Cudgel
Alert
Destroy
Type
Power to Smash
Opponent Loses More Ships
As a leader, after winning in combat, use this power to ravage one of your opponent’s ships for each of your committed ships.
Legacy: When a leader loses in combat, an additional ship is ravaged as a penalty.
The Cudgels were once dismissed as yet another race of mindless brutes who just liked smashing things with giant clubs. Little did everyone realize the innovation they were applying to their craft. Once their clubs started breaking through the dimensional barrier and bludgeoning things light-years away, more than a few expectations got smashed.
Leader: Combat
Mandatory
Wild Flare
As the invader, after winning in combat, you may discharge this flare to destroy all bases on the target planet.
Invader: Combat
Super Flare
When using your power, you may discharge this flare to smash the ships of enemy sponsors.
Leader: Combat
Modifications
- Cudgel’s legacy makes aliens lose an additional ship after losing in combat, creating synergy with win-based ship destruction effects like Void, Fungus, and Bully. Original Cosmic does not have legacies.
Tips
- Cudgel is most dangerous when it commits bunch of ships. When attacking Cudgel, targeting the least-guarded bases will produce the least amount of risk.
- Cudgel does not target sponsors unless super, so unlike Void, there’s no additional risk to opposing Cudgel.
- As Cudgel, sending fewer ships and targeting weaker bases as an invader can make opponents less likely to go all out against you. Losing 3 ships is a much nicer proposal than losing 8, even for ship-preservers like Zombie. Ravaging a large number of ships at once can cause base destruction.
- Cudgel’s power comes from ship advantage, similar to Gambler and Assassin. When you have 12 ships and the enemy has 8, you can send 4 ships to put the opponent in a tight spot. They either have to win the encounter or be wiped out. Such influence can pressure a negotiation.
Development Notes
- Cudgel is a textbook “win-more” alien. While possibly too simple to the point of being uninteresting to play, Cudgel can be a dangerous threat in the same vein as Barbarian or Void. Distinguishing Cudgel’s theming from Barbarian in particular was important to me, given their mechanical similarities. Of particular note, the logistics of Cudgel’s power got me to rethink Barbarian, as realistically it would only make sense for Cudgel to be able to smash ships if it is already in its target’s system. Making Cudgel’s power invader-only makes it much too underwhelming to be worth taking, so it needs an explanation behind it. A lore-based explanation can suffice for that, and I like the idea of the Cudgel actually having a super-advanced R&D department to support a primitive and mindless hobby. It certainly distinguishes them from the more archetypally brutish Barbarians, especially since Cudgels can control their strength while Barbarians always go all-out.
- Though Cudgel’s power is mandatory, the decision-making comes into play when it comes to the number of committed ships Cudgel has. This gives Cudgel an extra choice as invader and the opponent an extra choice when Cudgel is the defender, fitting nicely with my design philosophy.
- Similar to Assassin, Cudgel is one of the few pure destroy-based powers that only harms others rather than helping itself.