Darkfell is my own Mordheim, with a sort of ‘anything goes’ vibe. Medieval armour, 20th century guns, magic, alchemy and cyborgs. I’ve posted a few times on Darkfell before, and much like Deathzap written several rule sets for the setting.
The last rule set I put together I called ‘The Wager’, and you can find the original here:
https://deathzap.co.uk/2020/10/25/mechanics-lab-darkfell-the-wager/
In going back through the blog, looking at projects I was hoping to get into and develop for 2024, I stumbled back into Darkfell (even though I didn’t mention it in my last post). The original Wager rules however were a little clunky and a couple of years removed I could easily see bits that could be tidied up.
So here’s the first round of my tidying…
THE WAGER
Each player begins with a pool of 30 Wager Points (WP) and a force of between 3 and 12 figures. Each figure has 4 characteristics: Speed, Ranged Attack, Melee Attack and Defence. Speed can be any value from 0-6. Ranged Attack can be any value from 0-6, Melee Attack and Defence can be any value from 1-6.
The game is played on a 2’x2’ board, with forces deployed on opposite sides and within 3” of the board edge. Players roll off to determine who deploys first, and then the player that deployed first takes the first turn.
At the start of any player’s turn they add D6 WP to their pool.
During a player’s turn they spend WP from their pool to perform wagers. They can perform two wagers per figure per turn. If at any point their pool is exhausted they automatically lose the game.
WAGERS
Movement Wager
Wager how many inches your figure is going to move. You must wager a number from 3 to 6, even if you want to move less than 3. Roll a D6.
If you roll equal to or above the number wagered you can move your figure up to the number of inches you declared.
If you roll lower than the number you wagered you still move your figure up to that distance but you lose 1WP.
A figure’s Speed characteristic modifies the value they move after the die has been rolled. For example a figure with speed 1 will move 4″ when I Wager 3.
Ranged Attack Wager
If your figure has a Ranged Attack value then you can make a ranged attack wager against an enemy that is visible to them. Wager how many dice you will roll to score a hit, you can declare up to your figure’s Ranged Attack value in number of dice. The figure’s Ranged Attack value is modified as follows:
-1 per full 6” from shooter to target
-1 if the target is partially obscured from the shooter in some way
For example a figure with Ranged Attack 5 shooting at an enemy 13” away and partially behind a wall will suffer a -3 modifier to their Ranger Attack value.
Your opponent then declares how many dice they will roll for their figure’s defence. They cannot roll more than their figure’s Defence Value.
After declaring, roll the dice and compare the results. If the highest die rolled by the attacker exceeds the highest die rolled by the defender then the defender takes a hit. If the second highest die rolled by the attacker exceeds the second highest die rolled by the defender then the defender takes a hit.
If only a single die was rolled by the attacker then only a single hit can be scored. If only a single die was rolled by the defender then compare that single die to both the first and second highest dice rolled by the attacker.
If the defender takes a single hit from the attack then they are wounded. If the defender takes two hits from the attack then they are killed. If the defender was already wounded then they will be killed by a single hit.
If the attacker succeeds in either wounding or killing the defender the defender loses 1WP per die they rolled. If the attacker fails to either wound or kill the defender then they lose 1WP per die rolled.
Melee Attack Wager
Melee attacks operate the same as ranged attacks however the attacker must be in base contact with their target.
Dead Figures
Each time a figure is killed its owner loses D3 WP. If the figure killed is their leader then they lose D6 instead.
It’s a fun little system, that plays quickly and easily. I’m looking towards adding a points system which shouldn’t be too tough (there’s only four stats).
Any ideas let me know.
Deathzap 