De la proxy très sympa pour Infinity

http://www.mercsminis.com/Default.aspx

Un aperçu des règles :

Play Area

The basic playing area is 2' wide x 3' long. It can be modified, but obviously if you increase the play area you better provide more cover or it will be a short game where tactics are devalued.



Basic Movement vs. Modified Movement

This is behind the curtains sort of stuff, so if you begin to get confused, skip down to the Movement. You won't have to deal with this unless you make your own MERC.

Modified movement ranges from 1-3. Base MP range from 0-2. The distinction is necessary for movement up and down elevations. Movement begins at 2 MP, then is modified by heavy armor. This is considered a MERCS' Base Movement (2 - armor penalties). Final MP take into consideration Personal Abilities. Everything in MERCS is built upon certain guidelines. This is why, following the basic principles, you will be able to create your own MERCS. It is also why the factions, though unique, are balanced; the foundational ruleset doesn't change.

Let's look at two very different MERCS: the USCR Behemoth and the KemVar Assassin.

The KemVar Assassin, like all MERCS, begins with 2 MP. He doesn't wear heavy armor, so he is not penalized for weight. Heavy Armor penalizes movement by 1 for each level above the basic level (Armor Value 2). There is no bonus for light weight armor (Armor Value 1), as even the lightest armor provides some encumbrance. His Base movement is 2 MP. However, he possesses the Personal Ability Speedy, which grants him +1 MP. The Assassin has a modified movement of 3 MP. This is quite dramatic as we'll see in a couple paragraphs.

The Behemoth, like the Assassin, starts with a movement of 2 MP. He does wear heavy armor. In fact, he is the sole operator of the heaviest armor in the game--Armor Value 4. This penalizes him -2 MP. This takes his Base Movement down to 0. This does a couple things. One it requires the Behemoth to take the Personal Ability Speedy which will bring his MP up to 1. It also creates a situation of checks and balances that automatically limits any overpowering that might happen with unique MERCS and Personal Abilities mix. Speedy in the Behemoth's case is a necessity where in the Assassin it is an advantage.

The second thing it does is limit where the Behemoth can go. Base MP are used to determine if the MERC can move up or down elevation. A MERCS unit can move up or down one level of elevation for each point of Base Movement. In other words, the Assassin can climb or descend two levels, while the Behemoth cannot. This becomes important when elevation modifiers are applied to Firing Numbers.

Movement

Let's take another look at the play mat and track movement of three figures: the CCC Leader (2 MP), Medic (3 MP because of Speedy), and Incinerator (1 MP because of Armor Value 3).


Let's move fellas!


1 MP, 2 MP, and 3 MP.

It takes 1 MP to move from the source-circle to any other circle on the card. A MERC can choose to not use all his or her MPs. It takes 1 MP to turn 180 degrees. MERCS can turn 90 degrees for free as part of a movement.



This, of course, is straight movement. It would take a MERC roughly three rounds to cross the entire battle field. That MERCS would be alone and probably dead, but he or she could do it. Things change dramatically if I move to a side-circle, or move horizontally as opposed to vertically.


Let's spread out fellas!


Turning with the first MP and with the second MP creates a very different firing arch.


The difference between no cover and half-cover is moving to a side circle.




1 MP, 2 MP, and 3 MP.

Why even move the side-circles? Ahh, because you cannot choose to move less than to the circles (1MP). If you accelerate in a car, you do not stop where you started to brake. The same is true for MERCS. If you get going, you have to go a minimum distance. Look at it like this: the center-front circle is a sprint, while the side-circles are controlled runs.

However, there are some rules with the cards that must be enforced. A player cannot move to a place he or she doesn't have line of sight to. And, unless a Personal Ability allows it, a MERC cannot move through terrain. These two rules prevent a player from laying the card through 2D or 3D terrain and moving to a circle they couldn't have seen.


The scenario . . .


. . . no, no, no . . .


. . .that's better!


Yeah, but what if I need to move just a little bit? That is where snapping to cover comes into play. If there is a piece of cover (MERCS are armored and are considered cover), than a moving MERC can snap to it if their movement takes them within one miniature base.


In this position, the Medic can't move to the right circle behind cover, because he would be moving through a building. But he can move to the center circle and if its within 1 base . . .


Snap to Cover.


The Medic moves to heal the Incinerator.


Snapping to Cover Achieves Success!

Yeah, but your fast guys are always waiting on your slow guys? Not necessarily. In the army it went like this, one soldier calls our "cover me while I move", another soldier says "I got you covered", which allows the first soldier to abandon any and all restraints to move at maximum speed to the next cover. MERCS has something similar, an Advanced Maneuver called Bounding. While I won't go into much detail, it allows Bounding MERCS to gain +1MP. However, the Bounding MERC cannot perform any action other than to move, and move in the initiative round after the Bounding target performs an Action. There are a couple other variables, but that is why it is an Advanced Maneuver.

Yeah, but why cards? For all the reasons stated before. The cards truly speed up play dramatically, and they require less peripheral materials. The game is relatively easy to play with the cards. Without the cards, you better know your MegaCon inside and out. Every piece of information conveyed about a MERCS trooper is on his or her card. This means that very little game information needs to be memorized or hunted for if a dispute arises. Moreover, the most referenced thing in the game, the modifier tables, will be printed on a in every card pack.

This version of the card is old; it is the one we had at GENCON. We received some pretty good feedback about melee usability and our bullet graphic, so it has already changed for the better. But even in this earlier version the amount of information communicated graphically and in text is staggering.



Yeah, but why cards; I hate cards? Listen, I know there are enough tinkering gamers out there that you can solve your card issues by creating an awesome metal sliding semi-circle compass thing that takes the place of all the movement issues, and you'll have all your MegaCon MERCS on one sheet. I won't begrudge anyone that. If it makes you feel more comfortable to use a ruler/tape measure, then by all means do so. However you choose to do your MP is your business. The game doesn't fall apart if you don't use the cards. The cards happen to be a truly unique approach to movement, and they speed up play.

Okay, okay. You've convinced me that maybe the cards are important, but now I don't think the rule book is as necessary? Heh, our rule book isn't merely a rule book. Rules: check. Art: check. History: check. Fiction: check. Scenarios: check. MegaCon reference: check.

Listen, Keith and I make cool books for a living. Our book even in online pdf form will blow the doors off every other book out there. We know how to do books, which is also why we aren't doing a bound book quite yet. We know what we need to make it something we would buy. We couldn't afford to do that yet, but we will.

I recognize the pictures don't let you look at the card very well. I will try to get the source image of the card in pdf form from Keith with labels and post about each element of the card in the coming weeks.

MERC-Brian