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 Battlejack 
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Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 4:47 pm
Posts: 5
Post Battlejack
Is it acceptable to start a thread about Battlejack the new system I developed that I am going to be releasing through Vigilance Press here shortly? I will wait for a response before posting anything about it.

Thanks.


Mon Nov 22, 2010 4:52 pm
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Post Re: Battlejack
Be my guest. :)

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Mon Nov 22, 2010 5:16 pm
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Post Re: Battlejack
Thanks.

So Battlejack is a gambing RPG. The resolution mechanics uses a tweaked version of Blackjack. However, since the main game is a PvP game, you play Blackjack (called Battlejack) against another player, not the Dealer, and so neither player has to play by the Dealer rules. In addition, as the players gain levels, earned via total kills, they gain uses of Player Abilities which in essence allow them to change the rules of playing Battlejack, for example, you may have an ability that forces your opponent to Hit on their hand. You might have an ability that lets you reveal your down card, discard it and draw another one in it's place.

The player's character's are soldiers. Each soldier has seven Tactics (class abilities) and four Stratagems (think daily powers). These are chosen from the list before the start of the match, as a soldier gains levels (via kills), they gain points that they can spend on levelling up the tactics and stratagems they have chosen.

Your soldier can be equipped with a variety of gear, such as armor, weapons and equipment, as you build up the chips in your stake from getting kills, you can upgrade your gear or just buy bigger and better gear.

Currently the game has five ways to be played. Single matches where you play versus each other, this could be one vs one, two vs two, one vs one vs one, etc, think of this as a skirmish match.

The next way you can play is a tournament, your play as one team versus a team run by the Dealer. If you win, you advance in the tournament, if you lose you are out. The benefit of the tournament is your soldier keeps their levels and gear from match to match.

The third way you can play is capture the flag, and it is just as it implies, each base has a flag in it, capture the opposing teams flag two times to win.

The fourth way is as a conventional rpg, the Dealer designs an arena, fills it with monsters, and the soldiers go through it, this is a dungeon crawler type rpg, complete with a magic system, ruled for creating magic gear, and custom gear of all sorts.

The fifth way to play is as a race, the arena is a loop of some size, and the players race to complete a certain number of laps. Very Death Match in style.

The game has achievements the players can unlock, multiple Tiers of Play so that you can start at a higher level and with bigger Stakes, a ranking system, and the ability to wager on matches, calculate purse sizes, etc.

Playtesting has gone really well.

If anyone has any questions, comments, thoughts, or would be interested in playtesting, please feel free to respond.

Thanks

Also you can follow Battlejack on twitter @Battlejack


Mon Nov 22, 2010 6:07 pm
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Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 4:47 pm
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Post Re: Battlejack
So the Battlejack RPG is a GM +1 player up to a GM +5 players ruleset. The rules are designed for GMs to create their own 2d side scrolling metroidvania style maps that they run the soldiers through. It captures what I think are the great elements of classic games like Metroid, Castlevania, Zelda, and Megaman.

Some of the differences from the main rules are:

Soldiers get additional chips in their Stake and additional Gear slots.

The arena may contain a resurrection room which allows the party to in essence save their game. If they get wiped out, they just restart and start over. Eliminates the frustration of the TPK.

The players can create truly custom armor, equipment and weapons.

The GM can create custom monsters and custom treasure.

Combat is still non-tacitcal, with monsters and players positioning on a 3 Row grid to determine whether they are at melee or missile range.

Killing pawns (minions if you will) gives you the ability to make a Save at the end of the round, in essence recovering that little bit of health that metroidvania games are known for.

Items like keys, maps, and raw materials (used for building gear) are much more abundant. Exploring the map and finding secret areas will allow you to find upgrades for you armor and weapons.

Mini-boss and Boss monsters have significantly larger Stakes but will have a weakness that can be exploited typical of the megaman games.


The soldier's home base has a party strongbox that can hold 200 gear slots worth of additional items.

The magic system has 8 different energy types and 6 different targeting methods, spells have between 2 and 6 different ways they can be used and you can mix and max energy types with targeting methods.

So that is a quick highlight of the RPG version of the rules. I think the ability for two players to be able to play a game without having to change the rules to balance the game will make it a great choice for a gaming group if players go missing from the game session.


Sat Nov 27, 2010 5:15 am
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Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 4:47 pm
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Post Re: Battlejack
Sent the "lite" version of the Battlejack rules to Vigilance Press today. It includes 47 of 78 pages of the rules. An excellent preview!


Thu Dec 02, 2010 3:45 pm
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Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 4:47 pm
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Post Re: Battlejack
Finished the Battlejack Tier 1, 2, and 3 master rule set today, it weighs in at a respectable 72 pages. Along with the ruleset there are 376 handout cards for quick reference (a Tier 1 character usually has about a dozen of them specific to their Player and Soldier). Also including a 7 page stat sheet that includes all of the Medals (Achievements) throughout Tier 1, 2 and 3 play.

Tier 1 includes rules for Capture the Flag matches. Simple, capture the flag.

Tier 2 includes rules for Race matches. Complete as many laps as possible before time runs out, every death restarts you at the beginning of your current lap.

Tier 3 includes rules for Fortress matches. Destroy their base before they destroy yours.

Pretty excited about how everything has evolved and shaped up in the end.


Thu Mar 24, 2011 8:09 pm
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