This is the end of the Series for the
Hard to Kill Special Rules. This post will cover the
Ridiculously Hard to Kill! Special Rule and provide an example of how one may go about fighting this thing in a game.
The Mumakil in The Fallen Realms Army is the only formation that has this special rule. Once again, the good armies do not get any equivalent characters with it, unfortunately.
The first thing to notice is that it has the same ranges as the
Extremely Hard to Kill! rule, it just has the additional effect of removing crew members (thusly reducing its capability to Shoot during the Shoot Phase and increasing its probability of Stampeding) as wound counters are applied to the Mumakil.
Let's go through an example and have Legolas (in the Front left company of Formation 1 - marked with an "L") and some Minas Tirith Warriors go to town on a Mumakil!
STEP-BY-STEP EXAMPLE OF THE FIGHT
Round 1:
Priority Phase
Gondor rolls a 1 and the Mumak rolls a 2. The Mumak Wins Priority for the Round.
Move Phase
The Mumak rotates Counter-clock-wise to aim toward Formation 2 of the Minas Tirith Warriors (recall that this rotation move cost is free under the
Trample rule). For the
Trample distance the Mumak rolls a 5, 3, & 6. Totaling 14" for the Move. The front two companies of Formation 2 are trampled, this means that the Mumak deals 2D3 Strength 9 hits to Formation 2. For the two dice that he rolls he gets a 5 & a 5 - that means 6 Strength 9 hits to Formation 2. Strength 9 versus Defense 7 means that he needs 3's to Wound. The six dice he rolls results in a 1, 3, 3, 3, 4, & 3 - thus 5 wounds on the Minas Tirith Warriors Formation 2. Formation 2 has to take a
Fall Back! roll and rolls a 1 ... meaning that they fall back 3" (that wasn't a very good roll - but at least enough to get clear of the Mumak).
It is now Good's turn to move. Formation 2 decides that they want to expand their frontage so that the inevitable charge from the Mumak will not be as devastating - however since the Mumak is within 6" of Formation 2, they have their Move Value halved and can only move 3". To reconfigure to a 3x2 configuration from the 2x2 would require a move of 4.93" ... so that's not possible; and to go to a 4x1 configuration from the 2x2 would also require a move of 4.93", so that's not possible, either. Guess they have to stay the way they are configured ... As for rotating ... as a 2x2 configuration with a 3" Move value, we could rotate clock-wise or counter-clock-wise 37.45-degrees - maybe a counter-clock-wise rotation would be the best move. Here's hoping! Formation 1 decided to rotate 45-degrees clock-wise so that Legolas can have Line-of-Sight to the Mumak. This uses up 3.49" of their movement value - so they have 2.51" left for translational movement. They move forward toward the Mumak the remaining distance.
Shoot Phase
The Mumak has priority, so gets to shoot first. According to
The Crew rule, the Mumak gets 13/2 = 6.5 Shots, rounded up to 7. The crewmembers are armed with Bows, so have a 24" Range and a Strength of 2. They decide to continue to barrage Formation 2 - since it is already a little depleted (and no matter which formation they target they will be attacking the front, so they will have Defense 7). For Strength 2 against the front of Formation 2's Defense 7 means they need 6/4's to wound. For the 7 dice, they roll: 3, 5, 5, 1, 1, 1, & 5. Due to the
Poisoned Weapons special rule, they get to re-roll the 1's ... so they pick up the three 1's and get: 4, 4, & 2. No 6's - so all the shots miss. Good's turn for the Shoot Phase. Since Formation 2 has no ballistic capabilities, they cannot do anything - but Formation 1 has Legolas in it - and he decides to use his
Crippling Shot special rule on the Monster. Legolas rolls a 6 for
Crippling Shot - meaning that the Mumak's Resilience Value is reduced by 1 (from 2 down to 1) for the remainder of the turn. Now's the chance to go crazy! Legolas also expends a point of Might (down from 3 to 2) and calls an
Epic Shot. He nominates the Mumak and deals 1D6 automatic hits to the Mumak. He rolls a 3 - meaning 3 hits against the Mumak's Resilience of 1 ... 3 rolls on the
Ridiculously Hard to Kill! table. The First roll of the dice produces a die value of 2 -
No Effect. The Second roll on the table produces a die value of 6 -
Flesh Wound: Slay one crewman and gain 1 counter (now down to 12 crewmen) and a natural 6 gives a re-roll! The re-roll die value is 5 ... adding the one counter produces a critical value of 6 -
Flesh Wound: Slaying an additional crewman and gaining another 1 counter (now down to 11 crewmen and 2 counters on the Mumak). The Third roll on the table produces a die value of 3 ... adding the 2 counters gives an attack value of 5 - Another
Flesh Wound: Slaying another crewman and adding another counter (remaining crew = 10; counters = 3). Not too shabby, Mr. Legolas!
Charge Phase
The Mumak decides it is going to charge Formation 2. He rolls a 5 for the Charge - so the charge is successful. Having been charged by a Monster with
Terror, Formation 2 rolls their courage test: 1 & 3. Adding their courage of 3 gives 7 ... not enough - so Formation 2 is reduced to Fight 0 for the remainder of the turn. Formation 1 nominates the Command Company with Legolas as the Spearhead and measures the distance to the Mumak - 7.57" ... meaning they will need to roll a 6 to reach him. They roll for the Mumak's
Terror: 2 & 4. Adding Legolas' Courage of 6 gives 12 ... so that's a
Pass. For the charge they roll a 5 ... Legolas uses another point of Might to adjust it up to a 6 (plus now it's an
Unstoppable Charge!)... Legolas is now at 1 Might Point remaining, and the charge is successful - hopefully it will be enough with the Mumak's Resilience still reduced during the Fight Phase. Since the Mumak is being charged by a company with
Terror (due to Legolas providing it via the
Bestow Terror Special Rule) the Mumak rolls its Courage Test: 4 & 1 ... adding the Mumak's Courage Value gives 9 ... LOL ... the Mumak is Fight 0 for the turn, too! (Bad day Mr. Mumak!)
Fight Phase
The Mumak has priority - but even if he didn't he would still get to attack first (because of
Striking Order [pg 46] and he is Type: Monster - and Legolas' Swift Strike only gives the Infantry Formation
Striking Order (Cavalry) - so they get to go second and finally Formation 2 last ...). According to the
Stomp and Gore special rule, Formation 2 (charged by the Mumak) has 4 companies in it so they suffer 4D3 hits at Strength 10. Formation 1 (charged the Mumak) has 4 companies in it so they suffer 4D3 hits at Strength 8. For the Number of hits against Formation 2, the Mumak rolls: 6, 3, 4, & 5. This totals: 3+2+2+3 = 10 Strength 10 hits against Formation 2. Strength 10 against Defense 7 needs 3's to wound. Rolling the 10 dice gives: 6, 3, 4, 5, 4, 4, 3, 2, 4, & 6. That means 9 Wounds against Formation 2! Now, against Formation 1 .... rolling the 4D3 for the number of Hits gives: 1, 6, 5, & 5. This totals: 1+3+3+3 = 10 Strength 8 hits against Formation 1. This also needs 3's to wound. Rolling the 10 dice gives: 1, 4, 1, 6, 6, 4, 5, 6, 3, & 2. That is 7 wounds against Formation 1 - ouch! Looks like with the 16 Wounds from the Fight Phase and the 5 from the Trample, that's 21 wounded warriors from the Mumak!!
OK, Good's turn to Fight ... Formation 1 has
Striking Order (Cavalry) so they get to attack next. The Command Company has a Fight of 6 from Legolas - so against the Fight of 0 that the Mumak has this turn that means that they get 8 dice for
Attack Value (fighting directly) + 6 for the difference in Fight Value (
Battle Skill) + 1 for
Charging + D3 (rolled a 3 ... therefore +2) for the
Unstoppable Charge. That is 17 dice from Company 1 ... Company 2 is also fighting directly so they give 8 dice for their
Attack Value (fighting directly) + 3 for the difference in Fight Value (
Battle Skill) + 1 for
Charging + D3 (roll a 2 ... therefore +1) for the
Unstoppable Charge. That's 13 dice from Company 2. Companies 3 and 4 are support - so they provide 1 die each and 2D3 dice for their
Unstoppable Charge. Company 3 gets a 4 ... so +2 more dice and Company 4 gets a 1 ... so +1 more dice. So, the grand total of dice from Formation 1 is: 17+13+3+2= 35 dice. Strength 3 against Defense 8 needs 6/4's to Hit. Let's see what the 35 dice produce: 6, 1, 6, 3, 4, 4, 1, 6, 1, 1, 5, 4, 6, 5, 4, 3, 1, 2, 1, 6, 1, 5, 5, 6, 1, 6, 6, 5, 5, 5, 1, 3, 4, 3, & 2. There are eight 6's - rerolling them (needing 4+'s) gives: 6, 5, 2, 2, 5, 1, 4, & 6) - that's 5 rolls on the
Ridiculously Hard to Kill! table (since the Mumak has a Resilience of 1 still due to Legolas'
Crippling Shot during the Shoot Phase). Here we go ... First roll on the table is a 4 - adding the 3 counters gives a 7:
Flesh Wound (another dead crewman and another counter - 9 crew remaining and 4 counters, so far). Second roll on the table is a 3 - adding the 4 counters gives a 7, again:
Flesh Wound (another dead crewman and another counter - 8 crew remaining and 5 counters, so far). Third roll is a 1 - adding the 5 counters gives a 6:
Flesh Wound (dead crewman and another counter - 7 crew remaining and 6 counters, so far). Fourth roll is a 1 - adding the 6 counters is a 7:
Flesh Wound (dead crewman and another counter - 6 crew remaining and 7 counters). Fifth roll is a 3 - adding the 7 counters gives 10:
Debilitating Strike (2 crew are slain and 2 more wound counters - 4 crew remaining and 9 counters, now). Fifth, and final, roll is 4 - adding the 9 counters is 13:
Devastating Wound (3 crew dead and 3 counters - 1 crew remains ...so much for the Shooting capability of
The Crew special rule for the Mumak, now ... and he has 12 counters on him, now). Holy Cow! Go
Crippling Shot!
Now for Formation 2's turn. Formation 2 has one company this is fighting directly and 2 support. That 8 dice (for
Attack Value) + 0 (for
Battle Skill) + 1 (for
support from company 2) + 1 (for
support from company 3) = 10 dice. They also need 6/4's to Hit: 4, 2, 1, 5, 2, 2, 4, 5, 3, & 6. They got one 6 - re-rolling the 6 (needing 4+) they roll a 5. One roll on the Mumak's table. They roll a 4 adding the 12 counters gives 16:
Devastating Wound (3 crew dead and 3 counters - 0 crew remains and that gives 15 total counters on the Mumak).
Fight Results
[** Recall that we modified the Determine Victor Rule back in Part 2/5 **] The Mumak inflicted 21 wounds. Good added 15 counters to the Mumak. This means that the Mumak wins the fight and both Good Formations have to fall back 1" and take a Panic Test.
Formation 2 rolls a 1 and experience an
Onset of Dismay - rolling for the Courage Test: 2 & 2 - adding their Courage Value of 3 gives 7 (Failed by 3 ... 3 more
additional casualties to Formation 2) and they are also
Disordered.
Formation 1 rolls a 1 (son-of-a-!) and experience an
Onset of Dismay - rolling for the Courage Test: 1 & 1 (are you kidding me?) adding their Courage Value of 6 (from Legolas) gives 8 (Failed by 2 ... 2 more
additional casualties to Formation 1) and they are also
Disordered.
So, this is what we have at the end of Round 1 - that was rather bloody! Three full companies of Minas Tirith Warriors are gone and the Mumak barely survives with 15 Wound Counters on him.
Also, since the Mumak received 1+ wound counters this turn and since he has no crew members alive, this means that during Round 2+ he is going to
Stampede! This should be interesting ... I suspect that Legolas is going to do another
Epic Shot - so it's going to be lights out for the Mumak in Round 2.
Round 2:
Priority Phase
Gondor rolls a 3 and the Mumak rolls a 3. It is a tie, so both sides re-roll. Gondor rolls a 5 and the Mumak rolls a 2, so Gondor wins Priority for the Round.
Move Phase
Both Gondor Formations are
Disordered, so they need to pass a Courage Test (with -1 since The Mumak is within 6") in order to move, shoot, charge and get more than a single die per company for the Fight Phase. Formation 1 rolls a 4 & 2 - adding 6 for Legolas' Courage Value and subtracting 1 for the Mumak being within 6", giving 11 - so they are no longer
Disordered; Isengard Formation 2 rolls a 2 & 6 - adding 3 for their Courage Value and subtracting 1 for the Mumak within 6", giving 10 - so Formation 2 is no longer
Disordered, either.
Gondor decides that they don't want to move. The Mumak was wounded during the previous round, and since there are no more crew members no matter what the 2D6 roll is, the Mumak is going to
Stampede! Let's roll anyway just for good measure. The roll produces a 5 and a 2. 7 > 0 so the result is of course a
Stampede! The next roll will be to determine the random direction that the Mumak is going to move. The Mumak rolls a 5 - which means diagonally away from the original deployment zone for the Mumak. The second roll after the 5 is a 6 - which means that the Mumak rotates to the heading right toward Formation 1. The
Stampede! distance is 6D6". The roll produces: 6, 2, 3, 3, 5, & 4 = 23". The formation in the front left of Formation1 takes D3 Strength 9 hits. The D3 die roll a 5 which means 3 Strength 9 hits. Those his need 3's to hit, rolling the 3 dice give: 5, 4, & 5 - all three hit.
Shoot Phase
Now that the Mumak has run off Legolas cannot do an
About Face! to shoot the Mumak. Also, since all the crewmen of the Mumak are dead, there is no Shoot Phase.
Charge Phase
No one is within charge range distance, so there is no Charge Phase for Round 2.
Fight Phase
No one is in contact, so there is no Fight Phase for Round 2.
Round 3:
Priority Phase
Gondor rolls a 4 and the Mumak rolls a 2, so Gondor wins Priority for the Round.
Move Phase
Gondor Formation 1 (with Legolas) does an About Face! and rotates 45-degrees counter-clock-wise and moves forward the remaining 2.5". Formation 2 rotates 45-degree counter-clock-wise. The Mumak's turn - they roll 2D6: 1 & 5 = 6 > 0 so it is still
Stampede!-ing. The random direction roll gives a 3. The 6D6 distance that it will
Stampede! gives: 5, 3, 2, 2, 3, & 3 = 18".
Shoot Phase
Legolas measures the distance to the Mumak ... 11.4" - just within the 12" range of
Epic Shot ... Perfect! Legolas is going to use his
Crippling Shot again (just to make sure that his
Epic Shot doesn't get a 1 on the D6 against the Mumak's Resilience of 2). He rolls a 5, reducing the Mumak's Resilience to 1 and expends his last point of Might to perform an
Epic Shot. Rolling the D6 for the number of hits gives a 5 - which means 5 automatic rolls against the
Ridiculously Hard to Kill! table. For the first roll, Gondor rolls a 5 - adding the 15 wound counters gives 20 … delivering the final
Death Blow to the Mumak.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Whew, what a fight! Legolas really was the key to the downfall of the Mumak - especially with the
Crippling Shot special rule. Dropping the Mumak's Resilience Value to 1 really accelerated the number of wounds that the Mumak received. It would have taken twice as long to get through the 2 Resilience points if the
Crippling Shot didn't stick or wasn't available. Also, having the Epic Shot special rule and letting the Minas Tirith Warriors attack during the Shoot Phase really made the final difference - otherwise, the Mumak would have continued to run amuck around the board round-after-round, and possibly
Trample over the formations several more times. In fact, it would be very hard to "catch" the
Stampede!-ing Mumak after it is running around 6D6" every turn in a random direction.
The Mumak took out a total of 29 Warriors in just the one Round that it was fighting (that's 45% of the total) - so if Legolas wasn't there to cause so much damage with the
Crippling Shot, he could have taken out the 2 formations in possibly 2-3 Rounds. Maybe it would have been wiser to initially have the Mumak attack Legolas' Formation (not the command company directly since they have Terror, but the company to the left of the command company). But then would Legolas just react to that by simply jumping to the other formation and rinse-and-repeat what happened above... Interesting!
That was fun!
Hopefully you can see that even though a Monster is
Ridiculously Hard to Kill does not mean that it is not able to be destroyed - and proper army participation of heroes, engagement, and a little bit luck help a lot!
LINKS TO OTHER PARTS OF THE HARD TO KILL SERIES
- Overview of the Problem [Part 1/5]
- Hard to Kill! Rule [Part 2/5]
- Very Hard to Kill! Rule [Part 3/5]
- Extremely Hard to Kill! Rule [Part 4/5]
- Ridiculously Hard to Kill! Rule [Part 5/5]
