Card Game Update: Who's the Boss?

 For those who have been following along, I am currently awaiting the delivery of my new prototype of my cooperative card game that you build to challenge 3 to 4 of your friends. So if you aren't up to date on the info, you might want to back up a couple posts and check it all out.

Today I'm introducing you to what the bosses are like. I'll go with what I see as the easiest or beginner's boss to put up against your players. The boss is the end goal to defeat and each one comes with their own deck of 18 cards to threaten players with. I know I haven't gone into the total setup of the game yet, but that is for later on.

So, here is Prof. Zombie.

First thing to note is how he has stats just like player characters do. They work for him the exact same way they work for players ( and other threats from event decks). The Prof. has 20 total health and a couple of interesting abilities that cannot be countered (bosses cannot be controlled, instantly defeated, or have their abilities countered). The first ability grants any threat with the word 'zombie' in its name bonuses of +1 to all stats and health. This does not amplify Prof. Zombie as he counts as a boss and can only amplify deck threats. He does have a card that comes out making all threats in the deck count as zombies.

Every time a player completes a "mission" (more on that later), the boss reacts and reveals a card from their personal deck. Let's take a look at a couple of Prof. Zombie's cards.

Yep, players can turn traitor, but only one player can be a traitor at any one time. You can fix it too if you don't mind beating up your friend a little bit. This card takes effect as soon as it is revealed and Prof. Zombie rolls 7d6 against someone. If 3 or more hits are left undefended, then that player will turn on his buddies. Yes, being a traitor means using your turn to attack your friends. 

Talk about raising the stakes. But what does this mean? Well, the player with the lowest endurance is considered captured and can take no actions until rescued. Any player may use their turn to attempt that rescue. A round is the time period for all players to take one turn from the time this card comes into play. You will want to use the highest of your personal stats from the ones required on the card. If your strength is highest you will roll d6 equal to your strength and hope that four dice come up as 4-6. If they don't, you failed and your turn is over. But don't fret. Death is not necessarily the end. If a player can use magic or has the right powers, they can revive a player at half health to jump back into the game.

Just in case anyone wonders, all of these effects are story accurate to the books based on the characters. You don't have to read them to enjoy the game, but the lore is cool to know.

Let's look at one more of his cards.

Any player may have up to two threats in front of them at any time, but no more than that. Still, the ability to put "from the deck" threats into front of players adds to the danger. Of course, when you build up your game for your players, you can leave the cards that match up to a card like this off to the side so they are easy to find when called for.  And these are just three examples of  many. Each boss has their own specific effects that match up to them and each has their own special abilities and health. The highest health for a boss? 50. You'll want to get some play experience before you try that on. 

Next time, I will show you what allies are like. Be sure to follow and always be up to date on GZ. If you want to find the books, check out the links section. Thanks for reading and roll those dice high.