What would you think of this?
Inventor - Action - Cost: 5 Coins
Choose one:
Reveal your hand. If you have no Inventor in hand: +1 Action
Set this card aside, returning it to your hand of the start of your next turn.
or
+3 Cards
So it's much more difficult to set aside more as one Inventor but it's still possible if you have enough actions or you can play some Inventors before with a 'village' which certainly increase the chance of holding to many of it in hand. The annoying case of holding only one Inventor in hand without 'villages' gives you the set-aside-function and the action for another action card in hand (similar to Shanty Town without action cards in hand).
I appreciate the suggestion! However, I'm worried that it's a bit confusing and I can't think of a rewording that would really simplify it. However, I will definitely keep it on the table as an option.
Currently, I'm considering two other ways to nerf the card.
Option 1 (Polatrite's suggestion):
Choose one: +3 Cards; or +1 Action and put this on top of your deck.
Option 2:
Choose one: +3 Cards; or set this aside, returning it to your hand at the start of your next turn.
Right now I'm leaning strongly toward Polatrite's version. It has some weirdness in that you could play the same Inventor multiple times in a turn, but now that I think about it, Procession/Fortress does that too. With that change, multiple Inventors can collide, because if you put one back on your deck, you'll just draw it dead with the other one. However, you could put them both back and hope there's a village in the three other cards you draw next turn. The more I think about it, the more I like the strategy it could create. I just hope it's still strong enough to be a decent $5 card with this nerf.
Are you really worried, my version would be a bit confusing? Do you mean it serious? I mean Possession with Dark Ages cards could be very confusing but to look if there is another Inventor in hand isn't more confusing as a Shanty Town.
There would be only four different possibilities:
1. You have only one Inventor and no other action card in hand. You can play it, and possibly draw cards dead or you can reveal your hand (no other Inventor there) set the card aside und get the action back which has sadly no use (only for Diadem maybe
)
2. Same as 1. but you have another action card in hand and can play it.
3. You have more than one Inventor in hand and also other action cards. You can choose +3 cards or set only one Inventor aside and cannot play another action card or you can think if it's more worthwhile to play another action card first.
4. Same as 3. but only Inventors in hand. You can set aside only one Inventor and cannot play another. Or play an Inventor like a Smithy.
I think this is really easy and it would be fun to think about playing it mostly productive. This would definitly be a 5 cost card cause the possibility to set aside more than one is still there and you can get more than 5 cards at beginning of your turn.
At Polatrite's version I don't know why I should put more than one or two of it on top of my deck. It more and more decreases the chance of getting it together with a 'village'. If there isn't a way to get more than 1 action then a carddraw after putting Inventors on top would make absolutly no sense and no fun. For example Inventor and CanTrip in hand. The only wise would be playing the CanTrip first then the Inventor to put it on top (otherwise draw dead problem). The other way around you would draw the Inventor instead of a new card, not a good move. The costs for this version would probably be at 4.5, a weak 5. Option 2 would also be too weak and not really fun.
Hope to see your expansion someday as real cards from RGG. After Donald has finished his series maybe an official Fan-Expansion existing of FanCard-Contests winner cards could come out. Perhaps Donald was asked something like that before?