Omenbringer

They have actually put several games through kickstarter. Sadly, I don't think Puppet Wars would be a good one for that route. I still hold out hope that Puppet Wars will eventually receive some attention but I suspect there may be some issues in the background that we don't know about complicating things.

If nothing else these periodic threads remind those in the know that there is still interest in the IP.

17 hours ago, Aegnor said:

On other game i took him to give reactivate to pigapult propelled bayous in symbols. worked fine and i got my symbols vp easily. But he just stood there near bayou and pigapult putting scheme and giving reactivate and nothing else. When my opponent finally reached me he didn't got time to figth and just died to save his minions friends (to deny punish the weak) by blocking charge lines.

So yeah the model feels like a bunch of abilities that don't go well so much together. Reactivate is nice but wp4 gremlin is to restrictive and you can only do it once. Have it at 1 ap may be better or a trigger to do it again (serena style? maybe not on anything though). Maybe give it to wp5+ gremlin or not but with forced sacrifice (can't remove scheme to avoid).

15 SS (almost a third of the hiring pool) is an awful lot to pay for this, even if it can increase the odds of scoring VP.

I really wish we didn't have the Pigapult as it is now. It is just another design space limiter.

Also, in regards to the Stuffed Piglets, I find it funny that they really  didn't seem to be an issue at 2 SS until the last iteration of Gaining Grounds Strats and Schemes (at least I don't recall running across many complaint threads about them until that point) where cheap activations were crucial. While it is nice that the Wyrd staffers have worked so diligently to provide fresh Strats and Schemes each year for the competitive fields, I believe they are over emphasized and really hurting the casual player base (which I suspect is a much, much larger pool of players globally). I hope this improves in the next edition, when ever that may be.

I would just be happy with the last of the plastic puppets being released. Though if a re-issue was to happen, I would still prefer the original rules to the Unstitched version. I know there are those who disagree but it really was deeper game play.

And while we are asking for things...again...would love to see the game expanded into a three dimensional board game, or at least with a re-configurable board layout. The Terraclips tie in was something that I always felt was under-marketed. Though they were house rules, the games I played utilizing doors, multiple rooms, and stairs provided a lot of enjoyment.

Unfortunately this game was a bit ahead of its time and sadly I think it is now behind the times.

19 hours ago, Aegnor said:

I'm waiting the malifaux rats to go to 3ss then. Yes they can only be hired by hamelin but still and hamelin is very powerfull at the moment. Stuffed are rare 6 so 'any quantities' not really and i think lot of gremlins players would be pleased to have them go to 2ss rare 3.

But at least i'm happy that you know stuffed need something and i hope you will do something about them. july errata maybe?

While I don't disagree with increasing the stuffed piglets cost (it was the same in first edition, though they had a lot more utility in that edition thanks to some interesting, but difficult combos) if you want them to go back to 2 SS in this edition (which I think is fair) something needs to change. For those of us that remember last edition, the solution is real simple...force the hiring of a Taxidermist to hire or summon Stuffed Piglets.

As for Hamelin, I don't mind him having access to cheap spammable models, he was designed for that (as were most Gremlin Masters). Take that away and Hamelin would be very difficult to play at all.

4 hours ago, trikk said:

I have a genuine question. Please don`t take it as an offense, because that`s not my intention. Did you play in international or big tournaments? Somer was probably in the top 3-4 masters of GG17 (probably after Hamelin and Sandeep). I had a nice eye opener when I went to the UK Nationals and ITC. Of course if you`re a rubbish player you`re going to get stomped even when playing a potent master but the activation control combined with damage and card draw was pretty bonkers. He lost a bit of steam in GG18 because the strategies and schemes don`t promote outactivation as much but I still think he`s a lot closer to the top than to the middle.

As for turns. The issue with tournaments is: 1) chasing points is harder than earning them and 2) there`s a higher chance we`ll end up turn 4 than turn 6 most of the time which puts a faction that has 125% steam early and 75% late is a big advantage.

Not offensive at all. It is a fair question. I have not played in international tournaments or that many Big Tournaments but I have followed them intently on these boards and watched more than a few at GenCon. Sure Som'er may be appearing near the top of some of those events (definitely not all of them and none that I can recall in first place) but I would counter with "what is the quality of the player piloting him". The UK scene in particular has has had some of their very top tier players (guys often described as being able to take what ever and make a showing of it) do well with him. How much of the top showing with Som'er is due to just their skill with the game?

I am not saying that he isn't the factions best competitive option, hell I have been singing his praises since I started playing him way back in the early days of 1st edition, but he does have significant and exploitable weaknesses. This is exacerbated when a player knows what to focus on (why most competitive players have transitioned from Slop Haulers to Lightning Bugs).

GG17 was a set of Strats/schemes that was conducive to Som'er's style of play, but even there he wasn't dominating the fields. His "Activation control" stems from being able to consistently and massively out activate his opponent. This is something that has become more difficult as many factions now have much more access to cheap and good low SS cost models. During GG17 Gremlin's relied heavily on the Stuffed Piglets for that and even then the out activation wasn't that significant. As for the Card Draw, well I have never had it matter that much, even in turns where I was able to recoup a significant number of Control Cards due to Gremlin deaths. Usually the value of the cards is diminished by the loss of the models that I needed for out activation and scoring. I will also offer that while much is made about the potency of Bayou Two Card, it has rarely been a significant factor in any of my games. The Damage is definitely a thing but is far from guaranteed. His Boomer has a low AV (and not just for a Master) and the high damage is triggered off a suit he doesn't possess implicitly (and now can't receive from Lenny). I seem to recall that Lenny got errated around that time period but my recollection could be wrong. It is also a action so is subject to all of the issues with that (firing into a melee, cover, LOS). Lastly, Som'er really wants to hit well enough to insure the cheatable damage flip. Given his lowish AV (often flipping even against Df) getting to that all important cheatable damage flip is not always easy.

Now all of this was back before some significant erratas, during a particularly advantageous competitive Start/ Scheme pool, and in a format that favors Som'er's quick out the gate style. Even then, Som'er wasn't consistently dominating the competitive fields.

He may be our best competitive option, but he is far from an easy win.

This is of course a huge drift from the subject of this thread, which is Big Brain Brin. I don't think he is really that useful for the reasons that have already been stated in this thread.

@Aaron

You definitely bring up some good issues about the faction (though I disagree that Gremlin's don't need cheap spammable models). There was a time when Ulix was considered broken...and yet he isn't any longer. I don't recall any changes to him, people just learned to play against his weaknesses (and like all gremlins these weaknesses are easily exploitable).  Hell there was a time Som'er was considered the ultimate Gremlin (talking about in this edition). Frequent cries of how broken he was filled the air, particularly in regards to Bigger Hat Than You and Bayou Two Card...and yet Som'er has not dominated the competitive fields. Player's just learned to exploit his weaknesses (and he definitely has them).

What I am getting at with all of this is that Gremlin's are far from broken. When things are flowing and they are piloted by a competent player they can appear dominating. They definitely are not. I have played Gremlin's longer than most on these forums and consider myself a very competent Som'er player and yet somehow my community has managed to prevent my dominance. Even one of my newer players figured out that pulling the teeth of even the mighty Pigapult isn't difficult.

The issue with Gremlin's is the very vocal external community that doesn't like the swingyness of the Gremlin's. They seem to forget that the gate swings both ways. I have dominated turns 1-3 only t see the entire gunline crumble in turn 4 and lose the game by turn 5. This is not a fluke...sadly it happens quite a bit.

While it is not necessarily your fault, to gremlin players it seems each errata has targeted us more than anyone else. While many of these erratas I agree with, it seeems that Gremlin's are always under the spotlight while other factions are allowed to keep their "awesome". It doesn't help that the type of things that keep getting complained about are key to our survival. Gremlin's were designed around synergy, waves of weenies, and self-inflicted damage for a bonus. The first one implicitly limits the design space of the faction while the last provides the swing. What does the middle do? Well it is supposed to even the massive attrition the faction faces out (along with the summoning...which I still argue is the most balanced in the game). All of these things add to closures in design space.

I am hoping that the next edition (when ever it may be) can manage to keep the Gremlin feel without providing the constant drone of broken cries that we have seen this edition.

And just to support the statement that Wyrd staff have not accepted all complaints without testing things for themselves...if they didn't and just blindly errata'd any model that was complained about, we would have an expensive Slop Hauler that only heals a single model a single wound

On 1/29/2018 at 10:41 PM, edopersichetti said:

What material do you make your own with? I'm very skeptical about the Vinyl (a la Mats by Mars, for example) as I find them a bit too shiny and they seem more flimsy than the rubber ones.

Sorry for the delay in response.

For my mats I use cotton drop cloths like these below for my foundational layer (provides strength, pliability, and texture increases adhesion).

They are available fairly inexpensively at the DIY stores and one will provide multiple mats. A 9' by 12' seamless cotton drop cloth made from 8 oz Canvas runs for about $25.00 on Amazon.

I wash and dry mine before applying the next layer to remove any unwanted "mystery" coatings and also improve adhesion ability by fluffing up the fibers. If you have creases you can apply the iron to it to smooth them out but I don't find it necessary usually.

This next step gets messy so be careful where you do it. I apply a line of Paint-able Latex Caulk and work it into the canvas to form a thin layer that just starts to obfuscate the canvas texture beneath. This takes some time but is made easier by a smooth trowel. These are what I use:

It might be worth buying a contractors pack if you plan on making a few mats as you will use at least a tube and a half on each one. They should cost about $2.00 per tube. A smooth trowel looks like this:

See if you can get one in plastic so you decrease the risk of cutting the canvas cloth when working the caulk in. The cost about $6.00 though can get more expensive if you want a long blade instead of a smaller one.

Once you have that first layer on, let it sit for a day to insure the latex is fully dried. Now you could just leave it like this and apply a thin acrylic paint to it but I like more mat with a little more feel to it. I apply another layer of the caulk (slightly thicker than the first) and this time, instead of smoothing it out with the trowel, I use a ball of crumpled aluminum foil to dab and pull up on the caulking. This introduces a slight spiky texture that does a fair job of mimicking grass without being delicate or distracting. You will need to replace the ball of aluminum periodically. You can also try using a sponge, but it didn't work for me when I used it (the sponge clogs easily and you then have to clean it, too much work when the aluminum ball works better.

Again give the mat at least a day to dry. Before applying paint roll the mat up to see if it cracks. If it does try and reseal it with a bit of caulk.

When you paint the mat apply one to two thin coats and then seal it with a spray on matte sealant.

It isn't difficult and if you go in with a group you can keep the cost down to a very reasonable $10-15 per mat.

Hopefully that helps. If you want I can post pictures of mine later.

While I agree the points reduction was nice, Bad Juju still needs some love particularly in the durability department. One of my players recommended giving him Incorporeal to better reflect the "mud man" motif. That might be a bridge to far but making his specific upgrade dual faction would probably do the job.

19 hours ago, Swinerider said:

i dont know, after seeing the comparison of what Gremlins get to what some of the other factions have been getting with each release and errata, it seems like they just want the faction to be there as a novelty but not really compete.  We'll see. If it doesnt look like things are going to turn around soon it may be time to move on.  

Gremlin's are a very difficult faction to balance because of their designed synergy and self inflicted damage. They really aren't in a good place, regardless of the anecdotes about the "perfect storm" of abilities that make them supposedly unbeatable (they really are not, particularly once a player has learned which lynch-pin models make things function).

Errata's aren't going to help that.

20 hours ago, Kurdush said:

I think it was a pretty decent simplified errata change for the gremlins. The models that went up in cost will still be used and the ones that went down now feel viable in some environments. Very glad to see Golem and Shinobi decrease in cost in particular.

There are still a few models in need of a points decrease (or buff), but this was a very welcome step on the path towards better internal balance. I reckon it's especially tricky to get balance right by working with points cost alone in the lower range. Stuffed, Bayou and Survivors for example are now pretty much in the same spot but I definitely know which one I generally prefer. 

Points change alone does not feel optimal for all models I guess, just like a lot of people have already said. Emissary is one that stands out in this regard, even though a decrease would be better than nothing at all.

Though he isn't a Gremlin model specifically, I would like to see Bad Juju get some love when he slums it with Zoraida in Gremlins. Nothing dramatic just make his specific upgrade dual faction (Gremlin/ Neverborn). Perhaps also give him Armor 1.

Walls are foam core with textured wall paper and doll house wall paper. I added some decorative details as well to make them more interesting. These were either balsa wood or polystyrene (guessing here) crown molding strips I got from the arts and crafts store or DIY big box stores.

The roof is a base of foam core and a cover of textured sheet styrene.

The floors are also sheet styrene. The carpet is actual fabric and was the most expensive individual piece. See note below for where to find one.

The rubble is just various sizes of model train ballast, bricks, and sand with a few scraps of the molding thrown in.

You can locate a lot of these materials at a Doll House specialty store if you happen to have one nearby.

Genrally Som'er can either be run as a summoner, a support Master, or a super solo. Keep in mind he can transition between each of these roles during the game.

His typical crew build will depend on which role you want to focus on. I prefer the summon-support roles so generally run a lot of piglets and bayou gremlins. Take a look over at the Pull My Finger wiki tactica if you haven't already. It provides a pretty good description of his usual play styles.

On 1/12/2018 at 12:57 PM, Dogmantra said:

The pigapult doesn't do strats or schemes on its own, but it's at its most powerful when used as an enabler - just bring it for a ride in Interference with Som'er or Ulix and you'll see what I mean, you get an easy 4 points from using Launch'n to place models in scoring position while hopefully also denying your opponent 4 (and Interference is still in the GG2018 rotation, so this is still relevant). Public Demonstration is also back for 2018, which was hilariously easy in 2016 with the Pigapult, and the new errata giving us a couple more nice 5 stone minions makes getting 3 points on turn one pretty simple with the Pult.

IMO its shooting was never its strong point and shouldn't be its strong point because it isn't fun to play against since there's pretty much no way to counter it. You can't stay out of LoS, you can't use cover, and you probably can't even get close because it has a 24" range. And this is when it's not all that powerful, imagine how bad it would be if it was really strong.

 

My proposed rework basically involved merging its Bacon Load and Launch'n into a single more powerful attack. You needed one Ht1 model per attack, but it would also place them into base contact with the target. That way it reduces the overwhelming power of spamming Bayou Gremlins to win corners, but it was a more damaging attack to make up for it.

I would rather see Launch'n removed and its shooting ability improved but to each their own.

3 hours ago, katadder said:

I know about their strengths and lack of weaknesses.

They get easy access to fast and also to really high damage all for some self damage. This is then negated by the best healer in the game. And let's not forget bayou 2 card to give you 2 chances to win a duel even when top decking. They can until the latest errata out activate anyone but Hamlin whilst bringing cheap big beaters and also have an init cheating model.

I know their supposed weaknesses which are not real, you tell me some gremlins weaknesses? 

Gremlin's are not that great, and I have been one of their longest proponents.

It really sounds like you are not personally familiar with the factions strengths and weaknesses.

"Some self damage" is a major concern, particularly when your opponent weathers the storm (say perhaps by reducing the damage they receive, which doesn't affect the value the Gremlin takes) and then needs only trivial damage flips to remove your models in return. Now you may argue that this damage can be easily healed but...

The best healer in the game is also very fragile and limits the mobility of the rest of the crew unless you take something to shepherd him around the table (which of course isn't free). There is also the issue of how the Slop Hauler influences your activation order, which in Gremlins is a major concern. Activate him to early and you wont be able to do so again until next turn (likely having to activate the Slop Hauler before the rest of your crew). Activate them late and they might not be able to heal the models that need it in time. The bane of any Gremlin player fielding Slop Haulers is a "Sniper" model with From the Shadows (Quite a few of these floating around). These models rarely struggle to remove the "best healer in the game" before they are an issue. They really aren't as great as they seem, and that is why a lot of Gremlin players have shifted to the Lightning Bugs for healing duties.

Bayou Two Card is not as game breaking as most people make out (and also isn't very common in the faction anyway). Sure it looks great on paper but it really isn't. There are only a small range of initial flip values that make it worth the gamble and even then the cost is having to accept an unknown card from your fate deck rather than a guaranteed value from your hand. Don't forget you have to be able to cheat in the first place to use it, so a modifier completely negates its potential.

Also, most crews can get (and have for awhile now) near the model count that even a "wienie" gremlin list can, so game breaking out activation is rarely an issue even against "Elite" crew builds. Sure summoning can help but Gremlin summons are very restrictive and rarely significantly influence the game like other summoners can.

As for initiative cheating...well like everything else you have to have the card to cheat in your hand to make it an issue. Generally I would rather have a high value card for Attacks or Defense rather than initiative, even on a crucial turn. And as you point out in your post, the "faction" only has one model that can do it anyway. Trixiebelle isn't cheap and the cheat occurs before your opponent has to commit a Soulstone to reflip their value. Again their are only a small range of values that you would really even consider doing this with. While some Gremlin players consider Trixiebelle an auto include I have never found her more valuable than the 2 Piglets I could have hired in her place.

While I will admit there are some outliers in the faction that need to be reigned in, the same could be said about all the factions. Finally consider that the most often complained about models in the Gremlin faction are usually hired out of faction rather than within it. That says a lot in and of itself.

Gremlin weaknesses are very real. Play them a few times for yourself and you will see them very quickly. If the faction didn't have them (and some major ones at that) then you would see them much more represented in the competitive environments. The last time this was true was last edition when there were some really stupid exploits.

30 minutes ago, Rathnard said:

- Location rules, for stuff like fighting in the Bayou, the sewers, maybe even on Earth! This used to be a thing in M1E and it's also seen action in the M2E campaign rules a few waves back. So something that's not campaign-specific to spice up both competitive and casual games would be neat to see, IMO. 

- Balanced, "competitive" Avatar rules. If I'm being honest I doubt this will happen - Wyrd clearly tried to get Avatar rules right but the best they've managed over two editions are campaign-specific (ie. non-tournament) upgrades. Maybe a fresh approach on Avatars could bring them back with a vengeance, but I'm pretty sure this will remain a pipe-dream.

I would love to see these.

Really miss the Avatars, even if they were a bit wonky. I think the Privateer Press Model (Epic Masters rather than upgrading to them) might be the best way to re-attack that concept. The models were really cool but the limited return on investment (especially in 1st edition) was a huge negative.

Aside from the Location Rules I would like to see more emphasis on the story encounters version of the game, particularly if it allowed a return to the Asymmetric strategies from 1st edition. These were so much fun to play (yes I know the Scheme selection had some issues but those could have been solved). Given they are a non-competitive option it would take minimal effort to re-introduce these.

And while I am thinking about it...would love to see the Bad Thing Happens App offer Story Encounters as an option for the encounter generator.

On 12/17/2017 at 2:49 PM, RedMacho said:

Hello guys! I have a problem with playing against marcus and miranda. 2 times in a row i have lost. First time i played with Ophelia crew, second time with ulix.

Ulix with hussbandry,pig sling and corn husks, old mayor, 3 wild boars, slop hauler, penelope and warpig. Raptors blocked the way for pigs and marcus came into close combat, at the 3rd turn he killed ulix and old mayor, so tha game was lost. I tried to play on schemes but his raptors blocked the way...

If somebody had any experience against playing marcus can u give me some tips or any advices please? Thank you in advance!

First advice I would offer, give Old Major the Corn Husks Upgrade. This clears up a space on Ulix for another 1 SS upgrade. I would seriously look at either the Clobbering Stick (for a high damage 0 Action attack that is 1 better than Marcus' Defense) or the Throw Yer Voice (a good upgrade for disengaging and positioning your pigs around the field) upgrades. Since the Raptors seem to be giving your pigs an issue I might also recommend altering the crew build a bit to accommodate for better positioning (free movement and disengaging) and also better aid in churning out piglet summons (or why are you attaching Husbandry and Corn Husks). With these upgrades the Wild Boars are really not assisting and are truthfully dead weight (Even with Penelope up-field directing them they generally wont delay your opponent enough to replace their cost with Summons in the back-field).

I would recommend this list instead:

Ulix                                      Cache 4

• Husbandry
• Pig Sling (not really a choice against Marcus)
• Throw Yer Voice

Old Major

• Corn Husks
• Saddle

Penelope

War Pig

Piglet

Piglet

Piglet

Slop Hauler

Hog Whisperer

Though you lose the ability to pressure Marcus on turn 1, you could potentially gain a summoned War Pig and 2 Summoned Piglets (cards providing of course) in its place (17 SS value). Deployment is key to this, but with that set up it is possible to throw out the required 3 Friendly Scheme Markers with 0 Actions on the Piglets and still have them rush the Center to pressure Marcus Turn 2. The Slop Hauler does what they do best and keeps the engine churning while Old Major leads the Charge up-field (this is why Old Major has the Saddle upgrade, the Slop Hauler's activations are too precious to waste on Walking anywhere, especially when it can be provided for free). Also keep in mind it is possible to position your models in such a way that Marcus can not target Ulix with 2 Attack Actions until the intervening model has been killed (this can also prevent the Marcus player from exploiting that Take to the Sky action to Bury them and unbury them at the end of turn next to a vulnerable model). Add in Old Majors huge stature and it is possible to shield Ulix from Marcus' view altogether (at least until he moves to a position that LOS can be drawn from). The Throw Yer Voice Upgrade and the Hog Whisperer allow you to Push your models out of Engagement without having to worry about Disengaging Strikes (Pushes are not Walk Actions even if they use the Wk stat). Running Ulix and the Hog Whisperer allows you better options for positioning your stampeding Pigs and dictating the fight (this is a bit of a throw back to the old Pig Boomerang from last edition). Penelope can assist with disengaging and positioning as well via the Herding 0 Action (though it is only for one Pig it is a really powerful action).

The key to all of this is to protect the vital underbelly that keeps the ball rolling. Ulix and the Slop Hauler will be positioned close to Old Major (and hidden from direct view without movement by a targeting model) but that Hog Whisperer will be running a flank (to aid in positioning and extraction). You can lose the Hog Whisperer and still be fine, but once that Slop Hauler is gone the summon engine grinds to a halt (this is why a lot of Gremlin players hire two though you will lose the Hog Whisperer positioning contributions). You need to have a decisive advantage in model value before that happens. Positioning is vital as is activation order. Play around with the models to figure out how to position to hamper LOS, melee range, and placement effects (I have some photos posted on the forum that show a couple of these though I don't recall where they are). Activation order will depend on a lot of factors but in general lead with your Piglets, War Pigs, Penelope, and the Hog Whisper before you start Old Major, Ulix and the Slop Hauler (the Slop Hauler should almost always go last to heal what ever was summoned and the models they came from). Summoned models will go after the rest and usually be positioned to fills gaps in the Pig Wall and lead the next turns activations rather than directly engaging the opponent.

Try some of that and see if your results don't improve. The keys to Ulix are mobility, positioning, and attrition (Marcus can't replace lost models). Try thinking of the crew as squadrons. The big Pigs are your "Bombers" while the Piglets are your "fighters". Lead with the fighters to deliver the Bombers. Old Major, Ulix, the Slop Hauler, Penelope, and the Hog Whisperer are your ground crew. They shouldn't be doing much if any of the real fighting.

Hopefully some of that ramble helps...

So do we know who this was sent to? I have players that are interested in purchasing it, and have been for a long while now.

These are going to look great Nathan. Wonder how they are going to fit with my Terraclips stuff?

Great to hear on the minis.

That is a great question. Would love to see some new content for this one (and possibly some nice one piece PVC figures as well).

That recipe is definitely a higher contrast than the one I posted but man what a striking look.

First, I would talk with your melee-centric player. Through the Breach is not a good system for combat oriented games (or if you happen to have any "munchkin-type" players), it is much better as a story telling game.

Aside from the above you can always up the ante for that player. Single out the beater for a fight with a Henchman instead of Minions (waste of time) or Enforcers (barely the same as the average fated). A person that is exceedingly good at some thing tends to earn a reputation that frequently gets challenged (think Doc Holiday from the movie Tombstone). Things change dramatically once the target is always "flipping" 2-4 points higher than the average random card value of the Fated. Especially when the Henchman is always considered to pass their unconscious challenge (page 312). A rank value 11 Henchman should stop or at least significantly slow their shenanigans.

Be warned though it is a heavy handed approach that can really sour your players, especially when the beater goes down and the rest have to deal with the Henchman. As you pointed out in the initial post this can have dire consequences for the remainder of the party.

As I think about it, perhaps there is a method of adjusting the difficulty for just that player without potentially introducing an issue for your other players. Design "in story" reasons to keep that player awake, guard duty perhaps? Or maybe a long night gambling and drinking. Page 309 states that a character that doesn't receive at least 6 hours of sleep per night gains the "Dazed" condition until they sleep for at least that much. This provides an artificial increase for that player without impacting the rest of the party.

I would also ask if you consider any other heavily "specialized" fated to be an issue. For example a fated with high "social" skill values can make a mockery of engagements that hinge on those abilities, while a "ranged" specialist can do the same from relative safety (distance and cover make up for lower damage output). If these are issues, then I would recommend a forum search in the TTB sub-category to find some older recommendations on inserting more "randomness" for non-fated into the system. While these are "home-brew" rules adjustments or outright replacements they can even the field so to speak.

The resolution system of the game has been a nagging complaint of mine since play testing (both for the non-fated static resolution vs fated random generation, and the fated using a common deck).

@ChrisB76

Sorry for the delay, been a busy week. Here they are, included a couple different ones so you can see.

On 11/29/2017 at 12:27 AM, Rathnard said:

Arcanists get a bit tricky since alot of the characters are M&SU, not technically Arcanist. However since the M&SU is basically a front for the Arcanist organisation then you can justify them as being Arcanist-aligned... even if the characters don't themselves realise it!

(Mind you, a case can definitely be made to split the M&SU away from the Arcanists into their own faction...especially considering some of the recent developments in the story. But that's for another thread).  

I wouldn't mind seeing M&SU become their own faction.

@wobbly_goggy We are just going to have to disagree.

While I agree Hamelin was definitely an issue (and one that was discovered during play testing with fixes offered soon after publication) but the core rules, especially after the 1.5 consolidation were much tighter than they are now. And for the record I have played Som'er Teeth against Hamelin, there were methods of killing him available and they didn't require much more than the standard tricks available to the Hog Boss (read as did not require usage of the detestable infinite Skeeter summon exploit). I used my Bacon Bombing Assassination Run to do it.

As for the "Horrific transition" perhaps in your year hiatus you missed the roll out. It was very adversarial to the established player base (and not just the one vocal and notable member) that had built the game and communities. There was a very palpable sense that the new developers didn't care about retaining the old crowd at all. Quite a bit of ego was involved and not just on the side of the "Old Guard." Because of this, many left and have yet to return. This did not need to happen. There are methods of transitioning editions that don't result in large exoduses. It is all in the presentation.

Again we are unlikely to agree but I expect a new edition to be announced within a year or two. Again we don't need to throw the baby out with the bath water but it does need to be refreshed. A system cannot function indefinitely with just maintenance, particularly when new things are continually being bolted on. Eventually things need to be completely overhauled, rebuilt, and replaced. You feel the system is fine as is and that is great, not everyone agrees. You are just as entitled to argue against a new edition as I am for, lets just keep it cordial.

As an aside, if you need some ideas for working your community before becoming a Henchman many of us can offer some good advice. If you want to take a look at the league set I put together or the last custom story encounters I wrote up follow the instructions in my signature. I am more than willing to assist where I can.