The Pre-SoV Workshop

[Shadowking]

Looking to sort out Kafnirra's power details after the failure to pass review; does this name work better for the first one (DS also suggested "Totem of the Martyr" as a possible alternative, but if we're trying to remove ambiguity might as well refer to the sculpt's detailing directly)?

As for the second, I got Dok's suggestion of using wording that allowed her to become a Champion when explicitly selected for the Highland Fury power, which could work (but would also require her to be rethemed somewhat, probably to a Scottish-Gaelic character since that still works for something referring to "highland fury" and the figure still works well for that; would require a rename to something explicitly from that style, I'm thinking along the lines of Eilidh, Morag or Brigdhe) - this allows her to then bond with Knights in a mixed army, although that isn't nesc. a bad thing.

The other option seems to me to go with something like in the card render above (I don't think I have the wording 100% right, it's possible it's meant to be something more all-encompassing like "When using any special power of another Wild Army Card you control, you may treat Kafnirra's class as Champion"), which just allows other Wild units to "see" her as a Champion so she could pick up Highland Fury but not Knight's bonding.

Anyway, interested in additional thoughts on either side.

[Shiftrex]

Are you against calling out highland fury specifically? Or do you envision other wild units needing to see her as a Champion?

[Blue Trails]

Originally Posted by Shadowking

Looking to sort out Kafnirra's power details after the failure to pass review; does this name work better for the first one (DS also suggested "Totem of the Martyr" as a possible alternative, but if we're trying to remove ambiguity might as well refer to the sculpt's detailing directly)?

As for the second, I got Dok's suggestion of using wording that allowed her to become a Champion when explicitly selected for the Highland Fury power, which could work (but would also require her to be rethemed somewhat, probably to a Scottish-Gaelic character since that still works for something referring to "highland fury" and the figure still works well for that; would require a rename to something explicitly from that style, I'm thinking along the lines of Eilidh, Morag or Brigdhe) - this allows her to then bond with Knights in a mixed army, although that isn't nesc. a bad thing.

The other option seems to me to go with something like in the card render above (I don't think I have the wording 100% right, it's possible it's meant to be something more all-encompassing like "When using any special power of another Wild Army Card you control, you may treat Kafnirra's class as Champion"), which just allows other Wild units to "see" her as a Champion so she could pick up Highland Fury but not Knight's bonding.

Anyway, interested in additional thoughts on either side.

I would think the first power's name would depend on whether you see Kafnirra as carrying a memento that motivates her to bodily interpose herself between her ally and an oncoming attack, or if you see her using the antlers to mystically transfer the attack's damage to herself. "Antlers of Sacrifice" is a fine name, but it leaves a certain ambiguity in Kafnirra's method of intervention. In contrast, I'd think that something like DS' idea, or really anything that includes a word like "relic," "totem", or "talisman," would help reinforce the idea that Kafnirra is carrying an enchanted item that allows her to perform this feat.

Judging from the SoV thread, it seems like you wanted to let Kafnirra bond with both MacDirks and Dreadguls, so I'll keep that perspective in mind.

You could probably phrase Kafnirra's second power as, "If you control the MacDirk Warriors, you may choose Kafnirra for the Highland Fury special power. When revealing an Order Marker on a Wild Army Card you control, Kafnirra has the Class of Champion in addition to what is listed on this Army Card until the next time you reveal an Order Marker on any card. Alternatively, an extreme option would be to say "While all Army Cards you control have a Wild Personality, Kafnirra has the Class of Champion in addition to what is listed on this Army Card."

[Shiftrex]

Doesn't having anything mystical like a relic, totem, or talisman that actually grants magic powers cause some continuity issues for VC?

Historically they oppose anything outside of the mundane occurring on earth which is where humans come from. When I did my nominations I went back and forth quite a bit because if you have 'magic' powers then you can't be from earth, and likewise if you are human then you can't be from feylund. If you want magic humans they get to be from a dnd planet.

I would think it'd be a bit easier to leave it vague because then it could be a oath of sacrifice, or a sacred duty this hero has for the clan or something like that. Or maybe the name could be more specific to convey that. But iirc, having an actual honest to goodness magical item on a human from earth has been historically opposed. I would assume VC would be consistent with something like that, as Heracles being from earth is often lauded by many of their individual members as not being something they would wish to repeat.

[Shadowking]

I am not opposed to directly calling out Highland Fury, but it feels like the clunkier option to me; however due to precedent like the Hive and the failure of the other version to pass UFR, perhaps the more direct approach is preferred here. Theoretically some other similar-theme Human Champion bonding unit that is Wild could be made in future, though I doubt it, so future-proofing is not particularly relevant otherwise.

As far as the first power goes, if it's a magic item then I figured it to come from Valhalla and not Earth itself (similar to Drake's katana, or the items from the Viking Champions), because yeah you're right that it's not a great idea to have magic items coming from Earth. If she's going to explicitly call out the Highland Fury ability, then she has to be Earth-bound, and a D&D-planet interpretation doesn't seem like it'd work well. I could do something like this which is more mundane/leans into the "physical protection" feel:



This intepretation is leaning a lot more into the Scottish-Gaelic theming, and directly referencing Highland Fury (which does mean you can do Knight Bonding if you have one squad of MacDirks with her, although since Dok suggested this version I have to imagine there was no immediate problems with it/it seems never worth it in straight-up formats since it's a big tax to pay and mostly just adds fun options for things like RTW or "rule-of X"). That first power name might still be too vague, honestly; could go with something like "Protective Clanmother".

[MegaSilver]

Instead of changing her class, I would just say that she ignores the restrictions. Also, I feel like I would have a hard time bringing her anyway because of the two attack dice.

[NecroBlade]

It's not changing her Class, it's adding to it. Either way Parmenio provides some precedent. (Also I liked that part of the Feral Swog.)

Deadeye Dan is from Earth and has a magical item thanks to Ullar. And I believe there are others. Not saying that's the best way to go here, just that it's not impossible, either.

[Shiftrex]

Yeah there is absolutely precedence for getting a magic item after coming to valhalla. Just needs to be very front and center as a theme. Deadeye Dan does it best with the ability name calling it out as a special rifle. Drake probably does it worse because you'd never know unless you read his bio, which I've been told is a bad way to do things before because the unit should be able to completely stand without its bio for VC purposes.

Both ways (making it more mundane or using a valhalla item) are likely fine solutions to the issue.

I also like the addition to the class. It doesn't create any issues.

[MegaSilver]

It would still allow the possibility for knights of weston to actually bond with her, which was a problem that the judges wanted to avoid.

And yes I mistyped changing instead of adding.

[Shadowking]

Originally Posted by MegaSilver

It would still allow the possibility for knights of weston to actually bond with her, which was a problem that the judges wanted to avoid.

And yes I mistyped changing instead of adding.

Dok gave me the suggestion which was mentioned also by Scytale in the post in the SoV thread, so presumably it would have been mentioned and at least somewhat considered OK once you have to pay for a squad of MacDirks; in any "serious" armies you'll not want to pay the 80 point tax of doing that (since you only get the Champion class with Highland Fury in play). Of course there is alternative wording that could shut that off as well though.

[Blue Trails]

Yeah, basically, I was trying to say that she could have received a boon from Jandar like Drake's katana, but I skipped an explanatory step in my comments. Magic and Earth definitely shouldn't mix otherwise.

The current "mundane" version looks good. I agree that this interpretation of the second power wouldn't hurt much by allowing Morag to bond with the KoW, as her stats and powers aren't worth their effective 160-point price tag to the Knights even if they come with a "free" squad of MacDirks.

[Scytale]

I appreciate the attempt at Clan Champion, but it feels too esoteric. Just go with calling out Highland Fury. There's probably a way to word it so that she's only a Champion for them, but I think I like the way you have it now.