Dread Knight not very dreadful

[Dread Knight not very dreadful]

As the character stands now, he is one of the weakest characters in the game. While he may equal the Monk with an initial battle value of 5, the Monk never loses his power while the Dread Knight stands a good chance of losing his initial warhorse. Even the prospect of the free replacement is not so great as many other characters with higher starting craft have easy routes to earning the gold needed to buy one.

 

The Dread Knight also only has a starting Fate of 1 compared to the Monk's 5. The Monk is prevented from using weapons or armor in battle but not psychic combat, so it is not all that much of an impairment. The Monk also adds +1 when praying, a very nice power.

 

My question and request is what power can be added to the Dread Knight to make him equal in power to other characters? I plan to permanently alter his card in my game set with the best balanced suggestion posted here but I would love to see an update to the Dread Knight and a few of the other weaker characters officially released by FFG. I would even pay for an official release of just new character cards for any revised characters. (Adding in a few new ones or the characters introduced in the Digital Edition would be a bonus.)

 

My initial thought would be to add an ability for the Dread Knight to sacrifice followers to gain a life, a fate, or a spell.

 

So, what powers or changes would you suggest be made to the Dread Knight to make him more dreadful but not over-powered?

 

 

[New Characters and Cards]

Since we have the Warlock and the Alchemist wandering the board, I would love to see an expansion that brings the other characters on the board to life. Specifically, the Mystic, the Enchantress, the Doctor, the Royal Physician (Royal Doctor on the 4th edition board), the Blacksmith, the Farmer, the Healer, the Ranger, the Barbarian, and the Gambler.

 

Having the Doctor, Healer, and Royal Physician might seem repetitive, but small variations in the game mechanic they use to heal other characters or themselves could easily make all three very different to play. I know that Talisman Island has a download for some of these characters but I personally prefer official releases that have been tested by the pros.

 

Adding the Sentinel or Black Knight would round it out to 12 characters but I have no idea how to make them into playable characters that retain the flavor of their roles, unlike the other 10 characters. Some of the ones listed were even playable characters in previous editions.

 

Preferably these would come out in a character only expansion or an expansion that adds to every deck except the already huge Adventure deck as I mentioned in the starter post to this thread.

[Tumbling Boulder]

1. Does the Tumbling Boulder remain on the board after it tumbles since it does not state it goes to the discard pile?

 

2. If it is an event that remains on the board until acted upon by some other card, would the next player to land on the Tumbling Boulder trigger it again?

 

3. What happens to the Tumbling Boulder when it reaches the entrance to the Highlands? Would it tumble around the main board?

[Thieves Guild]

If the Dungeon is in play, a character can reach the Crown of Command without a Talisman.

[Missed turn, are they cumulative?]

I would say that there is no simple answer to the question since the reasons for missing the next turn could vary. For example, if the Chivalric Knight went to aid someone and the next player drew the Storm, the Chivalric Knight would first miss a turn for the Storm and would then miss his next turn as well since the Storm interfered with his chance to have a turn to miss. 

 

However, if a character was missing turns due to a card or effect that states "miss the next turn or turns," then the missed turns would not stack.

 

Really, though, as fun as semantic games are, it is ultimately up to the playing group to decide how to enforce the rule for the fun and good of the group. If it was at a gaming convention tourney, the game judge would have to make that call.

[Firelands Tokens: What happens if one misses a turn?]

What happens to a character who misses one or more turns in a space containing a firelands token? Is the character immune from taking damage since the character clearly could not have an end to a turn that was missed?

 

This question is specifically referenced to the "Spreading Flames" ending. If a character could encounter a card, use an ability, or a spell that specifically states that one or more turns are missed, would the character be immune from taking damage from any tokens?

[Blood Moon Definition Clarification - What is considered a creature?]

Thanks for the reply and for phrasing much kinder than the response RTFM some might have been tempted to post. One would think that an English Major would remember to read things more closely.

[How do you draw characters and have you put aside any overpowered ones?]

By the new rules, the Sprite can make more use out of the warhorse than most other characters. It seems odd but the crafty characters are the most dangerous when combined with a warhorse and a flail, yet strength characters are left out In the cold without any way to add Strength in Psychic Combat.

[New Characters and Cards]

1. IMHO, there is a need for a neutral and good version of the Dark Cultist.

 

2. It would be cool to see a character with the abilities of the Royal Masons or at least the ability to remove Freeland tokens.

 

3. The City needs some new cards. These could either come out with the next expansion or be a new expansion to the City Expansion itself. The obvious characters to include would be the Sheriff, King's Champion, Master Thief, High Mage, Animal Trainer, and High Priest.

[Dervish Abilities Questions]

I can see the drawback that keeps this from being OP. The Dervish misses whatever else was drawn and could leave behind a board littered with cards

[Blood Moon Definition Clarification - What is considered a creature?]

As the subject line indicates, what exactly is a "creature" by definition? Are all enemies considered "creatures?"

 

If so, can a creature have its Strength or Craft reduced to zero?

 

Would the effects of Day or Night affect the trophy value of a creature?

 

Thanks in advance for any clarifications or opinions.

 

(I really wish FF would update the FAQ and Errata to include all of the latest expansions.)

[Dervish Abilities Questions]

1. If the Dervish wins a battle and chooses to move a number of spaces equal to the strength of the enemy, are all other cards drawn on the original space no longer available for encountering? In other words, would a successful battle prevent the Dervish from encountering a spirit, place, or object drawn in the same space as the strength enemy?

 

2. Is it conceivable that the Dervish could have multiple successive turns if he continues to draw enemies with which he could battle and he wins and then moves to another space and encounters yet another enemy to battle? (While highly unlikely, it seems the Dervish could seem like he was having an unending turn, at least until he ran out of enemies to battle or lost.)