For the third installment of the Survivors of Death product line we once again are looking at 4 models with Character cards and a collection of new stuff for various different systems. This time, however, there has been a change to the previously established formula!

Whilst previous Survivors of Death boxes featured a spread of additions to several different parts of the game best enjoyed in conjunction with the Gambler’s Chest Expansion, this third box of the series approaches things a little differently: it has a central theme!

Whilst the 4 figures are the 4 girls from the Chasing Oblivion Vignette featured in the Screaming God expansion, all content associated with them in this newest White Box are music-themed!

The new gameplay offerings:

• 4 Character cards (2 impairments, 2 abilities)
• 1 Strain + 1 Vermin Resource, 1 Pattern & 1 Strange Resource
• 1 Pillar card +3 Innovations
• 1 Collective Cognition card + 3 Knowledge cards

With no new indomitable resource or seed pattern cards, this box does represent a noticeable step away from the first 2. And whilst I personally do somewhat lament these changes, overall the box working off of a theme will make it much more approachable for players who do not own all the other expansions – something that was quite noticeable especially with SoD2 which needed you to have not only the Dragon King but also the GCE to be fully useable.
And whilst, yes, these expansions are quite popular – they are also some of the most expensive ones!

Due to its thematic tie-in with the Screaming God box, sadly we also had to leave behind the prospect of getting 2 new male models in favor of getting figures for these 4 newly established characters.

But speaking of models, the 4 armor sets featured in this box are Lantern Armor (Sage), Count Armor (Melody), White Lion Armor (Lyra) and Smog Singer Armor (Harmony).
The names I am referencing are the ones for the characters as found in the Screaming God Vignette.

Melody will doot as she pleases, whilst Sage looks on in silent horror, her ears already plugged.
These 2 were hit with the new impairment character cards.

Meanwhile Lyra (she’s the bestest) and Harmony get the 2 new abilities.

As with previous releases the models in this box are great and even if you do not own the Screaming God at least 2 of them will likely see play with their Core-only armor sets.
On the other hand, to me at least, this box does have a slightly more “tacked on” feel to it than the 2 others, even despite those being just random collections of stuff.
This is at least partially because of the 4 figures featured in SoD3 were getting pushed up the development pipeline at a break-neck speed compared to almost anything else put out by Team Death due to popular demand for these 4 characters in particular.
I just can’t imagine adding a cohesive theme to them had been planned out from the get-go (beyond the Vignette already going “Check this out! Instruments are cool!”) and I would expect that whatever SoD3 would have been prior to the release of the Screaming God would have looked quite different.
But these are purely my own speculations. It also does not necessarily have to reflect negatively on the quality of the content provided in this box.

On the side of the character cards we have some decent highs and a few very low lows:
Like an ability reminiscent of Rhythm Chaser (FA) but with +1ACC-tokens instead of EVA and the ability to spend an extra survival whilst using encourage to give out 2 +1STR-tokens to the affected survivor(s) for a round.
Whilst the impairments either set your survival to 0 on departure when another survivor has noisy gear or start you off with a -1LCK-token should you not bring an instrument. And whilst that particular person can activate an instrument for a +1LCK-token as well, everybody else will be getting a -1LCK-token for it being just so desatrously off-key.

Outside of the characters, the by far easiest thing to interact with during any given game would be the new pillar card: Troubadour Troupe.
This one quite simply adds the Band innovation to your game – a new Forbidden Dance (I) consequence.
Should you innovate Band (I) during your game you will not only get a buff to Synchronized Strike (SFA) and an endeavor to gain +1MOV-tokens if 2 or more people are carrying instruments into battle, but you will also add both Concerto (I) and Symphony (I) to your innovation deck as well.
These 2 are unique for the fact that each will remove the other from your deck, so you will only ever get to pick one of the two during any give campaign.
Beyond providing you with a +1 survival limit, they each represent different power-ups to Synch Strike – either to gain +1 survival when you use the Secret Fighting Art or the ability to stack up to three +1LCK-tokens on a single member of your hunting party.

Then, if this is enough incentive for you to finally send out a full group of bards (i.e. everyone has an instrument) and they all die during the same Lantern Year .. for whatever reason .. it doesn’t even have to be a stray *REDACTED* .. you get a strain unlock!
This does add a new vermin to your deck – the Blind Rocker. It’s a strange nightmare cricket that improves music endeavors .. and is a bone as well! And who doesn’t love a new vermin?
There is a chance for it to .. attract something .. worse. But even if that happens you will get something nice in return for it as well – a new pattern for that noise-cancelling head-set you’ve always wanted!
This is a very end-game piece of gear (needing 4xBlack Lichen – yes, FOUR!) but can pretty reliably give you extra move and activations during your act.

Finally, for the GCE-enjoyers out there, there is the new CC milestone Feasting Songs which adds 3 new “ambience cards” to your knowledge deck. These can only ever take effect when shared at the Forum and instead of providing you with a chance to learn a knowledge they represent lasting effects for your settlement to activate as people are just enjoying and making music all around town.
From extra permanent STR to Weapon Proficiency points to a departing +1LCK-token I’m sure there’s at least one you will enjoy drawing.

Overall, I would say this box offers about as much new stuff as the previous two Survivors of Death boxes did. And whilst I am both really looking forward to playing a music-based campaign at some point and happy about getting a new Vermin resource as well, I am a little sad that we did not get an indom with this box.
But that is just me, and I’m pretty sure if we finally got another non-weapon indom and it ended up being an instrument I think people wouldn’t exactly be thrilled.
Everybody is just too scared of *REDACTED*.
..
We could get “The Other Whisker Harp” if it’s a Phoenix indom!
..
Nobody?

***

So, final verdict .. is the same as always – it’s a White Box! You knew what I was going to say! It may be a $77 White Box, but still a White Box, so my FAQ applies here as well (point 8 if you are new around here).

But to be a little more forthcoming: if you want to get models for Sage and her 3 .. uh.., trobairitz .., I think Survivors of Death Volume 3 is a great addition to your collection if it doesn’t break your bank. The same can be said if you are one of the few people that actively enjoy playing with instruments when out on the hunt. Or when you are looking for more reasons to take instruments along.

Furthermore moving towards a theme does make the box more accessible for a larger player base as it is a little less reliant on someone having a specific monster expansion as well to make some of content from this box even work at all. And we have heard from Team Death that this will likely be the way Survivors of Death boxes will be approached in the future – with a central theme in mind rather than a checklist of systems to provide new content for.
There is admittedly still the GCE-hurdle to contend with, true, but that *should* be known at this point. The SoD line was meant to be a package deal of GCE upgrades at first after all.

At the end of the day, whilst I am looking forward to using all the new music stuff soon-ish, I don’t think I’ll be adding the Troubadour Troupe Pillar to Season 4.
I’ll save that for a clean slate and a Frogdog to make death whistles out of.

Should you end up getting Survivors of Death Vol.3, who’s your favorite of the 4 girls featured in Chasing Oblivion? I really started liking Lyra!

And that will be all for today.
Whilst the Feline Entity checks on her domain, disinterested in the immediate going-ons behind her, I will return at the end of the week with news from the Gormpital.
I said we’d be hunting a Lvl2 spooder and I meant it.

As always, thank you very much for your time, constellations don’t fear the *REDACTED*
Amathul