Which is the best expansion after the core game? I am not sure if I need the conversion set or not, or the reaper expansion. I feel like just launching into the dungeon with my group. Are some of the mini expansions good to get prior to the Dungeon. How does the dungeon compare to Highlands?

Don't knock the Reaper! some of the new cards it introduces are pretty cool. As far as the other small expansions go:

- Frostmarche is ok, again, nifty new cards as well as a heaping helping of Warlock Quest cards to make going to the Warlock's cave more interesting instead of just rolling a die. New endings too are alright.

- The latest small expansion is A LOT of fun, I think. Not only does Sacred Pools add the standard new characters, alternate endings, and new adventure cards, it also introduces a new reason to go to the Warlock's Cave, Warlock Quest Reward cards. I love these things. Also Sacred Pools makes your character's alignment a bigger deal in the game, as many of the cards are alignment oriented. Oh, and the addition of the Stables card deck isn't too shabby either.

As far as Dungeon and Highlands are concerned, it's a matter of taste. Highlands are sort of like "Dungeon-lite." The Highlands is a little more forgiving for weaker characters attempting to go through. It offers a place you can explore immediately at the start of the game, whereas the Dungeon you'll want to put a little meat on your bones before you attempt to get slaughtered going through. The rewards are scaled with the difficulty though. The Treasure deck that awaits you at the end of the Dungeon should you beat its Boss contains items of greater power than that of the Relic deck that you draw from at the end of the Highlands board (whose boss is weaker too). It should be noted, however, that if you go by the rules verbatim for each board, the Relic deck you "draw" from whereas the Treasure deck you get to go through and pick whichever item you want. Many people believe though that since the highlands came out last, FFG means to sort of errata their rules about how you gain treasure at the end of an expansion board (there's evidence of this behavior between how Warlock Quest cards are handled between Reaper and Frostmarche), and to make things balanced many people rule that you draw randomly from the treasure deck (an alternate rule in the Dungeon rulebook anyway). This is probably a good idea, as each deck contains a fairly overpowered item that allows teleportation in the Inner region.

BUT THAT'S A TANGENT. Anyway, one last thing to mention is that the Highlands deck also introduces Trinkets, objects that don't take up a item slot on a character, and you can have as many of them as you like. Many of these Trinkets entire purpose is to make you rich, so one can get very rich with the Highlands.

peterstepon said:

If your copy of 4th ed has the FFG logo on it, then you don't need the conversion set. If it has the Black Industries logo on it, then you do. Or, more correctly, you need it to ensure the base game is fully compatible with the expansions and other rules FFG is adding to the game. Aside from the Fate Point rules and tokens, I don't recall there being too much in the way of new materials in the conversion kit, so you might be able to get along without it anyhow. I'm not sure.