This is my third of six reviews on all the Character Deck expansions.
You can find the review for the WildLander Character deck here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/194418
You can find the review of the RuneMaster Character Deck here:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/1664686#1664686
It's a lot of work, so IF YOU FIND THIS REVIEW USEFUL, I'D APPRECIATE GEEK-GOLD TIPS!!!
General review on all the Character Deck Expansions
A very important thing you should know before you buy any of the expansions is that in order to include character decks into a Runebound game, each player must have his own expansion deck (righ out of the box, or customized). So you should buy at least one character deck per player, more if you want to build customized decks.
As stated in the instruction booklet, each expansion from the character deck series "gives your hero new skills and abilities, and they also allow you to thwart your opponents with devious spells and deadly challenges".
An expansion deck can be used right out of the box (every character deck expansion is ready to be used by a single player), or you can customize your own deck using cards from different character deck expansions. That means that different players could use the same boxed standard expansion in a game playing one against each other (mike uses a wildlander character deck, and dave uses a wildlander character deck too), or that different players can customize decks using the exact same cards from two different copies of the same expansion (mike uses one card from the wildlander character deck on his custom deck, dave also uses the exact same card on his customed deck from his own copy of wildlander character deck).
I think character decks probably were meant to be bought by the players in order to customize their own character, and not necessarily by the owner of the game.
Each expansion includes:
25 Class cards (feats, spells, locations and challenges) - Red Back
5 talent cards - Blue Back
10 menace counters
1 Rules Booklet (exactly the same one for all the expansions)
TALENT CARDS
Instead of expending points to increase your abilities, now you can acquire talents, which will grant your hero abilities (similar to the character abilities in Runebound's character cards) and Proficiencies (used for spell-casting). This is a really great addition, as it allows you to improve your character in more ways than just increasing abilities, stamina or health. The abilities are very well designed, very useful, and related to each individual character deck's flavor. You can only have one talent at a time (talents are non-cummulative). Some cards MAY seem too powerful, perhaps unbalancing at first glance, however, taking into account the increased difficulty of the game, they are actually quite necessary.
CLASS CARDS (feats, spells, locations and challenges)
You can play Friendly class cards (cards that give your hero bonuses or advantages) on your own turn to benefit your hero, but also you get to play Enemy class cards on other players turns, to make things harder on their heroes! (This is a great way to end Runebound's infamous downtime problem).
Feat Cards: Grants your hero temporary abilities and bonuses on your turn, or makes another player's hero suffer a penalty on his own turn. May require proeficiencies or they'll cost more (+2 per unknown proeficiency).
Spell cards: Similar to feat cards. They grant your hero bonuses or inflicts penalties on other heroes. May require proeficiencies or they'll cost more (+2 per unknown proeficiency).
Location Cards: Played on heroes or enemies on specific terrain types, granting bonuses and advantages to your own hero, or inflicting penalties on other heroes. Some of them persist, afffecting the location after the turn has ended.
Challenge Cards: Similar to challenges from the traditional adventure decks in Runebound, but you can play them on your enemies by expending menace points (more on that later).
Main Changes to Vanilla Runebound
The menace Point System: The use of any card (except talent cards) requires you to expend menace points. You have a supply and a pool of menace counters. Your supply is located right over your hero's card, your pool beside it. In order to play friendly or enemy class cards, you have to spend menace counters.
Friendly class cards use menace counters from your own pool (moving them onto your supply). Enemy class cards use menace counters from the other player's supply (moving them onto his menace pool).
However, if there aren't enough menace counters to expend, you can't play the card. Notice that if you use too many friendly cards on your character, you're just giving other players ammunition to use against you. Also, Runebound's challenges will not only reward you with gold and experience, but they will also give you menace counters to refill your supply (and give your opposition ammunition to use against you).
The turn sequence: The turn sequence changes a little bit, to accomodate other player's ability to play class cards on your turn, and to allow for the refilling of class cards.
General comments on Character Deck expansions
More Interaction: You will get lots of player interaction by using Character Deck expansions. Even if you still play without allowing PvP action, the character decks are designed to let players mess with each other. A really great bonus is that downtime is eliminated. Now you get to play class cards against each and everyone of your fellow players, on their respective turns.
Increased Replayability: You'll be able to play with different decks, or even build your own customized decks, adding to Runebound's replayability factor. You'll be playing a different character every time you play!
More Confrontation: You won't hear complaints about Runebound being a multiplayer solitaire after buying these expansions. However, If you dislike direct confrontation in Runebound, these are NOT the expansions for you (unless you buy them only for using the talent cards - but that seems a waste of money to me). Even without allowing PvP action on your Runebound games, this will turn your traditional Runebound games into a frontal conflict between the heroes. If you do allow PvP action, this will turn your games into a full blown PvP war. I'm not saying that this is bad (nor good), just that you should know what you´re getting into before buying these expansions.
Improved Flexibility: You will be able to improve your character beyond traditional ability, stamina or health upgrades. Acquiring talents (and their respective proficiencies) allows for greater flexibility in the upgrade of your character, and gives you a chance to build strenghts not necessarily focused on helping you, but also, on messing other player's game.
Longer Playing time: The playing time will be longer because of all the extra additions to the turn sequence (and this is NOT good, since Runebound is infamous for its long playing time). Also, you won't be able to improve your hero as fast as you did before, because there are lots of new dangers and difficulties that make the game much harder; you'll find yourself travelling to towns more often and expending more gold on buying health, and you'll only attempt hard challenges with full health and low menace supplies. Also, you'll be more likely to die. All these factors will lenghten your Runebound session.
Risk Factor: The risk factor will greatly increase. You'll not only have to face the challenges, but whatever the other players send against you. You'll be more likely to die. A hard challenge can become harder if other players get to play enemy class cards on your hero before the challenge to weaken you (and they will), possibly getting you killed. Powerful talent cards will help reduce the risk level and they do help a lot, but it is still greater than in vanilla Runebound.
Strategy/Tactics: New strategic variables are added with Talent & Class Cards, and you should think on how you want your character to grow early on in the game. Tactically, you'll have to manage yor Menace supply and keep track on other player's menace supply (specially before attempting hard challenges, because doing so with a big supply of menace will surely make enemy cards rain on your parade - and even get you killed). Also, you should plan on acquiring Talent cards as soon as possible, because they tend to balance the overall risk increase of the game.
Overall: These expansions offer an interesting alternative to Vanilla Runebound. They help solve several problems (player interaction, downtime, replayability) However, they are not for everyone. Be sure to try them before you buy them, because they change the feeling of the game radically. The game feels more chaotic, more dangerous. Personally, I like them. But I am sure lots of people won't.
Review on the BLADEDANCER Character Deck
This expansion has a very strong warrior flavor to it: lots and lots of friendly and enemy fighting feats, few but powerful spells, and some specially tailored resources aimed specifically at thwarting magic user opponents (these are sooo cool). Also, it has some very interesting encounters and locations. It has some really great powerful talent cards that wil make your character a true hack-and-slash killing machine. It's without a doubt one of my favorite character decks.
TALENT CARDS
The talent cards included with this expansion are:
Syntax: Name(Cost, Proeficiencies)
Proeficiencies: W-Wizardry, D-Divinity, F-Fighting, S-Survival, Sb-Subterfuge
Dagger Expert(1,F,Sb): On melee phase, your hero may use ranged value and damage instead of melee value and damage.
Balanced Training(2,W,D, F, S, Sb): No talent prerrequisite to acquire this talent, +2 bonus to all skill tests. (It may seem underpowered, but this card's advantage is that it gives you all the proeficiencies, and thus, will be able to use all spells and feats!!!)
Bound Blade(3,W,F,Sb): On melee phase, if you have a sword item, +4 to melee value. When talent is purchased, you may search through the market deck for a sword item and immediately buy it or discard it, and finally reshuffle the deck.
Combined Attack(4,W,F, Sb): In any combat phase, after the hero attacks, allies may also attack in the same phase with +4 to attack rolls (hero and allies may still only make 1 attack per round).
Blade Dancer(5,F,Sb): After resolving melee phase, you may immediately take a second melee phase (the hero may attack a second time if it already attacked during this round).
CLASS CARDS
1) CHALLENGES
Syntax: Name(type,cost,health,ranged,melee,magic)
Type: Friendly-F,Enemy-E,Both-B)
The most interesting challenges included with this expansion are:
Spell Binder(E,4,4,13/1,10/0,15/3), At the biginning of each magic phase, discard one spell from your hand or hero takes 4 exhaustions (magic users, be afraid!).
Gnoll Raiders(E,5,4,13/2,15/3,8/0), If this challenge kills an ally inflicting more damages than needed to kill him, the extra damages are inflicted on the hero.
Gyre and Grak(E,8,4,13/2,17/4,12/1), If your hero fails a melee combat roll by 10 or more, he is immedistely knocked out, but instead of being moved to the nearest town, the player to your left moves your hero to a space adjacent to his own hero (ughh!).
2) LOCATIONS
Syntax: Name(type,cost,locations)
Type: Friendly-F,Enemy-E,Both-B
Locations: River-R, Swamp-S, Mountain-M, Hills-H, Forest-F, Road-Ro, Town-T
The most interesting location included with this expansion is:
Town Portal(F,1,F), Place your hero on any town space, then proceed to market step.
3) SPELLS
Syntax: Name(type,Cost,Proeficiencies)
Type: Friendly-F,Enemy-E,Both-B
Proeficiencies: W-Wizardry, D-Divinity, F-Fighting, S-Survival, Sb-Subterfuge
This expansion has some of the greatest offensive spells of all the character decks, and without proeficiency requirements!!!
The most interesting spells included with this expansion are:
Magic Mistakes(E,2,-): Play immediately after a hero fails a magic attack. Reveal your hand. Your hero takes 1 damage for each spell revealed (ugggh! magic users, be afraid!).
Magic Drain(E,3,-): Activate all of your items and take this card. During your next refresh step, discard this card instead of refreshing your item cards (really, really nasty!).
Changeling(E,10,-): Choose an ally. It immediately becomes a challenge. Add +10 to all its values. If you defeat it, escape or are knocked out, discard the ally (ugggh!).
4) FEATS
Syntax: Name(type,cost,proeficiencies)
Type: Friendly-F,Enemy-E,Both-B
Proeficiencies: W-Wizardry, D-Divinity, F-Fighting, S-Survival, Sb-Subterfuge
There are lots of feat cards, more balanced towards friendly cards (60% friendly, 40% enemy). I included most of the cards (first the enemy cards, then the friendly cards), since I couldn't decide which I liked best. The most interesting feats included with this expansion are:
Treasure hoard(E,0,-): Play immediately after a hero is knocked out. Instead of discarding gold and the highest cost card or ally, place them on the challenge. Any hero that defeats the challenge may receive all the gold and cards placed on the challenge.
Ambush(E,4,-): Skip all before combat actions and start in the melee phase.
Grasping tentacles(E,4,-): If the hero fails a melee roll, he must immediately defend in an additional melee phase. This continues until the hero makes a successful melee roll or he is knocked out.
Mortal Strike(E,6,-): Play before a hero attempts a melee roll. If the roll is 10 or lower than the challenge's melee value, the hero is immediately knocked out.
Parry(F,2,F): Play after your hero fails a melee combat roll. Your hero does not take any damage.
Cleaving strike(F,2,F): If your hero makes a successfull melee attack, discard all your enemy's armor items (uggghh!!! nasty!).
Dual strike(F,3,F): Play before a melee attack. Your damage is doubled until the end of the attack.
Commanding presence(F,4,F): Until the end of the first round of combat, all of your allies add their ranged, melee and magic values to your hero's values.
Sword Song(F,4,F): If your hero succeeds at his first melee attack, he may immediately take a second melee attack.
Daring charge(F,4,F): Bonus of +4 to attacks against blue challenges, and +6 against red challenges, until the end of combat.
Dominate(F,5,Sb): During market step you may hire one ally for free.
Overall
This is one of my favorite character decks. It is a great character deck for fighter/warrior/barbarian types (and any melee oriented characters in general). It has few but really nasty spells and some great fighting feats (both friendly and enemy feats are aboundant and very useful), making the character a powerful and fearsome epic fighter. Its talent cards are very powerful, strong enough to really make a difference.
It is a great addition to Runebound, and gives depth and breadth to the characters as well as to the game in general.
IF YOU FIND THIS REVIEW USEFUL, I'D APPRECIATE GEEK-GOLD TIPS!!!
Posted Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:09 pm
