New Starter Cards
I have redesigned the starter cards in the tabletop version of Heart of the Mountain, and am now adding them to the digital version.
Originally, I was designing the cards you fight against with the assumption that you start the game with a total of 6 in your attributes, with each character having a slightly different distribution (2-2-2, 3-2-1, etc). Then Matt and I came up with the idea of starter cards, little half-size cards with simple items on them that gave +1 to an attribute. You start with 1 in each attribute and draw three starter cards to determine what your other 3 points will be.
Well those starter cards were boring. You didn't have any decisions to make other than which item slots to put them in, which hardly mattered at all since you had no way of knowing what items you'd get during the game and which order you'd be replacing your starters in. So you just draw your three items, toss them anywhere, and move on. Boring.
I've figured out a way to spice them up. Introducing double-sided starter cards:
Like before, you draw three to start, but now you have to choose how to equip each one. Once you do so you can't change it, just like any other item. One side of each starter still gives you +1 to an attribute. But, you could choose to flip it over and use the other side instead. The other sides either give you one half of a gem, or a special ability:
- Add as extra tile
- Move an extra space
- Draw an extra card
- Gain an extra XP
- Heal a Wound
The trick is to make these choices roughly equal. If the alternate sides are consistently not as good as +1 to an attribute, they'll just be ignored. If they're consistently better, they'll always be chosen. Each choice should be meaningful, so I need to zero in on the abilities that are worth considering.
That's what playtesting is for.