FIREFIGHT ALTERNATIVE ARMIES’ GAME OF FUTURISTIC URBAN COMBAT Copyright © 1991 ALTERNATIVE ARMIES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED It was MAC COXHEAD?s idea. PAUL COCKBURN put it all together. GEOFF PASS did a lot of work on the ‘mechanics. CARL SARGENT provided sage advice, years of experience and bottles of Bacardi. KEN ROLSTON playtested it and made helpful suggestions. Additional play-testing by Alex Bundy; Pete and Nick at AA; Paul, Sam and the gang. ELAINE COCKBURN proof-read it ‘Then STEVE WILLIAMS said we could try selling it $0... PETE KNIFTON drew a lot of pictures and painted the cover. He never wants to see another floor-plan. “H” did the logo, and still found time to get married. ‘TOM KENNISH did some other illustrations, He got married too. As far as we know, SIMON at Mallards was already married when he took the back cover ‘photo. PETER VINCENT typeset the words, and Aldus Pagemaker made them into pages, along with all the pictures and fancy graphics (?)in more or less the right order. PROGRESSIVE PRINTERS printed the thing and pput all the components together and hardly ever asked ‘what on earth it was all about. Many thanks to them all, and to Pam, and to Mike Fellows and various people who helped out in ways far #00 ‘numerous to mention. FIREFIGHT and ION AGE are trade marks belonging to ALTERNATIVE ARMIES. All work in this book is the exclusive copyright of Paul Cockburn and Mac Coxhead. No part of this book may be reproduced in. any form or by ‘any means for any commercial or storage purpose without the prior, written permission of the publisher. Purchasers of the book may copy the marked portions of this book for their gaming convenience. Printed and published in the UK. ISBN: 1-873997-01-1 ALTERNATIVE ARMIES, GLAISDALE PARKWAY, NOTTINGHAM NGS 4GN, UNITED KINGDOMCONTENTS INTRODUCTION PART ONE - BASIC COMBAT.... PART TWO - ADVANCED COMBAT, PART THREE - MELEE . PART FOUR - MISSIONS ...0n0o-nm PART FIVE - BETWEEN MISSIONS PART SIX - PLAYER-CHARACTERS PART SEVEN - THE FREE COMPANIES MISSIONS 2-12... APPENDICES wo. REFERENCE SHEETS .ecccccntettnnnnnnsnnnnes 63PREFACE ‘The harsh antficial light of the remaining celling strips was ‘obscured by thick, oily exhaust smoke from the rapidly- cooling Mole Assault vehicle. As feared, airrecycling down here was well short of optimal, and the squad hed ‘gone environmentally folly-integral as soon as the hatches had blown. Sanger snapped on his Comms unit, using the narrowest radius, and whispered: sya Taree Troopers followed ‘him from the shadows of the tunnel the Male had bored from the surface, sprinting across the street (0 drop into huddled shapes against the ‘wall of the hostel Their stmour sottied into the new light, shifting greys and blacks. Sanger noticed how much dust there was obscuring the chameleon effect on his arms, and swore (0 de-ionise the suit, first chance he got. One last check on the weapon, one last lock to make sure the others were in position, then a nod of the head and... Sanger and Teague went through the broken doorway side-by-side, flattening against the insiée wall Montgomery pecked through an open window. and levelled her Kalt Plasma Rifle; Ali kept an esr cocked ‘against another opening ~ a ragged shell hole - and thumbed the safety on the Faust ‘There was an instant, a brief moment when Sanger thought ‘maybe Intelligence had it wrong, and that the defence ring started closer to the city centr. Then there was a small movement behind an internal doorway, a second at the turn of the stairway... Sanger and Teague were already moving towards the best cover they could find - which wasn't saying much ~ as the hidden enemy opened fire. A laser flickered across Sanger's back, refleced off the glaze, then he hit the floor hear the front desk, and squirmed behind it. He heard the rasp of Teague’s Ingrave, and more laser fire. Sanger popped his Ingrave over the desk, and squeezed off thiny rounds. The tremendous recoil was absorbed by his armour, and all thirty rounds hit @ space not a hand's width across, but just wide. The figure on the stairs ducked back, but another hostile, higher up, returned fire, and Sanger was forced to duck. When he popped up again, he heard the whoosh of ‘Montgomery's Plasma Rifle, and the smack of the super- ‘charged bail against armour and flesh. The balustrade on the stairs caugit fire where the ball had hit, and a body tumbled dowa the stars, More laser fire; an ominous silence from Teague. Sanger crashed through an intemal door and caught one of the Infitrators reloading - the Ingrave atomised the ‘unarmoured man’s body in an instant, stray shots and ppass-through’s ripping chunks from the wall ‘Another moment to reload, then through the swing door, back out into the foyer. Figures running up the stars. Sanger lifted his weapon, but Ali best him to it, puting an EXII shell through the banister. The air was sucked in as the shell implodeds the recoil issued like @ sigh as dust and debris drifted down from the impact site. A gaping hole hhad appeared in the stars, and there was blood and flesh fon the walls Silence, Sanger tasted sweat on the inner face of his helmet fs he opened up the radius on tho Comms net to reach the ‘Company HQ Mole, still locked within a million tons of ‘granite sixty metres from the city cavern, “Hostiles provoked. Three to four dawn, Ground floor secured. Back-up required.” Ali's voice snapped ia, “Call a medic, boss, Teague's all burned up." Sanger added the request, then dropped down in the shadows, trying to see up the gaping stairwell to the upper floors through the smoke and dust. Montgomery came ia and crouched a few feet away, breathing hard, No need for silence anymore - eh?” Ali also appearéd, Ioading a Miles Grenade into the Faust. Even through the helmet you could see he was grinning, “That's for sure. We going upstairs now, or waiting for help? Big city like this, two-storey buildings an’ all, maybe there are some things left behind, eh?” Just remember what we're here for, Ali, Remember the people who lived here got themselves killed because they weren't quick enough getting out of the way. Their stuff doesn't belong 10 us, any more than it belongs to the Shiks.” ure, T know. AIL I'm saying, “Forget ity” snapped Sanger, and be closed off the radius ‘on his Comms unit. For one moment, he wanted to rip off his helmet and breath clean air... but of course there Was no ‘lean air here in Red Rock City, nor anywhere else on Sebastopol-5, with its surface temperatures of 900 degrees and its sulphurous clouds. Just another prefab city on a hostile world, and made all the mote hostile by dhe pres: fence of a Shia Khan invasion force, which had bored ‘through to Red Rock and a dozen other cities just @ month age, } ‘The Crusaders were here to take it back, “You OK, Sar)?" Montgomery's voice, faint on a narrow { radius. Sanger sighed, and brought his own Comms net hack up 10 squad radius Point; Montgomery, cover from that doorway. Here we i “11m fine, We're taking the upper floor nov. Ali, take the i 80, ; He cracked a new magazine into the Ingrave as he ran. Lock and load. Rock and roll.INTRODUCTION It is a distant future, But not so distant that we cannot sex i, Humanity has reached out deep into the galaxy, colonis- ing worlds with great Ark-sbips, cannibalising the ships on landing to create giant, self:contained underground cities, linked to the surface and to each other by rapidetransit bore-tubes. Bach colony was a law unto itself, until Humanity found it was not alone in the galaxy. Lesser races had been absorbed, assimilated. But when they ran into the Shia Khan, they met a culture much, much older tun their own; more advanced, but also more terible, The ‘Shia Khan laid’ claim to all the worlds in the galaxy, and sought to seize the coonics The Humans fought back, but they also started to fight amongst themselves. At the fringes of the Human Sphere, a small coalition of colonies came to be known as the Free Companies. They are outlaws and renegades amongst their ‘own kind, dedicated to the belief that oae and only King all humanity had ever been ruled by would be the Key to their survival. Their search for the descendant of Alexander, the True King, was a quest which crossed the entire galaxy. But, meantime, there was the war against the Shia Khan The human colonists, placed on worlds rich in resources regardless of their habitability, lived in cities beneath the surface of those worlds, tunnelling out huge caverns, and equipping them with artificial environments, living spaces and factories scavenged from the Ark-ships. Whatever hell raged on the surface, the cities were safe. Bot not safe from the Shia Khan, The resources of the golaxy are just as valuable to them, and their fierce code of hhonour leads them to enslave rather than wastefully destroy. Theit mighty dragon-ships arrive at isolated worlds, skimming the atmosphere, and releasing Drop- Pods bristling with their deadliest troops, They bore through to the cities, and seize all the inhabitants Of course, the Free Companies are not defeaceless. The volunteers of the Levy and the elite Crusaders defend each city, block-by-block, building by building. And, when a city or a world is lost, the Free Companies have their own ‘Mole Assault ships, and can just as easily take the city back. This is the warfare of the future. A deadly game of urban combat in enclosed city-caverns. Through the claustropho- bic streets of the colonies, small units move, cautiously, towards their objectives, wary of embush or sniper Now you can take command of such a unit. If you have what it takes, you could achieve glory and povier by ‘becoming @ Free Company Templar. More likely, you'll fend up a8 a small marker in a city that never sees the sun Lock and load. Rock and roll. PIREFIGHT js & skirmish-level adventure game, based on the ION AGE background first developed by ALTERNATIVE ARMIES to characterise their metal ‘miniatures, Tt pits the fiercely independent humans of the Free Companies against their mysterious and powerful fee, the Shia Khan, FIREFIGHT leans heavily towards contact combat, but it is conly the beginning of & games system which will extend ‘across the roleplay and tabletop battle spectrum, and include a broad family of Fantasy and SF products, If you wish to be kept informed of these additional products, or to become better acquainted with ALTERNATIVE ARMIES Products, there is & coupon at the back of this book which ‘might iaterest_you. ‘The JON AGE is a fictional setting, which draws heavily fon the evocative myths and legends of our shared history. ION AGE games will rely heavily on their context: all good roleplay adventures noed thoir setting, and all [abletop battles need a point beyond winning and | ing, ‘This first product is just the tip of the iesberg, I is, how- ever, a complete game. With a few six-sided dice and some AA ‘miniatures, you can be up and playing in about 20 minutes. Experienced gamers can probably absorb the ‘essence of most of the system very quickly, but itis sill worth playing the introductory scenatios first to get a feel for its play-style Because what you will soon notice about PIREFIGHT is that itis exttcmely fast-moving and demanding. Combat is deadly; combat with the weapons of a future era are bound to be even more destructive. FIREFIGHT is very unforgiv- ing: the guy who takes the wrong risk at the wrong time is ‘going to be decimated, This particular product is designed for SF Urban Combat, although the same system resurfaces throughout the ION AGE range, Future products present other settings, includ ing Fantasy. Eventually, there will also be some big products that allow you to do more designing yourself, adapting the game to whatever setting suits you. ION AGE is designed for either player-vs-player, mult player or Sofo play. The rules are writen assuming you ‘wall use them player-vs-player; Section Seven highlights other game-styles. Read and enjoy. Get playing and have even more fun. And if yon manage all that and want some more, we have some special news for you at the back of the book. PLAYING PIECES Check to make sure you have all these components in your copy of FIREFIGHT. A 6fupage booklet (this i tt) ‘Ten Card Sheets The Cover Wrap Cut the Card Shects careflly to sepaate the playing ards, Batleboards and counters. There's no need to do all this boefore you play your first game: you'll be told what you need. Sort the rest out a8 $ov continue playing.PART ONE: FIREFIGHT! [At the heart of the ION AGE gare is a fastresolution tencounter systom which you usc in many different situa tions. Since combat plays a great part in any game of this type, we examine the system through @ simple combat scenario, Incidentally, this means you can start learning the system as you play your first game Throughout the adventures presented in FIRERIGHT you command 2 unit of far-future infantry in an urban setting ‘The number and quality of the toops under your command incresses as your experience and expertise Increases. For this introductory Mission, the Free Company Player (FCP) controls four Levy troopers, under the command of a Crusader NCO, The Shia Khan Player (SKP) has two desperate Inflltrators and four Goblins st his Gisposal, Decide which player controls which side by any method which keeps the peace. Cut out and separate the following cards. From the red FREE COMPANY cards, the FCP should take the CRUSADER NCO, LEVY TROOPER EMERITAS and LEVY TROOPER Character Cards, the INGRAVE 125mm HVE and the KALASS 76D RIFLE Equipment Cards, Place these in front of you like this (CRUSADER INGRAVE NCO. HVI ‘TROOPER KALASS EMERITAS 76D) ‘This system is used throughout the game, Active Equipment is placedbesidethe Character Card: sored Equipmentcanbe placed phystally underneath the Character Card ‘The Shia Khan Player has all the information about his forees on the inside of the cover wrap which ceme with this ‘game. He controls SHIA KHAN INFILTRATORs and GOBLINs armed with “Eggtimer” Laser Rifles and “Popcorn” Pistols. CHARACTER cards show the abilities of a typical soldier ff the named type, armed only with besic side-arms ~ Which you can take to mean a close-quarter projectile-fiing handgun and a knife. The EQUIPMENT card then adds its firepower. By matching the Iwo wgether, you get the complete soldier. The SKP has the same’ information on the inside cover display. ‘Each card, in addition to is name has threé aumbers against three headings: MOVE, RANGED and MELEE. ‘You'll understand how they are used in a moment; for ‘now, note this simple rule ~ always add the mimbers for a Character and his Equipment, So, your CRUSADER NCO has 8 MELEE score of 5 when he is carrying the Ingrave, and only 3 without it Note that each Character Card gives the Standard Weapon that Character normally carries. There is also a heading. Skills, which is covered in Part Two. Ignore it for now. You don’t need (and don’t have!) a card for each man, only for each type. There is no need for individual records for feach man at this stage, and it's best to keep the table as clear as possible. FIREFIGHTs ae fought on the Battlegrounds, the square floor-plans on the card sheets. These feature different types of Terrain; Rosds, Open and Buildings, For this Combat, place two Road Batlegrounds and two Building Batle- ‘grounds Hike this: Building Building Doors es Road Road You also need two things which we can’t supply in this book format of the game ~ miniatures and dice. A fall listing of the available ION AGE miniatures can be fouad at the rear of this booklet You can buy ALTERNATIVE ARMIES miniatures from the same wise Stockist where you bought this game. Details can be found at the back of this book. The dice are standard six-siders, the sor of thing you must have by the dozen. You need about 2 dozen or so to be comfortable ‘The FREE COMPANY Troopers enter from the Road; place them on the Road Batleboards now, close the open door. Before the SKP ean add his troops, you need to understand the rules for Cover. Cover is one, of the most diffieult things you have to judge throughout the game, and the following Fules have to be tempered with common sense, Never fall ‘out with the other player over your interpretation of Cover; just gun down all his men instead.FIREFIGHT COVER Walls, furniture, other soldiers (friendly or otherwise!) - even dead bodies ~ all provide Cover (ie, shelter ftom direct fire). In URBAN FIREFIGHT, thero ace four levels of Cover: Complete, Hard, Soft and Open. Always judge Cover from the Firing Point (wherever the Active Character is shooting from). Draw a direct line from the Firing Point to the Target. Any interven- ing Characters, walls, items of furniture (on the Batle- ‘ground or as separate Markers) which block this direct Tine cause Cover. Every square on the Battleground can now be rated in fone of the four grades of Cover, according 10 the following: Any square which is wholly in view from the Firing Point is in Open Cover, Any squaze which is partially or half-obscured, but which i not more than half obscured is in Soft Cover: Any square which is ‘more than half obscured is in Hard Cover, unless itis. A square which is completely obscured, ia which case it is in Complete Cover. ‘The following diagram clarifies these categories. The ‘important thing to recognise is any character or any object in a square fills that square. Although you might fonly be able to see a small par of an enemy trooper, that's enough to fire at, With these weapons, taking any kind of bit is going to incapacitate the target Note the following points: An object adjacent 10 the Firing Point does not normally cause Cover; the firer could shoot over or round the object. Be rational, however = you can't fire over or round a high wall (you ‘might be able to fire through it, but tha’s another imate... If a Character in Complete Cover chooses 10 FIRE ai another Character, he automatically lowers his cover by one level to Hard. You may be safe from harm behind that computer console, but if you pop up to let off 8 few rounds, you expose yourself to fire in return A fallen body provides Soft Cover to anyone bebind it Cover is cumulative. If two blocking objects each place 2 square in Soft Cover, teat it as if it were in Hard Cover. ‘$= Soft = Hank: C= Complete. Noe thatthe Cover nthe ‘adjacent Squarevo he Crusader doesnot canse Cover wher he fires Dut would dof someone fired Bi from the lad side, Cover reduces the chance of a character being hit. This is simulated by Rerolls; depending on the degree of Cover, you may reroll any remaining Action Dice you have in the hope of converting one into a DODGE, The number of Rerolis you are allowed is: In Open Cover - 0 rerolls In Soft Cover = 1 recoll In Hard Cover - 2 rerolis In Complete Cover - this doesn't apply - you can fired on in Complete Cover. Retuming to the Inttoductory Mission, the SKP places his, forces bearing the Cover rules in mind. Take one dice for ‘cach Character and roll them. For each 6, 5 or 4, place & ‘man in Open Cover (as seen fom the open door): for each 3, place one in Soft Cover; for each 2, place one in Hard Cover - the rest ean go to Complete Cover, If you run out of squares of a particular Cover type, use & square in more open Cover. ‘The Encounter is now set up. All that remains is for the Crusader player to go through the doorway. ta this encounter, the winning player is whoever survives. Good luck. May the best man ‘win,FIREFIGHT COMBAT Combat is played out in Tums, and uses a simple system to generate fast-moving, cause and effect action. In cach Turn, Surviving Characters conduct a number of actions, Once all Characters have conducted their actions, che Turn ends. ‘At the beginning of each Tum, you must discover who has the Tnitiive, Both players rola dice; whoever gets the higher may select who has the Initiative. Initiative controls who moves frst in a given situation Jn some Missions - including this intwoductory one = there may be a special rule about Initiative, This always takes pricrity over the die-olling method. In this Encounter, the FCP chooses who has Initiative for any Turn while he still has Troopers out on the Road. Obviously, this applies on the first Turn, ‘The Initiative Player now decides which of his Characters he will Activate fist, Each Character is activated at some time during the Ture, and the Tum ends only when all surviving Characters have had their actions resolved. THE ACTION DICE ‘The Active Character can now Move, Fire his weapon, or conduct some other activity. These are called TACTICAL OPTIONS. For now, there are three choices: MOVE MOVE & FIRE AIMED FIRE ‘Select which Tactical Option you wish the character to follow. To select either of the FIRE OPTIONS, you need 10 be able to see a Target: if there is ao visible opponent, you must solect Move, Depending on your chosen Option, you next roll the ACTION DICE, These control the outcome of your efforts. ‘Two simple rules then govern most of the action which follows throughout the ION AGE. game: Generally, the score on each dice consistently means the same thing, A SIX is an OPPORTUNITY; in Combat, it ‘means an acquired TARGET. A ONE is a DEFENSIVE OPPORTUNITY; in Combat, it means a DODGE. All other resulls are GENERAL ACTIONS, You may always, and at any time, reroli an Action Dice which shows a ONE or a SIX unless you have been told to discard it. Remember these rules and you have conquered most of the ‘asic system! As is immediately obvious, the more AC- TION DICE you roll, the better chance you have of geting those sexy ONES and SIXes. Better soldiers and betier weapons give you more Action Dice If you use all a Character's ACTION DICE, mark that ‘model with 2 TURN DONE Marker. Tae importance of this will become clear. ‘After one Active Character has completed his Actions, the Initiative Player selects the next, upless there aze any ‘models with unused TARGET or GENERAL dice showing (in which case the one with the mast dice goes firs; if two Characters have the sume number, the Initiative Player gets to choose which one moves next). This rule has the dual effects of creating a cause and effect atmosphere - and clears dice off the table! CHARACTER ACTIONS The number of ACTION DICE you roll, and their meaning, is determined by the Tactical Option you select, MOVE ‘To MOVE, add the MOVE score on the CHARACTER and EQUIPMENT cards for that soldier. You aust reroll any ‘SIKes immediately, since you are not allowed 0 Fire with this option, For every GENERAL ACTION DICE (2-5) you roll, you can Move that character one square (horizontally, vertically fr diagonally). Discard any Dice you don't wish to use. Any DODGEs (1s) you roll should be saved. Keep them beside the Character model. Don't worry, they're unlikely to be wasted GAB O+2%€ reroll 4 df Eye dans ‘The infilirator has o Character Move score ofS, and.an Equipment Move score of Ofora net 5. The SKP elects to MOVE model A He tolls 64 3.2 He must reroll the 6 this becomes He now has four ction Dice to Move wih anda Dade. The SEP chooses tomove thre squares, discard th fourth lead eps the DODGE hese the mode. MOVE & FIRE This is the most common Tactical Option ~ your man takes off like greyhound, firing from the hip, enemy fire fraelling around him... Many of the rules apply to other situations as well, so read the following carefully Before you roll sny dice, nominate a target. Naturally, this has to be an enemy model your Character can see, subject to the Cover rules (remember, you can't see anyone in Complete Cover unless they have already used their ACTION DICE). ‘Total the Ranged scores of your soldier's Character and Equipment cards. Again, this gives you the number of Action Dice to roll. You'll noticed that some Equipment cards (such as the “Eggtimer") have more than one Ranged Score, set against a number of distances in squares. Fist count the number of squares to your nominated target, then take the Score for that Range as the one to use Roll the appropriate number of Action Dice. The GENERAL ACTION DICE should be dealt with first; they allow you to Move, as before, one square per dice, Discard fany you don’t want to use, DODGEs are, agzin, kept beside the Character model until required, TARGET dice are used to ay 10 take out enemy CharactersFIRERIGHT. Each TARGET represents a hit unless it can be cancelled by a DODGE. If the enemy Character has not yet rolled its ACTION DICE, this happens now. The enemy Character’s Player selects 4 Tactical Option, nominates a target (i itis a FIRE Option), and rolls the appropriate number of Action Dice. 1F the target Character rolls a DODGE, he survives the atack - discard the matched TARGET and DODGE dice. If the target does aot roll a DODGE, he is eliminated. The ‘only thing to consider is whether he goes down with his ‘own weapon blazing (using any TARGETS he rolled), or just goes down. A target Character who rolls no DODGE but who has 2 TARGET of his own can stil use that TARGET against his nominsted opponent, but only that fone (all other Action Dice are discarded, including other TARGETS). Alternatively, the player can Reroll all the TARGETS he has and hope for a DODGE. The odds on surviving still aen’t that great; isn't it much more poetic to lky and gun down the man who just emptied his weapon into you..? You might also, of course, be able to TARGET an enemy model which has already rolled its ACTION DICE. If the enemy model had a DODGE dice by it, this will eancel out ‘one TARGET. If you Fire at a Character who has used all his Action Dice, (and is matked by a TURN DONE marker), that model gets to roll one dice on the off-chance he gets a DODGE. No ‘ther result has any effect. Most often, therefore, a soldier who has used all his actions but still draws enemy fire is doomed. Remember: any enemy model in Cover is catitled to Rerolls - one for Soft Cover, two for Hard Cover. This even applies in the case of a Character with a TURN DONE. marker rolling one de. Of course, one DODGE or a TURN DONE Roll isn’t going to save @ Character who receives two hits. If you roll more than one TARGET Dice, the first one must be used on the enemy model you nominated, Thereafter, you can fire at anything you can see. It is perfectly within the spirit of the {game to Use Iwo TARGETs on @ Character who has used all his ACTION DICE, and has no chance of survival In this simple version of the game, if you hit it you kill it ‘Any model covered by a TARGET dice which doesn't find 2 DODGE is dropped in the square where he stands. So Tong, sucker.. The FCP iszahing the Levy Trooper's Turm He nominates MOVE AIRE eta nfirator in Soft Cover, «Character who as no yet, ‘ohen his Turn. The Rage i 5 0 the Crusade rolls (Character »2: Equipment =1) 3 Acton Dice. He ges, 2.1. He akes2as.a Mose. then wes the 6 gona he Infra The SP declares the Unflrator wil alka MOVE & FIRE. and nominates the Crusader, Heals ros 3 dcr, ard gee 8, 6.3. No DODGE. His in Sot (Cover though, and Rerls the 3. 45: no goed. He can soa always Revol any SDC He ies a Rerol with ne of therm, bat Only gets a. Ther being de fanatic hes he chooses use the ‘emalning TARGET dic agalas he Levy Trooper. The Iaflraror Foes dove, gun Blazing, bat the Levy has to wre hee DODGE ‘agains the TARGET, and hei eft per to any other aah, with ‘nothing more shan @ TURN DONE marker for compan AIMED FIRE, ‘This works largely the same way, with some modifications. Having declared you will use AIMED FIRE, nominate a visible opponent, in the same way as for MOVE & FIRE, Roll the relevant ACTION DICE (using the Ranged Score fon both cards). The bonus for Aimed Fine is that all Se are converted to 65 (and are treated as if they were TARGET Dice: they cennot be Rerolled, however). The down side is that you discard all other GENERAL ACTION DICE and fone DODGE ACTION DICE {if you have one). It makes ‘you a clearer target, even if it does double your chance of Grilling someone on the other side All TARGETS rolled (either 5s or 6s) must be used against the same opponent when using AIMED FIRE,‘The Crusader Sule elees 1 AIM FIRE atom Ifilrator who ‘has aiready taken his Tur, an hax one Dodge showing. The Range 1:5. sotke FCP rols (Character =#: Egulpment=1) Actin Dice He gts 5.4.4.2. 1. He converts he FIVE to SIX, and dicard cl ‘ther Ganeral Action Die He mart also discard ene DODGE - the ‘only one he har. The Crusader has one TARGET ti, whick gets ‘canceled cut by de appanen's DODGE. Neither mode! bas any Acton Die lef 0 both are given TURN OVER marker. TURNS Very quickly, the only models with any Actions left from the first Turn are those with unused DODGE dice. These can be rerolled at the Player's discretion, but if both sides decline to do so, the Turn ends (continve with the normal Initiative procedure to see who has to declare their intentions first) Remember, when you complete a Cheracter's Actions, lsing the Tast Action Dice they have available, use a TURN DONE Marker to show this is the case. Only’ Characters marked in this way are allowed the free Roll to ty for a DODGE if fired on, Continue play, Tum by Tura, until one side or the other is vietorious. Good Hunting! MISSION ONE To help you assimilate the cules, we have included an introductory Mission alongside the rules. You're ready 10 play part one of that Mission ‘now. ‘A Mission is a sequence of FIREFIGHTS. You are going to face your first FIREFIGHT encounter now. In this Mission, the FCP is leading his Squad of Levy Troopers on a sweep into enemy territory. The frst encounter is with & group of Infiltrators and Goblins in the front Tine, (On the next page are all the details of the Encounter, repeating the information you were given above. We recommend you play through this FIREFIGHT now, to get used to the basic Combat system,MISSION ONE - BRIEFING From: 612 Bitn HQ, Sharpesville, Dunkirk-4 To: C Company ‘The following communication was intercepted on SK Comnet Lima at 31.35hs, 3002.925. Source - the ‘SK Dragonship “Darkwall”. Deciphered and translated message reads: “SK Forces of the “Theseus” Legion withdrawing. All Infiltrator and Goblin units to continue fighting until relieved, You are forbidden to surrender.” Intelligence indicates SK in full retreat this sector. Mopping up of all Khanate resistance a priority. Assign Crusader NCOs to command Levy forces in clearance operations; commence immediately. Structural damage to be minimised, FORCES. Free Company: One Crusader NCO armed with an Ingrave HV1; one Levy Trooper Emeritas armed with a Kalass 76D; three Levy Troopers armed with Kalass 76Ds. Shia Khan: Two Infltrators armed with Popoorn, Pistols; two Goblins armed with Popcom pistols; two Goblins armed with Eggtimer Rifles. VICTORY CRITERIA ‘This is a to-the-death struggle; whoever has men standing when the last of the other side goes down. is the winner of this Encounter. + CRUSADER ... CRUSADER CRUSADER ... CRUSADER .. You are an NCO in 612 Battalion, Crusader House Dunkirk. You have just played a minor role in the recapture of the planet from Shia Khan forces. All that remains is the mopping-up. In keeping with the general order given above, you are to take ‘command of a squad of Levy Troopers. Your “Mission is to sweep through the enemy lines, and seize control of the crossroads at Point A. Just beyond your Jump-Off position, there is a mixed ‘unit of Goblin and Infilrator scum. Terminate them, INITIATIVE ‘The Free Companies have the Initiative forthe first ‘Turn, and any Turn thereafter in which one or more live FC Troopers are left on the road. In any other case, follow the normal Initiative rules. BATTLEGROUNDS. ‘The SKP places two Building and two Road Battle- ‘grounds like this: nutitng —[] uly » SHIA KHAN ... SHIA KHAN ...| .. SHIA KHAN ... SHIA KHAN ...| You are an Infiltrator officer in the Shia Khan Army. You have been left behind to delay the recapture of Dunkirk while more valuable forces disengage. ‘Assume the accursed Free Companies know the contents of the general order you received and expect immediate attack. Resistance is futile. Itis also expected. Take as many of them with you as you can. A mixed unit of Infiltrators and Goblins holds the front line. Command them to make a stand. Co Road Road =Door ‘The Free Companies forces begin the combat in the road hexes. The Shia Khan forces follow the normal rules for placement in cover, using the open door to the road as the Firing PointPART TWO: THE BIG GUNS Once you have mastered the Basic rules system, you may wish t0 add all or some of the following rules, which bring greater depth and “realism” t0 the simulation of @ Firefight. Then, in Part Three, we'll move onto MELEE, (Close-Quarter) Combat. Alviays make sure everyone agrees which rules are in force before play begins. In the fend, since each of them adds an additional level of realism ‘and tactical interest, you'll probably adopt them all. It's Worth taking the time t get used to them piecemeal, however. 'A second Encounter for your introductory Mission appears at the end of this section, for you to try out the ideas presented here BURST FIREFIGHT is all about simulating fast-moving, on-the-run skimmishing. When you're dashing through a killing zone, you can’t concentrale on any one enemy without taking 2 Considerable risk of drawing fire from another. The Burst tule covers this. [As already stated, witen you choose 8 FIRE. Action, you ‘nominate an enemy model. If you roll a TARGET Dice, this has to be used against the nominated enemy. If you roll more thn one TARGET Dice, you have a free choice of which enemy Characters you use the other Target Dice against, with this restriction. If you use a second consecutive TARGET Die against 2 Single enemy, you must discard one DODGE Die {if you have rolled one). OF courte, if you were lucky enough to roll three Target Dice, you can siitch to a second enemy with the second die, thea return to your original opponent with the third; there is no penalty for doing this ‘The Burst Rule does not apply to AIMED FIRE, when you fan concentrate on one enemy model without further penalty. Nor does it apply when only one enemy model fan be seen from the Firing Point INTERVENING COVER ‘As we have seen, intervening Charscters - friendly or enemy - can provide Cover. Clearly, however, they are at risk fom any shots fired past them at a Target - ironically, more ftom near hits than complete misses. This rule covers ‘what happens when you get in the way of an attack. Friendly fire casualties are always harder to take than other types. ‘As well os using FIVEs 2s GENERAL Action Dice, teat them as TARGET Dice against the intervening Soldier (all other Action Dice are used normally). The FIVE should be é]elEIL) An Inftranor elect to AIM FIRE atthe Craader NCO, who has ‘been placed Soft Cover bya second Infilrator Neliber ofthese (Characters has moved. The Range s 4,50 the SKP rols3 Actin Dice He pte 5, He converts the FIVE 10a SLX, andthe FOUR toa FIVE. The TWO is discarded: he has no DODGE, 0 tha par (fhe AIMED FIRE ralee des not apply. The Crasader NCO i ‘hacked ie. He role 3 Acton Dice ona MOVE de FIRE against ‘he frst Inflrator He gets 6,6, 4 2, J, The DODGE cancels the TARGET nsed against him. The inerveningInilrator then rolls three Action Dice ona MOVE & FIRE against the Crusader He {is 6,4 1. His DODGE cancels ou the ther Inftvacr's TARGET. Intatve paste tothe Crone who now has #0 TARGET dice and nt an opposing DODGE in sgh 2used for its General Action first, as usual, but is not disearded unlil the Fite Action is resolved. If more than fone Soldier provides intervening Cover, spread the FIVES ‘round them, of decide randomly wbo gets in the way. AS with any other TARGET Dice, these are only cancelled by a DODGE. ‘As always with the Cover rule, a soldier in an adjacent square to the firer does not cause Cover. If the Active Character is using AIMED FIRE, FIVEs are converted to SIXes as usual, and FOURS are used against Intervening Cover. The intervening Cover Rule overlaps with a similar Rule about Firing Into Melee in the next chapter. Only one applies 10 ® particular situation Do not use the Intervening Cover rule as it stands for Heavy Weapons. Neat (and not so nest!) misses by Heavy Weapons are covered later OBSTRUCTED MOVE Character fll the squares they occupy. So, when moving, you cannot freely enter a square occupied’ by another Character, nor cin you move diagonally between two occupied squares, AA fallen Character (or any other low obsticle, including rubble) does not block Movement, but requires an extra MOVE to get past. Climbing through a narrow aperture, such as a hole in a wall or @ window requires two extra MOVE Actions, You should also read the Melee rules, 19 see how a ‘Character declaring Melee as a Tactical Option restricts movement, ‘The urvows show prohibited moves once the Levy Ver has reached square A, THE BIG GUNS FACING In general, Facing - taking into account which way the Character is looking - doesn’t play a pat in the ION AGE tule, It i part of the multiaction nature of FIREFIGHT 0 assume that Charactets moving around and firing are not {just watching in one direction, but are ducking, and ‘weaving, Keeping their eyes open for anything. which might pot them in even greater danger than they face already! Some functions, however, imply concentration on one area. ‘The following Tactical Options are those we have in mind: AIMED FIRE. OPPORTUNITY FIRE It is assumed with these that the Character is static and facing in one particular direction. The model should be aligned to show this. Once aligned, the model can only fire to the front and sides ~ not to the rear Use a Static Marker to show a Character Facing in one direction, Just as importantly, any attack - Melee or Ranged fom that rear quarter is more likely to hit, To practical terms, it means that a Character engaged in such Options who is attacked from the Rear mast discard a DODGE Dice (in addition to any he has already discarded). ‘The NCO's Tactic! Option was Aimed Fire, soe was Satie The Infiltrtor to his rear choateso use MOVE & FIRE against hi The Crusader must discard his DODGE Action Dice. He ts no & sting duc f he Iflirator can roll a TARGET. MAXIMUM GENERAL ACTIONS Some weapons inhibit movement because of their size and bulk. For this reason, they can have a negative Move Score No matter how many Action Dice you are permitted co roll according to the total of your Ranged Score (or Melee score, come to that..), you may only use ax many GENERAL Dice as deiermined by the combined Move score on your cards, Any excess is discarded. This does not affect Dice which end up as TARGET or DODGE Dice by any method, including Rerolls.‘THE BIG GUNS FIRE OPTIONS These are specialist Tactical Options, which you can use to eal with particular situations. Just as with any of the basic Tactical Options, you declare the Option the Active Character hes selested and nominate « target, before rolling the Action Dice. OPPORTUNITY FIRE ‘This Option allows you to break the normal sequence of Initiative, At any moment, you can declare that a Character who has not already used his Action Dice is using Opportunity Fire against an Active Character using a GENERAL Dice (je, while Moving or performing another General Action). This is most often used when a Character is scurrying from one bit of Cover to another, but you have a momentary clear shot a him. Measure the range to the Active Character, and roll the relevant number of Action Dice as determined by your combined Ranged Score, Discard any GENERAL Dice; you ‘may not Move or perform any other Action. You must also discard one TARGET Dice (if you have another one). If you have more than two TARGET dice, you may hang onto the Temainder in case you can OPPORTUNITY FIRE at another Character in the same way. Keep DODGE Dice as usual If the Tum ends before a Character using Opportunity Fire ‘can use all his TARGET dice, they must be discarded SUPPRESSING FIRE ‘This Option allows you blaze away, keeping the other guys’ heads down, but with much less chance of actually hitting anything Having announced this as your Tactical Option, nominate 4 target, measure Range and roll the relevant number of Action Dice as usual. Convert any FIVEs to SIXes, a8 with AIMED FIRE; you must also discard one DODGE Die (if you zolled: one). Use your GENERAL Dice first, then your TARGET Dice. However, instead of being cancelled out by an enemy DODGE Die, your TARGETs are eancelled out by enemy TARGET Dice - you have caused them to duck away from ‘your hail of bullets. If the enemy Character has no Target Dice Tefl, you can use ‘any remaining TARGET Dice you have left to uy and Kill him, though your chances of doing so are much reduced. If the enemy has 2 DODGE, your TARGET Dice are dis- ‘carded as usual, but the enemy does aot have to discard his DODGE. ‘The Burst rule should be applied when using Suppressing Fire The infltraior chooses SUPPRESSING FIRE and nominates the lnitraor in Bard Cover. He rolls 3 Action Dice and get 5. 4,4 ‘The 5 convers 10a The ather rio GENERAL Action Dice are taken as Moves, hen the TARGET 'sappted. The Love nominates AIMED FIRE agains he Infirator. He gts 5, 3,2 The FIVE te ‘onsertd toa SIX ad thr MOVE Dice are discarded. The Infitrator' TARGET eancels oud the Lery's Netter has ry ‘Action Dice lft, so Boh eceve Tum Done Marker. DEFENSIVE FIRE ‘This Option is the inverse of Aimed Fize, You convert all ‘TWOs to ONES, then discard all GENERAL Dice and one ‘TARGET Dice. ‘This Tactical Option makes it hard 10 hit anything, but should keep you well-supplied with DODGE Dice, REACTION FIRE This Option allows you to save TARGET Dice for Counter-fire against enemy soldiers. When you select Reaction Fire, you do not have to nominate a Target. Roll your Action Dice as usual. Discard all GENERAL Dice. ‘You then save any TARGET Action Dice beside the model as you might with any DODGE Dice. When the enemy declare their actions, you may use one TARGET Action Die against each of them, for as long 5 you have TARGET Dice. This is particularly useful when Your opponent is cowering in Complete Cover and waiting for all your Initiative to be used up. Once a hostile model has completed its Actions (ie, it is marked with a TURN DONE Marke), you may aot use REACTION FIRE against it,SKILL REROLLS “The concept of Reroils has already been introduced through the Cover rules, which allow you to try to conver General Action Dice into Dodges. Since you can always reroll ONEs and SIXes anyway, this concept is designed to tun GENERAL Dice into something more interesting, Skills allow Characters to make Rerolis doe to their superior abilities. There are three rules to observe: The Skill smust be relevant (0 the Action being Rerolled. A Skill may be used only once in each Turn, Skill Rerolls can be used in conjunction with other Rerolls (like Cover). Characters can develop Skills to increasing Levels. A Character with Level Two Skill is allowed two Rerolls. WEAPONS SKILLS If you look at the FREE COMPANY CRUSADER NCO Card, you'll see the line “Skill: Weapons (P)". This means he ig ented to a Skill Reroll during any Tum in which he seleets a FIRE Tactical Option, and is armed with a Projectile Weapon. All Weapons are classified by TYPE, shown by a single leter. The types are P « Projecile E- Energy S ~ Stato-alering B - Bio/Nuclear/Chemical L ~ Launched ‘Some types can also be M_ (Mounted), All Weapons Skills work the same way. ‘The Rerol is still valid even if it leads to a DODGE Dice rather than a TARGET. Skill with a Weapon makes it just 1s likely you can preserve your own life as take someone ‘else's. General Dice are used normally. MEDIC SKILL. Allows Rerolls on attempts t9 revive fallen Characters (see below). For cach level af Medic Skill a Character has, he may Reroli a GENERAL Action Dice to try and make it a SDC This skill has no effect on the Diagnosis Roll GENERAL ACTIONS ‘These Rules add to the scope of GENERAL Action Dice. In the Basic Game, they were only used for Movement. However, there are many other useful things you can do, even in the heat of batt. DROP DOWN/PRONE/GET UP Jn the Basic Rules, it was stated that you could shelter bbchind @ fallen Character, receiving Soft Cover. This rule makes life a little miekier "Now, you have to Drop Down behind the body to receive the Benefits of Soft Cover. This uses up one Action Dice. Place a Prone Marker beside the model to show a Character sheltering behing a body. A Prone Character is also ‘considered Static (see Facing, above). It also costs onc Action Dice to get up. CHANGE WEAPONS/EQUIPMENT Additional Equipment can be ready for use, stored in Pouches, in 2 backpack, or slung across the shoulder. Only ‘one weapon is normally ready for action = this is the one indicated by the Equipment Card beside your Character THE BIG GUNS Card, ‘To change this in any way, you must discard (use) fone GENFRAL Action Dice. You may then swap Equipment Cards; discarding, replacing and storing as you see fit. Picking up 2 fallen weapon, from a comrade or from a ead enemy, is also handled in this way. [Note that since you must work out the aumber of Action Dice to use at the beginning of a Character's Tum, you always use the weapon the Character was equipped with at the beginning of a Turn, even if they subsequently change weapon. This means if you start s Turn unarmed, you attack using only the aumber of Action Dice given by the Character’s Ranged score MOVE/DRAG HEAVY OBJECT ‘You may also wish to move an object which is blocking your route, oF drag a fallen comrade out of the line of fire io receive medical attention. The model doing the lifting and the object must be adjacent before this stats, of course, Tk costs two Action Dice to move the object, in addition to the one for the Character doing the moving, ©, t pur it another way, it costs three Action Dice per square for a Character to Move while dragging or pushing something along with him, The object being moved must obey all other Movement rules (ie, Obstructed Move, ete). MEDICAL AID When a Character is brought dowa by weapons fite, the assumption is that he has been killed - or, at least, ‘incapacitated badly enough to take him out of the Combat. By providing Medical Aid, another Character can attempt to revive the fallen man. Any Character can attempt to give Medical Aid (and all Characters would normally have the relevant equipment as standard), but someone with Medic Skill (see above) is more likely 10 be able to succeed. First, take one of your remaining Action Dice and Revol it; this allows you to Diagnose the status of the fallen man. If the result is a ONE or TWO, he is already too far gone, and the attempt was wasted. However, you can try to Heal ‘other Characters, Each TARGET Action Dice you cash in adds one to the Diagnosed condition of the fallen soldier. IF you can reach a score of 7, he is revived; stand the model tap and place a TURN DONE Marker by’ him. If you can’t revive him in the Tum in which the first Diagnosis is made, the Character's Wound Condition falls by one point each ‘Turn (at the beginning of the Tum) until he is eliher healed (his Wound Condition is restored to 7) fr he dies (his Wound Condition falls 0 2). Use a dice 10 show the current Wound Condition of « Character You can vse Medical Skill Rerolls to try improving GENERAL Action Dice to TARGETs. Any DODGE you roll must be Rerolled - you can't DODGE while you attempe Medical Aid OPERATE EQUIPMENT In some scenarios, there may be non-personal Equipment in the room where the Firefight tokes place. Typical ‘examples include operating an Alarm, or destroying vitel ‘documents. All such Actions use up one GENERAL Action Dice. reTHE BIG GUNS WEAPON STRENGTHS All Weapons have a STRENGTH factor. Those with a Swength of 1 require no additional action, However, a TARGET Action Dice for a weapon of STRENGTH 2 requires wo DODGE Dice to survive the hit. A weapon of Sieength 3 requires three DODGE Dice, HEAVY WEAPONS Certain classes of Weapons do not wholly obey the rules as they have been set out thus far. Many are clasified as Heavy Weapons, and they include several types of Area Effect weapons (grenades, gas, etc) ‘The following points summarises the different way Heavy Weapons are handled. RANGED SCORES Heavy Weapons, when used by low-quality troops or fred at inappropriate ranges, may yield a combined Ranged score of @ or lower, Naturally, in such circumstances, they cannot be employed, and another Tactical Option must be chosen, AMMO Some Heavy Weapons are capable of firing different ammunition types. Select which type you will fire before rolling any dice. TACTICAL OPTIONS All Tactical Options are open when equipped with Heavy ‘Weapons, exeept Opportunity Fire and Reaction Fire Melee is possible, but most Heavy Weapons have severe negative modifiers NOMINATED TARGET When firing a Heavy Weapon with an Area Effect, the Player nominates a Target square (not necessarily occupied) instead of an enemy soldier AccURACY Area Efet weapons sill go of even wien they don't it what they're tied at Soy when the ce te rally the procedure for deciding what happens next Is difeent Fins the Untiatg Player rolls te relevant number of dice (vormaliy a sale uber than with x lighter weapon) I he rolls TARGET Dice, e hits the Target Square: I the best be gett isa FIVE, the projsile misses by one spare his vest dels FOUR. the ms is by 2 squtes, eI he Fier jot plain mises, ue tis Seat Diam dicover in which drecon the Mis occured. Align the bottom age ofthe template broadly towards the fret and Tol (wo digg, By reading the result of the Diagram, the cretion their went off in can be ascenineds I the reste would take the is into Cove, the Impact Poin wll Bethe Adiacent open square A Crusader HW Trooper fring a SOmm Grenade ot ofa Katass AT Leuncherrollea Sav hihes Action Dice He mises he Target Souare by ane. He rls nv die and compares he resal i ‘Scatter Dingrareto find where the shot al. He gets a7, 05 fale ‘Short A veal of 2 would hae cen the grenade goof Sure A Since i could ot have faded i the arte Cover also has an effect. The highest-scoring dice have to be Rerolled, according to the usual Cover rules (once for Soft Cover, twice for Hard). If this leaves the Firer without ‘2 TARGET Dice, then Cover has blocked the Projectile Determine which piece of Cover caused the block by working back from the Target Square; a FIVE hits the closest Cover to the Target, a FOUR hits the closest-but fli, etc. The Impact Point will be the Open square in front of the intervening Cover. [elo Ly “Another shot from the Crusader HW Tropes ime a 9 square ln Soft Cover He roll 53,1. The FIVE ts Rerlied for Cover -ard Comes up SIXUA lucky coche; the kell ands rig on target. Had Ihe mased the shell woul have Impacted in squcre A Next, wherever the projectile tands. work out the effect. ‘Any model in the square it hits is allowed to roll one dice to ty for a DODGE; those models one square avay are allowed to roll two dice; those two squares away are allowed to roll theee dice, ex. The Maximum Area of Effect for the weapon is given on the Wespon Card: if no AoE figure appears, it has no BlasvEffect radius. ‘These rolls are not the same as normal Action Dice rolls: they wholly replace them. A Character who has 2 Dodge Dice left beside his model cannot use this to evade a Heavy Weapon sisike, Cover Rerolis are made as usual, but Cover is judged from the Impact Point of the Weapon. not from the Firing Point, Skill Rerolls may also be usedWEAPON STRENGTHS Weapon Strengths apply normally: a weapon of STRENGTH 2 needs (wo DODGE Dice to survive the hit, and $0 on. Where a Weapon has both @ STRENGTH factor and an ‘Area Of Effect, the Strength factor only applies in full at the Impact Point. For each square of radius away from the Impact Point you move, the Strength Factor falls by one However, it can never fall below One, am ‘A S0ran Grenade goes off in the mid of alone group of Shia ‘han Iftar rsa Srengh 2, AE 2 weapon Inflrator A ie normaly allowed roll one diet old he effect ofthe weapon bu since is Srenih 2. and he cane porably roll vo DODGE, hes ied isan. Iftar B i cllowed ta roll wo dc, andthe Weapon Strength falls oI He gets 5, and survives. nflraor C ‘allowed tre dice, withthe Weapon Sirengih sil stat I. He ets 6,4,2and goes down. AMMUNITION/LOADING Heavy Weapons come with limited Ammo, In normal ceases you get three Rounds, though the Scenario Rules may alter this. Take the relevant number of Ammo Markers, land keep these on the Equipment Card, Obviously, discard fone each time you fire the weapon, Reloading & Heavy Weapon is @ GENERAL ACTION requiring two General Action Dice (one to take the Ammo from its container, one to load it). This means, unless you have four Action Dice available, you can’t fire twice in one round. The best way to show wether a Weapon is loaded or not is fo put an Ammo Marker on the Equipment picture when it is loaded. A second soldier can act as Loader to the first, He can ‘cary spare Ammo (up to six rounds) provided he has no weapon of his own that curries a negative Blue MOVE Loaders also use two GENERAL Action Dice to reload the Weapon. They must be in an adjacent square, and ‘cannot be engaged in any activity which requires the discard of GENERAL Dice. DESTROYING PROPERTY P and E Class Heavy Weapons can destroy inanimate objects. Tveat all walls as if they had a DODGE seore of two, and all other items as having a DODGE score of one ‘A Sirength 2 hit therefore destroys a door or computer ‘console, while a Strength 3 hit can blow s hole ina wall. THE BIG GUNS Place blank Markers over Furniture or other Cover- producing, items on the Battlegrounds, THROWING GRENADES Grenades and gas/smoke canisters can be thrown, Select a MOVE & FIRE or AIMED FIRE Tactical Option, Follow the normal rules for these actions, and all the rules under heavy weapons for the effect of blast, exe A separate Equipment Card exists to cover Thrown (as ‘opposed to launched) Grenades. It takes one Action Dice to pull and arm a Grenade, Since all General Action Dice are discarded for Aimed Fite, this means the grenade would have to have been readied the ‘Tum before for that Option to be selected. Place an Ammo Marker to show a model with 2 readied grenade EFFECTS OF SMOKE AND GAS Unlike blast effect weapons, Smoke and Gas linger. Place ‘SmokelGas Markers in affected squares. Any Character straying into those squares is affected by Smoke/Gas, The cloud does not disperse during the course of a FIREFIGHT? Gas attacks the target at the relevant Strength, A DODGE is requited 10 avoid the effects of the gas, and an additional DODGE must be spent for each additional gas-affected square passed through. Smoke acts as Cover. It obscures line-of-sight in the same way as walls, furniture, ete. The normal rule about Cover in an adjacent square not counting is not applied, Nor can ‘Smoke be Intervening Cover - it doesn't block attacks. MISSION ONE ‘Your first Mission now continues, allowing you to intro: doce the above rules. Hopefully, the Free Company forces survived the first encounter = some of them at any rate. If you were wiped out, start off with a new Squad, identical to the frst ‘All surviving Free Company forces from the first Encoun- ter have now pressed deeper into enemy territory - and hhave made contact with enemy forces moving up towards the frontlineMISSION ONE - BRIEFING From: 612 Btn HQ, Sharpesville, Dunkirk-4 Te: C Company Initial reports show friendly forces have broken through in several places along the line of the old ‘Trans-Urban Light Railway. Initial opposition was light, Enemy counterattacks can be expected at any time. Continue the advance. Company HW support should be called in to facilitate the continued advance. FORCES Free Company: Add « Levy HW Trooper armed with a Kalass Al to the survivors of the first ‘encounter, along with a Levy Trooper armed with a Kalass 76D if the FCP lost 2 of more Troopers in the first Encounter. Shia Khan: One Infiltrator armed with a “Lanehbox" Grenade Launcher; two Infiteators armed with “Eggrimer" Rifles; two Goblins armed with “Popcorn” Pistols. CRUSADER ... CRUSADER .. CRUSADER ... CRUSADER .. Your Squad is now in the vanguard of the advance. All surviving members have reported in ready for action. The streets behind the TULR are empty of ‘enemy forces and civilians, but the word is that & ‘Shik unit is digging in across your front, That's their problem. You've got fire support right behind you, in the forma of a HW Trooper with an Al, That should raise some hell! VICTORY CRITERIA ‘This is a to-the-death struggle; whoever has mea standing when the last of the other side goes down, is the winner of this Enconnter. INITIATIVE ‘The Free Companies have the Initiative for the first, Tum, In later Turns, follow the normal Initiative rules. ~. SHIA KHAN .., SHIA KHAN ...| «. SHIA KHAN ... SHIA KHAN Your front line has been severely compromised by over-whelming force. You need time 10 regroup. In order 10 provide cover for the withdrawal of your front-line units, you are committing reserves 10 counter-attack. “Lunchbox” Grenade launchers have been issued to key personnel. Let's see how the Unbelievers deal ‘with them! BATTLEGROUNDS ‘The SKP places three Rod Battlegrounds in a row ike this: ‘The Free Companies forces begin the combat on the Batleground at one end; the Shia Khan begin at the other. Ignore the normal rules for Placement In Cover; both sides may deploy in any square on their Battlegrouné. 8PART THREE: COLD STEEL “This section concentrates on Melee Combat - hand, close-quarter fighting, :and-fo- ‘Characters in adjacent squares can engage in Melee ‘Combat. The general procedure is largely the same as for Ranged Combat; each Character and Weapon has a Melee rating, These are adced together to give the number of ‘Action Dice that Character rolls. rom there on, however, Melee works litle differently. First, there’s the concept of the MELEE ACTION ZONE, ‘This consists of all the adjacent squares around a Character, unless that Character has already nominated a non-Melee ‘Tactical Option - Characters who have committed ther- selves to Firing have no MELEE ACTION ZONE. The 'MAZ is also cancelled if the square would be the subject of the OBSTRUCTED MOVE rule and by all obstructions (furniture, eto). So, Characters who have not yet aominated their actions, cx who have nominated Melee rete a MELEE ACTION ZONE. Ion enemy in your MAZ tiesto MOVE, FIRE ot attempts any other Acton except MELEE he automatically presets an opportunity tobe struck at If your Charocter ESACTION'BICE on te table, you may tse one of those if you have ot yet decaned your Taste! Option, doo "ow (nominate MELEE as yur Tacial Option and the Moving o Hiring Character as the target) you have a TARGET Dice, you may use one (and only ne) to attack the Moving Charecter who then eer cancels ot with 2 DODGE or gets cat Gown. If the Moving Character i able to move out of your MAZ, he can conte his Movement ts normal I he was Bring, or attempting a General ‘tion, he completes that Action. ‘The following summarises the other features of Melee Combat, TACTICAL OPTIONS ‘Add MELEE to the list of Tactical Options. Characters who wish to enter hand-to-hand Combat declare MELEE as their Tactical Option. You do not have to be adjacent to an ‘opponent at this time, MELEE SCORE AND ACTION DICE Combine the Melee Score on your Character and Equipment cards. You may use any GENERAL Dice for Movement but not for any other General Action. You may not Fire, although you do not discard TARGET dice. Nor do you discard any GENERAL Dice you don't use for Movement. When you select Melee as your Tactical Option, roll the dice secretly, behind your hand, so that your opponent cannot see what you have. Any Rerolls must be made in the open, however. In Tournament play, roll all the dice in the open, along with any Rerolls, then screen the dice behind your hand; you might prefer this option in any STRIKING BLOWS Any dice you have left when you are adjacent to an opponent can now be used to attack. The Target must automaticaly select the MELEE Tactical Option, even if he has already nominated another Option in this Tur. ‘Any Rerolls due to Skil or Obstacles are made nov, in the Pach Player screens his remaining ACTION DICE behind his Rand, and selects one. Both Dice are revealed simultaneously. Compare the results to the table below. ‘The basic rule is that the higher the Dice, the more aggres- sive tis. Attacks can be paried by the right defence, or both sides can sre to Kil. The del goes on like this unt both sides have run out of ACTION DICE, or until one or the combatants (or both) is Kile. (Character A has used alfhis Action Dice, so he hasno MAZ,B& Caren each other's MAZs, 8, C& D do na? exer an MAZ over ihe furifure, and C does not have an MAZ along ane ataganal under the OBSTRUCTED MOVE ‘ule. infitator B attempts to move along the bold arow. ut of Crusader C’s MAZ, He does not rol a DODGE. The FCP role for the Crusader, using his combined IMELEE scores. He gots a6. 6, 1 -and uses one of the TARGETS to ‘big his epponent down ashe retiecs. ‘A Character who has already declared hiis Actions and ‘who is then caught in an enemy's MAZ because the enemy Character has moved is CAUGHT UNAWARES (see below), Kt Fe o> MELEE TABLE 1 Player One x #[ es a[s 8 P 1 x x x * x x” aT 3 x x @ x A A yw 4/x x[x @ a A eo 5[x x}B B)@ A et : 6's B[B Bi/B @ Results Key: x = no HIT, A = Player One Hits Player Two, Be Player Two Hits Player One, @ = Simultaneously Hits Even after a hit, a player may use e DODGE Dice to avoid a fatal wound. This, of course, means he uses one ‘more dice than his opponent, which may prove to his long term disadvantage. As with Ranged Combat, when a (Character has used all his Action Dice, he may stil roll one Dice when attacked. In Melee, that might lead to him being. aggressive or defensive - who knows? - but a Hit kills him for sure,COLD STEEL, The Crusader (armed with a Power Axe) wants to enter Melee with the infiltator. He declares MELEE os hs Tactical Option and ros sk Action Dice. He gots 6,6. 3.2, 1. He needs one Move (he uses the 2) fo close fo the ‘adjacent squove- the Melee now commences, Caught ‘armed with nis “Eaghimer” Rife, the Inrator rots 3 ‘Action Dice. He gets 6,5 1. Both players now shield their ‘ice, then selac! one each forthe fst phase of the Melee, The Crusader selects his, he initrator hi 1. The ‘attack is blocked. Both ace are dlscarced. The Crusader then selocts is 5- and the inrator does likewise, Those are sruffaneous his, but the Crusader silt as @ DODGE (ef fo cance! his, whereas the Inttrator fas only his remaining sb. He Rerols, ond gets DODGE. That Phase has ako passed without a hit. Ihe. (Crusader nas two dice loft selects the 6 The SKP ros dice fo see wher the Infirator will do ~ and rolso 3 Tha Crusacier hos stuck 0 death-clealing Blow 1o Nis ‘pponent ‘The system reflects the danger inherent in charging against somone ready to go to Melee. The further away you charge from, the more ACTION DICE you use up. This is fatal in MELEE. However, by deliberately charging at someone who has already used his ACTION DICE for that round, or who is armed with a non-Melee weapon, you bring the odds much more into your favour. ‘CAUGHT UNAWARES ‘Any model in Melee unable to defend himself properly is, treated as if he had rolled a FOUR ‘This applies to any Character struck from the Rear (hough only for the first, surprise attack), or any Character who opts to Change Weapons in the middle of a Melee, or ‘who insists on continuing with some General Action while under attack. Regardless of the Action Dice played, Characters ‘Caught Unawares may nat score a hit FIRING INTO A MELEE ‘As we have seen, intervening Characters - friendly or ‘enemy - can provide Cover from Ranged Fire. The same is true of Characters in Melee with the target. Even though that Character’s model might not be in the direct line of fire, itis assumed that both combatants are moving around very quickly. A near miss might just take out the wrong, Instead of just using or discarding FIVEs ae GENERAL Dice, treat these as TARGET Dice against the Soldier in Melee with the Target. If more than one Soldier is involved in the Melee, spread the FIVEs around them, or dacide randomly who gets in the way. As with any other TARGET. Dice, these ean only be cancelled by a DODGE. “However, as with being shot at from the Rear (see FACING in Part Two), you must first discard one DODGE, ‘This rule replaces the Facing rule; once Characters in are in Melee they aren't assumed to be facing in any particular direction, but they are bound to be concentrating on the [guy with the sword in front of them, and be less able to Reep out of the way of a Ranged Attack TWO ONTO ONE Itis possible have two-on-one or even greater multiples of combatants involved in Melee. Itis best to break large Melees with several Characters on each side into as many smaller one-on-one scraps as possible. However, where two or more Characters are al piling in on one opponent the following rules take precedence, Whoever has the Initiative, always roll Action Dice for all Characters involved in a particular Melee, and deal with them simultaneously. ‘The player with multiple Characters is not obliged to snominato MELEE as the Tactical Option for them ail; the target of the single Character’s attention is the only one ‘who has to MELEE, though the others may get dragged in Ifa player wishes to use multiple Characters against one ‘Target, he must deal with all of them simultaneously. You are not allowed to attack with one Character, using up all the target's Action Dice, and then move up another attacker to finish him off ‘A Character who has nominated MELEE cannot change to.a different Tactical Option later in the Turn, even after Killing all opponents. Play dice for each model one-by-one as above. The single Character nominates just one of his opponents as the target of his first MELEE Action. His one Action Dice is compared with all opposing dice individually. If he makes an Offensive move against One (using a 4-6), he is treated as being Caught Unawares with regard to all the others. Subsequently, the single Character can nominate a diferent opponent with each Melee Acton Die to drag al adjacent Character into Melee one-by-one. 20COLD STEEL, ‘Cur Crusader ie now beset by two vengeful infitrators with Light Sabres. He laciares MELEE, selecting inftrator A asthe target. He rol he six Action Dice. The 'SKP announces that both infitrator willbe attacking ihe Crusader in ris Melee, 50 he rols Action Dice for therm both - four each inthis case. The Crusader has 4.5.4.2. 1. 1 the ofrators gor 6.6.8, 4and6 2, 1.nthe fist Phase. the Crusade selects @ 1. andi ha infitrators play @6 and 4 respectively. Ine DODGE blocks boin attacks comfortably. (Crusaders treated as having played a4 against 8, ferno rest The Crusader cashes his DODGE fo stay ofve, buf Inftator A goes down, The ‘ight snow one-on-one. OBSTACLES ‘Although Characters in Melee cant bein Cover with regard to each ote, canbe the case thst Obstacles play a pattin the Combat For stance, during sword fightin 9 Errrow doorway, or where one combatant has a height dvantage dt 0 stirs or tough eng ona tale the obstacle may hinder atacks and aid the defensive player. IF both sides face a mutual Obstacle such a a Goorway, both may choose to Rerll a dice, ether their own or their opponent's Fron Soldier has the advantage, he alone has a Rell, and must choose an opponent's dice. MISSION ONE ‘The third Encounter of Mission One will help you assimi- late the Melee rules. Many Characters on both sides have ro Ranged weapons, and the Free Companies Player is penalised for using those he has. aMISSION ONE - BRIEFING From: 612 Bttn HQ, Sharpesville, Dunkirk To: C Company We have penetrated some distance behind enemy lines. Rear echelon forces can now be expected. Its erst tat there nr overcome without daly an thatthe advance continue before a major regrouping ‘of enemy forces inthis sector canbe achieved. Take zo prisoner, Continue the advance [INITIATIVE ‘The Free Companies are the Initiative team through- out the Encounter. ». CRUSADER ... CRUSADER ... .» CRUSADER ... CRUSADER .... C-Company is deep behind enemy lines. Your Platoon is moving up on a fortified enemy position covering the axis of advance. It must be taken out without delay. There is a Communications Building. to your front, with two Guards outside. They don’t appear to have been alerted. Take them out, and silence the Communications Building with ultimate Prejudice, Do not allow them to raise the alarm, Firearms as last resort. BATTLEGROUNDS Set up the Batileboards like this: eee aaa woitng —[] natn « SHIA KHAN ... SHIA KHAN »» SHIA KHAN ... SHIA KHAN ‘The accursed Free Companies have penetrated the forward positions in your sector, although itis unlikely they have reached the fortified areas around the Desalination Plant. However, vigilance is the watchword. If attacked, raise the alarm and then cause maximum casualties before regrouping, ‘Do not allow the advance to progress unhindered, FORCES Free Company: Arm the Crusader NCO with a Power Axe (ready) along with his Ingrave HV1 (cartied). If he has not survived, add a Levy Trooper Emeritas with a Power Axe. All other surviving. ‘members of the Squad should be armed with Power ‘Axes. The HW Trooper is now withdrawn; two replacement Levy Troopers can be added, to bring the total in the Squad to more more than 5. Shia Khan: Six Infiltrators with Eggtimer Rifles (unreadied). ‘VICTORY CRITERIA ‘The Free Companies win if they kill all the Infiltra- tors. The Shia Khan win if they set off the Alarm or if they Move one or more Infiltrators off any Road Battleground. If both events occur, the Shia Khan. ‘win if they kill two or more Free Company personnel, The SKP should place an Alarm Marker in Open Cover (as seen from any door into that Battleground), at least four hexes from any Infiltrator. Ignore the normal rules for placing Khanate forces. ‘Two Infiltrators must be placed on the Road Battleboard, beside the door. The others may be paced in any part of the Building, but no more than two to a room. No Infiltrator may conduct any Actions until either (a) a Crusader has entered the ‘same Battleground or (b) an Infiltrator has sounded the Alarm or (©) the Guards on the door survive after the first Tarn or (d) the Free Companies fire a shot All Shia Khan forces are armed with Eggtimers. However, none have their weapons ready to fire (it takes one Action Dice to ready a weapon; all Melee ‘without a readied weapon uses only the Character's Melee Score and all Ranged attacks use only the CCharacter's Ranged score - no Equipment modifiers are allowed). ‘The Free Company Player sets up on any Road Battleground except the one beside the door 2