Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords Base Set

The FLGS where we play most often will, apparently, be getting an introductory or demo version of the product. Can anyone tell me what this consists of?

This thread at BoardGameGeek may have an answer for you:

JohnF wrote:

The FLGS where we play most often will, apparently, be getting an introductory or demo version of the product. Can anyone tell me what this consists of?

This thread at BoardGameGeek may have an answer for you:

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1014256/looky-what-my-flgs-just-got-in-toda y-

As someone who has been running these demos, and will be doing someone at Gencon:

The demo deck is a snapshot of how you'll play the game with a full deck. You have four characters to choose from (Wizard, Rogue, Fighter, Cleric) and each one has a color-coded demo deck that makes it super easy to set the game up between demos. There are four locations, and three cards that you put at each location to make a mini location deck. Each of these three decks consist of: 1) a Henchman or the Villain 2) a monster or barrier and 3) a boon. You start with a pile of only 12 blessings as a timer, and the job of the players is to find the villain and defeat him before the timer runs out.

I've found that the majority of people who I demo for are pleasantly surprised by how fun the game is, and I've had at least one guy tell me that my demo is the reason he's definitely buying the game (in fact he is planning to sign up for the subscription!)

Well, I got convinced by the demonstration video and by Paizo listening to feedback and making those "character sheets". :)

How do game stores get these demo packs? I haven't been to my FLGS yet this week (it's only open Fri-Sun) so I don't know if they might have already gotten it. But if they haven't or if others' game stores don't have it, is there somewhere we can point our FLGS owners to so they can request a demo?

After doing the playtest, my wife and I are still on the fence about getting the game ourselves, but I'd definitely help demo it to try to drum up interest in others. And who knows, playing the game with "real" cards might actually increase out chances of buying it (my wife hated the print-and-play cards).

How do game stores get these demo packs?

Tell them to ask their distributor.

Are there any plans to release a listing of the cards and their abilities? Or maybe a compiled card image pdf?

Neither. Hey... a little anticipation is a good thing!

Seriously, you guys have thought of everything!

I feel very confident this is not true, as this is a totally new style of game for us. However, we have tried to think of quite a lot of things.

Ok, now that I've had time with the Rise of the Runelords Base Set Character sheets and the Rule Book; I have a question about one of the rules. The rule book clearly says "you must check the unchecked box farthest to the left before you can check subsequent boxes". On Lem and Lini, their "Proficient With" has 2 check boxes (Light Armors and Weapons). Does this mean that you must check Light Armors before you can get Weapons?

For those of us picking up the new system W/O having played or read any other Pathfinder material will you be posting setting fluff or anything else I can point players to, besides the paragraph on each character and other card text, to help flesh out the setting? Or is there content you would recommend looking at from the previous rune lord RPG? This will be a big transition for some of the table and downloads like the character sheets are very helpful, thanks!

For those of us picking up the new system W/O having played or read any other Pathfinder material will you be posting setting fluff or anything else I can point players to, besides the paragraph on each character and other card text, to help flesh out the setting? Or is there content you would recommend looking at from the previous rune lord RPG? This will be a big transition for some of the table and downloads like the character sheets are very helpful, thanks!

I really don't think you'll have a problem... the only thing you might think is "who is this Jubrayl guy" or something like that when looking at a Henchman or Villain card. I would suggest if you find yourself curious about how the specific characters fit into the story, pick up a PDF of the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition and just read through it. Even without playing in a group, it's still a great story that has a lot of detail, and can almost be read as a novel.

Is this shipping now?

So I can order this from my LGS now???

As hinted at above, I think this is a missed opportunity to sell a bunch of minis. If you had a set of all 11 iconic prepainted minis, I'd buy them in a heartbeat so we could use them for this game.

I've been LOOKING for just this. I wonder if they'll release any?

So I can order this from my LGS now???

Depends on your LGS - they're due to have it Thursday, which may mean due to release dates that they don't have it until the following Wednesday, or might just sneak it out in two days. It's definately the point to get in contact with them to find out, as they've probably got an order in for it by now.

Ok, now that I've had time with the Rise of the Runelords Base Set Character sheets and the Rule Book; I have a question about one of the rules. The rule book clearly says "you must check the unchecked box farthest to the left before you can check subsequent boxes". On Lem and Lini, their "Proficient With" has 2 check boxes (Light Armors and Weapons). Does this mean that you must check Light Armors before you can get Weapons?

No, those are separate. We may have to FAQ this, but basically we mean "In a connected set of boxes, check the left one first, then proceed to the right as appropriate."

Belky wrote:

Ok, now that I've had time with the Rise of the Runelords Base Set Character sheets and the Rule Book; I have a question about one of the rules. The rule book clearly says "you must check the unchecked box farthest to the left before you can check subsequent boxes". On Lem and Lini, their "Proficient With" has 2 check boxes (Light Armors and Weapons). Does this mean that you must check Light Armors before you can get Weapons?

No, those are separate. We may have to FAQ this, but basically we mean "In a connected set of boxes, check the left one first, then proceed to the right as appropriate."

I had hope that was the case. So, now with this answer, I went back to the character sheets and found the following with Amiri "You may bury a card from your hand ( or the top card of your deck) to add 1d10 (+1) (+2) (+3) (+4) to your Strength, Melee, or Constitution check." This would mean that I could choose "or the top card of your deck" at any point in picking up the pluses or not at all and still get the pluses. Correct?

Edit: Found another one. On Ezren, it has "Add 2 to your Arcane check with the Force ( or Acid and Cold) ( or Electricity and Fire) trait(s)." Does this mean that I can get "Electricity and Fire" before "Acid and Cold"?

Modoc Skutwater - Homesteader wrote:

So I can order this from my LGS now???

Depends on your LGS - they're due to have it Thursday, which may mean due to release dates that they don't have it until the following Wednesday, or might just sneak it out in two days. It's definately the point to get in contact with them to find out, as they've probably got an order in for it by now.

Street date for the Adventure Card Game Rise of the Runelords Base Set is August 21st. While stores might let you preorder it and they might have it in their building before the 21st, they should not have it out on the shelves for sale or fulfill preorders until the 21st.

Shipped!!

I went back to the character sheets and found the following with Amiri "You may bury a card from your hand ( or the top card of your deck) to add 1d10 (+1) (+2) (+3) (+4) to your Strength, Melee, or Constitution check." This would mean that I could choose "or the top card of your deck" at any point in picking up the pluses or not at all and still get the pluses. Correct?

Correct.

On Ezren, it has "Add 2 to your Arcane check with the Force ( or Acid and Cold) ( or Electricity and Fire) trait(s)." Does this mean that I can get "Electricity and Fire" before "Acid and Cold"?

No. Those are in the same grouping, so Acid/Cold, then Electricity/Fire.

I've now got the demo packet from my FLGS so I can familiarise myself with it before running in-store demos for them. It's a lot easier to carry than the full boxed set - it's probably somewhere around 100 or so cards in total - and the cards are colour-coded to make setup much easier.

It looks as though it will be a great way to learn the mechanics of the game, while still leaving more than enough that you'll only discover in the full product. Let's hope the players agree with me!

Thanks Mike for your answers. I'm looking forward to finally get to play it.

As many others have already done, I wanted to add my thanks for the downloadable PDF character sheets. Though I understand the reasoning, the thought of writing on the cards, or more specifically, my sons writing on the cards, even if small marks, made me cringe. This will really help lessen that stress until I feel comfortable with them understanding what a light mark really is. I had previously thought I'd laminate the character cards so that I could dry erase marker them or something similar. The character sheets solve that problem totally.

Thank you and see you at GenCon!

Mike,

I waited patiently and today my Pathfinder Adventure Card Game base set + add-on deck came! First, I would like to say great job! This game is everything I thought it would be and more. I played a solo game and came upon a situation and could not find a clear answer in the rules so I am hoping you can help.

I am playing the druid, Lini, and one of her powers caused me to have questions. "You may discard a card to roll d10 instead of your strength or dexterity for any die check." She also has an ability that states "When you play an ally with the Animal trait, you may recharge it instead of discarding it."

So my question is about the definition of "played" in this instance. If I discard an animal ally to roll the d10 for strength or dexterity, does it go to my discard pile or do I recharge it? In other words does discarding a card always count as it being played no matter the reason?

Another example: If I discard a spell to roll the d10 for str or dex, do I still get to roll my Divine skill to recharge it instead of discarding it?

Thanks in advance for the help and for making an awesome game!

Will be possible to make your own characters? Or do you have to start with one of the premade ones. Maybe just change the name or use their stats. How much customizability is there?

Mike,

I waited patiently and today my Pathfinder Adventure Card Game base set + add-on deck came! First, I would like to say great job! This game is everything I thought it would be and more. I played a solo game and came upon a situation and could not find a clear answer in the rules so I am hoping you can help.

I am playing the druid, Lini, and one of her powers caused me to have questions. "You may discard a card to roll d10 instead of your strength or dexterity for any die check." She also has an ability that states "When you play an ally with the Animal trait, you may recharge it instead of discarding it."

So my question is about the definition of "played" in this instance. If I discard an animal ally to roll the d10 for strength or dexterity, does it go to my discard pile or do I recharge it? In other words does discarding a card always count as it being played no matter the reason?

Another example: If I discard a spell to roll the d10 for str or dex, do I still get to roll my Divine skill to recharge it instead of discarding it?

Thanks in advance for the help and for making an awesome game!

Not Mike, but none of what you are saying works. Playing the card is using the "card" power not the "charecter" power.

So if you discard the animal ally to fuel the "charecter" power you do not get to recharge.

If you discard the spell you do not get to recharge it either.

Will be possible to make your own characters? Or do you have to start with one of the premade ones. Maybe just change the name or use their stats. How much customizability is there?

You could experiment with trying to convert your own characters to the rules of the card game. You never have to shuffle in your characters cards into any decks, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue to make our own cards/sheets with custom abilities.

Just played through the Perils of the Lost Coast with my husband and his nephew (playing Merisel, Seoni and Valeros). The first scenario was a bit slow (because we were learning how to play) but we raced through the second and third scenarios in about 45min each. (Is that normal?)

It was SO much fun.

Plus we were on our LAST blessing card turn for both Pillbug and Black Fang - we came so very close to losing.

Disinherited Knight wrote:

Mike,

I waited patiently and today my Pathfinder Adventure Card Game base set + add-on deck came! First, I would like to say great job! This game is everything I thought it would be and more. I played a solo game and came upon a situation and could not find a clear answer in the rules so I am hoping you can help.

I am playing the druid, Lini, and one of her powers caused me to have questions. "You may discard a card to roll d10 instead of your strength or dexterity for any die check." She also has an ability that states "When you play an ally with the Animal trait, you may recharge it instead of discarding it."

So my question is about the definition of "played" in this instance. If I discard an animal ally to roll the d10 for strength or dexterity, does it go to my discard pile or do I recharge it? In other words does discarding a card always count as it being played no matter the reason?

Another example: If I discard a spell to roll the d10 for str or dex, do I still get to roll my Divine skill to recharge it instead of discarding it?

Thanks in advance for the help and for making an awesome game!

Not Mike, but none of what you are saying works. Playing the card is using the "card" power not the "charecter" power.

So if you discard the animal ally to fuel the "charecter" power you do not get to recharge.

If you discard the spell you do not get to recharge it either.

I believe your interpretation is correct but there is nothing in the rules that states this definitively. (rules for what counts as "played") No offense intended but I am looking for official clarification on this, not an interpretation. So Mike, please when you get a chance, pop in and give me the ruling on how this was intended so I can remove all doubt.

Just played through the Perils of the Lost Coast with my husband and his nephew (playing Merisel, Seoni and Valeros). The first scenario was a bit slow (because we were learning how to play) but we raced through the second and third scenarios in about 45min each. (Is that normal?)

It was SO much fun.

Plus we were on our LAST blessing card turn for both Pillbug and Black Fang - we came so very close to losing.

Glad you liked it. I really appreciate the kind words.

45-60 minutes is about right once you know how to play. I've found that people's first scenarios often take much longer, of course.

Mike

Thanks in advance for the help and for making an awesome game!

Lots of clear direction in the other folks' answers. And thanks!

Mike

Disinherited Knight wrote:

Thanks in advance for the help and for making an awesome game!

Lots of clear direction in the other folks' answers. And thanks!

Mike

Thank you for answering Mike! I thought that was what was intended but I just wanted to make sure. The game is outstanding. I can't recommend it enough. Well done!

Question: Can cards from the Blessing Deck be added to your hand?
Probably not, but I have to ask.

I got the game on Thursday, and read the rules enough to try a solo game on Saturday.

As per the rules I had 3 locations in my scenario.
I mixed the appropriate number of cards for each location.
I got the 30 blessing card and started turning.
The way my play went, the villain was in the last location I searched.
Also, he and both henchmen were close to the bottom of the stack.
Since I couldn't close a location until I had defeated a henchman, by the time I finally faced the villain I only had 2 blessings left.

My point: For every player added to the game, 1 location is added into the scenario. Each location has about 10 cards, and not all of the locations have blessing cards. Nor do all the players.
2 players = 4 locations = 40 cards. 6 players = 8 locations = 80 cards.

With only 30 blessing cards in the deck, it is entirely possible for even just 2 players to not have enough blessings to explore every location if the villains and henchmen are on the bottom of the location decks.

Other than that concern, I loved the game. Can't wait to share the experience.

Question: Can cards from the Blessing Deck be added to your hand?

Probably not, but I have to ask.

I got the game on Thursday, and read the rules enough to try a solo game on Saturday.

As per the rules I had 3 locations in my scenario.
I mixed the appropriate number of cards for each location.
I got the 30 blessing card and started turning.
The way my play went, the villain was in the last location I searched.
Also, he and both henchmen were close to the bottom of the stack.
Since I couldn't close a location until I had defeated a henchman, by the time I finally faced the villain I only had 2 blessings left.

My point: For every player added to the game, 1 location is added into the scenario. Each location has about 10 cards, and not all of the locations have blessing cards. Nor do all the players.
2 players = 4 locations = 40 cards. 6 players = 8 locations = 80 cards.

With only 30 blessing cards in the deck, it is entirely possible for even just 2 players to not have enough blessings to explore every location if the villains and henchmen are on the bottom of the location decks.

Other than that concern, I loved the game. Can't wait to share the experience.

The point you're making (that there are more cards to explore than there are in the blessings deck) is one of the reasons that I think the game works so well. It makes you want to close locations instead of exploring them completely, because you need to chase down the villain. You're constantly trying to decide if it's worth the time to search for more treasure in a deck that you could close by defeating the henchman.

My point is you can't close a location until you defeat a henchman. Unless the henchman is near the top, there are not enough blessings if the villain is in the last location explored.

Hi all, just played our first game. As i understand, characters at the same location can take part in each others' turns to some degree. In combat, for example, a second character could step in after the first character failed to defeat the monster and attempt his/her own check against the monster. This help could trigger a location effect, like in the academy (assuming it was the first exploration that led to the monster). But does this opportunity to help apply to other phases of one's turn? Can ally characters help "close a location" if the first character failed the check? If so, does the reward for closing a location apply to just the character that initiated the "encounter" (though not sure "closing" counts as an encounter) or does the reward get applied to every character ally at that location on the turn it was closed?

Very fun game. Thankyou, and thanks again for holding the product back at Gencon for subscribers!

My point is you can't close a location until you defeat a henchman. Unless the henchman is near the top, there are not enough blessings if the villain is in the last location explored.

Yep, that's part of the challenge!

This was the hit of Gen Con for our group. One set of characters made it through the first three scenarios, but lots of people jumped in and played individual scenarios with other characters. I noticed lots of games at the con this year that were not as deep or rich as they appeared (I'm looking at you, Augustus), but the Pathfinder card game is just the opposite - so much awesome going on there. There was so much cooperation and intense planning at the end of the last fight against the dragon, including closing three locations, that we spontaneously high-fived when we won. We never do that. Congratulations. This is a great game.

With only 30 blessing cards in the deck, it is entirely possible for even just 2 players to not have enough blessings to explore every location if the villains and henchmen are on the bottom of the location decks.

This seemed like an issue to us, too. But after playing about 6 scenarios, some with 3, 4, or 5 players, we actually found the scenarios slightly easier to beat with more players. I think it's because you have more chances to help each other, and you also increase your chances of having just the right character for a given location. Our bard and wizard could sometimes burn through three or four cards in a turn. In one game our bard closed an entire location on his first turn.

Very much looking forward to picking this up, unfortunately my lo all shop is being told by alliance, their distributor, that they don't have the game in stock yet to send to stores. Are you aware of any delays or is this a random issue for my shop? Thanks as always.

Hi all, just played our first game. As i understand, characters at the same location can take part in each others' turns to some degree. In combat, for example, a second character could step in after the first character failed to defeat the monster and attempt his/her own check against the monster. This help could trigger a location effect, like in the academy (assuming it was the first exploration that led to the monster). But does this opportunity to help apply to other phases of one's turn? Can ally characters help "close a location" if the first character failed the check? If so, does the reward for closing a location apply to just the character that initiated the "encounter" (though not sure "closing" counts as an encounter) or does the reward get applied to every character ally at that location on the turn it was closed?

Very fun game. Thankyou, and thanks again for holding the product back at Gencon for subscribers!

Sorry, but there's a false premise in your question. You can't have a second character step in after the first character failed to defeat a monster, or do any of the other "helping" effects unless a card tells you to do so. The big exception is that if a card has multiple checks to defeat, they may be split among the characters at that location as long as the character encountering the card attempts at least one of them.

This was the hit of Gen Con for our group. One set of characters made it through the first three scenarios, but lots of people jumped in and played individual scenarios with other characters. I noticed lots of games at the con this year that were not as deep or rich as they appeared (I'm looking at you, Augustus), but the Pathfinder card game is just the opposite - so much awesome going on there. There was so much cooperation and intense planning at the end of the last fight against the dragon, including closing three locations, that we spontaneously high-fived when we won. We never do that. Congratulations. This is a great game.

Much appreciated.

My point is you can't close a location until you defeat a henchman. Unless the henchman is near the top, there are not enough blessings if the villain is in the last location explored.

A couple of things, blessings you find in game can also be used to explore. Many allies also let you explore. The odds of all henchman and villains being on the bottom of all the decks is very small. (1 in 100,000,000 for 6 players). Blessings also can sometimes be recharged, so they might able to be used again to search.

Basically the chance of a group being unable to finish a scenario due to the villains/henchman being to low in the location decks is probably about 1 in a 1000 for 6 heroes and much less for even 5 heroes.

Will it happen to some groups? Sure maybe once, but it will not happen very often.

Basically the chance of a group being unable to finish a scenario due to the villains/henchman being to low in the location decks is probably about 1 in a 1000 for 6 heroes and much less for even 5 heroes.

If you take into account the number of games played with a box set and the number of box sets that will be used, it may not be that rare.

Could this be alleviated by shuffling said cards into only part of the location decks?

The blessing deck at 30 is part of the challenge. If you ONLY explore once per turn you will almost certainly lose in non-solo games. You will need to work as a team and use character powers, blessings, and ally's to get EXTRA explorations per turn to be able to get through everything. Knowing when to explore again and when to not explore again and let the "clock" tick down is all part of what makes the game a challenge and fun to play more than a couple of times IMHO.

What the crap! UPS sends me an email saying I'd receive the game today, but website says Friday.... Sad face

At least you have some confirmation of shipping...count your blessings.

Thanks, Mike. Much appreciated that you are taking your time to answer questions. We have more.

1) is there a limit to how many spells can be played in a single turn?

2) can spells like "strength" be cast to aid another during an ally's encounter with a monster, if at the same location?

3) if a blessing gives 2 die to a check, is the character able to choose which die to duplicate? e.g. druid lini discards a card for wild shape d10 to strength and reveals a crow for an additional d4; if a blessing is played that gives 2 additional die to his check will he be able to choose 2 additional d10's or does he receive an additional d10 and d4?

Thanks again, love the game. 18 hours played since gencon!

Very much looking forward to picking this up, unfortunately my lo all shop is being told by alliance, their distributor, that they don't have the game in stock yet to send to stores. Are you aware of any delays or is this a random issue for my shop? Thanks as always.

Nope, it seems to be more than just your shop.

At the Compleat Strategist here in NYC they were told that they're not getting it until next WEEK.

Which is more than a little disappointing.

Another question:

After the reset portion of a turn is a player allowed to play a card that would allow for an additional exploration (though never more than 2 per turn), or must all exploration occur on the "explore" part of one's turn?

Another question:

After the reset portion of a turn is a player allowed to play a card that would allow for an additional exploration (though never more than 2 per turn), or must all exploration occur on the "explore" part of one's turn?

Is that bolded part actually true? I looked through the rules and it says this:

Explore: When you explore, flip over the top card of your current location deck. If it’s a boon, you may attempt to acquire it; if you don’t, banish it. If it’s a bane, you must try to defeat it. (See Encountering a Card on page 10.) You may explore your location once per turn. Many effects allow you to explore again on your turn; if, during a single exploration, multiple effects each give you an additional exploration, it counts as a total of 1 more exploration, not a series of additional explorations. You may never explore on another player’s turn.

The way I interpret the bolded part there is if you defeat a monster which says "You may immediately explore again" and the location also says "If you defeat a monster at this location, you may immediately explore again", then you get only one more exploration, not another extra one afterwards.

However, if you finish your first exploration by defeating a monster, you can play a blessing or Ally to explore again. If you then defeat a monster or acquire a boon, you can still use another blessing or Ally to explore again, right? You're not actually limited to just 2 explorations at most per turn, correct?

Just wanted to make sure that clarification is made. :)