The Forge Archives

For the CCRPG Hunters

Scenario Alone in deep space, your shuttle picks up a distress signal from a nearby station orbiting an unexplored planet. Reaching the station you find it derelict and note the arrival of several other Hunters...

Distress Signal is my first stab at a set for my "Hunters" CCG/RPG hybrid. The basic idea is the players are exploring this station for the cause of the damage, whatever that might be. I'm trying to add enough to it so it could one of many, many things, depending on how the players take the cards:
- A Federated Station attacked by Triarch forces
- A Triarch Station attacked by Federation forces
- Damage as the result of an experiment gone awry
 A) Technology may be Federation or Shan-re and is about to be stolen by a Triarch force
 B) Experiment may have been biological and is still lurking in station
- A traitor/spy demolished the station

Or what have you. I provide the trashed station, they provide the Who, What, When, Why and How. I'm also trying to construct/word the cards so that they're slightly vauge...they can then be used with other sets for planetary based sessions or other scenarios.
The cards aren't fully fleshed out, several Rooms are names and brief descriptions, but its enough I hope for folks interested in the game to see where its going.
I've also updated some of the rulebook from my previous post in the original thread as I will be doing regularly for a little bit. The Distress Signal file also contains an example of how I want to begin each adventure, with a generic "explanation" of how these solitary Hunters found themselves in each others company. Its a handy way for new players to meet, but isn't important enough for "old" groups to adhere to.

Hunters CCRPG Rulebook
Hunters CCRPG - Distress Signal adventure

Okay, ran off a test deck, well over 85 cards, some initial reactions:

- One deck for a group actually works, have around an 80 to 100 card deck can play.
- This was played with 1 copy per card, but more Rooms are needed.
- Point balance issues: Mini bad guys played to generate story points which can be used to play upgrades or the cool bad guys
- Only ran a series of solo hands, mostly introductory stuff to see how opening hands might run: more rooms definetly needed, need to limit number of Upgrades.
- Might also want to look at limiting "fields" (nature, mechanical, artic, etc), IE have 4 players, each with their own deck which has one field type.
- When I can flesh out the "World Manual" for each set it will help immensely, being able to reference native life and insert it at will.

Other ideas:
- No defined "Exits"- being able to spend points to define doors in a Room (except for Corridors)
- Insertion of "native" life same as doors- spend SP to drop in Native life forms almost at will.

Results:
Came up with some interesting little space stations in a few hands. One such interesting little station revolved around a Bio Lab which apperently held some kind of overpowered mutant insect...when I ended, the Lab had been breached, but the assaulting vessal had broken off and it appeared the mutant insect was or had damaged the power core, as several rooms were overheating and the coolant tanks on lower levels had flooded. No one on the station was alive, but the Faint Life Sign indicated something was...

Sounds interesting!

Is there an updated version of the rules set and some sample cards around?

Actually, those two links down at the bottom ^_^
Though I suppose I can upload a PDF formated for printing already. Just got an MS Access database working for this.

Note to others: When dealing with a card game of any kind, MS Access is WONDERFUL!  With the form and report functions, its EASY to make POD decks you can just run off. Tis great.

Abbreviated Combat Engagement rules:

Formula: Offensive Rating - Shielding = Damage, Vitality - Damage = Remaining Vitality.

Combat requires an Action (players have 3 Actions per turn).
Firing Speed indicates how many shots per Action may be fired.
FS of 1 means 1 shot per action, FS of 2 means 2 shots per action, FS of .5 means it takes 2 Actions to fire one shot (usually a missile or other heavy fire weapon).
Combat is tit for tat- you take an action, opponant takes an action:
(Normal player stats: Beam Weapon(OR of 2, FS of 3), Shielding of 1, Vitality of 20)

Player vs. Insect Swarm
Swarm = Agrressive, so it attacks automatically and first:
OR of 2 - Player Shielding of 1 = 1 point of damage (19)
Player spends 1 Action, shoots back:
3 Shots x 2 OR = 6 damage. Insects have 5 Vitality,  5 - 6 = -1, dead.

Player vs. Reptiklon Commander
* Player shoots Missile Weapon (2 Actions left): 1 shots x 5 points = 5 pts, 5 - 2 Shielding = 3 damage (Reptiklon Commander at 12 Vit)
* Reptiklon Commander attacks: 5 pts, 5 - 1 Shielding, 4 damage, 20 - 4 = 16 Vit Player
* Player shoots Missile Weapon (1 action left): another 3 damage, RC at 9 life
* Reptiklon attacks, another 4 damage, player at 12
* Player shoots Missile Weapon (no actions), 3 damage, RC at 6
* RC attactks, 4 damage, player at 8

Summarizing: A player can just as easily say "I'm attacking all three Actions with Missiles", thats 15 (3 x 5) - 6 (2 x 3) for 9 damage. Likewise, the player can calculate how much damage they take: 15 (5 x 3) - 3 (1 x 3) = 12 points of damage.
After playing a little bit, this mental math is almost instant: "Okay, how much damage can I do in one turn?"

Timing:
For the most part, each player's turn is an "Elsewhere in the structure..." type of interlude. A player whose in the same room, though, is assumed to be operating on the same "time table", so its possible to say "Okay, you two are in the same room, Bob takes an action, Fred takes an action, then Bob, then Fred etc" till they've taken all 3 actions and then Carl can move on at the other side of the station.

Otherwise, the above link is the current rules, and here are some formatted cards!

http://www.neoproductions.net/files/Hunters(DS).pdf