Oh there are, but they are part of the smaller subsection of faction/sectorial-locked mercenaries. Saito, Sforza, Caterans, McMurrogh, Valkyria, Yojimbo, Yuan Yuan and Anaconda (regardless of how you rate them). Probably a few others. I'd add Armand as well, but he's generally available. Oddly there's still no mercenary heavy infantry, even though we know that heavy infantry armours are available on the arms market (Asawira and Dahshat's Zuyong both buy their armours on the arms market)
Armand, like all ITS models (until at least ITS10), is available for all vanilla sectorial, so I doubt it would be acceptable to restrict him. I would have gone with a new Authorized Bounty Hunter, however, since so many sectorials use them too.
I don't consider them very "combatty", they're more line trooper. The point is we're discussing that they should restrict most of the ITS models.
Nah, I'm not counting Close-Combat-Monsters. Almost any faction already has some of them anyway. So they do not shift any relation between factions. They just add to personal flavor which one to take. Armand is indeed nice, but ... adds to the point I'm trying to make: Playing Nomads it never came to my mind playing Armand. So he just makes factions more ... "equal". With Soldiers of Fortune this becomes even more apparent, but even without soldiers of Fortune I already faced some PanO-armies with half of the list consisting of Mercs.
From the balance point of view, I agree. From the commercial one, however, I doubt it will happen. By making them available to all vanilla lists, CB ensures that everyone wants the model, and the bragging rights of getting one of the limited to tournament winners. Sure, with the medal people will have those bragging rights there, but I think it would be easier to remove the model altogether than to provide one that could be used only in certain factions, simply because there will be places in which no one will want that model because no one plays the faction able to use the model.
Naa, I rather think a Marksman Rifle. And, sure, twin Heavy Pistols. And maybe a new Skill: Gunslinger, which works like NBW for BS attacks....
There is something to be said about fixing the problem post-production as well. If this new cowboy is available for all factions for all of ITS11 and ITS12 (i.e. the season you get 'im and the season following) and then gets restricted to his native factions (let's shoot from the hip for illustrative purposes: Foreign, Pan-O, ASA and USAR). I don't see a reason why season 8's or 9's winner models should still be this bragging rights tool. Past glories and all that. I might be speaking from experiemce of someone being a veteran, but I don't even consider it important that the winner model to be playable in whichever faction I play. Sure, I might end up with filthy Pan-O models that way, but they're WINNER models, dammit, I won those.
I'd prefer to simply use existing equipment and rules: Contender, Assault Pistol and Markmanship levels 2 and X.
Every time I theory craft this character he ends up looking very similar to Aida Swanson. I'm curious to see how they will differentiate the two.
Well, that would make him a good trooper, but would not reflect his abilities as Aristo. There he has a skill called "Gunslinger", which changes his defense from defensive dice to offensive ones. So maybe giving him the skill 'Total Reaction' might work as well.
I’d personally be much happier if they made the ITS models civilian HVT models. Somewhat generic to go with any faction. They could even be alien HVTs. It can also open it up to being more creative.
Can't wait til the Defiance characters all get rules, too, and it'll just be acres of named characters!
We used to, at least a little. Yuan-Yuans couldn't be taken in any Yu Jing army (vanilla or sectorial), Druze and Scarface couldn't be taken in CHA, and I think there was one more but I don't have my old books handy right now. That is a very good general design principle, but the Aristeia! Gunslinger skill may need something new. Total Reaction may work to match the Aristeia! game rule, but I wouldn't be surprised if CB added a new skill for Wild Bill.
As long as he just has pistols, I can see him having Marksmanship L2 and LX. It wouldn’t be so bad with Fatality L2 and Full Auto L1. He’d be fantastic at close range but getting him there is the hard part. Oh and to add about my comment about civilians: I want a box set of them! I can’t afford to get all of the special sets that come with the HVT in them. Especially not for 1 figure.
I'm pretty sure the faction specific rpg characters were supposed to fill that role. But it would be nice to see a dedicated xenotech miniature if the mechanic is going to stick around.
IF they want to create a new rule for tW. Bill (and i doubt they will) Gunslinger is a good name, and it coud be that inside the short range (0-8) he gains makmanship lv 2, imagine Assault pistol lv2 x2 with markmanship lv2 inside 8" :D
The FA1 bonus doesn't stack with anything so having both it and twin pistols is worthless It'll be one or the other. TR on a b3 short range model that wants to rolling around the midfield is interesting, but doubt it will happen.
It might be incredibly luck based, but something like that in a mission where panoplies exist might cause some problems.
Any word about when to expect the Helots Militia? The concept art is there, and they already made the Libertos. So the Helots would be a nice proxy for those that did not get the Libertos.
