Court of the Dead: Mourners Call

Product Information

Death has had enough of the daily grind of soul collecting for both heaven and hell. They want out. Or rather, they want to put an end to the war between heaven and hell. But it’ll have to be a kind of low key, because if heaven or hell notice the guilds in support of the court of the dead, they’ll get punished. Wallows Cards– These are quest cards that can be completed to gain Faction points, bonuses, or Etherea. I’m currently designing one of the seven different writing systems used by the nobility in my imaginary world that I’d love to see printed and published, but that will never ever happen because I write like an angsty teen and also because much of my imaginary universe is eerily similar to an universe I won’t name but its name sounds somewhat like Smiskworld.”

In addition to the Sideshow Collectibles creative team, Gillland has assembled a powerhouse team of 2d and 3d artists from all over the world to create the new collection, including: The book has a few things to offer readers, namely its mythology and artwork. The writing here is interesting enough and for what it is (a guidebook to the Underworld and its occupants) it's pretty well detailed. If you did want to use this as the base for a RPG, you wouldn't be disappointed since all of the basics are covered. Readers are given just enough to know what's going on, although I'll say that the best portions come when the creepy court jester Malavestros inserts his own opinions and reflections that frequently contradict the narrator, an official Underworld historian.

Welcome to the Underworld

Rarely will a reviewer complain about a game’s theme, but here it is due. Others may see the story inherent in the theme as some epic struggle against the ignorant powers that be. In reality, having seen the source material, nothing is further from the truth. The short stories in the graphic novel merely serve as a vehicle for the absolutely amazing and wonderful art, but offer no real substance for the (intended) mighty struggle in the game. As such, Court of the Dead is a game woefully devoid of meaning and motivation. In some ways, that’s worse than a pasted on theme. Overall, Court of the Dead: Mourners Call has plenty of unforced errors that make for an uninspiring whole. It doesn’t make any mistakes so large that it should be relegated to the bottom shelf of gaming, but it’s not digging deep enough into the theme to find the real game. This feels very much like a game made for an IP, not a game designed with mechanisms as the central draw. Players who like the Court of the Dead theme will be satiated. Gamers looking for the next Blood Rage will be disappointed.

The leader of Spirit Faction, Ellianastis, invites mourners to focus on what is truly important: unity, not war. The Great Oracle spends the majority of her time in Illverness’ great library, the Higst Athenaeum, studying ancient philosophies. Welcoming all to learn with her, Ellianastis is a mentor to many mourners. Her greatest protege is the de facto leader of the Spirit Faction, Kier. In the sprawling citadels of the Underworld, deep within the vast libraries of Voxxingard, a curator sits. Staring at an empty tome, he ponders the puzzle that has been laid out before him by his Master, the shepherd of souls known as Death — a question deceptive in its simplicity, “What is the purpose of the realm of the dead?” The Final Verdict: At the time of this writing, this book had only been out for a little over a year and it appears that Court of the Dead has not been out for much longer either. Bookworm could not be more excited! Normally, when they have discovered a franchise, it already has a dedicated fanbase and Bookworm has to struggle to keep up! Here, Bookworm is right at the beginning. Bookworm cannot wait to explore more of the Underworld and the Court of the Dead. As a reviewer, one of the most important things is to understand the game completely. Having read the rules a couple of times, the mechanisms are very easy to understand but what was still missing was the theme. After reading the graphic novel—really a collection of short scenes how some Mourners came to being—the game’s mechanism and the intent made more sense, however, appreciation for the theme took a dramatic turn. The whole game presentation is very well done with art and components working well together. In terms of an Underworld United, those in Spirit should consider connecting with their physical selves to further their connections with other mourners and to remain more grounded in their environments. Like followers of Bone, beings who lean toward the Spirit Faction might benefit from structure so that they can complete a project rather than drift from interest to interest, never achieving one idea’s fullest potential.

Honestly, the fact that there’s an excess of breasts doesn’t even bother me -Sideshow wouldn’t be Sideshow without female nudity- but it’s time to give those of us that appreciate the ~male form~ something to ogle at as well. Thank you. Pay Celestial Tithe– Depending on the Celestial Suspicion Meter, players must pay Etherea. They’ll hold out their hands with a secret amount and reveal all at once. The highest paying player gets a bonus and the lowest paying will suffer some point penalties. If the required total is not met, even more point penalties are incurred to the lowest paying player. When I first began reading this book I was sure that this was a companion piece to an RPG game, where they give more description so players can flesh out their gaming experience. A little reconnaissance shows that while there's no game, there is a line of figures by Sideshow Collectibles and apparently this book is a tie-in. This explains quite a bit, since I kept feeling like the book was a part of something else and not something on its own. And, finally, the locations on the board which should provide some intrigue for the control aspect of the game are largely resource/faction influence mining locations. Besides controlling them for victory’s sake, there doesn’t feel like there’s much challenge between players with them. It was a very close run game in the end. I swarmed the board early game, but Kyla very successfully managed to control the Deadsbane Token, giving her forces immunity to the Dreadsgrip threat, which decimated my forces late game. Kit and I drew with 36 points, and Kyla came in close with 34 points. Kyla and Adam battle for control of the locations on the board. Player Thoughts

Welcome to the world of the dead. Fortunately for you, you've got someone to fill you in on how things work. Death is in charge, but he has a whole court of beings under him. Splitting things up more are the official factions of bone, flesh and spirit. There are also unofficial factions, so caution is needed. The type of soldiers who fight for death and their most famous members are described. Along for the ride is skeptical Malavestros, who is willing to try to clue you in to the real truth. Some readers can skip this introduction entirely. The next game to weigh on the scales of Anubis is Court of the Dead with arguably the strangest theme this reviewer has ever come across. For those who are already familiar, skip to the Final Thoughts. (Insert Vincent Price voice-over) For the uninitiated who dare to plumb the depths of the ghastly, underworldly theme, read on. An intricate game that reveals itself as straightforward, with enough dramatic flourishes to offer a little bit of over-the-table theatrics. Oh, and gorgeous to look at. You are a Mourner – an allegiant of Death – dedicated to realizing his noble ambition to end the celestial war and restore balance to the universe. However, Death’s purpose includes your own ulterior motives. You and your fellow Mourners must unite and rise, or fall together. But only one Mourner will achieve their particular vision of the Underworld united. Your task will not be easy. While the Underworld is united in its purpose, it is divided in its strategy to achieve that aim. There are three factions in the Land of the Dead: Bone, Flesh, Spirit. Each is a unique path to rise up against Heaven and Hell.During each round, players also draft Court Cards, which represent powerful characters. To draft, players draw a set amount of cards, chose one and pass the remainder to the next player, who in turn passes their remaining cards around. Each Court card has access to 2 powerful effects and to play them, players must choose between the effects during each round. Examples of effects are gaining influence or placing a powerful unique Guild Figure on the board. There is also a figure for Death himself, and the player playing the Death card is given the figure and can decide the result of a single tie at the end of the round. The Court of the Dead court cards represent powerful characters that can help you in game. I feel that the co-operative element is just bolted on and doesn’t really play out the way it was initially planned for I think. It's more like a random tax you have to pay each round. In summary, it’s a good game, but other similar games such as Blood Rage do it better and are far less fiddly, even the hidden objectives are far more balanced. Resolve Locations– Finally, after all of the above, players gain bonuses from each location and faction they control in terms of majority. These rewards most often come as Etherea or Faction Points which will translate into points at the end of the game. This is probably not the type of book you want to sit down and read all at once. For all it’s creativity this is a book of facts about the Underworld. There is a bit of story here about how Death came to rule the Underworld and some hints of a story about wars and rebellions that have plagued the Underworld. That being said it is primarily a book of imagined facts and the reading can get a bit dry at times. The amount of information (albeit imaginary) thrown at the reader is a bit overwhelming too.