That glass pavilion has my name all over it.
Heh, yep. I was actually just working up a list of who will be best to close each location (I've summarized all of our attributes and skills into a new tab on my deck handler, if you want to reference it).
Here's what I've got so far:
Dilapidated Plaza - Diplomacy 5: Radovan (d8+2), Hayato (d6+1).
Glass Pavilion - Wisdom/Divine 6: Zarlova (d10+4)
Stonework Passages - Wisdom/Survival 7: Zarlova (d10+1)
Brickworks - Strength 6: Vika (d10+1), Hayato (d10+1)
Warehouse - Dexterity/Disable 5: Radovan (d8+2), Vika (d6+2)
Quarry - Con/Fortitude 7: Vika (d10+1), Hayato (d8+2), Radovan/Norge (d8+2)
Catacombs - Wisdom/Survival 5: Zarlova (d10+1)
Unfortunately our only real Survival skill is Hayato's d6+1, which isn't fantastic... so we'll mostly be relying on raw Wisdom for those two locations, which means Zarlova will be busy (though Vika and Ezren both have a shot also with d8s). Aside from that, I think we've got pretty good coverage all around.
Ezren need to find a clone spell for me...
Well I'm awake now. So my thoughts and decisions. Firstly, bolding my three core choices for upgrades and Trader decisions.
- Ezren will take Intelligence +1 as his skill feat. I'll update my Deck Handler shortly with that.
- Ezren will take the Spell B card upgrade, switching out Channel Corruption for the new Life Drain spell. My deep thanks to Zarlova, and I'll give her priority on future card upgrades over me if we both desire the same one again in the future (though I still really want a Weapon 1 :P).
- Ezren will visit the Sunburst Market trader. Given the upcoming scenario rule about taking Ranged damage all the time, I suppose I will actually keep my much-maligned Bracers of Protection and instead trade my Dagger for Sunburst Market's Lightning Touch.
Other than that, some observations.
- Wow, these upcoming locations are harsh for Ezren to close. Besides his 1d8 Wisdom (literally the definition of 'average') he's got absolutely no aptitude here, and the word "Intelligence" is nowhere to be seen, alas. Oh well.
- We have, however, got a location basically custom-designed for Vika (the Quarry), and I will likely be moving to the Brickworks or Catacombs to make the most of my elemental attack spells if I draw them. Despite the risk of Trigger cards, I'll be starting at the Glass Pavilion, however, so even if I move at the start of my turn (after seeing my hand) I get to have a quick Examine to help other players (Zarlova) there.
- As I mentioned in Hangouts, there actually is, for all intents and purposes, a literal Clone spell in my class deck, hilariously enough; just it's in AD2.
Regarding the Traders, anybody have any advice? [...]
I'm usually a fan of exploiting Traders (especially Sunburst Market) to optimize your boon selection for your core strategy. Generally, this is "Explore as much as possible, win combats as much as possible" in a very narrow scope, but different classes will of course want different things.
In Vika's case, I would consider trading away one of your weapons, like your Longsword. With 5 weapons in your deck, and it being your Favored card type, it's unlikely you'll ever be caught with none in hand, and weapons after the first one are simply dead weight until and unless you choose to discard (in your case, Recharge) your weapons in combat (and there's an overkill penalty in this adventure). That, or your Blood Periapt, given that you also already have 2 armor in hand and you only have a hand size of 4, so holding onto that until you take damage may slow you down when you could instead be drawing blessings, allies or more weapons to recharge.
Usually I'm not a big fan of armor, mind, but Ultimate Combat actually did a lot to improve the worth of carrying Armors, and this scenario in particular calls for them. Otherwise, even as a fighter (ESPECIALLY as a fighter, really) I tend to throw out armor at traders. But Mummy's Mask does really try to make you regret not carrying them with its numerous forms of damage tied into barriers and BYA and AYA powers.
[...] Maybe I'll just do something simple like trade out an Ally for a Blessing of the Ancients? Still has the same extra explore potential, but much more useful to help other people, and has a decent chance of being recharged instead of discarded.
I think taking a Blessing of the Ancients is an excellent idea. Exploration speed matters a lot in 5 player games (as lucky as we just got), as does blessing support. Of course, I could be less greedy and take a Blessing myself at the trader, but I'm still conscious of how relatively few cards in my deck actually let me survive/fight in combat (and all of which need to be discarded or recharged). And spells = exploration speed for me if I need to as well.
Yeah, the Quarry is definitely going to be fun for me. I'm thinking I'll actually start at the Warehouse again though, to grab that free weapon early (or maybe free armor, if I'm taking a lot of ranged damage). And then I'll move to the Quarry from there, since I'll be more likely to have one of my 2 Blunt objects in hand by then, to tap into that sweet +3 bonus. ;-)
... actually, thinking about that I just realized that I can tweak that chance too, because if I ditch a Longsword for the trader (as recommended) than with my Favoured card type, it increases my odds of starting with at least one club from 40% to 50%, because I'll have fewer non-blunt weapons to worry about. I like that plan...
Okay, trading in my Longsword for a Blessing of the Ancients at the trader, then!
My Deck Handler is updated with my Trader choice and Card Upgrade choice. Including my new cards here for the group's benefit if they don't want to dig around my Deck Handler to see what's new.
After playing this card, if you do not have either the Arcane or Divine skill, banish it; otherwise, succeed at an Arcane 9 or Divine 11 check to recharge this card instead of discarding it. Then shuffle a random card from your discard pile into your deck.
After playing this card, if you do not have either the Arcane skill, banish it; otherwise, succeed at an Arcane 6 check to recharge this card instead of discarding it.
The Lightning Touch was chosen over other comparable attack spells due to Ezren favoring the Electricity and Acid traits with one of his character powers.
Just posting my Card Upgrade preferences for this scenario early on, if it affects decisions made when finding/acquiring boons. From most to least preferred. As usual, I prefer making agreements rather than rolling for card upgrades where possible. I'll already step aside any preference listed if it would conflict with Zarlova getting her first preference, in return for the Spell B I got last scenario.
- Weapon 1 (For Hungering Staff, which will let me use my Arcane skill in combat over and over again at no card cost).
- Spell 1 (For Shadow Barbs, a 1d10+Arcane combat spell that auto-recharges itself. It has more 'features', but none that are relevant to Ezren).
- Ally 1 (For Hungry Ghost Monk, an ally that can support my combat checks and sort of heal me. Mostly just a good replacement for the higher-risk Cult Acolyte).
- Armor 1 (For Shield Cloak, which is basically an auto-recharging Blood Periapt or Amulet or Life.)
- Item B (For Spellguard Bracers, a mediocre item that I can discard to recharge a spell from my discard pile, so it's like an extra spell in my deck... in the weakest possible sense.)
Pretty greedy Card Upgrade choices, with all of my truly desired ones as Deck 1 boons. I can also take a Deck 1 Item if needed (Shackles of Compliance), but my preference is even lower than the Deck B Item so that's probably not necessary.
Good idea. I'll be doing that shortly.
Much smaller prize list this time to pick over.
First pick - Item B (Topaz of Strength)
Second pick - Weapon B (Earthbreaker)
Power Feat - Hand size 5
Upgrades.
I'd like a B spell (Holy light) and add the "Look at the bottom card of your deck when you get a magic trait card" ability of Zarlova's."
The rest would be Item 1, Blessing B, Ally B, but I don't think it matters.
Sunburst market trader to swap a BotG for a BotE I think, barring oddities in the scenario rules..
First of all; thank you team (especially Hayato/Mork) for acquiring a Weapon 1 for me! Ezren is fully in business now! (Unless one of you want it, then I can be patient if needed)
That also means I will probably aim to use Traders to carry at least one blessing in my deck for the future, so I have some support to offer the team. Combat is no longer a meaningful concern of mine.
- Power Feat: "You may recharge a spell to add 1 die to your check against a bane that invokes the Acid or Electricity ([X] or Cold, Fire, or Poison) trait."
- Card Upgrade: Weapon 1 // Dagger -> Hungering Staff
- I do not plan on using either of our 'Loot' boons.
- I will visit Sunburst Market at the beginning of the next scenario, but I will decide what I'm trading after I see the scenario rules and location list. (EDIT: The rules say "[at the start of scenario] before setting out locations". Does that mean I can see the Scenario rules before deciding, just not the exact locations? If I have to decide well in advance, then I'll switch out Bracers of Protection for Blessing of the Ancients.)
Weapon 1
Traits
Staff
Melee
Bludgeoning
2-Handed
Magic
Corrupted
Check
Strength
Melee
Arcane
8
Powers
For your combat check, reveal this card to use your Strength or Arcane skill + 1d6+2; you may additionally discard a spell to add another 1d6 plus the spell's adventure deck number. If you fail this check and this card has the Corrupted trait, shuffle a monster from the box into your location deck.
The penalty is that I may draw more monsters into my location if I fail a combat check... but that seems highly unlikely to me. It's more feasible that I'd overkill than underkill most B/1 monsters when I'm rolling 1d12+1d6+5.
I'll take the Item 1 (Weaponrack Backpack) and then I think we all get our first choice. For power feat, I'm taking Hand Size 5.
Looking at the scenario rukes, can end of turn monsters be shuffled into closed locations? (I presume yes)
For example, say if Zarlova has 5 blessings and a combat spell in hand. She's probably not going to use all blessings this turn (not for explorations or dice), but if she hands one off to someone late in the turn order (say, Radovan), then that empties one card from her hand that will be redrawn at the end of turn. That extra draw could, for example, be another blessing. In that case, there's now one extra blessing floating around in peoples' hands for the time being.
That's a pretty specific case, but the general case does apply. If a card isn't going to be used during your turn, and another player can use it as easily as you, then handing it off provides you with a way of drawing an extra card without wasting team resources in a way that discarding at the end of turn somewhat does.
It's not so much that handing off general cards is a hugely powerful strategy, it's more that it's often somewhat better/optimal than people give it credit for, and a lot of PACG parties so rarely utilize what is actually a pretty handy game mechanic. Heck, even just playing hot-potato with an extra blessing (handing it back and forth at the start of each relevant person's turn) is effectively keeping an extra blessing in play for potential use without impacting players hand resets at all, almost like a player had an extra hand size power feat.
For my upgrade, I'll swap out the Portable Ram for the Topaz of Strength.
For the trader, I'll swap out the Longsword for a Blessing of the Ancients again.
And for strategy, I agree that grouping up seems like the best idea in this one, to start closing locations as quickly as possible. Especially with no villain around. But I don't know if it makes sense to travel as one large pack, because there aren't many locations that all of us have a decent chance of closing. But I think if the fighters go one above ground (closing the Mine and the Quarry), and the casters go underground (closing the Catacombs and the Tomb) that would certainly make sense. Radovan can be a free agent, since I think he's almost equally good at hitting either set of requirements. Or he can wander off on his own and get started in the Tarworks if he prefers (since he's immune to all damage there, and his Diplomacy comes in handy to close it). Either way, by teaming up at two locations at a time, we should be able to start closing those first four pretty quickly, and then meet up to close the last couple together.
Agreed - I think tackling 2 or 3 locations at a time is a good plan.
I'm all for Vika/Maelwys' strategy. Its worth considering that Radovan benefits from sharing a location; he displays a monster when any character at his location is dealt damage. So it may be in his best interest to hang with multiple players early on.
In fact, if he's not taking the first turn of the game, it particularly makes sense for him to stay in occupied locations no matter what, then just move to his preferred location when he actually takes his first turn (unless there's a relevant location power to consider). It gives him a higher chance of snagging an extra monster display.
Card Upgrade preferences:
- 1. Ally 1
- 2. Spell 1
- 3. Armor 1
- 4. Item B
- 5. Ally B
I have elected not to roll. Please consider every other player to have higher priority on getting their selections than I - my deck isn't going to get much better than it is now. In particular, feel free to take the Spell 1, Z, if it's any good for you.
As mentioned in Hangouts, I would very much like to utilise our newly acquired Loot in upcoming scenarios for some time, though.
Deck Upgrade preferences:
- Cat-O'-Nine-Tails
- Surgeon
- Earthbreaker
- Mock Armor
Wahoo! Good job guys, managing to pull that out right at the end.
My upgrade preferences:
1st/ Ally 1 - Surgeon
2nd/ Item 1 - Staff of Minor Healing
ONLY if I don't get the Ally 1. I prefer the Ally if possible, but if I can't get her I'd like the Staff. But I definitely don't need both.
Alternate 2nd Pick: Weapon 1 - Shock Glaive +1
3rd Pick: Weapon B - EarthBreaker
4th Pick: Armor 1 - Heavy Iron Shield
Item 1 (wand of detect magic), then spell 1 (Augury), assuming we can use 1 card from the Add on decks. The wand of detect magic fits well with her power.
Based on all the above, here's my proposal:
Zarlova - Item 1, Spell 1
Hayato - Weapon 1, Weapon B
Vika - Ally 1, Weapon B
Ezren - Armor 1, Item B
Radovan - Didn't really want anything, apparently.
Radovan and Ezren both voluntarily surrendered their first choices, everybody else gets their first choice. And then everybody gets the next highest pick that's still available. Does that sound good to everyone?
Radovan and I have both explicitly stated to consider us low priorities. So putting aside the choices we had, and based on the upgrade preferences of the remaining players (assuming all upgrades were listed in order of most to least preferred), the logical distribution is as follows.
For the first upgrade:
Hayato: Weapon 1 (First Preference)
Vika: Ally 1 (First Preference)
Zarlova: Spell 1 (Second Preference. No competition)
For the second upgrade:
Hayato: Weapon B (Third Preference)
Vika: Weapon B (Third Preference)
Zarlova: Item 1 (First Preference)
Is there any disagreements? Dice rolls will solve that, but that seems to be the best outcome. (I've been ninja'd by Vika, so let's compare...)
EDIT: Seems like a match. Ezren will claim the Armor 1, and will take EITHER the Item B or the Ally B, once I get to check my class deck in about 3 hours to double-check my options for allies. Either way, that shouldn't step on anyone else's toes, though. Once I've finalised, I'll post my exact card replacements in the Discussion forum.
Finalized my card upgrade choices, updated my Deck Handler, and will post my Sunburst Market trade in gameplay shortly. I'll hang out on selecting a starting location and drawing my hand until we've gotten agreement as a team as to how to proceed (and finalized card upgrades). There's no temp closing at all, and not a single "At this location" power with beneficial effects to stand in either off-turn or start your turn at, so I'm happy to stand on the location with as many people moving before me as possible on the off chance it ends up closed before I take my turn. Stacking us together also allows Vika to help more, Radovan to grab extra monsters and Zarlova to Cure you.
Let me know if anyone makes a claim to the Loot card before we begin, but for now I'm using the Game of Afterlife Loot Item.
For future reference, my Card Upgrades were as follows:
Armor 1 - Removing Bone Armor for Shield Cloak.
Ally B - Removing Cult Acolyte for Grave Tender.
Clothing
Light Armor
Offhand
Magic
Powers
If you played a weapon that has the 2-Handed trait on this check, you may not play this card.
Recharge this card to reduce all damage dealt to you by 3. If proficient with light armors, you may play another armor.
Human
Hireling
Powers
On your check against a bane that has the Undead trait, recharge this card to add 1d8.
Discard this card to explore your location. During this exploration, the first time you defeat a monster, you may draw a card.
Yeah, Augury is very OP. Take Spell 1 (Augury) for the Inflict. Take Wand of Detect Magic from the Ultimate Magic add on deck for the Sage's Journal.
Visit the Sunburst Market and Take a BoE for the Dog again.
Sounds good to me. If it works for everyone, I'll replace Boarding Pike with Earthbreaker and Nine-Ring Sword with Cat-O'-Nine-Tails.
I'll upgrade Emissary to Surgeon, and Longsword to Earthbreaker.
Just a heads up, I went to the ER with a possible infection, so may be out of action this evening.
Still in, it might be a couple of days.
:( That doesn't sound like fun... I hope it gets better soon!
:(
Hope you're not in too much discomfort, and wishing you a speedy recovery!
Still in the ital, swelling is down a lot, though I still feel like a sausage. No ETA yet
Alright, magi. Thanks for the update, and best wishes again!
Go ahead and send Z to the Oasis and start working through it. With any luck, I'll be back home Wednesday.
Nice rolls on the Cure. Mork and I are currently using a copy of your Deck Handler to track Zarlova's hand/discard pile for now, so I've updated it to include the use of that Cure spell.
We're using a link that shares editable permissions, so I won't post it on these public forums, but you'll be able to find the up-to-date Deck Handler link in Hangouts once you're healthy and ready to continue.
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They're working on discharge stuff now, so I expect to be home sometime this evening. Thanks for your patience all.
Card Feat: Spell
I have no pressing upgrade needs right now.
Card Feat - Blessing
Preferences:
Item 1 - Helpful Haversack
Blessing B - Blessing of Gorum
Although I'll only be using Gorum to explore for the next scenario, while we're still worried about overkill. But then I can have lots of fun with it once we start the next adventure. ;-)