Descent: Legends of the Dark

To set up Descent: Legends of the Dark, each player first selects a hero, taking their corresponding hero card and miniature. They then equip their hero with one attack card, which consists of two weapon cards housed in a single sleeve. If continuing a campaign, players may also choose additional cards to bring with them. Each hero receives a health tracker, which should be set to their maximum health value as indicated on their hero card. The Descent app is essential for gameplay, as it guides players through the quest's background, conditions, and instructs on how to set up the main play area, including which tiles, underlays, 3D terrain, and tokens to place and where. Players can freely switch heroes between games, but some quests may require specific heroes to be present.

The primary objective in Descent: Legends of the Dark is for players to cooperate and complete a series of quests. Each quest presents specific objectives, which can vary but commonly involve tasks such as defeating all enemies in a given area or interacting with certain elements on the map. The app dynamically updates these objectives and guides players through the narrative and necessary actions. Successfully completing these objectives is crucial for advancing through the campaign, while failing them can lead to setbacks or the end of the current quest.

Gameplay in Descent is structured into alternating Hero and Darkness Phases. During the Hero Phase, players take turns one at a time, in any order they choose. On their turn, a hero can perform one maneuver action and two additional actions. Available actions include: EXPLORE, to interact with terrain or tokens; FIGHT, to attack an enemy within range and line of sight; MANEUVER, to gain movement points equal to their speed and move their miniature; READY, to flip a double-sided card to its other side, removing all tokens from it; and UNIQUE actions, which are specific abilities granted by cards. Players can choose the order of their actions and may repeat them. Once all heroes have completed their turns, the game transitions to the Darkness Phase.

Combat and tests in Descent rely on dice rolls and hero stats. When attacking, players roll a die type indicated on their hero card. Each star icon rolled counts as one success, inflicting damage equal to the weapon's damage value per success. Plus symbols on the die are advantages, which can be converted into additional successes by taking a fatigue token. Surge icons can be spent to activate special surge abilities on hero or weapon cards. Enemies have a defense value, which grants them a random defense bonus (between 0 and their defense value) that reduces incoming damage. Enemies may also have defense abilities that trigger when attacked. For tests, players roll two black dice, count successes, and adjust the total by the modifier listed next to the relevant hero stat (Might, Agility, Insight, Will). The app determines the outcome based on the final success count, which can vary from specific thresholds to better/worse results based on the roll.

A quest in Descent concludes either when the heroes successfully achieve their current objectives or when they fail. Failure typically occurs if a hero is reduced to zero health and subsequently suffers a major injury, as indicated by flipping an injury card to its major side. Regardless of whether the quest is won or lost, players will proceed to the next quest in the campaign. The outcomes of each quest, including any items obtained, experience gained, and choices made, will have a lasting impact on the unfolding narrative and future quests, influencing what players discover and how their story progresses.