Some Player Suggested FAQ's
about 2 years ago
– Sat, Feb 05, 2022 at 08:55:00 PM
Since sending out the PDF of Crown & Tower we have had a few repeated questions asked which, although they may have been answered in the comments previously, have now long since disappeared..
We have therefore put together a list of frequently asked game questions, which we hope you will find useful.
We have also put the pdf of this list here
Printing Update
As soon as Chinese New Year celebrations end we are hopeful of a firm printing timetable, which we will post up here as soon as we get it.
Player Asked FAQ's
Q: I am curious at your process for designing encounters in these books Can I jump into book 2 if I have never got book 1? For instance, when coming up with a combat encounter, do you have an excel sheet that can do math for you quickly to see how different parties would far against the enemies, or do you rely mostly on playtesting for those results?
A: You can absolutely start at Book 2 if you like. Your starting party will be slightly stronger than those in Book 1, but not as strong as those players who have completely finished the first book. In terms of combat encounters, it's playtesting and playthroughs. It is done by feel (Oliver is mega experienced) Oliver stress tests everything multiple times. He also tests with groups of inexperienced players. However, different fights are meant to exist on different levels of difficulty- some fights are deliberately easy, some look hard but are actually not too difficult and some are pitched at more experienced parties who are venturing from other books (some are extra difficult) .It depends on the themes and the rewards of that point in the book.
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Q: Is it just me or is the second book wayyyyy (and I mean WAYYYYY) harder than the first ? Just finished it and we had to "rollback" quite a few times to reach the end, something that didn't happen at all for the first book.
Also, how do potions and scrolls work in combat ? Do they take an action like spells to cast ? Are they used freely ? If they're used freely, is there a limit to the number of scrolls and potions you can use in a turn ?
A: Yes Book 2 is harder than Book1 but most of you will be hardy veterans by now.
Scrolls and potions take up an action to use. It should say this when you collect the potion or scroll but if I have missed this- many apologies
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Q: If I started in book 1 and sailed over to book 2, is there any way to trigger the opening event of section 1? or is that just for people who start in book 2?
Similarly, if I started in book 2, how do I trigger section 1 in book 1?
A: I don't want to give too much away ... but just try sailing to Longport City and see what happens. Likewise, there are ways to trigger the main quest in Book 1 without a fresh start - but this is slightly easier, or perhaps, less costly, to do from Book 3.
Sorry to be enigmatic, but I don't want to spoil anything.
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Q: can I wear noble garments and armour at the same time?
A: Yes. The only rules restriction is that you cannot wear both robes and armour at the same time.
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Q: If you get to section with unique choices for 2 or more characters you have in your party should you choose the first one or is it ok to pick any of them? For example in book 2 early on says if you have Sar Jessica turn to this page and if you have Lord Ti’Quon turn to this page. Should I default to Sar Jessica as its first option or can I choose either?
A: You respond to the questions in order - so it would be Sar Jessica first. (You'll see why this is so when you read it)
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Q: OK, took a peek at the beginning of Crown and Tower. I'm not QUITE done (couple of untapped areas in VoB that I've had on hold while Summer School was going on, but I notice Crown and Tower has its own opening. I know you can use the books independently (if I did not have VoB, for example), but if you have more than one, should you still start at #1 in the new book? I'm assuming at various points there will be refs to codes from VoB ("If you have Code A37 do this; if not do that" kind of thing).
A: If you sail or teleport to Book 2, you will be given a reference number to turn to. A quick way to get there is to sail west from Clifftop in your own ship. Only turn to reference 1 if you are starting a new party.
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Q: Quick question if anyone know :
If you buy several ships, do you take them all in naval battle or only one of them ?
Do they all roll the dice together ? I have 3 ships for a total of 15 dice, and it's really overkill against the encounters of Book 1
Am I supposed to roll only the dice from 1 ship per turn ? And change ship when one is sunk ?
Not really sure how naval battles are supposed to work
A: Ships are a one-at-a-time thing at this stage but there will be larger battles coming in Book 3. The Splintered Isles is a real pirate fest!
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Q: Does it mean we can't take several ships together from one place to another (for trading) or just that only one can attack per round?
A: You can only sail one ship at a time by the rules.
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Q: I either can't remember or can't find it, but what's the max amount of dice I'll need? - with its arrival I may need to order some.
A: Early in the rules it says, "You will probably want at least six," but I've used up to nine so far.
A bit further down under Skill Checks it says, "No matter how high your skill scores you cannot roll more than 20 dice for a skill check."
20 dice rattling down a dice tower make quite a sound!
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Q: A quick rule question. Can a spellcaster buy multiple sets of spell components and therefore recharge them when needed or can they only be recharged at designated locations or is there some intermediate situation such as need to travel to another "location" (i.e. cannot recharge in same combat or in same physical location) to limit too freely recharging spells?
A: The intention behind the rule is to limit the number of spells that a party can cast on a single expedition. The justification for the rule can be anything that makes sense in your head.
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Q: another Rules question (well, two actually). One might be spelled out, but if so, I missed it. If I go to a town, and there is (for example) a cloak in the marketplace that boosts my Survival stat, are there multiple cloaks (if I have the money?). I am playing that something like that would be unique, and I need to find another one elsewhere if I want to equip a second player with a stat-boost item.
Second, and I want to play in the spirit of the game rather than game the game, but if I have a ship in a port that will buy (this is a very specific example) Salt for 600s, and I can get that salt delivered to my ship for 450s. is there anything stopping me from just having constant orders of salt delivered (in two-cargo-slot amounts as that's the max my ship can hold). I'm pretty sure shipping will be much more important when we get Crown and Tower's map added to the world, but I COULD use the money, but that feels more in line with my American Capitalist upbringing than it does the spirit of the game. The way I'm playing at the moment is that I can go order another delivery AS LONG as I follow it with a venture into a different area while I'm waiting for the salt to be delivered, so i may have to brave The Temple of the Unknown while those slugs up at the salt mines take their time delivering my goods.
A: You can buy multiple copies of an item if it is sold in a market, yes – unless the text specifically says there is a limited stock.
Legally, by the rules, you can make that little trading expedition all you like, but you have to follow every reference as you go in case you encounter danger. Realistically, you’ll make money faster and less tediously by adventuring.
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Q: Not sure if this has been asked before. If I started my adventure in Crown and Tower and then played through Valley of Bones with the same party, wouldn't Valley of Bones be way too easy for me? Is there a scaling system in the game that we haven't seen yet? I have played through Valley of Bones and don't remembers seeing anything about it
A: You would find book 1 little easier after book 2 but you would find book 2 a little easier after completing book 1. Over all there is zonal difficulty in Legendary Kingdoms and this is by design.
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Q: Love the CODE system. I'm playing the digital Valley of Bones (I got both books, but I'd started with the Demo, and so I wanted to keep going). It's a very smart system, so I was wondering, "Hmmm... if I get this bonus at this location, why don't I just spam it?" The answer is that if you have code A## you turn to a different entry that does not GIVE you that bonus.
A: Oliver agrees it is quite hard to spam things and that it is generally best to get out there and explore.
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Q: did have one situation I wasn’t sure how to handle. We were breaking into a merchant's shop and the book asked if we were going through window upstairs or front door, or both (split team). I just went with us all going through front door. We got to do a group lore check to deal with magical trap or lock and succeeded. Then went inside and let in the rest of thieves guild people through window. 2 questions.. it later says to make a roll to gather treasure from upstairs but only the people that came in window could roll. That was nobody.. so I allowed a group roll anyway since my group clearly made it first and let other group in. Should I have? Also is group roll all 4 characters if they ate together or just 2 max?
A: You did the right thing. Once you open the windows from the inside your entire party is able to contribute to skill checks inside the house. There is the line that says "For the rest of the break-in, when you make Team checks, you can use the skills and combat abilities of your entire team, not just the wall-climbing team." A team check is always 2 chosen characters.
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Q: Can I jump into book 2 if I have never got book 1?
A: Yes you can
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Q: Hi! I've played through most of book 1 and have a couple of questions regarding the rules. Unsure where to ask these questions, so I try it here. One of the questions might be require a very minor spoiler warning, so don't read more if you don't want to risk that.
1) Spells in the spellbook. Once your spellcaster can learn their 7th spell, do they permanently forget one spell (they can never remember more than 6), or are they able when visiting an inn to rearrange among their "known" or learned spells? The rules are clear that the spellcaster can never have more than 6 spells in their book, or prepared/charged during the travels. There exists locations there you can "learn" or possibly "re-learn" spells... Personally i feel like the spellcaster should be able to switch between learned spells when resting at inns, so i keep track of all "learned" spells, even though i never let the spellcaster have more than 6 charged.
2) Routing troops. If a troop have routed, is it permanently lost? Or, is it still available, but with the morale it had when it routed? After battle I’ve read that the troops that didn't route regain their morale, but i haven't seen how routed troops are supposed to be handled.
A: 1. You permanently lose a spell when you cross it off your list to replace it with another one- although future books might give you some more options (spoilers!)
2. Routed troops are lost and need to be replaced with new troops. They dare not return to the garrison for shame!
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Q: Looking forward to getting to explore this setting after trying the sample on the Kickstarter page. As I am new to gamebooks is there an option for creating and adventuring with your own characters in the book or do we only use the pre-set ones?
A: You can absolutely make your own characters but you may miss some of the flavour of the books as they contain love, betrayal, feuds and many other plots with other characters within the story. But as these books can be played and replayed you can try lots of ways and still enjoy them.
That's it for the FAQ list and we are looking forward to being able to announce the printing timetable after the Chinese New Year celebrations.
Jon & Oliver
