The Book of Galactus
 

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Character Bio - “Galactus was originally the explorer Galan from the planet Taa, which existed in the universe before the Big Bang. When an impending cataclysm gradually kills all other life in his universe, he and other survivors leave Taa via a space vessel, eventually becoming engulfed in the Big Crunch. However, Galan does not die, but is transformed through a bonding with the Sentience of the Universe. He gestates for billions of years in the next universe that formed, emerging as Galactus. A Watcher ("Ecce") observes the birth of Galactus, but chooses to not take the opportunity to kill him. Once fully aware, Galactus experiences hunger so strongly that he consumes the nearby planet of Archeopia. The planet ultimately becomes the first of many, as Galactus must consume their life energies for sustenance [….] Eventually, Galactus decides to empower others as a Herald to locate worlds for him. Galactus makes his first herald, the Fallen One, but is unhappy with him, and dismisses him. He later recruits Norrin Radd as the Silver Surfer [….] An undetermined amount of time afterwards, Galactus makes his way to Earth, but is defeated by the efforts of the Fantastic Four, Uatu the Watcher, and a rebellious Silver Surfer. Galactus leaves Earth, vowing that he will never try to consume it again. As he leaves, he relegates the Silver Surfer to Earth for betraying him [….] Galactus considers himself a higher being than all non-abstracts, maintaining his existence by devouring planets that have the potential for supporting life. This has resulted in the elimination of entire extraterrestrial civilizations on numerous worlds. Galactus wields the Power Cosmic and can employ it to produce nearly any effect he desires […] As Galactus must continuously feed to sustain himself, his power levels are inconsistent throughout any given period […],” (Wikipedia.org, 2012). _________________________________________________________________


-Rulings and Clarifications-

• Base Clarification: Galactus is a 2x double based figure (Template for basing).
• Galactus is an Event Hero and follows Event Hero rules.
• Galactus' Devourer of Worlds special power follows the C3G Removing Terrain Rules.
• Q: Are there any limits on the size or type of terrain that can be chosen for the Devourer of Worlds special power?
  A: As specified in the Devourer of Worlds special power, you may choose terrain pieces, glyphs, destructible objects, or obstacles that are unoccupied by figures regardless of size. If you choose terrain pieces, they can be of any type.
• Q: What impact does Galactus' base have on placement and engagement rules?
  A: When placing Galactus with Herald of Galactus, all 4 spaces of the 2 double spaced bases must be on the same level. It is possible for Galactus to have his feet on either side of terrain that is either higher or lower level than that which his bases are on, as long as the bases are on the same level. Figures that can fit on and move through the spaces between his feet are allowed to do so. Figures on the eight spaces surrounding each foot (15 spaces in total) can be considered engaged with Galactus as per official engagement rules.
• Q: Can I turn Galactus for free at any point during my turn, like with a double based figure?
  A: No, Galactus cannot be turned without Movement, due to the unique nature of his base, and he can only be moved with the Herald of Galactus special power.
• Q: If a destructible object is removed with Devourer of Worlds, does it trigger abilities such as the Evergreen Tree's Falling Tree? What happens to figures inside vehicle destructible objects and figures frozen by the Frost Giant when the Ice Rock is removed?
  A: Devourer of Worlds uses the term remove instead of destroy, so destructible objects removed with this ability aren't technically destroyed. Therefore, any ability that activates when a destructible object is destroyed would not be triggered by Devourer of Worlds. Figures on a vehicle's Army Card would not be able to return to the game, and figures placed on the Frost Giant's Army Card with Freezing Touch 14 would not have a way to return to the battlefield. The Ice Rock removed would not return to that Frost Giant's Army Card, so that Frost Giant would be prevented from using Freezing Touch 14 on another figure.

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-Combinations and Synergies-

Incoming Synergy:

• As a Huge figure, Galactus has these Huge Synergies.

Outgoing Synergy:

• N/A

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-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

• N/A

-Heroscapers Community Contributions-

• Initial playtest: (IAmBatman)
• Second playtest: (tcglkn)
• Third playtest: (Scapemage)
• Fourth playtest: (Griffin)
• Art: Comic Art More Comic Art/Mini Pics/Background
• Art by Griffin

Re: The Book of Galactus - Design Phase
 

NAME = GALACTUS


SPECIES = TAAEN
UNIQUENESS = EVENT HERO
CLASS = DEVOURER
PERSONALITY = INSATIABLE

SIZE/HEIGHT = HUGE 32

LIFE = 28

MOVE = 0
RANGE = 12
ATTACK = 7
DEFENSE = 6

POINTS = 1600

HERALD OF GALACTUS
At the start of the game, you may choose a Unique Hero on the battlefield to be Galactus' Herald. Before taking a turn with Galactus, you may place him within 4 spaces of his Herald. If his Herald is a figure you control, when Galactus is adjacent to his Herald, add 2 to your roll for Devourer of Worlds. When Galactus is placed with this special power, he will not take any leaving engagement attacks. Galactus cannot be moved by any other means.

DEVOURER OF WORLDS
After taking a turn with Galactus, you may roll the 20-sided die. If you roll:
• 1-2, Galactus receives one wound;
• 3-15, choose up to three unoccupied terrain pieces, glyphs,destructible objects, or obstacles on the battlefield;
• 16 or higher, choose up to five unoccupied terrain pieces, glyphs, destructible objects, or obstacles on the battlefield.
Remove the chosen items from the battlefield. If there are no unoccupied terrain pieces, glyphs, destructible objects, or obstacles, Galactus may destroy one figure instead.

SUPER STRENGTH

Re: The Book of Galactus - Design Phase
 

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/5...us_arrives.jpg

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1...02_cov_col.jpg

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/5...-towers002.jpg



Also, I'd love to know your guys' thoughts on a mini for this guy. I don't come in with any opinion except that it should be big. Really, with the way the design works, any sized figure is fine, we just need to pick one.

Re: The Book of Galactus - Design Phase
 

If Galactus' Herald is destroyed shouldn't he be allowed to choose another one or is he just stuck wherever he is for the rest of the game?

What happens if the map is split into two separate maps?

What happens if there are terrain pieces with things like Battlements attached to them, are they considered occupied?

I really like this design and am glad to see it started up. I just think these need to be answers and possibly fixed.

Re: The Book of Galactus - Design Phase
 

Both great questions. He has a range of 12, so there aren't a lot of figures who'll be able to stop him from attacking them. Honestly, I'd be fine with him being stuck in the mud at that point. Strategically speaking, you shouldn't let any of the few figures that might be able to attack him at more than 12 spaces away out-survive his herald. If you let it happen, you deserve any disadvantage (and he can still make those figures hurt by devouring the Earth itself!).

As for the second question, it sounds like the ultimate annoying turtle tactic. Basically at that point the game would be over and you'd win (likely with Galactus) on points. I don't know if there's an easy way to prevent it or if we should really feel burdened to. If someone really wants to do it, I'm fine with letting them, because they're killing their own fun. I think as an opponent knowing this strategy exists would/should encourage you to rush to battle Galactus right next to him, which makes thematic sense to me anyway, and should encourage you to avoid turtling. Granted, you have to lock down his herald too, but hopefully this shouldn't be problematic on most maps.

I'm definitely open to suggestions if anyone thinks there's an elegant way to address the "two maps" issue, though.

Re: The Book of Galactus - Design Phase
 

I think your answer covers it well. It would be a "stalemate" of sorts and then you would calculate the victor through points. Very annoying and not much fun for either player.

Re: The Book of Galactus - Design Phase
 

I'm more concerned that not all terrain pieces are 1-hex pieces. Wording will definitely need to clarify that the pieces he devours must be uncovered (he can't take the 24-hex piece that the others are stacked on, for example. Maybe restrict it to removing the highest level pieces first?

Re: The Book of Galactus - Design Phase
 

I missed this one before.

To answer - no, they wouldn't be occupied, but the power only allows you to remove one terrain piece, DO, or obstacle at a time. You couldn't remove a terrain piece with Battlements on it, because you'd be removing the Battlements in the process. You'd have to remove all of the Battlements first in order to avoid removing multiple things at once.

Re: The Book of Galactus - Design Phase
 

You :ninja:'d me here, but my last post basically contains my answer to this as well. If removing a terrain piece would cause you to displace any other terrain pieces, obstacles, or DOs, then you're removing more than just that one terrain piece. The power only allows you to remove one terrain piece, not to upset or remove more than that. So by that interpretation, you could not use this power to remove a terrain piece with other terrain pieces on top of it.

I think we should create an FAQ for this, but I don't think it needs to be spelled out any more in the power.

Re: The Book of Galactus - Design Phase
 

P.S. Many thanks to Griff for helping me figure this out in initial drafts and save a lot of messy wording and clarification attempts from being a part of this power!

Re: The Book of Galactus - Design Phase
 

Yea I think that covers it but there should definitely be some FAQs for these confusing situations that people are likely to encounter since this is probably the first and only design of it's kind.

Re: The Book of Galactus - Design Phase
 

Oh, absolutely. I do think it's a tad counter-intuitive, but I also think it's entirely justified in the wording and that it can be very intuitive once people read that FAQ a single time.