Maybe He’s Just Misunderstood – New Villain: The Beast

[SnakeSpawn]

Here’s something that I’ve been thinking about ever since hearing about AToE. I haven’t play tested it yet, but I am eager to hear about suggestions from the community.


THE BEAST (Villain – Beast – Werewolf)
Combat 5
Wounds 5

Cursed Servants - All Items gain the keyword Ally. The Beast gains Combat equal to half the number of Items in all discard piles, rounded up; also, the Beast gains Wounds equal to half the number of Items in all discard piles, rounded up.

Love Conquerors All - If Belle is in the same Location as the Showdown and Gaston is removed from the game, each hero in the Showdown does a Cunning 3+ test. If all pass, the Beast is defeated immediately.

Enchanted Rose –Ignore other effects that move the Shadow Track. Instead, the Shadow Track moves 1 step closer to Darkness during the Mystery Phase.

Be Our Guest – Any Town Elder Killed by the Beast is turned into an Evil Elder on the D6 roll of 4+, discarding any Secrets they have and joining the Beast as normal for an Evil Elder.

Belle (Townsperson – Female – Unique)
No Fight
Notes:
Unique: There is only one Belle. At the start of the game, place Belle at a random Location.
Adventurous: At the start of the Mystery phase, if Belle is in the same space as a Minion, roll a D6. On the roll of 1 or 2, remove Belle from the game and the Beast gains +2 Combat, else move Belle to a random Location. If Gaston or a Militia is in the same or an adjacent space, instead move Belle to a random Location.
Inquisitive: If in the same space as Belle, you may pay 2 Investigation to move Belle to an empty space.

Gaston (Hero – Male – Unique)
Combat 4 Victory - 8 Investigation
Wounds 6
Notes:
Unique: There is only one Gaston. At the start of the game, place Gaston at the Olde Woods. If in the same space as another hero, Gaston follows the fight rules of a minion.
Brawn Over Brains: Ignore any Investigation given to Gaston. Gaston uses his combat for all skill checks.
Expert Explorer: At the start of the Mystery phase, after Minion movement, move Gaston to a random location. If he is at a Corner Location, discard the top 1 card from the Location Deck.
Expert Hunter: If Gaston enters the same space as a Minion, or if a Minion enters the same space as Gaston, discard the other Minion. When rolling Fight Dice, Hits on 4, 5, or 6 (instead of the normal 5 or 6).
For every Hit Gaston does to the Hero, they must also lose 2 Investigation or discard one Ally (Hero’s Choice).
If Gaston is defeated in a fight, remove the token from the game, and the Beast gains +2 Wounds.
 
BEAST MINION CHART
D6 Roll Result
1 Music Soothes the Savage Soul – (Event)
Every Hero must immediately make a Spirit 5+ Test. If passed, gain 2 Investigation. If failed, choose and discard one Event Card from hand or discard one Ally (Hero’s Choice).
2-4 Wolves – (Minion – Animal)
Fight Dice 3 Victory - 2 Investigation
Wounds *
Notes:
Only one Fight Round.
When Wolves is rolled, place an additional Wolves at another random Location.
Once encountered, discard this Minion.
5-6 Beast Attack! – (Event)
The Villain attacks! The Hero must immediately resolve a single Fight Round with the Villain. Instead of causing Wounds, each Hit done to the Villain gains 1 Investigation for the Hero. This does NOT count as a Showdown.
If Belle is in the same space as the Hero, no Fight takes place, and the Hero gains 3 Investigation instead.
If there are no Heroes in the space, instead place 2 Investigation at the Location.


My Thoughts:
It could use some more thematic flavor, but I don’t want to get sued by a certain mouse, so I’m not sure how much can go in there. Also, I’m afraid I probably wouldn’t be able to do the villain card justice, although I’ll still try when I get some free time.

I wanted to make the discard piles more relevant, so I have provided different ways to get items in there, such as taking damage from Gaston and the music from the Minion chart.

I also figured that there should be a more “Beast Friendly” way of winning, so I threw in Belle and Gaston. The primary win condition now becomes: Protect Belle and eliminate Gaston when nearing the end of the game. I’m trying to have Gaston as an alternative Boss that stays on the field.

For the rose ability, I’ve never actually counted how many turns it takes to play through a game on average, so I don’t know if only 1 per turn is enough. I was thinking maybe 2 per turn or 2 per turn when the track is in red.

For Belle, I have her move if she’s in a space with a minion without support, if her support is fighting the minion, or if you convince her to go someplace else. The second part was included because I realized that you could just create a Militia where she was and leave her there. Although minions could move into her spot, the goal is that you should have at least 1 turn to save her before doing her survival check.

Gaston’s wording is a little tricky. I didn’t want to make him a minion, as he’s not really controlled, or intimidated by the Beast, and he can even fight the Beast if he’s at the location during Beast Attack! Essentially he wanders around the map killing wolves and protecting Belle, but he sees the other Heroes as competition so he attacks them. Plus he’s a jerk.

The minion chart is tough to make as there are very few enemies in the story. There were a lot of wolves, so I included them. The music corresponds to the evil Organ in the Christmas spin-off. I suppose there could be a witch, but she’s not exactly evil, and would require another marker. Gaston works as a pretty decent way to cutoff routes.

[vikinglad]

I love this idea. It sounds pretty different. I will let you know if I ever try it out.

[SnakeSpawn]

Thanks. I also posted to BGG and added a new event to the minion chart: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/7895...n-the-beas