Enveron is Calling!
Ruined fortresses, well-stocked wine cellars, bustling settlements, fetid sewers, and despair-filled gaols – there are many more places for your Adventurers to get into trouble in than just dungeons. This is where the Beyond the Vaults expansion for Maladum comes in. It can supplement the Vaults of Enveron terrain found in the starter set, be used to build new encounters with our Fantasy Dungeon terrain, or generate adventures in any terrain on Mesa (or beyond if you like – I hear that Tephysus is lovely at this time of year).
This box of fun is packed with new experiences including a host of new settings and ways to play, a Universal Quest creation tool, new Quests for key locations in Enveron, 18 Event cards, five more Hidden Locations, three new Side Quests, and some exciting new loot.
New Terrain Rules
Our wide range of Fantasy Dungeon terrain is fully compatible with Maladum and the Beyond the Vaults expansion provides all the rules you need to adventure far and wide. It also comes with guidance about when and where to use a piece of terrain, and if it can be used as a replacement for something else making it easy to drop new elements into your games.
Some items have mechanics you will be familiar with from the core game. For example, an Altar can be swapped for the Arcanist’s Desk and then be searched for loot, or act as the objective for a Quest, in the same way as the original object. You can also use the Search action on new types of objects to get new results, for instance, the Coin Pile will provide cold hard cash, and a Book Pile will give you a Book token. These Books are a fun addition and require a roll in the Market Phase to see if they are useless junk, valuable enough to sell, or if they contain clues to finding an ancient artefact. This means that searching a simple bookshelf could end up being the start of a whole new set of objectives.
Other objects have rules that are unique to them. A Tapestry can be harvested to provide the Textile resource or, if you need to hide from an approaching hoard, it can be used as a makeshift hiding place. Two of my favourites are used with the Rest action. The first is the Latrine which gives your Adventurer the Blessed status if they use it when taking a break. The second is using a beer cask to receive effects ranging from a boost to combat effectiveness to being Stunned while the character sleeps it off.
Another interesting addition to your games is the Treasure Chest which really shines in the Market Phase – if you can drag it to your Staging Point during a Quest that is. This is because you always get a Rare item from it, you can potentially net a large sum of cash, and pick up some Tarnished Trinkets if you roll well enough too. Having to drag it with you is going to slow you down so it add an interesting risk vs reward calculation to your game when one turns up.
Some rules are specific to the setting of the Quest. For example, if you are in a mine you might want to grab a Pick to mine some ore then load up a mine cart with loot. Or perhaps your Adventurers will ride in a cart themselves to make a quick exit, ploughing down any enemies that get in their way. Some sets like the Ravenskeep Sewers provide new obstacles to overcome. For example, if you’re using the lava side of the channels in that set, you’ll want to avoid falling in if you don’t want to be on fire for the rest of your (short) life. On the positive side, there might also be a sewer you can use as a water source to put yourself out, although the rest of the party might want to steer clear of you for a few days after that. Falling into either is a very real possibility too, as you’ll need to beat a Rough Ground test to balance your way across rickety bridges and the like.
The last category of terrain is all about adding depth to Quests. Sometimes the rules are tightly focused, like doors that are harder to unlock, need to be opened from elsewhere, or that are just tougher than usual. Whereas other objects are there to add extra flavour or act as the focus for a Quest. This could be anything from rescuing someone from a cage, looting a valuable painting for a client, or forging a unique item at a forge.
Play Your Cards Right
The random moments introduced by Event cards are part of what makes Maladum so immersive and it’s something that Beyond the Vaults expands to new settings. Many of the 18 event cards included in this set add extra flavour to Quests taking place in specific settings. This includes dealing with the disgusting rising sewer waters of the Tsewer-nami card, the G-G-G-G-Ghosts! Card raising ancient spectres in the Great Hall, or benefiting from the Shhhhh….. card by keeping a low profile while you’re exploring an Archive. I guess librarians are the same everywhere.
Some cards can be added to any Quest, such as the Corrupted Warrior card which adds the fun of a Denizen Mini-Boss to your game (you can read more about Mini-Bosses later in this article). There are also some cards that are designed to add extra spice to large or multi-level playing areas. For instance, cards like ‘They’re In The Walls’ are designed to ensure that the game remains challenging even if you are playing in a large area, and ‘Floor Collapse’ introduces perils that are unique to a multi-level map.
If you have the Of Ale and Adventure expansion the new Hidden Location and Side Quest cards will add even more twists to your games. These include entertaining Side Quests like Scapegoat where you need to plant incriminating evidence onto another Adventurer or Denizen, and location-specific Hidden Locations such as the Hidden Seam where you can acquire ores in a mine. An interesting combination is the Tactical Advantage Side Quest that kicks off with you finding a Garrison Hidden Location, then sets you racing to gather evidence and defeat a Mini-Boss before you run out of time.
Digging In Deeper
OK, that’s the second time I’ve talked about Mini-Bosses, so I should probably dig into that in more detail. In addition to the more familiar kinds of tokens, you’ll find some new Mini-Boss inserts. These work like the Apprentice Maladaar insert from the starter set, boosting the abilities available to a Denizen so that they can act as enemy lieutenants. There are a number of different types of Mini-Boss and they provide a range of challenges to solve. For example, it could make the Mini-Boss hit harder and add armour to make them tougher, or it could give them the ability to launch hit-and-run attacks and then melt away into the shadows. There will be some Quests where you need to defeat a Mini-Boss as part of the objectives. You’ll also have to face one when the Corrupted Warrior card is drawn, or you can just choose to add them whenever you feel like a challenge. Whatever the reason is that you end up facing one, it’s sure to make for a memorable experience.
Don’t worry, this expansion also has plenty of the traditional loot tokens that our Adventurers crave. For example, they’ll want to get their hands on a Pick or Shovel to mine ores – or turn on their foes in a pinch. Other highlights include rare gear like Expeditious Boots for making a quick getaway, the Doorbuster for getting through those new stronger doors, and even a Flying Carpet to help you access hard-to-reach spots. I mean, who doesn’t want their own flying carpet?
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
Speaking of specific Fantasy Dungeon terrain sets, if your Adventurers want to explore Enveron like particularly violent tourists then the Maladum On Location section has you covered. There are nine Quests that use our Fantasy Dungeon terrain sets as their setting. These adventures will take you to Ancient Khaarastad in search of lost treasures, have you fighting demonically possessed beasts in lava-filled sewers in Wega, and see you intervening in a labour dispute in a Forge, just to give you a taste of the fun on offer.
The fun doesn’t end there though, as the Universal Quests rules let you create custom adventures to your heart’s content. These flexible rules help you to design scenarios using any terrain with a simple six-step process. Pick a type of Adversary type, roll to select from one of six example maps (or build your own), roll to determine the goals for the Quest, find out what cards are in the Event Deck, add an optional special rule, load up the loot and off you go. These elements are randomly combined to generate a new experience each time. In one playthrough you might be on Map C, holding the fort until reinforcements can arrive, while having to complete a series of Side Quests. In another, you might need to sneak past sentries to rescue a prisoner, then face off against a Mini-Boss.
Don’t forget that we have Universal Quests maps for the Fantasy Village terrain to download for free from our website too. There is also a mini-campaign on our website that uses the Beyond the Vaults rules and our fantasy terrain. It starts with Quest 3: The King’s Brides.
Gather Your Party and Venture Forth
As you can see, Beyond the Vaults packs in a lot of entertainment. Whether it’s defeating mini-bosses, finding unique gear, exploring new locations, building custom Quests, or adding new twists to the main campaigns this expansion will keep you busy for some time. So, are your Adventurers ready explore strange new locations, seek our new life and civilisations to fight, and boldly steal anything not nailed down? Then Beyond the Vaults might be just what you are looking for.
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