Bi-Polar Dungeon Lord

So, my bi-annual trip to visit my parents started only a few days ago, and already it has yielded two three player games of Dungeon Lords.

First time around we only added into the soup all easily integrated parts of "Festival Season" expansion (that is - monsters, bards, rooms, special events) since it's been a while when any of us played Dungeon Lords.

And did it show!

I messed up completely my finances, though the yellow guy is to be blamed a little here, too. I didn't have any food or money available during second year (except for taxes), so my only defense against leveled up adventurers during second year was a lone demon. No other monsters, traps, or anything.

Special Events screwed every player up. First year we had Witch Hunt (remove one of your monsters or gain 3 evil) and second year was Impatient Heroes (various highly annoying effects from adventurers you get that season).

Two players got some dead letters, but I avoided them like a plague. One of the letters was received from using the plague trap, heh.

Only one player got to use new monsters (the cocatrice), and only two bards showed up, both years combined. Nobody triggered paladin even if there was this Witch Hunt.

It was a real struggle for every player, a minimum of five squares was conquered from all players, and the final scores weren't too shabby, either.

Winner scored six points despite having three dead letters.

Second player scored five, and last player scored the loneliest number of points - but still got the dungeon lord's permit!


Game 2:

Second game we played we used all the components of Festival Season expansion. I find it somehow fitting that this happened only a couple of days before Christmas.

Since nobody has played the game extensively, it was bound to happen that the game went into full chaos.

First year we all managed quite well. This was probably due to special events not being too punishing - first we got Rats when nobody had over one food token, and the last one was A Scout at the Entrance, but everybody had a trap for the scout.

I got myself a Cocatrice with +2 attack modifier from the Unique Opportunity.

The unique opportunity (bank gold farm) ruined my first year Tax day, and as a result I got two Dead Letters when nobody else had those. I didn't have a gold to put into the farm.

First year I got a vampire and the aforementioned cocatrice as my monsters. At this point my play style could be described as "bi-polar", since at the end of first year I was as good as it can get: lowest of the lowest on the Evil-O-Meter.

But then first two seasons next year I purchased a ghost and a dragon before it was pay day... So that's effectively a nine step rise. At that point I just stopped caring. And I also had some wild dreams of getting the dwarf paladin to visit my dungeon. And that looked like a very real possibility, when the Masquerade unique opportunity was revealed to be the very last unique opportunity in the whole game...

Two special events were the Earthquake and Danse Macabre. Har har. Danse Macabre with six monsters. Last year I'd have a guaranteed rise of +15 in the Evil-o-Meter, before taking into account possible additions from Masquerade. I've never felt so good. I mean... I've never felt so evil.

Thanks to Masquerade every other player (well, except for the yellow idiot) (I don't usually speak bad of other players, but yellow was a non-player character, so it's okay) got over the Paladin space on Evil-o-Meter, too. So I got the dwarf. Just as I planned. Damn, I've never felt the idea of growing any kind of mustache, but in situations like these it would be so lovely to get to twirl.

Then it's the last quarter of the game, the fight round of year two.

One of the players is whining excessively and ready to flip all her dungeon tiles over because she would just get her ass kicked with no possibility to survive. I don't usually speak of other players in a bad tone, but she was my little sis, so it's okay.

I don't remember too well how the other two players did, because I was so immersed in my own nefarious plots.

First the Paladin eats a poisoned meal, and then dart of madness causes the warriow right behind of the paladen to strike him for three damage. Who knew getting rid of paladins could be so simple?

In the end the adventuring party of two bards, a wizard, warrior and a palading conquered only two tiles.

Having played such a successful second year I was rather certain I had won - especially when I compared my points to those we had scored a day earlier. I had scored twenty one points.

Final scores were:

Winner: 30
Second: 21
Third: 11

Damn you, sis... Damn you!