Question on Area vs Mobs

Conan: Adventures In an Age Undreamed Of
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Good afternoon! Was hoping for a little input from the community.

First off, I freaking love this system. Particularly the momentum system. You could almost feel the momentum built when my players got their first point into the pool and how the tables began to turn against their enemies. Love it.

Anyways, I have a question on Area vs a Squad or Mob. Since mobs are singular entities, are ALL of the individual people in the mob or squad affected by an area weapon? Or does it follow normal attack rules in which you apply damage to the first mob unit, wound it, then hit the next one if any area left in the mob?

Appreciate your input!

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Conan core book, page 152.

The attack automatically affects any target within Reach of the initial target, and one additional target within Close range for each Effect rolled…

So yes, if the mob or squad is not spread out, a weapon with the Area quality can wipe them out. Tho I think this quality is mainly for siege weapons like catapults and trebuchets. To effectively use such a thing you need some ranks in the Warfare skill.

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Thank you for the reply! It occurred due to a Display. Most of them have Area effects.

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My interpretation is different. The squad/mob is one target. You get to pay momentum to do a called shot to target the leader just like you would for a body part.

Area affecting everyone in the squad would go against the attacking groups paragraph on page 307 that says the leader is always the last to suffer damage unless you did called shot on it.

I feel like mobs and squads are mowed down fast enough by the PC so i deny the area affecting everyone on the members of the group.

1 Like
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I feel the same, as Minions never get any Reaction at all, so even on the standard D2 Reaction, which Toughened, Nemesis and PCs get, they simply will be hit and often wiped out.

The Area quality adresses primarily all targets within Reach, which is true for all members of a Mob or a Squad, so they would simply get hit without any defense - even the Squad leader.

In Mutant Chronicles 3 the similar quality is called “Blast”.

For each Momentum spent, the weapon strikes an additional target within the blast’s range, starting with the one nearest to the initial target.

That requires several points of Momentum to actually get everyone in a small group like a Mob.

In Infinity it is similar for the “Area” quality:

For each Momentum spent, the attack strikes an additional target within the blast’s range, starting with the one nearest to the initial target.

That means, in both predecessors of Conan, MC3 and Infinity, Area damage needed Momentum to actually hit more than one target.
The damage is rolled only once.
Anyone able to make a Reaction can try at D2 to avoid the effect - Minions, Mobs, Squads will be hit automatically.

I wonder why the developers changed the mechanical handling of Area damage in Conan?

The attack automatically affects any target within Reach of the initial target, and then one additional target within Close range for each Effect rolled, starting with the next closest target (at the gamemaster’s discretion if it is not obvious).

In MC3 an Infinity the damage dice had 1, 2, 0, 0, 0, Effect, so half the number of Effects compared to the Conan combat dice. So in Conan to get other targets than in the immediate vicinity of the primary target, within Reach, you need Effects, in MC3 and Infinity you need Momentum.
But in MC3 and Infinity you need Momentum for those targets within Reach, too.

That is the main difference, that every target within Reach of the primary one gets automatically hit, no matter how much Momentum or Effects are generated.

I read the “attacking groups” paragraph to treat a Mob or Squad as a single “creature” for action economy and applying damage and conditions. The primary target, a single designated character in a Mob or Squad, will receive the area damage first, then it will propagate as normal for such a group - the Squad leader being damaged last.

Mobs and Squads are wiped out quite quickly already without Area quality attacks, so I don’t see the need to speed up this process.