Archive for Bryce K. Nielsen
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Bryce K. Nielsen
United States
Elk Ridge
Utah
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The last Avatar to be included in the game is the Harbinger of Doom with his trusty lieutenant The Guardian:
Harbinger Of Doom
Straight from Doom 3, the Harbinger of Doom is the Cyber Demon boss at the end of the video game. And just like the video game, before you can fight him, you have to fight the Guardian lieutenant. He's effectively a bad ass cyber demon.
His special ability is a misprint. Is should read:
At the beginning of the campaign, give one marine player the Blazkowicz Descendant token. Every time that marine is Fragged, the Invader earns an additional Frag Token.
This ability brings in some rather obscure Doom lore, tying id's game to Castle Wolfenstein. At the end of that game, Blazkowicz (the hero) fights the "Demon" and wounds him and forces him to retreat to hell with the ominous promise of returning for vengence. In Doom, the Demon returns with mechanical legs and eye and is called the Cyber Demon. The unammed 'marine' in that game is apparently a long descendant of Blazkowicz.
So, in the Advanced Campaign, the Invader gets to designate one marine as this descendant and he is effectively the Demon come back as the Cyber Demon to kill him.
In addition to the Hunter Lieutenants, Kronos can bring to the table The Guardian!
Straight from the Doom 3 video game, he has his own board piece as well as the special Seekers (will be a special effect of his Lieutenant map).
Harbinger of Doom can purchase all the Any Avatar upgrades, he can purchase the following Harbinger of Doom Only specific upgrades:
I styled a lot of these abilities from how the Cyber Demon played in Doom 3, like the Hell's Blessing and the Last Act. Should be fun to play I think.
That's it for Avatars and Lieutenants. Guess I'm out of things I've done and need to work on the remaining items and get this game out the door!
-shnar
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Bryce K. Nielsen
United States
Elk Ridge
Utah
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Next up in our Avatar Highlight series is Kronos and his goat legged lieutenant The Baron of Hell:
Kronos
Kronos was the first Avatar I created. I scoured the web for all the different material there was on Doom, from the original games to the console ports to the "RPG". I found the above art in a project trying to bring Doom 1 into Doom 3, and thought, "Great, I've got me an Avatar".
As for his special ability, it's VERY useful and would affect the entire game. I'm starting to wonder if it's too powerful, but if so what should I replace it with?
In addition to the Hunter Lieutenants, Kronos can bring to the table The Baron of Hell!
Again, he comes from the Doom 1 game and felt he would be a nice addition to the boardgame as a Lieutenant. He's really just a *very* tough Hell Knight.
Kronos can purchase all the Any Avatar upgrades, he can purchase the following Kronos Only specific upgrades:
I like the special abilities he has. It introduced two new special abilities to Doom, borrowed from Descent, the Aura ability (the lightning bolts), and the Shield ability (not quite armor but more defense). Also, his Absorption ability is interesting and unique. Try to kill him with the BFG and he may end up healing himself more than you wound him with.
-shnar
Sat Apr 21, 2012 11:58 pm
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Bryce K. Nielsen
United States
Elk Ridge
Utah
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Next up in our Avatar Highlight series is Betruger and his nasty lieutenant Sabaoth:
Betruger
Betruger is the only completely "custom" Avatar, not based on any of the previously released miniatures. Which means he had to have basic stats created from scratch. He's from the Doom 3 video game, and I strived to make all his abilities follow things that happened in the game. And since he doesn't have a mini he's based on, I had to create a custom marker:
In addition to the Hunter Lieutenants, Betruger can bring to the table Sabaoth!
He is a tough lieutenant, and I can't wait to complete his Descent Into Hell level.
Betruger can purchase all the Any Avatar upgrades, he can purchase the following Betruger Only specific upgrades:
Betruger is completely original, so I'm a little worried that I screwed him up. He seems a bit overpowered, but that's hard to say since all of the Marines should be super powered by the time they fight him. Only playtesting will tell. I did like figuring out custom abilities that matched his videogame abilities though.
-shnar
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Bryce K. Nielsen
United States
Elk Ridge
Utah
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The first Avatar we will be highlighting is the Malwrath:
Malwrath
The Malwrath has burst from Hell in the crater on the moon of Titan. Mancubus and Cacodemons follow him the most willingly, while Hell Knights do so grudgingly. The Malwrath has many other followers, since he is not limited to the base game's numbers and can use all miniatures from both the base game and the expansion.
In addition to the Hunter Lieutenants, the Malwrath can bring to the table the Pain Elemental!
He is a tough lieutenant, and I can't wait to complete his Descent Into Hell level.
The Malwrath can purchase all the Any Avatar upgrades, he can purchase the following Malwrath specific upgrades:
I like the Malrath, especially some of his custom upgrades, like the Last Breath where the end battle is longer than you originally expected. This also mirrors the video game, how when this "boss" died you had to kill a bunch of normal Cacos too. In fact, all of his upgrades are rather Cacodemon centric. This is the only Avatar in And Hell Followed expansion that will require the Doom: The Boardgame Expansion Set. The other 3 Avatars will work with just the base game.
-shnar
P.S. Just had an idea, I think I'm going to change the term "Plot" (borrowed from Descent) into "Invasion Plan", since that's what these plots really are, a plan to get the invasion done before the marines can descend into Hell and kill the Avatar.
Sat Mar 10, 2012 11:42 pm
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Bryce K. Nielsen
United States
Elk Ridge
Utah
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In the Advanced Campaign, after the Marines have completed their setup, the Invader Player needs to pick an Avatar and a Plot. The Invader player then separates all the Avatar Upgrade cards, keeping the ones for the Avatar he selected, as well as all the "Any Avatar" cards, and returning the rest to the box. During a game week, the Invader player can purchase one of these upgrades with his Experience Points.
Avatar Card
The above picture breaks down an Avatar card into the following components:
- Avatar Name and Starting Location: Every Avatar has a name and a starting location. At the beginning of the game, the Invader player places the Hell Gate at the starting location listed on his chosen Avatar card.
- Attributes: Defining the Avatar's figure and stats to use during the last battle, as well as how he differentiates (typically extra armor, wounds, and purchased upgrades).
- Spawn Upgrades: At the beginning of the game, all Demon, Mancubus, Hell Knight and Archvile spawn cards are removed from the Invader Deck. During the Invader Upgrade phase of a game week, the Invader player can opt to spend his XP on the cost listed here to put the spawn cards of that type back into the Invader deck.
- Special Ability: Every Avatar has a special ability that affects some aspect of game play.
Avatar Upgrade Card
During the Invader Upgrade phase of the game week, the Invader player can purchase one Avatar Upgrade. These Upgrades are cards with a specific XP cost, or can be the Spawn upgrades listed on the Avatar's card.
The Avatar Upgrade Card breakdown is as follows:
- Upgrade Code: The amount of Experience Points the Invader player must spend to purchase this upgrade.
- Card Name: A descriptive name of the upgrade.
- Applicable Avatar: Every Avatar has specific upgrade cards that that avatar only can purchase. There are also a set of "Any Avatar" upgrade cards (see below).
- Description: The description of the upgrade, specifying all game effects the upgrade causes.
Any Avatar Upgrades
Every Avatar has their own upgrade cards to purchase, as well as a handful of generic, "Any Avatar" upgrade cards, show above. This also includes the Three Hunter Lieutenants upgrades.
More to come
And Hell Followed... will come with 4 different Avatars to choose from, and we'll highlight these Avatars and their specific Upgrades in the weeks to come.
-shnar
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Bryce K. Nielsen
United States
Elk Ridge
Utah
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A short post today, just a list of things left on my plate before I feel a "beta" could be released for public testing. This list is culled from the first post on this blog.
- Sector Levels (I need to create about 10 more)
- Done Encounter Cards (I haven't even started those)
- Done Location Cards (I only have the one prototype above)
- Mostly Done Marine Skill Tree (I have a rough plan laid out, need to finalize it)
- Encounter In Hell cards/maps (haven't even started those)
- Done "Generic" Lieutenants (the three Hunter guys)
- Outpost Maps (for uncorrupting outposts)
- Avatar Sector Maps (the 1st map of the endgame)
- Lieutenant Lair Maps (the "middle" maps of the endgame)
- Avatar Lair Maps (the last map of the endgame)
- Plots (haven't done any of those)
- Done Details on the Planetary Map (more than just circles and lines)
So, the biggest "art" piece left is the Encounter In Hell cards. I will probably only do about 5 to 10 of those, as they shouldn't come up that often. The other "maps", I will probably pick one Avatar and do his and his lieutenants maps and stick with that for now. Of the 4 Avatars (Betruger, HarbingerOfDoom, Kronos, Malwrath), any particular preferences? Since the Malwrath would require the Doom Expansion, I'll probably save him for last (I want this playable without the expansion). I'm leaning towards HarbingerOfDoom myself...
-shnar
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Bryce K. Nielsen
United States
Elk Ridge
Utah
-
If you've seen the previous forum posts on the Doom board, you'll have seen that I have the Lieutenants for the Avatars done, but I don't have the "generic" ones done yet. Here are the 3 Lt's that were left to be done:
Helltime Hunter
I based the Helltime Hunter on the idea that A) he has rapid fire (the Rage cards), B) he's burning (the aura), C) he has bursts of speed (the Charge), D) he's alone (Invader thinks he can take care of the marines, so no minions), E) He's pretty touch (4 armor, 4 health).
Berserk Hunter
The Berserk Hunter has minions, just a few ranged ones, to take place of his ranged attack (instead of the hunter attacking, his minions will). To represent his "heart" opening up, on the Invader's turn, his armor is drastically lowered, so plan to use Guard actions to take the Berserk Hunter out. During the Marine's turn, he's nearly invincible. I also gave him Double Attack to represent the lethality of his attacks, though he does roll 2 miss dice, so sometimes he sprints past the marines.
The one thing I did not do is have him include the other Hell Knight upgrades. I don't know, should I?
Invulnerability Hunter
I'm trying something different with the Invulnerability Hunter, combining Blast with Blow-Through. The idea is to have the lightning go chain-reaction. Should be interesting in the playtesting. Also, I know he's the "Invulnerable" hunter but doesn't look too invulnerable. His invulnerability in the game comes from these generators. On his special Lieutenant Map, they will be there giving him major boost to armor until they're destroyed.
Conclusion
With the Hunters done, I've got all the Avatar Upgrades/Cards complete. That's one thing to mark off the list. Maybe I'll do a summary post of them all next round of all the Avatars and their Upgrades.
-shnar
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Bryce K. Nielsen
United States
Elk Ridge
Utah
-
Hey, I need some opinions on two of my markers. Tell me which you prefer (and why) so I can decide on a final set.
Hell Gate Marker
The Hell Gate Marker is placed on the Planetary Map to indicate which Sector the Avatar 'occupies'. The Marines can travel through this sector but cannot explore it. Once the end game has reached (total Frags + Commendations = 100) then the marines have to travel to the Hell Gate and begin their Descent Into Hell.
The marker is about 1 inch by 1 inch. Pick your favorite:
Blazkowicz Descendant Token
The Harbinger of Hell has a special ability, at the beginning of the game he gives this token to one of the marine players. Any time that player is Fragged, the Invader Player earns an additional Frag. Vengence is sweet.
The marker is about 1 inch by 1 inch, and meant to look like the 'hero' of Castle Wolfenstein. Pick your favorite:
-shnar
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Bryce K. Nielsen
United States
Elk Ridge
Utah
-
There are a handful of new markers, used in both the Planetary Map and the tactical maps (the "normal" game). I am going to list out all the new markers and their uses, using placeholders for images I haven't completed yet. I'm hoping to use this as motivation to get all the images done (and done soon). In the final product these images will be on printable pages, with instructions to print on a label sheet, cut and affix to chipboard.
Props
The following markers are used while playing in Sector Levels and Encounters, i.e. the "normal" game.
Generators
Block Movement? Yes
Block Line of Sight? Yes
A Generator has 3 armor and 3 wounds, and can be attacked like a figure. When destroyed , deals 2 wounds ignoring armor to all figures adjacent to it.
Elevator
Block Movement? No
Block Line of Sight? No
The elevator transports the Marine Squad between Sector Levels and Encounters. To use an elevator, all surviving marines must be on a square in the elevator token and one marine must spend 2 movement points, at which point the marines are removed from the board.
Health Station
Block Movement? No
Block Line of Sight? No
When a health station is put on the map, put 5 wound tokens on or near it. Whenever a marine is in the same space as a health station, he may spend one movement point to receive one wound, not to exceed his maximum. Once all 5 wounds have been used to heal the marines, the health station serves no other purpose and may be removed from the board.
Bed, Desk, Table
Block Movement? No
Block Line of Sight? No
It costs two movement points to enter a bed, desk or table space. Figures in these spaces are elevated. An elevated figure attacking a non-elevated figure (i.e., attacking down) gains +1 range and +1damage. A non-elevated figure attacking an elevated figure (i.e., attacking up) loses -1 range and -1 damage. Remember that melee attacks ignore rolled range.
Storage Locker
Block Movement? Yes
Block Line Of Sight? Yes
Storage Lockers are found in many levels and contain many items for the marines. To open a storage locker, a marine must be adjacent to the locker and spent two movement points, where upon he rolls 3 blue dice and consults the storage locker chart for the level he is playing on. All items received from a storage locker are immediately distributed to any marine as the squad sees fit, regardless of which marine opened the locker.
Example: The green marine opens a storage locker and finds 2 shells and 1 plasma rifle. The squad decides that the blue marine should get the 2 shells and the red marine get the plasma rifle, even though neither of those marines are anywhere near the storage locker.
Barricade
Block Movement? Yes
Block Line of Sight? No
Barricades are wall like structures erected to aid the marines hold a position against the invaders. While any figure may stand on a barricade token, movement is blocked on the "wall" side. A figure standing on a barricade token gains the Agile ability from any attack that traces its line of sight through the "wall" side of the barricade (or "wall" side of any adjacent barricade).
Summoning Circle
Block Movement? No
Block Line of Sight? No
A summoning circle has no special rules, although certain missions may assign special rules to them.
Gas Can
Block Movement? No
Block Line of Sight? No
A marine that is standing on a gas can can spend one movement point to pick it up. Put the marker on the Marine’s tray. He can drop the can at any time during his turn for free. Certain missions dictate how gas cans are used.
Soldier
Block Movement? Yes
Block Line of Sight? Yes
Soldiers represent people that help the marines. Soldiers have 2 armor and 5 wounds, and are immune to traps, but can be attacked by invaders. They cannot perform movement actions or carry items. Soldiers move up to four spaces a turn and make one attack rolling one Red and one Blue dice, moving after all of the heroes have moved, and are controlled by the hero players.
Vehicle
Block Movement? No
Block Line of Sight? No
It costs two movement points to enter a vehicle space. Figures in these spaces are elevated. An elevated figure attacking a non-elevated figure (i.e., attacking down) gains +1 range and +1damage. A non-elevated figure attacking an elevated figure (i.e., attacking up) loses -1 range and -1 damage. Remember that melee attacks ignore rolled range. If a Marine or Soldier is in the weapon space of the vehicle, when they Attack they may opt to use the vehicle’s weapon instead of their own. If so, they roll Red, Green, Green and Yellow dice, ignoring any Ammo icons rolled. The attack follows all normal rules for attacking, except that the vehicle is always considered to have ammo.
Flame Wall
Block Movement? Yes
Block Line Of Sight? Yes
A Flame Wall is an intense spout of hell fire that not only blocks movement and line of sight, but has the Aura 1 ability. Any figures unlucky enough to be on a space where a Flame Wall appears immediately takes 2 damage ignoring armor and must be moved to the nearest, adjacent empty space (controlling figure's choice). All Flame Wall tokens are removed at the beginning of the Invader's turn.
Note: You can use the Lava Tokens from Descent for these tokens
Sealed Door
Block Movement? Yes
Block Line of Sight? Yes
A Sealed Door marker is placed from the Marine Card Welding Torch and prevents the door from being opened for any reason, including the Invader Card Smash.
Flare
Block Movement? No
Block Line of Sight? No
A flare prevents the invader keeps the hallways lit, preventing invaders from spawning. The Invader player may not spawn within line of sight of this token (just as if it were a Marine) up to five spaces away. Flares remain on the board until the end of that level.
M.A.S.H.
Block Movement? No
Block Line of Sight? No
A M.A.S.H. token is a mobile healing unit. Any marine that ends his turn on or adjacent to a M.A.S.H. token heals one wound.
Other Markers
These markers are included in the game, need to be printed to use, primarily on the Planetary Map, though some are used in missions.
Lieutenant Markers
Each Lieutenant has a marker to use on the Planetary Map, indicating which Sector/Outpost the Lieutenant is at. If the Lt is a 1x1 sized invader, then you use that same marker whenever the Marines encounter that Lt. Otherwise, there will be another marker to print that is the proper "size" of the Lt.
Note: I will post all the Lt's and their pictures on a separate blog post. Most of them are done, except for the 3 "generic" Hunter Lt's that all Avatars can use.
Avatar Hell Gate Marker
This token is used to indicate the Avatar's home sector. It is placed on the Planetary Map at the beginning of the game.
Marine Squad Marker
This marker is used on the Planetary Map to indicate which Sector/Outpost the Marine Squad is currently at.
Blazkowicz Descendant token
If the Harbinger Of Doom Avatar is in play, one marine will receive the Blazkowicz Descendant token as defined on the Harbinger's Avatar card. Whenever this marine is fragged, the Invader earns an extra Frag token.
Forgotten Ones
Forgotten Ones are special invaders that some Avatar upgrades bring in to play. They act like any invader figure and have a speed of 5, 1 armor, 1 health, and may make a ranged attack rolling a Yellow and Green dice. They have the Flying special ability.
Lost Souls
Lost Souls are special invaders that some Avatar upgrades bring in to play. They act like any invader figure and have a speed of 5, 2 armor, 1 health, and may make a ranged attack rolling a Yellow and Red dice. They have the Flying special ability.
Seeker
During the Guardian Lieutenant's map, he has the special ability of firing off Seekers (which he does not have while roaming the Planetary Map). These little buggers seek out the Marines and explode on them.
Land Mine Ammo
Ammo for a new type of weapon, when a Land Mine is placed, put the ammo token on any adjacent square. Whenever an invader walks on or adjacent to the land mine, it explodes, rolling a Red, Blue, Green, Green and +2 Damage and Blast 1 (the mine token is where the attack originates from).
Notes & Thoughts
Here's a couple brainstorming areas:
- Seekers: No clue what to do as far as stats here. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.
- Forgotten Ones and Lost Souls: I'm not sure on their "stats". If anyone wants to suggest stats/abilities/etc, please do. I'm very open to improvements there.
- Land Mine stats: Not sure if that's powerful enough, etc. Some constructive criticism is needed here.
- Flare Image: I need a better pic. The one I have is too small resolution so will be 'fuzzy' when printed. It was hard to find, a screenshot from AvP, and the only one I could find. If anyone has any other pic ideas, I'm all ears.
That's it for the time being. As I do new Sector Levels, I come up with ideas that require different markers, and when that happens, I'll create new images for those. But in the meantime, I need to finish these ones! 
-shnar
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Bryce K. Nielsen
United States
Elk Ridge
Utah
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As mentioned in the previous post, when the Marine Squad travels on the Planetary Map, there is a chance of an Encounter. The Invader player rolls a number of blue dice shown on the Pentagram of the path being traveled on.
The color of the Pentagram indicates how dangerous the path is (Green not so dangerous, Yellow danger, and Red down right lethal). The number on the Pentagram indicates how heavily traveled the route is (the higher the number, the greater the chance of an encounter). On a green route, an Encounter occurs if any of the dice roll 1 Damage Icon. On a yellow route, 3 Damage Icons and on a red route, an Encounter occurs if any of the dice show 2 Damage Icons.
In the example above, the Marine Squad is in the Systems Control Outpost on Io. If they travel to the Steel Works sector, the Invader player rolls 2 blue dice and an Encounter occurs if any of the dice show 1 Damage Icon. If they travel to the Mill, the Invader player rolls 1 blue die and there is an Encounter if 3 Damage Icons appear. If they travel to the Nukage Processing, the Invader player rolls 4 blue dice (reroll if you do not have enough dice) and if any of the dice show 2 Damage Icons, then the Marines have an Encounter.
Once the Marines determine they have an Encounter, they draw two cards, an Encounter Card and a Location Card. The Encounter Card dictates which invader(s) the marines are encountering and the Location Card shows the map the players will be playing on.
Encounter Card
Using one of the elevators to get from sector to sector, the marines have stumbled across an invader (usually alone though not always) lurking in the hallways, summoning other creatures to come wreck havoc on the installation. The marines need to destroy this invader(s) which will make the summoning circle disappear.
Every Encounter Card has the following elements:
- Name: A name for the Encounter's Leader(s).
- Image: An image of the leader
- Classification: The name, type and any additional stats of the 'leader'
- Minions: Any extra figures the Invader Player can put on the map.
- Abilities: Special abilities the Invader can use once per turn.
- Notes: Description or "flavor text" of the invader.
- Threat Pentagrams: The types of routes that this Encounter can happen on.
Every Encounter has at least one Summoning Circle. Most Encounter Leaders have at least one Reinforce ability. This specific ability allows the Invader to spawn specific forces that appear on the Summoning Circle, ignoring Marine LOS.
Location Cards
The Location Card determines where the Encounter happens. Location Cards have the following elements:
- Name: The name of the location.
- Map: The map to be setup (including the Elevator and Summoning Circle).
- Special Effect: (Optional) A name and effect that takes place during the entire Encounter.
The Invader player sets up the Location map, similar to a normal game of Doom. The Invader's Leader(s) start adjacent or on the Summoning Circle, the Marines start on the Elevator. Most Locations have an effect that takes place during the entire Encounter.
How An Encounter Plays Out
Once the Encounter Card and Location Card have been drawn, the Invader sets up his Leader(s) adjacent or on top of the Summoning Circle. He then sets up all his Minions wherever he wants on the map. The Marines put their figures on the Elevator marker. The Marines move first.
The Invader gets no Invader Cards/Deck to play, however once per Invader Turn, he can use one (not all) of the Encounter's Abilities. If he Reinforces, then the newly spawned monsters come in on the Summoning Circle, moving other creatures out of the way (if possible, if not, they are instantly killed like a teleporter kill). The Invader can continue to use the Ability as long as at least one of the Encounter's Leaders is alive.
The Invader "wins" the Encounter if he manages to Frag all Marines. He earns a Frag for each marine killed, regardless of if he "wins" the Encounter or not.
The Marines "win" the Encounter once all monsters on the map have been killed. The rewards for killing all the monsters are 2 Commendations. The Marines can also flee the Encounter if they wish, by moving onto the Elevator marker and spending 2 movement points to run away. Cowardice is rewarded with 1 Demerit for each Marine that fled. Note that the Marines can still earn 2 Commendations if all the monsters are killed, regardless oh how many Marines fled, but the Demerits are still earned when a Marine flees.
If the Marines win or flee the Encounter, they continue to move to their destination on the Planetary Map. If the entire squad is killed, the party returns to the location they were moving from on the Planetary Map and their game week immediately ends.
Thoughts:
Here's what I'm working on right now with Encounters:
- Ambush. In Descent: The Road to Legend, Encounters had an Ambush possibility. The mechanic was that if the Encounter Card had a picture of a die in the lower left corner, the Overlord (Invader) would roll that die and if that face came up, the heroes were ambushed. If an Ambush happened, all but one of the Heroes was 'asleep'. Sleeping doesn't really work in Doom, but that doesn't mean there couldn't be Ambushes. Maybe we add Ambush chances in and if it Marines are ambushed, it just means the Invader Player goes first?
- Should there be a "red" area where the Invader cannot setup monsters (similar to the Sector Levels)?
- Encounter Rewards. Is Frags/Commendations/Demerits sufficient rewards? Should we have some other kind of 'looting' (like Descent did), such as rolling 3 dice and earning those items (most common being a health pack, second most common being ammo, least common being a Commendation)?
- Location Map Sizes. I'm not sure if they're too small, too large, need extra 'stuff', etc. Only playtesting will really tell.
- The Location Card back image, while I like it a lot, is kinda blurry and dark. I don't have Doom 3 installed to grab a screen shot (all my screens have been from images I've found online). If anyone wants to take the time to grab an image similar to that at a higher resolution, I'd really love you and your children and your children's children.
All those questions will probably be answered in play-testing. Next thing on the list to even get to play-testing is Encounters In Hell.
-shnar
Edit: fixed one of the "thoughts"
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