FenPaints

The Smog Singers: An Initial Impressions Review

Spoilers for: Smog Singer Showdown at all levels Smog Singer Hunt Events Luck the Wanderer (lore based, not much on mechanics - That section is spoiler marked at start and finish.)Node 2 monsters are a weird breed; they almost always sit alongside Node 1 monsters at a pure statistics level and they scale up in similar ways; however, both the Screaming Antelope and Spidicules failed to completely stick the lantern landing. The former has had multi...

The Chorusseum: An Overview and First Impressions Review

As previously I will be peppering my campaign write up with mini-reviews and early thoughts on the various aspects of the Gambler's Chest, we're not into the point where I can write in detail about these things with the depth I would like, but I do think first impression style reviews are valuable because they are the closest someone as enfranchised as myself gets to a 'new player experience'.In addition I am going to start giving...

People of the Dream Keeper – Part 3: “Shopping for Samtsirch presents”

This covers Lantern Years 4 to 8.Spoilers for: Crimson Crocodile Level 2 Crimson Crockery Crimson Crocodile Indomitable Resources Smog Singers Level 2 Collective Cognition Outskirts Seed Patterns Forum Philosophies/KnowledgeWith the poor old level 1 butcher quickly shuffled off this mortal coil thanks to the power of the Singing Armor, it was time to start preparing for the next nemesis monster on the timeline Atnas. Unlike the Butcher, we were ...

The Crimson Crocodile – Initial Impressions Review

Potential Spoilers for: The Crimson Crocodile Showdown elements Levels 1 to 3 Crimson Crocodile Hunt EventsThis week we're going to take a surface level review of the first monster in Gambler's Chest Expansion (GCE); I can't fully explore monsters without many, many sessions and a full spreadsheet dissection of them, but I do think writing about the “player experience” is a very valid and useful thing to be doing right bow. This i...

The Crimson Crockery: An Overview & Review

While the campaign write up is still continuing, now that I've had enough time to play with the Crimson Crocodile showdown and gear I feel confident enough to review the various elements of this monster's showdown and gear. We're going to start with the gear, because I have a preference to understand what the rewards are before looking at the monster. Understanding “What's the carrot?” helps contextualise if the “stick” th...

People of the Dream Keeper: Lantern Years 1 to 4 – “Crocodile Years”

Spoilers for: Crimson Crocodile: L1 Smog Singers: L1 Crimson Crockery Outskirts Chorusseum Forum Collective Cognition Milestone: 2, 5 & 6 Philosophies Seed Patterns ButcherNote: This is going to be rougher and filled with half thoughts, impressions because there's a lot, a lot and I'm working from frantic notes. I'm aiming for more impressions and feelings rather than precision with writing this series.Where we left the settlement of...

People of the Dream Keeper: Prologue into Settlement Lantern Year 1

Spoilers for: Crimson Crocodile – Prologue Starting Knowledges Crimson Crockery & Gear Collective Cognition Unlock 1Prologue – Crimson CrocodileI sit down with an assembled Croc and the starting survivor miniatures from the core game; this prologue feels similar, but different. With the opening narrative being presented from the perspective of the prologue monster rather than any of the survivors. It is well written, but I do find this change...

Content Plan for the Gambler's Chest

A short one this week, I hope you all understand, I'm trying to get ahead on the YT video recordings over the next week or so by recording four in advance (Stone Circle is next Wednesday, then it's Leather Worker, Weapon Crafter, Barber Surgeon & Blacksmith). That will then let me concentrate on the GCE fully for a month.First impressions are very good, I have a low number of issues and they would all land in the category of nitpicks, tha...

Gambler's Chest Arrived!

The Gambler's Chest Expansion arrived yesterday afternoon, and it provided existential dread and horror before I even opened the box. Those of you who check the patron's discord will be already aware of this, but for everyone else, here's the photograph of the package.It seems that my beast was from the group of packages that was assaulted during shipping and from external viewing the damaged was concerning.All of this flap was loose,...

Kingdom Death: Monster – Review of Lune, Longclaw Lioness Lenore and Sen

With thanks to patron members timberwolfl and Mike B. for supplying details of the game content and miniatures so I could proxy test out this content in advance of its store release.LuneResin version of Lune from the Shop.At time of writing I have not received my GCE, so I will be reviewing this based on the install guide rules. Though I am already familiar with the concept of character cards and how they work due to its relatively simple rule de...

Echoes of Death 4 Review

Photograph used with kind permission from community member Mike B. Information about the Game Content for proxying supplied by timberwolfl. Thank you to members of the community like this who help me get early access to things like this so I can review them in a timely fashion.This is a rare situation where thanks to Gencon I have been able to see, and play with, the new Echoes game content in advance of its official store release. Normally I can...

No Post This Week. But there is content.

Ironically, on the week I take off I am involved in more KDM content than during weeks I am around.First Video on YT Channel here: https://youtu.be/huvpKbjbGxwThe Last Standee does a 2 part KDM retrospective. We could have probably done 10 parts if I'm honest.Part 1 here: https://soundcloud.com/the-last-standee-podcast/e70Part 2 here: https://soundcloud.com/the-last-standee-podcast/e71Back to normal schedule next Friday. Exactly what depends ...

Kingdom Death Review: Mystery Birthday Gift 2023 & Gunborg

Mystery Birthday Gift 2023 ReviewNot posting spoilers was requested by APG and I try to respect requests like that. So here is a very short spoiler free review:Do not spend your money on this box set unless you are a pure collector, and especially do not get it if you think you can open it and resell it in the future. It's not well designed, the balance is all over the place, it oddly has multiple “trolling the customer” elements and it i...

My YouTube Channel

Hey all, for those of you who want to be there for when the channel properly launches in the next month or so, here's the link!https://www.youtube.com/@FenBossBattlersThe first video will be The Skinnery & You which you have already seen previewed here, when I get up and running properly it will have a new video once a week on Wednesdays at 7pm Central Eastern Time. I'm aiming for them to all follow a similar format to the one you've ...

The Skinnery & You

A little taster of the KDM Simulator content I'm going to be putting out on my YouTube channel in the coming months. Some video content strategy guides are going to be released going ahead, but written content is not going to stop. Especially once the Gambler's Chest expansion arrives.These videos will get an early release here on patreon before getting a Youtube release in later weeks.Please excuse the odd moment of dead air, it's an...

Kingdom Death: Monster – A Post Mortem Review (Core Game): Part 2

For part one of this series see here. This second part will dive into the Settlement Phase, Monsters and Campaign contained in the Core Box for Kingdom Death: Monster. We'll end with a summary of my final thoughts and a brief look at what I personally want from the Gambler's Chest Expansion.The Settlement PhaseIn sharp contrast to the arbitrary feeling experience of the hunt phase, the settlement phase is a deep and engaging set of mechan...

Kingdom Death: Monster – A Post Mortem Review (Core Game): Part 1

With the Gambler's Chest due to arrive some time within the next one or three months I believe at this point we're at the best time to complete a deep look into all the currently released aspects of the game (apart from the smaller promotional content); this is especially pertinent with the Kingdom Death Monster Simulator (KDMS) and physical versions being on 1.6 instead of older versions. The core game represents the first Kingdom Death:...

KDM Beta Content Review – Mist (Raikin Armor)

Mist disappears into the the thin, toxic air that descends as gazes of Raikins generate violent storms near her settlement. Streaking past the massive balls of frizzed fur, she conditions her lungs to fight in the ozone rich atmosphere. Repeated exposure to the highly charged environment has left Mist's hair crackling with energy and embarrassingly unruly. No one knows what strange coiffure has driven her to hide her head.Lore & Flavour Revie...

Aeon Trespass: Odyssey – Cycle I: The Labyrinthauros (Part 2, the Battle)

Click here for Part 1; which is a story spoiler light look at the real world, mythological and in game lore surrounding this Primordial.Now we have something of an idea behind the reason that the Labyrinthauros is in the world, why it is opposing us and what links it has to the story behind the first cycle it is time to take a look at the bronze bull's battle mechanics.The Primordial DashboardFirst of all, I'm sure many of you have notice...

My Favourite Mechanics in Boss Battlers

I am on record writing/saying that while I adore Kingdom Death: Monster's trailblazing position for the Boss Battling board game genre; it is the games which come afterwards and seek to improve/refine the systems that come after it that I am most excited for. KDM's own design is half rooted in the 1980s and early 1990s school of design; something which is both a benefit and a detriment to its systems. However, even if the game was absolut...

Studium: No Exit – Demo Preview Review

Disclaimer: I am not sponsored in any way by Watchtower Gaming, nor did they approach me for this review. I am writing this because of the positive experiences I have had while playing the game and also because this is exactly the kind of project I think should be supported by crowdfunding as it is a small independent studio putting out their first game.What I am writing here is based exclusively on the TTS demo, which you can try out for yoursel...

Studium: No Exit Kickstarter

Kickstarter Link here.Recently this boss battler launched; I've spent last week corresponding with the designer and ahead of my writing a piece on my thoughts about it based on that conversation, the kickstarter and playing the demo felt that at a minimum I should be highlighting it. The Kickstarter finishes on the 29th of June.If you want to form your own opinions ahead of my writing (either this Friday or next Friday) You can check out a sa...

Constructing a Kingdom Death: Monster Campaign

Revisiting Constructing a Kingdom Death: Monster Campaign: Part 4 The Campaign Configurations I Use

So this is the final part; I am going to write about each of the campaign configurations I have found the most enjoyable; with explanations of why each element is included. In respect to the white box/beta/promotional content; I will not list all of it, but any notable inclusions will be listed.The format will be:Title:[Fun nickname]Campaign:[People of (Lantern/Sun/Stars) or Any]Nemesis Inclusions: [Name, Name, etc]Quarry Expansion Inclusions as ...

Marvel Champions: Hero Pack 1 Review

This is the contents of the box, they didn't even bind all the hero rules into a small book, very little effort put in here - however given the price I am not really complaining.I've been looking for a way to review the various hero packs in a concise manner and when I learnt about the release of the collected “Hero Packs” that were due for release I knew that this was the best way to go about doing it. Heroes in Marvel Champions are ...

Aeon Trespass: Odyssey – Cycle I: The Labyrinthauros (Part 1, the Lore)

What lies beneath the surface?We continue our series of deep dives into Aeon Trespass: Odyssey's (ATO's) content with a holistic overview of the second main timeline Primordial, the Labyrinthauros. A Primordial who's name I have had to add to my word processor's dictionary so that it will stop screaming at me with wiggly red lines every single time I write out its name in full. I wonder if writing the name of the Labyrinthauros wi...

Kingdom Death: Lolowen Box Content Review

Lagomorphs steal the poorly guarded eggs appearing in nests around their settlement. They return to the settlement and feast on the glowing green yolks before the ornate shells become too tough to break. The raw eggs are easily gained but rarely sit well in the survivors' digestive tract. To prepare for the blood rites, survivors will spend a lantern year incubating the eggs with their body's warmth, until the iron-hard shells crack, disg...

Kingdom Death: Gnostin Stonesmasher Beta Box Content Review

Gnostin heaved his hammer, eyes glazed over with bloodthirsty abandon, swinging maniacally. He squeezed an ear-shattering scream from his burning lungs to complete the effect. The monster recoiled, defensively scrabbling backwards to safety. The others moved into position, steering clear of their fellow's wild onslaught. Then in a single heartbeat, a smile of shrewd satisfaction passed over his face as he smashed the massive face underfoot se...

Into the Unknown Studios launches their reprint for Aeon Trespass: Odyssey - with new content

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingdomsforlorn/aeon-trespass-odyssey-second-printingI don't think I need to gush too much about how great this game is and I hope most of you were already aware that this came out. I've had an absolute blast with the first three cycles, so much that I'm playing through them all a second time (things are on pause right now as Frosthaven has taken over the big gaming table, but I will be returning t...

Can Converting a Competitive Game into a Boss Battler Work? Ashes Reborn: Red Rains – The Corpse of Viros (A Review)

In recent times I was sorting through my Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborne collection, a game which I have not had much chance to play in recent times; but I have greatly enjoyed in the past. While looking at it I was struck by the concept of how this game could be adapted into a cooperative boss battling experience in a similar fashion to the old World of Warcraft Card Game gained Raid modes; or in a more modern sense the way that Marvel Champions...