Re: Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion
I love both the balance and lore of Heroscape. The collective armies of each Valkyrie general have their own flavor, strengths and weaknesses, and each army forms a fun and coherent whole (usually). In spite of this, I believe that every general should share something: their own 10-point unique hero. So last year I set about working on a 10-point unique hero for Jandar.
I submitted Johann Graybeard to the SoV workshop in August and received mostly positive feedback. I made changes using the suggestions from the workshop participants and I feel that he is more solid now. I play tested Johann 20 times prior to submitting to the workshop. I and others have have now play tested him 20 times in his current iteration. I think he's ready to be evaluated.
I hope that through this process, Johann Graybeard will eventually receive the SoV moniker.
Spoiler Alert!
Bio: "Tell ‘Johann Graybeard's last stand,’" an elderly woman requested. Karl nodded as he stood in the middle of the circle of villagers who surrounded him. The story of Johann's last stand would be a fitting end to the evening of telling.
Karl stood a little taller. “I will tell ‘Johann Graybeard’s last stand’.” Karl announced loudly. “Remember that I speak truthfully for I was there. I saw it.”
“Johann Graybeard was our village’s best warrior. In his younger days, Johann ensured that no outside force troubled the village for long. Wolves, bandits, warlords’ soldiers, few could stand against Johann. He loved peace, but was willing to defend it with his axe, his shield, and his life. He was strong but noble, and stoic yet kind. As he got older, the village youth called him Johann Graybeard.”
The villagers nodded to each other. “Ja. That was Johann,” they said.
“The king went to war. He conscripted most our men to his army. However, because of his age, Johann Graybeard was not conscripted. Although he was not quite as fast or as strong as he had been in his youth, the other men felt comfort knowing that Johann was staying. He still had all of the courage and wit of his younger days. And he and the youth he had trained would not let anything happen to the village.”
“The King was victorious in the war.” Karl paused to let the villagers cheer the King – he had been a good and popular ruler. “Then the King paid and released the conscripts to go back to their homes. We began seeing small groups of men pass by the village. Some would buy supplies, others would beg a morsel of bread, and those who arrived in the evening would ask if they could bed down in our barns. We treated them well. They were the King’s conscripts, just like our fathers and brothers.”
“Another group stopped, but they weren’t like the others. They were brigands, intent on raiding while the men were still away. Two wore the uniform of the king’s soldiers, but they were no different from the other bandits – course, demanding, and greedy. They started threatening Frau Schmidt, our good village matron, after she refused their demands for money and goods.” Karl paused again long enough for the people to boo and curse the brigands’ memory. Some cheered Frau Schmidt’s memory instead.
“Taking them by surprise, Johann suddenly leapt in among the brigands. His attack began with such anger and ferocity it seemed, just for a moment, that he was young again. He rammed the brigand’s leader with his shield and knocked him so hard that he didn’t even try to defend against Johann’s axe stroke. One of the king’s soldiers tried to attack Johann, but his sword shattered as Johann blocked the swing with his shield. That soldier quickly fell also. As Johann turned to fight the last two men, one stabbed him in the chest. Johann was just not as fast as he used to be. Miraculously, Johann dispatched that third brigand before he too fell to the Earth. By then us youth had arrived with our staffs and bows. The last bandit ran for his life.”
Karl bowed his head and fell silent remembering that day and wishing he and his friends run faster to Johann Graybeard’s aid. When he looked up at the villagers, he said quietly, “We moved to assist Johann. His face was gray as his beard. He said to us, ‘Keep the village safe until the men return.’ Then he disappeared. He vanished to nothingness. I swear it is so.”
The villagers all nodded, “Ja. He vanished.” Although the village had held a funeral for Johann Graybeard after the men returned from the war, they lacked a body to bury.
Creativity: Johann strikes a balance between fitting within the lore of Heroscape, and being unique. Like many unique units in Jandar’s army, Johann Graybeard is a human fighter who hails from Earth. He is a valiant warrior who fought for good causes before being mortally wounded and summoned to Valhalla. Although Johann Graybeard fits readily within Jandar’s army, he also possesses some unique aspects. Most notably, he is older, with his age being worked into the mechanics of his card. And although Johann is old, he still has some fight in him. Johann Graybeard is also from a culture that hadn’t really been used before in Heroscape (Germanic). I like the idea of Jandar drafting a grizzled peasant warrior after he fell in battle valiantly defending his people.
Accessibility: The figure used for Johann Graybeard is a Pathfinder Battles figure from the Crown of Fangs set. Its model name is “Emperor's Thug #05”. There are over 100+ figures available across multiple outlets. Most sources sell him for less than $5.
Balance: Johann is a useful, though not dominating, 10-point filler. I submitted him to the SoV workshop in August and received mostly positive feedback. I made changes using the suggestions from the workshop participants and I feel that he is more solid now. Specifically, I simplified his powers and lowered his move.
Others and I have play-tested Johann Graybeard extensively (20 time prior to the SoV workshop and 20 times following the workshop) both in real games and in “end-of-game” scenarios. We tested him both in valiant and non-valiant builds and in Jandar-only and mixed armies. In some of the tests, Johann Graybeard could take his points worth (or more than that), but he had to be played thoughtfully to do so. He won’t automatically take his points.
I used Johann Graybeard successfully in different ways. I used him in multiple games as a figure to tie down my opponents’ figures giving me more time to position/use my more important units. I used him to intercept an assassin (Siiv) who was heading toward my cleanup unit (Heirloom). He has cut a head off a Fen Hydra. He destroyed a pair of Warriors of Ashra, bypassing their defensive ability. But his biggest moment of glory was surging out of the start zone on Order Marker 3, knocking off a nearly-dead Tandros Kreel, taking the initiative for the next round and putting two wounds on Siege while Siege was shield stunned. While moments like these were rare, they were fun and exciting when they occurred!
Alternatively, like any other figure, especially fillers, he can fall flat on his face. I tried him as a “Theracus bomb” to see if he would be able to unduly influence the game if he got into an opponent’s start zone early. That attempt failed miserably. My brother once chased down Me-Burq-Sa, in an attempt to give the warlord a taste of his own no-defense-dice medicine, but realized too late that Rushing Shield Stun only works on Small and Medium figures. In others, he died in or near the start zone having done nothing (I’m especially looking at you KMA, DW 9000, and Mok). And many games he never received an Order Marker due to being destroyed or by being part of an army that simply won without his help.
In the “end-of-game” scenarios he lost most of the time against Isamu but won most of the time against Otonashi (my goal was not to create a new Isamu, but I was interested in seeing how he stacked up against the other 10-point figures). Whereas Isamu has the ability to one-shot Nilfheim, Johann won't be doing that without help from Taelord, Finn, height advantage, and a few glyphs.
In short, Johann performs very much like a 10-point figure should (and did) never “break” a game.
Playability: As a valiant 10-point figure who follows Jandar, Johann Graybeard is certainly playable – especially in a generals’ format game or a valiant build. The lowest point figure Jandar has is Eldgrim (at 30 points). The lowest point valiant figure is Kyntela Gwyn (at 20 points), and she does not really add much value to the typical valiant build.
There are other possibilities for Johann Graybeard beyond a Jandar/valiant build, especially if he is able to combine his Shield Stun ability with his Remember Youth’s Vigor ability. For example, Johann might make a great counter-pick to samurai units because activating his Rushing Shield Stun ability would prevent them from using counterstrike on him. He could also put the finishing hits on a wounded small/medium figure (e.g., Tandros Kreel as described above). If activated, his Rushing Shield Stun would also prevent other figures’ special defensive abilities from working such as Heirloom’s Warforged Resolve or the Gorillinator’s Tough ability.
Fun: The fun in Johann Graybeard comes in trying to decide when to bring him out and to see whether the D20 is rolling in your favor or not. Where Isamu is a lot of fun because of his defensive D20 ability, Johann is a lot of fun with his offensive D20 ability. Is he best off waiting to the very end of the game and mopping up a few remaining squad figures or a wounded hero? Is it worth it to try and sneak him behind your opponent’s lines in the mid-to-late game and have him use Remember Youth’s Vigor to try to take out a key hero (e.g., a wounded Raelin or Marcus Decimus Gallus)? And, of course, does his shield stun work and allow you to potentially put a whopping three wound markers on an opposing figure? I personally find him to be a lot of fun, and the others who have playtested with him feel the same.
Because I have to evaluate other peoples' written manuscripts as part of my professional life, I understand the time that it takes to do these types of reviews. I appreciate the judges' time and effort as they evaluate Johann Graybeard.
DNH
Last edited by DewNoHarm; January 9th, 2018 at 03:21 PM.
Reason: Adding image
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