I've been taking part in a lot of rules discussions over on the Quar Facebook group. Which is strange because a few months ago I never even looked at FB. Social media eats everyone. There's even an ACW gaming group....
Anyway, It's a fun time, because I'm a big nerd and I like to talk rules with other nerds, more than I like talking about my children with other parents. And I got to DO something while at work besides actually work.
Though one thing I have noticed with all the playthroughs I've seen; is that there's a lot of variation in how people are actually paying the game. For instance on youtube there is:
This One
And this one
and this other one
which are all slightly- to-Very different. It's not the worst thing in the world of course, we all know that the worst thing in the world is when Starbucks gets my coffee order wrong. I have a hard life.
Yet as an Official Quar Ambassador (self-appointed but ratified by paying a small fee online (kinda like becoming ordained)), I thought I would also provide a walk through as this is how I'm currently playing it. My own slightly-to-very different playthrough. I'm not saying that my way is the right way, or that it's 100% played as intended. What follows is a VERY detailed ARR of a small engagement. Some familiarity with the rules will be helpful but not necessary. And the idea is that I'll link it back to the FB group and they can all tell me what is right or wrong or medium both.
The rules are available for free HERE so I'm not giving anything away. So here we go:
Quick note: regular readers (fools that you are to waste your time so) who have no interest in Quar can skip this with no hard feelings. But do remember that I have read (Ok, I skimmed) all of your AARs with Naps or Samurai or RCW or ECW or any CW that's not the ACW, and that you probably owe me. Yes I'm kidding (or AM I?).
This Quar's PowerPoint War
To make this super clear, I'm gonna use PowerPoint to illustrate. Here is the set up:
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Pretty right?
Never mind, We all can't be Picasso |
A 2 foot by 2 foot playing area. The Green is an area of light woods that takes up 8 inches, then there is 8 inches of clear ground before a wall resented by a dashed line. The Crusaders at the bottom were moving off to the right for some unknown purpose when they were ambushed by some Coftyrans in the woods.
Each side has 140 points. The Coftyrans (blue circles) have a Yawdryl, a Cryfen LMG, and 3 rhyflers with Harlechs (one acting as the LMG loader at the start). The Crusaders (green circles) have a Ryshi, an Ha-11 LMG, and 3 rhyflers with Bogens (one as a loader for the LMG). Each side will also start with 3 Pluck.
We'll do 1 turn, with the side with the most Quar left standing as the major victor. Sudden death: if any side has 3 Rhyflers OOA (or worse) then the game immediately ends.
The Activation deck is shuffled, and one card removed. The Coftyrans are the first active player as they are ambushing.
For the first Activation, the Coftyran player has the LMG do an Area Fire action at the two crusaders out in the open.
The modifiers will be: -1 for 1 range band, -2 for area fire (1 for each target), +1 for the loader so 10 or less before the Crusaders chose their reactions. Reactions are chosen before the roll of the dice but don't take place till after the shooting. Both decide to Dive to cover so that's -4 so it'll be 6 or less for each target. The LMG gunner rolls a 10 for the Crusader with the Ryshi and a 17 for the one with the Bogen. Resulting in: The shot against the Ryshi fails, but is less than 13, so the Coftyran players gets to move the Crusader and he ends up gobsmacked (stunned). The Ryshi Crusader is too far from the wall to actually make it into any cover, so the player moves him 5" down toward the table edge and he is marked Gobsmacked (cover is more than 1 MA away in this case, and even though the opposing player gets to move the miniature and the idea is to put it in an inconvenient place, it still has to go to cover if available, but in this case player is thinking to put the miniature at an increased range). The shot also fails against the Bogen armed Crusader but it's 13 and higher, so the Crusader player gets to move his own figure. The only cover is the wall so the Bogen armed crusader is moved over the wall and marked prone. Miniatures that Dive for Cover are always marked prone. It's the cost of doing the dive and not getting hit. Also, a 17 is a bad failure and the Coftyran LMG is also marked Gobsmacked (the gun jammed, or he got hit by something, or distracted by a beautiful butterfly that landed on his gunsight reminding him that there is beauty in the world even among the horrors of war....)
For the second activation, The Coftyran players has a rhyfler do a ranged attack action versus the Crusdaer LMG.
Modifiers are: -1 for 1 range band (over 8 but less than 16), -2 for cover (the wall is more than light cover but less than trenches and such), and since that LMG has GOT to go the player spends a point of Pluck (started with 3, now down to 2) to have the other Rhyfler within 4" do supporting fire for a +2 for an 11 or less before the crusader reaction. He does the smart thing and dives for cover for the -4 making it a 7 or less. The Coftyran rolls a 9. Thats a failure, but less than 13 and the target dove; the Coftyran player gets to move the miniature and choses backward (can't move it out of cover) away from his loader and he is Gobsmacked.
For the third Activation the Coftyran player has the Cryfen LMG gunner take a second action and recover from being Gobsmacked (maybe he eats the butterfly), as he doesn't want him to remain that way if the Crusaders becomes active as he'll be a big target. He checks if he has a 4th activation, and he does not. Though that's fine, the Crusaders have been put on the back foot, and 3 of his rhyflers have taken combat actions, the other one spent his time being a loader. Really only the Yawdryl has done nothing but stand there looking pleased.
Crusader becomes the active payer now. He spends the first and second activations to give Recovery actions to his two rhyflers that are gobsmacked. The third Activation is given to recently recovered Ryshi armed miniature for a ranged attack.
Because the Ryshi Rhyfler was moved back last time, he's now -2 for the range for two rangebands (Over 16 but less than 24). The Cryfen LMG is in light cover but the ryshi's large Caliber rule ignores light cover so 12-2 is 10 so far while the Coftyran considers the reaction and finally chooses a reaction shot for a further -1; total of 9 or less. The Crusader rolls a 13 and misses. The Coftyran gets his reaction shot now so it's -2 for range (same range bands) and -3 for snapfire but +1 for the loader is 8 or less. He rolls 12 and misses.
Crusader player checks for a fourth activation and has it and decides to give one of the Bogen armed Rhyflers a ranged attack action.
The Crusader player wishes someone was close enough to give support fire but no one is within 4 inches. The modifiers are -1 for the range (over 6 but less than 12 (but barely)), -1 for light cover, for a total of 10 or less. The Coftryan decides that's to good of a shot and chooses to Dive for cover as a reaction for -4 so the final skill check is gonna be 6 or less. The Crusader rolls an 11; a failure but less than 13 and the target dove so again, the Crusader moves the miniature and he is Gobsmacked. The Crusader moves him to the left along the edge of the cover (can't have him dive out of cover).
Crusader checks for a 5th activation and does not have one.
Round 3 now out of 9. The Coftyran becomes the active player. Spends the first activation to have the Godsmack'd Rhyfler take a Recovery action. Then spends two activations to have the Cryfen LMG do an Aimed shot at the Crusader LMG.
The modifiers start off with -2 cover for the wall, an Aimed has no range penalties, +1 for the loader for an 11 or less. The Crusader LMG decides his reaction will be to Dive again (he just got up!) for a -4 for a 7 or less. The Coftyran rolls a 12, for the gobsmacked result and decides to leave him where he is as he already far enough out of position. The Coftyran player asks if he has a fourth action and does, so he moves the Rhyfler who recovered back to his spot next to his buddies for that rhyfler's second action. He asks if there is a 5th and there is not.
Round 4 (of 9) and the cards so have been 3, 4, 4. The Crusader becomes the active player. He uses one Activation to have the LMG gunner recover and another to give the LMG gunner a move action to get back to his spot by the loader and the bend in the wall. As a third activation he has the Rsyhi Rhyfler sprint up.
The Coftryan player considers for a few moments if he wants to use a pluck for Opportunity fire with the Cryfen LMG against the Rhyfler who just ran into close range...The Coftyran player knows that the Crusader is gonna have 5 activations this round and is probably gonna use one of those to fire the Rsyshi... yeah, gonna do it. The Coftyran player spends a pluck (now down to 1) for the opportunity fire. The opportunity fire happens when the Coftyran player wishes, which in this case is basically just at the end of the Crusader move so the target will be in close range / 1 range band. and this interrupts the Crusader action. Now the Crusader player has to think; he can choose to react (with a dive or reaction fire) which means he aborts what the current action is or he can choose not to react and continue what he is doing (if the shot misses). Since he is already basically at the end of his sprint anyway, he decides to dive for cover. If the opportunity fire had happened at the start of the move and he chose a reaction, he basically wouldn't move.
The modifiers are: none for range (within 8), -3 for snap-fire, -4 for dive, +1 for the loader fora total of -6 and a 6 or less to hit. The LMG rolls a 13. That's a failure that leaves the Crusader in charge of his own miniature. The is no cover within 5" the MA, so the Rhyfler goes an inch more and is prone.
Not the best result for the Coftyran. he wasn't so much trying to prevent the Crusdaer from moving but trying to get in a shot first and prevent the crusader from shooting. Didn't work. Guess we can't be lucky in both games AND love. The Crusader player asked if he gets a 4th activation, and he really hopes so... We already know that he does because we're Third Party Omniscient. As the fourth Activation he gives the Rsyhi Rhfler a ranged attack action.
to Recap; That Rhyfler took one action to sprint (double move) which was interrupted at a point (in this case, near the very end) by the opportunity fire which triggered a reaction. Reactions are not Activations or Actions. The rhyfler aborts what he was doing (in this case sprinting) to do the reaction at the point of the interruption. The Rhyfler is still available to take a second action, has not yet taken a combat action, and is in a position / status where he can take a ranged attack action. If he were prone behind the wall he could not shoot at anyone as he would not have LOS.
None of this terrain blocks line of sight, except for Prone miniatures who cans see up to any edge. So the Prone guy in the open can see to the edge of the light woods but not into it, so can shoot the miniatures on the edge, so in this case can see the LMG gunner but not the loader. (The graphic is a little off, but the LMG is at the edge, truuuust me).
Anyway, the modifiers are: none for range, there's also no penalty for firing prone, the Rsyhi's Large Caliber ignore the light cover for no negatives and a straight up 12 or less so far. The LMG gunner decides to dive as a reaction for -4 and the roll needed is 8 or less. The roll is 7 and finally someone is shot / OOA. The LMG gunner is marked OOA but left on the board. The Crusader payers gets +1 Pluck for doing that for a total of 4 now.
The Crusader player asks if there is a 5th Activation and low and behold there is. He considers for a moment or two to give the activation to the other prone Rhyfler with the Bogen whose been on the ground since the first round. There are never enough activations. It's what makes the choices matter. Feelin' hot hot hot, he has another Rhyfler take a shot at one the enemy in the woods.
The modifiers are becoming familiar: -1 for 1 rangeband (over 6 but less than 12), -1 for light cover, the Coftyran chooses a reaction Fire for -1 for a 9 or less. The roll is 3. don't see very many of those. The Coftyran gets put OOA, the Crusafer player gets a point of Pluck (for 5 now, not that he has been needing them). and since that is a critical success the Rhflyer who made the check gets a free bonus action. So he shoots at the other guy at the edge of the woods. Even though the Rhyfler has taken a combat action this round, the bonus action can be anything. The mods are the same (still over 6 but less than 12, in light cover, and the player decides another reaction shot) for 9 or less. The roll is 12 and a miss. The reaction shot is -1 for range, -2 for the wall, -3 for the snapfire, for 6 or less. It's a miss.
That was quite a round for the Crusaders. Now it's round 5 (of 9) and the Coftyrans are the active player.
For the first activation, the Rhyfler that was the loader for the Cryfen LMG will perform a tend wounded action. He's within a inch of his fallen friend so he gets to scoot up to base to base as part of the action.
Tend wounded is a d6 and lower is better; the roll is 2 which means it turns out the LMG just had his cage rattled and is alright. He is marked prone but is back in action. Being prone inside some terrain means he has no LOS to anyone and no one to him. This also gets the Coftyran player a point of Pluck for a total of 2 now.
With the second activation the same Rhyfler will take second action for a ranged attack against the prone crusader out in the open.
Modifiers are: none for range (within 8), -2 for being prone. Prone Rhyflers cannot Dive for cover as a reaction (they're already on the ground) but can do a reaction shot for -1 for a total of -3 and 9 or less. The roll is 8. The target is OOA and Coftyrans get a point of pluck for a total of 3.
Third Activation. The Yawdryl is more than an inch away from his OOA rhyfler. He doesn't want to spend two actions to move close and then tend wounded, so he spends a point of Pluck (back down to 2) to move 1 inch, which doesn't count as an action or activation, and now that he is within an inch he can do the third activation for a Tend Wounded action, which moves him into base to base. It's a d6 roll and which again comes up 2. The OOA guy is OK after all and is marked prone.
The Coftyran players asks if there is a 4th activation and there is. Choices choices. He has the Rhyfler who is prone stand up so that next round there could be some group move. he asks if there is a 5th action and no, there is not. Big bummer for the Royalist.
Round 6 of 9. The Crusader player is excited because the LMG gunner finally gets to do something besides dive for cover. And oh lookie, there's a group of bad guys right over yonder... The Crusdaer player uses the first activation to have the LMG gunner do an area fire action.
The Ha-11 has a range band of 10, so there's no modifier for range, Area Fire ignores light cover, so it's just -3 (-1 for each target) and a +1 for having a loader so -2 before the targets react. The smart thing to do would have them all dive for cover but he Coftyran player is feeling like his attack has really stalled and it's time to be gutsy. Each target can have it's own reaction but they all decide to react with a reaction shot for -1, so each is 9 or less to hit with the skill check of the Crusader LMG. The rolls going from left to right are 11, 11, and 9. Two failures and one hit and put OOA.
Now the two remaining Quar get their reaction fire
The Yawdryl with an SMG has a range band of 4. So it's -2 for range, -2 for cover, -1 for snapfire for a total of -5 and a roll of 7 or less. he rolls a 9 and misses. The Quar with the Harlech rifle has -1 for range, -2 for cover, -3 for snapfire for a total of -6 for a roll of 6 or less. He rolls a 7. so of course, he will spend a point of Pluck (down to 1) to turn the 7 to a 6 for a success and put the LMG Quar OOA. The Coftyran player does not get a point of pluck for putting an enemy OOA because he spent pluck to do it.
The Crusader player is not pleased. For the second activation he finally gets the Rhyfler whose been prone since the beginning of the game a move action. It loses 1" to stand but then can move 4" towards the wall.
Third activation. The rhyfler acting as the loader will do a tend wounded action for the OOA LMG. I play it that if the LMG fires with the loader bonus then the loader later on cannot take a combat action but can do a non-combat one like move, tend wounded, write a poem, or make a dirty joke. A d6 roll and it's 5, which indicates the LMG is an actual KIA, and removed from the board.
Ut-oh, the Crusaders are 1 away from the sudden death condition. The Crusader player asks if there is a 4th activation and there is. He has the Rhyfler that just did the Tend Wounded do a move action for its second action and move up to the wall and closer to his friend.
The Crusader player checks if there is a 5th activation and low and behold there is. Hmm, the Crusader player feels like he somehow wasted an opportunity. Trying to even the odds some he decides to give the Rhyfler by the wall a ranged Attack action. 'Actually,' he says, 'we'll spend a point of Pluck (down to 4) to give the previous guy a 1 inch scoot, so that he'll be within 4 inches of the firing Rhyfler, and we'll spend another point of pluck (down to 3) to have him do supporting fire.
'Oh Wait,' The Coftyran player says, "that can't happen as the miniature has already done two actions this round, tend wounded and move, so can't do supporting fire as that counts as a combat action.'
"Man, not only are you devastatingly handsome but also a rule expert.' says the Crusader player.
The Coftyran player offers that the Crusader player can take it all back, but he says that he'll keep the scoot and the ranged attack. He also gets back 1 point of pluck (up to 4, "can't seem to spend these things").
The roll is (say it all together now) -1 for range (over 6 but less than 12), -1 for cover, but will the target react? This will be the second time this Rhyfler will be reacting (he took a reaction shot versus the LMG earlier in the round) and additional reactions cost a point of Pluck and the Coftyrans only have 1 Pluck left....oh WTH he'll take a reaction shot (down to none), and now the shot is 9 or less. He rolls a 12 and misses. The reaction shot is -1 for range, -2 for cover, -3 for the snapshot for a total of -6 and a 6 or less roll...rolls 9 and a miss.
Round 7 (of 9), and the Coftyrans are the active player. In the discard pile of the Actiation deck there is a 3,three 4s, and two 5s. That means the possible remaining cards are two 3s, a 4, and a 5. but one of those cards has been removed remember, so the last three cards could be two 3s and a 4, or a 3 and a 4 and a 5, or two 3s and a 5... you get the idea.
Assessing the situation:
The Coftyran player sees that the Crusaders are down 2 Quar with one KIA and one so far out that it's unlikely anyone going to get out there to try tend wounded. The winner will have more alive at the end of turn which is only 3 more rounds... and if one more crusader falls it's all suddenly over due to the sudden death condition. Time to lay on some fire.
For the first activation he'll have the LMG get up from being prone so that he can have LOS, and for the second and third activations he'll have the LMG do an aimed shot...
Modifiers are: no range penalty for Aiming, -2 for cover for the wall, +1 for loader for a 11 or less to start and the Crusader reaction, who can't risk anything so chooses to Dive for cover for an additional -4 so the skill check becomes 7 or less. The roll is a 12 and if you've read this far you know that is Gobsmacked and the Coftyran player moves him out of support range.
The Coftyran player checks to see if there is a fourth activation.... yes there is sighs the Crusader payer. The Coftyrans will give a ranged attack action to a rhyfler against the gobsmacked guy...
-1 for the range, -2 for the cover, but Gobsmacked Rhyflers can't react so it's just -3 for a 9 or less. The roll is 7, resulting in OOA and ending the game. The Coftyrans have successfully ambushed the Crusaders.
For fun, the Coftyrans check their card, and it was a 4, so the winning shot was their last activation for that round. That means in the next round (round 8) the Crusaders would get a 3 or a 5 and in the last round (round 9) the Coftyrans would get whatever the Crusaders didn't. There are 9 rounds to a turn. This game was only 1 turn. A more typical game would be twice as many points and miniatures and 3 turns.
End Game
There are a lot of unique and fun mechanics in the Rhyfler system that I enjoy more than I thought I would. I REALLY like the reaction system, and I find the game is more tactical than expected for something being played with Anteater People. What the action and reaction system does is have the players constantly making choices. And choices are fun in games. Not so much in real life. Lucky for me I've reached the age that I don't have many choices anymore and just live with consequences of the ones I've made. Luck might not be the right word.
I didn't set up to illustrate any one particular mechanic over and another in this play through, but let the game naturally play out. If this sort of thing turns out to be helpful then there might be more of them. AARs take forever to right, and reminded why I never do them.
Thanks for Reading,
Double Thanks for writing a comment.
Till next time
-Stew
