Legion Dev Diaries – Children of the Watch

“Our secrecy is our survival. Our survival is our strength. ”
– The Armorer

Greetings  Star Wars: Legion players, and welcome to another Atomic Mass Games Transmission!

The development team is back to bring you another look at one of the clans from the new Mandalorian Battle Force!

The secretive and enigmatic Children of the Watch are a breakaway group who follow the ‘Way of the Mandalore.’ Due to being exiled on Concordia, they survived the Great Purge of Mandalore and now idolize violence and the warrior ways of the past. This presented us with an interesting design challenge:

How do we take this group, whose narrative revolves around their culture and their strict conservation of it, and evoke that in a compelling way on the tabletop?

We found the answer in their trademark saying: “This is the Way”. To the Children of the Watch, “This is the Way” is more than a simple response, it is an affirmation of their beliefs and their place in them. They acknowledge their devotion to maintaining their traditions and their duty to pass them on to the next generation.

THIS IS THE WAY: When an allied unit with the This is the Way keyword is issued an Order, choose up to X allied Children of the Watch units within 2 of that unit. Each chosen unit performs the Action listed by the unit that was issued the order’s This the Way keyword as a free action.

In Legion, when a unit with the This is the Way keyword is issued an Order it can choose other Children of the Watch units within range 2, then each chosen unit makes the action listed by the This is the Way keyword – if you’re wondering, we do indeed say it out loud every time! Like other Affiliations’ keywords, This is the Way accomplishes our design goal of conveying Affiliation identity in several ways. It highlights the Children of the Watch’s respect for authority and leaders by requiring an Order token to trigger. Choosing another unit to receive the benefit of the keyword mirrors their duty to help others in their group, and the action granted mirrors the beliefs and example shown to other newer members. We wanted This is the Way to capture the Children of the Watch identity: to explore the themes of what it means to lead, to follow, and to work together for the greater good of the tribe.

Leadership is a large theme for the Children of the Watch. It is also intentional that the characters have This is the Way keywords that are stronger than normal units, as befits the leaders and elders of the group who protect and guide the others. Conversely, Children of the Watch Initiates do not have the This is the Way keyword – they have not yet learned how to fully walk the Way. This twist to the keyword was an intentional design decision to further cement the Affiliation identity.

Notably, the Children of the Watch do not have a bespoke Special Forces unit like the other Mandalorian Affiliations. Operating out of hidden coverts, the Children of the Watch have fewer resources than other groups and make do with older equipment and hit and run tactics, as portrayed by their Out of the Shadows Command Card. They rely heavily on foundlings, staking their very survival to these new adherents of the Mandalorian Creed.

In Legion, this is reflected by the Children of the Watch’s Affiliation special rule, which allows an army made up of only Children of the Watch Commanders and Operatives to include any number of Mandalorian Initiates units. The Initiates will of course need a more seasoned warrior to instruct and guide them; Mandalorian Initiates units also reduce the cost of unique Personnel upgrades by 5 points!

Each of these character upgrades enhances the Mandalorian Initiates unit and supports the wider army. Paz Vizsla adds a potent heavy weapon and This is the Way: Aim 2. The Armorer lends her Hammer and Tongs in melee, increases the unit’s Courage by 1, and provides Reliable 2 which drastically increases the durability of the unit. Finally, Din Djarin allows a unit to gain a bonus Surge token each time it is targeted by This is the Way, reflecting his strength as a loyal follower of the Creed. We wanted these character upgrades to again lean into the overall Affiliation identity of leaders and followers.

Children of the Watch players will need to carefully issue Orders and maintain proper positioning to maximize the effects of This is the Way and get the most out of their forces. While they may not have the elite Special Forces units of other Affiliations, their increased number of Mandalorian Initiates units and powerful characters more than make up for it.

As matriarch, The Armorer evokes the Children of the Watch identity by leading and supporting her people in a variety of ways. Her strong version of This is the Way can allow one unit to move or two units to Recover, and she can use Aid to give her Reliable 1 Surge token and any other green tokens to nearby units.

Her Command Card We Shape Ourselves reflects her ability to forge armor and weapons for her tribe, helping them in battle. Should the need arise, she can take matters into her own hands, fiercely wielding her Hammer and Tongs as Both Hunter and Prey.

Paz Vizsla is perhaps the ideal Mandalorian warrior: fierce, unwavering, and loyal to his fellow Mandalorians. A truly iconic presence, it was critical that we faithfully evoke Paz’s character in Legion. Paz is a fierce combatant, armed with a Vibroknife and his signature Repeating Blaster. We wanted him to feel like a force of nature: he strides across the battlefield, using Steady to mow down any foe foolish enough to threaten him or his allies. A capable leader, Paz’s This is the Way gives out valuable Aim tokens, and he can serve as Field Commander if required.

If you’ve seen The Mandalorian, you know there was only one real option for Paz Vizsla’s Command Card. During a design meeting, Development Director Will Pagani asked for a Command Card showcasing Paz Vizsla’s epic last stand and developer Andrew Dursum responded by immediately showing him the already designed card! Go, There Are Too Many… captures Paz’s noble self-sacrifice, his final moments spent saving his clan. Recreating this iconic scene for Legion was a treat, and it was particularly fun to play with Stationary, Standby, and Versatile in a brand-new way. Many a cinematic moment was had during playtest!

It was incredibly rewarding to work through the design challenges the Children of the Watch presented. One of our guiding principles at Atomic Mass Games is evoking the source material through flavorful gameplay mechanics, and it was a joy to figure out “The Way” to do that for each clan while still making them feel like part of a greater Mandalorian identity.

That’s all for this transmission! Next time, we’ll be taking a look at Clan Saxon.

Until next time, Atomic Mass Games transmissions, signing off.