Ken

Everyone, just let me know when your scenario has been updated and ready. When everyone is ready, I will download the revised versions and update the PDF. Love this idea!

Yes, a hero can be forced to attack another hero, but they can't harm themselves (attack themselves, jump off buildings, drown in the ocean, etc.).

Sounds good. I have to admit, I love the fact that Conan doesn't enter the fray until the final battle. It is even more climactic.

Good point. I didn't extrapolate that out. I guess it would be something like the chart below. Should we explain at the beginning that some players might not get to play the same character all the way through the campaign? Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Scenario 4 Scenario 5a/Scenario 5b Hadrathus Hadrathus Hadrathus Hadrathus Hadrathus Ikhmet Ikhmet Ikhmet Ikhmet Ikhmet Yogah of Yag Yogah of Yag Yogah of Yag Njord Njord/Conan Shentu Shentu Shentu Shentu Conan/Shentu Obviously, the Yogah change has to happen between 3 and 4, but for consistency we could keep Shentu throughout the campaign by eliminating Njord in scenario 5a. (I included Njord because his Block skill could be useful for the heroes in slowing the sorcerer stack, but I don't think it is a game-changing skill.)

The crossbowmen were killed immediately after the javelin throwers. The heroes did not start looking for the merchant until all other threats were eliminated and only the dark demon remained.

No, they did not teleport through the floors, only walls. Although it seems obvious to me, it might not be a bad idea to clarify this to avoid arguments.

Yeah, they went for the crown, but at that point they controlled the board.

I assume it's the most recent version. I downloaded it Friday night from the the scenario builder (following the link at the top of this thread).

I don't think we should make any changes to the gems based on one group's feedback, but if more people feel that way then we should consider revising. They did not like having to remove the spellbook from their inventory for scenario 2 - both thematically and because no one likes their cool toys being taken away. 🙂 I revised my post above to clarify this. (Of course, the spellbook would be OP for the heroes in scenario 2 without significantly ramping up the OL. I have a few ideas/suggestions for doing this, but I want to make sure I didn't miss anything first.)

So I introduced the campaign to my monthly gaming group, but we only made it through the first two scenarios. I played the OL in both scenarios. Campaign play: They were unimpressed with the bonus gem idea and didn't bother. They were very unhappy about equipment changes between scenarios. After I explained that it was a loose campaign, but ultimately they were unique scenarios written by different people they were OK with it - except for not being able to carry the spellbook to scenario 2. That really bothered them. Scenario 1 – The Time for Flight is Nigh This scenario was thematic, fast-paced, and fun. The Evil Hound was disruptive in the first few rounds, but the heroes quickly outpaced it due to its movement cap. The slowest hero is normally Hadrathus, but with teleportation he became the fastest. The constant flow of assassins allowed me to keep the pressure on. They died almost as quickly as they spawned, but they were able to get a few hits in and were a dangerous enough threat that they couldn't be ignored. The Honor Guards did their duty as speed bumps. The Tower Guards were next to useless, and I was glad when the last unit died so I could remove its tile from the river. (Maybe it is just me, but I never understood the concept of giving squishy, easily killed units Block.) The scenario had a climactic finish with the heroes barely winning. Ikhmet ended up giving Hadrathus the explosive orb, who used it in his own zone to kill the final Honor Guard and Shaung Mian (as well as wounding himself). Barely alive, he used his last gem in the last round to teleport away and escape. Issues: 1. "Small stairs" - Looking at the map, it seems to me there are 3 sizes of stairs on levels 1,2,&3: small, medium, and large. My group disagreed, saying there were only 2 size stairs (large and small) and therefore wanted to apply the 2 model limit to all but the biggest. Perhaps the stairs could be specifically marked to avoid confusion/disagreement? 2. Map issue 1 - This is not related to the scenario, but we had trouble matching staircases between levels. Sometimes we would place out units on the "up" rather than the "down" (or vice versa). When we realized our mistake, we had to backtrack our actions to get them on the right spot. Nothing to change on the scenario, just a map observation. 3. Map issue 2 - This is not related to the scenario, but the bonus map (levels 0 and 4) is not aligned the same way digitally as it is in printed form. This complicated the original setup. Again, nothing to change on the scenario, just a map observation. Scenario 2 – Fight or Flight Since there is no timer or immediate pressure on the heroes, they began by resting. As overlord, I activated units so I could get the dark demon on the board, but there was nothing to actually do but try to recruit the pirates. The heroes then proceeded to head as a group to the temple, kill all the guards, and retrieve the medallion. By the time the dark demon appeared, most of the heroes were already on their way to the boats. I decided to attack the straggler (Ikhmet) with a double activation from the dark demon - especially because he was the one carrying the medallion. I managed to deplete his entire reserve of gems, but not get any damage through. At this point, the other heroes began systematically killing all the minions on the board - and the dark demon was too far away to impact anything. Realizing the game was lost for the overlord, instead of finishing the scenario we agreed to undo the dark demon's attack on Ikhmet and instead move to the center of the board for better positioning. I was able to lock down Yogah and Hadrathus this way, but then Ikhmet and Shentu proceeded to systematically kill all of the overlord's minions. The Dark Demon could not damage Hadrathus (he rolls an average of 6 hits, but Hadrathus blocks 2 with Mitra's Halo and has enough gems to defend against the rest) so I attacked Yogah. I managed to hurt Yogah, but Hadrathus healed him the next turn. With so many minion tiles in the river, and no ability to call reinforcements, it was difficult to put pressure on the heroes. Eventually I was able to dredge the river enough to activate the dark demon twice every other round, but Yogah was in full passive mode with total defense with Hadrathus healing. I could have moved the demon to attack Ikhmet or Shentu, but that would have freed up Yogah and Hadrathus. When all the minions were gone and only the dark demon remained, the heroes found the merchant. Shentu ended his turn to flip the merchant token, and then Ikhment picked it up and left the board. Looking back, I am not sure if the merchant rule is for the hero (singular) to end their turn or all the heroes (plural) to end their turn before flipping the token. If the later, the overlord should have had one more turn, but I am not sure it would have made a difference. We discussed the game afterwards and could not figure out what I should have done differently to win. I could have moved the dark demon to the exit point, but with teleportation that would not have helped anyway. Did we play this wrong, or is there an OL strategy I missed? Question: Can we change the text for the medallion to reduce the demon's guard "by 1" rather than "to 2"? This could lead to confusion in later scenarios determining the order of applying bonuses. "The Medallion of Zhangpau : The Medallion is in the space marked with the number 1. It can be removed from its holder with a complex manipulation with a difficult of 4. If the Dark Demon is in the same area as the Medallion, its Guard is reduced by 1."

We tried to use this map for a 3 player skirmish but 2 of the players are at a disadvantage because their deployment zones are either water (where non-aquatic units lose talents and powers) or rocks (where you can't deploy units). Did I read this wrong, or are the deployment zones messed up? We ended up switching to the Forge map, which is a great map.

Sure thing. I went ahead and posted in the playtesting hub. Here is the link if you want to include it when you post to Facebook: https://the-overlord.net/index.php?/topic/434-community-campaign-playtest-hub/&page=2&tab=comments#comment-4963

Here is a prototype PDF of the rules and scenarios in one master document. Keep in mind that, although the scenarios have been play-tested as standalone scenarios, they have not been play-tested with the overarching campaign rules yet. Download the prototype campaign:

Even if we don't use any of this in the final version, I find having a prototype helps solidify a project and "make it real" (if that makes sense).

Updated the complete first draft for my personal use for playtesting, but I am posting here in case this format helps anyone. Here is the PDF:

So I was thinking about compiling the rules and scenarios into one master PDF document. This is all I have for the moment, but thought I might share.

My play-testing included 2 Xuthal's Crowns and the scenario skews towards the heroes. I would be curious to see how it plays out with 0 or 1. If playing with 1, let me know which hero started with the crown and how the decision affected the outcome. I say this because Hadrathus is really important to this scenario and probably should get it, but Conan hits hard and can do some damage if he is possessed.

@Neil Amswych Good lord, time flies! Your post is a good wake up call. I didn't realize how much time has passed. Currently, my playtest table (i.e. dining room table) is set up with a Zombicide quest I am designing, but once I finalize it I will switch back to this Conan campaign. I think the onus of the playtesting will be on us. So be it.

@Neil Amswych I know I am a little late to this conversation, but I am fine with excluding the spellbook in your scenario. Adding the spellbook to The Streets of Khemi shifted the balance of power from the Overlord to the Heroes. I compensated by adding a second demon, but I think it is still skewed toward the Heroes (within acceptable levels). I can't imagine what would happen with a scenario that already favored the Heroes. 🙂

@drmauric Thanks for putting this together!

@drmauric This is good to hear! I had to put Conan on the back burner for a little while to avoid risking burnout (I play-tested my two scenarios A LOT). When I am recharged, I plan on play-testing the campaign in order. I just need to go back and revisit our campaign rules (a community gem carryover mechanic, if I recall correctly).

This sounds like a plan. By the way, I am fine with my flavor text being tweaked to match a consistent voice, if needed.

Sweet. Now I can update them as we get feedback from play-testers (if we get feedback from play-testers). (I have to admit the preview formatting for The Streets of Khemi (compared to the basic links for the other scenarios) is messing with my OCD, though.)

Here the links. They are in Draft Scenarios.

@Matt John S I created two posts in Draft Scenarios. Can you update the links in this post to point those new posts? That way, I can make changes as needed without having to bug you. Speaking of bugging you, did you ever write up your scenario?