by blankfrancis
So I'm well into my second run through the base game's campaign, and after a lukewarm first go-through I'm really enjoying D2E a lot more this time. That means it's time to start thinking about expansions, obviously!I'm sure this topic has been covered in various permutations already, but I'd appreciate some tailor-made recommendations from y'all.
I think my first buy will be a big box expansion, and Shadow of Nerekhall is the frontrunner at this point. Its campaign sounds like it has quite a few cool gimmicks, and the structure of it makes it seem like it will have a bit less repetition during replays than the base campaign.
At the same time I'm quite keen to try adding a lieutenant pack to give the Overlord more stuff to do (with access to a plot deck). I probably only need one to start with, so what are your recommendations? I've read that some of the plot decks favour certain styles of play or certain monster types, and ideally I'd like one that is strong for more general use.
But then if I'm using a plot deck, does it pay to have some rumor quests to generate threat? In that case, should I stump up for a small box expansion as well? The lopsided nature of them (having only two heroes per expansion) does funny things to the OCD part of my brain, so I worry that I'll feel a need to get both Lair of the Wyrn and The Trollfens. Also, do things like secret rooms add very much to the game or are they more like icing on the dungeon cake?
As someone who owns no first edition stuff, the hero/monster packs are also quite appealing. Are the quests in them essentially interchangable with those in the small boxes? If so, could I get one or two of these instead of a small box in order to boost my monster numbers and add some rumor quests? Would I be missing out on too much other cool stuff from the small expansions?
Thanks in advance.