Overview

Descent: Journeys in the Dark (First Edition) is a dungeon-crawling adventure game for 2-5 players. One player takes the role of the Overlord, controlling monsters, traps, and events, while up to four other players control heroes exploring a dungeon. Heroes move through corridors and chambers, fight monsters, gather treasure, and work together to complete quest objectives. The Overlord uses threat tokens and overlord cards to spawn monsters and trigger traps. If the heroes run out of conquest tokens, they lose; if they achieve their quest objective, they win.

Components

• 1 Rulebook, 1 Quest Guide
• 20 Hero Sheets and 20 Plastic Hero Figures
• 60 Plastic Monster Figures (39 Tan Normal, 21 Red Master)
• 12 Custom Dice: 1 Blue (Ranged), 1 Red (Melee), 1 White (Magic), 2 Green (Extra Damage), 2 Yellow (Extra Range), 5 Black (Power)
• 180 Cards: 24 Monster Reference, 36 Overlord, 12 Subterfuge Skill, 12 Fighting Skill, 12 Wizardry Skill, 24 Town Store, 22 Copper Treasure, 18 Silver Treasure, 16 Gold Treasure, 4 Relic
• 1 Compass Rose Token, 1 Town Marker
• 61 Map Pieces (rooms, corridors, intersections, dead ends)
• 10 Door Markers (7 normal, 3 rune-locked), 10 Plastic Door Stands
• 49 Prop Markers (obstacles, encounters, glyphs, staircases)
• 55 Wound Tokens, 24 Fatigue Tokens, 52 Money Tokens
• 16 Hero Order Tokens (4 Aim, 4 Dodge, 4 Guard, 4 Rest)
• 32 Threat Tokens, 24 Conquest Tokens
• 1 Breath Template
• 55 Effect Tokens (web, stun, burn, poison)
• 39 Treasure Markers (potions, money, chests, relics)
• 4 Hero Turn Tokens, 12 Training Tokens, 6 Miscellaneous Markers

Setup

Heroes (Steps 2A-6A):

1. Each hero player receives a random hero sheet (or chooses with Overlord’s agreement).
2. Take wound tokens, fatigue tokens, 300 coins, order tokens (aim, dodge, guard, rest), and hero turn token.
3. Draw starting skill cards (type and number per hero sheet). May trade 1 skill card for a new draw from the same deck.
4. Purchase starting equipment from the town shop deck. Potions cost 50 coins each.
5. Receive quest-specified conquest tokens. Place hero figures on/adjacent to an activated glyph.

Overlord (Steps 2B-5B):

1. Choose a quest from the Quest Guide.
2. Randomize chest markers. Select monster reference cards matching player count.
3. Assemble the map from the quest layout.
4. Place starting monster figures, doors, and markers as directed.

Turn Structure

Each round consists of hero turns followed by the Overlord turn:

Hero Turns (any order chosen by heroes)

Each hero player’s turn has 3 steps:

1. Refresh: Un-exhaust all exhausted cards.
2. Equip: Choose equipped items (max: 2 hands worth of weapons, 1 armor, 3 potions, 2 other; excess goes to pack or is dropped).
3. Take an Action: Choose one of four actions.

Overlord Turn

1. Collect Threat & Draw Cards: Gain 1 threat per hero; draw 2 overlord cards. May discard cards for extra threat. Hand limit: 8 cards.
2. Spawn Monsters: Play up to 1 spawn card (pay threat cost) and place the indicated monsters.
3. Activate Monsters: Each monster may move up to its speed and make 1 attack. Monsters activate one at a time.

Actions

Hero Actions (choose 1 per turn)

Action	Movement	Attacks
Run	Move up to 2x Speed	None
Battle	None	Up to 2 attacks
Advance	Move up to Speed	1 attack (before, during, or after movement)
Ready	Move up to Speed OR 1 attack	Place 1 Hero Order token

Hero Orders (placed during Ready action)

• Aim: +1 range and +1 damage on one future attack (exhaust to use).
• Dodge: Roll power dice; cancel 1 wound per power enhancement rolled (when attacked).
• Guard: Interrupt a nearby enemy’s movement to make 1 attack (within half your range).
• Rest: Recover all fatigue at the start of your next turn.

Combat Sequence

1. Declare Attack: Choose target space and weapon (heroes) or monster type.
2. Confirm Line of Sight: Trace uninterrupted line from attacker center to target center. Blocked by walls, closed doors, figures, blocking obstacles.
3. Count Range & Roll Dice: Roll attack dice listed on weapon/monster card. Heroes add power dice equal to the relevant trait (melee/ranged/magic).
4. Determine Success: Miss result = automatic failure. Otherwise, total rolled range must meet or exceed distance to target.
5. Spend Surges, Enhancements, Fatigue: Power enhancements add +1 range or +1 damage each. Power surges trigger weapon abilities. Heroes may spend fatigue for extra power dice (max 5 total power dice per attack).
6. Inflict Wounds: Total damage minus target’s armor = wounds dealt. Place/remove wound tokens accordingly.

Attack Types

• Melee: Adjacent spaces only. Range results ignored. Add power dice = melee trait.
• Ranged: Any space with line of sight. Must meet range requirement. Add power dice = ranged trait.
• Magic: Any space with line of sight. Must meet range requirement. Add power dice = magic trait.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

• Heroes win: By completing the quest objective (varies per quest, e.g., killing a boss with conquest tokens remaining).
• Heroes lose: When conquest tokens reach 0.
• Conquest token loss: Heroes lose conquest tokens equal to a killed hero’s conquest value. Also lose 3 tokens when the Overlord deck is reshuffled.
• Conquest token gain: Activating glyphs, opening chests, and completing quest objectives.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Movement through figures: Friendly figures can be passed through but you must end in an empty space. Enemy figures and blocking obstacles completely block movement.
• Large Monsters: Occupy 2, 4, or 6 spaces. Move using special rules; all occupied spaces must be empty (of enemies/obstacles). Can end overlapping friendly monster spaces.
• Hero Death: When a hero’s last wound token is removed, the hero is killed. The hero is moved to town, loses all items not in pack, and the Overlord removes conquest tokens equal to the hero’s conquest value. The hero respawns in town.
• Glyphs: Must be activated by walking across them. Once active, heroes can teleport between town and any activated glyph. Monsters may not end movement on a glyph.
• Fatigue: Heroes may spend fatigue tokens to gain extra movement points (1 fatigue = 1 space) or add power dice to attacks. Cannot exceed maximum fatigue; excess fatigue becomes wounds.
• Doors: Anyone can open/close normal doors (costs 2 movement points). Rune-locked doors require the matching runekey. Opening a door reveals the area beyond.
• Spawning: The Overlord can spawn monsters from spawn cards. Monsters must be placed within 6 spaces of a hero, not in line of sight of any hero, and in a legal empty space.
• Town: Heroes in town can shop, heal (costs movement), and purchase training tokens to increase traits.
• Pits: Deal 1 wound when a figure enters or begins activation in a pit space. Do not block line of sight.
• Water & Rubble: Water blocks movement but not line of sight. Rubble blocks both.

Player Reference

Hero Turn: Refresh → Equip → 1 Action (Run / Battle / Advance / Ready)

Actions Summary:

• Run = 2x Speed movement, no attacks
• Battle = 2 attacks, no movement
• Advance = Speed movement + 1 attack
• Ready = Speed movement OR 1 attack + place Order token

Combat: Declare → LOS → Roll → Check miss/range → Surges/Enhancements/Fatigue → Damage minus Armor = Wounds

Overlord Turn: Collect Threat (1/hero) + Draw 2 → Spawn (1 card) → Activate all monsters

Dice: Blue (range+damage), Red (melee damage), White (magic damage), Green (damage), Yellow (range), Black (power enhancements/surges)