Ronin's Public Workshopping Thread

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by japes

It may be creepy but not knowing the character when I read about the electric blast when in contact I was curious how he still had the special attack so something subtle may need to be added if the SA sticks. That or leave off the part about the contact in the bio at all.

Yeah, some kind of reference to it may be necessary. My first couple drafts just sounded a little off, like reading an otherwise-normal resume where someone snuck "arts and crafts project with dead sister's skin" into the middle of it.

Originally Posted by laughing matter

I say go full creepy with the bio. Have at least three complete sentences to describe this guy's creep factor. Make his personality Obsessive too, just to really drive home his obsessiveness. I mean, wasn't Doctor Doom II based on a version where he made armor out of human skin? If not, there was still definitely a time when he wore human skin armor. Go all out!

I like "Bitter" over "Obsessive" because "Angry at my dad and working with the good guys to lash out at him" is a more important part of the character. That's what drives him way more than "creepy longing for my dead sister". Come to think of it, I really need that in the bio.

Doom II is indeed wearing human-leather armor, but I didn't emphasize it in his bio. It's not really played up in the source material, either, as I recall. I believe it was more of an implied thing.

[laughing matter]

Originally Posted by Ronin

Yeah, some kind of reference to it may be necessary. My first couple drafts just sounded a little off, like reading an otherwise-normal resume where someone snuck "arts and crafts project with dead sister's skin" into the middle of it.

I like "Bitter" over "Obsessive" because "Angry at my dad and working with the good guys to lash out at him" is a more important part of the character. That's what drives him way more than "creepy longing for my dead sister". Come to think of it, I really need that in the bio.

Okay, I just really don't know the guy and thought it would be funny to play up the creepiness.

Doom II is indeed wearing human-leather armor, but I didn't emphasize it in his bio. It's not really played up in the source material, either, as I recall. I believe it was more of an implied thing.

Gross

[Ronin]

The figure used for this unit is a ??? figure from the ??? set.
Its model number and name are #??? / ???.

NAME = FLIPSIDE
SECRET IDENTITY =

SPECIES = ANDROID
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = ANTAGONIST
PERSONALITY = INSANE

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 7

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4

POINTS = ???

ERRATIC ATTACK PATTERNS
After moving and before attacking with Flipside, roll the 20-sided die. Before rolling defense dice against Flipside's normal attack, an opponent must roll the 20-sided die. If they roll:
• at least 8 lower than your roll, the targeted figure cannot use any special powers when defending.
• 7 to 1 lower than your roll, the targeted figure subtracts 1 from its Defense number.
• equal to your roll, Flipside and the targeted figure both receive 1 wound and the targeted figure ignores the attack.
• greater than your roll, all excess shields count as unblockable hits on Flipside.

DOUBLE ATTACK
When Flipside attacks, he may attack one additional time.

SWING LINE 4
Instead of his normal move, Flipside may move up to 4 spaces with Swing Line. When moving with Swing Line, Flipside has the Flying special power, but may not move up or down more than 40 levels in a single swing, and will not take any leaving engagement attacks.

SUPER STRENGTH

_________________________

Bio - Flipside is an android, possibly a form of Super-Adaptoid, that was created and abandoned in the Heroic Age. After nearly a century of sleep, the android activated itself when it encountered Miguel O'Hara. Working from its long-outdated knowledge of heroes, the android recognized Miguel as potentially either Spider-Man or Venom, and attempted to mimic both at the same time. The emergent entity, Flipside, was completely unhinged. Flipside seemed to think himself a friend to Miguel, and tried to help his new "friend" by suffocating him to death.

_________________________

Notes - changed up a bit from the last take. Not 100% sold on it in general was considering more of a Chief Judge Cal thing on the d20 effect, ended up going with this.

Probably a bit too good in Injustice faction stuff, but not sure he has a sensible niche besides Antagonist, given that Adversary got taken away.

[Ronin]

The figure used for this unit is a Heroclix figure from the Captain America set.
Its model number and name are #019 / Yelena Belova.

NAME = BLACK WIDOW
SECRET IDENTITY = YELENA BELOVA

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = SPY
PERSONALITY = BITTER

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 7
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 4

POINTS = 160?

AGENT OPPOSITION
At the start of the game, choose an opponent's Unique Agent Hero. When attacking with Black Widow, if she could attack the chosen Hero, she may not attack any other figure. Black Widow rolls an additional attack die when attacking any Agent Hero with her normal attack.

COUNTER-ESPIONAGE
Opponents' figures without the Super Strength special power cannot move through Black Widow and cannot use any special powers on their Army Cards to ignore leaving engagement attacks from her.

CLOSE COMBAT EXPERT
When attacking an opponent's adjacent figure with a normal attack, add one automatic skull to whatever is rolled. When defending against a normal attack from an adjacent figure, add one automatic shield to whatever is rolled.

________________________________________

Bio - Created by a successor to the Red Room program that trained the original Black Widow, Yelena proved to be less successful than her inspiration, who got the better of Yelena in a series of encounters. Yelena has since wavered morally, but most often serves as an opponent to the Avengers and other super-teams.

________________________________________

Notes - Slightly tweaked from my original write-up; totally grabbed that Counter-Espionage power from some of the ideas TB posted for Peggy Carter. I originally had a Counter-Espionage that was "Espionage but it triggers when you lose initiative instead of when you win", but I like this much better.

[Ronin]

The figure used for this unit is a Heroclix figure from the Superior Foes of Spider-Man set.
Its model number and name are #033 / Beetle.

NAME = BEETLE
SECRET IDENTITY = JANICE LINCOLN

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CRIMINAL
PERSONALITY = PROFESSIONAL

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 4

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 5

POINTS = 160?

HEIST DISCIPLINE
At the start of the round, before initiative is rolled, if all of your Order Markers are placed on Thief or Criminal cards, for the remainder of the round no unrevealed Order Markers on cards you control may be moved to any other cards.

MINI REPULSORS SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 5. Attack 3.
If Beetle inflicts one or more wounds on a small or medium figure with this special attack, you may place that figure on any empty space one space away from its original placement. A figure moved by this special attack never takes any leaving engagement attacks and cannot be placed closer to Beetle than its original placement. A figure moved by this special attack can receive any falling damage that may apply. When Beetle attacks with this special attack, she may attack one additional time.

FLYING

_____________________________________________

Bio - Janice Lincoln is the daughter of Lonnie Lincoln, better known as Tombstone. Her father wanted her to stay out of the supervillain game and be a rich, sleazy lawyer, but Janice's heart was set on costumed crime. She eventually got her way when Baron Zemo and the Fixer needed someone to become a new Beetle, and she volunteered herself. Ambitious and organized, Beetle has tried to make a name for herself in the criminal community, to limited success thus far.

_____________________________________________

Notes - An absolute must for whenever I get rolling on Spidey stuff. Really need the Superior Foes fleshed out.

[Ronin]

The figure used for this unit is a Heroclix figure from the Streets of Gotham set.
Its model number and name are #016 / Harvey Bullock.

NAME = HARVEY BULLOCK
SECRET IDENTITY =

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = LAWMAN
PERSONALITY = AGGRESSIVE

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 4

MOVE = 5
RANGE = 5
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 3

POINTS = 80-100?

ENFORCING THE LAW
Criminal and Crime Lord figures roll 1 fewer defense die against Harvey Bullock's normal attack if they are engaged with at least one other Lawman figure you control that does not have the Corrupt personality.

LOOSE CANNON
After taking a turn with Harvey Bullock, if there is at least one enemy figure within 5 clear sight spaces of Harvey Bullock, you must, if possible, remove an unrevealed Order Marker from any Lawman Army Card you control to take one additional turn with Harvey Bullock.

______________________________________________

Bio - Harvey Bullock is notorious as being one of Gotham City's toughest cops. Despite being extremely rough around the edges, Bullock's vast experience and commitment to justice has earned him the grudging respect of colleagues like Jim Gordon and even the Batman.

______________________________________________

Notes - Mostly pretty straightforward here.

[Ronin]

The figure used for this unit is a ??? figure from the ??? set.
Its model number and name are ??? / ???.

NAME = GRENDEL
SECRET IDENTITY = HUNTER ROSE

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CRIME LORD
PERSONALITY = BRILLIANT

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 4

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 5

POINTS = 200?

MATCHING WITS
At the end of any opponent's player turn, if that opponent used a special power to:
• move any figure during another figure's turn, you may immediately move up to two figures you control up to 4 spaces each.
• rearrange any of your Order Markers, you may immediately move an Order Marker from one card that opponent controls to another card that opponent controls.
• rearrange any of their Order Markers, you may rearrange any of your Order Markers.

MASTER ASSASSIN
Grendel can move through all figures and is never attacked when leaving an engagement. When attacking an adjacent figure with his normal attack, Grendel never receives wounds from any special powers on the defending figure's card.

_______________________________________________________

Bio - Eddie was a young boy born into an ordinary American family, who quickly found that he excelled at everything he did. Looking for a challenge; Eddie adopted the dual identities of Hunter Rose, famous novelist, and Grendel, master assassin. Grendel eventually became the undisputed lord of all crime in New York, and then all along the East Coast.

Hunter took delight in the danger of his lifestyle and in out-foxing the police. An act of sentimentality proved to be his undoing, and Grendel was driven into a final, fatal confrontation. Hunter Rose was slain, but his legacy of evil as Grendel lived on.

Spoiler Alert!

The figure used for this unit is a ??? figure from the ??? set.
Its model number and name are ??? / ???.

NAME = GRENDEL
SECRET IDENTITY = HUNTER ROSE

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CRIME LORD
PERSONALITY = BRILLIANT

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 4

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 5

POINTS = 200?

MATCHING WITS
At the end of any opponent's player turn, if that opponent used a special power to:
-move any figure during another figure's turn, you may immediately move up to two figures you control up to 4 spaces each.
-rearrange any of your Order Markers, you may immediately move an Order Marker from one card that opponent controls to another card that opponent controls.
-rearrange any of their Order Markers, you may rearrange any of your Order Markers on cards you control.

MASTER ASSASSIN
Grendel can move through all figures and is never attacked when leaving an engagement. When attacking an opponent's adjacent figure with his normal attack, Grendel never receives wounds from any special powers on the defending figure's Army Card.

COUNTER STRIKE
When rolling defense dice against a normal attack from an adjacent attacking figure, all excess shields count as unblockable hits on the attacking figure.

_______________________________________________________

Bio - Eddie was a young boy born into an ordinary American family, who quickly found that he excelled at everything he did. Already weary of life's "challenges" at the age of 14, Eddie was supremely bored when he met an English woman, 20 years his senior, named Jocasta Rose. The two had a whirlwind affair, ending when she died of a terminal disease a few short years later.

Eddie, reinvigorated, began leading a double life. By day, he was Hunter Rose, socialite and best-selling novelist. By night, he was known as Grendel. At first, Grendel was merely an assassin for hire, albeit a very good one. But as Hunter grew bolder and more powerful, Grendel became the undisputed lord of all crime in New York, and then all along the East Coast.

Hunter took delight in the danger of his lifestyle, in out-foxing the police, and particularly in thwarting his nemesis, the man-wolf known as Argent. Eventually, an act of sentimentality proved to be his undoing, and Grendel was driven into a final confrontation with Argent. Hunter Rose was slain, but his legacy of evil as Grendel lived on.

_______________________________________________________

Notes - slightly reworked from my last approach. I wanted to play up the idea of him as a sort of "counter-mastermind" that thrives on going up against other mastermind types. Switched his class from Mastermind to Crime Lord because this version doesn't have any outright criminal ties on his card.

[laughing matter]

I remember an old version of Grendel you posted, and I was enraptured. Consider me enraptured still. I love this character, and this design is excellent! I can't wait to play him!

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by laughing matter

I remember an old version of Grendel you posted, and I was enraptured. Consider me enraptured still. I love this character, and this design is excellent! I can't wait to play him!

Grendel is such a great character. Really wish there was a mini. WizKids was thinking about making a Grendel-themed Collector's Set years back (like, mid-2000s) and even had the idea up in a fan poll, but there wasn't enough support. We did get 2099 and Invincible and the BPRD out of those polls, so I don't have too much to complain about, but Grendel really would have been nice.

I'm going to have to get into figure-modding in order to get him and Dr McNinja into the game.

[Lazy Orang]

Timebroker - Looks fascinating. If he doesn't start on the battlefield, then I wouldn't give him any stats, even all 1s seems pointless - all 0s would make more sense to me. I love the idea of Multiverse of Possibilities, though part of me wishes it were somewhat more in your control so you could take advantage of it. Crystal Palace Conscripts is fun to bring in reserves, but requiring you to have more than 6 heroes to make any use of him is pretty tough to work with except in really high points games.
Mimic - Looks like tonnes of fun. I love the idea of him being able to mimic multiple cards at once and combine their powers - I'm worried that could cause mechanical issues, but I really hope it doesn't, as it's such a cool and fun ability to have, and one that would be fascinating to play!
Red Hulk - Such a stupid and fun concept! Looks like a really fun, big, fast bruiser to play - I'd love to draft that guy.
Andreas von Strucker - Man, this guy is creepy! Comics are pretty.... scary sometimes. Honestly, nothing's grabbing me here, but I don't feel like that's really a criticism. I just don't see what he's adding to the game or the Fighter/Crime Fighter faction that Jacques Duquesne, the other Swordsman, doesn't already. I'm sure he's a fine unit, but I just can't get excited about him.
Flipside - Erratic Attack Patterns looks like stupid amounts of fun! I'd love to use this guy.
Yelena Belova - Honestly, I'm not a massive fan of figures whose interesting power is so clearly dependent on specific opponents' forces, as those powers generally result in them rarely being taken, at least in my experience - personally, I'd rather see something broader, though maybe this is just the best fit for the character. Honestly, with no present synergy and not doing much different, I doubt I'd be inspired to draft her. Spy synergy might help that, though.
Janice Lincoln - She's lacking a pop to make me really care about her design - nothing's really grabbing me. A Flying Criminal's never a bad thing, though.
Harvey Bullock - Looks like fun to me - Loose Cannon is fun and interesting power to plan around, and one I could see being reused.
Grendel - Hmmm... interesting. I'm not sure how I feel about a figure where so many of his abilities are built around reacting to or avoiding specific other opponent's powers. I'd like it if Matching Wits were expanded to work against more leadership/mastermind type powers - there are enough of those in the game and enough armies built around them to make him generally useful, but specifically keying it into moving figures on turns that aren't there's seems too specific to be fun and generally useful, and unthematically restrictive for a 'counter-mastermind', which is actually a really cool concept. I also wonder if Master Assassin could have a more generally useful effect. I love the idea of this guy, though - I feel like, with some tweaking, he's so close to being a favourite of mine.

[Ronin]

Originally Posted by Lazy Orang

Timebroker - Looks fascinating. If he doesn't start on the battlefield, then I wouldn't give him any stats, even all 1s seems pointless - all 0s would make more sense to me. I love the idea of Multiverse of Possibilities, though part of me wishes it were somewhat more in your control so you could take advantage of it. Crystal Palace Conscripts is fun to bring in reserves, but requiring you to have more than 6 heroes to make any use of him is pretty tough to work with except in really high points games.

I mean, the stats are pretty irrelevant, since he never gets to use them. The 6 Heroes thing is pretty hard and fast. The Exiles always had six members at a time.

I'm sure there's an argument that the Exiles should be more of a scenario thing than trying to implement an Event Hero like this, but I personally don't do a lot of scenario play, so this route was my first instinct.

Mimic - Looks like tonnes of fun. I love the idea of him being able to mimic multiple cards at once and combine their powers - I'm worried that could cause mechanical issues, but I really hope it doesn't, as it's such a cool and fun ability to have, and one that would be fascinating to play!

He can only do stuff during his own turn and he can't do once-per-round or once-per-game powers, which I think will really help there. It could still play strong, though. Mutant synergies don't help.

Andreas von Strucker - Man, this guy is creepy! Comics are pretty.... scary sometimes. Honestly, nothing's grabbing me here, but I don't feel like that's really a criticism. I just don't see what he's adding to the game or the Fighter/Crime Fighter faction that Jacques Duquesne, the other Swordsman, doesn't already. I'm sure he's a fine unit, but I just can't get excited about him.

Yeah, he's not adding a lot to the game, at the moment, unless you're a big Thunderbolts fan. I might try to distinguish him a little by doing something to represent his ex-Hydra status? I dunno. I've got a while to think about it, because I'm skeptical he's getting a mini anytime soon.

Yelena Belova - Honestly, I'm not a massive fan of figures whose interesting power is so clearly dependent on specific opponents' forces, as those powers generally result in them rarely being taken, at least in my experience - personally, I'd rather see something broader, though maybe this is just the best fit for the character. Honestly, with no present synergy and not doing much different, I doubt I'd be inspired to draft her. Spy synergy might help that, though.

I feel like she's too defined by being the anti-Widow to really drop that angle. (EDIT: And Agents are strong and fairly plentiful, so they're not the worst thing to be a counter-draft to)

Spy synergy is a bucket list item for me. I'd love to get Spymaster in the mix to work with Spies and some of the synergy-less Iron Man villains we've got kicking around. I've also thought that Spy synergy could be handy if we wanted to get anything together for the various Soviet superhero teams.

Janice Lincoln - She's lacking a pop to make me really care about her design - nothing's really grabbing me. A Flying Criminal's never a bad thing, though.

I get what you mean. Strategic Discipline is a super-useful power (even in a factional version), but it's not a flashy one. She doesn't have much of a hook.

Grendel - Hmmm... interesting. I'm not sure how I feel about a figure where so many of his abilities are built around reacting to or avoiding specific other opponent's powers. I'd like it if Matching Wits were expanded to work against more leadership/mastermind type powers - there are enough of those in the game and enough armies built around them to make him generally useful, but specifically keying it into moving figures on turns that aren't there's seems too specific to be fun and generally useful, and unthematically restrictive for a 'counter-mastermind', which is actually a really cool concept. I also wonder if Master Assassin could have a more generally useful effect. I love the idea of this guy, though - I feel like, with some tweaking, he's so close to being a favourite of mine.

I had some more robust versions of Matching Wits that I was brainstorming; the main thing I wanted that I ended up cutting in order to streamline was an effect that let you rearrange your OMs if the opponent tampered with yours/theirs.

If you have a specific suggestion for Master Assassin, I'm all ears, but I like it as a lean power and I'd be reluctant to beef it up too much.

I'd be willing to play around with Counter Strike, though. I was thinking that it would be cool if he had a power that played on his weapon a little more heavily, and you could do something like this:

ELECTRIC FORK
When rolling defense dice against a normal attack from an adjacent attacking figure, you may either count all excess shields as unblockable hits on the attacking figure or, if there are two or more excess shields and the attacking figure is a Unique Hero, remove an unrevealed Order Marker from the attacking figure's card.

[johnny139]

I actually really love that Beetle writeup. She's a workhorse figure, and an SA that lets you push figures around makes her a great technical figure. Make a plan and make sure that your opponents don't screw it up. Very appropriate for her.

Harvey Bullock hits the same notes that my draft from YEARS ago does... but in a completely different mechanical way.

DIRTY TACTICS
When rolling attack dice against an adjacent Criminal, Crime Lord, or Vigilante, each skull rolled counts for one additional hit.

ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS
Friendly Lawmen adjacent to Harvey Bullock roll one less die when defending against non-adjacent figures. Anytime a Lawman you control adjacent to Harvey Bullock would receive one or more wounds, you may instead inflict these wounds on Harvey Bullock.

I think your "Bullock screw up your allies but is ultimately a pretty good cop" power is a lot better than mine, though.