Woot! Very happy to see that the Totenmeister (formerly a promo) will be available in a regular expansion pack. I do not play Dust but was interested in the character for a custom. I believe that the character has the ability to control the Zombies in Dust. I'm not sold on that idea for the character. Also, there aren't any Zombies in Tannhauser yet though one of the Shogunate packs hints that the Reich may get those soon. There are also the undead troopers Miah made.

Anyway, to stir the pot, any ideas for a role for the Totenmeister in Tannhauser? Or any of the other heroes here .

definitely potential for including them into Tannhauser!

I haven't played Dust: Tactics, but the middle Axis hero i recognize from Dust (or Oust, as my friends call it lol) as the 'Secret Weapon' iirc. How does the scale of the Dust Tactics minis compare to Tannhauser minis?

I have played a couple of demo games of Dust. It is a chess like game in some ways. Models vary in quality but the robot tanks are great. Like many of the FFG products, the basic game is simple but then when you add dozens of model varieties with different abilities, the game becomes quite involved. The real problem is that there are now so many games on the market that it is not clear what to do. Each company is adding more models to each line at such a rapid rate that you need not only a fat wallet but a large amount of cupboard space. Tannhauser is about the right size for me. I doubt it will expand rapidly but I could be wrong. Dust Tactics appears to be slated for rapid expansion with additional factions thrown in for good measure.

Artemus wrote: How does the scale of the Dust Tactics minis compare to Tannhauser minis?

Dust miniatures are a little bulkier than the Tannhauser figures, and are similar in scale to the AT-43 figures. They otherwise scale well. I would not want to field an army of them because of the slight scale difference but do not mind if a few heroes are bigger than the other models on the map.

Horsa wrote: Dust Tactics appears to be slated for rapid expansion with additional factions thrown in for good measure.

Yeah, Dust has done well, so its gotten a lot of support from FFG. Paolo Parente also has his own site where he sells additional "Deluxe" figures. Add in a few promos and you have a very expensive game to collect. If you do not have the money for prepainted figues, it will also take a lot of time to paint the figures. Fortunately for me, I'm not a big fan of their armored troopers and mechs, so there are only a few figures that I really want for my weird war games.

Many men have related hideous things, not mentioned in print, which happened on the battlefield on the Great War. Some of these things have made me faint, others have convulsed me with devastating nausea, while still others have made me tremble and look behind me in the dark; yet despite the worst of them, I believe I can myself relate the most hideous thing of all - the shocking, the unnatural, the unbelievable horror from the shadows.

Across the smoldering fields of the dying and the dead walks an eerie figure. Clad in a dark coat with its face covered by a mask, the figure steps lightly and serenely amongst the huddled masses; a striking silhouette against the darkening sky. And most striking of all, is the strange apparatus attached to its arm…

With a shrill screech, like the sound of nails run across a chalkboard, the apparatus lights and a mysterious green gas fills the air. The groans of the dying fade; silence reigns.

The figure walks on, a ghost in an emerald mist, and behind it, from the shadows, broken bodies stir…

Notes: Just an advance preview of what I have in mind for the Totenmeister figure. I've decided to play with the Zombie angle, though I've taken it in my own direction. In Dust, the Totenmeister is apparently a damage resilient Zombie that can heal itself when it wounds other figures while, in the original Dust background, she is a psychic able to control the Zombies. I think the psychic angle could work. My approach, however, is a little different...

Special Item: Once per game, as an action, you may use this item. When you do, replace all dead character tokens on your path with their models. Dial their health indicators to the bottom row. Those characters do not receive any items and may only move and attack on their turn, but roll 1 additional die when making an unarmed attack. You control those models.

Additional biography information and character stats / abilities / balance to be worked out. It will probably be awhile before I get to the finalized version and cards. Anyway, feedback is welcome as usual. Also, remember that I like synergy... the text in italics is a quote...

some thoughts..

I definitely like the psychic angle, although i have to admit...not sure how i feel about introducing zombies on the Reich's side in this game - Reich seems to be more 'demonic' than ...'zombic' (new word?). ALTHOUGH, with Dust Tactics & Incursion & AT-43 ONI, there are plenty of Zombie resources...hmmm...

but on the other hand, one thing Reich does not have that Union & Matriarchy do have is additional weaker & annoying 'fodder' models with no mental stat (voivodes, hound dog)...this could create symmetry?

My initial idea for this guy was this:

(ignore Dust fluff for him and just go off the character's design - no need to be the same as in Dust universe really)

to me, he looks like a schocktruppen that was captured by the Union, and used as a medium for experiments integrating alien technology directly onto the bodies of grunt soldiers, to create 'super...troopers" or 'soldiers' lol. This guy survived the experiments but then escaped, a la Wolverine. exactly what his alien technology does...no clue maybe he's a mercenary now, but cannot join the Union's ranks...

but anyway, I'm definitely going to pick this up to use somehow...i also have my eye on Hans the Hunter, from Incursion for the Reich (reminds me of the one character on the Field Ops box) and one of the armoured battlesuit guys from Dust Tactics once Natalya comes out

Artemus Maximus said:

I actually did not plan to use the psychic angle. Also, I agree that what we've seen of the Reich so far is more of a demonic, occult nature. The Stosstruppen have the Not Dead Yet ability too, which is implied to involve revival of the dead via possession... I admit that Zombies are a bit redundant. On the other hand, I certainly think there is room to expand with customs. It makes thematic sense to me as well because what we have seen of the Reich is only a small segment and in real life, numerous projects are often undertaken. Furthermore, in addition to the demonic aspect, the official Reich also has an Ancient who is strongly implied to be from Atlantis. You also have the Minotaur and the "Beast" which is implied to be a werewolf. I'd say Zombies are less "out of the blue" than a Minotaur or Atlantis! =P

Artemus Maximus said:

Well, as I said, I decided to come up with my own background for the character. Mine actually was based on the character's design, namely the tank on her back that feeds into the odd device on her arm... My version does involve Zombies as well but the way they are incorporated comes from some of my other custom background work and is not based on the Dust fluff.

Artemus Maximus said:

Cool. The best part about customs is that you can always have your own version! Definitely keep at it at let us know what you come up with =)

Artemus Maximus said:

Hans is a nice figure, but be aware that he's not as big as he looks in the photos. He's the same size as the other Incursion humans; maybe shorter because of the way his head is hunched over. I am not a fan of the style of the mechs in Dust, so I opted to purchase the AT-43 Tac-Arms for the Union and Spetnaz Kolossus for the Matriarchy.

i MAY be predisposed to have a bias as far as zombies go...past bad experiences maybe lol

didn't intend put down your idea - which i DO think is cool using the zombie mechanic and makes MUCH more sense to me thematically than a minotaur or werewolf - I just was brainstorming for my own usage, with what first came to my head I'll probably use these figures as NPCs or simple 4-hit characters with static stats, as i don't have the time or skill to create customer character cards, tokens, and equipment cards and have them be in balance.

to build on your idea (the italisized text + yours) of the horror she provokes, how about treating the thing on her arm as a [mental?] weapon that affects all characters on the path (with its screeching sound, similar to Hoax's sonic grenade): those characters must pass a mental test with at least [2 - 3?] successes to avoid the effect: if a character fails, it loses its next activation. Then treat her special item as the actual gas in the canister on her back that converts fallen heroes to zombies 1x per game? And leave Totenmeister with no traditional weapons that deal damage maybe, for balance? The model has little to offer as far as weapons it appears, anyway. Kind of an indirect threat that way - it would require the teamwork with other friendly characters to be effective - not sure if you want to take it that far though...

And thanks for the heads-up on Hans - indeed i thought he was larger than that & wouldve been disappointed Still can't pass him up - he's got that harpoon-like weapon on his one arm i was thinking he could use to pull a character in close if it connects (and give me the excuse to say "Get over here!"...or i guess the German equivalent...sounds like kommen zie year, i think?), then chomp them up with his metal claw

Artemus Maximus said:

Oh, no worries. Please continue to voice your opinions! I prefer constructive feedback over simple praise or silence! Also, I fully understand that Zombies may not be everyone's cup of tea. As I've said elsewhere in the forums, there's a huge variety within the Weird War theme; it just depends on how weird you want to get! I'm not actually the biggest fan of Zombies myself, but I do like the "survive the swarm" missions they engender, so they often get a free pass for that reason from me. Also, as I noted above, the great thing about customs is that you can always make your own version, so definitely continue to develop your idea too! =)

Artemus Maximus said:

You know, for someone who has his own ideas for the figure, your thoughts on my version actually mirror mine pretty well. I did plan for the activation of the device to have some sort of offensive effect as well, though I had not settled on the details. I also wanted her to be weaker outside of her primary abilities. I like that she is a figure who can be incredibly potent if she enters the fray later. In a sense, she can instill fear into the other player because she can change the course of a close battle! That may lead players to target her early, which fits well, in my opinion. Thematically, it makes sense that a Commander (and his soldiers) would want to eliminate early a target with her abilities. Game-wise, I think she also fits the play style of the Reich. The Reich is one of the better factions to turtle with and Totenmeister is definitely a character you want to keep in the shell =)

Artemus Maximus said:

If I get around to cards for my own version, it probably would not be too hard to change the text around to accomodate yours. Not sure when I'll have the time though.

Artemus Maximus said:

Yup, my version of Hans has that ability too. His claw also lets him hold onto nearby characters, similar to Itami's Subdue ability. I'm still not sure if I want Hans to be some sort of chemical super soldier or demon-possessed human or undead. Most likely, I'll go with the idea that he is a drowned cadaver that is either demon-possessed or undead. Hrm, a demon-possessed corpse sounds a little cooler right now.