If I were to make the perfect dungeon board game, I would...

[Goblin-King]

Anyone ever tried putting together a Space Hulk map!?
It's like putting together a freaking jigsaw puzzle!

[Schmidt]

No, but I heard it's like putting a freaking jigsaw puzzle together.

Wizard should have access to all spells from the beginning of an adventure. He will then get a base number of spells (3-5) + 1(2?) for each level. They should become more powerful as the wizard is leveling up. And they should be reusable depending on how much damage/healing they do.

Example:

Summon undead
Throw 1 CD (+1 for each level)
= 1
=1
=1
The level of the monsters is the average level of the heroes (rounded down)

The monsters can be controlled for:
1 round
2 rounds
3 rounds

Cool down time:
For each
= 1 round
= 2 rounds
= 3 rounds

[Anderas]

What do you mean by cool down time?
Do you want the player to take notes and cross out some boxes on paper until they are allowed to use the spell again?
This is nice in a computer game but for a board game it is a little too much bureaucracy, don't you think?

[Big Bene]

I think ideas for the "perfect" magic system should not be restricted to "spells on cards".
Why not use a principally different system, like:
- Mana based:
The magic user has a certain amount of mana, astral energy, or whatever you want to call it. His startig mana would become higher with experience. Each spell costs a given amount of mana, depending on it's effect. So a magic user can use the same spell as often as he wants, as long as his mana lasts, and a beginner can cast a powerful spell, at the cost of it beeing the only one he will cast in this quest.
- Difficulty based:
A spell with big effects is more difficult than a mediocre one. Every time a magic user wants to cast a spell, he must test it's difficulty against his mind points or against a new "magic" stat (which should also increase with experience). If he passes the test, the spell will work, with no other restrictions, so again, he can (try to) use the same spell as often as he wants, and a beginner can try to cast a powerful spell, just with less chance to actually manage it.

[Anderas]

There is another problem connected to that concept. It animates the Wizard to keep his magic for the final Monster. Even more than today.
I'd love a solution that makes the Wizard better over time, but does not make him the one man bomb, to be transported, placed, then effective, but until then inert.

I have to think about the magic problem. Maybe Heroquest is close to a solution but just a bit underbalanced.

[slev]

The problem is that HQ (and indeed AHQ and, to a lesser degree, WHQ) makes magic POWERFUL, so that it has to be counter-balenced by being limited and/or having the hero limited. Meanwhile, modern games like Descent just treat Magic as a source, while making the effects just another attack, so the heroes can stay perfectly balenced without being arteficially limited.

[Schmidt]

What do you mean by cool down time?
Do you want the player to take notes and cross out some boxes on paper until they are allowed to use the spell again?
This is nice in a computer game but for a board game it is a little too much bureaucracy, don't you think?

Is that too much to ask
Instead of small boxes I would have big boxes (the size of the spell/skill card). When you have used the card, you put it in the right numbered box (cooldowntime=3rounds, put it in #3). When your turn starts, move all cards one space to the left. If the card is moved onto 0/reusable you may use it on that turn. Max CDT = 6 rounds.

Barbarian skill: Kick

On your turn you can kick an adj. monster. It will be kicked on square backwards, loosing 1 B.P. If there is a wall behind the monster it will stay in the same square, loosing 2 B.P. If there is another monster/hero behind the monster, the kicked monster will loose 2 B.P. and the one behind it will loose 1 B.P., both staying in the same square.

[Anderas]

Just move the boxes then you don't need to take out the cards and put it into another box.

Actually, that way i could become friends with the concept of cool down time. The stronger a spell is, the less often you may use it. I like it.
You may need a mechanism to prevent that the group is waiting rounds and rounds for the wizard to cool down. What do you do there?

I think the kick of the Barbarian is overpowered. Monsters shouldn't lose BP through kicking.

[Goblin-King]

The problem with magic is that if it's too simple it's too limited.
But if you flesh it more out it quickly becomes too complex.

Cooldowns is a mechanic I would never introduce to a board game!
In WQ you roll a die each round to determine the amount of spell power you have available.
That's not bad. The wizard is powerful, but also unpredictable in power level.

[slev]

Instead of cool-dows, gain, say, one point each turn. you spend the points to trigger affects of choice.