un/under-used heroes in dungeon crawls

[Xn F M]

This is something I’ve been thinking about since . . . well more or less since the DnD sub forums went up, which under/un-used heroes would you be more likely to use in a dungeon crawl scenario? Through playtesting my own dungeon I’ve found some heroes to be surprisingly effective and there are a few I’ve yet to try that I really think might excel, as well as a few that, unfortunately, still seem to be stinkers.

Note: most of these opinions are based on a no-squads guideline for party formation.

Acolarth – It’s unfortunate that Acolarth is first, because he’s still a stinker. His +2 move ability is less useful because maps are generally smaller. Leaf of the Home Tree does deserve a special mention. Because there really aren’t “acceptable losses” in a dungeon crawl if you ever actually hit LotHT, Acolarth has proved his worth, though up until that point, there is any number of heroes you’d rather have.

Agent Carr – Carr’s nice. In a pure-stat assessment, he’s a cheaper, harder-hitting Tandros (with much less health). It’s really his mobility and synergies that make him stand out though. When he’s paired up with Skahen he can move on another unit’s OM which is fantastic in a dungeon crawl. If you don’t have her, he can still take pot-shot’s at range and 4 life with 4 defense isn’t too shabby.

Agent Skahen – Skahen is one of the elite dungeon crawl heroes. The fact that she has a multi-attack, an ability that moves other figures, a strong defensive special, and synergies with multiple strong units puts her over the top. With only 3 life she’s very fragile though and requires careful play.

Atlaga the Kyrie Warrior – Now, I like Atlaga in a heroic party, I think he’s actually pretty good. However, he fills a slightly different role than normal and that makes him a little less useful. Normally Atlaga is a cheerleader/assassin and he’s really pretty good at it, the lack of Kyrie squads in a dungeon and the smaller map sizes make his movement bonus the last thing you want him for. In a dungeon he’s sort of a heavy hitter / Hail Mary figure. You’re not going to send him out to try to eliminate a key figure like you might in a battle, he hangs back taking shots of 4/5 occasionally and using his bolt when you’re up against something at absolutely must die on this OM.

Brunak – I like Brunak in a dungeon. Like Skahen he possesses all the qualities you’re looking for. He can move other figures, he has a multi-attack (that’s a squad killer no less), and he has a beastly defense. Any unit that can make your OM efficiency that much better is at the top of the class underground.

Crixus – One time in the dungeon, Crixus bonded with Arrow Gruts.

Deadeye Dan – I think DD might be worthy of consideration in a dungeon. And not just in an all-cowboy party. When the average figure makes only one attack per OM anyway, having that one attack be a long-ranged auto-kill sounds pretty good.

Finn the Viking Champion – See Thorgrim.

Hatamoto Taro – You know, if we had another Samurai hero that wasn’t a cheerleader, I’d try him, once. I think if you were to have him assigned in a party balanced against the scenarios he wouldn’t be that bad.

Iskra Esenwein – She has four life, she’s self healing, and she’s cheap. I think she’s more worth considering along with the other =<50 point heros than in a standard battle game.

Kumiko – Kumiko is a good investment in a dungeon. True she’s competing with RotV Raelin, however they also have a nice synergy. Raelin helps make up for Kumiko’s low life (pushing her defense up to Deathwalker levels) and Kumiko’s Ninjitsu Barrage is good for getting guys off of Raelin. Kumiko really is a good hero, she’s just held back by the tourney-style metagame. I think dungeon style play is going to show a lot of people that she deserves a regular place in kitchen-table-scape.

Laglor – I’d discuss his awesomeness, but I’m really more interested in lesser-played heroes at the moment.

Major X17 – X17 is situationally useful. He’s probably going to die if guys get to shoot at him for more than an OM or two, however being able to guys down and keep them off of your more fragile heroes is nice. Plus his attack isn’t too bad.

Master Win Chiu Woo – He has solid stats and a multi-attack. Once we get some DnD Monks, he’ll be great.

Moriko – Moriko is on my list to playtest. She looks tough enough to hold her own, she’s quick, mobile, and Saberstorm lets you throw a lot of dice.

Raelin the Kyrie Warrior (SoM) – That’s right SoM Raelin. Personally I think she’s better than the RotV version in a dungeon. Her aura is large enough to often affect over half the map, and she has a multi-attack which is really something to pay a premium for in this format.

Sir Denrick – While he’s still sorely afflicted with Denrickitus, at least he can say he’s better than Gilbert for once.

Theracus – While he may just end up being a mount for Tandros, I find very few occasions to use Theractus in a battle (though he does break one of the FotA scenarios wide open) I can see him being more useful in a dungeon.

Thorgrim the Viking Champion – See Finn.



I’m just kidding. I think Thorgrim might be better than Finn in a dungeon. Dungeon crawls are more about survivability than a regular game, as I mentioned before, there are no acceptable losses. Even if you do lose him Thorgrim’s going to help someone else survive to the next mission.

Valgaurd – I’m personally a little wary of using him without a bonding squad; however he has a ton of wounds (you know, because he’s supposed to leave engagement a lot), a bigish attack, and 4 defense. Crixus might just be way better though . . . .

I think all these guys, some of whom we don’t normally consider are definitely worth another look in a dungeon crawl. Of course there are a bunch of other heroes that are worth mentioning (Kaemon Awa, Syvarris, Red Skull) but we already know they’re all great.

I’m looking forward to dusting off some of these guys and running through a dungeon to two with them.

[Agent Minivann]

I think Dund would be a good fit for a dungeon critter. The size nerfs some special abilities and the life defense combo isn't stellar, but he would stick around a while. If he was the only unit getting order markers in a room, he could be difficult to kill, depending on the point value of the heroes going through the dungeon.

[SgtHulka]

I guess it depends on what future official dungeon crawls are like, but one thing to consider is that figures like Brunak and Theracus and Dund and that wizard dude on the pegasus is that they take up two valuable starting spaces. In the published dungeon crawl, for example, you'd have to start with *only* Theracus.

EDIT: Whoops, I misread your post, Minvann, my bad. I thought you meant Dund as a hero. So forget what I said about Dund in the paragraph above.

[WOOKIE]

I agree with most of your summaries, especially Carr, Raelin SotM & Major X17.
I think an Elf wizard army would a very strong army. I can't wait to try them out. Morsbane & Chardris are better against heroes.
Su-Bak-Na, Jutan, Wo-Sa-Ga, Sujoah & Krug also work well in this setting.

[gorthan313]

I actually think that Denny would do better against the Feral Troll than Tandros. Tandros has combat challenge, a ranged attack, and three more life, but the Feral Troll can just disengage away from Tandros, effectively negating Combat Challenge.

[Xn F M]

@ Minivan, I feel almost the same way about Dund, but I'm so unfamiliar with him I didn't feel comfortable speculating too much.

Originally Posted by WOOKIE

I think an Elf wizard army would a very strong army. I can't wait to try them out. Morsbane & Chardris are better against heroes.
Su-Bak-Na, Jutan, Wo-Sa-Ga, Sujoah & Krug also work well in this setting.

I agree elf wizards would be cool, but to run that in a dungeon I almost think you'd need a dungeon designed around it.

And as far as those other guys go, I agree they're all pretty awsome, on the DM side .

Edit: @ Gorthan, I was thinking about bringing that up, but Denrick doesn't get his bonus against it (the Troll's only Large) and because he doesn't have Combat Challenge the troll would likely only have to disengage once, maybe twice to get itself to a jucier target.

[Toad Rocket]

Lets not forget about our two resident pre-dnd healers Sonlen and Kelda. Both these units should see more action in a Hero Specific Campaign because of the healing that they can offer. Sonlen has a nice bag of tricks to make him useful in several ways. Kelda is really a one trick pony. Though for 20 points more you can get Ana who does have some advantages over kelda though. Kelda is more like an ambulance that can rush out and heal someone in trouble. Ana is more like a Field Hospital where characters have to come to her for help. Sonlen is like a combat medic who can go out and heal people while engageing in a firefight.

[Rich10]

Ne-Gok-Sa, Tor-Kul-Na (with Nagrubs), Alastair MacDirk, Charos, and Concan should all make good dungeon crawl heroes.

Wouldn't the Marro Warriors work? Their ability to water clone could be very useful. If any of them are taken out in one room, would they be able to water clone the lost warriors back in the next room?

[Creationist]

Nice list. Thorgrim is a good dungeon crawling hero. The only problem is him keeping up.

[Xn F M]

Originally Posted by Creationist

Nice list. Thorgrim is a good dungeon crawling hero. The only problem is him keeping up.

That's just it, all of the Viking heros are fully utilized (so to speak) when they're allowed to die and enhance one of your other units. So unlike Eldgrim and Finn when Thorgrim dies he's (theoretically) going to allow another of your units to live longer and posably even save them later on from otherwise lethal attacks.

[Quintaton16]

Deathwalker 8000. Run him at Feral Trolls all day, is never attacked by anything more than 3 dice until the later levels, and just loves that 1 defense.

[Jexik]

Originally Posted by Quintaton16

Deathwalker 8000. Run him at Feral Trolls all day, is never attacked by anything more than 3 dice until the later levels, and just loves that 1 defense.

He should be pretty good against the Deepwyrm Drow as well. I guess I just didn't think of this yet because he's for Utgar. Cool idea though!