What do you guys think of an upgrade that changed the Rune Golem's special stun ability into a Ranged ability? I like the idea of him throwing boulders around the battlefield and I rarely want to stun instead of attack an enemy I'm engaged with.

Fire Rune

Thematically it sounds pretty awesome. I'd be in favor of it if there was a way to balance it out. Initiative 3 seems a little quick for Rune Golem to hurl a big ol' boulder at you though. Not to mention that ranged stun has a potential to break a lot of unit abilities.

Perhaps this is something that a named Rune Golem character could have. That way you don't see whole armies of rock throwing Rune Golems.

This does raise a good question though -- when is the right time to use the stun ability of the Rune Golem? I found myself doing it with a single unit, so I could get my +2 defense revealed, and stun the opposing unit to essentially 'tank it'. I'm not doing damage however, but it allowed me to hold my ground until a cavalry unit turned in for a charge-flank.

Not sure if that was optimal or not?

8 minutes ago, Glucose98 said:

This does raise a good question though -- when is the right time to use the stun ability of the Rune Golem? I found myself doing it with a single unit, so I could get my +2 defense revealed, and stun the opposing unit to essentially 'tank it'. I'm not doing damage however, but it allowed me to hold my ground until a cavalry unit turned in for a charge-flank.

Not sure if that was optimal or not?

I think a single Rune Golem for this purpose would be the most effective.

Not to derail the OP's thread but I would have thought having a red special action on the modifier would be reasonable.

Just now, Sulfurious said:

I think a single Rune Golem for this purpose would be the most effective.

Not to derail the OP's thread but I would have thought having a red special action on the modifier would be reasonable.

So, double red special actions?

1 minute ago, Glucose98 said:

So, double red special actions?

Yea, either have the option to stun during melee or get the increased defense. But not have the special action on the main dial at all.

With Hawthorne you can make them 2 deep and get a reroll. Since threat is based on red runes it don't hurt as much as you think it would!

11 minutes ago, flightmaster101 said:

With Hawthorne you can make them 2 deep and get a reroll. Since threat is based on red runes it don't hurt as much as you think it would!

Wait Fire Rune or basic threat? Fire Rune is Unstable (Red) = threat and for regular melee it is Stable Rune (Blue) for threat.

34 minutes ago, TallGiraffe said:

Wait Fire Rune or basic threat? Fire Rune is Unstable (Red) = threat and for regular melee it is Stable Rune (Blue) for threat.

Ok, I see the breakdown.

Since fire Rune uses red runes for threat, you can still generate a lot of damage with a single column. You won't miss the extra threat from a tray as much as you think you would. Good ranged support until xbows.