Background: (Not particularly needed if you want to skip)
So I've had this nugget of a game idea tumbling around in my head for almost 2 years. I have pages of notes on rules and design ideas and I personally think this would be a fun game.
I've been hesitant to post anything on the BGDF because I think part of me assumed there was loads of industry insiders looking to mine and steal ideas from the poor unassuming masses. At this point, I would almost take that as kind of a compliment, as I'm not sure I have the necessary skills to really make this a fully fleshed out game.
So I'm starting small and checking people's opinions on different things to see if I'm chasing windmills, or I have an idea that people would find interesting.
Question: Does this theme pique your interest?
Heroes do dumb things. They run off into dark caves and dungeons looking for treasure. Yet many of them come out with the majority of their limbs and digits intact, along with piles of treasure and fame. Do you want to know why? Squires. The REAL heroes of the dungeon. That's right, the ones carrying the bags and giving invaluable advice to the guys getting all the glory. It's not all bad. Keep your hero alive long enough, and you just may get promoted and become one of those guys, where you will inevitably let all the fame, riches and wenches go straight to your head, and make you forget all the really valuable stuff you already learned.
So what you do you think? Ready to join the ranks of the underappreciated, hoping to make it to the big time? Congrats, you just became... a Squire.
Question: Does the following basic design of the Squire's Quest game seem workable to you as a viable product?
Squire's Quest is a card-based dungeon crawl game. The player assumes the roll of squire and their goal is to keep their hero alive long enough to complete the adventure. They do this through the use of healing items carried in their pack, along with giving the hero potential advice on how best to deal with a particular enemy. If possible, the squire may even gain a little battle experience on the side, hoping to eventually graduate to the rank of hero themselves.
Mechanically, a player has 4 basic choices for each of their turns:
1) Using an item from the pack (healing or otherwise)
2)Giving advice about the danger at hand
3) Assisting in the combat itself
4)Propping up your hero's ego by having them perform effective, though somewhat excessive attacks.
Each of these choices provide a benefit to yourself and/or your hero in their own ways. Choices have to be made to weigh what is most important to accomplish at any given time taking into account immediate and long term needs. (For example, you hero may be highly wounded, so you spend turns using healing items rather than gaining experience for yourself, which makes you a more effective squire in the long run. Having your hero do a spinning attack may seem excessive when a simple slash will do, especially when you could be gaining experience or tending to the pack, however that impressive display may wow your fellow travelers enough to allow your hero first pick of any treasure, which could be of great benefit later on.) Each choice coincides with some numerical value on the character cards of both the squires, the heros and also the danger they are facing.
The basic game would have all players' squires and heroes with the same numbers, but on the flip side would be squires and heroes with different advantages and disadvantages. (Some squires may be stronger and able to carry more, others may be more natural tacticians or fighters)
Combat is handled as a group, with one roll from the danger card's table giving the outcome for all heroes, potentially modified by actions of their squires. Survive the requisite amount of turns and your hero has helped to defeat it.
At the end, the hero who has attained the most glory by way of shiny objects and heroic deeds will be declared the winner and since their squire is standing behind them on the podium, they too are winners!
Mainly the flavor of the game is pretty classic fantasy or historical dungeon crawl flair, but since the game is in the Squire's perspectives, it will mainly be very sarcastic and tongue-in-cheek, making fun of typical hero tropes, while glorifying the contributions of the common folks behind the scenes in humorous ways.
