Another spoiler post for the creepy doctors!
The people we’re prescribed with today are not so creepy though.
This will also reveal more about how the diagnosis condition is used, and introduce the first models with the other model type – the nurses that go alongside the physician models in the Anatomists Guild.
DISCLAIMER: This is a fan made project that is not affiliated with SFG or the GBCP.
First out today is a striker!
Quick and full of tricks, this woman brings a lot to the table.
Both ball retrieval and lots of Diagnosis shenanigans, including a really cool diagnosified version of Put Me Back In Coach from Champ in the Masons Guild combined with the VP trick from Horizon in the Navigators Guild. I think this ability looks really strong at first glance, but the short range and overall influence situation on her card makes it well balanced I think. Time and testing will tell!
Lets move on to the big guy, Apothecary!
I like this bloke. Calm and sturdy, keeping things civilized.
Having the trait Team Player on a big model with lots of HP is probably very strong. Will also be interesting to see what playtesting tells about using Smelling Salts in a team that focus so much on using conditions on themselves. Always nice to have as backup against Burning/Poison/Bleed though of course. The fact that he can do so much on low/no influence, and still have momentous KD on column one, makes him feel overall strong and a really interesting model.
Lore – Simple Triage
The lights of freshly lit streetlamps filtered through a grime-encrusted window, the odours of body fluids and strange tinctures hung in the stale air of the Emergency ward of the hospital. Triage stood in the centre of a symphony of coughs and groans, her eyes scanning the beds of those in varying levels of anguish. Most of them slept, rolling and twisting as their minds fought against the status of their afflicted bodies. One man was sat up, his eyes glazed over and staring the large nothing which sat before him.
Is he awake? The man was bulky, square about the shoulders. His black hair coiling around itself like a vine removed from a tree. His arms were bandaged, but not by her. He was vacant, completely unresponsive yet seemingly awake. Walking to the bed she read the small piece of paper that sat tied to the foot of the frame. She looked for any clues as to who visited this man last. No one signed off since the morning rounds. She resolved to come in early the next day to see if the perpetrator would return.
The sun set on the aged hospital as Triage entered the ward again, met with the intermittent silence of the sick. Three patients sat in bed, vacant eyes with drool forming puddles on the already stained sheets. She scanned the room, no one but the sick filled her eyes. A small anger boiled its way up through her chest, someone was to blame. She began to assess her patients one by one, taking temps, checking skin colours, eye dilation, heart rates, breathing; all tests were inconclusive. By all medical measures, they seemed fine, those who she had treated earlier in the day who writhed in pain under the smallest of pleasures were sat perfectly still in blissful ignorance. Whatever was in their system was benign at worst. In a lull between admitted patients she raced back to the ward. With all the new intake of patients poised for surgery she figured it would be bait enough for the practitioner to make themselves known. Taking to a small stool in the corner stored away by an older nurse, Triage sat poised to simply watch till her rounds began.
He was heralded by the sound of sloshing liquids in clinking glasses, heavy footfalls and laboured breathing. Triage leaned back in her stool, obscuring herself behind a curtain, content to just listen for the time being. She could hear him mumbling to himself, the sound of wood sliding against wood, the crinkling of paper, and what finally made her react, the statement of:
“Please trust me, this will help…”
She bolted to her feet and pulled aside the curtain, startling the patient on the other side. Her eyes were like daggers, her finger a spear stabbing at the man.
”You! What do you think you are doing here?”
“I… I am giving the patients medicine… Is that not what we do in a hospital?”
The man sat there, his face a vision of shock and fear as he faced Triage.
“I was only trying to help…”
”Save the excuses, DO you have any idea what you could have done? Do you know where we are right now?”
”This is an emergency ward, you fool! These patients are in critical condition, their bodies are not in a state to be experimented on!”
The man began to tear up, his hands clasping his mouth. Triage softened, her hand falling to the side. The man looked pitiful, he now leaned against a massive box dotted with drawers of various sizes, bottles filled with odd liquids, and herbs bundled and hung along the side.
“Who are you?”
“They call me Apothecary, I don’t mean to be harming your patients ma’am, I promise the meds only help the healing process.”
Design Interview
GlassWalker80 – We thought we’d try to format these interviews into the card release, to provide a bigger, better chunk of content. And as always, big thanks to @Advena for all of his help!
So, 1s, how about we start with Triage? I think her character and theme were there first, then the mechanics kind of filled in around it. Care to talk about some lore?
The Cult of 1s – Well, I wanted a payoff for the ball game that Cad wants to play. What better way than a model who is the understudy of Caduceus? That became Triage. From that though, the name “Triage” also needed a payoff and thus the idea that she could keep models from dying and make it less desirable for enemies to take out a model that they couldn’t outright kill in one turn or make a needed takeout less impactful.
With diagnosis play, I wanted her to easily put out diagnosis on the priority targets while not being good in melee in the slightest. She is a striker but requires setup.
Lore wise, as in the story, she works in an emergency ward and is used to jumping from injured patient to more injured patient, thus the idea of triage is intertwined with her desired playstyle.
GlassWalker80 – When looking at her KICK stat, folks will love the distance, but be a little wary of those 2 dice. This is where Cad comes in?
The Cult of 1s – A lot of people were worried about the rerolls to physicians from Cad, but this is why she has those rerolls. Triage is not your first model in; usually, that will be a nurse. She becomes the most effective when she has 2 models to bounce off of up the pitch. She benefits most off of an unresolved scrum. As long as someone is there to take diagnosis on your team, she can move 4” off of dodges alone. As long as Caduceus is there, she can steal the ball more effectively, then get a kick off with full rerolls. Any higher dice and that gets to be a bit too strong for a squaddie.
GW – If memory serves, mechanically, she went through a lot of changes before we landed on her V0.1. Off the cuff, do you remember what those were?
1s – Back in the day of transfusion tokens, she was a strong defensive midfielder who would use transfusion tokens to give defensive buffs along with Put Me Back In, Coach! Initially, she could make a model give 0 VP for a takeout and she was a much better striker.
That’s what I can remember. Once we swapped to diagnosis, the Put Me Back In, Coach! was locked behind a Legendary. But that did nothing for the game and if it was used, it didn’t have any impact.
GW – Yeah, sounds about right. Particularly with these first 6 players, I came in after the initial mechanics had been formed. So, favorite thing about this player is…?
1s – The play with Quack and her role in positioning the ball. She can move around the ball and be a ball threat. Being a striker, the amount of control her positioning can bring is extremely fun in playing her. There is an aspect of a great puzzle she provides to the guild, some complexity which makes for some interesting plays.
GW – So, I’m not gonna lie… I love the 2/8” KICK stat. As a Masons player, it feels like the KICK stat Lucky should have. In my first game, I misplayed Caduceus, and Triage had the ball. I had to work my way into a Bonus-Timed 3 dice shot on goal. It was fun.
Any specific feedback you’re looking for on Triage if anyone decides to get her on the table?
1s – I think the big thing is how she feels in the context of Caduceus. The people have seen Quack and Caduceus; with Triage having more Quack play I want to know how people would play her.
How about you? What do you like about this model? You got to play her a few times and had a key role in the implementation of diagnosis.
GW – So, her toolkit is so interesting to me. I almost think she doesn’t have to be a striker. Obviously, she can, but she’s very versatile in terms of what she can do. It’s easy to look at her and see attack, but I think she could be a great setup piece for other models to score with snap shots and the like.
So, I want to see how creative people get using her.
1s – Now for Apothecary, I feel it is best to discuss the dichotomy of what it means for a model to be a nurse or physician. Being that he is our first revealed nurse, what do you feel it is important to point out about his role on the field.
GW – Team Player. In the first game I played, my opponent didn’t realize what a problem he was until I started Resting/Encouraging and undoing all his work. I also didn’t realize how good he was. He’s going to be a linchpin piece for sure. How about you?
1s – In the team as it stands, he plays the role of an establishing model. Not only can he buff other models, but he plays a crucial role in the center of the pitch. As we have a very flimsy team, he keeps them standing and allows for a lot of risky plays while sponging up the damage. He is a really good back/midfield presence.
GW – I remember as a totally new player when I first learned the concept of a model that can do work for little to no influence is a good model. I think it was seeing Mataagi played in Hunters.
I learned to start looking for that in players. By his design, Apothecary does that. You can put nothing on him, and he can still have a very big impact on the game.
1s – He is a battery of sorts in that he can exist on 0 influence. However, he only generates 1 for the team. We changed that pretty close to the end of his design process. Want to shed some light on that decision?
GW – Yeah, I think as we got our plays in, we both realized how good he was. His traits make him very fun and dynamic to play, due to the decision on when to use them, without needing influence. (Looking at you Tower convo in GBCP general chat. XD )
At the same time, we had another model who we wanted to do more but couldn’t. So, we hit this guy with the nerf bat, and beefed the other model up. More on her next week.
He even had a dodge mechanic in there we dropped, and I think we’d both agree he’s still really good.
So, the same last question as always… What kind of specific feedback are we looking for? I know his KD on 1 came up at some point.
1s – Is he too reliable? I feel like that is the biggest thing. Within the context of the other 4 models revealed, how does he hold up? I feel like that’s the biggest thing I’m worried about.
GW – Valid concern, but I think he’ll be good. People are going to try and kill him. I think my question is his Hit Point value; is it too high?
I think that about wraps it up. Next week, we’ve got the final two members of Caduceus’ team – Syringe and Leech. Anything you want to say about them?
1s – They are veterans, forged in the fires of combat. Expect to finally see some teeth in the Guild. ;D
That sums it up for today! Really great stuff, already looking forward to seeing more of the Anatomists!
