The Finale of HEXplore It: The Domain of Mirza Noctis
Follow the harrowing journey of an adventuring party into the final vampire lair of HEXplore It: The Domain of Mirza Noctis.
Time to keep rolling through HEXplore It: The Domain of Mirza Noctis! My first few hours showed me why I’ve always enjoyed this series and the characters who evolve through gameplay. It’s not for everyone with its middle ground between RPGs and board games, yet I was excited to play! What would happen to Demelza and Kreggihn in the end?
Game Overview
Game Name: HEXplore It: The Domain of Mirza Noctis
Publication Year: 2022
Designers: K. Kimoundri, N. Loos, and J. Mariucci
Artists: Yanis Cardin and Alvaro Nebot
Publisher: Mariucci J. Designs, LLC
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Characters level up and become more powerful as they explore the map and come across all sorts of events. Strange workings in the wilderness add to the narrative, all while collectors and Mirza Noctis himself create a growing threat. It all comes down to a final showdown!
First Play
October 9, 2022
Complexity
4
Latest Play
October 14, 2022
Expansions
3
Setup Time
15 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
5 Hours
High Score
N/A
Game Area
58" x 32"
Low Score
N/A
A Terrible Mimic
With collectors finally showing up in the villages, it was finally time to get a move on the adventure! Into the forest the pair went, only to come across a rather nasty mimic.
Even at the starter difficulty level, this was tough! Health damage was rare at such low mastery levels, and believe it or not, I thought this would spell the end.
Demelza and Kreggihn survived… With 2 health and 1 health, respectively. Barely made it, but it was a success!
It almost seemed like the mimic tried to copy Demelza in the midst of it all. Another interesting story moment!
Finding Teldra
From that near-death experience came a few power-up cards, which were like random boosts to different skills. I always like working in a little story for each one.
The logical use of pulling a familiar power-up was to boost an existing familiar… But not for Kreggihn!
He found a very small fey dragon named Teldra. She had been captured by the mimic, and although quite meek and tiny, Teldra was a lot stronger than she looked.
I loved the addition of familiars in this way! They added mini-characters to the party. Plus… Dragons! Yeah!
Farewell to Poe
Poe joined the party early on, and was immensely helpful! He allowed for a circumstances re-roll each round, which helped avoid encounters when things were dire.
Bringing him to every monastery took some time, yet seemed like a nice goal. In the end, he made it to the final one and left to dedicate his life to more studies.
These little side stories can add so much. I might not see this card show up for many more plays. All randomized!
It was sad to see Poe go, partially from his bonus, but also because he felt like a party member. Farewell, friend!
All the Green Runes
From those visits to the monasteries, Poe granted the group a total of 4 green runes. Nice! These could be imparted, or turned in, at the different monasteries.
In this way, I turned in all of these in a single turn… Picking up a total of 10 power-up cards for each character!
Was I wrong? I re-read the rules many times, and this was about the only time the group ever picked up power-up cards. Gold was scarce, so this was the major moment.
I decided it was fine. If I made a mistake, I didn’t mind: This sounded like a lot, but they were still pretty weak.
A Question of Writing Utensils
Long have I been a proponent of wet-erase markers, and I enjoy the erasable boards featured here. But as I went through erasing and updating sections, I was getting a little nervous with all of that ink near the game components. The included dry erase markers weren’t quite what I wanted, either. So what was I to do? Well, nothing for now!
I finished out this play as I had done. Yet a quick search found some printable, empty character sheets. Although using a pencil may go against what the series is going for, that’s my plan for next time! I don’t consider that a knock against the series, either. Just something that will work better for me to enjoy the game without the fear of marker leaks.
Surviving the Curse
Early on, someone touched a grave stone. Who was it? I’m thinking it was Kreggihn with all his rat-like scrabbling, but no matter! They both were cursed by Teron.
When their next investigation was finished, the trap triggered twice. That was a lot of blood for Mirza Noctis!
It wasn’t too terrible, yet he was starting to gain a lot of power. If the blood pool hit 30 or more, he could change form and lead to a much more difficult final battle.
Although there was time left, I could feel the tension creeping in. It was a slow build, and almost imperceptible.
Preparing for the End
Both Demelza and Kreggihn looked pretty decent at this point, although they were far from formidable. At least Hex was almost to the point it could do more damage!
On a side note, I ended up erasing all of the boards and starting over with different wet-erase markers. One of them nearly exploded in the process… Oh, my!
As much as I love the idea of erasable boards, my guess is that I’m going to use paper and pencil next time.
Only another personal observation since there was so much ink! My fingers were stained… But not the game!
Haunted House Fight
For each new volume, I try my best not to look at the various bosses. It’s fun to discover each as a brand new foe. Not that I’m ever prepared for battles, though. Ha!
I was delighted to see who the actual boss was for the first boss battle I attempted… A haunted house!
This was really neat and enjoyable. Granted, the real trick was to simply survive long enough. Very thematic: No one actually destroyed it, but rather made it to the other side.
At last! Demelza and Kreggihn looked like they were a little more powerful. Maybe they could make it to the end!
Mountaintop Battles
This map felt very thematic… Although that’s true for all the volumes, I loved the darkness of the forests and the sunlight hitting the highest peaks of the mountains.
There was a point when I accidentally started moving over the mountains withouth the proper equipment… Yet there was a village where it could have been purchased. Done!
Encounters provided lots of challenges, yet this devil was vaguely easy to defeat. Starter difficulty level, everyone!
Most pressing of all, though, was Mirza Noctis… He was so close to transforming into his powerful form. No, no, no!
Just Before the Finale
There wasn’t any other choice: Mirza Noctis’s lair was right there, so I triggered the end game battle. But first, I took a look at the map in all its glory.
Guess what? I never even made it into the dungeon and probably experienced about 5-10% of the content, if that. I only had brief glimpses into everything that went on here.
It was fantastic! The group started in the southeast, traveling in a giant loop to all of the monasteries for Poe.
Then, it was a mad dash to the castle! Regardless of the outcome, this felt like an epic sort of adventure.
The One and Only
Oh, there he was! With 28 blood in his blood pool… Meaning he was just shy of his ascended form. Take that for strategic planning, Mirza Noctis!
Yet he wasn’t at all an easy foe. He ate another ally, the falconer, in a rather rude moment of hunger. Goodness!
But my secret weapon paid off. Both Demelza and Kreggihn earned new favored opponents, and I chose the undead. So they did about 2-20 extra damage each turn.
Still, energy damage was our main specialty. And those pointy teeth weren’t easy to handle every round…
Session Overview
Play Number: 2-4
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game (Cooperative)
Play Details: Starter Difficulty Level
Outcome: Win
It was agonizingly close at times: Kreggihn was lucky with some high levels on his masteries, and luckily, he and Demelza never needed to use the exact same action! Lots of defending, a few close calls… And Kreggihn technically died just at the end, yet there were some extra abilities in play that saved him. A rousing victory for the duo! Bats and rats everywhere celebrated that fateful night!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
6
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
7
Originality
Design & Theme
10
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
10
+ Pros (Positives)
- Each play only reveals a fraction of the available content for plenty of variety and unexpected twists or turns.
- Characters start off with very limited abilities, yet grow throughout play in ways that feel tied to the storyline.
- The final boss battle can be very different with random upgraded abilities and the total value of the blood pool.
- Early exploration can feel very open-ended, but the tension slowly builds as blood collectors appear in villages.
- Decisions are important, and the dice aren’t used too often for random outcomes: Combat can be planned well.
- Stories evolve naturally based on circumstances, events, and other elements for a memorable play experience.
– Cons (Negatives)
- There can be a lot of elements to track between characters and various cards or statuses that might be temporary.
- With so many map tiles, the required table space can shift in unexpected ways when exploring in new directions.
- It’s difficult to memorize most of the rules, which requires a lot of referencing across the rulebook and placards.
- Getting into the narrative requires many hours and a good deal of focus, which aren’t always easy to come by.
Victory Conditions
Defeat Mirza Noctis
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at the starter difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
What sorts of characters have you played as in HEXplore It: The Domain of Mirza Noctis? Have you been surprised by the stories or turn of events? I didn’t see a large portion of the game with this full play, but that’s what makes it so much fun! Plenty of other things to check out in the future, which will take lots of time to see. Very exciting!
I don’t like the free markers much. They are serviceable but writes too thickly for such a small space. I bought some fine tip markers although I haven’t played the game yet due to space issues.
I hope you have a chance to play sometime soon! I prefer Staedtler Lumocolor Wet-Erase Markers, or sometimes EXPO Vis-a-Vis Wet-Erase Markers. Thicker lines don’t work for my small writing, and I found that the included dry-erase markers didn’t work for me, either. But I do appreciate them being included for those who can use them!