Abbrevation: AR

Armor dice add their value to the rest of your non-armour dice whenever any of those dice are under attack. (This goes into effect before your opponent declares their attack.) Armor dice can also power and skill attack as normal dice.

Abbrevation: AU

Auxiliary Dice represent special abilities or assistants of the Buttonlord (Buttonman), and are optional. Before each game, both players decide whether or not to play with their Auxiliary Dice. Usually, either both players use them, or both players don't.

Important: If you fight against a player who has no Auxiliary, and you wish to use your own, chivalry dictates that you offer your opponent the option to use an Auxiliary equivalent to your own. "Equivalent" means a die of the same size and type. In the case of Auxiliary X, each player's X's can vary independently.

Abbrevation: BE

Berserk dice cannot be used in a Skill Attack, but may make Power Attacks normally. They also have a third attack, called a Berserk Attack, which is the equivalent of a Speed Attack. In a Speed Attack, one die can capture any number of dice which add up exactly to its value. After making a Berserk Attack, the Berserk die is replaced by a non-Berserk die half its size (round fractions up) before rerolling.

Abbrevation: CH

You can re-roll your Chance Dice before the game begins, as follows:

If you do not currently have the initiative (i.e. you are not going first) you may re-roll one of your Chance Dice. If this results in your gaining the initiative, your opponent may re-roll one of his Chance Dice. Though unlikely, this can continue with each player re-rolling Chance Dice, even re-rolling the same dice, until one person fails to gain initiative or lets his opponent go first.

Re-rolling Chance Dice is not just a way to gain initiative, it can also be useful in protecting your larger dice, or just improving your starting roll.

Abbrevation: CO

After the first roll of the round, you don't reroll them until the first roll of the next round. Constant dice keep their value (after all, they are constant). They only attack as part of a Skill Attack; they can not make Power Attacks. When making a Skill Attack you can either add OR subtract the Constant die from the Skill Attack total. The total value of a Skill Attack with a Constant Die can not be less than 1.

Abbrevation: DE

Deception Dice are labeled with a "D", and have a scoring value of 4.

Abbrevation: EV

Evil Dice are labeled with an "E". Evil Dice can make simultaneous Power Attacks, but can never make Skill attacks.

Abbrevation: FI

Fire dice are normal in all respects, except as follows: Fire Dice cannot make Power Attacks. Instead, they can assist other Dice in making Skill and Power Attacks.

Before making a Skill or Power Attack, you may increase the value showing on any of the attacking dice, and decrease the values showing on one or more of your Fire Dice by the same amount. For example, if you wish to increase the value of an attacking die by 5 points, you can take 5 points away from one or more of your Fire Dice. Turn the Fire Dice to show the adjusted values, and then make the attack as normal.

Dice can never be increased or decreased outside their normal range, i.e., a 10-side die can never show a number lower than 1 or higher than 10. Also, Fire Dice cannot assist other dice in making attacks other than normal Skill and Power Attacks.

Abbrevation: FO

Focus Dice: If a player has Focus Dice, he can change his starting roll as follows:

If you do not have the initiative, i.e., you are not going first, you may reduce the values showing on any number of your Focus Dice. You may change as many dice as you wish, but you may only do this if it results in your gaining the initiative.

If your opponent has Focus Dice, he may now do the same, and each player may respond by turning down one or more Focus Dice until no further moves are legal, or until one player allows the other to take the first turn.

Important restriction: If you go first, you may not use any Focus Dice you have reduced as part of your first attack. (The second player has no such restriction.)

The Legend of the Five Rings expansion also contained the following multiplayer rules:

Players sit in a circle. The player with the lowest roll goes first. Players with Focus Dice have the chance to use them, starting with the player who is closest to going first, and working up. When a player is attacked, that player takes the next turn. If a player passes, the turn moves to the left. The game continues until every player passes.

Abbrevation: GA

Once per game, you may reroll your game dice at any time.

Abbrevation: IN

Insult Dice are labeled with an "I". These dice cannot be captured by Skill attacks.

Abbrevation: LO

Loaded dice are labeled with an "L", and always have the maximum value.

Abbrevation: MI

UNOFFICIAL: They are represented by a "H" before a die. Mighty Dice are normal in all respects, except that when a Mighty Die rerolls, it becomes larger. a 1 sided die grows to a 2 sided die, then up to a 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, and finally a 30. This happens every time a Mighty Die is rerolled, like from a Trip attack.

Abbrevation: MS

The Mood Swing, like the Turbo Swing, changes its value each time it is used--however, the Mood Swing does so randomly. When a player uses a Mood Swing to make a capture (whether in a Skill or Power Attack), she then rolls another die (preferably one not currently in play, so as to avoid confusion) to determine what die size to use next for the Mood Swing. The old Mood Swing is taken out of play, the new one is brought in in its place, rolled to determine its new value, and play continues. For a Mood "V" Swing, use a d4 to determine the new die type: 1=d6, 2=d8, 3=d10, 4=d12; for a Mood "X" Swing, roll a d6, with 1=d4, 2=d6, 3=d8, 4=d10, 5=d12, 6=d20. In tournament play, the winner of a round "resets" her Mood Swing to the die size she'd selected at the start of the round she just won, prior to beginning the next round. (The loser of a round can, of course, select whatever new size she desires going into the next round.)

Abbrevation: MO

Morph Attack

Whenever a Morphing dice is used in an attack, it changes size, becoming the same size as the die that was captured.

It is then re-rolled. Morphing dice change size every time they capture another die. If a fighter has two Morphing dice and both are used in a Skill Attack, then both will assume the size of the captured die.

If a Morphing die is captured, its scoring value is based on its size at the time of capture. If a Morphing die is kept in play until the end of the game, it is worth half the value of its current size.

Abbrevation: NU

Null dice are worth no points and any dice they capture are worth no points.

If a Null die (or both Null dice) are used in any attack (including a skill
attack with or without non-Null dice), the captured die is removed from the
game and not scored.

Abbrevation: OP

Dice represented as "A/B" are Option Dice. You may use a die of either size for an Option Dice. For example, if your character has a "4/6" you may use either a 4-sided die or a 6-sided die in that slot.

In casual play, you can always change your Option Dice between rounds. In a tournament game, each player chooses his starting Option Dice in secret, and only the loser of each round may change dice.

Abbrevation: OR

Ornery dice reroll after every turn, whether they took part in an attack or not.

Abbrevation: PL

Plasma Dice are represented by a "P" and "{}" before a die. Plasma dice is a meta-skill that contains other skills. During the start of a round, and every round lost (and when there are more than 3 ties), the player can select which set of skills are active in the set of the Plasma meta-skill.

Abbrevation: PO

Poison Dice are like normal dice in all respects, except that they are worth negative points. If you keep a Poison Die of your own, subtract its full value from your score. If you capture a Poison Die from someone else, subtract half its value from your score.

Abbrevation: QU

Queer Dice behave like normal dice when they show an even number, and like Shadow Dice when they show an odd number.

Abbrevation: RA

Rage Dice are like normal dice in all respects except for the following:
1: If a Rage Die is captured before it participates in an Attack, its owner adds a new die to his active dice. The new die is a normal die and is the same size as the Rage Die. Roll this new die when you add it.
2: If a Rage Die participates in an Attack, it loses its Rage ability and becomes a normal die of the same size.
3: Rage Dice do not count for going first.

Abbrevation: RB

If a Rebound Die is captured, the Rebound Die is re-rolled. If the die rolls higher than its original value (before the Attack) it captures the largest attacking die.

Abbrevation: RE

Starting Dice are on the right and the Reserve Dice are on the left of your Button Man. You will always play the game with the Starting Dice, and will only use some of the Reserve Dice if you lose a game round.

If you lose a round to your friend, you may move any one of your button's Reserve Dice into your Starting Dice group for the next round. When the next round begins, you will now have one extra die to use during play. This ability applies to any round, and once a Reserve Die is converted to a Starting Die, it remains in play until the match is over.

Transforming a Reserve Die into a Starting Die is not a requirement if you lose - it's always optional. Characters who just won the last round cannot transform their Reserve Dice.

Abbrevation: SH

Shadow Dice are normal in all respects, except that they cannot make Power Attacks. instead, they make inverted Power Attacks, called Shadow Attacks.

Shadow Attack: Use one of your shadow dice to capture one of your opponent's dice. The number showing on the die you capture must be greater than or equal to the number showing on your die, but within its range. For example, a shadow 10-sided die showing a 2 can capture a die showing any number from 2 to 10. Take the captured die out of play, then re-roll the capturing die.

Abbrevation: SE

UNOFFICIAL: Sleep dice are not used when determining initiative.
They can be used to perform normal attacks or be used to perform sleep attacks. To perform a sleep attack the value on the sleep die must be lower than the value of the die you're attacking. If that is the case you re-roll BOTH the sleep die and the attacked die. The attacked die can not be used by the opponent on his next turn - it's asleep!

Abbrevation: SL

UNOFFICIAL: Slow dice are not counted for the purposes of initative, like Trip dice. They have no other ability. This skill is a weakness and has no compensating strength.

Abbrevation: SC

Specialty Dice are labeled with an "*". Can be one type of dice from the following: Insult, Loaded, Poison, Shadow, Speed or Trip.

Abbrevation: SP

Speed Dice are normal in all respects. They also have a third attack, called a Speed Attack, which is the equivalent of an inverted Skill Attack. In a Speed Attack, one Speed Die can capture any number of dice which add up exactly to its value.

Abbrevation: ST

Stealth Dice are restricted in two ways: First, a Stealth Die can never make an attack on its own; Stealth Dice can only participate in multi-die Skill Attacks. Second, Stealth Dice are significantly harder to capture than normal dice. They can only be captured by multi-die Skill Attacks, not by Power Attacks or by any other sort of special attack.

Abbrevation: SI

They are like normal dice in all respects except the following:

Stinger Dice do not count for going first. This means you ignore the numbers on all your Stinger Dice when you are determining who goes first. Golo never goes first against anyone from this set.

When participating in a Skill Attack, Stinger Dice can be used as any number between 1 and the value they show. Thus, a normal die showing 4 and a Stinger Die showing 6 can make a Skill Attack on any die showing 5 through 10. Two Stinger Dice showing 10 can Skill Attack any die between 2 and 20.

Abbrevation: TE

Teleport Dice are labeled with a "T". On your turn, instead of making an attack, swap your Teleport Die with any live dice of your opponent's. You must reroll the new Teleport die.

Abbrevation: TH

The Thief Die cannot make a Power Attack, but can make Skill Attacks as normal. The Thief Die can perfom a Thief Attack. To make a Thief Attack, pick an opponent’s die with a value less than or equal to the value of the Thief Die. Place the Thief Die in your Score Pile (it is worth half its size in points) and move the opponent’s die to your side of the table. You will use it as your own for the remainder of the round. Re-roll the stolen die.

Abbrevation: TS

After your starting roll, every time one of the Time And Space Dice rolls an odd number, you get to take another turn. If both Time And Space Dice come up odd you still only get to take one extra turn.

Abbrevation: TR

Trip Dice can make a special attack, called a "Trip," and they do not count for determining who goes first. In all other respects, they behave like normal dice.

Trip Attack: Choose any one opposing die as the Target. Roll both the Trip Die and the Target, then compare the numbers they show. If the Trip Die now shows an equal or greater number than the Target, the Target is captured. Otherwise, the attack merely has the effect of re-rolling both dice.

The Trip Attack counts as your one attack for the turn, and can be used instead of either basic attack.

Clarification: A Trip Attack is illegal if it has no chance of capturing. This is posible in the case of a Trip-1 attacking a Twin Die.

Abbrevation: TU

After your starting roll, you may change the size of a Turbo swing every time you roll it. Decide on a size first, then roll the new die as usual.

Note: In a tournament, you're not allowed to change your swing die if you won the last round. If you're using a Turbo in this case, you must start the round with the same size die as you started with last time.

Abbrevation: TW

Twin Dice appear as two numbers in an oblong frame, and are played as two small dice that add together. For example, a twin 8 is represented as (8,8) and treated as a single 16-sided die. The two 8's are rolled as one, captured as one, and scored as one 16-point die.

Abbrevation: VA

UNOFFICIAL: Value dice are not scored like normal dice, instead a Value die is scored as if the number of sides that it has is equal to the number that it is currently showing. If a Value die is ever part of an attack, all dice that are captured become Value dice (i.e. They are scored by the current number they are showing when they are captured.)

Abbrevation: WE

UNOFFICIAL: Weak Dice are normal in all respects, except that when a Weak Die rerolls, it becomes smaller. a 21+ sided die shrinks to a 20 sided die, then down to a 16, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, then a 1 sided die. This happens every time a Weak Die is rerolled, like from a Trip attack.