Factions in a homebrewed war game

Well, it’s only really an idea for the foreseeable future, but I honestly hope I can eventually get it published someday. Anyway, the concept is similar to Necromuda, in that it focuses on a gang war. Specifically a gang war in a city that’s a hot spot for superhero/supervillain activity. The factions I have ideas for (ideally there would be others) are as follows:

The spooks: Dress in Halloween costumes. Have access to black magic of some sort that they mainly use to mimic the creatures they dress as.

The Juicers (placeholder name): Use various types of Psycho Serum drugs, which would naturally be a major mechanic when playing as them. I’m thinking maybe different ones have different benefits and side effects, and the side effects get worse the more a single unit uses at once.

Police/SWAT: Not sure if these should be separate or not, or what they should have, beyond normal guns and tear gas/tasers for incapacitating enemies.

The Carnival: A Circus of Fear faction, possibly lead by a Joker Expy.

The Listeners: A cult devoted to Eldritch Abominations of some kind, so named due to their battle cry of “They called to us and we listened.”

The Hellfire Club: Demon-summoning criminal sorcerers.

?: Civilian vigilantes inspired by (and dressed as) famous superheroes in the setting.

Game modes: One faction against another

One faction against a lone hero or villain

Alliances between factions and/or heroes against an alien invasion or some such large-scale threat.

So, thoughts? Ideas? Some feedback would be appreciated.

Well, what goals do these groups have? What would cause them to fight each other, what would cause a hero/villain to oppose each of them, and what would make them band together against a threat?

In addition, what mechanical differences make each faction unique? For example, the Juicers might have a system where you can make their units more powerful by using different abilities, at the cost of increasing a Stress counter that gives them stacking penalties. The Listeners may have Faith Points that their side accumulates and spends to power their magical abilities. You probably want one faction that’s well-rounded and easy to play, the Police or SWAT could fill that role.

Likewise, heroes/villains should have a gimmick that makes them just as powerful as a faction, perhaps they have multiple battle phases, and when they take enough damage or certain goals are achieved, they move to the next phase, with a change in abilities and/or stats.

For your last mode, I suggest finding a way to automate the big threat, since multiple players are teaming up against them. Perhaps they have a list of actions for their turn, and dice or cards to determine which of multiple courses of action they take.

Edited by Arcane101 on Feb 20th 2021 at 8:46:28 AM

The Juicers could work oddly. You set their intoxication score, which determines their attack- and their chance of missing attacks, and, eventually, doing really stupid things like attacking each other.

The SWAT team has high armor, and can call for backup- but it takes time to do so, and time to arrive. Their damage is also lower, as their goal is not to kill. Their main attacks are to push back with the shields and use tear gas, reducing enemy attack and speed.

The Listeners don’t attack much. Instead, they have a mass charge attack where all summon Cthulhu, (why did that autocorrect to Congress?) and the more people they have, the faster it charges. The attack is an instant win.

The Hellfire group could have a mechanic where, if they die, their demons go out of control, gaining power and attacking EVERYONE, prioritizing other demons.

The lone heroes need something more than high health and damage, or it will get boring. Say, some puzzle bosses? Could be very interesting... Either that or unique powers, like ice or poison. Just make sure it stays interesting.

What does the player do? Is it a general command of an army? Do they choose equipment? Are all they command the same, or are there different types?

Can hype player take direct control of a champion warrior? How does their army work while they do that? This would make puzzle bosses more realistic, and the swap between general command and individual fighting could add a lot of interest.

Thanks

A lot depends on the type of game, too. A board game? Card game? Video game? This will impact a lot.

Also, the Listeners sound very similar to the Parshendi from the Stormlight Archive. They also call themselves Listeners, and also summon large-scale disasters as weapons... you may want to change the name. It’s not a super close match- they certainly aren’t expies- but it’s close enough.