We were thinking of shuffling the Act I rumors into the travel deck. I know they have a different back, but it would randomize using the side missions from the H&M expansions.

Has anyone done this?

Are you just trying to get more chances of hitting those H&M quests? Because I have the first two small box expansions and the rumor deck is predominately drawing their cards instead of the H&M quests.

How would you combine the rumor and travel deck? drawing a rumor would mean you have to play it since it is a travel step? Wont Act 1 rumor quests also have their own travel step? will you ignore the travel icon on the rumor card and skip to the quest, if not you run the chance of running into another rumor quest as you are on a rumor quest.

Are you just trying to get more chances of hitting those H&M quests? Because I have the first two small box expansions and the rumor deck is predominately drawing their cards instead of the H&M quests.

How would you combine the rumor and travel deck? drawing a rumor would mean you have to play it since it is a travel step? Wont Act 1 rumor quests also have their own travel step? will you ignore the travel icon on the rumor card and skip to the quest, if not you run the chance of running into another rumor quest as you are on a rumor quest.

Very true. Yes we are trying to get more H&M quests in play. We are thinking of adding them to travel deck and if one pops up it would be a side quest you could choose to use and once you got one you would just discard the next one and take a travel card instead, until the current was completed. Taking the choice away from the Overlord and making it more random.

We are throwing out idea's with our group, because the same Rumor cards keep getting played.

Actually I went back to the rule books and I guess it does not say to mix the rumor decks from the small box expansions. I've been doing that but I haven't really been running into any problems. We ended up only playing one Act I rumor quest which we skipped playing the next part in Act 2.

Has anyone else been playing with a mixed Rumor deck?

The intention is to mix all of the rumor cards from the expansions you are including together, and the OL draws rumor cards equal to the number of heroes. There was a question asked awhile back about whether the text on rumors about only playing one applied to all expansions, and the response was that the limitation is specifically that only one rumor quest card per expansion may be played per campaign, but if you have, say, Lair of the Wyrm and Trollfens, you could potentially play one from each expansion.

We left rumors entirely out of the last campaign we played, but when we include them, all the rumors get mixed together. I personally do not like the idea of putting them in the travel deck- it's mixing mechanics that are not designed to go together at all. Just by the sheer numbers you won't get the hero and monster rumor quests very often, but it's fairly likely that the OL will draw at least one of them from a well shuffled rumor deck.

One think you can do it just put a few rumor quests into play randomly at start of campaign.

Interesting. I thought of doing something like that, but then if they are not completed the overlord get's a lot of bonuses.

Interesting. I thought of doing something like that, but then if they are not completed the overlord get's a lot of bonuses.

What do you mean? If they're not played, the OL gets nothing- unless you mean the threat for "playing" the cards in the first place.

I think that he means that if the heroes opt not to play the available quest the overlord gains the reward automatically.

So for something like "Crusade of the Forgotten", which says if the card is in play (as in still an available quest) when you transition to Act 2 the overlord gets the "forgotten sorcery" overlord card, then "Shadowside Watch" advanced quest card is put in play. "

If (as the OL) I wait till right before we play the 3rd quest in Act 1 to place this as an available quest and the heroes don't choose it, will I get that OL card because I have played it at a time when they have limited options (basically play the Rumor quest or play the 3rd quest)? Because as soon as the interlude is an available quest you can not play rumors quests, if they skip playing it at the moment I play it they will not get a second chance.

I think that he means that if the heroes opt not to play the available quest the overlord gains the reward automatically.

That's what I'm afraid he means, because that isn't true. The OL does not receive rewards for quests that aren't played except in very specific circumstances (namely, when it affects setup of the finale. Here is what the rulebooks say about unplayed quests (bolded sections were bolded by me) :

If one or more Act I Quest cards are still in play immediately before playing the

Interlude, the heroes must choose one of them to attempt (before proceeding to

the Interlude). After completing this quest, all other available Act I Quest cards are

discarded from the game without effect.

So if I do play the "Crusade of the Forgotten" and it is never played, before we do the interlude the heroes will be forced to play it (unless there are other Rumor quest cards available).

Not quite- FFG has clarified that this wording doesn't mean "you have to play a Rumor quest if it is there," but rather "if you're going to play it at all, you must play it now. After this, it will be too late."

I think that he means that if the heroes opt not to play the available quest the overlord gains the reward automatically.

That's what I'm afraid he means, because that isn't true. The OL does not receive rewards for quests that aren't played except in very specific circumstances (namely, when it affects setup of the finale.

I know that the Act I Rumor card from Crown of Destiny specifically states that if the heroes do not choose to go on the quest before Act II, then the OL gets the Fire Gems OL card reward, and places the Crown of Destiny rumor card into play. He may have been thinking of the cards like that.

Thematically, the giants are mining for the fire gems in the mountain, and if the heroes don't make a move to stop them, then they're going to find and deliver the fire gems to the OL.

There is some confusion about what the OL gets if the quests are not played. This is due to FFG changing the way they are designed.

On the first ones: LoW and Trollfens, the OL gets nothing if they are unplayed. For The H&M and the MoR expansion the OL gets something if they are unplayed. The ACT1 H&M give the OL a card and the MoR gives the OL a monster relic. Then on ACT2 the H&M and MoR give the OL a bonus card in the final if they are unplayed.

There is some confusion about what the OL gets if the quests are not played. This is due to FFG changing the way they are designed.

On the first ones: LoW and Trollfens, the OL gets nothing if they are unplayed. For The H&M and the MoR expansion the OL gets something if they are unplayed. The ACT1 H&M give the OL a card and the MoR gives the OL a monster relic. Then on ACT2 the H&M and MoR give the OL a bonus card in the final if they are unplayed.

Normally, the OL gets nothing (by the general rules of rumor cards,) but the text on specific rumor quest cards overrides this for the ones that give the OL a reward for the unplayed card.

As stated before, I thinking about the ones that give a reward to the overlord, while would he not hold onto it until right before the 3rd quest?

We are playing that when you draw the cards as OL you must play 1 immediately and discard the others.

As stated before, I thinking about the ones that give a reward to the overlord, while would he not hold onto it until right before the 3rd quest?

We are playing that when you draw the cards as OL you must play 1 immediately and discard the others.

I don't understand... How does this work? Is the OL drawing one rumor card during every campaign phase? If so, and if you're using a lieutenant deck, that would mean that the OL is harvesting waaaay more threat than they should be... There's a limited number you're supposed to draw from the beginning of the campaign, and you can really only get more if instructed to draw from a Rumor card.

The Overlord CAN hold onto a Rumor card and play it at the last minute if they so choose. Why not? I mean, the OL IS supposed to be this big, evil omniprescent thing, right? However, per the rules for Rumors...:

3) If one or more Act I Quest cards are still in play immediately before playing the

Interlude, the heroes must choose one of them to attempt (before proceeding to

the Interlude). After completing this quest, all other available Act I Quest cards are

discarded from the game without effect.

...so, the only way the OL can make this work in their favor (in the way that you're thinking), is by playing 2 Rumor cards during 2 separate campaign steps, and both cards would have to read something like, "If this quest is not attempted before the conclusion of Act 1, then the overlord gets blah blah blah." The chances of that happening is really slim (if you have everything that's come out thus far, that is). There aren't a lot of rumors that give the OL something for nothing.

Personally, I like that some of the cards have things like "the giants are mining fire gems! Stop them, or else the Overlord will have fire gems!" The thematic feel of the Heroes being able to say "nah, that sounds pointless," only to watch the overlord start throwing around Fire Gems after Act I is priceless!