Call to Adventure: Epic Origins (2022) Board Game

Call to Adventure: Epic Origins is a standalone game in the Call to Adventure series, released in 2022 by Brotherwise Games. Designed by Johnny O’Neal and Chris O’Neal, this fantasy card game offers players the chance to create their own epic story by building their character through various challenges and choices.

Game Components of Call to Adventure: Epic Origins

150+ unique cards: Including Heritage, Origin, Class, and Destiny cards.

Double-sided Adversary cards: Providing evolving challenges in Solo and Co-Op play.

Experience tokens: Used for leveling up and overcoming challenges.

Campaign envelopes: Containing new Adversaries, Heritage, and Destiny options.

Conversion guide: To translate the final game board into a 5th Edition D&D character.

Cardboard chits for Experience points: Though some prefer the plastic gems from the original game.

How To Setup Call to Adventure: Epic Origins

Each player starts with four Character cards: a Heritage, Origin, Class, and hidden Destiny. Players choose their initial character setup and then take turns drafting Trait cards or attempting Adventures. The game includes a vastly improved rulebook to guide the setup process.

Gameplay Mechanics and Game Objective

Tableau-building: Players draft cards to build their character’s abilities and backstory.

Rune-casting: Using runes to determine the success of challenges and acquire new cards.

Cooperative and Competitive Play: Options include semi-cooperative play against an Adversary, competitive play for the best score, and solo play.

Campaign Mode: A multi-session mode where players can unlock new cards by defeating Adversaries.

Game Objective: Earn the highest Destiny score by overcoming challenges and defeating the Adversary. In cooperative play, players must work together to remove all Experience Tokens from the Adversary.

Player Experience

Players craft their heroes by acquiring traits, facing challenges, and leveling up their characters using Experience points. The game encourages storytelling, with each card adding to the hero’s epic origin. At the end of the game, players can convert their final tableau into a 5th Edition D&D character. The game offers a variety of play modes, including improved solo play and a campaign mode that adds a narrative arc to the game.

Pros

High fantasy theme: Inspired by classic dungeon-crawling RPGs.

Improved solo and Co-Op play: Double-sided Adversaries and a multi-session Campaign mode.

Character customization: Heritage and Class cards offer deep character building.

Storytelling aspect: Encourages players to tell their hero’s story at the end of the game.

Compatibility with original game: Can be combined with other boxes in the series for added variety.

Cons

Cardboard chits: Some players prefer the plastic gems from the original game.

Complexity: May seem complicated at first due to many working parts, but rules become clear after a few games.

Campaign length: The campaign mode is relatively short, lasting only about 6 games.

Personal Thoughts on Call to Adventure: Epic Origins

Call to Adventure: Epic Origins is ideal for fans of fantasy RPGs and those who enjoy character-building and storytelling in their games. It is a great starting point for new players in the series, offering a streamlined ruleset and improved solo play. For veterans of the series, it provides new content and deeper character customization options. The game’s mix of cooperative and competitive elements makes it appealing to a wide range of players, from those who enjoy working together to those who prefer individual achievement.

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