Heretic Operative - Design Diaries

There have been a number of design diaries for Heretic Operative that explain how the game works.

Mechanics #1 – Story Decks

In every game of Heretic Operative, there is a primary crisis or disaster you are trying to avert.  During game setup, you pick which of these challenges you want to face by selecting the “Story Deck” you will be using.  The Story Deck has two main components – the individual “chapters” of the story (which are in a fixed order) and the story “events” that can happen along the way (which are drawn semi-randomly).

Each chapter represents progress in the overall progression of the story, and has requirements that you must meet in order to advance to the next chapter.  For example, you might need to collect a certain amount of Lore to conduct arcane research, or get an Operative to a specific location on the map. Events are triggered by increasing Cult activity, and in most cases represent some new additional problem you will need to face.

[...]

Mechanics #2 – Cult Decks

The primary foes of the Heretics are the Cult – magic users who have given themselves fully over to Corruption.  While the Story Deck determines what you must do to achieve victory, the Cult Deck determines which Cult you will be facing and trying to bring about your defeat.   

There are 4 different Cults to fight against in Heretic Operative (with more planned for the future).  Each Cult has a set of powerful Cult cards to use against you, as well as unique Cultist abilities and innate powers that can completely change up how you have to fight.  If the Storm Cult floods out all the roads or the Serpent Cult sacrifices the population of a town, you’ll have to adjust your plans to respond to the threat.

[...]

Mechanics Blog #3 – Operatives

The final piece of initial game setup is choosing your Starting Operative – who you start the game as.  Each of the 7 starting Operatives has a different set of stats and abilities, and each can approach the challenges of the game utilizing their own unique strengths. 

Will you play as a master of spycraft, able to operate in the shadows to evade (or assassinate) the agents of Cult?  Or will you play as a fallen noble with powerful family connections in the Capital – at least as long as they can remain free from the gaze of the Inquisition?

[...]

Mechanics #4 – Turn Structure

So… what actually happens during the turn when playing Heretic Operative? 

First off, you take your actions – you have two Action Points (AP) to spend doing things like moving, researching spells, and using special abilities.   During your action phase you can also do things that don’t require AP, like spending Influence to grow the Heretic network of Operatives and Townsfolk.  This is the main phase of the game.

Once you are done taking actions, you must encounter an Adventure card in every location where you have an Operative present.   These adventures require you to make difficult choices, like whether to risk exposure to save innocents in danger, or how to best avoid a Church Templar that is on your trail. Each location has a unique set of Adventure cards.   There are around 270 encounters currently in the game, and we plan to add even more as post-release content, so the mix of encounters you will face can be very different from game to game.

[...]

Mechanics #5 – Resources

There are five primary resources that you need to manage in Heretic Operative.  These show the overall position and capabilities of the Heretics as a whole – in fact almost all of them represent abstract concepts instead of traditional materials. 

Lore – Deep arcane secrets, esoteric knowledge, and rare magical insight.   Used for researching new spells from spellbooks and casting powerful rituals.   Gain Lore by researching ancient tomes and forbidden knowledge.

Gold – Material wealth such as coins, gems, or rare trade goods.  Used to purchase items from merchants or hire Mercenary Banners.  Gain Gold through hard work and adventure opportunities, or recruit townsfolk to provide a more reliable Gold income.

[...]

Mechanics #6 – Influence & Townsfolk

While you must have mastery over all the resources in Heretic Operative to succeed, one resource in particular is vital to managing the growth of the Heretic organization – your Influence.  Influence is spent primarily to bring new recruits into the Heretics, to convince them to risk life and liberty to both keep magic alive and stop the Cult.

Every Location on the map has a set of unique “Townsfolk”, who represent people of particular skill or position who might be persuaded to join the Heretics.  There are over 50 of these characters to recruit, and understanding which ones are most important to accomplishing your strategic goals is very important to mastering the hardest challenges in the game.  When you are first learning the game it’s easy to focus on just the Townsfolk in the starting, easy-to-reach areas.

[...]