Some guidance with DOOM, please

the text on the new dud cards can be found on FFG's doom site
www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/Doom/doomfaq.pdf

Ah, thanks!

So the marines get at least 1 shot out of a gun this way?

I only ever had the base game (traded since? Maybe? Haven't played in a while, hmm) and it was fun. There's nothing "broken" about the base game. If the Invader player is really good, it can be an asskicking for inexperienced marines. But if the marines work together, it's a totally awesome experience, regardless. It almost always comes down to the Big Guy At The Last Door and admittedly, that battle can be brief depending on the shape the marines are in and whether or not they have grenades left. Have you guys played DOOM, the video game? Did you just roll on through with your fists the first time you played? Don't be pussies and take your lumps--it's supposed to be hard. There's no campaign here, just try to survive.

Nick Warcholak wrote:

Cool man, yeah, whenever.

Nick, I believe I have a 2nd original set of 1st ed rules and mission book that I could send along. Shoot me your mailing address sometime and I'll drop 'em in the post whenever I find them.

I would be willing to pay someone to make copies of both the rules and extra missions from prior editions/expansions.

So I'm gathering from the conversation that I really should just get SH?

had both, really different games with similar themes

Doom's good, can usually be found on the cheap, and can be played with up to 4 people.

Frank (where-ever the fuck he is these days) mentioned a few house rules a couple of months back that he said helped the base game, I've still to get my copy to the table so have no idea how much they help. Does anyone make any mods to the games, I hear the marines have it tough ?

The game is supposedly easier on the marines with fewer players. When playing with two or three marines one house rule (or maybe even expansion rule) is that weapons come loaded. Meaning that you always grab an ammo token of the appropriate kind when you pick up a weapon.

One thing I personally hate about Doom, though, is that your marine can be killed and then respawn. I know it makes sense seing as it is a port of a video game, but I would really like to come up with something where the game would remain more or less the same, but the fluff story could be altered.

I like both Doom and SH. SH takes less time to play, and feels lighter. Doom is really hard on the marines, but with Tile-Edit, you can easily make your own maps that are as difficult or as easy as you think they should be (if your players are up for homemade maps).

I vastly prefer Doom to Space Hulk (a game which disapoints me somewhat these days). I use to endorse giving marines +1 starting armor, but I have changed my mind on that one as now I think it's TOO easy with that. Here are my current house rules:

1) Use the erratta in the FAQ. (ok, that's not a house rule!)

2) Instead of dealing each marines his ability cards, deal them all out into the middle of the table, and add 1 extra card. Then let the marines discuss and select cards for their marines as a group. This allows the marines to couple abilities which have synergy, and lets each marine specialise in different areas.
What abilities your marine ends up with makes a massive difference to the game, and if they haven't got good combos going they are fucked. So I highly recomend this house rule.

3) Haven't actually tried the following yet, but next game I will: instead of the standard 6 frags to win (I have no idea why Kevin made every map 6 frags!) alter it based on the size of the map. Currently I'm thinking of using the formula: [Frags needed = number of areas on map x 2.] Don't count the start area, only the numbered ones. I have no idea if that formula is too generous or what, so if anyone tries it let me know.

Thats really all I can think of. The expansion is not nessasary, but to me it adds a lot of fun so I recommend it, especially for the new beasties. Let us know how you go.

Thanks Frank!

Is the synergy between marine cards obvious or something we'll pick up on after a while? Just wondering if this would just needlessly add time and confusion to the first few games if we did that. Maybe just start as rules state and learn from that and then try this?

Really appreciate the response though.

Ska_baron wrote:

Thanks Frank!

Is the synergy between marine cards obvious or something we'll pick up on after a while? Just wondering if this would just needlessly add time and confusion to the first few games if we did that. Maybe just start as rules state and learn from that and then try this?

Really appreciate the response though.

It is very obvious which cards work well together. If you have a skill card that gives your marnies +3 range, you don't want your other skill to be "does extra damage when attacking in hand to hand." That's useless. Instead you want to join it to a card which improves your ranged weapon abilities, by giving you extra damage or free aim or some shit. That way you can make that marnie "Shotgun man" (shotgun has hopeless range so extra range skills work brillantly with it.) Then arm this guy with a shotgun and he starts kicking ass.

Last time I played one marine took the card which gives you +1 starting armor, and another which gave him an extra 4 wounds, effectivly making a super tank. This guy was an absolute nightmare to kill, so what he did was grab the chainsaw and blocked halls and shit with him so my big guys couldn't get through. By the time I took him out the other marines were boards away and my big guns had no chance of catching up.

If you have the skill which lets you move through objects and figures, couple it with an extra movement skill to create a runner who can zip around the board collecting everything while the other 2 do the fighting. Or if 2 skills both involve 'aiming', make sure they go to the same marine. Stuff like that. Like I said, it's normally pretty obvious what will work well together, but experimenting helps.

Another tip - if you are playing with three marines, there probably wont be enough ammo to go around, so Have one be a close combat speciallist.

Great ideas Frank - thanks for putting them down in ink.

One last question - would combining your changes with mads suggestion of weapons coming loaded be too much ?