Into the Museum!While I wasn't looking Wednesday (it's been a surprisingly busy week) Wizkids decided to give us a sneak peak of both the sculpt and the designer's notes for one of the uniques from March's Origin set -- I'll get to that one in a moment -- and the map for the set: The JSA Museum. (Click on the link to see it as a full-size pdf. The image I've shown up top is only 17% of the original size.)
A very cool map, I must admit.
As noted in the article the map incorporates various clix, some already out there and some on the way. A great map, especially for anyone who can make hindering terrain work well for them., as all of the statues and nearly all of the exhibits are color-defined as hindering terrain. It should be a fun one to play on.
One of the naturals to play there is the accompanying sneak peek: The Green Duck! No, wait... it's Sandman, the Wesley Dodds version. Ah, the color schemes...
Still, it's a solid piece for the points and a nice addition to the Golden Age JSA.Slightly confused in his abilities, as the write-up states there's an attempt to fold his career into a single dial. The result is, as is always the case with clix, a matter of compromise and limitations. Stealth limits the ability to move freely, and any spot where he has Smoke Cloud he doesn't have Incapacitate. Still, this follows his general pattern of getting stealthily into position and starting to spook an opponent, moving onto the gas gun and then falling back on hand to hand combat as a last resort. Making it effective is up to the player. The opening click in particular suggests Flashbang as a natural Feat for him. Ambush would also be useful for him, especially on a map like the Museum one.
An opening 17 Defense with Willpower, and while the Willpower's only for the first click the second keeps that evasive Defense Value. Opening Stealth is followed by a click of Leap/Climb, then one of Mind Control - a narcotic-induced level of suggestibility - before returning to Stealth for the final four clicks.
Probability Control is present on his first, third and fourth clicks, adding another level of unpredictability to this '40s Mystery Man.
His second through fourth clicks have Incapacitate, appropriately for someone carrying a gun that shoots a sleeping mist. On his other four clicks he has Smoke Cloud, which potentially enhances his Stealth. All of this he has with the handgun-appropriate 6 Range.
On his final three clicks he gains Combat Reflexes, which suggests he lies in wait in the shadows, waiting for an opponent to come after him. On the fifth and sixth clicks he has Close Combat Expert, which give him the potential to deal up to three clicks of damage to someone who goes mano e mano. An unfortunately common typo in the write-up provides one explanation of this combination, reprinted here with the emphasis mine:
In the last half of his dial Sandman falls back into stealth mode, throwing up clouds of gas with Smoke Cloud that he can hide in with Stealth and lure opponents in to where he can use his Combat Reflexes and Close Combat Expert marital arts training.Perhaps years of studying the Kama Sutra? There's something more than a little unsavory in this, considering that the man dispenses highly effective, airborne roofies. Mess with the Sandman and you could be walking funny for a week?
Kidding aside, for 59 points he does bring a nice bag of tricks to a JSA team, and I expect to see him get some play. As noted, he should be right at home on the JSA Museum map.
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Comments
I like the way you keep writing up all the new ORIGIN stuff so I don't have to. I can just post links over here.
I was deeply concerned with Hawkman's apparently new found Super Strength, until I realized it was just a weird application of the nth metal's gravity nullification powers.
I wonder if the nth metal can allow a wearer to survive in outer space without any other sort of artificial life support?
Probably not.
Getting the map through official channels appears to be restricted to:
- Picking it up at an event. I'm sure the pre-release events will have them, but they might not be giving them out then. The marquee events in March are supposed to have them in quantity so they can be given out to players. I doubt they'll be showing up as early as the New Guy Night events towards the end of this month. (I'm scheduled to go to one on the 26th.)
or
- (And this one's reminding me of my decision not to go for a case this time) By buying a case, since the character posters in the cases these days have the set map on the back of them. This was also the situation with Supernova and the space map, though I had it for a week or so before I unfolded it and looked on the back.
The pdf they've put online isn't a really high res version, but it was uploaded as a full-size scan, so printing it out at 100% in a tiled form (providing one has access to a printer that can do the job properly and the colored toner/ink isn't a major financial concern) it will print 12 pages which can then be trimmed and assembled into a map.
As for Hawkman and the Super Strength, Seth's notes on the veteran version include:
In the modern age, Hawkman's Nth metal isn't used to lighten objects--it simply enhances his strength, moving the Super Strength to the top of his dial. More importantly, it can help him heal from all but the most serious wounds--granting him Regeneration at the bottom of his dial.
...so in a modern context Nth is apparently the metal that keeps on giving.
I do wish he'd have decided to apply the inexpensive JSA TA to the rookie, too, though, as it really would have been appropriate and wouldn't have interfered with anyone who wanted to play him as an unaffiliated piece. He deserves the nod as one of the Golden Age JSAers, and would fit more handily in teams.
As for taking a look at the Origin material more or less as it comes out, it's been both fun and doable largely due to slower pace. Since I know Tuttle's intent on not spilling the beans on the full set until release day I know I'm still preserving most of the set for when I'm opening boosters.