zeeblee

According to Wikipedia the first manned hot-air balloon flight was on September 19, 1783, so I think you could get away with it being mostly nonmagical as well since Malifaux is around alternate history 1900ish (or so I've been told).

This has been great to play with, but I keep encountering a bug in the crew builder. I have mine set to restrict via my collection, but frequently it won't display additional copies of models as available after I add the first.

I can totally get behind not wanting to know if an action (or set thereof) was guaranteed to fail. Though I again don't think that is a unique problem to TtB as DnD can also pull the same shenanigans (save for the nat 20 = guaranteed hit in combat scenario). Admittedly when it comes to DnD/Pathfinder I have only rarely gotten characters beyond level 5 unless the campaign started beyond it. Though I've also played extended campaigns in other systems (such as my current 2-year Warhammer Fantasy RP 3rd game with a 47 experience character). Though knowing that I can definitely see how one might say level 5 is the typical character max despite reading through a monster manual which contains CR 20 enemies. Either way, I still don't think we can condemn TtB's static antagonist system unless we condemn all static antagonist systems (which I am fully willing to do as Dogs in the Vineyard is by far my favorite resolution system). Given TtB's current form I think the inability to influence AVs beyond base stats is a big part of what makes big enemies NPE. Similarly I think there is also a perception problem in the TtB bestiary. I for one imagine Witchling Stalkers being far more frightening due to their visual aesthetic and the reputation of the Witch Hunters, but as minions in TtB they are pretty damn easy to dispatch. TtB characters for the most part feel like they start out at Enforcer level, but they only barely get to be Henchman equivalents (barring some crazy madness). But after that critique I also must say I have been having a blast as a Fatemaster, and my players have been enjoying the game as well. It's just a puzzle to craft encounters that will be significant without being unfair (usually a pack of minions and/or enforcers).

Ok. So now I finally have some time to put words to post. I'm not going to quote or reply to anything in particular since this has been crazy active, and I honestly don't think a lot of the dialogue is actually moving further (rather, it's continuing sideways). I've been thinking a lot on game systems because of this discussion, and honestly what we've been calling Static Resolution isn't at all new. In fact, Through the Breach's only real revolution in the static system was to give the players all of the variability rather than the storyteller (which I think is very thematic and nice). Because really, in Dungeons and Dragons you could just do some math to shift the "does the monster hit the player roll" over to the player instead and call it a "do you successfully avoid getting hit" roll. All of the skills in DnD/GURPS/most-games-to-some-extent are static resolution systems with storyteller-defined Target Numbers. So if these systems are still viewed as good mechanically, then what is it that truly makes TtB different, and so bad at maintaining encounter difficulties at lower/higher points? Difference 1: Cards instead of dice. TtB uses pseudo-random RNG (think computer games where loot tables slowly shift in favor of the player until they get an epic and then reset) rather than true RNG found in dice. This allows players to fish through the deck for cards. It also means the game is fixed on a 1-13 random number scale, with a low instance of 0/14. This tends to be overall lower than the variability found in other systems, but alone isn't enough to cause a problem. Except for the next bit. Difference 2: Low skill/attribute values with high impact. I think this is the true culprit when it comes to how black/white the system can get, and why changing static values to random ones feels like the true fix (that and because the skirmish game goes that route). What I'm getting at is the fact that the difference between a 5 and a 6 in AV in this system is very different from 5 vs 6 in Pathfinder. This combined with the fact that other games offer a multitude of ways to grow AVs outside of base stat + skill means characters are stuck at one setting, which is why the bigger enemies get impossible (literally, as a Rank 14 dude with 6AV will require players to both be maxed out and flipping the highest cards in the deck to succeed). I take no issue with how easily small enemies are dispatched, because DnD characters slaughter kobolds and goblins relatively early on in the game (though also note that beginning characters in DnD are overall weaker than beginning characters in TtB). I think they only seem like a problem because of how players can't really compete with the big bads ever since their stat growth quickly stagnates. TL;DR: Static resolution is everywhere, and isn't the actual problem. The actual problem is low AV growth potential/caps.

Pretty much just the Darkened characteristic and gambling.

Unless of course you exclusively play his thematic models: Lynch, Hungering Darkness, Illuminated, Depleted, Beckoners, Mr. Tannen, Mr. Graves, and [to an extent] Stitched Together.

Low-rank stuff will get harder, and high-rank stuff will get easier. I plan on writing more for this topic eventually, but can't at the moment.

It's also true that the reopening of the Breach saw parts of Malifaux in ruins due to the conflict waged just before the Breach closed. It's possible that the Victorian aesthetic is from the rebuilding effort, and not from Old Malifaux. The Quarantine Zones probably still look extremely strange.

Hah! I almost utilized the term biomimicry, but decided against it. Since Neverborn often appear as a population's worst nightmares, do Gremlins just see them as giant pigs most of the time? Or empty bottles of moonshine? Related to this it could be argued that Gremlins don't mimic/copy Neverborn because they outright can't. How do you copy a shapeshifter unless you're also a shapeshifter? How do you copy a walking tree? Really their only options for mimicry are Zoraida (Sammy!), Lynch (Gremlin in a raggedy suit and obviously cheating at cards), and Lucius (masked Gremlin who doesn't really understand why paper is so important, but pretends to get it).

I love this idea.

Due to the ability to cheat from your hand, spend soulstones, and the few suit-manipulating auras, Gremlin randomness is more about resource management than the 40k "Good luck on rolling your dice." style of random.

So I'm rather curious why humans get all of the gremliny copy-cat attention. The fluff states that after humans arrived in Malifaux the gremlins started to mimic their farming practice to try and take over their pigs, develop moonshine, and fire boomguns. But haven't Neverborn been around for at least as long as the Gremlins? Aside from Sammy imitating Zoraida, why aren't there other green versions of Neverborn stuff? An easy answer is that Neverborn have a malleable appearance, and only look the way they do now because of the presence of humans. But we also know that Black Blood can be implanted (or is maybe even infectious?), so it's still possible for there to be an acid-blood goblin. Similarly, they love to get intoxicated, so there are likely some gremlin Illuminated/Depleted floating around (though I totally get not making a model for that as it would span 3 factions). In addition to that, it's also rather interesting that the gremlins seem to be immune to the necromantic voices that seem to seep into human minds in Malifaux. I know there are people who want a gremlin Resurrectionist, but I think it could be a cool plot point that gremlins cannot hear those secrets. Any thoughts? Or perhaps stories which I don't know of which go into some of these details?

Since I don't own the metals I don't have a huge issue with 2/3 of them being the same sculpt. Though... I have been plotting on snagging the old metal versions for models which can be fielded in greater numbers if I ever feel like experimenting, so for that purpose I do wish all three of these would be fresh and new.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions so far! She does indeed have the Eternal Flame (so I've edited into the list). From what has been said here as well as what I've read elsewhere it sounds like Kaeris is optimally played as a support master (who oddly attacks her own stuff to set it on fire) who can kill opportunistically. Is this assessment correct? I would ask a few more specific questions, but I think they would mostly be from my own curiosity rather than be about things she's interested in. Either I'll get her to let me know what I should ask or I'll get her to make an account and post herself. In the meantime I'm going to summarize the above so you can make sure I'm interpreting everything correctly/divide things out for easy reading. Gamin Grenades: Summon/move low-wound gamin near the enemy so they can damage/apply conditions and avoid enemy defense triggers. Relevant models include: Fire/Ice Gamin Mechanical Rider Undying Minions: Use healing to make already difficult-to-kill models even harder to get rid of. Relevant models include: Kaeris with Purifying Fire Eternal Flame (only works for Kaeris and constructs like the Mechanical Rider) Mechanical Rider (gets harder and harder to kill) Gunsmiths (Hard to Kill means they enjoy getting healed to two wounds and above) Sabertooth Cerberus (to keep its buff going) Hoarcat Pride (to keep its damage buff going) Schemestorm: Using Kaeris' Grab and Drop upgrade, light friendly models on fire (preferably with attacks/abilities that don't cause damage) and move those models into position via the extra mobility granted by Flight. Drops all of the schemes ever (ignoring most standard restrictions?) Relevant models include: Kaeris with Grab and Drop Firestarter? anything which would like to ignore terrain (and probably also has a high walk/charge value?) Gunsmith Jet Fuel: Attack Gunsmiths with an attack that causes burning (which preferably also cause no damage?) and flip/cheat a on the Gunsmith's defense in order to gain Fast. Relevant models include: Gunsmiths Kaeris Firestarter For the Gunsmith combo, I'm guessing Kaeris following up with Truth in Flame could be a good combo in order to recover her hand or just generate extra cards if the Gunsmiths were lucky on their defense flips? Thanks again everyone!

Nooooooooo!! What if I share a picture of my battle wound from model building?

While watching me peruse and purchase my collection my ladyfriend got curious and peaked around herself. She quickly fell for Kaeris' wings and the badass women of Malifaux (though echoes the common complaint of wishing they would dress and pose more practically). As a gift I snagged her the Kaeris starter and a box of Hoarcats (because she loves cats). She liked the look and had fun with little sample play sessions, so joined me in making Black Friday purchases. Her choices are primarily based on aesthetics, so aren't traditional. Her collection looks like this: Kaeris Firestarter Eternal Flame 3 Fire Gamin 3 Hoarcats Sabertooth Cerberus 2 Gunsmiths Mechanical Rider Female Firestarter Now, that we are nearly done building our new toys and prepping to play full games she is worried that she will never win. She knows her model choices aren't best-fits and is intimidated by my available options. Thus we get to the part where we need assistance. I ask that you provide input on the following questions: What strat/scheme pools can she do well with? What cool tactics/combos can she pull off with her current collection? Where should she look for future synergies? In our browsing she already has her eyes on the following models (so tactics for them would also be good), but suggestions that fall within the aesthetic she currently has would also be very welcome: December Acolytes Silent Ones Razorspine Rattler Scorpius Also, if it helps in coming up with answers, I currently own: Dreamer, Collodi, Pandora, Lynch, and most of their relevant extras. Thanks everyone! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

I'm a superhero.

Dangit! I'm at work!

A Place We All Call Home: Zoraida may hire 4 Neverborn/Gremlins regardless of declared faction. That may be enough of an upgrade considering some of the potential ridiculous synergies (which may be why it doesn't exist).

I think this is one of the better thread ones since the first page is where the big summary is located (and on occasion updated). But I agree that having to dig through long threads does not make for a good tactica. Especially when they're old threads which may not consider new models/metas, but there isn't much way to know without also knowing model release dates.

This design is definitely less fluid than the previous one. But it's much much better at reflecting the card. Hell, the tacked on saw-limb also reflects the Temporary Limb action pretty well.

I think an important item to note about other crew boxes is that you can ignore the masters or use them as proxies. For example, you could get the Ophelia box primarily for her other models (like Francois), but then use her as a pretend Trixie and her Young Lacroix as Bayou Gremlins. This way you can get full use out of a box as well as much greater list flexibility for your chosen master. This also turns most of the crew boxes into extremely efficient purchases when you have a tight budget.

I think the model looks great, and I love the rear ladder. That's a great detail that few think of. Though I am in the camp that wishes models reflected rules a bit more. Especially since the rules not only state there is a saw, but they also have zero reference to electricity shenanigans. Model: 8/10 Reflection of Rules: 4/10

1) Uhhh... I think that mostly comes down to "how do you like to write stories?" with a bit of "no plan survives contact with the enemy" and finally some "players in TTB are higher powered than most antagonistic forces." 2) A person can cast as many times per day as they wish. Or you can view it under the action point system, which is every round of Dramatic Time they generate 2 AP. Spells usually cost 1 AP to cast, but that can go up or down given the right Immuto. 3) For manifested powers I've mostly ended up having players create fixed-spells (since normally spellcasting is mutable with every cast) which use different skills/suits. Though you can really do whatever you like as long as you the Fatemaster are comfortable with it. 4) The prologue is actually where players choose their pursuit for the coming session. During the epilogue you generate skill lists. I pretty much look back on whatever it was that a player did that was significant in any way (did they do something very important, did they do something often, did they epically fail something, is a certain skill a sort of theme for the session/story) and give each player three skills as options from said list. For example: The story was heavily focused on hunting down an escaped convict, so Track may be a good choice in general. David ended up getting very important information from a game of cards, so Gambling would be good for him. David also nearly died after eating a poisonous mushroom in the wild, so Wilderness or Toughness could be good (or even Carouse if he tried to pretend he was fine). Based on that I may then offer David Track, Gambling, and Wilderness as his three options. 5) If a one-off is intended to be a single session, then I would just treat it as such for the purpose of granting one of your players a fate step. Though it would be best to have it actually match up with their fate in an interesting way. If it ends up taking longer than one session, my current model is to grant one experience point at the end of every play session, and then to do the epilogue (granting skills and a fate step) at the end of the action pre-generated session arc. 6) This goes back to my answer to question 1. Fate steps can mean whatever you want them to mean. They can be literal, they can be crazy vague, or anything in-between. You can look to classic Greek myth for examples. Such as when an oracle said, "A great wall of wood will save you." and Athens ended up defending their city successfully with a fleet of ships. Go nuts! 7) Everything is drawn from the central Fate Deck. Only if a player wants to cheat fate are any other decks involved (or if you change up how you do combat to match the skirmish game...) 8) The table at the bottom right of page 248 in the Fated Almanac is a relatively good guide. Just decide how difficult you want a task to be, and propose the target number. Though if your players are interacting with a non-player character with fully functional stats, then you will use their AV (generated just like a player character) plus their rank value to generate a target number. This is both for "defense" and "offense." 9) Sure! Margins of success/failure aren't too difficult. Though they aren't defined as doing anything special outside of combat (so you can either ignore the rule or enact your own fun bits). I'll separate my full answers below: Player decides to perform an action or the Fatemaster asks them to flip for something.Inform the player of the Target Number (TN)Player flips card and adds their related skill's AVIf the player's total is less than the TN, then the action fails. If they fail by 5 or greater, then that is one margin of failure. If they fail by 10 or greater, then that is two margins of failure (margins are multiples of five). Combat gives rules for margins of failure, but for other tests you can either ignore this or develop your own special results (one margin of failure on jumping could result in one wound or something)If the player's total is equal to or greater than the TN, then the action succeeds. If they beat the TN by 5 or greater, then that is one margin of success. If they win by 10 or greater, then that is two margins of success (again, multiples of five). Once again combat gives rules for what to do with margins of success, and out of combat you will either ignore this rule or add in your own special results (one margin of success on Notice could result in finding more clues)I hope that helps! Let me know if anything could be made clearer.

I think the battle report section has a game from the final round of a tournament where the Dreamer hired Silurids almost exclusively. Super corner case, but apparently it can come up.