A character jack for the High Reclaimer

[jandrese]

Isn't it about time for old Silent Bob to get a character jack? I was thinking a Templar's simple no-nonsense design would mesh well with the High Reclamer/Testament. It's not a shouty jack, it just stands there and does its job.

Storywise, the jack would start following the Testament around while he does his thing, and nobody would know what to call it. Then one day when back in Sul the Harbinger would offhandedly mention the name of the jack and word would spread. Later the Testament would show up unexpectedly at the jack yard with his Templar in tow and a giant sword resembling a Caspian Battle Blade of unknown origin but inscribed with runes in a trailer. It is said that Menoth himself guides the jack's hand, but only the Testament knows for sure.

The Bulwark of Caen

Stats: As Templar +1 MAT/RAT
PC: 10

Weapons:
Shield: Unchanged
Sword of Judgement: POW 7, P+S 18, Reach, Disintegrate, Magical

Affinity [High Reclaimer]: All area within 5" of this jack is considered to be in the controlling warcaster's control area.

Supernatural Support: During this model's activation, one attack or damage roll may be boosted without spending focus.

[PtotheRice]

I really like this idea, however seems pretty powerful for 10 points. I would say a balance of 11 points would be perfect. Or maybe 10 points with an ability different than Supernatural Support. Maybe same name but let him use up to 3 focus from the HR/ToM per round? Or some sort of Imprint/Gaze of Menoth type ability (a 1 focus cost ability that does something awesome)

[jandrese]

11 points would put it in direct competition with the Avatar with -1 MAT, -1 P+S, only 1 pseudofocus instead of 2-4 real focus, fewer boxes, lower SPD, no flame burst, no ward, no terror, no Gaze (!!!), etc... That just doesn't work IMHO. I was more worried that 10 points might be a little too expensive and maybe I should put Terror on there or remove the "during the activation" requirement on Supernatual Support so it would have synergy with Hallowed Avenger (but having synergy with the spell list of the caster seems to be against the rules for character jacks).

[zulu81]

I like the idea but thought that a Sanctifer would make more sense fluffwise. Maybe with soul redirect and extended control.

[Gavriel]

Wouldn't a Sanctifier make more sense as a HR Character Jack?

*edit* Whoops, beaten to it.

[Evilone01]

Weapons:
Shield: Unchanged
Sword of Judgement: POW 7, P+S 18, Reach, Disintegrate, Magical

Forgive my noobness, but what's Disintergrate?

[jandrese]

Models destroyed by a melee attack from that weapon are removed from play. It was on the Castigator league upgrade last year. Seemed like a good way to represent a jack that has learned dominion over the afterlife (also with the name).

The downside of the Sanctifier is that it's a really new jack so we wouldn't expect to see any bonds with it yet.

[PG_Steampunk Jim]

Isn't it about time we stop calling him Silent Bob?

(sorry, just a pet peve)

[jandrese]

Never! I'll fight any effort to make the setting totally grimdark because it's so overplayed. I'm already concerned at how many of the jacks in Wraith were suddenly sporting black paintjobs.

[Hashmal]

Love it. I'd play that. 10 points is fine - Beatback made up for the slow speed, so the added stats and abilities of this model are appropriate to the point cost, considering how slow it now is.

[PG_Steampunk Jim]

The downside of the Sanctifier is that it's a really new jack so we wouldn't expect to see any bonds with it yet.

Also, genuine question here because I don't have Wrath handy: Is the sanctifier a "new" jack in the setting, or just in the rules? I only ask because, while the Vigilant was a "new" jack for us, it's fluff specifically states that it was one of the first light jacks created in the protectorate.

[Snipafist]

I'd much prefer a Sanctifier modification, as it fits so much better fluffwise.

[jandrese]

Love it. I'd play that. 10 points is fine - Beatback made up for the slow speed, so the added stats and abilities of this model are appropriate to the point cost, considering how slow it now is.

It still has Reach, so the speed isn't as slow as it looks on paper. It out-threats SPD 5 non-reach heavies still. It did suffer some threat range reduction with the loss of Beatback. This seemed to be a reasonable tradeoff.

[Hashmal]

I agree. Those are some powerful abilities, but Beatback is also powerful and it is lost. You've raised the price two points - more than reasonable, I feel.

A character Sanctifier would definitely be more fluffy, but again I don't know if they're a recent thing or what. It would definitely have a special rule that allows it to collect focus for the High Reclaimer/Testament while in his CTRL area.

That raises an interesting question. For every other epic Warcaster in the game, they share a name with their prime incarnation. That way, character 'jack affinities that name a Warcaster can be used on either the prime or epic version (Blessing of Vengeance and Severius, for example). I wonder how they'd word it for Silent Bob's affinity, since he's the only Warcaster that does not share a name between his prime and epic incarnations.

[jandrese]

The Testament's model type is:

Protectorate Epic High Reclaimer Warcaster

[Craaag]

Hmm its an awesome idea, I like the fluffy story behind it, but I'd like a Castigator more for Silent Bob. It's got more of a fiery cremation type feel to it which kind of goes with the whole death/souls theme imo better than say a Templar. Of course there's a Sanctifier too for it....

Plus we've got lots of upgrades now on that Crusader chassis and with the new kit coming out we've got to spread the love around.

[Alzer]

I think a Customized sanctifier that re-routed souls would be pretty great with him. Really anything to increase Silent's soul-gathering range/capacity would be welcome if you asked me. Extra 4-5" outside of the normal control range would be great.

Disintigrate would be hilarious, and very fluffy.

Overall I like the jack. Not an HR/ Test player but seems like it would roll well enough with them. I think with Mat7 boosted attack rolls aren't too terribly necessary though. More often than not that thing is gonna be cutting up heavies and Mat 7 hits most heavies on below-average rolls (save for the REALLY janky ones, like Warpwolves)

[jandrese]

Note that only 1 roll per turn is boosted, although the boost is basically free, even if the jack is disrupted. Sort of a partial jack marshal bonus.

I didn't want to let the jack buy another attack with it, because I thought that would probably edge it into the overpowered territory with the P+S 18 main weapon. You could always boost damage instead if you're hitting easily. Basically 3.5 extra damage during your activation, yay.

[Blackraine]

If there's anything I'd like to see on a High Reclaimer warjack, it's an Arc Node and Long Leash. If it could also reap souls for him via an affinity, that'd rock even more. Build that up off of a templar base, and you'd have a pretty great support jack.

[jandrese]

One thing nobody seems to have noticed yet: The extended control area is for more than just souls. It also lets the High Reclaimer put Cloud effects on a different part of the map and revive models that would otherwise be outside of his control area. It lets him split his army so he's not useless in Steamroller!

[Cannotcope]

I like it and think it's pretty interesting.
Not sure on its balance/brokenness, but initially doesn't seem overpowered.

The only thing I would want to add is the "special issue" rule so that it can be taken in the High Reclaimer/Testament's theme force. But even that is not needed since their theme forces suck and any subsequent/homebrew theme forces could include this jack.

But essentially I give it two thumbscrews up!

edit:

One thing nobody seems to have noticed yet: The extended control area is for more than just souls. It also lets the High Reclaimer put Cloud effects on a different part of the map and revive models that would otherwise be outside of his control area. It lets him split his army so he's not useless in Steamroller!

I saw that. That was what made this jack interesting to me.

I was almost going to comment on how there is some slight redundancy with the Testament, since he prevents soul collection by other models in his CTRL and Disintegrate removes from play, but there are still uses for Remove from play, beyond stopping mere soul collection, so it's not anywhere near the Sanctifier's magical weapon redundancy.

Personally, that rule was by far the most cool/interesting part of your homebrew.

I do have to admit that I didn't think about all the benefits that extended CTRL gives. Reclaim/Revive/Clouds/Feats(both)/Sac Lamb and Omegus

Edit 2:
Can the High Reclaimer/Testament measure from himself to a point within the Bulwark's 5" extended CTRL area?

That might push towards being broken.
Then again, Reinholt offers something similar (and alot of other extras) for 1pt, so maybe not.

[jandrese]

I would think so with the measurement, but I don't think that would break the model too badly. It's not like the High Reclaimer has a gun, and the jack doesn't have an arc-node, so there's not a huge win in those measurements. For almost the cost of the Avatar and only working with the High Reclaimer/Testament, I think I would allow it.

[jandrese]

One thing I was not sure about was how far the extented control area should reach from the jack. 5" was more of a gut feeling when I originally wrote up the idea. Lets see what it means:

The High Reclaimer/Testament's control area is 352 in^2. This jack would add 112.5 in^2, a substantial amount! A small base FOC 6 caster has a control area of 498 in^2, or 33 in^2 more than the High Reclaimer and his jack. That's close enough that I'm willing to call it good personally. His fancy jack basically gives him the control area of a FOC 6 caster, although probably better because you can split it up and move it around.

That could be a neat ability/spell. Place a 5" pie plate somewhere on the board (maybe completely within 16" of your FOC 6 caster?) but also reduce their natural control area by 1" to pay for it. Focused Concentration or something.

[Kazi]

I want to save the character Templar for our eventual Paladin caster!

+1 Sanctifier character.

[jandrese]

I want to save the character Templar for our eventual Paladin caster!

But she already has a character Ironclad...

By the time the Protectorate has a Paladin Warcaster we'll be more worried about the heat death of the universe than doubling up on character jack chassis.

[Bishop84]

Affinity [High Reclaimer]: All area within 5" of this jack is considered to be in the controlling warcaster's control area.

I like this. More Affinities need to help the warcaster rather than just give the 'jack another tool. That way it doesn't feel like you're paying for an ability that the 'jack lacks when taken with another caster.

[jandrese]

The initial service date for the Sanctifier is 606 AR, which makes it a very recent jack indeed (less than a year old most likely).

My concern with modifying a Sanctifier is that I would have to modify the Cenotaph for it to make sense, and that's literally the defining feature of a Sanctifier. That would be like taking a Vanquisher and replacing the gun with a melee weapon. The resulting jack would be a Sanctifier in name only.

[Craaag]

I think it is OP to have that huge 5" area around a large base as an extended control area for all effects that relate to a warcaster's abilities. It seemed more in line when I was just thinking of it for soul collecting purposes. It's too obvious of a patch for HR/Testament's greatest weakness.

More in line with the extended control area would be the jack's melee range or a simple buff to the control area similar to what the squire provides while the jack is within HR's control. Within 5" makes more sense just for soul collecting purposes IMO.

[Cannotcope]

I don't think the 5" is too huge. Jandrese has calculations* showing that the increased area is less than the difference between a 6 Focus and 5 Focus caster.

*Have not verified all of it, but the 5 Focus small based caster's CTRL area is essentially correct (the square inch for the models base might properly be excluded, but the difference between 352 and 351 is nominal).

I can understand some concern in having the character jack always be in the High Reclaimer's CTRL (he could always allocate it focus then), but I'm not sure if it is game breaking. I don't think it is.

A thought/question:

All of the affinities in the pdf (except Old Rowdy, which is missing) either state that the ability is only effective while in the caster's CTRL or refers to channeling (which by the channeling rules requires that the model be in the caster's CTRL). That said, the basic Affinity rule itself (in the rulebook, or at least the pdf) does not require the jack to be in the caster's CTRL.

Would making this Affinity only work while the Bulwark is in the High Reclaimer's CTRL change anybody's view of the Affinity? For better or worse?

I personally think that limiting the Affinity to just "while within CTRL" would be very boring and nerf some of the interestingness of this character jack. I'd much rather see the Affinity's area decreased over having to gain that restriction.

Possibly a restriction (clarification?**) that the Bulwark does not count as being within the High Reclaimer's CTRL, unless it actually is. Essentially the extended CTRL area starts just off the Jacks base and extends out 5", without including the jack itself.

**Don't the rules already state that a model is not counted as being within an area measured from the models base unless the specific rule states otherwise? Which is why errata was needed for the Druids and Krielstone.

[Okudave]

If he gets a character jack I'd see a heavy with a reach tresher weapon and a soul collector ability (exact same rule as reclaimer not sanctifier) also a range weapon with a big aoe or a good spray. We want that kid to slay some living for the souls. Maybe give him arm 18 but +1 arm per soul (could go as high as 23) with everything pom average.

[Snipafist]

If he gets a character jack I'd see a heavy with a reach tresher weapon and a soul collector ability (exact same rule as reclaimer not sanctifier) also a range weapon with a big aoe or a good spray. We want that kid to slay some living for the souls. Maybe give him arm 18 but +1 arm per soul (could go as high as 23) with everything pom average.

You are aware that we don't get souls from killing enemy models, right? And if we did it would be just about the least fluffy thing ever?

Somewhat back to the point, I still think a character Sanctifier fits him better. It could be a prototype model that just stuck with Testament after field tests. I'd like it to have a High-Reclaimer only ability that allows the character Sanctifier and High Reclaimer/Testament to be able to give souls to one another if the character Sanctifier is in Silent Bob's control range. You could use it like a soul collector node that also works as a soul bank when you've got nothing better to do with the extra souls. Perhaps lose the "ghostbuster aura", increase the soul capacity to 5 (like a real Reclaimer), and make it one point more expensive? You got me. At this point I think we're mostly throwing out ideas hoping PP sees something it likes.

[jandrese]

I thought about making the affinity only work while the jack is in the controlling warcaster's control area, but that would be moot because the rule guarantees that it is always in the controlling warcaster's control area.

I don't think letting the jack roam free is so game breaking. The Avatar already does it, and it only costs a point more.

Snapafist: That's exactly the problem I ran into with the Sanctifier. How to make it work without just redesigning the jack from the ground up. It starts out with a signature ability that has anti-synergy with the High Reclaimer/Testament, so it ends up needing a lot of work.

[Alzer]

As Testament's jack, with control over life and afterlife, what if friendly models within 3-5" of it became incorporeal? Perhaps that could be an imprint? Something to go along with the soul-army idea from the Testament fluff.

Why would we want a jack that collects souls and gives them to other jacks? Especially on a Spd5 w/ reach?

I'm with Snipafist on the "Prototype Sanctifier" idea. Great way to have a character jack, and one that you really don't see because of how uncommon NEW chasis are. Well..outside of the Protectorate.

Also current fluff is 608, so Sanctifiers have been out for two-ish years (They entered service about the same time as Castigators and the Avatar)

[Evilone01]

Models destroyed by a melee attack from that weapon are removed from play. It was on the Castigator league upgrade last year. Seemed like a good way to represent a jack that has learned dominion over the afterlife (also with the name).

Sounds cool. What would be wicked though is if when it boxes an enemy living model (or perhaps only on a critical hit or something), it removes it from play and replaces it with a cloud effect. Like Testaments Dust to Dust spell. I can totally see the High Reclaimers jack reducing enemies to ash.

Come to think of it, doesn't Thagrosh do something like that?

[Cannotcope]

I thought about making the affinity only work while the jack is in the controlling warcaster's control area, but that would be moot because the rule guarantees that it is always in the controlling warcaster's control area.

I'm not 100% certain about that. Recall that abilities measured from a models base do not include the model being measured from (otherwise Tremor would knock down the Ironclad using it*). This "not including the model being measured from" applies to things like the Krielstone Bearer's +ARM aura, Druids of Orboros Counter Magic aura, Discordia's +2 ARM aura, etc... and is why these models all have Errata to include them in their own effect.

I think Bulwark might need to be specified as being in the area to properly roam free.

*Yeah, I know, us Menoth players would love that

I don't think letting the jack roam free is so game breaking. The Avatar already does it, and it only costs a point more.

The Avatar's roam free ability is somewhat tempered by having Random focus and not being in battlegroup.

That said, the Bulwark is limited by needed to get the focus from the High Reclaimer/Testament, though both also have "battlegroup only" spells. I don't think it's broken, but the roaming free does push it towards that direction.

In anycase, I think it's a great idea/homebrew and my biggest disappointment is that it is a homebrew (and therefore somewhat unlikely to ever be official

PP, I would totally buy this model (because it sounds fun, not because I think it will make me win more games), make it happen!!!