Four_N_Six

I've finally convinced my game group to give TtB a chance. In a couple of weeks, our Pathfinder campaign will end it's current act, giving us a chance for a break for a few weeks of down time before we start up the next act. So, I've decided to do a one-shot (probably two sessions, since we don't get to play for long stretches at once). Since the design is to do this as a one-ish time adventure, I want it to tell a good narrative while also leaving it open to continue on just in case they actually enjoy it (two other players play Malifaux, so we love the world, but the other three are completely in the dark). That being said, I have a basic idea, but I haven't gotten the whole thing together yet. Hoping some more experienced TtB players will be able to help this out. Essentially, the group will be starting out getting contacted by someone in need of help. Undead attacking his town and the guild isn't quick to help (probably due to the town having no value to them, and not being within the city walls). As the players are on the way there, I'll probably have them get attacked by well-dressed hitmen trying to stop them from their mission. Once they're at the town, they'll get clues that the undead aren't quite what they seem. I'm hoping it takes until they're in combat and a zombie explodes that they finally realize they're Depleted, not Mindless Zombies. That will give me options for them in the future if we continue on. Have them head to the Honeypot maybe, or investigate Lynch or HG in the future. In this scenario, I figure a few Depleted with one or two Illuminated will work out well enough. So the main problem I'm having is fleshing it out to be a little bit longer, without going into the Honeypot or higher up the Brilliance ladder until we come back to it in the future. I was thinking the person hiring them to clean up the town in the first place could be Tannen, luring them into a trap on purpose. Though I'm stuck as to a reason for why he'd want to. Maybe a new batch of Brilliance they're testing out? Maybe he wants some stronger people to get addicted, as opposed to the townsfolk he's been working with up to this point?

I believe the intention was to stop the Bandersnatch from using its insane reach it acquires while buried to tie up models 5" away from it.

I'd go with First Mate, though I had success with Mancha as a leader. I feel like First Mate does quite a bit well, and his leap means he can get the Hell out of combat if things get too dangerous.

Next Brew game I'm planning on trying one or two of these guys (they're cheap enough to justify 2) to soak up poison from my models. Essentially, leave models with range near Brewmaster so they can use his healing flip, then the Akaname soaks it up. Might be able to get that onto an enemy afterwards, but the main focus is for them to keep poison off of my models while they utilize healing. Not sure it will play out effectively, but it's worth a shot.

So my friends and I do Pathfinder every week, and have been for years (we take breaks for other games here or there, but Pathfinder is the primary one). I've been trying to get them interested in TtB for a while now (half are on board), but some of us seem a little hesitant to learn a new set of RPG rules. So two questions, really. Are there any good Penny Dreadful or one-shot scenarios to get them eased into the game system? Maybe one that's more on the role playing aspect and less on combat and tests until they get their feet wet? Secondly, I'm debating on waiting for this new event to start to suggest it. Not necessarily to rope them in to participating in the event, but more so that I can just have the pre-made characters for them and not make them design their own until they're all interested in actually playing the game for a longer period.

I love him with Mah, since he's fast enough to keep up with her. I have a hard time with his Ml range, but it isn't the worst thing in the world. I have a hard time deciding between his new upgrade or his old one to get Flurry. Being able to Flurry after taking a nimble walk action is pretty powerful in my opinion, even if you lose the healing factor he gets.

Graphic novels might not be a bad idea. I'd love the chance for some more awesome artwork, and it would make the stories quicker to read (for the most part)

A good strategy (or a jerk strategy, depending on who you ask) is to keep either Burt or Trixie near your FfM target. Master or Henchman attacks Burt? Burt can pass the attack onto the FfM target and score 3. Enforcer or Minion? Burt can take the hit. It's not a perfect way to sneak in FfM, especially if your opponent just assumes that Burt is the target to begin with, but it's another way to sneak it in.

I'll just respond here assuming you use Zipp in all 3 rounds (I can't blame you for that one. I did a tournament recently and did Mah/Zipp/Zipp). 1) Dig Their Graves should be very easy in close deployment with Zipp. Since anyone can make the kill, I'd have lower models dropping markers while Zipp drags enemies to the markers before killing them. You can have Earl Burns drop the marker and Zipp grab an enemy and drop them within range before killing them. Since his damage can't be reduced and he ignores all defensive triggers, it should be an easy 3. Recover evidence is very easy for Gremlins. I bring the First Mate and Fingers and let them handle it. Fingers can obviously do it without worrying about engagement, while the First Mate can Menacing Croak to push an enemy away from the marker, leap into contact with it, and then pick it up. These two are also a great combination for headhunter. 2) Stake a Claim is another one that the First Mate is great in. Just be careful not to overextend him too early. In my tournament he got killed turn 1 (though it was due to my opponent not paying attention, rather than my own mistakes). I'd probably go with Frame for Murder in this one. I always take it when it's available, and almost always toss it onto Earl. They can leave him alive to deny me 2 or 3 points, but it means Zipp is always going to have his defensive trigger and melee trigger built in. Most people don't want to risk that mask being there for Zipp all the time and would rather relent the points. If you have other models helping with Stake a Claim, Leave Your Mark is another one for us that isn't hard. I'd have a short scheme runner get delivered up with an Iron Skeeter to help do this and the strategy. 3) Eliminate the Leadership is pretty easy for Zipp, since he gets around those defensive triggers and armor and almost everything else. He can be very dangerous against masters if you want him to be. Especially with his speed. Unless you're worried your opponent will drop a master that's just impossible to kill, I'd go for this one and have Zipp handle it. With his repositioning, he can also take the master away from any support models he has with ease. Against masters, Zipp will (almost?) always have the stat advantage on his Ml attack. I'm a fan of accusation, but there aren't really many trick models or anything to throw in for it. Maybe a tanky model that can get engaged and then use its AP for to scheme, but other than that anyone can do it. Reckless definitely helps. Covert Breakthrough is yet another easy one for us. Fingers and First Mate are great here. I keep going back to them because Fingers can easily get 3 AP and he's very hard to kill, and the First Mate essentially has 3 AP with his Leap. Place marker, Leap (or walk with Fingers), place second marker. Anything that can go reckless can do it pretty fast, assuming they survive long enough. Squatters Rights is similar to Covert Breakthrough. Get the models up there to do it turn 1 or 2 (skeeters can carry a small reckless model, they can flip a marker, walk to the next, and flip it). I tend to grab as many as I can and then hold the positions with models so my opponent just can't interact to flip it. If you don't have Zipp off killing a leader, you can literally have him sit between markers on one side, with Fingers sitting between markers on the other side. They both have auras that block interact actions (Zipp's being slightly weaker than Fingers, but it definitely gets the job done). If you can keep them there positioned properly, then your opponent has to kill or push them in order to score points. The center will be the only one they can flip, so have a Skeeter flip it and hold it if you can. Give it the pianos so once it flips the marker, it can just launch pianos at whatever tries to get too close. Also, as another note, Claim Jump is very easy for us. So if you get a good couple of models you're comfortable with performing it, it's ALWAYS an available scheme. Get good with it and that's 3 points you can always get.

Guild isn't too difficult from my understanding, but a lot of the models are relatively straight forward in regards to how to paint them. I would recommend a slightly bigger model if you're worried about painting. They'll (generally) have more pieces to put together, but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be difficult to put together. Having the model be larger means it should (theoretically) be easier to practice painting on. In that regard, I suggest Lord Chompy Bits (from the Dreamer's crew box). The other models in his crew are smaller, but none of them should be difficult on the painting level. The Whiskey Golem, while more expensive for a single model, is also a fairly easy build for a large model. It has a lot of surface area for painting, and because of the barrel design, it's good for practicing things like washes and dry brushes. I'd quote a similar reason for trying out Izamu, as well. If you want a little bit more of a painting challenge once you get going, the Horsemen are all pretty good for that. Larger models, but a lot of good detail for practicing painting on.

When I run Zipp, he runs pretty independently of his crew. He's off doing his own thing, messing with the opponent, and my crew is killing enemies and helping me score points. So any crew that I have that synergizes well together, even a little, is just a benefit while Zipp messes with the enemy. I've only lost games with Zipp a couple of times, so so far I think it's working out fairly well. I don't have a ton of experience trying to work in constructs, but I don't expect a lot out of Survivors. They're 5 stone models. I expect them to take a few shots with their gun or tie up some models before they go down. However, if I throw in Sparks and have Earl around to assist in keeping them going, then it's a different story. And I usually get good use out of the Whiskey Golem, even before his new upgrade.

I want to try an all construct (or primarily at least) Zipp crew, which would allow Earl to have a much easier time giving the crew those . Sparks, Survivors, Skeeters, and Whiskey.

I've wanted to bring Survivors in for a while now. Need an excuse to buy them. I've always thought they'd do well in a Zipp and Mah Tucket crew.

Sorry about that. I thought regen was when the model activates, and wouldn't work at the same time as choosing it from the conflux.

I don't think regen works. Smell Fear isn't a bad one, either.

Yeah, that's the trick. I mean, in a Seamus crew, unless you're up against a specific type of opponent, what else are they doing?

Nekima isn't really a huge threat that can't be handled if you get to her first. She's dangerous in the same way Killjoy is, healing damage on her activation. But if you get to her before she can do that, she's actually fairly easy to kill. Zipp can easily get to her after she's activated for a few good hits. Hell, if you shoot her and drop her walk and take away her charge, you can attack before she activates, and at the end of two melee attacks, you're 13" away. Potentially with terrain in between him and her.

If Teddy is around I grab Terrifying sometimes. Not the most reliable defensive ability, but it's a card eater. I've taken the aura from Insidious Madness, too. Since the emissary isn't quite as squishy as they are, it's easier to get the aura into a dangerous position so that the opponent can't easily cheat Wp duels. Or the aura from the Poltergeist that just puts them at anyways.

That's how I did it in a recent game. Boy, was my opponent not happy with that trick.

If you're going the Wong route, Gracie isn't bad. There are better options for glowy. Until I had McTavish, I ran it with Burt, because I'm a jerk. I tend to alternate between Burt and McTavish now. However, McTavish would be great in a game against Titania, because he can trash markers. And McTavish doesn't randomize into combat. He also provides cover against anything that isn't for swampfiends. Might not benefit a lot of your crew, but it does benefit him at a minimum/. I'd also recommend throwing the Swine Cursed her way if you're doing Wong. 3 models with glowy, especially with Sammy in the crew to upgrade it, will be very nasty. I didn't get a lot of games in with Titania before I switched to ressers for a while. Going back to Neverborn eventually and she's in my 4 masters I'll be focusing on. So I don't know how well her crew stays grouped up. With Wong, you definitely hope to get at least a little AoE damage going. Doesn't have to be the whole crew, but his direct damage isn't very impressive unless you throw in some added damage to stuff around his target.

It depends on the opponent. If I'm going against Marcus for example, it's great because he doesn't have his defensive trigger built in. My friend that uses Marcus will keep any tome he pulls for his defensive trigger. So being able to make him toss them out before I unload on the Beast Master is pretty useful. Typically if I bring it it goes on Sammy, not Zipp. Zipp has very valuable AP to me and I don't want to waste his setting up and using that. Sammy sometimes can spare that. Though I've only brought it a couple of times.

I'm not the best painter. Also not the best photo but it's all I have on my phone. Zipp Brannigan, First Mate Kiff Croaker, and the DOoP officers. When I get around to painting Sparks, he'll be Scruffy.

I completely understand, but I don't put that much value into Ill Omens. Especially not that many stones, because when it comes to the push, I prefer the First Mate. Ill Omens can be good in vital situations. But to be honest, I've never been in a situation where I've been completely screwed by not activating first. I keep a soul stone and a high card of the proper suit with Brewmaster, so if I do lose initiative on a big turn, I have the tools to get his defensive trigger off and then the initiative part isn't an issue. It can save big beaters, and ours do tend to die under focused fire, but I do just as well keeping them well enough protected until I know they're good to go in defenseless. I know people love her lure, but the First Mate has one that I consider better when regarding enemy models. Can't be used on your own, so I will relent to that fact, but against enemies his is much better. It's a flat 6" push rather than being based on the enemy model, and (more importantly) it's in any direction. So I can push an enemy sideways toward Brewmaster if I want. He is also a Henchman, which means he can use a soul stone for the suit he needs. He also has the exact same slow trigger on his push that Trixie does. On top of that, it has a built in mask with two triggers for when you need them. One lets him keep his camouflage after activating which is great against some crews. The other lets him trash a scheme marker within 3". If you have his upgrade on, that adds up to a lot of armor if you want it to. Something that's pretty likely given GG2017. I get that she has her uses, and I know some people just love her and have to use her, I've just found better options. Plus I painted the First Mate like Kiff, so I automatically prefer him.

I don't have the skeeters card handy, but I believe their markers are blocking, and I know Zipp's is. Blocking terrain does not automatically provide cover, it just blocks line of sight. So you can position it to stop the enemy from seeing you and even being able to shoot, but it doesn't provide for attacks.

I've just never liked Trixie. I've tried a few times, and it's not like she doesn't do well, for me necessarily, I just have other models I prefer. And I know focusing on the poison and contest isn't the most useful strategy, but I have fun doing it, and I haven't been able to get him working well in any other team build, so I might as well do what I enjoy. It's why I ignored everyone saying Mah was trash and turned her into one of my favorite gremlin masters.