Demonomicon, Episode 1
Vince here - one of my favorite things about designing a game is watching the whole game come together from loose ideas into something fully playable. As you go along and make choices, however, you close off other potential paths of what the game could have been. Each road you choose to go down means other roads left behind. Those roads were forever closed, until now.
In this series, the Demonomicon, I am going to cover some potential alternative rules, give you previews of some things we are working on, and give you a chance to vary your games of Reign in Hell. All of this should be considered playtest material, and it is presented as optional rules you can utilize in your own games to change the overall experience.
For clarity, none of the rules presented here are changes to the actual game, nor how we wish the game had been written (this isn’t a director’s cut, but you can call it director’s commentary about choices not made). These rules are presented as options you and your friends can choose to play, which may either vary the experience of the game, or perhaps even change the experience so that it is closer to your personal tastes.
I also hope this series of articles inspires you to try changes or items of your own creation in your games.
You do not need our permission to experiment or to change rules – if you think something should work differently, give it a try!
Modes of Play
For today’s article, I am going to present three alternative rules you can try in your game that would each have a fairly large impact on the way the game is experienced. As stated, these are to be considered playtest rules. I look forward to any feedback you might have through Discord, Facebook or social media.
These rules might seem like small changes, but small changes can have a big impact on the game overall. Of course, these don’t have to be used individually, you can try them together in any combination you would like.
“If you want to get into the action even faster, however, then this simple change can make that happen.”
Speed Mode
The nature of Reign in Hell is that the first few turns can sometimes have less combat, as the cabals are moving forward, jockeying for position, aligning with objectives, and preparing to meet the enemy. This was an intentional choice on the speed of the game, as once combat is joined, it is a brutal affair.
If you want to get into the action even faster, however, then this simple change can make that happen:
Larger Starting Zones
In all scenarios except Marked for Death and Crystal Towers, increase the Starting Zone for all players to 9” by 9”.
What does this do?
This doesn’t seem like the largest change, but it effectively makes your cabals start 6” closer to each other, a whole turn’s move for some demons. With this larger starting zone, it means that some demons, especially slower demons, might be able to go and claim objectives early, while the faster demons race ahead to engage the enemy. In general, it will speed up when combat happens by roughly a round. If you love a good scrum and want to get into the brutal action as fast as possible, this can help make that happen. As a warning, it will also mean the game is less likely to go the full duration, as with combat joined quickly, demons will also start dying quite quickly.
“If you want more decision points and options early in the game, this variant is a good way to go.”
Souls Two Spare
Soul Dice are one of the most fun elements of Reign in Hell. Their ability to manipulate the rolls of either your own demons or your enemies, and to boost your demons move, can be highly impactful on the way the game plays out. This variant allows your cabal to start with Soul Dice so that you have some additional choices to make early in the game.
If you want more decision points and options early in the game, this variant is a good way to go:
Starting Soul Dice
Each cabal begins play with two (2) Soul Dice. Once all cabals have been set up in their respective starting zones, and all pre-game elements of the scenario have been determined, each player rolls two Soul Dice and places them on their play sheet. These are treated as normal Soul Dice earned through the slaying of demons in all ways from this point forward and may be used as such. Each cabal may gain additional Soul Dice as normal through the slaying of demons over the course of the game.
If these two dice are not used before the end of the game, they are lost. They may not be retained and converted into souls in the post-game during campaign play. They are meant to be an in-game resource only.
What does this do?
By starting with Soul Dice, each cabal has some interesting choices to make early in the game. First, they have Soul Dice to replace critical combat roles without needing to rely on combat itself. This means if your cabal is more based around movement and tricks, as opposed to going straight for the fight, you have options to protect your demons or push though a final point of damage when necessary. This change also means that demons can be much faster earlier, as up to two different demons could have a bonus to their move equal to the face of the Soul Dice. In short, this option gives each player more resources, but also more choices on how to use those resources and show their skill on the table.
“If you want to lessen the chance a one-sided battle results in one-sided rewards, this alternative rule can help.”
Consolation Prizes
Games of Reign in Hell are meant to be fast and brutal. The nature of the dice is that usually this brutality is experienced fairly evenly by both cabals, with losses on both sides and Soul Dice collected all around. Dice being dice, however, sometimes the whims of fate can turn against a cabal. Despite their best efforts, they end up needing to retreat or losing the game with little but slain demons to show for it. This alternate rule sets a floor of earnings for a cabal to make sure they always have something to show for their time in battle.
If you want to lessen the chance a one-sided battle results in one-sided rewards, this alternative rule can help:
Twelve Souls Minimum
At the end of the game, if you are playing in a campaign, each player that ended the game with zero Soul Dice gains twelve (12) souls. Each player that ended the game with exactly one Soul Dice gains six (6) souls. If a player ended with two (2) or more Soul Dice, no additional souls are awarded.
What does this do?
This rule helps to make sure that if a battle is particularly one-sided (always a possibility in a game of dice), one player doesn’t walk away completely empty handed. They still have a few souls to potentially replace a demon, recruit a new demon, or even go on a normal expedition. This can make sure that one player in a campaign doesn’t fall too far behind if there happens to be a blow-out in a single game. As a warning, this also creates interesting secondary incentives. As each player now knows there is a “minimum” number of souls they are going to collect at the end of the game, they may feel more confident in burning Soul Dice during the game. The general tension between using the Soul Dice for short term gain versus long term reward may diminish.