Hello again guys

as im going to start a new campaign with some friends , im trying to gather as much info as i can, as how to be a good Overlord when it comes to decision-making, as most of you overlorders know, it can be abit hard to be one against the many, so is there any tips from other overlord players on what to do, to be a good overlord player ?

thanks in advance

I think you just need to come prepared.

The best piece of advice is probably to understand the hero party you´re going to face. What are their strengthes and weaknesses. Basically you want to prevent them from using their strong skills and lean on powerful heroic feats as much as possible. At the same time, you want to force them to be in situations they have difficulties dealing with. Understand their hero attributes and pick both cards and monsters in consequence.

Play by the objectives and focus on them only. Only kill heroes when it doesn't interfere with your prime goal.

Buy useful cards more than fun ones. It's sad I know, but if you want to win then it's the obvious choice to make.

Try to plan ahead in terms of OL card purchases. Which trees you want to dig into etc.

Only attack with your monsters when you can hit hard, preferably alpha strike heroes. Mass attacking can be devastating, unlike single attacks from monsters who will probably end up dead next turn. Monsters = actions.

Well, since you mentioned in another thread that you already played one full quest, it's a good idea to put plot decks in play, if you have the lieutenants packs. Also, keep in mind that a 4 player game (3 heroes and the overlord) makes easy for them, as most of the people say. I never played with 3 people, tough.

About the 1 versus 4 minds topic.. I´m not sure I completely understand that. The game is asymetrical and your powers as the OL should, at least in theory, match 4 combined hero powers. I don't think it's much about being outsmarted by a 4:1 rate, on the contrary you get to focus on your own decisions and I would even wager making decisions with three other persons can be more difficult. Sure, having additional pairs of eyes/minds help you not making mistakes, but as playing the OL exclusively I can find some solace knowing that decisions are entirely mine. And if I do something wrong then so be it and I hopefully won't do the same mistake again.

I would almost summarize the game as a battle of Actions, and how to use these actions to the best intent. In short, it doesn't matter if you face four PhD brains if three of them have heroes on the floor, all that matters is that they only have 2 actions left regardless of how smart these actions can be.

I think the 4:1 is a psychological thing people have. OLs use it as an excuse to either blame the asymetry in the game when the campaign turns in their disadvantage, or the opposite by saying how clever they are as they are outsmarting 4 other people. In reality, you´re just rolling dices and drawing cards. If you get rid of the randomness then sure, it's brain power versus brain power. But randomness means everything can happen.

The only things where I would agree that 4:1 factor makes real relevance are:

- Conflicts related to the rules. It can be tricky trying to argue with 4 players, not only because of the number of detractors but because you represent the opposite side of the scale so hero players will initially favor their own side regardless of how your reasons make sense.

- Some players do not always accept the fact the OL is not only a fifth player but actually needs more time to play a turn. I have felt psychological pressure as the heroes basically looked at me like I should be done with my turn whereas I was just activating monster after monster with no particular waiting time.

Are you playing with Plot Cards and Rumor Cards? If so, you may have an easier time of it. Here are some tips:

First thing is preparing for the quest. Lay your available Overlord cards face up and pick the cards you want. This can depend on what Basic deck you are using and what you spent experience points on. Typically when picking out cards, I like to get movement enhancing cards ( Like Dash or Blinding Speed ). I tend to ditch any cards that factor in dice rolls. ( Cards like Dark Fortune.) I also like to use cards that enhance monster attacks. Cards that let the monster do an extra attack, or surge for some extra damage. Trap cards are situation based so I usually ditch those. Then when you start getting experience, you should start to look for cards that give you some extra draw. I typically pick up Unholy Ritual for instance on my first exp point, as it's a Universal card. Universal cards are best for when you are not sure which path you want to go yet, but they can be of help regardless. As you get more experience, and you decide what path you are going, stick with it. Replace the cards you don't want to use with those powerful cards.

Another important part of preparing for your quest is picking out which monsters you are going to use. Some monsters are better then other at slowing down heroes. Others are better served for damage purposes. If you are using a Plot deck, use monsters that jive with it. You can get some extra benefits that way.

I have to disagree with Indalecio on the point of Knocking out heroes. If you find you are in a situation where you can knock out a hero, absolutely knock out a hero. This serves a few purposes:

-The heroes have to spend actions to stand back up. This takes time away from completing an objective.

-You get to draw an extra Overlord Card or Get a Threat Token the first time you knock out any particular hero. It adds up, particularly if you start to knock them out frequently. More OL cards means you are taking control.

- Knocked out heroes can be exceptionally weak... meaning they can be easier to knock out again.

Know the strengths an weaknesses of the heroes you are playing. That way, you know where your monsters should go and who is the most vulnerable to attack. Find the weakest link and pick on them.

Use your Relics. If you as the OL win a quest and get a Relic, put it to use whenever you can.

Stick to your objectives. The pressure is on the heroes to stop you. Even if the objective seems out of reach, do your best to make it difficult for them anyway.

If you are playing with Rumor cards, play Quest cards. If you win the last quest, make them go on the quest. Usually those quests don't really have many benefits for the heroes, but can net you something nice. ( For instance I won Oath of the Outcast and won the Unseen Wings OL card, which I have never played without since. )

You might not be able to influence this much, but see if you can limit the number of search tokens the heroes pick up. If they get more money they have a chance to buy better stuff, which makes your job harder.

Be prepared for complaints if you start winning. Yeah, it's many against one... and many people don't like it when one person is winning. To your credit, if you are winning, that's because you are playing well. Don't feel sorry for them, if they want to win then they need to figure out how to play better.

Carry the rules on you at all times. Read the rules. Know the rules. Have this forum on your phone. This is basically so if any rules problems come up, you can instantly check or turn to the place to find the answer.

That's pretty much it.

thanks for all your answers.

im well into the core rules so we have had little to look up during our campaign.

i do have some of the Lieutenant decks but i kept away from using them as im not really that good at multitasking, which was also painfully clear during our last campaign where i made several mistakes which could have lead me to a victory, oh well , thats where my philosophy of many brains against one comes into play, as im more prone at making mistakes as where the others can correct eachother if they catch eachother in doing so.

anyways im going to run the campaign from Shadows of Nerakhall as i have always loved the indoor scenery.

anyone done this campaign that can comment abit opon it , is there anything special to know about the influence system ? i didnt quite understand it the first time i read it.

In descent, most everything is public knowledge when it comes to quests and objectives. Influence is a way for the OL to keep some quest elements from the heroes- they won't actually know in "without mercy" whether they are trying to kill or save the executioner until they cause you to reveal your influence token, and that makes planning more difficult for them.

I have played that campaign 1.5 times. First time, heroes stomped the OL on most quests, but finale was SOO close. second time, I stomped heroes up through the interlude, and we started playing some other quests instead of continuing the campaign. In both cases, hero and class choices made a big difference.

In descent, most everything is public knowledge when it comes to quests and objectives. Influence is a way for the OL to keep some quest elements from the heroes- they won't actually know in "without mercy" whether they are trying to kill or save the executioner until they cause you to reveal your influence token, and that makes planning more difficult for them.

I have played that campaign 1.5 times. First time, heroes stomped the OL on most quests, but finale was SOO close. second time, I stomped heroes up through the interlude, and we started playing some other quests instead of continuing the campaign. In both cases, hero and class choices made a big difference.

so how do you play ?( and everyone else in these forums) , the first campaign i played all characters and classes were wide open, they could pick and choose exactly like they wanted, needless to say they picked classes that had the "best" character abilities and heroic feat's (both of the text areas, not the stats).

i like the idea that you can pick and choose what you want, but it seems like some characters are just more OP then others ( they had 2 characters that could reroll dices on every turn).

In descent, most everything is public knowledge when it comes to quests and objectives. Influence is a way for the OL to keep some quest elements from the heroes- they won't actually know in "without mercy" whether they are trying to kill or save the executioner until they cause you to reveal your influence token, and that makes planning more difficult for them.

We played this quest yesterday. I just would like to point out that in this quest the influence effect should be selected at random, and the chosen influence should not be known by any player (including overlord) according to the quest rules.

Bad example on my part, then. Thanks for pointing that out. So, in Civil War then, the heroes don't know which if any leader is corrupt.

Ok so i'll admit that i read barely any of this thread! But i will still give my two cents here anyway. I am currently the overlord in my group's campaign and the biggest thing i've noticed is how much Descent is an OBJECTIVE BASED game. So the biggest and most important thing in my opinion is KNOW YOUR OBJECTIVE! This should make monster selection and play style much simpler and straight forward.

For example, if the quest has you fetch something and move it off the map. I would say use something like goblins (fast move speed) and something that causes stun or immobilize. Anything that will make the heroes lose a turn or an action. Or if there are narrow hallways, use large or huge monsters to completely block off the heroes... Ya know, things like that. And remember a lot of the times things arent as bleak as they look. Monsters are kinda supposed to be expendable and a lot of times you get reinforcements. Hell, i've even won an encounter with my last figure because I FOCUS SINGLEMINDEDLY ON MY OBJECTIVE! If you are looking to play "make-believe battles" you can take any 2 minis out of the box and just smash them together!

You can let the heroes play "Pathfinder" all they want. They don't get XP for killing monsters and they don't stick around to loot the corpses afterward. So go ahead and play the fool for them while they waste valuable decicive actions... also i would say "have a good poker face" and "loose lips sink ships" don't give too much away about how things are going for you at any given moment... be cutthroat! Soon enough you will be robbing the heroes of precious bonus XP and gold and eventually just become a runaway freight train. My first campaign i almost questioned the balance of the game if i didn't doubt my players' mindset or playstyle. But anywho that's my humble bit...

and one more thing... you don't need to be "flashy" to be "effective"...just.......EVIL.....MWAAHAHAHAHAHA.......

Usually the quest will give you a set monster group for accomplishing objectives. It's the open groups that pretty much delay heroes.