Kensei/Rules And Tactics/1e

For those familiar with ranked wargames like Warhammer Fantasy, Kensei is a fairly similar experience.

Kensei uses ten-sided dice and tape measure.

Basic Rules

The rulebook shorthand for dice rolls is DC for melee rolls, DD for ranged rolls.

PM is the shorthand for Commandment Points, which are used to make Special Actions during the Orders and Actions phase. The General of your army determines how many you have. Both players make a Commandment dice roll, called an Opposed Roll.

AC is Action Points, which determine how many normal actions like moving or attacking you can do.

Units are groupings of models in formation which move as one.

• Stats:
  • Attack (AT): Their proficiency with weapons and their ease to hit things. The lower the number, the better the Attack. An Attack roll is called an Attribute Roll.
  • Defense (DF): The ability to not be hit. These rolls are considered Attribute Tests.
  • Wounds (W): Hit points. The higher the better.
  • Ki (KI): Spiritual defense and attack points. Used to cast spells by Spiritual Characters, used to defend against magic and use special abilities by everything else. The higher the better.
  • Honor (HR): The morale of the model. Improved by having a Bushi or Standard Bearer in the Unit. Used when executing maneuvers, resisting fleeing from the battle, using Taisho abilities, and turn 1 setup. The higher the better. These rolls are considered Attribute Tests.
  • Initiative (IN): Speed in attacking. The higher, the more likely to get to strike first. Initiative is rolled by both players, and is called an Opposed Roll.

Line of Sight is used in the game, and is "real line of sight" meaning you look from the perspective of the model. Regardless of the size of the model, if it is behind anything it is considered to not be in the Line of Sight. A giant dragon behind a small fence is considered to be out of Line of Sight.

When Charging or Running Away, Movement rolls are used.

Premeasuring is not allowed. You can only measure when in actually taking the action, and when checking to see if you qualify for an effect that is already in play.

Types of Models

Models must be grouped together in formations determined by what type of model it is. Models in formation have Line Of Sight as a 180 degree view from their front.

• Bushi: Bushi are characters, usually intended to grant bonuses to Units they join although they can act independently. A Bushi can only join a Unit that uses ranged weapons if they have the same kind of ranged weapon. Bushi attack at the same Initiative as the rest of the Unit, although they grant an Initiative bonus. Daisho characters (Samurai and Ashigaru) add 1 to the Initiative and Honor of the Unit. Heroes add 2 Honor and 1 Initiative. Taisho and Daimyo add 3 Honor, 2 Initiative.
• Special Characters: Special Characters don't grant bonuses to their Unit, and attack independently of the rest of it at their own Initiative. They use their special abilities after the Unit they are in finishes the Orders and Actions phase.
• Spiritual Characters: Characters who can use magic. They can either use magic or attack/block each turn, they can't do both. Only one Spiritual Character can be taken per army. They behave as Infantry otherwise.
• Infantry: Standard footplodders. They have a minimum of 3 models and a maximum of 5 in the front rank to be in formation, a maximum of four columns so a Unit cannot be larger than 20 models although some types of models put the maximum lower than that.
• Cavalry: Mount and rider use one profile. Minimum of 2 models and maximum 5 in the front, maximum of three columns so the largest Cavalry Unit would be 15 models in addition to some making the maximum even lower.
• Harassers: Models that use their own special movement rules. Also the rules used for models that are not in a Unit. Use a loose formation dictated by distance from each other rather than ranks and columns. All models in a Harasser Unit must be in a minimum of 3 centimeters from each other, and none in the Unit more than 15 centimeters apart. Harasser Line of Sight is a full 360 degrees around.
• Creatures: Can only be used in magic games. Come in three sizes, small, medium, and large.
• Artillery/Artifacts: None are currently in the game, although they will eventually be. Function as Infantry, with a Unit consisting only of the model and its crew.

When a model that can act independently leaves or joins a Unit, it costs that model 1 Action Point.

Battle

Terrain

Terrain is deployed first at the start of the game. Kensei suggests two options, agreed on by the players.

• A third person not involved in the game setting up the scenery for both players to then deal with. There are no limitations on the placement.
• Players take turns based on an Initiative roll placing scenery from all of the scenery that will be used. Each type of terrain must be different than the previously placed terrain, terrain must be 15 centimeters apart at minimum, and when a player decides to put no more scenery the other player gets to place one additional piece and terrain placement ends.

Terrain each has specific rules. All terrain must be one of these types.

The game consists of three phases each turn; Orders and Actions for the higher Initiative player, Orders and Actions for the lower Initiative player, then Combat and Resolution. At the start of each turn, both players make a Commandment Roll to determine the Initiative.

Army Building

Every option you can take in the game belongs to a category of what kind of soldier it is. All have an assigned "Koku" number. Koku is a unit used to measure an amount of rice, with rice during time of war being extremely valuable and thus something that can be easily traded for commodities so your available Koku represents you feeding and supplying your force. Functionally, Koku is just a name for the same kind of points values and limits seen in almost any wargame.

Each game takes place at one of seven levels of size, which is decided on by the players in advance. This limits how many of certain things you can take and use by category as well as your Koku available.

Level	Koku	Minimum Basic Units Required	Minimum Samurai Daisho Required	Maximum Special Units Allowed	Maximum Elite Units Allowed	Maximum Creature Level Sum Allowed	Maximum Strength of Spiritual Characters
Level 1	500	2	1	1	1	1	1
Level 2	1000	2	1	2	2	2	2
Level 3	1500	2	1	2	2	2	2
Level 4	2000	3	1	3	3	3	2
Level 5	2500	3	1	3	3	3	3
Level 6	3000	4	2	4	4	4	2
Level 7	3500-6000	5	3	4	4	5	2

At levels 4 and higher, players are allowed to take a Daymio. Taisho can only be taken at level 7 battles. Busho, Ashigaru Daisho, and Special characters have no upwards limit nor are they required, so use them as you see fit. Legendary Creatures are the Level 4 creatures, and can only be used in battles level size 4 and higher. You can mix and match your maximum allowed creatures, for example in a level 5 battle you have a three point maximum sum of Creatures allowed so you could take three Gaki (Level 1+Level 1+Level 1) or a Gaikotsu (Level 3). Battle size also indicates the maximum power of the Onmyouji in it. The highest rank character is always the General, although to prevent situations where that is unclear; you cannot take the same point value twice on the General.

Players must also choose which of the four castes they are playing, as each have army-wide benefits.

• Kuge: Heinin have one point easier to shoot with.
• Buke: Cavalry have +3cm to whatever kind of Action Movement they are making.
• Sohei: Heinin have the same bonus as the Kuge give, but applying to melee rather than shooting.
• Otokodate: All Samurai models gain the Ronin special ability and one more point of Honor (HR).