1 - What is your favorite moment fighting a boss Forge of the Dawn Titan – D&D 4E, Lair Assault season 1
The first time players fell into the lava. The party had 20 rounds to stop the warlock’s ritual from awakening the primordial dormant under the volcano. In the first play through the whole party was dead by round 6. I’ve never seen people wipe a party and have so much fun.
For those of you that aren’t familiar, Lair Assault was an organized play program for 4th Ed D&D. Each 3 month season consisted of ONE fight. These encounters were built hard, to challenge even the most skilled power gamers. No one at our store ever completed a Lair Assault on the first attempt. You went in, you died, you learned, and you tried again next week. To top it all off they included challenges. You beat it once, now can you beat it in only 5 rounds? Can you win without any magical items? It was the one event where I was encouraged to do my best to kill the characters, but in the end loads of fun were had by all.
On the topic of boss fights in general, I think It is one of the hardest aspects of any game to balance. As WhiteRoo ponted out, players in an RPG will throw out every resource they have once they know they are against the BBEG.
2 - What's your most hated boss mechanic I would have to say… Ultra high damage party wide attacks. Too many bosses (mostly in video games) have that one attack that if it catches you at an unlucky moment will wipe the party. After a long fight the boss drops to 30% hp and unleashes some over the top attack that kills two-thirds of the characters. Many of the final fantasy games and MMOs have these enemies and it feels like survival often comes down to luck.
3 - TempleCon is in a few weeks, will you be attending? If not, what pieces of news from the show are you hoping to hear from a company attending the show (it doesn't have to be OTL, we won't be sad, we promise)? Alas, Adepticon and Gencon are the only major Cons on my radar this year, and then only if I’m lucky.
I’ll check the Privateer Press forums to see if any new spoilers come out of Adepticon. I try to stay informed about Warmachine/Hordes even though I don’t actively expand my collection, and only play about once a year.
The thing I’m most interested in right now is seeing the models from the new Beastman laborer/engineer kit. Besides that, there are all the rumors about restarted projects and Endless Fantasy Roleplay(?!?) that intrigue me.
..and any Endless pictures/battle reports please
Concerning Visiting Hours, and the downloads from the last two. The Boss battles look like a lot more fun than I would have guessed if you had asked previously. I prefer human opponents for my wargames, but I will definately try it out.
Dungeon Densetsu looks intense. I love seeing the variant monsters. I think it is a great way to get more variety in game play without the need for more sculpts. I hadn't planned to get a second basic Earth Troll since it is a single pose sculpt and a 3C creature, but now I would consider one just to paint up as a Rime Troll. Do you intend for the Dungeon Densestu variants to be used in other game modes? Can I bring Frost Gels in a standard VS. battle? Would you ever consider Print-on-Demand cards for the Dungeon Densetsu variants?
The thing I’m most interested in right now is seeing the models from the new Beastman laborer/engineer kit.
I'm hoping that you'll actually get those before Templecon, I'm trying to get the last bit of stuff needed for the 2nd shipments casted and out the door this and next week.
Besides that, there are all the rumors about restarted projects and Endless Fantasy Roleplay(?!?) that intrigue me. ..and any Endless pictures/battle reports please
It'll be a busy year for us. Matt's working on some 'Tales of Endless' stories, and working on EFR with Tom, who is also working on the Boss AI rules; and I'm working on Dungeon Densetsu and this whenever I get a chance:
Concerning Visiting Hours, and the downloads from the last two. The Boss battles look like a lot more fun than I would have guessed if you had asked previously. I prefer human opponents for my wargames, but I will definately try it out.
Ideally, when we get around to releasing 'Boss' Monsters to retail we will be including their AI Rules in the box, but you won't be required to run them that way and can just have a Big Bad 4/5C monster in your party. This is one of the reasons why the King Gel isn't available outside of the Kickstarter just yet.
Dungeon Densetsu looks intense. I love seeing the variant monsters. I think it is a great way to get more variety in game play without the need for more sculpts. I hadn't planned to get a second basic Earth Troll since it is a single pose sculpt and a 3C creature, but now I would consider one just to paint up as a Rime Troll. Do you intend for the Dungeon Densestu variants to be used in other game modes? Can I bring Frost Gels in a standard VS. battle? Would you ever consider Print-on-Demand cards for the Dungeon Densetsu variants?
The DD Variants are usable outside of their Dungeons, anything that has an Endless: [Blank] Tactics card will be useable. POD cards will be available in the future along with in a DD Box.
I'm taking another look at DD: Hoarfrost Peak. You had mentioned on the forum that DD mode would usually be run with 3C of heroes. Is that what I should use? I couldn't find it mentioned in the PDF so I thought I should double check.
Galen wrote: I'm taking another look at DD: Hoarfrost Peak. You had mentioned on the forum that DD mode would usually be run with 3C of heroes. Is that what I should use? I couldn't find it mentioned in the PDF so I thought I should double check.
Yes, a 3C Party (generally one model.. you know the one )
Galen wrote: I'm taking another look at DD: Hoarfrost Peak. You had mentioned on the forum that DD mode would usually be run with 3C of heroes. Is that what I should use? I couldn't find it mentioned in the PDF so I thought I should double check.
Yes, a 3C Party (generally one model.. you know the one )
Now I really want to play DD, because I can't figure out how I would get through the first two wing rooms without HP/MP recovery,, let alone defeat the Troll. Silly question, but room monsters still each get their ITM value in items, right?
In Frigid End - R2E, are the dungeon turrets the same as the ones the 3C beastman creates? I didn't see any more information on them in the DD packet.
Unless I'm mistaken the beastman laborer (also R2E) can't move out of his corner. Except for a 1 square wide path, everything around him is height 2 and he only has 1 JMP.
Whenever thiings fall into video game talk I feel like the minority here. Alf in particular always makes me feel old when he talks about the games he grew up on. The full extent of my Zelda game play is 6-8 hours on the original game, half of which was off someone elses save. I guess that is likely because I have never owned a Nintendo system. I was already playing D&D and Warhammer by the time I got my Sega Genesis.
Automatically Appended Next Post: More DD random thoughts, not specific to HFP:
-I really like the way DD makes me rethink command selection. I normally like all MP commands, and Break items, but knowing that more fights will be coming changes priorities.
-It might be helpful to label the grids with letters/numbers (along the edge) so that it is easier to reference. That way you can refer to the gel on C2, or trigger a trap/effect when a model crosses square D5.
-It would be interesting to give limited restrictions on monsters. Something like monster X does not join the battle until the hero kills monster Y, attacks monster X, or comes within 5 squares of monster X.
-Set some of the monster's items and commands ahead of time, leaving less prep for the campaign manager.
When we update/compile the DD book, I'll make sure its noted that monsters do not carry items unless otherwise stated. The ITM value is there for you to be able to use them as normal in regular games.
The Dungeon Turrets are intended to be their own device. The card appears to have not been put into the Packet.
Dungeon Turrets
4 HP DEF 2
Arrow Trap - Line 15, ATK 2, Weak, Target cannot make Defensive Rolls. This attack Triggers when an Adventurer moves into an eligible position of the Line.
The base height of the dungeon is 1, so adding a 1 JMP to that, means the Laborers can move from Height 1 to Height 2 without issue.
Additionally, The images are swapped. There should be 2 Laborers, and 1 Engineer, for a total of 4 C in that room.
Like the Boss PDF from Last week, the DD mode is still being tested and tweaked, the Idea of numbering/lettering the grid is definitely something we'll incorporate.
We'll also see about adding different event triggers, and pre-designed monster 'loadouts' to help the CM.
Yah. I see now that it says right in the map key that standard squares are height 1.
At first I was sceptical about both dungeon and boss fight modes, but taking a closer look at it today I can see how it opens up some great new play possibilities. I have all kinds of ideas for dungeons and puzzles. Everything from pushing block puzzles to Gauntlet style monster generators. The pits in room Inner Peak are a great example of a fun old-school video game style hazard. Thinking of new maps then gets me thinking about new monsters/characters. If it has my creativity going then it must be doing something right
This week we're going to be away at TempleCon, so we're going to be giving you a preview of an upcoming campaign to Endless: Fantasy Tactics. the Miasma War Campaign. The Miasma War spreads across the light and dark continents, throwing the entire world of Terra into Chaos with the breaking of the Deep Crystal, and the release of the dreaded cloud of Miasma. Taking on the role of the fearless adventurers thrust into this unlike of situations, the Miasma War will change the landscape of Terra and the world of Endless forever.
But today we're just going to give you a small taste of one of the missions as it were from the campaign, a "lets play" if you will.
Today I'm going to give you a battle report of the first mission from the Miasma War Campaign, where a group of adventurers will be pitted against a growing horde of Thralls and Risen Warriors. Aided by the Water Priestess, Eirona, the group of adventurers will have to escape if they ever hope to save the world.
I’ll Stay Here, You Go on Ahead! - Temple of Undinite, Outskirts of Highwater City
The time has come. The creatures of the Miasma batter at the gates of the Temple. Eirona finishes her prayers and turns to you. “Undinite promises this is not the end for us. You must head to Plainskeep. The King holds the key to Halleford’s salvation.”
The doors begin to give as splinters fall from the weakened wood. Eirona tosses a crystal to you, smiling weakly. “You must flee, I will hold them here. Fear not, we shall see each other again.” She raises her staff turning her concentration to the Thralls, as the door frame finally gives way, and the Temple hall starts to fill with the monstrous creatures.
Party Size - 5 Crystal party
Setup - The Player deploys at the center of the board.The Campaign Manager places 3 miasma thralls and 1 Risen warrior on the board within 2 squares of any exit and one friendly Eirona, Water Priestess (Cleric model) noted on the map (image). The Campaign Manager controls both enemy and allied models during the turn. The encounter lasts for 6 turns before rolling to end the game.
Rules - At the end of each turn the Campaign Manager replaces one of their slain models at any of the exits, along with an additional 1 Crystal model on any exit, increasing the party size for the Campaign Manager. Once the Campaign Manager has a party size of 6 Crystals, he or she only replaces all slain models.
When one of the Player’s models reaches the exit, they are removed from play at the end of that model’s activation.
Objective - Get to an Exit!.
The first mission of the Miasma War Campaign thrusts our heroes into the middle of adventure as the Temple of Undinite comes under attack by the forces of the Deep Crystal.
So our heroes find themselves in the middle of the temple having just received a sliver of the Deep Crystal to take with them when the temple doors burst open and several Miasma Thralls and a Risen Warrior enter.
Turn 1:
Both paries have deployed and rolled for initiative, with the MIasma Thralls going first. The first Thrall (played by a Gel Warrior) moves forward and catches all of the heroes in a Miasma Cloud. The MAG roll fails to do much to the Gel Wizard (played by Gel Wizard) and a Dark Knight, but the poor Knight takes a hit and suffers poison as the Miasma begins to fill his lungs.
Next, the Dark Knight moves towards the nearest exit. Unable to get to the exit, he takes a swing at the Miasma Thrall and the Thrall, cut off guard, takes three points of damage from the Dark Knight's attack.
Next, the Risen Warrior takes his turn, moves foward and launches a skeletal arrow at the Gel Warrior. The poor little gel may have been able to fend off the poison cloud, but an arrow made of bone punctures it just right and the Gel takes 2 points of damage.
Eager to get away and open up the exit, the Gel Wizard attempts to move off to the side and uses Freeze to get some damage on the Thrall, unfortunately the servants of the Deep Crystal are a little hardier than the Gel's magic and the attack bounces off of the Thrall without so much as chipping the crystal protrusions. (Sadly the Dark Knight should have also been caught in the blast as the Gel moved a few squares too far, and it escaped my notice, durned players! )
The Thrall, spurned by the Deep Crystal, moves behind the Gel Wizard, and uses Siphon, hoping that if he doesn't kill the Gel, he'll take away its valuable MP. The Thrall hits the Gel and siphons away its remaining life, leaving it a withered husk on the ground (kind of like a slug covered in salt, but cuter and with a hat!)
Unfortunately, my camera crapped out and I didn't notice it for a few actions, so we're without pictures. The Knight moves next to the exit now that he has a clear line to it, and does a Heroic Beam against the first Miasma Thrall, but whiffs. The third Thrall moves to its right and tries to Siphon some of the MP away from Eirona. The Thrall rolls terribly and Eirona gets several successes anyways,. Eirona is the last to activate, and she moves forward and Torrents the Risen Warrior and the Miasma Thrall. The Riden Warrior takes the brunt of the hit, taking three points of damage (including some from being pushed into the Thrall). Fortunately for the Thrall, he takes nothing.
Turn 2 The Knight moves up in the Player's Initiative Order, and I move Eirona forward and place a few more Thralls on the board as per the rules of the mission. So I whiff on the roll and the Knight goes first, and leaves.
The Miasma Thrall attempts to use Miasma Cloud one more time on the Dark Knight, but fails to actually get a success. the Dark Knight activates and moves out. Mission complete!
So, that's a quick little batrep to help wet your appetites for more EFT! Now I could have made it harder for the players by requiring them to spend a turn on the exit before they could leave, but we were running late as it was, since I had to teach my player(s) how to play EFT first.
I would have questions, but this i from my phone and it's a pain to type as it is. Matt should be able to sate your discussion needs!
Galen wrote: Nice battle report Alf. I like the visual of a bunch of gels on the table, even if in this case many of them were stand-ins.
Did you let the players pick their models, or did you decide it ahead of time?
I did, which was part of the reason why the mission didn't last more than a turn and a half. I wanted to give the batrep sort of a CES/E3 demo sort of feel where the guys playing the game have better and cooler stuff to entice people into playing it. In the Miasma War Campaign (and EFT Campaigns in general) You'll usually start out with 1C models and work your way up to 3C Characters, etc... But since it was like midnight when I got the game going, I didn't want to restrict my player(s) since I taught them how to play EFT not 15 minutes before we did this.
I'm hoping that I can run Ramos Asura and his brother through the Miasma War. I had a lot of fun writing it, and while it is a full story of missions, any of the individual missions can be taken out and used in a regular EFT game. Also with the AI rules we released two weeks ago, we can even set up the campaign in such a way that you can play against it. Not as fun, but sometimes it might be cool just to try out a particular party build Or just try it out on 'hard mode'
edit: Whao! lots of cool announcements! Realy cool hearing this announcements in podcast forum! I'm also Super excited for the Americans and Russians in brushfire!
edit: Whao! lots of cool announcements! Realy cool hearing this announcements in podcast forum! I'm also Super excited for the Americans and Russians in brushfire!
It was a bit of a last minute idea I had, since we've got Tom sharing our hotel room. Glad you enjoyed it!
I downloaded and listened to the podcast this morning! And here are my disorganized thoughts.
EFT- Hearing that the Miasma War campaign book will have variant monsters/classes is exciting. An example of a monster AI system is in the D&D board games Wrath of Ashardalon/Castle Ravenloft/Legend of Drizzt, or some of the various zombie board games if you ever need a reference when describing your plans.
I personally enjoy the Crusader as a sustitute for either the Knight or Cleric, so I am happy to see its model in the pipeline.
Is the Lunarian kit a single model, or will there be a head/weapon bit swap to differentiate? I figured we would just get a single pose model for all lunarians.
I didn't expect to hear any details about Endless RPG so soon. I'm very curious to see what you've come up with, and read more background about the world in general. Honestly I have always found combat in the old console RPGs (non-tactics style) to be lacking something. That being said you guys will make it enjoyable enough, and I think the biggest test will what the game offers with non-combat rules, such as skills, and healing/recovery. Put me down for some playtesting once you open it up a little.
*grumble* stupid co-workers interupting my lunch *grumble* the rest of my thoughts will have to come later.
I'll be happy to see the gecko rider reappearing in the OTLG store. Well, except that then I will be tempted to pick one up, cutting into my EFT budget. It really is a neat loooking piece. I would also like to see more pictures of full armies or game shots where we can see models in squads and next to each other. The new Zabar pics with Lox surrounded by hyenas and hogs look great, and makes me want to see consolidated pics of Scyzantium, and Axony once a few highlanders are done.
Superrainbowspacevikingsquad Tactics sounds interesting. I've always wondered about your avatar, Cyp. It always feels good to have an idea realized, so have fun with it. I can't say I'm familiar with much of the source material. Compatability with Endless is a big selling point, even if it seems a bit incongruous. Transformation rules sound like loads of fun. I also want to see what villains/monsters you come up with, since those costumes are always seem to be the craziest ones. Plus, monsters seem like the easiest transfer between games. I could see a squad of vikingers fighting beastmen or gels, but adding knights or archers to the mix could seem odd.
Don't rush the EFT League/map mode. Take the time to do it right! It has the potential to be amazing.
My only concern with all the different play modes coming to Endless is unit balance. I think campaign and dungeon modes will be harder to balance, and may favor certain models more than standard vs does. I'll have to play a lot more before I come to any conclusions of course.
Overall I am really excited about all the new rules you have coming out. I don't know why, but I didn't expect so many new things so soon after EFT's release.
...oh there wasn't any mention of Endless fiction. Is Matt's writing going to be fluff for the EFT books or will we see some stories released on their own?
How on earth Loxadon, King of Zabar can hide behind a low wall or hedge? I guess it is not stands for trenches, because a trench is simply not wide enough, but... you get the idea. Also why would he be slowed by terrain in general.
It's not a big deal, because that's how the game mechanic says so, but the biggest model until Loxodon was on a 60mm base and those are basically as tall as castle walls as well. However it looks like the Ursa fraction is going to be a bunch of big models, so cover and model size will clash more often from now on.
Loxodon, and all of Zabar have Pathfinder so terrain doesn't affect them for the most part.
As for low walls, just figure no one notices the huge elephant sticking his face into the dirt. Like a housecat 'hiding' under the bed with its butt sticking out.
Bears will be on 50mm bases like Arctos, and are the biggest thing in the faction for the most part.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Galen wrote:
Is the Lunarian kit a single model, or will there be a head/weapon bit swap to differentiate? I figured we would just get a single pose model for all lunarians.
Single kit, but it'll likely have two heads like the Beastmen.
Galen wrote:I'll be happy to see the gecko rider reappearing in the OTLG store. Well, except that then I will be tempted to pick one up, cutting into my EFT budget. It really is a neat loooking piece.
I'm very happy with being able to get them released! The issues we had with casting them should be resolved now, so we'll get them molded and casted up soon, and hand a few over to Ramos for painting.
Galen wrote:I would also like to see more pictures of full armies or game shots where we can see models in squads and next to each other. The new Zabar pics with Lox surrounded by hyenas and hogs look great, and makes me want to see consolidated pics of Scyzantium, and Axony once a few highlanders are done.
This is something that i've wanted to do for some time, but we haven't been able to get many 'full armies' painted up yet. This will be solved over the next couple of months, and you'll start to see more Armies in Action style pictures. Its pretty amazing having 15 painted Legion ready for photography
Galen wrote:Superrainbowspacevikingsquad Tactics sounds interesting. I've always wondered about your avatar, Cyp. It always feels good to have an idea realized, so have fun with it. I can't say I'm familiar with much of the source material. Compatability with Endless is a big selling point, even if it seems a bit incongruous. Transformation rules sound like loads of fun. I also want to see what villains/monsters you come up with, since those costumes are always seem to be the craziest ones. Plus, monsters seem like the easiest transfer between games. I could see a squad of vikingers fighting beastmen or gels, but adding knights or archers to the mix could seem odd.
Take a look at the Disgaea series of games, you get Prism Rangers in their fighting along side demons and gunsmiths
Galen wrote:
Don't rush the EFT League/map mode. Take the time to do it right! It has the potential to be amazing.
No worries, we aren't planning on rushing things too much. The Miasma War is the next thing that will be released, and that's not likely to be out until summer. Map Mode will likely not be until the end of the year, but we might have a playtest/beta version of it available before then.
Galen wrote:
Overall I am really excited about all the new rules you have coming out. I don't know why, but I didn't expect so many new things so soon after EFT's release.
A lot of this has been in the works while we've been working on finishing up Tactics's kickstarter, Tom started writing the Miasma War stuff around December of last year.
Galen wrote:
...oh there wasn't any mention of Endless fiction. Is Matt's writing going to be fluff for the EFT books or will we see some stories released on their own?
Matt 'finished' one short story already, and is working on another longer one now. I'm hoping to get the first one posted by the end of the month.
Never heard about that one, but apparently so. But Gunships still receive the ES bonus for low walls.
Also, the definition of "Mechanical" should mention this as well, because that's what a player will check first.
The book has this nasty habit of saying things like "all siege weapons are mechanical" or "all Zabar units are pathfinder" then proceeds not to mark the siege weapons with the "mechanical" tag for some reason. Nor the Zabar units with Pathfinder. (Is a merc Shaka War Hog is Pathfinder or not? How about the rest of these can-be-merc units and their army spec. rules?)
I think I know why it is written like this, but it's just super unfriendly to newcomers and I still stumble upon these very often as you see. It's the kind of hidden information you know or forget. Nowhere in the Scyzantium cards the +1 AR is mentioned for example.
I don't think the book is clear enough about it. It says for example: "All Aquitaran Models have the Ambush rule."
Then the merc weasels has ambush when they are enlisted to a Vandalands army? They are Aquitaran, no?
What if I take berserkers to my Aquitaran army? The hamsters gain Ambush?
Merc weasels in an Aquitaran army loose Ambush?
What I want to say that based what is in the book it is highly debatable how this works.
I would suggest to rename the merc units so they never have the same names as their army specific variants. If I remember correctly, the Squad rule says that models have to be the same type to be in a squad, wich could only mean that their names have to be the same. I don't see what else could it be.
Renaming the models would make them feel that they are not part of any nation, so it would be much easier to follow the merc rules.
The merc Rat Raider is already renamed by some reason...
This is something that i've wanted to do for some time, but we haven't been able to get many 'full armies' painted up yet. This will be solved over the next couple of months, and you'll start to see more Armies in Action style pictures. Its pretty amazing having 15 painted Legion ready for photography
If you need any more help with that, let me know. I can pump out full armies at a decent quality pretty quickly.
This army went from bare metal/plastic to finished in about a month's time:
I'm fairly cheap and prefer product over money(the above was done for a friend for a Max unit of Wolves of Orboros + UA and a Wold Guardian) and the chance to pad my resume with more recent freelance work never hurts.
Plus, it lets me paint all day and the wife can't get mad that I didn't do house work because it's technically work.
Between February 6th and February 9th, On the Lamb has been at TempleCon up in Warwick Rhode Island. Besides being the home for some major Warmachine and Hordes announcements, TempleCon also plays hosts to several miniatures companies, Steampunk fashion shows, and old school arcades. This year it also played host to the second ‘major’ Brushfire Beginner’s Tournaments. A small series of consecutive games designed for beginners of Brushfire to come and test their mettle. What made this event different from other companies’ beginner’s tournaments is that On the Lamb had a few loaner armies for beginners to use. We held two of these events, the first being on Friday, February 7th at Noon and lasting until 5. The three round event consisted of three “veterans” and three “rookies”. These six players played in three 50 resource/HLVL 2 games that lasted an hour per round. After the three rounds, we calculated the victory points earned by each player as well as the total number of resources killed throughout the event to break any potential ties. Coming in first was Rich, with an Axony army, followed closely by Steve whom was borrowing one of the loaner armies, 6 Badgers and a Mole. Congrats to them both!
The following lists are generally representative of their armies, numbers are included only where I’m certain.
Scott – Civitas – Conquistador (HLVL2), Juan of Brisca, 2 Chipmunk Weapon Teams w/Trajectory (mortars), 2 Civitan Marines, Mouse Lancers, and Mouse Conscripts w/Bows
Steve - Aquitar – Tactician General (HLVL2) w/Sinkhole Rank 2, 5 Badger-At-Claws w/Medium Armor, Iron Claws
Patrick – Cult of Exomorphism – Queen (HLVL2), 3 Trolls, 2 Will-O-Wisps, Lots of Legion (22?)
Richard – Axony – Imperial Duke (HLVL2), Robin Milne, 6 Bull Regulars, 4 Kernish Terriers
John – Civitas – Capitan (HLVL2), 15 Mouse Conscripts w/Bows, 10 Mouse Conscripts w/Sword and Shields, Civitan Marines
Daniel – Chugoku (Red Claw) – Dynastic King (HLVL2) w/Jade Seal rank 2, 4 Red Wu Chugokan Color Guard w/Bingfa, 2 Red Wu w/Dagger-Ax, 2 Lem Han w/Medium Armor and Rifles, and Hua Poi Kay and Lao Yi
We invited everyone that participated in the first tournament to come and play in the second one Saturday night from 8 to 1, and got several of them showing as well as some new people. The format for the second tournament was the same, but this time with 8 people. Unlike the first tournament where we had several people using armies they owned, this time we had half of the field using loaner armies, which was great because it meant more new people! Several of the people in the tournament were playing their first full games of Brushfire, and had only gotten a demo earlier that day. In the end, we had two undefeated armies facing each other in the finals, Guillaume and Scott. It was a hard fought match and down to the wire, but in the end, Scott pulled out the win and took down those pesky Chugokans, and because of our resource tally tie-breakers, our first and second place winners were Scott and John, Civitas taking 1 and 2 in the tournament. While he fought admirably in his second and third rounds, Guillaume missed out by a few resources in the tie-breakers. Though since he walked away with some nice Warmachine swag from their charity raffle, he can’t be too upset
Saturday's Lists: Again, representative of what they had, exact numbers shown only where I knew them
Scott – Civitas – Conquistador (HLVL2), Juan of Brisca, 2 Chipmunk Weapon Teams w/Trajectory (mortars), 2 Civitan Marines, Mouse Lancers, and Mouse Conscripts w/Bows
John – Civitas – Capitan (HLVL2), 10 Mouse Conscripts w/Bows, 10 Mouse Conscripts w/Sword and Shields, 5 Civitan Marines w/Axes
Guillaume – Chugoku – Celectial Tactician (HLVL2) w/Classical Warfare rank 2, 4 Red Wu Chugokan Color Guard w/Bingfa, 2 Red Wu w/Dagger-Ax, 2 Lem Han w/Medium Armor and Rifles, and Hua Poi Kay and Lao Yi.
Bill – Aquitar – Tactician General (HLVL2) w/Rapid Deployment rank 2 and Signal Lamp, 5 Badger-At-Claws w/ Medium Armor, and Iron Claws w/Effigy of Defeated Foes, and Flute of the Wandering Albatross
Ed – Axony – Imperial Duke (HLVL2), 6 Bull Regulars, 4 Kernish Terriers, an Expert (May have been Bram).
Steve – Vandalands – Rat Warlord (HLVL2), 5 Valkyrs
Rich – Cult of Exomorphism – Queen (HLVL2), 3 Cultists, 3 Trolls, and Buttloads of Legion (30 I think)
Antoine – Chugoku – Dynastic King (HLVL2) w/Jade Seal rank 2, 4 Lem Han w/Medium Armor and Rifles, 2 Red Wu w/Targes
So those are the lists people brought to our first TempleCon Tournaments, and while there were a few snafus on my part as TO, I think everyone had fun. I’d like to thank Pat and Len for providing the terrain for the event, as well as everyone who came out and participated in our little events. Next year I hope to get some more events going so we can have beginner’s tournaments for those that truly are new to the game, or need a refresher, and then have a ‘super serious’ competitive type tournament.
With that being said, here are my thoughts and recap on the tournament(s):
1) Event Organization: TempleCon as a whole is well organized to keep the show running for four days in that small space, unfortunately we had some communication breakdowns on where exactly we were supposed to be for our events. And the staff seemingly forgot our second event, as we had to play on top of Warhammer boards. This is partially my fault, I’ve never organized events at shows, so I’m not used to the organizational side of things. I’m hoping that next year On the Lamb can basically claim a section of the minis hall as our own so we can just run continuous events. The plus to the event organization is having people like Pat there to help. If it wasn’t for him, we would have been without terrain, and it would have taken probably twice as long to get the next round pairings set up because I’m that bad at them.
2) Tournament Rules, Scenarios, etc: This is where I think we can make the biggest improvement. Kill points and straight win/loss/draw works well in a beginner’s event, I think that it doesn’t quite capture the victory severity that we’ve worked really hard to put into the game. If I crushed my opponent and only lost a few models, then I have a bigger win than the guy who won on the final die roll with one model left. Ideally that would have bearings on the standings of the tournament, and is something I’d like to see for future events. The easiest way to do this is with a tournament packet that we can distribute before the event (kind of like Steamroller, Gaining Grounds, or even AdeptiCon’s 40k mission packets). This will let us have round times, resource sizes, HLVLs, and scenarios pre-set for players before the event starts. This works best in a “Veterans” event where the players have been playing for longer than a demo. Ideally we’d have two packets, one for competitive and another for beginner events. So, attached to this post is a PDF of the tournament rules as they stand now. Take them, read them, use it for toilet paper, beat the rules to hell, and give me feedback. Tournament play is something that I’d love to see come to
Brushfire, and I feel that with the readers of VH, as well as those that attended our small events can give useful insight into hammering out solid tournament rules. Like I said earlier, there were a few mix-ups on my end, but for the most part, the players had little issue with the rules (although I could be misinformed and everyone really had a terrible time with the rules).
3) Errata and FAQs: Catyr and Matt mentioned a few posts up about mortars in a game that didn’t allow for siege weapons. The mortars followed almost all of the siege weapon rules, and while they weren’t terribly hard to get around (flank, ambush, shield armor) they were still pretty powerful, Scott’s second round opponent didn’t have a way to deal with them (well he didn’t want to Flank his guys because of his 2TS on most of his grunts), and so he was punished by them. His first round opponent didn’t seem to have too much, but then again he was ambushing practically every turn. Guillaume hunted them down with Hua Poi and Lao Yi in round three. BUT that’s not to dismiss the fact that they did have a distinct advantage in the game, on a small field, they had control of the board, didn’t need LoS, and removed the ES bonus for cover. Combine that with a +8RS, meant that things under it were going to die. So that’s something we’re going to think about once Matt and Emily return from being trapped in the North East due to that blasted storm. There were a few other things that were brought up that required clarification, and a glaring typo for one of the Exomorph’s stats. Once we've gathered enough of these, we’ll probably put out an errata document that hopefully fixes most of the issues players brought up to us during the tournaments.
So, it wouldn’t be a Visiting Hours if we didn’t have questions, so here goes:
1) Does Tournament play appeal to you? Why or why not? Would you play in a Brushfire tournament?
Tournament play is something I go back and forth on, I like the chance to play a whole bunch of games in a single day, and try to win, but I know I’m never that good and I generally don’t want to be stuck in a game with an opponent that bugs me. So for the most part, I’m for events that ‘mimic’ tournaments where you play several games in one day. Other games might call it a One Day Achievement League, or something along those lines. I would totally play in a Brushfire tournament, I think that the game has a lot of potential for people to create full armies of 150 resources with 5 hero levels, and play on 4x6 boards for an entire day.
2) Was there anything that surprised you about the results of our tournaments, or the lists the players took?
It surprised me that people showed up . Seriously though, I was surprised at the number of people that showed up. I knew that Catyr was bringing a few friends from his local play group that went to the Warstore Weekend with him, and I knew that Tonio and a friend signed up, but to convince 4 random people to come play in our event astounded me, and what made it better was that they had fun too! Not seeing too many “competitive” lists for Brushfire, it was interesting to see what several of our players took, and why they took them. From the Civitas players, they took bow mice to farm critical hits. If you roll enough dice, you’re bound to get a few 10s. The Axony player took the Imperial Duke to give more armor to his Bull Regulars, and the Exomorph players differing between Cultists and Will-o-Wisps, so it was cool to see differences between the lists, and to see how people ran the lists that they ran.
3) What sort of “competitive events” are you looking forward to seeing from On the Lamb?
The biggest thing I want to try is a weekend long map based competitive campaign for Endless. Where at the end of every battle you have to roll and see if your dead stay dead, etc… And vie for the center of the map/dungeon to claim the prize. It’d either need a lot of people so that everyone is playing a game every round, or have enough volunteers to play the “Dungeon monsters” during the game.
Those Civitas lists do look scary. Going up against 20+ models, many with ranged attacks, would be daunting. Model count can be an important factor. I'm glad to hear Axony could hold their own with only 12 models. Speaking of which, It looks like that Axony list must be bringing in extra Bull regulars and/or Terriers as mercenaries?
It is interesting, though not surprising to see the two armies I've been eyeing, Zabar and Scyzantium, left out. Ribenguo's absence is a little more surprising. I don't know if Zabar's current released models could have held up against some of the lists you posted.
Galen wrote: Great report Alf! I wish I could have been there.
Those Civitas lists do look scary. Going up against 20+ models, many with ranged attacks, would be daunting. Model count can be an important factor. I'm glad to hear Axony could hold their own with only 12 models. Speaking of which, It looks like that Axony list must be bringing in extra Bull regulars and/or Terriers as mercenaries?
It is interesting, though not surprising to see the two armies I've been eyeing, Zabar and Scyzantium, left out. Ribenguo's absence is a little more surprising. I don't know if Zabar's current released models could have held up against some of the lists you posted.
One or two of the bull regulars were bought using the gold only option listed in their profile, but they lose out on quick nock for their rifles.
The chugoku and aquitar armies were loaners from me.
I would play in tournaments. It allows me a wider variety of opponents. It also gives me a chance to play the same army list over and over, as opposed to picking a different list for each game like I normally would. The major negative for me as far as tournaments go is timed games. I enjoy playing competitively, but I am not a fast player and tend to take my time, debating over moves. I would definately try to play in any Brushfire tournaments I could make it to.
2. Was there anything that suprised you about the Adepticon Brushfire tournaments?
I didn't realise there would be such a big difference in model count between certain lists. Was it limited to one LVL2 hero or could people field apair of LVL 1s? My instinct would be to run a pair of heroes. I haven't heard any gripes about exemplars rolling over opposing armies. I thought there might be one or two expert or seven wanderers builds running around, then again low points may have prohibited that a bit. I was most suprised to see the 5 valkyrs vanderlands list.
3. What sort of competitive events are you looking forward to seeing from OTL?
Nothing particular jumps to mind. Playing one-off EFT games could scratch my competitive itch for a while by itself. Slow growth leagues, or map leagues would be entertaining. One idea I had for an EFT tournament would be bring 12-15 Crystals worth of models and pick a 10C list before each match, after seeing the board and scenario.
1) Does Tournament play appeal to you? Why or why not? Would you play in a Brushfire tournament?
Tournament play doesn't really appeal to me per se. What I do like are games that have been designed for tournament play because that ensures that they are (hopefully) balanced, so even my one off games with friends are as fair as possible. Would I play in a Brushfire tournament? I wouldn't say never but certainly have no plans for it.
2) Was there anything that surprised you about the results of our tournaments, or the lists the players took?
As I do with most games, I don't really look at armies outside of my own until I face them so I can't speak for any of the others., but the 5 Valkyrie Vanadalands list definitely raised my eyebrow. It's an extreme style build that I would never have even thought of myself.
3) What sort of “competitive events” are you looking forward to seeing from On the Lamb?
The Miasma War is what is appealing to me most right now. Excited to see more from that.
1) Does Tournament play appeal to you? Why or why not? Would you play in a Brushfire tournament?
Yes and no. I kinda like competitive play, but no longer want to invest the ressources and particularly time into it, as that would mean putting other games and projects aside. I still like going to tournaments though, as it'a a huge drive for painting, and I get a kick out of the social part of it. When I go now, I take softer lists, and enjoy the roadtrip and meeting new opponents.
I did take part in the TC Beginners' Tournament, so I think the second part of the question answers itself. I would probably think about getting in a bigger one someday, but as my only way of playing BF right now is at Con, my experience level might be a bit too low.
2) Was there anything that surprised you about the results of our tournaments, or the lists the players took?
No expectation really, as I'm not experienced enough with the game.
3) What sort of “competitive events” are you looking forward to seeing from On the Lamb?
A EFT narrative event would be cool. A bit like the Story Encounter based tournament Malifaux has.
Today's Visiting Hours is a special release of "The Quiet of Graybasin" a short story set in the world of Endless. A few months ago, you saw a preview of the first chapter, but today, we bring you the complete story, along with something extra.
It is a time of war in Halleford half the country lies under the control of a dark force, corrupting soldiers to fight for it. In such times, heroes rise and make history. This story is not about those heroes. The Kingfishers are a third-rate guild who have never made an impact upon the world, or at least, the chronicles of history never note their influence. Journey through a fractured look at their past, and those around them, to discover their importance and their obscurity.
In addition to the short story "The Quiet of Graybasin", playable cards for the 5 members of the Kingfishers are included in the second PDF. These are 2C Characters. Like 3C Characters, they have fixed command lists and are unique per party. In Campaigns, they can replace Class 2C models at Level 5. Once they have become these characters, they can no longer level up. Knight -> Laird Archer -> Edrin Thief -> Raetan Cleric -> Drast Rune Fencer -> Filin
Good stuff Matt! It took me a little while to remember who all the characters were, but a quick glance at the cards helped me cheat.. I'm always a bit suprised by the dark, gritty feel of your writing. I forget that the main story arc in this world is a massive war. When Szabo's name came up I had a feeling I knew where things were going.
As far as characters go the idea of a "runefencer" with a spear was my favorite. I felt like all the kingfishers had a good chance to show their personality even in this short piece. The one thing I could have done with a little more of is backdrop/setting, but there is nothing wrong with keeping that focus on the characters and the action.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I didnt get a chance to mention my thoughts on the eft cards. That will have to wait for later
My next planned story, should be a more light hearted story. Halleford will not be at the center of the plot, and it will introduce some new world details, mostly surrounding Nacre.
Glad to hear you like the Kingfishers, they may show up more in the future.
On the 'backdrop' comment, I'll admit, I'm terrible at 'environment porn'. I find it difficult to talk about the locales for extended periods without delaying the story. I try to train myself to break way for a paragraph or two to talk about the setting, history, etc, but I always feel it needs to tie in to what the characters are discussing or interacting with. A challenge I find myself struggling with.
On the 'backdrop' comment, I'll admit, I'm terrible at 'environment porn'. I find it difficult to talk about the locales for extended periods without delaying the story. I try to train myself to break way for a paragraph or two to talk about the setting, history, etc, but I always feel it needs to tie in to what the characters are discussing or interacting with.
You are not alone. My wife deals with the same situation in her writing. I, though I haven't written anything in some time, fall on the opposite side of the spectrum. I can blather on about minutiae all day with no plot in sight. I blame all the non-fiction, often animal/plant field guides, that I read in elementary school.
Back on your story, the part about the beastmen construction from when mages ruled really stuck with me. It gave the world some character. I also found it interesting that everyone wants to get their hands on a miasma shard to experiment on.
Though he didn't not get much time in the foreground, I found the scenes with Drast entertaining. His quirkiness was oddly endearing.
I was pleasantly suprised that new EFT cards were released with the story. After a cursory glance these characters seem to be on par with standard 2C classes, which is good. I think Eldin and Drast would be the most likely of the group to see time in one of my parties.
Perhaps taking some more time to read some non-fiction would help me in that. I have a few historical books I've been meaning to power through that would serve purpose.
The Miasma is a very recent phenomena, and the crystals themselves have only been on Terra for 200 years. I felt this was a great place to delve into the mysteries surrounding them, before revealing more in the Miasma War campaign, coming later as a series of playable battles.
We have a basic system for balancing the cards based on their point cost, but I figured the extra command wouldn't outbalance the Kingfishers, especially considering their lack of flexibility (like other 2C models). Hopefully that will hold true as players build their cheese lists. They also reassert our intent to provide more options to players and embrace the 'palette swap' essence of JRPGs.
I've had the beginnings of an EFT story kicking around for the last year. I don't know if it will ever come to anything, but it brought up a fluff question. Are cows, goats, sheep, and chickens raised, or are there alternate creatures kept for food/milk production?
Galen wrote: I've had the beginnings of an EFT story kicking around for the last year. I don't know if it will ever come to anything, but it brought up a fluff question. Are cows, goats, sheep, and chickens raised, or are there alternate creatures kept for food/milk production?
As a 'real' answer to your question, Kirin replace horses and can also replace cattle if need be. To avoid specifics of species name, you could always use the words 'poultry', 'cattle', or 'livestock' etc. I don't think we're going to stat up such creatures for EFT, but something might happen as items/whatnot for the RPG down the line.
But who is to say real world farm animals and fantasy farm animals don't both exist on Terra?
WhiteRoo wrote: Sound's good. Is there any progress with the plastic minies?
We ran into an issue with our original planned manufacturer being unable to produce the amount of detail in the sculpts, so we're investigating other options. Our hope is to use someone domestic, but we may end up going with WargamesFactory (China).. which would add another year or more till we'd get them.
It is unfortunate that so many companies have to go to China for plastics manufacture. Reaper bought a machine for production of their Bones plastics after their first kickstarter, but still had to source Bones 2 from Asia to fulfill in any reasonable timeframe.
It is definitely a decision we're struggling with. We have done all other production domestically and would prefer to continue that tradition. For numerous reasons: cost, shipping time, QA, etc.
Hey Everyone, We've got a new scenario for Brushfire this week, along with some Endless Art. This VH is a little smaller than normal because we are working on something new for the coming weeks, which should see an announcement soon. In the time being, I wanted to release a scenario that mixes up the objectives a little bit, so you'll find this to be a mix of Last Stand and Objective Hold, and I hope you'll enjoy it!
Burrowing Invasion You can hear them beneath your feet. Their digging has had you uneased for several hours. Part of you hopes they simply try to sneak by and avoid combat, but you know deep down this is where they strike. Fellow soldiers arm themselves, eyes darting about for any sign of loose ground. At last you see it, They’ve surrounded you. A thought enters your mind, collapse those tunnels and you can repel the invaders.
Deployment: Roll to determine a Defender and an Attacker. On a square board, at least 4”x4”, place a Burrow Marker in the direct center of each 24”x24” quarter and one in the direct center of the table, for a total of 5 Burrow Markers. The Defender must deploy within 12” of the center of the table. The Attacker does not deploy any models at the start of the game.
Special Rules: Well Constructed Tunnels - If only the Defender has models in B2B with a Burrow Marker at the end of any activation, the Defender is considered to ‘hold’ that Marker like an objective. The Attacker may not ambush through a Burrow Marker being held by the Defender. If the Defender no longer has models in B2B with the Burrow Marker, it is no longer considered to be held. A Marker remains held if Attacker models move into B2B while a Defender model is still holding the marker.
Undermining Invaders - The Attacker may begin ambushing on Turn 1. Every model in their army may ambush through Burrow Markers. Models may not Ambush or Flank in any other way. Any losses sustained by the Attacker may Ambush on the next turn, up to a limit determined by the Tunnel Collapse Rule.
Tunnel Collapse - Each held Burrow Marker, after the first, reduces the Attacker’s Model Limit by 25% (An Attacker with 100 models in their enlisted army can only ambush up to 75 models). 2 Markers = 75% Model Limit 3 Markers = 50% 4 Markers = 25% 5 Markers = 0%
These limit reductions only keep the Attacker from ambushing over the limit. If the Limit is below what is currently on the table, models are not removed. Heroes do not count toward this adjusted Resource Limit. The Limit is raised if objectives become unheld.
Results: Make the End of Game Roll after Turn 5. Victory results are determined by the number of Burrow Markers held or not.
Victory Severity: Close Victory: 3 Markers are held by the Defender // 3 Markers remain unheld Hard-Won Victory: 4 Markers are held by the Defender // 4 Markers remain unheld Glorious Victory: All 5 Markers are held by the Defender // All 5 Markers remain unheld
An additional Victory Point is awarded to the Attacker if the Defender has no models on the table at the end of Game. Two additional Victory Points are awarded to the Defender if the Attacker has no models on the table at the end of Game.
EFT Art: Deep Troll
Air Troll
Storm Troll Rough Heath has done a great job on making sure, even if each troll is a different element, there are characteristics they all share. Just loving it.
Convention QnA With one of our bigger conventions, Adepticon, coming up at the beginning of April, I thought it would be poignant to talk about Convention Going. I've met a lot of different people at Cons over the years, and I'm always fascinated by the different ways people spend their mini-vacation. Cosplaying, Filling their schedule with tourneys/events/panels, Beer and Pretzaling whatever comes their way, Shopping like mad, or just hanging out with distant friends.
1) Generally, how do you prefer to spend your conventions? Are there any that you approach/treat differently from your usual convention attitude?
2) What conventions do you always HAVE to go to? What makes you need to attend?
3) What gaming materials do you bring to conventions 'just in case'?
Answers 1) Obviously most of our convention going experiences are from the retail end these days, but I've always been a big browser/shopper. I love scouring through booths for neat things, and then spending half an hour deciding if I REAAAALLY want it or not. At conventions with painting competitions, I try to spend a few minutes looking over the entries, and use that for motivation to practice my own painting. Paint and Takes are one of my favorite diversions at such Cons
2) GenCon. This year we do not have a booth, but we are attending anyway. The first vacation we've had in a long time, and I'm super excited to not be tied to a booth for once! Between the amount of time to see everything, and the fact that it pulls big and indie companies from all over means there is a lot to see and do. It is very hard to repeat yourself at GenCon. Plus, all the exclusive items to get!
3) I try to bring a party game or two, and Epic Spell Wars has been the go-to game for that. We recently picked up a copy of Cards Against Humanity. I'm not sure my sides can handle it, but we'll be bringing it for a laugh anyway. If I'm currently in the midst of a portable video game, I'll often bring that along, but that stays in the hotel for after hours or travel amusement.
Convention QnA 1) Generally, how do you prefer to spend your conventions? Are there any that you approach/treat differently from your usual convention attitude?
Since I don't get to goto shows for 'fun' anymore... For bigger shows its wandering the Exhibit/Vendor areas, going hunting for rare items or good deals. For the smaller ones its just relaxing, and painting minis.
I think it depends a lot on that the attaker is actually able to nail a turn one ambush against the defender, because the middle burrow marker is obvously starts in hold and the rest is only a rush away.
I assume every model has the ambush rule in the attacker's army for this as well.
Yes, I've clarified that in the scenario. Their entire army may ambush through the Burrow Markers, but cannot ambush in any other way. Like any asymmetrical scenario, it might be best to play it twice and swap roles.
1) Generally, how do you prefer to spend your conventions? Are there any that you approach/treat differently from your usual convention attitude? I plan ahead, and load my schedule full of games, leaving only one or two hours a day for float time. Shopping time is good, but it is bonus. I don't pay an entree fee to shop. I like to find multiple events for the one or two game systems and then mix in some new or one-off games. The first time I really did the whole GenCon experience I played so many Star Wars RPG events (4-5 adventures) run by the same club that by the end of the weekend my character was identified as "a known rebel commander." I also ended up at the hotel playing Silent Death until 2am one night, and missed my first event the next morning.
2) What conventions do you always HAVE to go to? What makes you need to attend? I haven't really been a regular attendee at any cons. I've occasionally been to GenCon, but otherwise just stick to small local cons. My old philosophy was "why spend money on travel and a room when I could stay home and spend that money on product?" I've started to adjust my thinking on that now. The biggest draw for me are games I own but don't ever get to play.
3) What gaming materials do you bring to conventions 'just in case'? I pack light, and have traditionally attended cons solo, so I don't worry about bringing anything to fill time. If I run out of plans I'll look for a random game with an open seat, or just wander around people watching.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
miskatonicalum wrote: Hey Everyone, We've got a new scenario for Brushfire this week
Burrowing Invasion
I need to play some real games of Brushfire. I really like Ambush conceptually, but the low TS of most troops (even ones with natural ambush) coupled with the fact that you are rolling against the TS of the opposing general, would seem to give very low success rates and pass strategic advantage to the defender. I know better than to judge too harshly before seeing it played out on the table though. The scenario sounds fun overall, and is something I could see being put in a regular rotation.
miskatonicalum wrote: Hey Everyone, We've got a new scenario for Brushfire this week Burrowing Invasion
I need to play some real games of Brushfire. I really like Ambush conceptually, but the low TS of most troops (even ones with natural ambush) coupled with the fact that you are rolling against the TS of the opposing general, would seem to give very low success rates and pass strategic advantage to the defender. I know better than to judge too harshly before seeing it played out on the table though. The scenario sounds fun overall, and is something I could see being put in a regular rotation.
Remember the stacking +5 bonus you get each turn for repeated ambush attempts. The best a high TS does is maybe get you in a turn sooner. The real advantage of Ambush is to avoid having to footslog through enemy attacks before being able to strike, or to get behind enemy positions to attack their weaker units.
I think the key feature of this particular scenario is the Ambusher trying to psych out their opponent, or force them to spread their forces too thin to cover every Burrow Marker. Mind Games!
Storm Troll Rough
Heath has done a great job on making sure, even if each troll is a different element, there are characteristics they all share. Just loving it.
Wow, I just love your EFT trolls! I have both of the Earth Troll sculpts (Alfndrate traded me one of the defective ones of the alternate sculpt that he had ) and am really interested in these if they become miniatures.
I don't play Brushfire anymore since the folks in my area had moved on from it too, but I would be interested in these just to have.
My first thought was these trolls look much more primitive or possibly monstrous than the earth troll. It's not good or bad, just something I noticed. The deep troll looks wicked, and I like the gaunt emaciated thing going on with the air troll. It is the trip with the lowest health and defense of I remember correctly.
You always seem to have one or two things in your back pocket, to pull out when the time is right.
We try, we've got a few things we've been working on for a while now.. some we've mentioned before, some we haven't.
We got a great piece of art in from Noah on Friday that I'm looking forward to sharing, and we're expecting another one tomorrow that will be the focal point of this week's Visiting Hours.
Hey everyone, We’re really excited to announce our next big project right here in the Visiting Hours:
The Miasma War, the first Expansion for Endless Fantasy Tactics.
This 140 page book will be full color and include 16 story-based scenarios, along with a bunch of new rule variations.
- Taisen Mode: Alternative initiative rules to streamline play at higher Party Sizes. For those interested in doing mass battles, we’ve got you covered.
- Adventure Mode: The Boss AI rules previously teased on the VH are being adapted for all EFT minis. Now you can play “singleplayer” or “co-op”! These rules will work either standalone or with the Miasma War campaign.
- Mai Yunito, a Character Creation System: Designed to allow players to create their Player Avatar/Main Character, this allows job changing and permanent abilities for a unique flexibility to your party.
- New Units including new & variant classes, new monsters, new characters, and new Bosses.
We will be running a Kickstarter campaign for The Miasma War beginning May 1st. In addition to the new book, our base goal will include 8 new miniatures.
The pledge levels will use a points/picks system, allowing every backer to get exactly what they want.
To hype everyone up, we’ve got a teaser of Scenario 7, in the link below. In the full campaign book, each Scenario will have art and RPG style dialog to bring players into the story.
We hope you like what you see and check out the project when it goes live. We’ll keep you informed over the coming weeks and post here on May 1st.
Not to leave the Brushfire players empty handed, The molds have been made for Gotz von Federwerk in his Proto-Valkyr Armor, Arsene Leblanc the Gentleman Thief, and Flintlock the Privateer. Here is a rough photograph of the masters with Captain Flintlock, all three were sculpted by Bryan Steele:
Spoiler:
If you’re looking to spread the word, here are a few banners you can use. Last campaign our backers put a lot of effort into helping share the project, and we really appreciate all they (and you!) have done to help OTL. Some of the backers mentioned banners last time, so here they are!
Banners:
We’ve also got EFT Avatars in the Avatar Thread right on our subforum.
I'm incredibly happy to be able to finally get this announcement out... now I just gotta wait till May 1st to hit the 'Make Kickstarter Go Now' button.
Noooooooo My Adepticon shopping is ruined! Now every time I look at something I will be thinking that I could just put that money towards the Miasma War KS.
Don't worry there is a month between the KS and AdeptiCon
Also, I'm extremely glad to be getting this ball rolling. The miasma war was something we were throwing around for a while, and to see it starting to come to fruition is extremely exciting. And unlike the last KS I have more involvement on the scenarios and direction of the book.
Seriously though, it sounds like there will be something for everyone in that book. Mass battle rules, character creation rules, and monster AI (co-op play) rules add tons of flexibility to the base game. I can't wait!
Galen wrote: Seriously though, it sounds like there will be something for everyone in that book. Mass battle rules, character creation rules, and monster AI (co-op play) rules add tons of flexibility to the base game. I can't wait!
Its almost as if we've been listening to feedback.
We're also trying to make this a good jumping on point for new folks as every pledge level also includes a copy of the EFT Rulebook PDF.
I may be pretty tapped out from the Dwarven Forge pledge manager likely ending right then, but I will certainly be watching for troll awesomeness . Sculpts anything like those first two sketches would be amazing.
We wanted to provide some alternatives/variations to Brushfire players this week, and so we're introducing our first set of "Scenario Templates"; special rules and effects that you apply over the normal objectives of a game. These will not change the normal objectives or scoring, but simply create a twist to your game. Below are three Scenario Templates, but we have more planned for the future. We hope to get enough that players can make a d5 or d10 roll to decide which Template they use.
Scenario Templates These are additional effects that can be added to any battle to change up the strategy or simply to create some variation in play. These Templates are applied to another Scenario to add additional rules that do not otherwise affect the objectives.
Dragon Attack A horrid creature stalks the battlefield. The creature is just a maw of death and an armless body. “Dragon” a soldier whispers. You are not even sure you could wound it, let alone slay such a beast. You hope and pray its hunting eyes turn towards your foe instead.
Ozymandias, The Dragon MS - 6 ES - 6
Place a 120mm Model of Ozymandias or a 5” Template on any table edge where it is equidistant from both player’s deployment zones. If no such table edge exists place it anywhere on the table where it is equidistant from both deployment zones.
The Dragon is an invulnerable model that cannot be killed. At the beginning of each turn it makes 3 deviation rolls, and move the Dragon, following each roll in sequence. Each squad that the Dragon passes through suffers 4 Attacks of 2 DE, Ignores All Armor. The opposing player rolls to hit.
Though the Dragon cannot be killed, it can be slowed. During each Activation, if at least 2 attacks successfully hit the Dragon, the number of deviation rolls it makes are reduced by 1. The Dragon always makes at least 1 Deviation roll. The opposing player rolls to evade.
Models, such as Aquitar’s Legionnaire, that can make attacks after an enemy Movement phase, trigger such abilities after each Dragon deviation roll. If hit, using the same rules as above, the Dragon makes no further deviation rolls that turn.
Night Battle You always hated fighting at night, but at least your opponents are hampered as much as you. A bullet or two flies past, far wide of the target. You will have to get in close to finish this.
The Following Rules apply during Night Battle:
Models without the Sniper special rule have their range reduced by 5” on all Ranged Attacks, to a minimum of 5” RNG.
Line of Sight is blocked by any obscuring terrain over 1” instead of 2”.
Models must have LoS BEFORE Moving to be able to Charge.
The total distance of a Cavalry Charge is halved.
Models do not receive a +2 bonus when Charging. Anti-Charge and other charge bonuses still apply.
Models with Signal Lanterns and Models that target them treat LoS through obscuring terrain as normal, and receive the +2 Charge bonus as normal.
Bombardment You can hear the whistling. Every hour you dread it. You resist the urge to look up, knowing you won't see them coming. Even if you could, there is no way you could react in time. You just hope the Artillery hits their mark instead of straying off course.
Each player will make off the table artillery bombardments against their opponent during the course of the game. At the beginning of Turn 2, the winner of the Initiative roll will follow the rules below to launch an artillery strike. From Turn 3 onward, the players will alternate who makes an artillery strike, regardless of who actually wins the following Initiative rolls.
To make an artillery strike, the player making the strike will declare any point on their left table edge. The attacking player will then roll 1d5 (roll a d10 and halve the result, rounding up) and the other player will roll 1d10. The attacking player’s roll will be the tens and the other player’s roll will be the ones. Place a Large template the rolled number of inches in a straight line to the right of the selected point. So if the attacking player rolls a 4, and the other player rolls a 2, the attacking player will move the template 42 inches across the table from the selected point. This can result in the a distance longer than the table. If the center point is not on the table, the Artillery attack is not made.
The Attacking Player will make a 5” Template Attack using an RS of 6 and 2 DE, Ignores body armor.
Q and A
What are your favorite Scenario Templates/Variations in other games?
Do you prefer when these mechanics affect the core objective?
Do you like when they add new objectives?
And a tease for the Miasma War Kickstarter...The Male Rhapsodist: With the sort of tomboy/punk look Heath gave to the Female Bard-like Rhapsodist, Noah went with a less masculine Dancer-type for the Male.
In the Miasma War Book, this variant will have a different set of spells than the female and will be a decent melee combatant, even when out of MP.
Oh whao! Awsome to see some stuff on the dragons, and the Male Dancer is awsome. Always happy to see more stuff from Noah. (Not that heath isn't awsome! Just awsome when all the art isn't him! XD )
What are your favorite Scenario Templates/Variations in other games? I personally like new objectives in my scenario's, and find them the most fun. It's easy to just be able to throw down with your normal armies, but play new objectives. I find stuff like this helps shake up local metas, and is good for the competive helth of a game.
Do you prefer when these mechanics affect the core objective? hhuuuummmmmm...... In Tournament settings, it's nice seeing stuff like varrient FoC's and mechanics to shake up a game from the standard meta. But I don't feel the varrient mechanics should over shadow the core game.
In normal pick up games, i gravitate to playing standard games. To many times players feeling others got unfair adventages, since their standard army did not perform as well as the other person's army.
Do you like when they add new objectives? New objectives are my favorit. =D
What are your favorite Scenario Templates/Variations in other games? Good queston... I'm not a big fan of duing whacky variations on a game. The idea is usually is to make a strategy based game have a huge random element(hence, the dragon), and I don't like that. Altough if it's just different by not a random thingy (like the night scenario), I would try that.
Do you prefer when these mechanics affect the core objective? I'm okay with mixing up the objectives and I love coming up with minmaxing around a new objective.
Do you like when they add new objectives? It shakes up the meta.
The next Visiting Hours is on Brushfire's 4th anniversary, anything in particular y'all would like to see? I would like to know how does your internal testing process works.
I'm not totally sure what I think about it in relation to a dragon, but I love the name Ozymandias (and the Dakka user by the same name, and the historical reference!)
The "dragon" part comes from the Legionnaire/Moleon background as the name Brushfire characters call Snakes. Like Exomorphs theyre a mysterious/legendary creature, refered to by mythological names instead of real world names.
In Redwall, there is a Snake called "Azmodeus". It lured animals to their deaths with hypnotic eyes. The name also just sounds great when you say it 'snake like' adding extra hisses/s sounds into the name. "Asssssmodeussssss"
In Brushfire, we wanted Snakes to be the proto-Pharaohs of Khonshu, in a similar vein to the Scorpion King in real history (not The Rock).
So combining those two ideas, we went with Ozymandias to get the great hissing sound. "Ossssymandiasssss" Go ahead. Say it out loud.
The "dragon" part comes from the Legionnaire/Moleon background as the name Brushfire characters call Snakes. Like Exomorphs theyre a mysterious/legendary creature, refered to by mythological names instead of real world names.
In Redwall, there is a Snake called "Azmodeus". It lured animals to their deaths with hypnotic eyes. The name also just sounds great when you say it 'snake like' adding extra hisses/s sounds into the name. "Asssssmodeussssss"
In Brushfire, we wanted Snakes to be the proto-Pharaohs of Khonshu, in a similar vein to the Scorpion King in real history (not The Rock).
So combining those two ideas, we went with Ozymandias to get the great hissing sound. "Ossssymandiasssss" Go ahead. Say it out loud.
I thought is was just a refrense to Azmodeus in all honesty. Speaking of witch. I loved the redwall cartoon.
The new EFT Kickstarter is 5 days away, so Today is another Brushfire VH. We've got 3 more scenario templates to provide you with more selection, and enough to roll randomly on a d6 or d10. AS requested, two of the templates have victory points, creating secondary objectives for your games.
High Value Target Forget about the rest, we cannot suffer that captain to live. Their death would be a blow to the enemy's morale, and a chance for us to gain a groundswell back home.
Each player enlists a free hLVL 1 hero. If this model is on the table at the end of the last turn, the player is awarded an additional Victory Point. If the model is slain or off the table (e.g. in reserve), the opponent is awarded a Victory Point.
Freak Weather Some low pressure system from the west has mixed with some high pressure system from the south. Not sure what it means, but those clouds look freaky. Stay vigilant out there, and be ready for anything.
Not all battles can take place on the firm fields under the best conditions. Sometimes the heavens unleash their armies in the form of storms, winds, and lightning.
At the beginning of each turn, roll a d10 and consult the chart below. The weather effect lasts until the initiative roll of the following turn.
1-2: Blistering Winds: At the start of the turn, roll a deviation die, all models are pushed 1” in the direction of the winds after their activation. If a template weapon should scatter it scatters an additional roll in the direction of the winds.
3-4: Fog: During the turn, ranged attacks suffer -2 RS. In addition, Targets beyond 12 inches gain concealment.
5-6: Downpour: During the turn, models cannot make perform a Charge or Cavalry Charge.
7-8: Muddy Fields: During the turn, Models cannot Rush, and suffer -1 to their Speed.
9-10: Heat Wave: During the turn, all Models suffer -1 to their MS and RS rolls, Models with 3+ AR (or AR Shield) suffer -2 to MS and RS Rolls instead.
Sabotage Intelligence reports that one of the enemy's supply camps is holding vital weapons for their next attack. We only have enough sapping explosives for one chance. Make the right one.
Each player places two 5” Template-sized Supply Camps on their half of the table. Declare each Template as A or B. Secretly write down which Supply Camp is your Key Objective.
If the player has a model on the enemy’s Key Objective at the end of the game, the player is awarded an additional Victory Point.
A squad on an enemy’s Supply Camp, in place of their normal activation, may “Sabotage” the Supply Camp. Place a token to indicate the Sabotaged Supply Camp. Each player may only sabotage one Camp per game.
At the end of the game, if the Sabotaged Camp is the Key Objective, the player is awarded an additional Victory Point. If the wrong Camp is Sabotaged, the opponent is awarded the Victory Point.
Rolling Chart d6 1 - Dragon Attack
2 - Night Battle
3 - Bombardment
4 - High Value Target
5 - Freak Weather
6 - Sabotage
d10 1: Dragon Attack
2: Night Battle
3: Bombardment
4: High Value Target
5: Freak Weather
6: Sabotage
7: Roller's Choice
8: Opponent's Choice
9 - 10: No Template
With the Kickstarter underway and at 65%, Tom and I wanted to do a write up on the home of the Campaign's main character, Frayce Deepwell. Below you will find an RPG style rundown on the Duchy of Deepwell, along with some palette swaps for running a Deepwell Themed party. As EFT grows, We plan to release more of these suggested themes.
We're currently in the lull period for Kickstarters and to keep the momentum going, we ask that you share the KS with anyone who might be interested. If you have a suggested media outlet we may not have spoken to, drop us an email (contact at on-the-lamb dot com) or PM and we will get in contact with them. Thank you in advance for your assistance!
Deepwell Region - Northwest Halleford Population - ~5,000 Hallefordians, ~500 Zeutens Government - Duchy, Member of Highwater Senate
Geography The lands of Deepwell along the border of Halleford and Zeutenheim, bordering the Intercontinental Sea. Castle Deepwell is situated at the mouth of the Whitefjord River, a position that grants the small duchy a large amount of power as a trade city between Zeutenheim, Arganea, and the inland cities of Halleford. The Whitefjord empties into Naiadar Bay, a rocky inlet that appeared inhospitable until Deepwell was founded on the banks.
Heading southeast, Deepwell is a mix of copses, creeks, and wetlands, leaving little room for major farming or larger cities. Outer Deepwell is dotted with small fishing villages where the majority of the population is located. In fishing season, the Aquamancers’ magic overflows the riverbanks causing mild flooding and causing small craft to nearly completely cover the region pursuing sealife seeking to return to their spawning pools. Deepwell floods are a events of celebration and festival instead of periods of disaster.
North of the Scorch, the distinct shift in ecological properties between Halleford and Zeutenheim, Deepwell’s absorbed territories are major sources of coal. As a locale lacking a significant Fire Troll population, the poor quality iron mined in Deepwell is forged into a hybrid Zeuten-Hallefordian steel to ensure sturdy weaponry for the armies of the Duchy.
Life and Culture The average resident of Deepwell enjoys a diet primarily of fish, caught fresh from the coastal waters and the many rivers that cross the terrain. As such, Deepwell is known for seafood dishes. To the outside world, most of Halleford’s cuisine can be traced back to the Duchy. In actuality, Deepwell recipes are markedly different from other Halleford dishes, commonly mixing Zeuten-favored spices into their food.
Deepwell enjoys a quiet religious life, owing much of their quality of life to the worship of Undinite, goddess of Water. The Deepwellish accept Undinite’s law as a fact of life, and take the hardships of life, when they occur, with a grain of sea-salt, knowing that things will change with the ebb and flow of the tides.
All Deepwellians serve one year of ‘active’ military service to the Duke of the lands. Commonly, this standing army defends the region, but after Halleford’s first foray against the Miasma, Deepwell’s army is shattered. Instead, the Duchy relies upon Zeuten reinforcements to protect it. Unlike other areas resenting the protection of Zeuten soldiers, Deepwell’s mixed culture welcomed the troops.
The sea green colors of Deepwell’s banners and uniforms, though not as intimidating as the red on gold of Zeutenheim’s knights, the Deepwell militia blends in with the verdant fields of Halleford, working as an effective camouflage. Like many other Halleford militias, Deepwell trains heavily armored knights supported by adept wizards and light armored troops. Most spell casters indigenous to the region practice aquamancy, water spells powered by Undinite’s blessing.
People and Organizations A century ago, the Eisens, a noble family of Zeutenheim, married into the Deepwell dynasty as a means to settle a trade dispute. As part of the grand arrangement with the Zeuten nobles, Deepwell absorbed the region previously controlled by the Eisens. Down through the next several decades, the two families intermarried numerous times, ensuring the Duchy’s continued sovereignty of the multinational territory.
One of the largest Temples to Undinite in the world sits at Deepwell Mott, nestled south of the capital. Here, the priests and priestesses of Undinite lead worship and weave aquamancy to grow crops, heal the sick, and ensure cool climates counteract the ever present heat of the sun. Recently, the High Priestess Eirona arrived to visit Deepwell Mott indefinitely. The surprising arrival of the girl, infused with the blood of Myrm, has brought many pilgrims to the region, despite the danger of the Miasma.
The new Duke, Frayce Deepwell, took the title in his teens, after his father’s untimely death. An impetuous youth, Frayce spends as little time ruling the Duchy as he can, often leaving his responsibilities to relatives, most commonly, his cousin Trane von Eisen. With the Miasma War at its height, Trane’s detachment of Zeuten soldiers has moved into the Duchy to defend it. Despite Trane’s beratement, Frayce continues to sneak out of the castle for any excuse.
Deepwell Knights Like their Zeuten neighbors, Deepwell employs heavily armored Knights, wearing Deepwell Steel instead of Zeuten Iron. A Crusader model using a Knight's Card is perfect for this setup, make sure to Stalwart to represent their heavy armor and a few MP cost abilities for their connection to Undinite.
Deepwell Aquamancers Experts in water magic, Aquamancers use their connection to Undinite to weave their spells. An Adept using a Gel Wizard's card for a 1C Aquamancer gives Water Blood and Water Element Spells. A Sorcerer's card for a 2C Aquamancer gives a more experienced spellcaster and their core ability still lets the Aquamancer gain Water Blood.
Deepwell Trooper Marked by their Sea Green coloring, Deepwell’s conscripted soldiers are ideal merchant marines and light troops. Squires and Bandits run either as their own cards, or Thieves and Archers respectively, represent the lightly armored Deepwell Troopers. Equip them with Soldier's Boots so they can harass enemies/objectives or Deep Crystal Slivers to act as support for Deepwell's Knights and Aquamancers by healing with their attacks.
Hey Folks, 13 Hours to the end of the kickstarter, and with CMONExpo this weekend, we've been really busy!
...Not busy enough to skip the Visiting Hours this week! We've got a little scenario, that was meant to be paired with an Indepth look at Plainskeep, but I hope you will look forward to that on the next VH. Instead, as someone spoiled in another thread, we have a sneak peak at the next Brushfire release!
Back Alley Brawl When that poor courier's parcel scattered across the ground, it only took a few moments for the slum's denizens to go crazy. Whether you're just protecting the goods or keeping them for yourselves, It would be bad form to let anyone else run off with it.
Designer’s Note: This scenario is meant to be played with lots of high level rooftops and close alleyways to really bring home the idea that the players are fighting in the back alleys of Plainskeep.
Party Size - 5-10 Crystals
Setup - Standard Board Size; Standard Deployment, Each model begins with 1 Mug Token x Crystal Cost.
Rules - When a model deals damage with a basic attack, remove a Mug Token from the Target and place it on the attacker’s stat card. Basic Attacks that hit multiple targets may only take 1 Mug Token, the player may choose which model to take a token from.
When a model is killed, place any remaining Mug Tokens in the square where the model was killed. Models may pick up all the Mug Tokens in a square if they end their Move Phase on the square.
Battle End - 8 Rounds
Rewards - At the end of the game, Every two Mug Tokens possessed by your party equals 1 EXP. If one player has more tokens than their opponent, they are awarded an additional EXP.
Multiplayer Note: This scenario can be played with multiple players all competing for victory. Only the player with the highest number of tokens is awarded an additional EXP.
Arctos Nevsky Preview
I just want to put out my personal thanks to everyone who backed the Miasma War Kickstarter, and those that have supported us over the years. You guys are awesome and we wouldn't be doing this without you!
Hey everyone! With the Miasma War Kickstarter successfully funded, we've been getting to work on some of the additions to Endless and so with this week's Visiting Hours, we're going to preview one of the Rhapsodist level classes.
So without any further delay or ado, we're present the Witch class!
(Summoner re-color is stand-in art)
Long before the Arganeans instilled an eternal hatred of magic in the people of Rapteras, the Witches of Western Nacre were the city’s resident herbologists and scryers. The covens that operated here were capable of casting spells with far fewer mages than the classical Circles. A trio of Witches could cause crops to grow, drain the life from their enemies, or spy upon the enemies of Rapteras.
The techniques used by Witches drew the attention of the High Elves during their occupation. For decades, they sought to understand the source of the Witches’ magic, but eventually resigned to only using their strength for war. The Arganeans commanded the Air Trolls to infuse sky magic into the Rapterans. This magic “uplifted” the Witches and other people of the city creating a new lifeform. The Arganean experiments created the modern, winged, Rapterans. With slightly avian features, the Rapterans’ bodies became a blend of human and bird and excelled at Air magic and aerial combat. Eventually, more than half the population was transformed and forced to fight for the Arganeans.
After the revolution, the Anti-Magic majority expelled the Witches from the city. They were a sign both of the horrors magic can wrought upon people, and a lasting symbol of the atrocities the Rapteran’s committed against their fellow humans. Forced to wander the mountains of Nacre, the Covens discovered many of the ancient temples of Wiggoth and sought to repurpose them for their own practices. The identity of these secret hollows can be determined by the overgrown Witchroot, a magically attuned vine that Witches are able to control and channel their magic through.
Though exiled by their kin, Witches are mildly accepted among the humans of Nacre, whose lands they have come to inhabit. Tapping into a unique source of magical skill, the Witches are of deep interest to the researchers of the Akademy. It is believed that Witches tap into the minute magical energy of the planet itself, rather than the power of the Crystals, a unique feat among all the spellcasting races of Terra.
Quick Overview The Witch class is a 2C spell casting class, much like the Sorcerer, Summoner, or Cleric. The Witch, much like the fluff above, keeps a wary eye on their lairs and homes through their Witchroot. During their turn, a Witch may forgo their Move or their Action to place a Witchroot token within 4 squares, allowing her to send her little minions out to do her bidding, kind of like Varys from Game of Thrones, but with far fewer people dying at weddings. From there, the Witch may cast spells from the Witchroot and treats the command's point of origin from that token for purposes of range, line of fire, flanking, vantage. In addition to shooting spells from her precious plants, the Witch also specializes in hexing her opponents with status effects. Almost every command the Witch makes can cause some sort of status effect, which not only hinders her opponents, but with the right command setup, can make her more powerful when targeting that model!
So with that, I felt it would be best to show the Witch doing what she does best, hexing and gardening (creating Witchroot tokens ).
I did a small little 3 Crystal fight between a Witch and her Adept apprentice and a Dark Dragoon and a Squire. Because it was a small fight, I wanted a small board to play on, so I only used a 10x10 grid for the fight.
The parties were as follows:
Witch (Summoner model as stand-in) w/ Sky Crystal Sliver and Ring of Protection - Commands: Wicked Hex, Mind Splinter, Pain, Ancient Dust
Adept w/Health Potion - Commands: Mana Shield, Concentration
vs
Dark Dragoon w/ Gloves of Striking, Health Potion - Commands: Stalwart, On the Bounce, Harpoon, Nidhogg's Hunger
Squire w/Ring of Protection - Commands: Assist, Throw Rock
So after I setup the board, I managed to finagle my dad, who has played EFT before into taking on the part of the Dragoon and Squire, because it'd be crazy to play against myself right?
Turn 1Init Order: Witch | Adept ------- Squire | Dragoon
My dad wins initiative with the squire, who gives +1 Def{2} to his Dragoon and the squire and then moves forward. The Witch moves forward and drops a Witchroot (represented by the Gold Murin from OTL's GenCon 2012 booth). The Dragoon and Adept both move closer.
Turn 2Init Order: Witch | Adept ------- Squire | Dragoon
My dad's squire wins initiative for him, and moves forward, but is unable to throw a rock at anyone. The Witch uses her move to drop a Witchroot Token and then casts Ancient Dust on the Squire and hits for a single point of damage. The Dragoon moves forward, but is unable to really hit anything. The Adept moves next to the Witch and uses Learning to cast Ancient Dust on Dragoon and Squire, the spell misses the Dragoon, but hits the Squire for 1 damage.
Turn 3Init Order: Witch | Adept ------- Squire | Dragoon
I finally win initiative! So I move the Witch and use Pain on the Adept, hoping that his Mana shield and concentration would help keep him alive, but I stupidly forgot that he cast a spell last turn and is now down to 1 MP. So the Squire uses Training to give him and the Dragoon +1ATK{2} and moves to gain vantage on an attack against the Adept. He hits for 2 damage, but the Mana Shield soaks 1 damage up (At this moment though I forgot that I had blinded the Squire and my dad would not have been able to throw a rock, oh well he's only played a handful of games). The Adept uses Concentrate and gains 0 MP (oh well :(). The Dragoon then moves forward three squares, and stabs at the Witch. Because of Pain, the poor Adept is caught in the Witch's manipulations and dies to the damage. The Dragoon then bounces backwards to his starting spot.
Turn 4Init Order: Witch ------- Squire | Dragoon
The Squire wins init, moves and uses Throw Rock on the Witch (this time I did remember blind!). The Squire rolls three hits and in response, the Witch breaks her Ring of Protection and whiffs the defense roll and takes 3 damage. The squire loses blind and training. The Witch moves and fires another Ancient Dust from the token the left most token to gain Vantage and fires at the Squire, breaking her Sky Crystal Sliver before doing so. The Witch scores 4 successes, which the Squire could not defend against, and perishes. The Dragoon stays where he is, unsure of where he can move without exposing himself to the Witchroot tokens
Turn 5Init Order: Witch ------- Dragoon.
Witch wins init, creates a token and uses Mind Splinter but even with vantage, she fails to hit. The Dragoon moves forward.
Turn 6Init Order: Witch ------- Dragoon.
The Witch wins initiative and creates a token and uses Mind Splinter, hits the Dragoon for 1. The Dragoon moves forward and attacks with Harpoon. He scores 1 success, but fear kicks in and he misses.
Turn 7Init Order: Witch ------- Dragoon.
The Witch wins initiative, moves and then uses Mind Splinter. With the additional dice from Wicked Hex she hits for 3. The Dragoon scores 2 defensive successes, but Fear drops that to 1. The Dragoon moves forward and uses Nidhogg's Hunger and scores an incredible 4 successes after Fear kicks in. The Witch is unable to stave off the onslaught, and though she controlled and manipulated the fight, the Dragoon held out long enough to claim victory, but at the cost of the Squire.
I'm excited to have another MAG focused offensive class. The witch's ability to attack from relative safety makes it a powerful contender.
That being said, it would be out of character for me not to question/critique new options like this, so here goes.
-I must assume witchroot tokens can be walked over, correct? If they could block enemy movement it would seem overpowered.
-you mention using the witchroot for range, flanking, and vantage. Does the witch still need line of sight to targets of their powers cast through the roots? I would worry about them summoning roots and attacking through walls, or from behind buildings otherwise.
-can any witch use any witchroot token? It sounds like yes.
-wildfire seems weak compared to ancient dust, shorter range, weaker status effect, and destroys tokens in the process.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Though I am ambivalent about the addition of Orcs to Endless, the idea of a Rapteran is very exciting. I can't wait to see the art.
I also have an idea for a 3C character Witch
Grand Witch Sabrina
-Creates Sapling tokens, which count as both witchroots and spike traps (or similar.) They would move like a witchroot, and have HP like a trap, but she would lose 1 HP each time one was destroyed.
miskatonicalum wrote:Witchroot tokens can be walked over, like any other token.
That is what I figured. I just thought I'd double check since the Earth Troll's Rock tokens specifically mention it.
miskatonicalum wrote:
Wildfire may need another rewording (we were running out of space).
Wildfire attacks ALL Targets in range of ALL Friendly Witchroot tokens and then removes the tokens. So you're getting a lot of attacks out of it.
I think it is clear enough. I figured that would cover most if not all of the enemies and probably one to two allies, though I didn't factor in the potential for multiple hits on an enemy from tokens near each other. I still think I personally would tend to pick commands other than Wildfire, just because I wouldn't be willing to get rid of all my witchroots very often.
At first glance the Witch seems very powerful, but then I remember that it should be comparable to the Sorcerer, and Summoner, both of which are quite awesome. The Witch, like the other MAG focused characters, also has to hold up against threats like the Berserker, or Pugilist, which takes some doing. It will be fun to try out.
But LoS from the token isn't required? So you could target something that is out of range of the Witch with a root token in range of the target, but on the other side of a solid LoS blocking terrain piece?
I kinda though LoS would be based on the root tokens instead of the Witch, when they are used. Both works, I just had another interpretation with my first read.
@Galen I can totally understand, the Wildfire is more of an alternative, Token version of an ALL MP. A last ditch attack if the Witch is going to drop soon. Also a good way to stop the opponent's Witch from using your Witchroot tokens.
That said, if there is debate to the use of abilities, all the better, nothing should really be the end-all be-all setup.
@Tonio, with the way its intended, the more important model has to have LoS, which means the attacker (usually) has LoS to the Witch, meaning the Witch can be hit/damaged/threatened. If the rules were the other way around, the opponent has little they can do against the Witch.
Although, the Root tokens can be removed. Their card (which wasn't shown in the VH) states that they can be removed by an adjacent model, but this causes silence to models near the token.
After talking with the Witch Backer, We got the inspiration to expand a bit about another aspect of Rapteras: Airships! So a Scenario based around them was quick to follow. We wanted to do something a little different, so you will find that each player has different objectives for winning the battle. This means that both players can win in their own right. This scenario is of particular use in a campaign where EXP is more than just victory points. At the bottom you will find a link to a basic design you can use for this airship battle. Hope you enjoy!
Last Flight of the Genbu During the reign of the Arganeans, thousands of Airships were forged, powered by volatile Aethertech engines. Since their fall, most of these ships have fallen into disrepair; the knowledge of their construction lost with the Elves. Rumor persists that the 4 Great Airships still sail the clouds, captained by crews lucky enough to find and restore them to working order.
Airships were rare during the Age of Mages, but with the wide access to Air Crystal shards after the Crystal Fall, competent shipwrights can convert seafaring vessels to sailing the air. Thus began an era of Air Piracy. Little security exists except for the navies of Rapteras to combat such villains.
The Genbu, surprised by an Air Pirate attack limps towards the nearest safe harbor, aethertech engines threatening to burn out at any moment. If the great craft cannot stay aloft, the boarding pirates may well make off with the ship’s most valuable cargo, untold treasures of the Arganeans.
Party Size - 10 Crystals
Setup - One player is declared as the Defender and one as the Attacker. Place Engine Tokens and Cargo Tokens in the indicated squares on the battlefield.
Rules - The Attacker’s Models may pick up one Cargo Token at a time and Move at -1 MOV while carrying Cargo. At the end of their move Phase, an Attacking Model may remove a Cargo Token they are carrying from play while in their deployment zone. If the Attacking model is killed, the Cargo Token is placed with their Loot Token.
Quick Repairs - If at least 2C of the Defender’s models are adjacent to an Engine Token, it is not affected by Engine Burn Out. A Defending Model does not count toward this 2C requirement if any Enemy Models are adjacent to the Defending Model.
Engine Burn Out - At the end of each turn, roll a number of dice equal to the turn’s value. For each result, the equivalent Engine Token makes an Attack with the following profile: 3 ATK+MAG, AoE 2, Piercing. The Engine Token is then removed from play.
In Flight - Unlabeled Terrain is Open Air. Any model that moves onto these squares are instantly removed as if they had died. No Loot or Cargo Token is Dropped.
Battle End - 6 Turns
Rewards - The defender is awarded 1 EXP for each remaining Engine Token. The attacker is awarded 1 EXP for each Cargo Token removed from play.
Crash and Burn - If all Engine Tokens are destroyed, both players must make Church of Numina rolls for all models that participated in the battle.
Arganean Artifacts - The Defender is awarded +1 ITM for each Cargo Token remaining in play. The Attacker is awarded +1 ITM for each Cargo Token removed from play.
Last Flight of the Genbu Map Key Curved Beige Squares - Cargo Tokens Gray Squares - Engine Tokens Green Squares - Attacker Deployment Red Squares - Defender Deployment White Squares - Open Air Brown Squares - Normal Terrain (Airship Deck)
In the vague spirit of the season of the World Cup, We wanted to do something special for Brushfire. A new game mode, designed loosely on the rule for Brushfire. These are rudimentary rules for playing the Civitan game of Deportes-Pelota (Sportsball). There is a lot of detail in this week's Post, along with a few images to help you design your own Deportes-Pelota arena. The units used in the game are intened to be generic 30/40/50mm models, allowing Brushfire players to use their already available models.
We had a lot of fun designing this and are curious to know if this is something you would like to see us expand, We've got a number of ideas and would love to hear your feedback!
Deportes-Pelota Originating in New Muriccio, based on a local sport of the indigenous people, Deportes-Pelota is a field sport played with hooked sticks and a heavy ball called the Pelota. Two teams of 6 players attempt to score on the opposing team’s goal, an arched net at each end of the field. Once Deportes-Pelota made its way to Eutheria, the game spread rapidly and most of the continent got Pelota-fever!
Core Changes
Models activate individually rather than in squads.
Models do not make attacks or have a Vitality stat, nor can they take damage.
Initiative is determined by the winner of the Point Skirmish. This initiative continues through each turn until a player scores a point.
When a point is scored, the turn ends immediately, model positions are reset, and another Point Skirmish is rolled.
Models may only Move, not Rush, during the Movement Phase.
Models may perform one of the actions available to their Field Position during their Action Phase. Models do not have any other Phases.
Models may always perform Reactions, even if they have already activated.
Pelota The scoring object of the game. The Pelota is a 30mm token that can be carried by any model that ends their movement within 3” of it. While holding the Pelota, this model is called the Carrier. The Pelota is placed back on the field after a point is scored, or if an action results in it deviating.
Scoring Players score points by Shooting at the opposing player’s goal with the Carrier. After a point is successfully scored all models return to their starting positions on the field.
Field Positions Pointer - This model performs the Point Skirmish at the start of a match and after every point scored. This is the only model that may participate in a Point Skirmish. This model has all Field Player Actions and Reactions.
Shooter - These two models begin the match mid field and return to this area after every point scored. This model has all Field Player Actions and Reactions.
Guard - These two models begin the match rear field and return to this area after every point scored. This model has all Field Player Actions and Reactions.
Goalkeeper - This model must remain within the Goal Area throughout the entire game. This model only has Goalkeeper Reactions. It may only Move during its activation.
Field Player Actions Steal - Roll MS vs Carrier within 2”. On Success, Acting Model takes the Pelota from the Carrier. On Failure, the Carrier may take one Action or Move up to their Speed.
Crash - Roll MS vs Target within 2”. On Success, Target is Knocked Back d5 inches. If Crash is used against the Carrier, the Pelota deviates d10+MS inches. On Fail, the Crasher is Stunned.
Trip - Roll MS vs Target within 2”. On Success, Target is Stunned and make a Penalty Roll. If Trip is used against the Carrier, the Pelota deviates d5 inches.
Pass - Roll RS vs Range Penalty. On Success, Opponent may make an Interception Roll. If Interception Fails, Target gains the Pelota. On a Failure, the Pelota deviates d10” from the Target.
Shoot - Roll RS vs Goalkeeper’s Reaction. On Success, Opponent may make any eligible Interception Rolls. If Interception Fails, Shooter scores 1 Point, and Models are reset for Possession. If the Shoot fails, refer to the Goalkeeper’s Reaction to determine what happens to the Pelota.
Field Player Reactions Interception - A model within 2” of the path of the Pelota will take during a Pass or Shoot may make an flat d10 Roll vs the Acting Model’s RS Roll. On Success the Intercepting Model takes possession of the Pelota. Models may only perform an Interception if the range of the Pass or Shoot is at least 5”. More than one model may attempt an Interception.
Goalkeeper Reactions Dive - When Opponent performs a Shoot, Roll MS vs Shooter’s RS. On Success, Pelota deviates from Goalkeeper d10+MS inches. This deviation is always AWAY from the Goal, If the deviation dictates toward the goal, the Pelota deviates 180 degrees in the opposite direction.
Catch - When Opponent performs a Shoot, Roll RS vs Shooter’s RS. On Success, Goalkeeper gains possession of Pelota and may move anywhere within their Goal Area and make a Pass.
Goalie Steal - When Opponent Carrier ends Movement within 5”, make an MS Roll vs Carrier’s MS. On Success, Goalkeeper gains possession of Pelota and may immediately make a Pass without moving.
Pass Penalty For every 1” between the Passer and their Target add +1 to the Pass Penalty
(I.E. To Pass to a Model 10 inches away, the Passer must roll a 10 or higher)
Body Block If a Model’s base interrupts the straight line between the Passer/Shooter and their target, add +2 to the Opposing Roll/Value. Body Blocking Models may also always perform an Interception even when the Shot/Pass is shorter than 5” and have a +2 on their Interception Roll.
Recover If only one Player’s models are within 3” of the Pelota when it deviates, one model may Immediately Activate to take possession of the Pelota.
Possession Skirmish This event occurs in two circumstances, after a shot is made successfully and when two or more opposing models are within 3” of the Pelota after it deviates.
Point Skirmish - The Pointer for each team makes an MS Roll to gain possession of the Pelota. The higher roller takes possession. In this situation, the Winner may immediately Pass or Shoot but may not Move. This does not count as the Pointer's Activation, but the Pelota most leave the Skirmish Area before either Pointer moves out of it.
Deviation Skirmish - Any models that have not activated, and are within 3” of the Pelota may participate in a Deviation Skirmish. Each player elects a an eligible model to roll MS. The winner temporarily takes possession. The losing model counts as having activated and may not participate further in the skirmish. If any more opposing models are eligible, The Carrier and and an opposing model roll MS again. This continues until one player has no more models to participate in the skirmish. Players may elect to not have models participate in a skirmish to save their Activation for later. When a final winner is determined, this model may take a full activation before counting as activated.
Penalty Roll If a penalty roll is called for, roll a single d10. On a 7+, the model that elicited the penalty roll is removed from play until one point is scored by either team. At this point they are placed back on the field in their starting position.
Sportsclub Teammembers 30mm Light Units Runner Speed 6
MS 3
RS 5
Nimble - The Runner may perform a Rush during the Movement Phase.
Sniper Speed 4
MS 1
RS 4
Perfect Aim - The Sniper’s Pass Penalty is +1 per 2 inches.
40mm Medium Units Striker Speed 4
MS 3
RS 2
Hard Shot - The Striker’s Shoot and Pass cannot be Intercepted.
Catcher Speed 4
MS 2
RS 3
Reach - The Catcher’s Interception and Skirmish Range is +1” and they add +1 to Interception and Skirmish Rolls.
50mm Heavy Units Bruiser Speed 3
MS 4
RS 1
Vicious - The Bruiser’s Crash and Trip range is +1”. The Bruiser cannot be Stunned by a failed Crash, and automatically passes Penalty Rolls.
Blocker Speed 3
MS 3
RS 2
Hulking - Before a Shoot or Pass is made by the Opponent, the Blocker may take a free Movement Phase. The Blocker’s Body Block Penalty is +3 instead of +1.
Team Building Each team consists of 6 positions, 1 Pointer, 2 Shooters, 2 Guards, and 1 Goalkeeper. Each position can be filled by any of the Model Types listed above.
Victory If a player scores 5 Points, or if the game plays for 20 Complete (non-point scoring) turns, the game ends. The player with more points wins the match!
Deportes-Pelota Field Below is a basic image of the Field the game is played on. The Clay colored areas are the Goal Deployment Areas, The Black box within this zone represents the goal. The thinner white line represents the side through which Pelotas must pass to score. Shots attempted that pass through the Black lines stop short.
Sound's good, the description needs a little cleanup and clarification IMHO(what is the turn flow, what is "stunned" means...), but my biggest problem is that the field is too damn big. Also I feel if this game is meant to be played with BF minies, there should be weapons and bloodshed. Not that I'm the violent kind, but the models are portrayed with weaponry.
Still, it's a free football game, so I don't want to complain.
Many 'sports' games that already existe are violent, Dreadball, Bloodbowl, Kaosball, etc. With Deportes, we wanted to simulate a more normal sport game, which is why there are only a few attacks, and they only stun.
Sorry I could have sworn I wrote an entry for stun, Stun is counts as activated until the end of the NEXT turn.
Our playtesting suggested that 4 feet by 2 feet was a nice size, about the same as a small Brushfire game. The field is definately more empty with only 12 models on the field.
Also, there are a few weird things about the game:
-If you activate the model with the ball, you can shoot it to the opponent's net. The shoot mechanic doesn't seems to consider the position of the goalkeeper or the distance from the goalpost. So shooting trough the entire field is as effective as shooting from a few inches. Furthermore, there is only 5 models that would count as interfering, getting the ball, moving to have a clear line and shooting seems to be a good tactic regardless where it happens in the field.
-The goalkeeper seems to be able to intercept regardless where it is actually.
-When the goalkeeper intercepts, basically you choose if you roll MS or RS against the carrier's RS. Where the ball lands is not that important as if it lands on the net or not since after the carrier shots and misses, the goalkeeper's team has the next activation anyways. It looks like the ball has to be shot to the net and simply moving the carrier in does not count, so Goalie Steal does nothing different than Catch, except you can't move before the pass. This means the Goalie is free to use it's highest stat to defend the net regardless of the situation. Since no player skill helps the goalkeeper in any way. there is a clear best candidate for this position and that is the Runner with RS 5.
-No player skill helps the Pointer either, so this position also has a best candidate.
The Pass Penalty went several iterations of the game as the Range Penalty, applying to both Shooting and Passing, but we felt this added such a high penalty to shooting, combined with the Goalkeeper's bonus, that it was near impossible to ever make a goal from anywhere but close range.
If the game was expanded to full rules, we might add a Shoot Penalty that is half the amount of the pass.
Moving to have clear line of sight is a good idea, but as models move into position to protect the goal, they're more likely to cause Interceptions. Defenders have to move less distance to still trigger an interception the further away the Shooter is from the goal. If you get closer, your movement makes a bigger difference on avoiding those Interceptions.
The currently listed units are simply examples, If this was expounded into a full game, We would add additional unit options to expand variety.
Technically the Goalkeeper cannot make "Interceptions" only the specific Goalkeeper Reactions, which I assume is what you were referring to. And yes, these reactions can be taken from anywhere.
Goalie Steal is made not as a Reaction to Shooting but as a Reaction to a model moving within 5".
Where the shot lands can matter if the shooter has also moved their other models up the field. Against a high MS Goalkeeper they can expect lots of Dives, so having a model up there to participate in deviation skirmishes is not a terrible idea.
A Blocker with MS 3 has a Body Block Penalty of +3, essentially a +6, beating out a Runner's RS of 5. This also makes it a great unit for Intercepting immediately after the opponent wins the Pointer Skirmish. With a Blocker as the Pointer, its almost impossible for the opponent's Pointer to move to a position where the Blocker wouldn't be able to block. A Catcher is also good in this position with the +1 to Interception Rolls. A Striker is also good as they flat out ignore Interception Rolls. If you win the Point Skirmish, at most you have to contest with a Block Penalty if you can't get the right angle on the shot.
Today I want to introduce a new series of scenarios for Endless, "the Trials of Battsu."
These will be a series of Challenges that tell the story of Battsu, the Green Swordsman. Each will be designed to test your tactical skill and place you up against nearly impossible odds. The first scenario "Battsu vs The Hundred Elves" is available right now at the link above.
So, how well will you fare against The Hundred Elves? How many can you kill before their numbers overwhelm you?
The link in the image above will take you to the Trials of Battsu PDF, available free on WargameVault, which will be updated over the next few Visiting Hours, providing a glimpse into this new character's history, and significant battles in his life. As new VH battles are released, that one PDF will be updated to include them free of charge.
Let us know how well you do against this Challenge, we want to hear how many Elves you can kill before they prove too much!
Trials of Battsu looks like another great concept. I never would have thought of it.
Battsu looks like a fun character to play. The art is great, very classic anime. I instantly get a feel for the character. Stat-wise he seems formidable. I'm a huge fan of piercing basic attacks. The MP regen ability is cool, and something I'd love to see in some form on a more magic oriented character.
I noticed two discrepancies on Battsu between the card and book. The book lists Battsu as 3C while the card only has 2C, and he has one more HP on the card (8 vs 7.)
A new challenge has been added to the Battsu PDF, introducing Battsu's eternal rival, the Beastman Dozz.
The PDF also uses the Advance System, introduced in the Miasma War PDF. For those without it, Each additional Crystal a model is Advanced by, adds 5 HP to the model. With a +5C Advance, Beastman Dozz also takes two actions each turn. Normally Advances are intended to be used with AI Cards, but we wanted to show that the system can also be used with a real opponent. Boss Dozz will receive AI cards in the future, but our current testing is focusing on the core units of EFT.
We hope this new adventure tests your skill. Let us know how you do, and anything you'd like to see in the future!
Just a Heads up, everyone is going to be out of town this weekend.. so no Visiting Hours this week. The next Trials of Battsu will be posted on Aug 30th.
Part 3 is now up for the Trials of Battsu! We see a jump forward in time, to long after Battsu has become a legendary figure. How did this mysterious swordsman live for centuries? Maybe we will find out....
For now, please enjoy this new mission, including a Variant card for the Knight!
I like Battsu vs the Judges mission. Equipment Retrieval makes for an interesting and fun handicap to start with. The Mandatory Stealth Sequence is a great idea - something not seen in these types of games. If Battsu gets Hand of God and Momentum early on, he could maybe even try to just straight up run for it (only fighting as necessary).
I also like the Judge/Knight class. They seem like they could be really fun to play. The Deflect ability could be amazing, especially if Stalwart goes off really big. I actually really want to put one on my normal party.
We are pleased to announce the release of DLC 02 – The Misadventures of Gelato for Endless: Fantasy Tactics. This is a Pay What You Want release, customers are able to select any price (Including Free!) they wish when checking out. As with DLC 01 (The Trials of Battsu), we will be updating the PDF for Gelato every other week during our regular Visiting Hours post. Once you have added the DLC to your Wargame Vault account you will receive an e-mail whenever the update goes live, and there is no additional cost to download the updated files.
Knights and Wizards, Bandits and Monsters! The village youth ran down the streets of his hometown, a small doll in his outstretched hand. His mother had carefully crafted it for his birthday. The little wooden sword and porcelain helmet made it look like a small soldier. No, a hero! Raising the doll higher and higher as he ran faster and faster, the young boy could think of nothing but adventure and heroism. And then he tripped.
The Misadventures of Gelato is an expansion for the core Endless: Fantasy Tactics Rulebook. The Miasma War Campaign Expansion is recommended, but not required.
- New Scenarios. - New units to add to your parties.
This is an Episodic Release, the PDF will be updated to include new scenarios and units every other week. - Episode 01 – 9/27 - Episode 02 – 10/11 - Episode 03 – 10/25 - Episode 04 – 11/08
I just noticed that the new gels in Gelato and Miasma all have the old text for the Imprint ability. It says they give up a turn to imprint, unlike the gel warrior/wizard who give up move or action.
Galen wrote: I just noticed that the new gels in Gelato and Miasma all have the old text for the Imprint ability. It says they give up a turn to imprint, unlike the gel warrior/wizard who give up move or action.
That's what we get for being lazy with copy pasta. I'll get that fixed asap.
The Miasma War book is due for an art update anyway.
Glad you guys are enjoying the Misadventures of Gelato.
A few misc updates.
- EFT Item Deck #2 is nearly ready, we're just waiting on the last bits of art from Noa.
- We'll be going down to Orlando on Friday to pick up the initial stock of Geomancer terrain sets from Warsenal. They'll be up on the website this weekend.
- Miasma War's PDF will get updated at the end of the month, just waiting to see if we can squeeze a bit more art out of Noa for it before the end of month.
- Brushfire V2 dead tree edition is waiting on printer approval... so soon?
We're also looking to another LambCast soon.. so If you've got anything you'd like to hear us talk about, feel free to e-mail, post, or PM your questions.
With all these new Gels coming out I had to reread and compare them all to see how they would fit into my Endless parties. Here are my abbreviated thoughts on all the 1C gels.
From Miasma Wars: Gel Wastrel - This is one odd unit. If I was going to compare the Wastrel to anything I would say it is like a 1C Pugilist. It is simply built to move forward and hit hard (for a 1C model.) The Delinquent passive gets you a bargain price ATK 4, and ORA ORA has the potential to kill any low DEF model in one shot. Being the only new gel with ITM 2 also counts for something. Unlike many 1C models I don't think I would take multiple Wastrels together in a party. Slow speed, and lack of ranged options are what hold the Wastrel back from being the stand out Gel melee option.
Gel Waylayer - An overall solid stat line for a gel, with ATK 3, MOV 4. I also like it's access to ranged attack commands (that don't require MP.) The Waylayer's most unique options are its commands that interact with items, potentially picking up items used by adjacent models, and being ably to throw out an AOE by discarding item cards. I would probably lean towards the Gel Wizard for a 1C ranged option, but the Waylayer is a potential swap, especially for item heavy parties.
Gel Worshipper - If you are looking for cheap healing or support the Worshipper delivers. This model should be doing some sort of healing every turn once your party starts taking damage. Many of the Worshipper's commands are short range, so it will work better in a party that likes to clump and move up together. It fills basically the same role as the Acolyte, and the decision between the two may come down to the usefulness of the gel's Imprint ability within a party.
From Misadventures of Gelato: Gel Warbler - This is another excellent 1C support piece. It's stats are bad, (except for a solid 4 MOV, and an average 4 HP,) but the Warbler doesn't care because 3 of the 5 commands don't require a dice roll. You take the Gel Warbler because you want some control over beneficial effects and status effects. The Warbler has unique and powerful abilities that some parties can really appreciate.
Gel Wilding- A 6 HP model that costs only 1C is a big deal. That, plus access to a self healing command (1 HP at a time,) and/or boosted stats when the gel is damaged, makes the Wilding built for attrition. SPD 4 helps, as it has to be in close to attack. Offensively the Wilding isn't very impressive, which means that some opponents may just choose to ignore it and focus on more valuable targets.
Gel Wyvern - The wyvern has an awesome command list! A 1C model with Jump, yes please. Unfortunately this gel's overall poor stats relegate it to being little more than a nuisance or speed bump. The Wyvern has it's uses, primarily getting in the way or harassing support models, but don't expect it to do any real damage on its own.
From Endless Core Rulebook: Gel Warrior - When I think gel I still think of the Warrior as the standard. SPD 3 with no command help is slow, but don't fret, there are still some great things about the warrior. It has access to ATK X2 in Rapid Slash, and the unique Bounceback which rebounds status effects on the enemy. There is a lot of competition for 1C ATT focused models, so (as with all gels) using Imprint becomes key to getting the most out of the Warrior.
Gel Wizard - MAG 4, and the commands to use it make the Wizard my go to 1C model when I want a MAG attack. The Wizard is too slow to be a first wave, but can catch up after other models have entered melee, and packs quite a punch for its size.
From Hoarfrost Peaks (Ice Temple) Frost Gel - I love this concept. It would probably be my favorite gel if it wasn't for its measly 3 HP. I think it is still a fair substitute for the Gel Warrior, because the Frost Gel has two commands that can increase its movement. Frost Crash is particularly nice because it gives an additional Move and an ATK+MAG (5 dice) attack, all for only 1 MP.
The Wastrel is most definitely supposed to be a Pugilist analog, more specifically a homage to the Japanese "Bancho", a stereotypical school delinquent/gang leader.
My mind had spaced on the Frost Gel, giving us a total of 9 generic Gels. I'm thrilled to hear everyone is enjoying this content, and I hope our future releases live up to it!
Next Saturday I plan on going to my brothers house and teaching him some Endless. Thanks to work being crazy as well as life in general, i havnt been able to play in months. I need a vacation lol
miskatonicalum wrote:The Wastrel is most definitely supposed to be a Pugilist analog, more specifically a homage to the Japanese "Bancho", a stereotypical school delinquent/gang leader.
With his Burning Spirit, fire attack, the Wastrel is particularly good at beating up other gels.
miskatonicalum wrote:My mind had spaced on the Frost Gel, giving us a total of 9 generic Gels. I'm thrilled to hear everyone is enjoying this content, and I hope our future releases live up to it!
My only gripe is that with 9 gels, a new kappa, and the Kingfishers, Fire element (and to a lesser extent air/earth) is becoming overshadowed, or even a liability. I'm just a little bitter because the most common Fire creature, Barghest, doesn't even have a fire attack to help kill all the gels, and he's starting to feel lonely Though I know it will all work out in the end.
KingCracker wrote:Thanks to work being crazy as well as life in general, i havnt been able to play in months. I need a vacation lol
I can relate. I'm still unpacking boxes of gaming stuff from my move. My EFT is scattered between a half dozen boxes at least.
miskatonicalum wrote:My mind had spaced on the Frost Gel, giving us a total of 9 generic Gels. I'm thrilled to hear everyone is enjoying this content, and I hope our future releases live up to it!
My only gripe is that with 9 gels, a new kappa, and the Kingfishers, Fire element (and to a lesser extent air/earth) is becoming overshadowed, or even a liability. I'm just a little bitter because the most common Fire creature, Barghest, doesn't even have a fire attack to help kill all the gels, and he's starting to feel lonely Though I know it will all work out in the end.
Yes, some love to the Fire Element is about due, isn't?
Yay! We finally get to see a Vikinger. It might be a little random, but I'm hoping once you get a little further with these guys that you can find a reason to create a gel with a ray gun.
Galen wrote: It might be a little random, but I'm hoping once you get a little further with these guys that you can find a reason to create a gel with a ray gun.
I think we might be taking a break from introducing new Gels for awhile. We've got a good spread of them at the moment, and I personally feel that we should work on fleshing out a few of the other races.
Doesn't mean I won't write up a new Gel if inspiration hits me.
DLC 03 will feature a few new Fire Blood, and Dark Blood units... and will be a Dungeon Densetsu.
I completely understand. New gels can be so easy to think up (miasma/crystal shard gel?) But it some variety would be good.
I think I've mentioned some of these things before, but some new monsters I think would fit include a Primal Barghest (less domesticated variant) and ghosts/spirits with different elemental affinities (dark, fire "flame spirit," water "drowned spirit")
Galen wrote: I completely understand. New gels can be so easy to think up (miasma/crystal shard gel?) But it some variety would be good.
I think I've mentioned some of these things before, but some new monsters I think would fit include a Primal Barghest (less domesticated variant) and ghosts/spirits with different elemental affinities (dark, fire "flame spirit," water "drowned spirit")
These all sound nice.
I'll even go as far to suggest just making new stat cards for some existing models. It'll save money on sculpting. Maybe just change up the color scheme (like the Lunarian). And I'm sure plenty of us will be happy to buy them up instead of having to wait for the whole new figure process.
Lucky Logician wrote: I'll even go as far to suggest just making new stat cards for some existing models.
That is something OTL has done a bit, and will definately be doing more. The Dungeon Densetsu - Hoarfrost Peaks PDF (check visiting hours contents post) includes a frost gel using recolored gel warrior art, and the rime troll, a variant colored earth troll. In The Quiet of Graybasin Visiting Hours they have stats for characters from a short story, and use modified crusader, bandit, sorcerer, thief, and lancer art to represent the characters on the card. One of the most interesting is Drast, a ex-sorcerer who has become a sort of cleric. He gets the sorcerer model, but has holy and healing commands.
I do eventually want to get proper art done for the Kingfisher cards, and possibly give them a full DLC.. but they work pretty well as Palette Swaps.
In a only somewhat tangential note: Noa delivered the last pieces of art needed for Item Deck #2 today, which covers all of the remaining items in the rulebook... or close to it. I think its all of them, but someone can remind me later for ID3.
I'll get the files in place tonight or tomorrow, and it will be up on WargameVault this weekend and in our webshop in about 2 weeks (once they get in).
Additionally, a special Visiting Hours/DLC will be released on Friday, and Gelato Episode 04 will come out on 11/15.
DLC 03 part 1 will be probably be 11/29, but it might be pushed back to December.. its a bit bigger/more work than the first two DLCs.
Galen wrote: It might be a little random, but I'm hoping once you get a little further with these guys that you can find a reason to create a gel with a ray gun.
I think we might be taking a break from introducing new Gels for awhile. We've got a good spread of them at the moment, and I personally feel that we should work on fleshing out a few of the other races.
Doesn't mean I won't write up a new Gel if inspiration hits me.
DLC 03 will feature a few new Fire Blood, and Dark Blood units... and will be a Dungeon Densetsu.
Originally released for a limited time during Halloween of 2012, The Black Kiwi rides once again! Not only are we re-releasing the miniature, we are also including a stat card to make it playable in Endless: Fantasy Tactics along with a Halloween themed scenario. Already own a Black Kiwi? We got you covered, you can order the new card directly from WargameVault.
Galen wrote: Vikinger vs. Black kiwi is something I would never expect. Is the black kiwi evil? I don't know his story. However it works it will be awesome.
Is it evil?
Depends on how you want to look at it. The story that the children of Norida tell puts him as being one of the generals for a evil group; but maybe that's just because they haven't told his full story yet? Maybe its part of a bedtime story the kids parents told them? If the Vikngers are just children playing pretend, The Black Kiwi could actually be someone/thing else in the world of Endless that came through there town and visited or attacked their homes.
Why is this not a thing that exists already?!?! This needs to happen.
Heck yeah it needs to be a thing! That sounds so awesome my head nearly exploded.
I'm trying to remember how long I've been trying to get this to be a thing... I should probably get off my arse and write the rules for it. That way there is something 'concrete' to it other than just me fanboying about it lol
The dwarven drill lancer idea reminds me of Guntz (steam knight) and Kokichi (flying machine knight) from Shining Force. Both do similar things to other characters, but story-wise their power is from inventions rather than being a centaur or birdman.
Alfndrate wrote: I should probably get off my arse and write the rules for it.
The rules practically write themselves. Ok maybe not quite that simple, but I have all kinds of rules ideas that I will now proceed to blurt out.
Dwarven Driller
There are a couple ways this could be done. I am picturing a heavily armored dwarf with drill-spear in one hand and a shield in the other. I would use the Knight as a starting point, then add commands that feel more fit for Dragoon.
ATK 3 (possibly +1ATK, -1DEF)
DEF 5
MAG 2
HP 7
MP 4
ITM 2
MOV 4
JMP 2
Shield
*passive* Dwarven Ancestry (see Dwarven Gunsmith)
Dig - (same as Jump from Dragoon (F))
1 MPDrill Dive - ATK, Line 4, Follow Through, Piercing
2 MPSpin ThrustATK X2, Line 2 Push Back 1
ALL MPSink Hole - ATK+MAG, Rng 5, AOE 2 , Earth Element. Place Driller in open square nearest center of AOE.
Other existing commands that seem appropriate include: Stalwart, Heroic Charge, Armor Break, Cunning, Lance Sweep, Wyvern Strike. I can see the driller having commands that apply Stop or Blind conditions.
Why is this not a thing that exists already?!?! This needs to happen.
Heck yeah it needs to be a thing! That sounds so awesome my head nearly exploded.
I'm trying to remember how long I've been trying to get this to be a thing... I should probably get off my arse and write the rules for it. That way there is something 'concrete' to it other than just me fanboying about it lol
Stop drooling over yourself and get to work already.... sheesh I'm not paying you to sit around all day!
Why is this not a thing that exists already?!?! This needs to happen.
Heck yeah it needs to be a thing! That sounds so awesome my head nearly exploded.
I'm trying to remember how long I've been trying to get this to be a thing... I should probably get off my arse and write the rules for it. That way there is something 'concrete' to it other than just me fanboying about it lol
Stop drooling over yourself and get to work already.... sheesh I'm not paying you to sit around all day!
The Black Kiwi is awesome, and a great Halloween release! It totally makes me want to play higher crystal count battles. Now we just need a model for the Fallen I can't wait to see everyone's Dark themed Endless parties now.
Galen wrote: The Black Kiwi is awesome, and a great Halloween release! It totally makes me want to play higher crystal count battles. Now we just need a model for the Fallen I can't wait to see everyone's Dark themed Endless parties now.
Why is this not a thing that exists already?!?! This needs to happen.
Heck yeah it needs to be a thing! That sounds so awesome my head nearly exploded.
I'm trying to remember how long I've been trying to get this to be a thing... I should probably get off my arse and write the rules for it. That way there is something 'concrete' to it other than just me fanboying about it lol
I appreciate he comes with both bases, may magnetize the bases so I can sit the Brushfire base on the EFT one.
Soooo... which book/PDF has the Brushfire Black Kiwi rules again?
None, I believe when OTL originally released it, the model was supposed to be a special one off for Halloween a few years back to be used as a Kiwi rider. If I remember correctly, RiTides had a small horde of them just for that reason.
Is the recast version supposed to have the rodent tail? Mine didn't have one if so. I didn't even notice the tail until I went and looked at the picture again for paint planning.
Platuan4th wrote: Is the recast version supposed to have the rodent tail? Mine didn't have one if so. I didn't even notice the tail until I went and looked at the picture again for paint planning.
Platuan4th wrote: Is the recast version supposed to have the rodent tail? Mine didn't have one if so. I didn't even notice the tail until I went and looked at the picture again for paint planning.
No, just the rider and the bird.
Oh good, that means I don't have to wait to prime it.
Just got my Geomancer boards in and I'm really excited. They look very nice. Some assembly is required, but nothing super hard.
I think I'll take pictures along the way and start a new thread detailing the start to finish. I'll include any tips or tricks I come across in the process. I'll even share some secret techniques that Emily told me about.
(I'll try to post before the end of November so people can take advantage of the 20% off discount. Just give me a few days because I got alot going on for Thanksgiving.)
Sorry this took me so long. The last two months have been crazy for me. I should have all of my boards finished this weekend and I can post pics of everything afterwards.
In honor of Rin Azel's scuplt being finished, here is the board for Miasma War Scenario 7 (since it takes place in her shop).
POD cards will be available in the future along with in a 
Silly question, but room monsters still each get their ITM value in items, right?
always makes me feel old when he talks about the games he grew up on. 
)
the rest of my thoughts will have to come later.
![[Disk]](/dakkaforum/templates/default/images/icon_disk.gif){kind=icon}
I blame all the non-fiction, often animal/plant field guides, that I read in elementary school.
Roast 'em up with copious amounts of butter, yum!
My Adepticon shopping is ruined! Now every time I look at something I will be thinking that I could just put that money towards the Miasma War 
I forgot how hilari-bad early 00's CGI was. Talk about uncanny valley.
