Saturday 28 January 2017

New Nippon update and 9th ed version out now!

This update changes the following:

  • New Special unit: Ozutsu Ashigaru - ashigaru wielding giant matchlocks: 18", S5.
  • Kenjutsu removed - the effect is instead moved to the Katana (which really makes more sense, since Kenjutsu means way of the sword, and the parry move would only really used with a single katana. It also makes Katana Samurai more worthwhile as your defensive "tank" option).
  • Cheaper samurai cavalry, Sumo Warriors, Onna Bushi, Red Devils, Wako Pirates, Warrior Monks.
  • Samurai Warriors no longer have 2HW option.
  • Ronin can take 2HW for free.
  • Great Guard no longer has Imperial Armour or Armour Piercing, 60 pts.
  • Yamabushi can have great weapon, light armour.
  • Shinobi/Sarutori Hanzo no longer have ASF, 75/210 pts.
  • Red Ronin subject to stupidity from his sword, 200 pts.
  • Warrior Monks have LA.
  • Mikoshi have LA, 120 pts.
  • Kirin have Scaly Skin (6+).
  • Some new art.

34 comments:

  1. Hey Mathias,

    Cool new update, I like most of the changes. Why is the Mikoshi Shrine 10 points though? Could you please also explain how the clan mon restricion works, because I do not completely understand if you are allowed to take one clan mon from every clan or as many clan mon from one clan as you want.

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    1. I can answer that last one. You can have as many clan non from one clan as you want.

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    2. The Mikoshi was bugged, fixed it now. Ravendark is correct.

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  2. hey mathias,

    spears for the great guard?!?

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    1. Hi, I've added both halberds and spears as options now.

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  3. -In the case of Yojimbo, I don't see why having one present would make their Daimyo or Taisho unable to accept challenges. It would suck to lose a character to an enemy that would curbstomp the Hatamoto but be curbstomped by the Taisho or Daimyo. Just make it that challenges that a Yojimbo's charge is fighting in cannot be interfered with due to honor.
    -What's the point of the Unstoppable Force special rule if Impact Hits only apply on the turn a model charges. Just give them Impact Hits.
    -Stalwart Defence should not prevent offensive penalties against Onna Bushi units that are already locked in combat. They are distracted.
    -It would make more sense for units with the Way of the Warrior special rule to treat Wako Pirates as Desperate Allies and vice versa. Empire soldiers allying with Warriors of Chaos for whatever reason don't suffer leadership penalties and they have even more reason to distrust each other.
    -Kirin (and Quilin from Cathay) should not have Impale Attack. In most depictions, the horns point out from the back of the head which is very awkward to try to charge something with. If not, it should be replaced with Charge Bonus (1).
    -Why not have the Flaming Arrow be classified as a Bolt Thrower if it resolves its hits as if it is one. Just say that it rolls on the Black Fire mishap chart if it rolls a 1 To Hit.
    -I propose giving the Mizuchi the statline of a Carmine Dragon, including the same rules for breath weapons. The breath weapon could be fluffed as a blast of water instead.
    -Why is Hitomi Gozen not toughness 4?
    -The Mon of the Batake clan should prevent models that take it from using any other weapon option. It should also be available to characters.
    -The Mon of the Mushagi clan should be available to both Ashigaru and War Machine crew.
    -For Caltrops, the enemy should choose to either deduct D6" from their charge range or have to take Dangerous Terrain tests with units that have the Stupidity, Random Movement or Frenzy special rule being forced to choose the latter.
    -I think Spider Venom is a bit overpowered since it pretty much dooms any character wounded by it, especially if it happens around the beginning or even middle of the game.
    -The Armour of Imperial Rule should grant a 3+ save base due to being heavy armor combined with a helmet.
    -Shouldn't the Bronze Token grant Magic Resistance (3). It also has armour misspelled.
    -Since Katanas are hand weapons that grant a bonus unlike regular ones, any models that can only be infantry that wield one should have cheaper weapon options. Additional Hand Weapons and Spears should be free while Halberds and Great Weapons have their points costs halved (to a minimum of 1).
    -Ashigaru used polearms as well. They should have the option to replace their spears with halberds.
    -The Warrior Monks have a formating error in the Special Units section and a sentence error in its option for Long Bows.
    -Daimyo, Taisho and Hatamoto should have options for Red Devil Masks which grants them Frenzy and Fearsome Charge.
    -Ronin and Great Guard should have access to clan mons and the full complement of weapons with an addendum that they don't have to use the same mon as the rest of the army. Though they have left their clans, that won't cause them to lose the skills their background provides.
    -I don't really see why Ninja and Shinobi don't have the same as their human counterparts in other armies.
    -Mikoshi Shrines, Mangonel and Flaming Arrows don't have access to Clan Mons for some reason. Mikoshi Shrines should have the casting bonus for being part of the Horumi clan.

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    1. I meant to say Weapon Skill when I was talking about Shinobi and Ninja.

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    2. - Fixed.
      - Because it only works against infantry.
      - Fixed.
      - Fixed.
      - Most Kirins I have seen either have a horn like a unicorn or stags, so it fits.
      - Because it's fired the same as a cannon, but the hit is resolved like a BT. Clarified that it does not bounce.
      - Fixed with the breath attack, stats I think it's fine, it's supposed to be a smaller dragon.
      - Fixed.
      - Fixed with the weapon options, characters don't really need it.
      - Mushagi have well-drilled infantry, that's why the war machines are not included.
      - Fixed with dangerous terrain, though I made it mandatory and increased the cost.
      - Fixed, made so you have to take a T test instead.
      - Made it into a plain heavy armour instead, as intended.
      - MR does not work on magical attacks, only spells.
      - Fixed.
      - Fixed.
      - Fixed.
      - Red Devils do not become Frenzied from the masks themselves. I feel it detracts from the unit if the characters can just "buy" their background.
      - Ronin and Great Guard are made up of samurai from several different clans. As they have no direct clan alligience, they do not benefit from the Clan Mon.
      - Fixed.
      - Mikoshi Shrines are not tied to a clan per say. Added that Batake Clan mon works on war machines.

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  4. Been looking forward to this, looks great, awesome work :D

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  5. Noticed a typo on Way of the Warrior special rule. Missing word.

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  6. A slight concern regarding the OZUTSU ASHIGARU unit.. S5 armour piercing ranged attacks at 10 points per model. That strikes me as a rather hefty thing, especially now since there is no long range penalty, and at 4" or below they will be devastating. S5, no risk missile attacks carried by S3 infantry seems a bit much too on some level. My two cents anyway.

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    1. Fair point, I've upped them to 12 pts each. Missile troops generally pay a high premium for +S, 3 pts from S4 to S5 was probably a bit too low.

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  7. hey mathias,

    we playtested a couple of days ago.
    we came to the conclusion that units with katanas should always benefit from the rules, even on mounts, in flank and rear.
    we thought it would also fit fluffwise

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    1. additional handweapon for oni?!

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    2. Why is that though? They currently do not pay anything for it, which is just the same as other cavalry choices. That's why they got a price decrease. In order to parry with it properly, you need to be able to use both hands and face your foe (just like shields work). The previous rule bent this a bit in order for kenjutsu to work on all models, but this is no longer an issue with it being moved to the katana.

      Oni usually fight with their hands or tetsubo, hence they do not have 2 hand weapon.

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    3. its just or subjective opinion. it would make samurai cav a bit cooler than it is.
      flank and rear hmmm, every human armybook has the opportunity for heavy armour and shield(even elves), but that wouldnt fit fluffwise. it would be a litte boost...

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    4. Not quite true, Norse, Albion and Amazons have light armour at best, and most fast cavalry can only have LA or shield, whereas samurai cavalry can have heavy/medium armour without penalty, making them among the heaviest fast cavalry in the game. They do not really need the parry rule to be on par with other cavalry, as they already have several other special rules.

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  8. would like to see the possibilty to take 2 daimyos with diffrent mons that you are able to combine these in the army. in larger scale battle it doesn´t fit to take 2 daimyos with the same mon, but an alliances do.
    two clans battling their foes side by side.
    how awesome :))) uruchi and daimatzu whooop whooop

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    1. In this case it's better to play an allied game, as two different clans would be just that, two different armies. Alternatively, you could take the Shogun, which allows you to mix Mon.

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  9. we gonna try it out this weekn.
    the shogun, well, it´s more fun with customized charakters. we assume the shogun ordered two clans into battle under the command of one daimyo :D
    we thought about a small battaillion led by one daimyo or taisho with diffrent mons(1 hero, 2+ core, 2 special,1 rare,but you can´t field 3 mongonels for example and the mon price is doubled up) with a main army
    we´ll ty it and see how it´ll work :)

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  11. I am now into Warhammer Fantasy thanks to you.

    Commenting here because I have a question I would like answered: Katana give a parry save when wielded to handed. However, I cannot find what value the save is.

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    1. Hi, they have a 6+ Parry save. I might have forgot to clarify that in the 9th ed version

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  12. Hi Mathias love the work gone into the Nippon book. Can you help with the Great Guard. using the 9th edition rules. No rule.for the know me attack and charge bonus 1. poss 8th edition rules.

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    1. Hi, the Charge does not exist any more, it's supposed to be Strength Bonus (1) on the charge now (so, same effect).

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  13. Thanks very much. Also wanted to get your opinion as I've just got some samurai from titan forge and they have a general on a dragon. I was considering adding the Mizuchi as option to ride or look at a poss Great Kirin.

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    1. Hi, I don't really have plans to include that as a mount, but if that's something you would like to use in your game, feel free to simply add the Mizuchi to the mount section, the points cost would be the same.

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  15. Matt my friends and i where wondering how the armour save now works for the great guard heavy armor= +4 mounted = +3 but what does the natural armour from the kirin give you?

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    1. They have a 3+ save in total in 9th ed, 4+ from the heavy armour, and +6 from the Natural Armour. You get no save from being mounted.

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  16. You should replace the Shugenja with Onmyoji and purge the fluff text of all the L5R-isms.

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    1. I might include the Onmyoji as a type of Priest character instead. Shugenja is a pretty common name for Japanese wizards in many RPG's (and also a name used by GW, albeit for Cathay for some reason).

      Not sure what version you are reading though; all obvious L5R material was removed years ago. The only text that remains from there are some of the basic samurai lore (which is not really typical of L5R any more than it is of Bushido). Or is there something I've missed there? A few examples of "L5R-isms" in the text would be welcome.

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  17. does night milk not work anymore cuz new poison rule?

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