Amber by the Cards Design Diary, Part Two: First Playtest

[Vaxalon]

I held a micro-playtest with my friend Brenna last night.  We were trying out the conflict resolution rules.

Here's the short version of the rules.  They cover only 1-1 conflicts.  I have rules in my head for handling multi-character conflicts but that's not what we were trying out.

It's assumed that the two characters will not have exactly the same cards in their decks.  If you want to try it out, take two decks of cards, take all the cards of one rank (say, eights) from both decks and mix them up.  Deal four back to each deck.  You can learn just from identical decks, though, too.

1>Someone starts the conflict.  He has initiative.  If noone wants to start and take initiative, then it's not a conflict yet.

2> The person with Initiative plays a card.  If the two characters are starting out at a distance, use psyche (diamonds).  Closer, use warfare (spades).  Touching, use strength (clubs).  Number cards only (2-10).  Cards that are in your deck backwards may not be used for any purpose.  You can't go from strength to psyche or psyche to strength in a single round.  This is an attack.  It is directed at one person.  He holds the card up and shows it to his target.

3> The character who is attacked must respond in the same suit, or else he is wounded.  Cards that are in your deck backwards may not be used.  He holds up a card indicating his response.

4> If the defender's card is higher than the attacker's, this is a REVERSAL.  The defender gains initiative and becomes the attacker.  Skip down to 9.

5> If the defender's card is equal to the attacker's, this is a PARRY.  The attacker retains initiative.  Skip down to 9.

6> If the defender's card is less than the attacker's, this is a PARTIAL DEFEAT.  The attacker retains initiative.  The defender is wounded, and must put flip a heart card (endurance) upside-down in his deck equal or greater than the difference between the two cards.  Skip down to 9.

7> If the defender has no more cards in his deck of the same suit, this is a MAJOR DEFEAT.  The attacker retains initiative.  The defender is wounded, and must put flip a heart card upside-down in his deck equal or greater than the attacker's card, and IN ADDITION must take one card of his choice from his pocket and put it in his deck backwards.  Skip down to 9.

8> If the defender has no more cards in his deck of the same suit and no more hearts, this is a COMPLETE DEFEAT.  The conflict is over, and the attacker wins.

9> Both players put the card they played (if any) in their pockets.

10> The player with initiative may call for a pause.  The opponent may veto the pause if he has a card he can play.  If the opponent agrees, then all cards in pockets are put back in their players respective decks.   If the opponent does not agree, then he gains initiative.  Exchange witty banter.  After the pause, if the player with initiative wishes to resume the fight, then go up to step 2.  If the player with intiative does not wish to fight, then the opponent may take initiative and resume the fight, go up to step 2.  If neither wishes to continue, then the combat is over with no winner.

I'm probably going to tweak psyche slightly, so that it covers both magic and technology.  It doesn't matter whether you're shooting someone with a spell or a cannon or a rifle, anything beyond a certain distance is a psyche battle.  Canon example: Corwin vs. Brand, Corwin wielding the JoJ and Brand with a crossbow.

The playtest went well.  The rules were grasped very quickly by Brenna, and we were able to discern a number of strategies.  The system was fast, and I can easily imagine a long conflict, a fight to the death, being played out in just a few minutes.  Players with a flair for the dramatic can mime swordplay with their cards, or narrate their actions.

[Vaxalon]

I have posted this, and part three, the character creation mechanic, at my livejournal.

http://vaxalon.livejournal.com