u/Dry_Appointment_7210

First and foremost, thanks for all of your feedback.
The first draft was pretty well received, but some things did get brought up, so I hope you'll help me assess them.

I've also played three solo games, and I do have some thoughts/misgivings that I'd like to discuss here. The result is three different drafts of Scytale. All three revolve around him being an Assassin and using his Face Dancing to infiltrate.

Like I said: 3 suggested versions. But there is also the option to mix and match across versions.

Version 1.1
I reworded the abilities a bit, most importantly to mention Combat Intrigues.
Assassin: I really like the concept/mechanic, but I'm not sure it feels right in actual play. You're never winning Conflicts with this - just picking at the edges and picking up 3rd places. The problem/frustration is that it doesn't combine with adding actual troops.
Some people have found the ability to be quite powerful, but it sure doesn't feel that way (in solo). It's going to take a while to acquire Sword cards and get them in your hand, and by that time Combat strengths will most likely have escalated beyond your ability to keep up.
Face Dancer: I really like that this is very different from a traditional Signet (after all Scytale isn't a House leader). As a few people have pointed out, the "only to occupied spaces" breaks the rules for how the Agent Box works, but I'm kind of inclined to ignore that - if for no other reason then because the official Kwisatz Haderach card does a similar thing.
Should this bother me more?
Just like Assassin, the ability feels pretty week. Cool, with potential, but also weak. If you're early in the turn, if few people have their Swordmaster or if people go to faction spaces, then your options can be extremely limited. In one of my solo games I even Trashed the Signet. Then again, and Solo the Rivals avoid some of the spaces that the Signet can take you to...

I like this version of Face Dancer, but overall Scytale1.1 frankly feels a bit weak to me.

Scytale 2.0
Face Dancer: Unlike the 1.1, this comes with no downsides. It opens up a few extra board spaces for you, as you mimic the First Player. And the First Players first board space is usually prety good. Every few turns, (when you are the First Player), it does nothing. (I did contemplate having it also work when you are First Player, but I figured it would be too easy to abuse - like going three times to Carthag, or multiple times to the same (free) Faction space).

Assassin: This is really just a simple(r) version of Duncan Idahos official leader ability - where Duncan can move his Signet Agent into the Conflict. I chose this simpler version because base D:I does not have the required rules to make distinctions between units and troops.
Using a regular unit instead of the Agent piece should be net neutral: Official Duncan couldn't block opposing players with his Signet Agent, but on the other hand he could sometimes go to the same space with two consecutive Agents.

This is more straightforward than v1.1, and also has the advantage of being very close to an official leader (so has been "tested").

Scytale 3.0
This version loses the ability to access additional board spaces, but uses the Face Dancer mimicry in a Conflict focused way - making Scytale fully Conflict focused.

Face Dancer: Kind of like a Bindu Suspension - you get to pass an Agent turn, which means you are very likely to go last, if you want to. Very nice in Conflict! It does mean though, that you have to delay your last Agent, which means available board spaces will be restricted, so this is by no means free.

Assassin: You straight up assassinate one troop. This sounds good, but it is usually weaker than just gaining 1 troop yourself, as with gaining 1 troop you get +2 strength over everyone rather than just over 1 player. (So this is usually weaker than the 2.0 version - but perhaps more thematic for a sneaky Assassin rather than a Warrior (Duncan)). That said, if someone has only 1 troop in the Conflict, you can take them out, so people trying for a cheap third place reward need to look out for that.

I like how thematic Scytale 1.1 is, but I like the simplicity of the others.

Thaks for reading :)
Martin

OK, so I created 8 additional leaders for base game D:I (no expansions).
They can all be found on my Google Drive.

Now, at the risk of not stopping in time, I'm considering adding one last leader to the set, simply because he plays such a pivotal role in the story: Scytale.

I still want to stick to my own rule of making these leaders quite simple and to get them into A-tier or B-tier.

I've seen other fan made takes on Scytale. They either let him copy another Signet Ring or they let him copy a card ability from the Imperium Row. I find both of these abilities cool, but also entirely impossible to balance, since some leader Signets are vastly better than others, and some cards are vastly better than others.

So, I'm considering the above card.
My guess is that it's a but underpowered, but I'd love to hear what you think.

The Assassin ability might land you a few 3rd places in the early game, but is no good in the late game. Encourages a sword-heavy strategy.
The Face Dancer ability is a double edged sword. It can sometimes give you crucial access, not least in the Swordmaster rush, but it can also prevent you from using your best access card to go where you want - especially if you are early in the turn. (It's like a considerably weaker version of Helena's Passive, though, admittedly, it would be overly good with the IX expansion).

Thoughts?

Cheers
Martin

Over the last few months I've worked on a "booster pack" for base game Dune: Imperium, containing 8 new leaders and 2 rules adjustments. It started with theorycrafting on Reddit and BGG, then proceeded to 2 test games with each leader in solo mode, Finally, last weekend, we finally managed to get together for some games, and it was absolutely glorious. I know this is nowhere near the scale of proper playtesting, and we'll never be able to manage that, but we did have three very close and very enjoyable games.

The goal for the "booster pack" was to increase variety and replayability by adding more leaders - as well as to let players explore some of the fundamental mechanics of the game. I aimed towards simplicity in my designs: No cards, counters, tokens, tracks or excessive amounts of text. I also aimed for A/B-tier with all of them, and added buffs for Paul, Memnon and Ariana for a more level playing field.

The pool of 8 new leaders include one leader who can snipe Swordmaster from first (like Rabban and Memnon) and two leaders who can avoid the Swordmaster bottleneck (like Helena), so the Swordmaster rush remains the same.

As for the two rules adjustments, I wanted to address a few well knowns weaknesses of Dune: Imperium: Stagnation of the imperium row, the importance of Swordmaster/position and the limited impact of deck building. That last one is in fairness more of a feature than a bug, but for us, we wanted deck building to be slightly more rewarding.

With all that said, here is the final result:

Count Hasimir Fenring
Focus: Trashing (Deck building)
Go-To board space: Arrakeen / Selective Breeding
Beware: Trashing aggressively without scoring points

Hasimirs main ability is Trashing (with the Signet) and all the fun you can have with that, while control of Arrakeen is more of a lore based afterthought, providing him with a little cash. Opponents are unlikely to grant him cash for the Swordmaster rush.

Hasimir is somewhat close to the official Hasimir. Official Hasimir has a restriction on his trashing, but also has a secondary signet ability as well as a passive that is a more reliable source of cash. My Hasimir originally had restricted trashing too, but this was removed (and he was then re-tested) after performing poorly in the solo testing.

Lady Margot Fenring
Focus: Deck building and The Spice Must Flow
Go-to board space: Hall of Oratory / High Council
Beware: Don't go to Hall of Oratory often, it still isn't fantastic

Margots main ability is her +1 Persuasion (when she goes to the Landsraad), which obviously makes her a deck builder. Her best option is probably to grab a strong card or two early, and then to go for Spice Must Flow in the late game. Her Signet ability to look at the Intrigue Deck is pretty weak. Testing in solo (and some late feedback from a top player) showed that I had probably overestimated her main ability, so I added a second Signet-ability to gain 1 troop (with a Landsraad synergy). This worked out better both in solo and in actual play.

Margots ability to pick up cards is a bit like Helena, though Helena has a lot of other super useful abilities. Margots main advantage over Helena is that her bonus Persuasion works every turn, and that it also works on Spice Must Flow, unlike Helenas ability.

Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV
Focus: Intrigue Cards
Go-To board space: Carthag / Secrets (and Conspire)
Beware: Intrigue cards can be fickle

Shaddams main ability is his one time "points bomb" - his own path to victory. This is off-set by the weakness of his other abilities, and the fact that he has no resource generation. Shaddam needs to get a few Intrigues, so he can use his Signet to refine them into better ones. Signet to Carthag is a nice move for him. Mind you, if he manages to get great Intrigues, then Trashing two of them for a point won't be very appealing.

Being unblocked on the Emperor track is neat, but it's one of the weaker tracks.

Princess Irulan Corrino
Focus: Sniping Swordmaster + Reveal-strategies
Go-To board space: High Council
Beware: Signet-revealing important Agent cards

Irulans head start ability is probably best used from first position, where she can potentially snipe Swordmaster with the right hand (just like Memnon). Failing that, she could also use it to win first Conflict. If she doesn't have the right cards for a snipe - or is out of position for it - she just might have her Signet plus the cards to take Secure Contract, Wealth and then High Council for a strong Round 1 imperium row purchase.

Her Signet's Reveal-ability can be used to pursue both Sword- and Persuasion- strategies, but as a High Council seat protects her from wasting her best cards on a random reveal, she is probably best suited for Persuasion strategies. Early High Council, just like her head start, synergizes with first position.

Chani
Focus: Conflicts and Fremen Influence
Go-To board space: Hardy Warriors / Sietch Tabr
Beware: It may be better to acquire Swordmaster in the normal manner

Chani is the first of four leaders that are not affiliated with a House, but instead represent a faction. This gives them more access to that faction track, but at the cost of other access. For Chani it's Fremen access at the cost of restricted access to the Landsraad.

If Chani is in fourth or first position, she may well benefit from avoiding the Swordmaster queue, and instead getting Swordmaster with Water from Sietch Tabr. She can do that on turn 2-4 depending on her cards and the actions of opponents. Other than that her main focus is winning Water from conflicts (and then recycling that into more troops via Hardy Warriors) hopefully snowballing into more Conflict wins. She needs to keep her Conflict options open if opponents start blocking Hardy Warriors.

Gaius Helen Mohaim
Focus: Deck building and Bene Gesserit Influence
Go-To board space: Secrets & Mentat / Arrakeen
Beware: If you don't have 2 Spice, your Signet can be useless.

Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim's main ability is kind of like a 6 card hand, though she doesn't actually have all 6 for the options or the reveal, as she must discard one before drawing the sixth. This is a strong ability that helps her get the right cards while also speeding up cycling, though this is somewhat counteracted by her Signet being very restricted, and the fact that she will occasionally be forced into awkward discards. "Lucky" draws and cycling obviously lends itself to deck building strategies.

Her Signet, while having useful Bene Gesserit access, does not have access to the rest of the board. This hurts her in the Swordmaster rush, and also means that if she does not have two spice for Selective Breeding then her Signet is often rendered useless (by shrewd opponents or chance).

Edric
Focus: Combos and Influence
Go-To board space: Foldspace
Beware: Returning to deck slows your cycling

Edrics abilities are about equally relevant. His Signet gives access to the Spacing Guild track - which for the majority of the game just means Foldspace. This gives him a significant advantage towards the Spacing Guild alliance, but with Foldspace he can take a decent swing at a second alliance, he just needs to be careful not to lose both. His Signet has no access to Cities, leaving just 1 such card in the deck, so he should definately remedy this with an early purchase - even the lowly Arrakis Liaison.

The ability to return a card to the top of the deck is very versatile. You can use it avoid a horrible hand on your next turn or to preserve a great card that you don't have enough Agents to play. Or you can make sure that you either separate or collate duplicates like Daggers or Convincing Argument. If you manage to pick up a combo (like Fremen Bond cards or Bene Gesserit combos), Edric can also work to get both cards in your hand at the same time.

The cost of that is that you weaken your Reveal turn (in order to hopefully improve your next one), as well as slowing down your cycling.

Captain Otto Aramsham
Focus: (Early) Conflicts & Emperor Influence
Go-To board space: Wealth / Swordmaster
Beware: Wasting resources on losing conflicts

Ottos main ability is his Signet. Not only does it give access to the Emperor track without losing another access icon, but more importantly an Agent sent out with the Signet can not be blocked by enemy Agents. This is reminiscent of Helenas passive ability, and while Ottos isn't available every turn, it does work on more board spaces. The most obvious use is to take the Swordmaster out of turn, but there are other uses. Drawing Dispatch an Envoy would be neat.

Ottos passive ability is pretty weak. +1 Sword is nice in early Conflicts - it might get you a cheap reward or at the least it will force your Rivals to spend extra troops - but as the game progresses and Combat Strength rises +1 means very little.

Paul Atreides
Heavily inspired by this BGG post (and the feedback on it) I've decided to give a simple starting buff to each D-F tier leader. Paul gets to choose 3 cards in his starting hand, which also determines a lot about Round 2. This gives Paul the ability to adapt both to his starting position and a strong or weak imperium row. The ability is also pretty good for second position, as you can be 99% sure to not have your turn 2 Swordmaster acquisition blocked by a bad hand (though you can still get sniped by certain leaders in P1).

Ariana Thorvald
Arianas bonus ability of +1 starting water isn't flashy. But at the very least it allows her to go to pick up 2 Spice as her first action just like everybody else. Or she could go a different route and head straight to Research Station if there is a powerful card in the imperium row, or she could push early conflicts with access to Hardy Warriors.

Memnon Thorvald
+2 starting troops will allow Memnon to push into early conflicts if he wishes, or to easily stockpile a huge army for key Conflicts. Other Conflict oriented leaders will not be happy to see Memnon at the table.

OK, I saved the two house rules for last.
It should be noted that the 8 new leaders can be used perfectly fine without these adjusted rules. Only Otto is directly affected, since his special access to Conspire is weaker if Conspire is not buffed.

The first rule is simple: Conspire is a Conflict board space.

This has been tested quite extensively by Redditor AmongFriends, but it also worked very well for my group. The rule deals with the fact that the crucial final Conflicts are pretty much dominated by Heighliner (as well as Conspire being vary rarely used).

This rule gives players one more way to get into Conflicts and challenge the Heighliner player. The rule also means that you shouldn't allow an opponent to sit unchallenged at 3 influence on the Emperor track, as this allows him to drop 4-6 troops into a key Conflict. (Also, the rule makes the card Sardaukar Legion stronger)

Finally - The Overpay rule:
When you purchase a card from the imperium row, you may overpay by 2 Persuasion to Trash a starting deck card and/or overpay by 2 to put the purchased card on top of your deck.

I know the internet is full of people promoting their own crazy house rules, but all I can say is that my players really -really- loved the rule, and spontaneously commented that it made the game more fun.

The rule deals with 3½ issues with base game D:I:

1. Persuasion 1 and 2 cards are too weak, as their cost does not really take into account that they clog up your deck. This leads straight to problem 2:
2. The number one reported issue with D:I is a clogged imperium row. Suggestions have been many, but I really dislike the Family Atomics, whichs also nukes any kind of strategy or leader choice based on the cards in the imperium row.
3. Swordmaster is extremely/overly useful, and so the early game is dominated by the Swordmaster rush. While the Overpay rule doesn't directly solve this, it does increase the value of High Council, which gives the players last in line for Swordmaster a more viable alternative.
   3½) And finally, D:I is 75% worker placement, 25% deck builder - by design. This is a feature, not a flaw... unless you want your deck building to have greater impact. I'd say Overpay pushes it to more like 40-60.

So, what does the rule do? A lot of the time it allows you to replace your starter cards with slightly better cards, which keeps the imperium row moving. In playtest this didn't dominate. Sometimes people bought the most expensive card and sometimes they bought a cheaper one with the Trash option. In our 3 test games we bought a heck of a lot more cards than we have previously done.

The 'put on top of deck' option is mostly used on the last turns, where you normally couldn't draw any cards bought. Now you can still make a key purchase, though TSMF is probably still a higher priority. 'Put on top of deck' also lets you grab a crucial access icon on an earlier turn, or something like a Spacing Guild icon for that final Heighliner.
Options, options, options.
Did I mention that my players loved it? ;)

Cheers
Martin

PS) I've uploaded all of this as a PowerPoint file to the file section of BGG for easy printing. By all means let me know if you ever give this a try.