Epic Encounters: Local Legends – Griffon and Green Dragon Encounter review

Having gotten quite heavily into board games and TTRPGs over the last few years, my biggest hurdle has been known where to start. There are plenty of resources online for newcomers to Warhammer 40K or Dungeons & Dragons, but with few friends to play with and a shyness towards rocking up to game nights with nary a clue of what to do, I struggled to get my head around some of the elements required to be a GM or even host a game at home with my boys. But the Epic Encounters boxed sets from Steamforged Games have made playing DnD-style adventures an absolute breeze. I recently got to check out a few of their “one shot” sets, the Epic Encounters: Local Legends Green Dragon and Griffon sets in particular.

Now, these Local Legends boxes go hand-in-hand with the Tavern Kit set, one of the most impressive and comprehensive quests sets I’ve seen for homebrew tabletop role-playing. It contains dozens of hints and rumours concerning quests you can take a DnD-style party out on, and these Local Legends boxed sets provide the stuff you need to actively go on those quest.

Since they follow the 5e ruleset, they’re very easy to play. Each set comes with a few miniatures and a play mat, with areas that correspond to role-play instructions in the quest book. It allows you to easily follow a quest or freely make your own. As a novice to the game, it’s an incredibly useful resource. From monster stats to background lore, it provides the GM with everything for the encounter – even some well-written story to set the scene.

The Green Dragon box sees you hunting down the elusive beast through the swamps near the Huntsman’s Stag tavern, while the Griffon encounter plays as more of a pitched battle. With ghost pirates and deadly berserkers to tackle, there’s a really solid variety of adventures to be had. Though these sets aren’t just great for adventuring.

On the other side of the hobby, of course, there’s the miniature painting. The minis provided with each Local Legends set are simply fantastic. Each comes with a monster piece and two additional prints for roleplaying. The Griffon, for example, comes with a detailed mini-diorama of a trapped rider, who you can choose to free from under his stricken horse. They’re high quality prints with wonderful detailing, and are great to paint if that’s your thing.

For aspiring GMs or simply those who want a quick quest to slot into an existing campaign, the Epic Encounters: Local Legends sets are amazingly useful. They run at a fairly hefty price (around £30 each), but their replayability and modular functionality make them great value for regular gamers.