Dungeon Saga is a series of dungeon crawler board games, set in the world of Mantica (the same setting as Kings of War), by Mantic Games. Created from a Kickstarter project in 2014, it exploded as a popular product in that it was funded IN FOUR MINUTES.
One player takes the part of the evil dungeon overlord with the forces of evil at his command, and the others divide the mighty heroes between them. Each hero has strengths and weaknesses and teamwork is the key: The mighty barbarian can slaughter many foes at a time, yet he is lightly armoured and vulnerable to strong enemies. The Dwarf, on the other hand, is steadier as his thick armour can resist most attacks. The Elf is not as skilled a fighter as either of these, instead preferring to stay at a distance where her finely-honed archery skills can best be used. Finally, there is the wizard -the others may laugh at his lack of fighting skill, yet it is often his magic that carries the day. If the others can keep him alive, that is.
Blurb from BoardGameGeek:
Over a thousand years ago, Valandor, the greatest known hero fell in battle, fighting to protect the lives of those around him. From shore to shore, all owe thanks to his wondrous legacy. Now, sacred sites across the land have been defiled and plundered by the disgraced wizard Mortibris, who along with his vile undead minions will stop at nothing to obtain the secrets of Valandor’s power. Only the bravest heroes dare oppose him. Thrown together from the far corners of the realm, they step boldly into the depths, ready to face whatever foul evil awaits them…
Hero, your quest begins here!
Embark on a fantasy adventure for up to five players with Dungeon Saga: Dwarf King's Quest. With highly detailed game-pieces and learn-as-you-play rules, this set contains everything you need to transform your tabletop into a deep and immersive world of heroes and monsters. Play a single game in just 30 minutes, or combine the carefully composed adventures for countless hours of classic quest gameplay. When the fate of the world hangs in the balance, which part will you play in the epic Dungeon Saga?
The core game, Dwarf King's Quest, which pitched the heroes against a Necromancer and his undead minions, has received multiple expansions:
- Return of Valandor - a direct sequel to Dwarf King's Quest
- The Infernal Crypts - introduces Abyssals to the game
- The Warlord of Galahir - introduces orcs to the game
- The Tyrant of Halpi - has the party try to retrieve a valuable artefact from a DRAGON
Whilst these expansions used some of the models from the core set (some came with new models, representing heroes from different races), the characters were different (barring Return of Valandor).
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Some of the sword weapon upgrades.
- After-Action Patch-Up: After completing each dungeon, the Heroes are healed to full health.
- All Trolls Are Different: Zombie Trolls in the core game and its expansion.
- Always Chaotic Evil: The Overlord, and the forces they control.
- Amulet of Concentrated Awesome: The Spirit Of Valandor
- An Adventurer Is You: In the core game / expansion:
- Dwarf Warrior: Tank/Scrapper
- Human Mage: Buffer/De-buffer/Power re-generator
- Human Barbarian: Blademaster
- Elf Ranger: Archer
- Ancient Tomb: The setting of the core game, and the first expansion.
- Animate Dead: The enemies of the core game and its expansion are skeletons, zombies, ghosts and revenants.
- Anti-Hero: A few of the Hero characters could come across as this, as can the enigmatic characters that employed them.
- Annoying Arrows: The Trick-Shot rule, that allows the Hero to shoot something in range, but not in line-of-sight.
- Artifact of Doom: The Tome Of Valandor
- Ax-Crazy: Any Barbarian-class character can potentially become this. Also, Thundrak Skullsplitter in Warlord of Galahir
- Back from the Dead:
- Any of the undead minions in the game. Specifically Elshara, the Elven Banshee.
- Not so much back from the dead, but in the expansion Mortibriis plans to resurrect/summon a powerful demon, Ba'el
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Mortibriis didn't exactly fare well in his endeavours....
- Big Bad:
- Mortibriis in Dwarf King's Hold and Return of Valandor.
- Drach'nyok in The Infernal Crypts
- Thundrak in Warlord of Galahir
- Karrathor The Unbroken in Tyrant of Halpi
- Big Damn Heroes: Any hero character that makes it through a complete adventure.
- Banging for Help: Pietor the merchant in Warlord of Galahir
- Boisterous Bruiser: The Barbarian-class. Also, Zombie Trolls, Regular Trolls, and Orcs.
- Bond One-Liner: All over the place, from multiple characters.
- Briefcase Full of Money: In a way, as the inspiration for the Heroes embarking on the adventure in the first place.
- Boom, Headshot!: The Speed Of A Bullet ability.
- Bottled Heroic Resolve: The battle potions.
- Can't Argue with Elves: Averted with the dragon, Karrathor.
- Caught in a Snare: Any of the traps, triggered on the board.
- The Chessmaster: Mortibriis thinks of himself as this.
- Church Militant: There's a Human Cleric and Naiad Demonhunter in Infernal Crypts, and a Human Paladin in Tyrant of Halpi. Plus, the Adventurer's Companion allows creation of cleric, paladin and demonhunter classes from any race available.
- Clingy Macguffin: The Spirit of Valandor, once reassembled. It has to be attached to a hero, and possesses that Hero in the fact that the Valandor model and stats are used, rather than that hero.
- Conspicuous Trenchcoat: In an odd fantasy sense, the Elf Ranger wears a kind of one.
- Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind: The Orcs, in Warlord of Galahir
- Corpse Land: Depending on how many piles of bones you leave around in the first game and its expansion....
- Damsel in Distress: Averted completely, with the female Hero characters.
- Dungeon Bypass: The optional rules do allow this - If the Heroes can't bypass a dungeon after a couple of attempts, they can move to the next one, but their overall adventure timer decreases significantly.
- Dungeon Crawling: The whole point of the game.
- Don't Go Into the Woods: The premise of Warlord of Galahir
- Final Battle: The boss characters at the end of each adventure are no pushovers....
- Gaia's Vengeance: The motivation for the Gladewalkers and the Naiads.
- Glass Cannon: The Elf Ranger. Also, maybe the Human Mage.
- Green Rocks: The magical Energy Crystals.
- Grave Robbing: A possible interpretation of Dwarf King's Quest.
- Great Big Book of Everything: The Tome of Valandor.
- Gypsy Curse: The Druidism school of magic, kinda.
- Heroes Unlimited: The Adventurer's Companion expansion allows players to create their own Heroes, using races and professions, and allows for a more RPG-oriented experience. The core game and the expansions only allow players to use pre-defined Heroes, with pre-defined levelling.
- Healing Potion: One of the items you can find in chests is a healing potion.
- Humanoid Abomination: In a way, the Zombie Trolls.
- Instrument of Murder: Some of the special weapons that can be found. Also, a Barbarian-class character at high levels.
- Legions of Hell: The Abyssals.
- Lets Split Up The Gang: Sometimes a valid strategy. Other times, will lead to horrible failure.
- King in the Mountain: Karrathor
- Last Grasp at Life: The resurrected skeleton warriors. Especially if they get reduced to piles of bones, they have a chance they can be raised again.
- Macguffin: The Spirit of Valandor, The Tome of Valandor, and The Heart of Elshara. Also, possibly The Fire Lotus.
- Made of Explodium: Abyssal Efreets.
- Marionette Motion: Probably how the skeletons and zombies move in the adventures that feature them.
- Magical Accessory: You can find magic items throught your quests.
- "Open!" Says Me: The Break Ward spell, and the thief's Lockpicking ability.
- The Paladin: Well, any Paladin-class character.
- Religious Horror: The Human Paladins and Clerics probably see the Abyssals as this.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: The basic shooting ability is probably a lot better on average, than some of the magical items.
- Rise from Your Grave: Grund and Elshara from Dwarf King's Quest, and Ba'el from Return of Valandor.
- Respawn Point: If the Heroes fail a dungeon, they can retry it.
- Removing the Head or Destroying the Brain: Zombies are featured a fair few times during the course of the games.
- Rule of Cool: This is a game based in a high fantasy wargame world....
- Skeleton Crew: A lot of Skeleton warriors do crop up....
- Succubi and Incubi: The Abyssal Succubi.
- Room Full of Zombies: Can happen to careless players.
- When Trees Attack: Gladewalkers.
