Also there are some good dude characters I guess who I end up loving despite whatever their starting flaws are. (the vampire is oddly cute even though he’s pretty unapologetic about eating people. The goblin child is endearingly... a CHILD even though it would be easy to do the old Annoying Child thing. And he is definitely problem-prone. The broody Northerner has a very interesting arc that gives insight into his culture, and the asshole bard who drags you into problems... bah, I loved him despite himself. And the dealer’s a delightful asshole in both games.) The plot and characterization are startlingly good for a card game crossed with an action RPG meant to be played through several times in differentish ways to unlock things.
Anyway, the first Hand of Fate is less character-focused but also good and I like this developer and these games, so go get them and play them.