[Custom Character] Taru, the Talented Transmuter! (Feedback Appreciated!)

Okay, so, this is my first attempt at making a custom Yomi character! They currently seem slightly OP, I think, but I hope I can get some feedback on how to make them less so! :smiley_cat:

And, yes, the pronouns that Taru prefers are they, them, and their. Please do not use he or she or whatnot when referring to Taru! :cat2:

Taru is at least 500% more complicated than characters in Yomi are, and I donā€™t mind most of that, but Iā€™d like it if some abilities could be reworded so that they could all actually fit on the appropriate cards. It would also be cool if Taru wasnā€™t seen as ridiculously OP in comparison with the main cast! So, Iā€™d appreciate feedback on how to do that without changing too much of what Taru is trying to do! Maybe they arenā€™t as OP as I currently think, but in the short time I have tested them, it was apparent that some things about them were too good, so I toned down those things in an attempt to not make them so ridic. :joy_cat: Thank ye, @Cerrus, for helping me test the early version of Taru that I shouldnā€™t have been testing! Ye pain was not in vain!! :smile_cat:

Introducingā€¦

My Yomi Custom Character ā€¢ Taru, the Talented Transmuter!!
(Iā€™m going to ask my brother to draw a little character portrait. Might not get it for a while, but I like his style!)

In the meantime, here is my joke image of Taruā€™s Base Form character card!

Lore/Background

Taru is from this weird planet that weird lifeforms called humans call ā€œEarth.ā€ :earth_africa: Taru is Finnish!! Taru has deeply studied the processes that govern personal metamorphosis! Taruā€™s teacher is a friend & confidant of Persephoneā€™s who is mysterious and is thousands of years old! After rigorous training of the mind and body was, in their opinion, 70% complete, Taru set off to visit the realms of Fantasy Strike Land to test out their shining skill against the most dangerous targets that they currently know about! If Taru canā€™t adapt, then, well, thatā€™s it!! :scream_cat:

[details=Base Form Beta 2]

Base HP: 40
Normal Attack (2-6, 8-10) Speed: Card Rank + 0.9
Normal Attack (2-6, 8-10) Damage: Card Rank
7 Attack Speed: 3.0
7 Attack Damage: 1
Normal Throw Speed: Card Rank + 0.9
Normal Throw Damage: 6
Normal Throw CP: 2
Normal Throws KD & are Starters
Base Combo Points: 3
Max Hand Size: 12

Any Taru Innates (Base, Aggressive, or Turtle):

-You can link normal attacks in ascending or descending order.

Taru Forms + Any Other Character Extra Innates:

Can transform into any other non-EX character or other forms multiple ways:
-Transform at End of Turn or during the Draw Phase by discarding an Ace.
-Transform during after dodging by discarding two Aces.

Taruā€™s max HP/life total changes through transformation, & once per game Taru can gain life from transforming!:
-If you transform into another Taru form, your life total becomes that formā€™s max HP.
-If you transform into another character instead, your max HP becomes that characterā€™s max HP. Gain life equal to Ā½ that characterā€™s max HP, rounded up.

Card Ranks:

Attacks: 2-7*, 8-10, J*, Q+Q+Q, A+A*, & AAA*
Throws: 6, 8, 9, & K+K
Blocks: 2, 3, 5, 7, & 10
Dodges: 4, J*, Q*, & K*

Specials & Supers:

7 Attack: 1 CP, 3.0 Speed Normal Attack (That canā€™t be interrupted except by moves that knock down if played as a combat card. See ā€œAll of Taru Abilitiesā€ for more info!). 1 damage.

J Attack: 1 CP, 2.4 Speed Ender. 6 (4) damage.

K Throw: 3 CP, 3.0 Speed Ender. 7 +K for 5 damage.

Q Attack: 3 CP, 1.0 Speed Ender. 10 (2) damage +Q +Q for 5 damage each.

A Attack: 2 CP, 2.0 Speed Ender. 12 (3) damage +Ace for 8 damage.

AAA Attack: 1.0 Speed, Canā€™t Combo. 40 (0) damage.

Fastest Attacks: Q+Q+Q (1.0), AAA* (1.0), A* (2.0), J* (2.4), 2 (2.9), 7* (3.0), 3 (3.9)ā€¦

Fastest Throws: K (3.0), 6 (6.9), 8 (8.9), & 9 (9.9).[/details]

[details=All of Taru Abilities Beta 2]

7 Attack: Parrying Done Better-er?: (During Combat) This attack cannot be interrupted except by moves that knock down. (If itā€™s hit by a faster attack, the opponent canā€™t combo. This hits afterwards and wins combat.)

You do not take damage from an opponentā€™s faster attack right away. Make a note of the damage you would have taken. Starting next turn, reduce that total by 5 after the power-up phase until it reaches zero or you get hit. If you get hit before that total reaches zero you take the remaining damage immediately.

If you win combat with a 7, reveal a card from your hand. Next turn both sides of that card are 2.0 speed faster, to a minimum of 0.0. If you combat-reveal that card next turn your opponentā€™s attacks and throws are also 2.0 speed slower.

If you play the card you revealed last turn, and you win combat, search your deck or discard for an Ace (Shuffle your deck if you searched it this way.). If you play the card you revealed, and you lose combat, draw a card.

J Attack: Chip Chop: (During Combat) This attack crushes blocks of a different color and deals double damage. If the opponent attempts to block a red J with a black block they take damage from that J as if it was unblocked, dealt twice as much damage, they do not draw a card from blocking and their block is discarded. If the opponent blocks a black J with a black block they did a jolly good job & they just take the chip damage & draw a card as normal!

J Dodge: Portent: (During Combat) If you dodge a Joker with this you may search your deck for any card & put it into your hand (In addition to following up with one move.). If you dodge an attack with this look at the top three cards of the opponentā€™s deck. If able, you may choose one attack or throw from among them to follow up this dodge. (You can pump it, but you must spend the cards to do so from your own hand.) Put the rest back on the top or bottom of their deck in any order.

Q Dodge: All the Yomises (Currently Assembled): (During Combat) If you dodge a Joker with this you may search your deck for any card & put it into your hand (In addition to following up with one move.). If you dodge an attack with this your opponent reveals their hand. You may choose any attack or throw from there that they could play to follow up this dodge. (You can pump it, but you must spend the cards to do so from your own hand.)

K Dodge: Dash of Polyjuice: (During Combat) If you dodge a Joker with this, you may search your deck for any card & put it into your hand (In addition to following up with one move.). If you dodge an attack with this, you may transform the opponent into any of the 20 non-EX characters in Yomi (In addition to following up with one move.) -> Potential Change to Dash of Polyjuice ability: After dodging an attack, you may follow up with one Attack or Throw from your opponentā€™s discard. (You can pump it, but you must spend the cards to do so from your own hand.)

A Attack: The Answers: If you deal damage or block damage with either side of this Ace, until the end of the next turn you may discard a card of the same rank to counter abilities played by the opponent. (This can even be used to counter Ace abilities, but not innates.)[/details]

[details=Turtle Form Beta 2] HP: 60
Normal Attack (2-6, 8-10) Speed: Card Rank + 1.9
Normal Attack (2-6, 8-10) Damage: Card Rank + 5 Any + 5 Any
7 Attack Speed: 3.0
7 Attack Damage: 7 + 7 (Forā€¦ discarding another 7! :stuck_out_tongue:)
Normal Throw speed: Card Rank + 1.9
Normal Throw damage: 5 + 3 Any + 3 Any
Normal Throw CP: 1
Normal Throws donā€™t KD & Canā€™t Combo
Turtle Combo Points: 1
Max Hand Size: DI

Turtle Form Innates:

-Can have any number of cards in hand at end of turn. Even over 12! AKA no max hand size!
-Does not take chip damage from blocking specials/supers/& such!
-The opponent discards a card when you block an attack or Joker in this form. If the opponent revealed a normal attack this discard happens before they would draw a card or recur their normal attack.
-Turtle Form Taru cannot dodge. Your combat-revealed dodges do nothing and are discarded.

Turtle Form Card Abilities:

10 Block (Mielikkiā€™s Guidance): When you successfully block an attack or Joker with this, choose one of the following, then discard this card:
"Challenge your opponent to a best of three game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. If you win, search their deck for any card and put it into your hand. If you lose, you take 3 damage and are KD.
ā€œDraw a card. (In addition to the card youā€™d normally draw for blocking.)ā€
"Gain 10 life. (If you would go over your max HP, instead your max HP increases to accommodate that. This increase in max HP persists across transformations.)

Card Ranks:

Attacks: 2-7*, 8-10, J*, Q+Q+Q+Q, A*, & AAAA*
Throws: 6, 8, 9, & K.
Blocks: 2, 3, 5, 7, & 10*
Dodges:

Specials & Supers:

7 Attack: 3.0 Speed Ender (That canā€™t be interrupted except by moves that knock down. See ā€œAll of Taru Abilitiesā€ for more info!). 7 damage + 7 (By discarding a 7.)

J Attack: 4.7 Speed, Canā€™t Combo. 8 (6) damage.

Q Attack: 2.0 Speed Ender. 8 (3) +Q +Q +Q for 4 damage each.

K Throw: 6.0 Speed, Canā€™t Combo. 15 damage & KD.

A Attack: 10.1 Speed, Canā€™t Combo. 10 (10) Damage. Knocks down.

AAAA Attack: 66.6 Speed, Canā€™t Combo. 66 (6) Damage. Cannot be played as a dodge follow-up.

Fastest Attacks: Q+Q+Q+Q (2.0), 7* (3.0), 2 (3.9), J* (4.7), 3 (4.9), 4 (5.9), 5 (6.9)ā€¦

Fastest Throws: K (6.0), 6 (7.9), 8 (9.9), & 9 (10.9).[/details]

[details=Aggressive Form Beta 2]
HP: 30
Normal Attack (2-6, 8-10) Speed: Card Rank - 0.4
Normal Attack (2-6, 8-10) Damage: Card Rank
7 Attack Speed: 3.0
7 Attack Damage: Itā€™s Complicated. (See Specials & Supers below for more info!)
Normal throw speed: Card Rank + 0.6
Normal Throw damage: 7
Normal Throw CP: 2
Normal Throws KD & are Starters
Aggressive Combo Points: 7
Max Hand Size: 7

Aggressive Form Innates:

-Can Power Up for any card from their deck via straights & during the Power-Up phase.
-Does not draw a card during the draw phase, but draws three cards upon landing a normal attack. (Even on block.)
-Max Hand Size reduced by five; from 12 to 7.

Aggressive Form card abilities:

10 Block (LemminkƤinenā€™s Relent): When you successfully block an attack with this 10 take no chip damage & reflect double that attackā€™s damage, rounded up, to your opponent. Discard this card & do not draw a card from blocking.

Card Ranks:

Attacks: 2-7*, 8-10, J+J*, Q+Any+Any, A+A*, & AAA*
Throws: 6, 8, 9, & K+Any+Any
Blocks: 2, 3, 5, 7, & 10*
Dodges: 4, J*, Q*, & K*

Specials & Supers:

7 Attack (When played as combat card): 3.0 Speed, Canā€™t Combo Normal Attack (That canā€™t be interrupted except by moves that knock down. See ā€œAll of Taru Abilitiesā€ for more info!). 1 damage.

7 Attack (When used in a combo): 1 CP Normal Attack, 7 damage.

J Attack: 2 CP, 1.4 Speed Linker. 7 (5) damage +J for 5 damage.

K Throw: 3 CP, 1.0 Speed Ender. 8 damage +Any +Any for 5 damage each.

Q Attack: 3 CP, 0.0 Speed Ender. 10 (2) damage +Any +Any for 5 damage each.

A Attack: 1.0 Speed, 2 CP Ender. 15 (3) damage +Ace for 9 damage.

AAA Attack: 4 CP, 0.2 Speed Ender. 35 (4) damage. -> Might change to AAA Attack: 0.2 Speed, Canā€™t Combo. 35 (4) Damage.

Fastest Attacks: Q+Any+Any (0.0), AAA* (0.2), A+A* (1.0), J+J* (1.4), 2 (1.6), 3 (2.6), 7* (3.0), 4 (3.6)ā€¦

Fastest Throws: K+Any+Any (1.0), 6 (6.6), 7 (7.6), 8 (8.6), & 9 (9.6).[/details]

Also, has anyone else made a custom Yomi character who changes forms like this? How were that character/those characters similar to & different than Taru?

And, yes, I am trying to set the record for total edits! :stuck_out_tongue:

Recent changes:

  • Offered different K Dodge ability after dodging an attack: After dodging an attack, you may follow up with one Attack or Throw from your opponentā€™s discard. (You can pump it, but you must spend the cards to do so from your own hand.)
  • Added, ā€œExcept for attacks that knock downā€ to 7 ability.
  • Thinking about changing Aggressive Form three Ace Super from an Ender to a Canā€™t Combo attack.
3 Likes

I love the face card dodges on base form in particular. Only real negatives seems to be the grappler matchup due to how many attacks he has and a 3.0 Speed Throw. Changing a grappler to a different innate and forcing them to lose Defense Mastery sounds horrible. Maybe get rid of the changing opponentā€™s innate thing on K? Having BBB not get range is yeahā€¦

Do forms + Innates stack? Turtle + Rook with Defense Mastery sounds crazy.

K Throw on Aggressive looks good, but having the lowest effective HP makes sense. Iā€™d probably even lower it since switching from base adds that HP. Turtle effectively giving you <100 HP sounds really boring in practice viewership/fighting against wise. Heā€™s slow and relies on playing RPS against throws, but his blocks are really strong so thereā€™s going to be tons of block-block. 80-90 (45?) might be better for that? <70 HP with Aggressive form is stronger than a ton of 70 HP and characters with less effective life (Jaina/Gwen) Iā€™d probably put it <60-55 (20?) for that form?

Love the idea behind the character by the way. I think theres a ton of skill involved in knowing when to switch forms. This deck seems very vulnerable to just playing for big supers sadly, but hey having these forms makes it that way.

Yeah looking at it more Aggressive looks really strong. Comboing into AAA (45) off throw for example. Maybe limit only the Taru form shifts once per game too so Aggressive doesnā€™t benefit from the bonus health Turtle gives? (Also editing a bunch too, lots of info to look over, interesting character)

2 Likes

Only giving feedback this much because Iā€™m a really huge fan of the concept.

-I realllllly like this characterā€™s interaction with Quince innate, BUT BECAUSE OF THAT youā€™d have to lower the K Throw speeds for base and aggressive.

-Might need to word 7* so you canā€™t buyback. Sounds busted with Carrion Reach or Jainaā€™s Buyback.

Balancing around other chars innates is difficult sadly, but having strong options is also fun to have.

2 Likes

First of allā€¦ Taru prefers they!

But, thanks for all of the feedback @JonnyD ! I probably overdid it with the attacks, but the whole comboing normals out-of-order doesnā€™t work as well if they are lacking normals. :stuck_out_tongue: Thatā€™s a tertiary-ish Taru thing, and mostly something I imagined would be exciting to see in a tournament game. Revealing a 10 because ye know a throw is comingā€¦ That kind of thing! :smiley_cat: But, yeah, Itā€™s possible that the 7 block could get changed to a throw, and one-two normals could get changed to blocks to help out the grappler fans out there!

One thing that is nice about being able to link ascending or descending normals is that Taru could do a weird combo like this: 2->3->2 and be able to get an Ace off of it. I guess itā€™s okay to have a few higher normals, but I probably should downplay them because Onimaru already exists!

Ye are probably right about the K ability being annoying/too good. The idea of it is that the opponent has to adapt to being a different character sometimes as well, but maybe itā€™s too reliable off of a Face card dodge. And then there are also edge cases that are kind ofā€¦ Uh, well, take a look:
(They might not be edge-y enough! :stuck_out_tongue: )

  • Geiger who just used Temporal Distortion & has lethal Yomises in hand ā†’ A character that doesnā€™t have Spirals?

  • A Persephone who worked really hard to knock the opponent down one time & has a 10 going ā†’ A character that isnā€™t Persephone. (In my opinion, when the Persephone is changed away from Persephone the Bare Your Soul cards should be discarded - not just floating forever waiting for the game to end so they can be shuffled back into the deck, but maybe itā€™s good if they are just floating there in BYS-land, because it could provide some additional cost to transforming the Persephone! Iā€™m open to suggestion on this one!)

(But, damn, hereā€™s why that ability canā€™t exist, reasonably! :scream_cat: Check this wildness out!!)

  • BBB that gained range ā†’ Not a robot/android? (Maybe Long Range could just end if the BBB is changed into another character while itā€™s active???)

I really would like this ability to be part of Taruā€™s kit, but it likely messes up characterā€™s gameplans slightly too much to be a useful addition. Oh, and itā€™s also a mid-match counterpick! :joy_cat: Thatā€™s less resource-intensive than Taruā€™s innate counterpick is meant to be!! :joy_cat:

My intent was that Taruā€™s forms do not stack with other characterā€™s innates! I didnā€™t make it clear, but If ye are Quince, then ye have Quinceā€™s innate & moves/move speeds/abilities - but ye also have the ability to transform into other characters/Taru forms. Positive Spin-ing a J into a transformation into Persephone recurring a 2 via Dominance sounds fun to me!! What do ye think about that, though?

Aggressive Form has 30 HP. Thatā€™s the max HP for Taruā€™s Aggressive Form. If ye had more HP than thatā€¦ Say, like, 40 or so - from base Taru - then yeā€™d basically lose 10 HP in the transformation. Maybe thatā€™s too low, but thatā€™s what they have for now! But, yeah, if Taru is at 7 or something & hasnā€™t changed forms during the game 30 HP & the speeds offered by Aggressive Form could still be pretty scary! :0

Turtle Form Max HP should probably be toned down. 50 HP could be a fine number, but Iā€™m open to suggestions. And, Iā€™m not sure if ye think this Jonny, but to clarify, changing to Turtle from Base without taking any damage doesnā€™t put Taru above 60 life. I think ye were talking about their effective life because of their chip-damage avoiding blocks and their special 10 block, but I just wanted to make that more clear! Do ye think that reducing the Turtle Formā€™s max health to 50 is change enough? (In addition to maybe changing around some things with their normals/K ability/& Throw/Block ranks?) Or should I also increase their damage potential/threateningness in some way(s) so that block/block turns are less likely?

I am currently thinking about changing that side of the Super for Aggressive Taru into a Canā€™t Combo move. It only deals 35 damage, though!! The other side of their Ace in Aggressive Form could be enough combo nonsense, I think! And itā€™s possible that that 1.0 Speed side should be increased to 3 CP from 2 CP! What would ye think about that? And, do ye think the cost, damage, & speed of the triple-Ace Aggressive Form Super is alrighty?[quote=ā€œJonnyD, post:3, topic:2911ā€]
Only giving feedback this much because Iā€™m a really huge fan of the concept.
[/quote]
I <3 ye, JonnyD!!!

:codexquince: :heart:s ye, too! :blush: What do ye think is a good speed for K throw? Or, Is it okay to leave it alone because innates & forms donā€™t stack? At least, I didnā€™t intend for them to! That probably could be balanced, but that sounds much tougher than going this way! :scream_cat:

I donā€™t know if I have the required Balancing Quotient to achieve thisā€¦! :crying_cat_face:

ā€¦But, thereā€™s still messed up stuff ye can do even if innates donā€™t stack. Like dodging into a Bonecracker that takes the opponentā€™s Joker. Thenā€¦ Banishing that Joker and then transforming into Perse, and trying to get all those Yomises back online!!! :hushed::ocean:

Ooooooooh, and hereā€™s one other clarification I should mention! When ye change forms ye options become that characterā€™s options! Like, no Taru forms have a 7 throwā€¦ But, :menelker: does!! Taruā€™s 2 now offers the options of Menelkerā€™s 2, etc.! (If playing with a physical deck, ye kinda need a side deck to represent the options ye are using that arenā€™t by default listed on ye cards. Itā€™s just another mix-up, so I donā€™t mind it, but I can see how other people could see it as awkward!)

1 Like

Also, @JonnyD, hereā€™s my original K Dodge ability, after being touched up a little, which I replaced with the character-changing thing:

ā€œAfter dodging an attack, you may follow up with one single-card Attack or Throw from your opponentā€™s discard. (You can pump it, but you must spend the cards to do so from your own hand.)ā€

Could that be an alrighty substitution?

1 Like

looks good to me :slight_smile:

1 Like