RELIC HUNTER Preview #2 Infusions

OUTLANDS: Relic Hunter adds 4 Infusions to Range Weapons. OUTLANDS players will already be familiar with the basic Infusions and what they do. But if you are a new player, here's a brief rundown:-

INFUSION:- Are magically effects that are added to standard Range Weapons. Infusions can include Electro, Daze, Bleed and Fire. When a target model is hit (doesn't have to damage) the target also suffers from the Infusion.

In the core rulebook players can 'Infuse' their own weapons. This is a process of RNG (Random Number Generator). As a player you will never know what Infusion you are going to get until after attempting to Infuse your weapon. Notice I said 'attempting to get'?? Infusions don't always work and in some rare result can even destroy your weapon.

The cool thing about 'Infusion' is that it is extremely rarely to find 2 weapons with the same profile. This adds to the core design of OUTLANDS where every game is different.

In Relic Hunter we are adding 4 new weapon Infusions. Cryo, Suppression, Ricochet and Lifesteal. The new Infusions work slightly differently than the core game Infusions....and you won't be able to 'Infuse' them yourself (Yet).

CRYO:- We already have 'Fire' Infusion in OUTLANDS so what not the other end of the spectrum. CRYO is a 'Frost' Infusion that is stackable. Stackable means that a CRYO Token is added to the Target Model every time if is the subject of a successful 'Range' attack made by a weapon with CRYO. That in itself is new as previously once a model was under the effects of an Infusion it could gain more tokens of the same type as a result of a direct attack.

The downside here is as soon as the target model gains a Cryo token all other 'effect' tokens are removed.

A model can have upto 3 Cryo tokens. The amount of Cryo Tokens on a model effects the model's ability to perform on the battlefield.

A Model with 3 Cryo Tokens is 'Frozen' and cannot make any 'ACTIONS'. If a 'Frozen' target is the subject of a successful 'TO HIT' dice roll, then the attack is classed as a CRITICAL HIT. ….and the model 'Shatters'.

That's a very powerful Infusion that played correctly will really piss off your opponent...which is half the fun of OUTLANDS.

RICOCHET:- The base Infusion of all weapons manufactured by 'Rick O'Shea'. On a Critical Hit the projectile has a chance to strike and inflict damage on another 'Hostile' model.

OK some this works on a 'Critical Hit' only, but the it also has a chance to 'wound' (and add more loot) another model, which can only be a good thing. In fact the 2nd target doesn't even need to be in Line Of Sight of the attacking model or the 1st target model....such is the ways of Ricochet.

SUPPRESSION:- Suppression is part of a Fear/Terror game mechanic (future-proofing) and once again is 'Stackable'. Every time a Target Model is the subject of a successful 'TO HIT' the target model model gains 1 Suppression Token. The maximum is 3 Suppression Tokens.

Suppression has 2 effects on a model:-

1. If a model has 1 or more Suppression Tokens when generating Action Dice the amount of dice rolled is reduced by 1 per Suppression Token. Generating Action Dice is linked directly to the model's Health Points. Three Health Points rolls 3 dice. A model with Suppression is shitting himself....which reduces the models ability to generate Action Dice ….no matter the model's Health Points.

2. A model with 1 or more 'Suppression' tokens can only attempt 'ACTION: REMOVE SUPPRESSION' (this was originally called 'Getting Your Shit Together'...but it wasn't 'suitable'). When you come down with Fear doing anything is a struggle. Suppression will chew its way through your opponent's Action/Reaction Dice (and Willpower) like a fat pig in a cake shop (again I was advised to replace 'kid' with 'pig'...not 'suitable' again. IDK go figure).

Action: Remove Suppression can be found in the Relic Hunter ruleset.

Lifesteal:- By far the easiest of the new Infusions to remember...and the most useful. Lifesteal if you haven't guessed already 'Steals Life'.

On a Critical Hit the target model loses 1 health point as normal. The attacking model gain 1 Health Point. The Attacking model can not gain a Health point via Lifesteal if it is already at full health.

A simple mechanic to remember. Some of you may already know 'Lifesteal' as it was put out on a tester 'Relic Item' late in 2019.

So that's the 4 new Infusions. Any 1 of the 4 is powerful by itself...but it is possible that a weapon can have 2,3 or even 4 Infusions. Its all in the dice rolling.

As always in OUTLANDS we like to put out strange and wonderful weapons. But we also like a way to try and counter effects and conditions. Tomorrow I will be taking a looking at a new piece of OUTLANDS equipment...and pretty much the only way to counter the new Infusions. The Personal Shield Generator.

Until next time, may all your hits be crits.

Jon M