Hi everyone

Just ordered Descent and Arkham Horror and they arrive tomorrow, can't wait!! I used to own Heroquest, when I was younger and was distraught when my parents threw it out when I moved out of home. I saw some reviews on Descent, Journeys in the dark and had to buy it. I suppose I'm looking for some pointers on how to best enjoy the game and make sure it doesn't drag and my friends get bored due to constant rule checking. Are there any guides if we get stuck??

Thanks for your feedback

My advice, and this might sound boring, is for you to go download the rulebook and the FAQ pdfs from the website and email them both to your friends.

Then read both of those at least three times before you start.

Then read it once more.

Any questions before you play, resolve them before you start. The community here is great for answering questions.

The "List of Answered Questions" thread at the top is a collection of Official Responses to questions there.

Be aware that the rulebook for JitD was not written by a rules lawyer. There are mistakes and somewhat ambigious things in there. DO NOT let that derail the game haflway through. If you hit a spot where a rules argument starts, come to a fast resolution you can both agree on, then check for a clarification later.

Your first couple of games are going to be rough because Descent has a steep learning curve to it, so don't let that turn you off.

My only other recommendation is for the first game, don't do the random deal for Heroes. Either let the players pick Heroes or do the RtL method of dealing out three to each player and they choose one to keep.

My advice is similar to Big Remy's, but go to boardgamegeek.com and find and download the rewritten rulebook. It includes all the FAQ questions and the rulebook is ordered in a way to make it less confusing.

Thanks for the advice. We did play it yesterday, all went well but need to go thru the rules some more I think. Took your advice on the players picking their characters, to which they decided to get a mixture of melee and range characters...looked as though the close combat characters have more chance of hitting than the range ones. Is that the case. Sadly we didn't finish as a few rule book checks slowed the game down, it did get to a point where I was probably about to kill all 3 characters for the first time and they were only in their 2nd area! I didn't want to play too aggressive to begin with as I want the game to have longevity. Not sure if we got the dice rolling and range of sight correct either. Line of sight means you can only fire in straight line or diagonal line to target?? As with the dice got a bit confused with the surges etc and the equipment cards they had! I really want this game to work and felt a bit fed up yesterday to be honest. Bit of luck I don't give up easily.

Are there better/stronger characters they could start with? Are there any helpful guides for the combat side.

I'll check out the items you mentioned and I'm sure they'll help. Sorry to send a long email, but hoping for a bit of help. I normally find learning things easier when I see it in practice rather than reading rules

You don not have to fire on a line or diagonal. You may target any space with a ranged attack as long as there is no figure or obstacle in the way. On the Descent Support page (new.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=5&esem=4) there is an article by Kevin W called "Advice for Heroes" which is pretty good, you guys may want to read that. There is also a link to Universal Head's rules summary (very good!).

As far as "better" characters, try to keep a balanced party (at least at first).

I would also suggest that players take a look at the dice to figure out about how much damage and range each one does, so that they don't end up picking a very weak weapon, or attacking from farther away than is reliable.

You'll discover that the Bow in the shop is a very weak weapon; ranged heroes should almost always start with the Crossbow instead (the Sling is also an option if you have the Well of Darkness expansion). And magic heroes should generally favor Immolation over the Mage Staff, unless they have a source of bonus damage.

Be sure to use fatigue so that you can attack more often, and drink vitality potions so you can attack even more. It shouldn't be uncommon for the heroes to kill half (or more) of the monsters in a room on the turn that they open it, before any of those monsters gets a chance to move or attack. Open chests early, hand off weapons to the heroes that can make best use of them, and remember that "1 copper treasure" in a chest means that each hero gets a copper treasure, not just the hero that opened the chest.

Mordrog, Silhouette, Landrec the Wise and Varikas the Dead would make a very strong hero team.

The heroes are not balanced, so keep that in mind.

Thanks for the help, appreciate it. There was a great deal on for the first 2 expansions, so I picked them up...well of darkness and altair of despair. Is there much difference and can you use those characters in the first Descent game?

You can use it all together.

If your players are having a tough time, I would hold off on using treachery for now.

Quick question...I've not gone near the expansions yet as only just started playing into the dark, but can we use the new characters from the expansions on the original Descent game or should we stick with the original 20?

Oops didn't realise you'd already answered!!

A word on the matter of defeating the heroes too early: If you have the chance to do so - finish them off and don't feel too bad about it. It gives you time to restart the same quest with heroes who have probably (hopefully) learned something from it and not pulling through turn after turn and knowing they cannot win anymore. If some of your heroes are playing for the first time, maybe you should point this out before starting.

In my opinion it isn't that important what heroes the players choose because most of the fortune comes up with the skill cards. Afterwards choose your weapons thoroughfully just as Antistone mentioned before and stock as many potions as possible.

Enjoy!