Rule Review - Epic - Dice

This is the first in a series of FAQ, Tricks and Notes regarding Epic rules and practices.

Epic gurus you'll probably already know all this already, it's not aimed at you. This is mainly a response to doing lots of demo games and DM'ing intro games.


Dice

Epic uses exclusively d6; 6 sided dice.

Here are a couple of mildly interesting notes. Just a warm up article really.



7+ to hit
Sometimes a situation arises where you need to roll 7+ (seven or higher) to hit a target (it could actually even be 8+ or 9+).
And you only have a dice with six side, what do?

To roll a 7+ on a d6, you first need to roll a 6, then you need to immediately roll a 4+ (4,5,6).
To roll an 8+, roll 6 then 5+ (5,6)
To roll a 9+, roll 6 then 6.
There's no such thing as 10+. you automatically miss.

This is actually covered in the official rules [1.9.5 page 14].


7+ ...   when?
So say your unit that is firing has a weapon stat with AP6+ to hit an infantry unit. If your unit is doing a double action then that adds 1 to the required roll (7+). If the unit you're shooting at is in cover then that adds another 1 to the required roll (8+).
It's not as uncommon a situation as it might seem.



Scatter Dice
Scatter dice are a rarity in Epic (also a d6 but with special markings).

Kay, so a scatter dice is the white dice with arrows and target thingy.
If you roll this dice and the target is face-up (there are 2 of these on the opposite sides) then your whatever lands where it's meant to. If you roll it and an arrow is face-up then the arrow points the direction (orange arrow in lower pic) to move your whatever - you then need to roll i.e. 2d6 to see how far it moves.

A scatter method can be achieved with a regular d6.
If you roll the d6 and 1 or 6 are face-up (these are on opposite sides) then your whatever lands where it's meant to. If any other number is face-up it didn't.
Now conveniently, if another other number is face-up then 1 and 6 are on the sides. Draw an imaginary line through the dice from the 6 toward 1 and that is the direction your whatever needs to move (green arrow in pic) (or just the direction the 1 is pointing in). And you then need to roll to see how far it moves.

And that's it - one less dice to carry.


Scatter...  when?
From memory, scatter is only used for the Planetfall rule (transports arriving from a spaceship).

I have heard it said (and there's probably merit to it) that scatter could also be applied to certain other mechanics.
For example, orbital bombardment could incorporate an element of scatter without stretching the imagination too far.
Similarly, artillery using indirect fire mode could conceivably reflect atmospheric drag, planetary gravitic anomalies timing, aiming inaccuracies... even bird strike, into the mechanics.

Why a (presumably) guided transport can't hit its mark unerringly whilst a projectile can is a bit iffy.

Anyway, the rules are what they are.


Until next time...