Thunderstone: Doomgate Legion — Rules Manual

Doomgate Legion
A Game of Heroic Adventure for 2 to 5 Players
A Gathering Evil
Hiding away in secret for centuries, the order of the Doomgate
Legion guards the Stone of Avarice from friend and foe alike.
Their cult-like existence known only to a few, the Legionnaires
dedicate themselves to the secrecy, protection, and worship of the
stone. They are its champions. Its sentinels. Its vanguards.
The Doomgate Legion is their home. The Stone is their lives.
Having suffered a horrible blow at Dreadwatch Keep, the Heroes
have fled to the borders of Everwatch Village, where the Doomgate
Legion protects the third, and most coveted Thunderstone.
Legionnaires of the Stone guard its gates and the hallowed
passages beyond. Their world is one of dire need and impossible
action, tasked to the overwhelming burden of stopping the stone
from falling into even the most trustworthy hands.
It is a daunting task.
Contents
317 Cards
1 Thunderstone card
12 Treasure cards
30 Randomizer cards
25 card Special Disease deck
60 Monster cards
84 Hero cards
104 Village cards
1 Guardian card
28 Dividers
Object of the Game
The object of your quest, the ancient Thunderstone, lies hidden deep behind the Doomgate. There you will find horrific monsters, demonic guardians, and – if you are lucky – possibly even a treasure or two! You must gather mighty Heroes, powerful weapons, mystic spells, and mercenaries from Everwatch Village.

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Each player constructs his own deck of cards during the game.
Your deck represents the members, abilities, and gear of your
party. How you build your deck determines whether victory
and glory will be yours!
Doomgate Legion is an expansion to the base Thunderstone
game. It includes new cards, which can be played with — or
independent of — the basic game. It also includes new rules
and a glossary of each card in this expansion. The most recent
edition of the basic rules can be found at:
www.alderac.com/thunderstone
Your
First Game
If this is your first time using Doomgate Legion, play with these cards instead of the normal random setup. Cards marked with an (*) are new in this set.
Guardian Card
Unholy Guardian*
Monster Cards
Abyssal • Thunderspawn*
Cultists • Humanoid*
Evil Druids • Humanoid*
Treasure Cards
Amulets*
Special Disease Deck*
Hero Cards (all levels)
Drunari*
Elf
Slynn*
Thyrian
Village Cards
Bodyguard*
Glow Berries*
Greed Blade*
Divine Staff*
Short Sword
Spirit Blast*
Squire*
Pawnbroker
Basic Cards
Dagger
Iron Rations
Militia
Torch

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New Rules
All of the rules from the base Thunderstone game apply when using this expansion, except for the changes described below. If you are using cards from Wrath of the Elements, any applicable rules from there should also be used.

Setup
Adding Doomgate Legion to your Thunderstone game offers many new challenges and playing options. Along with new monsters, Heroes, and village cards, Doomgate Legion offers Treasures, Guardians, an alternate Disease deck, and a new Thunderstone, which can impact even the most casual setup.

If this is your first game using Doomgate Legion, we recommend that you use the cards listed on page 2. If this is not your first game, use the Randomizer cards to determine your setup instead. The Randomizer cards allow you to experience the wide variety of card combinations and all the diversity of Thunderstone. Setting up the game follows the same procedure as the base game, with only a few small changes to the process of building the Dungeon Deck.

Start by sorting the Randomizer cards into Village, Monster, and Hero piles. Combine all the Randomizer cards of each type from both the base set and Doomgate Legion. If you own Wrath of the Elements, include those Randomizers as well.

A few cards show a large question mark and say “Dungeon Feature” at the top. These will add special features like traps to the dungeon, and are mixed in with the Monster Randomizers. Shuffle all three Randomizer decks separately, just like in the base game. As before, use the Randomizer decks to select which cards are included in the game, returning the Randomizers to the box afterwards.

Now build the Dungeon Deck. Turn over cards from the stack of Monster Randomizers one at a time until you turn over a total of three different Monster cards, plus any number of Dungeon Feature Randomizers.

If you draw any Dungeon Feature Randomizers, shuffle the “Dungeon Feature” cards together. Take one card from this Dungeon Feature pile for each special Randomizer you drew.

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This will result in adding extra cards to the dungeon that are not monsters, such as Treasures and Guardians.
If you turned over the Swarm Monster Randomizer card, you will need to build a separate Swarm Deck (see “Swarm” on page 7).
Take all the Monster, Treasure, and Trap (if using Wrath) cards that match the revealed cards. There are ten cards for each class of Monster, but only six Treasures of each type.
If you flipped the Swarm Randomizer, be sure to add the Swarm placeholder cards to this stack. Set aside any Guardian card for now. Shuffle the Monster, Treasure, and Trap cards together to form the Dungeon Deck. The Dungeon will include at least 31 cards, and could include more depending on any Dungeon Features that may have appeared.
If any Guardian Dungeon Feature cards were turned over, you will now need to add the same number of Guardians to the Dungeon. For each Guardian, count off ten cards from the deck, without revealing them. Take the Guardian card (there is only one Guardian of each type) and shuffle it together with these ten cards. Place these eleven cards at the bottom of the Dungeon Deck. Repeat these steps if multiple Guardian cards are present in your game.
Finally, count off ten cards from the top of the deck (without revealing them) and shuffle them together with one of the Thunderstone cards. Place these eleven cards at the bottom of the previously constructed Dungeon Deck.
Turn over the top three cards from the Dungeon Deck to form the Dungeon Hall, as normal. Make sure you leave a little extra space for a Rank 0 if there is are any Guardians in the Dungeon Deck (see “Guardian Cards” on page 5). If any Treasures or Traps are turned up, place them on the bottom of the Dungeon Deck and refill the hall until only monsters are visible. The Dungeon is now ready for you!
Once the Dungeon is complete, populate the Village by following the steps listed in the base set rules. Give each player the cards they need for their starting Party Deck. Shuffle your own deck and draw six cards. You are ready to begin!

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Treasure Cards
Usually as you explore the dungeon you will find monsters intent on killing you. However, on occasion you may stumble across valuable treasure!
Treasure cards are added to the Dungeon Deck in much the same way as Monster cards (see “Setup” on page 3). All Treasure cards list “Treasure” in the Trait bar in the middle of the card.
There are currently two groups of Treasure cards: Ulbrick’s treasures, and the Amulets. As soon as a Treasure appears, the active player takes the treasure and places it in front of him (instead of his discard pile). During any later turn, the player may destroy this card to activate the special effect.
Continue turning and resolving cards until only Monsters (and/or Thunderstones) remain in the Dungeon Hall.

Guardian Cards
The most powerful minions of Doom are the Guardians. Much stronger than other Monsters, these fearless champions of evil can emerge from the Dungeon Hall to ravage the countryside!
Like other Monsters, the Guardian will be shuffled into the Dungeon Deck (see “Setup” on page 4). When the Guardian card is turned over, it is added to the Dungeon Hall and behaves like a regular Monster. Players can attack the Guardian in the Dungeon Hall normally.
All Guardians have a special Breach Effect: if it reaches Rank 1 of the Dungeon Hall, the Guardian will emerge from the Dungeon to attack the Village! Move the Guardian away from the Dungeon Hall, creating a new “Rank 0” space. Then, refill the Dungeon Hall as normal.

ULBRICK'S ARMOR
TREASURE
Destroy Ulbrick’s Armor and all revealed non-Hero cards.
Draw two cards for each card destroyed.

ULBRICK TREASURE

UNHOLY GUARDIAN
BREACH: Move to Rank 0.
If the Thunderstone starts a turn in the hall, place it on the bottom of the Dungeon Deck and refill the hall.
1
14
5
3
GUARDIAN • DOOMKNIGHT

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Only a Guardian can enter the Rank 0 space. If the Guardian is defeated, the Rank 0 space ceases to exist. Any player can attack a Guardian in Rank 0 and there is no Light Penalty applied to the battle (Light Penalty = 0).
Unlike normal Breach Effects, the Guardian has a continuous Effect that persists as long as the Guardian remains in Rank 0, affecting all players. Each player must resolve this special Breach Effect during his turn. Also, no player can claim the Thunderstone as long as the Guardian remains in Rank 0!
However, if the Thunderstone moves into Rank 1, the game ends, even if there is still a Guardian in Rank 0.
Guardians are immune to any Effect or action that would cause them to leave the Dungeon Hall (including Rank 0), or which change their position within it, until they are defeated in combat. This means that spells such as Banish have no effect on the Guardian, and the Guardian will not retreat to the bottom of the Dungeon Deck if you attack it and fail to defeat it.
Note: Only one of many Guardians is included in Doomgate Legion.
In the off chance that one Guardian is already in Rank 0 and another enters Rank 1, both Guardians share the Rank.
There is no limit to the number of Guardians that can occupy Rank 0. However a player choosing to Enter the Dungeon still selects only one Monster to attack, regardless of how many are in the Rank.

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The Swarm
The Swarm are a special breed of Monster card which grows stronger and stronger the more often you fight them.
The Swarm has two card types: the first are the placeholder cards, which have a “0” for all game stats and no card text.
If the Swarm is being used in the game, all the placeholder cards are shuffled into the Dungeon Deck like normal Monster cards. The other cards are used to create a separate Swarm Deck. Arrange these cards face up in order of Health, from 4 to 13 — with the 4 on top of the deck and the 13 on the bottom. Do not shuffle the Swarm Deck. Place the Swarm Deck next to the Dungeon Hall.
Whenever a Swarm placeholder card appears in the Dungeon Hall, it is immediately replaced with the top card from the Swarm Deck. The placeholder card is destroyed and removed from the game. Thus, the Swarm grows in power with each new card.
Also note that the Swarm are not worth Victory Points during the game! While they have no Victory Point value during play, they can be worth many Victory Points if they are in your Party Deck at the end of the game.
The Victory Point value of each Swarm card in your deck is equal to the total number of Swarm cards in your deck (maximum value = 5 VP each) at the end of the game. So, if you have one Swarm card, it is worth 1 VP. If you had three, they would be worth 3 VP each for a total of 9 VP. If you had seven Swarm cards they would be worth the maximum 5 VP each, for a total of 35 VP.
Note: Any card effect that targets a Monster’s printed Victory Points, such as “less than 4 VP,” does not affect the Swarm.
THE SWARM
The Swarm are worth 1 VP for each copy in your deck.
(Maximum 5 VP each)
BATTLE: Gain one disease.
ATTACK +1
2
5
1
THE SWARM • ANIMAL

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The Stone of Avarice
Doomgate Legions introduces another
Thunderstone to hide away within the
dungeon. The Stone of Greed does not
provide the same benefits as the Stone of
Mystery, however. For starters, the Stone
of Greed is worth only 1 VP at the end of
the game. Secondly, it has a Gold value
of 2 which can only be used in the
Village and only if you are playing one
of the Campaign Variants (see Wrath
of the Elements, page 12).
You can use any Thunderstone from any expansion in your
game. You can decide which to use before play, alternate
from game to game, or shuffle them together and select one
randomly.
Heck, it’s your game! If you want, you could even shuffle all
of them into the bottom ten cards of the Dungeon Deck and
only end the game when all of them show up!
Disease Deck
Healers in the Vermoth Tower have recently made great inroads in stamping out Dungeon Rot, the most common disease known to plague adventurers! Unfortunately, certain factions like the druids have been highly inventive in unleashing new diseases on unsuspecting dungeoneers.
Included in Doomgate Legion is a special disease deck
comprised of 25 cards. Ten of these are the same as the disease
cards featured in earlier editions of Thunderstone. The
remaining fifteen are new, more sinister, disease cards that
can inflict a variety of ill effects on the holder. If all players
agree, this deck may be used in place of the normal disease
deck. Also, take note that certain randomizers may require
the use of this special disease deck. Alternately, you can shuffle
the special disease deck and draw one card. If the title of the
card is “Disease”, use the normal disease deck and rules. If it
shows one of the new diseases, use the Special Disease deck
and rules.
If you are using the special disease deck, shuffle it and place
…as greed worms its
way into the souls of mortals.
STONE OF AVARICE
1
THUNDERSTONE
2

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it face down rather than face up during setup. When a game
effect forces you to take a disease card, draw the top card
from the disease deck and put it in your discard pile face up.
If one of these disease cards shows up in your hand on a turn
in which you Enter the Dungeon, you must reveal it and play
its special effects. Similarly, if a Disease card shows a Village
effect, it must be revealed and its special effects taken when
you Visit the Village.
When using the special disease deck, it is treated differently
from the normal disease pile in two respects. First, if a player
uses an effect such as resting or a cleric ability to destroy a
disease card, the card goes to the bottom of the disease deck
face down. Second, if the deck is to run out of cards (meaning
that they are all currently in players’ decks), any player who
would normally have to take a disease card gets lucky and
does not have to take one. Should disease cards be returned to
the deck at a later point, players will once again have to draw
disease cards when a game effect dictates as such.
Note: If multiple disease cards are given out at once, start to
the left of the active player and go clockwise.
HERO
Deep Drunari Sidhe Slynn Tempest Tholis Verdan
MONSTER
Abyssal • Thunderspawn Cultist • Humanoid Evil Druid • Humanoid The Swarm Undead • Stormwraith Dungeon Feature
SPECIAL
Amulet Treasures Guardian Pick Two Ulbrick’s Treasures
VILLAGE
Blessed Hammer Border Guard Cyclone Divine Staff Doomgate Squire Flask of Oil Fortune Teller Glowberries Greed Blade Pious Chaplain Soul Jar Spirit Blast Spirit Hunter
Doomgate Randomizer Cards

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Traits
In addition to Battle Effects, some Monsters have one or more Traits. Traits are constant powers that benefit the Monster all of the time.
Example: Ebon Fume has the Trait “Magic Attack Immunity.” This Trait reduces all of a party’s Magic Attack bonuses to zero.
Cards can have many different Traits. The Traits in this set are described below. For convenience, all of the Traits from Thunderstone, Wrath of the Elements, and Doomgate Legion appear.

Cannot be Attacked if [Something] is Activated/Equipped:
You cannot declare that you are attacking this Monster if you use any benefit of the [Something] prohibited. This includes benefits such as Attack, Magic Attack, Light, or Dungeon Effects (and others). If you have the [Something] in your hand, you can forgo the benefits of the card in order to attack the Monster.

Half-Magic Attack: After calculating your Magic Attack Bonus from all sources, reduce the value by one-half. Reduced Magic Attack Value is rounded down.

Half-Attack Without [Something] Present: Your total Attack Value is reduced by one-half (after all modifiers, rounded down) if you do not have the [Something] required. This could be Magic Attack, or Weapons, or almost anything else. If you do have the required trait, then use the full Attack Value.

Heroes with Strength less than X Cannot Attack: Heroes with a Strength less than the number shown (X) do not contribute Attack, Magic Attack, or other benefits (such as Light) to the battle. Since these Heroes still enter the Dungeon with the rest of the party, they may still be the targets of Battle Effects generated by the attacked Monster.

Immune to Edged Weapons: Any Attack or Magic Attack bonus from any Edged Weapon is reduced to zero. Other Effects of these weapons (such as Light) are not affected by this Trait.

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Immune to Spells: The Attack or Magic Attack bonus from all Spells is reduced to zero. Any other Effect or ability of the Spell cannot target or affect this Monster. Any Light bonus provided by a Spell is applied normally. For example: a Fireball spell will still provide Light +1, but not the Magic Attack +3.
Immune to Unequipped Heroes: Any Attack or Magic Attack bonus of any Hero that does not have a Weapon equipped is reduced to zero. Other benefits, such as Light, are not affected by this trait. For example: an Elf Wizard without a weapon still provides Light +1, but not Magic Attack +2.
Light –X: Light Penalties are constant and do not trigger as a Battle Effect. Instead, Light Penalties are calculated before the Battle begins and not as a normal Battle Effect.
Light Penalties Cannot be Reduced: Light and other card Effects and abilities that reduce Light Penalties have no effect. The Light Penalty for this Monster will always equal (or exceed) its Rank in the Dungeon Hall.
Magic Attack Immunity: Magic Attack Values on all cards are reduced to zero. Only non-Magic Attack can be used against this Monster. Heroes at the battle (including those who provide no Attack or Magic Attack) still provide other benefits, such as Light and/or other Traits, regardless.
Magic Attack Only: Only cards which grant Magic Attack add to your total Attack Value. You must meet or exceed the Monster’s Health using only Magic Attack to be victorious. Heroes at the battle (including those who provide no Attack or Magic Attack) still provide other benefits, such as Light and/or other Traits, regardless.
Magic Attack Required: You must have a Magic Attack of at least +1 in order to defeat the Monster. Any other combination of Attack and Magic Attack is allowed. You may still choose to attack the Monster (to force it to the bottom of the Dungeon Deck), even without Magic Attack present.
Must be Defeated to be Removed from the Dungeon Hall: This Monster is immune to any effect that would cause it to leave the Dungeon Hall for any reason, such as the effects

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of the Banish spell or Magi Staff. The Monster also will not
retreat to the bottom of the Dungeon Deck if it is attacked
and not defeated. The Monster is removed from the Dungeon
Hall only if it is defeated in battle.
Treasure: When this card is revealed, the active player places
the card aside, but not in his discard. See Treasure, page 5.
Unequipped Heroes Cannot Attack: Unequipped Heroes do
not contribute Attack, Magic Attack, or other benefits (such as
Light) to the battle. Since these Heroes still enter the Dungeon
with the rest of the party, they may still be the targets of Battle
Effects generated by the attacked Monster.
Global Effects
Truly powerful Monsters may have a Global Effect. These potent abilities affect all players, Heroes, and/or Monsters. Global Effects remain in play as long as the Monster is in the Dungeon Hall (including Rank 0). Global Effects, like Battle Effects, do nothing when the Monster with the Effect is revealed from your hand during your turn.
Card Glossary
Border Guard: The Dungeon Effect of the Border Guard can prevent the death of Heroes from any effect (decreased strength below 0, Battle Effects, etc.)
Blessed Hammer: The Dungeon Effect of this card only takes
place if the item becomes equipped to a Hero. If so, immediately
place the Rank 1 monster on the bottom of the Dungeon Deck
and refill the hall normally.
Deep Miner/Digger/Wrecker: Deep Heroes are penalized for
using weapons. ATTACK values on the cards are cumulative,
not individual. In this manner, a Deep Miner using a weapon
receives the bonus of the weapon and ATTACK +1 from his card
attributes (ATTACK [+3] + ATTACK [–2] = ATTACK +1)
Divine Staff: The MAGIC ATTACK +2 for attaching to a cleric
or wizard is in addition to the MAGIC ATTACK +1 provided by
the staff alone.
Doomgate Squire: The Repeat Dungeon Effect need not target
the same Hero each time it is used.
Drunari Vagabond: The ATTACK bonus for revealing gold is in
addition to the inherent ATTACK +1 of the Drunari.

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Fatigue: Dungeon Effects are applied before Battle Effects and effects from Trophies.
Flask of Oil: Using the Dungeon Effect of this card grants a +2 Light in addition to the +1 Light already provided by the Flask. The ATTACK +2 for destroying the Flask of Oil is in addition to the ATTACK +1 already provided by the Flask.
Fortune Teller: If neither of the drawn cards is a spell, the player must discard one of the two drawn cards.
Gaia’s Curse: Gaia’s Curse gains health for each XP the current player has, not for the total XP held by all players.
Hellstorm: The Battle Effect of Hellstorm destroys all Heroes revealed who have an inherent Magic Attack value.
Leprosy: The increase in purchasing cost applies to each purchase you make this turn.
Monarch Druid: An Evil Druid is any monster card which has the class “Evil Druid” written in the bar beneath the card art.
Pious Chaplain: When using this ability, you MUST destroy all disease cards in your hand.
Plague: Dungeon Effects are applied before Battle Effects and effects from Trophies.
Sidhe Natural/Druid: The disease transfer ability of the Sidhe can only be used on your own turn, not as a reaction to another player’s turn.
Sidhe Spirit: The active player chooses which monsters to place a disease card under. Diseases transfer to any player who attacks these monsters at any point, regardless of the outcome of battle.
Slynn Bowman/Bowmaster: The monster being revealed must match the class of the monster being attacked in order to receive the additional +ATTACK value in Ranks 2 or 3. Additional +ATTACK value are in addition to the basic ATTACK value of the Slynn.
Slynn Longbowman: The monster being swapped from your hand must replace the monster being taken from the Dungeon Hall. Place it in the newly emptied rank. Additional +ATTACK value stacks with the base ATTACK value of the Slynn.
Soul Jar: The MAGIC ATTACK from the revealed monster is in addition to the base Magic Attack +1 provided by the Soul Jar. Note, this ability only works for Clerics and Wizards.
Tempest Reaver: You must defeat a monster in order to use the ability of the Tempest Reaver. The defeated monster must be killed as a result of battle, not as a result of a card ability which removes/takes a monster from the Dungeon Deck.

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Tempest Warden: You must defeat a monster in order to use the ability of the Tempest Warden. The defeated monster must be killed as a result of battle, not as a result of a card ability which removes/takes a monster from the Dungeon Deck.
Tholis Clairvoyant: The monster being switched out from the Dungeon Hall returns to the top of the deck. Three cards should always be returned to the Dungeon Deck.
Thunder’s Curse: This card is worth –2 VP at the end of the game only.
Verdan Troubadour: The monster being put on the bottom of the Dungeon Deck must be one from the ranks of the Dungeon Hall, not from a player's hand.
Ulbrick’s Armor: Non-Hero cards include all villager, spell, monster, disease, items, weapons, and any other card without the Hero symbol (militia are considered Heroes for all purposes).
Ulbrick’s Gauntlets: The monster must be defeated in combat, not by any other means (Dungeon Effects or Card Abilities), in order to use the effect of Ulbrick’s Gauntlets.
Usurper: If the active player has less than or equal to 2 Heroes revealed, no Heroes are destroyed.

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Credits
Design: Mike Elliott
Art and Graphics: Jason Engle
Additional Graphics and Layout: jim pinto
Rules: Brent Keith, Ryan Metzler
Editing: Ryan Metzler
Playtesters: James Epstein, Rob Epworth, Frank Euclid,
Fred A. Hixenbaugh, David Lepore, Remo Pendowski,
Bryan Reese, Todd Rowland, Reilley Scott, Kurt White,
Mark Wooton, John Zinser
Contributing Playtesters: The BGG crew, Ryan Metzler,
David Lepore, John Zinser
Production: Brent Keith, David Lepore
Senior Brand Manager: Todd Rowland

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Visit the Village
1. Reveal your hand.
2. You may use any Village Effects on your revealed cards. You can use some, none, or all of the Effects on a card in any order you choose, making sure not to use Effects from destroyed cards. Unless the card has a mandatory Effect (like Disease), you are not required to use all Effects. No single Effect on a card can ever be used more than once. Effects and gold production are cumulative.
3. You now produce gold by adding the gold value of all revealed cards still in play to any gold you produced in Step 2.
4. You may purchase one card from the Village — this includes Basic, Hero, or Village cards — from the top of any stack in the Village. The Purchase Cost must be less than or equal to your total gold value. Always place purchased cards on your discard pile. Any unused gold is lost. If an Effect allows you to purchase more cards, the total Purchase Cost must be less than or equal to your gold.
5. Finally, you level up any or all of the Hero cards in your hand, using Experience Points you have collected.
6. End your turn by discarding all cards (whether used or not) face up on your discard pile, and draw six new cards to form a new hand.
Note: Actions must be taken in order, so a card may be discarded or destroyed before producing gold. For instance, if the Pawnbroker destroys a card with a gold value, you do not gain the gold value of the destroyed card.
Enter the Dungeon
1. Reveal your hand.
2. You may use some, none, or all of the Dungeon Effects from your cards. Unless the card has a mandatory Effect (like Disease), you are not required to use all Spells or Effects. You may equip one Weapon to each Hero, if the Strength requirements are met.
3. Declare which Monster and rank you are attacking.
4. Resolve the battle.
a. Calculate your total Attack Value, including all Light Penalties.
b. Resolve Battle Effects (adjust Attack Value as necessary).
c. Place an undefeated Monster on the bottom of the Dungeon Deck.
d. Place defeated Monster and Disease cards on your discard pile.
e. Receive Spoils (if any).
f. Shift Monster cards to fill empty ranks, and refill the Dungeon Hall.
g. Resolve Trap Effects (if any).
h. Resolve Breach Effects (if any).
5. End your turn by discarding all cards (whether used or not) face up on your discard pile, and draw six new cards to form a new hand.
Rest
1. You may destroy one card from your hand.
2. End your turn by discarding all cards face up on your discard pile, and draw six new cards to form a new hand.

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