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  #1  
Old February 16th, 2007, 10:06 PM
Rhydderch Rhydderch is offline
 
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A Card for Just John - Updated

JOHN J CLOUD

Before he was brought to Valhalla by Einar, John J Cloud was a skilled soldier and scout who served the British Cross faithfully. He was an expert in geography and many considered him the best scout of his time, able to safely lead his allies through enemy fire. Always certain of the land around him, John was even quicker when he was unhampered by the need to guide others. For this reason he was also given many solo missions. Alone he would enter the trenches and encampments of his enemies to strike at them when they were at their most vulnerable. His formidable skill would only increase when Japan entered the war on the allies' side. John was sent to Japan to help organize their troops and there learned the principles of Daito Ryu. Impressed with the ancient art, John adopted their principles of non-resistance and incorporated them into his own combat style, allowing him to unbalance the attacks of his enemies and turn their strengths against them. Over-eager soldiers who came too near to John would find themselves thrown or launched into the air by their own momentum.

John spent nearly 4 years in Japan before he was given one final mission: he was to accompany the Japanese forces sent to Siberia. There, in the wintry country, in the wake of the Russian Revolution and amidst the turmoil, John disappeared. The British assumed he was dead. In truth he had been summoned by a thoroughly impressed Einar to Valhalla, where he would serve much the same role he had served on earth: leading troops through enemy fire, fighting in solo missions and continuing his training in the Eastern arts with the Japanese Samurai.


Traditional Card


Alternate Card

Well this has been a long time in coming. I'd thought about playable cards for various members at one point but Just John eventually beat me to it. Anyway I had some ideas for a card for Just John back in the day and decided I should finally put them to card. It did not look like John intended to make a custom for himself and he definitely deserves a card! I chose to leave the figure open since I'm sure John will have more success in the mod department than I ever would! I'll post some playtest reports later along with some simple tips and tricks in the HS style. But first something much more important: Credits!

Thanks to...

Annerios for sticking with me through the vast majority of the design process and his many suggestions regarding abilities, balance and theme. Whether he was advising me to use the term "single-space" figure for Daito Ryu Defense or giving me a playtest report, Annerios was involved in almost every step. He was also instrumental in the overall character design since he suggested the WWI soldier and helped paint a mental picture of the character: John Cloud wields a WWI trench knife if anyone is interested. Also I should mention Annerios listened to me whine for two weeks (or more) as I prepared for and endured my midterms. I'm sure he never expected that when he agreed to help me with the design process! Thanks Annerios! =P

Euryon for his ability suggestions and willingness to double check the historical accuracy of John's bio for me. Reapersaurus for a good old fashioned Reaper custom review complete with comments on abilities, theme and balance. The Stalkerbook (Facebook) for personal information so I could make a card which would be close to home.

And Just John for being an awesome custom designer and friend.

PS: Hey JJ! I told ya I'd be back for one final post. Actually more than one since I'll respond to comments in this thread. Also if you've kept up to date with the custom creator spotlight you will see Annerios has a project in the works for you as well. I'll give you a quick hint about it: its not related to my project nor does it overlap with it :P

“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”

Terry Pratchett, Discworld
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  #2  
Old February 16th, 2007, 10:15 PM
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netherspirit netherspirit is offline
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Didn't think I would ever see a post from you again, Rhyd.

This is an awesome tribute to an awesome custom creator. Kudos on a job well done. I don't have much else to say as it appears you have thought this unit out pretty well. The abilities are top notch...good stuff.

I hope that you will continue to post and contribute to the custom community.
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Old February 16th, 2007, 10:15 PM
Karkadinn Karkadinn is offline
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*cry* This just makes me miss the days of your regular participation more. It's like a cheap tease...

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  #4  
Old February 16th, 2007, 10:25 PM
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ChaosChild ChaosChild is offline
 
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Shiny!

Kumiko is not impressed with your sculpt, either.
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  #5  
Old February 16th, 2007, 11:24 PM
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justjohn justjohn is offline
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Wow.

I'm speechless and so honored. Seriously. I guess now I know how everyone else feels who I've made cards for. What a cool feeling. I'm awestruck at the amount of effort you put into this gift, Rhy. It's awesome. Thanks to everyone else for helping you get this hammered out!

The abilities are so creative and well worded. Just John... heh. Daito Ryu is awesome, like a Judo Toss! And it works!

Thank you very, very much, Rhydderch! What a cool gift!

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  #6  
Old February 16th, 2007, 11:31 PM
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Well done, well done indeed. A Great tribute to one of the best customizers in the biz. Kudos to you, Annerios, Euryon, and Reap.

On a some serious note, as a fairly new member to this community, I would like to say that your well thought out posts, and contributions to this forum have been surely missed.

And I am going to take some liberty and speak for everyone when I say I hope you will return to being a great insightful contributor to this community as a whole.

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  #7  
Old February 16th, 2007, 11:37 PM
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Fallen Templar Fallen Templar is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Karkadinn
*cry* This just makes me miss the days of your regular participation more. It's like a cheap tease...
my sentiments I miss Rhy

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  #8  
Old February 17th, 2007, 12:55 AM
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Doc_Savage Doc_Savage is offline
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A great tribute to justjohn...

Nice card, Rhydderch! John is well deserving of his own custom after doing so many for others.

Maybe Annerios is the right man to do the figure...

The card seems well balanced and I would only have a few tiny nit picks.

In the Just John power you use "one" and "two" but in Daito you use "1" and "2". In my opinion the numbers are clearer than spelling out the names.

"Non-huge" will become a problem later if there are Gigantic or Towering figures (official or custom) later. I think that's why the official cards say "small or medium."

Daito - Can I use this on friendly figures to move them? Figures with a very high attack would have a better chance of the wounds being ignored and the figure being moved.

The 'map' card is awesome! You might de-saturate the background just a bit more to help the readability (Daito especially).

Did you intentionally not use all caps for the powers?

These are very minor points considering the awesomeness of the card as a whole.

It is great to see you posting here again and hope you are enjoying the game even if you are not posting here..... Reaper, too...

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  #9  
Old February 17th, 2007, 02:50 AM
Rhydderch Rhydderch is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by justjohn
Thanks to everyone else for helping you get this hammered out!
I think I can say on behalf of all those who worked on the card: you're very, very welcome!! =)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc_Savage
In the Just John power you use "one" and "two" but in Daito you use "1" and "2". In my opinion the numbers are clearer than spelling out the names.
Ahh yes. The official cards switch back and forth and so I have picked up their bad habit. I'll go ahead and standardize the abilities so they both use the numeral.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc_Savage
"Non-huge" will become a problem later if there are Gigantic or Towering figures"
Good point. Still the Giant Killer ability Sir Denrick has simply states Huge and I would expect him to be effective against larger figures as well, so I think I might be safe to assume we will not see any new size classes. At least not official ones. I could be wrong. Still I'll leave the final decision to Just John though. It's his card now

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc_Savage
Daito - Can I use this on friendly figures to move them?
Yes but you might fail the roll in which case John might take a hit or two! Remember Just John is a moderator now. He could ban you if you submit him to friendly fire! :P

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc_Savage
Figures with a very high attack would have a better chance of the wounds being ignored and the figure being moved.
Correct! Daito Ryu Defense was added to the card to represent the way Just John always balances the strengths of his customs with weaknesses. Hence it is more effective against stronger attackers. It also added some eastern flavor to the card which I felt was appropriate since Just John has several Samurai and Monk customs. I figured he must like the eastern motifs in Heroscape. I hope so anyway! =P

In terms of mechanism Daito Ryu Defense relies on a principle found in judo and other real life martial arts which utilize the strength and momentum of an attacker to throw or otherwise control the attacker. Therefore stronger attacks are met with a greater chance of success with Daito Ryu Defense. Incidentally Daito Ryu is a real martial art which was more prominent at the time. Some believe it influenced the Korean Hapkido, a martial art I have some experience in.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc_Savage
The 'map' card is awesome! You might de-saturate the background just a bit more to help the readability (Daito especially).
I have a card with the original Val map in the background. It is lighter but Annerios and I both felt the posted card looked better. I'm not sure what else I can do with the card. The 'map' card is my first attempt at a special card.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc_Savage
Did you intentionally not use all caps for the powers?
No. I have not made a card in some time. I forgot about the all caps for the ability names. It will be corrected when I post updated cards. Thanks for the comments by the way. I'm quite mortified that I failed to capitalize all those ability names!

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  #10  
Old February 17th, 2007, 03:02 AM
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Hex_Enduction_Hour Hex_Enduction_Hour is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by netherspirit
Didn't think I would ever see a post from you again, Rhyd.

This is an awesome tribute to an awesome custom creator. Kudos on a job well done. I don't have much else to say as it appears you have thought this unit out pretty well. The abilities are top notch...good stuff.

I hope that you will continue to post and contribute to the custom community.
I'll just echo Nether.

Very nice of you, Rhyd to come back and present this to JJ. He was due! Great custom.
Love the Just John ability title.
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  #11  
Old February 17th, 2007, 03:23 AM
Rhydderch Rhydderch is offline
 
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Ok one last post before bed.

Playtest Set 1 of 2.

Vs Kaemon: JJ crept forward quietly, watching the land before him. Suddenly he heard a quick hum and dived to side just as an arrow struck behind him. He was glad that he had taken note of the natural cover around him. He moved quicker until he saw his target, a samurai who wore a metal mask and elaborate gilded armor. JJ rushed then, grazing the proud warrior. The samurai struck out but he had overextended himself and JJ threw him to the ground, before slashing the warrior across the jugular.

The first game was quite impressive! Afterward JJ lost match after match after match. The combination of a powerful ranged attack and counter strike made Kaemon very dangerous for JJ. Usually Kaemon would inflict 1 or two wounds before JJ engaged where Kaemon would finish him off with counter strike or a regular attack.

Final verdict: This was a slaughter! JJ only won 1/10.

Vs Drake: The soldier was skilled. VERY skilled. Indeed John had the utmost respect for the American soldier, a man he might have called a friend in another place, and another time. But that was not here or now and JJ pushed the thought out of his mind as he stabbed at the soldier who replied with a slash from his great katana. JJ mused again on just how similar they were: both western soldiers who had engaged in a world war. Both fighters who had blended the eastern arts to create their own style. Both caught up in a war which was not their own...

This was a very fun matchup. With the high attack Drake had JJ was able to pull off his Daito Ryu several times and especially when Drake had height! It was very close and it made me think of how similar the two of them are despite their differences.

Final verdict: Well met soldiers with mutual respect and skill. JJ won 6/10.

Vs Carr: JJ almost had to laugh as the strange agent took shot after shot at him with the small pistol, bullets which were easily avoided for the seasoned soldier. Still JJ had to admit the man had a dogged determination and an uncanny ability to escape JJ's attempts to pin him. And the man had that infernal sword! JJ was unfazed though. He knew he could beat the man: his sword work was sloppy. JJ knew just how to take advantage of that.

JJ had a pretty easy time with Agent Carr. Carr wasn't able to hit JJ with his ranged attack of 2 and could not get the height bonus due to Lay of the Land. So Carr's attempts to hit and run failed utterly. After that he would try to attack JJ head on but was unable to kill him most of the time. That extra life on Drake makes a big difference!

Final verdict: JJ shrugged as he walked away from the dead man. He was glad he still had his edge. JJ won 9/10.

Vs 2 Zombie Squads: John nearly gagged when he saw the creature and felt the first tinges of fear when he saw the horde behind it. He was a soldier though, versed in the art of war and no stranger to death. He drew his knife and moved quickly to take advantage of the terrain as the slow creatures came closer and closer. And closer. The first reached him and took a slow, clumsy swing. John dodged it easily and cut it down. But more came at him. And more. As he cut one down it was replaced by another and he found himself slowing. Being pulled down. No, he thought and pulled on the vestiges of strength within him and turned to the skills he had learned in Japan. He focused his mind and turned the combined attack of three zombies aside, throwing them left and right. It was impressive.

This was a fun battle and actually very close. JJ had the advantage of speed, strength and skill but the zombies had sheer numbers. The fights JJ lost were very close, sometimes down to the last zombie. There was a good swarm feel to the zombies as they cut his mobility to zero. Also both Annerios and I allow a Daito Ryu roll against special attacks. It is QUITE fun to see 3 zombies thrown about after they attempt a combined attack!

Final verdict: The zombie watched as John threw the three zombies aside. Somewhere behind those vacant eyes, the vestiges of a thought formed, and the zombie knew it would feed tonite! John's final defense was impressive. It was not enough. JJ won 1/4.

Email Snippets
AKA tips, tricks and trivia about John J Cloud

Rhydderch:
...Daito Ryu really was much more effective against the stronger attacks. Heck when he went up against Drake and Carr I felt like he was the man with no fear. I found I could walk up to either when they had height advantage and had a very good chance of throwing them down...

He is good at Daito Ryu but cannot compete against a true eastern master such as Kaemon who has a balanced 4 attack and counter strike. In fact I'd venture a guess that John would have trouble against the normal samurai too!


Annerios
Perhaps a U.S. Custom's special agent. In Miami that is a dangerous job.
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  #12  
Old February 17th, 2007, 04:25 AM
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allskulls allskulls is offline
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Rhyd!!! Sure is good to see you on the boards...even if I'm only at semi lurker status. Hope all is well with you, bro.

The JJ card is perfect! Inspiring to the point of dusting off my custom muse...but energies are drawn elsewhere at the moment
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