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====== Ravenloft ======

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There are several scenarios for Ravenloft and, while there are differences between them, the common theme is that to win, you must have acquired x number of magic items at the start of your turn. This opens a magic portal and generates 20 units on it which allows you to attack opponent's life flasks (at d6 vs d4). Similarly, to lose a game, someone must be able to attack your life flask. The life flask is your capital.

As with other games, there are other locations which add unit bonuses or which give intel (via view borders). While these are not required to be taken, they are helpful in facilitating your chances of victory. Additionally, the magic items themselves can generate bonuses, depending on the persona or personas that a player has. The magic item by itself does not generate a bonus. It's only when married with a persona(s) that it will generate a bonus. The magic item matrix in the board center will denote the bonus values of the magic items for each persona and a key to the location of the items.

Definition of persona for this game = a hero or vampire

There are 15 attack/move orders per turn, unlimited fortifies, with 'return to attack after fortify' and 'return to place from attack' options set to ON.

Ravenloft - Unique Personas For some scenarios, the player begins as a specific persona. These are the most straightforward scenarios:

• Unique Personas SE
• Unique Personas - Random Start

Ravenloft - One Persona: In the scenarios below, a player can switch between personas on a given turn, but must end turn as a distinct persona. These would be considered medium-level complexity.

• 3-Player - One Persona PerTurn
• 4-Player - One Persona PerTurn

Ravenloft - Adventure Parties In other scenarios, a player begins as no specific persona, but can acquire multiple personas. These scenarios add a layer of complexity, with magic items and other bonus locations generating both unit bonus and persona bonus, the latter going to a persona flask for the player. With multiple personas and multiple magic items acquired, bonuses can really pile up and might be hard for a player to track.

• 2-Player - Pick 5 of 9
• 3-Player - pick 5 of 9
• 4-Player - pick 4 of 9
• 5-Player - pick 3 of 9

Additional Important Notes:

Placeable bonuses - in each scenario, there are locations which will generate placeable bonuses. These can be very important and can be used tactically and strategically, as magic items that are owned are placeable locations. Other placeable locations are haunted houses, empty/ware-houses, the Werewolf Trapper, and Azalin's Tower.

The Paladin - this is one of the more complex features and it revolves around either being or acquiring the cleric persona. If the player which has (or is) the Cleric persona also has the Sunsword at the start of turn, it will factory-acquire the Paladin location, generating 4 units on it. In scenarios where multiple personas are possible, having both the Cleric and Vampire nullifies the +4 units. Having the Paladin gives the player some special abilities within the castle. Read the scenario description for those benefits.

Additional life flask vulnerabilities - Arrigal the Assassin and the Vampire

• In scenarios where Arrigal is present in the Vistani Camp, this location allows a small amount of units (max 4) which can attack opponents life flasks, albeit at disadvantage.
• In the unique persona scenarios, the vampire can attack opponent's life flasks directly from it's vampire attack flask. However, generating units on the vampire attack flask is slow, with a max income of 1 per turn that the vampire controls all 3 haunted houses. A successful attack allows the vampire to take over the 'corrupted' persona while eliminating the player that was attacked.

Additional persona vulnerabilities, for scenarios that allow for multiple personas

• In these scenarios, the vampire can attack opponent's personas via artillery border

Ravenloft - Against the Vampire SE This is a 3 vs 1 team game - the vampire Strahd against 3 heroes, with various scenario options for the hero player makeup.

Playing the Vampire:

1. consider taking as much of the castle early and remember that castle guardians regenerate if the territory is abandoned.
2. Good bonuses to get early are the Tome, control of the front gate, the chapel and overlook positions, the latter from which you can observe movement in the village below
3. unlike the heroes which can only enter onto the map from their life flask, Strahd can enter the village through one of 3 haunted houses. This allows Strahd to be a bit stealthy in going after magic items such as the Ring, Pendant (church), the Codex (eastern tower) or in getting units into the Cemetary.
4. the goal is to build up VA (vampire attack), from which to attack the heros' life flasks with and take over their player. Obtaining all 3 castle magic items garners a +2 VA per turn. Each of the non-castle magic items garners a +2 VA per turn. Having all 3 haunted houses garners a +1 VA per turn.

Playing the heroes:

1. requires good communication and teamwork; generally one or more of the other players should run covering missions to root out haunted houses and keep Strahd from taking any non-castle magic items while one player starts acquiring magic items. Each of the heros should look to additional village bonuses as well.
2. there are 2 ways for the heroes to win - one of the heroes is able to secure 4 magic items by the start of their turn OR a hero makes it into the castle and is able to attack Strahd's life force directly. The latter is done by defeating the image of strahd, then the Audience Hall and finally the Life Flask.
3. it's a good idea for heros in the top of the order to pass units down to fellow heros life flask and let the 3rd hero then disseminate units at the end of their turn back to teammates life flasks to guard against VA attacks from Strahd.
4. team placement is on for many of the scenarios (all non-fighter scenarios), so use this to good advantage in building up units in the countryside for a possible attack on the caslte or in securing far-flung magic items.