drmauric

@Matt John S @Primeval @Neil Amswych @Ken I've been messing around with some intro text for the Campaign. A while back we tossed around the idea of naming the campaign "Whispers From Stygia" so I put this together based off of that. It's pretty generic and allows a lot of freedom for tying the individual scenario narratives together however we see fit. Let me know what you think! (as always it's open for tweaking as things develop and any ideas from you guys as well.) "Know, O Prince, that in the time when Conan the Cimmerian sat upon the Throne of Aquilonia there arose whispers from Stygia. Whispers of a scheming sorcerer whose black heart was set upon vengeance. Heard first in the ruined temples of demented fanatics, then in the back allies of thieves quarters, where the malcontent and the grumblers welcomed the sinister winds of change that blew from the South. The sorcerer was none other than Thoth Amon, High Priest of Set, a name once cautiously whispered, now spoken openly in the streets. His venomous influence quickly crept, undetected at first, into the courts of all the Hyborian Kingdoms. Promises of riches and power caused alliances to shift, loyalties to expire. If promises failed to convince, then lotus and assassins were employed as his grip tightened, like serpentine coils, across the lands. Before long the mechanations of the Mad Sorcerer threatened to topple entire kingdoms and plunge the world into a darker age. Thoth Amon's quest for power was great. But his vengeance knew no bounds. He would have Aquilonia and it's Barbarian King beneath his heel if the world had to burn for it to be accomplished. But know also, O Prince, in that selfsame hour there were those who stood opposed to him..."

@Neil Amswych Scenario 3 already has the Spellbook written into it. So no alterations are necessary. I think if you leave it off the equipment list and out of the special rules for your scenario folks will know what to do. And rather than cluttering the narrative with spellbook instructions, like I said, it's included in the scenario 3 equipment list and special rules so folks will know what to do there as well. 🙂

@Neil Amswych I would strongly recommend that you DO NOT make any changes. You are happy with it and it sounds like you are done with it, so that's great. Winning and losing in yours is dependent on many other factors besides 3 extra gems for Hadrathus. For example, as we discussed privately, if the Merchant shows up too soon he is a pin cushion for the archers. Hadrathus' spellbook can't change that. 🙂 So, my recommendation, leave it alone. It will be fine.

@Ken @Neil Amswych @Matt John S @Primeval @Footballzs As promised here is my attempt at a summery of a few things that we still need to reach a consensus on. I've included page numbers so you can go back and check out the conversation around these topic. These will also need to be included in the campaign rules when we finalize them. #1 Bonus Gems #2 Leveling up #3 Carry Over items #1Bonus Gem Idea- some of you had a positive response to this idea back on page 11Winner gets 2Loser gets 1 Overlord uses Blue Gems and places them in his Reserve Zone at the start of the game.Heroes use Red Gems and place them on the table near the Hero area. These are a common pool that any Hero can draw from at any time. These gems do not count when determining the Heroes' Life Points. All bonus gems are one time use and used gems are discarded during the End Phase. If there are any unused Bonus Gems at the end of a scenario each side may carry 1 over to the next scenario. #2 Leveling Up (page 10,12) 1. Victory Points only determine the level up. One time level up after scenario 4 2. Yogah Idol scenario determines the final battle. Scenario 1 - The Time for Flight is Nigh Scenario 2 - Fight or Flight Scenario 3 - The Fate of Yag-Kosha Scenario 4 - Dreams of Atali Scenario 5a - The Streets of Khemi (if heroes win scenario 3) Scenario 5b - The Trap (if Overlord wins scenario 3) 3. Nordheim scenario determines whether Thoth gets an Atali buff in the final scenarios. Ken's suggestions for leveling up, page 9 Overlord 4 VP | Heroes 0 (Overlord tiles get +1 armor AND +1 yellow die) Overlord 3 VP | Heroes 1 (Overlord tiles get +1 armor AND +1 yellow die | Heroes get +1 defense) Overlord 2 VP | Heroes 2 (Overlord tiles get +1 armor AND +1 yellow die | Heroes get +1 defense AND +1 Reroll) Overlord 1 VP | Heroes 3 (Overlord tiles get +1 armor | Heroes get +1 defense AND +1 Reroll) Overlord 0 VP | Heroes 4 (Heroes get +1 defense AND +1 Reroll) #3 Carry Over Items Hadrathus' Spellbook- scenario1 pr 17 Xuthal's Crowns 1 Crown in 1st scenario, 1 crown in 2nd scenario +1 Armor vs. Spell damage Immune to Mind Control pg 18 Medallion of Zhangpau -1 to Dark Demon or Outer Dark Demon armor

@Ken I think the community gems kind of slipped through the cracks. We never really finalized that idea. I'll go back through the other thread post a summary of outstanding issues like the gems, crowns, and leveling up in the over there so we can move toward finalizing some of these ideas. But no pressure! I have the time and motivation now so that's why you guys are hearing a lot from me. Please don't burn out on Conan. 🙂 @Neil Amswych Ok, poor choice of wording. My apologies. FYI I did test Fight or Flight with the spellbook and I was having similar results to what you were having. So you do what you feel is best, but in my opinion the spellbook certainly doesn't knock things out of balance. @Primeval Sorry for misrepresenting your event. It doesn't come across in the way I stated. It's a great mechanic and has exactly the effect you desire. The fortress being a foe and annoying the player.

Hey guys, I played through Dreams of Atali a couple times this week. It is a solid scenario with a number of pretty cool elements. Next up is The Streets of Khemi, which means I will have played through them all. I am stoked about the quality of these scenarios! Especially the unique way a lot of components are being used. The hidden merchant tokens, jumping from fortress walls because you're wacked out on lotus fumes, Frost Giant allies!?!, and multi map boards. Things are looking good to me! How is it going for all of you? @Matt John S @Primeval @Neil Amswych @Ken

Your help this far has been most appreciated. Thanks for checking in!

Well, it's no more complicated than carrying over say a Life potion. If an item is kept low key but interesting, such as the ones that have been described, I don't think there is any reason to be concerned about over complicating things.

Perhaps that shard item could impact Yogah in Ken's The Trap? Just a thought.

@Neil Amswych @Primeval @Matt John S @Ken Neil and I have been doing some behind the scenes work on his sceanrio, Fight or Flight?, and things are looking good. It has a variety of victory conditions and gives the Heroes some real choices. The Xuthal's Crown has been worked in as a chest item. Not the main goal of the scenario but an important choice. (Thank you to those who were willing to try to work it in) One of the things that came up is how to make the Medallion more attractive for the Heroes to go after. Because the Heores can bypass it and go for an easier win. Neil had the idea of making the Medallion a carryover item that gives an armor reduction to the Dark Demon or the Outer Dark Demon if it is in the same area as the Medallion. One cool thread Neil and I have noticed in our campaign is what I call "the evolution of the Dark Demon". It goes from the evil hound, to the dark demon to the outer dark demon. It is kind of the reoccurring, relentless villain, Thoth Amon's strong arm so to speak. I think we have all included one or the other. So I think when we go to write our narrative tie ins we have a cool thread kind of running in the background of this creature getting more and more powerful (or more annoying). So I'd like to propose the inclusion of The Medallion of Zhangpau as a carryover item to reduce the Demon's armor. (exact word to be determined) Thus far we have Hadrathus' Spellbook and the 2 Xuthal Crowns with their magic protections as carryover items. (I still have to rewrite my scenario to include the first one) I don't believe any of these items (Spellbook, Crowns or Medallion) will break a sceanrio or knock one wildly out of balance. We don't really have any other carryover items. ( of the ones I've tested... ahem... Matt... ;) ) And I think this addition of the Medallion as a carryover will greatly enhance Fight or Flight and our overall campaign narrative. What do you guys think?

Hi, @tet2brick There are a number of Crossbowmen tiles in the editor that don't exist in the standard game. It is also missing one that has different statistics. I've included a picture. Also could you add the Push Back spell from the Khitai expansion? Thank you!

Great point @Neil Amswych. Where I was looking to enhance, it may be having the opposite effect. Definitely don't want to do that. (See Ken's Question #3) Perhaps there is a simpler solution. Maybe Ken and I could work them into ours in such a way that has no bearing on anyone else. If I introduce one Crown, (and it is treated as out of game baggage) then it's not so weird when it shows up in the Heroes' possession at the end of the campaign, or it won't require an explanation as to why the Heroes would be looking for another one during the Finale. I still think that it would be valuable for everyone to consider Ken's questions.

Oops. My apologies for misstating this.

To summarize the Xuthal Crowns conversation: @Ken is using the Crowns in his final scenarios to give the Heroes some protection against Thoth Amon's sorcery. Could these crowns be easily added into other scenarios? I can easily add one into mine, so the Heroes will have at least one. Could the other one be added in somewhere? In a side chest? In the asset deck for your scenario? Swapped out with a non essential item? The Heroes would be aware of its usefulness in the final scenario but may or may not decide to go after it? Based on @Primeval's thoughts, there is no reason to over complicate things by requiring the crowns to be carried over in each sceanrio. We would just assume the Heroes carried them along with other out of game campaign related gear. No need to come up with special rules or benefits for the Crowns, what Ken has in mind will be THE benefit and make them worth going after. Really kind of just need a chest to put them in. Ken already mentioned that he could simply write them in his but could this be an opportunity to enhance our story by providing a substantial choice/sub-goal with in the overall campaign? Hopefully I'm not coming across as pushy. I just don't want this conversation to get buried. :) @Neil Amswych @Matt John S