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Abandoned in the collapse of their star-spanning empire the humans of Samaria must battle for survival; against each

other, the monsters they have created and the harsh planet itself. This is no place for weakness, only through courage and determination can a man hope to endure in the savage wasteland. Battles escalate into wars as the peoples of Samaria fight for survival. Forsaken crusades march into the wastelands, each led by a powerful Saint. Driven by personal ambition these unruly individuals struggle as viciously against their supposed allies as they do against the enemies lurking beyond the border. Packs of crazed, cannibalistic Skarrd howl in rage and hunger as they prepare for their long awaited revenge. In the pools of the southern swamplands the Brood are spawned; the ultimate warrior race evolving and degenerating over the centuries to create something truly foul and terrible. From the ruins of their subterranean cities the Dragyri march to defend their adopted home, driven by honor and the quest to restore the lost leader of their people. Trapped between the advancing Forsaken and the dangers lurking in the wilderness the tribes of Outcast scavengers know that they must fight to remain free or face extinction. Dark Age: Apocalypse brings this gritty, D20 driven, post-apocalyptic miniatures game to your tabletop. These rules will provide you the basics of what yo need to play fast-paced skirmishes Will you become just another victim of this Dark Age or do you have what it takes to survive the Apocalypse?

Concepts and essentials


Die Rolls

- Dark Age utilizes a d20 for all game determinations. By design, rolling lower is better than rolling higher. die results in a Critical Success and rolling a 20 is a Critical Failure. Most tests have special stipulations for handling such critical rolls.

Unit - Dark Age represents forces on the Battlefield by Miniatures, referred to as Units. A Unit is a single Miniature. Grouped into two different categories, Units are either Individuals or Squads. Therefore, the term Unit may refer to an Individual or a single member of a Squad. Individual

Critical Success and Critical Failure - Rolling a 1 on the

- Individuals are Units that activate on their own.

Lowest to Highest - If a Unit must make multiple die rolls for one action, such as Armor Saves, make all of these die rolls at once. Consider them to occur in order from the lowest result to the highest. If you only have one d20, you should note your results down and resolve them in order of lowest to highest as above. NOTE: As the die rolls are taken from lowest to highest, if a player rolls both a 1 and a 20, the roll of 1 would take precedence over the 20. Scatter Roll - A Scatter Roll is a single d20 roll. Each facet, or side, of a d20 is a triangle shape and the direction of the Scatter is the direction of the triangle point above the number rolled. It is best to roll your Scatter die close to the intended target area to make direction determinations easier. Target Number (TN)

Squad - Squads are teams of Units that move and attack as a group. A Squad may contain a Leader who generally has different Statistics. Unit Statistics - Each Unit has Statistics to represent how well the Unit

can shoot, attack, Cast, resist damage, move, and function in the harsh world of Dark Age. The following Statistics describe the fundamental attributes of a Unit used in Dark Age.

- The Target Number (TN) is the number needed for a successful outcome on any die roll. Determine a TN with one or more Statistics and any situational modifiers that may apply to the specific action performed. If the result is equal to or lower than the TN, you are successful. The TN is calculated for anything that requires a die roll including attacks, Saves, Fear or Panic test, etc.

Action Points (AP) - Action Points (AP) represent the amount of activity a Unit can participate in during its Activation. A Unit spends an AP in order to perform single actions such as Movement, using weapons, abilities, and castings. Defense (DF) - Defense (DF) is a Units ability to avoid an attack. Add

this number to an attackers AS when the target of an Assault (AS).

- The Forcelist provides details on all of the Units that make up the Force you field on any particular Scenario. Each Forcelists entries describe Units Statistics, Abilities, and Weapons for use in the game of Dark Age. Additional books have even more Forcelists to expand the world of Dark Age further. NOTE: You may only use one Forcelist per 1,000 points. In games from 1,001 2,000 points, you may combine up to two Forcelists from the same Army. In games 2,001 3,000 points you may combine up to three Forcelists from the same Army, etc.
Forcelist (Force)

Armor (AR) - Armor (AR) is the amount of protection the Unit has against

most attacks. This can be due to protective equipment, or natural protection from a tough hide, fur, scales, or mutation. Subtract the PW of a hit from a Units AR when making an AR Save. NOTE: The Unit attempting to avoid damage makes an AR Save, not the Unit causing damage. Thus, AR Saves ignore any Attackers TN modifiers. of inches the Unit may travel per AP spent. Terrain and obstructions can sometimes modify this amount.

Move or Movement (MV) - Movement (MV) measures the number

Psyche (PS) - The Psyche (PS) statistic indicates the Units bravery and willpower. Units with high PS are less likely to suffer from Fear or Panic. They are also more likely to resist some Castings. Health Points (HP) - Health Points (HP) show the amount of damage a Unit can withstand before Dying or removing it from play. Point Value (PV)

Assault (AS) - Assault (AS) shows the combat ability of a Unit with this particular weapon or attack. This Statistic reflects the Units training and ability, plus the inherent accuracy of the weapon. Add the AS stat to the targets DF to find the TN for an attack. R ate of Fire (RF) - Rate of Fire (RF) is the maximum number of uses in one Game Turn of this weapon. A - in this field means the weapon has no limit on the maximum usage per Game Turn. Power (PW) - Power (PW) is the strength of a weapons attack. Subtract this number from the targets AR to find the TN for AR Saves. PW is a result of both the strength of the wielding Unit and the sheer brutality of the weapon (Thus, different weapons with the same name may have different PW statistics). A Power Multiplier, indicated by an x and a second number indicates how many AR Saves to avoid any Damage. A PW with no multiplier requires only a single AR Save. The PW of an attack never drops below 0. An attack with a PW of 0 automatically fails, stopping any follow up Assaults; i.e. an Assault or Armor Save roll is not even made. R ange (RN) - The Range (RN) statistic is the maximum distance at which the weapon can hit a target. Ranges are always in inches (in). If the weapon is for Close Assault only, it will be marked with a CA. Malfunction (MAL) - Malfunction (MAL) is a common occurrence

- Point Value (PV) is the worth of each Unit in the game. This statistic balances the Forces to ensure every player has an equal chance of winning. Before a game begins, players decide the total Point Value for the game.

Special Abilities - Abilities are the representation of a Units special talents that other Units may not share. Some Units have the ability to attack multiple times, while others have the ability to use a Casting. Special and Weapon Abilities can be found in the appropriate Forcelist section. Special Abilities supersede or modify how the standard rules apply to the Unit. Size (SZ)

- Size (SZ) shows the physical size of a Unit in the world of Dark Age. The Size groups are Tiny, Small, Medium, Large and Huge.

Squad Size - Each Forcelist provides you with the Units Squad Size. This statistic is either Individual or provides details on the number of Units allowed in a single Squad. If the Squad Size is Individual, you pay the PV for each Unit. Individuals may not become part of a Squad unless a Special Ability states otherwise. If the Unit is part of a Squad, it must adhere to the minimum and maximum Squad Size restriction usually referenced. Squads must have at least as many Units as the minimum listed, and no more than the maximum number of Units listed. The Point Value for any type of Squad is always per Unit, and totaled accordingly.

Availability - Availability is a limitation on the number of Individuals or Squads that you can have in your Dark Age Force. Availability restrictions range from required Game Size to needing other specific Units in your Force before allowing the Units purchase. If the listed Availability is Unique then you may only ever take one of those Units or Squads per Force.

in a world of such poorly maintained weapons as Dark Age. Weapons created with unstable technology usually have MAL statistics to show the danger of using it. On a roll equal to or greater than the MAL number something has gone wrong and the weapon has backfired, vented gasses, recoiled unexpectedly or something similarly bad. The Unit using the weapon suffers an immediate hit by its own attack. In some situations, it is possible for a weapon to both MAL and still hit its target. Simple weapons like swords do not usually have a MAL statistic, so they will be marked with a - and thus can never MAL. Some weapons have special MAL effects found on the Unit Cards or in the Weapon Abilities section of the Forcelist.

Notes - In the Notes you will find Weapon Abilities and other useful information. E.g., the Coils Morning Stick has the Ability to Knock Prone (KP). Weapon Abilities are in the appropriate section of each Forcelist. Special Abilities supersede or modify how the standard rules apply to the Unit.

Weapon Statistics - The following statistics describe the fundamental attributes of weapons used in Dark Age.

The game turn


Game Turn Phases are broken into the following steps: PHASE 1 Preparation Phase Lingering Effects stage PHASE 2 Initiative Phase Players roll d20s: Lowest roll wins Initiative. PHASE 3 Activation Phase Select a Squad or Individual. Activate one Unit and use all of that Units Action Points (AP). If selecting a Squad, Activate one Unit in that Squad and use all its AP. Continue Activating Units in the Squad until all have Activated. Repeat this Phase passing play to the next player in Initiative order until all players have activated all of their Units PHASE 4 End of Game Turn Return to the first phase and repeat until the game ends.

Attack Groups (AG)

- Weapons and attacks segregate into groups. These groups are marked in the Unit description as Attack Group 1, Attack Group 2, etc. Attack Groups show attacks that may be used for 1 AP. When an AP is spent, choose any Attack Group you would like to attack with and make one roll for each entry in the group. Each time an AP is spent you may chose a different group. If an Attack Group has more than one attack listed in it, you must designate the target for all attacks before making any rolls. If you wish, you are not required to make all the attacks in an Attack Group. - Weapons in Dark Age have their own statistics to represent their effectiveness against other Units, as well as how effectively their users wield them. As different Units may carry the same weapons, only the weapon statistics written on a Units card applies to that particular Unit.

Weapon Name

Prepar ation Phase


Lingering Effects Stage

Effects or special rules may carry over from the previous Game Turn, referred to as Lingering Effects. These Effects are resolved at this time. Some counters, like Poison or Hold, remain in play during the Lingering Effect stage. These counters have special rules for removing them in the Forcelist. Check the rules for all counters before removing them from play. If multiple Lingering Effects must resolve and the outcomes may affect each other, each player rolls a d20 to determine which will happen first. The lowest rolling player determines who will resolve which Lingering Effect first. This goes between the players, in die roll order from lowest to highest, until every Effect has been resolved. Initiative Phase Initiative is the order players will take their Activation Phase. Players determine this order by each rolling a d20 and comparing their results. Game play then proceeds starting with the player with the lowest result and ending with the player with the highest. The player who won may choose to make another player go first and can even specify exactly which Individual or Squad that player must Activate. Only the Initiative winner can do this and by doing so, they trade places with the player they have chosen to activate a Squad or Individual first. Activation Phase
Activate A Unit

facing its target in either Close Assualt (CA) or with a Ranged Assault (RA), you may turn your Unit to face its target for free if desired.
Line of Sight (LOS)

Units have a Line of Sight (LOS) of 360. A Unit must clearly see its target Unit. This means that, there must be an unobstructed path from some part of the attacking Unit to some part of the target Unit. Other Units, both friendly and enemy, block this path up to the topmost height of the intervening Unit and for the width of its Miniatures Base. Some Dark Age miniatures have elaborate poses, which elevate them into the air or lay them flat on the ground. These poses do not apply to any game mechanics. If players disagree on LOS to a Unit because of its Miniatures pose, use a less elaborate Miniature of the same Size (preferably the same Unit type if you have one). Likewise, flags, banners, weapons, etc. do not count for LOS purposes when targeting a Unit. When determining LOS make a straight line from any point of the attacking Unit to any point on the target Unit as described above. If that line crosses another Unit (Units of smaller Size do not block LOS but provide Cover) or terrain piece, then the attacking Unit does not have LOS to its target.
Movement

Game play passes from player to player in Initiative order with each player choosing a single Squad or Individual to Activate. Players may not choose to activate a Squad or Individual who already activated this turn. If a player has no Units left to Activate, control passes to the next player in Initiative order who still has Units yet to Activate. This repeats until all of the Units in all of the players Forcelists activate once. All Units must be Activated, if a Unit may not be Activated for any reason other than any Special Rules then it must be Removed From Play. End of Game Turn When all of the players Units have activated, the Activation phase is complete and a new Game Turn will begin. Check Victory conditions (If you are using them). Proceed back to the Preparation Phase and begin the next Game Turn.

Units may spend AP to move on the Battlefield. For every AP spent on Movement, the Unit may move in any direction up to their MV statistic as measured in inches (in). Moving Units may turn freely as long as the total linear Movement does not exceed their MV. The Unit does not have to use its entire MV statistic in a given action, but any remaining unused distance is wasted. Spending an AP on Movement that brings a Unit into BtB contract with an enemy Unit is a Charge. NOTE: Units cannot end their Movement with their base overlapping another Units base. Coherency
Individuals

Individuals act alone on the Battlefield. In game play, Individuals are not bound to Coherency.
Squad Coherency

Game Play
Action Points (AP)

Action Points (AP) represent the amount of activity a Unit can participate in during its Activation. A Unit spends APs to perform single actions such as Movement or using weapons, Abilities, and Castings. Units also spend APs to perform special movement such as going Prone, standing up, Climbing, and Jumping. Any unused APs are lost (unless the Unit goes On Hold). You are, however, allowed to spend APs in any way you choose for the current Game Turn. Once a Unit spends all its APs, it cannot perform any further actions this Game Turn. You can do multiple actions in a Game Turn if you have the APs to do so, but these actions must take place in the same Game Turn. E.g., a Unit may move, shoot, and move again. It may also shoot, move, and jump; however, you must have the AP to carry out all the actions. NOTE: Although Units are forced to activate every Game Turn, Units are not forced to use all of their APs. They may choose to Activate, do nothing and end their Activation. If a Unit does this, you may not activate it again that Game Turn regardless of how many APs it has left.
Attack & Firing Arc

Although Units in Squads activate independently, they still follow certain Coherency restrictions. All members of a Squad must remain within 2 of another member of their Squad. Larger Units may separate an additional 1 per Size above Medium and remain in Coherency. In mixed Squads, use the most common Size for determining Coherency limits, with the larger Size resolving ties. Once established, the Coherency limit remains for the game and not recalculated due to Casualties.

Close Assault
CA Steps To make an attack using a CA weapon, follow these steps:
1. Check RF

RF is the number of times a Unit may use a weapon per Game Turn. Once a weapon has been used as many times as its RF statistic, it may not be used again that Game Turn.
2. Spend AP

Units have a 360 Attack and Firing Arc. It is not necessary to have Unit

On the first Assault of an Attack Group, subtract 1 AP from the Units remaining AP to attempt the CA (All CA attacks require a Unit to spend 1 AP, unless otherwise stated). The APs spent for the attack are lost

whether or not the attack succeeds. If the Unit does not have the AP to spend, the Assault cannot occur.
3. Select a Valid Target

Ranged Assault
R A Steps To make an attack using a RA weapon, follow these steps:
1. Check RF

A Unit must be in BtB contact with another Unit in order to make a CA attack (unless the Unit or its Weapon possesses an Ability that says otherwise). If a Unit is in BtB with multiple other Units, it may choose any of the Units to Assault. Under certain conditions it is permissible to even target your own Units. Such an act of desperation would have far-reaching consequences after the battle, of course. If a Friendly Unit attacks and Removes From Play another Friendly Unit the opponent receives VPs for the attack equal to the PV of the removed Unit. A Friendly Unit may not attack another Friendly Unit that has a higher PS.
4. Determine TN

RF is the number of times a Unit may use a weapon per Game Turn. Once a weapon has been used as many times as its RF statistic, it may not be used again that Game Turn. NOTE: You may not use a RA weapon when you are in BtB contact with an enemy Unit.
2. Spend AP

The player determines the attacking Units TN. First, apply any modifiers to the attacking weapons Assault (AS). Then, add the defending Units DF to the AS of the attackers weapon to determine the TN.
Charging

To initiate CA, a Unit spends an AP on Movement to reach BtB contact with an enemy. The term for this is a Charge. The Charging Unit will receive a bonus AP, in essence, a free Assault. A Unit ending in BtB contact with more than one Unit receives only 1 Bonus AP. Moving into BtB with a friendly Unit may initiate a CA, but does not gain Charge or Gang Up bonuses. An Assault made with this bonus AP receives a +1 AS and +1 PW bonus to all weapons in the Attack Group used for the Charge attack. A Unit with multiple weapons in an Attack Group may split its Charge attack between multiple Units that they are in CA with. You may only spend the bonus Charge AP on a Close Assault (CA). You may not use the Bonus AP for Casting, Abilities, or to perform any other actions the Unit normally could with an AP. Weapon Abilities are part of the weapon itself, allowing them with this bonus AP. NOTE: If the Charged Unit is Prone, Dying, or removed from play after CA(s) are resolved, the charging Unit may spend additional AP(s) on Movement to reach BtB contact with another enemy, resulting in another Charge.
Ganging Up

On the first Assault of an Attack Group, when making a RA, you must spend the AP before determining a Valid Target. You must guess if your desired target will be Valid, or not, before spending the AP. Subtract 1 AP from the Units remaining AP to attempt the RA (All Ranged Assaults require a Unit to spend 1 AP unless otherwise stated in the Notes). The APs spent for the attack are lost whether or not the RA succeeds. Remember that there is no pre-measuring in Dark Age so if you declare a Ranged Attack and then measure the distance to be further than the weapons maximum RN, the AP for the attack is wasted.
3. Select a Valid Target

A Battlefield is a chaotic place. Targets come and go in the blink of an eye. Units caught in the middle of the Battlefield must react to threats and target enemies. First and foremost are considerations of survival from imminent threats. As such, there are some basic rules for what targets a Unit may attempt to attack with a Ranged weapon. To perform a RA, you must find a Valid Target within your Line Of Sight. The second stipulation for a Valid Target is that it must be within the RN of your weapon. You must guess if the target is within Range. After you guess you must measure. Again, spend the AP for the attack regardless of whether it was truly in Range or not. Targeting Priorities-Threat Zone A Unit can make a RA at any Unit to which it has a clear Line of Sight (LOS). A Units Threat Zone is an area that extends 10 from its Base in all directions. A Unit making a Ranged Assault with one or more enemies in its Threat Zone must target the closest visible enemy Unit in its Threat Zone with at least one attack of the chosen Attack Group. Even if the enemy Unit is in Cover, panicked, or Prone it is a Valid Target unless totally obscured by Terrain. If the closest Enemy Unit has any negative TN modifiers to hit (such as Cover, panicked, CA, Prone, etc.), and there are other Enemy Units within the Threat Zone, then the attacker may choose the Unit with the least RA modifiers. If there are no Enemy Units within the Threat Zone, then the attacking Unit may target any Unit in its Line of Sight. You may ignore Dying Enemy Units within your Threat Zone.
4. Determine TN

All Units gain +1 AS and +1 PW for every friendly Unit in BtB with the same target. This bonus is cumulative with the bonus received for Charging and any other bonuses the CA may receive. NOTE: The attacking Unit does not gain a Ganging Up Bonus for itself.
5. Add CA Modifiers

Circumstances in combat can affect how difficult a target is To Hit. Special circumstances have blanket adjustments to all Target Numbers (TN) except AR Saves, such as Out of Coherency (OoC), or Fear. Players calculate any appropriate CA modifiers and apply them to the TN.
6. Roll D20

After you determine your TN including any modifiers, roll a d20. If the roll is higher than the TN, then the CA fails to hit. If the roll is equal to or lower than the TN, you are successful in hitting your target. The target Unit will then have to make an AR Save to avoid taking damage.

The attacking player determines the TN. First, apply any modifiers to either the attacking weapons Assault (AS) or the target Units Defense (DF) statistics. Then, add the defending Units DF to the AS of the attackers weapon to determine the TN.

5. Add R A Modifiers

Cover and Range can modify the TN of a Ranged Assault (RA). The following sections explain the various modifiers that may apply to the TN: RN Modifiers The TN is modified by -1 for every full 4 of Range between the attacking Unit and the target. Cover Modifiers Players must agree upon the terrain types that provide Cover before the game begins. Cover can be anywhere between the Unit making a RA and the target Unit. At any given time, a Unit may only receive one type of Cover modifier (largest modifier). PARTIAL COVER This is if a Unit is obscured but 50% or less covered by scenery or other Units. Examples of partial cover are small rocks and bushes, ammo boxes and crates, etc. *Partial Cover results in a -2 TN of the Unit making a RA. COVER This is provided if a Unit is more than 50% covered by any objects that obscure the target Unit. Some examples of Cover are high walls, steel grates, doorframes, other Units, large boulders, etc. *Cover results in a -4 TN of the Unit making a RA.

Damage
Armor (AR) Saves

After a successful hit, the target Unit must make an AR Save (if applicable). The weapon, or Casting has hit the target Unit but it may not lose any HP. AR can save a target from the nastiest of weapons or spells. Armor is not only the protective clothing a Unit wears, but can also represent other factors such as a natural hide, mutation, or the effect of certain drugs. To determine the TN, the player subtracts the weapons PW and any modifiers from the target Units AR. If the defending player rolls equal to or less than this TN, the target Unit takes no damage.
NOTE: The Unit attempting to avoid damage makes an AR Save, not the

Unit causing damage.

Power Multipliers

Designed to defeat armor, some weapons are much harder to survive. An x multiplier indicates these in their PW statistic (e.g., PW 6x2). This multiplier indicates the number of AR Saves the target must make to avoid damage. The defending player rolls all of the indicated AR Save attempts at the same time and assumes that they occurred in order, from lowest to highest. If any of the rolls fail, then the AR Save has failed. The exception to this is: if any of the dice rolled are a 1. In which case, you avoid all possible effects. Keep in mind that a roll of 20 would result in a critical AR failure. NOTE: As the die rolls are taken from lowest to highest, if a player rolls both a 1 and a 20, the roll of 1 would take precedence and all possible effects are ignored, including the extra effects of rolling a 20.

The Rules that have been presented are the basics to get you playing the game. For more rules please see the Dark Age: Apocalypse Core Rules Book (DAG0005). Contained in the Core Rules Book are the expanded rules needed to play the game as well as Advanced Rules to take your game to a new level. However you play the game, youll find that Dark Age is a fast paced exciting skirmish game and that......

EVERYTHING DIES!
Visit the Dark Age Forums for Rules discussions and clarifications at: www.dark-age.com/forum/

Dark Age, Forsaken, Dragyri, Skarrd, Brood, Outcasts, Prevailers and the Dark Age logo are trademarks owned by Dark Age Games. And God said, Let there be War, Everything Dies. taglines, unit names, races and race insignia, characters, illustrations and images from the Dark Age universe are either and/or Dark Age Games. All BROM images are copyright BROM. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Dark Age Games. Copyright Dark Age Games 2011

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