file Some card ideals, need criticism

18 Jul 2014 20:08 #63757 by jiazhouhuaqiao
Hi everyone,

I've been working on a VtES project on and off and thought I would post some new card ideas from it. In brief the project is a reworking of VtES that changes a couple of things from the rulebook.

The most radical change is that instead of having master locations and equipment locations, locations are a separate card type that can either be played as a master action (if all requirements are met), OR be controlled as a minion action (if the minion meets the location's requirements). Similarly, allies can now also be recruited as a master action.

The other change is a new region called the Shadow region that interacts with Obtenebration.

Master Cards

Social Network
0 pool
Unique. Location. Trifle.
Every player has 2 extra transfers during their influence phase.

Equipment Cards

Wooden Dagger
0 pool
Weapon. Melee. Thrown. Wood.
1R damage.
Burn this weapon after it is used as a strike at long range.
An opposing vampire that has taken more than 1 damage from wood weapons during a single combat goes to torpor.

Hawg 2
0 pool.
Vehicle.
You may discard a card when this minion enters combat. You may retrieve a Dodge, Fake Out, Boxed In or Roadkill from your ash heap instead of drawing to replace the discarded card.

Ally Cards

Political Puppet
2 pool
Mortal. 1 life. 0 strength. 1 bleed.
You may surrender the Edge to give Political Puppet +1 bleed.
All players lose 1 pool when Political Puppet is burned.

Journalist
1 pool
Mortal. 1 life. 0 strength. 0 bleed.
If Journalist is still ready after combat ends between him and an opposing vampire, the vampire’s controller burns 1 pool and the Journalist permanently gains +1 bleed.
Journalist can move Fame or Uncovered Haven to a different vampire as an action directed at the new vampire with +1 stealth.

Hacker
1 pool
Mortal. 1 life. 0 strength. 1 bleed.
Tap Hacker to redirect a bleed to a different player when the bleed has been redirected to you, a minion with Electronic equipment is bleeding, a minion is bleeding with Computer Hacking, or another Hacker is bleeding.

Street Gang
1 pool
Mortal. 2 life. 1 strength. 0 bleed.
Your other minions have +1 stealth when acquiring equipment.
Street Gang has +2 intercept when blocking actions directed at locations or vampires with a Haven.

Driver
0 pool
Mortal. 1 life. 0 strength. 0 bleed.
While Driver has a vehicle, once every combat he can maneuver and can strike to end combat at long range.

Servant
0 pool
Mortal. 1 life. 0 strength. 0 bleed.
Servant can tap at any time except during an action to move one equipment from one of your minions to another.

Surgeon
0 pool
Mortal. 1 life. 0 strength. 0 bleed.
Your vampires have +1 stealth when hunting.
Surgeon can add 1 life to a hurt ally or remove a crippling wound from any minion as an action with +1 stealth.

Action Cards

Descent into Darkness (revised)
1 blood
Cannot be played by a vampire in the shadow region.
[obt] This vampire moves from the ready region to the shadow region. During each of your influence phases, this vampire gains 2 blood from the blood bank and you may then return him to the ready region, tapped.
[OBT] As above, but this vampire returns to the ready region untapped.

Transfer Essence
1 blood
[nec] Remove from the game a vampire in any ash heap that was burned from play. Add an amount of blood up to half the vampire’s capacity (rounded up) from the blood bank to a vampire in your uncontrolled region.
[NEC] As above, and you can choose a card from you crypt and add it to your uncontrolled region before adding the blood.

Action Modifiers

Abyssal Escape
1 blood
Cannot be played by a vampire in the shadow region.
[obt] +1 stealth. If this action is intercepted, instead of entering combat this vampire moves to the shadow region.
[OBT] +1 stealth. If this action successful, this vampire untaps and moves to the shadow region.

Enriched Vitae
0 blood
Can only be played when an action is announced.
[tha] This vampire is 2 generations older and gains +2 capacity until the end of the turn.
[THA] As above, and if this vampire is blocked, he steals 1 blood or life from the blocking minion when entering combat.

Burial Ground
0 blood
Can only be played when controlling a location.
[nec] The location gains Haven. Untap this vampire and this location when an action is directed at either.
[NEC] As above, and this vampire gains +2 intercept during actions directed at himself or at this location.

Reaction cards

Magicked Vitae
0 blood
[tha] This vampire is 2 generations older and gains +2 capacity until the end of the action.
[THA] As above, and if this vampire successfully blocks, he steals 1 blood or life from the acting minion when entering combat.


Combat Cards

Abyssal Prison
1 blood
Cannot be played by a vampire in the shadow region.
[obt] Strike: combat ends. Move each vampire involved to the shadow region.
[OBT] Strike: Move this vampire and the opposing vampire to the shadow region. Automatically continue combat to another round.

Improvised Missile
1 blood
Cannot be played at close range. Replace this card after combat has ended.
[pot] Strike: 3R damage, or you may burn this vampire’s vehicle for 5R damage instead.
[POT] As above, and after combat has ended, retrieve this card from your ash heap instead of drawing a card to replace it.

Rage Punch
1 blood
Replace this card after combat has ended.
[pot] Strike: hand strike with +2 damage.
[POT] As above, and after combat has ended, retrieve this card from your ash heap instead of drawing a card to replace it.

Crush
0 blood
Cannot be played at long range. Replace this card after combat has ended.
[pot] Strike: destroy an equipment
[POT] As above, and after combat has ended, retrieve this card from your ash heap instead of drawing to replace it.

Roadkill
0 blood
Replace this card after combat has ended. Can only be played as the initial strike of a round and only if this minion has a vehicle and the opposing minion does not.
Strike: 3 damage with first strike, and this minion can use this strike effect to maneuver.

Choking Night
0 blood
Played by a vampire in the shadow region who is not a combatant. Play before the range step and persists until the round has ended.
[obt] Deal 1R damage to the opposing minion when resolving the initial strike.
[OBT] As above, and this vampire has 1 extra strike to make a hand strike.

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19 Jul 2014 16:09 #63762 by ReverendRevolver
Starts strong and then gets fuzzy....

I dig Social Network, but would make it cost a pool. Super strong, albeit another timeout contributor.

I get trying to edit rules to make locations and Obt better, but its not needed. Games already too clunky.

So, most allies are neat, but the more no cost, no requirement allies there are, the more risk of them getting broken there is.
Joirnalist has potential. Id up pool cost, add a life, require a titled vamp, and make it infernal.

Necro blood gain action is too good at NEC. jist drawing a new card is plenty. Tha stuff is nominally not something i think is suitable.

Burial ground has too much room to be broken.

Yoir dnr combat stuff is neat, but not sure good enough. Road kill is interesting for sure, id drop first strike. Uriah winter on a harley doesnt move faster than Ur-Shulgi.

There are wording issues abound, but im not really in the mood to nitpick.

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19 Jul 2014 21:05 #63765 by jiazhouhuaqiao
ty for the feedback.

The new templating is part of the project, trying to make VtES rules text more natural, grokkable, and localisable into non- English languages.

For Transfer Essence, the requirement of removing a vampire burned from play makes it pretty hard to abuse, but how about switching the inferior and the superior then?

Transfer Essence
1 blood
[nec] Remove from the game a vampire in any ash heap that was burned from play. Choose a card from you crypt and add it to your uncontrolled region.
[NEC] As above, and add an amount of blood up to half the removed vampire’s capacity (rounded up) from the blood bank to a vampire in your uncontrolled region.

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20 Jul 2014 08:20 - 20 Jul 2014 08:38 #63766 by jamesatzephyr

The most radical change is that instead of having master locations and equipment locations, locations are a separate card type that can either be played as a master action (if all requirements are met), OR be controlled as a minion action (if the minion meets the location's requirements).


Motivation question:
What is the purpose of this change? I don't mean "Oh look, you can now play a location as a master or an action." I mean, why is this worth changing? How does it make the game better? Why is it worth adding an extra complication to the game's rules? Why is it worth errata-ing lots of locations? How does this make V:TES better?


Rules questions:

What type of card are they? Master card or minion card? This matters because there are a number of cards that care about card type. For example:
Sudden Reversal
Cancel a master card played by another Methuselah as it is played (no cost is paid).

When you play The Rack as a location card, can I Suddenly Reverse it? Can I Suddenly Reverse it if you play it in the master phase, but not in the minion phase?

What about:
Anthelios, the Red Star
Once each master phase, a Methuselah can use a master phase action to exchange a master card in his or her hand for one in his or her ash heap.

Can I swap a Blood Doll in my ash heap for a Palatial Estate in my hand?

If I play The Mausoleum as an action, can Matthew reduce the cost?
Once each turn, if Matthew is ready, he may reduce the cost of a non-out-of-turn master card you play by 1 pool.

Is it an action card when I equip it as an action? For example:
Beast, The Leatherface of Detroit
Beast cannot play action cards.


For equipment that is currently not loquipment, what does putting it into play as an action mean? For example, I would currently put Inverary, Scotland onto my vampire when I equip it, but I wouldn't do that with The Barrens. If I now 'equip' the Barrens, does it go on my vampire? If so, does it get burned when my vampire gets burned? Does Secure Haven have to go on the minion who took the action? Does The Rack have to choose the vampire who equipped it? If so, does equipping such a location require a vampire, or could Jake Washington equip Secure Haven and put it on Arika?

If I play a piece of equipment that is currently loquipment, do I get to put it on a vampire? Does the vampire have to be ready? (Meeting requirements - such as playing Ventrue HQ - requires the vampire to be ready. Being a legal target for an effect does not.) Does the blood cost (if any) come off that vampire? Does that vampire count as having played that card?

Is it sensible that a multi-acting vampire (say, an Una Freak Drive deck - but any deck with spare actions) can "equip" multiple locations that were originally designed to be played relatively sparingly? For example, a Ventrue deck including some Freak Drives deck could "equip" The Barrens, Info Highway, Ventrue HQ, and Elder Library in a single turn, which seems like a moderately significant power boost.

A Ravnos clown-car deck can "equip" a Ravnos Carnival, blow through all the counters on it in the next action or two, equip another in the same turn etc. and spend a significant amount of blood, when currently it can only have one Ravnos Carnival out per turn, due to it being unique (so even if you multiple MPA, you can't have two or three out, ready).


Is the action to "equip" Alamut at +1 stealth?

Similarly, allies can now also be recruited as a master action.


Motivation question: why?

Rules questions:

Does an ally recruited in the master phase go to the uncontrolled region, as normal for action-based recruitment?

For allies with blood costs, where does the blood come from? Do you pick a vampire and treat them as the recruiter? Similarly:
Hexaped
The Tremere antitribu who recruited it gets +1 bleed and +1 stealth when bleeding the Methuselah with that link counter.

Who recruited it? Do you pick a vampire when you use a master phase action?

Is it treated as a master card when it's a card played with a master phase action? Can I Suddenly Reverse it?


Overall question: by meaning that allies can be recruited without needing an action, and similarly loquipment, it provides an avenue for reducing the effectiveness of intercept-driven and wall decks. For example, a deck worried about a wall deck could go for a many master phase action (MMPA) route, and bring out allies that way. Does this reduce the interactivity between decks? Also, MMPA decks already attract a significant amount of annoyance from players - is it useful to provide another reason for people to play MMPA?

The other change is a new region called the Shadow region that interacts with Obtenebration.


Motivation question: why? What benefits does it provide? Is it worth adding a mechanic to the game that is used by a handful of cards? Other corner-case mechanics have been removed (e.g. Paralyze, Close Quarters), and under-utilized mechanics attract criticism while adding complexity. It apparently can affect my vampires, so I have to know about it. It's often better design if corner-case terminology primarily affects the person using it e.g. "Only playable by a vampire with Somecornercasetrait" or similar, rather than suddenly and surprisingly needing to be understood by others. e.g. a term like Seraph doesn't actually impact me and what I can do, mostly only affecting what you can do and play. If Seraph suddenly meant that I might not be able to target you with actions and a host of corner-case rules glitches, it'd be much more annoying to face.

Rules questions: where is this region? Is a vampire in the shadow region ready? Can they be targeted by things? Can they meet the clan requirements for playing a master card? e.g. if my only Lasombra is in the shadow region, can I play Power Structure? The revised Descent into Darkness...

Descent into Darkness (revised)
1 blood
Cannot be played by a vampire in the shadow region.
[obt] This vampire moves from the ready region to the shadow region. During each of your influence phases, this vampire gains 2 blood from the blood bank and you may then return him to the ready region, tapped.
[OBT] As above, but this vampire returns to the ready region untapped.


...suggests not. What effect does being in the shadow region have on you, if any?

Choking Night
0 blood
Played by a vampire in the shadow region who is not a combatant. Play before the range step and persists until the round has ended.
[obt] Deal 1R damage to the opposing minion when resolving the initial strike.
[OBT] As above, and this vampire has 1 extra strike to make a hand strike.


Who is "this vampire" with the extra strike? Nothing apparently restricts the card being played when you have an ally in combat. Are you trying to give the non-combatant a strike, or a strike-like effect, a la Winged Second or Ghoul Retainer? Are you trying to give an additional strike to the vampire you control who is in combat?


Abyssal Escape
1 blood
Cannot be played by a vampire in the shadow region.
[obt] +1 stealth. If this action is intercepted, instead of entering combat this vampire moves to the shadow region.
[OBT] +1 stealth. If this action successful, this vampire untaps and moves to the shadow region.


How does the vampire get out of the shadow region? Descent into Darkness provides a method, but you've not given details of a general method. What happens if this is played by a vampire in torpor, on a leave torpor action? Does the vampire, in fact, leave torpor, but end up in the shadow region? Or can one be both in torpor and in the shadow region?


Abyssal Prison
1 blood
Cannot be played by a vampire in the shadow region.
[obt] Strike: combat ends. Move each vampire involved to the shadow region.
[OBT] Strike: Move this vampire and the opposing vampire to the shadow region. Automatically continue combat to another round.


As per Descent into Darkness, it appears that the shadow region is not part of the ready region. If so, how is this vampire in combat?

it is important to remember that only ready minions can participate in combat


The Golden Rule of Cards doesn't help here. You need to get the shadow region vampire into combat in the first place - they can't block an action if they're not ready, and combat will end if you become non-ready.

If a vampire can be non-ready but in combat, what effect does that have on combat cards that check to see if the opponent is ready? For example:
Shadow Boxing
Only usable after a combat resulting from a block. Not usable if the blocking minion is ready.

When the opponent, playing some totally other deck, moves to the shadow region, what effect do you intend it to have on them?

What is the superior intended to do? Does "automatically continue combat to another round" mean that when you hit the press step, combat continues? Or are you ending the round right now and going to a second one, preventing your opponent from - say - playing additional strikes?




Social Network
0 pool
Unique. Location. Trifle.
Every player has 2 extra transfers during their influence phase.


Not really sure about this. Giving everyone else extra transfers is probably unhelpful. Seems like the sort of card everyone would want to see someone else play.

Wooden Dagger
0 pool
Weapon. Melee. Thrown. Wood.
1R damage.
Burn this weapon after it is used as a strike at long range.
An opposing vampire that has taken more than 1 damage from wood weapons during a single combat goes to torpor.


Comment, not a criticism: With Target Head/Vitals, it's really quite easy to add extra damage to the strike, at long range or short. I'm not sure this is intended.

Hawg 2
0 pool.
Vehicle.
You may discard a card when this minion enters combat. You may retrieve a Dodge, Fake Out, Boxed In or Roadkill from your ash heap instead of drawing to replace the discarded card.


Needs the standard one vehicle per minion restriction. (Yes, the other vehicles prevent you having this and Learjet. But you could have multiple Hawg 2s.)

Ally Cards


None of these have clan requirements, while Political Puppet (and possibly the Servant and Driver) fits with the Ventrue and the Street Gang fits with the Brujah.

Political Puppet
2 pool
Mortal. 1 life. 0 strength. 1 bleed.
You may surrender the Edge to give Political Puppet +1 bleed.
All players lose 1 pool when Political Puppet is burned.


For clarity, it would help to say something along the lines of "When Political Puppet is bleeding, you may burn the Edge to give him +1 bleed for the current action" or similar.

Note that burning the Edge isn't a particularly exciting cost for this, because you probably only do it when you're hoping you're near the end of the action (that is, after blocks are declined) and already think it's successful. (It might still get bounced.) So in many cases, it just means "You need the Edge, but will have it back."

As it's non-unique, you could bring quite a few out. I could certainly see a Breed Boon deck bringing a few out - it has plenty of spare actions (many Embraces/Progeny/Creation Rite vampires out) and plenty of spare pool. In a variant like, say, Gratiano/Guido (Lasombra with Obfuscate) Power Structure breed-boon, I could easily see a few coming out, with a Psychic Veil or Veil the Legions to power a few of these. Two pool for a 2 bleed minion in that circumstance would be something of a bargain. Also, as one of the few really successful deck styles that doesn't care quite so much about master phase actions for the purposes of pool gain, it could potentially spare the odd master phase to bring one or two of these out.

I would also be interested about what this would play like in an Imbued deck.

Driver
0 pool
Mortal. 1 life. 0 strength. 0 bleed.
While Driver has a vehicle, once every combat he can maneuver and can strike to end combat at long range.


Not at all clear what the point is. As block fodder, it could get a Sport Bike for +1 intercept, but that seems reasonably complex for not much pay off. As a bleeder, a Computer Hacking would be nice, or a Cameraphone - but with a phone, you're spending actions on getting that, not the Vehicle. Also, the equip actions are relatively easily blocked, since you have no disciplines. Obviously, you could bring out the equipment with a better minion and Heidelberg/Nod/Servant it around, but that seems very long-winded.

Journalist
1 pool
Mortal. 1 life. 0 strength. 0 bleed.
If Journalist is still ready after combat ends between him and an opposing vampire, the vampire’s controller burns 1 pool and the Journalist permanently gains +1 bleed.
Journalist can move Fame or Uncovered Haven to a different vampire as an action directed at the new vampire with +1 stealth.


The Fame option feels unpleasant - Haven Uncovered, less so, since it's less played. Also, I'm assuming the text means that only the new vampire's controller can block (barring Eagle's Sight etc.). On a table with A, B, C, D and E, A plays Fame on one of B's vampires. B's Journalist moves (attempts to move) the Fame to C. Why is only C allowed to block the action, not A? Directed actions can target multiple Methuselahs (who each get the option to block in turn), so it seems weird to not allow Fame's controller the same block opportunity.

Hacker
1 pool
Mortal. 1 life. 0 strength. 1 bleed.
Tap Hacker to redirect a bleed to a different player when the bleed has been redirected to you, a minion with Electronic equipment is bleeding, a minion is bleeding with Computer Hacking, or another Hacker is bleeding.


Feels rather too easy to cause shenanigans here.

There are a number of decks that graft on bounce as their only way to be mildly viable. It would be relatively easy to cause them issues.

Not at all clear why anyone on the table can redirect a bleed from a vampire with a Cameraphone: the "minion with Electronic equipment is bleeding" option is not restricted to people bleeding the controller of the Hacker. So on a table with A, B, C, D and E... A bleeds B, using a vampire with a Cameraphone. C taps his Hacker and now A is bleeding D. Ditto for the Computer Hacking and Hacker clauses.

Street Gang
1 pool
Mortal. 2 life. 1 strength. 0 bleed.
Your other minions have +1 stealth when acquiring equipment.
Street Gang has +2 intercept when blocking actions directed at locations or vampires with a Haven.


What is "acquiring equipment"? Is that the same as an "equip action"? If so, it would really help to use the normal terminology. For example:

- is Kostantin 'acquiring' equipment when he takes his steal action? Ditto Annazir
- is Grasp the Ghostly 'acquiring' equipment?
- is Alastor 'acquiring' equipment? If I know that I have no equipment in my library but want Alastor for the rush, is it 'acquiring' equipment?
- Shepherd's Innoce could (in theory) grab a piece of equipment that requires Animalism. Is that 'acquiring' equipment?

Surgeon
0 pool
Mortal. 1 life. 0 strength. 0 bleed.
Your vampires have +1 stealth when hunting.
Surgeon can add 1 life to a hurt ally or remove a crippling wound from any minion as an action with +1 stealth.


What is a hurt ally? Is that short-hand for "an ally with less life than its starting life"?

What is a crippling wound?

+1 stealth when hunting to all your vampires is a fairly hefty boost, especially for variants of breed decks that use pool gain masters. Bring out a couple of these and make your weenies very hard to intercept when hunting. +3 stealth would be a lot.



Transfer Essence
1 blood
[nec] Remove from the game a vampire in any ash heap that was burned from play. Add an amount of blood up to half the vampire’s capacity (rounded up) from the blood bank to a vampire in your uncontrolled region.
[NEC] As above, and you can choose a card from you crypt and add it to your uncontrolled region before adding the blood.


This looks very horrible. It's not hard to voluntarily burn one of your own vampires, a number of decks do it on purpose - look at something like "Turbo"-Baron, which brings a lot of vampires back with Soul Gem and Possession. Recruitment + superior Govern in one go is a lot. And that vampire stays in the ash heap, so you can keep doing it. Turbo Baron often includes a lot of vampires with Necromancy, so once you've brought out a few vampires, you can probably spare an action or two to play Transfer Essence while Baron is in the ash heap. And as per Turbo-Baron, Necromancy + Fortitude is not hard to find on quite a few vampires, so you can mess around with Force of Will and/or Daring the Dawn, if you like.

This looks highly ripe for potential abuse. It might not be a deck that topples final tables at tournaments - if it gets there, it might well get ganged up on by players aware of it from earlier rounds, and the finalists are (overall, on average) the better players in the tournament. But it could be quite seriously unfun to play against in the earlier rounds.


Burial Ground
0 blood
Can only be played when controlling a location.
[nec] The location gains Haven. Untap this vampire and this location when an action is directed at either.
[NEC] As above, and this vampire gains +2 intercept during actions directed at himself or at this location.


The phrase "gains Haven" doesn't fit with any existing V:TES terminology. What sort of actions can this be played on? Any? Just the action to bring the location into play? (I'm not 100% sure if the "when controlling a location" is intended to mean that.) Can I use this to turn a piece of loquipment on another of my minions into a burial ground?

I think this wants to be something like:
Burial Ground
Action Modifier, 0 blood
[nec] Put this card on a location you control. The location with this card is considered a Haven. Untap the vampire who played this card, and the location it is on, when an action is directed at either.
[NEC] As above... or at the location with this card.

Though it's missing detail on what actions you can play it on, since I don't understand the intent there.

Reaction cards
Magicked Vitae
0 blood
[tha] This vampire is 2 generations older and gains +2 capacity until the end of the action.
[THA] As above, and if this vampire successfully blocks, he steals 1 blood or life from the acting minion when entering combat.


Note that a card like Seduction - played when the action is announced - would pre-empt this, because this isn't playable in the as announced timing window. And quite a few cards could be played by the acting Methuselah in the normal action modifiers window, because the acting Methuselah has the impulse. e.g. I could play Perfect Paragon at PRE ("Allies and younger vampires get -1 intercept when attempting to block this action.") before you get the opportunity to play this. Overall, I wouldn't expect the inferior to be a particular compelling play. The superior is not bad, though.

Improvised Missile
1 blood
Cannot be played at close range. Replace this card after combat has ended.
[pot] Strike: 3R damage, or you may burn this vampire’s vehicle for 5R damage instead.
[POT] As above, and after combat has ended, retrieve this card from your ash heap instead of drawing a card to replace it.

Rage Punch
1 blood
Replace this card after combat has ended.
[pot] Strike: hand strike with +2 damage.
[POT] As above, and after combat has ended, retrieve this card from your ash heap instead of drawing a card to replace it.

Crush
0 blood
Cannot be played at long range. Replace this card after combat has ended.
[pot] Strike: destroy an equipment
[POT] As above, and after combat has ended, retrieve this card from your ash heap instead of drawing to replace it.


Why all the "retrieve this card" clauses? Does Potence really need to be able to guarantee having cards in hand? Why Potence rather than any other combat disicpline?

Crush seems as likely to see play as other Potence equipment destroyers - that is, not very.

Strikes with blood costs are often not particularly popular with combat decks that may be relatively small capacity, or be somewhat lacking in blood. e.g. decks based around 3-5 capacity vampires. It makes that vampire's position more precarious, given they can't Taste of Vitae until the end of the round. Going up against a gun-wielding opponent, for example, can be unpleasant. If you're going to range (such as with Improvised Missile), you can't play Immortal Grapple, and so may find yourself on the wrong end of a Strike: Combat Ends, so you don't even get to play Taste of Vitae usefully. (You can play it, but since you've not done any damage so far...)


Roadkill
0 blood
Replace this card after combat has ended. Can only be played as the initial strike of a round and only if this minion has a vehicle and the opposing minion does not.
Strike: 3 damage with first strike, and this minion can use this strike effect to maneuver.


Do you mean "Strike: 3 damage with first strike, with an optional maneuver"? If so, it would be preferable to use that phrasing.
Last edit: 20 Jul 2014 08:38 by jamesatzephyr.

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20 Jul 2014 13:29 #63772 by jiazhouhuaqiao
Wow, thank you for all the questions especially the rules questions that I hadn't thought of. The project I am working on involves completely rewriting the rulebook. So I try to come up with rulebook and rules text which is consistent and also makes natural language sense in both English and in Asian languages (such as Chinese). I also want to simplify the text on the cards which means keywording many common rules text clauses and moving the text to the rulebook. The ones off top of my head:

Vehicle, Haven: A minion can have only 1 vehicle/ haven. When you play a haven as a master action, you choose a vampire you control to play it on.
Hurt: like you guessed, this means an ally that has less life than starting
Crippling Wound: Effects like Disarm and Pulled Fangs
Acquire: Putting an equipment into play, for instance, using Fatima or Disguised Weapon also counts as acquiring - so it coverse the same scope as bleeding.
Similarly, propose, employ, control, recruit are used for referendums, retainers, locations and allies.
Epic: keyword for once per game (like Giant's Blood).
Cleaning up any wording looseness/ ambiguity about blood/ pool equivalence
Can use this effect/ equipment to: This replaces the wording and rules for optional effects like .44 magnum, which now reads: 2R damage. A minion can use this weapon to maneuver once each combat. Optional is really awkward to translate into Chinese.
Persist: This keywords effects that cannot stack in combat, such as Carrion Crows, which now reads: Play before the range step and persists until combat has ended.

Change to Locations: I think it's more intuitive for locations to be a separate card type than be split between master cards and equipment cards. That's always bothered me. The flavor feel I want to evoke also puts more gameplay emphasis on locations and allies, so this rules change makes both more flexible and easier to play. The rules changes are:
1) All locations are now their own card type.
2) Players can take their master action to play a master card, control a location or recruit an ally. This parallels how minions can take a minion action to take an action, acquire equipment or employ a retainer.
3) Allies and locations with a blood cost (instead of pool cost) must be played by a vampire with a minion action and cannot be played with a master action.
4) When playing a location with Haven as a master action, choose one of your vampires to get the Haven. A vampire cannot have more than one Haven.

Change to Obtenebration:
Clan Lasombra is one of the basic clans in the metagame I'm designing, and I was inspired by Descent into Darkness to design a new region called the shadow region, which would give Obtenebration mechanics a different flavor than Obfuscate and better reflect Obtenebration mechanics from the rpg. I'm still considering the actual mechanics but so far shadow is its own region like ready region and torpor region, (so vampires untap like in torpor), normal allies are automatically burned when they enter the shadow region, and vampires can only perform actions that require obtenebration, or take an action to move from the shadow region to torpor.

Basically I am giving a facelift to some disciplines, beginning with obtenebration and quietus. Haven't gotten around to vicissitude yet, but considering it.

Anyway, let me know if you love this or hate it...

Almost all my designs are top-down, so for instance why Hacker can redirect bleeds you aren't involved in is because that makes flavor sense (the internet is a public domain), not the mechanical balance sense.

thanks again and I will do more thinking on the rules questions you posed.

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20 Jul 2014 14:21 #63775 by jiazhouhuaqiao
ok, *mask of 1000 faces into bizzaro vtes lsj*

Location rules: Locations are not master cards, cannot be cancelled as a master card by Sudden Reversal, and are therefore a minion card type, and can be DI'd (I think). Beast CAN control Location cards, they are not action cards. Anthelios cannot exchange with or for location cards. Cannot be reduced by Matthew. If a minion controls the Barrens, it does not go on the minion, its just in the ready region (like an ally).

The basic cardtype specific action verbs: bleed, propose, recruit, employ, control, and acquire (and maybe some others as well) are going to be once per turn per minion.

Allowing allies and locations to be played with master actions would encourage control strategies to diversify than simply intercepting. There are many, many cards and other strategies that deal with locations and allies. And again, this environment places a greater emphasis on locations and allies.

Shadow Region rules: Still being considered and weighed. Minions in the shadow region are not ready. They cannot vote. They cannot intercept ready vampires. They can not be targeted as a ready minion. The rest I am slowly thinking about, but I play to design more cards that work with the Shadow region. It's simply an Obtenebration- based mechanic.

Choking Night: worded similarly to Octopod. Basically if you have a vampire with OBT in the shadow region, the inferior will deal 1 environmental damage, and the superior will allow the vampire with OBT to make a hand strike. This works even if your combatant is an ally.

Sending a vampire into the shadow region is like sending a vampire to torpor, so after they move they are no longer ready.

Wooden Dagger + Target Vitals: I don't think this interaction is abusable. Any trick you can do with Wooden Dagger you could already do with Wooden Stake.

Political Puppet: Ok, now I see that design flaw you pointed out.

Transfer Essence: I'll probably remove it if it ends up being a card that will only be played in degenerate strategies

Potence cards: well, one of the big concerns of potence-based combat decks is running out of library. So I designed these 3 to give potence some semi-permanent strategies: one only at long range, one only at close range. I also wanted some potence cards that can be good for decks that is not heavily invested in combat, such as again, Lasombra, and recursive cards seem like a good way to go.

Improvised Missile: Originally I had this at 0 blood cost, 2R and 4R damage. But I bumped it to 5R because I misremembered thrown car at 5R (but I just checked, its 4R. REALLY, a Sewer Lid is 3R and a car is only 4R?). So definitely this one is going back to 0 cost, 2R and 4R.

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