Ixe's Custom Units

[Ixe]

Thanks to everyone for commenting on Icthator! The feedback is always appreciated.

Originally Posted by superfrog

Have you thought about extending the duration Freezing Exhalation so that if Greenscales attack that figure, he still can't roll defense dice?

That is something that I considered, although I fear the wording is a little unconventional and that it can lead to some real blow-out turns where you can follow up a defenseless attack of 6 with 3 more attacks of 3. I could do something that has the defenselessness only apply to the next time the figure is attacked but before the next order marker is revealed so it could couple better with the green scales without getting out of hand, but that feels a little too clunky and forced for my tastes.

Originally Posted by TheAverageFan

Yeah it's kinda redundant to have a range of 3 when he's a Melee hero, even with the small chance of outright wounding a figure.

The range aspect on the breath is more of a "gravy" type power. By that I mean it is a nice extra upside if you otherwise weren't doing anything. I'd imagine there will be plenty of times where an enemy is just out of reach or he's squaring off against something large, where having a 1 in 4 chance to still pick something off is not something to rely on but still nice to have. I wanted him to still have and ranged dragon breath aspect that could still do something, even if it were a little unreliable.

Originally Posted by Scytale

Oran Keldstar
The main reason, I think, that that healers are fairly limited in Heroscape is that they benefit some heroes far more than others. Oran could be amazing in a Raelin/Q9/Fen Hydra pod. I suspect Ana Karithon is limited to healing small/mediums for just this reason. Still, a turn with Oran kinda sucks otherwise. Is the name Keldstar intended to be a throwback to Kelda?

I'd suspect Oran would be less amazing than you think in that pod given that Raelin is the only one he can heal. He is packing the same size limitations as Ana, after all. The name Keldstar was not intended to be a nod to Kelda. I was just trying to come up with a light sounding name and that's what I went with. I'm fine with the connection.

Originally Posted by Scytale

Scouts of Aquilla
While I may have issues with VC pretending Hawkman is a kyrie, I certainly don't have an issue with people doing so with their own customs. I'm terrified of the potential power level here, though. With the Venoc Warlord and Atlaga, these guys have a Move of 8 with Stealth Flying and Flyby Attack. And an attack of 4 on top of that. But then their Defense is pretty poor, so maybe that offsets it. Still, on hilly terrain they will have a heyday with melee opponents.

I think these guys can do some fun things but in all honesty their powers and whatever movement bonuses amount to them being more or less a ranged squad. I'd imagine their value would increase in important glyph grabbing situations or on large elevation maps, but they'll have have trouble doing any kind of kiting when they can only pop back 3 spaces after swinging.

Originally Posted by Scytale

Icthator
A sword-wielding dragon from a D&D world? Dragons are pretty well-defined in D&D, even with the potential for outliers. What concerns me the most, actually, is what type of dragon is he? Each type of dragon is very distinct. Aside from that, it's a solid design. Freezing Exhalation is an especially clever way to make a fitting breath weapon. I like that it's primarily to boost his melee attack but also provides an option if he is unable to move fully into the fray.

I'll admit that the world is a bit of a stretch, but I don't feel like I have many good options short of making a new one. I went with a D&D world since the system is expansive enough that something like this can exist (he'd probably some kind of half (white) dragon, in which case he'd still have the dragon type), and Eberron in particular since that world plays looser with on how X thing must be Y alignment, particularly with dragons (white dragons are otherwise chaotic evil). I'm glad you otherwise like the design.

[Ixe]

Thanks again for all of the comments on Icthator. Here's another design for Ullar.

This is the Hill Giant Chieftain from D&D Miniatures - War Drums.


NAME = Halgo
GENERAL = Ullar
PLANET = Feylund
SPECIES = Giant
CLASS = Warrior
PERSONALITY = Wild
SIZE = Large 7 (double based)
UNIQUE HERO

LIFE = 6
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 3
POINTS = 130

BOUNCING BOULDER SPECIAL ATTACK
Range Special. Attack 4.
Choose 8 spaces in a straight line from Halgo. You may choose up to 3 figures on those spaces who are in line of sight to be affected by Bouncing Boulder Special Attack. Roll 4 attack dice once for all affected figures. Affected figures roll defense dice separately.


When Jotun was nearly killed by barbarians on Feylund, he called to his "brothers," Halgo and Demicus. Halgo was one of Jotun's much smaller brothers, not possessing anywhere near his elder's size or strength. What he lacked in stature, however, he made up for with cunning and dexterity (for a giant, at least). While Halgo is certainly more than capable of smashing like any other giant, he truly excels at hurling bouncing boulders across the field. He is so skilled at flinging these chunks of rock that he can seemingly make them skip and bounce on their own accord, flipping over allies while crashing into enemies.

While saying that he is a brother to Jotun is a bit of a stretch, I don't think that the title needs to be viewed so literally. Halgo may just be a fellow male giant and have earned that title, with us otherwise knowing little of the physiology and makeup of giant culture on Feylund. In a game, his true value is in bouncing boulders at range. While it does have the upside of being able to avoid ally figures, his maneuverability more than anything will likely limit the capacity of what he can do. Bonding with both the Dreadguls and the Death Chasers means he'll likely be able to find a home as a ranged special attacking hero if nothing else.

As always, comments are greatly appreciated.

[IshMEL]

I like Bouncing Boulder, that's a fun take on a "area" type attack. My initial reaction is that 5 Life seems low for a Giant -- I think the rest have at least 6 -- and Large also seems, well, small.

[Dysole]

Originally Posted by IshMEL

I like Bouncing Boulder, that's a fun take on a "area" type attack. My initial reaction is that 5 Life seems low for a Giant -- I think the rest have at least 6 -- and Large also seems, well, small.

It's a Hill Giant aka the smallest and weakest of the giants. However as a Feylund giant I think 6 life might not be a bad call.

~Dysole, who does like THE BOULDER mechanism

[Ixe]

Thanks for the comments on Halgo! I dipped his defense and bumped his life since that does seem a bit more appropriate.

In the meanwhile, here is continuing my quest to round out cycles.

These are the Scavengers of Acheron from Rackham Miniatures.


NAME = Nightmare Riders of Droatha
GENERAL = Valkrill
PLANET = Feylund
SPECIES = Undead
CLASS = Savages
PERSONALITY = Terrifying
SIZE = Large 5 (double based)
COMMON SQUAD

LIFE = 1 (3 Figures)
MOVE = 7
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 3
POINTS = 120

SHRIEKING CHARGE
When attacking a small or medium figure with a Nightmare Rider of Droatha, if the defending figure was not adjacent to that Nightmare Rider at the start of the turn, subtract 2 from the defending figure's defense.

EXPLODING CORPSE 15
When a Nightmare Rider of Droatha would be destroyed by a normal attack from an opponent's figure, before removing that Nightmare Rider, roll the 20-sided die for each adjacent figure. If you roll a 15 or higher, that figure receives 1 wound.

The Nightmare Riders of Droatha are dreaded opponents, unleashing unholy shrieks as they charge into the heart of battle and drive their spears into frightened opponents. Worse still, the necromantic magic that binds them is extremely volatile, risking them to explode and decimate all that surround them.

In keeping with my cavalry cycle, these guys are interesting, swingy, and ultimately not that great. They are used best charging into the heart of battle to rack up some early kills before menacing the opponent to strike and risk losing more figures still to an explosion. While that all sounds great, the charge benefit is about the equivalent of having 4 attack and you are otherwise spending a lot of points per figure on a sub-reliant explosion power that can hurt you, too (otherwise known as classic cavalry). I originally had the Exploding Corpse power trigger on leaving engagement attacks as well as a form of a disengagement but the rules don't quite support it without making the power pretty clunky.

As always, comments are greatly appreciated!

[flameslayer93]

Those undead horsemen are pretty cool. The debuff from Shrieking Charge should help them considerably against units who rely on their defense rolls to be useful, like Samurai. Even if they aren't great against a lot of things, they can still make for an excellent counterdraft on their own.

[Ixe]

Thanks for the comment on the Nightmare Riders. They're a bit expensive for a counterdraft but I'm sure they can be plenty fun for a kitchen table game.

Moving on we have another hero for Einar. What if he summoned an Icarian to the battle?

This Vioran Dekanti from Pathfinder Miniatures - Rise of the Runelords.


NAME = Valena Rath
GENERAL = Einar
PLANET = Icaria
SPECIES = Icarian
CLASS = Guard
PERSONALITY = Disciplined
SIZE = Medium 5
UNIQUE HERO

LIFE = 6
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4
POINTS = 120

COMBAT CHALLENGE
If an opponent's figure adjacent to Valena Rath attacks with a normal or special attack, it must attack a figure with the Combat Challenge Special Power.

DRAGON DEFENDER
After a Dragon you control rolls defense dice against a normal or special attack from an opponents figure, you may move Valena Rath up to 5 spaces.

IRON RESOLVE
When rolling defense dice against a special attack, Valena Rath always adds 1 automatic shield to whatever is rolled.


Unlike the Nhah Scirh Cultists who hate dragonkind and train to kill them, many Icarians are faithful servants to their dragon overlords. Some, such as Valena Rath, are specially train to defend their masters against threats like the cultists or even rival dragons. As such, Valena stands ready to rush into battle at the first sign of distress and challenge any opponent to fight the golden defender before broaching further attacks on those in her charge. Like the Cultists, her Iron Resolve helps shield her against the breath of rival dragons (or even collateral from her own masters).

In practice, she is a deathreaver-like hero for dragons that can prove a real thorn in the side for your opponent. While they will try to prioritize on attacking your dragons, she can quickly rush in and soak attacks against them. However, as a single figure, she is still limited in the area she can cover and can only draw so many attacks (while taking leaving engagement attacks for each time she moves away). She is supporting an updated version of Combat Challenge that does not break when used with Tandros Kreel (Tandros Kreel must be attacked when the two of them engage the same figure). I do worry about her in something like a wyrmling army where she will be moving all of the time, but the fact that she is a single figure is likely self-limiting.

As always, comments are greatly appreciated.

[TheAverageFan]

Valena Rath: I have always liked the idea of good Icarians, because they do exist in Heroscape lore. She seems good for keeping your Dragons safe as a Hero Screen (also a somewhat rare occurrence in Heroscape) who can keep the Nhah Schirh at bay. At first Iron Resolve seemed like a strange power to have, but combating collateral is a good idea (it's not easy being Zelrig's servant!).

My only issue lies with Dragon Defender. Say Q9 decides to shoot Zelrig 9 times for 1, or Kato's Command gets 8 Ashigaru to all attack the same dragon. Or perhaps the Marro Drones roll a 20 and all attack at once. Or even say a bunch of Vipers keep getting Frenzy to work. You could move Rath countless spaces in a single turn. Even just 2 Zettains shooting the same Dragon can move her 10 spaces. She could make it from the start zone all the way to Sonya in a single turn! I'd limit the power to activating only once per turn.

Otherwise a cool custom--perhaps we could see more good Icarians in the future?

~TAF

[Ixe]

Originally Posted by TheAverageFan

My only issue lies with Dragon Defender. Say Q9 decides to shoot Zelrig 9 times for 1, or Kato's Command gets 8 Ashigaru to all attack the same dragon. Or perhaps the Marro Drones roll a 20 and all attack at once. Or even say a bunch of Vipers keep getting Frenzy to work. You could move Rath countless spaces in a single turn. Even just 2 Zettains shooting the same Dragon can move her 10 spaces. She could make it from the start zone all the way to Sonya in a single turn! I'd limit the power to activating only once per turn.

Thanks for commenting! While limiting it to once per turn may be a bit more thematically relevant, it is not something I plan to do. One, with the exception of special attacks, her movement is overall more reasonable than the deathreavers. I actually could see bumping the movement down to 4 as with the rats, but she can still only move herself (instead of 2 figures) and does not have a disengage. Furthermore, as with the rats, the decision to attack a dragon is within the hands of the opponent. If they are so concerned about her rushing across the field so rapidly, they can choose to avoid attacking the enemy dragon quite so much until they are in place to block or focus on her. Once she is in place, her Combat Challenge power is self-defeating to her movement since it forces attacks on her anyway.

I'm glad to hear that you like seeing a good Icarian. I'm sure I'll run out more of these blue-skinned people from time to time. Thanks again for commenting!

[Dysole]

So if a figure is adjacent to Tandros Kreeloy Jenkins and Valena Rath what happens?

~Dysole, who hasn't been able to get a straight answer to this from anyone

[Ixe]

Originally Posted by Dysole

So if a figure is adjacent to Tandros Kreeloy Jenkins and Valena Rath what happens?

~Dysole, who hasn't been able to get a straight answer to this from anyone

I've thought about this before, which is why it requires the modified form of the power as depicted. Normally, if her power was just as Tandros Kreel's but inserting her name for his, you would not be able to meet the condition to attack either hero and would be unable to attack. There was concern that this is how the original power would work in a multiplayer battle where a figure was engaged with 2 Tandros Kreel figures, but since they have the same name you are perfectly capable of attacking either of them.

With the modified power, Valena requires you to attack a figure with the Combat Challenge Special Power while Tandros Kreel requires you to attack a figure with his name. Since Tandros Kreel has the Combat Challenge Special Power, the only way to fulfill the requirements is to attack Tandros. If/when I release other figures with the modified Combat Challenge Special Power in the future and you are engaged with multiple of them, you can choose whichever of them you want to attack.

[Not User Name]

I can't believe I missed the Nightmare riders. With some luck those guys can devastate crowded start zones or Legos.

I like how you round out what heroscape missed. Have you thought about Flag Bearers for Vakrill and Aquilla?