The Minimoto: Design Journal

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With the release of the Minimoto a little over a month away we are going to have a number of design notes from our lead designer to give you a taste of what to expect:

Right at the beginning  of the design process for the Bear Clan I started by looking at what we wanted for the faction as a whole. To make sure each model fits I have a set of “Rules” used to make new models. I have these rules for every faction and some smaller parts of the factions, while these rules can certainly be broken based on exciting concepts or mechanics these form the basic building blocks of the faction, so here are the Minimoto Meta Rules so you’ll know what to expect.

Default 7 wound boxes
Almost all models have 7 wound boxes.  Like all factions some could have more, others less but in this faction 7 is the base wound level. This gives a core of every model that has some resilience, so the faction is naturally “Tanky”.

Steadfast
Almost all models have Steadfast. This is not just a core ability that helps the faction, it also allows for other abilities that only affect Steadfast models, acting like a keyword. 

Armour 3+
All Armour traits are either no armour or Armour (3) or Armour (4). Minimoto don’t use light armour. Armour (4) is a thing you need to see to really appreciate.

No Move Shenanigens
After a Minimoto model moves, it's staying there. The Minimoto have no abilities to move their models outside of their normal move actions. To make up for this and their relative slow speed, they do have ways to slow their enemies down a little.

The Bear Stands Alone
This ability grants Indomitable +1 to Samurai or Ashigaru who are not within 3” of a friendly model. This stops the “Brick-up” style of play most tough, resilient armies tend towards in other games. The Minimoto can spread out and actually gain resilience!

Bear's <<Characteristic>>
This is a collection of abilities that are only active while the Samurai has 4 marked wound boxes. They gain various benefits, from Powerful Attack (0), Toughness +1 to flavourful unique effects. This is a defensive ability, it helps the “Toughness” of the model as your opponent will not want to damage them.

There are also some more minor themes within the faction, see if you can spot them as the models are revealed. You may be surprised that the Toughness trait is not a theme for Minimoto, while a few models will employ Toughness, it’s not a theme for the faction but let me tell you Armour (4) with Toughness (2) does not go down easy!