![Picture](/uploads/1/1/2/6/11261556/6908868.jpg?146)
I remember standing in the local hobby shop, 2nd aisle on the side by the doors, looking through the D&D books; campaign materials, character supplements, and worlds like Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance. I also remember sifting through the dice at the checkout-counter; I'm a little OCD about my games, and I needed enough dice to not need to re-roll any of my spell results. Also, the dice had to match. I like bits and pieces that I can hold in my hand, which you can see from looking at the other games I've owned and rated.
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/2/6/11261556/1371426392.png)
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/2/6/11261556/1371432953.jpg)
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/2/6/11261556/8114889.jpg?288)
![Picture](/uploads/1/1/2/6/11261556/1097464.jpg)
Now monsters are where, in traditional D&D, you would need a DM to handle the storyline - i.e., what the bad guys do. In Castle Ravenloft, the monster cards come with their own "AI," meaning that the active player (whose turn it is) follow the instructions on the active monsters' cards and makes their attacks for them. There are occasional situations where the rules are ambiguous, in which case the player can make a choice most favorable to himself - after all, the players are the heroes.
In addition to the monsters having a sort of autopilot, there are encounter cards to represent how the surroundings affect the heroes. Sometimes a trap is sprung, sometimes a villain is met, and sometimes an event will cause a hero to end up in a new location on the board. Encounters add an unpredictable element to the game as well as atmosphere and flavor (each event has a few lines explaining what happened to cause the change in the game state). The encounter mechanic also has the effect of punishing slow play, so the players must constantly push themselves towards their goal when it would be more comfortable to consolidate the group and eliminate threats on the board.
Finally, the board layout is semi-randomized. The board is constructed of interlocking tiles representing corridors and rooms in the dungeon. Usually the tiles are randomized but a particular tile is inserted such that it will be drawn between the 9th and 12th turns. This makes for a reasonably paced game with some element of surprise as to when the victory condition will be achieved.
The image below is the heroes as they look out of the box. There's a lot of detail, but the eye can't catch it because of the monochrome. Top right is the best paint job I've ever seen, and I have to remind myself I can't do that (some people have been painting similar minis since the 1970's). Something I like about the bottom right picture is the color scheme of the figures and the base rim matches the color of the character cards, so the mind naturally connects the two. |