First time playing, didn't go well, didn't finish :-(

[SteveDJ]

Help! Finally cracked open the Deluxe Edition (bought a month ago) and played for the first time last night. Alas, it didn't go well - constantly being defeated by monsters, and unable to really ask for assistance.

Our setup: Mixed everything together (original + shortening), but otherwise stuck with the original rule set. We wanted to make our first time just basic, w/o optional rules.

There were just three of us playing: Belkar, Roy, and Durkon. The others were used as NPCs. Just started with 3 shticks (of six choices), and 3 random Loot.

We ran into two big issues early on, and that seemed to gimp our whole game, such that after 3 hours, Durkon STILL hadn't been able to draw any new shticks, and Roy only had drawn 1 more. Belkar was the only one making real progress, and that was because we started trying overly hard to make it easy for him (and us).

The two problems I saw:

1) The NPCs would "suck up" all the Loot, as we'd call on them for assistance. Once the loot was gone, it wasn't "in the game" to continue circling between players, so thus ended our ability to ask for assistance. Without assistance, monsters became much more difficult to defeat. Ah, the monsters...

2) Second problem. We were ALL dealt in our initial Battle hands many Far-Too-Difficult monsters to start the game. For example: Sabine, Red Cloak, Samantha, a couple dragons, and a couple others with double-digit attack and defense. And, LOTS of flying monsters.

If it hadn't been for Belkar's Leaping Attack, none of us would have had any range options, and thus all these flyers would've just been complete stoppers for us.

Alas, the rules require that you must play through your whole Battle hand before you can draw more cards. Thus, we were forced to lay out these overpowered monsters in the first few rooms. This made it nearly impossible to have rooms that we could clear, and obtain more Loot.

No Loot means no assistance, no schticks... generally a very poor experience for the game.

So I'm posting this to ask for suggestions. Obviously the first one: starting with 6 schticks and 6 loot (instead of 3) should help. But having NPCs sucking up so much loot over time still seems to be a big drain on "the system".

We've considered each playing TWO characters next time (so, no NPCs) but worry that might get too confusing, especially for us noob players.

I've also considered house-ruling that we should be able to discard the "toughest" monster (or 2) from our Battle hand, or somehow denying them being placed on Level 1, or something ... holding them off until later in the game... or something.

Suggestions? Thoughts on our experience?

[greatscott]

Just ignore the rooms with too hard to kill monsters (walk through them to get to new rooms).

Also, we play you can not use loot to ask an NPC for help if the loot has one of the active players face on it. In your case Durkon, Roy and Belkar.

Main issue though is you can go through rooms without battle if you want.

We play with 3 bonus schticks at the beginning which makes it quicker.

[Duck999]

As stated above, if it has a players face, you cannot get help from an NPC. I believe this is also true with the OoTS symbol. If you are playing nicely with friends and get an impossible starting battle hand, ask if you can draw a new hand, and shuffle the old one back in well. That is the biggest problem. Loot comes with monsters, and as you kill monsters, you get stronger, kill bigger monsters, and get more loot. Some of these problem may have just been unlucky, as I haven't really run into them.

[King of Nowhere]

You were unlucky, plus you didn't knew how to deal with it. ok, it can happen to only have big monsters in hand. if there is an impassable monster, just open a new room. there aren't that many 12-12, and there is no limit to the number of rooms you can have on the same floor. if the monster is stronger than you, no tragedy. just take a wound, on the first floor going to rest at the dungeon entrance to recover all wounds is fast. sooner or later you're going to make a good roll and as you start collecting stuff it becomes easier. start is slow, but it get faster later.

[greatscott]

there is no limit to the number of rooms you can have on the same floor.

IIRC, the max is eight rooms on any floor.

[SteveDJ]

Ok, confession time... made very sheepishly...

Finally got time to go back and review the rule book and all. And discovered something. We had been playing with a huge, stupid, colossal, ginormous, hideous, did I say stupid, numbskull ... mistake! :smallredface:

Now, we had all read through the quick-start guide a couple days before we played, and I had then been through the entire rulebook. I was sure I had it all down. But once we sat down to start, the #1 question everyone had (since it isn't in the quick-start) was how do we fight other players?

So we really reviewed those rules, making sure we understood who would be rolling which dice and all that. Then, we proceeded to start our game. Only, we now had a couple wires crossed in our heads, resulting in the calamitous outcome described in my opening post.

I have discussed my discovery with the players... and we've all now had a good laugh at ourselves. And committed to trying again this weekend (if we have time).


Oh, you'd like to know our mistake? Well, since we'd just reviewed the player-vs-player rules, that's what we did. Only, with monsters.

Yup.

We treated all the numbers on the monster cards as... you guessed it... modifiers!

We were rolling dice for the monsters, too! :redface:

So please, join me in a round of laughter, won't you? :biggrin:

[Duck999]

Ha Ha Ha:smallbiggrin:

Actually, I can see how that could be a problem. The smallest is 1 attack, 1 defense, and that is what some characters start with as a boost. That monster doesn't even get you anything either. Poor little rat. :smallfrown:

:smallbiggrin:

[Squark]

Yeah, that would do it. The game assumes a 7 is a 50-50 chance at least, and a 2 or 4 is almost a sure thing. Rolling, though? *shudder* No wonder you burned through loot so fast.