@Yitzi
I don't mind, please share.
Despite my rambling, I wanted to stress that both versions have their strengths, and should be played accordingly. Personally, I lean more towards 3e/3.5 overall, though I had fun with 4e as well.
I used 4e as a template for other game modes, much like how 3e could be custom-tailored. One of my favorites was a pokemon-esque adventure where the players commanded teams of monsters vs other monsters. Another example is a 4e-inspired minigame I played with my group with positive feedback that I would like to share here. To give it some context, it was a large-scale multi-army clash done in an turn-based strategy fashion (think Fire Emblem/Advance Wars) with a 4e mindset. Give it a review (I would actually love to play another match online with this game).
The map was a large, symmetrical (sometimes assymetrical) map populated by various terrain tiles. On the fringes of the map, spaced equally apart from each other (like the starting spots of a fight here) are the starting positions of a base. In the dead center of every map is the boss base (the Dragon) usually limited in number of approached and surrounded by difficult terrain.
Note: Was usually played on a hex map.
Ikaruga Battle
Win conditions (satisfy one):
1) Destroy all other enemy armies.
2) Control every fort on the map.
3) Attain (25 * # of players) Resource pool.
Stats:
Every unit has a cost in Resource to produce and place in their starting zone. Every unit has health in the form of HP, and the amount of damage they can inflict to another unit in terms of Dmg. Rg is the number of spaces away they can deal Dmg, with 1 being an adjacent space. Mv is the amount of spaces a unit may move during its turn.
Gameplay:
Every side picks a race and starts with 5 Resource, and 1 Lord unit. Players roll dice to determine turn order by reversing the order by which players select their starting base location (raw roll result, starting from highest). ie the first person to move in a turn is the last person to pick a starting base location. On their turn, a player may move and/or attack each individual unit they possess, as well as create OR promote a single unit. Units may move before or after a Dmg, but not both (except Scouts), even after creation. If an army does not have a Lord, it cannot create other basic units. A Lord may create basic units if they start their turn standing on a camp, where the new unit spawns in the nearest, adjacent free space. An army cannot create promoted units, it can only create basic units and promote them. There is a cap of 2 Lords per player faction, and a second Lord may not be created until the first lord is promoted. If an enemy is in range of a unit, the unit simply rolls damage per their Dmg, and the enemy unit loses that amount of health and possibly Resource. The cleric may heal in place of an attack. There is no friendly fire, and clerics may not heal other factions.
Units:
[Basic]: A Basic unit costs 5 Resource to make. A Lord costs 15 Resource to make.
MAGE: HP 5, Dmg 4, Rg 3, Mv 1
WARRIOR: HP 10, Dmg 4, Rg 1, Mv 2
ROGUE: HP 7, Dmg 2 + [-1 Resource], Rg 1, Mv 3
LORD: HP 30, Dmg 5, Rg 2, Mv 2
[Promoted] It costs 10 Resource to promote a basic unit. It costs 15 to promote a Lord. Promoted units all gain +2 Dmg and +1 Mv. The promotion modifiers stack on top of whatever the existing unit already has.
WIZARD (mage, lord) HP +5, Attack has radius 2
CLERIC (mage, lord) HP +5, Can Heal a unit at Dmg value at Rg 5 instead of attacking (may heal self)
RANGER (warrior, lord), HP +4, Rg 3, Becomes Rg 4 and +2 Dmg when stationary for whole turn, Cannot attack Rg 1-2
BARBARIAN (warrior, lord), HP +10, Can lose -3 health to inflict +4 damage
ASSASSIN (rogue, lord), HP +5, 25% chance to instantly kill a non-lord unit with its attack, +3 Dmg to Lords
SCOUT (rogue, lord), HP +7, Mv 5, Can split up movement before and after an attack
Race:
-Dwarf: All units +2 HP, +1 Dmg when inside Mountains
-Elf: All Units +1 Dmg when inside Forests, Warriors/Rogues +1 Rg
-Ork: All Units +1 Dmg, additional +3 Dmg vs Buildings
-Undead: 25% chance a unit resurrects to half-health (round down) when killed
-Fiend: Gain additional +1 Resource when killing another unit
-Genie: 25% chance to deal x2 Dmg
-Hawkman: Ignore Movement penalties from terrain, +3 Dmg to Dragon faction
-Fey: Basic units cost -1 Resource to create, Lords cost -3 Resource to create, Mages have Mv 2
-Gnome: Mages/Lords have +2 HP and +1 Dmg
-Halfling: Rogues/Lords have +2 HP and +1 Dmg
-Giant: Warriors/Lords have +2 HP and +1 Dmg
-Merman: All units +1 Rg/+2 Dmg on Water, Movement on/through Water is free (up to 3 spaces)
-Golem: All units ignore 1 Dmg per attack
-Human: All units +1 Dmg per adjacent ally, additional +1 Dmg when inside a fort.
-Celestial: All Units heal +1 HP each at the end of their turn
The Dragon is a unique Boss NPC with its own faction. The Dragon acts exactly as another player, only it may create new units and promote twice in its turn. In addition, the Dragon may create units of any Race for its basic units, and starts with 2 Lords. The Dragon may have its two Lords start at any of the forts at the beginning of the game. All Units in the Dragon’s faction ignore 2 Dmg from every attack. The Dragon itself is a unique Lord with HP 60, Rg 4 (with radius 2), Dmg 5, with no movement. It may promote itself but cannot create another Dragon. The Dragon itself is larger than other units, occupying a radius 2 area. If the Dragon dies, its faction may continue like a normal rival army.
Resource:
Resource is gained at the end of a turn. Every player gains +2 Resource every turn from their home base. Having a unit end their turn on a Fort garners +2 Resource, which stacks across multiple forts. Having multiple units on the same fort does not stack. You may gain Resource on a fort even if you do not control the fort. A player controls a fort by being the only faction on the fort and gains an additional +1 Resource per turn for doing so. You may spawn new units inside a fort you control. The Dragon starts in control of all free forts in the beginning of the game despite not having a unit on it. Until another faction steps into a fort, that fort is under the Dragon’s control, and afterwards it may be contested. Having a unit end their turn on a Camp garners +1 Resource. Killing another faction’s unit garners +1 Resource.
Terrain:
Forest: -1 Mv, minimum 1
Mountain: -2 Mv, minimum 1
Water: Cannot cross, except for Hawkmen, Mermen, and Scouts. Hawkmen and Mermen may also end movements in Water.
Buildings: Buildings by themselves are unique (see below)
Buildings:
Forts: HP 30
Base: HP 50. If a home base is destroyed, the previous owner loses half of its Resource.
Doors: HP 15, cannot be passed by any unit
Lord Abilities
When a Lord promotes, it not only becomes a stronger version of that promotion tier, it also gains a unique Ability. All Abilities cost 1 Resource to activate and may be done once per turn. A Lord chooses only one Ability upon creation and it cannot be changed unless the Lord is re-promoted.
Note: Lord naming scheme is [Race] [Ability] Lord (eg: Giant Devastation Lord)
Wizard:
-Teleport: Activate to teleport itself or an adjacent friendly unit up to 3 spaces. This form of movement can pass through occupied spaces and doors.
-Warp: Activate, and create a warp point on your space. You may create multiple warp points, each costing a cumulative +1 Resource (2nd warp costs 2, 3rd costs 3, etc) and all allies that enter a space with your warp may choose to instantly warp to any other space with your warp point. A unit may only warp once per turn. Warp points from multiple factions may share the same space. Occupied destinations mean the unit appears in the nearest adjacent free space of their choice. If the Warp Lord dies or is demoted, the warp network still persists. Because the warps are networks, warps and warp costs for multiple Warp Lords all pool together.
-Regression: Activate to demote any friendly unit to its Basic class, fully healed. Cannot demote self
Cleric:
-Shield: Activate to negate the next attack or ability against a friendly unit within 5 spaces
-Sacrifice: Activate to kill a friendly basic unit and return its Resource cost to your faction's pool. (net is +resource cost -1)
-Mass Healing: Activate to make your healing Radius 2 for 1 round
Barbarian:
-Cleaving: Activate to deal Dmg to 2 adjacent enemy units.
-Whirlwind: Activate to deal half your Dmg to every adjacent space.
-Devastation: Activate to degrade current terrain space (Mountain -> Forest -> Plain) permanently. Does not affect Buildings or Water.
Ranger:
-Sniper: Activate for +1 Rg and +2 Dmg for 1 turn.
-Strider: Activate to move again.
-Primal: Activate to give all allies on the same terrain as you (Forest, Mountain, Water, Building, or Plains) +1 Dmg for 1 turn.
Assassin:
-Vengeance: +[-1 Resource] Dmg, and an additional 2 points of Resource damage if the targeted unit attacks on its next turn.
-Toxic: Activate and next attack target loses -1 HP/ -1 Resource for every space it moves for 1 turn.
-Disabler: Activate against a Lord and next attack also negates usage of targets Lord Ability for 1 turn. Against non-Lords, target has Mv 1 for 1 turn.
Scout:
-Strafe: Activate to deal either +X Dmg or -X Mv (for the next turn) to its attack target, where X is the number of spaces moved before the attack.
-Predator: Activate and pick 1 enemy unit up to Rg spaces away. All allies gain +1 Dmg against that unit for 1 turn.
-Recon: Activate to prevent being targeted by any enemy unit beyond 2 spaces for 1 turn. Does not apply to area Dmg.
