BRIKWARS 2005: Chapter Q: QuikWars

QuikWars

The Nefarious Nega-Bloktrix, patron saint of QuikWars.

QuikWars

"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week."

- George S. Patton

For players without the time, energy, or attention span to take advantage of the full scope of the BrikWars rulebook, we offer this low-calorie substitute. QuikWars is not compatible with the BrikWars system, but is offered as a simpler introductory alternative.

Q.1: Overview of Play

QuikWars is a wargame in which players with construction-brick armies send them onto a construction-brick battlefield to engage in vicious construction-brick combat. Players set up their battlefield and armies however they like. Players interested in fairness may choose to field identical armies in two different colors, but random and wildly mismatched armies will work just as well. As long as minifigs get brutally and hilariously slaughtered, everybody goes home happy.

Rolling dice to determine order of play, the players take turns orchestrating manuevers and assaults until only one army is left standing.

Each player's turn consists of a Movement Phase and an Attack Phase. In the Movement Phase, a player may move all of his units that are able to do so, and the units may also pick up or drop objects they come across. During the Attack Phase, no further movement is allowed, but all units with weapons may now make an attack against whatever targets are within their range. If they are carrying bricks, they may also choose to build them into constructions during the Attack Phase.

Q.1.1 Rolling Dice
In QuikWars, any time dice are rolled, any die that comes up '6' means you may add another die to the roll, increasing your sum. If that die comes up '6,' add another die on top of that. You can repeat this process for as long as you keep getting such lucky rolls.

Q.1.2 Wasting Time
Do not waste time. Dilly-dallying may be punished by severe beatings at any time, at the discretion of the other players.

Q.2: Armies

Q.2.1 Minifigs

Minifigs

Movement: 5" per turn

Armor: 2 dice

In QuikWars, all Minifigs (miniature figures, or "little people") have the same attributes.

The Movement stat describes how far a unit can move during a single Movement Phase - in this case, five inches. The Minifig can run across five inches of level ground, climb five inches' worth of stairs or ladders, or leap over five inches of chasm. The only limitations to the 5" rule are these: a Minifig can't jump higher than 2" at a time, and can never swim more than 2" in a single Movement Phase (it may still use the remaining 3" for regular movement on land before or after swimming).

Minifigs may pick up or drop any number of objects within reach during a Movement Phase. Lifted objects cannot be larger than a standard 2x4 brick unless multiple Minifigs are working in cooperation.

The Armor stat tells how much damage a Minifig can absorb in a single attack. When a Minifig takes damage, roll 2 dice; if the Armor roll is at least equal to the amount of Damage, the Minifig lives. If not, it dies - knock the Minifig over and, if appropriate, detach a couple of its body parts.

Q.2.2 Heroes
Each army should have one specially-decorated Minifig to be its Hero. Heroes have the same stats as regular Minifigs, but they get two attacks per turn (which can be combined for a single double-damage attack), and they may attempt one Stupendous Feat each turn.

Stupendous Feats are all the stunts that action-movie heroes are able to pull off that could never happen in real life - lifting up cars, running up walls, catching arrows in flight, dodging thousands of bullets, reviving a fallen comrade, seducing impossible numbers of Minifig women, etc. If Xena, Jet Li, James Bond, Jackie Chan, or Arnold Schwarzenegger can do it, then the Hero is free to try.

To attempt a Stupendous Feat, a player declares the Feat his Hero is attempting to accomplish, and then rolls a Stupendous die. One of his opponents rolls an opposing die to prevent the Feat from succeeding. If the Stupendous roll is equal to or higher than the opposing roll, then the Feat succeeds. If the opposing roll is higher, then the Feat fails, and the Hero suffers whatever effects would logically result from failing such an attempt. It's up to the players to decide on the most appropriate consequences for failure. In general, the more Stupendous the Feat attempted, the worse the consequences if it fails; and in all cases, the sillier the better.

Q.2.3 Weapons

Weapon	Damage	Range
Bare Hands	None	-
Hand Weapon	2 dice	touch
Ranged Weapon	1 die	10"
Shield / Armor	+1 Armor die	-
Brick	1 die	5"
Siege Weapon	2 dice	10"

Each Minifig may choose one of its Weapons during its Attack Phase, and use it to do the Weapon's Damage to a single target within the Weapon's Range. If the Damage is higher than the target's Armor, then the target is destroyed. If several Minifigs are in position to attack the same target, they may all combine their attacks together, adding all their Damage into a single massive roll.

Bare Hands
There is no unarmed combat in QuikWars. A Minifig without a weapon must use his bare hands to pick one up.

Hand Weapon
A Minifig with a Hand Weapon (e.g. a sword, axe, spear, etc.) may attack any unit or object that it can touch with the weapon, doing 2 dice of Damage.

Ranged Weapon
A Minifig with a Ranged Weapon (e.g. a bow, pistol, laser rifle, etc.) may attack any unit or object within 10", as long as the Minifig has a clear line of sight to some part of the target, however small. The attack does 1 die of Damage.

Shield / Armor
A Minifig gains an additional +1 die of Armor for holding a Shield or wearing a piece of Armor.

Brick
A Minifig may carry around loose bricks in one or both hands for whatever reason. In desperate situations, the unit can swing or hurl the brick at an enemy for 1d6 Damage. He may also attach the brick to any appropriate surface, in order to build fortifications or repair vehicles or whatever; this counts as the unit's one attack for the turn.

Siege Weapon
A Siege Weapon is any weapon large enough that it must be mounted on a vehicle, on a building, or on the ground in order to fire. A Minifig may attack with a Siege Weapon if he is standing next to the appropriate controls. A Siege Weapon must be able to point directly at its target, and may only be fired once in a single Player's turn.

More powerful Super Siege Weapons are possible, but require more Minifigs to operate them. For each additional +1 die of damage and +5" of range, the Super Siege Weapon requires one additional Minifig with access to an appropriate set of controls for the weapon.

Q.2.4 Steeds

Steeds

Movement: 10" per turn

Armor: 3 dice

Vehicles constructed out of several bricks are counted as Constructions, described in the next section. Vehicles made from one piece, such as horses, motorcycles, or alligators, are called Steeds.

If a mounted Minifig is killed or abandons his Steed, then any Minifig from any team may hop onto the abandoned Steed and ride off.

Q.3: Constructions

Anything built out of multiple bricks counts as a Construction, whether it's a base, a vehicle, a wall, or part of the landscaping. All Constructions are handled in the same way.

In order to damage a Construction, players focus attacks on one of its component bricks. If an attack's Damage exceeds the number of studs connecting the brick to the main model, then the brick is separated from the model and knocked off in whichever direction seems appropriate. If the Damage is especially massive, you may keep separating more bricks until the Damage is used up.

Constructions can be easily repaired or rebuilt by simply directing a Minifig to pick up a brick and re-attach it. Attaching a brick counts as the Minifig's one attack for that turn.

Q.3.1 Controls
If a Construction has weapons, propulsion systems, or other devices, it will have to have Controls for the Minifigs to operate them. Controls must be represented by a steering wheel, a computer console, levers and buttons, or some other appropriate element.

Any Controls stuck onto a Construction instantly gain access to all of the Construction's weapons and devices. If more than one player has control of a Construction, they may each do whatever they want with the Construction and its devices during their own turn.

Q.3.2 Vehicles

Propulsion Unit	Moves on
1 pair wheels / treads / legs	solid ground
1 sail / 2 oars	open water
1 copter rotor	flying
1 pair jets / thrusters	any

A Construction can be made into a Vehicle with the simple addition of one or more Propulsion Units. A Propulsion Unit is only useful when the Vehicle is on or in the appropriate terrain for that Unit.

Vehicles can carry one Minifig and move 5" per turn for each Propulsion Unit in use, up to a maximum of 15" per turn. If additional Minifigs climb aboard, the Vehicle is overloaded and must stop (or land, if it's flying).

A Vehicle may turn at any angle at the beginning of its Movement Phase. It may then travel any distance up to its maximum Movement for the turn, but it must move in a straight line. If a Vehicle's pilot is killed or if its controls are destroyed while in motion, the Vehicle continues moving in the same direction at the same speed every turn until control can be restored.

When a Vehicle crashes into an object, both the Vehicle and the object take 1 die of damage for each Propulsion Unit the Vehicle is using at the time.

Q.4: Victory

Victory occurs when all opposing units have been wiped out and humiliated. What did you expect?