Battle for Kydea: Miniaturized or tabletop gameplay

As I developed the first round of Battle for Kydéa figures and rules and backstory ideas, I wanted to be sure to keep actual game play as accessible to as many people as possible. I quickly recognized that most players wouldn't have access to as many LEGO action figure parts as I've personally amassed, which is why I developed a whole slew of substitution suggestions for the figures.  However, I then started thinking in smaller terms, determining the smallest number of the simplest parts that could possibly be used to host a successful and fully-featured Battle for Kydea game.  Described here is the ultimate answer, the most extremely miniaturized, micro-scale form of the game, allowing multiple large armies to be played with just tiny System pieces on a single baseplate!

For folks who like videos, I've put together this:

• Video - Battle for Kydea: Miniature gameplay setup

Once again, substitutions are encouraged. If you're short on one type of LEGO piece I suggest, see what other parts you can use instead.

Above you see the four standard unit types, left to right, Scout, Warrior, Lifter, and High Priest.  A Scout is distinguished by the transparent piece on top, which represents its targeting laser.  The Warrior has no decoration as it's the most common, normal unit, with no special abilities.  The Lifter has an opaque flat piece on top to signify its broad stance & heavy armor, or the heavy cannons on top.  The High Priest gets a 1x1 cone (opaque or transparent, doesn't matter) to show its towering height and to represent its tall, spikey "antenna" array.  Now let's look at the same units with armor on them:

You'll noticed in the full blown unit detail descriptions that only 2 point and 4 point armor pieces are officially used.  This keeps things very simple.  In micro scale, the gray round 1x1 plates or dots represent 2pt armor pieces, while the black ones represent 4pt armor.  As a unit takes damage, armor gets removed, just like in the full-sized game.  Line of sight also works just like it does with the big figures, except you have to get closer to the playing surface if you want to verify sight lines with your own eyes!

The miniaturized game also makes it much easier to build obstacles and cover, and you can get very creative if you like.  You can design a battlefield that occurs across a gulch with cover on its banks, but no way to cross except for a single bridge.  Simulate a wrecked city with basic bricks like I did.  Play around a mountain range. You decide!  Just be sure to leave enough room to move your micro-units around with your full-sized human fingers!

The only one detail that has to be altered for miniaturized play is movement.  First, units have to move by studs, not measured distances.  I suggest a conversion of 5 studs per movement speed unit.  Thus, a unit with movement speed 2 can move 10 studs in a turn.  I also strongly suggest limiting everything to forward/back and horizontal shifting only, with no diagonal movement.

If you have other miniaturization ideas, please feel free to comment, or if you create your own mini-sized battle arenas, take videos & post them up on YouTube!

Battle for Kydea figure-building tips

Interested in dabbling in the world of Kydéa for yourself, whether for game play, story-writing, or just MOC building?  Here are some tips to expand the possibilities.

1. The main warring groups are the red-colored Northern & green-colored Southern Alliances. There are other factions, though, and you can play, write about, or MOC for more than just these two. When creating entirely new armies, just try to have at least one distinguishing feature that's kept common between all characters in each group, whether it's color, a particular style of face or armor layout, or just something decorative.
2. Feel free to make substitutions!  Everything I've written or shown is intended to be a guideline or inspiration.  With the figures themselves, consider different skeleton designs, armor plate usage (including their gameplay values), and colors.  Use your own existing MOCs if you want, or even official Hero Factory or Bionicle sets as proxies for Kydean fighters.  For miniaturized play, consider using minifigs or characters made from System pieces! 

How to attach Krana to Hero Factory armor

My own two sample Kydean armies use "Krana" faces from the old Bionicle Bohrok & Bohrok-Kal sets. Krana haven't been sold in new sets in many years, so you can often find them at very low prices on eBay or Bricklink.

Read on...

The image below shows three different ways you can attach these to a Hero Factory-style armor piece to create a Kydean head.

The options on the left and right use an Exo-Force drone mini-figure hand that's inserted from the back of the armor.  It leaves a peg- or lightsaber-sized protrusion to attach to.  The round white 1x1 plate used on the rightmost example is the type that has a peg-sized hole in the top.  I got mine from a Wild Wool game set.  There are some other options as well.  The key to know is that Krana have a normal LEGO stud-sized attachment point built into them, so you need to use pieces that will adapt to fit over a stud on one side, and ultimately connect to something lightsaber-sized on the other to attach to the armor.

Don't have any Krana?  Leave the face blank, or simply attach something else into one or both of the holes in the armor piece used to make the head!

Battle for Kydea: Unit MOCs on video!

The development of the Battle for Kydéa idea started with my desire to create a new series of MOCs with the ball-and-socket ("Hero Factory") building system that used uncommon face/head/mask pieces. I figured out a way to attach a Bionicle Krana to a Hero Factory style of armor piece, which very quickly exploded into the construction of two small armies.  I never actually did anything with these figures, but here they are now!

• Video - Battle for Kydea: Northern Alliance MOCs
• Video - Battle for Kydea: Southern Alliance MOCs

Please feel free & encouraged to make your own Battle for Kydea MOCs, whether or not they follow the standard unit types, or any of the building standards I've presented here.  Have fun with it and post your videos on YouTube!

Battle for Kydea: Unit types & details

Battle for Kydéa was initially designed to be played with four main unit or character types, but you are encouraged to design others as well!  How many of each you use in a game is up to you to decide, based upon how many people are playing, how many figures you're able to build, and how long you'd like the game to last.  Feel free to experiment, and make adjustments to suit your needs & desires!

Pages of pictures & unit details follow...

Warrior
Equipment: 1x ion rifle
Armor: 4x value 2 armor plates, 1x value 4 armor plate
Movement speed: 2
Actions: Fire weapon (once/turn)

The Kydean warrior is your basic foot soldier.  He marches out into the field, shoots things, and tries not to get shot.  His armor coverage is good, but not great, and he carries a single handheld weapon with a respectable firing rate and excellent accuracy.

Warrior gameplay:  A warrior can shoot any enemy it can see, once per turn. Exact weapon damage is determined by the dice roll.


Lifter
Equipment: 2x ion cannons or 2x focused-fire multi-emmitter plasma cannons
Armor: 5x value 4 armor plates
Movement speed: 1
Actions: Fire weapons (two shots per turn)

The very name of the Lifter class betrays its basic history and purpose.  These units are heavily armored and their physical strength is unequaled, but they were originally designed to load & unload cargo and assist with construction projects. Today, most of them act as heavy weapons platforms. They are loyal and obedient, but not independently very smart, relatively speaking. While they can aim & fire their sholder-mounted guns like you would expect, their ability to hit targets reliably leaves a lot to be desired. As a result, Lifter weapons are always augmented with gyro-stabilized targeting servos, though for this system acquire a target lock, said target must be first painted by a smarter, more precise unit on the field.

Lifter gameplay:  Each turn, a Lifter can shoot twice. However, Lifters have extremely inaccurate fire, and a dice roll is used to determine whether each shot hits its target. By default, you must roll a 4 to hit your target. Roll once for each of your two weapons. When you roll a 4, you hit with 4 points of damage; otherwise, you miss with that weapon.  If you have a Scout on the field, your Lifter can execute assisted artillery-style shots, even if the Lifter cannot see the target.  Assisted shots involve firing both weapons as usual, but dice rolls of 4 and up will hit (so 4, 5, and 6).  See more on this under details for the Scout.  Note that a Lifter can only shoot once in a turn, whether it's blind or assisted fire. Like all units, Lifters only get one movement dice roll per unit per turn.


Scout
Equipment: 1x ion rifle, 1x targeting laser
Armor: 2x value 2 armor plates, 1x value 4 armor plates
Movement speed: 3
Actions: Fire weapon (once/turn), direct assisted fire from friendly Lifters

A Scout transforms a bumbling, practically blind-firing Lifter into a devastating offensive asset.  Agile & quick-thinking, a single Scout can direct fire from all Lifters in the theater of operation, resulting in an overall average of slightly more than one hit per Lifter per turn. Sweetening the deal even further, a Scout carries his own standard-issue rifle with a full ammunition energy reserve, just like a Warrior.  The downside is that Scouts wear less armor than any other type of unit, making them very vulnerable to enemy fire. As a result, scouts spend more time in much deeper cover than their brothers in arms.

Scout gameplay:  Each turn, a Scout can fire its weapon at any enemy in sight, like a Warrior. The Scout can also use its targeting laser to call in assisted artillery-style fire from one friendly Lifter on the field.  Any enemy unit that the Scout can see can be designated as a target, and the firing Lifter does not need to see the target, as the shot is arched high through the sky.  Assisted Lifter shots follow the hit/miss/damage rules described under the Lifter's unit details.


High Priest
Equipment: 2x zero-point energy disruptors/emmitters
Armor: 2x value 2 armor plates, 3x value 4 armor plates
Movement speed: 2
Actions: Deflect damage (twice/turn, self or any friendly unit in sight) or  zero-point energy blast (once/turn, acts like firing a weapon) or teleport friendly unit (once/turn, any unit in sight not including self)

The Kydéans have very science- and fact-based cultures, but there is a realm of dark arts, of sorts, with which only a select sub-class of highly trained elites can dabble.  The harnessing and manipulation of what we Earthlings call vacuum energy is the specialty of Kydean High Priests. After many years of study, development, and practice in scattered remote locations, High Priests become integral parts of any battle force with their seemingly magical capabilities of both offense and defense.  With only a very brief restorative rest between each action, a High Priest can vaporize an enemy armor plate, dissipate a incoming weapon blast (regardless of its target), or teleport a friendly unit to any location within sight. Their distinctive "antennae" are directly-connected implants that amplify their abilities. They are also well-armored.

High Priest gameplay:  Each turn, a High Priest can only execute one type of action. The zero-point energy blast acts just like firing a normal weapon. You can shoot it at any enemy target your Priest can see, and hit/miss/damage is determined by a dice roll.  With the Teleport action, you can move any unit the Priest can see (friend or foe!) to any location on the battlefield that your Priest can see. The Deflect Damage action is somewhat like healing, except you simply prevent the damage from occurring in the first place. The High Priest can cast Deflect Damage twice per turn. For each cast, roll your dice to determine how much damage you can deflect. The result of the roll is mostly handled like rolling for weapon damage, except in reverse:

1. Miss -- fail to deflect
2. Deflect 2pts damage
3. Deflect up to 3pts damage
4. Deflect up to 4pts damage
5. Deflect up to 5pts damage
6. (Deflect up to 6pts damage and roll again) or Deflect a killing shot, don't roll again

After each successful roll for Deflect Damage, you may place an appropriate destroyed armor piece back onto your unit, or re-activate a unit that was thought killed, based on the rules above.


Warrior-Priest (?)
Equipment: 1x zero-point energy disruptor/emmitter array, 1x ion rifle
Armor: 4x value 2 armor plates, 1x value 4 armor plate
Movement speed: 2
Actions: Fire weapon (once/turn), deflect damage (once/turn, self or any friendly unit in sight)

Little is known about this unit type as they are quite uncommon and are rumored to come as mercenaries from the islands. Based on what I've been able to gather, they are able to negate some incoming ranged weapon fire, though with less frequency than High Priests, and they lack any powers of teleportation.  They are, however, able to do limited offensive damage with their zero-point technology, in addition to operating a standard-issue rifle.

Warrior-Priest gameplay:  Due to the rarity of this unit, precise written rules have not been discovered.  See details of the Warrior and High Priest to see if you can piece together the probable combined rules.


Others
Throughout the years, numerous other types of battle units have been employed with limited success, including suicide berserkers, medics, dwarf pistoleers, and various melee specialists.

Battle for Kydea: Gameplay

The physical Kydéan figures I've shown aren't just display pieces, they're actually designed to be used in turn-based, rule-driven battles. With two or more of these figures and a single six-sided die (singular term for dice), you and a friend can simulate fights that may have actually occurred in the great civil war on Kydea. This isn't about using your imagination, either; you need actual strategy, plus some luck!

Continues...

The Basics

The Battle of Kydea game play is intended to be turn-based. Real-world players take turns maneuvering and shooting around a mock battlefield, rolling dice to determine specific parameters of all actions you take. On each turn, you can move each of your units and can perform either offensive or defensive actions with each unit, as allowed by their specific abilities & rules (see the unit details, listed separately).

Naturally, the idea is to try to win by destroying your opponent's (or opponents', if there are 3 or more players) forces.  You do this by causing damage through offensive actions like firing weapons.  Every unit starts with armor, though, and you need to destroy all of that armor before you can make a killing shot that takes that unit out of commission. More on this under Actions below.

Movement

On each turn, each of your units gets to move a distance determined by its movement speed.  The speeds I've given relate to maximum feet a full figure can move around your battlefield within a turn*.  So a unit with movement speed 2 can move up to 2 feet in a turn.  Use a ruler or tape measure.

Here's where things get interesting! You don't need to move the full amount at once.  You can move part-way, then do an action (like shooting), then move the rest of the way, or move back to where you started if you have enough distance remaining!  Again with the example of a unit with movement speed 2, you can advance 1 foot, shoot, then advance another foot!  Also, your movement doesn't have to be all in one direction.  That same unit can move 1/2 foot forward, then 1 1/2 feet to the side to execute a flanking maneuver! You also don't need to move the maximum amount every turn.  You can move 1/2 foot, or even stand your ground for as many turns as you like.

The use of cover, or places to hide, is hugely important. Use books, boxes, CD cases, or other household objects (with permission!) to create interesting battle landscapes to move around. Remember that when it's not your turn, enemy units will get their chances to walk around, shoot at you, and/or perform other actions, so you'll need to think ahead and try to plan for their possible moves in advance.

* If you're in a country that uses the metric system, multiply every movement speed number by 30 to convert to a centimeter scale.  Speed 1 becomes 30cm, 2 becomes 60cm, 3 becomes 90cm.

Actions

(Skip this first paragraph when not playing with Priests.)  Always play your Priests first during any turn.  If your enemy has fired successful (damaging or killing) shots at any of your units in the turn they just played, you may be able to deflect one or more of those shots with your Priests, negating the damage.  See the High Priest unit detail for specifics. After all of your Priests have played in a turn, remove any of your own destroyed armor pieces or dead units from the battlefield to avoid any confusion.

Shooting with ranged weapons like guns operates on a line-of-sight basis. Your guy has to be able to see the other guy in order to shoot him. With the full-sized figures, to make this simple, either lean down to where you're at your unit's eye level to see what it would be able to see, or use a long straight item like a tape measure or long straight dowel (be careful not to poke any human player's eyes!) to verify that shooter A can see target B.  When you're able & ready to shoot, roll a single die (again, that's one piece of dice) and score damage against your enemy as follows:

1. Miss your shot, oops!
2. Destroy one armor piece worth up to 2pts
3. Destroy one armor piece worth up to 3pts
4. Destroy one armor piece worth up to 4pts
5. Destroy one armor piece worth up to 5pts
6. Destroy one armor piece worth up to 6pts and roll again for free. Treat re-rolls like the first. If you hit 6 on a re-roll, you can continue to damage & re-roll until you roll another number.

When you successfully roll for damage, you can remove any enemy armor piece of that value or weaker and leave it at the unit's feet.  For example, if you roll a 3, you can remove a 3pt or 2pt armor piece, but not a 4pt piece or anything stronger.  If the enemy unit has no functional armor left (figures may have decorative plates that don't count), any damage you can do may execute a killing shot -- knock the enemy over where it stands, but don't remove it from the battlefield just yet.  If your enemy has a Priest, there's a chance they may use their Jedi-like powers to actually deflect that shot, in which case your shot becomes a miss, and the armor piece gets put back on or the unit's life gets saved in the next turn.

All unit-specific actions are explained in the unit type descriptions. Most actions are based upon line of sight just like shooting.

Battle for Kydea: Intro & Backstory

I'm happy to finally introduce Battle for Kydéa (pronounced kye-day-uh), an experiment I drummed up in the second half of 2012 with input from a couple of friends.  It's the foundation for a potential offshoot of the Hero Factory phenomenon that can support story-telling, MOC-building, and even game play.

Kydea is a planet within the Hero Factory universe, but beyond the edge of the region of space currently patrolled, protected, and served by the heroes of Makuhero City.  Kydea has a surprisingly homogenous tropical climate, and natural resources are distributed rather evenly about its surface.  The planet has a mildly saline, contiguous ocean that surrounds one primary mega-continent and several large island nations.  There is a single dominant species, a population of bipedal robotic life that has never chosen to name itself; off-worlders simply refer to the citizens as Kydéans.

With such a balanced & even state of being across the planet, there is nothing tangible to fight over. Instead, over the course of many millenia, Kydeans found ways to divide themselves along political and and ideological lines.  Sadly, these divisions grew so intense through the generations that seemingly perpetual civil war is the status quo. 

The main continent harbors two primary warring factions, the Northern & Southern Alliances, respectively, each uniting dozens of statehoods of similar-minded citizens.  Throughout the history of the war, some of these states have broken off to form alternate sides or non-warring colonies, but they eventually rejoin one of the two major groups in order to reap the benefits of strength in numbers.  The island nations try to remain neutral, but managing the neverending tide of refugees & war deserters often stresses them into choosing sides or taking up arms under a new flag.

On Kydéa, the idea of a future war-ending truce does not exist. The battles have now waged for centuries, as they will continue for centuries to come.  Get involved by choosing a side, or chronicle history in the making as an outsider.  I give Kydéa to the community as an idea to use freely. Make MOCs. Write stories from any time frame. Wage tabletop battles with friends or as stop motion animations.  Do as you like. Don't take credit for the basic idea or any of the specifics I write & show (duh), but take full credit for and freely share any of your own unique perspectives and contributions to or expansions of the concept. Or, just nod your head once while saying to yourself, "Hmm, interesting," and let the idea of Kydea fade away from your mind as a quick bit of entertainment, consumed and passed by!  Which ever path you choose, I've enjoyed the one I took to get here, and welcome any feedback!