Attrition
An Armies of Arcana Scenario - Back to main AoA Support
This is an alternative to the basic scenario for Armies of Arcana. Instead of fighting for objectives, players fight simply to break their opponent’s army. When an army loses 30% of its starting points in units, it must take an overall break test for the morale of the army. If an army breaks, the other player is victorious.
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Set-up Terrain is placed by any means the players agree on. A popular and simple system is that one player places terrain, and the other player chooses which side to set up on. The normal set up zones apply – 24" apart, and 12" in from the side edges of the board. Players agree to an equal point total for their armies. The normal 60/40 rule applies for basic/elite troops. It is advisable that each player have an easy to read list of their units and the point costs for those units to track casualties at the end of each turn. In this scenario, one side is considered the attacker and the other the defender. Players should each roll a die, and the high roller selects whether to be the attacker or defender. The defender sets up ¾ of his units, rounded down. The remaining quarter is set aside as a response force to deploy after the attacker sets up all of their units. Infiltrators do not count for initial deployment. For example, if a player had 12 units including one infiltrating unit, he would consider his initial force to be 11 units, and set up 8 of them immediately, then the other 3 after the attacker set up his force. The infiltrating unit would deploy as normal during the game. The defender wins the initiative on the first round – typically, the attacker will have to move first. Afterwards, the game proceeds as normal. The roles of attacker and defender have no further bearing on the game after the first turn. The attacker can always choose to hang back, and the defender could mount a massive charge across the table. Gameplay All normal rules apply during the game. However, at the end of each morale phase, both players should count up the points of all broken, depleted, destroyed, or routed units. Depleted units are those that are at less than 1/4 of their starting models. If a broken unit rallies, it no longer counts against the point total unless it is depleted. |
If the total points worth of units lost is equal to or greater than 30% of the starting total of points, that army must take a break test. For example, if it were a 5000 point army, once a player had lost 1500 points worth of units, it would take a break test. If both players have lost over 1500 points, the player with the most points worth of units lost takes their test first, and if he passes, the other player takes their test. Break Tests All armies start with a morale of 10, and lose 1 for every 10% worth of points they have lost. For example, if the players were in a 5000 point game, and one player had lost 1900 points worth of units, he would have to take a break test at -3. If he had lost 2000 points, it would be a -4, and so on. This means the best break test possible is a 7 or less. The player rolls 2 dice, needing the total to equal or exceed the break test value. If he fails the test, his army surrenders or flees, and the game is over. If he passes, the game goes another turn, and both players will need to check on the following turn to see if a test needs to be taken. If both players have lost 30% or more of their units, then the player who has lost the most points must make his break test first. If he fails, the game ends. If he passes, the other player must take his break test. If he fails, the game ends. Total Victory – One side defeats the other while losing less than 30% points worth of their units. Major Victory – One side defeats the other, while losing fewer points worth of units than the defeated opponent. Minor Victory – One side defeats the other, but loses more points than the enemy. Pyrrhic Victory – One side defeats the other, but loses over 50% of their forces. |
Scenario Notes
This scenario plays very differently than the objective-based scenario. It is often much shorter, as it is common for the game to end the first time a player must test. Players should do everything in their power to isolate and destroy enemy units with several of their own. Being slow in getting your attack arrayed can be the difference between getting knocked out on turn 3 or crushing the opponent decisively.
The scenario also values pulling units out of the fight before they are forced to break or die. There are no "disposable" units, as all of them contribute to your loss. If a unit is approaching 50% casualties, try to withdraw it before it becomes a liability. It is also a good strategy to have a second line of troops to cover the retreats of broken units (allowing them to rally) or to pull off a unit exchange.
Some question whether fearless troops have too much of an advantage in the scenario, since they can take casualties instead of breaking. Our experience has been that it can make a minor difference, but one roughly equivalent to the extra points fearless units pay for the ability. It can also lead to units being destroyed totally on a subsequent turn where they might have rallied back into the fight if they had simply broken. In general, you want to pile on the morale penalties as much as possible anyway, so fearless units are often left with a choice between losing ¾ of their remaining troops or running away. The depleted unit rule also counter the advantage of fearlessness.
Scenario Modifications
The scenario can be modified with objectives as well. For instance, players could name their general as a figure on the table, and if that figure is lost, break tests are taken at a -1 penalty. Each army could be given a battle standard or other artifact, and while that standard remains in the possession of an unbroken unit, the army gets a +1 to the break test morale. If it is lost, the army suffers a -1 to its break test morale. A common terrain objective could also work this way.