Re: Dungeons and Dragons Adventure System Board Games [review/ramble]

Posted by Billiam Babble on Nov 13, 2011; 10:50am
URL: http://the-lost-and-the-damned.71.s1.nabble.com/Dungeons-and-Dragons-Adventure-System-Board-Games-review-ramble-tp6985031p6989585.html

SamuelF wrote

For the uninitiated: The games are touted as a fast-play dungeon-crawl with miniatures for 1-5 players (note the 1; meaning solo play).

Solo-play? *ears prick up*
Is it like WHQ? Is it WHQ? Is it like WHQ?

(I was very intrigued when I saw that Mortis had been bought the vampy one... I mean it's DnD4 supposedly...)

2) Wrath of Ashardalon  - (released Feb 2011)
The next game in line was delayed, perhaps in response to some of the criticisms of Ravenloft. The result was a campaign system of sorts, doors, and larger chambers for boss battles. The general consensus was that it was an improvement on its predecessor.

Ooh, yes!  
*Now very intrigued*
I've been suspicious of this game and have only read reviews by DnD fanboys so far.

I've played my way through all of Ravenloft with my group, and we've played a hand-full of missions from Ashardalon so far. Our games tend to go on for around two hours due to the set-up time and amount of chatter going on. One thing my group likes is the interaction between us all. We always discuss what we think is the optimal strategy for what ever situation we're in. Its beardy heaven. Games often feel close and brutal from the outset to the end.

Sounding good so far...

My feeling is that these games will be fairly influential. The method for controlling the monsters by using in-built commands and cycling their activation around the players is good, as is the semi-random dungeon construction, but as a fan of games like HeroQuest /WarhammerQuest/Mordheim etc., I can feel slightly empty after a game.

D'oh!
*Now feeling slightly depressed and empty ...*

Should we have concerns about the plight of DM-ing and roleplay if this is the direction that board gaming is going? Will a generation miss out? ..Don't look at me.. I don't flippin' know!

Ah, bugger the DM.  He only ever wants to kill me ...


I guess that's the point, and we've covered a bit of ground on this here on DMs in boardgames, intro games and big book RPGs.  In HQ, it's the DM vs the players.  In AHQ and WHQ the DM could be considered to be a sort of "talking" option (I swear GW took great pleasure in reducing role-playing role to and handful of quotes and strategy - which seems similar to DnD4 play today, but hey, I used to play RPGs because I liked talking, and some people play because they like battle planning - nowadays I'm grateful if I get to play anything along a fantasy theme.)

Thanks for thoughts about these games, guys - it's like a perspective in a language I understand.