Wulf Sternhammer
Never far from Johnny Alpha's side is a Viking warrior called Wulf Sternhammer. Wulf is a close combat specialist who is deadly with "Der Happy Stick". When he isn't cracking skulls, Wulf is usually keeping a close eye on his reward meter, dreaming of ever-greater riches. So how does Johnny's right hand man play in the Strontium Dog Miniatures Game?
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| Johnny and Wulf under fire in an early Strontium Dog strip. Art by Carlos Ezquerra Copyright Rebellion 2000AD Ltd |
Stats
Wulf isn't a particularly great marksman but, that aside, he has some of the best stats in the game. He can take a lot of punishment with strong Resist and Cool, but it is his powerful fighting skill and the bonus of Der Happy stick that really make him such a deadly opponent!
Skills and Special Abilities
Berserker: Wulf ignores any stat loss for the first wound he takes in the game. This is important because the stat loss inflicted by wounds massively reduces the effectiveness of characters in the game and hastens their demise at an ever-increasing pace.
Brawler: This is the hand-to-hand version of the Gunfighter skill that Johnny has. Provided Wulf isn't pinned when engaged in close combat, there is a good chance he will provide his attacker an opportunity to inspect Der Happy Stick up close - with deadly consequences!
Look Out Johnny!: This is a nice thematic ability which illustrates Wulf's loyalty to Johnny, allowing him to take the hit for his friend if he is close enough to do so. As Wulf has a higher Resist than Johnny, this is a handy skill to have, especially since Wulf has that Berserker ability!
Tactics for playing Wulf
As mentioned above, Wulf's Berserker and Look Out Johnny! abilities compliment one another so it is wise to keep Wulf close by Johnny to soak up incoming fire for him. But Wulf isn't just there as a meat shield! Any chance you get to instigate close combat, you should do so. As per the errata post, you can use the Charge action even if you are already engaged in close combat, so if at first you don't put an enemy down you can keep charging! If you land a hit, a Charge action and an attack with Der Happy Stick rewards you with a whopping 6 damage dice! Ja! Is no small cucumbers! Two attacks with 5 combat dice is my personal preference, 10 combat dice damage to 6 is always the best option! As another character that has a Star Chip, he can be just as devastating to enemies with Der Happy Stick as Johnny is with a Westinghouse - provided you keep your Cool and fortune smiles upon you!
Overall
By Odin's beard! Wulf is exactly what he should be; a great foil and partner to have by Johnny's side! Get ready to drop the hammer on your enemies!
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| Wulf in action with Der Happy Stick! Art by Carlos Ezquerra Copyright Rebellion 2000AD Ltd |
The Gronk
I love Carlos Ezquerra's design of the alien creature known as "The Gronk" and he is well realised in miniature form!
For those unfamiliar with the Strontium Dog strip, the Gronk is a very frail creature whose species suffer heart attacks at the slightest fright. Obviously this makes him useless in a firefight (Johnny and Wulf regularly instruct the Gronk to stay out of sight when trouble is brewing). What the Gronk is good at is healing and eating metals, the latter of which isn't exactly ideal in a combat miniatures game.
There really isn't much you can do with the Gronk other than to play him thematically which means keeping him out of the way as much as possible. If you're the protagonist, I don't recommend bringing him to the fight at all. He is too slow to keep up with your squad and unlikely therefore to be able to use his I Has The Best Medicines. If you're defending there is more scope to make use of him; taking cover in a building nearby to his friends and/or allies would be my recommendation. That way if the wounds start mounting up against your team, the wounded models can retreat inside to get patched up. It's worth mentioning that putting a retreating model on Hunker Down means that when they run to the Gronk, they can attempt to heal some of their own wounds first, then activating the Gronk gives them another chance, this time to fully heal!
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| The Gronk by Carlos Ezquerra Copyright 2000AD Ltd |
For those unfamiliar with the Strontium Dog strip, the Gronk is a very frail creature whose species suffer heart attacks at the slightest fright. Obviously this makes him useless in a firefight (Johnny and Wulf regularly instruct the Gronk to stay out of sight when trouble is brewing). What the Gronk is good at is healing and eating metals, the latter of which isn't exactly ideal in a combat miniatures game.
Stats
Slow and fairly useless. He can Evade but that's about it. As per the errata thread, game designer Andy Chambers has confirmed that the Gronk's stated Cool of 5 is a misprint, it should be 1.
Skills and Special Abilities
Oh My Poor Heartses!: Yes, the Gronk is as frail in the game as he is in the strip. He can be revived for a single action but do you want your squad using precious actions to constantly revive him?
Portable: This amusing ability allows other characters to carry the Gronk around the battlefield, presumably by the tuft of fur at the top of his head. This would be a way to compensate for his slow movement but I don't see Johnny or Wulf treating their friend like that.
I Has The Best Medicines: This is the one thing that the Gronk will come in handy for as he can heal all wounds on a model. As per the errata thread, when rolling to heal, you roll against the wounded model's unmodified Resist.
Tactics for playing the Gronk
There really isn't much you can do with the Gronk other than to play him thematically which means keeping him out of the way as much as possible. If you're the protagonist, I don't recommend bringing him to the fight at all. He is too slow to keep up with your squad and unlikely therefore to be able to use his I Has The Best Medicines. If you're defending there is more scope to make use of him; taking cover in a building nearby to his friends and/or allies would be my recommendation. That way if the wounds start mounting up against your team, the wounded models can retreat inside to get patched up. It's worth mentioning that putting a retreating model on Hunker Down means that when they run to the Gronk, they can attempt to heal some of their own wounds first, then activating the Gronk gives them another chance, this time to fully heal!
Overall
Suitably harmless! Feel like a method actor, crying "oh my poor heartses" every time he is pinned, stunned or wounded!
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| Johnny encourages the Gronk to eat their way out of a prison cell! Art by Carolos Ezquerra. Copyright 2000AD Ltd |
Optional Homebrew Rules
Metal Mouth: At the cost of a double action, the Gronk can eat through metal surfaces such as spacecraft walls, creating a 1" hole wide enough for larger models can pass through. However, as they have to duck, this counts as difficult terrain. He can also use this ability, again at the cost of a double action, to render a mechanical vehicle useless.
The Gronk would be better suited to being part of the mission objectives rather than a team member. I plan on designing a few scenarios around him which I'll share here soon!
The Strontium Dog Miniatures Game is available from Warlord Games which you can find here.
The Gronk would be better suited to being part of the mission objectives rather than a team member. I plan on designing a few scenarios around him which I'll share here soon!
The Strontium Dog Miniatures Game is available from Warlord Games which you can find here.
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