Just played the game for the first time last night and had an absolute blast. One thing we had a hard time with was the idea that a defender wielding a melee weapon (such as 8-Ball or even Hexxer who has no obvious weapon) would be able to do damage to a character that attacked from 8 spaces away (such as a sniper attack from Major Lunah). Is it just a game balancing mechanic that I am meant to take as "suspension of disbelief" or were we actually playing it wrong? The rules seemed pretty clear that if the defender rolls any (*) then the attacker would take damage.
Technically, every character has the contender attack as well. It seems as though everyone has an arbitrary ability to attack at range.
Thank you, @eronth. Somehow I completely missed the Contender section in the rulebook! I had no idea everyone had a basic attack and now I feel dumb . Especially since it is a ranged attack. So clearly, everyone can shoot back. https://aristeiathegame.com/blog/item/404-stepping-into-action
Remember that you will always roll your dices against an attack. And it is normally FAR BETTER than a Contender. And remember that this roll can be modified by Tactics card and get more dices. Some "attack" dices lack . Add some dice to your roll with Focus or similar cards can be a very solid threat for the active model!
So I think this is where my confusion comes in, @tox. I just found the Contender rules (which, btw are not in the main rulebook but two sentences in the reference guide). It is a basic attack with range 1-8. The range alone is odd, since Major Lunah has the same range and she has a sniper rifle. So, why a character's basic attack would have that kind of range is odd to me. But I wasn't suggesting that you get to use your contender dice for a defense, just that the Contender idea somewhat helps to justify being able to "swing back" at your opponent from range if you are, 8-ball for example (no one would argue he throws his staff 8 spaces). Perhaps he has throwing stars, I dunno. But in this context, it makes me wonder - If I am using Major Lunah and I use her sniping attack and I have the action card that gives me plus two range, and therefore am at range 10, no one should be able to "swing back" at me. Again, it must just be a game balancing mechanic with no real basis in reality. Which is FINE. It is just a confusing thing for me to wrap my brain around.
Apologies if I was being overly-pedantic above. Perhaps @-V- will have a better explanation. It is just a game, after all! I just wanted to make sure I was understanding this mechanic.
It's a balancing mechanic. And the way for us to avoid adding more rules and more complexity. What we did is to add this "calculation" to profiles and Attacks. The 'price' for keeping the Face-to-Face rolls from Infinity. Everybody can shoot their contender (and Defend with it), but only Major Lunah can do it and be so lethal. Because of that contender is so bad. Can Miyamoto make damage defending within Range 8? Yes, but being very lucky or playing several Tactics. Hope this help you.
The rules of Aristeia are an abstraction, far more so than infinity, if you compare the range rules between the two, luna's rifle would be mostly in the - 3 range while the contender is in the 0 band, and once Hannibal shows up with what looks like a boarding shotgun, he'd have the advantage in pretty much in every firefight at Aristeia's ranges...
You are all fantastic people. Thank you for the explanations, @-V- and @cazboab! And yes, I totally get it. I like the idea that it is more of an abstraction. Especially since there are cards that allow certain players to impact the entire board. And now I can continue to play without being confused :)
I view Aristeia as much an area control game as a combat game. It is also described as the grandest spectacle in the Human Sphere. I think of the phenomenon of the defender of an attack somehow doing damage to the attacker in a Face-to-Face roll as the Hexadome itself inflicting retaliatory damage as the outraged fans of the defender screaming for vengeance. Sort of like the fans in international football of our present time screaming "Falta!" if Messi or Ronaldo is chopped down.
That's the point. As far as the HexaDome is suppose to be bigger, spaces and rolls are the way to abstract a chain of shots, attacks, maneuvers and so. When you roll Ken No Sen is not only a strike, is Miyamoto dancing around with his katana making sushi of his rival.