Seasonal Greedings

 We had a three player Dungeon Lords game with Festival Season and Minions Bearing Gifts, as is only proper for Christmas.

Once again randomized event was Ladies, I'm Back which is starting to become a statistical anomaly in its occurrence. 

 In this game every player got annoyance letters from the ministry. Four, three and one letter must have been one of the highest count I've ever seen I think. 

Thanks to Minions Bearing Gifts, first year fights went terribly for everyone. At least four tunnels were conquered from each player, and if I remember correctly, no player managed to capture all adventurers. 

Second year this trend only continued, and nearing the end of the year we wondered if we'd even get to positive numbers on the score board. Turned out everyone did - with eight, thirteen and seventeen points.

Minions Bore Gifts

I'm not sure what it means, but I'm baffled how Dungeon Lords feels like a recent addition to my board game collection... yet it has been about four years since I last played these with friends in Salo. But last weekend this all changed. In all of these games we had three players.

First game we played was without expansions, except for monsters and adventurers and such that comes with Festival Season. This was to reacquaintance people to game mechanics. Fun moment here was probably when I had to shoot my Demon with monster catapult just to survive second year adventurer attacks.

Second game was with Festival Season expansion. Though I scored last in this round, I believe I can say I won the bragging rights as I had both dwarf paladins in my jail when game ended.

Last game was with Festival Season, as well as first time ever with Minions Bearing Gifts. We used straightforward variant. I'm not sure how other players felt it, but it did affect my game a lot during second year - that priest preventing a point of damage was annoying nuisance that continuously ruined my plans. So, it was a good expansion. Because I had been such a paladin magnet in first two rounds, I kept low profile on Evil-o-Meter in this game. A spell that made me release a prisoner cost me the game, as I was one point behind from winning player.

Each player won once, so I suppose we need to settle who's the most evil Dungeon Lord in... umm... next four years?

Dungeon Lords Hard Mode

It's been about three and a half years since Dungeon Lords was played.

Even more with this particular group of three.

So there were... some... misplays. Others more grave than others.

Like, taxes and monster pay being played during every season.

I think we were on the summer or autumn of first year before we realized this mistake, because it was quite unplayable. So let's call it a half game being played.

Next we played base game without fifth season to re-familiarize ourselves. And we got most things right that time.

Another day we played the game with Festival Season.

This was eventful game, as the special event "Hello ladies, I'm back!" gave the aspiring dungeon lords two paladins, with only one having crossed the paladin space on evil-o-meter.

I thought I had managed my dungeon well. And I had. Only one or two dungeon spaces had been conquered during both years, and other players had plenty.

Still I had failed to take into account the power of Titles. I was worried during point scoring phase, as I had lost most of my exclusive titles I had been so certain to have. Another player with the "extra points for titles" room made it a tough game. Point difference was about three in my favor, so it was a matter of only one title.

Bards were cursed on many an occasion.

Fresh imps

During my trip to Salo we played three games of Dungeon Lords.

First two games we had four players, which is a bit rare.

All other three players had never touched Dungeon Lords, so the first game was somewhat of a hassle. We used most of the rules of a real game, though. Only first inaccessible orders were randomised. New adventurers and monsters from Festival Season expansion also added complexity. Perhaps from now on I should leave out the bards at least. Another choice is to play bards with correct rules - our minstrels were hard mode, as they didn't mourn for their fallen comrades.

Special event "I'm back ladies!" caused the elven paladin to enter fray in the first game, though nobody honestly crossed the paladin space.

First time ever somebody got negative points (-1) and as a consequence didn't get a permit to build dungeons.


Second game went much faster and more smoothly, though the hard mode bards were devastating dungeons left and right. Paladins were farmed during both years. This time the differences in points weren't that big, though we had one player who struggled just to get to exactly 0 points. That player was me. Damn those bards.


Last game was played on Sunday, and it had only three players. But since we all were now seasoned dungeon lords yearning for new challenges, we played with the Festival Season expansion.

Unique opportunities shaked up the game this time. Just about every opportunity that had most impact during first year happened exactly then. Rentable "magic room" in the town was a source of many giggles, and an expert Evil Eye played a critical role in saving my dungeon. Every player got an improved tunnel also. Last opportunity escapes my memory.

We were playing with the two paladin variant, and three paladins out of the four were killed.

Everybody scored 20+ points (even the player who had been critically screwed by being unable to enter gold farm when taxes were due...)

Winner scored exactly as much as there were spaces on the scoreboard... 42 or 43, that is.


All in all nice games. Even the one I scored a grand total of zero points. Festival Season with four players remains to be experienced.

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!