Nekima Leader upgrades & a new model idea

[Da Git]

Leader Nekima upgrades

So, I had some ideas as to make Nekima a viable leader without changing the current Henchman model…  The best way I could think of to do this would be through an upgrade similar to what Wrath got.  So without further ado,

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My Time is Nigh! – 0ss

>  This Upgrade may only be attached if this model is the leader in games larger than 25ss.  In addition, this upgrade does not count against its upgrade limit may attach an additional upgrade.

>  Replace this models Soulstone Cache to 3.

>  This model loses its Birthright trigger and replaces its Melee Expert ability for the following Ability: Melee Master: This model generates 2 additional Ap that may only be used to take Ml Actions.

Restrictions: Nekima

Designer’s Notes: So basically, this is just to make Nekima the Leader she was born to be, the leader we deserve & the leader we need!  Basically, it just gives her the effects of Birthright without the bother of killing the Master…  I upped her cache to 3 to try and put her on par with other masters…  I kind of used Lady J as a guide here as she has a similar damage spread and is also focused on combat.  I made it one less as Nekima has 1 extra AP for attacking, but is less flexible (3 general AP vs 2 general AP +2Ml master AP).

Another upgrade I thought would be cool and make her a bit more well-rounded.
 

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Dark Mother – 1ss

>  Friendly Tuco, Angel Eyes, Scion of Black Blood and Bloodwretch models gain the Half-breed Characteristic. 

>  This model gains the following Ability:
Mother’s Wrath: Friendly Half-breed models with LoS to this model gain + to Wp duels.

>  This model gains the following Tactical Action:
(1) Brutal Encouragement (Ml 7 / TN: 12 / Rg: 6): Friendly Half-breed models within range and LoS may suffer 2 damage to gain Fast.

Restrictions: Nekima

Designer’s notes: This is to give her synergy with all the human-nephilim hybrids she’s been creating.  Giving them Fast makes them much more desirable, especially Bloodwretches & Angel Eyes as they can gain them back by killing.

 

I also wanted to make a Henchman Black Blood Shaman for her, the one who stopped her from killing Tuco & created the first half-breeds.

Morphran

A particular ugly, yet gifted Black Blood Shaman, Morphran once had a seat of great power within the Brotherhood and personally held Nekima’s favour. Like Nekima, his rising star fell from grace when Lilith usurped the throne.  Abandoning the brotherhood, he now serves as Nekima’s chief advisor. 

Since the capture of Tuco and witnessing his transformation into the first human-Nephilim half-breed, Morphran has become obsessed with experimenting on humans by corrupting their blood.  Despite his mistress’s initial misgivings, he has created a number of Half-breeds for her growing army.  An army that will once again see her as the rightful ruler of the Nephilim and grant him power over the Brotherhood.

Not trusting the other Black Blood Shamans that follow Nekima who still hold true to the Brotherhood, he has never taken on an apprentice, thus he is one of the longest-lived shamans.  Instead, he has taken those half-breeds that show the greatest aptitude in the Nephilim Blood Magic under his wing, granting them further secrets into their arcane craft.

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MORPHRAN - 8ss/5ss cache

Henchman, Living, Rare 1

NEPHILIM

Df 5, Wp 7, Wd 10, Wk 5, Ch 5, Ht 2

 

ABILITIES

Black Blood: All models without Black Blood within (P)1 suffer 1 damage when this model suffers damage.

Further Experimentations: Ignore the Rare limit for Bloodwretches. Friendly Bloodwretches gain the following Ability: Black Blood: All models without Black Blood within (P)1 suffer 1 damage when this model suffers damage.

Blessings of the Blood: Friendly models which begin their activation within (A)6 may discard two cards at the start of their activation to end all Conditions on them.

 

ATTACK ACTIONS

(1) Ancestral Ritual Knife (Ml 7M / Rst: Df / Rg: C1): Target suffers 1/1/5 damage. This Action gains + to the damage flip against models with the Corruption Condition.
> M Corrupt the Blood: After damaging an enemy Living model, target gains the following Condition: “Corruption: If this model dies, the enemy’s controller may discard 2 cards to summon a Bloodwretch friendly to her crew in base contact with this model before it is removed.  This model leaves no markers when it is removed.”

(1) Advanced Blood Magic (Ca 7M / TN 12M / Rst: Df / Rg: 12): Target model suffers two damage. Friendly models targeted by this action may heal two damage instead.
> M Blood Curse: After damaging, the target gains the following Condition for the rest of the game: "Blood Curse: At the end of every Turn, this model suffers 1 damage."
> T Blessings: After succeeding, the target gains the following Condition until the end of the Turn: "Blessings: This model gains + on all Df duels."
> R Boiling Blood: After succeeding, the target gains the following Condition until the end of the Turn: "Boiling: This model gains + on all Ml duels."

TACTICAL ACTIONS

(0) Fire the Blood (Ca 7M / TN: * / Rg: 8): Target friendly model with the Black Blood Ability within range gains Fast.  The TN of this Action is 8 plus the soulstone cost of the target model.

Designer’s notes: Morfran is the great crow in Welsh mythology. It’s said that he was so ugly that his mother compensated for it by instilling great wisdom in him.

Wanted him to be a bigger version of the Black Blood Shaman, and again have some synergy with the Half-breeds he creates, especially the Bloodwretches as well as just other models with Black Blood.

 

And an Upgrade:

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Taken Under His Wing – 1ss

>  This model gains the following Tactical Actions:

(1) Taken Under His Wing (Ca 7M / TN 15MM / Rg 2): Summon a Scion of Black Blood in base contact with target friendly Bloodwretch within range, then sacrifice the Bloodwretch.  The summoned Scion of Black Blood then suffers 5 damage.  This Action may not target a Bloodwretch that was summoned this turn.

(0) Cleanse Blood: Until the start of this model’s activation, friendly models with the Black Blood Ability using the Blessings of the Blood Ability only have to discard one card instead of two.

Restrictions: Morphran

Designer’s notes: This ties him in with the Scion, making their Blessings of the Blood Ability much more user friendly and allowing him to create another one from a Bloodwretch.

So what do you all think?  These guys haven't been playtested at all, but I don't think they'd be too powerful... I'd love to know what your thoughts are!  Although if you don't approve homegrown rules or models, that's fine (I perfectly understand), just I'd much rather constructive critique on my talents (or lack of!) as a designer.

Cheers!

Ps. I'd also like to make a totem, but currently don't have any ideas...

[Sybaris]

As discussed via pms, here are the things i could find this morning, sadly it's just fluff for now and keep in mind that hybrids were not really a thing at the time :P. I'll try to find back the stats as they were in a xls document on a previous computer.

I like your ideas, and as stated before, one of the few things that would have to be tested thoroughly is Nekima's Cache. Since i've played her already with a cache of 0 and found her to my liking.

There's some bits of overalp between Morphran and The Elder in a way, they could be combined into one, but your direction with him might not be to define the "first shaman".

At the time the idea was that these would be "ancient nephilims", those who had remained "loyal" to Nekima back then, or simply didn't care or like Lilith. I am only posting this here as agreed, not to hijack your ideas  it's your thread after all.

The Elder

 Old beyond most lifespans, only Lilith and Nekima are assumed to be older than this creature. The Elder is a mature Nephilim that evolved in a unique way, becoming more and more secluded from its kin. Wise and cruel, he is seen as a councilor and a respected scholar related to events of days past. The Elder is one of the most powerful master of black blood magic known to Nephilim, and it is rumored that he is the founder of the cult that the Shaman serves even today. However, his physique leaves no doubt that his practice has warped the very nature of the aether wherever he goes.

 

Shriveled wings that hang in tatters above his horns, a perpetual shadow and smoke surround itshis twisted and crooked form. Red gleaming eyes pierce the cloud where his face was, the sight of the Elder is certainly an experience not too many cherish.

 

---

From memory, his model would have powers that goes beyond the usual black blood. Part of the inspiration for him was the Balrog and the devil (flames, shadows, etc.).

It was to be quite slow, and unable to fly, and spread his ability

 

Fire in the Blood (the Elder could use black blood to spread around the fire condition)

Blood of Fire

Smoke and Shadows

 

Lord Drakul  (Dracula :P)

And i had started writing that stuff for kicks and giggles: we all know Malifaux draws inspiration from legends and tales, especially victorian stuff...and if Jack the Ripper could find some room, i wondered how Dracula could manifest. He could very well be an double faction Neverborn/Outcast henchman.

 

Lord Drakul is one of the higher ranking nobles of the Nephilim and amongst the most infamous. He and Lilith were always rivals in terms of ideology in a now distant past, but her power surpassed the noble so much that he operates alone mostly by now, especially since she took over the throne.

 

Yet he was one if not the first to be able to understand the human foe, so he proceeded to wreak havoc with their psyche. It is even likely that he managed to gain knowledge of them prior to the breach, though how this might have come to be, no one knows. To his credit, Lord Drakul is probably the most well known Nephilim outside the breach, having inspired tales of terror in so many ways that his legend has followed him ever since. Lilith also touched the imagination of humans outside the breach but not in the same way, and while she is an established commander, Lord Drakul is all about himself.

 

So much myth surrounds this being that no one really knows the true extent of his powers. He understood that by taking the guise of a human and drawing from their own weaknesses, one could terrify them even more when the real nature of a nephilim is revealed.  Cruel with a sense of vanity, mysterious with a sense of dramatism and humor uncommon to his kin, Lord Drakul uses his legend for both protection and extortion…for who would want to anger the Impaller itself?

 

More to come if i can find it.

[-Loki-]

You know, this is interesting. Now that we know Wyrd are doing master upgrades in Broken Promises. I wonder if in the next book they could take a henchman per faction and elevate them to masters like this. Give them a new model, but not necessarily a new crew box.

[catbat07]

I would love it if the Nephilim were fleshed out more, as they are an interesting and unique concept. While the other Neverborn are just supernatural monsters (mimics..... so many mimics), the nephilim have unique culture and beliefs that would be fascinating if they were presented in more detail.

[Ludvig]

Fun idea. Forcing poor Nekima to spend an action to make the others fast seems like a bit too much though, other similar abilities  like Collodi or Colette's don't require an ap from the master. The one that did require a (1) was Lucius and he needed errata because he was so bad.

[-Loki-]

Maybe discard a card if they activate within (6) to get Fast?

[Da Git]

I was thinking that since it's Ml action, it'd give her another option for her Melee Master if swinging is not the best option...  It also effects all Half-breed models, so you can potentially get quit a lot of Fast out of it...

An Aura could work though... I'd prefer to the cost at wounds rather than cards though... Blessings of the Blood already costs cards.

@Sybaris, those are cool fluff pieces you've got there!  I definitely didn't have Morphran as the first Shaman, just the creator of the Half-breeds.  So there's absolutely room for both characters or combining them.  I like the idea of them being rivals with the Eldar being the head of the Brotherhood & view Morphran as an upstart and corruption the traditions of the brotherhood through the half-breeds' creation. 

I was imagining his age at about 2-300 years, as he was fairly powerful when the first breech happened & that was about 100 (if I recall correctly).  We have no idea of a Nephilim's lifespan (I imagine the Shaman's have a longer one since they're not at war so much...) or how old the Shamans are before they're sacced,

[Sybaris]

I am not sure they even die of old age, actually...it is said that to Lilith, for example, time is but a resource to manage (immortal?). However they have a rather brutal society and death by violence is quite common obviously. Shamans, in particular, have a gruesome ending coming to them; their students/pupils ritually sacrifice them in order to become Shamans themselves. I don't think they precised the lenght of that cycle though. One of the quirks of that cycle is that it prevents Shamans from getting too old...and perhaps too powerful as well, so whoever thought about that had cleverly devised a way to control them. That's also what had inspired me about The Elder or the first,...as he would be the only really "old" shaman so to speak of.

 

Edit: back to topic, there should be 2 more upgrades for a properly fleshed out master, and perhaps 2 more Limited ones to give more choice on how she behaves. One of them should be relatively defensive (e.g. Drawing from the Blood: a sort of Blood Pustule that heals Nekima) to play with her healing ability, while the other ought to increase her odds in melee vs masters. There could be a Limited upgrade that allows her (with a cost) to prevent riposte-like abilities from triggering (this model cannot receive damage as a result of its attack actions for the rest of the turn).

[Da Git]

@Sybaris Unless a certain Shaman snubs the Brotherhood of course!

Also, Re soulstone cache, so going off Henchman, each has a cache of 13 minus soulstone costs (I don't believe their are any exceptions other than special cases like Huggy & Vik).  So applying the same to Masters (they're special, absolutely worth more than their "ss" cost, but it's a good way to get Nekima to a comparable level)... So by this scale, with a cache of 0ss, Nekima would remain at 13ss, whilst comparing to the other Neverborn masters Lilith, Zoraida, Titania, & Lucius (& Lady J, who I compared off) would cost 9ss, Collodi, Dreamer & Pandy would cost 10ss and Lynch (with Huggy) costs 12. 

Judging from this I would put Nekima about par with Dreamer & Collodi.  She has a much better (although highly focused) base card, but most of the Masters get much better with Upgrades and are much more flexible.