Killing Cthulhu

Last Saturday, we belatedly celebrated my birth with a game night. My brother and father-in-law joined in as we tried to stop Cthulhu.

Alas, we failed to keep him from entering our world, leading to an epic showdown with the fate of humanity in the balance. My father-in-law was devoured, and my brother was on the verge of death, when somehow I managed to score a hit, sending Cthulhu back to whence he came!

Game Du Jour

I haven't been doing much with board games lately because I have been distracted by this

I've been playing Cat Quest on my PlayStation 4. The developers describe it as a mix of "Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy and Skyrim" but with cats. It's a bit silly (especially with all the a-meow-zing cat puns) but provides an excellent, light RPG experience with an old school feel. It is SO nice not having to manage inventory!

I completed the main quest yesterday and am trying to finish off the remaining dungeons. Perhaps that means I'll be getting back into board gaming. Or maybe I'll start back up at level 1!

2D6 Skirmish Rules

Below are the rules I used in Sunday's skirmish.

Design Philosophy
These rules are intended for RPG-like skirmishes where a small party of heroes (2 - 4 characters) takes on the bad guys. Most often, these baddies will be bands of weak minions, but the heroes can stumble onto harder monstrosities or the big boss. In order to survive these challenges, the rules definitively favor the heroes.


Turn Sequence

1. Roll Initiative
2. Winner takes actions
• Roll to activate characters
• Move activated characters
• Activated characters may engage in combat
• If applicable, enemy rolls morale
3. Loser takes actions
• Roll to activate characters
• Move activated characters
• Activated characters may engage in combat
• If applicable, enemy rolls morale

Initiative

• Roll initiative each turn to see if the heroes act first
• The heroes will have initiative on a roll of 3+
• The roll may be modified if the heroes have situational advantages or disadvantages (such as an ambush).

Activation

• The heroes automatically activate each turn
• Enemy minions activate on a roll of 3+ (this number can be tweaked as applicable). Roll individually for each minion.

Movement

• Roll D3 for movement points (number of squares allowed to move)

Combat

• Hero Attacks - heroes must roll 7+ on 2D6 to hit enemy. If successful, roll damage.
• Enemy Attacks - the enemy does not roll; instead, heroes must roll 7+ on 2D6 to avoid getting hit. If they fail, roll damage.
• Damage - 1 wound on roll of 1-3 on D6; 2 wounds on roll of 4-6.
• Note that minions typically are knocked out with 2 wounds while heroes can take more (I haven't decided exactly how many yet).

All rolls mentioned above can receive + or - modifiers depending on circumstances.

As you can see, these are just bare bones rules at this point in time. I will be fleshing them out over time. I especially want to add character skills and advancement rules.

Defend the Ship!

A Kate and Kip Adventure

Lately I have been thinking about skirmish rules, specifically sci fi (but my ideas can be applied to other genres). Today, I decided to experiment with a 2D6 system.

I decided to run a short adventure for my sci fi heroes, Kate and Kip. I used my mission randomizer and rolled a 411 - Attack or defend a space ship from the law.

The Mission
Kate and Kip, secret agents for the Galactic Federation, are on a mission in the Fringe. On the planet Omicron Prime, they run afoul of a corrupt police force.

A squad of police officers (black) have been ordered to arrest Kate (red) and Kip (blue) and confiscate their ship (bottom).

The leading officer exits the terminal. Kate and Kip are waiting for them on the tarmac.

The officer orders our heroes to surrender. They refuse so he opens fire. Kate and Kip reply.

Kip takes out the lead officer but two more exit the building.

In a fusillade of laser fire, Kate and Kip take wounds but they hit the officers.

Two more officers go down. Another comes to the door and fires out.

He rushes out, seeking cover behind a hover cart.

Kate runs up to the cart, reaches over, and shoots down the officer.

The last officer flees! Kate and Kip jump on their ship and blast into orbit.

Thoughts
One issue I've had with a 2D6 system is frequent misses. With a dice pool mechanism, it is more likely that at least one of the dice will "hit." It's actually more satisfying to have a hit negated by a defense roll rather than have a clean miss. Early in this scenario, Kate and Kip had a few misses, causing me to worry that the scenario would drag. Fortunately, they found their aim and the game sped to a satisfying conclusion.