Possible way out of the V.Q. Problem

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

I've been watching the Boards and a lot of posters have concluded that the Vampire Queen pretender is overpowered, to the level that one poster reported multiple nations picking that chassis. Since otherwise in this game practically everything has a (sometimess very nation-specific) counter, if people are deciding that the only way to stop a VQ is to have one yourself, this is a very serious problem. Here are a couple of solutions (these may be totally unworkable but I'm trying to help, ok?)
1. The Switcheroo: The players are asked to design a pretender for a (randomly drawn) nation. Then after that's done, the players receive notice that they are now playing someone else's nation/pretender combo. Result: You know there's a VQ out there-- you have the receipt-- and it ain't yours. Now go beat down on your own creation. If you can... (Oh and players must design to less than say 15 design points remaining. We don't want players ending up with crippled pretenders, although the punishment would likely be getting one back... so maybe this is self-policing)

2. (simpler, don't have a name for it yet): This assumes the Game-master can look at the creations. If it is noted that two (or more) nations have selected the same chassis, all of them must redesign to a different avatar. If they match again (haven't decided if it's a problem for landing on a previously innocent one-- some nations don't have that many choices) they have to switch again. If they match a third time the still-matched players have to design each other's pretender as in #1 above.

Is this Completely Off Base, Unworkable, or Just Too Obvious?
Or something else?

[Zapmeister]

A large part of the fun of this game, for me, is designing and playing a pretender. Playing someone else's pretender would be much less fun.

The solution I've recently used is to create a house rule strictly limiting use of the VQ. If someone cheats and uses a VQ when they shouldn't, it will become very obvious very quickly.

[ May 03, 2004, 06:15: Message edited by: Zapmeister ]

[Cohen]

If you know you'll play another Nation, why not to do the pretender as weak as possible?
And perhaps you find yourself playing with a Nation you dislike, or you'ren't skilled in (especially for newbies) ...

I believe this is not realizable.

[Norfleet]

I recall Zen mentioned a switcheroo-style game.

The end result being that usually, the objective was to create the most perversely useless god combination possible, in hopes that you end up running the creation of someone less creative than you. I heard the blood-9 manticore was rather popular.

Besides, Zen says that there's no VQ problem, since VQs are clearly not optimal. It's not even really that hard to kill one, if you know what to do...and there's a lot of ways to do it.

[ May 03, 2004, 06:30: Message edited by: Norfleet ]

[Cohen]

Well, I take the less cost chassis, a Crone.
Assign all scale at -3.
Oks, I've about 1000 points to spend ...

Mmmm let's click on *ready* ...

Who want to play with this Crone?

[PvK]

If lots of people choose VQ, that just means lots of people think it's powerful and/or want to try it.

If a group of players really think it's too much and wish VQ's were weaker, it's a few lines of modding to tone her down somehow. In the thread suggesting such, I think we were leaning toward simply increasing her cost or her points required for new magic paths (and/or reducing her starting paths).

PvK