Official Dragon Dice FAQ and Rules Clarifications

(C)1996 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Permission to copy and distribute the information contained in this
document is granted as long as this header is included.

Based on the original FAQ by Vinny Salzillo and Double Exposure, Inc.

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The information contained in this document should be taken as an extension
of the rules booklet contained in the Dragon Dice boxed set. Its purpose
is to supplement the rules booklet by clarifying the most confusing parts
of the game. This document will be updated on a regular basis as new
questions are asked and new rules clarifications are necessary.

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Part One - Basic Mechanics & Combat (v1.34)

New in this version:
 More on Special Action Icons and Timing


***SET-UP

A)  Set Conflict Size

 1) Dragons brought to the table may be of any color, even a color that 
    you cannot cast.

 2) Dragons do NOT count towards the total size of your army. Even though
    a dragon is worth 5 points, it is a separate die (not a unit), and you
    set your conflict size independent of dragons (although the size of
    the conflict will determine the number of dragons you bring, as the
    rules note).

B) Assemble Armies

 1) The rules state that the HOME and CAMPAIGN armies must 
    consist of only one race each. They do not have to be the same 
    race, but may be. The HORDE army can be any mix of units (races 
    used in the home and campaign can be used as the player 
    desires). 

EXAMPLE: If you are playing 2 races, it is perfectly acceptable
  for you to have your home army consist of race A, your
  campaign army consist of race A, and your horde to
  consist of race B (or a mix of A and anything, or whatever).

EXAMPLE: You can play 3 armies made of all one race (or even no 
  race: all Dragonlords).

 2) The very first dice in the dead piles are the dragons. Dragons 
    which are brought to the table are placed in EACH PLAYER'S dead 
    unit area.There is no common pool for dragons, even though they can
    be cast by any player at the table from any dead unit area.

 3) At the beginning of the game, you must divide your forces into ONLY 3
    armies. You can NOT place any dice into reserves at the start of the
    game, nor can you place any dice into your dead unit area (other than
    your dragons).

C) Set Terrain

 1) At the beginning of the game, before it is determined who will go
    first, there are a number of proposed frontier dice equal to the 
    number of players in the game.

 2) Until step 6, there is no particular face that needs to be showing
    on the terrain dice at this time.

D) Determine Player Sequence

 1) Cantrips rolled during maneuver rolls (including the initial
    maneuver roll) DO NOT COUNT. 

 2) In the event of a tie for maneuver points, the players who rolled
    equal maneuver points will REROLL their entire horde and face off.

 3) Since there is not yet any placement of armies, there is NO doubling
    of maneuvers due to racial bonuses or otherwise. 

 4) When the player who wins step 4 decides which terrain die will be
    the frontier die, he places that die in the center of the table, between
    all players. All other frontier dice are then removed from the game.

E) Place Armies

 1) Each player MUST place the designated home army by his home terrain.
    Each player MUST place his horde at a HOME terrain die owned by
    ANOTHER player.

 2) A player CANNOT place two of his armies at the same terrain. If at
    any time during the course of a game, dice are moved to a terrain
    where friendly units exist already, those dice merge into one army.

 3) Once the home and horde armies are placed, the campaign army can be
    placed at any terrain die on the table where A) There are no more
    than 2 armies already stationed, and B) there are no friendly armies.

 4) In a two player game, there is NO flexibility. Player A's horde is
    placed opposite Player B's home, Player A's campaign is placed
    opposite Player B's campaign and Player B's horde is placed opposite
    Player A's home.

 5) In a game of four or more players, if, because of the above restric-
    tions, a player finds that there is nowhere to legally place one 
    of his armies, that army begins play in his reserve area.

F) Determine Battle Distances

 1) Note that this step is performed AFTER the armies are placed.

***TURN SEQUENCE

A) Marches are ALWAYS optional. Actions are ALWAYS optional. A player can
   also forfeit one or both of his marches altogether if he/she chooses. A
   player can decide to act without maneuvering, and a player can decide to
   maneuver without acting.

B) Each army can ONLY march once in a given turn. This includes a maneuver
   attempt! If a player decides to perform a second march, he/she MUST
   choose a second army to act with. If he/she does not have a second army to
   act with, he/she CANNOT take a second march.

C) If there is more than one player opposing the maneuver at a specific
   terrain die, only the HIGHEST counter-maneuver result counts against the
   acting player. You DO NOT combine the maneuver points of defending
   players.

D) All maneuver rolls are considered to be SIMULTANEOUS.

E) Ties always go to the acting player (the one trying to maneuver), 
   including the case where each side's results total zero maneuvers.

F) Cantrips DO NOT COUNT during ANY maneuver roll.

***SPECIAL ACTION ICONS

A) Special action icons are found on rare (3-health) units. 

B) Special action icons are unaffected by spells which direcly affect the 
   results or rolls of armies or its individual units. 

EXAMPLE: A Dwarf Crack-Shot (rare missile unit) magician rolls a Bullseye 
  while his terrain has been struck by Dancing Lights, Wall of Fog,
  and Ash Storms, and he has had Palsies cast on him, and has been
  Frosted (breathed on by a green dragon). None of these spells
  affect his result, and the dwarf's Bullseye result occurs normally.

C) Unless stated otherwise, spells may be used indirectly (i.e., defensively)

   against the effect of special action icons.

EXAMPLE: A Dwarf Mammoth Rider rolls a Trample during a melee action. Saves 
  from Stoneskin, Watery Double, or Wall of Ice count against the
  damage from the Trample.

D) Bonuses due to terrain (racial bonuses and bonuses due to an eighth face) 
   DO affect special action icons. 

EXAMPLE: A Goblin Leopard Rider rolls a Rend during a maneuver roll at the 
  Swampland terrain. Its Rend result, counting as maneuvers, is
  doubled. If the Goblin was in an army which was in possession of
  the eighth face of the terrain die, its Rend result would be
  quadrupled (x4).

EXAMPLE: A Dwarf Mammoth Rider rolls a Trample during a charge roll at a 
  Highland terrain. The total damage is then 9 points [3 melee
  hits + 6 (3x2) maneuver rolls, which become hits during a charge].
  If the Dwarf was in an army which was in possession of the eighth
  face of the terrain die, its Trample would result in 15 points of
  damage [3 melee hits + 12 (3x4)].

E) The effects of special action icons are resolved before the effect of 
   normal rolls. Therefore, special action icons rolled by an 
   attacker can have the effect of destroying units before they 
   roll for the current action. Special action icons rolled by the 
   defender, however, cannot nullify the results of the attacker's 
   already rolled units.

EXAMPLE: During a skirmish, a Smite is rolled by the ATTACKER 
  (or by the defender during his counterstrike). The units killed 
  through the Smite are removed before the army rolls to save 
  against other melee hits.

EXAMPLE: During a missile action, a Bullseye is rolled by the ATTACKER.
  Any units killed through the Bullseye are removed before the army
  rolls to save against other missile hits. 

EXAMPLE: During a skirmish or a missile, a Cantrip is rolled by 
  the attacker (or by the defender during his skirmish 
  counterrstrike). Any units killed through the Cantrip-magic 
  (e.g., Lightning Strike) are removed before the army rolls to 
  save against other melee or missile hits. 

EXAMPLE: During a skirmish, when rolling for saves the DEFENDER 
  rolls a Cantrip and uses it to Lightning Strike one of the 
  attacker's units. Any results rolled by that unit ARE NOT 
  NULLIFIED, regardless of whether the unit is killed.

F) In the event that special action icons are rolled simultaneously 
   (such as during a charge), the attacking player's special action icons are

   resolved first, then the defender's special action icons, and finally the 
   effect of the normal roll.

G) When rolled during a charge action or during a dragon attack, 
   special action icons CAN NOT directly affect or nullify the effects of 
   dice (since the roll happens simultaneously). Cantrips can 
   indirectly affect the result (by producing Stoneskins, etc).

EXAMPLE: A Cantrip-spawned Lightning Strike employed during a charge DOES
  NOT nullify the hits or saves rolled by its target, even if
  the target is destroyed. Similarly, Walls of Fog, Ash Storms,
  Dancing Lights, Palsies, etc. DO NOT affect the result of the
  current roll.

H) Certain special action icons have their results added into 
   the normal results, and are not considered to occur before 
   them. These special action icons are:
 (1) Cantrip: during normal magic actions
 (2) Counter: during melee attacks
 (3) Fly
 (4) Rend
 (5) Smite: during charge actions
 (6) Trample

Individual notes on each Special action icon follow:

 1) Bullseye: During a missile action, this special attack targets a
    unit of the acting player's choice. Only the target rolls to save.
    If it does not save, it is removed from its army before the army
    rolls to save from any other missile results.

  A) Only one unit can be targeted (by each die which rolled a
     Bullseye).

  B) Each Bullseye icon counts as one point of damage to the target
     unit. Thus the target unit must save against four points of
     damage. If the target unit does not roll enough saves (i.e.,
     the Bullseye damage minus the saves equals an amount equal or
     greater than the health of the unit), the unit is killed.

  C) Dragons CAN NOT be targeted by Bullseyes, since dragons are
     not units.

  D) During a roll against a dragon or dragons, Bullseyes count as
     normal missile hits.

 2) Cantrip: During a magic action, the cantrip counts as normal magic.
    But during any other action--including rolling for saves--it can be
    used to purchase immediate spells (do not double).

  A) Cantrips rolled during maneuvers are ignored.

  B) Cantrips rolled during a normal magic action CAN be doubled
     as normal. 

  C) Cantrips, even when rolled during a magic action, are special
     action icons and are NOT affected by spells which would reduce
     their effect (see above).

  D) The effects of the Cantrip are resolved immediately, before
     the results of any normal dice (except during a magic action,
     when they added in with the normal result). 

  E) During a roll against a dragon or dragons, Cantrips can be used
     to purchase immediate magic.

 3) Counter: During a melee attack, the counter acts as a normal hit. But 
    during a roll for saves in melee, it counts as both a save and an
    immediate hit upon the attacking army, which may not roll saves against
    it.  Counter never causes a rout.

  A) Counters rolled during a normal melee action (not during a save),
     can cause a rout.

  B) During a charge, Counters rolled by the defender count as both
     saves and hits. As usual for a charge, the attacker has no 
     opportunity to save. Counters rolled by the attacker count only
     as hits.

  C) Counter do NOT count as saves except during melee actions.
     Counter-strikes only occur when rolling for saves during melee.

  D) If, during a melee attack, a cantrip is rolled and is used to
     make a magical attack causing damage (Hailstorm, Lightning
     Strike) any Counters rolled by the defending army have normal
     effect (saves and immediate hits which cannot be saved against). 

  E) During a roll against a dragon or dragons, Counters count as both
     saves and melee hits.

 4) Fly: This icon serves double duty, acting as either maneuvers or saves,
    as needed.

  A) Fly icons counts as EITHER maneuvers or saves as needed, NOT
     both.

  B) During a roll against a dragon or dragons, Fly icons count as
     saves.

 5) Rend: During a melee attack, the counter acts as normal hits, but the 
    rending unit may be rolled again immediately, applying the new result
    as well. During the maneuver step, rends instead count as movement.

  A) Rends DO NOT reroll during the maneuver step.

  B) Rends count as maneuvers on rolls to counter the effect of a
     Flash Flood spell.

  C) Rends count as maneuvers whenever an effect on a unit can be
     avoided by rolling a maneuver. 

  D) During a roll against a dragon or dragons, Rends count as melee
     hits, and may be rolled again.

 6) Smite: During a skirmish attack, no saves count against these hits.
    Units hit by the smite are removed before rolling for any saves against
    any  other units.

  A) During a charge, Smites count as normal hits, and can be saved
     against by the defender. (The attacker, as normal, has no chance
     to roll for saves during a charge.)

  B) During a roll against a dragon or dragons, Smites count as normal
     hits.

 7) Trample: A trample counts as either maneuvers or melee hits as needed.
    During a charge, it counts as both, doing double damage.

  A) During a skirmish attack, Tramples count only as hits (do not
     double).

  B) Tramples count as maneuvers whenever an effect on a unit can be
     avoided by rolling a maneuver. 

  C) During a roll against a dragon or dragons, Tramples count as
     normal hits, and are not doubled (maneuver rolls are not counted
     for hits).

***MELEE

A) The save roll forced by a melee attack that has done damage MUST be
rolled.

B) The acting army can ONLY CHOOSE ONE army to attack. He/she CANNOT attack 
   more than one army at the terrain at which he is acting.

C) Only the army being attacked can counter-attack. Any third (or more) army
   at the terrain has NOTHING to do with this battle.

D) If the defending army routs during a skirmish, it forfeits its
   counter-attack.

E) If the defending army is able to counter-attack, the acting army can
indeed 
   rout. At this point, the defending army will continue counter-attacking,
if
   it chooses, until the acting army is no longer routed.

F) In a charge action, both the attacker and the defender's rolls are
   considered to be SIMULTANEOUS.

G) During a charge action, the defender CAN rout if he/she rolls more faces 
   than saves. In this case, the melee results STILL COUNT against the
   attacking army.

H) Even though the acting army in a charge action CANNOT save, its saves
   STILL must exceed its face icons, or it routs!

I) If a charging army eliminates the entire defending army, it CANNOT rout, 
   because there is no defending army left to pursue it. The terrain die
   would stay in the same position if an army does not rout (by virtue of the
   fact that there is no opponent to pursue).

J) Bonus army saves DO COUNT for a charging army, even though rolled saves
   do not count. So if the army has a save bonus, it may stop some incoming
   damage from the defending army. Note that, as always, bonus 
   saves do not count for the purposes of routing.

***MISSILE

A) You can choose ANY army in the game to shoot at, EXCEPT your own, if
   that army is in range.

B) ALL armies at a terrain are in range of the frontier die. Home dice are 
   NEVER within range of each other (unless in possession of a tower face),
   even in a multi-player game.

C) Just as in melee, the target army MUST roll for saves if it suffers
damage.

D) The target (defending) army can rout ONLY if it is at the same terrain
   as the acting army.

E) The acting army can NEVER rout during a missile action.



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