The Pre-SoV Workshop

[BiggaBullfrog]

Half Demon is a great callback to Classic with Brandis while also keeping the theme. That would be my choice as a simple option that checks all the boxes.

I actually hate Oni. Grey Oni is an oni, this guy is not. If you want Japanese something-or-other maybe Youkai? Though I feel like that's too broad. You could probably find a specific one that fits more.

Scytale's right that you could really just make up something if you're going Feylund. It wouldn't be hard to make a Feylundy demon by riffing off of some specific type of demon or some such. Could even be the start of a new species that future additions could expand on.

[Astroking112]

Spoiler Alert!

Originally Posted by quozl

What do you think of undead?

Undead doesn't really hit the thematic beats for me. Masha is more alive than the various skeletons and zombies, and I'm reluctant to choose that species anyway when it has more potential for broad synergy.

Originally Posted by Scytale

Why does Feylund have to be small? Why can't it be big enough to have different languages? And even if not, why does every name have to be English-y? "Doggin" isn't even a thing, and is "Fiantooth" English-y?

You could come up with any name you wanted and it would be fine for Feylund. Or Arctorus.

Personally, I think Yokai would be good.

I have no problem with Feylund having new species names (especially for creatures that are mostly unique to HeroScape), but it stands out when compared to stuff like Gurei-Oni and Sudema. It feels a bit like calling a big Vydar SoulBorg hero something other than "Major ___," albeit to a lesser degree. It's not inherently wrong, but it stands out a little more.

You make a solid argument, though, and at this point, I honestly believe that I'm the only one who's bothered by that.

Originally Posted by quozl

Also, if Mind Flayer fits, Half Demon will too.

Originally Posted by superfrog

I love the X-2 Card Creator, but it is not fantastic at how it handles the left box.

HALF-DEMON is the same length as WARFORGED and ELEMENTARS and MIND FLAYER. It's shorter than DRAGONBORN and DRAGONSPAWN and LYCANTHROPE and SERPENTFOLK.

So if your only concern there is length, don't worry about it. I'd go with Half-Demon.

Hmm. Thanks for the insight. Things like Dragonborn and Dragonspawn have bothered me a lot in the past, but Warforged/Elementars/Mind Flayer are more acceptable. Half-Demon also works with the written bio and checks off most of the same boxes for theme, so it wouldn't be bad.

Originally Posted by Lazy Orang

Devil doesn't feel wrong to me, but I'd be inclined to save that for the D&D Devils, who are a distinct thing from Demons.

That's a fair point; I could totally see Devils coming in from D&D at some point (if I remember correctly, there was even a faction of them in a customs thread out there).

Originally Posted by Lazy Orang

Half-Demon sounds like splitting hairs and feels like you're going out of your way to avoid synergy, as does Daemon - with the second, people are either not going to notice the difference or, like me, will immediately equate it with another setting where the word is used more commonly with that spelling, such as Warhammer 40k or His Dark Materials.

To be fair, I am splitting hairs and trying to go out of my way to avoid synergy.

I'm not familiar with Warhammer 40k or the usage of daemon there, but I am sympathetic to the concern of confusing daemon with demon.

Originally Posted by BiggaBullfrog

Scytale's right that you could really just make up something if you're going Feylund. It wouldn't be hard to make a Feylundy demon by riffing off of some specific type of demon or some such. Could even be the start of a new species that future additions could expand on.

I do like the idea of creating a unique species for potential future additions. It's unlikely that more Samurai sculpts will be made, but Yokai is vague enough that it could eventually be developed further if the opportunity arises. One of the things that I like about Masha is how he crosses factions, so leaving that door open is actually very tempting.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback on a species for Masha. There's a lot of good stuff there, and I think that I've finally got something that I can live with. I'll get another submission ready sometime tonight.

Also, I'm really liking the changes to Clayton. I was never fond of how clunky the powers were before, so if this version maintains a unique playstyle, then that'd be fantastic.

[robbdaman]

Half-Fiend is a term used in D&D.

[dok]

I like Oni a lot. Figures from different planets can share species and look very different (Trolls, Orcs, Giants, etc).

I like Usurper as a class for the greenscale; I think it's super evocative and works totally fine even if it triggers on death. (Anyone who watched the old Transformer comics should remember how Starscream always was quick to step in to the leadership role whenever he thought Megatron was incapacitated/dead. He was much more "usurper" than "heir" or "champion".) If you really want to lean into it, you could even make the power allow him to become the king while the existing king is still alive. Just have it get triggered by receiving wounds or being destroyed instead of only being destroyed.

[Son of Arathorn]

I have minimal input here, but I personally don’t mind Ogre. It’s such a fungible term that I can see different, anatomically distinct groups of monsters on one planet having the same name. Different tribes of Ogres running around, causing havoc, fighting each other and everyone else. This goes for Troll, too, although you could argue Trolls are dumber than Ogres.

[superfrog]

It's quite streamlined. I always like when I see white space on a card. I think this card is in a better spot than the previous submission.

[Sir Heroscape]

looks really clean to me.

[quozl]

Looks much better!

[Scytale]

Oh yeah, that version of Clayton looks sharp. I hope it works out as intended in playtesting.

[NecroBlade]

FWIW, I actually liked the aura better at 3 spaces. For some unknown reason most auras in Heroscape seem to gravitate toward even numbers, but here a slightly smaller aura helps sell the theme of a closely coordinated Shootout, IMO.

[Scytale]

Originally Posted by NecroBlade

FWIW, I actually liked the aura better at 3 spaces. For some unknown reason most auras in Heroscape seem to gravitate toward even numbers, but here a slightly smaller aura helps sell the theme of a closely coordinated Shootout, IMO.

I didn't notice the change, and I also liked the tighter restriction. I think opening that up more will also work to weaken the theme of Posse a bit, as the range restriction on Shootout will be what keeps the Posse together. I'm curious as to what prompted this change.

[quozl]

Both dok and I suggested it. Thematically, in both real life and movies, they spread out. Bunching them all together seems like a parody to me.