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"Out of Time" - Idea for skirmish wargame featuring time manipulation.  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Made in dk
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets




Denmark.

I decided to attempt to make a new setting for the fun of it, and I landed on a setting made to facilitate a Skirmish wargame; not because I actually plan on making it (I'm currently working on making a Mordheim-based 40k game, which you can check out here: https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/747962.page - I have enough on my plate ), but more for the exercise. I wanted to share it with you guys, to hear your comments and your ideas for it!

You'll notice that most of what I wrote is on the setting of the game and the basic concept behind it; that is deliberate to get a good sense of what the game would be.

- - - - - - -

"Out of Time" - Setting

- Concept.
Nobledark Clockpunk setting, real world but with magical properties; time doesn't work as intended. Different factions send strike teams of scientists into Time Anomalies for specific gains. Morality is humanity VS detatchment from humanity for a greater, saving cause. Characters are driven, never entirely monstrous. "Pick your favourite scientist!". Faith VS Science elements, both sides presented with a point. No villains, but some sides may be more right than others.


- Plot.
World is in 1890-ish times. Time manipulation is achieved small-scale, mostly utility, but scholars of the world attempt to make a larger experiement all over the world. Result is that time becomes fethed up. The world is covered in Anomalies that cause time to freeze indefinately within their borders. Largest one is over Greenwich, causing London to be annexed. The World is stuck in 1894-ish times, as the anomalies freezes the world to constantly restart after five-and-a-half years. World is close to a restart and factions scramble to the anomalies to attempt to manipulate, fix or re-order them. The game is set in the last year of this Loop, and the factions are all scrambling to get their goals done before all is reset. Upon a Restart, the entire world hides knowledge and sometimes people in time capsules that can keep them from reverting. Factions use this ensure they know what has happened the last Loops. We are in the 11 Loop now, but the Restarts are becoming more aggressive, even spreading the Anomalies at times.

- Major Factions.

- United Academics (UA): Academics and scholars who created much of the time-technology in the first place, secret community working to stabilize and reduce the effects of the restarts. Others use the continous restarts to do further research and attempt to gain more prestige in the academic community. UA is outlawed and their members are officially under the control of the Rift Guard and their parent countries, due to public outrage and their involvment in the creation of the Loop. Their unofficial leader is Trevor Ishmael Deschell, Schwiss researcher and head authority on time manipulative mechanics and theory.

- International Defense of Instabilities and Anomalies (IDIA or Rift Guard): In response to the chaos created by the Loop and the Anomalies, several of the most powerful leaders of the world, including certain organisations and companies came together in the creation of a UN-like group, to help support world-peace among the instability. The IDIA is a combined military and research group meant to protect the Anomalies and keep the public from them, while simultainously studying them in the attempt to decrease the effect of the Loop. The IDIA is marred by political opportunism and spywork done by countries looking to have their Anomalies fixed and annexed first, slowing their work.Officially employs many of the UA's members, but rarely allows them any freedom. Led by the UN-like council, head Brigadeer General is Sir Octavian von Geersfelt, British-German general.

- The Aionostic Church: Originally a part of the Catholic Church as radical outliers connecting the time anomalies and Loops with the recurring characters in the Bible, including Jesus Christ, believing his rebirth and creation outside of wedlock are due to time anomaly. The Aionistic Church believes that Christ's apparent ability to survive and control is own time-anomaly is due to him being the son of God - therefor, their belief is often combined with scientific musings, attempting to capture the "God in the Machine" through direct study of time. Eventually the Aionostic Church was ousted by the Vatican, though the Church simply announced themselves as the fourth Abrahamic religion. Catholics, protestants, Shia and Sunni muslims and many jews joined the church, keeping their faith but studying and strengthening it through the tenets of the Aionistic Church. Their members do ancillary work around and occasionally within the Anomalies, attempting to understand them and heal those harmed by it. Some radical parts believe the IDIA should keep away from the Anomalies, believing them to be sacred. Nurse Alay'ha has become an unofficial spiritual leader due to her work as a healer and mender.

- Survivalists: Remains of the populations within the Anomalies, very varied and with differing goals. The survivalists tend to form small communities to protect themselves, often around singular charismatic leaders. Due to the nature of the Anomalies, the people within them are bound to the Anomalies, and changes to them spill over into the people. Particularly unstable Anomalies tend to morph their inhabitants with previous and future versions of themselves, becoming 'Lappers, based on the term Overlapped Identity Disorder. To avoid this, the Survivalist groups tend to be fiercely territorial and doesn't suffer the Outsiders to mettle with their Anomalies, in fear that they will be trapped in a condition worse than death. They do not have any recognized leader, though "Big" Jared Lebonski is considered the most influential Survivalist leader in Northern Europe, leading several groups of gangs in London, Stockholm, France and Hamburg.


- Basic Concepts.

- "Blibs": A huge part of the game will be Blibs, which are cardboard tokens that can be placed during a game. The player uses Blibs to manipulate models, movement and so forth, with each player's Leader (called a Controller) deciding what the basic properties of the Strike Team's Blibs is through the Chronocallity, as Special Ability only they have. They can use actions to place Blibs, move them and make the rest of the models react to them, depending on what actions they have available to them. For example, a basic Blib Action would be "Forward", which allows a Controller to place a Blib, and then later use an Action to make another friendly model within a certain range of it move to the Blib (essentially, the Controller is messing with time to gain advantages; they do this through time manipulators on their person, which is what makes them Controllers). Other models, called Jockeys may use the basic range of Actions, but are not specialized like the Controllers.

- Decks: The players also craft a deck for their Strike Team, made out of three types of cards; Objectives, Modifications and Plays. Objectives win the game, and can gain the player more points if you show the card on the board before you win it. Modifications allow the player to break rules for Blibs and make other Actions not present on the models.This may be an Instant card that is used once, or it may stay for longer than that; maybe the entire game. Plays are more martially oriented and allows more and different actions for most models, but rarely incoorporates Blibs. They are basic, but can win the game by just being simple force multipliers, such as "attack twice".

- Strike Teams: Each Player uses a Strike Team of around 8-22 models. The Team must have a Controller, but is otherwise open. Most models are specific to a faction, but some bleed over. You can buy Squads of models that still act as individuals, Singles, powerful, often supportive models and Assistants, models added to other models to change their abilities. Singles can also be Jockeys, which adds additional range for your Blibs.

- - - - - - -

Aaaand I had written much more than that, but my computer died out not too long ago, so some of it was lost -.- I hope this gives some idea of what I'm thinking of! Feel free to ask if you have a question or want something deliberated.
   
Made in us
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Houston, TX

This belongs more in fiction than game design. As to the (few)actual mechanics presented:

"Blibs" is an odd word for order counters. I do like the idea of resource management it introduces as by allocating your presumably limited pool of orders, you must anticipate what will later be useful. The downside is it seems to make the game largely focused on the leaders with troopers kind of just being secondary extensions. Feels a lot like Warmachine if they had foregone jacks and moved the focus mechanic to troops. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Having certain troops being able to in turn gain additional benefits from certain orders could be used to encourage synergies. IE Commander Relentless may allocate a free "Forward" each turn. Impetous units may(must?) move towards a "Forward" marker each turn, without a commander using an action.

"Decks" seem to be a collection of abilities. You don't actually randomize and draw, right?

Not enough info on Teams to really comment.

-James
 
   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

This is a start, and I like the idea of "time" a sthe king resource. However, for now it just looks like a Warmachine knock-off.

Tell me more about how the "Time" element is used?

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Made in dk
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets




Denmark.

 Easy E wrote:
This is a start, and I like the idea of "time" a sthe king resource. However, for now it just looks like a Warmachine knock-off.

Tell me more about how the "Time" element is used?

Well it's not super concrete in my mind either yet, but the idea would be that you use these Blibs as the physical representation of time manipulation, and then your Squad's abilities can affect the Blibs, or use the Blibs to affect the table or the models on it.

So, for example, Imagine I have a small group of three models in a Squad with longer-ranged rifles, as well as an ability that allows them to move 2" after being moved by a Time Modification. I also have a Controller close by. I use an Action for my Controller to place a Blib within 2-3" of the Squad. Now, my opponent knows that I have the ability to do the Mass Forward Modification, a Time Mod. my Faction's Controllers tend to have, so my opponent believes I wish to use that Mod. to move the Squad hella-far into the table, perhaps attempting to challenge an Objective that is crucial to my enemy. However, what my opponent won't know is that, on my hand are a number of other Modifications that could utilize the Blib. For example, it could be Steady, which would grant all models within 6" of the Blib a buff to ranged attacks if they don't move, or it could be Blast, moving the Blib in a line, damaging and moving any model hit. It depends on what Modification I use, and if my enemy might be able to determine what I wish to do from my Strike Team and previous actions.

I imagine not-Basic Modifications and Plays are one-use when held in hand, and after it is used it is placed in the discard pile (perhaps called something like Timeline or whatever), which you can later draw from, or shuffle other people's discard piles to mess up their game plan. You could also keep just drawing the one card you always use; simple and easy to follow, but dependable.

I imagine most Strike Team models aren't too combat-centric, more aligned with what they do for your Blibs and how they react to them (not that they won't have weapons). Combat-centric models would mostly be a speciality of the IDIA, and especially the Rift Guard.

... But of course that's just in my mind
   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

Interesting ideas, but as you say.... they need to be fleshed out a bit more. The combination of using Blibs as a marker for units where you will eventually play a card effect is interesting.

Do you think this will clutter the board?

Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing 
   
Made in dk
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets




Denmark.

 Easy E wrote:
Interesting ideas, but as you say.... they need to be fleshed out a bit more. The combination of using Blibs as a marker for units where you will eventually play a card effect is interesting.

Do you think this will clutter the board?

I don’t think so. Blib tokens are about a centimeter wide and come and go on the table fairly quickly, and the teams are not too large. It will be less cluttered than, say, Warmachine, which you likened to it, and have less tokens everywhere. That said, it might be an idea to have a Threshold for each Controller, which dictates how many Blibs their team can have in place at once. Trevor I. Deschel could easily have 4, while the morer martial Sir Octavian may only have 2.

   
 
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