Search
Elemental Magick (The Donovan Coven #1)
8.0
Rate It
Book
For most of Aaron’s life, things have been uninteresting, boring, safe--just the way he likes...
MM Fantasy Romance Paranormal
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Questeros in Tabletop Games
Jan 21, 2021
You know that messed up deal when you are just chillin’ in the forest doing goblin-y things when you are caught and forced into a life of servitude by the king of the realm, and then when he needs someone to go on a dangerous quest he calls upon you, the now court jester, to fulfill said quest? Doesn’t that just chap your hide? Such is exactly the setting in which our hero(?) finds themselves in Questeros, or more fitting, Ero’s Quest (the solo adventure variant).
Ero is the goblin court jester from the open who has been “chosen” to quest about the land to rid it of the ne’er-do-wells of the realm. In this solo adventure mode of Questeros the player will be donning the visage and character of Ero as they travel about developing their skills and having encounters with powerful beings. It is up to the player to guide Ero through the kingdom and rid it of the foul that is plaguing it.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup the solo game, fondly and ingeniously-named “Ero’s Quest,” follow the rulebook to divide the tarot cards into their specific stacks and splays so that it roughly imitates the photo below. Draw a hand of five cards from the deck and the game may begin.
On a turn the player has a choice of seven actions that may be performed in any order. Each action may only be performed once per turn and when the turn is over the final action is Rest. To use the Develop action the player will place a card from their hand onto the Blades, Staves, or Orbs stacks in next-numerical order. This increases Ero’s attack and spending power. To Puchase cards Ero will spend Orb cards to look at the spent Orb value worth of cards from the draw deck, add one to their hand, and place the others at the bottom of the draw deck. At times Ero will need to Forget cards from hand in order to make room for more cards to enter it via the Learn action. Forgetting simply discards cards from hand while learning draws cards into hand from the draw deck. Recover is used to stand any kneeling/turned/rotated cards into an unused state by destroying cards of higher value from hand. As stated previously, to Rest is to end the turn by discarding the top card of the draw deck to setup the next turn.
I purposely left out the final action choice, Encounter, for a specific reason. Ero’s Quest is won when the entire deck of 21 Encounter cards is defeated. Each of these cards depicts a person or persons that Ero meets in his travels. Some require Ero to give them cards in order to pass. Some require Ero to succeed in battle against them in order to progress. In either case, Ero will need to get through the entire deck before his draw deck runs out in order to win the game.
Battle in Ero’s Quest is turn-based, where the Encounter persona attacks first, thus handing Ero wounds immediately. Wounds are suffered by spending Cups cards in value of the wound taken. For example, the Assassin is a value of 12, so they immediately wound Ero for 12 damage at the start of the encounter. Ero will spend a value of 12 Cups cards to simulate damage taken. Ero may then attack with a combination of available Blades, Staves, and any Ally cards obtained – one of each per attack turn. If the Encounter is defeated, Ero lives on. If the Encounter is not yet defeated, the battle continues with the Encounter card dealing damage and Ero responding with damage until one is defeated.
As mentioned earlier, the Encounter deck contains 21 cards with six of these being combat encounters. Ero has a ton of work to do and when each turn requires a card to be discarded before a new round may begin, they also have an in-game clock ticking and ticking each turn. However, if Ero is able to Develop their skills and overcome all the Encounters, the game is won and Ero becomes a Hero.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, and many items are not fully completed in this version. That said, what we were provided is a large stack of tarot-sized cards, a first player Ero token (for multiplayer games), and a large pad of scoring sheets (also for multiplayer use). The cards are great quality and feature some really excellent artwork (on the cards that have the completed artwork on them). I do like the art style employed here, as I am a fan of fantasy themes, and I know that the game will probably ship with similar iconography, but may also be color-coded for ease of reference. All in all I believe Questeros is headed in the right direction for components, and a successful Kickstarter campaign may improve that even further.
The gameplay for the solo adventure of Ero’s Quest is really decent and engaging. So often I have found myself crunching numbers in my head and attempting to utilize my horrible card-counting “skills” to determine my next actions to take. Turns can be very intense and fruitful, or very frustrating and minimal, especially when you are waiting to draw that 3 of Blades so you can place it on the 2 of Blades sitting there, but it just won’t come up. And here you are sitting with the 4, 5, and 6 of Blades in hand and a Necromancer staring right at you awaiting combat. That is the definition of frustrating, but games usually take less than an hour, so even if an entire game is chock full of these turns, you can always setup a new game quickly and hope for better luck.
I like this one. I really do. It is interesting, has a great theme, so many delicious choices, and multiple ways to use the cards for game modes or tarot decks or even RPG FATE decks! On versatility alone I would rate this one high. If you are looking for a little card game to satisfy your mid-weight solo thirst, then check out Questeros. If you need a tarot game in your collection (as I look at mine and see no others), consider this one. It takes up very little shelf space, but looks great on the table and offers a great little solo experience. I have yet to beat the solo adventure, but Ero is calling my name for another go, and I might just have to give in. Again. And again.
Ero is the goblin court jester from the open who has been “chosen” to quest about the land to rid it of the ne’er-do-wells of the realm. In this solo adventure mode of Questeros the player will be donning the visage and character of Ero as they travel about developing their skills and having encounters with powerful beings. It is up to the player to guide Ero through the kingdom and rid it of the foul that is plaguing it.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup the solo game, fondly and ingeniously-named “Ero’s Quest,” follow the rulebook to divide the tarot cards into their specific stacks and splays so that it roughly imitates the photo below. Draw a hand of five cards from the deck and the game may begin.
On a turn the player has a choice of seven actions that may be performed in any order. Each action may only be performed once per turn and when the turn is over the final action is Rest. To use the Develop action the player will place a card from their hand onto the Blades, Staves, or Orbs stacks in next-numerical order. This increases Ero’s attack and spending power. To Puchase cards Ero will spend Orb cards to look at the spent Orb value worth of cards from the draw deck, add one to their hand, and place the others at the bottom of the draw deck. At times Ero will need to Forget cards from hand in order to make room for more cards to enter it via the Learn action. Forgetting simply discards cards from hand while learning draws cards into hand from the draw deck. Recover is used to stand any kneeling/turned/rotated cards into an unused state by destroying cards of higher value from hand. As stated previously, to Rest is to end the turn by discarding the top card of the draw deck to setup the next turn.
I purposely left out the final action choice, Encounter, for a specific reason. Ero’s Quest is won when the entire deck of 21 Encounter cards is defeated. Each of these cards depicts a person or persons that Ero meets in his travels. Some require Ero to give them cards in order to pass. Some require Ero to succeed in battle against them in order to progress. In either case, Ero will need to get through the entire deck before his draw deck runs out in order to win the game.
Battle in Ero’s Quest is turn-based, where the Encounter persona attacks first, thus handing Ero wounds immediately. Wounds are suffered by spending Cups cards in value of the wound taken. For example, the Assassin is a value of 12, so they immediately wound Ero for 12 damage at the start of the encounter. Ero will spend a value of 12 Cups cards to simulate damage taken. Ero may then attack with a combination of available Blades, Staves, and any Ally cards obtained – one of each per attack turn. If the Encounter is defeated, Ero lives on. If the Encounter is not yet defeated, the battle continues with the Encounter card dealing damage and Ero responding with damage until one is defeated.
As mentioned earlier, the Encounter deck contains 21 cards with six of these being combat encounters. Ero has a ton of work to do and when each turn requires a card to be discarded before a new round may begin, they also have an in-game clock ticking and ticking each turn. However, if Ero is able to Develop their skills and overcome all the Encounters, the game is won and Ero becomes a Hero.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, and many items are not fully completed in this version. That said, what we were provided is a large stack of tarot-sized cards, a first player Ero token (for multiplayer games), and a large pad of scoring sheets (also for multiplayer use). The cards are great quality and feature some really excellent artwork (on the cards that have the completed artwork on them). I do like the art style employed here, as I am a fan of fantasy themes, and I know that the game will probably ship with similar iconography, but may also be color-coded for ease of reference. All in all I believe Questeros is headed in the right direction for components, and a successful Kickstarter campaign may improve that even further.
The gameplay for the solo adventure of Ero’s Quest is really decent and engaging. So often I have found myself crunching numbers in my head and attempting to utilize my horrible card-counting “skills” to determine my next actions to take. Turns can be very intense and fruitful, or very frustrating and minimal, especially when you are waiting to draw that 3 of Blades so you can place it on the 2 of Blades sitting there, but it just won’t come up. And here you are sitting with the 4, 5, and 6 of Blades in hand and a Necromancer staring right at you awaiting combat. That is the definition of frustrating, but games usually take less than an hour, so even if an entire game is chock full of these turns, you can always setup a new game quickly and hope for better luck.
I like this one. I really do. It is interesting, has a great theme, so many delicious choices, and multiple ways to use the cards for game modes or tarot decks or even RPG FATE decks! On versatility alone I would rate this one high. If you are looking for a little card game to satisfy your mid-weight solo thirst, then check out Questeros. If you need a tarot game in your collection (as I look at mine and see no others), consider this one. It takes up very little shelf space, but looks great on the table and offers a great little solo experience. I have yet to beat the solo adventure, but Ero is calling my name for another go, and I might just have to give in. Again. And again.
The Fortune Teller - Palm-reading, Daily Horoscope
Lifestyle and Entertainment
App
Want to know your future? True Fortune Teller is what you need! Try palm-reading to know what...
The Secret Influence of the Moon: Alien Origins and Occult Powers
Book
Despite being the most prominent celestial body after the Sun, the Moon has many qualities that...
DJ Muggs recommended Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin in Music (curated)
Outlandish Knight: The Byzantine Life of Steven Runciman
Book
'An extraordinary book ... exceptionally fascinating, always readable and penetratingly intelligent'...
Biography
El Espectador App
News
App
El Espectador App es una aplicación diseñada para dispositivos móviles que le permite a los...
The Twelfth Card (Lincoln Rhyme #6)
9.0
Rate It
Book
A high-school girl in Harlem, Geneva Settle, is the target of a ruthless professional...
Palm-reading: Fortune teller Horoscope Zodiac sign
Entertainment and Lifestyle
App
Do you know what awaits you tomorrow? You will receive tips every day with our application. Worried...
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Fever (The Chemical Garden, #2) in Books
Feb 11, 2019
I found this book to be much grimmer than the first book, Wither. In this book, Rhine and Gabriel spend most of their time trying to escape and running from or to some place. It was rather tiring at times, and I often wondered while I was reading, Don't they need to eat more? Seriously, they subsist on almost no food until they get to the orphanage, and even then, Rhine still seems to have an anorexic-like view of any and all food. Not very realistic for teenagers, in my view.
Moving on. Rhine's behavior while trapped in the carnival showed me that she can be very scatterbrained and disorganized, without any real planning abilities, even though I saw her as just the opposite in the first book. She seemed to just give in as the power of the drug "angel blood" is forced on her and Gabriel to control them. Her lack of motivation was disappointing, to say the least. The little girl she escapes with proves to be one of the most interesting variables in the whole book.
Further events once they escape seem to just delay the inevitable, but they do help to draw a more detailed picture of the world that Rhine comes from - the desperation and depravity that so much of society has sunk to as the hope of its children continues to inexplicably die. The division between those that want to continue looking for a cure and those that don't is clear, but what is not clear for most of the book is what is killing Rhine, who should still have 3 years of life to go. The horrible Vaughn of Wither is like a haunting presence throughout the book, and he has more secrets than even I can fathom.
The romance between Rhine and Gabriel is stagnated without the threat of discovery by Rhine's abandoned husband. Between escaping capture, living on the run, and futilely hunting down Rhine's brother, it has little chance to grow much at all. In fact, Rhine seemed to have more chemistry with another boy at the orphanage than she can maintain with Gabriel. Plus, Gabriel knows nothing about the world outside the mansion and is flung reeling into this life of survival that he could not have been prepared for - I can't help but feel sorry for him.
The most fascinating scene in the book is hinted at on the cover from the tarot card in Rhine's hand, but unfortunately those elements won't be covered until the final, untitled book in 2013. I look forward to a conclusion that more cleanly wraps up this series.
Moving on. Rhine's behavior while trapped in the carnival showed me that she can be very scatterbrained and disorganized, without any real planning abilities, even though I saw her as just the opposite in the first book. She seemed to just give in as the power of the drug "angel blood" is forced on her and Gabriel to control them. Her lack of motivation was disappointing, to say the least. The little girl she escapes with proves to be one of the most interesting variables in the whole book.
Further events once they escape seem to just delay the inevitable, but they do help to draw a more detailed picture of the world that Rhine comes from - the desperation and depravity that so much of society has sunk to as the hope of its children continues to inexplicably die. The division between those that want to continue looking for a cure and those that don't is clear, but what is not clear for most of the book is what is killing Rhine, who should still have 3 years of life to go. The horrible Vaughn of Wither is like a haunting presence throughout the book, and he has more secrets than even I can fathom.
The romance between Rhine and Gabriel is stagnated without the threat of discovery by Rhine's abandoned husband. Between escaping capture, living on the run, and futilely hunting down Rhine's brother, it has little chance to grow much at all. In fact, Rhine seemed to have more chemistry with another boy at the orphanage than she can maintain with Gabriel. Plus, Gabriel knows nothing about the world outside the mansion and is flung reeling into this life of survival that he could not have been prepared for - I can't help but feel sorry for him.
The most fascinating scene in the book is hinted at on the cover from the tarot card in Rhine's hand, but unfortunately those elements won't be covered until the final, untitled book in 2013. I look forward to a conclusion that more cleanly wraps up this series.