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Kicking off the Holidays - Session Report
11-20-2017, 04:16 PM
Post: #1
Kicking off the Holidays - Session Report
We had a little marathon session on Saturday night with 7 players. We hosted at our house and I had been sending the group texts all week dripping with theme so I could whet the appetites of all the would-be heroes. Everyone was chomping at the bit by the time Saturday night rolled around. It was awesome.

We started off with the Volgovian Nutcracker and remembered right away how tough this guy is while reading his back story and abilities, and those of his minions. Now we were primed. This guy kicked our butts last year but we played him closer to Christmas so perhaps he waxed in evil strength the closer we got to that glorious day. This year though we got him before he gain so much strength. It was a good challenge but we won out in the end after two and a half rounds of the first showdown. We cornered him in the Fields and brought along the Magistrate and the Reverend. A couple of us were KO'd after the first round and the majority of us had items and allies stripped away though we felt like we were on top when we finally beat him.

Then we reset and went right into Krampus! (BTW, I have gone all out in making really nice quality print-n-plays of all the Web Villains. It makes for a much deeper immersion in game play for me and the group.) Krampus was eating Townsfolk left and right out of his sack. He ended up with 5 additional health by the time we got him into the showdown at the Inn. We had failed attempt after failed attempt to get into a fight with him by searching the Revelers. We kept rolling 4 or less and couldn't initiate enough fights. On a couple of the fights we missed while swinging at the Sack. We did not do a good job saving the Townsfolk out of the sack but we did manage to make a couple of clever moves in placing Militia between certain Revelers and Townsfolk on the board to protect them. We had a couple of nasty remains in play Mystery cards that we wanted to get rid of. One was Growing Power that gave +1 Combat to the Villain but the bigger, more troublesome one was Veil of Darkness that would move the Shadow Track 2 steps every time a Hero is KO'd. We only had enough steps left for 1 and a half of us to be KO's so we had to try to get rid of that card. Because of that we took a flier on Sophie because we didn't know her secret (luckily she only had one). It turned out to be a little secret. So far, so good. Now we had to make the rolls. The assigned player rolled against the +1 combat card first - and MISSED! We thought "Oh crap we need to roll better on that Veil card or we're sunk. So that was a tense moment with a drum roll and all...and he nailed it. That gave us a chance knowing we could stand to have a few heroes KO'd without driving the shadow track home. It took us two rounds against Krampus and it got close again but we put him to rest...at least until next time.

Sssshhhh...I thought I heard a feetstep...
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11-21-2017, 12:16 AM
Post: #2
RE: Kicking off the Holidays - Session Report
Awesome, thanks for sharing. How do you setup for the 7 player game? The Volgovian Nutcracker is one of my favorite Villians.
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11-21-2017, 03:49 PM
Post: #3
RE: Kicking off the Holidays - Session Report
That sounds like it was great fun! Can't wait to dig into my new copy.
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11-21-2017, 09:01 PM
Post: #4
RE: Kicking off the Holidays - Session Report
I always think the period between Haloween and Christmas is the most thematic / atmospheric time to play ATOE.
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11-21-2017, 09:22 PM
Post: #5
RE: Kicking off the Holidays - Session Report
(11-21-2017 12:16 AM)August700212 Wrote:  Awesome, thanks for sharing. How do you setup for the 7 player game? The Volgovian Nutcracker is one of my favorite Villians.

I don't know. We just set up and go full co-op. We always play co-op.


(11-21-2017 09:01 PM)Achtung Panzer Wrote:  I always think the period between Haloween and Christmas is the most thematic / atmospheric time to play ATOE.

Completely agree. I actually look forward to this time of year just for that reason. I mean we play ATOE throughout the year but it is dripping with theme during these Fall and early Winter months. I love the visuals this game produces. It would be amazing to actually walk into Shadowbrook. Watchmen02

Sssshhhh...I thought I heard a feetstep...
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11-22-2017, 05:49 PM
Post: #6
RE: Kicking off the Holidays - Session Report
(11-21-2017 09:22 PM)ATOEtalGeek Wrote:  
(11-21-2017 12:16 AM)August700212 Wrote:  Awesome, thanks for sharing. How do you setup for the 7 player game? The Volgovian Nutcracker is one of my favorite Villians.

I don't know. We just set up and go full co-op. We always play co-op.

I have only played co-op. I an curious about the competitive play mode but no one is interested in giving it a try. Maybe one day I will be in a group interested in competition. The largest team I played with was 5 people against the gargoyle. It was a blowout victory for the heroes so I was concerned that larger groups (i.e. 7 people) would too heavily stack the favor to the hero's side. Do you use any other balancing rules besides multiplying the villain's wounds?
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11-24-2017, 03:22 AM
Post: #7
RE: Kicking off the Holidays - Session Report
We use the co-op side of the shadow track and a couple of house rules that I have developed over time to make the shadow track move. The most important balancing aspect in the game is making the shadow track move so the heroes must act before they would want to. If the shadow track does not move there is too much time for the heroes to buff up. By making the shadown track move it ratchets up the tension greatly and makes for a good showdown...usually with the shadow track in the last few steps. It also helps to keep the game in the 2 to 2 1/2 hour range.

Sssshhhh...I thought I heard a feetstep...
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11-26-2017, 12:27 PM
Post: #8
RE: Kicking off the Holidays - Session Report
Late Fall & Winter are great Game Playing Times- I also start paint projects during this time.

7 Players !! How long did that session last? Even with just 4 players the Game seems to last forever.

OD

Sighing like the night wind and sobbing like the rain,—
Wailing for the lost one that comes not again:
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