The Shadow Walker
Previewing How Chance has Changed in The Betrayer's War
A reformed thief, Chance has escaped his miserable servitude to the dastardly Outlaw Prince for a life of adventure with his newfound friends. But that adventure is a perilous one, as war, devastation, and sinister magics all threaten to destroy any life Chance might build for himself. Utilizing the criminal talents of his past and harnessing new powers from the present, Chance strives to protect both himself and his friends.
In The Betrayer’s War, the second Act of Descent: Legends of the Dark, Chance has doubled down on his stealthy skillset and become a master of the shadows. With new umbra tokens at his disposal, Chance is better than ever at eluding his enemies, helping his friends, and striking from the darkness.
With increased health and an absurd amount of agility, Chance has powered up quite a bit since Act 1. His command over the shadows now allows him to put the aforementioned umbra tokens into play, which give him access to all sorts of useful abilities. With his innate ability Misdirection, Chance can place an umbra token at his feet, then move it to a nearby space for later use. One of his new surge abilities allows him to discard an umbra token for an extra success, but it’s the innate ability on the other side of his hero card, From the Darkness, that really demonstrates the sort of fun interactions these little shadows can give him. As an action, Chance can swap spaces with an umbra token anywhere on the map, and then perform a sneak attack with a bonus success!
An umbra token.
Chance’s new skills also play into his growing “shadow walker” abilities. Flickering Shadows lets you shift your umbra tokens around and then flip a non-Shadow card (such as your hero card on its Misdirection side), while Draining Chill adds a bonus surge your attacks for each umbra token adjacent to the target. Normally, Chance can only have 1 umbra token in play at a time, but skills like Dark Shift and Hands of Night can increase this limit (the skills on their other sides also do so). These skills also boost the party’s action economy, allowing heroes to get a bit of extra movement from an umbra token (in Dark Shift’s case) or essentially allowing Chance to be in two places at once (in Hands of Night’s case). Befitting his loyalty to his newfound friends, Chance can use the shadows to protect them with Endless Void , and when he’s ready to go in for the kill, he need only Lie in Wait for the right opportunity to strike.
Even outside of his umbra tokens, Chance has access to more utility and burst potential than before. His brutal Relentless Gauntlet can spend a surge to tear through enemies and clear off some fatigue, while his Whistleshard Knives allow him to reroll an attack die without the need for a focus token. His Clever-Paw legend gives him multiple uses out of consumables while its counterpart, Clever-Heart , gives him a serious boost at the start of each quest. While Chance will often be darting around the battlefield on his own, for those situations when he finds himself close to his friends, he can call upon either Jack of Blades or Jack of Shades to draw strength from his companions. Just remember: once you gain a legend, its counterpart is locked out for the rest of the campaign!
Legends Only Grow
With his command over the shadows and incredible mobility, Chance is a reliable companion who can get any job done quickly. Look forward to taking Chance and his new abilities for a spin when The Betrayer’s War hits store shelves in August!
