Meriadoc (Merry) - Rough Draft

[Shiftrex]

NAME = MERIADOC, FELL BUCKLANDER

GENERAL = JANDAR
SPECIES = HOBBIT
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CHAMPION
PERSONALITY = BOLD
SIZE/HEIGHT = SMALL/4

LIFE = 3
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 2
DEFENSE = 2
POINTS = 50

MASTER OF BUCKLAND
After revealing an Order Marker on Meriadoc and before taking a turn with him, you may choose up to 3 Hobbit Heroes that you control within 3 clear sight spaces of Meriadoc and take turns with those figures.

BARROW-WIGHT BLADE
Undead and Wraith figures cannot roll defense against normal attacks from Meriadoc.

UNNOTICED
If an enemy figure is engaged with Meriadoc and another figure without the Unnoticed power, Meriadoc cannot be chosen for an attack. Meriadoc never takes leaving engagement attacks

[Shiftrex]

(reserved)

[Shiftrex]

Initial Thoughts-

I'm playing off of Merry being the "Bold" and important member of the group. Given his station in Buckland he is the closest thing among the four Hobbits that you could liken to a leader of sorts which is why I wanted him to be a leadership piece for the Hobbits so you could play them all together if you wanted as a sort of Psuedo-squad. I know that many people don't love the idea of bonding but Merry would be a thematic place for it to be.

Other directions that are possible to go with him would be his participation in killing the Witchking. Which could be a higher attack, something similar to Darrak Ambershard or even a bonus against undead figures. I have also included what I think would be a thematic and decent ability for the Hobbits to have as a species, Unnoticed. I am unfamiliar with what united the Hobbits in older versions of this project and am definitely open to seeing what there was and if it was better/can be made better with a new look.

Let me know what you think.

[Chris Perkins]

I like the direction of the "Master of Buckland" power; it feels right for each hobbit to have something 'unique' to them and it fits nicely with the thematic-ness of 'Scourging of the Shire' - giving the hobbits the ability to fight together.

Another idea is to give Merry some kind of SA against undead figures (because of the damage his dagger from the barrow-wights did to the witch king), either with a higher attack or lowering the defense of the undead figure. Just more food for though. Merry probably wouldn't have both this and a bonding with a Gondor/Einar hero though (as briefly discussed in the Pippin thread) as they're a bit repetitive in their thematic overlap.

[Shiftrex]

That's a great point. Honestly, out of all the of Hobbits Merry is probably the strongest in terms of being a hero. It might be fun to step out a bit, give him an extra die against Undead or some sort of special attack.

I'll work on something and add it to the OP, and guess on some points accordingly.

Totally agree, if Merry has this then he doesn't need any other kind of bonding. Him and Pippin should be seperate in the idea that Merry actually can command forces, while Pippin has to go find a "medium" Jandar friend to pledge his allegiance to.

[White Knight]

Some history on Merry and Pippin from the old playtesting and brainstorming threads:

Playtest #1 and his comments here
Playtest #2 (and see subsequent changes made here)
Playtest #3 and my response here
Playtest #4 using my suggested change to Loyalty (movement bonding with a unique human hero)

Summary
Tests #1, #2, and #3 versions of Merry and Pippin had Unnoticed and the OM takeover after your chosen hero is destroyed. The problem all three tests had was that you had to use an order marker on a 35 point figure to keep him close to your chosen hero just in case that hero was destroyed. Better to keep your OM on your chosen hero and leave Merry/Pippin in the start zone.

TREX suggested full bonding.

I suggested a move bonding, where Merry and Pippin would follow their chosen hero around, unnoticed, until that hero went down.

[Shiftrex]

I think I'm a fan of full bonding for Pippin because of how his draft currently is. I think itd be more fun and unique to give Merry the ability to be a leader instead of just a follower. That was his desire through most of the story and when he came back among his own kind he acted that desire out iirc.

Other thoughts?

[TheAverageFan]

I'd definitely be more in favor of an auto-skull against Undead over complete negation of their defense. Also I'm unsure if Nazgûl will be considered Undead or their own unique species but if it's the latter some consideration should be given to it affecting them as well given its use against the Witch King in RotK.

~TAF

[Chris Perkins]

Nazgul could be 'undead' or we could make a 'wraith' category for them.

Here's my thoughts on the changes I'd make to Merry:
- Reduce attack (and maybe defense?) to 2
- Change "Barrow-Wight Blade" to "Undead and wraith figures cannot roll defense against normal attacks from Meriadoc."

I like this combination better than 3 attack & +1 skull into undead/wraith figures because I suspect the Witch-King will have a very high defense (since basically nothing could kill him) and if his defense ends up being, say, 5, 3 attack + 1 skull = 2.5 skulls still isn't doing a whole lot of damage to him, which doesn't feel thematically right given Merry's role.

[Shiftrex]

Originally Posted by Chris Perkins

Nazgul could be 'undead' or we could make a 'wraith' category for them.

Here's my thoughts on the changes I'd make to Merry:
- Reduce attack (and maybe defense?) to 2
- Change "Barrow-Wight Blade" to "Undead and wraith figures cannot roll defense against normal attacks from Meriadoc."

I like this combination better than 3 attack & +1 skull into undead/wraith figures because I suspect the Witch-King will have a very high defense (since basically nothing could kill him) and if his defense ends up being, say, 5, 3 attack + 1 skull = 2.5 skulls still isn't doing a whole lot of damage to him, which doesn't feel thematically right given Merry's role.

Agreed and done.

Follow up questions. Is 50 still a good price point for this figure? With 2a/2d his leadership is still valueable but the Hobbits are comparable to goblins or blade gruts, both of which are fine by me.

Thoughts on changing the name of Barrow Wight Blade to WITCHKING SLAYER?

[Chris Perkins]

Originally Posted by Shiftrex

Follow up questions. Is 50 still a good price point for this figure? With 2a/2d his leadership is still valueable but the Hobbits are comparable to goblins or blade gruts, both of which are fine by me.

I think 50 is still good. Merry is a niche figure, but easy enough to kill even in his good matchups that I don't think 50 is too low.

Originally Posted by Shiftrex

Thoughts on changing the name of Barrow Wight Blade to WITCHKING SLAYER?

Personally I prefer the more generic name - "Barrow Wight Blade" or something more generic than "Witch King ..." if the power is going to affect more figures.

[TheAverageFan]

Even if every Hobbit is only 50 points you're still looking at a 200-point pod there that falls apart when Merry dies. Not to mention you'll still need other figures for Unnoticed to work on all of them.

Barrow Wight Blade is a fine name. Generic > Specific for most power names I think.

~TAF