Grump
Alert
Destroy
Invasion
Type
Power of Seclusion
Trespassers Beware
At the start of another alien’s orientation, use this power to snipe an enemy ship in your system.
Once per encounter, during any upkeep, if a planet has no ships on it, you may establish a base there with up to four of your ships. Persistent.
Legacy: When an invader establishes a base in a system, each foreign alien must rebound one of their ships in that system, if one exists.
Once upon a time, the Grumps had no interest in Cosmic conquest. They simply wanted to be left alone. But with everyone else blatantly ignoring their “Do not disturb” signs, it would seem that a complete Cosmic takeover has become necessary just to keep everyone away.
Not Invader: Orientation
Mandatory
Wild Flare
After any launch phase, you may discharge this flare to target any other alien. That alien must send a ship from the targeted system to the warp.
Any: Launch
Super Flare
When using your power, you may discharge this flare to instead snipe an enemy ship for each alien with a ship in your system.
Not Invader: Orientation
Modifications
- Changed the power name from Grumpus to Grump. Part of my design philosophy to lean toward real words when possible to better capture the theme of a concept.
- Originally the power to Grump. Needed to change power name to avoid redundancy with alien name.
- Original power shoos away one ship for each other alien when Grumpus loses a home colony. Changed due to infamously being a nominee for the single worst power in Cosmic Encounter.
- Cosmic Odyssey introduced a rework of Grumpus that uses its power when it loses as a leader and gains the ability to establish a foreign base if it destroys a colony this way. My version is a modified version of the reworked power, designed to feel more like a grumpy individual trying to be left alone.
- Grump’s legacy incorporates the reworked power from Cosmic Odyssey, making it more difficult to retain bases after gaining them. Similar to matches with Assassin, aliens will need to keep more ships on foreign bases to avoid this legacy destroying them. Macron and Locust can greatly benefit from this legacy since they can gain permanent bases. Aliens that can preserve their ships like Zombie and Roach can also do well against it. Original Cosmic has no legacies.
Tips
- In order to use its power, Grump needs to lose as the defender. Throwing an encounter early with an N pod can be great for getting enemy ships in your system to snipe.
- Bases in Grump’s system are more volatile than most. Aliens will need to send many ships to establish a base in Grump’s system.
- If Grump fully clears a planet of enemy ships, it can re-establish a base there. Since its power is persistent, it can help prevent Grump’s elimination.
- With Grump in play, every alien will need to make sure they keep at least one ship on every planet. Grump will want to maximize destruction so that there will be fewer ships in play to protect bases.
- Grump is highly encouraged to assist the defenders. Stopping invasions will allow for more orientation phases, and the backer boons will help Grump win its own invasions.
Development Notes
- Grump can be most easily compared to Assassin, another alien that passively destroys ships. Assassin is virtually guaranteed to destroy more ships than Grump, since it destroys one every destiny phase unless its own destiny is chosen. Grump only destroys a ship at the start of enemy campaigns if it has ships in its system to target. However, Assassin does not gain any benefit from its power aside from having more ships on average due to destroying them. Grump’s primary power comes from its ability to establish foreign bases for free if a foreign planet is emptied. In a sense, Grump has a different win condition, and its destruction clause merely helps facilitate it.
- The reworked Grumpus from Cosmic Odyssey works well as a “lose less” concept. Any time Grump loses when it has ships in its system, it can still make progress towards a new base. My primary issue with using the power verbatim was the lack of thematic coherence. Grump establishes a base in someone else’s system after it kicks them out.
- Grump can also be compared to other invasion-type aliens Benefactor and Disease. As with those, Grump’s ability to establish free bases can be incredibly useful if it only works once or twice. If it can whittle down enemy resources, it can become difficult for other aliens to keep every planet occupied during the late-game.
- I wanted Grump’s power to be focused on “shooing” ships away, rebounding them instead of sniping them. However, in order for Grump to be an effective power, it needs some ability to facilitate its base gaining clause. While Grump can destroy bases this way, it won’t help Grump gain its own, since it will be restoring the ships to reinforce enemy home bases. If I were to only base the power around shooing ships away at a faster rate, it would essentially make Grump’s planets a waste to invade unless only one base is needed.
- I wanted to make sure Grump can only use its base-establishing clause once per encounter so that it can’t get multiple bases at once in the event several planets are emptied at the same time. I also chose the upkeep phase so aliens have a chance to get another base or occupy the planet before Grump gets a guaranteed win. It’s possible the win could be unpreventable, but that should be fine. It is unlike the situation of a flare that gives a player the guaranteed win in a way they couldn’t foresee or Tick-Tock requiring players to intentionally lose to prevent a guaranteed win. With this situation, everyone knows the lose condition ahead of time and should plan accordingly.