Descent (Act III) - RPG with playing cards

[@mylesh7987]

YOOOOOO ACT III 6 YEARS LATER LETS GOOO

[@ManoftheBats]

This game has been a long time coming. 6 years ago, Act III was originally going to be a continuation of Acts I and II. However, no matter how much I brainstormed and tested out different ideas, it basically was just Act I on steroids (e.g. more abilities, cooldowns, etc). I don't believe it would have offered anything different other than being super confusing and complicated. In making this game, I wanted to keep some of the elements that made Act I so fun for me but also make it a little more dynamic and unpredictable. To do that, I replaced the player's 2nd deck of cards from the previous Acts with dice. It makes things a little bit more spicy when you do everything right but you still have to pray to the Dice Lords. The deck-building element has also been replaced with a pooled resource mechanic that forces players to budget and be efficient with their moves. Anyway, I know some people may be disappointed that I didn't stay within Act I and I will apologize later but damnnnnn I really really really enjoy this game so here ya goooooo.

[@georgesanxionnat5054]

Nice job ! Keep up with the good work, I will try this as soon as I come back home !

[@j123i]

What a coincidence! Right now I found out about this when I'm returning home. I've been patient for 4 years, and I thank you for showing us another interesting way to play together with playing cards.

[@realsherbetman]

Are you still planning to release the story for Act II?

[@kavishshah8623]

I couldn't wait so I had actually created an act I on steroids just like you described it, with more abilities and a 2 monster decks instead of one. I also wanted a bit more like the original 2, a different experience but maintaining that distinct Ascension style. I also added an arcade mode and PVP. I do want to share it but not sure how to present it as it is complicated. And I have removed the ability to defend because I play it with my younger siblings and they do not understand it fully.

[@j123i]

Who else got this in their recommended after waiting for SO long?

[@georgesanxionnat5054]

the same

[@kesk5619]

Same

[@Zaras2]

The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter

[@pearcyjackson280]

I remember subscribing a while ago in the hope that we would get act 3 eventually!

[@krambert3966]

THE RETURN OF THE KING!

[@JavaPROx]

I've been trying to get in contact with you for over a year. Glad to see you're back!

[@ManoftheBats]

what's up? sorry if i missed your message(s), I don't check my notifications often

[@JavaPROx]

@@ManoftheBats that's okay. I'm also making a card game nd since you have such a creative mind also, I was wondering if you wanted to try to come up with some ideas together

[@SniperinShadow]

Yo bless you for this follow up video out the blue!!!

[@JACKSTAY]

I know nobody will see this, most likely. But here’s a homebrew addendum that I’ve been playing with my girlfriend and some others, to spice the game up a little and add a little more pizzazz to some enemies. * Abilities: MUST be activated, if able at the start of every turn, once the royal is awakened. * Awakening: if a royal moves to the second row, it is awakened and it’s special ability activates. * Every royal in row two can awaken all royals of a LOWER tier, regardless of the awakened’s position on the field * Jack abilities: heal - untap 1 tapped monster per turn * Queen abilities: empower - draw the top card of the deck and place on top of the weakest monster on the field each turn. Both cards must be removed individually, as if they were two monsters, but an empowered monster only counts as one of it reaches the portal. * King abilities: resurrect - bring the bottom card of the graveyard onto the field in addition to the normal summon every turn while this card remains untapped. Additional summons due to royal cards do not occur while this ability is in play, however multiple kings’ effects can stack up two additional summons total if there are 3 or 4 players. If there are two, the effect cannot stack.

[@JACKSTAY]

The queen is the only one that can get out of hand, but typically it isn’t hard to be rid of any royal by the time they reach the second row, if abilities are used wisely. These can be slightly nerfed for solo play, but I usually play two characters together if I’m playing solo so I haven’t done a ton of experimenting with one character.

[@JACKSTAY]

Another optional rule is that (non-empowered!!!!!) 4’s can move two spaces at a time, pushing the two cards they “jump over” back one space to make room. They’re the easiest to kill, pretty much guaranteed if you use a 3, and tapping them stops this effect, even if you (somehow) don’t kill them. This just makes them less useless and more than blah cannon fodder. The fives do that job much better.

[@miah8163]

Im so sad that this isnt getting as much attention as the first video, this is super good

[@marcomartinico261]

Welcome back Also act 3 seems pretty cool

[@Dastankbeets9486]

Awesome! I think I’m gonna treat this as a separate game than act 2. It has a completely different name anyway.

[@joshuan.]

The legend returns!!

[@jackpiki]

BROOO 6 YEARS OF WAITING LET'S GOOO

[@jacksonfinn4233]

Return of the king

[@blakethompson-dodd9874]

Wow. Blast from the past. A welcome comeback!

[@quadruplay9788]

suggestion for harder difficulty: -queens are 13 points and jacks are 12 -instead of putting a king in the beginning, you put a queen there -kings are 15, count as 3 monsters upon getting through the gate and are named after the four horsemen of the apocalypse: -spades - death - necromancy (the monsters are drawn from the discard pile instead of the normal deck as long as this card is alive) -hearts - war - all monsters are too angry to die (any tapped monsters become untapped immediately as long as this card is alive (it can be tapped tho)) -clubs - famine - there's a lack of supplies (no ammo can be picked up as long as this card is alive) -diamonds - pestilence - the supplies are succumbing to the flow of time (you lose one random ammo card per turn as long as this card is alive)

[@rycegabrielmajor9847]

interesting

[@edwardjohnson4034]

Great additions

[@UmouMais]

thanks for sharing this video! I taught Ascension in my channel in portuguese and people were waiting for the act III. I know its different including theme, but it also looks amazing and fun! Thanks bro

[@georgesanxionnat5054]

The Trilogy is complete !!!!

[@Markofka]

This is awesome. I love games that are complex but only require common items like poker cards and dice.

[@Kaladien_]

I have waited for so long!

[@edwardjohnson4034]

That's so cool and creative. You are genius.

[@jahzionjames-mckenzie9355]

Bruhhh I hope this is the vid that blows up outta nowhere

[@pedropires8829]

Hey hey heeeeey, it's here! Aaaaaaaawesome! But man, I'd really appreciate it if you finalized act II... The rogue still feels off, and I played through an entire session before I realised that the special defensive ability of the paladdin is healing SOMEONE ELSE, the written rules could use clarification. Anyway, I'll have fun with THIS one tonight! Many thanks, really!

[@pedropires8829]

I'm afraid the instructions need to be quite cleaned up, there were things that I didn't - and couldn't - understand without coming here to check the video. First, your usage of "die = singular / dice = plural" is somewhat inconsistent. You have a nice pair of jokers marking the portal. That's a nice idea. It's not in the rules. Your explanation in the video of "a royal coming out of the deck and an additional card being drawn" is much clearer in the video than in the rules; I saw the video and went "Oh, so THAT'S what he meant by 'once per turn'". When you said the Ace could also be a "special ability", it 'clicked' what you meant by "weapon use" in the rules; I immeiately understood something that you only actually get to at 6.28, which is, "you play the ace as the special ability, or weapon, and then you can use the ammo". The rules need clarification, as I absolutely failed to understand that the ace could be played as the beginning of a special abilty (and that the ammo pool was shared, I had no idea - more on that below). When you did 4 damage to the 5 of clubs, you say in the video "round it up". This is not in the rules. Maybe there's no need, because 4 is over 3.5, so maybe there's no need to round it up or down - but what would the fixed rule be? Like when you say "if I can do 3 or more damage to this monster"... strictly speaking, 2.5 or more. Which is the same. But there needs to be consistency between the rules and the video, surely. The "cycled out" process is crystal clear in the video, and hardly explained in the rules, where I kept wondering if they went to a shufflable discard pile or something. After you took a shot at the 5 of clubs the line of zombies moved and THEN your partner took their turn. So when the rules say "any player can make an action", does that mean "any ONE player"? Meaning, only one player can make an action during a turn? And meaning that a player can go twice in a row, if it benefits both of them? Minute 4.55, I finally understood what you meant by "sharing ammo" in the rules - so each player can only COLLECT the ammo that matches their suit, but once it's collected, it can be used by ANY player. This is not understandable at all in the current written rules. Using up cards, destroying cards... you never define these terms as "putting them in the general discard pile, both ammo and zombies". It's clear when you watch the video, and very confusing when you try to make sense of the rules alone. Saying that the flamethrow burns "x" adjacent cards is far, far easier to understand than the way it's written in the rules. Rules for the sniper, "roll two additional die [sic]". Additional? Your video makes it clear the sniper simply rolls two dice. Rockets - Oh, you COMBINE their value? That's good to know, reading the rules I thought using two cards would allow me to target two different zombies, one for each card. Also, on the rules you mention the target *must be killed* (no tapping). You don't mention that in the video, but I assume this is one where we can take the written rules as reference. For the machinegun, on the video you show using three separate ammo cards to attack three separate zombies before showing us that they can be combined. This is not in the rules - but is it desirable? Since I can add up the values of the ammo cards and hit three zombies anyway, when would I ever want to each card separately? One last thing unrelated to the rules. I went through Ascension 1 and 2 before trying this one out, mostly because I missed it. I don't suppose there's any way you could re-skin this game, using the same rules and mechanics (once properly explained, it does seem fun), to somehow keep the theme going? I mean, my Paladin and my Warrior had fought valiantly through the hordes of monsters, earned the right to ascend and confront the Gods, KILLED the bastards, with a lot of cooperation, and then started their descent back to... ...a zombie campaign with rockets and flamethrowers. It's a bit jarring.

[@ManoftheBats]

oh snap, u make good points. I am definitely not the best explainer so I appreciate you pointing these out. I will try to edit it later :)

[@pedropires8829]

@@ManoftheBats I'm glad I can help. :) You did such an amazing work, coming up with these games. Thank you, thank you very much!

[@DaimondRus]

Tony Ngo, Glad to see you return, nice to meet you again. Thanks for the good games, and I have a questions about Ascension Act II - 1) Should I use only defensive abilities when play Act II, or I can use offensive abilities from Act I too? 2) What the official Rogue ability for Act II now?

[@pedropires8829]

I don't have an official reply, but they seem compatible - the offensive and defensive abilities don't contradict each other, happen at different phases, the only thing is that you have to pay attention to the rules and watch the video to clear up any doubts. The rules for act 2 do say that the underlying mechanic is the same as Act 1, so presumably, if it's in Act 1 and Act 2 doesn't specifically say it's out, then it's in.

[@Dastankbeets9486]

WOoOoOO finally

[@pedropires8829]

So I was thinking and I came up with a reskin for your game to keep it in theme. :) I will definitely play it with this reskin, and I think I can recommend it. Story: The heroes have killed the very Gods and taken their weapon: Hades' flaming ruby, Hera's mind-controlling necklace, Poseidon's trident and Zeus' chain lightning scepter. They are coming down back into the mortal realm when they are accosted by a goddess, who speaks to them: "Well done, you brave adventurers. You have killed the dark, corrupt Gods. Do not be alarmed - there will be new Gods in time, born from the imagination of the people. New Gods, new civilizations, there may even arise a single nameless God who will replace our whole pantheon. That is the way it has always been, but without your help here and now, humanity might not have survived that long. You did well. But your work is not yet finished, brave souls. Hades was the God presiding over the Underworld, and his realm is in disarray. Locks are broken, doors are open, paths are clear, and the mindless souls being punished in eternal torment long to roam the earth once again. Do not think badly of them, they are but shades of the people they once were, but they cannot be allowed back. They will threaten the balance of reality, which is fragile enough as it is without our Gods to keep them in check. You mush finish the task. You must save the world yet again, brave ones. Persephone is doing what she can, but Cerberus is overrun and if seven souls can reach Charon, they will surely overpower him and take his ferry over the Styx, and then nothing will stop them. You won't be able to hurt them with your normal weapons, but worry not. I am Tyche, the goddess of fortune, and as you know... I favour the brave. You won't kill them, for they are but unliving shades, but you can drive them back. Drive back forty such souls, and the wardens of the underworld will be able to handle the rest. Beware though... some souls are pure evil, and twice as strong. Go forth, brave band of soldiers! You have ascended and killed the Gods, and now you must descend into the Underworld. For the last time, save us!" *** Melee attacks become attacks from you mortal weapons - the dagger, mace, sword, even spells, they are all similarly ineffective against the lost souls. The ace is the weapon the players got from the Gods after they killed them; it can be used by itself as an object (I guess you could... wrap the necklace in your hand like a brass knuckle? And... use the Ruby to... bang someone on the head? Admittedly this bit could be improved :) ), or it can be charged up; with the very souls you are fighting. If the soul you have just defeated resonates with the weapon you are using, it will come and aid you, in a pure energy form which can be used by the weapons. The flamethrower becomes Hades' ruby, which spews forth hellfire. Hellfire is a Catholic thing rather than greek mythology, but hey, Tyche already said new Gods woulds be coming, so we already have a possible overlap of civilizations, and the association of fire with the realm of the dead is too good to pass up on! But if you don't want to, to keep it all greek, you can just say this was Hades' emblem of power and weapon and the fact that it uses fire has nothing to do with anything, really. The sniper becomes Hera's necklace. Mind control. The soul in front gets mind-controlled, turns back and fights the soul behind it, then damages itself. One possible difference from your rules here is that, with this power, it makes just as much sense for them to attack an ADJACENT soul as it does for them to attack the one BEHIND them. Unless you reason that the souls are weak, and the sheer force of the mental attack causes them to reel backwards and attack the one behind them in their confusion. That works too. The machine gun becomes Poseidon's trident. It's a perfect fit, since the machine gun attack is three pronged too! The rockets become Zeus' scepter, with the power of chain lightning. Elite monsters become ancient souls, grown stronger and more desperate to leave. Just one of them can overpower Charon as easily as two lesser souls, and they are drawing the other souls with them, urging them on, leading them back to the world of the living. Incidently, in case it wasn't clear, the "portal" has become Charon's ferry over the styx. Finally, thematically, dice rolls are luck - assistance from Tyche. Ordinarily you wouldn't be able to ddamage those souls with your weapons, or even with the uncharged weapons from the Gods... but with her assistance, uncertain and unreliable though it is, you might just pull thrugh. The ruby and the necklace need Tyche's assistance (dice rolls) because they are such mystic items that mere mortals can't hope to use, let alone master, wihout divine intervention. Not even mages can use them without help. Of course, once the sceptre and trident are charged, then you don't need any help - you pull the metaphorical trigger and let it fly! One final note: if the two adventurers from the previous campaign are playing this, then maybe they could be assigned the weapons they use. Each of them uses two weapons, which represent their class suit and their wound suit (so the Paladdin, for instance, whom I was playing just yesterday, wears the necklace and wields Zeus' scepter. If you put Hades' ruby in an armband, or a headband, or something, it becomes wearable too). They can duel-wield too, of course, and wear both mystic items, while another player has the ones which require no dice rolling, although that's admittedly not as elegant. But it makes sense that these weapons, which are attuned to their class and wound cards, would be the ones they could wield, due to their affinity with them

[@pedropires8829]

Since you haven't done the story for Act II yet, maybe the story could be the adventurers finding out that the Gods have become brutal and corrupt, thinking nothing of humanity except to consider them pawns in their own games, delighting in their suffering like children pulling wings off of flies and torching ants with magnifying glasses. Maybe they could be TOLD this by a voice that later turns out to be Tyche. Naturally, they level up after act 1, hence the new defensive abilities. Or possibly, leaving Tyche out of this, they could learn it after killing the final king in the Act I deck, who could become clear-minded and say they were all controlled by the Gods, and all that yadda yadda about "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do all those nasty things, the Gods were controlling me, thank you for killing me and setting me free", etc etc, clichè as all get out, but it's better than nothing, huh? :) And rage and revenge fuel you onwards to kill the Gods and damn the consequences.

[@pedropires8829]

Speaking about Act II, it still feels funny that the Gods only deal 1 damage. Although this DOES make the game winnable, but still, keeping an ace in your hand for a while so you can save it for a God (rather than using it on a face card, for instance) is a valid strategy. I might house-rule one of these days that the Gods cause three wound points and see how it works.

[@pedropires8829]

Hey, I just realized. Tyche could be the one to present the players with all the weapons and classes in the beginning of Aci I. Or, then again, if the attackers were, say Poseidon's army, then maybe you were give the weapons by Hades. You were meant to be a pawn in their game - but you ASCEND and the pawn becomes strong enough to kill the Gods. I'm sorry I keep posting, but the thing is, you came up with such a good story, setting and game mechanics... well, this is what happens when people like what you created, they get invested in it. :) It means you did a great job.

[@pedropires8829]

For the re-skin to make sense, Charon has to be stranded at the Underworld side of Styx, for some reason unable to cross to the "safe" side. Alternately, the idea could be that if ALL the souls enter the Styx, even if they start forgetting, there'd be ensuing chaotic shambles where the souls on the back keep pushing on, moving forward, into the river and eventually on top of the other souls. Charon might be stationed there to try and stop it, with plenty of good intentions, but by being there he also provides the sould with an escape vehicle: the ferry. Third option: the players arrive, Charon takes them across, and Charon stays there at the underworld side of the Styx. Charon helps them across because of the chaotic consequences of the scenario I mentioned earlier, with every single soul lunging at the Styx - something that must be stopped, as the Styx is the last thing to separate the dead souls from the living realm. Once the players arrive at the Underworld side of the Styx, all the souls start converging on them. So the player's very arrival is what gives the souls their means to escape... but it was still necessary to do this, as there was no other way to keep them in check.

[@noname-prt2]

He’s alive!

[@Droid15243Z]

Act III! It's finally here!

[@Eren-rd3lj]

Finally!

[@imthatguy91]

YES FINALLY!!!!

[@aprilkelly7237]

THE MADMAN DID IT

[@phoenixeagle167]

Welcome Baaack!!

[@riskmaster7480]

I assume you have to target first before you fire and my ? Is if the enemy’s are in one row and you use your sniper does in still go through because the enemy is behind it still in line next ? does the flamethrower and bazooka spread to both rows are just one row after you target the enemy

[@josta59]

Thanks for making this available. When I read the rules, I thought it seemed challenging. But when I tried it, it was actually pretty easy to clear out the enemy cards with all the weapons I had available. The only thing I found challenging was the amount of stuff I had to remember every turn. I'm curious, Tony, what percentage of games have you lost?

[@rycegabrielmajor9847]

a man named quadruplay whos comment you can find here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWTFiaZ6bNdjnZo&lc=Ugw3kQJtlNI2G8T65rV4AaABAg suggested harder rules for the game, personally, i use these rules + an extra deck to double the royals and make the game harder

[@pedropires8829]

Question. When the line shifts, what happens to the vacant spots? Is it like "the new zombie pushes everyone" or like "everyone takes a step forward?" For example: Let´s say the line is K, 4, 7, J, 8. Let's say I take down the 4. Now the line is K, _, 7, J, 8 When the next card is dealt, which of the following will the line look like? a) 10, K, 7, J, 8 b) 10, K, _, 7, J 8 This happened a few times in my playthrough, I'm just about to win, it's my first attempt ever, I've only let two "zombies escape through the portal / souls get to Charon", and I suddenly realised that by playing like in the example "a)" above I've been maybe making it too easy, because with every hole you make, the line stops advancing for a while. Maybe I SHOULD have been playing with "b)", where EVERYONE in the line takes a step forward. Adjudication, please. ;)

[@pedropires8829]

@Marco Rigau So he does, I overlooked it. My bad, thanks for pointing it out!

[@SmellyRio]

This DLC is lit

[@indiekid5323]

another question- when using the machine gun or sniper, are we allowed to just weaken targets? or does the amount of ammo need to kill the targets?

[@ManoftheBats]

You are allowed to weaken them although that doesn't really utilize those classes

[@pedropires8829]

Have you considered making an entry in BoardGameGeek for your three acts?

[@pedropires8829]

I'm making the entry myself now.

[@realsherbetman]

Are you still planning to release the story for Act II?

[@mathgeek2105]

YES

[@pedropires8829]

Just letting you know that there's now a BGG entry for this game at boardgamegeek. :)

[@TheOriginalCatfood]

Nice!