Range Wars Solo Scenario #2:

Raven's Return

Story
During a routine recon patrol out by the Morgan Graveyard, a trusted Indian scout for Beuchamp's Rebels spotted a chilling site. Raven, the most powerful and evil Indian shaman to walk the Weird West, was somehow channeling the power of the Ghost Rock through the ground and into him. Not know why or even how, the General knew whatever was going on was not good for him or his men. He immediately ordered a heavily armed squad to stop whatever Raven was up to at all costs

Goal
The attacking player must destroy Raven. The tough part here is this is a spirit form of Raven. On top of that, his powers are augmented by the Ghost Rock he is tapping from under Ghost Creek.

Setup

1) Choose the outfits for each side. Any outfit will work here, as there are a number of strategies for each group.
2) Build a town as follows. Take any small defending magical unit and call it Raven. Place Raven in the center of the map, like you would place a Town Well. Choose 3 random terrains (not buildings or a Graveyard). Place the terrain with the least cover 6" south of Raven, the second least cover 6" west of Raven, and the best cover 6" east of Raven. Place the defending Home 6" north of Raven (you can use a Graveyard terrain if you have it, but treat it as Hard Cover, since this graveyard is built on hilly terrain). Finally place the attacking Home 12" southwest of Raven (closet to the terrains with the least cover.)
3) Choose a total army strength and create the army for the attacker. 50 pts is a good starting value for the attacker. Separate the defender's Units into 3 groups, cost 6 or less, cost 7-8, and cost 9+.
4) The attacker starts with 20 pts of his army on the home base. Since he is limited to 10 prod max in future turns, any unit over 10 points must be fielded now.
5) Raven's Vitality is equal to the attacking army size. Make a note of this on paper, as you most likely will not have enough bullets to track his damage normally.

Play
Play the game as normal, with these exceptions:

Deal Phase
Do the attacking side's card playing as normal after this, but place them face up. Then shuffle the defense's cards and lay them randomly over each defender face up. The first turn you will only have Raven to deal to, but that will soon change.

Raven always has the highest Initiative in the game, so he always wins all ties.

High Noon Phase
When Raven boots, follow these rules:
1) Consult the chart below to see what action he takes. If the action listed next to his card is not appropriate, then check the action below it, until you get to an action that can happen.

If Raven casts a spell, choose the unit who it can best serve this turn. Note that Raven has a 12" range on all his spells, not 6", but they must be in LOS.

If Raven Summons a Weak Spirit, choose a unit randomly from the defender's sorted stack, and place the Unit inside it's Home/Graveyard, pinning attackers if possible. These units represent quasi-corporal spirits rising from the defenders graveyard, a bizarre side effect of burying the dead next to the Indian Burial ground markers.
All Weak Spirits use their Unit's stats, but don't make Gadget checks (they always work.)

If Raven Summons a Whirlwind, take a Town Well for each Whirlwind and place it on top of Raven, then immediately move it as detailed below.
Whirlwinds have the following stats: Initiative 6, Pace 4, Jolt 2, Special: ignore all terrain effects. Whirlwinds cannot be shot or brawled, but they will dissipate after they deliver their Jolt.

[to do: scan/create a disc using image of a Whirlwind]

If Raven Summons Prairie Ticks, take a defender's bullet for each one and place it on top of Raven (defender logo up) then immediately move it as detailed below.
Prairie Ticks have the following stats: Initiative 1, Pace 4, Brawlin' 4, Vitality 2, Special: Small Size: Shooters are -1 to hit the Prairie Ticks, ignore all terrain effects.

[to do: scan /create a disc using image of a Prairie Tick]

If Raven Summons Lightning, every attacking player in LOS receives a Jolt (4). Lighting can be deadly, and since it comes up last (but before any other Aces), players have a chance to scramble for safety behind hard cover (guaranteed at least by the two Home bases) before they get fried.

When a defending non-Raven Unit boots, follow these rules:
1) If there is a special ability that can be used, use it. Ignore it only if it is clearly pointless in the current situation.
2) All non-Raven defender units are attempting to move to pin and brawl. Unless it is pinned/pinning, move it to the closest unpinned attacker and shoot if possible (remember the ­1 Move and Shootin' mod). Defenders never Quickdraw.
3) These rules should work for 90% of the cases. If you find a hole, just play the defense as best as you can.

Attacking Raven: Since Raven is in spirit form, the only damage players can directly cause is via silver bullets (each hit causes 2 points of damage as usual.) Raven blocks LOS and cannot be pinned, brawled, or moved though.

[to do: scan/create a disc using image of Raven or other Shaman illus.]

Victory Phase
For each Deed occupied by an attacking player (excluding their own Home), add their Influence and throw that many Jokers. For each dead Joker, place one control marker on the Deed (each Deed can only have of 5 markers max.) This marker represents the players finding one of the Indian markings Raven is using to channel the Ghost Rock and destroying it, which starts a feedback loop chain for Raven.

After resolving all search and destroy attempts, count up the total control markers and add that damage to Raven.

Economy Phase
The attacker only gets his 10 points for his Home production.

The defender Home/Graveyard Dead does not contribute any production points if occupied.

Strategy
The attackers will be on their toes here. Raven's power keeps the battlefield chaotic, and the attackers will constantly be on the defensive as they try to defeat Raven. Basic strategies include:
- Build an army with high influence, to increase the chances of taking a Deed fast,
- Build an army with a Silver Bullet support team to attack Raven and quicken his destruction,
- Try to take over the Deeds one at a time, to build up a slow cumulative damage while having a solid defense against the hoards,
- Or split the attack to try and take two or more Deeds to destroy Raven faster