Soldiers of Valhalla - nominations and discussion - Page 74

ZBeeblebrox · #**877** May 4th, 2011, 10:31 AM

It uses a small peanut, because the wide stance of the feet of the figure, makes it too wide to fit on a large single base properly.

Oh and conrats to dok, and GP!!!

cmgames · #**878** May 4th, 2011, 01:15 PM

This is the Nominations and Discussion forum. Is there a different forum for the officially released/finalized SoV units?

~Z

Dad_Scaper · #**879** May 4th, 2011, 01:17 PM

Excellent question! We're working on that.

personwholives · #**880** May 4th, 2011, 01:40 PM

Sounds like it's time for a stickied display thread. And maybe an announcement on the main site blog. Hooray for a success!

Dad_Scaper · #**881** May 4th, 2011, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by personwholives

Sounds like it's time for a stickied display thread. And maybe an announcement on the main site blog. Hooray for a success!

Working on that and that, too.

Tiranx · #**882** May 5th, 2011, 12:09 AM

Just played a game with the Zombie Hulk and had a blast! Couldn't be happier that this figure has passed.

As a side note, Torin is the cheapest figure on a small peanut (.99 cents) on Auggies. Works for a quick rebasing.

cmgames · #**883** May 5th, 2011, 12:40 AM

Bases are also available in bulk (& colors) from yodajunkie. He sells them on e-bay for reasonable prices:

http://stores.ebay.com/Yodajunkiedesigns/

~Z

Typhon2222 · #**884** May 5th, 2011, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dad_Scaper

When HeroScape takes something from a fictional universe in its cross-branding exercises, it has made an effort to stay close, thematically, to the original. Notably, even as iconic a fictional creature as Medusa comes into 'Scape renamed, even if just a little.

It embarrasses me to say that I NEVER realized, until just reading this, that Sudema was Medusa slightly rearranged.

The fact that I study Greek mythology for a living only makes it worse.

robbdaman · #**885** May 5th, 2011, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Typhon2222

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dad_Scaper

When HeroScape takes something from a fictional universe in its cross-branding exercises, it has made an effort to stay close, thematically, to the original. Notably, even as iconic a fictional creature as Medusa comes into 'Scape renamed, even if just a little.

It embarrasses me to say that I NEVER realized, until just reading this, that Sudema was Medusa slightly rearranged.

The fact that I study Greek mythology for a living only makes it worse.

"C-" student eh? J/K.

Oh and as far as bases, wooden spoons make a very cheap alternative.

They are 3 inches long and about the right shape, maybe a tad thinner than we want but you can get 200 for $10-$12. Super cheap alternative.[/quote]

cmgames · #**886** May 5th, 2011, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robbdaman

Oh and as far as bases, wooden spoons make a very cheap alternative.

They are 3 inches long and about the right shape, maybe a tad thinner than we want but you can get 200 for $10-$12. Super cheap alternative.

They won't fit snug in the ladders, but double-space figs can't use the ladders anyway, so that's OK.

~Z

Typhon2222 · #**887** May 5th, 2011, 03:25 PM

Apologies in advance for (self-)nominating two units in a single post.

But since they're designed to complement each other as squad and hero, I figured posting them together would be less confusing.

Here come the goatmen! Hot to trot after their herd leader, these guys were developed as a thematic swarmish army especially suited for rough hilly terrain.

IBIXIAN RIDGE RAIDERS

HERD CHIEF BAABAS

DESIGN NOTES
Being goatmen, we felt they should be agile in rough terrain, but didn't want to achieve this simply by giving them high Movement, because that would make them even zippier on flat maps, which didn't seem thematically appropriate. So we developed a Surefooted ability for them, derived from the Floating ability which we first designed for our Beholders.

As herd animals, we wanted to introduce some mechanic that would encourage a player to keep them clumped together. The Herd Fervor achieves this by giving them a bonus when they start their turn adjacent to others.

Their hero, the herd chief, has the Surefooted ability too, but in weaker form. We did this because it seemed appropriate to his sculpt: toting that huge hammer, it seemed natural that his nimblessness would be slightly reduced. For the same reason, we left him ineligible for the Herd Fervor movement bonus. So he's a tad slower than his agile flock.

Imagining him smashing his huge maul onto the ground with such force that it would send nearby targets flying, we gave him a form of Knockback, and a Hammer Smash Special Attack which acts as a weak AoE attack: it only damages one figure, but has the potential to bounce adjacent figures around. We made sure his native attack was higher than his special, to force tough decisions: attack normally with 4 dice (5 with height), but affect only one figure? or attack a single figure specially with only 3 dice, but with a greater chance of disrupting enemy formations? Given that his own defense is a bit on the low side (only 3), his Hammer Smash Special also has situational use in helping to keep him alive: if swarmed, he can use it in hopes of clearing space around him, then follow up by moving his Ibixians in to plug the holes.

We wanted to integrate these guys with existing units as well. So we wrote the Ibixians' bonding options to include the Ice Troll Berserker and the Swog Rider as well as their own Herd Chief. We felt that the ITB and Swog Rider could use a little more love (they don't seem to get much play). And they seemed good matches for the Ibixians visually: the Ice Troll's huge hammer matches the Herd Chief's very well, for some fun visual continuity, while the color of the Swog matches the goatmen. Most importantly though, we felt they continued the defining theme of agility: the Swog has a very high native movement, and the Ice Troll has his super-zippy Charge, which seemed to complement the mobility of the Ibixians.

AVAILABILITY/PRICE
Availability and price of both figures are very very good. The Ibixian Ridge Raiders use the Ibixian from the D&D Miniatures line (Deathknell). This is one of the cheapest and most widely available minis of the D&D line. Many places sell them for less than $1 apiece. At those prices, it's possible to field an entire army of Ibixians for cheaper than almost any 'Scape squad.

Herd Chief Baabas uses the Champion of Baphomet figure, also from the D&D Miniatures line (Dungeons of Dread). He can be found as low as $4.89 (at Auggie's). You only need one of him though, and compared to what many 'Scape heroes cost, he's very reasonable.

A little researching finds 145 Ibixians and 31 Champions of Baphomet for sale online at the following stores, plus whatever unspecified number the last three places have.

Spoiler Alert!

BASES/MODIFICATIONS
The Ibixians will fit on single hexes as they are, no modifications necessary at all.

The Champion of Baphomet comes on a D&D Large base released after War Drums, which means it's too big to fit on only one hex. The good news, however, is that the figure itself will fit perfectly on a single hex: just rebase him on a standard-sized D3 base; or take shears and trim the base (which is what we did).

Thanks for your consideration.

Taeblewalker · #**888** May 5th, 2011, 03:37 PM

Perhaps you might consider giving the Ibixian squad Ibixian Hero bonding, to tighten their theme, and then still make the hero a Beast (i.e., leave him as is). I am not sure how the 120 point cost would stand to playtesting, since Knockback could be very powerful, but regardless of the possible cost tweak, I would say that your units are very well thought out.