Request for feedback, and seeking play testers via TTS
Hello all, it's been a minute.
Just want to start by saying while I have not posted too often here, I do visit nearly every day, and the info provided on this subreddit has been incredibly helpful.
We are preparing another physical prototype print of a 1-4 player co-op tactical skirmish campaign game, with some RPG elements. I am hoping to get a bit of feedback on the design, thoughts on mechanics, and opinions on if this would reach the tables of the audience I am targeting whether that is through the visuals here, or via the Tabletop Simulator Demo linked below.
*Quick disclaimer, the illustrations are AI-generated. This is to help me as a designer find the medium and overall design direction I am going for. One main objective of our future crowdfund would be to pay an artist (and pay them well) for the final shipped product.
About the game: Alamore
In Alamore, 4 Heroes will group up in a dungeon crawl campaign (12 quests) focused primarily on combat, loot, and progression. Heroes find a Corruption that is taking over the land, driving people and creatures mad. They are tasked to find the source of this Corruption and remove it.
The game features 8 core Classes, but each playable Hero is a specialized version of one of those Classes. For example; the Sorcerer Class includes Heroes like the Flamecaster and Icebinder, each with their own unique abilities, playstyle, and identity. Heroes share the fundamentals of their Class (starting stats, equip-able items, class perk) but play completely differently. We currently have 14 playable Heroes.
Core Mechanics
Hero's gain charges primarily by using their weapon's ability. These can then be spent to perform more powerful abilities.
Hero's turns consist of 2-actions. Actions consist of using an ability or moving; however, some abilities provide additional actions, more movement, or are follow-ups to a successful attack.
Each Hero's damage is based on their current equipped weapon. Additionally, each weapon has a crit chance that also affects the crit chance of all of their abilities as well.
Some abilities also cause Heroes to gain Threat. During the enemy phase, enemies will move towards and target the closest Hero in their range with the highest Threat.
A Dash/Evade mechanic allows for short 1-hex movements without using an action, and is also spent to roll the evade dice if targeted by an enemy/
There is a Chaos Track that rises at the end of each enemy phase, encouraging players to complete objectives and escape through the exit before things get...chaotic.
Quest 1, spiral for the book would be down the center of this.
Key Components
We use an 11x17 spiral book for our quest book/board. The objective is to limit the amount of setup normally required for games of this genre.
Currently we use standees for Heroes and Enemies, however we may consider a miniature upgrade for the Heroes in the final version.
There is a small skill tree-like deck of cards for each Hero consisting of 10 cards. There is a large loot deck, and a 3-tiered equipment card deck (tiered to keep balance in each of our 3 chapters in the campaign).
There is also a boss fight at the end of each chapter and named elites throughout the campaign. These enemies gain charges like the Heroes. Once they start a turn with full charges, the charges are spent and a devastating attack is performed.
Yes - there are dinosaurs in Alamore.
Target Audience
I am really just targeting people like myself; someone that loves dungeon crawlers and role-based classes with progression - who wants to find a game that they could play with their family and friends that may never normally touch a game like Gloomhaven, but may find interest in this.
If you made it this far, thank you.
I do have a full playable demo with the rulebook, 3-quests, and 5 Heroes currently live on Tabletop Simulator that I am always updating with the latest changes. Your feedback would be incredibly appreciated.
Alamore Demo: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3738158785