Hi. I just got this game and plan on playing it soon. I will probably have 3 heroes and have heard the OL is a bit underpowered; but I wanna win! Or at least make it challenging and fun. But I have no experience and neither does my group. We will start in campaign mode from the beginning. Any tips for all of us as new players like how to best teach the game, any resource print offs that may help, ect?

Also I got the splig LP, should I use him/plot deck in first campaign? We are usually good with more complications, rules.

Thanks in advance!

My first advice is, if one of your heroes feels ok playing two people, let him. The four player game is far more balanced. If not, run with it. You can still do some damage.

As the over OL, you must be welling to plan. You are already at a disadvantage. Don't put yourself at more of a disadvantage by not knowing what the quest requires of you. Some monsters are better in some quests then others. And over all, some monsters are just better at dealing with some heroes then others. As you grow your collection of Descent related products you will find this out quickly.

Know your heroes. Not just their abilities, though you need to know what they do better then your own heroes know how to use them. But know how your heroes react to you doing things. Lord over your cards. Give a chuckle from time to time or other things that make the heroes wonder what you are up to. Even if you don't have anything "good" in your hand, make them think you just drew the game changer from time to time. Physiological warfare is sometimes just as effective as having good cards. (This is my favorite tip. It makes the game really fun for me since I am good at bluffing. Drives my heroes nuts!)

Maybe the most important tip is listen. Unlike you, your heroes have to plan out all of their moves in front of you. Think of it like you, sir Overlord, have spies everywhere and they are your ears. No secret is kept from you. Use that to beat your heroes down, or thwart their plan by having your monsters run the other way. You can save yourself allot of heartache by giving your heroes the runaround.

Lastly, have fun. If the OL cannot win and lose gracefully then no one will have fun. You will be the only one rejoicing when you win. You will be the only one bummed out when you lose. So take it like a pro and laugh. Always laugh. Your master plan has them winning, after all/ it's a mirror set back. You really didn't need that relic. You are evil in person. Play the part up. Be a ham. ^.^

A good tip I have heard from other players is a cool down after every game where heroes and OL become human again and talk about what they felt each other could have done better. If your group is good about this, your first run of the game might make this really helpful. Talking over cards and hero abilities help solidify rules and maneuvers better. Some heroes or OL feel like that gives away too many of their secrets and therefore don't like doing this. This is souly up to the group and ther group's temperament. I like it because it helps accelerate everyone's learning cerve.


Now about the LP. This is your first run Descent? I would really suggest you NOT playing with it. Reason being is there are allot of rules as it is. By the time you finish playing your first campaign you might be doing everything right. Our first play through we where doing so many things wrong. After re-reading everything we decided that the campaign was really broken for both sides. We still had fun, but... Shoot for a LP in your second play. Splig's LP is really fun to play, but it is a little more complicated.

Hope this helps. Go out and conquer your world, fledgling OL!

The overlord is not underpowered, neither are the heroes. Depending on any particular group's composition and skill choice, some encounters will be easier or harder for one side or another. Some encounters can be very swingy - for example, Masquerade Ball part 2 is virtually impossible for the heroes to win - they need incredibly good rolls, and the overlord has to lose part 1 AND get incredibly bad rolls. Unless, of course, the heroes have someone who can Immobilize - in which case the encounter is almost a freebie for the heroes.

Stuff like that often causes people to think one side or another is over or underpowered. In truth, in my experience, things are actually pretty well balanced.

You want to win, though? Buy the Conversion Kit, and play Kobolds in every encounter possible. Learn why they're the strongest monster in the game and you will be virtually unbeatable. That's the best advice you'll get.