Longshot11

For 5.4, you are basically having to corner and defeat all 3 villains. In the physical game, you put each villain up by the scenario card when they are defeated and can't escape. You win once there are 3 up there. I believe the 5.4 question is aimed at Ordikon which states "on a 1 or 2, Ordikon is undefeated, and you immediately encounter him again.". From the wording, it's obvious you have two separate encounters and -per the quote Hawkmoon provided- you're allowed- and *must*- go through Temp Close before each separate encounter. As for 4.4 - when you corner (potentially by Temp Closes) and defeat the second Lamia - you then immediately summon and ENCOUNTER the first Lamia for a second time. By the same token as above - this encounter warrants its own round of Temp Closing (so you may corner&defeat Lamia 2, but then Lamia 1 can escape if you didn't Temp CLose a location).

Officially, by the Rulebook, when a card summons another card - the immediately starts a NEW encounter. So, it's a bug.

Huh, Legendary INDEED does change the game in those two. I'll admit to not playing much on Legendary as I find most of the conditions really arbitrary (this goes double for the Wildcards) and no matter how good my strategy is - I'm STILL stuck relying on extremely lucky rolls. So, let's see: 5-5 - Halls of Wrath; you basically need to 'cheat'. Shop the game for Tome of Knowledge (you know, banish an item, forfeit the game, select the Tome at deck rebuild - it's only AD0). You other option is to roll your Int + Sage ally + Greater Aid (your spell, or lucky drop from Emerald Codex) + Blessing of Irori for d4+d6+2d6+2d4 , for an average of 18. Your closing check on Legendary is going to be somwhere between 14 and 20 (average 17), so you'll need to get extremely lucky anyway (STATISTICALLY, your average beats the average of the check, but if you've played the app so far and you're counting on that - you haven't been paying attention). It's a long shot, but it IS a shot (and any additional Favor blessings will improve your odds). For 5-4: start with the Maze of Sloth - this location will literally make or break your game. You hope to get Ozzimandius here (you may restarts if you don't get him, or just try to roll with it). If you get Ozzy - beat his summon (don't evade it!), discard a weapon and recharge Crown of Charisma to auto-beat the villain. For Azaven - have the Deathbane Crossbow; for Ordkon - recharge a Returning Axe (and if he rolls 1-2, you may as well restart); for both - discard a card to backstab. Now, you're hoping for a good combat roll, but this is your first villain, so your chances are decent. Once the Maze is closed - start exploring the other two locations, until you have Delayed villains on top of both. If you're lucky - one of those will be your Maze villain, so you now know which location holds 2 villains - go to the other location and beat the villain there. If you don't know where the third villain is - you'll have a 50/50 guess, so your choice will probably be dictated by which villains are revealed: - if Ozzy or Ordikon are hidden - start with the other of those 2 (you DON'T want to fight Azaven more than absolutely necessary) - if Azaven is hidden - start with Ozzy (the 1/3 chance of Ordikon to be undefeated is likely to screw you) Now go to the last location, where you'll ultimately face 3 consecutive villains with difficulties (if you were lucky so far) of 35, 40, 45. According to the available turns remaining, use your Evade/Delay powers to achieve the following order of encounter: Ordikon (you may have to beat him twice - you want to be facing the lowest check possible); Azaven; Ozzy. - * keep in mind - if you're loaded with Favor blessings and have the Inspired Dexterity power (hint: you SHOULD have it!) - even those checks might be fairly easy; just make sure you deck is almost empty, so Favors you recharge on one combat will get back into your hand at end of turn; this can be deadly when Azaven's BYA hits you, but if you're like me - you probably have an Amulet of Fortitude lying around, so... If you throw something like 3 Blessings (one of them Erastil) on a villain - that's pretty good odds you got there. - for Azaven/Ordicon - go all out: Dex + BoErastil+ Backstab discard alone give you d12+2d12+2d6, for an average of 26.5. You will probably have at least a +5 falt bonus, and using the appropriate weapon (Returning Axe on Ordikon, Deathbane Xbow on Azaven) will get you another average 7-8 points. For the second villain be sure to throw any combat assistance Spells/Allies. As long as you roll *at least* average - these 2 villains will be history. - for Ozzy - you want to face him last - instead of pushing for combat 45, just auto-beat him with Crown of Charisma (see the advice above for Maze). If for SOME reason you're not carrying the Crown - get it (see the advice on getting the Tome of Knowledge)

Yes, a short while ago, I had a Dillettante and Acid Splash disappear.

Actually, I think it was a lot more 'wieldy' when things were gathered in a single post - now there's too much chaff from all the headers and bottoms of the multiple posts. I'd offer a dissenting opinion on the usefulness of the Reload power: you have either made it it this far by discarding bows for extra dice (in which case, Reload may very occasionally save your life, but is not going to otherwise change your game), or - if you're like me- you've bet on Crossbows (which can't be discarded for extra dice on *your* check, but give you better dice on your own combat). The thing is, when assisting other heroes, you'll always want to go with Sniper Shot first (as it's much more powerful at this point), and for me the first card recharged for Sniper Shot is always a redundant weapon. If you have TWO extra weapons in your hand - you can recharge one for Sniper Shot and discard the other for its own assistance power, but that's usually an overkill, except for Boss battles (and if you're about to fight the Boss - you probably don't care if you're recharging or discarding the second weapon). You *can* decide that with Reload it's time to ditch the Xbows in favor of Bows which you'll recharge for extra dice -but here's the thing: with small number of player, you're unlikely to offer so much combat assistance that you're going to recycle back to the recharged weapon; with many players - you *may* cycle to the recharged weapon, but again - that's unlikely to change your game, especially if you've made it thus far without Reload - in the unlikely case that you need extra dice on your combat so much, your friends will be able to pick up the slack with Blessings (remember - these are Blessings they've saved because they didn't have to throw them on their own combat checks, thanks to *your* Sniper Shot!) In addition to all of the above, Axes are still your best weapon choice as they already rechare for extra dice, even without Reload. Bottom line - eschew Reload, and bump Sniper Shot as high as dwarvenly possible. In addition to all the other excellent advice by jolyonb, I'd offer a few more tips for solo play: - Sniper Shot is useless. Just deal with it and move on, you're not doing solo Harsk because you want your life easy. Instead, pick up Reconnaisance and learn to rely on your scouting capabilities (we'll come back to that shortly); often, Scout Ahead will also be useless to you - you won't have the comfort of sending another better-prepared hero to deal with the top card of a location, so you're encountering it no matter what - get Crown of Charisma: you're automatically offsetting your greatest weakness. Both Throne Room and Prison locations come up often (I haven't check the stats how often in solo play though) - and both of those would otherwise either require you to throw blessings or chase the villain within to close them. Also, you get the opportunity to auto-defeat one of the 3 villains in 5-4; if you happen to meet him in the 'one card per check' location - you'll want to marry that Crown. Worst case scenario, the Crown will give you extra explore by acquiring a Diplomacy ally (not that you'll need extra explores). If you don't get lucky in finding/acquiring it - just play any AD3+ scenario that let's you banish a card, banish any item, don't pick up any other items (you may simply forfeit) and voila - you get to pick up the Crown to fill your deck - as late as AD3 - pick up a Spell feat, then make them 2 at your convenience. Spells are the only way to get yourself extra assistance on hard check besides the single Blessing you're allowed to play. At this stage, you'll be banishing them, but that's not all bad - you basically get to 'shop' AD0- AD1 spells at your leisure (as long as you pay attention not to acquire any crap spell during the scenario). By far the best you can get is Greater Aid that add +2d6 to *any* check! If you're not using Treasures - Find Traps, Speed, Aid, Swipe, even Cure, are good choices. - for the above reasons, keep the Emerald Codex in 4-3 - in 3-5 get Nature's Gift: you can now recharge your spells and not worry getting stuck with crap Force Missile. Also, you get a decent shot at closing Desecrated Tomb and Shrine of Lamashtu - on Roles: the only Reason to pick up Sniper is if you won't to play blessing on your combat without worry about discarding them; it's no *small* reason, mind you, but at this point you should have access to healing if you feel you need it. I'd go with Tracker, for the following reasons: - Enemy Lore - Giant: Giants may not come up that often post-AD4, but when they do - that extra d8 may make all the difference - Miraculous Wisdom: while you're probably know to save your blessings for important combat (henchmen and villains), a lot of banes have a way to sneak unexpected Wisdom checks on you (F- you, Harpies!); in these cases, it may be good to recharge a blessing that you know is still 'banked' on the bottom of your deck for the final throw-down with the villain - Animal Trick: you're not gonna need extra explores, and you probably need allies that can help you with tough checks (which are mostly human allies). Still, Crow, Monkey, Dog even have their uses, so that's one reason to consider this power. The other is - you probably want a combat-support ally for your check VS the villain, and -unless you luck into the non-Animal Rogue Ape- it doesn't get better than Bear. But if that Bear (or Velociraptor*) shows up in your starting hand - you'll want to throw them away for explore, recycle them on the bottom of your deck and keep them there for the final battle. The same applies if you get a Toad, but you want to keep it for later to retrieve a spell from your discard (Harsk is unreliable at recharges) - *Velociraptor is my favourite ally in RotR, but due to the way the app is implemented (they don't allow you to skip your "free" explore) - you'll need to know where the villain is, have *another* card on top of it, then as start of turn - encounter that card and *then* explore the Villain with the Velociraptor. This seems tricky, but now we come to one of the strongest aces in HArsk's sleeve, imho: - Perimiter Search, and "Scout'em & Augury'em": That second (first?) Spell slot? Make it an Augury. Augury is awesome on its own, but combined with Harsk's scouting power - it gets to a whole new level. Usually , it'll save you at least one battle you don't need, but the great thing is - while you're Agury'ing that stupid Shining Child to the bottom of the deck - you have a pretty good chance to stumble across the Villain/Henchman of the location, and now they're at your mercy. If there are no more dangerous banes in the location - throw the Henchman/Villain on the bottom and go boon-hunting. If not - put them on top, prepare your hand at your leisure, and be done for good with that location (and maybe the scenario). If you put the Villain on the bottom (or on top, if you caught him with another weakling monster) - you can now arrange your gam eto sic you Velosiraptor on him/her! (it goes without saying, this strategy is greatly enhanced by the Quill of Revelation, or at least a Magic Spyglass - if you play a normal game, keep one of those items; if you play with Permadeath - KEEP ONE OF THOSE ITEMS! It will probably save your life in 6-5, literally (though, if it's properly implemented, Medusa Mask will also suffice - it's also a good contingency if you stumble upon any villain unprepared!) Well, I think that's about it, off the top of my head

Haven't seen that one, alas. The treasure chests are not kind to me on gold bordered cards, with the exception of the battering ram, which I think I've seen five or six copies of. Gold acquisition is a bit too slow for my liking, and playing local heroes with six characters repeatedly on legendary gets old very quickly. Heh. I've salvaged a couple of Poultices, and never seen a Ram ... All advice here is very sound. I'll add a couple of points, from a solo Meri's POV: - you'll need max items, to have a contingency for all those situations and location that you'd otherwise have to chase a villain into; Amulet of Fortitude is good, so is Crown of Charisma (it's also cool to imagine how you use it's pointy spikes when you throw it away for a Backstab!); at least 1 Masterwork tools until you hit AD5 (afterwards, it's a toss-up, as many barriers are already outside its 14 range, but it's your call); Elven Boots can be helpful, and Ring of Protection will spare you from a bunch of annoying banes that nick you for 1 BYA/AYA damage (F- you, Enchanter!). Crowbar is *awesome*, not only because the extra dice VS barriers (good luck Acrobacy-ing your way out of a Necromantic Deathtrap), but it also gives you a shot at closing some Strength locations (Fort Rannick, Giant Lair, Guard Tower is practically a sure thing). Yes, your hand WILL get clogged - so never forget you can recharge through your Backstab, so throw it in even if your combat is a sure thing! - with regards to the above - DO NOT always evade easy summons - they're basically an extra *free* recharge for a card in your hand you don't need right now (and Bandit at Guard Tower gives you TWO recharges!) - DO get a Weapon Profficiency (this would be my advice even for non-solo) - Axes and Composite bows (which use your d8 Strength) on average do 1 point of damage more than a shortbow (d8 VS d6), and they can be recharged/discarded for extra dice in comparison to the Crossbows (you'll love that when facing a villain alone!). Also, you won't hate your life, if you come across the Venomous Crossbow +2. - once you get it - never let go of the Emerald Codex! It can give you access to Healing/Support spells you can get in no other way - start the game with a Sage, and keep her like your own daughter - she can give you a shot at some Wisdom/Intelligence checks you have no shot at making otherwise. Also, Blessings of Shelyn/Irori are your friends! - Father Zanthus is a better healer - but it you come across the promo ally Poog of Zarongel - switch him in! He can get you a precious +3 to your combat and you never know when you'll need the Fire trait. Also, in a pinch, he can give you an explore, in contrast to the Father.

Harsk will never be great at combat by himself, but make sure to boost his d4+X to a combat at another location, and don't be afraid to recharge his whole hand (except a good weapon) for off-turn assistance. Everyone else will appreciate it, and the amount of blessings/support spells you'll save by making a combat a sure thing with Harsk's recharge only will more than make up for his slow explore rate.

Theory: the 'you may not play' is a two piece code, and works something like: 1) When you encounter Harpy (Goblin Warchanter) - 'block' all weapons and spells ('chains' UI) 2) If player attempts to play Weapon/Spell - call up a Wisdom check 3) If check is failed - permanently block all weapons and ATTACK spells, other spells are actually playable, but still subject to the 'chains' effect imposed by 1) (which would be the obvious bug; maybe introduced by duplicating the Hag/Succubus/other 'Spell Resistance' code, without paying attention it's only limited to ATTACK spells) From your screenshot - I'd guess the Arcane Armor was actually active, and when you discard it, the game actually reads it as 'play this card to reduce 2 Combat damage'; since you've already discarded the rest of your hand - you don't get a 'Discard X cards' prompt (X reduced by 2 from the Arcane Armor effect) and you skip directly to the Recharge check. All of the above is pure conjecture, of course.

Well, 5.4 is no trouble really (although still highly luck-based). You can always evade items in the Greed Room, and you better make sure you have a weapon which discards/recharges for extra die (like Returning Axe) when you hit the "one card per check" location. (Also, if you have Emerald Codex and you luck out in drawing a Speed spell = start your turn in other location, then cast Speed, then move to that location). Otherwise, the location closing is not such a problem as -ideally- you'd close them all by defeating the villains within (and if you fail a villain - it's probably better to just ave time and restart) The problem comes with the Halls of Wrath and its Intelligence 12 check. Since you can't close it by chasing the Villain there - by this point you should know your weaknesses, so you'd better be hoarding a Sage and Blessing of Irori - thus rolling 3d4+1d6. Again, also use the Emerald Codex and hope for a high-end Aid or Guidance spell.

I'm not buying the bundles on principle, but I'll note they're much more likely to seduce people if Obsidian manages to devise some system where players are capable of directly obtaining the boons when they start the appropriate AD. For example, if the bundle Treasure is AD4, after I finish 4-1, on the same interface that I get Loot Scenario Rewards, I should get another round of cards - Barbarian Bundle Rewards - where the game drops on me all AD4 Treasures that came from a Bundle. As it is, I'll be paying 10 bucks for 2 cool cards that I may not even encounter in my play-through! (And yes, some other random cards from chests but they're not the Bundle incentive after all...)

And there you go - finally, an official confirmation: http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2tk8q?Few-Rule-Clarifications#49

Except, if you're playing a solo character - good luck with that. BEST case scenario, the final villain will have +20 to defeat. I don't think Obsidian actively tried to make it impossible for solo - they just didn't care enough.

That would be great Incidentally, how do you *have* 26 cards at all? I think at this point decks should have something like 20 cards total?

In addition to what Ethics said - the only character who can Defeat such monsters with the Divine check is Kyra - she has a power that adds a bonus die *with the Magic trait* to her checks against Undead.

HO. LY. F-- O_0 This sounds like the greatest puzzle ever... I would like to know how you did it, only it'll be spoiler for the people who'd like to figure it out by themselves...

It would help if you gave a little more details what party you're playing, what difficulties you're experiencing, etc.. Yes, 5.4 is nasty by default, very luck-dependent for a solo character (nigh impossible for some) due to the "play only 1 card per check" location, and if you're playing it on Heroic/Legendary.... well, you have only yourself to blame. (Or, OK, you could blame Obsidian, who haven't thought through the possibility to play the scenario on these difficulties solo/with sub-optimal parties...)

Have you completed this scenario on this difficulty with ANY party? Normal and Medium scenarios only grant Gold the FIRST time you complete them.

Hear, hear! The Seasons digital download prices at Paizo's never seemed truly tempting to me, but I'd be willing to pay a pretty penny for them if they get integrated into Obsidian's app (even more so than any other main set, since I already own the physical games, and I'd basically be paying for shuffle-free convenience if they're the next incarnation of the app)

Well, in the newest set, Mummy's Mask, there was a location that said "When you play a weapon, discard it", and a weapon that said "Bury this card to explore your location". I'll let you guess how *that* went...

Same on Galaxy Tab A tablet.

I've also experienced the same bug (albeit in another location/scenarion), again with Ambush. For reference, it was probably when AD3 came out. EDIT: Oh, wait, I've actually posted a bug for it, here: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/89675-an-ambush-barrier-didnt-get-banished-on-closed-location/?hl=ambush

No, you're not. It's extremely frigging annoying, in an already annoying scenario.

Hold on a sec. I seemed to remember that being the MC's power, and that's one of the things that confused me initially. However, MY Club in the app currently says: "...: you may additionally discard a card from your hand to add another 1d10" Notice the lack of "one other" - so we have a discrepancy between the real card and the app (which allows you to discard the MC itself to power its greater effect). So maybe that's the real bug here?' If -for whatever reason- the app text is deemed correct, Irgy's argument above seems the correct one - 1) You ARE playing a power on the MC and 2) you ARE discarding the MC, therefore "You are discarding the MC for its power" I can see why some people are confused, as they are seeing the reveal of MC as playing the card, while the discard opportunity is a *bonus* from playing the MC by reveal. Consider how a normal weapon is worded: "For your combat check you may reveal...; you may additionally discard this card to add..." - here, we have no argument that the discard is 'playing the weapon' Would it help, if the MC was worded: "...; you may additionally discard this card or another card to add 1d10" ? When we compare the two wordings, it's obvious discarding MC is still 'playing the weapon'. Furthermore, discarding *another* card is *still* "playing Mokmurian's Club" - so, if for example Valeros' power was worded "If you play a weapon by discarding a card, you may recharge the card instead" - you would be able to recharge that *other* card as well.

Alternatively, the bug is in the wording of the card. Currently, it reads: "Reveal this card to add 1 die to ANY Perception check"

So, at the start of 5-1, Father Zantus will remark something among the lines of "it was nice traveling with you" if you have him in your decks. I'm not sure if that's the mystery 7th card Nathan spoke about (earlier dialogues don't seem to aknowledge you having Zantus), or if it's a new addition. In which case, I have to wonder how many new 'special' cards were introduced...