u/Percemilo34

As the title says, at what price range do you draw the line and call a card expensive? At what further point do you consider a card too expensive for your tastes?

For me, expensive is everything above 20$. Too expensive is above 150$. I still want to buy a certain number of specific cards above this range somewhere in an undefined future (I still want a legends mana drain or an arabian nights serendib efreet, for example), but above 500$ is currently off the list for me.

Gold is hailed as a historical form of storing/retaining earned value. It is a noble, rare metal with very unique physical/chemical properties. It has always had value all over the world and throughout human history, and holding it signified wealth and personal status.

And yet, I find myself collecting it because I want to live out certain scenarios/fantasies. I want a bag full of gold coins in a leather bag, so I can hear them *clink* as the bag hits the table. Just like a common trope in rpg games like Dungeons and dragons.

I want to hold thirty silver coins in my hands and feel the weight of what Judas was given for betraying his friend and mentor, the literal son of God (as written).

I want a shitty bar of impure copper, just like the great Ea Nasir had been scamming his customers thousands of years ago to the point they made first customer complaints in human history.

It's not just a store of value, it's something that lets me relate to history and human fantasy in a tangible, real way. Anyone else relate?

Howdy folks!

What do you use in your cube for closing games that aren't traditional creatures?

It can range from cards that can potentially spawn endless tokens, like [[sacred mesa]], [[goblin trenches]], [[mobilization]], [[decree of justice]], [[,verdant force]], etc.

Maybe it can take the form of big burn spells, like [[fireball]], [[disintegrate]], [[ertai's thunder]], [[drain life]], [[soul burn]], [[corrupt]], or maybe even cards [[urza's rage]].

Mill and forcing the opponent to deck themselves can also count into this kind of win cons, with cards like [[brain freeze]], [[altar of dementia]], [[memory jar]], [[wheel of fortune]], [[prosperity]], etc.

Maybe you don't like dealing damage and support direct life loss like [[tendrils of agony]], [[kaervek's spite]], [[shepherd of rot]], etc.

You could choke the life out of them slowly with cards like [[sulfuric vortex]], [[megrim]], [[underworld dreams]], [[black vise]], [[the rack]], [[ankh of mishra]], etc.

Maybe it's something completely different I haven't mentioned at all? Let me know in the comments below.

edit: It's not Ertai's thunder, it's rolling thunder. Ertai is quoted in flavor text, so I just went along with his name.

I have a question that isn't necessarily 100% suited for a ttrpg, but I'm certain it's possible to do it, in some manner.

How easy or difficult would it be to make a campaign where you gain more powerful gear and advance by exploring and fighting, but where there is no gold and no shopping system present? The inspiration for this question came from two great crpgs: Legend of Grimrock and Exanima.

I noticed while playing these games how much I enjoyed the puzzle of finding new gear and utilizing it to make an upgrade to my characters. When something new and better was found, it was a moment of triumph. When something old was no longer useful and you can't carry any more stuff due to weight limitarions, you just leave it behind. The best part was finding new equipment that wasn't strictly better than what I had, but better in a different manner (a new ability, different kind of weapon damage, etc). What to leave behind becomes a new puzzle then.

Each and every item found was a treasured artifact. Even finding a pair of old boots was a marked upgrade to being barefoot or wearing sandals. And best of all, there was no ridiculous scaling where you paid hundreds of gold coins for a meager shirt made out of boiled leather.

Now obviously with gold gone, you would need a new venue of advancement. Fighting or evading monsters becomes much more prominent, but the rewards can still be given for finding gear based on its capabilities and the overall difficulty of the dungeon itself (let's say the dungeon difficulty acts like a flat multiplyier for everything that gives XP within it). You could even introduce a mechanic where willingly exploring a part of the dungeon gives you XP on its own, so players are motivated to push their luck all the time. With every piece of equipment carrying even further XP, that is one strong incentive to always push on a little further.

How do you think such a system would work in practice? Is it too much hassle to divorce your games from gold completely?

As the title says, what would be the bare minimum of different classes you would say are capable of covering all kinds of play archetypes between them?

For me, it would be the core four archetypes, divided into "physical" and "esotheric" classes. Physical would cover fighters and rogues. Fighters cover the aspect of strength and utilization of various gear, while rogues offer specialized skills in handling the environment and aparature, as well as sneaky combat tbrough tricks and tactics.

Esotheric would cover clerics and wizards. The divine intervention through faith and fealty vs breaking reality with sheer willpower.

Elves, dwarves and halflings are Tolkien leftovers, which I find ironic because classic Dnd is much more sword and sorcery-oriented than high fantasy. I do not consider them essential, but elves do offer the gish archetype of a battlemage, so that is a win.

What do you think of the various specialized classes? Stuff like acrobat, assassin, bard, paladin, cavalier, barbarian, illusionist, etc. How do you like them, and do they offer anything you find particularily unique or important, stuff that cannot be done by utilizing and/or slightly modifying one of the core four classes with their broad archetypes?

Howdy folks!

I've been musing over a topic for a while now. My cube has a mix of "safe" creatures with relatively boring stats and "exciting" creatures with more powerful stats but drawbacks as well.

For easier reference, here's a link to the cube:

https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/pmod

Except for white, every color and even the artifact section has creatures with interesting stats and drawbacks. White is safe and boring, and I'm wondering if there are any wild creatures with the possibility to end fights quickly but with the danger of blowing out or at least draining your life/resources away if left unchecked?

I'm interested in cards that are premodern and old border, so please no retro frame cards.

For a few examples, other colors have these creatures.

Blue

[[Sea drake]], [[serendib efreet]], [[serendib djinn]], [[wormfang drake]]

Black

[[Carnophage]], [[sarcomancy]], [[hidden horror]], [[phyrexian negator]], [[grinning demon]]

Red

[[Ball lightning]], [[goblin sharpshooter]], [[savage firecat]], [[jackal pup]]

Green

[[Rogue elephant]], [[blastoderm]], [[erhnam djinn]], [[child of gaea]]

Artifact

[[Phyrexian colossus]], [[masticore]]

Today someone opened a discussion about their design of modular boards. I admit the components look good and I can certainly appreciate their artistic endeavour. It's a faily common question in heroquest circles and there is no definitive answer to it (the bard disagrees, but let's humor the modular tiles crowd). So I wanted to hear your opinions on what we gain or lose when we introduce such elements of gameplay.

First let's discuss the benefits. Modular dungeon tiles sit next to each other on the board in a clear visual distinction. There is no way to get a wrong impression of the dungeon layout, you see what you get and the rest of the unused board sinply does not exist. It also gives off a vibe of descending deeper into a dungeon, since the regular board often has to loop or curve around itself to increase play area. While the overall board and number of spaces is not small by any margin, you don't get the sense of a long hallways due to all the rooms being cramped next to each other.

Now, the uglier side. I can already see three "problems" the modular tiles bring along. First, the long hallway problem. The modular tiles offer no guarantee they will fit well next to each other, so you have to stretch them out in a long line. Maybe several lines for branching paths, but certainly not clusters of rooms tighly bound to each other. Table room becomes a real problem. Second, you don't really get the exploration dilemmas and a sense of wonder going down a hallway if it's all one linear race to the finish line. Exploration works best when it's not mandatory, and seeing a fork in the road offers true, meaningful options for you to engage in, even if they don't always lead you anywhere but a dead end. Finally, the tactical aspect of it. Without rooms cramped next to each other, spells and artifacts that provide movement through walls do not function at all. Their point is to cut across obstacles which would otherwise take a long time to go around, and using such abilities often feels extrenely rewarding when the players get it right. You also cannot introduce puzzles like the hidden rooms in Delthrak and Dread moon where you have to go through walls to reach some hidden treasure on the other side. With the modular tiles, all that matters is going forward, there is no room for careful placement of hidden content where counting every square matters to detect a hidden room behind them. Last but not the least, if there is only the path forward, heroes cannot scatter about while exploring. There is no sense of shared camaradeire, they just move forward from one room to the next, clear out the room, move on to the next one. No point in going back, no dilemma in making a choice to split up, only the latest room has any content at all.

So that's it from me. Anyone else have any opinions they would like to share?

Hey folks! I have a question that isn't directly related to gaming, but to the relation between mass, gold and gaining XP.

So the old editions of Dnd state you get 1 XP for each gold coin you successfully carry out of a dangerous locale. In 3e player's handbook, it states that 50 gold coins have a mass equal to one pound. Gold was historically favored as a medium of exchange since it had a low melting point and high malleability, making it easy to work with, but high chemical purity and density, leading it to maintain constant mass due to lack of oxidation, as most malleable metals tend to.

By that estimation, is 9.07 grams of pure golden mass equal to 1XP?

Also, how would these fictional coins compare to modern day golden coins?

For those of you scratching their heads how can a magic-user be used without magic, maybe you are not the target audience. And that's perfectly fine!

The magic-user is intended for resourceful players who like to strategize and fiddle around their limitations. Not every character class is equally difficult to pilot. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the fighter, meant as an everyman kind of adventurer who can pick up anything and work with it, but he has no other special capabilities outside his equipment.

Here's some things for the magic-user to consider. For a start, his prime ability is intelligence, meaning he knows lots of languages and can read, write and solve riddles. Maybe even has extensive professional knowledge like history, architecture, legends and lore, etc. Depending on how other players roll, the magic user may be the only one literate in the party!

As for the combat stuff, he can throw a bunch of daggers as a ranged attack. Keep in mind daggers do not disappear when thrown, unlike arrows or bolts which break upon impact. He may also use splash weapons, such as burning oil or holy water. At level 1 all characters have the same shitty base to hit bonus, so it boils down to a small difference based on stats. By the time to hit bonuses become relevant, the magic-user will already have a wider range of magic at his disposal.

A magic-user may set up an ambush or some simple traps when the party hears someone approach, and he can just as well search for traps, hidden doors and hidden features as well as anyone else.

So to sum it up, a magic-user is someone you play if you want a thinking challenge, not a straightforward answer. The harsh limitations are supposed to be a part of the experience. If you are to unravel reality later on with your magic, you need to learn how it operates first, and you do so by getting to know the world through overcoming adversity with wit and ingenuity, not raw power.

Ah, enchantments. Along with sorceries, these are my favorite types of magic cards. Before modern became too focused on creatures and equipment, these two card types used to represent the most powerful magic you could wield. Sure, artifacts offered steady support. Instants offered a reactive element of surprise. And creatures, although individually less powerful back then and more dependent on other types of cards for support, were most often the obvious path to victory. Sorceries were big, splashy effects, magic as we used to envision it in movies and books.

Enchantments, on the other hand, were powerful magical fields that warped the very nature of the game. They weren't always used in every deck and every game, but they sure had dramatic and lasting effects.

I would separate enchantments into four distinct groups, based on how they play and affect the game. This is not an official categorization, it's just something I came up with over time.

The first group are powerful standalone enchantments that offer a great effect just by themselves. Stuff like [[sneak attack]], [[survival of the fittest]], [[recurring nightmare]], [[future sight]], etc. These work well on their own and offer a cornerstone strategy just by themselves, often even becoming a centerpiece of your deck.

The second group is stuff that needs other cards to function properly, more like a heavy support role. I would consider cards like [[reconnaissance]], [[glorious anthem]], [[standstill]], [[food chain]], [[trade routes]] and [[pandemonium]]. They can still be powerful cards in the right circumstances, but they do almost nothing by themselves.

The third group I would say are powerful auras. Auras that almost work on their own and/or have an effect that greatly mitigates the two for one vulnerability mechanically inherent in all auras. Stuff like [[animate dead]], [[control magic]], [[dragon's breath]], [[rancor]], [[flickering ward]], etc.

Finally, the last category includes auras that are either situational or have no real means to mitigate the blowout effect. Cards like [[curiosity]], [[empyreal armor]], [[pacifism]], [[wild growth]], etc. They can still offer very powerful effects, but the nature of their mechanics makes them more situational and risky.

Now, as for myself, I love and cram in as many enchantents as I can. Not drafting disenchants in any of my cubes is a sure way to lose miserably. And while I do try to play all types as listed above, my favorites are the first and third kinds (the strong standalone and strong auras).

How about you folks? Any other enchantment lovers out there, and what kinds of enchantments do you like to play?

Do you have any special pieces of art on cards that really insipred you when you started playing magic? Something that helped pull you into the fantasy of the game and made you wonder about the world being presented in them instead of just looking at the cards like game pieces and how they could be used for optimal strategy. Places where you'd like to treat in or at least see a bigger picture of the world you got yourself immersed in.

For me, it would be the following cards:

]]Badlands|3ED]], [[Underground sea|3ED]]

[[Sol ring|3ED]], [[mana vault|3ED]]

[[Contamination|USG]]

[[Phyrexian gargantua|APC]]

[[Serendib djinn|ARN]]

[[Adarkar wastes|7ED]]

[[Rishadan port|MMQ]]

[[City of brass|ARN]]

[[Penumbra wurm|APC]]

[[Time vault|2ED]]

[[Birds of paradise|7ED]]

[[Untamed wilds|LEG]]

[[Mana drain|LEG]]

[[Kavu titan|APC]]

[[Creeping mold|7ED]]

[[Hidden horror|WTH]]

[[Bog wraith|2ED]]

[Twiddle|2ED]]

[[Enlightened tutor|MIR]], [[Mystical tutor|MIR]], [[Worldly tutor|MIR]]

Howdy fellow old border cubers!

Whe didn't have such an explosion of different effects as we have nowadays, but that only made each new released mechanic even more interesting and unique.

For me, I would say it's flashback, morph, kicker (duh), echo and ironically flying and first strike.

Flashback and kicker are my favorites by far. Morph is something I really like as an idea, but it's certainly a slower/less powerful mechanic. Echo, on the other hand is one of those effects that bring up balance to your games in unexpected ways and offer surprising levels of protection. No cheating into play easily, no stealing without consequences, etc.

Flying can become a real pain if your opponent can't deal with it effectively. I was surprised to see whole blocks on the mana curve for specific colors to have no flying creatures or any way to deal with it. Nowadays it pales in comparison to most newer effects, but it used to be quite the powerhouse, especially in limited.

As for first strike, there's nothing really like it out there, it's a terror in combat. Even today double strike just tacks on first strike as an additional effect.

What would you say are your personal favorite mechanics?