Descent- Solo play with the Road to Legend app

Stepping foot on the Road to Legend.

Since finishing painting the monsters and heroes of Descent: Journeys in the Dark I've been exploring solo games using the free 'Road to Legend' app. This app (for iOS, android, PC) turns the base game into a fully cooperative experience for up to four players. Whereas usually you would play against the Overlord (another player), now the app takes control of the monsters so no-one in your group needs to be the 'bad guy'.

The best part? 

The map is hidden. New rooms are only revealed when a member of your party opens a door. Unlike the base game (or some games like Gloomhaven) you never know what is behind the next door. Will it be an abandoned throne room, a long, silent corridor, or a small room with a party of Goblins? 

Although some boardgamers have concerns about using an app I really like the convenience they bring. In this case the software instructs you on where to initially place the enemies and instructs you on how they will play their turn. However, although it manages some admin the players usually would (such as gold) it actually doesn't intrude as much as you might think! You move the miniatures around and roll all the dice, track wounds and conditions (stunned, immobilized etc.) and manipulate your cards outside the app. To me, this is the best of both worlds. The app is giving me a world to play in and enemies to battle against, but it feel hands-on as I fight and puzzle my way through a campaign. More dice chucking and less pencil pushing!

For a taste of that, here are some photos. 

Hounded by a pack of Barghests, our heroes - 'The Friends of the Flame' - have advanced deeper
into the Crypt - only to disturb an elemental...

Leoric of the Book (R) desperately looses two arcane bolts

Jayne (foreground) tries to stay away from the Shadow Dragon.
Will her arrows fly true?

Back in town, the app provides has a marketplace to buy and 
sell equipment with treasure accrued from your explorations.

As well as providing the A.I. (instructions) for the monsters, 
it also uses their special abilities and thrown other challenges at you.
Here my party has been diseased. Not helpful when under attack!

After moving out of their starting zone, another group (Blackjack's Bastards) now face
renewed attack from the rear - and an elemental ahead.

Led by Grisban the Thirsty (in red), the gang rushes on, desperately
trying to fight their way past the enemies blocking the narrow tunnels.

Leoric of the Book and Avric provide backup for Grisban (R),
but the enemies keep coming and the arrows are flying thick and fast.

Now imagine this with some suitably epic music playing through my tablet. I have recently really enjoyed '2-Hours Epic Music | THE POWER OF EPIC MUSIC - Best Of Collection - Vol.5 - 2019, Pandora Journey'

To sum up, I'm really enjoying the Road to Legend app. I'm just really gutted that the campaigns are very limited in number, and that the best ones require physical expansions that are so expensive and rare now! (I'm looking at you Shadow of Nerekhall...)

Happy dungeon delving everyone.

:-)