The Tale of the Scion of Sorrow in Shadows of Kilforth
Follow the mysteries deep into the wilderness where evil shadows grow on a hero’s journey in Shadows of Kilforth.
One of my favorite storytelling series has been sitting on my shelf for far too long, and I finally decided to bring out the glorious adventures in Shadows of Kilforth: A Fantasy Quest Game! With beautiful artwork and little pieces of lore that help tell tales, this is always a wonderful experience. Time to send another character on a quest to save the world!
Game Overview
Game Name: Shadows of Kilforth: A Fantasy Quest Game
Publication Year: 2020
Designer: Tristan Hall
Artists: José Salvador del Nido and Ania Kryczkowska
Publisher: Hall or Nothing Productions
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Time ticks down as more of the land falls into gloom and a hero must explore to work through a saga. An Ancient lurks, ready to experience the final showdown as soon as possible. All sorts of experiences may be found along the way on an adventure that lives up to its epic appearance!
First Play
August 24, 2021
Complexity
3
Latest Play
August 29, 2023
Expansions
1
Setup Time
10 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
1 Hour & 45 Minutes
High Score
N/A
Game Area
44" x 28"
Low Score
N/A
A Wild Combination
As usual, I randomly drew a couple of race and class cards to give myself a few options. It was pretty clear that I had a winner in a spirit walker samurai, though!
I will say that the wooden tokens continue to be one of the most jarring aspects of this game. The artwork is refined and a central element, and then… Bright red hearts!
Not that it takes much away from gameplay, although these components always feel a little out of place.
All the same, I was ready to head out on an adventure and make sure the world was kept safe from the Ancient…
It’s a Big, Big World
With the larger location cards, this is certainly a play area that makes its mark! The grid offers all of the various places to visit, and some of these begin in gloom.
Decks of cards correspond with different terrain types, offering all sorts of discoveries across badlands, forests, mountains, and plains. All very pretty, but dangerous!
Additional decks house cards like allies and treasures, which typically start off as rumors before they’re found.
Not pictured is the central element… Dice! I have a huge assortment, which always makes rolling pretty easy.
Scion of Sorrow
The random opponent this time was the Scion of Sorrow, one of those terrible Ancients who threatened the lands.
Ultimately, there is a major battle once a character progresses through a personal saga. These chapters tie the story together and typically provide a powerful bonus.
As the world falls into gloom, the Ancient’s powers grow. Left unchecked, the finale can be even more nightmarish!
My character was ready to explore, though. She didn’t seem like the heroic type, but she knew the terrible secret about the king and how the real one was still out there…
Crafting a Tale
For better or worse, this is an experience mostly about finding cards with the right keywords to advance through a saga. Yet that makes it sound far too simplistic!
Take this first chapter. Sure, I got the right keywords to advance. But the unfolding story was the heart of the fun.
A quiet servant in the plains had once worked for the royal family. The real one, actually. She shared whispered secrets as the threat of the stolen throne came alive.
Corrosive gas was used to wipe away memories, while there was a definite undead underpinning to it all.
A Terrible Betrayal
Moving around was difficult, thanks to all of the gloom and a lot of locations that housed enemies. Luckily, staying hidden was an option that was most helpful!
Still, there was a spot of betrayal in the second chapter. With a couple of tense battles, it all circled back to the innocuous shopkeeper who seemed excited to help.
Traitor! Some health damage reduced the available actions, slowing down progress as gloom raced forward.
From my experience, I was pretty sure that things were going too poorly for me to win, but onward I went!
One Last Wedding
It was certainly all over at this point, yet I wasn’t upset: I hadn’t played in years, and this was a pretty awesome sort of story for my samurai! She would fight to the end.
As it so happened, though, she returned to Moneshoba Shrine to pick up a new title for herself. Amidst all the gloom, there was a very understated wedding of the year!
The elevated spouse was a pretty neat card to pull, as it also offered me the chance to pull an ally card. Very fun!
Alas, with all of the undead running around, the exorcise spell couldn’t save everyone, and this resulted in a loss.
Deciding Not to Combine Gloom and Shadows
The original game in this series, Gloom of Kilforth: A Fantasy Quest Game, continues to be my favorite. There are some recommended ways to combine all of the content, which I considered doing for this outing. However, I decided against it due to some warnings about how that might dilute the keyword pool too much. It’s already hard to find some of them!
As I played, I was also reminded why this one doesn’t resonate with me as much. The setting is just as awesome, and possibly even more intriguing. Yet the cards themselves feature more enemies and events that don’t really feel as cohesive to me. For lack of a better description, I felt more like I was struggling to survive than acting like a hero.
It’s a subtle difference, and by no means does that mean I’m not a fan! This just makes me more interested in playing the original and maybe working in some of the tweaks introduced here. I’ll also be curious to see what I think about Call of Kilforth: A Fantasy Quest Game when it arrives. Or maybe I’ll just want to play a giant world game someday… Ha!
Character of Irony
Not quite ready to throw in the towel and admit defeat to the Scion of Sorrow, I reset and headed out with a brand new character! This time, he was also quite interesting.
As a weretiger chevalier, he was basically at odds with himself for battling demonkind… Yet he was a demon!
I loved imagining him going around shrouded in mystery and covered in head to toe with cloak and helmet. At the right moment, surprise: That’s a weretiger!
All of the settings were kept the same, but I was curious to see how different this journey would be with a new saga.
In Search of a Feast
This story was all about locating a fabled feast hall, which sounded most fitting for a weretiger! I suspected it wasn’t going to be all it was rumored to be, though.
Chapter 1 brought interesting information from a noble entreaty, who knew where to find a hidden tribe in the mountains. They had some interesting requirements…
A visit to an ebony crypt brought an interesting bit of arcane knowledge, but that wasn’t the worst of it.
The truth about being a weretiger turned him into an oath breaker, which became common knowledge.
Questing to Redeem
As a chevalier, he was immediately looked at as an outcast. There was nothing for him to do but work with the Wild Claws to complete quests and live a lonely sort of life.
The Scion of Sorrow’s power was reduced from his efforts, though, and the pesky problem of early aging was thwarted when the tapestry of aging was torn up!
In the Towers of Caine, though, peace was to be found. It was a place of happiness and joy, and even some romance.
He found acceptance in a clairvoyant, who was destined to travel with him. There were many weeks of happiness.
A Fall Into Gloom
Despite making progress towards his saga, the Scion of Sorrow was simply too much. She plunged the land into gloom, including the Towers of Caine at the very end.
With that lovely area destroyed and forever marred, it was another loss… Although I imagined him escaping and living quietly where no one would challenge a weretiger.
It was a bit disappointing to lose both times, although the stories were definitely worth the experiences.
Apparently, I just need to work harder at fighting off the Scion of Sorrow next time. It needs an extra dose of joy!
Session Overview
Play Number: 3 and 4
Expansion: Adventures Expansion Pack
Accessory: Pimp My Shadows Expansion Pack
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Bloodbath Difficulty Level
Outcome: 2 Losses
In this world, the Scion of Sorrow is just out there all the time, watching over every hero’s back! My luck didn’t hold up and although I can’t say I made a lot of poor choices, there were definitely different paths I could have taken. One day, there will be a victorious story to tell!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
5
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
7
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
10
+ Pros (Positives)
- Most of the rules are easy to internalize during the first play, and there are excellent player aids to help out.
- Stories develop on their own through all of the neat cards that come into play and contribute to saga chapters.
- Variants and difficulty levels help make the experience unique so the challenge doesn’t have to be overpowering.
- Characters are a combination of races and classes with all sorts of different abilities and strengths to build up.
- Advancing through sagas involves collecting keywords, yet the focus is always on creating a fun storyline.
- The Ancient provides a main enemy to plan to work against by converting rumors into assets like items or spells.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Many of the tokens look very basic and simple compared to the sophisticated art style found throughout the cards.
- Luck with the dice is a main feature of gameplay, and it can be frustrating to roll poorly even with 8-10+ dice.
- Not all of the artwork has the most cohesive art style, as some characters look a bit hyper-realistic and perfect.
- There is a lot of table space needed for the play area, and this can get pretty large with the different card types.
Victory Conditions
Defeat the Ancient
- Overall Goal Progress 67%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game against the Bishop of Pride.
Win at least 1 game against the Render of Flesh.
Win at least 1 game against the Scion of Sorrow.
Continue the Conversation
What do you like about Shadows of Kilforth: A Fantasy Quest Game? Are you a fan of any other solo games that feature storytelling? It was somewhat disappointing not to reach the finale battle, yet I still find the stories within this series to be some of the best in my collection. Just need to regroup and find a way to fight back against the gloom soon!
Thank you for the great report!
You’re welcome, and thank you for stopping by to comment!