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2010/08/05 21:57:22
Subject: Castle Ravenloft board game Gencon sneak peek
Cheers for this fella, looks alright to me, very old school.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
2010/08/06 16:32:37
Subject: Castle Ravenloft board game Gencon sneak peek
It does look really old school and very cool. I would have picked this up when I was pretty young for sure. I remember getting into Battlemasters and Hero Quest and a few other much less interesting board games at that time.
2010/08/09 03:49:40
Subject: Castle Ravenloft board game Gencon sneak peek
The way the game works is you have a starting area then you randomly generate the next room and generate the event, if any. The Castle changes each time so you never know what to expect.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
2010/08/09 12:24:46
Subject: Castle Ravenloft board game Gencon sneak peek
Claustrophobia works that way as well, but is more of a dungeon crawl akin to space hulk.
I like the programmed aspects of the monster events, but am curious how much replayability will be gleaned from it. Random events and dungeons certainly help with that. Closer look at scenarios will help ascertain if new scenarios from WotC will be necessary (Mike Mearls alluded to more scenarios but who knows? He also said he would have a ton of previews and articles a couple weeks ago and so far nothing)
Ahtman wrote:A Dracolich is a $50 mini, so for the whole box....
that's assuming EVERYONE wants a blue dragon dracolich...
i'm not doubting that the box will be a good buy for people just starting out with DDM but i collected them religiously for the first 10 or so sets. i personally don't want more of what i already have. i don't mind the extra dungeon tiles and minis if they're new but without both of those requirements met, it's not a good buy for me personally.
2010/08/11 01:34:45
Subject: Castle Ravenloft board game Gencon sneak peek
Ahtman wrote:A Dracolich is a $50 mini, so for the whole box....
that's assuming EVERYONE wants a blue dragon dracolich...
At GenCon they busted out a box for a friend and myself and the Dracolich was white. Odds are they aren't going to sell it piecemeal so you might try to find someone who could use the minis.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
2010/08/11 01:37:07
Subject: Castle Ravenloft board game Gencon sneak peek
I'm suprised more of them didn't come from Unhallowed, the Ravenloft themed set.
Hmmmmmm, sorely tempted. I love Ravenloft as a setting, and I've been in the market for a dungeon crawl for ages, and I love the idea of a random castle...
Dangit!
It's this or Descent, but not til I get to the UK full time.
Ahtman wrote:A Dracolich is a $50 mini, so for the whole box....
that's assuming EVERYONE wants a blue dragon dracolich...
At GenCon they busted out a box for a friend and myself and the Dracolich was white. Odds are they aren't going to sell it piecemeal so you might try to find someone who could use the minis.
lol, i understand the actual model is white but it is a model of a Blue Dragon Lich (usually referred to as a dracolich for short) from Dungeons and Dragons. Dragons in D&D have specific racial shapes and colors that help differentiate between them. this particular model is of the blue kind.
2010/08/11 02:00:46
Subject: Castle Ravenloft board game Gencon sneak peek
warboss wrote:lol, i understand the actual model is white but it is a model of a Blue Dragon Lich (usually referred to as a dracolich for short) from Dungeons and Dragons. Dragons in D&D have specific racial shapes and colors that help differentiate between them. this particular model is of the blue kind.
Ah, well that makes sense. I have the original, non CR version, of said model. I never really thought about what kind of dragon it was before it became all boney and deadish.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
2010/08/11 02:29:47
Subject: Castle Ravenloft board game Gencon sneak peek
Ahtman wrote:Ah, well that makes sense. I have the original, non CR version, of said model. I never really thought about what kind of dragon it was before it became all boney and deadish.
no problem. you'll remember what type of dragon you're facing in d&d after the first time you cast a spell making you immune/resistant to certain elements and the dragon you're facing is happens to attack via a different one. blue dragons happen to have electricity based attacks (can't say in 4e but they did/do in prior editions) which stay with them when they go undead like the dracolich.
2010/08/11 03:57:11
Subject: Castle Ravenloft board game Gencon sneak peek
Re: Dracolich color -- Do you guys seriously have to use a blue dragon to represent a blue dragon in the RPG? My former group's rule of thumb was try to find something of the same general size and shape. The gargantuan blue pictured above therefore served many purposes. Likewise, a dracolich that technically has a blue's skeleton should place in for any kind of dracolich of that size (at the very least). I should also mention that, between just two of us collectors, my former group had hundreds of D&D minis at our disposal and we still found it necessary to sub things in. (After all, the only Gargantuan dragon ever produced was ole Blue.)
RE: the thread's actual topic -- I've been excited about this game since I posted a thread here on dakka about it some months ago. But seeing these pics leaves me suddenly lukewarm. I don't like the idea of getting more D&D minis with it. I hope they at least use a sturdier plastic in this batch. And are they using the Vampire Vizier as Strahd? Although that sculpt is better (in many ways) than the Unhallowed Strahd but . . . seriously, this would be a GREAT time to put a better Strahd out there.
Basically, I wish that Wizards could have hired Citidel to make the minis and FFG to make everything else. Looks fairly mediocre :( as is.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/08/11 04:01:29
Manchu wrote:Re: Dracolich color -- Do you guys seriously have to use a blue dragon to represent a blue dragon in the RPG? My former group's rule of thumb was try to find something of the same general size and shape. The gargantuan blue pictured above therefore served many purposes. Likewise, a dracolich that technically has a blue's skeleton should place in for any kind of dracolich of that size (at the very least). I should also mention that, between just two of us collectors, my former group had hundreds of D&D minis at our disposal and we still found it necessary to sub things in. (After all, the only Gargantuan dragon ever produced was ole Blue.)
no, you don't have to use the same color or the exact fig but its nifty if you do. once i got a single dragon of each size category, i was set as a DM and didn't *need* more. it was icing on the cake when they started to fill out each color in more sizes.
as for gargantuan dragons only coming in blue, these gargantuan guys would like a word with you...
2010/08/11 04:29:12
Subject: Castle Ravenloft board game Gencon sneak peek
Haha, yeah. The first Valentine's Day my fiance and I were together, she bought me that thing. It sat on our refrigerator most of the time until we moved. Guarding the food from hungry PC raiders . . .
Automatically Appended Next Post: Watching the unboxing videos, I see that the Vampire Vizier is Strahd . . .
Meaning that Wizards last chance to keep me as a customer of their current lines is Gamma World.
Does anyone else think that 4E could be more effectively sold as a series of boardgames rather than maintaining the old PnP facade? (I'm saying that as a proponent of 4E who can't find a gaming group to play it with, not as a hater.)
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Watching the unboxing videos, I see that the Vampire Vizier is Strahd . . .
Meaning that Wizards last chance to keep me as a customer of their current lines is Gamma World.
Manchu wrote:Does anyone else think that 4E could be more effectively sold as a series of boardgames rather than maintaining the old PnP facade? (I'm saying that as a proponent of 4E who can't find a gaming group to play it with, not as a hater.)
I am of the same opinion actually. 4ed seems to be a boardgame already that has been displaced from its home.
In some ways, I kind of wish D&D did that from the very beginning since miniatures were a recommended form of combat resolution portrayal. Its as if it has come full circle back to 1970's, taking 40 years to get to where it should(?) have been.
As a person who roleplayed 2-3 times a week for the entire decade of the 90's, I appreciate the lack of visual aides so that my mind is not hindered from its own creativity. But as a newer player, I kind of wished it was a boardgame to help get a feel for the setting and to visualize combat resolution. Sort of a catch 22 really.
Automatically Appended Next Post: As far as Gammaworld is concerned, WOTC needs to stay well away from blindbuy for anything BUT M:tG.
Gammaworld will die a freakish death because of that marketing strategy.
Castle Rvaenloft will be the first WotC purchase in a few years since I dropped M:tG like a sack of hot garbage because of blind buy. I am not willing to go through that again and I am confident that many people feel the same way, especially when it comes to board/roleplaying games.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/08/11 20:38:10
I kicked my D'n'D minis habit because of blind buy. Too bulky and expensive for that stuff- you end up storing piles of halfling wizards you don't even like.
At least with Magic it's cheap and doesn't take up much space.
As for D'n'D as a board game, I guess if it was, another pulp fantasy RPG would just exist in it's place. I wouldn't mind. I do find that games with tiles and minis take a lot of prep on my part and sort of get in the way sometimes, but they can be great for the right type of game.
Hellfury wrote:Castle Rvaenloft will be the first WotC purchase in a few years since I dropped M:tG like a sack of hot garbage because of blind buy. I am not willing to go through that again and I am confident that many people feel the same way, especially when it comes to board/roleplaying games.
Please, if you get a chance, post some pics of the contents, especially those tile pieces.
I'm always looking for new and interesting tile pieces. They work wonders in Dark Heresy.
I still want this, even if I own most of the minis that it comes with. The D&D minis game is deader than dead anyway, so who cares if the pawns are simply recasts? They could have used generic markers if they wanted to!
Remember, everyone, the game is designed to be played, not studied under glass and preserved like a rare animal. Just play it!
Automatically Appended Next Post: and it kind of reminds me of the old boardgame Mystery Mansion, where you build a three-story house room-by-room, searching for the key to treasure. It was one of my favorite games as a child, now this is not only a Ravenloft-themed one, but there's something to kill, too!!!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/08/23 07:48:50
2010/08/25 12:30:27
Subject: Re:Castle Ravenloft board game Gencon sneak peek
In November, Wizards of the Coast intends to release a new boardgame set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons. The game will be titled Wrath of Ashardalon, and was designed by Bill Slavicsek, Mike Mearls, and Peter Lee.
Like WotC’s earlier board game Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon is a cooperative game that pits one to five players against the game itself. Wrath is set in a subterranean maze populated with terrible monsters and a powerful red dragon. There are multiple scenarios, allowing players to face a variety of challenges.
The boxed game will include 42 plastic hero and monster miniatures, 13 sheets of interlocking geomorphic dungeon tiles, 200 cards, a 20-sided die, and a scenario book.
The suggested retail price will be $64.99.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
Cheers for this fella, looks alright to me, very old school.
