The Book of Absorbing Man

[Griffin]

I still like this guy from when I heard your ideas months ago and last week.

[SirGalahad]

Question about line of sight -

If I can't see the mini, but can see the top of whatever terrain he is absorbing (imagine my figure behind the ruin a couple of spaces), does my figure have LOS on him?

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by SirGalahad

Question about line of sight -

If I can't see the mini, but can see the top of whatever terrain he is absorbing (imagine my figure behind the ruin a couple of spaces), does my figure have LOS on him?

If you can't draw an imaginary line from your figures Target Point to Absorbing Man's Hit Zone without that line hitting something and being obstructed, you don't have clear line of sight.

[IAmBatman]

It does seem kind of odd that he'll have a height on his card that he won't really close to have as a mini, though, which is what Sir G is pointing out here ...

[SirGalahad]

What Bats said.

If I have LOS on the castle wall he is adjacent to, then shouldn't I have LOS on him, since he has "absorbed" that terrain piece's height?

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by IAmBatman

It does seem kind of odd that he'll have a height on his card that he won't really close to have as a mini, though, which is what Sir G is pointing out here ...

And yet it is the same "concept" as the Shrinking Ray Glyph...

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by SirGalahad

What Bats said.

If I have LOS on the castle wall he is adjacent to, then shouldn't I have LOS on him, since he has "absorbed" that terrain piece's height?

Nope. It is just a game, not a reality simulator. At certain points in game design, you have to trade some things for others. In this case, I am in favor of trading your "theme fail" for a "less complicated special power".

[SirGalahad]

Originally Posted by Griffin

It is just a game, not a reality simulator.

Thank goodness for that.

No worries about the LOS then, but it should probably be included in the FAQ for him, because you know somebody out there will ask.

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by SirGalahad

Thank goodness for that.

No worries about the LOS then, but it should probably be included in the FAQ for him, because you know somebody out there will ask.

Somebody being you. J/K

[IAmBatman]

Yeah, I think the concern here is more about theme/mechanics confusion than theme "fail."

[Hahma]

Looks like some good discussion fellas. The Size Absorb has a little more to it than I had originally thought, but it seems like we're finding a balance between theme and game play. An FAQ seems like a good call Sir G.

I was thinking that a lot of thought went into him when he has teammates or DO's to Absorb from and even opponent's heavy hitters. But I hadn't thought about squads or mid-levels or him in games where there aren't a lot or any DO's in play. Ultimately, if he doesn't Absorb anything, he's basically a 6 life, 5 attack, 5 defense melee unit without much mobility. But he can go up to a 10 attack/defense when absorbing teammate Thor's defense number or up to 8/8 when absorbing a manhole cover DO.

In army games where you can have a high defense teammate to easily Absorb, he can be fine. But alone he seems like ranged squads or mid-levels will make easy work of him. He should be able to give Thor and Hulk a hard time but in designing him for that, I wonder if there is something else to do to help him be worth his points when faced with several types of opponents.

Should we tweak Ball and Chain to give him a range of 2 vs. no higher than 4 up or down from his base? Should we make it so he can attack all adjacent figures when using Ball and Chain (roll attack once and defenders roll defense separately)? Should we make it so that he can attack 2 or 3 different adjacent figures (roll each attack/defense separately and can't attack the same figure more than once)?

I'm just concerned about a pretty big power swing where he gets killed too easy for his points a lot, but can occasionally under the right circumstances take out Hulk. Am I worrying about nothing?

[Griffin]

Originally Posted by Hahma

Looks like some good discussion fellas. The Size Absorb has a little more to it than I had originally thought, but it seems like we're finding a balance between theme and game play. An FAQ seems like a good call Sir G.

I was thinking that a lot of thought went into him when he has teammates or DO's to Absorb from and even opponent's heavy hitters. But I hadn't thought about squads or mid-levels or him in games where there aren't a lot or any DO's in play. Ultimately, if he doesn't Absorb anything, he's basically a 6 life, 5 attack, 5 defense melee unit without much mobility. But he can go up to a 10 attack/defense when absorbing teammate Thor's defense number or up to 8/8 when absorbing a manhole cover DO.

In army games where you can have a high defense teammate to easily Absorb, he can be fine. But alone he seems like ranged squads or mid-levels will make easy work of him. He should be able to give Thor and Hulk a hard time but in designing him for that, I wonder if there is something else to do to help him be worth his points when faced with several types of opponents.

Should we tweak Ball and Chain to give him a range of 2 vs. no higher than 4 up or down from his base? Should we make it so he can attack all adjacent figures when using Ball and Chain (roll attack once and defenders roll defense separately)? Should we make it so that he can attack 2 or 3 different adjacent figures (roll each attack/defense separately and can't attack the same figure more than once)?

I'm just concerned about a pretty big power swing where he gets killed too easy for his points a lot, but can occasionally under the right circumstances take out Hulk. Am I worrying about nothing?

All legitimate concerns actually, but I don't have any real answers right now.