HOMEBREW: High Occultist Avys (Retribution Warcaster)

[PG_kerensky]

High Occultist Avys

"I shall grant you my boom to fight for Scyrahs cause. Let us pray I can find the key to her fate before yours are decided." High Occultist Avys to a Mage Hunter, later killed in battle.

SPD: 6
STR: 5
MAT: 5
RAT: 5
DEF: 16
ARM: 14
FOC: 7
HP: 16
WJP: +6
CMD: 8

MELEE: Spiritbinder|P:6|P+S:11
- Reach
- Magical Weapon
- Focused Aid: This model may spend focus at anytime during its activation to gain the following abilities. Each ability costs 1 focus and may be used once per turn.
- * This models magic attack rolls are automatically boosted this turn.
- * This model gains +2 RNG on its spells this turn.
- * This model gains Sacred Ward for one round.

---AVYS---
- Great Power: This model may upkeep one spell for free each turn.

------SPELLS------
- Lamentation (3c, CNTL, UK): Enemy models pay double the focus or fury cost to cast or upkeep spells while within this model’s control area.
- Crevasse (3c, RNG8, POW12,OFF): If Crevasse boxes its original target, you can make an SP6 attack using the boxed model as the attack’s point of origin. Models hit suffer a POW12 magic damage roll. Models boxed by Crevasse are removed from play.
- Empowered Fate (3c, RNG8, UK): Target friendly warrior model/unit gains +2 MAT and +2 RAT but suffers -2 DEF. If a model affected by Empowered Fate is destroyed as a result of an attack by an opposing model it is removed from play and a soul token is placed on this model. At the start of your next maintenance phase remove all soul tokens and this model gains a focus point for each token removed.
- Refuge (2c, RNG6, UK): When target friendly faction model hits an enemy model with an attack during its activation, immediately after its combat action ends the affected model can make a full advance. It cannot be targeted by free strikes during this movement.
- Razor Wind (2c, RNG10, POW12, OFF): A blade of wind slices through the target model.



FEAT: MASTER OF FATES
If an enemy warrior model destroys a friendly faction model within this models control area, immediately after its combat action ends it suffers Empowered Fate for one round. Master of Fates lasts for one round.

Avys stands on the battlefield as one of the most pragmatic Warcasters of the Retribution. Even as he has spent over half his life searching for the way to save the Goddess Scyrah, the arts he practices on the battlefield are viewed as dangerously close to the darker magics outlawed within civilised Iosan society. Avys' magic empowers those troops he commands into fighting beyond their normal capabilities and in death those aided by this gift return it to reinforce Avys' arcane might that is then unleashed in waves of wind and energy burst forth from those struck down. Enemy spellcasters find their power harder to use in his presense as he twists the nature of fate itself to turn his foes victories into their ultimate demise.


A master of occult magic, Avys Issyen once held a prominent position as one of a few lorists within a prodomitary military house. After a tour of active service as a capable warcaster; Avys returned to study and has spent a considerable amount of his time searching for the true cause of Scyrahs condition. He has come to believe that the symptons affecting his people and Scyrah herself are closely related to the type of curses and power unleashed by those known as Thamarites and infernalists. That the benefactors of these groups are the potential gifters of magic to mankind openned avenues of contact to members of the Retribution who secretly brought him texts from human nations in exchange for his knowledge. Eventually his need for information required texts known to be found only within the archieves of House Vyre itself and Avys pushed his house to forment an accord with the Occult house. This secret treaty allowed House Issyen to stay out of the War of the Houses and did leave several valuable volumes in Avys posession when the war came to an end, it forever removed the relationship between Avys and his son Skeryth. When he learnt of the arrangement his father had engineered Skeryth cut all ties with his family and joined the Fane of Scyrah. This and his houses attempts to hide all knowledge of the arrangement forced Avys to leave Ios and formally join the Retribution.
His studies have led him to an understanding of philosophies practiced by dark human wizards and witches. He has never crossed the line of enacting any of their rituals; instead focusing his research into bending arcane energy into enhancement and empowerment rather then using sacrifice and blood. The resulting magic allows Avys to strengthen those around him with minimal use of his own power and in the event of their death his gift is returned to him tenfold. From time to time he has ventured from the Retribution enclave outside Ceryl to engage particulary powerful human mages in combat but he has now taken to the battlefield as if warfare was his first study. Some say it is in hope of reuniting with his son and healing old wounds, others think it is to take advantage of the warfare between the many forces within the iron kingdoms to further his research. Avys' thoughts and motives are his alone and until he crosses a line he remains a potent weapon fighting for the Retributions cause.

[Lachlan the Mad]

The feat is really kind of unclear. Are your opponents getting the +2 MAT, +2 RAT, -2 DEF? Does Empowered Fate get placed on a unit if some of its members are killed? Or does Avys just get Empower tokens from dead warriors? If it's the third one, why not cut out the middleman and make him a soul-collect-o-matic caster?

[PG_kerensky]

Lol, right in the middle of making that modification and fixing some wording when you brought it up. As much as I was hoping to skip the word 'soul', cuting out the middleman makes things simpler.
Yes, essentially if one of yours kills one of mine on feat turn, after your action phase yours suffers -2 def and if I kill it next turn my caster gets a soul token. The mat/rat buff means little unless you have a free strik or out of activation attack in play. Since it only affects warrior models, jack and beasts ignore it as does rfp mechanics. Far from broken but can make things interesting.

[oconnor0]

My initial reaction says that 7 focus with a free upkeep is a little strong, especially since he could bring Sylys and have two of his upkeeps every turn for free.

[Soda Breeze]

That feat is really counter-intuitive. It's basically "Hey, opponent, I'm going to give your multi-attack models a buff to hit, and won't reap the benefits of killing them until the second turn after the feat happens." Empowered Fate by itself, though, is an incredibly powerful spell on basically anything in Retribution. I'd say split the soul portion of Empowered Fate off from the spell, give the caster Cull Soul, and turn the soul portion into the feat. Maybe pair that with everyone gains Sacred Ward? Really turns Avys into an anti-Cryx caster.

Razor Wind is the weirdest missile to give him. Why not Arcane Bolt or Stranglehold?

The auto-boosted thing is pretty crazy considering Ret. also has in-faction Sylys, but I guess it's not the worst with Crevasse. Have to make it useful somehow. Besides the feat, I think he's pretty balanced. Supports infantry well with the spell, can play hit-and-run MHA-tag with Refuge, runs a battlegroup well due to all the excess focus (and wants a Phoenix to arc spells through) and spell slings for support. I'd probably make him 15/15 DEF/ARM b/c of that utility.

[Maerik]

I like him a lot. I'm a particular fan of Empowered Fate. It's creative, and it really defines the character.

I agree with these above points though.

15/15 seems more fitting.
Arcane Bolt or Stranglehold seem like more fitting spells.
The feat needs work.

By your wording I read that the enemy models do not get the Mat/Rat bonus on attacks because "Empowered Fate" is applied after their combat action ends. However then they get an effective +4 on free strikes.

I also think the -2 Defense applied to enemies is unnecessary with "Empowered Fate" and "Focused Aid" being on the table.

I had a really cool idea... Something like Butcher's feat.

Master of Fates
If an enemy model destroys a friendly faction warrior model within Avys' control area, Avys gains a fate token. Friendly models affected by Empowered Fate gain +1 MAT and +1 STR for each fate token on Avys. On the following turn, after all friendly models have completed their activations, remove all fate tokens from Avys. Master of Fates lasts one round.

Wording isn't exactly the best... But it means if your opponent drops some of your infantry, your infantry next turn will destroy everything in the field, but because it's defensive, they can "choose" not to attack your models that turn--buying you the alpha strike.

As worded, the spell could also be juggled between two units to get the bonuses of the fate tokens twice...