The Pre-SoV Workshop

[Dad_Scaper]

It's what I do, Dewk. You're welcome, and I'm glad I could help.

[Scytale]

"Opportunistic Thief" is better, but the word "thief" still implies he's trying to steal something. That's not really what's going on here. I'd rather you simply name it "Opportunistic." That said, I wouldn't vote down the unit with "Opportunistic Thief."

[Dad_Scaper]

I like "Thief" because that also hints at why he is not Utgar. He's a goblin, sure, but he is not a vicious "Cutter." He is, instead, a Thief, which has a bit more charm and possibility for non-evil behavior.

[Scytale]

Originally Posted by Dad_Scaper

I like "Thief" because that also hints at why he is not Utgar. He's a goblin, sure, but he is not a vicious "Cutter." He is, instead, a Thief, which has a bit more charm and possibility for non-evil behavior.

The class name already says the same thing (though with a synonym), and thievery comes off as generally criminal to me. More importantly, though, this particular power does not have anything to do with thievery.

[Dad_Scaper]

Well, I see it as him skulking in the shadows, striking when an opponent's back is turned. Why is he lurking? Not because he is an assassin, but because he is a thief.

All I'm saying is that it resonates with me. YM, obviously, MV.

[Dysole]

Originally Posted by Kinseth

How many Goblins have you run across that are good? Humans are all across the spectrum, but everywhere I see a goblin, it is a bad goblin. (Unless you are a huge Hary Potter fan, but I haven't seen Heroscape pull from Harry Potter... So that is a very WEAK argument in my eyes.)

You clearly haven't read the webcomic Goblins.

That aside, I can buy Aquilla but it isn't like I think it's an amazing fit.

~Dysole, who would need to look at the others more in depth before she could really give feedback

[BiggaBullfrog]

Originally Posted by The Dewk

I don't think you need to explain his skin color. It's can be understood that he's a classic assassin in the sense that he spends most of his time running around at night; no chance to get a tan doing that!

As for his name change, you could call him Jack of Blades. A play on the jack of spades, everyone knows it's cool to touch on games of chance in fantasy!

I like Jack of Blades! It really helps sell his knife-fighter theme. Plus it's the name of that one guy from that one game. I'll probably go with that, thanks!

Originally Posted by Ixe

Jack The Pale
This guy looks like fun although I have a few qualms. I would change the name since it is too close to Elaria without any reason for the same moniker. Additionally, range 3 is weird. I take it he is throwing knives but short ranged attacks are often held at 4. Otherwise Poison weapons is thematic and functional and Deadly Strike + Blades of Fury should make him a frightening assassin hero.

Yeah, the name will be changed. And yes, a base 3 Range would be unprecedented in Heroscape, the closest being the Obsidian Guards and Granite Guardians who both have a conditional 3 Range (plus the Varja - thanks Dewk!). It's purposeful for a few reasons. One is that he doesn't get range bonuses from Laglor, Glyph of Ivor, or the Varkaanan hero whose name I can't remember. The other main one is on a thematic standpoint - I view this guy as an assassin who is deadly accurate (thus Deadly Strike), but only in close quarters. He's more of the "ambush you in the alley" than a "snipe you across the square" kind of guy. Those two reasons (lack of range bonuses and the theme) combine into his gameplay - even though those range bonuses are somewhat corner cases, he's not allowed to snipe anyway (you already have Zeta at 60 pts for that). Instead he's waiting just behind the lines until he has an opportunity to jump out and preferably attack someone in melee range, but if he can't engage anyone, he has a small failsafe in his range (which does give a small counterbalance in deciding whether to attack from a high spot or engaging for multiple attacks). Not enough range to kite, and not enough that he'll always have a prime target in range. For this assassin, timing is key.

So that's my vision behind this guy. And that all said, if the 3 Range was enough of a stink for the judges, I would be more than willing to set it at 4 and do some play testing there.

Originally Posted by Scytale

Jack The Pale
I have less qualms about the 3 Range than Ixe; if the Moltarn can throw lava, this guy can throw knives. It does cause some oddities, however: he can attack something 50 levels higher as long as he can see it. Aside from that, I like the overall design. Some useful abilities and decision points.

Yeah, those oddities do exist, and I would be lying if I said they haven't occurred to me as well. But they don't bother me a ton on account of Heroscape having all sorts of those oddities. Obsidian Guards can also throw 50 levels higher (and so can Shiori, Makwa, and other throwing units), Syvarris outranges most gun-toting figures, and Deathreavers have a cross-everything mutation into a Zombie when killed by one. Not that I'm trying to say that those oddities shouldn’t be avoided when possible, but sometimes they come up and it can't be helped. In this case, the only way to avoid it would be to just change the range to 1, but that makes the unit too stale for my taste.

Thanks for the feedback all! I'm always open to more feedback and discussion on good ol' Jacky here.

[Leaf_It]

Originally Posted by Scytale

"Opportunistic Thief" is better, but the word "thief" still implies he's trying to steal something. That's not really what's going on here. I'd rather you simply name it "Opportunistic." That said, I wouldn't vote down the unit with "Opportunistic Thief."

What about a different combinations of the ideas... "Sneaky Opportunist"?
@The Dewk

[Dad_Scaper]

Daring Opportunist could work. Again, it blows a little non-evil into the design.

[The Dewk]

Originally Posted by BiggaBullfrog

Yeah, the name will be changed. And yes, a base 3 Range would be unprecedented in Heroscape, the closest being the Obsidian Guards and Granite Guardians who both have a conditional 3 Range.

Actually, this living storm has a base range of three, so it's not unprecedented

[The Dewk]

Tons of good input on Bol's soon-to-be-renamed Sneak Thief ability, thank you all. I'm going to deliberate on what is most appropriate over the next few weeks while getting some extensive testing done with what should be the final iteration of his abilities/stats. Thanks again!

[Tai-Pan]

I have a question: would the planeswalker figures from AotP qualify as available miniatures? They're expensive as they come only in the Master Sets, they are discontinued, but a lot of people may already have them. I'm playing with ideas for them, and wanted to know if they have SoV potential based on the miniatures