A volley of newb questions

[Palooka]

Hi guys,

 

Got my 2e rulebook and am getting there with the idea of how it works - when I realized that the entire game is basically characteristic tests (duels) I kinda saw the matrix and realized what was going on. But I've got a few fiddly bits of housekeeping I'm trying to understand.

 

Firstly - RST - I'm assuming this is resist, like what you use to resist the attack with - is that right? ie usually it'll be Df, but occasionally Wp, etc? And if I'm correct - where is the explanation of Rst in the rulebook? I'm seriously struggling to find it mentioned other than in the cards themselves. (sorry, I come from a very specific few games and it's weird not having clear explanations - so I'm assuming there is one. )

 

Secondly - is the only difference between pulse and auras the fact that one affects the model using it, the other one does not?

 

Next, reading Pandora's Incite attack - it has a trigger called Mass Hysteria - am I reading it right that if you get the suit requirements then the trigger allows you to use the attack again, without the ability to re-trigger Mass Hysteria?

 

Finally - one last question for this particular volley - you can walk into Engagement range, right? Like a model without a Cg can still walk into an engagement to begin Melee? Coming from Warhammer I just need to make sure I got this right, because you can rarely do that in most of the games I've played.

 

Thanks,

Allan.

[Adran]

RST Is resist. You are right it shows what stat the opponent usesin the duel.

 I don't have my rulebook to hand, but I would expect it to be explained in the opposed duels section.

 

Auras last, pulses are an instant effect. (So a modle that has a natural aura, always has that effect up. one that gains one during its activation probably has it until the end of the turn)(Exact rule dependant)

 

You can walk into engagement and then hit a model.

[Bengt]

Rst is explained on pg 38 under attack actions.

 

Auras are continuously active, a pulse happens as a result of an action or something happening, e.g. a model exploding when it dies. pg 50-51.

 

Yes for Incite.

 

Yes for walk.

[Palooka]

You guys are amazing, you know that? I didn't expect such a quick reply!

Thank you on the resist thing - it was driving me crazy - I think I was looking for a word to have a capitalized reference like Sh, Ca, etc so I kept skipping over it.

 

At the moment there's a very minimal lot of players in my local area - so these forums are invaluable for me learning the rules. I'm quite overcome with how active and helpful this community is.

 

Allan.

[Palooka]

Some more queries, should anyone happen upon this thread again:

Avatar Manifestations - I take it these are something that's up and coming at this point? I know that the old avatar models are/were available, but I can't see any mention of the upgrades aside from the two pages mentioning how the manifestations work.

Hire and Reveal Crews - to be clear - does this mean that you literally create your list on the fly before the game? I'm used to a more static form of list building where you bring a pre-built list - but this seems to almost be encouraging you to rebuild your list somewhat to better work against your opponent? I'm aware I could be wrong.

 

Al.

[Dirial]

Avatars will be in the campaign rules in the book coming at Gencon, yes.

 

List building - Absolutely. You build the list after you've seen the board, heard the victory conditions and heard which faction your opponent will play.

[Fetid Strumpet]

Avatars are special earned upgrades that don't cost anything and don't take up an upgrade slot, available only in the upcoming campaign mode of play. They are not available, officially, for any other type of play, and are not available for competitive play, as the Avatars are specifically stated to be not competitively, but narratively, balanced. This was a contentious issue, as Avatars were an official part of the game last edition (as you saw there were models for them) but play testing, and the economic issues behind them, showed that adding avatars to the game as official use for all games was unfeasible.

 

If you happen to own an old avatar model, they are legal proxies for the new type of model upcoming in the next book, The Emissaries of Fate. Each faction gets a new centerpiece type of model called an emissary. Each emissary is a 10SS model, with a slew of specific upgrades that can only be attached to it. 1 general, purpose, and 1 unique one for each master in each faction. These models will be available for any type of play.

 

 

Hire and reveal crews. Yes, in theory you create your list immediately before the game, and you tailor your list to the Strategy and Schemes present for that particular game. In an official capacity, you will only have one piece of information about your opponent before you play, which is their declared faction. You won't know what master, or what they are bringing until you've hired your crew and you both simultaneously reveal your crews to each other. Static All comers lists generally don't do as well in Malifaux, and asking for list building help on the forums will almost always result in the followup question, what schemes and strats are you building the list for.

[Palooka]

Thank you. Once again, this support I'm getting is amazing.

I've read on a couple of spots about the place that suggest that larger games allow hiring more than one Master (scraps?) - but I can't find reference to it in the book specifically - however I can't see anything obliquely stating it's illegal either. Does that mean that multple masters are allowed?

[Adran]

Thats your reading of the old rules confusing you.

In the new rules there aren't rules for Brawls (2 master games) anymore. If you really want to play them you probably can agrre to just each select 2 masters, but its a really unbalanced setting with Wacky combinations.

There is a story encounter in crossroads where 2 masters team up against 1

[Fetid Strumpet]

Brawls were a format last edition that allowed 2 masters. They were unbalanced as all get out and thus were done away with in M2E. In M2E there is no official multi-master game. Masters were not balanced with the assumption there would ever be another friendly model with them.

 

There are un-official tournaments that allow multi master formats, but they are not balanced and you have to enter them in the spirit of fun rather than trying to win. 

 

There is also (1) story encounter in the Crossroads book called Assault on the Greylord located in the resser section, which gives the rules for a story encounter (again not balanced competitively) which allows one of the players to utilize 2 masters, but the rules do help even this out a little for the other player.

[Palooka]

That's cool - I'd prefer just use the rules as they lay. But yes, I did think I got that from somewhere other than the internet. *shakes fist at the person who gave me the old rulebook first*

Seriosuly guys, thanks so much for all this. I am currently helping a new, very large local gaming retailer set up shop not far from me - and I fully intend on making Malifaux a big part of our shop. This kind of support and really getting to know the brass tacks of the game will really aid my ability in making this a reality.

[Fetid Strumpet]

I did mention that reading the old rule book might skew things a little for you.

 

If you need to get a little more hands on experience, and can find someone with the time, there is the ability to play Malifaux online Via Vassal, and can work to get the hang of the game even without models, as long as you have the basic rules and cards available to you.

[Palooka]

You did. You did indeed. I just... couldn't wait. I am fairly familiar with jumping from one edition to another with other gaming systems - I suspect the fact that I never even played 1.5 though is a different thing entirely.

As for the Vassal option -  I'm not sure I could handle it! I've tried playing things like Bloodbowl online, and it feels so wrong!

I have found one fortnightly meet that happens now - so I'm going to go along to that. I don't believe any of them are henchmen, but we'll see.

 

When a scheme says "may be revealed at any time" - does that mean that you don't have to reveal it until the game has ended?

 

[Palooka]

(I'm getting the impression that you can - but certain schemes benefit you to reveal them earlier)

[Adran]

Are you thinking of Bodyguard? Thast the only scheme I can think of that says may be revealed at any time. You can choose to not reveal it until the end of the game, but it doesn't score points whilst its not revealed

[Palooka]

That is the one I was referring to at the time yeah. Cool, so unrevealed schemes means no VP, makes sense.

[Dirial]

That is the one I was referring to at the time yeah. Cool, so unrevealed schemes means no VP, makes sense.

 

Every Scheme says explicitly when you get VP for them.

[Adran]

That is the one I was referring to at the time yeah. Cool, so unrevealed schemes means no VP, makes sense.

Generally you can't score from an unrevealed scheme mid game, so no going  - I get a VP, just because. But severeal will get revealed during the game

 

A lot of the schemes will score at the end of the game even if they aren't revealed, so they will still score

 

Read each scheme carefully.

The best time to reveal bodyguard is normally just after the last activation of turn 4, letting you get the points for your bodyguard target (as long as they are in play and more than 8 " from your deployment) on turn 4 without your opponent being able to do anything about it.

[Palooka]

Cool, yeah it's all making a bit more sense now.

Here's one that I need clarification on: Actions like Flurry, which gives you the ability to do 3 Melee attacks at a cost of 1 AP - but costs 2 AP to execute by itself. To be clear, that means the 3 Melee actions must be actions that normally require 1 AP to execute, not that you need to pay additional AP to get the melee attacks off, right?

[Carcosa]

Correct.

You get to do 3 attack actions, against the same target that all cost 1AP each. This can be important as some people have (2)AP attacks (which cannot benefit from abilities like flurry), but it does allow you to do different attacks as long as they all cost 1AP.

[Alcibiades]

Adran's advice to read the schemes carefully is some of the soundest advice that you will receive. I can't tell you how many games I lost, and still do, because I failed to read the schemes carefully. If you have an unrevealed scheme, it doesn't hurt to remind yourself now and again. I got caught up in a killing frenzy the other night and ended up whacking a model I had chosen for Take Prisoner. It was only after the last damage was inflicted that the penny dropped...D'oh!!!

This is a great game and a great community. Enjoy and welcome.

K

[Palooka]

Cool, that's fine. The language could have gone another way so it felt important to check.

It seems on the whole a very specific ruleset, just not a syntax I'm completely used to yet. :-)

[Palooka]

Alcibiades - that is something I'm picking up. It's INSANE how quickly I'm getting these answers, you guys are AMAZING.

[Carcosa]

I play games with my regular opponent who has -far- more Mali experience than me and he still forgets things with his schemes a lot, don't let it worry you too much

 

Also, all the unique abilities on henchmen and masters takes a bit of getting used to as well and I would strongly recommend reading the stat card of each one at the start of your game, both yours and your opponents, just so you know whats what. it's all to easy to forget a bonus, or a restriction that you have carefully planned to use or abuse when you were building your crew and forget about it in the rush of the game.