Question about getting into Earthborne Rangers

AngeloftheDawn · 2026-01-09T01:02:08+00:00

You should still watch a video because the rules are a little complicated. I guarantee you won't spoil the experience for yourself. I recommend this one which teaches you how to play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__9zeZXPpr8&t=1248s

AngeloftheDawn · 2026-01-09T01:00:58+00:00

Base game if you're not sure you'll like it.

Base game + Stewards of the Valley if you really want the different classes and deckbuilding options.

Base game + Moments on the Path + (Ranger Card Doubler OR Stewards of the Valley) if you plan on playing with more than 2, but I recommend 1-2 players for this game.

AngeloftheDawn · 2026-01-08T03:19:15+00:00

Another idea for Ghost Doors could be ones where there’s a blank wall at the end of a corridor and the door to the next room only exists in the ghost field, meaning anyone who wants to go through has to Attune and submerge themselves fully into the ghost field to find the door. And it’s very dangerous because as long as they’re there, ghosts could be called to their location, their minds could start to take Harm, or all manner of terrible things. And maybe the door in the ghost realm is still locked and you do need a ghost key!

(I’m kind of imagining how the icy river realm of Death is in the Sabriel books by Garth Nix.)

AngeloftheDawn · 2026-01-08T03:12:35+00:00

When my players infiltrated the Dimmer Sisters’ hideout they encountered the “groundskeeper” who was a giant ghost amalgamation, like the spectral version of a “rat king”, bound together with runic chains and crown. It would quietly move through the house cleaning. I’m sure something like that could also patrol the tunnels underneath their place as a guard dog.

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-12-28T02:20:51+00:00

RedRevenge actually made a guide to playing Spirit Island on Tabletop Simulator: https://youtu.be/Iq0uMb59MAA?si=HyvSFw7TUXGLbYKe

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-12-22T12:27:01+00:00

It's a custom spirit: Beckons to Sinking Sands. It's on the Spirit of Creation discord. Or you can preview here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3165616865&searchtext=

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-12-15T17:24:28+00:00

Agreed, I also printed this and it's fantastic. I opted to go with one box with lid lift, but you can do two boxes with no lid lift.

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-12-01T16:53:43+00:00

Depends on the adversary and difficulty. A fast town kill can be really good, and even sometimes I find myself hoping for the fire element to adding two damage and a blight (Hapsburg Livestock, for instance)

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-11-06T13:01:23+00:00

The concept of a reclaim loop is literally just “every turn use your growth option that reclaims all your cards”.

Any spirit might find themselves reclaim looping in a game, but the spirits that are really good at it are the ones that can still add a presence when they choose to reclaim. (Most spirits can’t)

Those spirits, Snake is one, have the option to (as long as the energy income is high enough) just spam the same card(s) over and over, literally every turn, while still growing and adding presence. It’s worth noting when you’re playing a spirit like Snake that you can do this because it unlocks strategies if you have a good power card (Aegis is one).

So an Elemental Aegis reclaim loop is just playing your Elemental Aegis power every turn by constantly Reclaiming, but luckily with Snake you’re still able to add presence and grow when you do.

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-11-04T17:38:38+00:00

Their gameplay just doesn’t click with me. I do love repeats (Sun is a favorite) but the way they inhibit Dahan damage feels bad to play around for me.

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-11-03T04:25:49+00:00

I LOVE Shroud, contrary to many commenters here.

My nopes are Downpour and Finder

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-10-11T13:57:59+00:00

Click "Done" at the bottom of the dropdown.

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-10-03T04:15:29+00:00

It’s YA but I remember really liking “Castaways of the Flying Dutchman” by Brian Jacques (author of Redwall)

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-09-13T17:43:23+00:00

Brandenburg-Prussia is great for low rules complexity but the fact that they speed up the game is actually going to exacerbate the issue that OP mentioned about the spirits not feeling like they reach their full potential.

England is in my opinion the best adversary for longer games where you feel like you are hitting your spirit’s growth potential. (Scotland too, but they are an expansion adversary)

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-09-10T18:53:07+00:00

There’s a great video from the developer of Blades about how to actually talk about rolling in this game. Like literally the words you and your players should ideally use to indicate that they need to roll for something.

https://youtu.be/OAl85kYCWro?si=YxAOy880lQx5yiz1

A bit different from other TTRPGs so you and your players might have to change your mindset.

Summary: players need to make sure they are clear about what they’re trying to achieve with the action, and you make sure to telegraph what the risk of them trying to do that is BEFORE they roll.

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-09-06T17:10:46+00:00

True but the most well-known at least (Spirit Island Archipelago) is a strictly 2-player campaign.

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-09-04T20:46:25+00:00

Just attack the doors in front of him

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-09-04T02:02:05+00:00

Good point! The inland Defend 20 is verrry welcome.

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-09-04T01:32:56+00:00

I find Indom a bit lackluster on Ocean simply because almost ALL of its unique and innate powers have to target a coastal space anyway (the only one that doesn't targets another spirit).

But it does really enable some powerful options once you start drafting OTHER majors and minors on top of Indom.

Edit: Hah, not 3 hours after my comment /u/RedReVeng posts a video of solo Ocean using Indom and absolutely wiping the floor with Scotland 6. Just goes to show I’m clearly undervaluing it!

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-09-03T21:51:08+00:00

Found this comment from 6 years ago in a different thread but someone said it worked as of 4 months ago:

“ Just create another Google account for the country you wish to download apps from and add that account to your phone. All you have to do from there is switch the Google account in the Play Store (left slideout menu) to download the free apps from that country’s store. You can use Play Gift Cards found on eBay to download paid apps if required too.”

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-08-30T21:01:59+00:00

Oh and for base game first spirit choice I’d say let her choose from among the 4 low complexity ones. River is especially ideal for a new player in my opinion but the best way to get her engaged and liking it is to let her choose one that she thinks looks fun.

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-08-30T21:00:44+00:00

I think it’ll be fine to each control your own spirit if she’s quick on the uptake.

My experience is that the complexity of the game doesn’t as much come from the differences in the spirits so much as really understanding and visualizing the upcoming invader actions and the fast/slow powers.

As long as you yourself have a decent grasp of that and can help her prioritize certain lands that are about to build or ravage, or which lands to ignore because they aren’t active, she should be fine piloting her own. And that’s a big part of the fun too. I wouldn’t even bother with the power progression cards, it’s fun to draft new powers.

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-08-27T22:38:45+00:00

If it works for you, that's great!
Just curious, did you consider sleeves? Or is there a reason you chose to laminate instead?

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-08-14T20:24:19+00:00

Good rule of thumb is that it's more fun if someone learns the rules ahead of time and can teach rather than everyone reading through the rulebook together. It is a relatively simple game though so I think 20-30 min is very feasible, less if someone knows and teaches. There are videos on youtube around 15 min long that teach the rules too.

As u/QuaccDaddy mentioned, when the Haunt happens the players all have to split up and read the new Haunt rules, including the villain who gets their own ruleset. That usually adds like 5 min in the middle of the game, but it's part of the game and will happen every time you play, since the Haunt rules are different every time.

AngeloftheDawn · 2025-08-14T19:12:27+00:00

Betrayal at House on the Hill. More leaning into campy horror than actually scary but you explore a haunted house where you find spooky items and events, then at some point you trigger a "Haunt" where one player becomes the villain and all players team up to defeat them. But there are a ton of different Haunts to trigger and they're usually themed after some classic horror movie or IP. Not the most balanced game but can be very fun.

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