Cheap Heroes

[Scape Goes Up to 11!]

Just a quick post from me - I'm a long time lurker here, and occasional poster. Lately I have been bolstering my collection with some of the marvelous C3V and SoV creations (Mostly the unique heroes up to this point). Thusly inspired, I decided to take a shot at filling a glaring hole in the 'Scape canon that really bugs me - filler units! We see the same 2 ten point ninjas time after time, so I tried my hand at creating a few more low cost heroes. I looked around the forums, and didn't really see much in the way of ten point heroes (apologies if I've missed anything, please share the links!)



Most of the ten point heroes listed below could potentially be common/uncommon heroes with a bit of tweaking. But I left them as Unique Heroes for now, and they've only been tested as unique heroes so far (each one has been tested in various armies, approx 5-10 times each-ish). They all seem fun and thematic (to me, at least!), and none really seem overpowered, though some can be quite potent with a bit of planning, some lucky dice rolls and a following wind!


Hopefully this will get a bit of discussion going (C&C very welcome), and get some of my proposals polished enough that perhaps a few other players decide to include them in their own collections. Or maybe inspire some of the very talented designers with more ability and experience to fill the same gap that I have tried to, but in a different way.


They exist as stats and abilities so far - but if there is enough interest, I'll make a few cards.


Anyway, enough of the waffle - bring out the (modestly priced) heroes!



'The Lonely Marro' UTGAR

The inspiration came from a forum post here (I think) - someone had put a Marro Warrior up on ebay for a ton of money, thinking they had something special - the poster here dubbed him the Lonely Marro. I think someone actually eventually purchase him? (it was a while back). I thought it might be cool if he actually existed as a ten point hero.


Marro
Unique Hero
Warrior
Lonely
Medium 4

1 Life
Move: 5
Range: 4
Attack: 2
Defense: 3
10 Points

Solitary
The Lonely Marro cannot be used in an army that features any other Marro figures in its initial setup.

Enforced Isolation
If any figure belonging to you or your opponent moves adjacent to The Lonely Marro, after resolving any attacks, Immediately move The Lonely Marro 3 spaces. The Lonely Marro does not take any leaving engagement attacks when using Enforced Isolation. The Lonely Marro may not end his movement next to any figure, If this is not possible, destroy The Lonely Marro.

Marro Grudge
The Lonely Marro may add roll 1 additional Attack Dice when attacking Marro figures.




'Pelloth's Right Hand' UTGAR

The thinking behind this one was to make Pelloth a bit more interesting, by giving him a sacrificial lamb that could be used for his Special Attack, cheap and easy to position. PRH is VERY situational, and may be too situational to be a realistic proposition - I wondered whether it might be better to change the bonding power with a limited re-roll power (re-roll 1 die in any roll for any (Unique?) Drow Hero within N Clear sight spaces of PRH - only useable once per round) - which would increase the effectiveness of all the existing Drow Heroes, as they are quite dice dependent. I used a female 'Drow Adventurer' figure while testing.



Unique Hero
Servitor
Drow
Obedient
Medium 4

1 Life
Move: 4
Range: 1
Attack: 2
Defense: 1
10 Points

Hide in Darkness 18
If Pelloth's Right Hand is attacked with a normal attack and at least 1 skull is rolled, roll the 20-sided die. If Pelloth's Right Hand is on a dungeon space, add 3 to your die roll. If he is on a shadow space, add 6 to your die roll. If you roll a 1–17, roll defense dice normally. If you roll a 18 or higher, ignore all damage that would be inflicted by the attack.

Arachnomancer Bonding
When revealing an order marker on this card, and before taking a turn with Pelloth's Right Hand, you may move one Arachnomancer in your army. The Arachnomancer may not attack.



'Mimetic Nanocloud' VYDAR

I've seen various cloud figures that might work for this hero, from various ranges - though I just used an air elemental when testing. the idea was to create a figure that was cheap, but had a high risk/reward element to get the best from it. You have to spend order markers (or use Skahen/Command Courier) to move it close enough to be useful - where it can be easily killed). I thought it worked really well as a Vydar hero. Changing the timing of the power adoption can make a big difference (i.e. have it adopt the power before moving can limit its usefulness, as it often left in the start zone). I also tried it with 0 Attack dice, which was also good, but seemed harsh.


Unique Hero
Shapeshifter
Nano Swarm
Tricky
Medium 4

1 Life
Move: 4
Range: 1
Attack: 1
Defense: 2
10 Points

Mimic
When taking a turn with Mimetic Nanocloud, after moving and before attacking, you may choose a small or medium figure within three clear sight spaces of Mimetic Nanocloud. Mimetic Nanocloud adopts the Range and Attack stats of the chosen figure's normal attack for the remainder of the round.

Insubstantial 1
Mimetic Nanocloud adds 1 additional defense dice to when rolling defence against a normal attack from a non adjacent figure.




'Gog' UTGAR

Most Suitable figure: Goblin Dog from WotC. I thought it might be interesting to have a goblin dog that would work with the goblin squads and grut squads in different ways. As written, he works with both, but it would be easy to take away one of his synergies (He can be fairly mobile in an army that has goblins and arrow Gruts - which is fun!). Making his Special Attack work is very tricky, as he often has to be near the front lines, though it is great when it does work! He can be useful to leave back home, guarding a figure left in the start zone.


Unique Hero
Gognine
Beast (Could be a Hunter, if Synergy is too powerful?)
Tricky
Small 3

1 Life
Move: 6
Range: 1
Attack: 1
Defense: 2
10 Points

Scent of Blood Special Attack
Range 1, Attack 2
If Gog is within 3 clear sight spaces of an opponent's non-adjacent figure when it receives 1 or more wounds, you may immediately move Gog up to two spaces. If Gog is adjacent to a wounded figure after moving, he may immediately attack using Scent of Blood Special Attack. Gog does not take any leaving engagement attacks when using Scent of Blood Special Attack. Souborgs, Undead and Constructs cannot be targeted by Scent of Blood Special Attack.

Goblin's Best Friend
Gog may be moved as part of any common goblin squad, instead of one of the goblin squad figures.




'Squire Patsy' JANDAR

Most suitable figure: Soldier of Thrane D&D Mini

The idea for this hero came about after seeing the Soldier of Thrane figure (which seems quite easy to get hold of). In addition to the (very situational) abilities listed below, his large shield acts as a portable LOS blocker, and makes him untargetable form certain directions (especially if the enemy is slightly below him). I thought a ten point figure to help out the knight champions might be cool - though they might not really need help! During testing I have debated whether to make him 15 points (which would work well with a Sir Gilbert build).

Unique Hero
Human
Squire
Valiant
Medium 5

1 Life
Move: 4
Range: 1
Attack: 1
Defense: 2
10 Points (maybe fifteen?)

Knight Champion Loyalty
At the start of play select a Unique Knight Champion. Whenever an order marker is revealed on the Knight Champion's card and before the Knight Champion moves, you may move Squire Patsy 4 spaces. Squire Patsy may not attack.

Shield Squire
Squire Patsy begins play with one marker on his card. If the selected Knight Champion takes a wound from a normal attack, and Squire Patsy is adjacent, you may remove the marker to ignore all wounds. If Squire Patsy defeats an enemy figure during play, place a marker on this card. Squire Patsy may never have more than one marker on his card.




Thanks for reading this far

I appreciate that some of these are all quite situational figures, but they do work - next, I'd like to create some with a broader scope, in a similar ilk to Isamu and Otonashi (who aren't really tied too closely, ability-wise, with other figures).

Oh, and apologies for some of the clumsy language in the card abilities, I hope you can follow the intent.

[Arch-vile]

Great start to a customs thread SGUt11! Fillers are fun, one of my first customs was a 15 point dinosaur for Utgar.

The Lonely Marro
Looks overpowered at first glance, then I remember Isamu. He's my go-to 10 point filler for all melee armies so I have a chance against Counter Strikers and Warriors of Ashra. Neat theme, though shouldn't he be in a different general since he dislikes other Marro?

Pelloth's Right Hand
Love it. Pelloth is pretty bad currently and a 10 point bonding Drow for him to blow up is just what he ordered. Can't really be overpowered, with 4 move and 2 attack. He won't help Estivara much at all.

Gog
Does Goblin's Best Friend work with Scurry? This guy seems interesting, but difficult to use. The Goblins were never really my thing though; I don't play them well.

Squire Patsy
A Knight Champion? I think you mean Human Champion. Neat filler, and he seems really difficult to use well. I'll throw him in a MacDirk army to protect their Champion, so that's a plus. You should probably give the marker a name: "shield marker"?

Overall well done, I hope to see more customs from you in the future.

[cwidje]

Have you tried any of these customs?
ps. You should put pictures with these fun customs!

[Scape Goes Up to 11!]

Thanks for the crit Arch-vile.

Now that you mention it, yes, The Lonely Marro wold probably be in another faction, rather than Utgar.... Maybe Aquilla wuold fit him better, Valkrill is another possibility, but their modus operandi may be too close to Utgar for him to feel comfortable there

And yeah - he does seem a little overpowered... While I was attempting this exercise Isamu often came to mind. I kept wondering if he really is totally OP for his price, and if he is that makes it very difficult to create any decent alternatives in the ten point zone without making them OP, too! I tend to feel all that I have created are 'worse' than him, for what that is worth

As for Gog - No, Goblin Friend doesn't move with Scurry (though maybe it should? ) - you just get to move him when an order marker is revealed on a Goblin card, along with 3 other Goblins. This assists in getting him into a position where his Special Attack can be triggered. It is quite tricky to pull off, but great when it does! (it's easy to forget about it in the heat of the battle... for you and your opponent alike). I've thought about upping the damage potential on it in some way it to make it a bit more potent. I really wanted to create a cheap hero that chipped away at an injured hero, but didn't necessarily cost order markers to move (hence moving with Gobos, and being a super cheap beast to activate with Gruts).

Squire Patsy - Yeah, brain fart on the Human champion thing on my part... I wanted to stipulate that he can only work with Knight style champions... but it is beyond the scope of the Class/Species/Etc fields. Probably better to let him work with all Human Champions. Funny, I never tried him with Alistair - could be a nice combo, even one heal could make a difference, right? 'Shield marker' is a good call.


Cwidje - Yes, I've tested them all several times. Though I will admit that they are still in their infancy as far as testing is concerned. So far they have all performed well, and fall into my expected power range (for what that is worth!). It would be cool to have someone else have a go with them... we all play and think slightly differently, and that's valuable!

Thanks for the comments, always happy to hear more!

Edit: I meant to add that if anyone has any 10-15 point heroes to share, post them here, or share some links! Let's try and knock a couple into shape!

[cwidje]

Are they tested for standard, Delta, or Delta+?

[Scape Goes Up to 11!]

I've only tested them with standard unit pricing - haven't really looked at any of the Delta stuff yet.

[IshMEL]

Great fillers! They all look both thematic and fun. I find making fillers a real design challenge -- how do you get them so they're not overpowered for their points, but still not a waste of an order marker? And fun to play? I think my favorite of these is the Lonely Marro, it's great when the powers tell a story (and there's an inside joke!) I don't know why, but I think Vydar for that guy.

I've sometimes thought there should be a "Filler Thread / Index" somewhere in the Customs thread, and it looks like you've started it. I don't have any 10s, but I have some 15 and 20 pointers I could post here if you're willing to open up your definition of "Cheap."

[orgsbane]

Very cool! I love cheap heroes. They can really add a lot to game.

[OEAO]

The problem with the squire is that most of the time you will be bonding with the heroes, not revealing order markers. I would say, "Before taking a turn..." Rather than, "After revealing an OM..."

Nice job, although all but the marro and goblin look in about the C range, IMO.

[Lyrgard]

I really like the idea of adding new very low cost filler to the game !

Thoses are great design, you should probably think about polishing them and propose them to SoV !

The one that I find have most problems is gog.
- What you are doing with the SA is an "out of turn attack". It is a design very often sought after by custom makers, but always proven to have problem and cause corner cases hard to solve. You should probably stay out of that. One common way of doing this is changing this attack to a "roll a dice, depending of result add a wound marker" type of power.
Also, wound being done activate a move for Gog. What if those wounds also activated another power ? For instance, if the wounds was on Frost giant and enough to kill him, would Gog move before or after DYING SWIPE ?

- the second power is very original but may cause problems too, as you activate an army card but play a figure that is not of this army card.
for instance, if a scenario used brandar glyph as : "roll D20. if 1-10, remove an order marker from the card of the figure on the glyph. On 11-20 play another turn with this card", would it refer to Gog's card or to the gobelin's card ?
A more "standard" way of doing that would be along the way of :
"After having played a turn with a gobelin squad, if one of the gobelin did not move nor attack, you may take a turn with Gog"


As for the others, PRH's Arachnomancer Bonding should be renamed Arachnomancer Movement Bonding and use the same wording as the Gorillinator Movement Bonding of the nakita's card

Squire Patsy : nearly nothing to add to what Arch-ville said : you probably meant Human Champion instead of Knight Champion.
Also, it is a matter of taste, but I would make two powers out of the Shield Squire power : one telling how to spend the shield marker, the other how to gain it again.
Or you may just drop the possibility to gain another maker : no one would put an order order marker on him, at least not until he is the last figure, in which case he would no longer have a champion to protect.
In the first power, you can drop the "Squire Patsy may not attack." : you can only attack while taking a turn with a figure. In this power, you do not take a turn with Squire Patsy, you just have an effect that move him. Also, OrcElfArmyOne is right on this power.

Mimetic Nanocloud. The best you can do is Range 7 attack 4 from Kaemon Awa, or Range 1 attack 6 from Sergent Drake (both version). Actually it can be strong with Kaemon Awa : mimic him at the start of round and have a round of Range 7 attack 4 (as if you used Kaemon himself) without endangering the samurai. In any other situation, with only a move of 4, what is the benefit of puting an order marker on the nanocloud instead of on the hero you are going to mimic (hum... perhaps if you want to mimic an opponent hero ? what is the chance ?).
The powers on it are very clear and I see no problem, but it seems it is the least advantgeous to play.

[Scape Goes Up to 11!]

Many thanks for the comments

IshMEL - I think your question, re' waste of an order marker is a very interesting one. And one I kept coming back to when I was trying to make some of these... I wanted to create some cheap heroes that could provide interesting tactical and strategic choices, or fun wrinkles to the game, and not always be the last out of the start zone when the game was almost finished (which is how I think most 'filler' units actually get used).

Also - It would be great to see your creations. What exactly constitutes a 'Cheap hero'? Hmm, well to me, I think it is anything 40 points or under.

OrcElfArmyOne - I agree with your comment, and it was a conscious design decision on my part to create a choice for a player.... do they put on OM on their Champion and move the Squire too (Which I am thinking of changing - so that it allows Patsy to attack and move - so it would be 'Take a turn' with Squire Patsy, instead), or do they bond the KoW and move their champ? I wanted to avoid cascading bonding - i.e reveal an OM on the KoW, then move Squire, then move champion, then move KoW. It was my intention to make the figure strategically important enough that placing an OM on the Champoin, specifically to move the Squire would be a good idea.

If you look at the figure:

http://danddminis.com/image/cache/da...ne-250x250.jpg

He could potentially provide cover, and also has the healing power.

Lygard - thanks fr the insightful comments.

You're absolutely right about Gog - the Special Ability triggering on an opponent's turn does bring some problems. I'll have to rethink that one. I'll test him with figures with unusual abilities like those you mention.

And thanks for the rewording suggestion regarding his movement - I like that much better.

Pelloth's Right Hand - I actually tested a new version of this last night. The wording of the bonding power changed slightly, to:

'Before taking a turn with Pelloth's Right Hand, you may take a turn with one Arachnomancer in your army. The Arachnomancer may not attack.'

This would make the figure more useful, as it not only assists Pelloth with positioning a sacrificial (cheap) figure, but allows Estivara to use her Cloud of Darkness power, providing much needed longevity. I don't consider it overpowered, as her power only has a 20% chance of success.

I also thought about changing the name of the figure to 'Arachnomancer's Apprentice', or similar.

Squire Patsy - If you could attack with Patsy using Champion Bonding, as I mentioned earlier in this post - it might be possible (but unlikely!) for Patsy to earn another Shield Marker?

Mimetic Nanocloud - Again, great comments, and it looks like it will require some tweaking to make it a realistic proposition.

Maybe if it had a power similar to the Tomoe Gozen - where the Cloud could fill in for a dead agent from a unique squad? (sidestepping the order marker issue) And could still mimic any attack (friend or foe).

Also consider that it can also mimic stronger attacks with a range of 1


Again, many thanks for the input, everyone. I'm going to redraft these and do a few more tests.

oh, and show us your cheap heroes!

[IshMEL]

OK, here are a couple more cheap heroes. These two are both guard types:

Seevric Tersec

Spoiler Alert!

Seevric Tersec
General: Einar
Species: G'Maan
Unique Hero
Class: Guard
Personality: Loyal
Medium 5
Life 1
Move 6
Range 1
Attack 1
Defense 3
20 points

Bodyguard
At the beginning of the game, choose a Unique small or medium Hero to be the Master of Seevric Tersec. After revealing an Order Marker on this card, you may first take a turn with Seevric Tersec's Master.

Protect The Master
When Seevric Tersec attacks a figure that is engaged with his Master, roll 2 additional attack dice.

Sacrifice
If Seevric Tersec's Master would receive any wounds, and if Seevric Tersec and his Master are adjacent, you may destroy Seevric Tersec and ignore all wounds.

Dying Words
If Seevric Tersec is destroyed when adjacent to his Master, you may move any unrevealed order markers from this card to his Master's Army Card.

Bio:

Spoiler Alert!

Seevric always knew that he was born to die. The Clan Tersec was one of the six damarks from which the elite G'Maan chose their bodyguards -- once. Now the wealthy and powerful of Vlemen chose from the other five, for the Tersec star had fallen from honor. For seven generations, the Tersecs had lived under the shadow of Haaver Tersec's shameful legacy. Haaver's Master was Grayne Crinosus, Patrak of the richest merchant damark in Vlemen. In 1027 EL, Grayne was assassinated by rivals from within his own clan. It was not shameful that the assassination had succeeded -- every Guardchild knew the credo "a thousand hilts to thwart, but one blade will stop the heart." But Haaver had not only allowed his Master to die, he had lived to tell of it. Worse yet, he was revealed to be in the pay of the assassins, who rewarded Haaver's betrayal of Grayne with their own betrayal of Haaver.

Haaver's name was never uttered by any member of the Clan Tersec. But growing up, Seevric felt the presence of Haaver's dishonor as a nearly physical presence. At every training, it was the impetus to push himself harder. At every meal, it was the bitter sauce on their meager fare. At every Guard Holyjour, when he and his brothers marched out of their damark and into the streets of Vlemen, it was behind the sneers of the other guardclans at the device on their shields.

So Seevric Tersec was relieved -- almost happy -- to have died in the service of his own Master. Bralwet was a onename, a commoner of no damark, but Seevric did not mind, for who else would hire a Tersec? And he had money from a small criminal enterprise -- enough money to have enemies, and enough to keep a guard at his left hand. Although Bralwet ruled his petty fief with petty savagery, he knew better than to treat his guard with anything but the respect due to a Guard of the damarks. And Seevric repaid him with loyalty, foiling six attempts on his Master's life. On the seventh attempt, as he stepped between the whirlblade and the Master's throat, he thought, "At last...."

Perhaps the shadow of Haaver would lessen, ever so little, over the Tersec name.

Figure: Utapaun Warrior
The mini is the Utapaun Warrior from Star Wars Clone Wars. Looks like there's about 50 or so out there. Seevric is a one-use pawn, whose sole purpose is to keep one of your guys alive one more turn. He might also get in a few licks of his own. The name is an anagram, as I seem wont to do when I can't think of a name.

Wood Woad

Spoiler Alert!

Wood Woad
General: Ullar
Species: Plant
Common Hero
Class: Construct
Personality: Protective
Medium 4
Life 1
Move 4
Range 1
Attack 2
Defense 3
15 points

Woods On The March
After revealing an Order Marker on this card, you may move up to 2 other Wood Woads you control. A Wood Woad may move 1 additional space if it ends its move adjacent to a Plant figure you control.

Barkskin
When rolling defense dice against a normal attack, a Wood Woad always adds 1 automatic shield to whatever is rolled.

Ullar's Shield
If a small or medium figure you control who follows Ullar is targeted by a normal attack, you may switch that figure with an adjacent Wood Woad. That Wood Woad is now the target of that attack.

Figure: Wood Woad

A cheap sacrifice pawn for Ullar. It remains to be seen if it's *too* cheap.