The Book of Sgt. Drake Alexander

[Strack9]

Problem 1: The space on the other side has to be "HIGHER" than the starting space. Why? The card says "up to 25 levels higher," which I think should included a height change of zero, maybe even negative (downward) changes in elevation.

I think this is the crux of the problem. In its entirety Grapple gun reads:

"Instead of Sgt. Drake Alexander’s normal move, he may only move one space. This space may be up to 25 levels higher. When using the grapple gun all engagement rules still apply."

If the intent of the ability were that Drake could only land higher than his height, the ability should have been written:

". . .This space must be up to 25 levels higher. . ."

If one does what the card says, not what it doesn't say, it ought to play out like Drake has a height of 25 when moving up, but not down, for Grapple Gun. As such everything else is clear. Drake couldn't move through the overhang pictured earlier. He could move over ruins but would take falling damage for falling more than 5 spaces on the other side. He could fall to any height on the other side of an obstacle including a hight lower than his original.

I really hope the GG's aren't "updated" to play like Drake. I think the FAQ about only moving up is erroneous and should be changed.

 

[Xn F M]

If they are allowed to move to a same level space, would they be allowed to move to a lower space (such as hopping a battlement on a castle wall with their one move space)? This could also apply if a ruin was placed in such a way that a long drop existed on one side of the ruin (as in the case of RoninValentina's post above).

I believe that, based on the way I've understood the GG's to play, that they should, though they will take Falling Damage if they move downwards more levels than their height (as normal). All of this is just screaming for a...

"You have no power here, killercactus the Grey!"

EDIT: I went ahead and shot a PM to the Rules Team. Normally I wouldn't bother them about something like this, but I want to make sure we're playing the Granite Guardians correctly.

I know this is a bit of a necro, but has there been any kind of movement on this issue? After some discussion in another thread I'm nearly positive that Drake can in fact move laterally and downard when moving with Grapple Gun* he just has to follow normal movement rules when doing so.

*The only reason you would want to do this though would be if the scenario stipulated that for some reason he couldn't make a normal move.

 

[xraine69]

From FAQs 11.3:
Can Sgt. Drake Alexander Grapple over a ruin and onto the
hex on the other side?
Yes he can, as long as the addition height of the ruin (6 levels)
does not exceed his Grapple Gun’s total height limit of 25 levels.
Note, if he does Grapple over the ruin, he will take falling
damage on the other side (fall of 6 levels).

The book needs an update.

 

[GaryLASQ]

Problem 1: The space on the other side has to be "HIGHER" than the starting space. Why? The card says "up to 25 levels higher," which I think should included a height change of zero, maybe even negative (downward) changes in elevation.

I think this is the crux of the problem. In its entirety Grapple gun reads:

"Instead of Sgt. Drake Alexander’s normal move, he may only move one space. This space may be up to 25 levels higher. When using the grapple gun all engagement rules still apply."

If the intent of the ability were that Drake could only land higher than his height, the ability should have been written:

". . .This space must be up to 25 levels higher. . ."

If one does what the card says, not what it doesn't say, it ought to play out like Drake has a height of 25 when moving up, but not down, for Grapple Gun. As such everything else is clear. Drake couldn't move through the overhang pictured earlier. He could move over ruins but would take falling damage for falling more than 5 spaces on the other side. He could fall to any height on the other side of an obstacle including a hight lower than his original.

I really hope the GG's aren't "updated" to play like Drake. I think the FAQ about only moving up is erroneous and should be changed.

And it has been changed. The FAQ now reads like this:

Can Sgt. Drake Alexander Grapple over a ruin and onto the hex on the other side?
Yes he can, as long as the addition height of the ruin (6 levels) does not exceed his Grapple Gun’s total height limit of 25 levels. Note, if he does Grapple over the ruin, he will take falling damage on the other side (fall of 6 levels).

So the book needs an update, please. The related rule clarification on the first post needs to be changed to remove the words highlighted with red:

- GRAPPLE GUN 25 : Grappling Over A Ruin
Can Sgt. Drake Alexander Grapple over a ruin and onto the hex on the other side?
Yes he can, as long as the addition height of the ruin (6 levels) does not exceed his Grapple Gun’s total height limit of 25 levels, and the landing space is HIGHER than his starting space. Note, if he does Grapple over the ruin, he will take falling damage on the other side (fall of 6 levels). (Hasbro FAQ)

 

[Rÿchean]

updated and thank you

 

[Airborne Elite 5]

Would love it if someone could give me a good 600pt army idea with Drake and possibly the Airborne Elite.

 

[Yodaking]

The 170 point version that came in the SotM set is much better IMO. If you don't have the card you could print it off and use the figure you do have.

600 point soldier army
Drake (SotM) 170 (Soldier)
AE 110 (Soldiers)
Marcus Decimus Gallus 100 (Soldier movement/attack bonus)
Roman Legionnaires x2 100 (Soldiers that bond w/MDG)
Mogrimm Forgehammer 120 (Also bonds with Legos)

 

[Airborne Elite 5]

Thanks for the army idea! Also for the Idea of printing the SotM card.

 

[Serenity]

Sgt. Drake Alexander RotV
C3V and SoV Custom Synergies

Spoiler Alert!

Synergy Benefits Offered

8TH INFANTRY PATHFINDER : MARCHING ORDERS
As a Unique Soldier Hero that follows Jandar, Order Markers revealed on Sgt. Drake Alexander trigger the 8'th Infantry Pathfinder's MARCHING ORDERS ability.
As a Unique Soldier figure that follows Jandar, Sgt. Drake Alexander can be used as the end-of-movement adjacent figure for the 8th Infantry Pathfinder's MARCHING ORDERS ability.

SIR ORRICK : A BROTHER'S CALL
As a Human who follows Jandar, Sgt. Drake Alexander may aid Sir Orrick with his A BROTHER'S CALL movement bonus.
​

Synergy Benefits Received

CAPT. JOHN VARAN : PURPLE HEART
As a Human who follows Jandar, Sgt. Drake Alexander may benefit from Capt. John Varan's PURPLE HEART wound reassignment.

EBON ARMOR : ANIMATED MATERIEL & ETERNAL WAR
As a Unique Human, a destroyed Ebon Armor you control may be placed on Sgt. Drake Alexander's Army Card to replace the figure upon his own destruction.

​

 

[dok]

Wanted to share one of the coolest things that happened to me this weekend. I'm playing in General Wars, repping Jandar, and I've got Drake in my army. We're at the end of the first row of tables, so we get a decent amount of foot traffic from random gawkers watching the games.

I'm in the middle of my game when a family (man, woman, ~12 year old boy) stop by my table. The man says something like "I didn't realize there were still events being run in this game." I say something back about how the community is still going pretty strong despite it being discontinued. Then I asked him if he has played Heroscape before.

He answered "I was actually one of the designers." I look at his badge, and it's Rob &%$#ing Daviau.

I try to recover from the gaffe of asking the designer whether he's ever played the game as quickly as I can, and thank him for his work in producing my favorite game of all time. It turns out his wife also did a lot of graphic design work on the early waves (she told me about some "hot lava death" easter egg that she had tried to put into the graphics). We talked a bit about his role in the game design and how much contact he has with CVN. Rob seems like a very nice guy, and his Seafall game with Plaid Hat is getting a lot of positive buzz.

Anyway, the reason I put this here is because, late in the conversation, he points to my Sgt. Drake Alexander card on the table. He said "that card is named after him;" - pointing to his son standing next to him - "he had just been born." Sure enough, his name was Alexander, right on the badge.

So there I was, playing Sgt. Drake Alexander, in front of a designer of the game and the namesake of the card. So cool!

 

[Kajoq]

cool anecdote @dok!

 

[Sir Heroscape]

Whoa! That's so legit! Man...that is so cool, thank you for sharing that dok!

I read a while back about some talk that Disney was considering buying the rights to Hasbro? Don't know if anyone has heard anything else regarding that?

 

[The_X_Marker]

(she told me about some "hot lava death" easter egg that she had tried to put into the graphics).

You can't just drop a bomb like this and not tell us what the easter egg was supposed to be!

I read a while back about some talk that Disney was considering buying the rights to Hasbro? Don't know if anyone has heard anything else regarding that?

Hasbro makes almost every toy for Disney, I wouldn't be surprised, but so far it appears that that is just public conjecture based on how Hasbro has special status to produce toys from Disney licenses.

 

[dok]

(she told me about some "hot lava death" easter egg that she had tried to put into the graphics).

You can't just drop a bomb like this and not tell us what the easter egg was supposed to be!

I don't remember the exact details actually. I think it was actually a picture of Rob, put in lava, and it was going to be in an unobtrusive spot in the packaging. That could be way off though. At any rate it got caught before production.

 

[Tornado]

That is amazing dok.

Spoiler Alert!

I had a similar blunder at perhaps my first GC. I was watching this guy play Wizard's Crown(an old C-64 RPG, one of my all time favorites).

I ask him if he has ever found the Emerald Key(an item I was searching for at the time).
I got the "I designed the game response." Luckily since I was just a snot nosed kid so hopefully he forgave my ignorance.

Ever since then I always try to remember to look at badges before asking questions.

 

[Xorlof]

(she told me about some "hot lava death" easter egg that she had tried to put into the graphics).

You can't just drop a bomb like this and not tell us what the easter egg was supposed to be!

I don't remember the exact details actually. I think it was actually a picture of Rob, put in lava, and it was going to be in an unobtrusive spot in the packaging. That could be way off though. At any rate it got caught before production.

Pretty close. It was for Volcarren packaging, did get printed, but got covered by a white sticker before they shipped. If you search, there is a thread about it here.

EDIT: here is the thread, with pictures and links to the story behind it http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=11052

 

[caps]

Wow. Very cool story.

 

[akern47]

If Sgt Drake is in a tunnel, as in there are tiles directly above him, can he grapple straight up through the tile?
The description on his card doesn't seem to prohibit such a move.

 

[mac122]

If Sgt Drake is in a tunnel, as in there are tiles directly above him, can he grapple straight up through the tile?
The description on his card doesn't seem to prohibit such a move.

No, he can't. Figures cannot move through terrain pieces. They can climb over, move under - if the figure fits, or move around, but not through.