Updated November 2, 2006
Following are the frequently asked questions, Selling Treasure from Chests
errata, and clarifications for the DESCENT: Heroes can no longer immediately turn in a treasure card
JOURNEYS IN THE DARK board game. Material that is from a chest to receive its full value. Instead, they must
new to this version of the FAQ is highlighted in red. carry the item back to town and sell it for half value in the
town shop.
Errata and FAQs for THE WELL OF DARKNESS
EXPANSION are on page 5 of this document. Buying Treasure Cards from the Shop
Heroes can only buy treasure cards from the shop if
Errata they’ve previously opened at least one chest of that color
this game. For example, until the heroes open at least one
A step is missing from the “Game Setup” rules on page 6
silver chest, they cannot buy silver treasures from the
of the rulebook: The overlord player should start with 3
town shop.
overlord cards and 0 threat tokens.
The power surges example on page 10 of the rulebook Pits and Line of Sight
mentions a card named “Mace of Kellos.” This card was Figures in a pit can see into the spaces adjacent to the pit.
removed from the game late in development. (It may see This prevents a problem from occurring with the Grapple
later publication.) ability.
Vitality potions should cost 50 coins, not 25 as listed on Small Monsters and Staircases
page 20 of the Quest Guide. By using one movement point, a small monster may move
from one space containing a staircase to any space con-
Landrec the Wise’s special ability should state that he taining a staircase of the same color.
“receives 2 free surges on all attack rolls.”
Knockback and Large Monsters
In the first quest, one of the razorwings in Area 3 is placed Large monsters (monsters that occupy more than
off the map. It should be placed one space to the south. one space) are heavier and therefore less affected by
In some cases the Quest Guide calls for more monsters Knockback. For each space beyond the first that the mon-
than are included in the game. For these quests, use other ster occupies, it is moved one less space by Knockback.
monster figures or tokens to represent the extra monsters For example, an ogre occupies four spaces, so it would
as necessary. These instances are detailed on the errata move three fewer spaces when affected by the Knockback
sheet available on FFG’s website (http://www.fantasy- ability. A dragon, on the other hand, occupies six spaces,
flightgames.com/PDF/descentinsert.pdf). so it would move five fewer spaces.
Rule Changes and Clarifications Runelocked Doors and Named Monsters
Named monsters may open runelocked doors, whether or
The following rules have been changed or clarified to not the heroes have the runekey to that door. However,
improve gameplay. named monsters still cannot open any door leading into an
unrevealed area.
Drinking Potions
Each hero may only drink 1 potion (of any type) each Breath Template Clarification
turn. This prevents players from using certain overly pow- The flame from a Breath attack billows out and around
erful potion combinations. obstacles. It usually affects all figures under the breath
template, but the flame can be blocked by walls and
Discarding Overlord Cards for Threat closed doors. Essentially, if a small flying figure could
The overlord can discard cards for threat tokens at any trace a legal movement path from the square where the
time, even during a hero player’s turn. Breath attack starts to the target – while staying within the
breath template – then the target is affected. See the dia-
gram on page 3 of this FAQ for examples. Breath attacks A: Yes, as the rules state on page 4, “The direction a fig-
cannot be made through staircases. ure is facing has no effect in the game. Heroes and mon-
sters are assumed to be constantly looking around and can
Skye therefore see in all directions.”
Skye has the Fly ability, but can also end its movement in
the same space as another figure. Q: Can stunned heroes perform movement actions (such
as drinking a potion)?
Card Revisions A: Yes, if the stunned hero chooses to receive movement
points rather than attacking or placing an order. A stunned
(Replacements for the following cards are included in The hero can also freely spend fatigue for movement points.
Well of Darkness expansion.)
Q: Can a hero that chooses the “Run” action use his
Beastman movement points for purposes other than moving (such as
Beastmen have +1 Damage instead of Pierce 1, and drinking a potion)?
Master Beastmen have +2 Damage instead of Pierce 2. A: Yes. Whenever a hero receives movement points, he
can use them for any movement action, including moving,
Skeleton drinking a potion, opening a door, etc.
Skeletons have Pierce 1, and Master Skeletons have Pierce
Q: In town, are you limited in how many items you can
2.
buy or sell and do you have to buy and sell in any specific
order?
Bow (a shop item) A: You can buy and sell in any order and as often as you
The Bow has Pierce 1. like.
Bow of Bone (a silver treasure) Q: Can a hero rest in town?
The Bow of Bone should not have “: Burn.” A: Yes.
Q: On page 18, the rules for “Copper Treasure” state
Golden Armor (a silver treasure)
that “each Hero draws one card from the copper treasure
The complete abilities of Golden Armor are:
deck.” If a chest has 2 copper treasure tokens, does each
+3 Armor hero draw 2 copper treasure cards?
Your base speed is reduced to 3. A: Yes.
You cannot equip Runes.
Q: Can familiars jump over pits? Can they use transport
You are immune to Grapple and Daze. glyphs?:
A: No on both counts.
Dragon Scale Mail (a gold treasure)
The complete abilities of Dragon Scale Mail are: The Overlord Player’s Turn
Q: When the overlord is controlling a hero through “Dark
+4 Armor Charm,” who decides how to spend the surges and power
Your base speed is reduced to 3. dice? Can the overlord move the character and attack, or
You cannot equip Runes. just make a single attack without moving?
You are immune to Bleed, Burn, and Poison. A: The overlord controls the hero for that attack, including
the hero’s use of surges and power dice. The overlord may
Frequently Asked Questions also play cards such as “Aim” with the attack. However,
the overlord player cannot move the character, or force the
The Hero Player’s Turn
hero to spend fatigue to add to the attack.
Q: Can a hero give any type of item to an adjacent hero,
or just weapons and potions? Q: Is the effect of the overlord’s “Dodge” card that the
A: A hero may give any item to an adjacent hero at the hero’s attack completely misses, or that the overlord can
cost of one movement point. A hero may never give force the hero to re-roll dice rolled for the attack, as with
money to another hero. the hero dodge orders?
A: The “Dodge” card allows the overlord to force re-rolls.
Q: When can a hero equip items?
A: A hero can equip, drop, or place items in his pack at Q: Can a monster end its movement on or be spawned on
the beginning of his turn, just after refreshing cards. In to a glyph of transport?
addition, whenever a hero receives an item from another A: Monsters can end their movement on or be spawned
player or from a chest, he may immediately equip that on to unactivated glyphs, but cannot end their movement
item, dropping or placing other items in his pack to free on or be spawned on to activated glyphs. If a monster is
up the hands necessary for the just-received item. on an activated glyph, the overlord must move it off the
glyph on his next turn, if possible. Monsters can always
Q: Does a hero have 360 degree line of sight?
move through or attack into spaces containing glyphs.
Breath Attack Blocking Examples
The diagram above shows how a section of the In the above example, the Breath attack billows
dungeon looks just before a Hell Hound makes a around the curve in the hallway and through the
Breath attack. rubble obstacle, reaching both heroes under the
breath template. Notice that a flying figure stand-
In the other three diagrams, the spaces that are
ing on the “start” (leftmost) space of the breath
shaded yellow show which spaces are affected by
template could trace a movement path to both
the Breath attack, and the red squares show the
heroes.
spaces that the Breath attack is unable to reach.
In the above example, the Breath attack is almost In this example, a door has been added. The door
entirely blocked by the dungeon walls. Even blocks the Breath attack, so only one of the heroes
though the breath template reaches the heroes, is affected by the attack.
a flying figure on the “start” space of the breath
template would not be able to stay within the
confines of the breath template and trace a legal
movement path to either of the heroes.
Q: Can the overlord receive threat tokens for making an The Well of Darkness Expansion Errata
attack even though there are no valid targets (that is, no
and FAQs
heroes within the monster’s range and line of sight)?
A: No. Only attacks that actually target a hero can grant Furr the Spirit Wolf
the overlord any threat. Furr the Spirit Wolf’s attack is a melee attack even though
Q: Can the overlord play more than one “Rage” card on it rolls the white die. In addition, Furr can only attack
a single monster? when his owner has a clear line of sight to Furr and is
A: No. within 5 spaces of him.
Special Abilities Quest 1: Buried Alive
Q: Can an attacker using Knockback move the target in If a familiar or the Haunt is killed due to being on one of
any direction, or just straight back? Also, can the target the map pieces that is removed because of the mine col-
be knocked back into a pit? lapse, the figure is immediately placed back on the board
A: The attacker with Knockback can move the target in in one of the remaining map spaces that is closest to the
any direction, including into a pit or other trap. figure’s previous location (if there are multiple closest
spaces, the overlord player’s chooses).
Q: Do special abilities stack?
A: Special abilities that require you to spend surges are Quest 2: Spider’s Web
designed to stack. So if you have an ability such as Heroes may only use glyphs that they themselves have
“: +1 Damage and Pierce 1,” and you pay 3 surges, you activated until the glyph in Area 4 is activated.
gain +3 Damage and Pierce 3. Some items may explic-
Quest 4: A Small Problem
itly limit your surge spending/stacking, but those are the
The contents of the gold chests in this quest were inadver-
exception to the rule.
tently left out of the rulebook. They should be:
Miscellaneous Gold 1: 2 Conquest Tokens, 1 Curse, 1 Gold Treasure
Q: How much fatigue would it cost a hero with Telekinesis Gold 2: 1 Conquest Token, 1 Healing Potion, 1 Gold
to move a hero out of a pit? Treasure
A: One fatigue.
Quest 8: The Spiral of Death
Q: Can a player with Telekinesis use it to move a hero
The 2-space water obstacle in Area 1 should be a 1-space
that is caught in a web?
water obstacle, occupying only the southern half of the
A: Yes. However, the web token would stay with the
corridor.
moved hero.
What happens if you are on a lava space at the beginning
Q: Can a hero kill another hero in order to trigger
of your turn and you don’t move?
“Divine Retribution”?
If you begin your turn on a damaging effect, such as lava
A. No. Divine Retribution only triggers when an enemy
or a monster’s aura, and do not move off of it, you are
figure kills the hero.
damaged by it at the end of your turn.
Q: If a flying monster passes through a hero that has Holy
If a hero with “Earth Pact” spends movement points in
Aura, does the monster suffer a wound for the space it
town to shop, has he “moved” during the turn and is thus
“shares” with the hero?
ineligible for the ability's health bonus?
A: No.
Yes, shopping in town counts as moving for purposes of
Q: When a chest explodes because of the “Explosive this ability.
Rune” card, does the hero standing on the chest suffer
Can the overlord play “Spiked Pit” or “Crushing Block”
wounds, or just the heroes adjacent to the chest?
if all 1-space pit and rubble markers are already on the
A: The hero standing on the chest suffers wounds.
board?
Q: Why can’t I jump over water like I can pits? Yes, as with monster figures, you can remove old trap
A: As every hero knows, the dank water found in subterra- markers in order to place new trap markers.
nean caverns is usually infested with deadly bloodsquids,
ready to pull an unwary hero to his doom at a moment’s
notice. As a result, only the most acrobatic heroes dare
to leap across even the most innocent-seeming pools of
water.
