Grab your weapons, hunters. We have our first Wildspire Waste monster!
You'll find this Extra Large monster (on its 100mm base) in the Core and All-In Pledge from April 20 on Kickstarter.
Now, let's HUNT!
Barroth
From the journal of Jamie Perkins, Lead Developer
Not so fast.
Before we wade in, a quick refresher on quest types:
All monsters come with three quest types: assigned (1-star), investigation (2-star), and tempered investigation quests (3, 4, or 5-star, depending on the monster).
As long as you start with a monster’s assigned quest, you can face monsters in whatever order you like.
With one exception:
There’s always one mandatory starting quest you’ll need to complete to kick off a new campaign.
We began our Ancient Forest campaign by completing the Great Jagras assigned quest, which is the mandatory starting quest for that set.
Now we’re heading into the fetid swamps of the Wildspire Waste, we’ve got a new starting quest to kick off our adventure… Barroth’s assigned quest!
If you’re playing with both the Ancient Forest and Wildspire Waste sets together, you can choose to begin with either Great Jagras or Barroth assigned quest.
Whichever starting quest you pick, once you complete it, you’re free to hunt down any monster.
No, really. Any monster you like.
If you’re feeling brave, you could even go straight from the Barroth assigned quest to the Diablos assigned quest.
We just wouldn’t recommend it.
And let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still need to take down Barroth...
Physiology
Facing Barroth is like staring down a steam train that’s heading straight for you.
A steam train that can fight you on land or in the mires, and knows how to make use of its muddy habitat.
Want proof? Just check out its physiology card:
Being comfortable in water, Barroth is the first monster we’ve seen that actually uses pond nodes to its advantage.
The first time Barroth steps into a pond, Mud Coating will remove one one break token from every body part you’ve managed to land one on.
Luckily, this only happens once — on the assigned quest, that is. When you take on tougher Barroth quests, expect Mud Coating to kick in multiple times!
If you can get those break tokens to stick, Barroth has four breakable parts where Great Jagras only has three. So, you’ve got a better chance of earning break rewards.
But — and it’s a big ‘but’ — Barroth is also the first monster we’ve encountered that can’t be stunned.
Stun attacks are pretty common in hunter starting decks, so this immunity will have a notable effect on how your Barroth battles play out.
Are you up to the challenge? Let’s find out!
Behaviours
Barroth’s ‘brute wyvern’ classification is fitting.
Because it loves barrelling straight for you, most Barroth attacks originate from its head and torso.
Brace yourself for Skull Slam:
(If you need a refresher on reading monster behaviour cards, click here.)
This monster may be immune to stunning, but that doesn’t mean it won’t stun you.
It will. A lot.
And not only will Skull Slam stun you, it'll hit you for 5 damage, too — which will cost you 4 agility to dodge. Pretty nasty for an introductory monster.
Fortunately, it’s unusual for Barroth behaviours to have dodge values this high, with most Barroth attacks taking just 2 or 3 agility to avoid.
But do watch out for Barroth attacking before it moves, as it does here. Just when you think you’ve learned how to avoid being targeted, this monster makes you think again!
The nasty sting at the end of Skull Slam is that it only lets one hunter take a turn afterward.
Still, whoever takes that turn can play three attacks. Make them count!
Next up, the video gamers among you might recognise the board game version of a signature Barroth attack:
At 8 damage, Steamroller is no joke.
To make matters worse, if Steamroller does catch you, and you manage not to faint, it will leave you stunned instead.
Luckily, Steamroller is famously well telegraphed and not too tough to avoid. If you see this one coming, either stay out of the way or keep some stamina free to dodge.
Still standing?
Good, because Steamroller gives way to three hunter turns, which you’ll need after Barroth rampages across the board!
Finally, let’s switch things up with Rear Slam, one of Barroth’s rarer tail attacks:
Instead of physical damage, Rear Slam deals elemental damage.
So, unless your armour has the required elemental resistance — which, in the starting quest, won’t be the case — it won’t help you if you’re caught by this attack.
Rear Slam also sees Barroth attack before it moves, which could catch unwary hunters off guard — especially because it hits hunters up to 2 nodes away.
And that’s not all. Keep in mind that Rear Slam targets the furthest hunter.
This means that when you check the back of the behaviour card in an attempt to predict the monster’s next behaviour, you might assume standing close to Barroth means you’ll be safe.
But because Rear Slam sees Barroth attack first and move second, and it has a range of 2 nodes, that assumption could prove costly — especially if you’re standing behind it!
~ Journal Ends ~
So, Are You Bowled Over By Barroth?
Let us know in the Hub!
