SpaceCowboy
11-02-2004, 06:23 AM
I still have many scenarios to play through, but of the ones I have played, they seemed pretty askewed towards the heroes winning. I'd like to start a discussion on the various scenarios and if you thought they were balanced, and if not, what could be done to balance them out.
My format will go as follows:
Scenario Number: Scenario Name
Number of Players I played the scenario with
Result
Balance In Favor of
Discussion/Suggestions
Scenario 11: Let Them In
Players: 5
Result: Heroes Win
Balanced in Favor of: Heroes
I played this one last night, and once again, the heroes had won before the traitor had made any headway into his objectives. The fact that the madman was my strongest character and I had no control over him until the specters were let in hurt a little.
Generally, I would say that many of the scenarios are hard to balance because it seems that there is a tipping point early in the haunt. If the traitor can kill one or two heroes immediately, then he has a huge advantage. Similarly, if the heroes possess the right items or happen to be near the right rooms, I've found it hasn't been too difficult for them to accomplish their objectives. The way the game progresses, the chances are much higher that one or more of the heroes will be well equipped enough to fend off the traitor. Also, in the games I've played, people tended to spread out across the house, making it difficult for the traitor to eliminate them all. All of these factors played a role in this scenario. The traitor was moderately equiped, but one hero had armor, another a gun, another an ax, and another an incredibly high sanity. The game did give me insight that if the traitor is to eliminate someone, it is often better to attempt to relieve them of their items than to simply go toe to toe with them.
For this scenario, I think the heroes objectives should change so that before the seance is complete, only the hero with the ring can kill specters. After the seance is complete, any specters outside vanish, all heroes can attack with sanity and can kill the specters, and their new goal is to remove all remaining specters, madmen, traitors in the house.
This gives the traitor a little more of a chance and adds a little suspense to the game as well.
I remember playing a few others, but I'm going to wait and get the right name and scenario number before posting my thoughts on them.
SpaceCowboy
My format will go as follows:
Scenario Number: Scenario Name
Number of Players I played the scenario with
Result
Balance In Favor of
Discussion/Suggestions
Scenario 11: Let Them In
Players: 5
Result: Heroes Win
Balanced in Favor of: Heroes
I played this one last night, and once again, the heroes had won before the traitor had made any headway into his objectives. The fact that the madman was my strongest character and I had no control over him until the specters were let in hurt a little.
Generally, I would say that many of the scenarios are hard to balance because it seems that there is a tipping point early in the haunt. If the traitor can kill one or two heroes immediately, then he has a huge advantage. Similarly, if the heroes possess the right items or happen to be near the right rooms, I've found it hasn't been too difficult for them to accomplish their objectives. The way the game progresses, the chances are much higher that one or more of the heroes will be well equipped enough to fend off the traitor. Also, in the games I've played, people tended to spread out across the house, making it difficult for the traitor to eliminate them all. All of these factors played a role in this scenario. The traitor was moderately equiped, but one hero had armor, another a gun, another an ax, and another an incredibly high sanity. The game did give me insight that if the traitor is to eliminate someone, it is often better to attempt to relieve them of their items than to simply go toe to toe with them.
For this scenario, I think the heroes objectives should change so that before the seance is complete, only the hero with the ring can kill specters. After the seance is complete, any specters outside vanish, all heroes can attack with sanity and can kill the specters, and their new goal is to remove all remaining specters, madmen, traitors in the house.
This gives the traitor a little more of a chance and adds a little suspense to the game as well.
I remember playing a few others, but I'm going to wait and get the right name and scenario number before posting my thoughts on them.
SpaceCowboy