Astro's Custom Units [Update 5/26/21: WWII Medic]

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by Pumpkin_King

Huh. That is less than I thought, actually.

Same here. Now I need to go out and find a matching tank model that is available for cheaper.

Originally Posted by TheAverageFan

Tanks are cool. The small size is historically inoffensive for a light tank.

I can completely understand the price tag on the Draft Horses. Triple Carry is extremely strong, especially since you could hypothetically carry the same figure three times in a row as you move with each horse individually.

~TAF

I completely agree on Triple Carry, especially since each carried figure can be moved in independent directions, too. It really provides a lot more flexibility than I think is healthy for the competitive scene, at least without a heavy cost. Having a high price tag at least significantly discourages taking multiples of the squad, which is when such shenanigans become much more feasible.

Originally Posted by Soundwarp SG-1

The Haunted Tank is specifically an M3 Stuart, that's part of why it's haunted in the first place. The M3 is a light tank, so the scale seems pretty decent here.

Thanks for identifying the actual tank model! I'm not sure why an M3 Stuart itself would specifically be haunted, but knowing the actual dimensions now, it really seems much closer than I initially gave the miniature credit for.

[Astroking112]

Well, my college's free access to PhotoShop is ending soon, so I figure that it's time to brush off some of the drafts that I have lying around and get them posted while I have the chance. Here's an Icarian Cultist for your viewing pleasure.

- - - - - - -

GHENT CRE
High Priestess of the Nhah Scirh

Valkrill's Vengeance - Heroes of the White Storm (1/4)



The figure used is Velstrac Evangelist #12 from the Pathfinder: Ruins of Lastwall set.

CHARACTER BIO:

Spoiler Alert!

She gets stabby stabby with the cultists.

CARD TEXT:

Spoiler Alert!

GENERAL = VALKRILL
PLANET = ICARIA
SPECIES = ICARIAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CULTIST
PERSONALITY = TORMENTING
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 7

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 1
POINTS = 60

DARK SACRIFICE
Before moving Ghent Cre, you may destroy an adjacent Cultist that you control. If you do, add 4 to this card's attack value this turn.

FANATICAL ADVANCE
Ghent Cre is never attacked when leaving an engagement with a Squad figure.

DESIGN NOTES:

Spoiler Alert!

The Nhah Scirh Cultists are a really fun squad to play, but sometimes I feel like they're a bit too niche since they mostly shine against Special Attacks or against dragons. Ghent Cre doesn't really change that, but she does provide a new option for them to get a very high attack... for a very high price. It's limited by requiring her to sacrifice a cultist before moving, but with disengage against squads, that 7-dice attack has the potential to do a lot of damage.

Other than that, her main use is pretty much to soak up wounds for the Nhah Scirh. With only 1 defense and questionable fashion choices, she won't last very long, but the opponent will have to direct some attacks her way if they want to take care of that nasty threat. I kept debating between 6 life and 2 defense and 7 life and 1 defense here, but ultimately I felt like 7L/1D is more unique and memorable for the design.

-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received

• NHAH SCIRH CULTISTS : DARK SACRIFICE
  As Cultists, the Nhah Scirh Cultists may be sacrificed for Ghent Cre's DARK SACRIFICE attack boost.

Synergy Benefits Offered

• N/A

As always, any comments or feedback are appreciated.

[Soundwarp SG-1]

Originally Posted by Astroking112

Thanks for identifying the actual tank model! I'm not sure why an M3 Stuart itself would specifically be haunted, but knowing the actual dimensions now, it really seems much closer than I initially gave the miniature credit for.

The Haunted Tank is haunted because its commander is Jeb Stuart, descendant of Civil War general J. E. B. Stuart which is who that model of tank is named after. So the spirit of Alexander the Great sends J.E.B.’s spirit to watch over his two namesakes. Comics are weird.

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by Soundwarp SG-1

The Haunted Tank is haunted because its commander is Jeb Stuart, descendant of Civil War general J. E. B. Stuart which is who that model of tank is named after. So the spirit of Alexander the Great sends J.E.B.’s spirit to watch over his two namesakes. Comics are weird.

Having once learned more about Spider-Man giving birth to himself than I ever wanted to from a friend, I have to agree that comics can be downright strange sometimes. It's always funny finding weird stories like that.

[flameslayer93]

Ghent Cre is cool. I have the figure, so itll be cool to pair this design with superfrog’s and have a Nhah Scir bash.

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by flameslayer93

Ghent Cre is cool. I have the figure, so itll be cool to pair this design with superfrog’s and have a Nhah Scir bash.

Thanks! I really like superfrog's Agrah Fenh, too, and I made sure to make Ghent Cre a Cultist so that she gets any synergies with the Nhah Scirh.

[Astroking112]

I took a bit longer in posting the next unit than I had meant to, but figuring out a way to create Treasure Glyph cards is proving more troublesome than I had expected. I guess the only form of recourse is to jump to the end of this pack of heroes, even though no one cares about the order that I upload them in except for me.

- - - - - - -

VISHANIA
Enigmatic Entity

Valkrill's Vengeance - Heroes of the White Storm (4/4)



The figure used is Beatific One #40 from the Pathfinder: Legends of Golarion set.

CHARACTER BIO:

Spoiler Alert!

TBA

CARD TEXT:

Spoiler Alert!

GENERAL = AQUILLA
PLANET = FEYLUND
SPECIES = ASURI
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = WARRIOR
PERSONALITY = ENIGMATIC
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5

MOVE = 4
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 2
DEFENSE = 4
POINTS = 140

TRIPLE ATTACK
Vishania may attack with her normal attack up to 3 times each turn.

RAKSHA KA CHARAN
While Order Marker 1 is revealed on this card, Vishania adds 2 to her defense.

GATI KA CHARAN
While Order Marker 2 is revealed on this card, Vishania adds 2 to her move.

SHAKTI KA CHARAN
While Order Marker 3 is revealed on this card, Vishania adds 2 to her attack.

DESIGN NOTES:

Spoiler Alert!

I found this miniature for cheap online and simply couldn't resist. It's such a distinctive and unique sculpt, and I loved the idea of making a unit with three very distinct aspects.

I ultimately settled on a very simple design that creates a lot of tension. Vishania can be an absolute powerhouse in the best of scenarios, going up to 6 defense, 4 attack, and 7 move with Triple Attack (which gets even deadlier with height!), but that requires devoting your entire round to her alone, and the boosts only slowly trickle in. If you want to spend time developing the rest of your army as well, then you need to carefully choose which of these aspects to activate, and when.

The specific order of boosts (defense > move > attack) is something that I debated over for a while, too. I wanted the attack boost to be last for sure to limit her offensive potential (with height, she can easily get in three attacks of 5 on one target, which could be devastating). I flip-flopped between putting move first and putting defense first after that; I like the idea of putting her movement boost first, but the defense boost is more critical to her survival, so giving up OM1 every round to maintain it is a dicier proposition. I could probably be persuaded to switch the order, if anyone actually reads these designer thoughts and has a strong opinion.

Overall, I'm really happy with this design. It uses four powers, but each of them is actually quite simple, which makes for a solid standalone design. Just don't leave her alive until the endgame if you're facing her, or else you'll have one mad Asuri on your hands.

-Combinations and Synergies-

Synergy Benefits Received

• N/A

Synergy Benefits Offered

• VIVAAN : RAKSHA KARANEVAALA
  As an Asuri Hero, Vishania can trigger Vivaan's additional turn from RAKSHA KARANEVAALA with a revealed numbered Order Marker.

As always, any comments or feedback are appreciated.

[flameslayer93]

Nice design Astro. I like the simplicity of her powers and tactile usage of them. I will note that she’ll have a hard time earning her keep except during endgame. But then she is really expensive for that.

Spoiler Alert!

And yes, I at least, enjoy reading design notes. It takes the guesswork out of how I should give feedback.

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by flameslayer93

Nice design Astro. I like the simplicity of her powers and tactile usage of them. I will note that she’ll have a hard time earning her keep except during endgame. But then she is really expensive for that.

Spoiler Alert!

And yes, I at least, enjoy reading design notes. It takes the guesswork out of how I should give feedback.

Thanks! I agree with your assessment that she's probably underwhelming outside of the endgame, but it's difficult to fix that while still maintaining this design (the fix that comes to my mind is to swap the defense boost with a range boost and make each bonus only last one turn, to make spreading out turns on her more feasible).

My original draft of her actually had even lower base stats to increase her reliance on OMs, but I felt like that ultimately made her less interesting if she could only play one way. It doesn't help that I wanted to keep each Order Marker as a simple +2 bonus to one of her stats for the aesthetic symmetry, of course.

Spoiler Alert!

It's great to hear that someone is reading them! I like talking through the reasoning behind the designs, but I also don't want to barrage people with text if they aren't interested.

[Astroking112]

After resubmitting Masha Shingai to SoV as a Yokai, I begun finding inspiration for an entire faction of Yokai. There are a ton of really cool and weird legends out there (one of my favorites is a priest's-head-at-the-center-of-a-flaming-wheel that rolls around, screams at people, and steals their souls from their bodies ), and it presents a great opportunity for further designs that are unique to HeroScape.

These are my first drafts at the bones of such a faction. Of course, it goes without saying that Masha Shingai is a part of it (here's his card for easy reference):



One of the main things that I wanted to do with this faction was be unique from all of the existing HeroScape controller units. In my opinion, a lot of the conventional controllers start to feel like more of the same, so I wanted to mostly avoid easing Order Marker placement or some kind of bonding/double-turns amongst the heroes. Given that one of the defining characteristics of Masha is his reliance on Order Markers, I thought that it would be fitting to make that the tying theme between each of the Yokai: a very powerful ability that relies on revealed Order Markers.

With that in mind, a very new (and exciting) design space for the controller unit becomes clear. Here is Abe no Seimei:



Abe no Seimei is a famous historical figure from Japan, being the most famous Onmyoji (basically a mystic specialist). Seimei was a valued diviner and astrologist in the Imperial Court, where he was in charge of a variety of things such as warding off evil spirits, divining the gender of babies, or predicting strange events. Once he died, though, many legends began to spread about him as a powerful sorceror--one known for longevity, for being half-Yokai himself, and for his ability to control minor Oni from a young age. This take on Abe no Seimei leans heavily into that mystical aspect of him, as evidenced by the miniature and powers.

In terms of gameplay, Night of the Yokai and Shapeshift are the two defining powers for this faction. Night of the Yokai is notable in that while moving a revealed Order Marker is normally useless, it very much frees up the Yokai faction to really excel together.

Similarly, Shapeshift is kind of a thematic must for the faction (Yokai are often known for their shapeshifting). Rather than give many different figures a shapeshifting power, I thought that Abe no Seimei could essentially "enhance" their capabilities with his magic, freeing them up to each serve a unique purpose in the army. It represents a ton of strategic freedom, letting each Yokai essentially take their turn from any of the others' positions. It's intentionally extremely powerful, but it's also very different from anything else in the game.

Finally, Divination is a homage specifically to Abe no Seimei. One of his main duties was divination in the court, so it would feel like a bit of a missed opportunity to not include something along those lines. It's yet another very powerful buff to the faction--providing a fourth revealed Order Marker for them to play around with (even if they can't move it currently) makes it much easier to swallow taking all of them in the same army. It's especially potent with Masha's Terror, triggering before a potential lost initiative, which helps Masha find a niche as a "protector" for the faction.

But, that's just Seimei. Only him and Masha would make for a pretty sad faction, so it's time to move on to the next card. The Tanuki is one of the most famous of the Yokai (there's a saying along the lines of them being the most skilled shapeshifters of them all), so it would be an absolute shame to not include one. I'd like to present Kinchо̄:



Noticeably, Kinchо̄ does not follow Einar. Much along the lines of the ninja and lawmen factions, I wanted to feature a different Yokai for each general that somewhat embodies their themes and fleshes them out more. To that end, Kinchо̄ is entirely focused around mobility.

Tanuki Trickery is a very strong mobility tool when paired with Seimei's Shapeshift, essentially letting you develop an additional Yokai each round (which is very useful given that you'll generally only be moving one figure each turn). Night of the Yokai also makes triggering it much easier, since it only requires one Order Marker each round. It's a very powerful ability befitting a tricky Tanuki, but on his own, Kinchо̄ isn't that terrifying.

Athletic Defense and Phantom Walk are what really develops Kinchо̄ into his own playstyle. He's an annoying figure that likes to get in the way, to dance out of range, and generally disappear when things start looking rough. He has a ton of uses as a general mobility tool for the faction, even if he doesn't particularly shine offensively himself.

Note that as a Monk, he also receives bonding through Master Lao Xin's Sifu. One of my other goals with the faction is to have each figure have their own "side-faction," as it were: Masha clearly fits in well with the Samurai, and Kinchо̄ acts as a new tool for the Monks to mess around with. On its own, his single attack of 3 isn't anything to write home about, but it's worth an activation every now and then, especially if he can tie down some figures while moving out.

I've already typed out a ton (my thanks to you if you've read all of it!), but I have enough time to sneak out the fourth Yokai. Masha provides defense, Kinchо̄ provides mobility, and Seimei makes the faction click, so what else do the Yokai need?

Well, a way to get more than one attack per turn in would be really nice. Enter Nure Onna:



Nure Onna is quite literally named after her legend, so feel free to look it up if you're curious (or just ask me about it, since I feel like it's a little difficult to convey well from a card alone ). She is Valkrill's Yokai, a villainous little snake that lures people near water and then feasts on their blood.

She is a valuable offensive tool for the Yokai, being one of their only answers to squad figures, but she's also extremely fragile and dependent on water. Her only way to disengage is through Seimei's shapeshifting, which also offers her a ton of freedom in terms of movement. Any Yokai waiting near water could suddenly become a dangerous threat, making the faction play differently on every map (just don't take them to the Marvel set until I get out another multi-attacker ). She also acts as a bit of an Order Marker sink, wanting as many as possible while Masha and Kinchо̄ just need one to activate.

Alright, that's about everything that I have to show for the faction so far. The faction is far from complete, but hopefully this sampling of figures gives a good idea of the intended direction and is enough of a base to gather some feedback.

@Leo Ultra has been designing an Uncommon Hero to pair with them as well, which will also help with targeting more than one figure per turn. We're hoping to get that design posted within the next couple of days as well, but even I can only type so many words a day.

Many thanks to @flameslayer93 , @Dysole , and @Captain Stupendous for providing feedback and suggestions on the initial drafts of these guys in the Discord server! All of the feedback really helped to iron out some kinks and get these guys into a better shape.

[Astroking112]

Recently I stumbled across another miniature that I thought was an excellent fit for a Yokai, so I brainstormed on the Discord with Captain Stupendous, flameslayer93, and Shiftrex for concepts fitting the legend. I think that this one is still in a bit of a rough spot (there are several issues with the design that stop me from really liking it currently), so I'd definitely like to get some more feedback on its direction, or on the direction of any of the other Yokai mentioned above.

That all said, here's what I have so far: the Kirin, a mythical force of good and righteousness that is said to be so peaceful that it will never tread on any living thing, even a single blade of grass.



So, Peace Amidst War is clearly the defining power here. Some kind of a pacifist power here feels necessary to support the peaceful theme of the actual legend, IMO, and perhaps the fact that it boosts all figures within clear sight (not just your own) will help prevent the figure from being too painful to play against, but there are quite a few loopholes in the current power. For one, the existence of Gladiatrons/Blastatrons pretty much makes me want to abandon the power singlehandedly, since it's a massive boost and they counter the included downside of boosted figures not being able to make LEAs.

A more thematic interpretation would be to stop those figures from being attacked entirely (of course without being able to make LEAs or any attacks themselves), though it was rightfully pointed out that this might be unfun to essentially be forced to only attack the figures that are actively fighting. I suppose that something along these lines might be more manageable:

PEACE AMIDST WAR
If there is at least one revealed Order Marker on this Army Card, then all figures within clear sight of the Kirin that do not have an Order Marker on their Army Card are considered peaceful. Peaceful figures can never move, attack, make leaving engagement attacks, or be attacked by any other figures, and all of their special powers are negated.

That's perhaps even more powerful, though, since it doesn't hurt the Yokai (who can remove their OMs after taking a turn via Seimei's Night of the Yokai) and pretty much completely screws over bonding units with no recourse. This is probably even more problematic than the version on the card, unless it was perhaps limited to a certain number of spaces (currently, adding a range limit would actually be a buff to the power rather than a nerf, since it makes it much easier to avoid boosting your opponents, too).

I definitely think that the power needs some work, so I'd appreciate help there. Designing a "peaceful" unit in a wargame is a pretty big challenge for sure, but I feel like the Kirin would be a great addition to the Yokai faction if it can be worked out.

I'm of course also still interested in feedback on the previous three Yokai that I posted (or Masha Shingai, I suppose, though he's unlikely to change much at this point). I kind of view them as the "core set" for the time being, so any additional pointers to help polish them would be much appreciated.

[Blue Trails]

Good stuff, here. I'll break up my feedback to make this easier to read.

Masha Shingai:
This looks to be the most polished of the Yokai. Masha Shingai is more helpful with the Samurai than the Yokai, as Fiery Retribution, a high Life and Attack, and a Large size help him take out certain threats to an army of predominantly Melee-oriented squad figures, but the Yokai also enjoy these traits. The greatest flaw I can find is that Terror of the Honorless requires Masha to hog the first Order Marker in a Samurai build or the X Order Marker in a Yokai build, which can limit his player's strategies.

Abe no Seimei:
Thematically, I don't really like Abe no Seimei being a yokai and a historical figure. The fact that he existed in the real world means Abe would likely hail from Earth, and classic Heroscape never gave such an overtly supernatural figure that homeworld. I could easily see Einar summoning the human Abe no Seimei for his divination abilities and gifting him an artifact (in the vein of the Sgt. Drake's Thorian Katana) that granted Abe control over yokai, though, but this would require a change to Night of the Yokai and Shapeshift to include Abe no Seimei among their valid targets.

Mechanically, I think this is a very innovative design. As you mentioned, Abe's powers enable the Yokai army to function without competing for Order Markers, and his stats make him a decent cleaner in the endgame. I would consider limiting the range of either Shapeshift or Night of the Yokai, though; currently, there is very little reason to place an order marker on Abe no Seimei's card until the rest of the army is depleted, which is very unusual for a faction's defining figure. All of Abe's game-changing special powers can be activated from the safety of the start zone, and he can use Shapeshift to remove himself from many threatening situations. A range of 6-8 hexes would still grant Abe a wide area of influence, but it would make usage of the Abe no Seimei figure more important to the Yokai army's success.

Kinchō:
A solid unit that can stall opposing squads and tie down valuable attackers. I wouldn't want to play Yokai without both Kinchō and Abe no Seimei, as the two can safely move frailer Yokai like Nure Onna into position for a winning play. I can't really say much else, but I notice that Kinchō also makes a great Glyph-grabber. Did you intend for him to be able to move onto Glyphs with his special powers?

Nure Onna:
This design looks fun, although I'm not familiar with the source legend. 7 Move makes taking height relatively easy, mitigating Nure Onna's low combat stats, and From the Deep is a nice way to execute a map-dependent unit. I like a particular dynamic brought by Life Drain: although disengaging with a four-life figure is a risky idea, Life Drain allows Nure Onna to erase a wound or two if she can maneuver herself next to a vulnerable unit or pod. I don't know how useful this unit would really be against squads, though; a unit with 4 Life and 2 Defense is easy prey for even weak squads. Instead, I would imagine Nure Onna's primary role would be to take out weaker support figures that are unlikely to see many Order Markers, and then use any leftover attacks to mop up squads in the immediate vicinity.

If you want to make Nure Onna more consistent against squads, I would recommend bumping her Defense to 3 and/or swapping Life Drain for Disengage. Nure Onna can already partially ignore leaving engagement attacks with smart usage of Life Drain, so Disengage isn't an enormous buff, and the extra Defense die would help Nure Onna survive multiple attacks. This would require an increase in cost, but the unit is currently so cheap that you couldn't really price her out of usability.

General Observations:
As an army composed almost exclusively of single-attacking Unique Heroes, bonding and swarming squads should be tough matchups. Although Masha Shingai and Kinchō can limit the effectiveness of such figures, the Order Marker-intensive Yokai build can still be overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of incoming attacks. I would also think that the Yokai would work best alongside any cost-effective Defense-boosting figure: Masha wants a high Defense to maximize the number of times he can trigger Fiery Retribution; Kinchō's mobility is directly tied to the quantity of shields he rolls; Abe appreciates the ability to withstand sustained attacks, as escaping an engagement through Shapeshift can interfere with the rest of the army's positioning; and Nure Onna tends to break like blown glass when defending with her printed stats.

Kirin:
Here's a source for the valuable Defense boost I mentioned above. The challenge of making a peaceful unit is intriguing, and I think that Peace Amidst War lays a good foundation for this theme, but it seems very hard to appropriately balance a truly pacifistic power. I've read that the mythological Kirin would never initiate violence, yet it would fiercely defend itself and the pure-hearted from wicked attackers. With this in mind, I think that you could split Peace Amidst War into two powers as such:

POWER 1
If there is at least one revealed Order Marker on the Kirin's Army Card, all figures with four clear sight spaces of the Kirin roll 1 additional Defense die. After a figure affected by [POWER 1] attacks, you must immediately roll the twenty-sided die. If you roll a 17 or higher, the attacking figure receives one wound.

POWER 2
All figures with a clear line of sight to the Kirin may not make leaving engagement attacks.

Thematically, while the idea of a total pacifist would be lost, a retaliatory power is reasonable for the legend and for a unit whose class is "Protector." The first power would change the role of the Kirin significantly and would likely warrant some kind of cost increase, but it would discourage podding with Raelin and lowering the potential for abuse in Blastatron / Gladiatron armies, as it would be difficult to buff the Gladiatrons' Defense values without including either their engaged opponents or the Blastatrons in the Kirin's aura. Moreover, the extension of the second power into a permanent effect is an ultimately fair change; the fact that the ability disables friendly figures' leaving engagement attacks checks its potency, while the new requirement of a clear line of sight from a given figure to the Kirin makes it easier to negate the power with sight blockers. This latter point also emphasizes the idea that the Kirin is seen in times of peace and does not project peace onto its surroundings.