2005 BGG rank #27936

Quest Cards

1–8 players 40 min Ages 12+ 1.3/5 complexity 5.5/10 rating

About this game

From the Publisher: The goal of Quest Cards is to conquer the challenges of a thrilling quest and complete a daring mission while developing skills and collecting magical items. This dynamic adventure game involves luck, memory, and strategy. - Over 60 customizable characters with unique skills and special abilities - An endless array of magic items, monsters, creatures, traps & hazards - Solitaire, multi-player, free-for-all, team, competing or cooperative play Each Quest Cards Game contains over 90 new cards featuring 16 characters, 8 skills, 40 magic items, and 2 huge game board adventures. For 1 to 8 players, ages 10 and up; approximate game time is 40 minutes. (http://questcards.us/)

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Dice Rolling Open Drafting Card Game Adventure

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Game intelligence

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Setup

1. Obtain the 31 adventure cards with a blue background for the "Dead in the Water" scenario. Optionally set aside the Holy Icon of Dernu prop for physical use. 2. Shuffle all 31 adventure cards thoroughly. 3. Lay the cards out on the table as shown in the scenario diagram, forming the initial gameboard layout. 4. Note the four Start/Exit points on the board. 5. Special rule: If all four exits become simultaneously blocked by Dead End cards, remove the last Dead End card that was revealed to reopen that exit. 6. The player begins play from one of the four Start/Exit points.

Turn flow

The game follows the standard Quest Cards "Gameboard Adventure" turn structure. The player navigates the modular board of face-down adventure cards by moving through the Grey Sea, flipping and resolving cards as they are entered. Cards may trigger encounters with The Drenched (combat), Treasure Checks, location discoveries (such as the Island Safe Haven), or Dead Ends. The player works to accumulate 13 or more Quest Points either by finding the Island Safe Haven and placing the Holy Icon of Dernu (worth 4 Quest Points and a Morale debuff to all remaining Drenched) and/or by defeating Drenched enemies in combat. The adventure ends when the player reaches 13+ Quest Points (victory) or is defeated.

Scoring and victory

The player wins by accumulating 13 or more Quest Points before being defeated. The winner (the player) then selects one of two item rewards. There is no ranked or comparative scoring — it is a pass/fail mission threshold. Target score: 13 Scoring sources: Placing the Holy Icon of Dernu at the Island Safe Haven (4 Quest Points), Defeating The Drenched enemies in combat (Quest Points per standard Quest Cards rules)

Source: Rulebook

Rules to know

The most useful rules for getting a first game right.

General

The mission is to accumulate 13 or more Quest Points to neutralize The Drenched threat.

The player's mission in 'Dead in the Water' is to remove the threat of further Drenched attacks by accumulating 13 Quest Points or more. This can be achieved by two complementary methods: (1) finding the Island Safe Haven and setting up the Holy Icon of Dernu, and/or (2) defeating The Drenched in combat. The mission is complete once 13 or more Quest Points are accumulated.

General

This scenario has a Challenge Rating of 2.5 out of 5.

Dead in the Water carries a Challenge Rating of 2.5, indicating it is a moderate-difficulty scenario within the Quest Cards system. Players should expect a balanced but meaningful challenge.

Setup

Shuffle the 31 blue-background adventure cards and lay them out as shown in the scenario diagram.

This scenario uses 31 adventure cards, each with a blue background. Before play begins, shuffle all 31 cards thoroughly and lay them out on the table according to the setup diagram provided in the scenario booklet. A Holy Icon of Dernu prop card is also available and may be used physically if desired.

Setup

There are four Start/Exit points on the board from which the player may begin or exit.

The gameboard has four designated Start/Exit points. The player begins the adventure at one of these points. These same points also serve as exits from the board.

Special

If all four exits are simultaneously blocked by Dead End cards, remove the last Dead End revealed.

If all four Start/Exit points become blocked by Dead End cards at the same time, the game would otherwise be impossible to continue. To prevent this, the last Dead End card that was revealed to cause the full blockage must be removed from play, reopening that exit. This ensures the player always has at least one accessible exit point.

Special

Placing the Holy Icon at the Island Safe Haven earns 4 Quest Points and reduces all remaining Drenched Morale by 1.

If the player locates the Island Safe Haven card and sets up the Holy Icon of Dernu there, two effects occur immediately: (1) The player receives 4 Quest Points toward the 13-point mission goal. (2) The Morale of every Drenched enemy still in play drops by one point, making them easier to defeat in subsequent combat. Because of these compounding benefits, locating the Island Safe Haven and placing the Holy Icon should be the player's primary strategic goal.

Combat

Defeating The Drenched earns Quest Points and contributes to mission completion.

The Drenched are waterlogged zombie enemies encountered on adventure cards across the Grey Sea. Defeating them in combat earns Quest Points. As an alternative (or supplement) to finding the Island Safe Haven, the player may accumulate 13 Quest Points entirely through combat by defeating all Drenched encountered. Drenched that remain in play after the Holy Icon is placed have their Morale reduced by 1, making them easier to defeat.

Combat

Each Drenched has a Morale stat; Holy Icon placement reduces all remaining Drenched Morale by 1.

The Drenched enemies have a Morale characteristic that affects combat difficulty. When the Holy Icon of Dernu is successfully placed at the Island Safe Haven, every Drenched enemy still present on the board immediately loses 1 Morale point. This debuff applies to all surviving Drenched simultaneously and persists for the remainder of the game, making subsequent encounters with them easier.

Strategy briefing

Prioritize the Island Safe Haven

Locating the Island Safe Haven and placing the Holy Icon should be the player's first priority. It simultaneously awards 4 Quest Points (nearly one-third of the 13 needed) and reduces all remaining Drenched Morale by 1, making every subsequent combat encounter easier. Delaying the Icon placement means fighting full-Morale Drenched unnecessarily.

Combat efficiency after Icon placement

Save as many Drenched encounters as possible until after the Holy Icon is placed. The Morale-1 debuff applies to all Drenched still in play at that moment — the more enemies alive when the Icon is placed, the greater the cumulative benefit to remaining combats.

Managing Dead Ends and board navigation

Dead End cards can trap the player if not managed carefully. Watch all four Start/Exit points — if three are already blocked, be cautious about triggering the fourth. The auto-removal rule saves you in the worst case, but actively avoiding full blockage keeps your routing options open.

Reward optimization

Option II (a level 12 item plus a level 13 item of your choosing) may outperform Option I (a random level 15 item) if you know exactly which level 13 item complements your character build, since a guaranteed synergistic lower-level item can outvalue a random higher-level one.

Treasure Check opportunism

Because treasure found during Treasure Checks is kept even on mission failure, the player should never skip or avoid Treasure Check opportunities. There is no downside risk — the treasure is always yours to keep regardless of the Quest Point outcome.

Common questions and edge cases

Should the player try to place the Holy Icon before fighting The Drenched, or fight first?

Placing the Holy Icon first is strictly better: it awards 4 Quest Points immediately AND reduces every remaining Drenched's Morale by 1, making all subsequent combat easier. The rulebook explicitly states this should be the primary task.

What happens if Dead End cards block all four Start/Exit points at the same time?

Remove the last Dead End card that was revealed (the one that caused the final blockage). This immediately reopens that exit point. The player is never completely trapped by Dead Ends.

If the player fails to reach 13 Quest Points, do they lose all treasure found during the adventure?

No. Any treasure found during standard Treasure Checks during the adventure is kept by the player regardless of whether the 13 Quest Point mission goal is achieved. Only the special mission reward (choice of level 15 item or level 12 + level 13 items) is forfeited on failure.

Does the Holy Icon's Morale reduction affect Drenched that have already been defeated?

No. The Morale reduction applies only to Drenched 'remaining in play' at the moment the Icon is placed. Already-defeated Drenched are unaffected.

Can the player win without ever finding the Island Safe Haven?

Yes. The player can accumulate 13 Quest Points entirely by defeating The Drenched in combat, without ever locating or using the Island Safe Haven. However, this path is harder because the Morale debuff from the Icon is not available, and the player misses the automatic 4 Quest Points from placement.