Back in the early days of Infinity, when we were still testing the rules of the very first edition and long before the wargame came out, we already had the Booty Rule with its chart, which included the result of a Motorcycle. Booty has always been a fun rule, but at that time it was even more so, and thanks to one of our play testers, this fantastic player would always line up one or two Bounty Hunters. There was no game in which he did not pray to pagan gods so that at least one of his Bounty Hunters would end up with a motorcycle, and the few times that this happened his cries of triumph could be heard all the way to Madrid.
Finally, it would not be until N3 that Bounty Hunters would appear in our wargame. However, the Booty chart remained with only a few changes throughout the successive editions of Infinity. So the possibility of releasing a Bounty Hunter on a Motorcycle arose.
At that time we needed a product that would become the catalog version of an exclusive figure – the Bounty Hunter with a sniper Rifle – that only a few lucky collectors would receive. The problem we encountered was that that exclusive version was so fabulous that we could do little to improve the previous model.
Seeing the weapon options available by both profiles and the Booty chart, someone pointed to the bike as a possibility. It was somewhat a "niche" alternative because as a miniature it would be too specific and not so versatile. With that being said since the Bounty Hunter was dressed in an armored one-piece jumpsuit, somewhat reminiscent of that of a motorcyclist, it seemed that it would fit well for her style. So we proposed to do a test by putting her on a motorcycle.
Of all the motorcycle options we had designed and sculpted at that time, we opted for the first version of Penthesilea. She had a sporty and futuristic style motorcycle that we loved. We liked the result so much that it was approved as a catalog product. It was a risky decision due to it being such a niche option, but the community responded with enthusiasm. She became a miniature that has always been popular with our players.
This could have been the whole story of this miniature if it wasn’t for the arrival of N4. With the newest edition, we sought to simplify the game, eliminating unnecessarily complex situations. One of the skills affected was, precisely, Booty. We chose to make the word "Motorcycle" disappear from the Loot chart because it meant a change in the Silhouette Attribute and other changes associated with the Unit Profile and it was a bit complicated to show on a graphic. In addition, a motorcycle could generate questions in terms of gameplay.
That is why in N4 the word "Motorcycle" disappears and the only thing that remains in its place is the increase to a model's MOV.
Unfortunately, this solution meant that the miniature of the Bounty Hunter ceased to have official validity in the game, at least at a competitive level.
It is true that the flexibility of the proxy rules of Infinity's organized game system opened a gap for it to be played, and in casual games, it was still a perfectly valid option. However, this was something that veterans would be very clear about, but not so much for new players. So, there were only two options for us: either it was discontinued, or it was adapted to the rules of N4.
The first option was firmly evaluated but ended up being discarded because we were very sorry to discontinue another great miniature, especially when it was not planned.
Also, there were players who already had the miniature and we wanted them to be able to play it. This led us headlong into the second option, but with a lateral approach: instead of modifying any rule, it was easier to propose a new profile.
In terms of Army functionality, it was more appropriate that this profile was separate from the original Bounty Hunters, with the Motorcycle already included on it.
The question then was to see if such a profile fit the game, how it would be integrated and whether it would unbalance the Army Lists of the game. This was not a trivial issue, and in fact, it was a red line, that if we saw that it was crossed, would mean the discontinuation of the miniature. Once it was tested and we saw that it was not the case, and we gave the green light for a new background text and badge.
In terms of background, having a motorized Bounty Hunter was not a problem, and it fits perfectly with the urban environment of these troops and their history. Who better to have a motorcycle than those who hunt and pursue criminals as dangerous as they are elusive?
At the level of lists, for simplicity, they would join all those armies that already had Authorized Bounty Hunters with Fireteam options: Duo where their Availability allowed it and with an eye on improvements for the future.
However, for logistical and agenda reasons, this new profile could not be introduced with the release of N4, so we saved it for the moment when the logistics were already on our side. It was not a difficult decision, because we also like to save some surprises for the future and to release news gradually. This way, the game remains alive and dynamic throughout the year and not tied only to the great annual events that transpire around the hobby industry.
It is an existing miniature at the product level, but from a game point of view, it is a great novelty that offers a new profile, available to anyone who wants to try it. This profile gives all those players who already had this miniature the option of being able to play with it without having to wait for a lucky result in the die or having to pray to pagan gods, as our one-play tester did. Having an available profile also opens the door to, in the future, the release of another miniature of this new unit - but that will depend in large part on the response of the community. That means you all have the power. In the meantime -burn rubber baby!
