Find a treasure Trove of new features with the of Ale and Adventure expansion

Now that part one of our Ale and Adventure update has whetted your appetite, it’s time to show off the exciting new game features that the expansion adds. And boy does it add a lot! In addition to all the classes, skills and miniatures covered in our last update, there are also 45 assorted Event, Side Quest, Hidden Location and Reference cards, and 279 pieces of equipment! If that wasn’t already enough, it also introduces a bunch of new gameplay mechanics too.

Find yourself a hidden location, craft yourself a relaxing drink, and prepare to go on a quest to find out more about this treasure trove of goodies.

Getting crafty

Crafting Recipes

Looting everything in sight is a time-honoured RPG tradition and one that you’ll be familiar with from Maladum already. Of Ale and Adventure takes this to a whole new level, adding a whole heap of new shiny things for your Adventurers to stuff their bags with.

In addition to the usual assortment of weapons, armour, and gear – and occasional trap of course – there are also some very cool pieces of uncommon and rare gear to acquire. Pick up this expansion for a chance to snare your foes with a net, protect yourself with the Vestments of Sanctuary, or blast your enemies with the Supernova gun.

All this new equipment is going to face stiff competition for a spot in your inventory though, as you’ll also start finding tempting supplies of crafting materials. These range from old weapons that can be broken down for wood and textiles, to more obscure materials like Keltic Steel or Graam Ore. These can be used to craft some powerful exclusive items that you can’t find through your normal plundering (although you might get them as rewards for completing quests).

Items that you need to craft will list a recipe of materials on them instead of a buy cost, so to make them you’ll have to find the right materials first. Once you’ve found what you need, you can combine the ingredients and pay the sell price to craft the item during the Market Phase.

If you wanted to craft the formidable Hellfire Blade, for example, you’d need to find resources during your normal pillaging that add up to one Steel (S), two Issen Oil (I), one Keltic Steel (K), and one Riches (R). You can then combine them and pay the sell cost of the item (12 Guilders in this case) to craft it.

You can now chase down your terrified foes and set them on fire. Good for you.

Relics

Relics are similar to crafted items, but even cooler. These epic items come with a ton of great features, but need fixing before you can use them. They are well worth your while, with each one being a potent tool. Just feast your eyes on the Sword of Tephysus and then try to tell me you don’t want it!  

To bring them back into service you’ll need to get hold of unique rare materials in addition to the more common resources. Getting your hands on these rare materials won’t be easy though as, most of the time, these materials will be found during quests.

We’re also planning some specific quests just for these powerful items. We can’t wait to share them with you!

Side Quests

Speaking of quests, this expansion adds lots of exciting new challenges and flavour through the Side Quest mechanic. Picking up a Side Quest usually happens when you meet a Questgiver NPC who is brought into play by drawing an Event card, although you can sometimes pick them up from overhearing rumours in the pub too. Each task is outlined on a card that you draw from a deck of Side Quests which makes it easy to keep track of what you need to do to complete it.

Side Quests are then completed during your normal quests, which often adds lots of interesting dilemmas to your game. For example, should you get out while the going is good, or risk a few more turns to pick up a valuable reward from an active Side Quest? There will be risks, but the rewards can make it worth it as they range from decent sums of money, to crafting materials, items, Renown, or stat boosts.

The tasks themselves are just as varied. In one you’ll need to help a druid find the ingredients for a delicious stew, in others you’ll have deliver secret messages, mount daring rescues, or even escort a noble who wants to experience the life of an Adventurer. Whatever they are, they add a lot of extra depth to your games.

New Event Cards

Questgivers aren’t the only fun things that you’ll find in the Event deck. New cards will now add wandering traders that stock some tempting rare and uncommon items (and maybe a dubious-looking sausage inna bun), and bounty hunters that will try to bring in their mark dead or alive. You can also pick up the ability to create a trap for your enemies (which make as a nice change from being on the receiving end of one), and meet a panhandler that delays an Adventurer until they give them cash or provisions. 

My favourite is the Excursionist, a clueless NPC that wants your Adventurers to act as their tour guide, and who defends themselves by Fatiguing enemies with their inane chit-chat.

Also included are some that adjust the challenge to your party’s abilities. For example, the Stroke of Fortune card can be used to snag an extra potion, unlock a stubborn door, or ignore the attacks for one enemy. On the other hand, Lights Out increases the level of Dread and plunges you into terrifying darkness – good luck getting out!

Hidden Locations

Hidden Locations take the form of tokens added to your pouches and usually come into play when they are drawn during searches. When you discover one you refer to the corresponding card and set up a tile next to your map following the instructions on the card.

Some locations are more common than others, such as stumbling across a room filled with Adversaries or chests filled with rare loot. Others are much more rarely encountered, such as vaults that form part of Side Quests which contain materials needed to repair powerful ancient artefacts. Whichever one your stumble across it’s sure to add a little extra excitement to your session.

New Terrain Pieces

Also included in the expansion are new terrain pieces that are mainly used in Side Quests and for Hidden Locations (although you can choose to add them to other games). This includes Treasure Chests filled with valuables, rare items, and crafting materials. The only catch is that you have to drag the chest back to your Staging Area to claim the contents.

You can find books during normal searches and these are resolved by rolling the Magic die during the Market Phase to find out what they provide. A low roll means that the book is worthless, but higher rolls mean that the book is valuable. Some of these valuable books can be sold, whereas others contain Experience that an Adventurer can use to level up. A rare few provide clues about the location of lost artefacts, letting you add a relic resource to your token bag. The Bookcase terrain piece is where the real treasure is though, as they contain Exclusive books which increase the chances of rolling better results.

Tapestries and Drapes let Adventurers conceal themselves from their foes, and can also be Interacted with to obtain the Textiles resource. Braziers can be lit or extinguished and work like a Sconce, but they also play a role in some Side Quests.

Finally, Altars and Plinths can be searched but can usually only be opened in a way specified by the instructions in a Quest. They usually hold something valuable or critical to completing a Quest.

New icons and special tokens

As if all that wasn’t enough, some of this exciting new stuff comes with new effects like Relentless which allows you to reduce your enemy’s physical armour by 1 for every attack you make in a round, or Indestructible, which you can probably figure out for yourself!

There are also special item tokens like Camping Gear that helps you out if you are camping in the Wilderness, or Grimoires that allow you to learn spells a level higher than your rank.

Combine all of this with the new characters options and skills covered in our last article, and you have an expansion that is absolutely packed with value. We can’t wait for you to get your hands on it!