- Players have to swarm wondering monsters with their own weaker units in order to gain access to stronger ones. Map design must support this by giving them sufficient space to accomplish this, and suitable terrain to compensate for the weakness of their units
- Wondering monsters are stronger when defending their dwellings than other map structures, and especially open terrain
- Higher-level units are superior to lower-level ones to the extent that lower-level ones become obsolete in the latter stages of the game
- Level 1 creatures are able to combine so as to remain useful in the latter stages of the game
- It is too difficult for level 3 units to damage level 4 ones, impossible on well-defended terrain. To compensate, I reduced the defence of level 4 units midway through the Scenario
- Restrictions on resource, and especially creature, availability are effective at preventing players from choking the battlefield with low-level units and making the gameplay tedious
- Gameplay has a distinct problem-solving quality that requires players to carefuly plan how they marshal their troops, and especially what strategic objectives to pursue
- Calculations in the game are simple enough not to require the use of a calculator
- There should be a way for factions to make use of everything (creatures, spells, artefacts, resources) they come across on the map, in one way or another. Not having this opportunity causes players to disregard some parts of the map, which impoverishes the game
- Magic can be used very effectively by subtly enhancing units; it doesn't have to produce fireworks to turn the tide of the game
- Roads are not needed; unit movement is swift enough without them
- Calculating resource income for each player sequentially puts the subsequent players at a significant disadvantage; it should be calculated simultaneously at the beginning of each week, before the first player gets a chance to move
- I prefer quadrant-based map exploration to individual tile exploration from the first scenario. There are fewer nasty surprises, and it's easier to implement in the tabletop setting
The initial setup:
The end of week 1. Dwarves have an edge thanks to their versatile Axemen. Humans are desperate to get their hands on Elephants to turn the game around:
The end of week 2. Humans have a clear advantage thanks to their War Elephants. Dwarves are struggling to make headway against level 3 wandering monsters. They have to capture the Roc dwelling to stand a chance, but the map layout is conspiring against them:
The end of week 3. Humans are preparing to launch a major attack thanks to their Genies' ability to make other units fly. Dwarves haven't done enough to close the gap.
The end of the game. Dwarves have too few units left to continue resisting:
Where to next? I'm thinking of trying this out in the next scenario:
- A more open map design
- War machine construction (workshops)
- Zones of influence around towns and dwellings where friendly troops receive bonuses
- Rigorously define unit and player behaviour when visiting map structures
- More extensive use of magic
- Simultaneous turns for resource income and creature growth at the beginning of each week