Magic Realm Day Planning

One of the more unpopular elements of Avalon Hill's Magic Realm is the requirement to pre-record your daily actions.  At a beginning of each game day, players write down their actions, which are then revealed simultaneously. Player order is determined randomly, by drawing character markers from a cup, in sequence, and playing in the order of the drawn markers.

I've never understood why pre-recording daily actions is unpopular.  Other popular games, like Roborally and Pirates Cove, have similar rules.  Pre-planning adds a welcome measure of uncertainty to the game day.  Should I hide first, before moving into an area others might reach first and attract prowling monsters to?  Should I remain unhidden, and chance being blocked by another player?  Will I take my turn last, with all the treasures looted, before I arrive at a treasure site?  Will I successfully hide with a single attempt, or should I record a second hide action?

Although I like the daily pre-planning aspect of Magic Realm, an alternative game turn order for unwritten turns could be applied.  Players could be seated around the table in clockwise order from fastest to slowest characters, with turns taken in that order.  Faster characters could pass their turns, until the slowest character is reached, at which point the order of play reverses, with the slower players required to act before faster.  That way, faster characters could pass their turns, waiting for the slower characters to reveal treasure sites and prowling monsters, with the faster characters then looting or avoiding.

But which Magic Realm characters are fastest and which are slowest?  The slowest character, arguably, is the Dwarf, being limited to two actions per day, rather than the four (two regular and two sunlight) of most others.  And the fastest?  I would suggest the fastest character is the Elf.  You can debate the speed of the Magic Realm characters, but here is the order I would set.

1.  Elf
2.  Woodsgirl
3.  Druid
4.  Acrobat
5.  Swordsman (he can, of course, pre-empt anyone if he wishes)
6.  Amazon
7.  Witch
8.  Gypsy
9.  Magician
10. Hunstman
11. Witch King
12. Valkyrie
13. Captain
14. Enchantress
15. Sorceror
16. Wizard
17. Maiden
18. Pilgrim
19. Black Knight
20. Siren
21. Berserker
22. White Knight
23. Dwarf

All of my "Magic Realm" expansion characters are highlighted in red.  I'm still working on developing my final expansion character.

Valley Colour Pallet

Here are a couple of photos of valleys, from which a colour pallet might be developed.  There are a lot of yellows, greens, oranges and blues in these photos, with the blue colours mainly appearing in the hills.

I'm not precisely sure how to capture the grandeur of these vistas in a 4" hexagonal tile, but I do think that any reprint of Magic Realm must meet or exceed the current standard for boardgame art, which has been set pretty high by modern boardgame publishers.

Reimagining Valleys

Excuse my horrible scribbles.  Here is a very rough reimagining of the look of the Magic Realm valley tiles.  A reimagined Magic Realm reprint needs valleys that have a decided yellow theme, to differentiate valleys from other tiles, especially woods, hills, swamps and forests.

New Magic Realm Character Counters

Here are four new character counters for Magic Realm: for the Gypsy, the Maiden, the Valkyrie and the Huntsman.  I'd like to see at least 8 new characters added to the currently available 16, including several more female characters, since the original Magic Realm characters provided few female character choices.

I have not had a chance to post the particulars for the Huntsman character, but I hope to do that in the next couple of days.

Valley Counters For Magic Realm

I've always thought that the use of warning chits in the valley and woods tiles of the Magic Realm game was redundant.  Those tiles only ever have one dwelling or monster appearing in them, so why not replace those chits with the dwelling counters themselves?

The Ghosts appear in the valley tile with the Bones V warning chit.  Bones V could be replaced with a Graveyard or Grave dwelling. 

I would suggest that alternative starting rules be used, with the adventurers moving onto the Board on Day 1, with all of the dwellings hidden at the start of the game.  All of the Dwelling counters would start face down (question-mark up) and the adventurers would have to discover which valley tiles held which dwellings, in addition to adventuring for wealth and acclaim.

Each set of dwelling counters would have a different color on the question-mark side, to identify which tiles they belong to.  Gold would be valleys, light green, woods, and so on.

Divining Rod: Extra Search Treasure For Magic Realm

Magic Realm already has an extra search item among the Treasures available to loot or buy:  The Magic Spectacles.  With an expansion to the game, it is worth adding a second extra search Treasure.

What could be more appropriate than a Divining Rod as a second extra search Treasure?

Enchanted Crossroads For Magic Realm

I posted the Crossroads earlier.  Here is the Crossroads tile again, this time with both the enchanted side and the regular side.  When enchanted, clearing 3 supplies Purple magic, clearings 1 and 6 supply Gold magic, and clearings 2, 4 and 5 supply grey magic.

Magic Realm: Hills

Here's an example of a Hills tile for an expansion to Magic Realm: the Defile.

Depending on the direction of travel through the Hill, you may be forced to travel over hilly terrain, rather than travelling around or through a valley, thus the Hill clearing in one of the two directions.

Magic Realm: Dismal Swamp

In addition to Hill, Forest and Ruin tiles, I envision a set of five Swamp tiles for an expansion to the Magic Realm game.  The Swamp tiles would be for travel and would also contain some monsters typically found in swamps (Snakes, Ogres and the like).  It would also be the location of the Hut, the abode of the Hags.

Here's an example of a swamp tile (the Dismal Swamp).

The swamp texture is okay but could be better.

And here is a draft of a Barrows tile.  It's a work in progess, as I'm not happy with the lack of secret passages or hidden paths, but not sure where to place one.

Magic Realm: Crossroads

I've never been terribly happy about the Borderlands tile being the first tile placed when constructing the Magic Realm map.

The title, Borderland suggests it should be on the edge of the map, not the centre, being the "borderland".

Having read the Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany, i'm less unhappy with the central role of the Borderland in Magic Realm map construction, since the Borderland can also function as the border between the world of man and the magical world, all of which are parts of the world explored in the Magic Realm.

Still, I've always pined for a Crossroads tile, to take the place of the Borderland as the initial tile placement.

Above is one potential Crossroads configuration.  An adventurer beginning on the Crossroads tile can set off in any direction, although some directions are more challenging routes and exhausting than others.

Enchanted Hidden Forest

I failed to publish the enchanted side of the Hidden Forest when I posted yesterday.  Here is the enchanted side.  Gold and Purple magic are available to all clearings except clearing 2 (only Purple magic is available to that clearing).  When the Hidden Forest is enchanted, clearings 3, 4 and 5 are only accessible via a secret path between clearings 3 and 6.

Hidden Forest: The Enchanted Forests Of The Magic Realm

 

In the basic Magic Realm game, the Deep Woods is considered to be one of the Mountain tiles.  For My Enchanted Forest expansion for Magic Realm, the Deep Woods becomes the Deep Forest, and four other Forest Tiles are added to the game. 

 

Above is the Hidden Forest, which can only be accessed through a cave system or by traversing a range of mountains.  I'd say it was a perfect place for an Elfin Castle or Homely House.

 



Wasteland: A Ruins Expansion Tile For Magic Realm

I'm reasonably satisfied with the way the Wasteland Tile came out.  There are no desert tiles in the original Magic Realm game, and this tile would be accompanied by four other tiles, including the Ruins, Barrows, Heath and Midden.  The Ruins tile from the original Magic Realm would be moved to this set, and another Caves tile would be developed to take its place with the others.

Each Ruins of Arcadia tile has a single underground clearing.

These five Ruins tiles would, collectively, be the "Ruins of Arcadia" expansion set.  The other three sets would be the "Enchanted Woods", and Hills and Swamps expansions that I have not yet come up with names for.

Magic Realm: Hill Tiles

A took a couple of minutes and re-did the Hills tiles for my dream Magic Realm expansion.  I hope this set is a little easier to understand than my previous effort.  The Crossroad was given an extra clearing, number 6.  The Knight who blocks the bridge, the Tree and the Gibbets will appear in any clearing 1 of the Hills Tiles, while the tournament encampment and the cottage will appear in clearing 2.

Seven Dwarves In Magic Realm Ruins Expansion

As long as Dwarf HQ and Dwarf 1 are played on their faster T3* attack side, the seven dwarves should have no difficulty finishing off the axe Goblins.  Things are a little more dangerous against the spear and greatsword goblins.

Potions For Magic Realm Expansion

Some ideas for potions and one-use items for a Magic Realm expansion.

Skeleton King: Magic Realm Ruins Expansion

The Skeleton King and retinue are not as dangerous as some of the other opponents in the Magic Realm.  However the Skeleton King casts curses on his opponents, and two of the skeletons still have relatively sharp weapons.  The fastest characters, with move times of 2, can run from these opponents, but until the attackless speed 3 skeleton changes tactics, he prevents any characters with a move time of 3 or greater from fleeing.

Bears In the Woods: Magic Realm Forest Expansion

Best be careful, young adventur'r!  Thar's bears in them thar woods!

The Goblin King And Retinue: Magic Realm Expansion

With apologies to Liz Danforth, whose micro game art I have always loved, here is a mockup of the Goblin King and his Retinue, with Liz Danforth's artwork from TFT's Death Test repurposed for the occasion, including two archers, three axemen and one Goblin Shaman.

The Goblin King would be a special Treasure within Treasures site or treasure lair.  Among his possessions, a magical Dwarven Hammer or Throwing Axe (haven't yet settled on which it will be).

Magic Realm: Treasures Boots and Gloves

Here are some ideas for new Magic Realm Treasures.  They are variations on the Treasures currently in the game (in that they are boots and gloves representing move and fight chits) but they have interesting twists.  The Spiked Gauntlet is a handy treasure for those magical characters who do not begin the game with a weapon.  It is one of two Gloves cards that are not of negligible weight.

The Bravura Boots are worth 5 Fame (that may be a little high) since they are quite flashy.  The Galumphing Shoes are loud, so they come with a penalty to hide attempts, as well as a notoriety penalty (people laugh at you as you galumph past them).  The Iron Gauntlets are medium weight and can be employed in conjunction with the Throwing Hammer (which I have not yet introduced) to increase the throwing hammer's harm.

The Antique Vintage is a valuable cask of wine that allows you to roll 1 die on meeting tables for the day, if you activate it at the start of your turn, plus helps avoid battles during the combat round.

Bottle of the Four Winds is a readied Hurricane Winds spell that can be used during your turn or during combat and works just like the spell of the same name.