CROM Mechanics Teaser #5 – Ranged Combat

chairarrows

Not every foe should be faced head-on. Some enemies should be handled with care…and distance.

Ranged combat in Conan: Rise of Monsters is fairly simple, once you understand the rules of damage.

The Basics

Units that are able to make ranged attacks have a Max Range listed on their card. Anything farther than half of the max is considered Long Range, and the attacking unit rolls one less attack die. Each figure in the attacking unit must have line of sight to at least one model in the targeted unit in order to participate.

High ground adds 2 bonus attack dice, whereas cover can add 1 or 2 bonus defense dice, as long as at least half of the models in the targeted unit have cover.

If the targeted unit happens to be engaged in melee combat with a friendly unit, any sigils rolled on the attack dice automatically hit the friendly unit with no chance at defense.

Complications

High ground that provides good line of sight also tends to make units that occupy it susceptible to charging. You had better hope that those first volleys are effective.

On the other hand, don’t get too cocky charging into a unit of archers. Ranged combatants might not have the high Defense value or special abilities of a veteran melee unit, but they still have Melee Attack dice for the Counterstrike. If you think those archers will be easy prey, you might find the tide of battle turning against you.

The Legion of Set has some particularly effective ranged units among its ranks. Thoth-Amon and the Priests of Set have Hex Magic, which allows them to re-roll sigils on their ranged attacks…which makes them more likely to hit and also makes it more attractive for them to fire into a melee! Stygian Skirmishers are the masters of trading blows at a distance, they both ignore the die penalty for Long Range attacks and re-roll sigils when defending against ranged attacks.

And of course there are Fate Cards that affect ranged combat. The Camouflage Fate Card adds 2 extra defense dice to a unit that has cover, while Marksmanship eliminates dice for cover.

s2

Come back next time to learn about what happens after you’ve taken some hits as we examine the Morale mechanics!