Down But Homebrew

[Walter]

So, when I work on Down but Good, I play out the battles. Scenarios, dice, the whole 9. This naturally necessitates some fairly extensive Homebrew.

I felt like posting some of the stuff I've worked on. There are some spoilers here, but nothing huge.

Forces of Cryx:

Cryxian ghouls have raided countless tombs, in a never ending search for more and better corpses. Mostly their efforts yield the countless thralls who fill the Nightmare Empire. Occasionally they find corpses of sufficient caliber to yield a Bane. Their greatest success, however, was in locating the frozen barrow of Volak, a long dead horse lord of the north.

Guided by the divinations of the Witch Coven, Cryxian forces brought the entire burial mound back to their dark home, keeping it frozen through the blackest of arts. There an elite team of necroficers worked for a month to carefully thaw and craft the corpse into a shell sufficient to hold the ancient king's soul. Finally, Lich Lord Divinitas himself drew the great chieftain's soul screaming from the void, and subjugated it to the will of the Dragonfather.

The only aspect of the body which had been damaged beyond repair in the thawing was Volak's face. In life he'd been known for his beauty, but a grinning skull is all that he shows the world now. Perhaps it is an attempt to make up for this, or perhaps an order from his masters, but Volak's forces studiously remove the faces from each and every one of their victims.

The Ice Lich himself wears their faces as a hideous cloak, and those who venture too near will briefly hear the chorus of muted screams which surrounds him, before they join it.

Volak the Unmasker
Cryx Warcaster

All men have but one true face, and it waits beneath, white and smiling....

SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
6 6 6 6 15 16 8

Focus
6
Damage
18
Warjack Points
+6
Medium Base

Icy Claws x2
POW P+S
6 12
Magical Weapon
Critical Stationary

Volak:
Undead
Immune to Cold
Cull Souls
Terror

FEAT: The Ravaging: Volak is loathe to squander the power of his harvest, but in times of desperate need he can invoke the souls of his victims to empower his forces. They rush forward as though possessed, conscious of a dire need to take more skulls to replace those that the master has expended.

Volak gains a number of skull tokens equal to the number of enemy warrior models that have been destroyed and not returned to play since the start of the game. While in Volak's control area, friendly faction models may spend skull tokens on Volak to boost melee attack or damage rolls. At the end of the turn, remove unspent skull tokens from Volak.


SPELLS
Scything Touch
Storm Wall
Razor Wind
Icy Grip
Chilling Effigy: [Cost 2, Rng 6, Upkeep]
Target friendly warjack gains Immunity: Cold, when an enemy model ends it's activation within 2" of target friendly warjack, the enemy model becomes stationary unless it has Immunity: Cold

Story Participation: Jardon and Co have happened across one of his battlefields, in post #32.

[Walter]

It takes a twisted soul to voluntarily enter the nation of Cryx, the more so when there are other options available. Yet some men are drawn to be the enemy of all, some men wish nothing more than to fly a flag of blackest hue, and do battle with the kingdoms of men. Such a man is Roland Fenhault, now called the Darkblade.

Born to a cutpurse in the five fingers, he had a rough upbringing. Only a natural talent for fighting kept him alive, and he honed it with relentless intensity. With a blade in his hand Roland is a prodigy of unheard of talents. His was a natural progression from fighting for hire to murder for hire, then murder for pleasure.

When things got too hot for him in Ord he headed to the port of Skullstone, where he'd heard that a man of his talents and inclinations could find ready employment. He fitted into the Cryxian forces like he'd been born to the life.

His warcaster talents manifested themselves int he presence of the helljacks, and nearly got him executed. Only the magically divined sincerity with which he professed his complete sympathy for the Cryxian cause earned him a chance to serve the Dragonfather.

To rise to any command rank in the armies of the Nightmare Empire, one must join the dead. Fortunate for Roland, then, that he has no such aspirations. It suits him to lead any charge his dead lords assign him, just for the chance to sink his blade into living flesh.

Roland Darkblade:
Cryx Warcaster

No sheathe may hold what finds its home in flesh.

SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD
6 6 8 6 16 15 8

Focus 5
Damage 16
Warjack points +6

The Blackblade (thrown)
range 10
rof 1
aoe -
Pow 7
Thrown
Magical Weapon
Grievous Wounds

The Blackblade
Pow 7
P+S 13
Reach
Magical Weapon
Weapon Master
Grievous Wounds
Thresher (*attack)

Roland:
Blood Quenched
Pathfinder

Feat: Fever Dream: As the Darkblade releases his power, his forces vanish from before the enemy's horrified eyes, reappearing in advantageous positions, bypassing defenses and threatening vulnerabilities.
Friendly models currently in Roland's control area may be placed entirely within 2" of their current positions.

Spells:
Boundless Charge
Rift
Ghost Walk
Roth's Mercy

Story Participation:
Roland was the dark figure leading the attack on the Pit, though he never really got much screentime.

[Beowulf99]

Awesome! I really like Roland. I hope we get to see him later in the story, perhaps for some Caster on Caster action?

As an aside, I'd like to know what you use for the Ordic Troopers statlines? A few profiles for the leading characters would also be very interesting.

[Bringer Of The Void]

@Walter

Must concur to Beowulf99 judgement that this Homebrewed Stat Version of the Characters featured in Yours Novel are excellent...

I expect eagerly the Stats of Solomon Brucker, that is a well-rounded Character that projects quite an interesting novelty about the "Typical Paladins" very often Monodimensional and Uninspiring.....

[Jaren]

Linked to the Homebrew Locator

[Walter]

Lich Lord Divinitas

Divinitas was not the first servant of Toruk, but he was, and is, the first worshiper. The other Lich Lords regard the Church of Toruk as a useful organization, a means to infiltrate the lands of men and motivate the living. If they have any regard for it at all, it is for its ability to generate divine spellcasters, a novelty in the Nightmare Empire.

Divinitas regards it as a vehicle for conveying the self evident truth of Toruk's divine nature. There is not a shred of doubt in what passes for a Lich Lord's mind that Toruk is the God of Caen, the only divine presence to remain fully manifested in the world. He is not merely the administrator of the Black Church, he is it's most ardent member.

Perhaps it is in response to this sincere worship that Toruk has granted Divinitas overall command of the Ordic Incursion. Certainly, it is an odd choice. Divinitas has never before ventured forth from the Nightmare Isle. He has never led men in battle. Terminus, the Lich Lord in charge of war, would have been the obvious choice for command of the greatest army of Cryx. But the orders of the Dragonfather are absolute, and thus Divinitas has, for the first time, gone to battle.

In the early stages of the war he has already made his mark on dozens of battles. His knowledge of combat may be academic, but it is also exhaustive. He marries divine spellcasting with the arts of the warcaster, and the result is awe inspiring. He can perform the miracles more commonly associated with Menite forces, but manifesting in a far darker manner.

Lich Lord Divinitas
Cryx Warcaster

Hunger? You hunger for my destruction? Ridiculous. The petty cravings of mortal creatures do not rate the term. Come against me then, and I'll show you a hunger that can never be satisfied. You shall know the Hunger of the Master, indeed, soon enough that is all that you shall know.

Spd Str Mat Rat Def Arm Cmd
5 7 6 6 14 15 10

Special Rules:
Undead
HP 16
Jack Points 5
Focus 8
Medium Base
Abomination
Cull Soul
Sermons of Doom : Non warcaster Non warlock enemy warrior models lose 'Fearless' while within Lich Lord Divinitas' command range.
Cultists
Coward : Each time he is damaged, Lich Lord Divinitas gains a fear token. After he receives focus at the beginning of the turn, remove all his fear tokens, and a number of focus points equal to the amount of fear tokens you removed.
Fear Feaster: Attacks made by this model against fleeing enemy models automatically hit.

Weapon
Staff of Cryx
Pow 6
P+S 13
Reach
Magic Weapon

Feat: Dragonfire Lich Lord Divinitas' unsurpassed zeal permits him to channel a portion of his Master's deadly fire. All perish within the flames of the Dragonfather. Place the 4" template anywhere completely within Lich Lord Divinitas' control radius. All models within the template suffer a pow 16 boostable fire damage roll.

Spells
Hellfire
Soul Hunters
Sacrificial Lamb
Fear of God
Dark Aegis (Upkeep, cost 2, range 6, friendly model/unit gains dark shroud and Terror)
Telekinesis

Story Participation: Divinitas is in overall command of Cryxian forces. He spoke through the blight manifestation very recently in story terms.

[Walter]

Playtesting has revealed that these guys fall into 3 distinct categories:

Roland is great when he works, but dies miserably to shooting. Blood Quenched and Thresher are his main gimmick. His feat and ghost walk make him a very assassination based caster. I've been thinking about giving him Sprint, but I'm not sure. I took that away when I took Cull Soul, because he was originally a bit too much. Tough to balance such a glass cannon properly.

Volak is quality. He's mostly about his feat, but his spells are significant as well. There's a bit of Zaal to him, in that just about anything in Cryx will mess you up if it starts swinging on his feat turn. Storm Wall and Icy Grip both get cast from time to time.

Divinitas is a monster. He was designed to be Epic Haley/eGaspy level, and lives up to it. TK on a cryx caster is monstrous. His feat is great for clearing charge lanes, while his fear fu can put the enemy in a serious predicament from time to time.

@Beo/Bringer: No worries, Ordic stats are coming up next, including a certain ex prisoner, and the parade of character solos that follow him around.

@Jaren: Thanks man!

[Beowulf99]

Sweet! Nice to see Divinitas made flesh so to speak! Can't wait to see those profiles!

[maxxev]

As an aside, I'd like to know what you use for the Rhulic Troopers statlines? A few profiles for the leading characters would also be very interesting.

My interest is peaked....

[simon sez]

Haven't playtested, but thought I'd put my oar in.

Just in comparison to his fellow Cryxians, Volak seems a bit weak in combat with his STR and MAT; the P+S on his claws for example match those of Mortenebra, who is by no means a combat 'caster. I like his spell list keeping up the proud tradition of Cryxian de-buffs, but his feat, while okay, is heavily dependant on the opponents list.

By Morrows Left Ear, the Blackblade Roland carries is formidable!!! I can hear Hordes' resident ninja-chick crying from over here.

What is the synergy between Blood-Quenched and Thresher, since Thresher attacks are simultaneous? I presume he just gets a big buff at the end, but I may well be wrong.

He is vulnerable to shooting, but with a possible 15" threat range he's only at risk for one turn most likely.

Divinitas. He's my favorite, idea wise, but he has some issues I think.

Maybe change Coward to damaged instead of hit? His DEF and base size make him an easy target otherwise.

Fear Feaster, I presume you mean Fleeing when you say Broken?

Soul Hunters should be Soul Harvester. Also, he has no Cull Soul, so what does he do with those souls?

What is Fear of God?

On the positive, his feat+TK is eeeeeevil!

[Walter]

@Volak: yeah, he's weak in combat, but I didn't really want to make him strong there. I figured pGaspy represents the high end of the Cryxy middle tier, Volak is the mid point. He's got 2 good buffs, a good debuff, a direct damage spell and he stole eKreug's Storm Wall, which is a good thing for Cryx. Add a feat that Cryx doesn't have elsewhere (though Morty's is pretty close), and he's a solid guy.

In particular, Icy Effigy on an Arc Node is irritating. You can't run to engage it if doing so makes you stationary and unengages it.

He could have +1 pow and mat without changing much though, his threat range is small enough that he's unlikely to get the charge. I think I'll keep him as is, mostly because I don't see it mattering either way, and you want to be careful with casters with multiple initials and scything touch.

Roland's synergy with Blood Quenched and Thresher is that it lets him cheat the 1 for 1 focus for +1 arm that blood quenched normally gives. Thus, for example, Bart can whack some dudes and keep his camp up, Roland takes a bite out of a unit and has his camp overcharged, so he can survive using his sword for a turn. that's the idea, anyway.

Mostly he just upkeeps Roth's mercy (great buff), and trots around, his Scarlock casting ghost walk or boundless charge, as required.

His sword is certainly more serious than Rhyas, but I figured that was justified. She really wants a rapported Scythean to warp over to her target and shred it, he's more like Garryth, wants to do the job himself. Not as good as Garryth at it, but that's homebrew for you. I wanted a cross between Garryth's assassination potential and Terminus' bulldozer of death approach. What I got I initially had to tone down, as Sprint and Cull Soul were a bit too much with him. He could probably stand to get Sprint back, but taking too many of Rhyas' gimmicks would be a bit unkind.

Thanks for fixing my botches on Divinitas. I hadn't done him as carefully as I could have. Just one of those cases where I know what I meant, so everyone else must as well, right? Anyway.

I'll change Coward to damaged instead of hit, it's really more of a fluff rule anyway. Truthfully, if he's taking damage he's likely about to die, psevvy style.

Fear Feaster, yeah, fleeing not broken. I blame 40k.

Soul Harvester/Cull Souls. Yes! Venny's schtick, stolen shamelessly. Thanks for correction.

Fear of God is eSevvy's debuff, not quite up to Cryx's standards, but he does a lot of other stuff, I didn't want to give him a serious debuff.

[Beowulf99]

Hey... You hurt eSevvy's feelings... :)

All in all I like em, and I don't play Cryx! Roland seems to be my favorite, though Divinitas is a cool idea.

Keep it coming sir. Also, I blame 40k as well.

[Walter]

Solomon Brucker

Solomon belongs to a bygone age. Like Morraig or Vlad, he is out of sync with the time he finds himself in. Brucker's world was the Court of the Aces, a time a generation gone past.

Solomon was the foremost duelist of those celebrated luminaries, the Ace of Heroes. He fought the hardest against the innovations that trickled in from Cygnar and Khador, innovations that universally widened the scope of warfare. Solomon believed in the limited war, waged between combatants under mutually agreed rules. He was the champion of the so called Sunny Day faction, who believed that the endless posturing of the larger two nations did not actually indicate that war was inevitable.

His humiliation by the outlaw Asheth Magnus is universally considered to have signaled the end of the Court, all 4 were assigned frontier/mercenary duties intended to season them for actual battle. Aside from the untimely demise of Satrella, the Ace of Armies, Solomon's period of service was the worst of these as well. The losses under his command were prodigious, in terms of material and territory. His obstinate insistence on putting human life, friendly or enemy, above the objectives of his missions yielded failure, time and again, and ultimately resulted in his defiance of a royal order, the last straw.

Brucker was confined to the Pit of Doom in response to his repeated failures. Imprisoning a loyal warcaster was a puzzling decision on the part of Ord's monarch. Perhaps he intended to teach the fallen Ace a lesson? If so he misunderstood the man.

Brucker's priorities arise from his understanding of his God. He believes that the Prophet's will for mankind is clear and simple in the case of the warrior, and acts as he does out of a sense of religious obligation. He prizes his soul above his success, and has never strayed from what he considers the path of the righteous, not in the Pit, and not in the battles of the Cryxian invasion.

But more than temptation threatens the souls of those who stand in the path of the Nightmare Empire, and Brucker will need all his faith and determination to survive the realization of the Dragonfather's long dream.

Solomon Brucker
Ordic Morrowan Warcaster

Whoever tries the hardest, whoever cares the most, let no one laugh at him. Earnest effort is greatly prized by my Lord. Let each do their part, and not count themselves great or humble because that part is large or small. My part is to stand between my fellow man and looming peril.

Spd Str Mat Rat Def Arm Cmd
6 6 8 5 16 16 9

HP 18
Focus 6
Warjack Points 6
Small base
Special Rules:
Animosity: Undead
Duelist
Elite Cadre: Precursor Knights (Friendly Precursor Knights gain Tough while in Solomon's control area)

Morrowan Battle Blade
Pow 7 P + S 13
Balefire
Blessed
Reach
Magic Weapon

Feat: Benediction of Morrow A soft light signals the bestowing of Morrow's blessing. The faithful find themselves cured of their wounds, while the undead creations inimical to all life collapse like the corpses they are Friendly living warrior models in Solomon's control area are healed to full hit points, enemy undead warrior models suffer a non-boostable pow 12 damage roll.

Spells:
Banishing Ward
Hex Blast
Fortify
Uprise: cost 1 rng 8, not upkeep, target friendly warrior model is returned to full hp and stands up if knocked down
Impregnable Cohort: cost 3, rng control, not upkeep, friendly warrior models in this model's control range gain Duelist. Impregnable cohort lasts for one round.

Story Participation: Brucker is in every entry. He cast Hex Blast against the mechanithralls (managed to catch himself on a bad scatter...sigh), he casts Impregnable Cohort in most every battle. He has kept Bad Cat fortified since it first showed up, and he used his feat in entry 73.

[Rave0183]

So I thought I would throw in my 2cents as well from playtesting.

Divinitus...oh please god PP developers use those ideas. He's a monster. I love it.

Solomon...I love the animosity idea against undead. Personally playing a cryx army against this..the only thing I see needing some tweaking is the feat. A pow 12 against everything in the control area...when we're talking the average cryx infantry armor is 13. Seems a little much. Maybe take a note from Esevvy feat, maybe have a choice to heal d6+3 models to full...or Damage d6+3 models, to give it a bit of a balance, and also a choice of feat usage.

My only opinions. Love the fact you're taking the time to give your story figures stats. And i love the novel. On edge daily looking for an update!

[Beowulf99]

Honestly you could probably just reduce the hit from the feat to a POW 7, giving a 50/50 live or die to Cryx models. Except Casters of course, but 1 shotting a caster is not something that should be easily done. ;)

[simon sez]

What armies is Brucker available in? I see that he has synergy with Precursors, which suggests he works for Cygnar and the Highborn Covenant. That's not the best faction for his feat I don't think, since there are precious few multi-wound options available to either other than cavalry and character models.

If you reworded it to return destroyed friendly living warrior models, and used Rave0183's D6+3 suggestion, that may work better.

[maxxev]

he's a fluff based caster from Walter's story (down but good) I believe if we were to label him, he'd work for ORD.

[Walter]

Brucker's an Ordic patriot, but would probably work for Highborn or Cygnar if they asked, and circumstances seemed to require it. He'd also work with just about anybody against a genuine evil, Cryx or Legion or Skorne for example.

His feat's narrow focus was necessitated for story reasons. It needed to be anti-undead for his backstory, and stress his concept like most feats do. It's extreme power was necessitated by that very restricted scope, as well as being convenient for story purposes. Initially it was more of a debuff, but I kept running up against the fact that Brucker can only affect undead, but 99% of the time it's better to pop pCaine's feat, or pFeora's feat, for killing undead. They can also work against other factions. So I made his feat somewhat extreme, both in specialization and in power.

Similarly, I can't have his feat just resurrect people, plotwise that's a huge issue. When character models die I want it to have story weight. Also, I like the idea that Testament/High Reclaimer is the only guy given mass resurrection powers. I don't want my homebrew to step on his toes.

Next up will be the character solos running around.

[simon sez]

So he's part of a group in a narrative campaign? That makes his abilities easier to understand, assuming his companions are all multi-wounders.

[Beowulf99]

You could have his feat grant tough for 1 round, rather than actually "heal" his fellows. It's not quite "healing" per se, but it gets the job done, and would be very useful for Cygnar.

[Walter]

Sansa Leer

Sansa's family is career military, and she followed in her father's footsteps without hesitation. A prodigy with a blade, she rose through the ranks at a steady pace, culminating in her assignment to the Pit (a sizable facility) as the direct subordinate of Jardon (who is a respected war hero). It was meant to be a brief seasoning period, to reassure the higher ups that she'd follow any orders, then she could be transferred back into active duty.

Her narrative took an unexpected turn, however, in the depths of the Pit. For reasons unstated she refused to apply for a transfer back to surface duty, seemingly content to linger beneath the ground. Her sponsors tried to get her to reconsider, but abandoned their efforts in the face of adamant refusal and found other rising stars to back. She had dug her own grave.

Now, she is respected by her men, liked by her superiors and feared by her foes. From now on any graves she digs will be filled by the enemies of Ord.

Sansa
Blighted Ordic solo

"You got it, Boss."

Spd Str Mat Rat Def Arm Cmd
6 6 8 5 15 14 9

HP 8
Point Cost: 2
Small base
Special Rules
Acrobatics
Counter Charge

Weapons:
Short Sword
Pow 4 P + S 10
Weapon Master

Story Participation: Sansa is a main member of the band. She's been with us since the Pit. She has thus far proved staunchly loyal to Jardon.

[Walter]

Jarl Vestrut

Jarl joined the military in order to escape an overbearing father and a path laid squarely before him as a potter's son. He discovered a natural talent for the messy details of combat operations, and soon transferred from line service to military administration.

Jarl moved from fort to fort and post to post, his talents ever in demand. A wizard with an accounting log he procured extra supplies for the troops under his command up and down the service front. When hostilities broke out in Llael he managed to divert an entire Llaelese noble families resources into the Ordic war machine.

He transferred to Mercenary Liason because of his belief in the doctrine of mediocrity. Simply put, whoever does something the most will be the best at it. Do to this belief he did not care to wager on the merits of the largely unpracticed Ordic army in the case of major hostilities against it's belligerent neighbors. He strove to secure the contracts of the most practiced bands of warriors in the Iron Kingdoms, all in order to safeguard his native land.

Jarl

Mercenary Solo: Jarl will work for Ord, Khador or Cygnar.

"I would like to engage your contract."

Spd Str Mat Rat Def Arm Cmd
6 6 6 5 14 12 8

HP 8
Point Cost: 1
Small base
Special Rules
Bought Loyalty
Coins (5x)
Ordic Partisan

Weapons:
Hand Cannon
rng 12
AOE -
damage 12

Long Sword
Pow 5 P + S 11

Story Participation: We met Jarl on emerging from the Pit. He brought valuable information about the progress of the war thus far, and hired Kell Bailoch when the band ran into him at a broad stream. Jarl is a counter viewpoint to the Morrowan saintly streak that runs down the middle of the POV characters.

[simon sez]

Counter Charge+Acrobatics is a nice bit of synergy, and Bought Loyalty is always useful. They don't have the razzle-dazzle of your 'casters but they are both useful looking.

[maxxev]

I think 8 hit points is too much for solos, you should stick to the normal 5.
Also I giving reach to a long sword is a little far fetched IMO.

[Walter]

@ Simon: Thanks! They were born from twisting Shae's solos around a bit. They don't under or overwhelm on the tabletop, but I've only tested them in Brucker's army.

@ Max: Good point about the long sword. I can't think of anyone with reach and a gun who isn't eStryker. I took reach off.

I gave the band 8 hit points for the same reason Shae's guys are privateers, it helps them synergize with their main caster. He has a healing spell and a healing feat, so I wanted those to get used on occasion. Thus, his solos have 8 hit points. They are enough of a poor man's version of character solos in other ways that I don't think it throws things out of whack.

[Walter]

Mayet Tath

No one could have predicted, in her childhood, that May would grow up to be a Thamarist. Certainly her strict and overbearing parents wouldn't have countenanced any such talk. She was raised as though Morrow was Menoth, a fearsome God whose absolute commands defined the lives of his adoring subjects. Her rebellion, virtually as soon as she was old enough to understand the contradictions in their doctrine, was dramatic. With naught but the clothes on her back she fled a life of priviledge in search of a God to call her own.

Thamar was not her first attempt at worship, but it was in Thamar's service that she found her life's calling. The Cruel Twin is widely misrepresented, conflated with all the ills that have plagued mankind. Mayet, articulate and logical from an upper class training, found the cultists of Thamar as hidebound and indoctrinated as her parents, but the texts themselves seemed sound. She began to voice, alone at first and then with a small but growing company of sympathizers, her view of Thamar's cult. She stressed nonconformity, self reliance, freedom, all of the most desirable aspects of Thamarite worship. She downplayed the corruption and decadence that Morrow's Sister is known for. To here her speak, Thamar is the cool older sister alternative to Morrow's kindly uncle image.

She could only continue in this vein for so long, of course, and ultimately stepped over the line into proscribed behaviors. Her circle included several moles of the authorities, and soon after she committed her first actual crimes she found e esherself confronted by the authorities. She'd prepared for a trial, of course, and had designs of using her defense as one last chance to proselytize. It never came to that, as a military tribunal sentenced her to Life in the Pit.

Since the escape she's accompanied the band, hiding her powers so as not to draw Solomon's ire.

Mayet:

Ordic Thamarite solo

Free your mind. What harm can come from a free exchange of ideas?

Spd Str Mat Rat Def Arm Cmd
6 5 5 5 14 12 9

HP 8
Point Cost: 3
Small base

Magical Ability 7:
Spell Thief: Mayet may cast any spell with a cost of 3 or lower that any model in her command radius can cast, save for those with range of self or control. Offensive spells are * attacks, others are cast as a * action. Spells cast by Mayet may not be upkept.

Range attack:
Magelock pistol
rng 10
pow 10
rof 1
magic weapon

melee weapon:
Knife
pow 4
p+s: 9

[simon sez]

She needs a magical ability skill level if she is going to be making magic attacks. And maybe limit the Foc/Fury spent to 3, just there's no "I am now within 9" of Harby: CATACLYSM!!!"

Or more circumspectly you could give her Fiona's Whiplash and a "RNG: CMD- Friendly upkeep spells on target model/unit are automatically upkept in your next Control Phase without the casting model spending focus or fury" *Action; that way she's more "Me? What did I do? I'm just standing here. She hex blasted herself, you all saw it!"

[Walter]

I'm going with your first suggestion. Whiplash is intriguing, but I don't think I can justify a 3 pt character solo with defensive buffs and the spell steal. She's currently either on scarlock duty or, as what is likely her last action, going up and using an enemy caster's spells. If she could do that with some assurance of survival it'd be a bit much. Just like gorman or Eyeriss, she needs to be killable after she does her work. (unlike them she's pretty killable beforehand, but that's homebrew for ya.)

[Walter]

Bad Cat

The prison's one and only Nomad jack, the Bad Cat exemplifies the bodged and scavenged appearance for which Nomads are known. Its current Ordic owners got it as a part of an arms deal with Cygnar, along with some Javelins and other old models, but they never learned that the Bad Cat had a storied past. It was used in the Scharde Isle invasions, Nemo himself brought it against the hordes of Cryx, and its blade cast the dead back into their barrows.

It was there that it originally gained its preference for night work. Over the years the vision elements of its cortex have been repeatedly examined, but no one can account for this jack's preference for darkness. By day it is sluggish and unresponsive, by night it comes alive, a warjack straining at its warcaster's mind, projecting its destructive urges across his psyche.

Sealed in the Pit, the jack was put through its paces by the marshals of the garrison, constantly exercised and kept in a state of perfect readiness. In fact, unknown to the officers several of the Guards would periodically allow Solomon Brucker to attune himself to it, in order that he might maintain his readiness to control jacks. Allowing a prisoner such a liberty is unheard of, and speaks to the vast esteem that the guards held the warcaster in.

Since the escape the jack has been the only member of Solomon's battle group. It has destroyed several other jacks, and slain thralls aplenty. Jardon and company are more fortunate that they know to have the services of such an engine of war.

Bad Cat:

Ordic Character heavy warjack

"What I want to know is why that thing can keep a grip on a sword in the midst of a furious battle, yet every time we try and strap the heavy baggage on it during a march the gear always seems to work lose and fall off into a stream, ditch, or Morrow forsaken thorn bush!"
-Jarl Vestrut

Grid: Nomad

Statline: Nomad, except mat and rat +1

Weapons: As Nomad weapons

PC: 8
special rules:
Phantom Hunter
Jury Rig
Affinity: Brucker, Bad Cat gains Shield Guard while in Brucker's control range
Imprint: Bad Cat can spend one focus to gain duelist for one round

[simon sez]

I'm a little puzzled by its RAT going up, but other than that he seems fine to me.

Have you considered writing any scenarios for this?

[Walter]

I haven't posted them, but I usually have a scenario for each battle I play.

Battle in the Pit had the Ordic forces attempting to clear the area under a portcullis with the Cryx troops having unlimited reinforcements, but they trickled in a bit at a time and were of fairly wretched quality. Ordic victory, lost Raul though.

Battle in the Pit part 2 was Brucker without warcaster armor, with sansa and Jardon, vs. 3 units of Thralls. Ultimately the Ordic troops prevailed, but right at the end brucker got killed. Jardon keeps him alive (haven't seen his homebrew yet, but he's basically an extra life for the warcaster), so they had to withdraw and never got to the main battle with Roland.

The staircase and bridge scenes were narrated cinematics. No actual dice were rolled.

Battle at the Tower was a convergence battle, where the side to gain the first point would cause the other side to gain reinforcements. Cryx got the first point, thus releasing Gaxxon and friends from the tower. Brucker got in the zone, which prevented any further points. eDenny had to pop her feat to get away and fight another day.

Battle of the wagon circle was a scenario, Cryx got to deploy all around, Ord got cover. Ord let a Soulhunter get away, so Cryx knows about Brucker's feat for future battles.

Battle of the Carriage was a Cygnar/mercs vs. Ord scenario. Gaxxon got killed by a lucky gunmage. I agonized for a while before writing that in, but them's the breaks. That carriage was hellishly irritating, it couldn't be attacked, and Cygnar moved it on their turn, so I had it used to block charge lanes and the like.

[Walter]

Gravedigger

When Roland first demonstrated his budding warcaster powers, among the forces of the Nightmare Empire, his future was in doubt. The human servants of the Dragonfather are generally fodder for his dead generals and blighted monstrosities. One of them demonstrating the ability to control a jack's cortex was an unwelcome change.

During the loyalty tests that Roland was made to undergo (about which he refuses to speak), he was given access to a Cryxian jack, and taught the secrets of the cortex locks used by those dark engines. The jack in question was a humble helldiver, as the Iron Lich in charge of his instruction did not yet trust him with anything beyond that. He mastered its cortex completely, and rather than using it in an ill conceived attempt to escape his torment Roland caused it to bow alongside him before the alter of Toruk.

After he had become a trusted member of Cryx's legions, Roland kept the Helldiver with him. It was a reminder of the depths to which he could plunge, at the first hint of his master's displeasure. He found its simple cortex fit his own limited abilities, and it rapidly adapted to his bloodthirsty nature. The two became a pair, and ultimately he gave it a name.

He calls it the Gravedigger, the reason should be obvious. It has buried his victims in 3 separate countries. One day, he imagines, it will bury him. So long as he falls with a red blade and all of his wounds to the front, he has no problem with that.

Gravedigger:
Cryxian character bonejack

"It digs the graves, I fill them."
-Roland DarkBlade.

Grid: As Helldiver
PC: 5
Character

Changes: SPD +1, Mat +1, Pow +2
Affinity:(Roland) while in Roland's control radius Gravedigger gains Perfect Balance
Imprint: Gravedigger can spend one point of focus to Leap at the end of a normal advance (standard timing on leap, not sure of the wording but see Teraph)

Story Participation: We never got to see the Gravedigger, it was supposed to be with Roland at the final battle in the Pit, but the Ordic forces took a different story fork. It's still with him, and there is an encounter with Roland coming up...

[Beowulf99]

I'm surprised that you didn't give Gaxxon "Plot Armor". He was a pretty pivotal character after all.

[Walter]

Gordon Nute: Ace of Warjacks

Gordon parents were mechanics, and split early in his life. His father (whose strange mannerisms had played their part in ending the marriage) entrusted most of his rearing to a particularly bright Talon. It brought him food, watched over his play and carried away his waste. A warjack raising a child was, of course, a massive waste of resources, but this particular jack had been retired to labor service some time ago, and so long as Gordon's father got his work done on time there wasn't much oversight in his lab.

As a consequence Gordon grew up in a cocoon of silence, broken only by the thunderous footfalls of the labor jacks. It would almost have been more surprising if he hadn't discovered an affinity for the cortexes which surrounded him. He was controlling labor jacks almost before he was taught to speak (at the age of 10...his father took a long time to get around to it.) Ultimately he took over almost all of his dad's labors.

Ultimately his father felt the pangs of his conscience. His son was a warcaster, and he was wasting the boy on menial activities. He turned himself in to the military, explaining that his son was a natural born warcaster, exquisitely skilled in the control of warjacks, and his only knowledge of other humans was derived from taking orders from his father.

Surprisingly the military didn't botch the job. The men they sent to take custody of the teenage savant were stern authoritative types, chosen to resemble his father, and he obeyed them unquestioningly. He was brought into military life, and they did their best to resocialize him. For the most part this worked, and by adulthood he was a fairly normal man, albeit with a tendency towards silence, a brutally compelling shyness and jack handling skills that earned him the title of Ace of Warjacks.

Solid an pragmatic, he was the furthest Ace from Solomon's Sunny Day ideals, and when Asheth Magnus brought an end to the Court of Aces he performed the best of them all in the mercenary work which followed. He was far from the ideal choice to tap as Warcaster General in the reorganization, but Satrella (the first choice) was dead, and Solomon was in jail. He was considered marginally more appropriate than the Ace of Ships.

The unimaginative nature which had made him a natural for military life leaves him unsuited for command. In the company of his iron giants he's a prodigy, but facing maps and decisions which can cost thousands of lives is a challenge for which life has not prepared him. Yet he must rise above his limitations if Ord is to have any chance of surviving its darkest hour.

Gordon:

"[I]I once saw a wit push Gordon over in a puddle. Joke was to see if his cortex would shut off. We all laughed. Even Gordon brayed that noise that he does when he's aware that something is funny, but doesn't get it...In the next battle that wit got trampled over by a Battler. Had to be done to get to the enemy caster, of course, tragic necessity of conflict..."
-Satrella, Ace of Armies

Spd Str Mat Rat Def Arm Cmd
5 7 7 6 14 16 7

HP 20
Focus 6
Warjack Points 7
Small base
Special Rules:
Repair [8]: d6 HP, usual repair rules
Warjack Bond: A chosen, non character warjack in Gordon's battlegroup may begin the game bonded to him. Gordon's bonded jack gains one focus after allocation is complete.

Hand Cannon
Rng 12
Aoe -
Pow 12
Rof 1

Battle Spear
Pow 7 P + S 13
Reach
Magic Weapon
Stall [as Talon's spear]


Feat: Team Effort: With a roar like thunder Gordon's battlegroup renews its offensive, crushing the enemy beneath their power. After all models have completed their activation Gordon's battlegroup may run or charge for free. [I don't have the exact wording, idea is that this is like pMags feat, but instead of running or advancing without free strikes they charge or run, and still take free strikes]

Spells:
Incite [not sure if the wording is game neutral, this one affects Gordon and his battlegroup]
Temper Metal
Hallowed Avenger
Arcantrik Bolt
Locomotion

Story Participation: Gordon is mentioned in passing in an early chapter.

Notes: In general, Ord has chargers, Talons, the occasional Lancer, Vanguards, Manglers, and a Templar equivalent without chain weapon called a Battler.

[simon sez]

Which profile is the right one? I prefer the top one, his fluff supports a Low CMD, and nothing I read supports such a high DEF as in the second one.

Does his bond count toward the maximum allocation of 3 Focus per Warjack?

Nice feat, especially based on your suggested Warjacks.

Admonition might be a bit more suitable than Hallowed Avenger based on his quote.

I like him, I've always had a soft spot for characters like him.

[Walter]

Ok, yeah, first profile is the right one. Sorry about that. The other was Brucker's, which I'd copied down to use as reference, then forgotten to get rid of.

The bond is gained, I intended it to be able to bring a jack to 4 focus, if need be.

Hallowed Avenger is inappropriate, I concur. I could maybe do Admonition...maybe eThags buff that lets a battlegroup model move towards enemies that hurt it? I dunno.

Gordon is too weak now, I need to tweak him somehow. He just currently suffers from a lack of focus. Maybe he could have Resourceful? I was also thinking of giving him Iron Sentinel to improve survivability, he has a tendency to spend all his focus and get murdered.

[BaronOfGrayMatter]

To me he sounds like he should give innate bonuses like eButcher.

How about Gordon gives his battle group flank? If I got the name of the rule wrong: +2 to hit and extra damage while target is in melee with another member of the battle group.