Consul-ation Prize

Tomorrow's big deal.

Tomorrow we're (and by we I mean Demitra, my fiance', her brother, and possibly two or three more) going to be getting together to play Super Dungeon Explore. If you haven't noticed, I've been doing a bit of painting for that game recently, and I'm really hyped up to pull it out. I have a very firm grasp of the rules, and along with that comes the responsibility of being the "game master" if you will. It would be difficult to instruct the players as to how the game is played from the Heroes' side of the table, which means its pretty much up to me to play as the Dark Consul. This is a bit of a sticky spot for a few reasons.

Firstly, it'll be a bit counter-productive instructing the heroes as to how to work in concert with one another while I'm trying to kill them. I'd like to try to win the game, and I have as much experience playing the game as my fiance'. What I have over her is time here at work to peruse forums and analyze tactics. I know what characters are vital to the heroes' survival, and which ones can be ignored. I know how to make combos and how to break combos. I know that, when used correctly, a swarm of Kobolds can down any hero in a single well executed turn.

Secondly, I'm honestly sick of being the "Bad Guy". I was the Evil Overlord throughout a Descent campaign not too long ago, and I had a blast annihilating the heroes in that game, but after a while it got tiring being the odd man out. It becomes mentally exhausting trying to outwit a group of people, and it's a bit isolating being everybody's opponent. It really would be nice if somebody put out a game where there was a team of good guys and a team of bad guys. Hear that aspiring game designers?

Overlord to be?

Thirdly, this is sort of an intro game. As such, I sort of feel bad beating the snot out of the newbies. Yeah, I'm the Dark Consul, and yeah I'm supposed to want to smear the heroes all over the pavement (or is it cobblestones in a dungeon?), but if I crush them too severely and/or too quickly (which you want to do before the heroes get too much good stuff) it'll put people off of the game, and that's not what I want. I also don't feel right playing to lose. It's no fun for me, and I honestly feel it's insulting to the other players. What I really ought to do is point out some stuff here and there while keeping the game on a "lower difficulty setting" until the players have their feet under them, and then go for the throat. This is a very fine balancing act, though, as I could either end up rushing them before they're on equal footing, or I could end up waiting too long and having them roll over me in short order.

I guess what tomorrow is is an attempt at making the game fun and challenging enough for all of the players to have fun and be challenged, while keeping anybody from becoming bored (which could happen if I kill a hero early) and avoiding having the game become bogged down in rules explanations and analysis paralysis. The game rests upon the edge of a knife. Stray too far in either direction and it will become a chore for somebody.

Maybe next time I'll be able to pass the mantle of Dark Consul on to somebody else. Until then, the teaching/opponent/outcast job lays firmly upon my shoulders.