The Desert Combat Game
You're here in Flawlessness, AZ to exterminate sandworms - competitively! At $50,000 bounty a head, everyone's racing to kill the most sandworms. The rules are similar to the familiar unmentionable Naval Combat Board Game by Milton Bradley which was bought out by Hasbro (like every other game under the sun). Each player will place five different sandworms of varying sizes on a 10 x 10 grid, then take turns firing on each other in an effort to nail some worms! The first player to eliminate all 5 of the opponent's sandworms wins. Unlike the board game, you can select among characters resembling the cast of a certain cult classic series of horror/comedy movies to gain new special moves, some passive (meaning "always working"), some active with limited uses (meaning "you need to specifically choose them instead of regularly firing, and can only do that so many times").
Sandworms
Wormling
2 Units LongThe larval form of a sandworm, Wormlings are relatively smaller and more nimble, with reports of them burrowing fast enough to leap out of the ground for a short range aerial bite attack.
Screamer
3 Units LongThe pupal stage of a sandworm, Screamers make a horrifying screaming sound when they spread their collar frill open, looking for prey by sensing vibrations. Oddly this "echo location" doesn't seem to notice footsteps under the thinnest of barriers, including old ass wooden household doors. Go figure.
Rump Rocket
3 Units LongSimilar in size to a Screamer, the next phase of the sandworm life cycle is to become the airborne "Rump Rocket," which makes no sense when you consider the adult form goes back underground, but... Pre-Cambrian life forms, amirite? Retaining the Screamer's echo location ability, but converting its frill into gliding wings like a kite, the Rump Rocket is so named because it has the ability to store up gas in its colon and release it all in one burst, allowing them to launch into takeoff from their farts and glide toward their targets. Not kidding.
Sandworm
4 Units LongYour classic sandworm, uncreatively named by our dear old departed friend, Winston Cheng (God bless him). The sandworm in its adult form, this terrifying creature detects prey using its well-attuned vibration sense, similar to echo location, but through soft dirt. It burrows under its quarry using its cup-like stubby arms, then vertically breaches into a bite from below, like a Great White Shark, swallowing the prey whole. And if it misses, it can lash out with its extendable tongue like a frog to snag a slippery meal! Fortunately, its burrowing and "hearing" capabilities are limited to soft dirt, it cannot dig through rocks. (Why would you give up flight for this limitation? Maybe to evolve a settled set of bowels, I dunno. Sandworm puberty is hard.)
El Moby
5 Units Long"Call me Ishmael" you'll mutter to yourself while hunting out this whopper! El Moby is a specific, oversized, albino sandworm that is both terrifying and majestic, the largest recorded sandworm to date. Kinda does what sandworms do generally, just bigger and more epic.
Hunters
Sergio McBee
Sergio McBee is a drifter with a foul mouth, just trying to scrape by taking any work he can get his hands on. Known for his short temper and reactionary demeanor, few people cross Sergio if they don’t have to.
Don’t You GD Push Me! (Always Active)
Each turn, Sergio fires as many times as he has dead sandworms, with a minimum of 1. The further behind he is, the more shots he gets.
Fuuuu YOU! (Always Active)
Each hit landed on Sergio’s sandworms fuels his rage, giving him an additional shot when his next turn comes around. These stack with his baseline Don't You GD Push Me! shots.
Duke Beagle
Duke Beagle is a hired hand, part time repairman, and seasonal ostrich ranch breeder turned reluctant sandworm exterminator. Cautious and calculating, Duke doesn’t like to take chances.
RC Bigfoot Bomb (3 Uses)
Deploys a remote-controlled Bigfoot truck with a remote bomb attached. Each miss lets you drive further to an adjacent space — up to 6 spaces, or until a hit blows the truck up.
Seizmojigger (2 Uses)
Use the seismographic detector to force the opponent to disclose one confirmed sandworm coordinate. The location will be marked for Duke going forward, he will have to shoot it normally from there.
Ernie Gunner
Ernie Gunner is a firearms enthusiast and paranoid survivalist who has only run out of ammo once. He has an ‘overkill’ approach to problem solving and takes himself deadly seriously.
Extra Ammo (Always Active)
Ernie keeps firing as long as he keeps hitting — one miss ends the turn.
Cluster Charge (2 Uses)
Launches a cluster grenade that hits a target cell and all four cardinal neighbors simultaneously. You could use binoculars to find sandworms, but, that seems a little slow for Ernie.
Brady Dyson
Brady, Brady, Brady Dyson is blessed with a sunny disposition, drives a taxi, lives in a crappy apartment, and watches too much TV. A city slicker with no combat skills, but dreams of becoming a famous sandworm hunter.
WA-BAM!! 50 G’s (Always Active)
Killing a sandworm earns Brady 5 bonus shots immediately, and continues his turn.
Spray Fire (2 Uses)
Forces the opponent to reveal 7 cells from their grid that are guaranteed misses. Hey, he's not a great shot, but least this tells you where the sandworms aren't.
