Contest Entries: Fifth Sphere

Hello readers, the first stage of the Fifth Sphere contest has concluded, and I’m absolutely astounded by the quality of the entries I received! To be honest, when I first conceived this contest, I wondered whether there were enough possibilities out there to make for a viable competition. Well, I’m sorry for ever doubting you all, as the fifth spheres that you will see here absolutely shattered my expectations. Below, you will find each entry, complete with the descriptions and cards that the entrants crafted. Some of these went above and beyond the call of duty, and include an AP’s worth of cards! I will now open up these entries for voting, and the window will last until next Tuesday. Just to make things interesting, this time around the winner will be chosen through a combination of reader votes and my own ranking of the entries. Good luck!

P.S. While you’re at it, check out the Hall of Beorn’s take on a fifth sphere.

Entry #1: Cunning (A)

Now, my take for a new fifth sphere would be the “Cunning”. Cunning=Manipulation, control, bending the rules to your favor. I’m thinking of something like a black/blue deck form Magic the Gathering. Letting you empower allies, engage and disengage monsters, manipulate the encounter deck, prevent engagement. But that should come at a cost. High resource and threat cost for most of the cards as well as reducing hero stats to empower allies and trigger effects. Heroes that are forbidden to do things like attacking or defending or questing, but prefer to send the allies to do their bidding by buffing them.

                                                    

Entry #2: Magic

This is a very tough thing to do as I think that the game is already well balanced and the spheres cover pretty much all aspects of the game. But one thing that always struck me reading (and rereading) the LoTR books is that although magic exists in Middle-Earth, it’s rarely witnessed as is. You get magical objects (the rings, weapons and other stuff) but only a few times will you see actual spells being cast (Gandalf against the Balrog).

My 5th Sphere proposal is all about that, the magical aspect of Middle-Earth. That is the name of my Sphere, Magic. But to stick with the theme of Middle-Earth, since Magic happens so rarely, the Heroes aren’t permanent, meaning, you must really think when to play them and what kind of Magic cards you want to play since you might not be able to play them with no hero of that color in play. The Magic Heroes are very powerful, since Wizards are supposed to be the most powerful beings in Middle-Earth.

As my Hero proposal, I decided to go with the greatest Sorceress of Middle-Earth, Galadriel. Her abilities reflects her role in the books. As for the Magic Icon, I decided to go with the sigil of the greatest Wizard of all… no it’s not Gandalf, but Mr J.R.R. Tolkien himself.

Here’s a little summary on how I picture the integration of that sphere:

During setup, a player playing a hero from the Magic Sphere must calculate the hero cost against his total threat. Ex: a player playing with Glorfindel (Spirit), Aragorn (Lore) and Galadriel (Sorcery) will have a starting threat of 5+12+15 (hypothetical) = 32. The player then has the choice to put his Magic Hero into play or to wait. A Magic Hero can be put in play immediately when a new quest card is revealed. The Magic Hero is taken out of play when a new quest card is revealed. A Magic Hero gains resources only if they are in play. When a Magic Hero leaves play, his resources are added to other heroes (anyway you like) in play, the resources then become of the heroes spheres.

This sphere would be the home of the first temporary attachments (curses or buffs), events would be mainly spells, not sure I would put allies in that sphere. I think Gandalf’s butterflies would fit very well in that sphere. Other Heroes in that Sphere : the 5 wizards, Tom Bombadil, Elrond, Celeborn, Thranduil for a start. Might be interesting to even go with old Maiar.

Entry #3: Cunning (B)

Basically I am happy with the four spheres. But if there were a fifth sphere, it should be … “Cunning” = clever, smart This would be the perfect sphere for Hobbits and all characters that don’t fit into the other 4 spheres. Hobbits are the best example for that. They are no warriors or wizards or lorekeepers and as we all know, they are not very wise ;-). But still they’ve got some skill, to get themselves into and out of trouble. And I think that is best described with the word “cunning” … So this would be my fifth sphere. And here’s a little example card I’ve created. 😀

Entry #4: Cunning (C)

The sphere of Cunning emphasizes a hero’s guile, resourcefulness and strategic thinking. It focuses on protecting others and working stealthily against the machinations of the enemy.

I felt there was a great representation in-game of all the bold heroics that happen in Lord of the Rings, but not a huge amount of focus yet on the dire need for operating under the enemy’s nose, seen in the Dunedain who protected the Shire, the woodcraft of the Elves, or the secret plans of the White Council. In gameplay terms, it’s a sphere based on rewarding cooperation and forethought. It makes heavy use of secrecy and emphasizes effects triggering off keywords and multiplayer support effects like sentinel.

And here’s a couple of other card ideas for the sphere:

Entry #5: Duty

The fifth sphere represents the harsh necessity of duty to one’s people, one’s homeland, one’s cause. Duty is characterized by a keen clarity of purpose and a denial of consideration for self. Beyond force of arms, beyond knowledge, beyond courage and even beyond hope lies only the grim certainty that one must carry on matter the cost.

Sacrifice lies at the heart of the duty sphere. Heroes of duty will not shrink from the task laid before them, and will make the tough decisions of who lives and who dies when there are no good options. Allies will give hope to others, keeping none for themselves. Attachments will help them do what must be done, though perhaps at great cost to themselves or others. Events will focus on sacrificing whatever allies, heroes, attachments, and cards necessary to gain secret knowledge of the enemy, sabotage his forces, and protect the free peoples.

Frodo, perhaps more than any other character, exemplified the core essence of duty. Only his utter commitment to his task as ringbearer bore him through the dark road within Mordor that he and Sam had to tread. However, Frodo has been reimagined many times, and is not the only character to exhibit an overriding sense of duty in Tolkien’s world. Indeed, there are other senses of duty which perhaps do not appear so clearly noble. I wanted to focus on a lesser-known character, Haldir of Lorien, whose sense of duty to his land and his people overrode friendship and kinship when he met the Fellowship on the borders of Golden Wood.

“Folly it may seem,” said Haldir. “Indeed, in nothing is the power of the Dark Lord more clearly shown than in the estrangement that divides all those who still oppose him. Yet so little faith and trust do we find now in the world beyond Lothlorien, unless maybe in Rivendell, that we dare not by our own trust endanger our land. We live now on an island amid many perils, and our hands are more often upon the bowstring than upon the harp.” -The Fellowship of the Ring

So, that is my submission to the contest. Thanks for holding it!

Entry #6: Friendship

The idea of this new sphere that I called the Friendship sphere is to put a big emphasis on multiplayer game and seemingly weak characters. The idea is that each card in this sphere can not defeat an enemy, a quest or do anything alone. All of them are made to be powerful only if used with other cards, and other players. The other idea is to show that even the small and powerless people of Middle Earth contributed in the defeat of Sauron.

For me, these two ideas, the alliance between people and the fact that even powerless people are important, are two main ideas that maybe deserve their own sphere. That’s what I tried to do with the cards I design, trying to be as thematic as possible. Imagine this sphere as the good buddy you are always glad to have with you. You can not really rely on him to do all the work, but it can time to time unexpectedly save the day.There should be a lot of hobbits and humans in this deck, and very few characters with powerful stats. As an icon, I choose a symbol that can be seen on the door of Moria, as the door represent the Alliance of Dwarf and Elves. What better way to illustrate friendship?Galadriel: This version of Galadriel is the complete opposite of what was done with Elrond. She will not run the wood or the Moria with the other adventurers. As in the book, I imagined her staying in the forest and helping the other heros from afar. As so, she has rather weak attributes, and a low threat. She will not do much on her own, but her ability being permanent, hopefully she could give a contribution.

Hamfast Gamegee: I imagine Sam’s father as an old wise hobbit. He can definitely not contribute to many things as he is too old, but he can give his wisdom to every one that needs it.

Avenging Hobbit: I imagine it with the idea of Bilbo saving Thorin at the last second, and Pippin and Merry charging the orcs to avenge Boromir. I liked the idea of a the rage produced by the view of someone sacrificing himself to save you. I like the way it rewards a chump blocker!

Defending Ent: I wanted to create a sentinel that would protect the other players as much as it could.

Fighting Student: The idea is to use a powerful character to increase the fighting skill of another weak ally. I like the fact that the character will be stronger as the game goes and as he learn to fight, as did the hobbits.Hobbit Gift: I love the idea of the hobbits giving presents and loving to receive it, but with the same gift being given again and again.Hobbit Resilience: A “save the day” card. It will not win the game alone, but it can leave the time for somebody else to do it!

Look East: The thematic inspiration is obvious. The idea is to imagine and unexpected help coming in the last moment so save you as you prepare to sacrifice yourself. (Yes, I was trained as a snowbourn scout)

Resting at Rivendell: I do not really like the fact that Elrond was made as a powerful hero that would actively help in the quest and go himself kill a Balrog in the Moria. I prefer imagining him as proposing a peaceful rest for the adventurers.

Rohan Refugee: In the film, the two riding children warn the Rohirrim of the approaching enemies. That’s what this card does.

Strength of the Common Folks: this card emphasizes the capacities of the normal folks to help in the quest. That’s a central card for this sphere. (NB: I took out the Noldor and Silvan, because for me there is no elf that falls in the “simple folk” category)

Talkative Hobbit: Well, what can I add?

The Dùnadan: This card is inspired by the fact that Bilbo asks Aragorn to help him writing his songs. And I needed a way to give Aragorn access to my sphere, as he has access to all the others. Again, a card that should help the other players.

Entry #7: Community

The proposal of the Fifth Sphere is the Community Sphere. The Community Sphere would focus in the social relations of the Middle Earth Nations and its denizens. The bondages that link the races to their countries, the cultural and personal aspects of each race. Also, as an aspect of the sphere, probably the most notable of them would be the particular relationships between characters.

The sphere simbolizes the feeling that hit the hobbits when they think of the County, their many meals and confortable furniture. The talent given to Dwarves as a response of their love for metal and stoneworking. Rohirrim and horseback riding as a natural. The balance that Ents try to maintain in the forests. The rivalries between elves and dwarves, but also the alliances that existed and reborn in the War of the Ring.

In another way the Community sphere would focus in the personal relationships between the characters of Middle Earth, like Merry and Pippin helping each other while being carried to Orthanc. Fangorn and the two hobbits with the Ents in the battle of Isengard. The triangulation between Elrond, Arwen and Aragorn. And many others…

As an example of Hero, i did two, to focus on the relationship enphasized by the sphere.

Legolas and Gimli, Elf and Dwarf. The design of both was about their competition on combat, while in the deep both were fighting side by side. As Legolas stood agains the orcs and get high on the death count Gimli rages and attacks not to be behind him.

The creation of the heroes also was thought to be used with their tatics counterparts, as a way to keep in mind the balance of the game, not counting on monosphere to deckbuild a monocommunity deck. But to give the sphere a way of telling its meaning even soloing, with only one hero of the fifth sphere.

Entry #8: Spellcraft

Reading about the blue mages i found this: In a letter written at the same time Tolkien also wrote about their role:

“I think that they went as emissaries to distant regions, east and south …. Missionaries to enemy occupied lands as it were. What success they had I do not know; but I fear that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and “magic” traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.”

So, the proposal of the Fifth Sphere is the Spellcraft Sphere – Support (to rerpesent the magic of the middle earth). And the icon could be a pentagram.

As we know, Gandalf is a “supporter”, Always helping, either the Hobbit or the Fellowship of the Ring. I also think that Radagast supports, although in a different way. Pallando and Alatar had a mission to travel to the east and weaken the forces of Sauron.

So, I think that the sphere may be the gray color and the goal would be to support. I know we don’t know almost anything about the blue wizards, but I found the idea of putting them in interesting.

Entry #9: Control

Name: Control

Color: White

Icon: White Hand

Gameplay focus/theme:

* manipulation of cards of other players, for example

– possibility to see/show other players hands (part of it),

– move cards from hand to play and opposite,

– possibility of returning cards from discarded pile to player’s hand,

– switching allies control between players

* manipulation of encounter cards, for example:

– switching locations from the one players traveled to another from staging area

– switching enemies engaging players to other from staging area

manipulation of combat:

– switching damage from one enemy to other (for example from engaged enemy to another one – for example from staging area or engaged with another player)

– switching damage from one character to other (from example from one defender to another, from hero to ally or opposite)

– delaying damage by 1 round

Additional rule during playing (extension):

– First player controlling at least one  Control hero at play, selects player. That player shows all cards he draws that round.

– New trait: Diplomat.

Entry #10: Maiar

The concept of the Maiar sphere is to capture the power of the wizards of the Middle Earth. In terms of gameplay effects the sphere would focus upon giving bonuses to players for fielding a range of different racial traits (the anti-Outlands)- bringing together the peoples of Middle Earth eg. 0 cost Maiar event: Unified goals: For each player controlling allies of 3 different racial traits, choose a hero they control to give +3 to all stats until the end of the phase. In addition to being able to play cards of all spheres, they would have their own effects which encouraged co-operative play.  Lots of tricksy wizardry which did things with other players decks and discard piles would be interesting. Of course they would have to be very powerful heroes in their own right – Radagast, Gandalf, Saruman- so I decided it would be best if they had the significant drawback of only having one hero.  This would encourage a vastly different style of play, encapsulate an important part of Middle Earth lore and change the way sneak attack was used forever (with Gandalf as a hero he would be ineligible as an ally).

Entry #11: Bravery

Name of sphere: BRAVERY

Characteristics:  The sphere of Bravery emphasizes the pride and courage of a hero. It also underlines, that unpleasant situations make hero even stronger.

Options: Bravery sphere makes characters stronger and enemies weaker. It also offers direct damage. Willpower is greatly balanced with attack/defense strength; this sphere would be great intermediate between “Tactics” and “Spirit” with a touch of Leadership.

Entry #12: Nature

My custom sphere is the Nature sphere, and the theme is power over time.  The color is brown (after Radagast, and because Green is taken) and the icon would be a bunny sled (just kidding, I’m not an artist and I’m not going to try to design an icon).

I got the idea from the new Time X mechanic that they are introducing in the Voice of Isengard expansion.  I wondered what that could look like as a player card mechanic, and I thought it fir thematically well with the role of nature in the books.  In Tolkien, nature is a powerful force for good, but slow to respond to the evil of Middle Earth.  In the card game, the Nature sphere’s cards are very powerful, they have a lower cost than normal, but they come into play with Time counters on them.  At certain phases (depending on the card) you remove a Time counter from them and they come into play.  This could work for allies and events, and possibly attachments too.  For example, you could have an Ent ally with powerful stats, but that enters play with 3 Time counters on it.  At the beginning of every planning phase, you remove a Time counter from it, until it has no Time counters on it and is in play.  This helps to balance out the power of the Ents, without raising their resource costs to ridiculous levels.  For events, you could have a combat event called Rushing River, that comes into play with two time counters on it.  Remove a Time counter from it at the beginning of the combat phase, and at the beginning of combat, all enemies engaged with you get minus two defense.  An attachment idea is Reclaimed by the Wild, which would attach to a location and have Time X on it, where X is the location’s threat.  After the last Time counter is removed from the card, discard attached location.  This card could help you get rid of low threat, high progress locations that you don’t want to travel to.  This style of play is very different from any other sphere we have right now, and opens up a lot of interesting design possibilities.

Radagast is the hero that pulls all of this together.  Though Radagast has weak stats, he would be a staple of any deck that included nature.  Unlike his other Istari brethren, his power is expressed in subtle ways, by rallying the support of the forces of Nature in Middle Earth.   To maintain a sense of continuity with the game, I kept his stats the same, as well as the ability to spend resources to heal  (though his ability is much better in this context).  The real key to the card is his response action, which allows you speed up the activation of your allies, or to time up the activation of your events.  He will help counter the weakness of the Nature sphere, that things take a long time to come into play.  His low threat helps Nature decks buy time while they build their forces, and it also makes him easy to splash in dual or tri sphere decks.

Entry #13: Harmony

The Harmony Sphere

The fifth sphere I am creating is the Harmony sphere. Its color is white, and its symbol is a shepherd’s crook.

Thematic Identity

The Harmony sphere emphasizes a hero’s oneness and attunement with nature and the land around them. Harmony with nature means more than just knowledge of a particular locale (which falls under the purview of the Lore sphere). Rather, it represents the ability to commune with and draw power from the world around them. Tom Bombadil and Treebeard are characters who embody this aspect of the Harmony sphere.

This sphere also has a thematic emphasis on rest and rejuvenation. The adventures of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are often punctuated by periods of rest, as when the hobbits stay in the house of Bombadil or when the Fellowship finds respite in Lothlorien. While in these havens of comfort and safety, the heroes do not use their tactical prowess, knowledge, will, or leadership skills. But the periods of rest are important nonetheless, as they allow the heroes to set out on their journeys with new resolve.

Mechanical Identity

Strengths

Mechanically, the Harmony sphere interacts with locations. Allies may have abilities that depend on what types of locations (Forests, Mountains, etc.) are in play. Attachments may be played on locations that might provide the player with bonuses when the locations are active. This concern with locations represents Harmony drawing power from nature.

The sphere also emphasizes control of tempo. While many cards boost willpower and make questing easier (mainly Spirit cards), Harmony cards allow the players to slow down or otherwise limit the progress of their questing, which can help the players execute their strategies and take advantage of the location-based effects the sphere offers. Thematically, this represents the party slowing down and taking in the effects of the land around them rather than rushing through locations.

While Harmony does not reduce threat in the way Spirit does, it also has some cards that negate threat increases such as those caused by the Doomed keyword or by failing the quest. As with slowing down questing, this allows a Harmony player to control the tempo of the game. Finally, Harmony also includes minor healing and readying effects, though not the extent of those provided by Lore and Spirit.

Weaknesses

The Harmony sphere’s heroes are generally weaker questers, representing their tendency to stay at home and the sphere’s investment in rest and control. Likewise, some heroes have limited tactical ability–attunement to nature leads a disinclination to violence.

In addition to its heroes’ reduced questing abilities, the Harmony sphere chiefly draws its power from hero abilities and events. Characters often favor solitude over companionship. Thus, the ranks of its allies are thin. Harmony allies also tend to be expensive, as the power of nature does not come easily.

Furthermore, Harmony also lacks card draw acceleration–nature, after all, works at its own pace.

Hero: Goldberry

Goldberry showcases some of the properties of the Harmony sphere. Her ability to spend progress tokens from the active location as if they were resources not only allows the player to pay for more expensive cards, but also helps the player slow down his questing progress–ideal for quests where rushing forward is ill-advised. Her readying ability showcases the sphere’s concern with locations and location types. Her modest statistics reflect some of Harmony’s weaknesses, but her low threat cost allows the player to play methodically without worrying too much about threating out.

Other Cards

Heed No Nightly Noises

Attachment. Cost: 2.

Attach to a Dark location.

Response: When a player increases his threat, discard Heed No Nightly Noises to prevent that threat increase.

At Home and On Holiday

Event. Cost: 2

Quest Action: Play this event to attach a Forest location currently in the staging area to a hero committed to the quest. That location no longer adds its threat to the quest. Ready the hero and remove him from the quest. At the end of the round, return the location to the staging area.

“I’ve never heard of a better land than this. It’s like being at home and on holiday at the same time . . .” Samwise, The Fellowship of the Ring

Veil of Mist

Ally. Cost: 3

W:0 A:0 D:2 H:1

Weather. Mist.

Cannot have attachments.

Action: Exhaust Veil of Mist to add its Defense to that of another character.

“Then by some shift of airs all the mist was drawn away like a veil . . .” The Fellowship of the Ring

 Entry #14: Wild

My Fifth Sphere is the Wild sphere (working title). The term “wild” is used throughout The Hobbit andRings to refer to those characters that are about in the natural world and are, oftentimes, difficult to control. The main characters of this sphere would be Rangers, wild-men, and, of course, creatures of nature. I like the idea of these character types because they are almost strictly “neutral”, but span a spectrum from “lawful neutral” (like the eagles) to “chaotic neutral” (like wolves and Easterlings). While Rangers are on the side of good, when they are off ranging they often take on a wild persona. Think of the difference between Strider and Aragorn, particularly what men like Butterbur say of Strider.

As such these characters, particularly the heroes, are very strong and powerful but difficult to control. They can do the work of two heroes, but you’ll need to wrangle them a bit. It might be obvious that my inspiration came from the Beorn hero card.

For my exemplar I’ve chosen to create a hero card for Gwaihir the Windlord, greatest of the eagles at the time of the War of the Rings. Despite all the eagle love in the Shadows of Mirkwood cycle, like the inclusion of his brother Landroval, we haven’t see the Windlord make an appearance yet. I guess he’s busy rescuing Gandalf.

Gwaihir has a very high threat, the highest of any hero, but has very strong stats and a response that would boost him up to a very high attack strength of 6. Having 6 hitpoints and the ability to defend without exhausting, he can be used to defend a great deal, especially if there is healing in your deck.

The caveat is that he requires a lot of readying effects (the “wrangling” I referred to earlier). To get his attack boost he must commit to the quest and exhaust, representing how the eagles aren’t eager to join in the quests of others but, once they do, they get tough. If there is no active location he flies away and does not ready. This is representative of the wayward nature of the eagles. They are good, but they are wild and do not readily mingle in the troubles of the Free Folk unless otherwise prompted. Luckily, eagles love cram and are not afraid to become unexpectedly courageous.

So, to be feasible this sphere would need a lot of work and fleshing out but the general idea of Gwaihir, as the example, is a balanced one. This was fun to make!

I threw in a Grimbeorn hero just for kicks as well.