| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I can't wait to see who Tyler Beck's favorite character is next time around. ;)
I'm really looking forward to getting this deck.
Fascinating; And I find the hand size distinctions (as well as the sort of larger deck size) an interesting point between the Aric/Red Raven character.
Oddly specific question, though (since this will decide whether I'm holding off on assigning one of my Ultimate Add-On decks to an OP character, or waiting to get ahold of Ultimate Intrigue): Given the focus on Diplomacy-based allies, does Ultimate Intrigue have the Codex of Conversations item that previously appeared in Ultimate Magic? It's the book that allowed you to attempt checks to 'acquire' allies as you discard them for their power, and recharge them instead if you succeed.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
|
I'll be totally real with you guys, I change my favorite character a lot, but this(ese) guy(s) will be staying as my favorite character(s) for a while. I absolutely love their mechanics, and while there are some absolutely FANTASTIC characters coming in the next two decks, Aric and Red Raven are undoubtedly the best.
|
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
|
Fascinating; And I find the hand size distinctions (as well as the sort of larger deck size) an interesting point between the Aric/Red Raven character.
Oddly specific question, though (since this will decide whether I'm holding off on assigning one of my Ultimate Add-On decks to an OP character, or waiting to get ahold of Ultimate Intrigue): Given the focus on Diplomacy-based allies, does Ultimate Intrigue have the Codex of Conversations item that previously appeared in Ultimate Magic? It's the book that allowed you to attempt checks to 'acquire' allies as you discard them for their power, and recharge them instead if you succeed.
No codex, but trust me, there are plenty of amazing items in this deck. :)
No codex, but trust me, there are plenty of amazing items in this deck. :)Fascinating; And I find the hand size distinctions (as well as the sort of larger deck size) an interesting point between the Aric/Red Raven character.
Oddly specific question, though (since this will decide whether I'm holding off on assigning one of my Ultimate Add-On decks to an OP character, or waiting to get ahold of Ultimate Intrigue): Given the focus on Diplomacy-based allies, does Ultimate Intrigue have the Codex of Conversations item that previously appeared in Ultimate Magic? It's the book that allowed you to attempt checks to 'acquire' allies as you discard them for their power, and recharge them instead if you succeed.
Thanks, but that means I'll stick with Ultimate Magic for my OA1 Estra. The "infinite" (sort of) combo of recharging allies then drawing them again from her deck by passing Charisma checks with her Spiritual Counselor role is too good to pass up, or at least to try when my OP adventure path gets that far.
I'll definitely be picking up this Add-On deck for the future, though!
Nice write up and looking forward to looking through the deck! I like the Masque ally that was shared. I enjoy cards or abilities that encourage the party to stay together.
And yes, I find it funny that Tyler changes his favorite character so often but I'd be lying if my favorite character has never changed (I just haven't written a blog about all of mine).
At last! A non-divine blessing! Time to get Mummy's Mask Ezren ready.
It seems like it would be fun to even just have an Aric/Red Raven player at the table, whether it’s me or somebody else. Quite a nifty concept.
|
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
|
At last! A non-divine blessing! Time to get Mummy's Mask Ezren ready.
Ezren would do well with this deck in general, I'd say. There are a lot of really fun spells in it (very few attack spells, so you'd have to stick with many of the Wizard class deck spells for that function) but lots of excellent utility spells that will open up new options for him. :-D
So essentially we have a character who has
Str d6
Dex d10: aggrobatic and stealth
Co d6
Int d8: knowledge
Wis d8: perseption
Cha d10: diplomasy
Seem really owerpovered. What is his weak point? More skills than any other character, higher dice than other characters... the list goes on.
So essentially we have a character who has
Str d6
Dex d10: aggrobatic and stealth
Co d6
Int d8: knowledge
Wis d8: perseption
Cha d10: diplomasySeem really owerpovered. What is his weak point? More skills than any other character, higher dice than other characters... the list goes on.
Except that is you want that d10 Dexterity or Charisma, you've got to have the right card up. Which requires you to know what's coming.
In some ways it seems similar to Reepazo's "bug form". You can increase a skill, but there is a draw back.
Seems that you can change when you encounter a card so quite often... But Lets see.
Interesting luxury life cowboy!
It looks like it says when to examine a card (in addition to the start of your turn), not when you encounter a card. Examining isn't part of an encounter. Both do have ways to examine cards, but it isn't guaranteed.
What's the timing on Aric/Red Raven's switcheroo vs. Triggers?
If Aric examines and triggers a monster fight or a barrier, does he have to face it immediately in his mild-mannered persona? Or is there a timing window to switch into his more agile alter ego?
Ahh... true. The image was more blurry than I though...
At the start of turn, when you examine and when you or other character encounter villain or hensman.
Or at the start of turn, when you examine, when you defeat monster...
So he is ”immune” to villains and hensmans, but not to traps and normal monsters, (but he can evade those banes, so he is a kind of immune to them also), he Also needs to beat that monster to revert back( but he has a reroll to that fight). Then it seems ok, Really powerfull but ok...
So all spying classes and similar Are really good to him. Peeking triggers allow him to change his form before encountering the triggered effect, because you started the examine card effect before you see that there is trigger so you can change your form before that effect. Same thing when he encounter a moster, he is in combat mode before the fight sequense. Powerfull, but not as powerfull as I read it last night. I am starting to like this shady gentleman! ;)
You need to put a guite a lot power upgrades to this ”change you form” part to make it very vertisile, so it is away From other upgrades too. But this avenger of the Night is full of tricks! So interesting fellow indeed!
Certainly seems extremely powerful - ESPECIALLY with Mummy's Mask "Examine and then explore" text that's so frequent. But you still can never have the benefits of both forms at once (lets say there's a monster with a BYA "Make a Charisma 6 check or take 1d4 mental damage"), and it does rather limit himself when it comes to closing or temp closing locations or other unforeseen need for X skill.
Other limitations include his Kit - he can only exchange 1 card at a time, so there will often be cases where Aric or the Red Raven will have boons that aren't very helpful for their turn or playstyle, which could be particularly bad if you end your turn as The Red Raven (who hardly has the hand size to keep dead cards around for too long). He also isn't particularly adept at dealing with barriers, nor has any spellcasting potential (which carries some of the most powerful effects in the game, of course).
...In truth, he does seem EXCEPTIONALLY strong, even playing Devil's Advocate as I am. But there's been other exceptionally powerful characters in Class Decks or base sets ("Explore as much as he wants" Alain, "Control your hand and examine everything" Adowyn, "Encounter everything" S&S Alahazra and "cycle and heal all you want" S&S all come to mind as examples). Having strong characters is fine, as long as they don't remove the rest of the team's ability to contribute, show off their own abilities and have fun. And as a Rogue-like character who can be stumped by barriers or bad luck or Triggers, I think it's fair that Aric has enough limitations to keep him sufficiently interesting as a character.
...In truth, he does seem EXCEPTIONALLY strong, even playing Devil's Advocate as I am.
Post-role, with the mandatory "when a henchman/villain is encountered"/"when you defeat a monster" switch upgrades? Maybe.
But pre-role ARIC seems near useless. A PACG mantra is that you send your characters to location you can *close* - and while Aric has some pretty useful non-combat skills, guess what - he usually has to COMBAT a henchman for the opportunity to close! And he doesn't know (and is not able to learn!) his way around a weapon or even an armor to literally save his life. That Backsword and Diviner's Blight armor up there are good examples of cards that both Aric *and* Red Raven can use, but generally - either you'll cripple Red Raven's card potential so you can have cards that Aric can use, or half the time Aric will be caught with sub-optimal cards in hand (weapons with -4, armors that banish...) - I don't expect this character will be very playable with any other class decks out there.
Also, you're pretty much funneled into building your deck around examines, though that is not necessarily a 'bug' - IF you have access to the needed cards.
Finally, RR's "examine at end of turn" (and switch to Aric) seems mandatory, if you don't want to spend your whole time in that persona - having to discard 2 cards (hand-size difference) is a pretty big penalty.
I'm really interested in some tips from people who get their deck early on early-game (pre-role) Aric play - as what I see seems ...troublesome.
[...]But pre-role ARIC seems near useless. A PACG mantra is that you send your characters to location you can *close* - and while Aric has some pretty useful non-combat skills, guess what - he usually has to COMBAT a henchman for the opportunity to close! And he doesn't know (and is not able to learn!) his way around a weapon or even an armor to literally save his life. [...]
Excellent points, and I look forward to playing him and seeing how he performs. It seems like he'll be largely at the mercy of what locations are available.
Some locations (in all base sets) can have few to no monsters (Usually temple-themed locations). Aric's perfectly serviceable there, and a lot of early Henchmen are kind of toothless. He may demand blessings, spells or power support from the rest of the party (or exploit the basic cards that allow him to evade the bane or use someone else's skill in combat), but if his high INT/WIS/CHA scores, combined with his exceptional hand options (almost a 9 card hand, given your control over what you place in your Kit) allow him to acquire a card or two that other players wouldn't, then he can still prove his worth.
But you're right. Most of the time, prior to getting good power feats, I'd stick to the Red Raven side, which is just a tiny bit worse than similar Rogues. Once you get power feats, the ability to switch with examinations should suddenly completely change his character's performance. In OP, he can also choose whichever Class/Character deck he wants to maximize his ability to examine and deal with early game combat checks. Combat potions? Examine-and-explore allies and items? Fire Lance-style combat? I think the Alchemist class deck would be a good fit for a more Aric-centric playstyle early on, but it will suffer later.
Interesting decisions...
|
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
|
Great discussion, guys!
I'm my playtests of Aric in season of factions favor, the biggest problem for him did end up being triggers. If Aric examines a monster that has the Trigger trait, he has to deal with those consequences BEFORE he can switch to his Red Raven persona. This means that examine-encounter monsters can cause him some MAJOR problems.
In another set, he may well be one of the strongest and most versatile characters, probably just behind MM Mavaro, but Triggers really help balance him significantly.
What's the timing on Aric/Red Raven's switcheroo vs. Triggers?
If Aric examines and triggers a monster fight or a barrier, does he have to face it immediately in his mild-mannered persona? Or is there a timing window to switch into his more agile alter ego?
I would say that the trigger power and his power are both happening at the same time, so you can decide the order since one isn't specified. Tyler's post right above me seems to indicate the opposite though.
Which means, once he has those power feats, he can always be in the desired 'form' for whatever card he triggers. Also, Mummy's Mask is the set with so many cards that read "examine, then explore", so he has the most consistent opportunities to switch back and forth based on what he sees. Hence why I took the position that, despite his downsides, he really does appear to be of an exceptionally high power level. Again, not in a way that seems to demean the game, though; I reserve that for one or two other characters, depending on the boons they have access to.
And in sets other than Mummy's Mask, he is worse off, and more likely to be caught in the inappropriate role for the task at hand.
(Although, presumably, going forward, most/all location card pools will include Triggers.)
Great discussion, guys!
...
Cartmanbeck, can you recommend some strategy for pre-role Aric - when he can't ostensibly examine before every explore, but must be ready to deal with a henchman in the location deck?
Cartmanbeck, can you recommend some strategy for pre-role Aric - when he can't ostensibly examine before every explore, but must be ready to deal with a henchman in the location deck?Great discussion, guys!
...
I'm not Cartmanbeck, and I've not played Aric/Red Raven in any form before, but my guess is that you are going to want to be Red Raven unless you know a boon is coming up that you can acquire. I'd start as RR, then at the end of his turn I'd use his power to examine my location deck. If it is a boon I feel good at acquiring, I'd switch to Aric on my next turn. Acquire it, examine my location deck. If the next card is a boon and I'm going to explore again, I'd stay Aric. If it was a monster or I wasn't going to explore again, I'd switch to Red Raven.
I'm also kind of expecting there to be cards in the deck that let him examine, such as that Blessing of the Spy we see up there. His Mask of the Red Raven will help too.
But that is all just theory since I haven't played him yet.
Here is how I am reading it, it can be broken but not as broken as it appears.
With two power feats (One in first power and one in last power)
Begin game as Red Raven, move, end of move step, examine top card of location deck. You can then choose the switch or not, because you examined a card. If it is bane, you can stat as RR, if it is boon, probalby switch to Aric. Encounter the card, acquire it as Aric. Because you acquire a boon, examine the top card of your deck. Because you examine a card at your location, you can switch again. If it is a boon, stay as Aric, spend a card to encounter again and repeat. If it is a bane, switch to RR. It is at this point I don't yet see a way to trigger a second switch back to Aric until the end of your turn, which he can then examine the top card and decide to switch for next turn.
My thoughts he is a tweaked version of Ranzak for churning through Boons, and acting as his own Bane defeater, instead of relying on anyone else. He does have half his desk as possible cards to explore again, and looking at some of the allies, many of those additional encounters will have extra dice or dice roll mods.
|
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
|
Cartmanbeck, can you recommend some strategy for pre-role Aric - when he can't ostensibly examine before every explore, but must be ready to deal with a henchman in the location deck?Great discussion, guys!
...
I'm not Cartmanbeck, and I've not played Aric/Red Raven in any form before, but my guess is that you are going to want to be Red Raven unless you know a boon is coming up that you can acquire. I'd start as RR, then at the end of his turn I'd use his power to examine my location deck. If it is a boon I feel good at acquiring, I'd switch to Aric on my next turn. Acquire it, examine my location deck. If the next card is a boon and I'm going to explore again, I'd stay Aric. If it was a monster or I wasn't going to explore again, I'd switch to Red Raven.
I'm also kind of expecting there to be cards in the deck that let him examine, such as that Blessing of the Spy we see up there. His Mask of the Red Raven will help too.
But that is all just theory since I haven't played him yet.
Yep, Hawkmoon has it right as always. Until you get the power feat allowing you to change when you examine, you'll be relying more on boons that let you examine to set yourself up for the next turn.
Yep, Hawkmoon has it right as always. Until you get the power feat allowing you to change when you examine, you'll be relying more on boons that let you examine to set yourself up for the next turn.Cartmanbeck, can you recommend some strategy for pre-role Aric - when he can't ostensibly examine before every explore, but must be ready to deal with a henchman in the location deck?Great discussion, guys!
...
I'm not Cartmanbeck, and I've not played Aric/Red Raven in any form before, but my guess is that you are going to want to be Red Raven unless you know a boon is coming up that you can acquire. I'd start as RR, then at the end of his turn I'd use his power to examine my location deck. If it is a boon I feel good at acquiring, I'd switch to Aric on my next turn. Acquire it, examine my location deck. If the next card is a boon and I'm going to explore again, I'd stay Aric. If it was a monster or I wasn't going to explore again, I'd switch to Red Raven.
I'm also kind of expecting there to be cards in the deck that let him examine, such as that Blessing of the Spy we see up there. His Mask of the Red Raven will help too.
But that is all just theory since I haven't played him yet.
Thanks, guys. So, basically, it's "stay in RR persona by default" for the early game. I figured as much, but it seemed thematically wrong for the character, so I was wondering if perhaps I'm missing some twist.
Otherwise, a couple of power feats in, I figured pretty much the same sequence as Sarcastic JAzz Hands above, and after 1 power feat into Roles - it looks like relatively smooth sailing from there. Guess Aric is just a late bloomer :)
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Nope, I was wrong, Hawkmoon has the right of it. Apparently it's been too long since I actually played him LOL.
Wow, that does seem really strong. Thematically, I kinda liked the idea of triggers catching him off-guard. It's tough to find a phone booth in the dungeon...
A question for the designers: How difficult was it to refrain from referring to his "kit" as a "utility belt"?
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
A question for the designers: How difficult was it to refrain from referring to his "kit" as a "utility belt"?
What makes you think we didn't?
Oh, I want that Entice spell card! Both for the spell and the art. I like the Sorrowsoul a lot, but I guess I don't get the card's power. Would it not be better to have cards that add a full die rather than just a 1 or 2?
Any full die is better than a 1; and most die are better than a 2, though there is always the risk of rolling a 1.
Consider that the Sorrowsoul has a second power, not just to discard for an exploration, but for a bonus on that exploration.
If the card were to confer a full die benefit on the first power, it would increase the overall potency of the card, which would have to be either offset in some way such as increasing the adventure deck level, the requirement for the check to acquire, reducing the potency of the second power, or changing the play method from recharge to discard (or some combination of all of these).
There is also "overkill" to consider, which sometimes makes adding just 1 or 2 better than a die. Sorrowsoul also essentially increases your minimum. I often add up all the dice and modifiers to get the minimum. With Sorrowsoul, I can count each die as basically giving me a 2 when I do that.
Ah yes, I'd forgotten "overkill" and the new element of "accuracy" in the Mummy's Mask AP (as well as in Plundered Tombs and Factions' Favor seasons) - sometimes you don't want to roll too high. ;)
I already have a Red Raven build prepped.
Also, a bunch of characters that'll use the Intrigue deck. (S&S Merisiel + PFT here we go!)
I think you guys are missing the part of the Sorrowsoul's first power that says "after the roll"... so you can use this if you just barely failed a check, by rolling a couple 1's and 2's, to succeed instead.
I'll admit that I missed that bit.
I'm pretty sure that Hawkmoon was just testing to see if you were paying attention, though.
(Congratulations, you passed the test. ;) )
|
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
|
I think you guys are missing the part of the Sorrowsoul's first power that says "after the roll"... so you can use this if you just barely failed a check, by rolling a couple 1's and 2's, to succeed instead.I'll admit that I missed that bit.
I'm pretty sure that Hawkmoon was just testing to see if you were paying attention, though.
(Congratulations, you passed the test. ;) )
Haha I actually messaged him with "I redeemed myself for my stupidity on the Blog thread!" right after I posted that. :-D
At last! A non-divine blessing! Time to get Mummy's Mask Ezren ready.Ezren would do well with this deck in general, I'd say. There are a lot of really fun spells in it (very few attack spells, so you'd have to stick with many of the Wizard class deck spells for that function) but lots of excellent utility spells that will open up new options for him. :-D
Well, Keith also said Ultimate Intrigue would fit with my style for Ezren and man was he right. Just got it open today. I declare this the best add-on for both Illusionist Erzren (RotR) and for MM Ezren. It has the 2 different types of non-divine blessings (3 cards total) for MM Ezren. But really, for Illusionist, this deck blows me away. Some background:
Illusionist Ezren can be built into a examine, setup, acquire, evade repeat machine. And it is an amazingly fun way to play him. So with the in mind, here is what this deck offers him:
Invisibility. This spell alone would probably make this deck ideal for Illusionist Ezren. A non-mental evasion spell that also succeeds at Stealth checks. Simply the best spell there is for him.
Not far behind is Mistform. Not only is in a non-mental evasion spell, it also can help defeat barriers that have the Obstacle or Trap trait.
Scrying. You can never have enough of that. But there is more deck manipulation here too: Detect Thoughts and Object Reading stand out.
The deck is full of allies to help you acquire. Dredge, Marianix Karn, and Secret Broker stand out the most.
All in all this has me very excited. I think I'll have to consider what version of Ezren my next organized play character will be.
Could this post get the Ultimate Decks tag?
Thank you sir!
Any spesific cards In maind?
In general the turn goes like this: he draws 9 cards and hopes to get ravens mask and perfect monocle. Put all extra weponds and other backup cards (3) to his kit.
Arik hopes to have red ravens mask in hand or ask others if They have a lot of blessings in hand. Then he explorers and use ravens mask if there is monster to quickly change outfit and kick some monster ***. At the end of the round he peek the location deck with some card and keep it in maind. (So card that let him peek the deck Are very important!)
At the start of the second round he chance his role to suit that meets the card type he peeked previously. And so on.
It becomes easier when he gets the power to change the character when he peeks the deck! so change to red raven or Arik is the first power you should get and then he is ready every time he peeks the deck... olmost at least. And every time he change role, check out hand and utility belt to change cards between them if needed!
After that chose extra cards powers to raven and anything you want to Arik.