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So I got the game and tried a solo session using two heroes. One was stronger in Ranged attacks (Ronan the ranger-type) while the other was stronger in Magic attacks (Astarra? - I'm writing from work so I don't quite remember the names).
The ranger has taken a clear lead over the mage. The reason seems to be the fact that by specializing in Ranged attacks he usually defeats most challenges before they can attack him.
Of course the Mage has to wait through both the Ranged attack, then the Melee attack before she gets to use her Magic. By this time she has been hit and must often spend a turn or two going to a city to heal (thereby spending gold on healing instead of items or allies - slowing her progress toward building power).
At one point I had the Ranger and Mage meet in a city so that he could give her 9 gold so she could buy an ally who was strong in Melee. She still often took damage at the Ranged combat stage.
I assume I am playing right in that you first resolve a Ranged attack, followed by a Melee attack and lastly a Magic attack.
Does anyone else find this to be a problem? How have you fixed it?
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James Faulkner
United Kingdom
Banstead
Surrey
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I've only played a couple of times, but I felt the same that it was beneficial to have a character who could inflict combat damage earlier in the combat round.
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Geoff Knox
United States
Round Rock
Texas
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Good range skill is awesome in the beginning, but as you progress and run into challenges that get tougher you'll find that there are some that can't be one-shot with a range character and have really nasty melee or magic attacks. Range characters can start fast, but often get bogged down later in the game.
Also, it seems as though melee or magic focused characters tend to be able to produce more damage per shot than range- especially once you pick up some items to boost those stats. Though generally a magic focused character should be seeking out an ally quickly to act as a meat shield during the range or melee phases.
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Rauli Kettunen
Finland
Oulu
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Also from what I recall, Ranged lacks the +dmg equipment that Melee and Magic have, at least Ranged weapons aren't as powerful.
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Chris Broggi
United States
Southwick
Massachusetts
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Also, they tend to give better special abilities to the Magic users than the Ranged users.
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JC Hendee
United States
Oregon
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There's no doubt that pumping up Ranged attacks will help you the most in the beginning. A common strategy among players is to bump and augment Ranged capability and damage early in the game to avoid damage and kill off lower level opponents. Then, as you access tougher decks, work through Body and Spirit, changing out equipment likewise as needed. It has shown in our group to be the best way to survive if not win, as we do not use any of the softer knock out rules floating around.
And yes, the combat system might be considered flawed from this perspective, but any other approach could be too unwieldy and complicated for most pure boardgamers. In a typical battle leaning into the RPG end of games, you'd get one Ranged attack before being forced into continuous Melee. Magic would be a matter of all sorts of spell limits... or in this case getting to the Magic phase without taking a wound or fatigue that would disrupt your focus. That's all probably too much for even Runebound.
As an extension, one might then add some rule that if you cause no damage and take no damage, you might be allowed and attempted Escape/Evasion roll to get some distance to return to a Ranged attacked. Again, complicated, and most boardgamers would also whine about the extra time taken per battle.
And I have won at least one game in going Range heavy, but I also had to load up on Runes to compensate for the lesser Melee and Magic capability. It worked quite well with Sahla (?) in playing SoAK.
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Joshua
United States
Wolverine Lake
Michigan
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I felt the same as the OP. My wife and I came up with a simple solution.
Before each combat roll a die. 1-3 the rounds starts at Ranged. 4-6 it starts at melee. 7-9 it starts at magic. 10 re-roll.
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This is a game design, not a flaw.
Ranged is the best in that it hits first and also allows you to escape. However the upgrades for it are the weakest.
Magic is the worst in terms of how it hits last, however the items for it are the best in the game.
Ranged players need to win quickly. The longer the game goes the stronger the magic players should be getting.
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Was George Orwell an Optimist?
United States
Corvallis
Oregon
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Lockridge wrote: Does anyone else find this to be a problem?
Early humans found that they had a problem killing prey up close with knives and clubs, because that left them highly vulnerable to taking damage in return. The development of ranged weapons, with which they could kill from a distance before the target could strike back, was a solution.
Keeping everything even is a eurogame aesthetic. Highly themed games tend to reflect the real world to some degree, and those of us who enjoy such games see that as a feature, not a problem.
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Rich
United States
Plymouth
Massachusetts
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As other people said, the items tend to counterbalance this nicely, on a graduating scale. Melee weapons tend to have better bonuses to attack and damage than ranged, and Magic users the best.
Touch of Death is a prime example of this (spend X MP to make a magic attack before combat, do X DMG on a hit).
Magic users even get items that use that stat that aren't weaponlike in nature, mostly runes. See Teleport, for instance.
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Tim
United States
Danville
Illinois
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I agree with the the other replies that the items balance the disadvantage Magic combat has going last. From a metagame standpoint, one of the things I love about Runebound is the accessibility each of the three combat types provide. In games like Descent, ranged characters simply aren't as effective in combat, and having a character that isn't completely focused on one type limits your combat effectiveness as well. Runebound seems to have handled this nicely, balancing the three types (all things considered) and also allowing for the possibility of diversifying. It is rare that a game rewards you for being good at multiple things instead of completely focusing on one to maximize a desired result (usually damage output).
That said, when I originally read the rules, I found the combat order strange, and immediately thought something was wrong. But after playing more, I no longer think this is the case.
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