Fantasy Flight Games has announced the Q1, 2014 release of Agents of the Labyrinth, four new "Lieutenant Packs" for the Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition board game (see "'Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition").  The four new packs feature old friends and old enemies from the game’s Labyrinth of Ruin expansion (see "Labyrinth of Ruin") including Ariad, Queen Ariad, Serena, and Raythen.  In addition to allowing players to replace their lieutenant tokens from Labyrinth of Ruin with dramatically detailed figures, the new packs allow the Overlord player to summon any of these lieutenants in any quest outside of the Labyrinth of Ruin campaign as an agent.  Each Lieutenant Pack also introduces a Plot deck of specialized cards, which can be triggered during any encounter by spending threat tokens.
 
Descent: Journeys in the Dark is a semi-cooperative board game in which one player assumes the role of the treacherous Overlord while up to four other players portray courageous heroes who attempt to liberate treasures, fight monsters, and prevent the overlord from carrying out his evil designs.  Two of the four new Lieutenant Packs, Ariad and her spider-form Queen Ariad are dedicated agents of the Overlord, but Serena and Raythen were not always dedicated to the Overlord and their Lieutenant Packs invite players to decide their fate by including a sculpted figure of both the "evil" and "good" versions of these conflicted characters.  With "hero sheets" available, players can use Serena or Raythen as fully playable heroes, or they can use their Plot cards to spread the evil influence of the Overlord.
 
Ariad is one of the Overlord’s most cunning operatives who can keep the heroes off balance with her "Dark Illusions" plot deck using the mirages and phantoms it contains to confuse and mislead the heroes while masking the Overlord’s real machinations.  In her spider form as Queen Ariad, the agent has numerous "trap" cards that can be combined with the Overlord’s own cards to ensnare the unsuspecting heroes, as well as a potent "Hidden Predator" card, which provides the Overlord’s minions with a special power bonus whenever they attack from out of sight.
 
The Raythen Lieutenant Pack includes everything needed to play the dwarf rogue character as a hero, or as an agent of the Overlord in any version of the game other than the Labyrinth of Ruin expansion scenario.  Using Raythen as a hero gives players the right to re-roll attribute tests and gain more search tokens.  On the other hand using Raythen as a minion of the Overlord gives the player the right to use the dwarf’s "Skullduggery Plot" deck to steal the heroes’ search tokens and keep the best treasures out of their hands with cards like "Foiled Again."
 
By using Serena as a hero, players get the right to utilize her magical abilities to further their quests.  Though fragile in direct combat, she can heal wounds and revive fatigued heroes.  On the other side, she can help heal monsters as well as slow down the heroes with cards like "Traveler’s Rest."