Better dragons, a new Joker system, more turn events & encounters and boons.
NEW FEATURE: DRAGON COLORS & BETTER TACTICS
As a purely aesthetic and very apparent change, dragons now have colors. But the real improvement here is that they are now much more tactical, and when in a desperate situation, will intentionally focus on defending themselves until they can retaliate. And they will retaliate, as these are evil beasts!
Additionally, Severe Wounds is now only applied to Hatchling dragons.
There is a new status effect, called Fierce Determination, that activates when an Adult dragon or the Hero (or Heroine) loses 70% of their Life. When this happens, the character gains +1 Word Builder capacity to resist defeat as sheer willpower triumphs over the failing flesh.
NEW FEATURE: REGULAR & MERCY JOKERS
It was already possible by spending Providence to use Joker letters that could stand in for any letter.
In this update, an additional Joker system is introduced, so say hello to Regular Jokers, and keep using the Providence-controlled ones as Mercy Jokers.
Regular Joker letters are only available during Journeys. They simply cost Energy, but never contribute to word rewards, so use them only to make building a word possible.
NEW TURN EVENTS
- Earthquake (Journey)
- Glimmerhail (Journey)
- Hidden Treasure (Duel)
- Cave-In (Duel)
- Resurgence of Valor (Duel)
NEW ENCOUNTERS
- Ogre: mighty but slow.
- Fay Coin: watch the sky for signs!
- Crystal Obelisks: fay dreams manifest in the waking world.
NEW BOONS
You might compare these to classic fantasy character classes: rogue, warrior, mystic. The good news is, in Dragon Riddler, your character can pursue every profession path in parallel.
- Path of the Agile (2 ranks)
- Ways of the Fighter (2 ranks)
- Clarity of the Wise (2 ranks)
These boons favor those who craft longer words with skill, rewarding strategic wordplay and deliberate choices over mere luck.
AND MORE…
- Word Builder stretch hint – hopefully it is now more apparent that you can build longer words than just what the default number of letter slots indicate.
- A warning is shown in Journey when the selected letters are likely to trigger a dangerous encounter.
- Dragon Sword is highlighted on the Character Sheet in duels to explain the role of those mysterious, blue circles on certain letters.
- Reach no longer may decrease below 2 due to harmful turn events.
- Encounters now spawn near the edge of your Reach, rather than closer.
- Challenge level adjustments (e.g. encounter characteristics, boon prices).
- A bunch of minor visual and usability upgrades.
- Bug fixes.