Call to Adventure: The Name of the Wind is an expansion for Call to Adventure by Patrick Rothfuss, published by Brotherwise Games. It is for 1-4 players. In this expansion, based on Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicle series of novels, players will tell the story of their lives by developing their character and following different paths in the world of Kvothe, Denna, Auri and Chandrian. Along the way, they will be able to learn Naming magic that will help them on their journey. In the end, the player with the most Destiny points will be declared the winner.
For more information about Call to Adventure and how the game is played, please check out the link below.
https://jlnelson73.wordpress.com/2019/04/03/call-to-adventure-review/
Setting up the game with this expansion does require quite a bit of change. There is a huge list of cards that must be removed from the core game from the Destiny, Adversary Qeusts and all three Acts. For more information on exactly which cards are removed, please check page 2 of the rulebook. The cards in this expansion will be used to replace those taken out of the core game. There is one more thing that is added by this expansion. That’s the Naming Rules board and Name Tokens. These should be placed out on the table within sight and reach of all the players. The rest of setup is done exactly as explained in the core game rulebook.
So what exactly does this expansion add to the game? The answer is 3 things; a new story icon, Naming and new cards and adventures. First there’s the new story icon. This would be the Music icon. When playing with this expansion, the Nature story icon is not available. Just like in the core game, having more than one copy of a story icon will earn you extra Destiny points at the end of the game.
The next new thing is Naming. In this expansion, a player can learn the name of the Wind, Fire and Iron. Players can attempt to learn a name once per turn after they fail a challenge. First they check to see if they have any bonuses to aid them in the attempt. The Naming Rules board lists the 2 ability icons for each name that give the player a +1 to their attempt. Players can also gain an additional +1 to their attempt for each corresponding Name icon already in their story. Players may also apply the Bind With Iron, Command the Flame and Call the Wing cards to their attempt. These come from the Hero/Antihero cards. Once the player has finished determining their bonuses, they cast the core runes. It should be noted that the player may not add Dark runes or Ability runes to their attempt. They also are not allowed to draw a Hero or Antihero card if that rune surfaces in their results. The player will now check the runes and if their attempt is 4 or higher, then they learn that Name. Learning a Name provides the player with 3 points at the end of the game. It also allows them to automatically succeed without casting a rune for a challenge of the same type as the Name. Each Name may only be learned once.
The final thing that this expansion adds are new cards and adventures. With 83 new cards there’s a lot of new adventure to be found here. The game gives you 9 new character cards, 53 new story cards for all 3 acts, 16 new hero and antihero cards and 5 new adversary quests. Each one follows The Kingkiller Chronicle story and adds lots of new content.
Of course winning the game is the same as for the base game. At the end of the game, the player with the highest Destiny score is the winner.
COMPONENTS
This expansion adds a lot of new content to an already great game. As noted above there are 83 new cards. There are both tarot sized cards and regular sized cards. The tarot cards include the 9 Character cards and the 53 Story cards. Within the Character cards are 3 Origins, 1 Motivation and 5 Destiny cards. The Story cards contain 12 cards for Act I, 20 for Act II and 21 for Act III. The regular sized cards include 8 Hero and 8 Antihero cards, as well as 5 Adversary Quest cards. Each card is very thematic and the artwork is really amazing. Unfortunately I’m not familiar with the actual stories that the expansion is based on, so I can’t comment on how well the theme fits with the novels. That said, it does intrigue me enough so that I may have to look into reading the novels to more understand the expansion. Even so, the artwork of this fits in perfectly with the base game so it doesn’t feel disconnected regardless of your familiarity with the novels. Along with the cards there is a small punchboard of Name tokens and a Naming Rules board. These tokens have the same symbol as the different names on the Naming Rules board. All of these are thick cardboard and the symbols also match up with those on various cards from the expansion. The board, even though the rulebook calls it a card, is a nice addition and helps players remember the rules for each of the different Names. The tokens are just visual reminders of which Names a player has earned throughout their adventure. Overall I really like the look and feel of the expansion. It fits in perfectly with the game without adding too many complex rules to keep up with. I am very pleased with everything included in the box.
9 out of 10
RULEBOOK
The rulebook for this expansion isn’t very thick. All total it’s only 6 pages long. It only has a few pictures in it which mainly consists of a view at the different components and then some icon examples and a card example. Inside the front cover is also a nice thematic picture that looks really nice. The rules aren’t complex, as it mainly describes how to incorporate the expansion into the base game. A few odd and end rules for the new Names and Naming Rules are also included. The last 2 pages are a series of frequently asked questions. The game also comes with a reference sheet which includes some errata to the base game’s rulebook. This is nice to clarify some small details that were wrong in the orginal book and to look at for reference while playing. Honestly there’s not a whole lot here, but that’s fine as there’s not much that changes either. The book is really quick and simple to read through and the new rules are very easy to learn. Overall I think that the book and reference sheet are really good and they get the job done nicely.
8 out of 10
GAMEPLAY
If you’re familiar with the base game, then this expansion won’t add much that you’re unfamiliar with. However for players attracted to this based on the source material, then it might be a whole other story. As mentioned earlier, the expansion adds the new Naming rules which make it possible to try to earn something even if you didn’t succeed in completing a challenge. If you earn a Name, then you’re more able to earn certain types of cards for your story a bit easier. This is definitely one concept that I liked a lot. While playing the core game, several times I’d lose at a challenge and be unable to add that card to my story. With this new addition to the rules, I still am able to do something even though I failed. It’s like a consolation prize for losing. The new story icon doesn’t really change much so there’s not a lot to discuss there. The main thing that this expansion does though is add new adventures, challanges and stories to the game. If the core game was getting a bit stale and you’d played it so much that you’d seen pretty much everything, then this expansion will feel like a breath of fresh air. Each of the different card decks gets some additional material and is apparently linked to the source material of Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicle. Honestly I wouldn’t know how accurate that is though, as I’ve never read any of the books. I am familiar with the author and knew that the books were out there based on a review I did for the game Tak, a game that’s based on a game inside the novels. Apart from that, this was all new to me. As I mentioned earlier though, it has gotten me pretty intrigued at what the actual stories are all about. From what I’ve seen just playing the expansion with my limited knowledge, there’s a lot of fun and excitement here. For me, I really enjoyed all of the new content. I think fans of the source material may really enjoy this one. I know that fans of the base game, like me, will enjoy it. While it’s not something that I think is an absolute must have, as there’s plenty to enjoy with the base game. It’s one that fans of The Kingkiller Chronicle will most likely have to have. Overall the new content and additional rules provided here are enough to keep me going for a good bit longer with this game. It’s one that I would definitely recommend.
8 out of 10
OVERALL
Call to Adventure: The Name of the Wind is an expansion for Call to Adventure based on The Kingkiller Chronicle from Patrick Rothfuss. The expansion adds a lot of new cards and a new mechanic to an already great game. However it does add any additional play time. Most game sessions are still around 45 minutes to an hour. The components are really well done and of course the artwork is stellar, just like the base game. The rulebook isn’t that big but it covers what changes in the game quite well. The rules also included frequently asked questions and a rulebook errata sheet for the core game. The expansion itself is really good. It provides players with a few more options if they’re unable to complete a challenge. It adds plenty of new cards with lots of new options for players to choose from. Unfortunately I’m not familiar enough with the theme to say just how spot on the theme is, but it’s still a fun adventure in my book. Fans of Call to Adventure should really enjoy this one, especially if they’re a fan of The Kingkiller Chronicle set of novels from Patrick Rothfuss. There’s a lot to like with this one. It’s definitely one that I would recommend. That said, I don’t feel that it’s a must have unless you’re starting to get tired of the same material from the base game or really love the theme. As it is, this is one that I enjoy a lot and look forward to even more adventures in the Four Corners.
8 out of 10
For more information about this and other great games, please check out Brotherwise Games at their site.
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