Sunday 11 June 2017

Doctor Who: Exterminate! Report: The Daleks Verses The Cybermen - Part Two

"The story so far... A space freighter has crashed on an alien world, scattering its cargo throughout the vessel's hold. The cargo consists of rare crystals imbued with Vortex Energy, enabling their possessors to bend the very power of the Time Vortex to their own ends. The Daleks need the crystals to perfect their ultimate temporal weapon. The Cybermen want them to advance their experiments in time travel."


THE TABLETOP - A SPACE FREIGHTER'S CARGO HOLD
With the initial clash of the two mighty extra-terrestrial forces finished, both factions took stock of their position and set about recovering "Shocked" miniatures, rolling "to remove Under Fire tokens", and replenish their Battle cards. One Upkeep Phase rule we didn't implement was to refresh our Adventure cards as we simply wanted to stick with just the 'game changers' we'd originally been dealt at the start of the scenario.

Seizing the Initiative, the Cyber-Leader ordered all four of the Cybermen in the south to move within 6" of the Daleks facing them, and thereby put them within proper range of their Cyberguns. In addition, the silver giants also captured Vortex Node (6) and received five Victory points for their efforts.

Meanwhile the Cybermats scuttled back northeast behind the foundation of the Vats, and watched as the Cybermen to their north began spreading out west towards their gold-coloured foes. One Cyberman moved from the south end of the Toxic Waste barrels to the northeastern edge of the Vats. Whilst the Cyberman "Under Fire" boldy marched west straight towards the approaching three northern Daleks and Vortex Node (1). Another Cyberman acquired Vortex Node (4), collected three Victory Points and the possibility of firing (out of sequence) using the objective's "Temporal Anomalies". 
THE CYBERMATS BEAT A HASTY RETREAT BEFORE THE DALEKS
Believing this rare opportunity could 'break the battle wide open' the Cyber-force played a Battle card which allowed them to "double" all their hits "scored during a combat action." But then rolled all misses. As a result the faction played one of its Fate Tokens to allow them to "Reroll any or all dice after they have been rolled to resolve an action." This resulted in four hits, which despite its armour, left the Dalek target "Shocked". The final Cyberman to the north, who had been stood by the end of the crates, advanced west and captured Vortex Node (1) for a single Victory Point. The Cybermen were suddenly starting to dominate proceedings, and their Cyber-Leader gave an 'impassioned' "excellent."

Realising that the majority of his opponents were now within 'easy' range of his Daleks' Disruptors, and that by ordering his units to remain stationary they would all be able to fire their weapons at "Full Blast" [Range: 6" & Attack Dice: 8], Dalek Sec commanded his faction to stay where they were. True, it meant that the Kaled Mark III Travel Machines would have to survive a barrage of Cyberguns, but the silver giants' weapons were inferior and the Dalek's armour superior. The Patrol Leader did however, order a "Rapid Response" which allowed him "to automatically remove all Under Fire tokens from your faction."
THE CYBERMEN CONFIDENTLY WALK TOWARDS THEIR GOLD-ARMOURED FOES
In the south the Cyber-Forces opened fire, and quickly forced Davros' creations to start expending both any Battle cards which could be used "as if it were a Fate Token", as well as the real things, in order to save themselves from being repeatedly "Shocked". In the end however, the Cybermen's firepower was simply overwhelming, and two of the Dalek units were "Exterminated!" Incredibly, Dalek Sec himself almost joined the burnt out hulks when the Cyber-Leader managed to cause three hits upon the black-coloured Kaled. But fortunately, the Patrol Leader somehow successfully rolled three armour saves and simply received an "Under Fire" token instead. 

To the north, the Cybermen were equally as successful with their shooting, as two Daleks were also "Exterminated!" by a pair of the silver giants. Whilst the others, 'invigorated' by their faction's evident success, chose to stride towards their remaining foe and engage them in hand-to-plunger close combat, rather than fire their Cyberguns at them.

Similarly favouring an assault, the two Cybermat Swarms raced west back round the Vats towards Dalek Sec, threatening to tear the Patrol Leader to shreds with their sharp tiny metallic teeth. Unfortunately, the "leader of the Cult of Skaro" channelled his entire Disruptor's "Full Blast" into one of the swarms, and five hits later had "Exterminated!" them. The other remaining Dalek in the south, also directed his attention to the Cybermats, but only succeeded in blowing the 'small metal rodents' onto their backs by 'Shocking' them. Still the "energy thieves" threat had momentarily been abated.
DALEK SEC DOES ALL HE CAN TO HOLD OFF TWO CYBERMAT SWARMS
Sadly the lone northern Dalek desperately trying to hold off half the Cyber-Force single-handedly, wasn't able to replicate this success against his opponents, despite initially rolling eight hits upon his silver-coloured target. Amazingly, the Cyberman was only "Shocked" even though the Dalek wisely used his Faction's second Fate Token to re-roll his attack's final result in order to try and at least reduce his opposition by one...

It was clear that if Dalek Sec was going to salvage anything from this skirmish, his faction would have to win back the Initiative. This was not the case though, as, having recovered any "Shocked" miniatures, rolled "to remove Under Fire tokens" and replenished both sides' Battle cards, the Cyber-Leader was once again 'in charge' of the action and immediately ordered all of his Cybermen to move west and engage their fast-diminishing foes. Only the remaining Cybermat swarm was unable to obey this command, on account of them having two "Under Fire" tokens.
THE CYBERMAN APPROACH THE DALEKS AND PREPARE TO ASSAULT THEM BY HAND
Calculating that his faction would probably not survive a close assault at the hands of the Cybermen, the Dalek's Patrol Leader ordered his last two units to withdraw 6" west out of harm's way. The Dalek Battle Computer did not give Dalek Sec much hope that his dwindling force would survive even this tactic, and was quickly proved correct when the Cyber-Forces opened up with another salvo of Cybergun energy blasts.

The Cybermen in the south fired at the back-peddling Dalek before them. The Kaled Mark III Travel Machine's armour managed to save the first shot's two hits, but then needed to expend a Battle card which allowed the Daleks to cancel "all hits scored... during a combat action" when it was struck four times by a subsequent attack. Despite not being destroyed though, the Dalek was suffering from two "Under Fire!" tokens and therefore would not be able to return fire.

Likewise, Dalek Sec was caught by a successful Cyber-blast, and after the appropriate Battle cards were all played, found himself "Shocked" and "Under Fire!". The Cyber-Leader understandably 'went in for the kill' and using "Additional Sensory Input" to "ignore" the fact that his target's range "would make that shot inaccurate" fired at the prone Dalek. Incredibly though, the Patrol Leader survived the attack.
DALEK SEC RETREATS AS THE CYBERMEN CONTINUE TO ADVANCE FORWARDS
Finally, the lone Dalek in the north was struck by a Cyber-gun energy beam, and looked destined to die as a result of three hits. Desperate to try and keep the Dalek 'in play' the faction utilised a Battle card which caused the Cyberman to "re-roll any or all of the dice". But it wasn't enough, and the single surviving hit became an "Exterminate!". The battle was over, with the Daleks having only two remaining models alive, and the Cybermen, through a combination of Vortex Nodes and kills, having a total of fifteen Victory Points. Perhaps the Daleks don't always "conquer and destroy" after all..?

49 comments:

  1. What a great game, Simon. Sure, I wanted the Daleks to win but they'll be back. They always return. You explained the rules very well and the game seemed to flow very freely. As soon as I get my own Cybermen and Daleks painted, I shall give this game a try. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Bryan. It was certainly fun to play, and I really like the rules. I do hope to do another few BatReps using "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" too, and at least try the Judoon and Zygons traits out.

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  2. Great end to the batrep Simon, one thing I noticed is the effective range of the weapons seems small, I guess this was done to make movement and tactical positioning more important so it didn't become a volley fest from either side of the table

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    1. Cheers Dave. The effective range simply means you roll your full (usually four) dice. Whilst ineffective range (double your range) actually only costs you one die. For the likes of the Daleks' Full Blast though, its well worth not moving and rolling seven dice imho, as that makes the Daleks very formidable indeed, and 'shoot first, think later'. The Cybermen are much more 'get in close' orientated, and also seemingly hard to permanently put down.

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  3. An excellent game. I've just visited the Dr Who experience in Cardiff which is well worth a visit.

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    1. Thanks Phil. I visited the Dr Who experience when it was in Blackpool, so I'd imagine its changed quite a bit since then.

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  4. Nooooo! I was routing for the Daleks! What a great game, certainly seems fast and furious, not to mention brutal!

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    1. Cheers Michael. Brutal is a very good word for the chaos when the lasers start to fly!!

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  5. Nice report. Shame about the outcome ;)

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    1. Thanks Roy. Maybe next time ;-)

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    2. An alliance of The Daleks and the Borg! Nobody would ever see that coming ... Though the subsequent double-cross would be inevitable.

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    3. Hmmm. There's certainly been Cybermen/Borg team-ups; in the comics at least.I like your thinking Roy. Perhaps when "Modiphius Entertainment" bring out some Borg minis for their "Star Trek" RPG game...

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    4. Yes, I'm keeping an eye on those miniatures too. Enterprise era for me for Starfleet, but I may have to buy those Klingons sooner rather than later (or convince people to get them now and wrap them up for me for my birthday!). Best not discuss in public my STAW purchasing, lol :))

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    5. Ah, I was thinking about the Original Series crew for me, and the Romulans, but the prices are a little steep for me currently. Fingers crossed the local stores are able to sell them at discount ;-)

      Nothing wrong with splurging on "Star Trek: Attack Wing", Roy - awesome game imho. I must do some more BatReps with it :-)

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  6. Superb conclusion to the game, the Daleks didn't seem that effective though, or was is their tactics ?
    The game itself looks very good, simple but very effective terrain gave it a very suitable setting.

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    1. Cheers Joe. I think the Daleks were just unlucky in not winning the initiative on that turn and some of the Cybermen's dice rolling was awesome. There were also a few more Cybermen than Daleks, and numbers can certainly tell when the "Under Fire!" markers start stopping models from moving.

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  7. I shocking defeat!! How would the game play out against a 'human' opposition? Both the Daleks and Cybermen seem to be able to absorb damage. What if you wanted to play 'Daleks Invasion Earth' or 'Genesis of the Daleks' with the Thals attempting to stop the Daleks. Your thoughts would be interesting.

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    1. Further to above, I've always been a big Dalek fan. I see them as the ultimate Dr. Who villain.

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    2. Thanks Mark. I've yet to play with a more humanoid foe for the game, but I don't currently see any issue with Daleks vs human resistance fighters/Thals. Of course the U.N.I.T. stats have yet to be released, but despite the Daleks drubbing in this game I thought both sides were evenly balanced. It was just poor luck and tactics which cost the Daleks the day. I'm hoping to use the Zygons in the next game, so that should show you how good another race is against the Daleks.

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    3. "I've always been a big Dalek fan." - Yep, me too :-)

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    4. That will be interesting to see how the Zygons fare. I didn't realise that 'human' stats had not been released yet. From the battle report the 'armoured' opponents seem to be balanced. So I'm curious to see how 'normal' opponents get on facing them. Any consideration to use MR&DG's for the Daleks etc?

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    5. Mark, there's plenty of Human stats for "Doctor Who: Exterminate!", they're all just companions though, no U.N.I.T. soldiers etc. I imagine "Warlord Games" will be producing either a card deck expansion for the minis which currently have no stats or posting them as a (free?) PDF on their website?

      In the meantime I do indeed have plans for both the Daleks and Cybermen as far as "Mutants And Death Ray Guns" is concerned ;-)

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  8. Thank for an interesting and exciting first scenario. You explained it really well, which is not an easy thing to do with this game. Since your first part last week, we`ve been busy making ourselves familiar with the game as much as possible (drove 40 miles to watch the game being played, sat in on sessions, and asked a lot of questions LOL) and have saturated our brains with You Tube info and `watch it played` batreps/AAR`s. So at this stage we are fairly intimate with the game.. so that when our own copy of "Exterminate" and expansion sets arrives, I think we will pretty much be able to rip it all open and play it right out of the box.

    Your game looked exciting to play (a pain for you to have to keep stopping to write it all up for us to enjoy, and thank you for doing that, it is most appreciated and kindly considerate that you did so). The end result was interesting. From my experience, the Daleks do seem to have that slight `edge` due to their firepower and faster manoeuvrability, just as long as they can stay well away from the deadly close combat skills of the Cybermen, and always have a spare Dalek to shot a target a second time if needed (i.e. to shoot `double taps` on the Cyber dudes should they get back on their feet). The ability cards at the Cybermens disposal make them very hard to stay down, as they tend to get right back up lol. But you proved the Daleks can be beaten (I`ve noticed they tend to win on about a 3 to 5 ratio most of the time).

    Question aside Simon, if you don`t mind. With the Doctor and companions as examples (especially interested in how Missy`s size compares), (assuming you have them all at this stage), how do they look, size comparison wise, side by side against other 28m minis and terrain. Is the difference marginal or very obvious?

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    1. Cheers Steve. Very much appreciated. I'm delighted my "Doctor who" postings have encouraged you and Hils to get the game.

      I think 'having the spare' Dalek is the key here, as the Daleks don't get as many for your buck, and that always means they're a bit more susceptible to the impact of "Under Fire!" tokens - unless they get clever with their Adventure cards etc. I also think a 2x2 table probably gave the Cybermen a little edge, although not as much as them being able to move two of the Vortex Nodes closer to their deployment zone :-)

      I don't yet own either the Davros or Missy boxed sets, as I still have more Cybermen and Daleks to paint-up; especially as I took Hils' advice and contacted "Warlord Games" about my stubborn Dalek - they kindly sent me an entire replacement sprue!!

      If you have a look at the posting below I include a size comparison shot. I'd say they're noticeably bigger. Although I don't think the size gap is all that much in certain monsters (e.g. Zygons & Silents) as it is in the humans: http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/silence-later-you-will-be-questioned.html

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    2. Cheers for that size comparison photo, that was really helpful. What ever the future direction we (may) one day take with our DIY, for now most certainly, we are going to give this game a thorough testing out. The more we learn about it the more we like. We might yet just stick with it all as it is **winks**

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    3. {{{I don't yet own either the Davros or Missy boxed sets, as I still have more Cybermen and Daleks to paint-up;}}}

      We did just what you are doing, we are buying it a bit at a time. We seriously considered just buying the bundle deal and having it all in one go, but we thought no, we will be good. Gluttony in this hobby is rife nowadays and for once we decided to do something the proper way: i.e. enjoy buying a little bit, enjoy that.. then buy a bit more, and enjoy adding that into the game, and so on. I think you appreciate it more that way, and savour every moment and every anticipation of wonders still to come.

      10th Doctor and Missy next, but we are playing "Exterminate" lots first (and as Warlord Games kindly give you all the stat cards you need to play a host of other people and aliens not included in the box set, so we will use our own facsimile Doc and assistant miniatures, and replace these (in time) with the appropriate Warlord Games stuff as and when we get them.

      Today is a hive of activity as we are spending today and tomorrow painting everything, then Thursday onward we will be playing non stop `Who` games for a while.

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    4. "We are going to give this game a thorough testing out" - My sentiments precisely, Steve. This is a really good rule-set imho, and I'm enjoying it immensely. I think its well worth trying out a few of the factions before deciding too. I'm looking forward to seeing some AARs on "The Games Cupboard". :-)

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    5. "Today is a hive of activity as we are spending today and tomorrow painting everything." - You're just like me Hils, I don't like playing with unpainted miniatures as I just can't get immersed in the game. Admittedly its been a struggle waiting to play this until I'd painted the models too though :-)

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    6. {{I don't like playing with unpainted miniatures as I just can't get immersed in the game}}

      Normally I can force myself. But with Doctor Who, its just to full of colour and spender. It HAS to be painted hehe.

      Like you Simon, I`m so totally immersed in this now. I`m even hijacking Stevie`s planned post to write about Doctor Who on TGC next week end. **grins**

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    7. "It HAS to be painted" - I certainly think "Warlord Games" picking gold Daleks verses Silver Cybermen to be an inspired choice, Hils. The clash of colours just immediately grabs the eye and makes you look to see what's going on!!

      Looking forward to the next posting of "The Game Cupboard" more and more ;-)

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  9. Thank you Simon, most enjoyable. You have made me even more impatient for our own copy to arrive {you never know, Posty might even deliver it today, or tomorrow yaaaay!!!!}

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  10. {{Update}} yeeey!!! postman just delivered "Exterminate"

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    1. The first reaction we both had to opening the box and seeing the three books was... just how similar the three books felt to opening Traveller for the first time back in 1977.

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    2. Ah... That's how I felt when I opened my copy of "Warhammer" First Edition, Steve. The characters book was always my fave :-)

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    3. We should never have let our first edition Warhammer go :( those three books in that cool box were rare gems weren`t they.

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    4. Oh dear. Fortunately I still have mine - my first set of wargaming rules!! If I can paint enough old skool Lizardmen one day I may even do a BatRep ;-)

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  11. I rally approve of Daleks vs Cybermen. Just my cup of rosie lee! I do have fears of any DR who game taking the non violent Dr on a very out of character jaunt. So Fantastic that you did not! Bravo sir!

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    1. Thanks Clint. I'll be using the Doctor at some point when playing these rules, so it'll be interesting to see how "non violent" he is in the game.

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  12. They took a dive I tell ya! A DIVE!!!!

    Good report Simon, they seem to capture the flavour of the series pretty well, as things like Cybermen and Daleks don't tend to get injured just explode in a shower of sparks, but are there rules for trapping Cybermen half way through doors? one of my all time favourite moments from DW.

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Cheers Roger. I'm very happy with the rule-set I must say. I too still remember that "Earthshock" moment; one of the episodes which firmly established Peter Davison's Doctor imho.

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  13. Very entertaining and interesting, Simon. Being a bigger fan of the Daleks than the Cybermen, I was rooting for them, but luck seemed to be on the side of the silver menace in this game. Daleks vs Zygons next? Cool. It will be interesting to see how this battle unfolds, as I'm torn between which side I want to see victorious.

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    1. Thanks Jez. I have a load of BatReps planned for "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" as I've really fallen for the rules :-) I'll be favouring the Zygons in the next battle, as they're awesome looking models imho.

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  14. I really do hope my wife gets picks up on the less than subtle hints regarding my birthday and this game. Cracking stuff!

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    1. Cheers Gordon. Much appreciated. I hope your wife picks up the hint too. It'll be great to see some "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" BatReps in your comic book style :-)

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  15. Brilliant. different conclusion to what I was expecting love it!

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    1. Thanks Simon. I'm pleased the BatRep caught you off-guard!! Perhaps the Daleks will win the next one..?

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