Yet Another "What Should I Buy" Thread?

By Trump281, in Descent: Journeys in the Dark

OK, feel free to tell me which expansions are swell in general, but that's not what I'm really after here. I have the base game. It will probably be quite some time before I get through all of the adventures. And then I'll be looking for an expansion for sure. But right now... are there any expansions that I'd want to have NOW to make these first adventures better? I seem to recall reading that the treasures weren't all that balanced in the base set. Would I want one of the expansions to make the treasure decks better? Or is there some new mechanic in an expansion that really shines with the basic adventures?

Or maybe I should just buy the expansions in the order they came out and have the same Descent experience as the rest of you? :)

Some people may disagree, but rather than treasures, I think the greater variety in shop gear is especially nice with the expansions, particularly the first two. Having at least one of the first two is recommended if the heroes win all the time; having Tomb of Ice is recommended if the heroes lose all the time.

Hmm, you think it's the shop gear? I can find out the expanded list of shop gear from the internet and just use it from the beginning. That's pretty easy to do and I can buy the expansions later when I need new scenarios, etc. I'll have to do a little research and see just what the expanded list of items offers...

I personally feel that the introduction of Treachery in WoD makes the JITD quests more interesting. I believe there are Treachery numbers provided for each of the base game quests. It also adds some nice heroes and monsters to play with.

Personally I got them all!!! (BUT - I got 2 of them on a 50% off table at my local game store!!! SO LUCKY!!!)

BUT - after seeing them all - I would porobably buy Well of Darkness first - bunch of nice traps and treachery. Alter of Despair adds a few more traps and stuff... but for some reason I like the boulder, some of the quests, and other things better in WoD that just appealed more to me.

I got ToI mainly for the heroes to get some fun too in the feats they add...

If I were you - I would read the product descriptions and see what traps and other things are added and just see what appeals most to you!

Oboewan said:

I personally feel that the introduction of Treachery in WoD makes the JITD quests more interesting. I believe there are Treachery numbers provided for each of the base game quests. It also adds some nice heroes and monsters to play with.

Treachery? I read about that. Essentially the Overlord can customize his deck. I'm not so bored with the basic deck yet, but I can see where that'd be refreshing. As for new heroes and monsters, that's great in the long run but right now while I play the basic stuff? Probably don't need yet.

SoylentGreen said:

Personally I got them all!!!

BUT - after seeing them all - I would porobably buy Well of Darkness first - bunch of nice traps and treachery. Alter of Despair adds a few more traps and stuff... but for some reason I like the boulder, some of the quests, and other things better in WoD that just appealed more to me.

I got ToI mainly for the heroes to get some fun too in the feats they add...

Ha! Yeah, I'll get them all eventually. I'm just wondering what I really need now to make the initial quests really shine.

So tell me about feats. All I know is they're secret cards you can spring on the Overlord when you need to. What are some examples?

This is a bit unrelated, but I've already put Road to Legend on the back burner. I'll never be playing a campaign of Descent so I don't think it'd be of a lot of use to me. Am I wrong? Is there something else in that set I'd really be missing out on?

Trump said:

So tell me about feats. All I know is they're secret cards you can spring on the Overlord when you need to. What are some examples?

This is a bit unrelated, but I've already put Road to Legend on the back burner. I'll never be playing a campaign of Descent so I don't think it'd be of a lot of use to me. Am I wrong? Is there something else in that set I'd really be missing out on?


www.descentinthedark.com/_f_/feats.php

RtL is pure campaign. Descent basically doesn't do campaigns outside RtL - the optional 'campaign' rules are just an added on minor section and not terribly campaign-y. But RtL doesn't really add in anything that you would use outside of a campaign in the way the other expansions do. No new monsters, no new treachery/feats etc. Having said that there is a lot of new, very very cool, stuff in RtL, but it is all specialised campaign stuff.

Yeah - and I got RtL for so cheap - which is why I bought it when I did...

I plan on playing a campaign - but it will be a while before then... I want to get through most of the base game first... cause I also understand that if you don't have a really good base to start with - a campaign will be a headache...

But yeah - check out that link for Descent in the Dark - full collection of the cards if I recall.

Hmmm, those feats look pretty keen...

I remembered something interesting I heard about RtL. Supposedly you can play the game in less time, presumably because you'd have smaller dungeons? And is there some sort of random dungeon generation in there?

Trump said:

Hmmm, those feats look pretty keen...

I remembered something interesting I heard about RtL. Supposedly you can play the game in less time, presumably because you'd have smaller dungeons? And is there some sort of random dungeon generation in there?

The rules are available somewhere on FFG's site.

Basically the dungeons have 'levels', most of which are one large room with some corridors. Each level has it's own card with instructions and map with monster options, and is independent of any other levels. A full dungeon consists of 3 'levels' but you can flee the dungeon at any time and only draw a new level when you enter it - the random part is that you draw the level randomly each time you enter (out of 40+4 from ToI). Each level can usually be played in about an hour (often less, occasionally more) and the entire game can be packed and stored easily in between each level. So you have a lot of smaller chunks of dungeoneering, allowing you to play the campaign in smaller discreet time blocks.