Mutation Add-on (update: + New Scenario + more images)

[labrys]

I'm forumlatiing an addon which adds some mutators to the game.
Also thinking about using a scenario to introducce toxins (using canisters? or metorite?) to cause infections that cause mutations (or radioactivity - but thats already been done!)
Maybe a clean up operation as the hero win condition. [Update: added a new scenario below]

Waddya think:

Mutation Add-on
Adds mutations to the game, a new strain of zombie contagion that can effect zombies and heroes.

Contains:

A new Hero Mutation Deck e.g.:


New zombie types (Mutation Counters)
Mutator Zombie x14
Unstable Zombie x14?
Legion Mutation x14?
Replicator Mutagen x14?
Mutator Dead Counter x14


Plus one or more Mutation scenario(s)?

The Spread
ZP can sacrifice 3 spawns to create a Mutator Zombie. Mutator Zombies have the ability to cause mutations to nearby Zombies and Heroes. At the end of the Zombie Turn all Zombies and Heroes on the Same Square or adjacent must roll a D6 to see if they have been effected. Players/Zombies in the same square are Mutated on a 4+, in adjacent squares on a 5+. When a Mutator Zombie is killed (by methods other than fire or explosion) it’s effects will remain in the vicinity for two Zombie Turns. Place a Dead Zombie Mutator counter in the place where it was Killed. On the Heroes turn if that Hero that ends their movement phase in the vicinity of a Mutator Zombie or Counter must roll at the end of their movement phase. A zombie or hero can only have one mutation (with exception of Unstable Zombies – but can not be mutated again by another Zombie). Mutation will remain until killed (is not counted as remains in play, so cannot be cancelled).

Mutator Zombie / Dead Mutator Zombie Counter (Turn 1)
5+ 5+ 5+
5+ 4+ 5+
5+ 5+ 5+

Dead Mutator Zombie Counter FlipSide (Turn 2)
6+ 6+ 6+
6+ 5+ 6+
6+ 6+ 6+


Zombie Mutations

If a Zombie is Mutated they roll on the below chart to see how they are mutated.

1-3 : Become a Mutator Zombie too! (place Mutator Counter under figure, on colourless flip side). You do not roll to see if this Zombie has effected others in its vicinity this turn. It has become a Mutator but is not contagious yet. At the end of all the checks flip the counter to coloured side. Future vicinity check can now be made.

4: Become an Unstable Zombie, place an Unstable Counter below figure.
Roll D6 at the start of each turn to see which Mutation it will have this turn using this table. Place a counter under figure, but on top of unstable counter.
If they roll a 4 again they have no mutation that turn.


5: Become a Legion Zombie, place a Legion Counter below figure.
Can use a movement turn to absorb another zombie in the same square. This grants it an extra life, and for every two extra lives may roll an extra fight Die.
Place a wound counter under figure but on top of . May have up to 4 Wound counters (3 more attck die).

6: Become a Replicator Zombie, place a Replication Counter below figure.
During spawn phase replicator zombies can be counted as a Spawn Point.

Hero Mutations
If a Hero is Mutated they must pick up a Mutation Card which is immediately played on them (remains in play). They come in two varieties:

Constant effect mutations (which can have positive or negative effects, but only one effect) These can be cancelled by cards that cancel Zombie cards.
Some examples of constant effect mutations
- + or - 1 to movement
- + or - 2 to movement
- + or - 1 to all attack rolls
- + or - 2 to all attack rolls
- Auto Heal (1 per strt of hero turn)
- Infected
- Zombie Hero
- Steroids (+1 to move and attack rolls0
- Invunrable (1 turn) / (2 turns)
- Unkillable (1 turn)


Unstable effect mutations (can not be cancelled). The effects may change during the movement stage. Upon rolling the movement die the roll thrown will first move the traker counter on the Mutation card (before deciding if searching or moving etc). Where the counter stops will determine what effect the mutation will cause that turn. This effect may even modify the current move roll.
Some examples of Unstable effects:
- No effect
- + or - 1 to movement this turn
- + or - 2 to movement this turn
- + or - 1 to all attack rolls this turn
- + or - 2 to all attack rolls this turn
- Take a wound
- Heal a wound
- Become Infected
- Cure Infected Counter
- Become a Zombie Hero
- Instantly Killed (not Zombie Hero)

[labrys]

Scenario - Clean Up on Aisle Z

Mutation Pack / Mutator Zombies
HP: Barricades, Heroes Replenish, Hero Starting Cards(x1), Hero Card Pool(2)
ZP: Red Zombies, Always Zombie Heroes
[Probably should not be played with grave weapons, and can not be played with any other scenario rule involving red zombies]

The army have rounded up a group of Zombies to try and experiment on them, to create a cure and control the disease (and probably some covert way to use it for their own gain against their enemies). What ever they did went very wrong. They have now created an even more contagious even more dangerous and unstable strain of Z virus.

The new breed of zombies have overrun the base and escaped killing everyone on it. The secret base was situated near a quiet town called Woodinvale. The zombies that did not randomly blow up, or were not killed in the battle, are descending upon the local populace. Will the townsfolk succeed where the army failed?

The heroes must kill every zombie infected with this new strain. Use the 7 red zombies to represent the first Mutator Zombies. The zombies must kill all 7 before sundown and any other zombie they have infected with a new form of mutation.

(Don’t use the rule where zombie player can sacrifice 3 to spawn a Mutator Zombie, zombie player can now only mutate other zombies to spread the new strain).

Use the usual pool of 14 (or 2 pools of 7), as well as a separate red pool of 7 which the zombie players will share. At the start roll a D6 to see how many red zombies start on the board then a D3 for each ZP (or d6 for just 1) to see how many normal zombies start on the board. If there are any red zombies still in the red zombie pool, the ZP can sacrifice spawning 2 from their own pool to bring out another red (which they must do if they can until all reds have been spawned). Once a red zombie is killed it is out of the game. Other mutator zombies can still be created using the mutator counters if they have been mutated by another red zombie or another mutator zombie.

Turn of the red zombies is alternated between the zombie players each turn.

[friskers96]

Legion scares me, and I don't really understand the unstable mutation card. Does it require a spinner or is there a dynamic I'm missing here? In the scenario, you said the zombies must kill all 7 before sundown. Was that a typo? I'm guessing the HP win objective is kill all 7 original mutator zombies.

[labrys]

It requires something similar to a sun track marker. I will have to point out some sort of start point (such as the top dot), but each dot is a place the tracker can go. if it starts at top and you roll a 3 for movement (irrelevant of how many you actually moved) the tracker should be moved three dots clockwise. whatever is on that dot is he mutation for that turn. Could be nothing, could be a wound, could be a modifier, if it was a plus 1 to movement you could move 4 squares that turn (with your roll of 3). it will go round and round in circles on that outside track.

if you receive a wound move it in a track. what it lands on does not effect you. it will then move round on the next track. heal a wound go back up a track or if receive another wound (and still alive) go down a track further. the greater effects good and bad tend to be in the deeper tracks! some even heal infections (or give you them).

I'm holding this mechanic brings in quite a bit or random chaos into the game. makes you want to avoid the Mutator zombies. if your feeling lucky/reckless go for it!

[deepfreeze]

This seems overly complicated, and it would require extensive playtesting to balance. I don't really get it man sorry. Five new zombie types and two different huge classes of hero mutations is a lot to add and will be extremely difficult to balance. I think less is more with creating new mechanics. This is very confusing and way too complicated.

I think you would be better off making one new zombie type that is really well designed and balanced with one set of hero mutations. You could simplify the rules to for a new scenario with some object that causes mutations. It could help zombies that reach it and hurt humans. The human goal being to destroy it in someway.

If I were you I would even think about making the "mutated zombies" just normal grave dead. You could roll a d6 every time to determine the grave dead power to keep the random mutated theme going. You know those abilities have already been extensively playtested and it makes them easier to understand for the people you hope to play this with eventually.

[labrys]

Maybe the unstable zombie is too 'fiddly'..
Otherwise there's only three types of zombie..
A walking spawning pit.
One that essentially gets bigger / becomes a one man pack.
and The contagious one that makes the other two zombies (and mutates heroes)
Its a simple version of grave dead really!

As for balance.. their are as many negtive effects as positive, so I figured it would balance itself out. you might get a crummy hero that cant do anything and dies quick, and you might get one super powered hero that moved 8 squares, and kicked ass.

I could scrap the hero unstable mutation card, but would have to make a big pack of single mutations to replace it. If players can only have one mutation at a time they just discard their last one.. or are stuck with it and don’t have to pick up another. That could be a lot simpler, but more ink hungry!

The idea behind the unstable was to save swapping cards. Once someone is mutated they can't be mutated again, and to add some element of randomness to the game.

eg.
The hero becomes mutated and picks up a mutation card to see how they were mutated. The card they pick up is "unstable mutation", and they put it on their character, and place the mutation track marker on the top dot.



When they then start their turn, they throw a 5 for movement.
The tracker is moved 5 dots to see how it effected them

In this case +1 to movement so they can move 6 spaces this turn.

On the next turn they throw a 2 for movement. The tracker is moved round two dots. They get a +1 to attack rolls this turn


During their fighting they take a wound and move the tracker inwards one dot


Next turn they throw a 2 for movement. It lands on nothing so they have no effect this turn.


Maybe I did not explain it well enough. Maybe I just like complicated. Who knows?!?

[deepfreeze]

I like the way you designed the card, and I think that everything looks really well thought out and well designed. Have you tried playing it yet?

My main issue with it is that it adds a lot of things to keep track of, which I always find is the least fun part about the game. I mean during the peak of a normal game when there are five remains in play cards in effect, everyone has 2 weapons, and events happen every turn it can be hard to keep track of everything going on. That is all without adding four different types of zombies and heroes whose abilities change every turn.

It isn't that I think what you designed is bad; I just think it complicates things a lot without adding some huge payoff. That is why I suggested focusing your favorite mechanics into a scenario where the mutation is at the center of the story.

Something I thought of when looking at the unstable hero mutation is that you could design a scenario where one hero starts out mutated and the hero goal is to get him to some point to be studied/healed whatever. Especially if the wheel was mostly bad for the mutated hero, I think it would be a cool mechanic to have to escort this unstable and unpredictable hero.

Just my 2 cents. Thank you for sharing!

[labrys]

(04-18-2013 07:00 PM)deepfreeze Wrote:  I like the way you designed the card, and I think that everything looks really well thought out and well designed. Have you tried playing it yet?

My main issue with it is that it adds a lot of things to keep track of, which I always find is the least fun part about the game. I mean during the peak of a normal game when there are five remains in play cards in effect, everyone has 2 weapons, and events happen every turn it can be hard to keep track of everything going on. That is all without adding four different types of zombies and heroes whose abilities change every turn.

It isn't that I think what you designed is bad; I just think it complicates things a lot without adding some huge payoff. That is why I suggested focusing your favorite mechanics into a scenario where the mutation is at the center of the story.

Something I thought of when looking at the unstable hero mutation is that you could design a scenario where one hero starts out mutated and the hero goal is to get him to some point to be studied/healed whatever. Especially if the wheel was mostly bad for the mutated hero, I think it would be a cool mechanic to have to escort this unstable and unpredictable hero.

Just my 2 cents. Thank you for sharing!

No not played it yet.. still at spitballing stage (the cards/tokens up are the only ones i've created.. graphically anyway). I like getting peoples ideas on the more complicted ideas before I go printing it all out, laminating, cutting it out, just to find out it does not play well.

No your probably right. I never know when to stop. I like modding games as much as playing them. In fact I've got about 4 or 5 more mod ideas on the go at the moment (that I have not posted up yet). Must focus on one really!

I am definatly scrapping the unstable zombie. Too much fiddling around.

Also I was thinking maybe the card just says "unstable mutation" instead of having the wheel and you pick up a random bigger unstable mutation card (size of a scenario card / hero board). Or possibly even the size of a hero picture and you place it on top of the hero card. I was going to do lots of similar but differing vesions.. some with more good some with more bad points.

I suppose I could pull this apart into several smaller scenarios. Or roll at the start to see what the other type of zombie is. That way I get to keep the types (and maybe more) but you only have to play with one that game. Another option is to use parts of it to even out / spice up the "Die Zombies Die" scenario which is quite hard to beat hero's on once they have the hang of the game. Especially when they don't want to add the zombie hero's and hero replenish (which kind of should be applied to all scenarios now. according to timber peak).

Cheers for your thoughts. Back to the design board!