Reduced/Expanded Armoury & Alchemist Shops

[drathe]

Been toying with the idea of a randomly generated shop for a while now. I finally created cards for all the Armoury and Alchemist Shop items with prices at the bottom for the purpose of shuffling and laying out a select number of cards for present inventory. I thought it might spice things up and offer a variation to what the Heroes can spend their gold on. Will they save their gold for that shiny Longsword, or opt into a temporary Broadsword purchase? It would be great for new comers to the game as they wouldn't know what the other options may be later on.

Now that I have my cards all printed out and ready to go, I came up with another idea that I believe might actually be better. See, one problem I've always had with the shop is that there are items that no Hero will purchase. Staff, Shortsword and Broadsword to be specific. Why spend 250 on a Broadsword when you can save another 100 for a Longsword that not only has the same strength, but also allows for diagonal attack. Money comes fast enough in the game and those Crossbows become weapon one far too early. This idea would also give them something more to look forward to later on in the expansions if they spend money early not knowing what they could spend it on later. So, my proposal...

Different Armoury tiers. Like adding more potions to the Alchemist Shop when new expansions are reached, The Armoury could start off small and expand as the quests go on.

Start with the basics:

• Dagger,
• Shortsword (still pretty much pointless),
• Staff,
• Helmet

Tier 2 add:

• Broadsword (adding this later gives the Barbarian a cool advantage in the beginning)
• Shield
• Tool Kit

Tier 3 add:

• Longsword
• Chain Mail

Tier 4 add:

• Crossbow
• Battle Axe
• Plate Mail

You could even rearrange them as you see fit, or add your own new items to the same or new tiers. Maybe throw in some of the Alchemist shop potions, or do the same for the potions and not have all four added at the same time. Not sure exactly at which point each tier would become available. Maybe every 5 quests or something, or after certain quests. This would keep the Heroes spending their gold on new things and keep the game challenging as they won't be beefed up as quickly.

Post your thoughts, additions, or critiques.

UPDATE:I've decided to have each tier available for every 3 quests (not including the Maze). So after Quests 1-3 tier one is available; Quests 4-6 tier 2 is added; 7-9 tier three is added; 10-12 tier four is finally added.

[drathe]

A good chunk of the way though the game system and this new armoury method (the tiered method) is working out great! Gold is being spent, Heroes aren't becoming too powerful too fast, and the game is actually quite challenging for the Heroes.

I'm thinking I should have tried starting the Heroes off with all daggers except for the Barbarian. Give him a Shortsword to maintain his edge. Starting at the Maze would be a must for this method. Then the Heroes (or at least one) may have a chance to upgrade their dagger to a Shortsword. But either way, it's been the best run through the game thus far.

[AerynB]

This sounds like a really neat idea, especially since as far as I can tell the armory doesn't get much better in the expansion packs, as I really thought it would.

If I could get hubby to search for more treasure and therefore get more gold to spend on weapons and armor I might try to implement this idea. But he's building up his wealth so slowly he may not get a battle axe or plate armor until the 12th or 13th quest anyway. silly man

[Phoenix]

you should check out my expanded armory & ruleset, if you're interested in a slightly different style of play. Just follow the banner in my signature.

[AerynB]

yep I've been to your site too. You get a big thank you for modifying the English/European exclusive expansion paks into the awesome North American style!!! You totally rock. And I'm so glad I started searching for HQ stuff once you had finished the Master Instruction Manual. That thing looks incredible.

I may try out these different rules, though I don't want to overload hubby with too much. Gotta keep him interested so I have someone to play with.

oh and ps: I read somewhere on your website that you like to read Terry Brooks books. Nice to meet a fellow Shannara fan. I absolutely love all his stuff, and the newest series was just as wonderful. Definitely 5 stars!

[drathe]

So far, up to quest eight, this method has been really good. There's stuff the heroes can look forward to. It's keeping the game challenging and Heroes are forced into creating strategies other than stand at the door and shoot.

I'm thinking of having a 5th tier with just the Crossbow. So instead of it being in Tier 4 after Quests 10-12, it will become available for Quests 13 & 14, thus leading ranged weapons into Kellar's Keep when Potions will begin to be added.

[AerynB]

Might be a good idea, especially since the crossbow is such a useful weapon. Stand in a long corridor and you can fire at a monster all the way at the other end, don't have to risk walking up to him and setting off any traps.

Speaking of the crossbow, I'm confused about something. Can the crossbow be used against a diagonal monster, or does it have to be used from at least one square away? I thought diagonal was okay til I played Lurchbrick's isometric HQ game and diagonal shooting wasn't allowed, not that his game is law, just that he seems to follow the HQ rules pretty darn closely. Just curious.

[drathe]

I've always understood it as non-adjacent and non-diagonally-adjacent within line of sight. That's the way I've always played it too. Otherwise, why buy a Longsword? Longswords can rust, have the same attack strength and the same cost in gold. But it is a matter of interpretation. Often times I find myself rereading the rules and cards only to discover that over the years I've misunderstood or misread something years ago and stuck with it. It was years before I realised the treasure deck should be shuffled every time a Hero searches and no special treasure is listed. This simple mistake totally changed the dynamic and challenge of the game for the Heroes and myself as Morgon... Zarcar?

Another misinterpretation I've made are when a spell casting Hero dies. The rules state they may cast a healing spell on themselves should they still have one available and did not perform an action during their most recent turn to save themselves. I took this as if they did not cast a spell during their turn, rather than action. Meaning they could have still attacked or searched and still save themselves from certain death. I still play this rule as I originally have since I'm being consistent with the players already playing. Perhaps I'll change it back to what it is supposed to be with my next group.

Right now, I'm questioning the use of the Courage Spell (which I will begin in another thread).

What it really boils down to, which most everyone would agree, is that it's your game. You mold the rules as you see fit. Find a rule you don't agree with? Change it to something you're more comfortable with or something that makes more sense to you.

[AerynB]

Oh yeah, the healing spells threw me for a loop when I started Lurchbrick's computer game. I'd die and was like, 'wait, my wizard still has his heal spell, what gives?' I play really, really easy with Dave, just so he won't get too frustrated and quit on me. But it's nice to be able to play a tougher way on the computer. I'm glad Lurchbrick made KK and RotWL but I wish he would have done the other quest packs too. Maybe he'll come back to it when he's done with Battle Masters (I think I saw that that's his current project). Maybe I'll give him a buzz on his website.

But good to know about the crossbow. Thanks for the clarification, and the advice that my rules are ok too.

[drathe]

You're welcome, any time!

As far as I'm aware, Lurchbrick has plans to expand the game to eventually include all the expansions.