Strange Aeons Solo Play

[Kamiya]

Hello,

Just want to ask if there are any good Solo play methods developed for this game?
I read about Sheerluck Holmes' Card Activation Solo play here:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=27325.msg332411#msg332411

But there are quite a few points that I don't get about this system.

* Do lurkers/threshold take turns as in normal SA games?
* if yes do you use two separate decks of cards, one for threshold and one for lurkers?
* if no, do you just shuffle all cards together into one deck and pull out cards?
* When you have pulled a card and activated a model, do you have to ignore all other cards from that faction afterwards because you are only allowed one activation?

sorry it is late and my head is not working properly, I hope these questions make sense.

Thanks

[Sheerluck Holmes]

Hello,

* Do lurkers/threshold take turns as in normal SA games?
* if yes do you use two separate decks of cards, one for threshold and one for lurkers?
* if no, do you just shuffle all cards together into one deck and pull out cards?
* When you have pulled a card and activated a model, do you have to ignore all other cards from that faction afterwards because you are only allowed one activation?

* Yes, but when their turn happens is indicated by the draw of a card.
*No - use one deck, with both sides shuffled together.
*Yes (as per point two above)
*Sort of: a leader can still activate two other figures for one of his actions, but ignore the cards of those he activates for the rest of the turn.

 This allows the leaders to activate figures as per the rules, and prevents figures from having more than one activation in a turn.

I hope this have helped clarify your questions. 

If it helps I can take some photos of a solo game in action to illustrate how the system works.

[Kamiya]

Thanks Mr. Holmes!
I didn't expect to get such a fast reply.

It would be great if you could take some reference pics from a solo game of yours, very helpful.

So you say that you put all the cards together in one deck, shuffle and pull a card.
Lets say that this particular card is a lurker card, since it is a lurker without command and he is in the command radius of another lurker he "waits". Now I pull another card. this time it is a threshold card being pulled out. Does all this mean that the turn now instantly goes to threshold? This all seems to me like a kind of simultaneous style of playing rather than faction turn based.

Furthermore, let us say that I choose to activate the threshold agent without command for 1 action. Done.
Now next card pulled out is my threshold characters card. But since I already activated one of my agents, does this mean that:

* I cannot activate the character at all because I already nominated 1 agent this turn.

* Or do I get to activate my threshold character as well and then using command
nominating my other agents? If so then I would end up activating the first agent for 3 actions in total. To me it is obvious that this sounds illegal.

*Or perhaps I can activate my character and use the command skill but just cant nominate that first agent anymore this turn because he moved 1 action already?

Sorry for all the questions but I think that you made a great solo system and I would really like to try it the way you intended it.

Thank you for your time!

[Sheerluck Holmes]

Lets say that this particular card is a lurker card, since it is a lurker without command and he is in the command radius of another lurker he "waits".

 You can either move the lurker (one action not two) or wait for one with command to command it (and gain two actions).  You risk the turn ending before this happens though 

Now I pull another card. this time it is a threshold card being pulled out. Does all this mean that the turn now instantly goes to threshold?

 As soon as you move or 'wait' the figure (in this example a lurker) a new card is drawn. Which ever side owns the card has the immediate initiative.

This all seems to me like a kind of simultaneous style of playing rather than faction turn based.

play is the luck of the draw, so it jumps all over the place. You could have all lurkers move before an agent and vice versa. With the inclusion of the "end turn" card, all or none of the figures may get to move in a turn.

Furthermore, let us say that I choose to activate the threshold agent without command for 1 action. Done.
Now next card pulled out is my threshold characters card. But since I already activated one of my agents, does this mean that:

* I cannot activate the character at all because I already nominated 1 agent this turn.

Only the already activated agent can't move. The agent shown on the newly drawn card now gets to activate, but if he has the command skill, he can not activate the agent that has already moved.

* Or do I get to activate my threshold character as well and then using command
nominating my other agents? If so then I would end up activating the first agent for 3 actions in total. To me it is obvious that this sounds illegal.

Only the agent shown on the card can be activated and any agents not yet activated can be used.


*Or perhaps I can activate my character and use the command skill but just cant nominate that first agent anymore this turn because he moved 1 action already?

Correct 




I have posted a photo of what my cards look like - you need one for each figure: this might help clarify some things for you.

I will take photos of a game in action and post it later today my time (if all goes to plan).

Happy to help, so ask any questions you have so you can play 

[Kamiya]

Thanks a lot!
Now everything is much clearer and when I am finished with my models I wil try this out!

Awesome cards and models by the way 

Looking forward to the ref pics.

[Sheerluck Holmes]

ok - This is a bit of a cop out, as I didn't actually play a game, but it is a bit of a walk through of a single turn using the cards and some dodgy photos:

Note: I don't have an "End Turn" card in the deck, so all figures will be activated during a turn unless they are put out of play.

Set Up: I choose the figures I want to use for the game and match it up to a card:



Next, I shuffle all the cards into one deck and place them face down ready for the game to start:



The first card drawn is an agent, so I choose to hold off activating him and wait for a group activation later.



Next to be activated is the night gaunt - as this is a monster I activate it right away.



A cultist comes up next - this cultist is out of range of command for the cult leader, so I activate it for a single action



The cultist with the rifle comes up next, and as he is within command range of the cult leader I hold off on his actions.



My Threshold leader is next to be drawn - I use him to give orders to the first agent that I set aside, and the one yet to be drawn from the deck



The second last cultist is drawn - as he is also within command range I don't activate him yet.



The cult leader is the next out of the deck. I activate him and give a command to the two cultists previously drawn within command range.



The final card turned over is the last agent, but as he was activated previously, he doesn't get another activation this turn.



If i had included the "End Turn" card the turn could have ended at any time, thus any or all figures may have lost their turn if I didn't activate them when drawn, or because they were not drawn at all.

If I have time this weekend I will play out a game for a better example.

*    *    *

Re the other post where you mentioned Japanese figures - lovely work, and if you ever get some made up, I would love to buy some.

 My better half is Japanese, and I am going to Yokosuka in November to meet her family and 18 of the closer relatives. It is my first time there, so I am excited and nervous all at once.

[underfire987]

Truly awesome stuff here man! so how did u go around making those cards? i am defo going too give this a try, would be great too be able too play strange aeons solo and also it would give me the a great chance too play test the units i am working on mentioned in the post above this one .

do u have a download of the rules that we can print off?

[Sheerluck Holmes]

I don't actually have a down load of the solo rules, but the top of this thread has a link to where I posted them on this forum.

 Or you can go to this page to read over them (and other things): http://strangeaeonsgames.pbworks.com/w/page/32250152/Strange%20Aeons%20House%20Rules

The cards are easy to make - I used Publisher to make the cards, turned them into a PDF for printing, then I  printed both sides, glued them together and laminated them.

 All I did was take a photo of each mini and paste it into a rectangle a touch smaller than a business card so they would fit into business card sized lamination pouches.

 I am happy to answer any questions or help you to get your deck up and running.

 I should also edit my previous post here to accurately reflect how the cards are used...

[Kamiya]

Awesome! Thanks alot mate!
Can't wait to try this system out.

I have been to Yokosuka several times, although the city has a strong western influence it is a beautiful and nice place.
Closeby Yokosuka lies the old Capital city of Kamakura, I strongly recommend you to go there, but I am also definitely sure that your family are planning to take you there anyway.

[Uncle Mike]

Wonderful stuff here! I would love to see a 'proper' battle report at some time. Looks like a great solo-play option. Keep up the good (evil...) work!

[Argonor]

I like this. Card activated initiative is kind of nice for solo games, as it puts some unpredictability into the game.

[underfire987]

so what i get from this its pretty straight forward after reading your link, however when you play it seems that you do not get full control over you threshold force and that they act very similar too the lurkers ( besides the lurker rule about attacking or going for the objective).

Is this correct?

[Sheerluck Holmes]

Not really - you are playing the Threshold agents, with the lurkers being controlled by the cards/rules.

 Play the agents as if you were the Threshold player - you choose what orders to give them etc.

 I guess I should have mentioned that in my write up  


EDIT - I have adjusted the rules on my web site to reflect the question that I answered. Basically the player chooses which side they are playing and may give what ever orders they see fit. It is only the opposition that follow basic guide lines when activated.

[underfire987]

Not really - you are playing the Threshold agents, with the lurkers being controlled by the cards/rules.

 Play the agents as if you were the Threshold player - you choose what orders to give them etc.

 I guess I should have mentioned that in my write up  


EDIT - I have adjusted the rules on my web site to reflect the question that I answered. Basically the player chooses which side they are playing and may give what ever orders they see fit. It is only the opposition that follow basic guide lines when activated.

Ah alright. Awesome, man i cant wait too get this stuff going gonna be sweet! i will do a battle report of it when i get the time too go and set everything up, just got a new job and a really good opprotunity so defo im going too be busy here in the next bit. but yea i will defo be doing a report of the games as well !

also i will soon be posting all the battle reports i have made on my youtube channel i think you all will be very hapyp too see em !

[Bowman]

Not really - you are playing the Threshold agents, with the lurkers being controlled by the cards/rules.

 Play the agents as if you were the Threshold player - you choose what orders to give them etc.

Another trick you could use for playing the Lurkers in a solo game is to use an Aggression Roll. So you activate a random Lurker by selecting his card. I roll a D3 to determine the aggression of his behavior. On a roll of 1 he is somewhat tentative, staying closer to home, guarding the scrolls or his commander. On a roll of 3 he actively seeks out to engage the nearest Threshold threat. On a roll of 2 he does something in the middle. What this actually constitutes is best determined by the player, and is scenario specific. Therefore, it is possible that the Threshold players objectives can be thwarted based on the unpredictability of the Lurker's behavior.

This is a great topic and thanks go out to Sheerluck Holmes (great handle, by the way). I just hope Uncle Mike isn't too discouraged with the tweaks some of us are doing to his rule set.