Solo RPGs: D&D Board Game: Wrath of Ashardalon
One of a series of high-production value official D&D board games. Players select quests, enter a dungeon by placing tiles and follow rules for placing monsters as tiles are added based on a card deck. Traps and treasures are also available. Based on the 4th edition D&D rules.
- Format: Board game rules booklet, adventures booklet, 4″x4″ (mostly) map tiles, 40 miniatures, and many cards and chits.
- #Characters: 1-5, 1 per player. Pick from a pre-made group of characters, customization limited to selecting powers.
- Dice 1d20.
- Key Features: High production values; merger of an RPG & and board game.
- Sample Character: Vistra Dwarf Fighter AC 17, HP 8, Speed 5, Surge 4HP; Trait: Cast Iron Stomach; Abilities (specifics chosen by player): 1 Fighter Utility Power, 2 Fighter At-Will Powers, & 1 fighter Daily Power.
- Oracle: N/a.
- Quest Generation: None. Select adventures from a booklet.
- Dungeon Mapping: Semi-randomly place 4″x4″ tiles. (Miniatures scale, 1″ is roughly 5′.)
- Monsters/Traps/Room Contents: Determined via the monsters deck, encounters deck, or other game events.
- Magic System: Magic using classes have power cards to represent spells. (For balance, non-magic classes have power cards representing special attacks or other abilities.)
- Character Growth: Characters can become 2nd level. XP can also cancel encounter cards.
Suitable for solo or co-op play (up to 5 players) the D&D board game series features a random dungeon via tiles, a simplified version of the 4th edition D&D rules, but no use of an Oracle or story elements. Players choose a quest which sets up some conditions and a goal, then move their character on the randomly placed dungeon tiles. When a character reaches an unexplored tile edge, a new tile is placed with a new monster and sometimes additional encounters. Characters continue exploring the random dungeon until they achieve a goal (find a tunnel exit, defeat a boss, etc.)
