Stats for a couple of Heroes. I’ll put up a scenario for them tomorrow. However, before we get to their stats, you need the proper rules for Heroics.
Heroics
Heroes do heroic things, but even heroes have limits. To keep our Heroes suitably dramatic (but not overpowered), each one has a number of points to spend on Heroics. Each point of Heroics can be spent on a number of different options that varies depending on the individual hero. Use the Heroics counters to keep track of the amount left to each Hero. This limit is for a single battle, and will be renewed at the start of the next game.
Heroics are used in three ways:
1) To avoid damage. Whenever a hero is “killed” by an attack from any source, they automatically spend a point of Heroics to ignore the damage completely. This happens immediately. If the hero has no points left to spend then they are killed. If you can think of any suitably heroic last words that would help them rest easy.
2) To get more done in their Turn. In addition to taking a Turn in the same way as a Soldier, a Hero can spend up to one point of Heroics to either:
- Move one extra square.
- Shoot an enemy model.
- Fight an enemy model that is in the same square.
This is in addition to any movement, shooting or fighting already done by the Hero in their Turn. This may be used at either the start of their Turn or at the end, but not in the middle.
3) Use a Heroic ability. If the Hero has an Heroic ability then they may trigger it at the cost of a point of Heroics. See the list of Heroic abilities for individual effects. When this point is spent depends on the ability. Each time a model uses one of these abilities it costs that model a point of Heroics.
Protect And Serve
First up, Eva. Greenville’s 5-0 in person.
Her stats are:
- Shoot: 3+
- Fight: 4+
- Survive: 5+
- Range: 3
- Heroics: 4
- Notes: Authority
Heroic Ability: Authority
The model is in control!
A model with this ability may take the first Turn in a Round for their side, regardless of which side would normally start. This model must be the first to act in this first Turn. Other than that, the Turn is completed as normal.
If both players want to use this ability then the model belonging to the side that would normally go first in a Round gets the first Turn. Both models would pay a point of Heroics in this situation.
Teenage Angst
Then we have Eva’s favourite perp, the wayward teenager Troy. Yeah, whatever.
His stats are:
- Shoot: 4+
- Fight: 6+
- Survive: 5+
- Range: 6
- Heroics: 3
- Notes: Too Many Late Nights
Heroic Ability: Too Many Late Nights
The model has spent thousands of hours playing online games as a deadly assassin, and understands the cunning involved in the perfect hit.
A model with this ability gets a free move of one square if it fails to kills its target with a shooting attack. The “duck back” move must be taken immediately or it will be lost.
Quirkworthy 
Very nice, Jake. Now with Authority, does that act in isolation when operating in an opponent’s turn? For example it’s your turn, I use Authority and move/shoot Eva but then play a card, is that allowed?
Authority allows you to take the first Turn in a Round, not interrupt an enemy Turn. It’s important to understand the distinction between Round and Turns.
As it says, if you use Authority and take the first Turn then…
“This model must be the first to act in this first Turn. Other than that, the Turn is completed as normal.”
So yes, you could then play a card or move another model.
Ah, I understand now. I thought it simply allowed you to move Eva in an enemy turn rather than steal the initiative. Very nice indeed. Now for One Too Many Nights, can you enter a fight with the free move or is it simply a “retreat” move. Meaning you cannot engage in a fight? Do the bonuses for charging still apply as well?
It’s just a move with no strings attached, so all normal rules apply.
Really like it. I’m a massive fan of any kind of “Action Point” system to let heroes be kickass and do cool things to make them stand out from the no-name fodder!
Thanks. Love the name, by the way.
Hmm, Interesting You just have to be sure to make the abilities powerful enough that you can weigh giving up an extra life. or you end up with my biggest pet peeve of the faith powers from the 40k rpgs by Fantasy Flight Games.
In those, for the faith powers, you spend a fate point (normally, without faith, a re-roll or a bit of instant healing) to do an extremely minor effect or you can burn a permanent point of fate (normally an extra life/get out of death situation free) for a powerful effect(this attack confirms critical automatically! or something similar). but that powerful effect still doesn’t stack up against that extra life.
So I guess for mars attacks it’s gotta be important enough to spend compared to not being dead.
It’s not really a comparison you can easily make. To start with, you spend points for avoiding death automatically. The rest of them are choice. So, at best, you are balancing spending a point against having the possibility of being able to avoid death (which may never happen). More of a risk weighing exercise, and one that you can modify dramatically by your behaviour.
Also, the benefits of the heroic abilities tend to be situational. For example, with Authority mentioned here, if you already have the first Turn in a Round then it does nothing at all. On the other hand, sometimes it wins battles. Troy’s ability is very different with more of a supporting function, but is still a game-winner on occasion. Mostly though it is useful in a few situations. The opportunity for player skill lies in spotting and exploiting these situations.
Like points systems in general, this sort of thing is not possible to balance for every situation. What’s intended is that it offers players a resource to manage and a series of interesting choices to make. Is the hero going to be heroic and take the risk or not?
I noticed that Eva is modelled with both a shotgun and a pistol (holstered). Will she have stats for both? Equipment is of course another way hero’s stand out as we’ve already seen from the sculpts. Can’t wait to see more about the Martian hero’s too.
I started out with both weapons having different stats for Eva, but it simply wasn’t necessary and I removed it for streamlining. If this was Deadzone, then absolutely. Here, especially as they both have similar range, it seemed superfluous. You could give the shotgun a knockdown effect or suchlike, though when would you use it? Generally you’re either trying to kill the Martians or run away from them.
I think MA will be less WYSIWYG. Especially since her range is 3 squares which roughly the range of the average shotgun.
Yes. MA is slightly more abstracted in the vein of most comics, etc. The only details that matter are the ones that bump the plot along.
I see. That’s awesome, WYSIWYG can be a real hindrance at times especially when you get creative with modelling. How goes your progress on the overall rules? You tend to be really quiet and then you drop us a little bait to keep us going.
The core rules are almost finished (fourth iteration, I think). I’ve got notes for some of the extras, but I’m waiting to see what the Kickstarter unlocks.
I’m certainly not a WYSIWYG lawyer and I like the pace that the rules are setting, it seems right for the theme. As for the knockdown effect, I guess the only time you would go for it is if the spread allowed for you to get several enemies down at once. I must admit I can’t see that happening too often considering the amount of figures on the board.
I would love to see the first, second and third rules iterations by the way, it would be interesting to see the design progression.
I would like to have time to go through some of the changes and evolutions in more depth. However, given the pace we’re moving at the moment I think that might have to wait a little.
hi,
i don’t understand the difference between ‘move an extra quare’ costing one heroic and ‘Too Many Late Nights’ which costs so much and which … the same?
Aha! I was waiting for someone to ask. They are, in effect, exactly the same. The critical difference is that Troy can do it twice a Turn and everyone else can only do it once.
if I understand:
– Unlimited : avoid damage
– 1 Once per turn, move or fight or pull
– 1 Once per turn or unlimited : special power ?
Yes.
This is looking like a lot of fun. The type of play that I am most looking forward to is a multi-player hero force versus an AI deck driven Martian force, hopefully with a large NPC death count running in the background.
Will that sort of game require multiple mats or very large forces of Martians (I am currently aiming for a one-of-everything approach to the Kickstarter, rather than multiple giant robots or saucers or whatever, so this is an important point for me)?
There’s always a large death count in the background when the Martians turn up!
You will be able to play the AI game on single mats. One of everything will be enough to get a whole series of fun games in that style 😉
A neutron walks into a bar and orders a drink and asks the
bartender how much. If I can make one person smile and feel good I did my job.
How this girl could keep this cutter spunk in her backpack.