Deep Madness

Conseils à intégrer

Deep Madness is (and was always intended to be) a tense, strategic, and difficult game. It is absolutely punishing, but, once you get to know it, it's also very rewarding.

First of all, the first scenario is not a training scenario. It is a full-fledged, no-holds-barred scenario. And there is no difficulty ladder throughout the scenarios: you won't level up to become more BA, and the levels won't necessarily ramp up any higher in difficulty.
Having said that, it's not strictly necessary to play the scenarios in order if you don't want to. You can certainly try your hand at another scenario to see if that goes better for you, or just to sample a different experience. The main reason to play them in order is for the story, but it's far from a requirement. The main thing that makes Deep Madness shine is the variety amidst the scenarios. So don't let that first one stop you from being tormented in an endless variety of ways. ;D

But how do you beat the first scenario? Here are some hints:

1. Use the “More Prepared Team” optional rule on page 26. Some might think this is taking the pansy way out. It's not. Especially when you're starting out with Deep Madness, you need all the help you can get. This is as close to an "easy" mode as we have, so make use of it while you're learning the ropes.

2. Certain characters are better suited for certain situations. For instance, Randi's not the best at fighting (or staying alive necessarily), but she is incredible at searching or investigating. Samuel can use sanity to pull other investigators with him around the board. Roman can permanently lower a monster's resistance, making them easier to kill. So, in short, don't send someone like Randi to kill the monsters when she's better suited to investigating.

3. Don't be afraid to use sanity. It is possibly your most powerful resource in the game. For instance, you can re-roll any die in the game with sanity. Your most powerful abilities are also linked to sanity. Specifically in regards to the first scenario, I will go into a clue marker with, say, Randi, and I will investigate. Then I will spend sanity to re-roll that die over and over again until I succeed. I will then rest (which also doesn't cost oxygen, FYI), and investigate again, using sanity once more until I succeed. (Re-rolls don't cost oxygen either, by the way - it's all still a part of that one action.) This is how you plow through those clue tokens in a few actions rather than a few turns. And, I also want to stress, re-rolling dice in this game is legal! (As long as you have sanity to spare.) You are not cheating in any way by doing this. Learning to balance between using sanity and resting is one of the key strategies and principles in this game.

4. Killing monsters is not the way to win. You will never, ever kill all of the monsters in the game: they will just keep coming. Sometimes it is necessary to kill a few monsters, but just as often (if not more often) it's a better strategy to just run, and take a couple hits if you have to. So, rather than focusing on killing stuff, focus on the winning conditions for the scenario.

5. Don't just move and shoot. Closing hatches, trading items, searching, and resting are all critical to successfully getting through Deep Madness. Get creative in what you're doing, and you might just survive.

6. You need to work together as a cohesive team if you ever want to have a chance of beating Deep Madness. Quarterbacking or being a glory hound will get you killed. Everyone needs to pay attention, strategize, and capitalize on their characters' unique abilities in order to win. Keep everyone involved, or someone will die. (Also, just as an aside: it's a good idea to get everyone involved in activating monsters, too. Whether people are just watching over the area of the board closest to them or they take care of activating their linked monster (the monster directly below their investigator), get everyone involved and discussing throughout the game for the maximum amount of fun.

7. Don't clump together. Almost everyone's initial instinct in this game is to stay in one big group to avoid falling prey to the old horror movie cliché that he who wanders off alone will die first. The problem is, in Deep Madness sticking together will get you killed, too. So, I recommend breaking up into at least two groups immediately, then send one of these groups off toward the lowest clue in the submerged, devoured room before it's too late. Which brings us to the next point (

8. You might not feel like it at the start of the game, but you are on a very tight time limit. That devoured track moves every turn, and bad things happen every time it does. As such, every action needs to count. No matter how tempting it is, don't double back. Going back to that first room to get oxygen is incredibly tempting. But it's better to risk the dice on your oxygen dial and move forward than to go back. Move as quickly as you can, or you will get bogged down and lose.

There are quite a few creative strategies to be uncovered. But we admit that we have to pay a lot of efforts to win the game. Hope you will enjoy playing Deep Madness the same as we creating it.