Our first game of Strange Aeons!

[Malebolgia]

Read the report on my website:

http://paintoholic.nl/

(Under Battle Reports, or click the link in the News Updates in the main screen).

Tomorrow some feedback on the rules, first some sleep

[Malebolgia]

So here are my thoughts on the game.

We first played two short games to get into the rules. These went quite strange as the Threshold player only rolled 5+ on each dice. This led to totally one-sided games where Lurker had no chance and was blown away in 2-3 turns. This was also because I didn't explain the Scrawny One very well to the Lurker player so he had the wrong idea about teleporting around. After two games we still had no clue about the game as the dice determined everything and not the mechanics or tactics. No Threshold was hurt and about 8 Lurkers were shot down! The third game went a lot better (it's the battle report) and more even. The Lurker managed to take two agents out and the character had to face four Cultists alone. We then saw how powerful Characters are with the right weaponry.

After the third game we were discussing the game and the way it was designed. It was then we realized the games shouldn't be superbalanced and always have a 50/50 chance of outcome. After all, both players benefit if Threshold wins with some margin. The Threshold player gains extra skills and has the chance of finding map pieces. On the other hand this increases the Build Points of the Threshold team and thus allows the Lurker player to pick more powerful and interesting creatures to use. We liked that a lot! It allows for a story-based gameplay and the Lurker doesn't have to be sad if he gets his ass kicked. After all, the next game will be more more fun as you can pick bigger bad guys! Awesome mechanic.

The only thing I'm not sold on is the Scrawny One. It sure is powerful with teleporting and swallowing opponents, but Constitution 3 is too low IMO. Most weapons wound it on a roll of 2+. That means that a hit has a BIG chance of taking it out. Most of the times you need to roll 5+ on the injury dice to take it out. I think that a Constitution of 5 would give it more of a kick and justifies the 5 points better.

Other than that I think Strange Aeons is an excellent game! We played five games in 4 hours and had lots of fun. Each scenario gave a different kind of game with all kinds of lurkers. I am going to play the game at a game event in Holland and I think it will attract a lot of attention

[Raz]

Yep, we had a lot of fun! The mechanics work really well and keep the game flowing. The fate cards add a nice twist to it too and the scenarios are well thought out. The aspect of collecting clues tokens to 'unlock' certain scenarios is a good find imo. Definitely a game I'd like to play more often!

As Malebolgia said the Scrawny One is really fragile. Boosting it's Constitution to 4 or 5 might be a good idea. It's also a creature you need to get the hang of to use.

[LidlessEye]

The Scrawny One has, in my experience, been one of the most difficult Lurkers to get a handle on.  Mike has explained to me that the low constitution balances the Swallow Whole ability, which is a rather nasty thing to include on a 5 point model, especially when you consider that it gives a 50% chance of eliminating even the most powerful of Threshold characters.  More than any other Lurker, they're a complementary / support unit.  To be effective, you have to screen them to keep them out of combat until you get the opportunity to charge one in and take out a Threshold model that's already stunned or unconscious.  Don't forget that this can result from failed Resolve checks, so keeping close to Hideous models can be an effective tactic.

[Alfrik]

Must say the bone shaped dice were really different. Where did you pick those up if you recall?

[Uncle Mike]

Wow! That is a great report...and a great looking report. Glad you guys like the game.

The Scrawney One is for sure a weak model...the idea was to keep him in the back (or hidden...) until a good opertunity to strike comes up. The swallow whole ability is one of the 'worst' things that can happen to Threshold (...also, fighting a Werewolf...). One of my 'House Rules' that we use is the Scrawney One can be summoned multiple times in a game. It must be killed to be re-summoned as must a Cultist to summon it...the newley summoned Scrawney One is treated as a 'new' Lurker so all psychology tests must be repeated. This rule won't make much difference until the BP are a little higher thou...

Can't wait to see more!!!

[Malebolgia]

Must say the bone shaped dice were really different. Where did you pick those up if you recall?

Here are some links:
http://www.greathallgames.com/index_adicemw.html
http://www.buncogame.com/18mm-bone-dice
http://www.bgamers.com/dice.htm

@Mike: That's a good tip! I think I like that a lot. Sacrificing additional Cultists is tricky for the lurker as your group dissipates quickly, but additional Scrawny Ones are super. I'll use this one. Cheers!

[Saya]

Top battle report!!!!