Thread: Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition):: General:: Sands of the Past - Preview #1

by Sadgit

Far to the south lies Al-Khasim, a vast desert continent known to many in Terrinoth only from myths, legends and obscure folktales. However, recently in the wake of the most daring traders and sailors, news from Al-Kalim have traveled across the expanse of the glittering sea to the south. Rumor has it that entire desert villages were swallowed by terrible sandstorms and earthquakes and overnight shifting sands have buried oases that had been revitalizing weary travelers for decades. In other places, it seems that ancient ruins have been uncovered, said to be filled with all kinds of riches and abandoned artifacts of immense power. Together with these ruins terrifying creatures have been awakened, viciously guarding the unearthed treasures. Are the upheavals in the desert of natural origin or is a darker power at work? Whatever might be the cause, the promise of wealth and knowledge has driven a band of fearless adventurers to board a small merchant vessel bound for Rothulk Seaport. Although their motives might be different, these heroes must stand together to survive the hardships of the desert and the nefarious dangers roaming the maze-like ruins. Will they be able to uncover the mysteries of these cursed and haunted places or will they lose their sight and reason trying to face what the Sands of the Past have revealed?



I am happy to announce Sands of the Past - an expansion for Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2nd edition. A couple of months ago, myself and several members of the community set out to develop a community expansion with roughly the content and (most importantly) the quality of a small official expansion. Although some components of SotP are still at a play-testing stage, the new coop mode that will be included in SotP expansion has already sparked a thread on BGG. I therefore decided to share some details on SotP in a series of previews. This is the first one.

Devastating Power

SotP will include two new heroes, a mage and a healer archetype.
Runemaker Tara's abilities focus on what mages are best at: vanquishing the minions of the overlord wherever they appear. Her Hero ability provides the option to interconvert range and damage done. This allows an amazing flexibility when attacking with Ranged weapons and a high burst damage potential with Melee weapons. On top of that her Heroic feat allows her to attack multiple targets in a straight path. This is expecially helpful when monsters block narrow corridors to prevent heroes to reach their objectives. Note, that the Heroic feat can be combo'ed with Tara's Hero ability to increase the damage done even more.
This hero was originally designed by user rdh174 at the FFG board.

Tricks of the Mind


SotP will include two new classes, a mage class and a healer class.
The Psychic is a fatigue heavy class, but it includes a few methods of fatigue recovery as well. The psychic is an area effect mage which can damage monsters without attacking, assist other heroes and even bend the mind of his enemies to do the work for the heroes. With the help of an additional Skill card, the psychic may increase his aura of influence even more. At later stages, the psychic's unsurpassed mental control allows him or her to dominate attribute tests, discard conditions and outright ignore terrain.
This class was originally designed by Zaltyre.


Stay tuned!