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[Aristo-Maze] Japanese dungeon attack boardgame from investment strategy! Round One!
simonwolf
i can feel a differencetoday, a differenceRegistered User regular
i can feel a differencetoday, a differenceRegistered User regular
Long ago, a great emperor reigned. As he grew older, he constructed a secret catacomb in which to keep his treasures. All people involved in the construction were executed and the only one who knew, the imperial prince himself, kept his mouth shut. Thus the legacies of the Emperor were protected where no one knew.
Three hundred years have passed since.
The Empire barely holds up as a country, the corruption of royalty slowly deteriorating it from within.
One day, in a rural area many miles away from the Imperial capital, you, an influential aristocrat, receive stunning news. It appears the long-forgotten catacomb of the former Emperor has been discovered in your very area.
It's your chance for riches beyond dreams. You must forego all other aristocrats and grab the legacies and power of the former Emperor. But to achieve this, you need the work of skilled adventurers.
With greed and ambition in your heart, you steer your steps towards the nearby town.
VICTORY CONDTION
The player with the most VPs (Victory Points) at the end of the game wins.
WHAT IS THIS
Aristo-Maze is a Japanese board game for three to four players! Dungeon attack boardgame from investment strategy!
WHAT DOES ANY OF THAT MEAN
Alright, so, while I was on my most recent trip to Tokyo, I picked up this boardgame because it was advertised as having won an award at a recent show, and upon a cursory Google, the only English-language result at the time was a single post on boardgamegeek asking if anyone had ever heard of it. That was enough for me to buy it!
WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION
Okay! The basic premise of the game is that the players are all aristocrats competing to earn the most prestige from murder-hoboing their way through the long-lost tomb of the emperor. There's four distinct phases to the game - the providing phase, where players gain their income, and find out what the next dungeon layout is; the inquiring phase, where players bid to scout the unknown levels of the dungeon; the organising phase, where players bid on the adventurers that can be recruited into their party; and the exploring phase, where the players set their dungeon attack plan and earn VP.
The game has a grand total of three rounds, so there is a time limit to how long you have to earn that precious VP. Each phase has its own detailed explanation below!
WAIT IS THIS GAME IN ENGLISH OR JAPANESE
Both! There is a certain group of board game companies in Japan that publish a lot of their games in English and Japanese, though some releases see that ignored when cultural specificity is too intense to really make it work - one game I own, Cat and Chocolate: High School Romance, is basically an entire game of things that make perfect sense in Japanese but removed from that cultural context are almost entirely meaningless, or at least hamper the ability for the game to be played "properly".
So the deal is this: Aristo-Maze is published in English and Japanese, and the translation of the rules is actually pretty good! There's some weirdness to work through, but there's also some rules oddities I have come across that apparently have zero errata. They may not happen in the game, though, so we'll see what happens.
OKAY SO I READ YOUR EXTREMELY WELL-TYPED RULES AND DECIDED I WANT TO PLAY
Great!
WHAT DO I DO
Post in here in Royal Blue expressing your interest, along with the name of your noble house and your coat of arms. If you are some kind of peasant and don't possess one already, never fear, you can always make one here in order to disguise your savage and dirt-coated lineage. This isn't a required step, but it does speak of your commitment to the desire to raid some tombs.
Once I have four people, I'll give some more notice before closing signups and selecting players via entrail divination.
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EXPLANATION OF COMPONENTS
The primary components in the game that are in use are as follows:
- Character cards, representing the sixteen character types that can be recruited to your exploring party
- Squire cards, representing your loyal squire who is always in your party
- Dungeon cards, representing the dungeon's various traps, treasures, and monsters
- Gold, which you'll use to buy information and recruit characters
- Intrigue markers, which you'll use to scout the dungeon and more
- Crest markers, which you'll use to activate special powers for characters.
GENERAL FLOW OF THE GAME
Before the game begins, we shuffle the character cards and deal out twelve of them. These will be the adventurers available for hire in the game.
All players are then given their three crest tokens.
Players are also given their Squire, a character who never leaves their party, and has 1HP, 1MP, and 1SP.
The game takes place over three rounds. Each round progresses in the same way, though there's slight differences in the initial setup for each round. The basic flow of the game looks like this:
1. Providing - All markers and characters are removed from player areas. Each player is given twelve gold, a return marker, a skip marker, and an intrigue marker (if they have none). The round's dungeon is generated.
2. Inquiring - Players place their bids to scout the floors of the dungeon (no more than four gold per floor), with intrigue markers counting as two gold, and a crest automatically counting as highest bid. The player(s) with the highest amount of gold on a floor may secretly look at the floor's card.
3. Organising - For the opening bidding, players place bids on the characters available, to a total of four markers. Bids are revealed. Then a second round of bidding takes place, with no limit on the number of markers that can be placed. After these bids are revealed, the auction is resolved, with players taking possession of the characters they won.
4. Exploring - Players place a return marker and all their skip markers on the dungeon. After this, each player's party explores the dungeon until they either return or are forced to retreat. VPs earned are counted and added to the track.
After the exploring phase, the round ends and moves on to the next one. After three rounds, the game ends, and the player with the most victory points wins.
PROVIDING PHASE
There are twenty dungeon cards, representing the dangers and treasures that can be found within the tomb of the emperor. In any given round, eight are used to represent the eight floors of the dungeon that can be explored.
In the first round, all twenty are shuffled and eight are drawn. Of these, three are flipped face-up, then the eight are reshuffled and dealt out, one per floor. If any of the cards are unflipped 'Legacy' cards, they are then flipped as well.
In the second round, the remaining twelve cards are shuffled, eight are drawn, three flipped, reshuffled, then dealt out.
In the third round, both used and unused cards are shuffled together. Then the same process as round one is followed.
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
All players are given the following:
- Twelve gold, which is placed in their treasury and combined with whatever gold they may have from previous rounds.
- A return marker, which is used to mark which floor in the dungeon their party will return from.
- A skip marker, which is used to mark floors that their party will bypass in their exploration.
- An intrigue marker, assuming they have none. This is used to either scout floors in the inquiring phase, or activate powers in the organising phase.
Once resources have been allocated, we move onto the next phase.
INQUIRING PHASE
After bidding has been finished and revealed, players who placed the most gold on a floor may look at that floor's card in secret, and use this information to better inform their dungeon exploration. All markers (gold, intrigue and crests) are returned to the common pools.
Example of play:
Player A places one gold on floor 2, an intrigue token on floor 4, and one gold on floor 6. Player B places one gold on floor 2, one gold on floor 4, and one crest on floor 6. Bidding is revealed, and the outcome is as follows: both players have one gold on floor 2, and both get to look at the card. Player A wins floor 4, as his intrigue token counts as two gold and therefore beats Player B's one gold. Player B wins floor 6, as his crest automatically beats any other non-crest bid.
ORGANISING PHASE
The bidding in the organising phase is divided into two stages.
In the first stage, players secretly bid four markers total on the available characters, in any combination of gold, intrigue or crest, and in any combination of characters. After all bids are finalised, they are revealed to all players and placed on characters.
In the second stage, there is no limit on marker placement, so players can secretly place as many (or as few) of their markers on characters as they wish. Once bidding is finalised, they are revealed to players and placed on characters. Then the auction is resolved.
WHAT'S THE AUCTION RESOLUTION PROCESS
Put simply: whoever bids the most gold on a character, wins. If there is a tie with any amount of gold (other than zero), whoever has the most gold and a crest wins. If this still results in a tie, nobody wins. Intrigue markers are valueless, in terms of bidding. Unlike in the inquiring phase, where all markers spent are lost, only the winning bid is returned to the common pools - losing bids are returned to the player who placed the bid, aside from crests, which are lost.
Here's a list of examples to go over how bidding is resolved at the end of the auction.
Once this is resolved, the player who won the character takes the character, and returns the gold and crests they spent to the common area. All losing players take back any gold they bid, but return any crests to the common area, along with any intrigue markers.
At this point, any character abilities that activate in the organising phase are resolved.
Then we continue to the next character!
CHARACTER POWERS
Characters have at least one power, and more often than not, two. One of these is their default power, which is activated simply by winning that character in the auction. Their other power is their crest power, and is only activated if a player both wins and places a crest on that character during bidding. All of these powers will activate in a specific phase of the game.
EXPLORING PHASE
First, determine your party's parameters. Total together the HP, MP, and SP of all your characters to find the overall stats of your party during this phase. Some character powers will alter these parameters, so pay close attention.
Next, plan your exploration by secretly placing all of your return and skip markers on floors in the dungeon (players with more than one skip marker must set them on different floors). Your return marker designates the floor your party will escape the dungeon on, after resolving that floor's card. Your skip marker(s) will let your party skip any floor card that does not have a 'Can's Skip' value.
Once all players have set their skip and return markers, they are revealed to all players. All dungeon floor cards are then revealed, and player parties go forth. The order of resolution is unimportant, as the result will be the same regardless of who goes first or last.
Once all parties have finished their exploration, the round ends.
EXPLORATION PROCESS
Each floor is encountered one by one.
First, the party takes any HP, MP, or SP damage that the card may have listed. If this brought the party to zero in any parameter, they retreat immediately, causing their player to lose 3VP and end their exploration. If the party survives, they gain any VP listed on the card, then gain any floor clear bonus VPs.
If the player has a skip marker on a floor, they ignore the card completely, taking no damage but also gaining no VPs from the card (though they will get any floor clear bonus VPs).
If the player has a return marker on a floor, they return to the surface at this point, finishing their exploration. Otherwise, they proceed onto the next floor.
Example:
Player A is exploring the dungeon in the second round. His party has 4HP, 5MP, and 3SP.
Floor 1 is a treasure, and Player A acquires 1 VP. Floor 2 is a Lycanthrope, and the party takes 1HP damage. Floor 3 has a demon, but Player A placed a skip token on this floor, so he ignores the damage and VP from the floor. Floor 4 has the Emperor's Specter, but since Player A has the Boy in his party, he ignores the card's damage and -1 VP, and then gains 1 VP from the floor bonus. Floor 5 has a Vampire, and the party takes 2MP and 1SP damage, and gains 1 VP. Floor 6 has a Dragon, and the party takes 1SP damage, but gains 2 VP, plus another 1 VP from the floor bonus. Floor 7 has a trap, but since the party contains the Thief, no damage is taken. Floor 8 contains another treasure for 1 VP, and another 2 VP from the floor bonus. Having cleared the entire dungeon, Player A's party returns to the surface, 9 VP the richer.
And that's it! If you have any other questions, let 'em come, but otherwise, next is the lists of character and dungeon floor cards.
CHARACTERS (IN ORDER OF AUCTION RESOLUTION)
0HP, 0MP, 1SP
Power: (Exploring) Your party breaks 'The Gate'.
Crest Power: (Exploring) Your party takes no damage from 'Dragon'.
The Assassin
1HP, 1MP, 0SP
Power: (Organising) You assassinate the character with your intrigue marker. The assassinated character is removed from the auction, and all markers on it are returned to the common pools. Note that you cannot assassinate a character that has already been won in the auction, as your intrigue marker will have been discarded when it was won.
Crest Power: (Exploring) Your party breaks 'The Gate'.
The Knight
2HP, 1MP, 0SP
Power: None.
Crest Power: (Exploring) HP of your party goes to infinity.
The Wizard
1HP, 2MP, 0SP
Power: None.
Crest Power: (Exploring) MP of your party goes to infinity.
The Berserker
3HP, 0MP, 1SP
Power: (Exploring) You must set a return marker on floor 5 or deeper in this round.
Crest Power: (Exploring) Add 1HP, 1MP, and 1SP to his stats.
The Samurai
2HP, 2MP, 0SP
Power: (Organising) You lose a skip marker this round.
Crest Power: (Exploring) You treat this round as if it were round 3, even if it is round 1 or 2.
The Minstrel
0HP, 1MP, 0SP
Power: (Organising) You may choose one unknown floor and secretly learn what it is.
Crest Power: (Exploring) If you skip a floor from floor 5 or deeper, you still gain that floor's VP.
The Alchemist
0HP, 0MP, 0SP
Power: (Exploring) You score 1 extra VP from 'Treasure'.
Crest Power: (Organising) You move your crest marker on the Alchemist to any other character in your party. Note that you cannot move the crest to a character whose auction hasn't finished, as that character is not in your party (yet).
The Thief
1HP, 1MP, 0SP
Power: (Exploring) Your party takes no damage from 'Trap' and breaks 'The Gate'.
Crest Power: (Organising) You steal the character with your intrigue marker on it. The character is removed from the auction, and all markers on it are returned to the common pools. Note that you cannot steal a character that has already been won in the auction, as your intrigue marker will have been discarded when it was won.
The Ninja
1HP, 0MP, 0SP
Power: (Organising) You gain an extra skip marker for this round.
Crest Power: (Organising) You assassinate the character with your intrigue marker. The assassinated character is removed from the auction, and all markers on it are returned to the common pools. Note that you cannot assassinate a character that has already been won in the auction, as your intrigue marker will have been discarded when it was won.
The Fighter
2HP, 0MP, 0SP
Power: (Exploring) Your party breaks 'The Gate' if the total HP of your party was 4 or higher at the beginning of the exploring phase.
Crest Power: (Exploring) Your party takes no damage from all 'creature' floors.
The Priestess
0HP, 2MP, 0SP
Power: (Exploring) Your party breaks 'The Gate' if the total MP of your party was 4 or higher at the beginning of the exploring phase.
Crest Power: (Exploring) Your party takes no damage from all 'undead' floors.
The Witch
0HP, 0MP, 1SP
Power: (Exploring) Your party skips all floors with the 'Creepy' tag.
Crest Power: (Organising) The organising phase ends immediately. All markers on remaining characters are returned to the common pools.
The Necromancer
0HP, 3MP, 1SP
Power: (Organising) You lose 2 VPs.
Crest Power: (Exploring) Your party never retreats unless two parameters of HP, MP and SP become 0.
The Boy
0HP, 0MP, 2SP
Power: (Exploring) Your party takes no damage and ignores the effect of the 'Emperor's Specter'.
Crest Power: (Exploring) You score an extra 3 VPs from all 'legacy' floors.
The Princess
0HP, 0MP, 0SP
Power: (Organising) You score 2 VPs.
Crest Power: (Exploring) Your party skips all 'menace' floors (except for 'Trap').
MONSTERS (BY CATEGORY)
Goblin - 2HP damage.
Lycanthrope - 1HP damage (3HP damage in Round 3).
Slime - 2MP damage, 'Creepy' tag.
Lesser Demon - 2HP and 1SP damage, 1 VP.
Treasure (x2) - 1 VP (2 VP in Round 3).
'MENACE' TYPE
Trap - 1HP and 1MP damage, 'Can't Skip' tag.
Demon - 3HP damage, 2 VP (5HP damage, 4 VP in Round 3).
Devil - 3MP damage, 2 VP (5MP damage, 4 VP in Round 3).
Gazer - 3HP, 3MP, and 1SP damage, 'Creepy' tag, 4 VP.
Dragon - 1SP, 2 VP (9HP, 9MP, and 1SP, 6 VP in Round 3).
'UNDEAD' TYPE
Ghost - 2MP damage.
Shadow - 1MP damage (3MP damage in Round 3).
Zombie - 2HP damage, 'Creepy' tag.
Vampire - 2MP and 1SP damage, 1 VP.
Treasure (x2) - 1 VP (2 VP in Round 3).
'LEGACY' TYPE
The Gate - 1 VP, 'Can't Skip' and 'Return' tags.
Emperor's Will - VP varies on number of players who reach this floor. If one, 6 VP. If two, 4 VP. If three, 2 VP. If four, 1 VP.
Emperor's Specter - 1SP damage, -1 VP, 'Creepy' tag.
Special notes on tags
'Creepy' cards are only noted for the Witch's ability, and has no other effect.
'Can't Skip' cards are unable to be skipped, by marker or Princess.
'Return' cards (aka The Gate) force all parties to end their exploring and return to the surface, unless broken or otherwise defeated by the party. VP is not gained unless the card is defeated.
SOME COMMON QUESTIONS
So it says the thief "steals" another character, what does this actually mean?
Great question! The card says "you get the character with your intrigue marker", while the rulebook says "you steal the character with your intrigue marker". This is made all the more confusing by the fact that the rulebook then provides the same "return all markers" information that it has for the Assassin and Ninja's assassination abilities. My interpretation is that you take possession of that character into your party, and also activate their standard power. You can't activate their crest power, though, since any crest you had on them would be discarded when you stole them.
Is it all-or-nothing during the dungeon exploration, so if my party dies, I don't get any VP?
Contrary to what a few review videos I've seen would have you believe, nothing in the rulebook states or suggests that you don't gain any VP if you get defeated by a monster in the dungeon. The flowchart clearly states that defeating a floor immediately grants you the VP listed. You do lose 3 VP if you are defeated, so that is the main risk in not returning early enough.
What about secrecy, what information is hidden from my opponents?
During the secret marker placement stages (inquiring bids, the two auction stages, and the exploring marker placement), all information about where and how many markers you place is secret. Outside of these secret bidding stages, all information - your treasury, intrigue markers, crests, and characters you may have won - is open information.
Sounds like fun. Heraldry to come later.
So the assassin works after people have bid a character but before someone wins it?
Due to the auction order Witch's crest ability only has the potential to lock out the Necromancer, the Boy, and the Princess? (The ones with VP related powers)
Question on game mechanics
What is the player order in placing skip and return markers? Since that placement will potential convey hidden information it seems advantageous to go last even if order of exploration resolution doesn't matter.
Great questions!
The assassin, thief and ninja assassination/steal powers work as soon as you have won that character in the auction, so their target must come after them in the auction order. All character powers only come into action after they have been won and moved into a player party.
That is the correct interpretation of the Witch's crest ability, yes - if called into action, the auction ends, thus preventing the Necromancer, Boy and Princess from coming into play that round.
All marker placement in the auctions and exploring planning are done in secret, and simultaneously revealed at the appropriate moment. That might not have been clear enough in my writeup! So everyone places their skip and return markers secretly, then reveals at the same time, with no other changes possible to be made.
If nobody else jumps in real soon, just @ me and we can roll, but I'd still prefer to watch a game play out.
The gate is now closing.
I'll give it a few more hours while I work to see if any other stragglers want to throw their hat in the ring, but otherwise I'll close the gate and randomise the four noble houses participating in this great game.
I'll randomly select the players and shuffle the decks in a bit.
D'oh. Going to have to wait till later to fix it :<
The Emperor's Tomb, long lost, was found,
A sign of blessed things to come for an Empire needy;
Thus the word of gold came spreading round,
And the hearts of noble men are greedy.
House Jam, who take burdens others cannot bear;
House Drenn, regal lions from the hinterlands.
House Depredis, with ambitions both high and fair;
House Wyrd, who ne'er fear death's icy hands.
These four houses descended down upon teeming city,
And their plotting began upon the landing.
For in this struggle and their dark eyes, more's the pity;
Only one House shall stay standing.
@Elldren, @Egos, @Preda, and @Jam Warrior, prepare to determine the fates of your houses.
My apologies to the others; if I run a second game, I'll let you know.
Shuffling decks and preparing the Providing Phase for Round 1.
The Adventurer's Guild was well prepared for this,
Summoning heroes to the city, young and old;
For heroes shall brave that Imperial tomb's abyss,
In exchange for their share of gold.
The Adventurer's Guild welcomes the noble houses of Jam, Drenn, Depredis and Wyrd equally, and promises to show no favour in dealings of pure business - a sentiment I'm sure you all can understand. Twelve men and women have answered the call for brave warriors ready to delve into the Tomb of the Emperor in your names - and for your gold, of course. Let's meet them, shall we?
The Available Adventurers This Game
The Hermit
The Assassin
The Knight
The Wizard
The Berserker
The Samurai
The Minstrel
The Alchemist
The Thief
The Priestess
The Witch
The Boy
They shall serve you well, and operate under your - oh, pardon, your squire's - guidance within the tomb itself.
Now then, House Jom - Gem? Oh, Jam! Pardon me, my lords and ladies, you must forgive me. There are so many noble houses, you see, and it's hard to keep track of them all. Perhaps once you've raided the tomb and brought back its treasures, inspired our adventurers to grand ability, the names of your house shall be on the tongues of every man, woman and child in the Empire...!
All Houses begin with 3 Victory Points, and 3 Crests.
All things in their time though, eh?
Well, I shan't keep you any longer, my lords and ladies, and I'm sure you're happy to leave this place before the smell sets in - only sweat and blood, but you're clearly none too keen to have that on your hands, otherwise you wouldn't be coming to see me, eh?
Providing and Inquiring Phase
All Houses are granted 12 gold, 1 intrigue marker, 1 skip marker, and 1 return marker.
Welcome to the Thief Guild, most noble lords and ladies, a completely legitimate enterprise that in no way endorses thievery, burglary, robbery, or any kind of ne'er-do-well behaviour at all, I assure you. We're simply named after our founder - and my great-great-grandfather, I'll have you know - Ernest Thiefwitz, though he did have to change the family name during the troubles.
Now then, I'm sure you're wondering what information we've scouted up on the Tomb of the Emperor! We understand completely our clients and their desire to try before they buy, so we're providing you with information about three floors of the eight that can currently be accessed in the tomb. The rest, though, will have to be paid for with coin. We do have to keep a roof over our heads here in the Guild.
The Dungeon layout for Round One is as follows:
Floor 1: Unknown (Menace)
Floor 2: Devil (Menace) - 3MP damage, 2 VP (5MP damage, 4 VP in Round 3)
Floor 3: Goblin (Creature) - 2HP damage
Floor 4 (1 VP): Unknown (Undead)
Floor 5: Emperor's Will (Legacy) - VP varies on number of players who reach this floor. If one, 6 VP. If two, 4 VP. If three, 2 VP. If four, 1 VP.
Floor 6 (1 VP): Unknown (Undead)
Floor 7: Unknown (Creature)
Floor 8 (2 VP): Unknown (Undead)
Simple, eh? As for the rest... well, that's why you brought your purses, right?
All Houses may secretly bid between zero and four gold on any unknown floor. Intrigue markers are worth 2 gold; Crests, if spent, count as the highest bid by default. Remember that all gold bid in this phase will be lost, regardless of bidding outcome.
Please PM your bids to me.
You are welcome to shit-talk, mislead, and otherwise hassle one another at this point.
Also is the Emperors Will card all reward at no cost if you reach it?
I'm perfectly fine with this arrangement.
The Dragon is exactly as written! He slumbers until the third round, at which time he becomes the most dangerous card in the entire game.
The Emperor's Will is exactly as written as well - the more people reach it, the less VP per person.
That's exactly how it works, yes, if I'm reading you correctly. The character auction has two stages - in the first, you must bid a total of four markers (gold, intrigue or crest) on adventurers. These are revealed, then we go into a second round of secret bidding where there is no limit. These are revealed and stacked with the bids from the first stage to find the winner (or not).
We bid on all floors, and all characters, simultaneously. We process the auction one character at a time, in order, since some powers can interact with other characters still in the auction or in your part.
Also, without having read the rules yet I'm already sad to have missed out on a game that calls for making your own coat of arms.
Great question! The Japanese it appears to be have been translated from is 「投資戦略型ダンジョン攻略ボードゲーム」, which directly translates as "investment strategy-style dungeon capture boardgame". Which makes slightly more sense?
There is an expectation that you'll submit bids and such within 24 hours of being called to do it. This is a soft guide, but should be stuck to unless there are extenuating circumstances.
So far we have one bid in!
Slightly. I guess.
Thanks, though!
Fortunately I am about to go to bed, so here's the deal:
@Elldren and @Egos, please submit your finalised bids as soon as possible! If I don't have anything in ~12 hours, I will assume you aren't bidding anything and proceed as such.
Inquiring Phase Conclusion
Thank you, noble sirs and non-sirs, for your patronage. I'd like to reveal the bidding results now, please, so if you would hand over your weapons to the man in the back, we'll get straight to it.
BIDS PLACED
House Jam placed 2 gold on Floor 1, 2 gold on Floor 7.
House Drenn placed 1 gold on Floor 1, 1 intrigue on Floor 6.
House Depredis placed 1 gold and 1 intrigue on Floor 1, 1 gold on Floor 7.
House Wyrd made zero bids.
RESULTS
Floor 1 is won by House Depredis.
Floor 6 is won by House Drenn.
Floor 7 is won by House Jam.
PMs with your bought information are going out.
I'd like to remind everyone that all bids are non-refundable, but we thank you for your patronage.
That brings our business to a close, I believe? Now, if you'll be so kind, lords and ladies, I'm sure you'll want to put that information to good use - the Adventurer's Guild will be expecting you shortly.
CURRENT TREASURIES
House Jam: 8 gold, 1 intrigue, 3 crests, 1 skip
House Drenn: 11 gold, 0 intrigue, 3 crests, 1 skip
House Depredis: 10 gold, 0 intrigue, 3 crests, 1 skip
House Wyrd: 12 gold, 1 intrigue, 3 crests, 1 skip
Organising Phase
Welcome once again, noble houses of Jim, Dronn, Depress and Word! Hm? Is the light too bring in here, you all appear to be squinting. I'll have someone close a window or two before we get onto the proceedings. The Thief's Guild tells me that you've all had a chance to see what information they've scrounged up on the tomb, so I suppose it is time for you to hire some muscle for your upcoming delves, mm?
Well, you know the rules, I'm sure - a set bid first, then a second round of bidding with no holds barred.
Bring in the adventurers!
Available Adventurers In Auction Order
The Hermit
The Assassin
The Knight
The Wizard
The Berserker
The Samurai
The Minstrel
The Alchemist
The Thief
The Priestess
The Witch
The Boy
Available Adventurers Full Information
0HP, 0MP, 1SP
Power: (Exploring) Your party breaks 'The Gate'.
Crest Power: (Exploring) Your party takes no damage from 'Dragon'.
The Assassin
1HP, 1MP, 0SP
Power: (Organising) You assassinate the character with your intrigue marker. The assassinated character is removed from the auction, and all markers on it are returned to the common pools. Note that you cannot assassinate a character that has already been won in the auction, as your intrigue marker will have been discarded when it was won.
Crest Power: (Exploring) Your party breaks 'The Gate'.
The Knight
2HP, 1MP, 0SP
Power: None.
Crest Power: (Exploring) HP of your party goes to infinity.
The Wizard
1HP, 2MP, 0SP
Power: None.
Crest Power: (Exploring) MP of your party goes to infinity.
The Berserker
3HP, 0MP, 1SP
Power: (Exploring) You must set a return marker on floor 5 or deeper in this round.
Crest Power: (Exploring) Add 1HP, 1MP, and 1SP to his stats.
The Samurai
2HP, 2MP, 0SP
Power: (Organising) You lose a skip marker this round.
Crest Power: (Exploring) You treat this round as if it were round 3, even if it is round 1 or 2.
The Minstrel
0HP, 1MP, 0SP
Power: (Organising) You may choose one unknown floor and secretly learn what it is.
Crest Power: (Exploring) If you skip a floor from floor 5 or deeper, you still gain that floor's VP.
The Alchemist
0HP, 0MP, 0SP
Power: (Exploring) You score 1 extra VP from 'Treasure'.
Crest Power: (Organising) You move your crest marker on the Alchemist to any other character in your party. Note that you cannot move the crest to a character whose auction hasn't finished, as that character is not in your party (yet).
The Thief
1HP, 1MP, 0SP
Power: (Exploring) Your party takes no damage from 'Trap' and breaks 'The Gate'.
Crest Power: (Organising) You steal the character with your intrigue marker on it. The character is removed from the auction, and all markers on it are returned to the common pools. Note that you cannot steal a character that has already been won in the auction, as your intrigue marker will have been discarded when it was won.
The Priestess
0HP, 2MP, 0SP
Power: (Exploring) Your party breaks 'The Gate' if the total MP of your party was 4 or higher at the beginning of the exploring phase.
Crest Power: (Exploring) Your party takes no damage from all 'undead' floors.
The Witch
0HP, 0MP, 1SP
Power: (Exploring) Your party skips all floors with the 'Creepy' tag.
Crest Power: (Organising) The organising phase ends immediately. All markers on remaining characters are returned to the common pools.
The Boy
0HP, 0MP, 2SP
Power: (Exploring) Your party takes no damage and ignores the effect of the 'Emperor's Specter'.
Crest Power: (Exploring) You score an extra 3 VPs from all 'legacy' floors.
Now then, please consult your parchments and write down your opening bids before handing them to me.
All Houses, submit your opening bid for the character auction. You must assign four markers (gold, intrigue, or crest) in any combination of marker and any combination of characters. These will then be revealed before the second phase of bidding.