EPSILON GAMING FOR GEEKS
DUCKWARS
COMBAT
famous boomer LoudsquaWK
locked in combat with a defiant
shambling horror
A statue of this epic battle, which includes the Sign of Loundsquawk and the Sign of Defiance, decorates the front architrave of Lord Goscock's palace.
Battle is central to the (so-called) culture of these feathered fiends, or deadly ducks. If not fighting amongst themselves in continual internecine tribal warfare, the ducks band together for assaults on the Duckgeon. They may look cute, but the moment you crouch down to try to catch one, they will yank out their +10 Vorpal Sword against Humans and hack your head off.
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Beware the duck, for it is DEATH ...
COMBAT
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There are two types of combat - Shooty and Choppy. They differ slightly, as Shooty weapons like Featherbows and the rightly feared Egg Bazooka target the mass of the Beastie, so it depends how stocky or dodgy the Beastie is to see if it hits. Choppy Combat is wing-to-wing, brutal, short and ends in a puff of feathers. Which brings us to one of the most important concepts in the game (strident Swiss Alpenhorns cut through the icy stillness of the mountaintops and cause avalanches) - the RESIST ROLL.
resist roll
Whenever a Duckventurer or Beastie (characters) tries to split an enemy neck to spleen, the target has a chance to Resist. This is automatic and has nothing to do with DuckDice, so don't confuse them! YEAH, YOU! IN THE HAT! Nice hat, by the way, where can I get a hat like that?
<ahem> Maybe use a different colour die for Resist Rolls so you don't muck up your dice pools. So, the Combat rules are -
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If a character is being targeted by a Shooty attack, its Resist Roll is added to its Fatty (F).
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If a character is being targeted by a Choppy attack, its Resist Roll is added to its Quack (Q).
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Not Combat, for the sake of completeness (more here) -
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If a character is being targeted by a Zappy, its Resist Roll is added to its Peanut Brain (P). Which means that smarter characters have more chance to throw off, or avoid, the effects of a Zappy.
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If a character is being targeted by a Feat, its Resist Roll is added to its Quack (Q). Which means that heftier, more physical characters have more chance to throw off, or avoid, the effects of a Feat.
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If a character is being targeted by an Item, its Resist Roll will be specified on the Funkard. 'Cos Items are just rando.
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Other modifiers from Funkards may be added to the end result, to give a total for a character to Resist an assault. Some Funkards deny a Resist Roll, which is broken and really powerful, which is what Funkards tend to do to the game (so get lots of them). Characters who are unconscious also do not get a Resist Roll.
If a character does not get a Resist Roll for whatever reason, they simply use their current STAT, whichever STAT is relevant.
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Clear as mud?
Choppy Combat Example
Plumpy Ducksword charges into combat with a Very Dead Duckzie and expends one DuckFighter die. He takes a mighty swing with the famous magical Ducksword and rolls a 5.
He adds this to his Quack of 4, 5 + 4 = 9.
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The Duckzie's Quack is 2, rolls a Resist die for an extra 5, giving him a total of 5 + 2 = 7.
The difference is 9 - 7 = 2 damage, which kills the Duckzie (again, because it's ... like ... undead).
If Plumpy Ducksword has a LootCounter die he could allocate it now to the room loot pool.
Plumpy can expend more DuckFighter or DuckMover dice to go after other Beasties, if he still has the DuckDice.
CHOPPY COMBAT
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Duckventurers are able to chop Beasties if they have something to hack and slay with. This is generally be an Item but (on very odd occasions) can be a Zappy, which has a (Z) symbol on the Funkard.
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Characters must be in base contact to engage in Choppy combat. All characters have a 360 degree arc in the Duckgeon, so there is no such thing as 'facing.' If you rush up behind a Grumbly Tumbly Manticore, he can still THWACK you with his tail at close quarters.
Also, you can leave Choppy Combat whenever you want, there is no 'free hit' thing - it's dark, it's chaotic, you can get out of there if you can actually move. If you can't move, for example you are wedged up against a wall and totally surrounded by Beasties, then you can't escape from Choppy Combat.
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If your Duckventurer wants to chop, he rolls a DuckFighter die. If a Duckventurer has more than one attack, he has to use one DuckDice per attack. Add the total score of the DuckFighter die to the Duckventurer's Quack, plus modifiers. If the number is higher than the target Beastie's total Resist (Quack + Resist Roll + modifiers), the difference is the amount of damage the Beastie takes. If the total is lower, the Beastie has defended valiantly ... or ... again .... is just so HERCULEAN it didn't notice.
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DuckFighter + Quack + modifiers <versus> Quack + Resist Roll + modifiers
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When Beasties are turning Duckventurers into turducken, Beasties don't use DuckDice, they just roll a die and add it to their Quack. Beastie attack dice still explode, which is about the only way low-level Beasties can hurt bulging-biceps Duckventurers. Beware the Furry Ghost Mouse who goes super-feral and explodes an attack dice fourteen times in a row! It will be totally surrounded by very dead ducks.
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dealing ducky damage
Shooty Combat Example
Twangy MacDeadeye fires his Featherbow at a Crazy Raptor Boar and expends one DuckFighter die. A deadly arrow arcs towards the slavering Beastie and he rolls a 6. THIS EXPLODES! So he rolls again and rolls a 2. Nice, shootin,' Twangy!
He adds this to his Quack of 5, so 5 + 6! + 2 = 13.
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The Boar's Fatty is 4, rolls a Resist die for an extra 5, giving him a total of 4 + 5 = 9.
The difference is 13 - 9 = 4 damage, which kills the Boar.
If Twangy has a LootCounter die he could allocate it now to the room loot pool.
Twangy can expend more DuckFighter dice to go after other Beasties, if he still as the DuckDice.
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Duckventurers are able to shoot Beasties if they have something to Peeow Peeow Peeow with. This is generally an Item but can be a Zappy, which has an (S) symbol on the Funkard.
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There is no maximum range in the Duckgeon, because combat is at close quarters in very small, dank, stinky, fetid, blood-soaked, gross, stinky, farty rooms. It is assumed that everyone is in range of everyone else all the time.
Line of Sight (LOS, for geeks) is drawn if you can draw a straight line between your shooty duck and the Beastie, and vice versa. Note that some Objects block LOS.
If you are firing at a Beastie that is in base combat with other Beasties or Duckventurers, you have to randomize who it hits. This also goes for Zappies that act like Shooty Combat. So if Plumpy Ducksword the Duckidin is in Choppy Combat with 2 Furry Ghost Mice, and a Duckagorn fires her bow into their midst, roll a die. 1-2, Ghost Mouse, 3-4, other Ghost Mouse, 5-6 Duckidin. Then resolve the entire Shooty Combat with appropriate Resist Rolls and damage. If a Beastie takes up two spaces and is fighting a single-space Duckventurer, 1-4 it's the Beastie, 5-6 it's the Duckventurer. Be logical and fair randomizing hits, make the proportions even. Geddit?
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If your Duckventurer wants to shoot, she rolls a DuckFighter die. Add the total score of the DuckFighter die to the Duckventurer's Quack, plus modifiers, which could include 1+ exploded dice or 1+ DuckDuckGoose stacked dice. If a Duckventurer has more than one attack, she has to use one DuckDice per attack.
If the number is higher than the target Beastie's total Resist (Fatty + Resist Roll + modifiers), the difference is the amount of damage the Beastie takes. If the total is lower, the Beastie has gotten out of the way or is just so MIGHTY it didn't notice.
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DuckFighter + Quack + modifiers <versus> Fatty + Resist Roll + modifiers
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When Beasties are blasting away at Duckventurers, Beasties don't use DuckDice, they just roll a die and add it to their Quack. Beastie attack dice still explode, which is about the only way low-level Beasties can hurt bulging-biceps Duckventurers.
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Simple as that.
SHOOTY COMBAT
It is important to note the difference between Quack and small-d damage. When you roll for Combat, it is the DuckFighter die or Beastie die + your Quack, to give you a total, minus the target's Resist Roll + Fatty. The difference is the amount of damage (d) that is inflicted on the target. Once that value has been determined, there might be Funkards or Beastie special abilities that reduce the amount of damage the target actually takes. THEN small-d damage is deducted from the target's Fatty.
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FOR EXAMPLE: Plumpy Ducksword is wearing Fluffy Armour, which gives him -1d. It literally says '-1d' on the card, using the abbreviated version. Plumpy is toe-to-toe with an Armored Snapping Turtle, whose total Choppy Combat Roll is 9, versus Plumpy's total Resist Roll of 6. The Fluffy Armour has no impact on this part of the combat, it is not fighting for Plumpy, it is protecting him.
The difference is 9-6=3, which means -3 to Plumpy's Fatty. BUT, the Fluffy Armour reduction is then applied to damage, reducing the damage by -1 to 2. Plumpy deducts 2 from his current Fatty. Ouch, that smarts!
DOWN AND DEAD DUCKS
If a Beastie is reduced to zero Fatty, they are dead and are removed from the playing area. Some Beasties, mainly Undead, have a chance of coming back and are lain on their side, but generally speaking if a Beastie is dead, it's dead.
Poor Beasties.
Will someone please think of the Beasties?
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As Duckventurers are Mighty-Ducks-of-Renown, they have it a little bit better than Beasties. If a Duckventurer is reduced to zero Fatty, they are lain on their side and count as having the Condition Down Duck. They have 3 TURNS until they fully expire and die. 3 turns! Not a lot. Which means other Duckventurers need to hurtle over and heal them, through Whatever-Means-Necessary. First Aid will return the Down Duck to 1 Fatty and remove the Condition.
Note that Down Duckventurers who are bleeding out on the floor are unconscious, so will not be able to eat a Delicious Mollusc Dinner until they are returned to consciousness. Potions can be fed to unconscious Duckventurers because you can basically just pour them straight down the Duckventurer's throat.
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Attacks against Down Duckventurers hit very easily, which means the Duckventurer does not receive a Resist Roll, nor can they use their Quack or Fatty. Technically they have no Fatty to use.
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If unconscious Duckventurers are returned to 1 Fatty, they may stand up, no longer count as unconscious, and may operate as normal.
WHERE TO NOW?
There are Core Rules and more rules, which are listed in the handy-to-find section More Rules. If you have never chosen a Duckventurer, you now have a sense of what they are capable of, and can start that now. If you want to find out how more about Beasties, they are found in the Beastie-ary. If you want to dive headlong into LOOT AND STUFF AND BITZ, then you need the Funkards section.
If you are ready to enter the Duckgeon, you are going to need to find out how Quests work. There are also mean and nasty Snares which can trap unwary Duckventurers. If you are obsessed by the vibrant history and culture of the Duckingdom (!), check out the Fluffy Duck and Campaigns. Good luck and duck-speed ...
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