Ngc unit contest: Cryptid

[Shiftrex]

Hello NGC Fans,

The Contest has closed!

See this post for all entries and check back around October 8th to see who wins.

Spoiler Alert!

Bottom Line Up Front: This is an opportunity for you to design a unit according to theme, pick out an STL, and if you win the NGC team will bring you behind closed doors and do everything to help get your unit ready for a special release.

Here at NGC we want to promote community involvement because we are just community members that love the game. We know there are a metric ton of designers and creators that love this game too. Here is the opportunity to work on something and get it out there for lots of people to playtest and potentially use alongside the NGC library.

This will be a contest that pops up from time to time, we encourage anyone to participate. Here are the particulars:

1. The unit must be themed around Cryptids! The spooky, the scary, the unexplainable. Think SCP foundation, Supernatural, and other forms of paranormal investigation. We are not looking for typical ghosts and goblins of the D&D realm. This unit you dream up will be set in Whenua, our new near modern setting where the unexplainable is quite real.
   
   
2. It must be a 3D printable miniature (link to STL file) that the public can easily access for free or for purchase, preferably under the $15 mark!
   
   
3. You can enter by using this Heroscapers thread, by using the NGC discord, or communicating with a staff member directly to place your entry. It can be in text format, a card, or a flower arrangement. It just has to be a complete unit (all card information) with a link to the STL you want to use.
   
   
4. You have from the 8th to the 22nd of September to brainstorm, brew, test, and do anything you would like to prepare for this contest. The deadline is 23:59 MST on the last day of the contest.
   
   
5. NGC will announce the winner about a week later and pull said winner to a special planning zone so we can get their unit polished and prepped for a special release.

Don't feel like you need completely polished wording to enter, or to have fully figured out the lore! Those are all things we can help with. Just bring us a good starting point and show us what you can do. Fair warning that your design may receive tune-ups and adjustments as it goes through the process as we work together.

Feel free to ask any and all questions here. We are excited to see the creativity from our fellow creators!

[MrNobody]

This is a really sweet contest - I'm a bit swamped, otherwise I'd try my hand at it. I hope a Mothman wins.

[Shiftrex]

No worries, we will be doing more of these!

I also can assure you that the NGC foundation endorses the Mothmen

[MegaSilver]

Considering that I born near the Mothman area of Point Pleasant, West Virginia (actually in Bidwell, OH), I however will not be submitting a Mothman unit. lol

[Shiftrex]

Well darn

Hopefully we see something regardless. Looking forward to sifting through everyone's ideas. It's always great to see what designs the wider community has.

[DarthLegolas]

Intended to have 3 figures per army card.

Here's my submission for the NGC contest. Shadow People are an ever-present trope in media and a recognized phenomenon in Cryptid and ghost hunting circles. They're often portrayed as unmoving observers, unnervingly watching from the darkness. But when they are violent, they move in the blink of an eye or under a passing shadow, taken away from eyesight along with their victim. https://www.myminifactory.com/object...-shadow-175747

I went for a more neutral interpretation -as opposed to directly violent and evil- as I actually find that creepier. Makes them and their motives unknown and what's scarier than the unknown? This was fun, can't wait to see the other submissions

[Shiftrex]

Awesome entry! Thankyou for submitting.

I'll compile these on the final day just in case you have any second thoughts or final edits you want to make.

[Taeblewalker]

Originally Posted by DarthLegolas

I went for a more neutral interpretation -as opposed to directly violent and evil- as I actually find that creepier. Makes them and their motives unknown and what's scarier than the unknown? This was fun, can't wait to see the other submissions

How many figures are in a squad?

[Shiftrex]

Looks like their post says it is intended to have 3 figures per army card

[DarthLegolas]

edited the post to make that more apparent.

[blast_shark]

3d printable file available for purchase Here
Card Text:

Spoiler Alert!

Miragel - Vydar // Species: Aurora // Unique Hero // Class: Sentinel // Personality: Omniscient // Large 7
L7 // M7 // R3 // A3 // D3 // Pts 180

Omniscience
If at least one order marker is on Miragel, add 3 to your initiative roll and you may look at unrevealed order markers on Army Cards your opponents control this round.

Aurora of Humility
All non-Aurora figures within 3 clear sight spaces of Miragel roll attack dice as if their printed attack value is equal to the lowest printed attack value among all non-Aurora figures within 3 clear sight spaces of at least one Aurora; they also roll defense dice as if their printed defense value is equal to the lowest printed defense value among all non-Aurora figures within 3 clear sight spaces of at least one Aurora.

Flying
When counting spaces for Miragel's movement, ignore elevations. Miragel may fly over water without stopping, pass over figures without becoming engaged, and fly over obstacles such as ruins. If Miragel is engaged when it starts to fly, it will take any leaving engagement attacks.

Inspiration/Design:
TLDR-- The largest inspiration is a Magic: the Gathering card called Humility. It’s all about making asymmetry out of a symmetrical effect. There’s also potential for more Aurora figures to be made in the future that synergize interestingly with this figure.

Spoiler Alert!

Since this is a top down design of an angel, I figured it should fill a support role since that’s a common angel trope. I wanted a power to represent an association with prophecy/all-knowing entities and another power to represent an aura of overwhelming awe. I knew it should also fly, and I chose all the statistics based purely on common numerology used in the bible.

For the all-knowing prophecy power, omniscience came pretty easily. +3 initiative based on order markers already exists on other cards, and perfect knowledge on opponent’s markers seems appropriate for the scale of intelligence I’m going for with this figure. Gameplay-wise, the effectiveness of the order marker knowledge varies somewhere between useless to reasonably advantageous (especially in the late game).

For the overwhelming awe power, I took inspiration from a Magic: the Gathering card called Humility. It’s an enchantment that affects all creatures (even yours) by removing all their special abilities and making them tiny. Similarly to the Magic version, I want this ability to be all about finding ways to break symmetry to favor yourself.

The wording of Aurora of Humility is unique by altering “printed attack/defense values,” and the reason for this is so that it applies in a different “layer” to all other attack and defense alterations. This is important for it to not nullify things like height advantage and other special powers; if it did negate those, I think it would lead to uninteresting games where positioning means nearly nothing, and all that matters is having more figures in the fight.

One potential confusion in interactions would be with cards like Anubian Wolves and Marro Stingers which state they specifically increase the attack value of the card rather than adding attack dice to the attack rolls. I interpret this as the attack value equaling “printed attack value” + “additional attack value” so Miragel would work independently from these powers altogether. Anubian Wolves and Marro Stingers can have the full effect of their powers without those powers being hindered by Aurora of Humility.

Something else I found interesting while designing this: the wording of which figures are seen and affected by Aurora of Humility needs to be worded like it is. If it only looked at and affected figures within 3 clear sight spaces of Miragel, you could potentially have situations where you and your opponent each have overlapping Miragels that look at figures with different lowest attack/defense and try to apply different values to the same figure. Making Aurora of Humility “see” from every Aurora means this never happens.

Lore:
TLDR-- Heroscapified totally-not-a-biblical-angel that’s called an Aurora instead.

Spoiler Alert!

Auroras are mysterious super-intelligent supernatural entities that are often regarded as protectors or divine harbingers. In reality, very little is known about their origin and motives due to their almost incomprehensible nature. Even recording their appearance is notoriously difficult.

All Auroras are different, but the most common trait among auroras is their incredible ability to impose mental states on beings around them. They are attributed with playing critical roles in certain historical events, especially in battles that were won against overwhelming odds.

Miragel's mental powers crumble the egos of those around it to be equals with the most humble creatures in the area. Only the meekest warriors are unbothered, and their lifelong conditioning to this lesser ego often makes them more suitable combatants while under Miragel's influence.

I think Vydar seems most fitting to have summoned such an enigmatic and unknowable entity, and it’s possible that Miragel decided to summon itself into Vydar’s ranks.

Playtesting Notes:
TLDR-- Aurora of Humility is most powerful against certain high tier melee armies (knights especially), but this power is kept in check by the 3 space range and order marker inefficiency. Against range-heavy armies, Miragel is best as a cleanup unit that provides passive advantage.

Spoiler Alert!

I tested Miragel using 500 (delta classic) point armies with an 18 figure limit. All tests (8 total) were played on Turmoil by Superfrog. I didn’t keep an amazing record of the games, but they were pretty even between Miragel winning and losing. It certainly didn’t feel outrageously overpowered.

By far, the most powerful and well-rounded army I tested was Miragel, Major X17, and Goblin Cutters x4. The goblins are great for securing glyphs, buying back order-marker inefficiency with scurry, and have a good matchup against range-heavy armies where Miragel is less useful. X17 can be used to great effect by pinning a key figure (or more) in the Aurora of Humility while still receiving the melee defense bonus.

The play pattern I found to be most effective with this army when you care about inflicting Aurora of Humility is to spend the first round gaining territory and then flying Miragel to the most densely populated engagement. You want to envelop your enemies with Aurora of Humility upon landing so Miragel can attack and force your opponent to decide on repositioning to a safer spot or not. Deploying Miragel earlier can still be somewhat effective since it will probably live, but it allows your opponent to develop up to the edge of the Aurora’s range and force you to spend another order marker on Miragel if you want more effect.

Miragel Goblins vs Knights of Weston x4, Sir Gilbert, and Dumutef Guard.
I figured that if Miragel would create a miserable play experience that it would be against this army. I found that it was actually a very interesting matchup and never felt hopeless for the knights.
It does feel like an uphill battle, but if the knights make good use of Jandar’s Dispatch they can constantly dance around the Aurora of Humility and force the Miragel player to spend turns repositioning Miragel or fight outside the power’s range.

In conclusion, I feel like Miragel has a lot of value that is balanced by the steep point cost. If I was forced to change one thing, I would change the defense to 2. This would give more opportunity for the opposing melee armies to target Miragel first. 7 move with flying does mean Miragel will almost always be defending with height advantage.

Other notable Miragel Armies:

Warforged soldiers is an interesting idea that performed reasonably well. Tactical Switch serves to break adjacency bonuses and throw enemies into the Aurora of Humility, and Warforged Resolve breaks the symmetry of Humility.

Venoc Vipers were mostly a meme when I tested it, though that could have been skewed since these were the very first test games done. It warrants more testing because Deathwalker 8000 in that army could potentially melt every figure affected by Humility. The main issue is that it takes so many order markers to set up, so it can be seen from a mile away (we tested this against Gladiators x3, Spartacus, and Crixus; gladiators won both times, and it wasn’t particularly close).

Anubian Wolves pose a potential problem against specifically Knights of Weston because the armies would be fighting with 1A 4D with Humility, but the Wolves break the symmetry easily while the knights have to cut concrete with scissors. It seems miserable.
The test we did wasn’t so bad because Khosumet blundered inside Miragel’s range, so it was 3D against mostly 2A due to height and Gilbert boosting. Against any other army, the Wolves’ defense would likely be lowered like this, so it likely isn’t that good of an army in most situations.

Mohican River Tribe is one army I wanted to test but didn’t get the time to. War Cry seems like an interesting way to break symmetry, and they have the ability to attack a melee army that wants to camp outside Aurora of Humility. The problem I see from this army is that it has no reliable protection against range, and Miragel’s points would be much better spent on Raelin.

[baron_scapius]

My entry: Aquatic Horror



Inspired by the SCP-1128 (https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1128)





STL file for mini available for $4.50 at https://www.myminifactory.com/object...m-scale-203458

A deep distress settles over the vanguard of Utgar's army as they approach another water crossing. Warlord Ne-Gok-Sa mysteriously disappeared at the last one, only to return moments later half dead and more than half insane. His ravings about the monster and refusal to look at even a cup of water has the company paranoid and, for the first time, truly scared.
Skin prickles as the troops feel malevolent eyes watching their approach with unsettling eagerness. They know any second now another of their number will be whisked away to be devoured by some unknown evil.
They arrive at the river bank, only pushed forward by the fear of Utgar's demented punishments if they were to turn back; each praying to all that is unholy that it is one of their companions that is chosen by the unseen horror.