BRIKWARS 2010: Chapter H: The Horse

H: The Horse

Chapter H: The Horse

"Do you give the horse his strength, or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?
Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray.
He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword.
The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance.
In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!'
He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry."

- Job 39:19-25, NIV

"A man that don't love a horse, there is something the matter with him."

- Will Rogers

In all the history of warfare there is no nobler creature than the horse. Whether hauling chariots, powering a heavy cavalry charge, carrying supplies and communications through harsh terrain, or simply running in and out of danger in the service of mounted archers, dragoons, skirmishers, scouts, and raiders, a horse brings strength and mobility to a military force that no man or vehicle can match. Without the spirited assistance of these magnificent animals in the pre-industrial ages, even the greatest wars would have consisted of little more than a bunch of guys wandering around listlessly and bleeding.

If you continue on to the next book (Book Two: MOC Combat), you'll see that BrikWars has rules that allow players to do battle with literally any creature or vehicle they can build out of bricks. However, in many classic battle genres, horses (or their close equivalents) are the only significant animals or vehicles on the field, making the extensive custom-Creations rules unnecessary. This intermediate chapter has been added to let players jump straight into equestrian warfare with quick and dirty stats for horses in combat. The Horse rules can either serve as a lighter introduction to handling Special Creations, or as a shortcut to allow less-ambitious players to avoid the hassle of the advanced rules entirely.

H.1: The Horse

(Download the Horse card)

In BrikWars, a Horse isn't necessarily any specific type of animal; instead it's a blanket category for any single-passenger steed or vehicle that's roughly horse-sized. A horse is a Horse, of course, perforce; but so is a gryphon, a motorcycle, a magic carpet, or a small-sized dragon.

Horse Abilities
A unit in the Horse category has roughly the same abilities that you'd expect from any regular horse, and its Skill, Move, and Armor statistics are used in the same way as a minifig's. Common sense will dictate whether a given type of Horse can perform acts like swimming, Sprinting, climbing ladders, or hauling chariots. In the rare case where common sense is insufficient, a What I Say Goes roll will clear up any confusion.

Skill: 1d6 - see 4.2: Action
A Horse uses Skill for the same kinds of tasks a minifig would, as far as it's able.

The main difference between a Horse's Skill and that of a minifig is that a Horse is a Submissive creature and can only perform useful tasks under a minifig's direction. While being ridden or led, a Horse is completely obedient to its chosen master. If its master is killed, wanders off, or is otherwise absent, the Horse will search for another nearby minifig to obey, try to return to its home, or revert to simple animal behaviors, whichever seems most natural. (In cases of confusion regarding an abandoned Horse's behavior, a What I Say Goes Roll will quickly clear things up.)

When a rider directs his Horse to take any Action requiring a Skill roll (preferably an Attack), the player rolls either the Horse's Skill or the rider's, whichever is lower. In the rare case in which a Horse takes Actions of its own accord, only its own Skill is used, of course. No Horse is intelligent enough to use equipment items or operate machinery, although a properly harnessed Horse or team of Horses can haul a wheeled cart or chariot up to twice the number of Horses in Size (7.1: Structure).

By default, Horses are able to make Unarmed Attacks in Close Combat with a Use rating of 2 and a Damage rating of 1d6, in any direction, including an Angry Inch if the Horse is capable of getting Angry. For Horses of the regular equine variety, these attacks will be in the form of kicks or bites. For more exotic Horses, these might take the form of tail stings, claw swipes, or tentacle whips. Regardless, the stats are the same in every case. This is not quite the equivalent of a Hand Weapon; although the Horse can make Unarmed Attacks and Counterattacks, it doesn't have any innate ability to Parry incoming Attacks the way that a Hand Weapon might.

Not all Horses have the proper appendages to Shove opponents, although any Horse can go around Crashing into them in a pinch (H.3: Fighting From Horseback). For those that do, a Horse's Shove is more powerful than that of a minifig. Horses Shove one another as usual, but a minifig has a -2 Skill Penalty when trying to resist a Shove from a Horse. A minifig working alone can't Shove Horses at all; it takes two minifigs together to try to Shove a Horse, and the Shove fails if the Horse successfully resists either one of them.

Move: 10" - see 4.1: Movement
For minifigs and most animals, Movement is an unrestricted affair. They can spend their Move inches however they like, running and jumping back and forth along any arbitrarily complex zigzag. Like minifigs, a Horse running in a straight line can Sprint, spending its Action to add 1d6 inches to its straight-line Movement.

Players may decide that a particular Horse may not be able to hop around as freely, for instance if it's hauling a load or wearing roller skates. These situations are left for the players to handle as they see fit.

Armor: 1d6 - see Chapter 3: Minifig Weapons

Horse Damage
Status	Move	Max MOM/POP
zero hits	10"	2d6
one hit	9"	1d6
two hits	(dead)

A Horse's Armor works in similar fashion to a minifig's: an attacking unit must do enough Damage to exceed the Horse's Armor in order to have any effect. The difference is that a Horse takes two hits to kill rather than one.

The first time that Damage from an attack exceeds a Horse's Armor, attach a Damage Pip (usually a red 1x1 brick) to the Horse somewhere prominently visible to indicate that the Horse has been Wounded. When a Horse is Wounded, it loses 1" of Move (to 9"), 1d6 from its maximum Momentum or Physical Opposition in a Charge (to a new maximum of 1d6), and the strength of its Shoves are weakened to those of a regular minifig.

If Damage from an attack exceeds the Armor of a Horse that's already been Wounded, or if a Horse takes enough Damage to exceed its Armor twice (effectively taking two hits in a single attack), then the Horse is killed in whatever grisly fashion seems appropriate.

Equipment	Cost	Use	Range	Effect	Notes
Horse Protection
Horse Body Armor	4CP	-	-	Armored	-50% Move

Like a minifig, a Horse may be equipped with Body Armor to boost its defenses. Horse Body Armor costs 4CP and makes the horse Armored (3.3: Bodily Protection), at the cost of inflicting a -50% penalty to the Horse's Move. Just as for minifigs, an Armored Horse's -50% Move penalty means that it cannot Sprint, swim, climb, or engage in aerial flight or in any type of Movement that would normally have its cost doubled (4.1: Movement).

Horse Varieties

Horse Varieties
Variety	Cost	Effect
Steel Horse	+0CP	Armor:1d10 no Mind, Skill, or Angry Inch
Flying Horse	+5CP	Move: 10" Flight no Horse Body Armor Cost:+10CP for Steel Horses
Gun Horse	+3CP	Gun: Use:3 Range:6" Damage:1d6

Units in the Horse category have abilities similar to any regular horse. The only distinctions made are for those varieties of Horses that are unthinking machines or constructs (the Steel Horse), those that have an ability to fly (the Flying Horse), those that are equipped with some kind of ranged weapon (the Gun Horse), or any combination of those three (for instance, a WWI Sopwith Camel would be a Steel Flying Gun Horse). Any other exceptions are left to the common sense of the players. When the abilities of a Horse unit start to drift too far from the standard template, players should go ahead and advance to the full MOC Combat rules to make their own custom units (Book Two: MOC Combat).

An alien Assault Triker prepares for raiding.

Assault Trike: 9 CP
(Horse: 9 CP, Steel: +0 CP)

Elements shown: LEGO

A Steel Horse (Cost: +0CP) is any Horse-sized machine or animated construction that lacks a mind of its own and carries one or fewer passengers. A Steel Horse has no Mind or Skill rating, and apart from its master's commands, is incapable of taking any Actions whatsoever.

Due to their mechanical construction, Steel Horses have an augmented Armor rating of 1d10, which grants them a much greater ability to do Damage in a Crash than their squishy biological equivalents (H.3: Fighting From Horseback). This comes in handy, since most mechanical Steel Horses lack the appendages that would allow them to make Close Combat Attacks.

When abandoned by its rider, a Steel Horse mostly just sits there, unless it was in motion at the time of the rider's departure. In this case, the Steel Horse continues moving forward at half speed for one round before coasting to a stop. (Common sense may dictate otherwise in some cases - abandoned airplanes in flight also come to a stop, but the process by which this occurs is referred to as "crashing" rather than "coasting.")

Examples: Motorcycles, golems, mini-tanks, mini-planes, tricycles, jeeps

Only the undead Sea Zombies would think that Winged Swordfishes are a good idea for a combat vehicle.

Winged Swordfish : 14 CP
(Horse: 9 CP, Flying: +5 CP)

Elements shown: LEGO, Mega Bloks

A Flying Horse (Cost: +5CP, or +10CP for a Flying Steel Horse) is any Horse with the ability to fly. This is indicated by placing stacks of blocks underneath them to raise them to the proper altitude. Transparent elements work best for this, since the support column doesn't represent anything in-game other than possibly the Flying Horse's shadow, but any elements can be used. A Flying Horse uses its Move inches to travel vertically, horizontally, or any angle in between, the same way that a regular Minifig moves along the ground.

Theoretically, Flying Horses can fly high enough to be out of vertical range of enemy ranged weapons, making them immune to attack as they rain down damage on their targets. This is extremely poor sportsmanship, and players should be ashamed of themselves for even considering it. Players should avoid flying at altitudes higher than five inches except to reach a high roosting point (the top of a tower or mountain, for example), except when their opponents also have Flying Horses to chase them.

Flying Horses cannot wear Horse Body Armor, due to the added weight. A Flying Steel Horse retains the Steel Horse's Armor rating of 1d10, but costs +10CP rather than +5.

Examples: Pegasi, speeder bikes, mini-copters, giant eagles, hang gliders

Gun-Ceratops serves as dino-based artillery.

Gun-Ceratops: 12 CP
(Horse: 9 CP, Gun: +3 CP)

Elements shown: LEGO, custom

A Gun Horse (Cost: +3CP) is any Horse with built-in ranged weapons. Whether from eye lasers, fiery breath, or machine guns, all Gun Horse Guns have the same weapon stats.

Weapon	Cost	Use	Range	Damage	Notes
Gun Horse Weapon
Gun	3CP	3	6"	1d6	-

Putting a Gun on a Horse doesn't replace any Close Combat abilities it may or may not have, but remember that Horses, like minifigs, can only make one type of attack per turn.

Examples: Fire dragons, cannon carts, ice dragons, snub spacefighters, lightning dragons, rainbow ponies, laser dragons

H.2: Riding a Horse

"Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby, to be picked up and laid down like a game of Solitaire. It is a grand passion."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Action Cost
Horses and other vehicles are more like equipment items than independent units; they need a minifig in control in order to be utilized properly. This control isn't free. For the average minifig, controlling a Horse costs him his Action for the turn.

Riding Action Options
Horse Movement	Directing the Horse to change speed and/or direction
Horse Action	Directing the Horse to make either a Close Combat or ranged attack, or to use a mounted device or special ability
Minifig Action	Any regular minifig Action from the rider, such as using a weapon or equipment item in hand, rather than directing the Horse

Horse Movement
Because Horses lack independent initiative, the default movement for any Horse is to continue doing exactly what it was already doing on the previous turn. Unless a minifig spends his Action to direct the Horse's movement, the Horse will move in whatever direction it is facing, at the same speed it was traveling on its previous turn. If the undirected Horse runs into an obstacle, it will leap or climb over it if possible (to a maximum height equal to the Horse's legs or wheels); otherwise it will be stopped and possibly crash (H.3: Fighting From Horseback).

If a minifig is in a position to direct a Horse's movement, and uses his Action to do so, then the Horse moves as quickly and nimbly as its propulsion type would reasonably allow. A motorcycle-type Horse, for instance, isn't able to jump sideways the way a horse-type Horse can, or to cross rivers with the same ease as a speedboat-type Horse.

If a Horse is running in a straight line, it can be directed to Sprint like a minifig (4.1: Movement ), adding 1d6" to its Move for the turn.

Horse Action
A minifig might also use his Action to direct a Horse to take an Action of its own. In most cases this will be an attack, especially for Gun Horses, but might also be used in cases where a Horse has a special device or ability the minifig would like to make use of. A Horse may take an Angry Inch as part of a Close Combat Attack, if it's a type of Horse that's capable of being Angry.

When making Horse Actions, whenever a Skill Roll is called for, the lower of the Skill ratings of either the minifig or the Horse is used. (In the case of a Steel Horse, only the minifig's Skill applies.)

Minifig Action
Instead of directing the Horse, a minifig may make any of the usual types of Actions available to him, usually to attack with a hand weapon. Without any further direction, the Horse is left to continue running along in blissful ignorance.

The Rider

(Download the Rider card)

Every minifig has the basic level of skill required to operate a Horse, but few have the training and experience to excel at it. The Rider is an experienced horseman who moves as naturally on horseback as on his own two feet - and in some cases, even more so.

Piloting
Piloting Specialty (+1CP): ignore Action cost for steering a mount or vehicle
The Rider's advantage is simple: where lesser minifigs must pay an Action cost to direct a Horse's movement, the Rider does it automatically. This leaves his Action free for attacks using his own or his Horse's weapons, and improves his ability to move in and out of combat freely. Directing a Horse to Sprint still costs the Rider an Action, although he can combine this Action with a Charge as usual.

While a skilled Rider and Horse can act separately if they wish, they are so closely bonded that they can fight as a single unit in Close Combat. They can combine melee Attacks to draw fewer Counters than if each attacked separately, and even Counter for each other when attacked themselves, making them especially deadly against melee attackers - an attack on one draws Counters from both.

H.3: Fighting From Horseback

For the most common types of combat, making attacks from atop a Horse is the same as making attacks on foot. While regular minifigs have to make the choice between spending their Action on making an Attack or steering the Horse, this doesn't affect the Attack process in most cases - they check their weapon ranges and make their Attack and Damage Rolls, exactly as usual. The areas in which a Horse's decreased maneuverability and increased size can make a difference, respectively, are in Close Combat and during a Charge.

Getting Carried Away
The question of whether or not Horses (or minifigs) have independent brains, or in fact any brains to speak of, is outside the scope of this chapter. What's clear is that it's not always as easy for minifigs to coordinate Movement and Action while on Horseback as it is while on foot. In many cases where Close Combat would normally force a minifig to stop and fight, and even sometimes when he would prefer to, his Horse will keep on running away with him even as he's in the midst of trading blows.

Normally, if a minifig in Close Combat attempts to Withdraw (5.2: Close Combat), his opponent gets one free Counter against him when he lets his guard down to flee. However, if a minifig is carried out of Close Combat by a Horse or by other means, voluntarily or otherwise, he can get away without having to go through the usual Withdrawal pains. This is called Getting Carried Away. As long as a minifig spends his Action on Close Combat in a turn, his guard is never let down, and his opponent gets no free Counter when he's Carried Away. If the minifig has to use his Action to direct the Horse to leave, or if he runs off to spend his Action on something else, then it's treated as a normal Withdrawal and he is subject to a Counter as usual.

For normal minifigs, this means that Close Combat from Horseback can be a difficult affair, since they can't steer a Horse and make Attacks in the same turn. They find themselves either losing attack opportunities from maneuvering their Horses into combat position, or taking individual swings as the Horse runs straight past a target because they don't have the Action remaining to tell the Horse to stop. For a trained Rider, on the other hand, mounted Close Combat is ideal. Because steering doesn't cost him any Actions, he can have himself Carried Away at the drop of a hat. This allows Riders to duck in and out of Close Combat as often as they please, while the poor foot soldiers remain hopelessly mired in whatever random melee happens to befall them.

Crashing and Trampling
Despite the efforts of Hollywood, a tragic number of adults have forgotten a fact that's obvious to every first-grader: vehicles are nice for carrying folks around, but their true purpose is crashing into things, and the faster you crash them, the better. This makes the most sense with mechanical vehicles like jeeps, airplanes, and star destroyers, but hand those young prodigies a toy horse or dinosaur and you'll see exactly the same thing happen.

Like a minifig, a Horse that Charges in a straight line for two inches builds up +1d6 worth of Momentum (MOM) (5.4: Charge!). However, because the Horse is twice as large, with a little more wind-up it can potentially build up twice as much power. If an un-Wounded Horse extends its Charge to four inches, its MOM bonus increases to +2d6. (A Wounded Horse is limited to MOM:1d6 no matter how far it Charges.) As usual, these bonus MOM dice can be added to the Damage from an attack with a Charging Weapon or to the inches of distance in a Shove, and they are used in the Horse's roll for KnockBack.

Crashing
Minifigs who run around crashing into things have a pretty minimal effect, except where plate glass windows or porcelain antiques are involved. Even in plate armor, their bodies are too small and soft to make effective projectiles without loading them into a cannon or catapult first (8.4: Heavy Explosives). The same is true for most Horses, whose soft fleshy bodies make them inappropriate for use as a ramming weapon.

Steel Horses, on the other hand, are perfect for the job. As long as a Steel Horse has built up at least two inches' worth of Momentum, it delivers 1d6 Crash Damage whenever it smashes into a target. Crash Damage is cumulative with any other Damage dealt out as part of the Charge, and can only be Parried with a Shield. Crashing requires no Skill Roll; a unit trying to collide with a target always succeeds unless the target successfully Bails out of the way.

Crashing into a Steel Horse hurts other units just as much; a Charging unit takes 1d6 Damage exactly as if the Steel Horse had Charged it itself. In the case of one Steel Horse crashing into another, they each do 1d6 Damage to the other.

Trampling
Minifigs are smaller than Horses, and therefore it's natural for Horses to want to stomp on them. Trampling is a means for a Horse to add insult to injury. If a minifig is lying on the ground Disrupted (4.3: Enemy Response), hopefully as a result of being Knocked Back by a Charging Horse, the Horse can Run Over the prone minifig for one additional point of Damage. Obviously a single point of Damage isn't enough to kill any regular minifig, but, cumulative with other injuries the minifig may have sustained during the Charge, that final additional point can sometimes make the needed difference.

Any number of Horses can Trample a Disrupted minifig in a single turn, but each does its point of Damage only once. Running the same Horse back and forth over a minifig a dozen times is funny but has no extra effect.

Horses do no damage to other Horses with Trampling, because they're the same size. Again, it's still funny to watch them run over each other regardless.

KnockBack
While their higher potential Momentum increases Horses' ability to send opponents flying, their extra stability also makes them more resistant to KnockBack inches when they get Knocked Back themselves.

All Horses start with POP:2d6; this is reduced to POP:1d6 if they're Wounded. As with minifigs, a Charging attacker's Momentum roll must exceed this Physical Opposition in order for the Horse to be successfully Knocked Back. The Horse takes one point of Smash Damage for each inch of KnockBack prevented by immovable obstacles or objects its own size or larger. Smaller objects simply get Knocked Back along with the Horse.

Even if a Horse is successfully Knocked Back, it only becomes Disrupted if the KnockBack length from that direction is longer than the width of the Horse. Because most Horses are longer than they are wide, it's easier to knock them over from the side (where they may be less than an inch wide from right to left) than from the front or the back (along which axis they're likely to be two inches in length or more). A Horse that's Knocked Back any distance less than or equal to this length less simply lands on its feet and is ready to keep fighting as usual. A Horse that's Knocked Back further than this length lands on its side and is Disrupted. A Horse Knocked Back twice this length lands upside-down and Disrupted, possibly allowing upside-down Trample Damage to its own passengers.

If a Horse and a target are Charging each other at the same time, the Horse makes a single KnockBack roll for both its MOM and POP if they're at the same level (MOM:2d6 / POP:2d6 for a fresh Horse, or MOM:1d6 / POP:1d6 for a Wounded one). In the occasional instance where a fresh Horse is only able to Charge two inches before the point of impact, it will only have built up MOM:1d6 compared to its POP:2d6. When this occurs, roll 2d6 for the Horse's POP and use the higher of the two dice for the Horse's MOM.

A Jousting unit with a shorter lance may feel the need to compensate with a more impressive ride.

Elements shown: Mega Bloks, LEGO, Little Armory

Jousting
Jousting is the most characteristic attack of the mounted horseman, and it combines the fun of a mounted Close Combat attack with the calamity of a Crash. In a Jousting attack, a minifig with a Charging Weapon (normally a spear or lance, although any Charging Weapon will do (5.4: Charge!)) uses the power of his Horse's Charge to do heavy damage to a target - often another minifig on Horseback, and often one who's Jousting right back at him.

Lances
While any Charging Weapon can be used for Jousting, a long lance is the preferred tool, because lining up a Joust attack can be tricky if the point of the weapon doesn't extend past the nose of the Horse. For a minifig on foot, a Two-Handed polearm like a lance normally requires two hands and costs an inch of Movement, but the power of a Charging Horse allows a Jousting minifig to tuck a lance or other similar Charging Weapon under a single arm at no penalty. A Jousting minifig can even use its off hand to hold a Shield, which will come in handy if he's getting Jousted in return.

Weapon	Cost	Use	Range	Damage	Notes
Close Combat Weapons
Two-Handed Weapon (on foot)	4CP	4	CC	2d6 (+MOM)	Two-Handed; -1" to Move
Two-Handed Weapon (Jousting)	4CP	4	CC	2d6 (+MOM)	may be paired with Shield

As with foot-based Charge attacks, the length of two Jousting minifigs' weapons can determine whether one side strikes first or if both sides' attacks strike simultaneously. If the minifig on either side has a weapon long enough to deliver an Attack at least one inch before his opponent is able to deliver a return blow, then he strikes first, regardless of whose turn it is or who initiated the Joust.

Only the most villainous of jousters aims to lance his opponent's horse instead of the rider.

Elements shown: LEGO, Little Armory

Making the Joust Attack
Making a Joust attack is, for the most part, identical to attacking with a Charging Weapon on foot (5.4: Charge!); the Jousting minifig and his target have the same options and make the same rolls.

If the Close Combat Attack and possible Counterattack both miss, then the Jousting minifig will still be Charging ahead at full speed, and may end up Crashing his Horse into the target instead. Only the trajectory of the Charging Horse determines whether a collision will occur; not even a trained Rider is fast enough to change course to avoid (or cause) a Crash between the missed Joust and the moment of impact.

Unseating a Rider
As with all Charge attacks, KnockBack is determined by the MOM of the attacker and the POP of the target, whether the collision is due to a successful strike with a Charging Weapon or simply to the Horse crashing into its target. When the target of the Charge attack is the rider rather than the Horse, there's a chance for KnockBack to separate the two.

When determining the Physical Opposition of a mounted minifig, it's important to consider whether or not he's Strapped In, either with a saddle or seatbelts or some equivalent restraint. A minifig riding a horse-type Horse is Strapped In if there's a saddle involved; otherwise he's riding bareback. Minifigs sitting in the designated seating area of a vehicle-type Horse are automatically considered to be Strapped In with seatbelts or restraints; minifigs milling around in the bed of a pickup truck are not. Motorcycle riders and bicyclists are never Strapped In.

When a minifig is Strapped in, his Physical Opposition is determined by the Horse he's riding on (POP:2d6, or POP:1d6 if the Horse is Wounded). If he is successfully Knocked Back, he remains mounted while his Horse is knocked away from the impact.

An un-Strapped minifig is limited to his own Physical Opposition (POP:1d6), gaining no advantage from his Horse. If he is Knocked Back, the KnockBack is applied directly to the minifig instead of to his Horse, Unseating him - the Horse will keep traveling in one direction (to the limit of its Movement) while the minifig suddenly finds himself flying in the other. Even if the two rolls are a tie, the minifig can still be Unseated if his Horse is in motion - the Horse will run out from underneath him while the minifig stays in the same place. Unseated minifigs are automatically Disrupted.

Joust Example: Solo Jones vs. the Black Rider

The Black Rider
Rider: 4CP Sk:1d6 Mv:4" Ar:1d6-1 Piloting
Body Armor: 2CP Armored Mv:-50%
Shield: 1CP Use:2 Dmg:Armored Parry
2H Weap: 4CP Use:4 Dmg:2d6
Steel Horse: 9CP Mv:10" Ar:1d10

Elements shown: LEGO, Mega Bloks, Little Armory

Example: Thanks to a series of convenient plot twists, post-apocalyptic archaeology smuggler Solo Jones has managed to abscond with a Jaw-Jaw coven's sacred Poo On A Stick.

As he makes his escape on his obligatory post-apocalyptic motorcycle, he finds himself confronted by the Black Rider, a mysterious highwayman who kills for pleasure and has never lost a joust.

The Black Rider is a well armed and armored Rider, with a Shield, Body Armor, and Lance in addition to his Steel Horse motorcycle (total cost: 20CP).

Solo Jones is a standard Minifig, with only his Steel Horse motorcycle, his hat, and the deadly Poo On A Stick (total cost: 17CP).

Solo Jones
Minifig: 4CP Sk:1d6 Mv:5" Ar:1d6
2H Weap: 4CP Use:4 Dmg:2d6
Steel Horse: 9CP Mv:10" Ar:1d10

Elements shown: LEGO

Jones Sprints and Charges, but fails to reach his target.
The Black Rider laughs at him.

Jones' Turn :
Solo Jones guns the engine, Sprinting and Charging his motorcycle at his opponent. Sadly, he rolls a 1 on his Sprint die, and falls short on his Joust attack by a full three inches. The Black Rider laughs at him.

Turn Summary (Jones' Turn):
Jones declares Sprint and Charge.
Jones' Sprint Roll: 1, for total Move of 11".
Jones moves 11", successfully building 2d6 MOM, but failing to reach his target.
Black Rider laughs.

The Black Rider meets the Charge in a monumental clash of steel and Poo.

Black Rider's Turn (Combat):
The Black Rider backs up an inch to give himself room to build up a full 2d6 worth of Momentum. Peeling out, he lowers his lance and accelerates to meet Jones' Charge.

The Black Rider's lance has an extra inch of reach over the Poo On A Stick, so the Black Rider strikes first in the Joust rather than both sides striking simultaneously. Attack Modifiers for fast movement are cancelled because the riders are Charging directly at one another; the Black Rider must make an unmodified Attack Roll against his lance's Use of 4. He rolls a 3 on his Skill of 1d6, barely missing Jones.

Feeling lucky to have survived, Jones may now make his Counterattack with his shorter weapon. Again, there are no Attack Mods to consider; Jones must make his Attack Roll against the Stick's use of 4. He rolls a 4 on his Skill of 1d6: success!

The strike does the Stick's Damage Rating of 2d6 plus Jones' Momentum Bonus of an additional 2d6, for a whopping 4d6 points of Damage. Before he makes the Damage Roll, however, he has to wait to see whether the Black Rider is able to Parry with the Shield.

The Black Rider attempts to Parry the Poo with his Shield; he has to equal or exceed Jones' Attack Roll of 4 (higher than his Shield's Use of 2) to succeed. Luckily, he rolls a 5, successfully Parrying the blow (but becoming ensmeared with Poo in the process). The Black Rider is Armored against Jones's Joust thanks to his Shield Parry, and Armored again thanks to his Body Armor. This removes two dice from the attack's Damage rating, reducing it from 4d6 to 2d6. Jones rolls a five and a three for a total of 8 Damage.

As a Rider, the Black Rider's natural Armor is 1d6-1. Crossing his fingers, he rolls the Armor die - a 6! Happy to take advantage of his Critical Success, he rolls the Bonus 1d6 and scores an additional 3 points, for a total of 8 points of Armor - exactly enough to survive Jones' powerful Poo attack. The Black Rider lives to laugh again!

Turn Summary (Black Rider's Turn: Combat):
Black Rider declares Charge and builds up 2d6 Momentum.
Black Rider Attacks first. Attack Roll 3 vs. Lance Use 4: Miss.
Jones Counterattacks. Attack Roll 4 vs. Stick Use 4: Hit.
Body Armor and successful Shield Parry reduce the Damage from 4d6 to 2d6. Jones rolls (3+5)=8.
Black Rider is now slightly more brown.
Black Rider Armor Roll (6 + 3 - 1)=8 vs. Damage 8. Black Rider survives.

The Black Rider and Jones fail to spike the dismount.

Black Rider's Turn (Knockback):
With the Joust attacks resolved, it's now time to see which of the combatants will be knocked off their bike. If Jones can manage to Knock Back the Black Rider enough to Trample him, he can deliver the final point of Damage necessary to finish him off once and for all.

Both opponents have 2d6 Momentum, but motorcycle riders are always considered un-Strapped In, so they each offer Physical Opposition of only 1d6. The Black Rider rolls a 4 and a 1 on his Momentum dice, using the 4 for his Physical Opposition. Jones rolls the same numbers. Each minifig has rolled a Momentum of 5 and a Physical Opposition of only 4, so each are Knocked Back one inch. This causes them to become Unseated and fall to the ground Disrupted while their motorcycles fly out from underneath them.

Based on the angles the bikes are pointing, the players decide that they pass harmlessly alongside one another rather than smashing together in a Crash. The Black Rider's motorcycle continues forward to the limit of its Movement. As abandoned Steel Horses, each motorcycle will half its Move on its next turn before coasting to a stop.

Turn Summary (Black Rider's Turn: KnockBack):
Black Rider and Jones are un-Strapped In, both deliver MOM:2d6 and POP:1d6.
Black Rider rolls MOM:5 and POP:4; Jones rolls the same. Both minifigs are Knocked Back 1", Unseating and Disrupting them.
Black Rider's motorcycle continues forward its remaining 5".
Each motorcycle will coast 5" to a stop on its next turn.

Joust Summary:
Both riders have survived, but are Unseated and Disrupted. Luckily for Jones, this happened on the Black Rider's turn, so Jones has the next turn and will recover first. It's hard to predict exactly what Jones will choose to do while the Black Rider is still unable to defend himself, but the Poo On A Stick has a way of giving a guy ideas.