Eliminate the Elementalist - scoring rules added

[Targanth]

Welcome to the discussion thread on a new campaign scenario,Eliminate the Elementalist (http://www.heroscapers.com/community/downloads.php?do=file&id=2901).

Requirements
The adventure requires items only from MS3 BftU, Wave D1, and Wave D2.
Unique Heroes from MS3, D1, D2 x 1
Fen Hydra x 1
Elementals (Water, Earth, Air, Fire) x 1
Goblin Cutters x 2
Warforged Soldiers x 2
There are 5 maps, each map can be made from a single MS3 BftU.

The Scenario was designed to play as a solo adventure, simulating the effects of 5 people sitting down to play. One one side the player acts as the Scenario Master who controls all the Denziens in the campaign, and on the other side acts as 4 players - each controlling exactly one hero card and figure.

Since the Scenario is designed for solo play, the Denzien side does not have a great deal of flexibility. Additionally, since it is designed to simulate having a player to control each of the hero figures, it is designed so that the 4 order markers are split equally among the 4 Hero cards.

The Scenario can also be played by two people, one playing the Heroes and one playing the Denziens.

It would be possible for the Scenario to be played by 5 players. It is suggested that multiple BftU terrain sets be available so that at least the first two maps are built before starting to play. Having the first three maps built would be better.

The Scenario employs the 2nd wind rule at the end of each map.

Glyphs are included as an optional rule.

Start
Erevan had come to this area in response to the call for help. The town was under attack. At the foot of the mountain below the town was a cave that was now occupied by an enchanter. The enchanter could control the very elements themselves. This enchanter also had numerous monsters that followed his instructions, and those instructions regularly found the inhabitants of the town and the surrounding areas being attacked. All who had confronted the enchanter or his monsters had perished, for the cave was easily defended.
An oldtimer deep in his cups told him to head up the side of the mountain, where they would come to an area where the small stream crossed in front of a cave opening in the mountain. The oldtimer allowed as he had told all the others the same thing, but no one would listen to him.
Looking around, you see that there are others that look like they have come to help the town. Most avoid the oldtimer. Then the oldtimer mutters one last thing before falling asleep - back door.
"Back door." someone says. Erevan turns to see that he was not the only person listening to the oldtimer. "If it is a back door to the cave, maybe the enchanter doesn't know about it. I think it is worth a try."


Many thanks to 'Scaper94 for his help on this campaign!
Your feedback is welcomed.

['Scaper94]

No one is commenting, so I guess I'll start:

I had a blast playtesting this for Targanth! He has done a superb job on the backstory, the theme, and the increasing difficulty of each room! Together, we got all of the small kinks and bugs worked out of it. I just might bring with my DnD set up north with me over the Holidays!;) Thanks again, Targanth, for giving me the chance to playtest!

[Targanth]

The cave looked inviting to Darrak, and oblivious to the cautions voiced by his new companions, he boldly strode across the river and into the cave. He was greeted by the sudden appearance of more Goblin Cutters than he could count. Mogrimm followed his fellow dwarf into the cave only to see his companion surrounded by the creatures he was unable to hit. Erevan stepped into the cave and launched a fireball into the Goblins. Before Brandis could get into the cave, Darrak lay slumped on the ground. The battle raged until finally the Heroes were able to defeat all the Goblins.

One of the intents behind creating this scenario was to provide replay value. An aspect of replay value is a scoring mechanism that allows for evaluating the results. While the goal is to Eliminate the Elementalist, knowing that one party is superior to the rest, or that even the biggest underdogs are able to succeed is interesting to me. If you've played through the scenario and have gotten past the Hydra's Lair, well done. That room may be the most difficult in the scenario. However, using the one OM per card rule on the Heroes party makes it fairly common to have at least one hero killed per room. The party almost gets stronger after a hero is killed. This dynamic makes it difficult for me to determine which party of Heroes is the best.

To that end I've developed a scoring system for this adventure that allows me to see the relative success of the different Hero parties. The rest of this post will discuss the process for scoring that I've been using, and list a couple of parties and the scores I achieved with them.

First, the score for each room is a number less than 100. If all the heroes are killed in a room, the score is 0. A score of 100 can never be achieved by a full strength party, though a party starting a room with a 2nd winded hero and a healer might earn or surpass 100. The scoring uses a combination of aspects of full card scoring, partial card scoring and time the room took to play. I'll use the battle report from above to score the first room.

The Heroes – Darrak, Mogrimm, Erevan, and Brandis. The score starts at 100 and basically points are subtracted for wounds. First, the full card scoring. Any Hero that loses all their life points during the room loses 10 points, Any Hero that survives the room with at least 1 life does not lose any points. In the example above, Darrak was killed so the total point count is 100-10=90 left so far. Mogrimm, Erevan, and Brandis all survived. They lose nothing so points still = 90.

Now the partial card scoring. Take the number of wound markers on the card at the end of the room and divide by the starting life, and multiply the fraction by minus 10 (-10). If there are no wound markers on a card, that hero loses 0 points. Poor Darrak had 4 wound markers out of 4 life, so he loses 10 more points for the party. 4/4 = 1 *(-10) = -10. The party total is now 90 -10 = 80.

Mogrimm made it through the room but had 4 wound markers on his card at the end of the room. 6 starting life and 4 wounds, so Mogrimm scores 4 / 6 = .666667 * (-10) = -6.7 (I round to 1 decimal point). The party score is now 80 - 6.7 = 73.3

Brandis and Erevan completed the room uninjured, so they lose no points. The party score remains at 73.3

The final element of scoring is the number of rounds. Every time the order markers are placed on the cards is counted as one round. Subtract 1 point for every round started. The party killed the last of the Goblins in the 4th round, so the party scores -4 points. The party total ends up at 73.3 – 4 = 69.3 points scored for the first room. If all the Heroes are killed in the room, the party scores -20 points for rounds which gives them 0 points for the room. At that point the scenario ends for that party.

Scoring for rooms 2 through 5 is different only due to 2nd wind. If a Hero starts a room with less than full card life points due to having used 2nd wind, that is considered his starting life for that room. So Darrak starts room 2 with only 1 life rather than the 4 from his card. If he survives room 2 he loses no points for the Heroes party since he had the same number of wound markers on his card at the end of the room as he had at the beginning of the room. If a party has a healer with it, for scoring purposes still only the beginning life and the wounds at the end of the room are figured into the score.
* Exception * Suppose a hero starts a room after 2nd wind with wounds already on the card. If that hero ends the room with more life than it had at the beginning of the room, add +1 point for each extra life. This is the only situation where a room can possibly score more than 99 points.

In room 2 Brandis and Erevan both died, while Darrak survived and Mogrimm took 3 wounds. The battle lasted 4 rounds. So, the scoring goes like this:

Brandis -10 full card and -10 partial card = -20
Erevan -10 full card and -10 partial card = -20
Mogrimm 0 full card and -5 partial card = -5 (3/6 = .5 * -10 = -5)
Darrak 0 full card and 0 partial card = 0
Rounds = -4
Total = 100 – 20 – 20 – 5 – 0 – 4 = 51. Added to room 1 the party score is now 120.3 points.

In room 3 only Mogrimm survived, but was uninjured. Brandis and Erevan both started the room with 3 life while Darrak was at full life. Again it took four rounds.
Total = 100 – 20 – 20 – 20 – 0 – 4 = 36 points for the room. Party score is now 156.3 points.

Room 4 starts with 1 life Darrak, 3 life Brandis, 3 life Erevan, and 6 life Mogrimm. Mogrimm takes 4 wounds while the others are not wounded. The battle lasts only 2 rounds.
Total = 100 – 6.7 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 2 = 91.3 for the room making the total party score for 4 rooms 247.7

The final room starts with all heroes at full strength. Mogrimm is killed, Erevan takes 2 wounds, Brandis takes 3 wounds, and Darrak is not injured. Erevan loses 4 points partial card (2 / 5 = .4 * (-10)) = 4 while Brandis loses 6 (3 / 5 = 6 * (-10)) = 6, all in 4 rounds.
Total = 100 – 20 (Mogrimm) – 6 (Brandis) – 4 (Erevan) – 0 (Darrak) – 4 (rounds) = 66 points. Total score for the scenario is 313.7 points.

Other party scores:
Mika, Rhogar, Brandis, Mogrimm = 286.7 after defeating the Elementalist

Heirloom, Erevan, Sharwin, Tandros = 291.9 even though they were defeated in room 5

Mogrimm, Brandis, Erevan, Darrak = 313.7 after defeating the Elementalist

I'd be interested in determining the best party group, so I invite you to post your scores along with the Heroes in the party.

Please let me know if there are questions about how the scoring works.