The game and the figures are insipired to the movie King David, so watch it to get in the right mood! WHAT YOU NEED Our David and Goliath miniatures, of course; one or two six-sided dice; a measuring tape in centimetres, a playing surface board of 30x30cm. STARTING THE GAME The game is for 2 players. At the start of the duel David and Goliath will be placed at the opposite borders of the playing area. Each gamer rolls a die and whoever rolls higher goes first. ACTIONS Each character can do ONLY one of the following actions within a turn. 1) Move 2) Shoot 3) Fight 4) Drop the shield to use the khopesh sword with two hands (only Goliath) 5) Search for a stone (only David) 6) Behead dazed Goliath (only David) 7) Recover his senses (only Goliath) 8) Flee (only David) Every action must be declared before being carried out. 1) MOVING The basic moving distance for David is 12cm minus a roll of die. On a roll of six when moving, David trips instead and loose a turn, so no movement. Goliath's moving distance may vary according to whether he advances with the shield (7cm minus a die roll) or drop it to use the khopesh with both hands (9cm minus a roll of die). Moving rates also represent time for reaction, hesitations, broken ground... Goliath can improve his movement by abandoning the shield (so adopting a less defensive stance) becoming more agile but also more vulnerable to shooting by David (see paragraph 4). 2) SHOOTING The capability of shooting is indicated in the character chart. David's is 5 and Goliath's is 2. You hit the target when you roll EQUAL TO or LESS THAN the shooting capability of your character. The value is reduced by 1 for every full 5cm of distance between shooter and target (measured from the nearest edges of the figure stand). EXAMPLE: David shots to Goliath at a distance of 16cm. David's capability of shooting of 5 is reduced to 2 (5 minus 3 - as 16cm = 3 sets of 5cm away). Once the target has been hit, one more die must be rolled to see the effect of the shot. If the roll of the die is more than the protection value of the target, than the shot has caused a damage. If Goliath receives such a damage, David must roll one more die to see if the stone has produced some sort of effect. With a 5 or 6 Goliath absorbs the hit with no particular effect, otherwise (1-4) the giant collapses to ground losing his senses. This roll is considered an action for Goliath so it is up to David to act. During his turn, Goliath can try to recover his senses by rolling a 5 or 6. In case of success he can stand up and take a normal action next turn. Otherwise he must stay dazed till a 5 or 6 is rolled in his turn. While the giant is dazed David can try to behead him (see paragraph 6). Also, Goliath has a shooting weapon, a javelin. Goliath can shoot only once. If David is hit by the javelin he is immediately killed and the game is over. If Goliath decides to change his stance and use the khopesh with both hands, a not-yet used javelin is considered lost. NOTE: premeasurement can be forbidden if both players agree before the start of the game. This solution is more realistic and enjoyable. 3) FIGHTING Fighting rules are very simple: each player adds the offensive capability of his character (see the charts) to the roll of a die. Whoever rolls a higher total wins the melee. If David loses the melee he is automatically killed. If Goliath loses he become dazed (a prohibited kick?) and David has to behead him to finish him and win (see paragraph 6). In case the melee ends with an even result, David can immediately flee (don't forget to roll the die for deduction of movement and that a roll of a 6 means he cannot move). 4)TWO HANDED KHOPESH Goliath can decide to change combat weapons. It takes 1 turn to drop the shield and take the khopesh with two hands. Once done he cannot change again. With this combat stance Goliath is faster (9 cms minus a die roll), stronger in close combat (combat value is now 6), but he is more vulnerable to shooting (protection value drops from 4 to 3). Goliath must start the game with the javelin+shield+khopesh combination. 5) SEARCHING FOR A STONE David starts the duel without stones to throw. One of the first things he has to do is find a useful stone by rolling a 3, 4, 5 or 6. In case of failure (a roll of 1 or 2) he cannot make a further attempt till next turn. 6) BEHEADING GOLIATH If David succeeds in dazing Goliath, he can try to finish him using the giant's khopesh. To accomplish this David has to stay one full turn in contact with Goliath, performing no further actions. Pay attention that Goliath can recover his senses in every turn by rolling a 5 or 6. (Note: recovering his senses is considered an action for Goliath, so it is up to David that has a chance to flee). 7)RECOVERING HIS SENSES (Goliath). If dazed, Goliath can recover his senses by rolling a 5 or 6, otherwise stay dazed still such a result is obtained. This is considered an action so he cannot move in the same turn. 8) FLEE MOVEMENT If Goliath reaches David, the latter can flee with a roll of 5 or 6. If he rolls such a result he can escape in the same turn (don't forget that David's move distance is 12 cms minus a roll of 1d6, and if he rolls a 6 he slips and cannot move). INVOKING GOD David can invoke God if something is going wrong. In any moment he can decide to re-roll a die he considers unsatisfactory. He can invoke God only once per game. CONCLUSIONS The game has been tested several times with different gamers. It is as an ideal small game to introduce newbies, but fair enough to intrigue the more expert wargamers. Goliath has far more chance to win. His tactic is simple: catch the "slippery" David while avoiding his throws. If you play David be careful when you get close to the giant trying to behead him, he always recovers in the wrong moment! By the way only "predestined" gamers can win this odd duel! © Dadi&Piombo