Out-there Heaven (Movie, TV, and Video Game Characters)

[Shiftrex]

There are some great ideas here. I'd like to see the pathfinder characters join us, always welcoming more sword and sorcery types onto the field of battle ^^

Curious, since it is called Adventuring party is there a reason that they are called Explorers instead of Adventurers? Just wondering if the names could marry up in some way like having it be called something to do with Expedition? Not necessarily a needed change just thought of it.

Also, curious if a subtheme of this faction would be building adventuring parties that worked well together. I notice that there are some specific name call outs on Merisiel. Fun idea to think that you could mix and match some explorers but there would still be some ideal call outs to "this is my party that I come from." For those extra bonuses.

I do like the idea of this faction having a singular class that ties them all together instead of splitting them up into things like Cleric, Wizard, and so forth. Makes them working as a group much easier.

[Skinderella]

Thank you! Glad to see some Pathfinder support, I think that series has some really cool characters perfect for C3G.

I’m not against them being Adventurers, but I went with Explorers to avoid Fantastic 4 synergy, and to let these characters have their own space. I’d imagined Invisible Woman synergy + healing could be too much. Something like Expedition Party could definitely work as a name!

Merisiel’s call out to Kyra, and vice versa, is because they are a couple (actually married as of a short story), and I wanted them to have a reason to be used together and stay together during games. In the comics they often prioritise healing / defending the other, and tunnel vision to the other if something bad happens to them. So it was mainly a nod to their relationship.

Having sub themes within the faction could be a cool idea though! The Pathfinder comics only has one consistent party, which is the group of characters I posted with some others here and there. The Pathfinder lore as a whole, a lot more characters interact with each other and this party, but to my knowledge there aren’t really any specific teams beyond what the comics have (and they don’t even have a party name to my knowledge, they just usually work together). One storyline in the comics did have another, villainous party that the main party worked with, but they don’t appear after.

And thanks! I did want to give them their unique classes to start with, but things like Ranger wouldn’t sit right with the factions using that class already. Explorer is also just a good way of making a faction for fantasy adventurers in general. Say if something like D&D got accepted, you can give them Explorer too and it’d be fitting for these characters to mix.

[Tornado]

I like Explorer.

[Skinderella]

Part 2 of my Pathfinder designs! Finishes off the Pathfinder Battles: Iconic Heroes Evolved set + adds a personal favourite of mine from the comics.

Harsk

Spoiler Alert!

Bio

Spoiler Alert!

Harsk bio page by Paizo

Mini

Spoiler Alert!

Both Reaper Bones and Pathfinder Battles have multiple minis of him.

NAME = HARSK

SPECIES = DWARF
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = EXPLORER
PERSONALITY = GRUFF

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 4

LIFE = 5

MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 5
DEFENSE = 4

POINTS = ???

ADVENTURE PARTY TRACKING
At the start of the game, choose a species or class on an opponent’s Army Card. At the end of each player turn, if an enemy figure with the chosen species or class took a turn, you may move Harsk and any friendly Explorer Heroes within 5 clear sight spaces of Harsk a total combined number of 6 spaces. Figures cannot move more than 2 spaces with this special power per turn.

WOODLAND RANGER
When Harsk attacks a Huge figure with a normal or special attack, you may re-roll any or all attack dice once. If a figure is attacked by Harsk and receives 1 or more wounds, subtract 2 from that figure’s Move number until the start of your next player turn. If Harsk is adjacent to an Evergreen Tree or Jungle Piece, add 1 to his Defense number.

CROSSBOW SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 5. Attack 3 + Special.
When Harsk attacks a figure that is exactly 2 spaces away with this special attack, roll 2 additional attack dice. After attacking with this special attack, Harsk may attack with this special attack one additional time.

Fumbus

Spoiler Alert!

Bio

Spoiler Alert!

Fumbus bio page by Paizo

Mini

Spoiler Alert!

Fumbus has one miniature in the Pathfinder Battles: Iconic Heroes Evolved box. This box contains 5 of the other characters I’ve written up.

NAME = FUMBUS

SPECIES = GOBLIN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = EXPLORER
PERSONALITY = BRILLIANT / EAGER

SIZE/HEIGHT = SMALL 2

LIFE = 4

MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 3

POINTS = ???

ALCHEMICAL ELIXIRS
Start the game with 2 Spider-Foot Elixir Markers and 2 Life Elixir Markers on this card. Immediately after revealing an Order Marker on an Explorer Hero’s card you control, you may move an Elixir Marker from this card onto an adjacent friendly Explorer Hero’s card. For the remainder of the game, before a Hero with an Elixir Marker on its card begins its normal move, you may remove an Elixir Marker from its card. If you do, that figure gains the following effect:
-Spider-Foot Elixir: For the remainder of the round, when that figure moves up levels of height to move onto a space this turn, do not count a space for the first two levels, only count one space for every two levels after the first two, and they may ignore their height when climbing.
-Life Elixir: remove 1 Wound Marker from that figure’s card.

SPURRED BY HEROISM
At the end of your player turn, if any other Explorer Hero you control within 6 clear sight spaces of Fumbus inflicted 1 or more wounds on an enemy figure with an attack this player turn, you may either move and attack with Fumbus, or place a previously removed Elixir Marker back on this card.

ALCHEMIST'S FIRE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 5. Lob 8. Attack 4.
Choose a space to bomb. Any figure on the chosen space and all figures within 1 space of the chosen space are affected. No clear line of sight is needed. Roll attack dice once for all affected figures. Each figure rolls defense dice separately. After attacking, roll 1 unblockable attack die against each figure without the Lava Resistant special power that received 1 or more wounds from this special attack this turn.

(Alternative bomb power)

Spoiler Alert!

ALCHEMICAL BOMB SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 5. Lob 8. Attack 4 - Special.
Choose a space to bomb. Any figure on the chosen space and all figures within 1 space of the chosen space are affected. No clear line of sight is needed. Roll attack dice once for all affected figures. Each figure rolls defense dice separately. Before attacking with this special attack, you may choose one of the following effects:
-Roll 3 fewer attack dice. Shields rolled count as 2 skulls, and blanks rolled count as 3 skulls.
-After attacking, roll 1 unblockable attack die against each figure without the Lava Resistant special power that received 1 or more wounds from this special attack this turn.

Imrijka

Spoiler Alert!

Bio

Spoiler Alert!

Imrijka bio page by Paizo

Mini

Spoiler Alert!

Both Reaper Bones and Pathfinder Battles have multiple minis of her.

NAME = IMRIJKA

SPECIES = HALF-ORC
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = EXPLORER
PERSONALITY = FOCUSED

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5

MOVE = 5
RANGE = 8
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 5

POINTS = ???

INQUISITOR OF PHARASMA
Start the game with a Judgment Marker on this card. Once per round, before taking a turn with Imrijka, you may place the Judgment Marker from this card on a Unique or Event Hero’s card within clear sight of Imrijka. When Imrijka attacks a Demon, Undead, or a figure with her Judgment Marker or any other figure on its card, add 1 automatic skull to whatever is rolled, and the defending figure cannot use the Magical Defense special power against this attack. After a figure with a Judgment Marker on its card is destroyed, place that Judgment Marker on this card.

INTIMIDATING GAZE
When a figure targets Imrijka or a figure adjacent to Imrijka for an attack or special power, that figure rolls 1 fewer attack die and subtracts 2 from any 20-sided die rolls.

STABILIZING CURE
Once per round, if a friendly Unique Explorer Hero within 3 clear sight spaces of Imrijka would be destroyed by an attack, before removing that figure from the battlefield, you may immediately move Imrijka as long as she ends this move adjacent to that figure, if possible. If you do, that figure is not destroyed, and you may place or remove Wound Markers from that figure’s card until it has up to 2 Life remaining.

[Shiftrex]

The Legend of Zelda

What is this? –

Spoiler Alert!

The Legend of Zelda is an adventure game created by Nintendo. This long-standing series saw its first entry on the Nintendo Entertainment System and has seen regular additions over the years. The setting is called the land of Hyrule, a fantasy setting with a variety of creatures and magic that give the classic aesthetic of a sword and sorcery world. Much of the plot revolves around the power of the gods that exist in a relic called the Triforce, an object that is said to be an omnipotent wish granting device for the wielder if they meet certain criteria.

The main character of the story is Link, a hero that receives a new incarnation to counter the forces of evil whenever they should arise. His consistent nemesis is Ganondorf, or the evil spirit Ganon, that has seen many different versions over the years with some of them persisting between entries in the series due to an immortality factor. Princess Zelda is a mainstay of the story as well, often being a powerful spellcasting figure or part of the background story. Each of these three characters corresponds to one of the three goddesses that powers the Tri-Force relic.

Zelda stories are varied but they often focus on exploring dungeons, collecting powerful relics, upgrading the character Link, and taking on big challenges. These come in the form of powerful spellcasters, undead, giant monsters, curses, and the incarnation of Ganondorf/Ganon or occasionally a new villain that fills a similar role.

How is this a comic? –

Spoiler Alert!

Manga.



Nintendo has allowed various authors to publish stories that use characters from the Legend of Zelda and create retellings of various game plots. These help to flesh out the characters, deviating only slightly from the game plots, and act as great source material to draw upon. In total there are adaptations of 8 Zelda games to date that were created by Akira Himekawa and published through Viz Media starting in 2008 with their most recent entry wrapping up in January of 2022, the games represented thus far:

- Ocarina of Time
- Majora’s Mask
- Oracle of Seasons / Oracle of Ages
- Four Swords
- The Minish Cap
- A Link to the Past
- Phantom Hourglass
- Skyward Sword
- Twilight Princess

Each of these entries are an individual series that shows the characters either persisting (in relevant timelines) or receiving a revamp to communicate the idea that they have been reincarnated. The recreations are faithful to the overall plots of their corresponding games to include the villains but they often introduce additional supporting characters that flesh out events and development required for Link to overcome his challenges. The series vary in size with Skyward Sword being the shortest at a single 32 page entry (similar to a standalone novel) meant to serve as a prequal to the events of the game and the longest being Twilight Princess with 70 chapters spanning 11 volumes.

What would this Faction look like? –

Spoiler Alert!

I am imagining this as a faction with that focuses on the themes of equipment, magical defense, monsters, story cards, and supporting characters. I would like to start in the realm of Ocarina of Time as it is an old entry in the series and provides a lot of stuff to work with in terms of the mentioned themes. Ideally, most of these series would qualify for a revamp of the characters: Link, Zelda, Ganon(dorf). The timeline for Zelda has an interesting split that is covered in the supplemental material Hyrule Historia that can explain in detail. The bottom line is that there are instances of time travel using some story elements and there are three main timelines that a lot of these events take place in, making Link eligible to wear the cross over Symbol and be referred to as the secret identity of “Hero of ____” tag that he earns with almost every story.

Example: Link from Ocarina of Time is known as the Hero of Time.

Each Link would have their gimmick while having access to a selection of equipment glyphs that could get larger as time passes, while their individual cards would mirror their fighting styles or unique factors that don’t appear in other series.

Example: The Hero of the Four Sword could split himself in 4 perfect copies that wear differently colored attire and most of the story revolves around him tackling things in this state of being. No other Hero had access to the Four Sword (the relic that made this possible)

Example 2: The Hero of the Minish had access to a magical, sentient hat. The gimmick in this series entry was the ability to shrink to a miniscule size and interact with a different world.

I imagine that the building blocks of this Faction would involve designing the specific Link (Hero of ____) from a given Manga series and building up his equipment list and support cast from that entry. Often equipment persists from series to series or game to game, so it is reasonable to give all Link’s access to a collection of equipment glyphs in a similar fashion to the Bat Family arsenal. It should be a deep well to draw from in terms of relics (equipment glyphs), monsters, and side characters because of how the different manga series are often separated by being different timelines or just being hundreds of years apart in history. Story cards would be a great fit here to denote curses, temporal events, or the moon crashing into the earth (an actual plot in Majora’s Mask).

Handles to create synergy in this class could come from species (Hylian) or personality, namely the main trait emphasized by name for Link in the series is courage.

Miniatures? –

Spoiler Alert!

There are some figurines that could link up with various series to portray the iconic look. The rub on this one is that you can use an elf figure holding a sword that could be painted green or minorly modified to be a good stand in for most iterations of “Link.” The most appealing option here would be to use STLs and make this faction go the 3D printed route as every version of Link, Zelda, and the main interaction cast can be found easily. Even obscure characters invented in the Manga that don’t exist in the games have an easy enough to fulfill look because they come from a general sword and sorcery type of atmosphere.

Example Units? –

Spoiler Alert!

The FUN part…



NAME = Link
SECRET IDENTITY = Hero of Time (Cross-Over Symbol)

SPECIES = Hylian
UNIQUENESS = Unique Hero
CLASS = Warrior
PERSONALITY = Courageous

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5

MOVE = 5
RANGE = 1
ATTACK = 6
DEFENSE = 4

POINTS = ???

FARORE’S CHOSEN
An opponent can never take control of Link. At the start of the game, after Order Markers are placed and before initiative is rolled, you may place up to 2 Hylian Relic Equipment Glyphs of different types on this card. Link can equip a Hylian Relic Glyph even if there are other Hylian Relic Glyphs on this card, up to a maximum of 2. Link cannot lose these glyphs by receiving wounds unless he is destroyed.

WHIRLING BLADE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 1. Attack 4.
All figures adjacent to Link are affected by whirling blade special attack. Roll four attack dice once for all figures, each figure rolls defense separately. If Link did not move this turn you may reveal the X Order Marker on this Army Card before attacking, if you do then add 1 automatic skull to the roll for Whirling Blade Special Attack this turn.

COMBAT ROLL
After Link rolls defense against an enemy attack you may move Link up to 2 spaces. Link will not take leaving engagement attacks when moving with Combat Roll.
------------


NAME = Ganondorf
SECRET IDENTITY = n/a (no cross-over symbol)

SPECIES = Gerudo
UNIQUENESS = Unique Hero
CLASS = King or Wizard
PERSONALITY = Cruel

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 7

MOVE = 6
RANGE = 5
ATTACK = 4
DEFENSE = 4

POINTS = ???

STAGGERING POWER
When Ganondorf attacks an adjacent figure add 3 to his attack number. After Ganondorf wounds a small or medium figure with an attack you may roll the 20-sided die. On a roll of 9 or higher you may place that figure on any empty space exactly 1 space away from its original placement. Figures moved this way will not take any leaving engagement attacks.

KING OF EVIL
After moving and instead of attacking, if Ganondorf is adjacent to an enemy hero that has more wounds on their Army Card you may choose a friendly, Minion or Boss Hero within clear sight of Ganondorf. Switch Ganondorf’s place with the chosen hero’s. You may immediately take a turn with the chosen hero and you may not take any additional turns with other figures you control. Figures moved with this power will not take leaving engagement attacks.

Magical Defense

Super Strength

Flying

----

Hookshot
Hylian Relic Equipment Glyph
Instead of moving, choose a destructible object or a figure within 4 clear sight spaces who’s base is no more than 10 levels higher or lower than this figure’s base. Place this figure adjacent to the chosen object or figure and roll 1 unblockable attack die against them.

----------

Song of Storms
Hylian Relic Equipment Glyph
When this figure or an adjacent friendly figure is targeted by a non-adjacent enemy figure for an attack or special power you may reveal the X order marker on this figure. If you do then this figure and all adjacent friendly figures will have no visible hitzones for the rest of this player turn.

-------------

Arrow of Light

Hylian Relic Equipment Glyph
When this figure attacks with a normal attack, you may change the Range number on its Army Card to 7 and the attack number on its Army Card to 3. If attacking a figure that is Large, Huge, or Undead then each skull rolled counts as an additional hit.

[isherlock99]

I too came up with an Agent 47 design from the Hitman games.

Figure could be an easy headswap/repaint of Colatteral Damage #010-012 / Black Mask with the head of Superman #015 / Lex Luthor

Agent 47

Clone
Unique Hero
Assassin
Professional
Medium 5

LIFE = 4
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 5
ATTACK = 2
DEFENSE = 3

??? Points

ICA LOADOUT
At the start of the game, before Order Markers are placed, you may choose either a Glyph of Sniper Rifle, a Glyph of Lethal Syringe, or a Glyph of Remotely-Detonated Bomb and place it on this card. If you do not choose any of those glyphs, place the white Disguise Marker on this card and you may place Agent 47 on any empty space on the battlefield. After moving Agent 47, you may place a glyph from this card power-side up on any empty space he occupied before or during the move. Instead of attacking with Agent 47, you may destroy a glyph placed by this special power.

INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT ASSASSIN
At the start of the game, choose up to two Unique Heroes that an opponent controls to be Agent 47's Target. Agent 47 rolls an additional die when attacking one of his Targets with a normal or special attack. When attacking with Agent 47, each skull rolled counts as an additional hit.

BLENDING IN
When an opponent's medium figure is destroyed, if Agent 47 was adjacent to that figure, you may place the Disguise Marker on this card. While the Disguise Marker is on this card, Agent 47 can move through all figures, cannot be attacked by, targeted or chosen for special powers by, or take leaving engagement attacks from enemy figures. After Agent 47 attacks, if any enemy figure has clear sight of him, remove the Disguise Marker from this card. If Agent 47 is ever your only figure on the battlefield, negate this special power for the rest of the game.

And here's the two Glyphs mentioned in the 1st power that don't already exist:

GLYPH OF LETHAL SYRINGE
EQUIPMENT GLYPH
Instead of attacking with this figure, you may choose an opponent's adjacent figure and roll the 20-sided die, adding 2 to the roll if this figure is an Assassin. If you roll 15 or higher, the chosen figure receives 3 wounds, or 1 wound if that figure has the Super Strength special power. Androids, Constructs, Undead, and destructible objects are not affected by this glyph. After a figure receives any wounds from this glyph, destroy this glyph.

GLYPH OF SNIPER RIFLE
EQUIPMENT GLYPH
If the figure equipped with this glyph does not move on their turn, they may use the following special attack.
SNIPER RIFLE SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 10. Attack 2.
Each skull rolled counts as an additional hit.

[MrNobody]

You usually can’t add dice to SAs from an “outside source” like another power, so the middle power may take some tweaking.

I really dig that “spotted by a Bystander” mechanic in Blending In, very thematic in a fun way. Similarly, I love the double Target element in the Contract power, it’s a really interesting way to keep that kind of power fresh. There’s some really neat and inventive ideas there that I think show that you’ve got a voice of your own as a designer already.

I will say, I know you’ve put a fair bit of work into it, but I think that first power misses the forest for the trees a little bit. The core of 47’s character, to me, is that his methods are completely ridiculous - He blows people up with rubber ducks and sets up complex Rube Goldberg schemes that involve dressing up in silly costumes - but he’s just so flippin’ serious about it all. I think including some of that slapstick is more important than capturing the exact Loadout mechanics of the game. Even just giving him the Rubber Ducky might be enough, but I always envisioned 47 with an auto-wounding “Mishaps” special power of some kind.

Then again, Archie went with a similarly route to you with his take, so maybe I’m just a weirdo. I guess overall I’d encourage getting the “feel” of Hitman down more than translating exact mechanics from the game.

[IAmBatman]

Text is probably about 4 lines too long?

[Arch-vile]

I'm excited to see 47, that's a fun draft.

I like what Nobody suggested with representing more of the wackiness of the Hitman games. I think the focus of the design should also be on the Disguise mechanic - that's ultimately the main thing of Hitman, he disguises himself as people to get close to his target. The load out is cool but I wouldn't want it overshadowing the disguises personally.

Replacing the loadout with something like this might be cool? With this I picture 47 in a guard's outfit, making accidents for the enemy while the battle is going on. Then when the timing is right, 47 can attack and lose his Disguise Marker and go guns blazing.

CREATING "ACCIDENTS"
If the Disguise Marker is on this card, once per turn whenever an enemy figure moves onto a space within 5 clear sight spaces of Agent 47, you may roll the 20-sided die. Add 3 to the roll if that figure is adjacent to a destructible object. If you roll 17 or higher, inflict a wound on that figure.

I'd also go with 1 Target on the ICA power, personally. I get that the newer games typically have 2 Targets per map, but in a Heroscape army there's often just 3-5 heroes anyway. It'd feel wrong to have 47 get bonuses against half the enemy army.

[isherlock99]

I had tried to think of some way to represent that 47's signature method of assassination was setting up accidents, but couldn't figure out anything I was happy with, so I tried to instead represent the sort of "choose your own method" of the games. I like what you came up with there tho. Might tweak it to be more reliable but activate only once per movement instead of every space.

Also good point about the hero count. Not 100% keen on reducing the number of targets if I'm being honest tho. I'd ultimately reduce it if that's what it took to get him approved, but I'd prefer to have it be a little more distinct than just "Bounty Hunter and Deadly Strike in one power".

Also, the image for the Disguise Marker HAS to be the little drawstring bag that dropped disguises look like in-game. I could probably get a better screencap for the art dept later on down the line, but this is what they look like for those unfamiliar.

[isherlock99]

I too came up with an Agent 47 design from the Hitman games.

Figure could be an easy headswap/repaint of Colatteral Damage #010-012 / Black Mask with the head of Superman #015 / Lex Luthor

Agent 47

Clone
Unique Hero
Assassin
Professional
Medium 5

LIFE = 4
MOVE = 5
RANGE = 5
ATTACK = 3
DEFENSE = 3

??? Points

INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT ASSASSIN
At the start of the game, choose an opponent's Unique Hero to be Agent 47's Target. When Agent 47 attacks his Target, each skull rolled counts as an additional hit.

BLENDING IN
When an opponent's medium figure is destroyed, if Agent 47 was adjacent to that figure, you may place the white Disguise Marker on this card. While the Disguise Marker is on this card, Agent 47 can move through all figures, cannot be attacked by, targeted or chosen for special powers by, or take leaving engagement attacks from enemy figures. After Agent 47 attacks, if any enemy figure has clear sight of him, remove the Disguise Marker from this card. If Agent 47 is ever your only figure on the battlefield, negate this special power for the rest of the game.

"ACCIDENTS" HAPPEN
If the Disguise Marker is on this card, once per turn whenever an enemy figure moves onto a space within 5 clear sight spaces of Agent 47, you may roll the 20-sided die. Add 3 to the roll if that figure is adjacent to a destructible object. Add 2 to the roll if that figure is Agent 47's Target. If you roll 16 or higher, inflict a wound on that figure.

I changed International Contract Assassin to be one Target instead of two. I also made it so 47 gets "double skulls" when attacking his Target and bumped up his Attack number. It makes more sense for the character for him to go lethal (doubling his skulls) on his Target as opposed to just using lethal force on everyone and just getting more dice when going after his Target.

I also replaced the Loadout power with the "Accidents" power that Arch-vile/Mr. Nobody suggested, with a couple modifications. 1st, I reduced the difficulty by 1, as 17 felt just a bit too high for how prominent accident kills are in both the games and in canon as 47's trademark assassination style. 2nd, I added a +2 to the roll if the figure he's targeting is his Target. Which means that if everything falls into place with his Target moving next to a DO, you still have to hit an 11.

[MrNobody]

I dig where it's headed! After thinking about the Disguise power since you last posted it, I might do this.

BLENDING IN
When an opponent's medium figure within 3 clear sight spaces of Agent 47 is destroyed, you may place the white Disguise Marker on this card. While the Disguise Marker is on this card, Agent 47 can move through all figures, cannot be attacked by, targeted or chosen for special powers by, or take leaving engagement attacks from enemy figures. After Agent 47 attacks, if any enemy figure has clear sight of him, remove the Disguise Marker from this card. If Agent 47 is ever your only figure on the battlefield, negate this special power for the rest of the game.

That just gives him a little more leeway so he doesn't have to be right next to the enemy (where he'll get pulverized) to gain a marker.

I might make the +2 for the Accident on a Target a +3 as well. Having numbers be consistent across a card really helps maintain headspace in your average game.