Duel - A Cyborg Sniper vs. "La Famiglia"

 Once again I used my system for Duel

This time the optional rules for Heroes have been used and I pitted one Hero versus another one - both very different from another:

The Cyborg "56". His ressource points went into:

Fast, so he can move twice per turn. Precision shot, so he can take out his targets without effort. Volley, so he can stand his ground against multiple opponents. The remaining 3 points went into 3 points of toughness (=additional wounds). Also he wears light armour and is a "gunslinger", so he gets a bonus of +2 on each die rolled. Also, everyone rolling dice against him receives a +1, too, or a +3 when in melee combat.

Roberto, the halfling mafiosi with his band of 5 followers (1 ressource each). His remaining resource went into the skill "coordinate", so he can act with all 5 of them at once!

The starting setup: Roberto starts on the left side and has to leave via the right border. The cyborg starts on the right side and has to prevent Roberto from reaching his goal.

The game starts with both Heroes entering the playing area. Roberto moves in his 4" ...

56 is fast, so he runs 8" along the street. None of the combatants can see each other yet.

The next turn takes Roberto and his ragtags closer to the corner ...

56 takes moves into position into his "crow's nest" ...

Initiative. (Note: Even though I have seen 56 rolled a 3, Roberto a 5 AND even though I placed both numbers at the corresponding teams for this shot, I swapped the numbers around the moment I removed the dice from the table. This is why now Roberto gets to act first and THEN 56 acts.)

Roberto opts for bloodshed: He moves 3 gangers into a position from where they can take on 56. As he cannot move the other 2 into a position where they can draw line of sight to 56, he send them around the corner, so they can open fire the next turn.

Here we can see his devious plan: counting on 56 to act somewhat slower due to having to return fire, one ganger goes for a duel score of 3, 56 goes for 4, the remaining 2 gangers go for a 6 each so for each of them 2 hits are safe (then again, chances are one of them gets slain before he can even act! A sacrifice for "la famiglia"!)

Having to reroll due to 56's cover, the first ganger botches his shot: 3+1 = 4, 3+2 = 5. Even when adding the additional +1 he would get for 56 being light armoured, none of the results would be 7 or more! So, not a single hit from this ganger.

Now 56 returns fire: 3 hits (4+1+2 = 7, 4+4+2 = 10 twice) are more than enough to remove one of the "Duel Score 6" gangers.

The remaining "Duel Score 6" ganger fires back: with a 3 and a 5 (6+3 = 9, 6+5 = 11) he scores 2 hits, both counting against 56's toughness. 1 toughness remaining - if that point gets lost, the next hit causes 56 to go down!

56 is a skilled mercenary relying on his abilities to take out opponents even under pressure. He does not move but instead releases a "volley" on the two remaining gangers. He selects a Duel Score of 2, the gangers opt for being slower (3 and 5 ... poor fellows ...)

With results of 3,4 and 5 even after rerolling one hit for the ganger in cover, 56 scores 3 results >7 (as he gets a +2 per die rolled - remember?) That's enough to take out one of the gangers entirely and to have the other one go down.

Mess with the best - die like the rest! End of turn 3.

Initiative. 1 for Roberto, 4 for 56.

Upkeep. Rolling a 6 on one of the dice, the ganger gets back up again.

Roberto orders the ganger on the street closer to the building, so he has at least some cover. The remaining gangers are ordered into a position where 56 cannot draw line of sight to. He himself goes into hiding in the alley, too.

Having only one target to react to, 56 takes his time, just to play it safe. The ganger however plays it safe in the same way, so both combatants open fire at the same time (Duel Score 4).

56 rolls 3 hits, the ganger rolls 1 hit (1 and 4) - 56's toughness has been used up, the ganger is wasted, too.

56 moves into a position, where he can draw line of sight to at least one of the gangers. The ganger opens fire with a Duel Score of 2. His rolls of 1 and 4 after having to reroll 1 result that was a hit initially, are not sufficient any more to hit even once. 56 rolls 2 hits (2 and 5) and 1 miss. The 2 hits, however, are enough to take out the ganger.

Another one bites the dust. End of turn 4.

Initiative: 3 for Roberto, 6 for 56.

The ganger backs away, Roberto himself hides behind the terminal. For 56 this is not going as intended. He's a sniper! His actual job is to sit still and to shoot sitting (or running) ducks. Not to hunt actively ... Yet, if the wants to prevent Roberto from reaching his goal, he has to hunt that coward down, apparently.

End of turn 5.

Initiative: 4 for 56, 5 for Roberto.

56 cannod afford facing multiple opponents anymore, as this would be his demise: One of the opponents would bite the bullet while the other one takes him down. He has to catch the remaining fighers flat footed and one by one. So he rushes down the street, hoping to catch the other fighters as intended. Roberto and his remaining ganger move down the back alleys of the buildings.

End of Turn 6. 

Initiative: 3 for Roberto, 5 for 56.

The ganger moves behind the .. well .. whatever this is, ready to rumble. However upon returning fire, 56 takes out the ganger with a Duel Score of 1 and rolling two 6es even after rerolling one of the hits due to the ganger's cover.

So, apparently Roberto has to take things into his own hands now. He moves around the corner and goes for a Duel Score of 5. 56 tries to repeat the stunt he has just pulled off - and fails miserably. Of the 3 dice he has got, not a single one scores a hit!

Roberto shoots - and lands 3 hits. More than enough to finish off 56.

End of turn 7 - and end of the game ...

Having been stripped of every single one of his bodyguards, Roberto can leave this area safely. He writes a mental note so he remembers calling the major later that day and discuss renaming this street to "bullet road" or "via sanguina" or something ...

Soooo ...

What a close game!

If it hadn't been for the fumble in his final turn, 56 could actually have stopped Roberto from crossing this place. Alas he failed. 

However, the battle he delivered to his opponent was epic and pulse driving! Taking down 5 gangers before biting the dust - that's something you still have to imitate!

Did you like that battle report?

Are you curious about the game?

Then go for the rules here: Download Duel - they are entirely free!

And if there are ever any questions, here on the right of this blog you can find the ways to contact me!

Thanks for reading!

Kind regards,

Kai