Nerd Pride Radio

It's time to do the heroes.

We need to decide what six heroes will be our "core" heroes. They don't have to be heroes we already use, but many will be. Then figure out what heroes might be offered as stretch goals, since they are relatively cheap to add.

Then we have to decide how to make the heroes unique in ways that work with the current system and that are somewhat balanced.

The only thing I have is that our "core" six should all be human heroes, and save the monsters and such for later. IMO.

Things a hero could have:

Discount on a specific maneuver (Atalanta always reduces Sprint cost by 1 with a minimum of 0).

Other heroes pay 1 extra to defend against a specific maneuver from this hero.

Specific maneuver for this hero is modified in some way. (On a Grab, Heracles has the option to pay extra to reposition opponent. OR On a successful Defend, Helen has the option to also take a Sprint action as a reaction.)

Specific maneuver against this hero costs extra. (Any hero using Force Fumble against Atlas must pay 1 extra AP.)

Favored terrains. We've always taken it for granted that all heroes will have at least 1 favored terrain. That doesn't have to be true.

There's more, but I keep forgetting them as I type.

Here's the possibilities for heroes that we've nominated so far:

Achilles
Ajax
Amalthea (nymph)
Argus
Atalanta 
Bellerophon
Calypso (nymph)
Chiron (centaur)
Circe
Daedelus (inventor)
Echo (nymph)
Enyo (minor goddess of war)
Harmonia (nymph)
Helen
Heracles
Hippolyta (Amazonian queen)
Jason
Medusa (monster)
Minotaur (monster)
Pandora
Penthesilia (Amazonian queen)
Perseus
Silenus (chief of satyrs)
Syrinx (nymph)
Theseus

Here's my first stab at this. Circe and Perseus are just unfinished. Some of the others may need a favored terrain. Some won't get one, because their other abilities are stronger. Anyway, it's a good start.


Achilles
Invulnerability: Defend costs 1 less AP (minimum 0) versus attacks from other heroes.

Argus
Favored terrain - mountains
Boulder Throwing: Argus may use shove on any hero within 2 hexes of his position.

Atalanta
Tactical Combatant: When Atalanta successfully defends against an attack from another hero, she may choose to immediately pay 2 AP (+ hex cost) to sprint as a reaction.

Circe
Favored terrain - water
Uh… something magical.

Heracles
Champion Wrestler: May shove other heroes to any hex adjacent to their starting position.
Heroes grabbed by Heracles must pay 1 extra AP if they choose to defend.

Hippolyta
Amazonian Archer: Hippolyta may shoot the godball from the hands of another hero. She may use force fumble on any hero within 2 hexes of her position. For +2 AP she may extend that range to 3 hexes.

Medusa
Favored terrain - forest
Petrifying Gaze: Medusa may grab multiple heroes in a single round, and need not remain adjacent to heroes to maintain a successful grab.

Perseus
I’ve gone brain dead. I’ll come back to this.

Perseus - Pegasus - No favored terrain - Is immune to terrain Knockdown effects.

Circe - ummmmm she turned people into other things a lot...

I think having the 8 we've been using ready for now is good. Ultimately, I want 12 heroes available, because they will make great stretch goals.

How about:

Circe may, at the start of a hero's turn, turn that Hero each into an animal for one round. An animal may only take the move, sprint, rest and shove action. The hero is only an animal until the end of their next turn. A hero may only be transformed once in a game.

Yeah... I like it, but something is bugging me. Let me stew on it a minute.

Oh yeah, it's bugging me too.

I think it's the tracking aspect of it. But if we modify it down to make it more regular, then it becomes too similar to Medusa's gaze ability.

But still the right direction. If we're keeping Circe, she really needs to turn people into animals. On the other hand, maybe she's not the best one here. Maybe we're better with one of the nymphs or Helen or someone else who isn't a warrior but is recognizable and has an ability that's easier to work with.

What about Pandora?

Another famous ability of Circe's was distracting Odysseus long enough to be stuck with her for many years. So maybe she just sticks someone in place for a turn, and the person can't be hurt while they are stuck, but they can't move either.

BTW I have a friend who is an expert in ancient Greek history who realllllllly knows this mythology stuff, that's her job, and she is also a cool person with the full range of excellent nerdy interests. If you get to a comfort point where you wanted to invite her to do a play test sometime I bet she would find it awesome.

Circe:

Replace her Shove Action with:

Enchant: 2 AP - On target adjacent Hero's next turn, their Move action costs +2 AP if they do not move directly toward the Godball

Mike and I were discussing this and came up with a different tack to try. Each Hero will be represented by 3 cards. Some of these cards go directly into action slots and modify that action slot to the taste of that particular hero. Some are Special cards, that go on the table in front of the hero. They are activated by AP, but are essentially GP cards that have effects in game. Perseus could have a Pegasus legend, for example. Or Circe has a collection of curses and spells that she can unleash. These powers would be on the expensive side or have difficult refresh conditions based on the level of the power involved.

I think this is good to try, as it takes the powers from being passive to active. It also is easier to represent someone with a few of their characteristics as opposed to just one. Finally, logistically, it simplifies things somewhat. Having a few individualized cards is cheaper than having multiple hero boards. It also means it's easier to include more heroes in a set. Maybe there's 1 hero card that can be slotted directly into the middle of the hero board with artwork on it that matches their token?

Heracles:

Card 1 Front - Grab (Reposition) 3 AP - Target adjacent opponent may only take 1 action on their turn. Move targeted opponent to any hex adjacent to Heracles. Opponent defends against the Grab action and Move action individually. After activation, flip this card over.

Card 1 Back - Rest (Recharge) - If you spend 0 AP on your turn you may flip this card over. You may only take 1 rest action on your turn.

Card 2 Front - Throw 2 AP - You may throw the Godball up to 3 hexes away from you. After activation, flip this card over.

Card 2 Back - Throw 2 AP - You may throw the Godball up to 2 hexes away from you. After activation, flip this card over.

Card 3 Front - Special - Place this card near your Hero Board. If Heracles enters a hex with forest terrain, you may pay 2 AP to remove that terrain from the board. If you do, flip this card over and place it in your Shove slot. (Place it on top of any card already present in that slot.) You may not activate this card while holding the Godball.

Card 3 Back - Slam (Tree) 2 AP - Target opponent is shoved 1 hex away from you. They are knocked down. They may defend against the shove or the knock down but not both. Heracles may not pick up the Godball while this card is in his shove slot. After activation, flip this card over and place it near your hero board.

Perseus:

Card 1 Front - Pegasus (Flying) 2 AP - Place this Card next to your Hero Board, this card counts as a Hero Action slot.
Sprint Curses, but not blessings can be played on this card. Move 1 hex, disregard any hex cost. After activation flip this card over.

Card 1 Back - Pegasus - When you take a rest action, also flip this card over.

(More to come)