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× Talk about the latest and greatest AT, and the Classics.

Keep, Sell, or Trade? Looking for some input on a few older titles.

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30 Aug 2008 04:27 #10813 by Dogmatix
Hey folks

I've noted before 'round these parts that I'm an inveterate thrift store whore and general game scrounger. Over the last few months, I've landed some AT classics and treasures that I haven't had time or, in some cases, the appropriate # of bodies, to get to the table and I'm now pondering space, $, and other games. A number of titles I've picked up have some decent resale and/or trade value but can't quite decide what to do with 'em. So, let me hear your thoughts please.

First up: GW's Blood Royale. I've always had an interest in this title--the description of the game always struck me as just friggin' cool. I'd tried to trade for it in the past, but most folks wanted 3 OOP games and my left testicle. Since I'm rather fond of my testicles, that didn't seem like a good trade. At the recent WBC auction, I landed a copy in absolutely beautiful condition for $50 [turns out, $50 could land you just about anything in that room since Troll & Toad didn't show up].

It's punched, but, judging by the components, it doesn't look like it's ever been played. I have a group here of 3 or 4 who would probably be willing to commit the time to play it but I don't think I could land more than that who wouldn't turn into Fun Murderers at about the 3-hour mark. Is this one worth hanging onto to play with 4? Is there a PBEM community for it? Or, should I give up hope and send it off onto ebay and go for the $? [last 2 times I tried to buy a copy before WBC it went blasting past $100 with some ease, though the resale market might be soft right now]

Next, GW's Fury of Dracula (with nice metal minis). This was a WBC auction pickup that I hadn't actually even thought about buying until everyone in the room bailed at $30. My "deal hunter" alarm went off and my auction card went up as if it had a mind of its own. I had great fun playing the FFG edition [although we got insanely lucky and actually uncovered Dracula on the very first turn, which almost turned it into a racing game at that point as our far-flung hunters were scrambling to cover half of the globe to get to where Drac had to be headed]. Is the GW gaming experience substantially different enough from the FFG that it should be tagged a keeper though I own the FFG version? Is it worth playing with 2?

The last WBC find, and yet another somewhat-unintentional purchase is less an AT classic than a wargame I suspect: the 25th Anniversary RightStuf reprint of Divine Right still in shrink. I had a really beat copy of the original TSR version [a $3 GenCon auction purchase in 1987 or so], which I traded for an equally beat copy of GW's Warrior Knights [anyone have a horribly incomplete copy of that one with a decent box they'd like to sell? My components are nice but the box is fucked] because, at the time, I had no other humans around to play the game with. Now I've got a group but have no earthly recollection of the game or any sense if this one is worth de-shrinking and playing or just heading off for sale or trade. Anyone actually played this game in the last 20 years--original or reprint that could offer some insight?

And then there's this copy of Risk Black Ops...Keep or convert via sale into an entire ASL collection [most of which is long OOP] that's available locally?

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30 Aug 2008 08:37 #10816 by southernman
Have played both Blood Royale and Fury of Dracula (still own them too :) ).

I think we only had 4 when we played BR (can't be sure) and it was a good game - long though, count on 5hrs+ as you have to create (roll-up) all your characters during the game. Excellent mechanic as you need to make alliances through marriage but they can't be broken until the end of the marriage, I ended up winning by having an alliance with each player at game's end so they couldn't attack me when I got my nose in front.

I don't think FoD would be much fun with 2, the GW version is a bit more of a chase and you defintely need all three hunters to make it hard for Drac.

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30 Aug 2008 11:57 - 30 Aug 2008 12:06 #10820 by Shellhead
Divine Right:

My original gaming group played the heck out of my 1980 edition Divine Right set back in the day. And after moving to Minnesota, I got to playtest the 25th anniversary edition with Glenn Rahman, himself, the world's slowest Analysis Paralysis victim. I advise you to keep and play that new Divine Right set. The kingdom colors are different, but the overall map still looks great. The new counters are bigger and easier to handle, but not die-punched as nicely as the original. And there are now three rule books, Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.

Having play-tested all of those advanced rules, I recommend that you play the Intermediate rules along with just a few Advanced rules in any given game, to avoid overwhelming the game with an excessive amount of chrome. Most of the optional rules from two very old issues of the Dragon are now in the game as Advanced optional rules.

Overall, the new edition is a better game, with some tweaks to the maps and the troops to fix some old problems. For example, that Dwarven castle near Elfland has been beefed up slightly. The Troll capital at Stoneface is now a 0-point castle... impossible to defend but worth zero victory points, as opposed to the old 1-point Stoneface that was cheap victory points for a player in the west. The Black Hand and the Eaters of Wisdom both picked up a couple of new spells. And the map has been adjusted so that both Pon and Shucassam have ports on that inland sea.

Before playing, I recommend that you read through the Basic and Intermediate rules, to catch any and all important changes and clarifications to the rules. Then skim the Advanced rules to see if anything catches your eye. I can't remember where they are, but there are also some interesting new scenarios. My favorite is the attacking horde of mongolian-style horsemen.

EDIT: All of the above comments assumed that you remembered the game. Re-reading your post, it sounds like that might not be the case.

Divine Right is a multi-player wargame for up to six players, and is set in a fantasy realm with plenty of history (found only in old issues of Dragon magazine). Most of the 13 kingdoms are human, but there are also kingdoms of dwarves, elves, goblins and trolls, as well as a tiny kingdom of mages and a sinister realm ruled by a necromancer. Each player controls a king and a kingdom, and can recruit other kingdoms as allies, as well as employ mercenaries, barbarians and even more exotic forces. You gain victory points by killing or capturing other kings, and by sacking castles. The game is long, but the shifting alliances keep things interesting. In good ways, this game reminds me of the treacheries of the last couple books of the Game of Thrones series.
Last edit: 30 Aug 2008 12:06 by Shellhead.

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31 Aug 2008 00:22 #10825 by jeb
I saw a GW FURY OF DRACULA BIN'd out from under my sniping eye for $50 not two months ago. If you have the FFG, I'd say move along. Still some diehards after the metal minis. Self-included, I guess. :huh:

BLOOD ROYALE has 80 Want-in-Trades on BGG, but only two WTB's. You'd probably be able to move it as trade bait, but I'd wait for another Con before trying to sell it--the eBay market is not tuned enough for GW classics, in my opinion.

I don't know anything about the others. Good luck!

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