Notes from the Underground

Here are the raw notes I took on my phone while on vacation in London, both riding the underground, and lying awake at night because of the time difference.

2 score tracks, hunted, gathered. Score = your lower of the two, plus the highest score in your secret choice h vs. g.

Hunters use weapons (slings, spears, arrows) to roll dice and hunt rabbit, deer, moose, etc. Animals have a "to hit" number that you have to roll with 3d6 + weapon bonus.

Gatherers explore the board collecting 1 type of item at a time, pulling a tile with berries, herbs, etc. Tiles kept remain hidden the whole time. Tiles not taken are revealed to all then placed face down.

The hunted animals are on the same tiles along with the things that are gathered. Each animal is worth a certain value of hide and meat.

A gatherer encountering an animal must reveal it and place it face down. Likewise a hunter with a non-animal.

Gatherers carry 1 type per pouch and can get more pouches.

Players start with 2 equipment (from 4 drawn) and can get a club, a sling (infinite ammo: rocks), spears, which can be enhanced by atl-atl (spear thrower), bows, and arrows (arrows and spears are used twice before they are discarded).

Players secretly pick hunt or gather for end game scoring after drawing their starting hands but before revealing the 2 cards they kept.

Trading

Anything can be traded, weapons, pouches, herbs, meat. You may have arrows but no bow, or an atl-atl but no spears, so trade for what you need.

The Market

The market is the key to scoring. There is a demand track with tiles for herbs, berries, grubs, fish, meat, hides. Point value of each type matches it position on the track. Points scored is equal to position times number being turned in. You must turn in all at once of one type at a time. That type then moves down track = the number turned in.

There is also an equipment tile that lets you draw from 3 face up cards or a deck with pouches, bows, arrows etc. Instead of taking points. Of course equipment has value too, and you have to turn in that many points of other stuff. Equipment can also be traded in for either hunt or gather points. In that case the equipment moves up in value, and the


The game is played over a period of time from spring to end of summer, a given number of rounds during which you either hunt or gather. Have to figure out how many turns takes 44min-1hr. Less turns more players.


Do hunters need more RPG flavor? Encounter deck for when you find an animal, skills deck for when you kill one. Some animals should be dangerous and fight back if you miss. You should be able to die, and swap in another hunter. In fact, hunters should die fairly often, so keep the penalty light.

If hunters get that, what can make gatherers more interesting? Probably best to wait on both and get the core system working.


More on Weapons/Combat

Weapons have two ratings, their to hit bonus, and damage. Clubs have low or no "to hit" bonus, but high damage. Slings a high bonus, but lower damage. Arrows vs. Spears similar, but higher numbers, with atl-atl boosting spear to highest damage, but not improving to hit much. Animals have a corresponding to hit value (weapon bonus + 3d6) and life.

Figure out animal to hit values by looking at 3d6 odds plus weapon values.

Club 2/6
Sling 5/2
Spear 3/4
Arrow 7/3
Spear+Alt-Atl 4/6
(double check these numbers vs 3d6 odds)

Board movement

Borrow the board from Candamir.

Can move 6 spaces and explore twice. Passing through a space that has already been explore and on to the next only counts as one.

If you hunt an animal buy don't kill it, it is marked as wounded and moves 2 spaces. The space it was on is marked as explored. If you have 2 movement left and have only explored once you can follow it and attempt again.

If you miss an animal and it is marked as deadly then your hunter dies. Discard the weapon currently in use (including bow or atl-atl) and move your hunter to the village (a brother/cousin has come in to take his place.