Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted December 21, 2016 Posted December 21, 2016 (edited) Hello! For those of you who don't know, I am trying to create a set of Mistborn themed chess rules. Currently I've managed to finalize a set of rules for version 1, which leads me to the next step: Testing! If people could try the rules out and let me know whether or not they work well, I would greatly appreciate it! I'm going to try them out myself, but the main issue is that I don't know many people who both are interested in Sanderson's books and know how to play chess. That, and I'm likely to be biased towards a game I created. Here are the rules for quick reference: (spoiler for size) Spoiler Layout: Normal chessboard Black: The Rebellion White: The Final Empire (still moves first) Each side has its own moves and abilities. The rules for pawns are uniform. Rules for castling remain the same. Pawns: Skaa/Soldiers Move set: Normal Pawn (can move 1 space sideways if on a space of opposite color or move forward normally. Can not do both in one turn) This horizontal move can only be done after the pawn has moved forward at least once. If a pawn gets to the other side of the board, it "snaps" and becomes a misting. Switch out pawn for any non-pawn piece. A misting only has that piece's move set, and has no special abilities. Rebellion: King: Kelsier Move set: King (moves 2 spaces, but is able to jump over pieces. ) Special Ability: One time"Inspirational Sacrifice" (switch-out with Oreseur) "Inspires" characters: you can movie 2 pieces once for one turn Alt. King: Oreseur Moveset: King Special Ability: Kandra "Consumes Pieces"-May move one extra space for each piece he beats. Queen: Vin Move set: Bishop + Knight Special Ability 1: Coppercloud Ally pieces within a Knight's move of Vin are immune to Emotional Allomancy. Special Ability 2: Atium (one-time use) Vin may move into a position that would otherwise result in her being captured, without being captured. Player must state that Vin is using atium before moving the piece. This lasts until Vin moves again. If a player attempts to take Vin before Atium wears off, the piece is automatically lost, and Vin remains unaffected. Atium cannot be used to put the king in check. Due to the fact Shan is a mistborn, Atium can not be used to take a Queen (this applies to Queens in general). Knights/mistborn are not immune. This ability can only be used once per game. Bishop: Sazed Move set: Bishop/Knight (Sazed starts out with the Bishop Moveset) Special Ability: Ferchemist Sazed can switch between a Bishop and a Knight by tapping the appropriate metal-mind (player must state that Sazed is tapping at the end of his move in order for this to be used. A player can have Sazed start tapping at the beginning of the turn, but this is considered a move. Sazed cannot switch in the middle of a turn) At the end of the turn, while tapping, Sazed's path of check is the moveset he is switching to. Ex: if a king is in check because of the Bishop moveset and Sazed begins tapping, the King is no longer in check if Sazed cannot reach him as a Knight. Knight: Breeze Move set: Knight Special Ability: Soothing After Breeze moves, he has the option to "soothe" pieces around him. If pieces are being soothed, the opposing player can not move them for one turn. The piece must be within a Knight's move of Breeze. A player may choose to Soothe without moving, but this is still considered a turn. Breeze's Soothing has a 2 turn recharge time. Kings and queens are immune to soothing. Ally pieces within a Knight's move of Breeze are immune to Rioting. Rook: Ham Move set: Rook Special Ability: Thug Ham is tougher and stronger than normal person. Ham can not be taken by a pawn. Final Empire: King: Straff Venture Move set: King, moves 2 spaces (can be used as an offensive piece, but if the opposing king can move 2 spaces or more, Straff cannot be used to check the king.) Special Ability: One time "reproduce" Straff may replace a pawn with a knight/mistborn, one of his illegitimate children. This piece can not move during this turn unless Straff has been checkmated immediately after "Kelsier's Inspiration". If Straff has not already used his ability, and there is a pawn that can be used to get out of check, the piece may be moved immediately after the switch. Otherwise the piece is free to move during the player's next turn and onwards. Queen: Shan Elariel Move set: Bishop + Knight Special Ability 1: Emotional Allomancy Rules are identical to Breeze for Soothing. Rioting allows Shan to move another piece instead of herself. A Rioted piece can't be used to take pieces of it's own color. Rioting has the same limitations as Soothing. Shan cannot both Soothe and Riot in one turn. These are considered separate powers however, so a player could use Rioting while Soothing is recharging. Special Ability 2: Copper-cloud Rules are identical to Vin Bishop: Inquisitors Move set: Bisop Special Ability: Hemalurgy Anytime an Inquisitor takes a piece, the player may choose to use that piece's moveset or ability the next time they move the bishop. If an Inquisitor takes Sazed, it can keep his feruchemy but the Inquisitor will be restricted to Sazed's move set (you can't "tap" and have both bishop and knight move sets at the same time; it's one or the other). It can still use the moves and abilities of pieces it captures, but these are restricted by the "next time they move the bishop" rule. Knights: Mistborn Move set: Knight Special Ability: Copper Immune to Emotional Allomancy. Does not extend to other pieces. Rook: Koloss Move set: Rook Special Ability: Multiply via Hemalurgy If a Koloss takes 3 pieces, another Koloss/rook can be placed on the board, starting at the rook starting position. Special Ability 2: Supernatural Durability Koloss are difficult to kill. Koloss cannot be taken by a pawn. The Lord Ruler (optional): Move set: Queen + Knight Special Ability 1: Emotional Allomancy Due to his increased allomantic strength, he can soothe/riot any piece within the circle created by his Knight's move set, and has a 1 turn recharge time. Special Ability 2: Compounded Feruchemy Must be taken before he can be checkmated. TLR will immediately heal and kill the piece that takes him. (essentially a sacrifice) This ability will not work if Vin is involved; see below for details. Due to his power, if a player uses TLR, they forfeit their queen. TLR may start on either the king or queen space. TLR may not move until after the opponent's 3rd turn, unless he is checked. If TLR takes Kelsier, and "Kelsier's Inspiration" has not been used, it is used automatically and Oreseur is placed on any space that does not put TLR in check. If TLR is taken by or checkmated with Vin he does not compound, and the player wins the game. Alternate Character Rules: Spoiler Rebellion: King: Elend (pre-mistborn) Move set: King (moves 2 spaces) Special Ability: "Vin's Rage"- one-time use Elend is injured, enraging Vin. Vin can move 2 times in one turn. This can not be used the check the king. Vin can take either 2 pawns or 1 pawn and 1 non-queen piece. Vin cannot use Atium during these moves. After being used, Elend/the King cannot be moved for 3 turns. If the King is put in check during this time in such a way that the King would be required to move, it is considered checkmate. Bishop: Spook Move set: Bishop Special Ability: Tineye Spook's enhanced senses make him hard to surprise. He can not be taken by pieces in his diagonal. Exceptions: Queens and TLR. Bishop: Twindyl Move set: Bishop/Rook Special Ability: Feruchemy Can switch between move sets, similar to Sazed. Only one bishop can have a rook move set at a time. If a Bishop taps the rook move set while another is already tapping, the other immediately stops tapping. Bishop: Marsh (pre-inquisitor) Move set: Bishop Special Ability: Seeker Pieces within a bishop's move of Marsh cannot use their special ability. Knight: Allrianne Move set: Knight Special Ability: Rioting Rules are the same as Shan Knight: Clubs Move set: Knight Special Ability: Smoker If Club uses his ability, ally pieces within a knight's move can no be taken by mistborn characters (includes Shan and Zane). Exceptions: TLR and Inquisitor characters (includes Inquisitor Marsh) Rook: Dockson Move set: Rook Special Ability: Reposition Dockson may switch places with an adjacent ally piece at the end of his turn. Final Empire King: Jastes Lekal Move set: King (moves 2 spaces) Special Ability: Koloss army- one-time use Jates loses control; one koloss may be placed at either rook starting position after sacrificing 3 pawns. Both rooks must be moved before this can be used. Queen: Zane Move set: Bishop + Knight Special Ability 1: Atium Rules same as Vin. However, Vin can take Zane while he is using atium. Bishop: Kandra Move set: Bishop Special Ability: Kandra/Uncanny Mimicry Immediately after taking a piece a Kandra can choose to switch to the moves of the taken piece. The player must state "imitation". Kandra will then use this move set until it takes another piece, at which point the player will have the choice of returning to the Bishop move set or imitating the taken piece. Repeat as necessary. Knight: Hazekiller Move set: Knight Special Ability: Special Training Hazekillers are trained to deal with mistings. As a result, the Hazekiller piece can not be taken by Ham. Knight: Soothing Station Operator Move set: Knight Special Ability: Soothing Rules are the same as Breeze Please let me know what you think! If you have any questions, feel free to let me know. Edited September 24, 2017 by Faceless Mist-Wraith Added Marsh's rules 8
A Budgie she/her Posted December 22, 2016 Posted December 22, 2016 I'm not really into chess, but this seems like a very clever idea.
What's a Seawolf? Posted December 22, 2016 Posted December 22, 2016 I've never really been into chess, but I would love to try this. Only concern I can think of is that it would be difficult (at first, and especially for non Mistborn readers) to keep track of the different abilities. Have you playtested it?
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted December 22, 2016 Author Posted December 22, 2016 I tried it out today. The new queen move set does take some getting used to. I will consider changing it based on the feedback of other people.
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted December 23, 2016 Author Posted December 23, 2016 After playing the game a few times, I found some balance issues with Vin's Atium, pawn movement, and difficulty utilizing the Koloss ability. I have edited the rules to address these issues. If you notice any other balance issues while playing, please let me know.
WayneSpren he/him Posted December 23, 2016 Posted December 23, 2016 A few years I created a variation like this, called "Star Wars" chess. It wasn't as good as this, that's for sure.
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted December 23, 2016 Author Posted December 23, 2016 Thank you! "Star Wars" chess sounds pretty interesting. Do you still have the rules? In other news, after a few more test games*, I've done another small edit. I've made the Soothing ability a bit more useful, since as it was nearly useless as it was before. The rule before the change was that Breeze could Soothe instead of moving, but as I played I realized this ultimately had little-to-no effect. The new rule is that Breeze can Soothe after moving, similar to how Sazed can tap a metal-mind at the end of a turn. The recharge time is now 2 turns to keep this from being overpowered. The other small edits included some more controls on Atium (you can't take the queen using Atium), some small alterations to the Inquisitor's Hemalurgy (they can use Sazed's ability for an extended period of time), and some basic clarifications with regards to castling and the limitations of the king in general. If you feel that these changes are unwarranted or unnecessary, or you have your own input from your own experiences playing the game, please let me know. *I convinced my younger brother to play the game. He hasn't read any of Sanderson's books, but he knew how to play chess, so I figured it would work. 2 hours and a very intense game later, he ended up checkmating me. It was his first time playing the game. 1
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted December 30, 2016 Author Posted December 30, 2016 I've done a small edit regarding The Final Empire misborn/knight piece. It is now immune to emotional allomancy. This is to differentiate it from the upcoming Hazekiller and other alternate knight pieces. Other edits include clarification regarding the rules of Soothing and Rioting.
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted January 3, 2017 Author Posted January 3, 2017 Edit with the black King/Kelsier. After playing a few more times with my brother I realized an obvious flaw with this piece: If the player never uses "Kelsier's Inspiration" the black King is virtually impossible to checkmate. Kelsier is now limited to the King's two space move, however he can jump over pieces that are directly next to him. This is a compromise that limits the King's mobility while still incorporating Kelsier's "mistborness". I have tested it out, and I think it will work better. I am also considering changing "Kelsier's Inspiration", since this can result in the quick/possibly unfair loss of 2 important pieces. If anyone has played the game and has any input, please let me know. (Sorry about the double/triple post, I'm just trying to let people know when the rules are altered and why.)
Farnsworth Posted January 4, 2017 Posted January 4, 2017 I'm on the chess team, so I'll try this out today if anyone on the team is interested!
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted January 4, 2017 Author Posted January 4, 2017 6 minutes ago, Figberts said: I'm on the chess team, so I'll try this out today if anyone on the team is interested! That would be really helpful! Let me know if you have any questions.
Bugsy he/him Posted January 5, 2017 Posted January 5, 2017 (edited) Hey! I've only started reading the rules, and I have to go before I can finish, but my thought for right now is that Atium is significantly OP. I'd suggest making it one-time-use, rather than refreshing. Another change I'd suggest is prohibiting the player using Atium from capturing on the same turn. Otherwise, the queen could (for example) attack B7 without worrying about C8, then take A8 the next turn. It hugely devalues all other pieces in comparison because it essentially prohibits protecting any piece against a queen and makes traps (other than forking) all but impossible Edit: As for black's alt king, is the movement capability a running tally or is it an extra movement for each piece captured that turn? Edited January 5, 2017 by Bugsy6912
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted January 5, 2017 Author Posted January 5, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, Bugsy6912 said: Hey! I've only started reading the rules, and I have to go before I can finish, but my thought for right now is that Atium is significantly OP. I'd suggest making it one-time-use, rather than refreshing. Another change I'd suggest is prohibiting the player using Atium from capturing on the same turn. Otherwise, the queen could (for example) attack B7 without worrying about C8, then take A8 the next turn. It hugely devalues all other pieces in comparison because it essentially prohibits protecting any piece against a queen and makes traps (other than forking) all but impossible Thank you for your input! I've been trying to figure out how to balance Atium without making it useless, and this seems like a pretty good idea. 3 hours ago, Bugsy6912 said: As for black's alt king, is the movement capability a running tally or is it an extra movement for each piece captured that turn? This is a good question. It is cumulative. Ex: Oresuer-King takes a piece, it can now move an extra space during each of its moves. The player then keeps adding spaces for every piece the king captures. If a the King managed to capture enough pieces this could get OP, but I imagine that getting more than 2 pieces would be difficult, so it balances out. (edit) I have updated Atium so it is now a one-time use ability. Edited January 5, 2017 by Faceless Mist-Wraith
Bugsy he/him Posted January 5, 2017 Posted January 5, 2017 (edited) I tried this out today, but we weren't able to finish the game because of time restraints. I did wind up with one more question, though; can the kings pass through check in the course of their movement so long as they don't ultimately wind up in check? We weren't sure if it followed the same basis of castling (that the king can not voluntarily enter check even if it immediately leaves) since it wasn't specifically addressed. Edit: Also, does soothing affect 1 piece in the range or all? We played 1, since that appeared to be the intent, but weren't sure Edited January 5, 2017 by Bugsy6912
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted January 8, 2017 Author Posted January 8, 2017 On January 5, 2017 at 4:22 PM, Bugsy6912 said: I did wind up with one more question, though; can the kings pass through check in the course of their movement so long as they don't ultimately wind up in check? We weren't sure if it followed the same basis of castling (that the king can not voluntarily enter check even if it immediately leaves) since it wasn't specifically addressed. Good question. A King can pass through check in the course of their movement as long as they don't end in check. The rules for castling are the same. A King can be used as an attacking piece as long as it does not go into check while doing so. A King can not check another King unless it has more moves. Ex: King with 2 moves can check a King with 1 move, but if both can move two spaces, neither can check the other. On January 5, 2017 at 4:22 PM, Bugsy6912 said: Also, does soothing affect 1 piece in the range or all? We played 1, since that appeared to be the intent, but weren't sure Soothing is meant to affect all pieces within a knight's move. If this turns out to be OP I can change it to one piece. On January 5, 2017 at 4:22 PM, Bugsy6912 said: I tried this out today, but we weren't able to finish the game because of time restraints. Did the game work well? *Sorry about the late response. I thought I replied Thursday, but I must have forgotten to submit.
Bugsy he/him Posted January 9, 2017 Posted January 9, 2017 It worked relatively well. We wound up stalemating (not enough pieces to check the kings with increased move ranges), but that happens fairly regularly, as we're relative equals
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted January 10, 2017 Author Posted January 10, 2017 Did you notice any flaws or anything that could be improved? Did it seem like all the pieces/sides were balanced, or were there any inconsistencies?
Unodus he/him Posted January 12, 2017 Posted January 12, 2017 (edited) I love chess and Mistborn- but personally, I think having numbers in chess isn't a good idea (one time uses are ok though). I've got a few alternatives you might want to consider .o. How about this: Soother: Any piece one square away from this piece cannot be moved on the opponents turn. (This does not apply to a king in check) Rioter: Any piece one square away from this piece must be moved on the opponents turn (if there is more than one, the opponent chooses.) (This does not apply if a king is in check) This plays on the idea that emotimancers push on the people around them in an area, which is a thing iirc. Lot's of strategic potential there v: And how about for Koloss, you could change it to:Re-use spikes: If a Koloss takes a major piece (ie: not a pawn), and a Koloss has been taken this game- the piece that was taken becomes a friendly Koloss, and the Koloss that was moved stays where it was. And for Inquisitors, keeping track of how many charges they have seems very tedious. What about something like: Guided by Ruin: The player can make a move with any amount of Inquisitors in addition to his regular turn. This connects the the Inquisitors hunter like nature and moving autonomously to the empire in the shadows, always a step ahead and waiting in ambush Also, canonically speaking, why isn't Elend the king? This seems a little weird from a timey wimey perspective, and he'd make a much more applicable piece for the vulnerable king role.. x3 You also need a circumstantial rule for what happens if the starting square that you're moving a piece back to is occupied (Oresaur, for example) Hope these suggestions help Edited January 12, 2017 by Unodus
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted January 14, 2017 Author Posted January 14, 2017 I understand what you mean about the numbers, I try to limit the numbers or make them similar to avoid this problem. However, I also want to allow people the freedom of choice to use an ability with respect to soothing/rioting, so unless someone suggests a mechanism that works with that , I think I'm going to keep the current system. On January 12, 2017 at 8:38 AM, Unodus said: And for Inquisitors, keeping track of how many charges they have seems very tedious. What about something like: Guided by Ruin: The player can make a move with any amount of Inquisitors in addition to his regular turn. This connects the the Inquisitors hunter like nature and moving autonomously to the empire in the shadows, always a step ahead and waiting in ambush While this is interesting, it would quickly become overpowered since a person would be able to move 3 pieces in one turn, each turn. I am thinking about changing the Inquisitor mechanism, but for now I am waiting for specific feedback on how well the "next time they move" rule works. On January 12, 2017 at 8:38 AM, Unodus said: Also, canonically speaking, why isn't Elend the king? This seems a little weird from a timey wimey perspective, and he'd make a much more applicable piece for the vulnerable king role.. x3 For this version I was mostly focusing on Book 1 characters, which meant that Kelsier ended up being the King since he was leading the rebellion. I am currently working on alt. pieces in the Mistborn Chess post, one of which is a King Elend piece. On January 12, 2017 at 8:38 AM, Unodus said: You also need a circumstantial rule for what happens if the starting square that you're moving a piece back to is occupied (Oresaur, for example) What kind of situation are you thinking about? Do you have any suggestions? ***There has been an edit to the rules: If you get a pawn to the end of the board you can promote it to any non-pawn piece. This piece has no special ability, though it has the move set of whatever piece it is. 1
Unodus he/him Posted January 16, 2017 Posted January 16, 2017 I was referring to " If TLR takes Kelsier, and "Kelsier's Inspiration" has not been used, it is used automatically and Oreseur is placed on the king's starting spot.", and other moves that require moving a piece to a starting spot. What happens if that square is already occupied or is already under threat? Perhaps it would make more sense like this: If TLR takes Kelsier, and "Kelsier's Inspiration" has not been used, it is used automatically and the Rebellion player places Oreseur on any unoccupied square that does not put TLR in check. This counts as their move. This would allow you to play much more defensively, able to tactically retreat and defend after losing Kelsier
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted January 24, 2017 Author Posted January 24, 2017 This sounds good, especially in the case of TLR. I have added it to the rules. Thank you for the input!
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted May 16, 2017 Author Posted May 16, 2017 (edited) I know that it has been a while, but I just wanted to add the alternate character moveset. If anyone tries them out and finds any flaws, or has some advice for improvement, I would appreciate it. Alternate Character rules (Spoilered for size): Spoiler Rebellion: King: Elend (pre-mistborn) Move set: King (moves 2 spaces) Special Ability: "Vin's Rage"- one-time use Elend is injured, enraging Vin. Vin can move 2 times in one turn. This can not be used the check the king. Vin can take either 2 pawns or 1 pawn and 1 non-queen piece. Vin cannot use Atium during these moves. After being used, Elend/the King cannot be moved for 3 turns. If the King is put in check during this time in such a way that the King would be required to move, it is considered checkmate. Bishop: Spook Move set: Bishop Special Ability: Tineye Spook's enhanced senses make him hard to surprise. He can not be taken by pieces in his diagonal. Exceptions: Queens and TLR. Bishop: Twindyl Move set: Bishop/Rook Special Ability: Feruchemy Can switch between move sets, similar to Sazed. Only one bishop can have a rook move set at a time. If a Bishop taps the rook move set while another is already tapping, the other immediately stops tapping. Bishop: Marsh (pre-inquisitor) Move set: Bishop Special Ability: Seeker Pieces within a bishop's move of Marsh cannot use their special ability. Knight: Allrianne Move set: Knight Special Ability: Rioting Rules are the same as Shan Knight: Clubs Move set: Knight Special Ability: Smoker If Club uses his ability, ally pieces within a knight's move can no be taken by mistborn characters (includes Shan and Zane). Exceptions: TLR and Inquisitor characters (includes Inquisitor Marsh) Rook: Dockson Move set: Rook Special Ability: Reposition Dockson may switch places with an adjacent ally piece at the end of his turn. Final Empire King: Jastes Lekal Move set: King (moves 2 spaces) Special Ability: Koloss army- one-time use Jates loses control; one koloss may be placed at either rook starting position after sacrificing 3 pawns. Both rooks must be moved before this can be used. Queen: Zane Move set: Bishop + Knight Special Ability 1: Atium Rules same as Vin. However, Vin can take Zane while he is using atium. Bishop: Kandra Move set: Bishop Special Ability: Kandra/Uncanny Mimicry Immediately after taking a piece a Kandra can choose to switch to the moves of the taken piece. The player must state "imitation". Kandra will then use this move set until it takes another piece, at which point the player will have the choice of returning to the Bishop move set or imitating the taken piece. Repeat as necessary. Knight: Hazekiller Move set: Knight Special Ability: Special Training Hazekillers are trained to deal with mistings. As a result, the Hazekiller piece can not be taken by Ham. Knight: Soothing Station Operator Move set: Knight Special Ability: Soothing Rules are the same as Breeze Edited September 6, 2017 by Faceless Mist-Wraith Updated Marsh's rules
Faceless Mist-Wraith he/him Posted September 6, 2017 Author Posted September 6, 2017 I have updated Marsh's rules. I actually had it written down for a while, and forgot to update the online version, so I apologize to anyone who wanted to use him. If you could give me feedback on how well his mechanics work, it would be much appreciated! In other news, I will be posting the Era 2 version soon!
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