D&D Adventure Game: Cry-for-Help Spawn Variant

This variant introduces rules for the D&D Adventure Game series.

As the standard rules work, it doesn’t feel like the D&D RPG, partly because the game punishes by not exploring. This gives the board game a kind of race mechanic, which is not our experience with D&D adventures.  Instead, Ken and I came up with rules that add multiple monsters and a call-for-help mechanic. We also wanted fewer fights with more powerful monsters.

  • This variant removes the penality for not exploring. Encounters don’t depend on exploration.
  • Monsters call for help when wounded.
  • Check for roaming monsters if none are on the board.

The health for monsters is also increased:

  • It makes each combat a little more challenging.
  • It also allows each monster to cry for help when wounded.

Players don’t get healing surges as a default power. Players earn healing surges now finding a designated healing tile.

The video below walks through the rules, explaining the goal for the variant. It also notes which event cards I kept in the game and which I left out. But keep them all if you like or select the ones you think are most thematic.

Download (PDF, 5.58MB)

For more about this D&D board game, see the Wizards of the Coast page and Board Game Geek.

gbeason (gawgi)

A father of two teens, I game and write in the Dallas area.

I’ve been a tech writer for more than 25 years, from super computers to healthcare software. I’ve also read a lot of ancient dead Greeks.