Hello folks,

So I’ve just bought this game, and I must say I like what I see. I have a question though. I see that there was a number of products for this in a first edition, and there is a conversion kit available. Is it worth it to get all the old stuff and the conversion kit? Or should I just skip it all and start with the new stuff?

Also, is there any advice you folks would care to impart to a new player?

Thanks!

If you can find first edition stuff (Amazon.com has a bunch) be prepared to pay an arm and a leg. Whether or not you think it's worth it to spend all that money is up to you. You don't really need  the  first edition stuff, I would think, to enjoy the second edition. Of course, having more characters and monsters available is always a good thing. I'm pretty lucky, I have most of the first edition stuff (except for Sea of Blood), so I will likely get the CK.

Nope, not worth it. Except if you're really into the game and play A LOT. Just enjoy the 2nd edition, there's plenty of stuff to do with it and is meant as complete stand-alone game. Campaign for example can go in so many differend ways thanks to small randomization. Also there's upcoming expansion pack that will add plenty of new things to do if you need more things to do.

TIps to new player… I'm fairly new myself, only played about 7 games or so. Here's few things that made major impact to our group's game-experience and our games gradually have become more and more fun and enjoyable.

• Read the rulebook few times, and then at least some of the basic skills of heroes and overlord cards, the ones that you get at start. It helps a lot to understand the basics in the long run. You wouldn't believe how many threads there are here and in boardgamegeeks about some very simple things that are mentioned in the rulebook very clearly, or less clearly but still mentioned. But it's still completly OK to ask!
• Overlord is not GM, he/she is a player just like heroes. Overlord's object is to win, just like Heroes'.
• Rules and quests are open to read for everyone.
• Heroes can do their turns in whichever order they want, every turn. One hero at the time.
• Every quest is somekind of race for heroes and overlord. (or the overlord needs to stall heroes as much as possible)
• In Campaign, shop-items are really good. Loot every search token if possible!
• Game is much harder for 2 heroes and easier for 4 heroes.
• Overlord can draw one card whenever hero is knocked out.
• Removing stun takes only half a turn, leaving one action available.
• There's some abilities/skills/cards that only affect master or minion monsters. They will specicly mention master or minion.
• Dont think too much about Line of Sight. Use common sense, and flip a coin or something in situations where you're falling into arguments with fellow players. I've read lot of players getting their games pretty much ruined because LoS arguments, which is just silly and completly ruining the game for everyone.

There's tons more, but simply reading the rulebook and checking out the basic cards and stuff, will give you a strong base to start your adventures! Hopefully you'll enjoy the game!

Mortavius said:

Considering the prices you would likely need to pay, I don't think it's worth it, personally. Of course, I say this as someone who already owns first edition, so perhaps I'm not the best judge.

If you really want the extra options the conversion kit provides, you can always buy the CK anyway and use proxy figures from other games (or even just random replacements from D2E.) All the rules and components you need are in the CK, the only thing missing is figs. This, incidentally, is the real reason I wouldn't consider D1E worthwhile at this stage. Not only are you paying ridiculously over-inflated prices for an outdated edition of the game, but if your intent is to play 2E anyway, you're only going to be able to use about a quarter of the stuff you get.

Flatusjae said:

QFT.  All good advice, but this one in particular seems to be a biggie in D2E.  Line of Sight debates sometimes got heated in 1E, but in 2E it's just crazy.  If your group has trouble accepting the logic of the 2E Line of Sight rules, just change them.  Go back to 1E style (center-to-center) or come up with something else that makes sense to you.  As long as you play with a consistent set of Line of Sight rules, everything else should fall into place around that.