Dragonfire

Wellity, wellity, wellity...

It looks like D&D is finally joining the deckbuilder craze. (Is it still a craze, though? I was actually thinking not long ago that this type of game was playing itself out. Anyway...) With a product that's sure to evoke endless comparisons to Paizo's astoundingly awesome Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Wizards is partnering with Catalyst Game Labs to release a D&D-themed deckbuilder game called Dragonfire. (Cue the scene from late-'80s Doctor Who when the freezing dude's face melts off.) All snark aside, I will play the hell out of this game!

"Free RPG Day? Nobody Told Me!"

We showed up at A-1 Comics in Sacramento about an hour before their 10 AM opening time and we still weren't the first ones there. Even so, I managed (ahem) to end up first in line at the front of the store. When the dude opened the doors, a dozen or so diehards (not including my two little henchmen) filed into the store. Then the guy turned around, looked us up and down, and wondered why the hell we were all staring at him. None of his colleagues had told him that it was Free RPG Day! I explained what was going on -- or rather supposed to be going on -- and he rummaged around until he found the box of Free RPG Day stuff. Huzzah!

Once again, Paizo ruled the day with an adventure module, a new character for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, and a card with a product code for a few of the new Pathfinder RPG PC Soundsets from Syrinscape. Can't wait to check it all out!

King of New York

Giant monsters run amok in New York City, demolishing buildings and battling the military! If that sounds like your idea of a good time (or maybe if you just enjoyed the classic '80s arcade game Rampage), then I'd highly recommend King of New York (click here to see the official website), a fantastic new(ish) board game. Each player controls a monster (my favorite is either the King Kong knockoff or the cyborg dragon) and the object is to defeat all the other monsters or to earn enough victory points to be crowned the king of New York. The rules are pretty easy to learn, but there's a lot of tactical complexity and a lot of different paths to victory. I don't think this game is going to displace X-Wing or the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game as my favorite non-RPG games, but it's unequivocally one of the best board games I've ever played.

Victory...Again!

For the second time in a week, I've played through the sixth and last adventure deck of the Rise of the Runelords campaign for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. This go-around, it was Kyra the cleric and Sajan the monk who pounded the stuffing out of Karzoug, and despite my earlier reservations, this pair had a much easier time with the final adventure than Val and Seoni did. In fact, the encounter with Karzoug was a bit anticlimactic. The coolest part was when Sajan's charmed red dragon betrayed us (a 1-in-12 chance whenever you play that card) and attacked the party with its fire breath -- both heroes managed to escape taking any damage from the fiery ambush en route to bringing down Karzoug on the first try.

And now that I've played through all of Rise of the Runelords twice, I think it's time to put this game aside for a while and concentrate on Fifth Edition D&D...

Victory!

After thirty-two scenarios, Valeros and Seoni were ready for their greatest challenge yet: Karzoug the Claimer! As you can see from the card below, the master villain of the Rise of the Runelords campaign is no pushover.

The heroes ended up fighting Karzoug twice during the final scenario, and in both encounters Seoni had to use up every card in her hand to make that ridiculous target of 40 on her combat checks. (Val, with less firepower, was responsible for hitting the 30.) The second encounter in particular was a bit dicey, as it all came down to the final d12 roll of Seoni's check, where I needed a 6 or higher for the win. I ended up rolling a 9, so the heroes of Sandpoint defeated the Runelord of Greed and saved Varisia.

Now, the greater challenge will be playing through the sixth Runelords adventure deck with my second pair of heroes, Kyra the cleric and Sajan the monk; they're solid characters, but they're not quite as buff as Val and Seoni. Good luck, guys! You're going to need it!

The Thing From Beyond Time

If I didn't already love the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, tonight's scenario would've been the clincher. I played through the penultimate mission of the Rise of the Runelords campaign with my top pair of heroes, Valeros and Seoni, and the experience was...intense, to say the least. In fact, it was a game experience I'll probably never forget.

My heroes had chased the villain across three locations, defeating her twice -- at great cost to their own health and resources -- before cornering her in the fourth and final location. As (bad) luck would have it, that location was a monster-infested chamber with a portal that would soon disgorge a hideous, Lovecraftian creature from another universe. See below!

Yeah, crap. Each passing turn brought this beastie closer and closer to entering Golarion (the world of the Pathfinder campaign setting). There was no way my wounded, exhausted heroes could take down the Thing and then defeat the scenario's powerful main villain for a third time. We were down to our last turn before the Thing's inevitable arrival and, with Desna the goddess of luck smiling upon us at last, Seoni uncovered the villain. She and Val unleashed everything they had, burying their foe and thereby winning the scenario a split second before the Thing could arrive.

One more mission to go...we take on Karzoug the Runelord himself.

Timely Assistance

I'm trying to finish up the first campaign for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game -- remember that? -- so that I can turn my attention more fully to Fifth Edition D&D. I'm now playing through the final set of missions, and my top duo of Valeros the fighter and Seoni the sorceress managed to survive a tough scenario against a bunch of electricity-wielding foes thanks to their timely discovery of a Ring of Energy Resistance, which allows the wearer to absorb a significant amount of acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage. That ring was the difference between victory and defeat. Now, of course, I'm wondering how my second pairing (Kyra the cleric and Sajan the monk) is going to survive this scenario when their turn comes up...

Dragon Whispering

The Augury spell. The Spyglass item. The amazing Revelation Quill. I love anything in the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game that allows me to sneak a peek into location decks. Most of the time, these items and spells help me locate the main villain so that I can get my characters ready for the inevitable showdown, but last night my monk used his Spyglass to spot one of the best Ally cards in the game...the Charmed Red Dragon! This beast can deliver big-time assistance in combat, but with a catch: Each time you play this card, there's a one-in-twelve chance that the dragon turns against you, breathes fire on all heroes at your location, and flies away. It's a chance I'm willing to take. Even if he loses the dragon, my monk will get the last laugh -- he's got solid resistance against fire damage!

Potion Power

My pre-ordered copy of the Fifth Edition PHB has yet to ship, so I'm biding my time with some Pathfinder card action. As soon as I started the final scenario of the penultimate adventure, I realized that closing two of the four locations would require skill checks -- one Diplomacy, one Perception -- that my characters could not hope to beat without major assistance from blessings. In the space of three or four turns, however, I managed to pick up two humble potions that made life a lot easier: one that allows a character to automatically succeed at a Diplomacy check, and one that allows a character to automatically succeed at a Perception check. Blind luck, but I'll take it!

Pathfinder Video Games!

A video game based on the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game? Yes, please! Click here for the scoop!

Waiting...

This week I'm playing a few scenarios of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game while awaiting the release of Basic D&D.

Check out this unusual scenario layout. Valeros and Seoni had to work their way around the circle of stone heads, disarming or destroying each of them, before they could face the dragon in the center.

Ransack...I Mean, "Ranzak"!

We were in Sacramento this weekend, and when I'm there I never miss an opportunity to visit A-1 Comics, my favorite West Coast gaming and comics store. As part of today's Free RPG Day festivities, I picked up the new playable character -- Ranzak, the goblin pirate -- for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. Click here for a look at my new favorite card-based hero!

Get Thee to a Game Store!

It's Free RPG Day! Keeping my fingers crossed for the Pathfinder module...and the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game booster pack!

Metro Entertainment

I'm visiting family in the Los Angeles area this week (I know, I know -- it's the worst place in the world to be right now for a New York Rangers fan). Yesterday we spent a pleasant afternoon in Santa Barbara, and Amy spotted a super-cool store just off of State Street. Metro Entertainment (website link is here) is one of the better comic book and gaming stores I've visited lately. I even managed to pick up the latest installment of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.

Back on the Path

I took a break from the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game to play through the iPad port of Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition. Now that my sassy archer Zoe has defeated Irenicus, I've gone back to PACG and picked up where I left off, with The Hook Mountain Massacre adventure deck. It's been a couple of months since I last played, but the break has done nothing to diminish my admiration for this game. If you haven't tried it yet, you really ought to give it a shot.

Pathfinder Preview

Click here for a nice preview of the upcoming adventure deck (The Hook Mountain Massacre) for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.

No Love for Foxglove

As I mentioned earlier this week, one of my PACG teams picked up an ally named Aldern Foxglove, who plays a pivotal role in the Rise of the Runelords storyline. I didn't have a need for that particular ally card, but I carried it for two scenarios until, sure enough, I hit the plot twist that I had foreseen. Is it a spoiler to say that now the card is really, really useless to me?

This Guy Is Important

I have two minor quibbles with the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game (PACG). One is that too many of the scenarios rely on playing hide-and-seek with the main villain. In the long run, I think this problem will be easy to solve; as this game becomes more mature, the designers will come up with ways to build more innovative and unique scenarios. The other problem isn't a problem so much as...well...unfulfilled potential. I realize that this product was intended to be an RPG-flavored card game and not a truly "gamemasterless" RPG, but even so, it's pretty light on story. The source material for this game -- the Rise of the Runelords adventure path -- is a much-beloved and award-winning RPG campaign. I was expecting a bit more of the narrative to come through, but as it stands, the PACG doesn't really tell the story of Rise of the Runelords in any meaningful way.

However, once in a while the game does surprise me. While adventuring with my second pair of heroes -- the cleric Kyra and the monk Sajan -- I stumbled upon a fellow by the name of Aldern Foxglove. I know enough about the RPG source material to know that this guy is important.

I can't wait to see how this card affects the development of my current adventure deck (The Skinsaw Murders) and how the experience of Kyra and Sajan will be different from that of Valeros and Seoni, who do not have this pivotal NPC in their party. I won't spoil it for those who might play Rise of the Runelords in some capacity (either as RPG or PACG), but I will say that the card game may have one super-cool plot twist in store for me shortly...

Pathfinder Pairs

Now that I've played through the Burnt Offerings adventure deck four times with four solo characters -- Valeros (fighter), Kyra (cleric), Seoni (sorcerer), and Sajan (monk) -- I'm going to try pairing them up for the next adventure, The Skinsaw Murders. Team #1 is Val and Seoni. Here's the setup on my trusty air hockey / gaming table...

I've drawn the starting hands for both heroes, but I have yet to explore any of the four location decks. Running multiple characters looks to be rather more complicated than using just one!

Skull & Shackles

Coming next August is Skull & Shackles, the second base set for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. Like the current Rise of the Runelords set, it's based on a Pathfinder RPG adventure path (i.e., campaign). Looking forward to it!