This is a prototype version of the game and may not represent the final quality or look of the game. You can find more information about the upcoming Kickstarter here
Some games just look cool, and Vrahode is certainly one of them. Thankfully, it plays pretty well too. What first appears to be a simple map-based fighting game, with DnD-style stats and dice rolls, quickly expands into a narrative-based exploration game. After speaking with the designer, they described it as if "Gloomhaven had a baby with HeroQuest in an art gallery, then Shadows of Brimstone raised the kid!" Having played the eight available preview levels, I would certainly agree with that.
First up, let's talk about what's not here. In the final Kickstarter version, there will be 24 scenarios. I have just eight here. However, after playing all eight, I feel like I have a good sense of the game and what it can offer. But obviously, there is a LOT more to come.
It's also worth mentioning that a lot is changing with this game. The preview copy I received not only had fewer monsters, levels, and components, but the rules are also constantly evolving. I was sent a file with a new rulebook and amendments to the scenarios I had. I've been told there is much more to come as well. OK, with that said, lets gets too it!
Getting this game to the table is incredibly simple. Once you've set up your character, just grab the next mission and you're ready to go. Setting up your character is fairly straightforward too. Place all your character trait markers on your character board according to your character card. Anyone familiar with DnD will find this very familiar. Each character also comes with a set of skills, weapons, and armor, all clearly marked on the character cards. Take these from the appropriate deck along with your mini, and you're good to go!
Between games, the final version will come with a cover for these awesome character stands, allowing you to easily save and store your progress. Simply place all your cards and items inside, cover the stat counters with the cover, and place it securely back in the box. Very smart!
Each mission begins with a brief piece of introductory text, along with some minor setup, including the monsters you'll face in the game. Take the relevant monster card and standee/mini, and you're ready to go. The game operates on a DnD-style initiative structure, with each player and monster taking turns based on their turn order. The main difference is that initiative is drawn from tokens in a bag and assigned after each round. Each player and monster takes a turn, then initiative is redrawn, and the process repeats. This continues until the mission's objectives are complete, which almost always involves "Kill All Monsters!"
Once initiative has been drawn, player and monster turns follow a simple pattern. On your turn, you can take two actions, which can include moving, playing a card, or fighting. Skill cards often relate to combat or preparing your character for battle—such as increasing your powers, boosting skills, or prepping certain abilities. For example, one character can double their movement, deal damage, and knock an opponent down, while another can increase their defence for the entire fight.
Monster actions generally revolve around moving toward (or away from) their target—you—and fighting. Their behaviour depends on their position relative to yours on the map and whether they prefer close combat (melee) or ranged attacks. Their fighting works much like the heroes'. A 20-sided die is rolled, and unlike most games, the lower the roll, the better. A roll of one is a critical success. Regular successes occur when you roll equal to or below the stat you are testing. For example, characters will test against their Body stat for melee combat. If a character has a Body stat of 12, any roll of 12 or lower is a success, while anything above is a failure.
On any successful roll, players then roll a D6 modifier die to determine the outcome of their attack. The attack strength is based on the weapon being used. For instance, a short sword might have a hit ratio of five. The D6 modifies this with a swing of minus 3 to plus 3. Then, check the target's defence score—represented in this game by their Mitigation—and subtract this from your total attack. The remaining balance is applied to the target's health tracker. Repeat this process until their health drops below zero.
Various items gathered from your starting character or acquired through loot boxes in the game will affect how you attack or defend. Your character's skills and abilities also play a role. Throughout the game, you can test your character's skills at various points to gain re-rolls against certain failures or large hits from enemies.
OK, so far, so DnD!
And really, this does feel a lot like a solid role-playing game of Dungeons and Dragons to me. It doesn’t stray from that formula. Each mission is interconnected and driven by a fascinating narrative. Every mission revolves around one central fight against one or two main enemy monsters. Monsters all have different skill stats and powers that you must work against. Some are more effective from a distance, while others prefer to get up close. You'll need to mitigate these differences. Their special attacks, when allowed to happen, can be catastrophic.
And your player skills, leveling up, abilities, and dice-based combat all feel very DnD to me, which is a great thing. And let's face it, the cool character boards holding all your weapons, stats, skills, and health are essentially just fancy DnD player sheets.
The maps on which you fight, which I believe will be more like a bound book in the final version, look and feel like terrain maps in DnD to me. They use a similar square distance system, with equally familiar movement rules. There is impassable terrain and tricky terrain. It’s all very DnD, just with fewer skill checks.
The story that links these eight adventures feels familiar to my past DnD experiences as well. There are a few small puzzles to work out—though not many, just one. However, there is an intriguing story to follow and be a part of, which unfolds through these eight missions. It certainly develops into something you don’t initially expect and adds a lot of extra tension, excitement, and variety to the game. As you battle your way through different monsters, fight in various situations, and navigate changing terrains, you will also encounter new allies and develop your character’s skills.
After each mission, characters will take their items, stats, health - well, everything - to the next level. Sometimes this will slow you down and potentially put you at risk of death. So, again, like DnD, rests are available to heal those crucial health points. This is done in a clever way where the full party can do this if they are under a certain fatigue level, but if not, one has to stay guard. Rest cards are drawn to show the results of the rest and what the resting team can gain after doing so. It keeps even mid-game upkeep thematic.
The ever-changing initiative makes for a very exciting battle. Not knowing who will go next and whether you should stick or twist adds a lot of tension to the game. It also means that on occasion, you might have two turns in a row, or conversely, face two attacks in a row before you have a chance to fight back. I like this evolving pace and the back-and-forth of the fight. It keeps things fresh and prevents stale, ritualistic, or patterned victories from becoming commonplace.
There is even a skill test you can perform against your Presence to switch initiative order with an enemy if your initiative is numerically adjacent to theirs. And if, by pushing them down this way, they then share a numerically adjacent initiative with another player, that player can also attempt the same skill check. Where once a monster could go before all players, a successful skill check could allow both fighters to act before the monster!
Much like DnD, the number and strength of your opponents will depend on your party size, and the game scales perfectly based on this. Nothing else changes in the game other than the difficulty of your enemies, making it work perfectly for one to four players.
I would like to see more skills on offer, a levelling-up system that evolves a little faster, and perhaps one or two more ways to engage in combat. I often found myself doing the same things repeatedly. It would also be nice to have more ways to mitigate the luck of the dice. There are a few options currently, but I would like to see more—not to make the game easier, as the balance is perfect as is, but to provide more control. Additionally, increasing the difficulty of the enemies a bit and adding more variety, with cards that make them behave less predictably on occasion, could be beneficial.
Speaking to the designers, I understand that some of the upcoming changes are quite significant. Such as once you draw an Ambush card from the rest deck you can discard them and reshuffle for that rest cycle. Increasing your chances of a more restful sleep next time! Also, initiative will only be drawn once until a certain condition changes. When players enter a scenario with a star or battle begins, initiative in drawn. Also, once every hero has made a Presence check if they wish and are wiling to pay two fatigue to change their order, the order remains for the entire battle! No more drawing initiative each round so much faster and less fiddly! This will speed things up a lot. I did not mind doing this, but it did slow the process down a tad.
Also, in terms of the components, the small red and white cubes at the bottom of the hero dashboards and on the enemy/ally trackers will be actual pegs so no more fiddling with the tiny cubes! This was fine to do, but they did get knocked a fair bit, so good to hear this is being fixed.
Having finished my eight missions, I am eager for more and intrigued to see how this game develops, both with this edition's Kickstarter and future releases. A quick search of Vrahode on BGG suggests there is a lot more to come, and I am all in for it! The plan is for the full game to continue and develop the story I experienced here in these eight missions, introducing new enemies, races, weapons, items, stories, and even rules. Speaking to the designer, they told me that "our goal is to bring an even fuller version of the world using the same game system, one that will allow you to campaign and follow the story or go questing all over the world in an open-world sandbox style."
Vrahode comes to Kickstarter very soon, and the plan is to print everything this year. Everything is already completed for the game, and then deliver in summer 2025. Just some very minor amends and editing remain, but if this game excites you like it does me, you could very well be immersed in the world of Vrahode much sooner than you think. For more info - head here.
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