Skip to Content
 

Gauntlet of the Gods

4 replies [Last post]
Cpontrel
Offline
Joined: 04/14/2015

Hi Everyone,
I'd love to share with you a game I've been kicking around in my head a bit. It's tentatively called the Gauntlet of the Gods*. I've tried to give the broad strokes, with some of the theme in there. It's all open to changing, as this is in super early stages...

In the Gauntlet, you are a mere mortal in a fantasy world , vying for the favor of the Gods. You will run through different levels trying to fulfill promises, increase your skills, and gain influence.

Objective: To earn the most Influence (IP) by the end of the game.

Components:
GOD TRACK
A circular board radiating outwards, composed of 6 paths, one for each God. Each God is aligned with a particular type of Prestige (generous, brave, cut-throat, etc) and as players move along the path they will pass different levels, unlocking special favors and gaining Influence (IP). Players spend Prestige Points (PP) to move up the god tracks and gain that IP. The most influence at the end of the game wins, so this is critical.

LEVEL BOARDS
Probably somewhere between 7-9 in total. Each a different 'world', styled on a hex grid with resource categories distributed around that players move to and access in order to collect items and fulfill objectives. Each level board also has its own resource depot and black market.

OBJECTIVE CARDS (Promises)
Two types. Obligatory and Optional. Each player gets 1 obligatory objective card and a set of optional ones. There are both private objectives and public objectives. Objectives range from collecting and offering sets of resources, to 'sacrificing' creatures, to building monuments, to battling monsters. Fulfilling an objective rewards you with Prestige Points (PP).

RESOURCES
The Game has 4 resource categories -- Luxuries, Creatures, Treasures, and Monuments. Each are of different value/rarity, and are distributed amongst the levels. They are used to fulfill objectives and to gain Prestige Points (PP)

PRESTIGE
Prestige Points (PP) are the primary form of currency in the game. It is used first to upgrade your character skills (Health, strength, agility, etc) and second to unlock levels and advance on the God Track/gain IP. Prestige comes in 6 different types (for the 6 different gods). Any type of prestige can be used, equally, to upgrade your character, but only one type can be used to unlock/upgrade different gods. Playing your objectives carefully to earn the right prestige points (ya know, impress the right god ;)) is critical to success.

MOVEMENT (Endurance) ALLOCATION
Each player has a LIMITED number of moves for the ENTIRE GAME. This means you have to budget your movement carefully over the many levels so that you can accomplish all that there is to do. Luckily, each turn you are also limited in how much movement you can spend in one go (your agility)--2-3 spaces max at a time. What the overall GAME max is however yet to be seen and will be determined through playtesting.

Game Overview:
The game starts with 3 levels set up (resources laid out in their depots).

Each player gets their obligatory objective and 4 optional objectives. They discard 1-2 optional objectives, which go into the public pool. They then make 'pledges' to specific gods by placing their pieces on specific tracks.

The game happens in 7-9 rounds (depending on # of levels). Each round is composed of 3 phases.
PHASE 1 - REFRESH
Players refresh to current maxes their health, strength, weapon, etc.

PHASE 2 - ACTIONS
Players take turns making single actions, varying from moving, to picking up resources, buying, building, or battling--earning Prestige along the way! After each player has taken 1 action, the LEVEL BEAST takes 1 move as well.

PHASE 3 - PLEDGES
Players MUST spend ALL their prestige before exiting the level. Any unspent prestige is lost.

END GAME CONDITIONS
-A Player exists the last level
-A Player dies

Details of Note
LEVEL ROTATION
3 levels are out at any time with a 4th waiting in the 'fog'. When the last person leaves a level, the two slide down and the fourth level emerges from the fog and is now activated. IF a player is ready to move onto the level in the fog before all the players have exited the lowest level, all the players on the lowest level are immediately bumped up to the next lowest

FAVORS
As players move up the God Track (by spending their hard earned prestige), they unlock one-time only favors/magic/actions. These are available to anyone who has advanced to that level and do not need to be taken immediately. However, they are only available ONCE PER GAME, to the entire group. So once a favor has been used by someone, you're outta luck! These favors range from teleportation (revisit an old level!) to spying (gain 1 of someone elses resources)

BETRAYAL
As you compete to move up the god tracks, you may find yourself locked out from advancing farther, or you may find that someone before you used up all those good favors. Well, you can betray your god and switch to another... at a price that is.

BEASTS
Each level has its own beast that moves along a preset path (hence you can plan your moves around his moves). Some move along paths, while others consume regions. After every player takes 1 action in the Action Phase, the beast moves 1 space/region. ANy players caught in the line of action/in that region will have to use their weapons or give up health. This mechanic will ensure players keep moving around the board.

Soulfinger
Soulfinger's picture
Offline
Joined: 01/06/2015
One thing offhand is that

One thing offhand is that "Gauntlet of the Gods" is a far better title than just "The Gauntlet."

markgrafn
markgrafn's picture
Offline
Joined: 03/01/2015
This seem like a pretty cool start

I liked this a lot while reading through it. I hope it goes somewhere.

I agree with Soulfinger..... Gauntlet of the Gods is an outstanding title.

Zag24
Offline
Joined: 03/02/2014
Limited max movement

I can't say that I like the idea of limited maximum movement. It's just one more thing that makes a barrier to entry for new players, because they are unlikely to gauge this correctly. Also, it's extra bookkeeping throughout the game that doesn't really provide much fun factor. The only time it's going to matter is when you get near the end game and the leader is low on overall movement, but in all other cases, it's irrelevant. I see it more as a source of frustration than fun.

I'd rather see a way to carry over unused action points, perhaps at 2 for 1, so if I really don't have anything more to do this turn (with 2 points left), I have one extra action point to spend next turn. This is more short-term rather than long-term bookkeeping, and it does give a small reward in the future if you "rest up" on this turn.

The level rotation sounds like an interesting twist, and makes for a good way to catch up a bit if one person has started to run away. This works well with the "rest up" rule I suggested above: If I'm so far behind that my opponents action is likely to pull me forward, anyway, I'll do nothing this turn and have a few extra action points next turn. I'll ride the coat tails and then have a bit of a surge which might make the game competitive again.

I do think you have a very interesting start to a game, so I apologize for starting with criticisms. (I wouldn't have bothered at all if I didn't think the game showed promise.) I'd love to see the personalities of the different gods having an effect, such that specializing in one or the other gives different advantages and disadvantages. Perhaps one god is a trickster god, such that someone in his favor is good at knocking down the opponents, and might be your best option if another player has pulled way ahead. Someone aligned with the god of love might be able to influence others' actions in a limited way. etc.

Cpontrel
Offline
Joined: 04/14/2015
This was really helpful

This was really helpful actually! I was thinking originally max movement as something different where you have to actually think about the full course of the game. And if someone runs out of movements, the game is over.

However, I can totaly see now the frustration that new players would get, and AP players as well. Oh god. I think level limits achieve a similar need to budget without the long-term paralysis.

I also like your solution. Going to explore it.

And yes about the Gods. Each god has specific benefits for gaining influence with and favors you can sell your soul for ;)

I will definitely do some revising. Trying to get an initial prototype up so I can start testing out some ideas I have. As things progress and change (which I expect them to do drastically) I will definitely post up !

Syndicate content


forum | by Dr. Radut