Nerdook’ Solo/Co-op Variant v2.

2
Nerdook’s v2.
A Fan-Made
Fan Variant for Descent 2.0 (Version 2.2.0)

Game Overview
Nerdook’s Solo/Co-op variant is a fan-made
fan variant for Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition.
Edition
Designed for one to four players, the role of the evil Overlord is automated by a deck of cards while all players take on
the roles of heroes. During each game,
e, the heroes battle monsters and search for treasure and equipment as they seek to
take down thee Lieutenants of the Overlord!

Object of the Game

Beforee each game, the players select their Hero, and draw a Lieutenant card to find out which Lieutenant they will be
going up against for that quest. Each quest presents the players with a randomly generated
ted dungeon, culminating in a
final battle against the Lieutenant as the guardian of each dungeon. The heroes must win before the Overlord can gain
enough Threat to complete his plans. This variant is designed to be played as a campaign with three quests linked
together to form an epic story. During a campaign, players earn upgrades and increase in power over the course of
several play sessions.

Component List
This variant is designed to be fully compatible with any combination of the base set of Descent: Journeys in the
Dark Second Edition and its many expansions. In addition to the normal components, the variant requires the
following:

• 10 custom AI Overlord cards

• 27 custom Overlord Event cards
• 24 custom Dungeon cards
• 11 custom Lieutenant cards

The Overlord cards, Travel cards, and Rumor cards for Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition are not used
in this variant.

Component Overview
AI Overlord Cards Dungeon Cards
At the end of each player’s turn, an AI When the players explore the
Overlord card is drawn and resolved. dungeon, the next tile to be placed is
AI Overlord cards can trigger various resolved by drawing a Dungeon card.
results, including activating monsters Dungeon cards will usually include a
or drawing an Overlord Event card. challenge that must be completed by
heroes before they can proceed.

Overlord Event Cards Lieutenant Cards

Some AI Overlord cards will instruct Lieutenant cards are drawn at the
the player to draw an Overlord Event beginningg of each quest. These are
card, which represents the random used to decide the Lieutenant for each
misfortunes or events that occur to the quest and the Threat level required for
heroes during the quest. the Overlord to win.

The copyrightable portions of Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, its expansions and miniatures are © 2005-2013
2005 Fantasy Flight
Publishing, Inc. Descent: Journeys
rneys in the Dark, its expansion titles and Fantasy Flight Supply are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.

© 2013 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logo are ™ or ® of
of Fantasy Flight Publishing,
Inc.
Game Setup
Setting up this variant involves different preparing the hero players and Overlord card decks. Certain quests may also
have quest specific setup instructions listed on the Lieutenant card. Before playing, set up the game as follow:

1. Hero Selection: Each player selects a Hero and Class as per the normal rules for Descent: Journeys in the
Dark Second Edition, with a minimum of two heroes and a maximum of four. If there are more heroes than
players, players may control multiple heroes of their choice.
2. Choose Skills: Each hero starts with 2 experience points (XP) to be spent as they wish.
3. Place Heroes: At the beginning of each quest, place each hero figure on the Entrance tile. Players may decide
the turn order for the Heroes: once decided, the turn order will NOT change for the rest of the quest. Players
must activate the heroes, in turn, based on this turn order.
4. Choose a Quest: Shuffle the Lieutenant cards, and draw a card. This will be the Lieutenant used for the
quest.
5. Choose Monster Groups: The Overlord starts each quest with three Monster Groups. If the Overlord has a
Minion listed on the Lieutenant card, that Monster Group gets picked automatically. Otherwise, simply draw
cards off the bottom of the deck of Monster cards to pick a random Group. Once three Monster Groups have
been selected (A, B and C), arrange them in ascending order based on the Health rating of the Master figure of
each group. In case of ties, arrange them in ascending order based on the Speed value. If two Groups are still
tied, players may decide on the order of those two Monster Groups. Monster Group A will have the lowest
Health value, while Monster Group C will have the highest.
6. Set the Location: In order to determine which side is used by the tiles of each Dungeon card (A or B), roll a
brown die at the start of each Quest. If the result is a blank, use the Wilderness side (A). Otherwise, use the
Dungeon side (B).
7. Place the first room: Shuffle all Dungeon cards, and draw a card. Place the tile with the number
corresponding to the number on the lower right corner of the Dungeon card, and follow the instructions to
set up that tile. When placing a tile, always orient it so that the numbered space is furthest from the
connecting edge, then place a Search token on the numbered space for that tile. For the first tile, place a
Master figure from Monster Group A on the furthest open edge.

Hero’s Turn
Most of the variant follows the same basic rules for the base game of Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second
Edition: during each hero’s turn, he refreshes any exhausted cards, equips items, then performs up to 2 actions.
However, the following changes are applied in this variant:

1. Explore step: Once per turn, if a hero is standing on an open edge, he may spend one movement point to
perform the Explore step. An open edge is defined as the spaces adjacent to an unconnected connector for a
tile, including those that are diagonally adjacent to the connector. Note that the Explore step does NOT
require an action, just the expenditure of a movement point without moving the hero: this includes movement
points gained from skills or spending additional Fatigue. If a hero performs the Explore step, draw a new tile
and connect it to the open edge. The new tile is oriented so that its numbered space is as far away from the
connecting edge as possible. Then, place a Search token on the numbered space for the new tile, unless the
Dungeon card specifies otherwise. Each tile may only be explored ONCE, even if it has multiple open edges. If
the new tile does not fit, place a dead end connector tile on each open edge to connect them. Figures may
move between the spaces of both dead end connectors as if they were adjacent, but they are not considered
adjacent for any other purposes, including line of sight and skill resolutions.

2. AI Overlord step: After each hero’s turn has ended, before the start of the next hero’s turn, draw an AI
Overlord card and resolve it. This will be covered in more detail on the next page.

The copyrightable portions of Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, its expansions and miniatures are © 2005-2013 Fantasy Flight
Publishing, Inc. Descent: Journeys in the Dark, its expansion titles and Fantasy Flight Supply are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.

© 2013 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logo are ™ or ® of Fantasy Flight Publishing,
Inc.
The AI Overlord
Threat Tokens
The goal of each quest is to defeat the Lieutenant before the Overlord can amass enough Threat tokens to carry out his
plans. For this variant, Threat and Fortune tokens refer to the tokens that come with any Lieutenant Pack expansion for
Descent, though players are free to substitute their own tokens if they do not own any of the Lieutenant Packs.

The main method for the AI Overlord to collect Threat tokens is exhausting the AI Overlord deck. Immediately after
the last AI Overlord card in the deck is resolved, perform the following actions:
1. The Overlord gains 1 Threat token.
2. If there are any Act I Monster Groups left, the current Hero selects one of them to be upgraded to Act II
immediately. Otherwise, the Overlord gains an additional Threat token.
3. Roll 2 red dice. Each of the Overlord’s figures, including Lieutenants, recover ≥ equal to the ≥ rolled. The
Overlord also gains 1 reinforcement token for each ± rolled.
4. If the AI Overlord now has a number of Threat tokens equal to or greater than the number in the lower right
corner of the current Lieutenant card, the AI Overlord has won. The Overlord’s dark plans are complete, and
the heroes lose the current quest! Otherwise, reshuffle the AI Overlord deck, and the next Hero is activated.

Monster Activation Cards

Many of the AI Overlord cards are Monster Activation cards. When these cards are drawn, refer to the list of actions
given on the card. All figures in that Monster Group are activated, starting with a master figure of the player’s choice,
followed by the minion figures. Lieutenants are only activated after all the figures in the Monster Group.
When activating a figure, the figure attempts to perform each action in the list, starting from the top, until two valid
actions have been performed. Any normal restrictions apply. Monsters without Ravage are only able to attack once per
activation. Stunned figures only have one action. Poisoned figures take damage (or test their ∂) when they are activated,
before they perform any actions. If the list ends before two valid actions are performed, start again from the top. If the
entire list is completed without a single valid action, the figure’s activation ends.

Target Selection
If there are multiple targets can be chosen by a monster figure, the figure will always choose the target with the
LOWEST remaining Health. If there’s a tie, then the target with the MOST ∏ tokens on its card is selected. If there’s
still a tie, then the players may choose a target for the monster figure.

Engaging a Target
When a figure engages a target, it moves as close as possible to the target until it is within range. If it is already within
range, this action is skipped. Figures with a ranged attack will move until they are 4 spaces away from the target. Figures
with a melee attack will move until they are adjacent to the target, unless they have Reach, in which case they will move
until they are 2 spaces away. When moving, figures always use the shortest available path, avoiding water and hazard
spaces as much as possible. If there are multiple shortest paths, the current player may choose which path the figure
takes. If a monster has any ability that allows it to move or enter a space, such as Burrow, it will use that ability, if
possible, during the engage action instead of a move action.

Disengaging
If a monster figure has already used up all its possible attack actions, and has no valid ability to trigger, then it will use its
remaining action to move to the nearest space that is not adjacent to an enemy figure, and is closest to the Entrance tile.

Triggering an Ability
When a figure triggers an ability, refer to the abilities on its monster card marked with a ∞ symbol. An ability is chosen
based on the AI Overlord card: if abilities are chosen from the top, then pick the first valid ability from the top of the
list on the back of the monster card. When using abilities that move heroes, such as Throw, the hero is moved to the
space closest to the Entrance tile, of the player’s choice.
The copyrightable portions of Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, its expansions and miniatures are © 2005-2013 Fantasy Flight
Publishing, Inc. Descent: Journeys in the Dark, its expansion titles and Fantasy Flight Supply are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.

© 2013 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logo are ™ or ® of Fantasy Flight Publishing,
Inc.
Master Monster Figures
When a new Dungeon card is drawn, place a master figure on the furthest open edge of the FIRST tile placed by the
Dungeon card. On the first tile, place a figure from Group A, on the second, place a figure from Group B, and on the
third, place a figure from Group C. Master figures are never reinforced except through special Overlord Event cards.

Spending Surges
During a figure’s attack, it will always spend surges in the following manner:
1. Monster figures will spend surges for Conditions first, if the attack would deal at least 1 ≥ and the target does
not already have that Condition.
2. If the attack would miss due to lack of range, then the figure will spend surges on extra Range.
3. If the target rolls ≤ equal to or greater than the Pierce value that the figure can spend a surge on, then the
figure will spend surges on Pierce.
4. Otherwise, the figure will spend its surges on dealing additional ≥.

Reinforcements, Figure Limits and Lieutenant Statistics

When playing this variant, all Monster Groups use figure limits for a 4-player game, regardless of the number of players.
The Overlord gains a reinforcement token at the end of each Hero’s activation, before the AI Overlord card is drawn.
When instructed to reinforce a Monster Group, count the total reinforcement tokens available to the Overlord, then
multiply that by 3 for Act I Groups, or multiply by 5 for Act II Groups, to calculate the Reinforcement Points (RPs)
available to spend.

If the total Reinforcement Points exceed the Health value of at least one minion figure in that Monster Group, AND
there are minion figures available that have not been placed on the map, discard as many reinforcement tokens as
required to generate enough RPs to reach the total Health value of the minion figures to reinforce.

Example: If the Overlord has 3 reinforcement tokens, and there is an Act I minion Elemental (Health 4) that has not
been placed on the map when the Overlord reinforces, then the Overlord discards 2 tokens (1 token = 3 RP, 2 tokens =
6 RPs... the excess RPs are lost) and then places the Elemental on the map, at the open edge specified on the AI Overlord
card.

The statistics for a Lieutenant depends on the number of quests already won by the heroes: if no quests have been won,
use the statistics for 2-players. If one quest has been won, use the statistics for 3-players. If two quests have been won, use
the statistics for 4-players.

Overlord Event Cards

Whenever an AI Overlord card triggers an Overlord Event card, draw the top card of the Overlord Event deck and
resolve its effects. Discard this card into a separate discard pile for Overlord Event cards. If there are no Overlord Event
cards remaining, reshuffle the discard pile. The discard pile is also reshuffled at the end of every quest.

Discarding Overlord Cards

Skills or items that can discard a card from the Overlord hand, such as the Wildlander’s Danger Sense, only apply to
Overlord Event cards. When an Overlord Event card is drawn, abilities that can discard cards from the Overlord’s hand
allow the current hero to discard the Overlord Event card and ignore its effects.

Similarly, any card or ability that allows the Overlord to draw an Overlord card will cause an Overlord Event card to be
drawn and resolved.

The copyrightable portions of Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, its expansions and miniatures are © 2005-2013 Fantasy Flight
Publishing, Inc. Descent: Journeys in the Dark, its expansion titles and Fantasy Flight Supply are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.

© 2013 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logo are ™ or ® of Fantasy Flight Publishing,
Inc.
Fortune Tokens
For each minion figure defeated, the heroes will gain a Fortune token. Fortune tokens are shared in a party pool, and the
heroes may not have more than TEN Fortune tokens at any one time. During each quest, the heroes will gain Fortune
tokens for various achievements.

There are several ways to spend Fortune tokens:

1. A hero may spend three Fortune tokens to immediately open a Town Portal on an adjacent space. This does
NOT require an action. Place a blue objective token to represent the Town Portal. Heroes may then spend an
action to enter the Town Portal to shop and heal: see the Town Portal section for more details.
2. When shopping in a Town Portal or between quests, each Fortune token is worth 25 gold. Heroes may spend
Fortune tokens to gain additional gold in order to purchase better equipment.
3. When using a Town Portal, a hero may spend 1 Fortune token to remove all ∏ suffered. Additionally, heroes
may spend any number of Fortune tokens to regain 5 ≥ for each token spent.
4. At the end of a hero’s turn, he may spend 5 Fortune tokens to skip the AI Overlord phase. No AI Overlord
card is drawn for that turn, and the next hero immediately begins his turn.
5. A hero may discard 3 Fortune tokens at any time to immediately cancel the effect of a “Until the next event is
drawn” Overlord Event card. That card is then discarded.

Looting the Dungeon

Whenever a master figure is defeated, the heroes draw a random Shop Item card, based on the Act of the defeated
Monster. Defeating an Act I master figure grants a random Act I Shop Item, while defeating an Act II master figure
grants a random Act II Shop Item.

Town Portals
A Town Portal can be placed on the map either through the Brief Respite card, or by spending three Fortune tokens.
Additionally, the Mapstone item can be used ONCE per quest to place a Town Portal on an adjacent square. Town
Portals are represented by a blue objective token, and they do NOT block movement or line of sight. A hero on a space
adjacent to a Town Portal may spend an action to use it.

When using a Town Portal, draw four Shop Item cards: one Act I card, followed by three cards based on the current Act
of each Monster Group in play. Players may buy any or all of these Shop Item cards for their printed cost.

1. Heroes may sell any items for half the printed cost, rounded down to the nearest 25 gold.
2. Search cards may be traded in for their printed value.
3. Starting equipment may be sold for 25 gold each.
4. Relics can be sold for 50 gold each.

Heroes may sell any items and Search cards, even those belonging to a hero that did not use the Town Portal. Items that
are purchased can be immediately equipped by any hero in play. After a Town Portal has been used, it is removed from
the map: remove the blue objective token to indicate the Town Portal is now closed.

Secret Rooms
Secret Rooms in this variant are handled differently from the base game. If a player draws the Secret Room search card,
and it requires a Secret Room tile to be placed, place the tile as normal. However, if a Monster challenge token is drawn,
then spawn a minion figure from Group A if possible: if not, then a figure from the next highest Monster Group is
placed. If no figures are available, the player automatically passes the Challenge.

The copyrightable portions of Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, its expansions and miniatures are © 2005-2013 Fantasy Flight
Publishing, Inc. Descent: Journeys in the Dark, its expansion titles and Fantasy Flight Supply are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.

© 2013 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logo are ™ or ® of Fantasy Flight Publishing,
Inc.
In order to resolve a Secret Room card, the player has to discard all Challenge tokens in the room and clear it of all
enemies: all heroes on the Secret Room tile are then removed and placed back on the entrance of the Secret Room, or
the nearest empty space. If an AI Overlord card requires a figure to be reinforced while a hero is in a Secret Room,
ignore that part of the card. If a hero in the Secret Room draws an AI Overlord card that triggers an Overlord Event
card, do not draw an Overlord Event card. Instead, remove the Challenge token closest to that hero.

Passing an attribute test Challenge token grants the hero a Fortune token.

Dungeon Exploration
A Dungeon card usually has two sections: a Room (with a challenge) and a simpler Corridor. Some Dungeon cards only
have a Room component. When the Dungeon card is first drawn, only place the Room tile: the Corridor section (if
any) is initially ignored.

When the players complete the Room’s challenge and explores the tile, one of the following occurs:

1. If this is the first or second Dungeon card, and the Dungeon card has a Corridor section, place the tile
indicated in the Corridor section. Then, place a master figure on the next strongest Monster Group on the
new tile: i.e. Group A on the first, Group B on the second, and Group C on the third. When a hero explores
the Corridor tile, draw a new Dungeon card.
2. If there is no Corridor section on the current card, simply draw the next Dungeon card.
3. If this is the third Dungeon card, do NOT place the Corridor tile or draw a Dungeon card. Instead, place the
Small Lair (tile 10 from the base set) and close the remaining open edge with a dead end connector. Once the
Small Lair is placed, place the Act II version of the Lieutenant on any space of the dead end connector!

Shadow of Nerekhall
If you have the Shadows of Nerekhall large expansion, some elements of it are incorporated into the game differently, in
the form of the “Gates to the Black Realm” Dungeon card. Shuffle all Corrupt Citizen cards into a separate deck, and
remove the Act I and Act II Changelings from the normal monster deck. If you draw the “Gates to the Black Realm”
Dungeon card, AND the current tile has more than one open edge, resolve the next tile as instructed on the Dungeon
card.

Victory and Defeat

If the heroes successfully defeat the Lieutenant, they immediately win the quest. In addition to any rewards listed on the
Lieutenant card, each hero gains XP depending on the number of victories they have. The first Lieutenant defeated
grants the heroes 2 XP, while the second Lieutenant grants 3 XP. If the heroes defeat three Lieutenants, they
successfully seal the Overlord in a jar and bring peace to the land: the heroes win the game!

The heroes may perform one extra Shopping step between quests: draw three Shop Item cards based on the current Act
of each Monster Group at the end of the quest. Players may buy any or all of these Shop Item cards for their printed
cost. Heroes may sell any items, even those belonging to a hero that did not use the Town Portal, for half the printed
cost, rounded down to the nearest 25 gold. Search cards may be traded in for their printed value, while Relics can be sold
for 50 gold each.

Then, return all remaining Search cards to the deck, and reshuffle the Search deck, AI Overlord cards, Overlord Event
cards, Dungeon cards and Secret Room cards. The heroes may spend any XP they have, if they wish, before the next
quest begins: draw another Lieutenant card to discover the next threat to Terrinoth!

During each campaign, the heroes are allowed ONE defeat. The first time they lose a quest, the heroes gain only 1 XP
and perform the extra Shopping step as detailed above. In the next quest, the Overlord will have one stronger Monster
Group than before. The second time they lose a quest, the heroes lose the game: the Overlord has grown too powerful to
be stopped, and Terrinoth is doomed!
The copyrightable portions of Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, its expansions and miniatures are © 2005-2013 Fantasy Flight
Publishing, Inc. Descent: Journeys in the Dark, its expansion titles and Fantasy Flight Supply are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.

© 2013 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logo are ™ or ® of Fantasy Flight Publishing,
Inc.
Overlord Grows in Power
At the end of each quest, the Overlord grows stronger. After every quest (win or lose), the Overlord begins the next
quest with an additional Monster Group starting in Act II, starting from the strongest Monster Group. For example, in
the second quest played, Monster Group C starts out in Act II: in the third quest, Monster Groups B and C start in Act
II. However, the heroes also start each quest with an advantage, because they can carry forward all Relics and equipment
into the next quest.

Special Cases
Some skills and abilities are handled differently in this variant:

Wildlander - Danger Sense

When using the Wildlander class, the player controlling the Wildlander may exhaust the Danger Sense card AFTER an
Overlord Event card is drawn. This causes the Overlord Event card to be discarded without being resolved.

Prophet - Grim Fate

When using the Grim Fate skill of the Prophet class, the hero with the insight token may exhaust the skill card and
suffer 2 ∏ to reveal the top cards of the AI Overlord deck AND the Overlord Event deck. The revealed cards can be
placed either on the top or the bottom of their respective decks.

Conjuror - Mirror Images

When using the Conjuror class, the player controlling the Conjuror rolls a blue die at the end of the hero’s turn if a
Monster Group is activated. If he rolls an ‘X’, or a number that is less than or equal to the number of mirror images on
the map, the monsters are tricked by the mirror images: they treat images as hero figures when engaging or attacking.
Otherwise, the mirror images are treated as familiars. The remaining Health of a mirror image is the same as the
Conjuror when selecting targets.

Fire Breath
When using the Fire Breath ability, instead of tracing a line of 4 spaces for the attack, every figure adjacent to the target,
except the attacker, suffers damage. Units that are friendly to the attacker suffer 1 ≥, while enemy units suffer ≥ equal
to the ≥ rolled on the blue die of the attack. Figures do NOT roll defence die to reduce this damage. In addition, if you
have the Lair of the Wyrm expansion, the target of the attack suffers Burning.

Ynfernal Hulk - Bloodrush

While engaging a target, a Ynfernal Hulk will trigger the Bloodrush ability only if:
1. It has 5 or more Health remaining
2. It would not be able to reach the target without using the ability

The copyrightable portions of Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, its expansions and miniatures are © 2005-2013 Fantasy Flight
Publishing, Inc. Descent: Journeys in the Dark, its expansion titles and Fantasy Flight Supply are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of
Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc.

© 2013 Fantasy Flight Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logo are ™ or ® of Fantasy Flight Publishing,
Inc.