Avatar schemes and strategies

[Guardian]

Every now and again, I come back to thinking about avatars and how to make them work, and how to get something useful or worthwhile from them. Not just taking them and going out of my way for manifest requirements for no practical reward or gain.

I have wondered, why didnt wyrd introduce some kind of strategy/scheme system to reward avatars. Some incentive for ppl to take them...

Just my thoughts...

[Omenbringer]

Because you dont really need incentive to attach or manifest the Avatars, they provide options or refine focus, they are there own reward. You may have to build to them and work for them but in most cases they are worth the effort.

[decker_cky]

Could have been a pretty cool mechanic to let you switch one of your schemes to an avatar only scheme after you manifest. Make it a hard scheme to accomplish, but have the advantage of dropping a scheme that you're unlikely (or unable) to complete.

[Alviaran]

Could have been a pretty cool mechanic to let you switch one of your schemes to an avatar only scheme after you manifest. Make it a hard scheme to accomplish, but have the advantage of dropping a scheme that you're unlikely (or unable) to complete.

IMO an extension to your master specific scheme would have been the best way to do it. Either a VP for manifesting or adding an alternate set of conditions to your scheme that lets you achieve it in two different ways, something specifically related to the master's avatar form. For example, Lilith's scheme is to be carrying four Blood Counters at the end of the encounter (which is a REALLY dumb scheme IMO. I dislike schemes that require you to not use resources to get them). If she went avatar, let her accomplish the scheme by either carrying four Blood Counters at the end of the encounter OR if she discarded four Blood Counters via her abilities. (And it is a strict OR. You cannot accomplish it by spending three counters and then holding one)

This is a silly scheme that explicitly conflicts with her avatar anyway. If she gained an alternate set of conditions once she went avatar, it'd be great. Or look at Hamelin. His scheme is built around an ability he loses when he manifests. I understand the fear was probably that they wanted you to not just gun for manifesting because avatars are master plus, so they wanted you to have to decide in some cases between accomplishing a scheme and manifesting. But we all know that didn't really happen. I think the decision to open up new ideas or even completely change your scheme to affect your decision to manifest is better than basically just forfeiting a scheme by manifesting.

Not to mention, in flavour, the avatars are manifestations of great power and are pushing masters towards very specific concepts, often taking one part of who they are and ramping that up to be their focus as befits the story. You could argue that a master manifesting should be a decision they are making to further their own goals. Why shouldn't going avatar open up the ability to achieve your VPs?

I think this is an idea they could test out via Gaining Grounds. I've heard they are restricting the strats for GG2013. I think they should also do schemes since we all know that from a competitive standpoint, schemes are nowhere NEAR equal.

[Fetid Strumpet]

Well and from my experience testing the new strats I have noticed that Schemes become even more important, because getting full, or even that many points from Strats becomes very difficult. With the strats you now have to often fight very hard for every point and there is no guarantee even if you do everything right that you will get your full four.

Personally I'm still considering disallowing any use of faction or master specific schemes in any Tournaments I run. Granted even the basic schemes are slated to be better used by some factions or others, but it certainly gets rid of the difference in effectiveness in schemes between good ones like Saving Face and Sabotage, and less good ones like Round Up, and Death after Death.