Melee and Wizard "Challenges"

[Terquem]

So, wait, does this mean we are not going to see a team of 36 point heroes take on a Killer Kart in an Autoduel arena?

[Jim Kane]

I have an additional thought on this product idea we are discussing which I feel needs to be illuminated.

With the above mentioned product platform, not only can the core TFT "fantasy game" be expanded and supported with the proposed "A vs B" MicroGames, but consider this additional feature and benefit:

The designer would now be offered the massive leeway to create and release supplements of nearly any real or imagined genre or time period, *without* making it part of the classic Cidri "Swords and Sorcery" world.

Something as universally pedestrian as: Cowboys and Indians, or, Minute Men vs Red Coats *could* be offered as one of the MicroGame expansion packs, without being interpolated into, or accounted for by the core fantasy system.

The benefit of this would be two-fold:

1. 1. It would allow the designer to freely express alternate worlds, at will, for TFT, without having to account for that world into the canon;
   
   and,
   
   
2. Keeps the core Fantasy game pure for the players, and free of a plethora of various realities and technologies, which could improperly color their vision; by only bringing in those extra elements they choose to themselves.

The more I think on this product platform, the more things I find to like about it.

JK

[zot]

Originally Posted by Jim Kane

The benefit of this would be two-fold:

1. 1. It would allow the designer to freely express alternate worlds, at will, for TFT, without having to account for that world into the canon;
   
   and,
   
   
2. Keeps the core Fantasy game pure for the players, and free of a plethora of various realities and technologies, which could improperly color their vision; by only bringing in those extra elements they choose to themselves.

Fantastic! I love how it would let people experiment with (and sell) wacky ideas without disturbing people who hold tightly to the canon.

[JLV]

I do too; though if memory serves, the whole point of creating the Cidri background in the first place was to prevent having a one-trick pony of a world. So you could easily have Rebels versus Redcoats on a continent far, far away, while still having your standard Fantasy stuff going on way over there to the south... (Hundreds of continent sized land masses, enormous oceans -- gosh, it sounds more like a Dyson Sphere than a planet...)

[Jim Kane]

Quite true JLV, and by constraining the detailing of these extra things to a MicroGame Expansion Pack, the designer is totally freed from having to account for all the massive details and entries of what would be generated over time within the core-products.

Meaning, the whole of the Fantasy canon would not have to be re-written to include the expansion material - making their job much easier - and completely leaves the rest up to the player, as to what goes in, and what stays out, of their individual Cidri - and keeping the core game (and rules set) pure.

Oh, and to the list of benefits cited in the post above, please add:

3. Sales of various "A vs B" MicroGame Expansion Packs, would acts as natural indicators of where the company should apply more focus and more related releases to a given genre. For example: If "Minute Men vs Red Coats" sold through three printings in one year, and "The Universal Monsters vs Looney Tunes" only moved eighty units in the same time-period, the indicators would be crystal-clear as to what the people want to see more of in the future for The Fantasy Trip.

I just love this idea for TFT so much.

JK

[KevinJ]

And, as has been stated:

The Synergy is that for each microgame you purchase you get even more possibilities for encounter pairings and terrain. Also, if you do run an ongoing RPD, each would provide "Artifacts" that could be included in your game, possibloe allies or enemies in small groups of this or that 'faction' and more battle maps.

I for one wouldn't mind some 'historical' pairings like Redcoats vs Minutemen or British vs Zulus, but I think the more 'outrageous' you get the more fun it could be. Hense, Aliens vs Cavemen. What if the victory condition for the cavemen was to infect the Aliens with smallpox so they all die (a la War of the Worlds) through lasting a specific number of turns rather than 'reach point B' or 'exit the board on the other side' as some scenariors might.

I think the hardest part is providing scenarios where the equipment of one side doesn't completely waste the other side.

[zot]

Originally Posted by KevinJ

And, as has been stated:

The Synergy is that for each microgame you purchase you get even more possibilities for encounter pairings and terrain. Also, if you do run an ongoing RPD, each would provide "Artifacts" that could be included in your game, possibloe allies or enemies in small groups of this or that 'faction' and more battle maps.

I for one wouldn't mind some 'historical' pairings like Redcoats vs Minutemen or British vs Zulus, but I think the more 'outrageous' you get the more fun it could be. Hense, Aliens vs Cavemen. What if the victory condition for the cavemen was to infect the Aliens with smallpox so they all die (a la War of the Worlds) through lasting a specific number of turns rather than 'reach point B' or 'exit the board on the other side' as some scenariors might.

I think the hardest part is providing scenarios where the equipment of one side doesn't completely waste the other side.

The environment might affect how useful advanced equipment is. American special ops fighters rode horses in Afghanistan in 2001... https://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/06/u...ial/index.html

[Jim Kane]

Originally Posted by zot

The environment might affect how useful advanced equipment is. American special ops fighters rode horses in Afghanistan in 2001... https://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/06/u...ial/index.html

Quite so Zot; and let us look specifically at the technological imbalance in the Vietnam conflict, and yet, the VC and NVA used the terrain (above and below ground), weather, and nature to their decided advantage against a vastly superior technological force.

JK

[tbeard1999]

Hmmn… Zulu Warrior vs. British Soldier...

Zulu warriors are 32 point characters, with no armor, assegai (treat as shortsword), dagger and shield. Some carry assegai and a javelin. The cowhide 3' umbumbuluzo is a large shield. About 1 in 10 have captured Martini-Henry rifles, which they can fire once per 2 turns at -3 DX since they can't take the 19th Century Rifles talent. They also cannot use the bayonet. Required talents: Shield (1), Sword (2), Running (2)

Experienced Zulu warriors (perhaps 1 in 4) are 34 point characters. Required talents: Shield (1), Sword (2), Running (2)

British soldiers are 32 point characters with no armor or shields. They carry a dagger and a Martini-Henry rifle with bayonet. Required talents: 19th Century Rifles (1); Literacy (1); Bayonet (1); Drill (1).

British officers are 34 point characters, but must have IQ 10. They carry a sword (cutlass) and a Beaumont-Adams revolver. They can have both weapons readied, but can only use one each turn. Required talents: 19th Century Rifles (1); Pistol (1); Literacy (1); Bayonet (1); Tactics (1); Horsemanship (1); Strategist (2); Drill (1)

British NCOs are 34 point characters. Required talents: 19th Century Rifles (1); Literacy (1); Bayonet (1); Tactics (1); Drill (1). Equipped as British soldier typically. An NCO will usually command a group of soldiers.

Martini-Henry Rifle: ST11, 4d damage, Missile Weapon, 1 shot per turn. Bayonet allows weapon to be used as a spear.

Beaumont-Adams Revolver: 2d damage; 2 shots per turn; five rounds in cylinder; takes 1 turn to reload 3 bullets. -1 DX per megahex target is distant, including first megahex. A figure with the 19th Century Rifles talent can move up to 1/2 movement allowance and fire the Beaumont-Adams at no DX adjustment. Untrained users may only move 1 hex and may only fire 1 shot every 2 turns at -3 DX.

Drill talent: A figure who is stationary when firing gets a +1 DX. He may move 1/2 movement forward (or 2 hexes backward) and either kneel or fire. He can move through a hex occupied by a friendly figure that is not engaged. If he kneels, a standing figure can fire over him as long as the kneeling figure is not engaged. A kneeling figure automatically rises if engaged in melee combat.

If battles start on the standard Melee map, Zulus will need to outnumber the British by ~2 to 1. If using the Wizard map, the ratio needs to be at least 3-1. This explains Rorke's Drift pretty well.

[Kirk]

If I understand you guys correctly, this approach (different "worlds"), yet targeting TFT without stepping on copyright toes, is what Dark City Games has done in a fashion.

Legends, Untamed West, and Time and Space...

http://www.darkcitygames.com/

We also made boards that were somewhat specific to the adventure, as well, with overlayed configurations to model various situations in the adventure, along with lettered markers to facilitate character set up. George still continues with this approach, as far as I know.