Hi there,

I just got the Beasts and Bandits expansion pack and after reading the card "Guild Boss" I'm puzzled: It doesn't do any damage but lets you lose 2 Gold if you fail a combat roll. Before combat you can pay 4 G to defeat it and the reward is any one item from the market deck worth 8 G or less.

For me the card reads practically: pay 4 G to receive an item worth 8 G and get 3 Exp... And if you cant pay the 4 G, no worries, the challenge doesn't do any damage anyway.

Do I miss something or is this challenge more like a free item card?

cheers

Shelfwear said:

1) Remember that you don't need to take damage to fail a combat check, you just need to roll less than the given value in a particular stat category. That's a common consequence of failing a check, but it's not required to count as a fail.

2) I don't see any reason combat would end after failing one combat check, so if you were stuck with only 3 gold and not able to pay him off, you might end up losing it all before you defeat him or escape (or more if you choose not to pay him off.)

3) It's unclear based on what you wrote above, and I don't have the card in front of me, but is the reward for defeating this guy ALWAYS an item from the market deck, or is that only if you pay him off? If that's always the reward, some people might choose not to pay him in order to try and get the item for free. Depending on how well they roll, they may or may not succeed in that venture.

The card reads as follows:

Guild Boss, 3 Hearts

Before Combat: Discard 4 Gold to defeat this challenge

All phases: Each time your Hero or an ally fails a combat roll, you lose 2 Gold

Reward: Take an Item worth 8 Gold or less from any market stack

15/0, 15/0, 14/0

It doesnt say that you dont get the reward when you defeat this challenge by paying the gold during the before combat phase (unlike some other challenge cards that explicitely state that).

Yes, worst case scenario is to meet this guy with 1-3 Gold and lose some of the combat rolls but you'll defeat him eventually (he doesnt make any damage) and then get an item worth up to 8 Gold.

I really fail to see the "challenge" in this challenge card except the "gamble" you pointed out in 3)

I guess part of it depends on what's in the market stacks. You might be thrilled to see this guy save you a few gold on a nice weapon or you might have to over pay for a healing potion. In addition to Steve's theory about trying to get the item for free, there will be the instance when there isn't an item worth 8 or less in the stacks that you have any interest in and then you would be paying gold for nothing so you might as well see if you can knock him out before he steals 4 of your gold.

I do agree with you that this seems like a challenge I'd be thrilled to see show up most of the time. By the time you factor in the cost of healing from wounds etc, if you faced a "regular" challenge 4 gold isn't a bad price to pay for the Exp alone.

Guild Boss is not a combat encounter in the usual sense. It's described in combat terms because that's how the mechanics of the game work, but the jist of the challenge is that you're dueling this guy for prizes. He's not a real threat to you, just some commoner, but he may sneak off with some of your gold if you don't watch it. It is an unusual card, to be sure, but I don't mind it as written. It breaks up the monotony.

I also like the werewolf card that spends 3/4 of the text box describing how you turn into a werewolf too if it bites you, rather than anything directly related to this combat or its reward. These cards are few and far between, but they add a little spice to an otherwise quite repetitive process.

What happens if you have no gold to begin with? Can you even attempt this challenge?

Celnos said:

Of course you can. In fact, that's the best way to encounter him, because you can't lose anything. There really should've been an extra rule about getting KO'd if you lose a roll without having gold to pay, but there isn't, so you can just handwave the challenge and take a free item.

Having no money upfront just relieves you of the choice about whether or not to pay him off.