Heralds CCG

[F. Scott Banks]

I did mention I'd been working in my abscence didn't I?

Well, as my D&D killer, Armageddon Gospel took shape, it evolved.  Once it was called Heralds of the Dying Age and it was pretty much just D&D Gloomy Edition.  After chucking that title in the rewrite of the book I was basing it on, and coming up with some extremely interesting gameplay elements with my fellow miscreants, I longed for something to attatch that title to (since I liked it so much).

It just so happened that I missed quick and simple gameplay as well.  I love what we've created, what with it's nuances and subtle shades of true roleplay in an online game, but with each too-simple rule and device tossed in the trash, I realized we were throwing away almost an entire game.  While this means that the game we are creating is something special...it still means we're throwing away an entire game.

So I pulled it out of the trash...shook it off...and decided to piece it together to see if it was still playable, or if it deserved to be in the trash.  As an MMO, it was nothing special and it was right where it belonged.

As a CCG however, it started to turn into something fun.

Armageddon Gospel was started to prove that old-fashioned mom's basement roleplay could be achieved on the cold, unfeeling internet.  Now, a MMORPG is a lot of work, so the ultimate proof was farther off than could be attained on paper. 

Don't worry, we'll definately keep you all up-to-date on that one.

But in the meantime, we're still game designers (also, computer programs are expensive.  Somethings gotta roll in if we're going to finish this) and as such, we design games.  Ravien had a finished game under his belt.  I had one close to complete.

It just felt like time for another...to remind people that we still live.

So I took "Heralds", fished a working game out of what wouldn't work online, and made another.

I could just tell you this isn't the castoff skin of a better game, but the purpose of the forum is for you to tell me that, if it proves true.

Here's hopin'...

Heralds of the Dying Age Collectible Card Game

The premise is simple, assemble a party from the cards, equip them, and unleash hell on your opponent.  In AG, we tossed "classes" out the window but here, they work very well as "suits".

There are five types of card:

Character:  These cards are your "Heralds", your emmisares, the cardboard extension of your divine will.  They are of a class, an alignment, and an ethos.  They also have stats similar to those in a standard RPG.  Like characters in normal RPGs, they're pretty much nothing until they get all modified and personalized so let's move on.

Stat:  Is your paladin a tank, or a support character?  Is your rogue a stealthy assassin, or a silver-tongued trickser?  These cards will determine how you play your character.  The stat cards modify the existing stats on the character card.  Think of them as the third d6 in a 3d6 stat roll.

Equipment:  Barbarians need battleaxes.  Wizards need staves.  Equipment cards modify the cards you play through each character the same way stat cards modify the character themselves.  If you intend on playing a "Magic Missile" card through your wizard, make sure his equipment puts that little something extra on it that says..."I love you."

Skills:  The pride and joy of any RPGer is the cool stuff his character can do.  Whether it's a backstab, blindfighting, or good ol' fashioned dual wielding, these cards determine how players inflict their terrible rath on other players.

And...that's it.  When we set the massive computer program aside, we want something easy to pick up and hard to put down.

So, how does it play?

Decks consist of 120 cards, thirty cards of each card type.  Prior to play, players may arrange their decks into two seperate decks, one consisting of character cards, and another consisting of equipment cards.  Players have five recruitment turns wherein they attempt to draw the appropriate amount of character cards from their "character" deck.  At the end of five turns, each player has five turns to draw five cards from their "equipment" deck.  Any stat cards found during the character draw may be used if there is a character on the field to buff.  Equipment cards found during either the character or stat draw may be used if there is a character on the field to equip.

Once the parties have been assembled...play begins. 

Character cards are arranged in rows. The front row cannot contain fewer characters than the back row.  If desired, all character cards can be in the front row.

Character cards are either "ready", or "defending".  Ready cards face their player vertically.  Defending cards are turned sideways.

Players attack other character cards through their character cards.  If a player wishes to cast "entangle" on an opposing cleric, the player must play it through one of their character cards.

A character's race, stats, class, alignment, and ethos determines the cards that can be played through it.  "Holy Light" can only be played by a lawful good cleric (any race).  While "Goblin Warcry" can only be played by a goblin character.  Race, stats, class, and alignment can also effect cards played against characters.  "Blighted Flesh" does nothing to undead characters and "Judgement" does nothing to lawful ones.

The game is over when one player has no character cards left in play.

So that's it...old-fashioned hack-and-slash in a draw-and-play format.  I've never done a CCG before but this one looked like fun.  Nothing revolutionary, but there are worse ways to kill the time.

[joepub]

Decks consist of 120 cards, thirty cards of each card type.

For now I have one quick word -

I dislike imposed card numbers.
Especially "30 of this type, 30 of this type"


The game looks good, but is there any reason why there needs to be a 120 card limit, etc, etc?

Could you just say "between 100 and 120 card decks, which must contain some of each card type"?
That way, if I want to put in a few heralds and pimp them right out, I can.
And if I want an army, I can.

[F. Scott Banks]

Yeah...me and crunchy bits aren't on speaking terms (as you may notice from my lopsided and usually crippled mechanics that I limp in here) so I'm not sure how to lean this one towards "play how you want" and "this doesn't work.

The hard numbers can go.  I suppose that if a player wants to run a five-man deathsquad they can, and if they want an army, they can.  Hundred to hundred twenty card limit sounds about right.  I don't know what limits other games inpose.

[joepub]

Magic: The Gathering used to be 40+
Now they're specifically 60+ in tournament play.


Maw of Hell is primarily a card-powered RPG, so each player in that game has a CCG deck.

I'm doing it on a point-buy system. That means that players can decide on a 400 point game, and select their own decks based on that point total.
The largest conceivable deck would likely be 300-400 cards, and the smallest conceivable would be about 40.
But those are both extreme extremes, and you're probably looking at 100 card decks.



However, one note from my experience: 40-70 is the easiest shuffled amount.

[Platemier]

Warlordccg.com

Some toes you is a-stepping on.  I've read your description, and independantly thought up or not, it's darned similar to Warlord, a game published by Alderac entertainment group.

[F. Scott Banks]

Hmmm, unfortunately not the first time I've stepped on toes.

We'll have to see what the finished product is...similar is unavoidable with "Fantasy" and "CCG" but I think we're well-protected against "ripped-off".  "Hack-and-Slash" is a well-worn jacket and it fits almost everyone.

I'll keep an eye on this game as, so far, it's the most similar to one I'm trying to create.

And if the similarities are uncomfortable...no problem...I tossed pen and paper aside for zeroes and ones when my rules got too heavy before.  I can replace cards with resin figures and move into Warhammer or HeroClix respective backyards.

And as always, there's still those zeroes and ones.

But I've put the cart before the horse before (with disasterous results) and I'm going to wait for this to be finished before I start comparing it to existing games.

[F. Scott Banks]

P.S.

I've researched this game more closely and the similarities are more than just similarities...these guys flat-out beat me to the punch.

No problem...I spent the past two years learning programming and developing a play-by-web client/server program so I could use the rising power of the internet over the dwindling power of the comic-book shop.

Looks like that program is going to get to stretch it's legs.