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Brutal Punishment

A Preview of Lair of the Wyrm, the Upcoming Descent Expansion

The release of Lair of the Wyrm, the expansion for Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition, is now just over a week away! Over our series of previews, we have seen the Rumor card system, the valorous new Champion class, the temptation of Secret Rooms, and the powerful Geomancer class.

Today, we’ll conclude our series with a glimpse of the overlord’s nasty new tricks and minions, as well as some of the new equipment available to heroes brave enough to face the dreaded Wyrm Queen.

Fiery Foes

The Wyrm Queen Valyndra is a fire-breathing monstrosity capable of reducing her foes to smoldering ash. It’s no surprise, therefore, that her minions share her affinity for the flame. In fact, one of her minions is fire itself! Fire Imps are living inferno, imbued with a mischievous desire to spread destruction. Their Flame Fiend ability not only lets them ignore the effects of lava and the “Burning” condition, but profit from it; each time a Fire Imp ends its turn in a space containing lava, it recovers one point of health.

But these nasty little ne’er-do-wells don’t stop there. The Flame Imps’ Burn ability lets them spread fire (in the form of the new “Burning” condition) to anyone they successfully attack, and their Combustible ability ensures an unpleasant surprise to anyone who kills one of them. When a master Flame Imp is defeated, it explodes, damaging everyone in the adjacent to it!

When Valyndra wants to cause real destruction, however, she sends her Hybrid Sentinels. These flying, half-dragon abominations boast the Fire Breath ability, allowing them to trace a path of magical flame and strike multiple heroes at once. What’s more, their Prey on the Weak ability makes Hybrid Sentinels the bane of Mages and Healers. Each Hybrid Sentinel attack that targets a hero with two or less strength inflicts an additional point of damage.

A Dish Best Served Cold

Speaking of preying on the weak, the overlord’s new Punisher class is designed to make the heroes pay for every step they take.

No Rest for the Wicked ensures that heroes cannot escape the minions of the overlord; for every fatigue a hero spends to gain a movement point, a monster may gain one for himself. With No Rest for the Wicked in play, a clever overlord can potentially match a hero’s movements step for step!

Price of Prevention ups the ante, presenting the heroes with an unattractive choice: either suffer significant wounds, or allow the overlord to fish his favorite Event or Trap card out of his discard pile. Meanwhile, Blood Bargaining epitomizes the Punisher class’s core philosophy: turning wins into losses. With it, each hero becomes blood bound to a specific monster for one round, during which whatever misfortunes befall the bound monster also befall the hero!

Fire Fighting

Fortunately for the heroes, they’ll have plenty of powerful new equipment available at the shop. For example, warriors who often find themselves unable to chase down fleeing foes may want to hide a handbow up their sleeves. This handy trinket can make ranged attack without need to re-equip since it doesn’t technically take one of your hero’s hands to carry it.

For those who’d just as soon avoid a fight, Flash Powder makes for a quick, if dramatic, escape. Throw some at the feet of a nearby foe, and the blinding reaction will leave it stunned long enough for you to make a hasty retreat. Add the Merciful Boots (an Act II Shop card) to the equation, and you’ll have a mobile medic that’s an asset to any team.

These are just a few of the new Shop cards coming, but even with an array of powerful weapons and other items, will the heroes have what it takes to stand before the overlord’s new minions? Look for Lair of the Wyrm on store shelves in just a few more weeks!

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Source: Brutal Punishment (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=3784)

this reminds me I really must get a game of decent in some time

 >:DGinger