Eyes in the Dark

“If you’ve ever been run over by a cart traveling downhill and laden with twice its weight, you know what it’s like to be hit by an ogre.”
   –Brightcarver’s Bestiary

Terrinoth is a land of magic, spirits, and strife. Threats across Mennara grow stronger each day, from the Free Cities to the cursed Mistlands, and dangers stir in deep dungeons and unseen corners where the sun cannot reach. The world needs heroes to stand against the darkness and defend the innocent. Now, you and your team of champions are tasked with eight noble missions, where you will battle fierce monsters, discover hidden treasures, and experience adventures worthy of song. You will assume great risk if you choose to accept, but the glory that awaits is well worth the danger.

But we would never ask you to take on this task without giving you a hint of what you’ll be up against. Today, we're pleased to offer you a closer look at the enemies you will face during your adventures in Heroes of Terrinoth—now available for pre-order at your local retailer or online through our website!

Creeping Shadows

Heroes of Terrinoth is a cooperative card game of thrilling adventure where you and up to three allies will embody Mennara’s most powerful heroes. Your band will descend into the realm’s darkest caverns and dungeons, where only the brave or witless dare to tread, all in pursuit of wealth and glory. In these treacherous tunnels, you will confront deadly monsters, minions, nemeses, and other dangers, which you must face in order to complete your quests and earn victory.

Over a series of rounds, you'll perform actions, weather enemy attacks, endure perils, and explore new locations. Your team seizes the initiative first by performing actions during the Hero Phase (for more information about the heroes and the actions you can take, be sure to check out our last preview here). But once you have taken your best shot to advance your objective, the shadows strike back against your team as your enemies make their moves.

The hero Astarra is engaged with both the Bandit and the Rat Swarm.

During the Enemy Phase, your foes will activate, closing in on your party or striking a hero within reach of their notched swords and catching claws. If you are already engaged with an enemy, you must choose to face them, but even if you are not locked in combat you will find no relief, as enemies in the shadows will move forward, forcing you to draw out these hidden dangers until no foes remain.

Every enemy in Heroes of Terrinoth behaves differently, and facing each one will require different tactics. In the middle of each enemy card, you'll find an effect bar that determines how that enemy acts in the Enemy Phase. Most commonly, an enemy can advance to engage a hero, retreat into the shadows, or inflict damage. Beyond these basic abilities, however, many enemies have their own unique powers. For example, when you activate a Goblin Witcher, they will first use their unique ability to Hex your hero and weaken them, then Retreat into the shadows, and lastly, Inflict damage.

Combat and Counters

Enemies can pose a problem, beyond just dealing damage to you in the Enemy Phase. Whenever you perform an action, you'll roll white dice in an attempt to complete your action, but you must also roll one black die for each ready enemy that's engaged with you! Whether you're taking the fight directly to an enemy or just trying to rest, rolling hero and enemy dice lies at the heart of every action.

   
From left to right: Success, Critical Success, Defense

Successes are the basic symbol that you want to roll on your hero dice. These successes have different effects for each action—it could mean dealing damage with an Attack action or recovering wounds with a Rest action.

Critical Successes add one success to the action. Then, you'll reroll any critical successes and resolve the new results as well!

Defenses reduce the impact of enemy counterattacks.

 
From left to right: Counterattack, Threat

Counterattacks trigger enemy attacks, forcing you to take damage from the most dangerous enemy engaged with you. If you rolled defense symbols on your hero dice, this can reduce the amount of damage that you'll need to take.

Threat symbols activate special effects on quest sheets and some enemy cards. If you roll a threat, you'll need to resolve every threat effect in play!

As you are constantly placed in danger and encroaching enemies hinder your actions, your party will be tested to the upmost—will you be able to work together to withstand enemy attacks and move through the dungeon without becoming overwhelmed?

Embrace the Danger

Even after the Enemy Phase, you're not safe as the round moves into the Peril Phase. At this time, your party advances the peril token on your quest sheet, which may trigger deadly new effects. For example, if you reach the green space on the peril track during The Goblin Problem, your party must suffer one wound for each Goblin in play. Still, your trials do allow you to grow and learn by upgrading an activation card to face the challenges ahead.

Once you've confronted the peril of your quest with all the courage you can muster, your party has the chance to move to a new location in the Travel Phase. But with every new location, you'll find a new crop of enemies, spawning in the shadows and leaping to engage you. Returning to The Goblin Problem, your adventure begins at the Roadside Inn,  where there is only a single enemy that you must face immediately. But danger lurks just around the corner with three more enemies spawning in the shadows. Even in the places where you may think yourself safe, threats hide just beneath the surface.

You are never truly safe as you explore the darkest corners of Terrinoth, but when the realm is in peril, do you have it in your heart to just turn away? Terrinoth turns its eyes to you in search of a savior. There is no choice but to accept your quest and steel your nerve against the dangers before you.

Steel Your Resolve

The forces of darkness have taken hold of Terrinoth. Now that you know what awaits you in the shadows, are you still brave enough to accept the role of a champion and protect the realm? Assemble your team of adventurers, dive into the dungeons of Terrinoth, and stand your ground against the enemies of the light!

Pre-order your copy of Heroes of Terrinoth (TER01) at your local retailer today or on the Fantasy Flight Games website here!