Ken
-
Posts
591 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Events
Downloads
Posts posted by Ken
-
-
1 hour ago, drmauric said:
@Ken @Neil Amswych @Primeval @Matt John S
I misspoke in my previous post. I am at the point of the campaign where I am assigning rewards and Ken was right, the chart is set up for 4 victory points. 2 VP will be assigned in Fight or Flight. If Heroes win and get the Medallion they get 2. If the Overlord wins he gets 2. If the Heroes win but do not get the Medallion each player gets 1 VP.
So it does need to be adjusted to reflect that because for example I finished scenario 4 with Heroes at 3 and Overlord at 2. Which is the same as a 2 to 2 tie in our chart, just more annoying to figure out. Seriously, I was frustrated with our own chart! LOL! (it's fine if we use it as is at 4VP, but with the 5 VPs there was a lot of cross referencing and double checking to figure it out. So imagine what players besides us will think.) Our current chart only allows for 5 outcomes if I counted right. The addition of the 5th VP adds more/different outcomes and makes many of the outcomes on the current chart pretty much the same, usually the same reward as a 2/2 tie.
So I think we need to restructure the chart to account for the extra VP's. Maybe some thing like the following, it keeps the basic structure, you just don't get rewarded for 1VP, can't just slither by, Crom won't let you 🙂 Probably will need to be 2 separate charts, because you will, for example, never have a 4 to 2 after the 4th scenario.
Heroes Overlord
0-1 None 5VP +1 Armor +1 Yellow Die
2-3 +1 armor 4VP +1 Armor +1 Yellow Die
4VP +1 Armor +1 reroll 2-3 VP +1 Armor
5VP +1 Reroll and +1 Armor 0-1 VP None
We should also consider including printable cards for the reward levels to place on the table, because these rewards could be easy to overlook.
I will probably run my final scenario using the new chart in the next couple days, unless you guys detect a fatal flaw in it. Then I will report on the campaign as a whole!
a) I still think legacy loot is enough reward without also granting VP. That being said, your chart seems fine given our current situation.
b) Looking at this chart, I think "None" might be too severe for someone who has already lost 4 games and is preparing to go up against someone with extra armor & dice/rerolls. What does everyone think about giving a consolation prize? Like 3 bonus gems instead of "None"?
-
1
-
-
2 hours ago, drmauric said:
Alright, how does this sound for the optional scenario? If the Heroes win they get a Victory Point and regain their lost items. If the Overlord wins the Spellbook is damage and reduced to 2 gems. Other items such as a Xuthal's Crown or the Medallion would be lost. Are those stakes tempting enough?
@Matt John S @Neil Amswych @Primeval @drmauric
Here are my thoughts:
1. Since victory points are capped at 4, the heroes probably won't agree unless they lose one of the first two scenarios and they want to try to make up for one. At least it makes for a meaningful decision. Of course, completionists will play the scenario regardless.
2. Speaking of victory points, scenario 2 has the potential to grant the heroes 2 victory points in addition to 2 legacy weapons. Should we consider leaving the VPs at 1 and have the carryover items (or lack thereof) be their own reward?
3. Speaking further of victory points, has anybody tried playtesting under victory point conditions? I pity the player/team who has 0 and goes against a player/team who has 4.
4. I don't want to speak for everyone, so I would also like to hear from Neil, Matt, and Primeval.
-
15 hours ago, drmauric said:
Gentlemen,
I put together an optional scenario for the campaign that involves the possibility of the Spell Book to be stolen! By The Kushite Witch Hunters (dun dun dun!)
Definitely don't what this scenario to derail the play testing of the main ones but I wanted to put it out here as an optional scenario to be included if it's up to par. And to address some concerns that have been voiced about the Spell Book.
A couple cool things about it: it uses the only retail component that we haven't included, The Witch Hunters, and it's flexible to help the Overlord rid the Heroes of any items that might be giving them an easy ride.
Let me know what you think!
@drmauric I have been thinking about this, and here are my thoughts:
1. The scenario looks fun!
2. My scenarios were balanced with the spellbook in play, which is a powerful item. Without it, I think the heroes would have a hard time in the Streets of Khemi, and probably also the Trap. Rather than be stolen and lost for the rest of the campaign, perhaps the spellbook could be damaged and thus permanently reduced to 2 gems instead of 3? This would make later scenarios incrementally harder rather than impossible.
3. I don't see any incentive for the hero players to agree to play this scenario. They have everything to lose, and nothing to gain. To keep the scenario optional, there probably needs to be some carryover rewards for the heroes. Otherwise, the scenario should be required. (If everyone in our DEV team approves.)
-
1
-
-
12 minutes ago, drmauric said:
@Matt John S @Neil Amswych @Ken @Primeval
Gentlemen,
I put together an optional scenario for the campaign that involves the possibility of the Spell Book to be stolen! By The Kushite Witch Hunters (dun dun dun!)
Definitely don't what this scenario to derail the play testing of the main ones but I wanted to put it out here as an optional scenario to be included if it's up to par. And to address some concerns that have been voiced about the Spell Book.
A couple cool things about it: it uses the only retail component that we haven't included, The Witch Hunters, and it's flexible to help the Overlord rid the Heroes of any items that might be giving them an easy ride.
Let me know what you think!
I haven't read it yet and I already love it.
(Of course, I will withhold judgement until I have read it.) 🙂
-
1
-
-
@Matt John S It occurred to me that a printed version of this campaign would make a great stretch goal for the next Conan kickstarter (hint, hint).
I'd sign a waiver if it was needed.
-
2
-
-
5 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:
Was genuinely the most enjoyable game of Conan I’ve played in a while. It’s an excellent campaign end, and it’s ready to go. Sorry for my bad tests earlier.
Glad to hear this. I was getting worried.
@Neil Amswych By the way, how would beefing up the sorcerers have affected your playtest? I am still toying with the idea of giving them better spells.
-
7 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:
Let’s say on turn one, Shuang Mian activates and throws down a lot of gems to move Conan. Knowing that Conan has to move towards Atali, SM moves Conan further away, meaning it’ll take him longer to get there. Does that contravene the enthrallment rule that Conan must move towards her?
Good catch. Poor Conan has so many things controlling his mind.
I will need to clarify in the rules that Atali's enthrallment is not actually mind control like the other spells.
This means that:
A) Conan CAN be moved away from Atali via possession/mind control.
B) Xuthal's Crown does NOT protect Conan from Atali's enthrallment.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, Neil Amswych said:
Dammit how did I get that wrong? Ignore our test
I know how: Overturn Rising Sands has your head spinning! 🙂
(BTW - I backed that game on day 1 and dropped on day 2 because of their weaselly behavior and comments.)
-
@Neil Amswych Thanks for the feedback!
6 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:So, we didn’t realize in our previous games that the Spellbook replenishes at the start AND THE END of the heroes’ turn. That’s insane. It makes Hadrathus virtually untouchable.
I agree, the spellbook is overpowered and makes Hadrathus virtually unkillable. My original scenario did not have it, and I had to tweak the scenario once it got added - including adding a monster that could actually hurt him (the dark demon, who was not in my original scenario). During my playtests, I had Hadrathus teleporting everywhere, killing things and opening chests in the process.
6 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:1) Swap the positions of the Demons and make the Stygian Artefact come from the DD not the ODD. It’s a harder kill because of Jinx (unless you have the Medallion) but it’s slow so it can’t fly away like the ODD. It’s so hard to kill the ODD because of its 8 move that the heroes never go for it, or for Shiang Mian. Put the lumbering DD on the ship with him, though, and you’ve got a real incentive to go that way instead.
My concern is that this would be unbalanced in sessions that don't have Atali. During an early playtest without Atali, all 4 heroes zerged the ODD and would have killed him in round 2 if not for his movement. Even the DD will drop quickly faced against the combined firepower of the heroes...and then it is just a hop skip and a jump to kill Shuang Ming.
That being said, I like some of your suggestions (especially beefing up the sorcerers), but I will need to break out the game and have another design session in order to be comfortable making those changes. (Which is tough for me right now with my schedule.)
-
1 minute ago, Neil Amswych said:
Okay that needs to be clear in the rules
Noted.
-
46 minutes ago, Neil Amswych said:
Conan puts 8 wounds on Ikhmet who is very lucky to defend for 4.
Yikes. This is one of the reasons the players should try for both Xuthal's Crowns.
-
54 minutes ago, Neil Amswych said:
Does Atali affect hindering? Can she Kiss of Death on others? In other words, Conan is the only hero who can interact with her but can she interact with others?
Atali does not hinder nor harm any hero but Conan.
However, the Overlord's units CAN see/interact with her (for example, guards can sacrifice for her).
-
23 minutes ago, Neil Amswych said:
Pick a two-handed weapon for me to test to Conan. (Test starts in 20 mins!)
Battle axe!
-
8 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:
We may have a chance to test this on Saturday. Has anyone else tested this since the changes? I think it needs a lot of testing, especially because it’s a final scenario.
@drmauric gave it another play-through and said it was still slightly skewed towards the OL. I just haven't had a chance to tweak it.
One of his suggestions was to start Conan with a two handed weapon for better cleaving power. Another was to drop Shuan Mings hit points (perhaps to 4?).
If you play this weekend, why don't you try it with these two changes?
-
2
-
-
4 hours ago, Footballzs said:
Hi all, I have finally finished my move. My games room is now clear of boxes (mostly) so I am hoping to get a game or two in this weekend. Sorry for not being part of this over the last few weeks but house moving takes up all your time!
No kidding! I hope you are settling in nicely and welcome back to play-testing! Really appreciate your help with this campaign.
I agree with @drmauric, they all need testing. I recommend checking out the campaign rules in the Whispers from Stygia PDF, but don't use the scenarios from that PDF. Most of them have been updated since then, but the updates have not made it to the PDF yet.
-
I updated the scenario with the following changes:
1. Reduced the life points of both demons to six.
2. Removed a javelin thrower
3. Reduced the reinforcement rate to six
4. Fixed the wording and typo in the Mind Possession text
5. Added the rules for the Medallion of Zhangpau
I ended up leaving the crossbow in the chest. Although it is not maximized for any of the heroes, it is a good weapon and could come in situationally useful.
-
2
-
-
On 6/18/2018 at 1:30 AM, Neil Amswych said:
1) The Reinforcement rate is way too high. We would suggest dropping it to 4 or 5. I was able to reinforce Javelin Throwers and fired 5 of them onto Ikhmet in one turn. That was crazy, especially half way through the game.
2) There are too many Dark Demons. The Outer Dark Demon is a viable target, although with a Guard of 3 and health of 10, it's tough to kill. But then to have the Dark Demon on top it's just pure muscle and way too much attack.
3) Apart from Atali, there's really no chance for the heroes to take out a tile, thereby causing the OL to have to dredge the river. There are too many models per tile.
As the OL, I didn't even get to use Mind Control because of the movement limit of 2. That means that the Xuthal's Crowns were irrelevant. It's so hard to get the two sorcerers together that in fact all the OL has to do at the moment is kill Hadrathus because if the heroes get close to killing the Outer Dark Demon it can just fly away so they never get the Stygian Artifact and therefore have to kill Thoth Amon. Since Thoth Amon has Set Halo, Bori's Rage isn't enough to really do him much damage so the heroes then have to find the Scepter. But since Hadrathus is the only person who can use the Scepter, if you kill him then that's game over for the heroes.
Suggested Changes
There are a few things that need to be changed. Not all of them, though, because that would be too unbalanced the other way!
1) Take out the Outer Dark Demon. Have the Stygian Artifact be the reward for killing the Dark Demon. That's still a very hard thing to do, especially with Jinx and a Guard of 3. This would be our first recommendation by far. Others include...
2) Reduce the Reinforcement rate, perhaps to 4 or 5.
3) Split the Bossonian Guards into two tiles.
4) Reduce the gem recovery rate.
5) Have anyone be able to use the Scepter. Perhaps non-spellcasters suffer a -1 damage penalty.
Another change that isn't about game balance but is about how the game feels is the Crossbow. Nobody's using that. Three of the heroes roll yellows for ranged attacks and the only one who doesn't is Conan and he's not using a Crossbow. So, either change that for an Empty Chest or, if you want to increase the balance towards the heroes again, an Explosive Orb. The Explosive Orb could be a lot of fun if the heroes can get the OL's minions to bunch up a little.
Conclusion
In theory, this is an excellent boss battle and wonderful way to end a campaign narrative. In practice at the moment, it's totally unbalanced and would be a very frustrating way to end a campaign. One or two tweaks might really change that. But this needs some serious playtesting to balance it out before it's ready.
P.S. You need to add text from Fight or Flight about the Medallion, in case the heroes have it.
I designed this scenario with the intention of making it impossible for either team to win quickly. That is why the sorcerers can only move 2 zones, and why I have the stygian artifact so far away, and the scepter hidden in a chest. But you are right, the easiest way for the OL to win is by killing Hadrathus - so I expect the heroes to protect him at all costs.
That being said, here are my suggestions for leveling the balance without making drastic changes:
1. Drop the reinforcement rate to 6. This should help keep the heroes alive.
2. Switch the crossbow to the explosive orb (I like this idea!)
3. Drop the health of the Outer Dark Demon to 6.
(Sure he can fly away once, but then he is stuck and can't fly away for another few rounds. And like you said, there is nothing to dredge in the river to speed this up.)
I prefer to keep both demons in the scenario if possible, but if this doesn't level the playing field, I could swap the locations of the demons and give the artifact to the Dark Demon (since it is slower). With Ikhmet's armor reduction skill (and possibly even the medallion), I can see him doing serious damage very quickly.
What do you think?
-
1
-
-
5 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:
@Ken, if you make some tweaks I could try playtesting it again next week.
Sweet! I'll try to get an updated version posted this weekend.
-
2
-
-
21 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:
Firstly, I would suggest a tweak of "The Overlord may move up to four gems from their own Reserve Zone to their own Fatigue Zone." I mention that because the previous sentence could be read in combination to suggest that the Overlord moves the gems according to the character (N.B. should probably read "hero") that they chose.
Good idea. I will clarify the rule with this revised text.
21 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:My question is, what else would you do other than move someone? You say they can't self-harm (do you mean they can't hurt another hero? If so, you should specifically say that because another hero isn't the self) so what would they do? Attack a minion? That's not helpful. Reroll or use a Manipulation? I'm not sure what else one would do other than move a hero. Please explain what I'm missing.
They can melee attack another hero, range attack another hero, move, and drop gear.
21 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:Also, are we doing community gems?
Yes, I think we are.
21 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:N.B. In the rules for Mind Possession, you've got a typo of 3 S's and then 1S, instead of 2 and 2 in "possession."
Good catch! Thanks.
-
8 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:
If everyone is okay with this, please put in all subsequent scenarios "If Hadrathus has the spell book...." before giving the relevant spell book rules. I can't imagine any heroes choosing to drop it, but it's nice for them to have the choice.
@drmauric @Primeval @Neil Amswych @Matt John S
Neil, I like you idea. I will update my scenario to include the "If Hadrathus has the spell book...." line and I would encourage everyone to do the same. I will look into adding this to spellbook section of the campaign rules as well.
-
2
-
-
8 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:
In terms of strategy, I'm afraid I think you got it all wrong. If the heroes rest on turn 1, ignore the pirates. The crows are the OL's friends. I always bring a crow into the Temple to make it really hard to get the Medallion out. Crows help with hindering so you can just fly them towards the Temple and stagger them. The heroes spending gems on crows is great. I sometimes put a crow by the southern-most treasure chest just to make that one trickier, too. You could even have brought out the Temple Guards from the Temple to attack the heroes while they sat there. But Temples Guards plus Crows is not a friendly combo for the heroes at all.
Good to know! I will definitely have to try these strategies.
-
1
-
-
On 6/15/2018 at 4:45 PM, Matt John S said:
@Ken, the pdf looks awesome. I saw a few typos in mine. What's the easiest way to fix those?
Everyone, just let me know when your scenario has been updated and ready. When everyone is ready, I will download the revised versions and update the PDF.
On 6/15/2018 at 4:45 PM, Matt John S said:I let Monolith know about the pdf. They even mentioned perhaps having their own team doing some play testing. I'm not sure how realistic that is considering their schedule, but if that's something you guys would like, I could push for it. Otherwise, I'm going to see that we get this shared via their official channels. So, let me know when we've got the version absolutely where we think we want it, and then I'll promote it for further play testing.
Love this idea!
-
2
-
-
7 hours ago, Neil Amswych said:
I posted elsewhere but just want to check. What does "no self-harm" mean in this scenario? Can a possessed hero attack another hero, just not themselves?
Yes, a hero can be forced to attack another hero, but they can't harm themselves (attack themselves, jump off buildings, drown in the ocean, etc.).
-
5 minutes ago, drmauric said:
But I don't think you should switch out Niord. I really like the different Hero combos for the 2 endings. To me that lends to replayability and a cool story with a great cast of characters.
Sounds good. I have to admit, I love the fact that Conan doesn't enter the fray until the final battle. It is even more climactic.
-
1
-
Community Generated Campaign
in News
Posted
Sounds good. I know we are turning the whole victory point idea on its head, but I am anxious to see how it plays out. Thanks for doing this.
We probably won't hear back from Matt until after Gen Con, though, so any final decisions might be a ways off.
I will probably use ompahlos from Mythic Battles Pantheon, but Conan comes with a ton of tokens (rocks, webs, etc.). Maybe we could recommend one of them.