While Ravlatch serves the Alltaker, he has also chosen to join the Faction of Bone. Thus, he has fastened an Underworld United Signet to his cloak. And in the Relic Ravlatch: Paladin of the Dead Premium Format™Figure, he displays the symbol of the Bone Faction on his helmet and chest.

The world of the Court of the Dead revolves around Death, a mysterious overlord who seeks to redefine the laws of the afterlife. Focused on one purpose, to “Rise, Conquer and Rule,” the members of the Court assemble under the three Disciplines of the underworld: Spirit, Bone, and Flesh, each defined by unique philosophies and traits. Like houses in Hogwarts, excited members of the art and development team have already started choosing their personal affiliations, while Gilliland’s latest tattoo proudly represents them all. Kit: Court of the Dead has been a game I’d been looking forward to trying at some point. As much as I like aspects of the game there were some that really felt clunky and broken. Although the setting is dark, dealing with the death and the afterlife, it doesn’t have the same crushing sadness of say Wraith by White Wolf. But ignore the flowery language, and you’ll notice that there is some real potential behind the CotD universe. It’s so incredibly vast and detailed, I fully expected there to be some kind of Tabletop Role Playing Game based on CotD and was honestly surprised when I found out that there’s nothing more than this book and the standard Sideshow figurines. Don’t get me wrong, the statues are beautiful, but I’ll really start throwing money at my screen as soon as they release something like Fate Core based Tabletop RPG campaigns. CotD deserves more. Court Card Drafting– The main action cards are drafted similar to other card drafting mechanisms with each player keeping a card and passing the rest of their hand.

On The Tabletop

Overall, Court of the Dead: Mourners Call has plenty of unforced errors that make for an uninspiring whole. It doesn’t make any mistakes so large that it should be relegated to the bottom shelf of gaming, but it’s not digging deep enough into the theme to find the real game. This feels very much like a game made for an IP, not a game designed with mechanisms as the central draw. Players who like the Court of the Dead theme will be satiated. Gamers looking for the next Blood Rage will be disappointed. The book has a few things to offer readers, namely its mythology and artwork. The writing here is interesting enough and for what it is (a guidebook to the Underworld and its occupants) it's pretty well detailed. If you did want to use this as the base for a RPG, you wouldn't be disappointed since all of the basics are covered. Readers are given just enough to know what's going on, although I'll say that the best portions come when the creepy court jester Malavestros inserts his own opinions and reflections that frequently contradict the narrator, an official Underworld historian.

Based on an all-original design by Sideshow, threezero are proud to introduce the 1/6 Demithyle fully articulated figure from Court of the Dead. Welcome to the world of the dead. Fortunately for you, you've got someone to fill you in on how things work. Death is in charge, but he has a whole court of beings under him. Splitting things up more are the official factions of bone, flesh and spirit. There are also unofficial factions, so caution is needed. The type of soldiers who fight for death and their most famous members are described. Along for the ride is skeptical Malavestros, who is willing to try to clue you in to the real truth. Those that look upon me see a form most pleasing to their desires, for it is easier to blind oneself with guile than to bear witness to the truth of our nature.”-Gethsemoni, the Dead Queen Court of the Dead Mourners Call is a board game brought about from the combined creative might of Project Raygun and Sideshow Collectibles. The game is based on the setting by Tom Gilliland and sees a blending of area control gameplay and beautiful components. An intricate game that reveals itself as straightforward, with enough dramatic flourishes to offer a little bit of over-the-table theatrics. Oh, and gorgeous to look at.

Off The Shelf

The overall game structure is one of indefinite game rounds with each divided into 8 phases. Every player participates in each phase at the same time. Those phases work as follows:

You are a Mourner – an allegiant of Death – dedicated to realizing his noble ambition to end the celestial war and restore balance to the universe. However, Death’s purpose includes your own ulterior motives. You and your fellow Mourners must unite and rise, or fall together. But only one Mourner will achieve their particular vision of the Underworld united. Your task will not be easy. While the Underworld is united in its purpose, it is divided in its strategy to achieve that aim. There are three factions in the Land of the Dead: Bone, Flesh, Spirit. Each is a unique path to rise up against Heaven and Hell. Despite these two seemingly disparate ideologies, both Kier and Ellianastis wholly represent Spirit Faction. They are wise and curious, often going outside the physical self to pursue greatness. Unencumbered by greed, they have goals, but are less worried about the time it takes to get to them. Physical possessions are worthless. Followers of Spirit tend to be easygoing, enlightened. But this carefree attitude can be to a fault — Spirit Faction members, especially those who practice spiritmandering, can drift into nothingness, or venture so far deep inside their own heads that it’s nearly impossible to get them out.In addition to the Sideshow Collectibles creative team, Gillland has assembled a powerhouse team of 2d and 3d artists from all over the world to create the new collection, including: We played a 3 player game of Court of the Dead for our test game. Kit, who drew an Ulterior Motive card that doubled the score for his Unity tokens, focused on farming Unity for the entire game, leaving Kyla and I to fight over the locations. Kyla needed to control areas with Spirit guild figures, so her focus was on gaining those, and I would get bonus points for each set of 1 bone, 1 flesh, and 1 spirit guild figures. Adam's forces of the dead prepare to invade the board under the protective gaze of Death himself. Sideshow and TBLeague present the Gethsemoni: The Dead Queen Sixth Scale Figure, a regal new addition to our original Court of the Dead collection. The nature of the Flesh Faction is adaption, perfectly complimenting this poseable sixth scale figure and her array of Underworldly accessories.

The game ends when the last of the supply of “Unity Tokens” (point tokens) is collected. That round serves as the last round. The majority area control is the main focus, with players competing for the resources provided by locations. Game Experience: If a highly interactive, but accessible, big centrepiece is needed for your games evening, then Court of the Dead is bang to rights. Followers of Flesh thrive in chaos. They’re impulsive, and don’t mind if plans change last minute. As creative creatures, they can bend a situation to their will. Sometimes it’s difficult to discern what they’re truly passionate about, because passion radiates from each of them as they throw themselves headfirst into everything they do. With their emotions constantly fluctuating between strong and uncontrollable, they are the greatest friends as well as the greatest enemies — and sometimes, they’re both.

Welcome to the Underworld

Final Score: 2.5 stars – A beautifully executed theme can’t save the desperate mechanisms from hanging limp on the gallows. Unbelieveable! Sideshow Collectibles augments their amazing statues with a story of "what is the purpose of the Underworld, the realm of the dead? Death himself has posed this question to the curator of this ream. The book is the recording of the history, purpose, design, court and characters of the Underworld. Also it provides a look at its purpose between Heaven and Hell and what Death hopes to achieve in striking a balance between the two divine realms. For, you see, Death has a plan. As Heaven and Hell fight their never-ending battle, Death and his queen plan to rise up with their minions and become victors over both. Ambitious and it seems, doable. During each round, players also draft Court Cards, which represent powerful characters. To draft, players draw a set amount of cards, chose one and pass the remainder to the next player, who in turn passes their remaining cards around. Each Court card has access to 2 powerful effects and to play them, players must choose between the effects during each round. Examples of effects are gaining influence or placing a powerful unique Guild Figure on the board. There is also a figure for Death himself, and the player playing the Death card is given the figure and can decide the result of a single tie at the end of the round. The Court of the Dead court cards represent powerful characters that can help you in game. The book itself reads like a guidebook to the Underworld, the realm of Death, and the creatures who populate it. Apart from the guide, interjections by Malavaestro, a strange, jester-like being, add creep factor to the proceedings. The illustrations are mind-bogglingly detailed and beautifully rendered, even if the majority of the female characters parade around in nothing but a strategically placed bit of skeletal offcut.