FIELD GUIDE 001 / DEFENDERS OF HOGWARTS

Defenders of Hogwarts Setup Assistant

Choose 2–5 players and check off your table’s setup. Progress is saved in this browser, not as a live game.

Sources checked 11 October 2026 · Independent reference

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0 of 26 steps complete · whole table

Progress always counts the whole table. Printing includes every step for your selected player count.

2-player setup

1 House player + 1 Dark Arts player
4 Dark Arts pawns: 4 deployed · 0 in reserve

01 / Choose roles

Choose 1 Dark Arts player and 1 House player(s). Each House player chooses a different house and takes its board; return unused house components to the box.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · Shared

02 / Main board

Put the Main Board in the centre of the table.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedRandomise the 6 Defence Shields and place one face up on every shield space.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedMatch all 7 Hogwarts Tokens to their marked spaces in the castle and grounds.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedTake 4 Dark Arts pawns. Put 4 on the board, one on each marked deployment space. Keep 0 in reserve off the board (none in a two-player game).Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · Dark Arts playerFor each chosen house, put 3 pawns in the Great Hall. Keep the fourth for the Loyalty Track.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · House playerSet the Room of Requirement piece and D.A. Coins beside the board. The room is not open at the start.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · Shared

04 / Dark Arts player

Take the Dark Arts player board. Shuffle the 7-card Dark Arts Starter deck and put it on that board’s Draw space.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · Dark Arts playerShuffle the separate Dark Arts Acquire deck and keep it in the Dark Arts player’s area.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · Dark Arts playerSeparate Event cards into white, orange and red decks. Shuffle each colour separately and keep all three beside the Dark Arts board.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · Dark Arts playerDraw 5 cards from the Dark Arts Starter deck into hand. Keep a player aid nearby.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · Dark Arts player

05 / Each House player

For each chosen house, shuffle its 7-card Starter deck and place it on that board’s Draw space.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · House playerPut each House Marker on the Items space of its matching player board.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · House playerDeal 3 House Location cards to each House player; leave the rest on the Side Board.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · House playerEach House player draws 5 Starter cards into hand. Keep player aids accessible.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · House player

06 / Before the first turn

The House player immediately to the Dark Arts player’s left starts. Continue clockwise. Review the separate turn actions before playing.Publisher rules · pp. 10–11 · PDF sheet 6 · Shared

3-player setup

2 House players + 1 Dark Arts player
5 Dark Arts pawns: 4 deployed · 1 in reserve

01 / Choose roles

Choose 1 Dark Arts player and 2 House player(s). Each House player chooses a different house and takes its board; return unused house components to the box.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · Shared

02 / Main board

Put the Main Board in the centre of the table.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedRandomise the 6 Defence Shields and place one face up on every shield space.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedMatch all 7 Hogwarts Tokens to their marked spaces in the castle and grounds.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedTake 5 Dark Arts pawns. Put 4 on the board, one on each marked deployment space. Keep 1 in reserve off the board.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · Dark Arts playerFor each chosen house, put 3 pawns in the Great Hall. Keep the fourth for the Loyalty Track.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · House playerSet the Room of Requirement piece and D.A. Coins beside the board. The room is not open at the start.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · Shared

04 / Dark Arts player

05 / Each House player

06 / Before the first turn

The House player immediately to the Dark Arts player’s left starts. Continue clockwise. Review the separate turn actions before playing.Publisher rules · pp. 10–11 · PDF sheet 6 · Shared

4-player setup

3 House players + 1 Dark Arts player
6 Dark Arts pawns: 4 deployed · 2 in reserve

01 / Choose roles

Choose 1 Dark Arts player and 3 House player(s). Each House player chooses a different house and takes its board; return unused house components to the box.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · Shared

02 / Main board

Put the Main Board in the centre of the table.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedRandomise the 6 Defence Shields and place one face up on every shield space.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedMatch all 7 Hogwarts Tokens to their marked spaces in the castle and grounds.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedTake 6 Dark Arts pawns. Put 4 on the board, one on each marked deployment space. Keep 2 in reserve off the board.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · Dark Arts playerFor each chosen house, put 3 pawns in the Great Hall. Keep the fourth for the Loyalty Track.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · House playerSet the Room of Requirement piece and D.A. Coins beside the board. The room is not open at the start.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · Shared

04 / Dark Arts player

05 / Each House player

06 / Before the first turn

The House player immediately to the Dark Arts player’s left starts. Continue clockwise. Review the separate turn actions before playing.Publisher rules · pp. 10–11 · PDF sheet 6 · Shared

5-player setup

4 House players + 1 Dark Arts player
7 Dark Arts pawns: 4 deployed · 3 in reserve

01 / Choose roles

Choose 1 Dark Arts player and 4 House player(s). Each House player chooses a different house and takes its board; return unused house components to the box.Publisher rules · pp. 8–9 · PDF sheet 5 · Shared

02 / Main board

Put the Main Board in the centre of the table.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedRandomise the 6 Defence Shields and place one face up on every shield space.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedMatch all 7 Hogwarts Tokens to their marked spaces in the castle and grounds.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · SharedTake 7 Dark Arts pawns. Put 4 on the board, one on each marked deployment space. Keep 3 in reserve off the board.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · Dark Arts playerFor each chosen house, put 3 pawns in the Great Hall. Keep the fourth for the Loyalty Track.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · House playerSet the Room of Requirement piece and D.A. Coins beside the board. The room is not open at the start.Publisher rules · pp. 6–7 · PDF sheet 4 · Shared

04 / Dark Arts player

05 / Each House player

06 / Before the first turn

The House player immediately to the Dark Arts player’s left starts. Continue clockwise. Review the separate turn actions before playing.Publisher rules · pp. 10–11 · PDF sheet 6 · Shared

Reference: English publisher PDF checked 11 October 2026 · Checklist revision en-1785730afd40-checklist2. All steps are original summaries of the printed setup instructions.

A few practical checks

What changes with player count?

There is always one Dark Arts player; everyone else takes a house. Dark Arts gets four, five, six or seven pawns in a two-, three-, four- or five-player game. Four begin deployed, so the reserve is zero, one, two or three respectively.

Does this save our actual game?

No. Only checklist IDs, player count, rule revision and save time are stored in this browser. It does not know your hands, pawn locations or score. Reset progress to clear the selected checklist; clearing this site’s browser data removes all saved setups.

Will switching views lose our checks?

No. Role filters only hide other roles’ steps. When you change player count, the tool asks before changing a setup with progress and offers the saved checklist for the new count. Progress from another rules revision is never counted as current.

Defenders of Hogwarts Setup Assistant

01 / Choose roles

02 / Main board

03 / Shared side board

04 / Dark Arts player

05 / Each House player

06 / Before the first turn

01 / Choose roles

02 / Main board

03 / Shared side board

04 / Dark Arts player

05 / Each House player

06 / Before the first turn

01 / Choose roles

02 / Main board

03 / Shared side board

04 / Dark Arts player

05 / Each House player

06 / Before the first turn

01 / Choose roles

02 / Main board

03 / Shared side board

04 / Dark Arts player

05 / Each House player

06 / Before the first turn

Setup checklist complete.

A few practical checks