Originally posted this in my model thread, but figured it would make sense to post it as it’s own thread as well to make it easier to find on the off chance anyone wants to make use of it.
Got to play a game about a week ago. We had two groups of Raiders trying to collect Mirelurk Eggs and ended up fielding most of the Mirelurks shown above (Did not use the Fog Crawler, Hermit Crab, and only about half of the hatchlings made it onto the table). Game was pretty one sided in our favor, but still a lot of fun.
Enemies came in two waves. About half the Mirelurks and Hunters, along with the eggs started on the table. Then when the first character got too close to the pond on the table, the Queen and the rest of the models burst up out of the ground for a second wave.
Even got to use the Red Death model with the following stats:
Movement: Yellow, Yellow
Str: 1
Per: 3
End: 1
Cha: 1
Int: 2
Agi: 3
Luc: 1
Physical Armor: 1
Energy Armor 1
Radiation Armor: X
Special Abilities:
Draw Fire: If an enemy model targets an allied Mirelurk within Green (Any card with “Mirelurk” in the name.) and is in LoS and in range of Red Death, then Red Death is targeted instead.
All abilities, skills, and equipment was the same as a traditional Mirelurk.
We treated him as a free model just for giggles, but I figure if we were being serious, he should have been priced somewhere between 2-4 points.
Sounds like a fun game. We need more scenarios with reinforcement and/or ambush mechanics.
I’d make the Red Death harmless, but hard to hit due to his size. This way he’d have a slightly better chance of staying in the fight and annoying the enemy.
Sounds like a blast! Maybe next time we could get some pics of the action? As far as the Red Death, thank you for posting your ideas for us to poach @Banquo Maybe a special rule that he always gets one level of cover from the glaring red light?
Adding the Red Death was a spur of the moment thing, so we really didn’t put a lot of thought into him.
With one point of Strength, he probably wasn’t going to hit anything anyway. Since the game, I’ve been thinking a lot about that, whether it should not have an attack at all, if it should only be able to attack models smaller than itself (And the game doesn’t currently have any models as small as the base I used for him.)
I have gone after the Red Death about 8-10 times while playing Fallout 4 now. The first time, I hit vats the second the ship came to a stop and unloaded on it even before I bothered to realize how small it was. The second time I saw it from a distance and still unloaded on it. Third time, I was brave enough to get close to it, to really look at it. After that, I just kill it really quickly to get the quest over with. Every time I’ve done the quest, the Red Death has been a one shot kill and I’ve always hit on the first shot. So I’m sort of torn on whether or not he should be made harder to hit/kill.
When we placed him on the table, we put him toward the back of the table away from our own units. The logic was that if he was with other mirelurks that he’d draw fire for a round while the others were able to rush us.
Thank you both for the ideas. I like the idea of some sort of “Red Glow” ability that gives a (+2?) cover bonus.
Poaching ideas? It’s always more fun to share ideas than it is to keep them to yourself.
I’ve thought about this again. Maybe the Red Death should have a unique skill that represents what he symbolizes in the game: the terror of the fisher and seafarer. Until they get close to him.
So how about giving the Red Death a skill that is similar to “unnerving”. Instead it works on every enemy on the table in LoS, unless they’re closer than one range ruler (that coloured eye-icon on the bottom left of the cards).
That could represent the terrifying effect of the red light. It only works if there is a LoS, which makes sense as it is light, but will also prevent the Mirelurk player to hide the Red Death. In order to utilize him, he needs the Red Death to be visible.
However once an enemy gets close enough to properly see the Red Death, the effect disappears. The range is determined by a models sight. The better the sight, the earlier they can see the Red Death for what it is.
Now, of course you can snipe him really early in most 3’x3’ games. Unless he gets some kind of protection. Maybe the red glare makes it really difficult to target him. Or his size. Or both. It depends on how strong you want him to be and how prevalent you want his effect on the game to be.
Glow in the Fog: An indistinct red glow makes this model difficult to target. Models targeting this model suffer a -2 penalty to long range attacks. Enemy models must have LoS to Red Death to be affected by this ability.
Unnerving: -2 to attacks on allied models (Too lazy to look it up right now, but I think that’s about right for the ability?) so long as this model is in LoS to the attacker.
Your description are on point. The regular unnerving skill only affects models in LoS and within presence, so there is a small difference. This could justify a different skill name, so players don’t get those mixed up. I’m awful with names though.
“Terror of the Isle/Far Harbor” is a bit long, but I think it is suiteable in the unique context of the Red Death.
“Unnerving Tales” implying a step-up from “Unnerving”, so players can instantly see that it is a similar skill, which functions in similar fashion.
