GimmeYerGold's [revised] Custom Cards Preview: Hero Spells

[GimmeYerGold]

Ziff! 9 Groups of Hero Spells! These are for the Elf, Wizard, and the custom hero Bard to choose from.

Notes:
1) Added 5 additional spell groups, with the intention of a new spell group being added as an option to choose from for every 3 quests completed. Starting with 6 available, Elf = 1 group, Bard = 2 groups, Wizard = 3 groups. Order of introduction could be pretty arbitrary, but "cosmic" would probably be the last available.
2) Beefed up some of the system spell to either match the UK rules, or to make them more useful.
3) I play UK spell casting rules, where you can either see your target or be in the same room
4) Made text more generic with "enemy figure" "friendly figure" etc.
5) shuffled around my previous custom spell cards to attempt a total balance among each spell group

More card sets I'm working on:
[revised] Encounter Cards here: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2828
[revised] Artifact Cards here: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2826
[revised] Combat Skill Cards here: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2823
[revised] Chaos Spell Cards here: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2822
[revised] Monster Cards here: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2820
[revised] Equipment Cards here: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2818
[revised] Lone Monster Cards here: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2816
[revised] Settlement Cards here: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2813
[revised] Treasure Cards here: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2812

[cynthialee]

Looks good. My only issue is the Shadow Shield spell. It isn't clear to me.

Other than that, great job. The spells seem to be well balanced and in line with the games core mechanics. Now I haven't had the chance to play test but my Gamemasters mind sees no obvious problems.

Rock on dude.

[GimmeYerGold]

Looks good. My only issue is the Shadow Shield spell. It isn't clear to me.

Other than that, great job. The spells seem to be well balanced and in line with the games core mechanics. Now I haven't had the chance to play test but my Gamemasters mind sees no obvious problems.

Rock on dude.

Thanks cynthialee! Appreciate you givin' them a lookover. My intention with the Shadow Shield spell is for instance when a monster attacks a hero, the hero AND the monster are both attacked by that action, sort of like a karmic counter attack? Both the hero and monster defend, and take any damage. Does that make sense? I would like to word the spell card it better if that's not clear.

[cynthialee]

If you give the shield it's own "attack dice" that would make it easier I think.
You want it stout. I would say 4 combat dice. I would also have the shield active until the next action or the hero takes a hit point.

[cynthialee]

Also...does it work against ranged weapons and spell attacks that are damage based?

[GimmeYerGold]

If you give the shield it's own "attack dice" that would make it easier I think.
You want it stout. I would say 4 combat dice. I would also have the shield active until the next action or the hero takes a hit point.

I like the idea of the shield being active until a hero loses a body point, as its intended effect is "an eye for an eye," so at that point it will be pretty likely the attack will deal damage back to the monster. But in that case, i think 4 combat dice would be a bit much. The hero could effectively have an automatic battle axe counter attack for awhile if their defenses were already high and held up. A hero will often have many opportunities to defend between their actions. An equal counter of dice to the monster would be more balanced in that case.

Also...does it work against ranged weapons and spell attacks that are damage based?

I use the term "attack" here it its literal in-game definition of that attack action, so just regular attacks. That would include ranged attacks.

[Daedalus]

I've got some comments for ya:

Circle of Protection

Nice.

Hypnotic Blaze

I like this lasting just one turn.

Shadow Shield

Since there was some confusion about the wording, how about this:


Shadow Shield

This spell may be cast on any one
figure, including yourself. The next
attack against the protected figure also
affects the attacking enemy. Both
combatants defend the attack normally.

Rock Skin

I can see why you went with the EU 2 Defend Dice. One concern I have is if a second Rock Skin is cast on the same Hero with a scroll or Spell Ring. That's 6 Defend Dice before accounting for armor. If the Wizard has a Cloak, Circlet, and Armbands, then 9 Defend Dice means the spells are unlikely to be broken. I'd say only one Rock Skin spell may affect a figure at any given time to prevent this.

Centaur

I'd reduce "...slam shut any door on the board, until the start of your next turn,..." > ...slam shut any door on the board,... Monsters can't open doors anyway.

Veil of Mist

I'd be interested to hear how this spell works out now that it affects all friendlies in the room or corridor.