Kensei/Rules And Tactics/1e

The crunch and tactica page for Kensei.

Rules

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. The higher the number, the better the Defense. 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 (more on that later).

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.

Some terrain provides Cover, which gives bonuses in both melee and ranged combat. Models inside a building or within 3 centimeters of terrain in melee have Cover, which kind is determined by the rules of that terrain.

• Light Cover gives +1 Attack (remember, low Attack is better) to the roll attempting to shoot at the Unit in Cover. If a Unit is partially obscured by terrain in the Real Line of Sight, it is in Light Cover for the purpose of ranged attacks. For melee, Light Cover provides +1 Defense and +2 Initiative.
• Heavy Cover in ranged combat is when half or more of the models in the Unit are partially obscured, granting +2 Attack to the ranged roll. In melee, Heavy Cover grants +2 Defense and +2 Initiative.

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

• Normal Terrain: Blank terrain on the game table. Prairies, valleys, fields, hills. No special rules.
  • Hills: Elevated terrain. Models can't see through Hills, but models can see up them and down them. Models are on Hills when half or more of the Unit is. Models on Hills can see through anything that does not have a rule saying it completely blocks all Line of Sight. Models on Hills have Light Cover, although in melee the Light Cover bonus only lasts one turn. When shooting from a Hill, maximum range is increased by 10 centimeters.
• Difficult Terrain: Minor obstacles in the way. Forests, crop fields, old battlefields, uneven ground. All non-Harasser Units suffer a 50% penalty to movement through it.
  • Forest: Made up of trees in a minimum radius of 5 centimeters. Units within a Forest can see each other, but those outside of the Forest cannot see anything in or past it.
    • Forest Edge: Units in the Forest Edge have at least one model within 3 centimeters of a tree in the Forest, and have Light Cover.
    • Deep Forest: Units in the Forest itself are in Deep Forest. They suffer a +2 Attack when shooting, and can only see within 15 centimeters of themselves. Harassers have Light Cover while within a Deep Forest.
  • Streams, Brooks, Bogs, River Fords: Portions of watery terrain which can be safely crossed. Shooting from within these terrains has a penalty of +2 Attack, and in melee or when being shot have -2 Defense. Models with Teppos in this terrain must pass a Ki roll or their Teppo gets wet and becomes nonfunctional for the rest of the battle.
• Impassible Terrain: Terrain troops can't move through. Deep water, steep drops, dangerous paths.
  • Constructions: Buildings of any dimensions, can have models garrison inside them. Constructions block all Line of Sight of the inhabitants from the outside, and ranged attackers within can shoot 360 degrees around. If a model shoots from inside the Construction, it can then be shot by things outside the Construction for than turn although it will have Heavy Cover. Models can occupy a Construction by spending Action Points, and Constructions can be attacked by models which are able to; otherwise, enemy Units must attack the models inside directly. If a Construction is destroyed, all models inside immediately die. Models inside a Construction have Heavy Cover. all Constructions come in two types:
    • Small Constructions: Can be seen past if the model is at a higher elevation than the Construction. Can only hold 4 models inside. Possess 10 Wounds and 6 Armor unless otherwise specified.
      • House: A simple Construction with no other rules. Can hold a single Unit.
      • Altar/Shrine: A Small Construction with 6 Wounds, 5 Armor. Makes all terrain within 15 centimeters Spiritual Terrain, and grants +1 Ki to models inside it.
      • Torii: A gateway which grants immunity to Fear and Terror if within 10 centimeters. Has 7 Wounds, 5 Armor.
      • Bridge: If inside (or actually on it) or within 5 centimeters, Units can only move at half speed. Has 10 Wounds, Armor 5.
    • Large Constructions: Blocks all Line of Sight past it. Can hold 4+ models, decided by the players. Has 20 Wounds and 7 Armor.
      • Pagoda/Temple: A large building which grants Onmyouiji within 10 centimeters a free Meditation, and makes all other terrain within 14 centimeters Spiritual Terrain. Can hold 2 Units.
      • Castle: Can hold 3 Units.
      • Clan Castle: All models inside automatically pass Honor rolls. Can hold 3 Units.
      • Cemetery: A Construction with graves functioning as trees in Forest terrain, which is a Mystical Terrain that grants +1 Honor to models inside it.
      • Ruins: Rubble counts as trees in Forest terrain. Counts as Mystical Terrain. Grant Light Cover rather than Heavy Cover. Ruin Constructions cannot be attacked or destroyed.
  • Rivers, Lakes, Swamps: Entirely impassible water obstacles. Any portion shallow enough to be safely crossed is considered a River Ford, Stream/Brook, or Bog respectively.
• Obstacle: Something that troops must take extra movements to avoid. Buildings, fences, rubble.
  • Walls, Bushes, Fences: Thin, tall terrain covering a certain distance. At the height of a man (meaning a standing miniature) they are considered Normal Height and do not hinder Sight, can be bypassed like all obstacles, and provide Light Cover to defenders with it between them and their attacker. Very High is taller than a miniature and unless it was specified to have gaps like crenels or palisades then it entirely blocks Sight and all ranged attacks. If Very High does have those things, it grants Heavy Cover to both attacker and defender. In melee, the wall must be charged for one turn for the attackers to climb it, and afterwards the defender has Heavy Cover.
• Mystical Terrain: Terrain with psychological effects on troops. Cemeteries, monuments, shrines, landmarks. In a 10 centimeter distance around the feature, troops do not Run Away and immediately regroup if they were.

Deployment

Players do not place miniatures on the field at the start of the game. Instead, they first determine which side of the field each player begins in by having the Taisho make an Honor rolls against each other with the winner picking. Then players determine which one of them begins deployment by having their Taisho make Initiative rolls against each other. The player who won the Initiative roll has 30 centimeters of room on their edge of the table to deploy in, the loser only has 20 centimeters.

Each player uses a face-down Deployment Card (which has what the Unit it represents is and contains written on one side and is in the size of the Unit footprint when placed) to choose the positions of their Units. Players take turns, beginning with the player with higher Initiative, placing cards. The exception to this is models which can begin outside the Deployment Zone (like ninja), which are set aside with where on the map you intend for them to suddenly appear written down.

Once all cards have been placed, players then reveal to their opponent what is on the card as they replace it with models. The models must be in the same formation and facing the same direction as on the card. Harassers and solitary models can be placed any way you want as long as at least one part of their Unit was on part of where the card was.

In this way, all you can be sure of is that there is soldiers of some kind in a particular position, not knowing what exactly they will be.

Battle

The game consists of six 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.

Special Orders

During a player's turn, they first issue Special Orders in the following order:

• 1) Taisho abilities
• 2) Regrouping fleeing troops
• 3) Strategic Orders
• 4) Warning Orders

Special Orders all cost Command Points.

Special Actions

You first inform your opponent what each Unit is going to do. Only then do you start doing it for every Unit. You can perform Unit Actions in any order.

• Taisho Abilities (more on them later) can be used once per turn for free, with a second costing 2 Command Points. They require a Ki roll success to use.

Generic Orders

Then players make Generic Orders. The opponent can make Countermands, which are reactions to Generic Orders. They are made in the following order:

• 1) Movement
• 2) Ranged combat
• 3) Spiritual Actions
• 4) Special Actions
• 5) Charging/Melee (The Countermand is how those being attacked react, like the Charge Reaction of Warhammer Fantasy)
• 6) Spellcasting (The Countermand is attempting to block the spell being cast, similar to Dispelling in Warhammer Fantasy)

At any point conditions are right (which differ based on the model), the opponent can use Attack of Opportunity Commandments.

Generic Actions

Like Special Actions, you can perform Generic Actions in any Unit order you want.

Every Action costs Action Points. Infantry, Cavalry, and non-Large Creatures have 2 per turn. Harassers, models by themselves, Characters, and Large Creatures all have 3.

Occupying a Construction requires one Action Point. To engage occupied Constructions, you too must occupy it. The attacker may put as many models into it as the defender. You can only enter a Construction through base contact with the entrance facing inwards, and to exit you must spend one Action Point to have the Unit placed back at the entrance in base contact facing outwards.

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	4
Level 7	3500-6000	5	3	4	4	5	5

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.

Caste

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).

Magic

Players who choose to use magic must first select their alignment from Infernal, Celestial, Earthly, and Death, then which of the two disciplines available to each they will use. If you field multiple Onmyouiji, you must use the same choice for both. Magic cannot be used without an Onmyouiji. Onmyouiji maximum strength available determined by the size of the battle. Even if you can afford the Koku, you can't bring too elite an Onmyouiji to a smaller battle.

Shikigami, the two models that come with each Onmyouiji, are extensions of the Onmyouiji. They are purchased with Koku and share the limit on maximum levels for Creatures and Onmyouiji you can field, but give you a special model with nifty abilities that can cast spells like the Onmyouiji and have a better stat/cost ratio than most Creatures. They operate independently of the Onmyouiji, and can go fuck off and do whatever on the battlefield. If the Shikigami dies, the Onmyouiji takes an immediate Wound, if the Onmyouiji dies their Shikigami immediately die as well. If a Shikigami casts a spell, the Onmyouiji loses one Action Point and the spells they themselves cast for the next turn have a penalty of -1 Ki. Shikigami can't cast spells higher level than themselves and can't cast spells with variable durations, but otherwise cast by themselves the same as their master would (but using their own stats), allowing you to gain a whole extra set of spellcasting attempts.