As RB has become one of THE games in my scattered players group, I have been looking at some more of the small box expansions to pick up. "Relics" though hard to find seems a very divisive one from comments read on BGG and elsewhere. The "banners" in particular are not well liked... either considered too fussy or otherwise not usable easily enough. I'm not sure I agree with the latter, but my group tends to like tactical choices and doesn't mind a card now and then that requires some upkeep.

Some of the cards seem geared toward encouraging or enforcing more CvC in the game. This actually seems antithetical to the way we play, as we're all too busy exploring and adventuring to bother going after each other. But still, sans such options, the same cards seem to offer something of interest... if not for the price on them. Without taking advantage of such CvC options, some of them are overpriced for what else they can do.

There's also the smaller issue that it would seem strange that some of these cards, as "relics," would end up in a city market... or be available in a game variant when a particular city related to a card doesn't exist in the game. But that's not so important.

I'm just wondering what others think of these cards as I continue my search for a set to buy, which I will one way or another. Are there ways that any of you use them, in part or whole, that address any concerns you've found in this expansion?

JC,

As you know I am huge Runebound fan, and own all the expansions. That said, I have to say that Relics of Legend was a missed opportunity, as it has a lot of great ideas, but many of them are a bit dicey on the execution. Its one of the few Runebound expansions which I think could have used some more play testing, and would benefit from a revised edition. The banners being the biggest "miss" of any of the item cards to date.. That said, I think the set as a whole does have some pretty cool cards in the mix, and I am glad to have it mixed in with my base set.

So... long story short, I wouldn't spend a fortune to acquire it, but if you can buy it for its retail price, I think its worth picking up.

Judd

Okay, that does make sense, and agree about the banners. In looking at some at BGG, I kept finding myself thinking "what if they done something like..." Oh well, I'll keep shopping as the best price I've found (including shipping) is around $18-$20 USD; if nothing better pops up, I may take the dive any way just to get them while they last.

JCHendee said:

I also own all Runebound expansions but didn't try them all yet, especially the Item & Allies expansions.

I think the first two I&A Expansions are the worst ones, trying to throw in alternative ideas but failing to add something really useful, compared to the base game items. Artifacts & Allies has the Familiars, which are the best idea, then some flavour Objects that improve player interaction (not CvC) and some middle-of-the-way Allies. Not bad but not something I would have expected from the "first" expansion. I was really disappointed by Relics of Legend; it improves nothing in the gameplay and most of the Allies/Item are far from being attractive.

I find Weapons of Legend to be rich of Items and Allies in line with the base game Market Deck, just adding some new effects and powers. Champions of Kellos has a good "paladin crusade" feeling to it and Walkers of the Wild has also nice cards. Rituals & Runes adds a completely new mechanic and I didn't try it yet.

I suggest looking for WoL or CoK instead of digging into the Relics of Legend. I got my copy about 1 year ago at Amazon, bought it from a shop in the U.S. (I live in Italy). I own all the expansions but this one was not worth the effort.

Interesting, and thanks for some further input. I think right now I'm interested to see if FFG goes further with another essentials package. As to adding something new to the game, I'm not at all like most who look for just the next most powerful item/ally; I want stuff at all levels of potency that actually enrich the games ambiance as well. I think that's part of why I was a little disappointed in examining the banners, as they seem to introduce something new that might actually not fit the game.

I've heard a little about the "familiars" though not a lot about how they differ from normal "allies". Can you offer anything more about them, even though its off topic?

JCHendee said:

The biggest difference is that they do not count toward your ally limit. So you could have three allies if one of them is a familiar. They tend not to have strong stats so they are not good in combat except as a "speed bump" if your desperate. Some of their abilities have more of a direct effect on the hero but for the most part they aren't very different from other allies. One gives a bonus to spirit, another lets you steal from towns, another lets you heal but if it dies you take damage, etc...

Okay, interesting enough but not exceptionally enticing. I'm not one for prosthetic boosts to character's attributes, skills, etc., but some in my scattered group might get a kick out them.

I guess in a lot of ways they're good fluff allies to round out the rpg experience. IMHO that is really the best reason to get an expansion for the market stack. They all just add more story points for the players to work with. I've gotten quite attached to particular allies as the game plays out and then they die a horrific death to save my hero. But I'm really into the whole story aspect of the game anyway.

Tony P. said:

I am a former RPG-player that went into board games when time and commitment of my gaming group gradually decreased. It may seem strange but don't care very much about the story when I play a board game, including a strong story-oriented game like Runebound.

However, as Tony P. said, Familiars are bonus Allies that give you small and particular powers, not very useful in terms of Character improvement but interesting anyway. They're more a piece of your Hero story and background than pure stat boosters; most of them have a particular feeling (e.g. Demonic Cat), so if this is what you're looking for try to get Artifacts & Allies. Other Allies and Objects are not bad too. I prefer the other expansions (i.e. WoL and CoK) because they fill some gaps in the basic Market Deck, giving some additional Items & Allies that feel more "in line" with the original stuff.

Still I consider Relics of Legend to be one of the worst I&A Expansions.

I'm probably in between Tony and Warlock where story is concerned within the core RB. SoAK pulls me a little more into story side... and I'm going to be hard pressed to get Barb away from that one to try one of the others. (Don't know if its the ambiance and story side she likes or that she keeps kicking my butt... maybe both.)

Relics will not be my primary next pick, or two, but it remains on the list. I do like to see a range of items / allies in the game and not just those that are the big guns. Barb has gotten her hands on "The Younger Sister" three times in SoAK. An innocuous 3G Ally, but its one ability to add that +1 Wound in magic combat is something Barb has put to some frustratingly good use. Maybe one of those familiars will give me a surprise to pull on her when we get back to the core game and some variants we haven't tried.