Arena: Variants
From IFki
Welcome to Arena, the game of ever-changing strategy. This is the Rules Variants page, which holds rules being considered for inclusion in the Basic or Advanced game.
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Rules Variants
Contents |
Terrain Variants
Terrain Pool
Description: Similar to a magic pool, players could buy a terrain pool at the beginning of the game. They could then use the terrain pool to change terrain, beyond the terrain change moves that they get from controlling hexes.
Pros: Could make terrain change a bigger part of the game. Might lead to new strategies around a weak army but strong control of terrain. Could make army creation more interesting/challenging.
Cons: Could be too much terrain change at one time. Might need to limit amount per turn.
Status: Untested
Terrain Cards
Description: There could be other terrain types, such as desert, wasteland, volcano, etc., that could have special effects (e.g. creatures less than 2 power could not enter, etc.) and that might require a player to have a card and put the terrain type in their army in order to play it.
Pros: Could make terrain change a bigger part of the game. Might lead to new strategies around a weak army but strong control of terrain.
Cons: Some additional complexity.
Status: Untested
Combat
Wild Creatures
Description: Certain vehicles would have the property "wild," which means that they could not be mounted unless the player had creatures equal to their power in the same hex.
Pros: More realistic, adds an element of difficulty/danger to having wild mounts.
Cons: Adds complexity, at least in those games which had those creatures.
Status: Untested
Enclosed
Description: Certain vehicles would have the property "enclosed," which means that those who mounted them could not participate in combat and could not be killed, unless the vehicles was destroyed.
Pros: More realistic
Cons: Adds complexity, at least in those games which had those creatures.
Status: Untested
Winning
King Movement and Power
Description: The King could be given limited mobility or defensive power. Creatures would need to track down the King, not just move into his hex.
Pros: Potentially adds lots of interest and new strategies. Players could have a more or less mobile or powerful king at the expense of their army. Long term I think we definitely want this.
Cons: Fundamentally changes the game and would need a lot of testing and potentially special rules to make it work. For example, need to avoid players putting their king in unreachable terrain, or simply putting all their creatures on the space with the king to make him easier to defend. Could lead to draws or degenerate games if not done carefully.
Status: Untested
Sequence of Play
Equip and Mount After Combat
Description: Add a the second "equip and mount" phase after combat. Thus, a player who killed a enemy who had a powerful item or mount would be able to use it immediately.
Example: A squire may pick up a shield and sword, move into a new hex containing an enemy and an allied knight, engage in combat, and then give the items to the knight. However, the squire could not give them to the knight before combat.
Pros: More flexibility and freedom for players to execute their strategies. Plus it's more interesting when an artifact or mount is in play than when it's not.
Cons: More complex. Also, currently there's a dynamic in which there could be constant fighting over an artifact that remained on the ground in a hex, because no one had a chance to pick it up. This could lose that possibly interesting dynamic.
Status: Currently in rules.
Not Planned to Test
These variants have either already been tested and found wanting, or based on our experience with the game so far are not considered likely to be worthwhile. They are kept here as a record of what we've considered.
Saving Up Terrain Change
Description: Allow players to "roll over" unused hexes of control into the next turn. For example, if a player had three hexes of control but chose not to change their own hex this turn, they would get 3 extra hexes of control in the next turn. This could be represented by a Stockpile Terrain Pool, similar to the Terrain Pool but with a different effect. Only a Stockpile Terrain Pool could be used to deepen a Hex beyond the first stage, making it unpassable to all land creatures. Creating such an impassable terrain hex would cost 10 HoC. Buying a Terrain Pool permanently decreases your Hex production by three, but allows you to stockpile HoC points indefinitely.
Pros: Adds an element of strategy.
Cons: Slightly more complex, although having the computer keep track of this would make it easier. Could lead to "all or nothing" games in which terrain changes are saved up by both players and then suddenly the game board changes radically. This might damage the rhythm of the game somewhat.
Status: No plan to test, with the principle of keeping the game as simple as possible.
Dense Terrain
Description: At the normal cost, players could make a hex of terrain "denser", e.g. Forest could become Dense Forest, then Jungle, Rocky could become Wastes, then Shattered Wastes. This would make defense easier because it would be harder to change a terrain back to Grass.
Also, creatures with the movement ability All Land would be unable to access Dense Areas. Only creatures with specialist movement (Forest, Rocky) could go through these without modification.
Pros: Could make terrain more meaningful, could make it easier to execute strategies that depended on using terrain to block out the opponent's creatures and would add an advantage to Terrain specialisation.
Cons: Defense would be easier, which might lead to more draws. Also could be far more complex, especially if there were creatures that had Shattered Wastes, Wastes, etc. as their specialist terrain.
Status: No plan to test. Better not to introduce complexity unless absolutely necessary.
Rivers as Separate Element
Description: Instead of river being its own separate terrain type, it could be a feature that you could add to any land terrain (e.g. there could be Rocky with river, Forest with river, etc.)
Pros: Makes more sense. Makes Water creatures more flexible and possibly easier to make part of an army.
Cons: More complex.
Status: No plan to test. Looking to reduce complexity.
Sea Level
Description: Base Water hexes on the elevation of the hexes. Here's how it might work:
- The board has an overall "sea level" which players could manipulate during the terrain change phase. Probably it would be impossible or harder to lower sea level, but easier to raise it.
- Any hex that was below sea level would become a water hex. So a player might change a hex to water by lowering its elevation, or might change a number of hexes to water all at once by raising the sea level.
The default Sea Level is 0. When a hex has an Elevation that is at least one below that and has at least one adjacent Water hex, a timer starts. If the situation is not changed within (5/negative Elevation as positive integer), rounded up, that hex is flooded. If there was one adjacent Water hex, then that hex becomes a River. If it was already a River or there was two adjacent Water hexes, that hex becomes Water. If the elevation was two below Sea Level or greater, had at least two adjacent hexes or was a River hex at least 1 below Sea Level with two adjacent Water hexes, it becomes Deep Water. No HoC (Hexes of Control points) can be collected for one turn from Flooded squares. It costs 12 HoC to change the Sea Level by one and starting Sea Level is stated at the beginning of the game.
Pros: Makes more sense. Allows for "flooding" of large numbers of hexes at once, which is dramatic but in a sensible way. 6 Cons: More complex. Might also be too "all or nothing", e.g. hard to make rules that balance a Water strategy army with a land army.
Status: Elevation has been eliminated, so no plan to test this. An effect like flooding is better done through spells than rules like this.
Upper Air
Description: There is another level of airspace, above the traditional air hex. Certain creatures would be able to go to "upper air" to avoid storms, ranged weapons, or creatures that are flying at normal elevation.
Pros: Makes sense. Allows for high-altitude planes and spaceships.
Cons: More complex. Might also be hard to show on the board.
Status: No plan to test.
Attack from Flying Mounts
Description: Flying mounts may give bonuses to ranged creatures that enter them, depending on their type.
Example: A Sniper Elite has a range of 1-2. It may attack any creature within two squares of it with an attack power equalling five. In a flying mount where it does not pilot, it may increase its range by one with a fifty percent chance of success in an attack beyond two squares.
It enters a Hot Air Balloon on the ground for refuelling and next turn attacks a Giant three squares away. Flipping a coin, the player succeeds. Since the Giant is unable to defend itself adequately against a sniper bullet and is hundreds of feet below it, it dies, despite having a defense power equal to the attack strength of the enemy sniper.
Pros:
Cons: May lead to greater complexity.
Status: No plan to test.
Unlimited Elevation
Description: Elevation can go to any height or depth, and is not limited to -2 to +2.
Pros: Allows for more extremes of play without making the rules more complex.
Cons: Might make the games last longer.
Status: Elevation has been eliminated, so no plan to test this.
More Limited Elevation
Description: Elevation can only go from -1 to +1. Also, creatures can move across any elevation boundaries.
Pros: Makes the game simpler, which could make for easier learning and quicker games.
Cons: Might remove some element of strategy.
Status: Elevation has been eliminated, so no plan to test this.
Elevation Rules Variant
Description: There is no limit to the elevation bonus that an attacker could gain (elevation penalties are still limited to -1). So:
- For every hex from which an attackers is attacking that is higher than the defending hex, the attacking player gains +1 Power.
- For every hex from which an attackers is attacking that is lower than the defending hex, the attacking player loses -1 Power.
- The total elevation bonus is not limited upwards (i.e. it could be up to +6), but is still limited to -1 as a penalty.
Pros: Makes the game more strategic in that it allows a smaller force to beat a larger one by encircling it. Without this rule, for example, 4 orcs (Power 1) could never defeat a giant (Power 5) in combat. Also makes some sense in that it gives an advantage to a force that surrounds its enemy.
Cons: Slightly more complex; could make the games last longer.
Status: Elevation has been eliminated, so no plan to test this.
