Cube Clash
abstract dice-driven combat game by Ryan Hackel, played with Dragon Dice

Remember Dragon Dice? Here's a completely different game you can play with them. (NOTE: This is a work in progress. Please consider these rules to be an early Beta, which I reserve the right to modify at any time.)


COMPLETE RULES

---Setup---

Will need: Dragon Dice, chessboard.

Each player chooses dice from those available. Both players should select same amount of build points. For color-coding of armies, it helps if each player avoids using a race that his opponent is using. Do not include non-d6 dice in your build.

Each player has a home row, that being the row of squares on the board that is closest to them. Line up dice along home row first. Don't place dice in Nth row until (N-1)th row is full. All dice start ID side up, but may be oriented at will beyond that.

If one player used fewer build points, that player goes first. If not, choose a first player.

---Objective---

If, at the end of your turn, your opponent has more units on your home row than you have on his, you lose.

In other words, if at the end of your opponent's turn, you have more units on his home row than he has on yours, you win.

Also, if either player is the only player with units on the board, he wins immediately.

---Gameplay---

Players alternate turns. On his turn, a player chooses one:
1) selects a die and "steps" it into an orthogonally adjacent square by rolling it along its edge from one die face to the next.
2) selects a die and rotates it 90, 180, ro 270 degrees, either clockwise or counterclockwise.
After doing so, take the action of the newly-topside die face:

---Basic faces---

Melee: this die may inflict that many points of damage on an orthogonally adjacent unit. If defending unit takes more hits than health+saves, it is killed and removed from the board. (NEW: Dice can team up for melee attacks. If any other friendly die is also adjacent to the defending die and also shows melee or ID, add that value to the attack.)

Maneuver: the die may slide that many spaces, from square to orthogonally adjacent square. It is okay to change direction partway through sliding. Unit does not change die face or orientation during this.

Missile: this die may inflict that many damage upon another die that is either two or three squares from this one. Trace path using orthogonal squares. Cannot shoot over units in the way. If defending unit takes more hits than health+saves, it is killed and removed from the board. (NEW: Unlike melee, missile attacks can not team up. The attacking die is on its own. Misisile attacks also do not support a melee attack.)

Saves: this die does nothing for now. If die takes damage while this face is showing, prevent that many damage dealt to die from each attack. For example, a 2-health die showing 3 saves would need to take 5 points of damage to be killed.

Magic: this die uses that many points to cast spells. (See Spell List.)

ID: counts as ONE point of melee, saves, or maneuvers. Never modified by terrain bonuses, race bonuses, or spell effects.

---Special faces---

Bulls-eye: Counts as missile, but you may ignore that many saves that the defending die shows.

Cantrip: counts as magic or saves.

Counter: If this die is attacked by melee, deal this many damage to any adjacent dice. (If any attacking unit are killed, this does not change the amount of damage the countering die would have received.) This does not count as saves.

Convert: Choose an opposing adjacent die, and replace it with one of your dead dice of the same size or smaller, if able. No saves are possible.

Double Strike: This die makes two three-point attacks, resolved one at a time. If there are no targets for a second attack, this die may instead take another turn immediately.

Fly: counts as maneuvers, but may pass through occupied squares. Also counts as saves against melee, but not against missile.

Rend: Counts as a melee or maneuver. If used for a melee attack, this die may take another turn immediately.

Smite: Counts as melee, but you may ignore that many saves that the defending die shows.

Trample: counts as maneuvers or melee. If used for melee, negates one save from the defending die.

Vanish: If this die is killed while this face is showing, place it in its owner's home row instead of removing it from play, ID face up.

---Spell List----

Magic face counts as X points of magic, of any color possessed by the die. Spend X spell points to...

Blue (air): any two units no more than X squares away from each other switch places. Path between them must be unblocked.

Green (water): move any unit X number of squares or less, as in maneuvers. Unit can pass through occupied spaces.

Yellow (earth): X health worth of units (friend or foe) may reorient any way you decide, without changing squares.

Red (fire): inflict X damage upon any unit no more than 2X squares away from spellcaster (count distance as you would for missile, ignoring blocking units). If defending unit takes more hits than health+saves, it is killed and removed from the board.

Black (death): reanimate any unit of X-1 health (or less) from your dice that the opponent has killed. Place the die ID side up in your home row (or as close as able).
--OR--
Remove X health of opposing dead units from the game (unable to be reanimated).

---Terrain rules---

Imagine that the chessboard is divided into four 4x4 quadrants, with your home row spanning two of them and your opponent's home row spanning the other two. Before the game, each player chooses two terrain dice, and assigns each one to one of the quadrants. Each square in a quadrant is considered to be of that quadrant's terrain die type (coast, plains, mountains, swamp, etc.)

--Race bonuses for terrain:--

Coral elves: when on coast terrain, maneuver faces count as saves.

Dwarves: saves are doubled when in mountain terrain.

Goblins: saves are doubled when in swamp terrain.

Lava elves: when on mountain terrain, maneuver faces count as saves.

Amazons: Magic points are of the colors of the terrain die. When on plains, maneuver faces may count as missile (but never both at once).

Firewalkers: When on blue (air) terrain, at the beginning of your turn, you may move and/or reorient any or all firewalker dice within your home row as you wish. Non-firewalker allied dice and any opposing dice in your home row may not be altered during this step.

Undead: No terrain-specific effects.

Snakefolk: When in swamp terrain, maneuvers count as saves.

---Race bonuses---

Undead: When an Undead unit of X health is killed, replace it with a killed Undead unit of X-1 health, if able.

Feral: At the beginning of your turn, you may take a 1-health unit from your dead dice and return it to play in your home row (ID face up), if able.

Snakefolk: When you kill an opposing unit, you may take a unit from your dead dice of equal or lesser health and return it to play in your home row (ID face up), if able.


Last Updated: 27 October 2008

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