A month since my last post
... I've been tired and busy, as usual.
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Hobbit Game in Gemp: I got a question. Will the Smaug cards have a new culture button in the deckbuilder? Or will all be scattered? To include a "Smaug button" would make any search much easier. The button might have no culture symbol at all, the mere word "Smaug" should be enough.
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Ori's Slingshot: You're including it in Balin's pack, I like that. But such a weapon shouldn't wound minions. A small stone simply won't kill an Orc, but for sure will make him lose his focus. So we can portray that distraction and annoyance in a useful way:
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Ori's Slingshot (Balin's Pack)
Possession • Support Area
Each time you attach Ori, you may place up to 2
cards from your discard pile beneath your draw deck.
Skirmish: Discard a
card from hand to make a minion strength -1.
Ori's weapon often hurted the focus of his foes.The skirmish skill distracts a minion in battle. Doesn't need a specific follower, but will work much better with Ori + Balin (given the hand extension). The passive skill makes Ori recover the
cards you'll be spending, thus he becomes a powerful AND sustainable cycling machine. Since those cards will be placed at the bottom, that skill won't replace Balin's (still necessary to shuffle the deck and to recover non-
events). Then Balin should recover more
events than usual.
"At Your Service!" can play Ori earlier, to reap the full cycling and skirmish potential. So it should be in Balin's Pack instead of "Careful With These!" (which will work better with the Dwarven Flute in the Blue Mountains pack, see below).
I'm not a big fan of instruments in different Packs, but maybe 2 instruments in the Blue Mountains Pack would be enough.
The problem is that you're using 2 of 6 FP slots merely for instruments. Too much, as they must not give straightforward bonuses like weapons do; instruments must have subtler mechanisms (draw cards, heal sometimes, get followers / events from deck...). Then, they'll require to synergize with some other
cards we include in order to reach a greater impact (like "At Your Service!" or "Careful With These!").
Which requires using more FP slots. So each Pack can have 1 instrument, designed to interact with its specific goals and resources.
Dwarven Fiddle (Balin's Pack)
Possession • Instrument
Bearer must be a
companion.
Each time you play a Dwarf, you may heal a
companion
(limit 1 per turn).
Fellowship: Exert bearer to take into hand
a fellowship or skirmish event from your draw deck (limit 1).
"Now for some music! Bring out the instruments!" (only 1 line available)
Heals and gets events from deck, making Balin's skill more important and also easier to use. Turns any Dwarf into a healing card (giving To Me! O My Kinsfolk! a new value!).
Dwarven Flute (Blue Mountains Pack)
Possession • Instrument
Bearer must be a
companion.
Each time you play a Dwarf or a
event, you may draw a card.
Fellowship: Exert bearer to play a
follower from your draw deck (limit 1).
"The dark filled all the room, and the fire died down, and the shadows were lost, and still they played on." (2 lines)
A powerful set up tool to draw cards and play followers.
Thus "Careful With These!" playing this Flute will replace the need of "At Your Service!". The easy and soon access to Óin's healing or Dori's protection will be invaluable (but Careful With These! will be necessary to get the Flute soon).
The more instruments, the better the effect. Also, both instruments share the "play a Dwarf" trigger, so they can easily synergize if they coincide in the Draft (or if a player makes them coincide in Gemp
). Then, To Me! O My Kinsfolk! will be a great music sheet for that "Dwarven Orchestra"! It's a real shame that PJ didn't include
Thorin's Harp ("It was a beautiful golden harp, and when Thorin struck it the music began all at once, so sudden and sweet that Bilbo forgot everything else, and was swept away into dark lands under strange moons...").
FP Objectives:
- transfer without cost for followers (Bofur rarely used)."
You said that in March 14, 2016! The aid cost impairs Bofur greatly, but also Bifur and Bombur (exertions). Your versions of the instruments mention them, but that simply won't solve the problem. What we need is what you said: a way to transfer
followers without paying their respective aid costs.
Dwarven Warhammer (Blue Mountains Pack)
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a
character.
Maneuver: Discard 2 cards from hand to attach a
follower from your support area to a companion (without paying the aid cost).
"The dwarves of yore made mighty spells, while hammers fell like ringing bells..."A mighty (and expensive) weapon meant to promote the use of followers. The Flute has a skill to draw cards which seems superfluous by itself, but now will have a surprising importance to fuel this alternative aid cost!
I don't like Never Been So Wrong, unfortunately this card will never be used. Bilbo wins rarely his skirmishes.
You're probably right. But the idea was to show how a card might make
Noble Intentions more powerful and attractive. The trigger ("each time a Dwarf exerts in a skirmish involving Bilbo...") can be used in another card, preferably something that stays on the board like a possession, perhaps a "Dwarven Handkerchief" or the "Dwarven Ponies".
Happy New Year my friend Enola, and everyone reading this!