The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Board Game Review – From the Ashes

A few weeks ago we reviewed the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim as part of our recent run of Elder Scrolls content. Recently, Modiphius sent over the From the Ashes expansion for the game, as well as the metal coins you can get. Both have been put to use in the last few weeks and while it’s not a ton of new content, it’s enough to keep things interesting in your main campaign.

From the Ashes includes a ton of new cards that can easily be shuffled into your base decks. Did you wish your character could wield a staff but didn’t have one? Now you have tons to choose from, which will be a nice bonus for players who really wanted that type of weapon! More enemies are also available to you now, although we did note they were lower level enemies, so shuffling them into your main decks will limit how often those higher level enemies come out.

There are also blessing cards that can be acquired (Blessings of the Divine Module) that will help out players who are struggling with the difficulty of the game. I like this addition as it provides a bit of accessibility that the base game didn’t necessarily have. I don’t think this addition makes a huge difference, but any helping hand for those struggling is pretty nice.

Let’s talk about a few of the modules included in this box:

The Dark Brotherhood: This was actually a pretty fun new module added into the game. Thematically, it’s great to have the Dark Brotherhood in this adventure game. 10 of the best assassins for the Dark Brotherhood are hunting the players across Skyrim, and you’ll need to defeat them so they cannot complete their contract: to kill you. This module can be started during Campaign 2, or with the Dawnguard Expansion.

As you enter Stronghold’s, you will be required to roll a die and potentially encounter a Dark Brotherhood assassin. You’ll need to clear the card on a specific roll, so be prepared for whatever the game might throw at you. We won’t spoil these encounters for you, but it was fun to toss a die before heading into a Stronghold to see what could happen.

Grahkrindrog the Dragon: After adding a specific card to the event deck for Campaign 2, Chapter 2, players will be able to encounter Grahkrindrog in a specific Hold. When players enter the Hold – and yes, multiple players can encounter the Dragon at once – they will be forced to fight the dragon. Grahkrindrog will move around the board as the game progresses, so you never know where you might encounter them.

Honestly, having a dragon to fight in Skyrim is never a bad thing, and again I won’t be spoiling what happens when you defeat the dragon. But again, it’s yet another wrinkle that players need to contend with within the world of Skyrim, and I think it helps make the game so much more thematic. I love how the dragon takes up an entire Hold, which means you’ll either want to avoid a Hold with Grahkrindrog completely, and hope you don’t have any need to move into that area either.

Ghosts of Cyrodiil: Your friends back in Cyrodiil were massacred by the Thalmor and some have said the fault lies with you. The ghosts of your friends are now here in Skyrim to haunt you, so unless you help them find peace, they will not leave you alone. As your game progresses, certain things will cause more of these ghosts to spawn on the board, and they will continue to move towards the players. Defeating them in combat will release their souls, keeping them from haunting you further.

I don’t hate forced combat like this – unlike the dragon, which requires you to move to it inorder to fight, these ghosts will track you across Cyrodiil. I did choose to actively seek them out to defeat them, but at least for a while, avoiding them won’t be entirely impossible. As more spawn, however, you’ll want to start taking them out before they overwhelm and become a problem. Once again, this is a great little addition with some light story text to spice up your game of Skyrim. It’s probably my least favourite module in this box, though.

We cannot wrap this review without talking about the miniatures included in the box. If you read my review of the base game, I noted that these aren’t the best miniatures you’ve ever seen, nor should they be. However, they each are detailed enough to be unique, and I love having them on the board to enhance the experience. I found the Dragon a bit large for the board, and it did cause some line-of-sight issues from time-to-time, but once again the presence of the dragon elevated the experience.

Modiphius was also kind enough to send over a bag of the Skyrim coins to use in the game. I’m a big sucker for metal coins in games, and have a vast collection of coins at my disposal that I use as often as possible. Having these Skyrim themed coins with the dragon logo is phenomenal, and like the miniatures, just enhance the experience you are going to have with kids. These are definitely a luxury item, but one I would HIGHLY recommend picking up if you want to take your copy of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim The Adventure Game to the next level!