Runebound
Fantasy adventure board game From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fantasy adventure board game From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Runebound is a high fantasy adventure board game created by Martin Wallace and Darrel Hardy and published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2004. A second edition was published in 2005. A third edition was released in 2015. In Runebound, one to six players take the roles of adventurers who seek out quests (indicated by markers on the map). The quests are then resolved with either victory for the player, or a loss of some item. Each player is seeking quests and trying to gain experience which results in greater power and combat skill.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2022) |
Runebound box | |
| Designers | Martin Wallace, Darrell Hardy |
|---|---|
| Publishers | Fantasy Flight Games |
| Years active | 2004 to present |
| Players | 1–6 |
| Setup time | 30 minutes |
| Playing time | Varies |
| Chance | Dice rolling, card drawing, token flipping |
| Age range | 12+ |
| Skills | Dice rolling, Simple arithmetic |
Runebound is one of a number of fantasy games published by FFG set in the fictional world of Terrinoth including Descent: Journeys in the Dark, Rune Age, BattleLore, Dungeonquest, Runewars, and Legacy of Dragonholt, with which it shares the same heroes, artwork and some items.
The first large expansion, to Runebound, Runebound: Island of Dread, was released in 2005. Many other expansions to Runebound have been released by FFG, some are just sets of cards, others contain new maps and rule changes. Only one "large" expansion or adventure variant deck can be used at a time.
 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Significant changes to the game world and scenario were introduced in Runebound Third Edition that are not discussed here. (January 2019) |
The base game takes place in the realm of Terrinoth, a land covered by various terrains: plains, rivers, forests, hills, swamps, and mountains. There are 8 cities represented on the board, each with its own banner color and heraldry, including the capital city of Tamalir.
In the base scenario, "The Rise of the Dragonlords", the evil necromancer Vorakesh is trying to resurrect the High Lord of the Dragons, Margath, who was killed in the ancient Dragon Wars. In order to do so, he must gather the Dragon Runes with the help of his undead general, Sir Farrow, and their army of followers. The heroes have been charged with stopping Vorakesh's plan by either getting the Dragon Runes first, guarded by powerful dragons, or by defeating Margath himself. Along the way they will have to contend with the armies of Sir Farrow, the followers of Margath, and the monsters of the realm such as the bat-like Razorwings and ghoulish Ferrox.
Each player assumes control over one hero of the land. The heroes each have their own unique traits including health, stamina, skills and the three primary stats of the game: Mind, Body, and Spirit. These stats are used to determine their ability to complete various challenges, such as swimming or negotiating. The stats are also used to determine their combat abilities in Ranged, Melee, and Magic phases respectively. Many heroes also have special abilities which can be used to help them in their adventures.
During the game, the heroes attempt to complete adventures of increasing difficulty, colored respectively green, yellow, blue and red. The adventures can take the form of challenges that require the hero's skill, events which affect play for all heroes, or combat with an enemy. Completing these adventures results in rewards and experience for the hero, making them more powerful based on the difficulty of the challenge.
Most adventure cards feature a battle with an enemy. Each enemy also has a skill in each of three phases: ranged combat, melee combat, and magical combat. A hero can only attack in one of these phases and must defend in the other two. However, a hero can recruit one or two allies who can attack during the other two phases of the battle.
The heroes are able to acquire gold in their adventures which can be used to purchase items that enhance their abilities such as magic swords, enchanted armor, and healing potions. As they defeat challenges, the heroes gain experience tokens which can be used to increase their starting abilities by exchanging the tokens for increased stats, stamina, or extra life. As heroes grow more powerful this allows them to tackle more difficult quests (yellow, blue, and finally red quests). Various expansion card decks change the basic game as you can gain familiars, banners, and new powers.
In the scenario included in the base game, "The Rise of the Dragonlords," the first hero to defeat Margath or complete three of the red adventure cards wins the game. Many small box expansions listed below offer variants changing the victory conditions, themes, monsters, and items available. Finishing a game can take many hours but the rules book offers some variant rules to speed up play.
In a review of Runebound in Black Gate in 2011, Jeff Stehman said "There's a story running through the game that any turn of card can add to it. These can inspire."[1] Bob Byrne also reviewed Runebound for Black Gate in 2014, and said "I think that Runebound 2nd Edition is a solid RPG board game with some useful expansions. And it comes with twelve heroes of varying abilities, so there's some replay value built in. I'd give it a try if you get a chance."[2]
FFG has released many expansions for the game. The following is a complete list as of March 2010. This includes the following:
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2015
2017
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
