Preview Monsters and Foul Fate in The Witcher Adventure Game

“Only Evil and Greater Evil exist and beyond them, in the shadows, lurks True Evil. True Evil, Geralt, is something you can barely imagine, even if you believe nothing can still surprise you. And sometimes True Evil seizes you by the throat and demands that you choose between it and another, slightly lesser, Evil.”
   –Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish

Enter a world of unlimited adventure in The Witcher Adventure Game! You and up to three other players take on the roles of iconic heroes from the Witcher series, each attempting to gain renown by completing quests and defeating any foe that dares stand in your way.

In our first preview, we examined how you move across the Continent, investigating strange occurrences, and gaining leads from your travels. We also explored the various quests that can you may take on, whether freeing an air genie from its servitude or battling a ravenous pack of wolves.

Of course, the world of The Witcher is filled with peril. Today, we examine both the monsters and the foul fate that may plague you in your adventures.

Legendary Battles

Monsters from other spheres fill the Continent, preying on the innocent and offering a challenge to heroes everywhere. Your adventures across the world of The Witcher will undoubtedly bring you into close contact with a number of terrifying creatures. Fortunately, you have the combat prowess and the skills necessary to vanquish these creatures and safeguard the realm.

In this game, monsters belong to three classes of increasing difficulty: bronze, silver, and gold. No matter which class a monster belongs to, it can pose a deadly threat to heroes that face it without the proper preparation. To vanquish a monster requires a degree of skill with arms, but you must also consider how you will survive the fight without taking too many wounds.

You fight monsters by rolling three battle dice alongside your hero dice. These dice generate swords, shields, and other results that you may then use in conjunction with special abilities from your development cards to battle a monster, destroying the creature and safeguarding you from harm! We’ll take a closer look at each hero’s development deck and the powerful effects within in a future preview.

Most monsters bear two numbers: a sword stat that determines how many swords you must roll to destroy the monster, and a shield stat that shows how many shields you must roll to escape the fight unscathed. For example, the kikimore, a silver monster, has a sword stat of four and a shield stat of two. It also has a text box that determines the consequences of your fight, based on your success.

For example, Geralt may face a kikimore in battle at the end of his turn. He rolls the three battle dice alongside his three hero dice and obtains the results shown above: four swords, one shield, and one ritual. The ritual result has no effect in this battle, but four swords is equal to the kikimore’s sword stat, so Geralt defeats the monster in pitched battle, slaying it and ridding the land of a dangerous creature. Geralt resolves the kikimore’s successful sword effect, claiming one victory point. If Geralt had failed to roll swords equal or greater than the kikimore’s sword stat, the kikimore would have remained in the region to be battles by another hero in the future.

Although Geralt slew the deadly kikimore successfully, he did not escape unscathed. He rolled only one shield, which is less than the kikimore’s shield stat of two. Geralt must resolve the kikimore’s failed shield effect, taking one wound for each shield he is short, forcing him to suffer one wound, which he places over one of his actions, preventing him from using that action until the wound is healed. Finally, because Geralt’s sword results equaled the monster’s sword stat, the monster is placed on the bottom of the silver monster stack.

Battles can occur in nearly any circumstance. You may be called upon to fight for your life as part of resolving a quest, in addition to gathering the necessary proofs. Alternatively, you may be forced to fight when your investigations turn sour. No matter where you travel in the realm, your combat skills are sure to prove essential to your success and survival.

A Fate Most Foul

Not every obstacle that befalls you in your adventures is a monster ravening for your blood. You’ll also encounter foul fate tokens across the regions of the Northern Kingdoms, which can bring any number of dangerous events into your journey. When you encounter a foul fate token, you must discard it and draw a foul fate card, resolving the effects on the card. You may encounter Bandits on the open road, or run afoul of Dijkstra’s Henchmen. You might even suffer the ill effects of The Plague or Poison!

Foul fate may catch up with you at almost any point in your adventure. Travel across the Continent is dangerous at the best of times, and a long journey only exacerbates these perils. If you choose to move along two routes with a single travel action, you must draw a foul fate card after you move, forcing you to face the consequences of your quick movement. Careful travelers may avoid foul fate cards by moving only one route per travel action, but they find themselves falling behind in the race to influence the outcome of events in the Northern Kingdoms.

You may also be forced to take a foul fate token from a variety of effects, including quests, investigation cards, and monsters. When this happens, you must place a foul fate token beside one of the actions on your hero sheet. The next time you choose to execute that action, you remove the foul fate token and draw a foul fate card, resolving its ill effects before you have the chance to complete your action.

Face Your Fears

The world of The Witcher holds countless adventures and beneficial encounters, but it is also full of unfathomable danger. No matter where you travel, you cannot escape the monsters and foul fate tokens that plague the Northern Kingdoms. Muster your will and prepare to battle against the darkness in The Witcher Adventure Game.

Join us in our next preview to watch a video overview of gameplay and learn the secrets of the realm by downloading the rulebooks!

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