dragon masters

8/2/2019 Dragon Masters

1/8

THE FANTASY GAME OF CONQUEST ANDADVENTUREThis is a game for 3 or 4 players, each playercontrolling a High Elven Prince. Starting fromtheir home castles, players take it in turns toamass dragons, collect and spend gold, raisearmies, explore the surrounding wilderness, dobattle with other Princes, and play event cards.Dragons are acquired by rolling a dice at thebeginning of a player's tum. They are put togetherin a dragon horde which should be kept hiddenfrom the view of the other players. Dragons areused in combat and in dragon raids. Themaximum size of a horde is limited by the numberof dragon models available (ie, 2 Emperor and 4Battle Dragons per player).Gold is acquired according to how much territorya Prince controls. It may be spent to acquiresettlements (villages and cities), ships, and/orWizards and Horses. One Wizard per player maybe bought to use of the Spellswhich crop up intheEvent Card deck. One Horse per player may bebought to enable a Prince to double movementthrough a friendly area into any other area.

Armies are raised at the rate of one per Castle andone per City controlled by the Prince. Themaximum number of Armies which may bedeployed at anyone time is set by the number ofArmy pieces available (ie, 9 per player in a 4-player game).Exploration counters are placed face down in eacharea of the board at the start of the game.Whenever a Prince moves into an area with anexploration counter, it is turned over and theinstructions followed. As long as an Army orsettlement remains in the area, it counts ascontrolled by the Prince. If the Army is moved, orthe settlement destroyed, a new explorationcounter is placed face down in the area, andcontrol is lost.Event cards may be played at any time (unless therules on the card say otherwise) and at the end oftheir tum, each player draws a new card, but maynever hold more than 3. When the Year End cardis drawn for the second time, the game is over andthe richest Prince wins!

GAME DESIGNIAN LIVINGSTONEBOX COVER: Christos AchilleosGAME BOARD: Alan Merrett

CARDS, COUNTERS, &RULEBOOK ART:Tony Ackland, Dave Andrews, John Blanche,Paul Bonner Gary Chalk, David GallagherEDITING: Phil Gallagher

PRODUCTION: Andy Warwickand Mark WattsPLAYTESTING: Ian Butterworth,Tony Harmon, Steve Jackson, John Peake,Skye Quin &Mark Spangenthal

Copyright Ii:) 1991 Games Workshop Ltd . All Rights Reserved.

Games Workshop is a registered t rademark of Games Worl tshop Ltd.All artworl< in all Games Workshop products and the images

con ta ined therein have been produced either in-house or as work forh ir e. The exclusive copyr ight on the artwork and the images i t depicts

is the property of Games Worl


2/8

DRAGON MASTERS - Description of Components

ELVES &DRAGONSCenturies ago, when menwere still living in caves, theElves were brought acrossthe ocean to the island ofUlthuan. It was a wild,untamed island, shaped like aring, with a deep lagoon atthe hub. A vast range ofmountains ran around themiddle of the ring, dividing itinto an inner realm and anouter. It was in the dark cavesfound in the highest peaks ofthese mountains that theElves first encounteredDragons.The Dragons were an ancientrace even then. Haughty andpowerful, they did not takekindly to the elven invasionfrom across the sea. But theElves were mighty sorcerers- the Old Slann who hadbrought them from the OldWorld had taught them muchabout the invisible powersthat seeped into the worldfrom the Realm of Chaos,and the Elves were goodpupils. They were masters atdirecting and controllingthese forces of magic, whilethe Dragons' main weaponlay in the power of theirbreath. The war between theDragons and the Elves was acostly one. Many an elvensettlement was reduced toashes, melted by acid, orchoked in sulphurous smoke.And many a mighty wyrmwas slain by elven sorcery orskewered by magical swordsand spears. In the end, theDragons and the Elves cameto an understanding - theDragons' lairs in the highmountain peaks were to beleft as sacred places, wherethe Elves would not troublethem. In return, the Elveswere to have dominion overthe lowlands, the hills and theforests.

2

DESCRIPTION OF COMPONENTSThe playing board represents a part of Ulthuan, the Elven Kingdoms, and isdivided into 10 Sea Areas (5 Open Seas and 5 Islands) and 36 Land Areas (6Castles - shown by colour illustrations, 5 Coasts, 5 Forests, 5 River areas - theseare not Valleys, 5 Valleys - the hills to each side of the river, 5 Mountains, and 5Plains).Event Cards: There are 55 Event cards and 1 Year End card (see page 6).Purchase Cards: There are 8 Purchase cards: 4 Horse cards and 4 Wizard cards(see page 4).Exploration Counters: 14 Sea Exploration counters, and 40 Land Explorationcounters (see page 4).Playing Pieces: There are plastic models to represent a total of 24 Villages, 4 Cities,4 Castles, 36 Armies, 4 Ships, 32 Flagpoles and 24 Dragons. The Dragons come in 2sizes - smaller Battle Dragons and larger Emperor Dragons.Gold pieces: There are 8 sets of plastic gold pieces in various denominations.Sticky-Backed Banners: There are four sets of banners in different colours, one foreach player. Fix these to the army models and to the flag poles before you start toplay.Each player controls a Prince and the 4 banners with the largest symbols are used toshow which of the armies represent the 4 Princes and their entourages.The other banners are attached to the remaining armies and to the plastic flagpoleswhich fit into the village, city, and castle pieces. These are used to distinguish aplayers' pieces from those of the other players.Dice: The game comes complete with 1 six-sided dice. Ifyou have any more dice, itis useful to have at least one per player.Rulebook: You're reading it!


3/8

SETTING UP1. Shuffle the Exploration counters and place one sea counter face down in each Seaarea (including Islands), and one land counter in each Land area, leaving the 6Castle spaces empty. Keep the remaining counters in 2 face-down piles (Sea andLand), near to the board, to be drawn from, if necessary, during the game

2. Give each player the following:9 Armies, 6 Villages, 4 Battle Dragons, 2 Emperor Dragons, 1 Castle,1City, 1Ship, 1set of sticky-backed banners, and 3 Gold pieces.The banners are fixed to the flag poles, the ship's sails, and the army standards -the army with the largest device on its standard represents the Prince and his

entourage. Each set of banners is a different colour so players can easily identifytheir pieces. Insert the flag poles into the holes in the villages, cities, and castles.If there are less than 4 players, divide the remaining armies, cities, villages, anddragons equally between all the players. Put any spare castles and any odd modelsto one side - they will not be needed during the game. The number of items thatmay be in play is limited by the number available. For example, with 4 players,there is only one city per player, so once a player has built a city, he or she may notbuild another. However, if the city were destroyed, it could be re-used.

3. After throwing the dice to decide who will move first, each player in rotationplaces their Prince and Castle on a Castle area (shown by a colour illustration).The rest of a players' models are kept to one side to be used during the game.

4. Put the 8 Purchase cards to one side, and shuffle the Event cards (minus the YearEnd card). Deal 3 cards to each player, and place the rest of the pack face down ontop of the Year End card. Discarded Event cards must be placed on the bottom ofthe pack so that players will be unsure as to when the YearEnd will be drawn.

TURN SEQ .UENCEEach player must complete a full turn before the next player starts a turn. There are 6stages to a turn as follows:

1. Collect Dragons2. Collect Gold, Make Purchases

4. Movement & Exploration5. Combat or Dragon Raid3. Raise Armies 6. Draw Event Card

You may play any number of Event cards at any time during your own turn. You mayplay Event cards during another player's turn only if the card specifically says thatyou are allowed to do so.

1 . HATCH DRAGONSEach turn you may hatch dragons to use in combat or in dragon raids (see Combat &Dragon Raids, below). Roll a dice and refer to the Hatching Table below:D6 Result1 No hatchings this turn.2-4 Take one Battle Dragon.5-6 Take one Emperor Dragon.Note that Battle Dragons are the smaller of the 2 types of Dragon model.Take the Dragon from your stock of playing pieces and keep it hidden from the otherplayers. This is your dragon horde to be used in combat or dragon raids.Ifyou have no more of the type of Dragon rolled, take one of the other type instead.Once you have amassed a horde equal to the number of dragons you started with, youcannot collect any more until some have been lost in combat or used in Dragon Raids.

DRAGON MASTERS - Setting Up

DRAGON RIDERSThe High Lords of the Elveswould often gift the Dragonswith fine jewellry, gold andgems - for the Dragons lovedto hoard such things.Strangely enough, there wasno shortage of Elves willingto bear their lords' gifts to theDragons' lairs. The Elveswere eager for knowledgeand knew they could learnmuch from a race of creaturesthat had been ancient whentheir ancestors were savages.And although the war hadbeen bloody, it had not beenbitter, and both races hadcome to respect each other.More often than not, it wasthe younger sons of thenumerous elven kings whocarried the magnificenttreasures to the dragons'lairs. They would linger withthe mighty beasts, learningtheir ancient language andstudying their ways. So itwas that, over the years, theDragons came to trust the giftbearers above all others.They allowed them to climbatop their scaly backs,between their great leatherywings and take to the air. TheDragon Riders gained greathonour and were ever in thevanguard of the Elven armieswhen they went to war.Over the years, the numbersof both Elves and Dragonshave declined, and theDragon Riders are have cometo be thought of as morelegend than reali ty, but eventhe Wood Elves of the OldWorld who have never seen aDragon, believe that in thetime of their direst need, theDragon Riders will fly again.

,",,0.---.__. . . . _ _ _ _ 3


4/8

DRAGON MASTERS - 2. Collect Gold &Make Purchases

KINSTRIFEThe Elves have never kepttogether as one nation withone sovereign king, and itwas no different in Ulthuan.It was (and still is) a land ofmany kingdoms, each withits own king, court andnobility. As a general rule,the Lord of Lothern of theKingdom of Eatain is usuallyaccorded the title of ElvenKing, acknowledging hissupremacy over the otherrealms of Ulthuan. But thelords of the other realms willoften squabble, andsometimes the squabblingslead to war and long-standingfeuds. But the Elves, thoughwise, are not a numerouspeople, their numbers are notincreasing, and wars arecostly in lives and blood. Sowhen the lords and princes ofthe lesser kingdoms wagewar on each other, they rarelyfight to the bitter end. Moreoften than not, their wars areri tualised affairs, with stricttime limits and the victor isthe one whose conquestshave brought him the mostgold. The dragons too playtheir part in these wars. Theygreatly enjoy the intrigue(and the exercise), and willal ly with whatever side takestheir fancy, or according totradition and custom.

4

2. COLLECTGOLD AND MAKE PURCHASESYou control an area if it has one of your playing pieces in it, or if it has a settlementthat you have captured (see Capturing Settlements, below).You receive 1 gold piece for each area you control, including your castle, plus 2 extragold pieces from each village, city and/or castle. You may spend your gold to buildnew settlements and ships, or buy a horse or wizard, as shown on the table below.

ITEM COST INCOME Iillage 5 gold 2 goldCity 5 gold + 1 village 2 goldCastle Free 2 goldShip 2 gold noneWizard 2 gold noneHorse 2 gold noneVillage: A maximum of one village may be placed per Land or Island area. You mayonly place villages in areas that you control.City: You may 'upgrade' a village to a city by paying 5 gold and removing the villagemodel. You may not upgrade a village on the same tum that it was built.Ship: This can only be placed initially in a coastal area that you control.Horse: Only one horse can be owned per player. It allows your prince to move faster(see Movement & Exploration, below).Wizard: Only one Wizard is allowed per player. You must have a Wizard to usecertain Event cards.

3. RAISE ARMIESYour Castle and your City each produce one army per tum. You must place the armyin the same area as a Castle, City, or Prince. When you have placed all the armies thatyou started with, you cannot place any more until some have been lost in combat.

4. MOVEMENT s, EXPLORATIONEach tum you may move some, all, or none of your armies and your Prince.A Prince may move from any land area to any adjacent land area. If the Prince has ahorse, he may move 2 areas, provided that the first area is already under his control.Armies move in the same way, except that they cannot use horses, and may only enterwild areas (containing Exploration Counters) or areas controlled by enemy Princes, ifthey move with their Prince.In order to enter a Sea area, a Prince and/or Army must have a ship. A ship may carryany number of Armies. A ship is allowed to move on its own like an army. A moveinto an island area is deemed to have landed the ship on the island.If you enter a wild area (one with a face-down exploration counter), tum the counterover and follow the instructions. Any time that a n Mea is left empty - with no armiesor settlements - draw a new exploration counter and place it face down in the area.This means that Sea areas are rarely without an exploration counter for long!5. COMBAT s, DRAGON RAIDSIf you have moved into an area controlled by another player, then combat must takeplace. The two sides add up the combat strengths of the models they have in the area(see below) and the strongest side wins. The weaker side is destroyed and the winningside must lose models whose combined combat strength equals (or exceeds) that ofthe loser.


5/8

Model Combat Strength

I Castle May not be attackedIf a Prince is lost in a battle he is judged to have been wounded. The Prince's modelis returned to play at the end of the player's next tum, at his home castle.DragonsDragons may be added to the attacking or defending force in any battle. Having seenthe balance of power on the land, both the attacking and defending player secretlyplace in their hands the number of Dragons they wish to add to the battle. When bothplayers are ready, they reveal their Dragons and add the Dragons' combat strength tothat of their ground forces. Dragons that are involved in a battle can be used to satisfylosses just like any other model.For example: Player A attacks Player B's 2 Armies with a Prince and 2 Armies. Hedecides to add 1 Battle and 1 Emperor Dragon to his forces, while Player B adds only2 Battle Dragons. The result is thus:Player A Player B1+2+1+5 versus 2+2Player A wins the battle with a strength of 9 against Player B 's 4. Player B loses allhis forces and Player A must take losses to the same value. He can choose to loseeither his Emperor Dragon (worth 5), or both his armies (worth 2), plus his BattleDragon (worth I), and his Prince (worth 1).

DRAGON MASIERS - 5. Combat

DRAGONS ANDCOLOUR

Dragons come in manyshapes, sizes, and colours.Some Old World academicshave attempted to makecorrelations between adragon's colour and his sizeor power. This is, of course,nonsense. A red dragon is notnecessari ly more powerfulthan a blue, and a whitedragon may breathe fire asoften as ice. Colour may wellbe consistent overgenerations within a givendragon family, but it isequally true to say thatdragons may change colourwith both age and/or climate.And of course, some dragonsare quite naturally multi-coloured.

5


6/8


7/8

IM PERIAL K NIG HTS. M IG HTY H ERO.DW ARF WARR IORS . or ELVENARCHERSGain 1 Army.MINE (GOLD. S IL VER. M ITHR IL )This counter remains in the area and yields 1 goldpiece per turn, including the discovery tum. It can bedestroyed or captured like any settlement.ORC W ARBANDS. ZOM BIES. TROLLS.CHAOS W ARRIORS. DAEM ONS.OGRES. SKELETON HORDES andGOBLIN WULF BOYZFight a battle against these monsters. The Strengthvalue of the piece is recorded on the counter.POISONED W ELLLose 1 army.

TOLL BRIDGEPay 1 gold piece or miss your next move.TREA SURE CHE STTake two gold pieces.R UIN ED TEMPL EExplore the temple by rolling on the table below:D6 Discovery1 Dragon Egg - Roll on the Hatching Table2 Scroll - Immediately play the top card on theevent deck (including spells, even if no wizard

is owned)3 Knights - Gain 1 Army4 Zombies - Strength l.Fight a battle againstthese monsters5 Gold - Take 1 gold piece6 Curse - Roll a dice: 1-2 = Lose 1 Gold; 3-4 =Lose 1 Army; 5-6 = Lose 1 Dragon

ABANDONED SHIPGain 1 gold piece.SEA COUNTERS

KRAKENLose your boat. Ifyou are in an Island area, anypassengers manage to swim to the Island andsurvive. If in the open sea, all passengers are lost.ECALMEDYou may not move next turn.

CASTAWAYSGain 1 army (if available).DRAGONTake a roll on the Dragon Hatching Table.GOOD W INDYou may move again if you wish.HURRICANELose your boat. If you are in an Island area, anypassengers manage to swim to the Island andsurvive. If in the open sea, all passengers are lost.

PIRATELose 1 gold piece.SEA GODThis counter moves with the ship and protects itfrom Sea Monsters and Hurricanes.TREA SURE ISLANDTake the number of gold pieces shown on thecounter.YELLOW FEVERLose 1 army.

_


8/8

REFERENCE SHEETSEQUENCE OF PLAY1. Collect Dragons2. Collect Gold &Make Purchases3. Raise Armies4. Movement &Exploration5. Combat or Dragon Raid6. Draw Event Card

HATCH ING TABLED6 Result1 No hatchings this tum2-4 Take one BattIe Dragon.5-6 Take one Emperor Dragon.

PLAYING PIECESPiece Income CombatStrengthCost

EXPLORATION COUNTERSWhenever you enter an area with an Exploration counter, flip it over and refer to this chart to find out whathappens. The counter is removed unless the chart tells you to leave it in play.

A NC IE NT R UIN SLAND COUNTERS

CAV E COMPL EXExplore the ruins by rolling on the table below:D6 Discovery1 Lost - Miss your next move2 Gold - Gain 1 gold piece3 Chaos Warriors - Strength 2. Fight a battleagainst these monsters4 Barbarians - Gain 1 Army5 Dragon egg - Roll on the Hatching Table6 Wizard - Gain a Wizard card (if none already

owned)BAG OF GOLDTake one gold piece.CATACOMBSExplore the catacombs by rolling on the table below:D6 Discovery1 Scroll - Immediately play the top card on the

event deck (including spells even if no wizardis owned)

2 Lost adventurers - Gain 1 Army3 Minotaurs - Strength 2. Fight a battle againstthese monsters4 Gold - Gain 1 gold piece5 Lost - Miss your next move6 Dragon Egg - Roll on the Hatching Table

EARTHQUAKELeave the counter in the area and move the Princeand any armies back to the area previously occupied.The area is now impassable.

Explore the caves by rolling on the table below.D6 Discovery1 Dragon Egg - Roll on the Hatching Table2 Scroll - Immediately play the top card on theevent deck (including spells, even if no wizardis owned)3 Lost - Miss your next move4 Goblins - Strength 2. Fight a battle against

these monsters5 Gold - Gain 1 gold piece6 Mine - Leave the counter in the area and gain 1

gold piece per turn from now onCURSELose one Dragon (roll on the Hatching Table todetermine what type).DUNGEONExplore the dungeon by rolling on the table below.1,>6 Discovery1 Gold - Take 1 gold piece2 Orcs - Strength 1. Fight a battle against thesemonsters.3 Dwarfs - Gain 1 Army4 Dragon Egg - Roll on the Hatching Table5 Scroll - Immediately play the top card on theevent deck (including spells, even if no wizardis owned)6 Cave-In - Move your Prince and any armies

back to the area previously occupied. Put anew exploration counter in this area.

dragon masters

Documents