Mike Read
Thailand
Bangkok
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We last left our lads on Trophic Level One having previously cleared out five hive bugs from both the Dungeon and Parlor chambers. Rocky has finally cooled down after being squirted with a swarm pheromone and the pair are ready to press on.
Instead of climbing up a level I decide to try and clear level one first to grow my bugs as large as possible with the, hopefully, easier prey.
Since I'm going to run into three opponents in the Root Cellar I decide to try my luck with the Foyer chamber next. The bugs in the foyer can be dangerous but there'll only be one and my instinct levels should be high enough to dodge any ambushes.
Drawing a single card from the Ambuscade deck I turn up my opponent:
Katydid - a large leaf-eating bug that squirts it's own blood... and no wonder it hasn't any friends.
We're lucky, the Katydid is big but has only weak mandibles for attack plus some kind of scent gland (I'm sure that's the blood thing). He's Instar 3, which is equal to my bugs in combined size but since we outnumber him I make a spot rule and decide to switch him into flight mode right away (despite the rules).
Since the Katydid is faster he'll hesitate and move last. Curly leaps in for a grapple and will try to hold the Katydid in place while Rocky stands off and prepares to throw a web bola if he makes a break for it.
The Katydid wants to flee but since he's in a grapple he needs to make an instinct roll to do so. His instinct is 11 so he needs to throw that number or less on three dice (his Instar). He passes the roll so leaps off towards transfer area A.
Since the Katydid is still in the forward field of fire of both my mutants, come the combat stage it's projector fire all round.
The Katydid fires a squirt of blood from a thoracic scent gland which hits Rocky, leaving him covered in a bloody diapuse pheromone.
Curly sprays sticky venom through his nasutus and also manages a hit on the hive bug, entangling his wings and leaving him envenomed. Unfortunately this burst leaves Curly's projector empty.
Rocky also fires a web bola but is the range is too far and it splashes harmlessly behind the large hive bug.
As the Katydid disentangles his wings, the venom payload takes effect and leaves him gasping with his dexterity reduced by five points to 8.
With the hive bug reduced in dexterity, and Rocky lethargic with pheromone, Curly has the highest reaction. Rather than hesitate and let the Katydid attempt escape he leaps in to grapple once again.
The Katydid wants to move next but must make an instinct roll to detach from Curly and escape down the corridor. This time he fails his instinct roll so remains locked in combat, he turns to face his aggressors and almost certain doom.
Dizzy with diapause, Rocky finally gets it together and leaps in too. He also goes for a grapple and with their high instinct I'm hoping my lads don't accidentally attack each other.
Curly strikes first with his preying claws but fails to damage the larger hive bug. The Katydid bites at the larger Rocky but is too big and weak to catch him. Rocky retaliates by rubbing his urticating setae against the hive bug's head but manages only a single point of damage.
As the Katydid fails three more attempts to escape, the grapple continues madly with all bugs biting and clawing but failing to cause any noticeable damage. In the chaos of the melee Curly swipes out at Rocky too, but fortunately does no damage to his spinose friend.
In frustration Rocky finally switches to his web spinner and begins to wrap the Katydid up. It's a better strategy and a partial success leaving the creature struggling but then... with a sudden swoop the Katydid turns, and with a scything mandible, lops Curly's head clean off!
As Curly's multiple eyes roll up to the heavens, the dozy Rocky wraps the hive bug up more tightly, leaving it struggling madly while he slowly bites and and rips into its head and legs. It takes another long ten seconds of spinning and biting before the tough Katydid is finally incapacitated, and then a hush descends over the foyer.
Aftermath - The Ecdysis
Rocky strokes his dead friend's antennae, then pauses briefly to wipe a tear from his eye before proceeding to feed. Together with the one food marker already in his crop, the meal he makes of the dead Katydid is enough to molt twice bringing both his instinct and dexterity to the maximum of 13, and prompting him to metamorphose up to Instar 3.
At Instar 3 Rocky grows a new head weapon and I decide to go for a smaller pair of spider fangs rather than the large sickle mandibles of an ant lion. Maybe they don't look as cool, but fangs will make it easier to hit and also give me the opportunity to draw blood or sap feed out of plants and vertebrates, "fangs-you-very-much"!
Packing his dead friend safely into his food crop as a future snack, Rocky raises his new head and sniffs the air. Next stop... the root cellar!
Conclusions and Questions
Hive Bug Fight or Flight mode - although the rules would have the Katydid in Fight mode, I made a spot rule to have the Katydid start in Flee mode, being outnumbered and facing bugs of equal or greater Instar.
In retrospect, I now think I underestimated the danger this large fellow presented. I've been lucky with an Instar 3 bug before but clearly they can far outmatch anything of Instar 1 and I probably got what I deserved in this session.
In the rules, the effects of the diapause pheromone state that the affected bugs become lethargic causing them to "move first". I also spotted the errata that changes this to "move in normal sequence, but affected bugs cannot hesitate".
I think the rules on this are still not quite right. In my scenario the Katydid had a lower dexterity than the lethargic Rocky, but was trying to flee. Following either original or revised rule, Rocky would always move first and catch him in a grapple before he could do so.
I think the purpose of the diapause should be to cause the affected bug to 'react' last. In this instance the Katydid wants to avoid a possible grapple and so should take the initiative and move first.
Do bugs in close combat and under the effects of Diapause attack last? In my game here I ruled yes.
If a bug wants to escape down a nearby tunnel and is currently in a grapple with other bugs would this require two instinct rolls? One to leave the hex, then another to escape? In my replay here I never passed the first roll so the question was moot.
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Eric Phillips
United States
Fort Wayne
Indiana
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When beetles battle beetles in a puddle paddle battle, and the beetle battle puddle is a puddle in a bottle, they call this a tweetle beetle bottle puddle paddle battle muddle.
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Mike Read
Thailand
Bangkok
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Ha ha, this one has been constantly going through my mind.
I'm still looking for the noodle-eating poodle.
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Curt Ligot
United States
seattle
Washington
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Yes, that ryhme will stay in my head all day. Thanks for that.
Another great session report. I'll tip my forty to Curly's memory.
I had no idea multiple bugs could grapple. Does anyone know if there's a limit to how many bugs can be in a grapple?
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Mike Read
Thailand
Bangkok
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Stacking limit - a good question which I'd not considered.
A quick breeze through the manual and the only stacking limit I've noticed is that in the Tunnels hexes you're limited to two bugs per hex.
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Matthew Eklund
United States
Tucson
Arizona
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as i recall there is no stacking limit, except in tunnels (2 bugs per hex)
i also think that (at least officially) diapause only affects movement order (affected bug cannot hesitate)
Too bad for Curly... I guess the Katydid him in (booooooo)
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Curt Ligot
United States
seattle
Washington
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Matthew_Eklund wrote: as i recall there is no stacking limit, except in tunnels (2 bugs per hex)
i also think that (at least officially) diapause only affects movement order (affected bug cannot hesitate)
Too bad for Curly... I guess the Katydid him in (booooooo)
So if more than two bugs are grappling an attacking bug needs to roll an Instinct Check to make sure he attacks the right target, right?
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Matthew Eklund
United States
Tucson
Arizona
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clig76 wrote: Matthew_Eklund wrote: as i recall there is no stacking limit, except in tunnels (2 bugs per hex)
i also think that (at least officially) diapause only affects movement order (affected bug cannot hesitate)
Too bad for Curly... I guess the Katydid him in (booooooo) So if more than two bugs are grappling an attacking bug needs to roll an Instinct Check to make sure he attacks the right target, right?
Anytime a bug wishes to attack another bug, it has to pass an instinct roll. , If he fails he must attack the closest bug (randomly determine if tied).
Applying this to your hypothetical, and yes, a bug that is grappled with two other bugs must make a roll otherwise he will randomly target one of those grappled bugs.
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