Fan
Alert
Combat
Diplomacy
Type
Power of Obsession
Adores Cosmic Aliens
As a leader, during combat, use this power to either add or subtract 3 might to or from your fleet for each foreign base in your system. Persistent.
Legacy: All powers are persistent.
This lowly sedentary race has been obsessed with Cosmic Encounter since its inception. Viewing all other aliens as celebrities, no matter the power, the Fans line up for miles to get autographs from their would-be invaders. Those who invade their system soon wish they hadn’t.
Leader: Combat
Mandatory
Wild Flare
As a leader, during combat, you may discharge this flare to add 1 might to your fleet for each foreign base in your system.
Leader: Combat
Super Flare
As a leader, during combat, you may discharge this flare to add or subtract 3 to your total for each other alien involved in the encounter.
Leader: Combat
Modifications
- Original alien name is “Xenophile” with the power of “welcoming.” A xenophile is someone who loves outsiders. I liked the idea of a more meta explanation for loving other aliens. The benefit of Xenophile is that it will mirror a potential “Xenophobe.”
- Super Xenophile uses its power to join in a shared win if one occurs. It’s not nearly as annoying as Super Plant, but it’s another one of those “I win” flares that can only be stopped by zapping it.
- Fan’s legacy makes all alien powers persistent, preventing them from being deactivated unless zapped or eliminated. Naturally, aliens that already have persistent powers don’t care for this one. Aliens that like to spend their ships, such as Gambler and Masochist, can appreciate this one. Original Cosmic has no legacies.
- Peaceful victories, generally through negotiation, are the ideal for Fan. They give Fan more power without the cost of a base.
Tips
- Fan prefers losing as defender when the opponent has many sponsors. If the opponent is attacking solo, they may be worth repelling.
- Unlike most powers, Fan gets stronger as it gets closer to destruction. Since its power comes from loss, it won’t have its total reduced until losing.
- Fan’s power feeds itself. Getting more foreign bases with its power helps it to win more easily. It also helps it to lose more easily as the defense.
- Fan’s subtraction aspect helps it to get negative might, granting it the flexibility to negotiate if the opponent plays an N. If not, the timing allows it to still potentially win in combat by adding instead.
- As the Fan, try to lose big as defender so you can win big as the invader.
Development Notes
- In comparison to Xenophile, Fan is both buffed and nerfed despite the two powers being identical. My elimination rule prevents Fan from throwing away all of its authority for maximum power like the original can. At the same time, it also gains the ability to situationally turn an unintentional massacre into a negotiation.
- Mechanically, Fan’s combat bonus isn’t the strongest, but it is unlikely to get shrink once it starts building up. It can pass the Human Test after two aliens establish bases in its system, which can happen in a single invasion.
- Fan’s power is similar to Citadel, in that it is something of a defender-only power, but not actually. It wants to lose as the defender and win the rest of the time. Its power only helps as a leader, which means it gets the bonus as the invader.
- Fan’s power cannot be utilized as a sponsor, despite it being on-brand, as it harms Fan’s ability to get commissioned. Fan could potentially sabotage its leader by subtracting from its might.
- I considered whether I should go with “Fan” or “Fanatic” as the alien name. While Fanatic has more presence to it, I like the idea of the super flare making them a “Super Fan.” Decided to go with Fan for the time being.
- Super Fan is similar to Chosen, in that it gains more might the more aliens participate in combat. Worst case, it only gets 3 extra might. Best case, in a Galactic match, it gets 21 extra might with all aliens involved.
- I could have made Fan’s legacy give everyone its combat power, but I think it makes sense that Fan would be one that wants to keep all powers in play. Not all legacies should be one-to-one. It’s good to have some change-ups.
- Naturally, the idea for the “Fan” originates from someone like me, who is obsessed with Cosmic Encounter and loves spending countless hours analyzing aliens and geeking out over their designs. I’m actually terrible at the game, but I love seeing all of the powers in action and engaging in the roleplay.
- The original name of “Xenophile” is noteworthy in that it is the only alien power name that starts with an “X.” I need to remember this, so I can fill in the gap later.
- As a situational side bonus, Xenophile’s flexible combat power makes it useful against both Anti-Matter and Loser.