Post ideas for new army abilities

[boltana]

Another thought hit me today for a Gnoll army.

Hunters Instinct: You may spend one Command Action to empower one of your units with Hunters Instinct mark.  That unit gains +1 Courage while it has the mark.  If engaged enemy unit routs, gain (+2) 0/0 for the free attack.  Erase mark if this unit routs.

And a negative faction ability to empasis the pack mentality of the race.

Pack Mentality: This unit is -1 courage for all Fear checks.
 

[gull2112]

The only problem with a negative ability is nobody wants to play with the negative ability. If the fear checks are worse than courage should just be wors. I would be more likely to favor another cool ability. Or to balance off the negative ability you would need a really cool faction ability and tryingto balance that gets hard

[boltana]

I was thinking that the negative army ability would add flavor to a race that evolved from dogs (and think outside the box).  As with the Keyword Stupid it would in theory bring their overall costs down slightly.  I also wanted to make them only more likely to suffer from fear and not routing.

[Chad_YMG]

Ok, another idea

Out Of Phase - Unit can be out of phase with this plane of existence (for example Ghosts/Spirits).

Unit is given a marker, which allows it to discount the first hit against the unit, i.e need 2 or more hits to hit it. Once hit, the marker is lost.

A play on faith armour.

That's cool...sort of a negative impact hit.  Not quite as good as preventing damage, but still pretty good especially if it had a cookie.  Alternately, it could prevent the first hit and remain in effect until the unit took damage, in which case it might be just as good as faith armor.

[Chad_YMG]

Another thought hit me today for a Gnoll army.

Hunters Instinct: You may spend one Command Action to empower one of your units with Hunters Instinct mark.  That unit gains +1 Courage while it has the mark.  If engaged enemy unit routs, gain (+2) 0/0 for the free attack.  Erase mark if this unit routs.

And a negative faction ability to empasis the pack mentality of the race.

Pack Mentality: This unit is -1 courage for all Fear checks.

I actually like negative abilities (like Stupid).  As I think we discussed elsewhere, Hunter's Instinct isn't strong enough -- it's not much better than +1 Courage; contrast that with +3 for the Hawks.

I don't like -1 on fear checks mechanically, in part because it's a very small effect (which means it risks being forgotten) and because several armies have few or no Fearsome units.  Granted, MM makes that less of a concern, but basically we can't give much of a discount for the ability without creating a slight RPS effect.

[TheJustWiseSage]

Ok, another idea

Out Of Phase - Unit can be out of phase with this plane of existence (for example Ghosts/Spirits).

Unit is given a marker, which allows it to discount the first hit against the unit, i.e need 2 or more hits to hit it. Once hit, the marker is lost.

A play on faith armour.

That's cool...sort of a negative impact hit.  Not quite as good as preventing damage, but still pretty good especially if it had a cookie.  Alternately, it could prevent the first hit and remain in effect until the unit took damage, in which case it might be just as good as faith armor.

It was meant to be more the second way i.e. remain in effect until used, I just didn't express it quite right

Tim

[Chad_YMG]

Well, there are two ways it could be in effect until used.

One is that it lasts until it prevents a hit.  I was saying that it could last until the unit takes damage.

Example:  Attacker rolls 5 dice, needing 4s to hit and 2s for damage.  He rolls 3 hits and one is prevented.  On the damage roll he gets a 3 and a 5, so no damage.  Does the mark get erased? 

If no, then this is significantly worse than pain shield -- too weak to be an army ability but it could be a blessing (more powerful than the Umenzi Bless).  If yes, then it's probably still weaker than Pain Shield but not always and the cookie of sometimes working and remaining in play would be cool.

[TheJustWiseSage]

Well, there are two ways it could be in effect until used.

One is that it lasts until it prevents a hit.  I was saying that it could last until the unit takes damage.

Example:  Attacker rolls 5 dice, needing 4s to hit and 2s for damage.  He rolls 3 hits and one is prevented.  On the damage roll he gets a 3 and a 5, so no damage.  Does the mark get erased? 

If no, then this is significantly worse than pain shield -- too weak to be an army ability but it could be a blessing (more powerful than the Umenzi Bless).  If yes, then it's probably still weaker than Pain Shield but not always and the cookie of sometimes working and remaining in play would be cool.

Ok, I see where you're coming from. It's an improvement on what I originally thought of. Sounds better, now to knock up a ghostly army faction.

[boltana]

Another thought hit me today for a Gnoll army.

Hunters Instinct: You may spend one Command Action to empower one of your units with Hunters Instinct mark.  That unit gains +1 Courage while it has the mark.  If engaged enemy unit routs, gain (+2) 0/0 for the free attack.  Erase mark if this unit routs.

And a negative faction ability to empasis the pack mentality of the race.

Pack Mentality: This unit is -1 courage for all Fear checks.

I actually like negative abilities (like Stupid).  As I think we discussed elsewhere, Hunter's Instinct isn't strong enough -- it's not much better than +1 Courage; contrast that with +3 for the Hawks.

I don't like -1 on fear checks mechanically, in part because it's a very small effect (which means it risks being forgotten) and because several armies have few or no Fearsome units.  Granted, MM makes that less of a concern, but basically we can't give much of a discount for the ability without creating a slight RPS effect.

Been kicking this around and how about an inverse of the Ravenwood ability.

Primal Instinct: You may spend a Command Action to give one of your units Primal Instinct.  You may erase the mark to change one of that unit's opponent's Attack Dice to a '5'.  This counts as playing a Command Card.

and a new take on a negative ability.

Hunter's Instinct: This unit always considers routing units as its closest enemy.  If there are no routing enemy units determine closest enemy as normal.

[Chad_YMG]

Primal Instinct: You may spend a Command Action to give one of your units Primal Instinct.  You may erase the mark to change one of that unit's opponent's Attack Dice to a '5'.  This counts as playing a Command Card.

Flavor-wise I like it.  From a practical viewpoint this isn't much different than the Umenzi ability (it's slightly worse but will be identical most of the time).  That's not necessarily a deal breaker but it might be good to come up with a variant.  For example, you could give the unit a cookie (e.g. +1 courage) while marked and then you can erase it to Roll with the Blow one die -- or don't give a cookie but make it so you can either Roll or Follow Through for one die.

Hunter's Instinct: This unit always considers routing units as its closest enemy.  If there are no routing enemy units determine closest enemy as normal.

I like the flavor but am not sure about the mechanic.  I don't like the idea that a routing unit across the battlefield would draw the unit in, and overruling the nearest enemy rule gets tricky in terms of front arc, assigned objectives, etc.  How about, "If there is a routing enemy unit within 7" at the start of your M&C, change this unit's orders to Close with the nearest routing unit as an objective.  If there are no routing units within 7" repeat process using enemy units in the Red.  While this unit has an enemy unit as an objective it gains Stupid."

This way it only looks at guys it can reasonably see/hear but it's also attracted to units in the Red.  Once it's locked on to a unit it will be harder to control, although not impossible.

[boltana]

Primal Instinct: You may spend a Command Action to give one of your units Primal Instinct.  You may erase the mark to change one of that unit's opponent's Attack Dice to a '5'.  This counts as playing a Command Card.

Flavor-wise I like it.  From a practical viewpoint this isn't much different than the Umenzi ability (it's slightly worse but will be identical most of the time).  That's not necessarily a deal breaker but it might be good to come up with a variant.  For example, you could give the unit a cookie (e.g. +1 courage) while marked and then you can erase it to Roll with the Blow one die -- or don't give a cookie but make it so you can either Roll or Follow Through for one die.

I completely forgot about the Umenzi faction ability.  Its one of the factions I have not played with or against so I tend to focus more on thier spells.  Another thought I had was to play with the rout check.  Erase the mark to change one Rout Check die to a '1'.  Its close to the MM Spoils of War and bravery but with a slight twist.  Not sure its unique enough to stand out though. 

Hunter's Instinct: This unit always considers routing units as its closest enemy.  If there are no routing enemy units determine closest enemy as normal.

I like the flavor but am not sure about the mechanic.  I don't like the idea that a routing unit across the battlefield would draw the unit in, and overruling the nearest enemy rule gets tricky in terms of front arc, assigned objectives, etc.  How about, "If there is a routing enemy unit within 7" at the start of your M&C, change this unit's orders to Close with the nearest routing unit as an objective.  If there are no routing units within 7" repeat process using enemy units in the Red.  While this unit has an enemy unit as an objective it gains Stupid."

This way it only looks at guys it can reasonably see/hear but it's also attracted to units in the Red.  Once it's locked on to a unit it will be harder to control, although not impossible.

I see what you mean.  I think the range limit is a given, but that might also tie in LOS to routing unit.  I'm curious how unwieldy units with this would be once the lines meet?  One thing about the addition of units in the Red though that worries me is the HE MM ability.  A unit of bowriders in the red could possible run circles around a unit under this abilty and keep shooting them to peices. 
I also like the "while this unit has an enemy unit as an objective it gains Stupid", which I think almost fit as a seperate negative ability to mimic how stubborn (tunnel vision) some units get when the set their sites on an enemy.

[Quelmotz]

Barbarian abilities:

I don't really know which to pick since I have so many choices.

Berserk
You may spend one command action to empower a unit with "berserk". The unit gets (+1) +0/+1, -1/-0 and C+1. Change its standing orders to close without any modifiers. It may not have its orders changed or be directly controlled until it loses "berserk". A unit loses berserk if it fails to do a single damage in battle or routs.

Vengeful
A vengeful unit loses no dice or courage when it the yellow or red but gains C+1 when it is in the yellow and C+2 when it is in the red.

Persistence
A unit with "persistence" never routs but suffers a loss of one defensive skill if it fails a rout check. If there is no more defensive skill left, the unit suffers one point of damage. (however if you do not want a unit's defensive skill to drop you can choose to make it suffer a point of damage instead)


P.S. Does the umenzi ability prevent a hit (that is to say if the attacker has 5 attack skill - 1 def skill = 4 and below is a hit) or a point of damage (that is to say if the attacker has at least 1 dice hitting and 5 power - 1 def skill = 4 and below to damage)? I think the description says it prevents a hit, right? If the ability only prevents a hit instead of negating one damage, this seems worse than the high elves' "precision" ability that automatically does a point of damage. (Its funny when the high elves' use precision and the umenzi use faith armor)

[RushAss]

Berserk
You may spend one command action to imbue a unit with "berserk" Put a marker/check the checkbox/whatever on the unit. The unit gets (+1)+0/+1 and -1/-0 (and maybe courage+1?).

This is like a Rune of Uruz on acid.  If you include the courage upgrade, the points cost for this ability could put it through the roof.  Still doable and a flavorful faction ability, though. 

Vengeful
If a unit with "vengeful" gets engaged with a unit that caused it to rout earlier on, it gets (+0) +1/+0, +0/+1 and Courage+1.

This may be difficult to track in large battles.

Persistence
A unit with "persistence" never routs but suffers a loss of one defensive skill if it fails a rout check. If there is no more defensive skill left, the unit suffers one point of damage. (however if you do not want a unit's defensive skill to drop you can choose to make it suffer a point of damage instead)

This is my favorite of the bunch.  It's a very useful ability and also quite unique.  Not to mention that it fits the flavor of the Barbarian army.

Last stand
If a unit with "last stand" is in the red, it suffers no penalties but it gets a bonus of courage +1 instead. (note: this does not apply if a unit is in the yellow though)

What do you mean by no penalties?  Do you mean they use their full attack dice?  Do they make courage checks at their green level in addition to the +1?

P.S. Does the umenzi ability prevent a hit (that is to say if the attacker has 5 attack skill - 1 def skill = 4 and below is a hit) or a point of damage (that is to say if the attacker has at least 1 dice hitting and 5 power - 1 def skill = 4 and below to damage)? I think the description says it prevents a hit, right? If the ability only prevents a hit instead of negating one damage, this seems worse than the high elves' "precision" ability that automatically does a point of damage. (Its funny when the high elves' use precision and the umenzi use faith armor)

It prevents the damage as I understand it.  And as I understand it, precision still requires you to roll for damage.  Think of it as an impact hit.

[Quelmotz]

Berserk
You may spend one command action to imbue a unit with "berserk" Put a marker/check the checkbox/whatever on the unit. The unit gets (+1)+0/+1 and -1/-0 (and maybe courage+1?).

This is like a Rune of Uruz on acid.  If you include the courage upgrade, the points cost for this ability could put it through the roof.  Still doable and a flavorful faction ability, though. 

Yeah that's why I couldn't decide whether to put in C+1 and make it last for only 1 turn/attack or no courage bonuses and lasts until the unit routs/fails to do a single damage during combat/something like that.

Vengeful
If a unit with "vengeful" gets engaged with a unit that caused it to rout earlier on, it gets (+0) +1/+0, +0/+1 and Courage+1.

This may be difficult to track in large battles. True but the player could make a mark on the unit or maybe the unit that caused it to rout is automatically put as an objective for a vengeful unit.

Persistence
A unit with "persistence" never routs but suffers a loss of one defensive skill if it fails a rout check. If there is no more defensive skill left, the unit suffers one point of damage. (however if you do not want a unit's defensive skill to drop you can choose to make it suffer a point of damage instead)

This is my favorite of the bunch.  It's a very useful ability and also quite unique.  Not to mention that it fits the flavor of the Barbarian army. Yes. I quite like this too. Actually it is supposed to be something like a bad tempered/stubborn person that never flinches from their ideals (aka zealot-speaking of that I should add my zealot into the barbarian army)

Last stand
If a unit with "last stand" is in the red, it suffers no penalties but it gets a bonus of courage +1 instead. (note: this does not apply if a unit is in the yellow though)

What do you mean by no penalties?  Do you mean they use their full attack dice?  Do they make courage checks at their green level in addition to the +1?
If a unit is in the lost all of it green/yellow/red health it will still make a courage check but if it is in the red, it does not lose 2 attack die and 2 courage, but instead gets 1 courage (this courage bonus only lasts if the unit is in the red).

P.S. Does the umenzi ability prevent a hit (that is to say if the attacker has 5 attack skill - 1 def skill = 4 and below is a hit) or a point of damage (that is to say if the attacker has at least 1 dice hitting and 5 power - 1 def skill = 4 and below to damage)? I think the description says it prevents a hit, right? If the ability only prevents a hit instead of negating one damage, this seems worse than the high elves' "precision" ability that automatically does a point of damage. (Its funny when the high elves' use precision and the umenzi use faith armor)

It prevents the damage as I understand it.  And as I understand it, precision still requires you to roll for damage.  Think of it as an impact hit.
Strange. I thought faction abilities were supposed to be more or less equal in power? In this case the high elven ability would be weaker. Still, they have some other abilities like maneuver mastery and sprint.

Comments are in bold.

[RushAss]

High Elven maneuver mastery is actually the ability that makes the High Elves work.  Precision is secondary to them. 

I don't think all the faction abilities are equal in strength, but the factions with the "weaker" faction abilities (see: Ravenwood Elves) have units that are a tad bit stronger on their own for the points.