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The gods will spare no effort to destroy Atlantis. From the hidden depths of the world they have called forth unspeakable terrors, monsters sent to destroy, frighten, and harry the Atlantean effort to save their civilization. But hope is not lost. On Atlantis, as new leaders rise up to answer the challenge, new powers also emerge to save the isle. And the gods have summoned a power even they cannot control, for some of these creatures are more sympathetic to Atlantis than to the cruel and petty gods.
Atlantis Rising: Monstrosities is an expansion for Atlantis Rising (Second Edition) that offers these new challenges:
Medusa Unleashed, in which the gorgon Medusa turns Atlanteans to stone. Can you break her curse and recruit her to your side?
The Harpies’s Lair, in which three monstrous, birdlike creatures steal the resources and workers you need to build the Cosmic Gate. Can you defeat the Harpies and win back the treasures found in their lair?
Between Scylla & Charybdis, in which the monsters that have long doomed sailors leave their narrow straight and terrorize the shores of Atlantis. Can you satisfy their hunger and calm the waters surrounding the isle?
Four new mechanisms are introduced to the game:
Monsters
Allies
Magic Items
Locations
-description from publisher
- The characters (Adept, Alchemist, Channeler) are cool.
- The art is fantastic for what they added (allies, monsters, special misfortune cards).
- Overly complicated and doesn't add much beyond complications.
- The base game already had enough variety.
- Muddies character classes and requires specialized knowledge.
- Doesn't flow like a modular expansion.
- Some monsters and allies are hyper-specific and don't fit with the original game.
- Only three monsters (Medusa, Harpies, Sisyphus, Corinthians) which are not that interesting.
- Monsters are just annoying stumbling blocks.
- Adds unnecessary complexity.
- Allies are lackluster and often useless.
- The name 'Monstrosities' implies more focus on monsters, but they are not great.
- Monsters and allies are optional.
- Doesn't mesh well with the base game.
- Took a long time to be made and released.
- The rules for some components (like potions) are not clearly stated on cards and require hunting in the rulebook.
- The setup is fiddly.
- Everything is so specific and situational that it may not come up or be useful.
- Monsters get in the way and don't enhance gameplay.
- Many components and mechanics are situational and require specific actions or dice rolls to utilize.
- The Phoenix, Medusa, and Giant allies have very specific or potentially negative effects.
- The character abilities are neat, but some are not generalized enough to be useful with the expansion's content.
- The expansion is not a standalone expansion.
- Monsters
- Kingdom Death: Monster (KDM)
- Rise of Fenris
- Alhambra
- Pandemic
- Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu
- Elder Sign
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Allies — Adds ten allies that are hyper-specific and may not come up often, sometimes being useless or not providing significant benefit.
- Characters — Adds new characters, but they are not always plug-and-play and might require specific rules that aren't fully compatible, feeling like they wanted to be modular but don't flow that way.
- Magic items — Introduces magic items, but there's not always clear guidance on their use or integration.
- Monsters — Adds three monsters (Medusa, Harpies, Sisyphus, Corinthians) that add stumbling blocks and don't necessarily change the strategy or enhance gameplay.
- Potions — The Alchemist has potions, but their use and what happens after use is not always clear without checking the rulebook.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- if you heard bad things about this expansion it could always be worse
- I don't really like it I actually really don't care for the expansion
- it feels like a jumbled mess of stuff that they didn't clarify
- expansions should always enhance the base game right not be like
- why play why play with them yeah if it's already everything's against you anyway why add unnecessary just complexity for complexity's sake
- I don't know it it just I I don't think it works
- it's like well I can't really use the expansion so since I don't like most of it I guess I won't keep it
- it doesn't change the fundamental core of Atlantis Rising which is good yeah but it doesn't also provide really any other unique challenges
- you know this this character can ignore one complication around it's like oh this character can basically gather wild resources
- you almost have to meta play this which I don't like
- it was less than fine
- I just don't think it was necessary