Does the Dragon’s special ability prevent paladins from healing the party?

Yes, it does. The party skips the entire Healing Step. However, it does not prevent wizards from casting the “Regeneration” spell, as spells are not part of the Healing Step.

(The icon description on page 19 incorrectly says “Priests will not heal anyone this round.” This should also apply to paladins. In later editions, this will be changed to “Skip the Healing Step this round.” )

In my game, there are four Troll Tokens, but only three Trolls. Why?

Because of production issues, there has to be an even number of cardboard components of each shape. Enjoy your extra token

Do I have to pay for a monster I fed to a Demon during Pay day?

No, you do not pay the cost of a monster eaten by a Demon, nor do you gain 1 Evil for not paying it.

How do Troll Tokens work?

You should have as many Troll Tokens as you have Trolls. Store them in your Imp Den.

One or more Troll Tokens can be used in any First Year room, including the Magic Room. Each token replaces one imp. (Two Trolls in a Magic Room produce a regular imp, not another Troll Token. Don’t ask us how they do that; it’s just magic.)

Troll Tokens cannot be used to Mine Gold or Dig Tunnels (however, they can produce gold or tunnels in the appropriate room) and do not count as imps for any other purposes (final scoring, Kamikaze Imp trap, Fist of Justice spell, Desertion event, etc.).

Can spells affect the special abilities of Monsters?

The “skip Healing” and “prevent Conquering” abilities are resolved in the Monsters (and Ghosts) Step of Battle.

Fast spells that force you to withdraw a monster prevent it from using its ability, as does Metamorphosis (it turns a monster into a sheep with no abilities).

However, Blind Rage does not affect other abilities (it just alters the attack type), and Dimensional Gate is a slow spell, so the ability takes effect even though the monster is teleported away.

Do spells affect Ghosts?

If the spell says it affects all monsters (Word of Peace, Suggestion, Blind Rage) it does not apply to Ghosts. (This is not optional – for example, you can’t decide to withdraw your Ghost when Word of Peace is cast.)

When you have to choose one of your attacking monsters (Aura of Fear, Metamorphosis, Dimensional Gate), you can’t choose a Ghost. You have to choose a monster, if you sent one. If you sent only Ghosts (or nothing at all), the spell has no effect on you.

Spells that affect the party can protect them from monsters and ghosts. For example, Magic Shield can prevent 1 point of damage from a Ghost and Invisibility can keep a Ghost from damaging wizards.

The effect of Illusion also applies to Ghosts: it allows them to attack the first real adventurer (even the paladin).

When can I withdraw a monster (or ghost) from battle?

Once sent to battle in the Planning Phase, monsters and ghosts cannot be voluntarily withdrawn (for example to avoid a nasty spell), and they have to use one of their combat options, if possible. Whether they can attack or not, they return face down. (Golems and Vampires are the exceptions – Golems always return face up. Even if your Vampire cannot attack, you may decide to return it face up. (Golems and Vampires that get turned into sheep, however, lose their abilities and are knocked out.))

Some spells force you to withdraw one or more monsters. In that case, return any affected monsters to your Monster Lair face up, as though you never sent them. You can use them in later rounds. Nothing can cause a Ghost to withdraw from the battle.

When do I decide how my monsters and ghosts attack?

For monsters (and ghosts), you choose the order of attack and the type of attack in the Monster (and Ghosts) Step. You do not have to state it when planning. You can decide to attack in any order.

Note that the order might be important: for example, if an attack eliminates the first adventurer, the next adventurer becomes the first adventurer for the following attacks.

Does the dummy player remove a room or monster when its Hire Monsters or Build Room action resolves?

No. The dummy player does nothing. It just blocks one space of three different actions.

During development of the game, there was a rule that the dummy player took the leftmost monster (or ghost) when placed on the Hire Monster order. This rule was later abandoned, as it was too restricting and players tended to forget it, but if you want, feel free to use this rule.