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Matt Hein / DraKen / Chapter / | |
| DraKen RSF Game layout Layout and general rules DraKen RSF is a simplistic lego RSF, without the annoying calculations and tedious steps taken each round. That’s right, no stacking colored blocks next to your character, or scribbling down calculations with one hand, and a calculator in another. It’s basically a game of tactics, where both opponents construct a city, or central fort, the goal to either capture the enemy fort, kill the opposing general/ ruler, conquer enemy land, or complete a defined condition agreed by both sides. Setting up the game layout One of the more instrisic portions of DraKen, of course, is to build your game board. Since there aren’t any limits on the size (Heck, it can get pretty big), the only rule is for the opponents board to be the same size, unless you’re both battling on the same board, and can be whatever you choose to define it. Ancient ruins, swampland, whatever. So as long as you create your kingdom in which it is difficult for the enemy to advance, but in which you still have a distinct advantage. The key is strategy. Besides the basic game board, you’ll need a lot of minifigures, weapons, armor, etc, several character cards (3 x 5 note cards work fine), and other assorted elements. Other items to consider include dice 6d 10d or 12d and a pencil. If you only have six sided dice, use two of them instead. (Or for a smaller board, just use one.) Setting up the character cards is easy enough. Simply collect the information on each character, and write down their name, vital stats, Ap, Magic, Attack and skills on the card. When writing it down, organize it into smaller categories, with two fields next to Ap (current and maximum AP). After organizing skills, also include a small grid at the bottom for the character’s items he or she may pick up along the way. A character may hold up to two items at any given time on the card grid. Besides items already equipped. However, your leader character may carry up to four items. These cards are an important function of the game, but you can download some of mine soon. Until then, you’ll have to make them yourself. Note, if your battlefield is considerably smaller, you can decide to use a smaller dice, like an 8d or even a 6d. (Or, if you lack lego baseplates, you can use paper with 1 x 1 cm ruled intervals, and place structures/ lego obstacles along the way so as to emulate terrain. If you want, you could also draw your terrain, design dungeons, forests, etc...) Note, you may choose to instill an Arbitrator, or third party oversight. These players simply act as referee, settle any disputes, and deal in additional units, such as calvary and NPCs to serve as guides. (Think of them as the bankers in the game, monopoly.) Your mercantalist, or leader, may deal with them, in exchange for any captured funds, weapons and items scavenged about the battlefield. Also, these arbitrators can assign missions, start dialogues, and create a storyline to go along with the game, so as to create a more fulfilling experience. (Perhaps a few Rpg elements as well?) With this option, your games may take slightly longer, but there should be more incentive to play. (Also, this helps if you’re playing against three other parties.) Set forth the dogs of war! Parties After setting up the basic playing board, you’ll want to create your parties. Simply go to my character page and create several characters for combat, arm them, and send the forces on their way. Once you do this, you’re ready to start the game. After both teams have positioned their respective armies within their boards. starting places are agreed by the parties, position your character cards on your side, and the opponent does the same, and gather a dice. The highest roll achieves first strike, and you simply roll for movement values. So, let’s say you roll a 7, move your character 7 studs. (for a really long board, simply use a larger dice.). Each character gets the choice to move during the turn, or take an action (or do both). Character turns can be taken in any order, though... After a character has moved or taken an action, simply rotate the character card a bit to signify this. After the defending party completes all of their actions, the opposing party follows suit and deploys their forces. Things continue as normal until the forces encounter, or any party encounters a foreign event let’s say forces encounter a pack of wolves in the forest, or happen upon an enemy skirmish party, see below. Horses, Dragons, etc. Initiating your campaign, it is possible, you can set up your units so three out of ten characters can fit as calvery units (assuming you have horses in play) and one dragon or exotic monster unit for every ten characters. In addition to this, your mercantalist can recruit/ train third party monsters, if you’re in need of more units. Horses have 30 Ap and 20 attack, whereas Dragon units have 70 Ap and 30 Attack. Keep in mind, though, Characters riding a dragon have enemy discretion of targeting, and the character riding this dragon has the choice of letting the dragon attack (or monster), or him/ herself attacking. Otherwise, monsters add +2 to your move. Dragons can fly over obstacles, giving them a +5. Battle Battle can be tedious, or it can be gratifying, but strategy plays an integral role. During the typical war scene, you can choose between Attack, Ability, Healing or Spells. Casting Spells If you have a wizard in your party, you may wish to cast a spell towards enemy forces in battle. The range of any spell is ten studs in length, and damage is calculated by dividing the Magic Aptitude value by three, and adding that to your skill roll. If you cast a spell with your chosen element, divide magic aptitude by two, and add skill roll. Casting a spell takes a turn, though, so on your next turn, you will cast the spell. From that point, the character can cast another one. Simple, no? Attacking enemies Attacking an enemy unit is simplistic enough. For each character you have, there is an offensive attack value. During attack, simply add this value to your skill roll, and subtract it from the enemy’s AP total. Range is determined by the amount of studs weapon protrudes from your character. Using abilities Abilities work in a rather ambiguous fashion, and address the direct results. No skill rolls are needed for abilities, so you may use them at your discretion. During an enemy turn, you may use an ability once, such as Shielding, and some abilities are constant, such as the Two swords ability, which do extra damage if you have an extra blade equipped, and performed a successful skill roll. Action abilities do require a skill roll, though. Healing Allies Healing works in a similar manner as an offensive spell, and the ominpresent formulae remains the same. Simply divide magical aptitude by three, and add skill roll. For a healer with the chosen element, divide by two, and add skill roll. Healed points get added to your current AP, but you cannot go over your maximum Ap. Casting a healing spell has a range of ten studs, using a potion constitutes a range of five studs, respectively. Continuing from attack, there are two types of weapons, which have their own unique circumstances. There are Bows and Muskets. Since these are projectile weapons, there are certain physics which apply to these as well. First off, attacking enemies on a plane above you will most likely result in failure, even with spells, but attacking those below you has a greater success rate. For a bow, shooting an enemy unit from a lower plane has a range of 5 studs, from a straight plane 12 studs, and fron a high plane, 15 studs. A higher plane is defined as any plane ten studs or higher, and a low plane conversely. Muskets adhere to the same physics as well, save to say their range is one higher, in values of 6, 13 and 16 studs, to be precise. However, before attacking, a character must load the musket, so it takes two turns to load and attack. Rolling for accuracy Every time you take an action during battle besides using abilities or moving, both parties will role their dice for a skill roll, to see whether the attack was a success. Since so many types of dice can be used, the system is quite simple. When a character attacks an adversary unit, both parties roll a dice, the higher value emerging prevalent. If the attacking unit rolls a higher value, adversary unit takes damage. However, the the dfeending party rolls higher, the attack is rendered errant. Equal value skill rolls are also considered errant. Calculating damage is simple, as well...once you’ve completed a successful skill roll, add the value rolled to your attack power and subtract it from the damaged character’s AP total. It the AP value happens to fall below zero, the character is rendered unconscious for a round. Someone get a medic over here! You have a round to revive the chracter, and if a medic fails, the character dies. Either way, they’re open to scavengers, so you can expect a skirmish party to pick apart your characters and leave them for dead. Not good... Environment Another feature of DraKen. Spells and abilities can also alter the environment. For example, let’s say an ice spell was cast close to a pond or river. If that were to happen, simply place a transparent piece over it to signify this change. other alterations may include burning foliage, destroyed buildings, geological changes, etc. Other examples would to place flame tokens next to trees hit by a fire spell, or replace a rock hit by lighting with smaller fragments. Castle walls and buildings hit by a catapult or ravaged by fire should also be modified as you see fit. Siege vehicles adhere to the same principles as well, as an errant wizard could easily break down the wheels to a cart and leave is stranded. Altered terrian of the map can also hinder your units movement , such as broken rocks, ruined buildings, ravaged, fields, marsh. Movement penalties cut half of your movemet roll value. (rounded upwards.) Missions. During the course of the game, expect any of your rogue characters to conduct missions of sorts, let’s say, reconaissance or delivering a message. Of course, missions of this sort might take some strategy on your part, but the perks are pretty good. In fact, a lone assassin undetected could win you the game if you kill off the enemy leader. Of course, expect the enemy to have lots of defenses. Mercantalists can sell items or hire NPCs, but that’s for an advanced game. You might wish to disregard these at first. Note: For mercantalists to acquire new calvary units, hired NPCs, etc, this can be done by conferrring their an arbitrator (third party oversight.) So as long as funds are captured from enemy forces, mission resultants gain perks as well. Status Ailments Over the course of the battle, it’s apparent an issue will arise over whether your character takes damage under certain circumstances. For example, the enemy, carrying poisoned arrows happens to strike one of your characters. During this situation, simply subtract 2 armor points each round until the character dies, or a medic heals your char. Other status effects include: Bleeding Your character has been damaged severely, and is under six armor points in health. At this rate, if your character isn’t killed, the affected unit will take two points of damage each turn until they are either dead, or a medic happens to come by and save your character. Poisoned The character has either been hit by poisoned arrows, or has come in contact with some rather unsettling creatures about the field. Every round poision remains, the affected unit takes three points of damage. You can guess the results. Not good... Heat Stress This condition is induced when your character either enters a desert environment, or encounters an an area laced with flames, such as the tip of a volcano, or near burning foliage. Heat stress does one point of armor damage each round, but a direct encounter with a flame does 5 AP damage, but only for a round. Heat stress can be healed three turns after your character escapes it, or amedic heals the character. Hypothermia Hypothermia is induced when your character comes in contact with a very cold area, or falls into a frozen river. For each round of hypothermia, subtract three Ap from your character. This condition heals itself several turns after the character escapes it, or a medic heals the aforementioned condition. Additional Concepts Purging Weaponry If you happen to have a vagrant in your party, you can purge enemy munitions and weaponry for their powder, and hence, manipulate it to your own use in battle. Enemy cannons, artillery and powder magazines contain such items, however, once a Vagrant steals from a cannon or artillery, it is therefore empty, and must be reloaded by enemy forces. unless, of course, you have taken enemy artillery. Carrying powder, however, may be a cause of disaster, as if it happens to contact a fire attack or spell, except musket fire, it will therefore explode, and anyone within the vicinage of 5 radial studs takes 50 AP damage. To manipulate purged munitions, a Vagrant can sacrifice a turn to exchange the powder into a mercantalist’s item slot, and thus, have the engineer of your party (Artifacer), set and charge the explosive, to blow out enemy walls, doors, or just about anything else, including cannons and artillery. An Artifacer may use the ability, set munitions, and thus charge the explosive, and detonate it a round later. detonation takes no action, however, setting it does... However, if munitions are scattered throughout the area or radial blast range, a chain reaction will incur, spreading wherever munitions lie, if they happen to touch the area of the explosion. Additional rules Depending on the intricity of the game, here are some rules you should declare at the beginning of your game.
Anyway, playing with different rules makes the game more interesting, so change around and experiment with the values to your liking. So as long as the opposing party agrees to your terms, the match is set! Hope you enjoy the game! Please send me your feedback and suggestion on my RSF. Thank you! Please notice this is a castle orientated RSF, but I’m sure if you wanted, you could modify it to a modern or science-fiction liking, although many definitive chapters would need to be added. I’m trying to keep this as simple as possible. Other links... |
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