Activation

Battlestorm activation is based on the following assumptions:

• Combat is chaotic.
• You cannot prevent your enemy from doing what he wants to do, except by force of arms.
• A unit that is attacked can—and probably will—take some sort of action (including defending itself) no matter who "wins initiative".

Activation is unit by unit. A unit can be 1 creature, hero or monster or it can be a group of models. Units can be as large or as small as a player desires.

All actions in Battlestorm are considered simultaneous, but for the purposes of tabletop play we focus on units by separating them between activated and inactive units. To determine who is activated, both sides roll a d30. The player with the highest roll must activate one unit.

An activated unit may move. It may move and brace (ready an attack). An activated unit may move and fire a projectile. The unit may melee a unit that has already activated.  However, if the unit wants to attack an enemy that has not activated, intriguing tactical complications arise.

If the player wishes to attack a unit that has not activated, the player must declare this attack, before he moves his troops.

A unit that is declared upon may choose to ignore the threat and save it’s action for later. If this occurs, resolve combat if the attacking unit’s movement puts it within weapon reach.

On the other hand, the defending player may opt to activate the unit that was declared upon. Now that the unit is activated, it may flee combat, counter-charge, etc.  Of course, this unit could also declare on a different enemy unit.

If the player opts to attack/declare on another unit, he does so before any movement. Any number of units may be activated in this way and the ensuing melee is called a "battlestorm". The last unit declared upon is always the first unit to move/commit, back to the unit who originally won initiative.

Bluffs
A player who declares an attack is NOT required to make that attack. (In fact, sometimes the enemy will flee making attack impossible.) However, the attacker may not offensively attack any other units.

Declaring limits
A player can declare on any unit on the board.   Sometimes the enemy unit will lie beyond the likely movement limits of the attacker.  However, the attacker may still declare the attack, because the defender may opt to counter charge into the attacker's range. Only activated units may declare attacks.

Tips
Players who are accustomed to winning Initiative and then pounding a hapless, lifeless foe will find their opponents are reacting, charging, fleeing, taking unexpected actions.  There is no point in the game in which you sit back in your chair and watch the enemy melee your troops.

1. A man with a hammer cannot melee a squirrel no matter how much he wins Initiative.  If you declare on a squirrel, the squirrel can usually opt to run away.
2. You cannot prevent your enemy from taking actions by winning Initiative.  If the enemy is about to attack your weakened wonder-hero, and you win Initiative DON'T declare on that enemy.  He will move to attack the wonder-hero.  Instead, use Initiative to block the enemy's path and strike a defensive position.
3. Keep in mind that all actions are "simultaneous". If a unit has already activated, this means that it was taking other actions while the current actions are happening.