Alright the basic decks are dunzo, and ready to be printed, cut, and tested out! Against what? I don't know, that's the next step! So now, lets take these decks and start playing around with different Big Bad concepts we think up and see what happens! Think gimmicky, think story, think how each Big Bad deck could behave TOTALLY differently from the last. Do the German Elemental Lich!
I made a second tab on the spreadsheet to track each of the decks. I made a r00d tab and an elzar tab. Feel free to play around with the numbers or whatever in yours, I'll do the same in mine but I'll leave the OG up for reference. Make a new tab with your big bad concept in it, I'll do the same.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Hybrid or Multi-Class Support Roles
Had an idea for expansion hybrid support classes. They could be more advanced cards that are more difficult to play, but potentially more rewarding. So instead of filling out your support deck with 4 classes, you could exchange 2 standard classes for 1 hybrid class. So, take out the CLERIC and TANK classes and swap in a DRUID class. It could have cards that act as somewhere inbetween two other classes. You'd lose something because its not specialized, but maybe it excels in unexpected areas. Also, maybe it would be more challenging and rewarding to succeed with a smaller support deck tricked out with some funky classes. Paladins, Rogue Demon Hunters, Bards!
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Spreadsheet update
Added a bunch of spells/gear for the Magic DPS. I don't know what our breakdown should be yet for gear vs single target attacks vs defensive spells, etc, but added some basic stuff for Magic DPS that fit the theme. Also added a couple of bow-related equipment for the Ranged DPS.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Re-Thinking Less Than 5 Players.
So, my original solo play plan was to have ALL the character roles be present in a single deck, but with all the hero cards in play - so 5 cards, 1 deck. The single deck used stripped down versions of each role deck, but were combined so that the player could use all the roles for a balanced 'run' and have a fun experience. The 'support deck variant' for sotm is a pretty fun way to play that game solo, but you still have to manage two heroes. Rudy drew attention to the sotm variant, and it suddenly got me thinking that it could fit, or be a central piece, of the less than 5 player experience, which I assume MOST games of TPK will be.
I don't think it varies much from my original concept of using the most powerful and sort of essential cards from each role deck and combining them into a single deck for soloing. The downside was that in that plan the 'low and slow' building sort of abilities were going to be cut in favor of the more straight forward abilities "heal for 5", "attack for 10", and so on.
Using the idea of a support deck, means you use at least two decks every game, where one deck is the full character experience, and then the support deck is the paired back version of all the other roles you chose not to play with. 1 player, = 1 role deck, and 1 deck with 4 other roles combined. 2 players = each with one deck, and 1 deck with 3 other roles combined, etc. The problem with then be with 4 players, the 5th deck is just a full deck sitting there.
Or maybe the support deck has NOTHING to do with the existing role decks? Those decks always will be complete decks, and the support deck is pulled from a totally different set of cards, depending on how many players, and what roles, are in play. Hmmmm, I think I like that idea even better....
I don't think it varies much from my original concept of using the most powerful and sort of essential cards from each role deck and combining them into a single deck for soloing. The downside was that in that plan the 'low and slow' building sort of abilities were going to be cut in favor of the more straight forward abilities "heal for 5", "attack for 10", and so on.
Using the idea of a support deck, means you use at least two decks every game, where one deck is the full character experience, and then the support deck is the paired back version of all the other roles you chose not to play with. 1 player, = 1 role deck, and 1 deck with 4 other roles combined. 2 players = each with one deck, and 1 deck with 3 other roles combined, etc. The problem with then be with 4 players, the 5th deck is just a full deck sitting there.
Or maybe the support deck has NOTHING to do with the existing role decks? Those decks always will be complete decks, and the support deck is pulled from a totally different set of cards, depending on how many players, and what roles, are in play. Hmmmm, I think I like that idea even better....
Boss Idea - Elemental - 4 stages
I was thinking of a way to do a multi-stage boss and thought an "Elemental Boss" could be fairly straight forward. Elemental in German translated as "natürlich" which is rad, because NATURE and LICH, hell yeah. His main character card can be split in two on both sides, with STAGES 1-4 represented by the different elements. He starts at STAGE 1 in Wind form. After the heroes defeat that stage, the card is rotated to STAGE 2 - Water. STAGE 3 will be on the backside of the card, Earth. Then rotate that for the final form, STAGE 4 - Fire. The different stages/forms of the boss would have different hit points. There could possibly also be a "resting round" in between every stage as the boss transforms, letting the heroes heal up. The other twist that could be fun for this boss and his deck of minions/spells/attacks could be: All the cards have a general effect like "Rocklings deal 5 melee damage to the character who has aggro", but then they can also have a secondary effect like "If BOSS is in Earth stage, then all characters take an additional 2 HP damage". I can imagine that the boss is just spouting out minions and havoc which could explain Rock Monsters followed immediately by Water Monsters - but then if they happen to come out at the appropriate stage, the monsters would be deadlier.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
HP Wrinkle
So, if the difference in deck cost and some pre-determined number = each characters hit points, then what about games with less than 5 players? How do you account for the cost of a deck with 2 or 3 characters in it? Hmmmm, smart guy?
Friday, August 16, 2013
Re-thinking Threat
So I think the original threat mechanic meant to have the most recent attack card placed on the target to see what the current threat was and compare future attacks against that card to see if the target is then pulled to the most recent attacker. I think this is a bit tough to manage as a regular rule, and would be better suited for special cards. I think the normal rule should be a threat number right on the target card itself and would work like this:
First attack on any target in the queue would result in a pull.
Subsequent attacks on the target must have a high enough threat to meet or beat printed value on card to see if the card is then pulled by the new attacker.
Some attack cards would actually be placed on the target to either raise or lower the threat of the card.
I was trying to think through how, for example, you would handle an AoE attack. Let's say you AoE all the enemy cards in the queue (that are currently not pulled by any player). You end up pulling 3 of them. Do you then somehow place your AoE card on all three enemy cards? Arrange them in a column under each attack card that pulled them? Seems messy. Maybe having a printed value will eliminate that potential ugliness.
Something to consider for further design discussions.
First attack on any target in the queue would result in a pull.
Subsequent attacks on the target must have a high enough threat to meet or beat printed value on card to see if the card is then pulled by the new attacker.
Some attack cards would actually be placed on the target to either raise or lower the threat of the card.
I was trying to think through how, for example, you would handle an AoE attack. Let's say you AoE all the enemy cards in the queue (that are currently not pulled by any player). You end up pulling 3 of them. Do you then somehow place your AoE card on all three enemy cards? Arrange them in a column under each attack card that pulled them? Seems messy. Maybe having a printed value will eliminate that potential ugliness.
Something to consider for further design discussions.
Must... Not... Burn... Out...
It's been hard coming up with interesting and diverse cards for each DPS role type... I think I'm going to just cut/paste most of the abilities from one DPS style to the other to get the ball rolling and then add a few tricky cards here and there. I need to get SOMETHING done to start the Boss deck balancing. For some reason I'm not allowing myself to do that until I can get all the 5 roles' solo deck cards to the starting line.
Must persevere!
Must persevere!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Newest Cast Member and Deck Considerations
Let's all welcome our newest cast member here at TPK (Copyright 2014, Blackleaf Games), R00d!
*applause, applause*
Deck/Card Powers Design Notes
As I'm creating these decks, I think I may have stumbled on a small baked in play test opportunity. I'd like to design 5 different methods for proc/combo abilities and put one in each deck type. Since the card counts are small from each role for the solo deck, I think working only one proc/combo mechanic per role would allow for each role to be fairly successful with mostly straight forward cards, and one sort of 'slow and low' ability that generates over time.
Ideas for proc/combos:
- Collect enemy/minion cards as you defeat them. Turn in cards for bonus to x ability.
- Discard from play, any x card types for bonus to x ability.
- Discard from play, any x card types to activate ability.
- For each x card type in play, perform y ability x times.
Dungeon, Location, and Boss Decks
Let's look at how two very popular card games, in fact the two games that have inspired TPK, handle the idea of Big Bad, location/environments, and victory conditions, to maybe see where TPK should land.
LotR: The Encounter deck is created by bundles of cards that are all part of a certain theme - so eye of sauron, fortress of something, river deck, wild animals, spiders, etc. Each of these cards are themed to sort of work together. When you do a scenario, ~4 of those different decks are grouped together usually with some scenario specific cards like quest items. Then one card is flipped per turn and away you go. I think the scenario goals are balanced against the 'cost' of the encounter deck.
Some cards take effect immediately, some languish in the threat queue and don't engage players until their threat is of a certain level. Means that as the game progresses, more enemies will auto attack rather than languish.
WHAT I LIKE: Packs of themed baddies for the encounter deck. Goblinoids, Cultists, Traps and Tricks, etc. I like how the overall deck is flavored by all these themed encounter cards. Trying to emulate, say, the Ragefire Instance: Cultists, Lava Beasts, Rock Beasts, Underground + Boss Cards = Dungeon Deck?
WHAT I DON'T LIKE: Clearly the lotr game is balanced to use threat, questing, locations, and the queue to keep the game properly paced, but it's too much (i.e. too well developed and balanced :) ) for what I'm looking for, at least at this stage in the game.
SotM: The player adversary is made up of the Villain deck (Baron Blade, Omnitron, Plague Rat), which is a static deck that includes all the baddies themed for that villain and the Environment Deck (Rook City, Ruins of Atlantis, Dinosaur Land, etc.), which affects all players and villain cards alike. The fun here is fighting different villains in different environments will mean different challenges, and likely superhero choice, per combo. Each turn only one of each card is flipped. So in this case we only have two variables to sort of consider or balance, vs. TONS in lotr. SotM is designed to pick up and go - grab a villain deck, an environment deck, 3+ heroes, and play, LotR is more of a crafted scenario based game.
WHAT I LIKE: The get up and go piece. Almost no set-up or break-down, no planning, no deck building or tweaking, just go for it! I like that its one card per turn, do what it says, then off to the player turn. each card that comes into play will then have start/end of turn actions to take, but at it's core it's a fairly simple system. Fighting the same villain in a different locale could totally change the fight too, which I like, and is VERY superhero thematic.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE: Not much. I think it's a great idea and a great execution.
More thoughts later.
*applause, applause*
Deck/Card Powers Design Notes
As I'm creating these decks, I think I may have stumbled on a small baked in play test opportunity. I'd like to design 5 different methods for proc/combo abilities and put one in each deck type. Since the card counts are small from each role for the solo deck, I think working only one proc/combo mechanic per role would allow for each role to be fairly successful with mostly straight forward cards, and one sort of 'slow and low' ability that generates over time.
Ideas for proc/combos:
- Collect enemy/minion cards as you defeat them. Turn in cards for bonus to x ability.
- Discard from play, any x card types for bonus to x ability.
- Discard from play, any x card types to activate ability.
- For each x card type in play, perform y ability x times.
Dungeon, Location, and Boss Decks
Let's look at how two very popular card games, in fact the two games that have inspired TPK, handle the idea of Big Bad, location/environments, and victory conditions, to maybe see where TPK should land.
LotR: The Encounter deck is created by bundles of cards that are all part of a certain theme - so eye of sauron, fortress of something, river deck, wild animals, spiders, etc. Each of these cards are themed to sort of work together. When you do a scenario, ~4 of those different decks are grouped together usually with some scenario specific cards like quest items. Then one card is flipped per turn and away you go. I think the scenario goals are balanced against the 'cost' of the encounter deck.
Some cards take effect immediately, some languish in the threat queue and don't engage players until their threat is of a certain level. Means that as the game progresses, more enemies will auto attack rather than languish.
WHAT I LIKE: Packs of themed baddies for the encounter deck. Goblinoids, Cultists, Traps and Tricks, etc. I like how the overall deck is flavored by all these themed encounter cards. Trying to emulate, say, the Ragefire Instance: Cultists, Lava Beasts, Rock Beasts, Underground + Boss Cards = Dungeon Deck?
WHAT I DON'T LIKE: Clearly the lotr game is balanced to use threat, questing, locations, and the queue to keep the game properly paced, but it's too much (i.e. too well developed and balanced :) ) for what I'm looking for, at least at this stage in the game.
SotM: The player adversary is made up of the Villain deck (Baron Blade, Omnitron, Plague Rat), which is a static deck that includes all the baddies themed for that villain and the Environment Deck (Rook City, Ruins of Atlantis, Dinosaur Land, etc.), which affects all players and villain cards alike. The fun here is fighting different villains in different environments will mean different challenges, and likely superhero choice, per combo. Each turn only one of each card is flipped. So in this case we only have two variables to sort of consider or balance, vs. TONS in lotr. SotM is designed to pick up and go - grab a villain deck, an environment deck, 3+ heroes, and play, LotR is more of a crafted scenario based game.
WHAT I LIKE: The get up and go piece. Almost no set-up or break-down, no planning, no deck building or tweaking, just go for it! I like that its one card per turn, do what it says, then off to the player turn. each card that comes into play will then have start/end of turn actions to take, but at it's core it's a fairly simple system. Fighting the same villain in a different locale could totally change the fight too, which I like, and is VERY superhero thematic.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE: Not much. I think it's a great idea and a great execution.
More thoughts later.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Quick Note
- Once the cards are closer to balance, and the decks are closer, maybe the way hit points are determined is the difference between some value, say 80, and the cost of the deck. For that character, regardless of if additional cards are swapped for focus builds or whatever it may end up being, the cards swapped in and out will have the same value so the cards that are constant, and not able to be swapped, will always determine that characters HP.
So, deck cost + HP = same value for all characters.
So, deck cost + HP = same value for all characters.
The Secret Sauce
Alright, so I have a spreadsheet that is filled with my first pass at ability/action/power costs. In the same spreadsheet I'm building out the card ideas for each role and then computing their cost per card based on cost list. Then, I have some fancy auto summing of card values based on the choice and number of certain cards I select for any given deck so when I choose x number of cards I have a total cost of the deck ready for comparison with other decks to see if they sort of line up. Which ONLY works if my numbers aren't garbage :) BUT I do now have a framework I can use to tweak card and ability costs as I develop the mechanics.
Given that I'm looking at defining and 'balancing' the player decks exclusively, it would then follow that I will then balance the Boss/Dungeon/Big Bad deck against the hero decks point value. I assume the cards will simply be orders of magnitude more effective since they will only reveal once per turn, but know knows at this point.
I'm going to keep my secret formula sauce, secret for the time being. I feel like it's the key to my encryption scheme where the algorithm is public, but the key is what's private. I feel fine publishing the rules and the cards, but how I determine the cards I think I'm going to keep concealed, at least from teh public intarwebz.
Given that I'm looking at defining and 'balancing' the player decks exclusively, it would then follow that I will then balance the Boss/Dungeon/Big Bad deck against the hero decks point value. I assume the cards will simply be orders of magnitude more effective since they will only reveal once per turn, but know knows at this point.
I'm going to keep my secret formula sauce, secret for the time being. I feel like it's the key to my encryption scheme where the algorithm is public, but the key is what's private. I feel fine publishing the rules and the cards, but how I determine the cards I think I'm going to keep concealed, at least from teh public intarwebz.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Card Formula
This is totally meaningless as it stands, and for lack of a better, more maths oriented method, I'm sort of pulling things from my ass that I think should probably be considered in a formula for deck building and balance. I have no idea where to start, so I'm just listing things that will likely be under consideration.
Damage caused
Damage increased/decreased
Single/Multiple targets
Threat
Threat to damage ratio
Unique keyword
Draw a card
Avoid attacks/all damage
Soaking damage
Discard a card
Search deck
Search discard
Prevent enemy from attacking
Adds points/fuels combo
etc.
How I hope to be able to use this is to calculate a general, very general, cost per deck or cost per role cards per deck, to get a starting point for testing. Since these numbers are totally going to be fudged and based on nothing, they will likely change. My next thought is to sort of then create and balance the boss deck based on the value of the player deck(s). We'll see.
I have printed some paper card templates out and pulled out a bunch of sleeved WoW cards I had to use as backing. I'm fearful of starting this because I really have no idea where it will go and it might suck sooooo bad out of the gates I'll get discouraged and throw in the towel. I hope not.
Damage caused
Damage increased/decreased
Single/Multiple targets
Threat
Threat to damage ratio
Unique keyword
Draw a card
Avoid attacks/all damage
Soaking damage
Discard a card
Search deck
Search discard
Prevent enemy from attacking
Adds points/fuels combo
etc.
How I hope to be able to use this is to calculate a general, very general, cost per deck or cost per role cards per deck, to get a starting point for testing. Since these numbers are totally going to be fudged and based on nothing, they will likely change. My next thought is to sort of then create and balance the boss deck based on the value of the player deck(s). We'll see.
I have printed some paper card templates out and pulled out a bunch of sleeved WoW cards I had to use as backing. I'm fearful of starting this because I really have no idea where it will go and it might suck sooooo bad out of the gates I'll get discouraged and throw in the towel. I hope not.
Hand Size, Actions Per Turn, Scaling for Solo Play
Hand Size
I'm going to pick a number here, let's say 6 cards. BAM! That's the hand size.
Actions Per Turn
I don't want to have to track action points, and I love the idea of radicool combos, and I want players to feel both empowered and excited to do stuff, so I think playing all the cards in your hand whenever you can is probably the way to go. Now, do you then a) draw back to a full hand, b) discard your remaining cards, or c) any combination thereof? I THINK that you will then need to wait until the start of your next turn to draw back so you will need to hold on to any Reaction cards you want between turns. However, in solo play, I think you will need to draw back to 6 at the end of your turn to be ready for the next round. Time will tell but I think I'm calling it right here.
Player Turn: At the beginning of your turn, refill your hand to 6 cards. During your turn, you can play as many cards as possible in any combination of actions from cards that are in play, to cards from your hand, to cards that you draw that turn. At the end of your turn, you may discard as many cards as you like.
Scaling for Solo Play
I think I covered it above, but for solo play the player should draw back to a full hand at the end of the turn. Maybe. It feels right to say that, but TIME WILL TELL.
I'm going to pick a number here, let's say 6 cards. BAM! That's the hand size.
Actions Per Turn
I don't want to have to track action points, and I love the idea of radicool combos, and I want players to feel both empowered and excited to do stuff, so I think playing all the cards in your hand whenever you can is probably the way to go. Now, do you then a) draw back to a full hand, b) discard your remaining cards, or c) any combination thereof? I THINK that you will then need to wait until the start of your next turn to draw back so you will need to hold on to any Reaction cards you want between turns. However, in solo play, I think you will need to draw back to 6 at the end of your turn to be ready for the next round. Time will tell but I think I'm calling it right here.
Player Turn: At the beginning of your turn, refill your hand to 6 cards. During your turn, you can play as many cards as possible in any combination of actions from cards that are in play, to cards from your hand, to cards that you draw that turn. At the end of your turn, you may discard as many cards as you like.
Scaling for Solo Play
I think I covered it above, but for solo play the player should draw back to a full hand at the end of the turn. Maybe. It feels right to say that, but TIME WILL TELL.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Mental Barfing About the Boss/Dungeon Deck(s)
Alright, let's start thinking about the things that the players are trying to defeat. The best part about instance dungeons are a) working together on a common goal, b) discovering and learning each dungeon and each major fight in the dungeon, c) the story that unfolds during (some) instances, d) environmental tricks and traps, e) loot, and f) the boss fight at the end. Not all dungeons do all of those things, so let's think about how to achieve each of those during a run.
Working Together Towards a Common Goal
Done. That's the point of the game :) However, maybe there could be something introduced that would add some 'not the healing kind of healer' elements where everyone is a little bit out for themselves, but still fighting for the greater good? Stick a pin in that one.
Discovering and Learning Each Dungeon
That would be achieved simply by playing the dungeon/boss the first time. Like many instances, I think it would be a good thing to expect failure until you learn the deck. Maybe the first time through you don't notice certain key work cards being discarded until a card comes out that causes x damage for each key word card in the discard pile, and maybe there is a more difficult to accomplish 'remove from play' option vs. standard 'fight enemy' option that is overlooked the first time until to bites the party in the ass and you get a TPK. (Side note: Maybe TPK the Card Game should be the working title?)
Each Instance could introduce new rules and mechanics as the cards are discovered, much like above, certain things may not be fully understood until the 'lynchpin' card is revealed and all is made clear. For example: "Powderworks Armory" may be a location that is revealed that when revealed may cause X damage to the party if there are any keyword 'Fire' attachments or powers in play, or put into play when in the location. Something like that.
Unfolding Story
TBD, not sure....
Environmental Tricks and Traps
See above.
Loot
This is tricky. I like the idea of loot and certain kewl random cards being added to player decks. But when to do it? There isn't any leveling mechanic, and I don't know if there ever will or should be, so getting loot seems pointless unless it's during a multi-staged instance where the characters and whatnot persist between stages.
Working Together Towards a Common Goal
Done. That's the point of the game :) However, maybe there could be something introduced that would add some 'not the healing kind of healer' elements where everyone is a little bit out for themselves, but still fighting for the greater good? Stick a pin in that one.
Discovering and Learning Each Dungeon
That would be achieved simply by playing the dungeon/boss the first time. Like many instances, I think it would be a good thing to expect failure until you learn the deck. Maybe the first time through you don't notice certain key work cards being discarded until a card comes out that causes x damage for each key word card in the discard pile, and maybe there is a more difficult to accomplish 'remove from play' option vs. standard 'fight enemy' option that is overlooked the first time until to bites the party in the ass and you get a TPK. (Side note: Maybe TPK the Card Game should be the working title?)
Each Instance could introduce new rules and mechanics as the cards are discovered, much like above, certain things may not be fully understood until the 'lynchpin' card is revealed and all is made clear. For example: "Powderworks Armory" may be a location that is revealed that when revealed may cause X damage to the party if there are any keyword 'Fire' attachments or powers in play, or put into play when in the location. Something like that.
Unfolding Story
TBD, not sure....
Environmental Tricks and Traps
See above.
Loot
This is tricky. I like the idea of loot and certain kewl random cards being added to player decks. But when to do it? There isn't any leveling mechanic, and I don't know if there ever will or should be, so getting loot seems pointless unless it's during a multi-staged instance where the characters and whatnot persist between stages.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Idears From the Commute
Equipment dual purposes
Shield - tap to reduce damage, discard to a) pull any enemy, or b) stun/interrupt. Maybe two different shields, maybe the same shield with two abilities.
Boots - tap to reduce AoE damage, discard to draw cards
Sword - tap to draw a card but, cannot deal melee damage this turn.
Armor - Tap to reduce damage, discard to ignore a single attack.
Villain Ability
Cursed! :: Debuff. Curse. - Hero gains villain trait. (which means he will be hurt/affected by anything that hurts or affects villain cards, too)
Boss Timer
Some Boss cards are mega attacks, or super-enemies that will come out once a certain count has been met. Maybe it's x number of enemies defeated (which are stacked next to the pending attack as a counter), or after the heroes attack so many times (each attack will cause a counter to be placed on the mega-attack for timer purposes), or if x number of equipment cards are in play (again, a counter will be placed on the mega-attack for each equipment). When the card is drawn it is set aside and the players know it's coming, and there is a little control as to when they allow it to happen
Villain Card Idear
"Forgot to Repair :: Discard all tapped equipment cards, or discard a card from your for each equipment card you wish to save"
Shield - tap to reduce damage, discard to a) pull any enemy, or b) stun/interrupt. Maybe two different shields, maybe the same shield with two abilities.
Boots - tap to reduce AoE damage, discard to draw cards
Sword - tap to draw a card but, cannot deal melee damage this turn.
Armor - Tap to reduce damage, discard to ignore a single attack.
Villain Ability
Cursed! :: Debuff. Curse. - Hero gains villain trait. (which means he will be hurt/affected by anything that hurts or affects villain cards, too)
Boss Timer
Some Boss cards are mega attacks, or super-enemies that will come out once a certain count has been met. Maybe it's x number of enemies defeated (which are stacked next to the pending attack as a counter), or after the heroes attack so many times (each attack will cause a counter to be placed on the mega-attack for timer purposes), or if x number of equipment cards are in play (again, a counter will be placed on the mega-attack for each equipment). When the card is drawn it is set aside and the players know it's coming, and there is a little control as to when they allow it to happen
Villain Card Idear
"Forgot to Repair :: Discard all tapped equipment cards, or discard a card from your for each equipment card you wish to save"
Equipment and/or Permanents
Quick note: These should grant an always available ability or action that is fairly minor, but consistent, and allow for a much more unique, powerful, and interesting (possibly crucial in a combo) function if you discard the card.
That is all.
That is all.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Roles and their cards
Some obvious abilities that should be baked into each role deck:
Tank - damage soak, threat mitigation, pull abilities, AoE damage to maintain threat, minor self heals, low damage output.
Healbot - high single target heals, heals over time, group heals, card draw buffs, card search buffs, low damage output.
Melee DPS - high damage finishing moves, stuns, weakened damage mitigation
Ranged DPS - mid damage output, mid AoE damage, weakened damage mitigation, reinforcement/allies, damage buffs
Magic DPS - high AoE damage and effects, weakened damage mitigation, reinforcement/allies
Tank card ideas, with pseudo-rules (12)
1) Parry - play card to soak x damage from one attack
2) AoE Soak - Ignore all AoE damage
3) Attack - hit target for 2/4 damage (damage/threat)
4) Pull - hit target for 1/5 damage
5) AoE Attack - hit all pulled targets for 1/4
6) Directed pull - Pull one target.
7) Heal self - heal 1 point of damage
8) Armor - body, gear, reduce damage by 1
9) Shield - offhand, gear, reduce damage by 1
10) Sword - main hand, gear, increase threat by one for each attack (threat +1 token to place on attack card?)
11) Boots - feet, gear, discard to avoid one AoE attack
12) Stun - target cannot attack this turn, draw a card
I just realized for the solo deck I have gone far and above what is required! Yikes! Ah well, it will be easier to weed out the weaker ones this way...
Tank - damage soak, threat mitigation, pull abilities, AoE damage to maintain threat, minor self heals, low damage output.
Healbot - high single target heals, heals over time, group heals, card draw buffs, card search buffs, low damage output.
Melee DPS - high damage finishing moves, stuns, weakened damage mitigation
Ranged DPS - mid damage output, mid AoE damage, weakened damage mitigation, reinforcement/allies, damage buffs
Magic DPS - high AoE damage and effects, weakened damage mitigation, reinforcement/allies
Tank card ideas, with pseudo-rules (12)
1) Parry - play card to soak x damage from one attack
2) AoE Soak - Ignore all AoE damage
3) Attack - hit target for 2/4 damage (damage/threat)
4) Pull - hit target for 1/5 damage
5) AoE Attack - hit all pulled targets for 1/4
6) Directed pull - Pull one target.
7) Heal self - heal 1 point of damage
8) Armor - body, gear, reduce damage by 1
9) Shield - offhand, gear, reduce damage by 1
10) Sword - main hand, gear, increase threat by one for each attack (threat +1 token to place on attack card?)
11) Boots - feet, gear, discard to avoid one AoE attack
12) Stun - target cannot attack this turn, draw a card
I just realized for the solo deck I have gone far and above what is required! Yikes! Ah well, it will be easier to weed out the weaker ones this way...
Playtest Decks
Got it.
5 players, 60 or 50 card decks = 12 or 10 cards from each player in the solo deck.
12/10 cards should be enough to keep it interesting, but not so big it gets overwhelming. Guestimating 3 cards per power, at 50 card decks ~16 separate powers per deck x 5 decks = ~80 unique cards.
I think that's a doable start, at least for the solo deck. Hopefully after figuring out the balance for the solo deck, that rough formula can then be applied to each stage of the playtest al the way through the 5 separate decks, i.e. x% damage, x% healing, x% crowd control, x% deck cycle, x% threat, x% crazy combo finishes, etc.
5 players, 60 or 50 card decks = 12 or 10 cards from each player in the solo deck.
12/10 cards should be enough to keep it interesting, but not so big it gets overwhelming. Guestimating 3 cards per power, at 50 card decks ~16 separate powers per deck x 5 decks = ~80 unique cards.
I think that's a doable start, at least for the solo deck. Hopefully after figuring out the balance for the solo deck, that rough formula can then be applied to each stage of the playtest al the way through the 5 separate decks, i.e. x% damage, x% healing, x% crowd control, x% deck cycle, x% threat, x% crazy combo finishes, etc.
How to build the first playtest decks
Not sure, seems to be two options.
Option A: Build one solo deck that incorporates all 5 characters and 3 roles, balance that deck against one boss/location/dungeon deck.
Option B: Build 5 individual decks and then pare down the powers as the number of players reduces.
As I type this, I think Option A is the only way to go. Or at least get SOMETHING started to then work out different mechanics with.
Solo Deck
Runs the risk of being fairly boring since to keep balance with the boss deck but only having one turn, the powers will need to be bland, but powerful. I don't think the subtlety within any given role will necessarily be seen until the play options expand. To keep it interesting, I think basic synergy abilities between the roles in the single deck need to be obvious and a required part of play. So for example, the tank will likely have more tank/pull/threat cards vs. damage or healing, because those should be covered by DPS and healbot decks. However, the more interesting damage/draw/heal combos should be saved as the decks get split among multiple players and the card options increase per role/deck.
Option A: Build one solo deck that incorporates all 5 characters and 3 roles, balance that deck against one boss/location/dungeon deck.
Option B: Build 5 individual decks and then pare down the powers as the number of players reduces.
As I type this, I think Option A is the only way to go. Or at least get SOMETHING started to then work out different mechanics with.
Solo Deck
Runs the risk of being fairly boring since to keep balance with the boss deck but only having one turn, the powers will need to be bland, but powerful. I don't think the subtlety within any given role will necessarily be seen until the play options expand. To keep it interesting, I think basic synergy abilities between the roles in the single deck need to be obvious and a required part of play. So for example, the tank will likely have more tank/pull/threat cards vs. damage or healing, because those should be covered by DPS and healbot decks. However, the more interesting damage/draw/heal combos should be saved as the decks get split among multiple players and the card options increase per role/deck.
Boss Mega Attacks and Events
Boss deck will sometimes telegraph a big attack that will happen the next round. This should allow the players to either play cards to prepare for the attack e.g. immune to damage cards, or out of AoE range cards, or damage reduction cards. Also, there could be certain actions that could nullify the attack altogether like discard X cards, or play a stunning attack card, etc.
**********************
Events: Possibly part of the Location deck, or the Boss deck. When revealed, do whatever the card says to do, then set the card aside. When certain events occur, or tokens accumulate, the event will proc, or complete, etc.. Examples:
- "Medic!" - When the next enemy card is defeated, that card returns to the queue with full health. Discard "Medic!".
- "Reinforcements" - If there are no enemy cards pulled by the heroes, search the encounter deck for the next enemy card and add it to the queue. Shuffle the encounter deck.
**********************
Events: Possibly part of the Location deck, or the Boss deck. When revealed, do whatever the card says to do, then set the card aside. When certain events occur, or tokens accumulate, the event will proc, or complete, etc.. Examples:
- "Medic!" - When the next enemy card is defeated, that card returns to the queue with full health. Discard "Medic!".
- "Reinforcements" - If there are no enemy cards pulled by the heroes, search the encounter deck for the next enemy card and add it to the queue. Shuffle the encounter deck.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Meat Shield
Reaction Card
When you suffer damage from an enemy, choose one pulled enemy with less than 3 hp. They suffer the damage instead.
Welcome To Your Fantasy!
Moving everything over here to the amazing New Card Game blog. Keeping all my thoughts in one place.
Threat Mechanic
When a player does damage to an enemy, the card played should have a damage amount listed and a threat value, the card is then attached to the enemy. If another player does damage to the same target, the threat value is compared to the current attached threat:
- if it's higher, the enemy shifts its focus to the new player (effectively the player just 'pulled' the enemy)
- if it is lower, the enemy maintains it's focus on the current player.
Tank roles would of course have abilities that could either immediately pull enemies, or their attacks would have a higher threat to damage value rating (likely healing classes, too). Damage classes could also have lower threat to damage attacks.
Enemy AoE Abilities
AoE abilities affect all players, unless they have a card in play that states they are out of AoE range. This would then allow them to only play ranged attacks or equivalent abilities/spells/etc. Reaction cards ("Dodge!") could cancel or avoid AoE effects.
Threat Mechanic
When a player does damage to an enemy, the card played should have a damage amount listed and a threat value, the card is then attached to the enemy. If another player does damage to the same target, the threat value is compared to the current attached threat:
- if it's higher, the enemy shifts its focus to the new player (effectively the player just 'pulled' the enemy)
- if it is lower, the enemy maintains it's focus on the current player.
Tank roles would of course have abilities that could either immediately pull enemies, or their attacks would have a higher threat to damage value rating (likely healing classes, too). Damage classes could also have lower threat to damage attacks.
Enemy AoE Abilities
AoE abilities affect all players, unless they have a card in play that states they are out of AoE range. This would then allow them to only play ranged attacks or equivalent abilities/spells/etc. Reaction cards ("Dodge!") could cancel or avoid AoE effects.
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