Crucible IV 19/12/2013

Heroes play a unique part in Crucible. They are the only mobile aspect of the game, and are the primary way in which the player will interact with the universe (system and planet management is largely a passive activity). Heroes are found stationed within systems, but can also move freely to other systems, including enemy and uncolonised systems.

Heroes can be hired for a cost, and the available pool of heroes will be randomised (but never empty), so in theory a player could have thousands of heroes (but you wouldn't want to!). There are several different kinds of hero, and each type has mechanics that interact differently with the game world.

There are three different categories of hero, and each category reflects the three different diplomatic states of the game. There are Diplomats whose abilities favour peacetime activities, Infiltrators designed for use in Cold War scenarios, and Soldiers- just perfect for war.

Within the each category there falls (currently) three different hero sub-types, which are as follows:

Diplomat

• President- Presidents boost the SIM production of the system they are placed in, as well as adjacent systems.
• Peacemaker- When positioned in hostile systems, peacemakers will convert the system to a peaceful system over a period of turns. When placed in friendly systems peacemakers will prevent the system from becoming hostile.
• Merchant- Merchants come in pairs. Two players must each own a merchant and have them positioned in a system. The merchants can then be linked, and will provide two—way SIM bonuses to each player. Merchant connections can b changed, but will negatively affect the diplomatic state of the original player if linked to a different player.

Infiltrator (invisible to enemy)

• Recon Drone- When positioned in enemy systems, recon drones can allow the player to view all system and planetary improvements, as well as any heroes present within the system. These can be useful to look through systems when considering targets for an invasion.
• Spy- A spy will siphon off a small amount of an enemy systems SIM to the player. Enemies are able to see reduced SIM in the system inspector, but remain uninformed of the cause.
• Assassin- Assassins can kill enemy heroes. This action takes a number if turns, and if the hero is detected before the assassination can be carried out, they will escape to the nearest friendly system.

Soldier

• Warlord- Warlords have considerable offensive power and are the go-to hero for system invasions. Warlords can also raze systems to prevent further use by players.
• Strike Team- Strike teams support Vanguards and Warlords in that they are equally suited to offensive and defensive situations. This is ideal for front line skirmishes.
• Vanguard- Vanguards are used to defend players systems from enemy invasions. They are also able to raze systems.

I hope to introduce more unique mechanics to each hero type, but the basic flavour is outlined here. I am currently also considering the possibility of having each hero come with a ship. This would allow heroes and ships to be upgraded (much less micromanagement than it sounds), for example ships could be upgraded to move further (they can only move one system at a time currently), and heroes could have various pieces of technology added to them.

As I say this needs a great deal of thought given to it as I am averse to adding extra features for the sake of complexity.