The night and morning pass with the group busy with their assorted preparations. The fortifications look sound, the troops are confident. Everyone is in place, and prepped as best they can be. Moments before the sun reaches its apex, a red-winged blackbird comes zooming out of the trees, crying out; Hassun lets Artemeisia know that the bandits are almost there, giving her time to give the ready order. The Legionnaires stand firm; the dwarves defiant, and they all level their weapons at the tree-lines, hunkering down behind the hastily, but well-constructed barricades.
The first of the hoverbikes come screaming out of the trees moments later followed only slightly by the robot horse riders; meanwhile, a handful of robot armor suits take up position on far ridgelines to pummel the defenses with artillery.
OOC Comments
Okay, so, here's the deal:
Currently, there are 240 Bandits, and 210 Defenders. So the attackers get 10 Tokens (24 bandits each), and the defenders get 9 (21 defenders each).
In a Mass Battle, it's all on the leader's head, ultimately. So Artemeisia should roll Knowledge: Battle LAST, after all modifications are calculated from other people. This is NOT an opposed roll--you and the bandit leadership will roll separately. Every success or raise she gets removes one Bandit token; every success or raise the enemy gets will cost you all one defender token.
Arte has some 'fixed' bonuses for each round, depending on where the fighting takes place and what round it is. Currently, she gets +1 Artillery from SnackHappy and some other Robot Armor and rocket launcher-wielding Legionnaires she's got available to her, and the early warning provided by Hassun's animal friends gets an additional +1: Net bonus +2.
The Bandits get +1 Artillery, +1 Light Air Support, -1 Terrain (SnackHappy's defenses), and +1 for superior numbers, for a final bonus of +2 (but they don't have a swarm of PCs providing assistance).
Assistance:
As with the preparation, the rolls you make are an abstraction of your character's activity over 4 hours of semi-constant battle. It's the key "thing you do" during that time.
Everyone who is participating in the battle (other than Arte) should make ONE Skill roll representing that thing you want to do. It's understood that you're all doing a lot of things, but this represents your primary contribution to the fight. As you are outnumbered, you suffer a -1 penalty to the roll; Seasoned characters get a +1, for a flat roll instead.
Some examples:
Obviously, engaging in combat with hapless extras and slaughtering them in droves is a Fighting, Shooting or Throwing roll. Normally, Ammunition is tracked on Shooting rolls, but with the abundance of e-clips available, I'm going to apply handwavium to any use of weapons that use E-clips. Railguns and missiles should track ammo, OTOH. Railguns roll 3d6; missiles, grenades and rockets roll 1d6 to determine the number of shots burned during the fight.
Zakkael gets +1 if using Faith during this time.
Laying down arcane might uses the appropriate Arcane Skill. It also requires you to roll 2d6 to determine Power Points spent.
Exceptions, rulings and special modifiers:
[*] As Hassun is a Burster with tons of free firepower, if he throws down with Psionics, it costs him only 1d6 ISP. Anyone who can tap the Ley Line for PPE doesn't have to roll for PPE expenditure at all, as you refresh pretty much non-stop during the fight.
[*] Any Major Psionic can add 2 to their ISP roll to add 2 to their Psionics roll, or +4/+4.
[*] SnackHappy should pick which weapon systems he prefers to focus on (note that his wide arsenal also has been factored in as the fixed "Artillery Bonus" Arte gets for the round). If he takes any wounds during the combat (see the table near the end), those get applied to the GunWolf, and will also require location hits.
[*] Echo's "confusion to the enemy" approach would be a Smarts roll at +2 for having the ability to Shapeshift. (Essentially, this is a Smarts trick.) (Ditto on the round penalty.)
[*] Zakkael and Echo also have an additional option. Instead of going on the offense (and boosting Artemeisia's roll in the usual fashion), they can choose to go defensive (Echo by disrupting attack coordination, Zakkael by spamming Barrier and Healing during the fight). If they take this approach, their table results (below) are applied as a negative to the attackers' roll (which could result in fewer tokens being lost on your side).
Everyone but Artemeisia:
Post your approach to the fight. (Zakk and Echo can choose to go 'defensive' to try and spare the miners, instead of inflicting more damage on the enemy.)
Roll appropriate skill, and if appropriate, PPE/Ammo spent.
Read table, post results (Just copy/paste the one that applies to your roll).
I will roll any damage taken.
Add some flavor text to represent that roll.
Once all that is done, Artemeisia rolls Knowledge: Battle, based on the final bonus. I do the same for the Bandits. Tokens are removed, and Arte and the Bandits roll Spirit - [Tokens lost] as a Morale roll (note: first round, you guys have a +4 bonus to morale). If either side fails morale, the fight's over as they flee in terror.
If neither side is routed, and both sides still have Tokens left, then the fight continues to the Evening round; if you've lost too many people, it may move to Zone 2 (the buildings), as the defenders are pushed back; if you have enough people, AND inflicted significant casualties, we might even move to Zone 0 (beyond the barricades).
Currently, there are 240 Bandits, and 210 Defenders. So the attackers get 10 Tokens (24 bandits each), and the defenders get 9 (21 defenders each).
In a Mass Battle, it's all on the leader's head, ultimately. So Artemeisia should roll Knowledge: Battle LAST, after all modifications are calculated from other people. This is NOT an opposed roll--you and the bandit leadership will roll separately. Every success or raise she gets removes one Bandit token; every success or raise the enemy gets will cost you all one defender token.
Arte has some 'fixed' bonuses for each round, depending on where the fighting takes place and what round it is. Currently, she gets +1 Artillery from SnackHappy and some other Robot Armor and rocket launcher-wielding Legionnaires she's got available to her, and the early warning provided by Hassun's animal friends gets an additional +1: Net bonus +2.
The Bandits get +1 Artillery, +1 Light Air Support, -1 Terrain (SnackHappy's defenses), and +1 for superior numbers, for a final bonus of +2 (but they don't have a swarm of PCs providing assistance).
Assistance:
As with the preparation, the rolls you make are an abstraction of your character's activity over 4 hours of semi-constant battle. It's the key "thing you do" during that time.
Everyone who is participating in the battle (other than Arte) should make ONE Skill roll representing that thing you want to do. It's understood that you're all doing a lot of things, but this represents your primary contribution to the fight. As you are outnumbered, you suffer a -1 penalty to the roll; Seasoned characters get a +1, for a flat roll instead.
Some examples:
Obviously, engaging in combat with hapless extras and slaughtering them in droves is a Fighting, Shooting or Throwing roll. Normally, Ammunition is tracked on Shooting rolls, but with the abundance of e-clips available, I'm going to apply handwavium to any use of weapons that use E-clips. Railguns and missiles should track ammo, OTOH. Railguns roll 3d6; missiles, grenades and rockets roll 1d6 to determine the number of shots burned during the fight.
Zakkael gets +1 if using Faith during this time.
Laying down arcane might uses the appropriate Arcane Skill. It also requires you to roll 2d6 to determine Power Points spent.
Exceptions, rulings and special modifiers:
[*] As Hassun is a Burster with tons of free firepower, if he throws down with Psionics, it costs him only 1d6 ISP. Anyone who can tap the Ley Line for PPE doesn't have to roll for PPE expenditure at all, as you refresh pretty much non-stop during the fight.
[*] Any Major Psionic can add 2 to their ISP roll to add 2 to their Psionics roll, or +4/+4.
[*] SnackHappy should pick which weapon systems he prefers to focus on (note that his wide arsenal also has been factored in as the fixed "Artillery Bonus" Arte gets for the round). If he takes any wounds during the combat (see the table near the end), those get applied to the GunWolf, and will also require location hits.
- Light Laser: Shooting, +1 for Link, -2 Matter of Size cancelled by the targeting systems, no ammo concerns
- Rail Guns (any): Shooting, -2 Matter of Size cancelled by the targeting systems, burn 2d6 rounds for each railgun used
- Ion Cannon: Shooting, No MoS penalty due to area of effect attack, no ammo concerns
- Mini-Missile Launchers: No MoS penalty due to area of effect attack, burn 1d6 ammo per launcher used
- Flamethrower: Shooting, No MoS penalty due to area of effect attack, burn 2d6 ammo
- Close Combat Array: Piloting, -2 MoS penalty, no targeting bonus, no ammo concerns
[*] Echo's "confusion to the enemy" approach would be a Smarts roll at +2 for having the ability to Shapeshift. (Essentially, this is a Smarts trick.) (Ditto on the round penalty.)
[*] Zakkael and Echo also have an additional option. Instead of going on the offense (and boosting Artemeisia's roll in the usual fashion), they can choose to go defensive (Echo by disrupting attack coordination, Zakkael by spamming Barrier and Healing during the fight). If they take this approach, their table results (below) are applied as a negative to the attackers' roll (which could result in fewer tokens being lost on your side).
Short summary:Character Battle Results
• Failure: The hero is stopped by overwhelming numbers,
an unfortunate tactical development, or bad fortune. He
suffers 4d6 damage.
• Success: The hero fights well and adds +1 to his side’s
Battle Roll, though he suffers 3d6 damage.
• Raise: The hero wreaks havoc, slaying enemy leaders
and destroying important assets. He suffers 2d6 damage,
but adds +2 to his side’s Battle Roll.
• Two Raises: The warrior covers himself in glory! Scores
of foes fall before him and his success inspires his allies
to fight like demons. His efforts add +2 to his side’s Battle
Roll and he emerges from the fight unscathed.
Everyone but Artemeisia:
Post your approach to the fight. (Zakk and Echo can choose to go 'defensive' to try and spare the miners, instead of inflicting more damage on the enemy.)
Roll appropriate skill, and if appropriate, PPE/Ammo spent.
Read table, post results (Just copy/paste the one that applies to your roll).
I will roll any damage taken.
Add some flavor text to represent that roll.
Once all that is done, Artemeisia rolls Knowledge: Battle, based on the final bonus. I do the same for the Bandits. Tokens are removed, and Arte and the Bandits roll Spirit - [Tokens lost] as a Morale roll (note: first round, you guys have a +4 bonus to morale). If either side fails morale, the fight's over as they flee in terror.
If neither side is routed, and both sides still have Tokens left, then the fight continues to the Evening round; if you've lost too many people, it may move to Zone 2 (the buildings), as the defenders are pushed back; if you have enough people, AND inflicted significant casualties, we might even move to Zone 0 (beyond the barricades).