Hi everyone!
Today I’m going to talk about “Swarming” monsters in Champion of Earth.
There are a few pieces of Equipment in this game that require you to know whether the monster you are attacking is a Creature, Undead or Alien.
When I was constructing the rules, I considered the possibility that every card had to be turned face-up when they were attacked, to identify what it was, but that seemed like it might remove some of the suspense for the next player. Instead, I opted to add the monster type to the back of cards, allowing you to get an idea.
The reality is that Undead are more likely to have special abilities, but tend to be weaker: the highest is only an 8. Creatures are somewhere in the middle, roughly balanced across the spectrum and Aliens are more skewed to the top end in numbers. In pure maths terms, attacking an Alien is statistically likely to be more risky than attacking an Undead.
However, this knowledge being freely available to the players added a new possibility: What if some enemies got stronger when more of their own type were in play?
I applied this trait, with great success, to the Undead Horde and the Werewolf (pictured!). I actually also applied it in reverse to the Alien Mothership – every alien around it gets stronger by 1 when it’s face up on the field.
This provides a new level of risk – if there are enough Creatures in the Oncoming Horde, the Werewolf could be the most powerful card in the deck!
I hope you experience the fun (and frustration) of this mechanic as you defend the Earth!
– Ed
You can join the Champion of Earth Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shadesofvengeance/champion-of-earth – we hope you will join us in defending the Earth!
