Overview

Dorn is a cooperative-vs-one dungeon crawl board game for 2-6 players. One player controls Zorkal the Dornkeeper (a dark necromancer) and his monsters, while 1-5 other players control a group of five heroes. The heroes must navigate the underground labyrinth of Dorn, collect three of six ancient Artifacts to open the Gate of Doom, and kill Zorkal. The Dornkeeper wins by filling the Ritual Chamber with monsters for three consecutive turns to destroy the hamlet of Argos, or by eliminating all the heroes. The game features a day/night cycle affecting monster summoning, leveling up through combat, and asymmetric card systems (Ritual cards for the Dornkeeper, Blessing cards for heroes).

Components

• Game board (modular labyrinth map with named locations)
• 9 hero character sheets (Kaerdrak the paladin, Choros the dwarf warrior, Almanor the mage, Ragnar the swordsman, Eleanor the elven princess, Gor the cleric, Guelin the ranger, Riel the archer, Vargen the werewolf)
• Zorkal character sheet
• Plastic figure stands with character cards
• Red playing stones (Blood Drops / hit points)
• White playing stones (level markers)
• Green playing stones (Zorkal’s hit points)
• Blue Artifact tokens (6)
• Yellow Treasure tokens (24)
• Brown tokens (weak monsters: zombies, giant rats, skeletons, bog beasts)
• Red tokens (strong monsters: vampire, mummy, ghost, gorgon)
• Drawing bag for strong monsters
• Day/Night token
• Blessing cards (blue, with figure between stones)
• Ritual cards (red, with skull symbol)
• Treasure cards (yellow back, chest symbol)
• Cave-in tokens (6, for variant play)

Setup

Hero Setup

1. Choose which 5 of 9 heroes will be used. Players may control multiple heroes.
2. Place hero figures in the hamlet of Argos.
3. Set white level marker on 1 for each hero.
4. Place red Blood Drop stones equal to starting hit points on each hero sheet.
5. Place 6 blue Artifact tokens on the A spaces on the board.
6. Place 24 yellow Treasure tokens on the P spaces.
7. Each hero player draws 1 Blessing card (kept secret).

Dornkeeper Setup

1. Place Zorkal on his throne behind the Gate of Doom.
2. Place 4 green hit point stones on Zorkal’s sheet; set level marker to 1.
3. Put all red strong monster tokens in the drawing bag.
4. Place 6 starting monsters on the N spaces: 2 zombies, 1 giant rat, 1 bog beast, 1 skeleton, 1 random strong monster (from bag).
5. Set Day/Night token to Day (sun face up).
6. Draw 6 Ritual cards (kept secret).

Turn Structure

The Dornkeeper and heroes alternate turns. The Dornkeeper goes first. Each turn has fixed phases that must be completed in order.

Dornkeeper’s Turn

1. Play a Ritual Card (optional) — costs Blood Drops as specified on the card.
2. Summon Monsters — Day: 1 weak monster. Night: 2 weak OR 1 strong monster.
3. Move All Monsters — each monster moves up to its movement value.
4. Attack with All Monsters — monsters adjacent to heroes attack.
5. Flip Day/Night Token — signals end of Dornkeeper’s turn.

After the Gate of Doom opens, Zorkal moves and attacks during the monster phases.

Heroes’ Turn

1. Play Blessing Cards (optional) — any heroes may play their one-time Blessing.
2. Move All Heroes — includes collecting Treasures/Artifacts, dropping items, using items, passing items to adjacent heroes.
3. Attack/Cast Spells — all heroes perform combat actions.
4. Heal — heroes on Healing Fountains, in Argos, or at the Herbalist recover hit points.

Heroes choose the order within each phase. If players disagree, resolve alphabetically by character name.

Actions

Movement

• Heroes and monsters move up to their movement value in orthogonal directions (no diagonal).
• Movement can be interrupted and resumed within the same phase.
• Heroes and monsters cannot stop on or pass through each other (exception: heroes can pass each other on Outside trails).
• Monsters cannot enter Outside trail spaces.
• Neither side can pass through the closed Gate of Doom.

Melee Attack

• A hero adjacent to a monster may attack using abilities with the sword symbol on their character sheet.
• Each attack deals 1 hit point of damage.
• Heroes may make as many attacks per turn as their level allows (usually 1 at level 1).
• Some heroes have special attacks (Round attack, Piercing attack, etc.).

Shooting

• Some heroes (Guelin, Riel) and monsters (gorgons) can attack at range.
• Cannot shoot over obstacles (walls, pillars). Heroes can shoot over heroes but not monsters; monsters can shoot over monsters but not heroes.
• Range is counted as movement distance.

Pike Combat

• Certain heroes (Eleanor) and monsters (skeletons) attack at range 2.
• Same line-of-sight rules as shooting.

Magic

• Heroes with the star symbol (Almanor, Gor) cast spells during the attack phase.
• Difficult spells (marked with Blood Drop) cost 1 hit point to cast; the Blood Drop goes to the Dornkeeper.
• Magic can target around corners. Cannot cast over walls/obstacles. Can cast over heroes but not over monsters.

Monster Attack

• Each hero can parry 1 monster attack per Dornkeeper turn. Additional attacks hit automatically.
• Weak monsters: 1 attack/turn. Some strong monsters: 2 attacks/turn.
• 1 weak monster vs. 1 hero = 0 damage (parried). 2 weak monsters = 1 damage. 3 weak monsters = 2 damage.

Summoning

• Day (odd turns): 1 weak monster of the Dornkeeper’s choice.
• Night (even turns): 2 weak OR 1 strong (random from bag) monster.
• Weak monsters are summoned to their designated locations (rats to Sewers, skeletons to Crypt, zombies to Graveyard, bog beasts to Black Moor).
• Strong monsters always go to the Dark Temple.
• New monsters cannot be placed on occupied spaces.
• Maximum 8 weak monsters of each type on the board.
• Summoned monsters can move and attack the same turn (except bog beasts, which wait until next turn).

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Heroes Win: Kill Zorkal (reduce his hit points to 0). First, the heroes must bring at least 3 Artifacts to the Ritual Chamber to open the Gate of Doom.

Dornkeeper Wins: Either (a) fill the Ritual Chamber completely with monsters (or heroes) at the end of 3 consecutive Dornkeeper turns, or (b) eliminate all heroes.

Either side may surrender if the situation is hopeless.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Blood Drops Economy: Whenever a hero loses a hit point, the corresponding Blood Drop goes to the Dornkeeper. The Dornkeeper spends Blood Drops to play Ritual cards. Maximum 16 Blood Drops in the Dornkeeper’s possession. Zorkal’s own hit points cannot be used for Ritual cards.
• Leveling Up: Heroes collect killed monster tokens as experience (weak = 1 XP, strong = 2 XP). 5 XP for level 2, 7 additional XP for level 3. Higher levels grant new abilities and additional hit points. Zorkal also levels up using Blood Drops (7 for level 2, 9 more for level 3).
• Treasure Cards: Drawn when a hero enters a Treasure token space. May contain useful items or surprise monsters. Each hero can use 1 item per turn. Items are single-use. Items can be passed to adjacent heroes during movement.
• Artifacts: No special abilities; heroes need 3 in the Ritual Chamber to unlock the Gate of Doom. Each time an Artifact is first picked up, the Dornkeeper may summon 1 extra strong monster on his next turn.
• Gate of Doom: Cannot be passed until unlocked. Opens at the start of the Dornkeeper’s turn after 3+ Artifacts are in the Ritual Chamber. Cannot be closed once opened.
• Death of a Hero: Loses last Blood Drop = removed from game. Treasure cards are destroyed. Carried Artifacts drop on the space where the hero died.
• Healing Locations: Healing Fountains (heal up to 2 HP at end of heroes’ turn), Hamlet of Argos (heal up to 2 HP; only space allowing multiple heroes), Herbalist (heal 2 HP; on Outside trail, safe from monsters).
• Teleports: Two teleport pairs connect distant locations. A hero on a teleport exists on both spaces simultaneously (can be attacked from both sides). Cannot shoot/cast through teleports.
• Ritual Card Precedence: Ritual effects override spell/item effects. Blessing card effects override Ritual card effects.

Variants

• Random Group: Draw heroes randomly.
• Missing Artifact: Remove 1 Artifact (the axe) at setup.
• Cave-in: Dornkeeper places 2 cave-in obstacles (3 HP each, removable by attacks).
• Tactics and Flight: Heroes/monsters must stop when adjacent to enemies; can choose to fight or flee.
• Real Day and Night: Timed turns (2-5 minutes).
• Four Heroes: Play with 4 heroes; each gains +1 starting HP and higher-level HP. Dornkeeper starts with fewer monsters and needs 1 extra Blood Drop for Rituals/leveling.

Player Reference

Dornkeeper Turn: Ritual Card -> Summon -> Move Monsters -> Monster Attack -> Flip Day/Night

Heroes’ Turn: Blessings -> Move (collect items) -> Attack/Magic -> Heal

Summoning: Day = 1 weak

Night = 2 weak OR 1 strong

Combat: Hero deals 1 damage per attack

Hero parries 1 monster attack per turn

Unparried attacks = 1 damage each

Leveling: Level 2 = 5 XP

Level 3 = 7 more XP

Weak monster = 1 XP

Strong = 2 XP

Victory (Heroes): Collect 3 Artifacts -> Open Gate of Doom -> Kill Zorkal

Victory (Dornkeeper): Fill Ritual Chamber 3 turns in a row OR kill all heroes