Well, I guess here goes nothing...
Awhile ago on the forums (like, ancient times ago...), someone posted that it would be cool if someone took the concept for a Tactics style game, and created it into a board game...
I've been working on that a wee bit...
Here's the rough draft, but here it goes anyway... (Note, this is a huge wall of text... about 5 pages...)
Tactics Advent
by
Jaller141
Basics:
What the game requires: Miniatures (currently in progress), dice, paper and pencil, board.
First, Write down all the units (write the units from highest to lowest) Write down Speed____ HP:__ __ __ __ Buffs: Debuffs:
Example:
Thief: Speed: ___ HP:__ __ Buffs: _______,_______,_______,_______ Debuffs: _______,_______,_______,_______
Key Gameplay Elements:
Movement: Movement is an important part of Tactics Advent. Each unit has a move and jump value associated with it. A unit can only move the number of spaces equal to its move rate. A unit can only climb as high as their Jump value, if a unit wishes to reach a tile higher than it can jump, it has to find a way to get high enough to jump onto said spot (So, a Paladin with a 2 Jump cannot climb spaces higher than 2 tiles high.), a unit can also jump to another piece of terrain if
If a unit moves/is pushed off a tile higher then where they are being pushed to (say, off a cliff 3 tiles high to a cliff of 1 tile high), a unit will suffer damage if they fall further spaces than their jump value. (Our Paladin gets knocked off said cliff; he may suffer damage because he can only fall 2 spaces before he has a chance to get hurt.) A unit can roll to see if they suffer fall damage. Fall damage is equal to the number of tiles a unit descends that are higher than the unit’s jump value *1d6. (Our Paladin, if he falls 3 spaces, only suffers 1d6 damage. If he would have fallen further, say, 5 tiles total, he’d roll 1d6 and suffer 3 times the value of the roll… careful about your jumps!)
When a unit falls, they can roll to see if they suffer damage. (This is called a save) Divide the fall distance by the jump value of a unit; that is what you are rolling against (We’ll call this the Fall value). Roll 1d6, if the # on the die is higher than the fall value, the unit suffers no damage. However, if the fall value is higher than the # on the die (or if the fall value was larger than 1d6), the unit suffers damage.
Speed: Speed is important. Speed determines whether or not a unit will be the first, or the last, to move. All units have a speed value, said value is compared against other unit’s speed values. Arrange the units from fastest to slowest (based on speed… see, I told you this earlier) on a sheet of paper If multiple units have the same speed, players have to roll to see who goes first (higher roll goes first, if more than 2 units are owned by a player that have the same speed, the high roller chooses which of his units he wants to go first, then the low roller chooses one of his units to go next, then back to the high roller, continue like this until there are no more units that are marked as the same speed.)
Note, before arranging units based on speed, mark any buffs or debuffs the units have (say, my Cleric has a -2 on his speed, he'd now be lower than another cleric if he was even before.) If any unit’s speeds are less than zero, their speed is set to 1 for the round.
Facing: A unit's Facing determines how much damage a unit will take from an attack. If a unit is hit in the front, they will take less damage then being hit in the side. If a unit is hit from behind, it will take more damage than being hit from the side.
Example:
Thief hits Wizard in the front, Wizard takes 2 damage. (base Damage)
Thief hits Wizard in the side, wizard takes 3 damage. (1.5x damage.)
Thief hits Wizard from Behind, Wizard takes 4 damage (2x damage.)
Choosing the Correct facing for the Job may make or break your game.
Spells: Spells are not affected by facing... but units may take more damage from spells then others.
Also note, when a unit takes a decimal value from attacks (say, 3.7) truncate (or round down) the value so it is an integer (or a whole number)
Wizard cast Blizzard, hits Thief in the front, Thief takes 3 damage.
Wizard cast Blizzard, hits Thief in the side, Thief takes 3 damage.
Wizard cast Blizzard, hits Thief in the back, Thief takes 3 damage.
Wizard cast Blizzard, hits Wizard, Wizard take 2 damage.
For example, say Wizards have a Magic Defense of 10% (if Blizzard deals 30 damage, Wizards only take 27)
Some spells though, require the unit to be facing the caster. (these will be marked)
Beholder cast Glare, hits Thief in the front, Thief takes 3 damage.
Beholder cast Glare, hits Thief in the side, Thief takes 3 damage.
Beholder cast Glare, hits Thief in the back, Thief is immune
(Note, the test values for damage and defense are not equal to what the normal value of the attacks would be… Glare and fireball will not always deal 3 damage.)
When rolling to see if an attack hits, the attacking unit rolls 1d6. If the value on the die is larger than the defending unit’s Defense, the attacker deals damage. A units defense is equal to their Def * Facing value (If a unit is facing a target, it uses its full Def, if an attacker is facing the defender’s side, the unit has ½ its Def value, if the attacker strikes a defender from behind, the attack is an automatic success, and deals damage.)
Action types: Attack/Spell/Skill
Attack: If a unit is in range of a target, it can attack said target. The unit deals its damage, minus any debuffs, and add bonus damage for facings and buffs.
Spell: All units have abilities that they are able to use, however, not all abilities are used in the same way. Some abilities Burst*, some abilities form a Line*, while others are just single targets. Some spells also have requirements, such as some require a unit not to move for its turn to cast, or give up HP, or even cause the unit to slow down on the next round. Spells hit a target if they are rolled a higher value then the target's M Def.
Skill: These are another set of abilities that some units are capable of using. Unlike spells, these values are rolled against a target's Def value. If the spell has a positive effect associated with it, a die is rolled against a said value to check for success.
*Burst: Range and Burst are different in two ways. First, a range of a skill is where a unit can target, within itself and the # of spaces that the range value states. A Burst affects all areas within # of the caster (or the targeted area, if the spell has range). If the spell does not have a range, the caster is not affected by the Burst.
*Line: Line attacks deal damage to all units that are within, say, # (the range of the spell) spaces in front of the caster.
Equipment: Equipment is shown on each character, allowing players to see what stats the items are boosting... Equipment can not be changed, or reequipped unless a character has the reequip command (this does not take a turn, however, it can only be used on the unit's round). Reequip replaces 1 target item that has been rended/removed, or can change to another item that a player owns (say, a player spends points to unlock a stronger weapon, and they kept it unequipped, they can now place it on the unit with reequip, or if said item is destroyed, they can replace it with the original item.) If a player owns no duplicates of an item, it can not be replaced.
What happens in a Round:
A Round is divided into Phases:
Section 1: Speed Check
Section 2: Unit actions
Section 3: Round reset.
1: Speed Check: Look at speed from above; do that.
2: Unit Actions: First: Check the speed sheet. The unit on the top of the list moves first, then the unit after the first unit moves, and so on and so forth. A unit is able to move and/or use an action (some skills require that the unit has not moved, while other skills have other debuffs.)
Once all the units have had a turn, move to step 3.
3: Round reset: First, check to see if any units can use an ability to revive themselves. If a unit revives itself, its hp is reset to ¼ of its max hp and is left on the field. Remove any units with 0 or less hp. Repeat step 1 until all of the units of one team are removed from the board. (note, some units, such as the Shaman, have abilities which bring them back to life. The unit returns to the spot it died in, or an adjacent spot if the spot is occupied.)
Units
There are 3 types of units in the current build of tactics advent.
Class Units: Each one of these units has a class associated with them... each class plays differently.
Hero Units: Hero units are stronger then class units, however, they are also more expensive. Each hero also comes with another class benefit, for example, Gathindor the Holy Paladin has skills from the Paladin class, and his own set of skills.
Hero units are rare, and can change battles drastically... however, they usually cost around double the amount of the average strong unit.
Monsters: Some units do not have a class, but are instead, a creature/monster/elemental/etc. All creatures have abilities that are specific to their type, however, some also have unique skills. Monsters range in value from being a very cheap (fodder) unit, or a very expensive (Boss) unit…
Glossary
Unit cost: All units have a cost associated with them. Some units cost more than others (Class units all cost around the same, while Monster units all vary with price.) At the beginning of the game, set a total wage for all players (say, a wage of 10). The players can “buy” their units before each game (so, say I buy a Paladin for 2$, 3 Wizards for 2$ each, and a Cleric for 2$, while my opponent buys 2 Black Dragon Whelps for 2$ each, and a Black Drake for 6$). I suggest keeping the values small, to keep from having to micro manage too many units (Who goes next, what did he just do, can he hit him? Just a few of the many questions that may rise from large armies fighting each other… of course, more experienced players may get a kick outta larger groups.)
Unit HP: This is the unit’s life… whenever damage is dealt to a unit, this value is lowered. When a unit reaches 0HP, it is removed from the game (this is, if it can’t resurrect). If one (or both) players lose all their units, the game is over, and the player who controls a surviving unit wins (or it’s a draw if all units die… no one wins, losers.)
Unit Def: This is what the unit rolls to defend against attacks… remember this value, its important when choosing which unit is going to stand and take hits, and which unit, you know, isn’t…
Unit M Def: This is what attacks marked as spells roll against. Even when a positive affect is used, it has a chance to be resisted by a high M Def, so choose defenses wisely.
Move, Jump: Both of these will have different values, their purpose have been explained more in dept above, however… Move is how many spaces a unit can move in a turn, while jump is how high of terrain they are able to traverse, how far they can fall before suffering fall damage, and how far they can jump off one tile to another. However, if a unit can jump a distance, but can not normally move that distance, they are unable to make the jump.
Lets say there are 3 pillars of about 2,4, and 6 tiles high within 3 spaces of each other. Our thief has a jump of 3, and a move of 5, so our thief can jump onto the first pillar, leap the 3 spaces to reach the 2nd pillar, and even though she can reach the third pillar, she is unable to jump because she has moved her move value... the next turn she can jump onto the third pillar, and has a nice view of the battlefield, unable to be hit by melee enemies.
Speed: Speed is matched with other units speeds in order to determine who moves first in a round. If two or more units have the same speed
Character Classes (WIP):
Squire: A squire is a warrior attempting to become a knight, trying to get the prestige to move up in the ranks. Squires have the ability to throw stones, and increased accuracy on their main attack.
Cost: 1 Point
HP: Low (15-25)
Def: 2
M Def: 3
Attack: 0
Speed: 5
Move: 4
Jump: 2
Abilities:
Blitz Strike
Cooldown: 2 Turns
Effect: Blitz Strike increases the Squire's attack roll by 2.
Stone
Cooldown: N/A
Range: 4
Effect: The Squire throws a stone at a target, dealing 1d6 damage to the target.
Knight: After a Squire is knighted, they learn the Arts of War. More powerful then their beginner counterparts, able to take more damage and they have the ability to rend equipment.
Cost: 2 points:
HP: High (50-80)
Def: 3
M Def: 3
Attack: +3
Dmg: 1d6
Speed: 3
Move: 3
Jump: 2
Abilities:
Rend Equipment: The Knight strikes with such force that the enemy's armor is damaged, to the point it is unusable. If the knight rolls a 1 on this attack, it succeeds, if he rolls a 2, he must re roll as an attack roll. If 3 or higher, the attack misses.
Passive Ability:
Parry
Effect: The knight can roll 1d6 instead of using his defense stat against an attack roll made against him. (Edited)
Archer (New!):
Cost: 2
HP: Low
Def: 2
M Def: 2
Attack: +4
Range, mid: 2
Range, max: 4+
Dmg: 3d6
Speed: 5
Move: 4
Jump:2
Abilities:
Passive: Height Advantage:
Effect: When the archer is higher than a target they are attacking, the archer gains X bonus to her max range, X being the number of tiles higher than the target.
Volley:
Range: Attack Range
Burst: 2
Effect: Roll 2 Dice, X (Dice total) units within the burst radius suffer 1d6 damage. If there are less than X amount of units in range, effected units can be hit multiple times, however, all units must be hit evenly. This effects allies and enemies.
Example: You roll an 8, with 5 units as the target. 3 of the units are your units, while 2 are the enemies. 2 of your units may be hit once (or twice... if chosen) while 1 of your units are guaranteed to be hit twice. The two enemies units can be hit twice (or once, if you decide all your own units will be hit twice.)
More classes on the way... After some beta testing
Last Edit: January 19, 2010, 10:32:29 pm by jaller141
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Tactics Advent...