So, with the realisation that neither S&S nor the Class Decks were going to be appearing any time soon, I decided to sit down and create some custom characters for a Game of Thrones.
Ideally, I was looking to capture the flavour of the characters (tricky, as lots are fighters, and others would be too under-powered in combat. I also wanted groups that would plausibly be working together, and who would have a decent chance of tackling RotR.
some powers I've borrowed from existing characters, some are more original
Here's my first party of four, from a Dance with Dragons timeframe - Jon Snow, Melisandre, Stannis and Davos. I'd like to know people's thoughts.
Jon Snow – Male Ranger
Str - D10
Melee +2
Dex – D6
Cons – D6
Int – D4
Wis – D8
Survival +1
Cha – D8
Diplomacy +2
Weapon 4
Spell -
Armour 2
Item 4
Ally 3
Blessing 2
Hand Size 4 []5
Proficient with Weapon. Light Armours [] Heavy Armours
When you would discard an animal ally for its power, you may recharge it instead
You may reveal an animal ally to add D4 ([]+1) to a check made by another character at your location (limit 1 per check).
When you defeat a monster you may look at the top card ([] top 2 cards) of your location.
Melisandre – Female Cleric
Str – D6
Dex – D8
Stealth +2
Constitution – D4
Intelligence – D8
Knowledge +1
Craft +1
Wisdom D6
Perception +1
Charisma D12
Divine +2
Weapon 1
Spell 5
Armour -
Item 3
Ally 2
Blessing 4
Hand-Size 5 []6
When you would recharge a spell that has both the divine and attack traits, you may place it on top of your deck instead.
Succeed at a Stealth check of 6 ([] 4) plus the adventure deck number (if any) to add D8 to a check against a bane. ([]You may also add the fire and magic traits)
Add D6 ([]+1)([]+2) to checks with the fire trait.
Stannis – Male fighter
Str – D10
Melee +2
Dex – D4
Cons – D8
Fortitude +2
Int – D10
Wis – D6
Cha – D4
Weapon 5
Spell -
Armour 2
Item 2
Ally 3
Blessing 3
Hand Size 4 []5
Proficient with Weapons, Light Armours, Heavy Armours.
You may recharge a weapon ([] or armour) to add D4 ([]+1) to a combat check by another character.
If you fail a check to defeat a bane, after taking damage, you may attempt the check again.
When another character at your location acquires a boon, they may give it you instead.
Davos – Male Rogue
Str – D6
Dex – D10
Stealth +2
Disable +1
Cons – D6
Int – D4
Wis – D10
Survival +2
Cha – D6
Weapon 4
Spell -
Armour 1
Item 6
Ally 2
Blessing 2
Hand-size 6 [] 7
Proficient with Weapons [] Light armours
Instead of your first exploration of the turn, you may succeed at a stealth check of 8 plus double the number of the adventure deck (if any) to shuffle D6 ([]+1) ([]+2) random cards from a player’s discard pile back into their deck.
If you play an ally to add a dice to a check, you may increase the size of that dice by 1.
Okay, as with your last post, I'll go ahead and give my thoughts on the cards themselves (since I can't really help you with the GoT aspect):
Jon Snow:
You don't need to specify limit 1 per check in the description of his power, since that is implied in the power itself. (Also, keep an eye on that power, I can tell you from personal experience that you are treading a fine line with it, as its a very strong ability if used right)
Melisandre:
She has a skill total of 44 as well. I don't really have a recommended skill that would be better to drop, but I would recommend pushing something down slightly.
I'm not sure how that second power works in practice. It almost seems like it becomes harder for her to breathe fire as the adventure goes on (I suppose the adventure increase is to represent that it's harder to sneak up? I guess that works).
Stannis:
first of all, he only has 2 skills, one of which isn't that great, so you might be able to give him something else small.
I'm not sure I get his first power. He doesn't seem to be an archer (judging by his dex), but that power seems to be useable at any location. Is there a flavor reason for that? If not, I'd consider just altering it to match Valeros (RotR) first power.
Otherwise, I think he appears to work pretty well.
Davos:
I'll be honest, I don't like the first power. There are a few reasons. First, the fact that he can spend his first exploration and get absolutely nothing for it seems kinda rough, and I'm not sure it would be fun in-game. Second, increasing the check each adventure, especially by two, doesn't feel right to me. I may be off base, but this seems like something that has nothing to do with the world around him, and just seems like you're saying he is just worse at his healing ability as time goes on. Lastly, I'm not sure why you use a d6 here. d4+1 produces about the same numbers, but is more directly associated with healing. I think you can make an ability like this work, but I'm not sure this is it.
I don't think there's language in the game currently for increasing die size. While I understand what you're saying here, I'm not sure it's all that much better than just saying 'add 1 to the check'. Also, what do you do if an ally adds a d12?
Overall, I like a lot of what you did here. I hope this helps!
See other thread for apology on formatting (I've also posted those on BGG, where I'm still able to edit hours later).
With the adventure deck scaling on Melisandre and Davos's powers, I was trying to prevent it becoming a freebie by the time you reach a late adventure and have invested lots of skill feats. That said, as it's a flat D8 for Melisandre, which which will become less and less of a difference in percentage terms, I might take it out.
Davos I need to have more of a think about. The stealth check is based on him smuggling food into a besieged castle. I didn't want it to just be free healing, without any risk.
how about - "Once per turn, you may discard a card to shuffle D4 ([]+1)([]+2) cards into a player's deck from their discard pile. Succeed at a stealth 8 check to recharge the discarded card instead.
- no longer costs an explore, so removes the chance of a complete fail, but still retains a stealth-related element to make it better.
For the ally, I'll just add an extra "+1" instead of increasing the dice size - probably less messy all-round that way.
Stannis's recharge power was supposed to have a +2 option on it. It should be linked to his location, so maybe I'll remove the need to pay a card. To replace the missing feat, I'll add to the 'second attempt to defeat' power "and get +2 on your check to defeat this bane."
For Melisandre's skills, I'm not sure where would be best to make the cut - again, I think I'll need to give it some more thought.
Sounds good. I'd consider making Davos be bury baseline, with a stealth check to discard instead (since it doesn't have to be divine, this ensures it isn't just better than the cleric heals, but still good). Also, you probably want it to be 'at your location'.
Good work, and good luck with future drafts!