First off, I really appreciate the feedback. I'm always willing and eager to listen to meaningful input.
As far as the game mechanics go, it is not a carbon copy. The game text you see above it just for template purposes. Obviously I want to work on the macro level first. It's important to get the basic rules to a solid point before creating cards that exploit, circumvent or break them.
To give you an idea of the new game, here's a brief rundown of some of the larger changes:
- A new magic phase is being introduced
- As you can see, characters now have four attributes instead of three. Some of these attributes will vary among characters. Right now the attributes I'm implementing are Magic, Command and Influence. Some cards will have an either/or cost depending on the attributes involved.
(Example: You have a spell in your hand that has an action cost. You can either add 3 (or remove 3 if a Chaos card) to the action pool to play it OR you can exert a character that has Magic ability to reduce the cost of the card by the number of ability points that character has. So if your spell costs 3 and you expend (exert) a character has has 2 Magic, then the spell only costs 1 to play.)
- Having priority (initiative) really matters. After the Chaos (Shadow) phase the game proceeds to the Variable Stage, which means the player with priority gets to choose which phase (Ranged, Magic, Tactical, Combat) happens first. The choice of phase then alternates between players until all variable stage phases are complete. I'm also toying with the order of phase actions being determined by who has priority instead of always allowing the Order (Free Peoples) player to go first. In this way, the idea is to use priority as a means to have an overall effect on basic game play decisions, but not have it be so micro-manageable that it can be abused, as was the case in LOTR TCG with some cards that you could keep triggering as you lost and regained initiative.
- There is a new mechanic called Fate. Each player begins the game with 5 fate tokens. There will never be more than 10 fate tokens. As you play cards or use abilities that have a fate cost, fate tokens are transferred to your opponent rather than simply spent. So you can depend on good fortune to keep you going, but the more you use up your fate points, the more you risk tipping the balance to your opponent's favor. Fate-based cards will likely be some of the most powerful (and consequently most sparse) cards in the game.
Topic: Templates for new LOTR-inspired game (Read 6189 times)