Hi

After playing the Shadow Rune Campaign, we found it massively OP in the Overlords favour (me) to the point that the Hero player (using 3 Heroes) soon became sick of taking a pummelling each encounter.

I have read the rule changes for Heirs of Blood (extra attack etc) and wondered if these rules apply to Trollfens, Lair of the Wyrm and Labyrinth of Ruin also?

If not, are these expansions balanced properly? If we have another Shadow Rune experience the next time we play I think ill be struggling to find a playing partner anymore.

Any tips to give the Heroes an advantage would also be appreciated.

Thanks

The two hero rule is meant to apply in all game modes/expansions now.

The additional attack or heal rule applies to all campaigns, but only when using 2 heroes.

I am a little surprised that the heroes took such a beating in shadow rune, my experience it was usually the other way around, but shadow rune is generally regarded as a poor campaign and very swingy depending on hero and monster choices

Are your heroes working out their moves before hand? Are they using classes and characters with high synergies (beastmaster, shadow walker, Vyrah the Falconer etc)? Are they using their feats and heroic feats?

Also keep in mind that if your heroes are not doing any of the above, and you bring your A-List open groups every time, they may have a bad day. Maybe throw them a bone and use Zombies as the open group for an encounter.

I've only played "the shadow rune" twice with a two-hero party. Both times, the heroes got obliterated (both times were before the new 2 hero rule).

Well, I'm sure part of the issue with the first campaign is that the heroes were Jain the thief and Ashrian the spiritspeaker. However, our quest choices weren't outlandish:

Fat Goblin, Castle Daerion, Cardinal's Plight (lost, lost, lost), interlude (lost)... you get the idea. This was before there were expansions.

The next time, we took a better party (I think it was Syndrael the knight and Avric the disciple). We still lost pretty handily, but it wasn't a washout (again, pre-expansions).

As a counter-example, I played the Trollfens once as a 2 hero game with Roganna the Treasure Hunter (built to be a sniper) and Quellen the Geomancer (built to be a nuisance). We had a lot of fun, even though we lost the finale (pre 2-hero rule).

On a 3 hero party, the Shadow Rune campaign should favour the heroes, so I, too< would ask the same questions as Silidus, and also, what's the gaming experience differential between you and your players?

I'll add one more common mistake new OLs make that usually obliterates heroes.

Were monsters attacking twice? cause they can't..... with exceptions to monsters with Ravage of course.

I'll add one more common mistake new OLs make that usually obliterates heroes.

Were monsters attacking twice? cause they can't..... with exceptions to monsters with Ravage of course.

Thanks for the replies

Experience wise, we are both very experienced Imperial Assault (board games in general) players which lead, me in particular to Descent as I prefer the theme.

Monster's weren't attacking twice (unless able) but I (as OL) did bring the best Monster's possible to each encounter, which to be fair is how it should be. In Imp, if my mate can use Vader or Fett etc, you can bet he will.

Quest wise, the Heroes only won two: First Blood and The Overlord Revealed. The OLR quest was ridiculously in the Heroes favour and I lost in 2-3 rounds.

One aspect regarding Descent in comparison to IA is that the Heroes need to work together and compliment each other a lot more in Descent. I, as the Heroes in IA tend to blitz around the map hacking or blasting anything in my path. My mate initially tried that in Shadow Rune and failed very quickly.

Am I safe to assume then that the three expansions that I have (listed above) are more balanced (minus player skill)? Despite having ,any lieutenant packs, I have yet to introduce them as it just didn't seem fair.

A comment I will make is that, just as in IA, you have to stay focused on the objective. The information is all open, not hidden as in IA, so the heroes can make plans in advance.

If the hero players are losing (a lot), maybe allowing them a brief period of strategic and logistical planning before tackling the quest might help?

The general consensus is that pretty much every campaign is more balanced than The Shadow Rune:p And lieutenant packs give the OL some more options. The heroes benefit from the fortune tokens, but it is still the OL who can decide if they get some by choosing to play a card. The lieutenant packs also vary greatly in strength. But if the OL isn't losing a lot, I wouldn't use them.

But some general tips for getting a strong hero party (in my opinion at least):

Stick to the classic rpg party system of tank, healer, en dd and realise that some heroes/classes are just better than others, especially for beginners. Avric Albright the Disciple, Syndrael the Knight, Leoric the Runemaster, and Jain the Wildlander (all from the base game) are very solid choices that are easy to play.

Why are these heroes good? The have at least 4 speed, hero abilities that you will use almost every turn (except Syndrael) and they all have quest winning heroic feats. Why are these classes good? The skills are usable in a lot of situations. The buffs of the Disciples Prayer of healing are going to be used every single turn, the extra surge on the Runemasters attack is also something that is going to be used a lot .

If you replace Jain the Wildlander with Logan the Treasure Hunter and Syndrael with Reynhart the Worhty you might have the best (whatever that means) party possible with your expansions.

I hope this helps a bit:)

A comment I will make is that, just as in IA, you have to stay focused on the objective. The information is all open, not hidden as in IA, so the heroes can make plans in advance.

If the hero players are losing (a lot), maybe allowing them a brief period of strategic and logistical planning before tackling the quest might help?

The 3 Heroes that he used was Grisbon, Roganna and Ashrian, cant remember the class that he used for each. I do remember however that although he liked Grisbon he found it hard to get him into the fight on a regular basis due to his speed.

Even as the OL I don't like the 'blocking' tactic which I seem to use quite regular. For me, the 'double movement' cost of Imperial works better and makes for a more competitive game.

I do like the idea of giving him more time at the start of the game to properly formulate a plan, we do that when we play games such as Axis & Allies etc so cant see why not for Descent.

We are due to start a new campaign on Monday, I have Trollfens, Lair of the Wrym and Labyrinth of Ruin, any suggestions as to which one to play first?

The general consensus is that pretty much every campaign is more balanced than The Shadow Rune:p And lieutenant packs give the OL some more options. The heroes benefit from the fortune tokens, but it is still the OL who can decide if they get some by choosing to play a card. The lieutenant packs also vary greatly in strength. But if the OL isn't losing a lot, I wouldn't use them.

But some general tips for getting a strong hero party (in my opinion at least):

Stick to the classic rpg party system of tank, healer, en dd and realise that some heroes/classes are just better than others, especially for beginners. Avric Albright the Disciple, Syndrael the Knight, Leoric the Runemaster, and Jain the Wildlander (all from the base game) are very solid choices that are easy to play.

Why are these heroes good? The have at least 4 speed, hero abilities that you will use almost every turn (except Syndrael) and they all have quest winning heroic feats. Why are these classes good? The skills are usable in a lot of situations. The buffs of the Disciples Prayer of healing are going to be used every single turn, the extra surge on the Runemasters attack is also something that is going to be used a lot .

If you replace Jain the Wildlander with Logan the Treasure Hunter and Syndrael with Reynhart the Worhty you might have the best (whatever that means) party possible with your expansions.

I hope this helps a bit:)

A comment I will make is that, just as in IA, you have to stay focused on the objective. The information is all open, not hidden as in IA, so the heroes can make plans in advance.

If the hero players are losing (a lot), maybe allowing them a brief period of strategic and logistical planning before tackling the quest might help?

The 3 Heroes that he used was Grisbon, Roganna and Ashrian, cant remember the class that he used for each. I do remember however that although he liked Grisbon he found it hard to get him into the fight on a regular basis due to his speed.

Even as the OL I don't like the 'blocking' tactic which I seem to use quite regular. For me, the 'double movement' cost of Imperial works better and makes for a more competitive game.

I do like the idea of giving him more time at the start of the game to properly formulate a plan, we do that when we play games such as Axis & Allies etc so cant see why not for Descent.

We are due to start a new campaign on Monday, I have Trollfens, Lair of the Wrym and Labyrinth of Ruin, any suggestions as to which one to play first?

I would suggest Trollfens or Lair of the Wyrm, they are shorter campaigns so you can try different strategies without committing to a full campaign.

The general consensus is that pretty much every campaign is more balanced than The Shadow Rune:p And lieutenant packs give the OL some more options. The heroes benefit from the fortune tokens, but it is still the OL who can decide if they get some by choosing to play a card. The lieutenant packs also vary greatly in strength. But if the OL isn't losing a lot, I wouldn't use them.

But some general tips for getting a strong hero party (in my opinion at least):

Stick to the classic rpg party system of tank, healer, en dd and realise that some heroes/classes are just better than others, especially for beginners. Avric Albright the Disciple, Syndrael the Knight, Leoric the Runemaster, and Jain the Wildlander (all from the base game) are very solid choices that are easy to play.

Why are these heroes good? The have at least 4 speed, hero abilities that you will use almost every turn (except Syndrael) and they all have quest winning heroic feats. Why are these classes good? The skills are usable in a lot of situations. The buffs of the Disciples Prayer of healing are going to be used every single turn, the extra surge on the Runemasters attack is also something that is going to be used a lot .

If you replace Jain the Wildlander with Logan the Treasure Hunter and Syndrael with Reynhart the Worhty you might have the best (whatever that means) party possible with your expansions.

I hope this helps a bit:)

A comment I will make is that, just as in IA, you have to stay focused on the objective. The information is all open, not hidden as in IA, so the heroes can make plans in advance.

If the hero players are losing (a lot), maybe allowing them a brief period of strategic and logistical planning before tackling the quest might help?

The 3 Heroes that he used was Grisbon, Roganna and Ashrian, cant remember the class that he used for each. I do remember however that although he liked Grisbon he found it hard to get him into the fight on a regular basis due to his speed.

Even as the OL I don't like the 'blocking' tactic which I seem to use quite regular. For me, the 'double movement' cost of Imperial works better and makes for a more competitive game.

I do like the idea of giving him more time at the start of the game to properly formulate a plan, we do that when we play games such as Axis & Allies etc so cant see why not for Descent.

We are due to start a new campaign on Monday, I have Trollfens, Lair of the Wrym and Labyrinth of Ruin, any suggestions as to which one to play first?

I read that the Liar of Wyrm campaign isn't that good. I would start with Trollfens or LoR wether you want a small or regular campaign.

Trollfens it is, later this evening. We have already actually played the first encounter through a rumour card but not in the two player format. My mate is going for a Warrior and Healer, choosing from all the above mentioned expansions and the Visions of Dawn M&Hpack.

Any recommendations for Heroes or classes?