Gandalf73's page

For those finding it more difficult, do you feel that you could have been more successful if you'd made different decisions, or did it feel like the results were just due to luck. I like a difficult challenge and don't mind losing a lot if I feel like I have control over the outcome and need to learn to make better decisions. However, if it feels like I just need to roll better or get luckier card flips than that becomes frustrating.

emky wrote:

Vic, I see a lot of this thread agree that that the release schedule is too aggressive. Is that something Paizo is willing to address?

I personally do not understand the notion that too aggressive is bad. This only applies to people who are subscribed and opt for promo cards.

Wouldn't it make sense just not to subscribe, and just buy the adventure decks when you do have the time and reach the point where you want to play the adventure deck? That way you are getting the content when you feel like progressing?

I agree with this if the only consideration is cost, as I agree people can just opt to purchase when they are ready and those that are can enjoy the faster release schedule. However, an overly aggressive release schedule can also have an impact on quality. Personally, if the choice is a faster release schedule with each new set more of the same with just a new setting and some small changes in gameplay versus a slower release schedule but each new set having more of a unique feel with significant changes in gameplay and much richer theme (e.g. more story text included) then I would much prefer that approach. Of course, it is possible to have the best of both worlds but I'm not sure from what I've read so far that is the case. I've not yet played S&S so I can't speak from firsthand experience, but many of the threads on BGG say that it is a little more difficult and some more variety in scenarios, but not a drastic change from RotRL.

Sorry to say this, but the game simply isn't good enough for the investment, both in time and money.

My group has played through most of the RotR, and we're frankly getting bored. It's to easy, to repetitive, and there's other co-op games out there which we prefer.
We're nowhere near challenged, and has never even been close to loosing a scenario. Even if we were, we could just wait it all out and let the deck run dry, but that has never been necessary to even consider.
Co-op games live and die by the challenge they present, and RotR is simply to easy. Since that's what we have to judge the whole Pathfinder franchise on, we're not going to throw money after a new set.

I agree with your comments on the difficulty, but would also like to add that if future sets are made more difficult they need to be done so in a clever way. What I mean is not just making the dice rolls more difficult and adding more luck, but making the decisions needed to win less obvious and requiring more thought.

Ability to keep up with the pace of the release schedule seems to be a common theme. Personally, my preference would be 1 adventure path released a year, using the extra development time to come up with really interesting variations on the mechanics and adding more theme so that each individual scenario (or at least adventure pack) stands out as unique. As I posted earlier, for me to keep buying future sets either the story and theme need to become more pronounced or the mechanics and gameplay need to be really unique between sets (preferably both).

I’ll start by saying that I currently own the base sets as well as all adventure decks for both RotRL and S&S. I’m about ½ ways through the RotRL adventure and have not yet started S&S. Unlike many posts in this thread I picked up S&S because the pirate theme appealed to me. However, I don’t plan on purchasing the next base set and am on the fence about any purchases for subsequent sets.

To put my feedback in perspective I’ll give some background on myself. I have limited time for playing games due to job and family responsibilities, and when I do play it is often solo. My favourite solo game is the Lord of the Rings LCG. The art is excellent, the mechanics require a lot of interesting gameplay decisions and each new adventure pack has a rich theme and unique mechanics. I’ve logged over 200 plays and still enjoy it.

When RotRL was first announced I had high hopes for it as it sounded like a fantasy card game with interesting campaign play and character progression. Now about half way through I’m enjoying it, but I’m not sure I’ll still have an appetite for more after I finish. My main concerns are:
• I don’t find the mechanics involve as much interesting decision making as I’d like. The main decision seems to be how many resources to spend for each encounter and how to balance pushing your luck versus conserving resources.
• There isn’t a lot of variation in gameplay from scenario to scenario. This by itself would not be as big an issue for me if the theme and story really game through, but the limited text and limited variation in mechanics do not immerse me in the story. As others have pointed out, the fan made adventure guide does a great job helping to bring out the story.
• I would prefer more of a challenge – most scenarios I win on the first try. I appreciate that the campaign and character progression aspect of the game would not work well if characters frequently died, but the scenarios could be made more difficult to win without requiring the characters to die in a loss.

Now my perspective is coming from someone who plays strictly solo. I am also playing with 4 characters as I thought this would promote more interesting decision making. In hindsight I think it is preventing me from enjoying the main strength of the game, the character building, as it would if I’d stuck to 2 characters since I’d be able to get more invested in each character. I also suspect the game comes to life more when playing with a group as it seems more geared to a social experience as opposed to a solo one. The limited time I have to play probably also detracts from the experience because it can be a few weeks between games for me which limits the immersion I have in the game. However, I suspect a large pool of current or target players are in the same situation as me – have limited time to play and play strictly solo.

Adding more variation and decision making to the mechanics would be the biggest positive change for me, but also the hardest to implement. Easer things to do that would also have a positive effect and might keep me purchasing subsequent sets would be:
• Adding some more story text to the game to set-up each scenario and give some background on the various locations and allies/henchman/villains encountered. This could be via a 1-2 page insert in each adventure pack.
• Adding a map to the base set showing the various locations. I’ve always found maps add to the theme.

Not sure if these ideas have been already been suggested, but here are a couple of suggestions on how to make the thematic experience richer and the individual scenarios more unique:

1. Include a map in the base set that shows the area and different locations that the adventure takes place in. A map would help enrich the experience and give more of a sense of context when traveling to different locations.

2. Include a new type of card such as an "event" or "story" card. Include several of these in each adventure pack - some specific ones for each scenario. The idea is they get inserted into the blessings deck (say in between every 8 or 10 blessings) and each ones tells a little bit of story or triggers some scenario specific event to happen. I think this would help make the scenarios more interesting and give each one more of a different feel from the others.

Thoughts?