Shadows Over Normandie

A few weeks after D-Day, a U.S. Ranger Company lost in Normandie has to confront the terrifying power of the Nazis’ Cult of the Black Sun. Allied with an ancient Deep Ones tribe, the Cult of the Black Sun is preparing a dark ceremony to summon the great Cthulhu.

Shadows over Normandie is a squad/platoon sized game based on the Heroes System and is totally compatible with the Heroes of Normandie board game. The game features three opposing armies controlled by the players. These forces include the German Cult of the Black Sun, the ancient Deep Ones, and the U.S. Rangers. Each force is made up of infantry, tanks or creatures and of course, heroes and villains. Each unit has its own set of unique characteristics and skills depicted on the high quality chunky tokens.

Players use order tokens to determine initiative and to bluff. While a single six-sided die determines combat, action cards are played to spice things up. Secretly plan your attacks and outwit your opponent. Block the opposing strategy and surprise the enemies. Deploy your units and don’t turn back!

 

Heroes of Normandie: Pegasus Bridge

The Battle of Pegasus Bridge began minutes after the Allied invasion of Normandy and was crucial in defending against the Axis counterstrike following their loss on the beach. The airborne unit that landed at Pegasus Bridge were tasked with holding the bridge against the German forces.

Recreate this epic battle with the Heroes of Normandie: Pegasus Bridge new scenario pack!

The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game- The Land of Shadow

“Nice hobbits! We will come with them. Find them safe paths in the dark, yes we will. And where are they going in these cold hard lands, we wonders, yes we wonders?”
     –Gollum, The Two Towers

The Land of Shadow, the fourth The Lord of the Rings Saga Expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is now at The Wandering Dragon!

Join Frodo Baggins (The Land of Shadow, 1) on his desperate journey, and relive some of the greatest adventures from the second half of The Two Towers. Brave the treacherous, trackless expanses of the Dead Marshes and the dead things that lie within their stagnant mires. Travel into the forests of Ithilien, and lend your strength to an ambush sprung against the forces of Mordor. Find your way through dark and foul-smelling tunnels that lead through Shelob’s lair. Then confront the ancient spider at the very edge of Mordor.

The three new scenarios in The Land of Shadow take their inspiration directly from the novel, and they bring you as close to the Morgul Vale as you can come without feeling its rock beneath your feet or hearing the coarse, guttural speech of the Orcs that dwell in Cirith Ungol. All the while, you’ll need to beware of the Dark Lord’s Nazgûl and find some way to deal with that strange, twisted creature known as Gollum (The Land of Shadow, 75).

There’s more to The Land of Shadow, though, than its three scenarios. You’ll also find three new heroes, including a new version of Frodo, and you’ll find three copies each of ten different player cards, which go a long way toward further developing the ways that the Rangers of Ithilien and their Traps are presented within The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. Finally, The Land of Shadow presents you the opportunity to continue your The Lord of the Rings campaign, carrying forward with the epic task you and Frodo first undertook in The Black Riders. In Campaign Mode, the expansion’s scenarios are even darker and deadlier than in standard play, and the new boons and burdens that it introduces go a long way toward bringing you more fully to the shadowy edges of Mordor.

The Taming of Sméagol

“You’re full of wickedness and mischief, Gollum. You will have to come with us, that’s all, while we keep an eye on you. But you must help us, if  you can.”
–Frodo Baggins, The Two Towers

As in the second half of The Two Towers, the wicked creature known as Gollum features prominently in The Land of Shadow, appearing first as an enemy in The Passage of the Marshes. Nonetheless, Gollum isn’t like other enemies. His fate is bound together with yours, and even though his pursuit of Frodo and the Ring is unrelenting, you can’t afford to kill him. Instead, you must show him some mercy when you defeat him. Then, he flips over and becomes the objective ally, Sméagol (The Land of Shadow, 76).

Despite his wickedness, Sméagol can be an extremely helpful part of your fellowship. With his guidance, you can navigate the Haunted Meres (The Land of Shadow, 21) and Stagnant Pools (The Land of Shadow, 22) of the Dead Marshes.

However, there’s always the chance that Sméagol’s “Gollum” persona will rise to the fore, and the creature will turn against you once again. Not only does Sméagol flip back to Gollum anytime you fail to quest successfully, but there’s always a chance that his hatred will get the better of him. We Hates Them! (The Land of Shadow, 55) can provoke Gollum to evil at any time. This ensures, among other things, that your journey toward Mordor is layered with multiple forms of tension. You have the threat from multiple encounter cards building up in the staging area. You have the enemies you must overcome along your way, and you have the constant threat of Gollum’s treachery, even while you need Sméagol and his aid.

One Ring to Bind Them

For a moment it appeared to Sam that his master had grown and Gollum had shrunk: a tall stern shadow, a mighty lord who hid his brightness in grey cloud, and at his feet a little whining dog. Yet the two were in some way akin and not alien: they could reach one another’s minds.
–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Gollum’s not the only character from The Land of Shadow who has been changed by the One Ring. Frodo Baggins also appears changed by his role as Ring-bearer. No longer is he the same Hobbit that slipped the Ring onto his finger to hide from the Ringwraiths he encountered in The Black Riders.

In The Land of Shadow, Frodo appears as the wisened Hobbit who has accustomed himself to the Ring’s burden and learned how to resist its temptations. Still, the Ring forms a connection with its bearer and changes him, even when he does not wear it. Accordingly, the expansion’s new version of Frodo Baggins comes with an ability that represents his growth:

“Action: Spend 1 Fellowship-sphere resource and exhaust The One Ring to give Frodo Baggins +2 Willpower and +2 Attack Strength until the end of the round.”

This is a Frodo who no longer thinks to don the Ring to hide from the Ringwraiths that hunt him. Instead, he’s more resolute than ever, more fully driven to complete his journey and destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom.

And yet he’s able to use the Ring in his own way. With the Fellowship-sphere event, Speak Your Promise! (The Land of Shadow, 13), Frodo can ready himself and reach the mind of an enemy with which he’s engaged. Of course, if you have the resources, you can use the event in the same phase that you use Frodo’s ability, and you can reduce the Attack and Defense Strengths of any enemy with a Threat Strength less than four. You can even raise Frodo’s Willpower with other cards like Sting (The Road Darkens, 11) and further increase the impact of this event.

However, you have to remember that Frodo isn’t the Ring’s true master, and there’s always a danger in using it. Your journey takes you into the very shadows of Mordor, and here you’ll find that there are Morgul Wraiths (The Land of Shadow, 53), and they are always attentive to the Call of the Ring (The Land of Shadow, 54).

Continue on Your Journey

“It’s heavy on me, Sam lad, very heavy. I wonder how far I can carry it?”
–Frodo Baggins, The Two Towers

Whether you play through its scenarios on their own or add them to your ongoing The Lord of the Rings campaign, The Land of Shadow is your chance to join Frodo Baggins for a series of fantastic adventures pulled straight from the pages of The Two Towers. You’ll encounter terrible enemies, explore dark and dangerous locations, be struck by treachery, and meet the Rangers of Ithilien.

You can look for The Land of Shadow now at The Wandering Dragon!

 

Bottom of the 9th

It’s the bottom of the ninth inning. The game is tied. It’s down to the home team to score one run to win it all. Unfortunately, the home team is staring down the league’s best closer.

A dice and card game for two players, Bottom of the 9th brings all the excitement of the final three outs of a baseball game into a compact 5-20 minute game session. With variable player strengths, bluffing/deduction, and die-rolling, only the pitcher knows what’s coming and the batter needs to keep his eyes peeled. Bottom of the 9th is played over the course of three outs, or four hits (for one run scored) — whichever occurs first.

Bottom of the 9th includes tons of variable player powers, myriad customizable line-ups, the possibility of two added expansion packs, and rules for advanced league and solo play to keep gamers wanting to play ball time and time again.

 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Gaming Mats

From Fantasy Flight Games comes two new The Force Awakens gaming mats!

The Kylo Ren Gaming Mat and First Order Gaming Mat partner bold and imposing images from Star Wars: The Force Awakens with the convenience of no-slip gaming surfaces. Protect your cards. Immerse yourself more fully in your games. Harness the power of the dark side.

Designed for use with Star Wars: The Card Game and other card games, these gaming mats are made by FFG’s Factory (formerly In-House Manufacturing), utilize natural rubber, and measure approximately twenty-four inches by fourteen inches.

Most importantly, both mats are available now at The Wandering Dragon!

Kylo Ren Gaming Mat

The Kylo Ren Gaming Mat features a stunning depiction of The Force Awakens villain wielding his distinctive red-bladed lightsaber, crouching ready for battle, and clad all in black. His black cowl covers the top of his armored mask while, behind him, light streams through smoky air. Sparks fly off his lightsaber, almost like flecks of molten metal.

With its dark and powerful imagery, the Kylo Ren Gaming Mat makes it easy for gamers to tap into their dark sides, whether they’re playing as the Sith faction in Star Wars: The Card Game or pursuing their own, nefarious goals.

Best yet, as much as its imagery conveys the danger and menace of the dark side of the Force, the playmat’s black borders and Kylo Ren’s black clothes won’t clutter your playing space with a barrage of shapes and colors that might distract your eye from the cards that count.

First Order Gaming Mat

Your deck doesn’t rely upon a single card. It relies upon each and every card working together toward a common goal. You want synergy, and you want strength in numbers.

These ideals are given life in the First Order Gaming Mat, which depicts waves of the First Order’s armored Stormtroopers surging forward with their guns raised and ready. Clad in suits of white and black armor, these Stormtroopers push relentlessly toward their goal, and plumes of black smoke in the background hint at the devastation they have left in their wake.

Framed at the top and bottom with black trim, and decorated with the First Order’s symbol in red band black, the First Order Gaming Mat is a model of style and efficiency, making it an excellent choice to decorate your gaming surface without overshadowing the cards you place upon it.

Clear Strength in a Time of Uncertainty

Throughout the galaxy, it is a time of uncertainty. However, you now have the power to add order to your games. With their slip-free natural rubber construction and powerful imagery, the Kylo Ren Gaming Mat and First Order Gaming Mat offer beautiful, thematic, and functional enhancements to your play space.

Immerse yourself in the struggles of a galaxy far, far away with the Kylo Ren Gaming Mat and the First Order Gaming Mat now at The Wandering Dragon!

 

Holiday Dancing Groot

What happens when Groot goes a little overboard with that eggnog? Bobbling ensues and he’s in the spirit to wish you a Happy Holidays! This totally adorable Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Dancing Groot Pop! Figure comes to you in a festive green flower pot and large red bow. Holiday Dancing Groot features classic bobble head action with a spring, so you can make baby Groot “dance” along to all your holiday tunes. No batteries required! The Holiday Dancing Groot Pop! Vinyl Bobble Head Figure is an essential addition to any Guardians of the Galaxy fan’s collection!

 

Star Wars: Edge of the Empire: Mask of the Pirate Queen

“Looks like somebody’s beginning to take an interest in your handiwork.”
   –Han Solo

Mask of the Pirate Queen, an adventure for the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire roleplaying game is now available at The Wandering Dragon!

Explore the jungles of an Outer Rim paradise. Slice into the networks of an interplanetary crime syndicate. Fight your way onto a pirate ship. Battle a seasoned pitfighter while thousands of spectators look on – all in pursuit of the nefarious, cunning, and powerful Pirate Queen. You never know what tough deals you’ll make, what underground contacts you’ll meet, or what illicit deeds you’ll perform in this fast-paced bounty hunting adventure.

Caught in a Criminal Rivalry

The Pirate Queen leads an all-female criminal organization known as the Veiled Sorority that predates the Clone Wars. Non-females of any species can join the sorority, and most of the lower-ranking members are male, but only females can hold leadership positions. The Pirate Queen herself remains anonymous to all but her most intimate counselors, always wearing an ornate, high-tech mask to maintain her anonymity – which is more necessary now that the infamy of the Veiled Sorority is growing.

The trademark criminal practice of the Veiled Sorority unites benevolence with ruthlessness. Preferring to take entire vessels rather than just cargo, a band of Veiled Sorority pirates will board a ship and offer to be merciful if the crew surrenders without a fight. If anyone refuses or offers resistance, then every single person aboard the ship could be executed.

The Zann Consortium, headed by a cunning former protege of Jabba the Hutt, is behind the bounty posted for the Pirate Queen. Having recently become the Veiled Sorority’s favorite target, they have lost too many ships, cargo, and lives not to seek retribution and revenge. Operating primarily in the Outer Rim, the Zann Consortium has made a windfall feeding on the conflict between the Rebel Alliance and Galactic Empire, extorting neutral planetary governments by offering military protection for their worlds. Those worlds that refuse find themselves attacked by domestic terrorists and plagued by corrupt government officials who have been bought by the Consortium.

In agreeing to hunt down the Pirate Queen, you and your companions are willingly becoming pawns in the vicious interplanetary rivalry between these criminal syndicates. Neither organization has the law on its side, and you’ll often have trouble telling the good guys from the bad. You might earn an enormous profit and gain powerful underworld contacts in this dangerous affair, but any mistake you make has the potential to get you killed.

An Outer Rim Oasis

The adventure begins on the planet Saleucami, where days are long, hot, and lazy, and nights filled with licentious and sinister activities. Since it was founded by Pantorans, Saleucami has become a melting pot of different species – Twi’lek, Gran, Weequay, Human – where liberty is highly valued. Its capital city, Taleucema, is a major spaceport, filled with cantinas, gambling dens, merchants, and all forms of rest, relaxation, and crime.

All of Saleucami is covered in expansive meteorite craters. Taleucema occupies the largest crater, most others are now home to lush, diverse jungle ecosystems. In the days of the Republic, scientists from across the galaxy came to investigate the species of the planet, but abandoned their research stations during the Clone Wars. Separatists then came and constructed hidden bases among the thick tropical forests. Now both scientific and military outposts are occupied by independent mercenary and criminal organizations. Animal predators are the least of the troubles that await you in the humid jungles of this Outer Rim world.

A Notorious Shadowport

In the course of your chase you may also visit Ord Mantell, an infamous smugglers’ haven and home to treacherous and lucrative Blockade Runners’ Derby. Fiercely independent, the planet fell under the sway of Darth Maul’s criminal empire during the Clone Wars but resisted both Separatist and Republican occupation. While Mantellians are welcoming and friendly, they are also so mistrustful that they tend to use pseudonyms when dealing with strangers – a side effect of regularly doing business with smugglers, bounty hunters, and other criminals.

The capital of Ord Mantell, Worlport, is a near-lawless enclave where almost anything can be bought and sold, at once seedy and opulent. Outside of the capital, however, the planet isn’t heavily populated. South of the capital runs a shoreline, the Coral Coast, littered with debris, home to scavengers and junk dealers. To the north lie the scraplands, a smog-cloaked field where the galaxy’s garbage has been accumulating for thousands of years. Numerous villages exist in this wasteland, including a settlement of Jawas who somehow relocated from Tatooine. Hidden deep in the ancient detritus there are nevertheless unexpected treasures to be found. With a little luck, you and your companions will unearth some of them.

Join the Hunt

You don’t need a Bounty Hunter in your group to participate in the pursuit that’s at the heart of Mask of the Pirate Queen. Characters of any career, from Smugglers and Technicians to Force-Sensitive Seekers and Spies of the Rebel Alliance, can join in on this lucrative and risky job. Designed primary for Edge of the Empire, the adventure can be easily incorporated into an Age of Rebellion™ or Force and Destiny™ campaign.

Mask of the Pirate Queen offers players a chase across the galaxy filled with suspense, dangers, and sudden surprises. For Game Masters, it provides detailed gazetteers on Saleucami and Ord Mantell, numerous new adversaries, and plenty of guidance for what to do when your players inevitably do the unexpected. In this underworld struggle between criminal organizations, it’s impossible to tell who, if anyone, is really on your side.

The bounty hunt begins now at The Wandering Dragon!

 

Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider-Man

The Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider-Man Collector’s Box is a great space to store your Dice Masters collection! It has a limited edition Full Art promo card and everything one player needs to get started*! Improve and complete your team to crush the competition by collecting more cards and dice in foil packs and other sets!

Each Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider-Man Collector’s Box contains:

• 20 custom dice
• 1 felt dice bag
• 10 Basic Action Cards
• 4 Indicator Cards
• 1 Full Art Promo Card
• 4 Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider-Man Foil Packs
• 2 dice storage trays that hold over 300 dice

The Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider­-Man Starter Set features fan favorite characters like Spider­-Man, Ghost Rider, Kingpin, and more! Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider­-Man also premieres the Sinister Six, Allies, Underdogs, and other exciting mechanics!

With game­play that supports two players in epic dice battles, Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider-­Man will let players build their own team of heroes or villains! The Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider-­Man Starter Set is perfect for the Dice Masters veteran or someone looking to jump into the game fresh!

Features:

• 44 Custom Dice
• 38 Cards
• Two Dice Bags
• Complete Dice Masters Core Rulebook
• Everything two players need to play Marvel Dice Masters!
• 
• The Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider-Man playmat displays all of the information one player needs for their Dice Masters game including: life meter, areas for their character cards and dice, areas for Basic Action Cards and dice, and features each of the Dice Masters play areas, color-coded for players’ convenience.Made from flexible and durable neoprene, the Marvel Dice Masters: The Amazing Spider-Man playmat measures approximately 24” wide and 13” long and can be easily rolled up for safe transport and storage, or left out to display.