The Book of Prometheus

[Spidey'tilIDie]

Yeah, his first appearance is literally a story about Justice League "Open House" to meet the new members aboard the Moon base. The funny part of the story is that he was defeated because he did not prepare for Catwoman to infiltrate the party and she upset his devious, but delicate plan. One by one, he took out each of the leaguers present. I specifically remember Steel was defeated by sending his hammer to the Ghost Zone.

[Yodaking]

Sounds like he needs a special power on his card where he loses the game if an opponent drafts Catwoman into an army where she shares no synergy with anyone else on her team.

[Spidey'tilIDie]

Originally Posted by Yodaking

Sounds like he needs a special power on his card where he loses the game if an opponent drafts Catwoman into an army where she shares no synergy with anyone else on her team.

No, but I think it demonstrates just how much planning this guy does for his foes when he makes an appearance.

[Lazy Orang]

Sounds like he should be picking out who he's 'studied' at game start - that way you can have fun moments when a character considered below his notice or whatever starts screwing him over in unexpected ways right after he's wrecked Superman's $hit.

[Lord Pyre]

Originally Posted by Lazy Orang

Sounds like he should be picking out who he's 'studied' at game start - that way you can have fun moments when a character considered below his notice or whatever starts screwing him over in unexpected ways right after he's wrecked Superman's $hit.

Nah, it's more interesting and kinetic to have him doing it in battle (Remember, he actually uses physical CD's that download info!). These aren't like Bats' glyphs where they have interesting things while in battle.

[johnny139]

Alright, here's how I'd do his powers:

PREPARED FOR ANYTHING
Start the game with 8 red Download Markers on this card. Once per round, before an opponent takes a turn with a Common or Unique figure within 8 spaces of Prometheus, you choose a special power on that figure's card. Place a Download Marker from this card onto that figure's card and choose a special power. As long as that Download Marker is on its card, that figure may not use the chosen special power. At the end of the round, remove any Download Markers on that are not on this card from the game.

MELEE DOUBLE ATTACK
When Prometheus attacks an adjacent figure, he may attack one additional time.

ADAPTING TO ANY THREAT
After rolling combat dice, you may remove a Download Marker from this card and change the result of any die rolled to a skull, shield, or blank.

REACTIONARY COMBAT
When attacking or defending against an adjacent enemy figure, if you roll at least two blanks, the enemy figure immediately receives one wound.

-----

Four major changes:

- You no longer place a Download Marker on the text of a power
- You no longer "turn a die," you change the result
- No Wound Markers placed in Reactionary Combat, just wounds received
- Melee Double Attack spun out

The first two are to eliminate weirdness, the second two are just for clarity. For the first two, I'm not saying we CAN'T do them as is, they just do essentially the same thing right now within the framework of the rules, without introducing anything new. But I do acknowledge that sometimes there is a thematic value to doing things unusually (see: Two-Face II's coin), so if you have a specific motivation for doing them the old way, I'd be glad to hear it out.

[Tornado]

I know the art for the markers will probably be the CDs but an arrow could be cool as it could be used to point to the selected power.

[Lord Pyre]

Originally Posted by johnny139

Alright, here's how I'd do his powers:

PREPARED FOR ANYTHING
Start the game with 8 red Download Markers on this card. Once per round, before an opponent takes a turn with a Common or Unique figure within 8 spaces of Prometheus, you choose a special power on that figure's card. Place a Download Marker from this card onto that figure's card and choose a special power. As long as that Download Marker is on its card, that figure may not use the chosen special power. At the end of the round, remove any Download Markers on that are not on this card from the game.

MELEE DOUBLE ATTACK
When Prometheus attacks an adjacent figure, he may attack one additional time.

ADAPTING TO ANY THREAT
After rolling combat dice, you may remove a Download Marker from this card and change the result of any die rolled to a skull, shield, or blank.

REACTIONARY COMBAT
When attacking or defending against an adjacent enemy figure, if you roll at least two blanks, the enemy figure immediately receives one wound.

-----

Four major changes:

- You no longer place a Download Marker on the text of a power
- You no longer "turn a die," you change the result
- No Wound Markers placed in Reactionary Combat, just wounds received
- Melee Double Attack spun out

The first two are to eliminate weirdness, the second two are just for clarity. For the first two, I'm not saying we CAN'T do them as is, they just do essentially the same thing right now within the framework of the rules, without introducing anything new. But I do acknowledge that sometimes there is a thematic value to doing things unusually (see: Two-Face II's coin), so if you have a specific motivation for doing them the old way, I'd be glad to hear it out.

I like putting the markers on the text to eliminate any sort of memory mechanics (Since that's something I'm pretty adamant about) but it's not a huge deal. Though if we stick with my idea then we should probably change it to placing the marker on the Special Power and omit the word text, since Flying and SS technically don't have text on the card.

Turning the die and wounds are good changes!

I'm not a fan of splitting out the double attack. Mainly because I don't like the look of 4 power cards if we can avoid them, and we lose the theme of it being part of his specific combat skills. But it's not a mechanical change so it's not a big deal!

Originally Posted by Tornado

I know the art for the markers will probably be the CDs but an arrow could be cool as it could be used to point to the selected power.

We could always overlay an arrow on top of the CD! Cool idea!



COMPETITIVE REVIEW BOARD CHECKLIST

Spoiler Alert!

1. Does the design disrupt opponent's Order Markers in a way that offers a net gain in turns taken with strong figures versus the turns your opponent can take with strong figures (Ozymandias, Joker (I), Meteorite)?
   
   No.
   
2. Does the design offer auto-wounding that either doesn't require taking turns or is otherwise extremely efficient (War Machine, Jason Voorhees, Cosmic Cube)?
   
   Kind of? He can deal auto wounds fairly consistently while defending, but could use his marker resources. It's not as consistent as the aforementioned.
   
3. Does the design immobilize figures or prevent turn-taking (Blob, Spider-Girl, Diablo, Green Lantern Alan)?
   
   No.
   
4. Does the design move opponent's figures in a way that's easy to pull off and can move figures multiple spaces in multiple directions (Graviton, Magneto, Vulture)?
   
   No.
   
5. Does the design allow for moving friendly figures without taking turns, or for moving 2+ friendly figures while still taking a turn (Martian Manhunter [I], Green Lantern John, Angel)?
   
   No.
   
6. Does the figure allow for two figures, one of them being a wide range of possible figures, to both attack on a single Order Marker (Zombie, Robot, Iron Patriot, Ms. Marvel, Rocket [II], Martian Manhunter [II], Nebula, Baby Groot, Havok)?
   
   No.
   
7. Does the design offer any sort of passive boost outside of a narrow set of figures (Star-Lord, Sage, Brainiac 5, Captain America, Batman [III])?
   
   No.
   
8. Does the design help keep your allies alive just by being nearby (Daring Decoy, Aaron Cash, Jocasta, Weather Wizard)?
   
   Not directly no, but could negate a power to help.
   
9. Is it OK for the design to have defensive abilities that could make it essentially unkillable in some matchups or endgame situations (Cosmic Cube, Healing Factor, Master Martial Artist)?
   
   N/A
   
10. If the figure has auto-destroy powers or powers that can force the opponent's figures to attack each other, are they balanced for strong opposing figures and/or boosts that can make the powers more reliable (Puppet Master, Psycho-Man, Enchantress)?
    
    N/A
    
11. Is the figure likely to earn its value many times over by either running out alone at the start of a battle (pre-eval Crow, Solomon Grundy) or by sitting in the startzone until the end of a battle (Arnim Zola, Silk Spectre)?
    
    I don't think so. He's limited by his markers, so his usefulness has a bit of a timer.
    
12. Will synergies in the design create concerns for future designs (Mad Thinker, pre-eval Enchantress, Star-Lord)?
    
    No.
    
13. Does the design combo particularly well with one of the design concerns above (Magma)?
    
    No.

CONSISTENCY CHECKLIST (SHORT FORM)

Spoiler Alert!

Consistency Concerns
Name and Identity
Verify character is named in a way that is clear, accurate and feels consistent with the way other characters are named.

Yep

Uniqueness and Type
Verify that the power text reflects the listed uniqueness and type, that the uniqueness fits the character, and that squad size is listed for squads.

Yep

Left Box
If the character's species, class or personality is reused, verify that the character feels thematically consistent with other figures that have that species, class or personality. If they are not reused, verify that there is no pre-existing species, class or personality that would make more sense.

Looks good to me.

Size and Height
Verify that the listed size and height are accurate. Standing the mini up next to a stack of tiles, and a few other minis of various sizes, is encouraged.

Pretty normal human sized.

Super Strength and Flying
Verify that these special powers are present if they make sense, and not if they don't.

He has technically both flown and had SS, but doesn't normally show those skills, so I was thinking of leaving them off.

New Powers - Names
Verify that any new powers are not using power names identical to, or very similar to, pre-existing powers. Verify that any new powers are actually new and not old powers with new names.

Yep

New Powers - Effects
Verify that the effect and timing of all new powers is clear. Verify that any logical immunities, benefits, or weaknesses (whether those be necessary for thematic or mechanical reasons) are implemented: consider whether defensive powers that work against normal attacks should also work against special attacks, whether or not a power has an elemental component that some figures should resist, and whether or not unliving figures (such as Undead and Androids) should be affected.

I think we have it nailed down!

Reused Powers
Verify that the design is reusing powers in place of creating new ones, where reused powers could implement the same theme and mechanics with no differences or only trivial differences. Verify that any reused powers have the correct text.

N/A

Power Level
Verify that the character's movement, attack, range, and defense (in conjunction with any special powers that enhance those stats) feel consistent with the capabilities of characters with analogous powers and abilities. Verify that the character falls into a similar point range to characters with comparative powers and abilities.

I think we're about good!

So I think we're about set here so I'm going to propose we move to Initial Testing!

I think I'll start around 400-450 points, and adjust as necessary until he feels about right.

Johnny's wording tweaks don't affect any mechanics, so we can continue to discuss those at any point.

[johnny139]

My main motivation in separating out the double attack thing is that it's attack only, while the other two are for any combat die roll or also including defending. I know when I first read that power, I thought the "change the result of a die" was only when he was attacking because of how it was placed. I think it helps with clarity.

The text thing just kind of raises weird, rule-lawyery questions, since we've never really defined it before. Same with "on a special power on a card" - like, what if we do textless cards someday?

[Lord Pyre]

You can't negate a special power if there isn't one.

[IAmBatman]

What about powers that are only a symbol - flying/Super Strength. Can he negate those? They don't have text on the card.

(This can all be hashed out as we go - yea for testing).

[Lord Pyre]

Originally Posted by IAmBatman

What about powers that are only a symbol - flying/Super Strength. Can he negate those? They don't have text on the card.

I addressed that in my response to Johnny, Hawkeye.