Friday, May 21, 2010

He Man vs. Skeletor - RSBS Batrep

Question:  What do you do if you live in Houston TX and your air conditioning goes out in Summer?
Answer:  Go into the garage, crank up all the fans, raid the kids toy boxes, get out Red Sand Blue Sky and play solo Gladiator games until you are delirious.

For my first RSBS batrep I thought I'd find something bigger to photograph than my little Heroscape figures.  One thing I found out right away; it is fun to pose the action figures for this type of game.  Adds a little extra something.  So without further jabbering, here is what would happen if Skeletor met He Man in mortal combat in real life.  They are both Rep 5, He Man is a Retiarius, Skeletor is a Secutor.
Oh, and I changed all move and ranges to three inches for these behemoth action figures.  Comments on top, game mechanics on bottom for anyone interested, or you can check me as I am new to this game.
Skeletor:  "There you are He Man!  Now I got you.  No namby pamby writers or producers to save you this time!"
He Man:  "Repent you're evil ways Skeletor, or I'll make you do a time out."
First Turn:  Skeletor advances.  He Man advances and taunts skeletor by jabbing his spear in the air.
Next turn He Man advances a bit and throws his net!
 Skeletor:  "Nice try pansy boy!  I caught your net!"
Skeletor passes 1D, He Man passes 0D and it goes to tug o war..
They pull back and forth and Skeletor wins the tug of war!  The net is thrown clear and useless for the rest of the match.  Skeletor throws up his arms in a display of victory while He Man looks down at his feet in dejection.
They both burn 1D
Skeletor:  "Now let's see how tough you are without your sissy net!"  Skeletor gets back down to business and starts to advance on He Man with sword and shield at the ready.
Next Turn:  Knowing that he may be in trouble, He Man tries to kick sand in Sleletor's eyes as he advances but he misses!  That is quite a dirty trick for a "good guy" I thought.
He Man burns 1D
He Man then charges into melee!
Both burn 2D, Skeletor passes 0D and He Man passes 1D.  He rolls a head strike on the location table and Skeletor barely passes even with the "Other" weapon modifier of He Man.
He Man:  "You see Skeletor, evil never wins."
Skeletor has to give 1: of ground and burn 1D.
That little set back isn't about to stop Skeletor.  In response, he charges in and attempts a bash attack!
Both burn 2D, He Man passes 1D and Skel passes 0D.  Skel passes 1D on Maneuver Table.
He Man:  You see Skeletor, you can do nothing against my powers of good."  He Man flips him the bird in a victory gesture.  Hey, what the heck!?!?!?  He's not supposed to be doing that!
Skeletor must give ground 1" and burn 1D again.
Next Turn:  Skeletor comes right back again with another bash attempt.
Both burn 2D, Skel passes 1D and He Man passes 0D.
Skeletor:  "I think you talk better than you fight He Man."  "I will crush you yet!"
He Man passes 1D on the maneuver table and must give ground and burn 1D.
He Man is now officially pissed off and charges Skeletor with his full fury.  Note that He Man is using the superior reach of his spear so the best Skeletor can do is fend him off.
Both burn 3D, Skeletor passes 2D and He Man passes 2D for a wash and no effect and they are locked in combat.

Next Turn:   He Man takes another swing at Skeletor.
They both burn 2D, and they both pass 1D for no gains.  They remain locked in combat.
 There is nothing fancy about this match, Skeletor charges back in close and attempts yet another bash attack.  That looks like it hurt.
Both burn 2D, Skeletor passes 0D and He Man passes 2D!!!
He Man:  "Ha ha!  Take that Skeletor!"
Skeletor:  "You will pay for that He Man.  No more mister nice Skeletor."
Skeletor rolls on the maneuver table at -2 to Rep and manages to pass 1D saving his bacon.  He gives ground and burns 1D.  Very lucky Skeletor this round.
Next Turn:  He Man tries to follow up and keep Skeletor on the defensive.  He moves to within 1" and uses his superior reach again.
Both burn 2D, both pass 0D.  Locked in combat.
Skeletor charges and bashes again.  He is determined to get He Man off balance.
They both burn 1D, Skeletor passes 1D, He Man passes 0D and must roll on the maneuver table.
Skeletor:  "I believe you were saying something funny a minute ago He Man?"
He Man:  "Oh @&#^ I'm in deep doo doo."
He Man passes 0D on the maneuver table and is knocked down!  He burns a die.  He Man could be in some serious trouble right now.
Skeletor:  "Say your prayers pansy boy, your going down!"
He Man tries to fend off the attack as Skeletor looms over him for the killing blow.
As part of the knockdown during an attack, Skeletor is able to charge in and attack.  Skeletor burns 1D and He Man burns 3D but since He Man is on the ground his die are double and he has to burn a total of 6D while only rolling 3D!!!
Skeletor passes 1D, He Man passes 0D.  He Man takes a hit in the left arm and is lucky to just get a scratch and burns 1D.  However, He Man has now burned all his die and has gone unconscious.  
Skeletor throws his arms up in victory right before he finishes He Man for once and for all.

Well, there you all have it.  The truth is that Skeletor would have kicked He Man's arse in every episode.  I really like Red Sand Blue Sky.  It is another fun game from THW that requires almost no prep or set up time, plays fast, and keeps you moving.  There is actually quite a bit of strategy to this game although in this episode I reverted to a slug fest.  There will definitely be more Gladatorial action for LTL Dad.

13 comments:

  1. Vae victis!

    You, sir, are a man of many ideas! He Man vs. Skeletor is a great scenario for a fight. He Man lost because he spent too much brain power ion long sentences. Doesn't he ususally think in two word sentences? "See skeletor. Must fight. Been hit. Going down. Oh, #+$%&!"

    I have RSBS for some time now, but never had any time to play it. Do you think that this game really needs miniatures? Is movement and location so important that this is a tabletop game. I wasn't sure about this, but as I said, I never tried this.

    Whiteface / Oliver

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  2. I just recently tried RSBS and I have fallen in love with it immediately. As you can see from this rep, miniatures are not really a necessity! Just about anything laying around the house will do and it does not take a lot of room either. This table was a bit large because of the huge figures. And it is a fast game with little setup, that is a huge plus for quick games.
    Oh, and KIDS=IDEAS. They unwittingly give me ideas all the time, plus I am just a big kid myself.

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  3. Hahaha! Great dialogues and pictures as well, so fun. Looks that you grasped perfectly the mechanisms of RSBS. Fantastic batrep, congratulations, and yay for Skeleton! way to go! :)

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  4. You crack me up! That was brilliant. Honestly, I switch on my computer in the morning and the first thing I read is a battle between He-Man and Skeletor. Great way to start the day.

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  5. O_O

    I bet on He-man...
    He was supposed to be stronger than Skeletor.

    Actually, VIP are not that much when you see them closer...

    Nice!!

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  6. Willy, I'm still chuckling as I type this! What a great batrep and three cheers for Skeletor. It was an inspired use of minis. I have to admit I was always a fan of Team Skeletor, so I was rooting for him throughout your battle. Best line in the game - "no namby pamby writers or producers to save you this time!" It had me laughing out loud!

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  7. Thanks for the very enjoyable and creative batrep! I'm glad that you enjoy the rules. :-)

    Regards,

    Patrick H. Lewis (RSBS rules co-designer and developer)

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  8. Thanks guys. Maybe I should whip out the old timey GI Joes and play some CR3 next!?!? I just love these reaction games. So easy to bend to my nefarious machinations.

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  9. eltee,

    love the idea - keep up the good work!

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  10. Pure brilliance on this one! I really need to pick up RSBS, since it looks like a lot of fun.

    -B

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  11. Brendan, It is cheap and definitely a lot of fun!

    By the way guys, I am very disappointed in all of you. Nobody said a word about Skeletor wearing He Man's helmet! Nick's been badgering me about that unmercifully. He thinks I'm kinda square.

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  12. Awesome, simply awesome! LOL

    I'd never think about using He-Man and Skeletor (even if I had them) for RSBS. I used Warhammer miniatures instead and RSBS turned out to be a great generic gladiatorial ruleset.
    I recommend it to everybody willing to try :)

    --
    Mahon
    www.ChestOfColors.com

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  13. In principle, a good happen, support the views of the author

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