Ability Cards/Deck
After the huge success on KS campaign with multiple unlocked stretch goals, the game will have 12 Oathsworns. The game will always use four Oathsworns to form a party, called Free Company in this game. This gives over 400 potential combination of Free Company. Each Oathsworn are designed to be unique in its play style, which is implemented by combination of each Oathsworn’s specific ability cards/deck and supporting special ability. For each encounter, a full playable character must choose 7 ability cards to take to the battle. In the end, there will be 15 ability card for each class to choose from with exception of Huntress and Witche who have more cards to choose from. Now let’s take a close look at each of 12 Oathsworn’s and their ability cards that I could find online.
Avi Harbinger
Playing an Avi involves your ability to read the pattern of the encounter and intuit how things are about to play out. If your correct you will be rewarded by seeing your allies avoid danger. […] The Avi can even bend time but for the briefest moment and dart across the board to any hex he wishes for free once per encounter.
These bursts of speed and prescient alterations comes at a price though, the Avi is one of the lightest armoured members of the Free Company and will only be able to wear cloth armour. What can plate and chain offer you though when you are armoured in knowledge of the future?
Avi is one of three playable original creature in the world of Oathsworn. The theme for this character is supernatural power such as “seeing a future” and “bending time/world of physics”.
The paradigmatic ability card here is Fateweaver.
This card costs “0” and if you guessed incorrectly, it drops to Battle flow 1 position so it should be relatively easy to retrieve back to hand next turn or the very latest following turn with relatively minimum effort. At first it may appear statistically unfavorable guessing game if you were to choose between 1 and 6 randomly. But in reality, one should be able to guess far better than that. First, one would know enemy’s attack capability and your defense; hence, maximum health loss can be calculated and most of time it won’t be 5 or 6. Also, losing 1 or 2 health may not be your fear. These types of tactical decisions make this card more than just guess work .
Foreshadowing is another thematically fitting card. Looking opponent’s top deck and putting into bottom of the deck is a common mechanics in strategy card game, but it is indeed changing the future. Given there are only 15 ability cards for most playable characters, I am not sure if variant of this card will be an emphasis but based on strategy card game, I won’t be surprised if we see card like look top X cards and put them in any order. This is not just changing future, but defining the future of enemy.
Prophetic Fulfillment is a thematically fitting heal card for the Avi. This ability basically heals 1 health of a target player character but it takes a quite bit of setup. At first this card uses 3 Animus to tag a target and at this point you really haven’t done anything. In order to heal, you have to wait until this card to return back to your hand. At least its cool down value is 1 so without too much effort the card should come back into hand 1-2 turns. But in order to have this card do its heal, you have to use this again.
One thing to note here though is when you use it second time and after, it has healing of current tagged character plus tagging next character so more you use average of the card effect cost gets closer to 3 than from original 6 total cost for first effect. In strategy card games, when a card requires a bit of set up, and time before doing its effect are often bad card. We will see if Prophetic Fulfillment will make a cut for one of precious 7 slot on Avi player.
Quickening is a support card interacting with battle flow mechanics.
Not only a support character the Harbingers are also viciously fast and capable of deadly bursts of speed that can deal heavy damage to his enemies by blade, staff, talon and even at range with his own quill.
All four cards revealed here are supporting cards. So based on these and visual of Avi, Avi’s primary role is for sure a supporter. However, with a sentence above I wonder if there are enough cards to allow player to make Avi take Rogue-type role (high movement attacker with deflection of attack via utility of its movement or means other than relying on sheer defence).
Reference: KS Update #5
Blade
The Blade’s special ability is the Blade stances. A separate card that allows him to, once per turn, swap between stances and empower his abilities. Each stance has its place at the right time. When it comes to abilities, the Blade is a highly mobile killer. Often his abilities involve an element of movement and it is not uncommon to see a Blade slide into combat lunging at an enemy only to pivot away and charge through another. When the enemy tries to land a blow on the Blade, abilities like Master Parry, Mule’s Regard and Perfect Form see the blow caught, turned and even redirected back at the attacker.
As a Blade player, one must decide which stance to use at the beginning of each turn. The proper stance make each Ability card to show their full power.
If you are in viper stance, cross cut give you one additional attack.
Blade Call looks like an interesting card because this is the first card I am seeing to force enemy attack under your will. At first the obvious benefit of this is to take opponent’s dice as yours and boosting damage to opponents while reducing loss of your health, potential of this card I believe is synergy trigger of when opponent’s attack. Based on how the texts are written, I assume Perfect form can be used here.
Player needs total of 7 Animus to execute this synergy but with it, you can really take opponent’s attack back to them as additional attack. This is especially satisfying because with 3 additional defense and you get choose two dices/cards from opponent’s attack, you have pretty good control avoiding any damage inflicted on you.
If the game rule allows, how about using a card for defense, which costs no Animus. Defense card triggers battle flow so some may potentially use this to manipulate battle flow.
Cleaving Slide illustrates the thematic part of Blade’s mobile attack capability. Movement and attack are tied here.
Blade’s primary role will be a warrior.
Reference: KS Update #7
Cur
Each of the Cur’s deadly abilities may allow you to generate combo points that come in the form of a class-specific token that can be accumulated. When the Cur wishes, he may spend these tokens in a burst of lethality that can either super charge an ability or reduce its animus cost considerably. The more combo points that are spent, the larger the bonus available.
[…]
Positioning is also an important part of the Cur’s approach to combat with abilities like Backstab and Bloodthorn requiring precise positioning to pull off. If things ever get too dicey for the cowled Cur, he can meld back into the shadows and disappear from sight, the blood of his enemies being the only sign he was ever there.
Cur is a character who has built in intentional synergy via means of future ability cost reduction or boosting the effect of the ability. This is one of stretch goal added character and I could not find a sample ability card.
The Cur can put out an incredible amount of damage but is lightly armored. Therefore, he relies on his array of interrupts and Battleflow manipulations to make sure he is not caught flat-footed when the enemy attacks.
Interesting description here. He may be one character utilizes Battleflow system at its core mechanics. I see Battleflow system with interrupts as a potential design space of reactive play style in Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood. In strategy card game, play style are often classified into three primary archetypes: Aggro, Control and Combo. Combo in this classification refers to a play synergy that is so strong it is nearly essential Win condition if Combo can be achieved. I can not imagine Cur’s “Combo” referred here meets that criteria. So rather I hope/imagine his play style could be more of a control archetype in PvP card game. Cur is for sure Rogue role character.
Reference: KS Update #2
Exile
Visually, exile for sure will be a warrior class/role. While there are a few cards rotate cool down by 1, they are pretty much targeting a single card. Whereas, Exile’s Open Wound Special ability rotates all cards. Since it uses HP and I assume there aren’t too many if any option of healing on Exile, it is unlikely to be able to use this ability more than once, may be twice during an encounter, this can be quite strong ability when used at proper timing.
Although it does not cost anything for your character nor enemy to change their orientation in this game, a card like Leap Attack takes advantage of this potential game design space.
Headbutt looks like a simple intercept card for Exile. Also, most cards I have seen in this game usually use 3 Animus for standard attack so option of 2 animus for attack confirms his role as a warrior.
Reave appears a counter part of Cleaving Slide in Blade.
Weapon Throw looks an interesting card from game mechanics perspective. I’m curious if loss of weapon happens before or after the attack using this card. Because before means, I assume you lose all might dice for the attack.
Although it may to not be possible by design, if other character can pick it up, it can create potential synergy space. Especially because weapon’s effect in this game are one time use, Blade, for instance, may use his own weapon then Exile can throw his unused weapon, which Blade then picks it up and use its effect; hence, Blade ends up using two weapon’s effect during the encounter. Not sure if its a strong or even meaningful synergy but it just interesting.
Tree climb is thematically and mechanically interesting card. This is an ability exemplifying the interaction of characters with terrain element. This is design space, I certainly could not experience with conventional PvP strategy card game.
Reference: KS Update #8