Hey all,
Thisis going to feel like a stupid question for me, but I'm not kidding when I say this is keeping me up till late at night.
I want to create a lv1 Disciple Fey class that's supposed to represent an earth-born dwarf toting around an axe or two (or a large one). Easy enough, but due to my lack of knowledge of the game, I don't know what is 'appropriate' or 'average', resulting in me making something that's probably rather overcosted. The faction traits it gets are:
5pts T1 Earthen Powers: Reinforced Armor
0pts T1 Rare Earth Alloys (Exotic Metal Alloys - Resonance 1 8pts or Radiated 1 6pts, weapons only)
Furthermore, one can assume I'm probably going to take Forbidden Knowledge to access the dwarf stuff. The equipment will be taken care of by a 'smith' that takes element-born to access the human Manufacturing Branch to get access to weapon forges and craftsmanship.
Now for the options I'm heavily weighing against each other:
Option A:
1) Element-Born 1 10
2) Dwarf 4pts Def+2 & Dwarven Stature 2 5pts
3) Stone Hide 15 (+1N.A. & 1 wound)
total 34
> Results in 2 Strength, 5 Defense, 3 Toughness (+1 comes from Earth sphere), 1Nat.Arm., 2 Wounds
Option B:
1) Dwarf 4pts Def+1 & Dwarven Constitution (+2T) 6pts
2) Element-Born 10
3) Natures Strength 2 8pts
total 28
> Results in 4 Strength, 4 Defense, 4 Toughness, 1 Wound
In option A, the focus is on the defense, and I'm confident they'll have some good staying power. But I feel like they'll sorely lack on the offense, carrying either 2 simple axes, or a simple greataxe.
Option B, on the other hand, feels like they can put out some more hurt due to the innate Strength 4, but in that case I feel like I'm throwing away a lot of toughness from the class and that they'll die too easily for their cost (I'm looking to give them weapon upgrades as well, increasing the cost even more)
What do you think of this? How do these options compare to other lv1 classes, as well as other classes within the same point range?
I hope you're able to help me out with some general pointers, tips, or other traits that may fit in what I'm looking for.
Thanks in advance! I'm going to try and get this out of my head and get some sleep now, lol
Ward,
first off I would take a look at the other factions listed in the Core Rules and the faction packs if you have them. In general a level 1 Class has a wide range in points values. Around 40pts you should be thinking I should have a second wound.
Both of your options look solid and fully depend upon how you want them to function in the game. Do you want them to hold positions and be able to last in combat? Strike hard and fast? (might need mounts!).
This is off the top of my head....... and you can read more about combat in the Combat Academy on the free downloads page of the website. The Combat Academy was put together from playtester experiences who have been playing this game from conception (over 6 years ago now) and have tons of games and faction experience.
On equipping them......
Option A: Weapon and shield or dual weapons is the best choice here due to not really reaching a strength of 4 for a bonus. The two wounds though is solid for the point cost + you will be harder to hit with that high defense and two wounds.
Option B: A two handed weapon is a solid choice here because of the higher strength. Of course you could also go shield and weapon to get bonuses for defensive combat situations to help keep you alive. With Armor a toughness 5 is very solid. Heck you end up with Medium Armor and a toughness of 6 is very good.
It definitely feels like you are fine tuning your faction and how you want to equip them. Some of this is difficult until you get them on the tabletop to game, but I feel both are solid options.
Think that most models on the table at level 1 will cost anywhere from 12-30pts with standard skill sets, meaning characteristics of 3 across the board. While you might feel like your guys are expensive, Im thinking they both are a good place to start.
I always base off of humanoid factions. Figure that most opponents will have target numbers of 6, martial or ranged skills of 3. So a having a target number of 8 is solid, but if your opponent is able to get the advantage over you in the combat situation through outnumbering or high strength, etc.... that 8 will feel not quite so high.
There has been many a late game nights in-house that have had similar conversations. I know several of our playtesters prefer solid offensive combat bonuses and go high strength and how hard can I hit you. Others go defensive with shields and rely upon their martial skill being high enough to hit the opponent.
This is going to come down to your playstyle and how you want them to function.