Every Niphal Mind began the same. When released into the void, each was a mirror of its mechanical counterparts. But over billions of years, every Mind has had its own experiences which have shaped each into a unique being. Some have deviated quite severely from their original purpose choosing to remain in a single location. Building bizarre colonies and attempting to enact a sort of forced evolution. Others have remained true to the Directive and continue to eradicate all sentient life they can find. The newest cabal of Niphal Minds is searching the galaxy for any sign of their creators. These strange explorers can be found along the fringe of the galaxy performing inscrutable tasks in an attempt to discover the origins of their race.
The Niphal Mind unit on the battlefield is an AI splinter. A copy of the Niphal Mind which remains on the outskirts of the solar system. These splinters are capable of independent action and thought. However when all of their tasks are complete, these splinters will return to the original Mind to be absorbed and reintegrated. It is in this way that the experiences and memories of the splinters are not lost and with every victory, the Mind grows in experience.
In the game the Niphal Mind is the Commander model for a Niphal Battle Force. Armed with an x-ray laser, this potent weapon emits a beam of intense energy which does 2 damage and has the armor piercing trait. It also has an x-ray pulse. This deadly melee weapon creates pulses of intense, short-range radiation which cook and damage any unfortunate combatants which happen to be in proximity.
But its most potent ability is its special action called Priority Target. This special action gives an enemy unit the Prioritized ailment which allows all Niphal units attacking that unit the ability to re-roll their to hit rolls. The Mind analyzes the battlefield and is able to select what it perceives as the most dangerous opponents, so that its nodes know what to prioritize the destruction of. This towering character construct is the literal brains of the whole operation. But they are not the only construct in the Niphal forces.
The Niphal Annihilator may be built from the same chassis as the Niphal Mind but that is where the similarities end. Whereas the latter is the housing for a splinter of an ancient alien AI, the Annihilator is designed only to destroy. These methodical monstrosities walk across the battlefield, firing a pair of heavy death rays, each of which do 3 damage with the armor piercing trait. As if a pair of literal death beams wasn’t enough, it also has a projectile weapon called fractal artillery. This strange weapon launches micro-spheres of mutated physics which rain upon the enemy, destabilizing and damaging all matter they come into contact with.
For any who attempt to reach this towering machine in melee, they are greeted by a series of crushing stomps. These powerful blows don’t even need to hit their target. Rather than attempt to target smaller fast moving targets, the Annihilator unleashes bursts of stored kinetic energy from its legs. This energy hits anything in proximity, cutting through defenses and sending vibrations through all nearby matter. These destabilize and erode materials from within and repeated exposure is always fatal. Together these two construct units bring a promise of only destruction and death to all of their enemies.
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