Releasing October 6th, Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate (also available for pre-order at Amazon) is an exciting mash-up of Dungeons and Dragons, and the popular Betrayal at House on the Hill a semi-cooperative, horror-themed game. Who doesn’t want a good dose of cooperation, horror, D&D and betrayal!
Betrayal at House on the Hill is famous for its cooperative play that suddenly switches to a player betraying the rest of the party in some wonderful stab-your-buddy-in-the-back mayhem. Betrayal is also full of exploration, cooperation, and combat… a perfect fit for the D&D theme. While betraying your D&D party is not common in the roleplaying game, I’m sure many of us have dreamed of doing just that!
The shadow of Bhaal has come over Baldur’s Gate, summoning monsters and other horrors from the darkness! As you build and explore the iconic city’s dark alleys and deadly catacombs, you must work with your fellow adventurers to survive the terrors ahead. That is, until some horrific evil turns one—or possibly more—of you against each other. Was it a mind flayer’s psionic blast or the whisperings of a deranged ghost that caused your allies to turn traitor? You’ll have no choice but to keep your enemies close!
While Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate is built upon its predecessor, there are some differences. It takes place across a city as opposed to a single house. The party starts in Baldur’s-Gate-famous Elfsong Tavern. From there they can explore the city through buildings, streets, or go down into the catacombs, a new mechanic for Betrayal games. The 50 different included scenarios are each events taking place in Baldur’s Gate. While it also has the famous betrayal element, 10-20% of the haunts are cooperative, so there’s the added tension of not knowing if the finale will lead to a betrayal, or remain cooperative, both of which have massively different impact on party tactics.
GeekDad was provided some exclusive cords and a room tile for your enjoyment.
The Shiny Rock item card is just the thing to get your party watching their backs as you steal their best items. The Lonely Chest event card is a common possible-reward-with-risk card– sure you may get some loot, but you’re more likely to have a chunk taken out of your arm by a mimc! Dimensional Shackles– nothing like harming your friends to get yourself out of a pickle. It’s not called Betrayal for nothing.
There are also some beautiful floor tiles representing the buildings, streets, and catacombs. The Hall of Wonders looks like an interesting place to hang out, and you’ll gain one knowledge for doing so. I think I’d prefer to steal that flying machine and get the hells out of there!
While there are many details from Dungeons and Dragons and Baldur’s Gate such as tile art including the stuffed beholder behind the counter at the Elfsong Tavern, there is no D&D or roleplaying experience necessary to play Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate. This may be a great gateway game to get your apprehensive friends and family interested in Dungeons and Dragons.
Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate is brought to us by Wizards of the Coast and Avalon Hill, publishers of such classics such as Axis of Allies, Diplomacy, Hiller-house-favorite Robo Rally and, of course, Betrayal at House on the Hill. I will definitely be adding Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate to my game library.
EDIT: Corrected spelling of Baldur. Duh.
I pre-ordered this back in July. Can’t wait to play it!
It’s gonna be a classic!