Sentien: Tactical Role-Playing Card Game

[Sentien_Eric]

This is a card game that I have been actively developing for the past year or so. Though two separate projects proceeded this, it is the result of both research into the market and a combination of those previous projects, essentially their brain child.





What is Sentien?
Sentien is a Tactical Role-Playing Card Game, within which you assume the role of a character within the game's universe and fight other characters on predesigned battlegrounds.

What are battlegrounds?
Battlegrounds come in each Sentien Story Pack in the form of multiple tiles. These tiles are assembled at the beginning of each game in sequence order to form a tangible backdrop for the fight between you and your opponent. Character cards are placed onto the battleground in a designated location at the beginning of every game.

What is the functionality of a battleground? What does it do and how does it change things?
A battleground serves as the tangible backdrop for each battle. Your character card exists on the battleground and can move from one location to the next, as long as the one you wish to move to is empty.
When summoning an ally to assist you in combat, you can only summon it in certain empty locations relative to your character. They can also move around the battleground like characters.
When casting a spell, you as the character are casting the spell from the location of your character; while some spells target yourself, other spells have a set reach value on them, determining how far the spell can reach from the point of your character.
When placing an item into play, where you can actually place the item is determined by the location of your character and whether or not the item is a stationary object.
When attacking with your character or an ally you control, where it can reach depends on it's attack style and it's location relative to a potential attack target.

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With the introduction of actual, tangible movement within a card game, existing themes previously used in multiple card games come to life with a third dimensional layer added to them, introducing a fresh take on existing material and an outlet from which to introduce new material into the genre.

More about Sentien:
Sentien is a Tactical Role-Playing Card Game; Tactical not only in the sense that tangible movement dictates that strategy and placement is extremely important, but in addition card design allows for more powerful dedicated strategies or less powerful combination strategies that the player can create themselves. It is Role-Playing by definition because you are assuming the role of a character and playing as that character. Each character comes with it's own backstory relative to the game's universe, down to height, weight, likes and dislikes. As the main storyline develops and as side stories begin to open up and develop as well in narrative, you will see more and more characters with unique abilities and ways to play. In addition, Sentien taps into the popular LCG model by indiciating changes in a character's abilities, physical appearance or capabilities over time. If a character loses an arm, it is reflected in the most recent version of that character's card, and it can no longer use two-handed weapons. A lack of being able to do what he/she is used to might drive the character to develop additional abilities and/or lose abilities, creating new character interfaces as the story progresses.

If a character loses or gains powers, doesn't that mean it's class changes? If so, what happens to the cards I've already purchased for that character?
There will almost always be at least one character card publicated for each class that has already been developed. If a character loses his/her powers, a new character with the same class but different abilities will be introduced as soon as possible to allow you to continue to use those cards. If there are already multiple character cards that exist with the same class, both characters can use all cards available with that class's card pool.

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Beyond game features, this game will begin to become extremely integrated with it's community. Both myself and the rest of the development team agree that allowing players insight into certain card designs and allowing them to determine the outcome of some plot points in the story will allow players to immerse themselves within the story's universe and make their voice heard. This would not just apply to what should happen within the story but indirectly (through the storyline) and directly through the forums voice their opinion on potential card designs or any possible existing problems in terms of problems with class balancing, etc.

Art Direction
The world of Sentien is full of life energy; it surrounds everyone and everything and has affected them in different ways. The life energy that surrounds the forests and land of the world has made it grown to enormous proportions; some animals get to be as large as some small villages. Beyond the wildlife, the living races of Sentien have experienced the life energy in a different way, by learning how to harness and use it for not only everyday tasks but also to enhance their abilities in combat. The living races of Sentien call this life energy mana. Each living being has mana within them, but if they harness it and learn to use it, they can receive more by harnessing the mana that is around them.

Because this world is full of life, most of the art is going to be very vibrant. We do not intend for things to look cartoony, as we would like this to be taken seriously as a potential Fantasy game. However, we thought that the art style inparticular would be fitting, not just because of everything being more alive, but because the traditional fantasy game attempts to look as realistic in coloring as possible. We chose to go against that current.




This is a picture of the main character of the primary storyline and is also a prime example of the art style we are choosing to use moving forward.

How much of Sentien has been designed and what can we expect to see?
At launch, we plan to offer two products: First, Sentien Story Packs, which serve as an all-in-one and include both initial character cards with their respective starter decks, a battleground designed based on the location of their fight within the story, a comprehensive rulebook, a booklet of lore, which includes character profiles and backgrounds and important events leading up to this conflict, a notepad and two pencils to keep track of ongoing health and mana totals, and many dice for keeping track of damage on allies throughout the battleground. Second, Sentien Expansion Packs, which include seventy-two specific cards that will allow you to expand upon the starter decks and give you many options as to which strategy you choose to go with or which strategies you choose to combine. In addition, you will get the same fifty-four cards everytime you purchase it, so you never have to hunt down a specific rare card again. Everything is accessible, which gives everybody an equal opportunity and standing and allows more room for focus on skillful gameplay and not whether or not the player could afford his $500 deck.

In terms of what has been designed so far, the starter decks are 100% completed whereas both initial Expansion Packs are 20% completed.

What can we expect from this in the future?
Local Organized Play support starting on day one. Hobby shops will be able to contact us and become registered Sentien retailers which allows them to carry our product at a special rate and allows them to run sanctioned tournaments.
Expanded Organized Play one year after launch, introducing Story Mode which only allows players to use the most recent versions of characters. Local play will allow all cards.
Gauntlet Mode, which will focus on two player versus two player arena combat on larger battlegrounds.
Sentien Story Pack releases every three months after debut, with Expansion Packs for characters releasing simultaneously.

Where can I get more information?
The official game website is playsentien.com. While the format of the website is in a blog style to allow constant discussion and daily updates once the game's Kickstarter Campaign launches, the website design will be changing at product launch. You can also find the official rulebook on the website, as well as a shortened version of the game's process.

In addition, you can find the game's facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sentien-Tactical-Role-Playing-Card-Game/416962608420823

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I thought it'd be best to release all information in this format so that people could read over it and that it could be comprehensive. Both myself and the development team appreciate any potential feedback ahead of the launch of it's Kickstarter Campaign.

[MLaRF]

Alright so it's probably explained somewhere in the instruction manual but I couldn't find it in your post here so here's my questions

1. How do you play?
2. How do you win?
3. What're the different card types?
4. What are these class things that popped up in the 7th paragraph?
5. What do the cards look like, do you have any designed?

Thanks!

[Sentien_Eric]

Alright so it's probably explained somewhere in the instruction manual but I couldn't find it in your post here so here's my questions

1. How do you play?
2. How do you win?
3. What're the different card types?
4. What are these class things that popped up in the 7th paragraph?
5. What do the cards look like, do you have any designed?

Thanks!

1. Both players choose characters and then build decks around that character card's class. At the beginning of a game, players randomly determine who goes first. The player going first gets to choose the battleground upon which the fight will take place, then assembles it. Battlegrounds come with Core Sets in the form of tiles that are assembled in sequence order that is printed right on the tiles.

After the battleground has been set up, both players place their character on the rightmost location in the row (horizontal line of tiles) closest to them, then shuffle decks and draw five cards. At this point a partial mulligan can be taken, with the player going first choosing first. Up to two cards from a player's hand can be placed on the bottom of their deck, and then they can draw that many cards from their deck.

The object of the game is for players to move their characters around the battleground, summon allies, cast spells and/or use items in order to defeat their opponent (by either reducing their health to zero or by decking them out). Characters and allies move around the battleground during a specified phase based on their agility value. Different characters and allies have different methods of attacking: Melee, Spell and Ranged. Each deals the specified type of damage (Melee, Spell or Ranged) and has a different range of attack. If your character is a melee attacker for example, you need to move and position it directly next to an opposing target to be able to hit it with your character.

When summoning an ally, it can only be summoned to an empty location (as only one character or ally can exist in one location at any given time) that is directly to the left, right, in front or behind your character. Spells are cast from the location of your character, as it is you, the character, casting the spell.

2. By reducing the opposing character to zero health or the opposing player attempts to draw a card(s) from his/her deck and cannot.

3.
a. Character: Determines starting health total, starting mana total, how much damage you deal, how many times you can move per turn, and how much mana you gain each of your turns. Also has abilities specific to the character.

b. Ally: Summonable to the battleground by the character; has a set amount of health, how much damage it can deal, and how many times it can move per turn. May have effects that can be activated. Has a summoning cost, in mana.

c. Spell: Any card that reflects an ability of the character not printed on the character card. Is cast from the character's location and has a set range, determining the area within which it can affect. Has a casting cost, in mana.

d. Item: Any item that the character can use; there are consumable items (e.x. Potions), equipment items that can be attached to a character or ally and provide stat bonuses or additional effects, and object items that are placed onto the battleground to take up a location, making it impassible.

4. Simply an indicator on the character card and all other cards; must match the character card to be used with that character.

5. Rough sketches have been designed but part of our Kickstarter Budget is also acquiring the card templates.

All information is also available at www.playsentien.com, under How To Play.

[Sentien_Eric]

The Kickstarter Campaign is now live!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1017521494/sentien-tactical-role-playing-card-game