Dark Journeys

[Dragoon]

Tread of my new TCG/CCG project, Dark Journeys.

Game discription

After the great wars against the Darkspawn, peace is still isn't preserved. Monsters and remaining Darkspawn still roam the world. For those bold enough to adventure, the dangers are great…
but so are the opportunities!

Each player takes the role of adventurer to travel through the world. During their travels, these adventurers will battle monstrous creatures, and complete dangrous task, to acquire enough valor points to win the game.

Gameplay

Goal
Each player takes the role of an adventurer, the goal is to claim thirty Valor Points (VP) before any other player does so. This is done by defeating encounters, completing quests, meeting characters or reaching special locations.

Card Types
There are six differnt types of cards.

Encounters
These cards are monsters and humans the adventurers play to stop other players in their tracks. When you defeat an encounter, you are rewarded.

Events
Events are things that happen. They can be played at any time and have some special effects.

Support
Item cards are useful things/weapons you find.

Quests
Quests are the major source of VP. Encounters can be used to destroy quests.


Resource System

Stamina
You start the game with 25 stamina, which will eventualy dry up.

Turn Sequence
There are several steps during your turn you should follow.


Game Regions

Quest Deck: Stack of at least 15 cards consits of encounter cards, location cards and quest cards with limit of 3 for each non-unique card and a limit of 1 for each unique card. Unique cards have a symbol for their names. All locations are unique.

Adventure Deck: Stack of at least 30 cards consisting of Event and support cards with limit of 3 for each non-unique card and a limit of 1 for each unique card. Unique cards have a symbol for their names.

Hand: The cards drawn from adventure decks. Players play cards from here using stamina.

Thrash: Pile where support and event cards go after destroyed or discarded.

Graveyard: Pile where encounter, location and quest cards go after being destroyed or discarded.

Battlefield: The region where cards are played.

Basic Vocabulary

Ability: an rule on a card. Activated abilities are used when a cost is paid. Conditional Abilities activate when a condition is met. Passive abilities are always in effect.

Effect: The result from card text. Abilities are also effects.

Discard: A card discarded from the hand is put into the Thrash pile.

Valor: Points required for victory. Valor can be gained by adventurers or cards. All valor you have counts towards victory. When a card with valor is destroyed, all it's valor is lost.

Stamina: Your basic resource. You start with 25 stamina and you have to pay it for each card you play.

Curse/cursed: Cursed cards are rotated 90 degrees. They can't use abilities, attack or defend. Cursed supports don't count towards your power. Valor on cursed cards does counts towards victory.

Flip: Turning a face-down card face-up or a face-up card face-down.

Restore: To Restore a card, turn it to it's normal position. You can only restore 1 card each turn.

Destroy: A destroyed support card is put into it's owner's thrash pile, destroyed Location and Quest cards are put into it's owners graveyard. When a encounter is destroyed, it's owner may decide to put in his graveyard or turn it face-down and put the top card of his quest deck in his graveyard instead.

Turn Phases
Restore: The active player restores one of his cursed cards.

Explore: The active player draws a card.

Adventure: During this phase, the active player may flip an encounter (only once) replace a face-down card with the top card of his quest deck. (only once) and play supports.

Combat: During this phase, the active player may use encounters to attack
adventurers or encounters. Players may also attack an encounter. (only once)

Rest: All end of turn effects ends.

Tactic cards and player actions can be taken during any of these phases.

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[Tokimo]

Make the type slightly larger.

Change the format of Retreat {food} ({food}: reminder text) to {food} : Retreat ({food}: reminder text), I think.

The battle axes(?) bookending the bottom border look important but I get the impression they're not.

You might consider an outer border as well. You've got a strong parchment feel in the middle of the card which is abruptly broken where the card meets the border. A similar worn parchment feel seems like it should do the trick.

I'm especially fond of the text box, the title box, and the cost box. The picture quality is also very nice.

[Dragoon]

Make the type slightly larger.

Change the format of Retreat {food} ({food}: reminder text) to {food} : Retreat ({food}: reminder text), I think.

The battle axes(?) bookending the bottom border look important but I get the impression they're not.

You might consider an outer border as well. You've got a strong parchment feel in the middle of the card which is abruptly broken where the card meets the border. A similar worn parchment feel seems like it should do the trick.

I'm especially fond of the text box, the title box, and the cost box. The picture quality is also very nice.

Thanks for the criticism. Made the bottom border stuff may stand out a bit more.

I won't change the keyword stuff, because the food is the cost to pay it, it could also be 2 food, etc..



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[Cyrus]

I really like it except for one little thing the Tokimo touched on. The parchment for the text box should be scaled back just about 5px or so, so you can see the red border on the left and right of it. Right now it looks sort of funny with the frame being cut off and then reappearing. Besides that, looks pretty awesome. What do the symbols on the bottom mean?

[Tokimo]

On the borders I more meant giving the edges a parchment feel. Currently all 4 outer edges are these clean razor cuts instead of being tattered like the inner edges.

[malarious]

I have to agree that you need to correct retreat.. is it 1 food to activate and then 1 food for this one? Or is it entirely reminder text after the first food?

I evaluate from left to right, which means I see... FOOD : (FOOD again) <effect> yes it is inside paranthesis but if you have retreat 2 you need to clarify it for later. 

Retreat {food}: ( Pay cost and remove <creature> from combat)

This seems to flow better to me because it prevents redundance, and makes it easy to adapt to retreat X

[xchokeholdx]

some comments from me:

1. The "cost" in the upper left corner is not readable. Or create an outline around the "1", or play with colors. it is hard to read now as it is.

2. the card rarity should be moved to another area. how about to the Artist and company name zone. maybe you could use a color denotation for each rarity?

[Dragoon]

Updated

[author=Cyrus link=topic=40.msg245#msg245 date=1258317777]
What do the symbols on the bottom mean?
[/quote]

These are the the resources generated (big symbol on left) and the damage symbols generated (smaller symbols on right)

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[Cyrus]

Looking better every time!

The top left number is hard to read, I didn't even notice it there until xchokeholdx mentioned it, actually. If you're using photoshop just throw a 1px Stroke of a different color on it. Instant pop. No way to do that in MSE though, that I know of at least.

[Dragoon]

Looking better every time!

The top left number is hard to read, I didn't even notice it there until xchokeholdx mentioned it, actually. If you're using photoshop just throw a 1px Stroke of a different color on it. Instant pop. No way to do that in MSE though, that I know of at least.

Using MSE, it's impossible

Bolding the text makes it easier to read..

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[Tokimo]

What is MSE? And is there a reason for using it over GIMP? (Edit: DUR Magic Set Editor)

I think the number in the purple went from being too hard to read to being too blatant (it is easier to read now).

Once again, your art is pretty and such. Makes me want to play this game.

[xchokeholdx]

Looking better every time!

The top left number is hard to read, I didn't even notice it there until xchokeholdx mentioned it, actually. If you're using photoshop just throw a 1px Stroke of a different color on it. Instant pop. No way to do that in MSE though, that I know of at least.

Using MSE, it's impossible

Bolding the text makes it easier to read..

If it is impossible to change, than you should consider Darkening the "eye"? logo behind it. Being able to instantly read how much my cards cost is very important in a card game.

[Trevor]

Increase the card picture size and avoid funky fonts. Left justify card text.

[Dragoon]

If it is impossible to change, than you should consider Darkening the "eye"? logo behind it. Being able to instantly read how much my cards cost is very important in a card game.

There you are...

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[Tokimo]

I personally like the centered text. More picture is always awesome (as long as text stays legible)