in simplicity.
Deal 1 level of damage. Such power, pulled from a clear sky.
TYLER WALPOLE • ™ & © 2017 WIZARDS • 20/28 JIM NELSON • ™ & © 2017 WIZARDS • 13/28 RANDY GALLEGOS • ™ & © 2017 WIZARDS • 9/28

ENCOUNTER EXAMPLE
DAMAGE EXAMPLES The Orc Warchief’s damage track is
• Twist the Knife: This Deception card deals 2 red , 4, . The previous player dealt
(Deception) damage (or 1 level of damage as an Assist). enough damage to clear the , so on
your turn, if you can clear the last two levels 4
• Lightning Bolt: This card does not deal normal damage.
by dealing 4 and damage, you defeat
Instead, its effect deals 2 consecutive levels of damage to
HALF-OGRE the encounter.
HUMANOID
an encounter, no matter what color or amount the damage
track shows. To show how this works, REPLENISH: Draw no cards.
let’s say Jeremy,

• Magic Missile: This Arcane card deals 1 blue (Arcane)

6
damage, which must be assigned to different encounters;
in a previous turn, dealt To the
damageofto
chanting a dozen
thesnarling
orcs, the warchief steps forward.
Orc Warchief. He placed the clip on the card 2
up to a maximum of three (as an Assist, it instead deals covering that icon, showing he cleared it.
CONCEPTOPOLIS • ™ & © 2017 WIZARDS • 4/20

colorless damage). Chloe takes her turn next and deals

another damage, along with 3
damage, for a total of 4 damage. She moves the clip down to show
the next level has been cleared. Finally, she deals a damage to
DAMAGE TRACK 3 clear the last level on the damage track, defeating the encounter.
EXAMPLE
If a damage track level requires
damage, you’ll need to deal a black
ADDITIONAL RULES
damage to clear that level. GIANT
The following additional rules apply to dealing damage.
When Half-Ogre attacks, it also attacks the
Martial character unless it’s already facing
Splitting Damage: Unless an effect specifically states oth-
that character (if there’s another Martial 1 erwise, you can split the damage from a single card between
character, it still attacks that additional different levels of a damage track, provided you are clearing
character(s)). each level in order. However, unless specifically stated other-
A gray icon with aholding
number means that you must deal that
“The trouble with a half-ogre comes when you find who is
its leash.” –Zadok Lasux, ranger
much damage of any color (or colorless damage) to that level to
1 wise (such as with Magic Missile), you can never split damage
from a single card between multiple encounters (which in-
clear it. For example, if a level requires 3 damage to clear, then
CONCEPTOPOLIS • ™ & © 2017 WIZARDS • 17/20
cludes tokens).

5
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QUICK-START RULES

Anywhere on the Damage Track: Some cards allow you to deal BECOMING STUNNED
damage to a level “anywhere on the damage track.” You still must If a character’s HP is reduced to 0, they become Stunned (any
meet the color and number requirements for that level, but it can excess damage is ignored). If they are in the middle of their turn,
be any level. (For more clarity on this rule, if needed, see the Deal- they cannot play any further cards and immediately follow the
ing Damage Anywhere sidebar, p. 17, Dragonfire Rulebook.) rules below.
The following rules govern becoming Stunned.
SAVES • The character also becomes Exhausted and immediately
When an encounter must make a Save, a player reveals the top takes an Exhausted token.
card of the corresponding Encounter Deck. If the revealed card’s • The player shuffles all of their cards (draw deck, hand, and
color matches the encounter’s color, the Save is a success; if it does discard pile) into a new draw deck.
not, it is a failure. The text on the card describes the effects. If an • A player with an Exhausted token draws only one card
encounter includes a “Save +X,” whenever they are forced to Save, during their Replenish phase (including the turn they be-
they reveal one card, as normal, and then additional cards equal to come Stunned).
X, with any success generating a Save. • A Stunned character does not have a Market phase on
Bury the revealed card after each Save attempt. their turn (including the turn they become Stunned), but
they still receive gold.
COLLECTING AND DISTRIBUTING GOLD • Encounters facing the Stunned character remain in place.
The party earns gold for each en-
TROLL
counter defeated. The gold value of HEALING
each encounter is shown in the upper 11 • If a Stunned character is healed any amount, the player
left corner of its card. On the turn immediately draws two cards and is no longer Stunned.
3
the encounter is defeated, the active • Unless specifically stated otherwise, Healing never re-
player takes 1 gold from the total val- moves an Exhausted token.
ue of the encounter. Then the player 3
to the left takes 1 gold from the re- 2 EXHAUSTED TOKEN
maining gold, and so on until all the • A player can never have more than one Exhausted token;
encounter’s gold value is distributed.
GIANT
once they have the token, for the purposes of these quick-
If Troll is damaged in a turn, it must Save.
For example, if you defeated a Troll Success: It heals 1 level. start rules, it cannot be removed.
on your turn (which has a value of 2
Hunger. It drives trolls to devour anything
they can smash in their path.

11 gold), and there are 5 players, you DANIEL LJUNGGREN • ™ & © 2017 WIZARDS • 19/20 UNCONSCIOUS
would get 3 gold and all other player • If a character’s HP is reduced to 0 while they have an Ex-
would get 2 gold. hausted token, they immediately become Unconscious
There is no limit to how much gold you can have, but it’s best to and are out of the quick-start Adventure.
spend it on improving your deck if you can. • If damage is dealt to a Stunned character, they immedi-
ately become Unconscious.
PLACING CARDS IN THE DISCARD • All encounters facing the Unconscious character are im-
At the very end of the Deal Damage phase, all played cards— mediately rotated to the next player to the left.
as well as defeated encounters—are placed into their respective
discards. 4. REPLENISH (P. 22)
During the Replenish phase, if you have three or fewer cards in
3. TAKE DAMAGE (P. 21) hand, draw two cards. If you have four or more, you do not draw
When you are done playing cards, if there are any encoun- cards. There is no maximum hand size.
ters still facing you, including tokens, each one attacks you and
deals damage equal to its Attack Strength. No matter how many 5. MARKET (P. 22)
encounters deal damage to you, that damage is combined and ap- You can purchase any number of cards from the Market, de-
plied as a single amount. pending on what you want and how much gold you have. Each
Some encounters also have abilities that trigger when they at- Market card specifies a cost in gold. After purchasing a card, place
tack. If those abilities deal damage, that damage is added to the any spent gold back into the common supply, and refill the empty
total damage from encounters attacking you. Market slot with a new card from the Market Deck.
When you take damage, reduce your HP by the amount of Place purchased cards immediately in your hand, not in the
damage you take. If you take damage that would reduce you to discard!
below 1 HP, you become Stunned (no matter how much additional Some cards have additional requirements for purchase, such
damage you take at the same time). as the following:

6
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QUICK-START RULES

• Requires X Class: You cannot purchase or use this card place one of the existing Market cards with it and discard the
unless your character is of the specified Class Type. replaced card.
• Requires X Purchase: You cannot purchase this card unless If any effect (such as becoming Stunned) prevents you from
you played a card matching the specified Class Type this turn. purchasing cards, you do not cycle the Market.
• X Class: If this appears on a Market card, then that portion
of the rules text applies only when played by a character of 7. END TURN
that Class Type. At the end of your turn, check to determine whether all en-
counters are defeated. If so, the round immediately ends. Reveal
Cycling the Market: If you do not purchase a card from the the next set of encounters, as shown under Revealing Encounters
Market, reveal a new Market card from the deck. You must re- (see p. 3) and the round now starts with the next player to the left.

COMPLETING THE ADVENTURE variation brings different strengths and weaknesses to the table.
Based on your first game, you likely already have a feeling for the
To fully complete the quick-start Adventure: the Encounter style of play you’ll like, giving you an excellent sense of which
Deck must be empty (i.e., no more encounters can be revealed), Character screen to make your own.
and at least one character must reach the end of the round when While players are free to play the game as they see fit, Dragonfire
the last encounter is revealed, without that character being
is designed for campaign play: playing many games with the same
Stunned. If all of the characters are Stunned (and/or Uncon-
Character screen and improving that character to explore new Ad-
scious) before that occurs, the Adventure was not completed suc-
ventures and face more difficult challenges. The cumulative experi-
cessfully.
ence of those games will unlock various Advancements in stickers
(and other cards) that will enhance and permanently alter your Char-
MOVING TO A FULL GAME acter screen, making that character unique to your games and deci-
Whether you fully completed The Village is Attacked: A Hero is
sion. (For more details, see Campaign Play, p. 23, Dragonfire Rulebook.)
Born quick-start Adventure or not, with even one game under
your belt, you can move onto the full rules (see below).
You are of course free to give the quick-start Adventure any BACKGROUND FEATURE
number of tries before moving on. The first step on that path is choosing your Background Fea-
ture. These stickers provide a hint of all the great abilities that fu-
SELECTING A CHARACTER SCREEN ture games will unlock.
Once players have read the full rules—combined with the Now that you have a game under your belt—as well as reading
actual gameplay experience from this quick-start Adventure— the full rules—you can review the Background Features on the
they’ll have a solid understanding of all of the details shown on sticker sheets (each one says “Background”) to determine which
a Character screen, specifically the differences between the races one you wish to select.
within a given Character Type. You can base your choice simply on the name, the game rule it
For example, if you compare the Human, Moon Elf, and Half- conveys—which may enhance the play style you’re already drawn
Orc Fighter Character screens, you’ll note several differences. Not to—or a combination of both.
only are their Equipment Packs subtly different, but the starting Once you’ve made a decision, peel off the sticker, and apply it
cards, starting gold, and starting HP are all different as well. (This to Feature Slot 1 on your selected Character screen.
applies to all of the Character screens for all Class Types.) Each You’re now ready for your first full game!

GLOSSARY must reveal a green card to pass the Skill Check, regardless of your
Class Type color.
Save: When an encounter must Save, a player reveals the top card of its Summon: Reveal an encounter card from the corresponding Encounter
Encounter Deck. If the card matches the encounter’s color, the Save Deck and place it facing that character. Reveal cards until you find a
is a success; if it does not, it is a failure. The revealed card is then card that matches the indicated color/type, and bury the rest at the
buried (placed at the bottom of its deck). If an encounter includes bottom of their deck. “Summon any” means revealing and placing the
a “Save +X,” whenever they are forced to Save, they reveal one card, very next card in the deck.
as normal, and then additional cards equal to X, with any success For these quick-start rules, the Red Slaad simply summons the
generating a Save. very next card from the Dungeon Difficulty 1 Deck (i.e., ignore its
Skill Check: When an effect calls for a Skill Check, the player reveals the usual rules for the summon).
top card of their draw deck. If it matches their Class Type color, the Surprise: An ability on encounter cards that triggers when the card is put into
check is a success; if it does not, it is a failure. The revealed card is then play, either by drawing it from the deck or due to an effect.
buried (placed at the bottom of its deck). Skill Checks can also be Class Vanquished: Immediately apply this effect when this encounter is defeated.
Type–specific; for example, if a Devotion Check is called for, then you

7
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QUICK-START RULES

CLASS TYPE (color) There are four color-coded categories of Character Classes. A given Character Class belongs to one Class Type.

ARCANE MARTIAL DECEPTION DEVOTION

blue black red green

TM & ©2017 Wizards of the Coast LLC.

SWORD ICONS PHASES OF A TURN
1. Play Cards
• Apply all non-damage card abilities.
Sword Icons (Martial Class only): Some Martial cards include
one or two Sword icons on the left-hand side. If any Martial 2. Deal Damage
• Apply all damage from played cards.
Class player plays a total of three Swords on their own cards
• At the end of this phase, played cards are discarded.
during the same turn, that player may immediately draw a card.
To draw a second card in this way, you must play enough cards 3. Take Damage
to make a second full set of three Sword icons. For example, if • The active player receives damage from encounters
the active player plays cards with a total of three Sword icons, facing them (if any).
• If a character’s HP is reduced to 0, they become
and another player plays enough Assist cards to create their
Stunned.
own set of three Sword icons, then both players have earned
the right to draw a card. 4. Replenish
• If you have three or fewer cards in your hands, draw two.
5. Market
• If you do not purchase a card, you must cycle one card
into the Market.
6. End Turn
THE SWORD COAST