Manic Trash Panda
CHECKFIREThe CheckFire rule
One rule keeps CHECKFIRE chess. It is the rule chess already has, extended to guns.
The rule
No order may leave the acting commander under threat. Threat means a melee capture or a shot, from any enemy unit, along its real lanes, through its real ranges. For a chance shot, both the hit and the miss must leave him safe.
What it means in play #
- Illegal orders are not offered. If your commander is threatened, only orders that end the threat light up: move him out, block the lane, remove the threat, or use a skill that does one of those.
- Pinned pieces still threaten. An enemy unit that cannot legally move can still fire, so it still pins and still checks. The check is geometric, not "would the AI do it".
- Both branches count. A Desperate shot has two outcomes. If the miss would leave your commander exposed, because the target would still be standing with a lane on him, the shot is illegal. Certainty is not a defence; safety is.
- Supplies obey it too. A combat supply that ends a threat, a barricade across the lane or a smoke canister on the commander, counts as an escape.
Certain and Desperate #
| Hit chance | Where it comes from | |
|---|---|---|
| Certain | 100 % | The weapon's sweet range: rook at 5+ squares, bishop at 1–4 diagonal, knight grenades always, queen always, king adjacent, pawn at 1 diagonal |
| Desperate | 40 % | Outside the sweet range: rook at 1–4, bishop at 5+, pawn at 2 |
The HUD names the shot before you commit. 100 % shots consume no randomness; the seed only decides Desperate shots, which is what makes a seeded operation reproducible.
Why it matters #
Firepower is everywhere on the board; safety is scarce. Because every order has to keep the commander alive, the game turns on lanes, tempo and blocking pieces, the things chess players already read, rather than on stacking damage. It is also why a lone commander cannot win: he can never be the last piece standing and still be safe.