Suzanne Humphries
If you didn’t become the Dovahkiin BFF to every single cool-as-hell dragon in Skyrim, it’s okay. I promise I’m not mad. In fact, you have another opportunity to prove your mettle, but this time you’ll need to equip your best tabletop skills. That’s right—it’s becoming a board game!
The 2011 Bethesda RPG will find its prequel in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim—The Adventure Game, which is being made by Modiphius Entertainment (which made the Fallout tabletop RPG, the 007 Spectre board game, and the Dune tabletop RPG). In fact, it’s set 25 years before the Skyrim video game
In the narrative-driven game, you’ll play a wily member of the Imperial Blades and get to revisit Tamriel’s frozen north. It ships with two campaigns, each with three chapters, and you can play solo or with up to three other people. Each chapter is expected to take anywhere from about 90-120 minutes a pop (though we can’t account for any side-quests you might find yourself on), and your first playthrough will likely take about 12 hours.
The game also includes approximately 600 cards (or as many as 700, if you spring for one of the expansion options). It contains quests and other plot elements that impact the narrative. By design, it’s also semi-permanent; you’ll regularly be reshuffling, adding, and removing cards from the deck to ensure each session you play will be different than the last. The choices you make will also impact the game, from small one-off events to the consequences you’ll have to deal with during the entire rest of the campaign.
If you’ve got a couple hours of free time, here’s a peek at a playthrough of the game from the folks at Modiphius:
Players will have six character roles to choose from, and each role is based on one of the fantasy races in The Elder Scrolls series: Khajit, Dunmer, Nord, Imperial, Orsimer, and Altmer. As you’d expect from such a game, each role has its own blend of affinities and powers to keep things interesting and diverse. What’s most exciting, though, is that the more you play, the more you’ll learn about the game’s vast lore.
Want a more in-depth look at the game? Polygon has an exclusive detailed preview. Otherwise, you can pre-order The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim—The Adventure Game now via Gamefound. You can buy the base tier for £68 (that’s about $91) or spring for the Deluxe tier for £140 ($189), or the Deluxe tier for £220 ($297) depending on how many expansions and other accessories you want. Fus-ro-dah!
via Polygon
