Right. Well, since the lightsaber is drawn, let's pull out some Blade Schticks...I think we'll start with Balanced Guard, Bodyguard (focused on Jung, naturally), and Charge. Yes, I think that's a good starting lineup.
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Aurel quickly notices both the mistmatched nature of the droid and the very obvious weaponized appendage, and so he retreats to stand beside Officer Jung, lightsaber held at the ready to defend both himself and his companion.
Okay!
Here, then, is an overview of the fight you are about to engage in.
Droids are emerging from the machinery and the darkness all about you. Each is unique and has that same cobbled look as the protocol droid, and each has been weaponized or armed.
They have cut off the way on and the way back.
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AMBUSH IN THE FACTORIES, Start of Turn 1
Among machinery
Droids (G5) x5 (ahead)
Aurel (LS10): 1(2A)/0 [BGu BG CH] [OGu CL] (5F)
Jung (G10): 1(1PR)/0 [GS ES DW] [WS] (1F)
Droids (G5) x5 (behind)
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Firstly... do you have any questions about the layout? I know you have been reading up on others' games, I want to see what your familiarity with it all is.
I may need a bit of clarification on some things, but I'll try and see how much of it I have understood. So it goes as thus:
Name (Combat method and die pool): Defence (Additional defenses such as Armor or Parry) [Active Scthicks] [Inactive Schticks] (Force/Fortune point[s])
In the case of mooks, name and die pool will be followed by number of mooks, represented by x[number]
Does that sound about right? The fact that I've been reading Xavier's story doesn't help either since he was using the old system. 😛
Which means I wouldn't be able to attack since I would spend the turn moving into range...unless Charge would give me that opportunity? Regardless, I'll make my way forwards.
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"Stay close to me, Officer, and watch my back while I clear a path forward," Aurel says, moving in to engage the Promethean abominations.
In that case, we make the Initiative roll. It comes out 5-4, in favor of Aurel. The Jedi makes a daring charge on the droids before they can open fire. With eleven dice (including his Born to the Sword bonus and the extra die from Balanced Guard), Aurel makes his roll to attack. He rolls 4,1,4,3,2,6,2,6,2,3,4. With 4s and higher counting as successes for attacks with a Lightsaber, that's five successes! Not a bad roll.
As a Lightsaber has a * rating, it only takes two successes to finish off a Mook, which the droids are. And since you rolled twice that and have Cleave in, you can dispatch two! Feel free to describe the onslaught.
Jung, on the other hand, stays behind and settles behind some cover. It protects him from the droids to your rear, but not ahead. Using a light pistol, he fires on a droid. He gets exactly 3 successes. The droid he shoots emits a warbled alarm as the bolt explodes inside its head, then falls with a clang.
Their turn!
The droids around you open fire, for three attacks total. Since you have a natural Defense of 1 (as most Named Characters do), they roll a pool of four dice. The first rolls 1 success, the second rolls 2 successes, and the third also rolls 2 successes. They use standard blasters with a base damage of 2, so their hits are for 3 damage, 4, and 4.
We deduct Aurel's armor from Balanced Guard, reducing that to 1, 2, and 2. A total of 5 damage. Considering Aurel can take up to 70 hits... this is child's play. He is whirling about deflecting bolts before they come too close.
Jung has four attackers gunning for him, each rolling four dice pools. Since Eye of the Storm gives Jung a Parry of 1 and he is crouched behind some dense pieces of machinery for another Parry of 1, nothing hits him!
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AMBUSH IN THE FACTORIES, Start of Turn 2
Among machinery
Droids (G5) x3 (ahead)
Aurel (LS11): 1(2A)/5 [BGu BG CL] [OGu CH] (5F) (ahead)
Jung (G10): 1(1PR)/0 [GS ES DW] [WS] (1F) (cover)
Droids (G5) x4 (behind)
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I will be going in depth to help you learn the system. As time goes on, I'll be a little more brief in my overview of the turn's results.
I very much appreciate the added effort. Hmm...so Defence reduces the base die pool, Armor reduces damage taken. Cover provides Parry, which reduces successes...so if Aurel had been in cover, one of those successes from the droids may have been ignored, meaning less damage taken, which still would have been reduced by Armor.
This is good, it helps me get a feel for how each defense works organically. To continue the battle, I'll actually swap out a Schtick: Bodyguard for Charge, since Jung clearly knows the better to place to be for maximum protection in this firefight. 😛
...I think I'll tap Balanced Guard as well. The boosted armor should come in handy while finishing off these droids.
______
Aurel slips in between the blaster fire with practiced ease as he closes in on the makeshift droids, his silver saber drawing bright trail as it comes up beneath one droid and across into another before returning to a defensive position. The Jedi keeps on the balls of his feet, ready to leap aside and strike again at the next opportunity.
Your assessment is spot on. Stylistically, the damage you are taking is near misses and close calls and effort being made to avoid gunfire that wears you down. Ultimately, you only take an actual wound when you've reached your limit.
Evading damage completely for a turn is considered impressive.
Additionally, you can see that your Lightsaber allows you to be more mobile in a fight. Jung is staying put.
Also, Jung is only receiving cover from shooters on one side of the fight (the droids to the rear). Thankfully he has a Jedi preoccupying the shooters behind him (the droids ahead). Tactics!
-
Initiative shifts to the droids when 5-6 is rolled. You still have three droids shooting at you. However, your Balanced Guard tap brings your Defense up to 4 for the turn, as well as your Armor. That gives them a die each to fire. Only one success in that bunch, but only 1 damage from it.
Jung is missed again, standing side-face behind his cover to lower his profile.
He pops out again and rolls four successes (one of which was a 1, which converts to a 6 with Gunslinger, and therefore a success) and puts another droid down.
You roll seven successes yourself- mostly 4s- and chop down another two droids. An exchange that you rather decidedly won, I think.
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AMBUSH IN THE FACTORIES, Start of Turn 3
Among machinery
Droids (G5) x1 (ahead)
Aurel (LS11): 1/6 [BGu CH CL] [OGu CH] (5F) (ahead)
Jung (G10): 1(1PR)/0 [GS ES DW] [WS] (1F) (cover)
Droids (G5) x3 (behind)
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To give you an idea of options, Charge gives you great mobility in a fight. Normally if you run away from an opponent that you are at melee range with, they get a free shot on you, against which none of your defenses work.
Charge lets you ignore that and move after your attack, not just before. Or in the middle, if you are jumping up to attack something and then coming back down.
So you could attack a droid, then flip back into cover.
I see what you mean. Charge would let me finish off this last droid and potentially get into cover myself before another volley, assuming Jung and I get initiative.
I think I have few things I'd like to try, though, which will also give us a chance to provide examples for other mechanics. In this case, Force powers.
So, here is my proposed action. I will Tap Charge and select option A; that is, I will move in and attack my target first before anyone else can act, which will be one of the droids in the rear (I assume they're all in a close enough grouping that will allow me the ability to threaten them together).
Now, at the start of this battle, you stated that the two groups were a turn apart from us, and I had closed in on one group to engage them. I assume this to mean I would now be unable to reach my intended target within the space of my turn as normal. To mediate this, I will activate one of the Master Powers of Swiftness: Dash. This should allow me to close in with my target as originally planned.
I will also activate another Master Power, this time from the Balance tree: Twirl. If I'm following things right, this could potentially allow me to wipe out the trio of droids I'm moving to intercept, leaving that last droid for Jung to blast to pieces.
The downsides to this plan I see are thus: I will be expending two Force points, which are a rare commodity. Also, should we lose initiative, the droid I left behind will be in the clear to take a shot at Officer Jung. In this, I will hope luck be in my favor and we win initiative.
So, to summarize: Tap Charge, Dash, Twirl at Droids in rear. Oh, and lest I forget, I will swap out my tapped Balanced Guard for the classical Orthodox Guard, which I think should aid nicely in this fancy offensive I am planning.
One last question: Does swapping out Schticks happen immediately (that is, do the benefits begin at the start of a turn), or does initiative count into when swapping will be beneficial?
_________
"Jung!" Aurel calls out as he nimbly hops aside the droids' incoming fire, bringing his lightsaber across two of the monstrosities and cleaving them in half, "Switch targets: I'm ending this now!" Ducking under the last stray blast from the remaining droid on his side, the young Swordsman draws upon the power of the Force, his image becoming a blur as he races across the factory floor at incredible speed. As he closes in on the trio of droids blasting at the officer's cover, his body spins, the light of his blade turning him into a silver spiral of death roaring at the half-baked machines.
Swapping happens at the start of the turn and become immediately available if swapped in. Initiative does not figure into that.
Initiative is 1-2, meaning normally the droids would act first.
Instead, Aurel acts first! Your tap of Charge means you can take your action before the enemy. You then make an Agility roll on your Dash... gah! You rolled all 1s and 4s, which means that Aurel trips on a piece of scenery (probably some unseen pipe) and stumbles to where Jung is located. Sometimes these things happen when you're at the mercy of the dice.
The droids take their shots while you are recovering. You manage to fend off the one droid who shoots at you, reflecting its bolt off into the gloom. Jung's cover remains sturdy despite the firepower plowing into it. One bolt slips past and Jung recoils, taking 3 damage from the near hit.
He fires on the droid who almost got him; one success doesn't bring it down.
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AMBUSH IN THE FACTORIES, Start of Turn 4
Among machinery
Droids (G5) x1 (ahead)
Aurel (LS11): 3/6 [OGu CH CL] [BGu BG] (4F)
Jung (G10): 1(1PR)/3 [GS ES DW] [WS] (1F) (cover)
Droids (G5) x3* (behind)
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Oops! Occasionally the dice will not love you. This was one of those turns for everyone involved, it seems. Fortunately, you trimmed the ranks before; that could have been worse.
The droids that Jung fired at now have a * by their number. It will only take two successes to kill one, since it was damaged. The idea is similar to weapons with a * rating- a Mook Killing Power. Lightsabers and other high-damage weapons tend to have these, as you are familiar with.
Ha ha ha, well I suppose that would be inevitable, and it offers a harsh reminder and a valuable lesson that the dice rule all. I notice that I still have four Force points, which I assume is because my Dash attempt failed, which did not offer the opportunity to even allow a use of Twirl. I think I'll be more prudent with the remainder, and take this turn to have at the droids in a more standard fashion.
For the sake of expediency, I'll summarize my turn actions at the end of these musings from now on, as so: Swap Charge for Bodyguard, move to attack droids behind. No initiative adjustments.
_______
A risky maneuver to call on the Force in the dim-lit factory, Aurel barely catches his footing as his heightened speed sends him careening through the strewn remains of factory pieces across the floor, regaining his balance just in time to defend against the next volley of blaster fire.
"Very well, a more traditional approach," he mutters to himself, stepping past Officer Jung and swinging his lightsaber at the group of droids.
Initiative is yours, and it is a Refresh! Normally you would pick which schticks to untap at this point, but as you only have two (which is the limit) yours just refresh.
Aurel is a little more surefooted this time as he strides against the droids. His swordplay must be more defensive than offensive, however, as he rolls a solid string of 3s (which do you no good) and two 4s. That is one droid down, at least! Jung plucks off the one he damaged.
It is one-for-one, then, as a droid picks you out and the other goes for Jung. You take 3 damage from a light hit, while Jung manages to strafe out of the way of the shot from behind.
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AMBUSH IN THE FACTORIES, Start of Turn 5
Among machinery
Droids (G5) x1 (ahead)
Aurel (LS11): 3/6 [OGu BG CL] [BGu CH] (4F) (behind)
Jung (G10): 1(1PR)/3 [GS ES DW] [WS] (1F) (cover)
Droids (G5) x1 (behind)
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You sense movement out in the darkness behind you.
Now, when you say behind, do you mean (behind), which is where Aurel currently is, or (ahead), which is what would be behind him at this moment? In any case, I think it's time to try moving on. It'll probably take me a couple turns at this point, but I want to keep moving forward. At least I'll be able to help out Jung a bit.
This turn: Move to (ahead) to engage droid. No initiative adjustments.
______
With the hum of his saber rushing about, Aurel winces slightly as a bolt gets closer than he likes before taking out the offending droid with a sweep along its legs and up, taking off the blaster arm. He then retreats back towards Officer Jung, preparing to open the path forward.
Got it. Just confirming.
Initiative is yours, and so it is that Jung puts a dent in the droid to your flank with two successes. Wielding a light pistol, that isn't enough to put it down. You move alongside him, lightsaber poised to defend the two of you.
The droid to the fore fires on Jung as it did last turn, but with you defending him, its shot gets snapped away by your blade. The droid to the rear experiences the same result when you whirl around to confront its shot...
... and see that it has been joined by dozens of droids. Not all of them have blasters, but all of them are lurching out of the darkness toward you, buzzing and whirring and chirping and clanking, all of them horrible with their rusting metal skins and patchwork repairs and cobbled parts.
EXTERMINATE booms the voice.