Talk:Star Wheel Gnostica Expansion

Variant Implementation by Carthoris

I'm intrigued by this expansion, and interested in the basic concept. But I'm not fully sold on the implementation. I don't like the idea of sacrificing a small pyramid to the wheel. (It's not uncommon to have all five in play on the table.) I'm not at all keen on the "rolling for bonus," and I'm skeptical about the "choose 1-3 spaces to move forward" rule. All that said, here's a much leaner implementation of the Star Wheel that I'm considering:

Setup -- Use a single token to mark the Star Wheel: a piece of pocket change, whatever. Place it on the Zodiacal sign corresponding to the card that wins the bidding for the start of the game, to the best of your knowledge of occult correspondences. This one token will indicate the "magical weather" for all players.

Movement -- The token advances a single space on the Star Wheel (Aries to Taurus, Taurus to Gemini, etc.) whenever any player uses a turn to draw cards. Otherwise it stays where it is.

Powers -- As noted in the main page of this article. The Fiery signs of Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius augment Wands. The Watery signs of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces augment Cups. The Airy signs of Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius augment Swords. The Earthy signs of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn augment Disks.

Matching for Bonus -- Any player who controls a Trump on the table corresponding to the currently marked sign of the Star Wheel draws additional cards up to a maximum of six-in-hand, as soon as the token is moved there, or immediately on establishing control of the Trump. The relevant correspondences are: Aries/Emperor, Taurus/Hierophant, Gemini/Lovers, Cancer/Chariot, Leo/Strength, Virgo/Hermit, Libra/Justice, Scorpio/Death, Saggitarius/Temperance, Capricorn/Devil, Aquarius/Star, Pisces/Moon. The bonus draw itself does not advance the Star Wheel.

By the way, there's a perfectly suitable (and eminently printable) Zodiac wheel at the Italian Wikimedia site.

I have now playtested this variant to my own satisfaction. It's fun and fair. --Carthoris 22:33, 15 April 2012 (UTC)