In development - EDEN

[dmshepard]

Another card game I'm working on, this one is a little more developed and complex, though hopefully simple enough to understand. What I have so far:



Card Types:
Characters
Spells
Machinations
Zones

Characters have both a power (used to battle) and an energy number. The energy number determines the amount of spells a character can cast before becoming exhausted.
A character that loses a battle becomes exhausted. An exhausted character that loses a battle is wasted.
Spells have an energy cost attached to them, using a character's energy number to determine if it can be cast or not. Some spells may be cast when a character has no remaining energy (Gambits), but they leave the character exhausted.
Only one character may normally be played each turn.
Machinations can be played only on your turn, and usually require an energy cost or some other cost to activate.
Zones stay in effect until a new zone is played by either player.
In card examples, * represents a character's power and # represents an energy number or amount.


TURN ORDER
Start Phase - ongoing conditions & effects, energy points restored.
Draw Phase - Active player draws a card
Main Phase - Active player may play characters, spells, machinations and zones.
Combat Phase - characters attack other characters or attempt to capture eden
Clean-up Phase - Characters are exhausted, active player may play additional spells, characters, machinations and zones.
End Phase - The turn is passed to the next player.


Combat Phase.


Card Identities
Some cards have an "Identity" that specifies them as coming from a particular area of society.
N = Nobility (violet)
C = Theocracy (blue)
T = Technology (silver)
P = Peasantry (brown)
O = Outlanders (black)
There are cards without identities. These identities may alter the effects of some cards, or may have protection from others. (white)







Capturing Eden
The only way to win the game is to kill your opponent while you have Eden under your control. The player that goes first begins with eden. The main way to capture her is through battle.
First, when you declare attackers, you may use one or more to attempt to capture eden. Your opponent may choose to protect her by using one of their characters that is not currently exhausted. If that character is currently enganged with another character, it disengages, becomes exhausted, and engages with one of the characters attacking eden.
In order for Eden to be captured, you must successfully deal combat damage to the player who currently holds her. This can be by a direct strike, over-the-top damage from a character with "piercing". Control of Eden passes to you. If a character was not exhausted by or before attempting to capture Eden, they are exhausted.


Player's start with 10 life. A player cannot drop below 1 life unless the player who dealt them the damage is the current controller of Eden.

EXAMPLES:

Scarred Hadge Mage (O)
Character *0 #2
Exhaust ~: draw a card.

Quick Salve
Spell, Cost 1
Swift
Target character recovers from exhaustion.


Steam Guard (T)
Character, *3, #0
Sentry
When ~ becomes exhausted, it gains 1 permanent energy.


Royal Patrol (N)
Character , *3, #1

Shrapnel Volt (T)
Spell, Gambit
Sacrifice a machination; waste target character.

Goggogg (T)
Character *2 #2
#2: target grafted character gets +1 power until end of turn.


Faren's Reward
Spell, Cost 2
Target character gains 3 energy.
You may cast ~ as a Gambit. If you do, Waste targeted character at end of turn.

[dmshepard]

UPDATE: IDEAS

Since Eden is such a central part of the game, there will be cards that reward you for having eden under your control, punish your opponent for controlling eden,and ones that are able to awitch control of Eden by means other than combat.

Each identity will have its preferred means of fighting that will fit with them thematically. For example, the Nobility will use hired goons, card draw (resources) and tax-like spells and zones while the Outlanders will use small tricks and traps to hinder the opposition.

[dmshepard]

THE NEW EDEN.

The Dice Man Cometh

EDEN has been revamped. The central system now revolves around 12-sided dice, each with a set of symbols (Attack, Defense, Magic, Seeker, Endurance, and a blank side) that can be used or stored to take actions.

Each player's side of the field consists of the deck zone, graveyard, seeker zone, support bench, 3 storage units, a dice zone, a spell zone, and a capture zone for holding eden. Players also have a special area in front of them to place their base, which includes it's own health value and special goals for capturing eden.

Goals for winning: Destroy your opponent's base, control eden for 5 consecutive turns, or deck your opponent. To do this, you roll a set of 5 d12s up to 3 times a turn, choosing each time to spend, store, or discard your results. Depending on the dice, you can play different spells, activate the abilities of your seekers and supports, attempt to capture eden, or complete goals on your base.

[dmshepard]

TURN RULES
The turn is split into several phases.

1. Empty Phase - during this phase, all of your stored dice are emptied. There may be card effect that take place at the beginning or end of this phase. Players can play Swift actions before dice are cleared.

2. Draw Phase - the active player draws a card from their deck.

3. Deployment Phase 1 - Active player may place Seeker cards from their hand into play in any open Leader or Support slots they control.

4. Roll Phase - The active player makes their roll. After each roll, priority is first on the active player in deciding whether or not to cast, then passes to the defending player. Once both players have passed and all effects are resolved, the active player chooses which remaining dice to store (if any) and rolls again. The same happens on the second an third roll. After the third roll, when all effects are resolved and both players have passed, the active player chooses his final dice to store and the phase ends.

5. Deployment Phase 2 - The active player may fill any unfilled Seeker zones, or redeploy in an occupied zone they control. Redeployment drains your stored dice for the cost printed on the Seeker's RD (redeployment) cost.

6. End Phase - any effects triggering on the end of turn resolve, and the turn passes to the next player.

[Boone]

This sounds really badass on paper. Obviously one can't make any comments until it's actually played, not to mention this a dense amount of info, but I'm looking forward to hopefully playing this in the near future...

[dmshepard]

I want it to have the feel of a card game plus the luck of the dice aspect, without the luck taking away from the game. There will be plenty of dice manipulation!

[Boone]

I like that. No sensible person ever said nay to the inclusion of dice.

[dmshepard]

I want it to be relatively quick and furious, and even though many designers advise against it, I want it to be swingy.