The New York City Gang Of Four

[chas]

Both Kolakoski and Thrasher Darkrai have already submitted armies for our next game. This wasn't requested this time around, but it does give me as next month's Game Master a chance to make sure they follow the scenario guidelines; which they do.

The GM here is always the person providing the new monthly custom scenario and map, so he can answer questions such as any about army construction, revise the scenario if needed, and adjudicate any situations which come up before or during the game, usually with the concensus of the group. This sometimes requires adjusting the actual game to the number of players who can show up, if this changes. We have five regular members now; we usually have 3-5 players for each session, which consists of two or three games on one large communal board. Guests are usually welcome if the scenario allows.

The GM rotation gives everyone a chance to offer a fun time for all!

[kolakoski]

Well met!

As this is a free for all, my April 3rd army:

Spoiler Alert!

150 Shi-Tarkas x 2
100 Syvarris
80 Fyorlag Spiders x 2
80 Fia Bonny
80 Estivara
60 Izumi Samurai
600 points, 14 spaces

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Significant changes to Shi-Tarkas:

SHI-TARKAS
General: Aquilla
Race: Mantidae
Uniqueness: Uncommon Hero
Class: Scout
Personality: Fearless
Size: Medium 5
Life: 5
Move: 6
Range: 1
Attack: 3
Defense: 3
Points: 75

SHI-TARKAS ATTACK BONDING
If this Sh-Tarkas inflicts a wound on an opponent's figure, you may take a turn with one other Shi-Tarkas you control.

THRI-KREEN ASSAULT
If an opponent's figure is within 2 spaces of this Shi-Tarkas, and its base is no more than 1 level above or 1 level below this Shi-Tarkas' base, this Shi-Tarkas may add 1 to her Range when attacking that opponent's figure. You may add 1 to this Shi-Tarkas' Attack if there is another Shi-Tarkas within 2 spaces of both the targeted figure and this Shi-Tarkas.

EVASIVE 1
When this Shi-Tarkas rolls defense dice against an attacking figure who is not adjacent, add 1 defense die to her roll.
Thus, 4/3's army is now:

Spoiler Alert!

150 Shi-Tarkas x 2
140 DW9000
120 Krug
80 Fia Bonny
60 Izumi Samurai
50 Brave Arrow
600 points, 10 spaces

As this is a free for all, it need not be all powerful, just a bit flexible.

[chas]

HOW WE SCAPE

Here is a cross post from a Kolokoski thread on Whither Heroscape in general, that summarizes all that goes on here in a way I've never done before, with a few small additions from that post:

***

My own main policies since Heroscape went out of print, besides our usual rotating Game Masters providing monthly custom scenarios here at The New York City Gang of Four's Game Palace, mostly on larger multiplayer maps, has been:

1. To make all VC cards available for our games, even with a heavy use of proxies. This is paired with four members' collections including all of Classic Scape, custom terrain such as 24 hex pieces of Desert and Snow terrain, and etc.

2. To use my extensive library of Superheroes and Villains available, after my retirement and The Great Card Hunt, snatching many independent customs from later disappearance with hard copies in my file boxes and binder catalogue of them all. And these include my favorites from C3G (1.0) as well as many of our own customs.

3. To continue to support our own playtesting efforts, even as we have become generally less personally involved with the VC and C3G new outputs. The main exception is our thread host Kolakoski, who continues to submit new characters to SOV after the acceptance of one. In the past these have included designs from both the two fan committees and our own individual designs of the original four members.

4. To welcome the Haslab/Renegade cards and make them available to our games as well. I've been the person most supportive of this in printing out all the cards and providing proxy figures, mostly through Anitar's cards. However, the production strategy of Renegade seems to ignore the wants of us older Scapers, and none of us are buying in yet. Right now I'm feeling somewhat isolated by their choices to not make the figures available without the old terrain, which we don't need at all and don't wish to pay for.

5. We remain inclusive of everything possible to bring to the table in our own Scape Universe for our custom scenarios, which remain creative and vital in our own playing experience, which has continued in the possibilities inherent since Heroscape first came out, even before our group was formed.

Such are the main parameters of our own little corner of the Heroscape experience, which I wish to continue to encourage and continue in our future, along with my pals here.

[chas]

Anitar's New AOA Wave 1 Cards Now Available

While most sources I've seen won't let you print out the new Renegade AOA Wave 1 Cards--19 out of the total of 51 Haslab AOA cards revealed or promised back then--Anitar has just made her own new versions available.

Her new cards are made in the old Classic style, but with the photos of the upcoming new painted Renegade minis, which are now up for preorder. These are more colorful and easier to read than her old ones. They are updated with the recent Wave 1 changes. These mostly keep the same text and stats as the old Haslab cards, but there have been some changes in Generals assigned, Stats, and even a few Powers.

They are available on the Age of Annihilation site section here.

If you want to play these figures with proxies, as we have been doing, with your Classic or Classic and VC units, this is the way to go for our group. To welcome these new Renegade cards onto our table, you'll notice that my April scenario has each player choosing one to rotate into their army during the game in my AOA Tag Team Match. And since they are so close to the old AOA Haslab versions, Kolakoski is using them in his playtest games now too.

The new cards that were unrevealed during the Haslab offering, including the SOTM Heroes and new Kyrie, have been on the table with my own or Anitar's customs, but those now revealed by Renegade are now being replaced here by the new Official ones, including two promos. So these cards/figures have the most changes to them now. In addition to the other Wave 1 figures, these include:

Sgt. Drake Alexander (Promo)
Shiori (Promo)
Raelin the Kyrie Warrior l(Evil Utgar version)
Loviatek* (Utgar Kyrie)
Misaerx (Undead Revna Kyrie)

*Loviatek bonds in a way with Evil Raelin. I have suggested that if Raelin is eliminated that Loviatek loses her power that depends on having another Unique Utgar Kyrie in the army, and that has now been confirmed on Loviatek's Book Page.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Thanks to @mac122!

Note: 2 copies will need to be printed out.

[chas]

Freebuilding For April

I'll have an interesting map making challenge this Tuesday. Its been a while since I freebuilt a Scape battlefield. In this case, our large map must accomodate five players for a Free For All (no sharing Start Zones), and include three new types of terrain: Walls with my Illusory Wall Rules, using a set of 3D pieces resembling but not identical to the upcoming Renegade ones l(possibly included in their upcoming Wave 2) Wellspring Water, in the two modalities that occur to me so far--individual nexes and a larger central pool-- and Jungle Trees and Bushes, which work just like the old ones.

The map should also to some degree be useful in doing the "Tag Team" idea of each player swopping an Age of Annihilation figure, possible one of the new somewhat tweaked ones Renegade has just introduced in Wave 1, some of which will may be appearing on the table for the very first (or second) time!

In terms of pulling the whole thing together, I've looked over some thread maps for ideas, and found a few, although no maps I could just use as is, which is what most of us have been doing for a while now in the Gang's monthly games.

Freebuilding, or starting from scratch and coming up with a battlefield map, is a whole other artistic experience. Its something like having your own ideas and then assembling it piece by piece from a large Heroscape terrain collection that includes everything official and some custom stuff.

Since the map will not exist until a day before the game, it is of course a secret until Game Day. It will not be particularly terrain dependent, as the snow/ice/glacier mountain map Kolakoski just used for our monthly March game, where most players came up with the usual suspects of character cards that worked particularly well with arctic land, including flyers too. It even had thick snow and slippery ice, which often cost two movement points to advance one hex, or to land on it if flying!

This new terrain should not favor any particular type of terrain dependent figure. I expect to use some height, the main aspect of the Heroscape 3D terrain, and some river as well. No Glyphs, which we usually don't use, although anyone playing the new Dragon Xenethrax will be able to lay down her three Vine Glyphs.

We usually take photos of freebuilt maps, to have a visual record of them here on this thread, and I'll try to get some of the others to snap some pictures, although I don't take any myself. It should be an interesting game, since the Tag Team maneuver will take some strategy to use the best way, but also change for any player depending on how the game goes for him!

[chas]

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear TAEBLEWALKER
Happy Birthday to you!

[Taeblewalker]

Originally Posted by chas

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear TAEBLEWALKER
Happy Birthday to you!

Thanks!

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Originally Posted by Taeblewalker

Thanks!

Sorry you won't be here for game day. Happy birthday to us!

[ThrasherDarkrai]

Happy (belated) birthday!

[chas]

Happy Birthday to K.

Happy Birthday to K.

Just drop over later

And I'll blow you away!