Munchkin Quest Rules

Munchkin

is the shameless parody game which brings you the essence of the dungeon-crawling experience . . . without all that messy roleplaying! NOW, with added boardgameness . . . it’s Munchkin Quest!

h

Contents

g

Components

..........................................2

Setup

.......................................................4

Starting and Ending the Game

......4

Player Turns

.........................................5

Game Phases

........................................6

Movement.............................................6

Exploring ..............................................6

Making Deals........................................7

Searching ..............................................7

Charity ..................................................7

Combat

...................................................8

Running Away ....................................10

Help and Interference .........................10

Monster Turn

.....................................13

Examples of Monster Movement .......14

Character Stats

.................................15

Items

......................................................16

Getting and Playing Cards

............17

Glossary

...............................................18

Search Table

.......................................20

h Contradictions, Disputes, and Unchangeable Rules g

This rulebook gives the general rules. Cards and rooms add special rules, so when the rulebook disagrees with a card or room, follow the card or room. If a card disagrees with a room, follow the card. However, the following rules are unmodifiable! Ignore any card or room effect that might seem to be an exception:

●

Nothing can reduce a player or monster below Level 1.

●

●

No player can reach Level 10 except by killing a monster.

Nothing can move, flip, or remove the Entrance, or change its links.

●

Except during a Boss fight (see p. 11), no monster can ever stop in the Entrance. Any monster that moves into the Entrance must immediately leave again by the opposite door. If the opposite door doesn’t lead into an explored room, the monster can’t move into the Entrance at all.

●

Nothing can move the Boss Monster (p. 11) out of the Entrance, change it into another monster, or keep it from fighting.

Any other disputes should be settled by loud arguments, with the owner of the game having the last word. Or you could check for more info at www.munchkinquest.com . . . unless it’s more fun to argue.

h

Components

g

Deus ex Munchkin (DxM) Card

Cards

200 cards, divided into three different decks.

Monster Bonus

(only on some cards)

Race or Class Icon

(only on some cards)

Name

Rules

Funny Art

69 Gold Pieces

27 Health Tokens

Monster Card

Double-sided, red and black.

12 Dropped Item Tokens

15 Move Tokens

Rules

Bad Stuff

(as in, don’t fail to kill the monster or else . . .)

Double-sided, red and green.

Four Level Counters

Level Value

Treasure Card

Six pairs.

12 Search Result Tokens

Race or Class

Go Up a Level

(unfortunately, not on all cards)

Level

Name

Amusing Illustration

Dice

Keyword Line

Treasures

(as in, kill the monster and take the stuff!)

Combat Bonus

(only on some cards)

Name

Rules

(only on some cards)

Humorous Cartoon

Value

2

Double-sided: Ransacked and Looted Out.

Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow.

Keyword Line

Required Hands

(only on some cards)

Components

Four Munchkins and 12 Bases

24 Room Tiles

Monster Movement Arrow

Icons

(only on some rooms)

Room Name

Game Rules

Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow.

One Entrance Tile

Comical Image

All rooms are double-sided.

73 Links

Note that the links are already attached.

38 Monster Standies

Level

Risible Enlimnment

These are used to connect room tiles. Each has an open passageway on one side, and a wall or door on the other side. There are 28 regular doors and

15 each locked doors, hidden doors, and walls.

10 Dice

Name

Eight Tiny, eight Small, 14 more or less human-sized, and eight Huge. Kill them and take their stuff.

Special

Movement

(only on some cards)

One six-sided Monster Die with colored sides, one 10-sided die, and eight six-sided dice with pips – two for each player.

Components 3

any of that kind of card!

h

Setup

g

Two to four can play.

Divide the cards into the Monster deck, the Treasure deck, and the

Deus ex Munchkin (DxM) deck. Shuffle each deck.

Keep separate face-up discard piles for the three decks. When a deck runs out, reshuffle its discards. If a deck runs out and there are no discards, nobody can draw

Find the Entrance room (its links are attached, so it is easy to find). Put it in the middle of the table. Choose one player to be the

Mapmaker. The other rooms and links are placed in the box lid and given to the Mapmaker.

Each player chooses a color, and starts with:

●

That color’s munchkin, dice, level counter, and plastic bases.

The pieces for any unused colors are returned to the box.

●

A starting hand of three Treasure cards and three DxM cards.

●

●

Four Health tokens (heart shapes, red side up).

Three Move tokens (foot shapes, green side up).

●

300 Gold Pieces.

Everyone places their munchkin on the Entrance and turns their

Level Counters to 1. Set the Monster Die, d10, Monster Standies, and all other tokens within easy reach of the players.

h Dice g

There are three kinds of dice in this game. (See p. 3.)

The Monster Die is the six-sided die with a different color on each side. It is used to determine who owns a monster (see p. 9), or which way the monsters move (see p. 13). Every time this die is rolled, the player of the color rolled gets a DxM.

The 10-sided die (d10) is used for the Class abilities (p. 15).

Sometimes a card may let you roll the d10 for something else.

Each player also has two regular six-sided dice.

When the rules or cards just tell you to “roll a die,” or when a room, monster, etc., gives a bonus or penalty on die rolls, this only means the six-sider unless it specifies otherwise. Note in particular that the Loaded Die and Reloaded Die let you reroll

any die.

Character Creation

Everyone starts as a Level 1 human with no class. (This joke is now required by law in all Munchkin games.)

You may put cards from your hand into play before the game starts (see Managing Your Cards, p. 5). If you’re too impatient to read the rules, just charge ahead and see if anyone yells.

See Character Stats, p. 15.

The image at left shows the

Entrance at the start of a two-player game, along with the Blue player’s setup. Notice that the player already has two DxM cards (a

Race and a Class) and one

Treasure card (an Item) in play.

These cards came from his starting hand. h

Starting and Ending the Game

g

Winning the Game

Each player rolls a die. The highest roll goes first.

Play proceeds in turns (see p. 5). The monsters move (see p. 13) at the end of each player’s turn. Then the next player to the left takes a turn, and so on.

The object of the game is to reach 10th level and escape from the dungeon . . . but you must reach 10th level by killing a monster. Other

“go up a level” results don’t count to let you reach 10th level.

To escape, you must return to the Entrance and fight the Boss

Monster (see p. 11). When you beat the Boss, you win!

h Glossary g

The glossary (see p. 18) is an important weapon in the dungeon.

You should review the glossary.

Losing to the Monsters

If the players are ever all dead at once, the monsters win the game.

Setup

• Starting and Ending the Game

4

h Managing Your Cards g

Each type of card can be played at a specified time. See Player

Turns, below. Special rules on the rooms and cards override the general rules (see Contradictions, Disputes, and Unchangeable Rules, p. 1).

Your Hand:

Cards in your hand don’t help you, but they can’t be taken away except by rules that specifically affect “your hand.” Cards in your hand may not be sold, traded, or given away. You may show your hand to others. Like we could stop you.

In Play:

Treasure and DxM cards on the table in front of you are in play. They may not be returned to your hand – they must be dis carded, dropped, or traded if you want to get rid of them. Cards in your hand are not in play.

Items:

Items in your hand are not in play. See Items, p. 16.

Races and Classes:

These can be played in front of you. See

Character Stats, p. 15.

Trading:

When not in combat, you may trade in-play Items and gold (but not DxM cards) with other players. See Trading Items with

Other Players, p. 16.

Discarding:

Many special abilities and deals are powered by discards. Unless specified otherwise, you may discard any type of card, either from your hand or in play.

Drawing Discarded Cards:

Some cards or rooms may instruct you to draw from a deck’s discard pile. If there are no discarded cards available, then draw the top card from that deck.

h

Player Turns

g

Player turns are divided into phases. Each turn, you can move, search for loot, make deals, explore new rooms, and fight monsters.

The phases of your turn are:

(1) DxM Draw.

See p. 6.

(2) Movement.

See p. 6.

Explore. See p. 6.

Combat. See p. 8.

Deal. See p. 7.

Search. See p. 7.

(3) Charity.

See p. 7.

h Keywords g

A Keyword is a descriptive word on a Monster or Item card.

Various rooms and cards have special effects related to

Keywords. The Keywords on a card form a short description of the Monster or Item. For instance, the Bullrog is a “Huge

Fearsome Fiery Demon.” The Eye of Argon is a “Monstrous

Magic Shiny.”

All keywords are listed in the Glossary (p. 18). Have we reminded you recently how useful the Glossary is?

After each player’s turn comes a Monster Turn. See p. 13.

It’s now the next player’s turn. If he’s not paying attention, poke him.

Actions On Any Player’s Turn

Certain actions can be performed whether or not it’s your turn.

At any time on your turn, except during combat, you can:

●

Play an Item card from your hand to the table.

●

Spend gold and/or discard Items worth at least 1,000 Gold Pieces to go up a level (see p. 15).

At any time at all, you can:

●

●

●

Use a Go Up A Level card.

Use a Curse, or any other card that says “at any time.”

Add or discard a Race or Class. See p. 15.

At any time, except during combat, you can:

●

●

Use any card that says “any time except during combat.”

Sacrifice a level to restore three lost Health points.

●

Switch Items you are carrying or wearing for those in your pack. See p. 16.

●

Trade Items with players in your own or adjacent rooms.

See p. 16.

●

●

Drop Items that you no longer want to carry. See p. 7.

Play a Treasure card that you just received.

Actions On Your Turn

The following actions may be performed only on your turn.

At any time on your turn, you can:

●

Declare your character dead (see p. 8).

Player Turns 5

6

(1) DxM Draw

h

Game Phases

g

You are never completely stuck unless you are surrounded by walls.

You can always go through one exit per turn, of any type, by spending all your Move. This is true even if your Move is 0.

Draw a DxM at the start of your turn. This represents the GM throwing you some feeble bone to help you survive a bit longer.

Changing Move in Mid-Turn

(2) Movement

This dungeon’s not going to explore itself. It’s up to you and your friends to look behind every door.

Some cards can change your Move.

Add or remove foot tokens any time your Move changes. This lets you remember what your basic Move is . . . and lets the players keep each other honest. The Move loss from a Big Item (see Big Items, p. 16) is especially easy to “forget” . . .

If your Move changes in the middle of your turn, play as though you had started your turn with the new Move. If you put an Item into play that reduces your total Move below what you have already spent this turn, you may no longer move, but there is no other penalty.

h Move Tokens g

Everyone starts with a Move of 3. You can use your Moves both for actual moves between rooms, and to do things within rooms. Use these foot tokens to keep track of the Moves you have used.

Tapping Your Feet:

You may find it helpful to turn Move tokens over (that’s why one side is green and the other side is red) or sideways, or just shift them a bit, as you use Move during your turn. That makes it easy to see how much

Move you have left. When your turn is over, reset your Move tokens. You don’t have to use all your Move on your turn, but you cannot save any from turn to turn!

Starting in a Room with a Monster

If there is a monster in the room when your turn starts, you must fight, just as if you had moved onto the monster. See Combat, p. 8.

Exception: If you play a card that allows magical movement to another room, you can avoid combat by teleporting, or going through a wall, or whatever. Then continue your turn normally.

Moving Between Rooms

Movement is always from one room to the next. Rooms are connected by links, but you never stop on a link except to indicate you’re passing through it to an unexplored room – and you will complete your move to the new room as soon as the Mapmaker puts it down.

To go through a link, you must pay its movement cost (see box).

Walls cannot be passed through, except by magic. If two rooms are linked by a wall, they are not considered “adjacent.”

Moving Out of Turn

Sometimes you will move on another player’s turn . . . because you were Cursed, to help him in a fight (see p. 10), or to Run Away from a monster (see p. 10) when you tried to help and your side lost. Moving out of turn never costs Move. It just happens.

Exploring

When you go through a link with no room on the other side, you have discovered a new room. The steps for exploring a new room are:

1. The Mapmaker randomly draws a room and attaches it to the link you passed through. All new rooms must be placed so that the rules text reads in the same direction as the rules text on the Entrance. You are now in that room.

2. The Mapmaker draws a link for each side of the room that does not already have one. He puts them down without looking, so each door (or whatever) is chosen randomly.

3. Meanwhile, you may draw a DxM, as your reward for exploring, and decide if you want to use it now.

4. Read the special rules printed on the room. Some will apply as soon as you enter, and some will affect combat. And you’re now in combat, because . . .

5. Newly explored rooms always have a monster! Draw the top

Monster card and find the monster’s standie. Roll the Monster Die to see what color its base is (the player of that color gets a DxM). If no bases of the rolled color are available, you get to choose the base – but the player of the chosen color does not get a DxM! If no bases at all are available,

h Links g

Locked Door Open Passageway Regular Door Hidden Door Wall

Game Phases

Movement Cost Link Icon

Cannot Search -1 to Search Rolls

h Search Icons g

-2 to Search Rolls +1 to Search Rolls +2 to Search Rolls

the highest-level monster (counting enhancers) is removed from play, freeing a base for the new monster. If there is a tie for highest level, remove all tied monsters! This means that the maximum number of monsters in any game is 3 times the number of players.

h Automatic Monsters g

When all the rooms have been explored, the monsters have nowhere left to lurk. At that point, if you enter a room with no monsters during your turn, you may draw a Monster card (see p. 6) if you want to. This does not cost a Move.

Any time a Search icon (see box above) is in the room, your roll is modified. A Cannot Search icon means, to no one’s surprise, that you cannot search that room at all.

If you find enough loot at once, the room will become Ransacked or even Looted Out. When that happens, put the appropriate token on the room. If a Ransacked room is

Ransacked again, it becomes Looted Out . . .

flip the token. If your search finds a monster, combat starts immediately (see p. 8)!

You may only search each room once per turn!

6. Start combat! See Combat, p. 8.

When there are no room tiles left, the dungeon is fully explored. All links on the edges are treated as walls by munchkins, because the GM has not yet created the rooms on the other side.

Monsters can still move through those links (see Monsters

Leaving the Board, p. 13).

Combat

Combat starts as soon as you are in a room with a monster during your turn. Combat happens during the

Movement phase, but it is so important that it has its own section (see p. 8).

If you have Move remaining after Combat, you may use it.

Making Deals

Some rooms let you buy or sell Items, cards, levels, and so on. This is called a Deal. You can’t make a Deal if a monster is present.

Making a Deal costs a Move unless specified otherwise.

Most Deals will specify that you must pay in some specific way: with gold, with Items, or with cards (possibly only a certain type of card). If you pay by discarding Items and they are worth more than the required amount, you do not get change.

Some Deals will specify a limit; you may only make that Deal once per

turn. You cannot use an extra Move and repeat it. If no limit is specified, then spending another Move lets you repeat that Deal, and you can repeat as many times as you like.

Searching

By spending 1 Move, you may roll on the Search Table (see p. 20), looking for whatever goodies are not nailed down. This also lets you pick up any dropped items in the room (see Picking Up Items, p. 16). You cannot Search in a room with a monster. Roll your six-sided dice to Search.

(3) Charity

If you have more than five cards in your hand at the end of the turn, you must give the excess to the lowest-level player. If other players are tied for lowest, divide the excess cards as evenly as possible, but you decide who gets which ones. If you are the lowest level or tied for lowest, just discard the excess.

It is perfectly all right to put cards in play, or trade those that can legally be traded, or even just drop Items, in order to reduce the number of cards you have to give away or discard.

Monster Turn!

After you finish Charity, your turn is over. Now the monsters get to move (see p. 13).

When the Monster Turn is finished, the next player starts his turn.

If he’s not paying attention, you should get his attention (see p. 5).

h Dropping Items g

You may choose to drop Items at any time (or Curses or Bad Stuff may force you to drop Items). Take the cards for the Items you are dropping and stack them in front of you.

Put a letter token on them. Put the matching token in the room where you are, to represent the pile of Items. (If all you drop is gold, just put the coins in the room.) Any player can look at the cards in a stack of dropped Items, no matter where the stack is.

Game Phases 7

8

h

Combat

g

The dungeon is full of monsters. Your mission: kill them and take their stuff.

Starting a Fight

You may only start fights during your turn.

If a monster moves into your room and it is not your turn, nothing happens yet! After all, that monster might move out before your turn starts, or something might happen to magically move you away. It’s only if the

monster is still in your room when the turn begins that a combat will take place.

Combat starts on your turn when:

●

You start in a room with a monster, or

●

●

You move into a room with a monster; or

A monster moves into a room with you (usually because of a

Curse), or

●

A new monster appears in the room with you, usually because you placed a new room (see Explore, p. 6). Monsters may also appear in your room due to Searches (see p. 7) or DxM cards.

Monsters That Ignore You

A card or room may say that a monster “ignores” some munchkins. If a monster is ignoring you, combat is completely voluntary on your part. You may choose to stay in the room without fighting – or you may Move to another room. However, you may not do a Deal, pick up Items, or search the room (see p. 7).

If you DO choose to fight, combat takes place as usual.

If a monster ignores you and you meet it again on a later turn, it will have no memory of the earlier encounter.

To fight a monster, check its Level. Compare it to your own Level

(see p. 15), plus the Bonus from Items you are carrying or wearing

(see Munchkin Babe vs. the Shrieking Geek, p. 11).

Some Monsters have special powers or weaknesses which affect combat – a bonus against one Race or Class, for instance. Bonuses on the monster card apply to the monster. For instance, the Shrieking

Geek card says “+6 if you are a non-geeky Warrior.” Stripped of

flavor text, that means the Geek gets +6 when it fights a warrior.

Some rooms are “good” or “bad” for your character (see Rooms

and Icons, p. 9) or for the monster, giving a bonus or penalty. Be sure to check the room’s text and icons before resolving combat.

h Where’d Those Monsters Go? g

Some events can completely remove monsters from combat: instant kills, banishments and vanishments, cards that can move a monster away at any time, and so on. If at least one monster remains in the room, the combat continues. If any of the dead or fled monsters had Treasures or dropped any loot, it can’t be claimed until the defeat of the remaining monster(s).

If all of the monsters or the current player’s pawn are removed from the room, the combat is over. All “usable once only” cards used in the fight are discarded. All monster enhancer cards stay with the monster they were played on.

Multiple Combats

Combat costs no Move. Neither does Running Away (see p. 10).

Therefore, it is perfectly possible to have more than one fight in a turn.

If the monster is a lot stronger than you, then you should try to get help (see Help and Interference, p. 10).

You cannot give away, pick up, or trade Items while combat is going on. You can still lose Items to a Curse, though.

h Death g

You die when your Health tokens are all black. Your friends cannot turn back time to help you with their powers after you die.

When you die:

●

Tip over your munchkin and leave him lying in the room where he took his last hit.

●

If you were slain in combat, you do not make any further rolls to Run Away. So, if there are monsters you have not yet Run Away from, their Bad

Stuff will not affect you. You are already dead!

●

Discard your hand.

●

●

Lose a level.

Drop all your gold and Items in the room where you are. See

Dropping Items, p. 7.

●

All DxM cards you have in play remain yours. Thus, your Race and Class are unchanged.

●

Any curses on you remain in effect.

●

Go to the Monster Turn.

Playing While Dead

A player remains active even while his character is dead. You continue to roll for your monsters (see Monster Ownership and Targets, p. 9), and you still get charity (see Charity, p. 7). You can still play cards, but not those that affect your character, because right now he’s dead.

Returning to Life

At the start of your next turn, you reappear in the

Entrance. Flip all of your Health tokens over to red. Take

300 Gold and draw two Treasure and two DxM cards (not three, as when the game started . . . we’re not rewarding you for dying). Your turn then continues normally. Don’t forget to blame your death on someone and get even with him!

Dying On Purpose

Any time during your turn, you may flip all your red Health tokens over to black. You are now dead. You might do this to draw new cards, escape a walled-in room, or for some other munchkinly reason.

Combat (Starting a Fight)

Multiple Monsters

For rules purposes, each monster standie is a single monster, even if the name on the card is plural (such as the

Wight Brothers

).

If the room contains more than one monster, or if more monsters appear during the fight, you must fight all those which are not ignoring you (see Monsters That Ignore

You, p. 8). You fight them as a group – you cannot choose to fight one and run from the other(s).

Everyone!

Cleric

Wizard

Dwarf

Playing Cards in Combat

The potions and scrolls you have in play

(these are “on your belt” – see p. 16) may be used during combat.

You may also use one-shot cards, both

Treasure and DxM cards, from your hand during combat. A card is a one-shot if it says

Thief

Warrior

Elf

Halfling

“Usable once only” or “Go Up a Level.”

You may not play other Items from your hand, or switch your carried and “packed” Items (see Items, p. 16), while you or any player is in combat. Do that before a monster appears.

Remember, you may add or remove Races and Classes at any time.

Yes, this means even during combat.

Rolling the Dice

The last part of combat is the die roll. Normally, both the munchkins and the monsters will roll dice. They add the results to their Levels and bonuses (see Munchkin Babe vs. the Shrieking Geek, p. 11). Munchkins roll one die. Monsters roll the number of dice shown on their cards.

h Monster Ownership and Targets g

Each monster goes on a base matching a player color. When fewer than four are playing, the bases of the unused colors are not used! A monster on your color base is considered “your monster”

(and you are “its target”). When it fights (even if it is fighting you), you roll for it, and you can use your own cards to affect its rolls.

Any reference to a “Red monster” means a monster on a red base.

(So the Plutonium Dragon is NOT a “Green monster” unless it’s on a green base, you munchkin!)

If the combat is happening on your turn, you are the “main player.”

You are the one who initiates the die rolling, either because you are satisfied with the odds or because you know you can’t improve them. Before you roll, you must say “I’m rolling,” and wait a reasonable time, defined as about 2.6 seconds, for anyone else to speak up. Someone may play a

Curse card on you, or use a special power (see Help and Interference, p.

10), just as you are about to roll, and you will realize that you can’t win.

If you cannot kill the monster, you can still ask for help (see p. 10), or play more cards, before you roll.

All of the players involved in the combat roll their own dice. Players roll for their monsters, as well. Be sure to specify which roll is which!

h Rooms and Icons g

Most rooms have special rules, shown in a scroll on the tile. You should always read a room’s rules as soon as you enter it!

Icons

Many rooms have one or more icons beside the room name. They refer to the Races and Classes (shown at left). These icons also appear on the appropriate Race and Class cards.

Combat and Search rolls (see p. 7) are modified by the icons.

●

Green icons indicate rooms that are good for your Race or Class. Each green icon that matches your character lets you roll an extra die.

●

Red icons indicate rooms that are bad for your Race or Class. Each red icon that matches your character takes away one die.

If you have 0 or fewer dice, the result of your die roll is zero. Any bonuses you have still add to this zero.

If a room’s special rule makes it “good” for your character (for instance, the Odd Room is good for munchkins with odd levels), you get the same bonuses as if it had a green icon. Likewise, a room with rules that are “bad” for you gives you the same penalties as a red icon.

After the main player’s roll any other players in the combat must roll.

No more cards may be played after the main player’s roll unless they spec-

ify that they are to be used after the die roll.

Results of Combat

Compare your (Level + Bonuses + Dice + Thrown Items (see Thrown

Items, p. 17)) to the monster’s (Level + Bonuses + Dice). If your total beats the monster’s total, you win. The monsters win ties.

If you have a Helper, his Level and Bonuses count on your side, and he also gets to roll a die. See Helpers in Combat, p. 10.

There are ways for other players to help you or help the monsters. See

Non-Helpers in Combat, p. 10.

If You Win

If you win, you have defeated the monster. This usually means you killed it messily, though some monsters have special “don’t kill me” rules.

●

●

If the monster was “yours,” draw a DxM card.

Remove the monster standie and return the base to its owner.

●

●

Take any special benefits described on the monster card(s).

Draw Treasure cards, as specified on the card(s) for the monster(s) you killed. If there is another munchkin in the room, all Treasure is drawn face-up. Otherwise, they are drawn face-down and no other players know what you got. Items you have found may be put into play now, and any

DxM cards you got can be used now, if it is otherwise legal to use them.

●

Go up a level. If you killed a Fearsome monster by yourself, go up two levels. If you have reached 10th level, it’s time to think about getting out of the dungeon and winning the game!

●

Discard the monster card(s).

If You Lose or Tie

A tied roll is the same as losing, unless you use the Warrior power or a card to break the tie after the roll.

If you lose, each munchkin in the combat flips over one red Health token

(this is called taking a hit) for each monster in the combat. When your last

Health token turns black, you die (see p. 8). Survivors now try to Run Away

(see p. 10). Screaming is optional.

Combat (Results of Combat) 9

Running Away

Since you didn’t kill the monster(s), it’s time to Run Away. If you fail to escape, you may suffer the monster’s Bad Stuff (shown on the monster’s card).

Pick an adjacent room to run to

before you roll!

You may not flee into the darkness. You may only Run Away to an

explored room. That’s where you will wind up after you roll, whether or not you dodge the Bad Stuff. Unless the Bad Stuff kills you, of course!

If you have cards that allow you to move magically to another room, or that specifically say they let you Run Away, you can play them instead of rolling.

Running Away From Multiple Monsters

If you were fighting more than one monster (see Multiple Monsters, p. 9), you roll separately to Run Away from each one, in any order you choose. You might dodge one monster’s Bad Stuff but be hit by another.

Nowhere to Run?

Under rare and awful circumstances (like if you walked through a wall) you might be fighting a monster in a room with no adjacent room.

That means you have nowhere to run to! In that case, you automatically take the Bad Stuff, and your turn ends even if you had some Move left.

Rolling to Run Away

Running Away does not cost any Move. All you have to do is roll one six-sided die, and be lucky.

If you roll a 5 or above, you dodge the Bad Stuff.

If you fail your roll, you were too slow. The monster does Bad

Stuff to you as described on its card. If NONE of the Bad Stuff can

apply to you, take another hit! For instance, if the only Bad Stuff is

“Lose your Headgear,” and you have no Headgear, take a hit.

Either way, if you survive, you go through the chosen link and into the next room. If the Bad Stuff takes your last hit, you die in the room with the monster (see p. 8).

Bribes

You can bribe someone to help (see Munchkin Babe vs. the

Shrieking Geek, p. 11). In fact, you’ll probably have to bribe anyone who’s not an Elf. You may offer any gold or Item(s) you have in play

(see Trading Items With Other Players, p. 16). You may also offer any number of the Treasure cards the monster has. If you offer a helper part of the treasure, you must agree whether he picks first, or you pick first, or whatever. If more than one player offers to help in exchange for treasure, you can get them to bid for the privilege!

h Non-Helpers in Combat g

What if you’re not the Helper but you still want to interfere in a combat? What if you want the monster to win? You can’t directly attack other players, but you can affect combats in several ways:

●

Play a Wandering Monster card to bring another monster into the combat.

●

Play a Monster Enhancer on one of the monsters in the fight. These cards make a monster stronger . . . and give it more treasure. (Okay, some make it weaker and give it less treasure.)

You can play these at any time, not just during combat.

●

Use any one-shot card that can affect combat. Curses have great potential here. Take away an Item that your rival needs, for instance.

●

Throw something! See Thrown Items, p. 17.

●

If you are a Thief, use your Backstab ability.

Help and Interference

Other players may get involved in your combat, either to help you or hurt you. This can be the only way to deal with a big monster . . .

but you shouldn’t expect the other munchkins to help you for free

(see Bribes, below).

Asking for Help

You can have only one Helper. Choose wisely.

No one can help you unless invited. You can ask anyone who is in your room or can reach your room (see below) to help you fight.

Munchkins who can reach your room by magic are also eligible to help. The player who accepts your invitation is called your Helper.

Moving to Help

To reach your room to help, a munchkin in an adjacent room may go through a passage or any kind of door. This is an example of moving out of turn (see p. 6) and costs no Move. Until you choose your helper, no munchkins are moved.

Once your helper moves, he must help.

Players who can’t get to your room may still be able to interfere

(see box), but they are not in the combat.

10

Helpers in Combat

When someone helps you, add his Level, dice, and combat bonuses to yours. Your helper rolls his own dice and may use his own cards and abilities to modify them.

Your helper has all his normal abilities. For instance, if a Cleric helps you against Undead, he’ll roll an extra die. If the room is good for your helper, he rolls an extra die – and if it’s bad for him, he rolls one fewer die.

The special bonuses and penalties on a Monster card also apply to your helper. So if you are facing the Plutonium Dragon and a

Halfling helps you, the dragon gets a +3 bonus (unless you, too, are a Halfling, because the monster’s bonuses only count once even if they apply to both characters). Likewise, if two Elves fight a monster that has a penalty against Elves, it only gets that penalty once.

See Munchkin Babe vs. the Shrieking Geek, p. 11.

Rewards for Helping

Sometimes your helper will level up when a monster is killed. See

Leveling Up, p. 15. And if the monster matches the helper’s color, he gets a DxM.

Everybody Flees!

If you have a helper, and your side loses, the helper must also Run

Away (see above). He rolls separately for each monster. He does not have to run through the same exit that you do. Your helper’s success (or failure) does not affect yours, and vice versa.

Combat (Help and Interference)

h The Boss Monster g

When a Level 10 player is in the Entrance on his turn, a

Monster is drawn to become the Boss. Determine its base color normally (see p. 6).

Whatever the level on the drawn card, treat the Boss

If You Win

If the Boss is slain, the munchkin who defeated it is the winner!

Shared victories are possible. If two 10th-level munchkins cooperate to beat the Boss, they win together, regardless of whose turn it was.

Monster as Level 20.

No card or power will let you bypass this combat!

The Boss ignores any rules, cards, or powers that would take it out of the Entrance. It can never be controlled and will never ignore a Level 10 munchkin for any reason, even if its card says it will.

It always fights.

It keeps all its other stats and special abilities and penalties. Enhancers may be played on the Boss, of course, and Monster Pill and similar cards can bring it helpers.

You may ask for help (see p. 10) . . . but munchkins below Level 10 cannot help in the Boss

Fight, even if they are in the Entrance.

If You Lose or Tie

If the Boss wins, the munchkin(s) each take a hit and lose one level automatically, even if they

Run Away and avoid the other Bad Stuff (see

Running Away, p. 10).

The Boss and any other monsters in the fight vanish – discard them! Next time a Level 10 munchkin moves into the Entrance, a new Boss will appear . . .

Example: A Level 10 player moves into the

Entrance and a Monster Card is drawn . . . it’s the

Goldfish! A Level 20 Goldfish, to be exact.

h

Munchkin Babe vs. the Shrieking Geek

g

A Combat Example with Numbers and Everything

It’s Munchkin Babe’s turn. She just spent one Move to search the room she’s in, and found some gold. She has two Move left.

Munchkin Babe: I’m going to explore a new room.

Munchkin Babe moves her figure onto a passageway that has no room on the other side. At this point, combat has officially started, because there’s always a monster in an unexplored room.

Igor (who is Mapmaker): Here’s the room. (He connects it to the

map.)

Oh, you’re in trouble. The Padded Cell is bad for Warriors.

Munchkin Babe thinks a very bad word. She’s a Warrior, and the

Padded Cell has a red Warrior icon on it – it is a bad room for

Warriors. So she will roll one fewer die. In this case, that means she rolls NO dice.

Munchkin Babe: Gimme my DxM.

Munchkin Babe draws a DxM because she explored a new room.

It goes into her hand.

Igor: . . . and there are the links. (He puts links on the other sides of

the room.)

What monster did you draw?

Munchkin Babe turns over the top monster card. It’s the

Shrieking Geek.

Everyone Else: Hah! You’re hosed!

Munchkin Babe does the math. She’s Level 5. Not only is the

Geek a Level 6 monster, but it gets +6 against Warriors. So the Geek is 12 to her 5 so far. She has only one useful item – the Fireman’s

Helmet. That’s +2. She’s still losing, 12 to 7. And the monster will roll a die, and she doesn’t get one. Her total will be a 7. The monster’s very worst total, if its die comes up 1, is 12 + 1 = 13. She is indeed hosed. She can’t possibly win unless she plays cards, and she has only one card in her hand that can help her – the other two are Curses, which are only good for hurting other players.

Munchkin Babe: I need some help. Who’ll volunteer?

There is dead silence.

Munchkin Babe: Cowards! Okay, I hit it with the Freezing Explosive

Potion. (She plays her one good card.) Now any of you has enough bonuses to let us win.

The Potion is a one-shot card good for +5. Now it’s 12 to 12 on levels, but the monster is still rolling a die. She still can’t win without help, but now, if any of the others help, it looks like a sure thing. And conveniently, they are all in the next room, so any of them can get there to help.

Evil Stevie: I’ll help you for two treasures.

He is being evil. The monster is only worth two treasures.

Igor: Well, I’ll do it for one treasure, as long as I get first pick!

Munchkin Babe: Evil Stevie, will you do it for second pick?

Evil Stevie: Hmm. No, but I’ll do it for second pick and 500 gold.

Igor: No, no! Let me! I’ll do it for the second pick only!

Galadrool: I’ll do it for free!

Everybody Else: You always say that. You’re an Elf and you’re 9th level. No way you’re going to get to help and earn your 10th level.

Galadrool: I’ll pay you 500 gold if you’ll let me help!

Munchkin Babe: You could put your 500 gold in your nose and sing the Snails on Speed Song, and I still wouldn’t let you help.

Combat (Munchkin Babe vs. the Shrieking Geek) 11

Galadrool (plays two cards): Okay, the monster is now Ancient and

Hairy. Do the math.

“Ancient” added +10 to the monster.

“Hairy” added another +5. So the

Ancient Hairy Shrieking Geek is now

Level 27 . . . and it still gets to roll a die.

Munchkin Babe: Aieeee!

The Guys: Woot! Awesome!

Munchkin Babe: Guess I’d better try my d10 Power.

Munchkin Babe rolls the d10 and gets a 7. Because she’s Level 5, this means that the power fails.

Munchkin Babe: Drat!

Galadrool: You can still win. I’m Level 9 and I have another 9 points of bonuses. If I help, I will add

18 to our side of the fight, and it would be 30 to 27.

Munchkin Babe: Each side would roll a die. We could still lose if the dice go bad.

Galadrool: Accept my help and I’ll take care of that. But now I get first pick of the treasure, too.

Munchkin Babe looks imploringly at the other players. They shrug. Their levels, and the Items they are carrying and wearing, aren’t enough to win the fight. And if they have any good cards, they’re not showing them.

Munchkin Babe: I hate you very much. Okay, you can help. You get first pick.

Galadrool: Thank you very much! (She moves her figure into the

room.)

Okay, the Geek is now just a Baby. (She plays a card.)

Igor: Woo! An Ancient Hairy Baby Geek!

“Baby” gives the monster -5. It is now 22 to the munchkins’ 30.

The worst the munchkins can do by rolling Galadrool’s die is 31. The

best the Geek can do with its one die is 28. It’s looking good!

Igor: Let me help! (He plays a card.) Whoops, slipped.

Potion of Strength, against you guys.

Igor is in the next room, so he can throw a potion into the fight, and he can use it for either side. He used it to give +5 to the monster side.

This puts the total back to 27 for the monster, 30 for the humans, which is no longer a sure thing.

Munchkin Babe: . . . What did I ever to do you?

Galadrool: Igor, the payback will be immediate and immense.

Igor (holds out a perfectly steady

hand):

You know what this is?

Controlled fear.

Munchkin Babe: Anybody else going to mess with us?

Igor: No. Just wanted to give the monster a chance, because it’s mine.

Evil Stevie: No, good enough for me.

Nobody wants to play more cards. Galadrool rolls her die and gets a 1. The monster is Igor’s, so he rolls . . . and gets a 6. So the fight is 30 to 27 on levels, but the dice make it 31 to 33. The munchkins lose by two points!

Galadrool: . . . Except for this. (Plays another card.)

She plays Loaded Die, which lets you change any one die

after

rolling. She turns her roll into a 6. The munchkins win!

Galadrool: I really didn’t want to use that.

Munchkin Babe: My heart bleeds for you.

Igor grumbles to himself. He’s also got a Loaded Die, but it won’t help . . . his roll was already as good as it can get.

Igor: My heart bleeds as well, more than you can ever know. Take your levels, you miscreants.

Galadrool: I was not forgetting, trust me.

Munchkin Babe goes up a level for killing the monster. Galadrool also goes up a level, because she’s an elf. She is now Level 10 and eligible to head for the entrance, fight the Boss, and win. Everyone at the table is now her mortal foe. Even more than before.

Galadrool: Treasure time! 2-treasure monster, plus two for Ancient, and one for Hairy, minus one for Baby. Four treasures, and I get first pick.

Munchkin Babe turns over the top four Treasure cards. Since she wasn’t fighting alone, everybody gets to see what the treasure was.

Galadrool: First pick for me. Should I take the Stabbity Spear that can give me up to +5, or the Wishing Ring, or the Eye of Argon, or the Flight

Potion? Hard choice. Not. (Takes the Spear.)

Igor: Your hands are full. You can’t use it.

Galadrool: Guess I’ll have to cheat! (Plays the Cheat card on the

Spear.)

Now none of the restrictions on the Spear apply and it gives its fullest bonus. So it takes no hands, but Galadrool can SAY that she is using it two-handed, and get the +5 bonus.

Munchkin Babe: (Takes the other cards.) I’m selling the Eye of

Argon, since it’s worth 1,000 Gold Pieces by itself. Thank you for the level. (Discards the Eye of Argon.) But I still hate you very, very much. (Plays a Curse card.) Your new spear just caught fire. (Plays her other Curse card.)

And your armor just turned to pudding. Too bad you didn’t have a Wishing Ring.

The Guys: Mmm, elf pudding!

Galadrool makes a very bad face and discards both her brand new Stabbity Spear, along with its Cheat card, and her beautiful +4 Adamantium Armor.

Galadrool: I laugh at your puny curses. I’m still 10th level.

Munchkin Babe: 10th level with no armor. We’ll see how far you get. Okay, I have one move left. I search the room!

And the happy band continues their adventure . . .

12 Combat (Munchkin Babe vs. the Shrieking Geek)

h

Monster Turn

g

After each player’s turn is a Monster Turn.

The player who just finished his turn rolls the Monster Die. The color rolled is the Monster Movement Color for the turn. The die must always be rolled, even if there are no monsters to move, because of the . . .

h Special Monster Movement g

As you move the monsters, check each standie. If there is a footprint on it, its movement is special. See diagram, p. 14.

DxM Draw

If the Monster Movement Color matches a player’s color, that player immediately draws a DxM card.

h Monster Cards g

You never have Monster cards in your hand.

Newly discovered monsters are determined by drawing the top card from the Monster deck (see Explore, p. 6). The monster card goes in front of you. If the monster survives its first battle, then the card goes in front of the player whose color matches its base (just to make the card easy to find when needed). Any player may ask to see a Monster card at any time.

When a monster is slain or otherwise disposed of, its card goes to the discards, its standie is removed from the board, and its base is returned to its owner (see If You Win, p. 9).

Monster Movement

Almost every monster can move. Check each monster. Unless a card says otherwise, monsters ignore other monsters, and even most munchkins (see Gotcha!, below), while they are moving.

It doesn’t matter who moves the monsters, because their movement is controlled by the colored Monster Movement Arrows on the rooms. If an arrow of the Monster Movement Color leads out of the room, the monster moves that way . . . if it can!

A monster’s base color has no effect on movement.

Normally, monsters can go only through passageways or regular doors. However, some monsters have special movement rules (see Special Monster Movement box, above).

A green footprint means the monster is Fast. When a Fast monster moves during the Monster Turn, it takes its regular move and then (if it can) moves one more room in the same direction. Then it stops, regardless of arrows.

A red footprint means the monster is Slow. A Slow monster only moves one room during the Monster Turn, regardless of the arrows in the second room.

A yellow footprint with a slash through it means the

monster is Lurking. A Lurking monster doesn’t move during the Monster Turn, but cards that move monsters will affect it

normally.

A blue upside-down footprint means the monster is

Contrary. On the Monster Turn, if its room has an arrow of the color rolled, a Contrary monster makes its first move in the opposite direction from that arrow. The rest of its movement this turn will

follow the Monster Movement Color.

A footprint with a question mark means we did something weird, and you have to read the monster’s card. For example, some monsters can move through locked or hidden doors, move through walls, or even knock doors down.

Interrupting the Monster Turn (you can’t)

The movement of all monsters is considered a single action in the game, and can’t be interrupted, even by “usable any time” cards. For instance, if the arrows say that a monster will move two rooms, you can’t play Curse!

Sex Appeal!

after it enters the first room, and move it in another direction toward the cursed munchkin.

Likewise, all monsters are considered to move at the same time. If a monster changes the board as it moves (for instance, the Bullrog smashes doors), that change affects all monsters who move that turn. It’s best to move these monsters first, to avoid confusion.

Check the arrows in each room a monster enters. If any of the arrows match the Monster Movement Color, then the monster keeps moving (see Examples of Monster Movement, p. 14).

Monster Movement Exceptions

No Retracing Steps!

A monster may never retrace its steps during the same turn. A monster stops if an arrow points to a room it has already been in.

When the arrow points to a link the monster can’t move through, or when there is no arrow of the chosen color, the monster ends its move.

h Monsters and the Entrance g

The Entrance has sunlight, which monsters hate. Except during a Boss fight (see p. 11), no monster may stop in the

Entrance, even if its target munchkin is standing right there, unarmed and covered with chocolate. When a monster enters the Entrance, it goes right through the room and out the opposite side. If this happens during the Monster Turn, the monster may continue its move from the room on the opposite side, if the arrows and links permit.

If there is no room on the opposite side of the Entrance,

monsters may not go into the Entrance at all, period.

Gotcha!

If a monster enters a room with its target player (see Monster Ownership

and Targets, p. 9), it stands still and drools. Regardless of arrows or any

special movement rules, it will not leave during a Monster Turn.

Monsters Leaving the Board

When an arrow moves a monster into the darkness (that is, into a gap in the dungeon, or off the edge) the monster reappears in the room on the other side of the gap . . . or on the other side of the dungeon! Monsters are sneaky.

See Examples of Monster Movement, p. 14.

Ignore the incoming link on the room the monster “comes back” into, even if it’s a wall. We told you, monsters are sneaky.

Monster Turn 13

Monster Keywords

At the bottom of each monster card are its keywords. They give its size, movement, type, and powers. See the Glossary, p. 18, for more info.

Size:

Tiny, Small, normal-human-sized, and Huge. The bigger the monster, the bigger the standie. If the keyword line on a monster’s card does not start with Tiny, Small, or Huge, it is a human-sized monster.

Movement:

Contrary, Fast, Slow, and Lurking.

Type:

Such as Undead or Dragon, and Powers, such as Flaming or

Flying. Rooms, Items, Classes, and other cards may have rules that interact with types and powers.

Once a mob forms, it will tend to move as a unit. However, remember: some monsters are Fast and some are Slow. Some are Contrary and start their move by going backwards, and some can pass through doors that others can’t. This will tend to break up mobs. If a mob forms, be

especially careful during the Monster Turn . . . make sure you don’t allow its monsters to pass through doors they shouldn’t!

If you’re strong enough, or sneaky enough, or just have the right cards, a mob can be an opportunity to get two or more levels, and a whole bunch of Stuff, in one combat. Slay them all!

And if you’re a terribly evil person, you might ask yourself “How can I get that mob of monsters to move onto my friend here, just before his turn starts, so he has to fight them all and Run Away from them all and lose all his good Items and die horribly?”

Monster Mobs

Sometimes the random movement of the monsters won’t seem so random, and several will end up in a single room. Then you’ve got a mob.

h

Examples of Monster Movement

g

Gazebo on Yellow Roll

Or any color roll, for that matter . . . The Gazebo (1) is a Lurking monster, as shown by the slash-through-footprint icon. It only moves if a card moves it.

Psycho Squirrel on Purple Roll

The Psycho Squirrel starts (4) and moves in the direction of the purple arrrow into the next room (3) where it follows the purple arrow again into a new room (7). There are no more purple arrows but, because it is a Fast monster, it moves one room more, in a straight line, into the next room (11). Even though this room has a purple arrow, the Psycho Squirrel stops here, because

“Fast” allows only one extra room.

Unspeakably Awful Indescribable Horror on Blue Roll

The Unspeakably Awful Indescribable Horror starts (12) and moves in the direction of the blue arrow. Because of the monster’s special movement rule, printed on its card, this monster moves right through the wall to the next room (11) where it follows the blue arrow, skipping the gap (see Monsters

Leaving the Board, p. 13) and moving into the next available room (9). The monster stops in this room, even though there is another blue arrow, because the arrow points to a Hidden Door (see p. 13). Monsters can’t go through

Hidden (or Locked) Doors unless their card says so.

Shadow Nose on Orange Roll

The Shadow Nose starts (2) and moves in the direction of the Orange arrow into the next room (6). Even though the Shadow Nose’s special movement rule, printed on its card, allows it to pass through any type of door, it stops in this room because it is Slow and only moves one room at a time.

5

1

2

6

3

7

4

8

Lame Goblin on Green Roll

The Lame Goblin starts (8) and moves in the direction of the Green arrow, leaving the board (see Monsters

Leaving the Board, p. 13). It reappears on the other side of the dungeon (5) and follows the green arrows. These lead it through a series of rooms: (1), (2), (3), and finally into (4) where it stops . . .

since following the green arrow from (4) would force the monster to enter room

(1)

, where it has already been on this move (see No Retracing Steps, p. 13).

9 10 (gap) 11 12

Fungus on Red Roll

The Fungus starts (9) . . . but it does not follow the red arrow when it leaves the first room, because it is Contrary.

Instead, it moves in the opposite direction, to (5). After that, it follows the red arrows normally, so it goes to (6). That room has no red arrow, so the Fungus stops.

14 Monster Turn (Examples of Monster Movement)

Level

This is a measure of how generally studly you are. (Monsters have levels, too.) Keep track of your level with your Level Counter. Level ranges from 1 to 10. You will gain and lose levels during play. The higher your level, the better your d10 Power (see below) will work.

Leveling Up

h

Character Stats

g

Each character is basically a collection of five stats – Level, Race,

Class, Health, and Move – and Items. For instance, you might describe your character as “an 8th-level Elf Wizard with the Pointy Hat of

Power

, the Staff of Napalm, and Naughty Armor.” Your character’s sex starts off the same as your own.

Class

Characters may be Warriors,

Wizards, Thieves, or Clerics. You may not have more than one Class in play unless you are a Super Munchkin. If you have no Class card in play, you have no class. Yeah, I know, we did that joke already.

Each Class has different abilities, shown on the cards. You gain the abilities of a Class the moment you put it in play, and lose them as soon as you discard it.

You can choose to discard a Class card at any time, even in combat: “I don’t wanna be a wizard any more.”

You win the game by reaching Level 10, killing the Boss (see The

Boss Monster, p. 11), and escaping. That makes leveling up very important. Ways to level up:

●

First and best: Kill a monster! Gain the number of levels shown on the Monster card. Regular monsters are worth 1 level; Fearsome ones are worth 2. Some things can make a monster worth an extra level.

Killing a monster is the only way to reach Level 10. If you defeat a monster without killing it, you NEVER go up a level.

●

A helper in a combat usually gets no levels. There are exceptions.

For example, an Elf gets a level if he helps win a fight. If a monster is

Fearsome, and someone helps you, he gets one level from the fight (and you get one fewer). Note that an Elf who helps kill a Fearsome monster still gets only one level, not two!

Since “helper” levels come from killing a monster, you can reach

Level 10 this way.

●

The ever-popular Go Up A Level card is your friend, and can be played at any time, but can NOT be the winning level.

●

On your turn, you can spend 1,000 Gold Pieces to buy a level. You can also sell Items from your hand or the table; these Items count as their face value. Discard the Item cards. If you spend only Items, and they are worth more than 1,000, you don't get change! You cannot buy the winning level.

Discard Ability

One ability for each Class is powered by discarding cards. You may discard any card, in play or in your hand, to power a Class ability. Yes, that means you may discard a Class card to power its own ability.

d10 Power

Each Class has an ability that requires you to roll your level or less on the 10-sided die. If you make this roll, the ability works. Obviously, your ability becomes more reliable as your level goes up, and always works when you are 10th level.

Health

Health may also be called “hits” or “hit points,” because the monsters point at you and hit you, or something like that. We’ve actually never been sure.

Everyone starts with four heart-shaped Health tokens, red side up. If a card gives you extra Health, take an extra token.

Losing Health

Losing Levels

Your Level can never go below 1.

You lose levels when a rule, room, or card says you do. The commonest way to lose a level is

Bad Stuff (see Rolling to Run Away, p. 10) when monsters beat you.

Race

When you take a hit, you do NOT discard a Health token. You just turn one of them so the black side shows. That way, your total number of tokens always shows your maximum Health.

If all your tokens are black side up, you die. See Death, p. 8.

Recovering Health

At any time except during combat, you can lose a level to restore up to three hits. This is rarely smart unless you’re about to die and have stuff you don’t want to lose! Some rooms and cards can restore hits.

Flip a black marker back to red for each hit you restore. You can never restore more hits than your maximum Health!

When you have no Race in play, you are human. With a Race card, you can be an Elf, Dwarf, or Halfling. Normally, you may not have more than one Race. Each Race except humans has special abilities.

You gain the abilities of a Race the moment you put it into play, and lose them as soon as you discard it.

You can discard a Race card at any time, even in combat: “I don’t wanna be an elf any more.” You might do this to defeat a monster that has a bonus against the old Race, or just because you want to play a new one.

Move

Everyone starts with three foot-shaped Move markers. For more on movement, see p. 6.

Items

The Items you have in play are either carried, worn, or packed.

See Items, p. 16.

Character Stats 15

16

h

Items

g

Hands

It’s all about the loot. You want Items. Trust us on this.

Items may be put in play (see Managing Your Cards, p. 5), traded with other players (see Trading Items With Other Players, below), used to bribe some monsters, and sold for gold or levels (see p. 15). Once you have an Item in play, you can’t discard it unless something specifically allows (or forces) you to do so . . . but you can drop the Item (see

Dropping Items, p. 7).

You only get an Item’s benefits if it is carried or worn.

An Item card in your hand does not count until you play it. At that point, it is “carried” or “worn.” One-shot Items may be played directly from your hand into a combat, but you may also put them on the table

(see Your Belt, below), making them carried, to get them out of your hand. (And you want to get them out of your hand, because your hand size is limited to five cards at the end of your turn. See Charity, p. 7.)

If a Curse, Bad Stuff, etc., tells you to discard or drop (for instance) your Footgear, this always means the Footgear you are wearing. Footgear in your pack (see below) doesn’t count. However, if you are told just to drop or discard “an Item,” you can choose one from your belt (see below) or pack if you want to. You cannot drop or discard an Item from your hand.

Each munchkin starts with two Hands. There are weapons and other things (but weapons are the most fun) that require Hands to use. Check each Item to see if it requires Hands.

Your Belt

If an Item is not worn and does not require Hands, then it is carried

“on your belt.” Typical belt items are one-shots, mostly Scrolls and

Potions. You may have any number of Items on your belt.

Your Pack

You will collect Items that you cannot use. You may want to keep them anyway, if only to sell for levels. These are “in your pack.” Your pack only holds two Items. When you have more than two packed Items you must give the extras away (see Trading Items With Other Players, below), or drop them. See Dropping Items, p. 7.

Indicate cards in your pack by turning them sideways. Packed Items do not grant bonuses or powers (if you are carrying two helms, for instance, only one of them can help you).

You cannot unpack Items during combat or while running away. For example, if you have Footgear in your pack that would help you run away, too bad! You should have unpacked before you got into a fight.

h Gold Coins g

Gold coins can be spent, dropped, traded, and so on, just like

Items. However, an instruction to drop or discard an Item means you must get rid of an actual Item card, and not gold.

You may carry any amount of gold without penalty.

Item Powers

Various Items can grant you Powers such as Flight and Protection

from Flame

. Specific rules will refer to these Powers. You cannot “turn off” an Item’s Powers – if you have a Flight Item, for instance, you

WILL get hurt when you enter the Fan Club. But usually your Powers are good for you.

Item Restrictions

There are various limits on the use of Items. Each munchkin normally has three Slots (see below), two Hands, a belt, and a pack.

Certain Items may also have class, race, or sex restrictions. For instance, the Cheese Grater of Peace can only be used by a Cleric.

“Cheat” cards, of course, let you ignore restrictions! When you play

Cheat on an Item, you ignore all its restrictions, and get its maximum bonus. If you lose the Item, the Cheat goes with it.

Big Items

Some Items are Big (if the card doesn’t say Big, they’re small).

Carrying Big things can reduce your Move. You may carry one Big

Item without penalty.

Every Big Item that you carry after the first reduces your

Move by 1.

Trading Items

Slots

You only have one head (for Headgear), one body (for Armor), and one pair of feet (for Footgear). These are your “slots.”

Worn Items

All items in your slots are “worn.” You won’t find Worn as a keyword on any Item, but when a room or card refers to Worn Items, that means any Headgear, Footgear, or Armor . . . plus all your Shiny stuff and your

Clothing.

Shiny and Clothing

Items with the Shiny or Clothing keywords are also worn, but do not use Slots. There is no limit on the number of Shinies or Clothing that you may have.

With Other Players

You may give or trade your carried, worn, or packed Items – not Items from your hand – to other players whenever you are in the same or adjacent rooms and not in combat. Just give them the card.

If you want to give an Item to someone farther away, you’ll just have to drop it, and hope the right player gets to it first.

When you give an Item away, you immediately lose the benefit of that Item, and the other player immediately gets its benefit. Items you give to another player stay in play, and cannot go into his hand.

You may also give Items away to bribe other players – “I’ll give you my Flaming Armor next turn if you won’t help Bob fight that dragon!”

Picking Up Items

When you are in a room with dropped Items (see p. 7) you may spend a Move to pick up any of those items. Also, when you Search a

Items

room that contains dropped Items, you automatically get any of those Items you want, as well as the results of your Search roll. Exception: If your search finds a monster, you don’t get the dropped Items unless you kill the monster and take its own treasures.

If something forces you to drop an

Item, it will cost you a Move to pick it up, and some cards will tell you that you can’t recover your dropped Items at all until your next turn.

Thrown Items

Some Items have the keyword Throwable.

If a throwable Item can affect combat, it can be thrown during

another player’s combat, either to help him or to help the monsters (see

Non-Helpers in Combat, p. 10). You could “accidentally” hit your friend with a potion, and it will count against him.

A throwable Item can be used in your room or any adjacent one (if there’s any kind of door in the way, we assume you open the door and toss it through). Throwable Items are “usable once only,” and discarded after use, unless the card says otherwise.

h

Getting and Playing Cards

g

Getting Cards

The cards allow you to twist – and sometimes even break – the rules.

You’re going to want as many cards as you can grab.

Other Items cannot be used unless they are in play. If it’s your turn and you are not in combat, you can play them and use them immediately. If you are helping someone, or fighting out of turn for some reason, you cannot put new Items into play.

Deus ex Munchkin

You start with three DxM. You get two DxM when you return from death (see Returning to Life, p. 8). Some rooms will offer a Deal (see p.

7) that lets you get DxM cards. Most Treasure cards are Items.

You draw a DxM when: p. 4.

• Your turn begins. See p. 6.

• You explore a room. See p. 6.

• You defeat, or help defeat, one of “your” monsters. See p. 9.

• Your color comes up any time the Monster Die is rolled. See Dice,

Deus ex Munchkin Cards

You may play a DxM card at any time, unless the card says otherwise.

Most DxMs are used only once and discarded.

Some exceptions:

Classes and Races

These cards may be played to the table as soon as they are acquired, or at any time thereafter, but you may only have one Class and one Race unless you are a Half-Breed or Super Munchkin (below). You may discard a Class or Race at any time.

Monsters

You can’t have these in your hand. Ever. Period.

Treasures

You start with three Treasures. You get two Treasures when you return from death (see Returning to Life, p. 8), and some rooms will offer a Deal

(see p. 7) that lets you buy or trade for Treasures.

You usually get Treasures by:

• Killing monsters. See If You Win, p. 9.

• Searching rooms. See p. 7.

• Trading with other players. Extortion counts as trading and is highly recommended. See p. 16.

Playing Cards

You should do this. A lot.

Half-Breed and Super Munchkin

These cards let you have, respectively, two Races and two Classes.

You can play Half-Breed any time you have one Race in play. You are now half that Race and half human. You have all the advantages of the non-human Race, and none of the disadvantages. So, for instance, a half-

Elf benefits from a green Elf icon, but ignores a red one!

You may add a second Race at the same time or later, as long as you still have Half-Breed out. If you have two different Race cards in play, you are now (for instance) half Elf and half Dwarf, with all the advantages and disadvantages of both.

You lose Half-Breed as soon as you have no Race card in play, but you may deliberately discard a Race and immediately substitute another from your hand, becoming (for instance) half Elf instead of half Dwarf.

Super Munchkin

works exactly the same way, for Classes. You can be (for instance) a super-Warrior, with all of the advantages of a Warrior and none of the disadvantages. Or you can be (for instance) both a Warrior and a Wizard, with all the advantages and disadvantages of each class.

Items – Playing Them

Any Item card may be played to the table as soon as you get it, or at any time during your own turn except during combat.

Items – Using Them

Any one-shot (“usable once only”) card can be played during any combat, whether you have it in your hand or in play.

Monster Enhancers and Extra Monsters

Cards that give bonuses to monsters are “monster enhancers.”

Enhancers may be played at any time. Most enhancers raise the level of monsters, but some (for instance, Baby) lower the level. Wandering

Monster

and Mate bring another monster to join a battle.

All enhancers add together. If there are multiple monsters in the fight, the player who plays the enhancer must choose which one it applies to.

Items

• Getting and Playing Cards

17

18

Curses

If a monster survives the combat, keep its enhancer cards with it. A

Humongous Fungus

, for instance, remains Humongous until it is killed or removed from play.

Timing

Cards always take effect in the order they are played.

“Any Time”

If a card can be used at “any time,” this means:

During your turn, you can literally use it at any time. If you have Blink

Potion

, for instance, you may use it before rolling the dice in a combat, and escape unharmed even if the monster was sure to defeat you.

During someone else’s turn, you may say “Stop!” at any moment and use the card, but you may not say “Before you do that, I’m going to use this card . . .” unless the card specifically says that it can reverse an action that has already been announced. For instance, if someone picks up his munchkin and moves it into your room, you may not say that you are using

Summon Wall

to stop his move. You would have to say “Stop!” before he moved.

These are our very favorite “Any Time” cards. A Curse may be played on ANY player at ANY time, unless the card says otherwise. Reducing someone’s abilities while he’s in combat is a lot of fun.

A Curse affects its victim immediately and is discarded. Exceptions:

●

By discarding a Wishing Ring, you can cancel any Curse before it takes effect.

●

●

A Cleric’s d10 power can avert a Curse.

If a Curse gives a penalty “on your next fight” and you are in combat, it counts immediately. Otherwise, keep the card until your next fight as a reminder.

●

If a Curse changes a stat like Move, keep the card until you become uncursed.

If a Curse can apply to more than one Item, the victim decides which

Item is lost or cursed unless the card states otherwise.

If a Curse applies to something you don’t have, ignore it. For instance, if you are given Armor Turns to Pudding and you are not wearing armor, nothing happens. Discard the Curse and laugh mockingly.

Words in bold italic are keywords.

h

Glossary

g

Adjacent

– If two rooms are connected by an exit (not a wall), they are adjacent.

Armor

– You may normally use only one Armor. Armor is always Worn. See p. 16.

Axe

– A type of Weapon.

Bad Stuff

– If you fail a Run Away roll, the monster smacks you as you leave the room. See p. 10.

Base

– The colored plastic holder for a Standie.

Beast

– A relatively normal sort of monster. Usually.

Belt

– Not an actual Item, but the place where you carry in-play Items that are not Worn and don’t require Hands. You may have any number of things on your Belt. See p. 16.

Big

– Items are small unless they say “Big.” Carrying more than one Big thing will slow you down. See p. 16.

Boss Monster

– The foe that appears when a Level 10 munchkin enters the Entrance. Kill it and win! See p. 11.

Bow

– A stick with a string. A type of Weapon.

Bug

– A crawly monster: insect, spider, crustacean . . .

Charity

– The phase of the turn when you give your excess cards to the lowest-level player(s). See p. 7.

Cheat

– Such an important concept that there is a special card for it (see p. 16). Cheating without a card is between you and your conscience. Heh. Can’t believe we said “conscience” in a Munchkin game . . .

Class

– A collection of special abilities represented by a

Class card. The Classes in this set are Wizard, Warrior,

Cleric, and Thief. See p. 15.

Clothing

– These items are Worn, but don’t take Slots, so you can have any number. See p. 16.

Club

– A type of Weapon.

Combat

– Combat starts as soon as a monster is encountered on your turn. If you start your turn in a room with a monster, combat starts when your turn does. Many actions are not allowed while you are in combat. Because, you know, you’re kind of busy. Note that any reference to a fight, battle, fray, contretemps, exchange of mighty blows, and so on, also means “combat,” because we got really tired of typing the word “combat.” See p. 8.

Combat Bonus

– A number that adds to your level in combat. The opposite is a penalty.

Construct

– A monster built by mad science or mighty enchantment. Or maybe both.

Contrary

– These monsters follow their own path. On the Monster Turn, if its room has an arrow of the color rolled, a Contrary monster makes its first move in the opposite direction from that arrow. The rest of its movement this turn will follow the Monster Movement Color.

Curse

– An evil, evil card. See p. 18.

d10

– The ten-sided die. See p. 4.

d10 power

– An ability each Class has. See p. 15.

Dagger

– A type of Weapon.

Darkness

– Everything outside of the explored dungeon is the “darkness.” Rooms that have not yet been added to the dungeon are “in the darkness.” See Unexplored Rooms, p. 19.

Deal

– An exchange which you can make in certain rooms. If a room allows a Deal, the details will be on the text in the room. See p. 7.

Death

– A minor inconvenience. See p. 8.

Demon

– A monster from Hell. Bad. Evil. Not nice.

Die

– Don’t forget, when the rules or cards just tell you to “roll a die,” they mean a six-sider unless they say “any die.” It’s also something that happens to monsters.

Discard

– When you discard, it may be any card type, from your hand or in play, unless told otherwise. See p. 5.

Dragon

– A noble, dangerous monster with lots of Stuff to take. There’s only one in this set.

DxM

– Deus ex Munchkin. The deck of cards that represents random Fate and/or the Game Master. See p. 17.

Empty Room

– A room with no munchkins or monsters. If a card ever calls for something to appear in an empty room and there are none, a room is added to the dungeon.

The player who drew the card chooses which link into

Darkness the room is attached to.

Exit

– All links except walls.

Explored Room

– Any room in play.

Fast

– When a Fast monster moves during the Monster

Turn, it takes its regular move and then (if it can) moves one more room in the same direction. Then it stops, regardless of what arrows might lead out of the extra room.

Fearsome

– If you kill a Fearsome monster by yourself, you get two levels. If you have a Helper, your Helper gets one of those levels whether or not he is an elf.

Feet

– These are the Move tokens. See p. 6.

Fiery

– A flaming monster, but Flaming is an item keyword, so we call those monsters Fiery.

Flame

– A munchkin power to BURN things.

Flaming

– A fiery item, but Fiery is a monster keyword, so we call those items Flaming. A Flaming item grants you the Flame power.

Flight

– The munchkin power to fly.

Flying

– A monster that has wings, or otherwise floats through the air.

Footgear

– You may normally use only one Footgear.

Footgear is always Worn. See p. 16.

Giant

– Like a Human, but bigger, at least in theory.

Gold

– Money. Most items are worth gold, and gold coins are scattered through the dungeon, calling “Piiiick me uuuuuup!” Listen to them!

Goo

– A sticky, goopy monster. Euuuuw.

Headgear

– You may normally use only one Headgear.

Headgear is always Worn. See p. 16.

Health

– You start with four Health tokens. When you take a hit of damage, turn a token to the black side. When all your Hearts are black, you are dead. See p. 15.

Helper

– The main player in a combat can choose one

Helper. The Helper does not automatically get a level unless the monster is Fearsome or the Helper is an Elf, so you may have to offer Treasure or Gold to get someone to be your

Helper. See p. 10.

Hit

or Hit Point – Another term for the unit of Health.

If you “take a hit,” you lose a Health.

Holy

– An item empowered by Good.

Horror

– A scary type of monster. Boo.

Huge

– The largest monster size. See p. 14.

Human

– A “monster” type. Check the mirror. Maybe.

We don’t know what you are.

Icon

– A symbol that appears on cards or rooms. See p. 20 (the back page) for a whole bunch of icons.

Ignore

– If a monster ignores you, you don’t have to fight it. If you have Move left, you can leave the room. Or you can attack it anyway. But you can’t Search or do a Deal with the monster there. See p. 8.

Item

– A thing you can pick up in the dungeon. Treasure.

See p. 16.

Glossary

Item Enhancer

– A card you will see in later supplements, which makes an Item more powerful. You may start wishing for them now.

Keyword

– A word on a Monster or Item card that describes it. Various rooms and cards have special effects related to Keywords. All Keywords listed in this glossary are in bold italic. See p. 5.

Keyword Line

– The descriptive list of Keywords at the bottom of Monster and Treasure cards.

Level

– A completely arbitrary measure of just how neat you are. You start at Level 1. You cannot advance past Level

10. Monsters also have levels, which go up to 20. And if you ever found stairs going downward, which you certainly will not in this set, each floor of the dungeon would be called a

“level.” A level is also a tool used by carpenters. Okay, shutting up now.

Link

– The cardboard tiles that are used to connect the rooms. All Links in this set are two-sided, with a passageway on one side and a wall or door on the other. See p. 6.

Looted Out

– A room that has been stripped of treasure by the munchkins. See p. 7.

Lurking

– A monster that tends to stay in one place.

They never move during the Monster Turn, but cards that move monsters will affect them normally.

Mace

– Like a Club, but spiky. A type of Weapon.

Main Player

– The player whose turn it is when a combat starts. The main player gets at least one level if he wins the combat.

Magic

– A sorcerous, enchanted, or otherwise mystic item. Wizards love ’em.

Mapmaker

– The player responsible for drawing and placing tiles and links during the game. See p. 4.

Mob

– A bunch of monsters in one room. See p. 14.

Monster

– A creature which was just minding its own business in the dungeon that it calls home. You will kill it and take its stuff.

Monster Color

– The color of the monster’s base. You roll the dice for monsters of your color. You also get an extra

DxM if you kill one. See p. 6. Not to be confused with . . .

Monster Movement Color

– The color rolled on the

Monster Die during the Monster Turn phase, to see which way the monsters go. See p. 13.

Monster Die

– The 6-sided die with colors on it, not to be confused with “Die, Monster!” – which is what you yell when you roll. See p. 4.

Monster Enhancer

– A card that is played on a monster to modify its level or otherwise change its powers. See p. 17.

Monster Movement Arrows

– The colored triangles pointing out of each room. They control monster movement.

See p. 13.

Monstrous

– An item possessed of a sinister life of its own.

Move

– Your Move is used to explore the dungeon. You start with three moves per turn. See p. 15.

Munchkin

– Usually this refers to your character and the little plastic guy you move around in the dungeon..

However, you are a munchkin too. Don’t try to hide it.

Pack

– Not an actual Item, but the place where you keep

Items that you are carrying but cannot legally use (or don’t wish to use). Limited to two Items. See p. 16.

Penalty

– A number that subtracts from your level in combat. The opposite is a combat bonus.

Plant

– Yes, plants are monsters. Look out behind you

. . . it’s a plant!

Player

– This refers to you, rather than your character.

Potion

– Bottled awesome. Most Potions are one-shot

Items. Many are Throwable.

Power

– A special munchkin ability, usually granted by an Item, usually a Magic one, and usually good for you.

Protection from Flame

– A munchkin power that often helps against Fiery monsters and sometimes other things.

Race

– Munchkins all start as human, but can quite suddenly become members of another race, or go back to being human. Current races are Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, and Human.

See p. 15.

Ransacked

– Someone already found all of the obvious treasure. See p. 7.

Roleplaying

– We have no idea what this is. We like to kill things and take their stuff, though.

Room

– The dungeon is made up of rooms. Each is represented by a separate tile. See p. 3.

Run Away

– You must do this if you lose a fight with a monster. If your roll succeeds, you dodged the monster’s parting swipe and escaped the Bad Stuff. See p. 10.

Scroll

– A kind of Item. A piece of paper – or something vaguely paper-like – that actually has some value. Unlike the forms at the DMV.

Search

– Checking the room you are in for hidden loot.

This is done, as in all real adventures, by rolling a die. See p. 7.

Shiny

– It sparkles and you want it. Shiny things are

Worn, but don’t require Slots, so you can have any number of them. See p. 16.

Size

– Monsters come in Tiny, Small, human-sized, and

Giant. Some rooms and cards have effects that depend on the monster size. We do not use “human-sized” as a keyword, because it looks dumb. Any monster with no specified size is human-sized.

Slimy

– A type of slime-covered monster that is covered with slime.

Slot

– a keyword that indicates an Item that characters can normally use only one of. The three slots are Headgear,

Footgear, and Armor. All these count as Worn. See p. 16.

Slow

– A Slow monster only moves one room on the

Monster Turn, regardless of the arrows in the second room.

Small

– A monster size. See p. 14.

Spear

– A type of Weapon.

Standie

– The cardboard figure that represents a monster. See p. 3. The standies in this set are actually alive, and will make little chittering noises in the box at night if you don’t play Munchkin Quest often enough.

Stuff

– Items! Gold! Things you find lying around in the dungeon beside recently-deceased monsters!

Sword

– A type of Weapon.

Tentacled

– Monsters with really long weird-looking arms. Or maybe legs. Like we can tell.

Thingie

– An Item that doesn’t fit any other category.

Throwable

– Items, usually one-shot, that can be used in your room or any adjacent one. See p. 17.

Tiny

– The smallest monster size. See p. 14.

Trollkin

– Monsters that are somehow related to trolls, but we’re not asking.

Undead

– Monsters that don’t know when to lie down.

If you can kill them, they’ll just be plain old “dead,” and you can take their stuff.

Unexplored Room

– What you enter when you go into the Darkness. See p. 6.

Vermin

– Especially filthy and disgusting monsters.

Weapon

– There are many types of Weapon, including

Sword, Spear, Axe, Mace, Bow, Dagger, and Club. Any of these counts as a Weapon.

Worn

– All Slot items (Armor, Headgear, and Footgear) are Worn. Clothing and Shiny things are also Worn.

Munchkin Quest is a production of Steve Jackson Games. Rolling the credits . . .

Game Design: Steve Jackson

•

Illustration: John Kovalic

Game Development: Philip Reed and Will Schoonover

Chief Operating Officer: Philip Reed

Art Director: Will Schoonover

Photography: Fox Barrett

Proofreader: Monica Stephens

Munchkin Czar: Andrew Hackard

Munchkin Hireling: Angie Kreuser

Production Manager: Samuel Mitschke

Production Artist: Alex Fernandez

Munchkin Sculpting: Richard Kerr

Prototyping: Gray Cat Studios

Marketing Director: Monica Valentinelli

Director of Sales: Ross Jepson

Playtest Coordinators: Michaela Barrett and Randy Scheunemann. Playtesters: Fox Barrett, Jimmie Bragdon, Jason Cates, Paul Chapman,

Matt Deegler, Richard Dodson, Ross Drews, Carissa Gragg, Andrew Hackard, Jeff Johannigman, Eric Jordan, Jonathan Leistiko,

Kurt Korfmacher, Fade Manley, Burk McRae, Don Mohr, Kaitlyn O’Keefe, Katrina O’Keefe, Michael O’Keefe, Richard Kerr,

Nicholas Vacek, Thomas Weigel, Loren Wiseman, Shadlyn Wolfe, and Duncan Wright.

Special thanks to OrcCon and Great Hall Games for hosting blindtest sessions.

This dungeon is dedicated to E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, and Don Kaye.

Munchkin, Munchkin Quest,

the all-seeing pyramid, and the names of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are trademarks or registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. Dork Tower characters are copyright © John Kovalic.

Munchkin Quest

is copyright © 2008, 2011, 2012 by Steve Jackson Games. Rules version 1.2 (September 2012).

Glossary 19

h Icons g

Everyone!

Wizard

Cleric

Thief

Dwarf

Elf

Warrior Halfling

Question

g

Marks?

Whenever you see a question mark appear with an icon on a card or room, there’s a special rule. Read the card or room.

This rulebook gives the general rules. Cards and rooms add special rules, so when the rulebook disagrees with a card or room, follow the card or room. If a card disagrees with a room, follow the card. However, some rules are unmodifiable! See p. 1.

h Turn Phases g

(1) DxM Draw.

See p. 6.

(2) Movement.

See p. 6.

Explore. See p. 6.

Combat. See p. 8.

Deal. See p. 7.

Search. See p. 7.

(3) Charity.

See p. 7.

Monster Turn.

See p. 13.

It’s now the next player’s turn. If he’s not paying attention, poke him.

h Search Table g

Roll one six-sided die. See Search, p. 7.

Just as when you defeat a monster, Treasure cards are drawn face-down unless there is another munchkin in the room. In that case, they are face-up.

1 or less –

Draw a Monster card and start a combat (see p. 8).

2 –

300 Gold Pieces.

3 –

400 Gold Pieces.

4 –

500 Gold Pieces.

5 –

100 Gold Pieces and a Treasure card. The room is Ransacked!

6 –

300 Gold Pieces and a Treasure card. The room is Ransacked!

7 –

Draw a Monster card and start a combat (see p. 8).

8 –

500 Gold Pieces and a Treasure card. The room is Ransacked!

9 –

Two Treasure cards. The room is Looted Out!

10 –

500 Gold Pieces and two Treasure cards. The room is Looted

Out!

11 or more –

Three Treasure cards. The room is Looted Out!

Remember, if you roll zero or negative dice, the result of your roll is always 0, but you can still add a bonus to that.

h Search Icons g

Cannot Search

Modifier to Search

Rolls (see p. 7)

h Links g

Locked Door Open Passageway Regular Door Hidden Door Wall

20

Movement Cost Link Icon

h Being a Munchkin g

Remember! This is a game about killing things and taking their stuff.

The best roleplaying in Munchkin Quest is BAD roleplaying.

You should interpret all rules according to their spirit. The spirit of munchkinly play is to ignore the spirit of the rules whenever it benefits you to follow them to the letter.

There will be times when it will help you to play a “bad” card on yourself, or to “aid” another player in a way that costs him treasure. This is very munchkinly. Do it.

Early in the game, while you are all low-level, you will benefit by helping each other. You may want to stick close to your friends so you can come to each others’ aid. Though dying in the first few turns is not really harmful, because you come back . . . in fact, it can be a way to get more Treasure cards quickly if you didn’t like your first draw.

Later in the game you will probably split up . . . and as you reach higher levels, you’ll be less eager to help each other. Eventually you will start stabbing each other in the back. Perhaps literally.

Reference