Arx Defense Rules
Posted by Apostate on 01/27/24
So it's mostly the same rules, but there's a few things to keep in mind. The Arx scenes will be much, much more difficult, and it will often be much less about overall victory and trying to limit the damage as best they can and save as much as they can.
The fights will start at a base difficulty of daunting, and the Victory Point margins are far, far higher. However every battle adds to a cumulative total that could result in the breaking of Azazel's legion.
49 or less: Defense routs, PCs must flee or die. The NPCs in this part of the city are all killed.
50: Defense collapses, punishing losses on the defenders, PCs must flee or die, some of the NPCs in this part of the city are able to flee to safety, but not many.
100: Fighting withdrawal, forces, are badly defeated and must withdrawal or face destruction. PCs need to flee or die, roughly half of the NPCs in this part of the city are killed.
200: Defense of Arx is pushed back, PCs need to check to withdrawal at normal as well, but a majority of the NPCs in this part of the city live.
500: Controlled tactical withdrawal as holding becomes untenable, PCs must roll to withdrawal at easy
1000: They hold for the day, but the situation remains desperate. The PCs do not need to flee, but significant losses among the NPC civilian population of the area.
2500: Victory at this part of the city, Azazel forces withdraw to assault other parts of the city, civilian population as a whole survives.
10000: Azazel's forces defeated. (this is a running cumulative total)
The base difficulty of daunting decreases by some modifiers. Being of power, such as those soulbounded, contribute aside from their victory points. At having 20 points of allied entities, difficulty decreases by one tier (so offensive checks would be at hard). At 100 points of allied entities, difficulty decreases by 2 tiers. At 200 points or more, it decreases by 3 tiers (so rolls would be at normal).
These will be very, very hard fights. Character loss is likely. While most of the fights listed as the same day would be happening at the same time, I am not too worried about keeping continuity and saying characters can't be there, as the fights are lethal enough where that might not be that big of a problem.
And the rules about self-sacrifice, the one final moment of glory, still stand. Someone deciding to do so before damage is applied in a round still spares everyone else, counts all rolls as successes in that round, and wins an extra round for the defenders.
For Crossing the Threshold, if anyone is waiting on that, I am okay with handwaving it for characters and mechanically treating them as capable of high magic going into the end.
The fights will start at a base difficulty of daunting, and the Victory Point margins are far, far higher. However every battle adds to a cumulative total that could result in the breaking of Azazel's legion.
49 or less: Defense routs, PCs must flee or die. The NPCs in this part of the city are all killed.
50: Defense collapses, punishing losses on the defenders, PCs must flee or die, some of the NPCs in this part of the city are able to flee to safety, but not many.
100: Fighting withdrawal, forces, are badly defeated and must withdrawal or face destruction. PCs need to flee or die, roughly half of the NPCs in this part of the city are killed.
200: Defense of Arx is pushed back, PCs need to check to withdrawal at normal as well, but a majority of the NPCs in this part of the city live.
500: Controlled tactical withdrawal as holding becomes untenable, PCs must roll to withdrawal at easy
1000: They hold for the day, but the situation remains desperate. The PCs do not need to flee, but significant losses among the NPC civilian population of the area.
2500: Victory at this part of the city, Azazel forces withdraw to assault other parts of the city, civilian population as a whole survives.
10000: Azazel's forces defeated. (this is a running cumulative total)
The base difficulty of daunting decreases by some modifiers. Being of power, such as those soulbounded, contribute aside from their victory points. At having 20 points of allied entities, difficulty decreases by one tier (so offensive checks would be at hard). At 100 points of allied entities, difficulty decreases by 2 tiers. At 200 points or more, it decreases by 3 tiers (so rolls would be at normal).
These will be very, very hard fights. Character loss is likely. While most of the fights listed as the same day would be happening at the same time, I am not too worried about keeping continuity and saying characters can't be there, as the fights are lethal enough where that might not be that big of a problem.
And the rules about self-sacrifice, the one final moment of glory, still stand. Someone deciding to do so before damage is applied in a round still spares everyone else, counts all rolls as successes in that round, and wins an extra round for the defenders.
For Crossing the Threshold, if anyone is waiting on that, I am okay with handwaving it for characters and mechanically treating them as capable of high magic going into the end.