WHAT'S IN THE BOX? A Look Inside The ELEMENTAL EVIL Board Game!

Here's a quick look at what you can expect inside the Elemental Evil boardgame box. It's a little small and lo-res, but you can make it out. The game releases on April 30th for $64.99 and "features multiple scenarios, challenging quests and cooperative game play designed for 1-5 players. The contents can also be combined with other D&D Adventure System Cooperative play board games, including The Legend of Drizzt and Castle Ravenloft." Thanks to Eduardo for the scoop!

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[Parmandur]

Just for clarity: this is the Temple of Elemental Evil board game, not the Elemental Evil board game, and not a board game titled The Temple of Elemental Evil.

Forgive me but I'm irritated by this.

I asked for some assurance on Twitter that squeezing everything into the Sword Coast would not be their MO for the edition on Twitter, and got essentially, "It's not the Temple of Elemental Evil, it's a Temple of Elemental Evil," from the board game team via a helpful Wizards dev, as though we don't understand how branding and marketing works. That's some goddamned gall.

So anyway, we should call a spade a spade.

Okay, rant done.

The "A" vs "Thr" distinction is clear enough: look at the fluff for Rangers or Druids in the PHB, the Aarocka in the MM, or the Inner Planes in the DMG. Cults building temples, plural, to Elemental Evil are being made into a multiversal threat that pops up everywhere.

 

[Jester David]

Not getting this, but only because I have a couple of the games already and don't need another.

But I'm glad they're doing this for people who don't already have the games and/or have more disposable income than I do. Always happy to see more stuff with the D&D logo.

 

[Jester David]

You know, I've bought almost every book and item WotC has put out since they put out 3.0. I have 2 of the three board games that put out that is like this. I'm done. I don't think they going to support the RPG and if they aren't going to support it then I am not going to support.

I think WotC has just *finally* learned they can support D&D the brand without having to tie every single accessory to the RPG, that they can get the same or greater amount of profits by targeting different groups than just tapping the one audience for all that they're worth.

Letting those editors go really got me thinking. It became obvious to me that they aren't going to be doing the magazines without editors. So why am I giving them a monthly subscription?

They were never going to bring back the magazines. They stopped having the staff where they could reliably do the magazines and the game several years ago.
If the magazines do come back, it will likely be a licenced product like they were during 3e. And that's unlikely as few people are going to buy the rights to make magazines anymore. It was a struggle even when Paizo was doing it, and the market is worse now.

I'm to the point where I hope Hasbro sells WotC and someone who actually wants to build on the game can take it over.

Harbro never sells anything.
Even IF they were to sell things, they'd never part with the very, very lucrative WotC (aka Magic the Gathering).
And even IF they sold things, and IF were willing to sell part of WotC, they'd never sell D&D because things like movie and book rights are too valuable.

The best you/we can hope for is that they licence D&D the RPG to another company. Which they're pretty much doing anyway with the storylines.
But even IF WotC was willing to licence D&D the RPG completely out to another company, there's no way that company would be able to release more than a couple books per year. And there'd almost certainly be a drop in quality and increase in price.

 

[Dire Bare]

Remember when this was about a new board game, and not settings war or WotC business practices? Or the RPG?

WotC's settings and business practices are perfectly on topic, in regards to their D&D line of board games. Also, as the board games are closely linked with the RPG line, talking about the RPG in relation to the board games is also on topic.

What DMZ and I were debating (although I think we're probably about done) is the appropriateness of the Elemental Evil storyline, which spans both the RPG and the board game in the OP. If it troubles you, in my own posts, replace "book" with "board game", and we should be fine.

 

[Henrix]

Remember when this was about a new board game, and not settings war or WotC business practices? Or the RPG?

I have some vague memory about that, now that you mention it.

A new game in their, frankly, rather popular and selling series of boardgames based.

I'm very interested to see how this will differ from the earlier.

Will the rules have changed to reflect 5e more? I presume Wizards would want that, but not risk the ire of those who solely play the board games. ('Can be combined with' is not the same as using the same rules.)

And how will the look and feel differ?
Remember that this is made by WizKids, not WotC. (I think the dragon is the same as the Black Shadow dragon from D&D Attack Wing, but I'm not certain.)

 

[Desh-Rae-Halra]

Its kind of 4e lite. Very much based on the 4e rules but a bit simpler without the need for a DM

Kind of, except that you never get over 2nd level, and the thing I dont like is almost every round you draw from a deck that essentially screws the players over in one way or another = their version of adventure.
I own one of them, played it once, now its collecting dust.

~Desh

 

[Ricochet]

I have the Drizzt game. It's a nice game, because there are scenarios for co-op (most of them), team-play, and a rare "one versus the rest" style. It's an easy game to get people into some hack and slash boardgaming, and I like that I get a new (albeit similar) map each time I play. I might buy this.

 

[doctorhook]

I'm glad to see another product in this line! Unfortunately I probably won't buy it, since I've already Castle Ravenloft and it never gets played. Still, good product.

 

[Eric V]

Definite buy for me. Have the other three, and am impressed how each has a different "feel" to them.

Lots of replay value since the missions can get very hard; usually when you win, it feels like a real gaming accomplishment.