Blue Trails
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While looking through my laptop's files this week for reasons utterly unrelated to this hobby, I happened to find a few Age of Annihilation-related personal customs that I had made shortly after the campaign's end. These were attempts to create some of the unrevealed Army Cards from their units' given descriptions; I don't pretend that these are perfect, as the subjectivity of one's interpretation of a single paragraph of lore invites potential discrepancies into the design process, but it's an enjoyable challenge nonetheless. I thus thought that I'd polish them a little and share them here; unlike what I would post in my classic customs thread, they have undergone no playtesting due to their creation as thought exercises instead of genuine, play-worthy units, but I think they're still fairly presentable. Of course, credit is due to Anitar for creating the AoA general templates used in some of these units.
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First we have the only unrevealed "minor" Familiar in the Lifeborne Order. According to the "official lore" revealed for the Dryans' Familiars, we have the statements:
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Next we have one of the more conceptually mysterious AoA characters. Unlike Onshu's, Vrono's official description includes a plethora of clear information about the potential contents of its potential card, so I was able to designate two primary objectives for the unit's kit.
The other important goal with this unit relates to its synergies. Given the fact that Vrono is stated to be inseparable from a particular Dryan Wizard, and the fact that Vrono's name follows the Familiar nomenclature of "[name] the [species]" (no comma), we can infer that Vrono was supposed to be a Familiar—specifically, Raakchott's personal or favorite etheric familiar. The SOUL FRENZY power was therefore created to ensure that Vrono would be best utilized in this "canonical" pairing, as it gives Raakchott's player an additional use for the Consume Markers naturally gathered during a game while incentivizing Vrono to stay close to Raakchott by transforming it into a Krug-like menace.
In retrospect, though, Vrono is quite possibly underpriced.
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I'd like to conclude by thanking anyone who read this far into my post. As this is ultimately speculation on possible outcomes for a cancelled product, I expect its audience to be smaller than those for other topics discussed by this community. Regardless, though, any comments are welcome.
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The line about Familiars "[moving] effortlessly through impeding opponents" and "quickly flanking their enemies" is likely a reference to Kita the Springrunner, whose fast Move and potent special powers allow it to tie down opposing units in the quickest and most direct way possible due to its disregard for traditional movement-imeding factors such as figure placement and enemy sightlines. Similarly, the idea of Familiars projecting "auras of immense magical protection to guard nearby allies from falling to the most grievous mortal blows" can be reasonably interpreted as a reference to the other revealed Familiar, Chana the Zenithwing, as the ability to heal nearby allies' wounds certainly fulfills the requirements of a protective aura that mitigates the lethality of opponents' attacks. Thus, I decided that the remaining statement—that is, nigh-insurmountable defenses against distant attackers—referred to Onshu, inspiring Welkineye's OBSCURITY special power. This naturally cast Onshu in an exclusively defensive/anti-range support role, with an unthreatening 1 Attack and a fragile 2L/4D defensive profile that's downgraded to 2L/2D against nearby units. Because a Defense-boosting power is still incredibly valuable, though, Onshu costs slightly more than the other Familiars.Encarmine said:DESIGNER'S NOTES - DAY 016 - "YOU’RE ONLY AS GOOD AS THE MATTER-ALTERING, TELEPORTING, RAVENOUS, LIGHTNING FAST, INTERGALACTIC SPACE PUPPY THAT YOU BRING WITH YOU INTO BATTLE" One essential key to the Dryan Lifeborne Order’s tactical prowess, is the Magi’s usage of Etheric Familiars to augment their already mystical powers. Each Dryan Magi carefully selects their animal companions based upon the parameters of the coming battle. Some Etheric Familiars can make it almost impossible to utilize range attacks against the Dryan from afar, some can move effortlessly through impeding opponents, quickly flanking their enemies, and others still can project auras of immense magical protection to guard nearby allies from falling to the most grievous mortal blows.
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WOUNDED SMASH and a Tormented Personality reflect Vrono's description as a "manifestation of pure pain and anguish," representing the danger of a prolonged fight against something as destructive as a "hurricane of razors" while also capturing the apparent suffering present in Vrono's sculpt. ENGAGEMENT STRIKE then allows Vrono to literally "[lash] out at any who dare approach" and spread further pain to opponents that attempt to intercept it before it can reach a vulnerable figure.Encarmine said:DESIGNER'S NOTES - DAY 043 – “AND IT WAS IN THAT MOMENT OF DISTRESS AND CONFUSION THAT THE WHIP OF TERROR LAID ITS MOST NICELY CALCULATED LASH ABOUT HIS HEARTS.” ...Always beside Raakchott in the carnage of combat, is the manifestation of pure pain and anguish that is Vrono Brambletoth, its massive body riddled with sharp thorns lashing out at any who dare approach. Like a hurricane of razors, Vrono snarls in defiance to anyone foolish enough to question Utgar’s dominion over Valhalla.
The other important goal with this unit relates to its synergies. Given the fact that Vrono is stated to be inseparable from a particular Dryan Wizard, and the fact that Vrono's name follows the Familiar nomenclature of "[name] the [species]" (no comma), we can infer that Vrono was supposed to be a Familiar—specifically, Raakchott's personal or favorite etheric familiar. The SOUL FRENZY power was therefore created to ensure that Vrono would be best utilized in this "canonical" pairing, as it gives Raakchott's player an additional use for the Consume Markers naturally gathered during a game while incentivizing Vrono to stay close to Raakchott by transforming it into a Krug-like menace.
In retrospect, though, Vrono is quite possibly underpriced.
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Finally, we have a fun unit to interpret. My rendition of Zed was intended to be a premium version of Tuck Harrigan and the Vorid Glide Strikers, with a strong ranged Attack, a realistically achievable assassination role, and an Airborne Elite-esque level of initial mobility. SOAR THROUGH thus acts as an upgrade to Glide In and Glider Landing, allowing Zed to choose his own starting position and reposition himself every other round via his “strategically inspired rapid descents to the surface” aided by an "amazing knack for being at just the right place, at just the right moment." This also synergizes with his VORID REDPLOYMENT power, an improved, faction-specific version of Carry that allows Zed to drop several weaker Vorid units in a perfect position if you think you can hold out without them for a couple of rounds. If you'd rather leave him in the safety of the nebulous "removed from battlefield" state, though, Zed's "keen eyes" and sharpshooting translate to SNIPER SUPPORT 15, granting him the unique ability to do something useful during the rounds he spends off-battlefield; this is especially helpful when bonding with the Frostclaw Paladins.Encarmine said:DESIGNER'S NOTES - DAY 022- "DON’T LET THE FEAR OF FALLING KEEP YOU FROM FLYING." Air Captain Zed Nesbitt is a living legend among the Vorid people, not simply for his keen eyes and skills as a talented sharpshooter, but for his almost uncanny ability to survive his signature “strategically inspired rapid descents to the surface” flying maneuvers in his custom engineered war dirigible. Quick to capitalize on Zed Nesbitt’s utter fearlessness in combat, and amazing knack for being at just the right place, at just the right moment, many Clockwork Combine jump infantry are quick to volunteer to hitch a ride with the Air Captain, engaging where the carnage is heaviest. Bringing fangs, claws, and death from above.
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I'd like to conclude by thanking anyone who read this far into my post. As this is ultimately speculation on possible outcomes for a cancelled product, I expect its audience to be smaller than those for other topics discussed by this community. Regardless, though, any comments are welcome.