The Hall or Nothing blog page, featuring Gloom of Kilforth, 1066, Tears to Many Mothers, Lifeform, and with board game mods for Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings, etc, by ninjadorg.
Friday, September 09, 2011
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game - D&D Skirmish Board Game Playtest
D&D Skirmish Board Game Playtest
Worth a look now that we all have tons of minis from Castle Ravenloft and Wrath of Ashardalon...
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Fantasy Quest Solo Session - The Vampire Warrior and the Dragon's Hoard
Fantasy Quest Solo Session - The Vampire Warrior and the Dragon's Hoard
Well, whilst we wait for a session report from someone who isn’t me I thought I’d tide you over with another adventure from someone who is me. Just ran through another quick solo session tonight and randomly drew a Male Vampire Warrior with the Berserker Class Skill. My strategy would be to throw myself into any fights and try to ignore damage, using the Vampire’s special ability to heal up again after winning fights.
For my starting Reward I unwisely chose the easy trap of picking an Ally. Allies grant Keywords but also give you a boost to your stat(s), and so make great starting Reward cards. However, I didn’t need an Ally to defeat my Saga and should have chosen a Reward that would grant me a required Keyword instead. Nevertheless I set off to go and enlist the weird Necromancer I had heard so much about. And she proved quite agreeable to be fair.
Early on whilst travelling I was challenged to a Duel – luckily I excelled at Fighting and bested my competitor, earning myself the Martial Class Skill ‘Hunter’, which allows you to heal when ending your turn in a Mountain Location. This can be very useful for counteracting the detrimental effects of Gloom, particularly in the later game.
Reading my Saga it was clear that the trickier Keywords to obtain were going to be the ‘Abode’ (a type of Place) where a certain ‘Order’ (a type of Title) of individuals were holed up. The people of the land needed the help of this special Order to overcome the tyranny of the Wyrm, and I would need to become one of this Order to enlist their aid. Titles come from Places, and Places are most commonly found in Forests. So I set about exploring as many Forest Locations as I could as the land around me started falling into Gloom.
Soon I was joined by a Barbarian who lent her sword to the battles I was fighting as I travelled: a lizardman ambush, a zombie crawling from its grave, and a deadly Gargoyle which I was only able to overcome by going Berserk. The Barbarian accompanied me to the lair of a Summoner who also joined the quest. Summoners allow you to choose Spells instead of the normal Reward for defeating encounters, and I needed a Spell for my Saga. This nice little synergy let me grab another vital Keyword (Spell) after dealing with a Brigand who was terrorising the area.
Before long I had gathered most of my Saga’s Keywords and was carrying with me a great Dwarven Axe, the spirit of a Battle Elemental, the scalps of some evil Bandits, and the blessings of a wandering Watchman and a Tradesman who I’d met and successfully Influenced whilst on the road. I’d even found the Abode I was after – the Forgotten Ruins – but the land around it had Fallen into Gloom, meaning any time I spent there would damage my Vampiric Warrior. I hesitated, preoccupied with a foolish Wager, and Excessive Taxes that drained my coffers, and was further beset by a Jousting match and a Gentleman with a grudge – who I ended up having to dispatch in bloody combat.
Meanwhile the agents of the Ancient had been busy that Night. A Demonic Rite was performed which destroyed the Forgotten Ruins entirely, and the prospect of exploring my precious Abode was gone for good.
This was the late game now, and I was paying for not having acted fast enough, and for not having picked up a Title Reward to start with. Safe Locations were becoming scarce as Gloom eclipsed the lands everywhere. With a meagre haul of cash I raced back to Sprawl City
A Pilgrim gave me information about the iniquitous Thieves’ Guild operating near Sprawl City
With time fast running out as I wandered the Forestland I was delighted to finally discover an Abode – the Lost Village Lost Village
I staggered into the Old Wood for shelter as the heavens opened up and pouring rain pelted down around me. With just hours to go I still hadn’t discovered the mysterious Order who would help us find and retrieve the Dragon’s Hoard.
As I slogged through the muddy, wet undergrowth, my companions around me in dread filled-silence, hope fading fast, I looked up into the pouring clouds once more. And the ground opened up beneath me.
The Vampire Warrior fell into a Bottomless Pit and was lost forever. From far away in the distant Mountains the Dragon King’s terrible laughter could be heard, and the people of the land gathered around their hearths, cowering in fear…
My only remaining Keyword was ‘Order’ and I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t take a Title to start the session off with. I might not even have picked up an ‘Order’ card, but I would have at least had a healthy 1 in 3 chance. The game took about 50 minutes to play through to finish, excluding setup.
LOTR: LCG Massing at Osgiliath Review
Massing at Osgiliath
Warning: this review contains a whole bunch of spoilers.
After the overwhelming response to my review of the then-new and interesting Hunt for Gollum:
followed by the underwhelming response to my review of the rather disappointing Conflict at the Carrock:
hopefully this review will leave you feeling averagely whelmed.
First off, I haven’t played A Journey to Rhosgobel yet so this is only the third LOTR expansion I’ve experienced so far. But I can categorically state that it is by far the best scenario yet, including the core set scenarios. I didn’t think I’d immediately like a scenario that threatens to be more difficult than Dol Guldur, particularly because Dol Guldur is so badly scaled for solo play. But Massing actually scales nicely and remains challenging (but not impossible) to any number of players.
‘Massing at Osgiliath’ is oozing with more theme and theme-integrated mechanics than ever before. The set up is terrifying: the heroes stumble upon the outrider scouts from an orc horde which is ‘doing something’ at ‘a certain city’, as the title implies. This is brilliantly represented by a starting layout that will have you quaking: 3 enemies PER PLAYER (that’s one for each Hero). Then there’s the uber boss Witch Lord sitting just out of the play area watching you and chuckling at your pathetic efforts the whole time.
As the quest begins, whilst you’re fumbling to get your bearings, draw your cards and drop your resources into play these Scouts start engaging you because two thirds of them have seriously low threat levels. And if you don’t deal with them quickly you’ll be doomed before you know it.
There are the powerful Wolves from Mordor which you will need to feed weak allies to, just to get them out of your hair - they’ll then rip your Ally to shreds and scuttle back into the encounter deck. But if you try and defend against them they’re so strong (Attack 4) they’ll start earnestly ripping your Heroes apart and spreading wounds across your table like they’re going out of fashion.
Then you have the Snaga Scouts which you think you can ignore because they look pretty weak. So you’ll maybe let a few through your ranks undefended? Well, then you’ll have some killer Shadow Effects coming your way too! And this deck doesn’t scrimp on nasty shadow effects.
Finally (for the opening setup at least) you’ve got the Wainriders. You’ll be tempted to leave these guys to deal with later on whilst you get your footing, but that can be disastrous too. Their threat increasing attack is more easily handled early on rather than later, when your threat will already be growing. I’ve even been known to play a Gandalf just to take one of these ostensibly ‘weak’ bad boys out.
That’s before you even get started on the rest of the encounter deck. And whilst some of the FOUR (count em) stages place restrictions on you – e.g. reducing the play of Ally cards - and are indeed very difficult, it never feels unfair (unlike the poor schmuck who has to lose a Hero for half the game in Dol Guldur).
As you’re racing back to the safety of Gondor the orcs pursue you across the Anduin and you’ll be relying on the help of the few surviving Ithilien Rangers spotted about the city. This is one of my favourite LOTR game mechanics yet: not only do they buck the Hero card trend for Allies and emerge from the encounter deck, but they can also come into play through a great shadow effect. If drawn as a Shadow card an Ithilien Ranger will open fire from one of the ruined towers of Osgiliath and deal 2 damage to your attacking Enemy. Then if you have a Hero to lead them (by exhausting) they will come to join you.
The Rangers are a must-have when it comes to crossing the Anduin. By this point, the orc horde is hot on your heels, the staging area is filling up with Captains, Scouts and devastating Locations and you’re struggling to get cards into play fast enough. So, when you get to the river crossing some brave souls are gonna have to stay behind to guard your escape. Cue the Rangers... if you have them. If you don’t have the Rangers with you by this point, you’re in trouble because you’ll need to sacrifice a Hero just to quest your way over the great river.
Once you reach the other side of the river things really go pear shaped! You’ll have an open run across the Pelennor Fields - with the largest Progress requirement for this scenario – and none other than the Witch King himself on your tail. Finding a way to keep him actually engaged with you is vital otherwise he will cause the stage threat to skyrocket. Or if you’re feeling balls-out crazy you can try and take him down. There’s not much more of a satisfying victory in the game so far if you can swing that.
As difficult as this scenario is, you can win through with a little luck and a lot of planning and strategy. The pace of the scenario matches the frenetic nature of the flavour text beautifully and really lends the sense of hopelessness that falls upon Gondor during this time in Middle Earth’s history. You’re not even fighting to win - even if you are victorious you’ve only managed to stay alive a little longer and warn Gondor...
I really hope that at least one of the first cycle of Mirkwood expansion packs can match up to how much fun this scenario is, and for the record I think I prefer getting cool new encounter decks to getting a handful of new hero cards.
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - Conflict at the Carrock Review
Disappointing solo single deck experience
I’m not trying to rip on this game – I love it, I’m an addict. Anyone who’s read my session reports or seen my fan scenarios will attest to that. So perhaps when it fails it fails harder because my expectations are so much higher. And as much as I advocate the game, in the interest of sharing, and to help manage expectations, well, here we go...
All in all this one makes for a very disappointing solo experience. That’s solo with a single deck by the way. I will probably only play this solo with two decks from now on.
First of all, as discussed elsewhere there are apparently only two stages in the scenario, the second stage just forgets to tell you that it’s over when you’ve won. Those of us who wanted a narrative resolution to the scenarios will be even more disappointed with this sense of “Was that it? Did I win?”
Secondly, some of the hero cards are perplexingly rubbish. “Great, this attachment gives me the ‘Rohan’ trait. Now what?” What’s next – an attachment with the ‘Boring’ trait?
“Cool ‘Born Aloft’ – now I can, um, give one of my enemies an... undefended attack...” Okay I'm being facetious here, and there are a couple of decent cards too to be fair. The Songs and Dunedain cards continue to provide their uses and Burning Brand makes Denethor redonculously tough.
As a huge fan of the art in this game so far I have to say I'm slightly less impressed with some of this set. The Bee locations are a bit garish and the trolls themselves look a bit lame, sort of cartoonish and unthreatening.
Then there’s Frodo. Well, to be honest I’m ambivalent about him. He’s not exactly rubbish, but he doesn’t seem to fill a role well because his damage absorption ability is only useful if you have major threat reduction on tap.
And finally, there’s the solo experience of the scenario itself...
I purposefully didn't look at any of the encounter cards to keep the "surprise" element going, which may or may not have been a mistake. So I set up the game, prepped my deck (Leadership/Lore/Spirit - Aragorn, Denethor, Eowyn) and started out. I built up my forces fairly slowly in stage 1, and even managed to get Old Grimbeorn on my side, which was quite exciting in itself - like bagging one of the Rangers in Massing at Osgiliath only even more awesomer. Once I had a good force going I went into stage 2 with 38 Threat...
In stage 2, four trolls are placed in the staging area and they engage with you at Threat level 34 or higher. One of the troll's card effects is "Raise your threat by 3 for each Troll you are engaged with."
So instant death for me and game over in a flash. Boo hoo, whatever, tons of others have already made this error – so I set up again and learnt from my mistake: I should have read the cards first.
Next game I stayed on stage 1 building my forces up. And then the semi- ridiculous 'Banks of Anduin' Location came in (goes to top of encounter deck “when it leaves play”). And with Denthor and Henemarth in play, since I knew what was coming every turn I'd just commit Eowyn to quest and build and build and build. Got my entire deck into play, with 3 Galadrim Greetings, 3 Sneak Attacks on Gandalf, 3 Stand and Fights on Gandalf, and 3 actual Gandalfs for massive threat reduction, and a threat level of about 14 when I finally moved on to stage 2.... The docile trolls didn’t stand a chance as I chopped them all to bits one by one.
Some might call that a perfect storm of cards or just good luck, I have to say it was really quite boring and it took a long time to play out, which I was determined to do even with the foregone conclusion that the game could not stop me from the moment the ‘Banks’ turned up.
Banks of Anduin is a suspicious card in solo play.
I already had to remove Will of the West from my games due to it being hugely over-powered. Now do I have to remove Gandalfs, Greetings, S&F, and Sneak Attacks too? Then would it swing the other way and become unwinnable??
Now, this was only a solo single deck play through, and the game already falters in catering for just one deck (see Dol Guldur) so hopefully I’ll get to see the scenario really shine with two or more players - particularly since the Banks card serves its purpose more readily in multiplayer games.
The idea of a ruck with 4 trolls seems like great fun and I really want to enjoy this scenario, particularly in light of how easy Hunt for Gollum turned out to be. And the cards provided will make for cool new scenarios too – I can’t wait to put Morris, Stuart and co into a different and more dynamic scenario. Luckily I have a multiplayer session lined up soon so fingers crossed I can report back later with better news on the multiplayer experience...
(EDIT - After numerous games I'm sorry to say it's also not great in multiplayer either. Hopefully will be able to design a scenario that will make use of all those new Trolls soon...)
'Conflict at the Carrock' arrived from Maelstrom Games last night. Anyone who has ordered this from them along with at least one other item will want to split their order as it is their policy to send out everything at once. For me this meant I’d apparently have to wait five months before they sent me any of the LOTR expansion packs. Good job I phoned them.
Or was it?
I’m not trying to rip on this game – I love it, I’m an addict. Anyone who’s read my session reports or seen my fan scenarios will attest to that. So perhaps when it fails it fails harder because my expectations are so much higher. And as much as I advocate the game, in the interest of sharing, and to help manage expectations, well, here we go...
All in all this one makes for a very disappointing solo experience. That’s solo with a single deck by the way. I will probably only play this solo with two decks from now on.
First of all, as discussed elsewhere there are apparently only two stages in the scenario, the second stage just forgets to tell you that it’s over when you’ve won. Those of us who wanted a narrative resolution to the scenarios will be even more disappointed with this sense of “Was that it? Did I win?”
Secondly, some of the hero cards are perplexingly rubbish. “Great, this attachment gives me the ‘Rohan’ trait. Now what?” What’s next – an attachment with the ‘Boring’ trait?
“Cool ‘Born Aloft’ – now I can, um, give one of my enemies an... undefended attack...” Okay I'm being facetious here, and there are a couple of decent cards too to be fair. The Songs and Dunedain cards continue to provide their uses and Burning Brand makes Denethor redonculously tough.
As a huge fan of the art in this game so far I have to say I'm slightly less impressed with some of this set. The Bee locations are a bit garish and the trolls themselves look a bit lame, sort of cartoonish and unthreatening.
Then there’s Frodo. Well, to be honest I’m ambivalent about him. He’s not exactly rubbish, but he doesn’t seem to fill a role well because his damage absorption ability is only useful if you have major threat reduction on tap.
And finally, there’s the solo experience of the scenario itself...
I purposefully didn't look at any of the encounter cards to keep the "surprise" element going, which may or may not have been a mistake. So I set up the game, prepped my deck (Leadership/Lore/Spirit - Aragorn, Denethor, Eowyn) and started out. I built up my forces fairly slowly in stage 1, and even managed to get Old Grimbeorn on my side, which was quite exciting in itself - like bagging one of the Rangers in Massing at Osgiliath only even more awesomer. Once I had a good force going I went into stage 2 with 38 Threat...
In stage 2, four trolls are placed in the staging area and they engage with you at Threat level 34 or higher. One of the troll's card effects is "Raise your threat by 3 for each Troll you are engaged with."
So instant death for me and game over in a flash. Boo hoo, whatever, tons of others have already made this error – so I set up again and learnt from my mistake: I should have read the cards first.
Next game I stayed on stage 1 building my forces up. And then the semi- ridiculous 'Banks of Anduin' Location came in (goes to top of encounter deck “when it leaves play”). And with Denthor and Henemarth in play, since I knew what was coming every turn I'd just commit Eowyn to quest and build and build and build. Got my entire deck into play, with 3 Galadrim Greetings, 3 Sneak Attacks on Gandalf, 3 Stand and Fights on Gandalf, and 3 actual Gandalfs for massive threat reduction, and a threat level of about 14 when I finally moved on to stage 2.... The docile trolls didn’t stand a chance as I chopped them all to bits one by one.
Some might call that a perfect storm of cards or just good luck, I have to say it was really quite boring and it took a long time to play out, which I was determined to do even with the foregone conclusion that the game could not stop me from the moment the ‘Banks’ turned up.
Banks of Anduin is a suspicious card in solo play.
I already had to remove Will of the West from my games due to it being hugely over-powered. Now do I have to remove Gandalfs, Greetings, S&F, and Sneak Attacks too? Then would it swing the other way and become unwinnable??
Now, this was only a solo single deck play through, and the game already falters in catering for just one deck (see Dol Guldur) so hopefully I’ll get to see the scenario really shine with two or more players - particularly since the Banks card serves its purpose more readily in multiplayer games.
The idea of a ruck with 4 trolls seems like great fun and I really want to enjoy this scenario, particularly in light of how easy Hunt for Gollum turned out to be. And the cards provided will make for cool new scenarios too – I can’t wait to put Morris, Stuart and co into a different and more dynamic scenario. Luckily I have a multiplayer session lined up soon so fingers crossed I can report back later with better news on the multiplayer experience...
(EDIT - After numerous games I'm sorry to say it's also not great in multiplayer either. Hopefully will be able to design a scenario that will make use of all those new Trolls soon...)
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Castle Ravenloft Painting Guide
Courtesy of Universal Head:
'via Blog this'
October: Legend of Drizzt Board Game Preview
From the original article here:
October: Legend of Drizzt Board Game
Continuing the D&D Adventure System of boardgames (following Castle Ravenloft and Wrath of Ashardalon), players can now take on the role of the legendary drow ranger or one of his famous adventuring companions, battle fearsome foes, and win treasure and glory.
As far as these famed companions go, you'll be able to play as Catti-Brie (human archer), Regis (halfling rogue), Bruenor Battlehammer (dwarf fighter), Wulfar (human barbarian), and Athrogate (dwarf battleranger)—as well as Artemis Entreri (assassin) or Jarlaxle Baenre (drow mercenary). And of course, there's the option to play as dual-scimitar wielding Drizzt Do'urden:
For those of you familiar with past D&D Adventure System games, Legend of Drizzt plays just as similarly—except that the dungeon tiles represent the caverns filled with the monsters, traps, and tricks you'd expect in the dark corners of the Underdark. Various scenarios pit you against yochlols, mind flayers, Yvonnel Baenre the drow matron mother, Shimmergloom the shadow dragon, and Errtu the Balor—as well as Artemis and Jarlaxle (that's right, available as both members of your adventuring party or as your party's foes):
Monday, September 05, 2011
Living FAQ for Fantasy Quest
Living FAQ | Fantasy Quest | BoardGameGeek: "Living FAQ"
'via Blog this'
I'll address any and all questions you might have about Fantasy Quest here, and they'll all be taken into consideration for clarifying the next rules rewrite. I'll try and keep this OP updated where possible with the latest content too.
In this link are some of the questions you've been asking so far - and many thanks to everyone who has already contributed!
'via Blog this'
I'll address any and all questions you might have about Fantasy Quest here, and they'll all be taken into consideration for clarifying the next rules rewrite. I'll try and keep this OP updated where possible with the latest content too.
In this link are some of the questions you've been asking so far - and many thanks to everyone who has already contributed!
Thursday, September 01, 2011
FANTASY QUEST - First Impressions at La Taverne du Jeu
Premier aperçu de FANTASY QUEST - News - La Taverne du Jeu: "FANTASY QUEST"
Our friends over at La Taverne du Jeu have released this first ever preview of Sylvain Freour's Fantasy Quest build and I have to say it looks eye-wateringly awesome...
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Fantasy Quest Session - slow and steady wins the race!
Our latest session was a Cooperative game followed by a Competitive game, and I note that we’ve played more competitive games than cooperative games in play-testing so far.
I didn’t take detailed notes for this particular Cooperative game, but we sneaked a win with just one turn to go and an average of 57 Victory Points. As for the Competitive game...
MZ randomly selected a Half Elf Wizard (male) and took the Astral Traveller skill. This Skill had to be downgraded from its original inception to a still useful but not game breaking once per turn ability: moving diagonally. That might not sound terrific at first, but when you’re surrounded on all orthogonal sides by tough Enemies or backed into a corner of the Map by Gloom whilst low on HP, well it can be a life-saver. And it proved to be many times for MZ as the game progressed.
I was dealt the Dwarf Knight and decided to go the Berserker Skill route, which gave me a neat fighting ability (6s count as two hits).Concentrating on improving my fighting abilities and taking out enemies I sauntered through the lands rarely Hiding and relying mostly on my trusty Dwarfish strength to take on all comers. Enemies started falling by the wayside as my Saga unfolded and I began accumulating my required keywords.
Meanwhile MZ’s Astral Wizard searched out his more difficult objectives first – a strategy which would prove crucial in the later game. Whilst I laughed at his poor, floundering Half Elf as he narrowly avoided the occasional KO, he was secretly gathering his resources and keeping his eye on his Totem the whole time.
The Gloom continued to envelop the land and as I continued killing Enemies I realised I was behind on my Saga quite substantially. As the endgame approached I switched focus and went after the rarer spells and quests that are trickier for a Dwarven Knight to resolve. But I hadn’t left myself enough time.
The Half Elf Wizard was on a mission and his goal was none less than the assassination of a leading political figure in the realm. Sure enough MZ inexorably put together his Saga and told it with glee whilst my Dwarf got lost in a Deep Cave searching desperately for lost treasures.
Completing his Saga the Astral Wizard put the killing blow to his nemesis and caused an Uprising (his Totem). The ensuing chaos that engulfed the land enabled his Wizard to slip away unnoticed and level up his Sneak to a ridiculous level.
With only 7 Keywords and just 4 Nights left to go before the end I was flailing behind looking for that one last Keyword. But it was too late...
The Half Elf turned back and smiled before entering the Dragon’s Keep and proceeded to take out the Dragon’s traps and guards. With MZ’s Totem-elevated Sneak the mighty Dragon King didn’t stand a chance.
Final scores
ND male dwarf knight berserk: 31VP + 7 out of 8 keywords completed.
MZ male half elf wizard: 55VP including 20 for his Totem (Assassinated Leader and caused Uprising) and 10 for killing the Ancient Dragon King
Once again the scores proved out that I would have won on points but MZ was able to come from a losing position and steal the win in the late game. Happy times, even if I was defeated!
Conflict at the Carrock - disappointing solo single deck experience
'Conflict at the Carrock' arrived from Maelstrom Games last night. Anyone who has ordered this from them along with at least one other item will want to split their order as it is their policy to send out everything at once. For me this meant I’d apparently have to wait FIVE months before they sent me any of the LOTR expansion packs. Good job I phoned them.
Or was it?
All in all this one makes for a very disappointing solo experience. That’s solo with a single deck by the way. I will probably only play this solo with two decks from now on.
First of all, as discussed elsewhere there are apparently only two stages in the scenario, the second stage just forgets to tell you that it’s over when you’ve won. Those of us who wanted a narrative resolution to the scenarios will be even more disappointed with this sense of “Was that it? Did I win?”
Secondly, some of the hero cards are perplexingly rubbish. “Great, this attachment gives me the ‘Rohan’ trait. Now what?” What’s next – an attachment with the ‘Boring’ trait?
“Cool ‘Born Aloft’ – now I can, um, give one of my enemies an... undefended attack...” Okay I'm being facetious here, and there are a couple of decent cards too to be fair. The Songs and Dunedain cards continue to provide their uses and Burning Brand makes Denethor redonculously tough.
As a huge fan of the art in this game so far I have to say I'm slightly less impressed with some of this set. The Bee locations are a bit garish and the trolls themselves look a bit lame, sort of cartoonish and unthreatening.
Then there’s Frodo. Well, to be honest I’m ambivalent about him. He’s not exactly rubbish, but he doesn’t seem to fill a role well because his damage absorption ability is only useful if you have major threat reduction on tap.
And finally, there’s the solo experience of the scenario itself...
I purposefully didn't look at any of the encounter cards to keep the "surprise" element going, which may or may not have been a mistake. So I set up the game, prepped my deck (Leadership/Lore/Spirit - Aragorn, Denethor, Eowyn) and started out. I built up my forces fairly slowly in stage 1, and even get Old Grimbeorn on my side, which was quite exciting in itself - like bagging one of the Rangers in Massing at Osgiliath only even more awesomer. Once I had a good force going I went into stage 2 with 38 Threat...
SPOILERS!!!!
In stage 2, four trolls are placed in the staging area and they engage with you at Threat level 34 or higher. One of the troll's card effects is "Raise your threat by 3 for each Troll you are engaged with."
SPOILERS!!!!
So instant death for me and game over in a flash. Boo hoo, whatever, I set up again and learnt from my mistake – I should have read the cards.
Next game I stayed on stage 1 building my forces up. And then the semi- ridiculous 'Banks of Anduin' Location came in (goes to top of encounter deck “when it leaves play”). And with Denthor and Henemarth in play, since I knew what was coming every turn I'd just commit Eowyn to quest and build and build and build. Got my entire deck into play, with 3 Galadrim Greetings, 3 Sneak Attacks on Gandalf, 3 Stand and Fights on Gandalf, and 3 actual Gandalfs for massive threat reduction, and a threat level of about 14 when I finally moved on to stage 2.... The docile trolls didn’t stand a chance as I chopped them all to bits one by one.
Some might call that a perfect storm of cards or just good luck, I have to say it was really quite boring and it took a long time to play out, which I was determined to do even with the foregone conclusion that the game could not stop me from the moment the ‘Banks’ turned up.
Banks of Anduin is a suspicious card in solo play.
I already had to remove Will of the West from my games due to it being hugely over-powered. Now do I have to remove Gandalfs, Greetings, S&F, and Sneak Attacks too? Then would it swing the other way and become unwinnable??
Now, this was only a solo single deck play through, and the game already falters in catering for just one deck (see Dol Guldur) so hopefully I’ll get to see the scenario really shine with two or more players - particularly since the Banks card serves its purpose more readily in multiplayer games.
The idea of a ruck with 4 trolls seems like great fun and [i]I really want to enjoy this scenario[/i], particularly in light of how easy Hunt for Gollum turned out to be. Luckily I have a multiplayer session lined up soon so fingers crossed I can report back later with better news...
:sauron:
Monday, August 22, 2011
FFG News - A Journey to Rhosgobel latest preview
Fantasy Flight Games [News] - Guides, Grievances, and Strong Leadership
When Frodo came at last up on to the flet he found Legolas seated with three other Elves. They were clad in shadowy-grey, and could not be seen among the tree-stems, unless they moved suddenly.
–The Fellowship of the Ring
In The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, each sphere of influence has its own distinctive advantages. Lore excels at card draw and healing, two aspects of the game that make the sphere a natural fit for players inclined to focus on helping others.
With Beravor (Core Set, 12) and Bilbo (The Hunt for Gollum, 1), Lore players can grant other players the additional card draw they need to find cards critical to their strategies or to build timely combinations. Does the Leadership player need to find a Steward of Gondor (Core Set, 26) early? Would the tactics player keep one of his heroes alive if he could just find a copy of Feint (Core Set, 34)? Lore players are often asked to use their heroes to provide others with the vital advantage of extra card draw. For this reason, Beravor is often driven to call upon Unexpected Courage (Core Set, 57) during the game’s quests.
A preview of the third Adventure Pack for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game
When Frodo came at last up on to the flet he found Legolas seated with three other Elves. They were clad in shadowy-grey, and could not be seen among the tree-stems, unless they moved suddenly. –The Fellowship of the Ring
In The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, each sphere of influence has its own distinctive advantages. Lore excels at card draw and healing, two aspects of the game that make the sphere a natural fit for players inclined to focus on helping others.
With Beravor (Core Set, 12) and Bilbo (The Hunt for Gollum, 1), Lore players can grant other players the additional card draw they need to find cards critical to their strategies or to build timely combinations. Does the Leadership player need to find a Steward of Gondor (Core Set, 26) early? Would the tactics player keep one of his heroes alive if he could just find a copy of Feint (Core Set, 34)? Lore players are often asked to use their heroes to provide others with the vital advantage of extra card draw. For this reason, Beravor is often driven to call upon Unexpected Courage (Core Set, 57) during the game’s quests.
Fantasy Quest Beta test version complete!
Finally it's here!
Copies (for PnP or Artscow) will be made available to all Fans of Fantasy Quest hopefully sometime this week. I just need to format all the cards to A4-sized print versions.
In the meantime here are some of the latest card examples:
Monday, August 15, 2011
A Journey to Rhosgobel, FFG News - The Hands of a Healer
Fantasy Flight Games [News] - The Hands of a Healer: "A Journey to Rhosgobel f"
–Ioreth, The Return of the King
After the ferocious battles of Conflict at the Carrock, the heroes of Middle-earth resume their journeys down the
Anduin Valley in search of Gollum when they come upon an ally in need of aid. The third Adventure Pack for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, A Journey to Rhosgobel finds the great eagle Wilyador lying grievously wounded, struck by a goblin hunter’s poisoned arrow, and injured beyond the heroes’ ability to heal him.
A Journey to Rhosgobel is a race against death as the great eagle’s condition continues to worsen, and the heroes of Middle-earth must seek the assistance ofRadagast at his home in Rhosgobel.
Alas! if he should die. Would that there were kings in Gondor, as there were once upon a time, they say! For it is said in old lore: The hands of the king are the hands of a healer.
–Ioreth, The Return of the King
After the ferocious battles of Conflict at the Carrock, the heroes of Middle-earth resume their journeys down the
Anduin Valley in search of Gollum when they come upon an ally in need of aid. The third Adventure Pack for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, A Journey to Rhosgobel finds the great eagle Wilyador lying grievously wounded, struck by a goblin hunter’s poisoned arrow, and injured beyond the heroes’ ability to heal him.
A Journey to Rhosgobel is a race against death as the great eagle’s condition continues to worsen, and the heroes of Middle-earth must seek the assistance ofRadagast at his home in Rhosgobel.
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