Hero Mode Variant (Patreon)

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I recently mentioned that I had an expanded/variant hero mode that I'd had a fair amount of success with using for players who are not into grinding monsters and/or permadeath.  Before I start let's look at the current hero mode.

• If the survivors die they are merely knocked unconscious and Skip Next Hunt. Even if the entire group is knocked out.
• When you name a survivor they gain +1 accuracy, evasion, strength, luck or speed.

So, the first point is pretty great, it allows for players to enjoy their survivors for a long time, however they will not be able to hunt for ever because too many injuries can remove them from being able to hunt, as can retirement (avoidable through certain things, like ageless).

The second point is a serious issue however, I get the idea behind this option. It's for fun, but it can (and will) degenerate the game very quickly because having that many survivors with stat bonuses is very powerful.  Additionally Evasion and Luck are very problematic stat bonuses to hand out to survivors, they can quickly trivialise the game.

On the whole, the main issue is there is little jeopardy and risk, also certain events do not make any sense (Murder) and have to be heavily fudged around or removed from the deck.

So with this in mind, I came up with a modified hero mode that I've had a fair bit of success with. It's not for 'purists', but apparently purists should play Death Mode anyway, so have fun with that.

Fen's Hero Mode Variant

• Once the prologue fight is completed and population decided, each player chooses a single survivor to be their own hero for the campaign (from either the showdown survivors or the ones generated during 'First Story'). 
• The Hero gains a title before their name and a surname in order to signify their importance. In addition that hero gains either +1 movement, +1 accuracy, +1 strength or +1 speed when promoted.
• Heroes cannot die or suffer any death-like effect, they are knocked out  whenever they would experience a death, they will be removed from the hunt/showdown board (irreplaceable gear is still lost) and must skip the next hunt as a penalty while they recover. Heroes can suffer permanent injuries, negative abilities, disorders and retirement.
• During the settlement phase a player may choose to retire a Hero who has suffered a permanent injury during the previous showdown.  Check the retired box if you do this, this survivor will not hunt again unless the rules state otherwise.
• When a Hero retires, a Player chooses a new (non-savior) survivor descended from any Hero to elevate to the status of Hero.  That survivor gains the same title title, stat bonus and Secret Fighting Arts as one of their parents.
• Active Heroes cannot be selected for Hunt Reenactment Murder, Plague, Skull Eater or similar events that cause the death/loss of a survivor.
• Any Non-Hero survivor can die. They can also be taken out on hunts, enjoy your red shirt status on those away missions!
• Active Heroes cannot be selected for Taken (Spidicules), a random non-Hero survivor in the settlement is selected instead.
• Heroes can gain the King's Curse. However once it is complete they can continue to fight for the settlement, only leaving the settlement permanently when they retire.
• Active Heroes cannot consume the Lonely Fruit or perform any similar event/effect that always causes the loss of life

Note: Elder Council and Silk Surgery are a LOT of fun in this mode.

So in this mode there is a risk of total annihilation, if the bloodlines of a player get wiped out then they are going to have to play red-shirts and if a settlement gets down to just its heroes then they will eventually retire or get too injured to be able to hunt.  It's less likely, but it can happen and if it does happen it feels less bad.

I could expand this mode even further if people were interested, essentially creating a fully fleshed out variant of heroes that you hang over any campaign - additional events, an extra location, innovations etc. But I would need to see a lot of interest and support for such a thing because of the time involved. 

Until then, enjoy this expanded variant!