My present DnD group is still currently in the midst of our extended break, with Alvin set to return to the sunny island of Singapore in a week or two.I have been busy doing other things in life, e.g. Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDo), and revising on my drum skills during our weekly jamming sessions on the now-vacant Saturday night slots.
Yesterday, me and my brother Shane travelled to the game shop at Bugis Junction before our tennis session at Melville. He bought another clincher for the group; the brand new, hot off the oven DnD 4e cooperative boardgame --->
--Castle Ravenloft--
Pleasure comes at a price though, and this time, Pleasure is valued at an approximate S$115.
It seems that Count Strahd is hungry again, wanting would-be heroes to meet him for dinner to discuss important issues involving massive loss of blood and severed limbs.
Eagerly, Shane, Shell, Pongtau and I tested the game last night for about three hours, and I am happy to say that the game is a fun romp, with color coded cards and chips galore, and five shiny new heroes with virgin necks to give.
The games are quick and engaging, lasting about an hour for each scenario. And the randomness of the dungeons' layout is imperative to replayability, thus making it a big plus in my eyes. We succeeded on our first two missions rather smoothly, but our party wiped on Scenario 3 due to a combination of poor strategy and bad luck.
This proves to me that the game's difficulty level is up to par, which to me is important as I hate playing a cake-walk board game in which you inevitably win regardless of tactics .
In Castle Ravenloft, I really love the idea of Encounter Cards drawn during each character's turn. By throwing endless traps, hostile environments, and devious plot twists at the heroes, it makes the players feel great urgency; knowing that if they dilly-dally too long without working towards the quest objective, they will die a painful death in the dank corridors of the Castle. This sense of escalating dread and doom was sorely lacking in many other RPG board games on the market like Talisman 4th Ed etc, where one can almost grind endlessly to "level up" before meeting the end boss etc.
The five heroes are your basic Fighter, Cleric, Rogue and Wizard, with the joker in the pack being the Ranger. Touted as a master explorer, she to me seems like a glorified punching bag. She does have the most accurate power in the game though - Careful Attack-, allowing one to automatically hit an adjacent enemy for 1 damage. No questions asked.
By the way, over 75% of the mobs in the game are 1 health.
The Fighter is the soak-bag, with mad AC (17) and HP (10). (But pales in comparison with the Paladin in the new sister set - Wrath of Ashadalon) He is great for being the aggro-grabber for the party when new tiles are being exposed and with monsters rushing at the party.
The Cleric is another stand-out, with his -Healing Strike- being another stand-out At-Will power. Its ability to heal a party member within 1 tile of him after successfully hitting the enemy is brilliant.
The Wizard and the Rogue round out the selection, with the clothed one buffing fellow members in his current tile for +1 Attack, and the Rogue with the meh class ability to disarm traps at a +5 bonus. The Wizard comes with -Magic Missile- and -Scorching Burst- as a couple of the At-Wills, and the iconic -Fireball- as one of the various daily powers she can choose from. The rogue has the reliable -Backstab-, and being darn accurate with his hits. (at +7 to +9 to hit)
Rules are modified and simplified from 4E DnD rules, with NADs removed from the equation, and many of the status effects which bogs the PnP game down non-existent in Castle Ravenloft. Slowed, Immobilized, Unconscious, and Dead (or "Lose the Game" in CR terms) are the only conditions that are present.
Castle Ravenloft and the soon-to be released sister set- Wrath of Ashadalon
My tuition kids are trying their hands at this simplified 4E treat, and initial signs are good; pointing to them liking the game or at least being interested enough to listen to me explain the rules.
C'yall on the flip side.
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