I have BoB and Epic Heroes. I bought them after reading a bit about them online and am still learning them.
Could someone chime in that is familiar with the system
Question: Why would I want to run 15 to 20 models when the max tokens I could generate in a given turn is my CMD + Edge + the trait that gives me additional tokens? It seems that I would have a lot of models just standing around not doing much of anything.
Observation/Question: Looking at Belay Order I noticed something but not sure on legality: If after performing an Action a model is returned to the Ready state. Lets say that the model is a Veteran with a really good ranged attack. Then I could use Belay order to pull a token from another model (a meat shield regular Troop) and give it to the model that has already performed an action allowing him to act a second time in the turn. Is that correct?
-Patrick
Hi Patrick,
I suppose I'm probably the best pick to answer these questions.
By the way, thanks for your business!
So let's start with the 15-20 models question. The entire premise of the game is Playable Realism. What I wanted to do was represent what its like to actually command 3-20 men in battle but in a playable way. Anyone who has tried to lead or organize people in a coordinated activity know that nothing gets done at the same time by everyone in the manner intended. That is why the very first level of strategy to BoB is the resource management of your Action Tokens. Action Tokens represent the fact that some soldiers will be paying attention, executing their orders, or showing initiative, while others are either lagging behind or are waiting to make their move. Too many games today have removed the reality that not everyone is doing what they are supposed to when they are supposed to do it. That is why you may not have Action Tokens for all of your models.
Two innovations I wanted to create were the Edge/Break interrupt and the Weapon Reach/Counter Attack mechanic. Unlike most games where a player sits and watches the other guy shoot or chop his defenseless troops into mutton, BoB allows all models, whether or not they have an Action Token, defend themselves from both ranged and close combat attacks. With the opposed roll mechanics this engages both players in the action at all times, and brings to bear the fact that while not all of your troops are showing initiative and actively doing stuff, they are not sitting ducks.
In close combat this is best represented by the Weapon Reach/Counter Attack/At Risk mechanics. By making all close combat Engagements 1" or less for all models, the Weapon Reach comparison factors the real world fact that guys with longer weapons have either an advantage of charging with little or no risk of a counter attack or defending with a penalty to the guy with a shorter weapon trying to get past their reach to make his attack.
If a charger has a higher Weapon Reach, then he is not At Risk of a Counter Attack from the defender if he blows his attack roll. If he has a shorter reach, then his Combat Rating is penalized and if the Defender's total score is higher than the charger's attack roll by more than his base CBT rating, he has opened himself up to a Counter Attack. This means that anyone charging a Defender, whether or not it has an Action Token on it, can be Shocked or Wounded if he gets Counter Attacked. I've not seen this real world dynamic elsewhere, and its the vital 'second part' to the whole Resource Management component mentioned earlier.
So, as the battle wages on and guys start dying, you suddenly find that your troops have as many Action Tokens as surviving models. This reflects the sudden sense of urgency by the remaining soldiers as they watch their buddies get killed.
Compared to the 'copy paste' rules trend of the day, this will feel strange at first. But then you'll realize that the ability to decide who places tokens first, and who executes actions first is the other layer of strategy that comes into play when you have the Edge and your opponent the Break.
And you did read Belay Order correctly. Inspiring is a variant for Commanders to give their token away as well. I set out to give players some real choices on a strategic and tactical level. Its not beer & pretzels, its crunchy enough to chew, but playable and intuitive enough to swallow.
Also, you will be surprised how advantageous it is to have more models than Action Tokens. It increases the number of models you need to lose before taking Rout Checks, and also allows you to set models in place to control mission objectives and avenues of movement better than teams with smaller head count.
This probably is more info than you bargained for.
The boys always break my balls about going into the design philosophy too much, but I contend that it helps frame the system better. You decide!
Thanks,
Bob
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April 19, 2024, 12:10:50 PM
July 09, 2012, 05:10:38 PM