Now that I've played a while my friends and I find this game to be pretty easy. I mean we kill the greens easy, get a few items, and then pretty much sail through the game. Once you add like a plus 2 to each stat I find it hard to lose to anything especially if you are a melee character.

Is this typical for most groups or are we just some lucky sobs? I've tried the doom counters and they just seem to make the game go faster, not really make it any more difficult.

We are currently playing with Frost March, and I have 2 items and ally decks. Does anyone have anyway to make the game last longer and feel more satisfying? It seems like armors especially make the game waaaay to easy by default.

Jabulu said:

If you're talking about basic game, I really can't understand all these statements. If you already master the base game to the point that you're easily winning all Challenges without effort, after a handful of games, I think you're probably forgetting or misinterpreting something crucial from the rules. There's nothing that stops you from winning the game because time is on your side, but for that being a cakewalk... it's not how it goes. The fact that you say the game is short and easy does not fit into my picture of Runebound. It can be easy but drag for a long time, if you take forever to deal with Greens and Yellows, or it can be reasonably long (45 minutes per player, usually) and provide a Challenge. Remember that's not only about winning the monsters, it's about winning the game and this requires taking your chances to jump ahead of the others.

The Doom counters make the game too difficult for most players, because of the really limited amount of time that you have to improve your Hero before the Doom track forces the endgame. I use it when I play Runebound solo, to maintain the game challenging, and I've always found it working.

Jabulu said:

Frostmarch is a little bit easier than the base game and it was intended to be more of a race between the Heroes than a way to become a powerhouse.

I think I half agree with both Warlock and Jabulu, but it depends a little on the game session and the way it is played, AND the particular variant or big box that is played. I would also add that me and Barb found Island of Dread an easier endgame than the core game but maybe just a little more challenging during "play" in having to get to the various islands to to pick up more experience. The endgame was actually disappointing; the big boss monster went down in two rounds and no Legendary Artifact picked up along the way was even used.

I'll suggest something simple that might be counterintuitive to both of your perspectives. Try a graduated experience point game, once or twice for the heck of it.

We've played it now and then, but not always, and with mixed results from one game to the next. The basic principle has already been discussed multiple times on this forum. You start with the cost of each boost for a character's attributes being +1 exp. over how many boosts you already have. If you have, say, one boost to Mind and Body, that's two, so your next boost of any kind costs 3 exp.

Yes, it does make initial boosts come much faster, but later not so much. In previous discussions it was determined mathematically that the maximum cost should top out at 5 exp, or the escalation would make the average cost for boosts over an entire game higher than the standard 4 exp. So maybe try it without the top out. Let exp cost rise to any level. This may and will make for a longer game. It is also more challenging for getting the necessary boosts to go after the win, and there are some other hidden subtle influences not readily apparent until played. It won't change how easy it is to kill the monsters, it that is really a real problem.

As to armour, I suspect that maybe some such are being misinterpreted for how they actually work. Then again, I know of couple that are ridiculous for what they do. The Sun Armour (?) allows doing a point of damage when you make a successful defense. With a decent weapon as well, I was slaughtering monsters quite easily. Of course I have to be lucky enough to get it at all and first in Market deck that's grown to about 300 cards.

But Jabulu, I would also agree with Warlock that maybe you've missed (or misinterpreted) some of the rules. Hard to say what, then again the RB manual is in bad need of some rewriting. Far too convoluted in some sections for its cross-referencing or lack of such. It really needs a good index. Me and mine had that problem; we actually played a game where we thought we rolled one D10 for ourselves in combat... and boy did we get slaughtered! Embarrassing both inside and outside of game, to say the least.

Give the manual another read in your leisure time and see if some new details pop out at you before trying anything else.

Hilariously enough our first three games we only rolled once die for combat too. It was rather painful and it was certainly hard. It could just be the luck of the rolling a suppose. I mean we all go for the sunlight shield to stop 2 damage and reflect 1 damage at the enemy. Then the game gets a heck of a lot easier from there.

I did just read that you don't replace adventure counters after the initial exp pile is gone, which could make it harder. It'll make us go into yellows and such a lot sooner than we did.

Do most games play with an artifact limit or any other special limitations, or do you guys only do the base limitations of 2 wep 1 armor and 2 ally?

We even did a house rule which has once caused us trouble. If you lose to a challenge and drop a weapon, armor, or item it keeps it so you have a chance of reclaiming it. However if the challenge has the ability to use the item, it will use the item. It made for some hilariously scary and powerful creatures sitting around the board.

Here's how we do combat too. Fight starts and I'm using a melee guy like Mordrog. If were fighting a melee challenge that has 0 range damage then, even though that part is first, we skip it. If Mordrog wins he takes 0 dmg and if he looses he takes 0 dmg so we don't see a point in rolling then his high melee beats the creatures melee. Magic is the same Mordrog defends if he wins he takes 0 and loses he takes 0 so theres no point in rolling.

My husband and I usually play the game cooperatively so we have done a lot to hype up the difficulty. Keep in mind that these varients are for the base game. We have different rules for the various expansions.

Combined Artifact and Rune limit is 3. Ghost Armour has been removed from the game. And the 'Staff of Light' costs 15 gold (it still more than pays for itself).

We have incorporated scaling exp requirments for leveling. For 2 people, we have found that 5,7,9, and 11 (combined with the doom tracker) is the most challenging setting we have used. We rarely get a fourth exp counter before impending doom forces us to face the end of the game.

Also, we thought the original doom tracker still allotted for a sizable number of turns. We changed how much the doom tracker moves depending on the action taken: 1 - attempting green challenges and market steps, 2 - attempting yellow challenges, 3 - attempting blue challenges, 4 - attempting red challenges. If no action is taken, roll 1 d10; 1 - doom tracker does not move, 2-8 - tracker moves 1, 9-0 - tacker moves 2.

When we actually win, it is very satisfying.