New Erfworld Campaign - "Darkness Rising" - Rules

[Werebiscuit]

I noticed the change to Leadership...but I'm a bit confused how stacks work so I just want clarification....isn't everyone who is on your side in the battle in your stack? (provided there are only 8 of you)
And do we ever have more than 8 units fighting together...? I haven't played the game so I'm not sure, but adding the ability to restack units seems useless :/

Just to note that our current turn in Darkness Rising contains 3 possible stacks we have 8 characters, one stack of dance-fighting undead (containing just 3 units...but hey!) and another stack of dance fighters containing 5 units. Not to mention the current leadership stack which mixes and matches between 2 of the groups just mentioned

[0beron]

Ah ok so we do have more than one stack. So my next question is "does it actually benefit you to be changing those stacks mid-turn?"

[Werebiscuit]

Ah ok so we do have more than one stack. So my next question is "does it actually benefit you to be changing those stacks mid-turn?"

I would suppose it could as units take action based on their combat score. If you have a stack of high combat scores you could use leadership to add to their attack switching out that leadership after they've attacked to another stack of low combat scores to add to their defence berfore an enemy with intermediate combat scores could hit them.

[0beron]

Okay I suppose....it still strikes me as a useless maneuver because then those high-combat units have lower defense and can be attacked by the enemy instead.

[Werebiscuit]

Okay I suppose....it still strikes me as a useless maneuver because then those high-combat units have lower defense and can be attacked by the enemy instead.

That depends on positioning and who they can take out. If they've taken out the threats (using their leadership modified attack) then there's no one available to hit them until someone can move in on their combat action (and you can possibly switch leadership once again to defend against that even after you've used the defence on the lower combat stack ...providing it's still a higher combat turn that attacks against the low combat group goes in.)

A messy way of explaining it...so I hope you understand.

[0beron]

Okay it makes some degree of sense. As a new-comer it seems like a very weak replacement for the XP accumulation, but I don't have experience with the combat system.

[MarbitChow]

Example 1 : Tod groups with a group of 7 archers who go on Phase 7, and orders another group of 7 to delay their attack until phase 5. The first group fires, then on phase 6, Tod switches his leadership to the 2nd group, and on phase 5, they fire. This gives the side 28 additional damage that they wouldn't have done otherwise.
Example 2: Tod groups with the players. Enemy archers fire at Phase 7. Tod's defense helps protect the PC targets. Tod switches leadership on Phase 6 to the row of uncroaked in front of the PCs. Enemy warriors charge the uncroaked on Phase 5, and Tod's defense bonus helps hold the line.

[0beron]

Ok makes more sense now.

[MarbitChow]

Darkness Rising - Rules (v1.1 - Draft)
Here are the details for the updated rule set. I've cleaned up character creation to make it more obvious, and added in the updated Ability & Attack Modifier prices. I've opened up the options when leveling, so that you can take all Combat, or all Defense, or increase your Hits. I've removed Empathic Leadership, and also removed the ability for Croakamancers to use Healmancy on Uncroaked; both were fairly useless. Decay rules have been modified a bit as well, with the end result being unattended Uncroaked will decay even faster, but Croakamancers can negate 'normal' decay if they have the Juice. I've added rules for Mounts and Digging under the Specials section. I've also changed the Skeletal bonus vs. Fire Attacks from x2 defense to a straight +6 Defense bonus, which is still substantial but not potentially overwhelming for high-defense skeletons; this will keep things fair and make it easier to figure out total defense when using attack modifiers. Finally, I've added a first-pass at Foolamancy rules.

Edit 1: I've added rules to allow Dance Fighting and Leadership stacks to be changed mid-round, and remove the XP bonus from leadership. (So help me FSM, if anyone claims that losing the XP while gaining the ability to switch leadership bonuses is a net-nerf, I will kill your character. And Bill. And if it's The Colonel complaining, I'll kill Bill three times. I know this is a massive upgrade, but I think it will also end up being fun, and ultimately fun trumps balance.)

Edit 2: Upgraded Croakamancy -lowered AP cost of Uncroak, and added Pall Raiser to grant multi-unit uncroak/decay negation capabilities. Added CitrusParty and Burninate to Shockamancy spell list, removed adjacency requirements from IckyPron, increased 2G1C, IckyPron, Hobobarbie and 4Chan damage (the latter roll less dice, but now add Combat), and removed extraneous text from spell descriptions. Also clarified Support & Coordinate so that they can't be used to uber-buff Shockamancy AOEs. Finally, added a note about delaying actions until the next round completely (which, for example, allows healers who don't need to heal anyone this round to react immediately the following round, even if their combat score would normally be too low).

Edit 3: Added Combat Maneuvers : Bull-Rush, Dodge. Added Agile special. Added Juicy, Succulent abilities. Added +Juice to Combat Stat options. Explicitly added Phases to combat sequence. Added requirement that dodging mounts force their riders to dodge as well. Added Adjacency rules to Mounts. Added Item Slot rules, and added clarification about Casters purchasing out-of-discipline spells.

Edit 4: Added AOE vs. Multi-Square units and Mounts.

Let me know what you think.

Character Creation

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A player selects from one of the following builds:

Warrior: 5 Combat / 5 Defense / 14 Hits. 8 Square Move. 8 Overland Hex Move. Attack. 3 AP to purchase abilities.
Spearman: 5 Combat / 4 Defense / 12 Hits. 8 Square Move. 8 Overland Hex Move. Strike. 3 AP to purchase abilities.
Archer: 7 Combat / 3 Defense / 10 Hits. 8 Square Move. 8 Overland Hex Move. Fire. 2 AP to purchase abilities.
Flier: 4 Combat / 4 Defense / 8 Hits. 12 Square Move. 12 Overland Hex Move. Fire. Special: Flying.
Caster: 3 Combat / 1 Defense / 4 Hits. 8 Square Move. 8 Overland Hex Move. Special: Caster (choose type - see Magic below)

If a build gets AP to begin with, it can be spent purchasing Attack Modifiers and/or Abilities (see below).

Leveling

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Upon leveling, each unit gains 1 AP, +4 Hits and 3 Combat Stats.
Each Combat Stat can be spent for +1 Combat, +1 Defense, +3 Hits, or +3 Juice.
In addition, units with Flying gain +2 Overland Hex Move each level, and Casters gain +8 Juice each level.

Upon leveling, Casters can choose to spend their AP on a spell in their discipline. Casters can also choose to purchase the 1st spell in another discipline for 1 AP, but they do not get the Bonus listed for specializing in that discipline.

Basic Attacks

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Attack: Deal Combat+2d6 Hits of damage to an adjacent opponent, reduced by their Defense.

Rage: At 4th level, a unit with Attack can make one additional attack against the same target.
Fury: At 8th level, a unit with Attack can make one additional attack against the same target. Stacks with Rage.

Strike: Deal Combat+2d6 Hits of damage to an opponent who is adjacent or up to 2 squares away, reduced by their Defense.

Lunge: At 4th level, when attacking an Adjacent enemy unit, a unit with Lunge can make a Strike against a unit behind their primary target as well. Cannot be used with Sweep.
Sweep: At 8th level, a unit with Lunge can choose to sweep 3 adjacent targets. Cannot be used with Lunge.

Fire: Deal Combat+2d6 Hits of damage to any opponent on screen that they have clear line-of-site (RLOS) to, reduced by their Defense.

Quick-shot: At 4th level, units with Fire gain an additional attack against any target.
Flurry: At 8th level, units with Fire gain an additional attack against any target. Stacks with Quick-shot.

Attack Modifiers

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Attack Modifiers can be purchased more than once, and their effects stack. A single Attack Modifier can be purchased up to three (3) times. A unit can only purchase as many ranks of Attack Modifiers as he has levels. When applying multiple attack modifiers, you cannot reduce your base Combat or Defense below 1. Any ranks that would reduce a stat below 1 fails. The bonuses from these modifiers do not apply to attacks against structures; only attacks against units can be modified in this manner.

Block (0.5 AP): Get Defense +3 and Combat -2 for the round.
Mighty Blow (0.5 AP): Get Combat +3 and Defense -2 for the round.
Guard (0.5 AP): Get Combat -2 for the round. A single adjacent ally gains +3 Defense for the round.
Interpose (0.5 AP): Get Defense -2 for the round. A single adjacent ally gains +3 Defense for the round.
Support (0.5 AP): Get Combat -2 for the round. A single adjacent ally targeting the same enemy as you gains +3 Combat for the round. Bonus cannot be applied to Multi-target spells.
Coordinate (0.5 AP): Get Defense -2 for the round. A single adjacent ally targeting the same enemy as you gains +3 Combat for the round. Bonus cannot be applied to Multi-target spells.

Additional Abilities

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Additional Abilities are unique modifiers. Each can only be purchased once.

Dance-Fighting (1 AP): All units in the same stack with Dance Fighting get +1 Combat / +1 Defense for every 2 dancers in the stack, rounded down. The bonus from Dance-Fighting does not apply to attacks against structures; only attacks against units can be modified in this manner. A unit with Dance Fighting can drop from a stack freely at any time, but joining an existing stack after the turn has begun counts as an action for that unit. The bonus takes effect after the action completes, so this bonus cannot be used to protect against attacks that occur simultaneously with the dancer's action.

Beefy (1 AP): Unit gains an additional +8 Hits.
[Requires Beefy, Level 4] Chunky (1 AP) : Unit gains an additional +12 Hits.
[Requires Chunky, Level 8] Thick As A Brick (1 AP) : Unit gains an additional +16 Hits.

[Requires Caster] Juicy (1 AP): Unit gains an additional +8 Juice.
[Requires Juicy] Succulent (1 AP): Unit gains an additional +8 Juice.

Well-armed (1 AP): Unit gains an additional +3 Combat
Well-protected (1 AP): Unit gains an additional +3 Defense

Heavy (3 AP): Unit gains +3 Combat / +4 Defense / +10 Hits. Units with Heavy cannot ride a mount.

Leadership (3 AP): All units in the same stack get +1 Combat / +1 Defense per level of the highest level character w/ leadership. Only the highest bonus applies. Max Leadership bonus +3/+3. The bonus from Leadership does not apply to attacks against structures; only attacks against units can be modified in this manner. A leader can use his action for the turn to restack (he can reassign his bonuses to any units that are not already in another stack). This allows up to 14 units to gain the benefit from Leadership over the course of a round. Units in the new stack gain the benefits after the current action completes, so the Leadership bonus cannot be used to protect against attacks that are simultaneous with the Leader's action.
[Requires Leadership] Improved Leadership (1 AP) - Increase max Leadership bonus to +6 / +6
[Requires Improved Leadership] Commanding Leadership (1 AP) - Increase max Leadership bonus to +9 / +9

[Requires Guard, Interpose] Bodyguard (1 AP) - Half of the Hits inflicted upon a target (rounded up), from any source, that this unit is Body-guarding is inflicted upon this unit instead. If two units with Bodyguard are Body-guarding the same target, that target takes no damage, the Body-guarding units absorb the damage instead. The attack on the guarded unit is calculated as normal, but all hits inflicted are distributed to the bodyguards instead. Cannot be used with Guard and Interpose. (Note: Since damage is rounded up, odd Hits will deal more damage to paired bodyguards. Example : 9 Hits are split as 5 Hits each to 2 bodyguards.)
[Requires Bodyguard] Elite Bodyguard (1 AP) - Unit can Body-guard 2 units simultaneously, as long as those units are adjacent to the Body-guard and each other.

[Requires Might Blow x3] Reckless Assault (1 AP) - Get Combat +5 and Defense -3 for the round. This ability cannot be used if Defense would be reduced below 1.
[Requires Block x3] Shield Mastery (1 AP) - Get Defense +5 and Combat -3 for the round. This ability cannot be used if Combat would be reduced below 1.

Magic

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All spells are RLOS unless specified otherwise. Casters can purchase spells outside of their primary discipline, as long as they have more spells in their discipline than they have in any non-primary disciplines. (So, if you have 3 spells in Healmancy, you can have 1 in Shockamancy and 1 in Luckamancy, or 2 in Croakamancy.)

Item Slots
Each unit can equip at most 1 Crown, 1 Armor, 1 Weapon, 2 Rings, 1 Bracer and 1 Cloak. All magic items must belong to one of these slots. Crowns can only be worn by Rulers. Mounts, Constructs, and Uncroaked cannot wear magic items.

Scrolls
Scrolls are triggered items that duplicate the effects of the spell or effect inscribed on them. Only casters can use scrolls. Casting a scroll counts as an action. Casting a scroll does not consume any Juice. The scroll is destroyed when used. Scrolls can be passed freely between adjacent units as a free action.

Potions
Potions are triggered items that target the potion drinker. Any humanoid unit can use a potion. Drinking a potion counts as an action. The potion is destroyed when used. Potions can be passed freely between adjacent units as a free action. A Healmancy potion can also be used on an incapacitated unit.

Clevermancy (Healmancy)

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Wards last until all granted damage has been absorbed. Only 1 Ward can be in effect on a target at a time. If target receives a ward when a ward is already in place, target chooses which ward remains.
Bonus: Caster who specializes in Healmancy can create a Potion for any Healmancy spell they know. Potions cost 8x the spell's casting cost in Juice. This cost can be paid for over multiple turns.

Revitalize - Heal 8 pts to 1 target (1 Juice)
[Requires Revitalize] Renew (1 AP) - Heal 16 pts to 1 target (2 Juice)
[Requires Revitalize] Minor Ward (1 AP) - Absorbs 8 damage on 1 target. (2 Juice)
[Requires Renew] Regenerate (1 AP) - Heals 8 damage on 1 target each round for 4 rounds. (4 Juice)
[Requires Renew, Level 4] Mass Revitalize (1 AP) - Heal 8 pts to up to 3 adjacent targets (4 Juice)
[Requires Minor Ward, Level 4] Ward (1 AP) - Absorbs 16 damage on 1 target. (5 Juice)
[Requires Mass Revitalize, Level 8] Mass Renew (1 AP) - Heal 24 pts to up to 3 adjacent targets (9 Juice)
[Requires Mass Revitalize, Minor Ward, Level 8] Healing Ward (1 AP) - Target is fully healed. Absorbs 12 damage on target. (15 Juice)
[Requires Ward, Level 8] Greater Ward (1 AP) - Absorbs 28 damage on 1 target. Lasts until all 28 damage has been absorbed. Only 1 Ward can be in effect on a target at a time. (10 Juice)
[Requires Ward, Level 8] Mass Ward (1 AP) - Grants Ward to every unit in unit's Stack (35 Juice)

Clevermancy (Luckamancy)

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Luckamancy spells last until used, and can persist over multiple turns if not used. Only 1 Luckamancy spell can be on a unit at a time.
Bonus: Caster who specializes in Luckamancy can create a Potion for any Luckamancy spell they know. Potions cost 8x the spell's casting cost in Juice. This cost can be paid for over multiple turns.

Roll the Bones - On their next Attack, Strike, or Fire action, all target's d6 'rolls' are treated as 6s. On the following round, for every d6 modified in this way, an enemy unit will also max a d6 roll. (Enemy rolls can apply to any melee or spell action.) (1 Juice)
[Requires Roll the Bones] Fumble (1 AP) - On their next Attack, Strike, or Fire action, all d6s rolled by the target is treated as all 1s. On the following turn, for each d6 modified in this way, one '1' on the enemy's side will be converted to a '6'. (Enemy rolls can apply to any melee or spell action.) (3 Juice)
[Requires Fumble, Level 4] Lucky Streak (1 AP) - As Roll the bones, but the effect lasts for 3 turns. (8 Juice)
[Requires Fumble, Level 4] Guardian Angel (1 AP) - The next spell cast against target is negated. (10 Juice)
[Requires Lucky Streak, Level 8] Critical Fumble (1 AP) - Target's next Attack, Strike, or Fire action is completely negated. Deals target unit's Combat + 2d6 damage to target, minus Target's base Defense (ignoring positive modifiers; negative modifiers still apply) (10 Juice)
[Requires Lucky Streak, Guardian Angel , Level 8] Can't Lose (1 AP) - For the next 3 rounds, all dice rolls made by Caster's side are automatically 6s. All dice rolls made by the enemy's side are automatically 1s. On rounds 4 through 7, all rolls made by caster's side are automatically 2s, and all dice rolls made by the enemy's side are 5s. (60 Juice)

Hippymancy (Flower Power)

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For all Hippymancy powers, any unit under the influence of Hippymancy who is attacked can immediately counterattack. This ends the power.
Bonus: Caster who specializes in Flower Power can choose to have damage inflicted by Caster that would normally kill a target reduce the target to 1 Hit and Stun the target for 2 rounds instead.

Space Out - Prevent target from acting for 2 turns, or until attacked. Unit on same side can use an action to 'wake them up' (1 Juice)
[Requires Space Out] Peace Sign (1 AP) - Target cannot make a hostile action for 4 turns. Targets under the influence of Peace Sign will surrender if they are the last unit on their side. Unit on same side can use an action to 'wake them up' (3 Juice)
[Requires Space Out] Entangle (1 AP) - Target is immobilized by vines for 2 turns, and can perform no actions. (4 Juice)
[Requires Peace Sign, Level 4] Groove (1 AP) - Prevent up to 3 adjacent targets from acting for a turn. (5 Juice)
[Requires Entangle, Level 4] Choking Vines (1 AP) - Target is immobilized by vines for 3 turns, and can perform no actions. Target takes 2d6 Hits / turn. Ignores Defense. (8 Juice)
[Requires Groove, Level 8] Give Peace A Chance (1 AP) - No units on either side can take any hostile action. Only Movement, Healmancy and Hippymancy actions are allowed this turn. (10 Juice)
[Requires Choking Vines, Level 8] Call Treant (1 AP) - Summons a Treant to fight for the caster. Treant will leave at the end of the combat. (40 Juice)

Naughtymancy (Croakamancy)

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Units created by Croakamancy during combat arise where they died, unless otherwise noted. Hits lost via Decay cannot be restored by any means. Croakamancy units are able to act on the same round that they are created, at the end of the round on which they are created, after all other units have gone. They can react as normal, based on their combat stat, starting on the next round. Unless otherwise noted, all units created by Croakamancy last until destroyed or decays.
Bonus: Caster who specializes in Croakamancy can extend their senses through any Uncroaked they create. Caster can negate Normal Decay by recasting the spell that created the unit each turn. Extended Decay occurs on the 3rd turn and cannot be prevented.

Reanimator - Animate a single fallen humanoid unit (friend or foe) as a Minor Uncroaked (treat as Warrior with 1 AP and Uncroaked special). (4 Juice)
[Requires Reanimator] Bone Puppeteer (1 AP) - Create a Skeleton (treat as Warrior w/ 2 AP, Spearman w/ 2 AP, or Archer w/ 1 AP; unit also gains the Skeletal special) from a single fallen humanoid unit (friend or foe). (8 Juice)
[Requires Bone Puppeteer, Level 4] Uncroak (0.5 AP) - Animate a single fallen unit (friend or for) as an Uncroaked. Unit has same Com/Def/Hits as when alive. (16 Juice)
[Requires Bone Puppeteer, Level 4] Pall Raiser (0.5 AP) - Animate a up to one fallen unit (friend or for) per caster's level as a Minor Uncroaked, or one unit per 2 caster levels as Skeletons. Unit has same Com/Def/Hits as when alive. This spell can also be used to negate Normal Decay on units created by either Reanimator or Bone Puppeteer.(12 Juice)
[Requires Reanimator, Dance Fighting, Level 4] Thriller (1 AP) - All Minor Uncroaked, Skeletons, Uncroaked, and Bone Horrors created by this caster and stacked with this caster gain Dance Fighting.
[Requires Bone Puppeteer, Level 4] Bone Warlord (1 AP) - All Minor Uncroaked, Skeletons, Uncroaked, and Bone Horrors created by this caster and stacked with this caster gain +1 Combat / +1 Defense for each level this caster has. This bonus is a Leadership bonus, and does not stack with the bonuses granted by the Leadership ability. The bonus from Bone Warlord does not apply to attacks against structures; only attacks against units can be modified in this manner.
[Requires Uncroak, Level 8] Trioxin (1 AP) - Animate all fallen humanoid units in the hex as Minor Uncroaked. All units created by this spell decay to dust at the end of the current combat. (45 Juice)
[Requires Uncroak, Level 8] Bone Horror (1 AP) - Create a Bone Horror. Bone Horrors do not decay. Bone Horror fills a 2x2 square area, and is summoned directly in front of the caster. Creating a Bone Horror requires that there are 6 fallen humanoid units on the field, which are destroyed in the process. Bone Horrors are immune to all Healamancy, and do not revert to full health each turn.(50 Juice)

Naughtymancy (Shockamancy)

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Against Plus-sized targets (targets that occupy more than one square), Shockamancy spells that affect multiple squares will do the specified Plus-Sized damage for each additional square the target has in the area of effect. Riders on mounted targets that are hit with a multi-square shockamancy spell take half the base damage, excluding plus-sized damage, that their mount takes, rounded down.
Bonus: Caster who specializes in Shockamancy can create Juice Restoration Potions. Max Juice that the potion can restore is 4x Caster's level. It costs 8x Juice restored in order to create the potion. This cost can be paid for over multiple turns.

Hiya - Deal Combat+1d6 to 1 target. Ignores defense. (1 Juice)
[Requires Hiya] Hoboken (1 AP) - Deal Combat+2d6 to 1 target. Ignores defense. (2 Juice)
[Requires Hoboken] TooGeeWonSee (1 AP) - Deal 3d6 to up to 4 enemy targets in a 2x2 square. Plus-Size Damage: +1d6. Ignores defense. (5 Juice)
[Requires Hoboken] CitrusParty (1 AP) - Stuns the target for three (3) turns. (5 Juice)
[Requires TooGeeWonSee] Ickypron (1 AP) - Deal Combat+2d6 to up to 3 targets. Ignores defense. Targets are stunned for one turn. (9 Juice)
[Requires Ickypron ] Burninate (1 AP) - Deal 3d6 to all targets in a 3x3 square area. Plus-Size Damage: +1d6. Ignores defense.(15 Juice)
[Requires Ickypron ] Hobobarbie (1 AP) - Deal Combat+1d6 to any targets of caster's choosing in a 3x3 square area. Plus-Size Damage: (Caster's Level). Ignores defense. (18 Juice)
[Requires Hobobarbie, Level 8] 4Chan (1 AP) - Deals Combat+1d6 to any targets of caster's choosing in a 5x5 square area. Plus-Size Damage: (Caster's Level). Ignores defense. Surviving targets are stunned for one turn. (40 Juice)

Eyemancy (Foolamancy)

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Unless otherwise noted, all Foolamancy spells last until the target attacks or the target's next turn begins. A unit can only have one Foolamancy spell active on them at a time.
Bonus: Caster who specializes in Foolamancy gain an additional +2d6 on their Spot rolls against another caster's Foolamancy.
Spot Check : Any unit with Leadership and any caster can negate a Foolamancy by making a Spot check. Unit rolls 1d6 / level; if total exceeds the Foolamancer's Defense + Foolamancy Spell Modifier (FSM*), the Unit can see through the spell. A unit can attempt to make one spot check for each enemy unit concealed by Foolamancy. A success on any unit reveals all units under the same spell.

Veil - Change the appearance of up to 8 units in the same stack to look like any unit on the same side. +4 FSM. (1 Juice / target)
[Requires Veil] Crypsis (1 AP) - Renders up to 4 units in the same stack invisible. -3 FSM. (3 Juice / target)
[Requires Veil] Phantasm (1 AP) - Creates up to 4 illusionary units. Units appear as any unit on the current side, including unique units. +2 FSM. (3 Juice / target)
[Requires Crypsis, Phantasm] Displacement (1 AP) - Renders up to 8 units in the same stack invisible, and creates illusionary duplicates of each unit in the same formation up to 12 squares away. Illusionary units duplicate all behaviors of the invisible units. +3 FSM. (4 Juice / target)
[Requires Veil] Mass Veil (0.5 AP) - Change the appearance of all units on the same side to look like any unit that side can produce. +4 FSM. (1 Juice / Target)
[Requires Crypsis] Mass Crypsis (0.5 AP) - Renders all friendly units in the same hex invisible. -3 FSM. (3 Juice / target)
[Requires Mass Veil] Phantasmal Hex (1 AP) - Changes the appearance of an entire hex. Lasts until the hex is entered, until the caster leaves the hex, or until the start of the caster's next turn. +8 FSM. (25 Juice)
[Requires Displacement] Misdirection (1 AP) - Renders up to 8 units in the same stack invisible, and creates illusionary duplicates of each unit in the same formation in the same location as the original units. The illusionary duplicates can perform entirely different actions from the original units. +6 FSM. (5 Juice / Target)

* - May you be Touched by his Noodly Appendage.

Status Effects

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Stun: Stunned units lose their next action, either losing their action this turn if they have not already acted or are waiting, or losing their action next turn. Constructs and Uncroaked are immune to stun.
Incapacitated: Level 2 units or higher are Incapacitated when reduced to 0 Hits or less. Incapacitated units that are restored to positive hit points are stunned. Incapacitated units that receive any additional Hit damage are croaked.
Stacked: A unit can only belong to 1 stack at a time. A stack is limited to 8 units.

Situational Modifiers

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Elevation : Unit who are at a higher elevation than their opponents receive a +4 Elevation Defense Bonus, and cannot be targeted by Attack or Strike actions. Flying, tower and castle walls grant elevation against ground units, and flying grants elevation against castle wall units. Flying units and units in Towers are considered to be at equal elevation.
Cover : If there is a Unit or Terrain (the 'Cover') that is adjacent to you, and between you and an attacker who has RLOS on you (i.e. a straight line drawn from you to the attacker passes through the Cover square), you receive a +4 Cover Defense bonus against any Strike or Fire action if the attacker is at the same or lower elevation as you. Only a single cover bonus is applied, no matter how much Cover is between you and a given attacker.
Movement: Units that enter a square that is adjacent to an occupied enemy square must end their move, if both units are at the same elevation.

Carrying

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Picking up a willing unit or a body (corpse or incapacitated unit) is an action, and ends the lifter's move.
Heavy units can carry a single non-heavy unit or body. A carried unit receives a -2 Combat / -4 Defense penalty, but may otherwise cast or act normally.
Heavy units carrying another unit cannot take an action while carrying the unit, and receive a 1/3 movement penalty.
Two heavy units can carry a single heavy unit. The carrying units must remain adjacent for the entire path that they carry the unit.
Units carrying a body can choose to receive a +4 cover bonus from the body.

A non-heavy unit can drag a non-heavy unit or body. A dragged unit has a 0 defense and cannot act.
Regular units dragging another unit cannot take an action while dragging the unit, and receive a 1/2 movement penalty.
Two regular units can drag a single heavy unit. The dragging units must remain adjacent for the entire path that they drag the unit.

Units that are carried may not move on their own for the remainder of the round, but can be dropped at will and can move on their own on the following round.

Combat Sequence

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At the beginning of combat, if the combat spans hexes all attackers begin behind a hex boundary. Attacks and spells cannot cross the hex boundary. Every time the Hex Boundary is crossed, the unit loses one Overland Hex Move.

Each round consists of Phases. The total number of phases in a round is equal to the highest base Combat score of any unit on both sides +1. Each unit in a round can Move once and Act once. If a Unit is going to Move, it must do so before it Acts. Anything that a unit wants to do (including Attack, Strike, Fire, casting spells, using potions or scrolls, performing a Combat Maneuver, picking up a body, etc.) uses up its Action for the round unless otherwise noted.

Start of Round actions (occur before any phases) : All attack modifiers are applied. Stacks can be redefined as a free action.

Units act on the Phase that corresponds to their base Combat score. All actions that occur on the same phase resolve simultaneously. If a unit wants to take an action that is conditional based on the outcome of a certain phase, it must act on the next phase.

A unit's move drops to 0 if it moves into a square that is adjacent to an enemy unit (unless otherwise noted : see Dodge and Agile), or when the unit takes its Action. A unit's Move resets at the start of its next normal phase, as defined by its base combat score.

A unit can choose to completely delay its Move and/or Action until the next round. If it does so, it goes on phase (MaxCombat +1), where MaxCombat is the highest combat score that would normally act. All units that delay their Move and/or Action until the next round start on the same phase.

When resolving simultaneous actions during the same phase, all Attacks resolve before any moves. Opposing units who attempt to move simultaneously into the same square are resolved in the same way as a Bull-Rush (see below), but this does not cost either unit their Action.

Special Combat Maneuvers: (Each Maneuver listed below consumes the unit's Action for the round.)

Bull Rush: A unit can attempt to enter a square (or squares) that another unit (or units) are occupying. Each unit rolls 2d6 (+1d6 if unit is Heavy; +1d6 for each square the unit occupies; also see Dodging). If the Bull-Rushing unit's roll beats all other rolls, the unit occupies the square, and other units are pushed back 1 square, moving to an adjacent open space. Other allied units are moved to make room for the displaced units if there are no open spaces. If there are no valid squares for a displaced unit to move to, the Bull-Rush fails.

Dodge: A unit gains a (+4 Base, +2 / Level) Dodge Defense Bonus, until the start of their next Action. (This allows a Dodge bonus to continue to be in effect if a unit delays its action.) Units that are Dodging do not cause enemy units to lose their move if those units move into an square adjacent to the Dodging unit. Dodging units automatically lose if Bull-Rushed.

Specials

Spoiler: show

Construct: Unit is immune to Stun, Healmancy and Turning.
Uncroaked: Unit is immune to Stun, Healmancy and Turning. Each turn, unit suffers Normal Decay (-1 Combat, -1 Defense, -2 Hits) unless otherwise prevented. Every 3rd turn, unit also suffers Extended Decay (-1 Combat, -1 Defense, -3 Hits), which cannot be prevented.
Skeletal: Unit is immune to Stun, Healmancy and Turning. Each turn, unit suffers Normal Decay (-1 Combat, -1 Defense, -2 Hits) unless otherwise prevented. Every 3rd turn, unit also suffers Extended Decay (-1 Combat, -1 Defense, -3 Hits), which cannot be prevented. Unit gains +6 Defense vs. Fire Attacks.
Mount: Unit can carry another non-Heavy unit. All normal Attack, Strike, and Fire actions directed at the mounted unit strike the Mount instead. The mount and rider are considered to be Adjacent to each other, and all units that are Adjacent to the mount are also considered Adjacent to the rider. Dismounting: Any enemy unit adjacent to a mounted unit can choose to make a dismounting action. Attacker rolls 2d6, +1d6 for each additional enemy unit aiding in the dismount. If this number exceeds the Mount's modified defense, the Mounted unit is dismounted. Dodging: If a mount is Dodging, the rider is also considered to be Dodging.
Siege(X): Unit does Xd6 structural damage to a wall, door, tower, or other structure. Attack ignores structure's defense.
Digging(X): Unit does Xd6 structural damage to a wall, door, tower, or other structure. Attack ignores structure's defense. Unit can create a tunnel X squares long through dirt each round. Each square must be adjacent in a cardinal direction (N/E/S/W) to a previous square; diagonal moves are not allowed when digging.
Agile: Unit does not lose it's move when it enters a square that is adjacent to an enemy. Units with Agile cannot bull-rush a square, but can still be Bull-Rushed.

[ETheBoyce]

Well...there go all my AP <_<

[MarbitChow]

Well...there go all my AP <_<

Note that both CitrusParty and Burninate are optional, so you could skip one or both of them in order to pick up other options, like Dance Fighting and Mighty Blow. Note also that Leadership and Dance Fighting will still boost most of your spells.

[ETheBoyce]

Oh I know, and I'll probably skip Burninate, but Citrus Party seems like it will be incredibly useful, allowing T. Coil to more easily capture enemy units for his...experiments.

[Swodaems]

I have a few comments/questions:

Leveling

Spoiler: show

Upon leveling, each unit gains 1 AP, +4 Hits and 3 Combat Stats.
Each Combat Stat can be spent for +1 Combat, +1 Defense, or +3 Hits.
In addition, units with Flying gain +2 Overland Hex Move each level.

Will those of us already in the game get to redistribute their combat stats? Why do only fliers gain overland hex move at all?

Dance-Fighting (1 AP): All units in the same stack with Dance Fighting get +1 Combat / +1 Defense for every 2 dancers in the stack, rounded down. The bonus from Dance-Fighting does not apply to attacks against structures; only attacks against units can be modified in this manner. A unit with Dance Fighting can drop from a stack freely at any time, but joining an existing stack after the turn has begun counts as an action for that unit. The bonus takes effect after the action completes, so this bonus cannot be used to protect against attacks that occur simultaneously with the dancer's action.

Leadership (3 AP): All units in the same stack get +1 Combat / +1 Defense per level of the highest level character w/ leadership. Only the highest bonus applies. Max Leadership bonus +3/+3. The bonus from Leadership does not apply to attacks against structures; only attacks against units can be modified in this manner. A leader can use his action for the turn to restack (he can reassign his bonuses to any units that are not already in another stack). This allows up to 14 units to gain the benefit from Leadership over the course of a round. Units in the new stack gain the benefits after the current action completes, so the Leadership bonus cannot be used to protect against attacks that are simultaneous with the Leader's action.

Do we still get the chance to freely restack at the beginning of each round? If I'm leading a leadership/dance-fighting stack, could a dancer join my stack and gain leadership without me sacrificing my action? (If so, why not have the option for a non-dancer to sacrifice their action to join a leadership stack?) What exactly is 'action' defined as here? (Would I or a restacking dancer still be able to move before the restack?)

[Requires Might Blow x3] Reckless Assault (1 AP) - Get Combat +5 and Defense -3 for the round. This ability cannot be used if Defense would be reduced below 1.
[Requires Block x3] Shield Mastery (1 AP) - Get Defense +5 and Combat -3 for the round. This ability cannot be used if Combat would be reduced below 1.

I think these should be listed as attack modifers for simplicity.

[Requires Renew, Level 4] Mass Revitalize (1 AP) - Heal 8 pts to up to 3 adjacent targets (4 Juice)
[Requires Mass Revitalize, Level 8] Mass Renew (1 AP) - Heal 24 pts to up to 3 adjacent targets (9 Juice)
[Requires Peace Sign, Level 4] Groove (1 AP) - Prevent up to 3 adjacent targets from acting for a turn. (5 Juice)

Same definition question for all 3 spells: 'adjacent' how? (Could 3 units in a line be targeted or would they all have to be adjacent to the other 2? Do the spells have a main target that the other 2 have to be adjacent to?)

Caster can negate Normal Decay by recasting the spell that created the unit each turn. Extended Decay occurs on the 3rd turn and cannot be prevented.

Would the sequence of actions/events for a caster successfully keeping an uncroaked created on creation turn C from ever suffering normal decay for 3 turns go like this (C:[unit created, spell recast to prevent normal decay], C+1:[spell recast to prevent normal decay], C+2:[spell recast to prevent normal decay], C+3:[spell recast to prevent normal decay, extended decay occurs]) or (C:[unit created], C+1:[spell recast to prevent normal decay], C+2:[spell recast to prevent normal decay, extended decay occurs], C+3:[spell recast to prevent normal decay]), or another possibility I haven't stated?

[Requires TooGeeWonSee] Ickypron (1 AP) - Deal Combat+2d6 to up to 3 targets. Ignores defense. Targets are stunned for one turn. (9 Juice)

Didn't this used to require adjacent targets? (If so, 'adjacent' how?)

Heavy units carrying another unit cannot take an action while carrying the unit, and receive a 1/3 movement penalty.
Regular units dragging another unit cannot take an action while dragging the unit, and receive a 1/2 movement penalty.

Do these rules apply to the use of both in hex movement and Overland Hex move? (If they apply to Overland hex move, then I guess the ruins hex must within 5 hexes of our city. We brought along corpses and are probably bringing corpses back.)

A unit can choose to completely delay its action until the next round. If it does so, it goes on phase (MaxCombat +1), where MaxCombat is the highest combat score that would normally act. All units that delay their action until the next round start on the same phase.

The same ''action' is improperly defined' problem as before. Could the unit move and then delay? (If they can, would it be a running start? (Could they still move and attack at MaxCombat +1 in the next round?))

[MarbitChow]

Will those of us already in the game get to redistribute their combat stats?

Yes, due to the significant changes that are being made, all current players will be allowed to re-balance their characters completely, instead of just getting points back. With the new mount rules, heavy characters may wish to switch to the Well Protected/Well Armed/Beefy combo instead so that they can ride mounts.

Why do only fliers gain overland hex move at all?

In the Character Creation section, you'll see that all units start with Overland Hex move. All but Fliers get 8 Move, and Fliers start with 12. Their max overland range per turn increases with level. Fliers are the only units to gain additional move per level simply because I felt that the flight ability needed a bit more lovin'.

Do we still get the chance to freely restack at the beginning of each round?

Yes, the free restack every round is still in effect.

If I'm leading a leadership/dance-fighting stack, could a dancer join my stack and gain leadership without me sacrificing my action?

In that instance, yes. They join the stack and pick up leadership for free. This is a special case.

If so, why not have the option for a non-dancer to sacrifice their action to join a leadership stack?

The AP for Leadership is paid for by the Leader; the ability to designate who is in the stack is an aspect of the ability.
A Dance Fighter has also paid for the ability to Dance Fight; the ability to join an existing dance stack (or start a new stack) is an aspect of that ability.
Any unit can freely drop from a stack, but to create or join an existing stack requires that they have the appropriate ability.

What exactly is 'action' defined as here? (Would I or a restacking dancer still be able to move before the restack?)

Units can still move before they restack. An action in this case is equivalent to casting a spell or making an attack.

I think these should be listed as attack modifers for simplicity.

Attack modifiers are currently defined as being able to be repurchased up to 3 times. Abilities can only be purchased once.

Same definition question for all 3 spells: 'adjacent' how?

Chose a primary target, and the remaining targets must both be adjacent to that target. The remaining targets do not need to be adjacent to each other.

Would the sequence of actions/events for a caster successfully keeping an uncroaked created on creation turn C from ever suffering normal decay for 3 turns go like this

The decay is negated for the current turn. It can be cast after the turn starts to retroactively eliminate the decay, but must be cast before any units move overland that turn. It does not need to be cast on the turn the unit is created, and it cannot be negated in advance (so you can't burn juice on the turn it is created to allow you to skip paying the maintenance cost the next turn).

Didn't this used to require adjacent targets? (If so, 'adjacent' how?)

It did. The adjacent requirement is being removed in the latest version, as the edit notes stated.

Do these rules apply to the use of both in hex movement and Overland Hex move? (If they apply to Overland hex move, then I guess the ruins hex must within 5 hexes of our city. We brought along corpses and are probably bringing corpses back.)

No, the rules only apply to in-hex movement. Carrying the body slows you down, preventing from you from moving as far in a certain amount of time. Each hex in overland movement is deducted from the overland move total, and time is not a factor for overland move. (In reality, it's taking you longer to cross each hex in relative time, but that has no bearing on overland move.)

Siege weapons behave differently, however: seige weapons and machinery have their own overland move (including rams, with 4 Overland Move); the weapons simply cannot be advanced more than X hexes per turn, no matter who is carrying them. You can't set up a Relay to rush weapons to the front line.

The same ''action' is improperly defined' problem as before. Could the unit move and then delay? (If they can, would it be a running start? (Could they still move and attack at MaxCombat +1 in the next round?))

Action is really "anything that you can do in the round, other than move". You get 1 'move' and 1 'action' each round, and the move has to come first. You regain your 'move' and your 'action' at the start of your phase each round.

This means that, yes, if you chose to do so, you can skip both your move and action on Round 1, and take a move and action on Round 2 Phase Combat+1, then move and act again at Phase Combat. Note that if have not acted by the time your next phase rolls around, your 'saved' move & action is lost, and you are considered to be on your normal move for that round.

And yes, this means that if you skip a round, and you set up 3 stacks of 7 dance fighters each, you can in theory actually cycle through 3 different stacks on the same round. At least two of those stacks must all have a higher base combat than you, however, in order to allow them to benefit from it before your phase rolls around and your action & move reset.

[MarbitChow]

I've updated the draft again - see Edit 3 for details. Based on the amount of changes to the rules that will be going live after the Bone Dagron fight concludes, I'm going to allow all players to completely rework their characters. This includes, if you want, creating a completely new character with the same XP as your old character. Your old character would become an NPC.

[Lord of Monies]

I don't think I understand how Dodge works exactly. Could you elaborate please?

[MarbitChow]

I don't think I understand how Dodge works exactly. Could you elaborate please?

Essentially you concentrate on staying out of the way. You skip your action, and you actively avoid everyone else.

Let's say on Phase 8, Bill the Croakamancer is out of Juice. Instead of casting a spell or using Fire, Bill chooses to Dodge. From that point on, since Bill is Level 4, Bill gains a +12 (+4 Base + (2 * 4)) Dodge Defense Bonus. Bill's normal defense is 4, but now it's 16, making him much harder to hurt. However, since Bill is trying to actively avoid everything, someone who wants to Bull Rush his square gets it automatically (since Bill moves out of the way), and an enemy can run right past Bill (since Bill is trying to avoid them).

Bill isn't sure what he wants to do next phase, so he moves farther back and delays his Action. Even though Bill's phase has come up again, Bill is still dodging, since he hasn't decided to do anything else yet, so his Defense is still 16. As soon as Bill uses his delayed action, his defense drops back to 4.

And since Bodyguard is a modifier, it doesn't cost your action. You can choose to Dodge and bodyguard at the same time, but that means that you can't stop someone from moving past you.

Does that make sense?

[Swodaems]

Upon leveling, each unit gains 1 AP, +4 Hits and 3 Combat Stats.
Each Combat Stat can be spent for +1 Combat, +1 Defense, +3 Hits, or +3 Juice.
In addition, units with Flying gain +2 Overland Hex Move each level.

Now that I think about it, I realized that the casters seem to have lost the 'free' +8 juice per level that they had before. (When I say 'free', I mean they didn't have to spend AP or use up their +1 to Com or Def stat to get it.) This change isn't listed in the header, so I don't know if this is a typo or not.

[MarbitChow]

Upon leveling, each unit gains 1 AP, +4 Hits and 3 Combat Stats.
Each Combat Stat can be spent for +1 Combat, +1 Defense, +3 Hits, or +3 Juice.
In addition, units with Flying gain +2 Overland Hex Move each level.

Now that I think about it, I realized that the casters seem to have lost the 'free' +8 juice per level that they had before. (When I say 'free', I mean they didn't have to spend AP or use up their +1 to Com or Def stat to get it.) This change isn't listed in the header, so I don't know if this is a typo or not.

That's a typo. They should still get it. I'll update the rules.

[Lord of Monies]

Oooh, yeah, I gotcha now Marbit. That's a nice extra choice to have. I'm gonna want as many hits as I can to use in bodyguarding, so dodging could be the optimal choice to make sure that happens. Unless the line must be drawn here, in which case charging foe goes this far, no further. Awesome stuff.