[BSE] YOU DON'T FOOL ME RARI-BOT!

Running Games and Taking Names (Forum Games: Mafia, RPGs, Lets Plays, etc.)

Moderators: Momar, Aurora

Re: [BSE] God I Love BSE! Dear PC, Please Don't Execute Me.

Post by Huitzil (?) » Sat Jan 28, 2012 4:51 pm

Also, once Cheerilee becomes a potential playable character, I'm going to have to come up with someone ELSE to make all the horrible decisions and leap to all the bad conclusions in the fluff.

Lyra?
Huitzil
User avatar
Rainbow Racers
Joined: Mar 22, 2011

Post by Artificer (?) » Sat Jan 28, 2012 5:00 pm

Please don't blow me out the airlock for this, but....

Yellowstar?

Ronbow Dosh?









Squeebleshy?
Image
Artificer
User avatar
Goes well with All Natural Milk Naturally Flavored with Natural Flavors.
Stare Masters
Joined: Mar 01, 2011
Location: 80,000 feet above sea level and climbing.
  • Website

Post by Bremen (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 5:13 am

Still curious about Toast's opinions, but I've been giving some thought to Discord.

First, having him trying to be mysterious about his goals was awesome, and very suitable to the character. So even if the drawback is problematic ideally I'd like to find a way to keep it, just more balanced.

One solution would be to boost Discord's bonuses further, to try to make it easier for him to fulfill several objectives. He'd have to be very powerful to balance out the flaw, though, and I don't really like that idea. A better solution would be to incentivize the players to pick correctly.

Here's my suggestion:

What Fun Is There In Making Sense? -- When the game would normally end, all members of the losing side may attempt to guess your Agenda. If one is correct, draw a new Agenda and that player takes an immediate movement and action before the current turn is resolved.
Bremen
User avatar
Joined: Oct 09, 2011

Post by Val Helmethead (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:01 am

What about "You draw your agenda after the sleeper phase"?
Image
Val Helmethead
User avatar
Damn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!
We Like Spike
Joined: Jun 07, 2011

Post by Bremen (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:23 am

The game could, rarely, end before the sleeper phase. Though... if we want to go that route, it could be something like:

What Fun Is There In Making Sense? -- At the start of the game, draw 8 agendas. If you ever hold more Agendas than the fleet's lowest resource or the distance remaining plus one, discard an agenda at random.

Changes the character quite a bit though; instead of trying to fool the players as to what your agenda is, the player simply wont know what their agenda is until the end of the game (with fewer possibilities as the game goes on). I quite enjoyed Toast's performance, though, so I'd be sad to see this change :P
Bremen
User avatar
Joined: Oct 09, 2011

Post by Huitzil (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 5:44 pm

Val Helmethead wrote:What about "You draw your agenda after the sleeper phase"?


Then he spends half the game not wanting to do anything since it might hurt his goal.

What about "During the Sleeper Agent phase, draw an additional Agenda from each deck (hostile and sympathetic). You must fulfill the conditions on two of those three agendas to win"?

Or "Action: If it is your turn and Distance is 7 or less, guess Discord's agenda. If you guess correctly, he reveals it and draws a new one, and you draw two cards and take another action. If you guess incorrectly, discard 2 cards. Any player may use this ability, whether human or revealed Cylon."
Huitzil
User avatar
Rainbow Racers
Joined: Mar 22, 2011

Post by Glaed (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:14 pm

I dunno, for some reason that one seems to me like it'll have ponies/pony-lons trying to guess his agenda every other turn just to spite him. And that it would be just as hard as before if not worse.
“A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.” -C.S. Lewis
Glaed
User avatar
Celestia's Champions
Joined: Apr 06, 2011
Gender: Male

Post by Huitzil (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:16 pm

Glaed wrote:I dunno, for some reason that one seems to me like it'll have ponies/pony-lons trying to guess his agenda every other turn just to spite him. And that it would be just as hard as before if not worse.


Well, if they are guessing each turn out of spite, they are hemorrhaging actions and cards -- pony players are wasting actions on their turn they almost always need more of, and since pony-lons cannot be XO'd, they essentially lose their entire turn on a failed guess.
Huitzil
User avatar
Rainbow Racers
Joined: Mar 22, 2011

Post by Huitzil (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:20 pm

Also, how did the other characters play? Are they working all right? I didn't see any problems as big as, say, Luna being underpowered in the last game, but I wasn't the one playing them. Everyone else satisfied?
Huitzil
User avatar
Rainbow Racers
Joined: Mar 22, 2011

Post by Xavier Genisi (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:10 pm

I've never played BSG before, so this was really rather fun.

Maybe it's just me, but Luna is really powerful, and combining the use of her activated ability and XOing a pilot in a viper really helped at keeping the space outside clear, and keeping those Civvies safe (for the most part)
:snoop:[22:11] <%Berrybot> ofsheep: what does snooop doggy dogg, the shawshank redemption style :snoop:
ImageImageImage
Image
Xavier Genisi
User avatar
Like I said, princesses are pretty, Jack. And I am very in touch with my inner princess.
Night Mares
Joined: Mar 04, 2011
Location: Michigan
Gender: Male

Post by Bremen (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:15 pm

Between Luna and Gilda cylon ships were getting hammered, yeah, but that's not necessarily bad on its own, since it was two characters with that as their specialty. If anything, the CMC's special was the MVP for the game, since it let them use up TRE cards.

However, I'm thinking Luna's power might be better at discard two cards; it's less powerful than Celestia's but you have a better idea if you're going to need it when your turn starts.
Bremen
User avatar
Joined: Oct 09, 2011

Post by Huitzil (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:41 pm

Hmm, I felt like, Luna's static was too weak at discard 2 cards, and you guys think it's too powerful at discard 1. Do you think it would be acceptable to go back to "discard 2" since her OPG is now more powerful than it was, or should something else be stuck on -- like making it a Movement: ability instead of just "on your turn", but keeping it at one card?
Huitzil
User avatar
Rainbow Racers
Joined: Mar 22, 2011

Post by Quintillian (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 8:06 pm

I think making it a movement would be good. That way, she won't necessarily use it every turn, but it's still useful.
Image
Quintillian
User avatar
Joined: Dec 17, 2011

Post by Bremen (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 8:15 pm

Movement sounds good.
Bremen
User avatar
Joined: Oct 09, 2011

Post by W.T. Fits (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:56 pm

"Movement: Discard a card to prevent Cylon ships from activating during the Crisis Step," seems reasonable for Luna.

I enjoyed the game, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders were a lot more difficult to work with than I'd anticipated. I mainly chose them as my first choice just because of the drawback (I didn't want to have to deal with any of the Admiral or President stuff). But the thing that actually hampered me most of the time was the draw; 1 LEA/1 POL/2 ENG/1 PIL means that you're spread really thin a lot of the time. There were times when I cursed not having more cards of a given skill to contribute to checks on other players' turns.

That said, there's nothing wrong with them as they are; it was difficult, but not impossible and while there were times when I may have wished I could do more than what I had available, I never felt like there was nothing I could do to contribute. Also, the static ability had very nice synergy with Gilda, allowing her to find an outlet for those TRE cards in her draw, and as Bremen mentioned, it makes a very nice way for the Pony team to dump TRE cards without having to worry about discarding triggering a Ponylon's Sabotage.

Overall opinion of the CMC: Difficult, but awesome; would play again. :ohboy:

Regarding the proposed change for Discord's drawback (almost wrote "Discard's drawback" there... :modesty: ):
Huitzil wrote:Action: If it is your turn and Distance is 7 or less, guess Discord's agenda. If you guess correctly, he reveals it and draws a new one, and you draw two cards and take another action. If you guess incorrectly, discard 2 cards. Any player may use this ability, whether human or revealed Cylon.

This looks like it might be worth trying out.
ImageImage
W.T. Fits
User avatar
Spoilers, you say? Well, in that case, I suppose I should avert my eyes.
Faithful Students
Joined: Feb 14, 2011
Location: I have gone to find myself. If I show up before I get back, please keep me here until I return.
Gender: Male

Post by Bremen (?) » Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:10 pm

I think that drawback is a little too weak; it's unlikely that you'll ever be 100% sure about an agenda, and unless you are the only real reason to use it is to try and spite him.
Bremen
User avatar
Joined: Oct 09, 2011

Post by Val Helmethead (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:00 am

Make it movement, but keep it unusable at 7 or higher.

It could let a team try doing something less useful (not moving where needed) to take a shot at getting him on their team.
Image
Val Helmethead
User avatar
Damn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!
We Like Spike
Joined: Jun 07, 2011

Post by Glaed (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 1:05 am

RE: the CMC: I used them during my first game, and I'd have to agree with the feeling spread thin. However, between their static and the fact that they draw from so many of the decks there's basically no reason you'd be completely useless on a skill check. There's always SOMETHING they can try. Which is exactly why I enjoyed them and need to play them again.
“A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.” -C.S. Lewis
Glaed
User avatar
Celestia's Champions
Joined: Apr 06, 2011
Gender: Male

Post by Bremen (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 1:11 am

Val Helmethead wrote:Make it movement, but keep it unusable at 7 or higher.

It could let a team try doing something less useful (not moving where needed) to take a shot at getting him on their team.


I think that might make it a little too powerful; you fairly often end up not needing to move anywhere and there would be no harm in taking a guess then. And there's only so many possible agendas.
Bremen
User avatar
Joined: Oct 09, 2011

Post by Val Helmethead (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 1:22 am

Glaed wrote:RE: the CMC: I used them during my first game, and I'd have to agree with the feeling spread thin. However, between their static and the fact that they draw from so many of the decks there's basically no reason you'd be completely useless on a skill check. There's always SOMETHING they can try. Which is exactly why I enjoyed them and need to play them again.


Yeah, the thing with the CMC is you never are quite worthless, but it's difficult to just SLAM a check by yourself the way someone with a big TAC or POL draw can. I think they're working as intended, as a support character.

Bremen wrote:I think that might make it a little too powerful; you fairly often end up not needing to move anywhere and there would be no harm in taking a guess then. And there's only so many possible agendas.


What about this then. Keep it as an action, but remove the card loss penalty and make it once per turn. Then it becomes a tactical choice - you think Discord is working cross purposes with you, so you guess what his goal is to try and change it (assuming it's hurting your chances to win).
Image
Val Helmethead
User avatar
Damn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!
We Like Spike
Joined: Jun 07, 2011

Post by Val Helmethead (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 1:24 am

Artificer wrote:Yellowstar?


I think we've found our new Pony-lon leader. :gotcha:
Image
Val Helmethead
User avatar
Damn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!
We Like Spike
Joined: Jun 07, 2011

Post by W.T. Fits (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 1:30 am

I still say we should just cut out the middle pony and make Rarity the third Cylon leader since she winds up being a Cylon 75% of the time anyway (at last count). :bluh:

Seriously, that character choice is cursed or something. :gonkity:
ImageImage
W.T. Fits
User avatar
Spoilers, you say? Well, in that case, I suppose I should avert my eyes.
Faithful Students
Joined: Feb 14, 2011
Location: I have gone to find myself. If I show up before I get back, please keep me here until I return.
Gender: Male

Post by Val Helmethead (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 1:53 am

Conversely, Zecora has never been a Pony-lon, in spite of being a greater than usual chance of it (being the equivalent of Gaius Fraking Baltar).

Rarity is just too fabulous for a survivor of pony-dom. :vogue:
Image
Val Helmethead
User avatar
Damn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!
We Like Spike
Joined: Jun 07, 2011

Post by Val Helmethead (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 3:08 am

The G&P Trixie (LEA 1 - TAC 2 - LEA/ENG 2)
Setting the stage: On your turn, you may steal a card from any reckless skill checks after they are revealed but before they are resolved
Anything you can do I can do better: Once per game at the start of a turn take all title cards from their current holders. Return them to their original holders, if possible, at the end of the turn.
Tempting Fate: If you play a skill card into a check on your turn, it becomes reckless

Cheerilee (LEA 2, POL 2, ENG/TAC 1)
Nurture them with knowledge: On your turn, when a pony character would be forced to draw TRE cards they may draw another skill card instead
Something to Give: Once Per Game - ACTION - Give another player the Admiral, President or CAG title. You may do this no matter who currently has the title.
Indomitable Cheer: You may not activate the Admiral's Quarters or the Airlock.

Spitfire (LEA 2 TAC 1 PIL 2)
Formation Flier: When you take control of a viper, you may place an unmanned viper in the same location as your viper.
The best fliers in Equestria: Once per game, add or subtract 2 from all dice rolls until the end of your turn. (No Strategic Plannings may be played during this time)
Team Leader: When a raider opens fire on vipers in your airspace, you are automatically targeted first.

Support
Big Macintosh - LEA 1, TAC 2, ENG 2
Eeyup - Draw a card every time a skill check is passed successfully.
Fancy Mathematics - OPG - After a skill check is finished, you are told which cards the player of your choice put in.
Nope - While Raiders are on Dradis, you cannot gain jump prep during your turn.


Order of Succession:

Princess:
Celestia
(1)Luna
Twilight Sparkle
(2) Trixie
Spike
(1)Gilda
Rainbow Dash
(2)Spitfire
Apple Jack
Derpy
(2) Big Macintosh
Rarity
Pinky Pie
Zecora
(1)Mayor Mare
(2)Cheerilee
Fluttershy
Cutie Mark Crusaders

President:
(1)Mayor Mare
Rarity
(2)Cheerilee
Pinkie Pie
Zecora
Fluttershy
AppleJack
(2)Big Macintosh
Derpy
(1)Gilda
Rainbow Dash
(2)Spitfire
Spike
(2)Trixie
Twilight Sparkle
(1)Luna
Celestia
Cutie Mark Crusaders

CAG:
(2)Spitfire
Rainbow Dash
(1)Gilda
Derpy
Fluttershy
Cutie Mark Crusaders
Celestia
(1)Luna
Rarity
Spike
Pinkie Pie
(2)Trixie
Twilight Sparkle
(1)Mayor Mare
(2)Cheerilee
Zecora
Apple Jack
Big Macintosh


So, here's the rough draft of expansion 2. Comments, fixings, or "DAMN IT VAL I HATE IT!!!"s?
Image
Val Helmethead
User avatar
Damn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!
We Like Spike
Joined: Jun 07, 2011

Post by Bremen (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 4:07 am

Should the best fliers in Equestria be "Until the end of your turn" or "until the end of the current turn"?
Bremen
User avatar
Joined: Oct 09, 2011

Post by Huitzil (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 5:13 am

Most of them seem... pretty underpowered. Cheerilee's new static is very, VERY limited in application and her OPG is anemic, Trixie's static won't come up very much unless you use the "negative skill check totals are reckless" house rule, and without that rule her drawback makes it too risky to play into skill checks on her turn -- and she doesn't work at all without Pegasus, and she should be functional with Exodus only. Spitfire's static is strictly worse than Rainbow Dash/Apollo's -- Dash can always launch herself in a Viper, with a wingman, AND take another action by using Command, and can also be placed into a Viper when an attack card comes up; and if you're human, outside of very VERY limited circumstances, his OPG is going to be "Play Strategic Planning twice". And Big Macintosh's OPG seems like a Cylon Detector that, admittedly, does not take an action to use, but you only get to use it reactively on checks where you had 3 or more negative cards, and it can't actually clear anyone, AND has no pro-Cylon use.

My attempts:


The Great And Powerful Trixie Version 1 - (TAC 2 - ENG 1 - LEA/POL 2) - Setup: Press Room
Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better -- Any time a character at your location draws one or more Skill Cards for any reason, draw one Skill Card of one of the types drawn (even if it is not within your skill set).
Show-Stopping Spectacle -- Once per game, during your turn, you may take all title cards from their current holders. Return them to their original holders, if possible, at the end of the turn.
All Talk -- Any time you roll a die, subtract 1 from the result.
(FAQ: No, this doesn't apply to Cylon ships attacking on your turn.)



The Great And Powerful Trixie Version 2 - (TAC 2 - LEA 2 - ENG 1) - Setup: Press Room
The Most Amazing Unicorn In All Of Equestria -- When you would roll a die during your Action step, you may instead discard a Skill Card. Use the card's strength +2 instead of the die roll.
Show-Stopping Spectacle -- Once per game, during your turn, you may take all title cards from their current holders. Return them to their original holders, if possible, at the end of the turn.
Neigh-Sayers -- Any time a player targets you with the "Admiral's Quarters" or "Airlock" locations, reduce the difficulty by 3.



Cheerilee - (LEA 2 - POL 2 - ENG/TAC 1) - Setup: Communications
Nurture With Knowledge -- When the President would draw a Quorum Card, first you look at the top Quorum Card of the deck; you may choose to place it on the bottom of the deck.
Moral Guidance -- Once per game, after a player makes a choice on a Crisis Card, you may change that choice.
Indomitable Cheer -- You may not activate the Admiral's Quarters or the Airlock.



Spitfire version 1 - (LEA 2 - PIL 2 - TAC 1) - Setup: Piloting Viper in ECHO
Aerial Ace -- When you begin your turn piloting a Viper, you get an extra action this turn.
Formation Flyer -- Action: Once per game, either activate six unmanned Vipers, or activate Raiders.
Team Leader -- When raiders fire at Vipers in your space area, you are targeted first.



Spitfire version 2 - (LEA 2 - PIL 2 - TAC 1) - Setup: Piloting Viper in ECHO
Formation Flyer -- Any time you activate or move your own Viper, do the same to an unmanned Viper as well.
Air Show -- Action: Once per game, look at the top 3 cards of the Crisis deck, and place each of them on the top or bottom in any order you choose.
Team Leader -- When raiders fire at Vipers in your space area, you are targeted first.



Big Macintosh - (LEA 1 - TAC 2 - ENG 2)
Eeeyup. -- Draw a card each time a skill check is passed.
Nope. -- Once per game, after a Crisis Card is revealed, immediately discard it without effect and draw a new one.

A Pony Of Few Words -- You may not contribute more than 3 cards to any Skill Check.
- OR -
Doesn't Add Up -- Any time a skill check is failed by 4 or more, you must discard 1 card.
Huitzil
User avatar
Rainbow Racers
Joined: Mar 22, 2011

Post by Bremen (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 5:31 am

I disagree. Trixie's biggest advantage is that you can make a skill check reckless on her turn (and some of those bonuses are quite nice) with a much reduced chance of it backfiring on you, and a nice bonus to the chance of it succeeding. If anything I think it would be a bit overpowered, but will become problematic later in the game when there might be 2 (or 3) TRE cards in a reckless check. If she should be playable in her expansion pack (does it really matter?) just swap her with Luna.

Spitfire's static might be a bit weak, but I disagree on the OPG; at the very least you could bonus two human attacks and then penalize all cylon attacks on that turn's crisis, plus get a nice bonus if the crisis card involves a roll. Similarly, if you're a cylon you can turn an FTL activation into a 100% chance of pop loss.

Cheerilee's static is situational, but good; a lot of crisis cards seem to be "OR discard x cards and draw x tre"; her static basically turns these into "draw any card" crisii on her turn. I don't disagree with your suggestion for her OPG.

Generally, I feel that a lot of the current characters are already quite powerful, and that trying to keep making "people should want to play this" characters will just result in power creep.
Bremen
User avatar
Joined: Oct 09, 2011

Post by Huitzil (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 5:51 am

Bremen wrote:I disagree. Trixie's biggest advantage is that you can make a skill check reckless on her turn (and some of those bonuses are quite nice) with a much reduced chance of it backfiring on you, and a nice bonus to the chance of it succeeding. If anything I think it would be a bit overpowered, but will become problematic later in the game when there might be 2 (or 3) TRE cards in a reckless check. If she should be playable in her expansion pack (does it really matter?) just swap her with Luna.
You're right, I misunderstood it (for some reason I was thinking of it in terms of Adama's OPG ability to take all skill check cards into his hand, which goes off after skill check abilities). It's more powerful than I thought, then, but still kinda limited: Cally Tyrol can discard a card from any check, but she doesn't get it back; then again, getting TRE in your hand is considered a negative. And there's only... 3 cards in each of the LEA, POL, ENG, and TAC decks that make a check Reckless, I think? Out of 30. But they can be saved up, and Trixie's ablity is always on, unlike Cheerilee's.

I would LIKE to act like we're making characters that can work in their respective expansions, and I personally like my ideas better (no duh, I made them), but I'm willing to try it.

Spitfire's static might be a bit weak, but I disagree on the OPG; at the very least you could bonus two human attacks and then penalize all cylon attacks on that turn's crisis, plus get a nice bonus if the crisis card involves a roll. Similarly, if you're a cylon you can turn an FTL activation into a 100% chance of pop loss.
Except you won't know what Cylon activation is coming up, and you might waste your OPG entirely. Also, the way it's worded looks to me like you have to pick one modifier to apply to all rolls, though that can obviously be cleared up. It still seems very anemic.

Cheerilee's static is situational, but good; a lot of crisis cards seem to be "OR discard x cards and draw x tre"; her static basically turns these into "draw any card" crisii on her turn. I don't disagree with your suggestion for her OPG.
The last game had a lot of those cards come up, but the overall number of them isn't huge. There's only 20 Crisis Cards in the Pegasus expansion, which is the only expansion with TRE; not all of those Crises have "draw TRE" on them, and there's 70 Crisis Cards in the base game that never reference TRE, and 40 more in Exodus that ALSO never reference TRE. The odds you'll be drawing those cards on YOUR turn specifically is not good, and not large enough to justify it being her static.

Generally, I feel that a lot of the current characters are already quite powerful, and that trying to keep making "people should want to play this" characters will just result in power creep.
I don't think these characters really top the previous ones in power level, they just do different things. A little bit of power creep is inevitable simply because you have more options open with more expansions, but it's not like I'm Score Entertainment and just making cards that are strictly better versions of previous ones -- I think these are about the same power level.
Huitzil
User avatar
Rainbow Racers
Joined: Mar 22, 2011

Post by Bremen (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 5:59 am

Huitzil wrote:Except you won't know what Cylon activation is coming up, and you might waste your OPG entirely. Also, the way it's worded looks to me like you have to pick one modifier to apply to all rolls, though that can obviously be cleared up. It still seems very anemic.


It was definitely my intention that the player would pick the modifier on each roll; otherwise it's fairly likely to end up screwing you over. You don't know what is coming up, no (though on something big you could use your OPG at that time rather than during the turn), but the thing about cylon activations is you have a good idea what might be coming; if there aren't any raiders in combat positions, sure, a strat plan is better than using the OPG. But if there's 2 Basestars on the board and 6 raiders in the same sector as Vipers, even without knowing the crisis card you know you're fairly likely to get further use out of the OPG.

Same as my point with Luna; unlike Celestia's static (where jump prep is basically flipping a coin), you generally have a good idea if you really don't want the cylons to activate that turn.
Bremen
User avatar
Joined: Oct 09, 2011

Post by Val Helmethead (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:16 am

So, looks like a consensus on Trixie, at least to try the character out. :smug:

The G&P Trixie (LEA 1 - TAC 2 - LEA/ENG 2) - Setup: Command
Setting the stage: On your turn, you may steal a card from any reckless skill checks after they are revealed but before they are resolved
Anything you can do I can do better: Once per game at the start of a turn take all title cards from their current holders. Return them to their original holders, if possible, at the end of the turn.
Tempting Fate: If you play a skill card into a check on your turn, it becomes reckless


I'm okay with Cheerilee being "low risk, low reward". Not being able to space a toaster isn't the biggest drawback.

Here's a compromise: :memories:

Cheerilee (LEA 2, POL 2, ENG/TAC 1) - Setup: Press Room
Nurture With Knowledge -- If another player is forced to discard skill cards during your turn, you may let them draw a number of cards equal to their discard.
Moral Guidance -- Once per game, after a player makes a choice on a Crisis Card, you may change that choice.
Indomitable Cheer -- You may not activate the Admiral's Quarters or the Airlock.


Now Nurture just lets a player replenish their discards, but only on your turn, and doesn't prevent them from drawing TRE anyway (minor buff). Moral Guidance is a better and more fitting OPG I think.

Spitfire - (LEA 2 - PIL 2 - TAC 1) - Setup: Piloting Viper in ECHO
Aerial Ace -- When you begin your turn piloting a Viper, you get an extra action this turn.
Formation Flyer -- Action: Once per game, activate six unmanned Vipers.
Team Leader -- When raiders fire at Vipers in your space area, you are targeted first.


I like this without the "or activate raiders". It's easy enough to have a nice little bubble of defenders around your civies, and then one OPG later and your 2 vipers are in ALPHA instead of DELTA, and the Raider swarm in CHARLIE is ready for a feeding frenzy.

Big Macintosh - (LEA 1 - TAC 2 - ENG 2) - Setup: Hanger
Eeeyup. -- Draw a card each time a skill check is passed.
Nope. -- Once per game, after a Crisis Card is revealed, immediately discard it without effect and draw a new one.
Doesn't Add Up -- You may not activate FTL control or the Engine Room.


I really want to shoehorn Fancy Mathematics in there somewhere, but I'll be damned if I can find a good way. I do like the "kill the crisis" concept for "Nope." you came up with Huitzil.
Image
Val Helmethead
User avatar
Damn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!
We Like Spike
Joined: Jun 07, 2011

Post by Bremen (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:27 am

Do we need another cylon leader? Seems to me the Windigos would fit perfectly. Their abilities even write themselves; they get bonuses by making the ponies bicker and distrust each other.
Bremen
User avatar
Joined: Oct 09, 2011

Post by Val Helmethead (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:30 am

Also I think the next game should be called:

[BSE] Why Don't You Cross the Sentient Scanner?
Image
Val Helmethead
User avatar
Damn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!
We Like Spike
Joined: Jun 07, 2011

Post by W.T. Fits (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:31 am

The Great and Powerful Trixie - Maybe it's my newbieness talking, but the various "take all the title cards for a single turn" OPG seems kind of weak on paper to me. Yeah, that gives you access to the Nuke Tokens, the Quorum cards, and the... whatever it is the CAG does... but you still only get one action per turn, two if you sacrifice your movement to do a Crit Sit. And yeah, you get to make any decisions that call for those titles, but that's IF such a decision crops up on your turn. As for her static and drawback, I think I like the "Discard a card and add +2 to its Strength instead of rolling a die/it's easier to Airlock/Brig you" version more, but I'd be willing to give the "poach a card from reckless checks/any checks you play into on your turn are reckless" version a shot.

Cheerilee - I like the most recent revision Val posted.

Spitfire - I like the second version Huitzil posted; in the last game and in a few of the other games I've followed, it seems like the only thing unmanned Vipers are good for is either soaking up hits from Raiders to protect civilians, or occasionally escorting them in games using the Cylon Fleet. I think it'd be nice to have a character who can get a little more mileage out of the unmanned Vipers beyond "move it to this location and pray the Raiders miss all their shots."

Big MacIntosh - I wouldn't mind giving the most recent version Val posted a whirl, though the inability to activate FTL and the Engine Room makes me a bit wary.

Regarding the third Cylon leader: the Windigos certainly seem menacing enough, but the lack of a distinct personality kind of bothers me from a fluff perspective.

Alternative 3rd Cylon Leader suggestion - the Flim Flam Brothers. :gotcha:
ImageImage
W.T. Fits
User avatar
Spoilers, you say? Well, in that case, I suppose I should avert my eyes.
Faithful Students
Joined: Feb 14, 2011
Location: I have gone to find myself. If I show up before I get back, please keep me here until I return.
Gender: Male

Post by Val Helmethead (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:32 am

Or... [BSE] You do not Fool Me, Rari-Bot!
Image
Val Helmethead
User avatar
Damn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!
We Like Spike
Joined: Jun 07, 2011

Post by Val Helmethead (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:42 am

Regarding vipers and their uses: The main use for Vipers are meat-shields, or to use with activations of Command if you run out of Pilots (which is not an uncommon occurrence in a world where Rarity isn't always a guaranteed toaster.

As for Trixie, you can...

Hit FTL as the Admiral and pick the destination.
Waste a Nuke on a worthless attack / use a Nuke when it's really needed.
Waste Quorum cards / use a powerful farmed Quorum card.
... do something with CAG I guess ...
And you get to look at all the Quorum cards to see what hasn't been played no matter what, so if you're a Pony it lets you know if the President is a super secret toaster.

What it lacks in simple brute force, it makes up for with versatility.

As for the Pony-lon leader, I think we might be better off just worrying about getting Discord working as intended for right now.
Image
Val Helmethead
User avatar
Damn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!
We Like Spike
Joined: Jun 07, 2011

Post by Bremen (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:51 am

Yeah. I hadn't thought things through that far but playing a character with no spoken lines wouldn't be nearly as much fun.
Bremen
User avatar
Joined: Oct 09, 2011

Post by ToastGhost (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 8:24 am

Okay, it's taken me long enough to post my thoughts on Discord, guess I'll finally get that done. :v:

I lost, boohoo, but I could have won had I been a different leader and a bit smarter about my actions (Human team should've just trusted me. Jerks.) My having an extra card ability wasn't all that powerful, and I didn't utilize my once per game power, but I will say this. Discord was a total blast to play. I spent the entire time trying to either help out the human team or fulfill the objectives of some random agenda in the event that I should draw it, but I should've also tried my hand at randomly screwing over the pony fleet. Truly, I'd be just fine keeping him with the same drawback; Discord is fun, useful, AND potentially destructive!

Having Luna's static cost a movement seems smart, and it works well with her inability to move to other players locations. Also, Big Mac looks awesome, it'd be amazing to straight up deny a terrible crisis. Especially if it was played by a cylon. :gotcha:
ImageImage
ImageImage
i told you about the violent videogames minty
i told you bro
ToastGhost
User avatar
The smuggest damn horse.
Rarity's Roughnecks
Joined: Mar 27, 2011

Post by Huitzil (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 8:43 am

Val Helmethead wrote:Also I think the next game should be called:

[BSE] Why Don't You Cross the Sentient Scanner?


You can use that for yours.

Mine's gonna be "[BSE] So Neigh We All!"
Huitzil
User avatar
Rainbow Racers
Joined: Mar 22, 2011

Post by Huitzil (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:11 pm

I'm going to wait a bit longer before starting the next game though; I felt like my fluff wasn't nearly as good this time as the last game. And it'll be a 5-player game with no CL, I think.

Trixie's static and drawback seem redundant -- she pulls from Reckless checks on her turn, and checks on her turn are Reckless if she plays into them. I'd rephrase her static so that she just pulls from a check on her turn; it also allows her to pull a card from a non-reckless check she didn't play into, a slight bump in power, but I don't think that's too big a deal. Beyond that, she is ready to try out (in a Pegasus game). The only other thing I would add before testing the group of them is that maybe Cheerilee and Big Mac's drawbacks should also have ", nor can those locations be activated on your turn" added to them, because otherwise they just read "You just have to use an XO to use these locations", which is even LESS of a drawback.

This most recent game with Discord showed us more about the CL Agendas, even the ones he wasn't playing with; namely that for some of them I drastically overestimated the amount of time a CL would have to fulfill them, and that as much as I love the concept of Crushing Betrayal and Mend A Broken Heart, victory conditions that are entirely reliant on the good will of others just aren't workable.

If the "guess Discord's agenda" mechanic has an opportunity cost (action, cards if you guess wrong) and doesn't come at game-end (when you only have to guess agendas that were completed, eliminating all the agendas that are pro-your side), do you think it would be okay to cut back down to 6 agendas in each deck? That lets us cut ones that aren't working like Crushing Betrayal, without having to come up with new ones, seeing as we're already stretched kinda thin for ideas.
Huitzil
User avatar
Rainbow Racers
Joined: Mar 22, 2011

Post by Val Helmethead (?) » Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:34 pm

Ah, that's an issue with Trixie. I glossed over the fact that she can only pull the card on her turn.

What about either
A) you can remove a card during your turn / any time you play more than 1 card the check is reckless.
-or-
B) You can remove one card from any reckless check / all checks during your turn are reckless (errata: this also means you can't have reckless cards played on your turn)
Image
Val Helmethead
User avatar
Damn it, fire hose doesn't work that way!
We Like Spike
Joined: Jun 07, 2011

Previous Next

Return to Hayrides and Horseshoes

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest