Dungeonology: The Expedition

The cat is on the table...
almost 7 years ago – Thu, May 02, 2019 at 01:40:31 PM

Hello Scholars!

With today’s lesson, we keep on studying the Scholars of the “Erasmus” package, with our trusted (as well as the only) Aztec that we have inside the campus.

Ichcauipilli the "jaguar" man

As now we know, Ichcauipilli, who is also called Ich for his difficult name, belongs to the elite military unit of the Jaguar warriors. Because of his passion for studying and fatigue due to hard training, he lost much of his mental lucidity. Arrived in Rocca Civetta thanks to the Erasmus program for foreign scholars, he immediately attracts the interest of all the cats in the area, which mistake him for one of their older siblings, because of the hairy armor, and they won’t leave his side for a minute. After a moment of confusion, our ex-warrior will exploit this bizarre fortune to his advantage, making it his greatest strength.

But let’s examine his game features, starting with a good number of cards in hand and 4 initial students, this making Ich an eclectic character, able to complete exciting study phases thanks to his skills that enhance this aspect. The “Cat Master” is this Scholar’s key skill, which guarantees him 3 Cat Token. These special tokens are used during the study phase thanks to the “Curious Cat” skill, which allows Ich to send his cats to collect any information cube (not necessarily the leftmost one) of any uncovered Tile on the same floor where he is placed.

Ichcauipilli did his very best when he got exalted because the essence of a Jaguar warrior allows him to be more versatile (he can hold up to 5 cards in his hand) and increase his speed! Furthermore, the “Cat Lord” skill allows him to regain all the cat tokens he used immediately. During this frenzy, Ich becomes much more adept at spying with the amazing “Stealthy Cat” skill. Thanks to it, Ich can target an information cube of a Scholar, wherever he/she is placed in the Dungeon, he can target up to two information cubes and the bonus given by the Subterfuge or Exploration cards has a double value during the test.

So, are you ready to become the king of felines with Ich?

A question of compatibility

As many of you have asked during this campaign, we will guide you on the compatibility of unlocked game materials, such as Stretch Goals and those present in the expansions. First, we talk about the SG, all the game elements: Tiles, Intern Cards, Trick Cards, Students of each brotherhood, Scholars and Bosses will be totally compatible and interchangeable without any problem. The “Circe’s Bay” expansion has a complete alternative Dungeon, that’s why the Tiles, Circe, and some Trick Cards cannot be combined with the elements of the Core Game. However, you will be able to use the Leonida Boss, the new Scholar Rocco and 18 additional Trick Cards with the Core Game!

As for “Circe’s Bay,” also the “Leonardo’s Workshop” expansion must be considered as a separate dungeon since the special mechanical displacement of the tiles inside it would not combine well with the Core Game. But even in this case, you will have the opportunity to combine the basic game with a new Scholar, Tancredi, and with 18 additional Trick Cards. The “Rigor Mortis” expansion, on the other hand, is entirely compatible with the Core game so you can add the four new scholars, the new Boss Rigor and the rest of the add-on paper material! 

Even this Lesson is over, see you tomorrow for another one!

Some spoiler as usual!

The Alfa and the... Omega
almost 7 years ago – Thu, May 02, 2019 at 01:38:45 PM

Hello Scholars!

In today’s lesson, we will meet the last student who joined the Erasmus program at Rocca Civetta, and we will take a closer look at Dungeonology Solo Mode! Is anyone absent? No? Then, let the class begin!

Habibi and the cursed mask

Once arrived in Rocca Civetta (on the advice of Prof. Enrico), Habibi immediately settled in, and her exotic appearance soon made her very popular, plus her generous spirit and the magnificent masks she manufactures, are things really much appreciated by all those who spend time with her!

After the first expeditions, Habibi understood how to exploit her cursed mask and succeed in her studies... a power that all her competitors have learned to fear.

Habibi can count on a truly remarkable number of Students and cards in hand, while her Movement and Study are average.

Her “Mystical Masks” skill allows her to place a collected information cube on her Scholar card. This Cube, as well as being Protected, will also give her a bonus depending on its color. 

Need an extra movement point? Get a green cube!

Do you want to protect all your information? Get a purple cube!

Habibi can exchange the cube on her card every time she collects new ones, giving her incredible versatility during the game.

In her exalted version, besides the increase of her features, also the effects given by Mystical Masks will be significantly enhanced. She will also get the “Godly Protection” skill, which will allow her to be the only one able to play Trick cards during her turn, to be even more protected from other Scholars’ tricks!

Habibi pays for all these advantages with Stealth and Knowledge Combos that are very complicated to obtain. Therefore she must work hard to reach them, but by taking full advantage of her resources, she can also decide to ignore them and submit the thesis without these advantages.

What do you think? Are you ready to wear the right mask at the right time?

Solo and Coop Mode

When you decide to play in one of these modes, you will have to deal directly with Omega, the diabolical leader of the Fraternity named after him.

Omega can be used as a typical Boss playing a classic Dungoenology game, but the real surprises will come with the Solo mode!

In this mode Omega is actually another Scholar, managed by his own artificial intelligence, who will attempt to submit the thesis before you, exactly like any other Scholar. Yes, you got it right! This means that in addition to Omega, you will also have to deal with a Boss who, like any other Dungeonology game, will try to throw you out of his/her den... home or laboratory.

In this mode, instead of your classic Note board, you will use the one provided for this type of game. In the right part of the Omega Note board, you will place your cubes (just like a standard Note board), while in the left part you will put those collected by Omega.

Both you and Omega, once you reach specific amounts of information, will unlock special cubes that will increase Stealth or Alarm values.

Omega has two card decks available, in the form of tarots: with one you will manage his activation by applying the special actions and rules (as described in the card you draw), the other must be used to determine his reaction whenever you interact with Omega, performing Espionage or playing a Trick Card against him.

But beware! Omega collecting information cubes will reach Stars just like you, and when he has more Stars than your Scholar, all his cards’ effects will be dangerously enhanced!

All these rules also apply when you decide to play Coop with 2 or more players, but in this case Omega will activate between one Scholar and another, so while it will be easier to fill your part of the Omega Note board by playing as a team, but also him will quickly fill his one, just activating much more frequently!

And remember, you can play the solo/coop mode with any dungeon and any Boss!

Do you feel prepared (or reckless) enough to face Omega in a challenge to the last cube? 

Welcome to the Erasmus Program!
almost 7 years ago – Mon, Apr 29, 2019 at 06:45:39 AM

Hello Scholars!

Today's lesson will present you the new add-on of the Dungeonology Campaign, the long-awaited expansion to expand the number of players up to 6: the Erasmus pack!

The University of Rocca Civetta is innovative and unique in its field, so it is not absurd to think that even many scholars from other nations, even distant ones, have shown interest in attending his courses. For this reason, the "Erasmus Program" is introduced, a project that allows any researcher from any nation to visit the Rocca Civetta campus for a long time!

Thousands of requests have arrived in the student secretary, but you know well that the University accepts only the best, or the weirdest, so only four students have had the honor of joining us in this mad race for knowledge and teaching. ! We listen to their stories to get to know them a little better!

Habibi: A very young priestess of her Tribe, she is also a skilled artisan expert who infuses her masks with blessings that can help the wearer in various ways. Soon, however, Habibi finds herself struggling with an ancient Mask that is said to have been possessed by a powerful spirit of a rogue divinity. Having established the immense power and thirst for knowledge of the Mask, Habibi does everything to get rid of it, but as if by magic the Mask magically returns to the side of the Priestess. Looking for a way to get rid of it comes in contact with an enterprising professor who suggests her to turn to the University of Dungeonology, surely they would have known how to help her...

Ichcauipilli: Forced by the family legacy, he becomes a young promise of the Jaguar Warriors of the Aztec army. Growing matures other interests compared to the boring and heavy military training, proving a strong attraction towards the study which was allowed strictly to the shamans of his tribe. For this reason, Ichcauipilli begins to study at night, while all the others sleep for the heavy training of the day. Fatigue and obsessive study soon led him to a step away from the madness. For this reason, the letter from the university that a young Conquistadores carelessly leaves in an abandoned outpost does not go unnoticed. He then enters the Rocca Civetta campus, soon becoming the idol of the academy cats who do not leave him for an instant: have they mistaken him for their older brother?

Meher: Street artist, she grows and lives in the city of Calcutta. Despite living in absolute poverty, nothing disturbs her serenity, and her moral remains crystal clear despite the theft is the order of the day.  Meher knows how to dance, play, sing and entertain the audience, that remains entranced by her performances, also because invisible arms allow her to do many of these things simultaneously. Enrico, on one of his travels, is fascinated by the young woman who is sent to Rocca Civetta as a dance teacher. After a short time, she decides to use her talents to shed light on the gift she has received, which is why she chooses to participate in the call to become a professor of Dungeonology and find out more about the will of the Goddess.

Raoul: The only captain's son of the vessel Quesada, he leaves with his father to bring honor and prestige to his family. Grows self-confident and spoiled thanks to the luxuries of the nobility, unfortunately, it turns out to be also clumsy and not very sharp. For this reason, the father tries to protect him by giving him a simple but important role: to collect all the scrolls that the crew absent-mindedly leaves around on the ship. Raoul is convinced that his position is fundamental and for this reason he also becomes too zealous, subtracting the parchments under the nose of those who are reading them. Considering himself a real Conquistadores he found himself several times in the front line wearing his father's armor, thus causing several disasters. Thanks to the knowledge and money of his father he managed to get himself selected for the Erasmus program at Rocca Civetta.

The Erasmus pack introduces the possibility of playing to up to 6 players. In fact inside the box, in addition to the new 4 Scholar cards of each character and the respective miniature, you will find 2 new Notebooks with truly outstanding graphics! Each Scholar has unique and extremely amusing mechanics, linked to their origins or to the collective imagination that revolves around their role in the society or tribe they belong to. Pay attention to Ichcauipilli cats, do not be fooled by Raoul's vacant expression, remain ecstatic with Meher's music, and stay away from Habibi when wearing the mask ... for now, it is all you need to know.

The Easter is over and so...

The holidays are over and it's time to move on, we have so many things to show you that we can't delay any longer. For this reason we have decided to give you a last surprise, and the two final SGs of the Easter cycle will be merged into one. 

In this way we can present you a new and terrible boss from the world of Middara: the "Shadowlord". The origins of this fearsome adversary are dark and mysterious, but we will shed light on them in the coming days.

The lesson is over, and as usual we left some spoiler to you ;).

You are so Social!
almost 7 years ago – Sat, Apr 27, 2019 at 01:47:05 PM

Hello Scholars!

Today's lesson will introduce you to the fantastic Social Stretch Goals you are unlocking thanks to your support on BGG and FaceBook: this lecture will be full of surprises !!

Already unlocked SGs!

First of all, let's talk about two SGs already in your hands!

The Necromancer is an Intern that you can recruit by playing a new Magic Trick card called "Emo Friend," and whenever you have to draw interns from the bag, it will allow you to keep one for you ... as long as you don't draw the Infamous Student!

This is a really useful Intern for every Hero, but Vincenzo and Rebecca will love it for sure!

Thanks to your membership in the Facebook group you have unlocked the Surgeon: you will win it by playing the "Call the Doctor" Exploration trick card, and once you have it, you can discard it to eliminate one of your Jinx cards.

Although he is a "one-shot" Intern, the Surgeon can be very useful when you want to get rid of an annoying Jinx card without missing the turn... use it carefully!

Intermediate Social Stretch goals

To make the road to Yacca a little funnier, we added a new intermediate SSG, so if you reach 1000 fans on the BGG page of Dungeonology you will get a new intern: The Fool!

This Intern is exceptional (as well as noisy, he is totally crazy), in fact when you get it, you will also get a unique Fool token that you will place in the Area where you are. When you move, you will be able to move the token up to three areas, and in the room where it stops, the Alert will be raised by 2 points. A really annoying Intern that, if well played, can indeed hinder your opponents!

When you reach 2500 members in the Facebook group, you will unlock the omniscient Wikiantir! This mythical object that knows and sees everything works exactly like an Intern, so,  when you get it, you can use its powers; in fact, every time you refill your hand at the end of the turn, you can draw an extra card and decide which one to discard in order to keep your hand value.

This powerful skill will give you even more control over your hand, and all the Students should have one ... but unfortunately, they don’t!

And finally... the most anticipated SSGs!

As you already know, with 1500 BGG fans you will get a new Pet, Yacca!

In one of the next update will explain how to get Pets during a Dungeonology game, for now, we can tell you that they work pretty much like Interns, but they have their own miniature, and therefore they are physically on the game board!

Yacca is a small sage coming from a galaxy far far away in the past, which uses its skill tied to the greatest Struggle in the universe! With the struggle you can move up to 2 Information cubes from an area adjacent to the one where you are; thus it will really ease your collection! Isn’t it lovely? (ok, it's not a flamethrower… but kids love it anyway).

And here's a new surprise! Reaching 3000 members on FB, you will unlock another lovely pet: the tender and soft Manticora! It is so cute that it loves to scare Students with its roar, in fact, every Scholar who will stop in the room where the Manticora is placed will have to discard a Students or take an Exhausted token!

What do you think? Will we be able to “tear up” more achievements by the end of the campaign? Remember to click the like buttons on:

Dungoenology Facebook Group

BGG Dungeonology page

This lesson is over, see you tomorrow for a new class!

As usual, here are some previews!