Hi,

am I the only one missing a sense of progression in the game? I mean this is a board game RPG, and in a Pen and Paper or a computer RPG the sense of peril usually rises as the characters get stronger, higher level, have better gear. So a low level character usually has to deal with goblins and the like, while dragons and their brethren are reserved for high level heroes.

I just started a game of the new campaign and behind the first door I opened I found 2 ettins and 2 manticores. I suppose these were open group monsters, I think there should be a restriction placed on not only the habitat, but the perceived strength of the open group monsters as well during a campaign. I understand that if the game is well balanced, 5 goblins could be as dangerous as 2 manticores, but still, to me it just doesn't feel right. Finding and fighting legendary monsters are kind of a reward for me, it means my character got strong enough to be able to deal with them. This kind of feels as if beginner fighters would compete in the UFC their first fight and stood a chance

(On that note, I will hopefully receive my Mansions of Madness 2nd edition next week. I hope I won't come face to face with Cthulhu in the first room )

Since the there are no explicit high-level monster groups and low-level monster groups in Descent, but all monsters have an act I and II version, I don't really get your question. As you wrote, 5 goblin archers can deal a lot of damage, but are easy to kill, while Ettins may or may not hit a heavy blow on a single hero. Whether a monster is a challenge for your group depends a lot on gear/skills/heroes/position of the monsters and most notably: the bonuses the monster groups get in RTL during their activation.

There is a little bit of restriction though. It seems that it is defined for each spawn that the group must fulfill certain requirements. For example: spawn a large melee group (4x4 monsters). This would include Ettins, Arachuyas, Ynfernal Hulks, etc. But exclude shadow dragons, elementals and goblins.

I haven't seen a restriction with respect to the habitat so far, maybe this is another criterion.