Saturday 25 May 2013

New Araby update out now!

Pretty important update here. I've re-included Imams and Dibbukim as options for the Warriors, albeit in a slightly weaker form. More important however is the change in their army-wide special rule, which is completely new. Rather than just have a one-turn bonus to the army, I wanted to give them something that would reflect upon the real Saracens' religious focus and fearlessness in battle as well as their speed. As such, all models with Zealotry roll 3D6 for Psychology tests and Break tests (still not as good as Cold-Blooded!), and also re-roll 1's when charging. Of course, this means that there have been points increases almost across the board.

Among other rules changes, I've given the Desert Riders a pretty big boost. They now do not lose their Swiftstride rule when using Fire and Flee, and they also do not suffer movement penalties for moving and shooting, giving players a bigger incentive to use them in larger numbers like the Saracen armies did.

Unfortunately Issuu has some issues (pun not intended) with uploading again, so for now, please use the Scribd version instead.

Edit: Issuu version is now up, Scribd version has been patched with the correct strength for Janissaries.

5 comments:

  1. I think the Holy War special rule was much much fun. I mean it's such a pleasure to see the face of your opponent when you say to him : "I declare the Holy War ! Everybody charge anyone who's at range !!!" And it was very well balanced (not so nasty).
    The new zealotry is less original because the Empire and the lizards already have a similar rule... Moreover, they are still human guys and I hardly imagine them with such a strong leadership and bravery, even if they are all crazy and fanatics... I would gladly trade the Imams (which are just weak priests) for the old army rule ^^

    That's just my humble opinion, I'll continue to play Araby anyway xD. Gratitude for the work

    -Tony-

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    1. Completely understandable, but they feel a bit weak-sauce with just Holy War. Having played the army myself, I've often found that you tend to only really get one or two units into combat with it, and for the rest of the game, you've got nothing while the enemy has still have whatever their special rule might be (hatred, ASF, choppas, and so forth). That said, I do think it could be implemented better, since I don't want them to be this super-leadership army either, though I can definitely see them being "braver" than normal Empire troops, who still fear death in a more traditional way.
      I'll will be going over it with my gaming group next week and see if we can come up with a hopefully more suitable option.

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  2. I actually like this last update, seems well balanced and Zealotry gives you, as you said, something extra every turn, not just one (in more than one game I declared Holy War just to get a double 1 when I declare charge...)

    -Pumpavius-

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  3. Well, both of you made some good points here... The Holy War wasn't that effective on the battlefield... It's just a very funny rule but could offset by the Holy Command (btw : if I have 3 Sultan in my army, can I make 3 Holy Command per turn ? Or is the Sultan a 0-1 choice ?)
    The Zealotry makes the army much more reliable (I used to play the Sultan with the 18" inspiring presence + discipline, but now can choose some other titles/banners). And the ability to reroll 1s when charging looks very good on paper, so we'll see.
    I'll make a test in a few days so I may change my mind ;)
    Thx for answering so fast to my doubts guys !
    -Tony-

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    Replies
    1. You can have many Sultans if you wish, but remember you must also have a unit of palace guard for each. Not something I would recommend personally.

      Let me know how the playtest goes!

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