The world of the Four Kingdoms is full of epic characters that have battled against the Tower. Now Expeditions takes us beyond the borders to bring us four new heroes! We asked our Board Game Necromancer Justin D. Jacobson to give us the details on these new characters and their play styles.
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Development of Return To Dark Tower was a massive undertaking. With a state-of-the-art, bluetooth-enabled, electronic Tower and epic gameplay to match, it was literally years in the making. When we finally released it, everyone breathed a heavy sigh of relief. I, on the other hand, had other ideas. Shortly afterward, I was playing with my game group and immediately got a flood of ideas. I hopped on the design call that Monday and confided: “Ummm, I know you all don’t want to hear this, but I’ve already scoped out a whole bunch of content for the next expansion.” They looked at me with eyes like venom-soaked daggers. After a few weeks to catch their breath, those ideas ultimately turned into Covenant. Funny story….
Yep, the exact same thing happened again.
I can’t help it. Return to Dark Tower is that kind of magical game that rests on such a fertile design foundation and is anchored by such a compelling world that the ideas just bubble up like the Lingering Rot after too much time in the sun. Same deal as last time. I started scribbling down ideas for new heroes, items, and more.
Three years later, three of the five heroes I scoped out in that very first draft ended up in the new expansion. Of course, a lot has changed from that first inkling of an idea. Importantly, Rob quickly recognized that we needed something entirely new to anchor the offering. It took awhile to get that system where we wanted it, but the heroes came into view relatively quickly. Of course, it would take a whole lot of work to get them just right.
Enlightened Ascetic: I really liked the idea of a hero that eschewed the typical power arc of building up a ton of resources, especially treasures. As I am wont to do, the first draft was a bit over the top. It let you eschew Reinforcing to take a second heroic action, which proved to be too potent. As the best designs often are, the answer ended up being simple: focus on virtues. I’m happy to report that, just as in the first draft, the ascetic starts with no warriors and only one treasure slot. Now you get to customize your locked virtues at the start of the game (and only spend 4 spirit to unlock them). With clever play, the ascetic can turn into a real powerhouse – and one unlike any other hero in the game.
Who will like to play this character: People who like to multiclass and think outside the box.
Jocular Druid: Terrain has always played a huge role in the game. But we never had a hero that really leaned into that mechanic. With the core concept in mind, a druid seemed like a natural way to go. (Oh, yes, that pun was fully intended.) Because it was such open territory, the virtues quickly came into focus. Being able to change your terrain and then leveraging your favored terrain for greater benefits and unique effects resulted in a quirky character that offers a fresh and fun way to play the game.
Who will like to play this character: People who like to control the field of play and aid their fellow heroes.
Clever Tinkerer: Gear has always been the “boring” resource – the one you need to pick up because you don’t have the spirit for a treasure or just need that extra boost of movement. I wanted to make a hero that made gear cool. Originally, her upgrades merely added tags or a +1 bonus to the existing effects. In development, we pushed the effects to be more exotic, and she’s even cooler now that we have six new gear cards in the expansion. Slapping just the right upgrade on the perfect piece of gear is oh so satisfying.
Who will like to play this character: People who like to craft the right tool for the job.
Grizzled Mariner: The last hero to make the cut took a little more time. We tried to make a thief work for a long time. (In fact, the main idea for the expansion originally was bringing gold back into the game.) But it just never took off. Giving them another resource just felt like you were playing a bit of a Euro game, trying to make the most efficient conversion. I was playing a solo game when I had the notion that it would be cool if my hero could be in two places at once. By this time, we also had the expeditions concepted, and the Inkstain Isles just screamed PIRATE! Once the idea was in place, the theme really drove the mechanics: A ghost ship flying around the Four Kingdoms plundering for goods and lobbing cannonballs at foes.
Who will like to play this character: People who like to cover a lot of ground and say “Avast!”
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Thanks Justin! Bring these new heroes to your table with the Return to Dark Tower: Expeditions expansion, on Kickstarter now.