Is 2e well balanced? Nope, not even close.

Monster groups are not balanced. Large > Medium or Small

Heroes are not balanced. Some choices are just downright better.

Quests aren't balanced. They'll favor one side or the other, depending on the version of them you're playing

Mechanics aren't balanced. A hero death = -1 action, whereas some maps the OL can't even reinforce one monster

OL vs. Heroes isn't balanced. Heroes have far more customization and growth than the OL's single card addition.

Hey all. Don't mind me. Just checking back in, seeing if there was any new errata yet so put this game back in our rotation. I guess not. Carry on.

Is 2e well balanced? Nope, not even close.

Monster groups are not balanced. Large > Medium or Small

Heroes are not balanced. Some choices are just downright better.

Quests aren't balanced. They'll favor one side or the other, depending on the version of them you're playing

Mechanics aren't balanced. A hero death = -1 action, whereas some maps the OL can't even reinforce one monster

OL vs. Heroes isn't balanced. Heroes have far more customization and growth than the OL's single card addition.

Hey all. Don't mind me. Just checking back in, seeing if there was any new errata yet so put this game back in our rotation. I guess not. Carry on.

Is 2e well balanced? Nope, not even close.

Monster groups are not balanced. Large > Medium or Small

Heroes are not balanced. Some choices are just downright better.

Quests aren't balanced. They'll favor one side or the other, depending on the version of them you're playing

Mechanics aren't balanced. A hero death = -1 action, whereas some maps the OL can't even reinforce one monster

OL vs. Heroes isn't balanced. Heroes have far more customization and growth than the OL's single card addition.

Hey all. Don't mind me. Just checking back in, seeing if there was any new errata yet so put this game back in our rotation. I guess not. Carry on.

Your deep analysis is so convincing that I only can say: farewell, and thanks for tolerating us morons to like this game. Carry on.

I'm definitely one of those morons!

I've long felt that the game favored the heroes. Recently, I decided to try playing as a hero. We played the Shadow Rune campaign, and the Overlord won a total of one encounter .

However, the plot decks seem like they'll bring in more balance, and even if they don't there's a potential house rule to add more balance to keep one side from getting completely steamrolled. At the beginning of each Act 2 quest, each side receives a number of threat/fortune tokens equal to the number of quests they have lost. I haven't playtested this house rule, yet, but it seems like it should help keep quest outcomes closer and more tense. It also makes thematic sense, in that each side becomes more determined as they become more desperate and events move toward the climax.

Edit: If you're doing The Shadow Rune, you may wish to add a reward to the first quest to keep players from intentionally bombing it. I suggest letting the winning side start the next quest with threat/fortune equal to the number of heroes.

Edit: If you're doing The Shadow Rune, you may wish to add a reward to the first quest to keep players from intentionally bombing it. I suggest letting the winning side start the next quest with threat/fortune equal to the number of heroes.

If the overlord wins, he should definitely focus on picking a quest with a Relic that tends to be difficult for the heroes and try to keep the relic out of the heroes' hands. Cardinal's Plight is a good one for this.

If the heroes win, they should pick a second quest that has more treasure to be found but no relic so that if they don't win, it's not that big of a deal. Fat Goblin is a good one for this, especially with more heroes available to clog up Splig's escape route.

In general, heroes are relatively weaker during the first part of an act and stronger during the last part of an act. The overlord's growth from new cards is pretty small, especially early on, and he gets his big power jump right at the start Act II when the monsters upgrade.

The biggest advantage of winning the first quest is second quest choice. A lot of people just see the quest rewards and say "Eh, it doesn't really matter, so the heroes should just go for the search tokens." They incorrectly assume that all quests are created equal.

You make some good points, but I still think adding a reward is the way to go if I'm going to use the house rule I've come up with for two reasons. First, I generally play with mostly newer players, and the advantage of picking the second quest is definitely reduced if you lack experience with the game. Second, although picking the second quest is good, I would argue that it's not as good as getting 4 threat/fortune.