Cornered. Before a Game

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1 Cornered A Game of Few vs Many By Carlo Guglielmin v Primary Goal The primary goal of this game is to allow players to simulate a conflict of Few vs Many. The composition of each side can vary and will behave differently. Throughout the rulebook the Few will be desperate survivors trying to escape from Haiti. The Many will be Zombies created by fictional Voodoo. All examples of the Few will use the fictional survivor Freddy and be formatted the same as this text. Possibly alternative themes and Few vs Many situations would be: British vs Zulus Sailors vs Pirates Superheroes vs Thugs Starship Troopers vs Bugs Colonial Marines vs Xenomorphs Terminators vs Humans Starfleet vs The Borg Rebel Alliance vs Galactic Empire Space Marines vs Orks Eldar vs Tyranids Spectres vs Husks Cowboys vs Indians Spartans vs Persians Romans vs Germanic Tribes Hunters vs Wolves Theme : Haiti In 2010 Haiti suffered a 7.0 earthquake near the capital city of Port au Prince. Estimated casualties were over two hundred thousand. Response from the global humanitarian community was instant. Relief in the form of clean Page 1/11 water, food, and protection were answered by the United Nations and dozens of other countries. Three and a half years after the disaster the majority of Haiti still lies in ruins. Many of the citizens continue to work around the clock to rebuild their lives. But under the surface lies a dark, brooding horror. The Bizango secret society grow weary of constant UN interference and negative outside influences. The Bizango have begun comparing the remaining soldiers and expatriates to their French masters of the 17 th century or the USA troops occupying the country in the early 1900s. Slowly the secret society have been stirring the stew of discontent. Now Bokor witch doctors are re emerging in outlying communities. Using the dark secrets of Vodou (Voodoo) they are building an army of Zonbi (Zombie) servants. Haitian Penal Code Article 249: "It shall also be qualified as attempted murder the employment which may be made against any person of substances which, without causing actual death, produce a lethargic coma more or less prolonged. If, after the person had been buried, the act shall be considered murder no matter what result follows." Players: 1+ Before a Game Components: The game is played on a grid board with squares (normally one inch in size). Entities are represented by counters. If players have access to miniatures or models they can be used instead. Game Setup: Ensure all players are familiar with the rules of the game. Perform these 4 steps to get a game started: 1. Choose the Game Mode. 2. Choose and setup a board. 3. Choose an Objective 4. Place forces using Deployment Board Setup: Normally a board 48 squares by 48

2 squares is used. Once a size is decided perform these 2 steps: 1. Designate which board edge is North. 2. Determine the Safe Distance, which is 25% (rounded up) of the width or height (whichever is smaller) of the board. For example a 48x48 square board would have a Safe Distance of 12. Game Modes The game can be played differently depending on the number of players available. Solo: A single player controls the Few while the Many are Unplayed. Coop: One or more players control the Few while the Many are Unplayed. Versus: One or more players control the Few and a single opponent controls the Many. Afterwards the sides could switch to see how another player does with the Many. Unplayed means the Many are controlled by basic, scripted actions and dice rolls. See below for details. Attack (detailed below) Action (use an item, use a door, barricade, etc.) Character Dice for the Few Character Dice are standard six sided dice (D6). These dice represent the character's ability to move, fight, and survive. The starting number of total Character Dice can be increased or decreased to make an easier or more challenging game. Every Character Dice can be used in 4 ways: 1. Roll 1D6 2. Take Three which uses a set result of 3 (cannot be used for attacking) 3. Add +1 to your result 4. Add +2 to friends result (must be able to see the friend) For example Freddy may choose to exercise option #1 by rolling 3 Character Dice. He gets 3D6 from his pool and rolls them with a result of 2, 4, and 5. He then chooses to use #3 to spend a further 1 Character Dice to add +1 to the rolled result of 2, making it a 3. Remember that each player of the Few can control a single character or more. Playing the Few Each character of the Few starts with 2 statistics: 8 Character Dice set 4 Defense Also the following equipment: Knife Pistol, Submachinegun, Shotgun, Rifle Grenade Stimpak The character can do any combination of 3 options when interrupting the Many: Move (spend Character Dice as squares) Page 2/11 Or Freddy could combine the approaches by spending 5 Character Dice to roll 2D6, use 1 set result of 3 ( Take Three ), and use +1 to his set result of 3 to make a 4. Dying: If a character is reduced to 0 or less total Character Dice they are dead and removed from the game. Critical Success: Character Dice will explode when a player is lucky. Get 1D6 for each natural 6 ( Critical Success ). Additional exploded dice are temporary and can only be used for the duration of the current action.

3 For example Freddy uses 2 Character Dice to roll 2D6 and gets a 4 and 6. The natural 6 explodes and he would get another free 1D6 to spend how he likes (for the duration of that action). On the extra 1D6 Freddy could use option #2 and Take Three. Or he could roll the 1D6 and maybe roll another natural 6, which would explode again and give him a further 1D6! Playing the Many To reduce bookkeeping the Many have set statistics that define how they perform. Every entity of the Many have 4 statistics: Move (in squares) Attack (number of dice to roll) Defense (difficulty to be hit) Life (threshold of pain before dying) Modifications for the Many The Many can be modified by adding a prefix or suffix. Multiple prefixes and/or suffixes on a single entity are allowed. Example Many: Here are some example usages of prefixes and suffixes. More Haitian Zombies will be defined later. Fast Haitian Zombie with Exploding 5 Move, 3 Attack, 3 Defense, 2 Life Hearty, Soft Haitian Zombie with 8 Ranged, 3 Pulling 4 Move, 3 Attack, 2 Defense, 3 Life Prefix Limitations: Each prefix modifies an associated statistic either positively or negatively. The same prefix can be used a maximum of two times, in which case the adjective Very is used before the prefix. Fast Strong Armored Hearty Slow Weak Soft Frail Positive Prefix +1 Move +1 Attack +1 Defense +1 Life Negative Prefix 1 Move 1 Attack 1 Defense 1 Life For example a basic Haitian Zombie has: 4 Move, 3 Attack, 3 Defense, 2 Life Strong, Fast Haitian Zombie: 5 Move, 4 Attack, 3 Defense, 2 Life Weak, Frail Haitian Zombie: 4 Move, 2 Attack, 3 Defense, 1 Life Hearty, Slow, Soft Haitian Zombie: 3 Move, 3 Attack, 2 Defense, 3 Life Very Fast, Frail Haitian Zombie: 6 Move, 3 Attack, 3 Defense, 1 Life Page 3/11 Suffix Limitations: A suffix is used to give the Many a unique ability. Each suffix can only be added to an entity of the Many a single time. Ranged Pulling Exploding Suffix Entity can attack at a distance equal to the number of squares specified. Entity can attack at a distance equal to the number of squares specified. If the entity also has the Ranged suffix use the biggest distance. If the attack hits the target is pulled adjacent to the entity. Upon death the entity performs a

4 Slowing Enraged Relentless Stubborn Flying Sprinting Suffix free attack on every adjacent enemy. If the attack hits the target temporarily loses 2 Character Dice. Can get Critical Successes on attack. Upon death roll 1D6. On 5+ do not remove the entity from the game. Ignore Knocked Down. Ignore Difficult Ground. Instead of Attack the entity can Move an additional 2 squares. The Turn Unlike traditional games the flow of the turn is dictated by the Many, and the Few use their Character Dice to interrupt and perform their own reactions. Turn Start: At the start of each turn perform these 4 steps: 1. Remove any temporary Character Dice and restore the total Character Dice to each character of the Few. 2. Stand up any Knocked Down entities of the Many. 3. Place all the Many tokens/miniatures facing backwards to help track who has activated. 4. The Many get Reinforcements (see below). Turn End: When all of the Many have acted the turn is over and a new one starts. Using the Many: The Many begin acting with their entities in any order they choose. Each entity can only act once per turn. Knocked Down entities cannot act. When acting an entity can Move and Attack in any order. Once acted place the token/miniature facing towards the Few to help mark that they have acted. Using the Few: At any time a character of the Few Page 4/11 can interrupt the Many by spending Character Dice. Resting State: If the interrupting character can see an entity of the Many they spend Character Dice normally. Otherwise they are in a Resting state and must spend double the Character Dice to achieve their task. For example a Haitian Zombie moves around the corner of a building into view of Freddy. He decides to interrupt before the Zombie can move closer. Freddy can use any number of his remaining pool of Character Dice. In this case Freddy decides to spend 3 Character Dice to attack by using 1 dice to Take Three and rolling 2D6 from the others. Alternatively Freddy could try to move away from the Zombie. He could spend 2 Character Dice to roll 1D6 and modify the result by +1. Or he could move and then attack. Any combination is possible as long as Freddy has Character Dice to spend! In another situation Freddy is alone in a building, with no entities of the Many in sight. Because he is in a Resting state Freddy has to spend double the Character Dice to perform any task. Freddy decides he wants to move by using 1 Character Dice to roll 1D6. Since he isn't threatened, Freddy has to spend 2 Character Dice to do this. Moving the Few and the Many Moving the Few: Move up to a number of squares equal to the Character Dice result. For example Freddy wants to move across a grassy yard. He uses 3 Character Dice to roll 3D6, with a result of 2, 3, and 5. The total is 10, so he can move up to 10 squares. In another case Freddy is being chased by a horde

5 of Zombies and really needs to cover some ground. He uses 6 Character Dice to Take Three twice and roll 4D6. The roll result is 1, 2, 5, 6 (exploding roll is 4) for a rolled sum of 18. In total he has 23, so Freddy can move up to 23 squares! Moving the Many: Move up to a number of squares equal to the Move statistic of the Many entity. For example a Fast Haitian Zombie has 5 Move. The Zombie could move up to 5 squares. Difficult Ground: Count broken, uneven, difficult ground as 2 squares of movement for both the Few and the Many. For example Freddy tries to move across a square that is filled with rubble. Instead of counting the square as 1 move he counts the rubble as 2. Blocked Ground: The Few can move through other characters of the Few. Similarly the Many can move through other entities of the Many. Both cannot move through enemies (even if Knocked Down). No character or entity can finish their move in the same square as someone else. DoorS Few Using Doors: The Few can spend 1 Character Dice to perform an Action to open or close an adjacent door. Many Using Doors: The Many must attack an adjacent closed door to break it open. A door has 3 Defense and 2 Life. Barricade: The Few adjacent to a door can spend 1 Character Dice to perform an Action to Barricade the door. This grants +1 Defense to the door until the end of the turn while the Few is adjacent to it. The Few Attacking The Many To attack an entity of the Many the character spends whatever number of Character Dice they wish. Who Can Be Attacked: The Few can attack at any distance, including adjacent. The Few cannot attack through an entity (even if Knocked Down). Weapons: Before attacking the character can declare what weapon to use. If they are attacking an adjacent target only the Knife can be used. If attacking a distant target the Rifle, Shotgun, Submachinegun, and Pistol can be used. If the character does not specifically declare a weapon the Pistol is assumed to be used. Hitting: Any result greater than or equal to the target's Defense is a Hit. The effect of the attack depends on the number of Hits: If the number of Hits is 0 there is no effect. If the number of Hits is less than the target's Life the target is Knocked Down. Place the target counter face down. If the number of Hits is greater than or equal to the target's Life the target is dead. Remove the target model from the game. If there is at least 1 Hit apply the special ability of the weapon used. For example an Armored Haitian Zombie is 3 squares away from Freddy. Before it can act Freddy decides to interrupt and attack with his Pistol. The target has 4 Defense and 2 Life and Freddy tries to conserve his Character Dice by only using 2 to roll 2D6. He rolls a 3 and 5, which is 1 Hit. The Zombie would be Knocked Down because the Hit did not equal or exceed its Life. However before that happens Freddy decides to spend an additional Character Dice to modify the Page 5/11

6 result of 3 by +1, making 4. There are now 2 Hits and the Zombie is dead instead. The Many Attacking The Few The Many attack the Few by rolling a number of dice equal to their Attack score. These dice do not use the same rules as Character Dice and cannot be modified. For example 3 Attack would be 3D6. Similarly 4 Attack would be 4D6. Who Can Be Attacked: Unless otherwise specified the Many can only attack adjacent targets. Hitting: Any result greater than or equal to the target's Defense is a Hit. The effect of the attack depends on the number of Hits: If the number of Hits is 0 there is no effect. If the number of Hits is greater than 0 reduce the target's total Character Dice by the number of Hits. If there is at least 1 Hit apply any suffix special effect. After the attack if the target's current Character Dice are larger than the total Character Dice reduce the current dice accordingly. For example a Strong Haitian Zombie (4 Attack) adjacent to Freddy tries to claw him. The Zombie rolls 4D6 with a result of 1, 3, 5, 6. Compared to Freddy's 4 Defense this means 2 Hits. Remember that dice from the Many do not explode, so the natural 6 has no extra effect. Freddy has already been hurt and only has 7 total Character Dice left. After this attack his total Character Dice are reduced by 2 to 5. None Escape: If the Few leave a space adjacent to an entity of the Many that entity can make a None Escape attack. This attack is at 3 Attack (minimum 1) and cannot be used if Knocked Down. Weapons for the Few The Few have an array of weapons available to them. These weapons follow basic archetypes, each with their own special ability. Knife Pistol Weapons Adjacent only. No ability. No ability. Submachinegun Reroll any natural 1s. Shotgun 1 Knockback. Push the target 1 square directly back. If the target would be pushed into a solid object or entity the target is Knocked Down instead. Rifle Crossbow 2 Pierce. Pierce through the target in a straight line, also applying the shot to a single enemy up to 2 squares behind the target. Pinning. Target is Knocked Down even with 0 Hits. Items for the Few The Few may come across useful items that help them survive. Carrying Items: Any number of items can be carried by a character of the Few. Items can be transferred between adjacent friends for no cost. Disposable Items: Unless otherwise noted all items are consumed on use. Healing Items: Note that restoring total Character Dice through the use of items can never exceed the original maximum Character Dice. For example Freddy started with 8 Character Dice. He couldn't use Bandages to bring his total Character Dice up to 10. But if he took 5 damage Page 6/11

7 and had only 3 total Character Dice remaining, then he could use the Bandages to restore 2 and bring his total Character Dice to 5. Grenade Items 1 Radius. Next attack hits the target and all adjacent squares. Energy Drink Temporarily give 2 current Character Dice. Stimpak Salve Bandages Doctor's Bag Defibrillator Radio Incendiary Ammunition Overcharged Ammunition Shotgun Slug High Capacity Magazine Armor Piercing Bullets Rope Flashlight Hairspray and Lighter Temporarily give 3 current Character Dice. Restore 1 total Character Dice. Restore 2 total Character Dice. Restore 3 total Character Dice. Restore 1D6 total Character Dice. Add +4 to friends result once (instead of +2). Next attack uses the target's Defense 2. Next attack has 5+ Critical Success. Next Shotgun attack has 3 Knockback. Next Submachinegun attack can reroll natural 1s and 2s. Next Rifle attack has 6 Pierce. Ignore Difficult Ground for the rest of the turn. Do not double Character Dice cost when in a Resting state for the rest of the turn. Automatically do 4 Hits to an adjacent target. Reinforcements for the Many The Many are endless. To represent this the Many receive Reinforcement Points at the start of each turn. These Reinforcement Points can be spent to bring new entities into the game. At the start of the turn the Many get 2 types of reinforcements: 1. Automatic Reinforcements: Basic entities equal to the number of Few players. 2. Reinforcement Points: Roll 1D6+X for the number of Reinforcement Points, where X is the number of Few players. For example there are 3 Few players. At the start of each turn the Many would get 3 basic entities and 1D6+3 Reinforcement Points to spend how they wish. Spending Points: A basic entity costs 1 Reinforcement Point. Adding a positive prefix costs 1 Reinforcement Point. Using a negative prefix refunds 1 Reinforcement Point. Adding a suffix costs 3 Reinforcement Points. An entity can never cost less than 1 Reinforcement Point. Unspent Reinforcement Points do not carry over between turns. For example the Many rolls 4 Reinforcement Points. They choose to summon 2 basic Haitian Zombies (4M, 3A, 3D, 2L) for 2 Reinforcement Points. Then they use the remainder to summon a Strong Armored Frail Haitian Zombie (4M, 4A, 4D, 1L) for 2 Reinforcement Points (1 base, +2 for two positive prefixes, 1 for one negative prefix). Entering the Game: Reinforcements enter the game adjacent to any edge of the board the Many player wants. The reinforcements cannot start closer to the Few than the Safe Distance (calculated at the start of the game based on board size, see above). Page 7/11

8 For example the Many player rolls 2 and buys 2 basic Haitian Zombies. They deploy a single Zombie adjacent to the eastern board edge, and the second Zombie as close as possible to Freddy on the north board edge. Objective The Objective will specify what the Few need to do to win. The Many will always win if all the Few are dead. Scavenge and Run: Place 4 Supply Crates around the board. The Few must get every Crate and then evacuate the board. The Few can use an Action to pick up a Crate. Any number of Crates can be carried at once. If they die a character will drop any carried Crates. Deployment Follow these 3 steps to deploy the Many and the Few: 1. The Few place their characters within 4 squares of the center of the board. 2. Unless otherwise specified by the Objective, the Many start with 6 basic Haitian Zombies. These can placed anywhere as long as they are outside the Safe Distance from the Few. 3. Begin the game by starting the first turn. Unplayed Many The Many don't require a human player to use them, in which case they are called Unplayed. Reinforcing: Use the standard procedure for gaining Reinforcement Points. Then follow these 4 steps to spend the Reinforcement Points: 1. Roll 1D6 and consult the Random Reinforcements table below to decide how the Unplayed will use the points. 2. If the result is a custom entity roll a further 1D6 and add the matching positive prefix from the Random Positive Prefix table below. If the cost of the custom entity would exceed the remaining Reinforcement Points balance the cost by rolling 1D6 and using a negative prefix from the Random Negative Prefix table below. 3. Continue performing Step 1 until all the Reinforcement Points are used up. 4. Deploy the reinforcements to a random board edge using the Random Board Edge table below. Remember the reinforcements cannot be closer to the Few than the Safe Distance. Random Reinforcements (1D6) 1 4 Basic entity 5 6 Custom entity 1 2 Fast Random Positive Prefix (1D6) 3 Strong 4 Armored To facilitate an Unplayed Many there are two changes: 1. How the Many act 2. How the Many use Reinforcement Points Acting: The Unplayed Many can be automated by first acting with the entity furthest from the Few. Activate each successively closer entity. When acting just move each entity directly towards the nearest of the Few and attack if possible. 5 6 Hearty Random Negative Prefix (1D6) 1 Slow 2 3 Weak 4 5 Soft 6 Frail Page 8/11

9 Random Board Edge (1D6) 1 North edge 2 East edge 3 South edge 4 West edge 5 6 Edge closest to the Few Page 9/11

10 Theme : Space Marines vs Orks They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give of themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war forge them. They shall be of iron will and steel sinew. In great armour I shall clad them and with the mightiest weapons they will be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease; no sickness shall blight them. They shall have such tactics, strategies and machines that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines and they shall know no fear. Reinforcement Points Renamed to Waaagh! Points (WP). The Few : Space Marines Statistics: 8 Character Dice, 4 Defense Plasma Gun Meltagun 5+ Critical Success. Temporarily remove 1 Character Dice on any natural 1. 1 Hit counts as 2 Hits. Assault Cannon Roll 1D6 extra on attack. This extra dice is treated like a Character Dice and can be modified. Missile Launcher Frag Grenade Combat Stimulants 1 Radius. Next attack hits the target and all adjacent squares. Space Marine Items Items 1 Radius. Next attack hits the target and all adjacent squares. Temporarily give 2 current Character Dice. Starting Weapons: Chainsword, Bolt Pistol, Bolter, Shotgun, Flamer Starting Equipment: Frag Grenade, Catalepsean Node Chainsword Bolt Pistol Space Marine Weapons Weapons Adjacent only. No ability. No ability. Bolter Reroll any natural 1s. Shotgun 1 Knockback. Push the target 1 square directly back. If the target would be pushed into a solid object or entity the target is Knocked Down instead. Flamer Condemnor 2 Pierce. Pierce through the target in a straight line, also applying the shot to a single enemy up to 2 squares behind the target. Pinning. Target is Knocked Down even with 0 Hits. Catalepsean Node First Aid Kit Medi Pack Larraman's Organ Narthecium Vox caster Incendiary Ammunition Overcharged Ammunition Shotgun Slug High Capacity Magazine Volatile Chemicals 9 70 Entrenching Temporarily give 3 current Character Dice. Restore 1 total Character Dice. Restore 2 total Character Dice. Restore 3 total Character Dice. Restore 1D6 total Character Dice. Add +4 to friends result once (instead of +2). Next attack uses the target's Defense 2. Next attack has 5+ Critical Success. Next Shotgun attack has 3 Knockback. Next Bolter attack can reroll natural 1s and 2s. Next Flamer attack has 6 Pierce. Ignore Difficult Ground for the rest of the turn. Page 10/11

11 Tool Photo Visors Betcher's Gland Do not double Character Dice cost when in a Resting state for the rest of the turn. Automatically do 4 Hits to an adjacent target. The Many : Orks WP 1 Gretchin: 4 Move, 3 Attack, 3 Defense, 2 Life WP 1 Ork (Ork Boy): 4 Move, 3 Attack, 4 Defense, 1 Life WP 2 Hearty Ork ('Ard Boy): 4 Move, 3 Attack, 4 Defense, 2 Life WP 3 Armored, Hearty Ork (Nob): 4 Move, 3 Attack, 5 Defense, 2 Life WP 6 Weak Ork with 5 Ranged, Slowing (Weirdboy): 4 Move, 2 Attack, 4 Defense, 1 Life WP 4 Ork with Exploding (Burna Boy): 4 Move, 3 Attack, 4 Defense, 1 Life WP 3 Very Fast Ork (Stormboy): 6 Move, 3 Attack, 4 Defense, 1 Life WP 5 Strong Ork with 10 Ranged (Tankbusta): 4 Move, 4 Attack, 4 Defense, 1 Life WP 6 Fast, Hearty Ork with Stubborn (Kommando): 5 Move, 3 Attack, 4 Defense, 2 Life WP 5 Slow, Soft Ork with 10 Ranged, Enraged (Loota): 3 Move 3, Attack 3, Defense 3, Life 1 Page 11/11

12 Roll D6 Roll D6 4 Defense 8 Character Dice 4 Defense 8 Character Dice Current Character Dice Chainsword: Adjacent only. No ability. Bolt Pistol: No ability. Bolter: Reroll any natural 1s. Shotgun: 1 Knockback. Push the target 1 square directly back. If the target would be pushed into Use a set result a solid object or entity the target is Knocked of 3 ("Take Down instead. Three") Flamer: 2 Pierce. Pierce through the target in a Add +1 to your result Add +2 to your result straight line, also applying the shot to a single enemy up to 2 squares behind the target. Condemnor: Pinning. Target is Knocked Down even with 0 Hits. Current Character Dice Chainsword: Adjacent only. No ability. Bolt Pistol: No ability. Bolter: Reroll any natural 1s. Shotgun: 1 Knockback. Push the target 1 square directly back. If the target would be pushed into Use a set result a solid object or entity the target is Knocked of 3 ("Take Down instead. Three") Flamer: 2 Pierce. Pierce through the target in a Add +1 to your result straight line, also applying the shot to a single enemy up to 2 squares behind the target. Add +2 to your result Condemnor: Pinning. Target is Knocked Down even with 0 Hits.