Adding A.I. in 40k
This week Pimpcron has a new idea for you to try. Artificial Intelligence!
Hi buddies! Your old friend Pimpcron has a way from you to join a buddy and fight against an imaginary buddy! I swear I’m not crazy.
Why Play Co-Op?
It’s a nice, fun way to liven up your games. Especially if you have a small group of players and play each other over, and over. In some ways, it is way more fun than your normal “you versus me” game.
How Do You Simulate A Real Opponent?
Well mostly with a random table but also with a decent helping of common sense. The table below is supposed to represent you’re A.I. opponent being unpredictable and changing his/her tactics during the game. But of course a random table won’t be quite as awesome as a real opponent. So to counter-act some of that lacking, you give the A.I. some special abilities in the table to give them an edge. In a real game with a real person, there is always the threat of them out-thinking you. The table can’t really do that, but we can make it scary nonetheless by making it a tad-bit in its favor.
Random Tables don’t do as well with boxing.
Make Their List
When making their list, make it as you usually would make a list you were playing, but put all units into one of three categories: Shooting Units, Assault Units, Sit Back & Shoot Units. The Table refers to different types of units in these categories.
Deployment
Delpoy them as if you were playing them and give them cover wherever possible. Don’t be a rube.
A.I. Tables
At the beginning of each turn, roll on the A.I. Table and determine what the opponent’s goal is this turn. This roll applies army-wide and will give you the direction they are going with their strategy. Table special
I will play-as this guy using the rules for this guy:
A Few Terms To Know:
“Moving Towards” Something always includes running, Flat Out, Turbo-Boosting, etc. unless the table tells them to shoot or assault if in range.
“Good Assault Range” always means a charge distance of 7 inches or less without Fleet unless the table says otherwise. “Good Assault Range” with Fleet means a range of 10 inches or less unless the table says otherwise.
“Focus Fire” means that all named forces will focus all of their shooting, Psychic and/or assault forces on one target unit that is their biggest threat against winning the game and try to destroy it this turn. Any units out of assault range or shooting range will pick a second target they all can see and converge on that as well.
“Sit Back & Shoot Units” are units that usually fill this role on the battlefield and are often Heavy Support Choices. If the entire army is shooting-oriented (ex: Tau) then Infantry are not included in this category and they will follow the table rules.
Units will always Jink if the weapon shooting at them will ignore their armor save, unless their cover save is already as good or better than their Jink.
Someone needs to make an AdMech chicken army.
The A.I. Table
If you roll something that simply cannot apply such as Capture Objectives during a Kill Point game, then treat it as #7 Act As Normal.
- Cautious: The entire army will not act aggressively in the movement phase and rely more on their long ranged elements to deal damage. Units not in shooting or good assault range will move towards cover (including running).
- Move To Cover: All units will move towards or into cover, while firing as usual. If they are an assault unit with good assault range, they will assault instead.
- Advance!: All units will move towards the human player’s table edge in their movement phase. Shooting and assaulting as normal. Assault units will attempt to charge with 9 inches or less of assault range. “Sit back and shoot” units will remain stationary and Focus Fire.
- Focus Fire!: The entire army determines what single unit is the most immediate threat to winning this game and Focus Fire this turn.
- Capture Objectives!: All units will move and run towards good objective positions on the field. “Sit back and shoot” units will focus their fire this turn.
- Act As Normal: All units will act as they normally would, but will be generally moving in a forward direction. Shooty & Assaulty units will do their best to get into good range to do what they do best, and then do it.
- Kill! Kill!: The entire army determines what single unit is the most immediate threat to winning this game and Focus Fire this turn. All shooting units have Relentless and Poison 5+ this turn.
- Forward!: All units will move towards the enemy table edge in their movement phase. Shooting and assaulting as normal. Assault units will attempt to charge with 9 inches or less of assault range, and have Hatred & Furious Charge this turn. “Sit back and shoot” units will remain stationary and Focus Fire.
- Objective Grab: All units have Stealth & Fleet this turn. All units will move and run towards good objective positions on the field, In Cover if able. “Sit back and shoot” units will focus their fire this turn.
- Battle Cry: All units have Preferred Enemy & Stubborn special rules this turn and Act As Normal.
- Reserves!: If the army has any units in reserve that have not come in yet, they all come in this turn automatically. If they have no units in Reserve, then they will have one infantry unit that was previously killed this game enter the game via Outflank at full strength. Dedicated Transports that the unit originally took will not come back with them but the unit will have all upgrades/wargear that it originally had. Randomly determine which unit if there is more than one infantry unit killed before you rolled this result.
Do you ever see yourself giving this a try?
HEY GUESS WHAT? What Gossip Columnists, sentient gases, and your mom refers to as “The Pimpcron” has created a Warhammer 40k/Wargaming Convention in December 2016. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic area of the U.S. you might want to come have fun with this crazy and adorable robot . . . Like us on Facebook for Updates HERE.
HEY GUESS WHAT ELSE? I’m on a podcast again! Go check it out HERE. We discuss running narrative campaigns.
Want to witness my slow descent into madness, first-hand? Check out my blog at www.diceforthedicegod.com
