First Custom

[Shadow Hunter]

hey,

i'm fairly new to heroscape and wanted to see if i could get some input on this custom (sorry about no picure yet, its an elf from the LOTR hex battle game with a new base) he hasn't really been playtested yet but i was wondering about thoughts on a point value











BODYGUARD
At the beginning of the game choose one Unique Hero to be guarded by Eliam. As long as Eliam is alive, this hero receives an additional defense die. Eliam may not move more than five clear spaces away from the hero without receiving one wound for every turn he is used away from the hero.

SACRIFICE
At the end of your turn, you may choose to remove one wound from the hero Eliam is guarding and put it on Eliam.

REVENGE
If the hero Eliam is guarding is destroyed, Eliam receives one additional attack die for the rest of the game.


Stats:
Life 5
Move 5
Range 1
Attack 3
Defense 3

Ullar

Elf
Unique Hero
Soldier
Disciplined
Medium 5

[Lord Pyre]

That's a pretty unique guy right there. Nice work!

I'd say he would be about 90-110, I think. I've never been real good at figuring out point values.

[Padwhite]

I really like it. I'm a sucker for good themed units.

The first power could be a little tricky though. I made a custom of Brock Samson that was a bit tongue in cheek, that had a similar power (check my customs). I think you have to be a bit more specific, though I'm not really sure how. Does he take the wound only when he is activated by a round marker? If that is the only time, couldn't you just move the guy he's defending around the board and leave the bodyguard in the starting zone and benefit from the bonuses? Once the other hero is dead, then you charge him out with his pumped up power. That may be ok, but I want to make sure that is what you have in mind.

[holylink718]

Well, I would use him.

It looks good, although I'm sure there's room for abuse if you don't work the bodyguard ability right, so you might want to take a look at that.

Basic idea is sound.

Great job!

[Shadow Hunter]

thanks guys
i meant that if the hero he is guarding is moved away, Eliam takes a wound then too

how about this: on every turn that Eliam is more than five clear spaces away from the guy he is guarding, Eliam takes one wound.

[Heroscape Elffy]

That wording is still a little tricky. Every turn would mean you and your opponents. Then, when does he get the wound? When the order marker is revealed? After the moving and attacking?

[Elstree]

Hi Shadow Hunter, that's a surprisingly good first custom: not too powerful, and designed with a specific role in mind.

Here's a handy resource for custom unit makers: Gary Lasq's Heroscape Page. This page makes it easy to sort for existing units with stats similar to your custom and get a ballpark estimate of cost. After that you'll need to playtest and tweak the value.

And now some comments:

Bodyguard:
You've actually got two powers include in this heading. The first grants the hero the bonus die; the second wounds Eliam when he gets too far away. For clarity's sake it might be better to split these up.

Granting a bonus defense die to the hero no matter where Eliam is on the board seems a bit powerful. It also seems a bit much that he could be used with any Unique Hero. How about something like this:

An Elf Hero adjacent to Eliam adds one defense die against normal attacks.

I'd lose the part where he takes a wound if he gets too far away. I understand why you might want that as a game mechanic, but it doesn't make much sense to me thematically. What's injuring him? (Ex: for Sonya Eisenwein, it's her grief at Cyprien's death)

Sacrifice:
Again, this is pretty powerful if it can be used with any Unique Hero. Also, it's a bit ambiguous on whose turn (the chosen hero's or Eliam's?) this takes place. Also, the distance isn't specified. If Eliam were clear across the board could he still use this?

How about something like this:

When an adjacent Elf Hero takes one or more wounds from a normal attack you may place one of those wounds on Eliam instead.

Revenge:
Hmmm. I'm not sure what I think of this one. I've removed references to a "chosen hero" from my suggestions, but you could easily put that back in. If you do, I'd limit it to some degree so that the chosen hero must be an "Elf" or "Unique Hero who follows Ullar".

If you decide to keep this power I'd consider what it's supposed to represent thematically. If it's vengeance, I'd make this a much larger bonus but only against the figure who killed the chosen hero. If it's more general than that I'd make it a kind of "grief-rage", granting him +1 attack but -1 defense.

Anyway, those are just some ideas.

[Shadow Hunter]

Yeah I was thinking about it and I think I'll change it to any Unique Hero that fights for Ullar. Also the hero only gets one extra defense die if Eliam is within 5 clear spaces. I'll have to think about the Revenge one too.

[Shadow Hunter]

Revised custom

Life 5
Move 5
Range 1
Attack 3
Defense 3


BODYGUARD
At the beginning of the game choose one Unique Hero that follows Ullar to be guarded by Eliam. As long as Eliam is adjacent to the figure, this hero receives two additional defense die. If Eliam is within five clear spaces of the hero, but not adjacent, the hero gains one additional defense die.
SACRIFICE
When the hero Eliam is guarding takes a wound from a normal attack, you may put the wound on Eliam instead. This may only be used if Eliam is within five clear spaces.
REVENGE
If the hero Eliam is guarding is destroyed, Eliam receives two additional attack die against the figure or squad that killed the hero he was guarding for the
rest of the game.