Hmmm.... there doesn;t seem to be a private message feature, nor does the email option from The Warp work... so I guess I must be slightly obnoxious on the forums then...

Anyways...

@Jack from TheWarp:

I don't know if you notice the large chunk of aliens I posted on this same 4th page up above, there's 7 of them and as far as I know they are all unique. I don;t know if you didn't notice them or just didn;t want to add them to TheWarp for some reason, but if you could add them that would be cool. Also feel free to edit the experience level text, since you are far more knowledgeable in that area then myself. Also again, if any of them are ripoffs of existing powers let me know, thanks.

@Toomai:

LOL @ NI. Monty Python ftw

 Gosh, so obnoxious!  

Fear not... I have them on track for inclusion... I just got sidetracked by tons of stuff over the last several days.    I will also be popping in other aliens that were put on this thread, using people's Forum ID unless they prefer their names (in which case, just let me know).

Jack

PYGMY [M:Warp] Colonies Count as Half        ( Jack Reda)

You have the power of Half. Each of your home worlds counts as only half of a foreign colony for all other players (rounding down). You do not lose your power as a result of occupying too few home planets.

History: When the Cosmos was young, the Pygmies lived on twin worlds, rich with valuable resources. A gravitational anomaly caused the two planets to collide, scattering the Pygmies among the ruined rubble of their former homes. The ragged and inhospitable chunks of debris on which the Pygmies now live serve only as a staging ground for their invasion of other worlds.

Notes: The recommended experience level for this power is Novice. This is a Rules type power.

Wild: When a player is to collect rewards, he or she may only take half as much as they are entitled to (rounding down).

Super: As a defensive player in your own system, the value of your opponent's attack card is worth half (rounding down).

When would you Cosmic Zap this power?

Pygmy is unzappable!  Yes, you have to just get as many bases in that system as you can, or try to avoid it.  Of course, as the offense, you can't really avoid it, but going in you can have other plans than gaining a base... use up a low attack card, go for the Negotiate and try and get cards from Pygmy.  The power is mainly a defensive deterrent...  who will ally with the offense to gain half a base?  Or, go for it knowing you have to get another one over there at some point... anyone you can convince to help you attack once will almost certainly be interested in going the second time (but you then have to make sure you aren't half a base behind them at that point). 

Although now that I think about it more, "unzappable" is not entirely accurate...  It depends on the FAQ's interpretation of when a Cosmic Zap can be played in regard to stopping a Super Flare from being applicable (or in Pygmy's case, can he Zap himself to use the Wild?  Especially when his power has no "Use" description to be zapped at).

The Warp said:

I was just curious considering that one of the cardinal rules of Cosmic seems to be that any power can be zapped, any card thwarted, any Flare disrupted, etc. It may be specific, but present nonetheless.

Perhaps the use happens during resolution of an offensive win; when a colony is established on Pygmy's planet, you can Cosmic Zap him to have the colony (or colonies, if offense has allies) count fully? You'd need a means to distinguish the half-colonies from the full ones (Cosmic Counters work).

 This would also serve as a reason you might re-conquer an existing colony. Could there be a rule for Pygmy that states a successful offensive win on a planet where one already possesses a half-colony would turn it into a full colony?

I suspect we'll be seeing some powers down the road that have an essentially unzappable element to them.   Human is almost in this vein... you can zap his +4, but that doesn't really do you any good if you're opposing him.  His immunity to Cosmic Zap is only thwarted by taking away his home planets.  Then there's Masochist and Tick-Tock who can't lose their powers from losing home bases... so we're certainly venturing into previously uncharted territory with some of the new aliens.   I'd rather stay away from full colonies/half colonies that are tracked.  I'm open to the idea that you can Zap him when you establish the base, and if that's your fifth base, you can win right then... but if not, at the end of the encounter, it's back to a half a base. 

As to the idea of re-establishing a colony where you have one to make it count as a whole...  I think it's probably more elegant to just make a player attack a different planet.  It will be rare when it's more advantageous to attack somewhere that you already have a colony than to just take a chance on one of the other four... remember, even if Pygmy isn't on the planet, it's still half a colony when you establish- so there's always a decent chance one of the other planets will be as easy to attack as one where you already have ships.

So, I was trying to figure out the template but can't exactly get it and couldn't find any information on this at The Warp. Anyway, here's a power I thought up, inspired by an old Magic favourite.

VAULT Saves up Turns (mattherobot)

You have the power to Bide. At the start of your turn, if you do not already have a Vault token, you may use this power to skip your entire turn and send one of your ships to the warp in order to take one. If you do, nobody (including you) may play any powers or cards during your start of turn.

During any of your resolution phases, you may use this power to discard a Vault token in order to take an extra turn after your current one ends.

History: Ancient masters of strategy, the Vaults were long-hated for their mysterious ability to defy time. Disappearing for ages, they would become manifest just long enough to strike, vanishing as quickly as they had arrived.

Notes: The recommended experience level for this power is Advanced.

Wild: After encounter cards are selected but before they are revealed, you may remove all ships on your side from the encounter, treating this as a win for the opposition in all other respects. Return these ships to their owners' colonies in any way you choose.

Super: You may use your power to gain a Vault token even if you already have one.

The Warp said:

But, unlike with any other alien (in FFG, anyway... ignoring Schizoid here), there is a possibility of getting colonies on all of Pygmy's planets and then having to attack him again!  What then?  Completely worthless encounter, or allow the player a redraw?  Perhaps there should be the possibility of establishing multiple colonies on the same planet, distinguishing them by having separate stacks.  Or maybe alter the power so that it reads: "When you establish a colony on Pygmy's planets, do not adjust your colony counter.  You only adjust your score once you have re-attacked a Pygmy planet on which you already had a "colony" and reinforce that base."  Not worded well, but you get the idea.  It's not really elegant either, though, because if you're as forgetful as I am, half the time we don't adjust the colony tracker for a few turns and have to refigure everyone's totals.  Probably it would be simplest to allow a redraw, or maybe you are satisfied with letting the Pygmy's color become a worthless destiny draw in the case I've described above.  It would be a bit annoying, but hey.... sometimes that is Cosmic!  :)

As for the Zap, I like the idea that he can be zapped at the end of the encounter but that it only helps if it lets you win on that encounter.  This will make players really think twice before zapping any other power, adding a nervousness about the card that I like.  I don't like the idea of unzapability, myself.  Human is amusing because he is "mostly harmless" without the Zap, so it doesn't bother me.

Pygmy's a really fun idea.  I like alternate win aliens, and this sort of fits in. 

For now I expect that once you have 5 colonies in Pygmy's system, you're pretty much screwed.  2.5 colonies is all you can get there.  So, if you do have 5, you have to attack a base where you already have ships, even though you won't necessarily gain anything.

I don't believe it will happen very often... I've almost never seen a player gain 5 bases in only one system in a normal game (even 4 is pretty rare).  I think most players will not be too keen on using Wild Destiny to attack Pygmy... just not worth it for them. 

Question for matttherobot about VAULT:  the power reads: "If you do, nobody (including you) may play any powers or cards during your start of turn."  Which turn does this refer to?  He's skipping one turn just to get the token...  can you clarify when this "no powers" thing takes place, and for how long?  Thanks!

The Warp said:

Sorry, it's a little unclear. The intention here is that the power triggers before anything else has a chance to go off. So, if you are Vault, then you first decide if you want to use your power. If so, all that can happen is that your power goes off (possibly with the flare), and maybe someone zaps you. If you're not zapped, your turn is immediately over. There's no chance for any other "start of turn" powers to happen, nada, the turn is full all intents and purposes skipped.

Not sure if there is any precedent for this kind of wording or timing in Cosmic, but throwing it out there. It's not integral to the power, you could just say the turn ends immediately after the "start of turn" phase.

In addition to Mantis and Panthera, I'm going to try and venture into the alternate scenario power:

NOMADIC (Leaves Home System)

You have the power to Migrate.  At the start of any player's regroup phase, before the offense retrieves a ship from the warp, use this power to win the game if you have all of your ships, that have not been removed from the game, on your foreign colonies.  You must have no ships on your home planets or in the warp.  You do not lose this power because of having too few home colonies, and you may still win the game via the normal manner.  

Coming from a barren and debilitated home, the Vagrant have searched the universe for a more productive world to call their home.  By nature, they are a gentile species, but having searched now for many years, are finding the most suitable planets to also be the most hostile.  But they will be leaving their enfeebled home, and now, at all costs.

Wild Flare

You may use your alien power if you have at least 1 home colony.

Super Flare

You may win the game if all of your ships, that remain in the game, are not on your home colonies (can be on foreign colonies or in the warp).

MANTIS (Devours Opponent's Cards)

You have the power to Prey. As a main player, before encounter cards are selected, you may use this power to force your opponent to discard as many cards in his or her hand as you have ships in the encounter. If, after using this power, your opponent is left with no encounter cards in his or her hand, they must continue the encounter without playing an encounter card (playing no encounter card is equal to playing an attack 00 card). If your opponent was left with no encounter cards, after the encounter is resolved, your opponent discards his or her remaining cards, if any, and draws a new hand.

The Mantis have struggled for centuries at cultivating lasting friendships with other species, even amongst their own kind they have a tendency of turning their houseguests, visiting for a meal -- into the meal. They look innocent and mild when observed in their natural environment, remaining still in fervent prayer, but don't be fooled by their sincerity, otherwise you might find yourself invited over as ... err, for a meal.

Wild Flare

As a main player, after encounter cards are revealed, you may change your opponent's encounter card into an attack 00.

Super Flare

As a main player, before encounter cards are selected, you may look through your opponent's hand and choose the cards you want to discard up to the number of ships you have in the encounter.

PANTHERA (Hunts Opponent's Ships)

You have the power to Hunt. Whenever your player's color or a wild card is drawn from the destiny deck, move all ships from a foreign colony to another planet in the same system and use this power to send any other player's ships on that planet, up to the number of ships you moved, to the warp. The ships you send to the warp may come from several oppponent's.

If you do not have any foreign colonies, and your player's color or a wild card is drawn from the destiny deck, you may use this power to send 4 ships from any of your colonies to the warp to establish a foreign colony, on any other player's planet, with 2 ships from any of your colonies. The ships coexists with the ships already there, if any. If this power is zapped, you do not lose the sacrificed ships to the warp.

Having roamed the darkest reaches of their homeworld, the silent but deadly Panthera have become such adept hunters that even the bravest of explorers not dare venture into the depths of the planet's surface. But with visitors no longer stumbling into their daunting abode, the Panthera are being forced to sacrifice their comfort zone and broaden their hunting grounds beyond the confines of the atmosphere and into the vast horizons of the cosmos.

Wild Flare

As a main player, before encounter cards are selected, you may take 1 ship from any of your colonies and move it to another colony. On the planet you move your ship to, send 1 ship from any opponent on that planet to the warp. You may not strip a planet of your ships, or establish a new colony, in order to use this flare.

Super Flare

Whenever your color or a wild card is drawn from the destiny deck, you may move all ships from a foreign colony to another planet in any other player's system and send all opponent's ships on that planet to the warp. If this card is zapped, you may still use your alien power as normal.

 

Sorry for the repeat of a couple aliens, I was using them to cut and paste to get the format right.