37 minutes ago, rugal said:

sometimes, opinions may vary

Even my opinions vary - even regards the same subject - first I thought this team will be useless

That's why we need to test and even test more, and share, discuss.

6 hours ago, kbalazsa said:

No I'm not trolling. In fact I admire your work here as well as Rugal's to keep the inspiration ongoing.

Thanks, I'm personally doing the best I can, as this is my favorite game.

6 hours ago, kbalazsa said:

But both of you are here not just only to share but to receive feedbacks as well. And sometimes I have the feelings that you're not really opened for those inputs. I will keep testing and share my thoughts nevertheless as really enjoy to try out these ideas and play with these new alternated versions.

I intend on being fully open to any and all ideas. But I do think the aim should be for the most interesting/fun abilities that are still balanced to play. We should be free to discuss these ideas here, and then they should be playtested thoroughly so that the designs can be tweaked for balance. Just discussing ideas (or challenging them) doesn't mean I'm not open to them, I would say the contrary in fact.

6 hours ago, kbalazsa said:

I can't wait to finish the current campaign with the Glyr/Buldar/Landrec/Bogran team then start a new one right away.

Your playtesting efforts are really appreciated here. The more data we have the better informed our decisions will be. I've just been doing one-shots, but I plan on doing a campaign soon myself with other players.

6 hours ago, kbalazsa said:

At the end I hope we can make a deal to have an alternated design available for at least Aurim as the original one is still horrible (and I don't know, and not willing to learn how to do it).

I've not personally had much of an issue with the original design of Aurim. He's on the stronger side of healers. My biggest issue with him has been his variability. If he happens to pop open a treasure chest, well that's bad. On the other hand if he pulls out nothing, that's equally bad for the heroes.

In my one-shots so far, he's been completely fine. I'd definitely rather face him as Overlord than many other healers. But I do still think the gold-generating part is potentially problematic and needs further testing.

6 hours ago, kbalazsa said:

Even my opinions vary - even regards the same subject - first I thought this team will be useless

That's why we need to test and even test more, and share, discuss.

Yes, couldn't agree more here. Landrec was a big wake up call to me. I think the first suggested version I had for him was still incredibly weak. But it wasn't until I actually played with him that I was able to figure that out. I thought it would be strong. Same could be said of Kirga. I thought her ability was maybe too strong, but playing with her I could see it was pretty balanced except for some rare circumstances (which could be fixed).

So the lesson is: testing, testing, testing.

5 hours ago, ComtriS said:

12 hours ago, kbalazsa said:

At the end I hope we can make a deal to have an alternated design available for at least Aurim as the original one is still horrible (and I don't know, and not willing to learn how to do it).

I've not personally had much of an issue with the original design of Aurim. He's on the stronger side of healers. My biggest issue with him has been his variability. If he happens to pop open a treasure chest, well that's bad. On the other hand if he pulls out nothing, that's equally bad for the heroes.

In my one-shots so far, he's been completely fine. I'd definitely rather face him as Overlord than many other healers. But I do still think the gold-generating part is potentially problematic and needs further testing.

I was pointing only on the design aspect, the picture on the hero card The ability and feat is OK, and looks interesting. I'll test it as it is on the latest version. I just have to figure out which class he'll be.

On 12/15/2020 at 4:54 AM, ComtriS said:

I've not personally had much of an issue with the original design of Aurim. He's on the stronger side of healers.

I'm perfecttly fine with the CK Aurim too.

I've run a full campaign with him. It's true that he adds gold to the party, but without that he would just be meh. Hoping for a potion and having to set your caracters side by side to maximize it's effects are too situationnal. So as far as I'm concerned he needs the gold to stay strong.

Besides, until he finds a Runic Plate he's quite easy to knock down.

I'll keep playing the CK version.

20 hours ago, Francesco Lamas said:

I'm perfecttly fine with the CK Aurim too.

I've run a full campaign with him. It's true that he adds gold to the party, but without that he would just be meh. Hoping for a potion and having to set your caracters side by side to maximize it's effects are too situationnal. So as far as I'm concerned he needs the gold to stay strong.

Besides, until he finds a Runic Plate he's quite easy to knock down.

I'll keep playing the CK version.

What do you think about my proposal for the minor change: "Draw a search card. If it's potion, keep it. If not, put it on the bottom of the search deck and repeat this effect."

3 hours ago, ComtriS said:

What do you think about my proposal for the minor change: "Draw a search card. If it's potion, keep it. If not, put it on the bottom of the search deck and repeat this effect."

Probably a good idea, since it prevents from drawing the curse doll or the fire flask.

I like the possibility of drawing the chest though, and with all the trinkets Aurim has on his belt on the original art, it's not that bad fluffwise.

6 hours ago, ComtriS said:

What do you think about my proposal for the minor change: "Draw a search card. If it's potion, keep it. If not, put it on the bottom of the search deck and repeat this effect."

Better than original, even if not perfect. Adding 1 search to all encounter is broken.

Another playtest session report.

Campaign: Heirs of Blood

Quest: Edge of Dawn encounter 1

Power Level: Epic (Expert)

Healer: Aurim, Soul Reaper

The version we tested was: " Heroic Feat: Draw a search card. If it's a potion keep it. Otherwise put it on the bottom and repeat this effect."

Aurim was again not super useful throughout this encounter (this is becoming a recurring theme). He had an opportunity to use a stamina potion on 3 heroes (including himself), for a total of 13 fatigue regeneration. This is similar to heroes' feats that provide for double movement (Jain / Silhoutte). This seemed fine to me and honestly much easier to swallow than a crazy Jain/Silhoutte move halfway across the board turn. Again, I'm not evaluating the gold-generating aspect because this is a one-shot.

No proposed fix

Warrior: Laughin Buldar, Champion

First time testing Laughin. Maybe we should have tested Skirmisher, because I assume that's really what unlocks his ability. Otherwise, I honestly don't understand the point of his ability. It seems useless other than just to allow him to wield a shield and a good weapon. Probably a good combo would've been Fists of Iron + Ironbound Glaive + Dual Strike + Unrelenting. That's what I'd like to test next with him.

As Champion he was okay. His feat was decent in this encounter, allowed him to do a double attack which helped a lot at a key moment to smack 2 Shadow Dragons for a ton of damage (with Landrec's help). I really think this version of the feat is significantly better than the other version, as you can play around it a lot easier as Overlord. It's hard not to allow 2 attacks to Laughin. And 2 attacks for a Heroic feat is perfectly in line with Lord Hawthorne's feat, for example, with the additional benefit that the Overlord has to play around it.

No proposed fix

Mage: Landrec the Wise, Geomancer

Still testing this guy. We tested this version again (this time in Act 2): "Each time a hero performs an attack and rolls no Surge, add 1 Surge to the results."

Also changed his Feat to this: "1 Surge: +5 damage"

This version felt so much better. And I was right that in Act 2 he doesn't hand out as many surges due to more dice being rolled (big surprise I know). But I think he's balanced with the Heroic Feat fix. Now he gets a one time burst of damage that he can basically use whenever he wants AND it actually synergizes with his Hero Ability. I highly recommend that others try this version out, because it took quite a number of iterations to get this to a place that I'm personally happy with. Please let me know what you think.

Again, to summarize:

Version 1.0 (CK): "Each time you perform an attack and roll no Surge, add 1 Surge to the results."

Version 2.0 (bad): "Each time a hero within 3 spaces performs an attack and rolls no Surge, add 1 Surge to the results."

Version 3.0 (broken): "Each time a hero within 2 spaces performs an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Version 4.0 (slightly weak / balanced): "Each time a hero performs an attack and rolls no Surge, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal B (untested): "Each time you perform an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal C (untested): "Each time an adjacent hero performs an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal D (untested) : "Each time a hero within 1 space performs an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal E (untested): "Once per turn, when a hero within 1 spaces performs an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal F: ( @kbalazsa : "too strong"): "Once per turn, when a hero within 2 space performs an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal G (untested): "Once per turn, when a hero within 2 space performs an attack, and rolls no Surge, add 1 Surge to the results."

No proposed fix

Scout: Bogran, Bounty Hunter

Bogran was an absolute blast! Positioning him in just the right way and moving other heroes around. I didn't get to personally play him (as I was Overlord), but I really love this hero. He is also a beast with Heart Seeker. I think his Hero Ability is great and has the right amount of balance because it requires positional play to achieve (which requires fatigue typically). It also has counterplay for the Overlord. Just a super fun hero.

I'm not 100% sure about his Heroic Feat. I think we need to test this more. For now, I don't think any changes are needed, but I do think this needs to be tested further to see how useful this is. It does enable his Hero Ability, but it seems like through positional play you should mostly be able to achieve his hero ability anyway so I'm not sure about it. I wonder if something like the following would be more appropriate: "Use at the start of your turn. Until your next turn starts, no figure can trace line of sight to you." This can then be used offensively or defensively or both.

No proposed fix

Yet another playtest session report. This time playing with 2 D1E players and 2 very experienced D2E players. I try to mix up who I play with as much as possible so I can get good and varied test results.

Campaign: Heirs of Blood

Quest: Shadowfall Mountain (act 2) encounter 1

Power Level: Epic (Expert)

Healer: Andira Runehand, Soul Reaper

Don't feel the need to test Aurim anymore in a one-shot setting.

Warrior: Laughin Buldar, Skirmisher

2nd time testing Laughin. This time went with my theorized Skirmisher build: Fists of Iron + Ironbound Glaive + Dual Strike + Unrelenting. This was incredibly strong allowing him a max of 4 attacks every turn (BRY, BRY, BRY, BYY), each with Surge: +3 damage, Surge: +3 Pierce. He was somewhat limited by his 3/3 movement/stamina. He definitely felt a lot better as Skirmisher than Champion, but the experienced player mentioned with his 3/3 stats he'd probably work better as a Knight. Either way, I think he's fine as is, even if he's not one of the strongest Warriors he's still very good. I'd like to test him one more time as Knight, but I think Laughin is in a good place.

No proposed fix

Mage: Landrec the Wise, Geomancer

Yes, still testing this guy! Tested this version again: "Each time a hero performs an attack and rolls no Surge, add 1 Surge to the results." with Feat: "1 Surge: +5 damage"

The conclusion by the group was he felt a bit on the weak side. I think I agree. But I think that's mostly due to the encounter, which was mainly a race. Landrec is slow (3 movement), and he can't really fatigue move/rest because he needs his fatigue to use his skills as Geomancer (which maybe was a bad choice for this encounter). He did a great move once where we was able to hit a group of monsters for a ton of damage with his heroic feat and his Blasting Rune. And he helped quite a bit with his hero ability. Overall, I don't think he needs any changes yet, but a couple others thought he could either use an upgrade to his defense die (Brown -> Grey) or swapping his speed and stamina (4/3 instead of 3/4).

Again, to summarize:

Version 1.0 (CK): "Each time you perform an attack and roll no Surge, add 1 Surge to the results."

Version 2.0 (bad): "Each time a hero within 3 spaces performs an attack and rolls no Surge, add 1 Surge to the results."

Version 3.0 (broken): "Each time a hero within 2 spaces performs an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Version 4.0 (slightly weak / balanced): "Each time a hero performs an attack and rolls no Surge, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal B (untested): "Each time you perform an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal C (untested): "Each time an adjacent hero performs an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal D (untested) : "Each time a hero within 1 space performs an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal E (untested): "Once per turn, when a hero within 1 spaces performs an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal F: ( @kbalazsa : "too strong"): "Once per turn, when a hero within 2 space performs an attack, add 1 Surge to the results."

Proposal G (untested): "Once per turn, when a hero within 2 space performs an attack, and rolls no Surge, add 1 Surge to the results."

No proposed fix

Scout: Kirga, Thief

Kirga, oh Kirga. This was the entire point of testing Shadowfall Mountain (mainly encounter 2, but also to some extent encounter 1). I was concerned about Kirga. Kirga absolutely abused her ability in this encounter. Kirga opened every door using Sneaky (Thief skill), and the monsters couldn't do much of anything because they usually couldn't target Kirga and they either had a bad shot or no shot (if they were melee) on the heroes behind Kirga. I think given this encounter, in her present form, she's a little bit too strong and does require some changes to her hero ability.

Current: "You cannot be targeted while adjacent to any other hero."

Proposed: "You cannot be targeted by attacks while adjacent to any other hero. Your figure does not block line of sight."

Just one question left - where will we continue this?
Discord, BGG, Reddit?

5 hours ago, kbalazsa said:

Just one question left - where will we continue this?
Discord, BGG, Reddit?

BGG

On 1/29/2021 at 3:00 PM, kbalazsa said:

Just one question left - where will we continue this?
Discord, BGG, Reddit?

All three are quite popular, Reddit seems a bit more 'fans of things', BGG obviously is game-centric and Discord seems to quite suit specific groups eg the players of a particular RPG campaign, that's somewhat loose an overview I know but I'm thinking maybe different platforms might suit different specifics.

BGG is really good for supporting the games you love as it to some extent keeps them on peoples' radar and it has a dedicated section for fan/player custom stuff on each games forum.