Xavian and Deathgrip

no offense, but I think the train to speculation land has already gone more off the rails than the time my DnD group killed a dungeon boss in one round with a chicken leg. And you are not helping. That said, I am having a lot of fun and this is probably good for me considering this is exam season and I am a workaholic.

Hey guys I just watched the allegiance video again and I realized we mussed something, on each allegiance ability card (no that is not an upgrade card surprisingly) it says either "earth allegiance" or "malifaux allegiance" which is what is it saying instead of normal or freaky. This means that every earth originated faction would also come with a Malifaux originating faction with no real earth territory. Also, if you look closely you can tell that the Lord of Steel, Margeret Belle and Fenton Brahms are all commanders. As they all have it written on their cards. Also I once found a page called the faction calculus on TVtropes, and while I have begun to disagree with it, it does have a few interesting grains in it. For instance, when there are two factions they tend to be subversice and powerhouse, and as more factions are added parts of these break off into the new ones. They got it wrong on the page because they believed that when a fourth faction was added (third would be balances, agree with them at that point mainly after starcraft's succes) it would be the glass cannon faction, as that one is somewhat present in all other factions. Powerhouse: Shoot them from afar(empire) or Tank rush (abysinia) Subversive: Zerg Rush(Hordes) or Guerilla (Cult)

I honestly don't want to see the Guild, they are already in Malifaux and their niche of overwhelming firepower is already taken by the King's Empire. The Guild is just that, a Guild, they have a lot of financial and coercive power, but little military power. I may be a bit too scared about faction bloat, but it just comes down to the fact that there are so many factions that people seem to want, and each would need a freaky faction to balance out the aesthetic.

Say hello to body horror the faction. Cry as much as you want Tzeentch, there is a new god of madness in town.

Odds are though that Canada will simply be part of the King's Empire, and I am not to sure about them adding more factions so liberally, they seem to have one freak faction for each normal one, and in adding a Canadian faction (which would be a dream come true) they would have to add another freaky faction and they would probably try not to be racist by having the allegiance be some other country like south america. So they would have to make up something and you can see where I am going with this. I would honestly prefer hero Canadians, I like playing the hero and the lack of them is honestly my biggest gripe with Malifaux. I mean all of these would probably be desired by some: The forces of the undying tzar Three kingdoms Guild Corrupted Spain South America Middle East India (probably part of the empire, which doesn't help Canada's case, I feel like the empire may become a true empire, with forces taken from across the globe) America In terms of balance a single choice of faction is always the best, but lets be real that is less interesting. Three factions is probably the threshold for being easy to balance (look at starcraft. Liked the zerg aesthetic the most but I took to playing terran. Ah Hellbats), and you don't want to end up like warhammer 40k that has a ludicrous amount of factions that are incredibly varied in terms of power levels. Then again 40k's system doesn't seem to be built too well for balance, most bat reps I have seen are decided by who goes first. If you do have Canada, I would like to see them be respectful to the indigenous cultures. Even if the government at the time period represented was guilty of what basically amounted to ethnocide and genocide. They are not homogenic, they are incredibly varied from place to place. Taking inspiration from a culture may be culture appropriation but no-one has any issue if you do it right. If you do it wrong however, well then you make yourself look bad. But hopefully Canada would get Amaroq, a giant wolf that prowls the north looking for stray children and hunters, and can tear the soul out of a man from a long distance.

Agreed, I honestly am wondering if the breach is going to close a second time, trapping our heroes characters by themselves in a harsh world. Oh Canada our home and native land! True patriot love, in all they sons command Car ton bras sait portee l'epee, (since your arm knows how to hold the sword) il sait porte la croix (it knows how to hold a cross, oddly the english lyric are very different, the official bilingual version is a mix of both.) Ton histoire est un epopee (your history is one of... I actually don't know that last word. OK looked it up on google and it means epic. That is cool. French is my second language) Des plus brillantes exploits (of your brightest achievements) God keep our land, glorious and free Oh Canada we stand on guard for thee, Oh Canada we stand on guard, for theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Considering how everyone is already obssesing about all the other allegiances but this one, I have the feeling this may be the Slaanesh of the allegiances. The one no-one plays. Although if they get Canadian Mounties I may find myself reconsidering.

Let us hope they have some dragon-men supersoldiers. Remind me a lot of Tzeentch. I like Tzeentch, although I like the Tyranids as well... But timbersaw was is one of my best DOTA 2 heroes. Hmmm. Same problem as Malifaux, I like the asethetic as a whole too much to pick a side.

I found a page called the faction calculus a while back on tvtropes, and it seems to hold true now. (look it up it's a really interesting read) 1. Powerhouse: I have the feeling this will be Abysinia 2. Balanced: The king's empire 3:Subversive: The cult of the burning man 4: (normally this is the mages and their monsters, but this time it is solely the monsters) cannons, the gibbering hordes I am kinda wondering if the breach is going to close again, it would be interesting to have both of these things seperate, I know this will be controversial, but it is difficult to have two games with different factions at once without stepping on any lore toes. Not sure which side I like the most, Abysinia has buzzsaw robots, the cult has a dragon (i like dragons, and they remind me of Tzeentch, I like Tzeentch. Even if everyone I have met pronounces his name differently), and the gibbering hordes are Cthulhu tyranids.

I have an overactive and obssesive imagination, and it started to wonder what the other possibilities for divergent paths could have been, the ones that were not chosen. For a bit of fun I will try to come up with things that could have happened up to round 3, because I do not have unlimited time and I found that round 3 served as a climax that was the highest point of the event. In terms of story it would have been best to wrap up there, but only three rounds would have been a bit short for an event like this, so I understand why they chose that. This will also be a work in progress, not all will be done at once. I am a university student, this will probably become a bit of a stress relief outlet for me. Bold options were created by Wyrd. Non-bold options come from my imagination. Man Guild: Man gains a body guard Arcanists: Man becomes a Werewolf G: The man is captured by Guild Laywers A: The man is given the ability to control his transformations R: The man learns that he is destroying the souls of the dead and joins Reva NB: The man is driven insane by Pandora and assists her in a bloody rampage O: The man is stopped by a bunch of bandits who leave him a handkerchief as a souvenir. g: The man is stopped by Gremlins who toss him in a pit full of other deadly animals. G: Hoffman is woken up in the middle of the night by a (probably drunk) man who asks what they could do with a giant wolf, Hoffman comments they could turn it into a mobile weapons platform to get the man to leave. He is not amused by what he finds the next day. A: R: The gremlins begin to grow bored of the man's cage matches, and forget to feed him. With little else to do they sell the corpse to Dr.McMourning. NB: Zoraida meets the man, and has the Gremlins let him free. He is at first thankful, than he realizes he wants him for little more than a beast of labour, to carry around her pot, and whatever horrible things are inside. O: The popularity of the cage matches grows, and eventually the man catches the eye of a group of pit fighters who find the man would do very well against more human opponents. g: Wong throws a glowing pig into the pen, and the man eats it. Only to be shocked as he grows a second pair of arms and two new heads. T: No one knows how the gremlins got their hands on a dawn serpent, but the Ten Thunders are not amused. T: The man is stopped by Sensei Wu who promises to train the man. Resser: Man learns to raise the dead NB: Man becomes a Nephilim Outcasts: Man steals a freikorps suit Gremlins: Man tricks Gremlins into a very one sided deal. Ten Thunders: Man becomes a Brilliant Addict Trickster G: Trickster is revealed to be an Ortega G: The trickster A: The trickster begins to develop magic powers, and infuses her guns with the chaotic energy coursing through her. R: The trickster begins to hear voices, and coats her bullets in poison. G: The trickster joins the Death Marshalls NB: The trickster attaches blades to her guns, and begins to search for her missing relative. O: The trickster takes all the guns she can find and leaves Latigo, intending to sell the weapons. g: The trickster loads her gun with (incredibly unsafe) explosive bullets and decides to go hunting some Gremlins. T: The rest of her family find the clockwork rifle in her bag and connect the dots. A: Trickster can control machinery R: Trickster cannot die G: Trickster steals a death marshall coat and badge A: Trickster Joins the cult of december G: The trickster ambushes a pathfinder and steals his clockwork traps A: The trickster is invited to become a silent one. NB: Trickster is semi-possesed by a Sorrow O: Trickster gets a gun and a katana g: Trickster tricks some Gremlins T: Trickster becomes an oiran. G: The trickster becomes a dominatrix. A: The trickster manipulates a showgirl. G: An exorcist begins to frequently visit her and tries to convince her to leave. A: The trickster is killed but her soul is moved into a Coryphee. (this option is the only reason the showgirl appeared at all) R: The trickster is killed but her spirit rises from the grave to attack those she deems responsible. NB: The trickster escapes the violence and hides in a garden that turns out to be filled with man-eating plants, but she convinces them to let her live if she lures more prey to them. O: The trickster betrays the showgirl, but is attacked by Jack Daw and forced to dance for eternity. g: T: The trickster defends herself with a long length of ribbon, performing a deadly dance of silk and steel. R: The trickster is murdered and resurrected by Seamus NB: The trickster hears tales of a woman in the swamps who can adjust your fate, and she sneaks off to meet her. O: The trickster acquires all sorts of diseases and is left on the streets, desiring vengeance. g: The trickster begins to use a blowgun with darts filled with a toxic hallucinogen. T: The trickster's powers manifests and she is revealed to be a kitsune. G: A: R: NB: O: g: T:

I love this, any other forum I have been on a flame war would have started for far, far less. But here? Thoughtful and borderline philosophical discussion, hell yeah. The thing with the Thunders, at least from what I can gather (I don't own any of the books) is that they tend to vary between extremes in how they are portrayed, sometimes they are portrayed as being an idealistic and near perfect faction, so other writers try to balance that out by showing their dark side and focusing solely on that. Hence why some find them to seem completely and totally evil, the accentuation of a dark side makes the good side look like a front. As well the Thunders lack the widespread influence to have people in their ranks that genuinely want to help but have no where else to go to. All the others have those. For Mei, who seems to be the focus of this discussion, it boils down to one simple fact: she is a communist. She truly cares for the people and wants to improve their lives, but it comes down to just how radical she is and that seems to depend on the author. Because free speech I am willing to accept another man or woman's views as being a communist, just not a radical communist. A radical is someone who is narrow minded and believes that they are right, both morally and logistically. (eg. they believe that communism is the most efficient form of government and cannot be convinced otherwise) This also means that they are willing to do anything, as they believe that the ends justify the means. This brings the worst out in people. ISIS, the Nazis, the communist party of China, the Rwanda Genocide... I could go on, but one expression sums it all up: The round to hell is paved with good intentions. Because at the end of the day, the intentions matter less than the means. (actually that is a really complicated topic that I could go on about... So maybe don't start arguing about that) With Mei it may seem at first to be a simple question, is she a radical or not? But it is really much more complicated than that. Everyone has a different perception of fictional characters, take Batman and ask someone to describe his motivations and personality in detail and almost everyone will have something slightly different. Combine that with different writing style's and tropes that one employs means that each writer is likely to have a completely different character. So then, does it matter what she does, or is what matters more one's own perception and personal interpretation of the character. She is not real, and so many have written for her at this point that it would be difficult to find a general consensus on her, so one's own interpretation is probably the most important part. Sorry if this is overly long, I just came from writing a final year essay that is due tomorrow and that I hadn't started until today and my brain is still in analyze mode.

When I first saw the Thunders I got the impression they were this seemingly invincible organisation led by xenophobic leaders blissfully unaware of the fact that their organization was one bad day away from falling into ruins and being swept aside. There is also the whole discard you when you when you are useless mentallity that doesn't really help their case as appearing sympathetic. Everything they do is to further their own goals, everything. Mei is an exception, but she keeps being forced to do horrible things. She is also a communist, so we cannot tell how good she would actually become if she managed to accomplish the revolution she desires. Then for the monsters, why are the monsters in Japan the only ones remaining? The Thunders are human traffickers, drug pushers, and murderers. They also provide nothing to those underneath them. The only ones to profit off the thunders are the leaders, all the other factions can argue otherwise except Gremlins. And they are too drunk and/or stupid to care. Also why do they use the leader of the Foundry and an extremely important infiltrator as little more than a leg-breaker and enforcer? Someone would see her. It doesn't make sense. It's somewhat amusing to see how tame this argument is, it's far from a flame war.

Honestly I must agree with the OP, the Ten Thunders have a really cool aesthetic, one that meshes well with western/steampunk. As Tarantino and so many other film directors have shown, the line between the two is oddly thin. I do not think that they fit in the lore however, firstly because of how they have no real "good guys" that you find yourself supporting. They are the worse of the factions, even the Ressers have Reva and Molly, and Kirai is debatable. The only other factions that lacks a "hero" master is the Outcasts(!). As well they never seem to screw up. Things just seem to go their way all the time, while the other factions (other than Gremlins) are constantly in bloody struggles for power. Winning and losing at random is what they spend their time doing. The Thunders? They always seem to come out on top, and if they do fail it's because it was all part of a master plan. I hate that previous trope, it has to be done very well for me not to grow annoyed. There are so many different and random things that one must plan for that one cannot plan for it all. History's great manipulators weren't the people who could predict things like this. They were the people who could convince others that they could. Take Keith Ledgers Joker (Rest in Peace) the character pulled off heavily guesswork plans, but he plans had a relatively small amount of moving parts, as well as many contingencies. As well his only goal was to kill people and cause chaos, and he really didn't care how he pulled that off. As I said, I like their design, but their lore is really, really poor. How does a crime syndicate have century old mythological monsters anyway? If there are all sorts of the things earth-side then why doesn't the Guild bring them in?

My parents introduced me to warhammer as a kid, believing that the painting could help me with my terrible fine motor skills. I chose Lizardmen. Unfortunately I never actually painted anything, and I think my parents sold the hundreds of dollars of models they got me. One of my brothers quickly became attacked to the hobby, but has since quit due to an obsession with what is "cool". A shame honestly, he was very, very good at painting and when you talked to him about it he would drop all attempts at being cool and geek out. He started with Greenskins in fantasy before switching to Grey Knights, and he was more interested in the hobby aspect than the playing. His paint jobs were amazing, some that he did, even though he was only 14-15, looked like the kind of models that you would see in the army books. We've since drifted apart, far apart. My other brother never really got into the painting, but has the many of the books. Both of them switched to 40k, and they even gave me the Tyranids rule books because they knew I liked the aesthetic, even if I didn't care about the painting. I always wanted to play a game of it though. The first time I played was this year with a guy I first met at my old high school who I met at game-quest, my local game store. Since then I have developed a tendency to go on what I call "wiki-binges" which are a single minded obsession with a single media (Gears of war, killer instinct, casltevania, Blazblue, Tvtropes, Destiny, RWBY, Shadowrun, etc.) Honestly it's unhealthy and makes it hard for me to study. However one day one my way back home from volunteering at the local SPCA I stopped at my local game store (although they specialize in used games), which I always do on the way back in case they have one of the old castlevania games, another series that went from wiki-binge to something I care about. I noticed a pair of steam arachnids at first, and noticed they were for something called Malifaux. After few minutes of bumming around I noticed the rulebook on the bottom of the shelf with board games, and I picked it up and started flipping through it. The designs were pretty good, although nothing jumped out at me. I later came back home and looked around at it. Before forgetting about it because my current wiki-binge was Hearthstone (I played Druid and Paladin). After growing tired of Hearthstone's grind I started just looking around at things. One of the things that I looked around at was Malifaux, where I found out about Divergent Paths, and was instantly entranced. I love community events (although the Saxxy awards were rather lack-luster this year...) I later found out about Vassal, a way I could play without a repeat of what had happened with Warhammer. Finally I could play a tabletop game. I am doing my best to try and force it from my mind though, at least when I am supposed to be studying (I like the look of the gameplay, so I am intrigued about trying it out.). Or listening to a lecture. Or talking to someone. Or... I have a few mental disorders. Nothing that prevents me from functioning though, which is good. Well that got depressing really quickly.

I would say for a resser/gremlin insane doctor/taxidermist master he should have two main tactical abilities, one that does damage and grants questionable buffs, and one that heals and grants obvious debuffs.

The idea of the mad Gremlin doctor who experiments on his underlings seems to have become quite popular. The idea I a week ago wasn't very good, but I stick with Ignore the Ticking, that is a great name.

I am thinking of choosing Ironsides as my first master (or maybe Daw or Mei, still not sure) but I was interested in how well she would work with a mercenary Lust, which is another model that caught my eye.

The Doctor: Gremlins/Arcanists Well that was messy...: This model is immune to explosive demise. Don't die on me!: All Gremlins within 3 aura gain Hard to kill At least not yet: Whenever a Gremlin with 3 is reduced to (1) wound, this model may push in base contact and take a (1) action Now that is Beautiful!: Should this model fail a horror duel, it gains reactivate instead of paralyze (1) Bonesaw: 1 tn(?) deal 1/1/2 damage Back and forth!: Immediately take this action again. This next attack may declare triggers (1) Let's get you patched up!: TN (?) Heal 2?3/4 damage on a friendly model. This ability must declare triggers if able. Ignore the ticking...: The target model gain explosive demise 3, on this model is immediately killed on turn 5. Should the target gain this ability after turn five, instantly kill it. Scars will heal right?: The target model gains terrifying (all) 12. The target must pass a TN 12 horror duel every time is activates ??? I always wanted to try that!: All models within 12 and line of sight must pass a TN 10 Horror duel, sacrifice the target.

Hello, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to help me learn the game. I don't have the rulebook yet (university student, I can't throw money around) but I am interested in the game, and will probably purchase the it if I enjoy myself. Je peux parler francais si vous preferez, c'est pas le meuilleur et je n'a pas parler pour presque une anne (m'excuse pour les accents, mon ordinateur est dans le mode anglais), mais je ne veux pas diminuer mes chances pour jouer. I am in PDT (pacific daylight time)

I am still new to the game (university student trying to find a game on Vassal and failling due to next to no free time) but the idea of the campaign system and the master set-pieces that appear near the end for a climactic conclusion intrigue me. However I know that they rules for the Avatars were released through the Shifiting Loyalties box, so do the new masters have Avatars or has that yet to be revealed?

No, there was still the question of what she would do in response to that. On the other hand, the outcasts option for the trickster would put her into a corner. She went insane and now follows around Daw... Now what? I expected Jack Daw to be present as a sort of epilogue character, not at round 3/5.

Interesting myth... But how did her eye's get on the walls? And how would that follow through to gameplay? I agree that there is a lot of stuff to draw upon, but I honestly feel like that example would end up writing the story into a corner.

Is it just me or is the Arcanist faction in a mini-civil war over whether they should go for the man or the child? If so: Go for the child. Eye of the tiger!

Well a few things: That wasn't even shen-long, that was just a random low river monk, we have seen Aensei Yu and Akami (the bearer of the demon fan). The man's current option is pretty good (mecha-werwolf, and has some interesting future possibilities.) And I liked the demon-fan potential. Everything else has been REALLY sub-par though. I mean, look at the trickster, she can resurrect herself and the option we are given is to make her a healer? Yeah if means that you will always have a source of healing, but it would more interesting connected to some other gimmicks. Say, wielding one of the samurai's gun's, no need to fear explosions, she'll just get right back up! And even then I find that they should try and avoid just tossing the character moves and abilities that belonged to another model. That is why the first round victors won, they were things we had not seen before.