Any Interest in a Turn-Based RPG Style CCG?

[killercactus]

Originally Posted by viperhoops10

8 elements is almost assuredly enough I guess my real question was will there be any lightning/thunder spells as this was the only element I noticed was missing. Although I guess that can be put into the wind element if you felt the need to add them.

I thought about that, since Lightning is kind of a staple in most games. I almost made it its own element, but then I couldn't think of anything to oppose it (it really has no weaknesses, even in most games. It beats water, but it doesn't really work the other way around). I figured if I added Lightning spells, they would probably be Gray/White, for some combination of Wind and Light, or Red because they would do more damage to Water-based characters. They would probably be Red (Magic: The Gathering is an example of a game that has Lighting in with the Red element. It fits well with the Fury trait of Red as well).

By the way - I highly doubt I'll attach more than 2 Elements to any card. That seems like enough.

Originally Posted by viperhoops10

Another question is why does a character resist a healing spell? Wouldn't the effect be beneficial and thus the character would want it or is it merely for simplicity?

As far as mechanics goes, its for simplicity, but my explanation in terms of the game world is that the Heroes' bodies have natural resistance to the Elements, and since all magic (even Healing magic) comes from the Elements, all magic will be naturally resisted to some degree. So, even though the Hero wants it, he/she can't do anything about their natural resistance.

It also makes for an interesting game twist, because those with higher Resistance will probably be the Heroes with higher Element levels, and vice versa. That means that big level Element users will have more difficulty healing themselves than they have healing a teammate that focuses more on Physical Attacks (high Strength and Defense, low Magic and Resistance). I'm hoping it makes for a blend of heroes, and also for a blend of Magic and Items.

[viperhoops10]

If I had an idea as to what opposed lightning I would share, my best guess would be that earth is the closest to opposite but that only works in one direction.

Thank you for the explanation on the resistance, that is what I figured but I wanted to see why it was made like that. It looks like a good game so far and I'm sure it will only get better as equipment and spells are revealed.

[Disposable Hero]

Interesting systems. But, what are the classes going to be? Mage, Vampire... What else?

[Dredd Stev]

Yea a class system would definitely help, as it would also give you a place to start with what a hero can and can't use/equip. I like the basic stat list you have for heroes, but with all the abilities/stats/items (the other cards you said that heroes could use) I think that hero cards might have to be a bit bigger than the rest of the cards in the deck. Just a thought.

[killercactus]

Originally Posted by Disposable Hero

Interesting systems. But, what are the classes going to be? Mage, Vampire... What else?

I'm debating on a class system still. I kind of want to keep each hero unique, which discourages classes. But, without classes, you take away the ability to reference them on other cards, and I have to take up space on the Hero cards for Weapons and Armor. For now, I've just kinda stuck a generic class onto each Hero, though it's not needed for equipment purposes, since that's also on the card.

So far, the Heroes I have drawn up have these classes:

Fighter - Can use any weapon, Gray innate
Martial Artist - Fists, Attacks multiple times, Red innate
Scientist - relies on chemical weapons - Yellow innate
Cyborg - probably guns, very high defense, Brown innate
Necromancer - Staff or scythe, animates the dead, Black innate
Paladin - swords, balanced fighter and magic user - White innate
Thief - Knives, Steals cards out of opponent's hand - Yellow innate
Knight - Spears, can take hits for others, Green innate
Cleric - support/holy magic user - White innate

I've been thinking about a Pyromancer, some sort of Green innate magic using Elf, and a Blue fighter (probably a Monk).

Originally Posted by Dredd Stev

Yea a class system would definitely help, as it would also give you a place to start with what a hero can and can't use/equip. I like the basic stat list you have for heroes, but with all the abilities/stats/items (the other cards you said that heroes could use) I think that hero cards might have to be a bit bigger than the rest of the cards in the deck. Just a thought.

Yeah - the only reason I would put a Class system in is to save some room on the Hero cards. The Weapons and Armor probably need less room for artwork, so it's definitely a thought.

[killercactus]

My fear about the game right now is that Physical Attacks will dominate it, because you don't need anything in your hand for a Physical Attack, where Spells or Items must be in your hand to be used.

I've thought of a couple of fixes to that if it becomes a problem:

1) Physical Attack cards - you can only use a Physical attack if you have that card in your hand. This would also allow for different types of Physical attacks (things like Bum Rush, Sword Thrust, Hit and Run, etc.) that could be stronger or weaker and have different attributes attached. It also takes away the advantage of Physical Attackers being able to load their deck with Items, some of which don't have a limit as to the amounts allowed in the deck.

2) Charging Spells - I've toyed with the idea of, on a Hero's turn, searching their deck for a Spell card and laying it face down and passing their turn. Then, after a period of time, the spell casts automatically. That helps with the "I need the spell card in my hand" problem, but it creates more stuff to keep track of, so I'm shying away from it.

3) Aggressive Card Drawing for Magic users - I could make it so that Heroes with higher Element levels draw more cards. The current card drawing rules are this: Begin the game with 5 cards in hand, and draw 1 card at the beginning of each Hero's turn. I could base that on the Element Levels of the Heroes instead. Something like: Begin the game with X cards in hand, where X = the combined Element Level of your Heroes. Then, at the beginning of each Hero's turn, Draw X cards, where X = that Hero's Element Level.

I really like both 1 and 3, and might do a combination of the two. 2 adds a different strategy to the game, but I think it would be tough to keep track of.

[KCU Master 2007]

This sounds really cool Killercactus. I'm normally against CCG's but this is one I could get involved in.

As many others have said, put my name on that list and I'll be more than happy to try it out with people.

[ElvenEnvy]

Originally Posted by killercactus

Yes - the Heroes especially have a lot of information to put onto a standard sized trading card with artwork. That will be a challenge, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I need to make a game that works and is fun first.

Make Heroscape sized cards and you'll be ok.

[killercactus]

Here's something I've been bouncing back and forth about and could use some input on - Deck restrictions.

I'm pretty set on a 60 card deck (Heroes not included in the 60, but equipment is). I'm also set on Spell (and Attack, if applicable) cards being shuffled back into the Inventory (deck) when used, and Items being discarded to a Dead pile when used.

What I'm not set on is limits on certain cards in the deck. For example, Magic: The Gathering allows infinite Land in the deck and 4 copies of any one non-land card. I want to go outside the box a bit on this, and these are my two ideas:

1) Rarity - Rarity is a term you often hear thrown around in CCG's, normally referring to how difficult cards are to find. I would use it for that, and to define how many copies of Item/Equipment cards would be allowed in a deck. It's obvious when playing RPG's that some things are very common (using Final Fantasy as an example, Potions and Phoenix Downs are everywhere) and some are very rare or unique (there's only one Excalibur in the game, and it's really tough to find a Megalixir). I could use this to limit the copies of cards in the decks.

Common = infinite
Uncommon = 3 copies
Rare = 2 copies
Legendary = 1 copy

That also prohibits a player from loading their deck up with Items that heal everything and forces them to use some Common and Uncommon cards.

2) Money restrictions - This is the one that I think is more thematic. All I have to do is assign a monetary value to each Item, piece of Equipment or Spell card, then place a monetary limit on the decks. This would signify the Heroes having to go to a Shop to purchase equipment before they set out to battle. For example, decks could be limited to 1,000 Gold. If the Excalibur sword costs 500 Gold, the other 59 cards in your deck need to be cheap. That way, I don't have to worry about keeping limits on the copies of cards allowed in a deck - it's built in because the strong cards will be more expensive (the Heroscape points system gave me that idea). That also gives me the ability to add powers to Heroes that increase the available Gold (would be a nice Thief ability, or would allow for an Investor-type Hero - sucks at fighting and magic, but he just pays for everything), or create Items that do so.

[killercactus]

Assuming I would start the game off with 8 heroes and just 4 elements, these are the other 7 heroes that would probably be released first - you already know Kistri. (by the way, the names are anagrams of my friend's and family's names for the most part).

Vade
Male Fighter
Gray 1
Weapon: Any
Armor: Any
HP: 8
MP: 3
STR: 6
DEF: 6
MAG: 2
RES: 4
AGI: 6
SPD: 6
Ability: You may pack Weapon cards in your Inventory. During Vade's turn, instead of acting, you may search your Inventory for a Weapon card, exchange the Weapon equipped on him with that card, and then use a Physical Attack. Shuffle the old Weapon into your Inventory.

Sejisca
Female Martial Artist
Red 1
Weapon: Claws, Gloves
Armor: Clothes
HP: 7
MP: 3
STR: 6
DEF: 5
MAG: 3
RES: 5
AGI: 6
SPD: 9
Ability: If Sejisca's Critical Hit roll is < 5, Sejisca may attack again this turn with a Physical Attack.

Chis Nesa
Male Monk
Blue 2
Weapon: None
Armor: Clothes
HP: 9
MP: 5
STR: 10
DEF: 6
MAG: 4
RES: 7
AGI: 8
SPD: 5
Ability: If Chis Nesa does not act on his turn, draw 1 card and he may recover up to 2 HP.

MKR-A
Male Cyborg
Brown 4
Weapon: Gun
Armor: None
HP: 6
MP: 8
STR: 5
DEF: 10
MAG: 5
RES: 8
AGI: 3
SPD: 3
Ability: When MRK-A's HP are reduced to zero, he is not considered dead until the end of the round.

Idoriyo
Male Enchanter
Gray 4
Weapon: Staff
Armor: Cloak
HP: 7
MP: 10
STR: 4
DEF: 5
MAG: 9
RES: 8
AGI: 6
SPD: 6
Ability: Once per game, Idoriyo may take an extra turn during a round. You may use this ability before any turn, even your opponent's.

Czar Riban
Male Pyromancer
Red 4
Weapon: Staff
Armor: Cloak
HP: 5
MP: 10
STR: 2
DEF: 5
MAG: 8
RES: 7
AGI: 4
SPD: 6
Ability: Instead of drawing a card for Czar Rabin's Draw Phase, you may instead search your Inventory for one Red spell and put it into your hand.

Warden KF
Male Soldier
Brown 1
Weapon: Sword, Gun
Armor: Mail
HP: 8
MP: 4
STR: 8
DEF: 8
MAG: 3
RES: 8
AGI: 2
SPD: 2
Ability: Once per game, Warden KF may prevent all damage done on an opponent's turn after that turn has been resolved.

[killercactus]

The second wave of Heroes to round out the Elements - Garic is already posted.

Joh
Male Necromancer
Black 4
Weapon: Staff
Armor: Cloak
HP: 7
MP: 10
STR: 5
DEF: 5
MAG: 9
RES: 9
AGI: 6
SPD: 7
Ability: Before acting, you may roll the D20 once for each dead ally. If Roll > 10, that ally is Revived, recovers 5 HP and is considered Undead.

(Undead status is signified by turning the Hero card face up, but upside-down. They are weak against Red and White spells in addition to their innate weakness but healed by Black spells, and are damaged by any Restorative Spells or Items.)

Karf
Male Paladin
White 3
Weapon: Sword
Armor: Mail
HP: 8
MP: 7
STR: 6
DEF: 5
MAG: 5
RES: 6
AGI: 5
SPD: 4
Ability: Before acting, you may select one dead ally and roll the D20. If Roll > 11, that ally is Revived and recovers up to 7 HP.

(Karf and Joh are brothers - they obviously went down opposite paths in life...)

Draybel
Male Thief
Yellow 1
Weapon: Knife
Armor: Clothes
HP: 7
MP: 3
STR: 5
DEF: 4
MAG: 2
RES: 5
AGI: 9
SPD: 9
Ability: Instead of acting, you may attempt to Steal. Roll the D20. If Roll >5, randomly choose one card from your opponent's hand to take into your own. After you play the card, place it into your opponent's Lost Pile.

Rimitan
Male Knight
Green 1
Weapon: Sword / Spear
Armor: Mail
HP: 9
MP: 3
STR: 7
DEF: 7
MAG: 1
RES: 4
AGI: 5
SPD: 5
Ability: Once per round, if an ally is targeted by a Physical Attack, you may cause the Rimitan to be the target instead.

Nythaeb
Female Elf
Green 4
Weapon: Bow
Armor: Cloak
HP: 7
MP: 9
STR: 4
DEF: 2
MAG: 8
RES: 7
AGI: 7
SPD: 7
Ability: If any Ally is currently under a Status effect, before acting you may search your Inventory for any Green Spell with the word "Cleanse" in the text and put it into your hand.

("cleanse" is the term I've denoted for removal of status effects. The cool thing about this hero is positive status effects like Haste will trigger her ability too)

Adma
Male Scientist
Yellow 4
Weapon: Gun
Armor: Clothes
HP: 9
MP: 10
STR: 3
DEF: 4
MAG: 8
RES: 10
AGI: 6
SPD: 7
Ability: Instead of drawing a card, look at the top 3 cards of your Inventory, place one into your hand and place the other 2 onto the bottom of your Inventory.

Gemna
Female Priestess
White 4
Weapon: Staff
Armor: Cloak
HP: 6
MP: 10
STR: 2
DEF: 4
MAG: 9
RES: 10
AGI: 6
SPD: 7
Ability: Gemna's Allies are +1 to all stats. After you draw a card for Gemna's Draw Phase, you may reveal the drawn card to your opponent. If the reevaled card is not a Spell, you may draw another card.

When I created each of the heroes, I used their innate Element's attached emotions to create their Ability, to try and give each hero a personality (for instance, Draybel should feel greedy to you, Sejisca very passionate and Gemna very inspiring). Those will be all of the heroes that I'll playtest with for now. There should be two for each element - one geared towards fighting and the other towards magic. Also, I've tried to give the mages abilities that push towards drawing cards, since Spells need to be in hand to use (and I don't have Physical Attack cards in the works - yet). Any comments or thoughts on the heroes?

[Jexik]

As someone who played a lot of JRPGs when I was younger and likes card games, this sounds pretty cool.

The one worry I have with it, (of course without actually playing it) is the two dice rolls for every attack. It seems like it would add time and randomness to a game that would already have that from the card drawing aspect of it. I'm also wondering what would fill up 60 cards in a deck. Could it be possible to make the physical attacks into cards, just as the magic ones are, but make them all common or something? (or there could be unique or legendary attacks too I suppose, which are less frequent, but more powerful).