Re: All 3 Expansions - how do I maximize enjoyment?

By Exprise, in Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Hey All,

I have the base game and am playing through the campaign up to Act One - Quest 3.

All 3 expansions arrived in the mail 2 days ago and I was wondering how to appreciate the game the most. I have only opened Labyrinth of Ruin. The other 2 are a surprise to me apart from what I have read.

I was thinking of finishing the campaign we have started before combining the new expansions but what has everyone else done or recommend?

Do you recommend adding one expansion and then playing that campaign or just jumbling them all together and playing them all at once?

Should I leave the other 2 expansions in their box for later opening?

Too many questions but just keen to know what most people do in this situation.

Cheers =)

I personally just threw everything in together, however i did not use any of the rumor cards until starting a new campaign... the temptation of using the new monsters is just too great :D

Baghursts, hybrid sentinels and harpies are just too good to resist ! Definitely some of the best monsters in the game.

All this said. playing through the original game without adding anything into the game is really something that your only going to get 1 shot at. Unless you want to un-combine all the cards afterwards just to play the vanilla game.

Really there is no right answer :P In the long run through you might appreciate the fact that you played the game vanilla before adding expansions - so if you can resist the temptation (i couldn't) that is probably the best way to go.

Hopefully, I can jump on this thread with a few questions of my own. I currently only have the vanilla game and one expansion: LotW.

From what I understand, the expansions are thus:

Vanilla: Full Campaign

LotW: Campaign Expansion

TTF: Campaign Expansion

LoR: Full Campaign

SoN: Full Campaign

Can either of the two Campaign Expansions be used in any three of the Full Campaigns?

Can both of the Campaign Expansions be used at the same time in any of the Full campaigns?

Are specific Campaign Expansions better used with a specific Full Campaign?

I noticed that the cards are marked with which expansion they came from making it very easy to set them aside and not use them when not using the expansion they came with.

I was thinking of finishing the campaign we have started before combining the new expansions but what has everyone else done or recommend?

I would tend to agree. Finish the campaign you're in the middle of as-is, then put everything together.

Should I leave the other 2 expansions in their box for later opening?

I wouldn't be able to wait, myself :P

Can either of the two Campaign Expansions be used in any three of the Full Campaigns?

Yes. That's how is has been working, anyway. I would be surprised if SoN was different.

Thematically it might seem a little bit weird, if the entire campaign takes place inside this city, and then suddenly you're wandering around a swamp outside (or something) for the rumour quest. But mechanically I don't think it would be a problem.

Can both of the Campaign Expansions be used at the same time in any of the Full campaigns?

Yes.

Are specific Campaign Expansions better used with a specific Full Campaign?

The rumour quest plot lines are all carefully structured so they can fit into any larger main campaign.

In terms of mechanics, it's possible that some rumour reward items synergize better with one main campaign over another, but I haven't sat down to do that sort of analysis myself.

Thank you much!

Thanks so much guys!

I had another question though

does the game come with enough dice to be played?

I just opened the Labyrinth of Ruin expansion and noticed one of the Bosses has a defence of 2x black dice.

  • The original game comes with only one black die
  • Labyrinth of Ruin comes with only 2x green power dice - this is the expansion with a lieutenant with a defence of 2x black defence die

How are you meant to resolve battles like this?

Thanks a lot :)

Roll the black dice you have twice and add the results together.

An extra dice pack or two is handy though!

another quick question,

re: purchase deck for ACT II

can you buy these after the interlude in the base campaign? or does it have to be after an act II quest?

also re: ACT II Purchase deck - Trollfens

there are 3 act one quest, then one act two quest.

If you can only purchase act II items after an act two quest does this mean that you can only use act I items? If so why does the game come with act II items?

Kind Regards again,

Thomas

If you play Trollfens or LotW as mini campaign, you buy act 2 items before the final quest. If you play the base game or LoR campaign you buy act 2 items after the first quest of act 2.