I recently posted some pics from a Lego battle I took part in a couple of weeks ago, intending to post the rough rules that we played by on this blog. Well...here they are...v0.5 of In a World Where Bricks Rule..., a super-simple, icosahedral set of skirmish rules that are ready to be added to, subtracted from, and just generally screwed with. I first posted them to the web a few years ago, so maybe, just maybe (but probably not), there's someone out there who still has designs on playing it at some point.
Big thanks to my buddy JR Mounts for the awesome artwork. I've worked with JR on the card games Ghoulball and Cop Salad. He has a website where you can see samples of his comic work. (There are some great stories about a fried pickle private investigator in a noir setting that...well, you kinda have to see it...)
In a World Where Bricks
Rule…
Life is a constant battle. Or something kind of like a
battle, anyway. These rules will show
you how those kind-of battles play out.
Characters
Characters are defined by four main attributes:
Level – an approximation of the character’s combat ability and toughness.
Class – lets you know what special abilities the character has.
Defense – how hard it is to hit the character
with an attack.
Range – indicates whether or not the character is able to attack
characters with which it is not in contact. A character either “has range,” or
it doesn’t.
To create a character, follow these steps:
1. Pick out a figure to represent the character.
2. Determine the character’s level and class. Just pick a level that seems appropriate;
you’ll want each side to have about the same number of levels when all
characters are added together. Classes
are listed toward the end of these rules (or feel free to make up your own).
3. Figure out the character’s defense value. This is
typically based on the type of armor or protective clothing worn by the
character, so feel free to outfit them with some extra equipment if you want.
Higher defense values make a character harder to hit. Here are some examples to
use as a guide:
• No armor: 10
• Leather armor, ice hockey equipment: 12
• Chainmail, SWAT body armor: 14
• Plate mail: 16
• Carrying a shield adjusts an armor value by +1.
4. Finally, give the character a weapon. Most characters
won’t deal much damage without one. It
doesn’t have to be a “real” weapon; it could also be a wrench, a crowbar, a
bat…whatever. If the weapon can be used from a distance, like a gun or crossbow,
note that the character has range.
Combat
To begin each round, one player rolls four six-sided dice
(4d6). All characters with a defense value less than or equal to the roll can
act this round. Players (starting with the youngest) take turns activating one character
at a time. When all characters have acted, a new round begins. Characters can take two actions when
activated. They may move, attack,
or perform an action indicated by a special ability. Characters may also leave
any actions unused. To move, a character
is moved up to one full length, in a straight line. A length can be any
convenient distance agreed upon by players and reasonable to the size of the
figures. (For conventional brick figures, a 16-stud brick is pretty useful.) A
character cannot move through or over tall objects (including other
characters). Moving through difficult terrain (swamps, thick brush, etc.)
requires two move actions to be spent for each move performed. If a character
is in base contact with an enemy, one move action must be spent to break free.
A move action may also be spent to pick up a weapon or other item, or to climb
onto an object.
An attack may be made by one character on another if
the two characters are in contact (at least base contact) or are within one
length of each other if the attacking character has a ranged attack. To attack,
roll a d20 and add the attacking character’s level (plus any modifiers indicated
by special abilities or combat conditions). If the result is equal to or
greater than the target’s defense value, the attack is successful, and the defending
character is given one hit.
Attack modifiers:
• Melee attack by a character with range attack: -2
• Target is at a lower elevation: +2
• Target has ≥50% cover: -2
• Target is in contact with a character on the same side as
the attacker: -2
When a character has sustained hits equal to or greater
than its level, the character is knocked out and removed from the
battle. The battle ends when only one side has characters remaining or when
an agreed-upon objective is completed (such as capturing a base).
Character Classes
Archer: +3 to attack rolls with a bow or
crossbow.
Brute: Deals an extra hit when an attack is successful;
can sustain one extra damage before being knocked out.
Knight: Subtract 6 from defense for activation purposes.
Ninja: Ninja are assumed to carry shuriken and
can be given a ranged attack even if they do not appear to possess a ranged
weapon (no penalty to melee because of this).
Soldier: Subtract 3 from defense for activation purposes;
+1 to attack rolls with a gun (firearm, blaster, etc.).
Space Trooper: Can move using a jetpack (or a magic
ring or something) – not affected by terrain or characters that would block its
movement.
Swordsman: +3 to attack rolls with a sword.
Undead: When knocked out, may still activate
each turn by rolling a d6. On a 1 or 2, the Undead comes back at full strength
and can be activated immediately.
Vigilante: When it hits with a melee attack, the
hit character drops its weapon.
Wizard: As an action, you may
roll a d6. On a 1-3, a character within one length takes a hit and can’t act this
round. (Can only be used once per round.)
