Delgon Playtest Rules - updated 04/01/10

[Carcharoth]

Having released the first few Delgon models, I thought it was about time I share some of their stats with you! These are still in development, so let me know if you have any thoughts or questions, and certainly let me know if you have a game. I'll set one of the masters of the upcoming Devanu Jenta aside as a little prize for the person who writes the best game report, or gives the most useful feedback  

Whilst similar to the Empire Fubarnii in many ways, the Delgon have a very different command structure. There are no captains for the soldiers, instead the Priests directly command the troops using Authority. This generally makes for a far less flexible structure than an equivalent sized Empire force, but a single priest can activate a large number of models, and when commanding the Delgon it becomes vital to work out when exactly to activate the priest as you are likely to only get one 'big activation' per turn.
Another option is to rely on the highly effective Striders. Cardre allows them to activate as an independent group, without relying on Priests. With 6 stamina they can sustain a powerful attack, but the Fuel makes the timing of their charges particularly important. We use little six sided dice to track their stamina as the normal stones have the potential to get a bit messy with so much stamina floating around!
Roban is an absolute beast in combat - capable of single handedly facing a couple of Devanu Sempa, and very hard to take out. He's a bit earlier in the playtesting process than the rest of the Delgon, but I thought you might like to see what he is going to be like...

If you would like to try out the Delgon then I would suggest swapping them in as one of the forces in 'Cornered'.
The following forces should be reasonably balanced, but I'm still in the process of refining the balance:
  Priest + 4 bodyguards, 4 Striders, 10 Soldiers
  Priest + 4 bodyguards, 2 Striders, 20 Soldiers
  Roban, 3 striders
Alternatively, you could try 4 or 5 Striders as the aggressors in 'The Wandering Engineer' or as the defenders:
  Priest + 2 bodyguards, 8 soldiers, with 2 or 3 striders coming to the rescue.

Update 1: Acolytes can be swapped into the above and simply replace one of the Soldiers. While they may not look to be particularly useful, the large command range means that they are ideal for bringing troops back into formation, or simply allowing some of the soldiers to maintain a looser structure.
Update 2: I've now added rules for Derakeers. The basic Ranged Combats are being discussed here.
For planning forces I would use the following rough points scheme. These are however still in need of a lot of playtesting!
Roban: 200pts
Priest plus 4 bodyguards: 100pts
Strider: 50pts
Acolyte: 10pts
Bodyguard: 20pts
Soldier: 10pts
Derakeer: 20pts

Roban - Elite

Move: 10
Combat: 5
Support: 0
Tough: 3+
Stamina: 6
Size: Large

Commander: This model may activate up to four friendly Elites.
Command Range: 12”
Mighty Blow: Use before combat. Cast one less Combat Stone in combat, but any successful Eracs require 2 Oran to be blocked.
Strong: Any blows that are landed must be saved with a -1 modifier.
Very Tough*: Reroll a failed Tough save.
Unstoppable: This model moves at full rate even if forced to move cautiously, and may move through small enemy models.
Overdrive*: Prior to combat, this model may expend stamina, gaining one extra Combat Stone for each stamina expended.

Priests - Elite

Move: 6
Combat: 1
Support: 1
Tough: 6+
Stamina: 0
Size: Small

Authority: This model may activate up to four friendly Troops or Civilians. Any Troops activated by this model may immediately activate up to 4 friendly Troops.
Command Range: 6”

Striders - Elite

Move: 8
Combat: 3
Support: 1
Tough: 4+
Stamina: 6
Size: Medium

Cadre: Activate up to one friendly model with the Cadre ability.
Command Range: 6”
Sprint*: After Moving, move an additional 4”.
Assassinate*: During this model’s activation, fight a combat against an Adjacent enemy model. Neither side can benefit from support.
Fuel: This model does not recover stamina during the End Phase, and may never use more than three stamina during one turn.
Combat Trained: Recast up to two failed Combat Stones.
Overdrive*: Prior to combat, this model may expend stamina, gaining one extra Combat Stone for each stamina expended.

Bodyguards - Troop

Move: 6
Combat: 3
Support: 2
Tough: 5+
Stamina: 0
Size: Small

Command Range: 3”
Initiative: If this model has not already activated and an adjacent friendly Elite or Civilian is activated this model may be activated for free.
Bodyguard: If an adjacent friendly Elite or Civilian model is about to take a Tough save, this model can make the save in his place. If it is failed then this model is removed as a casualty.
Defender: If an Adjacent friendly model is Engaged during the Activation Phase then this model may immediately move to Engage the enemy model, but must maintain contact with the friendly model at all times during the movement.

Soldiers - Troop

Move: 6
Combat: 2
Support: 1
Tough: 5+
Stamina: 0
Size: Small

Command Range: 0.5”

Update:
Acolyte - Troop

Move: 6
Combat: 1
Support: 1
Tough: 6+
Stamina: 0
Size: Small

Command Range: 6”

Delgon Derakeer - Troop

Move: 6
Combat: 1
Support: 0
Tough: 5+
Stamina: 0
Size: Small

Command Range: 0.5”
Light Derak [RC]: Move up to 3” then make a 3CS blast range attack. Cast an additional stone for any models that are caught Full Blast. The Derak is Cumbersome.

[Geckilian]

A Devanu Jenta prize eh? Looks like I'll have to step up my Strider playtesting.

[Scalifano]

Soldiers - Troop

Move: 6
Combat: 2
Support: 1
Tough: 5+
Stamina: 0
Size: Small

Command Range: 0.5”
 

So..., do we have a WIP pic for the soldiers? 

[Carcharoth]

So..., do we have a WIP pic for the soldiers? 

Did I show these already? They had a few changes made before being sent off to the casters, and I should be getting the masters back along with the Devanu, and a few other Delgon bits and pieces. The Delgon soldiers will be very uniform troops (hence the armature), but these aren't the only 'troops' that are currently getting cast.

[Scalifano]

So..., do we have a WIP pic for the soldiers? 

Did I show these already?

DOH!!! You did show them back in the Bodyguard post.  I didn't notice that the spears were different, I thought those were bodygaurd WIP pics.

[Jubal]

Any points values yet? Also, when are we likely to see some rules for the staff-slingers?

[dequant]

Hi, I'm new here & starting to play Twilight. Well, I want to give some sugestions for the Delgan.
First of all, I've read the fluff of the "old site" to make an idea of the background.

Roban is a Belog, right? After reading he Twilight character page, I supose hat Jamor is renamed Roban.

There's a character called Malog & it says "Malog was a mighty warrior, second only to Jamor. During a conflict with a Devanu hunting party he was injured terribly, as well as extensive scarring he was forced to have both legs amputated. Fubarnii engineers worked very hard and eventually managed to produce a set of mechanical legs for Malog. This steam powered contraption allowed Malog to once again enter battle. He was so impressed with their creation that he ordered that all his personal guard should gain such a benefit. The 'Striders', as they are now referred to, had the suitable amputative surgery so that they could be fitted with smaller versions of Malog's legs, allowing them to keep up with the larger Belog. The concept of Striders has since spread, and they are seen in many Delgon forces."

Ok, here's what I sugest:
A belog character called MALOG with Strider legs. its stats coulb be the same as Roban with a special weapon like a Gushrak(A sort of hand held flamethrower. The bearer has a large tank of chemicals on his back, these feed through into an underarm sack, thus by squeezing the sack the flammable chemical is forced out through a nozzle, where they react. or a modified Derak)

Of course, MALOG can command a force of Striders.

Also I sugest to change the striders movement from 8 to 10 (malog, as a belog moves 10)

also I sugest priests mounted on Garuk (A small bipedal mount employed by some members of the Delgon priesthood.)
Have a nice Weekend!

[Carcharoth]

Hi Dequant! Welcome to the FoD, and well done for finding Twilight (and well done for finding the old website!).

Roban is indeed a Belog (although the Delgon would never use the name Belog - that is the Empire name for the Enarii), but he is not Jamor. Jamor is the leader of Delgon military forces, and is a mighty warrior. Roban is also a military leader, and a great warrior, but is more focussed on hunting Devanu than mobilising the Delgon warmachine!
As for Malog - Geckilian has also been encouraging me to sculpt him for the last few months... I've not quite figured what he would look like yet, or what he would be equipped with, but some vicious inventions could suit him...

I am certainly looking forward to sculpting some more Enarii, and either Jamor or Malog would be fun, but it's a big project!

I gave the Striders a slower basic speed, but with Sprint they do have the ability to keep up with the Belog. A basic speed of 10 would possibly make them rather too fast, and they would have to lose Sprint, which would be a shame...

Garuk mounts? Maybe, but that doesn't quite fit with the more steampunk stylings of the Striders etc, so I'm not certain.

[Ben Brownlie]

Garuk mounts? Maybe, but that doesn't quite fit with the more steampunk stylings of the Striders

Priest on steam harley?

Easy Strider

[Carcharoth]

Priest on steam harley?

Easy Strider

 

[dequant]

I thought that.

I think it's possible one  special unit of striders(4 - 6) model with no sprint commanded by Malog.

Priests are more on a relgious terms than tech terms; they can approve the use of technology but they (the priests) don't use them. garuks could fit them.

One word about Delgon Priests: thy can be classified by ranks: Lesser priests, Grand priests & High Priest (well, only one) each rank with abilities.

Delgon Engineers: Same stats as the normal ones, but much more "wilder": for example: They can use Steam powered armour (Enarii armour?). These guys can face a Devanu alone. Of course these amours can be experimental ones & have some "mechanicals failures"

the stats (inspired on Roban) could be like
Steam Armoured Delgons- Elite

Move: 10(?)
Combat: 5
Support: 1
Tough: 3+
Stamina: 6
Size: Large

Cadre: Activate up to one friendly model with the Cadre ability.
Command Range: 6”
Mighty Blow: Use before combat. Cast one less Combat Stone in combat, but any successful Eracs require 2 Oran to be blocked.
Strong: Any blows that are landed must be saved with a -1 modifier.
Very Tough*: Reroll a failed Tough save.
Unstoppable: This model moves at full rate even if forced to move cautiously, and may move through small enemy models.
Assassinate*: During this model’s activation, fight a combat against an Adjacent enemy model. Neither side can benefit from support.
Fuel: This model does not recover stamina during the End Phase, and may never use more than three stamina during one turn.
Overdrive*: Prior to combat, this model may expend stamina, gaining one extra Combat Stone for each stamina expended.
 NOTE: only one unit of 3 can be fielded

Well, now I'm thinking, why not high ranked priests with steam armour? I t hink I've named the armour as Enarii armour in that case, change the cadre entry to:

Authority: This model may activate up to four friendly Troops or Civilians. Any Troops activated by this model may immediately activate up to 4 friendly Troops.

Any ways, it's just a suggestion.

About the old site, i've found ith thanks to a reply that you posted in this forum

[Jubal]

I'd make a Delgon engineer unit less maniacal than an Imperial one; the Delgon are much more into regularisation and industry, whereas the Empire engineers will all be creating their own indiivdual creations.

[Carcharoth]

If I were to create a mini-tank/large walker for the Delgon I expect it would be quite heavily inspired by the Garthim from the Dark Crystal - large beetly things with heavily armoured carapaces. I've not got very far with the idea, but it could be fun some day. Don't expect them to look too much like Warmachine 'jacks, but something rather more functional.
As for stats... I would probably make them more different to Roban. They should be big, slow and powerful, but far less agile and probably less flexible. Maybe drop Mighty Blow, and reduce the speed down to 6, or even less. Support should be reduced to 0, can't imagine them helping others out!
One question I would ask is what the purpose of such a device would be? Strikes me as flawed for hunting Devanu (I would expect the Devanu to jump onto its back and cause plenty of trouble), but could be very effective against the Empire's troops.

[Jubal]

I'd say the purpose of it would be for sieges - something capable of making nice big holes in Imperial towers.

That said, I don't think a tank or large walker is a good idea for the Delgon, thinking logically. Their nation is entirely built around mountains, and since the tanks of the 21st and certainly 20th centuries have tremendous difficulty in that sort of terrain I doubt the Delgon's steam-based systems would manage much better.

[Carcharoth]

That's a good point, and we shall see if that sort of invention does trundle its way onto the battlefield... I do like the idea of a couple of larger machines lumbering among their smaller dark-armoured brethren, but that would be a long way off!
Nothing to stop somebody playing with the idea themselves though 

[dequant]

I think that we could consider the engineers as a branch of the Delgon Priesthood - since the Belog are considered as gods by the Delgon, that justifys Malog implants.

About the steamarmour that I proposed in an older reply, I think it would be better that a the priest "favored by the Enarii" could take that kind of armor, taking into account that Delgon priests commands delgon units,

An option: let's limit this type of armour to 1 only and can be taken by the Delgon force commander (a Grand Priest).

If we follow Jubal's logic of ,  Striders aren't a good idea either: their nation is entirely built around mountains.

Carcharoth's idea about the Garthim from the Dark Crystal - large beetly things with heavily armoured carapaces - is a great idea: the Delgon equivalent of a Baruk. These beasts can take Belderaks-Large artillery weapon.

Have a nice Sunday!

[dequant]

I was just thinking about Delgon steammachines.  No tracked, only walker types. (4 legged perhaps? )

well. it's just an idea, this could be generic stats.

Generic Delgon Steammachines - Elite

Move:
medium +2
Large +4
The basic move for Delgon is 6


Stamina: 6
Size: Medium or Large

Sprint*: After Moving, move an additional 4”. ONLY MEDIUM
Unstoppable: This model moves at full rate even if forced to move cautiously, and may move through small enemy models. ONLY LARGE
Fuel: This model does not recover stamina during the End Phase, and may never use more than three stamina during one turn.
Overdrive*: Prior to combat, this model may expend stamina, gaining one extra Combat Stone for each stamina expended.

NOTES:
- I did not put all the stats because, for example, Combat is variable.

- Only Medium steammachines can have Sprint but not Unstoppable.

- Only Large steammachines can have Unstoppable but not Sprint

[Carcharoth]

I'm liking the ideas so far. I've got plenty more ideas about the Delgon and the priesthood that I haven't revealed yet, but a few more steam powered devices would not be completely out of place. The Delgon won't generally be dominated by them as they would be very expensive to build and difficult to maintain. The Striders are an unusual exception and are a huge drain on resources for a limited number of troops, but when a god asks you to create something then it is ill-advised to refuse!

For a large steammachine I would actually imagine them being more slow and ponderous than the striders, probably with a speed of no more than 6 (no sprint). If you get chance to try some of your ideas out then do let me know how it goes!

[Jubal]

Striders would work in mountains, anyhow, what with having legs rather than tracks. A walker carrying a tank-type thingy rather than what's basically just a Fubarnii with a spear, though, would be much more practically difficult - the hydraulic or steam power needed to move the legs would be utterly vast.

My wish list for the Delgon would firstly be to see another one or two Belog, and then maybe a few more relatively regular troop types. A heavy infantryman temple guard would be nice, and I'm sure those mountains must harbour a few interesting beasties the Delgon might use...

[Rick]

Steam-powered sledges rather than walkers!  Kinda like big snow-mobiles! Or pulled by beasties. I'm thinking something like the White Witch's sledge crossed with early steam powered vehicles and a tread! 

[dequant]

Or pulled by beasties. I'm thinking something like the White Witch's sledge crossed with early steam powered vehicles and a tread! 

These beasties can be 8 legged spiders.   Suits well in mountains.

Yeah, I'm thinking about Shelob the Giant Spider from the Lord of the rings.  Not Aragog ,from the Harry Potter books.

[dequant]

Hi!

Once again I found myself thinking in a human way, not he Twilight way!

We here all talking about BIG machines, steampunk style, but we don't talk in Steam-Twilight terms!

Fist of all, let's see the Striders miniatures. What can we see? Take a while to make a good look.

http://www.worldoftwilight.com/GallStriderMontage.html

Well what I SEE is a SMALL STEAM ENGINE!  

Ok, ok!  

In a steampunk theme, steam machines ARE CRUDE, BULKY & BIG.
Now we're talking about Twilight.

These are some of my ideas.
Delgon Steame Enginres are small, but powerfull.
I've watched a movie on DVD called STEAMBOY (I recommend it). One thing that called my attention is something called "Steam Globe", a small container with concentrated steam (vapour), so powerful that with one of these "steam Globes" can generate enough energy for years. All in a ball size!

Now here's what I thought.
Let's assume that the Belgor reached the Delgon how to craft complex machinery & how to power it.

The fuel must be some sort of coal or a sort of energetic cristal. Im the boiler, it's possible a sort of oil or a pure form of water.

Boiler & combustion chamber must be small in size. But also it must be made in such manner that refueling must not be a problem.

Now here's is what I call an interesting point: metal.
In older post, I've seen discissions about metal alloys & such. Well in the "old" twilight Hstory it says the following:
" With the advent of small-scale agriculture, most of the Fubarnii became more sedentary. They built villages on the plains, gathering together maybe five or six families of ten to twenty individuals. Staple food could be grown, orchards cultivated, and fixed workshops led to an increase in technology and the invention of metalworking. "

Metalworking. this could mean that the Fubarnii creates a sort of Steel or strange metal alloy to use to make strong machines.

OFF TOPIC
By the way,I want to make an OFF-TOPIC statement:I figured why theres no Fubarnii with swords: Fubarnii are small & weak compared to the Devanu. A Fubarnii armed with a sword has no chance against Devanu. So thats why Fubarnii uses missile type weapons & spears.Am I correct?

have a nice weekend!

[Carcharoth]

Lots of interesting thoughts there. I wouldn't cling too much to the idea that the Belog brought a lot of technology with them - the engineers of the empire have created lots of impressive little mechanical engines. For a while now Automatons have been quite fashionable and in much demand from some of the more wealthy members of the Empire. The deraks were invented by an engineer in the Empire who considered them to be a bit of a flawed design as his prototype was rather difficult to make, bulky and not actually that effective against the fast Devanu. The thing the Belog have encouraged within the Delgon is a focus on the military application of such devices, and the invention of the production line. The Empire employs skilled craftsmen to construct the armour and weapons for its soldiers while the Delgon have factories that churn out large numbers of relatively low quality armour and weapons.

The invention of the mechanical legs may have come from the Delgon, or may just as easily have been created on a whim by an engineer of the Empire and the idea 'borrowed' by one of the few engineers who live in the lands of the Delgon.

As for the lack of swords. You are correct - a sword is a weapon of finess, but against something large and powerful like a Devanu I would prefer a weapon with as much range as possible (preferably a sniper rifle). Historically there have been some conflicts between neighbouring clans of Fubarnii, but armament has primarilly been there for defence against the Devanu. Swords are not unheard of though, and some day I'll do some hoofknights armed with swords.

I'm not sure if there are giant insect-like creatures on Anyaral yet. It is possibly that there might be some species of giant garkrid, but I haven't come up with a design I like yet!

@Jubal: the plan for the Delgon would be a couple more troop types, then I'll maybe brave another Belog. Either Malog (mechanical legged Belog), or Jamor (the General, but the technical aspects of sculpting his armour scare me!) would probably be the most suitable choices, but I'm not sure yet as there are other of the Enarii that I would like to try!

[dequant]

@Jubal: the plan for the Delgon would be a couple more troop types, then I'll maybe brave another Belog. Either Malog (mechanical legged Belog), or Jamor (the General, but the technical aspects of sculpting his armour scare me!) would probably be the most suitable choices, but I'm not sure yet as there are other of the Enarii that I would like to try!

How about Aaral or Alaim for the other Fubarnii clans?
I think that Malog is a good choice. Could be  35-40 mm high

Just one thing more: Arachnids (spiders) are not Insects.

[Carcharoth]

How about Aaral or Alaim for the other Fubarnii clans?

Some day... Alaim will probably wait for me to eventually expand upon the Ferals, but that won't happen for a while!

I think that Malog is a good choice. Could be  35-40 mm high

35-40mm? Seems unlikely. Roban is over 40mm tall and I expect Malog will be a bit bigger once he has his legs attached. However not all Belog are as big as Roban, so I'm not entirely sure.
But yikes, he will be a monster...

Just one thing more: Arachnids (spiders) are not Insects.

Hence the phrase 'insect like'