Battle For Souls Artwork

Something I am pretty excited about for Battle For Souls is the plethora of public domain art that fits the theme of the game perfectly. Masterworks of religious art will give a very special feel to the game that will also let it double as a religious art history class!

Goya, Bosch, Michelangelo, Raphael, Memling, Da Vinci -- the possibilities are endless. I am also contacting some classically trained artists who can fill in the gaps.

One concern is different copyright laws in different countries and although a painting made before 1923 is automatically in the public domain a photograph of the painting may have a copyright. Researching this will be difficult as I will need to have hi-res copyright free photos of the originals. An other option if I cannot confirm copyrights on images is to pay an artist to modify them, or even repaint them which will be cheaper than paying for all original artwork.

Art is something no game project should ever skimp on in my opinion, and so I am determined to make something stunning. Graphic design by Luis Francisco will also make a huge difference in the wow factor. If anyone has any experience or knowledge on using public domain images in games I would really love to hear from you!

Artwork is in the public domain:

"Witches' Sabbath" by Francisco Goya - 1798

The Devils - 7 Princes Of Hell

In Battle For Souls players must choose the side of good or the side of evil.

The side of good has more power to protect and bless, while the side of evil has more power to exploit the mortal weaknesses of man.

Their are 7 princes of hell (or devils) in the game that can be used to help corrupt souls and drag them to hell for victory points. Each of these devils corresponds to one of the 7 deadly sins and is associated with a color.

Here they are:

ASMODEUS - LUST - PURPLE

BEELZEBUB - GLUTTONY - ORANGE

LEVIATHAN - ENVY - YELLOW

LUCIFER - PRIDE - WHITE

MAMMON - GREED - GREEN

SATAN - WRATH - RED

BELPHEGOR - SLOTH - BLUE

The colored +1 circle for each devil will award one unholy point to any soul with a mortal weakness of the same type/color in play of the devil's choosing. The soul must be unholy or neutral to use this point. The devil's +1 bonus cannot be used if the soul has even a single holy point. In addition, each devil has its own unique power as explained with the card text.

It will be important to get the balance right as angels and devils work to add holy and unholy points. I expect some tweaks as we playtest.

Each devil gained is worth 3 victory points as shown in the shield icon.

Soul Cards

The 21 souls in the game all have a scoring track on the left had side of the card face.

Each of them has a mortal weakness that corresponds to one of the 7 deadly sins, and a heavenly virtue for one of the 7 virtues.

Each of these is represented by a different color. For example, the mortal weakness of lust is represented by purple, while the heavenly virtue of chastity is also represented by purple.

There will always be three souls in play in the center of the table that players battle over. When new souls are placed on the table a marker is set in the middle of the scoring track. The starting position is always the grey space representing the neutrality of the soul.

As holy points are added, the marker is moved up the track, as unholy points are added the marker is moved down the track. Depending on where the marker is when a soul dies determines whether the soul goes to heaven or hell, earning victory points for the side of good or evil respectively. Souls die when a reap card is played or when a special ability to reap is used.

Reap cards are drawn randomly and a player must decide if it is beneficial for them to reap the souls now, or wait for a later turn.

On each soul card track you will see a spiral four spaces up and four spaces down. This represents the amount of holiness or unholiness a soul must have to be taken to heaven or hell. If a soul is reaped while the holiness marker is in between these two spirals the soul is placed in purgatory, and neither side gets the points.

The very last spaces on the holiness track are a 7-pointed star and a 5-pointed pentagram. If a player on the side of good can get a holiness marker to the 7-pointed star the soul has reached sainthood and is taken immediately to heaven without dying (no reap needed). When this happens the player is also allowed to draw a new angel card at random and add it to his or her arsenal for the remainder of the game. If a player on the side of evil earns enough unholy points to reach the pentagram the soul goes straight to hell and the player is allowed to draw a new devil card.

When the reap card is played all three souls in play must be resolved based on where the holiness marker is on each. So each will either go to heaven, hell, or purgatory. Then, three new soul cards are put into play, each starting with the holiness marker on the gray space.

This battle over souls is the ultimate goal of the game and can be a real tug fest between the forces of good and evil. Right now I have rules on how holy and unholy points will be gained and playtesting will be starting soon. I will write down my ideas and playtest results here as we work to balance the game. Input is greatly appreciated!

Artwork is in the public domain:

"Laughing Model With A Cloth" by Albert Edelfelt - 1880

Battle For Souls - A Cardgame

This blog is to provide information on a new card game I am developing called Battle For Souls.

In the game, 2 or 4 players will choose the side of heaven, or the side of hell.

Each side will battle for 21 souls, which are worth victory points. Players add holy or unholy points on the souls in play based on how they use temptation, virtue, sin, intercession, holy relic, unholy relic, angel and devil cards.

Earn enough holy points, and when the soul is reaped it goes to heaven, earning the side of good victory points. Earn enough unholy points, and when the soul is reaped it goes to hell, earning the side of evil victory points.

If a soul does not earn enough holy or unholy points and is reaped it goes to purgatory where its victory points are not counted.

Guiding a soul to complete purity or complete darkness before death and final judgment adds a new archangel or prince of hell to a player's arsenal. Each of the 7 archangels and 7 princes of hell have special abilities that will allow a player to gain souls more quickly, and each one gained adds additional victory points to your final tally.

Many strategic decisions impact play. Strategies include focusing on gaining more help from heaven or hell to increase your power, working to reap souls quickly from the start with little intervention from the angelic and demonic hordes, or balancing your play to ensure victory.

Sin, Intercession and Relic cards can be purchased for beneficial effects at the cost of holy and unholy points. These help to make for deep gameplay and excellent risk/reward scenarios. Invest in these cards to strengthen your position.

204 Battle For Souls initial prototype cards are complete and I will provide updates on the progress of the game here.

If Battle For Souls sounds interesting to you, please leave a comment. I will be providing free print and play versions of the game and sending out free physical prototypes at my expense to those who can commit to providing feedback. The goal is to make the game mechanics and balance rock solid before moving to graphic design.

Let me know if you are interested.

Robert

Artwork in the public domain:

"Portrait of Pontus Fürstenberg" by Ernst Josephson - 1883