A Noble Quest
The Norns are looking to stop Ragnarök. They know that the path will be difficult and there will be many steps along the way. If they choose one path, others will be missed, and enemies may gain strength. But, in the end, their goal is clear, even if the way they get there isn’t. In this article for God of War: The Card Game, we take a look at the Quests. We’ve previously talked about how the individual Scenes work, but what about picking a Quest, and what downsides are there for choosing one path over another? Let’s find out.
God of War: The Card Game comes with 10 Quests, consisting of six initial Quests and four Final Bosses. At the start of the game, the Quests are shuffled, with one being placed on the table. This will be the first Quest players must complete in their journey. From there, two more Quests are drawn, being placed above the first Quest in an inverted triangle. If the players are successful in completing the first Quest, they will then have to choose which of the other two new Quests they will attempt. To get the third row, players shuffle the Final Boss cards and place three along the top, above the other Quests. Now, completed, the players have a roadmap for stopping Ragnarök. However, which route they will take is up to them.
On the front of each Quest and Final Boss card are the special rules for that particular Quest. For example, when the players take on the Grendels of Ashes and Frost, there are Pedestals that represent the power level of the two Grendels during the game. Or if they are facing the mighty Ogre, they can possibly use its strength to their advantage. Sigrun, the Valkyrie Queen, may be attacked by her followers when they are defeated, joining in the Norn’s quest to save the world. Each Quest and Final Boss’ special rules are unique, giving players different challenges they must overcome.
The front of the Quest and Final Boss cards also contains the winning conditions for the players. For some, it is simply defeating the main enemy in the Scene. For example, if the players can defeat both Travelers, then they have successfully completed the Quest. Other Quests are more complicated. For example, if the players travel to Alfheim, simply defeating Svartaljofurr is not enough. The forces of evil will still send reinforcements into battle. As such, the Heroes must also destroy the Hive, the source of the endless columns of troops. Only by completing both of those goals will they succeed. But straightforward attacking might not always be the case. In Baldur’s Forgiveness, the goal is for the Heroes to trap Baldur.
That brings us to another important piece of information on the front of the Quest and Final Boss cards: the Losing Conditions. While any Quest or Final Boss can be lost if all the Heroes are Knocked Down while fighting, certain ones have extra conditions that can lead to the player’s defeat. Sometimes, this means players must attack certain enemies in a certain order. In The Ogre Quest, players lose if the Ogre is defeated while another enemy is still alive on the field. Other times, players must keep track of battlefield elements, such as in Halheim, where the players lose if the Fire Pile is extinguished. In another example, players may lose if they become overzealous with their attacks. In Baldur’s Forgiveness, the players will lose if they let Baldur be defeated, as his death is a specific trigger for the beginning of Ragnarök.
Players must also choose carefully about which path they will take in completing the Quests and which Final Boss they will face. They will only pick one of the options for their second Quest, and the same for choosing one of the three Final Bosses. The cards that the players don’t pick are flipped over to their back and a special hindrance comes into play. They can deal direct damage to the Heroes before the battle even starts, add special cards to the player’s decks, or force them to remove beneficial cards from their deck for that fight. A hindrance can even force players to have a smaller hand size for that Quest. If the players can push on through and still accomplish their goal, then they are truly worthy of the heroic accolades they have achieved and will certainly be able to stop Ragnarök from happening.
The way forward is unsure, but working together, the Norns are the best chance for saving the world. You will have a chance to put your skills to the test when God of War: The Card Game comes out later this year.
You can read about the Heroes of God of War: The Card Game here.
You can read about the Scenes in God of War: The Card Game here.
You can read more about God of War: The Card Game here.
