Boss Spotlight- Spawn of Fenris

Child of Loki, send forth your sons;

ripping, gnashing, biting, tearing!

Feral as the day they were born,

enemy to all that they scorn.

Blacken the sun with your numbers,

and paint with crimson gore;

Ragnarok comes early--

be gone, run on, begone!

Spawn of Fenris, bold and bluff;

fearless, dauntless, heedless, boundless!

Running over frozen grounds,

thunder pales ‘gainst hordes of hounds!

Swift moving are their massive paws,

their speed cannot be yoked.

Powerful are their massive jaws,

by battle rage provoked.

Run swift!  Bite hard!

The Spawn of Fenris is the boss that can be seen in the Blighted Mire. It resides inside the forgotten waterfall and will reveal itself multiple turns after the Bog Slave. This corrupted canine should not be taken lightly. In fact, you should probably kill it as soon as it reveals itself. The Spawn of Fenris will take down your weakest minions first. Its passive ability, Consume, allows the wolf to gain an additional attack and defense dice and if you cut its health to 25%, it will gain another defense dice. After four consumption's, the Spawn of Fenris will go directly to your homunculus so I hope you have a lot of body defense dice.  You should also be wary of its Ghost Step passive.  The Spawn of Fenris can pass through any occupied tiles and if it has less than 25% health it will even deal one damage to anything in its path.

As the name implies, this boss is the child of the giant wolf, Fenris, of Norse mythology. Fenris was feared for because of its size and strength which worried the gods. Fenris was eventually tricked into wearing an unbreakable chain around its neck rendering him from causing harm.  On the day of Raganarok, Fenris will break the magic chain and seek revenge on Odin and battle the gods.

The Spawn of Fenris is more feral than his father. It has the instincts of a wolf but is smarter making it a deadly adversary.  If you hope to conquer the afterlife one day, you will have to get past the Spawn of Fenris.

The Redesign of the Blighted Mire

Back in March, I mentioned we were redesigning the Blighted Mire to better suit our game's new design and mechanics. I'm proud to announce that we have come up with a new design that we have become quite happy with and will be implemented into the game soon.

Before I move onto the redesign, let's take a look at the old map and discuss why we needed a change.



As you can see, the X's are the player start locations which appear directly across from each other. As you approach the middle of the map, the bosses get stronger and you can eventually meet up with the opposing player. There are many reasons why this is bad but my biggest issue with it is its predictability. The map literally funnels you into the middle and there is no other way to go but left or right. The essential strategy is to take out all of your wondering monsters that are close to you and the Bog Slave. The only unpredictable factor is whether or not you will fight the Spawn of Fenris or ignore it since the enemy homunculus is next to you. The next issue is with Victory Points. The very nature of this map makes it so that players will have the same amount of victory points until the very end of the match when one homunculus dies. It only makes sense to claim as many victory points as you can before you meet the opposing player. There are other issues that the map has but I'm not going to go into that.

Now let's look at the two map ideas we had. (I hope you can excuse the poor quality pictures!)

1)

2)

Our level designer, Anthony Shine, created two maps in which we would paper prototype and decide which map was most fun. It didn't take us long to choose map number two for one obvious reason. Map number one is extremely small and even though the Blighted Mire is meant to be small, it is simple to get the board very crowded. We didn't even have to play a two vs two or three vs three to know that the board would get congested with minions and ambushes. Board number two  is large enough to give players enough room to move and place units without feeling too crowded. Another issue with map one was the distance of the Spawn of Fenris. For one vs one matches, it doesn't make much sense to go after the boss because of how far it is relative to the opposing player.

If you can see the numbers near the top of number two, that is where players spawn in the beginning. This map gives players more options when it comes to victory points and overall, winning the match. Players are almost equidistant between the first boss and the opposing player. This means aggressive players can go after the opposing homunculus right away or play defensively and build up units and dice by going after bosses. It is also easier for players to steal wandering monster victory points because of the distance between players.

I hope you like the redesign when it becomes available to all our alpha players! Remember to join our Facebook Alpha Community if you have or need a key! Every Saturday night at 8:00pm CST we hold a play night with developers so if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask us!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/652653378128073/

The Inclusion of Victory Points

Visions of Zosimos is clearly a rare breed of video game.  It is the first true MMO CCG and board game. It is also one of the few games that is both a tactics and strategy video game. Tactics, dealing with the how a battle should be fought within a given board and how many minions and wandering monsters they must face.

Strategy, planning out your strategy to achieve certain goals is more long term planning than tactics. With the inclusion of Victory Points, Visions of Zosimos will have a whole new layer of strategy that we haven’t had in the game. Victory Points will ultimately determine the winner of each battle. Victory Points will change depending on the map making players rethink their strategies as well as their tactics. Killing the enemy homunculus is still the main goal but may not always claim victory. With the Victory Point system, players will earn points for defeating wandering monsters. The strength of the monster will determine the amount of points you will earn with the homunculus always being the most. In addition to this, games will have bonus objectives like conquering a boss’ territory after defeating it or collecting objectives on the board itself, such as bits of lore or relics that could be fought over. Be careful with enemy territories though, because bosses may re-spawn! Another thing to keep in mind is that objectives are long term and the points are gained at the end of battle. Victory points are currently under testing, both the points above and other objectives like achieving first blood from killing a minion.

Victory Points allow players to shape decks based around earning certain Victory Points. We also believe that they will create a sense of randomness so games are always new and exciting. Victory Points also create new strategies for team battles. For example, a three vs three match could mean one player goes for collecting lore pieces while the other two go after wandering monsters and lore pieces. Some teams may even try to end the game as soon as possible and go straight for the enemy homunculi.

Special Announcement for those who wish to join us!

For those who are trying to log in to old clients or players who wish to become part of our Open Alpha. The client that is downloaded is out of date due to a recent engine upgrade. It is in the process of being fixed. In the meantime, you may use a generic player client available for download here:

http://www.adrive.com/public/AQ5mFY/VozInstallFiles.zip

Inside are two files. First, run LnchInst.exe to install the Launcher. Then double-click the heal file to begin the client installation. After you login you will need to choose a world (there should only be one choice). Enter the world called "Forever Interactive Beta". The client will likely need to stream the art assets which can take a while. So please bear with us; once you are able to get into a game with that client, future loads will not take nearly as long.

We will keep you posted when there is a new official player client available.

Ability Glossary

Think of this post as an extension of last weeks post featuring our Quick Start Tutorial. This week, we have decided to share with you our ability glossary that details all of the special abilities our cards will have.  Like our tutorial, we are working on adding the ability glossary to Visions of Zosimos to allow players to quickly remind themselves of the abilities we have created.

This ability glossary contains the Light Earth, Dark Fire and neutral abilities. As an added bonus, we have included the Void abilities as well to tease you in anticipation for our upcoming Beta!

X = number on the card

X(Y) = Damage(Turns)

Regenerate X

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  Passive healing: for as long as the effect lasts, this creature gains X Life Points at the start of each subsequent turn of it’s owner.


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  The ability that uses this may or may not allow the gain to exceed the original total.

Mend X

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  Active healing: the target creature gains X Life Points.


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  The ability that uses this may or may not allow the gain to exceed the original total.

EARTH-------------

Momentum

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  Gain bonus attack dice: upon casting Earth spells or enchantments, this creature gains a 1A bonus. Bonus dice are lost once used, and are used first before normal dice.


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  This ability and corresponding bonus dice are removed if creature gains Hulking.

Hulking

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  Gain bonus defense dice: upon casting Earth spells or enchantments, this creature gains a 1D bonus. Bonus dice are lost once used, and are used first before normal dice.


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  This ability and corresponding bonus dice are removed if creature gains Momentum.

Shelter X

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  Physical damage resilience: reduce any incoming Physical (done with Body dice) Life damage by X.

Camaraderie

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  Strength in numbers: For a number n creatures you control on the board which have Camaraderie, each will have an extra (n-1)A/(n-1)D dice.  These are normal dice not bonus dice, but they are gained or lost accordingly as Camarades are added or removed from the board to always match to total number of Camarades.


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  Ex:
  
  
  
  
  
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    1 Camarade on board → 0 extra dice.
  
  
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    2 Camarade on board → extra 1A/1D dice for both.
  
  
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    3 Camarade on board → extra 2A/2D dice for all.
  
  
  • 
    
    ...

Vision X

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  Reveals hidden ambush cards within X tiles of the user.

FIRE-------------

Burn X(Y)- Permanent Life damage over time: At start of each of the target's next Y turns, the target takes X damage.  Sometimes passive, where upon dealing damage it inflicts Burn on the target.

Scorch X(Y)- Temporary Dice damage immediately: The target takes an immediate -X penalty to Attack and Defense pools. This effect lasts for Y turns, at the end of which the amount of damage that was actually done by Scorch (which could be less than X) gets restored. Homunculi take this penalty equally to all pools.  Sometimes passive, where upon dealing damage it inflicts Scorch on the target.

Strike X- Lowers opponents’s defenses: When a creature with this attacks, up to X successful defense rolls of the defender are disregarded.

Raze- Destroys terrain.  Creatures can use this actively to destroy the terrain they stand on, or it may be used on the target of a spell, enchantment, or ambush.

Maim X- Increases attacking power: Gains an additional X dice for attacking from behind, in addition to the normal bonus of Back-Stab.

VOID-------------

Consume X- Passive Minion, Unit gains XA and XD each time it defeats an enemy unit in combat.  Not a new ability; similar planned for Spawn of Fenris

Decay- Passive Minion, unit loses 1A and 1D per round (minimum 0A or 0D), duration infinite.

Degenerate- Afflicted unit takes 1 damage at the beginning of its Draw Phase every round, duration infinite.

Plague X- Passive Minion, upon unit's death each unit in radius 1 takes X damage.

Contaminate X- Passive Minion, upon unit's death each unit in radius 1 loses XA and XD, permanently.

Your Quick Start Tutorial

First off, myself and all of Forever Interactive would like to apologize for some recent difficulties when trying to log into Visions of Zosimos. The current client is currently getting an engine upgrade and causing some unexpected issues. It is in the process of being fixed. In the meantime, you may use a generic player client available for download here:

http://www.adrive.com/public/AQ5mFY/VozInstallFiles.zip

Inside are two files. First, run LnchInst.exe to install the Launcher. Then double-click the heal file to begin the client installation. After you login you will need to choose a world (Only be one choice currently available). Enter the world called "Forever Interactive Beta". The client will likely need to stream the art assets which can take a bit.

We will keep you posted when there is a new official player client available through the Forever interactive website and social media.

Second, I would like to thank those who stopped by our booth at the Midwest Gaming Classic and played the most recent build of Visions of Zosimos. I have created a quick start guide for new players designed to help with the basic information on playing Visions of Zosimos. Current and past players can also benefit from the guide as well.

VoZ In Engine Quick Start Guide

Basic Info:

Each player takes their turn and then followed by the computer. The game will end when the Win/Loss scenario is met.

Basic Card info:

Some cards will specify special abilities on the card, but here is a list of the most common card abilities:

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  HP: Health points

  
  
  
  
  
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    The amount of damage a card can take before dying.

    
    
  
  
  
  


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  A: Attack Dice

  
  
  
  
  
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    The amount of dice that a card can use while attacking.

    
    
  
  
  
  


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  D: Defense Dice

  
  
  
  
  
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    The amount of dice that a card can use while defending.

    
    
  
  
  
  


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  M: Movement

  
  
  
  
  
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    The number of hexes a unit can move during their Move Phase.

    
    
  
  
  
  


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  R: Range

  
  
  
  
  
  • 
    

    How far away a unit can attack. If unwritten the range is 1.

    
    
  
  
  
  

Pool Information:

Body: Used to cast Physical Cards. Primarily Minion cards

Mind: Used to cast Magical Cards. Primarily Spell cards.

Soul: Used to cast Astral Cards. Consists of Ambush and Enchants.

Using Elemental Dice:

Elemental dice can be used to play cards, add movement per dice, and add additional attacks or defense. These are given to players when a terrain resource card is used. The dice refresh on your upkeep phase.

Win/Loss Scenario:

• 
  

  To win the game, you must defeat the enemy homunculus as well as the bosses.

  
  


• 
  

  You lose if your homunculus dies.

  
  


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  You do not lose if you run out of cards in your deck.

  
  

Order of Play:

Player 1 Turn:

1)  Upkeep-

This does not happen on your first turn of the game, but in all subsequent turns any inactive dice now become active.

 

2)  Draw Phase-

On their first turn, players can draw their full hand of six cards. On any other turn, players can draw up to 6 cards by clicking on their deck. Cards may be discarded to do so by right clicking on the card and pressing discard. Only 6 cards may be in the player’s hand at any time. Click on the Transfer phase button to end your turn.

 

3) Transfer Phase-

The player can transfer up to three dice from any Essence Pool (Body, Mind, Soul) from Attack to Defense or Defense to Attack within the same pool. You can do this by clicking on the little arrows above your dice pools. These dice remain active. Click on the Move phase button to end your turn.

 

4) Move Phase-

The homunculus can move up to four hexes and minions can move(M) the amount written on the card. You can do this by right clicking on the card you want to move and the hex you want to move your card. You may use one movement in order to switch the facing of your Homunculus or your minion. You do this by right clicking on your Homunculus or your minion once and then clicking on the adjacent tile you want to face. Click on the Play Phase to go to your next turn.

 

5)  Play Phase-

During the play phase, players can play any card as long as they have enough active dice the card requires. Player’s may play one Terrain Tile per turn. For each terrain Tile that a player has they have an equal amount of Elemental Dice. Once a card is played, move the dice used to the inactive pool on the opposite side. You do this by right clicking on the card in your hand and then right clicking on the tile you want to activate or place the card on.  Click Battle to initiate battle.

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  Spell cards have unlimited range.

  
  


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  Ambush cards can be placed 3 hex tiles from your homunculus.

  
  


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  Minions must be directly adjacent to the homunculus.

  
  


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  Terrain Tiles have unlimited range.

  
  

 

6a)  Attack-

Minions and the homunculus can attack as long as they are within range(R). Minions can attack using their Attack(A) dice and their targets may defend using Defense dice(D). All rolls of 4 or greater are successful. A higher number of successful attacks than defenses must be rolled in order to deal damage. To initiate an attack, right click on your minion or Homunculus and then you can choose the amount of dice to attack with by clicking the arrows as well as the pool type when attacking with the Homunculus. Clicking on the sword icon will initiate the attack.

 

Homunculi must defend against enemy minion attacks using their body pools. After attacking or defending that minion may not use those dice again until their next turn.

 

The homunculus can attack with any pool. The opposing homunculus must defend against that dice pool with the same pool. Minions can use their dice to defend from attacks regardless of the pool used to attack with. Any dice used to attack become inactive defense dice within that pool. Used defence dice go to the inactive attack pool. This dice shift only affects the homunculus.

 

You are allowed two additional attack dice if you manage to position your Homunculus or minion behind the target. The targeted monster will not be allowed to counterattack you either if it is not facing towards you. You then press the Battle phase button to end your turn.

 

6b) Defense-

While Defending from enemy attacks, you may defend with defense dice to negate damage or Counter attack which also uses defense dice but has a chance to deal damage and still take damage. Damage is dealt simultaneously.

 

If the enemy is attacking from behind, you may not counter attack.

 

You may also defend against spell cards.  The Homunculus must use the defense dice that corresponds with the Spell card while the minion will just use its defense dice. You can defend against spell cards and attacks by clicking on the shield icon.  You can counter attack by using the sword icon.

Player 2 Turn:

Player 2 now takes their turn, following all of the steps outlined above.

AI Turn:

After each player has had one turn any NPC units, including bosses and wandering monsters take their turn.

 

After defeating a wandering monster, you may place one dice into one of your pools (Body, Mind or Soul).

 

After defeating a Boss or a wandering monster, you may put a selected amount of dice into one of your pools (Body, Mind or Soul), and also shuffle your discard pile into your deck.

Homunculus Lab

 

By clicking on the “Lab” button, you can enter the Homunculus lab and edit your Homunculus using essences and creation points. The Store will be coming soon!

Elemental Essence #1

This is the physical form of your Homunculus. It also determines the size of your Body Pool, allowing you to summon more Minions.

 

Ego Essence #2

The deciding factor in your Homunculus’ posture and motions. It also determines the size of your Soul Pool, letting you place more Ambushes and Enchantment cards.

 

Alchemist Essence #3

The Alchemist determines the size of your Body Mind, giving you the ability to cast more Spells.

 

Creation Points #4

The number of points remaining to create your Homunculus. Each Essence Tier costs a different amount of creation points.

 

Create Homunculus #5

Click here to make a new Homunculus. If it says “Go to Store,” you have used up all of your starting allotment and will need to either delete one or buy more at the store before you can create a new Homunculus.

 

Select Homunculus #6

Click here to view your Homunculus.

 

Homunculus Properties #7

A description of your current Essence.

 

Homunculus Name # 8

The name of your Homunculus.

 

Deck Builder

You can enter your deck editor by clicking on the “Deck” button.

 

By clicking on the Create New Deck button, you can start the creation of your new deck. The left page will show the cards you can put into your deck and the right page indicates the cards in your deck already. Using the filters and typing in the title of the card make deck creation easy.  You can only have four of one card except for terrain cards and exceptional cards like the Paladin and Eldjotnar.

 

Minion Spotlight- Paladin

Think of this post as an extension to the previous blog highlighting the epic minion, Eldjötnar.  This week, we are going to discuss the Light Earth decks epic minion, the Paladin. As expected, the Paladin is the strongest card in the Light Earth deck and where Eldjötnar is clearly a brute and designed to kill fast. The Paladin is a tank and takes a fair amount of strategy to make him a force to be reckoned with.

The Paladin cost six defense dice to play and only has three attack and defense dice. The reason his cost is so high is because of his high amount of life points.  This Epic minion has eight life points and has the abilities Regenerate 1 and Camaraderie. Building up your team with Sentry's is the way to go with the Light Earth Deck because getting enough minions with Camaraderie out on the board with the Paladin will make your team nearly indestructible.  Building your team wrong, however, will lead to a quick end to your Paladin.

For those familiar with table top and other RPG’s, we know that the Paladin has been known as the "Holy Warrior" and tend to be rather tanky and strong. According to the literary cycle the Matter of France, paladins were warriors of Charlemagne's court.  They were also known as Twelve Peers represented by Christian valor. Our Paladin is a mixture of both ideas as they serve the realm of Light. They are honorable and serve the commanding Alchemist and their Homunculus.

Thanks for reading the latest post! Check out the improvements in the next alpha update and be sure to send your feedback. We are listening and fully support early customer engagement!

Just a reminder that we will be at the Midwest Gaming Classic this weekend April 12th and the 13th! For more Information on the Midwest Gaming Classic, check out the link here:

https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/

Minion Spotlight- Eldjötnar

When designing minion cards, we make sure all are balanced based on their rarity, costs, health and countless prototyping sessions. The goal is to make sure each card has a purpose and is not too powerful or too weak. Currently In our Dark Fire minion list, Fire Imp is one of the weakest minions and Eldjötnar is the strongest.

Eldjötnar is so strong, that we made him one of the rarest cards; the level of Epic. He has five life points, six attack and three defense. Not only is it going to hurt when he hits you, but you will suffer from his passive ability Burn 2/2 (two points of damage for two turns).  Eldjötnar will cost you eight attack dice to play and you can only play one at a time, unlike other minions.

The Eldjötnar is based off of the Norse Mythology creatures known as the jötunn, which roughly translates to giants. The eldjötnar are a specific class of jötunn ruled by Surtr, the black one.  They are known as the fire jötunn and their role in Ragnarok is to kill the gods, bringing fire and destruction to the world. It is said they live in Muspelheim, the realm of fire, which is one of nine worlds. The lore of this mythical beast makes it a perfect minion for the Dark Fire deck. It’s destiny is to destroy the world and It's sheer size is intimidating to other players.

Thanks for reading the latest post! Check out the improvements in the next alpha update and be sure to send your feedback. We are listening and fully support early customer engagement!

Just a reminder that we will be at the Midwest Gaming Classic April 12th and the 13th! For more Information on the Midwest Gaming Classic, check out the link here:

https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/

 

Creating Boards in Visions of Zosimos

Inside look at the Brighted Mire and Onyx Slick Maps

As mentioned in the previous post, being able to test our boards on paper was one of the best perks of working on a game like Visions of Zosimos. However, before anything is tested, we need to design the boards that players move around on. There are many factors that go into creating a board, but let’s go over some of the key components. The first factor is whether it is a PvP (Player Vs. Player) or PvPvE (Player Vs. Player Vs. Enemy). This determines the amount of hexes each map will contain. A PvP is meant to be small enough for players to engage quickly, but large enough to build their arsenal of physical, magical, astral and terrain tiles. On the other hand, PvPvE maps primarily depend on the amount of bosses and monsters that will need to be placed.

Our Blighted Mire map is currently undergoing a redesign based on player feedback. The goal is to create environments that our consumers want to play and feel they have greatly influenced. We have decided to make the Blighted Mire smaller so that players can engage the bosses and opposing players at a much faster rate. These adjustments have tremendously sped up the momentum of games on this map. It currently has a total of two bosses and six wandering monsters. Players will truly appreciate the adjustments we have made since early alpha and advise you to experience it for yourself. Another major focus has been on landmarks for boss spawns and making sure that they are unique to this specific map. We will continue to test and improve the Blighted Mire, along with all maps, through prototyping on paper and using our unique board creation tool created by Forever Interactive’s Programmers.

Our Onyx Slick is one of the most recently designed maps. We are very pleased with the production thus. This map is much larger than the Blighted Mire and has multiple choke points covering the left and right sides of the board. The bosses are designed around the map, opposed to the Blighted Mire, where the map is designed around the bosses. It is evident as you play because the Fallen Celestial patrols most of the top region of the map and Grendel patrols the bog. The Void Spider stays at the bottom of the map where players fear to go, but with the right incentive, you may take the risk.

Thanks for reading the latest post! Check out the improvements in the next alpha update and be sure to send your feedback. We are listening and fully support early customer engagement!

For more Information on the Midwest Gaming Classic, check out the link here:

https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/

The Prodigious Process of Paper Prototyping

As a designer, one of the greatest advantages of working on Visions of Zosimos is being able to test the game before any of the assets have been made. For most video games, paper prototyping can be a rather tedious process and rapid prototyping in-engine may be the only way to properly test the mechanics in your game.  Because Visions of Zosimos is essentially a board game and a card game, designers can easily recreate, what would be in engine, on paper.

Don't get me wrong, setting up these sessions suck.  Redrawing our maps and making cards from hand takes up a lot of time. However, it takes less time to write stats on a piece of paper than code them in engine.  It is also easier to take models from preexisting games or making paper tokens than making 3D models and animations. Being able to test new card abilities, bosses and map types is quick and fun.  Being able to balance out cards is incredibly easy with paper prototyping.

The design team has adopted this technique relatively recently and we have seen vast improvements and efficiency in production.  We have been testing out a new map, bosses and our newest Void deck against our cards we have made previously. We have also been able to test our in-engine map, the Blighted Mire, with these new cards and improved boss mechanics making it easy to make changes on the fly.  Once we have balanced and decided what works best, we can have programmers make the cards work without all of the frustration of making them redo them.

Paper prototyping has also allowed us to take our game on the go and get local gamers to test our game. This process allows us to get feedback right away for our card mechanics and make changes us designers may not have thought of. After all, the player is always right!

Designing Boss Mechanics

Back in 2012, we discussed the process of creating lore for our big boss, Grendel. The lore behind the boss as well as its physical appearance has helped our mechanics designers create unique and interesting boss battles. Once we know who the boss is and what they might look like, designers can decide where the boss may be placed on the map and how they react to decisions players will make and how they prioritize their decisions. At this point, we can also decide what special abilities our bosses have and how they react offensively and defensively.

One of the easiest examples of creating mechanics based off physical appearance comes from our Fallen Celestial. The Fallen Celestial can use its wings to fly over occupied tiles due to player minions or even wandering monsters. We made this decision because we made the Fallen Celestial prioritize the player Homunculus if it is within attack range. Otherwise, the Fallen Celestial will attack the strongest minion closest to it.  The wings make it possible for our boss to prioritize targets with ease.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="346"] Early Fallen Celestial Concept Art[/caption]

The Void Spider is another boss that we based its special abilities on appearance.  However, we also used the environment to enhance its mechanics making it one of our most unique boss encounters. The idea of the Void Spider was all about striking fear into our players.  Within its lair lies ambush tiles randomly placed triggering webs that halt minion and Homunculus movement. Once caught, the Void Spider will spawn and attack its captured prey. Around the time of creating the Void Spider, we also created the back attack mechanic. Due to the size and appearance, we made it so you can not back attack it and the Void Spider will always counter attack.

As fun as designing out the big baddies are, it tends to be a lot of work.  Once you have the basic mechanics down and paper prototyped, it needs to be detailed out extensively for our programmers. The game engine needs to know every little detail for the boss to works which programmers relay to the game engine. The only way programmers know this is through the designers documentation which needs to be thoroughly detailed.

Remember to join our Facebook Alpha Community if you have or need a key! Every Saturday nights at 8:00pm CST we hold a play night with developers so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask us!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/652653378128073/

Meet the Void!

You’ve seen our Light Earth realm and Dark Fire realm but you have not seen anything like this yet.  Our latest realm in the works is going to play much differently than our last two decks.  This realm is the Void!

The Void deck has been designed to make the opponent's life very difficult and keep them second guessing the way the use their turns.  The Void deck has a great early game and will attempt to keep the opponent from getting to their late game.  Magical cards like the Plague of Locusts will destroy terrain tiles removing elemental dice and Achilles’ Heel will reduce the opponent's homunculus movement by two for three movement phases.  Our Astral card, Blighted Landscape, will disable a terrain card's elemental dice for two turns and our Infestation Ambush card deals damage to all adjacent tiles.  The Void minions will have new abilities like Consume, which gives players a stat boost upon killing a wandering monster or minion. As you can see from our featured image, the Enchantress minion is one of our less horrific creations.

As I mentioned before, our Void deck has a great early game mainly because the cost of playing strong cards is less than other decks and the Void homunculus has more dice and health than other same tier homunculus.  So what’s the catch?

The Void deck is all about destruction and not about creation.  Thus, the Void deck has no terrain cards meaning they have no elemental dice.  This has been our biggest obstacle and after many prototyping sessions, we believe we have hit a sweet spot in balancing this out.

Onto an unrelated note, the dev team will be hosting a dev play session every Saturday at 8:00pm CST to mingle with all of you Alpha play testers!

Crafting a Champion

For most, the Afterlife is a one way trip; once you set foot there, you can never return. This is true of all living things, but clever Alchemists have found a way to exert their control without the hassle of death. Zosimos himself was the first to learn how to craft a homunculus, but he is most certainly not the last. As creatures neither living nor dead, homunculi are able to carry out any commands given to them. This makes them invaluable tools in the struggle to claim the Afterlife.

A homunculus is formed of three core Essences: Alchemist, Ego, and Elemental. Once each of these components has been chosen, they are combined in a mold to create the fully functional homunculus. These molds can grant a variety of shapes, but most often resemble humans for the versatility such a form grants.
[caption id="attachment_180" align="alignnone" width="1280"] First given to Zosimos of Panopolis, the art of homunculus creation has been passed down ever since.[/caption]
Elemental Essences form the core body material of a homunculus, and serve as the medium to which the other two Essences are bound; as such they primarily grant Body Dice. Most homunculi are formed of elemental matter, and it is these Essences that new students first learn to wield. It is rumored that Zosimos could use Elemental Essences formed of more than one element or even the essence of an entire Realm, but this knowledge has since been forgotten.

Alchemist Essences are required to grant sufficient intelligence to a homunculus to perform complex tasks, thus being the largest source of Mind Dice. They are imprints of the minds of great Alchemists past[link to Albertus Magnus post], which grants the homunculus the necessary knowledge to summon Minions, create Ambushes, and cast Spells- all necessary skills in the struggle for the Afterlife.
[caption id="attachment_182" align="alignnone" width="1365"] With an Alchemy Lab, it is a simple task to assemble whatever type of homunculus you require.[/caption]
Ego Essences bind the other two together, and grant the power needed for the homunculus to cast Spells and exert control over their Minions. Being the binding energy, they also provide Soul Dice. They are formed by channeling specific aspects of the souls of powerful individuals throughout history. They can even grant homunculi the semblance of a personality, but it is important to note that these Essences are mere echoes, and not true sentience. Depending on which aspect is being used, the effects on the homunculus can change dramatically, even when using the same soul’s energy.

With these three Essences properly combined, a homunculus is formed. As you can imagine, the capabilities of this homunculus vary considerably depending on which Essence is used. It is for this reason that Alchemists must choose their Essences with care, as the strategy their homunculus allows can be the difference between victory and defeat.

Claiming the Afterlife

In this blog, we have covered a number of subjects. We’ve described dice mechanics, the four elements, both realms, and delved into some deep lore for Visions of Zosimos. Today, however, we will be telling you about one of the most important aspects of the game - how to win!

In every game, victory is achieved by defeating any opposing homunculi on the game board. However, depending on which game board you choose, there may be other objectives as well. On a PvEvP board, you must not only defeat enemy homunculi, but also powerful monsters appropriate to the board. Defeating these monsters help advance the story and reveal the mystery and lore of the Afterlife in Visions of Zosimos.

Currently, there are three types of monsters on a given game board. They are Wandering Monsters, Bosses, and the Final Boss. All of them are considered adversaries, and they grant bonus dice to the homunculus of the player that defeats them. This bonus applies until the end of the current game. Bosses and Final Bosses may also give various other rewards, such as cards to add to your collection, as well as other surprises planned down the line.
[caption id="attachment_174" align="alignnone" width="2048"] The Bog Slave is a Boss Monster. He won't go down easily![/caption]
Wandering Monsters are free roaming monsters that make their way around the board until they get close enough to a homunculus or its minions - then attack, doing their best to wound or destroy any they can. There are several kinds of Wandering Monster per game board, and each are specific to their realm. The number of Wandering Monsters increases the more players there are per team.

Boss monsters are considerably stronger than Wandering Monsters and possess special abilities. Unlike their wandering counterparts, they do not change in number based on the number of players, rather they gain strength as their opposition becomes more numerous, forcing a team to work together to defeat them. The number of Bosses varies from board to board, but there is one of each kind available to each team on the field. Boss Monsters are generally not visible on the game board until they are drawn out from specific lairs, marked on the board by specific tiles.

Once a team defeats all of its Bosses, it may draw out a board’s Final Boss. Between its raw power and potent abilities, a Final Boss will take a considerable amount of effort to defeat, but unlike normal Bosses, there is but a single Final Boss per board. It is only once the Final Boss and all opposing homunculi have been defeated that a winner can be declared.
[caption id="attachment_175" align="alignnone" width="2048"] As a Final Boss, the Spawn of Fenris may take several players' concerted efforts to defeat.[/caption]
It is here a decision must be made. The Final Boss grants bonus dice as well, but only to the team that has defeated him first. However, any other rewards are split amongst any teams still on the board. This means you must find a way to handle both the powerful Final Boss, and any opponents that seek to defeat both it and you.

This confrontation is inevitable, but how will you handle it? Will you work together with your opponent to try to take the advantage before destroying them, or will you attempt to bring them down first to gain all the rewards? The choice, as they say, is yours.

Eternal Tundra: Ice

In the beginning, there was only Fire and Ice. Fire is endless change, and thus the light of creation. Ice is far more than simple frozen water; it is preservation and a lack of change. Old hatreds, enduring empires, ancient principles- these things are all influenced by Ice. As such, it makes sense that those who channel Ice excel at preventing change, and maintaining the status quo.
[caption id="attachment_144" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Creatures of Ice direct what change they cannot prevent outright.[/caption]
The first thing an Ice disciple learns is the ability to render creatures Impervious to a specific type of change. It is simplest to prevent change from sources that are not physical, but such immunity is impossible to maintain for all types. Instead, each is aligned with a particular element; even a mighty bolt of lightning can do no harm to a creature rendered Impervious to that element.

For physical sources, from the blow of a weapon to the strike of a homunculus, it is necessary to expend energy actively to Block such attacks. If you are prepared to offer up such elemental power, such attacks can be prevented from having any effect on you or those near to you. Be warned, however, such power must be given each time if such violent change is to be prevented.

A more advanced technique is to use Ice’s namesake for both attack and defense, while preserving range of motion and movement capabilities. This brings with it great power, but such frozen creatures eventually Thaw, slowly reducing their increased power until only the creature itself remains.

It is possible for talented alchemists to delay violent change for a time, rendering a creature Numb to its effects. Note that this protection only lasts for a time upon receiving such an attack, but it allows a creature to continue to act normally no matter their grievous wounds. Sadly, after this protection runs out, the full effects of the damage are felt by the creature.

Only the most skilled of practitioners can go beyond preventing change, to directing it. This can allow a creature to Deflect a blow, causing another willing creature to feel the effects. This may seem like a detriment, and indeed one cannot reduce the damage redirected in this way. However, it can allow a less important creature to take a powerful blow. Creatures already Numb to their wounds can be Defected to with impunity, though they still feel the effects when their protection fades.
[caption id="attachment_142" align="alignnone" width="3018"] Though many are built for power and defense, some Ice creatures are made for speed.[/caption]
Ice creatures can be found in any place far enough from the light of creation, often in the old forgotten places of the world. As such, they are far more numerous than one might expect, and alchemists with talent can draw them from their hidden places to do battle in the Afterlife. The element holds great appeal for those who wish to achieve and then maintain power, its effects felt long after it is but a memory. Any element can bring you strength, but mastery of Ice can make you a legend.

Interested in learning more about Visions of Zosimos? Join our facebook page and follow us on twitter for a chance to win an alpha key and more!

Return to Ashes: Fire

Fire is an element of creation. It brings light, and therefore life to every corner of the world. Much of the universe was created with Fire, and even now it remains the basis of nearly every form of life we yet know.

But that is not what most remember.

Fire is known as a force of violent change. Some call it destruction, but it is not true annihilation; rather it is a process of changing the form of both matter and energy. It is this which shows the element’s power. Those aligned with Fire bring this powerful force to bear, leaving piles of ashes and scorched earth in their wake.
[caption id="attachment_122" align="alignnone" width="593"] Creatures of fire bring sweeping change and raw power to the battlefield.[/caption]
What all remember is that fires Burn. Over time, the raw element strips away flesh and spirit alike, leaving grievous wounds. Though it grows no hotter as it consumes its fuel, the reaction lingers, and many cannot help but succumb to the flames.

When that energy is concentrated enough, it can Strike through even the most sturdy of defenses, dealing damage with no chance of rebuke. In this case the energy dissipates soon after contact, but the damage done is often considerable.

While these are the most obvious applications of Fire’s energy, there are more subtle ones. Though no less dangerous, skilled practitioners can Scorch their foes, leaving them wounded and weak. Although these wounds will heal in time, such a wound leaves a foe more vulnerable and easier to dispatch.

However, if an adherent of Fire makes up a lack of skill with raw power, some can Raze whole territories to the ground, stripping them of their elemental alignments and leaving them bare. Those who face fire would do well to harvest their terrain’s elemental energy quickly, lest they lose it in a conflagration.
[caption id="attachment_123" align="alignright" width="256"]
Between ambition and desire for change, denizens of the lower Hells are often aligned with Fire.[/caption]
The hardest skill for a student of Fire to master, is how to cause the change to spread. Best seen in Wildfire, those with enough talent can cause other applications of this power to jump from target to target on contact, potentially leaving crippling wounds or fatal injuries. Fortunately for its foes, few Alchemists have the ability to invoke this terrible power, and fewer still can use it well.

Beings aligned with Fire are as numerous as can be expected; the passion of even a single creature can incite fervor in others, though for some this does not last. For those who seek change, those with high ambitions, or those who simply seek power, Fire has great potential. What they say about using Fire remains true, however- if you grow careless, you too shall burn.

Interested in learning more about Visions of Zosimos? Join our facebook page and follow us on twitter for a chance to win a beta key and more!

Landslide Victory: Earth

The Earth is timeless. It has provided for all life since before recorded history, and it will remain long after the last of us has passed. It nourishes, protects, and provides. With such strength, it is little wonder that it is harnessed both to nurture and to destroy.

To choose Earth is to choose stability, strength, and endurance. While its adherents may lack some mobility, they make up for it in durability, and given time, can bring forth power sufficient to lay waste to their foes. As with Lightning, Earth too has special abilities it wields against its foes with impunity.
[caption id="attachment_112" align="alignnone" width="750"] Creatures of Earth are known for their extraordinary resilience.[/caption]
The most common of these abilities is, in fact, a pair utilizing inertia. Hulking minions use their added bulk to deflect blows and remain unharmed, gaining additional defense dice. Minions with Momentum use their mass as well, gaining attack dice to inflict punishing blows. In both cases, new bonus dice are added whenever an Earth spell is cast by their controlling Alchemist, and the bonus dice are permanently used at the first opportunity. In other words, once Hulking or Momentum dice are used, successful or not, they vanish and must be earned anew.

But Earth is not merely known for its mass; the bounty of life it supports has an energy all its own, and users of Earth learn to Replenish that energy. This allows a skilled alchemist to heal the wounds of their minions or even their homunculus, though this effect cannot make them stronger than they began.

More than just supporting life, however, Earth helps to Shelter it. Even if it cannot withstand the full fury of an assault, the resilience of these Earth minions helps to reduce damage taken from any source, dramatically increasing their longevity.
[caption id="attachment_113" align="alignnone" width="545"]
Though known for defense, do not underestimate Earth's offensive capabilities.[/caption]
As life grows upon the Earth and becomes more complex, occasionally something wondrous happens. Sentient beings can form incredible bonds of Camaradarie, their underlying connection bringing them great strength. In fact, the more of these comrades there are, the stronger each one of them becomes, striking terror into the hearts of their foes as the legion becomes unstoppable.

Unsurprisingly, creatures and beings aligned with Earth are found everywhere. Those that strive to protect others, those that make use of their surroundings, those that withstand the fury of their foes- all these exemplify Earth. If you, too, wish to endure and build your strength until none can stand against you, Earth will take you there.

Interested in learning more about Visions of Zosimos? Join our facebook page and follow us on twitter for a chance to win a beta key and more!

Shock and Awe: Lightning

A crash of thunder, a whiff of ozone, and a patch of scorched earth; these are all that remain in the wake of a lightning strike. With such power, it is little wonder the forces of the Light chose to use it in their endless struggle. For this reason, too, talented Alchemists harness the fury of the storm.

As you can imagine, Lightning has a number of benefits going for it. The most obvious are that it strikes fast and hard, but there is more. Its unpredictability allows it to catch its opponents off guard, and take advantage of each opening it creates. Like all elements, there are a number of abilities that Lightning has at its disposal. Other elements may use them here and there, but Lightning is the undisputed master of these.
[caption id="attachment_105" align="alignleft" width="591"] Lightning users harness the fury of the storm to swiftly destroy their foes.[/caption]
Among the most common abilities is Backlash. While Lightning is not known for its stalwart defenses, it can make sure that those who dare to strike back pay for it. Some minions innately store electrical power, ready to lash out at any who create a link to ground. Others simply have reflexes so incredible that no strike goes unanswered. For those that lack either, there are spells that grant the power or speed necessary.

Lightning’s ability to appear where least expected is made manifest in many cards’ ability to Teleport. Though this transportation requires some form of power (often in the form of Elemental Power Dice or a Terrain where Lightning is strong), the advantage it can bring is undeniable.

Instant travel is not the only movement advantage Lightning can confer upon its adherents, however. Some minions are able to move with great Haste, seeming to fly across the battlefield to bring the fight to their foes. This often has fewer restrictions than Teleport, so it adds considerable maneuverability to those units that benefit.

Rarer still are those units which Bolt from skirmish to skirmish, making a strike only to be gone to the next fight. With this ability, units may move again immediately after successfully attacking, taking themselves out of danger or moving to a better position from which to strike.

The most powerful weapon Lightning has in its arsenal is the ability to Stun an enemy minion or homunculus. If hit by this surge of power, a target is unable to move or attack for one round, rendering them docile and potentially vulnerable. It should be noted, however, that it cannot prevent a player from casting other cards.
[caption id="attachment_106" align="alignleft" width="500"] Blitzkrieg tactics are favored by many who channel the power of Lightning.[/caption]
Creatures and people aligned with Lightning come from all corners of the world, from those that embody the physical qualities of the element to those that embody the spiritual aspects of the element and its realm. Among humans, there are many who strive to bring swift vengeance to their enemies; those with the necessary discipline and strength are often Lightning aligned.

Do you wish to strike with the fury of a thunderstorm? To see your enemy scattered before your might, to give them no chance to fight back? Do you wish to see them stunned by the fury of your assault? If so, seek Lightning; it will serve you well.

Interested in learning more about Visions of Zosimos? Join our facebook page and follow us on twitter for a chance to win a beta key and more!

Elemental Power Dice- The Wildcard

In the last blog post, we discussed the core mechanic of the three basic dice pools- Body, Soul, and Mind. However, some of you may have noticed another number below those pools. These are the Elemental Power Dice, and they are easily the most flexible tool in the arsenal of any Alchemist in their struggle for dominance of the Afterlife.

The most basic use of Elemental Power Dice is to enhance attacks or defenses. Whenever your homunculus participates in a direct fight, you have the opportunity to use your elemental power dice to enhance the roll, adding to your maximum damage or defense for that attack.
[caption id="attachment_61" align="alignnone" width="515"]
 Want to add some zazz to that attack? Elemental Power Dice have you covered![/caption]
Similarly, you can spend Elemental Power Dice to move your homunculus just a bit farther. In a later blog post, we’ll discuss the various phases of a player’s turn, but for now, suffice to say that when moving your homunculus, you will be able to see both the unit’s normal move range, and the additional range allowed by spending elemental dice. The more dice you have to spend, the larger the maximum of this range, so well timed spending of these dice can allow your homunculus to outmaneuver your opponents and set up powerful strategies.

Elemental Power Dice can also be used when deploying cards onto the battlefield. If you lack the normal dice required, but still wish to play a given card this turn, you have the option of taking the remaining cost from your elemental power dice instead. This way, in your most desperate hour, you can play the card that might turn the tide of the entire conflict!

But wait, there’s more! Some cards have special abilities that can only be activated by spending a certain amount of Elemental Power Dice, and these can be extremely potent. Take, for example, the Paladin - normally, if he deals 4 damage in a single attack, he also Stuns the foe, preventing it from moving or attacking next turn. However, if you spend 2 Elemental Power Dice, you can simply activate the Stun Ability, even if he does as little as 1 damage!
[caption id="attachment_62" align="alignnone" width="793"] In His hands I place my safety; bring forth, then, all enemies of God.[/caption]
With such varied and powerful uses for Elemental Power Dice, you might think that there has to be some sort of trade-off - you would be right. Whereas the other three pools become active or inactive, and offensive or defensive, Elemental Power Dice do not change in type. Furthermore, once spent, these dice are gone, so you must take care to spend them wisely!

How then, do you get more elemental dice to use? We’re glad you asked! First, a small amount of Elemental Power Dice are granted to each player at the beginning of every conflict. Second, a homunculus (and only a homunculus) can harvest Elemental Power Dice from Terrain tiles. If a Terrain tile matches the Elemental Alignment of the homunculus, it can harvest 2 additional Elemental Power Dice to add to its pool. If the Terrain type does not match the homunculus’ Elemental Alignment, but also does not directly oppose the homunculus’ Elemental Alignment, it can harvest just 1 additional die. Be careful, though - if the Terrain type directly conflicts with the homunculus’ Elemental Alignment, you will have to spend 1 elemental die to avoid losing the ability to play cards and make attacks that turn! Once a terrain tile has been harvested, it cannot be harvested again by you for the remainder of the conflict.
[caption id="attachment_63" align="alignnone" width="1009"] Terrain cards are the secret to gathering more Elemental Power Dice, so every deck should have them![/caption]
As you can see, Elemental Power Dice can swing a battle one way or another if spent wisely. Combined with the basic dice pools, they form the vast majority of a homunculus’ offensive and defensive options. With Elemental Power Dice, you can overwhelm your opponents and pull yourself out of the most desperate of situations. So make sure you use them carefully to give yourself the best advantage!

Ever Shifting Dice Pools

Today, we’re going to take a closer look at one of the core mechanics of Visions of Zosimos - and one that makes it stand out from many other games - the dice pools. As you may know, every player summons a homunculus to send into the Afterlife to carry out his or her will. Though the specific abilities of any given homunculus vary considerably, they all have the same varieties of dice pools from which to do a variety of different things.
[caption id="attachment_44" align="alignnone" width="427"]
The basic dice pools. Elemental Dice (the yellow number) will be explained in detail in a later post.[/caption]
The three basic types are as follows:

• Body Dice: Body Dice are Red in color, and are used to cast Minion encounters. These are granted to you by your Elemental Essence card upon Homunculus Creation.


• Soul Dice: Soul Dice are Green in color, and are used to cast Ambush Cards, which are invisible to enemy players until triggered. These are granted to you by your Ego Essence card upon Homunculus Creation.


• Mind Dice: Mind Dice are Blue in color, and are used to cast Persistent and Direct Spell Cards. These are granted to you by your Alchemist Essence card upon Homunculus Creation.

These three pools form the core of any homunculus, and have to be considered carefully based on the type of deck you would like to play. All three of these pools are divided into Attack and Defense. Depending on what element you are using, cards may pull their costs from one or the other, but it is generally consistent within an element. Earth and Ice tend to cast from the Defense Pools, but Fire and Lightning cast from Attack. Once a game begins, the maximum of any pool is relatively set, but taking damage can reduce a pool, and certain effects can restore them. Additionally, some minions and bosses grant a bonus to a pool to the homunculus of the player that defeated them; these bonuses last for the rest of the current game.

Dice can either be spent to use a specific card, such as summoning a minion or casting a spell, or can be used to directly attack or defend against enemy minions, bosses, and homunculi. In the latter case, the attacker chooses how many dice to attack with, and the defender similarly chooses how many dice they would like to defend with. If a die rolls an even number (a 2, 4, or 6), it is considered a ‘success’. The successes are then compared directly between the attacker and the defender to determine the result. For example, if an attacker has 4 successes while a defender only has 2, the defending unit takes 2 damage, losing 2 dice from the pool they defended with. If a defender gets lucky, they can block some or all of the damage they would have received from a given attack, but be careful - if any of your homunculus’ pools reaches 0 total Attack and Defense, you lose!
[caption id="attachment_45" align="alignnone" width="774"] If an attack brings a pool's total to 0, the creature dies. If it's your homunculus, you lose![/caption]
Regardless of how they are used, however, once dice are spent, they become inactive and shift to the other pool. For example, if a spell used 5 Mind Dice from Attack, they would become inactive and shift to Defense. At the beginning of a player’s turn, any inactive dice in their pools become active, becoming available for use once again. In the previous example, when that player’s next turn starts, they would have 5 additional Mind Dice in their Defense Pool. Players must balance Attack with Defense to keep their momentum going. Don’t worry, though- inactive dice are still considered part of your totals, so spending everything from one pool won’t cause you to lose the game.

It should be noted, however, that homunculi are the only cards that have multiple pools this way. For example, minions only have a Body Pool. In addition, minions do not have shifting dice pools; when they use dice, the used dice become inactive but do not shift between Attack and Defense. At the start of the player’s next turn, all inactive dice on minions become active in their original pool as normal.

Learning how to use these pools is the key to your success in Visions of Zosimos. For more information on dice pools check out our two videos from GDC. If you can master the skill of when and how to shift the die pools of your homunculus, it will lead you to victory after victory! Good luck!