Hello everyone! As you will all notice I am very, VERY new here. I have been reading for a coupel of days. I will tell you right of the bat two major things. 1.) I am an experienced entreprenuer who has built 3 companies from the ground up, and currently am the CEO of Crossdogs Services Inc. You can check out that if you want at www.crossdogs.com. In any event, I say all of that to say this - I am VERY serious about taking this product to market. This is not a whim, and it is not a fly by night thing. 2.) I have played games, both RPG and CCG on and off for 15 years. That being said, I'm not real familiar with game design. My degree program was in Math Education, so I know mathematics, and probability, but not necessarily game design. If any of you see this idea and really like it, we are currently interviewing to a head game developer. Let me know if you are interested. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Conquest!

Conquest! is set in a world much like our own, just as Europe is clawing it's way out of the dark ages. There are several major differences. One is that Evolution didn't choose just humans to bring to intelligent consiousness. All of the other areas of the globe are inhabbited by beings out of their native mythology. In addition, the setting will eventually (through further expansions) introduce Atlantis myths into the game, and Dolphins as a PC type. I really appreciate in advance your thoughts and reactions to all of these 19 Q&A's.

1.) What is your game about?
This as of now untitled game is about the European conquest of the greater world coming out of the dark ages, but is set in an alternate history, which incorporates world mythology and dual species evolution. For example, Dolphins are a PC type. The Incan people are feathered dragons, etc.

2.) What do the characters do?
The characters have game modeled goal-attainment actions. The play of the game will revolve around either a GM created storyline that is held within the confines of the world, but has flexibility built in via the mechanic aspect of the game, OR game play can occur without a GM using pre built adventure modules. The characters explore new territories, sail the high seas, interact with new races(through expansions), fight monsters and enemies, etc.

3.) What do the players (including the GM if there is one) do?
In a GM directed session, the GM will have created a storyline, and will guide the characters through the story, providing them with only the observables of their surroundings, and any native knowledge that it is assumptive that the characters would have. Players will direct the their own actions within the framework of the GM’s created storyline. In a pre-built adventure module game, all players will control PC’s and will act within the confines of the pre-determined script.

4.) How does your setting (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
The setting of the game is what makes it tick. We’ve all had “What if?” ideas. This game is an exploration of the idea “What if mythology was more true than not?” in OUR world and “What if evolution hadn’t chosen just primates to bring to conscious intelligence?” These two questions drive everything else in the world. This setting is what makes the idea of exploration (in our day and age of nothing new to discover) exciting.

5.) How does the Character Creation of your game reinforce what your game is about?
Character creation and our game mechanics are inexorably tied together. That is because we are attempting to create the first truly mass marketable hybrid between a CCG and an RPG. Character creation isn’t as much a function of rolling for stats, assigning points, or the like. Rather, as an initial character you have a “hand size”. This is the number of card points you are allowed to utilize during the game, until you have reached the next hand size threshold. I will explain more about this in the mechanics question and in my intro to the post. Suffice to say that the players choose a race, and utilize a mat that has slots for cards. The number of slots available is dependent on race. There will be certain slots that are static across all races except for Dolphin, such as Attributes, Left hand, Right hand, clothing/armor. Any other slots will be race specific. Attributes will be race baselines. Every other slot will hold cards that contain modifiers.

6.) What types of behaviors/styles of play does your game reward (and punish if necessary)?
Players are rewarded for creative game play, defeating enemies, solving problems/puzzles, and winning the endgame(in module play). Players are not “punished” per se, but rather are not rewarded by increase of hand size.

7.) How are behaviors and styles of play rewarded or punished in your game?
They are rewarded with XP, but not to increase one’s “level”, but rather to increase one’s hand size (the ability to carry more card points in your deck, allowing more powerful weapons, increased magic ability, etc.)

8.) How are the responsibilities of narration and credibility divided in your game?
In GM/Free flow mode, the GM is largely responsible for this assignment. In Module mode, Narration is solely in the hands of the players. They must follow the module within the confines of the module shuffle (since the module is a series of mini-adventures and tasks that are card based. Being card based means that the same module has thousands of variations for competitive play).

9.) What does your game do to command the player's attention, engagement, and participation? (i.e. What does the game do to make them care?)
The uniqueness of the Character creation system, as well as the fact that the resolution and RP systems are new and unique will command attention. The fact that the game can be played straight out of the startup box with no further investment will appeal to traditional RPGers, and the collectibility of limited set cards and expansion boosters will appeal to CCGers. The goal is to bridge that gap.

10.) What are the resolution mechanics of your game like?
This is where it gets complex to describe, but trust me when I say it is ridiculously easy to deal with. First, I have to describe the gameplay area, and then I can describe mechanics. The player area is simple. It is a vinyl mat that has slots to insert cards in, and that has an open area for a player to lay their remaining “hand” face down. The cards are 3”x5”, and have artwork as well as anywhere from 1 to 3 charts, expressed as die roll results from 2-12, so the results of 2d6 being rolled. I will use a Human as an example. A human has 6 slots that can be filled during any given turn. These are arranged on the mat in two rows of 3 slots each. Those are, in order from left to right as follows: Top row = Base Attributes (race specific card), Left hand, Right hand. Bottom row = Attribute modifier card (many options available), Body covering, Mental Might (either physical magic, or spiritual magic). Any and all of these can and often will modify the Base Attributes, which will effect the dice rolls. Obviously, the left and right hands can be equipped with weapons, shields, wands, etc. Some things require both hands, like a bow. Mental Might is divided into two types, and the type you are allowed to use is based on your final attributes. (base and modifier). The two types are Physical magic (traditional RPG magic) and Spiritual belief (high spiritual belief makes you less susceptible to physical magic). The charts that each card contains are each 2 columns. A “right” column, and a “wrong” column. At it’s base level, if a character before combat begins is able to guess correctly the nature of the enemy then his attack comes off his “guessed right” column, and any modifiers that the enemy may have comes off of it’s “guessed right” column. The dice rolls are compared to the charts on each card and damage is assessed.

11.) How do the resolution mechanics reinforce what your game is about?
The resolution mechanics are essential to the reinforcement of the game, in that most RPG’s have never used a “real world” approach to this issue. Our mechanics address this very well.

12.) Do characters in your game advance? If so, how?
In the GM and module driven games, characters can advance via XP. However, attributes do not automatically go up with XP. Instead, Hand point size goes up, allowing different combinations of cards, stronger weapons, etc.

13.) How does the character advancement (or lack thereof) reinforce what your game is about?
Again, it is a real world system. Ability does not change, aptitude within abilities change, as reflected in hand size.

14.) What sort of product or effect do you want your game to produce in or for the players?
We want the game to be easy to play, and to eliminate the need for complex charts, while providing a real world resolution system and an innovative way to create a gaming environment that will allow CCGers and RPGers an outlet that covers both sides.

15.) What areas of your game receive extra attention and color?  Why?
The mechanics are receiving the most attention during development. However, once those are worked out, we want the background history and stories to take a strong role in world creation in the GM directed games. In Module games, we want to focus on the ability to create tournaments that appease both hard core RPGers and CCGers.

16.) Which part of your game are you most excited about or interested in? Why?
The entire hybrid idea of CCG and RPG. Our mechanics should make it work.

17.) Where does your game take the players that other games can’t, don’t, or won’t?
It takes them into a richly imagined alternate history, and in future expansions will allow time travel within that history.

18.) What are your publishing goals for your game?
Mass publication and distribution, with a multi-tiered marketing plan in development now.

19.) Who is your target audience?
RPGers and CCGers between the ages of 10 and 35.

OK.....I know you guys are reading this :) I really do want some feedback..Thoughts anyone?

Hi!
  The thing with the Power 19 is, it doesn't ask any questions. What kind of feedback are you looking for? It sounds like you have a very practical approach to your game idea. And the mechaniics starts to fall into shape once you have played a few different systems and know what you actually want to do.

I guess what I'm specifically looking for feedback on are the following:

1. The setting - Does this type of setting appeal to you as a gamer?
2. The idea of a CCG/RPG hybrid - WHat do you think?
3. The mechanic as outlined - Again, what do you think?

Thanks!
Gary

Hi!
  OK, I'll answer from my own perspective. But I'll warn you that I have played (on the CCG side) L5R, STTNGv1 and NetRunner and am VERY Jaded towards CCGs.
  1) The stting has a lot of potential. It could either be very cool or very bad. I think you want to be careful to  re-work the map and the naming scheme so as not to imply some sort of racisim (native north americans are not human, etc.), but many RPGs base fantasy races after real races, so dressing them up well and fooling with names and what not should work just fine
  2) I personally don't like the idea. But again, I generally do not like CCGs, so take that with a grain of salt. I think the key to success, is going to be having enough cards in the "starter set" that you can actually play. Think about it, you need enough of each of the 6 key cards that players can make a unique character and have a viable hand. Also, I fear that the card aspect to character creation may create a situation where a player might monkey with their character between sessions. And I wonder if the deck building strategy discussions might dominate the session over actual roleplaying. Compared to D&D Minis, this is a great game, but D&D minis does not call itself a roleplaying game.
  3) It's hard to say, you did not detail them well enough to fully judge. But it sounds like you are trying to keep it simple. As long as a player with a starting pack knows what to do in order to have their character: Negotiate with NPCs, sneak around, be spiritual, do magic stuff, fight and heal, then you're good to go.
  If you can find it, try and find some starter packs of STTNG v1 (the old ones from the 90s), it had an interesting mission chard mechanic that was both something you could try and plan for and varied and surprising.
  Good luck man!

Welcome to the Forge, Gary. Now, first things first. Right off the top of my head, I've got two worries, neither one of them directly concerned with your game.

1) This doesn't sound like it's an indie game. I'm not sure, so here's the Forge definition of the term: "What is an independent role-playing game? Our main criterion is that the game is owned by its author, or creator-owned."

I'm a little hazy about games with staff other than the owner, but I believe that if the person making the business decisions and creating the content aren't the same person, you're not indie, by this definition. If you're still the head "creative" guy, then I think you fit into the definition.

Since the Forge is dedicated to indie games only, that's a somewhat important issue to address.

2) The Forge doesn't allow opinion polls, and your comments sound like that's what you're looking for. Stuff like, "Does my mechanic X support my goal Y?" is totally cool. Or "Has anyone ever seen a game that did Z in a role-playing game before, so I can see how it addressed my design problem?" But, "Do you prefer A, B, or C?" is not acceptable.

For the record, I'm not a moderator, just a poster trying to be helpful.

dindenver,

Thanks for the comments. I think that from the setting standpoint, the key is to maintain that any races that have evolved as "non-human" maintain elements of that cultures given mythology, and also represent "good" things from that mythology. That is a key to my thinking in the design process. As far as the packaging of the game goes, you are certainly making valid points. My thinking is that a PC starter box would contain probably 200 cards, out of a set of 300, and every PC box would have the same cards. The only way that you would be able to get the last 100 cards in a given PC set would be to buy boosters. So, anyone would have more than enough to field a unique PC right out of the box. Same with the GM, as that set would include 2-3 adventure modules, and everything else the GM needed to build his own stories or run a module. I will work on detailig the machanics of the game a little better. I have them clear in my mind but transfering that to paper is a bit harder..lol

Andrew,

Thanks for the welcome! I am the main creative force behind the game, although I do have a partner. We own it.

I apologize if I seemed to put a Poll out there. That wasn't my intent. If any of the moderators feel that is what I have done, please let me know and I will delete that post. Outside of that, Andrew, I'd love to have you feedback specifically on the mechanic if there is enough there for you to go on. I'd also be interested if you feel that the mechanic and the strategy involved is condusive to true role playing.

Thanks!
Gary

talesien wrote:
I am the main creative force behind the game, although I do have a partner. We own it.

talesien wrote: I'd also be interested if you feel that the mechanic and the strategy involved is condusive to true role playing.

I'm exceedingly keen to see the actual mechanics.

But I'm also very keen to understand what see as the mode of play, in what you call freeform play.  At the momemt all we are seeing is the physical structure of the thing, and it will be hard to assess whether true roleplaying (which should not be too hard to judge by comparison to CCG style play) is viable or not.  The core of that will probably be the module/challenge system, rather than the character action resolution system, although I I'm sure they interact.  The question of a "script" and how it operates is an important one.

I'm also a little unclear how things are resolved in play.  You refer to guessing an opponents nature, is that something like guessing their Base Attribute card?  And, is that a step in the resolution process, a question you ask before entering into actual task resolution?  I also don't really understand what mean to convey with the term "real world system".  It also seems to be, by your description of the reward system, that the method is something like fulfilling a task to get a reward, and a default to no change if the task is failed.  And that reward is the expansion of the hand.  Therefore i wonder, how many rewards can practically be won before the character is full up, or even if not mechanically limited, simply unplayably cumbersome?  And, how many rewards are likely to be realised in a session of play?

In more general terms, I like the physical concept of the character representation a great deal.  That said, it concentrates heavily on the person, can it be expanded to deal with things like status or position or wealth?  That would seem very appropriate given the setting.  I would be happy to see a succesfull hybridisation because I'm keen on cards as props, for their capacity for evocative imagery.

However, I also want to know more about the physical requirements of putting an actual game together.  You seem to suggest there is a distinction between a player pack and a GM's pack, so if we assumed a group of 5 player, one of whom is GMing, that would on past form be something like like 5 player packs and the GM pack,  what sort of cash layout would this require?

OK....I'm going to try and do a few things with this post.

1) Lay out the mechanics completely, and provide a sample card chart for a simple combat, including the monster/enemy.

2) Provide a "walkthrough" of a session.

3) Answer a few of the questions being brought up consistently.....

So, here's warning, you....This might be long...

Mechanics, Game layout, etc.

Conquest! can be played as either a GM directed game or in Module format. For the purpose of this discussion, I will go over the GM directed format, and in a later post, go over the Module format.

The GM has at his disposal several tools in order to create the game environment. The first is the World Book, which comes in the GM box. This book will describe the setting, cultures, myths, etc. of the know world. The GM also has at his disposal different Terrains. The terrains are three dimensional representations of different locations within any potential game. The Terrains serve two purposes.

1) They act as physical representations of locations and they cover the cards for the monsters, puzzles, etc. that are found inside them.
2) They act as the attribute modifier for any monsters, puzzles, etc. that are placed underneath them.

The terrains that we have developed at this point are as follows (including their proposed modifying capacities)

Castle - All defensive rolls default to 7 unless attacker uses a ranged weapon. +1 to all all rolls attacking PC's. +2 to all native NPC non-combat rolls.

Dungeon  +2 to all monster/enemy combat rolls. -1 to all PC combat rolls. darkness (darkness is an overriding rule that is in place any time no PC is using a torch. Darkness is an additional -1 to all PC rolls)

Forest +1 to all flying monster/enemy combat rolls. +2 to PC search rolls. -2 to all non-flying combat rolls. +2 to all physical magic rolls.

Plains -2 to all monster/enemy combat rolls. +1 to all PC combat rolls. -2 to all physical magic rolls. neutral (neutral is an overriding effect stating that the act of initiative doesn't apply unless an ability or modifier is played)

Mountains +1 to all native NPC/Monster/Enemy rolls. -2 to all non-native PC physical rolls. +1 to all physical magic rolls.

Open Seas -2 to all rolls by non-sailors**. +1 to all rolls by sailors**. +1 to all combat rolls by any native. -3 to all stealth rolls. (**modifier does not apply to Dolphins)

Port +1 to all rolls by sailors**. -1 to all rolls by non-sailors**. +3 to all stealth rolls. (**modifier does not apply to Dolphins)

Island +3 to all native rolls. -1 to all stealth rolls. (**modifier does not apply to Dolphins)
FINAL NOTE All modifiers are to the final 2d6 roll, not to damage.

We have discussed several “sub-terrains” that would be types of the main terrains, but I think that would cause confusion and that is something that we do not want. The GM box will contain all of the basic terrain types.

In addition to the World Book and Terrains, the GM has cards at his disposal. The GM has three different card types that he can use to create his sessions. These cards are as follows:

Monsters/Enemies These are many and varied, but contain up to 3 charts each, for example, this is the chart layout of a Cave Wight. The cave wight is a relatively weak creature. (Due to the Message board format, I am doing these vertically rather than horizontally. P=physical, M=magic, S=Spiritual)
COMBAT (P)
Attacker ______Defender
2.  10 damage 5 damage
3.  7 damage 2 damage
4.  2 damage 2 damage
5.  3 damage 1 damage
6.  0 damage 0 damage
7.  5 damage 2 damage
8.  2 damage 0 damage
9.  3 damage 3 damage
10. 4 damage 1 damage
11. 5 damage 1 damage
12. 15 damage 0 damage

MAGIC (P)
Attacker ______Defender
2.  3 damage
3. 3 damage
4. 1 damage
5. 0 damage
6. 0 damage
7. 0 damage
8. 0 damage
9. 5 damage
10. 2 damage
11. 2 damage
12. 10 damage

Puzzles

Puzzle cards can be any variety of things, from complex locks that require a numerical code to labyrinths and anything in between. These cards do not have charts, but rather diagrams, the codes necessary, whatever. It is up to the GM to decide how much info to give the PC’s.

Objects

Again, this could be anything from treasure to talismans, to weapons, etc. Weapons can be equipped to monsters, as can talismans, etc.

Now that we have covered the tools of a GM and how he can use them, I’ll touch briefly again on PC play.

PC’s have the Character Mat and player icon statue, which is used as described in my first post of the thread. The icon statue is moved from terrain to terrain as a physical representation of where the PC’s are. In addition to this, the top, bottom, and right hand sides of the game mat have draggable handles attached to translucent colored strips that slide either up and down or left and right, depending on the side. These are how damage is tracked. The handles are moved and slide into notches. Each notch is centered in the middle of a column of cards, so on a Human Mat, there are 7 notches each on the top and bottom and 5 on the right hand side. Each notch on the top and bottom represents 5 points of damage. You use the bottom slider first and the top slider 2nd. Both sliders start on the right and move to the left. As card slots become “covered” the cards and their slots are no longer playable, unless you get healed. You can be healed either by magic, or in time. If all of your cards become covered before you can be healed, your character dies.

PC cards are of 4 types, only 3 of which are variable.

Race Attributes

These cards are based on race, with no two races being identical, but all humans would have the same Race card, etc. The race cards contain 3 charts: Combat, Magic (P), Belief(S).

Weapons/Shields/Handheld Objects

This is pretty obvious. These cards will have attributes, not charts. For example, a 2 handed longsword would read “+2 to all combat rolls. If this weapon is equipped, only the left hand can have an item equipped to it.”
Skills/Abilities

Again, pretty obvious. These cards will have 1 chart on them, specific to that skill.

Attribute Modifier Cards (class cards)
These cards also contain 3 charts, just like the Race cards. However, the combinations are varied, and are based around traditional ability sets. You add the numbers from the modifiers to the numbers on the Race cards, and boom, you have your new numbers.

So, there you have it…The set up of the game. Now, here’s a snippet from an imagined game session. This will involve a terrain, a puzzle, and a monster, as well as a PC and GM.

GM: You come out of the forest into a bright, midday sun. In the distance you see a castle.

PC: How far away is it?

GM: Roughly a mile, and it is an open plain between you and the castle.

PC goes to the castle and finds it apparently abandonded

GM: There is a door in the back right corner of the great hall

PC: I’m gonna open it.

GM: It’s locked…

PC: I’m playing my thief ability hand size 13 (opening size, weaker card)

PC rolls 2d6, and the GM compares the results listed on the ability card to the rating of the lock on the puzzle card

OK….It’s getting really late and I can’t stay awake. I’ll try to go into combat tomorrow, ok?

Hope this has been helpful in providing more of an understanding of the game. Again, your feedback, especially on the mechanic and resolution system would be wonderfully helpful.

Gary

p.s. - Cost has not been totally determined yet but our target is for a Base GM box aroun $34.95 and for a base PC Race box around $19.95. Booster packs would be $2.99. Those are our targets.

OK cool.  So the resolution is a table lookup, with the table appearing on the card on the players display.

That certainly seems simple and workable.  Nothing leaps out at me immediately suggesting major problems.  In fact, it solves the general case problem with table lookups, which are usually stored in a reference work, rather appearing on the character sheet.  The only question that arises is how much real-time calculation is required.  We have a base ability card, a modifier card, and some weapons/effects cards... do these perhaps have to be added up to a total?  Or is each consulted for a modifier?

Also, is it true that one roll determines the outcome of a whole exchange (by which I mean, an instance of action by each participant)?  Is there organisation of the order in which these are resolved?  How do you deal with conflicting modifiers, like one party having a bonus to defence and the other a bonus to attack?  Are these all applied to the same roll?  Or is that dealt with in a separate step?

I imagine a lot of these will be dealt with in your combat example, as the example you have given is of a static object.  In that example, only the Player rolled, is this because the lock was not alive, or not actively resisting, or similar?

--

I'm curious about the terrains.  This might be an area in which certain priorities start to conflict.  In terms of the competition of a fair game, its legitimate to see all the board so that you can make an informed decision about how to move around it.  Even where the board represents something the characters would not be aware of, the players may be granted rights to see the board.  RPG usually uses fog-of-war, though, and given the object of play is a person this is a very limited view; in addition this will be especially important to some creative agendas.  So I'd appreciate a discussion of how you intend the terrains to be used, and an indication of how many would be used at a time, and in that regard, how big they are.
--
Anyway, I'd also like to know more about the reward system as mentioned previously, but I recognise you're effectively being asked to reproduce the whole manual here, so no rush.  But I am still very interested to see whereit all goes, so, the more the better.

OK…..Sorry it has been several days. Things have been VERY hectic with my primary company, and I haven’t had a chance to hammer out this explanation. Here we go…I’m going to lay out a combat scenario as well.

So, as a refresher, here is a combat scenario with 1 PC and a monster. For the purpose of this illustration, let’s use the Cave Wight from the earlier post. Here are his charts again.

CAVE WIGHT

COMBAT (P)
Attacker ______Defender
2.  10 damage ______5 damage
3.  7 damage ______2 damage
4.  2 damage ______2 damage
5.  3 damage ______1 damage
6.  0 damage ______0 damage
7.  5 damage ______2 damage
8.  2 damage ______0 damage
9.  3 damage ______3 damage
10. 4 damage ______1 damage
11. 5 damage ______1 damage
12. 15 damage ______0 damage

MAGIC (P)
Attacker ______Defender
2._________________3 damage
3. ________________3 damage
4. _________________1 damage
5. _________________0 damage
6. _________________0 damage
7. _________________0 damage
8. _________________0 damage
9. _________________5 damage
10_________________.2 damage
11. _________________2 damage
12. _________________10 damage

The PC will be a human, who has he attribute modifier card “Holy Warrior” and a weapon and shield equipped as well as 2 skills. Here are those card charts.

Human Race Card

COMBAT
Attacker ______Defender
2. 2 damage________0 damage
3. 2 damage________0 damage
4. 3 damage________2 damage
5. 3 damage_______3 damage
6. 4 damage_______0 damage
7. 2 damage_______0 damage
8. 0 damage_______2 damage
9. 3 damage_______3 damage
10. 3 damage______2 damage
11. 2 damage______2 damage
12. 5 damage______5 damage

Holy Warrior (contains the text – “Holy Warrior cannot be the target of physical magic attacks. Holy Warrior cannot use magic, magical devices, or enchanted weapons
COMBAT
Attacker ______Defender
2. 4 damage________2 damage
3. 2 damage________2 damage
4. 3 damage________0 damage
5. 3 damage________1 damage
6. 5 damage________0 damage
7. 4 damage________0 damage
8. 6 damage________-2 damage
9. 0 damage________0 damage
10. -1 damage______-1 damage
11. 3 damage_______0 damage
12. 5 damage_______-5 damage

Now, to determine this PC’s combat damage dealt, you would roll the dice, which would determine if the roll came off the Attacker or Defender columns. Once you know that, you add them together. So, here are a couple of examples. 2d6=7 off the Attacker column. Total damage = 6. 2d6 = 10 off defender column. Total damage = 1. Make sense? Now, on to the rest of the cards in play on the player mat. Since the Holy Warrior card precludes this PC from using Magic, or being attacked physically by magic, we will not use those cards. So, here we go.

LEFT HAND
Holy Short Sword
+2 to all attacker rolls, -2 to all defender rolls. (in contrast, a regular short sword would have no modifier at all, as it is the standard weapon for a human warrior of any type)

This means that in a combat situation, if a roll result is 2d6=4, then the modifier would make it 2d6=6 or 2d6=2, depending on the situation.

RIGHT HAND
Medium Shield
-1 to all damage received

This is a -1 to actual damage, not a roll modifier. Pretty simple.

ABILITY 1
Guided by God
Positioning die must be rolled twice. Unless both rolls are “defender” use “attacker” column for all combat.

So, there we go. We have a character who is fleshed out. Notice that there is an open slot. This is because they character is hand size 20, and has maxed out his points.

One more set of explanations and then we’ll do the combat with the Cave Wight.

On any combat turn there are a total of 3 dice rolled. One is a special die called the “Positioning Die”. This determines whether the PC is the “attacker” or “defender”. Basically, it is initiative, but simplified. If the PC is the attacker, then all of the PC’s combat rolls come off the Attacker column and the monster or enemy’s combat rolls come off its Defender column. And vice versa. The positioning die is evenly distributed. 3 sides attacker, 3 sides defender. So, here we go.

The PC has stumbled on the warren of a Cave Wight. The PC rolls 2d6+Positioning die.

Result = A5 (So, PC is attacker, and his first attack is a roll of 5. Since he has a Holy Short Sword, we add 2 to this roll for a roll of 7. Now, if you take his Race card and Atributes card and add the A7 columns together, you see that he deals 6 damage to the Cavewight. The cave wight now rolls ONLY the 2d6 for this turn (as positioning for this turn has already been established). The cavewight miraculously rolls a 2. This reading comes off his defender chart, so 5 damage is done to the PC. HOWEVER, the PC has a medium shield, so this is reduced to 4 damage. END OF TURN ONE.

The PC rolls 2d6+Positiong Die again. This time the reading is D5. Since he has the ability “Guided by God, he must roll the positioning die again. It comes up A. He is again the attacker. The roll of 5 stands, and must be adjusted again to 7 due to the Holy Short Sword. . Again, he deals 6 damage to the cavewight. The cave wight only has a life rating of 10, so he is now dead.

There is a combat scenario for you, albeit a simple and easy one. Hope that all makes sense. As always, your feedback specifically on the mechanic and how you see it working, especially ease of use, is appreciated.

Thanks!
Gary

Alright.  So, the GM never rolls the positioning die, is that right?  The player (not the PC) rolls 3 dice, two of which are for effect, and 1 of which determines which column to use, that is, determines the relationship between PC and NPC.

How would you treat, for example, a group of 3 or 4 adventurers versus one enemy?  Is the positioning die rolled for each PC, or just once for the "sides"? What if one PC wanted to fight another, who would roll then?

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Anyway, so far I like the mechanism quite a bit.  I think the combination of the two card outcomes is innovative and appears to allow quite a lot of complexity without being cumbersome, as its all there in front of you, so definitely thumbs up in that respect.  The actual die-rolling step is brief and simple, both of which are always good.

On the down side, you have so far indicated only loss of hitpoints and death as outcomes of the resolution.  Is there any room for injuries, wounds, etc. in more specific terms?

Thanks for the responses! Anyone else want to weigh in? hehehe... Now, to address your questions..

Alright.  So, the GM never rolls the positioning die, is that right?

Correct. The GM never rolls the positioning die. Of course, there is no reason that he couldn't, as it wouldn't change the random chance involved. Also, it is important to note that some terrains remove the ue of the positioning die. (Dungeons for example)

The player (not the PC) rolls 3 dice, two of which are for effect, and 1 of which determines which column to use, that is, determines the relationship between PC and NPC.

Correct.

How would you treat, for example, a group of 3 or 4 adventurers versus one enemy?  Is the positioning die rolled for each PC, or just once for the "sides"? What if one PC wanted to fight another, who would roll then?

I'll take these all together. A combat scenario between 3-4 PC's and one enemy would be handled no differently. For each turn, each PC would roll all three die. It is up to the PC's which character rolls first. Each character can only take one action per turn though. So, if you invert that and end up with one PC against 3-4 NPC's, well, the PC gets one atack per turn, and each of the NPC's get to attack him during that turn. The positioning die is rolled once for each PC. If one PC wanted to fight the other, the GM would roll the positioning die, so that there could be no question of cheating.

On the down side, you have so far indicated only loss of hitpoints and death as outcomes of the resolution.  Is there any room for injuries, wounds, etc. in more specific terms?

Actually (and it was way back in my first really long post) loss of hitpoints and death are the only outcomes for NPC's. For PC's it is actually much more complex, yet simple. If you remember, the player mat has two sliders; one on the top, one on the bottom, and they go from right to left. You start with the bottom slider. For every 5 HP of damage recieved, the slider will move to the left in increments of 1/2 cards. As cards become "covered" they start to lose effectiveness. So, for example. Turn one of a combat your PC takes 5 points of damage, your bottom slider now moves to cover 1/2 of your "Ability 2" card slot. At this point, that ability only has 1/2 effectiveness. Turn two you take 15 points of damage, the slider moves 3 spaces left and now totally covers both of your ability slots. In turn 3 you do not get to use those abilities. Once all of the cards in your bottom row are covered, you move to the top slider and repeat. Once all of your cards are covered, your PC dies. THe last card to be fully covered is the Basic Race attributes card. Outside of combat, for every 4 turns, you can move the slider one notch to the right for natural healing, and if you are magically healed you can move the sliders whatever that spell card dictates. Of course, in the case of our "Holy Warrior" he would have to heal naturally. That is his drawback. He has attack power, and if equiped properly had high hand levels, he can be a BEASTLY attacking machine. Howevver, he cannot be the target of any physical magic, and that includes healing. The card combinations make for very intruiging possibilities.

Hope that answered your questions. Keep em coming! They are helping me flesh out my ideas.

Gary

I'm interested in the PC vs PC conflict issue.

Why would it be better to have the GM roll instead of the Character-Players?
In either case the effect is determined by the actual fall of the dice, so i cannot see how there is any possibility of cheating.

As for the intent of PvP conflict - what kinds of conflicts do you see occuring between the player's characters?

Including anything like a "struggle for leadership" when a tough group decision comes up before the group?

(And that sliding card mechanic sounds awesome - but how exactly would half-powers work? Are they then always numerical?)

I'm interested in the PC vs PC conflict issue.

Cool...I'll try to answer your questions:)

Why would it be better to have the GM roll instead of the Character-Players?
In either case the effect is determined by the actual fall of the dice, so i cannot see how there is any possibility of cheating.

Since the game only involves d6, there is always the possibility of an accusation of the dreaded "drop" roll, where the die isn't really rolled, merely dropped. That is why in a PC vs. PC combat, I would reccomend that the GM roll. Of course, in tournament ro module play, PC's will have to roll.

As for the intent of PvP conflict - what kinds of conflicts do you see occuring between the player's characters?

Including anything like a "struggle for leadership" when a tough group decision comes up before the group?

I think that the main PvP conflicts will come in tournament play, or single goal resolution play. However, situations where there is a struggle for leadership would simply come down to combat. Fight until one PC yields or dies.

And that sliding card mechanic sounds awesome - but how exactly would half-powers work? Are they then always numerical?
Glad you like the mechanic. I was very excited when I came up with it. I think that it truly reflects injury and healing. As far as "half powers", all the cards are numerical in value. If an ability gives you a +3 to attack rolls, then if it was half covered, you would get half of that, rounded DOWN. So, that ability would become +1 to all attack rolls.

Hope that makes sense!

Gary

Ah! Now, i know what you mean - the "dreaded drop roll" indeed.
That's usually covered under the "don't be a dick rule", but as you're going for a strong PvP tournament mode you might want to try something like a Yatzee Cup for "fair" die rolling - any mug would do. It just doesn't seem right for the GM to roll *your* dice for you, you know? ;)

What kind of situations do you expect PvP fights to occur in, during normal play?

Off hand, i can imagine the old "arena free-for-all" scenario, which only pits the PCs against one another physically, not intentionally, as being easy to handle.

I think i missed the entry on tournament mode - i take it it is player group vs player group, with no GM, much like a typical wargame?

Sliding Cards:

I think i understand this. You have a series of 'ability cards', arranged in order of "damage thresholds", with two thresholds per ability. When the first threshold is equalled the ability is impaired by ~half, and then negated on the second.
I like the visual appeal of it. You're using some sort of laminated/plastic slider thingy, or something like 3x5 cards?

What sets the order of the abilities initially? (It seems to be the combination of race & class, but i'm not seeing it.)

What kind of situations do you expect PvP fights to occur in, during normal play?

I don't really expect them at all in a GM run game. Unless that is a decision that one of the player's makes for their PC. In a tournament mode game, the players must follow along a moduled adventure (prepacked, prescripted, but variable by shuffling). There is an endgame in mind, like "Find the treasure" or Bel the last man standing. This will add to alot of strategy. You must cooperate with the other PC's, yet at some point you must be selfish....When to make that turn? Your call.... :)

I like the visual appeal of it. You're using some sort of laminated/plastic slider thingy, or something like 3x5 cards?

The sdetup is very easy. Each player has a Player Mat. The player mat is a rigid piece, roughly 12" high and 20" long. The mat's are race specific. For example, a Human has 6 card slots in his mat (that he can insert cards in). The slots are fixed (i.e., you can't put an ability card in the left hand slot, etc.) The top row goes as follows, from left to right - Base Race Attributes, Left Hand, Right Hand. The bottom row is as follows - Attribute Modifier (Class Card), Ability 1, Ability 2.

The sliders are on the top and bottom and slide right to left. Picture a handle standing up from the mat, and notches along the bottom and top corresponding with the halfeay points on each card. As you take damage you move the handle into the appropriate slot. There is a red transperant plastic attached to the handle and it actually slides with it and covers the cards as it slides. Use th ebottom slider first, and the top slider second. If all your cards get totally covered before you get healed you die.

Gary

Ok, so tournament play uses a module + "deck" to generate challenge and scene. (This sounds like what i intend to do for my Tarot game, only more complex and varied.)

Thanks for describing the board, i think i see how it works now.

Kind of reminds me of this <A HREF="http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/worldofwarcraft_preview2.html">World of Warcraft boardgame</A>, except that your slider idea allows the character's abilities to be reduced incrementally, rather than all at once.

So you lose the use of your special abilities first, then your class, then your equipment, and finally your race. Makes sense.

Can you gain new abilities through play? (Is that what you mean when you talk about "hand size"? I'm not clear on that.)

Does the slider also keep track of your hit points for you, or are they too variable between characters?

I'll take these all together. A combat scenario between 3-4 PC's and one enemy would be handled no differently. For each turn, each PC would roll all three die. It is up to the PC's which character rolls first. Each character can only take one action per turn though. So, if you invert that and end up with one PC against 3-4 NPC's, well, the PC gets one atack per turn, and each of the NPC's get to attack him during that turn. The positioning die is rolled once for each PC. If one PC wanted to fight the other, the GM would roll the positioning die, so that there could be no question of cheating.

Sorry for the long lull guys. I just returned from vacation, and am on the road on yet another business trip. I've got some time to kill tonight here at the hotel and thought I would respond to the latest questions...

Sempiterinty,

Can you gain new abilities through play? (Is that what you mean when you talk about "hand size"? I'm not clear on that.)

In order to answer this, I must first tell you that each card (outside of race cards) has two numbers on the top left of the card. The first number is the Card Point Value or CPV. The second number is the Hand Size Requirement, or HSR. So, if a card has a CPV of 5 and an HSR of 1, you can play it when your PC is at hand size 1, and it counts 5 points toward your total card point limit. You cannot gain abilities through play, per se. You gain the ability to use more cards in your deck. For example, all players start at hand size 1. At HS1, all characters regardless of race have 13 CPV's to spend, and cannot have more than that euqipped to their player mat at any time. In addition, at HS1, a player cannot have any card with an HSR over 1 equipped. A player can have up to 20 cards in his deck at any point of a game, however he can only equip them according to the CPV and HSR rules, as well as the limitations exerted by the race. As your character gains experience your hand size increases.

Does the slider also keep track of your hit points for you, or are they too variable between characters?

The mat has a built in damage counter. For every 5 points of damage taken, you must move your slider to the next notch to the left.

Contracycle,

Your example is a good one, but it fails to take into account on of the basic principles of the mechanic. If PC A rolls and becomes the attacker, all future rolls of the wolves come off their DEFENDER column. So, even though PC B may also have use of his defender column, the wolves are using theirs as well.

Gary

Nifty.

So, your character creation consists of choosing Race, Class, and Deck then? Or is the deck predetermined?

So you choose which cards your character *can have* in the beginning, and advance by *fulfilling your potential* (as dictated by your choosen deck). I like it. It ends up working like DND's pre-planned character classes, but in a more straigtforward manner.

I assume equipment cards are also part of the character deck, instead of being gained in play (as usual)?

So, your character creation consists of choosing Race, Class, and Deck then? Or is the deck predetermined?

Kind of :) The game is packaged in 3 ways. 1) GM Set. This includes dice, terrains, 100 monster/puzzle/challenge cards, instructions, Avatar figurine (Collectible). 2) Player set. You can purchase either the Single race box, or the Total Player Set, which will include all current races. For the TPS, you get the mats for all the races, and all the basic cards. In the single race box, you get the mat for your race and the 100 card base set. This includes race card, class cards, weapons, abilities, spells, etc. These cards (both player and GM) are not collectible, as everyone has the same ones to start with. 3) Booster packs. These are where the collectible cards come into play. There are GM boosters and Player boosters. These include more classes, weapons, abilities, monsters, puzzles, etc. The cards avialable in the boosters are collectible and have different rarities.

The character creation is pretty simple. It's the strategy of building your deck to allow for various situations, and the equipping combinations that really make this a true RPG/Strategy/CCG game all rolled into one.

Gary

Ambitious, but also very appealing.

The different customizable decks (terrain, adversary, character) are very cool, and give the game a nice visual and tactile appeal on the table. I'd expect that to appeal to people, like me, who play games like Warhammer and/or like Zombies! and that WoW boardgame. 

But, shouldn't you be packaging the Figurines with the Player Race boxes? (or boosters)

Switching gears:

So why do you need a GM-player?
After all, you can tie the Challenge cards & Map tiles together to generate adversity for the players, much like the WoW game does with its pre-made board & Quest cards. If you reward them for challenging themselves, the players should be able to use those tools (with some structuring rules) to orchestrate something of a decent escalating level of conflict even though they're playing against themselves, no?

More importantly, How does the game end? Do you have a "boss monster" card or other sort of final obstacle in the Challenge deck to provide a solid climax?

But, shouldn't you be packaging the Figurines with the Player Race boxes? (or boosters)

Glad you caught that. It was a typo on my part. The figurines will be in the PLAYER boxes, not the GM boxes. As far as their collectibility, there will be somewhere between 5 and 10 different figurines for each race. Some will be rarer than others, and each will come in two versions, a generic, and a colored. The colored are more rare.

So why do you need a GM-player?

You don't in Tournament or module play. You can pick up a premade adventure pack which will include all the cards necessary for an adventure (you do have to already have terrains though...Remember, the terrains are 3d representations). You simply shuffle the monster cards and place them under the terrains according to the adventure template, and then do the same with the puzzles, etc. The "end game" will depend on the module. Sometimes it will be to find the treasure and get it before the other players can. Sometimes it will be to finish as the last man standing. Sometimes it will be to deal the killing blow to a very powerful enemy. The biggest strategy key is that unless you run the advenuture module in "solo" mode (removing certain cards from the game), you can't get to the end without helping each other at least part of the way.

The GM mode is for traditional RPG'ers who want to write, script, or otherwise run a game in the traditional D&D sense of the word. The world this game is based in is RIPE with amazing story possibilities and will be an absolute joy for storyline gamers to play, and hard core GM's to write for.

We envision the game being something that 6-10 people and a GM can run a continuous campaign off for for weeks or months.

We also envision the "tournament" mode being very successful, and we (hope...pray...beg..plead) that it will eventually be mentioned right up there with MtG in the competative world of game play. I realize that is ambitious, but if you don't know your goals, how do you ever get to them?

Gary