Apologies to those that have seen this post before, I posted it a little while ago but it vanished from the blog, so this is me reposting it now.
With the last dying embers of humanity about to go out it was left to us, the shunned and outcast dead to rightfully claim the world that had always been our deathright.
Imhotep of all of us had waited the longest, since his execution for crimes against the gods themselves, he had bided his time, watched as his body decayed into bones and ash, his mind alive with hatred for the still living.
Imhotep’s risen approach the shrine as Davy Jones’ emerge from the dark wood.
We didn’t know the power of the shrines, but as we had risen from our graves so they had risen from the silent earth.
Gibbering farcical shanties and swinging rusted steel, the pirates spy the shrine and their soon to be victims.
However with a sudden bolt of crackling energy from Imhotep’s champion and with the charge on of two of his tomb guards the pirate captain was laid low.
Davy Jones’ crew pressed on, not yet willing to give in.
But Imhotep’s risen downed another curse buccaneer.
From then on the pirate force was surrounded and crushed, with only a single hero left standing at the end.
Here are the rules I used for the battle:
DEADWARS: SIMPLE FANTASY SKIRMISH
BUILDING A FORCE
Each force is made up of a number of figures. Each figure has a Clan, class and a rank. All figures in your force must be of the same Clan, but they can all be different classes and ranks. Classes include – Fighters, Berserkers, Skirmishers, Shooters and Magic Users. There are only three ranks Soldiers, Guards and Heroes. Soldiers can take a single wound before being killed and can make one attack per turn, Guards can take two wounds and attack twice, and Heroes can take three wounds and attack three times.
Your force always consists of a Champion, a champion’s rank is always Hero, but they can be any class. Your champion costs 0 points. You then have 7 points to make up the rest of your force – Soldiers cost 1 point, Guards 2 and Heroes 3 the Clan or class of a figure does not affect their points cost.
PLAYING THE GAME
The game is played in turns. During a player’s turn they attempt to activate figures and have those figures move and attack enemies, prepare for counter attacks by shoring up their own defences and have their Champions or Wizards cast spells. To do this a player rolls 1 die per soldier they have in play, two per guard and 3 per hero. Dice are then spent to perform actions. The available actions are determined by the values on the table below and the race of the force:
Imhotep
1) Dash
2) Attack
3) Attack
4) Defend
5) Defend
6) Magic
Dracula
1) Dash
2) Attack
3) Attack
4) Attack
5) Defend
6) Magic
Davy Jones
1) Dash
2) Dash
3) Attack
4) Attack
5) Defend
6) Magic
Any single die can be spent to move a figure 2”.
Any double rolled can be changed into a single die of any value.
DASH
You can spend a dash die to move a figure 4”.
Any figure can be moved as many times as you have dice to spend. If a figure makes it into base to base contact with an enemy figure they get a free attack against that enemy, you do not have to spend a die for that attack, and the attack does not count as one of the figure’s attacks for the turn.
If a figure moves out of base to base contact with an enemy figure they cannot move into base to base contact with the same or a different enemy in the same turn. When the figure is moved all enemy figures within base contact are allowed a free attack against the moving figure. No free attacks are made against the figure moving away if they use a dash die to do so.
When a figure moves they cannot move through enemy figures and are restricted by terrain in a way that makes sense.
ATTACK
You can spend an attack die to have a figure attack an enemy. Soldiers can only attack a maximum of once per turn, Guards twice and Heroes three times. The range the target enemy needs to be within, the roll needed to hit the enemy and the enemies saving throw are as per the class table below:
Class Fighter – Range 0”, Hit 3+, Save 3+
Class Berserker – Range 0”, Hit 2+, Save 4+
Class Skirmisher – Range 6”, Hit 4+, Save 4+
Class Shooter – Range 12”, Hit 5+, Save 5+
Class Wizard – Range 12”, Hit 6+, Save 6+
*Wizards can use Magic.
So a Skirmisher can attack enemies within 6”, will hit an enemy on the roll of a 4 or higher and if hit will save against an enemy hit on the roll of a 4 or higher. An enemy that is not in base to base contact while also being in base to base contact with a friendly figure cannot be the target of an attack. While an enemy is in base to base contact they must be the targets of all of a figure’s attacks.
If when rolling to hit with an attack a 6 is rolled the target of the attack suffers a -1 modifier to their saving throw. If you have multiple attack dice you can combine them for a single attack. In this case a single die is rolled to hit, but the attacker gains a +1 modifier to hit for each additional die. Regardless of any modifiers when hitting an enemy with an attack or saving against a hit a roll of 1 is always a fail and a roll of 6 is always a success.
DEFEND
You can spend a defence die on a figure to have them defend more effectively against future attacks. Place a counter next to the figure to show that it is defending. When a figure defending is hit they gain a +1 modifier to their saving throw. Once they have successfully saved against a single enemy attack they are no longer defending, remove any counters. A figure can have a multiple defence counters attributed to it but will always fail on a roll of 1.
MAGIC
When a player rolls a die and the result is magic those magic dice are put into a pool. Magic dice are the only dice that can be kept between turns. Each spell has a cost in dice and when cast the effects are resolved immediately:
Bolt (Cost 1): An enemy figure within 6” of the Caster is hit on the roll of a 4+, and can only save on a roll of 6 regardless of class.
Curse (Cost 2): An enemy figure within 6” of the Caster takes 1 damage.
Heal (Cost 2): A friendly figure within 6” of the caster regains 1 lost wound.
Boost (Cost 1): Move a friendly or enemy figure 3”.
SCENARIOS
Each game is played on a 2’x2’ board. Player’s roll off to determine who deploys a figure on to the battlefield first. Player’s then alternately deploy 1 figure each until all are placed. Then the game begins with the player that finished deploying first taking the first turn.
SOUL COLLECTORS – Player’s deploy their figures anywhere within 3” of the edge of the board and at least 12” away from any enemy figures. Place 7 Souls in the centre of the battlefield, at the end of each player’s turn each Soul moves D6” in a random direction. To collect a Soul a figure must hit them with an attack while in base to base contact. The game ends once all Souls have been collected; the player that collected the most Souls wins.
HUNT THE HUNTERS – Player’s deploy their figures anywhere within 3” of the edge of the board and at least 12” away from any enemy figures. Place 7 Humans in the centre of the battlefield, at the end of both players’ turns each Human moves 4” towards the nearest non-Human figure and attempts a single attack. Humans should be all Guard rank and a random mix of Classes (but no Wizards) and hit and save as dictated by their class. The game ends once all Humans have been killed; the player that killed the most Humans wins.
DEATH SHRINE – Player’s deploy their figures anywhere within 6” of the edge of the board and at least 12” away from any enemy figures. Place a shrine at the centre of the battlefield (no larger than 3” across), after both players have had 6 turns each the player with the most figures within 3” of the shrine wins the game.
HEAD COUNT – Player’s deploy their figures anywhere within 6” of the edge of the board and at least 12” away from any enemy figures. After both players have had 6 turns each the player that has scored the most kill points wins – Each soldier killed costs 1KP, Guard 2KP, Hero 3KP and Champion 4KP.
Deathzap 