The Elder Scrolls - Betrayal of the Second Era – Valenwood
🐸 Dettagli da BoardGameGeek
Consiglio BGG sul numero di giocatori
Categorie
Meccaniche
Design & Art
Lingua
Pre-order - leggi i dettagli
🐸 Una rana saggia sa quando dividere l’ordine… e quando aspettare il salto giusto.
Pairs well with
FroGames — Moments You'll Remember
Someone finds the hidden quest, someone saves the party from an ambush, someone dies a horrible death. And in the end, everyone has a different story to tell.
WHAT IT IS ABOUT
The Bosmer forests open up to your party
Valenwood is the first geographical expansion for The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era, the cooperative game born from the collaboration between Chip Theory Games and Bethesda. A team of six designers (Josh J. Carlson, Michael Gernes, Logan Giannini, Ryan Howard, Salem Scott, Josh Wielgus) has built a new campaign that takes your group of adventurers into the homeland of the Bosmer, among arboreal cities, hidden delves, and lethal encounters.
At the table, you build the map hexagon by hexagon, complete quests, face increasingly dangerous enemies, and grow your character through two new skill lines (Security and Illusion) and two unprecedented classes: Arcanist and Burglar. Each session is a chapter of your personal story in Tamriel, with choices that matter and risks that leave their mark.
What they say abroad
An expansion that amplifies everything that works in the base game, adding depth without weighing it down.
— FroGames
Chip Theory Games has once again proven that they know how to transform a video game into a breathing physical experience.
— FroGames
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era – Valenwood
The base game has supported solo play from the start, and Valenwood keeps that promise: the campaign works perfectly solo, with all mechanics active. You lose the tactical coordination of multiplayer party play, but gain total control over your build and can calmly explore every corner of the map.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial review · based on rules, international reviews, and play sessionsWhat you find in the box
Expansion components and contents
Map of Valenwood
New hexes representing forests, arboreal cities, hidden delves, and wild areas. The map is built during exploration, revealing encounters and surprises.
Arcanist and Burglar
Two new classes with distinctive mechanics: the Arcanist manipulates arcane energies, the Burglar unlocks access and surprises enemies. They radically change how you approach quests.
Security and Illusion Skill Lines
Two new skill trees that integrate with existing classes. Security for lockpicking, infiltrating, and disarming traps. Illusion for confusing, hiding, and manipulating.
Enemies and encounters
Creatures and hostile NPCs specific to Valenwood, each with their own tactics and threats. Quests and delves present more vertical challenges compared to the base game.
Recommended sleeves 56 cards in 3 sizes ▼
If you play often, we recommend protecting your cards with clear sleeves to make them last a long time.
| Size | Quantity |
|---|---|
| 62 × 87 mm | 47 |
| 102 × 210 mm | 6 |
| 70 × 210 mm | 3 |
| Total cards | 56 |
In a few hours, you will have crossed impossible forests, unlocked abilities you didn't know you wanted, and lost at least one character. It always happens in Valenwood.
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Region Setup
Build the first portion of the map, place your characters, choose your starting quest. The excitement is that of a new chapter: unexplored territory, unknown enemies, equipment to discover.
First Encounters
The first hostile encounter surprises you: Valenwood's enemies have different movement patterns and abilities you hadn't seen in the base game. Someone takes damage, someone burns resources immediately.
Exploration and Choices
The map expands. You find a hidden delve, a merchant, a side quest. You must decide: follow the main objective or explore? Every choice has a cost, and time is running out.
The Critical Moment
One of you activates a new ability from the Illusion skill line and changes the outcome of an impossible battle. Or the Burglar unlocks a secret passage. Or someone dies badly. This is the moment you'll remember.
End of Session
Quest completed (or failed). Debrief the party, assign equipment, spend skill points. Someone is already ready for the next session, someone wants to rebuild their character from scratch.
How to play
The flow of each round
The game follows the core Betrayal of the Second Era system, with Valenwood's new mechanics seamlessly integrated.
Each character takes their turn: movement, actions (attack, use abilities, interact with the map, equip). New skill lines offer unprecedented tactical options.
Enemies activate according to their pattern. In Valenwood, you will find creatures that move differently, with special abilities that require precise counter-strategies.
Draw encounter cards, manage events, update quest objectives. The map expands, new areas are revealed, the timer advances.
Recover resources, check win/loss conditions, update party status. If you have completed a campaign segment, advance your character.
Why it's different from the others
Six mechanics that make a difference
A Living Region
Valenwood is not just a new map: it has specific biomes, native enemies, and narrative encounters linked to Bosmer culture. The forest breathes, expands, hides secrets you only discover if you stop to explore.
Arcanist: Unpredictable Magic
The new class manipulates arcane energies with a charge/discharge system that rewards risk. You can deal enormous damage, but if you mis-time it, you lose control and endanger the party.
Burglar: Infiltration and Surprise
The Burglar unlocks passages, disarms traps, strikes secretly. It's the class that solves problems without combat, but requires planning: if you're discovered, you're vulnerable.
Security Skill Line
Passive and active abilities that make the party more versatile in exploration: picking locks, finding alternative routes, avoiding deadly traps. It changes how you approach delves.
Illusion Skill Line
Mind control abilities, invisibility, enemy disorientation. You don't deal direct damage, but you manipulate the battlefield: stop a boss, make a creature flee, hide a wounded ally.
New Quests and Delves
The Valenwood campaign introduces more complex objectives than the base game: branching quests, delves with environmental puzzles, encounters that change based on previous choices. Each run tells a different story.
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
Victory and defeat conditions follow the base game's framework, but Valenwood adds narrative complexity.
Victory
- Complete the main objective of the active quest
- Clear delves by unlocking key rewards
- Make enough progression to face the final challenges of the campaign
Defeat
- All party characters are eliminated
- Fail a critical objective with a timer (some quests have strict conditions)
- Activate a narrative game over condition (some choices close paths)
Valenwood is not just a geographical expansion: it's a paradigm shift for Betrayal of the Second Era. Two classes, two skill lines, a complete region. If the base game convinced you, this is the next essential step.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ on The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era – Valenwood
Can I play Valenwood without the base game?
No. Valenwood is an expansion that requires The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era base game to play. It adds content (map, classes, skills, enemies) but relies on the core rules and components of the base game.
Do the new classes and skill lines work outside of Valenwood?
Yes. Arcanist, Burglar, and the Security and Illusion skill lines can be used in any campaign of the game, not just in Valenwood. They are permanent options that enrich character building in all regions.
How much more difficult is Valenwood compared to the base game?
Significantly more difficult. Enemies have more complex patterns, quests have tighter timers, delves require optimized builds. It is designed for parties that already have experience with the system and are looking for vertical challenges.
How many hours of gameplay does this expansion add?
It depends on the play style, but a complete Valenwood campaign can take 15-25 hours spread over multiple sessions. If you explore everything (optional delves, side quests, hidden secrets) the total easily exceeds 30 hours.
Is the expansion available in Italian?
Yes. This edition of Valenwood published by Pendragon Game Studio is fully localized in Italian: cards, rulebook, narrative components. Everything translated and ready to play.
The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era – Valenwood is the geographical expansion for the cooperative game by Chip Theory Games set in The Elder Scrolls universe. It brings 1-4 players (age 14+) to the home of the Bosmer for sessions of 120 to 240 minutes of tactical exploration and deep character building. Designed by a team of six designers (Josh J. Carlson, Michael Gernes, Logan Giannini, Ryan Howard, Salem Scott, Josh Wielgus), it introduces two unprecedented classes (Arcanist and Burglar), two new skill lines (Security and Illusion), a completely new modular map, enemies, equipment, and a narrative campaign that intertwines with the base game. Italian edition by Pendragon Game Studio. Available on FroGames.it.
The Elder Scrolls - Betrayal of the Second Era – Valenwood
Frequently Asked Questions
The answers you're looking for, no beating around the bush.
📸Do the images match the actual product?
The photos on the website often come from BoardGameGeek and are intended to give you an idea of the game. They may vary slightly from the version you receive. The content declared by the publisher is always binding.
📦Does the content of the box match what is indicated?
We always strive to provide the correct content, but minor variations are possible due to reprints or updates. The information comes directly from the publishers. If you have any questions, please contact us!
⏳How do pre-orders work?
Pre-order the game before release, payment is immediate, and the game is reserved for you. As soon as it arrives, we'll ship it right away! If there are any delays, we'll update you promptly.
🔒Can I trust buying here?
Absolutely! Secure payments, tracked shipments, and a team that loves board games as much as you do. If something goes wrong, we'll do our best to fix it.
🛠There's a problem with my order, what should I do?
Write to us now! Whether it's a missing part, damage, or an error, we'll help you resolve it as soon as possible. Your experience truly matters to us.