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Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition)

#104162BGG ↗

2012 · 1-5 players · 120min · weight 3.22 · 26,012 ratings

v2 v3 fit 0.338

BGG raw

ID
104162
Name
Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition)
Year
2012
Rank
86
Min players
1
Max players
5
Playing time
120
Min playtime
120
Max playtime
120
Avg weight
3.216
Num weights
1185
Bayes avg
7.31725
Average
7.60205
Users rated
26012
Num owned
41425
Wanting
621
Wishing
6567
Num comments
4409
Fetched at
Sat Apr 25 2026 16:15:28 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Mechanisms (16)
Action PointsDice RollingGrid MovementHand ManagementLine of SightMap AdditionModular BoardMovement PointsMultiple MapsOnce-Per-Game AbilitiesRole PlayingScenario / Mission / Campaign GameSolo / Solitaire GameStat Check ResolutionTeam-Based GameVariable Player Powers
Categories (5)
AdventureExplorationFantasyFightingMiniatures
Description (1782 chars)

In Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition), one player takes on the role of the treacherous overlord, and up to four other players take on the roles of courageous heroes. During each game, the heroes embark on quests and venture into dangerous caves, ancient ruins, dark dungeons, and cursed forests to battle monsters, earn riches, and attempt to stop the overlord from carrying out his vile plot. Featuring double-sided modular board pieces, countless hero and skill combinations, and an immersive story-driven campaign, Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition) transports heroes to a vibrant fantasy realm where they must stand together against an ancient evil. With danger lurking in every shadow, combat is a necessity. For such times, Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition) uses a unique dice-based system. Players build their dice pools according to their character's abilities and weapons, and each die in the pool contributes to an attack in different ways. Surges, special symbols that appear on most dice, also let you trigger special effects to make the most of your attacks. And with the horrors awaiting you beneath the surface, you'll need every advantage you can take... Compared to the first edition of Descent: Journeys in the Dark, this game features: Simpler rules for determining line of sight Faster setup of each encounter Defense dice to mitigate the tendency to "math out" attacks Shorter quests with plenty of natural stopping points Cards that list necessary statistics, conditions, and effects A new mechanism for controlling the overlord powers Enhanced hero selection and creation process Experience system to allow for hero growth and development Out-of-the-box campaign system

LLM v2 (wide)

Core verb
move, attack, use ability
Decision shape
mixed:spatial+combinatorial
Reward schedule
mixed:immediate+delayed
Aesthetics
["Fantasy", "Narrative", "Challenge"]
Core loop pitch
Heroes spend action points to move and attack on a tile-built dungeon; an overlord (or app) plays monsters against them.
Translation difficulty
Medium
Difficulty reason
The Road to Legend app already replaces the overlord; full digital dungeon-crawl loop is well-trodden territory in CRPGs.
Direct digital port
Descent: Road to Legend (Steam/mobile, FFG)
Port kind
first_party
Closest loop translation
none yet
Primitive tags
["app_driven_overlord", "grid_dungeon_tile_reveal", "dice_pool_attack_with_surge", "campaign_xp_progression"]
Confidence
0.8
Extracted at
Mon Apr 27 2026 11:40:03 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Raw v2 JSON (933 chars)
{
  "game_id": 104162,
  "name": "Descent: Journeys in the Dark (Second Edition)",
  "core_verb": "move, attack, use ability",
  "decision_shape": "mixed:spatial+combinatorial",
  "reward_schedule": "mixed:immediate+delayed",
  "aesthetics": [
    "Fantasy",
    "Narrative",
    "Challenge"
  ],
  "core_loop_pitch": "Heroes spend action points to move and attack on a tile-built dungeon; an overlord (or app) plays monsters against them.",
  "mobile_translation_difficulty": "Medium",
  "translation_difficulty_reason": "The Road to Legend app already replaces the overlord; full digital dungeon-crawl loop is well-trodden territory in CRPGs.",
  "direct_digital_port": "Descent: Road to Legend (Steam/mobile, FFG)",
  "closest_loop_translation": "none yet",
  "primitive_tags": [
    "app_driven_overlord",
    "grid_dungeon_tile_reveal",
    "dice_pool_attack_with_surge",
    "campaign_xp_progression"
  ],
  "confidence": 0.8
}

LLM v3 (deep)

Not yet enriched at v3 (deep pass).