Nerdook’s Solo/Co-op Variant

A Fan-Made Variant for Descent 2.0 (Version 2.1.0)

Game Overview
Nerdook’s Solo/Co-op variant is a fan-made variant for Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second 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, the heroes battle monsters and search for treasure and equipment as they seek to
take down the Lieutenants of the Overlord!

Object of the Game

Before 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 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:

• 18 custom AI Overlord cards

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

These custom cards are meant to be printed out and sleeved into existing Descent cards, replacing the Overlord cards,
Travel cards, and Rumor cards for Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition.

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 The number in the lower right
or drawing an Overlord Event card. represents the number of the tile to be
Each AI Overlord card also has a placed, while the card details the setup
monster trait symbol in the lower for the new tile.
right corner, to select the monsters used in each Quest.

Overlord Event Cards Lieutenant Cards

Some AI Overlord cards will instruct Lieutenant cards are drawn at the
the player to draw an Overlord Event beginning 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 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.
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. Unlike a normal game
of Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, heroes do NOT need to have Skill cards with a lower
XP value before they can purchase a higher XP Skill card: they may spend the initial 2 XP on a single 2 XP
Skill card if they wish to do so. They do not need to spend all their XP, and may retain their XP to be spent in
a later quest.
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. Unless the
Lieutenant card specifies which Monster Groups to use, pick three Monster Groups by shuffling all the
Monster cards and AI Overlord cards, then draw three AI Overlord cards. For each card drawn, pick a random
Monster card that matches the monster trait on the lower right of the AI Overlord card. 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. 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 space with the number 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.

Turn Order
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 the open edge of the tile, 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 a movement point: this includes movement points gained from skills, items,
or spending additional Fatigue. If a hero performs the Explore step, draw a new Dungeon card and connect the
corresponding tile to the current 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. 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 In Detail
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 the Reshuffle card in the AI Overlord deck.
Whenever this card is drawn, the current number of discarded AI Overlord cards are counted:
1. If there are 3 cards or less in the discard pile, the Reshuffle card is reshuffled into the AI Overlord deck, but
the discard pile is NOT reshuffled. Then, the curent player draws another AI Overlord card.
2. If there are between 4 and 9 cards in the discard pile, the AI Overlord gains one Threat token.
3. If there are between 10 or more cards in the discard pile, the AI Overlord gains two Threat tokens.
4. If the AI Overlord now has a number of Threat tokens equal to or higher 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!

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 from a master figure of the player’s choice,
with the minion figures activated last. 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, such as monsters without Ravage only being 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.

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.

Triggering an ability: When a figure triggers an ability, this refers to 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.

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 have been a miss due to lack of range, then the figure will spend surges on extra Range.
3. If the target rolls ≤ equal to or more 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 ≥.

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.
Respawning, 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.
If a figure from a Monster Group is respawned, always place Minion figures first. If all the Minion figures are already on
the map, then place a Master figure from that Monster Group.

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 a Reckoning card is drawn, draw the top card of the Overlord Event card and resolve its effects. This card is
then discarded 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
allows 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.

Fortune Tokens
During each quest, the heroes will gain Fortune tokens for various achievements. 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.

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.

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. 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.
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.

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.
Dungeon Exploration
The Lieutenant appears on the map once five rooms have been added to the dungeon. Note that some larger tiles are
counted as two rooms, and may reduce the number of tiles required before the Lieutenant appears. Once the fifth room
is placed, immediately place the Lieutenant on the furthest open edge from the connected edge.

The first two rooms placed will use the Wilderness side (A side) of the tile. If at least two rooms have been explored, and
the heroes perform an Explore step, the current player places a Wilderness to Dungeon transition connector, and a
Locked Door is placed on the border between the two sides of this connecting tile. This is the Dungeon Door. The open
edge behind the Dungeon Door is NOT considered an open edge for respawning purposes, as long as the Dungeon
Door remains closed: if no other open edges are available, additional monsters will respawn on the Entrance tile.

In order to open the Dungeon Door, the heroes have to perform a specific action:

1. If the players do not have any expansion sets that add Secret Rooms, a hero must spend an action while
adjacent to the Dungeon Door and successfully test the same attribute as the current Lieutenant’s highest
attribute. For example, if the current Lieutenant’s highest attribute is ∂, then the hero must spend an action
and successfully test ∂. If the hero fails, he may spend another action to test ∂ again. If the hero succeeds, the
Dungeon Door is opened.
2. If the players have an expansion that adds Secret Rooms, a hero must spend an action while adjacent to the
Dungeon Door to draw a Secret Room card. The hero must then resolve the Secret Room successfully to open
the Dungeon Door: see the Secret Room section on the following pages. This is in addition to any rewards
normall granted on a Secret Room card. If the Secret Room card instructs the player to place a Secret Room
tile, then the player may immediately place his hero on the entrance of the Secret Room tile. If the required
Secret Room tile is already in play, draw another Secret Room card.
Other heroes may enter the same Secret Room to help resolve the card, BUT heroes may NOT leave the
Dungeon Door’s Secret Room tile until it is resolved.

Once the Dungeon Door is open, the heroes may perform an Explore step as normal on the Dungeon side open edge
(side B) of the connector tile. Note that the connector tile does NOT count as a room.

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 figure from Group A if possible (minions spawn before masters): if not, then a figure from the next highest
Monster Group is placed. If no figures are available, the player automatically passes the Challenge.

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 spawned while hero is in a Secret Room, ignore
that part of the card. If a hero in the Secret Room draws the Reckoning AI Overlord 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 an additional Fortune token.

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.

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.
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. This can be beneficial, but remember that minion figures always spawn first: if the
heroes manage to defeat a master figure, the dungeon will already be crawling with its minions!

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.