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Unsure about using one mechanic over the other

2 replies [Last post]
Rhadiel
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Joined: 04/03/2015

Hi everyone!

I'm in the process of designing a thematic coop adventure board game with dynamic map tile placement, and I'm a bit torn on what mechanics would be best used to spawn items/mobs in a room.

1. I could go with the run-of-the-mill draw a monster then draw loot every time a player explores, but that's too Munchkin-ish - repetitive and predictable.

2. Another mechanic I'm considering is specifying what deck to use on the map tile itself - i.e. in the Armory tile, draw 1 monster, 2 loot and 1 event.

3. Third option would be to use one single large deck for all item types (monsters, loot, events, traps, blanks) and always draw a card upon exploring.

4. Lastly, there are no decks - instead all events and spawns are printed on the map tile itself i.e. in the Master Bedroom you will always find a Ghoul and a gold ring worth 100g.

As it stands now, I am torn between second and fourth mechanic.

What are your thoughts?

Cheers,
/R.

ErnstFourie
ErnstFourie's picture
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Joined: 06/18/2014
From my experience as a

From my experience as a gamer, and alway looking at replayability of games, I would shy away from fixed monsters and loot on each tile.

So I would go for two.

Another thing you might consider, for even more variation from game to game, is to have different symbols on your map tiles, with a single encounter-style draw deck, with all the possible sympols listed on the card, with a different set of monster/loot/event for each symbol on each card.

That way, even if you draw the same exact cards two games in a row, when different tiles are drawn, different symbols will be read and the game will stay fresh. Vice versa, even if you draw the tiles in the same order, when the eoncounter deck has been shuffled, no two adventures will be the same.

I'm not sure how you'd want to resolve these encounters for each player, but maybe have the player to the right(or left) of the active player draw and read the encounter card. That way they can just read of the monster and the event, without letting the player in on too much information regarding the loot, which might sway their choice when deciding to fight the monster or run away.

Hope this makes some sense, as I've just been typing this up as I was thinking of it.

Ernst

Rhadiel
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Joined: 04/03/2015
Hi Ernst, thanks for the

Hi Ernst, thanks for the quick reply!

#2 is also my favourite on the list.

I think I understand the mechanics you are proposing.
Say the tile has the 'sword' symbol for the event. In this case, I draw the event card from the deck and look up what happens for 'sword'. The monster might be aggressive, with +1 attack, as opposed to 'shield' where it is passive with -1 initiative or 'feet' when the monster flees.

Have to say, I like this mechanic, allows for a lesser variation of mobs (which for my theme is actually a good thing) but helps with immersion - different room types affect monster behaviour. Would be weird to have a wraith charge you in the chapel, with full attack strenght.

I'll definitely explore this further!

Cheers,
/R.

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