Quantum Mechanic - Brainstorming and Card Design Workshop

[Kael Hate]

WORKSHOP - QUANTUM MECHANICS
- Cards that affect Quanta production and or manipulate the use of Quanta -

Greetings all,
It seems that several people have ideas that they would like in the game but are unable to implement them into a quality finshed product. Here is your opportunity to help.  In this topic we will gather individual card themes, roles and mechanics then later procede to turn some of those ideas into full developed cards.

Part 1 - Brainstorming

What this Workshop Group needs from you:
Themes - A card name or art work or topic for such
Roles - A task that a card needs to be able to do
Mechanics - A process that performs a particular procedure that may appear on a card.
Cohesion Suggestions - Views on how to combine Themes, Roles, and Mechanics formally suggested here.

What this Workshop Group doesn't want:
Full card submissions. Use the main section for this. 
 
I will gather the details in a post at the top here so we can see what we have to work with. I also put in some suggestions to show by example.

Part 2 - Creative Convergence

In this part we take the small parts of the ideas given and bring them together to form a card idea in its basic form. There are no costs yet just the view of the card. First person makes a suggestion then anyone else in the group can carry on or object. To Carry on the person must use something linked to the first idea. To Object the person must say why they object and offer a fix. If you think of a mechanic, role or theme on the way feel free to use it. Once we have a collection of ideas then we move to the next step.

Normally this process is done in a think tank by 4-12 people but it can be done alone which is how I do it and this time we have an open community to have at it. If you get mixed up with posts its all good don't worry just link up on the end of a chain.

I'll start here: http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,5361.msg66732#msg66732

[Kael Hate]

THEMES

- An Egyptian Pyramid or Temple gaining power from the sun (KH)
- Power Stones (Gemstones, Diamonds, Basalt heat absorbing Stone etc)(KA)
- Fungus growing energy and mold eating energy(KA)
- Artesian Well/bore (KH)
- A funeral Pyre granting quanta from sacrificed or otherwise specially-killed creatures. (ES)
- A "Manna Tree" that grows quanta when properly cared for. (ES)
- A Quantum Lens that 'focuses' quanta from other pools into a specific pool. (ES)
- A Spellbook that reduces the quantum costs of some category of cards. (ES)
- An altar to Sacrifice on (LD)
- Nefarious action to opponent quanta (LD)
- Decomposing Creatures (Anh)
- Vision of High Pillars (Anh)
- A device that forces quanta (something akin to a syringe) into an elemental (KA)
- Consumable objects to receive quanta directly (KA)
- A fierce weather pattern/storm ( ) that releases and manipulates quanta and energy (KA)
- A Windmill or huge machine (water wheel?) that involves  / quanta (KA)


ROLES

- A card that can gain massive amounts of Fire, Dark, or Water Quanta for an endgame Bolt but has risks to use or might easily be countered. (KH)
- A card or set that gains a benefit when an opponent uses Quanta as a activator. (KA)
- A card or set that grants you Quanta when an opponent takes a certain action. (KA)
- A card or set that gives a Quanta boost when in a pinch (KA)
- A card that denies Quanta for a period of time. (KH)
- A card that makes more pillars or other quanta generators in your hand. (ES)
- A card that boosts Quanta production when you are about to die. (ES)
- A card that increases the opponents quantum costs (M79)
- A card that turns a creature into a pillar (M79)
- A card that generates quantum proportional to your HP (M79)
- A card that gives quantum when a creature enters play (M79)
- A card that gives you benefits because your opponent is ahead on Pillars (LD)
- A card that trades pillars (Anh)
- A card that rebates quanta. For example, (0 cost) when played, any cards you play this turn rebate you one quantum of their element. (UR)
- A card that destroys Pillars for a Quanta boost (Mid)
- An entropy card that performs a mix between the nova effect and the discord effect, so maybe each turn it converts some amount of entropy quanta (maybe a third, or a random amount) into a certain number of random quanta (mid)
- a card that "absorbs" quanta that otherwise would have been produced then releases it later. (Mid)
- a card that allows you to go into debt with quanta (Mid)

MECHANIC

- Gives a Quanta benefit but you suffer a poison for using it (KH)
- When played this card protects quanta from an opponents effects (KA)
- Quanta gained by this card is determined by cards in your hand and you lose other quanta gain. (KA)
- Target your opponent with this effect to increase your quanta production until the oponent is hit with a spell effect or purify.(KA)
- Creature ratings determined by Quanta values (KH)
- Adds additional quanta each turn per point, and stacks with itself a la poison. (ES)
- Quanta theft, Take quanta directly from opponent. (ES)
- "Refracts" Light quanta into other kinds of quanta. (ES)
- Channel: turn HP into (random?) Quanta. (ES)
- Play a card with the wrong type of quanta. with any quanta (ES)
- Target a creature you control and Sacrifice it to gain Quanta (twice creature value?)(SG)
- Heal an amount for the Pillars you have in play. (Anh)
- Freezing specified amount of random opponent's quanta ie during your opponent's turn, that amount of quanta will be temporarily removed and returned to him after he ends his turn. (Anh)

[Kuroaitou]

Hm, okay. I was going to wait a much longer while to post some ideas, but considering the format of this (in terms of quanta production), it doesn't seem too bad. Hopefully you won't mind a few of mine as your first post. ^^;; If I'm following this format wrong or doing something incorrectly, please tell me immediately.


Roles:
-A card (or set of cards) that refunds (or gains) quanta whenever a creature/permanent ability is used off the other player
EXAMPLE:
Player A uses the ability 'Mutate' from a Fallen Elf on another creature, then has his Elite Otyugh consume the mutated creature. Player B then gains quanta of a type in proportion to the creature-ability costs used. Player B plays a Sundial - Player A does not gain quanta (until Player B activates the Sundial's ability next round).


-A card (or set of cards) that allows you gain more quanta when 'under pressure' (By this, I mean when you're in less than favorable conditions, such as being low on health, being low on cards, or if the enemy has a field of creatures up).
EXAMPLE:
Player A ends his turn, leaving Player B at about 20% health, from which Player B had 45% health before. Player B plays this card and another card (to prevent damage, say Fog Shield), and ends his turn. Player B gains more quanta than previously before at 45% health from his other quanta-gaining effects.


Mechanics:
-A card (or set of cards) that when played, prevent a certain quanta-type from being reduced or removed until the player uses a card that utilizes that quanta-type.

-A card (or set of cards) that allow you to gain quanta to a proportion of how many cards of a certain element are in your hand, (not based off of your mark). However, other regular ways of gaining quanta are halted when you use this card.

-A card (or set of cards) that place a debuff (NOT poison) on your enemy for a certain number of turns. When the debuff is running, you have higher quanta production, but this effect can be removed by direct (spell) damage, healing, or purification (Purify) effects.


Themes:
-A stone, gem, or object with high reflective/light-emitting properties (diamonds) absorbing or emitting energy (like heat)

-Fungi that feed off of creatures, or mold that grows the more the longer it lasts




...I'm doing this wrong, aren't I?

[Kael Hate]

Hm, okay. I was going to wait a much longer while to post some ideas, but considering the format of this (in terms of quanta production), it doesn't seem too bad. Hopefully you won't mind a few of mine as your first post. ^^;; If I'm following this format wrong or doing something incorrectly, please tell me immediately.

...Snip...

Mechanics:
-A card (or set of cards) that allow you to gain quanta to a proportion of how many cards of a certain element are in your hand, (not based off of your mark). However, other regular ways of gaining quanta are halted when you use this card.

Great ideas. I have added them to the main list with (KA) as your postmark. Keeping them short and concise makes them easy to work with later but its ok when first presented that you may not have the words to describe what you are thinking so just try and make it as concise as you can. If my translation to short text misconstrues your idea tell me and i'll fix it.

Just something to think of is that Mechanics never have definitions of being a set or an individual card. They could be used many times at any opportunity required to fill a role. An example in elements already are things like Devour, Infect and Creature based Quanta production. The effect works the same way on all the cards it appears on but it is not confined to those cards and could be used again. I have a set of entropy cards I will show next that shows how mechanics can work in different views also.

The mechanic I left unsmipped from your quote is interesting and I have a card for light that already uses a similar effect I'll spend some time when I get back to post it to the card ideas section.

...I'm doing this wrong, aren't I?

Not really and if you were, is it any reason to frown?

Anyway its 3am and I have to get driving for 5 hrs to get to a Magic Pre-release. Be able to post some more when I get back monday.

Edit - Added some more idea before I go.

[Scaredgirl]

Ok first of all, you need to reword your original post a bit. All this "we need.." makes this sound like some kind of official thing, which it is not.

In fact it's against this whole ONE THREAD - ONE IDEA system I'm trying to set up here on the main area of this forum section.

I'll probably do a sub-section or something where I move all the threads like this one that talk about card design in general, rather than the actual finished ideas.

[Kael Hate]

Ok first of all, you need to reword your original post a bit. All this "we need.." makes this sound like some kind of official thing, which it is not.

"We" is only in reference to the persons who choose to commit to the workshop, nothing more.

In fact it's against this whole ONE THREAD - ONE IDEA system I'm trying to set up here on the main area of this forum section.

Nothing here is a yet submitted idea. The requirements you already stated in the sticky post say that you need one idea per thread and an art for that card submission. After we get some details and start turning them into cards, there will be an individual entry per submission.

I'll probably do a sub-section or something where I move all the threads like this one that talk about card design in general, rather than the actual finished ideas.

I think that would be a good idea.

[Scaredgirl]

Ok first of all, you need to reword your original post a bit. All this "we need.." makes this sound like some kind of official thing, which it is not.

"We" is only in reference to the persons who choose to commit to the workshop, nothing more.

Yes, I know what it means. However a newbie who visits this forum section the first time would most likely think this is an official card idea thread set up by the developers or something.

[Kuroaitou]

Hm, okay. I was going to wait a much longer while to post some ideas, but considering the format of this (in terms of quanta production), it doesn't seem too bad. Hopefully you won't mind a few of mine as your first post. ^^;; If I'm following this format wrong or doing something incorrectly, please tell me immediately.

...Snip...

Mechanics:
-A card (or set of cards) that allow you to gain quanta to a proportion of how many cards of a certain element are in your hand, (not based off of your mark). However, other regular ways of gaining quanta are halted when you use this card.

Great ideas. I have added them to the main list with (KA) as your postmark. Keeping them short and concise makes them easy to work with later, but it's okay when first presented that you may not have the words to describe what you are thinking so just try and make it as concise as you can. If my translation to short text misconstrues your idea tell me and I'll fix it.

Just something to think of is that Mechanics never have definitions of being a set or an individual card. They could be used many times at any opportunity required to fill a role. An example in elements already are things like Devour, Infect and Creature based Quanta production. The effect works the same way on all the cards it appears on but it is not confined to those cards and could be used again. I have a set of entropy cards I will show next that shows how mechanics can work in different views also.

The mechanic I left un-snipped from your quote is interesting and I have a card for light that already uses a similar effect I'll spend some time when I get back to post it to the card ideas section.

...I'm doing this wrong, aren't I?

Not really and if you were, is it any reason to frown?

Anyway its 3am and I have to get driving for 5 hrs to get to a Magic Pre-release. Be able to post some more when I get back monday.

Edit - Added some more ideas before I go.

"KA" as my postmark? That sounds pretty awesome.

You've gotten all my ideas down well better than I could have put it, but I think you need to clarify your 'mechanics' bullet point from 'What we need from you': "A card process that performs a particular procedure" sounds much more appropriate if mechanics are things that expand to a set of multiple cards/are an integral game function, so that's why I was initially confused by the statement of Mechanics not having a card definition. Also - I'm totally interested in what type of card you have for 'light' that matches the uncut quote of my previous post.

I tend to frown and get frustrated when I post something that isn't as clear/eloquent as I wanted it to be initially, but have no choice to accept the final product, as future edits would either make it less concise (and thus, more annoying to reread each time), or more confusing (and thus, overlooked or avoided).

Hope your trip was successful! ^^

[Essence]

THEMES

- A funeral Pyre granting quanta from sacrificed or otherwise specially-killed creatures.
- A "Manna Tree" that grows quanta when properly cared for.
- A Quantum Lens that 'focuses' quanta from other pools into a specific pool.
- A Spellbook that reduces the quantum costs of some category of cards.

ROLES

- A card that makes more pillars or other quanta generators in your hand.
- A card that boosts Quanta production when you are about to die.

MECHANIC

- Adds additional quanta each turn per point, and stacks with itself a la poison.
- Quanta theft.
- "Refracts" Light quanta into other kinds of quanta.
- Channel: turn HP into (random?) Quanta.
- Play a card with the wrong type of quanta.

[Kael Hate]

Edit to main post fix Gramatical confusions.

"KA" as my postmark? That sounds pretty awesome.

its just an entry mark so that people can see where the idea came from without a big block of superfluous text.

You've gotten all my ideas down well better than I could have put it, but I think you need to clarify your 'mechanics' bullet point from 'What we need from you': "A card process that performs a particular procedure" sounds much more appropriate if mechanics are things that expand to a set of multiple cards/are an integral game function, so that's why I was initially confused by the statement of Mechanics not having a card definition. Also - I'm totally interested in what type of card you have for 'light' that matches the uncut quote of my previous post.

I tend to frown and get frustrated when I post something that isn't as clear/eloquent as I wanted it to be initially, but have no choice to accept the final product, as future edits would either make it less concise (and thus, more annoying to reread each time), or more confusing (and thus, overlooked or avoided).

Hope your trip was successful! ^^

Fixed the Grammar for your and SG's suggestions.

Trip was good.

2nd in Draft and 1st in Sealed on the first Day.
1st in Sealed and 4th in Draft on the second Day.
About AU$250 in prizes all up and MAJOR respect from the local guru in Brisbane, the state capital. Sealed is one of my favourite environs with my favourite being semi-constructed.

Also made a few hundred dollars at the Casino playing poker so that paid for all my fuel and accomodation.

@Essence

Cool ideas, thanks Essence. Notes added with Postmark "ES"
Added some sub notes.
Some of these ideas could move between categories I think but I left them as is for now.

[Lanidrak]

And here I was thinking this was some super-thread discussing my Quantum Mechanic card I suggested

Check it out Only got one reply in the end

http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,2332.msg22234#msg22234

[Snowstorm]

I notice that something elements is missing that i have enjoyed from other games is some usage of your life/hit points as an alternative to using quanta. Something like, trade x of your life away for x quanta points.

Some kind of sacrifice theme may be appropriate.