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BALANCING

These adventures are balanced so that Mortibris has the same chance of winning as the Heroes. At least, thats the case among our testers. In reality, a lot of this balance is down to the relative skill of you and your friends, and sometimes you may have a particularly strong necromancer player, or Heroes who just cant be stopped. In these cases you may decide to tweak the adventures to suit your particular group. Id recommend having a couple of tries through each adventure before you make any changes, as the best tactics arent always obvious the first time out. However, if you do get stuck then try one of the following ideas:

Give the Necromancer more or fewer Commands per Turn. The more you let him do, the easier he will find things.

Give Danor extra power crystals, or take them away.

Allow the Necromancer to summon more or fewer types of undead, possibly including ones that werent present in the adventure before.

You may also find that once you have played the same adventure a few times the Necromancer is slightly weaker than the first time you play because he no longer has the element of surprise. Again, you can use these suggestions to keep things fresh and make it more of a challenge for the Heroes again.

ADVENTURESAdventures are described in a standard format consisting of eight sections:

Story

Map

Heroes

Overlord

Special Rules

Victory

Tactical Thoughts

Aftermath

STORY

This sets the scene and continues the tale of these brave adventurers. You should read this out to the group before starting the game.

MAPThe map shows the layout of tiles for the adventure together with starting positions for all the models and furniture. It also shows the types of locks used on doors and treasure chests.

There is a lot of information on the maps and it is worth spending a little time to familiarise yourself with the various icons so you can understand them easily.

[insert master key for all map icons]

ZONES

The map itself is divided into one or more zones by the doors. When the Overlord lays out the tiles to start with they will only lay out the tiles with the Heroes on, and from there up to and including the first door(s). This is the first zone. Each subsequent area that is separated off by one or more doors is a new zone.

When a door is opened the Overlord lays down the tiles for the adjacent zone, but no further. Depending on the adventure, this may be the remainder of the map, or there may be still more for the Heroes to discover. Only models that are on zones that have been laid down take any part in the adventure.

When the Overlord places any part of the board, he must highlight all areas of importance to the Hero player(s). All doors and chests must have a counter placed next to them to show what type of lock they have, and the Overlord must make the Heroes aware if one particular door is the exit for the adventure.

HEROESAs the Heroes gain experience and find magical items, their game values change. Each adventure lists any additions to the information found printed on each Heros card. Among other things, this may include new spells, items, feats or abilities.

THE END OF THE WORLD

Over a thousand years ago, the mighty hero known as Valandor the Great fell, dying as he had lived, fighting to protect the lives of those around him as the waters of the Great Flood closed over the land. In the years since, many legends have persisted about this greatest of warrior-mages. The Elves of Walldeep claim to have his mortal remains sealed at the top of their highest tower, where they never age nor show any sign of corruption. The Dwarfs of the Golloch Empire claim to hold the very axe that was crafted for Valandor by the forges of Dolgarth at the instruction of Grund Hammerhand himself. Many of the Orders of Magic within the walls of the City of the Golden Horn claim direct lineage from Valandor, whether through artefacts and trinkets held by their masters or in some cases via the very texts that form the foundations of their teachings, claimed to have been penned by Valandor himself in an earlier age. Every single civilised city in the modern world claims some special connection to this most fabled of heroes. Valandor is even claimed by several races to be linked to them in particular by his very blood.

They are all wrong.

The sorcerer known as Mortibris, once a pupil of the Order of the Ardent Light in The City of the Golden Horn, long since disgraced, believes that he has discovered the truth. Journeying across the known world and beyond, this dark wizard has pieced together every legend and myth that he can find about Valandor. He has travelled to every sacred site, examined every sacred artefact and absorbed every tale, driven ever onward by the voices that babble in his head, demanding release. For Mortibris believes that he hears the voices of the dead, lingering just beyond the veil of this world and trapped in eternal torment, against the natural order imposed by the gods at the dawn of creation. He believes that he can part that veil and return the world to its proper order, with no living or dead. And he believes that he has found the location of the very article that will enable him to do this the Tome of Valandor itself.

Thought to have been lost forever these last ten centuries, Mortibris believes that the Tome lies buried beneath the plains of Diffeth, deep within the dwarven ruins of Dolgarth itself. This book, the distilled sum of the wisdom of Valandor himself, will grant him unlimited power, and enable him to reshape the very fabric of reality itself, and find peace from the babbling of the dead.

Four heroes will journey into the darkness below to stop him. Four very different individuals, thrown together by circumstance, sent to face a threat that even those who send them do not yet fully comprehend.

King Golloch has decreed that these four must root out the man who dares despoil the restful peace of his ancestors, and bring him to justice. Little does he realise, that the very fate of the whole world rests on their success or failure

This Adventure Book contains all the adventures that the four Heroes undertake on their quest to find and stop the necromancer Mortibris. Each adventure builds on the last, leading your through the whole story step by step. Will they be in time to stop him, or will Mortibris be triumphant? Only you can decide.

If you are going to play this as a mighty Hero, stop reading now!

Only the Overlord player should read further. He will set up each adventure to preserve the element of surprise and tension. Obviously this only really works the first time a Hero player undertakes a particular adventure, but that extra tension and the element of the unknown is well worth the effort. Its far more exciting to explore a dungeon when you really dont know what lurks around the next corner!

Once the Overlord has set up the tiles and models, he should read out the background to set the scene. Then all that remains to do is to tell the Heroes what they need to do to win the adventure, and youre ready to start.

You can either play through the adventures from number 1 to 8 in order, or you can pick and choose to play your favourites. Stringing the adventures together to make a bigger story is called a campaign, and adds a whole new dimension to the game. Each adventures takes off where the previous one ended, with the Heroes having learned a few new tricks and gained an item or two. If the Heroes lose an adventure then simply reset it back to the beginning of that adventure and try again. Think of it like a video game with your last save point being the start of that adventure.

Alternatively, you can play one of the adventures on its own. This is a good option if you dont have time to play more than one, or perhaps youve already played through the whole campaign and have a favourite youd like to revisit. As the Heroes and Mortibris all play so differently you may also want to try your hand at a different role to see how you can do. Maybe youre a natural Barbarian, or even a natural necromancer! You wont know till youve tried.

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WINNING THE WHOLE CAMPAIGN

Dungeon Saga is more about having fun and telling a good story with your friends than it is about winning at all costs. However, its always good to know if youve saved/conquered the world or not, and so you can use the following system to determine whether the Heroes are in time to stop Mortibris.

Allow the Heroes 15 hours to stop Mortibris, starting with the two Journeys in the Getting Started book. Each time you set up an adventure costs them 1 hour of this time, so the Heroes can lose a few adventures and reset to try again, but they cant do this forever. If they are not on the final adventure when it comes to the 15th hour then they wont get there in time and Mortibris automatically wins the campaign. If the final adventure is the 15th hour then they must succeed first time or the necromancer wins. If the Heroes complete the final adventure on or before the 15th hour then they win.

Individual adventures can be played as many times as you like within this time constraint, though each adventure must be won by the Heroes before they can play the next.

Note that these game hours arent the same as the real hours you take to play. Each adventure costs 1 campaign game hour regardless of whether it takes 30 or 90 real minutes to play.

To be edited with campaign goals..

TACTICAL THOUGHTSThese are a few hints and tips on winning this adventure, from both sides. Its often helpful to have a few suggestions to give you some ideas of what not to do. Of course, you will probably want to play through yourself without reading these to start with, and only come back to them if you get stuck.

AFTERMATHIf the Heroes have been defeated by Mortibris then he should feel free to gloat, and perhaps even cackle a bit. After all, whats the point of being an evil Overlord if you cant laugh at your defeated foes and revel in your victory?

If the Heroes have won then you should read aloud the Aftermath section for that adventure. This describes what happens next.

Leave space for a section on Campaign Goals.OVERLORD

The core pieces of information for the Overlord are how many cards are in his starting draw pile, how many Commands he gets in each of his Turns, and which type(s) of undead he can reanimate with the Raise Dead spell. In addition, this section will list any spells or items for Bosses present in the adventure.

OVERLORD COMMAND CARDS

This lists the number of cards available to the Overlord player in the game. Before you start, shuffle the full deck of Overlord cards and deal out the number listed in the adventure to the Overlord player face-down. Put the rest back in the box they will not be needed for this game. The Overlord player should then take the top three cards to form his starting hand.

RAISE DEAD

This lists the type(s) of undead that Mortibris can resurrect with a Raise Dead spell. As the Heroes get closer to him he is able to channel more power into the spell and so raise ever more powerful servants to defend himself. If more than one type is listed then the Overlord player may choose which one appears.

Mortibris can only maintain a certain number of reanimated followers at any one time. The number in brackets after each type is the maximum number of that type of undead which can be on the board at any one time. For example, if the entry for that adventure said Skeleton Warriors (4), Skeleton Archers (2) each use of Raise Dead brings back either a Skeleton Warrior or a Skeleton Archer. If there are already 4 Skeleton Warriors on the table then no more may be raised until one has been boned or destroyed. Similarly, no more Skeleton Archers can be raised if 2 are already in play.

These limits only restrict what can be in play at one time, not what you can summon in total. As long as you have Piles of Bones on the board and models left to raise you can keep raising new followers.

SPECIAL RULESAny extra rules that apply to this adventure are listed here. This will also list any items to be found in treasure chests.

Only read these out to the Hero players where noted; otherwise the special rules should be kept secret.

VICTORY

This defines the way each side wins the adventure. In most instances, the Heroes simply have to get through the area and onto the next adventure. They are, after all, here to stop Mortibris, not to sightsee. Occasionally this will be different, in which case the goal will be explained.

In a similar vein, Mortibris is happy where he is and just wants to keep the Heroes out. The longer he can hold them off the better, and if he does so long enough then he will have unlocked the secrets of the Book of Valandor and nobody will be able to stop him.

Each adventure also has a time limit for the Heroes to complete their objective(s). See below for how these work. If the time limit runs out before the Heroes can achieve their objective then Mortibris wins.

Even though the victory conditions dont change often, the rest of the adventure changes around them, which means that each game is quite different to the next. You cant stick to the same routine every time or you will find yourself coming unstuck pretty quickly. Try to adapt your tactics to fit the layout of the rooms and the mix of foes as well as the objective at hand.

Note that when you play through an adventure for the first time, the Heroes will not have seen the map and so wont know where they need to go to get out theyll have to explore. Also, the door they need to exit by may not be part of the initial tile layout.

TIME LIMITS

In addition to other ways of winning listed in each adventure, the Overlord always wins if he can hold off the Heroes for long enough. At the end of a Round, when the Overlord goes to take a new card from his deck, the game ends with an Overlord victory if there are no cards left to take. He has held off the Heroes assault for long enough. Reinforcements will arrive any second and the Heroes must abandon this attempt.

How long the Heroes have to complete an adventure is measured by the number of cards the Overlord has in their deck at the start of the game. This is listed separately for each adventure in the Overlord section.

At the start of the game, the Overlord should shuffle the whole 22-card deck and deal out the number of cards listed for that adventure. Any remaining cards are not used for now and should be placed back in the box. The cards that were dealt out now form the Overlords draw deck for the adventure, and he takes his initial hand of 3 cards from this.

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ADVENTURE A:

JOURNEY FROM THE WESTThe necromancers lips moved without sound as he caressed the intricate runes and magical symbols carved into the door. He carried no torch not because of the glow that throbbed from the door as he worked, but because he had long since stopped needing light to see by. So lost was he in the task at hand, so eager to gain entrance to the chamber beyond and continue his quest, that he almost missed it. A disturbance in the upper levels of the hold. Something no, someone, had broken in. He gave an irritated grunt and sent a tendril of awareness up to the entrance, feeling in the dust of ages and the detritus of long ago battles. There! With a twitch of his senses he gifted a spark of unlife to the bones that lay there. He returned to the door before the spell was even finished, dismissing whatever fools had broken in here from his mind. He had a higher purpose...

All Im saying is that you could have waited a few more moments and I would have had it open.

The Barbarian grunted by way of a reply. He did that lot. It was beginning to get on Rordins nerves. His own people werent noted for their sparkling conversational skills, but this was absurd.

He looked around him at the chamber. The main entrance hall into Dolgarth was a sorry ruin, coated in layers of dust and the scattered debris of ages past.

A rustling sound up ahead in the darkness caught his attention, and he raised his torch to see what had caused it. The flames picked out a sightless pair of eye sockets staring back at him from atop a rictus grin. Bony fingers clutched a rusted old sword, and a half decayed leather breastplate hung loosely from the torso.

Well now, seems we have company...

HEROESOnly Orlaf the Barbarian and Rordin the Dwarf are used in this adventure.

OVERLORD Overlord Command

Cards: 12. This adventure uses a specific set of cards: Extra 1 Command x 5, Extra 2 Commands x 2, Extra 3 Commands x 1, Double Commands x 1, Raise 1 Dead x 1, Raise 2 Dead x 1, Raise 3 Dead x 1.

Commands per Turn: 2

Raise the Dead: Skeleton Warriors (4)

VICTORY Heroes: Open the final door

marked X.

Overlord: Cripple one of the Heroes (no time limit used in this scenario).

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TACTICAL THOUGHTS???

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ADVENTURE B

JOURNEY FROM THE WESTThe necromancers lips moved without sound as he caressed the intricate runes and magical symbols carved into the door. He carried no torch not because of the glow that throbbed from the door as he worked, but because he had long since stopped needing light to see by. So lost was he in the task at hand, so eager to gain entrance to the chamber beyond and continue his quest, that he almost missed it. A disturbance in the upper levels of the hold. Something no, someone, had broken in. He gave an irritated grunt and sent a tendril of awareness up to the entrance, feeling in the dust of ages and the detritus of long ago battles. There! With a twitch of his senses he gifted a spark of unlife to the bones that lay there. He returned to the door before the spell was even finished, dismissing whatever fools had broken in here from his mind. He had a higher purpose...

All Im saying is that you could have waited a few more moments and I would have had it open.

The Barbarian grunted by way of a reply. He did that lot. It was beginning to get on Rordins nerves. His own people werent noted for their sparkling conversational skills, but this was absurd.

He looked around him at the chamber. The main entrance hall into Dolgarth was a sorry ruin, coated in layers of dust and the scattered debris of ages past.

A rustling sound up ahead in the darkness caught his attention, and he raised his torch to see what had caused it. The flames picked out a sightless pair of eye sockets staring back at him from atop a rictus grin. Bony fingers clutched a rusted old sword, and a half decayed leather breastplate hung loosely from the torso.

Well now, seems we have company...

HEROESOnly Orlaf the Barbarian and Rordin the Dwarf are used in this adventure.

OVERLORD Overlord Command

Cards: 12. This adventure uses a specific set of cards: Extra 1 Command x 5, Extra 2 Commands x 2, Extra 3 Commands x 1, Double Commands x 1, Raise 1 Dead x 1, Raise 2 Dead x 1, Raise 3 Dead x 1.

Commands per Turn: 2

Raise the Dead: Skeleton Warriors (4)

VICTORY Heroes: Open the final door

marked X.

Overlord: Cripple one of the Heroes (no time limit used in this scenario).

TACTICAL THOUGHTS???

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AFTERMATHI think it s dead.

Orlaf and Rordin continued hacking at the dismembered corpse, spraying ichor, fetid blood and disgusting fluids around them as they butchered the twitching mess. Even as Danor had said the words, hed seen the fingers clench again, and he swore when he looked closely that the flesh of the neck was trying to reseal the head back to the body.

Ok, carry on.

ADVENTURE 2

INTO THE DEPTHSThe seal crumbled in a flash of powdered rock as the incantation ended, the syllables dragging across his vocal chords like a dagger over silk. With a flick of his hand, the door in front of him swung open, yawning into the space beyond. Stale air rushed to meet him, bearing with it the promise of so much. He was getting close now. He could feel it.

He was dimly aware at the back of his mind that in the levels above, his minions were being cut down by the interlopers he had noticed earlier. Linking to the essence of one of his most powerful lieutenants, he sent forth the order to kill them. They had proven more resourceful than he had expected thus far, but now they would face real power. Trolls were tricky creatures to reanimate, their very biology fighting to restore them back to life and interfering with the process. It had taken him years of study to perfect the technique. Fortunately, Trolls were rarely missed in the wider world.

He chuckled, the sound mirroring in the dead air that which coursed through his inner ear. As long as he remembered, the voice had been there, guiding him, cajoling him, setting him on the path that had ultimately led him here. Hed almost be sorry to lose it. Almost

HEROESIn addition to your Hero Cards, take the following:

Rordin, Dwarf Fighter: 2 Battle Potions.

Orlaf, Human Barbarian: Frenzy (1).

Madriga, Elf Ranger: Spidersilk Armour.

Danor, Human Wizard: 2 power 2 energy crystals. Available spells: Flamebolt, Break Ward, Burn, Feet of Stone.

OVERLORD Overlord Command

Cards: 11

Commands per Turn: 2

Raise the Dead: Skeleton Warriors (4), Skeleton Archers (2).

VICTORY Heroes: Open the final door

marked X.

Overlord: Cripple one of the Heroes, or stop the Heroes from winning before the time runs out.

TACTICAL THOUGHTSHeroes usually lose a lot of time on the Troll when they first play this adventure. The secret to success here is that you dont all need to fight the Troll to win. While one or two of the Heroes keep the Troll busy, the others can sneak past on one side or the other, and find the way through. Splitting the Heroes up does make each group weaker, but it also gives the Overlord more things to worry about. The Heroes will always get a Turn each, while he has to pick and choose which of his models act.

SPECIAL RULE CHEST

The chest marked X contains 1 Healing Potion and 1 Battle Potion.

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ADVENTURE 3

RESTLESS GUARDIANAs they entered the crypt, a chill passed through Orlaf. Superstition hadnt held him in its grip for many years, but he couldnt help but wonder as to the significance. The room was dominated by a huge stone pillar, inscribed with runes that seemed to dance as he looked upon them. Other marks seemed to have been crudely scored into the stone, and these brought a wave of nausea up his throat when his eyes drifted upon them.

Beside him, Madriga hissed a bitter curse in the tongue of her people and spat on the floor.

He defiles the Guardian.

Danor looked to her, and Orlaf noticed the green cast to the mages face.

Hes bound her to this place she cant leave the crypt.

The elf was already striding towards one of the side passages, back ramrod straight and anger radiating from her.

Theres only one way he could have done that. And Im going to do the very same thing to him when I find his worthless hide.

***

He felt the quickening as the restless spirit of Elshara awakened, the link between them twanging with resonance like a fishing line with a catch. So, they had made it to the crypt. He allowed himself a smile. Let them try and deal with the Banshee. She would be their doom

HEROESIn addition to your Hero Cards, take the following:

Rordin, Dwarf Fighter: Tough.

Orlaf, Human Barbarian: Frenzy (1), 1 Haste Potion.

Madriga, Elf Ranger: Spidersilk Armour, Sure Shot (1).

Danor, Human Wizard: Magister, 3 power 1 energy crystals and 1 power 2 energy crystal. Available spells: Flamebolt, Break Ward, Burn, Feet of Stone, Brisk Work.

OVERLORD Overlord Command

Cards: 13

Commands per Turn: 1

Raise the Dead: Skeleton Warriors (4), Skeleton Archers (2).

Elshara, Banshee: Available spells are: Banshee Wail, Faithful in Death, Shriek.

Faithful in Death: Ghost (2)

VICTORY Heroes: Lay Elshara to rest

by combining the pieces of her heart from the four locked chests.

Overlord: Cripple one of the Heroes or stop the Heroes from winning before the time runs out.

SPECIAL RULE PILLAR

The 2x2 square black area in the centre of the middle tile is a large stone pillar. It blocks all normal movement and line of sight. The Hero player(s) should be made aware of this.

TACTICAL THOUGHTSIf the Heroes are to win this they will have to split up there just isnt time to do it any other way. However, Elshara and her friends are quite capable of killing a lone Hero if they can corner them, so you need to be very careful not to let individuals get surrounded. Finding the right balance of being cautious to protect the weaker Heroes, and being bold and aggressive to find all the pieces of the heart in time is the key here.

AFTERMATHThe screams of the tortured spirit faded into silence. Elshara was free at last, and could finally go to her well-deserved rest in the beyond. Rordin had hoped to bind her for longer, to use her to gain the upper hand in the fights to come. Madriga might have killed him just for the suggestion, but Danor had intervened, assuring them that he had gained the knowledge that they required from the Elf s spirit. As it was, she had smashed the heart into tiny shards and ground those shards to powder under her boot. The Dwarf had looked mutinous but remained silent. This was as well for the sake of his own health.

SPECIAL RULE CHEST

Each of the four chests holds a piece of the banshees shattered stone heart. When a single Hero has all four pieces it recombines itself magically into one piece. The curse that holds Elshara is broken, and she is finally laid to rest.