These are optional rules from the German distributor of Descent, Heidelberger

Spieleverlag. You may consider them semi-official, as the come packaged and in the
“official” layout with the German version of this great game. The copyright for these
rules thus belongs to Heidelberger Spieleverlag, the translation is a voluntary work by
Martin Kramer (BGG: The New Romance). Have fun! :)

Optional rules
Descent – Journeys in the Dark, is a fantasy voyage into gloomy dungeons. We, the
Heidelberger Spieleverlag, are big fans of this kind of game. Even though Descent already is
a very complex tactical fantasy-boardgame, we believe that it even has greater potential. The
possibility to develop own scenarios is one, but we think that Descent is able to close in on
real RPGs. The rules that we’re going to suggest here shall mainly serve the purpose of
creating a deeper atmosphere and allowing for more realistic gameplay. Descent enables
you to invent and implement own rules and stories. Because of that, our suggestions are –
just as any rule – not more than that: suggestions! The available options are playable
independently from each other. However, because some of them favour the heroes or the
overlord more or less, you should carefully decide which options to choose simultaneously.
The ideas have been created by the Heidelberger Spieleverlag Kreativ-Team, nonetheless
we have noticed that a lot of players have come up with them as well.

Please note: The description of the dungeon is an integral part of the game’s atmosphere.
They have been rendered quite short in the Quest Book in order to keep the game flow going.
Anyway, we encourage you not to simply read these descriptions out but – like in a real
fantasy RPG – to enrich them with details and add more decoration (e.g. what kind of
monsters are there, what’s going on in the room etc.)

Option 1: Fog of War

Should a party of heroes prefer to discover an unexplored dungeon, the overlord may skip
the suggested complete deployment of the rooms and hallways. This makes their
heroes task of planning their way through the dungeon a bit more difficult.

Option 2: Treasure Chests

Standard rules state that when a chest is opened (copper, silver, gold), every hero may draw
a treasure card from the respective pile (according to the scenario rules). This rule causes a
fast and massive rearmament of the party, which in turn spawns a need for stronger
opponents in order to keep the game exciting. If you want to shape the development of a
scenario less stepwise, we suggest you follow these guidelines when distributing treasure:
The hero who opens a chest is the only one to get a card from the matching pile. The
number of money he gets is still calculated per hero, but it is all given to the opener.
All other effects remain in place (curses and conquest tokens).

The immediate conversion of treasure cards into money is left out. Selling is only possible in
town. This makes valuable equipment scarce and causes more exchange between the
heroes. Of course this weakens the heroes, so you may want to adjust the scenario. Possible
solutions are additional conquest tokens, more chests or fewer monsters. This rule requires
some “feeling”, but it also adds much to the excitement of a quest. Also included is the
restriction of buying treasure in town – you may now only buy treasure of a type you have
already found in the dungeon.
Option 3: Recovered Gold
This rule stipulates that money/gold collected from the ground is no longer distributed
amongst all players, but is completely given to the finder. (Example: A hero opens a
copper treasure chest, which contains 100 gold and 1 copper treasure. As there are four
heroes in the game, the lucky one who opened it gains 400 gold and his copper treasure.)
This enforces realistic gameplay and makes heroes who carry around loads of money a
more attractive target to the overlord. Any amount of gold may be transferred to another hero
in your own turn for one movement point.

Option 4: Bad Steel

This option is suggested especially if you didn’t choose option 2. Despite the blacksmith’s
skills, the heroes weapons are subject to heavy exposure and strain. Thus they’re prone to
breaking.
After every miss (X), a hero must roll a power die. Whether the weapon is damaged is
subject to its quality.

Type of weapon Damaging result

Market weapon Power enhancement
Copper weapon Power surge
Silver weapon Blank
Gold weapon Blank
Relic - indestructible -

Damaged weaponry loses half its selling value (i.e. it retains 25% of its original value). The
damaged weapon can still be used to fight, although a hero who attacks with it loses one
black power die (if available) for every damage the weapon had to suffer. The weapon is
completely destroyed as soon as it is damaged three times. While in town, a player may pay
half the weapon’s value to have it being repaired.

Example: Andira Runehand uses a Magic Wand she bought at the market. After rolling a
miss in an attack, she did not only fail to do damage but her weapon is now endangered as
well. She rolls a power enhancement with a black die and her wand is damaged. This is kept
track of by putting a threat token onto her weapon card. She is now only allowed to roll a
white, a yellow and two black dice. Even though she might still hit, it’s now time to think about
a new weapon.

Option 5: Search Operation

A search operation works just like a normal order and requires the action Ready. Depending
on which other options you chose to play with, the results of a search operations may vary.
The value of your Subterfuge skill is important during such an operation as it determines the
area around your hero that is being examined. This radius isn’t disrupted by corners. The
search operation is usually activated at the beginning of the player’s turn. He/she
chooses a Guard order and puts it under his/her hero’s figure. The hero is now carefully
peering around as he moves and may discover (inside the radius determined by his
Subterfuge skill) things as treasure tokens or hidden monsters (depending on the other
optional rules that are being used). He’s also able to avoid traps that way.

Option 6: Dark Corners

When entering an unexplored area, standard rules state that everything in that area becomes
visible immediately. We suggest to place monsters according to the heroes’ line of sight.
They only become visible as soon as the heroes are able to see them – imagine it as the
monsters hiding in the shadows. Should a monster get into a hero’s LOS, it is placed in the
dungeon right away. Hidden monsters cannot move; however the overlord always has the
possibility to make them visible (e.g. they make a noise and give their position away) so that
he isn’t penalized. Monsters in dark corners may be discovered through a search operation
(see option 5).
Treasure objects like potions or gold are treated differently, though. They are so small that
they can only be found if one moves onto the respective square or conducts a search
operation close to them (according to option 5)! Treasure chests, glyphs and props (like pits)
should be placed directly anyways to keep the game going.

Option 7: Safe Chambers

The immediate spawning of monsters in a room they just crossed and cleaned out can be
somehow irritating to the heroes. The use of a search operation (option 5) temporarily
secures a corridor or a room and prevents monsters from creeping around directly
afterwards. In order to do this, a hero throws a number of black power dice according to his
Subterfuge skill. The quantity of power enhancements rolled equals the number of overlord
turns where no new monsters may be placed inside that room. Monsters that existed
previously may still move into these rooms. Secured chambers are marked with a matching
number of conquest tokens. If more than one hero attempts to secure the room, the
successes are added up.

Example: Ker the Grey wants to fortify a room against emerging monsters. He chooses
Ready as action. He moves and then makes a search operation. His Subterfuge skill is 3, so
he takes 3 power dice and rolls them. He gets 2 power enhancements and thus puts 2
conquest tokens into the room. Ronan the Wild decides to aid him. He also chooses Ready,
then uses the search operation. His Subterfuge skill is 2, so he only gets 2 power dice. He
rolls another power enhancement – the overlord now must not place any monsters inside the
room for 3 turns.

Option 8: Solid Ground

Traps may be hidden everywhere, but the heroes have the means to discover them. A
search operation (see option 5) enables them to avoid traps in a certain radius, making
it sure not to trigger any traps during their turn. This only applies to traps on room
squares – those on doors or on chests are not affected.

Option 9: True Line of Sight

Heroes crawling through a dungeon are under constant stress and look around them quite
often. However, they don’t have eyes on the back of their heads. This option provides
possibilities for advanced positional play.
Two areas of sight are distinguished: the area in front of the hero (beginning at his flanks)
and his back area (everything behind the side squares). It is now relevant to where the hero
figure is facing; it may not be positioned in a diagonal way. During his own turn, a hero
may look into every direction at any time, but at the end of his turn the figure must be
positioned into a fixed direction. Excluded from this rule is a hero who carries out a Guard
order, as his eyes are really wandering into every direction permanently.
To prevent the overlord from spawning a monster right behind a hero, he has to obey the
following rule: a monster may never be spawned closer than 3 squares away from a hero.

Option 10: The Traitor

This option should only be used in a four-player game and only in carefully chosen and
specially adjusted scenarios. The “The Renegade” quest has been tailored towards that rule.
The heroes in Descent are true heroes – but every hero has his story. Huge debts, a
kidnapped sister, a curse upon him and the like. That’s why a hero may turn against his
group if the considers it necessary.

Before the game starts, the overlord takes out 5 cards from his overlord deck, one of which
has the be the “Dark Charm” card. These are then shuffled with every hero drawing one. One
is left for the overlord, the other four may only be looked at by their holder. Afterwards, they
are handed back to the overlord. He may not inspect them before shuffling them back into his
deck! He only knows the one card he kept.
From now on, all cards except “Dark Charm” have no special effect upon the game. However,
the hero who drew “Dark Charm” is a traitor and is secretly working together with the overlord.
Of course it is possible that there is no traitor at all, of nobody got the card – but only the
overlord would know then!
The traitor and the overlord may win the game together as soon as the traitor has been
uncovered. This can only happen through the fulfilling of a certain requirement, never
voluntarily! The traitor should behave just as a normal group member would, until the time for
his deception has come. Until then, he may not deal damage to his group; he may only play
passively or perform mischievous actions – although then he might blow up his cover quite
soon. If the overlord wins before the traitor is found, victory belongs to him alone. A
confrontation between the heroes and the traitor/overlord side only occurs when the
requirements are met.
Then, the overlord changes his monster overview cards to have them show the values for a
three-heroes game (which means four persons altogether). From now on there are only 3
true heroes left, the treachery is complete. The traitor now takes his turn directly before the
overlord. His turn is structured like that of a normal hero, however he has now sided with the
overlord and may thus attack other players. He wins and loses together with the overlord.
Should the heroes manage to kill the traitor, they gain one conquest token. Anyway, the
overlord is able to resurrect his minion by sacrificing a single monster (free choice). The
traitor is placed on the square the removed monster occupied and may throw himself into
action as soon as it’s his turn again. He always keeps the equipment he held at the moment
he was revealed, potions and gold included. However he may not pick up further treasures in
the dungeon and is not allowed to go to town anymore.
This option introduces a whole new element to the world of Descent: Mistrust. Although the
heroes may join forces over a long part of the game, they’ll always keep an eye on each
other and will only grudgingly accept a hero to collect much worthwile equipment.
Nonetheless, they will always have to rely on each other, and who knows – perhaps there is
not even a traitor amongst their ranks!

The mentioned quest, “The Renegade”, is included in the German version of Descent. If you
want me to translate it too, please just mail me on BGG.com, and if enough people express
that desire, I’ll see what I can do!
Have fun, everyone!