Do you have the Aleph starter box? Because I do, and here's what I wished I knew about how they survive attacks. Each and every trooper in the Aleph starter set is tough to kill in it's own special way. Their similar sounding rules are easy to get wrong, be it ever so
slightly.
There are no normal troopers in the Aleph starter box. None. But for reference, normal models stop fighting after a single wound and die after a second.
No wounds suffered - fighting.
One wound suffered - unconscious.
Two wounds suffered - dead
But when normal troopers are hit by "shock" weapons, they die immediately from the first wound suffered -- no unconscious state, they're dead straight away. That's how normal models behave.
No wounds suffered - fighting
One shock wound suffered - dead
Nagas are like that but with an added bonus. When they are unconscious you can choose to have them keep fighting instead. This skill is called V: Dogged. The downside is that after the end of the turn in which you activated V: Dogged they die. Their automatic death represents the deadly toll of fighting with injuries. Its a tradeoff -- if they just stay unconcious and alive a doctor can try to patch them up later in the game.
No wounds suffered - fighting
One wound suffered - unconscious, or V: Dogged
Two wounds suffered - dead
Deva functionaries have an even better bonus, "V: No wound incapacitation." When they are unconscious you can choose to have them keep fighting, but unlike Nagas, they don't die from fighting while injured. They can potentially keep fighting while wounded for the entire game, so always activate it, there's no downside.
No wounds suffered - fighting
One wound suffered - fighting because of V: No wound incapacitation
Two wounds suffered - dead
The result of V: Dogged and V: No wound incapacitation is that your troopers will seem to be twice as tough as normal troopers. Normal troops fall down and stop fighting after suffering a single wound, but Nagas and Deva functionaries keep on fighting until they die from the second wound. However, they have no special defense against shock ammo. If they take a single wound from shock they automatically die. Shock ammo is deadly against normal troopers because it deprives them of their unconscious state, but it's especially harsh for Nagas and Devas because it deprives them of a chance to use their V: Dogged and V: No wound incapacitation.
No wounds suffered - fighting
One shock wound suffered - dead
The Asura is the toughest trooper in the starter box. She fights until she suffers three wounds and dies. She's so tough, it doesn't make a difference if those wounds are shock. Shock damage, normal damage, its all the same an Asura.
No wounds suffered - fighting
One wound suffered - fighting
Two wounds suffered - fighting because of V: No wound incapacitation
Three wounds suffered - dead
When any of the preceding troopers are healed by a doctor or paramedic (like your Dakini tacbots!), they recover by having one less wound than they would when unconscious (or V: Dogged, or V: No wound incapacitation). This is equivalent to removing the last wound they suffered, which means that they're two wounds away from death -- even for the multi wound Asura.
Asura after after healing:
No wounds suffered - fighting
One wound suffered - fighting because of V: No wound incapacitation
Two wounds suffered - dead
Dakini Tacbots are a kind of robot called "remotes." Shock ammo acts like normal damage for them because they have structure instead of wounds. They also have Ghost: Remote presence, so they have TWO levels of unconscious.
No wounds suffered - fighting
One wound suffered - unconscious
Two wounds suffered - unconscious
Three wounds suffered - destroyed
Since they're not alive, they don't die, but they can be destroyed. They can't be healed by a doctor but they can be repaired by an engineer; returning them to full structure, it's like they were never shot at all! This is equivalent to undoing one or even two wounds.
Aleph is infamous for having lots of V: No wound incapacitation so your opponents an be expected to bring plenty of shock weapons. However, shock ammo is wasted against shock immune troopers like Asuras and Dakini tacbots.
So good luck and remember to keep your Devas and Nagas away from shock ammo, your Dakini tacbots unconscious after two wounds, and your Asura in the thick of things.
