The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era (2025)

About this game

The Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era is a 1-4 player cooperative tabletop adventure set during Tamriel's Second Era – specifically during the events of the Planemeld, as the Order of the Black Worm plots to secure the Amulet of Kings. As the dark cult schemes, however, one of its members is planning an even darker betrayal, one that will tie Tamriel in with Oblivion forever. Adventurers work to uncover her machinations and stop her plot amid a bevy of endlessly replayable content. As in The Elder Scrolls video games, players will travel on an epic journey, balancing exploration, character building, dungeon diving and close quarters combat. Each adventure in the game takes place over the course of three gameplay sessions, with sessions being roughly two hours plus an additional half hour per player in length. Players customize and control a single hero throughout all three sessions of an adventure as they manage multiple skill lines, classes and experience the many regions of Tamriel, each with their own unique flavor and mechanics. Experience points are handed out generously, allowing players to build interesting and unique characters in the consolidated timespan required in a tabletop experience. Session to session progression is meaningful, but players are not required to remember complex narrative points or play with the same group forever.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 1 to 4. It has a designed solo mode.
• Rules load. At 3.6/5 this is a heavy game — read the rulebook before people arrive.
• Age. The publisher suggests 14 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.