Hey guys

So i finally tried Imperial assault, and it was a blast. I really like that game, though i like the fantasy setting of decent alot more then star wars (sorry guys, the awesome part of star wars is jedis and they aint really the focus of that game). One of the things that really stood out to me was the Line of sight rules. I know back when IA was released alot of people talked about using those rules in descent. Since then some time have passed and now i wonder, have anyone used them for descent, and how did it work? Do they make any balance changes or did it just make the game more playable. I expect a class like the thief would gain alot from those rules.

So my question is, have anyone PLAYED with the LOS rules from IA, and how did it work? I am not interested in a meta analysis about the case, i have done that myself. But i like to hear from someone who have tried, and how it worked.

Thanks guys

I have not played with the transplanted rules. You may be able to find such people in the "Variants" forum over on BGG.

I play exclusively with the Imperial Assault line of sight rules and find them to work excellently with Descent, both in Co-Op and campaign play.

There are for sure changes in game balance.

Both the heroes and the overlord are able to set up ambushes and choke points far more easily, as they can actually make use of the cover that certain tiles provide. With Descent rules it is far more difficult. Being able to attack from range behind thin cover without being counter-attacked adds further depth as well. Fewer tiles exist that make use of this than they do in IA, however.

Large monsters with ranged attacks don't benefit from shooting from cover, but its great when playing with archers, sorcs and other small-sized figs.

Keep in mind some hero powers are weaker as well, especially abilities like Army of Death and Break the Rune. I still think AoD is playable with the change, just not quite as crazy as it was before. I think its more fun this way, because a smart OL is better able to play around it by using cover. However, some people believe the necromancer is only good because of AoD, so any weakening of that ability might make the class underpowered.

Any other abilities that go off of line of sight are also affected, so formation for both sides becomes even more critical.

In my experience, its been only positive feedback from my players after making the switch, and I encourage you to try it.

Nice, it sure seems like worth a shot then

Thanks

They work fantastic! But the movement rule changes are a no go. A lot of OL strategies are based on blocking, with missions being balanced in such a way. If you use the IA movement rules th OL gets stomped often.

As I'm not familiar with the rules of IA can someone please explain where the differences are?

In Descent, you measure corner to corner. In IA, you measure corner to two corners. Makes LoS more realistic but much harder to attain in general. I don't use it because Descent isn't balanced or designed for it, it makes ranged weapons significantly weaker to use IA LoS rules. IA was designed for it: it makes taking cover much more effective.

I dont intend to use the IA movement rules, those are gamebreaking changes, LOS just seems to work better. Gotta try and see if my group want to give it a try.

Thanks