The first article in this series covered the reborn classic, Talisman 4e. Now we turn our attention to what many consider the spiritual successor to Talisman.

Runebound: The first time I played this game, I went into it looking for an updated experience like the one Talisman used to give me…and I found it! Runebound was to my 30-year-old self what Talisman was to me at 10. Of course, we were playing with the First Edition game, and with six players, so the game was a bit slow and had some clunky spots. It would be a year or more before I tried Second Edition to see if they’d fixed some of the issues I had with the game. And they had.

Runebound Second Edition is an excellent adventure board game. Designed by Martin Wallace (Warfrog) and Darrell Hardy, and published by Fantasy Flight Games this big box game captures the grand adventure central to fantasy epics and wraps it up in a series of game mechanics that maintain a perfect balance of system and story.

System and story? What is this, a roleplaying game? Well, no, but at times it certainly feels like one. At its core, Runebound is the story of several great heroes who emerge from anonymity during a time of savage war. Dwarven fighters, sneaky orc thieves, and enigmatic wizards all have their own motivations for seeking adventure, just like different kinds of players enjoy different aspects of playing roleplaying games. Runebound has many of them covered.

Like to buff out your character and collect shiny trinkets? You can do that. Enjoy watching the plot of a story unfold, even if you’re not playing a big part in it? You’ll enjoy the game even when it’s not your turn. Fancy yourself a slayer of dragons or protector of the innocent? This game’s got several bad guys you’ll chomp at the bit to take down.

Perhaps the story of the game bears explaining at this point, so you can see what I mean. In the base game, the necromancer Vorakesh has sent his undead agents to scour the lands in search of the ancient Dragon Runes, which he will use to resurrect Lord Margath, ruler of dragons. The heroes must travel between cities in order to find rumors, collect allies, and gain power so they can put an end to Vorakesh’s plans. Of course, the wilderness between the cities is teeming with bandits, monsters, and undead minions, and the very lands themselves seem to be changing as evil grows in power.

The brilliance of the game’s story mechanic makes you feel as though you’re adventuring through the pages of a novel, and you get that page-turning feeling where you can’t wait to flip over the next card and see what it says, even though you know it could be your death. The game uses four Adventure Decks of different colors in order to funnel the action without making it predictable. The heroes choose which color deck to adventure in by seeking out various regions of the map to explore.

The green deck is first, and it’s filled with random monsters, bandits, and low-level minions searching for the Dragon Runes. It starts out reasonably difficult, but characters quickly gain a level of competence that feels like real progress. The game paces its experience benefits very well, and uses the adventure deck design to cycle between accomplishment and struggle in a way that few games do. The yellow deck follows, in which the heroes will eventually meet Vorakesh himself. I won’t spoil what happens, just like I wouldn’t spoil a TV cliffhanger, but there are two more decks (blue and red) of increasingly difficult foes.

In addition to the story, the innovative movement rules are greater than the sum of their parts, and help make the game feel epic. The gameboard represents and entire region, with eight cities, forests, mountains, swamps, roads, rivers, hills, and plains. Each hex represents hundreds of square miles, and you can almost feel yourself getting lost in a huge forest or trapped in a mountain pass. The dice don’t tell you how many spaced you can move, they tell you which terrains you can move over each turn. It’s quite possible to get into mountains and not be able to get out! At least it was your choice to go into the mountains in the first place, unlike the randomness of Talisman.

Effusive as my praise is, there is a caveat to those thinking of buying the game and recreating the old days: the game plays very slowly with more than three players, and I find two is actually optimal. Watching four extra rounds of movement and combat, especially with players who don’t use the movement shortcut, can become excruciating, if only because you’re so excited at your personal story you can’t wait to flip the next card!

If you’re looking for two-player games, I’d definitely recommend picking up Runebound. The setup time is moderate, but it can be cut by putting different types of chits in snack bags, and a two-player game can be played in a couple of hours (obviously times will vary if you’re new to the game). Another benefit is that the game has a lot of cheap ($6-$8) expansion decks that can add new adventures, new equipment and magic items, or new character cards and allies. There are also big box expansions that provide new rules and new gameboards.

You want a spoiler? The ending of Runebound…makes you want to play it again.

Links of Interest
Official Site
Runebound on Boardgamegeek
Blank Card Templates and other Fan Materials

Reviews: Tom Vasel – RPG.net
Purchase: Buy Runebound: 2nd Edition - Buy Runebound expansions