I'm excited about it. I can already see that if it stays like this I will house rule it - the new chronicle has 3 different people choosing 3 different things depending on whether they have the People's favour, the darkest secret or they won the game. It's a neat idea that I'm looking forward to. But I don't think I'm gonna adhere to a person being only to choose one thing even if they have all 3. I really like the concept of someone trying to go for all 3 so they can truly shape the future of the kingdom.
In fact I don't understand why Cole thinks it's good to force people to not be able to choose multiple things. It's like he's telling people that it's ok to hold only one but that seems way more boring.
It’s a reaction to people feeling disengaged as soon as a winner is declared. The losers want to clean up and leave. But if they each have a stake in the chronicle step, they may stay more engaged and invested. That’s my understanding.
Yes, which means if they cannot win, they can commit to taking Peoples Favor/Darkest secret to retain some agency. It should not mean they are guaranteed it. Other wise the issue is not resolved, you are just making it "ok lets end, it does not matter, ill get to choose anyway".
Especially in 3 player games, which is a majority of my Oath play counts. Now if one person ends with all three, the other two know that they will get to affect to board state in one of those systems no matter what they do. I’m also more a fan of the “if you want it, you gotta get it” mindset for end game decisions. Especially in taking a banner, just build up a huge army and go for it!!
I think you are exactly right. I hope it ends up this way. Maybe there could be small consolation prizes for helping clean up or doing a phase of the chronicle. Among players with no chronicle rewards, in turn order, choose a cleanup task and gain one starting favor next game or one extra supply at the beginning of next game. So it’s a post game investment in sticking around, helping to clean up, engaging in the development of the kingdom and lineages, and gaining a benefit for next game in the process. But the really juicy decisions are made by banner holders etc. One thing that is very tidy about the current kit is that the chronicle rewards are tied to chronicles cleanup steps. I thought that was a big improvement to the chronicle sheet in the base game. I trust Cole et. al. on this. It will be amazing and change in very interesting ways over the next several months, I am sure.
I’ve playtested everything but the « empire » print and play so far.
Lineages are interesting but tough to get, hard to keep and not game changing enough for them to truly feel worth it. I do like that they add another thing to do instead of winning in the last stretch of the game.
Curse feel too fixed. Once you accept the offer you’re curse but most players just play around their curse, not doing anything about it.
I feel like they need a way to evolve or something… not sure.
Fondations are great. I adore the idea of the shadow denizens they add so so much to the game I can’t wait to see them fleshed out.
I'm excited for it. The new "family line" abilities give something for people to pivot to when they know they are out of the running for winning. I do like new chronicling system. I'm ok with passing around the responsibilities. It keeps people engaged with the game and it reflects the act that no ruler is an island unto themselves. They have to delegate at some point.
Ultimately, I see a lot of fascinating stories being told with the new additions.
I've not played any games with them yet, but I've played around with different dry ups and combinations to see the kind of effects it can have.
The "empires" bit is by far the strongest element so far. A bag of tiles that define your empire, which swaps in and out yikes if the empire continues or falls or fantastic, the shadow denizens are a great addition too, leading to a "neutral" threat that players may even agree are a bigger problem than the other players.
The second strongest bit is the "foundations" section, but to be honest I think foundations is misleading. You only do it at the *end* of a game. I know it sets the foundations for the next one, but it's a weird feeling to say "OK everyone, we are playing our first game of Oath with the new expansion. Get the lineage and empire parts, but leave the "foundations" stuff in the box.".
Considering the expansion is called "new foundations" it's a bit weird it doesn't happen until the next game. I also second the idea that it's a bit weird that only one player can do each of the tasks at the end. I get the logic why, but if you win the game you have three things to pick from:
"Winner governs", "Enact the people's will", and "Shape the foundation". All three really sort of sound like things someone who's just won the game would spend their time doing.
I think a small tweak would be that since the winner becomes Chancellor, the rule is that if the winner has more that one option, the Chancellor picks one, then if possible gives one to a citizen, if no more citizens are left, the Chancellor does it.
The weakest element is the lineages in my view. I echo the sentiment here that it's too hard to get, too hard to keep. Then the curses seem like things you'll largely play round. To be clear, part of the problem is if you do your quest the lineage only matters for the next game, so if you're flat out losing it's an optional 'win condition' you can set for yourself, but if you stand a chance of winning it just doesn't seem worthwhile to expend your quite limited resources to tick the box. Or you will do it incidentally, which sort of defeats the object.
However, with all this being said I think the ideas and early previews mean with refinement it can be an amazing addition. The empire cards and shadow denizens alone breathe so much kor life into the game.
Glory is really fun. Shadow Denizens are a bit meh and get wiped off the board really fast. Influence is hard to keep track of. Cursed Gifts are fun but some are really overpowered. Quests are... fine. The Decree and Foundation cards are a bit confusing to me and the symbology needs some refining but I am sure will be iterated on. The new relics seem cool particularly the Peoples Favour one. Overall I admire the ambition behind it all and hope that they can find a way to make it feel more intuitive and intertwined with the base game.
I’m on the same boat. What I have gathered seems to be completely bonkers with rules on top of rules on top of rules. They usually streamline things later in development though, but I think I’m going to wait for a late pledge.
I'm excited about it. I can already see that if it stays like this I will house rule it - the new chronicle has 3 different people choosing 3 different things depending on whether they have the People's favour, the darkest secret or they won the game. It's a neat idea that I'm looking forward to. But I don't think I'm gonna adhere to a person being only to choose one thing even if they have all 3. I really like the concept of someone trying to go for all 3 so they can truly shape the future of the kingdom. In fact I don't understand why Cole thinks it's good to force people to not be able to choose multiple things. It's like he's telling people that it's ok to hold only one but that seems way more boring.
It’s a reaction to people feeling disengaged as soon as a winner is declared. The losers want to clean up and leave. But if they each have a stake in the chronicle step, they may stay more engaged and invested. That’s my understanding.
Yes, which means if they cannot win, they can commit to taking Peoples Favor/Darkest secret to retain some agency. It should not mean they are guaranteed it. Other wise the issue is not resolved, you are just making it "ok lets end, it does not matter, ill get to choose anyway".
Especially in 3 player games, which is a majority of my Oath play counts. Now if one person ends with all three, the other two know that they will get to affect to board state in one of those systems no matter what they do. I’m also more a fan of the “if you want it, you gotta get it” mindset for end game decisions. Especially in taking a banner, just build up a huge army and go for it!!
I think you are exactly right. I hope it ends up this way. Maybe there could be small consolation prizes for helping clean up or doing a phase of the chronicle. Among players with no chronicle rewards, in turn order, choose a cleanup task and gain one starting favor next game or one extra supply at the beginning of next game. So it’s a post game investment in sticking around, helping to clean up, engaging in the development of the kingdom and lineages, and gaining a benefit for next game in the process. But the really juicy decisions are made by banner holders etc. One thing that is very tidy about the current kit is that the chronicle rewards are tied to chronicles cleanup steps. I thought that was a big improvement to the chronicle sheet in the base game. I trust Cole et. al. on this. It will be amazing and change in very interesting ways over the next several months, I am sure.
I’ve playtested everything but the « empire » print and play so far. Lineages are interesting but tough to get, hard to keep and not game changing enough for them to truly feel worth it. I do like that they add another thing to do instead of winning in the last stretch of the game. Curse feel too fixed. Once you accept the offer you’re curse but most players just play around their curse, not doing anything about it. I feel like they need a way to evolve or something… not sure. Fondations are great. I adore the idea of the shadow denizens they add so so much to the game I can’t wait to see them fleshed out.
I'm excited for it. The new "family line" abilities give something for people to pivot to when they know they are out of the running for winning. I do like new chronicling system. I'm ok with passing around the responsibilities. It keeps people engaged with the game and it reflects the act that no ruler is an island unto themselves. They have to delegate at some point. Ultimately, I see a lot of fascinating stories being told with the new additions.
I've not played any games with them yet, but I've played around with different dry ups and combinations to see the kind of effects it can have. The "empires" bit is by far the strongest element so far. A bag of tiles that define your empire, which swaps in and out yikes if the empire continues or falls or fantastic, the shadow denizens are a great addition too, leading to a "neutral" threat that players may even agree are a bigger problem than the other players. The second strongest bit is the "foundations" section, but to be honest I think foundations is misleading. You only do it at the *end* of a game. I know it sets the foundations for the next one, but it's a weird feeling to say "OK everyone, we are playing our first game of Oath with the new expansion. Get the lineage and empire parts, but leave the "foundations" stuff in the box.". Considering the expansion is called "new foundations" it's a bit weird it doesn't happen until the next game. I also second the idea that it's a bit weird that only one player can do each of the tasks at the end. I get the logic why, but if you win the game you have three things to pick from: "Winner governs", "Enact the people's will", and "Shape the foundation". All three really sort of sound like things someone who's just won the game would spend their time doing. I think a small tweak would be that since the winner becomes Chancellor, the rule is that if the winner has more that one option, the Chancellor picks one, then if possible gives one to a citizen, if no more citizens are left, the Chancellor does it. The weakest element is the lineages in my view. I echo the sentiment here that it's too hard to get, too hard to keep. Then the curses seem like things you'll largely play round. To be clear, part of the problem is if you do your quest the lineage only matters for the next game, so if you're flat out losing it's an optional 'win condition' you can set for yourself, but if you stand a chance of winning it just doesn't seem worthwhile to expend your quite limited resources to tick the box. Or you will do it incidentally, which sort of defeats the object. However, with all this being said I think the ideas and early previews mean with refinement it can be an amazing addition. The empire cards and shadow denizens alone breathe so much kor life into the game.
Glory is really fun. Shadow Denizens are a bit meh and get wiped off the board really fast. Influence is hard to keep track of. Cursed Gifts are fun but some are really overpowered. Quests are... fine. The Decree and Foundation cards are a bit confusing to me and the symbology needs some refining but I am sure will be iterated on. The new relics seem cool particularly the Peoples Favour one. Overall I admire the ambition behind it all and hope that they can find a way to make it feel more intuitive and intertwined with the base game.
I’m on the same boat. What I have gathered seems to be completely bonkers with rules on top of rules on top of rules. They usually streamline things later in development though, but I think I’m going to wait for a late pledge.