Modular construction

For most of the game's development the setting has been the quest for the holy grail, but we always thought of this as one scenario among (possibly) many.  For the last year or so I've wondered whether the game strictly needed different scenarios, or whether it couldn't just be thought of as a generic standalone game that encompasses all films in this genre.


I still mostly think this; at least I think we may not gain much by changing the basic layout and logic of the temple, and of the theme cards, from scenario to scenario.  It doesn't matter whether it's "Liesl von Osterreich" who gives info about the true grail or "Mathilda Cottonwood" who gives info about the headpiece location.  These are all just chrome.  For the temple, changing the structure too much might result in a whole lot of rules to support variation without necessarily making the game more interesting to play.


I do still think we could have different map boards and different encounter cards and such for some fun variety, but I don't think these are strictly necessary either.


However, that's not to say we couldn't add just a bit of variety to the temple.  Take it as a given that the temple includes five peril cards, two red (the approach to the temple) and three purple (inside the temple).  Take it as a given that the temple will always feature one big knowledge check: the true grail, the staff length, the idol's weight, whatever.


Within this framework, we can shake things up just a bit.  For example, we can add a "gate" or two, as described in the previous post, which presents a knowledge check or a test of some sort.  Which stones are safe to step on, which key opens the big door, which chords must you play on the instrument to reveal the hidden passage, etc.  These are similar to the 'big knowledge check' but maybe the stakes are lower -- a minor bonus for passing, as opposed to a steep penalty for NOT passing.


And, it's fairly straightforward to vary where in the temple these knowledge checks occur.  The grail room comes at the end, the map room (staff length) comes between the red and purple perils, the idol room is after the purple perils but you must then go BACK through the purple perils, and so on.  And correspondingly the gates can be placed in a couple of different spots in similar fashion.


As a result you can create temples that feel slightly different.  They aren't a ton different from a mechanical or strategic standpoint, but they change things up just a bit to offer some variety from game to game.


There are two challenges to implementing this vision.


The first is the player notepad.  If we want a single notepad that can be used in any scenario (I think we do), how do we capture all of this variety?  I think something like, have a separate area for each module on the sheet, and during setup just physically scribble out on your sheet the modules you're not using, or something like that.


The second is, how do you instruct the players how they ought to set up the game, i.e. how to select modules and where to put them?  Is it done randomly, or are there a couple of prescribed setups, or do players get to choose, or what?  Probably there must be at least one "default" setup for first time players, but allowing for modularity without leaving players feeling overwhelmed by the options may be challenging.