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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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I posted this over at WOTC, but no one ever commented. I just posted it on another thread in the general forums, and got a couple of comments, so I thought I'd post it hear to see what people thought. Here are my thoughts on the figure... I would very much welcome and appreciate any input. Thanks! One character that I am thinking would really shake up the game in a good way and if done properly is a Ysalamiri. So, just for fun, here is my first stab at such this character. All of this is based largely on what I read about them in books (including the WOTC and old WEG RPG books). Adapted, of course, to make sense in the SWM game. Let me know what you think of his stats and special abilities. I'm most interested in knowing what folks think of its 11 point cost -- too high, just right, or too low (I was thinking somewhere between 9 and 12 points, and settled on 11). But, any and all constructive comments and criticisms are welcome. I've listed all my reasons for everything below. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!  STATS11 points -- So you really have to think a bit about putting them in your squad given their fairly powerful SA. Do you want a Ysalamiri or do you want more activations and/or door control ala Ugnaughts and Mouse Droids (for example)? Plus, you can only bring in one with Lobot’s Reinforcements in most instances (i.e., unless you are also playing Thrawn and Kardde -- see below). 30 hit points -- So he takes 2-3 hits from most figures to kill. 15 defense -- Which is not great in and of itself, but it becomes 23 in cover due to Advantageous Cover (see below). 0 attack -- Because there is nothing in any of the books I read about their being aggressive; this is really designed to be a defensive rather than an offensive figure, which is how they were used in the books. 0 damage -- For the same reason SPECIAL ABILITIESYsalamiri (Characters within 6 squares cannot spend Force points. This character and characters within 6 squares cannot be targeted by Force powers.) -- For the obvious reasons.
Advantageous Cover (+8 Defense from cover instead of +4.) -- Because they are small (about 1.5 feet) and I thought this was a nice way to increase their survivability a bit. I originally had them at 19 Defense with no Advantageous Cover, but I thought a 15 Defense with Advantageous Cover was a better option as it gives folks an incentive to come in close (which will help Melee figures a bit if nothing else, while at the same time allowing the Ysalamiri to use its main ability). Rapport (This character costs 1 less when in the same squad as a character named Thrawn or Kardde.) -- Because as far as I can tell these are the two main beings who ever really tamed them without killing them. Plus, it gives us one more (admittedly small) reason to play Talon Kardde. Tamed (This character does not benefit from commander effects. At the start of the skirmish, choose a Unique allied character. If the chosen ally is not within 3 squares when this character activates, this character gains Savage [this character must end its move next to an enemy if it can and does not benefit from commander effects] for the remainder of the round.) -- Because tamed or not they are still animals and should not benefit from CEs; plus I wanted there to be some restrictions/limitations as Ysalamiri is otherwise a great SA and might have been overpowering without this limitation. I based this restriction on the fact that other figures -- Veers Hologram and Obi-Wan Force Spirit -- have similar restrictions in one way or another.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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IMO, Ysalamiri is one of those abilities that should just flat out never become fringe. It's like Tow Cable, except even worse. Ysalamiri shuts down Jedi entirely. As bad as Vong are, imagine the possibilities of more powerful characters with Force Immunity. And at merely 11 points, you could easily field 2 or 3 of these...*shudder*
Besides that, it's an intruiging idea. Firstly, I would remove Rapport. It's only slightly flavorful and barely beneficial enough to be worth it. Advantaegous Cover also fits, but then you have to consider balance. 23 defense (without anyone like Kota, GA Thrawn, or Jolee) is pretty tough to hit, and could make them very hard to remove. Tamed, while cool, doesn't seem like it would be ta bad. If the Ysalamiri is staying in the back most of the time, there won't be any enemies for it to charge to should it go Savage for a little bit.
What I would do is take off all the abilities but Ysalamiri, make it a one-trick-pony. Then bump the cost a little higher to prevent abuse (though it would still see massive amounts of play if it was made) and there you go. Another possibility is, instead of having the non-unique creature, make a custom of a Unique Ysalamiri Handler. It would limit the ability to 1 per squad (2 if you have Thrawn) and would help balance the already unbalanced ability (:P) some more.
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Rank: Uggernaught
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You could always just make the Ysalamiri unique (I'm sure Thrawn or Kardde had a name for one of their pets), hike it up to 20, lower its HP to 20, lose the Advantageous Cover, and gain Stealth ( I wouldn't keep it Tame or Savage, so it can be subject to some CEs, albeit limited.)
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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Your rationalizations are a little contradictory. They're never portrayed as aggressive, but they gain Savage?
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i think thats just so people dont run them round... and they couldnt move by themselves because they attached themselves to trees... am i right? or just coming off stupid...?
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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Thanks for the feedback. I like the idea of adjusting the cost up a bit (probably to 15 points) and the defense down a bit (probably to 12; or 20 with advantageous cover). I definitely do not want them to be over used or too powerful, and think these things will help a lot.
Re: savage, while the term can be used to mean "ferocious; fierce," it can also mean "not domesticated or cultivated; wild." I agree the former does not make sense for these guys, but the latter clearly does. But, as sharron noted, the goal of "tamed" was to give them a limitation to make them a bit more challenge to play given their otherwise powerful ability. I think tamed, along with an increased cost and decreased defense makes them a more viable alternative.
I also appreciate some of the other concerns folks are raising, too. But even at 11 points (and especially if I raise to 15 points), I do not think it will be worthwhile to run too many of them given they cannot attack and this will prevent you from putting other figures in your squad (do you want 1 Ysalamiri or 5 activations via mouse droids and ugnaughts). I vision some squads having one, but most squads having none (and perhaps bringing them in with reserves or reinforcements if needed -- and at 15 points each they can bring in 1 with Lobot or 2 with CLobot... but again, it is very rare that it will be worth 30 points).
This is my first custom, so this feedback is very helpful. So, thanks again!
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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I really like it, great job!
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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I like the general idea, but I think the idea of a mobile anti-force bubble is a little tough to swallow, especially seeing as how the little anti-force animals never moved. They got into a tree and stayed there. Thrawn had to make a special rack thing for them to live on or they would die.
I like where this is going, but I think adding emplacement to it would keep it from being crazy.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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First off... very cool custom! Fun strategy piece. My idea would be to put it at 20 HP so a Jedi can at least wipe it out with one swing of the saber. I do like the Adv. cover idea.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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Thanks for both of the ideas. I think you raise a very good point re: movement. Encampment might work. Or, perhaps I can change "tamed" to link it to a Unique character that it must stay adjacent to (and, if it doesn't end it's turn next to the Unique, it would be stuck in place for the rest of the game). So, when the unique figure dies, it would just be stuck in place for the rest of the game or until it was killed.
What do you think of that idea? It would be totally new to SWM, but so was encampment at one point. But, this is a bit more complex, and is maybe too complex.
20 HP would be another limitation, but if folks think it is otherwise too powerful, that may be the way to go. Plus, if I lower the HP and require it to be adjacent to a Unique, I can keep the cost lower.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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I like it.
Because of game mechanics and what it can do, I'd have it almost mirroring veers ce.
Tamed (Speed 2; if this character is within 3 squares of a living character it gains speed 4. At the end of a round this character must be within 3 squares of a living character or it is defeated.)
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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Here is the latest revision. I raised his cost by 3, lowered his defense by 2, and significantly revised the "tamed" SA (it can still move, but it needs to move with the selected unique or it cannot move again... I tried to simulate that it was attached to the figure -- or dropped -- within the SWM game mechanic, because I thought this was a particularly good point). Probably not perfect, but I think much better overall and I thank everyone for their feedback. Other thoughts are still welcome. 
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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I have an idea if it hasn't already been suggested. Why not make it only able to moved by other characters. give a -1 movement penalty when carrying it on the special rack. Too crazy?
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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I like the latest revision. May I suggest the following:
Speed 0
Nutrient Rack (This character may move with an adjacent ally during that character's turn. During this move, the ally loses Flight. At the end of the move, this character must be adjacent to that ally.)
It's sort of a reverse Tow Cable.
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Rank: Advanced Bloo Milk Member
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Thanks! I like the reverse tow cable idea quite a bit (if I'm understanding everything correctly, it looks like two folks proposed a slight variation on this idea). I'll give it some thought and submit another draft when I'm done.
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