Homebrew Thomas Porter

[Piranhamoose]

This is a Homebrew that I came up with today at work. I'm interested in any input on his rules, especially in regards to his soulstone cost. This is also my first draft for his back story. I'd do more editing and expand it a bit before posting, but I'm lazy.

Thomas Porter came to Malifaux to work for his aunt and uncle whose fortune was made on vineyards earth-side. His first few days in Malifaux were spent with his cousin (yet to be named) who works for a treasure hunter by the name of Lucas McCabe. As a gift his cousin gave him two valuable ivory handled hatchets he received in his line of work. After Thomas arrived at the future vineyard, a dispute broke out between him and a neighboring homesteader over the placement of some fencing. The dispute turned violent and Thomas, whose never killed a man before, struck the homesteader with one of the hatchets and then ran off in his panic, taking the two hatchets with him. Now he's one of the numerous criminals wanted by the guild and pushed into mercenary work.

Thomas Porter(Outcast)

Soulstone Cost: 6

Mercenary, Unique, Black Sheep

30mm Base

Wk/Cg: 4/7

Ht: 2

Wp: 4

Ca: 4

Df: 4 5

Wd: 7

Hatchet

Rg: 1”

Cb: 6

Dg: 2/3/5

Hatchet Toss

Rg: 8”

Cb: 5 :masks

Dg: 3/3/6

Talents:

Abilities

Wanted: Animosity(Guild)

Hunter

Scout

Referred by a Cousin: Crews led by McCabe may ignore Wanted. If Thomas Porter is hired by McCabe, he gains the Companion(Wastrel).

Tom's Hatchets: Thomas Porter begins the game with two Hatchet Counters on his card. These counters cannot be picked up by any other model and cannot be removed from the table by any talents or effects. If a Hatchet counter being carried by a model would be discarded from that model, it's instead placed in base-to-base with that model. If a model other that Thomas Porter is carrying a Hatchet Counter they receive a when attacking and defending in duelsto Attack and Defense. If they have both Hatchet Counters, they also receive Slow. Any model other than Thomas Porter can spend 1 AP to drop the counter in base-to-base contact. If Thomas is killed, all Hatchet counters on the table or dropped on the table are removed.

Possessive:Thomas' Bash attacks gain +2 Cb and +1 dmg against other model swith Hatchet Counters.

Weapon

Hatchet Toss: Thomas must remove a Hatchet Counter from his card to make a Hatchet Toss strike. Place the counter in base-to-base with the model the strike is resolved against regardless of whether or not the strike is successful.

Hatchet: Thomas cannot make a Hatchet strike if he does not have a Hatchet Counter. If Thomas has both Hatchet counters, the Hatchet strike becomes paired.

Actions

(0) My Babies!: Thomas must push his walk towards the nearest Hatchet Counter on the table, or the nearest model with a Hatchet counter, whichever is closer. If he ends this push in melee range of another model with a Hatchet counter he may immediately perform a free That's Mine! action or perform a free Hatchetstrike on that model.

(0) That's Mine!: Thomas may take any Hatchet counter from a model within Melee range.

(2) Flurry

Triggers

Cb (:crows): Maim [Hatchet, Hatchet Toss]: When damaging defender, the damage receives .

Cb (:crows:rams): Decapitate [Hatchet]: When damaging defender with this weapon, kill defender unless its controller discards 2 Control Cards or Soulstones. Only models with the Use Soulstones ability may discard Soulstones.

Cb (:crows:masks): Make It Stick [Hatchet, Hatchet Toss]: After damaging defender, if making a Hatchet strike, remove a Hatchet Counter from Thomas Porter and place it on defender, if making a Hatchet Toss strike, instead of placing the Hatchet Counter in base-to-base with the target, place it on target's card instead. This trigger cannot be declared against spirits.

Spells:

(0) Sadistic Whispers

(CC: 10 :masks / Rst: - / Rg: C) This model gains +:crows to it'sHatchet and Hatchet Toss strikes, as well as Ruthless.

(1) Menace

(CC: 10 / Rst: - / Rg: 6) Move this model up to 4” towards target model. Target may not take move Actions until the Start Closing Phase.

Edited December 1, 2012 by Piranhamoose

[Omenbringer]

Not to bad of a concept though I might suggest reducing his Hatchet Rg: to 1 vice 2 (hatchets aren't that long afterall).

I like some of the combo's and options that are built in.

About the only other thing I might recommend is tightening up the wording on the Hatchet Toss Ability to limit some rather interesting shenanigans, like placing the hatchet counter on the far side of the targets base or being able to place it in base contact even if the target is out of range.

Edited November 30, 2012 by Omenbringer

[Drool_bucket]

Interesting concept.

Couple things. First, I feel like the "fluff" and the "rules" don't gel. If he's a simple farmer turned outlaw why all the crow/mask stuff in his profile. Crows and masks means necromantic/neverborn stuff to me... and he's just a dude. It's almost like his profile is for some spirit walking Native american hatchet wielding murderer...

two, Wanted (Guild) is cool and the thought of "referred by a cousin" works out neatly... but you gotta toss in something to refer to Vanessa's animosity toward's Black Sheep. Like Animosity (Vanessa, Treasure Hunter) This model can not be hired by crews containing named model.

[xeth1313]

I also like this model and its mmechanics But I think it he has flurry and a movement trick for a (0) he need to be more expensive than 6 soulstones. He will be able to get out 3-4 attacks and a 4 inch push on a turn. Thats pretty powerfu for 6 SS.

[Piranhamoose]

Yeah. I must have totally spaced when it came to melee range. It should have definitely be 1".

Interesting concept.

Couple things. First, I feel like the "fluff" and the "rules" don't gel. If he's a simple farmer turned outlaw why all the crow/mask stuff in his profile. Crows and masks means necromantic/neverborn stuff to me... and he's just a dude. It's almost like his profile is for some spirit walking Native american hatchet wielding murderer...

two, Wanted (Guild) is cool and the thought of "referred by a cousin" works out neatly... but you gotta toss in something to refer to Vanessa's animosity toward's Black Sheep. Like Animosity (Vanessa, Treasure Hunter) This model can not be hired by crews containing named model.

Part of the inspiration for Thomas came from the new RPG and the idea of denying fate, something Thomas hasn't been doing well. The Hatchets are subtly implied to be slowly twisting him (sadistic whispers, the high probability of them being some kind of cursed object originally acquired in one of McCabes treasure hunting escapades). He's not just a desperate mercenary. He's one that's being poked and prodded by blood thirsty hatchets, and he's clearly grown attached.

On your second point, I'm considering just giving him the Black Sheep trait, but I don't have book four with me (it's with my cousin) and I don't remember if there's anything else that refers to Black Sheep, but I'm considering just making Thomas a Black Sheep and then Vicks couldn't hire him if they hire Vanessa anyways. Thank you though for bringing up Vanessa though, I knew someone had animosity Black Sheep, but couldn't remember who. With Thomas being an outcast mercenary, the fact that it's Vanessa has some pretty significant relevance.

---------- Post added at 10:08 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:03 AM ----------

I also like this model and its mmechanics But I think it he has flurry and a movement trick for a (0) he need to be more expensive than 6 soulstones. He will be able to get out 3-4 attacks and a 4 inch push on a turn. Thats pretty powerfu for 6 SS.

I see your point and I'm going to tell you why I'm still not sure about increasing his cost. He has seven wounds, which is good, but nothing else to help him stay up and only defense four. So he could actually go down pretty quickly. He's pretty much a glass cannon. Second, he's an outcast mercenary so everyone other than outcast masters are going to be paying an extra soulstone for him. Now, he may still need a price change, but I want to actually test out the rules for him before deciding otherwise.

Edited November 30, 2012 by Piranhamoose

[Omenbringer]

If he's a simple farmer turned outlaw why all the crow/mask stuff in his profile. Crows and masks means necromantic/neverborn stuff to me... and he's just a dude.

Well if you look on page 27 of the new Malifaux 1.5 book you'll see that each suit is tied to specific spheres of influence not factions. With those in mind I would say that the suggested suits fit fairly well with in those.

I also like this model and its mmechanics But I think it he has flurry and a movement trick for a (0) he need to be more expensive than 6 soulstones. He will be able to get out 3-4 attacks and a 4 inch push on a turn. Thats pretty powerfu for 6 SS.

It would only be a max of 3 attacks at the cost of 1 Control card and his 2 general AP for Flurry. The free push movement from the 0 action My Babies is only Wk 4 and has a ton of built in limitations, such as having to be set up the turn in advance by either Hatchet Toss or by having a model that is carrying a Hatchet counter within range to use. Even if set up in advance the threat range is minimal and has to be toward the closest Hatchet counter (either on the ground or carried). It can be potent in the right circumstances but is also very telegraphed and difficult to pull off.

I see your point and I'm going to tell you why I'm still not sure about increasing his cost. He has seven wounds, which is good, but nothing else to help him stay up and only defense four. So he could actually go down pretty quickly. He's pretty much a glass cannon. Second, he's an outcast mercenary so everyone other than outcast masters are going to be paying an extra soulstone for him. Now, he may still need a price change, but I want to actually test out the rules for him before deciding otherwise.

I would agree, I think he is a bit overpriced at 6 SS (7 if out of faction). He definately isn't very durable with below average Df and Wp. Add in that he has no Df triggers or Hard to Wound/ Armor type abilities to either get him away from threats or reduce retaliation damage.

I wouldn't even really call him a "glass canon" since his Cb for either strike isn't really that great (slightly above average in melee and average in ranged) and his damage potential is on the low side unless he can hit severe (which is going to be difficult since in most cases he is flipping even with his targets Df so will probably be at for the flip). Him really being effective is entirely predicated on successfully hitting at least once with the Hatchet Toss (which takes away Paired on the Hatchet in melee), then getting into melee (requiring either My Babies or a Walk action) and then getting his triggers (none of which are in-built unless he successfully casts his 0 spell Sadistic Whispers which denies the use of My Babies).

His best asset is the debuff that he can pass out with the Hatchet Toss. This I think is his best feature, more so because you are guarantied at least one turn of Slow on the target (since it either has Slow from the Hatchet counter or has to use an AP to dump the counter).

PS when you edit your stats can you use strike thru so we can see what it was changed from and then below or next to it use blue font to show the change. This way the version changes are clear.

Edited November 30, 2012 by Omenbringer

[Piranhamoose]

I wouldn't even really call him a "glass canon" since his Cb for either strike isn't really that great (slightly above average in melee and average in ranged) and his damage potential is on the low side unless he can hit severe (which is going to be difficult since in most cases he is flipping even with his targets Df so will probably be at for the flip). Him really being effective is entirely predicated on successfully hitting at least once with the Hatchet Toss (which takes away Paired on the Hatchet in melee), then getting into melee (requiring either My Babies or a Walk action) and then getting his triggers (none of which are in-built unless he successfully casts his 0 spell Sadistic Whispers which denies the use of My Babies).

His best asset is the debuff that he can pass out with the Hatchet Toss. This I think is his best feature, more so because you are guarantied at least one turn of Slow on the target (since it either has Slow from the Hatchet counter or has to use an AP to dump the counter).

PS when you edit your stats can you use strike thru so we can see what it was changed from and then below or next to it use blue font to show the change. This way the version changes are clear.

Sorry. I'll be sure to use strike thru and blue font next time.

So, how do you feel about dropping his cost by one and making him slightly more survivable? I'm not sure what would suit him best, but I'm definitely in favor of increasing his defense to five, possibly doing a little more.

[xeth1313]

He can hatchet toss, even on a miss the counter drops into base contact with the target. then (0) for my babies, and get a free hatchet strike in if at 5 inches or closer, then strike again. That's three attacks. If the have a counter or ar near one he can (0) and if at the 5 inch range get the free attack, then flurry for an additional 3, 4 attacks.

[Kadeton]

Just wondering on the intent of the hatchet counters' debuff: Did you really mean a when attacking and defending in any duels? That would include casting and resisting most spells, overcoming targeting restrictions like Pitiful, etc. That seems a little over the top to me, although it does take an awful lot of work to make a hatchet stick. Anyway, I thought you might have meant a to Attack and Defense Flips instead - but if it's supposed to affect all the other kinds of opposed duels as well, fair enough.

Other than that, I really like the hatchet mechanic. I agree that Thomas is unlikely to live very long - he's fairly dangerous, and a very easy target to take down. His other problem is that if he manages to stick a target with a hatchet, they will probably get away from his very low Wk and run off with his hatchet, leaving him at greatly reduced effectiveness.

One final quirk: if he was taken by both players, one of the Thomases could end up with three or four hatchet counters to carry around and chuck at people. There's nothing wrong with that per se, it would just be funny.

[Piranhamoose]

He can hatchet toss, even on a miss the counter drops into base contact with the target. then (0) for my babies, and get a free hatchet strike in if at 5 inches or closer, then strike again. That's three attacks. If the have a counter or ar near one he can (0) and if at the 5 inch range get the free attack, then flurry for an additional 3, 4 attacks.

Keep in mind though that he's giving up paired by making the ranged strike and the only trigger he'll have access to in melee will be Maim if he flips or cheats in a crow. Now, if he gets Make It Stick, it's not bad with the minus to their defense, but he's effectively dropping his melee combat prowess below that of a Punk Zombie and has less survivability (I know that's not the best comparison, but I think the point is still valid.) I think that he needs play testing before I could reasonable increase his price.

---------- Post added at 12:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 PM ----------

Just wondering on the intent of the hatchet counters' debuff: Did you really mean a when attacking and defending in any duels? That would include casting and resisting most spells, overcoming targeting restrictions like Pitiful, etc. That seems a little over the top to me, although it does take an awful lot of work to make a hatchet stick. Anyway, I thought you might have meant a to Attack and Defense Flips instead - but if it's supposed to affect all the other kinds of opposed duels as well, fair enough.

Thanks for catching that. It should be changed to Attack and Defense flips.

Other than that, I really like the hatchet mechanic. I agree that Thomas is unlikely to live very long - he's fairly dangerous, and a very easy target to take down. His other problem is that if he manages to stick a target with a hatchet, they will probably get away from his very low Wk and run off with his hatchet, leaving him at greatly reduced effectiveness.

One final quirk: if he was taken by both players, one of the Thomases could end up with three or four hatchet counters to carry around and chuck at people. There's nothing wrong with that per se, it would just be funny.

There ability to walk away would be a bit situational (disengaging strikes from Thomas or other enemy models) and even if they do, he can at least push towards them and hope to be in charging range. And yes, I think it'd be entertaining to see two of them face off against each other.

Edited December 1, 2012 by Piranhamoose

[Omenbringer]

He can hatchet toss, even on a miss the counter drops into base contact with the target. then (0) for my babies, and get a free hatchet strike in if at 5 inches or closer, then strike again. That's three attacks. If the have a counter or ar near one he can (0) and if at the 5 inch range get the free attack, then flurry for an additional 3, 4 attacks.

Interesting interpretation of the wording on My Babies, I read the "free attack" as only applying to a model that has a Hatchet Counter on them (not just one adjacent to him) so 2 strikes (Hatchet Toss and Hatchet Strike). Now if they have a hatchet counter on them then you could My Babies get the "free attack" dump a control card and the 2 General AP to Flurry and get three attacks on one target (for a total of 3-4) however you have lost Paired and access to several triggers in doing so (and sunk a lot of resources into this as well). Add in that all of this is predicated on being within the 5" threat range of My Babies.

Still this is very easily countered and/or neutered by just staying outside of the 5" threat range of My Babies, by dumping Hatchet Counters away from the action (making him either have to go retrieve them or losing the benefit from My Babies and access to Paired) or by winning the Defense Resist of the Hatchet Toss strike (he might still be able to get at you with My Babies and Flurry but he has lost Paired and the Debuffs which are what really makes the combo effective).

Not saying it cant be effective in the right situations but those situations are difficult to set up consistently.

So, how do you feel about dropping his cost by one and making him slightly more survivable? I'm not sure what would suit him best, but I'm definitely in favor of increasing his defense to five, possibly doing a little more.

I think he would be about right at 5 SS for Outcasts and 6 for everyone else. As far as increasing his durability (to keep him worth 6 SS), the step up in Df is a good start. After that I might give him something like Slow to Die and a special 1 action (only usuable as a Slow to Die action) that allows him one last throw (perhaps with a holdout Hatchet, like in the corny death scenes in a lot of the old spaghetti westerns).