 Descent: Journeys in the Dark is a role-playing based board game which in many ways is similar to Dungeons and Dragons. A product of Fantasy Flight Games, it is a game for 2-5 players with an age rating of 12 to adult. One of the players serves as the Overlord player and it is his or her job to make the other players the hero characters, miserable, I mean, challenged with the quest they are undertaking. It's been out a couple of years and just recently a new expansion was released, the Well of Darkness. Another expansion is already available for pre-order. Therefore, this seems like the perfect time to cast a Game Musketeers eye on this game. This review looks at the game from both the perspectives of the Overlord and Hero players.
I, Toothpick the Ferret, shall review this game from the Overlord player's perspective. However, to give a balanced look at the game, I've interviewed one of my Hero players, Digitalair. Now, Digi is a bit jaded and he's a big role-playing (not roll-playing) RPGer, which I think will come through in his comments. Basically, the questions I asked him were in response to the areas of the game I'll be focusing on. The concept of the game is a relatively simple one: a board-game based RPG where players take the role of fantasy heroes as they try and complete noble quests. One player, the Overlord player, plays the "bad guys." But like the Dungeon Master in Dungeons and Dragons, the Overlord player shouldn't be out to "win" by destroying the players, but rather pose difficult but achievable challenges for the heroes so that everyone has fun. However, it would be very easy as an Overlord player to go for the heralded "TPK," or "Total Party Kill." One nice feature of the game is that every character has something unique about it. And I'm not talking those traditional fantasy elements like "Dwarf is immune to poison." For instance, Digi was playing a character which caused all of my card costs to be one more than normal. As an Overlord, I found Mok very mocking indeed due to that extra "surcharge" he placed on my cards. And that brings me to the main reason the Overlord player exists: to present a challenge to the heroes. Areas have preset monsters and treasures. But the game also has the concept of the Overlord deck, where the Overlord player can spawn new monsters, set nasty traps, or increase the overall threat level of the game through certain powerful cards (like one that gives EVERY monster an extra attack die). However, because this is a deck of cards, there is a huge random aspect to this part of the game. As Digi will indicate in his answers, I had enough to pay for some of the more powerful cards but intentionally discarded them because I felt they would have been overwhelming. Yes, this gave me more threat counters (the currency with which the Overlord deals with in order to use his or her Overlord deck), but there was many a time I chose to hold them and not spend them. With that said, there is a definite power shift in the game. At the start, hero players can often struggle as the hordes descend upon them. Lightly armed and armored, it's easy to overwhelm them, especially with a few lucky draws of the Overlord deck. However, once the heroes start accumulating items, the momentum takes a quick shift the other way and it is the Overlord player who is the one struggling. Even mobbing the players with hordes of spawned monsters doesn't work and basically there is only the final Big Bad Evil Guy(s) (BBEGs) left which pose a challenge... or not, depending on the hero makeup. For instance, in the game Digi played in, one of the other players wiped out the two Beastmen and one of the two master manticores guarding the giant in a single round due to his hero character and the skill cards he held. The big nasty magical axe virtually guaranteed destruction on every swing. In fact, if not for a complete miss, he would have been able to fell BOTH master manticores. it was then trivial for the other two players to mop up the remaining master manticore and fell the giant, winning the quest. I admit this seemed a bit anti-climatic, but in a strong way, it seemed heroic. If you're the type that likes the ending where the good guys win, this game sets up that kind of experience. It's one of those, "All right, you've been dogging us as we've tried to catch up with you. Now we're here and your going down," and it actually happens. For those who have played the game, I'm obviously referring to the first quest. Speaking of the first quest, I agree this would be a great game for experienced Descent players. However, simpler quests would have been better to both introduce the rules a bit at a time and to allow players to gain some experience with how the mechanics of the game works. Throwing everything at once is a bit tough, even for well-seasoned RPGers like myself and Digi. When you add in two younger players (my sons), it's really a challenge. All in all, I did enjoy running the quest and I did enjoy the feel of the game. When you just want to "kill something" as a big dwarven hero or as a magic wielding sorcerer, this game is a good one for that. It also encourages social interaction and there were many a time when the hero players consulted as to the best course of action. This kind of teamwork game is great because it does encourage espirit de corps within a gaming group. As the Overlord player, I did find myself cheering on the heroes as they opened the door to the giant's chamber and then marched right in and waxed everything in sight. It was a good way to end a fun, but sometimes frustrating, few hours.
Interview with Digitalair, a hero player:
What did you think of the concept of the game? This game is a great solution for those RPG'ers who can't get past the rules or the need to roll dice. It provides an wonderful opportunity to hack-n-slash, gain loot, and roll dice without the need to exercise their imagination.
Gauge the learning curve of this game as a new player. Is there anything that could be done to help with gaining an understanding of the game quicker? It's on par with most games of this type. The pre-gen'd characters provide for an easy quick-start. The combination of character special abilities and large collection of skill cards will change the strategy of play for every game.
Spawning monsters takes us back to the days of Original Advanced Dungeons and Dragons with wandering monsters. What did you think of spawning both at the start of the game and as the hero players began to accumulate more power? I feel that this is the games greatest weakness, especially for a new player. The initial setup of the games board for the quests are appropriate for the expected level of the characters as they venture through the dungeon. The complete randomness, however, of powers gained with the overlord cards can completely negate this balance, making the game unplayable if the overlord is focused too much on winning, rather than balance and fun for all. Fortunately, the overlord in our game was well aware of the experience/skill levels of the other players and discarded some overlord cards early on that would have ended the game too soon for anyone to consider enjoyable. I think that the game might benefit from pre-requisites on the overlord cards (e.g. "This card may not be played before the players open their first chest.") or variable effects based on players' status in the game.
As the heroes accumulate power, the game often speeds up. Did you feel there was a point where the game became too easy? Yes. The combination of all players "coming into their own" with their skill cards and the higher powers provided by the "more valuable" chest further into the dungeon made for a sudden shift in the balance of power.
What did you think of the introductory quest? What were the high and low points? The layout of the introductory quest would have provided a good and enjoyable introduction to the game... had the overlord deck been informed that it was an introductory quest. With 3 characters and the overlord, the game took about 7 hours. Four of those were spent in the first room of the dungeon. Well, there... and running back to town to lick our wounds. I think every spawning card found its way to the top third of the deck.
Would you play this game again? Yes, but I'm glad it wasn't my money. Given the limited number of provided quests, if you're not investing in the game as an overlord with a strong interest in creating your own quests, you'll grow bored with the game long before you've gotten your money's worth out of it.
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