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Creating a coop adventure game without cards

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Mon, 04/28/2025 - 03:29
larienna
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The type of game I have in mind is something like the Arkham file series: Arkham horror, elder sign, eldritch horror, etc.

In those games, you have tons of cards and sometime tiles to represent items, spells, monsters, characters, events, scenarios, conditions, etc.

It has the consequence of requiring a lot of components. Expanding the game also requires lot of material. If players want to make their own material, it's very hard to mix those new homemade cards and tiles to the original game.

So I came up with an idea to turn the game inside out to solve those problems. The only game so far I have seem something similar is "Space Infantry".

The idea is that you use generic components, like piece pack. The unique stuff is on a reference sheet. For example, instead of having monster tiles with stats on the tiles. The tiles hold monster types. A reference sheet will contain all monsters in this scenario for each type. You look at the matching monster type on the sheet to know what you are fighting.

Characters could also be sheets with assets and conditions directly on the sheet. So instead of shopping for let say a weapon. The weapon is already on the character sheet, the player just needs to unlock the item on his sheet or put some ammo tokens over it. No need to hope drawing a weapon from an item deck.

The goal is to be able to easily swap sheets to change the behavior of the game without requiring new components.

It also reduces the impact of randomness of the card during certain activities like shopping.

Also if players want to make new monsters, characters, boss, scenario, etc. They can simply print a 8-1/2x11 sheet with all the information and they are up and running. No cutting, mounting or sleeving. Building prototype should be easier too since all components are generic.

That could be a way to keep components low while offering a lot of variety. There is just one big drawback to this system: Cross referencing. You need to cross reference information all the time which could be annoying.

Tell me what you think?

Do you know other games that does this?

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Mon, 04/28/2025 - 18:25
#1
questccg
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I for one... Like the idea.

Cards are a "bummer" in most instances. But they do two (2) things pretty well:

1> Randomize the selection process.

2> Allow for alternate mechanics be a part of the deck.

So what do I mean by 1 & 2???

Well #1 is good because as you say if you have a REFERENCE SHEET you basically have ACCESS to "all weapons" (let's say). Each Weapon could require resources for being able to utilize or "acquire" that Weapon. So the RNG (Randomness) is gone from the selection process.

And that may be fine and dandy in some instances. In reality the RNG is mostly only useful the first few game plays until players become more FAMILIAR with the various Weapons in the game. And then the "REFERENCE SHEET" is better because you don't have to bother with Weapons you don't want.

So this is something that @X3M would say that: "You need to BALANCE the weapons such that each weapon has a purpose and reason for being on the SHEET." Like why would you use a KNIFE when you could have a MACHINE GUN??? Well the Knife could be inexpensive to acquire and it could be a easy weapon to conceal and you could get a bonus "attack" point due to the possibility of "Back-stabbing" and the Machine Gun could be powerful but very HEAVY and creates a movement penalty, etc. etc.

The point being is to ensure that ALL Weapons you make available serve a purpose even if that purpose is not to last the ENTIRE game.

Point #2 was something that I have been experimenting with my OWN Game "Plains of Aria" (PoA). In the Decks there are three (3) TYPES of cards that only affect the DECK ITSELF.

Again what the heck does that mean???

It means that you can play a "Draw +2 Cards from your Deck" which is a BONUS "Action" giving you more choice on your turn. Or "Shuffle the Discard and place it atop the Deck" which is a RNG (Randomization) card which allows a player to REPEAT his previous selection of cards.

Why is that important??

Well it serves as a way to randomize the DISCARD and continue to play from what you've already drawn. Of course there is "Add the Discard to the Deck and Shuffle all the cards" which is the normal way of doing things and that too... Make for a mechanic which DOES NOT require you to exhaust your entire DECK BEFORE being able to "re-shuffle" the DECK.

This is sort of a SPEED-UP mechanic, in that in some of the cards or abilities you have drawn ALREADY are "exhausted", shuffling will get you quicker access to these cards because of the randomization.

***

So those are ALL "Deck & Card Randomization Mechanics" which you would NOT need in your case because you would have ACCESS to "ALL WEAPONS" from the get-go. Maybe not because of the REQUIREMENTS for the "Weapons" or how to "acquire" them... Like for example a "Baseball Bat" does more Damage that a Knife but a Knife could do bonus "backstabbing" damage (for example).

I think this IDEA is good... Provided that you BALANCE the weapons in terms of USE and PURPOSE. Like "Brass Knuckles" could be easier to acquire than a "Knife" ... But the "Knife" as explained before can do BONUS damage whereas the "Brass Knuckles" do the same amount of damage but have NO BONUS.

Something like that.

***

So I think the IDEA is good... To cut down on CARDS and "clutter" but it requires more BALANCING to ensure that players have reasons to choose one item vs. another and that there are REASONS for this.

***

Also in terms of WEAPONS, a "Knife" can be one-handed and a "Baseball Bat" can be two-handed...

This is just me trying to explain the BENEFITS of the "Knife" over the "Baseball Bat".

***

It definitely could be more EXPANDABLE too. But that remains to be seen. I would say that CAREFUL "crafting" would be required to also achieve BALANCE when necessary. Granted that "Monsters" may be ordered ALPHABETICALLY whereas "Weapons" could be ordered by COST to "acquire", etc. etc.

ALSO you could CATEGORIZE your "Weapons" on MULTIPLE SHEETS too: one sheet for Melee weapons, one sheet for Range weapons, etc. etc. That too could help cut down the CLUTTER of having too many different weapons.

I actually think that this METHOD of designing could ALLOW for more OPTIONS too... Meaning that you could have more weapons on a sheet and not worry about having TOO MANY "additional" cards.

Something like that.

This concept reminds me closer to a RPG or AD&D adventure where you have a reference sheet per character in the party and weapons are listed in the inventory (using weight as a parameter to determine what can be carried).

So I think this SIMILARITY makes that this kind of "Board Game" could be interesting too...

I don't know OTHER games BESIDES RPGs that have something SIMILAR. Yours would be an IN-BETWEEN implementation meaning NO CARDS and NO BOOKS. Only reference sheets (which is something in the middle) TBH.

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Mon, 04/28/2025 - 18:42
#2
questccg
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For MONSTERS...

You need a RNG method such as Rolling a Dice (1D20 for example) or some kind of RNG which is more CLEVER like this:

questccg wrote:
Player #1 chooses a number from 1 to 20 and writes it down. The NEXT Player (Player #2) also chooses a number from 1 to 20 and they too write it down. Both numbers get added and DIVIDED by "2" and that's the value to be looked up in the REFERENCE TABLE.

So practically speaking it's something like this:

Player #1 chooses 10.

Player #2 chooses 15.

10 + 15 = 25 / 2 = 12.5 (or 13)

Monster #13 is the enemy which you are encountering. Then you could have multiples of said monster, like roll 1D4 to get the number of that Monster that you must DEFEAT/battle.

***

As you can see a SIMPLE RNG mechanic is required and doesn't need to use dice for the LOOKUP mechanics.

Anyways something for you to think about. I'm sure there are OTHER ways to include clever mechanics rather than solely relying on DICE-only for RNG.

Cheers!

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Mon, 04/28/2025 - 19:04
#3
questccg
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For RNG generation

I had designed a randomization mechanic which was a REPLACEMENT for a "Coin Toss"...

Basically one opposing player chooses a number from 1 to 9.

Player #1 chooses a number too (trying to guess) and can use BONUS POINTS to go UP or DOWN a number.

So I could choose 5 +2 ... I would WIN on values of 5, 6 or 7. 33% odds or 1:3.

It's a bit less LIKELY than your COIN TOSS. But there are VARIATIONS of the selection process. Like NO BONUS points, but more flexible rules.

Variant: Exact is Win, +/- 2 Win, otherwise Lose.

So If you choose 6 and I choose 3 (+2) = 5 ... LOSE.

This is another way at looking at that mechanic too (VARIANT).

***

I personally like the +/- BONUS that comes at some kind of PRICE/COST: You must PAY given that you are trying to improve your odds of a WIN.

Let me know if you have questions or need further explanation.

Best.

Note #1: The full RANGE of the "3" Example would be: 3 - 2 = 1 to 3 + 2 = 5 meaning 1 to 5 would mean that this would be a 55% odds of guessing the RIGHT number and RANGE.

I personally FEEL like the RANGE should EITHER by POSITIVE(+) OR NEGATIVE(-) but NOT BOTH.

So if I choose 3 and do +2 = 5, I get value 3, 4, and 5. Which is 33% out of 9.

I think this is MUCH more BALANCED and gets you to do clever guessing and point allocation to get the BETTER RANGE (or the one you feel is better for that particular guess attempt).

Note #2: Why is the RANGE POSITIVE or NEGATIVE IMPORTANT?

Meaning that I can have 3 -2 = (1, 2 or 3) vs. 1 +2 = (3, 2, or 1). BECAUSE the original NUMBER (3 or 1) had some BONUS "Damage" or "Critical Hit" if you GUESS correctly the right number. The RANGE allows you better odds but the Luck of the Irish gives you some kind of SPECIAL HIT. Even if the RANGE is the SAME, the guessed NUMBER is NOT.

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Mon, 04/28/2025 - 19:41
#4
questccg
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This was an exercise for when I was THINKING about...

Combat Mechanics for "Plains of Aria" (PoA). I wanted something SIMPLE but DIFFERENT and I had examined RPS (RPS-3, RPS-5 and RPS-9) which is Rock-Paper-Scissors mechanics.

Those two (2) RNG Techniques are not usual and don't require DICE. Your REFERENCE SHEET for MONSTERS could have "# of monsters encountered" meaning that a 4 Goblins vs. 3 Skeletons vs. 1 Green Dragon. You could specify it and NOT require any RNG for this purpose.

You don't RANDOMNESS for EVERYTHING... You can make for simple rules and allocations (as explained above) which still AVERAGES out the DIFFICULTY of the Monster versus the number of monsters encountered (for any given type).

***

These Combat Techniques were because I wanted a "Euro" game and I did not want FULL OUT Combat. Eventually I figured things out for myself and RID myself of ANY and ALL "Combat"-like phases or concepts in PoA.

I just felt like Combat broken the whole "No DIRECT Conflict" and even "INDIRECT" needs to be thought up well so as not to create too much frustration or ANGER when playing and messing with an OPPONENT's plans.

***

Let me know if any of this makes sense to you and if it is RELEVANT to what it is you are trying to DESIGN.

Sincerely.

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Mon, 05/05/2025 - 14:22
#5
larienna
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Card randomization is

Card randomization is actually a problem, it makes it more complicated to predict and calculate probabilities especially in games with complex card manipulation. Also, there is an high chance that you get a card that you do not need.

Instead, if you want a machine gun, you just need to go to some specific areas in the city. You are more likely to get only the stuff you need. There should be more strategy. You will also get the items designed for your character's skills. You can see character equipment like a locked feat or ability that is unlocked when going to a shop.

Since there is no assignment of a card to a location or a character, most "cards" in this case would be preassigned. For example, my character can use hand guns and fireball spell, its directly on his sheet. Else tokens will be used to localize a game element.

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Mon, 05/05/2025 - 21:32
#6
questccg
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Here's what I mean

larienna wrote:
Card randomization is actually a problem, it makes it more complicated to predict and calculate probabilities especially in games with complex card manipulation. Also, there is an high chance that you get a card that you do not need.

Well here are some of my own reflections.

1: Re-shuffle the Deck card

This card introduces a way to not EXHAUST the Deck in order to play a Deck. Well that sounds pretty backwards, but what I mean is you get to "re-shuffle" the deck before the END of Deck is reached.

Furthermore you can have several of these cards to keep the Deck "FRESH".

2: Draw +X Cards from the deck

This card may seem a bit "boring". But in truth it allows players to MITIGATE the cards that they "don't need" (As you put it). Again like the "Re-Shuffle" this card can occur more times maybe like in 54 Deck you could have 6 copies.

Quest_AC has 10 for 70 card Deck. And it's Draw +2 Cards...

So you can have cards to MITIGATE "Bad Draws" (Draw Again), "Exhausting all the more useful cards" (Re-Shuffle). I'm sure the can be others like:

  • "Magnifying Glass": search the discard for any card and place it in your hand.

  • "Recycle": Discard one card of from your Hand and draw +X cards from the Deck.

Things like that... I'm sure there are OTHERS too. I was just trying to SHOW how Card RNG can be manipulated too!

Note #1: I am using this for "Plains of Aria" (PoA) too! I have three (3) cards that allow you to mitigate RNG from card drawing. These two (2) and I have another one (which is similar to Re-Shuffle - but I borrowed Pandemic's Escalation Mechanic and made it a "core" ability...)

You can also have all kind of CONDITIONALS like "Pay Y resources and draw +X cards from you Deck." That too can become a PART of the game too... What do you do with "resources"??? Use them to help players acquire cards and therefore some kind of Item/Weapon/etc. etc.

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Tue, 05/06/2025 - 09:37
#7
larienna
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Its true that there are

Its true that there are various ways to handle card drawing randomness, but unless I am making a card based game like a deck builder or a MTG type of game, I don't think I need to also manage this in an adventure game. Eldritch horror used drawing cards until you find a matching category.

The problem with cards is that the probabilities changes after every draw which makes it very unpredictable. I don't want to have complex card management mechanism just for a deck of assets the players can get.

Certain game elements like Artifacts could be hard to implement via the no-card system unless its shared between players. Since its not liked to any player, might be more linked to the scenario, or bad guy you are fighting against. So either you need to put a player token on the artifact, on once its unlocked, all the players have access to it. It would be more like unlocking a special power for all players.

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Tue, 05/06/2025 - 11:57
#8
questccg
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Use Tokens with duration...

larienna wrote:
...Certain game elements like Artifacts could be hard to implement via the no-card system unless its shared between players. Since its not liked to any player, might be more linked to the scenario, or bad guy you are fighting against. So either you need to put a player token on the artifact, on once its unlocked, all the players have access to it. It would be more like unlocking a special power for all players.

Why not do like our friend @Jarec: use tokens with Numbers which indicate how many times an Artifact can be used. See this thread/comment:

https://www.bgdf.com/forum/game-creation/mechanics/looking-different-buf...

Unlike in @Jarec's case where the Tokens need to be small... You can make them the size of a Loonie or maybe a bit larger like a Poker chip. And since you only need 1-Token per Artifact, I'm guessing you could have like maximum FIVE (5) Artifacts per player, etc. etc.

I'll write some more later... I need to focus on something else ATM. TTYL.

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Wed, 05/07/2025 - 09:29
#9
larienna
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This is one idea that this

This is one idea that this sheet mechanism is bringing in. In the old game design, characters had a supplies and mana track. When you used an item like a firearm, or a med kit, your supplies track reduced, while when you used a spell, you mana track was used.

With the character sheet system, instead of a track it will be tokens placed directly on the asset. For example, you put 3 supplies tokens on your firearm indicating you have 3 shots available. Same thing for mana, you will assign your mana tokens to spells on your sheet. This increase strategy and resource management as you need to plan ahead how to manage your assets.

For an artifact, the same mechanism could be used, but it will have to be shared between players. So we assume player's character know each other and can share the artifact. Mechanic wise its a good idea, but its slightly less thematic to have a shared artifact. Still, now the scale is only for a city, so it could make sense

Or there could be multiple copies of the same artifact, that could be another explanation. So artifacts are not unique.

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Tue, 05/13/2025 - 17:40
#10
questccg
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How about this???

Instead of duplicates for artifacts, players at the same location can share artifacts. But otherwise it's only the player with the artifact can use it (alone). This brings a bit of reality to the concept.

Anyhow this is only one approach... But it's kinda a hybrid solution. It may or may not work for your design.

Let me know if this works.

The whole TOPIC is about how NOT to use cards. I guess you could have PLAYER BOARDS which are custom for each player and you need to travel to different location to "replenish" your items.

So it would be kinda like D&D where you have a player sheet with all that a PLAYER can have and maybe you have like a "Thief" Character can have a Short Bow with a quiver of 5 Poisonous Arrows. When the "Thief" runs out of arrows, he may use his INFINITE Weapons which is a "Ceremonial Dagger" which is Melee. The Bow was a Ranged weapon and can strike an enemy from a distance.

And then you would need to go to a location in the Game (Board) to replenish his supply of Poisonous Arrows.

This could work... And you could have ARMOR too. Which uses a different color of Token ... But like "Studded Leather Armor" could take 6 Bullets before becoming totally useless... And you can track that too.

Different armors cost different price and to repair an item, you need to visit a different location, etc. etc.

I think you understand what I mean.

I'm thinking this is your direction, and honestly depending on gold quantity, you could have levels of different armors which provide different protection.

Same goes for the weapons and items too.

Anyways ... I don't see any other options when there are NO CARDS. Tokens and Player Boards seems like the only solution. UNLESS you have several CLIPS around the Player Boards which symbolize VARIOUS TYPE of ITEMS:

1. Weapon
2. Potion
3. Armor
4. Artifact

Think of 4 sides of a Player Board with Tracks and then you have the inner portion which uses a CHIP or TOKEN or WOODEN CUBE to identify which "Weapon" is being used.

I don't know if you UNDERSTAND what I mean. So I'll try to give a better visual:

On the edges (there are 4 of them): Top = Weapon (0 to 12), Left = Potion (0 to 6), Bottom = Armor (0 to 12), and Right = Artifact (0 to 6).

That the EDGES of the PLAYER BOARD.

INSIDE you would have a LIST OF WEAPONS (current one identified by the RED Wooden Cube) like a Dagger (Infinite Attacks), Short Bow (Poisonous Arrows), etc. etc.

Then a LIST OF POTIONS (current one identified by the GREEN Wooden Cube) like Precision Potion, Healing Potion, Invisibility Potion, etc. etc.

Next you would have a LIST OF ARMORS (current one identified by a BLUE Wooden Cube) like Leather Armor, Ring Mail, Diamond Studded Armor, etc. etc.

And lastly you would have a LIST OF ARTIFACTS (current one identified by a YELLOW Wooden Cube).

The FOUR LISTS would be INSIDE the Player Board. While each one's TRACKS would be on the OUTSIDE (or BORDER)...

That also might work. But it requires some STREAMLINING and doing this such that they make sense. Each Character would have their OWN ITEM LISTS and could have some shared items (same on multiple characters).

Cheers @larienna.

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Tue, 05/20/2025 - 01:14
#11
larienna
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Sliding paper clip is not a

Sliding paper clip is not a bad idea. Still I don't want all the armors and weapons in the game listed on the sheet. I prefer that each character has its own limited set of assets to make each character unique, but still allow him to be used in different ways.

One player might prefer using your thief with poisonous arrows, while other players might prefer using that same thief with stealth and the dagger.

I think the old FFG world of warcraft adventure game had a character sheet you could upgrade in different ways. I would need to take a look at it again as a reminder.

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Tue, 05/20/2025 - 21:04
#12
questccg
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That's not exactly what I meant but ...

larienna wrote:
Sliding paper clip is not a bad idea. Still I don't want all the armors and weapons in the game listed on the sheet. I prefer that each character has its own limited set of assets to make each character unique, but still allow him to be used in different ways.

One player might prefer using your thief with poisonous arrows, while other players might prefer using that same thief with stealth and the dagger...

You can even have MULTIPLES of the same CLASS of Character with DIFFERENT "assets" as you put to have more choices for the various Player Boards than just having one of each class. Like you could have 2 Thieves (for example).

And yeah you misunderstood what I meant. My purpose was to explain the idea. I in no way suggested that you put ALL the "Same" Weapons & Items and such on a sheet... Customize each Hero to your liking in all 4 Categories: Weapons, Items, Armor and Artifacts.

What I meant was each character would have 4 TYPES of "assets" and you could personalize each character (However you balance out with the rest of the game)!

But yeah overall you understood what I was suggesting.

Cheers!

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Wed, 05/21/2025 - 14:30
#13
larienna
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I found the WoW game i played

I found the WoW game i played a long time ago. here is the character sheet.

https://boardgamegeek.com/image/105861/world-of-warcraft-the-boardgame

In this case, it is hybrid, some cards are printed on the sheet but new cards can be found and added.

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Wed, 05/21/2025 - 16:30
#14
questccg
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Are you using cards or not???

larienna wrote:
I found the WoW game i played a long time ago...

Those are much TOO FANCY. And use cards. My Version would be DIVIDED into the CORRECT Categories. The Wow character sheets are also simple too. I would use something which is closer to a Spreadsheet on the Player Board and NO ART. You don't need a 2" x 2" image of a Ceremonial Dagger on a card or elsewhere in the Player Board.

And you can have STATS like a D&D Player Sheet with the Weapons, Items, Armor and Artifact making all kinds of modifiers. Or have a short description of what the item does. You like PIXEL ART, picture your ITEMS ALL PIXEL ART (and like 32 x 32 pixels).

I would make the Player Board closer to a D&D Player Sheet but add the itemized "assets" to the board.

Anyhow that's my own opinion... You can design whatever you like. But you are going to have to make a DECISION: "Do you WANT cards or not?" If NO to cards, then not good is the "WoW" Player Board. If YES... Well then it's the opposite of everything we've discussed in this thread.

So I don't see the use of copying WoW from FFG if it's not what you want to be designing...

Again at some point in time you're going to need to make a decision and design with that GOAL in mind.

Best of luck with your game!

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Thu, 05/22/2025 - 22:13
#15
questccg
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I'd picture Player Boards like "Pixel Tactics"

This is the classic version of "Pixel Tactics" which has icons and then descriptions on the cards themselves. I would be going with something similar but on PLAYER BOARDS for each "asset" Category.

Let me know what you think!?

BTW if you think: "How can this work???" Instead of having different colors per Ability... You have the SAME color per "category". So Weapons are all in RED, Armor is all in BLUE, Items are in GREEN and Artifacts are in PURPLE.

What it means is SEVERAL Weapons could be listed and you can use the edges of the player board to specify how many of that Weapon are allowed. Each Weapon is in a RED "Rectangle" (Like in the Pixel Tactics sample) and you can choose from available weapons for an "attack" (for example)...

Something along those lines. Cheers!

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Fri, 05/23/2025 - 18:15
#16
questccg
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Instead of just NUMBER you could also have...

And INFINITY Symbol at the start for weapons that do NOT require "charges" or "reloading". This includes things likes Swords, Maces, Hammers, Axes, which are all Melee weapons. For RANGED weapons like Bows, Crossbows, Slings, Wands, Rods, etc. etc. You could have a LIMITED Quantity from 1 to 20 for example for Arrows, Quarrels, Rocks, and Charges.

So your first entry is INFINITY which means that a weapon is NOT LIMITED. And then you can work out the LIMITED version which could be from 1 to 20 (for example). Not all weapons can go up to 20... Like a Want might only go to 12 or a Rod may only go to 10, etc. etc.

I don't know you game sufficiently enough to be able to say the THEME is "X".

Why is this somewhat important???

Well I am suggesting a Medieval Fantasy theme... When it may be the 1920s Gangster era and bit like Arkham Horror... Then you have different ranged weapons like Shotgun, Rifle, and Tommy guns ... For example.

Anyhow the concept would be the same but the minute details would be DIFFERENT.

Cheers @larienna.

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Sat, 05/24/2025 - 21:24
#17
questccg
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I re-read the OP and ...

If this is for an Arkham Horror variant... You'll want to have 1920's weaponry for Ranged Attacks.

And in my MIND, you can carry ONLY 2 Weapons or 3 if one is a smaller one. Like for example a "Ceremonial Dagger" and a "Crossbow" with 10 quarrels. And then you could maybe add a "Shotgun" (with a 8 bullets)... And then you have a sort of a Thief-like character that could work.

My problem is the tracking of Ammo for both RANGED weapons.

My SOLUTION is this: Any player may carry ONE (1) Melee Weapon and ONE (1) Ranged Weapon. Melee weapons are infinite and can always be use within proximity of the enemy and the Ranged weapons can be used from a distance.

This doesn't work for ARMOR however...

For ARMOR you would use the STRONGEST armor FIRST for like 10 HITS and then go down to the SECOND-Best Armor for like 8 HITS, etc. etc. That could work and would be simple to manage too.

ITEMS are tricky. Not sure how to handle this category of "Assets". TBH it's hard to have "uses" like a "Healing Potion" should restore "X" amount of Health but how do you track the amount of "Healing Potions" if at a later time you would want to use a "Potion of Strength"... Throws everything out of WHACK!

Not sure HOW(?) to resolve this... Your own personal observations are required and maybe you have some better ideas. ATM I have none.

Lastly ARTIFACTS are also tricky. Can you carry more that ONE (1) Artifact? Like a "Enchanted Pocket Watch" which can magically FREEZE time. My IDEA here is that Artifacts can be used as much as you like and whichever you prefer but there is a COOL-DOWN count for each artifact. For example the "Pocket Watch" may freeze time for 3 Rounds. And so therefore you would use the slider and place it on "3" and each subsequent ROUND go down back to ZERO (0).

So realistically ... All you have is the ITEMS which I am unsure about using MULTIPLE items and how to have "charges" or "uses" TBD... Maybe you have some additional thoughts or see a way to handle this ... IDK. ATM I cannot come up with anything CLEVER for ITEMS.

Let me know if this reflection HELPED or NOT!

Best.

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Sat, 05/24/2025 - 21:40
#18
questccg
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I really LIKE the "Cooldown" mechanic for Artifacts

So it's CLEVER and it means that you have to WAIT until the effect of ONE (1) Artifact is DONE and therefore that sort of "micro-manages" the artifacts and how a player can carry different ones WITHOUT requiring too much trouble.

And as I said in a comment EARLIER, Artifacts can be SHARED among players at the SAME LOCATION. So if a Thief and a Marine are at the same location, the Marine may use one of the Thief's Artifacts and the Thief may use one of the Marine's Artifacts.

I still think that's a GOOD idea... And makes 100% sense. The cooldown is also good as it establishes a specific amount of time required before being able to USE another "Artifact" ... So while the effect may be INSTANT, the Cool-down rate could be MULTIPLE ROUNDS.

That really all sounds GREAT! TBH ... This is all reasonable.

If only I had a SOLUTION for "Items"???

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Sat, 05/24/2025 - 23:46
#19
questccg
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I have an idea about how to handle items....

ITEMS could be handled in a very CLEVER way. Let me explain:

questccg wrote:
Each item is given a cost in gold. For example a "Healing Potion" which heals 20 HP costs 10 gold and a "Strength Potion" which gives +10 STR costs 25 gold.

To replenish these 2 items it would cost 35 gold x quantity ÷ 2. Since there are only 2 items.

So in our example, we would get 5 as the quantity would cost 35 x 5 ÷ 2 = 175 ÷ 2 = 88 gold.

This means you have a total of FIVE (5) uses for EITHER Potion... This means you only have 5 uses but you can decide when to use which potion.

You could have 5 "Healing Potions" or 5 "Strength Potion" or any combination of both that add up to five (5).

I'm not 100% sure about the location to recharge... But if you have an Apothecary that would be the place to load up on potions...

You have to figure out your items and the locations you must visit...

These are just CLEVER but EMBRYONIC ideas.

Let me know what you think...

Cheers @larienna.

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Sun, 05/25/2025 - 15:54
#20
questccg
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Joined: 04/16/2011
Continuing on the 5 Quantity of Potions...

Let's say you visit the "Witch's Hut" who makes Magical Scrolls. These scrolls can be used by anyone and require a INT Skill Check.

So you have FIVE (5) Potions (Healing and Strength) and you want to add a "Scroll of Fireball" (50 Gold) and a "Scroll of Poison" (40 Gold)... And you CURRENT "Quantity" is FIVE (5)...

This would mean that adding both = 90 Gold ÷ 2 = 45 Gold x 5 = 225 Gold in total.

But it now means you have enough ITEMS for "5" uses and in the inventory you have 4 different items: 2 Potions and 2 Scrolls.

Something like that. I know it ain't PERFECT... But that's the point it doesn't need to be PERFECT, it needs to be FUNCTIONAL and work in an EASY WAY without the need for cards.

Tell me what you think?!

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