Friday, 24 July 2020

GRIMLITE Weapons and Factions

GRIMLITE was written to be generic enough to be used with a wide range of sci-fi miniatures. But as I tinker with kitbashing miniatures into free-form monstrosities I noticed they were slipping into three distinct factions, albeit with some blurry lines between.

Basically:
  • Humans
  • Mutants
  • Robots
The tyranny of the blank page has ruined many creative endeavours, so I've slipped the free-form Warband creation of GRIMLITE into the background to focus on these three factions (well, four, but that's one for another day).

So forget generic. Let's bake a little setting into this without going down the dark path of timelines, maps and prose.

Militants

The last remnants of humanity as it was. They range from grim survivalists clinging to an old way of life to active crusaders seeking to dominate what remains of the land.

Splicers
Some believe that humanity cannot survive in its current state, tinkering with the essence of their being. Some draw on the stock of long dead aliens, others directly manipulating their genetics in search of perfection.

Cyborgs
Living flesh has so many flaws that mechanical augmentation is the only logical future for humanity.

As with the RPG stuff I write I want them to be flavourful enough to inspire, but open enough to allow multiple interpretations. There's no rigorous codex here, just some templates to use as inspiration for warband creation and kitbashing miniatures for.

A forgotten moon of a broken planet. Only the doomed and the lost remain, fighting over the dust.

Another change since the last post is the addition of Weapon Mods. I always wanted weapons to be ultra simple, and modifiers were just an extension of that. You paid some points to get more shots or damage. Easy, right? 

Actually, no. It allowed more weapon variation but it was all very cold and clinical. It didn't capture what makes more interesting weapons actually fun to use at the table.

So now weapon mods generally give you a very specific effect, or a general effect with a specific drawback. Even if a mod generally makes a weapon better it also makes it more specialised, so you're going to have to think carefully to get the best use out of it.

Simple ones like this:
Impact (x2 Damage if you have not Moved this Turn)

To slightly trickier ones to capitalise on:
Blaze (x2 Attacks, Max 1 Damage per Target)

This works nicely with factions, where I can use the weapon mods to give each a more unique set of tools at their disposal.

Are they balanced? No. I want to make sure they're fun to use first, then I can balance afterwards, but even then this is never going to be a tournament style wargame. Simplicity and drama are the twin priorities, so if I have a choice between keeping something fun or axing it for the case of balance I'd probably go with the former.

So let's see some Warbands in their disgusting, warped, mechanical flesh.


DECLARED INTENT - MILITANT SQUAD


Pastor Vox - Judge (Grim 3+) [free+4pts]
Carrying the authority to declare judgement on the enemies of humanity.
Cruel Fist (T1x3, x2 Damage vs Downed targets)
Thundergun (S1x5)
Tactic - Capture: Target a Downed enemy one of your units is touching. They are seized and treated as Dead. 

Skol - Champion (4+) [5pts]
A favoured follower granted the blessing of their leader and best equipment.
Relic Blade (T2x1, Roll twice for Shock and choose the result)
Charm: Ignore negative Shock effects.

Urlas - Hunter (Elusive 5+) [3pts]
Self-made vigilantes tracking down the enemies of humanity.
Rifle (L1x3)

2x Rat Heads - Vermin (5+) [6pts]
Subhuman scum that can at least die for the cause.
Flail (T2x1, If a 6 is rolled x2 Damage)


THE RED COVEN - SPLICER CULT


Red Slayer - Alpha (Tough 3+) [free+3pts]
Ruling through strength alone.
Jaws (1x3)
Impaler (S2x6, One use only)
Tactic - Brutality: Your Leader makes a Move, Fire or Fight action.

Gasper - Offspring (Fierce 4+) [5pts]
The product of a successful splicing.
Hardened Blades (T3x1)

Neutron - Engineer (Precise 4+) [6pts]
Holders of the science of splicing and access to experimental weaponry.
Grav Warper (L1x5. Instead of Shock, Move the target d6”)

Lucida - Seer (4+) [4pts]
Those given mildly telepathic powers by their splicing.
Shotgun (S2x1)
Sensor: You and all Allies within 3” ignore penalties for Firing at targets in Cover. 



THE RUSTED ORDER - CYBORG RETINUE


Argastes - Sage (3+) [Free+3pts]
Spiritual leaders and repositories of knowledge.
Corrosion Pistol (S1x5)
Shock-Pick (T1x3)
Assistant: Once per battle ignore one Wound.
Tactic - Arise: All of your units attempt a Free Recover. 

Brother Calcum - Besieger (4+) [5pts]
A splinter faction of cybernetic knights that serve the technological cause.
Electro Blade (T1x5)
Shield: Reroll a single Resist die once per Turn.

Brother Auris - Besieger (4+) [5pts]
Corrosion Pistol (1x5)
Shield: Reroll a single Resist die once per Turn.

2x Rust Scavengers - Acolytes (5+) [5pts]
Mostly untouched humans seeking to earn their first cybernetic augmentations.
Jackguns (S1x3)
1 Sword (T2x1)

As always you can see the constantly evolving game doc here.

3 comments:

  1. Have you considered negative mods?

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    Replies
    1. Some mods have a negative side effect but they're all at least positive overall for the time being. Could be an idea to explore to give one faction some cheap but crappy weapons.

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  2. When I first read "Impact (x2 Damage if you have not Moved this Turn)" I first interpreted it as the unit being hit takes x2 damage if it hasn't moved.

    I don't think that's what you meant, but it seems like a tactically interesting effect. Could incentivize movement and dynamism in the fight.

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