Omenbringer

I think Som'er is one of the most successful designs, aside from the loss of his Skeeters being able to access Sooey! (this was a somewhat major blow that I argue wasn't necessary). His summoning is likely the most balanced in the game.

The story encounters (asymmetric strategies) do the same thing in my opinion.

Just in case Nathan didn't see it mentioned over in the DCR sub-forum how about a Twisted Alternatives set based on the characters from DCR?

I would also add that Taxidermin is a 0 Action so it is a bit limited on a Rare 2 somewhat expensive model (as Dogmantra points out).

While I agree that a "knee jerk errata" isn't a great course of action, Hamelin and his models have a history of causing issues, especially when the errata is drawn out. We saw this last edition and when the errata was finally released it was essentially exactly what was suggested by the community within the first few months. Also Hamelin's models being restricted to just him wouldn't be new, some of his models were last edition. The Obedient Wretch and Rat Catchers could only be hired into a crew that was lead by Hamelin, the Rat Catchers even had a prohibition against being summoned (by swarming Rats) into a crew that was not lead by Hamelin. I would like to see this fixed sooner rather than later.

There are likely to be folks who would say the exact opposite.

No worries there will be other tournaments. 1) Chris (Slapdrone), Ressers, local to area 2) Jay (MinimumPhase), Neverborn, Canton 3) Creed, Ressers, Canton 4) Kevin B. (Libido Knievel), Ressers(?), Erie 5) Tom (Rogueeyes), Guild or Outcasts, local to area 6) Max W. (pnktd2), Neverborn, Columbus 7) Mick (CactusEmperor), Ressers, Columbus 8) Taylor (KingCrow), Arcanists, Columbus

I would be a bit uncomfortable suggesting that, as the Young Lacroixs (especially if not converted) are their own defined model and are very different looking than Bayou Gremlin's. In casual games that might work but in a tournament setting it could be a potential sticking point. I agree that 6-7 is the sweet spot for Bayou Gremlin's but it is possible to need more if the situation is right.

Since you mentioned the Tortoise and the Hare, the Twisted Alternatives line would be a great method of bringing the DCR minis to reality. In this way Wyrd would be able to cross-market them to DCR, Malifaux and TtB, expanding the retail appeal. In fact if Nathan is reading this (which he likely might) a Twisted Alternatives box influenced by the Hills Have Eyes movies could be interesting. The models could be alternatives for the December Acolyte and Silent Ones with the TtB story focusing on a group of cannibals harassing a newly opened and potentially productive Soulstone mine or perhaps this is an isolated enclave of the first Earthside Visitors to Malifaux (from the time before the closing). I am sure the Guild would love to interview them, if they could be brought back.

You might also consider using the Malifaux stats as a start and then fleshing things out as needed.

I would consider upping the ranks of your non-fated to prevent the melee focused fated from dominating combats. A Henchmen and his posse of Enforcers should even the field quite a bit (the Henchmen will be "flipping" above the fated's average, while the Enforcers will be right at it). Add in some appropriately raised aspects and skills to reflect trained professionals and again the fated will likely struggle. I wouldn't consider this an adversarial move or a "Hard counter" approach, a fated that is that dominating in combat is going to attract the attention of higher skilled people who either want to challenge themselves or eliminate the competition. You could also consider house ruling some randomness into the resolution system to keep the combat focused fated off balance. There are a number of good suggestions on how to do this floating around in the threads in this section. Or lastly, you could try to encourage the player to play the game as a "Story" (where it really shines) instead of a combat game (which is entirely to munchkinable at non-henchmen and above ranks).

You would still likely want another box of Bayou Gremlin's if playing Som'er.

I agree with most of Math's recommendations but I might consider the Bayou Gremlin's as a good purchase as well.

Well damn that is a great response from the Columbus folks, thanks to all the Henchmen that are helping promote in their communities 1) Chris (Slapdrone), Ressers, local to area 2) Jay (MinimumPhase), Neverborn, Canton 3) Creed, Ressers, Canton 4) Kevin B. (Libido Knievel), Ressers(?), Erie 5) Tom (Rogueeyes), Guild or Outcasts, local to area 6) Max W. (pnktd2), Neverborn, Columbus 7) Mick (CactusEmperor), Ressers, Columbus 8) Taylor (KingCrow), Arcanists, Columbus 9) Nathan (santaclaws01), Neverborn or 10 Thunders, Columbus Still have plenty of time and spots open.

Be on the look out for at least one new player, A gentlemen I demoed to was from up that way and he purchased a shiny new crew box after our demo at Origins.

Hopefully you will see some of the new folks I talked to and demoed to while at Origins. I know at least a handful of them purchased a crew box and were looking for a group to play with.

On that note, anyone looking for the Som'er Avatar model my local game store has a few of them in stock. He also has quite a few of the other ones available as well. PM for the contact info.

Pig ladders aid in their mobility quite a bit, though Saddle is another option as well.

It depends largely on how you approach the game; if you are running it primarily as a story driven game then the system is good (this is where the game shines IMO), if however you want something more combat focused then the system does have plenty of failings. It sounds as if the OP wants something a bit more combat focused, in which case I would recommend looking at some of the other threads containing recommendations on how to do this.

Well both of these seem easy to "ad hoc." In the case of different sized combatants you could apply a or modifier, though I dont necessarily agree that the combatants size is a major determining factor in grappling. A trained grappler should know how to exploit the size differences negating any advantage (take a look at the old UFC fights before they introduced weight classes to see some great examples of this). Differences in Might could be worth considering (though again a well set hold is exceedingly difficult to muscle out of). Here again though grappling is about leverage, torque, and extension/ compression, muscles don't function well in these circumstances, that is why the holds are so potent once set in . At the most I would impose a modifier to the TN of no more than 1/2 the differential in their Might values. Personally I think Grace is the more applicable Physical Aspect with Flexible being the most appropriate Skill. Grappling is not as much about strength as people think except perhaps in Greco Roman wrestling. The only caveat I would include is when one combatant has a pneumatic limb that is being held or employed. Metal and steam can generate and sustain a lot more power than simple bone and muscle. I think your idea for escaping is good though would use Grace instead of Speed. You could also just use an attack with Pugilism, Martial Arts, or Grappling skills to force the escape. This is a very common method of breaking holds where Strength or Flexibility have failed. One of the most common methods of breaking a deeply set Arm Bar is to try and lift your opponent up and drop them on the back of their heads (a great example of this can be seen in the Royce Gracie vs Kimo fight from the early days of the UFC). Many counters to holds (talking combat techniques here) are begun with strikes to exposed or vulnerable nerves followed by un-balancing. Essentially if the "pinned" combatant manages to inflict damage from an attack then the pin is broken and they escape it.

The Wild Boars were included with his crew box because he is the best Master to run them. No other master can really take advantage of the Wild Boars abilities like he can. That said I think the Sow is a really solid choice with him, you will need a box of Piglets as well though.

Just got back from Origins and must say I am even more excited about our tournament in July. Hopefully some of those awesome folks I met will be able to attend.

I seem to recall last edition that some of Hamelin's crew had hiring restrictions to keep the shenanigans from getting out of hand. Wonder why those weren't carried over.

"Auto-include" isn't neccesarily a bad thing if it is heavily tied to either a specific crew or faction. An example of the former would be the non-master Viktoria with the Master Viktoria. The latter would probably best be represented by the Slop Hauler in the Gremlin faction (without his mass healing the faction as a whole takes a huge step back in and many models would need to be re-costed and/or rewritten to compensate for the loss).

It was mentioned by Mason that these rules might be expanded quite a bit in a future Ten Thunders themed book. I would like to see a combat specialized book that introduces a host of optional rules for improving the static combat resolution system by adding in some better randomness.