Contrary to popular belief, Trolls value many qualities aside from just brute strength. Certain exceptional Trolls excel above their kin in some extraordinary way to earn the title Champion. These Champions of cunning, strategy, bravery—and yes, strength—are loyal to their home clans, but they can be convinced to join your faction in the battle for the defence of the Mountain. Champions, if used wisely, will give you a much better chance of leading the horde in exile should the Mountain fall.
In Fall of the Mountain King, you can recruit Champions to join your faction in your efforts to fight off the invading Gnome attackers. Every Champion represents one of the seven clans. If you gain their services, you’ll also gain votes with their clan.
Each game, you’ll start with a Champion already on your team. Heroes like Firragh The Avalanche (who has the strength of two Trolls when attacking Gnomes), or Argren Hammerhelm (who allows you to take a weak action following a strong Advance action she’s involved in), are great warriors to have on your side. Your starting Champions give you a distinct advantage in a certain aspect of the game and can help shape your strategy.
Across three gruelling Waves, you compete with your rivals for the services of different Champions. In this war, you need all the help you can get. Through the Influence action in your Ancestry or on the Gnome Wheel, you’ll be able to make the case that your faction is the one they should join. The more Influence you expend, the more likely you are to win them to your side. However, even if another faction steals their services away, you receive some compensation for your efforts in the form of clan votes or Honour.
In Waves I and II, Champions like Laggrid Who Tells Many Tales, and Waelwulf Who Awakens become available. Some of these great Trolls have abilities such as helping with your Bolstering, or creating clusters in your Ancestry before you start taking actions. Other Champions, like Marja Gatehold and Imbolg The Knife, appear in the Mountain itself and join in the fray. Their abilities help you with your strategy on the board or reward you for their positioning. Using the right Champion for the right job is critical to showing off your Trollish leadership skills.
In the final Wave, most of the Champions focus exclusively on earning you Honour. Many of them will make a courageous final stand defending a Great Hall. When you win the services of Champions like Cryddak Who Breathes War and Stel-Kor The Host, you place them in an empty Great Hall and score points for different conditions in the Caverns around them.
Some third Wave Champions like Rakh-Dun Who Brings A Shadow can be used to cost rival factions Honour. Others like Shulta The Whisperer, can affect your position on the clan voting board.
Adding Champions to your forces may not be enough to turn the tide against the attack, but it can earn you the respect of the seven clans and a much better chance of leading your fellow Trolls. Your path to victory in Fall of the Mountain King becomes a bit more broad with these Trollish heroes on your side.
Fall of the Mountain King is coming to Kickstarter on June 1.
Read the Fall of the Mountain King overview here.
Read about Ancestries in Fall of the Mountain King here.