On the resource themes and ‘color pie’
Way to Crown has multiple card resources, heavily inspired by Magic: The Gathering (abbreviated to MtG henceforth).
There are 4 (rather than 5) basic “colors” (HP, MP, St=stamina, Wp=willpower) plus Gold, which is mostly used between the stages, but some rare cards do use gold as secondary resource.
As in MtG, player is not restricted from taking any combination of resource costs in deck, but since resources do not replenish automatically, each additional resource requires corresponding generation (similar to MtG lands).
There are lots of strategic considerations and synergies around mixing resources and using multi-resource cards. However, in this post I would like to discuss “flavor / theme” of each resource (and perhaps expand to combinations later). WtC does not have a rich and detailed backstory, but some “soft” themes are nevertheless present.
Resource: HP (health points)
HP is unique in that it represents both player health and the cost of cards, so “HP replenishment” is the same as healing. This makes HP-based heroes both simpler (no need to manage HP separately) and more risky (easier to lose by spending HP recklessly). Here is a list of HP-based card themes:
- Self-damage and “revenge” mechanics
- Unarmed combat
- Strength / toughness
- Vampirism
- Melee attacks
- Healing
- Mutation / evolution / adaptation
- Aggression / burst damage
Resource: MP (magic points)
MP is a typical “generic mana” resource, with the least flavor and largest pool of associated cards.
Here is a list of MP-based card themes:
- Elemental attacks: poison, fire, ice
- Ranged attacks
- Fear and eldritch
- Defence and protection
- Intellect and knowledge
- Mental power and mind control
- Mechanisms and “auto-playing” effects
- Slow-playing and stalling
Resource: St (stamina)
St represents agility and resilience, but also cunning and trickery of all kinds.
Here is a list of St-based card themes:
- Mix of ranged and melee
- Weapons and bows
- Evasion
- Dexterity and athletics
- Greed and treasure-hunting
- Luck and gambling
- Mischief and deceit
- Card discarding, card cost manipulation
- Traps and ambushes
- Disabling enemies
Resource: Wp (willpower)
Wp represents general self-control and mental endurance, but also has heavy religions connotations. Religious themes are plentiful, but deliberately vague, avoid overtly referencing real-world pantheons and leave deity interference “morally neutral”. Wp also serves together with HP as a buffer against “insanity”, which is a loss condition based on combined “insanity statuses” (fear, confusion and guilt) overcoming the hero’s HP+Wp value.
Here is a list of Wp-based card themes:
- Prayers and piety
- Wisdom and philosophy
- Lightning attacks
- Rituals and conditional effects
- Guilt and penance
- Conversion / proselytism
- Self-weakening
- Public speaking and government
- Concentration and focus
- Prophesy and clairvoyance