Totem key words

[Skull on a chair]

Apologies if this should be in the TT area instead.

Misaki's totem, Sheng, does not have her Last Blossom key word on its' card. I am wondering if this is a common omission for totems and their masters, as it seems like totems should have grouping affects like those listed so they can share benefits.

[Bengt]

Some Totems get their Masters' characteristic, some get totally unrelated ones and some don't get any at all. At the end of the day, Totems, like any model really, get characteristics that are deemed thematically and mechanically appropriate. In the case of Shang, as he is a dual faction peon he wouldn't benefit from being Last Blossom anyway.

[Bengt]

5 hours ago, Skull on a chair said:

Why not? My understanding is you can't take totems without their master, so taking Misaki for her Outcast faction would not prevent you from taking Shang and Misaki could still take the Smoke & Shadow UG. That scenario would be beneficial.

Smoke & Shadows give talents to Last Blossom Minions, Shang is a Peon so wouldn't get them even if he had the characteristic. And it lets you teleport to any friendly model so you can teleport to Shang if you want to.

As for who gets what characteristic, in some cases it seems like you have to be an "official" member of an organisation to get it. E.g. none of the guild Wave 1 totems (Scales of Justice, Enslaved Nephilim, and Purifying Flame) have their Master's characteristic (Guild Marshal, Family, and Witch Hunter). Last Blossom may be the same even though it's a covert organisation, so Shang doesn't get it because he can't swear the oaths, get the tattoos or whatever. Of course this is just me speculating, the designers could have a completely different reason for leaving poor Shang out in the cold.

[Skull on a chair]

Why not? My understanding is you can't take totems without their master, so taking Misaki for her Outcast faction would not prevent you from taking Shang and Misaki could still take the Smoke & Shadow UG. That scenario would be beneficial.

[SpiralngCadavr]

Entirely possible they didn't want her to have a cheap Last Blossom synergy or something. Not saying there'd be no benefit to giving him the tag, but it might have taken him out of the point bracket or something. IDK, maybe they just hate misaki having anything like synergy

[Spike0738]

15 minutes ago, Skull on a chair said:

Why not? My understanding is you can't take totems without their master, so taking Misaki for her Outcast faction would not prevent you from taking Shang and Misaki could still take the Smoke & Shadow UG. That scenario would be beneficial.

He's Dual Faction, so he can be used in either 10T or Outcasts with Misaki... Being Last Blossom is irrelevant to being able to take him with Misaki. 

I would love for all models to have the characteristic that I want them to have, but it's not the case unfortunately... Shang doesn't even remotely resemble Last Blossom's theme, so I'm not surprised he's got a different Characteristic. 

Try to think of it as sometimes characters paths cross, and they just work together, regardless if they're from the same background or not.  

[Skull on a chair]

I think that sounds like a bad analogy Spike. Shang is her totem, it only goes with her, they are bonded in a manner and not just ships passing in the night. It is not that Shang does not resemble the theme, my argument/question is that Shang is attached (in a manner that all totems are attached or may only be taken by their respective master) to Misaki. Being Last Blossom would be irrelevant if Shang could be taken solo but it is not.

[Skull on a chair]

2 hours ago, SpiralngCadavr said:

Entirely possible they didn't want her to have a cheap Last Blossom synergy or something. Not saying there'd be no benefit to giving him the tag, but it might have taken him out of the point bracket or something. IDK, maybe they just hate misaki having anything like synergy

hmm, this actually sounds a bit more plausible, though Shangs cost is only barely below the Oiran and as it is a super specialized and insignificant model I feel its' point cost is appropriate. I suppose the argument might also be made that it is not Last Blossom to prevent Misaki from having a mobile teleport beacon, but Misaki is already super-mobile so that sort of falls through too.

 

[Spike0738]

22 minutes ago, Skull on a chair said:

I think that sounds like a bad analogy Spike. Shang is her totem, it only goes with her, they are bonded in a manner and not just ships passing in the night. It is not that Shang does not resemble the theme, my argument/question is that Shang is attached (in a manner that all totems are attached or may only be taken by their respective master) to Misaki. Being Last Blossom would be irrelevant if Shang could be taken solo but it is not.

I can think of probably 1,000,000 characters in games that share a story with someone and work together in the game, that in no way relate to each other's background... That's how I've always viewed it. Shang works for Misaki, it's chosen to only work with her. It doesn't need to be born into Last Blossom or work for them in this Fictional world to do so. You're thinking only about the game, when their is an entire world of Malifaux lore out there. 

Aside from the balancing factors involved in a lot of their decisions, it doesn't make sense that a flaming creature would be apart of Last Blossom. Yes, it would be convenient and it would make sense if they just created a totem that fit the theme to be able to do it, but it makes sense both in thematic sense and in balancing sense. 

Edited December 28, 2015 by Spike0738

[Skull on a chair]

Things and creatures, magical and benign, working together in any setting or medium is a staple of almost any universe. Things that are totems, symbols of a group of people or tribe or that represent an idea, are absolutely bound to that group of people or idea, that is the definition of what a totem is. Given, in fantasy settings there is always leeway that must be given for creative use of words and ideas to convey that universes intent without the need to invent new words, I will concede that point. But, Wyrd seems to have grouped and even titled totems together with their given master. Even for things like Shenlong's Peasants, they are a representation (here in human/social class form) of what Shenlong represents - his ... totems.

Edit: So, this is why I think Shang should have the Last Blossom key-word.

Edited December 28, 2015 by Skull on a chair
clarity

[Phinn]

For example Voodoo Doll - Zoraida's Totem - doesn't have the Swampfiend Characteristic (making it the only model in the Box Set without it) in order to prevent Bad Juju unburying upon it's death.

Lovely Assistant - Wong's Totem - has the Showgirl Characteristic which is typical for Arcanist models. Loveley Assistant and Oiran are the only non-Arcanist models with it. Theme, I reckon.

[Skull on a chair]

Hmm, wasn't familiar with Showgirl, which seems like they make them for some themes and not others.

Thanks for the expanded examples Phinn.

[Skull on a chair]

Good enough for me Bengt, tyvm. I guess I was just perturbed over Shangs status.