SoA's Customs: ULLAR CAVALRY FACTION, 4/24

[betawolf36]

Originally Posted by capsocrates

That's better than the other power but I think that part of the design should be left by the wayside altogether.

Personally, when I saw Shaitahn my first thought was of Death Knights and Tomb Skellies running together. I think maybe Making it work on mindless undead figures. No longer fast running Knights, but we lose the group of Knights traveling in a bunch.

[caps]

Ooh, then Shaitahn could be a Lord for Annelintian synergy as well.

[Lazy Orang]

For some reason, SoA, whenever I go onto this thread's first page something pops up and asks me for my user name annd password for authentication for something called "http://www.implodingduck.com". I used to just click cancel and ignore it, but now it keeps popping up again if I do. This makes me unable to view your customs, which is a bit irritating. Could you tell me why this is happening and if possible stop it, please?

[Son of Arathorn]

I really have no idea what that's about; I noticed that earlier this year (might've even been last year) but it always let me hit cancel, so I never bothered to explore further. It's not doing it for me now though (been a while since I was in this thread). maybe PM an admin?

[Ninja Status]

It's showing up fine for me, without any weird pop-ups.

~NS, who clicked on this thread thinking SoA was back in business...

[Son of Arathorn]

Here's a little something I've been tinkering with. Still not sure about the name, but it is what it is. Might end up changing it to reflect a subspecies of jumping spider.

NAME = FYORLAG WIDOW
GENERAL = AQUILLA
PLANET = VALHALLA
SPECIES = ARACHNID
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = PREDATOR
PERSONALITY = WILD
SIZE/HEIGHT = SMALL/2

LIFE = 6
MOVE = 7
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 3
POINTS = 100/???

ARACHNID ATTACK ENHANCEMENT
All friendly Arachnids adjacent to Fyorlag Widow roll an additional attack die.

WIDOW’S POUNCE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 3. Attack 7.
After moving with Fyorlag Widow , if she is unengaged, she may use Widow’s Pounce Special Attack. To pounce, choose a non-adjacent small or medium figure whose base is no more than 5 levels from Fyorlag Widow’s base. If the figure is destroyed, immediately place Fyorlag Widow on the space the figure occupied. If the figure is not destroyed, destroy Fyorlag Widow.

CLIMB X3
When moving up or down levels of terrain, Fyorlag Widow may triple her height.


The miniature used is the Giant Spider from the Reaper Legendary Encounters product line:

Still in production, and ReaperMini.com has 50 of them on their site right now.

A note on the concept: I started this unit out as a Unique Hero, but now I'm curious about making it into an Uncommon Hero (which would involve dialing back the point cost, Life value, and attack dice on the special attack). Any thoughts on this?

A note on the base: I've got the mini in hand, but no HeroScape with me at the moment, so it's hard to tell what sort of base she should be on. The miniature's legs are just a bit wide for a normal single-spaced base, but a peanut hardly seems necessary. Maybe a D3 large base, or a Deathwalker 9000 base.

Bio:

Spoiler Alert!

Many of Utgar's soldiers have fallen prey to the infamous ambushes of Fyorlag Spiders which roam the Ticalla Jungle. One misstep, and pits covered over with concealed web will ensnare an unwary warrior. Worse yet, should one of a warband trip upon a carefully placed strand, the too-heavy shuffling of a hundred feet will careen through the underbrush towards hapless quarry.

Though the threat of the Spiders is ever-present in the mind of a warrior in the jungle, rumor tells of ghosts in the heart of the jungle more terrifying than any mere vermin. Where even men loyal to Aquilla fear to tread in the deep hollows, it is said that dread creatures stir the Fyorlag Spiders into an unnatural frenzy. Hunting prey twice their size, these intelligent creatures know little mercy for those who stray too close to their webs, springing out of the trees to devour their prey.

[johnny139]

I agree on changing from a Widow. To me, widow spiders imply venom, not pouncing. And they're more of a "sit and wait" style of predator, not to mention highly antisocial as far as spiders go. I'd suggest going with a name or style inspired by the

velvet spider

velvet spider

, which have a few social species and inhabit jungles. Or, if you're sticking with a unique hero, I'd recommend aping the Venoc Warlord - Fyorlag "Squadleader" or something.

Speaking of which, Widow's Pounce is CRAZY. A huge risk, obviously. If you went Uncommon you'd probably just want to reuse the basic Pounce attack... and maybe drop the Attack Enhancement since that could get super crazy. I can see arguments both ways, honestly.

[Son of Arathorn]

Still torn on the Unique/Uncommon issue, so here's a version of both. The name of the first is the Hindi word for 'spider'. I tried to change the attack enhancement on the Uncommon to something that wouldn't stack with multiple heroes, but I'm not sure I've succeeded.

Unique:

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = MAKARI
GENERAL = AQUILLA
PLANET = VALHALLA
SPECIES = ARACHNID
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = PREDATOR
PERSONALITY = WILD
SIZE/HEIGHT = SMALL/2

LIFE = 7
MOVE = 7
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 2
POINTS = 80

ARACHNID ATTACK ENHANCEMENT
All friendly Arachnid figures adjacent to Makari add 1 to their attack dice.

SPIDER’S POUNCE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 3. Attack 7.
After moving with Makari, if she is unengaged, she may use Spider’s Pounce Special Attack. To pounce, choose a non-adjacent small or medium figure whose base is no more than 5 levels from Makari’s base. If the figure is destroyed, immediately place Makari on the space the figure occupied. If the figure is not destroyed, destroy Makari.

CLIMB X3
When moving up or down levels of terrain, Makari may triple her height.

Uncommon:

Spoiler Alert!

NAME = FYORLAG BROODLEADER
GENERAL = AQUILLA
PLANET = VALHALLA
SPECIES = ARACHNID
UNIQUENESS = UNCOMMON HERO
CLASS = PREDATOR
PERSONALITY = WILD
SIZE/HEIGHT = SMALL/2

LIFE = 3
MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 3
POINTS = 40

ARACHNID ASSAULT
A Common Arachnid figure attacking a figure engaged with a Fyorlag Broodleader you control with a normal attack adds 1 to its attack dice.

POUNCE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 3. Attack 5.
After moving with this Fyorlag Broodleader, if it is unengaged, it may use Pounce Special Attack. To pounce, choose a non-adjacent small or medium figure whose base is no more than 5 levels from the base of this Forlag Broodleader. If the figure is destroyed, place this Fyorlag Broodleader on the space the figure occupied. If the figure is not destroyed, destroy this Fyorlag Broodleader.

CLIMB X3
When moving up or down levels of terrain, this Fyorlag Broodleader may triple its height.

[caps]

How is she offering an attack enhancement?

[Ixe]

Makari
I just cannot sign on for this little spider sitting behind a big butt of 7 life. I'd expect the stats to be flipped, if anything, where it is absurdly agile and nimble but a hit or two will squash the small spider. That leads to walker roll style plays and makes her a lot more swingy, but I feel that it fits thematically at least. I'm not sure how much more swingy it would really make her given her insane pounce attack. One whiffed roll can sink a lot of points. The high life probably lets you be pretty liberal about taking leaving engagement attacks to set the pounce up. I have no qualms about sapient spiders boosting their brood.

Fyorlag Broodleader
I personally prefer the lower point bonding option for the spiders, especially since this one is toting a much more reasonable life total. This pounce is also a little less swingy given that half the points are on the line with an attack. The firepower is a little less devastating, too. Setting up pounce is a bit tougher, however, since engagement strikes are that much more costly. Come to think of it, I don't think another custom that gives disengage to spiders like Morgoloth does to the wolves would be unreasonable, although that would certainly be a different custom entirely.

[Son of Arathorn]

NAME = HIERACOS
GENERAL = VYDAR
PLANET = FEYLUND
SPECIES = SPHINX
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = GUARD
PERSONALITY = LOYAL
SIZE/HEIGHT = LARGE/7

LIFE = 6
MOVE = 7
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 3
POINTS = 100

SWOOPING STRIKES 16
After moving and before attacking, you may choose up to 2 opponent’s figures Hieracos passed over this turn and roll the 20-sided die for each figure. Add 3 to your die roll if the chosen figure is small or medium. If you roll a 16 or higher, the chosen figure receives 1 wound.

FLYING
When counting spaces for Hieracos’s movement, ignore elevations. Hieracos may fly over water without stopping, pass over figure without becoming engaged, and fly over obstacles such as ruins. If Hieracos is engaged when he starts to fly, he will take any leaving engagement attacks.

The figure used is #031, Hieracosphinx, from the D&D Elemental Evil set:


Miniaturemarket has 34 for $5.50 apiece, and since the set's just been put out, I don't doubt availability will be around for some time.


Notes:
- As a Guard, Crypt Guardians can use Royal Escort to bond with Hieracos
- I've always liked HeroScape's Egyptian-themed pieces, and the mummy army seemed like it could use a good Sphinx
- I designed Hieracos to give the Crypt Guardians and Sudema a good frontline threat, since he can fly ahead and soften up enemy figures while the Mummies catch up

I'm looking for feedback on his price, and I'm not sure if the small-or-medium boost to Swooping Strikes is the best thematic choice.

[caps]

I didn't know Sphinxes could fly. At the very least, shouldn't it have a human face?