The Army Structure & Composition (part IV)

I struggled a little when it came to magic. It was fairly easy to come up with ideas but finding ways of implementing them with a unique Nautican feel rather than a mere description demanded some thought.

Aqua Lore

I'm still not convinced I have really delved deep enough into the Waves of Magic and the way they compete with the Winds of Magic.

As I have mentioned before, I plan to revisit Aqua Lore with the intent of making it somewhat different in execution to other lores. For now, I hope we have come up with a usable and slightly quirky spell list.

Magic Items

I am reasonably satisifed with the magic items and particularly the magical banners.

I might have overdone the special rules but I'm waiting for feedback to see how they are received by the Warhammer world before making further changes.

It would be nice to refine some of the magic items to make them combine with a unit's profile and special rules and possibly other magic items. The intention is that the Nautican player will need to think very carefully about the purpose of each item and how it could pose the enemy tactical difficulties.

What we have at the moment is a somewhat random collection of Ocean themed ideas that cater for some of the army's weaknesses.

Like I said, I'll be looking at magic again.

For now, on a more positive note I'd like to share with you my personal favourites (in no particular order)

Lion Fish Cloak (armour) - I like the idea behind the cloak. It's made from the venemous spines of a Lion Fish so you can attack the wearer with a weapon but you might regret hitting him with your hands, claws, talons etc.

Orb of Illusions (talisman) - something completely different. This one is for the sneaky trickster type of player. The extra unit cannot of course play any physical part in an army's victory but it can deceive the enemy and interfere with their deployment plans and lead to the enemy making unecessary and costly plans that will come to naught. It's well worth it's 50pts.

The Crystal Crown (armour) - this has the potential to be the most influential of all the Nautican magical items. The ability of a unit to reroll it's first break test with it's general's unmodified leadership could be priceless. The crown must certainly be worth it's points when the general is deployed in amongst the core of his units. Especially when facing horde army foes you are are expecting to be outnumbered by until you have whittled them down or mounted chargers who are likely to have a good combat ressolution in the first combat round.

I have used the Crystal Crown in combat and, even though I eventually lost the battle, my troops stood fast and put up a solid resistance despite being engaged on multiple flanks.

The Book of Malaise (enchanted) - a useful bound item against the ever increasing prevalence of frenzy and hatred on the battlefield. The book evokes the strange lethargy that overcomes those who have experienced the still seas where the sun bakes the sailor and their ships sway side to side barely moving for days at a time. I liked the concept behind this book and it seemed fitting that I particularly had the sea faring Dark Elf raiders in mind when I designed the rules.

The Starfish Shield (armour) - this is another example of using the enemy's strength against itself. In effect, the more attacks an enemy has the less likely each one will wound the opponent. The balance appealed to me, anything that reduces the effectiveness of some of the overpowered characters does generally appeal :)

Limpet Mix (enchanted) - ok so the Nauticans are not heavily armoured so, to balance things out, let's deny the enemy of some of theirs. On first inspection this looks like a great item and while it's highly likely to score a hit on an enemy unit, most units will successfully dive out of the way (initiative test). It's a bit of a fanciful, one use, bonus that will only really work against the sluggish Dwarfs and other slow witted enemies.

That's enough for now, thanks for reading,
Sigmar