The 12 Towers [4th edition prototype] PvP, Strategy

Hello! My name is Scott Garrity, creator of Crosswinds Gaming, and The 12 Towers. This is my first game, and it has taken almost 2 years to reach this point. Comments and suggestions are very welcome. I'll provide all of the gameplay mechanics, and update when I have a solid rulebook completed (also a WIP).

-Media-
Twitter: https://twitter.com/12TowersGame
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/12TowersGame/?ref=bookmarks
BGG Game Page: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/202491/12-towers

-Introduction-
The 12 Towers is a large strategy board game for 2 to 6 players. Players take the role of "Keepers", powerful rulers that control a Tower, and it's surrounding territory. Throughout the course of the game, Towers will be gained, lost, or even completely destroyed. Controlling a Tower will involve combat, strategy, and teamwork. However...it may also involve treachery and deception. Having a Tower under your control grants additional powers and bonuses to your keeper, as well as the cards you hold and equip. To win the game, a single Keeper must control all Active Towers, or be the last remaining player by eliminating their opponents.
While the objectives of the game are clear, it is entirely up to the players how they play the game individually. Some may be aggressive, and charge head on. Others may take defensive actions, by setting up fortifications and traps. In the end, when the Keepers interact, they are in complete control of their fate. Not only do you bring a strategy to the game, you bring your personality as well.

-Game Components-
1 Game Board (13 Pieces)
6 Tracker Sheets / 6 Power Trackers
12 Tower Figurines
12 Keeper Figurines
12 Colored Dice
576 Game Cards
144 Keeper Tokens
100 Break Limit Tokens
1 Rulebook

-Current state of the game-
-3rd edition beta complete, ready for testing
-Seeking editors, representatives, graphic design team
-Seeking figurine designers
-Kickstarter date pending

-Towers-
Each Tower has it’s own unique theme and play style, as well as strengths and weaknesses. The Towers come in 3 catagories.

Element Towers:
The Fire Tower, The Ice Tower, Undertower and The Sky Tower

Material Towers:
The Iron Tower, The Gold Tower, The Emerald Tower, and The Brass Tower

Global Towers:
The Black Tower, The White Tower, The Shadow Tower, and The Tower of Life

Controlling a Tower gives you a Tower Card, a larger card that provides additional Active and Passive Abilities. Active abilities can be used once per turn for a cost, while Passive abilities are constant and permanent, as long as you control the Tower.

-The Game Board-
The game board is a 12 sided dodecagon, that is separated into 13 pieces. The center piece is called “The Battleground”. Before the game begins, any Towers the players want to add can be attached to the battleground. There are many different ways to set up a game, below are just a few examples.

-Movement- **Updated 5/10/2017
All players start with a standard 5 movement spaces per turn. This is called the "Standard Pace". During a players turn, they can move their keeper between 0 (remaining in place) and 5 spaces on the board. Once you have move 5 spaces, or you are satisfied with your amount of spaces, your movement action ends.
5 spaces is the average amount between the standard pace graph, which is between 0 (Stopped) and +10 (Flight). Having a standard pace of 5 allows you to pass most regions within 2 to 3 turns, as well as be able to stay out of range of another Keepers attacks and spells. There are many factors in the game that can change your pace, as well as others. For example, controlling the Sky Tower grants your Keeper an additional 3 spaces per turn. This effect stays with your Keeper until the Tower is lost or destroyed.

-Power-
Power is the heart of the game. Rather than remembering a large amount of different number, Power simply represents everything that you are; Your health (hp) mana, gold, influence, etc. Almost everything in the game effects your Power. All players start the game with the same amount of Power, the standard amount is 2000. This number is then divided between your Keeper, and your starting Tower. Your Keepers Power is what you bring with you on the board. Whether you’re casting spells, taking and dealing damage, or controlling Towers, your Keepers Power is vital to survival. Your Towers Power represents it’s stability and strength. A Tower cannot attack or defend itself, and opposing players can deal damage to it, ultimately reducing it’s cost to control it and take it from you.

-Tracker Sheets-
Each player is given 2 sheets at the beginning of the game; A Power Tracker, and a Tracker Sheet. The Power Tracker keeps record of your Tower and Keepers Power. The Tracker Sheet displays what items and cards you have equip to your Keeper.

-Cards-
As stated above, The 12 Towers is a very large game. The core game has 576 game cards. These cards come in 2 types: Items (432 cards), and Events (144 cards). There are hundreds of different item cards, ranging from simple weapons, to epic spells, siege engines, armor and fortification. Every card has a unique boarder, that shows what Tower the card belongs to. When you control the Tower that it represents, the card become stronger with additional effects and abilities. The example pic shows the Tower Controller (or TC) effect on different cards. Every card has original artwork (may be subject to changes in the future)

-Events-
Event Cards can be discovered all over the game board. Landing on one of the designated spaces allows you to draw 1 Event Card. Events have a bold text passage at the top, that sets the stage of what you found, whether it’s a horde of greedy goblins, a noble knight for hire, or a desolate battleground. Event Cards give The 12 Towers life and scenery. When you control an Event, by paying the Power Cost, you gain that cards control abilities. There are many different effects provided by events, whether they heal, damage, boost or trap Keepers.

-Weapons and Armor-
Weapons and Armor aid your Keeper, in both dealing damage, and preventing it. When you equip a weapon or armor card, that card is placed on your Tracker Sheet. Every weapon and armor card has a Break Limit, and Break Effect. Over time, these items are used and worn down. The break limit indicates how many uses it has before the item is broken and discarded. The break effect is essentially the grand finale. When the last Limit Token is removed from an item, the break effect triggers. There is no cost to your Power, and it is essentially a free spell or ability.

-Siege Engines and Fortification-
Similar to weapons and armor, siege engines are much larger and deal heavy damage, while fortification cards provide defensive structures that are placed on the game board.

-Spells-
Spells come in 4 types: Melee, Ranged, AoE and Heal spells. There are over 100 different types of spells, each with their own unique abilities. Using spells costs Power to cast it. But with the right tactics and strategy, you can get the most damage for the least cost. Relying on spells too much will drain your Keepers Power significantly, and faster than you think. It’s wise to have a strategy that combines both weapons and spells.

-Combat-
The 12 Towers game board uses a hexagon battle grid. As players move around the board, they can use Melee or Ranged weapons and spells on each other. There is no limit to where players can go, or what they can do. Some players may focus on defensive measures, setting up fortifications and traps, while others will take the aggressive approach, wielding weapons and siege engines, laying waste to everything in their path. In the end, the point of combat in The 12 Towers is to reduce your opponents Power to 0. When a Keeper has no Power, they are returned to a Tower they control. Then can then siphon Power from that Tower to remain in the game. If the player has no Towers, and their Keepers Power is 0, they are eliminated from the game!

In conclusion, The 12 Towers has been an amazing adventure, from humble beginning in a marble notebook, to what it is today. It’s taken a long time to get the game to this point, and every second has been worth it. I’m looking forward to comments and suggestions, and I’m always making changes to create a better game for everyone. If you have questions, or you would like to attend a play test, feel free to ask. Sometime this week I will provide a listing of what local Conventions and Game Nights I will be attending.