Brainstorming Trading in a Minis-Based Action Game
I've been developing a cooperative, 3D print-and-play modular adventure game for the past year, and it's been going great. If you're curious how it plays, you can see the "how to play" video here:
I'm working on the next expansion which will be Taverns. The game itself lends itself to different adventures that shake things up with different rules variations. And in the taverns I want to add a gnome character that will "sell" upgrades to players. The special abilities may include:
- Permanently give a hero 1 extra movement action per turn.
- Permanently give a hero gets 2 chances to hit on an attack roll.
- Permanently give a hero an extra slot on the dice table when rolling attacks.
- A single use special attack that deals damage to all enemies in sight along a column or row.
- A special ability that allows a hero to dodge damage under certain circumstances.
- A special ability that gives a hero inspiration when taking damage.
- An extra HP for a hero
But how to handle purchasing them?
One option I'm thinking of is to go the Golden Axe route and just beat it out of them. make the gnomes enemies with 3 HP and whenever you hit them you draw one at random.
Another option is a drafting mechanic where there's a purchase table. I've played many games with drafting mechanics, but trying to narrow it down to something small, that won't intrude on the game, is proving to be a challenge. What games with drafting mechanics like this have you seen and what do you think would work in this scenario?
The third option is kind of between the two. Pay the gnome 2 IP and get a random draw.
What do you think? Which option is the best? Is there an option I didn't consider?
Posted Sep 14, 2026, 7:55 PM UTC