The Book of Nightcrawler (Kurt Darkhölme)

[Lazy Orang]

Originally Posted by Arkham

I believe you've been playing Spider-Man right. Nightcrawler just has a built in clause:

BAMF! TELEPORT
Instead of moving Nightcrawler normally, Nightcrawler may BAMF! Teleport. To Teleport, place Nightcrawler on any empty space within 3 spaces of his current placement. Before Nightcrawler Teleports on your turn, you may choose to add 7 spaces to Nightcrawler's Teleport movement. If you do not, after Teleporting, Nightcrawler may Teleport up to two additional times. When Nightcrawler uses Teleport, he will not take any leaving engagement attacks.

This is to keep him from being able to use his Ruthless Teleportation as often, as well as go 9-10 spaces away on defense.

Oh, I completely missed that!

[japes]

Originally Posted by dok

Protector, pretty please?

A more themaic protector version is in the plans...you have backing here, this however is not that guy.

Originally Posted by Ronin

Yeah, I'd like to see that roll come up as well.

I'd really rather see him come in at 200-210. Stacking up against other X-Men (Storm, Havok, Jean, Phoenix spring to mind), I feel like that's the ceiling for a high-end Nightcrawler. I know this isn't "our" Nightcrawler, but I'd like Nightcrawler (AoA) and Nightcrawler (II) to wind up at about the same cost. It'd be weird to me if the AoA version was significantly stronger/higher-costed. Nightcrawler (II) will presumably have Excalibur synergy and support powers in place of the ruthlessness of this version.

That aside, I like where this ended up, though.

This guys should be higher than Nightcrawler II for the brutality aspect.

Originally Posted by Arkham

I don't personally feel the need to put such a window on a character like that. I believe in representing the character's powers first and foremost, then letting the points follow. We're also debating a 20 point difference here, which is essentially minuscule in the grand scheme of things.

As for Nightcrawler II, it all depends on what the design contains, but I'd say ~190 is a likely estimate. A Nightcrawler that doesn't hold back, and is willing to use his powers to kill mercilessly, is easily worth 30-40 more points, IMO.

AGREED!

Originally Posted by Arkham

I believe you've been playing Spider-Man right. Nightcrawler just has a built in clause:

BAMF! TELEPORT
Instead of moving Nightcrawler normally, Nightcrawler may BAMF! Teleport. To Teleport, place Nightcrawler on any empty space within 3 spaces of his current placement. Before Nightcrawler Teleports on your turn, you may choose to add 7 spaces to Nightcrawler's Teleport movement. If you do not, after Teleporting, Nightcrawler may Teleport up to two additional times. When Nightcrawler uses Teleport, he will not take any leaving engagement attacks.

This is to keep him from being able to use his Ruthless Teleportation as often, as well as go 9-10 spaces away on defense.

Originally Posted by Lazy Orang

Oh, I completely missed that!

There was a lot of discussion that lead to that clause so it's likely people new to the discussion will miss that fact. Thanks LO for asking and great job pointing it out Ark.

[TrollBrute]

I was going to suggest a few changes here, but the last proposed version covers all of them. My only worry right now is the same as Ronin's. I think he compares well to Archangel, and the 260 range feels really high to me for this character. Not that we need to make more changes right away, but something to keep an eye on going forward.

[Arkham]

I wouldn't compare him to Archangel, personally. Archangel has 2 more life, 2 more defense, 2 more range, and may use his auto-wounding power on 3 figures on not only his own defense(Nightcrawler gets at most 1 per defense, and he has to roll a blank to do so), but also after another figure within 3 clear sight spaces of him defends. I'd say all of that certainly makes a reasonable 30 point difference, IMO. Not to say Nightcrawler doesn't have his own pros above Archangel, but I feel when everything is considered, Archangel is still the better performing figure, by around 30 points.

Alright, with those changes made, I think we're good to take this to initials to get a better idea point wise, where he falls.

I propose a vote to move to Initial Playtesting.
@Viegon
@TrollBrute
@Yodaking
@Tornado
@johnny139
@japes
@Zettian Juggernaut

[Viegon]

Yea

[johnny139]

Yea

[japes]

YEA

[Arkham]

Down to just a few hours left, and we need at least 1 more vote to start Initial Playtesting...

[Tornado]

Yea

[Yodaking]

yea

[Arkham]

Heavy Hitter or Mid-Level Hero Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 220
- Give a brief overview. Nightcrawler went 1-4 in his games at 230. Hitting a roll of 17 or higher isn't likely, and he was only successful with it 3-4 times over the course of the 5 games. On defense, he managed to stay in the fight in most cases, but ultimately the other figure faired better in each outing except for Venom who had some poor luck on his d20 and Slashing Tendril rolls.
Map: Custom

Spoiler Alert!

TEST 1 @230
Units: Karate Kid
Summary:They both traded shots, Nightcrawler failing all of his Ruthless Teleport rolls, and struggling against Karate Kid's defense subtraction.
Who won and how many wounds did they have?
Karate Kid with 2 wounds.

TEST 2 @230
Units: Shang-Chi
Summary:Shang-Chi's multiple attacks led for multiple opportunities to use Ruthless Teleportation, as Nightcrawler kept staying on an adjacent space, and he did succeed in one of his many rolls for it, but ultimately Shang-Chi bested Nightcrawler.
Who won and how many wounds did they have?
Shang-Chi with 2 wounds.

TEST 3 @230
Units: Sif
Summary:It was looking like Nightcrawler was going to take down Sif pretty easily, hitting his Ruthless Teleport roll once and some decent attacks, leading to Sif with 5 wounds before Nightcrawler had 1. However, Nightcrawler's evasiveness finally showed some cracks and Sif hit him for 3 wounds, then finished him off a couple of turns later.
Who won and how many wounds did they have?
Sif with 5 wounds.

TEST 4 @230
Units: Venom
Summary:Nightcrawler scored big with his Ruthless Teleports this time, amounting to 4 wounds throughout the game. Venom missed a few Symbiotic Senses rolls, as well as a couple failed Slashing Tendrils. Ultimately Nightcrawler just had a luckier game.
Who won and how many wounds did they have?
Nightcrawler with 2 wounds.

TEST 5 @230
Units: Phoenix
Summary:Phoenix had the advantage of being able to push Nightcrawler away to avoid the defensive Ruthless Teleport. It was a decent back and forth, but Phoenix bested Nightcrawler.
Who won and how many wounds did they have?
Phoenix with 3 wounds.

___________________________________________________________

Squad Test
- Does it pass, Yes or No? Yes
- What should be the unit's point value? 160
- Give a brief overview. Both games finished with 1 Blood Demon remaining. In the first game the Blood Demons didn't get a successful Blood Curse unblockable roll once, yet still managed to win. In the 2nd game, Harley stuck with just her POP! Gun Special Attack to avoid potential Blood Curse rolls, but eventually botched a defense roll which finished her off.
Map: Custom

Spoiler Alert!

Amazon Warriors(100), Hired Guns(130) (230)
Who won and how many wounds did they have?
Nightcrawler with 0 wounds.

Amazon Warriors(100), Hired Guns(130) (230)
Who won and how many wounds did they have?
2 Hired Guns, and 3 Amazon Warriors.

___________________________________________________________

Army Test 1
Map: Custom
Units:
Nightcrawler(Kurt Darkholme)(230), Magneto II(375), Destiny(55) (660)
vs.
Star-Lord, Archangel, Green Arrow (660)

Spoiler Alert!

Attack Damage:
R1T3: 1 wound on Archangel (Ruthless Teleport *15*), 1 wound on Star-Lord with attack.
R2T1: 1 wound on Star-Lord(Ruthless Teleport *14*), 4 wounds on Star-Lord with attack(botched defense), kills him.
R2T3: 2 wounds on Green Arrow with attack.
R3T1: 2 wounds on Green Arrow(Ruthless Teleport put 2 wounds due to Green Arrow being 1 wound away after hitting the roll. *16*)

Notes:
R1T3: Archangel puts 1 wound on Nightcrawler(botched defense).
R2T1: Archangel puts 2 wounds on Destiny.
R2T2: Green Arrow puts 2 wounds on Nightcrawler(rolled 19 for Skilled Shot, Nightcrwler rolled 3 defense due to Jungle Tree).
R2T3: Archangel puts 2 wounds on Destiny(botched defense).
R3T1: Archangel puts 1 wound on Destiny.
R3T2: Magneto puts 2 wounds on Archangel with Magnetic Assault.
R3T3: Archangel kills Destiny.
R3T3: Magneto kills Archangel with Magnetic Assault.


Nightcrawler with 3 wounds, Magneto with 0 wounds.

___________________________________________________________

Army Test 2
Map: Custom
Units:
Nightcrawler(Kurt Darkholme)(230), Magneto II(375), Destiny(55) (660)
vs.
Star-Lord, Archangel, Green Arrow (660)

Spoiler Alert!

Attack Damage:
R1T2: 1 wound on Archangel(Ruthless Teleport *14*).
R2T2: 1 wound on Star-Lord(Ruthless Teleport *17*).
R2T3: 1 wound on Star-Lord with attack(botched defense).
R3T2: 2 wounds on Green Arrow(Ruthless Teleports *19* *20*)
R4T1: 4 wounds on Green Arrow with attack.
R5T1: 2 wounds on Star-Lord with attack, kills him.

Notes:
R1T2: Archangel puts 2 wounds on Magneto.
R1T3: Magneto puts 1 wound on Archangel.
R1T3: Archangel puts 4 wounds on Destiny(botched defense).
R2T1: Magneto puts 2 wounds on Archangel with Magnetic Assault.
R2T2: Archangel kills Destiny.
R3T1: Magneto kills Archangel with Magnetic Assault.
R4T1: Green Arrow puts 3 wounds on Nightcrawler. (height + Star-Lord)
R4T3: Star-Lord puts 1 wound on Magneto.
R4T3: Magneto puts 2 wounds on Star-Lord with Magnetic Assault.


Nightcrawler with 3 wounds, Magneto with 3 wounds.

___________________________________________________________

Army Test 3
Map: Custom
Units:
Nightcrawler(Kurt Darkholme)(230), Magneto II(375), Destiny(55) (660)
vs.
Knockout, Deadshot, King Shark (660)

Spoiler Alert!

Attack Damage:
R2T3: 2 wounds on Knockout(Ruthless Teleport *18* *16*), puts 3 wounds on Knockout from attack(botched defense).
R4T1: 1 wound on Knockout(Ruthless Teleport *17*), kills her.
R4T2: 1 wound on Deadshot with attack.
R4T3: 1 wound on Deadhot(Ruthless Teleport *14*), puts 2 wounds on Deadshot from attack, kills him.
R5T2: 1 wound on King Shark(Ruthless Teleport *18*).

Notes:
R1T3: Magneto puts 2 wounds on King Shark.
R1T3: King Shark puts 1 wound on Magneto.
R2T2: Magneto puts 1 wound on King Shark.
R2T3: King Shark puts 2 wounds on Magneto. (+1 attack)
R3T1: Knockout puts 2 wounds on Nightcrawler. (Smitten)
R3T2: King Shark kills Magneto. (+3 attack)
R4T2: King Shark puts 3 wounds on Destiny(botched defense).
R4T3: King Shark kills Destiny(botched defense).
R5T3: King Shark kills Nightcrawler(botched defense).


King Shark with 4 wounds.

THOUGHTS ON THE TESTED UNIT'S COST, BALANCE, & DRAFTABILITY: He certainly does better when the roll required is only 14+, but at that point he plays probably too good for his point value, by about 20-30 points. Without the boost however, he seems to play a bit under his point value by 10-20 points. One factor while playing that felt a bit odd, was that you can just circle the same figure with Nightcrawler, rolling the d20 3 times, then use an attack of 5 on said figure. It seemed to be a bit much. With a high roll requirement, there weren't crazy results of massive damage that spawned from this, but at the same time, it just seemed to be a bit overkill on how much Nightcrawler can attempt to do on 1 figure.

So, going for a simple change to address said issue, how about this:

Originally Posted by Arkham

BAMF! TELEPORT 3
Instead of moving Nightcrawler normally, Nightcrawler may BAMF! Teleport. To Teleport, place Nightcrawler on any empty space within 3 spaces of his current placement. On your turn, before Nightcrawler Teleports, you may choose to either add 7 spaces to Nightcrawler's Teleport movement or Teleport up to three times this turn. When using Bamf! Teleport, figures will not take any leaving engagement attacks.

RUTHLESS TELEPORTATION SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 1. Attack 1.
Each time before Nightcrawler moves with his BAMF! Teleport special power, you may choose an adjacent figure, then you may immediately use Ruthless Teleportation Special Attack on the chosen figure. Figures may not roll more than 1 defense die against this special attack. After inflicting a wound with this special power, if that chosen figure has only one Life remaining, you may destroy that figure.

BAMF! EVASION
If Nightcrawler defends against an attack and you roll at least one blank, Nightcrawler takes no damage and may immediately use his BAMF! Teleport special.

[japes]

Sorry I didn't (couldn't) read everything above but it looks like you changed his power to an attack so he can't hit multiple times and then regular attack. I like it. Being a mutant I also appreciative the change from a D20 power so I like it as well. It also more distances this character from the Nightcrawler we know. If that's the only change I have no issue with it.