Dungeon Twister Rules Clarifications

Rather than have a long-running list of clarifications which require constant re-linking and back-linking, I will update this same entry as new clarifications become necessary.

Even though these aren't technically errata, I will tag them as such for ease of classification.

Also: If you don't see it here (or just want a very useful resource to check for DT FAQ Questions), go here.

Last Updated: May 22, 2011

Revealing A Room
This is very unclear in the English release - and it's my fault, as I'd never played the game before I helped with the rules. When a room is revealed, the player revealing the room places ALL characters, and all of their opponent's Objects. Then the opponent places the revealer's Objects.

There are two exceptions (so far) to this:
Players will always place their own Cursed Items.
The player who reveals the room will always place Torches.

Even with the exceptions, the order remains the same - the player who revealed the room places everything they are permitted to place first, and then their opponent places the rest.

Order of Resolution for Combat
It's not as important with the basic set, but it becomes important with later expansions.

First, the Attacking Player makes (and declares) all decisions relevant to the combat at hand - which items to use or not use (including available 0 AP items), which optional character abilities to use, and so on.

Next, the Defending player makes (and declares) all decisions relevant to the combat at hand (again, including all items or optional character abilities).

Then the Attacking Player chooses and lays a combat card face-down.
Then the Defending Player chooses and lays a combat card face-down.

Note that there are character abilities (such as the Weapon Master) or items (such as the Scroll of Confusion) which can override the card-laying step.

Finally, both cards are turned up simultaneously and a winner is determined.

The Rope
When used to cross an obstacle square, the rope must have two valid anchor squares. One of these squares must be the square the character holding the rope leaves before entering the obstacle square with the rope. A good rule of thumb is that a valid anchor square is one which is safe for the character carrying the rope to move through. The primary exception to this rule of thumb is that if there is an enemy character in a square, it can still be used as a valid anchor square for the rope.

Squares which are normally obstacles, but which are 'disarmed' due to the presence of another rope, your Thief or a shield can also be used as valid anchor squares.

Weapons
All weapons grant their bonus and/or other special ability while attacking only. While defending, characters may not use any weapons. This applies to all weapons and all special effects of weapons. For example, the Dragon Slayer will not instantly kill a Dragon while on the defense, nor does it provide its +4 bonus when defending.

Armor and Shields
Armor and shields are continuous effects. Even wounded characters can benefit from their protection. They are useful only when defending, never when attacking.

Fireball Wand
This item is restricted to the Wizard. It is not a Scroll, and may not be used by other Magic-Users.

0 AP Items
0 AP items will be introduced to the English-speaking audience with the release of Forces of Darkness. They fall into two basic categories:

- 0 AP items which may be used freely at any time
- 0 AP items which must be used as though they were an action

Use of a 0 AP item which must be used as though it were an actions is treated exactly as though that character had taken an action, but does not cost the controlling player an Action Point. The Torch from Forces of Darkness is an example of this. The First Golden Rule applies to these items. This means that, if a character wishes to use a torch to reveal Darkness squares, they cannot move/illuminate/continue moving (unless, of course, they wish to spend another Action Point to do so).

0 AP items which may be freely used at any time include the Potion of Strength from Mercenaries. These may be used even in the middle of an action - I can, for example, declare that I am initiating combat, and then decide to drink the Potion of Strength. These 0 AP items may also be used on your opponent's turn - if you are holding the Potion of Strength and I declare an attack, you may choose to drink the potion as part of your decision-making step in the combat. The key phrase to look for in the rules is "this item may be used at any time."

Placing Tokens Behind Your Starting Line
In Tournament play, every time one of your characters escapes the maze, you place that character's token between your starting line and the end of the table. Every time you kill an opposing character, you place that character's token between your starting line and the end of the table. If you get the treasure out of the maze, you set the treasure token (all together now) between your starting line and the end of the table.

This allows other players passing by to look and easily see the score without interrupting the game or distracting the players. The English release of Forces of Darkness references this in regards to Zombies to avoid accidentally summoning a fourth Zombie over the course of a game.

Token Characters
There are characters for whom stand-ups are not provided. The first of these appear in Forces of Darkness (the Zombies), but there are more coming in later expansions. These characters still have a healthy state and a wounded state. When a Token Character is wounded, turn the token face-down. Since all wounded characters have a base combat value of 0, it shouldn't make a difference.

Suicide
There is only one terrain which permits suicide by itself - the Falling Rocks squares which are introduced in Paladins and Dragons.

You can kill your own characters via the Remote Traps in Mercenaries, but the character has to be on the trap before it is triggered.

The Fire Elemental is permitted to wander into the water to kill himself in Fire & Water.

You can carry your own wounded undead into the Sacred Tomb, or walk your own undead into the Holy Cross in Forces of Darkness.

A good rule of thumb to follow for awarding VP's is this: Whenever a character is killed, the Victory Point for that death goes to the opponent of the player who normally controls that character - in a 2-player game, a Blue character's death will always give points to the Yellow player and vice versa. If you suicide in a 3/4 player game, then all of your opponents will get the appropriate points.

The Small Bridge
There have been questions about what causes a small bridge to break - does a sword increase my Strength? What about a Potion of Strength? A General? The answer is that the character must have a base strength of four or more to fall through. "Base strength" being defined as "the number printed on the character token." The reason for the line about characters of Strength of four or more finding themselves on the bridge has to do with the Ring of Repulsion - you can push characters onto the bridge that would otherwise not be able to move onto it.

Adjacency
This game has no diagonal effects (with the exception of one promo character). The Base Game doesn't specifically spell out that diagonal is not equal to adjacent, but Page 4 has some red text that states, "In Dungeon Twister, no Action, movement or shot can be performed diagonally." Also worth noting: if you look at the example on Page 8, it references characters being "In contact with" other characters. This is something I missed when reviewing the initial translation. "In contact with" should in all instances be read as "Adjacent to."