Malazan Empire: D'rek - Viewing Profile - Malazan Empire

This thread is for the serious post-game stuff. If you've got any critical/in-depth impressions of the new PoK content you want to share, here's the place for it. If you've got a proposal or topic you think we should all consider together/you want feedback on, highlight it as a "TOPIC #" like I've done with a few below:

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TOPIC #1: Exploration - is it worth it?

What did you think of the new exploration mechanic?

From a forum-game-mechanics standpoint, the unfortunate consequence of the new exploration mechanic is that there's a LOT more back-and-forth between players posting turns, waiting for the mod to reveal a card, then waiting for the player to return and decide how to resolve the card and continue their turn. Even with us "cheating" by revealing the explorations of all planets this can still event combine with other cards/effects to create turns that are like player->mod->player->mod->player or worse.

On the other hand, this is not that different from sabotages, action card draws, SO draws, etc. It's just much more frequent, especially in the first couple rounds of the game.

So, what do you think of exploration? Did you find it fun and interesting enough of a mechanic to be worth the extra bureaucracy and time needed to make a complete turn? Or should we consider playing without it/altering it?

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TOPIC #2: Strategy Card Secondaries, Transactions, and "the start of your turn"

In an actual game, strategy card secondaries are done on the other player's turn immediately after they play the strategy card, so the timing of your next turn is:

Start of your turn
..Resolve any "start of turn" effects
..First point at which you can execute a Transaction and other "during your turn" effects

Start of your action

etc


Because of our deferred secondaries houserule and we decided in the past to allow transactions before/between secondaries, it's very unclear when "the start of your turn" is now. And PoK has introduced some cards/abilities that do resolve "at the start of your turn".

If you have an ability that resolves at the start of your turn, plus you want to do some secondaries, and also negotiate a transaction, now you can do this in a very strange order compared to a real game. And does the "start of your turn" ability resolve before the secondaries now? We never really made that clear.

Personally, I would like to reverse our previous decision on allowing transactions before/between secondaries and have everything go back to the same order of the rulebook, e.g.:

1. Do secondaries (in the same order their primary was played), and this does not count as part of "your turn" yet

2. Your turn starts
2a. Resolve any "start of turn" effects

Now you can do transactions, actions, etc.

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TOPIC #3: Map display changes

Any readability problems with how the maps were done this game? Any changes you think would improve thing?

I found the larger fleets/ground armies of this game took up too much space at times, especially with the new 3-planet hexes. I propose we reduce the size of all units on the map to 70% of their current size.

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TOPIC #4: Promissory Notes in Status Blocks

As you saw in this game, I enforced actually listing all cards in players' "play areas" in the bottom of the status block, because PoK has a ton more of those. This included promissory notes that get put into the play area.

However, we have also still been listing those promissory notes that are in your play area in the << Promissory Notes: 4 Argent , 2 Ul >> part of the status block, too.

Should that part of the status block be only the PNs that are in your "hand" ?

Current Game Status: Completed in Status Phase 6

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Latest Game Map: https://drive.google...X5tkLu9Wgx/view

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Final Points:

Twelve: 10 VP ( PO: 8 | SO: 1 | Empyrean SftT)

Tatts: 9 VP ( PO: 4 | SO: 3 | Argent SftT | Emphidia)
IH: 9 VP ( PO: 6 | SO: 2 | Ul SftT)
Morgoth: 9 VP ( PO: 4 | SO: 3 | Saar SftT | Shard of the Throne)

Khell: 8 VP ( PO: 3 | SO: 2 | Naaz-Rokha SftT | Custodians Token | Imperial+MR 1)

Blend: 7 VP ( PO: 4 | SO: 2 | Winnu SftT)

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Public Objectives:

Populate the Outer Rim -- 1VP -- Status Phase -- Have units in 3 systems on the edge of the game board other than your home system.
Fulfilled by: Tatts, Blend, Twelve, Morgoth

Amass Wealth -- 1VP -- Status Phase -- Spend 3 influence, 3 resources, and 3 trade goods.
Fulfilled by: Morgoth, Twelve, Tatts, IH

Erect a Monument -- 1VP -- Status Phase -- Spend 8 resources.
Fulfilled by: IH, Blend, Khell, Tatts, Morgoth

Push Boundaries -- 1VP -- Control more planets than each of 2 of your neighbors.
Fulfilled by: Khell, IH, Blend, Twelve, Tatts

Raise a Fleet -- 1VP -- Status Phase -- Have 5 or more non-fighter ships in 1 system.
Fulfilled by: Morgoth, Khell, Blend

Construct Massive Cities -- 2VP -- Status Phase -- Have 7 or more structures.
Fulfilled by: Twelve, IH

Galvanize the People -- 2VP -- Status Phase -- Spend a total of 6 tokens from your tactic and/or strategy pools.
Fulfilled by: Twelve

Produce en Masse -- 1VP -- Status Phase -- Have units with a combined PRODUCTION value of at least 8 in a single system.
Fulfilled by: Twelve, IH

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Common Play Area:

(ACTIVE LAW) SEARCH WARRANT -- Khell must play with his secret objectives revealed.

(ACTIVE LAW) HOMELAND DEFENSE ACT -- Players can have any number of PDS units on planets they control.

(ACTIVE LAW) ANTI-INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTION -- After a player researches a technology, they must destroy 1 of their non-fighter ships.

(ACTIVE LAW) CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT LEAKS -- Produce en Masse is a public objective.

(ION STORM) At the end of the "Move Ships" or "Retreat" substep of a tactical action during which 1 or more of your ships use the ion storm wormhole, flip the ion storm token to its opposing side.

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Index:

Round 1
...Strategy Phase
...Action Phase
...Status Phase
Round 2
...Strategy Phase
...Action Phase
...Status Phase
...Agenda Phase
Round 3
...Strategy Phase
...Action Phase
...Status Phase
...Agenda Phase
Round 4
...Strategy Phase
...Action Phase
...Status Phase
...Agenda Phase
Round 5
...Strategy Phase
...Action Phase
...Status Phase
...Agenda Phase
Round 6
...Strategy Phase
...Action Phase
...Status Phase

Official chat thread, go!

New year, new expansion, new game!

Mod: Moi
Start Date: Aiming for January 11th (we still need to collect some expansion components and it'll take a bit to setup)
Goal: 10 VP game
Content: all Omega/Codex and all PoK content included

Map Setup: Mod-made. No special theme, but I'll lean more towards using PoK hexes than original hexes and force all legendary planets to be included so we get to see more of the new stuff. If we're not 6 players, will use hyperlanes for a balanced layout. Map will be revealed before seat/faction setup.

Seat/faction/speaker setup: Randomized starting spots, then each player sends me a list of their most preferred factions. If no one else picks the same faction, you get it. If multiple players want the same faction, one randomly gets it and the rest get their 2nd choice (and so on). Speaker is randomly chosen after all factions are picked.

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Prophecy of Kings rulebook: https://images-cdn.f...ok_web-good.pdf

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Sign-ups:
1. IH
2. Tatts
3. Twelve
4. Blend
5. Morgoth
6. Khell

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Map: https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing


Starting Positions:
+ Top-Middle -> Khell
+ Right-Upper -> Morgoth
+ Right-Lower -> Blend
+ Bottom-Middle -> Twelve
+ Left-Lower -> IH
+ Left-Upper -> Tatts