KR|Enmity Review #27: Enmity Expansion Kit for Tahron

PoliganToys sent me their prototype of the second expansion kit for the epic Tahron playset/game. This kit is inspired by the KR|Enmity line, which was presented back in 2018. The O-Kin Fortress makes its debut in playset form for a new great playing experience!

Description
The KR|Enmity Expansion Kit features:
• 24 booster tokens for the game
• An additional O-Kin Fortress playset with many accessories
• A bag with 75 translucent yellow chips that are shaped like Antikythron crystals (or rather SpawnCrystals shards, as they are now referred to).

Except for giving an exhaustive description of the O-Kin Fortress playset, I'm not going to detail these components and the game rules with the expansion pieces. You can find all this information in my post about the Origin Expansion Kit. I only need to remark that besides the usual properties, i.e., class, faction, strength, agility, and in some cases a special ability or limitation, each expansion piece is also characterised by a particular era (in this case Enmity) and a number of accumulable credits. The credit-chips included in this expansion kit are translucent yellow, and spending 20 of them allows a player to collect one token in the Reinforcement Area, with no need for him to invade the opponent’s Frontline. In limited cases (i.e., primary era variants), expansion pieces present no credit, but are characterised by additional strength values and/or different agility patterns compared to their primary counterparts.

List of Enmity expansion pieces and their properties.

List of possible primary pieces variants in the Enmity Expansion Kit (only one piece is included in the kit).

O-Kin Fortress
This playset represents a walled, stony burg located on a rocky mountaintop, and displays a nice post-sunset orange/pink glow. The two parts of the fortress are attached via sturdy hinges, which allow you to open up and display the fully assembled playset with the two sections side by side, or to fold it up, lock the opening sides securely in place with swivelling latches, and carry the whole thing by an included handle.

Section 1 (left) - exterior: the lower level looks like a slightly receding, rocky slope of a mountain dotted with sculpted scrub vegetation. The upper level is characterised by a projecting vestibule that includes two independently barred doors with a small in-between space (in which a figure can stand), to delay enemy penetration. This controlled entryway to the fortress has an outer wooden door strengthened with riveted metal bands, an inner yett made of latticed metal bars, two grated windows in the flanks, and a murder hole in the ceiling of the passageway. The two hinged parts of the wooden door are ornamented with O-Kin's Golden Eagle emblem (i.e., an eagle with two crossed axes) in the centre and have a latch that can be raised and lowered. While the yett is hinged in the manner of a traditional gate, its frame is hinged at the bottom edge, so that in the lowered position the grille is flush against the internal floor, mimicking a breaching action. The rooftop features a watchtower equipped with a brattice. The latter has a floor opening through which the defenders can fire, throw or pour harmful objects or substances such as arrows, rocks and boiling liquids down on attackers standing under the murder hole; the set comes with a small boulderstone as well as a tilted bucket from which an amber liquid (hot oil?) flows in a stream. The brattice can collapse (i.e., swing down) by hitting a stone-shaped button on the outside wall of the fortress, causing a figure to fall and the upper parapet (a separate wooden piece strengthened with riveted metal bands, and equipped with upward spikes and a smaller version of the Golden Eagle emblem) to detach.
Section 1 - interior: the inner side of the mountain slope is carved with a number of blind arcades, which are an obvious reference to the appearance of O-Kin's training/combat tiltyard shown in Flares of enmity. This rather barren sector does have a play feature, though. The central part of the wall is a lose piece that just slides out or in - the idea is that you can have an attacker burst in through the wall beneath the entryway or a prisoner break free from the inside of the fortress. It's a bit tricky to get it to work properly, but it's kind of fun. Optionally, in this room you can place a nicely sculpted small model of Theriom City, for planning attacks on the Dark Legion's enemies. The upper level features a grandiose room decorated with engaged columns, which acts as a throne hall, although instead of a throne there's a sort of podium; this movable structure consists of three adjacent platforms of different heights, on which the ruler of O-Kin may stand flanked by two additional characters (e.g., guards), and displays steps on the front as well as an elaborate pomp-like background. The rooftop presents a battlement-like parapet and a peg for placing a flag. The latter is a sturdy plastic piece that has an ornamented golden spear-pole and a sticker on each side of the flag: one side shows the fortress is governed by O-Kin's legitimate ruler, the other side shows that things are administered by the Dark Legion. You can fly the proper colours for whomever happens to be in control at the time.

Section 2 (right) - exterior: the front surface of the lower level has an opening that looks like a large cave entrance, but is actually a prison gateway. The upper level shows a grated window flanked by two arrowslits; a raised portcullis, consisting of a latticed grille made of a combination of wood and metal, stands in front of those apertures. The top is characterised by a bartizan armed with a wrecking ball hung from a projecting wooden beam. This revolving arm is furnished with dual handgrips and a wooden face shield (strengthened with riveted metal bands, and equipped with upward spikes and a narrow T-shaped slit for looking through), and can be used to knock down attackers attempting to scale the defensive wall with the aid of an included grappling ladder. The main play feature of this section is that the metal ball is attached to a string, which runs down to the vertically-closing gate; the string, whose length is adjustable, is placed over the projecting arm on the bartizan and is snapped into place thanks to a blocking mechanism. When the turret's blocking mechanism is released by means of a lever, the string retracts completely and the prison's gate slides down and slams shut, capturing any figure inside the dungeon. Additionally, when the portcullis is lowered, the grated window (plus frame) on the upper level can swing down (the presence of a slit prevents the string from getting in the way) and reveal a weapon (more on this later). This section also features a cascade of water falling from the top part near the hinges. In front of the waterfall, there is a narrow suspension footbridge (with rope fences) that connects two stairways (which lead from the prison gateway to the fortress entryway, and are equipped with stumble steps) on the two sections. The bridge is the only part that must be removed in order to fold up the playset.

Section 2 - interior: the lower level features a prison equipped with a pair of real chains and hinged manacles to shackle a captive, which can be attached to the side wall, as well as a creepy torture rack. The upper level functions as both a workshop and an armoury, and is characterised by the presence of a beautifully designed workbench for Wordron's crazy experiments, which doubles as a weapons rack - on one side, the piece features a frame made out of wooden bars on which a number of included weapons can lay on horizontal slats or hang on steel bolts and be available for quick accessibility. This rack enables multiple ways to hold the different weapons in place, and there are also cool wooden pegs on the side that allow a shield to clip on. Additionally, the weapons can be mounted to several slots on the wooden gratings on the walls of the room as an alternative display/storage option, or to the parapets using swivelling/hinged plastic clips. The 16 weapons include: two silver derringers (for some cool akimbo action); a silver halberd-like weapon in the form of a combined adze, spear and kama; a bronze sword that doubles as a gun; two kunai-like bronze throwing knives; two golden battle-axes (reminiscent of the Golden Eagle emblem, although they're repaints of Herrion's single-bladed axe); a bronze staff (identical to Fai-Rha's jō, but in a different colour); a golden carbine with a scope and a flashy magazine; a silver bazooka (which doubles as a cannon when attached to the inner side of the swinging window), a bronze mace whose head looks like a large, elaborate pyramidal spear head; a tech-looking golden slingshot; a large trapezoidal wooden shield (strengthened with a riveted metal rim, and equipped with spiked studs and a narrow T-shaped slit for looking through); and two golden longbows that double as crossbows. Like with the other section, the rooftop has a peg for placing a second flag identical to the one described previously. In addition, there are two slots for attaching an optional arch-shaped carrying handle.


The KR|Enmity Expansion Kit is fully compatible with the previous Tahron board game sets, including the KR|Origin Expansion Kit. Overall, the O-Kin Fortress is a fantastic playset that both fans who play with the game, as well as those who only enjoy the toys will love. The sculpt, accessories, features, and altogether display and appearance make this a great set.

Happy holidays!!!