Divinity: Original Sin The Board Game Review

Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game by Larian Studios, the creators of Baldur's Gate 3, is a tabletop version of their other incredible video game RPG, Divinity: Original Sin. This tabletop incarnation is based on the sequel Divinity: Original Sin 2, which was released in 2017. Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game launched on Kickstarter in November 2019 and was delivered to backers early this year. The delivered version of the game has been through a few iterations of the rules, including a complete rebuild. Larian didn't want to deliver until they were completely happy that the backers were getting the quality product they deserved.

In this review, we'll check out what's in the box, talk about what it's like to play Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game, and how long it takes.

How Do You Play Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game?

The Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game box is huge, which will make Gloomhaven players feel at home, but may be overwhelming to anyone else. Players shouldn't judge the size of the box to the complexity of the game though and it is simply an indication of the amount of content you get.

Larian has also designed this huge box extremely well, and the components for your first game, the Tutorial - Torture Chamber, are cleverly placed at the top of the box, all players need to do is gather the components listed on the first game leaflet, and read the first few pages of the rulebook.

Each session of Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game is played on the Divine Atlas, a book of maps that contains game information, and the different locations for that session. Each map has the unique rules for that area, and a series of linked locations that players can explore each turn.

If there are no enemies visible, then players can explore freely, traveling to locations and revealing cards that have that location's details on. Some locations offer interactions, challenges, information, loot, or reveal enemies that immediately turn the game into combat rounds until no enemies are visible again.

While in explore or combat rounds, a timer is tracked on the side of the game board. When the timer reaches certain points, events occur that move the story on or can throw the players into combat. When enemies activate, a targeting die is rolled.

The result of the die means they will either target the closest player, or follow their targeting rule, like the player with the highest or lowest health, armor, or a space with the most players in it.

The game also features a number of bosses that the players may encounter. Each boss comes with their own page in the Boss booklet, and their own set of action cards to make them much more challenging than the normal enemies the players may face.

During the player's turns, they get a number of action points that they can use to spend on attacking with equipment they hold or using skill cards from their hand.

Skill cards have a range of effects, depending on what you choose during character creation, and can be offensive, like Tentacle Lash, which is an attack card that can blind your target, and deals extra damage if they're already blinded, or defensive like Defensive Stance, which lets you reroll 1 of your attackers dice, or ignore 1 if you have a shield equipped.

Once used, skill cards go into a cooldown track which means they can't be used again until they're back in your hand, but this clever mechanic also tracks the use of some cards, which are placed face up in the cooldown track, like Cloak and Dagger, which while it is faceup, and you are invisible, allows you can reroll 1 attack dice.

All tests in Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game, are done with custom dice, which have a mixture of hits and special symbols. The special symbols activate effects listed on skill cards or other cards you may have in play, and hits deal damage according to the skill or equipment card used. The game comes with 3 types of custom dice:

• White, the basic dice
• Blue, which have more special symbols
• Red, which have more hits

The game is controlled by timer-activated location cards, or by the exploration cards that players interact with. Once a card tells the players to progress to the next area, the board is cleared, and the page is turned to the indicated location to start the next session.

In between each session, players may have the option to level up their characters where they gain base stats, earn new talents, and skill cards, heal wounds, revive downed party members, or visit the merchant to buy new equipment.

Does Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game Have Multiple Story Options?

Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game has all the story options! The Divine Atlas has 48 pages (not all scenario maps), and you won't hit all the pages in your playthrough, in fact, you might only see a quarter of them depending on your choices. Speaking to Larian at a demo night, this is not only for replayability but also so that your choices are meaningful. They wanted your decisions to actually have results based on the choices you make, not just a narrative way of getting you to the same map pages regardless of your actions.

Who Can You Play In Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game?

The Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game tutorial has 4 characters to play, and after that there are 10 characters to chose from (including the 4 from the tutorial). The available characters are:

• The Red Prince - An exiled prince, disgraced for cavorting with demons. They start with the Noble and Scholar keywords and are immune to fire damage.
• Sebille - Once previously controlled by magic to kill their own kind, now broken free and seeking vengeance on those that would control others. They have the Outlaw, Rogue, and Corpse Eater keywords, and gain a new skill whenever they defeat a boss.
• Lohse - A haunted performer who suffers from violent episodes. Begins with the Mystic and Rogue keywords, and they or a nearby ally can reroll 1 dice once per round.
• Beast - A banished dwarven usurper. Has the Barbarian and Noble keywords, and a higher starting max health than the others.
• Fane - Was imprisoned in a crypt for eons, and has awoken to find they are the last of their kind. Has the Mystic and Scholar keywords, they can return a facedown skill card to their hand the first time they defeat an enemy each round.
• Vali - Having already traded their mortality for undeath, they now seek to become even more powerful. They have the Culstist and Scholar keywords and start the game with an extra source (which can be spent to reroll once per scenario).
• Farzanah - Having fused themselves with the essence of the Dragon Knights, they now seek to prove themselves worthy. They have the Mystic and Culstist keyword and can move to an adjacent space once per round at no cost.
• Ifan - Having been used as a pawn to kill their own people, they now act as a mercenary, seeking vengeance on those who used them. They start with the Mercenary and Outlaw keywords and roll an extra blue dice when attacking a single target with an equipped item.
• Cassian - Once a Paladin of the Divine Order, now a seeker of justice against those who arranged the conspiracy that ruined their father. Has the Outlaw and Noble keywords, they can equip any 2 hand items as 1 item, and their physical armor is boosted when wielding 2 melee weapons.
• Tanguistal - A gladiator torn from their family. They have the Mercenary and Barbarian keywords and roll 3 red dice instead of white when making challenge rolls.

Does Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game Have Character Development?

Each Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game character has 6 levels to advance through on their stat cards, gaining health, action points, level bonuses, and source as they do. While you advance, your character also gains skill cards and talents, which are what drives your character's unique style.

There are 12 schools to chose skill cards from, and they each have 4 levels of cards. Level 1 and 2 can be chosen by any characters, and levels 3 and 4 can only be chosen if you have the talent that unlocks those cards. Each talent is unique, so the player who chooses that talent locks out the level 3 and 4 skill cards for other characters. 

Skill cards are designed to combo with other skill cards, building up status effects on your enemies (like bleeding and burning) and in locations (like charged and wet), and then capitalizing on them with other skill cards that add bonus when those effects are active.

So it's a good idea when you level up for the first time, to have a look through the talents and skill cards, and have an idea in mind of the balance amongst your party, and who will have which talents and skills cards, as those combination attacks can really help you at higher levels of enemies.

What Are Our Final Thoughts On Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game?

One thing we didn't talk about in our review was the random stuff that can happen while you're exploring the Divine Atlas, the items you can find that have an effect on another character you meet or a situation you end up in.

Aside from the great artwork, solid components (did we mention the sleek storage that the box insert is?), fantastic mechanics, the scope of the story, and sheer monumental variety of character development, it's these little moments that set it apart for me from other dungeon crawler type board games.

I won't spoil any of them for you, and you might not even come across any in your playthrough, but it's these little moments and details that make you realize that the focus really is on the choices you've made, and it's not simply an on-rails dungeon crawler.

Should I Buy Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game?

If you're a fan of the Divinity: Original Sin video games, then there's a lot to love here in its tabletop format. If it's your first ever tabletop game, then there is a lot to take in to start with, but the tutorial does a good job of getting you in and then adding in the rest of the rules after. For experienced tabletop gamers, the rules are well presented and while a lot of depth is offered, the rules aren't complex. If you've never played the video games, then the setting and game are fantastic, and you won't be disappointed.

If you're looking for a quick and easy pick-up game, then this isn't it. It's a hybrid between a full-blown tabletop roleplaying game and a dungeon crawler battler. While it doesn't have the full openness of an RPG, or the quick activation turn mechanics of some battler games, this finds a nice balance between the two, and allows a huge variety of character options, whilst keeping character development straightforward.

It does however take up a lot of table space. Once the Divine Atlas is set out, and the character and enemy boards are arranged, even without putting all the cards on the table, it still takes up most of a large dining table, so if you've only got a small place to play on, this car be awkward to set up and play.

Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game works well with all player levels and is best enjoyed whilst working through the whole story as a group, so make sure all of your players are in for the full experience, in order to get the most out of it.

The copy of Divinity: Original Sin the Board Game used in the creation of this review was provided by Larian Studios.