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Fanticide battle Report: The Steppes of Time

Intro:

Warm rain pours down upon grass covered plains as the proud Liberi form a firm line of cavalry. Eyes sharp with focused hatred watch Satyr archers swiftly dash from cover of trees to a massive hill, disappearing through spell-carved tunnels. The smell of strong spirits wafts closer; the Fae celebrate before battle and far more decadently after. Somber and resolute, the centaurs vow to stop the immoral woodland creatures advance, for only waste and unfettered lust remain in the detritus of a Heathen raid. With wicked cloven hoof set upon the Swarth, they have dared to desecrate Liberi lands.

Raised spears, bows and mighty war clubs greet the rising sun as drunken cackles and shouts echo from patched forest. The rain has succumbed to the dawn; without need for words, the massive Chieftain's eyes release the charge. Wanton laughter is silenced by the sublime pounding of a hundred hooves.

Along the horizon, shimmering fabrics of time fold like lightning flashes across the skies of Nowhere. Distant explosions roll sound in echoed waves, loudly surging forward to the battle. Movement of the horned ones in the dark distant wood seems to mystically trail, and then oddly accelerate…


To be continued, including pictures and detailed report of our first 500 point Fanticide match...

I'm looking forward to this. Please include comment upon the mechanics - explanation and critique - as well as narrative-time events.

R.

@ Precintomega -- based on your request I am adding in the basics of how to set up a Fanticide game, which is covered following the army list info. Cheers and enjoy! I will go into more thorough war-band construction in a different thread where member can ask questions.


The Steppes of Time Part I: Match Details

Our Lists for the Steppes of Time:

Point Build: 500
Great Sinning Scenario: WRATH (practice match -- no elimination at half soul)

Deployment: Home Table Edge, 10" or less
Board Size: 4' x 4'

Terrain:
Woods (difficult ground w/ cover)
Hills (difficult ground w/ appropriate height modifiers)
Hostile Terrain: none

Event cards: yes
Magic: no
Relics / Artifacts: none

My girlfriend fielded the Fae:

Legend w/ Spear & Light Armor
Satyrs Stickers Squad x 6 + Master Satyr w/ Spear & Light Armor
Satyrs Stickers Squad x 7
Brownies Peeves x 3
Bogies Crushers x 4
Forest Father Monster

Total Points: 498
Total Soul: 37


I ran the Liberi:

Chief w/ War Club
Centaur Stickers w/ Spears x 4
Centaurs Shootists x 4
Cheveyo Crushers x 4

Total Points: 495
Total Soul: 28


Each Homicide Squad type, be them stickers or shootists, Peeves or monsters, etc are designated with a minimum or maximum allowable range. For instance, up to 3 stickers, 0-1 Monsters, etc. It is that simple.

As can see, the Liberi are point - heavy and the Fae can field diverse units in reasonable numbers in a smaller match.

Army list preparation is quite fast and requires a paper & pencil only, or a calculator for the math-imparied such as myself. Options are present for flavor and strategy, but are not overwhelming or complex.

The Steppes of Time Part II: Set-up

A bit of context before the descriptive fight begins:

Preparation: As this was Melissa's first exposure to Fanticide game play, and my first actual match, we relaxed and carefully prepared for the battle with ice coffee and time for questions.

Per the rule book, the easiest way to prepare terrain in Fanticide is to construct a setting with pieces as agreed upon by your opponent.
She and I opted to utilize only hills and forest in this match. We made them somewhat symmetrical, with the woods accessible to her Fae because they have Forest Walking and will thus provide interesting options on her part. Pieces should be not too small but rather "squad sized" or slighly less; Think Warhammer Fantasy in board terrain style.

First during set-up players ensure they have a card for every unit -- or in some cases, several if a Legend owns Virtue of Command, for instance. These are all included in the sealed rule book.




There are two different symbols present on the cards in the pack, so each side has their own indicator of which player is going to activate.

Once cards for every unit were established, we mixed them together and shuffled.

Event cards are then selected prior to game commencement; although there are at seven official Events in the pack, and blank cards are included to make your own, we removed and few and opted for a guaranteed regular game -- 5 turns.



One is randomly shuffled into the activation deck each turn. The others, as you can see, simply are set aside. This is also a convenient manner to indicate the number of turns left in the battle.

Fanticide is a D10 system with little else required to track and monitor game effects, although there are spell templates not utilized in this session.

Game play is dictated by a card-based activation system; players must stay alert and prepared for any unit to go, and combat requires mutual interaction. There are no cards, "in-hand." One is simply flipped at a time to keep the battle continuing.

Maneuvering and magic are integral, and the concept of command, as well as the notion of fleeing in sheer panic, are heavily weighed. There are similarities to Warmaster here, yet simplified and with far more finesse evolved over the past two decades.

Activation deck and events ready:




With our cards squared, dice and rule book at hand and deployment of 10" established I allow my gf to set up first, with the caveat that she can adjust units after I arrange mine. Normally warband's set-up and victory conditions are dictated by one of the Seven Deadly Sins, which we bypassed in this practice game. That system of scenario generation is excellent and will be featured in a later post.

She is more rank and file than expected, and all are soon lined up evenly along the 4' wide span of her table edge. To my interest, she paired her Monster and the Crushers together on her left side. A powerful punch.



As I begin to set up she snaps a shot of my Liberi Cheveyo Crushers -- nicely commission painted by a friend. Fanticide minis are designed to be easy to paint and quickly fielded on a table. Using an airbrush and picking out the details he completed an entire 750 point army in two days.



Preparing our cards, placing terrain, skimming rule book for anything missing and deploying with a model count between 13 - 28 per side took just under 20 minutes. Melissa is not used to free-measure (tape measure) games so she was a bit over-meticulous, but having fun.

Coffee refills then Battle Report begins in next thread, cheers everyone...

Raised spears, bows and mighty war clubs greet the rising sun as drunken cackles and shouts echo from patched forest. The rain has succumbed to the dawn;

The Liberi Stickers Homicide Squad, poised with muscles strained, moments before charging




A standard set-up for the Centaur forces shown below; a Chieftain is near both the stickers and shootists to facilitate additional movement via his Virtue of Command. What this amounts to is extra cards for the Legend, with options to issue Command orders to units that have already taken actions from their Cue card revealed. The greater the Virtue of Command value, the more Homicide squads that can be activated. This is risky, however, as failing to pass a Sanity test can result it units fleeing in defiance. Legends and Masters with additional cards can also opt to focus their energy on moving or charging a second or even third time themselves as a strategy in battle.
The Liberi have shamans, their one and only Masters option. The leaders do not easily share their honor of responsibility.






..without need for words, the massive Chieftain's eyes release the charge. Wanton laughter is silenced by the sublime pounding of a hundred hooves.

Turn one:

The Liberi Legend Chieftain receives his activation; shouting he immediately orders the Centaurs with bows 8" to the left flank. Easily passing their SANITY test representing emotional fortitude and discipline, they proceed. The next card is the Liberi Spearmen stickers; with plans unfolding they cross behind the Chief parallel the bowmen and opposite the hill. Without remote orders they move requiring no tests of any kind. My opponent's eyes nervously dart and scan as she takes in the maneuvers; the weaker and less disciplined Fae units are being targeted early in the battle.



surprised and slightly humbled by the sudden onslaught, Fae Satyr Stickers(1) advance with their activation. The unit designated as number one must be determined prior to the game, which we did through verbal agreement.

With successive orders now assisting the Fae, their Stickers with the Master activate, advancing their GAIT of 4.". Surging forward with intoxicated exuberance, the half-beasts are eager to surpass the defenders and reach the spoils of war.




Clashing sides close quickly in Fanticide, with successfully passed Sanity tests allowing even faster advancement

Over the next few activations The Fae bowmen prepare to mount the hill and their diminutive Peeves Brownies scramble forward. With movement halved for difficult terrain, the Shootists pause and prepare to ascend the cliff next turn.




With attention suddenly shifted to the Eastern border, the mighty Liberi Cheveyo storm immediately forward to the menacing forest monsters of the Fae.




There are five quite intuitive and straight forward options per activation: Move, Charge, Ranged Attack, perform Magic / issue orders or Rally. One each time a card is flipped, with no phases or limited portion structure in the game dictating specifics at any time.

Other units close the gap. Bowfire, in this case 18" range, is not possible this first turn. The Forest Father, hindered with the Vice of Monstrosity must pass a Sanity test to advance, less he become distracted, get a bit fatigued by his girth, fall asleep, start eating, roar spontaneously or become slowed. With no issue he and the Bogies move side-by-side, unafraid of the Liberi Crushers ahead. I contemplate the choice to approach Melissa's two strongest units, but place faith in the immensely strong Cheveyo.

The event card for the turn appears -- Dropping Storm! As described in the rule book, "Unnamable winged things from the Kingdom of Odd have flown high over the battlefield and released their droppings. The next card drawn indicates the unlucky recipients of the scatological payload."



Melissa covers her face, as her Master has only activated once. As predicted, the next card flipped is the Fae Legend; a hail of fecal matter begins to impact upon him! She rolls above a 6 on a fixed test, avoiding injury the heavy droppings.

undaunted, he whistles the east-flank stickers into the woods. With the Forest Walking ability, their movement is not halved. They scamper with hoof and dashes across the open field, gliding into woodland cover offering a +1 TAKE when receiving attacks.




With the Fae Master activating last, he attempts to command the Stickers(2) to the West to advance further. With no cover ahead and dust rising from manic hooves, they fail their SANITY test and hold shaky ground, bickering and refusing their order.

With all Cue cards expended from the Activation deck, we added another random event card, shuffled and paused to scan the excitement on the table.
Blood will spill in the next turn, continued soon...

Interesting read - and great photos, too.

I can see how a lot of the character of the armies is captured in the rules, with things like the "Forest Walking" ability for the satyrs. The random event is interesting. I wonder just how long that's going to be funny for...

At the moment, it looks a lot like Relics: an interesting rules system struggling for a sense of purpose beyond "charge... kill... die..." However, with the action of the next turn still to see, I watch with breath bated!

R.

 precinctomega wrote:
Interesting read - and great photos, too.

I can see how a lot of the character of the armies is captured in the rules, with things like the "Forest Walking" ability for the satyrs. The random event is interesting. I wonder just how long that's going to be funny for...

At the moment, it looks a lot like Relics: an interesting rules system struggling for a sense of purpose beyond "charge... kill... die..." However, with the action of the next turn still to see, I watch with breath bated!

R.

Greets! Indeed the flavor and character of the game is captured in the rules -- I hope this next turn report demonstrates a bit more of that aspect. The game is immensely vibrant with things like Artifacts and Relics discovered from the Hole ("Boom Fruit" grenade anyone?), Spell Casting (including the notorious INSANITY table) and a brilliant scenario design system we are just starting to explore. Those will come in subsequent reports. We've played three games this last busy week and are absolutely hooked.

As for the shelf-life of Events, keep in mind they are A.) Optional, and B.) official blank cards are actually provided so you and your friends can create your own.

Time for the next report, cheers and thanks for following.

With a fresh Activation deck and a new Event Cue card inserted, we proceed to Turn Two of The Steppes of Time.

The Liberi Crushers unit, the heavy-hitters known as the Cheveyo are flipped first. Centaurs are far more effective on the offense as they have the Hard Charger ability which grants them +2 GIVE when attacking after a successful charge. This is powerful because in Fanticide if you are attacking first then you are charging -- always.

With a charge range of D10 + 8" then can narrowly reach the enemy Bogies if I roll a 9 or higher. Realizing the potential to be counter-charged were I to simply move forward, I opt to try -- and fail! An immediate Sanity Test is required for the unit now, lest they fall prey to second thoughts and begin leaving the emerging battle early. With no leader nearby then must roll a 3+, and easily do so. Failed charge then means holding firm and not moving, near the halfway mark on my opponent's left flank.

Melissa's Crushers (Bogies) respond by moving forward 4", eager to close the distance.

On her right flank the Liberi Shootists storm around the hill, taking aim at the opposing Satyr shootists atop the opposite hill down field. With the excellent, "Fleet of Foot Bowmen" ability some Liberi can move + shoot in a single activation, a very nasty combination in the already fast-paced game system.

With four firing, four dice are allocated to different visible models within range:



Melissa prepares to roll for each Satyr targeted; I grab the dice from the indicated mini and we begin in turn. I add my GIVE of 4 to every D10 roll. She only has a TAKE (defense) of two, so she adds +2. For clarity we both announce this and commence.
We roll each at a time and compare the total TAKE minus the total GIVE. If this number equals their Soul (1), the figure is STUNNED. If the difference exceeds (2 or more) it falls casualty.
Expertly drawn arrows find their mark to the sound of drumming hooves upon the Swarth, and three Satyr slump to the ground, dead. The fourth arrow slams into a Fae's shoulder, causing screams of pain and rage as he falls to one knee, STUNNED.

Counting the number of models STUNNED or KILLED at 4, this equates to half the unit of the horned bowmen. Suddenly unsure of their situation, the must make an immediate SANITY TEST. Unable to add the value of their Legend (he is too far away), she tosses a two -- far lower than their less-than impressive VIRTUE of SANITY. Thus, they PANIC and FLEE.

Rolling D10 + their Gait the result is 18"! The jeering, drunken howls have been silenced but a sudden awareness of their dawning mortality. Moving fast and with expert grace they reach their deployment table edge and vanish from the battlefield.
First blood -- total Lost Soul for their unit is 8. No bonus is conferred for the WRATH scenario as they retreated and were not wiped out fully.

Fae Peeves advance around the hill unmolested, the tiny Brownies emitting nasal shouts and waving razor sharp swords, barely visible in the short grass. Their Squirrel crouches and waits with rider steady, eyeing the smooth-bodied cavalry ahead.

To their left, the Master activates, again attempting to move his spearmen closer to the stampeding Liberi. This time they make their SANITY Test (he confers a +1 bonus to the roll). White-knuckles grip their weapons and their hoofed feet dance forward with meticulous fluid grace, nearly daring the enemy to engage. This is the Masters intention.

Event Card: UNICORN!
Suddenly a blood-drenched steed, frothing at the mouth with maniacal eyes enters the battlefield. Randomly determined by Neutral Table Edge, Melissa rolls and he emerges in the center of the East ridge. Pissed off and eager to maim anything alive, this not-so sacred horned monster charges my Centaur Shootists.




Owning the HOMICIDAL RAGE trait, she will always move forward and does not auto-fail a charge on a, "1." This time we fight in Melee, which is resolved slightly differently from shooting.

Still reaching one horseman, my unit responds and moves in as many models as possible into base contact per the rules. A sick fight is on!



Her GIVE is beastly -- a 6, and we'll make that +7 on the d10 for charging. With no spears to set my surprised bowmen defend with a modst +3 on their die roll.

First she attacks, slamming into the fray -- rolling only a total of 9! The defending centaur responds as I roll a 5+3 = 8. This is a difference of one; the Liberi have two SOUL each. Thus, the centaur is only STUNNED. The difference did not exceed his SOUL. STUNNED, he cannot attack back this turn. In addition, he will count toward combat resolution if determining who Loses and potentially Flees.
Her bloodied horn goes wide as she whips her head around attempting to kill, knocking him winded to his knees as they buckle under the maelstrom.
Although technically only armed with missile weapons, the defending Liberi now get to attack. A GIVE of 4 compares to the Unicorns Take of 4 -- an equal match, but she is outnumbered as the remaining three shall now return hostilities.

Each rolling separately they unleash a barrage of kicks and strikes; the dice difference of one hit exceeds her SOUL of 4. With a sickening snap of bones and ruptured organs the aggressive creature is dropped, one Liberi finishing her off by snapping the neck from behind. Collapsing, defeated, a bubble of blood is exhaled from her nose.
The STUNNED centaur rises and the other smack his chest quickly, asserting he is ok. Bloody unicorns! Their eyes turn to the conflict nearby.

Far away, across the Steppe, The Forest Father Monster has drawn a card. Clapping her hand and ready for action, Melissa reaches to advance it 4." I remind her that it has the VICE of MONSTROSITY; without a commander guiding him, he must pass a SANITY test to activate independently.
She fails, rolling under the target amount of 4+. Had she invested in the five point Infested with Sprytes upgrade option, she would have passed. Regardless, she must roll and consult the Monstrous Behavior Table with a D5 toss of the die.

with audible groans at the potential result, she gets #3 -- CURIOUS! Instead of moving straight forward as Melissa desired, he takes "an unaccountable interest in something nearby." Moving toward the nearest visible squad or terrain item, we soon find the Forest Father advancing to the Bogies and investigating their branches:



He sniffs one, pokes at it, satisfies his fascination and ends the activation. Laughing Melissa sighs with relief -- he's behaving well enough and has still moved forward, which is what she needs at this point to happen on the Eastern flank.

Now Center, the Fae Legend receives his first of three Cards for the turn. desiring to impose the flank of the native Spearmen, he whistles loudly, ordering the Satyr Stickers to his left to advance in the woods, remaining slightly on the edge. Facing enemies directly ahead and to their right, the Centaurs are finding themselves in a menacing and increasingly dangerous tactical position.



Receiving yet another subsequent Cue Card, the Legend jaunts into the cover of trees to repel any potential bowfire, easily navigating the thickets and darkwood. With a Master, a Legend and two full units in Charge range, the Centaurs must soon act.

And they do -- the Stickers card is pulled. With no need for any tests they cannot wait any longer, opting to run down the Satyrs directly ahead, avoiding putting distance between them and other squad ensconced in the thickets and brambles.

Running fast, they will engage five of the models; the rest shall surround them per the rules and all who survive will have a crack at Melee, starting with the Centaurs. The MASTER raises his club and encourages his brethren to hold. The conflict is here:




Satyr's set their spears, giving them a +1 TAKE in combat as defender. Undaunted, the Centaurs crash into them; tips rip flesh and howls of battle reverberate. Only two of the four Liberi extract kills, however, and the Satyrs soon respond as we separate out four different "fights" in the combat, to ascertain whom is attacking back. The Liberi spears give them a TAKE bonus when defending as well, but they stumble back as the ferocious pagans expertly poke and slash their weapons. Melissa rolls high, exceeding the SOUL on two of my troops.
To resolve combat, we each have lost two figures, but my total SOUL lost is 4, and hers only two. Officially losing the engagement, I must roll a Sanity Test. I pass, but shakily, and at this point the Defenders by rule move back 1." There is no, "locked combat" in Fanticide. When you activate next you always have numerous options, including charging back into the fray, moving, possibly spells, etc.

The Satyrs who were just pummeled pull the next Cue card -- and this time they require no SANITY test to act, because it is theirs not the masters that was pulled. They are not receiving an order, they are acting a a collective unit with the Master attached.

A rare glimmer of fear flashes in the eyes of the two Liberi ahead as the Satyrs charge, impaling and destroying the last of the Centaur Sticker squad.

My Chieftain watches in concern as the dust settles and his spearmen are decimated. He opts to take matters into his hands, and moves 6" slightly back to his left, setting up an optimal charge for next turn. His impressive AGILITY score grants him a GAIT of 8", a vast advantage compared to the Fae enemy when considering charges. Patiently he trots into view of the Satyr Legend. The offer stands.




What a turn! We remove the eliminated units Cue Cards from the Activation Deck, select yet another random even, and shuffle. Total Soul scored thus far for Liberi: 10
Total Soul scored for the Fae: 8 + 1 (wiped out) = 9.

This match couldn't be any closer. Considering the next turn I hope with urgency that one of my Legends cards appears early in the deck, before Melissa can do too much more with her blatant control of the center of the board. Even with rules references we are only an hour into our first match. The morning sun is now burning hot across the Swarth of Nowhere. Bodies adorn the field, and it is any armies opportunity for victory.

to be continued...

Turn Three, the deciding factors:

As the intense melee swirled around bloody hooves and impaled bodies, sudden flashes and folds of air appeared on the eastern steppes. Sublime distortions of the towering Forest Father produced hallucinogenic echoes of his lumbering walk. The Cheveyo, charging toward the Bogeys, seemed to run with psychedelic scattered grace, each second passing a flash of tattered visual frames exhibiting frenetic speed.

The first card revealed in the tense melee was the event card for the turn -- TIME SLIP, granting double activation to the next three cards in succession.

Anticipating the inevitable carnage that should ensue, the Cheveyo were revealed next to activate. They easily succeeded in charging the Bogeys before them, four impressive tree-men who began to slash their limbs in prepared defense.



The Chevayo, with Furious Charge granting them a + 2 Give slammed into the tree-men, mercilessly bludgeoning them cracks of their war clubs. With three in decimated fragments and one Stunned, the lone survivor passed his Sanity Test and backed up from the aggressors.

With the air appearing to rapidly breathe around the conflict, the Chevayo activated again per the rules of the Event card, darting past the lone Bogey to charge the Forest Father.



The massive Crushers unit felled the Monster with the third smack of their weapon. Melissa's slow but mighty portion of the battlefield had been nearly annihilated.

Time sparked in odd, hyper fashion, bending waves of illusion and mirage across the battlefield near the central unit of Fae Stickers. Shouts among the Satyrs bounced from incoherent to deafening as they charged the Liberi Legend. The overwhelming slash and penetration of spears left him incapable of striking back due to pain and confusion. Alone and vulnerable the impact surged him backward, stumbling awkwardly across the turf of grass. Activating again, the rushing pagan beasts were unable to defeat the mighty Legend; his senses regained he shattered the skull of a Sticker, nearly causing them to flee in drained resolve.




With the tide suddenly even I groaned as the third double-activation card was revealed -- the other Fae Sticker unit! Without a moments hesitation my girlfriend successfully charged my vulnerable Liber Shootists with her "Stickers 2" unit.



The game falling through my hands, I watched these creatures of wine and deviance slaughter three Liberi in thirty seconds.
Note that we immediately place tokens as Casualty Markers throughout the Fights to easily calculate who is the victorious side. Respective players then scoop them up and simply add them to their pool in a small bowl or horded by the deployment zone. This approach makes it far easier to tally later to ascertain the winner of the match, and it is more rewarding than pen and a paper to watch your pile grow as a game goes your way.



Thus the Fae were the Winners of the combat. Too far away to benefit from a higher Sanity rating via the Chieftain, the surviving Liberi shootist ran for his life off the table edge (wrong side, in retrospect -- I forgot losing units head to the Home Table Edge). More soul granted to my opponent, but no bonus for Wrath because one figure made it safely away.




With time returning to normal, dust swirling across the plains through the last exhalations of wind, my Legend's card was finally revealed for the first time this turn. Narrowing his eyes on the lean Fae leader, he ran into the woods, not risking a failed charge. Darting toward the wicked horned one, closing easily, the now could see one another merely yards away.

Time for the next card -- one leader would surely fall by the close of this Turn, regardless of how long we attempted to stetch the fun of our first game.
Would my proud Legend be able to charge and easily strike down the weaker beast?

I allowed Melissa to do the honors -- and her nearly forgotten Master card appeared! Relatively close nearby after their failed attempt to best the centaur Chieftain, she surprised me by sepearating him from the unit and charging my Legend.

Striking from the flank (this has no bearing on the rules, btw), we grabbed our ten sided dice and prepared for combat.

I laugh and groan simultaneously as she rolls a ten; my return strike using my Take is no comparison. With a sickening shower of gore upon the green ground, her Satyr Master, eager to prove himself, nearly beheads my Legend with a mighty swing of his oak cudgel.







The remaining Satyr troops rushed over to swarm the body, dragging the prize off to make morbid totems of bone and skin to please the spirits of the woodland delves...

we absolutely loved our first match, and the successive games over the weeks to come proved even closer, with more depth of strategy once we added in different Sin aspects, as well as higher points, Relics and Artifacts.

I wish so dearly I could do a report such as this for the other matches we've played since. Despite the pleasure to share, however, it is far more pleasurable to play, and that is precisely what we've been doing through many late evenings.