RedJak's Automated Monster Variant V1.2.

Introduction Game Setup

RAMV is a less complicated version of RedJak's Automated Event Deck
Overlord Variant. It combines elements from both RAOV and the
DelvenDeep expansion to create an experience similar to games
like Temple of Elemental Evil.

While RedJak's Automated Monster Variant (RAMV) is designed to

be used with existing Descent campaigns, it is not meant to
simulate a real Overlord. Instead, the focus is on simulating how
the monsters react to their surroundings. For those that may
have found RAOV cumbersome, RAMV will provide a more Remove all Dark Intervention cards from the Event card deck and
streamlined experience for solo or cooperative play. set them aside. Then, shuffle one Dark Intervention card into the
Event deck.
If you come across a situation where the rules are not clear, don't
fret over what to do. Just make a decision based on your best Dark Influence Deck
judgment.

Unless otherwise stated, normal Descent Second Edition rules

apply.

RAMV supports the core set, as well as the following campaigns:

Heirs of Blood
Labyrinth of Ruin If not playing with Agents (see Appendix A), remove all Dark
Lair of the Wyrm Presence cards from the Dark Influence deck.
Manor of Ravens
Shadow of Nerekhall Condition Deck
The Trollfens The Condition Deck is used when applying random conditions.
Mists of Bilehall Shuffle together one of each type of condition card to create the
Condition Deck.
RAMV also supports the following hero and monster packs:
Monster Deck
Bonds of the Wild Create two Monster Decks by shuffling all monster cards of the
Crown of Destiny same Act together. You will pull monster cards from these decks
Crusade of the Forgotten during setup of an encounter.
Guardians of Deephall
Oath of the Outcast
Visions of Dawn Choosing Quests
Treaty of Champions The heroes will always choose the next quest, regardless of which
Stewards of the Secret side won the previous quest.

Monster AI cards for the Conversion Kit are also included. If a Rumor quest is available, the heroes must choose one after
completing a standard campaign quest.
Card background images and icons are property of Fantasy Flight
Games.
Encounter Setup
Team card design by Urukwai.
Choosing Open Groups
Shuffle the Monster Deck for the current Act. Draw cards off the
Necessary Components bottom until you draw one that matches a monster trait listed for
You will need a copy of the RAMV rules, as well as a printed set of the encounter. Do this for each open monster group.
cards. The cards are available in lo-res sheets for printing at
home, and individual hi-res cards for professional printing. Be There should be only 1 Huge and 1 Massive monster total in the
sure to choose the bridge-sized card option when creating a encounter, not counting Lieutenants and Agents (some encounter
professional print job. requirements may break this rule). When drawing cards for open
groups, ignore any Huge or Massive monsters drawn if there is
The rules and cards for RAMV can be on my Google Drive at: already a Huge or Massive monster chosen for the encounter.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzpR1-
5sN2wAflhzeHNvaGxmQnFabjhFNWc2SzdvZGM3bnVPQldqSHBQQ
0xNOXJqOC1sMUE

The Overlord and Plot decks are not used in RAMV. However, the
Agent cards from the lieutenants packs may be used.

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Assigning Monster Teams Turn Order
During an encounter, monster groups and lieutenants will activate In RAMV, the heroes and monster groups will take alternating
in a specific order. This order is determined by how the monsters turns. One sequence of turns is called a round.
are listed in the encounter setup, and by the number of heroes.
At the start of a round, the players decide which hero will take
their turn first. Once this hero has completed their turn, the
player for that hero then activates any monster groups in Team
1. Then, the players decide which hero will take their turn next.
After the second hero takes their turn, that hero will activate any
monster groups in Team 2, etc.

Start by placing a number of Team cards in a row, in order, equal The end of a round occurs when all heroes and monster groups
to the number of heroes. Then, place monster cards under each have taken a turn.
Team card in the order listed in the encounter setup. The first
monster listed will be placed in the first Team, the second Any game effects that apply at the start of the Overlord turn or
monster listed will be placed in the second Team, etc. at the start of the hero turn will instead both apply at the start of
a round.
If you have placed one monster group in each Team, and still
have monsters left to place, place the remaining monsters Any game effects that apply at the end of the Overlord turn or at
starting again at the first Team. the end of the hero turn will instead both apply at the end of a
round.
In the event that a new monster group is brought into play, it will
be assigned to the first Team in the row with the least amount of Sequence Of Play
monster cards. The steps that occur in a single round are as follows:

Placing Monster Groups 1. Start of Overlord/Hero turn effects

Follow any encounter-specific rules for placing monster figures 2. Draw and resolve an Event card
first. Figures are placed on their designated map tile in whichever 3. Hero 1 activates
manner the players wish. 4. The player of Hero 1 activates the monster groups in Team 1
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each other hero and Team
AI Cards 6. End of Overlord/Hero turn effects

Some encounters will state that the Overlord takes their turn first
(or that the heroes skip their first turn). For these encounters,
the heroes do not activate during the first round. After the first
round, turn order resumes as normal.

Event Cards
AI cards are used to determine the actions a monster will take
At the start of each round, after the start of round effects are
during an encounter. For each monster in the encounter, find the
resolved, draw an Event card.
corresponding AI card.
If there is ever a conflict between the rules and an Event card,
Encounter Objective Cards
the Event card overrides the rules.

If an Event card is drawn that cannot be played, then it is

discarded. A replacement Event card is not drawn.

There are two types of Event cards:

Instant: These Event cards are one-time effects that are

The Encounter Objective cards will list monster objectives for
resolved immediately. Once the effects of an Instant Event card
each encounter. These cards will also indicate which campaign
are resolved, it is discarded.
they belong to. Before beginning a campaign, gather all
Encounter Objective cards for that campaign.
Global: These Event cards are an ongoing effect that apply to
the whole map. When a Global Event card is drawn, place it into
If there are no Encounter Objective cards for the campaign or
play near the map and apply its effects.
quest being played, use your best judgment in determining
Encounter Objectives for the monsters.
During Act I, there may only be one standard Global Event card
in play at a time. When a new Global Event card is played,
discard the current Global Event card in play.

During Act II, there may only be two standard Global Event cards
in play at a time. If there are two Global Event cards in play
when a new one is played, then discard the oldest Global Event
card.

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Dark Influence Cards If a response to a trigger does not apply, due to previous actions
Dark Influence cards are a special type of Global that represent or other effects, then it is skipped.
the influence of a particular lieutenant.
Some responses will have multiple parts in a do this, then that
Dark Influence cards will remain in play for the duration of the format. If a monster has only one action remaining when
current encounter. Dark Influence cards are not played as resolving this kind of response, resolve whichever response
standard Global Event cards, and do not trigger the discard of applies first.
existing Global Event cards. Playing a standard Global Event card
will also not trigger the discard of a Dark Influence card. For example: A Skeleton Archer has already used an action to
attack. For its next action, it is attempting to resolve the If
A Dark Influence card may be discarded by the effects of other adjacent to a target trigger. The response is Attack a target, then
Event cards or abilities. There is no limit to the number of Dark Withdraw. Since the Skeleton Archer has already attacked, it
Influence cards in play at one time. cannot attack again, so the first part of the response is ignored.
The second part of the response, then Withdraw, is a valid action.
If there is a lieutenant on the map that matches a Dark Influence The Skeleton Archer performs a Withdraw action.
card in play, then that lieutenant gains and recovers +2
maximum health per hero. Some triggers and responses will only be resolved for a specific
rank of monster. These will be noted by an M prefix as follows:
If there is an Agent on the map that matches a Dark Influence
card in play, then that Agent gains and recovers +1 maximum M: This trigger or response is only resolved for a
health per hero. master monster.

If a Dark Influence card is drawn that cannot be played, then it is

m: This trigger or response is only resolved for a
discarded. A replacement Dark Influence card is not drawn. minion monster.

Some monsters will have special triggers and responses that can
occur outside of its normal activation. This is a reactive trigger,
Activating Monster Groups And Monsters
After a hero ends their turn, that player will then activate any and will be noted by an R. Responses to reactive triggers only
monster groups assigned to them by turn order. The first hero to occur when the trigger is met, they are not checked as a possible
take their turn during a round will activate Team 1. The second trigger during normal monster activation.
hero to take their turn during a round will activate Team 2, etc.
Some triggers on Lieutenant AI cards may be preceded by a
The player places the AI cards for the monster groups they will symbol. These triggers will only apply for the Act II version of the
activate in front of them. Lieutenants and Agents on a Team will lieutenant.
activate before other monster groups.
There may be cases where a monster has actions remaining, but
When a hero activates a monster group, any master monsters in is unable to resolve any of the possible responses in the trigger
the group will be activated first. After activating master list. If this occurs, simply end the monster's turn.
monsters, the player decides which order to activate the minions
in the group. For example: A monster has used one action to attack. The
monster is also already engaged with its target. Attack responses
Once all monster groups in a Team have activated, flip the Team are skipped because the monster has already used its one attack
card over to indicate that Team is done with their turn. action. Engage responses are skipped because the monster is
already engaged with its appropriate target. There are no more
A Team containing no monster groups, or monster groups that responses that the monster can resolve, so its turn ends.
are not currently in play, will still activate on its turn. Because
there are no monster group activations for an inactive Team, Monsters With An Encounter Objective
simply flip the Team card over to show that the Team has A monster with an Encounter Objective will always attempt to
completed its turn. resolve an Engage action as their first action. Once this Engage
action is resolved, then follow the triggers on the Monster AI card
A player with AI cards in their play area is responsible for as normal.
resolving reactive triggers for those monster groups.
There are four terms that are used to define what type of actions
a monster can take during its activation.
AI Response Actions
Attack
The AI cards lists monster responses to certain triggers. These
The monster will attack a target within its max attack range and
triggers and responses are formatted in an If this occurs, then
line of sight, following these rules:
do this manner.
If the monster has an Encounter Objective, then the
When a monster is activated, check the Monster AI card to
closest Encounter Objective will be attacked.
determine which actions the monster will take. Check against
each trigger listed on the card in order from the top.
If the monster does not have an Encounter Objective, or
there is no Encounter Objective within max attack
If the trigger in bold text exists, then the monster will respond by
range, then the target with the least amount of
taking the action or actions listed after that trigger. If the trigger
remaining health will be attacked.
does not exist, then skip to the next trigger.

If the end of the trigger list is reached, and the monster still has
actions remaining, start again at the top.

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Max attack range is determined by the activated figure's attack Use Ability
type as follows: The figure will activate the indicated ability. Choose targets using
the Attack action targeting rules unless otherwise indicated by
Melee: Adjacent space the response text.
Reach: Two spaces
Ranged: Four spaces When resolving an ability that moves a hero, move the hero in a
straight line away from the monster and any hero objectives.
If there are no targets in range for an attack, then the Attack
action is skipped. Withdraw
A Withdraw action is a means for a monster to attempt to move
If the Encounter Objective is not an attack-able object, then out of range of hero attacks.
whatever action is necessary to interact with the objective will be
completed. In this case, the Attack action becomes an Interact Like an Engage action, a monster performing a Withdraw action
action. will use a move action to gain movement points equal to its
speed.
For example: If the Encounter Objective is a token that needs to
be picked up, then the monster will use the Attack action as an The monster will then move away from any nearby heroes,
Interact action to pick up the token. attempting to move out of attack range of melee and reach
heroes.
If an AI card response indicates a specific target for an attack,
then that response will override these attack rules. Many Withdraw actions will indicate a specific number of spaces
to withdraw. This is intended to keep the monster in the fight,
For the purpose of opening doors, the Attack action will become but make it more difficult for heroes to counterattack.
an Interact action. Other Withdraw actions will indicate that the monster should
Withdraw towards a specific target.
Standard Descent rules for the number of allowable attacks will
apply. A monster with an Encounter Objective will always Withdraw
towards the encounter objective, regardless of any target
Engage indicated in the response text of the Monster AI card.
The monster will use a move action to gain movement points
equal to its speed. The monster will then attempt to move within A monster that is within max attack/interact range of an
max attack range of a target, following the shortest route, as Encounter Objective will ignore a Withdraw response.
follows:

If the monster has an Encounter Objective, then it will Surges

move towards the closest Encounter Objective, If any surges are rolled during a monster's attack, spend surges
regardless of how far away it is. If movement towards on a valid option in the following order:
the Encounter Objective is blocked, then the monster
will move as close as possible towards the Encounter 1. If a ranged unit would miss an attack due to rolling
Objective. insufficient range, then spend a surge on +range if it
would make the attack hit.
If the monster does not have an Encounter Objective, 2. Surges gained from Event cards.
then it will move towards the closest target with the 3. Double-surges.
least amount of remaining health that is within 4. Apply other surges as listed on monster card from left to
movement range. right, starting in the top row.

If there are no targets within movement range, then the Do not attempt to resolve useless surges. For example: If a
monster will move towards the closest target. monster has a surge option to apply a Condition, and the
monster has not rolled enough damage to damage the target,
If an Encounter Objective is not attack-able, then the engage then there is no need to attempt to apply the Condition.
range to the target will be whatever range is necessary to
Interact with the target.
Condition Deck
For example: If the Encounter Objective for the figure is to exit
Whenever a random condition is to be applied to a hero, shuffle
off the map, then the engage range will be whatever movement
the Condition deck and draw the bottom card. Apply the condition
is necessary to move off the map through the exit.
to the hero and return the condition card to the Condition deck.
A figure already at engage range with its target will skip the
Engage action. Placing Reinforcements
When placing reinforcement, always place available master
For example: A monster with no Encounter Objective has used monsters first.
one action to attack. The next response on the Monster AI card is
to Engage a target. The monster is already at engage range with
the closest target with the least amount of health, so it skips the
Engage action.

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Random Hero Selection Appendix A: Optional Rules
If the Overlord needs to choose a hero, and there is no clear Agents (+Difficulty)
option for which hero to choose, then a hero may be chosen If you have lieutenant packs, you may play RAMV using Agents.
randomly using hero tokens. Agents use the Agent AI cards to determine their actions.

Collect a hero token from each hero. Shuffle the tokens together, During game setup, remove all Dark Presence cards from the
either in a bag or out of sight. Then choose a hero token at Dark Influence deck. Take any Dark Presence cards for which you
random. do not have lieutenant packs and remove them from the game.
Also, remove any Dark Presence cards for lieutenants as
indicated on the Lieutenants Encounter Objective card for the
Terminology campaign.
To clarify some terms used on Event cards:
Place the remaining Dark Presence cards back into the Dark
All figures: Or just 'figure', includes all hero and monster Influence deck.
figures.
Drawing a Dark Presence card from the Dark Influence deck will
All monsters: Or just 'monster', includes all minion and master summon the Agent indicated on the card.
monsters, lieutenants, and agents.
If a Dark Presence card is drawn for an Agent that has a
Master monster: Includes master monsters and agents. corresponding lieutenant present in the current quest, then
discard the Dark Presence card without placing the Agent.
Any target (Monster AI cards): Or just 'target', includes all
opposing figures and objects that are target-able for an attack or The Agent will replace a monster figure in the first open monster
interaction. This is not limited to, but does include, any encounter group without an Agent. If there is a master monster in the
objective targets. group, remove the master monster and place the Agent in its
place. If there is no master monster, remove one of the minion
monsters that is closest to the heroes and place the Agent in its
place.
Completing A Quest Or Encounter
The Overlord does not gain or spend XP during the campaign.
A summoned Agent is assigned to the same Team as the monster
group it spawned for.
If the Overlord would gain a special Overlord card as a reward for
winning a quest or encounter, add a Dark Intervention card to the
There may only be one Agent assigned to each open monster
Event deck instead.
group. If a Dark Presence card is drawn, and there are no open
monster groups to place the Agent in, then the card is discarded.
During the Shopping step, deal out the top six shop item cards
for the current Act. Any items not purchased are returned to the
Rumors (+Difficulty)
bottom of the shop item deck.
Playing Rumor quests has the possibility of adding Dark
Intervention cards to the Event deck earlier in the campaign.
If the Overlord lost the quest, add one Dark Intervention card to
the Event Deck.
If playing with Rumors, remove these three Rumor cards from
the game first:
All Event and Dark Influence cards are returned to their
respective decks and shuffled after each encounter.
A Dangerous Path
Famine and Strife
Scarce Goods
Travel Phase
Follow these guidelines when resolving effects of Travel cards: During campaign setup, shuffle the remaining Rumor cards
together. Draw three cards from the Rumor deck and place them
Any effect that would cause the discard of an Overlord face up in the play area.
card instead prevents an Event card from being played
at the start of the first round. Secret Rooms
Any effect that would cause the Overlord to gain any Do not check for traps when revealing a secret room challenge
number of Overlord cards instead puts one Dark token.
Influence card into play. The limit on the number of Dark
Influence cards in play will apply. Any monsters that spawn due to revealing a challenge token are
When the Overlord chooses a hero for an effect, use the assigned to their own separate Secret Room Team. The Secret
Random Hero Selection method above. Room Team is activated after all other heroes and monster Teams
Any effect that would cause the Overlord to reveal his have activated.
hand, instead allows the players to look at the top four
cards of the Event deck. If there is a hero in the secret room at the start of a round, as a
If the Overlord would choose a hero attribute to test start of round effect discard one challenge token from the secret
against, choose the attribute with the lowest value. room.
Any effect that would cause the Overlord to play a rumor
card is ignored. All rumor cards are already in play.
Any effect that would allow the heroes look at or
manipulate the Overlord card deck instead applies to the
Event deck.

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Trapped Search Tokens (+Difficulty) Appendix B: Relics
When a hero reveals a search token, there is the possibility that Some effects on Relics may not apply due to the mechanics of
it will be trapped. Roll a blue die and consult the following table this variant. The following are adjustments to those Relics to
to determine the trap type: make them compatible with RAMV.

X: No trap Bones of Woe: Instead of drawing an Overlord card, the

2: Awareness Trap Overlord draws one Dark Influence card.
3: Knowledge Trap
4: Might Trap Omen of Blight: Choose a random condition from the Condition
5: Willpower Trap deck.
6: No trap
Shadow Plotter (Good): Instead of revealing the Overlord
On a roll of 2-5, the hero revealing the search token must test hand, look at the top three cards of the Event deck. Return the
against the indicated attribute. Failing the test results in the hero cards in the same order.
suffering a random Condition. Shadow Plotter (Evil): Exhaust this card at the start of a
round. Instead of drawing Overlord cards and discarding, the
If the hero would suffer a Condition that they already have, then Overlord draws one Dark Influence card. This card does not
the hero suffers 2 H instead. refresh until the start of another quest.

A hero with an ability to search tokens from a distance must still Shards of Ithyndrus: The effect of this Relic only applies to the
make an attribute test for trapped tokens, and can be affected by lieutenant or monster wielding it.
the trap.
Staff of Shadows: Exhaust this card to reroll either an X result
The hero draws a Search Item card regardless of whether or not on a blue attack die, or a blank result on the highest defense die
the trap test fails. of the lieutenant.

Special search tokens are never trapped. Stone of Wayward Means: While a lieutenant is carrying this
Relic, its effects apply to all monsters on the map.
Random Monster Group Activation (+Difficulty):
When activating a monster group at the start of an Overlord AI The Manor's Heart (Good): Recover wounds or fatigue equal to
turn, gather the Monster AI cards for all monster groups that the number of Dark Influence cards in play.
have not yet activated this round and shuffle them together. The Manor's Heart (Evil): While a lieutenant is carrying this
Relic, its effects apply to all master monsters on the map.
Draw one card to determine which monster group will activate
that turn. If there are multiple monster groups assigned to the The Shadow Rune (Evil): Ignore the surge option to draw 1
team of the monster group that is drawn, then all monster Overlord card.
groups on that team activate.
Tome of the Five Lies: Exhaust this card at the start of a
Darker Influences (+Difficulty): round. Draw a Dark Influence card. This card does not refresh
Dark Influence cards remain in play through the current quest. until the start of another quest.
This means that for quests with 2 encounters, any Dark Influence
cards drawn during the first encounter will remain in play for the Valyndra's Gift: The lieutenant will always use this relic for itself
second encounter. when it is first attacked.

Darkest Influences (+Difficulty):

Dark Influence cards remain in play through all quests of the
Appendix C: Hero Skill Modifications
current Act. After the Act I Interlude quest is complete, shuffle
A handful of hero skills do not function within the mechanics of
any Dark Influence cards in play back into the Dark Influence
this variant. Mainly, those skills that affect the Overlord hand.
deck.
Use these suggested modifications to the text of hero skill cards
to make them work within RAMV.
Dark Influence Cards As Global Events (-Difficulty)
When playing a Dark Influence card, treat it as a standard Global
Marshall
Event card. Dark Influence cards are played in the same manner
By The Book: Exhaust this card when an Event card is drawn.
as standard Global Event cards and can be discarded as the
Test C. If you pass, you may shuffle the drawn Event card
oldest Global Event card.
into the Event deck and draw a new Event card. If you fail, suffer
1 F and the Event card is played.
Remove Travel Step (-Difficulty)
Ignore The Travel step of the campaign phase.
Just Reward: Exhaust this card when a monster group is
activated. While this card is exhausted, each time a monster that
Remove Event Cards (-Difficulty)
is in your line of sight and in that group resolves an attack that
Play without the Event and Dark Influence decks. This will create
targets another hero within 3 spaces of you, you may discard a
a much easier game that completely focuses on the tactical
Global card in play.
aspect. Good for first time players or children.
Zealous Fire: Exhaust this card when an Event card is played.
Traditional Turn Order (-Difficulty)
Recover 1 F. When you refresh this card, choose 1 monster
Use the standard Descent 2E turn order (all heroes, then all
within 2 spaces of you. That monster suffers 1 H.
Overlord forces).

6
Prophet
Grim Fate: A hero with the insight token may suffer 2 f and
exhaust this card during their turn to reveal the top card of the
Event deck. Place the revealed card on the top or bottom of the
Event deck.

Wildlander
Danger Sense: Exhaust this card to discard a Global card in
play.