Wargaming with Transformers figures

[Sam]

Perhaps coming up with a set of rules can be a collective effort by interested members here.

I think one of the keys is to try and keep the rules as simple as possible, so that we don't get bogged down in having to remember too many details. But the rules also need to be flexible enough in allowing different lines of TF characters to be used in the game.

But at the same time, I also think it would make the game more fun for introducing certain "special rules" depending on the type of figures you bring into the battle.

Examples I can think of include allowing combiner teams to be brought into the game and merge, micromaster team tactics, minicon power boosts, Energon character powerlinks, Soundwave or Blaster and their cassettes, and special moves that can be only performed when certain figures are in the same at the same time (e.g. if both Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were in the game, they should be allowed to perform some kind of action due to their relationship as brothers, and if the Decepticon Seekers were in the same game, they would perform some kind of co-ordinated attack).

Another problem is also the fact that leader characters typically have 10 in most of their stats, so it's inconceivable for other lesser characters to take them down (e.g. Bumblebee would have no chance against Megatron). But if this was all set, then it may become easy to exploit these rules, so that weak characters are all wiped out very early on in the game, and that wouldn't make for a fun experience.

So I am thinking we would need to introduce randomness / chance into the game, and probably using 2 six-sided dice would be the easiest (since they are readily available in most places).

Typically, a TF character would have these spec categories:

- strength
- intelligence
- speed
- endurance
- rank
- courage
- fireblast / firepower
- skill

And I am thinking each character's turn can be broken into movement and attack / defend phases.

Movement would be dependent on a combination of speed and intelligence. I thought instead of just using speed, a character's intelligence would give him initiative in making the decision to move (e.g. two characters with the same speed, but one is smarter, so he would move first since he is more mentally capable).

Movement in alternate modes would probably be faster, and perhaps just how fast it is could be affected by skill (details need to be worked out).

Attacks would be of either ranged or melee, with firepower and skill affecting ranged, and strength, skill and/or firepower affecting melee (e.g. point blank shots!).

Obviously there are a lot more details that need to be worked out, and the exact relationship between these specs and how they are calculated to give a working number for use during each turn need to be worked out too.

I have more thoughts, I just need to write them down, but I have to go watch TV now.

Any input would be most welcome, I would like to have some kind of game where we can all have fun playing.

[Paulbot]

Bumblebee is braver than Megatron so don't rule him out

There's some good ideas there. I have developed some similar rules for a computer game I might never finish. In doing so I used the tech specs as a start but adjusted them to give every character a fighting chance against every other character. I don't know anything about the games the rest of you are talking about so I'm not sure if they'd translate.

But I couldn't work out a good way to give each character two sets of stats for robot and alt mode, so I incoporated transforming into certain moves. Eg Autobot cars transform into vehicle mode to attack with their speed stats.

[roller]

i dont know guys, everyone who plays warhammer is looked at with contempt, you know its true


Maybe we should leave well nuff alone

[Bartrim]

Being a former warhammer nerd this does interest me.

[loophole]

i did this years ago back in high school (about 99) when i was playing 40k i converted all the tech specs to WS BS S T etc.. and also had individual stats for the weaponary which can get a little bit over the top. at the time i did it to all of the g1 toys that i owned about 40 or so i still have the print offs for them somewhere, although i never got to really try them out against anyone else

[Sam]

Okay I spent a couple of days working on these rules. I have included criticisms of my own rules at the bottom, feel free to take a look and give input. Thanks!

-----------
Tabletop Wargame – Core Rules

Terms and Definitions
“Character” refers to a Transformers character / figure.
“Player” refers to a human player.
“Recorder” refers to the person who records all damage sustained by characters and/or other important notes such as conditions suffered by characters, status changes in characters, etc.

Game Preparation
Ideally three people at a minimum: 2 players, 1 recorder (to record damage done to player's characters, etc.). If there are only two people, one player can act as the recorder as well.

Equipment: Transformers figures (how many is up to you), pen, notepad, 2 six-sided dice.

Set figures on a decent sized table.

Hit Points (HP)
These are used to determine how much damage a character can take before dying, as well as how many points the character is worth so that if players wish to field balanced armies, hit points can be used as a general guide.

Calculation of Hit Points = Strength x Endurance x 10

Action Points (AP)
These are used to set a limit on the number of actions a character may perform per turn.

Calculation of Action Points = Strength + Intelligence + Rank + Skill

All examples used below are taken from the Classics line.

Example 1:
Bumblebee
Strength = 3
Intelligence = 9
Speed = 6
Endurance = 4
Rank = 7
Courage = 10
Fireblast / Firepower = 4
Skill = 9

HP = 3 x 4 x 10 = 120
AP = 3 + 9 + 9 + 7 = 28

Example 2:
Megatron
Strength = 10
Intellience = 10
Speed = 6
Endurance = 10
Rank = 10
Courage = 10
Fireblast / Firepower = 10
Skill = 7

HP = 10 x 10 x 10 = 1000
AP = 10 + 10 + 10 + 7 = 37

Example 3:
Optimus Prime
Strength = 10
Intellience = 10
Speed = 6
Endurance = 10
Rank = 10
Courage = 10
Fireblast / Firepower = 8
Skill = 10

HP = 10 x 10 x 10 = 1000
AP = 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 40

Example 4:
Starscream
Strength = 7
Intellience = 8
Speed = 10
Endurance = 6
Rank = 8
Courage = 4
Fireblast / Firepower = 8
Skill = 8

HP = 7 x 6 x 10 = 420
AP = 7 + 8 + 8 + 8 = 31

Playing the Game
The game is turn based, with each character having their turn, involving primarily two phases, the Movement Phase, and then the Attack / Defend Phase.

During the course of one turn, a character may only move once, attack once, and transform once. All aspects are optional, and can be done at any point during the course of one turn (e.g. a character may choose to attack, transform to vehicle mode, and the move). However, a character cannot divide moving or attacking into halves or parts.

A character may attempt to defend or counterattack as many times as he is attacked.

Overview of Each Turn
The character with the highest Speed goes first.

If there is more than one character with the highest Speed, the character with the highest Intelligence from this set goes first.

If there is more than one character with the highest Speed and Intelligence, each player rolls a die. The player who rolls the highest value goes first.

If a player has more than one character with the highest Speed and Intelligence, he/she may choose any character from this set to go first.

Note: Calculation of all values during each turn is based on standard mathematical rules (i.e. multiplication / division before addition / subtraction, unless stated otherwise by parentheses).

Movement Phase
Movement Values are a combination of Speed and die rolls. Just what the value is depends on the alternate mode of the character.

Robot mode = Speed + die roll
Vehicle mode = Speed + 2 dice rolls
Fixed mode (e.g. cannons, bases / installations, etc.) = 0
Beast mode A (e.g. dinosaurs and other slower beasts) = 1/2 x Speed + die roll
Beast mode B (e.g. cheetahs and other faster beasts) = Speed + die roll + 3

Attack Phase
There are two primary types of attacks: ranged and melee. Melee has three sub-types: standard (hand-to-hand), grapple (throw), and ramming.

A successful attack, defense or counterattack depends upon the Attack and Defense Values, respectively. These are calculated differently, depending upon the attack type.

Ranged and Melee (Standard) Attacks
The attacking player rolls a die, and adds the value rolled to his/her attacking character’s Skill value. This is the Attack Value.

The defending player also rolls a die, and adds the value rolled to his/her defending character’s Skill value. This is the Defense Value.

Notes:
Certain characters may perform ranged attacks even in their alternate modes (e.g. Decepticon Seekers). Simply put, if a weapon is visible in the character’s alternate mode, then that character may perform a ranged attack.

Point blank shots never miss! Therefore, Defense Values are irrelevant for point blank shots.

Melee (Grapple) Attacks
Note: The attacking character and defending character must be next to each other for this attack type to be enabled.

The attacking player rolls a die, and adds the value rolled to his/her attacking character’s Strength value. This is the Attack Value.

The defending player also rolls a die, and adds the value rolled to his/her defending character’s Strength value. This is the Defense Value.

Note: Grapple attacks can only be defended against, not counterattacked.

Melee (Ramming) Attacks
Note: The attacking character must be in a non-fixed alternate mode for this attack type to be enabled. Furthermore, a ramming attack may only be made if the attacking character’s Movement Value is sufficient for this purpose.

Ramming attacks are always successful, therefore Defense Values are irrelevant for this attack type. However, damage is also sustained by the attacking character.

Determining An Attack’s Outcome
Note: This only applies if the attack is a not a ramming or point blank shot attack.

If the Attack Value is greater than the Defense Value, then a successful attack is made.

If the Attack Value is the same as the Defense Value, then the defending character has successfully defended against the attack.

If the Attack Value is less than the Defense Value, then the defending character has successfully made a counterattack.

Calculating Damage
For successful attacks or counterattacks, the damage incurred by the target depends upon the Damage Value. The Damage Value is dependent on the type of attack it is, and the mode that the character is in.

Ranged (robot mode) = Fireblast / Firepower x die roll
Ranged (fixed mode, such as cannons or bases / installations) = Fireblast / Firepower x die roll + 2 dice rolls
Point blank shots = Ranged (calculated according to mode first) x 2
Melee (standards) = Strength x die roll
Melee (grapple) = Strength x die roll
Melee (ramming) = (Strength + Speed) x die roll
Melee (ramming: sustained by attacking character) = (12 – Endurance) x die roll

Note:
Ramming attacks also cause damage to the attacking character.

Knockback
Both grapple and ramming attacks can cause Knockback. This is where the defending character can be pushed back by the force of the attack. If the defending character is pushed back into another character, that character also sustains damage (regardless of whether that character is an ally or enemy). Knockback effect is not cumulative.

Knockback distance = (Attacking character’s Strength + die roll) – (Defending character’s Endurance + die roll)

If Knockback distance is zero or negative, then no Knockback effect occurs.

The Knockback damage sustained by a character being hit by defending character is calculated in the same way as the damage sustained by an attacking character who performs a ramming attack.

Damage Reduction
For all attack types, defending characters who fail to defend or counterattack successfully may still attempt to reduce some of the damage received.

Damage Reduction Value = Endurance + 2 dice rolls

Final damage sustained by defending character = attacking character’s Damage Value – defending character’s Damage Reduction Value.

Note: Attacking characters which perform ramming attacks and characters suffering from Knockback effects always sustain damage, therefore no Damage Reduction Values are applied to them.

Examples
Example 1: Starscream vs Bumblebee
Starscream attempts to shoot Bumblebee (ranged attack).
Starscream rolls a 4. His Attack Value is therefore his Skill + 4 = 8 + 4 = 12.
Bumblebee rolls a 6. His Defense Value is therefore his Skill + 6 = 9 + 6 = 15.

Bumblebee’s Defense Value is higher than Starscream’s Attack Value, so this means Bumblebee successfully counterattacks with a ranged attack. Bumblebee rolls a 3. Damage Value is therefore Bumblebee’s Fireblast / Firepower x 3 = 4 x 3 = 12.

Starscream attempts to reduce the damage he receives. He rolls two dice and gets a 3 and a 5. So his Damage Reduction Value is his Endurance + 3 + 5 = 14.

Therefore, since Starscream’s Damage Reduction Value is greater than Bumblebee’s Damage Value, Starscream receives no damage from Bumblebee’s counterattack.

Example 2: Optimus Prime vs Megatron
Optimus Prime is adjacent to Megatron and attempts to perform a grapple attack (throw).
Optimus Prime rolls a 5. His Attack Value is therefore his Strength + 5 = 10 + 5 = 15.
Megatron rolls a 2. His Defense Value is therefore his Strength + 2 = 10 + 2 = 12

Optimus Prime’s Attack Value is higher than Megatron’s Defense Value, so this means Optimus Prime successfully throws Megatron. Optimus Prime rolls a 6. Damage Value is therefore Optimus Prime’s Strength x 6 = 10 x 6 = 60.

Megatron attempts to reduce the damage he receives. He rolls two dice and gets a 6 and a 5. So his Damage Reduction Value is his Endurance + 6 + 5 = 10 + 6 + 5 = 21.

Therefore, damage sustained by Megatron is Optimus Prime’s Damage Value – Megatron’s Damage Reduction Value = 60 – 21 = 39.

We now calculate the knockback distance. Optimus Prime rolls a 5. Megatron rolls a 2. Knockback distance = (Optimus Prime’s Strength + 5) – (Megatron’s Endurance + 2) = (10 + 5) – (10 + 2) = 3.
Megatron is pushed back 3 spaces, and is knocked into Starscream!
Starscream therefore also suffers damage. Starscream rolls a 3. So the damage he sustains is = (12 – Starscream’s endurance) x 3 = (12 – 6) x 3 = 18.

Example 3: Megatron vs Optimus Prime
Megatron is adjacent to Optimus Prime and performs a point blank shot attack. Since point blank shot attacks are always successful, we move onto calculating Megatron’s Damage value.
Megatron rolls a 6. Damage Value is therefore Megatron’s Fireblast / Firepower x 6 x 2 = 10 x 6 x 2 = 120.
Optimus Prime attempts to reduce the damage sustained. He rolls a 4 and a 3. Damage Reduction Value = Optimus Prime’s Endurance + 2 dice rolls = 10 + 4 + 3 = 17.

Therefore, damage sustained by Optimus Prime is Megatron’s Damage Value – Optimus Prime’s Damage Reduction Value = 120 – 17 = 103.

Criticisms
Action Points are not used at all. What’s the point of having them (note: I was thinking about using them but haven't found them to be necessary yet)?

Movement Values are ambiguous. Just how far is 3 spaces? Is each space a set distance, or the distance according to the “footprint” of the specific figure that is moving?

Rules are not very easy to remember.

Attack types may cause balance issues with some characters (e.g. Megatron doing point blank shot attacks) being more powerful than others.

Rules do not cover all character / figure types (e.g. combiners, minicons, Energon powerlinks, micromasters, targetmasters, headmasters, powermasters, etc.). Perhaps these can be added as supplements to the Core Rules.

[roller]

i agree with sam


this game is too hard to understand

i fold

[Paulbot]

An interesting set of rules there. Well done. Mind if I borrow them?

[SilverDragon]

It won't work with Animated characters. They don't have tech specs.

[Sam]

i agree with sam

this game is too hard to understand

i fold

Well I am open to suggestions to making them easier, I don't want rules that bog down the game either.

An interesting set of rules there. Well done. Mind if I borrow them?

Not at all. Feel free to give us a streamlined version of it.

It won't work with Animated characters. They don't have tech specs.

Oh that's something I didn't know. That's too bad, I like tech specs.