OUTLANDS 2nd Edition: Weapons And Infusions

In this my last blog post before release of OUTLANDS 2nd Edition I'm gonna talk briefly about Weapons and what changes have happened.

Melee Weapons:- All Melee Weapons remain the same. However, they are now classed under the term 'Close Combat Weapons'. Its a small detail change that does not affect the game.

Range Weapons:- All Range Weapons now have a 'Rate Of Fire' or RoF (n). The Rate Of Fire is how many times that weapon can be used per 'Normal Action: Range Attack'. So for example:- A Pistol with a RoF (1) can be fired once (one time) per Normal Action: Range Attack'. A pistol with RoF (2) can be fired twice (two times) per Normal Action: Range Attack. Now, this will not affect the current state of gameplay as all weapons in OUTLANDS 2nd Edition have RoF (1) which is the same as 1st Edition weapons. The introduction of Rate Of Fire is for futureproofing. If we need/want to add an ability or Special Rule (Advanced Weapon Infusion anyone??) to increase a weapon's Rate Of Fire profile we can do so without having to change the core rules.

Now for the biggest change to Range Weapons.....the Sniper Rifle.

For all the good, new, cool stuff we have added to OUTLANDS 2nd Edition there is always going to be a 'nerf' of some type...and that nerf is the Sniper Rifle.

Sniper Rifles still have all the core features as 1st Edition OUTLANDS, but with major difference. Sniper Rifle now have 'Reload' in its profile. BOO

Let me explain why. The idea of a Sniper Rifle in OUTLANDS was to have a 'Long Range Threat' immediately from the beginning of the 1st game turn. So, the Sniper Rifle never suffered from a Long Range Modifier...in fact it works in reverse to most weapons. Anyone who has had the misfortune to play 'Call Of Duty' online will know that picking a target at long range while using a Sniper Rifle is a lot easier than trying to pick a target at Short Range (plus other players telling you all the unspeakable things they are going to do to your mother). In a game like 'OUTLANDS' where movement and cover play an important part of the core mechanic. The fact that a good Sniper can kill a model before its even started isn't really in the feel of the game, that's a 20% difference in model count before the end of the 1st game turn. It can still happen...but its very unlikely. Now if you take a full team all armed with Sniper Rifles (screw the objectives) your opponent doesn't really stand a chance. This is not only very off putting but breaks the 1st rule of OUTLANDS. To counter this all Sniper Rifles now have 'RELOAD'. How does 'Reload' affect the gameplay???

RELOAD WEAPONS:-

Always cost 2 Action Dice to use. With the 'Action Dice' directly linked to the number of Health points a model has...it isn't long before the pressure is on just to use the weapon once. Always equip your Sniper with a One Hand Pistol or SMG.

Reload weapons cannot be used for Heroic Actions. The cost of an Heroic Action is 1 Action/Reaction Dice...a Reload weapon cost 2 Action Dice to use, so in practice a Reload weapon cannot be used for any type of Heroic Action that leads to the discharge of the weapon.

And the biggest implication:- A Reaction is a one dice ACTION. A RELOAD weapon cost 2 action dice to use....so a Sniper Rifle cannot be used as a 'Reaction'.

That one word (Reload) changes the whole mechanic for using Sniper Rifles. This rule has been played in my private games for a good 4-5 months and it makes for a better experience.

Sniper Rifles.....still powerful...they just take a bit more prep time to use.

Now, those of you who read my last blog post would of noticed my passing reference to 'Fire' not being the most deadly 'weapon effect' in OUTLANDS 2nd Edition. FIRE is still pretty nasty effect and still works the same way...but the new king of the Infusion Chart is 'BLEED'.

When a model is affected with 'Bleed' then the model has started to BLEED OUT. This was added as a direct result from players feedback...who expected a model not just to bleed (mm I wonder if Superman can bleed?...Better go find Batman and get him to ask).

A Model suffering the Bleed Effect cannot use Heroic Actions or Blend/ Stealth moves. Bleed can be removed if a Med-Kit is used on the Model or with the Revive ability. If a Model has a 'Bleed' counter/token allocated to it at the beginning of the next Initiative phase then allocate another 'Bleed' token...as the model has started to 'Bleed Out'. This process continues until a model has 3 'Bleed' tokens. If a model has 3 'Bleed' tokens at the END of any Game Turn then that model will suffer 1 automatic 'Wound' and generate 1 Loot Dice.

BAD NEWS: BLEED can only be removed with a Med-Kit or the Revive ability. GOOD NEWS: If using a Med-Kit or Revive then the whole BLEED affect (along with Tokens) is removed from the model. Duct Tape will only remove 1 BLEED token. Great if you model only has 1 Bleed Token....a whole different matter if 2 or 3 Bleed Tokens.

As a quick tip:- always make sure you have a Model with Revive on the game table....and protect the 'Reviver' as much as possible. Weapons Infusions and Abilities cannot be purchase before a new team has fought its 1st battle. I would nearly always go for the 'Revive' ability (and you can now thanks to the cost adjustments) as my 1st purchase. Bleed is only......well I not going to tell you. Half the fun of OUTLANDS is Infusion and Character Development....the choice is yours.

So I think that's it for all the major changes from OUTLANDS 1st Edition to OUTLANDS 2nd Edition. I can honestly say that everyone who has helped, worked on and playtested the 2nd Edition agree that this is by far a lot more than we all dreamed about. People have been asking me how I feel about the new edition. My answer (with a smile):- OUTLANDS now looks and feels like a complete game. A game I wanted for everyone to enjoy......and game I wanted for myself.

Until time Outlanders.

Jon M