Big Al and his nest mate Alfonso were prowling the dusty plains. Their stomachs growled as they gazed across the plains. Sporadic trees dotted the savannah. As they sniffed the air, they could smell water nearby. That was a positive sign, as water meant that food could be nearby.
Big Al stretched his thick neck just high enough to peer over the tops of the tall grass. In the distance, the grass swayed in the light breeze. However, a something was not right. As he strained his vision, there was movement counter to the movement of the grass. It looked like armored plates, so that meant Stegosaurus were nearby.
Alfonso's nostrils flared as he also caught their sent. The two Allosaurus glanced at each other. Their mouths began to water, and the grumbling of their stomachs subsided for a moment.
The hunt was on.....
We are returning to the Pre-historic past as we expand to more Dinosaurs into our games. Instead of 1-on-1 battle, we are getting a small hunting duo of Carnivores versus a small pod of Stegosaurus near a watering hole.
Set-up:
Today, we are using a 36in square board. We have some trees scattered around, some large rocks, and a watering hole surrounded by shrubs in the center of the board.
The Steggies are going to be deployed at the center of the board at the watering hole. The Allosaurus can come in on any edge, but they choose to come in together on the South board edge.
Mission:
Kill or be Killed!
Forces:
Carnivores
2 Allosaurus- 10 Instinct Dice each
- Big Al
- Alfonso
Herbivores
2 Stegosaurus- 9 Instinct Dice each
- Mario
- Luigi
Both sides grab their instinct dice and put them on their Dinosaur sheets. Big Al bids 0 Instinct Dice, Alfonso bids 3, Mario bids 1 and Luigi bids 0.
Alfonso goes first! He uses a dice to move forward, but Mario tries to react. Alfonso does not respond, but Big Al does. Big Al gets 2 success to Mario's 1. So, Big Al also moves towards big rock.
Luigi tires to react and Big Al counters, bot rolling 1 Dice. Luigi wins. Luigi moves away and by a tree, his tail towards his foes. Big Al tries to react, as does Mario; both with 2 dice. Big Al wins.
Big Al uses 1 dice to charge Mario, and 3 to launch a Body block. Mario resists with three, and manages to roll with the attack. Both Big Al and Mario are out of Instinct Dice.
Luigi sees his pal in trouble and reacts with 2 dice, to Alfonso's 1. He wins. Luigi decides to Roar at Big Al, which causes the Allosaurus to get "confused" as he has no dice to react. However, this does not do too much since he all ready has no dice to react!
This time, Alfonso reacts and gets the win. He charges across and gets in close with Mario and attacks. He chomps at the Steggie, but only gets a mouthful of back plate for his trouble. That said, Mario is in trouble with two Allosaurus attacking him next turn.
Luigi uses his last Instinct Dice to move back towards his friend, his slashing tail at the ready.
Turn 2:
All the Dinos get their Instinct Dice pools back, and the players are ready to bid.
Luigi knows he needs to get in there and help Mario, so he bids 3 dice. Alfonso, bids 3 as well. Since the Carnivores had initiative last turn, they keep it.
Alfonso starts by putting 6 Dice into a Hatchet attack, and Mario puts in Max dice to defend. Mario manages to step aside by scoring more defensive successes. Alfonso spends 2 to react, to Luigi's 1. Alfonso wins.
He decides to Roar at Mario with 2 dice, who chooses to react with 1. The tactic confuses Mario, and successfully reduces him to 1 react dice. Luigi uses 2 to react to Big Al's 1, and decides to go next.
Luigi chares Alfonso and tries to Body Block with all the dice they have left. However, Alfonso dodges using 2 Defense dice.
Big Al reacts with 1, and no one can oppose him. He attacks Mario with all the dice he has left. Again, the armored plates on Mario's back are enough to protect him. Alfonso uses the last dice he has left to try and Tail whip Luigi. He hits the Steg in the face and knocks his head to the side for 1 damage.
Turn 3:
The Dinos all get their Instinct Dice back up to normal. The Steggies are tar pitted next tot he watering hole by the Allosuarus. They need to break free, or the better Instinct Dice of the Carnivores will eventually wear them down.
Big Al Bids 2, and Mario bids 4. Mario uses 1 dice to turn and try to run. Big Al reacts with 2 dice, and Luigi counters with 3. Big Al wins and attacks Luigi as Mario lumber by. Big Al throws a 6 dice Body Block, and he is resisted by 4 Defense Dice by Luigi. Again, the Steggie manages to stand tall and absorb the shot.
Luigi tries to react, but Alfonso is faster this time. Alfonso's savage bit attack gets past Luigi's defense and takes off 2 more hits! Mario steps back into the fight and swings his tail at Big Al! He gouges a chunk of flesh off Big Al.
Turn 4:
All Instinct Dice are returned. Luigi bids while Big Al bids 2.
Big Al starts by launching a 6 dice hatchet attack on Luigi, who resists with 5 dice. It is all for nothing as neither side gets a success!
Mario manages to react with 1 success, and attacks Big Al with a Tail swipe. Mario uses a max attack against a winded Big Al. Ouch! The Steggie gets 4 successes, but 3 of them are sixes. His piercing tail mauls Big Al, who takes 6 hits! That moves Big Al to the top of Medium damage, and reduces his armor 1 and Max React to 3!
Alfonso hasn't attacked yet, and successfully does so. He follows up Big Al's attack on Luigi with a Max Hatchet attack as well! Luigi only has 2 dice to resist. However, Alfonso is unable to make his attack stick! No one tries to react, so Alfonso attacks again, and Luigi trusts in his plates, which is wise.
Both Allosaurus have used all their instinct dice. Luigi uses their last dice to move away! Mario does the same, despite injuring Big Al badly with her tail!
At the end of the turn, Big Al does not have any dice for a Survival Check! He needs to rally right away or will try to flee.
Turn 5:
All dinosaurs replenish their Instinct Pools. Luigi bids 3, and Alfonso bids 2. Luigi wins and uses the chance to run away further.
Big Al Reacts with 1, and no one opposes him. He uses 4 Instinct dice for a Survival check. He needs two success to avoid fleeing, and gets them. However, it ate into his Instinct Pool.
Luigi tries to react, and Alfonso opposes. No side gets a success, so Big Al keeps the initiative. He runs forward and tries to Body Block Mario with 4 dice, and Mario resists with 4. Mario absorbs the hit.
Mario tries to react, but Alfonso beats him. Alfonso also charges forward and tries to Body Block Mario with 4 dice. Mario trusts in his armor. It doesn't work this time, as the Dinosaur is knocked down. However, the Carnivores are out of Instinct Dice again.
The cagey Mario kept 1 Instinct Dice, so gets up quickly from the attack. Luigi uses her last dice to drop back and swing her tail at Big Al. Again, it is a devastating strike and the injured and tired Allosaurus. This time, the tail spikes sink deep into the side of Big Al's head and knock him to the ground. He is dead!
Conclusion
With his brother down, Alfonso watches backs off and let's the Stegosaurus wander back to their herd. Alfonse snaps at the smaller dinosaurs that quickly rush to his brother's fresh corpse. His body still twitching spasmodically. Big Al and Alfonso had needed a meal, and now at least Alfonso had one.....
Well, that escalated quickly! Once Big Al went down, that took the fight out of my opponent and they were willing to call it a game. Theoretically, Alfonso may have been able to deal some more damage, but things looked rough after Big Al took a head shot full of spikes! In multi-dino games, when a creature runs out of Instinct Dice it is in serious trouble. Having to use Instinct Dice for survival checks drains that pool very quickly! That leaves you vulnerable for attacks!
The Piercing on the Steggie's tails paid big dividends in this game. The Allosaurus hatchet attacks failed miserably due to some very poor rolling. The Carnivores rarely got anything to stick this game. However, the Carnivores were playing very aggressively.... too aggressively as they were burning their Instinct Dice too fast! Plus, they consistently got stuck in the Steggie's rear arc, which is not someplace you really want to be!
A good game. More terrain gave some more options for maneuver, but the aggressive play of the Carnivores made that a bit of a moot point. More dinosaurs also adds more dimensions to the game play as you try to chain your reactions/attacks together in a way that synergizes. Very fun!
I look forward to adding more Dinosaur types next time around!
Some days you eat the dinosaurs; some days the dinosaurs eat you.
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