The New York City Gang Of Four

[kolakoski]

Well met!

I've come up with a new scenario - at least to me - for my next Hosting. We'll play as teams. One team will be the Attacker and one the Defender.

The Royal Family is throwing a party! The King and Queen are on a central dais. Other Family members and Important Guests are scattered about the map. The Defenders set up first - as security for the party, anywhere on the map. The Attackers are then placed as additional guests, also anywhere on the map.

The Royal Family/Important Guests are neutrals with their own cards, to keep track of damage, and may not move on their own. OMs may not be placed on them. All Defenders may Carry them, but they may not be moved more than [1-3] spaces per turn. The only scoring is by the Attackers for killing them. Each player will create a [1,500 point] team of unique superheroes. No one hero may be worth more than [240] points.

Each game will be [5-7] Rounds long. All players' units, Attackers and Defenders, will be considered Friendly to one another until an Attacker attacks. The plan is to play 4 relatively short games, featuring each combination of the members of the Gang of Four. In anticipation of this, each player should bring 1-2 Attacker and 1-2 Defender armies.

[Taeblewalker]

This means that you'll have to be on my team at some point.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

It's only fair that the suffering should be shared equally.

[chas]

"The only scoring is by the Attackers killing them." So, the defenders can't score? Seems kind of pointless...

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Refining: Each Attacking player gets the total points for neutrals killed by his team. Each Defending player get points for the Neutrals left alive on the table. After all games have been played, the player with the most points wins. I'm tempted to limit each player to 1 army that must play as both Attacker and Defender in all your games.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

In anticipation of my next turn to Host the NYC Gang of Four gathering, I've begun creation of a Supers scenario . . .

A Royal Party

The Armies. There will be 4 Players, in 2 Teams. Each Player will prepare a 1,500 point army of Unique Superheroes (from among C3G's, Grishnak's, chas' and Sherman Davies' cards), no one of which may cost more than 240 points. Teams will be submitted in advance on a first come first served basis to the Host for vetting and to assure no duplication of heroes. One Team will be the Attackers and one team the Defenders.

The Palace. A central, relatively flat, Ballroom, with an elevated dais from which Emperor Andask and Empress Kiova greet their guests, and other rooms, in the Palace. Other guests placed within and outside the Ballroom are Taelord, Runa, Sir Hawthorne, Estivara, Pelloth, and Kurrok.

The Royals. Emperor Andask, Empress Kiova, Taelord, Runa, Sir Hawthorne, Estivara, Pelloth, and Kurrok are collectively the Royals. No OMs may be placed upon them, and no turns may be taken, or actions performed, by them, except that a Royal may be Carried by any Defender, such a Carry being limited to 2 spaces per Player Turn.

The Set Up. The Defenders set up first, anywhere in the Palace, as security for the party. Then the Attackers set up, as additional guests, also anywhere in the Palace.

The Games. 4 Games will be played. Each Game lasts 5 Rounds. All units, Attackers, Defenders, and Royals, are considered Friendly to one another until an Attacker attacks. At that point, Attackers and Defenders/Royals are enemies, and Royals are considered units Friendly to (as opposed to units Controlled by) Defenders.

Victory Conditions. The Royals are worth Victory Points (VPs) as follows:

Emperor Andask: 5
Empress Kiova: 4
Any other Royal: 2

Thus, there is are 21 VPs at stake (5 (Andask) + 4 (Kiova) + 12 (2 x 6 remaining Royals) = 21).

Each Attacking Player receives VPs for the Royals he kills. Each Defending Player receives half (rounding up) of the VPs for the Royals remaining alive in the Palace. The Winner of each Game is the Team with the most points after 5 Rounds. After all 4 games have been played (each member of the Gang having been paired with each other member and twice being the Attacker and twice the Defender), the Player with the most total points wins.

[chas]

THE FIVE GAMES OF DEATH!

It all started out because Taeblewalker has a family birthday party here in Brooklyn. Its thanks to his being willing to drive down the 2-3 hours so often that our little quartet has stayed together this long (see the first few posts in this thread). So I free built a map I call "Border Patrol," which is the title of a 1943 Hopalong Cassidy movie I was watching while I put it together (William Boyd being the first Western star to buy back his old TV shows and get all the huge residuals from them later), and also because it had a bridge across a river surrounded by swamp, swamp water, and jungle trees and bushes in the middle. We planned to play a couple of games of Classic. My army would be from the new C3V issue; he'd play his multiple Anubian Wolf squads again and who knew what else later. I didn't want to counter draft him as such, but I did pick units I thought would have a chance against them.

Chas C3V Army Game #1 an #2
Brramcephus 230
Josie Whistlestop 70
Seleena 35 (proxy: Catwoman--Selena Kyle)
Zettian Deathwings x2 100
Total: 435

TW Army Game #1
Khosumet 75
Anubian Wolves x5 375
Total: 450

TW Army Game #2
Venoc Warlord 120
Venoc Vipers x5 200
Armoc Vipers x2 130
Total: 450

Well, I did okay in the first game, TW only winning with about three Wolves and Khosumet (still in the old start zone) left. Bramcephus blocked the bridge in the center and Josie blasted multiple wolves away as they queed up on the bridge or tried to cross the river. The big guy went down after his attacks finally went home when he became Enraged, but then the got into the back area, dispatching my Deathwings before I could use them, although Seleena did okay (proxied by Catwoman--Selena Kyle).

But the Vipers just walked all over me. When I tried to send a couple of Deathwings around the far side to get to his good units in the start zone, he sidestepped and took them out with his front line squad! It was pitiful. He never even put an order marker on the Armocs and Mittens I was trying to target way back there.

Total all army Squad scape is boring to me; but its a good way to win tournaments!

***

We got my unusually recalcitrant printer going again so we could print out a few more cards. Then we switched to Superscape. The first two armies were figures I'd just gotten for free at my FLGS; he chose the Good team I'd prepared (all figures C3G except where noted). These were all cards we hadn't played before:

Chas Evil Army Game #3
Vulcan 450
Psycho Man 190 (proxy: Centurius)
Titania 170 (Felindar/Hahma)
Parademon 75 (Uncommon; Fat Snack)
Total: 885

TW Good Army Game #3
Iron Fist 260
Strong Guy 215
Magik 160
Speedball 150
Dazzler 100
Total: 885

This was an interesting game, where different powers could be used in combinations with those of their teammates! The confrontation at the bridge this time was great fun, as we learned to work the more complex cards. Vulcan was busy stealing all the Order Markers (OMs), but I got a chance to use the others as well. Dazzler was the only one who was still in the start zone when the game ended (she'll reappear in a later game) in yet another TW victory.


For Game #4, we switched alignments:

Game #4 Chas Good Team
Quasar 370
Fantomex 260
Red Robin 160
Animal Man 150 (Garada)
Dazzler 100
Total: 1,040

TW Game #4 Evil Team
Crossbones (Griznakh)
Wrecker 230 (proxy: Lackey with crowbar)
Thunderball 190 (proxy: Absorbing Man with iron ball)
Bulldozer 190
Pile Driver 190
Total: 1,060

This time I went down much faster, replicating our previous Classic experience. I had characters who were stronger and weaker than his average. As usual, TW sent out his strongest figure first, and that Griznak Crossbones was one tough and dangerous guy! When I finally put him down, he'd taken out Animal much too quickly, Quasar (a Marvel Kree heroine on the Capt. Mar-vell level) eventually, and then even Fantomex. Yikes!

Our last game #5 we switched alignments again:

Chas Evil Game #5
Clayface 280 (Whitestuff)
Chemo 280 (Unknown)
Despero 270 (Unknown/Chas)
Dreadnought 2000 Robot 175 (Chas)
Total: 1,035

This time for sure. These guys were a Ferocious Criminal, a Relentless Death Machine, a Ruthless Conqueror, and a Relentless Artificial!

TW Game #5 Good
Superman II 450
Flash 280
Batman 200
Robin (Jason Todd) 70
Total: 1,000

All C3G vs Other Designers. The newer Superman is a bear. This time I tried to use a different part of the board, and fight on opposite riverbanks off to the side. But Superman and Flash had no trouble catching up, even though they had started out advancing on the usual central road and bridge. I held my own this time for a bit, and Despero proved the most dangerous when adjacent to Superman. We wailed on him all game long and finally took him down, as Flash ran around putting the occasional unblockable hit on some of us. Finally, all I had left was Clayface with one wound left, who staggered to the far side and went after Batman and Robin, still far back on the main road. But Flash again was able to catch up, and finally finish me off.

It was a great day for gaming. On our last NYCG4 group day I'd done particularly well individually. But today it was five games of death--mine! Congrats to TW for all the wins.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Crossbones is a beast, of course. How did Fantomex play?

Major revision below:

Character Bio: Stories about Captain Kei's birth vary considerably. One tells how his father was the head of a temple shrine who had raped his mother, the Gaijin daughter of a blacksmith. Another sees him as the offspring of a temple god. Many give him the attributes of a demon, a monster child with wild hair and long teeth.

He joined the cloister at an early age and traveled widely among the Buddhist monastaries of Japan. Becoming restless, he left the Buddhist monastery and became a member of the Kuro Wokou, or Black Pirates, who were recognizable by their black hoods. Japanese prints often show Kei wearing such a hood. It was during this time that he acquired his double-bladed, saw toothed staff, Nokogirihajo, said to have been enchanted with the spirit of Agloolik by an Inuit shaman.



NAME = CAPTAIN KEI
SECRET IDENTITY = GANJIN
SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = MONK
PERSONALITY = TRICKY

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5

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

POINTS = 240


Mushin

After Captain Kei moves and before he attacks, roll the 20-sided die for each enemy unit adjacent to Captain Kei; on a roll of 11 or higher that unit receives a Wound. When an enemy unit attacks Captain Kei from an adjacent space, roll the 20-sided die; on a roll of 11 or higher, the enemy unit receives a Wound.

Nokogirihajo

After Captain Kei attacks, he may attack 1 additional time. If Captain Kei attacks and inflicts at least 1 Wound, roll the 20-sided die. On a roll of 11 or higher add 1 additional Wound to the defending figure.

Zanshin

If an opponent's figure ends its movement within 5 clear sight spaces of Captain Kei, roll a 20-sided die. On a roll of 11 or better, Captain Kei may immediately move with his Stealth Leap 12 Special Power.

Stealth Leap 12

[kolakoski]

Well met!

I began with the idea of building a bo-wielding monkish Moriko-Powered custom for chas' Challenge - a sort of Mini Me from an ideally warped alternate universe. After much searching, I failed to find a suitable sculpt. The one I ended up with has a staff. All the Demon, Pirate and Inuit references were chosen to justify my monk looking like the sculpt I found.

I continue to consider refinements. chas and I had a back and forth about Flying. Oddly, I hadn't even thought about Stealth Leap until I started looking at C3G for comparable cards and found Iron Fist. Now I need no Demonic reference, and changed Kei's Personality (temporarily, as I'm still looking for the right fit). Fighter might be a better Class for him at this point. He's now priced at 240 points - the price for him I'm aiming at. My plan is to tweak the 20-sider number needed to trigger his various powers. If he's too weak, I'll try 9 or better, as opposed to the current 11. Less likely is that he is too strong, in which case I'll try 13.

[chas]

Looks better!

If you're going to revise a figure several times, it would be useful to highlight the latest changes as you go along.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

I take your point. However, our computer is on the fritz. I've been using my phone. Fortunately, except for removing the Demonic reference in the bio and settling on a Class and Personality, I foresee no further changes until after a playtest.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Computer back momentarily. Settled on Class and Personality. Decided to leave the Bio unchanged. Ready for testing.

Character Bio: Stories about Captain Kei's birth vary considerably. One tells how his father was the head of a temple shrine who had raped his mother, the Gaijin daughter of a blacksmith. Another sees him as the offspring of a temple god. Many give him the attributes of a demon, a monster child with wild hair and long teeth.

He joined the cloister at an early age and traveled widely among the Buddhist monastaries of Japan. Becoming restless, he left the Buddhist monastery and became a member of the Kuro Wokou, or Black Pirates, who were recognizable by their black hoods. Japanese prints often show Kei wearing such a hood. It was during this time that he acquired his double-bladed, saw toothed staff, Nokogirihajo, said to have been enchanted with the spirit of Agloolik by an Inuit shaman.



NAME = CAPTAIN KEI
SECRET IDENTITY = GANJIN
SPECIES = HUMAN
UNIQUENESS = UNIQUE HERO
CLASS = MERCENARY
PERSONALITY = FEARLESS

SIZE/HEIGHT = MEDIUM 5

LIFE = 5

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

POINTS = 240


Mushin

After Captain Kei moves and before he attacks, roll the 20-sided die for each enemy unit adjacent to Captain Kei; on a roll of 11 or higher that unit receives a Wound. When an enemy unit attacks Captain Kei from an adjacent space, roll the 20-sided die; on a roll of 11 or higher, the enemy unit receives a Wound.

Nokogirihajo

After Captain Kei attacks, he may attack 1 additional time. If Captain Kei attacks and inflicts at least 1 Wound, roll the 20-sided die. On a roll of 11 or higher add 1 additional Wound to the defending figure.

Zanshin

If an opponent's figure ends its movement within 5 clear sight spaces of Captain Kei, roll a 20-sided die. On a roll of 11 or better, Captain Kei may immediately Stealth Leap.

Stealth Leap 12

Instead of his normal move, Captain Kei may Stealth Leap. Stealth Leap has a move of 3. When counting spaces for Captain Kei's Stealth Leap movement, ignore elevations. Captain Kei may leap over water without stopping, leap over figures without becoming engaged, and leap over obstacles such as ruins. Captain Kei may not leap more than 12 levels up or down in a single leap. When moving with Stealth Leap, Captain Kei will not take any leaving engagement attacks.