spooky_squirrel

I like the idea of robust social mechanics that are well defined. This helps keep them from being useless dump stats, while providing a framework similar to physical encounters (combat, environmental hazards) to help steer unspoken expectations towards mutual understanding. ...before a scenario comes up where the group's Face is trying to figure out how to get the most reward for the least risk during negotiations with expectations on how their stuff will work while the FM is on a completely different page. I think I see where your concern is coming from. The thing I would recommend keeping in mind with favor trading is that even in a story the other characters (non-Fated, non-primary antagonists) that generally support the story one way or another should have some agency (makes them believable, less "red shirt of the moment"). That is, Joe Fated showing up and saying "remember that time I save your life? I'm calling in that favor, I need you on point for this haunted mine investigation" to Sam Supporting Character isn't going to automatically work, even if there really is a life debt. Sam might be extremely claustrophobic, they also might remember things differently. With that in mind, Joe might not have an easy time of convincing Sam to return the favor. If Joe is a bureaucrat or has ever been one, he'll know more about leveraging people. It could be name dropping, it could be the threat of Sam being blacklisted (or worse) with just a word, it could just be practice at reminding people about the value of honest, debt-free living. Sam still has his or her agency, but Joe now has bonuses that make it so that he's more likely to succeed in convincing Sam to do the favor. This also applies when asking for a favor from a Fatemaster Character that doesn't yet owe anyone any favors. Joe Shooter has only his shooting skills to offer, and they might not be in demand, so it'll be harder to convince Sam to risk their life or comfort to help out a stranger. Joe Bureaucrat knows people, has connections, can help get people with the right skills to the right places to make things happen--that's their whole reason for being--which makes convincing people like Sam easier. In this case, you're trading your potential value of returned favor(s) for a favor from someone else right now (favor credit). A streamlined system helps the FM not have to generate enough of a character profile for everyone that lives in Contract Town #132688 to provide cues/justification for randomly encountered character to say yes or no to the favor trade. Instead, we can focus on the handful of personalities that aren't just background characters, but full-fledged supporting characters (either for or against the Fated) that will have something far more interesting and compelling for the story than most other people within the town. Everyone can engage in favor trading, but Bureaucrats have an edge, much like a Marksman has an edge over someone who shoots cans out at the ranch. As a side note: I love the idea of a character that actually has the ability to have a guard who pissed them off end up stuck on sewer details for a month with just a letter.

That's why I went Hordes/Abyssinia. Two completely different approaches that are much easier to introduce people into the game with. The former uses weight of numbers (the quality of quanitity) and the latter uses effectiveness of elites (quality of quality). They're also the two most visually appealing to me

Shutting down enemy escape measures and being able to shoot into the cluster are huge. The only reason I wouldn't run Anna is she doesn't benefit much from HPM and has a merc tax... but that's not a steady position for me. If there's something along the lines of FFM in the pool, Anna's a high priority target for many types of crews.

In the meantime, think of it this way: the door is still open to get some awesome looking models ordered, along with an early grab at swag and the potential of hitting the next milestone.

If you never have more than two at a time: name them all Jankowski and Santiago (recurring red shirt names from horror-shooter games FEAR and Gears of War respectively).

I approve of this notion. Half the fun is naming the lobsters and waving back at them as they go into the pot! Then you can put their method of dying as a title on them. For instance, Frankie the Drowned had a far more gentle fate than Alex the Eaten-while-still-Alive.

@spikes a head's up from a Mei Feng/Foundry player: There's a Foundry upgrade called Hard worker that lets Foundry models pitch a card as a (0) to ignore Armor and Hard to Wound with all of their attacks. Mei Feng has no competing (0) actions. You didn't run into it here, but it's something to be aware of when you're thinking about dropping Carlos into suspected Foundry crew.

Reread Nemesis Ward. It doesn't give you the bonus tome always, only when using the (1) attack action (refers to Elemental Bolt by name). For the (0) execution, you'll still need a card tome in the attack duel.

Largely what @retnab mentioned: Being able to bounce back is incredibly strong, especially when you draw a Neverborn opponent with Eliminate the Leadership. The Steamfittter is one of the models I didn't pick up from GenCon, so I didn't field anything like it. I instead was going with some bonkers-level control with Amina and Toni pulling things around and messing with conditions and triggers to isolate things and set things up for the Ironsides wrecking ball. Amina even got me one of the VP for Make Them Suffer (turned dude into Peon, then shot him to death with HPM). The healing trigger on the upgrade is nice, but it never came up due to Toni always being surrounded by enough stuff to spend stones on the Follow Up trigger to turn 1AP (Ml 7) into several more attacks (when you're camping a half dozen+ Adrenaline, that uppercut is Ml 8 even when fired as a trigger, which chains nicely into another straight punch with the Brass Knuckles). I had the choice to stop attacking and cash in on a heal (especially on the upper cut), but I get more work out of continuously attacking for 1 AP, then using her remaining AP to "You Lookin' At Me?" more stuff into her.

Note: I had both Wave 5 upgrades and the Iron Determination upgrade. This allowed me to build up a considerable amount of Adrenaline, and the one occasion that my opponent got Toni down to Hard To Kill, she activated next, used the ID upgrade's (0) and dumped all 13 Adrenaline that had built up as a result of being crowded and fighting. So while he got partial credit on Eliminate the Leadership, he found himself facing a fully refreshed and ready to rock-and-roll Ironsides. Veteran Fighter and Union President have really dialed up her ability to switch from a controller to a beater mid-game.

I ran Toni into a Lilith crew at a GG18 Beta tournament a few weeks back. Fortunately not only was Public Execution in the pool, so was Make Them Suffer--because Toni killed everything that went near her, including upper-cutting Lilith off the table. My opponent had made some mistakes early on, such as dividing his forces at deployment; terrain made it hard for his stuff to flex around and respond to my using a refused flank (I deployed second). This made it easier for me to inflict initial damage and get models into position for the Turn 2 "time to score on Strategy and Scheme with the same AP, all while locking down half the crew!"

You gain access to abilities that provide TN modification (such as adding necessary suit to the cast) when advancing the pursuit, magic-related benefits while on the pursuit, and have a grimoire at creation if you create as a spell-slinging pursuit. (ninja'd by @Creepy)

Fudging/changing stats has a couple of thoughts from me: You're the FM, it's your game. What you decide the stats are, they are. If your group has one or more rules lawyers who are looking up bestiary information and trying to contradict you, refer to the first sentence. It's easier to defend this stance if the stats are modified before the game starts, and you've got an opportunity to draft story-based reasons that will placate the rules lawyers without having to pull the FM card. If you're improvising and changing stats in the middle of the game session it's a little harder to defend because you're improvising. Prepare a cheat sheet ahead of time for why it is NPC X might have a different set of skills and traits than their template--it helps you remember what their motivators are as well as providing other story bits that flesh it out. Malifaux is a strange place, and people find themselves with latent powers and other oddities. Earthside scholars who studied under Marcus would not recognize the man he is now. If the only stat you're changing is their Rank value, that modifies all TNs the Fated have to meet. It's a difficulty setting. Similarly, if you're adjusting the NPC's Station, it changes how they can affect a challenge without changing any other information (Enforcers can modify two flips in an Encounter, where Minions can only do one without needing to use tactical actions). These are easy changes that require no real justification (other than adjusting difficulty). Be internally consistent if you're modifying how things work/interact. Rules lawyers will be rules lawyers. That's how they end up generating negative play (and social) experiences. If you have one in the group, it's a good idea to preemptively handle them. It can be nice sometimes to have someone remind you of a mechanic or trick you can use (there's webcomics dedicated to this), but it can be derailing at the same time if they disrupt story flow to 'correct' the FM because there's stuff the FM fudged to make their story work. They'll have no traction with the rest of the group if you're being consistent as the FM and the story sessions are interesting and enjoyable. The consistency part is why I've isolated out some points above; notes from you to yourself guiding you on your liberties taken allow you to be consistent with those liberties.

That's why I don't rely on turn-wrapping. Some things to bear in mind with Arcanists is that we have an upgrade (Seize the Day) that significantly aids us when we're trying to take initiative. If you're turn-wrapping for ability triggering, it's an insurance policy. It's something to consider if you're looking to go more aggressive in Colette builds. So far I've had the ability to use it when otherwise being out-activated to screw up my opponent's plans because they had other things to worry about and things to set up. I stole their AP in the same turn that I used the (0) action. I get the most value out of it with an early-activating Colette, and I pick my targets carefully. I use the saber-wielding hound as an example because it requires set up by my opponent to prepare the hound in the first place, which potentially allows me an activation to get that effect up. It's not going to work out the same way every time, so for people who are looking for something that consistently works the same way every time? Sorry. You'll be disappointed. It's a finesse piece with a value that depends heavily on your opponent's crew composition. The only way your opponent can stop you from messing with their activation is to not leave any minions where Colette can get to them--which is actually harder than it looks, with her being able to place herself at a friendly marker 14" away. It's a disruptive control ability with no resistance. As such, it should be limited and have some kind of countering.

If I'm running Grab and Drop I like to bring things that eat scheme markers for effects, like Large Steam Arachnids. For snacking on a scheme marker (free, when meeting the G&D stuff) as a (0) action, they get dialed up.

Agreed. Minimal disruption required for campaign continuity and completion.

That flexibility is why I just roll my eyes at complaints about her being weak and useless. If you're going to single or dual master limited event, I would suggest putting in your stable because she empowers her whole crew in multiple ways and can do many hard to predict things on the table. Yes, there are things that she probably would like to avoid, like Executioners and other models that ignore/bypass Df/Wp triggers and defensive abilities. but that's something that Arcanists always have to watch for with their Wave 1&2 masters. Yes, she's not as flexible as Sandeep, who can play reliably well into all GG17 scenarios against most factions.. but that's a reflection on Sandeep, not her. And finally: yes, recent erratas have dialed down using her as an AP battery for a beater like Howard Langston and made other adjustments that affect her play, but that's why there's a thread for discussing how to use her in current scenario sets with current rules. Related: Wave 5 upgrades for her: I didn't get as much use out of the saber bump as I expected, but handing out slow was nice. The minion control actually came in super handy because it screws up scheme runners and can make hard-hitting minions a liability to their own crew. For instance, a saber-wielding hound being forced to 1AP charge a teammate due to proximity of scheme marker(s).

I've run into this exact problem with new Ramos players. Some players need to see the initial scrap generation played out a few times within the greater context of a Malifaux game for it to really click, especially if they're coming from other game systems where killing your own models is never part of the plan, and wiping out your opponents is. Similarly, Lilith can be played in a straight forward manner, but there's other things that she does that can make things quickly complicated. As others have recommended, use multiples of models to limit the information overload. Starter boxes for several of the masters will work out really well (provided you, as the one planning demos, make sure that those boxes meet certain playability requirements). Ramos' summoning is possibly too far over the top for introductory games, for reasons already mentioned. That being said, if your players aren't shy about learning some of the more dastardly stuff then Ramos into Lilith (full tilt on both sides) can make for a very interesting game--but full tilt isn't really a demo setting. For playability checks, make sure that the crew is a legal crew that can be fielded on the table without jumping through hoops (some summoning masters break this, for example), and that the total hiring cost of the crew and upgrades is scaled for the size of encounter you're looking to demo. Have a planned scenario for the demo (Turf War, A Line in the Sand, and something killy for example) and make sure that the crew can actually complete scenario requirements without a whole lot of fuss. That is, the crew has significant models for running schemes, at least one model that can do damage for killing purposes, and can provide enough board presence to work into the scenario even as models start dying. If the crew relies on a deep understanding of synergies to make it sing, you might pass on it for demo purposes unless your players are up for some analysis paralysis.

They streamlined some of the get-off-the-ground information and changed a number of skills and talents, including removing some. They've also completely revamped the Tinkerer class (as an example) and included things like triggers into the core rules. There's enough information difference where you might not be able to translate 1E characters to 2E, but you can still use the expansion books (quarantine, bayou, and steam) with minimal fuss. Friction between those expansions and the 2E Core rules is addressed in the 2E Core rules, to include skill substitutions. Cleaning up the get-off-the-ground information makes it a lot easier to introduce to a group of casual gamers. Campaign-wise: You'll still want to have a Session 0 where the Fatemaster (DM/ref/storyteller) and the Fated (players) talk about type of campaign and what kind of story you want to create as a group. This would be where initial character creation and basic introduction to the mechanics comes into play. With a cleaned up creation process this is a lot easier to manage and may take less time/energy than under 1E (depending on the people involved, as always). Session structure for normal sessions is roughly the same: Prologue (Fatemaster sets the stage, Fated make plans and pick Pursuits for the session), Acts of the session (various scenes and challenges, minor resolutions, Fate Step hooks), Epilogue (session resolution, character advancement). With some planning, you can inject Penny Dreadfuls in during these sessions to change the pace or just to reduce the Fatemaster load. One-shots: If you use a Penny Dreadful for a one-shot, you can orient towards one of the ones that has pre-generated characters and basically run it like a storytelling board game without a whole lot of fuss.

As an aside: when you give stats to something, you make it killable.. More on point: there's a Neverborn subtype Mimic that in the Malifaux game itself run the range of power, from peon/minion all the way through master, you can use that as a guide to develop a cover identity for the Neverborn Fatemaster Character that's based off of an appropriate non-mimic bestiary entry (in power and abilities, think fledgling Dopplegangers that haven't really mastered their fluidity and thus either get stuck in a form or have a childlike obsession with appearing a specific way). There would be some key differences (i.e. a mimic guild guard doesn't have the same unit tactics, discipline, motives, and conditioning as a human guild guard; but the career guard won't have an innate sense of when they're talking to a disguised Neverborn and is more likely to notice human group behavior changes).

As an FM, you can dangle things like debt to one faction or another in exchange for access to tools. I wouldn't do this at the creation step (instead, make use of @Mason's FAQ response), but it could come up relatively early in the campaign to give the Tinkerer access to something a little higher powered at a cost that opens up story options with character obligations and faction dynamics.

With the vassal games @retnab mentioned: it's a great thing to have playing in the background while painting or otherwise hobbying. I went dual Abyssinia and Hordes so that my partner can paint (and possibly play with) sea-based horrors, but it also allows for me to show people two different approaches to the fight (quality versus quantity) and have natural enemies. If you're looking to have forces that complement each other more, then the guns and bodies of Kings Empire and the tricks and technology of Abyssinia can work wonders together. With the way Dual Commanders work, you'll have the ability to have fire teams from the other faction in your stable with Kassa, whether you primary as KE or Ab, so the dual commander pledge is a brilliant way to kick that into play.

It's especially effective if the chaff models are blocking direct movement between the luring models and the quality targets. With a board filled with varied terrain and chaff models in inconvenient locations, the lures become functionally useless. This is primarily a Turn 1 thing, so your beaters and quality models don't need to be in scoring position yet, they just need to be postured for it. One of the other things that goes really well for me when I'm running a crew oriented at counter-luring is most of the models have relatively low walk stats (Wk 4), and even with Mei Feng's upgrade that boosts Wk it doesn't help with the lure effects that move a model its Wk towards the luring model, because that upgrade's boost only kicks in on the Activation of the Foundry model affected. I also tend to use outside push effects to enable the slowest models to be in position (such as Angelica), and with the same upgrade that boosts Foundry Wk I get a trigger to bring a passenger (which lets me place a beater/shooter on the other side of chaff models without having to move them or activate it first). So with canny placement of chaff models you can limit the effectiveness of lures that push models directly towards the luring model, and using relatively low Wk models (exploiting activation-specific movement tricks to work around a relatively low movement speed) limits the effectiveness of lure effects that move a model its Wk.

I don't rule out the cantor, and once momentum is up it can definitely get rolling. I'm thinking from the robotics walking problem set. Robotic bipeds are incredibly hard to get walking because of the balance and center-of-gravity shifting problem that biological bipeds have an organic solution to (stabilizers, ligaments, and various sensors literally from head to toe). There's been a lot of progress in the biped robotic movement using 'kid legs' springing to keep in motion which can definitely be used with a tripod platform. In the case of the model pose, the wide spread from the center of mass would be a shooting stance: more stable and static, allowing for increased rate of fire and accuracy over a bipedal construct firing the same class of weapon. To get moving, the legs would need to actuate in such a way where the stance is not so deep, pulling the feet closer to the center of gravity and then doing what living bipeds do when running: controlled falling where the center of gravity is effectively constantly falling in the direction that the walk is trying to go, only a leg is there to stop the fall. This creates an arc of movement (momentum carrying it on the single leg like a pole vaulter) which the other legs follow through on and create a more stable (temporarily) fulcrum while the third leg goes out again. Stopping then becomes a momentum-arresting problem (pneumatic systems absorbing?) and settling down into a shooting position. My earlier description is more along the lines of picking through a battlefield carefully, kind of a creeping movement (slow, steady) in order to support engaging a foe in any direction on a moment's notice. Due to the greater stability of such movement, it would still be quicker (based on reliability, there's a mantra I learned in my previous career: slow is smooth, smooth is fast) than a bipedal construct trying to maneuver through the same obstacles and conditions. If I were a better artist I'd provide some drawings of what I'm trying to describe.

Similar to walking on a cane, lean over two, move the third. Only with a bot the two you lean over rotates as you go. It definitely presents a problem, since three-legged stools/chairs are more stable than 4-legged (great for a shooting platform, not so great on movement). It's nowhere near as efficient as a four-legged walker would be (leaning on three requires less center-of-mass shifting).