jcb231
August 16th, 2006, 06:40 PM
So I've been kicking around some ideas for a "Heroscape Dungeons" master set/expansion game.
Basically it would be a product that could be played on its own OR work with a regular HS collection....100% compatible and balanced.
Here's a run-down of the basic concepts I'm thinking of:
1. TERRAIN
There would be three main types of terrain in the set: dungeon floor, dungeon walls, ladders, and portals. Dungeon floor would just be rocky, dingy dungeon floor pieces, maybe like darker colored rock terrain. No real special rules. Alternatively, some road tiles could be mixed in if they were made to look a little nastier....this could speed movement here and there.
Dungeon walls would define the edges of chambers and corridors....they would have a cut-away, cross-section sort of effect....as if one had ripped the roof off of the underground dungeon world. LOS would be totally blocked and we would imagine that flight is impossible due to low ceilings. Wall pieces would be configured in such a way that it would be easy to make right angle passageways.
Ladders would be included to build little transitions if one wanted to make little raised areas in the dungeon.
Portals would be the passages between the underground and the surface world....if one were to use regular HS stuff with the Dungeon set, these would be the way to do it. If someone entered Portal Alpha on the surface, the figure would emerge from Portal Alpha underground. If they then exited Portal Beta in the dungeon, they'd emerge on the surface by Portal Beta's exit point. Get it?
2. TREASURE
HS Dungeons would be it's own game....the standard scenario would involve each character picking a hero, prepping him for battle, and then fighting his or her way through the dungeon to get as much treasure as possible. Treasure would be contained in small, single-hex lidded boxes. Each box would be capable of holding a treasure hex chip. These chips would have varying amounts of treasure points printed on them....a variant might allow the points to be used in a draft. Some chests could also contain traps or equipment items. Imagine opening a chest and having a poison gas attack come out. Or finding a +1 defense shield.
3. EQUIPMENT
When beginning a game, each player would choose their hero or heroes, drafting up to the point limit for the game. Perhaps a 100 point hero could be boosted with up to 50 points worth of equipment.
Equipment would be like a permanent glyph that is attached to the unit....it could give defense or attack boosts, add to movement or range, or perhaps be cashed in to heal a wound. Maybe certain items could provide a power like stealth armor 18 or other small bonuses. Some equipment would be added at the start of the game, others could be found. Equipment would have small cards that plug into the main hero card geometrically.
Heroes that can use equipment would have a power like "Equippable" that let's you know the types of equipment they can use or so on. Maybe an elf hero could use any bow or cloak. Or a knight could use any armor or shield or sword. This concept would be adjusted to work in the regular game too, but equipment could never be connected to a hero without the equippable ability.
4. HERO FIGURES
About 8-12 unique hero figures from Einar, Jandar, and Ullar would be playable. The game could have standard characters like a Jandar Knight or Viking, an Einar Dwarf Berserker, Minotaur Champion, Dreadgul Warlord, or Barbarian, or maybe an Ullar Elf Sorceress or Ranger. Characters from regular HS would be playable in the system as well.
Small helper characters like a Squire or a Sorcerer's Apprentice or a Halfling Scout could help use up points instead of equipment. Most heroes would be formed in the 100-150 point range I think.
5. MONSTER FIGURES & DANGERS
Utgar and Vydar would wield horrible beasts and monsters and dangers to battle our heroes. Giant Spiders, Trolls, Hydras, Sphinxes, Ogres, etc. Add in traps and other dangers and the dungeon is not a fun place to be. Monsters could move by several methods...one could be having each player control a certain number of monsters and use them to attack opponents. Another would be to have a GM move the monsters. Another would be to introduce an auto-play neutral rule sytem (my favorite) that automatically plays the beasts. I would include anywhere from 6-12 scary monsters in the box.
So that's the gist of it.....what do you think? Do you think something like this could ever be a viable product? It's been running through my brain since I saw this great dungeon miniature set at Gencon.
Basically it would be a product that could be played on its own OR work with a regular HS collection....100% compatible and balanced.
Here's a run-down of the basic concepts I'm thinking of:
1. TERRAIN
There would be three main types of terrain in the set: dungeon floor, dungeon walls, ladders, and portals. Dungeon floor would just be rocky, dingy dungeon floor pieces, maybe like darker colored rock terrain. No real special rules. Alternatively, some road tiles could be mixed in if they were made to look a little nastier....this could speed movement here and there.
Dungeon walls would define the edges of chambers and corridors....they would have a cut-away, cross-section sort of effect....as if one had ripped the roof off of the underground dungeon world. LOS would be totally blocked and we would imagine that flight is impossible due to low ceilings. Wall pieces would be configured in such a way that it would be easy to make right angle passageways.
Ladders would be included to build little transitions if one wanted to make little raised areas in the dungeon.
Portals would be the passages between the underground and the surface world....if one were to use regular HS stuff with the Dungeon set, these would be the way to do it. If someone entered Portal Alpha on the surface, the figure would emerge from Portal Alpha underground. If they then exited Portal Beta in the dungeon, they'd emerge on the surface by Portal Beta's exit point. Get it?
2. TREASURE
HS Dungeons would be it's own game....the standard scenario would involve each character picking a hero, prepping him for battle, and then fighting his or her way through the dungeon to get as much treasure as possible. Treasure would be contained in small, single-hex lidded boxes. Each box would be capable of holding a treasure hex chip. These chips would have varying amounts of treasure points printed on them....a variant might allow the points to be used in a draft. Some chests could also contain traps or equipment items. Imagine opening a chest and having a poison gas attack come out. Or finding a +1 defense shield.
3. EQUIPMENT
When beginning a game, each player would choose their hero or heroes, drafting up to the point limit for the game. Perhaps a 100 point hero could be boosted with up to 50 points worth of equipment.
Equipment would be like a permanent glyph that is attached to the unit....it could give defense or attack boosts, add to movement or range, or perhaps be cashed in to heal a wound. Maybe certain items could provide a power like stealth armor 18 or other small bonuses. Some equipment would be added at the start of the game, others could be found. Equipment would have small cards that plug into the main hero card geometrically.
Heroes that can use equipment would have a power like "Equippable" that let's you know the types of equipment they can use or so on. Maybe an elf hero could use any bow or cloak. Or a knight could use any armor or shield or sword. This concept would be adjusted to work in the regular game too, but equipment could never be connected to a hero without the equippable ability.
4. HERO FIGURES
About 8-12 unique hero figures from Einar, Jandar, and Ullar would be playable. The game could have standard characters like a Jandar Knight or Viking, an Einar Dwarf Berserker, Minotaur Champion, Dreadgul Warlord, or Barbarian, or maybe an Ullar Elf Sorceress or Ranger. Characters from regular HS would be playable in the system as well.
Small helper characters like a Squire or a Sorcerer's Apprentice or a Halfling Scout could help use up points instead of equipment. Most heroes would be formed in the 100-150 point range I think.
5. MONSTER FIGURES & DANGERS
Utgar and Vydar would wield horrible beasts and monsters and dangers to battle our heroes. Giant Spiders, Trolls, Hydras, Sphinxes, Ogres, etc. Add in traps and other dangers and the dungeon is not a fun place to be. Monsters could move by several methods...one could be having each player control a certain number of monsters and use them to attack opponents. Another would be to have a GM move the monsters. Another would be to introduce an auto-play neutral rule sytem (my favorite) that automatically plays the beasts. I would include anywhere from 6-12 scary monsters in the box.
So that's the gist of it.....what do you think? Do you think something like this could ever be a viable product? It's been running through my brain since I saw this great dungeon miniature set at Gencon.