Into the Wilderness

“The forest is stirring… but we’re prepared for anything.”
   –Ronan of the Wild

A branch from the mythical Tree of Life has been found, and some of Terrinoth’s greatest heroes have sworn to recover it before the evil overlord claims it! In Bonds of the Wild, a new Hero and Monster Collection for Descent: Journeys in the Dark, you can search for this magical branch with the heroes or use it for your own nefarious ends as the overlord.

Like other Hero and Monster Collections, Bonds of the Wild offers heroes and monster previously only available in the first edition of Descent. You’ll find twenty-two plastic figures in this expansion: four heroes, twelve kobolds, four hellhounds, and two deep elves, now updated with brand-new artwork and figure sculpts. With two new quests – One Man’s Trash and Bonds of the Wild – this expansion offers thrilling new adventures in the realm of Terrinoth. 

Today, we preview Ronan of the Wild and the deep elves from Bonds of the Wild!

Bonds of the Wild contains four heroes, twelve kobolds, four hellhounds, and two deep elves.

Servant of the Forest

On the night of a great storm, a small band of soldiers took shelter from the rain and lightning in a large cave. While Ronan scouted the area outside, deep elves seized the rest of his company for trespassing. Ronan returned to the signs of struggle and immediately set off in pursuit of his captured compatriots. That night, Ronan earned a heroic reputation and an early resignation from the militia. Since then, he has sought peace among the sprawling greenery of the forest – but if a branch from the Tree of Life truly exists, it must be found and preserved for the sake of all living things.

Ronan of the Wild is never alone when he joins your hero party. His constant companion is Pico , a red panda with a knack for finding all manner of useful objects for the heroes. Ronan’s hero ability lets you start the game with the Pico familiar placed on your Hero sheet. Then, at any point during your turn, you can choose a search token within three spaces of you and place Pico in its space.

Collecting search tokens is often crucial for allowing you to buy better gear and weapons, but spending actions to pick up search tokens takes valuable time away from accomplishing your goal. Pico helps eliminate the need to spend your actions picking up search tokens. Once you’ve dispatched Pico to grab some loot or hidden potion, a hero adjacent to Pico may search that search token without spending an action. As soon as the search token is removed, Pico returns to Ronan, ready to dash off to a new treasure.

You may even use Pico to ferry vital items and powerful weapons between you and another player. When Pico is on Ronan’s hero sheet, you may use Ronan’s heroic feat to choose another hero and immediately trade any Shop Item cards, Relic cards, or Search cards with that player! The ability to quickly ferry a single crucial item across the map can mean the difference between victory and defeat in a game of Descent.

Dwellers in the Deep

As Ronan quests to recover a Branch of Life, he’ll face many servants of the overlord, including some rogue deep elves. Deep elves live in isolation, far from other civilizations, and they have devoted their lives to eradicating the evil influence of the Ynfernael. Through some unknown means, their warriors travel to the blighted planes of the Aenlong, slaying the fell creatures that dwell there. But the Ynfernael’s corruption is universal, and over time even the most noble deep elves find their will twisted toward a darker purpose. Now, some of these corrupted warriors have pitted themselves against the heroes in their quest.

The deep elves have trained as warriors for most of their lives, and because of this, they are among the most deadly fighters in Terrinoth. Any deep elf can spend a surge to do more damage, and their slender blades may pierce even the thickest armor. The heroes may wish to defeat the deep elves by using Ranged weapons against them, but even then, they’ll need a way to defeat the deep elves’ natural stealth. Deep elves bear the Stealthy ability, which forces each attack to roll three additional range beyond what is normally required or the attack misses. Any hero hoping to bring down a deep elf with arrows must be a truly expert shot. 

No fighter escapes close combat with a master deep elf unscathed – these deep elves have access to the Riposte ability. Whenever a figure attacks a master deep elf, that figure suffers damage equal to the deep elf’s defense – and if the attack misses, the attacker suffers damage equal to the damage rolled. When you command the deep elves, no matter how your opponents’ attack, they’ll certainly suffer damage when they engage a deep elf in battle. 

Fight to Survive

In Bonds of the Wild, you and your fellow heroes can venture into the wilds on a desperate quest, or you can play as the overlord and use all of nature’s most deadly monsters to destroy the heroes. Join us in our next preview for a look at Vyrah the Falconer and the hellhounds.

Pre-order Bonds of the Wild at your local retailer today!