A_Hamster

*Checks book again.* Yes, you are right. I misread that rule. Okay, ignore what I wrote about Malifaux Raptors: they won't solve Raspy's speed/mobility problem on the cheap. @Boscotopia: Kaeris is a fine sculpt. If you like the figure and think she'll be useful in your crew, go for it. As for minions: Joss (9), Johan (6), Gunsmiths and Soulstone Miners at (6), Iggy (6), Large Steampunk Arachnid (5), Fire Gamin (4). Iggy is a Neverborn Woe from Twisting Fates. Since he is fire-aligned like Kaeris, he has Affinity [Kaeris] so she can hire him. He also hands out Burning Tokens. Have not run Kaeris as master yet so I don't know how well she works with what minions are available. Anyway, Blessed of December will be out in July which is one solution to Cult of December mobility problems.

You're welcome. dgraz and Adran have already covered why the animals aren't that useful for Raspy. Since I also play Ramos, I have the Mechanical Rider and have used her with Rasputina to remedy the mobility problem.. Similarly, you could use Kaeris at 8ss, who has Flight, so she provides speed and mobility. Kaeris also has [+1] Casting Expert and can take care of herself in most fights. As a Henchman, she can also Use Soulstones. Edit 1: Cats Laughing caught the mistake below. Only Marcus, Zoraida, or crews with Guild Austringers can hire Malifaux Raptors.

One Silent One at least. Never used Hoarcats or the Rattler. Will get the Blessed when it comes out next month as it adds much needed mobility to the crew. Gunsmiths are good all-round minions. Keep one close to Raspy and it will get Frozen Heart from her. While she's outside of your cost parameters, I have taken Taelor at 9ss [we usually play 30ss games]. She provides melee ability, can help with Raspy's mobility problem by using Hammerstrike, and has Hard to Kill and Hard to Wound 1. She's worth the 9ss. Essence of Power does make a difference on the damage flips. You can't cheat on negative flips, then the high card in hand is worthless. Just something to think about.

*Shrug* Typical hazard of being a miniatures gamer. Restarted in August of last year, already have 230 figures and vehicles to paint. Painted only 15 figures (so total 245 figures bought in less than a year). We won't get into the many figures in various stages of painting from before I stopped gaming seven+ years ago. That's easily another 600+!

Welcome to the forums! You've your work cut out for you: that's quite a haul! If you don't already know about it, http://pullmyfinger.wikispaces.com/home is the Malifaux wiki. Lots of good stuff there including player aids. Good gaming!

Yowza! She's mighty, mighty!

Fair enough. Since my start in miniature gaming was with 25mm Napoleonics, I'm sort of stuck in that mental mode by default. (And I've painted a full French corps and then some in 25mm.) You do make a good point that 15mm or smaller makes more sense for the "big battalions". The Battle of Austerlitz would look better (and might even fit on a tabletop) at 10mm. [Although painting Napoleonic uniforms at that scale ... YARGH!] As for a mass battle game by Wyrd, let me clarify. I like Malifaux as a small scale, small monetary outlay skirmish game. Turning it into a mass battle game would warp it into something else and it would no longer have the "feel" that makes the game attractive. Now if Wyrd's venture into plastic proves successful, perhaps they could develop a mass combat game in a different genre or universe, one where big battles are the norm as opposed to small skirmishes. Heck, perhaps something that interlocks and so you could play at different scales. For example, using a hypothetical sci-fi universe using 10mm figures and vehicles. The first rulebook would be at the company level, so the basic movement stand would be the platoon. Emphasis is on small unit tactics. Next step up, Brigade or Divisional level with emphasis is on grand tactics. Finally, the army corps level. Ideally one uses the same figures and vehicles on the same stands for each game; it is the level of detail that would change for each ruleset. At the company level, weapons and vehicles would be detailed, with individual stats, thus a Type A medium tank moves faster but has shorter range than a Type B medium tank. At the opposite extreme the corps level, those details are abstracted, putting the focus on maneuver and morale. Small technical details get lost in the wash at that scale.

cosplaying Naruto characters. *grin*

Plastic figures, when done right and priced fairly (i.e. Not the Games Workshop pricing), are overall a benefit for the miniatures gamer. Usually they have more variety out of the box, and easier to convert. For games that require 200+ figures in 25mm or larger, they are lighter (a definite plus if carrying a full corps or more of Napoleonics!) And for bulk troops (like Japanese ashigaru of the sengoku jidai period) it is a damn sight cheaper than metal! Wyrd moving to plastics is an opportunity: they should be able to offer us more figure variety and scenic bits for customizing without crippling themselves economically. Also, without knowing their other plans, perhaps they will offer a rules set that requires 200+ figures for a game and so moving towards plastic kits would make sense for army building.

Welcome to Malifaux! Where in SoCal do you play? I'm in the SF Valley myself. One of the Henchmen for SoCal Malifaux will probably say hello soon and provide more info about the SoCal Malifaux scene.

Welcome! Good gaming!

+1 for Panda. A kitsune and tanuki if we're talking about Japanese folklore, perhaps kappa as well. Based on the Book Three story with Misaki, I figure the Ten Thunders will be Tong/Triad/Yakuza with a healthy dose of cinematic ninja and wuxia martial arts. Fair warning, Never say No to Panda!

Mighty fine work!

1. As long as a spell does not require a Rst duel, a caster can cast a spell upon herself. 2. Not sure, and I don't have a rulebook and cards with me to check. It really comes down to the wording of the spell.