Within the abandoned manor house, everything was quiet. Furniture lay strewn across the floors, wrecked by bandits and looters. High in the rafters, a raven preened, watching the hall with strangely intelligent eyes. Below, a small creature entered the room and peered about warily. It seemed to be made from pieces of the manor – ruined table legs and bits of statues, with kitchen utensils for fingers. The creature was larger than yesterday. Tomorrow it would be larger still. No one knew it existed. No one was afraid of it yet. But nothing hides forever, and Skarn only needed to grow.

Prepare to embark upon a brand new adventure in Manor of Ravens , an expansion for Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition !

Strange creatures lurk throughout the abandoned manor that serves as the location for the six quests included in this expansion. These quests can be played sequentially as a mini campaign or woven into a larger campaign. However you play them, you’ll soon find your adventures transported to a haunted manor house, where the overlord’s influence is stronger than ever. The overlord commands powerful monsters here, and he finds a willing servant in the flocks of ravens around the mansion. If that’s not enough, the overlord gains two classes in Manor of Ravens , as well as relics for his monsters to put to evil use.

Can the heroes find a way to stop an empowered overlord? If they want to defeat the overlord’s minions in the darkness of the manor house, they would be wise to make use of the expansion’s heroes and hero classes for both Warriors and Scouts.

Dangerous Grounds

As the overlord, you are constantly threatened by Terrinoth’s heroes, who attempt to attack your minions and lieutenants, unravel your plots, thwart your plans, and limit your influence over the land. Still, there are strongholds the heroes can only guess at, places where you can experiment with new powers and concoct the newest parts of your master plan.

As the heroes approach the dilapidated manor house, monsters flock to your control. Comfortable in any environment, bandits gather in the largest numbers where there’s loot for the taking, and there’s plenty of loot to find in Manor of Ravens . Your bandits can even rob the heroes, taking their hard-earned gold and stealing their Search cards. In the depths of the manor, other monsters are stirring, however. Wraiths are malevolent specters, and their call brings nothing but suffering and death. Even the bravest heroes have been known to cower when wraiths approach.

Nevertheless, these monsters pale in comparison to the dread lieutenant who rises in Manor of Ravens . Skarn is a magical construct that adds pieces of the manor house to himself, repairing his wounds and increasing his powers. Skarn’s potential has no limits, and barring the heroes’ intervention, he could grow large enough to threaten all of Terrinoth. Even if they confront him before it’s too late, heroes hoping to end Skarn’s menace have a daunting task cut out for them. Skarn is highly resilient to attacks, and he only becomes more powerful as he absorbs the manor, inviting you to wreak havoc on the heroes.

The overlord gains more than monsters and a lieutenant in this expansion. Two classes of Overlord cards allow you to attack the heroes and enhance your monsters in entirely new ways. The Enchanter class creates lingering effects that remain in play, granting long-lasting bonuses to your monsters. These cards are only discarded when certain condition are met. The Unkindness class takes a different path to ruining the heroes’ plans. Purchasing cards from this class give you access to a servant: the Raven Flock! Servants perform similarly to the heroes’ familiars, and other cards in the Unkindness class give the Raven Flock even more potent powers and abilities.

You’ll also gain two additional types of relics included in Manor of Ravens . In the past, relics could only be equipped by a lieutenant, but Manor of Ravens introduces both monster relics, which are wielded by a monster group, and universal relics, which grant powerful effects while they remain in play.

Safeguard the Realm

Even in a place as dark as the Manor of Ravens , Terrinoth’s heroes still find hope. Two heroes take their places alongside you in this expansion. Alys Raine had recited the entire Common Law by her eighth birthday, and her love of justice led her to become a Warrior, focused on defending the realm against evil by purging it of monsters and injustice. She is joined in this adventure by Thaiden Mistpeak, a Scout of noteworthy skill. Whenever Thaiden forms part of your hero party, you’ll have an easier time staying clear of monsters and completing your objectives quickly.

Along with these heroes come two hero classes. Warriors gain the option to become a Marshal, dispensing justice and punishing the wrongdoer anywhere in Terrinoth. Marshals focus on stopping evil where they find it, and you’ll quickly find ways to make the overlord pay for his wicked deeds. Scouts, on the other hand, gain the Bounty Hunter class, inviting players to start a hunt against a monster. Bounty Hunters use their considerable skills to track a single monster, refusing to rest until that creature has been dispatched.

A House of Mystery

Whether you play as a hero or the overlord, however, you’ll be forced to contend with an extraordinary condition: Doomed! Certain monsters can spread the manor’s evil to the heroes, giving them the Doomed condition, while even monsters can become Doomed by some deadly weapons included in this expansion. While a hero or monster has the Doomed condition, he suffers an additional damage whenever he takes damage. A Doomed figure can be dispatched very quickly, but you can shake off the influence of the haunted mansion by spending a surge from an attack roll, using your heroism in battle to dispel the curse laid upon you.

Darkness rises within the Manor of Ravens , as the overlord begins to master his new powers. Monsters and a dread lieutenant wait within, while a flock of ravens keeps watch without. As Terrinoth’s noblest heroes prepare to enter the manor for a fateful showdown with the forces of evil, will you make your stand with the heroes, or conspire to make the abandoned mansion their final resting place? Determine the fate of Terrinoth within the Manor of Ravens !