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Rolling dice vs. stats

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Fri, 06/05/2015 - 20:49
questccg
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Okay so this is just a quick idea... I have been trying to see how I could implement a SIMPLE card game (with 12 cards per player).

So it started out having four (4) stats:

  • Health Points: varies between 1-12, 0 means dead.
  • Attack: varies between 1-10.
  • Defense: varies between 1-8.
  • Damage: varies between 1-6.

Each card was going to also have a passive or active ability.

BUT that's when I thought about changing the game such that all cards have NO STATS. Instead you ROLL DICE to determine what you get.

Does that sound TOO RANDOM???

Is this sort of mechanic INTERESTING? You roll with whatever you get?!

Sometimes it works with your cards and at other times it does not?!?!

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Fri, 06/05/2015 - 22:01
#1
AzemOcram
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base stat + dice rolls

That mechanic seems interesting but I think that it might be beneficial to have a base (that can be 0 or low negative) combined with dice rolls (which could be a single roll of a 6 sided die to possibly rolls of several many sided dice) to have some cards better than others on average, and some cards more dependent on luck. Some people like a high degree of random luck and some prefer things to be mostly skill and strategy.

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Fri, 06/05/2015 - 22:16
#2
JewellGames
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questccg wrote:Okay so this

questccg wrote:
Okay so this is just a quick idea... I have been trying to see how I could implement a SIMPLE card game (with 12 cards per player).

So it started out having four (4) stats:

  • Health Points: varies between 1-12, 0 means dead.
  • Attack: varies between 1-10.
  • Defense: varies between 1-8.
  • Damage: varies between 1-6.

Each card was going to also have a passive or active ability.

BUT that's when I thought about changing the game such that all cards have NO STATS. Instead you ROLL DICE to determine what you get.

Does that sound TOO RANDOM???

Is this sort of mechanic INTERESTING? You roll with whatever you get?!

Sometimes it works with your cards and at other times it does not?!?!

Check out Knight Fight, sounds a little similar to what you proposed. The game has 14 cards and 14 dice (7 per player).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/brird6jhkz327j6/KnightFight_Draft3.2.pdf?dl=0

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Sat, 06/06/2015 - 03:29
#3
ElKobold
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Epic Spell wars has both

Epic Spell wars has both cards and dice and that game seems to be rather popular.

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Sat, 06/06/2015 - 15:38
#4
questccg
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More about dice

So to add some more precision,

Assuming that I include some Base stats (such as -1, -2 ... -6) and then use dice rolls, here is the kicker:

  • You roll the dice and then determine which card in play will get this GROUP of dice stats. So you roll like four (4) dice and then you CHOOSE which card will get those stats.

There is LUCK - but also a LOT of strategy to determine and choose which card will have which stat roll. Obviously I have found a "mechanic" that allows me to have such dynamic stats.

And I have reduced the number of dice to one (1) set. I can foresee just using a standard Chessex dice 7 poly-set... Which is also cool. You can buy the dice separately (maybe - TBD).

The main problems I have are:

  1. Over-simplification of rules: I want to have an *interesting* game.
  2. Managing dynamic stats: can't have an indefinite amount of bonuses or penalties.
  3. Distinct from other games: I want the game to be unique.

Still need to think about HOW this game is supposed to come together...

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Mon, 06/08/2015 - 02:47
#5
JewellGames
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I would prefer cards with no

I would prefer cards with no stats that are augmented (and activated) by dice.

This way, the mechanic and core gameplay are easy to teach, while the strategy and diversity are built into the unique and interesting card effects affected by assigned dice.

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Mon, 06/08/2015 - 01:14
#6
X3M
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From personal experience:

From personal experience: Stats being completely determined by dice has a high chance of failing.
More so, what use is the card? It must have something on its own, right? Like a +1 to one of the stats? Or else I don't see the usage of cards except for a prety picture.

Not trying to burn your game down.

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Mon, 06/08/2015 - 02:45
#7
JewellGames
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@X3M - Without knowing the

@X3M - Without knowing the details of his game I can think of an example. Does having ability text count as having stats?

Card:

Thunder Slug
Abilities:
1-3: Bolt - Deal 1 damage to main target.
4-6: Lightning - Deal 1 damage to all enemies.
7+: Chain Lightning - Deal 2 damage to all enemies.

Doubles: Zap - Stun the main target.

So, if I have several cards out in play (face down) and I assign doubles to the Thunder Slug it will stun the main target during combat. But, maybe I need to deal damage instead, so I assign my 2 & 3 results to deal 1 damage to all enemies during combat.

Titan
Attack = # displayed on attached die.
Defense = # displayed on attached die - 2 (to a minimum of 0).

Doubles: Berserk - Attack = # on both attached dice but the Titan has no Defense.

So, the cards themselves have no actual stats but do have abilities activated by the dice.

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Mon, 06/08/2015 - 07:30
#8
wombat929
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Strife: Legacy of the Eternals

This isn't directly related to the mechanics you've laid out here, but you may want to take a look at STRIFE: LEGACY OF THE ETERNALS as a game that uses a small number of cards (a dozen or so for each of two players, plus some location cards) with stats in a really unusual way.

Essentially, players select one card from their hand to play each round, and then the battle uses both the current card and the last card. Both cards have powers for when they're the current card or when they're the "legacy" card, so there are lots of different combos that you can try to set up.

Also, since both players have the same hand of cards, it's "perfect information," in that you know exactly what your opponent has played and has left in her/his hand.

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Mon, 06/08/2015 - 12:25
#9
X3M
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JewellGames wrote:@X3M -

JewellGames wrote:
@X3M - Without knowing the details of his game I can think of an example. Does having ability text count as having stats?

It does.
I stand corrected.

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Tue, 06/09/2015 - 14:32
#10
questccg
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Jewel is correct

questccg wrote:
...Each card was going to also have a passive or active ability...

While the implementation might vary, each card will have either a PASSIVE or ACTIVE ability. That was the idea - initially.

The play area is divided into two (2) formations: support (at the back) and melee (at the front). Obviously the support cards are harder to target and can be overall weaker cards (in terms of attack/defense/damage). BUT they need to be HIGH in Mana (because you use that for active abilities).

Making support cards weak is also a risk: the opponent can use abilities that reach PAST the melee cards and attack the support cards. You don't want to take too much damage - because that lowers your overall score and therefore the odds that you will LOSE the duel.

Update: Aside for the unique assignment mechanic, I am still struggling to find HOW the game should play out. Like I like the ability to use 1 Mana to roll a d20 instead of a d12. For example... It's still LUCK but with better odds...

Or having something like "Second Chance": "roll 1 dice a 2nd time. Keep the better of the two rolls." That also could be a passive ability that you could trigger for that specific card.

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