Catacombs II serves as a sequel thematically to the original Catacombs released in 2010. It does not seek to supplant or compete with Catacombs Third Edition as this new game has different design objectives.

I would like to explore variable party sizes. Heroes in the Catacombs series have been constructed around cards. I want to explore a dedicated player board for each hero, but have actions built around a hand of cards with deck building as a way for advancement.

I like the idea of "one versus many" with a DM controlling the game as it is hard to replace a human player and personally, I don't like app driven games. This time, I see the DM being a true competitor to the party of heroes and will also have a hand of cards to play.

The game will enable players to resolve combat using the Dexterity Game System (flicking) or non-dexterity related mechanics. I don't want combat to be reduced to a euro style puzzle, so there will be randomness in the non-dexterity combat resolution.

Movement will not necessarily be dexterity based as I want to explore a "multi-tiered" aspect to the game. I can imagine a hero walking along a "bridge" suspended between two obstacles, for example. In terms of the play area, I would like to explore different spawn points for both heroes and monsters in addition to an event system that would trigger encounters. In summary, this game takes the Catacombs series in a new direction.

Example of a playmat with the hex grid: