Kolakoski’s Pre-SoV Custom Corner

[Astroking112]

Originally Posted by kolakoski

NIERIEL

General ???

Unique Hero
Species Elf
Class Rogue
Personality Reckless

Size Medium 4

Life 4
Move 6
Range 1
Attack 4
Defense 3

Points ???

Needle
After moving but before attacking, if Nieriel was not engaged when she moved, choose an opponent’s figure and roll a 20-sided die. On a roll of 15 or higher, the opponent’s figure rolls 2 fewer defense dice if attacked by Nieriel this turn. [Simulates throwing one of the daggers on her belt to distract her opponent as she moves in.]

Follow Through
If Nieriel attacks, she may attack again with 1 less attack die. [Simulates an immediate follow up strike with her shorter sword.]

Double Parry
If Nieriel is attacked and a skull is rolled, roll a 20-sided die. On a roll of 15 or higher, Nieriel takes no damage. If the attack was a normal attack from an adjacent figure, that figure receives a wound. [Simulates parrying with both swords.]

Picture of the figure for reference:

It's worth noting that there is significant medium normal fantasy hero fatigue in C3V/SoV. Any designs for standalone Elven heroes or fantasy Rogues naturally face more scrutiny and have a tougher hill to climb to be accepted. These types of designs aren't doomed from the start, but it's something worth keeping in mind.

As for this design's general, I'd say that Ullar fits the best. Both Elves and Rogues have been closely associated with him in the past, and I don't see much of a reason to put her somewhere else.

I see that Needle is supposed to represent the throwing daggers, but I'm not a big fan of how it activates as a defense reduction instead of an actual attack. Something along the lines of this would seem more thematic to me:

PLACEHOLDER SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 4. Attack 2.
Before or after moving Nieriel, she may attack with Placeholder Special Attack. She can still attack with her normal attack this turn.

I'm not entirely sold on this, but I think that throwing daggers wouldn't feel quite right if they were just a defense reduction tool.

As for Follow Through, I like it well enough. It doesn't quite fit the Reckless personality in my eyes (it feels significantly more controlled than Martial La Hire's Reckless Second Swing does), but you could address that by changing the personality if you're attached to the power.

I'm not a fan of Double Parry. Parrying bullets or arrows already feels off to me, and I think I'd be happier without a defensive ability at all (potentially with an increased life or defense to compensate). Alternatively, you could go with something more stealthy to evoke the Rogue class, such as Hide in Darkness or some variant. It's a bit tough to buy with the armor on the sculpt, though.