Majora's Custom Units (Updated 2/26)

[majora787]

Hello! I, admittedly, haven't been using these forums much besides lurking. Over the last year, however, I've been dipping into custom unit creation for the first time. After some idea work, workshopping, revision, and very early playtesting as of recently, I've made a little batch of about eight custom units. They're mostly for my own personal satisfaction, but I'm still very much interested in more ideas on how I can improve them. Outside the obvious, of course--none of the cards have physical figures or images that I could use without making them look awful. I'm just considering the powers to be the more important part.

For a little idea of what I do, back in the early to mid 2000's I was getting into writing fantasy and fiction. It's something Heroscape had an incredibly direct effect on. I thought it would be neat to send things back around full circle and try to help characters that I've written work in the Heroscape context.

I haven't made a thread like this in quite a long time. I've also certainly never tried to do actual playtesting. For now I'll just post the first unit I've selected for playtesting, in case anyone has any suggestions for particular things I should keep in mind when testing them out down the road. If it's fine to go ahead and slide a few more units in here without it being 'too much', like I said--I have eight of these done.

Currently Playtesting:



The towering man who had been born Ferro Loredan, fisherman and skilled mechanic, died at sea only to become 'Desperus' in death. Chosen originally for his mechanical skill to be subjected to a horrific experiment which bound his soul to both that of a demon and a weapon, Desperus was compelled by a malicious power to be a pawn in something even more deadly than what had led to his own demise.

JUGGERNAUT SPECIAL ATTACK
Range Special. Attack 5.
Range Special. Attack 5.
Instead of moving and attacking normally with Desperus, you may move Desperus 8 spaces in a straight line. During Juggernaut Special Attack, Desperus moves through all figures, is never attacked when leaving an engagement, and ignores all effects of terrain. Any figure on a space in Desperus's path is affected by Juggernaut Special Attack. Roll 5 attack dice once for all affected figures. Affected figures roll defense dice separately. If Desperus is unable to complete his move, he takes 1 wound. If a figure occupies the space at the end of Juggernaut Special Attack, that figure takes one wound.

MACE OF SLOTH
When Desperus successfully deals damage to a defender (inflicting at least 1 wound), he inflicts no fewer than 2 wounds.

THICK SKIN
When Desperus rolls defense dice against a normal attack from a figure who is not adjacent, one shield will block all damage.

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I had a few issues with Desperus, primarily due to his "Juggernaut" power. Originally I had it function as a movement power akin to "Trample Stomp", a decision which made the power description twice as long as it is now.

I have only barely started playtesting, with my only testing so far being to see how he specifically fares against individual heroes of comparable cost. These heroes included Braxas, Charos, Jotun, Captain America, and Tor-Kul-Na. It was mostly in order to help me assess my point score, and to get an idea in my note-taking what kinds of weaknesses I should be on the lookout for with Desperus. I haven't planned out what my next step for testing will be, however. As I said earlier, I'm more than interested in suggestions!


I haven't begun playtesting for the other units yet. Currently, the other seven beyond Desperus are in varying stages of planning and editing.

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More Custom Drafts

PYRUS
FAMIS
LUCTUS
CAVUS
...
...

Spoiler Alert!

An orphan raised in a caravan with deep ties to the natural world. Born Rafael Moreno, Pyrus was given up by his parents only to find comfort in the warmth of flames. Giving his own life to truly bond with them, in death he has awakened the ability to harness fire for himself. Bound to a demon and manipulated by a far greater power, fire is now the only thing Pyrus has left.

Born and raised in the realm of the dead, Famis DeDante was forced to turn his back on his more heroic past in order to participate in the horrendous demon-bonding experiments being performed there. While he was strong enough to be beyond forceful control, the power commanding him had more than one way to ensure Famis's loyalty and cooperation.




One of the many used as an experiment in death, bound to a weapon and the spirit of a powerful demon, Luctus is quick and eager to take her ire out on anything she is pointed toward. As in life, only the well-being of her sister could motivate her otherwise, no matter what dark power compels her.




One of several chosen in death to be subjected to a demon-bonding experiment. Originally, in life, the boy who would become Cavus was close to nature and had a deep bond with nature and plant life. With his new, twisted nature, this bond is as literal as his bond with demonic energy, making him possibly the farthest from human of his peers.

[Dad_Scaper]

I like the theme behind Juggernaut, but there are some things there I don't understand. It looks like a special ability. What is the "Attack 5" piece in the title doing there? And how can his move be "stopped prematurely by a figure"? Do you mean like a Gladiatron? Or just that the figure was on his 8th space, so he couldn't stop there? Or both? Why are any figures rolling defense dice?

I'm sure it's all in there. Or, at least, all in your head. I'm curious to see what you have in mind.

[majora787]

The idea behind it originally was that he would, literally, move eight spaces and there was an entire concept added onto it where he would push figures with him or to the side that made it way overly complicated. To simplify it though, the way I tried to make it work was that it essentially works as a line special where he moves to the end space of the attack. I admit it's a bit odd, but it's a lot simpler than my previous idea.

"Stopped prematurely by a figure" was a weird way to word, essentially, what happens if you can't move the full 8 spaces because the last space of the move is occupied.

So essentially, with the current concept of Juggernaut:

- You select a straight line as your target.
- Desperus is moved as far down the line as he can move.
- Any unit he passes takes damage from the attack.
- If he can't complete his move because of terrain, he takes damage.
- If he can't complete his move because of a unit at the very end, they both take damage.

It might not be the best way to go about it quite yet, admittedly. A line special attack where you move is still somewhat odd.

[Dad_Scaper]

I think some options for simplifying might open up if you are flexible about the 8 spaces. Is each figure through which he moves defending from a 5 die attack?

[majora787]

Yes, essentially one of his normal attacks. Though it may be worth slightly reducing it due to how many figures it can hit at once. The eight spaces isn't a mandatory element so much; I just thought the best way to illustrate intent would be for him to have low movement, but then being able to use Juggernaut to be able to move potentially twice as far but in a straight line. The important part is the 'straight line' part, which is why I wasn't so sure about it being a long-winded movement power.

[majora787]

Desperus was the first custom I had made that I wanted to playtest, but this one is the first custom I ever made. It's a lot simpler and more manageable, I think.

FLAME RETARDANT
Pyrus never rolls for molten lava damage or lava field damage, and he does not have to stop on molten lava spaces.

OVERHEAT
After moving and before attacking, you may roll the 20-sided die. If you roll a 1-4, you must add 1 wound marker to your card and you cannot attack this turn. If you roll a 5-9, add 0 to the attack value of this card. If you roll a 10 or higher, add 1 to the attack value of this card.

SCORCHING AURA
Pyrus may attack any or all figures adjacent to him. Roll each attack separately.

SPITE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 5. Attack 4 + Special.
Spite Special Attack may only be used on an opponent's figure that is not adjacent to Pyrus. Roll 4 attack dice plus an additional die for each wound marker on this Army Card. Pyrus may use Spite Special Attack one additional time for each wound marker on this Army Card.

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The goal with Pyrus was to reproduce his affinity for fire as well as self-destructive qualities. A couple of abilities, Scorching Aura and Overheat, are essentially very slightly modified vanilla abilities I believed would suit that goal. When attacking from a close range, Pyrus can attack anyone and everyone immediately around him. When attacking from a distance, Pyrus' strength depends on how injured he is. No matter which option is used, he can risk his own life to turn up the heat and potentially amplify his damage somewhat. 'Flame Retardant' is, essentially, there for flavor and is something fitting I added because I felt like there was room for it.

Unless I've overlooked something, I feel like my largest concern with Pyrus is likely 'balance'. I attempted to balance out his damage potential with low life and middling attack, but maybe something is a bit crazier than I initially thought.

[majora787]

ARMY SLAYER
Famis may attack up to three figures adjacent to him. Famis gets +1 Attack for each adjacent opponent's figure (up to +5). Roll each attack separately.

CHAIN KNIFE
Instead of a normal move, Famis uses his Chain Knife. Chain Knife has a move of 4. When counting spaces for Famis's Chain Knife movement, ignore elevations. Famis may swing over water without stopping, swing over figures without becoming engaged, and swing over obstacles such as ruins. Famis may not Chain Knife more than 20 levels up or down in a single Chain Knife move. If Famis is engaged when he starts to use Chain Knife, he will not take any leaving engagement attacks.

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The goal behind Famis as a character and as a custom figure is a hero whose combat potential is greater the more opponent's he's fighting. While this could be manifested in a flat buff for the sheer number of figures your opponent controls, I opted for giving him an increase to his attack that rises the more surrounded he is.

My worries for Famis include him possibly being 'too strong' against squads and 'too weak' against heroes, as well as him possibly having an overall underwhelming power set with only these two powers, even when 'Army Slayer' is how it is.

I've also adjusted Desperus and Pyrus some, including changing all character classes to "Demon Lord" and altering the text explanations for Desperus's "Juggernaut Special Attack" and Pyrus's Spite... which is now a special attack.

[majora787]

REFLECTION WARP
After moving and before attacking, Luctus may move from a water or ice tile to any water or ice tile within 3 spaces of an allied figure. Swampo water does not count for this ability.


DISENGAGE
Luctus is never attacked when leaving an engagement.


STEALTH DODGE
When Luctus rolls defense dice against an attacking figure who is not adjacent, one shield will block all damage.

RECIPROCATION
If you control Virus and she is destroyed, Luctus immediately receives wounds until she is reduced to 1 Life. Luctus then receives an extra attack die for each wound marker she has.

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Luctus is about mobility. Her in-universe ability to travel instantaneously through reflections accompanied by her high speed makes her a capable assassin, despite her questionable strength compared to her peers. This much was the 'goal' when designing Luctus, being granted a potential battlefield-wide teleport as long as she has support from an ally.


I've debated simply replacing "Disengage" and "Stealth Dodge" with more significant alternatives, such as "Phantom Walk" and "Thorian Speed". I haven't decided on that yet, though.


I also ended up recycling the Esenwein "Eternal Heartbreak" power for this, though rather than making it an additional negative consequence for losing a hero, I wanted to use it as a possible opportunity for Luctus to do what she does best, pushed up to 7 attack dice in her last attacks.


This is where my cards and concept work start needing a bit more fine-tuning, I feel like. But I'm interested to know what other people think I can improve.

[majora787]

DEMONIC STIMULATION AURA
When any friendly figure following Caedo within 8 clear sight spaces of Cavus attacks, you may roll 10 Valkyrie Dice. If you roll at least 3 Caedo symbols, they gain +1 to their attack dice. If the friendly figure has at least one wound, they gain +2 to their attack dice instead.

ROOT NETWORK
All friendly figures within 8 spaces of Cavus are affected by Root Network. Instead of moving and attacking, Cavus may move 1 wound marker from any friendly figure in range of Root Network to any other friendly figure in range of Root Network. After Root Network has been used, roll a d20. If you roll a 13 or higher, remove one wound marker from Cavus.

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My goal with Cavus was to create an element of utility. I originally wasn't sure what an interesting way to go about this would be, though what I decided upon was two parts. Firstly, Cavus would have a more typical buff. Allies in range from the same general can potentially get a boost to their attack when attacking, and if they're wounded the boost they get is amplified. It makes a lot more sense than my original attempt at writing this power out.

Secondly, Cavus is able to move wound markers around between allied cards. It's a tad roundabout, but I thought this level of roundabout could provide some strategic uses in order to relocate pressure and have the chance to remove it entirely through the same power.