Making a board game series has a lot of requirements. It needs to be accessible, easy to play, fun in combat, immersive, and free from cumbersome rules. In order to do that, we “assume” a few things to be true when you play in the Vrahode Game System. That way, you don’t get bogged down in tedious rules that take away from the fun.
Here are several assumptions we make on your behalf so you can get the most out of your Vrahode gaming experience!
What We Assume In The Vrahode Game System
#1: Never run out of arrows.
If you have a bow, we provide you with a quiver and assume that whenever you are walking along and have nothing to do, you refill the quiver. Similarly, if you just made camp and have a few minutes before drifting off to sleep, you craft a few arrows to refill that quiver. Running out of arrows, in our opinion, is tedious and takes away from the fun. Arrows are, in a practical sense infinite, (for your use only) if you possess a bow.
#2: Throwable weapons are recovered after battles.
If you throw a weapon (dagger, hand axe, spear), we assume that after the battle, you would take the time to recover thrown weapons. Unlike arrows, these are not infinite. Throw these and they are gone until recovered. They may be recovered before the end of battle following normal combat rules.
#3: There are no attacks of opportunity.
There are no attacks of opportunity in the Vrahode Game System. We assume that if you are running by an enemy, that you will guard yourself and if you are breaking away from them, you will back away and have a weapon up to defend against that sort of thing.
#4: We assume you prep for the environment.
If you have a torch and enter a dark place, we assume you have a free hand and the means to hold the light.
When you enter a cold region, we assume you automatically wear your fur cloak to avoid cold fatigue.
If you enter deserts or badlands and have a waterskin, we assume you will take a drink to avoid heat fatigue and that you will refill the waterskin when given the chance.
Lastly, if you have a rope and a cross a river, we assume you would have lashed your gear to prevent it from washing away during the crossing.
#5: We assume you have the ability to navigate rough terrain.
When moving, we assume that any hero can jump over one square of rough terrain (a square marked with a yellow dot, a rough terrain miniature, or a rough terrain token) without affecting your movement rate. After the first rough terrain square, however, the normal 2-space penalty must be paid to enter a rough terrain area.
Other Simple Assumptions
- Each of the races has traits that affect their movement and other factors of play. We assume that you will use those abilities to your advantage whenever possible or advantageous.
- We assume that racial enemies will use a racial ability, if applicable, on their first turn.
- We assume that enemies will attempt to use an Action, if applicable, each turn.
- We assume that enemies with no ranged attacks will close to melee range as quickly as possible.
- We assume that enemies with only ranged attacks will close to maximum range and attack.
- We assume that enemies with both ranged and melee attacks will move to a range that allows them to do the most damage.
- We assume that ranged attackers will target foes that are closest to them.
- We assume that racial enemies will attempt to target the Calteeryn first.
- We assume that enemies with certain behavior types will attempt to target the Calteeryn first.
We Assume Basic Facts To Streamline Gameplay & Maintain Immersion
As you can see, there are a lot of assumptions that go into making our game system flow and play quickly. We make all these assumptions to streamline gameplay, and especially combat, allowing you and your friends to feel like you are part of a story, not part of some behemoth of rules and restrictions.
We are preparing to playtest the system extensively both internally and externally and look forward to the many insights that will bring to the system. It is about richness over rules, fun over realism, story over complexity.
In other words, this is the system that I always wanted to play….so I created it! We can’t wait to share the results of our playtesting. We anticipate doing some polls in order to make sure it is a system that you dream of playing as well! – Jeff Irving