Table of Contents
Getting Started
Object of the Game
In the game of Dragon Dice®, you use dice to represent armies of different fantasy species and monsters which battle to control essential pieces of terrain. Any number of players can share in this struggle. The first player to capture two terrains immediately wins the game. A player also wins if they have the last surviving unit(s) in play.
Get to know your dice
The best way to learn Dragon Dice® is to play it. Rather than trying to learn the rules by just reading them, get out your dice and follow the instructions step by step. In no time at all, you'll be commanding armies like a pro.
The dice are the building blocks of the Dragon Dice® game. Units, items, dragons, and terrains are all represented by dice of various shapes and colors. You can tell what a die is by how many sides it has, and what colors it contains. Here is a summary of the various dice of Dragon Dice®:
| Four-sided These dice represent equipment and medallions. Equipment come in three sizes: Small, Medium, Large die. Each equipment produces only one type of result. Medallions are items of immense power and the largest of the four-siders. Items are discussed in the Advanced Rules section. |  |
| Six-sided These dice represent the soldiers in your army. They come in four sizes and can produce many different types of results. All six-sided dice belong to a species, except for relics (see the Advanced Rules). |   |
| Eight-sided These represent objectives that each player's armies are attempting to capture. They come in two sizes. The larger dice are called terrains. The smaller dice are called minor terrains and are discussed in the Advanced Rules section. |  |
| Ten-sided The ten-sided dice represent either monsters or artifacts. Monsters are always part of a species and artifacts are a type of item. |  |
| Twelve-sided The twelve-sided dice represent dragons. They come in two forms: drakes, which have wings, and wyrms, which have a treasure chest. |  |
Basic Terms
There are a few things you should know before you start your first game. Once you've got these concepts mastered, they will help you understand the rules as you play through your games. The following terms are referred to throughout this rulebook:
Species
The fantastical entities represented by units in the game. Coral Elves, Goblins, and Scalders are examples of species. Eldarim of all colors are a single species. Dragonkin of all colors are also a single species.
Unit
Any six-sided or ten-sided die of a species is a unit. The six-sided units come in four sizes: Small (16mm), Medium (18mm), Large (20mm), and Champion (22mm). A ten-sided unit is called a monster.
Item
Equipment (non-metallic four-sided dice), medallions (metallic four-sided dice), artifacts (the ten-sided dice not of a species) and relics (metallic six-sided dice) are collectively known as items.
FAQ: What is this new thing “equipment”?
It was clear that it was confusing to call four-sided dice “items” and then also refer to a bunch of other dice as “items”. From now on, “items” is the general name, and “equipment” is the specific name for the elemental four-sided dice.
Health
Units and dragons have a specific amount of health which determines how much damage it takes to kill them. Small units have one health (one point of damage kills a small unit). Medium units have two health. Large units have three health. Champions and monsters have four health. Dragons have five health. White dragons have ten health.
Force
A player’s force is all of his or her armies, items and units combined. At the start of a game players agree to a point value for their total force size and use that to select their forces. Any dice in in your summoning pool are not part of your total force size.
Point Value (Army Construction)
Units and items both have point values based on their die size. Six-sided and ten-sided units have a points value equal to their health. The points values for items (equipment, artifacts, medallions, and relics) are defined in the Advanced Rules.
Icons
The symbols on the faces of each die are called icons. There are two types of icons on units and items: Action and ID.
Action icons
There are two types of action icons: normal action icons and Special Action Icons (hereafter referred to as SAIs). These tell what actions a unit or item can perform in the game. For example, if a unit has an icon of a bow on one face, it generates one missile result when that face is rolled.
ID icons
These serve to identify the units. For example, an icon of a Dwarf wearing a feathered cap on a small die identifies it as a “Crossbowman”. An ID icon always generates whatever results you are rolling for. If you are rolling for saves, ID icons generate save results; if you are rolling for maneuvers, they generate maneuver results; and so forth. Furthermore, each unit's ID icon generates a number of results equal to its health or points. Artifacts also have an ID icon which generates four results.
Terrain
The faces on each terrain die are numbered from 1 to 8, and also feature an icon. The numbers represent the distance between armies whereas the icons represent which action may be used to engage an opposing army at that distance. A low number showing on a face means the armies are very far apart, while a large number means the armies are very close.
Capture (Terrain)
When an army maneuvers a terrain to its eighth face it captures that terrain. If you capture two terrains, you win the game. A terrain is only considered captured when it is on its eighth face.
Color and Elements
The colors of the units represent the magical elements that make up each species. The colors of the items, terrains, and dragons represent the magical elements that make up each item, terrain, or dragon.
The Elements
The five elements are represented as follows:
| Element | Color | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Death | Black |  |
| Air | Blue |  |
| Water | Green |  |
| Fire | Red |  |
| Earth | Yellow |  |
These two colors are used in addition to the elements:
| Color | Represents |
|---|---|
| Ivory | The lack of any elements |
| White | The presence of all elements |
In addition to the magical elements which make up all of Esfah, the world of Dragon Dice®, there is a powerful and mysterious metal called Eldrymetallum (also known as “star metal”), which is not native to Esfah. This rare metal is primarily found in meteors. Relics are made of a pure form of this metal. It has also been alloyed with native metals and alloys such as bronze, silver, and gold. Items made with star metal are called metallic or non-elemental.
Colors and elements of the terrains
The following table shows the different terrain types and which elements each of those terrains contain:
| Terrain Type | Elements (Colors) |
|---|---|
| Coastland | Air & Water (blue & green) |
| Deadland | Death only (black) |
| Feyland | Water & Fire (green & red) |
| Flatland | Air & Earth (blue & yellow) |
| Highland | Fire & Earth (red & yellow) |
| Swampland | Water & Earth (green & yellow) |
| Wasteland | Air & Fire (blue & red) |
Note: 8th face types and effects can be found in the Terrain - 8th Face section.
Colors and elements of the species
The following table shows the different species and which elements each of those species represent:
| Species | Elements (Colors) |
|---|---|
| Amazons | No Elements (Ivory) |
| Coral Elves (Selumari) | Air & Water (blue & green) |
| Dragonkin & Dragonkin Champions | Each comprised of only one element (Air, Death, Earth, Fire, or Water) |
| Dwarves (Vagha) | Fire & Earth (red & yellow) |
| Eldarim | Each comprised of only one element (Air, Death, Earth, Fire, or Water) |
| Eldarim Champions | Dragoncrusaders, Dragonlords, & Dragonslayers - All Elements (white) Dragonhunters, Dragonmasters, & Dragonzealots - Each comprised of only one element (Air, Death, Earth, Fire, or Water) |
| Feral (Ghwereste) | Air & Earth (blue & yellow) |
| Firewalkers (Empyrea) | Air & Fire (blue & red) |
| Frostwings (Areosa) | Death & Air (black & blue) |
| Goblins (Trogs) | Death & Earth (black & yellow) |
| Lava Elves (Morehl) | Death & Fire (black & red) |
| Scalders (Faeli) | Water & Fire (green & red) |
| Swamp Stalkers (Sarslayan) | Death & Water (black & green) |
| Treefolk (Efflorah) | Water & Earth (green & yellow) |
| Undead (Bloodless) | Death only (black) |
Army
All of your units and items at a single terrain or the Reserve Area form an army and are called:
Home Army: This army is at your Home Terrain.
Horde Army: This army is at another player's Home Terrain.
Campaign Army: This army is at the Frontier Terrain
Reserve Army: This army is in your Reserve Area.
Reserve Area
At times, units need to pull back and regroup, or move to another terrain. They must first retreat to your Reserve Area. The units in your Reserve Area form your Reserve Army.
Dead / Dead Unit Area (DUA)
Units that take damage equal to or exceeding their health are dead. They are removed from their army and placed in your Dead Unit Area (DUA).
Buried / Buried Unit Area (BUA)
Dead units may be buried. Buried units are removed from the Dead Unit Area and placed in your Buried Unit Area (BUA).
Promotion / Promote
Some effects allow you to promote your units to other units which have more health. Promotion is detailed in the Rules Reference.
Recruitment / Recruit
Some effects allow you to recruit a unit to an army. To recruit a unit, simply move a small (one-health) unit from your Dead Unit Area (DUA) to the recruiting army.
Summoning Pool
This is where dragons, Dragonkin, and minor terrains are put at the start of the game. The Summoning Pool is kept separate from the Dead Unit Area (DUA) and Buried Unit Area (BUA).