Eclipse: Fleet Admirals Part 3

Okay, I've had some time to continue to mull over myself, discuss with Danielle, and iterate on these admirals as the day has worn on. In terms of thinking about marketing admirals, a key limitation is that there can't be more of them then there are more or readily distinguishable colors for pawns. In Pandemic, I have 14 pawns, which is actually more or less perfect, as my working idea for the admiral marketplace is currently: start with a number of admirals equaling the number of players, then add 1 at the start of each round. For a six player game, that's 14. Boom. I can start play-testing ideas. I'm also going to take my first crack at pricing them tonight. I've decided that, in taking a cue from the Lyra, Admirals will cost a combination of specific and generic resources, with money being my go-to one.

Obviously I have more than 14 ideas, but for this first pass I'm going to try to limit myself to the clear cream of the crop. Admirals who really embody my vision. I'm considering making each admiral card two sided, both will use the same color pawn, but which side is available in a game will be random. Alternatively, I've thought about having an advisor on one side, and an admiral on the other, and in flipping for the market, alternating which type goes into the slot.

These are all ideas for another time though. Let's pick 14 admirals.

Generic Admiral - Once per round of combat, you may tap this admiral to reroll one of your dice. The admiral untaps at the conclusion of each round. This ability cannot be used during the missile round.

2 Money, 3 Resources

Obvious choice, solid all around, and the one whose price I am basing others on.

Frontier Admiral - Once per battle, when fighting in a tier III hex, you may tap this admiral to change one of your dice to a six.

2 Money, 2 Resources

Maybe a little too helpful in those early Ancient battles, but definitely weaker than the generic admiral. Furthermore, he really embodies my desire for players to have admirals to command specific fleets fighting in specific regions of the galaxy. 

Broadside Admiral ("Ackbar") - Choose a ship by marking it with your admiral. Once per battle, after that ship has fired, you may tap your admiral that ship may immediately fire all of its guns again. This ability does not work for missile weapons.

1 Money, 3 Resources

Simple force multiplier, and a strong incentive to invest heavily in one ship. That being said, I think the generic admiral is simple better unless you really invest in computers and anti-matter cannons - at which point I think you deserve the benefits you get. 

"Sato" - Once per battle, you may tap this admiral to replace one of your dice with a dice of any other color. You must replace the die before rolling. This ability does not work for missile weapons.

1 Money, 1 Material, 1 Science, 1 Resource

No other name for this guy other than the Armada admiral that inspired him. Another simple force multiplier, although it occurs to me a lot of my admirals scale really well off AM Cannons and Computers. That being said, AM cannons could probably use the buff. Also, is it clear I don't like missiles yet? And to be clear, it's not because I think they're OP - they're not - they're just very unfun because of the play pattern that emerges as a result of their existence. 

Fearless Admiral - Ships under this admiral's command get +1 to all rolls versus anomalies.

1 Money, 2 Resources

Very niche, but a necessary one IMHO. Anomalies were one of the iffier additions to the third expansion, and while I'm sure the designers envisioned titanic battles over the extragalactic hex, in practice it takes players until ~t8 just to be able to kill three anomalies, which are very unfun to fight. This provides the player who pulls it a strong bonus and means we might see more dynamic play over the hex. 

Bureaucratic Admiral - Once per game, you may discard this admiral to return two influence discs from your order track to your home row.

4 Resources

This guy is hard for me to price, and honestly I think he maybe should be 5.... At any rate, we'll leave it for now. 

Archaeologist Admiral - When fighting in an artifact sector, you may tap this admiral once per battle to reroll up to two of your dice.

2 Science, 2 Resources

Another admiral that incentivizes paying attention to geography. Really helps with up front burst, btu definitely is worse that my generic admiral, so four resources it is!

These last three were Dani's picks of the 40 we came up with btw. 

Shipyard Admiral - The first ship built in this admiral's hex each turn may be constructed at a -1 materials discount.

1 Money, 1 Material, 1 Resource

If you work to maximize this guy's ability, he should provide a net 4-6 resources by the end of the game, depending on when you get him. 

Initiative Admiral - At the outset of  a battle, choose a ship class that is under this admiral's command by marking it with your admiral's  pawn.. All ships of that class receive +1 initiative for the duration of that battle. 

3 Money

See....I can leave at least one ability in that benefits missile users..... :P

Inner Rim Admiral - Once per battle, when fighting in tier I sector or the galactic core, you may tap this admiral to add one die of a color already in your attack pool to one ship's attack. This ability does not benefit missiles. 

1 Money, 2 Materials

Something something be aware of geography. 

Emergency FTL Admiral - Once per game, you may tap and discard this admiral. A ship under their command that would have been otherwise destroyed instead escapes to your home sector. In the event you do not control your home sector, you may choose any hex where you have an influence disc as long as it is not currently occupied by enemy ships. If no such hex exists, you cannot use this admiral's ability. 

4 Money, 1 Resource.

This one could potentially save you a lot of resources (losing the ship, having to build it again), and for that reason I'm hedging and making expensive. 

Techie Admiral -  Once during the game, you may discard this admiral to gain one rare tech upgrade of your choice from the upgrade pool.

1 Money, 2 Science

This ability may eventually get moved to an advisor, but for now, I think it's really cool and would be hard for any player to not find a use for. 

Tank Admiral - Mark a ship at the outset of battle with your admiral's pawn. That ship ignores the first damage targeted against it each round of battle. Note this is damage and not a die. 

2 Materials, 1 Resource

Another very all round useful if "not as good as some" ability, as an enemy with good burst can tear through it or save this ship for last.  

Gale-Speed -  Once per turn, when you execute a movement order, you may tap this admiral. Up to 2 ships in this admiral's fleet may add one to their move range for one move activation.

1 Money, 1 Material, 2 Resource

Possibly one of the best utilitarian admirals, but you still need to win the fight when you get there. 


Up next! Dave scribbles on note cards.