OLD:Halflings Tactics

Halflings
File:Halflings.webp
Setting:	Age of Fantasy
Games:	Age of Fantasy, Age of Fantasy: Skirmish, Age of Fantasy: Regiments
Species:	Halfling

Note: as v2.50 is in constant development the following might not be accurate.

Why Play Halflings

Halflings are something of a horde-heavy force, focusing on crowds of fairly flimsy forces and war machines. Also helping is their ability to call forth various golems to hold down the front lines and protecting the troops.

Pros:

• Lots of bodies for holding the line
• A lot of options for your various roles

Cons:

• Slow hampers you like any dwarf armies
• Your troops are quite squishy, which when combined with above can make you very vulnerable to gunlines
• A lot of lower-quality units

Special Rules

• Swift: Units with this rule can ignore the Slow rule, allowing them to move at a normal speed.
• Takedown: When this model is in melee, pick one model from the target unit and roll a d6. On a 2+ you deal an AP(1) and Deadly(3) hit.

Wizard Spells

• Forest Spirit (4+): One enemy unit within 6" takes an AP(2) Deadly(3) hit, making this a pretty good spell for nailing elites and maybe a special weapons team.
• Lightfoot (4+): Friendly unit within 12" can move +1" when they advance or +2" when they charge or rush. However, this isn't much of an improvement as compared to most enemies.
• Nightmare Spirit (5+): One enemy unit within 6" takes four AP(2) hits. This is better suited for Tough units as it is for heroes or monsters.
• Strongheart (5+): Two friendly units within 12" get Furious on their next charge. Great to make the most out of that first charge before it inevitably goes south.
• Cleansing Spirit (6+): Roll a number of d6s equal to the number of models in an enemy unit within 6", each dealing a hit on a 2+. Excellent chaff-clearer.
• Luck of the Ancients (6+): One friendly unit within 12" gains Regeneration when it gets hit, making it a much-needed source of protection for your troops.

Unit Analysis

Heroes

• Champion: Your mightiest hero, though with a 4+ to quality and defense, that's not a very high bar. He has the usual option of weapons for heroes, including a lance when mounted, and Fearless allows an attached unit to hold in for at least a bit. As they lack any sort of shooting option, you'll be relying on melee to carry you through.
  • Upgrades: Clover Bearer provides Aura of Luck, which is helpful for a support hero as it lets an attached unit that rolls 6 to hit roll an extra attack. Army Standard Bearer gives you the typical Fear to boost combat to your side. Feast Master grants Sharpen Blades, boosting the AP of an attached unit's melee weapons by +1. Town Chief grants Battle Hungry, allowing you to push your walls of Townsfolk and Warriors to move a little further each turn.
  • Mounts: As the chief hero of the halflings, you have the biggest pool of mounts available. The great goat gives you Swift and an improved Impact(2) as well as another attack, offering quite a bit. The great dog provides Very Swift and some AP(2) bites for cheap, but you lose out on any Impact. The great chicken is similar to the dog, though they lose an attack in order to regain Impact(1). The great pig provides some extra wounds, but you'll only get Swift in return. The pig chariot makes you tankier, providing a 2+ defense as well as Tough(9), improving your offensive output with Impact(3) and some spare attacks. The cockatrice also makes you tanky, but also way stronger with an AP(3) attack as well as some AP(2) attacks while Flying lets you go through most cover and Swift negates most issues with speed. The great winged dog gets you the closest to a genuine monster hero, giving you not only all the perks of the cockatrice but also a full set of AP(2) attacks to better manage crowds rather than just monsters.

• Leader: A flimsier hero, but they can still fight. In addition to their melee weapons, they can also purchase either rapid-fire Toxic Potions or a Sniper Rifle so you have some manner of shooting. Their mount options are unfortunately cut down to the Goat or Chicken, both nimble options.
  • Upgrades: Same as the Lord, you can also buy Feast Master for Sharpen Blades' AP boost in melee. Assassin has Takedown to potentially nail a hero. Shaman provides you your singular instance of a Wizard unit. Engineer has Halfling Artillerist, allowing the Leader to either move a nearby Artillery unit or add +2. to the artillery's hit rolls.

Infantry

• Townsfolk: Your absolute bottom rung, little more than chaff and list-filler. With 6+ quality and defense, these guys had no ability to stand up too much. Their one advantage over the Warriors is the fact that they also have shooting weapons for harassing an enemy.

• Warriors: The basic rank-and-file, now able to employ command groups and special weapons. That said, these guys aren't far better with a 5+ to quality and defense. That said, they're better-suited than the townsfolk to being a hero-bunker.

• Veterans: Slightly better warriors, gifted with 4+ quality and defense. While this makes them better for a bunker, this comes at the price of being stuck with Great Weapons.

• Braves:. Fearless makes sure that the inevitable casualties won't hurt as hard, while Furious makes charging more advantageous and Slayer adds +2 AP when these guys face monsters with Tough(3) or higher - and with the number of attacks you'll be throwing, you'll be needing that.

• Drunks: More expensive than Warriors but they offer quite a bit. Regeneration allows them to tank quite a bit while Fearless gives you a better chance of keeping them together. On top of that is Stumble, which makes their movement a touch faster.

• Thieves: A pack of warriors quite a few tricks. On top of Strider and Takedown, they also have Surprise, a special version of Ambush which let's them show up right next to the enemy and deal some surprise damage before closing in for the kill. While this makes more use out of the default Dual Hand Weapons, you can instead equip them with Throwing Weapons if you expect to have them hiding behind cover more often.

• Marksmen: Halflings with shortbows and minimal defense. You can fortunately improve their effectiveness with new weapons, with the rifles dealing AP(1) to break armor while the crossbows offer Rending for potentially stronger AP and better range.

• Golems: Small monsters, each cursed by Slow but doughty with a 4+ to quality and defense with Tough(3). Strider helps them offset being Slow, which might give them a bit more survivability.
  • The various subspecies of Golems are now upgrades to purchase for an extra edge in the fight. Ice Breed not only provides Rending in melee but also Chilling, forcing enemies to take -1 to hit them in melee - great for walls. Rock Breed makes Golems tankier with a +1 to defense and Fearless. Tree Breed gives a surprising mobility bump with Scout as well as giving Poison in Melee to overwhelm monsters.

• Jetpack Troopers: A pack of airborne veterans. While lacking in combat, Flying lets them cover any distance they need, and their grenades provide small blasts to handle smaller groups.

• Zeppelins: A bunch of Flying walls with a 3+ defense and Tough(3). Firepower is the name of the game here, as aside from their Rifles, they can also fly over enemies to deal three AP(1) hits.

Cavalry

• Beast Riders: All of your cavalry options are now rolled up into a singular unit, given only Impact(1) by default. If you intend to keep to charging, Lances are an easy pick, but you can also buy either Shortbows or Rifles.
  • The differences between the various types of cavalry is based on the rule you opt to buy between Strider, Fast, Impact(1) or a +1 to defense.

Monsters

• Cockatrice: This giant chicken is a great wall. Not only can they fly around without an issue, but they also have a 2+ defense to tank anything. Also helping is their high AP game, with a devastating peck to rip apart some monsters and some AP(2) claws in order to deal with lesser foes.
  • You also have the ability to replace their claws with plain claws with no AP, but all it provides is another peck with the beak.

• Iron Pig: The more traditional walking tank, a plodding wall with a 2+ defense and Tough(9) to guarantee survival. Alongside its many AP(2) attacks is its smasher gun, a mid-ranged rapid fire gun made to cut through most infantry and light cavalry.

Chariots

• Troll Riders: While not as well guarded as the Golems, the Regeneration save gives them an equivalent amount of security. While they have a decent set of AP(1) melee attacks, they also have guns so they can shoot while in the middle of the field.

• Beast Chariot: As with the cavalry, this is a consolidated unit for the various chariots, coming with spears and some mount attacks as well as an impressive Impact(6). If you intend to keep them from the fight, then you can instead buy them Shortbows so they can fire while running around.
  • Each breed of chariot comes with their own unique rules between Impact(3), Fast, Scout & Strider and +1 to defense.

• Harvester: Another roving tank, carrying an entire whirlwind of AP(1) attacks. As this is their only weapon, it means that this tank is tailor-made for ripping through walls of infantry and cavalry blocks. With Tough(6), Regeneration and a 2+ defense, they'll be able to ignore some abuse while ripping the enemy apart.

Artillery

• Halfling Artillery: The singular artillery piece for the Halflings, but it comes with a lot of different options depending on what you purchase - letting you fill in any gaps you need. Because of its poor stats, you'll definitely be wanting an Engineer Leader to support them.
  • Volley Gun: A static piece of Artillery made to destroy mobs. With 9 shots at AP(1), it can run through a lot, but its range is unfortunately a bit lacking. If you plan on taking it anywhere besides the front lines, you'd best bring some shields to protect it.
  • Rocket Battery: Rather than rapid-fire annihilation, this gives you small blasts that can let you take care of crowds more quickly from a safer distance. Having it hit twice also helps manage 3W squads as well.
  • Hot Pot: Blast (6) lets it handle more models than the Rocket Battery, but the big draw is adding Poison in exchange of any AP. A lucky hit could easily melt through a Tough mob.
  • Bolt Thrower: A long-ranged menace with AP(3) Deadly(6), a mighty combination that can nail most monsters and chariots pretty easily.
  • Howitzer: The Rocket Battery's bigger brother, enjoying a sizeable boost in range for a major bump in price.

List Building & Tactics

General Advice

Note: This section needs more content. You can help the wiki by expanding it.

Tactics

Note: This section needs more content. You can help the wiki by expanding it.

See Also

• Halflings
• Halflings Quickplay Armies
• Age of Fantasy

Halflings
Overview - Tactics - Skirmish Tactics - Miniatures - Quickplay Armies - Skirmish Quickplay Armies