The World Of Twilight

Jules has been complaining at me since Salute for not including rules for the 'aardvark' in the rulebook, so I thought I had better do something to stop her whining...

These are a very first draft and have yet to be playtested, so any willing volunteers who would like to try them out are more than welcome!

(http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh269/Xrgut/Twilight%20Cards/KalGush.jpg)

I'm messing around with more complicated rules for fire, and this version will probably be superseded some way down the line, but it'll let you use him on the table for the moment! I would like to add rules for 'stench' but I haven't managed yet. Maybe something simple like all models within 2" cast one less stone in combat, or all successful stones cast in combat must be rerolled.

What do you guys think?

And yes, I realise it probably should be one die rather than one dice...

Sulk, you meany  >:(

Looking good!
Also the plural of dice can be dice I actually never say die so either way is fine :)
He might be slightly over-costed at 30 considering that he will have to wait a couple of rounds to build up those prime markers to do serious damage and at the same time could explode. 15/25 might be better.
A Faburnii night is 25 with 3CS 10" move 4+save and combat discipline. so thats considerably better then a 30 point ranged model that might explode. 15 might be a good price to encourage people to take a risky unit

Mike I have no feedback regarding the kalgush....he looks good though :)

As you have put this guy up in card format I just wondered if you ever finished the cards for everyone you started on last year?

A 1/6 chance of exploding (minimum) is fairly high... can the Gushrak be primed & fired in the same turn?

I agree that the cost is too high, and he's probably a tad too likely to explode - after posting I was trying to think how to reduce that neatly.

He can prime and fire in one turn, so a standard attack would be like a derak, but without full blast.

Another thought would be that primed could happen automatically at the end of each turn, rather than being a stamina ability. Once the gushrak has been set running it constantly builds pressure unless it is released by firing the gushrak or venting pressure. Venting would release a cloud of noxious gas. Explosions could perhaps occur if a double is rolled on the primed dice at the end of the turn, thus you can keep one primed token safely and the second carries a 1/6 risk of blowing up.
A safe 4CS basic attack every second turn would be much more effective and perhaps justify the higher cost. Venting might prove a useful defence as well, if I can come up with suitable rules for stench.

Does that help? I hope you don't mind me sharing rules at this very early stage in development, but I'd rather not leave you with no rules for him forthe next few months while I finalise them!

I spent yesterday evening working on all the cards and have a fairly complete set now. I can send out the 7mb word file to anybody who would like (pm me), but I haven't yet got them in a format to send to get printed.

I'd like a set of the cards please Mike, it'd save me flipping back and forth in 2 books.

As for the Kalgush, the KalDerak costs 20 for a reliable 3/4 cs template each turn. I'd not cost a single target explodable KalGush as more than 15 - sure you could get a 4 cs shot every 2 turns, but a Derakeer could be shooting swathes of Empire down in that time.

That sounds interesting! He can fill a defensive niche while still running forward. It might be worth running a few of these as kamikazi bombs. especially against models that still have alot of stamina.

so the rules would read:
Gushrak: This model can move a maximum of three inches and still fire this weapon. It attacks with a 2CS blast range attack. This model may remove Prime tokens to add 1CS to its attack.

Prime: At the end of each turn this model gains one prime token.
                                
Vent: This model discards all prime counters on it. Every model within 1" of the Kalgush must make a toughness save. Vent can only be used if this model has at least two Prime counters on it.
                                  
Unstable: When this model has two or more prime tokens on it it becomes UNSTABLE. At the end of each turn roll a D6 for every prime token on this model, In the event of the double this model explodes with a radius of 3". Every model within the radius (including the Kalgush) must take a toughness save.

Is that the sort of effect you wanted for unstable? or have I misread your post :/ anyway hope my input helps :) I find that being able to control the build up of pressure via vent might make him worth his points

I think he meant roll a d6 for every token, with doubles killing, so if you had four tokens you'd roll four dice and if 2 or more were the same the explosion occurs.

Ah i understand, I will edit my above post to reflect

Close to what I was thinking.
Vent would be too powerful as it stands - the KalGush would be an amazingly effective Devanu killer!

When designing a new unit for Twilight there are a number of things to consider. The most important is the feel of the model within the game. The Gushrak should be somewhat experimental and rare, but it also wants to be relatively powerful. I often have a good feel for how valuable a unit should be, then tweak the rules around that. The KalGush feels like a model that should be at least 30 points. Not too much more, or it would be too central to a force, but certainly more than the relatively common Derak. With that in mind, I think Chris had a good point that the first version didn't warrant the points cost. It needs to be capable of a devastating attack, but it can't be a game winner every time. Another very important factor is keeping things reasonably simple...

I had a bit of a rethink and came up with the following. I definitely need to playtest to see how easy it is to balance the power of the weapon against the potential of explosion. I like the image of the KalGush waddling across the battlefield, venting clouds of noxious gas as they go...

Gushrak has 6 stamina but starts the game with 0.
Unstable [T]. At the end of the turn (after gaining stamina), roll one dice for each point of stamina on the model. If any 6s are rolled then pressure has gone critical. The KalGush may choose to Vent immediately, but must then roll again for all stamina on the model. If any sixes are rolled then the weapon explodes and all models in 1" must make a tough save (possibly this should be 2"?).
Vent* [A]. Place a 2" cloud over the model. Models lose 1 combat and support while in cloud. Cloud effects are removed in the end phase on a 4+.
Gasmask [T]. Immune to cloud effects.
Gushrak [R]. Move up to 3". Make 2CS blast attack. May use one or more of following:
- More Power*. Cast one more CS for all attacks.
- Wide Spray*. Place an additional blast template when selecting targets. Each target is only hit once.
Persistent [T]. Do not remove when disabled, the model continues to gain stamina but cannot vent and may still explode.

I imagine poison gas would be great against the beasts of the wild :P though maybe I should have put *this model may not move and vent*

Does this mean you do not remove the model after it has been destroyed but instead it just gains stamina and thus likely to explode? I imagine that has to do with the gun being active even after the delgon is killed?

Ok, I have to say, I do like those new rules. It's still fairly risky, but the ability to vent immediately does lessen the chance of simply going critical far too early. Having the tough save be on 2" means you'll get more than just your own 0.5" command range Delgon (though admittedly also more of your poor Delgon, which is funnier) and it matches the vent template.

If that 2" makes it in to the rules, count this as a vote for a wooden laser cut template for that too please!

I've been trying to think of a way to make vent more deadly (but not an insta-kill), so that's not been dismissed yet! The Devanu would need some opportunity to dodge out of the way of the blast... Move or vent could be an option.

There will almost certainly be more wooden templates at some point as I really like them!

Second for the blast templates :D anything with accessories I adore :3
perhaps vent could leave cloud effects across the table with anything entering it taking an attack of 2 erac? vs their CS? Im not to sure really it depends on what sort of function you want them to fulfill with the delgon.
It'd be awesome for them to get a commander/captain that would be an awesome model!
Im really into how you replaced prime markers with stamina. that is total stream-lining at its best. great edit there.

So to clarify that;

Say I have three stamina, I roll two threes and a six. I can then either explode, or gain a re-roll of ALL dice by venting?

I'm also still a lil' concerned that 2CS base is kinda low, that means that to get to the stage where you have a better attack than the derak you're looking at a 1/3 chance (2 stamina) of rolling one of those deadly sixes. This is shaping up to be a beautifully characterful weapon though, I'm loving the feel of the rules. :)

If you have three stamina and roll as you've said then the system has gone critical. You can either risk it and roll all three dice again (with a 6 meaning you explode), or you can firstly vent to reduce the number of stamina. You could vent one, two or three times, but if you leave any stamina on the model then there is a chance of exploding.
Ill have a think how best to word that more clearly!

That does mean you can build up pressure for a big attack, but if things go critical then you are left with the tricky decision whether to vent or risk explosion.

I think I'll also make the minor modification that stamina is not recovered by models in a gas cloud.

Yes! now that makes it interesting! Because you could really stick it to some devanu >: D I like that idea and it helps bringing up its value towards 30pts

So if I went critical on 3 dice, I could vent thrice and be safe, vent twice and roll one dice, once and roll two, if any are 6 I explode. Yep?

Do you have any ideas for how a Fubarnii engineers' one might be different? I should probably make a revised version in the Cracking Contraptions article as it slowly works its way towards general useability...

I haven't had chance to try this little guy yet, but I really should do!

I'm not sure how an Empire engineer's contraption would be different. I doubt it would actually be designed to kill - rather designed to stun or disable. The less volatile chemicals might make the whole thing less unstable. Maybe add a pressure valve so he only has a maximum of 3 stamina. If he lands a blow then the model is stunned rather than killed (Models lose 1 combat and support, cannot regain stamina - effect expires on a 4+ during the end phase). The attack counts as a cloud effect.