Rangers of Shadow Deep Review

[@catfishcooler1566]

This game seems like it was designed for a pandemic. It's a cooperative game that runs great with one or two players. The A.I. is simple but extremely random. The D20 system is a mite "swingy" but that keeps it fresh & challenging for the solitaire player. Get it!

[@LukeMasouras]

Thank you for introducing me to this game! A friend and I have been playing it and having a great time!

[@DriveThruReview]

Awesome :D

[@reluctantartsy]

Joel, between you, Andy over at BlackJack Legacy, and Ash at Guerilla Miniature Wargames, I have switched from a board game collector to a skirmish terrain collector LOL. Great review.

[@DriveThruReview]

Our plan is working!! >:)

[@Elric54]

I like the comparison to D&D and Descent. That helped me understand what kind of game it is.

[@thebrewgeek]

I knew that you would love this one. I've had it since it was first released as a PDF and have really enjoyed it. I'm not certain about the replayability of the campaigns, but Joseph is working on more content and the system is perfect for fan-made expansion. There is already another official supplement about werewolves that is available. The d20 system can be swingy, but it certainly makes for some interesting stories. On one of the first scenarios, I nearly had a TPK b/c a zombie, let's call him Mr. Murder Zombie, went on a crazy run of awesome rolls (20,19, 20). He single handedly took out 3 of my party. I love Rangers and even though it has a similar feel to Frostgrave, it definitely stands alone. I will continue to play both.

[@andygrant5894]

I’ve been consuming a lot of your content recently (great work by the way) Have just ordered the book for this a squared mat and some dry erase markers. I reckon I can use HeroQuest minis (yes first edition from when it came out, I was 17!I think) also got mice n mystics minis and all the Gloomhaven standees. I’ve not played a minis game like th it a since a very brief dabble in dnd ages 16 in 1980 something! Cheers

[@DriveThruReview]

Awesome. Hope you enjoy it!

[@mr.ekshun2053]

I thought this was a sequel to lords of water deep for a sec and I was ecstatic

[@DriveThruReview]

Haha :)

[@CesarIsaacPerez]

Cool. I bought the book but haven't played yet.

[@MegaSnowlizard]

I noticed that there are a number of expansions already with levels for playing them, but is there an order to which expansion to play first?

[@DriveThruReview]

There’s no real narrative order but just get stuff level appropriate. Although I think Incinerator scales to level as well.

[@richmcgee434]

Seems likely that we'll eventually see some kind of expansion that allows you to retroactively add the extra more roleplaying-style stuff (eg skills) from Rangers to Frostgrave and Ghost Archipelago. There's no obvious reason you couldn't tweak things so wizards and heritors couldn't have similar levels of extra detail and co-op rules and scenarios ala Rangers. The whole "build point" aspect of Rangers could be retrofitted into the earlier games as well, giving them more room for customization. I particularly like that advancement chart for the way Rangers level up, and something like it would make for better wizards and heritors.

[@richmcgee434]

By the same token I could see Rangers having a "versus mode" added where they're fighting each other with their companions ala Frostgrave and Ghost Archipelago warband clashes.

[@DriveThruReview]

Ya I think this is more likely. Frostgrave is cluster with all those spells and combos possible. The designer has stated he wants to keep them separate though. The starting baseline for each game is pretty different so I think he wants to be careful watering any of them down too much.

[@richmcgee434]

That's true, but what the author wants and what the community will inevitably do with the games are two very different things. There are groups playing Dustgrave (desert-themed Frostgrave), Underdark dungeoncrawls and scifi variants already. Rangers and the skill and companion systems will undoubtedly be co-opted for all sorts of crossover homebrews.

[@DriveThruReview]

@@richmcgee434 Oh! Of course. Fair point :) My Frostgrave games have mostly taken place in the Mortal Realms.

[@richmcgee434]

One of the game engine's strengths is the way it's easy to tinker with. I suspect a lot of fan variations are the result of wanting to use existing minis and terrain collections. While you could just proxy like mad, if you've got (say) a lovely set of Hollywood-Fantasy-Arabian terrain and a slew of Sinbad the Sailor-style minis painted up already, Dustgrave or Sandgrave or whatever you want to call it has a lot of appeal over the frozen northlands. Every release for the series has given people more tools to play around with and (arguably) improved game balance, and Rangers sure seems to continue the trend. Looking forward to getting a copy myself, even if I'll probably mostly be mining it for more shenanigans on the Ghost Archipelago.

[@Enroth186]

A big question I have: would it be possible (with simple house rules) to play this game without a ruler but on a grid/hex map instead? I could use terrain tiles from other boardgames or neopren mats I already own for this.

[@DriveThruReview]

Sure. Just say each grid is "1 inch" or whatever is appropriate.

[@davidm4771]

This is exactly how I played. I printed out hexes on pieces of paper to make a big hex board. Then I found legos from my kids and used minis from other games. Played great. Each hex was 1 inch. Very fun game. I need to play the next mission.

[@Enroth186]

I just noticed that there are already additional official scenarios and campaigns available: Blood Moon (Lv.0-5/Lv.6-10) and Burning Light (Lv.5-15)

[@DriveThruReview]

Yep. I talked a little bit about Burning Light in the review portion. I don't think I called it out by name. It's the campaign included with the base rules.

[@buddylove1002]

I really think Billy should have been the ranger but I understand that Eekie needs a turn in the limelight.

[@DriveThruReview]

Duly noted :D

[@AlexanderGiraldez]

Are you mostly fighting monsters in this game? Does this game support humans vs humans? I’m looking for a single player skirmish game to use my ASOIAF miniatures with. Do you have any suggestions?

[@DriveThruReview]

Check out Frostgrave from the same designer. It's player vs player. This is 100% co-op solo... PvM. Frostgrave is great btw.

[@Enroth186]

D20+3 vs. D20+1 ? I know this is reminiscent of old school D&D but I fear this combat system today, might be too random for my taste. Would have liked it if it was a little more deterministic and plannable.

[@DriveThruReview]

Yes. You could try something different, but honestly, that's what makes it fun. It's a bit more realistic that way... and things die :)

[@DriveThruReview]

@Thomas Elder I think he was questioning the use of a D20 vs something a bit more on a tightrope. I've heard this complaint/question lobbied against Frostgrave as well. I know there are some dice variants out there. I've not had interest in following up on them, but it is for sure "swingy"... which I like :)

[@davidm4771]

I thought it might be at first a bit too random but just because you lose the die roll does not mean it is over for that character. You also have to account for armor as well as your pool of HP. So for me I found I could take 2-4 hits without becoming knocked out.

[@Enroth186]

Thomas Elder have you played gloomhaven or perdition‘s mouth: abyssal rift? Both are great miniature adventure/battle games wich work without dice. There are also lots of other games where the spread of possible die roll outcomes is not as wide as a Single D20

[@petermcdonna4160]

You can play 2d10 if you need to find safety in a bell curve.

[@rustedbeetle]

FYI, since you mentioned Lone Wolf in the video, the Lone Wolf RPG is available on the Bundle of Holding site at the moment: bundleofholding.com/presents/LoneWolf Are there multiple races to choose from with the Rangers? If not, how much customization would it support if you wanted to add non-human races?

[@DriveThruReview]

It's not race specific. I could see someone with a bunch of dwarven or elf models creating warbands with them, and just spend your build points as you think is appropriate. You can create ranged, melee, or magic oriented Rangers. All of the monsters are non-humanoid, unless you consider gnolls and undead humanoid :)

[@TrevorusPrime]

Anyone have ideas on where to get some general terrain for this game? Houses etc

[@DriveThruReview]

Check out this playlist, specifically the video linked for some "easy-ish" papercraft houses: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaHVqoOrgZdph6s

[@TrevorusPrime]

@@DriveThruReview perfect thank you!

[@stormy7722]

Do you prefer this for solo play, more than Frostgrave 2nd edition?

[@DriveThruReview]

Definitely.

[@stormy7722]

@@DriveThruReview could 100% be played on Roll20!!...id prefer the actual tabletop to the virtual one, but easily could be converted.

[@jkuntz667]

Joel, I do not have many miniatures. I think about 6-8 D&D miniatures. What would you recommend picking up to play Rangers of Shadow Deep?

[@DriveThruReview]

If you head over to the BoardGameGeek.com page for the game or the Rangers of Shadow Deep Facebook group, there is a file with a list of all the miniatures you would want for playing through the main book. It's of course not necessary to be exact. As you can see I proxied many things.

[@basmonnom6778]

How hard the rules are for someone with English being their second language? I want to get into this style of games but worried about investing in it and investing in miniature terrain and ending up losing interest because of the language. I don't have problems with learning complicated board games like Mage Knight the board game, or other games. However I struggled a lot trying to learn a game called All Things Zombie Reloaded, but I think that one kind of had messy rulebook or assumed that I knew some of the system it uses? Thank you.

[@DriveThruReview]

If you can do Mage Knight... I think this will be OK. That's hard for me to answer honestly. But you also don't have to invest in terrain too much. You can get the book relatively cheaply... grab some miniatures as proxies and play on a D&D grid to see how you like the game before going all in.

[@basmonnom6778]

@@DriveThruReview Ah thanks for the info :)

[@AFatalPapercut]

i wish my joan of arc terrain wasn't 15mm scale right now hahaha.

[@DriveThruReview]

You could use the minis too and just measure in centimeters instead of inches :)

[@SergioHernandez-lc4mj]

Joan of Arc is ideal for this game. You got everything terrain, but I like using my zombicide miniatures and the JofA terrain throws me off. It's gotta be scale. Im weird like that.

[@DareBizarre]

Ok, so this is an RPG and you are actually buying just a book?

[@DriveThruReview]

Correct.

[@DareBizarre]

@@DriveThruReview Ok, thanks.

[@petermcdonna4160]

It's not an RPG. There's no DM so you don't interact with the creatures and bad guys like they're NPCs. You follow the scenarios and there's a narrative running through and you're a little gang of good guys against the bad guys which gives it an RPG feel but it's on a fixed track because, again, there's no DM. However, It's the only game I've ever played that successfully sits in the gap between tabletop skirmish and RPG. It's really quite addictive.

[@petercox100]

'Eekie' :D

[@DriveThruReview]

👍