Runebound is a 1-6 player

Player (game)

A player of a game is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in game theory and in ordinary recreational games....

 high fantasy

High fantasy

High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...

 adventure board game

Adventure board game

An adventure board game is a board game in which a player plays as a unique individual character that improves through gameplay. This improvement is commonly reflected in terms of increasing character attributes, but also in receiving new abilities or equipment.Adventure board games often...

 published by Fantasy Flight Games

Fantasy Flight Games

Fantasy Flight Games is a Roseville, Minnesota-based game company that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games. Fantasy Flight Publishing was founded in 1995 by its CEO, Christian T. Petersen. Since the release of its first game product in 1997, the company has been doing...

 in 2004. A second edition was published in 2005. In Runebound, 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. Curiously, there is usually little direct conflict between the players. Each player is seeking quests and trying to gain experience which results in greater power and combat skill.

Runebound is one of a number of fantasy board games published by FFG, others include Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Descent: Journeys in the Dark is a 2 to 5 player high fantasy adventure board game published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2005. Descent was designed and produced by Kevin Wilson. The game is not related to the video game Descent, but rather is based on an improved version of the mechanics of FFG's...

 and licensed games Warcraft, World of Warcraft and several The Lord of the Rings

War of the Ring (board game)

War of the Ring is a strategy board game by Roberto Di Meglio, Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello, first produced by Nexus Editrice and currently published by NG International....

 games. Runebound shares the same heroes and artwork and (some) items with Descent:Journeys in the Dark and Runewars and is set in the same world as the card game Rune Age'.

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.

Gameplay

Each player assumes control over one hero of the land. These heroes can attempt weak quests, medium quests, hard quests or game-winning quests (colored respectively green, yellow, blue and red). In the scenario included in the base game, "The Rise of the Dragonlords," the first hero to complete three of the game-winning quests wins the game. Many small box expansions listed below offer variants changing the victory conditions, themes, monsters, and items available.

Most quests features a battle with a monster. Each monster has a skill in each of three masteries: ranged combat, melee combat, and magical combat. A single hero can only attack in one of these mini-battles, 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 use a few items which enhance their abilities such as magic sword

Magic sword

The term magic sword refers to any kind of mythological or fictional sword imbued with magical power to increase its strength or grant it other supernatural qualities. The archetype originated in myth and legend, and occurs regularly in fantasy fiction....

s, enchanted armor, and healing potions. However, the main way that heroes gain strength is by adding to their starting abilities through use of experience tokens. Experience tokens are exchanged for increased combat power, or more 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.

Finishing a game can take many hours but the rules book offers some variant rules to speed up play.

Expansions

FFG has released many expansions for the game. The following is a complete list as of March 2010. This includes the following:

Board Expansions

• The Island of Dread - Released in 2005. Was the first expansion released for Runebound. It features a new partial map and many new quests and treasure reward cards. It is not a stand-alone game. Most of the new map consists of sea locations with their own adventure deck.

• Midnight - Released in 2006. This is a different type of expansion in which one player takes the role of the evil Night King while the other players try to gain power such that they can beat the final host of the Night King. It is not a stand-alone game. Midnight is based on the role-playing game Midnight
  Midnight (role-playing game)
  Midnight is a campaign setting for the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, released under the Open Gaming License. It was published by Fantasy Flight Games from 2003 to 2009.-History:...
  
  , a modification to Dungeons and Dragons created by FFG in 2003. This expansion is currently out of print and will most likely never see the light of day again.

• Sands of Al-Kalim - Released in 2007. It is a large expansion with a new board with an Arabian theme on which players compete to finish Story cards.

• The Frozen Wastes - Released in 2009. This expansion has an ice region as a theme and features new weather rules.

• Mists of Zanaga - Released in 2010. This expansion has a jungle theme and introduces rituals involving Primal Gods.

Item & Ally Card Set Expansions

• Artifacts and Allies (2005) - This is a simple addition of more items (and allies) which the heroes can purchase from the various towns on the board. One new element added with this card set are familiars. Each hero can have one familiar in addition to the two allies. Familiars aren't very powerful but they can do useful things outside of battle.

• Relics of Legend (2005) - This set of cards defines more powerful items which can be purchased by the heroes. It can be added to any Runebound game. The new items in this card set are banners, items that grant extra bonuses to your hero is you first complete a quest which charges the banner with energy.

• Champions of Kellos (2006) - This is a set of cards which define new allies and items available for purchase in the towns.

• Walkers of the Wild (2006) - New allies and item card set.

• Rituals and Runes (2008) - New allies and item card set.

• Weapons of Legend (2008) - New allies and item card set.

Challenge Card Set Expansions

• The Dark Forest (2005) - Set of cards which have extra effects if played in forest hexes.

• Terrors of the Tomb (2005) - Set of cards which are all undead
  Undead
  Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
  
  monster challenge quests.

• Drakes and Dragonspawn (2006) - This set of cards is designed to be added to any Runebound game. It contains more quests, and events for the heroes to conquer.

• Shadows of Margath (2006) - This set of cards is designed to be added to any Runebound game. It contains more quests, and events for the heroes to deal with. One version of this card set was created for the first version of Runebound (from 2004) but the card set was updated and reissued to be compatible with the 2nd edition rules.

• Beasts and Bandits (2008)

• Traps and Terrors (2008)

Adventure Variants

• Crown of the Elder Kings (2005) - This is a deck of cards which are designed to replace many of the quest cards found in the normal game of Runebound. It creates a different story from the normal game of Runebound. This variant ends the game in a direct confrontation between players rather than battles against powerful dragons.

• The Scepter of Kyros (2005) - Another adventure deck from 2005. This variant involves invading giants.

• Avatars of Kelnov (2006) - This is a deck of cards which are designed to replace many of the quest cards found in the normal game of Runebound.

• Cult of the Rune (2006) - This is a set of 30 cards and tokens which are designed to replace many of the cards found in the normal game of Runebound. It creates a different story from the normal game of Runebound.

• The Cataclysm (2008)

• The Seven Scions (2008)

Character Decks

• Battlemage (2006) - This is a set of cards for individual heroes to change their abilities. Allows you to add the powers of the Battlemage to your hero character.

• Blade Dancer (2006) - This is a set of cards for individual heroes to change their abilities. Allows you to add the powers of the Blade Dancer to your hero character.

• Runemaster (2006) - This is a set of cards for individual heroes to change their abilities. Allows you to add the powers of a Runemaster to your hero character.

• Shadow Walker (2006) - This is a set of cards for individual heroes to change their abilities. Allows you to add the powers of Shadow Walker to your hero character.

• Spiritbound (2006) - This is a set of cards for individual heroes to change their abilities. Allows you to add the powers of the Spiritbound to your hero character.

• Wildlander (2006) - This is a set of cards for individual heroes to change their abilities. Allows you to add the powers of a Wildlander to your hero character.

All Releases

2004

• Base game
  • Runebound (discontinued)
• Expansion deck
  • Shadows of Margath (discontinued)

2005

• Base game
  • Runebound (2nd edition)
• Expansion decks, wave 1
  • Adventure variants
    • Crown of the Elder Kings
    • The Scepter of Kyros
  • Challenge cards
    • The Dark Forest
    • Terrors of the Tomb
  • Items and ally cards
    • Artifacts and Allies
    • Relics of Legend
• Board expansion
  • The Island of Dread

2006

• Expansion decks, wave 2
  • Adventure variant
    • Avatars of Kelnov
    • Cult of the Rune
  • Challenge cards
    • Drakes and Dragonspawn
    • Shadows of Margath (2nd edition)
  • Items and ally cards
    • Champions of Kellos
    • Walkers of the Wild
• Board expansion
  • Midnight (discontinued)
• Class deck expansions
  • Battlemage
  • Blade Dancer
  • Runemaster
  • Shadow Walker
  • Spiritbound
  • Wildlander

2007

• Board expansion
  • Sands of Al-Kalim

2008

• Expansion decks, wave 3
  • Adventure variant
    • The Cataclysm
    • The Seven Scions
  • Challenge cards
    • Beasts and Bandits
    • Traps and Terrors
  • Items and ally cards
    • Rituals and Runes
    • Weapons of Legend

2009

• Board expansion
  • The Frozen Wastes

2010

• Board expansion
  • Mists of Zanaga

External links

• Fantasy Flight's Runebound homepage