Outfitted for Adventure

The woman known as Red Scorpion moved easily through the crowd, slipping silently through the spaces between traders, warriors, and beggars. All around her, she could feel the pulse and life of a busy Free City marketplace—until the balance was disturbed. There, at the bazaar to the left. A rich merchant-prince, pompously appraising the worth of a crimson destrier. Almost at his feet, a small, hungry child leaned against the stable wall, too tired to even reach for the merchant’s purse. Red Scorpion twisted her wrist and a knife dropped into her hand as she stepped forward…

Every year, people gather from across Terrinoth under the sign of the gilded blade. A thousand merchants offer their wares as thieves and cutpurses move through the crowds with depressing efficiency. Even heroes can find new tools and learn new skills among the great marketplaces of Terrinoth, and you’ll find new dangers and adventures within The Gilded Blade Adventure Pack for Runebound!

The Gilded Blade is the first Adventure Pack for Runebound, and rather than introducing a new scenario like the Caught in a Web Scenario Pack, this expansion focuses on expanding your options for every scenario. Within, you’ll find a completely new hero, new assets and skills to customize your heroes, and new adventure cards that you can include in any scenario so you never know exactly what you’re going to encounter in the realm of Terrinoth.

Today, we’ll take a closer look at the contents of The Gilded Blade Adventure Pack, starting with a brand-new hero—Red Scorpion.

A Force for Balance

Wandering but not lost, solitary but never alone—Red Scorpion is puzzlingly enigmatic, unfailingly polite, and lethally dangerous. She dedicates her life to the pursuit of balance, both within herself and in the kingdom at large. Enemies of that balance will soon learn to fear her skill with blades and her keen intelligence.

When you play as Red Scorpion during a game of Runebound, you begin the game in any of the realm’s towns. You may not start with much money, but you do immediately know where you’re going: during setup, you can draw the top three cards of the exploration deck and choose a quest that you can complete to restore the balance of Terrinoth. You may not know what dangers await you among the towering forests and rolling hills of Terrinoth, but your quest will give you an early objective and can even help determine how you choose to shape your skills and talents. 

Click the card above to view the reverse side!

You’ll also notice that one of Red Scorpion’s combat tokens introduces an entirely new combat symbol: tactics. As Red Scorpion, you’re a master of reading a fight and adapting to the evolving battle. By spending the tactics symbol, you can copy a symbol shown on a different combat token—either your own or your opponent’s! Whether you duplicate your own physical damage or copy some of your rival’s shields to block an incoming attack, the tactics symbol is one of the most versatile and useful combat tokens in the game.

Any hero can use a tactics symbol if they have the appropriate combat tokens, but you exist in a class above the rest. As Red Scorpion, you can trigger Outmaneuver whenever you spend a tactics symbol—exerting to remove the copied token from the game! Though you won’t always be copying your opponent’s tokens, when you do you can adapt your strategy and counter your opponent in a single, perfect stroke. 

Along with tactics symbols, you’ll also benefit from having plenty of surges to trigger Flurry of Blades. This ability reads: “Deal X physical damage. X is the number of times you have used this ability this combat round. You may use this ability up to 3 times per combat round.” If you develop your character to consistently gain three surges every combat round, you could translate those into up to six damage per round—which can be quite significant. Best of all, you can use your tactics symbols to copy surges, giving you even more ways to cut your enemies to pieces and restore balance to Terrinoth.

At the Market

In addition to Red Scorpion, The Gilded Blade also includes twenty new asset cards and ten new skill cards, giving you dozens of ways to change how your character interacts with the scenario and the world. In the Runebound Core Set, most goods assets were simple, reliable ways to earn some quick money. With the release of The Gilded Blade, a measure of uncertainty enters your transactions. You may purchase Ornaments, which yield plenty of gold at a shrine, so long as you have the spirit to bring it there. Or, you may pick up some Munitions, which have a value determined by your body, your mind, and a little luck.

Other new assets improve you abilities in combat. Red Scorpion could greatly benefit from the tactics symbols provided by the Patchwork Wand or the Swindler's Coat —or you may even wield the mighty Guardian Axe, which allows you to spend surges as magical damage whenever you choose! 

Alternatively, the ten new mind skill cards offered in The Gilded Blade can give you ways to gain the advantage. Complete Confidence helps you move quickly and without fear, cutting down your foes before they react, while Victory Foretold targets your opponent’s combat tokens, helping you control the flow of battle rather than simply rolling with the punches. You may even pair Investments with Negotiations to earn a tidy profit from the other heroes buying and selling.

And of course, you’ll find plenty of new enemies, quests, and events spread across fifteen adventure cards that can be slotted into any scenario, giving you an array of new challenges to face. You may cross blades with a group of Kobolds or a Goblin Raiding Party —both of which have ways to heal the damage that you deal. You may travel to the market at Riverwatch in search of more assets, or you may hire a network of spies to keep tabs on the other heroes. No matter which cards you add, your games of Runebound will never be the same with The Gilded Blade.

A New Journey Begins

Are you prepared to return to the realm of Terrinoth? What new stories will you tell as a mighty hero? Both the Caught in a Web Scenario Pack and The Gilded Blade Adventure Pack will be available at your local retailer on August 4th. You can also pick them up at our booth at Gen Con Indy 2016—we hope to see you there!