FenPaints

The Smog Singers: An Initial Impressions Review

Spoilers for: Smog Singer Showdown at all levels Smog Singer Hunt Events Luck the Wanderer (lore based, not much on mechanics - That section is spoiler marked at start and finish.)Node 2 monsters are a weird breed; they almost always sit alongside Node 1 monsters at a pure statistics level and they scale up in similar ...

The Chorusseum: An Overview and First Impressions Review

As previously I will be peppering my campaign write up with mini-reviews and early thoughts on the various aspects of the Gambler's Chest, we're not into the point where I can write in detail about these things with the depth I would like, but I do think first impression style reviews are valuable because they ...

People of the Dream Keeper – Part 3: “Shopping for Samtsirch presents”

This covers Lantern Years 4 to 8.Spoilers for: Crimson Crocodile Level 2 Crimson Crockery Crimson Crocodile Indomitable Resources Smog Singers Level 2 Collective Cognition Outskirts Seed Patterns Forum Philosophies/KnowledgeWith the poor old level 1 butcher quickly shuffled off this mortal coil thanks to the power of ...

The Crimson Crocodile – Initial Impressions Review

Potential Spoilers for: The Crimson Crocodile Showdown elements Levels 1 to 3 Crimson Crocodile Hunt EventsThis week we're going to take a surface level review of the first monster in Gambler's Chest Expansion (GCE); I can't fully explore monsters without many, many sessions and a full spreadsheet dissectio...

The Crimson Crockery: An Overview & Review

While the campaign write up is still continuing, now that I've had enough time to play with the Crimson Crocodile showdown and gear I feel confident enough to review the various elements of this monster's showdown and gear. We're going to start with the gear, because I have a preference to understand what t...

People of the Dream Keeper: Lantern Years 1 to 4 – “Crocodile Years”

Spoilers for: Crimson Crocodile: L1 Smog Singers: L1 Crimson Crockery Outskirts Chorusseum Forum Collective Cognition Milestone: 2, 5 & 6 Philosophies Seed Patterns ButcherNote: This is going to be rougher and filled with half thoughts, impressions because there's a lot, a lot and I'm working from frantic note...

People of the Dream Keeper: Prologue into Settlement Lantern Year 1

Spoilers for: Crimson Crocodile – Prologue Starting Knowledges Crimson Crockery & Gear Collective Cognition Unlock 1Prologue – Crimson CrocodileI sit down with an assembled Croc and the starting survivor miniatures from the core game; this prologue feels similar, but different. With the opening narrative being pres...

Content Plan for the Gambler's Chest

A short one this week, I hope you all understand, I'm trying to get ahead on the YT video recordings over the next week or so by recording four in advance (Stone Circle is next Wednesday, then it's Leather Worker, Weapon Crafter, Barber Surgeon & Blacksmith). That will then let me concentrate on the GCE fully f...

Gambler's Chest Arrived!

The Gambler's Chest Expansion arrived yesterday afternoon, and it provided existential dread and horror before I even opened the box. Those of you who check the patron's discord will be already aware of this, but for everyone else, here's the photograph of the package.It seems that my beast was from the gro...

Kingdom Death: Monster – Review of Lune, Longclaw Lioness Lenore and Sen

With thanks to patron members timberwolfl and Mike B. for supplying details of the game content and miniatures so I could proxy test out this content in advance of its store release.LuneResin version of Lune from the Shop.At time of writing I have not received my GCE, so I will be reviewing this based on the install gu...

Echoes of Death 4 Review

Photograph used with kind permission from community member Mike B. Information about the Game Content for proxying supplied by timberwolfl. Thank you to members of the community like this who help me get early access to things like this so I can review them in a timely fashion.This is a rare situation where thanks to G...

No Post This Week. But there is content.

Ironically, on the week I take off I am involved in more KDM content than during weeks I am around.First Video on YT Channel here: https://youtu.be/huvpKbjbGxwThe Last Standee does a 2 part KDM retrospective. We could have probably done 10 parts if I'm honest.Part 1 here: https://soundcloud.com/the-last-standee-pod...

Kingdom Death Review: Mystery Birthday Gift 2023 & Gunborg

Mystery Birthday Gift 2023 ReviewNot posting spoilers was requested by APG and I try to respect requests like that. So here is a very short spoiler free review:Do not spend your money on this box set unless you are a pure collector, and especially do not get it if you think you can open it and resell it in the future. ...

My YouTube Channel

Hey all, for those of you who want to be there for when the channel properly launches in the next month or so, here's the link!https://www.youtube.com/@FenBossBattlersThe first video will be The Skinnery & You which you have already seen previewed here, when I get up and running properly it will have a new video on...

The Skinnery & You

A little taster of the KDM Simulator content I'm going to be putting out on my YouTube channel in the coming months. Some video content strategy guides are going to be released going ahead, but written content is not going to stop. Especially once the Gambler's Chest expansion arrives.These videos will get an e...

Kingdom Death: Monster – A Post Mortem Review (Core Game): Part 2

For part one of this series see here. This second part will dive into the Settlement Phase, Monsters and Campaign contained in the Core Box for Kingdom Death: Monster. We'll end with a summary of my final thoughts and a brief look at what I personally want from the Gambler's Chest Expansion.The Settlement Phase...

Kingdom Death: Monster – A Post Mortem Review (Core Game): Part 1

With the Gambler's Chest due to arrive some time within the next one or three months I believe at this point we're at the best time to complete a deep look into all the currently released aspects of the game (apart from the smaller promotional content); this is especially pertinent with the Kingdom Death Monste...

KDM Beta Content Review – Mist (Raikin Armor)

Mist disappears into the the thin, toxic air that descends as gazes of Raikins generate violent storms near her settlement. Streaking past the massive balls of frizzed fur, she conditions her lungs to fight in the ozone rich atmosphere. Repeated exposure to the highly charged environment has left Mist's hair crackl...

Aeon Trespass: Odyssey – Cycle I: The Labyrinthauros (Part 2, the Battle)

Click here for Part 1; which is a story spoiler light look at the real world, mythological and in game lore surrounding this Primordial.Now we have something of an idea behind the reason that the Labyrinthauros is in the world, why it is opposing us and what links it has to the story behind the first cycle it is time t...

My Favourite Mechanics in Boss Battlers

I am on record writing/saying that while I adore Kingdom Death: Monster's trailblazing position for the Boss Battling board game genre; it is the games which come afterwards and seek to improve/refine the systems that come after it that I am most excited for. KDM's own design is half rooted in the 1980s and ear...

Studium: No Exit – Demo Preview Review

Disclaimer: I am not sponsored in any way by Watchtower Gaming, nor did they approach me for this review. I am writing this because of the positive experiences I have had while playing the game and also because this is exactly the kind of project I think should be supported by crowdfunding as it is a small independent ...

Studium: No Exit Kickstarter

Kickstarter Link here.Recently this boss battler launched; I've spent last week corresponding with the designer and ahead of my writing a piece on my thoughts about it based on that conversation, the kickstarter and playing the demo felt that at a minimum I should be highlighting it. The Kickstarter finishes on the...

Constructing a Kingdom Death: Monster Campaign

Revisiting Constructing a Kingdom Death: Monster Campaign: Part 4 The Campaign Configurations I Use

So this is the final part; I am going to write about each of the campaign configurations I have found the most enjoyable; with explanations of why each element is included. In respect to the white box/beta/promotional content; I will not list all of it, but any notable inclusions will be listed.The format will be:Title...

Marvel Champions: Hero Pack 1 Review

This is the contents of the box, they didn't even bind all the hero rules into a small book, very little effort put in here - however given the price I am not really complaining.I've been looking for a way to review the various hero packs in a concise manner and when I learnt about the release of the collected ...

Aeon Trespass: Odyssey – Cycle I: The Labyrinthauros (Part 1, the Lore)

What lies beneath the surface?We continue our series of deep dives into Aeon Trespass: Odyssey's (ATO's) content with a holistic overview of the second main timeline Primordial, the Labyrinthauros. A Primordial who's name I have had to add to my word processor's dictionary so that it will stop screaming...

Kingdom Death: Lolowen Box Content Review

Lagomorphs steal the poorly guarded eggs appearing in nests around their settlement. They return to the settlement and feast on the glowing green yolks before the ornate shells become too tough to break. The raw eggs are easily gained but rarely sit well in the survivors' digestive tract. To prepare for the blood r...

Kingdom Death: Gnostin Stonesmasher Beta Box Content Review

Gnostin heaved his hammer, eyes glazed over with bloodthirsty abandon, swinging maniacally. He squeezed an ear-shattering scream from his burning lungs to complete the effect. The monster recoiled, defensively scrabbling backwards to safety. The others moved into position, steering clear of their fellow's wild onsl...

Into the Unknown Studios launches their reprint for Aeon Trespass: Odyssey - with new content

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingdomsforlorn/aeon-trespass-odyssey-second-printingI don't think I need to gush too much about how great this game is and I hope most of you were already aware that this came out. I've had an absolute blast with the first three cycles, so much that I'm playing through ...

Can Converting a Competitive Game into a Boss Battler Work? Ashes Reborn: Red Rains – The Corpse of Viros (A Review)

In recent times I was sorting through my Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborne collection, a game which I have not had much chance to play in recent times; but I have greatly enjoyed in the past. While looking at it I was struck by the concept of how this game could be adapted into a cooperative boss battling experience in a...