29 October 2015 | Fury of Dracula

Dracula Returns

Fury of Dracula Is Now Available

#FuryofDracula

“In that time, and for centuries after, he was spoken of as the cleverest and the most cunning, as well as the bravest of the sons of the ‘land beyond the forest.’ That mighty brain and that iron resolution went with him to his grave, and are even now arrayed against us.”
   –Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, Dracula

Night’s darkness is increasing and days are rapidly growing shorter. All Hallows’ Eve is nearly upon us, when the dead are believed to haunt the living, when ghosts and, yes, vampires roam the streets. And once more, the greatest vampire of all walks among us. Fury of Dracula is now available from local U.S. retailers and in our online store.

In this board game of deduction and Gothic horror based on Bram Stoker’s classic novel, one player takes on the role of Count Dracula as he seeks to spread his malevolent influence. One to four other players become the hunters who strive to locate this nefarious King of the Un-Dead and vanquish him from the face of the Earth. Our previews thus far have discussed actions and travel, the significance of day and night, the hunters’ strengths and abilities, and combat. Today, at last, you will learn more about Dracula himself and how you may, as the Count, cast your diabolical shadow over an entire continent. You may also download the rules from the support section of the Fury of Draculaminisite.

Create and Destroy

Dracula has one main objective in Fury of Dracula: to push the influence track to thirteen, signifying that he has achieved an invulnerable dominion over Europe and become invincible. Everything else the Count does: concealing his movements, assaulting the hunters, feeding, and siring new vampires is a means to that end.  While the hunters must defeat Dracula in order to win, he has several ways of increasing his influence. The easiest is to create more children of the night. Every vampire that continues to exist Un-Dead for at least six nights (long enough to mature), provides its master with three or four points of influence.

The hunters are too strong-willed to become vampires, but they can be bitten and thus weakened. If Dracula can, at night, mesmerize a hunter and then use his fangs to bite him, he gains a point of influence. One bite is enough to defeat Mina, whom Dracula first preyed upon eight years ago; the others will perish after two. Defeating a hunter by any means gives Dracula two points of influence at least, and an additional point for every seven rounds Dracula has toyed with the hunters and drawn out the game. 

Despair and Misinformation

A round in Fury of Dracula is a single day. The game begins on Monday, and when the week ends in the solemn darkness of Sunday night, a despair token is placed on the board. These tokens mark the time that has passed and the despair of the hunters and the European people as they fearfully watch his influence grow. For every despair token placed, Dracula gains another point of influence when a hunter dies. When all three have been placed, Dracula gains three points of influence every time he moves to a new city in Europe – essentially he grows more influential simply by continuing to exist. By that point, his reputation has become so great, his minions so numerous, and his resources so vast that his mere presence is enough to corrupt the sane, strike fear in the innocent, and inspire the forces of darkness. 

Secrecy and misinformation have always been among Dracula’s most useful weapons. This edition of Fury of Dracula bolsters his strength in those areas with rumor tokens. Placed atop a location where one of the Count’s offspring resides, a rumor token grants him three additional points of influence when that vampire matures. Yet the rumor of a bloodthirsty vampire may not be true. Dracula may also use rumor tokens to lure hunters away from his offspring or away from the region he currently occupies. 

Dracula also possesses powers innate to his Un-Dead nature made manifest in the form of power cards, some of which can be used to further confound the hunters. The Hide card looks just like any location card, but allows Dracula to remain in place, rather than moving. He can play Misdirect to clear a hideout he has recently visited, creating a perplexing hole in his trail and allowing him to return to that location in the future. Traveling in Wolf Form enables the Count to move farther in a single night than his other forms do, but he suffers a point of damage in order to do it, and the hunters will be alerted that a monstrously large, vicious, red-eyed wolf is on the prowl. 

Dracula recovers strength every time that his fangs penetrate a hunter’s neck, but he also heals himself any time he can Feed on a warm-blooded creature. Finally, he can issue forth a resounding Dark Call  to evil forces throughout Europe, which places five new encounter cards and possibly a slew of new vampire spawn in his hand. 

The Ultimate Triumph

“As I looked, the eyes saw the sinking sun, and the look of hate in them turned to triumph.”
   
 –Mina Harker

Will you become one of the four honorable and intrepid hunters, willing to sacrifice their lives to conquer an ancient and powerful devil? Or will you take on the role of that devil himself and discover that the ultimate triumph cannot be achieved in life, but in transforming Europe into the dark empire of the Un-Dead? Whichever side you choose in this conflict between good and evil, choose it now. The King of the Un-Dead has returned, and there is no time to waste. 

Download the rules from the Fury of Dracula minsite and pick up your copy today! 

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