Ampers&nd

Here's a one-shot type adventure I've designed to run for my fated this christmas, it's obviously a bit silly, but also keeps the horror feel of malifaux, sorry it's so big! My players very much enjoyed it and managed to catch Sinnta on his own, he did give them a bit of a kicking (two got shoved in his sack and the remaining two both reduced to 0 wounds or less) but in the end burning bullets from our new gunfighter and a crippling combination of punches from the pugilistic pimp drove him off. Prologue The Fated are travelling across the north of Malifaux (either singly or as a group) when a sudden heavy snowstorm traps them in a copse of woods near Hollow Marsh pumping station, as the wind gets harder a small tree stump opens up like a door and several Gremlins in snowy camouflage climb out. Obviously surprised to see the fated, they nevertheless outnumber, and easily overpower them as cold and weak as they are. The fated are tied up and dragged down a series of pipes, and eventually come to a large cavern where a network of pipes all meet, most of them generating heat and steam. A crude gremlin colony has built up around the pipes, and in the middle of the room a sturdily built female gremlin is bossing the others around with a large spoon. She turns to face the Fated and their party as they enter, and the lead Bushwhacker whispers in her ear. She nods and addresses the fated. ‘Seems y’all stumbled across our little back door in the snow, now there’s a chance you won’t be able to find it again in the storm, but there’s a chance ya will. So that leaves me with a problem, what to do with ya’ll? Now usually I’d slit your throats soon as look at you, but I’m feeling like we might keep you for fresh meat during the winter, or maybe just something for the Lass here to play with? Either way, you’re gonna be my guests here, so best get comfortable!” The Fated will be left in cages of pipes in the corner of the room, it’s not uncomfortable, and food and drink are provided (of a sort) before the bushwhackers post watch and go to sleep. (you can use this time for the gremlins to interact with the Fated, the little lass especially likes making dollies and playing games with new people, and the it should be strongly suggested to the fated that the more the little gremlinette likes them, the longer they’ll live). In the small hours of the night a huge uproar will take place, waking the fated and the gremlins, several gaily wrapped parcels have appeared around the camp, it appears an equal number of young gremlins have gone missing, including the little lass. the grems start hollering and running around, the fated won’t know what’s happened until ma explains about the legend of Sinnta Klast. (if the fated are gremlins they’ll know this story anyway) The legend of Sinnta Klast ‘When the really cold nights come an' the moons are as slim as they get, when the mighty Frostrun starts to freeze over; that’s when he comes. Grems' herd the younger kin into the safest houses, surrounding 'em with guards. Spawn mothers bury gupps in the deepest part o' the bayou, sometimes carrying 'em miles to safety. Terror tots flee south, all desire to prove 'emselves lost to pure fear. Despite alla' these precautions on one night, (usually the coldest night of all) the creatures of the bayou wake to find real pretty lil' parcels beside 'em, containing mighty fine clothing; boots an' trousers, coats an' hats. For each lil' parcel left though, one young 'un is missing, taken by Sinnta Klast. An old nightmare from before them Tyrant wars, Sinnta is a terror from long before Gremlin memory. A hugely tall, gangly figure, dressed in the still bloody skins an' fur of a dozen species he glides down the frozen river on an open sleigh pulled by six kaltgaur to the sound o' polished silver bells. When he reaches a homestead he leaps an' capers from house to house, burrow to burrow, looking for the perfect children. When he finds one he uses his hooked child snatcher to snatch it from safety an' drop it in his big brown sack. Reaching into the same sack he places one o' his ‘presents’ close by, afore returning to his sleigh an' moving on. I'd be tellin' you a lie if I said we never saw the young 'uns taken by Sinnta again. They'll be back the next year the frostrun freezes, though they are ain't the same when they reappear. purtily wrapped in bright coloured paper, their supple young skins carefully crafted into the finest leatherwork clothes. This is why his name in old Malifaux means ‘Child Skinner’ As you can imagine, bayou dwellers are terrified of Sinnta, and as the humans keep movin' up into the north o' Malifaux they ain't been spared. Them humans that have seen his dancin' form haven't figgered he's got anything to do with missing children, Malifaux not bein' short of threats to childhood an' all that so that missing children is unfortunately common. The fact that apparently a messed up version o' the same monster leaked through earthside many moons ago where Sinnta is a chuckling gift-giver probably creates even more confusion. Since this whole Titania incident the elements across Malifaux have been just plain crazy, an' now winter is setting in proper-like the bayou is colder than it has been in pigs years. That Frostrun is freezing over further south than I've ever seen, even all the way down here to Hollow Marsh. The northern families have already been whisperin' about the sound of silver bells an' hooves on the ice an' as the coldest night comes rollin' in they know he comin' again, and it don’t matter if you’ve been naughty or nice…’ Ma looks around and starts barking instructions to her bushwhackers, starting to get them into some form of order, she looks at your group across the fire. ‘Now you are wondering why I bothered tellin y’all this story? Well, way I see it, we save your hides in the storm yesserday, regardless of what we were gonna do with you tomorrow. So Imma cut you a deal- you got go get my Little Lass back from that thieving nightmare, and I call us even. may even throw in a little loose change and ‘Shine for your trouble…” It’s snowing pretty hard, but ma will deck the fated out in cold weather gear if they don’t have any, If they don’t agree to help (or ma suspects they are running out on her) she’ll remind them that her spoon has a really long reach, far from the Bayou, and they don’t want to be on her bad side. The chase Read the following text; ‘The blizzard outside is still blowing, though it has calmed somewhat overnight, Ma has presented you with a crude map of the nearest settlements to the Pumping station, and you can see the sleigh tracks over the frozen frostrun leading to the closest one. Bundling yourself up against the snow you head out on the hunt.’ The fated must now engage in a chase with Sinnta- he has a headstart and the speed of his sleigh, but he is stopping to give out presents and the fated can travel where the sleigh cannot, so they have a chance of catching him. The better they do in the chase the earlier they catch Sinnta. The chase should be described as across the frozen frostrun first, then through the bayou, passing gremlin hovels and settlements, though they will see few outdoors on this night. To stay on Sinnta’s trail they must take the following duel (and again between each complication) Walking in a Winter wonderland: [Ongoing Challenge] Skills Allowed: Tracking, Wilderness, Notice, Target Number: 10 Duration: 20 minutes Success Requirement: 5 Failure Requirement: 5 Every 5 success will gain the fated +1 proximity to Sinnta, (explained later) and trigger one of the following complications (these can happen in any order, it’s up to the FM), If they fail 5 times they lose -1 Proximity to Sinnta and trigger a complication. After failing the test all fated must also pass a TN8 toughness test to avoid Hypothermia- A Hypothermia check is a TN 9 Toughness Challenge. On a failure, the character suffers 1/1/2 damage. Regardless of whether they pass or fail, once the duel is resolved the character gains the following Condition: “Frostbite +1: Whenever this character suffers damage from the cold (such as from Hypothermia or an Ice spell), they suffer +1 damage. Reduce the value of this Condition by 1 for every hour this character spends in warmth.”. Complications- Note- the fated can choose to go around or avoid some of these complications by passing a Tn 14 Wilderness/Track duel, but they will always lose one point of proximity to Sinnta for doing so. Trapped wind gamin- (puzzle/obstacle, cannot be avoided) ‘Your group is following the carved tracks of Sinnta’s sleigh through a clearing in the Bayou when you abruptly come up against an invisible obstacle, stopping you moving forward. As you push your hand against it you feel air pressure pushing back against you, forcing you backwards’ There is a large group of wind gamin in the trees around the fated, and it is these gamin that are creating the wind walls that stop the fated advance. They are distressed because one of their number is trapped beneath the suddenly appearing ice, and although it has created an air pocket it is slowly running out of wind. All fated may take a TN10 notice challenge to spot the Gamin in the blizzard above them, and any fated who passes the duel with more than one level of success will also notice they are being herded towards a certain spot in the Ice. The fated can try and press on through the wind, but it is a TN48 might duel to break through (yes 48, not a typo) however the target number is divided by each fated trying to push through simultaneously (so two fated duel against TN24, 4 against TN 12 etc). If the fated force their way past the gamin read the following text: ‘Your combined strength drives past the wind barrier, but the falling snow is beginning to obscure the tracks in the ice, you have lost a lot of ground on Sinnta and need to speed up to catch him’ The fated wasted a lot of time pushing through, and lose -1 proximity to Sinnta. If the fated start looking around or investigating where they are, a TN12 Notice duel will spot the Gamin beneath the Ice. The ice isn’t too thick here, and requires a TN12 Labor duel to smash through it. (alternatively the fated can attack it with melee weapons, it has Df1 and 12 wounds.) If the fated free the Gamin read the following text: ‘The Gamin streaks into the air, gleefully joining it’s compatriots, the Gamin swarm around you, and as you move you feel the wind lift you up, allowing your strides to cover a huge distance, this unforeseen aid could be very useful in catching up with the sleigh’ The gamin effectively give the fated ‘nimble’ for the next 10-15 minutes, before they sweep off into the storm. The fated gain +1 proximity to Sinnta Over protective spawn mother- (straight fight, can be avoided) ‘Some of the bayou’s ancient ruins tower above you as you stay on the trail, in front of a shattered towers open window a small yellow parcel lies in the snow- a definite sign you are on the right track! Unfortunately as you approach a hissing squeal signals the arrival of an irate spawn mother- she has just discovered one of her Gupps is missing and is not happy about it, unfortunately the tracks head straight past her lair… The spawn mother will attack the nearest fated immediately and instigate dramatic time. If the fated can distance themselves entirely at least 30 yards from the tower she will stop attacking them, so they can just say sod this and run. If they do fight the Spawn mother they have a limited window to drive her off before Sinnta gets too far ahead of them. The spawn mother cannot be reduced to less than 1 wound whilst within 10 yards of the tower, but if she is reduced to 1 wound she will attempt to disengage and flee from the fated. There’s a present containing a very fine hat ignored in the snow nearby. (Silurid’s not caring too much about clothes) If the fated escape or defeat the spawn mother in 3 or less combat rounds read the following text; ‘After the encounter with the spawn mother you get back on the sleigh tracks, but before you can puzzle out a rather confusing set of swirls you hear the sound of bells and see Sinnta ahead of you- he’s doubled back and you were lucky enough to see him before being led on a wild goose chase!’ The Fated gain +1 proximity to Sinnta. If the fated took longer than 3 combat rounds to escape read the following text; ‘The encounter with the angry silurid slowed you down, but you find the tracks easily, after following them for half an hour you realise they have led all the way back to themselves by the same ruins- Sinnta must have double back and you missed him during the fight, what a waste of time…’ The fated lose -1 proximity to Sinnta Frozen locomotive- (fight/talk, can be avoided) ‘A roaring, crashing sound in the distance draws your attention, the noise sounding like hammers pounding on steel. You move closer to investigate and see a peculiar looking steam engine on some ragged tracks, on either side of it a huge giant of solid Ice is brawling with a creature of mud and mire, and the train itself has been caught in the middle. Occasional arcs of blue lightning shoot out from the train cabin accompanied by high pitched insults that show it is still occupied.’ An Ice golem has wandered across the frostrun, drawn by Sinnta’s storm, whilst rampaging through the swamp it woke a wild Mire golem from its slumber, and the two gargantuan creatures have been tearing chunks out of each other ever since. Unfortunately Sparks was riding his circular track nearby and has crashed into the wall of snow and muck left in the beasts wake, becoming stuck literally in the middle. The fated can help Sparks by either distracting the creatures and drawing them away, fighting them off or getting the engine working in reverse so he can get out the other way (requiring a TN 12 tinkering, artefacting or engineering duel). If they drive the creatures off then Sparks (the gremlin in the cabin) can be convinced to offer a lift after the sleigh if they clear the snow from the tracks. The fated must then pass the following to clear the snow: Do you want to build a snowman?: [Ongoing Challenge] Skills Allowed: Labor, Target Number: 10 Duration: 1 minute Success Requirement: 6 Failure Requirement: 6 Regardless of the result the fated clear the snow, if they fail it simply takes longer. When the fated manage to clear the snow read the following text; ‘With the last of the snow gone the strange looking gremlin invites you to ride with him to the next village, it seems the sleighs route follows the tracks so you take him up on his offer, hoping that you haven’t taken too long on this distraction. As you approach the next settlement the sleigh tracks start to veer off, and it is only then that Sparks mentions he hasn’t built any stations yet so you’re going to have to jump..’ If the fated got the train moving backwards instead read the following text; ‘Although moving backwards the train still seems capable of impressive speed, (in fact it is so roughly built backwards looks pretty much the same as forwards) and it seems to be heading in the right direction as the sleighs tracks, as you see them veering off towards a nearby village Sparks mentions that he hasn’t built any stations yet and you’d better get ready to jump..’ Jumping from the train is a TN9 acrobatics/Speed duel, if it is failed the fated must pass a TN12 Toughness/Might duel instead to avoid taking a point of damage. If they got the train moving at all and hitched a lift the fated gain +1 proximity to Sinnta, if they failed the Snow shovelling challenge however they lose -1 proximity (so will finish even) Feuding gremlins- (fight/talk, can be avoided) ‘The settlement ahead of you is dark, but capering amongst the ragged buildings you see a gaunt figure draped in rags and skins, it keeps to the shadows where it can and is hard to spot, but it’s path can be traced by the screams emanating from the windows it stops to peer in…’ Never one to miss an opportunity several Gremlins have built a puppet effigy of Sinnta which they are using to threaten and disrupt a neighbouring clan. Any Fated may take a TN 10 tracking duel to find Sinnta’s tracks, if they pass they notice they are unusual, if they gain any additional margins of success they realise it is a fraud. They can also detect the fraud by catching up with the effigy using the ongoing challenge below then passing a TN10 Notice duel (TN5 if the Effigy is in direct light, it is NOT a good reproduction’). Sinnta Klast is coming to town?: [Ongoing Challenge] Skills Allowed: Tracking, Wilderness, Notice, Target Number: 11 Duration: 1 minute Success Requirement: 5 Failure Requirement: 4 If the Fated fall for the disguise and decide to fight ‘Sinnta’ he will attempt to leap and disengage from combat wherever possible. The effigy has Df4, the ‘hard to wound’ talent and Sinnta’s ‘leap’ action. Once the effigy has lost 6 wounds it collapses to the ground and several gremlins come rolling out of the wreckage. (this will also happen if the fated see through the disguise and attempt to reveal the gremlins trick) The grems are pretty cowardly and will flee as soon as they can. If Sinnta is revealed or driven off within 10 minutes of the Fateds arrival read the following text; ‘The doors of the houses gradually open one by one and curious gremlins come out to see what happens, some find Sinnta’s gifts on their doorsteps and begin arguing wildy, other start rummaging through what’s left of ‘Sinnta’ himself. Once they realise it is a trick they start arming themselves to head out after the culprits, but not before pointing you toward a short cut through the gorse bushes to the next village, perhaps you can get there ahead of the real Sinnta, who’ll have to go around?’ If they choose to take the shortcut all fated must pass a TN 8 toughness/resilience duel, if they fail they take a single point of damage from the thorny shortcut. They gain +1 proximity to Sinnta if they take the shortcut. If they take longer than 10 minutes to catch and reveal Sinnta, or fail the ongoing challenge, read the following duel; ‘The capering figure flees into the night, parts of its anatomy falling to the ground as it departs. The local gremlins creep out of their houses to see what has happened, and though grateful that the skinner has left, tonight is not a good night to be a stranger in a Gremlin town. Time to leave and find Sinnta’s tracks again…’ The Fated lose -1 proximity to Sinnta for the time they spent chasing the fraud. If a player can pass a Tn13 convince/deceive/intimidate duel they can still locate the shortcut by asking the locals, which will negate this penalty. Swarming skeeters- (obstacle, cannot be avoided) ‘The air around you seems to vibrate with a steady hum, suddenly a host of skeeters burst from the trees around, swarming together to find prey in an attempt to stave off the cold. They dart towards you and suddenly the air around you is a lot more spiky and insectoid than you are entirely comfortable with, maybe it’s time to turn back..?’ the unnatural ice has disturbed a large nest of skeeters as Sinnta passed, the Fated have to get past, this encounter should not take long, the Fated can either just plunge through, double back on themselves or try and squash as many skeeters as they can with their weapons. If the fated push through they must take a TN 8 wilderness challenge or gain the infection +1 condition. They gain +1 proximity to Sinnta. If the fated double back they avoid the condition, but lose -1 proximity to Sinnta. If the fated decide to squash the skeeters they may attempt the following duel something in the air tonight?: [Ongoing Challenge] Skills Allowed: Melee, heavy melee, pugilism, martial arts Target Number: 11 Duration: 2 minutes Success Requirement: 10 Failure Requirement: 1 For each failure the fated that failed gains the Infected+1 condition. If they take longer than 10 minutes to fight their way through they also lose -1 Proximity to Sinnta. If they achieved the target in the first 2 minutes however they gain +1 proximity to Sinnta. Frozen slop- (puzzle/fight/talk, can be avoided) ‘The snow and soft air of the Bayou is almost peaceful at times, though the huffing and puffing of your out of breath group somewhat shatters the stillness as you approach. This area would not be considered peaceful without your intervention however, as the squeals and screams of Pigs and Gremlins make an unholy racket. As you follow the sleigh path a small Hog farm sits across it, both fences smashed down by Sinnta passage. Beyond the frozen slop troughs you can see a small hut, besieged by a herd of unruly pigs and piglets, on the roof of the hut two gremlins stand, hurling abuse at the pigs below, a sign on the hut reads” jerry an Moss hog sadlery”’ The Slop around this pig farm has frozen solid, leaving the pigs in the area very, very hungry, and the slop hauler and hog whisperer are trapped on their shed by the marauding pigs. The pigs will ignore the fated trying to get the much tastier smelling whisperer and hauler on the roof, but if the fated get within 3 yards they change their mind and charge them. There are 5 warpigs, 1 Boar and 4 piglets in total. If the fated communicate with the Gremlins they will discover they are Jerry and Moss, the two owners of a rather ill-fated attempt to replicate the humans pony ride type amusements. If the fated can rescue the pair without killing the pigs they will get offered a lift on a hog saddle after Sinnta. The pigs can be lured away by fresh food if the fated have any, or they can attempt to defrost the slop troughs. Once they are distracted by food the two gremlins will climb down and start hobbling and muzzling the pigs, to everyone’s relief. The fated also find two brightly wrapped presents of a leather belt and holster and a leather scabbard where two piglets have been stolen. If they are successful in rescuing the Gremlins, read the following text: ‘The gremlins are true to their word, and soon you are flying through the bayou on the backs of porcine steeds, who only occasionally stop to smash something down or eat something up. You crash through a last stand of bushes to see Sinnta’s sleigh tracks dead ahead- time to make up some lost ground!’ If the Fated manage to rescue the gremlins and have 1 full grown pig for each Fated left alive, they gain +2 proximity to Sinnta. If they save the gremlins but do not have enough mounts for one each they instead gain +1 proximity. The finale: confronting Sinnta Once the fated have navigated all the complications (or reached 10 Proximity regardless) they catch Sinnta- check below to see which encounter they have- If fated have 5+ Proximity they catch Sinnta in a gremlin settlement ‘You arrive in the settlement to see a large sack in the central area, beyond it a tall, ragged figure is slowly reaching through a window into a hut. He pays no attention as you approach, and steps back from the house holding a tiny gremlinette in his Child catcher. It is only as he turns to place her in the bag that the many skinned faces on his head appear to notice you.’ Sinnta will only attack the Fated once they appear to attack him, any fated who are unwounded and less than 20 years of age will be his primary targets, and he will attempt to get them in his sack (bury them), he will use his speed to stay out of protracted melee and engage the weaker characters first. This is a fairly fair fight as though Sinnta is strong he is alone against a whole party. If fated have 0-4 Proximity they catch Sinnta in the open bayou ‘You somehow managed to get ahead of Sinnta, and can see his sleigh approaching pulled by 4 beasts of Ice and Fur, massive antlers topping their heads. As the giant figure nears you see the many skins stitched across him, including three forming a crude face on his head. The time has come to steel yourself and attack!’ Sinnta and his 4 kaltgaur together with the sleigh, the Fated have the opportunity to ambush the sled, once they do the Kaltgaur will be set free and both they and Sinnta will attack. Sinnta will attack as described above, Kaltgaur will attempt to isolate individual fated with ice pillars and then attack them. This is a tougher match, Kaltgaur have the profile of Kaltgeists, reproduced below for ease. If fated have less than 0 or less Proximity they catch Sinnta on the frostrun heading home. ‘As the pale light of dawn approaches you finally catch sight of Sinnta's sleigh ahead of you, pulling onto the Ice of the Frostrun. The breaking is slows the sleigh down enough for you to catch up, bracing yourself against the cold you charge towards him. noticing the pursuit, Sinnta releases the Icy behemoths that pull his sleigh and turns to meet your challenge’ This fight is as described above (Sinnta and Kaltgaur) with the following added obstacle: Breaking Ice: Any character that either; · Does not move for a whole round · suffers severe damage from an attack · Fires a gunpowder based ranged weapon Must pass a TN8 evade duel at the end of the round to avoid falling through a crack in the Ice. Any character that fails this test gains the following condition; Soaked Through: This character must pass a TN 9 toughness duel at the start of every round or gain the Hypothermia condition and lose this condition. Victory If the fated manage to reduce Sinnta to -5 wounds he will leap away into the darkness, abandoning his sleigh and Kaltgaur to the fated. If the fated check the sack they will find it has properties similar to a death marshalls coffin, and contains: The Little Lass. 2 young Gremlinettes. 4 Young Gremlins. 2 Gupps. 2 Terror Tots. 2 cards worth of leather goods presents. They are all asleep, and will remain so until full sunrise unless attacked or revived magically somehow. The fated can choose to keep the sack but without Sinnta’s child catcher they cannot put things in, only take them out. The fated can return the Gremlins to Ma as one group, they weigh little and are easily carried, what they do with the others is up to them. On returning to the secret entrance, Ma will welcome them back with Spiced ‘Shine and reward them with 50 scrip for the little lass to share between them, plus 5 scrip for every extra gremlin rescued. ‘Ma grins widely and holds up her spiced ‘shine, “Well boys and girls, there’s lessons to be learned here, listen to your betters, and they’ll look after you!” she swigs her drink down and indicates you should all do the same. The heat of the pumping station is slowly warming the chill from your body and the ‘shine is helping where the heat can’t. despite their earlier antagonism, the Bushwhackers are all smiles with you today, and you quickly fall victim to one of Ma’s spontaneous celebrations. As you fall asleep you have a passing hope that you’ll wake up with all your belongings tomorrow…’ If the fated fail it’s probably better they freeze to death in the snow than face the wrath of an angry Ma Tucket, maybe a trip north to find the Skinners cave would avert her wrath, but even then… Here are Sinnta's stats, slightly modified as the original one proved a tough challenge to my Fated, even though two of them are fairly seasoned veterans at this stage. Sinnta Klast, the Child Skinner Henchman(10), Construct, Nightmare Might 2 Grace 3 Speed 4 Resilience 3 Charm -4 Intellect 2 Cunning 3 Tenacity 3 Defense 6 (16)* Walk 6 Height 3 Initiative 7(17) Willpower 5(15) Charge 7 Wounds 12 OOOOOOOOOOOO Skills: Acrobatics 4, Artefacting 4, Enchanting 4M, Evade 3, Melee 4, Navigation 3, Notice 3, Toughness 6, Track 3, Stealth 4, Stitching 5, Wilderness 3. Always in Motion: this character may not be the target of a charge action. Armor +2: Reduce all damage suffered by this character by +2, to a minimum of 1. Hard to Kill: if this character has more than one wound remaining it may not be reduced to less than one wound. Terrifying (all)11: Gremlin characters may not cheat during the associated horror duel. Unimpeded: This character ignores penalties for terrain whilst taking movement actions. Swift: During dramatic time this model generates one extra general AP. Defense Triggers (c) (un)living flesh- damage flip is at [-] and cannot be cheated. (m) Slough off- Damage is reduced to 1. Once per round. (r) Fresh skin- No triggers may be declared by the attack. (t) Scaled hide- this character gains armour +2. (1) Skinning Talon (Melee) AV: 6 (16) Rg: ///2 Resist: Df Target suffers 2/3/5 damage. (c) A piece for me: Any character damaged by the attack gains the condition ‘bleeding’. This character then heals 1/2/3 damage. (1) Child Catcher (Enchanting/Grace) AV: 6M (16M) Rg: y8 Resist: Df Target suffers 2/2/4 damage and gains Slow (c) Into the sack: any character damaged by this attack must pass a TN 13 Wp duel or become buried. Characters buried in this way may re-take this WP test at the start of every round, if passed place the character within 1 yard of Sinnta’s sack. (m) closer children: After success push the target character it’s walk towards this character. (0) Another piece (stitching) AV: 6 (16) Rg: self Tn: 15 This character may discard a corpse within a2 to heal 2 damage. (0) Leap (Acrobatics) AV 7(18) Rg: self Tn: 10(m) Place this character within it’s Cg range ignoring intervening models and terrain..

I think you have it the wrong way round, jealous firelord reads 'after this model is summoned, it is sacrificed unless another friendly gamin within 6 and los suffers 2 damage that may not be reduced, then sacrifice all other friendly totems un play' so it wouldn't kick in until the new banasuva is already in play, but he couldn't enter play without breaking the rare 1 limit. I could be wrong on this but I think the timing prevents it I'm afraid (as much as id prefer the other solution!)

no, players flip for their own damage as a normal damage flip, remembering that the defender (so the player) chooses the card on a negative flip, and the attacker on a positive flip. Fated almanac page 210:)

I think the gremlin culture thing hits it on the nose- this is the first time we've ever really seen Malifaux's denizens take centre stage rather than the stupid pink things that wandered in recently, and they are a joy to behold:) particular favourites are the Whisky Gamin's wheel and the Vanity Fair grimoire- in fact most of the grimoires had me in stitches, that one just killed me...

my favourite supplement so far. Lots of great fluff and gremlin humour:)

I'd start by grabbing the Malifaux cards, these can give you the basic derived stats as well as suggest skills (a void wretch would be able to attack unarmed with a skill of 5 for example) then use those to work of the base characteristics, abilities and actions. the front of card abilities should transfer over to talents with a little tweaking, and where similar talents already exist just swap them over (hole in the chest is in the quarantine zone book for instance (or bayou?)) This should give you a really good base for them, then you add the skills that make sense to round them out as characters. (

I've used Killjoy with some success alongside Myranda, especially in turf war style schemes, Colette can prompt Myranda and give reactivate, and with her decent walk that gives her the ability to get pretty far upfield before sacrificing herself to pop out KillJoy and a beast (usually Cerberus or Blessed) wherever you need them. it's a 21ss combo so I have to be careful with the rest of my spend to get the schemes done (22 if you take imbued on Myranda for either an extra move or cards for Killjoys arrival) the biggest flaw in this is if I take it against a killy leader (lilith is an issue) they can easily take out one, if not both beaters unless I have activation advantage and usually need seize the day to get the first turn. also I need to remember to pop the beast as far from Killjoy as possible to avoid black blood splashback..

I still think recruitment drive is the best one-shot for beginners. If I was running it I'd run straight up one shots rather than alternating, but may set some time aside for character creation in an evening alongside some socialising if someone was desperate to create their own character.

played Reva at the weekend and was surprised how good she is against Colette, with the upgrade that stops damage being reduced and the second stopping prevention, Reva's huge attack range pretty much guarantees Colette is either dead by turn 2 or hiding away at the back.

that I never thought of...

I've taken one in my last two Sandeep games, originally because I brought the wrong case once, but they work well with him, as minions they have access to all his spells but they are great schemers that can hold their own and move damn fast. Great for hunting down necropunks and other irritating flankers.

your maths are correct, though the horror duel would be pointless it would negate multiple other penalties to the casting value each time. I think your first point about the fm disallowing it is the likeliest solution.

ah, yes of course!

I think he's referring to the 1ap action Sandeep is allowed to take when a beaconed ability has a tome in the casting duel. I have a query regarding silent ones, now I'm not a huge fan of them anyway, but people were talking about copying his actions with a silent one and then ice mirroring them through a well placed acolyte. I gave this a try, and it results in ca4 spells? (-1 for beacon, -1 for mirror) this resulted in needing 7's to get anything cast, and any attacking spell was pretty much useless. The only work I got from it was using the lure type action to drag Sandeep toward the acolyte, which was a lot of investment for very little gain, did I play this right?

I'll definitely chip in and suggest recruitment drive as well, it's a very simple setting initially and then dives right in to the action, with plenty of chances for the characters to interact with the world around them. for a follow up I'd suggest Nythera- Nythera is a spectacularly well-written adventure and has a huge impact on the world of malifaux, it' s possibly my favourite supplement for any RPG so I can't recommend it enough.

I would say- if you are just starting malifaux go with Ramos. Ramos was my starting crew and for a beginner its an excellent box. It contains a lot of SS in models, Ramos quite a simple playstyle (summoner) and it comes with two of the factions best models in Joss and Howard. extra purchases- Johan Lazarus electrical creation mobile toolkit soulstone miner If you have played a bit and are switching factions, or want a bit of a challenge go with Colette. I picked Colette up last year and it took a while to get going with her, I lost a lot of games before she started to click with me, once she did however I placed 3rd at a tournament which is practically unheard of. extra purchases- angelica malifaux raptor december acolyte arcane effigy coryphee

Hoarcats are definitely worth grabbing here, every time I've taken them vs the family they've done well. Joss with imbued energies and some way of healing is also generally good to throw at them, especially if you get unlucky and turf war comes up so you have to sit in the middle and soak up bullets. If you have ripples of fate the new upgrade that swaps beasts/constructs around could be useful for getting the cerberus into some squishy guild early on. As for tricks- don't forget Perdita has obey- if you take the captain don't stand too close to any friendly constructs as whilst Perdita will usually use her AP for shooting things a free relic hammer attack will ignore that bulletproof and could cause a fair whack of damage as well as displacing the model outside the bulletproof aura. (not that i let that happen to me once)

seems to me to be a leftover rule from playtesting or an incomplete rule. I'd go with over half range/under half range for simplicity (so 6/12 in this case) but as far as the rules go short and long ranger aren't really a thing.

in which case- Michael green, one table and terrain:) cheers mike, see you next week.

If I'm bringing a table up do I need to let anyone know in advance?

I mostly stick to the larger canon, though I only have major characters interact in ways that don't involve their own meta plots (nicodem is essentially using the group as treasure hunters)

that could be possible, there's lots of triggers and abilities out there in Malifaux that would fit this, you could infuse fire into a hound to give it burning heart for instance. Witchlings are probably a good example of a creature with a fiery type.

Fae would be nice, build some more world around Titania. Elemental is already covered with Gamin/Golems as summoned creatures, (into the steam is great for this) and geists as the naturally occurring ones.

probably Colette as she is very model independent and can work with anything really. With doves you can get killjoy anywhere you need him very easily, and prompt a million attacks. Ama would make a good flanking schemer who poses a fair threat off without needing any support from Colette herself?

My players went the slightly different way in that they spent all the rewards and income (plus a lot of goodwill) from their first game sessions to build a 'gentleman's club' as a going concern, this gives them all some income (one takes explorers out as a guide, one runs security, another runs the girls etc) and this allows them to have a little more freedom financially, though I always take cost of living out of their income when I do hand it over. (Many of them have second jobs, dancing at the local saloon, doctor/lawyer, scout etc) In game I have used soulstones as big rewards, and various smaller rewards. the first game everyone got a small soulstone as a 'welcome to the game' present which went towards the bar, and since then they have been working for favours and to further their own ends. Their reward for helping Mah out was that she didn't beat the snot of them. which is sort of a reward. as for looting, my players are free to take anything they want to from the corpses, though often they fight monsters with inbuilt weapons so nothing to steal, other times they just have the better equipment anyway so it's not worth it. If you do have light fingered players it's worth asking them where they are carrying something as unless they are festooned with bags and sacks they'll soon run out of hands and pockets, and if they do over-encumber themselves there are downsides in both combat and social situations ("I notice you have a death marshall's sword shoved down your pants sir?") As for selling stuff, I created an NPC weaponsmith who'll take anything off them without question for a low price, or they can try the black market and risk getting even more shafted. Here's my black market rules. The Fated will first need to be somewhere where they can access the more shady sort of dealers, and finding this is a challenge in itself. Fated must succeed in a TN 9 navigation or notice flip first. of course starting looking somewhere more than a little shady gives positive flips to the first test (frontier towns with no law, Malifaux/Ridley slums, Quarantine zone settlements etc) whereas more civilised areas will give a negative flip (downtown, the guilds headquarters, a well disciplined township etc) Black market sales (ongoing challenge) • Skills Allowed: Intimidation, Barter, Deceive, Appraise, Scrutiny • Target Number: 8 (10 in Smaller towns where scrip is harder to come by) • Duration: 15 minutes • Success Requirement: Special (see below) • Failure Requirement: 1 Divide the value of the equipment as new by ten. this is the initial valuation given by the vendor. Each success level beyond the first will add an additional 10% of the original value on to the amount offered to a maximum of 90% of it's original value. As soon as a flip is failed the fated have two choices- to continue to push their luck, or to take the price offered. If they push their luck and fail again, they will be unable to sell the item during this challenge. In addition, if the fated failed during either a deceive or Intimidation flip, there are likely to be other repercussions, potentially meaning they will be unable to sell any items during this challenge (or getting beaten up, having the item stolen etc. I'd go with story here) the Fated are free to add multiple items together in a bulk sale, but if they screw it up they could lose everything.