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I've come up with a slight variant to make the card game behave somewhat as a normal roleplaying game in that encounters have multiple monsters/rewards, etc, and are done somewhat all at once instead of step by step by step for each character in turn.
Thoughts and suggestions are welcome.
( Related thread at BGG: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1125111/variant-pacg-roleplaying-card-g ame-variant )
Also note that it can be a bit deadlier because there's an increase in banes, but there's also an increase in boons as well. There's an additional flee option for those moments when the characters are up against insurmountable odds and need to take a breather.
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Pathfinder Adventure Card Game
Roleplaying Card Game Variant
Follow normal set up options until the Card Setup for the chosen Scenario
Create the Blessings Deck
Do this as normal. (Please note that this occurs earlier in the Card Setup than it does in the normal rules)
Set Out the Locations
Do this as normal.
Build the Location Decks
Each location card has its own list of card types that are used to build a location deck, in much the same way that a character card has a list of card types that are used to build a character deck. Shuffle each card type and deal a number of each card type to form the basis of each location deck. Don't look at these cards; set them facedown in a stack next to their location card.
Following the order of locations listed on the scenario card, do the following:
*For 1-2 people, build each location deck using the number shown for each card type on that location card.
*For 3-4 people, build each location deck using double the number of each card type on that location card.
*For 5-6 people, build each location deck using triple the number of each card type on that location card.
This means in a 2-player game, each location will have 10 cards at this point; 4 players' locations will have 20 cards; 6 players' locations will have 30 cards.
If there are not enough cards of a card type to place in a location, ignore any that cannot be placed in that location.
Add Villains and Henchmen
Do this as normal.
Arrange Yourselves around the Table
Do this as normal.
Place Token Cards
Do this as normal.
Draw Starting Hands
Do this as normal.
Decide Who Goes First
Choose a first player that will be the first player to make choices and the first to deal with cards encountered. The entire party will be going all at once.
If some players are playing more than one character, those players choose the order that their characters will make choices. This order should not change throughout the scenario.
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Your Turn Is to be replaced with Your Party's Turn
Advance the Blessings Deck:
Flip the top card from the blessings deck face up onto the top of the blessings discard pile. You never acquire this card, though some cards may refer to it during your turn. If you have to remove one or more cards from the blessings deck for any reason and there are not enough cards to do so, shuffle the blessing deck then continue.
Trade a Card:
Starting with the first player, each character may choose to trade with one other character at his/her location and give one card from his/her hand to that character, then that character must give one card back.
A character with no cards in his/her hand can be chosen to trade with and may be given one card, but that character does not give a card back.
If a character has no cards in his/her hand when it their turn to choose to trade, that character cannot choose to trade with another character.
Move:
Each character may move his/her token card to a non-closed location or a closed location that has cards in its location deck. Moving triggers any effects that happen when he/she enter or leave a location. (If someone does not move, that character is not considered to have entered or left a location.)
If a character is at a closed location that has no cards to explore, that character -must- move to a non-closed location or a closed-location that has cards in its location deck.
Explore:
The characters -must- explore once each turn without playing a card that allows them to explore; this must be their first exploration for the turn. When the party explores, flip over the top card of each location deck that has a character. If a location has more than one character, flip over a card for each character.
The flipped cards are the encounter for the characters at that location and the encounter rounds begin.
*Round Order
Each character at each location chooses a different flipped-over card to encounter at that location. The party can decide with each other who will encounter which card if there is more than one character at a location.
All cards must be chosen, however each card may only have one character choose it. If there are not enough cards for each character, any character not encountering a card does nothing, but he/she can help other characters out as normal.
Even though all cards must be chosen, any boons chosen are ignored for the moment and the character that chose that boon does nothing, but he/she can help other characters out as normal.
Each character that chose a bane must deal with his/her encounter in order as normal, starting with the first player and going clockwise around the table.
If a non-Monster-type bane is undefeated or evaded, shuffle it back into the location.
If a Monster-type bane is evaded, shuffle it back into the location. If a Monster-type bane is undefeated, leave it face up and do another round, starting at choosing one flipped over card to encounter.
If a character would take damage and has no cards to discard, bury the top card of that character's deck instead.
After a round is over, if there are one or more Monster-type banes face-up at a location, the characters at that location can choose to flee. If the characters choose to do so, this encounter ends and all banes at that location are shuffled into the location while all boons at that location are banished. Then place one random monster from the box on top of that location deck.
After a round is over, if there are no Monster-type banes face up at a character's location, a boon at that location is automatically acquired by the character that chose to encounter it that round.
If an effect allows a location to be closed, that effect does not actually come into effect until the end of a round and there are no monster-type banes left face-up at that location.
If an effect causes a character to reset his/her hand and end his/her turn, all face-up cards are shuffled back into the location and all characters at that location must reset their hand and end their turn. This location and all characters at this location are ignored for the remainder of the turn. All characters at this location cannot help another character, are not counted when another exploration happens, and are ignored for any effects that apply to all characters. Characters at any other location continue their turn as normal.
*Further Exploration
Many effects allow the party to explore again, if an effect does not say 'you' in regards to exploring, then the entire party explores, regardless of which location each character is at (unless that location was affected by the reset and turn end effect); if, during a single exploration, multiple effects each give an additional exploration, it counts as a total of 1 more exploration, not a series of additional explorations.
If an effect specifically says 'you' may explore, then only the character under that effect flips over and encounters a card.
Close a Location:
If there are one or more characters at any location that has no cards remaining and has not been closed, at this time, the party gets one attempt to close each one of those locations. The party chooses one character at each such location and that character -may- attempt to close that location.
Reset Your Hand:
The following applies to each character:
First, apply any effects that happen at the end of the turn; if a power allows or directs you to not reset your hand, you must still apply any effects that happen at the end of the turn.
You may only play cards and use powers that can be used at the end of the turn and only if an effect did not direct you to reset your hand and end your turn.
After resolving these effects and choosing to not play any cards or use any abilities that can be used at this point, you may no longer play cards or use powers for the rest of the turn.
Next, you may discard any number of cards. Then, if you have more cards in your hand than your hand size specifies, you must discard until the number of cards in your hand matches your hand size. Finally, if you have fewer cards than your hand size, you must draw cards until the number of cards in your hand matches your hand size.
End Turn:
The party's turn ends and a new turn begins.
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The only changes to Encountering a Card and Attempting a check are as follows:
Take Damage, If Necessary. If you fail a check to defeat a monster, it deals an amount of damage to you equal to the difference between the difficulty to defeat the monster and your check result. Unless the card specifies otherwise, this damage is Combat damage. For example, if the difficulty to defeat a monster is 10 and the result of your check is 8, the monster deals 2 Combat damage to you (see Taking Damage, below). Remember that players may not play more than 1 of each card type during a check, so if you previously played a spell to affect the check, you may not play a spell to reduce damage.
*If a character receives one or more damage and has no cards to discard when the damage is dealt, that character buries the top card of his/her character's deck instead.
*If a character discards at least one card for damage, even if more than one damage was dealt, that character does not have to bury a card.
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The only other difference in the basic rules is when encountering the villain and with losing the scenario.
When you encounter the villain, you do not attempt to temporarily close any other locations.
Since the blessing deck no longer causes losing a scenario normally (since it is reshuffled when it runs out), the two following take effect:
If all characters die, then the players lose the scenario.
If a villain is undefeated and flees and there are not enough cards in the blessing deck and the blessing deck discard to shuffle in for each open location, then the players lose the scenario.
-- Additional Option, Resurrection
Because characters must explore the locations they are at and cannot remain as safe as they can in the normal rules, an additional variant is character resurrection.
After the scenario is over, win or lose, before rebuilding decks, each character, living or dead, shuffles his/her discard deck, character deck, and buried cards together.
Then, for each dead character, the party chooses to do one of the following:
*Banish a number of random cards equal to the total number of characters, alive or dead. The cards can come from any character's combined deck: one from each character, multiple cards from one character, or multiple from each character. In a 5-character game, that means 5 cards need to be banished to resurrect a character. They can all come from one character's deck, or each character could banish one card from their own deck, or one character could banish two cards and three other characters could banish one card, etc.
*Choose to let the character remain dead.
This looks kind of interesting.
But one thing came immediatly to my mind.
Explore: The characters -must- explore once each turn without playing a card that allows them to explore; this must be their first exploration for the turn.
How does this work with powers that let you do stuff instead of your first exploration, like Kyras healing power?
As you worded it, she couldn´t use it anymore.
This looks kind of interesting.
But one thing came immediatly to my mind.Explore: The characters -must- explore once each turn without playing a card that allows them to explore; this must be their first exploration for the turn.How does this work with powers that let you do stuff instead of your first exploration, like Kyras healing power?
As you worded it, she couldn't use it anymore.
Her power overwrites that rule as normal. Though I suppose it'd need clarification that if she's at a location with other characters during the explore, then they'd flip one less card for her since she's healing instead of helping to explore the room.
I'd say this applies to any character that has an 'instead of exploring, you may ...' ability or effect.
There are also other cards that need specific mention, such as Collapsed Ceiling. Collapsed Ceiling would always be face up and thus would always count as one of the flipped over cards, since it's always the top card.
Pretty much, the intent is that each character in the same location is exploring all at once, and then they decide who deals with what, instead of it being whoever flipped it encounters it.
So, if a character does something instead of exploring, then no card is flipped for them. However, the option to NOT explore is not available.
The thing I really like about this variant is the simultaneous exploring. I have kicked around something similar but not as worked out. What if you kept the turning over cards equal to the characters at that location but assigned them in turn order and then let players swap their encounters by say, recharging a card? Also, maybe pass the first player marker at the end of each turn.
If characters paid a penalty to reassign encounters, then you wouldn't have to double or triple the number of cards in a location and you could keep the blessings deck as a timer. As I write this, I think maybe I'm suggesting something rather different than your intent :) Maybe you want a long slugfest cuz with six players you'd have up to 240 cards to work through!