Bad Behavior Abounds

Well, despite a paper and a bunch of exams looming, I had to blow off a bit of steam. First, my fiance and her brother decided they wanted to get in a touch of Squig Racing. Thus the last post.

This was the original course. The rules were that you had to cross the arrows (from Gale Force 9 if you were wondering) in order. The first to do so won the race. The first course didn't result in enough collisions for our tastes, so we revised it.

There we go. Much more brutal. This course resulted in much more skill intensive games, as you really had to really manage the risk of hitting your squig, deciding weather or not to go around or over terrain, and correcting the inevitable collisions.This resulted in a good time for all.

I nearly won one of the races, as depicted above, but a lucky whack of a squig resulted in my ultimate defeat. The rest of the time my squig seemed to be magnetically drawn to every pool of water on the board. *splash, gurgle, gurgle*

I also managed to get in a game of Warhammer, trying out Ikit Claw. A badly timed "We'll Show 'Em" roll resulted in the entire Orc & Goblin battle line going all wonky (as depicted above). This, accompanied by the roll of a 4 on a Orc Shaman's miscast (thus the mangled unit of arrer boyz) led to my opponent losing control of his army and feeding it to me piece by piece. The more interesting parts of the battle were my big Hell Pit Abomination getting offed by Night Goblin Fanatics (I still can't believe I forgot they were there!), the Warboss' unit having to charge the Warpfire Thrower in order to get to my lines, and finally the Orc Warboss' demise. I dropped him into a hole with Crack's Call as he moved over to challenge me. Typical Skaven valor. Upon reflection this may or may not have been legal. The rulebook states that you cannot target a unit in melee, but Crack's Call doesn't really target anything- it just draws a straight line and forces everything along the line to take an initiative test or die. Hmm...

One thing is sure, I borked up Death Frenzy. The caster was slain by a Miscast result, and I let the spell remain in play. I should have checked this, but I was sure the spell stayed up until it was dispelled. Turns out it ends instantly. Whoops. It makes the victory feel rather hollow.

Oh, well. I'll just have to get a re-match. This time with a Grey Seer and Plague Monks.

I found that Ikit Claw is overpriced compared to a Grey Seer. He has little close combat ability, and his greatest asset is Storm Daemon. His missing wizard level (3 versus 4) caused him to struggle to cast spells, and the missing spell was quite a hindrance. The removal of my Rat Ogres and swapping out of a Warlock Engineer in exchange for a level 2 Plague Priest will add a Frenzied unit I can actually control, and my first time using the Skaven Lore of Plague. I've favored the Lore of Ruin as I see more utility to it, but the destructive potential of Plague has me intrigued.

Now back to my paper. 700 words and 3 resources down, 700 words and 3 resources (plus a bibliography) to go.
Then on to studying Evolution.
Then on to taking notes for my English final.
Then on to studying for my Biology final.

*Phew*, It may be a while until my next post...

Squig Racing!

What This Is

Welcome to the revised and condensed edition of my somewhat locally famous squig racing rules. I have made this game much easier to play by removing any unnecessary complication from the rules. These rules remain fast, fun, and frequently fatal. You’ll require three six-sided dice (d6), a “scatter” die, a ruler or tape measure (at least 18”) and a squig hopper model for each player. A gaming table full of terrain is the best surface to play on, but any flat surface will do.

Whenever you roll two or more dice, add the scores together to get the final value. Two dice will be abbreviated 2d6, and three dice 3d6.

The Rules

                Agree on a course for the players to race around, and if needed jot the course down on a piece of paper.

                All the players line their squigs up at the starting line, and roll 2d6 for each player, re-rolling any ties. This is called the Initiative Roll. The highest score has to go first. Play continues down the initiative ranks until all the players have moved their models.

                To move a model, first declare whether your rider will Reign In his squig, Move Normally, or Hit his squig. Next, declare what direction your squig will move. When a rider Reigns In his squig, he rolls 1d6 to move, Moving Normally allows the rider to roll 2d6, and Hitting a squig makes the player roll 3d6. A model moves in the nominated direction a number of inches equal to the value rolled in a straight line. If a player rolls a double (both dice the same value) the squig decides it would rather move in another direction. Roll the scatter die and move the squig in the direction indicated. Should the player roll triples (all three dice come up the same value) the squig tires of the abuse from its rider, and eats the offending goblin. Remove the model from the race.

Squigs are assumed to jump high enough to clear any terrain feature in their way.

                Should a squig land in a non-liquid terrain feature it suffers a collision. If a squig lands on another racer, both suffer collisions. A collision causes a racer to roll 2d6 and find their score on the following table:

Collision Table

2 SPLAT! The squiq has met an unfortunate end. Remove your model from the race, as it becomes a puddle of squig and goblin goo.

3 WHAM! The squig slams headlong into the obstacle, knocking the rider senseless. The model does not move until the player can roll a 4+ on a d6 at the end of a turn.

4 THUD! The squig lands heavily, stunning both squig and rider. The model may not move until the player can roll a 2+ at the end of a turn.

 5 WHAP! The goblin is left slightly dazed. The model may not move again this or next turn. If the model suffers another collision, any score other than a 2 is ignored.

6-8 BOING! The squig lands and immediately jumps again. Roll 2d6 and move the model in a random direction determined by rolling the scatter die.

9 WHOAH! The goblin loses his grip and scrabbles to regain control of the unruly squig. The model moves randomly until the owning player can roll a 2+ at the end of a turn.

10 AIEE! The goblin is thrown from the squig and begins chasing down his prized steed. The model moves randomly until the owning player can roll a 4+ at the end of a turn.

11 PHEW! Somehow the squig lands without any incident. The model suffers no effect.

12 YEEHAW! The squig is inspired to move faster! The owner may immediately move their model normally, even out of turn.

Moving due to collisions does not count as the model’s movement for this turn, so a player that has not moved yet may still move at his initiative.

                Note that a result that requires a score to be rolled on a die in order to end may not be rolled for at the end of the turn it is inflicted.

                If both models roll a result where neither hopper moves out of the way, reduce the distance moved by the model moving into the occupied position until there is room for the model.

                If a squig lands in a liquid terrain feature (a lake, river, swamp, magma, acid, etc.) it sinks like a rock killing both squig and rider. Remove the model from the race.

                Should a model bounce in such a way that it would land off the table, he has clearly fallen off the edge of the world, and the model is removed from the race. Alternately, the players may agree before the race that the race is taking place in a cavern or pit and instead of falling off the model stops at the edge of the table and suffers a collision.

Winning the Race

The first player to complete the course or the last player to remain alive wins the race. If the last remaining squigs are removed from the race at the same time (usually from the racers colliding), everybody loses.