The Workbook of Boromir

[Splash]

Originally Posted by Chris Perkins

I like this idea a lot - something like this:
Mortal Willpower
If any figure in your army is holding a treasure glyph, before taking a turn with Boromir you must roll a d20. If you roll a 15 or higher, choose an opponent. That opponent will now control Boromir for the remainder of your turn, but will not be able to view any unrevealed order markers on
his card. At the end of that turn, control of Boromir returns to you. All order markers and figures that were on Boromir's Army Card will stay on his army card.

Yes to this.

[Ronin]

If the ring is gonna be a treasure glyph, is it gonna have some corrupting influence all by itself?

That would seem natural to me, and if that's the case, I'd rather do something light-touch on Boromir that makes him a little extra susceptible to whatever the ring's doing instead of doing a full implementation of "Boromir tempted by ring" on Boromir's card.

That route would feel a little more natural to me from a design perspective, since the ring works its thing on a lot of people and not just Boromir - he's just one who happens to be close to it. I also think going too heavy-handed and negative with that power just means people won't play him in a situation where it could come into play.

[caps]

I think the d20 roll would need to be a lot higher, but I could see something like that.

Counterpoint, to me, would be that this seems more like a power that should be on the ring. You could argue that, in terms of this game, Boromir just failed his roll when no one else did. BUT I do recall him being more tempted / weaker-willed than the others, so I guess it works.

So basically my three major remaining concerns would be:
1. Do we want to use one of Boromir's 2-3 power slots on this? (I'd like to keep as many cards as possible to just 2 powers)
2. Will this conflict / feel weird when we have a One Ring treasure glyph also in play?
3. Is it thematic for him to be tempted by treasure glyphs other than the One ring? Say, a glyph of Sting, or a glyph of Mithril shirt, or Glamdring, or Elven Cloak, etc. etc. It is fair to argue that we say "yes" for the sake of simplicity


EDIT: ninja'd by Ronin. Basically what he said.

[Splash]

I think Boromir's whole arc of succumbing to the ring, convincing himself he could use its power for good, while others were tempted (Gandalf, Galadriel, and everyone else who was around it and knew Frodo had it at the very least), but did not is an essential part of his character, especially with him realizing it and the guilt and sorrow after Frodo took off, then redeeming himself with his great sacrifice. I think it really offered up a prime example on the corrupting power of the ring too.

[Splash]

What if with the old Influence of the Ring Power (or something similar will probably end up on the Ring), we added this sort of thing.

If any player or special power rolls the 20-sided die to take temporary or permanent control of Boromir, that player may add 4 to the roll. (Inspired by C3G's Weak Minded)

[Shiftrex]

Another idea is to make Boromir's weakness dictated by a scenario. I'm assuming we would make some scenario stuff. Can always tuck it away there to save space on the card. Afterall, scape isnt the war of the ring

[caps]

Originally Posted by Splash

What if with the old Influence of the Ring Power (or something similar will probably end up on the Ring), we added this sort of thing. If any player or special power rolls the 20-sided die to take temporary or permanent control of Boromir, that player may add 4 to the roll. (Inspired by C3G's Weak Minded)

I think that's what Ronin was suggesting. I would call out the One Ring power specifically, like Sonya Esenwein and Cyprien.

Originally Posted by Shiftrex

Another idea is to make Boromir's weakness dictated by a scenario. I'm assuming we would make some scenario stuff. Can always tuck it away there to save space on the card. Afterall, scape isnt the war of the ring

This would also work for me,

[caps]

Let's see if I can bring these ideas together. I'm going to just type it all up stream-of-consciousness style and then have a conclusion at the end.

I really like the simplicity of Shiftrex's suggestion that Horn of Gondor be a once-per-game movement power, so you'll see that a lot.

The first is an approach that does not bond with Knights of Weston. Remember that these non-bonding designs assume that we may come back to Boromir and do a "Captain of Gondor" version of him where his a Champion.

NAME = BOROMIR
GENERAL = JANDAR

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CAPTAIN
PERSONALITY = NOBLE
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM/5

LIFE = 6
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4
POINTS = 140

COMBAT CHALLENGE
If an opponent's figure that is adjacent to Boromir attacks with a normal or special attack, it must attack a figure with the Combat Challenge special power, if possible.

HORN OF GONDOR
Once per game, after revealing on order marker on this card, before taking a turn with Boromir, you may reveal the X order marker on Boromir's Army Card to move up to 3 figures you control up to 5 spaces each. Figures must be able to move within 5 spaces of Boromir to be moved with Horn of Gondor.

LAST STAND
While the X order marker is revealed on this card, Boromir rolls 2 additional defense dice and when he attacks, he may attack one additional time.

TEMPTED BY THE RING
When rolling for the Temptation of the Ring special power on The One Ring treasure glyph for Boromir, add 3 to your roll.

I had Horn of Gondor and Last Stand as one power... but they work better as two. Which means this is too many powers. I'm fine with Tempted By the Ring as a third power, but we should keep the other powers down to just one or two. My crazy idea would be to drop the Shield of Gondor/Combat Challenge/insert-protective-power-of-your-choice and just do HORN OF GONDOR and LAST STAND.

My other idea round HORN OF GONDOR was to make it give a penalty to the opponent's figures, because of this passage in Moria

Originally Posted by The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, Chapter 5, The Bridge of Khazad-Dum

The dark figure streaming with fire raced towards them. The orcs yelled and poured over the stone gangways. Then Boromir raised his horn and blew. Loud the challenge range and bellowed, like the shout of many throats under the cavernous roof. For a moment the orcs quailed and the fiery shadow halted. Then the echoes died as suddenly as a flame blown out by a dark wind, and the enemy advanced again...

So I was thinking something like

While the X order marker is revealed, opponent's figures subtract 1 from their attack against friendly hero figures within 4 spaces of Boromir.

But that leans pretty far into territory that I dislike when making customs for book and movie characters--making powers based primarily on things that happened just one time. Nonetheless, there's the idea.

I think I feel the same way about Last Stand.

--

Here's a simplified draft.

NAME = BOROMIR
GENERAL = JANDAR

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CAPTAIN
PERSONALITY = NOBLE
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM/5

LIFE = 6
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4
POINTS = 110

COMBAT CHALLENGE
If an opponent's figure that is adjacent to Boromir attacks with a normal or special attack, it must attack a figure with the Combat Challenge special power, if possible.

HORN OF GONDOR
Once per game, after revealing on order marker on this card, before taking a turn with Boromir, you may move up to 3 figures you control up to 5 spaces each. Figures must be able to move within 5 spaces of Boromir to be moved with Horn of Gondor.

TEMPTED BY THE RING
When rolling for the Temptation of the Ring special power on The One Ring treasure glyph for Boromir, add 3 to your roll.

--

Now here's how I might synthesize these ideas if we want Boromir to bond with the Knights of Weston.

NAME = BOROMIR
GENERAL = JANDAR

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CHAMPION
PERSONALITY = NOBLE
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM/5

LIFE = 6
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4
POINTS = 140

COMBAT CHALLENGE
If an opponent's figure that is adjacent to Boromir attacks with a normal or special attack, it must attack a figure with the Combat Challenge special power, if possible.

COURAGE OF GONDOR
If Boromir has at least 3 wound markers on his army card, each friendly figure adjacent to Boromir may add 1 to their attack and defense value.

TEMPTED BY THE RING
When rolling for the Temptation of the Ring special power on The One Ring treasure glyph for Boromir, add 3 to your roll.

This is nice because it works well with the Knights of Weston. I'm concerned, though, about Combat Challenge being obnoxious to play against on a Human Champion bonding with KoW. So perhaps something like this

NAME = BOROMIR
GENERAL = JANDAR

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CHAMPION
PERSONALITY = NOBLE
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM/5

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

VALOR
When Boromir attacks, he may attack one additional time for every two wound markers on this Army Card.

TEMPTED BY THE RING
When rolling for the Temptation of the Ring special power on The One Ring treasure glyph for Boromir, add 3 to your roll.

That's something that's thematic (recall the pile of orcs he slew laying all around him) and also works with the KoW. It might also be "too good" for the KoW, in which case we could make tweaks like lowering his life to 5, or just making it double attack for when he has 3 wounds, etc. However, I dropped "Courage of Gondor" because I didn't want to double-dip on the wounds mechanics.

I suppose we could also pair this with Horn of Gondor...

NAME = BOROMIR
GENERAL = JANDAR

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CHAMPION
PERSONALITY = NOBLE
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM/5

LIFE = 6
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4
POINTS = 140

HORN OF GONDOR
Once per game, after revealing on order marker on this card, before taking a turn with Boromir, you may move up to 3 figures you control up to 5 spaces each. Figures must be able to move within 5 spaces of Boromir to be moved with Horn of Gondor.

VALOR
When Boromir attacks, he may attack one additional time for every two wound markers on this Army Card.

TEMPTED BY THE RING
When rolling for the Temptation of the Ring special power on The One Ring treasure glyph for Boromir, add 3 to your roll.

That's appealing. Or we could swap Valor for Courage of Gondor

NAME = BOROMIR
GENERAL = JANDAR

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CHAMPION
PERSONALITY = NOBLE
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM/5

LIFE = 6
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4
POINTS = 140

HORN OF GONDOR
Once per game, after revealing on order marker on this card, before taking a turn with Boromir, you may move up to 3 figures you control up to 5 spaces each. Figures must be able to move within 5 spaces of Boromir to be moved with Horn of Gondor.

COURAGE OF GONDOR
If Boromir has at least 3 wound markers on his army card, each friendly figure adjacent to Boromir may add 1 to their attack and defense value.

TEMPTED BY THE RING
When rolling for the Temptation of the Ring special power on The One Ring treasure glyph for Boromir, add 3 to your roll.

I think I like that less than the Valor version.

I think Horn of Gondor + Valor + Tempted is my favorite combo of all of these.

[Shiftrex]

Gondor + Valor + Tempted stands out as far more on point than the others. I like how it shows his determination and steadfast personality as a front line fighter and the Valor ability gives him at maximum 3 attacks before he goes down which seems really reasonable. Access to 4 may have been too much but how it reads with his stats now would make him a fun offensive unit that you're encouraged to push into battle.

I think Combat Challenge should be dropped, I don't like it when compared to these other combinations.

Horn of Gondor should be really fun and it'll be a one time decision that can tilt things in your favor without even touching your opponent's figure (no negation or instant destroy effect) which makes me a big fan of trying it out.

[Splash]

I actually really like the old Shield of Gondor, as it basically has him be a mandatory target, even at range, effectively saving my favorite Hobbitses (and it would give them more time to do special damage with their little swords).
I like the new Horn Of Gondor wording and I think that's my favorite Boromir Power.
Again I'd rather a Tempted by the Ring type power not be One Ring specific, but that is a boss power name, so I am okay about it.

[Son of Arathorn]

Well, I was tagged, so here I am. Phone posting, so this’ll be a little rough.

Thinking about Boromir’s narrative role in the Fellowship, how his combat ability was depicted in the films, his equipment, and how that can all be synthesized in a package that supports scenario play with the Fellowship and alongside Classic ‘Scape, here’s what I’d do, with notes for each thought in parentheses.

NAME = BOROMIR
GENERAL = JANDAR

SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = CAPTAIN (designing around the knights of Weston is such a pain; if you’re planning on making any kind of Gondor Soldier squad, they can synergize with Boromir)
PERSONALITY = LOYAL (Boromir is nothing if not Loyal- to his father, his country, his brother, the halflings; its the conflict between these loyalties and the lure of the ring’s power that gets him into so much trouble)
SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM/5

LIFE = 5
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 3
POINTS = 110

COMBAT CHALLENGE (this lets him take the heat off other fellowship members, and plays to his character as a protector of the halflings)
If an opponent’s figure engaged with Boromir attacks, it must attack a figure with the Combat Challenge special power.

ONE SHIELD DEFENSE (reusing one shield defense will ensure he takes damage, at a predictable pace, but is not invulnerable to sustained punishment; mechanically, it lets you represent him being worn down by arrow after arrow while he fights to the death)
When Boromir rolls defense dice against a normal or special attack, if he rolls at least one shield, the most wounds he can take from this attack is one.

THE HORN OF GONDOR (this is more restrained than moving figures, but also much easier to balance; thematically, it can represent allies being invigorated and enemies hesitating, rallying the fellowship to take advantage of a key initiative switch, or buying them time to regroup from a vulnerable position)
Start the game with the brown Horn marker on this card. After placing Order Markers and before rolling for initiative, you may remove the Horn marker from this card and add 8 to your die roll.

Overall, I think splitting the duties of primary protector in the fellowship between Strider and Boromir would let them devote space to other powers, and give more tactical choice to a fellowship army as well as classically integrated builds. I’ll leave more notes on Strider in his own Workbook, but in my mind, Strider makes more sense to me as a protector from range, hiding the fellowship with his ranger abilities, whereas Boromir should be an up-close protector.

[Shiftrex]

One Shield Defense would be very boss on Boromir and justifies him having a lower life than what other suggestions have been at 6 and 7. As long as the 3 dice don't blank often

The Horn of Gondor being a one time use Glyph of Dagmar is problematic for me. Moving figures is a guaranteed ability that you get use from, even if its once a game. I don't like the idea of taking a one time use marker off a figure and then rolling 1 on my initiative. While its much more likely you get initiative with a +8 I can say that I still lose initiative about 40% of the time when I'm rolling. I'm of the opinion that once per game abilities should always offer me an affect and not present a chance of whiffing.

I think you have a very keen idea of what Boromir should be, I'm falling more into line with that idea myself. He should be an up close protector or at least be very adept with mixing it up close range on the battlefield.