The Five Factions, In Play

[EricJ]

So quite a few people have sent me questions since the release of the Wyrd Chronicles 2 wanting to know more about the style of play for the different factions. Since we didn't cover it in the magazine, I'll cover it here!

The Guild:

Offense: Deadly in hand to hand, with moderate ranged attacks, however being relatively fast they are able to close the gap quickly

Defense: They are generally hard to hit, but have light armor and tend to be easier to kill once you manage to hit them.

Magic: The start a game with large stores of magic resources, but regain magic slower than any other faction as the game progresses. Their spells tend to focus on increasing their physical abilities and defenses.

Other: Each different group within the guild focuses on a different enemy (of the other 3 primary factions), and has special abilities and spells which help them combat that faction. Justice and the Death Marshals hunt the Resurrectionists, The Ortegas hunt the Neverborn, and Sonia and the Witchhunters hunt the Arcanists.

The Resurrectionists:

Offense: devastating in close combat, limited ranged attacks, they are also quite slow in general

Defense: While they are easy to hit, the armor provided by their dead flesh makes them hard to wound and even harder to kill (in fact some models in the faction are impossible to kill for good). They are the most resilient faction both physically and psychologically

Magic: As keeping undead moving takes a constant magical toll, the masters have a considerable ability to manipulate and use their magic, as their undead are destroyed, their magic is freed up to either create more, or unleash a vast array of rather disturbing spells. These spells tend to focus on manipulating physical bodies, either through decay or the transfer of life.

The Arcanists:

Offense: The best ranged attacks and magics in the game, and while they are rather poor at close range, they have their constructs and occasional magically enhanced minion to protect them. They are also rather slow, and need to use their magic to avoid being overrun.

Defense: Also generally poor unless they manage to get off their defensive spells before an attack, in which case they can become as difficult to kill as a resurrectionist.

Magic: Good in both starting magical resources and regeneration they have the most magical options at their disposal. They can use this magic to create and animate minions, offensively or defensively augment themselves, or for a vast array of spells which include the most deadly ranged attacks in the game.

The Neverborn:

Offense: Generally poor both at ranged and close combat attacks, but what they lack in strength, they make up for in speed, both foot speed and the speed at which they can attack.

Defense: While they are generally the most difficult creatures to hit, they are quite fragile, and are wounded and killed relatively easily if you can manage to catch them.

Magic: While they start with very few magical resources, they generate the most throughout the course of the game due to their innate connection to the lands of Malifaux. Every neverborn possesses magical abilities and have a number of spells on hand. These spells tend to focus on speed, trickery and illusions to confuse and terrorize their opponents. The most powerful can destroy their opponents without ever being seen, and without even having to make an attack themselves.

The Mercenaries:

Offense: Generally good both ranged and in melee combat, and they are generally quite quick.

Defense: Their hard earned cash they don't spend on weapons they spend on armor. They are both hard to hit and hard to kill!

Magic: Generally rather poor as they aren't aligned with any of the inherent powers of Malifaux. While they are able to manipulate these magics on a rudimentary level, they will never master any one of them like the power casters in the other factions.

Other: Mercenaries may be hired by other factions as they are willing to work for anyone who can pay them enough to make it worth their while. They also can form a group of their own following a powerful mercenary master.

[demonherald]

sweet and interesting.. I've chosen neverborn as my own personal initial favourites and the summary there confirms I've made a good choice suiting how I like to play and may require a little more thinking how to use effectively..

Witch hunters second so interesting to read this. cheers.

[Tenebræ]

Oooo pretty. I like this. Atm my tastes have been guild and arcanists. After this... they are still guild and arcanists... lol. But mercs will be intresting. I might make a merc force, probably under leveticus, but we will see with the rules. Very intresting overall.

[EricJ]

Feel free to ask any questions you might have on this subject here as well!

[Larkin Vain]

This is a really good write up. Thank you very much.

[redstripe]

I've been very curious about this kind of document, as well. At my drafting firm, we call this a design document. Anytime we make a change to a design, we go back to the design document to make sure we're still in line with our original vision. This will be a powerful tool, going forward, as new members are designed.

I have a few questions in regards to magics in a way to expand the document.

In each of the different factions do spells tend to be:

Direct attacks?

Buff Enchantments of allies?

Debfuff Enchantments on enemies?

Terrain/Tabletop affecting spells?

For example are Arcanists Powerful wizards because they blast their enemies with powerful attacks or because they buff their allies with powerful enhancements (like setting their weapons of fire?)

[EricJ]

that is a nice way to break things down, and for your specific example, the Arcanists are powerful because #1 their direct magical attacks, #2 ability to create constructs to use as minions, powered by magic, #3 long term buff enchantments in the way of creating magical items for their allies (like Joss' axes).

[Tenebræ]

Ok question... With such abilities such as the arcanists have that create reinforcments out of thin air and the rezzurectionists really hard to kill stuff and even things that may be "unkillable", how do you "Win" a game? Will it be objective based (capture this gazmo, blow up that widget, steal this whojit, protect that hoopla, ect.)? Will it be kill the head honcho (leader of the opposing force)?, Will there be no winner or loser because we are really shooting bullets of tickles, slashing with swords of funnyness and killjoy... he doesn't want to eat you... just hug you.

[thetang22]

In regards to Mercenaries - how will troop rank affect the ability to be hired into a warband?

I think the e-zine #2 said something along the lines of each basic sized warband following the "1 Master/1 Henchman/3-4 rank-and-file" setup. Certain mercenaries are going to be of differing ranks I suppose, so will they only be able to be hired in to fill those slots?

What about 'Master' Mercenaries? Will they be able to be hired or will they be restricted to Mercenary-only warbands?

Does the Master of an warband determine the faction of the warband? Can you have a warband with a Guild Master and everyone else be a Mercenary?

What are the standard limits on # of Mercenaries you can hire for a non-Mercenary warband?

Edited July 31, 2008 by thetang22

[TheBugKing]

To expand on thetang22's question:

Will there be skermishes with more then one Master to a side?

Something along the lines of 2 masters 2 henchmen 6-8 rank and file organised as

master-henchmen-rank and file

master-henchmen-rank and file

How much flexibility will there be in force organisation?

[EricJ]

good questions, let me see if I can work through them.

#1) how do you win a game with all these special abilities in play

Winning conditions will be very well defined and there is not going to be anything nerfed down to make Malifaux a happier kinder place. In fact, quite the opposite will be the limiting factor. For example, McMourning can build flesh constructs, but to do so he must collect body parts from his enemies, as they don't just grow on trees. He (and his henchman Sebastian) will have special abilities to sever limbs and such to this end. So he can't just do it at will. Models that can't be "killed" will still have built in conditions under which they are considered dead for the purposes of game play, even if not removed from the table. There will also be games based on other goals, as you mentioned, which have nothing to do with killing off all the other side, and as such these special abilities won't come into play when determining winner and loser.

#2) how will Mercenaries count in warband construction?

Yes, mercenaries will play roles of Henchmen, Minions or Constructs in game play, however the rules aren't so strictly defined as a warband must have 1 Master, 1 Henchman, 3-4 Minions. It is true all starting warbands will be based around 1 Master, who is powerful enough to hire, or build his own warband and as such the warband is based around his abilites and resources. Mercenaries are hired based on what they're paid, and care less what role they play in a warband, and while they can be very useful, their relative cost will be higher than those models closely aligned with the master. As such, while you can have a Guild master and an all mercenary warband, it would likely be quite difficult to play.

#3) What determines the faction of a warband

it is the master. Masters are those individuals who are able to influence everything around them, including the flow of magic in the area and everyone brought into the field of battle is there at the will, and due to the resources of the masters.

#4) Will there be larger games?

Yes, although this is still in development we are looking closely at ways to scale up the size of games in 2 ways. First would be in the resources of each master, which would allow 1 master to hire more henchmen, minions, constructs and mercenaries. The second way would be with cooperating masters from the same faction. There will not be cooperation with masters from different factions however, except perhaps Mercenary. While we are focusing right now on the details of the small skirmish game based on these smaller warbands we've been building, we are keeping a keen eye not to inhibit our ability to ramp up the game to a larger scale once we are able to focus on that aspect of things.

#5) How much flexibility will there be in force organization?

Quite a bit but within limits. As I stated before, there will not be, except in very rare instances, any mixing between factions. Within factions you are much more free with your selections. However there are practical and thematic rules in place which make may influence you to choose certain combinations, but this is not restrictive. The best example is that while a master can select any faction henchman, there will be ones which will work to augment their abilities. Like I mentioned above, Sebastian has the ability to help collect body parts for McMourning, so he can create flesh constructs, which is something he won't find in any other henchman. Minions will be similar, as their abilities tend to augment or are powered by a specific master.

In terms of force organization, once you get past the master, the title of henchman and minion tends to be much more of a descriptive term, rather than a strict rule term. Henchmen are more powerful and have more abilities but are also more specialized and cost much more than minions, so balancing between Henchmen, Minions, Constructs, and Mercenaries (and Avatars?) will be strictly up to the player, and how the player chooses to spend the Masters resources.

Hope this helps!

Edited July 31, 2008 by EricJ

[Tenebræ]

Ok your answers prompt another question in me. Throwing words and phrases around like "Warband" "Resources" and "Master" reminds me a lot of Mordhiem and Necromunda (Which were arguably two of the best games GW ever produced). Will there be any plans for a sort of "Fire and forget" campaign akin to what Mordhiem and Necromunda had.

[EricJ]

It looks like my early gaming roots are betrayed by my terminology! Those are the first 2 skirmish type games I played

As for the "fire and forget" you'll have to remind me, I can't remember the details there to give you a proper answer.

[Tenebræ]

Ahh ok. The Fire and forget campaign is my terminology (I think anyway). Basicaly it means like when you would assemble your warband and your friends would assemble theirs, then you would start a campaign with no real DM or person running it. The objective was simple, survive. It was great because it would run itself. So you assembled your warbands, then you played games, then depending on what happened to your dudes in the games, your warband would develop on its own. The developments would be completly random and determined by dice rolls. Basicaly it went sort of like this... We have Leader A, a young noble running around, commanding men. Then we have subordanite officer B who has been around longer. In thier adventures, Leader A is... well to be honest he is stupid and unlucky (he is a noble after all). So lets say the first game this happens: He runs out waving his broadsword around and gets shot in the face with an arrow. He goes "out of action". Leader B who earned his title and is in general, smarter about the ways of battle, rallys the existing forces and goes out to win the game. After the game is over you do a post game phase (usualy while being watched by your opponent to ensure honesty). Now Leader A has had a very bad day. He needs to roll on the "Out of Action" table (because he went out of action) with results ranging from "Dead" to "Captured" to "Various injuries" to "Escaped". For the sake of example, because he was shot in the face, we rolled "lost an eye" (which was an actual result). Now in all the games he participates in from now on he will be missing an eye and thus will permenantly loose accuracy with range weapons. Since he went out of action, he does not get any experience. Now Officer B has just won the day. He gets experience, every so many points he gets to roll on the "advance" table. The advance table can give you anything from new skills to improved stats.

So going back to my original question, will Malifaux have anything like this? If not, will you consider this kind of format for future releases?

While it would be difficult to make this kind of format it would be totaly awesome.

[EricJ]

At the moment, this is another area in which I have to say were not yet developing, however we're developing with it in mind, so leaving that door open at the moment. The real issue is that it would take much more testing and more importantly TIME, which would of course cause delays. So essentially we're working to balance out the goal of fitting as much interesting bits into the game while keeping in mind we would like to release the game at some point soon as well. I think that even if this does not make the first book, it will be included in future supplements as it is really too good of a idea to pass on for our size of game.

[thetang22]

It sounds very similar to Rackham's "Dogs of War" supplement they had for Confrontation before the new version of Confrontation with the plastics came around. Basically just an ongoing campaign in which the results from game to game actually affect your warband. And yes, I agree its a good idea.

[TheBugKing]

My only issue with that type of thing is the WYSIWYG complication.

I never got into Necromunda or Mordheim because the models could constantly be changing and could never be truly WYSIWYG, or if they were it wasn't for long.

Unless the changes to the characters was a stat change only. I personally prefer the non changing systems as it always starts everyone on a level playing field. The contest then becomes one of tactics and luck.

[goblyn13]

I think it can be done right by limiting the changing parts strictly to the campaign play. Not unlike the Warjack/warbeast bonds where its a little boost but nothing game breaking (so you don't end up playing against MinMaximus).

The advantage to campaign play is that it does give the effect that your characters are evolving (just make sure you realize that the special abilities aren't guaranteed to your character.

[Tenebræ]

I'll agree with the WYSIWIG comment. Though atm all the figues in malifaux seem to have their own equipment with some minor differences (witchling stalkers for ex. one is shown equiped with pistol and sword, while one has two swords, and a third just has a sword, bayou gremlins are another, two have guns, one has a looking glass and the third has booze and a banjo). Though if the advances/disadvances were kept to abilities, spells and perhaps minor physical changes (i.e. loss of an eye, "weak" limbs, ect.) it could be done fairly well. While buying new weapons might be out, buying small expendable gains (larger soul stones for better magic, sharpening and honing weapons for the next game for a slight boost in damage, one use talismans that allow you to redraw a card perhaps).

Anyway it would be intresting to see what you could come up with.

[EricJ]

The idea of Malifaux is that EVERYTHING is in some way or another influenced or powered or enhanced by magic. In terms of an ongoing campaign the WYSIWYG issues don't apply quite so much here. It's won't be an increase in equipment which will influence a characters abilities, but rather their ability to influence and use magic. Additional spells, additional abilities, etc...and of course enhanced statistics.

Anyway, like I said, it's likely not going to be in the initial release, but I have pages of notes on it, and once we are able, we will be making a supplement to support this. We have a few ideas for more "advanced" malifaux in the works, but of course they all build upon the basic system, which is what we're focused on right now

[Keltheos]

And, hey, long coats, flowing dresses and big top hats hide all sorts of WYSIWYG gear.

"The bazooka? It's in the hat."

[TheBugKing]

The idea of Malifaux is that EVERYTHING is in some way or another influenced or powered or enhanced by magic. In terms of an ongoing campaign the WYSIWYG issues don't apply quite so much here. It's won't be an increase in equipment which will influence a characters abilities, but rather their ability to influence and use magic. Additional spells, additional abilities, etc...and of course enhanced statistics.

Anyway, like I said, it's likely not going to be in the initial release, but I have pages of notes on it, and once we are able, we will be making a supplement to support this. We have a few ideas for more "advanced" malifaux in the works, but of course they all build upon the basic system, which is what we're focused on right now

I would play I a campaign system like this although I find that even with the Warjack bonds that happen with Warmachine I tend to forget to keep track of them. Or my jacks die as soon as they get a bond. I'm a firm believer in throw away troops. Nothing like claiming victory over the dead bodies of your comrades. (I play Cryx so they were dead to begin with! <best of both worlds>)

[Tenebræ]

Ok another question. In relation to me previous statment. Some of the minions have different equipment from each other (witchlings and gremlins). Gamewise how will this be handled? Will it be the equivilent to wargear, so when I buy a witchling, I can decide to give it two swords, one sword and one pistol or just a sword, or perhaps magic abilities? Will there be prebuild loadouts ala Infinity where they are all mentioned with the same profile, but their cost will depend on the equipment? Is there a wyrder way of doing it that I have not mentioned?

[TheBugKing]

perhaps you recruit the minions in pre set allotments so that each has their won individual stats? That would certainly be a new wrinkle that has not been done before and would lend quite a bit to the tactical challenge presented by the game. Especially if the group of minions had interrelated abilities that fell off as members died or were put out of action.

/ramble

[Tenebræ]

Ok new question. I was thinking back to the card decks after reading "Bayou twocard". Are there or will there be any wyrd card games (not CCG, but like poker or blackjack, but wyrder) that would ever be made to thematicaly fit with the cards that Wyrd is putting out?