tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40272364303293129672024-03-12T21:23:28.568-07:00Bear Shaman ProblemsA Casual player's blog on Funcom's Age of Conan MMO. Also expanded to a place to read about board games and RPG's.Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-68169642604645839212018-09-20T16:59:00.004-07:002019-06-28T13:39:04.211-07:00My Digital to Analog Gaming ConversionIn the 21st century, going from video games to board games feels backwards. I enjoy escapism entertainment and games (or anything interactive) has always been my preferred medium, followed closely by reading.<br />
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I grew up as the personal computer and later gaming consoles first entered people's homes. Throughout my growing up I played both video games and tabletop games, most notably Dungeons and Dragons of the latter. On the Atari I played <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Apshai">Temple of Apshai</a>, Zork, and many of the adventure/platforming games available on the Atari 800. But, up until the mid-80's, there weren't any good substitutes for table-top gaming.<br />
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Then the SSI gold box games, starting with <a href="http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2011/06/pool-of-radiance-story-begins.html">Pool of Radiance</a> in 1988, were released and they were incredible for their time. Ten years later Baldur's Gate was the game that absolutely blew me away with it's evolving story, characters, and graphics (despite not even being the best looking game at that time). Baldur's Gate came out in my final year in college. Here was the replacement for the game group I hadn't regularly had since high school.<br />
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Video games had become beautiful and had enough content and story to keep you emotionally invested as well as entertained for hours. Baldur's Gate was my interactive entertainment in the evenings as my peers sat on the couch and watched Friends and NYPD Blue, two of the popular shows that year.<br />
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I remember buying and playing Fallout in 1999, Icewind Dale in 2000, Pools of Radiance Ruins of Myth Drannor in 2001, Neverwinter Nights and Morrowind in 2002, Temple of Elemental Evil in 2003, Knights of the Old Republic around 2005, and then making the plunge into MMO's with World of Warcraft in 2006, and then Age of Conan in 2008, and Star Wars the Old Republic in 2011. I'd take breaks from the MMO's to play games like Dragon Age Origins (2009), and Dragon Age Inquisition (2014).<br />
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(By remember, I mean, I remember the games, I had to look up the years).<br />
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These games, plus others, ranged from awful (Pools of Radiance Ruins of Myth Drannor (woof)), to underwhelming (TOEE (meh)), to amazing (KOTOR and Dragon Age Origins). They good ones were immersive and the games provided many great memories. I remember asking friends "hey have you finished [the latest game]?" It was like a movie, you didn't want to spoil if they hadn't experienced it for themselves.<br />
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I've also had a blast playing MMO's sometimes with real-life friends and other times with people I'd only met online. Guild horse races and human lawn dart competitions (jumping off the guild building and the furthest away wins!) in Age of Conan's first year still remains one of my favorite non-raid/dungeon/killing stuff memory for that game. It was a group of people having fun in a make believe world.<br />
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But something happened along the way.<br />
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It seemed like the nice people became more rare than blue drops from random mobs and there were a lot more people being rude and mean. Being called a "noob" or an "idiot" for making a mistake made the games not fun. While I enjoy gaming, I was also working a full-time job, going to graduate school off and on, and trying to hold down various relationships at different times. These outside pressures of school, work and relationships encouraged me play MMO's as solo games as I didn't want to be the person wiping a raid or going 0-12 in a PVP match. I didn't have the time to invest to learn the tactics, grind, or be active in guilds. The games were just a way to blow off some steam and <a href="http://bearshamanproblems.blogspot.com/2015/01/solo-farming-rares.html">very slowly get better gear</a>.<br />
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The online community everywhere felt, on average, toxic and not something I wanted to associate with. Being "bad" at these games was hard enough on me as a competitive person, but to be needlessly insulted by others was more than I was willing to put up with for fun. And I'm a male so I didn't even get the even more repulsive sexist crap that women routinely face.<br />
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In 2015, my wife and I welcomed our son into our lives. His crib went in the spare bedroom where my computer lived. I was told by my rational better half that I couldn't be playing video games while he's sleeping nearby (even after I suggested I could wear headphones). And she, also very reasonably, wasn't feeling my computer sitting in the living or dining rooms, so I went to look for an alternative form of entertainment.<br />
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I did some reading online, went to the store and came home with Wrath of Ashardalon. I could set up and play while my family was asleep and then pack it up when I needed to be Dad/husband. Then came Shadows of Brimstone. Then Ticket to Ride and Forbidden Island (so I could try and talk my wife into playing some of these new games) and then Mice and Mystics. And so on.<br />
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I discovered Kickstarter games, ironically, through the AoC forums for the Monolith Conan skirmish game. And then I went a little crazy. <a href="http://bearshamanproblems.blogspot.com/2017/11/comparing-some-dungeon-crawler-board.html">Four massive dungeon crawlers</a> later plus a handful of other games and I'm addicted to this new hobby.<br />
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Three years in and being semi-active on BGG, I've noticed that community, on the whole, is friendlier than their video gaming counterparts. I'm speculating that part of it is because the idea of board games is to sit with people and play. Yes. there are still trolls and there are some rude people, but the ass hat to nice person ratio seems to be smaller. I'm starting to see the same names on multiple game forums and am feeling like I'm part of a small and dedicated community.<br />
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It's started to restore my faith in people online.<br />
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There's local meetup groups for board games that generally have positive reviews and looks like a good community that lives nearby. Another BGG user and I have been playing email tag trying to meet up for a game night.<br />
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With the right people, the mechanics of the game aren't even important. Some coworkers and I get together occasionally and have had a blast playing everything from Last Night on Earth to Adrenaline to Conan. It reminds me and reinforces that the people are one of the best parts of gaming.<br />
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Even the developers engage with fans on kickstarter and bgg helps build a sense of community. Sure, there are whiny backers and angry keyboard warriors making demands/threats on the creators but outside this vocal minority, I think most backers are enthusiasts who chip in with ideas, provide feedback to questions, and look forward to playing the games they're backing. On BGG, most of the dialog I've seen between players and developers have been positive. While social media has given closer access to their idols, this still feels like a higher quality interaction than just retweeting or responding to what a rock star said.<br />
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That being said, during the time I've been sitting on finishing this post, there has recently been some issues within the community. Bloggers and gamers are complaining of sexism and harassment. There was even an assault at Gen Con 2018. Sadly, these incidents have reminded me that the board game community isn't above what's plaguing the rest of the online world. Board game Twitter, while still better than other areas of Twitter, is still relatively toxic compared to BGG. But Twitter seems to bring out the worst in some people so I guess I shouldn't be shocked. And I'm not sure if this is US-centric, but I feel like tolerating differences of opinions has reached a new low. The name calling, threats, doxxing, etc. are making me want to retreat away again from being active online. And it's sad that a relatively small group of people can do this much damage to a community.<br />
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Even still, as my child gets older, I'm looking forward to introducing him to hobby board games. I've already simplified the rules to Latice so we can play what he calls "the matching game" and he's recently taken to placing the train pieces on the the corresponding colors for Ticket to Ride as an activity. He already "steals" my dice and picks up and looks at miniatures with some interest. I'm looking forward to getting <a href="http://drivethrurpg.com/product/222950/Amazing-Tales-complete-kids-RPG">Amazing Tales</a> to introduce him to the concepts of RPGs and then Mice and Mystics. Because he loves cars and racing I've already picked up <a href="https://www.habausa.com/haba-monza-a-car-racing-board-game-encouraging-tactical-thinking/">Monza</a> by Haba (which he enjoyed while still struggling on strategy (he's three and a half, he'll be fine)) and then a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa9YNT9Lbm4">Mickey (Mouse) and the Roadsters Racers game</a> which, as a game is terrible but he loves the little cars rolling down the hill (I should note they assembled the starting platform wrong in the linked video). And while playing with him, it's about teaching him sportsmanship, strategy, and that the most important thing when playing is having fun (win or lose).<br />
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My father and I didn't share many interests as I grew up and while we're still close I sometimes feel like we missed out on something. I hope I can share some interests with my son and have something to bond over now and in the future. Hopefully there will be these types of analog games where we can sit, enjoy each other's company, break away from reality for a bit, and have some fun.<br />
<br />Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-15446359962768035192018-09-08T07:27:00.001-07:002019-06-28T13:39:30.138-07:00Mini Review: Conan the Legend of the Devil in Iron<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">This is copied from my posting on <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2056151/mini-review-devil-iron-campaign">BGG</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I recently finished playing through the Devil in Iron campaign for Conan. As a disclaimer, I played solo left hand vs. right hand.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><u style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>How does it work?</b></u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The book contains 19 scenarios but you'll only play through eight of them during the campaign. At different points in the campaign the next scenario changes depending on whether the heroes win or lose.</span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><b style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u></u></b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u>Leveling Up</u></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Leveling up the characters and the Overlord is a neat with the players adding new skills, spells, and companions. At the conclusion of my play through all the characters were level 1 (they start at 0) and I had enough XP to level a single character to level 2. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">This was due to me misinterpreting the XP gains. I was writing down the XP gain for the heroes but wasn't providing that to EACH hero. So, I should've had four level 4 heroes and a common gem walking into the finale. Because the power gains are limited, this probably doesn't have a huge effect but gaining three Belit's Guards, a lion and a wolf would've helped at times. And circular strike would've been very helpful at times when Conan can roll 5 red dice including his weapon.</span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Both sides can buy extra gems. The players get Common gems they can use between them (for a cost of 25 XP each) while the Overlord gets their own special gems for 15 XP each). The Overlord's gems are worth 2 normal gems which, when there's five of them can unleash a punishing assault or hunker down with a bunch of defense dice.</span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><u style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b><br /></b></u></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><u style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>Narrative</b></u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Each scenario has a good blurb of flavor text to set up and finish up each scenario. The overall flow of the adventures had a Conan feel as he and his group travel across the land. In one or two cases the adventures felt like side quests that didn't tie into the larger narrative.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Thing that probably only bugs me: Amra the Lion (basically King Conan) and Zelata mesh time-wise. Belit and N'Gora don't as they appeared much earlier in the Conan timeline. This version of Conan fighting as a mercenary captain felt out of place.</span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><u style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b><br /></b></u></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><u style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>Balance</b></u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">My heroes were 6-2, including the finale. Some wins were by the skin of their teeth. One of the losses was a curb-stomping while the other was the heroes ran out of gems and the ability to defend their objective.</span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><u style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b><br /></b></u></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><u style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>How are the characters?</b></u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Savage Belit is a powerhouse with ambidextrous getting 3 orange dice (and a yellow) for one gem based on her two weapons. I actually found, I'd use Conan to soften up defenses for her to unload on someone. Zelata is powerful but you have to find the right time to use her spells, especially against foes with higher armor values. N'Gora, for some reason, was the guy that I kept knocking out of the game, but I think I was using him as a human shield too often. N'Gora, like Conan, gets 11 gems and can do some massive attacks with 5 orange dice plus whatever his weapon is. </span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><u style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b><br /></b></u></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><u style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>Replayability</b></u><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I think so. Even if you replay many of the same scenarios there's two things that can change the outcome drastically (besides the XP gain). The first is there's a deck of special equipment. I think I found only a handful of those pieces throughout the game. The second the monsters that survive scenarios could come back towards the end. That should provide incentive to the players to focus fire on those at times.</span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><b style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u><br /></u></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u>Art Book</u></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Unrelated to the campaign is the art of the game. There's 37 pages of full color art that's featured through out the game, including two page spreads for the three big box expansion covers and Thaug. The artist box art is also included as is much of Adrian Smith's work. Overall, there's 37 different paintings included.</span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In the front half of the book there's another two page spread of the Stretch goal box cover, and images of Skulthus, the Princess, and several different weapons.</span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><b style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u><br /></u></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u>Quality</u></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The book has a heavy duty cover with a matte finish and slightly muted art (this could also just be the piece selected). The cover also extends further than I'm used to on books, but I believe that was done to hold the cards that came with the book. The book lays open easily and you can see the binding/stitching in the middle. This gives me the feeling it may not hold up for excessive use. The paper is heavy duty and glossy with high quality printing.</span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><b style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u><br /></u></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><u>Overall</u></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">If you're a fan of the Conan game and have the King pledge, this is a fun romp. The light leveling up creates nice bonuses without destroying the balance. I wouldn't recommend running a campaign and then starting it again, but if you spaced it out in a few months or a year, it'd be fun to revisit to see how it turns out.</span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Based on this campaign if the next Conan kickstarter has another campaign I'm buying it.</span><br style="font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , "lucida grande" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">8.5/10</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-style: initial;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/star_yellow.gif" style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><img alt="" border="0" src="https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/star_yellow.gif" style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><img alt="" border="0" src="https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/star_yellow.gif" style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><img alt="" border="0" src="https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/star_yellow.gif" style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><img alt="" border="0" src="https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/star_yellow.gif" style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><img alt="" border="0" src="https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/star_yellow.gif" style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><img alt="" border="0" src="https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/star_yellow.gif" style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><img alt="" border="0" src="https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/star_yellow.gif" style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /><img alt="" border="0" src="https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/star_yellowhalf.gif" style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /></span><img alt="" border="0" src="https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/star_white.gif" style="border: 0px; font-family: verdana, "lucida grande", arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /></span>Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-40491796974562118472018-08-20T09:34:00.003-07:002018-08-20T09:34:29.651-07:00Sidebar: Racism and Sexism in the Conan Board Game<br />
This post is a sidebar on the topic of sexism and racism in the Conan board game. I'm trying to provide context on both sides of the argument (with my opinions clearly stated) to help potential gamers decide if this is a game they'd want on their table.<br />
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No disrespect intended to anyone who disagrees with this and I believe it's okay to have a difference of opinion as long as that opinion doesn't impinge on anyone's civil rights.<br />
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Racism in Conan</h4>
I am a fan of Robert E. Howard's work and I need to preface the following with an important caveat to some of his writing style. I find his use of racial stereotypes and especially his seemingly hierarchical ranking of races seems racist and I find it repulsive. In my opinion, this is not acceptable in modern art, literature, games, etc.<br />
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Howard put Conan's world as a pre-history of our own. This allowed him to use history to more easily flesh out areas. Every race and location in Conan is fictional although they usually mirror something real. As <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_of_Robert_E._Howard#Racism">Wikipedia</a> states, "the extent of [Howard's] racist beliefs are debated" and "Howard became less racist as he grew older" illustrating that it's not as straightforward as portrayed. Being of Irish descent himself, considered an undesirable minority at the time, Howard was probably more sympathetic than other Texans to those different than him.<br />
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The two groups that seem to be discussed are the picts and Khitains. </div>
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Artistically, Khitai has a mixture of multiple Asian cultures stylistic influence, which is how it's generically inferred as part of the mysterious east, although Conan never actually traveled there in any of Howard's tales. Monolith appears to have also leveraged some of the art from Funcom's Age of Conan game, whose only major expansion was Khitai and has many stunning areas. Strategically, with almost nothing in canon, both Funcom and Monolith would have more flexibility in designing Khitai as they wanted. I'd speculate that Monolith using some of Funcom's art direction probably also presented an opportunity for cost savings along with unifying the look of Khitai between these two Conan properties.<br />
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Having the Khitains use historical sytling, is no different than the pirates and Belit's guards from using traditional garb. These looks were inspired by history, which Howard was an avid reader of, along with mythology (see the putting our world in a pre-history - things tie together when you know the context).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSZFehyphenhyphen885QtduKoiA60cwACyPBinhSzXFwKKRqz7FFZfJdHhXsjGAbxS6aCwu9Z_gpJP8NhGSJjBM7eRzH6apzhqd4idNkjqUylfgk2giz_rMHPuuaLxsgTAWCRqors0TBb7hVXsz7w/s1600/c47144017733133c1886ca5ee16c4876_large.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="700" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSZFehyphenhyphen885QtduKoiA60cwACyPBinhSzXFwKKRqz7FFZfJdHhXsjGAbxS6aCwu9Z_gpJP8NhGSJjBM7eRzH6apzhqd4idNkjqUylfgk2giz_rMHPuuaLxsgTAWCRqors0TBb7hVXsz7w/s320/c47144017733133c1886ca5ee16c4876_large.png" width="320" /></a>Within the context of Howard's writings I disagree with Cynthia Horbeck, formerly of Asmodee, and her <a href="https://doctacynthia.tumblr.com/post/153097860054/grab-em-by-the-board-game">assessment</a> that Howard and Monolith approached Khitai and the picts with racist attitudes. She said Monolith was dehumanizing the Iroquois. On the flip side, making the picts less human was, as <a href="https://www.shutupandsitdown.com/games/conan/">Shut up and Sit Down</a> noted, probably to avoid the appearance of Conan cutting down Native Americans by the dozens. Now, as far as I remember from history, Native Americans didn't burn prisoners alive or summoned demons. Howard's "Hyborian Age" picts did.<br />
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Monolith's picts are closer to the description in the medieval set Dark Man where they were <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picts_in_fantasy">very small in height, squat, and muscular</a>. These are definitely not the picts of Kull's time or even Conan's but for the reason stated above, think it's a better choice for art.<br />
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One of Howard's other characters was Bran Mak Morn who was a more historically inspired pict from the 3rd century CE and was a descendant of Kull. This is only important because it's unlikely a racist would spend the time making an object of their disdain into a hero.<br />
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Much of Howard's works had an underlying theme of barbarism and society and said "Barbarianism is the natural state of mankind. Civilization is unnatural. It is the whim of circumstance. And barbarianism must ultimately triumph." This is why the picts and Conan are so important as they represent the portions of humanity that will survive the next cataclysm.<br />
<br />
The picts were one of Conan's (and most Cimmerians) natural foes along with the Vanir and Ymish based on geography. This was actually where SUSD got the character incorrect - Conan distrusted magic, but didn't consider the Khitains to be his mortal enemies. The people of Khitai, much like Cimmerians, were rare and mysterious foreigners from lands of legends to most of the western civilized world. For most of Conan's career, he traveled and fought with whoever would employ him.<br />
<br />
Within the context of each scenario, the fighting is part of a story and none that I'm aware of read "Conan and friends need to kill all of [ethnic group] because they don't deserve to live." In the game, you're fighting a skirmish to accomplish a mission, or to escape capture, etc. It's not about race.<br />
<br />
TL;DR - Robert E. Howard may had some questionable views, by modern standards but they don't clearly manifest themselves in this game. The players are fighting many different human foes but their race isn't why they're being attacked.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Sexism in Conan</h4>
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</div>
Another thing Monolith, and some reviewers, partially got wrong during the first campaign is Howard's depiction of women. Monolith got it wrong in the sense that Conan stories often featured very strong women (Devi, Belit, Valeria, Gitara, Zelata, and even Belasa) and they didn't feature them enough in the base game.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7FRkO_tsEjl_Rr2Zi5enADAQ4wXYp7FywHfoUjq05bX9PLTSAYsjir1akVyT0XpPsUva9PMesPjcSOq6AAdpyTdwZUq8JEe94OIfTkqA4yZYxBdpE00JaKCvTEcI187WwCoq2b4a00Q/s1600/IMG-1736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1600" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm7FRkO_tsEjl_Rr2Zi5enADAQ4wXYp7FywHfoUjq05bX9PLTSAYsjir1akVyT0XpPsUva9PMesPjcSOq6AAdpyTdwZUq8JEe94OIfTkqA4yZYxBdpE00JaKCvTEcI187WwCoq2b4a00Q/s320/IMG-1736.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(L to R): Princess, Belit (retail box), Zelata,<br />
and Valeria (King's Pledge)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
They later correctly wrote in the Book of Set (another collection of scenarios from a 2017 Kickstarter campaign) about the strong pantheon of women in Conan. Belit was described in Queen of the Black Coast as mostly naked (and it was by her own choice). Valeria and Zelata were appropriately clad for their professions. Some add-ons like Parente's <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/455215474811322492/">Valeria</a> and <a href="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/003/194/619/2b4c23afdbadf2efbdb604b4cc2f2192_original.jpg?w=639&fit=max&v=1422376307&auto=format&q=92&s=0799a3915d4a59e3fe24b1605df00b46">Salmone</a>, and both the <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/db/68/13/db68135ec86258b132a2a92cabe1e7b8.jpg">Brom</a> and <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/87/7d/b7/877db793b9f91c69d01839d17aae2dd8.jpg">Collette</a> (links may be NSFW) versions of Belit models that were physically exaggerated and overly-sexualized with large breasts and minimal clothing. These helped reinforce a perception that Monolith was more interested in playing to the male audience than finding a middle ground.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLyWMZ8f6fg_LkIZvfca7pkJhibax_bf8-hKwGTjv0l89jZvmBzEFnnmrIF_AaX8KaoDimqd3kVqStzGN1fj1txjPYBoYZuP2CtUyEjf9_1V922kMsUQsOc1NZpiTBRsBEIPMh2M1Imds/s1600/IMG-1737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="975" data-original-width="1600" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLyWMZ8f6fg_LkIZvfca7pkJhibax_bf8-hKwGTjv0l89jZvmBzEFnnmrIF_AaX8KaoDimqd3kVqStzGN1fj1txjPYBoYZuP2CtUyEjf9_1V922kMsUQsOc1NZpiTBRsBEIPMh2M1Imds/s320/IMG-1737.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(L to R): Akivasha, Gitara, and Savage Belit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Howard, probably as a way of trying to boost his marketability to the pulps, did objectify women by spending time describing them physically, often highlighting their breasts, cleavage, hair, and their curves. Much like Monolith, he was writing to what he or the editors perceived the audience was.<br />
<br />
Howard had an infatuation with aging and both Akivasha and Tascela used the blood of women to maintain their youth. Beauty was often a proxy for youth and vitality. Many of these characters, probably for the reason listed above as well, appeared in minimal clothing.<br />
<br />
Valeria's introduction in Red Nails is an excellent of example of the description Howard would give female characters and Adrian Smith's Valeria looks as she's described and she's awesome (another one of my favorite miniatures). He also spent plenty of time describing Conan's broad chest and muscular arms and legs as well as his black hair and his blue eyes.<br />
<br />
Part of the issue was there just weren't many females in the game. The retail game only contained two female characters, the stretch goals three more, and the King's pledge another two. Up to seven out of over 200 minis shows the game's figures are very heavily slanted towards male enemies and characters.<br />
<br />
Rhetorically, what's the male/female split in Memoir '44?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
What also ruffled people's loin cloths was the princess ends up being an object (you had to carry her) bringing the term 'objectifying' to a new low. There's many mechanics in games that don't make sense in reality. Making her an object probably represents her being bound or in a weakened state. It balances the game. Do you discard your armor to maintain your speed? Do you have enough time for the slow walk to the border of the board? This is a game mechanic, not an assault on women's rights.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcfgfALvRxIUvpdCzkxx_CwzN4FBrl07JPgMwMR1RfNnl0Y7Pho9UNx2eDv0jOUc44qM1a4NLPIdP2c_QMxdILjvgecxX5MjHCq34_7DSTKs2KP2_l0Ltjq7J_yznbY7WS9reIiHkyZY/s1600/f422be1abae435cce21943d81c23b075_large.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="700" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcfgfALvRxIUvpdCzkxx_CwzN4FBrl07JPgMwMR1RfNnl0Y7Pho9UNx2eDv0jOUc44qM1a4NLPIdP2c_QMxdILjvgecxX5MjHCq34_7DSTKs2KP2_l0Ltjq7J_yznbY7WS9reIiHkyZY/s400/f422be1abae435cce21943d81c23b075_large.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">I would love to have read more tales about Valeria and Conan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The art on the original rulebook (featuring a practically naked woman laying unconscious on an alter while a heavily armed man approaches) was, while pulpy, a poor choice in 2016 and beyond (Shut Up and Sit Down astutely referred to it as "wincingly 1930's").<br />
<br />
Hornbeck's <a href="https://www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/board-games/news/ex-asmodee-marketer-slams-conan-board-game-for-treatment-of-women-and">scathing post</a> about the contents of the game said the cover invoked rape or potential rape by the man approaching. The woman was his prize and that was the only way to interpret it.<br />
<br />
Ms. Hornbeck writes and defends her positions throughout her post articulately, in general. I respectfully, and sometimes strongly, disagree with some of what she says. Context is important and understanding the world Howard created starts to make some of his decisions make more sense. As such, I take the game and the character of Conan very differently than Hornbeck.<br />
<br />
As a counter point and as a male, I do not have a female's perspective on life nor art. Everyone's entitled to their interpretation of art (we just disagree in this case). I also believe Howard was ahead of his time when it comes to his views on gender equality which is clearly not a view Hornbeck shares.<br />
<br />
Conan, an anti-hero most of the time, did have questionable moments with women in a few stories - he chased a taunting Atali planning on having his way with her and he essentially stalked and antagonized Valeria at the beginning of Red Nails. In the rest of the stories, while he's attracted to women and makes some questionable choices due to this attraction; he's generally protective of them, risking his life without thought of his own safety. Conan didn't even want to draw his sword on Valeria to disarm her when she had enough of his advances. And if the argument is "women don't need men to protect us" - that's great. That's not what Howard wrote 80 plus years ago.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyemBiZZ_pkmZhxAH4YN_twZiUHCbKDTM68a8Pg2zZRuGmwIlgYuC7AXvaz0HR2n1sPxZP3Jhat-F_gZEMlSOks4Se2n4SJ-i_0d3snmwjYMKJUm38GY9IFTTaMLODXXTYc5o3149jWNc/s1600/IMG-1739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="1114" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyemBiZZ_pkmZhxAH4YN_twZiUHCbKDTM68a8Pg2zZRuGmwIlgYuC7AXvaz0HR2n1sPxZP3Jhat-F_gZEMlSOks4Se2n4SJ-i_0d3snmwjYMKJUm38GY9IFTTaMLODXXTYc5o3149jWNc/s400/IMG-1739.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shirtless enemy males in the King's Pledge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Where we agree, in my opinion, is it was a mistake to not include other females in the core box. Adding Valeria, for example, would've given players a choice of two female characters (a leader and a warrior). Adding in Zelata would've given a magic using female as well. More heroes gives more options, right? Well, sort of. Keep reading to see the scenario section of the main review for one more short-coming about hero selection.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Now where Conan's world, as it's depicted, is actually more even handed than many other fantasy worlds; the men are often as poorly armored as the women. Many of the Conan figures are shirtless, as is Shevatas, Taurus, and all the minion pirates and picts. It doesn't make sense when you're rushing into battle, but this is also a game that features a 40' long snake and a flying demon so take that reality.<br />
<br />
<br />
At it's heart Conan, the character and the game, is power fantasy (here Hornbeck and I agree again) and it definitely appeals to young men who'd like to be Conan. The genre is defined by muscular men and beautiful women (even the witch Zelata has a wolf companion so she's also a powerful character) battling through hordes of monsters to save the damsel in distress or plunder an ancient city. In the game you can leap between ships at sea, cross swords with pirates, battle monstrous demons, and sneak through a village of savage picts. Now where we disagree (again), I see this as fun escapsim and she sees it as vile misogyny that plays a role in repressing women.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJhsrpv0jSPYrwiWhBvUS6gdvnFfgwudv1If15hW0ZrjCk7yXRu555bEK_jpaZUHjbf3yfGCIS1Uovx-nN3nBKhUelZm9e0LrZ-ztgIcmKUkOXKGvSvseCVwF5qQpjcRelYlr4uPuFv0/s1600/IMG-1738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1600" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJhsrpv0jSPYrwiWhBvUS6gdvnFfgwudv1If15hW0ZrjCk7yXRu555bEK_jpaZUHjbf3yfGCIS1Uovx-nN3nBKhUelZm9e0LrZ-ztgIcmKUkOXKGvSvseCVwF5qQpjcRelYlr4uPuFv0/s400/IMG-1738.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shirtless heroes in the King's Pledge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
She said Belit's sole role is to "make the men better". Belit also has the ability to get her guards to sacrifice themselves to protect her. Who says there's no chivalry in Conan's world? It's also apparent that Ms. Hornbeck didn't understand the Belit was the captain of the Tigress and Conan was both her lover and follower. The core box Belit is a powerful character in her own right, but much like Hadrathus, her strength is not in front line fighting.<br />
<br />
Right, wrong, or otherwise, if the game is named after you; you're probably the best character in it.<br />
<div>
<br />
<h3>
The Real Issue?</h3>
Towards the end of her post is where I believe Hornbeck's real argument and concern is. She compared the misogyny and treatment of women in Conan to Donald Trump's political campaign and saying they are enjoyed by the same people.<br />
<br />
*record scratch*<br />
<br />
Um, no.<br />
<br />
When I originally read that line, I actually disregarded everything else she said because of the logic defying leap required to tie a popular fictional character to one of the most divisive figures of 21st century politics. Also, former President Obama is a Conan fan. Just saying.<br />
<br />
Only in writing this post, did I read her tumblr post again and then do some light research to defend my counterpoints.<br />
<br />
Yes, like any two things there will be some overlap and that makes sense given Conan's fairly broad popularity. There's also overlap between people that like beer, people that like Star Wars, and people that like to get kicked in the nuts. But that doesn't mean you can kick everyone you see holding a barley pop while wearing a Star Wars shirt in the hackey-sack.<br />
<br />
While nothing is truly apolitical, there's no need to start a fight over everything you disagree with. Vote with your wallet. Talk to your friends and build that stronger position; companies will listen when they lose enough money. I would've still bought Conan even if a friend was offended by it. But I wouldn't pull it out play it with them unless they asked, out of respect for their viewpoint.<br />
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Things are only ever going to get better if we start talking with each other, not at each other. Bilateral dialog is how the next game or next movie moves closer to the center.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
Now back to the <a href="https://bearshamanproblems.blogspot.com/2018/08/review-of-monoliths-conan-skirmish-game.html">review</a>...</div>
Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-86282929748375841212018-08-20T09:33:00.001-07:002018-08-20T09:44:00.411-07:00Review of Monolith's Conan Skirmish Game<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Conan, destined to use jewels as both stamina and health, furrowed his troubled brow. It is I, a random blogger, who alone *cough* along with many other better reviewers *cough*, can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!</i></blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjadav8ay2CQVgQ31TMDD4bWi3Es_dX6ipHzWfpVV5fQKHklh8yieoGkZEnyHMWRy0UpyiaAjNlt2so7waf4t1nWDeX1YQzuEoPVmkDNSn4Vqecrc85PUx2wFRmGr6uxlsU_sNIIwMRTaQ/s1600/CONAN_eclate3ddosdeboite_FR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjadav8ay2CQVgQ31TMDD4bWi3Es_dX6ipHzWfpVV5fQKHklh8yieoGkZEnyHMWRy0UpyiaAjNlt2so7waf4t1nWDeX1YQzuEoPVmkDNSn4Vqecrc85PUx2wFRmGr6uxlsU_sNIIwMRTaQ/s320/CONAN_eclate3ddosdeboite_FR.jpg" width="320" /></a>The game Conan, by Monolith, has been out almost two years and the next Kickstarter is months, if not a full year out, from when I'm typing this ultra late to the party review. With the Kickstarter version, came a full box of stretch goals, and optional purchases of three big box expansions (I discussed them <a href="https://bearshamanproblems.blogspot.com/2017/05/monolith-conan-expansions.html">here</a>), an art/campaign book, and a lot of other add-ons miniatures.<br />
<br />
Robert E. Howard's character of Conan was written far more intellectual than he's often portrayed in later books, comics, and movies. In the opening paragraph of his first story, The Phoenix on the Sword, he's described as "black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth." That emotion breadth of the character (sullen, melancholy, and mirthful) is often dismissed right along with his intelligence. There's more to Conan and Robert E. Howard than many people pause to take note of.<br />
<br />
To help ensure they captured Howard's essence correctly, Monolith hired Patrice Louinet, a notable Robert E. Howard scholar.<br />
<br />
And, much like the titular character, the game could just as easily been toss aside as another 'dudes on a map Ameritrash game'. There are some hidden gems of systems in this game (pun fully intended) and that adds to the experience and makes the game more than just another skirmish game.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h3>
Gameplay</h3>
Conan is a one-vs-many skirmish game that utilizes eruo-style resource management along with dice based combat. The game has a great table presence featuring stunning boards and quality miniatures.<br />
<br />
Without a full rules explanation, here's the basics that set Conan (and soon Batman) apart and above their competition:<br />
<ol>
<li>Stamina system - Each character has a certain number of energy crystals, stamina, or gems they can use to move extra spaces, attack, defend, re-roll dice, manipulate objects, throw objects to each other, etc. On the bottom of each character board there are three boxes: Reserve, Fatigue, and Wounds. Spent crystals go from reserve to fatigue. Wounds taken during combat go from either reserve or fatigue to the wounds box. Each round, each player decides to be active or inactive and gets 2 or 5 of these crystals (out of usually 10) back (these numbers go up as allies are killed by the Overlord). This resource management drives the action and can have you questioning if you go for the big round now and wait next turn, or to play cautiously. The players can see what's happening on the Overlord's board and can try and predict their next move. </li>
<li>Player turn order - Characters can alternate their actions as they see fit. For example, this allows Conan to pare down some enemies so Shevetas can more easily open a chest (since enemies make many tasks harder). Conan then breaks through a wall to engage more picts near Belit who has checked a nearby hut for the merchant's daughter. Shevetas then tosses the big battle ax he found to Conan. Belit commands her troops to move between the picts and Conan. Conan then, moving the last 4 of his crystals from reserve to fatigue, grins and swings at the picts. Being able to creatively intertwine your actions makes the game flow like the action scene of a movie and provides more strategy.</li>
<li>Overlord system - the overlord has their own crystals to manage, getting a set number back each turn, as well as tiles representing enemies to activate. Each turn up to two tiles (including the same one twice) can be selected, each with a corresponding cost of one to eight, depending on their location on the river. The unit goes to the end of the river, making everything else move up, becoming less expensive to activate. The Overlord can move and attack with each unit in that group while also choosing to spend stamina gems on defense, re-rolls, and extra movement (at one gem moves one figure one space - spendy for group of troops!). They have a lot of freedom to play cheap minions and then say crystals for moves, re-rolls, and defense or they can make some big moves. While the Overlord can eliminate players, its often better to just wound them to the point of being ineffective.</li>
</ol>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jQYZQ3aF8yzHZgMMMsExgT8xc1uVsDdQNxMtc6Z22cD2yRGa1nu5WtlNE1NxercLwVm9U5ggHDrZ0kO-62taK7LZOOt6Jp7ema3VHtKJZglNjZvpEnCWPKy0sCMSoVykNagpxMD3ys4/s1600/469740a71285efbfb25180c638332604_large.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="700" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8jQYZQ3aF8yzHZgMMMsExgT8xc1uVsDdQNxMtc6Z22cD2yRGa1nu5WtlNE1NxercLwVm9U5ggHDrZ0kO-62taK7LZOOt6Jp7ema3VHtKJZglNjZvpEnCWPKy0sCMSoVykNagpxMD3ys4/s400/469740a71285efbfb25180c638332604_large.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Almost every action is attempted with dice rolls and meeting a certain minimum number of successes. This, while giving randomness, also gives the game tension. Many characters have re-rolls available and if you rolled three dice and have two re-rolls, you can pick which of the two you'd like to re-roll.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-V-2fY3Yqvy0Qqz3NwgZC9xe2ReJpdkG7pK68_0pwf-X6xxFroaXQ6qANjXIbNf4RPZ6H0fuAv1v-S-blhtRCrwrDIVt5TQK03Y8QoYYaP_bI7TvBgIFaWkDLo_3cz9c9JTtwNe_6QOI/s1600/288955939e1633c3a17eb1aab664b78d_large.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="700" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-V-2fY3Yqvy0Qqz3NwgZC9xe2ReJpdkG7pK68_0pwf-X6xxFroaXQ6qANjXIbNf4RPZ6H0fuAv1v-S-blhtRCrwrDIVt5TQK03Y8QoYYaP_bI7TvBgIFaWkDLo_3cz9c9JTtwNe_6QOI/s200/288955939e1633c3a17eb1aab664b78d_large.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Digital prototype dice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are three colors of six-sided dice with the following number of successes (axes) per die face: Yellow (0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2), orange (0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2), and red, (0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3). These dice also each have symbols to help color blind people identify which color is which.<br />
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Conan, chased by enemies, runs up to the roof a building, and with his mighty thews throws an ancient tome towards the sea that will cancel the curse cast upon the heroes. Instead of the satisfying splash and cheers of success around the table the book just gently wafts in the Stygian port breeze and thumps down near the edge of the dock, safe, dry, and now completely out of your grasp. Stuff like that can be funny and the game often has have these types of moments.<br />
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The movement system is simple with large zones, each taking 1 point of movement, unless there's a token or other modifier. A point in each zone designates a point to use for line of sight for ranged attacks and spells. If you can draw a straight line between two zones, without intersecting an obstruction, you have line of sight.<br />
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In a way, this game plays much like how Howard wrote: fast and evocative making it a perfect thematic match. Howard could somehow capture more action and excitement in 30 pages than many authors in 300.<br />
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<h3>
Components</h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3YHwGkKGVqwBGCES6jR9zUSpTNI_KDc88pmbDUrF4pacKYfriYT927Kk4ddcxs16OPbKd-Pv14UV8FtFtLAD_-NgchGVRY27Zfy8jF1LzwddPU9phASbpNNrS0-2HHU31rSJw-UDLMU/s1600/00a18364f9c3c693d5c5635dd439ffa5_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="700" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3YHwGkKGVqwBGCES6jR9zUSpTNI_KDc88pmbDUrF4pacKYfriYT927Kk4ddcxs16OPbKd-Pv14UV8FtFtLAD_-NgchGVRY27Zfy8jF1LzwddPU9phASbpNNrS0-2HHU31rSJw-UDLMU/s400/00a18364f9c3c693d5c5635dd439ffa5_large.jpg" width="400" /></a>The large boards are just beautiful. The artwork is stunning and the little details throughout are worth the time spent just enjoying the the backdrop. From blood stained ship decks and sharks in the water, to dingy taverns with a worn bar, to a ruined castle with crumbling walls and rotting timbers, these set the stage for the on-coming battle.<br />
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The energy crystals and overlord's dashboard (named the Book of Skelos) are nice with the later being very sturdy injection molded plastic. The dice are nice with rounded corners so as to not damage the boards (according to Jamie Johnson during the original campaign).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2AeNKJ2d-0GaxlwY_wYMxcpvrbDqkKdv-2oc99x8pzX3K3hWc54NEoJwgPMcRyQMWJ1xfqrOwlFUNIUAusN6ZD-6T0QYy2CGYm1bJVUIoCXYmouahxa43LK9YqYuH0a77-73ICSuGIvg/s1600/BateauxFortin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1172" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2AeNKJ2d-0GaxlwY_wYMxcpvrbDqkKdv-2oc99x8pzX3K3hWc54NEoJwgPMcRyQMWJ1xfqrOwlFUNIUAusN6ZD-6T0QYy2CGYm1bJVUIoCXYmouahxa43LK9YqYuH0a77-73ICSuGIvg/s640/BateauxFortin.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The art was primarily done by Adrian Smith with Guillem H. Pongiluppi, Georges Cl4renko, Brom, Xavier Collette, and Paolo Parente also contributing pieces. It is excellent, evocative, and captures the feeling of Conan's world full of monsters, warring countries, and dark sorcery.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mZuQg20aWZVdVyzuj6KKH0qSOBbvWyQcWIqjJCLs2gU1G7osaL_ZNi3k0wqyHCgy5uprDp-SWFB2DqBWJRbFXViunvlkw1CLrdPebVNY7XnGDOF_CzlpFhZoGkDNVFsJaS-enYPE01I/s1600/d62ec6f890f8c7ddc6fc8c13860a3c0d_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="700" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mZuQg20aWZVdVyzuj6KKH0qSOBbvWyQcWIqjJCLs2gU1G7osaL_ZNi3k0wqyHCgy5uprDp-SWFB2DqBWJRbFXViunvlkw1CLrdPebVNY7XnGDOF_CzlpFhZoGkDNVFsJaS-enYPE01I/s400/d62ec6f890f8c7ddc6fc8c13860a3c0d_large.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
A minor nitpick is the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiR0b6a8PbcAhUFW60KHRYbCUoQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kickstarter.com%2Fprojects%2F806316071%2Fconan&psig=AOvVaw016iTySk3rWKKxboiVz7Dz&ust=1534690241157421">cover art</a> showing Conan fighting hordes of skeletons who don't show up except in the stretch goals. I always thought that was a questionable choice that may have been rectified later if the game did better at retail. Or maybe in 2019?</div>
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The miniatures, one of the big draws for many to this game, were also generally excellent. Conan's lion (a stretch goal), the Vanir Valkyrie (not Red Sonja) add on, and the Sabretooth Tiger add-on were commonly cited as disappointments with less detail than the rest of the figures. Some of the standouts were <a href="data:image/jpeg;base64,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">Conan the Wanderer</a> (stretch goal), The <a href="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/opengraph/img/tZNT_79kioan01O05UisqZkarv4=/fit-in/1200x630/pic3263320.jpg">Black Dragon soldiers</a> (add on), and the <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8b/00/59/8b005908af3765a2ff31a0ac52cda0eb.png">giant snake</a>. Honestly, most of the miniatures are incredible and even more so when you see some of them painted by professionals like <a href="https://www.beastsofwar.com/board-games/remy-tremblay-paints-superb-conan-miniatures/">Remy Tremblay</a> and <a href="http://conan.paintings.free.fr/?page_id=14&lang=en">Martin Grandbarbe</a>.<br />
<br />
Monolith made the hero figures a lighter gray color than the enemies to make it easier to differentiate for those not painting the figures. This gave the optical illusion that the heroes were not as detailed (they seem to be). The links in the paragraph above should help debunk that theory.<br />
<br />
The game also comes with a lot of tokens, item cards, and spells that can be used by creative fans to make new scenarios and may be used by Monolith in the future. Despite the generosity in volume of components, the core game only comes with four heroes to play (Conan, Hadrathus, Shevatas, and Belit).<br />
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<h3>
Rules</h3>
<div>
The rule book was heavily panned by some fans. The basic concept of the game is fairly easy. All the little subtleties that make up a skirmish game caused some headaches. Monolith revised the rules and sent backers free copies and they're available online.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsnT86fOuA8K_y-XQgBZ7Nkd5-jFSo94PoWO1tGd2Btof-krddNVZpxBXC2xTaolElWliAuimH4cXLWdFMk7QU4GWCUljqub7L4nLYYJwn5QF0FG0LyTcejvjUhkTmDrNkicjY-D8vG4/s1600/4624186533c682c96debcc73b1aa16f1_large.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="698" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFsnT86fOuA8K_y-XQgBZ7Nkd5-jFSo94PoWO1tGd2Btof-krddNVZpxBXC2xTaolElWliAuimH4cXLWdFMk7QU4GWCUljqub7L4nLYYJwn5QF0FG0LyTcejvjUhkTmDrNkicjY-D8vG4/s320/4624186533c682c96debcc73b1aa16f1_large.png" width="316" /></a></div>
Overall, they're not great but they're not hideous. <a href="http://www.dicetower.com/game-video/miami-dice-209-conan">Tom Vasel noted in his and Sam Healey's Miami Dice review</a> that he didn't like that the rules were split between the player and overlord rule books instead of there being a single rule book and scenario book. That may have helped streamlined the rules.<br />
<br />
This may be an artifact of the original rules being written in French and translated to English, some of the looseness in the rules gives you more flexibility to make it the game you want on your table. For example characters and equipment are "suggestions" despite there not being a method for swapping them out.<br />
<br />
For those that say "I want a full a game; I don't want to be making up rules for a game I just bought!" this may not be a great game for you. The biggest areas of uncertainty in the games I've played have dealt with line of sight, doors (do I have to pay extra movement the second time I go through a doorway?), and movement through "difficult" terrain. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Setup and Tear down</h3>
<div>
Set up and tear down can take a while, especially if you've split the components across multiple boxes. This time goes up as expansion content is added. A good portion of the time is just getting through the large volume of stuff to find what you need.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
You have to grab a board, the miniatures, attach the plastic bases to the minis (for groups of mobs to differentiate them), populate the board, pull the cards for the Book of Skelos, build the item deck, add any tokens or minis (like doors and chests, if you have them) to the map, and then get the items to the characters, get the wound token markers and place them on the time track, and then pass out the crystals. Now you're ready to battle, right after you take a short rest.<br />
<br />
Tear down is similarly time consuming but usually a little faster.<br />
<br />
Setting up and tearing down a game of Conan is probably about 20 minutes each. This isn't good or bad, it's just something to factor in. To me, it's worth it for the table presence the game brings to the table.<br />
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<h3>
The Elephants in the Game</h3>
No, not Yag Kosha, who was depicted as a healthy warrior-elephant from the planet Yag instead of the blind cripple being Conan encountered in the story "Tower of the Elephant". Robert E. Howard's Yag Kosha would essentially be a prop or furniture which isn't a great character to play in a skirmish game.<br />
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Please see this <a href="https://bearshamanproblems.blogspot.com/2018/08/sidebar-racism-and-sexism-in-conan.html">link</a> for a discussion or racism and sexism in the game and Robert E. Howard's works.<br />
<br />
If you'd like to jump past the social commentary sections, please skip the link. This game garnered some criticism about these topics and I'm choosing to discuss my thoughts on the topics, as it pertains to the game and the original stories. I hope to add some context and history which may be useful for someone deciding if they want this game on their table.<br />
<br />
No disrespect intended to anyone who disagrees with this and I believe it's okay to have a difference of opinion as long as that opinion doesn't impinge on anyone's civil rights.<br />
<br />
There's two, coupled, issues I have with this "true to Robert E. Howard" game are...<br />
<br />
<h3>
Conan's Companions </h3>
The first being - Conan, mostly, traveled alone. He joined up with Belit and her pirates for the better part of a story, was antagonizing Valeria in the beginning of Red Nails (Conan is actually a bit of a stalking jerk to Valeria as this story begins), and worked briefly with Taurus during the first portion of the Tower of the Elephant as three examples. People rarely appeared in multiple stories.<br />
<br />
Let's rundown his career with the base game companions:<br />
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</div>
<ul>
<li>Traveled with Belit through one story when he was young, although there's some time open for adventures unwritten.</li>
<li>He met and talked with Hadrathus during Hour of the Dragon when he was older and King of Aquilonia. </li>
<li>He actually never met Shevetas alive in any story.</li>
</ul>
So much for Conan and his merry band of adventurers.<br />
<br />
Now, as a game, it's understandable that it's Conan and friends against the overlord. The market for two player games is limited and the market that would pay $100+ for a two player only game game is probably even more so. A game like this does better with three or four players. It works for two, but is probably at it's best at three or four with the players not playing Conan, getting two characters to play.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Scenarios based on the Stories</h3>
The second issue, which is directly coupled to the first, is the scenarios and while they are Conan-esque and are so much fun but they are, in general, not based on Howard's writings. They are based around the themes and inspired by the idea of Conan and friends having adventures in this forgotten age. They sometimes fill in the gaps in Conan's timeline (which has plenty of gaps to fill). This, admittedly, is nitpicking.<br />
<br />
The larger issue within the scenarios, as I try to reinforce my point, is some of the items like a magic hand grenade (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOrgLj9lOwk">of Antioch</a>?) feel out of place in as does some of the flashier spells available to various sorcerers and sorceresses. But, for balance purposes, you need things like this or nobody would want to play Hadrathus.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Scenarios</h3>
<div>
The base game comes with 8 scenarios of varying complexity. Each has their own rules that tweak the game and has the heroes and the overlord each trying accomplish an objective. Some scenarios are not well balanced and that favors either the players or overlord.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06OnuGbDnYWtsJUquL_DZcslucVNyGlzKmIU0gpDrBrF3wWGn1w30ipIq0J0eODKEx74uLArgyvOMW6PalgbDiesZHYjee4sksPZ8aW4DrtueHy0AaLpsmhb3PsTe1Oxyeo39TajZqLw/s1600/c53b59d0521e2ec6d5c5d272d5a4227e_large.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="680" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06OnuGbDnYWtsJUquL_DZcslucVNyGlzKmIU0gpDrBrF3wWGn1w30ipIq0J0eODKEx74uLArgyvOMW6PalgbDiesZHYjee4sksPZ8aW4DrtueHy0AaLpsmhb3PsTe1Oxyeo39TajZqLw/s320/c53b59d0521e2ec6d5c5d272d5a4227e_large.png" width="273" /></a>If you can get your hands on the Kickstarter version, you get four additional scenarios, another double-sided board, and more miniatures. You can also d<a href="https://the-overlord.net/index.php?/files/file/22-upgrade-kit-from-barbarian-to-king-box-content/">ownload a print and play</a> kit of this version from Monolith.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There's also many more scenarios posted at <a href="https://the-overlord.net/">The Overlord.net </a>. An issue some people will have, especially with just the retail box, is if you don't have the models and the stats card you can't play many of the Monolith or fan created scenarios. This is also true for the add-ons, most of which didn't originally ship with any scenarios. Especially for fans, to utilize the extra stuff that came without scenarios, was a priority.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Something the fans have been clamoring for is some guidelines for swapping characters and equipment. If a scenario recommends Conan, Belit, and Shevetas - could you swap Belit for Valeria? Can you swap base Conan for one of the other ones? And the answer is, a very non-committal, it depends. Some abilities can destroy the balance of a scenario making it very lopsided. You can always swap the model, but the weapons and character card need some careful consideration before doing so.</div>
<div>
<br />
In general, to swap characters, you need to match skills between the character being used and the original one suggested. They should also have a similar damage output and equipment. There's no hard and fast rules and there's been many discussions on BGG about what a point buy system would look like for this game. I believe The Batman versus mode can be set up as a point buy system for both teams.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
Overall/Conclusion</h3>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie?</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky.</i></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><i>The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing;</i></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Rush in and die, dogs—I was a man before I was a king.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">- The Road of Kings</span></div>
</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Will you love it?</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you like skirmish games or games heavy on fantasy or sword and sorcery theme that's heavy on combat, there's a pretty good chance you'll enjoy Conan. If you're a Conan fan, this is a great Conan themed game. Either way, I think the cost factor has to come into the decision. The base game still goes for about $100 at retail with copies on BGG's geek market going from $65 to $800 (probably a retail box and an all-in King's pledge, respectively). If you're picking between the retail and the King pledge, I think the King's pledge has some extra value due to the extra board, scenarios, enemies and characters but you still have factor in the extra content for the extra cost.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If your group likes strong competition this game can be excellent but you also have to recognize that the balance isn't perfect in the scenarios and several lopsidedly favor one side. Likewise, a less competitive group can still have a great time if the Overlord takes up the Book of Skelos as a GM and leads the game making the game tense and action-packed but the focus is on having fun instead of trying to win the game.</div>
<div>
<br />
If you need watertight rules, this game may not be for you. There's some looseness that requires interpretation at times.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
If your group has players who detest the typical depiction of women in fantasy games... first get the <a href="https://the-overlord.net/index.php?/files/category/4-rules/">2.0 rules</a>, a sharpie, or black electrical (to avoid or modify the racy cover) and then talk to them showing the cards of the characters (male and female) available and telling them a little of their backstories. Likewise, some of the art and content may not be appropriate for children but that's to each parent to decide (I'd probably let my son play when he's 12-ish, it's no worse than the old AD&D first edition books, but with higher quality art!). And in reality, the violence should probably be of bigger concern than the boobs, but I'm not telling anyone how to raise their kids.</div>
<div>
<br />
As stated in the sidebar post, Conan is a power fantasy game featuring powerful men and women fighting against their opponents. It's not subtle and it doesn't try to hide it. Conan and friends are anti-heroes. This is good versus evil. It's us versus them and they're worse than us.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
While I've been nitpicking aspects of the game overall; I really love it, flaws, pastiche, and all. Every person I've played Conan with has had fun. It's fast moving, exciting, and fairly easy to explain the basics. You will need to have a good grasp of the rules to explain the nuances to new players as the game goes along.<br />
<br />
<b>Final Rating: 8.5/10</b><br />
<br />
Why not a 10? Perfection is hard to achieve. I'm knocking points off for the imperfect rules and the lack of a system to interchange characters.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Should I buy Conan or Batman?</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That, depends on which you like more. Even as a big Conan fan, I think that Batman is far more accessible to people so if you can't decide, I think Batman might get more table time with more people. Also, in Batman's favor, it seems like some of the Conan's rough edges have been smoothed out in Batman.<br />
<br />
Monolith is talking about another campaign in 2019 with new expansions. This may also be an opportunity to fix some of the rules and possibly inclusion issues.<br />
<br /></div>
<br />
<b>Who would win in a fight between Conan and Batman?</b><br />
<br />
Conan, obviously.<br />
<br />Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-27353011573985526622018-08-06T09:00:00.000-07:002018-08-07T12:15:24.852-07:00Constructing a Better Dungeon<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From 1st Edition AD&D DMG. <br />
Also a case study in why you don't split the party.</td></tr>
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Almost nothing short of a pop culture reference can pull a game group out of the moment than a nonsensical dungeon. Why are there orcs, goblins, giant beetles, and a wight living in these trees? Is there a food chain or pecking order here or was this the result of randomly selected from dice rolls on a table a la the original printing of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Search_of_the_Unknown">B1: In Search of the Unknown</a>. Oh good, the giant beetle has a magic scroll and the goblins had a magic sword that they didn't use because it's too nice?<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
As I noted in my <a href="https://bearshamanproblems.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-evolution-of-dungeons-and-dragons.html">Evolution of Dungeons and Dragons post</a> the original adventures like B2 (The Keep on the Borderlands), X1 (The Isle of Dread), and I1 (Dwellers of the Forbidden City) felt like a collection of random encounters. In the case of B2, there's 10 caves filled with kobolds, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, gnolls, and much, much more! It didn't make any sense.<br />
<br />
How do you go about correcting this story-telling aberration?<br />
<br />
Logic and science! *Boo! Hiss!*<br />
<br />
By injecting realism into your fantasy world, you'll make it more believable which, in turn, can keep everyone focused. In my opinion, one of the difference between good and bad fantasy is world-building. The cheap Conan knock-offs tend to skimp as much on story as they do on clothing for the women. Another area is going for unnecessary laughs (see the original Dungeons and Dragons movie for plenty examples of this). Actually, don't see it - <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dungeons_and_dragons/">it's terrible</a>. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406728/">Wrath of the Dragon God</a>, the semi-sequel, which has the production values of a SyFy special, while not great, was better if only for trying harder and providing a better questing story line and some better, albeit still generic, characters.<br />
<br />
Taking world-building down to the smallest level your adventure/dungeon needs to stand on its own in the world as well as fit into your larger world. I'm using dungeon as a default term for adventure location. It could be a mansion, a town, a cavern, or a ship; the ideas hold true throughout.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Some things to consider for a more realistic dungeon</h3>
<h4>
Fitting into the Larger World</h4>
<div>
How does this dungeon fit into the local area and the world in general? Does it make sense if your dungeon located in the middle of the desert is full of lizard men? Would Efreeti live in an ice cave? If you're in a low magic world, does having a dungeon with a bridge made of light summoned by a magical flute fit in?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This also leads into the legends and stories of the area? Why have the undead haunted the marshes for as long as people can remember? Why has the local township not tried to burn down the orc settlement? Who was the lich before he took over the castle on the cliffs? Being able to drop mysterious hints and clues about the area, even if incorrect, helps build the story of the land.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dropping hints is probably more effective than laying out the whole story. The players may connect dots that aren't there that could lead to new adventures or even a better story arc than you had planned out.<br />
<br /></div>
<h4>
Food Chain </h4>
If there's a random collection of monsters - who's eating whom? Is this a closed ecosystem? Or is this a cave or series of caves where hunter/gatherers can leave to find food and water? If there's a river nearby, maybe stock some rooms with barrels or skins full of water and crude fishing equipment for humanoids like goblins. Have fish remains in trash piles or moved outside to help show what's being eaten.<br />
<br />
If the monsters are eating each other, maybe have some traps laid out by the smarter ones to catch the other ones. If the goblins are constantly being hunted by the owlbear, have them skittish to the sound of claws on ground or it's hooting and screeching.<br />
<br />
In an area where's the constant battle and death maybe it makes sense for there to be a carrion crawler or lots of rats. Both are content to leave the living inhabitants alone knowing they'll make more food for them eventually.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Pecking Order</h4>
<div>
If there's multiple types of humanoid monsters what's the pecking order? Have the orcs enslaved the goblins who in turn bully the kobolds? Why don't the stronger enemies wipe out the weaker ones? What makes them co-exist when there's probably a finite amount of resources available?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The goblins realize there's not enough food to go around and are starting to look out for their own survival. By talking to the goblins, maybe you could get them to agree to help you take care of the orcs in return for them leaving the area. Maybe slaughtering (or intimidating) the kobolds will speed up the goblin's willingness to negotiate.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Wandering Monsters/Random Encounters</h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From 1st edition AD&D DMG<br />
This is what Dwarven Siri looks like</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Within a dungeon, I don't think there should be "random" encounters. If anything, there should be encounters that happen in random locations. The monsters confronted here are part of the ecosystem. Eliminating some monsters means numbers in other rooms need to be changed or their personal effects are somewhere else.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Likewise traps and such should be situated as it would make sense as part of the defense of a lair. This also means there needs to be a way around the trap by the trap setter. The covered pit doesn't extend all the way to the walls so you can creep along the edges. Or there's handholds in the wall that the kobolds use to climb across. As you think about your dungeon - could this area be traversed by children? Are there children in the dungeon (see Mundane items below)? Is there another way in and out that they use? </div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Time Evolution of the area</h4>
<div>
What's the history from the time the area was built? Who dug the caves or were they naturally formed? The crypt was empty when the knight and his family were buried there - what moved in first? How did it survive?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
How did the evolution of the dungeon affect the world outside it? Maybe there's a large boom town of adventuring types and the merchants catering to them near the entrance to the dungeon where the riches of an ancient king is buried. Along with the honest folk is a seedy underworld of criminal activities including prostitution, extortion, and gambling. Hey Paladin - get your lawful good on here.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Maybe the vampire's curse to blot out the sun over his domain has led most plant-life to die so the animals and people are underfed and have to travel great distances to get supplies. The local population has dwindled to the stubborn and those who the vampire forces to work for him. There's a lot of abandoned buildings and its hard to get information or supplies. People are afraid of newcomers as the vampire tends to attack those who'd try and usurp his rule.<br />
<br /></div>
<h4>
Mundane items</h4>
<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From module U2: Danger at Dunwater</td></tr>
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Along with the fantastic and magical don't forget the mundane. Where do the monsters sleep? Do they have straw mats, beds, or a pile of furs to sleep on? Is this just a war band or are there non-combatants (the proverbial women and children)? Where are they? Do the children have toys or pets? Many of the adults should have some trinkets of minimal value to add flavor (colored rocks, a crude carving, a necklace made out of bones, etc.). Goblins, orcs, etc. are evil creatures but humanizing them could make for a more memorable experience than just making them a source of XP and GP.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
For humanoids place kitchens and areas used for toilets (it can be outside the dungeon - but have the area known). Where do they put the trash (bones, non-edible items, scraps of skin/leather that can't be used, broken equipment)?</div>
<div>
<br />
How is the area lit? Does it need lighting or do the occupants have darkvision? What about the originally builders? Are there still sconces on the wall? Have the kobolds draped artwork or bodies from them?<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From D&D Basic rule book</td></tr>
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Store room for food, weapons, water, firewood, oil, etc. If this is a little colony, they'll have stuff with them. Do they have a stash of stolen goods? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Where are the leaders? Do they have their own quarters or do they share with the rest of the clan? Are their accommodations nicer? Do they have tapestries and other stolen works strewn about? Have they "improved" the art with their own additions?</div>
<div>
<br />
Do the inhabitants have prisoners or slaves? Where and how are they kept? As an aside, slavery in any form is abhorrent. The use of it in games may be for flavor but if so, I think it's the DM's duty to allow the players to free all the slaves. The idea of players having their own slaves is disgusting and is not something I'd ever allow (historical accuracy or not) regardless of the potential role playing opportunities. If the player wants to be an ex-slave; that's part of their story and is acceptable.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
If the dungeon was fabricated by the inhabitants, they should also have tools like picks, axes, hammers, and shovels as well as tools for sharpening and repairing the tools (or a pile of broken tools if they just steal what they need). If the dungeon is carved stone, there should be tools for carving, bowls for mortar, and debris from chiseling the blocks. For all construction, there should be debris be it piles of dirt and rocks, left over lumber, etc.</div>
<div>
<br />
<h4>
Guards and dungeon life</h4>
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9vZ0GnJYkod15rjiAIDFeFHEENCq-L3p31zzPyTKnimysoFMKg3uO56-Zr7PgRH5qGwgcEArNSjYpr6Hee9ddy67eBZDT_vTHl1ApkvIrNowpKdBoHMKydn1F37OPPMUGCp7ifutiy8/s1600/gnolls.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9vZ0GnJYkod15rjiAIDFeFHEENCq-L3p31zzPyTKnimysoFMKg3uO56-Zr7PgRH5qGwgcEArNSjYpr6Hee9ddy67eBZDT_vTHl1ApkvIrNowpKdBoHMKydn1F37OPPMUGCp7ifutiy8/s320/gnolls.png" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of Gnolls on guard duty with wine<br />
From 1st edition module UK3: The Gauntlet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
The goblin king has three guards with him. All the time? That means he has at least six (two sets on twelve hour shifts - hey nobody said goblins were easy to work for). When does the king sleep? Are the guards in the room with him or outside? What happens when the gnolls on guard duty overnight find a few flagons of wine?</div>
<div>
<br />
When not working or sleeping, where do the monsters go? What do they do? Are they out hunting? Humanoids may have different areas for living and sleeping.<br />
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Unlike MMO's where everything is always happening, regardless of the sun's cycle, your dungeon should have a natural cycle. What's up during the day and what's up at night? Underground, those hours can get funny because it's always dark. But most animals, including the PCs, need sleep. The room you just cleared out may have the guards on the other shift returning at some point...</div>
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Limiting the Size</h4>
This may be counter-intuitive, but a smaller or more sparsely populated dungeon may be better than the underground lair of a tribe of orcs that's three hundred strong. Using empty rooms and hallways atmospherically can be as powerful as silence in music. It provides a powerful contrast. Room after room filled with monsters becomes boring after a while, especially if each combat is relatively challenging.<br />
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Look to the old BioWare games Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale for proof of this. IWD felt like a non-stop slog against the forces of evil whilst BG is fondly remembered as having a better story. Both feature a lot of combat but I don't recall ever groaning "there's <i>more</i> orcs?" while playing BG. In fairness, I did enjoy the story of IWD although it's linear nature tends to dampen the replayability.<br />
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You should give opportunity to sneak past patrols or avoid traps. Allow the characters some freedom to express themselves with weapons sheathed. The party sneaking around a full dungeon adds a layer of excitement and danger that empty halls do not. Find the balance that works for your players, including changing it up on the fly as needed.</div>
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<h4>
Making it memorable</h4>
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Lastly, to make the dungeon memorable as well as realistic, don't forget to add some flavor. This could be hieroglyphs or cave paintings from the original inhabitants or a more recent addition, including graffiti. Maybe there's some webbing and an old opened cocoon that hints at what's ahead or what used to live there.</div>
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If there's to be a climatic battle, make that final room something special with interesting terrain or other memorable features. Maybe it's a large tiered cavern providing dynamic areas for the battle. Maybe the skirmish starts on a rope bridge over a chasm. Maybe it's a chase through a trap laden labyrinth. Maybe the princess is tied to an alter and a giant snake is approaching from its burrow in the temple carved into the stone behind her. As long as the elements make sense in the story of the area, it'll add to the excitement. </div>
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Having a final battle that's just your turn, my turn until it ends is boring and not very epic. This <a href="https://youtu.be/uO-LQqXd0fE?t=1m2s">sword fight</a> between (Captain) Jack Sparrow and Will Turner in the first of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie shows how terrain, parley, and pacing makes an excellent adventure. Same with the <a href="https://youtu.be/RoZzVUPqHbk">Battle of the Mounds</a> from Conan the Barbarian where strategic use of the terrain (and the script) allowed two to battle against many. </div>
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What are some ways you like to see dungeons come to life? Do you remember any epic dungeons that felt like real places? Did you ever have an adventure that could've been epic but it fell flat?</div>
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<br />Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-16237913251950670942018-07-24T11:15:00.002-07:002018-07-24T11:21:02.843-07:00The Evolution of Dungeons and Dragons over the Editions<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpuZurO8d2VVcB8Iac-0XujHzyyFVST2S8MBM2zguCM-TlumVBFczXFNDzPnwUvz-6bRYS31yL51D8_PcMlDJRpuHpcngyGSYATqGbQdmS6gN16fAmDsNpJ3o4gxL5wLGcblACGoEAPE/s1600/TSR2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1239" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpuZurO8d2VVcB8Iac-0XujHzyyFVST2S8MBM2zguCM-TlumVBFczXFNDzPnwUvz-6bRYS31yL51D8_PcMlDJRpuHpcngyGSYATqGbQdmS6gN16fAmDsNpJ3o4gxL5wLGcblACGoEAPE/s320/TSR2009.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Edition Monster Manual</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Grimm and I were chatting about D&D on Twitter recently and it got me thinking about the evolution of the game Dungeons and Dragons. I had recently commented to a friend that D&D always felt like it was designed around combat and the RPG parts were tacked on later. I feel like this is an easy argument to make considering it's birth from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chainmail_(game)">Chainmail</a> system.<br />
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From Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and the most recent 5th Edition - what's changed?<br />
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Well, quite a lot and yet not much.<br />
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Starting off, here's a few caveats. I'm considering 3rd and 3.5 to be the same edition for all intents and purposes. I'm also going to, for the most part, gloss over 4th edition (mostly because I don't have the books any more to use as references). In hindsight - 4th edition was the largest change to the game engine of any of the editions. This move away from the familiar confines of D&D, even if moved toward the familiar confines of online games, may have been doomed from the onset. If the same rule set was released as World of Warcraft the Tabletop RPG I wonder if it would've been more widely accepted. Similarly, I'm going to skip the boxed editions. These rule-sets are great for introducing people to the core mechanics but have some limitations including races as classes, leveling restrictions, and an overall limitation of equipment, spells, and monsters. Most people started with the red box and the adventure B2: Keep on the Borderlands so it's importance is noted and appreciated. In my opinion, these games have more in common with the White box OSR than the Advanced edition. Lastly, this isn't inclusive of every change in the games, it's just some broad brush stokes and a stroll down nostalgia lane.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3EaB6EHe3vrG0-ni6_cvU_6BNALtDOL8pj3WmhIss9aT1KA86N4aDH4tvD24oENJT7hQGW_HJS-o6K6Qk2vGz2YlKCQePu-Vp-OfWhe56hpYVIpCHpDT943lOW1Jhlb6cEGPeDUaiWA/s1600/will+mclean+backsratcher+cartoon+DMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="799" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3EaB6EHe3vrG0-ni6_cvU_6BNALtDOL8pj3WmhIss9aT1KA86N4aDH4tvD24oENJT7hQGW_HJS-o6K6Qk2vGz2YlKCQePu-Vp-OfWhe56hpYVIpCHpDT943lOW1Jhlb6cEGPeDUaiWA/s320/will+mclean+backsratcher+cartoon+DMG.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st Edition had some cartoons dispersed throughout the DMG.</td></tr>
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Starting in second edition, I felt like there were always a lot of supplements that added more classes, skills, spells, monsters, etc. So, unless otherwise specified, I'm generally just talking about the core rule books - Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual.<br />
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The first two editions had large restrictions for non-human races with respect what classes they could play and the maximum level they could obtain. Half orcs were removed from second edition but have otherwise been a constant since first edition. I never quite understood the reasoning of race limits other than to make humans seem more desirable. The idea that elves can live hundreds of years but never get past 11th level for wizard always seemed silly.<br />
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For classes, one of the first shifts was changing Illusionists to Specialists which allowed each school of magic to be the focus of a wizard's study instead of just illusions. Assassin class was dropped after first edition while Monk followed the path of the half-orc by skipping second edition before returning in the third edition. Sorcerers and Barbarians were added to the core rule book in third edition (while at least the barbarian was in second edition in the Unearthed Arcana book). Second and third editions had a lot of supplements that provided essentially variants of classes. Third took this a set further with prestige classes - advanced classes (like bard in first edition) that gave new abilities and a new advancement chain.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3CYzaJv78FU1txOk8_RTXC3MwUhqoPeQxE_3sl4SWW8AHVSkAkq6mh6YBVUf797BgcoeHcYN2W-m7d5yq52UynqVIH5A5pl16otxnEmUjhDTxfEyL_22VyxItHkJQI1CK4xHOGDJFkM/s1600/Beholder_1E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="800" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3CYzaJv78FU1txOk8_RTXC3MwUhqoPeQxE_3sl4SWW8AHVSkAkq6mh6YBVUf797BgcoeHcYN2W-m7d5yq52UynqVIH5A5pl16otxnEmUjhDTxfEyL_22VyxItHkJQI1CK4xHOGDJFkM/s200/Beholder_1E.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold the 1st Edition Beholder</td></tr>
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Third edition streamlined the strength ability by removing exceptional strength as well as limitations of 18 in ability scores. This allowed characters to really grow to be epic as they advanced. Third also made a large change in how bonuses were given allowing for +1's to be at 12 while negative stats began with scores lower than 9. The old system was far more convoluted with each stat having essentially different bonuses, most starting at values greater than 15 and less than 7.<br />
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Saving throws categories were also reduced from five to three and bonuses were based on class and abilities. While combat has always been a roller higher than X system, armor class went from lower is better in first and second to higher is better in third and beyond. This "drastic" change was probably one of the best modifications made to the game engine as it greatly simplified figuring out if you hit a target.<br />
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Fourth edition, and third to a lesser degree, embraced the tactical combat aspect of the game and devoted a large amount of time to battle map mechanics. Fourth was also constructed in a way that allowed players to do heroic actions infrequently while also giving each character the chance to heal themselves freeing the clerics of the world up to actually do more than be heal-bots. These mechanics are what the Dungeons and Dragons Adventure System series of board games uses and it's great for a board game. I've found that board games do skirmishes/combat really well but tend to fall flat on the role-playing side of things mostly because it's hard for a game to do much past choose your own adventure and railroad you to the next adventure.<br />
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The addition of cantrips in the third edition (although they also were in Unearthed Arcana in second) gave priests and wizards the chance to do more frequently and not have to burn their only spell slot for a light spell. Likewise spontaneous casting in third edition allowed clerics to not memorize healing spells but they could turn any spell into a healing spell. This finally gave the cleric some power and flexibility. Special powers from their deities also gave priests different feels, weapons, and character story/motivation.<br />
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Psionics went from appendix material in first edition to supplemental rules in future editions.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO19uQgdVz9v5ELwLs3PRDH9zk0C2ZJtrp_yvqn0ky68kxVv2eoGJTLPV_ng-sb9NhU1-Qa_2Blmtlh8iF47qFUWWibJIaIx-zGUyvRspWOC4lUTm4N_A0auxMxSrguP31W0noEprS-nY/s1600/Paladin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO19uQgdVz9v5ELwLs3PRDH9zk0C2ZJtrp_yvqn0ky68kxVv2eoGJTLPV_ng-sb9NhU1-Qa_2Blmtlh8iF47qFUWWibJIaIx-zGUyvRspWOC4lUTm4N_A0auxMxSrguP31W0noEprS-nY/s400/Paladin.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3rd Edition Paladin<br />
The quality of art improved greatly</td></tr>
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The most notable change between the editions, and it's been a steady stream of improvements, is the fleshing out of non-combat abilities and skills. First edition, basically, didn't have any non-combat related skills. Everything was left to the players and DM to decide. Second edition added non-weapon proficiency abilities and secondary skills (broad backgrounds) to provide some framework for what a character could do. Third edition unleashed a large table of skills characters could perform trained or untrained and provided great customization for thieves and other classes who received more skills than other abilities. Third also included feats that gave characters special abilities and bonuses allowing them to do heroic things like cleave through opponents or deflect incoming arrows. Fifth edition introduced backgrounds which includes tables for personality, flaws, bonds, and ideals. This helps a player create a character who's more than their abilities and equipment. It gives a starting point to for role-playing.<br />
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Taking a side-bar to the <a href="http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/174829/Robert-E-Howards-CONAN-Roleplaying-Game-Quickstart">2d20 Conan game </a>- that game's character creation gives you a fully fleshed out character at the end of creation. The downside of it is that you have an overly complicated and lengthy creation process. It is far too easy to miss assigning a talent or skill. Dungeons and Dragons, on the other hand, has always been fairly easy to sit down and create a character. When comparing the two - I greatly prefer the character creation of D&D. Many of the Conan classes, while they add little twists, are just variants of each other (take a peak at the different characters in the back of the Quickstart linked above). As I look through the source books, many of the new classes don't bring a lot of new ideas to the table.<br />
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In first edition let's say you're making a male human fighter. Is he a knight in shining armor? Is he a chain mail wearing berserker? Is he the nimble and flashy swordsman? You took your stats, bought your gear and made your fighter. Third edition and on, you bought a source book and rolled the character per a new class. In some cases, I felt like many of the newer characters classes were over-powered compared to the ones in the core books at the same level.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIzr31niPUzX8Nho9deXQr5uHkJ8R_Gn2SpVSMCIiGJnhM8IxGHurXzyliBHOScOnRi3dRYXsiQJcPV2pQU-gXiESpWIUH7Hth9O7WY5ZnjxuWW-e9UTWetachvI8kqNv80QKgo9DN_4/s1600/JeffEasley1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="700" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIzr31niPUzX8Nho9deXQr5uHkJ8R_Gn2SpVSMCIiGJnhM8IxGHurXzyliBHOScOnRi3dRYXsiQJcPV2pQU-gXiESpWIUH7Hth9O7WY5ZnjxuWW-e9UTWetachvI8kqNv80QKgo9DN_4/s400/JeffEasley1.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff Easley did most of the 2nd edition art.</td></tr>
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And that can throw the balance of a game off and make it not fun.<br />
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In my opinion, the source books have removed people's need to be creative about their characters. However, if used properly, they could also be the basis of a unique character. I just felt that they were more often used by min/maxers than creative role-players.<br />
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5th edition is really the next step in evolution from 3rd/3.5. This is of course because I consider 4th edition to be a different branch as it's core mechanics were so different than all the other editions.<br />
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Experience (XP) was partially gained from treasure in the first edition and thankfully this was removed later as second edition awarded XP based on monster level plus special awards for each class. Challenge ratings in third edition greatly reduced book keeping since the award was for the whole encounter. XP and treasure is where the DM's across the world alter the rules to fit their campaign better than any rule set could cover.<br />
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Dragons weren't terrifying until second edition as the original game was almost felt set up with the intent that nobody played past level 14. 2nd edition tried something interesting with the Monster Manual - it was a binder and as you bought expansions, you could add pages to this binder. Each monster had it's own page. In theory, this worked. In reality, it felt cheap, pages tore, and the art, <br />
despite being in full color was bad. This concept was removed during the black covers reprint of 2nd edition and it's something I hope we never talk about again. Third edition added a concept of templates so you could make vampires and liches more interesting by giving them each an unique build. From second edition and forward a little more time was spent talking ecology and how each monster fit into the ecosystem. This push for realism, in my opinion, was a useful tools for DM's that wanted their dungeons to make sense.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINDl6sxTQEPtvhWLHPEifZ4j1tjW2IEVTOxjuL6RJk_zrmV6bgQJwidwJ8lOCwtET8BCPRBsEPzIyRbuP_1rbOAtzXWaTCGyOElY4qWCCd_E8kocpLwAutTrEuSa583NP-i7U8f6SneQ/s1600/morganironwolf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="399" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINDl6sxTQEPtvhWLHPEifZ4j1tjW2IEVTOxjuL6RJk_zrmV6bgQJwidwJ8lOCwtET8BCPRBsEPzIyRbuP_1rbOAtzXWaTCGyOElY4qWCCd_E8kocpLwAutTrEuSa583NP-i7U8f6SneQ/s320/morganironwolf.jpg" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great legs, nipples of steel, and she's ready to fight!</td></tr>
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The simplified monochromatic black and white art style of first edition is classic yet not great when compared to third edition and beyond. Second edition had some pretty cool color paintings but most of the art in the PHB and DMG was chunky blue and white drawings that felt like a regression even when compared to the very simple sketches of first edition. Third edition and beyond, While I played 2nd edition probably the most of all of the editions, I disliked the layout and presentation.<br />
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Speaking of artwork, another change in art through the editions is the depiction of women and female monsters. In first edition, there are quite a few topless monsters. In later editions, these have had their boobs covered either by clothing, armor, or hair. There's still some provocative female armor design but it's definitely been scaled back. I'm not sure if this is due to Wizards of the Coast realizing there's a lot of female gamers or just politely conforming to societal norms since this game is marketed to kids/teens. I started playing DnD when I was 8 (with my older brother). Luckily my parents were practical and weren't too worried about the art. Their focus was making sure we understood that this was a game and wasn't real so quit gathering disgusting things for casting spells.<br />
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Adventure quality has been a constant improvement since first edition. B3, for example, is basically a series of rooms tied together in a loose story that you randomly roll to generate the contents. Nearly 100% random - there's no cohesiveness. Even some of the great modules like the GDQ series tend to be dungeon crawls where you fight through hordes of monsters with minimal plot. The A1-4 (Slavers) series had a bit more opportunity for role-playing as did the U1-3 (Saltmarsh). Even the legendary S1 (Tomb of Horrors) is a nightmare character killer dungeon crawl. The third edition adventures and beyond seemed to allow for exploration and story development to go along with the combat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyA1eXL7NAMtrtTu6BKxFRtaRvltEJ1uCUiAp6WS824LSlJNCT4sVIig1rTjdFduxiR76w-uJi2HqvrT5ZKGksi6E7vjKlY_zcc3jH3cAYd_ttzncfb-WMKiogSDsWHd5mkAeb53eHXRE/s1600/gianetti.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyA1eXL7NAMtrtTu6BKxFRtaRvltEJ1uCUiAp6WS824LSlJNCT4sVIig1rTjdFduxiR76w-uJi2HqvrT5ZKGksi6E7vjKlY_zcc3jH3cAYd_ttzncfb-WMKiogSDsWHd5mkAeb53eHXRE/s320/gianetti.gif" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This (seriously) is the 2nd edition Ettin.</td></tr>
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The evolution of the game has been solid over the past 40+ years. While I didn't like fourth, it did bring some good mechanics - and may be the best of the group as an engine for tactical skirmishes. The inclusion of rules to provide more tools for role-playing has also been good. Providing framework for how the players and DM interact with the world can avoid arguments. A great DM will still know when to let the players be creative, when to force them to roll to succeed, and when to just narrate the action and let the good times roll. Or role, depending on the edition you're playing. There is, after all, more to the game than just combat.<br />
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Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-78167773309955979652018-06-09T20:31:00.001-07:002018-06-09T20:31:30.957-07:00Ten Years of Age of ConanIt's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since I was stuck at load screen for two hours with a hanged game. Despite my last doom and gloom post, the lead up to the anniversary was nice and the Saga of Zath was a neat idea. It's also the type of thing that fits perfectly in Funcom's model for AoC (or any game on maintenance) - minimal effort for creating new assets yet still deliver the customers a fun event.<br />
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I didn't quite get to 80 on my Saga character (now if I was subbed, I would have - oh the irony) but I don't recall ever just pounding the game with one character for so long. And I had fun trying to get him there.<br />
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The anniversary was, kind of as expected, a rehash of old events with some new vanity items for sale. Getting log ins for 14 days over the 3 weeks to get the lion makes sense - although it's a shame it's not account wide. I didn't check the store but I'm sure there's a way of buying something similar. Likewise, giving loot boxes daily was a nice bonus and is one of the few times I recall getting gifts from Funcom.<br />
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While I was tempted to resub, I decided to remain F2P for now for all the reasons I stated before - I don't have time to play enough to justify the expense.<br />
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Servers like Saga of Zath won't save AoC but I think they can help get small bumps and remind people that "hey, there's still a fun MMO over here." But, I also hope they show restraint and only do this one, maybe twice, a year. Any more than that and it'll just get stale. I'm not sure I'd jump on and try to level another toon before the fall under a similar rule set. The interesting question will be - what are some other ways to generate the same buzz in a slightly different manner? Can you make character clones, like they do for TestLive, baseline their gear and put them on a PVP server? Do you make a higher level version of Tortage for your characters to experience again? (Not sure how to do that without needing to create new quests/assets).<br />
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Happy Birthday Age of Conan! Here's to the first 10 years and hopefully many more to come.Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-89046586624729192812017-11-07T20:29:00.001-08:002017-11-07T20:29:04.207-08:00Why I'm Letting my AoC Sub Lapse...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWNkAFRv01fKP9eKe7CtbS0Hk6i2IqkMrj_tnm94LxBWVKqy1YpoB8mzQsNUjo7tLIMmvRg2Q6x0Dlm7BRlaa0Q9zVQbXLiCeiFcg1Zy8FnhgoV1CBKWDIh3MquM9Sfk9XGOhn8kk7Cc/s1600/Thulix_picture010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1600" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEWNkAFRv01fKP9eKe7CtbS0Hk6i2IqkMrj_tnm94LxBWVKqy1YpoB8mzQsNUjo7tLIMmvRg2Q6x0Dlm7BRlaa0Q9zVQbXLiCeiFcg1Zy8FnhgoV1CBKWDIh3MquM9Sfk9XGOhn8kk7Cc/s400/Thulix_picture010.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An empty battlefield between Tortage and Khitai</td></tr>
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People have been saying AoC is going to die since it launched. At some point, it's even outlived at least one of the games that were supposed to kill it (<a href="http://www.warhammeronline.com/">Warhammer Online</a>). It's natural that an MMO that doesn't continue to expand will eventually close down. Evolve or die. Age of Conan is dying and I have a weird mix of fatalism, apathy, and sorrow about it.<br />
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I started this post a long time ago and just sat on it. Much like how I've sat on this blog and done nothing recently. Originally I didn't want this to be a doom and gloom post because I was naively hoping it would turn around. Then Slith left the community over a year ago and I felt like that was a sign of the times. Nothing has happened since to make me rethink that.<br />
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As I type this, I realize AoC and I are also fading apart. When I log in and really play, I still enjoy it but with minimal content being developed my relationship with this game is changing. It's like your fun yet undependable college buddy. A few years after college, you hang out and have fun from time to time, but you tend to drift apart as you grow up and time becomes a precious commodity.<br />
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The announcement of Conan Exiles told me where their resources for the Conan license were going to be spent. I haven't tried that game, and based on the reviews I've read, I don't want to. Funcom abandoned Age of Conan to work on Exiles. This felt worse than when development resources went to The Secret World. That was a new IP and felt like something that could help Funcom stay solvent and could possibly create some cross-over content (monsters and some environments). Exiles just feels like a re-skin that is trying to latch on to the new survival game fad and was released far too early, but I'm sure that last part sounds familiar. But Exiles allows you to model your character's schlong. Too bad it's size isn't automatically tied to the quality of your gear.<br />
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Here's the timeline of updates on the Age of Conan website:<br />
<br />
June 30, 2016 - New Premium Membership + True Freedom to Play<br />
October 18, 2016 - Face the Slithering Chaos<br />
May 17 2017 - Age of Conan 9th Anniversary Celebration<br />
My 31, 2017 - By Popular Demand: Celebration Extended<br />
[Undated - August 2017?] - Gamescon Community Event (not AoC-centric)<br />
[Undated - October 2017?] - 720 Day Loyalty Rewards<br />
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So in 16 months, <a href="https://cynarablog.wordpress.com/2016/06/09/item-shop-revamp-in-update-4-10/">the business model changed slightly</a>, a six-man dungeon was introduced, and a few trinkets were given away and some old content reusing old areas was brought back. And someone wrote six short blog posts. Can you at least act like you give a crap? As my subscription winds down, I'm trying to figure out why I should continue to put money into this game. And more importantly, why I should continue to care.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_4I8k3YsVO0zxkdCz8bGva4oUgtOfObi20JDd4EkIFAq4ddBG39qlJGO_g6v90MVD6LCl1GaiZmcyK-iKNR9yYytOBksdaJYdyZfnpPgWzw9jMwS0Fl0es5LXJz1xZv0AGdrdrQHNbY/s1600/Nuranth_picture005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1600" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_4I8k3YsVO0zxkdCz8bGva4oUgtOfObi20JDd4EkIFAq4ddBG39qlJGO_g6v90MVD6LCl1GaiZmcyK-iKNR9yYytOBksdaJYdyZfnpPgWzw9jMwS0Fl0es5LXJz1xZv0AGdrdrQHNbY/s400/Nuranth_picture005.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful Cimmerian vista devoid of players</td></tr>
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Forums have a few dedicated posters but it's become toxic except for a few defeated loyalists. There's only a handful of new messages a day, so it's not even active enough for daily reading. I stopped reading it regularly about a year ago and weirdly didn't miss it. All the signs point to a game that would've had its plug pulled if run by anyone other than Funcom. As much as fans malign them, they do tend to keep their games online unlike larger corporations like Sony.<br />
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As for the blogging community; Cynara still posts occasionally as does HenryX. And that's it for the blogging community. Two. Three if you count this (and I wouldn't - I haven't written AoC in almost two years). Conan College is gone offline, Slith's site is still there but he retired from blogging with a <a href="https://aochideout.blogspot.com/2016/05/blog-post.html">wordless post</a>, and This Machine Age went silent three years ago (<a href="http://thismachineageblog.blogspot.com/">killer gout</a>). There weren't many to begin with and we're down to two who've written a total of 6 posts in same time as Funcom. Now Henry and Cynara spend waaaaayyy more time writing their posts than Funcom as Cynara essential builds loot tables for everyone and Henry makes beautiful videos that promote AoC better than Funcom ever did.<br />
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There was an opportunity to snare board gamers during the Monolith campaign and during the Modiphius RPG campaign, yet it felt like Funcom didn't try hard enough. Those Kickstarters had in-game items for people to try AoC. Funcom: could you at least try to act like you give a crap?<br />
<br />
I've routinely paid for the subscription a year at a time and not thought much of it. For the past two years, I've mostly only logged in to update offline training. Is this worth about $100/year?<br />
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"Your subscription helps keep the servers running," will be the response. And they're correct, subscriptions and in-game purchases keep games like AoC alive. I love the music, running through Tortage for the 30th time, and questing in a lot of different areas. I've leveled more than 10 characters to 80 and have countless hours spent running around Conan's world. It'll be sad when I can't log on and get that Conan fix. I left and played other games like SWTOR, Dragon Age Inquisition, WoW, the Witcher, and TSW. But I'd always come back and AoC was always there. I compared many of these games to AoC. I even wrote a post I never finished comparing DAI to AoC. DAI's mind-numbing combat is so bad I don't ever want to play it again, despite my love of that dark fantasy world.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06hNvrGq07BbVenw8JK2i0nlJZ_I838kEtKp38bnXXinuirYBHwk5feJf76ntOrRb_os-qN-i9sWFH4WzCvT2sBSX-EAPgHJUFYEl5smT7RojdTb0nv8__eKHtd_FPQ1zvzSr6phX3sU/s1600/Thulix_picture019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06hNvrGq07BbVenw8JK2i0nlJZ_I838kEtKp38bnXXinuirYBHwk5feJf76ntOrRb_os-qN-i9sWFH4WzCvT2sBSX-EAPgHJUFYEl5smT7RojdTb0nv8__eKHtd_FPQ1zvzSr6phX3sU/s640/Thulix_picture019.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanctum of Burning Souls is still a great instance</td></tr>
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One of the reasons I went in on the Monolith board game so hard was it utilized some of the art of AoC. I felt like it was a way to have a tangible thing to remind me of this game, besides the soundtrack and collector's edition book, as well as an outlet to adventure and battle in that world.<br />
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May 2018 is the tenth anniversary. I'd love for Funcom to do something cool for it. But I'd be delusional if I think there will be anything other than some useless items for subscribers and a subscription offer.<br />
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If/When they announce the shut down of the game server, I will probably log on watch the server countdown to zero, watching the chat until it dumps the remaining few players to the load screen. I expect a mix of "Good bye Conan!", gold-sellers, and [You know who] yelling, "AoC is dead! I told you all it would happen!". Until then, I'll most-likely go F2P and just pop in and out and enjoy the game a little bit here and there when I have time.<br />
<br />Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-30511931115440965252017-11-05T04:34:00.000-08:002017-11-05T04:34:07.753-08:00Comparing Some Dungeon Crawler Board GamesIn 2015 there were a lot of fantasy based dungeon crawlers on Kickstarter. I was just getting into hobby board gaming and has just gone a little crazy on Monolith's Conan and late pledged a few of these games looking for something to occupy my time around the time my son was born. One of my favorite things in Age of Conan, and fantasy in general, is being immersed in a world. As a fan of Robert E. Howard, AoC was my favorite MMO both for its fun combat but also for the great stories and the characters you meet. I was looking for more stories and interesting characters in the board game medium. I was looking for that RPG in a box and looking for something with solo play since I don't have a dedicated game group anymore due to life.<br />
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And since it's Kickstarter and a lot of these are miniature games, they've all arrived in the past 12 months, each after their own delay.<br />
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The games I'm going to compare are the following:<br />
1. The Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Series<br />
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2. Mice and Mystics<br />
3. Gloomhaven<br />
4. Sword & Sorcery<br />
5. Folklore: the Affliction<br />
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Note with the DDAS and Mice and Mystics - these are the baseline dungeon crawlers and many people have played one or both of these. Versions of both are almost always available which make them good ones to
use for comparisons.<br />
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There are a lot of other games out there from the less known games like the pirate themed Skull Tales (okay but not great), to Shadows of Brimstone (another game I really enjoy), to the well funded horror games like Deep Madness, and science fiction based Star Saga. Additionally there are a lot of other fantasy games out there like Dungeon Saga, Descent, Heroquest, etc. Descent (and likewise Star Wars Imperial Assault) are being ignored for being a one vs. many game instead of a solo or co-op game.<br />
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They will be compared across the following topics:<br />
1. Characters - Variety, Progression, balance,and how interesting are they?<br />
2. Campaign - Immersion, world building, choices, and length<br />
3. Gameplay - Mechanics, variety of missions and monsters<br />
4. Components - Tiles, miniatures, cards, etc.<br />
5. Overall value<br />
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At the end I'll rank these with my BGG scores and give a quick blurb about who each of these is good for.<br />
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<u><b>Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Series</b></u><br />
I bought Wrath of Ashardalon in 2015 and it's by the far the most simple of the games listed here. Any of the DDAS games are a good introduction for people interested in dungeon crawls or RPGs.<br />
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<b>Characters</b><br />
The base game comes with 5 characters - Female Elf Paladin, Male Human Cleric, Female Dwarf Fighter, Male Half Orc Rogue, and Male Dragonkin Wizard. They each have different abilities and play a little differently. Having choices of abilities gives some limited customization to make each play the way you want. Progression, in this system, is all but non-existent as you can level up once. The Temple of Elemental Evil, and presumably the upcoming Tomb of Annihlation, have a slightly more robust progression and campaign system but this game is really meant as a series of one-shots. I solo played a three character party using the paladin, cleric, and wizard. Have minor healing abilities on two characters was pretty valuable. I think a party without the cleric is in trouble but otherwise think the paladin and fighter can be interchangeable, similar to the rogue/wizard.<br />
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Each game comes with its own characters and the sets are interchangeable - this adds a lot of variety if you want. The Drizzt set are allegedly overpowered relative to the others based on some comments I've seen online.<br />
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<b>Campaign</b><br />
As stated above there's not much of a campaign. I played the 8 scenarios (repeating a few a couple of times to "collect" all of the bosses) but that was just to make it feel like a campaign. To have a flavor of progression I kept the loot I found, but that ended up making me overpowered for the later missions. It was fun, but not as challenging as it should've been.<br />
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Choices are minimal, at best, you are running through a dungeon to get to your end goal. There is no story within and, from what I've seen, no story moments that bring an RPG aspect to a play session.<br />
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Like above, you can mix and match the sets to add variety of monsters.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
Very streamlined and simple to teach. Move then attack or attack and move. Get to a tile edge to show a new tile or gain an encounter card. Some tiles also come with encounters automatically. Encounters are generally bad for you. Every tile comes with a new monster and they are always bad for you. Once you lay down a tile - the monsters go. Rinse and repeat. There is one die that comes in the box, it's fittingly a d20. Roll...<br />
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Each of the boxes comes with a good number of different monsters and several boss monsters, including a couple impressive sized ones. Each box, I believe, includes a large model - mostly dragons. The AI for each is slightly different but essentially they either attack, move, do both, or get help (go to an edge to expose another tile). There's two conditions inflicted upon the characters: Dazed and Poisoned.<br />
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One choice you get is whether to spend 5 XP (from monsters killed) to cancel out an encounter. This can be worthwhile at the end of the game when fighting a boss. 5 XP can also be coupled with a roll of natural 20 to level up a character.<br />
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Setup and tear down takes just minutes - making this great if you only have a short amount of time to play.<br />
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<b>Components</b><br />
One d20. That's it? Come-on and throw two or three in there. I play solo for the most part so it's not as annoying for me, but the principle is there. Give me another die to choose from when I keep missing with my attacks. It's the rational thing to do.<br />
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Also the tiles are really boring in this game (see below). There's only a handful with meaningful artwork besides the stonework floor but this may be different in some of the other boxes (the newest one; Tomb of Annihilation features jungle tiles). The miniatures are pretty good but are generally made of a pretty soft plastic. The cards are decent quality but have minimal art. Text is easy to read and is generally pretty easy to understand.<br />
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The female characters are slightly overly-sexualized. The elf's armor highlighting the elf's boobs and the character card of the dwarf portraying a little more cleavage than I ever wanted to see on a dwarf stand out as odd choices compared to the attire of their male companions.<br />
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The trap tiles and some treasure tiles could've really used some artwork to increase the immersion and make the rolling boulder trap feel different than the dart trap (both are just blue borders with white text).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJFjB4yBqdWp_PSEcNXCXB7Kzzvenam8RWg0Jp2O3zgyv_ZVFIHi5lHdw3W2kq6o3_emyr_jxOg6xY3nE3vBRLxI_IeUNqPPrsbdq4Bt7vSA11wBYRYz5TaYLJSxH_gvJV3zoVQvw_Tg/s1600/IMG_0897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJFjB4yBqdWp_PSEcNXCXB7Kzzvenam8RWg0Jp2O3zgyv_ZVFIHi5lHdw3W2kq6o3_emyr_jxOg6xY3nE3vBRLxI_IeUNqPPrsbdq4Bt7vSA11wBYRYz5TaYLJSxH_gvJV3zoVQvw_Tg/s400/IMG_0897.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample setup.</td></tr>
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<b>Value</b><br />
8 missions, 43 miniatures, and stack of tiles, and some tokens for ~$45. It's okay bang for the buck. The real plus for this system is being able to mix and match sets which could help give a more progressive feel if you made custom missions with custom monster decks.<br />
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<b><u>Mice and Mystics</u></b><br />
This is a family styled dungeon crawler. Large amounts of story set up and close out each adventure.<br />
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<b>Characters</b><br />
There's a decent selection of characters that fall into typical fantasy roles such as cleric, rogue, wizard, and fighter. Each has their own abilities that make each one feel unique.<br />
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<b>Campaign</b><br />
The story of Mice and Mystics is very good and engaging. Where it loses some points, for me, is where you don't keep all items or abilities you find. This hurts the feeling of progress but was done to allow you play different characters in different missions. It also loses a point there - because the flavor text will have certain characters talking that you may not have brought with you - and the game doesn't force you to either (in many cases). This game is set up to play with 4 heroes.<br />
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There's also a shortage of varied enemies that makes the game drag a bit as you get on to the later scenarios.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
There's some neat game play elements used including the initiative track, where cards are shuffled and placed one at a time for all the heroes and enemies. When you roll a cheese symbol on attack or defend you (or the bad guys) get a piece of cheese. Cheese is used to gain new abilities, use existing abilities, re-roll dice, and by the bad guys to spawn new monsters - which also drives you closer to a lose condition.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vRys1LsZtT8MaL4clQaHT9aYQAZ8OSYUwwdYmCZPRpXrWrQSQk8eOxJIs3Luste_YAUooN0R9m5IHspk7LVCwQodaFsmO0i8hW4YJwUxY6emd_nozIrIK9Zw93e7Q-aq7shIoX88JDs/s1600/IMG_0902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vRys1LsZtT8MaL4clQaHT9aYQAZ8OSYUwwdYmCZPRpXrWrQSQk8eOxJIs3Luste_YAUooN0R9m5IHspk7LVCwQodaFsmO0i8hW4YJwUxY6emd_nozIrIK9Zw93e7Q-aq7shIoX88JDs/s400/IMG_0902.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Initiative and storybook Track</td></tr>
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The biggest area where Mice and Mystics lost my interest was the combat. It felt like a slog. Roll to hit. They get to roll defense. Against some monsters that could roll 3 defense dice, it took a while for hits to get through. While thematic, that mechanic just ground the game to a halt.<br />
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Each scenario has its own rules added, which can feel a bit daunting at times. Overall, it's actually more involved than it seems at first glance but it adds those layers slowly as you play.<br />
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Mice characters don't die, they're captured which allows you to bring lost characters back on subsequent tiles.<br />
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<b>Components</b><br />
The eight double-sided tiles for Mice and Mystics are varied between dungeon, caves, rooms, and a courtyard and clearly marked with iconography that helps you know where you can move. The artwork on the cards is well done and much of it can't help but be described as 'adorable'. Button shield? Acorn helmet? You try to keep your "aww's" in the first time you see some of those.<br />
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The miniatures look really good and have a fair amount of detail. The cockroaches are little lackluster but that's made up for by the large spider and centipede miniatures. Also, with there only being four different enemies (some have variants), combat does get a little samey after a while.<br />
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There's a handful of tokens and the initiative track is a nice two piece board that holds the search and monster surge cards.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi680kLrrwmTQoacDEQ1o1x4URn0uFj2qmRUo8Q0K20CWE-mBSHrW3ty2SliHyTmHnFbMlRmndXIMYtojQfNSD6K1SZoipOdShh-w4aYXLi3rXS1iC-_zjb0LUKVV2A2ILQxwBwjAz4Vx8/s1600/IMG_0899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi680kLrrwmTQoacDEQ1o1x4URn0uFj2qmRUo8Q0K20CWE-mBSHrW3ty2SliHyTmHnFbMlRmndXIMYtojQfNSD6K1SZoipOdShh-w4aYXLi3rXS1iC-_zjb0LUKVV2A2ILQxwBwjAz4Vx8/s400/IMG_0899.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Board with miniatures and dice</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFySoZ2xgErft58Gvg2EN_6P5Yx31AImOebdGjERJUBqT7ypxtp5T_CoukX-hSQbiZe9UmmtFV9H35r9mTRVcKBLepEeV9Ivfa0oFbXScxLDIi5cvUxotKThbYbwBN0VNTqcN1MpYOnDw/s1600/IMG_0900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFySoZ2xgErft58Gvg2EN_6P5Yx31AImOebdGjERJUBqT7ypxtp5T_CoukX-hSQbiZe9UmmtFV9H35r9mTRVcKBLepEeV9Ivfa0oFbXScxLDIi5cvUxotKThbYbwBN0VNTqcN1MpYOnDw/s400/IMG_0900.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More miniatures and sample of character cards and items</td></tr>
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<b>Value</b><br />
If I recall correctly, there's 11 chapters in this game (plus expansions). For about $50, that's a pretty decent bang for the buck. This is probably best with children or families. While there is a lot of fighting (it's a dungeon crawler, after all) there are also some puzzles. But really, you're here for the story more than the gameplay. <br />
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There are also a few expansions available to continue your adventures in this world.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Gloomhaven</u></b><br />
The legendary 95 scenario behemoth. It's the most unusual dungeon crawler most people have ever seen. Is it the best? It is overhyped? Is it fun? It's weirdly all of these. A diceless, card driven dungeon crawler with a sprawling branching story line. It is an amazing game but will not be everyone's pint of beer.<br />
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<b>Characters</b><br />
You can start the game choosing from 6 unique classes. Each character then gets a life quest that determines when they'll retire. When they do (and at some other times in the game) you're allowed to open one of 11 new character boxes. This is a really cool idea and you look forward to seeing what's inside each box and learning how to play that new character. The only bummer I've found so far is when you retire a character you love and get one who's style just doesn't work for you as well. I loved my cragheart (starting class). He was part tank, part damage dealer, and part healer. He was amazing and I loved how I could chain his abilities together and just plow through enemies. I then unlocked a new character class that it took several missions to just learn to appreciate their flexibility.<br />
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I haven't played with all of the characters, but the five I've tried so far (3 starters and 2 unlocked) have all been fun. Each is a unique challenge to learn how to play well.<br />
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As you level up, you get to pick perks which change your combat deck and gain new ability cards to change how you play the game. It's a struggle picking which cards you're going to put into your hand vs. leave in the game box forever. As you learn new abilities, your old ones go into your pool - so you can use those later but you need to pick your hand at the start of a mission.<br />
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There's no elves and dwarves here. Instead there's Savvas -
elemental based creates that appear to be made of rock, Inox - large
brutish creatures with horns, and Quatryls - a gnome like race that
tinker with gadets, lending a steampunk vibe to a dark fantasy world.<b> </b> <br />
<br />
Retiring characters is exciting, nerve-wracking, and depressing all at the same time but so far, every character I've played has been fun once I've learned some of their secrets. The BGG community is active and is also pretty good about not dropping a ton of spoilers. If you want to know how to play a class, look for a forum post about it's identifying symbol and read up. Don't want to know what a certain symbol means - don't read that forum.<br />
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<b>Campaign</b><br />
Ninety-five (plus) scenarios in a legacy styled game. To play through the full story will ONLY be 50-70 scenarios. This game carries an epic story line through a gritty world with atypical fantasy races. As you complete missions, some missions will become unavailable while other ones unlock. As a a general thing, your game world will be different than mine when we both finish and that's pretty amazing for a board game. You get to place stickers showing where you've unlocked and banners across the top showing different achievements.<br />
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In the city and on the road you draw, once per quest, a road and city events. These cards lend a flavor to the world and, while a minor part of the game, make the world come alive. After certain events, new cards are added to these decks so you can bump into old friends and adversaries. You add stickers to your world map showing what's unlocked, where you've been, and even some banners for global achievements. This is your world that you are shaping through your questing.<br />
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Isaac Childres could've gone full Kingdom Death and made miniatures for all of the monsters in the game. The box would've had it's own zip code. Instead he went with 236(!) standees. This gives the game over 30 (!) different types of enemies to fight plus bosses. Each type can be normal or elite and each can level from 0 to level 7.<br />
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Because of the spolier-ish nature of much of Gloomhaven, I'm omitting pictures of the game from this review.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
Gloomhaven is actually pretty straight forward but takes a while to get good at both hand management and utilizing your cards effectively to maximize each turn.. Every round you play 2 cards, using the top half of one and the bottom half of the other. Some are one time per adventure cards while others you can get back when you rest. Resting also costs you a card from your hand, which builds a timer into the game. The trick is learning how to utilize your hand each turn so you can have the most rounds before you run out of cards and are exhausted, losing the scenario. Likewise, you also have to keep your health above 0, so don't die.<br />
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Monster AI is controlled by cards. Initiative is on every card so there's times when you think you're going to go first and have a brilliant move planned out and the enemy goes before you and mucks everything up. Or heals up previous damage, or unloads on you.<br />
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Every attack you draw a card from your combat deck. This usually gives a bonus from -2 to a +2 with a one in a deck chance of a complete whiff or a critical hit (2x damage!). You can augment your deck to add special cards that give you shields or gives you special buffs, depending on your class. Here's another way every player can customize their character for their style of play. <br />
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Missions are often just kill everything or protect X for Y number of
turns. So far I've also had a few missions that had some different
objectives (one of them, I don't think I could complete with my current
party, just due to their own stylistic limitations (or my own ability to
play them well). Within a mission there is some starting story text,
sometimes some in the middle, and then a conclusion. But within a
mission, you rarely are given choices. So if you play mission 4 twice,
it'll probably end either with a failure or a success but there doesn't seem to be branching paths within each scenario, from what I've seen.<br />
<b><br /></b>
The mechanics are very Euro-based and while well received by the gaming community a small minority of gamers aren't a fan of it. This isn't a dice chucking game. This game is very thinky and can be challenging. Sometimes I feel like I slog through the combat to see how the world will change after the scenario. For the first four or five scenarios, I almost always lost the first time and had to try again until I learned how to play my characters better and how to use the abilities I had. It's important to emphasize that the balance in this game is phenomenal and scales amazingly well at different player counts. Based on pure mechanics, Gloomhaven is worth all of the praise it receives.<br />
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<b> </b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>Components</b><br />
Tiles, while many done with subdued colors, have a good amount of detail and the insanely large number included in the game give it a lot of variety. There's also tons of tokens to add obstacles from alters to water to lava to make dungeons feel different. The standee art is great as is the character boards. Female characters aren't exaggerated and Isaac made sure to not make all the female characters into barbie dolls with broadswords. Isaac wrote a <a href="http://www.cephalofair.com/2015/08/realistic-depictions-women-fantasy.html">blog post</a> about this topic.<br />
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The handful of miniatures I've seen are very high quality with lots of detail (probably the best of the bunch of the games reviewed here). The second edition of the game will come with stat trackers to replace some fiddly wooden components and not so hot slots on the character boards (this concept may have been Isaac's biggest mistake in the game which help explains it's extremely high BGG rating). The element board is beautiful and has some small wooden tokens to push around. Every item card has art on it while the ability cards are easy to read with clear iconography but no art. The world map is a nice four fold board that you will cover with stickers showing your progress around the world.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Value</b><br />
On a per scenario or per hour basis, it's hard not to hand Gloomhaven the crown now for best bang for the buck. You're talking $1/scenario. DDAS is $5 and Sword & Sorcery (retail) is $10. Gloomhaven does have a long set up and clean up time just due to the vast array of stuff you have to go through to set up each game. There are organizers on the secondary market for between $50 and $70.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<u><b><br /></b></u>
<u><b>Sword and Sorcery</b></u><br />
<b></b>Sword and Sorcery, much like Folklore the Affliction, are harder to describe because the Kickstarter came with more scenarios, more miniatures, more tiles, etc. Ares' Sword and Sorcery is available in retail, so I'll just talk about the Act I retail version.<br />
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Sword and Sorcery is a pure Ameri-trash dungeon crawler full of typical high fantasy tropes. Fancy tiles, lots of miniatures, and tons of tokens.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Characters</b><br />
The characters here are your standard high fantasy fare. Dwarven cleric, Human Knight, elvish sorceress, etc.. They each have unique powers that lend each one a different feel. You can also choose to be Good, Neutral, or Evil which changes your class power as well as gives you some different choices to make as you gain new abilities. It can also change how your campaign progresses as certain options will not be available to certain alignments.<br />
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Having choices for abilities as you level up as well as a broad selection of items helps the feel of progression. You can pay to enhance you weapon or armor for a single mission as well as buy or find improved gear.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDO5g_FoISpmsoyivqUWcNgMP9oQVZnVYqOW6l81jU3pz_U4SyS_V56RJW6SBN3ZJ9i9QzeV_FwTIGhKv99BpINXqbTQyXJBOVeA2uZ8ihVJNriblAdKzg5e1d2JiNa2AoF38fGBt4zM/s1600/IMG-0914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDO5g_FoISpmsoyivqUWcNgMP9oQVZnVYqOW6l81jU3pz_U4SyS_V56RJW6SBN3ZJ9i9QzeV_FwTIGhKv99BpINXqbTQyXJBOVeA2uZ8ihVJNriblAdKzg5e1d2JiNa2AoF38fGBt4zM/s400/IMG-0914.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the retail box miniatures</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Campaign</b><br />
There's 7 stories in Act I. While there is some replayability due to how the event deck is assembled (see below), party composition, and party alignment (see above)- this is a little disappointing. I think where this gets more replayability is with the Act II components and extra characters, several of which are eventually coming to retail.<br />
<br />
The story is good, if not pretty typical. As you progress through each adventure, you'll be pointed to the Book of Secrets and told to read a specific paragraph. This then advances the story and may provide a choice taking you to another paragraph. It's a neat choose-your-own-adventure mechanism that adds to the immersion. Choices made in one scenario can affect outcomes in later ones.<br />
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Some people have complained about the meta-game humor Ares has injected into the game. It's silly. Some of it is amusing to me but others on BGG aren't laughing. This game has it's tongue planted into its cheek and is reminding us of it. But if you want a dark, sinister, and somber game - this isn't the one for you. If you want to kick back with friends, have some laughs and some beers this may be a good choice.<br />
<br />
<b>Gameplay</b><br />
This game uses symbols on blue and red 10-sided dice to determine everything. Saving Throw or Search? Throw 1 Blue die. Attacking? Check your item, could be red or blue, or a combination of the two.<br />
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There's a lot of fiddly rules, tokens, and effects to take into account, but after a few sessions, you'll get most of them, most of the time. Enemy AI is clearly defined and different monster types act differently, making them feel different. Drawing Enemy Power cards also changes up what they can do and adds to the challenge level.<br />
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After each character's turn, you draw an encounter card which activates existing or spawns new enemies. This can lead to a single monster repeatedly wailing on a single character. There's also a deck of event cards that you slowly flip through (every other turn drawing a new one, sometimes adding one from the board). This timer triggers different events in a specific order. Most of the time, the deck is assembled by shuffling a few cards, then adding two more shuffled cards below those, and then a few more shuffled cards, etc - so there is some randomness to the events that unfold during the adventure. There's also Shadow Tokens which are randomly placed based on what's described in the setup. This also lends some randomness as some tokens are civilians (not enemies) and others show one, two, or one with an extra power.<br />
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The defending mechanic here allowed you to roll 1 defense die per hit against you. This still allowed for lucky shots to get through or to block large amounts of damage. Special effects applied on attacks, meanwhile, gave you some strategic choices in combat.<br />
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A nice feature of this game is that there isn't player elimination. Dying costs experience but you can continue to fight on as a ghost that has it's own abilities.<br />
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Overall, Sword and Sorcery is really fun. I had a blast playing through the campaign. Each adventure can take a while but once it's set up, time flies by.<br />
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<b>Components</b><br />
Sword and Sorcery has beautiful tiles with varied shapes and backdrops. The miniatures look pretty good (soft plastic so some had to visit a pot of boiling water to get straightened out). The Troll and Orc King (purple epic bosses) look amazing. Tokens and card art also look good and there's a lot of unique cards for items.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpcNJW9pTLppIH-bOvPzp47qcUpX0N4k07sUha1qovz_ndU9dFZKFb-kisZ7uhSNkBFRYOMheftQhMIDhvZd7q0CImx4ZgQscLY3OG6mCrlXVIqvN09sz1DsGdI11DjatTh4XgprxP88/s1600/IMG-0716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpcNJW9pTLppIH-bOvPzp47qcUpX0N4k07sUha1qovz_ndU9dFZKFb-kisZ7uhSNkBFRYOMheftQhMIDhvZd7q0CImx4ZgQscLY3OG6mCrlXVIqvN09sz1DsGdI11DjatTh4XgprxP88/s400/IMG-0716.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Game Sprawl (shown with KS extras such as player boards, card holder, and metal coins)</td></tr>
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The female characters are wearing mini-skirts, high heels, and have their cleavage showing. As stated above, Ares knows what they're doing and taking a guess at their audience. Unfortunately for them, in today's day and age - I think gamers can accept fully dressed females dungeon-delving. But Ares wasn't aiming for politically correct and have gone for the more traditional fantasy tropes including the elven wizard wearing lingerie of defense +2 with a push up bra (well, not really; you need to find the magic armor first).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz7IfLdFmnH9uXi86pRXOn2U9lnGwhWGEJk7ECIXTmCJN31M9GFyE8cQDyrXY7zm-deoEGZBya4QjMbns09OLoG93NWRzpqQArMa7_gKWb0LSovs3qvaYzEFf2rAmrtd8MxxlLlDtjBjc/s1600/IMG-0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz7IfLdFmnH9uXi86pRXOn2U9lnGwhWGEJk7ECIXTmCJN31M9GFyE8cQDyrXY7zm-deoEGZBya4QjMbns09OLoG93NWRzpqQArMa7_gKWb0LSovs3qvaYzEFf2rAmrtd8MxxlLlDtjBjc/s400/IMG-0715.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sword and Sorcery - Optional 3D terrain (doors and chests) shown</td></tr>
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The monster miniatures have "unique" poses. It's not unusual for you to have two or more gremlins that look similar or two or more orcs that are carrying the same weapons, but on the whole, you get a nice mix of figures (two green, two blue, and one red of each of the minions). The color coding of the monsters (green, blue, red, and purple) indicates their relative strength. This is a critical feature of the game so those who paint their minis will need to find a way to mark which one is which.<br />
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The dice are small for 10-sided but the iconography is clear. The Kickstarter came with player boards for each character while they're thinner card stock in retail. It felt like an odd place to cut corners, especially with the soul gem board/assembly that is used for identifying health, and number of actions, abilities, etc. you have. Fits great with a board while it overwhelms a card.<br />
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<b>Value</b><br />
7 missions for $60 is not great bang for the buck. If you got the Kickstarter with all the extras, this is starting to look like a better value. Ares has released an adventure creation kit that could expand the value in this set by providing the tools and artwork for fans to make their own adventures. Act II and any future add-ons could expand the value (although if you're constantly paying $60 for 7 adventures, the ratio never improves).<br />
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<b><u>Folklore: The Affliction</u></b><br />
This game is part story-telling RPG and part dungeon crawl. Much like Sword and Sorcery, the Kickstarter backers are getting more than double the game of retail, assuming this goes to retail. Likewise, I'll be talking mostly about the base game with it's six stories.<br />
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Folklore is low fantasy set in a fictional medieval European-esque land called Kremel that's been beset by werewolves, vampires, ghouls, demonic trees, and skeletons. The heroes are common folk who've taken up the fight to people teetering on the edge of abyss themselves in search of dark magics.<br />
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<b>Characters</b><br />
The characters in Folklore each have their own backstory, class focus, and advancement tree. So far, the three characters I've tried have all felt different. The prayer and ritual spells are very powerful, but are one shot uses, so you don't want to waste them too early in your adventure. Since each character can have positive and negatives effects lumped on them, the rulebook has a small character sheet that you can copy for each character that allows you to track statistics, inventory, experience, etc. much like a typical tabletop RPG.<br />
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Stats-wise, there's not a huge difference between characters. Each one tends to be immune to something awful and have a better chance of saves against some things than others. This means certain characters will be better against certain opponents than others but I would expect it to balance out over time.<br />
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<b>Campagin</b><br />
Six stories is all that makes up the initial campaign. Much like Sword and Sorcery, Greenbrier Games has released a adventure creation kit which also helps describe how to make a good adventure as well as more in-depth lore of the region to help creative players maintain consistency in Kremel.<br />
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Much like Gloomhaven, there's a world map in Folklore. But unlike Gloomhaven, you spend a lot of time traveling on this map using a wooden party marker. Each turn there's either an on-road or off-road event (depending on where you are) and there's differences if it's day or nighttime. These are like the road and city events in GH, but there's more of them. It helps immerse you in this dark land.<br />
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There's also a of text in the stories that sets up each area and, like Sword and Sorcery, has story moments where you make a choice and then go read what happens before continuing. Of the dungeon crawlers described so far, Folklore spends the least time dungeon delving but the most time keeping you immersed in the story.<br />
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<b>Gameplay</b><br />
Folklore has both abstract combat, called skirmishes, and tactical combat on maps with miniatures. The skirmishes are quick dice battles that may only last a few minutes compared to the more drawn out and "tactical" miniatures battles. Unfortunately, the tactical battles can sometimes be a little bland although the enemies have a neat mechanic for how they attack. Combat is percentile dice. The number 1-10 that the monster rolls determines the effect based on what's on it's card usually between two and three different outcomes.<br />
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The characters have options too but I found I typically encountered the enemy and then just traded dice rolls back and forth until someone won. The tactical part is knowing what special abilities to use, and when, as well as how best to use your abilities as a team to take down the monsters faster. Make no mistake, while Folklore lacks some tactical depth, it can be brutal. There's some tension in the big affliction, or boss battles due to how the odds feel stacked against you. The game also features playing as a ghost when you die (which should've warned everyone that this game is hard) but that also helps avoid player elimination.<br />
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There doesn't seem to be as many 'reroll' options available to mitigate bad luck. If the dice hate you (and they do; they told me so), this game gets unforgiving pretty fast.<br />
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There's a lot of different monsters cards. Many of these reuse miniatures or are represented by tokens but there's a pretty good variety for this box.<br />
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Each city and other location has special services you can purchase and each character has unique things they can do at certain locations as well. This allows you repair items, buy new ones, buy spells, etc.<br />
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<b>Components</b><br />
Folklore has beautiful art on it's tiles but they are made of card stock, and unlike the other games, don't link together. You go from map piece to map piece at time, but isn't unfolded in front of you or start laid out in front of you. To balance this out, there's quite a few tiles included in the core game.<br />
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Overall, Folklore has an amazing aesthetic to it with unique art on most, if not all the unique items, as well as great character and monster portraits. The characters look believable and the monsters fierce and frightening without being gore-fests or the gelatinous piles of goo with tentacles and fangs that some games go for (looking at you Kingdom Death Monster and Deep Madness). There's blood splatter on the cards of the fierce monsters and the afflictions.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQljX0mtQbLeo8sHRyWeQ2klc-G9zPLKQ_oiN00n-Z_JAmn6xbtDfLgq-6Av3yczvhXuLENy9YrW6klvX3hmO8FQxYFBqINxkMpdF-eisqM6tCzZu2Iuaq9EDpdsTR05C-Nyp8_1KUBs/s1600/IMG-0913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQljX0mtQbLeo8sHRyWeQ2klc-G9zPLKQ_oiN00n-Z_JAmn6xbtDfLgq-6Av3yczvhXuLENy9YrW6klvX3hmO8FQxYFBqINxkMpdF-eisqM6tCzZu2Iuaq9EDpdsTR05C-Nyp8_1KUBs/s400/IMG-0913.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the core box miniatures</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The miniatures look good, a few have bad parting lines and excess flash still on them. I prefer this style of art over the Sword and Sorcery style but I'd probably give the quality edge to Ares. So far the largest complaint online has been that they're too big so they're out of scale of a lot of other 28 mm models (For example the Slayer character was slightly taller and more filled out than King Conan). The character models have excellent detail and match their card art well. There's a decent variety of enemies and the Dark Oaks (think evil trees) are a favorite of mine. The vampires, for some reason, have two right hands. It's a thing but obviously not something to make me want to throw the game out.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7DkzMfzNwai7Ln2fHAUCLAMYKnCYZlZ13ggFOhVtfb6__lrblQMM8yhSyITbCtZHdgawF1tduwQDHAHe63VGQbT5ZB98-FrkpoCxQpQyXON9P-2BAiYmkftjUk4HMZ3M6DcZLmgi_5c/s1600/IMG-0916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7DkzMfzNwai7Ln2fHAUCLAMYKnCYZlZ13ggFOhVtfb6__lrblQMM8yhSyITbCtZHdgawF1tduwQDHAHe63VGQbT5ZB98-FrkpoCxQpQyXON9P-2BAiYmkftjUk4HMZ3M6DcZLmgi_5c/s400/IMG-0916.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comparing Sword and Sorcery and Folklore characters</td></tr>
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The hit point and power point trackers are basically garbage so be ready to come up with your own fix. People on BGG are coming up with ideas and I abandoned the put next to the enemy card for using the ammo tokens as markers. Paper and pencil is also a pretty popular solution.<br />
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It's an add-on but the ghost miniature pack for Folklore look amazing. Sword and Sorcery's ghost mini's where a light opaque blue. Folklore's are a translucent blue that look amazing.<br />
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<b>Value</b><br />
Like Sword and Sorcery, Folklore feels short on content with only six stories. Now, those six stories will probably take north of 18 hours to play as chapters typically run 1-2 hours each and each story is two to three chapters. Buying this is also buying into a potential for future adventures created by fans or Greenbrier Games. Getting this with the Dark Tales expansion basically triples the content to play with (there is also some additional downloadable content) so, like Sword and Sorcery, pushes it towards a much better deal.<br />
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<b>Overall Scoring</b><br />
By the title of each game, I'm going to put my BGG ranking (or planned ranking in the case of Folklore).<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>DDAS (7) is the dungeon crawler when you have 45 minutes and want to kill stuff or you want to introduce non-gamers to this genre.</li>
<li>Mice and Mystics (7) is the game to introduce a non-gaming spouse or child to the hobby.</li>
<li>Gloomhaven (8.5) is the dungeon crawler for Euro gamers and those who hate dice rolling. There's a ton of content for the price and it's unique in this crowded genre. There's a reason it's ranked as highly as it is on BGG.</li>
<li>Folklore (8.25) is the game for those who want an RPG-like experience and are more interested in story than mechanics. This is part story-telling and part dungeon crawl. </li>
<li>Sword and Sorcery (8.75) is, for me, probably the best all-around dungeon crawler combining story, mechanics, and accessibility. Even if you're forgetting some rules, you can still have a good time once you get past the learning curve.</li>
</ul>
As you can tell by the rankings, I enjoy all of these games and this genre. I had a blast with Act I of Sword and Sorcery and am engrossed in Folklore right now. Gloomhaven is that intimidating box that once it's down and out, I go "oh yeah, I forgot how solid this game is."<br />
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So these are all fun and good games in their own right. Hopefully what I've written can help you find the dungeon crawler that's best for you. Or you could go full crazy and just get all of them. As my shelves fill up, I look at these and for the reasons above, can't quite let any of them go. Each scratches this itch in a different way. And as such when I see new games online, I question if its something I need or if I already have an equivalently good game.<br />
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Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-58695175447657870972017-05-14T11:33:00.000-07:002017-05-14T11:33:26.120-07:00Monolith Conan ExpansionsOver a year ago two Kickstarter campaigns featured the artwork, and in one case, the music of Age of Conan. They were <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/806316071/conan">Monolith's Conan board game</a> and the other was <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/modiphius/robert-e-howards-conan-roleplaying-game">Modiphius' Robert E. Howard's Conan RPG</a>.<br />
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I've received the rewards from the Monolith game and it's a fantastic table top game full of action and tension as you play Conan and friends against an Overlord player. The art on the boards is gorgeous and the plastic miniatures look fantastic. However, one thing that developers everywhere like to do is reuse assets. Players of video games see that all the time where multiple items share the same model/design. Board games are no different where the same model may be utilized to represent several different units.<br />
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Since the expansions just came out to backers (Nordhiem is or soon will be available for purchase from Asmodee), I thought I'd list the models that are re-used with their new names, if any, as well as other core box models used and some general thoughts on each expansion.<br />
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<h3>
Nordheim</h3>
Heroes used: Conan, Shevatas, Belit, Nirod (new) <br />
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Core box model: Hyenas<br />
Used as: Wolves<br />
Alternate: Kickstarter Exclusive Wolves<br />
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Core box model: Skulthus<br />
Used as: Yazdigerd<br />
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Core box model: Pict Hunters<br />
Used as: Vanir Primitives <br />
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Other models used but not included: Dark Demon<br />
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What's to like in this expansion?<br />
<ul>
<li>Exciting scenarios for 2, 3, 4, and 5 players. One of them pits Conan alone against Atali and is a race around the map. Another is Conan and Nirod (the new hero) battling the two frost giants. This is a little limiting if you're playing with a set game group but the variety in player count is a good thing overall.</li>
<li>The giant minis are getting the press but the Aesir and crow miniatures also look great! I'm not a huge fan of T and A in my board games, but if you like that, Atali is, as described in the original story, practically naked except for a silk shawl that has fallen from her hips.</li>
<li>Providing two tokens for the identical twin giants so you can have a token on each base to help you remember who is who. For a company that forgot to provide tokens for their add-ons, this was a good catch. </li>
</ul>
What's not to like in this expansion?<br />
<ul>
<li>The boards, while still very well done, look very drab and monochrome. This, thematically, makes sense, but they don't have the pop and energy of the core set maps. The unpainted miniatures vanish into the board. Painted miniatures may make this go away.</li>
<li>Not including the wolves seemed like a poor choice. As those models go, the wolves look like big domesticated dogs, but the art and miniature not matching is irksome. </li>
<li>Picts models for Vanir primitives. Vanir and Aesir models as undead versions of the same. This set re-uses a lot of things but it won't always look right (why are some Vanir humanoids and the others mongoloid? I may sub in mummies and skeletons from my King pledge and make new river tiles if this annoys me too much.</li>
<li>Not sure why they renamed Skulthus. Considering canon was broken with these scenarios, just reuse the mini. </li>
</ul>
<h3>
Stygia</h3>
Heroes used: Conan, Shevatas, Hadrathus, Belit, and Ikhmet (new)<br />
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The giant scorpion models are the same as the single stretch goal scorpion. <br />
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Other models used but not included: Bossonian Archers, Bossonian Guards, Giant Snake<br />
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What's to like in this expansion?<br />
<ul>
<li>Poison and trapped chests mechanics.</li>
<li>The maps here are awesome. One is a two level tomb and the other is a Stygian port. Reusing half of the ships map to make a larger map with ramp tokens between the harbor and the ship is awesome.</li>
<li>Battle Thot-Amon who has different spells in the two scenarios he's in.</li>
<li>The Eternal Guard miniatures are great as is the scorpion broodmother </li>
</ul>
What's not to like in this expansion?<br />
<ul>
<li>You crawl through a tomb and there's no undead. Now, the mummies and skeletons were stretch goals and King pledge exclusives. To me, especially considering the core game box art, this seems like a poor choice. Maybe include a few less scorpions and include a few mummies and skeletons.</li>
<li>Half of the scenarios don't include Conan. This could go in either column, to be honest, but it felt weird in a Conan game to not have the name sake except in flavor text.</li>
<li>Balance - In two of the scenarios Hadrathus has a dagger and the spell Pass through Wall. In one of those, you need to gather map fragments. Guess who's wearing a robe and is on searching bodies duty? That guy! The other one, you need to kill the scorpion broodmother (3 armor and 5 health) with two rogues. Good luck!</li>
<li>Thot-Amon is a little disappointing and the assassins and Ikhmet (both very AoC-ish which is very cool) are similar at passing glance. </li>
<li>Scenarios play either four (all) or five (two) players.</li>
<li>We're in Stygia and there's no optional rule to put the camel on the map? Bad show Monolith!</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Khitai</h3>
Heroes used: Conan, Shevatas, Hadrathus, Shentu (new)<br />
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Core box model: Dark Demon<br />
Used as: Evil Hound<br />
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Other models used but not included: Outer Dark Demon<br />
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What's to like in this expansion?<br />
<ul>
<li>Escaping a burning building adds a new flavor to the missions which are often "Kill [Something]"</li>
<li>Maps are amazing. The village and tower are both excellent maps and may be the best of the three expansions.</li>
<li>More ranged units to wreak havoc on the players</li>
</ul>
What's not to like in this expansions?<br />
<ul>
<li>Foo dogs look weird</li>
<li> Why does Hadrathus have Set's Bite and Set's Halo as spells? These can easily be swapped for Bori's Rage and Mitra's Halo. You lose a little on offense (moving a gem from the Overlord's reserve to fatigue) but gain 1 armor for the halo spell. Is it a wash? Does it break the game? </li>
<li>All four scenarios use four players. </li>
</ul>
<h3>
Conclusion</h3>
Should you consider buying these expansions? If you're an avid fan of Conan or this game - it's an easy yes <a href="https://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/25856938#25856938">especially if there are no reprints currently planned</a>. If you're on the fence for the game anyway - it's tougher to say. If you like skirmish or thematic games, this is a fun one (even with the rules everyone complains about). If you're more of a puzzle-solving Euro-game fan - this may not scratch the right itch. The energy mechanic is "Euro-esque" but it may not be enough to be satisfying. <br />
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The core box that's available at retail has 8 scenarios. Each of these boxes gives you 4 more. If you break it down on a per scenario basis, this game costs about $12/scenario be it core game or expansions, which is cheaper entertainment than a movie.<br />
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At this time, I don't think I could rank these expansions from best to worst. I'm just glad I have them. Both for the content delivered and to have the flexibility when fans create new scenarios.Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-67566964219252956992015-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:002017-10-21T20:07:25.540-07:00What Class Should I Play?"What class should I play?" is a pretty common question on the forums and in-game, as players try to find what fits them the best. "Play what you like best" is a pretty typical response. <br />
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To help someone decide, I've made two flow charts, the first uses the roles to take you down to a class and the second takes the attack type of a class to narrow it down to a class. I've arbitrarily color coded Tanks as gray, healers as light blue, rogues as dark blue, and mages as yellow.<br />
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Role Flow Chart</h3>
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Attack Flow Chart</h3>
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Some notes on the different classes:<br />
<ol>
<li>This is only a very, very, high level summary, there's a lot more to each of the classes. Age of Conan has great class diversity and each one plays a little differently.</li>
<li>Don't quit on a class too early. Many classes take to level 20 to really start to feel different as each arch-type share many of the same abilities. For example Dark Templars and Guardians are very different classes but at level 10 and less they feel pretty similar.</li>
<li>Healers in AoC aren't healbots. You don't just spam heals like in many other games. You have to chip in with damage, add buffs to your allies or debuffs to your enemies.</li>
<li>Soliders are tanks. You will probably have to at least off-tank as a solider at the end game. As with healers, tanks are also damage dealers.</li>
<li>Conan was a Conqueror not a Barbarian. Cimmerians, in general, were called barbarians by civilized societies.</li>
<li>Combat pets like the ones the Necromancer and Demonologist aren't going to auto-kill everything for you. You have to command them and they'll help out, even taking aggro with special abilities, but you still have to be engaged in combat.</li>
<li>Assassin (sins) and Heralds (Hox) are challenging but rewarding (and fun) to play. I wouldn't recommend either as a starting class for a player new to MMOs. Likewise, part of what makes Age of Conan so fun is the melee combat system, so start with something like a solider or barbarian to learn how to play a bit before making a caster.</li>
<li>All classes have the ability to use some sort of ranged weapon like a crossbow or a bow, but only the Ranger has abilities for both, making it an interesting hybrid class.</li>
<li>Don't worry too much about your spec when leveling. Chances are, you'll end up changing it a few times as you get towards 80. Spend some time on the forums to see what builds are common. In many cases, there's a few pretty common variants out there to play with. </li>
<li>Lastly, don't rush to 80. Enjoy the journey. With double XP potions, you can reach 80 in about 100 hours with efficient game play (which still lets you take in Hyboria). Learn your class as you level, play with your spec to make it work for you.</li>
</ol>
<br />Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-44871897555016509272015-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:002018-10-21T06:28:05.910-07:00Comparing AoC to Dragon Age InquisitionI wrote this in early 2015 and never posted it. With a 4th Dragon Age game being talked about, might as well throw this into the internet ether.<br />
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Robert E. Howard's Hyboria is my favorite fantasy world. It's a great mix of grim realism, fantastic places, heroes, dark magic, and voluptuous women. As this is going on an AoC blog, I don't need to further detail what makes this Hyboria so engaging besides its most famous residents.<br />
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My second favorite is BioWare's Thedas, the setting of their Dragon Age games.<br />
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Thedas is a dark fantasy that has dwarves hiding from their world in their underground kingdoms, elves enslaved and suppressed in ghettos throughout the land under the leadership of a powerful Theocracy. Mages imprisoned in towers, the world afraid of their powers and guarded by specially trained Templar warriors to strike them down if needed. And then there's the darkspawn, more or less mindless creatures that come up from the crumbling ruins of ancient dwarven cities and destroy everything in their path. Even the realm's protectors, the Grey Wardens, carry dark secrets.<br />
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The third Dragon Age game, Inquisition, came out in December 2014 to mostly positive reviews. While comparing an MMO to a single player game is challenging as they are very different animals, the games do share some similarities.<br />
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<b>Graphics:</b> DAI, being a newer game looks better. This is most clearly noticed with the waves of the Storm Coast swelling onto the shore (they don't crash) and the foliage of areas like the Hinterlands, where the wildflowers are of many various colors. The sky and clouds are beautiful and when it rains, you almost feel bad for your avatar and his/her companions as they slog through the muddy roads and climb water soaked rocky hills.<br />
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There's clipping around some armors (including one of the crafted ones that's meant for your protagonist) and things often appear too shiny for such a drab world.<br />
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<b>Visual Style:</b> The visual style of Thedas is partially low fantasy, and partially refined Baroque depending on the area. The wooden shields covered with skin, leather and chain armor. Some of the weapons start to cross into the realm of fantasy where they are impractical, particularly the mage's staves, which go to great lengths to say 'I'm powerful and have no fashion sense.'<br />
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Certain armors are meant for certain characters and much is fairly impractical as armor. The women aren't unnecessarily clad, like AoC, but cleavage flaunting tops don't make much sense for armor, even for a mage, unless she's using her boobs to mesmerize her opponents. I should note, I never found that spell in the game.<br />
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<b>Characters:</b> As a single player game, DAI has an interesting mix of characters for you to meet and interact with as the game progresses. Not all of these people are good people and you have to choose what you'd like to believe. Everyone's motivations are different and there's a lot of worldly politics, affectionately called 'The Game' at play, much like R.R. Martin's Song of Fire and Ice stories.<br />
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I've enjoyed how Thedas dwarves aren't the stereotypical gruff, beards, big axes, and beer dwarves of most high fantasy. One of the main companions is a sarcastic, beardless, crossbow toting dwarf who's occupation, besides rogue, is author of popular serials. He refers to one of your allies, an Orlesian (think Baroque era French) scribe alternately as "Scribbles" and "Ruffles" for carrying a note pad and her puffy blouse.<br />
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One of the things I enjoyed most in the Dragon Age games is the party banter as you walk around. The people traveling with you don't always get along and are often quite happy to vocalize it. Most of it is playful banter between characters, who can even have their own relationships.<br />
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The main villain wasn't as fleshed out as you'd hope but was always vexing as his influence stretched across all the areas you traveled.<br />
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<b>Story:</b> A story in a single player game is critical while in an MMO, it just guides you to the next quest hub. In this regard, DAI felt a little like AoC. There was a large over-arching story arc but as you went through an area, you'd pick up a lot of side quests. Then I got distracted by those until I forgot the one reason I was stomping around the Western Approach.<br />
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Like all Dragon Age games, there are some tough choices to make, but not as many as in previous games. But, unlike previous games, there are sometimes no way out of choosing between two bad outcomes.<br />
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It is an epic tale that has you go from prisoner to leader of a large and diverse army. You'll make allies and you'll make enemies. Part of this leadership becomes sending your allies to do various quests (you send them off, and after a time you get the result/reward). These can open new areas of maps, gather resources, gain influence, or even grant equipment.<br />
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<b>Combat:</b> How engaging the combat is can be as an important part of a game as it's story and immersion. Here DAI fails horribly compared to AoC. Each character can have a maximum of 8 abilities plus up to 3 potions/grenades. You can switch between your character and their three companions during combat and, like Dragon Age Origins, can pause combat to issue commands. While doing that gives you utmost control, it also slows the game down.<br />
<br />
Most of combat is clicking away like mad waiting for your cool downs to expire. I played through as a tank, and would have to keep one or two combos for breaking guard (an auxiliary health bar) available until needed, meaning that besides my two charge abilities, and special main character ability, I had 3 abilities to cycle between. In AoC terms, it's like fighting mobs using 70% white hits.<br />
<br />
One interesting change to most games was DAI's approach to healing. There, basically, isn't any. Your party carries some health potions (8 and can go up to 12, if I recall correctly) and then you can craft some different ones (regeneration, or an AOE healing grenade). After that, your best defense is to use abilities to grant secondary health bars like mage's Barrier spell and soldier's guard abilities. These secondary (and tertiary if you can get both up) health bars take damage first before your health drops.<br />
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Outside of a few boss fights, there's not a lot of really challenging battles besides the High Dragons. There's 10 dragons sprinkled throughout the world and chances are, the first time you engage one, you're going to get rocked pretty bad. But once you are powerful enough, you can plow through them without breaking a sweat. The first one you take down will feel like an accomplishment.<br />
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<b>Cities: </b>In AoC you can build a guild city through a lot of grinding. In DAI you get to upgrade a big keep and make some cosmetic changes to areas through resources gathered. You can also change your bed, windows, and decorations (because these are important in a RPG).<br />
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<b>Game Length:</b> People are saying DAI is about 150 hours to play through. I finished the main quest and most side quests (like 99%) in about 100-110 hours (stupid dragons). Part of the "ease" for me, may have been from playing more challenging games like AoC and getting concepts like moving in combat easier.<br />
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AoC, if using double XP potions, takes about 100 hours to get from the beaches of Tortage to level 80, so pretty equivalent to "see the world".<br />
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<b>Glitches:</b> Does DAI have some game-breaking glitches? Oh yeah! At one point, after leaving one Zone, if you return, you can't leave again. Ever, essentially ending your game (until you revert your save game). There's visual glitches, lag spikes (in a single player game!), and broken abilities. It should make any AoC player feel at home.<br />
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<b>Music:</b> DAI has some rousing epic scores. But almost too many. There were more climaxes than your average porno film. While amazing to listen to, it sometimes felt like too much. AoC's soundtrack, in contrast, had better atmospheric music with only a few epic hero tracks.<br />
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The special edition of the DAI game came with the digital soundtrack. In listening to it, I realized that they took a few songs, rearranged them, and gave them different titles. For example, the songs Val Royeaux and the Orleasian Theme are exactly the same outside of some subtle arrangement details. That, my friends, is mailing it in hard. Adding the second violins doesn't make something a new song, that's called a new arrangement. Ask Vanilla Ice if a subtle tweak to a song turns it into a different one.<br />
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<b>Nudity/Sex:</b> DAI has the opportunity for the protagonist to have a romantic relationship with one of their companions. If you're playing a game for 50+ hours just to see some boobs, I suggest logging in to AoC, make a female toon and run topless through Tortage. And, being a BioWare game, there's options for same sex relations. The cinematics for the romances are tastefully done but definitely adult themed (think an R-rated movie or Cinemax on a Saturday night).<br />
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<b>Miscellaneous:</b> It had some annoyances (including 'find all of me quests' like shards
(think datacrons from SWTOR), mosaics (never completed one), alcohol of
Thedas (that either), all landmarks in a zone (found all in most of the
zones), etc...<br />
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<b>Overall:</b> DAI is a game that was fun to play through and a game, much like Origins, I'll play through again, to see how different options affect the outcome. I'd read that there are 40 different endings. Will it replace AoC as my go-to game? No. The combat isn't engaging enough to entice me to play again and again (for reference, I have 10 80's and the first 3 didn't have double XP potions). But every once in a while, I need to step away from Hyboria, but only so I can be grateful for what it provides when I come back. As expansions have been released I haven't had the interest to go check them out.<br />
<br />Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-81700690895247782412015-09-17T06:00:00.000-07:002017-11-05T11:54:39.742-08:00Shadows of Cimmeria, Er, I mean Vanaheim This is a delayed posting copying what I wrote on the <a href="https://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?192041-Review-Shadows-of-Cimmeria-um-I-mean-Vanaheim">forums.</a><br />
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If you are a regular reader of the forums you probably have an idea of how the Age of Conan community feels about the first "new" content (quest zones) since Dragonspine in 2013.<br />
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If you don't here's a summary: infuriated and underwhelmed. It's been a while since I've seen multiple threads get to 15+ pages. It's also weird to see almost everyone agree on anything. </div>
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The furious portion of this was due to the implied nature that this content, while permanent, was part of the Age of Conan anniversary celebration. Instead it was pat content. 3000 Funcom points for the collectors edition and 1800 (or so) for the regular. Subscribers save 10% in these values. Many of the subscribers, including myself, are wondering why am I paying for a sub when I have to buy new content?</div>
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Despite the warning from everyone's favorite Aquilonian assassin in his <a href="http://aochideout.blogspot.com/2015/05/shadow-of-vanaheim-review.html">quality review</a>, I bought this as well. </div>
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I generally play solo since I don't always have a lot of time and generally don't want to be called a noob because I don't have the time to learn (and remember) every boss in a video game.</div>
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A solo player, with this expansion, would have access to T4 powered accessories. And let's face it, everyone wants better gear. Between that and a bear mount (which sadly isn't good), this seems like an automatic purchase. I'm fortunate that I can drop $30 on a game from time to time without it being a hardship. </div>
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Was it worth it? I'm not sure yet. I'm leaning towards no. The quality of the mounts was marginal at best and I'll describe the adventure below. </div>
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The story can be summed up: <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Talk-kill-talk-travel, repeat. A lot. </span></div>
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There's also side quests to help avoid boredom. Most involve killing or collecting things. Not sure if it's random or not but I'm picturing it to be a pain to get the last few quests for the achievement if it is random. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
The first areas are Connel's Valley. The second is blue Mountain (a new but very small zone). The third area is Fort Storisbjorn? Which is also a new zone but uses much of Atzel's Fortress' exterior. The interior of the Fort is Atzel's.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I understand that it's easier to recycle old areas and mobs. It's sad that the player base (myself included) is so happy to have anything new that we'll even make excuses for Funcom.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The areas are a grind. It feels like SWTOR where you advance a bit, kill some mobs, rinse and repeat. It's not quite as bad as last year's anniversary quest though Tortage but more reminiscent of that than some other solo instances. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In addition to the grind what stands out is the relatively poor production quality and glitches. Besides the mobs fighting while bowing and sitting one of the more annoying glitches is some Ymirsh and boss mobs use a knock back ability called Massive Sweep. Occasionally this resets the mob.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Another fun glitch was that I logged out between steps in the quest when a boss spawns. When I logged back in, I couldn't respawn the boss so I zoned out of the instance and back in. That reset the instance but not the boss. This was right before entering the fort. So I quit the quest and started over. Pro tip: kill the boss before you log out. Your spouse will hopefully understand. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhki0xT4p-AqaKk7dJWllyBYY7uXbrY63cHWIJS4gwTvDj77pcFWbzMb4IvgDaCQDvpvQQawxBpeIgeLb3VA_NizNBIZ4qIlQhLYJ12mrJVFP47J6AIEi1qjYK3iXcBgv6RnyTenzwOlb4/s1600/Brunstol_picture106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhki0xT4p-AqaKk7dJWllyBYY7uXbrY63cHWIJS4gwTvDj77pcFWbzMb4IvgDaCQDvpvQQawxBpeIgeLb3VA_NizNBIZ4qIlQhLYJ12mrJVFP47J6AIEi1qjYK3iXcBgv6RnyTenzwOlb4/s320/Brunstol_picture106.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some holiday mistletoe?</td></tr>
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I haven't beaten the last boss fight using my Khitai/T1/T2 geared DT but get the mechanic. I think It's a boring fight with a lot of kiting around that punishes you for a single mistake (and low dps). Considering the rares you get for normal mode, and I can't imagine doing this with all level 85 mobs, I don't see this entering into my rotation for earning rares as it takes too long. I can earn 4 in 20 minutes on Isle of Iron statues. Why would I spend an hour and change for half the reward?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Pros (why I should spend my money):</div>
<div>
1. "New" content</div>
<div>
2. New faction and rewards to earn including vanity gear (most of which is similar to gear you can grind off low level mobs but I'm trying to be positive here)</div>
<div>
3. Effigies that drop are worth either 2500 reputation or 20 silver. Side quests are a great way to earn coin! (I believe the reputation gain was bumped up after a lot of complaining but I haven't checked).</div>
<div>
4. More mounts, achievements, treasure chests, and targets of interest for completionists</div>
<div>
5. You hate gingers/Vanir</div>
<div>
6. Another scaling area to level/quest (after level 20)</div>
<div>
7. You get to enjoy the Cimmeria soundtrack again.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Cons (why I should save my money):</div>
<div>
1. It's very Low quality content</div>
<div>
2. It's a grind.</div>
<div>
3. Principle for paying $30 bucks for a once every 20 hour slog through areas you can already slog through. </div>
<div>
4. You RP as Vanir and won't have a great story explaining why you just mowed down your peeps. </div>
<div>
5. Mounts look pretty bad and lack a fast dismount option</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Things to improve: if Funcom wants to retain its player base, they should make some tweaks to this scenario and use it as learnings for future ones.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Some things I would suggest:</div>
<div>
1. Fix the glitches and bad environments. You're selling content, it almost needs to exceed the quality that people already have. </div>
<div>
2. Reduce the grind. There's been some suggestions for faction grind, including having the Vanir count as faction mobs. </div>
<div>
3. Have a third difficulty level. Between 80 and 85. Maybe 83 level mobs (with a scaled reward) would be a nice middle ground for fun for the players who are likely to play this over and over again. </div>
<div>
4. Add new music with these scenarios. Even a single track would be a nice addition. These songs could be sold in iTunes and the like generating more profit. </div>
<div>
5. Reduce the price to $5-$10 with maybe another $5-7 for the collectors edition. People who've already paid should have FC points returned to them (you'd still get to keep their money!). $30 should get a decent expansion like Turan, not a single quest line that only takes an hour because of the 300 mobs between you and victory.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm an Age of Conan fan and apologist but the way this was handled has really damaged FC's credibility with me as a customer. But as I'm now the proud owner of this content, I'll give it a couple rounds and see how it goes. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-46553138035458485352015-02-08T10:49:00.000-08:002015-02-08T11:22:46.393-08:00Achievements I'd Like to Eventually SeeUpdate 4.5 brought Age of Conan into 2009 with Achievements. The Blonde Myth of Aquilonia has a <a href="http://aochideout.blogspot.com/2015/02/achievment-unlocked.html">nice write up of the implementation</a> and why it's good for AoC. I agree on both of his main points that this is good for veterans (and new players) while also acknowledging that this won't propel Age of Conan into the WoW-sphere in terms of game population.<br />
<br />
This post is to list ideas for future Achievements that I think would be good to implement. As I've had about 6 hours on the new system so far, some of these may already be in the game but hidden from view or something I missed as I had my barbarian binge drinking in Tortage like a college student on spring break.<br />
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My first inclination for many achievements have silly or witty names like that one really big MMO uses. As I pause over a decapitated corpse, it dawned on me that brand of whimsy is horribly misplaced in a game like Age of Conan.<br />
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I'm so PvE that my Slueth of Bears looks like Care Bears so I'm going to focus on PvE Achievements. I'm that guy that goes into a mini with a Conq and goes 0-12. (This is also why I've been banging the drum for tiered mini's, so I can walk in with a conq and go 1-4).<br />
<br />
Future Achievements<br />
<ol>
<li>Tiered Achievements for finding buried treasure (50 times, 100, etc.) as well as all of the locations in a specific zone</li>
<li>Tiered Achievements for finding treasure chests (50 times, 100, etc.) as well as all of the locations in a specific zone</li>
<li>More hunter achievements for killing beasts, prey, pirates, Black Ring members, etc. This can always be expanded and always gives players a reason to senselessly kill 1,000s of some critter or another</li>
<li>Resource gathering and crafting items (for crafting please do account wide)</li>
<li> Fatalities - unlocking each for a weapon type (1HB, 2HB, 2HE, Polearm, etc.) as well as number of times a fatality was performed as a tiered achievement (1, 50, 250, 500, etc.)</li>
<li>Tiers for kills on the World Bosses (50, 100, etc.) (Or as Cynara would call it "a good week")</li>
<li>Achievement for the 11 Sacred Weapons Quest</li>
<li>Achievements for Kill Streaks (Max achieved, number of times getting 3 Chain Kills, etc) </li>
<li>Achievement for helping someone else get an Achievement or Achievement step (10, 25, 50, etc.) </li>
<li>Doing useful things during a World Boss events such as:</li>
<ol>
<li>Breaking Ice cones, un-stoning stuck people, etc. (can be tiered depending on the situation)</li>
<li>Being in the top half of damage/threat list for a duration</li>
<li>Holding aggro </li>
<li>Healing people</li>
<li>Holding spellweave for 2 minutes (more? less?)</li>
</ol>
</ol>
The last points is to encourage people to help out instead of standing near the boss and doing nothing or just throwing a hatchet you picked up in Tortage at it occasionally. The second to last point is to encourage people to build groups with less experienced players instead of the typical "Exp, Gear" stuff that fills global. <br />
<br />
"A lot of those things above sound like filler!" you might say. And you're correct. Anything that keeps players playing (and, more importantly, paying) is a good thing at this point. You could argue that there's no point in tying achievements to the World Bosses right now, as that's pretty successful content (I'm judging success by participation not people complaining about it). Hopefully this Achievement system will tie some people over until the crafting revamp, and the next set of new content.<br />
<br />
So what new achievements would you like to see implemented? And to be clear "server transfers/merges" are not Achievements.Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-78206638797220141652015-01-17T08:35:00.001-08:002015-01-17T10:08:12.706-08:00Solo Farming Rares<a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?189942-Current-state-of-the-game&p=2110420&viewfull=1#post2110420">Someone on the forums had said</a> farming solo instances like Refuge of the Apostate, Isle of the Iron Statues, Forgotten City (Unchained), and Dead Man's Hand (Unchained) for rares was full retard. I respectfully disagree. Doing Nightmare Bubbles would be full retard. Solo farming for rares is just partial retard and <a href="http://youtu.be/X6WHBO_Qc-Q?t=1m27s">everybody knows you never go full retard.</a> And having done it to get the Children of Yag shield, the Hyrkanian Chest and necklace (on different toons), it is also very tedious.<br />
<br />
When I wrote the guide to <a href="http://bearshamanproblems.blogspot.com/2014/07/walkthrough-for-weakling-warrior-and.html">Dead Man's Hand</a>'s main quest line, I ran the instance 18 times to get an idea of how much gold, Esteem Tokens, etc. would be gained. Dead Man's Hand, while fun, is the most time consuming of these solo instances but each one, if completing the quests in them, takes around 25-40 minutes (although I know people can do them faster if just going for the rares).<br />
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Here's the breakdown of average rewards for the solo farming instances based on at least 16 runs:<br />
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<col span="5" style="mso-width-alt: 2340; mso-width-source: userset; width: 48pt;" width="64"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 2742; mso-width-source: userset; width: 56pt;" width="75"></col>
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<td class="xl65" height="40" rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: 0.5pt solid black; height: 30pt; text-align: center; width: 107pt;" width="143">Instance</td>
<td class="xl67" rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: 0.5pt solid black; text-align: center; width: 48pt;" width="64">Money (S.CCTT)</td>
<td class="xl67" rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: 0.5pt solid black; text-align: center; width: 48pt;" width="64">Esteem Tokens</td>
<td class="xl65" rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: 0.5pt solid black; text-align: center; width: 48pt;" width="64">Rares</td>
<td class="xl65" rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: 0.5pt solid black; text-align: center; width: 48pt;" width="64">Mastery</td>
<td class="xl67" rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: 0.5pt solid black; text-align: center; width: 48pt;" width="64">Imperial Insignias</td>
<td class="xl67" rowspan="2" style="border-bottom: 0.5pt solid black; text-align: center; width: 56pt;" width="75">Hard Mode Tokens</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl63" height="20" style="height: 15pt; text-align: center;">Dead Man's Hand</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">59.1099</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">25.06</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">3</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">110K</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">0</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">N/A</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl63" height="20" style="height: 15pt; text-align: center;">Forgotten City</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">46.3855</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">17.67</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">1</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">90K</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">60</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">N/A</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl63" height="20" style="height: 15pt; text-align: center;">Refuge of Apostate</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">55.6311</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">21.5</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">2.65</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">70K</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">30</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">N/A</td>
</tr>
<tr height="20" style="height: 15.0pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl63" height="20" style="height: 15pt; text-align: center;">Isle of Iron Statues</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">40.50955</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">0</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">2</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">70K</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">0</td>
<td class="xl64" style="text-align: center;">3</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Dead Man's Hand, Isle of Iron Statues, and Refuge of Apostate all grant 2-3 Rare Tokens. Iron Statue's Hard mode also grants an additional 2-3 Rare Tokens. Forgotten City only grants 1-2 Rare Tokens.<br />
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From a pure rares-per-hour, nothing beats Isle of the Iron Statues. This, however, is the most difficult of the four instances. <a href="http://aochideout.blogspot.com/2011/09/isle-of-iron-statues-beating-hardmode.html">Slith has a good walkthrough</a> while this video by Kay Bee below shows some short cuts to make hard mode a little less hard.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/2u5LMtzXy30?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Typically, once I get up on the second ledge to get away from the panthers and giant birds, I follow the path until the boss spider. Then I pick up the short cuts again. The main reason, other than I'm bad at platforming (being a keyboard turner and all), is that you get credit for animal kills for the minion spiders (and they don't pose a serious threat).<br />
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Once I've killed enough animals, I generally make a run for it to the rez pad before the final Ape boss where a pack of savage animals cut me down.</div>
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Refuge of the Apostate is probably your next best choice from a pure Rares/minute effort. <a href="http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/04/17/the-anvil-of-crom-a-guide-to-the-refuge-of-the-apostate/">Anvil of Crom's walkthrough</a> is pretty good while <a href="http://aoc.wikia.com/wiki/Refuge_of_the_Apostate">AOC Wikia has a nice map of the maze area</a> (which will help make sense of the levers there). Refuge offers a blue weapon at the end of the instance, although chances are, it won't be as good as the weapon you already had just to get through it. But, to some extent, we all like vendor trash. And we really like paths that take you back to the quest giver. The optional ring quest you pick up just outside the instance was something that I often took and then returned when I did my next run, essentially only running it every other time. I valued my time more than 11 silver and then having to run through Kara Korum being chased by half the mobs between Ghost Hill and Fendgu.</div>
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Forgotten City, while used to give between 1 and 2 rares, seems pretty stuck on 1 rare based on the 16 runs I did. While this is a fun instance, I'd use it mostly as a barometer for whether you're ready to make the jump from Dead Man's Hand to Refuge of the Apostate. Unless you really, really want some Imperial Insignias. If you follow the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TapZzxZb2C8">group tactic shown on Conan College</a>, you can get more Imperial Insignias. I'm not sure if it's a glitch that removes the 18 hour cool down or if it is working as intended. It's not something I've tested, nor want to, in case it's considered an exploit.</div>
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All of the instances, outside of Isle of the Iron Statues, the mobs tend to drop bags that contain money, alchemy components, esteem tokens, and Mastery manuals. The undead pirates on the Island do drop Solider Kits, but the drop rate is pretty low (0-2 per run) compared to 6-14 bags in the other instances.</div>
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Happy (Solo) Hunting!Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-74723041822360593412014-10-12T15:46:00.001-07:002014-10-12T15:46:19.234-07:00Keyboard Commands of Age of ConanLike all MMO or RPG games, Age of Conan has some a lot key commands. This post will list some of the main ones that many new players don't know but often ask about in Global.<br />
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In general, if you go to Settings -> Controls, you can see most of these as well as change them to whatever you'd like.<br />
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<div>
This post will probably be updated over time as features are added/removed or people mention different commands that are generally useful to players but not included.<br />
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<b>Movement</b> <br />
Run/Walk Toggle - Backspace<br />
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Sustain Run/Walk: Number lock<br />
Sidestep: Double tap Z and C (with weapons drawn) <br />
Strafe: Z and C<br />
Move Forward: W or clicking both Left and Right Mouse buttons at the same time.<br />
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<b>Weapons/Combat</b> <br />
Switch Weapons: Shift-R<br />
<br />
Draw/Sheath Weapons - ` (Weapons must be sheathed to collect resources)<br />
Assist: F<br />
Target Enemy: Tab <br />
Show Shields: Control<br />
Move Shields: Double click Control-1 (all left), Control-2 (all top), Control-3 (all right), Control-4 (even)<br />
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<b>Shortcut Bars</b><br />
Lock/Unlock shortcut bars: Shift-L <br />
Switch Shortcut bars: Shift-1, Shift-2, etc.<br />
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<b>Inventory</b> <br />
Inventory: I <br />
Split Inventory Items: Alt-Drag<br />
<div>
Split inventory items: right click and select split or delete<br />
<br />
Pull up Item/Ability Window: Shift-Click<br />
Move items to a different page: Drag and hold over page numbers until page changes. <br />
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<br />
<b>World Interface</b><br />
Highlight Clickable items: G<br />
Use Object: U<br />
Emote Window: Y<br />
Map: M<br />
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Hide/Unhide: H<br />
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Loot all: Shift-V<br />
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<b>Chat</b><br />
Tell: T (brings up /Tell in chat window)<br />
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Respond: R (brings up a tell to the last person who sent you a tell) You can use arrow keys to toggle through people you've talked to<br />
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<b>Abilities/Journal</b> <br />
Skills and Attributes: P<br />
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Abilities: B<br />
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Feats: N <br />
Journal/Quest Log: J<br />
AA's List: K<br />
Toggle AA Action bar: Shift-K (this is where you drag your AAs that need to be equipped) <br />
Faction Standing: L<br />
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<b>Game Interface</b><br />
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Show Framerate: Control-Shift-F<br />
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Hide Interface: Control-Z<br />
Print Screen: F11 (puts a jpg in your \Age of Conan\screenshots directory)<br />
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Logout: Alt-F10 or Escape -> Exit Game. Wait 15 seconds to go back to character selection screen or click exit to exit game<br />
Information Sheet: o (This is fairly useless)<br />
<h4>
Idiosyncrasies/Features/Bugs</h4>
You can't move an inventory item to your bank space and vice versa by dragging it onto an existing stack. It needs to go to an empty space first, then it can be combined.<br />
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You can't craft or add a gem to an item when mounted or with weapons drawn just like you can't gather resources.</div>
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(sorry for the mailed in post- I've been a little busy with real life. Next few will hopefully be more involved).</div>
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Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-26107384372270641682014-09-08T18:24:00.000-07:002014-10-12T15:46:40.661-07:00So You Want To Be a Guild Leader?There's much more to being a guild leader than been the head of a bunch of merry men (and women). Even if you've been a guild leader in other games, you may be better off learning a little bit about AoC before starting up a new guild or taking over an older guild. This guide (on the native blog site) has a lot of links back to the forums, resource sites, and other blogs, hopefully providing a useful resource for new guild leaders.<br />
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<br /></div>
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Here's some things to think about as you ponder starting a guild.<br />
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<h4>
What is the goal of your guild? </h4>
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<ul>
<li>Are you going to be a leveling guild that can offer advice to newer players? </li>
<li>Do you want to raid? </li>
<li>Is it a cooperative of individuals who get together to build a city for it's benefits? </li>
<li>Do you want friendly pvp groups? </li>
<li>Do you want to RP?</li>
<li>Do you accept F2P players? </li>
</ul>
<ul>
</ul>
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<div>
Additionally, are you raiding during US prime time, Europe peak hours, or some other time? Knowing what time you want to do in game activities can help you recruit people who will have a similar playing schedule.</div>
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<br />
<h4>
Do you know enough about the game to help/lead people? </h4>
<br />
If you're not familiar with how crafting works, what being an architect
entails, the basic progression of areas you can visit at rough level
ranges, and the basics of the game's interface such as understanding how
the game breaks the game up into different instances of the same area, maybe being a Guild Leader isn't something you should do yet. <br />
<br />
A player on Crom was having trouble getting through his level 30 destiny quest. While I was offering some advice, he mentioned he was the leader of a guild. I joined to help him out and quickly realized he was more interested in being a leader in title than actually what it took to build a city. Part of this was because he kept asking for members to donate the structural elements instead of materials (even after I explained how it worked). I ended up building 90% of the T1 city (using materials I gathered and bought using gold from several of my 80's). One day, I saw the bank was empty of all the blue items, crafting materials, and money I had deposited (secretly hoping some other players would chip in). Seeing the Guild Leader had changed an alt to the Lord and had left the guild. I followed his leadership example and did the same. <br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Building a City and Battlekeep</h4>
You want to build a city? It's not cheap nor easy (see above). Here's the approximate list of materials you need to build a city:<br />
<ul>
<li>600 Copper (or 60 Braces)</li>
<li>2140 Sandstone (or 214 Bricks)</li>
<li>1350 Ash (135 Joints)</li>
<li>210 Silver (21 Plain Facades)</li>
<li>118 Parchment (at 37.5 silver each)</li>
<li>59 Ink (at 25 silver each)</li>
</ul>
So, in addition to farming for hours and having an architect to make
plans, the Guild needs 59 gold. Age of Conan is a game where most level 80
characters can earn about 1 gold per hour, with efficient grinding. 59
gold for a level 40 is a fortune. And that's just for a T1 city. (I've
never done the T2 or T3 architect, so I'm not sure how much it costs,
but my guess is quite a bit). <br />
<br />
Additionally, there's a hierarchy of building items, which means that even if all you want is a Trade Post, you still need to build a lot of things before you can get one. <br />
<br />
<b>Stage 1:</b> Keep <br />
<b>Stage 2: </b> Armor-smith, Weapon-smith, Alchemist, Thieves Guild, Walls*, Towers*, and Gates*<br />
<b>Stage 3:</b> Barracks, Library <br />
<b>Stage 4:</b> Temple <br />
<b>Stage 5:</b> Trade Post <br />
<b>Stage 6:</b> Architect Workshop <br />
<br />
* - Walls, Towers, and Gates don't need to be completed to go on to Stage 3. <br />
<br />
<br />
And if you want to have a Battlekeep. You need to be able to defend it. While sieges are rare these days, a new guild consisting of mostly new players, and most under level 80, will have no chance of winning against seasoned 80's.</div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Bank Management</h4>
As illustrated above, being too generous with Guild ranking can have huge repercussions. Every online game has suffered from someone raiding a Guild bank and quitting the guild, leaving everyone else angry (and poor).<br />
<br />
Another item to consider is what do you want to store? In general, I've seen most guilds stack valuable resources, rare items to pass out to members, and health, stamina, and mana food. Since space is limited, don't use the Guild Bank as your own personal storage locker for social items/junk.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Learning the Ropes</h4>
There's some big guilds still in the game which are a great place to get learn the ropes of raids, 6-mans, and general guild management. Join one and spend some time raiding with your guild and doing pickup groups to learn how certain battles work.<br />
<br />
Here's some things you may want to learn about before and while you're starting your own guild (depending on your goals):<br />
<ul>
<li>Set up and learn how to use a <a href="http://bebot.shadow-realm.org/">Guild Bot.</a> This provides access to <a href="http://aoc.is-better-than.tv/aamon.php">AA Timers</a>, and <a href="http://bebot.shadow-realm.org/aoc-modules/guild-items/">other useful tools</a>.</li>
<li>Setup a guild webpage using sites like <a href="http://www.guildportal.com/">GuildPortal</a> or <a href="http://www.guildlaunch.com/info/mmo-guild-templates.php">GuildLaunch.</a></li>
<li>Learn how to use <a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=183318">basic macros</a> <a href="http://aoc.wikia.com/wiki/Scripts">and scripts</a> to advertise and provide information to members.</li>
<li>Learn how to use parsers (<a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=183237&langid=4">Burnstats</a>) (<a href="http://www.guildstats.net/client.aspx">GuildStats</a>)</li>
<li>Learn the <a href="http://henryxconan.wordpress.com/2013/11/03/quest-lines-for-t1t2t3-raids/">where to get the quests</a> and the mechanics of the fights for <a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?p=2021763">T1</a> and <a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=180666">T2</a> raids (if you want to Raid)</li>
<li>Learn the fights for some of the 6-mans (if you want to do 6-mans)</li>
<li>Have at least a basic understanding of the different arch-types and their key T2 AA abilities (Resolve, Tainted Weapons, etc.)</li>
<li>Understand what you want the guild to be and advertise appropriately </li>
<li>Be prepared to have to spend a lot of time recruiting and then helping recruits</li>
<li>Set up a <a href="http://www.teamspeak.com/?page=teamspeak3">TeamSpeak3</a> or <a href="http://www.ventrilo.com/">Ventrilo</a> account to use for voice chat</li>
<li>Get familiar with the <a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/">AoC forums</a> and understand the game's schedule for the World Bosses and PvP events. </li>
</ul>
<h4>
Human Issues</h4>
Scaevacas, the Guild Leader of Requiem Nex,<a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showpost.php?p=2110712&postcount=2"> posted on the forums</a> some other things that Guild Leaders have to address:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>* Dealing with drama</i><br />
<i>* Dealing with stalkers</i><br />
<i>* Dealing with loot arguments</i><br />
<i>* Dealing with loot whores</i><br />
<i>* Promoting / demoting / kicking players, when, how, and why</i><br />
<i>*How often to have officer meetings</i><br />
<i>* When to change the rules, and how to deal with minorities</i><br />
<i>* How to handle terrible players</i><br />
<i>* How to handle elitist jerks</i><br />
<i>* How to handle multi-guilded players, especially when they PVP against players in your guild</i><br />
<i>* <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_kill_points">DKP</a>? open roll? other?</i><br />
<i>* Dealing with people's psychological needs</i><br />
<i>* Dealing with conflicting personalities</i><br />
<i>* Aligning groups goals with your own</i><br />
<i>* Reacting to competing guilds</i></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Note: I assumed DKP was Dragon Kill Points and linked the Wikipedia page for reference. If I'm way off base, I'll update this later.</span><br />
<br />
As someone who hasn't had to deal with things like this in a game I had originally left out this human interaction as part of being a guild leader. This takes time, patience, and is a lot of work. This work load is why a lot of players would rather be in a guild than running their own.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Conclusion</h4>
In my opinion and experience, most good Guild Leaders are knowledgeable and experienced players. Even though I've been playing basically since launch, I've never wanted to start a Guild since I don't always have the time to play enough to be a good leader as well as experienced enough to lead a raid, despite knowing the basics of the T1 and most T2 fights.<br />
<br />
While T3 is often accomplished with pickup groups these days, it may be safer to presume that you'll have to work up to it, especially if you're approaching new players. But as Scaevacas concluded his post, "I've seen my fair share of [the list above] over the last 5-6 years, and being a guild leader is stressful, demanding, and time consuming, but also has its rewards when everyone is happy."</div>
Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-61568409071563326672014-08-22T10:15:00.001-07:002014-08-30T15:42:38.304-07:00"Secrets" of TortageMost people have gone through Tortage a few times. Including characters I've deleted, I'm guessing I have run around the Barachan Isle more than twenty times (including a few times to make notes for guides and such). Despite its familiarity, it's still one of my favorite places in the game. Partly due to characters you interact with and partially because the area was so detailed and full of interesting quests.<br />
<br />
This post is going to focus on a few special quests. Special because it requires the completion of another quest before it becomes available, its reward is a blue item, or both. There's also a few Night bosses sprinkled about White Sands Island, the Volcano, and the Underhalls.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
One of the things that makes Tortage a drag is how frequently you have to run back and forth between areas. Even when combining quests, it can be tedious. So, obviously, two of the quest chains I'm going to outline will have you wearing out your pirate boots as you trek back and forth between Tortage and the Acheronian Ruins.<br />
<br />
The first is the Bat Demon quest line that starts with everyone's favorite one-armed bandit Otho inside the Thirsty Dog. The other starts with Royo over by the Rum n' Rumble Inn that sends you looking for Genzio. Might as well pick up the Veil Dawn fruit for Royo while you're going over there, but don't make a special trip to drop that off until you need to speak to him again.<br />
<br />
Since the Bat Demon quest chain is so well known, I'll skip the details on what to do there (it's pretty self explanatory). Some classes may need to be higher level than others, but by level 20, most should be capable of taking him down. On the last step, there's a few tricks to help anyone beat the Bat Demon:<br />
<br />
1. Stay away from the edges so you don't get thrown off by his knock back<br />
2. Kite the boss when your health is dropping<br />
<br />
3. Use your own CCs including double tap forward<br />
4. Avoid the boss's CCs using double taps backwards and sideways <br />
<br />
In general, when people say they want off of Tortage, I encourage them to do the destiny quest for the blue chest and blue weapon and bat demon for the blue pants. These three items will make the next stop in your journey that much easier.<br />
<br />
But on to one of the lesser known quest chains with a (relatively) great reward.<br />
<br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
"Caught in the Shadows" and "Xantia's Wrath"</h4>
Even sites like <a href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/34433">10 Ton Hammer think this quest chain is useless for the amount of time it takes</a>. And it is, except for completing it opens up two more quests "Tarisha's Sorrow" and "Tarisha's Sacrifice" with the latter of those two providing a blue ring as a reward. Sacrificial Ring has +10 Constitution, +3 Hit Rating, and +3 Perception Skill.<br />
<br />
Talk to Genzio who sends you to Ninus for a potion. Take the potion back to Genzio who is still a tin-foil hat away from being a scary homless person. He sends you to his house, which is back near the pirates Donus asked you to kill earlier during your Tortage adventures. Inside you battle a giant panther and then talk with some ghosts. There's something to be said for Tortage basements; those things are huge. Between Renton and Genzio, these guys have some serious underground real-estate. Anyway, go back to Genzio to get the skull and then to Ninus to get the last part. Take these to Royo to bury in Zingarian soil. You have to go back to Genzio and then back to Royo to find out that he didn't do anything (shocker!).<br />
<br />
Talk to Sakumbe, then Captain Phoenic, and lastly Tarisha, who's shop is near Bartholomo's. Then talk to Padraig who, unlike the rest of the city, actually helps you. You get transported to a little courtyard with lightning and bodies floating up. You also get attacked by three giant cats. Padraig tanks one of them while you battle two down before you focus on the third. He doesn't hold aggro very well so the first time you attack the panther he's engaged with, it'll attack you. There's a short rest before a boss cat appears which you kill because you're awesome. Or you die and have to try again, feeling a little bit of shame.<br />
<br />
Talk to Padraig to return to Tortage and then go to Turach to smash the skull and Tarisha to remove the curse. At this point, and if you're level 17 or 18, you can get a new quest from Bartholomo. <br />
<br />
A lot of people, myself included, thought that quest Wisdom Through
Venom, which is given by Valerius was required to unlock this but, while having
finished it during writing this, I hadn't turned it in yet. That quest is pretty simple to complete now either when going into the Coastal Cave as part of the Ruins and Demise chain involving yes man Raboz or Proxima's quest to gather poison to give to the Red Hand.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Tarisha's Sorrow</h4>
<br />
This quest and its follow up each have a cut-scene that help advance the story and make full use of the high-quality voice actors used in Tortage.<br />
<br />
Letter to the King I is an additional prerequisite for this quest <a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showpost.php?p=2109633&postcount=2">(thanks to Endurium on the forums for the information</a>).<br />
<br />
<br />
Bartholomo sends you to spy on Tarisha who will be at the Ritual Chamber in the eastern section of, the Acheronian Ruins. If you climb down the ledge and head towards where Genzio is rocking himself back and forth. Then head south towards the water. Keep on the west/left side of the water and you'll come to a small porch and door for the Ritual Chamber. Report back to Bartholomo after you watch the exchange.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Tarisha's Sacrifice</h4>
<br />
Not to be deterred, Bartholomo, who seems to have a bit of a thing for this Stygian sorceress, sends you to talk to Valerius.<br />
<br />
Valerius sends you to talk to Nadini who asks you to gather the following items (with locations given in parenthesis):<br />
<ol>
<li>A cannibal's tooth (Askia's domain - Kill a cannibal)</li>
<li>A ring of set (Acheronian Ruins near Genzio from a level 17 Boss mob named Tham'kur)</li>
<li>A pirate's gold earring (Rum n' Rumble - kill one of the Boozy Pirates)</li>
</ol>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqJ94V82yue2Oj_4YbIdk6j91Fjd5cycbk28Rb4ChWFcUCBs6E-BB1Z52mfAEuovEp26Mu5m2SN10WByktgwtHw0_f1wA269fWgOLvWmA4h1dwHOh4iORm2-jhnXvFcngCwzGiqNJtbc/s1600/Tarisha_Undead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqJ94V82yue2Oj_4YbIdk6j91Fjd5cycbk28Rb4ChWFcUCBs6E-BB1Z52mfAEuovEp26Mu5m2SN10WByktgwtHw0_f1wA269fWgOLvWmA4h1dwHOh4iORm2-jhnXvFcngCwzGiqNJtbc/s1600/Tarisha_Undead.jpg" height="280" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Honey you got reeeal ugly."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Talk to Nadini again and then Valerius. Finally go back (again) to Ritual Chamber to watch how everything plays out. Hint: Not well. This involves magic and a curse. <br />
<br />
If you complete this quest before your destiny quest, Valerius is replace by Tarisha coming back from the underworld, for some reason. On defeat one of the things she drops is Tarisha's Fetish, a green level 18 Talisman that gives +3 Constitution, +50 Mana, and +8 Magic Damage.<br />
<br />
The next two quests don't really have great rewards but are either hidden or require another quest to be completed before you get them.<br />
<br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
Xan's Bounty</h4>
At level 16 and on if you click on the half buried bottle located near where you start on the island (419, 828) it starts a quest to save a pirate named Xan. If you go to the location where you gather bottles for Ninus, you can swim out to the large island (which now has it's own rez pad!). The island is populated by level 19 gorillas and one Boss gorilla which is the Gorilla Queen. Kill her to complete the quest. Xan didn't make it but the Gorilla Queen carries (in her stomach, presumably, a necklace worth a few tin). Its seems like Funcom also added a treasure chest on the island so there's a bit more treasure than there used to be, which is nice.<br />
<br />
Return to White Sands Island. There's a second boat nearby that you can use to return back to Tortage. This second rowboat is handy for making a loop when questing on White Sands.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Breaking the Bones</h4>
Padraig is just your run of the mill ex-pirate bar owner. In his spare time he just wants to lay down on some pillows and relax. By pillows, I mean Hortensia's massive hammers and by relax, I mean do whatever people in Tortage do with whores. So, after you free her from the Black Ones (Queen of Punishment and Abandoned in the Halls of Fear) Padraig wants you to go kill the pict Chieftain, who's hut is located in a hut at (554, 245). The reward is a choice of three green weapons (2HB, dagger, 1HE).<br />
<br />
<h4>
Smuggler's Note</h4>
<br />
Behind the building at (1150, 827), there's a note that you can click on to try and leave Tortage early(if you're level 16 or greater). <a href="http://henryxconan.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/leave-tortage-early-quest/">HenryX has an efficient write-up on this short quest</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Night Bosses</h4>
When you first go to White Sands Island to help Arias there's two Pict bosses, and one chest in/about the Pict camp near where you land. The first is at (445, 679) and there's a treasure chest nearby, just to the left of the hut's entrance. There are a bunch of pict minions around the camp fire in the center of the camp. Draw them out with ranged attacks or kite around the huts, so you can engage them with drawing the boss into the fray.<br />
<br />
The other, named Elder Panther Pict Shaman, is outside the camp on the non-coast side around the area (491, 671).<br />
<br />
Later when you go into the Sewer section of the Underhalls as part of the Awakening II quest, there's a crocodile boss at (363, 355) and a chest
in the pool behind him.<br />
<br />
During the Letter to the King II quest chain, when you have to swap the virgin's blood with that of Casilda's, there's a boss right before you can swap the blood named Proto-Ocha. There's another amongst a group of tents near where the top of the long ladder that advances the quest chain. If you head towards the grouping of tents, going left around the burned out tree you'll see Proto-Vogis standing around coordinate (671, 395). Be careful approaching as minions pop out of the tents and there's another regular Archeron Mercenary nearby. Behind Proto-Vogis, in the last tent, is a treasure chest. That treasure chest is also available during your first trip to the volcano (Thanks again to Endurium on the forums).<br />
<br />
There is another Boss in Mirthelle's Garden, Bartholomo's Wife, who is part of the Priest's destiny quest Awakening III.Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-21767124095139884422014-08-10T12:28:00.004-07:002014-08-10T12:28:37.449-07:00What is Daggamalt?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/37179/preview" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/37179/preview" height="172" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Photo: it's now nerfed to 405 and 68/s.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Taking a mild break from making simple walkthroughs, I thought it'd be fun to look at one of the health potions we all use without thinking. <br />
<br />
What is Daggamalt? We know it to be the level 60 healing potion that everyone knows, loves, and wishes was more potent (which then begot us Potent Daggamalt). The beer nerd and amateur home brewer in me wanted to look into whether it would be possible to make Daggamalt.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonotis_leonurus">Wikipedia</a>, the dried leaves and flowers of Wild Dagga have a "mild calming effect when smoked" whose effects are similar to cannabis but with a "much less potent high." Wikipedia continues noting "it has also been reported to cause mild euphoria, visual changes, dizziness, nausea, sweating, sedation, and lightheadedness." So basically, everything you'd want to avoid when fighting for your life. <br />
<br />
<br />
Could you make a beer with Wild Dagga? What would Daggamalt be like?<br />
<br />
Several people, most notably Delaware's <a href="http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/index.htm">Dogfish Head Brewing</a>, have dabbled with some ancient ales, that have been upgraded to modern standards adding small details like "carbonation."<br />
<br />
Since Hyboria is a pre-history of our world, I think going back to very ancient ales, seems like a good start.<br />
<br />
While not the most ancient ale know, a <a href="http://www.wired.com/2011/01/ancient-celtic-beer/">2011 Wired article</a> described a 2,550 year old Celtic beer as:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span itemprop="articleBody"></span><br />
At the Celtic site, barley was soaked
in the specially constructed ditches until it sprouted, Stika proposes.
Grains were then dried by lighting fires at the ends of the ditches,
giving the malt a smoky taste and a darkened color. Lactic acid
bacteria stimulated by slow drying of soaked grains, a well-known
phenomenon, added sourness to the brew.<br />
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span itemprop="articleBody"></span><br />
Unlike modern beers that are flavored with flowers of the hop plant,
the Eberdingen-Hochdorf brew probably contained spices such as mugwort,
carrot seeds or henbane, in Stika’s opinion. Beer makers are known to
have used these additives by medieval times. Excavations at the Celtic
site have yielded a few seeds of henbane, a plant that also makes beer
more intoxicating.<br />
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“These additives gave Celtic beer a completely different taste than what we’re used to today,” Stika says.<span itemprop="articleBody"></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span itemprop="articleBody"></span></blockquote>
Interestingly, the level 70 tradeskill resource henbane is actually used in the Level 70 mana beverages (Musewater, Ale of Auspice, and Visionwine).<br />
<br />
A more ancient ale, and something that our Stygian friends would probably enjoy was researched and made by the good folks at the American Homebrewing Association was called <a href="http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/zymurgy/pharaoh-ale-brewing-a-replica-of-an-ancient-egyptian-beer/">Pharaoh Ale</a>.<br />
<br />
This ale made with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandrake_%28plant%29">Mandrake</a> roots, another mild hallucinogen, as well as a little bit poisonous. So let's make beer with it!<br />
<br />
The recipe is in the article linked above but the AHA gave the following tasting notes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Pharaoh ale tasted unlike any other brew, in part because our
modern palates have become so accustomed to the presence of hops. The
brew has a minimal but fresh and appetizing bouquet. Visually, it is
slightly turbid, and the color is deep reddish amber to almost light
mahogany. The up-front taste shows mild notes of nuttiness (probably
from the dates), with a faint scent of rose petals and perhaps of almond
extract—probably a contribution from the mandrake root tea. The body is
medium. As the brew spreads over the palate, strong malty notes as well
as a definite date and honey aroma take over, which is especially
noticeable because of the absence of any hop bitterness. This is a
surprise but not an obstacle. The brew also takes on mild, lingering
herb-like notes, which only serve to enhance its drinkability.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We decided, as a concession to modern tastes, to mildly carbonate the
brew with CO2 for some effervescence that would enhance the gentle
character of the beer, even though in ancient Egypt, we suppose,
carbonation must have been very low to non-existent. A homebrewer might
want to use standard priming procedures for packaging this brew. Because
the adjuncts are completely fermented, there is no residual sweetness
in the brew even though the starting wort tasted strongly syrup-like.
The beer finishes with indefinable, subtle aromatics that seem unique to
our taste buds. These notes are more interesting because of the brew’s
dryness.<br />
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The overall impression the brew leaves behind is that of a very
clean-tasting, refreshing, dry, medium-body, drinkable, and highly
balanced quaffing beer.</blockquote>
<br />
How would I make the Daggamalt that Hyborians would gulp during battle? I'd start with the Pharaoh ale and make some changes, so it would be more celtic (sadly, I couldn't find the Celtic recipe to start with). I minimized the changes to the malt build, since I'm not familiar enough with how to successfully do my own.<br />
<br />
<ul class="simple">
<li>3.75 lb (1.7 kg) Weyermann® Bohemian Pilsner floor malt</li>
<li>1.63 lb (739 g) Weyermann® Bohemian wheat floor malt</li>
<li>1.09 lb (494 g) spelt malt</li>
<li>0.49 lb (222 g) Carared®</li>
<li>0.34 lb (154 g) Carawheat®</li>
<li>0.64 oz (18 g) melanoidin malt</li>
<li>0.64 oz (18 g) Carafa® Special Type II</li>
<li>0.64 oz (18 g) chocolate wheat malt</li>
<li>0.64 oz (18 g) chocolate spelt malt</li>
<li>0.64 oz (18 g) Carafa® Special Type III</li>
<li>4 oz (113 g) Elderberries</li>
<li>6 oz (170 g) Hazelnuts</li>
<li>9.55 oz (270 g) honey</li>
<li>1 oz (28 g) Wild Dagga</li>
<li>Any clean-fermenting ale yeast</li>
</ul>
During Aging, I'd add another 1 oz (28 g) of dried Wild Dagga and 3 oz of Alder wood and 3 oz of Yew wood chips to give it a woody and herbal flavor that would also bring forth some flavors from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_sacred_trees">sacred plants to the Celts.</a><br />
<br />
So, that's my Raid fortifying Daggamalt, since I didn't change the sugars (outside of swapping pitted dates with Elderberries and hazelnuts), it should still clock in around 4.5% ABV. <br />
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What's your vision of Daggamalt? And more realistically, what's your AoC beverage of choice? And lastly, if you make this beer (or any beer, I'm generally not picky), feel free to send me one.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUGaprLR1aSsZ7UOq8MEEE_DpeL9TnQGZEeZqzgAhopokHRXxfaVgyuh9g2IWBb-1HWFujSaDR6p0KYVeMpLmv3xugb-ladNUMnEJSNm3TIATcLm24qivxjkarwHRW0iA418XX7bReAA/s1600/Kalur_picture045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUGaprLR1aSsZ7UOq8MEEE_DpeL9TnQGZEeZqzgAhopokHRXxfaVgyuh9g2IWBb-1HWFujSaDR6p0KYVeMpLmv3xugb-ladNUMnEJSNm3TIATcLm24qivxjkarwHRW0iA418XX7bReAA/s1600/Kalur_picture045.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm, apparently, an angry drunk.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-12557369578373399792014-07-26T13:12:00.001-07:002014-11-15T09:27:28.321-08:00Faction Walkthrough: Hand of Glory (Turan)<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPTOYJxui2C8jecRBtFSjWVks1Ze8rik-qrPoYnueoNKuZ2yOrvAtRCoPYZ8QgTZCX_jKOEa7AC_z3oSHt8KC8-YRZouDN6bsiUlaokIu8swWQFMDE2pNUnR2ol5n2itqXC7F1JUS5aGw/s1600/Nuranth_picture004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPTOYJxui2C8jecRBtFSjWVks1Ze8rik-qrPoYnueoNKuZ2yOrvAtRCoPYZ8QgTZCX_jKOEa7AC_z3oSHt8KC8-YRZouDN6bsiUlaokIu8swWQFMDE2pNUnR2ol5n2itqXC7F1JUS5aGw/s1600/Nuranth_picture004.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
One of the only good things to come out of the 2011 Conan movie was the Savage Coast of Turan adventure pack. This provided another level 50-55 leveling area, two solo instances, a group instance, and a Tier 3.5 Raid that almost nobody did due to difficulty for the rewards given (I think that's changed recently).<br />
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This walk through will provide a basic guide to joining the Hand of Glory, advancing in the ranks, and listing the quests available. <u>It also contains some story spoilers</u>. This chain has some fun dialog and many of the characters you meet have some fun non-game advancing lines that are worth a read if you're lore hound and enjoy tie-ins, even if its from a relatively bad movie.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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As you adventure through this region there's a specific chain of quests to join and elevate in the ranks of the Hand of Glory, as you work for the shifty All-Reaver, Ela-Shan. This walk through will cover the quests leading up to and for the Hand of Glory. <br />
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<h4>
Voyage to the Savage Coast</h4>
To start the quest chain, talk to Tali in Khemi at the Souk in the (located at 990,1142). She'll grant the quest "Voyage to the Savage Coast". Make your way over the Madu (892, 1022) and either pay 75 copper or swim across the channel to the area where you can take a caravan to Khitai. The Turanian caravan master is around the corner from the Khitai one and is located at (1200, 844).<br />
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He'll take you to the docks of Ardashir. Artus, Conan's old friend is standing nearby at (423, 807).<br />
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<h4>
"Assault on Armaments" and "Envoy of Ardashir"</h4>
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To start the next quest, you need to leave the city. Walk/ride towards the front gate at (463, 626). Once there "Assault on the Armament begins. You can either help or watch the guards decimate a few Kozaks. After the battle, a question mark appears of Sergeant Pirooz who will ask you to speak to the General at Fort Ardashir on the "Envoy of Ardashir" quest. To enter the fort, you must speak to the guard. Clicking on the gate will give you an error message.<br />
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After talking to the General ("The Admirable General") you're asked to interrogate a Kozak near the gate (it's to your right as you leave the fort, not the front gate). Go talk to the Corporal at (399, 642) before trying to interrogate the Kozak. After the Kozak breaks down faster than an old jalopy go back to the Fort to report your success.<br />
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<h4>
"Artus the Merchant" and "Princely Gift"</h4>
After this, Artus has several new quests including "Artus the Merchant" and "Princely Gift". For Artus the Merchant, you have to swim over to the nearby island indicated on your map to collect some bottles of sparkling wine (or Boom Boom as Artus calls it) and talk to some of the drunken pirates. If you travel north on the west side of the island (closer to the city), you will pass the Shipwrecked Seafayer. Complete that escort quest on the way back from collecting the wine. That quest will allow you to do the "In the Shroud of the Sea" fetch quest later for Ela Shan.<br />
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The Princely gift involves stealing lotus from the Temple of Elrik and is the quest that leads you to the Hand of Glory faction. Following the quest instructions, go to the Temple of Elrik, talk to Acolyte Kaveh near the entrance (301, 654) and then go over to the crate located at (257, 635) to update the quest. Talk to the Acolyte again and then head back to Artus. He'll send you to the docks to steal a crate that has yet to be delivered to the Priests of Elrik. It's located at the Docks. Regardless of how you sneak it back to Artus, you're caught which will trigger the next quest chain (though I've found if you stay on the water side of the wall you can sneak to Artus without being seen, if you'd actually like to feel like you're successful). After talking to the guard nearby, you need to drop the crate of lotus off near (315, 744) and then go talk to Pirooz at the front gate. When you return to get it go back towards Artus, at some point you will get a message that your pocket was picked starting the chain "The Master Thief". Confront the Old Man who wanders Ardashir City. Threaten him if it makes you feel tough. After the conversation head to (336, 679) which on the Trader side of the entrance to the Temple of Elrik. Click on the broken crate and the quest chain updates.<br />
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You then can either follow the trail of lotus flowers or run directly to the end location. The flowers are located (in order) at the following locations:<br />
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Crate: (336, 679) --> (643, 683) --> (351, 673) --> (364, 646) --> (396, 625) --> (396, 612) --> (408, 613) --> (418, 615)<br />
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At the last lotus flower, take the ladder (or jump down, your health will return) and you will meet Ela Shan. When you accept his invitation to join the Hand of Glory you will be granted 5,000 Faction standing points.<br />
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<h4>
The Apprentice Thief and In the Shroud of the Sea</h4>
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He will give you the quest "The Apprentice Thief" which will have you combing Ardashir for boxes containing golden idols. You need to collect seven of them. Here are the locations for the ones I've found that are accessible:<br />
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Jump down from where Ela Shan on the wall of the gateway to the city: (461, 618) and (470, 628)<br />
Run up the long flight of stairs at the back of the city. On the roof with the mosaic rug, jump down to the left of the blue tarp (368, 616). Under the maroon tarp just below is another one (368, 621).<br />
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There's one each on the small docks at (348, 784) and (351, 784) as well as one sitting near where you stashed the lotus crate (311, 737).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little platforming in an MMO.</td></tr>
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There's two that are accessible if you got to the base of the stairs at (268, 781). Run up both flights and jump across to (274, 772). Then jump onto the thatched covering and down on the far side to another (272, 765).<br />
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If you climb the ladder at (314, 818) and go across the lattice and down the other ladder there's another box at (303, 833).<br />
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Completing this repeatable quest gives 3 Golden Taurus and 25,000 Faction points. If you completed the Shipwrecked Seafayer, you can mention the wreck to Ela Shan and he'll give the repeatable quest "In the Shroud of the Sea". This also grants 25,000 Faction points and two Golden Taurus. Each Golden Taurus is worth 50 copper. To complete this second quest, swim to the indicated area on your map (near 580, 755) and collect the 8 sunken Golden idols.<br />
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<h4>
Matters of the Past</h4>
Ela Shan's previous guild ended poorly, to put it nicely. He recently discovered that he's being hunted by a Nemedian and he asks you, his Daushtar, to take care of this problem. The Nemedian Trader is located at (308, 750) and is a yellow mob. Killing him and returning to Ela Shan grants 25,000 Faction points.<br />
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At rank one you gain access to
blue weapons purchasable in Ardashir at a vendor located at (408, 653)
for 12 silver each. <br />
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<h4>
One Fledgling in the Hand</h4>
Ela Shan decides he needs more help and wants you to find some eyes and ears for him on the streets. You didn't realize you'd get to interview lackeys, did you? There's three people you need to talk to, in the order the quest wants. Go to talk to Lotus addled Anoosh (355, 677), then Captain Mohawk/Boy Scout Pashatan (319, 770), and finally Azade (402, 623). Return to Ela Shan for another 25,000 Faction points. Azade will now be the one giving you the repeatable quests so Ela Shan can focus on standing around.<br />
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<h4>
The Setback of Ela Shan </h4>
Ela Shan sends you to the docks under an assumed name that might be familiar to anyone who saw the 2011 movie. Judging by the name of this quest chain, you can tell it doesn't go particularly smoothly. Talk to the Harbor Master (387, 738), then grab the crate (395, 734), and then do the walk of shame over to the guard (392, 721). From there you'll be whisked away to Ardashir Fort where Pirooz and you have a little chat. Return to Ela Shan for 25,000 Faction points and a whole new scheme.<br />
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<h4>
The Burden of Ela Shan</h4>
Your boss is very disappointed but <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84zY33QZO5o&feature=kp">maybe not this dissappointed</a>. You get to make the Harbor Guard who's been thwarting your plans (despite having hide maxed; I think his perception must be at 1000 or more). Go to (396,720) and beat the stuffing out of him. Get him to spill his guts and then go back to Ela Shan for 25,000 Faction points and the next step in your quest.<br />
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<h4>
The Vengeance of Ela Shan</h4>
After a stirring dialog, Ela Shan decides he wants blood. Go find the Slave Trader (330, 628) which is at the top of the long flight of stairs towards the back of the city. Kill him and take his dagger. Go to Mah-Banou [Serving Girl] located at (381, 634) dand buy a Flagon of Ale. Go to Captain Parang (369, 689) and get him drunk. What I find a little unbelievable about this quest is that a pirate wouldn't already be drunk, but moving on. Plant the dagger on him and then talk to the local City Guardsman at (361,691) and watch him go all Judge Dredd on him. By the way, don't get accused of a crime here, their crimminal justice system is a little flawed. Return to Ela Shan for 25,000 more Faction points.<br />
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<h4>
The Woman Who Lost Her Heart</h4>
Ela Shan now sends you to the desert canyon (where there's some other quests to do as well) to meet the last member of the Hand of Glory. Kharshid is at (178, 452). Meeting her and getting her story will grant you 25,000 Faction points.<br />
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<h4>
Secrets of the Black Seers</h4>
Kharshid sends you to get a piece of paper from the Black Seers. Its best to couple this with the quest "The Wizards of the Himelians" but only since you have to go to the exact same place. Once you gather the paper, return to Kharshid, to start the next quest.<br />
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<h4>
The Thief in the Night</h4>
As a nice tie-in, Kharshid wants to make the magical rope Taurus used in the Robert E. Howard story, the Tower of the Elephant, including gathering sap from the Upas tree. Now you might be wondering where do Upas trees grow? Dead Man's Hand, apparently. There's a few Upas trees near (471,318) o Dead Man's Hand. The next ingredient is a little harder to get since it's time dependent. If you haven't bought a shovel as part of the Exsanguinous Discoveries quest you'll need to get one (464, 672). It should be noted that the Exsanguinous Discoveries quest will require you to buy a shovel to advance it, even if you already have one. With a shovel in your pack, go to the burial mounds outside the city at (474, 575). You can dig up the dead woman's hair as early as 2100 (or 9 pm). I'd suspect that you can dig up to 0300 (3 am). With both ingredients in your possession head back to Ela Shan for 25,000 Faction Points. This is quest is required to complete the Treasures of Iron Statues.<br />
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Now wait ~28 levels and get yourself some pretty nice gear once you're 80 before attempting this last quest.<br />
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<h4>
Manuscripts of a Madman and the Treasures of the Iron Statues</h4>
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On the Island of Iron Statues, beyond the temple, there's a path starting at (830, 533) to an outlook where the mad hermit Aratus lives. Once you defeat him, you find his journal in his hut (838, 457) which starts the "Manuscripts of a Madman" quest. Once you're Rank 3 with the Hand of Glory talk with Ela Shan and he'll grant the quest "The Treasures of the Iron Statues." He'll give you Taurus' Rope of Climbing which will boost your climbing to 800 for five minutes. If your climb skill was already 800, you don't need the rope but will have it handed to you anyway. I don't believe you can even get this quest without finishing a Thief in the Night.<br />
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There are four treasure chests (and you need three to complete the quest). The first is in the chamber with the iron statues (666, 633). The second is hidden amongst the webs in the corridor just past the statues to the left (763, 672). The last two are at the top of the vines along a wall as you exit the building (800, 620). The first is the player cursor, the second two locations are the approximately where the blue boxes are shown.<br />
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Completing this quest gives 50,000 Faction Points. At Rank 4, you can buy a Rhino.<br />
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And there you have it, The Hand of Glory in all it's, er, Glory.<br />
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7/31/14: Update <a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showpost.php?p=2107285&postcount=2">Shani</a> on the Forums corrected that you can buy the blue weapons at Rank 1, not Rank 2. <br />
<h4>
</h4>
<h4>
</h4>
Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-61023820834310176572014-07-12T07:10:00.000-07:002014-07-15T18:00:18.936-07:00Walkthrough for The Weakling, The Warrior, and The Wanton (Unchained)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dreary place</td></tr>
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Outside of raiding and PvPing, one of the best ways to get better gear is by gathering Rare Trophies that can be traded in (with gold) for purple gear. One of the easiest Unchained instances to gather rares is Dead Man's Hand. It generally takes longer than Island of Iron Statues and Refuge of the Apostate but is easier than both and significantly easier to access than the latter.<br />
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All a player needs to access this (and Island of the Iron Statues) is the Turan Adventure pack (which costs 1300 Funcom points or 6300 for the Jewels of Turan version which has several additional features including the Sand Demon combat pet).<br />
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To start the quest, talk to Artus in Ardashir. The first time this quest is run, there's some extra steps (that I won't cover here) that set up the story for the recurring section. After the first run through, the island only has four recurring quests. Despite not paying much in silver (four to six silver, compared to 10 to 12 for Khitai quests), these are fairly easy to complete and in your general path through the island. The fourth quest is available on the island but since completing it takes you off the beaten path, it's not covered here although it is pretty straight forward.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
In the Unchained mode, the mobs are all level 82 (compared to 83 for Forgotten City, 84 for Refuge, and 84 for Iron Statues).<br />
<h4>
Drostan</h4>
You arrive on Dead Man Island standing next to half a row boat (don't ask) and near the Beach rez pad. Make your way towards the first X identifying Quartermaster Drostan. You'll have to fight through his Thugs (melee), Lurkers (melee) and Marksmen (ranged). Avoid the water as it does some fairly significant damage acid damage while you're touching it (about 1500 per hit). As you approach Drostan (located at 355, 613), patiently pick off some of the roving mobs including the one that seems to always be urinating into the acid pools (interesting note: he doesn't zip up as he runs towards you, so the urine stream of urine comes too!). There's a small group a short distance away that you can avoid pulling aggro on if you don't move to the far side of Drostan but can be aggroed by the roving mobs. Use the pillar by Drostan to break line of sight on the Marksman.<br />
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After a brief conversation with Drostan, it ends how most do in Age of Conan, with someone trying to kill you. It's a pretty straight forward fight with Drostan casting Pernicious Purulence, which does poison damage. At 75% he decides to emulate Simon Pegg as the fat boy runs away to 357, 557 where he regains his courage and tries to fight some more. As he's running, you can charge him and damage to him. However, during this time a slow debuff (+50% hinder movement) is periodically applied to you so it's unlikely you can sustain damaging him as he jogs around the lake. At the base of a stone building, inexplicably built at the edge of one of these acid pools, he'll summon minions who are really more annoying than damaging. At 50%, he runs upstairs to 343, 536 where additional minions will show up, up to a total of five. After killing them off, no more appear, but you don't have to kill them to finish off Drostan.<br />
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There's one normal mob, named Drostan's Occulus outside the building, who has been putting the hinder movement debuff on you. I'll often kill him out of general ill-will to anyone that's been hitting me with hostile spells. Ignoring him or killing him doesn't seem to make a difference in the difficulty of the fight. This mob is green before you attack Drostan so you can't take him out in advance.<br />
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On the balcony, where Drostan makes his final stand, you can just whack-a-mole with him and his minions until he's down to 25% at which point he surrenders and throws his cohort Accalia under the proverbial chariot. A hittable chest appears that contains some potions, maybe a traveler's pouch or two, esteem tokens, and a mastery vial. <br />
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<h4>
Accalia</h4>
Leave the crater and head up the path towards the center of the island. After fighting some snakes and boar, you'll see a small cottage and the Hillside rez pad (559, 491). As you descend into this valley, you can opt to finish off the "Where there were No Graves" and "Slaughter of the Savages."<br />
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At the edge of the swamp, near one of the bodies, when you engage the Hellish Savage, the game often freezes up for a second or four. I'll sometimes skip burning that specific body and will finish the quest selecting one of the other ones once they reset (usually after killing Accalia). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAK4_H82cj6vn6ZIz2tflOQL2wcpcmopn5KWBq2AnKBJ7SUSnicFPX3lHK4Trcy_wu-bou0cvtO2WeUyzmt7S9UCG6F8HWVY2Ce552fbqXhgrs_9_InrhbzDjTcvkSEeXFJX73V4uZ7Zk/s1600/Brunstol_picture083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAK4_H82cj6vn6ZIz2tflOQL2wcpcmopn5KWBq2AnKBJ7SUSnicFPX3lHK4Trcy_wu-bou0cvtO2WeUyzmt7S9UCG6F8HWVY2Ce552fbqXhgrs_9_InrhbzDjTcvkSEeXFJX73V4uZ7Zk/s1600/Brunstol_picture083.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a>The swamp has areas of high mob density which can create some minor issues for some classes. You can either advance slowly or just run like hell until you flag the Swamp rez pad at 665, 411.<br />
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I think the safest way is to attack the pair of savages just past the bodies, move back towards the swamp to take out the merciless savage and then follow the backside of the large rock (killing a Hellish Savage and a few boar). You'll pass the non-hittable savage (which is part of another once only quest in Dead Man's Hand) to get to the rez pad.<br />
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There's also a hittable chest at 641, 378 holding a combination of potions, bags, tokens, and vendor trash.<br />
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Work your way around the savage's buildings towards where you start seeing Accalia's guards. There's one lookout (ranged) near here. If you go left in this area first there's another hittable bag at 706, 369, this one's called Pirate's stash. You can see it's particle effect if you have world particles enabled.<br />
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Work your way along the edge of this area until you get to a wood framed canopy. This area also gets congested by patrolling mobs so if you're not careful you can end up in a battle with four or five opponents.<br />
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When you first enter the clearing, there will be a Accalia's Warden on your left. Take her out before talking to Accalia.<br />
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When combat starts the ability to watch out for is "Abhor the Weak" which has a fairly large radius of attack and stuns you for several seconds. When you see that spell being cast move away quickly (about halfway across the area is usually enough). Otherwise, it's a pretty straightforward tank and spank type fight. Accalia's other ability is Bloodthirst which grants her +75% damage for 15 seconds. Her attacks do slashing damage.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCurwkaMA04-jE6ghyphenhyphen6MeIj1APWMVPpGr8oTZkRlXx48bP-mw7BEwvCbwCClwev7R_4dz4GH4occCjvRVC2e5FYMZK910SrAW_rRatVTNbfjhxBMvq_90hQkBfKpq8NHgMAzJHpJP5JU/s1600/Brunstol_picture095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCurwkaMA04-jE6ghyphenhyphen6MeIj1APWMVPpGr8oTZkRlXx48bP-mw7BEwvCbwCClwev7R_4dz4GH4occCjvRVC2e5FYMZK910SrAW_rRatVTNbfjhxBMvq_90hQkBfKpq8NHgMAzJHpJP5JU/s1600/Brunstol_picture095.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She would be more formidable if her gear wasn't +Magic Damage</td></tr>
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At 25%, she tires of <strike>you beating her up</strike> fighting you and casts Easy Prey that basically kills you. Go ahead, call her a hacker and a cheater in Global. You wake up in the courtyard that's now empty of Accalia but has a hittable chest with more random stuff in it.<br />
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Now head back to the town you started in. You can either go along the outside of the island (it's like the 101 highway in California except with more violent occupants) or back the way you came. Either way, if you aggro some of these mobs they'll chase you all the way back to town.<br />
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A fun feature of Dead Man's Hand is that if you try and swim you get one-shotted by a shark. So unless they add flying mounts (and for the love of Hyboria I hope they don't), you're running or riding.<br />
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Vayaspara</h4>
Vayaspara will be standing outside the tavern/whore-house/pirate-pickling facility located at 625, 594. Several of her topless whores will be throwing things at you (even if you paid last time). Clear a few out so you'll have room to fight. You may also want to take out a hostile mob (Behafrid) inside the tavern, so you don't have to deal with two enemies during the final battle.<br />
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One strategy is to kite her when she casts Abyssal Moan, a DOT spell that does unholy damage in a cone shape (hat tip to <a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showpost.php?p=2105551&postcount=7">cins on the forums</a>) - Circle-strafing is a good way to avoid the damage. Darkness Within, is her other basic attack and it also does Unholy damage.<br />
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She also hits you with a stacking -10% miss/Fizzle chance called Ravenous Debauch which lasts for two minutes. It's a good idea to wait for that to expire before attempting the final boss. <a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showpost.php?p=2105542&postcount=6">Per Roddam on the forum there is also another hittable chest upstairs</a> in the tavern that is a good use of time while you wait for the ravens to finish circling you.<br />
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At 25% she also surrenders and says your real enemy is in Artus' ship nearby. To her right will be a hittable chest with more goodies.<br />
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<h4>
Alternate path around the island</h4>
<a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showpost.php?p=2105539&postcount=5">Per gcustoms on the English forums</a>: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
An easier way is to hang a right when you enter the crater and go around
the perimeter of the crater, stopping when you get to the rock that you
can't jump over, at this point you should be close to drostan, take out
the one marksman crouching beside a rock. Then take out the four
patrols and one marksman by the geyser where Drostan runs. Then exit the
way you came and to get to Accaila you go around the perimeter of the
island, this will pull minimal mobs and allow you to get to Accaila in
good time and with only having to kill the four scouts that patrol into
her "Area" you can also reset mobs by jumping on the first canopy
Accaila is facing.</blockquote>
This is much faster but will yield a little less treasure (big whoop) and you won't finish the other two fodder quests (also big whoop). Here's <a href="http://aochideout.blogspot.com/2012/09/guide-beating-dead-mans-hand.html">Slith's screen-capture run following a similar path</a> and a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFDkZnKiozQ">youtube video of a similar run</a>.<br />
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Artus' Ship</h4>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguULR1dWOHgtk3H6cDSIcwwiePVmv2fPR_4aUOzMGd7Eq8Pev8ebNVDG4sq61gqSqxa-HGRpDVYlKPcg6J_o_UaHAoUDtra5ZdCKJI6mOEuF6i3tEaaW-ZozNoAQCrG1TgHpjpK81FDEo/s1600/Brunstol_picture097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguULR1dWOHgtk3H6cDSIcwwiePVmv2fPR_4aUOzMGd7Eq8Pev8ebNVDG4sq61gqSqxa-HGRpDVYlKPcg6J_o_UaHAoUDtra5ZdCKJI6mOEuF6i3tEaaW-ZozNoAQCrG1TgHpjpK81FDEo/s1600/Brunstol_picture097.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a>Located at 649, 888 is a ladder into the ship where you'll face one of the three bosses in a new battle. There's a different strategy for each, but as your character powers up, they basically all become tank and spank. Some are harder for some classes than others but it seems to luck of the draw as to which you'll get.<br />
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<h4>
Drostan on Artus' Ship</h4>
Drostan now does unholy damage (guess poison wasn't working too well for him). He casts Veils of Vermin that summons a bunch of rat minions. Battle him by the barrels and position yourself so you can hit him and the rat pack concurrently. Battle the rats down, focusing initially on the largest of these rats (which is enlarged with the Cheating Rat spell). That one rodent will do fairly significant damage. Rinse and repeat until he drops. AOE spells should be saved for when the rats appear, but melee classes like the Bear Shaman and Dark Templar can usually withstand the onslaught easily enough. I haven't tried this on a sin, but I imagine it's fairly difficult. On the forums, cins pointed out that you can jump on the high ledge from ballista which keeps you out of range of the rats, which seems like a good tactic for ranged attacking characters like casters and rangers.<br />
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<h4>
Accalia on Artus' Ship</h4>
She still has Abhor the Weak but not also, at 75%, 50%, and 25% will take off to attack some prisoners which, if she finishes, will give her a huge buff. If you click on one of ballista it will save the prisoner (you did good!), stun her and remove the buff if it's there. If you click on the lever near one of the prisoners, you'll free them and get "Instill Power" that gives you +20% damage mitigation and +20% damage (this also seems to kill the person you just saved, which sort of defeats the purpose of saving them). Honestly, it's not really worth going for, unless you're struggling with the battle. Accalia can interrupt you with a single white hit, so it's only viable while she's stunned. Each ballista is only usable once so mentally keep track of which ones you've used.<br />
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<h4>
Vayaspara on Artus' Ship</h4>
There's a non-descript wax figure that's they say looks like you near the stairs. This is a pure DPS race. You can slow the melting of your wax figure by clicking on barrels at the top of the stairs but there's some debate if this feature works or not. I've found it helps and that was collaborated by cins.<br />
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The warnings you get for the figure melting are:<br />
1. Was begins to gently pour down the sides of the doll<br />
2. Blatant deformities in the likeness of the doll begin to appear<br />
3. The Voodoo Doll is melting at an alarming rate<br />
4. [Something about a relentless assault] < - If you see this, you're probably boned. <br />
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I'm speculating these are at 75%, 50%, 25%, and 10% health on the Voodoo Doll.<br />
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If you use AoE attacks, you can get the Fire Girls Vayaspara summons to attack you (hooray?) but that keeps them from damaging the wax figure, so that's nice. Per cins the fire girls have a fire aura which damages the doll so collecting them does give you more time.<br />
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If she doesn't die by the time the wax figure has taken so much damage you die a horrible fire fatality. I have killed her at the same time the figure melted. I rezed at the nearby rez pad but couldn't re-enter the ship. So you may want to have a resurrection potion active on this one, or intentionally die if you don't think you can get her down fast enough.<br />
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Each boss drops a chest with either a blue mastery vial (purple ones used to drop but I haven't seen any recently), two to three Rare tokens, a random blue item, and a mix of esteem tokens, patroller's kit, and potions. There are some pets that drop from Accalia (panther), Drostan (rat), Vayaspara (spider). After the battle, exit the ship, and return to Ardashir to receive your cash rewards.<br />
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Including the rewards for the quests and vendoring the raw jade and other trash you find, each run through Dead Man's Hand should net you about 50 silver, 25 Esteem Tokens, 2-3 Rares, and 125,000 Mastery (plus Mastery for killings mobs).<br />
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In 18 runs, I received 3 rares each time. The range for monetary rewards was 49 silver, 10 copper, and 99 tin to 74 silver, 80 Copper, and 32 Tin with an average of 59 Silver, 10 Copper, and 99 Tin. Esteem tokens dropped in a range of 19 to 33, with an average of 25.06.<br />
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The final boss was Accalia seven times, Drostan four times, and Vayaspara seven times. Three panthers, one cunning rat, and one black widow pets dropped. (With such a small sample size, it's hard to tell what the real drop rate is and if there's a bias towards a certain boss or bosses). <br />
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Anything missed that should be added?<br />
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Updates:<br />
07/15/14 - Updated showing alternate (and shorter path). Hat tip to gcustoms, Roddam, and cins with a bunch of great information to add to this guide. Thank you!Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-31009979605491989472014-06-28T15:45:00.000-07:002014-06-29T11:41:23.104-07:00Introduction to Combat in Age of Conan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-x1B0yqieFbqqNOuZnYbBrxwji8lKd_CYodn0wlZtjm3-fTDfno-y2ISmfp_rqeR6J-EcO9jgBUj4ytPgNsh83wnJpzHsEEfqgTS7WfX5mBtNdG4LzTevFBpWEg1rbxEpM8F9yyITPY/s1600/Quianshan_picture006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-x1B0yqieFbqqNOuZnYbBrxwji8lKd_CYodn0wlZtjm3-fTDfno-y2ISmfp_rqeR6J-EcO9jgBUj4ytPgNsh83wnJpzHsEEfqgTS7WfX5mBtNdG4LzTevFBpWEg1rbxEpM8F9yyITPY/s1600/Quianshan_picture006.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
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For almost anyone who's made it to the city of Tortage, parts of this post well seem fairly obvious. However, there have been several review videos where the reviewer didn't seem to get the most basic concept of combat in AoC: Combos.<br />
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Just using directional attacks, while doing a bit of damage won't get you much past the jungle of Tortage before the game's inhabitants will overwhelm you like a pack of <a href="http://www.ageofconan.com/world/characters/conan">Cimmerians attacking the Aquilonian outpost of Fort Venarium</a>.<br />
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<h4>
The Basics </h4>
To execute a combo click the desired combo icon or use the keyboard and the corresponding key to start it. Then play Simon Says with the direction arrows shown using the commands for the arrow keys shown, as each lights up in turn. There will be between zero (Slam) and three steps (many higher level combos). The combo finisher does the most damage and in some cases also provides a buff to you and your party or a debuff to the enemy.<br />
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If you can get two or more enemies in front of you, your attacks can hit multiple enemies. Positioning in combat is important and will eventually be the difference between surviving and doing the jog of shame back to where you just died to continue your quests.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizsXA2wwlwbZt7Wd_agMFXmvqBHwVO60U3M7quc3IpiNsrDGsQSulN2kFFC6qK6HK6N6_LxIsrY2WLdO4lGvMfGY6GqzjjPxcbf7SknHdj_6r0InldodGI6jEX9KvwT3vW47x4L0dFdw/s1600/Quianshan_picture000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizsXA2wwlwbZt7Wd_agMFXmvqBHwVO60U3M7quc3IpiNsrDGsQSulN2kFFC6qK6HK6N6_LxIsrY2WLdO4lGvMfGY6GqzjjPxcbf7SknHdj_6r0InldodGI6jEX9KvwT3vW47x4L0dFdw/s1600/Quianshan_picture000.jpg" height="200" width="320" /> </a> </div>
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So what are those little white bracket-like icons on the hapless mob you just hammered?<br />
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Those are shields and the computer will shift them around on mobs to protect sides you've been attacking. In general, you'll want to select combos for where there aren't any shields. You do an additional 20% of damage if there are no shields on that side. You do even damage with one shield, -33% with two shields and -66% if the mob has stacked all three shields on a side. Click <a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=181006">here</a> to read more about damage and damage mitigation on the forums.<br />
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When you die, and you will die, just accept it and move on, you will have a little skull appear above your name that gives you a -1% debuff to damage and damage mitigation. This lasts for 30 minutes or until you click on your tombstone. This debuff can stack up to three times. It's a minor penalty. It's so minor that Funcom removed the option for players to pick their resurrection pad from all the ones discovered on the map, as players were using dying as a quick travel option. Now when you die, you can either wait for someone to resurrect you or the nearest rez pad. <br />
<h4>
Less Basic</h4>
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You also have shields which you can adjust around by using Control-1 (left), Control-2 (top), Control-3 (right). Double hitting any of those sends all three shields to that side. Getting them back to evenly distributed took some time. In general, outside of a few battles, you can leave them alone for Player vs Environment (PvE).<br />
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These commands are only active with a drawn weapon. You can draw (and sheath) a weapon at any time using the ` key. You can also change weapons with Shift-R. Both of these commands also have buttons you can put on your tool bar.<br />
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There is also an option for active blocking by clicking the X key. This provides some additional damage mitigation at the cost of stamina or mana. <a href="http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=184023">There's some debate if this feature still works.</a> It still a very effective self stamina drain but, in limited testing, I couldn't discern a difference in damage received.<br />
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Another difference between AoC and some other MMOs is healing. Healing is mostly Heal over Time (HoT). This includes potions. So don't wait until you're at 10% to pop a health potion, hit healing potions early in combat (once you're down to 75% or so, so you get value of the upfront healing burst) and then let the HoT keep you alive. If you're a healer or a tank you won't need as many healing potions but rogues and mages should stock up. As you learn your class and how the game works, you'll find the proper time to down a red ale (fun fact: most of the potions are types of alcohol).<br />
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The last two pieces of combat both involve movement and positioning.<br />
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As someone who played this game like a pinata for several years, learning to play with these tactics will make you a better player faster. Positioning is important, both from being able to hit multiple opponents and to make sure you're not flanked. You essentially have no shields on your back so letting an opponent claw at your spine is giving them +20% damage. Mobs will try and flank you so you sometimes will need to make a few moves to position them all in front of you.</div>
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You can also strafe using the Z and C keys. It's easiest to use those in conjunction with using the mouse for turning and moving (instead of W-A-S-D). You can move by clicking both the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously. </div>
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If you find yourself walking, instead of jogging, backspace toggles between jog and walk. You can also sprint by holding shift. This drains another resource called Energy. </div>
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The last piece of combat are some extra maneuvers to help you avoid certain larger attacks. If you double tap forward, you get a buff that provides a high chance of stunning your target on your next attack. Double tapping backwards provides a short evasion buff that gives opponents a +50% chance of missing, +50% chance of a spell fizzling, and a +25% evade. Sidestepping by double tapping either direction gives +10% immunity against spells.<br />
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These features are critical in Player verses Player (PvP) and as you level up. Once you're out of the jungle the AoC learning curve starts. There's difficulty jumps at level 40 and 60 as opponents start having more stuns, knock backs, roots, and other crowd control measures. Knowing some tricks to avoid these and when to use your own CC abilities will determine your fate in numerous battles.<br />
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Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4027236430329312967.post-75515587016863523902014-06-28T15:43:00.001-07:002014-06-28T15:43:05.262-07:00Welcome to Bear Shaman Problems<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4hmmgX6Guht0LK3vdFOEekwko-LcpuV7Ow9qXe9ZJ4NDVgBQ81WGWoeafK3UwCfDRYVaTAVIHrRFEQweHHvK25mQbxXtku4VrN6HnSXc7ydpEtsImyDBDI0RjSeNTw5UGivXmRl14xA/s1600/BearShamanProblems.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4hmmgX6Guht0LK3vdFOEekwko-LcpuV7Ow9qXe9ZJ4NDVgBQ81WGWoeafK3UwCfDRYVaTAVIHrRFEQweHHvK25mQbxXtku4VrN6HnSXc7ydpEtsImyDBDI0RjSeNTw5UGivXmRl14xA/s1600/BearShamanProblems.png" height="320" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gear, however, is one of my problems.</td></tr>
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Welcome. This blog is meant to offer new players some tips from a casual player and to offer everyone some humor around the one of the best and underrated MMOs on the market, Funcom's mature-rated Age of Conan.<br />
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I've been playing off and on since launch and have several 80's along with a bad case of altitis. I'll never describe myself as a pro at the game but I'd like to share some of what I've learned over the past six years with new and veteran players as well have some laughs along the way.<br />
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I've also played some other MMO's like World of Warcraft, Star Wars The Old Republic, Runescape, Neverwinter, Marvel Heroes, the Secret World, as well have had a cup of coffee with Lord of the Rings Online, Tera, Firefall, and Runes of Magic. <br />
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Despite new games coming out all the time, AoC is the game that I always come back to. Between the music, the amazing visuals, and the engaging melee combat, there's no other game like it.</div>
Kalurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00326521863863437568noreply@blogger.com2