If the storytelling aspect isn’t that appealing to you, I don’t know if the gameplay mechanics would carry the game. Note that the Book of Vantages has dozens of pages of different things to uncover. Just seeing a few pages has been exciting as I learn a little more about the world with each play! But if it’s not working for you and you didn’t click with it, no worries. Plenty of other games to enjoy!

Yes everyone else seem to have had fun. The challenge dice didn’t seem to really penalize anything. We never dipped low on any of our stats and a die could always be placed with someone else. One player got to look at maps in one of the books but no idea what he got out of that.

I’ve read from a few players that they’re concerned about how open-ended and roleplay-like gameplay can be, which isn’t going to work for everyone. For me, it’s more about the journey and seeing how a character’s story unfolds. The game elements are still there with the challenge dice, but I find that I enjoy the random wandering about to discover little surprises. No worries if it’s not the right choice for you, though! I hope the demo still had some enjoyable moments for everyone who played!