Good guys pulling out a last-minute heroic save, bad guys being douchey on a cosmic level…while HeroClix has a great combat system, I was looking to add “comic book moments” to my games. Big, crazy feats of spandex nonsense that didn’t upend the balance of the HeroClix rules system (at least not too much) but added some sizzle to the steak. My first experiment fell short for a variety of reasons, but mainly I was unhappy with a game mechanic that wasn’t contained on the figure. ‘Clix should be–at it’s core–figgers and dice.
The solution came when HeroClix introduced “boxed stats,” more powerful abilities balanced by only being active on certain clicks. Genius! With the “how” out of the way, I went in and started reshaping the dials of all my figures, tailoring each so they packed a bigger punch and played more like the character they represented.
Ingredients: Custom dials printed on Staple’s brand matte white Sticker Paper, split-powers cut and added by hand (thanks, x-acto!) and kept safe under a layer of 3M Scotch packaging tape.
Under-the-dial powers printed on standard-weight white paper, glued to an index card with as little Elmer’s as possible, squished flat between two books with a layer of that same tape on top for protection (but wait until it’s dry before taping). Then cut to shape and adhere to the bottom of the dial with a few small drops of Krazy Glue.
Justice League America
Batman
The goal: recreate the fear and uncertainty Batman uses to gain the upper hand on panicked opponents.
Instead of a dial loaded with charge or running shot, Batman’s special “off the grid” power (stats in a white box) allows him—as an action—to vanish from the board, wait and see where his opponents rearrange themselves and *BAM!*, strategically reappear elsewhere within his range at the start of his next turn. Boo!
Lots of stealth and leap/climb so Bats can get wherever he needs to go (and be sneaky about it), high defense and endless willpower compensates for defense modifiers like agility and toughness.
Stat Breakdown
140 points, Range: 6 (2)
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 10 Leap Climb/Stealth, 9 Smoke Cloud, 18 Willpower, 3 Leadership.
SECOND CLICK: 10 Leap Climb/Stealth, 10 Smoke Cloud, 17 Willpower, 3 Leadership.
THIRD CLICK: 9 Leap Climb/Stealth, 11 Smoke Cloud, 17 Willpower, 3 Leadership.
FOURTH CLICK: 9 Leap Climb/Stealth, 10 Smoke Cloud, 16 Willpower, 3 Leadership.
FIFTH CLICK: 8 Leap Climb/Stealth, 10 Psychic Blast, 16*, 3 Leadership.
SIXTH CLICK: 7 Leap Climb/Stealth, 9 Incapacitate, 16 Willpower, 4 Leadership/Outwit.
SEVENTH CLICK: 8 Leap Climb/Stealth, 10 Quake, 16*, 3 Leadership/Exploit Weakness.
EIGHTH CLICK: 7 Leap Climb/Stealth, 9 Incapacitate, 16 Willpower, 4 Leadership/Outwit.
NINTH CLICK: 8 Flurry/Stealth, 8 Quake, 16*, 3 Leadership.
TENTH CLICK: 6 Stealth, 9 Incapacitate, 17 Willpower, 3 Leadership/Outwit.
ELEVENTH CLICK: 8 Stealth, 10 Blades, 17*, 1 Leadership/Perplex.
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Superman
The goal: capture the sense of relief heroes feel when the Man of Steel arrives on the scene; “Whew…Superman is here.”
As a built-in power (such as flying), Supes can keep an eye on his teammates and—once per round—lend a hand when they get in a jam. An enemy about to roast Blue Beetle with fire or choke out Booster with smoke? One puff of super breath and either barrier is history. Did a super strong baddie just chuck a car at Green Arrow? A zap of heat vision and its toast. Black Lightning just get knocked off a roof? Another puff of that super breath breaks his fall. A simple 2d6 roll vs. the opponent causing the mischief determines who gets the last laugh. Any of those abilities are “non actions,” much like using outwit or probability control (meaning Supes doesn’t get a token for usin’ ’em).
Other than that, he’s freakin’ Superman. Monstrous speed, super strength and the nightmarish combo of impervious and toughness (-3 damage!). I went with charge instead of hypersonic speed because it felt more “Superman-y” to attack an opponent and stay up in their grill. With hypersonic speed the temptation is there to hit-and-run, and that didn’t feel like Supes to me. Close combat expert starts off the dial because the Man of Steel usually only needs his fists, but later on his damage stat goes plain so he can grab a heavy object for bonus ugly when swatting a troublesome foe. The end of the dial sees willpower added to the mix to help make sure Supes is always ready for the never-ending battle.
Stat Breakdown
265 points, Range: 10 (1)
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 18 Charge, 10 Super Strength, 18 Impervious/Toughness, 3 Close Combat Expert.
SECOND CLICK: 17 Charge, 10 Super Strength, 17 Impervious/Toughness, 3 Close Combat Expert.
THIRD CLICK: 16 Charge, 10 Super Strength, 17 Impervious/Toughness, 2 Close Combat Expert.
FOURTH CLICK: 15, 9 Super Strength, 16 Impervious, 2 Close Combat Expert.
FIFTH CLICK: 14, 9 Super Strength, 16 Impervious, 2 Close Combat Expert.
SIXTH CLICK: 13 Running Shot, 8 Super Strength, 16 Impervious, 4 Ranged Combat Expert.
SEVENTH CLICK: 12 Charge, 8 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 4.
EIGHTH CLICK: 11, 8 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 3.
NINTH CLICK: 10 Running Shot, 11 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 3.
TENTH CLICK: 9 Force Blast, 9 Super Strength, 17 Invulnerability/Willpower, 3.
ELEVENTH CLICK: 8 Force Blast, 10 Super Strength, 17 Invulnerability/Willpower, 3.
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Wonder Woman
The goal: mimic a relentless, in-you-face Amazon attack.
As a built-in power (such as flying), Wonder Woman can—as or part of any action—roll a 2d6 “attack” to lasso an object or figure up to four sections away. This can be used to drag an item toward her (a second roll is then required for the actual close combat attack), drag an item toward Diana but not adjacent (setting up a shot for a teammate) or it can be used defensively (plucking a teammate out of a sticky situation, like out from the grasp of a poisonous opponent). Her boxed stat shows off her warrior training; try and get the drop on her with charge or running shot and she can roll 2d6 vs. the attack. If higher, as a non-action (no tokens given) she may turn the tables on her foe.
As f’r the rest of her dial, Wondy is built like two Gina Caranos squished into one patriotic corset. Heavy duty punching power, strong defense and plenty of charge to insure she brings the fight to her opponents. Close combat expert starts off her dial because Diana doesn’t bust out weapons (or heavy objects) unless she needs to. If she does (READ: Wonder Woman takes a whuppin’), her damage stat switches to “plain” so she can arm herself.
Stat Breakdown
200 points, Range: 0
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 12 Charge, 10 Super Strength/Quake, 17 Impervious, 3 Leadership/Close Combat Expert.
SECOND CLICK: 11 Charge, 10 Super Strength/Quake, 17 Impervious, 3 Leadership/Close Combat Expert.
THIRD CLICK: 10 Charge, 10 Super Strength/Quake, 16 Impervious, 3 Leadership/Close Combat Expert.
FOURTH CLICK: 9 Charge, 9 Super Strength, 16 Impervious, 2 Leadership/Close Combat Expert.
FIFTH CLICK: 9 Charge, 9 Super Strength, 16 Impervious, 4 Leadership.
SIXTH CLICK: 9 Charge, 9 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 4 Leadership.
SEVENTH CLICK: 9*, 8 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 3 Leadership.
EIGHTH CLICK: 9 Running Shot, 8 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 3 Leadership.
NINTH CLICK: 8*, 8 Super Strength, 15 Invulnerability, 3 Leadership.
TENTH CLICK: 8 Running Shot, 8 Super Strength, 16 Toughness, 3 Leadership.
ELEVENTH CLICK: 8 Charge, 8 Super Strength, 17 Willpower, 2 Leadership/Exploit Weakness.
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Flash
The goal: offer seemingly endless super-speed attack possibilities without making the Flash so annoying that no one wants to play with or against him.
The power that’s the most fun? Flash’s boxed stat which allows him to run past any non-figure object, continue his movement with the item tailing behind and then stopping short, launching the object in his tailwind as a missile (roll as a long range attack). It’s kinda like that “magnetic mines” scene at the end of Galaxy Quest. Yelling “By Grabthar’s hammer!” every time you do it is strongly recommended. And annoying.
The rest of his stats are a rainbow, mixing and matching powers that not only make the Flash a pain to hit, but every click of his dial offers up a new way the fastest man alive can come at an opponent.
Stat Breakdown
105 points, Range: 0
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 20 Hypersonic Speed, 9 Quake, 18 Agility/Energy Deflection, 2 Shape Change.
SECOND CLICK: 17 Hypersonic Speed/Leap Climb, 9 Quake, 17 Agility/Energy Deflection, 2 Shape Change.
THIRD CLICK: 14 Hypersonic Speed/Flurry, 8 Incapacitate, 16 Agility/Energy Deflection, 2 Shape Change.
FOURTH CLICK: 13 Hypersonic Speed/Force Blast, 8, 16 Agility, 3 Shape Change.
FIFTH CLICK: 13 Hypersonic Speed, 8*, 16 Agility, 1 Shape Change/Perplex.
SIXTH CLICK: 12 Hypersonic Speed, 9*, 16 Agility, 1 Shape Change/Perplex.
SEVENTH CLICK: 10 Hypersonic Speed, 8, 16 Regeneration, 1 Shape Change/Exploit Weakness.
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Aquaman
The goal: Lull people into a false sense of security; “Oh…it’s just Aquaman.” And make water terrain matter.
Good, let your opponents lower their guard. Aquaman starts slow and has to be wary of fire barriers (or risk having his D-stat drop), but he’s built to pack a surprise punch. Get Artie in or next to water and he gains flurry (mimicking his “call for aquatic backup” power), and if Aquaman takes a pounding, his last few clicks let him head back into the deep for a regenerative recharge.
To further flesh out Aquaman as your team’s secret weapon, halfway through his dial he loses his cool, gets a charge-fueled speed boost and is ready to clobber opponents for four fat ones.
Stat Breakdown
115 points, 0 Range
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 9, 10 Super Strength/Quake, 16 Invulnerabiliy, 2 Leadership/Close Combat Expert.
SECOND CLICK: 8, 9 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 2 Leadership/Close Combat Expert.
THIRD CLICK: 8, 9 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 3 Leadership.
FOURTH CLICK: 10 Charge, 9 Super Strength, 15 Invulnerability, 4 Leadership.
FIFTH CLICK: 10 Charge, 8 Super Strength, 15 Invulnerabilty, 2 Leadership/Close Combat Expert.
SIXTH CLICK: 9 Charge, 8 Super Strength, 15 Toughness, 3 Leadership.
SEVENTH CLICK: 9 Charge, 8 Super Strength, 15 Toughness, 3 Leadership.
EIGHTH CLICK: 8, 8*, 14 Toughness, 3 Leadership.
NINTH CLICK: 7, 8*, 14 Willpower, 2.
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Green Arrow
The goal: a variety of trick arrows at the disposal of a multi-shot figure that can drive an entire team of opponents crazy.
Energy explosion, incapacitate, psychic blast…Ollie has just about every long-range power packed in his quiver but it’s those pesky “boxed” stats that’ll drive foes buggy. One box gives Green Arrow the ability to glue opponents in place (web barrier) or drop some cover for vulnerable allies (smoke cloud). Land on double box stats and you hit the holy grail of ‘Clix powers: ranged blades. Yep, roll for 1d6 damage on a single concentrated long range attack. Longbow Hunters, bitches!
The rest of the dial will see Ollie swinging on cable arrows (leap climb), play Johnny-on-the-spot with running shot and if you test him, he’ll show what one pissed off old man can do when he sets his mind to it (willpower).
Stat Breakdown
104 points, Range 10 (3)
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 7 Leap Climb, 11 Energy Explosion, 17 Energy Deflection, 2 Ranged Combat Expert.
SECOND CLICK: 7 Leap Climb, 11 Energy Explosion, 17*, 2 Ranged Combat Expert.
THIRD CLICK: 8 Running Shot, 9 Psychic Blast, 16 Agility, 1 Perplex.
FOURTH CLICK: 8 Running Shot, 10 Energy Explosion, 16 Willpower, 1 Ranged Combat Expert.
FIFTH CLICK: 8 Running Shot, 9 Blades/Incapacitate, 16 Willpower, 2*.
SIXTH CLICK: 7 Flurry, 9 Incapacitate, 17 Willpower, 2.
SEVENTH CLICK: 6*, 9*, 18 Willpower, 2.
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Apokalips
Darkseid
The goal: “Holy sh*t, it’s Darkseid!”
Darkseid enters the battlefield pretty much anywhere he wants thanks to his Boom Tube first click, then dares opponents to damage him. See, buried in his dial is his dreaded double-box power: the Omega Beams. Stop yer’ grinnin’ and drop yer linen: a long-range attack that DOESN’T require line-of-sight, can make two angled turns and delivers…waitforit, waitforit…2D6 damage! Roll high, grasshopper.
The remainder of his dial is equally evil…his defense never dips below invulnerability and if your opponents manage to wear him down, the dark lord of Apokalips goes hands-on with super strength, exploit weakness and close combat expert. He’s a nightmare in bike shorts.
Stat Breakdown
250 points, Range: 8 (1)
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 14 Phasing, 0, 16*, 0.
SECOND CLICK: 6 Force Blast, 11 Quake, 18 Impervious, 5 Leadership.
THIRD CLICK: 6 Force Blast, 11 Quake, 17 Impervious, 5 Leadership.
FOURTH CLICK: 6 Force Blast, 11 Quake, 17 Impervious, 5 Leadership.
FIFTH CLICK: 6*, 10*, 16 Impervious, 4 Leadership.
SIXTH CLICK: 5*, 10*, 16 Impervious, 4 Leadership.
SEVENTH CLICK: 5*, 10*, 16 Impervious, 4 Leadership.
EIGHTH CLICK: 5, 9 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 3 Leadership/Exploit Weakness.
NINTH CLICK: 5, 10 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 3 Leadership/Exploit Weakness.
TENTH CLICK: 5, 9 Super Strength, 15 Invulnerability, 2 Leadership/Close Combat Expert.
ELEVENTH CLICK: 5, 9 Super Strength, 15 Invulnerability, 3 Leadership/Close Combat Expert.
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The Goal: a clutch support figure that hides in the shadows and makes life miserable for the opposing team.
Will Desaad and his grouchy cat Azrael ever capture those pesky Smurfs?!? Anyway, get past Desaad’s Boom Tube first click and you land on one of the more hair-pulling-ist clicks ever made. Park this bugger in some hindering terrain and wreck havoc on opponents with outwit and probability control (mimicking his twisted inventions at work). If a player wants to take the D-man out, they gotta go hand-to-hand (thanks to stealth), get past his bodyguards (mastermind), succeed in actually hitting him (high defense) and hope that Desaad misses his agility roll…and his probability control-fueled second chance. Desaad: 1, opponent’s blood pressure: 0.
Deeper in his dial…well, it’s not that deep. While Desaad is a slippery bastard to nail down, he’s a total glass jaw. One good shot and it’s lights out.
Stat Breakdown
47 points, Range: 8 (1)
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 16 Phasing, 0, 15*, 0.
SECOND CLICK: 6*, 8*, 17 Mastermind, 2 Outwit/Perplex.
THIRD CLICK: 5 Stealth, 8, 15 Mastermind, 2 Outwit.
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Granny Goodness
The goal: a General that gets the most from her troops.
Getting past her first-click Boom Tube, Granny’s true strength (other than owning 99.7% of MomCorp) is her built-in power: friendly figures in her line-of-sight and within ten spaces may push continuously. Yeah, all that push damage will add up, but Granny expects your best. I think this is the official “extra” power the figure originally came with, just tweaked a bit.
Perplex will help boost friendly figures while mastermind keeps Granny safe, but start whittling her down and a combo of charge and exploit weakness will help opponents learn their place.
Stat Breakdown
100 points, Range: 0
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 16 Phasing, 0, 15*, 0.
SECOND CLICK: 7, 8 Super Strength, 16 Mastermind, 3 Leadership/Perplex.
THIRD CLICK: 6, 9 Super Strength, 16 Mastermind, 2 Leadership/Perplex.
FOURTH CLICK: 6, 9 Super Strength, 16 Mastermind, 2 Leadership/Perplex.
FIFTH CLICK: 8 Charge, 10, 15 Mastermind, 2 Leadership/Exploit Weakness.
SIXTH CLICK: 7 Charge, 10, 15 Mastermind, 2 Leadership/Exploit Weakness.
SEVENTH CLICK: 6, 11, 15 Willpower, 2 Exploit Weakness.
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Lashina
The goal: create a blitzkrieg soldier that gets in close for heavy damage but stays tauntingly out of reach.
The first click Boom Tube gets Lashina in position and then whu-PISH!, the double-box follow-thru of super speed and ranged blades.
Lashina loses blades early and her speed gets chipped away the deeper you get into her dial, but running shot and ranged combat expert keep her a threat ‘til the end.
Stat Breakdown
95 points, Range: 4 (1)
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 16 Phasing, 0, 15*, 0.
SECOND CLICK: 14*, Super Strength, 16 Impervious, 3*.
THIRD CLICK: 11*, 9 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 3*.
FOURTH CLICK: 10 Running Shot, 9 Super Strength, 16 Toughness, 3.
FIFTH CLICK: 10, 8, 16 Toughness, 3.
SIXTH CLICK: 9, 8, 15 Toughness, 1 Ranged Combat Expert.
SEVENTH CLICK: 9 Running Shot, 7, 15 Willpower, 1 Ranged Combat Expert.
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Parademon
The goal: cannon fodder.
For henchmen figures like parademons, I wanted to keep their point value low so you could load up on ‘em (who wants a henchMAN?) but I didn’t want a wimpy dial. My solution was to keep their dials short but pack ‘em with pepper. As an added punch, I gave ‘em a built-in power that allows goons like this to take actions that only count as “half actions.” That way TWO parademons can take separate actions but it only counts as one. Swarm your opponents for the glory of Apokalips!
As for the dial, nothing fancy: a high-speed Boom Tube gets your parademon shock troops in position ahead of your main force.
Stat Breakdown
15 points, Range: 8 (1)
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 18 Phasing, 0, 15*, 0.
SECOND CLICK: 8 Running Shot, 9, 16 Toughness, 3.
THIRD CLICK: 8 Charge, 9 Incapacitate, 15 Toughness, 2.
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Kalibak
The goal: unleash a savage brawler.
A Boom Tube first click gets Darkseid’s baby boy in position and from there it gets ugly. Lots of bruiser stats, but his disrespect for opponents comes in the form of his double-box power that allows him to throw opponents (as a light object) after delivering his combat damage. That means he can A) use his victim as a missile to attack a new target B) throw his victim into the clutches of an ally to set up a second attack or C) simply to be a dick send his victim skidding across the pavement.
Deeper in his dial sees Kalibak cut loose with every attack under the sun: charge, running shot, flurry and when he’s backed against the wall, out come the blades.
Stat Breakdown
160 points, Range: 4 (1)
Stats in order of Speed, Offense, Defense and Damage. * = boxed stat.
FIRST CLICK: 16 Phasing, 0, 15*, 0.
SECOND CLICK: 8*, 10*, 16 Impervious, 2 Leadership/Close Combat Expert.
THIRD CLICK: 8 Running Shot, 10 Super Strength, 16 Impervious, 4 Leadership.
FOURTH CLICK: 8 Flurry, 9 Super Strength, 16 Impervious, 3 Leadership.
FIFTH CLICK: 7 Charge, 9 Super Strength, 16 Invulnerability, 3 Leadership.
SIXTH CLICK: 7*, 10*, 15 Invulnerability, 1 Leadership/Close Combat Expert.
SEVENTH CLICK: 7 Running Shot, 8 Super Strength, 15 Invulnerability, 3 Leadership.
EIGHTH CLICK: 7 Flurry, 8 Super Strength, 15 Invulnerability, 1 Close Combat Expert.
NINTH CLICK: 7 Charge, 8 Super Strength, 14 Toughness, 3.
TENTH CLICK: 7, 8 Blades, 14 Toughness, 2.
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Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: dials |
ToyChop 
I posted this over at HCRealms, thought I’d repost here. It’s in regard to how deep (eleventy clicks!) my custom Batman dial is:
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My approach to making the dials was more thematic than anything else. While Batman’s just a normal guy, he’s, well…Batman. Taking him out is no small feat.
Without giving him damage modifiers (toughness, etc.), I thought a deep dial would help sell that idea. He can take a pounding and while his stats drop, he’s not easy to take out and he stays a serious threat until the end.
Bats–along with the marquee guys like Superman, Darkseid and Wonder Woman–are on the high end of the power spectrum and what all my other characters (and dials) are measured against. As in the comics, most other figures don’t approach that level of power.
Some dial experiments are hit-and-miss and I occasionally gotta go in and rework them, but for the most part the players in my group enjoy using ’em.
Some (most) of the original clix dials really did not make sense. I think Superman would drop down to toughness after like 2 clicks. The custom dials really captured the characters and made it way more fun.
I also liked the concept of a desperation click. It would be a click, or two towards the end with all kinds of ridiculous powers. When a character is on their last feet, they would pull everything they could out of their bag of tricks. Like Batman’s 10 blades and 17 defense with willpower.
Some powers from the comics translated really well into clix dials and in a very cool way. For example Wolverine’s berserker rage. He’d be getting beat up.. two clicks… three clicks… BAM, Logan is not taking it anymore. Here came the charge, blades, willpower, 11 offense, so crazy, that he could not even be mind controlled, etc. Same thing with the Hulk having a 20 defense somewhere in the middle of the dial. Those were always a nice surprise and always kept the game interesting.
I guess as the game developed, it was figured out that dials didn’t really have to get worse as they got clicked, which was always the case with the original dials.
Did you ever get that custom dial program working?
Yeah, the only thing I do by hand now are the split-powers and the box stats (neither of which that old program offers). I’m not complainin’, though…it shaves down the dial-makin’ process by like ninety percent.
This was a deep & fascinating post…bravo! All of the pictures & write-ups were equally interesting and I can testify for anyone reading this that most of the changes Pat makes to the dials are heavy game enhancers. And when one of the changes doesn’t work for some reason he always comes up with something better after heading back to the lab. Reading this post makes me want to drop everything and play Heroclix all day!
the dials were pretty good but i reckon i could of done a better job because some of the dials dont have much attack and need more. eg the superman dial.
Do you mean a higher attack value of a higher damage stat?