Card Idea: Exoskeleton

Exoskeleton

Type: Combat

Cost: 1 blood

[vic] Put this card on this vampire with 3 bone counters. Burn a bone counter to prevent a point of damage this vampire suffers this round. A vampire can play only one Exoskeleton in a combat. Burn this card when it has no bone counters.

[VIC]As Above, but with 4 bone counters. this vampire may burn a bone counter to prevent a point of damage this vampire suffers this combat

or

Exoskeleton

Type: Combat

Cost: 1 blood

[vic] Put this card on this vampire with 3 bone counters. Burn a bone counter to prevent a point of non aggravated damage this vampire suffers this combat. A vampire can play only one Exoskeleton per combat.Burn this card when it has no bone counters.

[VIC]As above, however 4 bone counters. This vampire may burn a bone counter to prevent a point of damage this combat[/b]


My wording is incredibly clumsy and could be improved of course.



Exoskeleton

Type: Combat

Cost: 1 blood


Exoskeleton:

vicissitude: This vampire may prevent 1 damage..

VICISSITUDE: This vampire may prevent 2 damage.



World of Darkness reference: The vicissitude discipline Bone craft, allows the Tzimisce to sculpture their bones to create bone exoskeleton plates of armor and bone spikes on their body, reducing damage received in battle. Tzimisce also do this when making Szlachta, which are a type of ghoul soldiers/bodyguards/sentries. A typical szlachta has spikes, thick armored plates or both, which increases the ghoul’s capacity to resist wounds. The Tzimisce also made Vozhd (War Ghoul) which is a massive walking biological weapon of flesh-and-bone, incredibly tough Resilient due to excessive thick skin tissue and bone plated carapaces.

Art notes: Tzimiche with a bone spiked exoskeleton, being struck in the chest by another vampire wielding a sword.

How does this card address a compelling game need? Vicissitude has only one combat card that prevents normal damage and aggravated damage while allowing you to strike in combat, which is Horrid Form. Which needs to be played before range, so even if you draw into a horrid form while in combat it is not going to help you prevent damage. The card proposal allows you to prevent and play it as you can with other prevention cards.

Or...

Re: Card proposal : Exoskeleton#73974Today 19:19

How about..


Exoskeleton

Type: Combat


Exoskeleton:

vicissitude: This vampire may burn 1 life on an Ally or Retainer they control to prevent 1 damage this vampire takes in combat. Or this vampire may burn an addition 1 blood to give an Ally +1 strength in combat

VICISSITUDE: This vampire may burn 1 blood to prevent 2 points of damage in combat from a minion.

Do not replace until combat has ended.

or 

vicissitude: This vampire may burn 1 life from an Ally or Retainer they control to prevent 1 damage this vampire takes in combat. Or this vampire may burn 1 blood to prevent 1 point of damage to an Ally or retainer they control.

VICISSITUDE: This vampire may burn 1 blood to prevent 2 points of damage in combat from a minion.

Do not replace until combat has ended.

Could add: use before strikes, use before combat ect...Also I should maybe add some clause- this card can not be used on a War Ghoul to prevent damage to a War Ghoul or to add +1 strength as they are strong enough already.



Edited for changes

Giving vicissitude a card that is exactly like "skin of rock" is not an interesting design choice.

Also, making major changes to a vampire's body with vicissitude generally costs blood. For the sake of the card game, game balance supercedes that guideline. Also, keep in mind that vicissitude is balanced around cards costing blood: there are many mechanics to reduce the costs, and the cards are powerful enough to warrant.

Free damage prevention makes it easier to manage blood, and when designing a damage prevention card for a discipline that requires more careful blood management you should take that into account.

My recommendation would be to make a damage prevention card that costs blood, and is ongoing (a permanent attach to vampire, or works every round of combat) OR has another effect making it worth the blood cost.

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions. I will take them into account.

So... now it has the same card text as Apparition (Chimerstry)

direwolf wrote:

So... now it has the same card text as Apparition (Chimerstry)

I quite like the idea of damage prevention via an exoskeleton, but also would quite like to see it work a different way.

Just throwing something together...


(*) There's a better wording, I'm sure. But I'd quite like it to be repeatable - so you can prevent 2 from the same strike, or two from this strike and two from an additional strike (Blurred gun etc.). Mostly because things like Flak Jacket are rubbish for their one damage.



In power terms, the idea would be to try to hit a sweet spot where it's good - but because of the "one per vampire" limitation, you can't stuff your deck with them and cycle them really easily (as you usually can with, say, Skin of Rock), so you have to be careful about the number you include. There's a sweet spot somewhere, I think.

James' suggestion is similar to Ablative Skin, except for the part where it can be used as a combat card.... but still, I do not feel too much inspiration right now.... B-)