How To Play
Intro
Undisturbed in the depths of an ancient lair, the Dragon slumbers. If the Dragon wakes, it could be the end of the world as we know it. Legendary heroes have been called to enter the lair, find the sacred relics, and slay the Dragon. But beware! The party of heroes has been infiltrated by the shadowy members of the Dragon Cult. These cultists will lie, deceive, and cheat to sabotage the heroes and wake the Dragon. Will you be a hero or a cultist? Will the heroes find the sacred relics they need to slay the Dragon? Or will the cultists outwit the heroes and end the world?
Enter the lair and discover for yourself, but remember…
Don’t Wake The Dragon!
Objective
At the beginning of each game, each player receives a Role Card determining their role as a hero or a cultist. The game ends when:
All Relics Are Found
If all of the Relic Cards are found (there is one for each player), the heroes slay the Dragon and win the game.
Heroes Win
The Dragon is Found
If the Dragon Card is found, the Dragon wakes and the cultists win the game.
Cultists Win
Time Runs Out
If the other end game conditions are not met by the end of the fourth round, the Dragon wakes and the cultists win.
Cultists Win
Setup
Every copy of Dragonwake includes Artifact, Event, & Power Cards. We recommend new players learn to play a basic version of the game without these cards. Once players are comfortable with the basics, click here to learn more about playing with these advanced cards.
The basic version of Dragonwake will use Role Cards and Search Cards.
Role Cards determine whether a player will play as a hero or a cultist.
Search Cards represent the things players will find in the Dragon’s lair. Besides the Dragon and the sacred relics, the lair is overflowing with gold. This gold is absolutely worthless and players must sift through it to find what they really want.
Set up two decks of cards, Role Cards and Search Cards, using the chart below.
Note: The Role Card decks in the chart are only recommendations. Feel free to customize your pool of Role Cards and alter the balance of the game!
Put any Role Cards not in your deck back in the box. They will not be used.
Shuffle together your deck of Role Cards and deal one to each player. Set any unassigned Role Cards beside the gameplay area.
Players should memorize their role and should not show other players their card.
The last step of setup is to spin the runestone. Whoever the Runestone points to when it stops spinning is the first Runebearer.
How To Play
Each game of Dragonwake may last up to four rounds but ends immediately if one of the end game conditions are met. Follow these four steps until the game ends:
1 Deal
Deal an equal number of Search Cards to each player. On the first round, each player should end up with five Search Cards. Players should memorize their hand of Search Cards before shuffling them and placing them facedown in a row.
2 Declare
Beginning with the Runebearer and going clockwise, give each player a chance to share which Search Cards they received. Players are allowed to lie, tell the truth, or stay silent. This opportunity to outwit, manipulate, and confuse your friends is what makes Dragonwake fun!
For example:
Jeremy is a hero with a relic and some gold. He declares, “I have one relic.”
Jocelyn is a cultist without any relics or the Dragon. She wants to waste the heroes’ time, so she lies and says “I have two relics.”
Dakota is a hero with the Dragon Card and two Relic Cards. He wants the relics to be found but they are shuffled together with the Dragon. To avoid risking the Dragon being picked, he conceals information by saying, “I only have gold.”
3 Search
Now the search begins! The Runebearer must point to another player’s Search Card using the Runestone. As soon as they release the Runestone, the card it is pointing to is revealed.
When a Search Card is revealed, place it faceup in the center of the play area where everyone can see it.
The Runebearer is never allowed to reveal a card from their own hand.
The player whose card was revealed takes the Runestone and becomes the new Runebearer. They pick the next Search Card to be revealed.
Continue revealing Search Cards and passing the Runestone. Once the number of revealed Search Cards matches the number of players, the round ends. The final player to receive the Runestone this round will be the first Runebearer of the next round.
For example, if you are playing with four players, the round ends once four Search Cards have been revealed.
4 Cleanup
Gather all of the revealed Search Cards and set them aside. Keep all unrevealed Search Cards facedown and shuffle them together. These will form the deck of Search Cards for the next round.
Repeat
Repeat these four phases of gameplay until the game ends:
End Game Conditions
The game ends immediately when one of three conditions are met:
All Relics Are Found
If all of the Relic Cards are found (there is one for each player), the heroes slay the Dragon and win the game.
Heroes Win
The Dragon is Found
If the Dragon Card is found, the Dragon wakes and the cultists win the game.
Cultists Win
Time Runs Out
If the other end game conditions are not met by the end of the fourth round, the Dragon wakes and the cultists win.
Cultists Win
Advanced Setup
Each game of Dragonwake includes three additional sets of cards to shake up the gameplay. Artifacts replace Gold Cards to cause unexpected occurrences. Events affect all players for an entire round. Power Cards allow players to control the game in remarkable ways. Play with artifacts, events, and powers in whatever combination makes the game the most fun for your party.
Artifacts
Artifacts replace some of the Dragon’s gold hoards with mystical items that can alter the game. To play with artifacts, replace some of the Gold Cards in your deck of Search Cards with an equal number of Artifact Cards. After that, treat Artifacts like normal Search Cards. If an Artifact is revealed, follow the instructions on the card. Artifacts always affect the player who revealed the card.
Events
Events are wild occurrences that affect an entire round of gameplay. Each round, randomly select an Event Card before the Search Cards are dealt. Follow the instructions on the card. Do not draw an Event Card on the fourth round.
Powers
At the beginning of the game, give each player one or more Power Cards to enhance your gameplay. Players should review the instructions on their Power Cards to know when they can activate their power. When activating a power, flip it faceup for the remainder of the game to show it has been used.
FAQ
If the Runebearer reveals a Search Card and another player activates their power at the same time, what happens?
If the Runebearer has already let go of the Runestone, the Search Card is revealed first and then the power can be used. If it is difficult to tell what happened first or the Runebearer has not let go of the Runestone, the power is to be used first.
If multiple players try to use their powers at the same time, whose triggers first?
Power Cards trigger in the order they were activated (flipped face up). If it is too difficult to tell which card was activated first, spin the Runestone. Whoever the Runestone points toward uses their power first.
There’s a certain Artifact/Event/Power Card that we hate playing with. Do we have to play with it?
If there’s a card you don’t like playing with, feel free to leave it out. We opted to provide more cards rather than less and give players the opportunity to choose how to balance and set up their games.
If the Dragon is the first card drawn, does the game really end immediately?
Yes. If you want to guarantee a longer game, play so that a certain number of cards need to be revealed before the Dragon ends the game. If the Dragon is revealed before that number of cards is reached, treat it as a Gold Card and replace a Gold Card with the Dragon card when the Search Cards are shuffled at the end of the round.
If I use Chosen One after an Artifact has been revealed, do the effects of the Artifact still occur?
No. Any effects caused by the artifact are undone along with the card reveal.
Am I allowed to use Preacher or Witch on myself?
No.
Can I use Preacher or Witch on the player who shares my Role Card due to the Figure of Fate artifact?
Yeah. You’re technically using the power on another player (even though it directly affects you), so it’s okay.
When using Divinator, Mentor, or Candle of Clairvoyance can I peek at my own Search Cards?
No.
When using the Hunter card can I flip my own Search Cards?
Yes, but the facedown card you use the Runestone to reveal cannot be one of your own Search Cards.
Can I use Candle of Clairvoyance, Bandit, Divinator, Hunter, Inquisitor, or Mentor during a round with the Eclipse event?
Yes, Eclipse only affects the beginning of the round when players normally look through their Search Cards.
Can I use Candle of Clairvoyance, Bandit, Divinator, Hunter, Inquisitor, Mentor, or Trickster to target a card that is removed from play by the Gluttony event?
No. Cards removed from play by the Gluttony event cannot be revealed, targeted, or affected by any means.
What if you're playing with untrustworthy folk who don't shuffle their cards properly?
Sorry you have to deal with that, pal. If that’s the case, after each player has been dealt their Search Cards and has had the chance to memorize them, have each player shuffle the Search Cards of the player to the right.