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So. Six melees versus two ranged, one melee and one melee/medic. Predictions?
A few important things to note about Brikwars before we continue:
-- Movement is 5" per turn.
-- Ranged weapons can fire 10". No modifiers for distance.
-- Melee weapons are as far as they can reach. No hand-to-hand.
-- Ranged weapons roll one die. Melee roll two. They're compared against the armor of the victim (typically two dice) and if they're higher than the defender's roll, death.
-- Rolling a 1 is a critical failure and should be treated shamefully, comically as such.
-- Rolling a 6 allows you to roll again and add that number to your roll, and yes, if it's a 6 again, away you go. And I like to treat multiple sixes with some...reverence and mayhem.
This being my first outing into the game, the game field is a bit spartan. But I got me a pica pole!
We'll liven it up. Rolling for initiative comes out badly for the army: Megan, Thor, Baker, Renee, Able, Doc, Louis, Jazz, Kyoko, Charlie. So Megan and Thor begin running and screaming at the terrified opponents lined up across the way.
Baker takes a shot at Thor but rolls a 1, so the bullet essentially splits itself harmlessly on Thor's blade, which makes him laugh and stomp his feet excitedly. Renee undulates her way down the battlefield. Able tries to peg her, but rolls a 2 and next to her armor roll of 4x4, that's not gonna do nothin'.
The horde encroaches.
Charlie understands. Charlie knows he's got a useless weapon unless he swings it real hard and gets a lucky shot in, but damned if he's not gonna go down swingin'.
Renee and Thor both converge -- the lead-gourds bounce off, but the axe almost finds purchase before being parried by Charlie's mine-detector.
Renee: enjoying this.
Megan's got an interesting strategy -- just because she's aligned opposite him and ignorant of any tactical advantage in taking on, oh, the guys with the guns that can kill you from a distance, she's locked in to Doc, and she's gotta racket with his neck's name on it.
It is at this moment that Doc freaks out, eschews the Hippocratic oath, and tries his best to bludgeon the tennis player with his medical bag. She falters, but does not fall.
Had Louis been thinking, he might've said something clever like "Batter up!" or "Hey, stitch-face, over here?" or "This one's for Bill Buckner," but, well, nothing more emphatic than a "HWAA!" *PLONK* 3-4v2-3: that's a kill, ladies and gentlemen.
Our first casualty, Doc. Rest in pieces.
Kyoko and Jazz are now converging on Able while Charlie's swarming with vicious opponents and it looks like the duo that just got done with Doc are eyeing Baker....
Megan's next roll: 6-5-4v4-2. Not even close. Baker had time to scream before being eviscerated by a tennis racket. RIP, Baker.
"Marv, as you can see out here, the chaos has unfurled and we can now confirm two casualties, repeat, two casualties on the end of blunt intruments, one a baseball bat and the other possibly a guitar, we don't know, it's hard to tell from here, we'll have an update for you at ten...."
The Army Men's crowning moment of glory: Thor attacks Charlie and rolls double 1s. This can only mean flinging himself backwards, prone, and losing his weapon. Charlie pumps his fist and yells out a war cry -- surely this is the turning point for the olive drab.
Still able to dodge the sniping, Jazz and Kyoko converge on Able and begin pummeling him, thus far, without fatality.
Charlie's still feeling an adrenaline high when Megan sneaks up behind him, not wanting to make too much of a...racket! 6-2-2v5-2: Sorry, Charlie, the neck's gotta go.
Renee helps with the gloating.
Renee launches a banzai attack on Able, thinking maybe they could overwhelm him somehow with their relentless flurry of point-blank melee attacks, but Able is so far, er, able to withstand the storm, but, hey, isn't that....
With a Rebel yell, Louis launches himself into the melee, hitting him with a 3-1v3-1 -- close enough to rattle his bones, but not to finish him off....
Kyoko's next roll: 6-2-6-4v55. Obliteration.
Even the survivors are blown clear when Kyoko's fan attack finds its way into Able's midsection. It was a perfectly powerful attack, and a perfect exclamation point to answer the question: do two ranged units have an advantage over six melees? NO! GOD, NO! Certainly not under these circumstances. Maybe in an appropriate siege venue, but flat-out on a plain? Stick with the melee; it'll get you farther. The more you know.
A few important things to note about Brikwars before we continue:
-- Movement is 5" per turn.
-- Ranged weapons can fire 10". No modifiers for distance.
-- Melee weapons are as far as they can reach. No hand-to-hand.
-- Ranged weapons roll one die. Melee roll two. They're compared against the armor of the victim (typically two dice) and if they're higher than the defender's roll, death.
-- Rolling a 1 is a critical failure and should be treated shamefully, comically as such.
-- Rolling a 6 allows you to roll again and add that number to your roll, and yes, if it's a 6 again, away you go. And I like to treat multiple sixes with some...reverence and mayhem.
This being my first outing into the game, the game field is a bit spartan. But I got me a pica pole!
We'll liven it up. Rolling for initiative comes out badly for the army: Megan, Thor, Baker, Renee, Able, Doc, Louis, Jazz, Kyoko, Charlie. So Megan and Thor begin running and screaming at the terrified opponents lined up across the way.
Baker takes a shot at Thor but rolls a 1, so the bullet essentially splits itself harmlessly on Thor's blade, which makes him laugh and stomp his feet excitedly. Renee undulates her way down the battlefield. Able tries to peg her, but rolls a 2 and next to her armor roll of 4x4, that's not gonna do nothin'.
The horde encroaches.
Charlie understands. Charlie knows he's got a useless weapon unless he swings it real hard and gets a lucky shot in, but damned if he's not gonna go down swingin'.
Renee and Thor both converge -- the lead-gourds bounce off, but the axe almost finds purchase before being parried by Charlie's mine-detector.
Renee: enjoying this.
Megan's got an interesting strategy -- just because she's aligned opposite him and ignorant of any tactical advantage in taking on, oh, the guys with the guns that can kill you from a distance, she's locked in to Doc, and she's gotta racket with his neck's name on it.
It is at this moment that Doc freaks out, eschews the Hippocratic oath, and tries his best to bludgeon the tennis player with his medical bag. She falters, but does not fall.
Had Louis been thinking, he might've said something clever like "Batter up!" or "Hey, stitch-face, over here?" or "This one's for Bill Buckner," but, well, nothing more emphatic than a "HWAA!" *PLONK* 3-4v2-3: that's a kill, ladies and gentlemen.
Our first casualty, Doc. Rest in pieces.
Kyoko and Jazz are now converging on Able while Charlie's swarming with vicious opponents and it looks like the duo that just got done with Doc are eyeing Baker....
Megan's next roll: 6-5-4v4-2. Not even close. Baker had time to scream before being eviscerated by a tennis racket. RIP, Baker.
"Marv, as you can see out here, the chaos has unfurled and we can now confirm two casualties, repeat, two casualties on the end of blunt intruments, one a baseball bat and the other possibly a guitar, we don't know, it's hard to tell from here, we'll have an update for you at ten...."
The Army Men's crowning moment of glory: Thor attacks Charlie and rolls double 1s. This can only mean flinging himself backwards, prone, and losing his weapon. Charlie pumps his fist and yells out a war cry -- surely this is the turning point for the olive drab.
Still able to dodge the sniping, Jazz and Kyoko converge on Able and begin pummeling him, thus far, without fatality.
Charlie's still feeling an adrenaline high when Megan sneaks up behind him, not wanting to make too much of a...racket! 6-2-2v5-2: Sorry, Charlie, the neck's gotta go.
Renee helps with the gloating.
Renee launches a banzai attack on Able, thinking maybe they could overwhelm him somehow with their relentless flurry of point-blank melee attacks, but Able is so far, er, able to withstand the storm, but, hey, isn't that....
With a Rebel yell, Louis launches himself into the melee, hitting him with a 3-1v3-1 -- close enough to rattle his bones, but not to finish him off....
Kyoko's next roll: 6-2-6-4v55. Obliteration.
Even the survivors are blown clear when Kyoko's fan attack finds its way into Able's midsection. It was a perfectly powerful attack, and a perfect exclamation point to answer the question: do two ranged units have an advantage over six melees? NO! GOD, NO! Certainly not under these circumstances. Maybe in an appropriate siege venue, but flat-out on a plain? Stick with the melee; it'll get you farther. The more you know.
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From:
no subject
Though--one simple change could significantly change the picture. Give the ranged attackers a *15"* Range, and they can win as long as they stick to a 'shoot and move' strategy, preventing their opponents from ever managing to close in to melee range..this of course assumes that they don't run out of *field*...which given the size of the one you used and that they started on the edge of it, could be a problem. :-)
From:
no subject
This may prove to be an upcoming experiment.
You're absolutely right, though. My working theory going into it would be that Charlie and/or Doc would be able to stop the horde long enough for Able and Baker to pick them off, but you're right, the distances are unhelpful for that strategy, as is the terrain (even a modest hill or a wall would be a great benefit), and the one die of damage almost requires a critical hit to be fatal. (And this is without using hit point rules!)
And the sad thing is, that's the largest baseplate I have. May have to either start stitching others together, scale down the ranges by half, or...I dunno. Definitely calls for further research, and more shots of Megan wielding a bloodied tennis racket....