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Tannhauser
The Army of the Union vs. the Reich's Obscura Korps in the Great War, circa 1949!
Moderator: ffgjafferFFGMarkGeckoInquisitor AresThe Spaniard Topics: 937 | Posts: 6360
Custom characters by ??!
by ??!
Published on 16 January 2012 - 13:35:42
Page 2 of 3 (31 messages) « First page... 1 2 3 ...Last page »
Reply #16 | Published on 23 January 2012 - 13:03:43

KORGONAGOSS: making mental value low can fit thematically, but one thing to keep in mind is interaction with Heizinger's Patmos Amulet and Hoss' Chronograph - like with Stosstruppen, making it low can create a major advantage of 2 activations per turn, moving very fast across the map...amplified stosstruppen effect, i'd imagine.

I'd keep his mental values as null to avoid this - the alternative is to make them high but that may not be better or thematic. If null, when he goes beserk, Helm of Diomedes and Hermetica Occulta and Mask of Samheim won't protect anyone.

i like how he can become uncontrollable, to offset his power :) and i think it would be fine to give him heizinger-type movement stats (the lowest, on average) with Celerity as an option in a pack or two.

A Dwarf & a High Elf walk into a bar. They start talking to the bartender about their lousy days at work. Next thing they know, 2 large men come over, pick up the Dwarf and throw him out. "What was that for?!" said the Elf. To which the bartender replied, "We don't serve miners here"

Reply #17 | Published on 24 January 2012 - 10:59:22

I agree with the comment about the problems and possible advantages of a low Mental Value. I gave the demon a rather high MeV on purpose to avoid interaction with the Patmos Amulet and to give him a good chance to attack someone wearing the Helm of Diomedes or Mask of Samhain. Furthermore, Asteros also has a high MeV and he's in a way comparable. I'll think about the consequences of giving him a 0 MeV. What I'll defintiely do is reducing his Movement Value to tone him down a bit.

Tanhks again for your comments. If you have any other suggestions, please keep them coming. I'll try to post improved versions of the characters during the weekend.

Dear FFG, please don't stop the Tannhäuser line completely! Maybe just step down the release of new product to two (maybe one) characters per year just to keep players interested. Maybe release mercenary characters that would be useful for every faction thus every player. Maybe release a pack containing all the existing bonus tokens but no miniature. Anything, please!

Reply #18 | Published on 25 January 2012 - 17:27:52

No probs. It's just fun to try and make them as balanced and original as possible :)

- Hey, what's up with Brother Glyr's eyes,why is his nose red?

- He's drunk.

- You're kidding, right?

- How else woulde you explain his movement speedarmor…

Reply #19 | Published on 27 January 2012 - 10:17:47

Balanced Tannhäuser characters? No way. That would clearly break the spirit of this game! However, here's an update on the characters. I just slowed the demon down so you basically have the choice between a very powerful melee attack (Combat pack), very powerful defense (Stamina pack) and a reasonable speed (Command pack). The Zombie master got a Combat pack that makes him stronger when there are Zombies on his path. Furthermore, the Zombies may stand in as targets of attacks targeting the Zombie master, weakening him of course if they get killed.

Leutnant Heinrich Schmidt

Faction: Reich
Skills: Archaeology, Command, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Reasoning

AV: 4/4/3/3
SV: 4/4/4/3
MeV: 6/5/5/4
MoV: 6/6/5/5

Special object:
Word of Resurrection: Ability, Occult. Whenever a character (except a mechanical being) dies, you may place a Corpse token on the circle where the character died. If you share a path with a Corpse token, you may spend your action to replace the Corpse token with a Zombie if less than two Zombies are in play. The Zombie may be activated later the turn if no Zombies were activated before.

Combat pack:
Walther P38 (disposable): Weapon, Pistol.
Word of Power: Ability, Occult. You receive +1 to each of your stats for every Zombie that shares a path with you.
Word of Obedience: Ability, Occult. If you are declared the target of an attack, you may choose a Zombie to be the target instead, if he is a legal target for the attack.

Stamina pack:
Walther P38 (disposable): Weapon, Pistol.
Attack order: Ability, Occult. You may spend your action to activate one Zombie or two Zombies anywhere on the board, even if these Zombies had already been activated this turn. If the Zombies were not activated before your action, they may be activated as normal later this turn.
Word of Obedience: Ability, Occult. If you are declared the target of an attack, you may choose a Zombie to be the target instead, if he is a legal target for the attack.


Command pack:
Walther P38 (disposable): Weapon, Pistol.
Attack order: Ability, Occult. You may spend your action to activate one Zombie or two Zombies anywhere on the board, even if these Zombies had already been activated this turn. If the Zombies were not activated before your action, they may be activated as normal later this turn.
Charge order: Ability, Occult. Discard this token at the start of any turn before any character has been activated. The Zombies are activated first even if you lost the initiative roll.

Korgonagoss

Special rules: Korgonagoss is an Epic hero, so he takes the place of one hero and one trooper in your team. Korgonagoss may not make ranged combat attacks. Korgonagoss may only be chosen for your team if Heizinger and the Patmos amulet are also chosen. If Heizinger dies or loses the Patmos amulet, Korgonagoss is out of control. If he is out of control, he always activates first, moves towards the closest character (whether friend or foe) and attacks him if possible. If two or more characters are equally close, you decide which character Korgonagoss attacks.

Faction: Reich
Skills: Athletics, Hand-to-Hand Combat

AV: 7/7/7/6/6
SV: 7/7/7/6/6
MeV: 6/6/5/5/4
MoV: 6/6/6/5/5

Special object:
Horrible Apparition: Ability. Once per turn, choose one enemy character on your path. That character has to make a Mental test. If he generates less than 3 successes, he is paralyzed with fear and may not activate this turn. This ability may only be used on your activation but does not use your action.

Combat pack:
Demon Claws: Weapon, Hand-to-Hand. Add one additional die to your attack rolls. When attacking with this weapon, all enemy characters adjacent to you become targets of the attack. Apply the same attack roll to every target.
Immunity to pain: Ability. Add one additional die to your shock rolls.
Blood thirst: Ability. Add one additional die to your attack rolls. Each Natural 10 you roll on any attack roll causes an automatic wound for each target instead of a normal success.

Stamina pack:
Demon Claws: See Combat pack
Immunity to pain: See Combat pack.
Impenetrable skin: Ability. You may reroll any one die from each of your shock rolls. Each Natural 10 you roll on a shock roll cancels two wounds.

Command pack:
Demon Claws: See Combat pack
Immunity to pain: See Combat pack.
Celerity: Ability. Add +2 to your current Movement value.

Dear FFG, please don't stop the Tannhäuser line completely! Maybe just step down the release of new product to two (maybe one) characters per year just to keep players interested. Maybe release mercenary characters that would be useful for every faction thus every player. Maybe release a pack containing all the existing bonus tokens but no miniature. Anything, please!

Reply #20 | Published on 30 January 2012 - 07:46:16

Once more, I had an idea for a character that I absolutely have to present here. I don't know if it's balanced, but it certainly is original - and it's not a Reich character this time!

Mortimer

Mortimer (a codename of course) is a Union secret agent who specializes in infiltrating the enemy’s military units or bases. Physically unassuming and of average built, he is adapt at blending in almost anywhere without gaining much attention. He has often infiltrated military facilities by acting as a civilian worker or even a collaborator giving the enemy vital information. His true claim to fame, though, is his unmatched ability to even play the role of an enemy soldier. He speaks fluent German, Russian and even Japanese. Masking himself properly and using either forged documents or those taken from fallen (or purposely killed) soldiers, Mortimer was able to join enemy units several times, posing as one of the countless soldiers fighting in the Great war. Part of his masquerade is his weapon of choice, an old trench gun that is untraceable because the model is in use in every army.
While posing as a member of the enemy’s army, Mortimer of course has almost unlimited access in their military facilities. Needless to say, he is absolutely capable to gain access to any area forbidden to him as well. He then uses his powerful position to sabotage the enemy’s equipment, relay crucial information to other Union agents or military units present, hinder or undo the enemy’s mission progress or whatever his current mission calls for. While he is used to do almost everything to protect his cover, he is also able to take decisive action should the need arise. If only obvious destruction of relevant equipment or even the elimination of key personnel will stop the enemy from achieving crucial successes, Mortimer will act without thinking twice, sacrificing his life rather than failing in his mission.

Faction: Union
Skills: Dexterity, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Mechanics, Sangfroid, Sneak, Strategy

AV: 5/5/4/4
SV: 5/5/4/4
MeV: 6/5/5/4
MoV: 7/7/6/5

Special object:
Undercover: Ability. You enter the board through the opposing team’s entry point. Enemy characters may not attack you or target you with any effects that specifically target enemy characters. Discard this token immediately after you perform an action that wounds or kills an enemy character.

Combat pack:
Trench gun (disposable): Weapon, Automatic. See Revised rules, page 83.
Eliminate threat: Ability. If you kill an enemy character while there are no other enemy characters on your path, you do not have to discard “Undercover”.
Armor sabotage: Ability. As long as you have “Undercover” equipped, all enemy characters on your path roll one die less when making shock rolls.

Stamina pack:
Trench gun (disposable): Weapon, Automatic. See Revised rules, page 83.
Weapon sabotage: Ability. As long as you have “Undercover” equipped, all enemy characters on your path roll one die less when making attack rolls.
Diverted Attention: Ability. Once per turn, as an action, choose an enemy character on your path. That character may not perform an action this turn.

Command pack:
Trench gun (disposable): Weapon, Automatic. See Revised rules, page 83.
Information leak: Ability. As long as you have “Undercover” equipped, the Union automatically has initiative.
Negate Progress: Ability. If you have “Undercover” equipped, you may spend your action and discard this token to remove all of your opponent’s tokens from any objective token adjacent to you. Discard “Undercover” after using this ability.

Dear FFG, please don't stop the Tannhäuser line completely! Maybe just step down the release of new product to two (maybe one) characters per year just to keep players interested. Maybe release mercenary characters that would be useful for every faction thus every player. Maybe release a pack containing all the existing bonus tokens but no miniature. Anything, please!

Reply #21 | Published on 10 February 2012 - 14:01:05

As I can see that some folks are actually looking into this topic (although no one is answering), here's another character I came up with. Enjoy!

Henri Chauvel is the youngest scion of a family that has lived in the area of Gevaudan for generations, a family of well known and respected farmers and shepherds. Henri himself is a well known man and respected for his skills as a shepherd, hunter and guide who seems to know places and paths in the area around Gevaudan that no one else does. On top of all that, Henri is the Beast of Gevaudan.
More to the point, he is one of the Beasts of Gevaudan. There have been several in the last centuries as the curse to transform into a wolf-like creature has run in his family for generations, the dark secret only being passed on from parents to children in whispers. Henri knows that he is the Beast, having transformed into a wolf (or kind of) several times since his youth and also having hunted and killed humans several times. You can’t say that he is really plagued with this curse, it’s more that he has arranged himself with it and even enjoys the thrill of the hunt. He sort of controls his transmutation as well as his action when he is the Beast, never transforming in public or anywhere where the appearance of the Beast could be linked to him. At least for the time being, he was also able to avoid attacking friends or relatives and even attacking in front of witnesses. As he knows that the bloodlust will overwhelm him if he avoids transforming and hunting for too long, he immediately jumped at the chances the war presented to him. As everyone knows about Henri’s immense knowledge of the area, he was approached by both sides of the conflict and even by the French Resistance and asked to serve as a guide and scout. Working for both sides, he sometimes deliberately guided soldiers into isolated areas to attack them. He even slaughtered every member of a resistance cell that hided in an isolated hunting lodge, knowing that in a war, casualties and disappearances are normal and often there is no time to investigate.

Henri Chauvel

Faction: Mercenary
Skills: Athletics, Dexterity, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Sneak, Weaponry

AV: 6/6/5/5
SV: 6/5/4/4
MeV: 5/4/4/3
MoV: 8/7/7/6

Special object:
Transmutation: Ability. Once per game, discard this token to replace all tokens in your inventory with the tokens of the equipment pack you did not choose during setup. You may not perform an action the turn you use this ability.

Combat pack (“Beast pack”):
Fangs and Claws: Weapon, Hand-to-Hand. Add two additional dice to your attack roll. You may use your actions only to attack and may not use weapons other than “Fangs and Claws”.
Incredible strength: Ability. Always use your best Stamina value when making Shock rolls.
Regeneration: Ability. When this token is placed in your inventory, dial your health indicator token to the top row. Once per game, discard this token to dial your health indicator token to the top row. You may not perform an action the turn you use this ability.

Stamina pack (“Human pack”):
Hunting rifle (disposable): Weapon, Automatic. If you do not move this turn, each Natural 10 you roll deals an automatic wound instead of a normal success.
Hunting knife (disposable): Weapon, Hand-to-Hand.
Bloodlust: Ability. At the end of your activation, put a Bloodlust token on your character sheet if you did not perform a melee attack. If there are three Bloodlust tokens on your character sheet at the beginning of your activation, you have to use “Transmutation”. This token may not be discarded or exchanged for a bonus token.

Dear FFG, please don't stop the Tannhäuser line completely! Maybe just step down the release of new product to two (maybe one) characters per year just to keep players interested. Maybe release mercenary characters that would be useful for every faction thus every player. Maybe release a pack containing all the existing bonus tokens but no miniature. Anything, please!

Reply #22 | Published on 14 February 2012 - 23:17:51

I really like your ideas!

I think that Mortimer's Undercover ability might be a little overpowered, however. Perhaps it is just a reflection of my own style of game play, but I think his ability to remain untouchable so long as he does not attack might make him a game breaker in a scenario with victory conditions that are based on objectives rather than combat. I would probaly implement the following changes for use in my own games:

-Make the Undercover ability work on a timer. Allow him only a limited number of turns (2 or 3) before he is discovered and has to discard the Undercover ability.

-When Armor Sabotage and Weapon Sabotage are used, transfer the tokens to a character on the same path as the Undercover Mortimer. The abilities will only affect the character with the token, but will do so for the rest of the game.

-When Mortimer uses Eliminate Threat he can steal the uniform of the eliminated charcter, resetting his Undercover timer back to its initial value (even if it had previously been discarded).

Please don't  take the suggestions as criticism. Like I said, they are really just more a reflection of my own play style. Thanks for sharing this wonderful character idea; and keep them coming!

Member of "The Doomed Patrol", Arkham Horror League

Reply #23 | Published on 15 February 2012 - 04:12:39

Bad Dog said:

Please don't  take the suggestions as criticism.

Not at all! I'm really happy if someone reads and actually comments on my character ideas. You are right, by the way, I never thought about the Undercover ability in Objective mode where Mortimer would be almost invulnerable. I like the idea of a countdown for this ability so that you have him undercover for 3 turns or so and have to get as much as possible out of these turns. The transfering of the sabotage tokens is also something I'll definitely use. Look out for an update on this character later this week, and thanks again for your input!

Dear FFG, please don't stop the Tannhäuser line completely! Maybe just step down the release of new product to two (maybe one) characters per year just to keep players interested. Maybe release mercenary characters that would be useful for every faction thus every player. Maybe release a pack containing all the existing bonus tokens but no miniature. Anything, please!

Reply #24 | Published on 19 February 2012 - 10:43:40

Here's the update on the Union secret agent I promised earlier. I included most of Bad Dog's suggestions so the character would play quite different now. His undercover ability counts down so you have to use his abilities fast or you loose them. Furthermore, the sabotage abilities don't work on his path anymore but specifically target an enemy character and the effect lasts for the rest of the game.

Mortimer

Faction: Union
Skills: Dexterity, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Mechanics, Sangfroid, Sneak, Strategy

AV: 5/5/4/4
SV: 5/5/4/4
MeV: 6/5/5/4
MoV: 7/7/6/5

Special object:
Undercover: Ability. During setup, place three unused equipment tokens on Mortimer’s character sheet. At the end of each turn, remove one token. If there are no equipment tokens on Mortimer’s character sheet at the beginning of any turn, discard “Undercover”. You also have to discard “Undercover” immediately after Mortimer performs an action that wounds or kills an enemy character.
You enter the board through the opposing team’s entry point. Enemy characters may not attack you or target you with any effects that specifically target enemy characters.

Combat pack:
Trench gun (disposable): Weapon, Automatic. See Revised rules, page 83.
Eliminate threat: Ability. If you kill an enemy character while there are no other enemy characters on your path, you do not have to discard “Undercover”.
Armor sabotage: Ability. As an action, place this token on the character sheet of an enemy character adjacent to you. For the rest of this game, that enemy character rolls one die less when making shock rolls. You may only use this ability if you have “Undercover” equipped.

Stamina pack:
Trench gun (disposable): Weapon, Automatic. See Revised rules, page 83.
Weapon sabotage: Ability. As an action, place this token on the character sheet of an enemy character adjacent to you. For the rest of this game, that enemy character rolls one die less when attack shock rolls. You may only use this ability if you have “Undercover” equipped.
Armor sabotage: Ability. As an action, place this token on the character sheet of an enemy character adjacent to you. For the rest of this game, that enemy character rolls one die less when making shock rolls. You may only use this ability if you have “Undercover” equipped.

Command pack:
Trench gun (disposable): Weapon, Automatic. See Revised rules, page 83.
Information leak: Ability. As long as you have “Undercover” equipped, the Union automatically has initiative.
Diverted Attention: Ability. Once per turn, as an action, choose an enemy character on your path. That character may not perform an action this turn.

Dear FFG, please don't stop the Tannhäuser line completely! Maybe just step down the release of new product to two (maybe one) characters per year just to keep players interested. Maybe release mercenary characters that would be useful for every faction thus every player. Maybe release a pack containing all the existing bonus tokens but no miniature. Anything, please!

Reply #25 | Published on 27 February 2012 - 10:49:52

Here we go again! Here's a character based on an idea I had some time ago and that has spent some time on my desk in one version or another. It's a mercenary again, not a powerful, flashy fighter this time but a support character who has several skills to accomplish missions and who gives every faction access to some important equipment tokens. And he's quite good at managing resources!

John Smith

Faction: Mercenary
Skills: Dexterity, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Mechanics, Strategy, Weaponry

AV: 5/4/4/3
SV: 5/4/4/3
MeV: 5/5/4/4
MoV: 7/6/6/5

Special object:
Superior Resource Management: Ability. Once per game, if you use a token from your inventory that has to be discarded or placed on the board, you may instead discard this token or place it on the board.

Combat pack:
Luger P-08 (disposable): Weapon, Pistol. When you attack with this weapon, your target may not counterattack.
F1 Fragmentation grenade (disposable): Grenade.
AN-M11 (disposable): Smoke Grenade. This token follows all of the rules for Smoke Grenades. However, instead of placing Smoke tokens, this weapon places Fire tokens. Each time a character enters a circle on the same path as a Fire token, he suffers three Automatic Successes.

Stamina pack:
Luger P-08 (disposable): See Combat pack.
M15 (disposable): Smoke Grenade.
First Aid Kit (disposable): Hardware. As an action, discard this token to dial up your health indicator token or an adjacent character’s health indicator token by up to two rows.

Command pack:
Luger P-08 (disposable): See Combat pack.
Last-ditch effort: Ability. If you did not attack during your activation, you may discard this token at the end of your activation to get another complete activation after all other characters have been activated.
Support specialist: Ability. Add +2 to your side’s initiative rolls. Additionally, you may discard this token at the beginning of any turn to automatically win the initiative roll.

Dear FFG, please don't stop the Tannhäuser line completely! Maybe just step down the release of new product to two (maybe one) characters per year just to keep players interested. Maybe release mercenary characters that would be useful for every faction thus every player. Maybe release a pack containing all the existing bonus tokens but no miniature. Anything, please!

Reply #26 | Published on 27 February 2012 - 21:53:44

About your zombie Master idea...

 

I am just throwing these ideas out there to try and throw in my own suggestions for making the character unique.

1) The zombie master should be a decent character on his own. Just slightly weaker then any normal hero.

2) He should start with 2 zombies. He should be able to make more.

3) The zombies should bolster EACH OTHER. NOT the master. The master rasies them and the more of them there are the better they get.

 

So... lets see how you can do that. First the zombies...

-Zombies should have no packs. They should have their own innate abilities. Perhaps his character card will include the zombies base line stats below his own.

-The zombies should have a 3 in combat, stamina, a null mental value, and a 4 movement value. Slow but can still get around.

-Zombies have a single health level (like viovodes).

-Zombies get a +1 to both combat and stamina for every other zombie in play.

-The maximum number of zombies should be 5 (capping their combat and stamina at 7).

-The zombie master can have 12 two sided zombie tokens. One side depicts the zombie itself. The other depicts a corpse. When a hero or trooper dies you place a corpse token on the circle where he died.

-The zombie masters unique item should be a Raise Dead spell. As an action flip any one corpse token on your path over making it into a zombie minion. The minions each act on your activation, but can only move OR attack (This makes them slow, but with enough of them it is more about cornering a person and then all attacking then it is about moving and attacking). They cannot check crates, carry equipment, or interact with any other type of circle.

-Zombies are considered weapons themselves and thus make melee attacks with 4 dice.

Combat pack - Zombie Lord. Start the game with 2 zombie Minions.

Weapon, Pistol

Undead Might. Zombies 1 extra die on attack rolls.

 

Command Pack - Zombie Master. Start the game with 3 zombie minions.

Weapon, Pistol

Undead Horde. Zombies have +1 to movement.

 

Stamina Pack - Zombie Lord. Start the game with 2 zombie minions.

Weapon, Pistol

Undead Toughness. Zombies receive 1 extra die on shock rolls.

 

This, I think, makes the zombies a unique mechanic that separates them entirely from viovodes or anything else in Tannhauser. They now act as the primary equipment of the hero who is fairly weak without them. He boosts them, first with his pack, and second by making more. They protect him by acting as a buffer between him and enemies. But even when maxed out on stats they still only have a single health level making them easy enough to kill off.

The reason for the move OR attack is a single activation getting a potential 6 attacks is too much, IF they can move towards a target and then just murder the shit out of him. But if they have to move OR attack, it means all the characters who are faster then them have to run from them or risk being surrounded. The more of them there are the harder it is to run, and especially the harder it is to bull rush through them (emulating some very nice zombie movie cliches). 1 zombie is easy to deal with. 5 zombies is a mad dash while shooting behind you.

However, corner a character in the middle of a room where the zombies can actually surround him and 6 attacks becomes the reward for pulling off such a crazy feat with such slow moving characters.

 

 

 

Those who fear the Dark should see what the the Light can do.  -Lightning Bolt, MTG-

Reply #27 | Published on 28 February 2012 - 14:10:31

Hi Lance, I really like your ideas concerning the Zombie master. Although I wanted the Zombies to be actual miniatures (mainly because I wanted to have cool Zombie figures lurking around on the board), I think your idea to represent the Zombies with the double-sided tokens is great: It's simple, elegant and certainly unique. And you can easily have a large group of Zombies to boot!

I'd really like to form a new Zombie master character including your ideas if I find the time. However, I'm still unsure of one thing: The Reich basically gets all these Zombies for free. Even if the number of Zombies is capped at 5, that could be 5 additional attacks! Even if you aren't able to max out the number, you can possibly count on having 1 or 2 extra attacks per turn. That's really powerful, maybe a bit too powerful!

Although I have to think again about this said point, your ideas are very cool, especially the one concerning the double-sided corpse/zombie tokens. Thanks a lot!

Dear FFG, please don't stop the Tannhäuser line completely! Maybe just step down the release of new product to two (maybe one) characters per year just to keep players interested. Maybe release mercenary characters that would be useful for every faction thus every player. Maybe release a pack containing all the existing bonus tokens but no miniature. Anything, please!

Reply #28 | Published on 29 February 2012 - 00:51:46

??! said:

 

Hi Lance, I really like your ideas concerning the Zombie master. Although I wanted the Zombies to be actual miniatures (mainly because I wanted to have cool Zombie figures lurking around on the board), I think your idea to represent the Zombies with the double-sided tokens is great: It's simple, elegant and certainly unique. And you can easily have a large group of Zombies to boot!

I'd really like to form a new Zombie master character including your ideas if I find the time. However, I'm still unsure of one thing: The Reich basically gets all these Zombies for free. Even if the number of Zombies is capped at 5, that could be 5 additional attacks! Even if you aren't able to max out the number, you can possibly count on having 1 or 2 extra attacks per turn. That's really powerful, maybe a bit too powerful!

Although I have to think again about this said point, your ideas are very cool, especially the one concerning the double-sided corpse/zombie tokens. Thanks a lot!

 

 

 

Thanks. I agree the number of attacks is powerful. That is why I tried to balance it by...

1) Making it so they have to attack OR move. The number of potential attacks being a huge benefit decreases significantly when the other guy basically has to let you stand next to them to have them attack (Or manage to get them to surround him).

2) Making that attack not so effective unless you have a lot of zombies.. which means either your side has to be dieing (and resurrected as zombies) or their side has to be dieing (and resurrected as zombies) or some combination of both.

3) The zombie master himself is pretty crappy without them. They are basically his gun and occupy several slots of his equipment. 1 to make them, 2 to start with some, 3 to adjust them based on pack. Otherwise he just gets a pistol and yea, that can be upgraded when people die/crates but it's all hes got until then.

4) They only have 1 hit. Grenades would be super effective agaisnt them and then the only way to get more would be to make more, which means you dieing or killing some enemies. While 5 is as good as they get I don't see someone actually getting 5 very often.

5) I can think of combinations where using abilities of other heroes (such as Itami) you could force enemies to move to the zombies to make use of their attack, but there are precious few places on ANY board where you can have 5 characters surrounding a single adjacent circle. You would need a pretty exact set of circumstances to ever make use of all the zombies attacking.

Coupled with their slow movement it's more the FEAR that you could have 5 extra attacks a round then the truth that you will likely never actually get 5 extra attacks a round that makes the zombies a threat. You can force retreats, block corridors, and control the field with the number of units without ever actually dishing out the damage they could be dishing out if the enemy lets them. But they have to LET them or you have to get damn lucky.

Finally, I was thinking the zombies would be able to make use of command points. Both to counter attack people who got into melee range of them to kill them and to get at least one of them to move and attack in a single activation. But this would be limited by your number of command points (of course) and potentially a waste of those command points. Certainly other characters have stronger attacks using more dice with better special abilities? Surely shrugging off some damage is better spent on characters with more then one health level that can just be resurrected from another corpse? But it becomes and interesting tactical choice and interesting choices is the very definition of good game play mechanics.

Those who fear the Dark should see what the the Light can do.  -Lightning Bolt, MTG-

Reply #29 | Published on 03 March 2012 - 10:50:38

Hi everybody! I didn't develop a new custom character myself this time, I merely put together Lance's great ideas concerning a Zombie master character. Both the Zombie master and his Zombies are completely different from those I suggested here, but I absolutely love them. As I said before, the game mechanic using Corpse/Zombie tokens is wonderful. Enjoy the character, and thanks again, Lance!

Lance’s Zombie master

Faction: Reich
Skills: Archaeology, Command, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Sangfroid, Strategy

AV: 5/4/4/3
SV: 5/5/4/3
MeV: 5/4/4/3
MoV: 6/6/5/4

Special object:
Raise the Dead: Ability, Occult. Whenever a character (except a mechanical being) dies, you may place a Corpse/Zombie token with the Corpse side up on the circle where the character died. If you share a path with a Corpse/Zombie token and there are less than five Zombies in play, you may spend your action to flip the token over so that the Zombie side is up.

Combat pack:
Walther P38 (disposable): Weapon, Pistol.
Zombie Lord: Ability, Occult. At any time during your first activation, place two Corpse/Zombie tokens on your path with the Zombie side up.
Zombie frenzy: Ability, Occult. Each Zombie rolls one extra die when making attack rolls.

Stamina pack:
Walther P38 (disposable): Weapon, Pistol.
Zombie Lord: Ability, Occult. At any time during your first activation, place two Corpse/Zombie tokens on your path with the Zombie side up.
Zombie toughness: Ability, Occult. Each Zombie receives one automatic success when making a shock roll.

Command pack:
Walther P38 (disposable): Weapon, Pistol.
Zombie Overlord: Ability, Occult. At any time during your first activation, place three Corpse/Zombie tokens on your path with the Zombie side up.
Zombie charge: Ability, Occult. Each Zombie receives +1 to his Movement value.

Zombie

AV: 3 + X
SV: 3 + X
MeV: --
MoV: 4

X = Number of other Zombies in play

Zombie special rules:
Each Zombie (that is, each Corpse/Zombie token that has the Zombie side up) may either move or attack immediately after the Zombie master’s activation. Zombies may not perform other actions then attacking. Zombies are always equipped with a Hand-to-Hand weapon. Zombies may use Command points like normal characters.

Dear FFG, please don't stop the Tannhäuser line completely! Maybe just step down the release of new product to two (maybe one) characters per year just to keep players interested. Maybe release mercenary characters that would be useful for every faction thus every player. Maybe release a pack containing all the existing bonus tokens but no miniature. Anything, please!

Reply #30 | Published on 17 April 2012 - 10:48:54

While I didn’t have any time to think about interesting TH characters for some time now, I retrieved this one that had been collecting dust on my desk. It is actually one of the first characters I ever thought of. I wanted to create kind of an occult version of the Hound Dog, an extra character for the Reich that is controlled by another character or token. I thought of a genie (“Djinn” in German) that is trapped in an oil lamp and bound to do the bidding of the person holding the lamp, just like the genie in the tale of Aladdin and his enchanted lamp (“Aladins Wunderlampe” in German). Hope you like it.

Reich bonus token:
“Aladins Wunderlampe”(disposable): Hardware, Occult. You control Djinn. Djinn enters play when you spend an action to place him in a circle adjacent to you. Djinn activates immediately after your activation. Djinn moves like a normal character, but may only perform an action if you did not perform an action in your activation.
This token may only be given to a Reich-affiliated Hero.

Djinn

Faction: Reich
Skills: Athletics, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Sneak

AV: 6/6/4
SV: 4/4/2
MeV: -/-/-
MoV: 8/8/4

Djinn special rules:
Djinn is neither hero nor trooper and does not count as one of your five characters. Djinn does not have regular equipment packs. Instead, he is equipped with two equipment tokens chosen from the following list. Djinn may not be given bonus tokens. Djinn may not be healed.

Celerity: Ability. Add +2 to your current Movement value.
Limited Visibility: Ability. Add +2 to your current Stamina value.
Ethereal Scimitar: Weapon, Hand-to-Hand.
Bodyguard: Ability. If Djinn’s controller is declared the target of an attack, you may choose Djinn to be the target instead, if he is a legal target for the attack.
Spectral blast: Ability. As an action, inflict four automatic attack successes to every character other than Djinn’s controller adjacent to Djinn. Remove Djinn from play.
Flight: Ability. Djinn may move through enemy characters without needing to Bull Rush. Enemy characters may move through Djinn without needing to Bull Rush. Djinn may neither Bull Rush nor be Bull Rushed.

Dear FFG, please don't stop the Tannhäuser line completely! Maybe just step down the release of new product to two (maybe one) characters per year just to keep players interested. Maybe release mercenary characters that would be useful for every faction thus every player. Maybe release a pack containing all the existing bonus tokens but no miniature. Anything, please!

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