I have been part of a group playing Journey to Darkenss every week or two for about a year now, about a month or two ago we began playing Road to Legend.

My fellow players and I are lost on how to even come close to win. Any winners out there agains their overlord in the Road to Legend Campaign???

I'm just gonna paste Corbon's general response to this question. It normally covers all the essentials and will save him from typing it out again.

Advice:
1. This is an Advanced Campaign. It isn't easy, it requires thought, care and planning - by both sides, but particularly by the heroes early on. The learning curve is quite steep for the heroes. In particular, the heroes must understand that they drive the campaign engine (they control the rate of CT accumulation because they can flee at almost any time). They should be able to keep their eyes on the big campaign picture at all times (the road) and not get caught up in the tactical parts of 'working' the engine (fighting in the dungeon, = using gears and pedals) or they will drive in the wrong direction, into a tree or over a cliff. This means that they really should have played at leas 5+ quests, +1 from each expansion being used.
2. In addition, committing 60-100hrs to a campaign, they would be wise to have studied the rules and done some research on strategies and tips before they start, probably for an hour or so each at least, + some discussion time together. They should have studied the possible upgrades available to both sides - being aware of what important upgrades the OL can get as well as their own upgrading plans. You don;t go into a WWII grand campaign and get 'surprised' as the germans when the russians bring out the T34...
3. Early on damage is at a premium. Thus heroes should be chosen with a strong eye towards damage output, and skills also tending towards damage output.
4. You need to have at least 2 Ranged/Magic users, preferably one of each, and 1 Melee hero. The 4th hero is usually best as a runner type, preferably backing up as a capable Magic or Ranged user. Unlike vanilla, where two tough melee heroes is quite useful, the OL has tools to make life very difficult for hero parties with that sort of balance (primarily soaring monsters in encounters).
5. Learn about blitzing (search BGG). There is a time and a place for blitzing, but most times and places are early in a campaign. This is how competent hero players stay ahead of the OL in CT early on.
6. CT does not win the game. It is not even that good an indicator of who is ahead at any one time (though it is a weak indicator). Most new players, and even many experienced players, get sucked into thinking that CT is the most important thing. It isn't.
7. Defending cities (not countin Tamalir) is not critical for the heroes. It is better f they can, but if they spend their efforts aimed at stop seiges all the time, they will lose because they are looking at the small picture instead of the big picture. They need to be balancing whther that city is important, how long it will take them to get there, what else will be happening on the board during that time, and where the campaign situation will be when they do get there. Not to mention whether they will be able to beat the Lt if they do fight - will they be fresh and well prepared? Does the OL have treachery to support his Lt? etc etc.

There are a gazillion threads on this forum and on the BBG forum about campaign strategy. Do some searches. It's more efficient than waiting for responses.

I've played this game every two weeks for the past year.

I've come to the conclusion that it is not winnable simply because that you cannot come back to the map when you are defeated against an Overlord Lieutenant...this is assuming you are playing a Overlord who is competent.

jondaigle said:

You've played the vanilla game for over a year. The advanced campaign is a different beast entirely. Any number of people on the site have won the campaign from the hero side so your conclusion is certainly premature.

Not entirely sure how you've come to the conclusion you have based on Lt. fights. In our gaming group the Lt. almost always comes out on the losing side in those encounters unless it is the second or third Lt fight in the same game week or the timing is horrible and you try fighting an LT the first week after rolling over to Silver or Gold. As long as it isn't a total party kill the party stays where they are. They only go back to Tamalir if every member of the party is killed in the encounter.

jondaigle said:

Well you've been playing vanilla for a while, so you presumably know how to work the dungeon angles. If I had to take a stab in the dark about why you're havign so much trouble, I'd say you probably haven't yet learned how to run the heck away. The Advanced Campaign adds an entirely new layer to the strategy in Descent. Where the dungeon game is highly tactical, the Overland game is highly strategic. You have to think about the big picture.

You are never required to attack an LT. It is a choice. You can move past him and even stop in the same space without fighting if you want. Of course, he can choose to fight you on his turn, so don't go tip-toeing around sleeping dragons if you think there's a good chance they'll hit you anyway. Do you really need to fight this LT, or are you just jumping in guns blazing? If you're getting cornered by an LT that's out to get you, then run away. As long as at least one hero gets out alive, you keep your position on the map. The more the merrier, of course, since you want to deny the OL as much CT as you can.

The same is true in dungeons. If you're getting your asses handed to you by a particularly difficult dungeon level when you only have town gear, run away. Go find another dungeon to plunder.

And remember that if you manage to kill an LT, he doesn't come back, ever. (Well, except that one who does.) So if you've got some good gear and think you have a decent shot at taking down the bossman, go for it.