axles and alloys 2 - oct 2014

8/19/2019 Axles and Alloys 2 - Oct 2014

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AXLES AND ALLOYS II –

DORK FUTUREPLAYTEST VERSION 20/OCT/2014

1 - FOREWORD AND PREAMBLE

Axles and Alloys II is a game of stupid automotive combat using Matchbox and HotWheels cars converted into post-apocalyptic, crudely armoured, gun-toting wagons.Which then proceed to chase each other around a radioactive desert landscape

attempting to destroy each other for absolutely no bloody good reason whatsoever. Itsmain influence is the toy car conversion scene that sprang up around ames Wor!shop"s#ar! $uture in the %&'(s along with my feelings that #ar! $uture was never a very goodgame in the first place and that the )ar Wars ruleset was too large and cumbersome tobe worth playing, while the )ar Wars counters were too small and fiddly to be worthplaying.

*he original Axles and Alloys, way before it ever got written up for web distributionbac! around +((% or so was little more than a homebrew adaptation of $ull *hrust withHot Wheels cars rather than pacecraft. Axles and Alloys was the form the game too!when dragged around the wargames convention scene in the nglish Midlands. It turned

out to be surprisingly popular when released onto the intertubes for reasons I can"treally gro! but I suspect that it was a hit because it didn"t ta!e itself very seriously,offered a great outlet for the sort of creative urges that en oy converting Matchbox andHot Wheels cars into post-apocalyptic, crudely armoured gun-toting wagons etc. andthat previous attempts at this sort of thing /li!e the aforementioned commercial games0weren"t actually very playable.

o this is +(%("s version /now twea!ed in +(%1 2 we are getting old..0 and it"s called Axlesand Alloys II. As is the modern fashion it also has a subtitle 2 Dork Future .

It"s still fundamentally the same game, but with new, better movement rules and a loadof stuff written down for your convenience that wasn"t actually written down before.It"s also still completely free.

It"s important to remember when reading the rules and playing the game my thoughtson 3attletech. $or me 3attletech is an excellent little game of iant 4obots 5ic!ing *he

hit 6ut 6f 6ne Another. And games that revolve around iant 4obots 5ic!ing *he hit6ut 6f 6ne Another wor! best when they limit themselves to being games that revolvearound iant 4obots 5ic!ing *he hit 6ut of 6ne Another. Honestly it has iant 4obots5ic!ing *he hit 6ut 6f 6ne Another and that"s all it needs. 6nce games li!e 3attletechdrift off into possessing fan scenes that ta!e great pains to remain canon with the

bac!ground and worry about whether their camouflage painting is accurate for auniverse that doesn"t exist and ma!ing sure that their vision of the world of iant 4obots5ic!ing *he hit 6ut 6f 6ne Another matches the game designer"s one %((7... it gets


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stupid.

Axles and Alloys II is a game of )onverted Hot Wheels And Matchbox )ars #riving AroundAnd Around And Around and *rying *o hoot *he hit 6ut of 6ne Another. It doesn"tdeserve a game treatment any more involved than this one. #o you want something on apar with Advanced 8uad 9eader when all you are doing is )onverting Hot Wheels And

Matchbox )ars And *hen #riving Around And Around And Around and *rying *o hoot *hehit 6ut of 6ne Another:

;o: ood. 4ead on.

Req !"e# T$%& '(# Eq !)*e(+ach player will re8uire a toy car, preferably of Matchboxehicle.ee Appendix I for notes on converting these cars. )ars don"t need to be based but

assuming you are using cars of the Matchbox.

#ice are all standard dD but you will need access to a ames Wor!shop catter #ie orsimilar. If you don"t have one, paint out the dots on an old dD and paint a little arrow-head on each face.

Mines, 6il lic!s, ;apalm, mo!escreen and pi!es counters are all ?@ x %. @ in si=e.

Cou"ll need these if any vehicle is using #ropped Weapon systems.)otton Wool for mar!ing fires


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2 - VE ICLES

We divide >ehicles into three classes by Weight.

9ight >ehicles are small superminis /sub-compacts 2 Mini, $ord $iesta, *oyota Caris etc. 0,small sports cars /M - ehicles are vans, big truc!s, ambulances, stretch limos, hearses, armoured carsetc.

>irtually everything else is a Medium >ehicle. ;early all saloon /sedan0 cars and musclecars are Medium >ehicles.

ach >ehicle has four ratings for it"s speed and handling. *hese are MA /Maximumpeed0, A)) /Maximum Acceleration0, # ) /Maximum #eceleration0 and * 4; /;umber

of turns permitted per game turn0.

9ight >ehicles typically have MA +D, A)) D, # ) D, * 4; ?Medium >ehicles typically have MA ++, A)) , # ) , * 4; +Heavy >ehicles typically have MA %', A)) 1, # ) 1, * 4; +

*hese figures can be twea!ed to more closely represent the models you have availablebut they are recommended figures for pic!-up games.

O)+!$('. R .e - You can randomly create cars by taking the typical values above andthrowing a d6 for each of MAX A!! and D"!. Do not ad#ust the $%&' rating. D"!

should never be reduced below (.)n a * subtract ( from the value.)n a ( subtract * from the value.)n a + or , leave the value as is.)n a - add * to the value.)n a 6 add ( to the value.

Hit Foints record the damage that a vehicle can ta!e. 6n a vehicle sheet, the HitFoints will consist of three lines of circles, each of e8ual length, in the followingmanner.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

6nce a line of circles has been crossed out, the vehicle driver tests for the loss of)omponents as detailed in the damage section below.

9ight vehicles have ? lines of 1 circles, and therefore have 12 !+ )$!(+& . Mediumvehicles have ? lines of circles, and therefore have 1 !+ )$!(+& . Heavy vehicles have? lines of D circles, and therefore have 1 !+ )$!(+& .

>ehicles can be e8uipped with a number of weapons and items of e8uipment dependentupon their weight class. We refer to these weapons and items of e8uipment as


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)omponents and the amount that a specific vehicle can carry as its )apacity.

9ight >ehicles have a )apacity of )$!(+& . Medium >ehicles have a )apacity of 4 )$!(+& .Heavy >ehicles have a )apacity of )$!(+& .

ach point of )apacity can be filled either with % 9ight Weapon or % item of 8uipment.

A Medium Weapon re8uires + points of )apacity, a *urret costs an extra % point of)apacity for each weapon within it. Heavy 4amplates re8uire + points of )apacity. A#ropped Weapon system costs % point of )apacity. Heavy Weapons cannot be fitted tovehicles.

$lamethrowers cost + points of )apacity as they include both the weapon itself and itsfuel source /which, yes, is liable to explode when shot0.

Weapons that are not within a turret must be declared as occupying one of four firingfaces - $ront, 4ear, 9eft or 4ight. *his may not change during the game. #roppedWeapon systems always occupy a 4ear firing face, for reasons that should hopefully beobviousJ *here is no limit on how many weapons may occupy a firing face.

An example follows

C'" 3 Furple Ha=eD"!,e" 3 Antihiro FrotagonistRe-"$..& 3 (We! + 3 MediumS)ee# 3 MA ++ A)) # ) * 4; +

!+ P$!(+&3%

ooooo )omponents lost on Dooooo )omponents lost on ,Dooooo >ehicle #estroyedS%&+e*&3

ngine /#amaged


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A vehicle model must always be of the right weight class - no vans pretending to be dunebuggies for example. 3eyond that the actual modelled weapon configuration can bepurely representative. 3efore play, each player must announce his Weight )lass, all firedweapons including turret mountings, ramplates and heavy ramplates. *here is no needto announce any other )omponents including #ropped Weapons.

At any point during the game, any player can re8uest that this information be repeated.


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- TURN SE6UENCE

% - All players write down intended speed for this game-turn a!a BFlotting peed@.+ - If using optional nvironmental )onditions, any re8uired die rolls are made now.? - >ehicles are moved in order of speed from fastest to slowest. ach vehicle may fire.1 - Any vehicles that have not yet fired may do so now.

- 4oll for fires and the removal of smo!e screens.

peed is measured in inches. A peed of %+ means that the vehicle will be moving %+inches this game-turn.

At the start of each game-turn, each player writes down their vehicle"s speed for theforthcoming game-turn. *his speed will be based upon the speed used in the last game-turn and may be ad usted downwards by a maximum of the vehicle"s # ) rating andupwards by a maximum of the A)) rating. nless a nitro charge is being used the speedmay never exceed the MA rating.

>ehicles moving bac!wards use their A)) rating as their MA rating.

>ehicles with a #AMA # engine have their MA speed halved /rounded down0. If a carsuffered a #AMA # engine in the last game-turn and was travelling faster than it"s newad usted MA then the car"s current speed will be the MA rating.

>ehicles with a # *46C # engine will have their MA rating reduced by 1@ each game-turn until stationary at which point they will longer move.

tationary vehicles will start with an assumed speed of (K so that they move anywhere

between ( and their A)) rating in the game-turn in which they start moving again. Astationary vehicle may chose whether to move forwards or bac!wards.

Flayers intending to use nitro in this game-turn will note down the use of a charge. *hiswill add +dDK to a vehicle"s move in this game-turn but this is a temporary boost - nextgame-turn the vehicle will be assumed to be travelling at the speed written down. *he+dDK bonus is effectively ignored when the next game-turns speed is plotted. ;itros havetwo charges.

6nce all players have written their speed down, the game-turn may begin.

O)+!$('. R .e 2 As nitro systems have two charges you may like to allow the trulyinsane to use both at once for a ,d6 bonus as opposed to the standard intention ofallowing two boosts of (d6 in separate game/turns. For obscure in/#oke reasons thisis known as 0doing a 1cott .

E7'*).e&Hirsute Helga is at the wheel of #er 3ahnstormer /MA +1, A))1, # )?0. 9ast game-turnshe travelled at ++K. *his game-turns movement may be anywhere between %&K /currentspeed minus # )0 and +1K /current speed plus A)) but capped at MA 0. If she weretravelling at %+@, this game-turns movement may be anywhere between &@ and %D@.

Mad Mic! is at the wheel of *he Faddywagon /MA +(, A)) , # )10. 9ast game-turn hetravelled at %'K but suffered a #AMA # result to his engine. His MA is now halved to


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%(, but as %'K is greater than %( his speed is reduced to %( for this game-turn. He maynow move between DK /current speed minus A))0 and %(K /new MA 0


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4 - MOVEMENT

>ehicles are moved in the order fastest to slowest /i.e. furthest distance plotted toshortest distance plotted0. #etermine the highest speed /including nitro boosts0 andallow that vehicle to move. *he owner may always defer until later in the Movementphase but if doing so is not allowed to interrupt the movement of another vehicle.

>ehicles travelling at the same speed dice off and the highest score moves first.

E7'*).e*he three vehicles in the game are moving at ++K /#oghead0, +(K /#eadgirl0 and %1K/5nuc!les0. #oghead can move first but chooses to defer until later. #eadgirl then movesand #oghead then chooses to ma!e his move. 5nuc!les has to wait until last.

O)+!$('. R .e - For faster play ideal for when running large games at conventionsdon2t allow players to defer until later in the Movement phase.

O)+!$('. R .e - For larger games mark moved vehicles with a counter of somedescription so that all players are aware of which cars are yet to move.

>ehicles may ma!e a number of turns e8ual to their * 4; rating. ach turn is up to 1degrees. A turn may be made at the start of a vehicles movement, at the end of avehicles movement, or midway through the vehicles movement. 6nly one turn may bemade at each point - i.e. it is not allowed to turn twice and then move. *urns do nothave to be plotted in the Flot peed phase.

>ehicles with #AMA # steering will have their * 4; reduced by %. >ehicles with# *46C # steering may not turn at all.

E7'*).eHirsute Helga is travelling at %DK and has a * 4; of +. If she wishes to ma!e one turnshe may.

-*urn 1 degrees and travel %DK-*ravel %DK and then turn 1 degrees-*ravel 'K, turn 1 degrees and travel another 'K

If she wishes to ma!e two turns she may

-*urn 1 degrees, travel %DK and turn another 1 degrees-*urn 1 degrees, travel 'K, turn 1 degrees and travel 'K-*ravel 'K, turn 1 degrees, travel 'K and turn 1 degrees.

!++!( T !( &If a vehicle hits a solid piece of scenery it is destroyed. *he driver is !illed on a 1, or Don dD.

If a vehicle hits a pond or swamp or similar it is destroyed but probably in less violent afashion. We assume the driver survives but is very wet, unless the pond or swamp is

comprised of toxic waste /not unli!ely0 in which case he is !illed or turned into avegetation-based lifeform on a 1, or D on dD.

If a vehicle hits a stationary vehicle /one with a current speed of (0, it ta!es d? Hit


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Foints of damage. *he stationary vehicle ta!es +dD Hit Foints of damage and suffers 9ossof )ontrol /see below0. *he rammer travels no further this game turn and will start nextturn at half his current speed.

If a vehicle hits a non-stationary vehicle /one with a current speed that is not (0, bothvehicles roll dD and apply the following modifiers.

>ehicles fitted with 4amming Flates /or similar0 L%>ehicles fitted with Heavy 4amming Flates /or similar0 L+9ight vehicles -%Heavy vehicles L%

*he high scorer ta!es d? Hit Foints of damage. He travels no further this game turn andwill start next turn at half his current speed.

*he low scorer ta!es dD Hit Foints of damage and suffers 9oss of )ontrol.

If a vehicle hits a non-stationary vehicle in a clear head-on collision, then both vehiclessuffer +dD Hit Foints of damage and suffer 9oss of )ontrol. If it"s unclear as to whether acollision is head-on or at an angle, I suggest you allow all players /and any interestedspectators0 to vote upon it - this will pretty much guarantee it being udged a head-onto the amusement of all who are not involved in the collision. Cou can"t argue withdemocracy.


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– SKIDS AND DRIFTS

!idding and drifting have been given their own section because they are recommended,but purely optional rules. Incorporating them does add extra complexity but ma!es thegame feel more li!e Breal@ driving /well as real as pretending to drive around aradioactive wasteland shooting crossbows and lasers ever can be0. Flayers may however

prefer the game without this further complexity as it does then feel a lot closer to theolder Axles and Alloys with it"s Bcloc!-face@ turning system.

Any vehicle that attempts to turn while travelling at greater than %+@ must throw dD tosee if a s!id occurs as soon as the vehicle model is rotated. 4egardless of the result thevehicle is still turned as the player intends.

S)ee# S8!#& $( 9#:; D!&+'(


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directly to the right. Helga had travelled %(@ at the point of the turn and has used ?@ inthe s!id 2 therefore she only moves forwards another E@ for the rest of her movement.

D"!=+&/ '(#>"'8e T "(&When drifting a vehicle is allowed to turn through more than 1 degrees in a turn, up toa maximum of &( degrees. *his will automatically induce a s!id and the two dice arethrown in the normal fashion. #rifting is ris!y but can change direction very 8uic!ly 2 ifsomewhat hapha=ardly.

When turning a vehicle more than 1 degrees a player is honour-bound to declare thatthis is a drift and not merely a rather cavalier measurement


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: – ?UMPIN5 T IN5S

If a vehicle drives over a ramp, hill crest or out of a depression at %+K or greater speed itwill become airborne. It will ump for half its current speed /8uarter for Heavy vehicles0and will ignore all terrain and other vehicles for this fragment of its move. At the end ofthe ump it will land, if a Medium or Heavy vehicle and travelling at %'K or greater speed

it will ta!e d? damage as it does so.

Any vehicles shot at while in the air will always be treated as travelling at +%K orgreater so re8uire Ds to hit.

If the cars movement leaves it in the air before the end of its move, leave it raised on asmall ;ight ;urse glass /a clear, plastic tumbler for cough and cold medicine0 or similarand mar! how many inches it needs to move in the air before landing with a spare die.*he vehicles speed may not be ad usted this turn /pedals don"t wor! very well whenflying...0 and it will not be allowed to turn at the start of its movement.

Oumping vehicles cannot collide with non- umping vehicles. If a collision occurs betweentwo umping vehicles then both suffer dD Hit Foints of damage and suffer 9oss of)ontrol. *hey do not suffer the additional d? damage if a Medium or Heavy vehiclelanding at %'@ or greater speed.

E7'*).e&>irginia #entata is travelling at %&@ and E@ into her move leaves a ramp. Her vehicle isof Medium weight. he therefore flies for %(@ /%&@ halved and rounded up0. #uring thenext %(@ of her move she ignores all terrain, dropped weapon counters and othervehicles. As she is in the air at the halfway point of her move /%(@0 she may not ma!e

a 1 degree turn here. he lands and ta!es dD damage for travelling faster than %'@.he then travels the remaining +@ on the ground. he may ma!e a 1 degree turn at theend of her movement if her player wishes.

#ogmeat is travelling at %D@ and %+@ into his move crosses a hill crest. His vehicle willfly for the next '@ /%D@ halved0. As he has only 1@ left of his move, the car is moved 1@flying and left on a temporary raiser, such as the aforementioned medicine tumbler orlarge die. $or the rest of this turn he is treated as travelling at +%@ or greater for thepurpose of incoming fire and cannot be rammed by another vehicle. He cannot ma!e aturn at the end of this movement. As an aide memoir his player places a die next to thevehicle reading 1. ;ext turn he cannot change his speed so stays at %D@ and the first 1@of his movement are in the air.


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@ - COMBAT

#uring a turn each vehicle may ma!e one attac! with each of it"s weapons. *his maycome at any point during the movement phase, including while another vehicle is beingmoved when the firer will be able to say BI shoot at you when you get here@ /indicatespoint on table0. *he movement is temporarily fro=en while the attac! procedure is

carried out. *his may mean that a vehicle never reaches it"s end point as it is destroyedor suffers 9oss of )ontrol before completing it"s movement. ach weapon on a vehiclemay fire only once, it should be clear that a vehicle with multiple weapons might befiring them at different times during the turn.

*he above paragraph is the original intention but we have generally played it with onlyshooting after a vehicle"s movement has been completed 2 this seems 8uite a bit slic!erand easier to cope with, and doesn"t re8uire players who may be drin!ing before, during,and after the game to watch every other player"s moves li!e haw!s.N

)ombat is not simultaneous and occurs in the order in which players re8uest it. If thereis a debate over who re8uested an attac! first, dice-off for who gets the privilege offiring first or allow simultaneous. ither method is acceptable but !eep it consistent.

O)+!$('. R .e 2 For larger games mark vehicles that have attacked with a counter ofsome description so that all players are aware of which cars are yet to attack.

After the slowest vehicle has completed it"s move, any vehicle weapon that has notattac!ed may do so. *hese attac!s will be simultaneous.

As was the case in the original Axles and Alloys, combat owes a great debt to Oon*uffley"s excellent spacecraft wargame $ull *hrust. Cou should buy it. It"s fantastic.

L!(e O= S! +*o fire at a target a straight line must be traceable from the centre of the firerGs roof tothe centre of the targetGs roof within the arc of the firing weapon. $iring arcs are &(degrees.

;eed #iagram 2 1 arcs $ront, 4ear, 9eft, 4ightN

We')$(&Weapons are divided into three classes, uns, $lamethrowers and #ropped Weapons.#ropped Weapons are detailed in the Movement phase.

uns are divided into three classes.

5 ( C.'&& E7'*).e&

9ight Machine uns, 9ight 9asers, Handguns,)rossbows etc.

Medium renade 9aunchers, Heavy 9asers, 4oc!et9aunchers, 4F s etc.

Heavy /see note below0 *6W, Multiple 4oc!et 9auncher systems,*an! uns, Anti-*an! uns, ''s etc.


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Heavy uns are too heavy to be mounted on vehicles so they are included out of a senseof completeness and for special scenarios involving fixed defences.

When firing uns, a number of dD are rolled depending upon the un )lass and range.

5 ( C.'&& N *>e" $= #: R$..e#

9ight %dD up to %+@ range

Medium +dD up to %+@ range,%dD up to +1@ range

Heavy ?dD up to %+@ range,+dD up to +1@ range,%dD up to ?D@ range

*arget numbers to hit depend upon speed of the target vehicle. peed is ta!en as thedistance plotted for the vehicle in this turn whether or not it has yet to move 2 vehicles

yet to move are not stationary unless they have (@ for their plotted movement. Includeany nitro bonus in the speed of the target.

S)ee# $= T'" e+ Ve !ehicles may besuffering from multiple fires if they ta!e repeated flamethrower hits. At the end of eachturn roll a dD for each $I4 in the game.

#D 4esult%,+ - $ire goes out and is removed?,1 - $ire continues to burn 2 vehicle ta!es % Hit Foint of damage

,D - $ires burns fiercely 2 vehicle ta!es + Hit Foints of damageIf the vehicle is fitted with a $ire xtinguisher use the following table instead.

#D 4esult%,+,?,1 - $ire goes out and is removed

,D - $ire continues to burn 2 vehicle ta!es % Hit Foint of damage

T ""e+&When designing a car any or all weapons may be turreted. ach vehicle may only haveone turret /!eeps things nice and simple0. A turret counts as a )omponent /see #amage

below0 and is liable to loss so that a single turreted weapon is essentially twice as fragileas a non-turreted one because loss of either turret or weapon will disable it. Adestroyed turret will destroy all weapons within it. If a $lamethrower is in a turret, loss


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of the turret destroys the $lamethrower but not the $lame *an!.

*urrets ta!e up space and are heavy 2 they ta!e up a point of )apacity /see + - >ehicles0per weapon fitted in them. A turret with two light weapons will therefore cost 1 pointsof )apacity. A turret with a single medium weapon will cost ? points of capacity.

O)+!$('. R .e 2 You might find turrets to be overly powerful and indeed they seem tobecome more powerful the smaller the table si3e becomes. $o help balance them youmight find preventing them from firing into the rear 64 degree fire arc makes for

fairer games.


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– DAMA5E

ach circle on a vehicle"s record sheet refers to one Hit Foint. 6nce a complete line ofHit Foints circles has been removed, a so-called *hreshold )hec! is reached and each)omponent must be chec!ed to see if it is destroyed.

6nce the first line of Hit Foints is removed, each )omponent is destroyed on a dD scoreof D.

6nce the second line of Hit Foints is removed, each )omponent is destroyed on a dDscore of or D.

6nce the third line of Hit Foints is removed, the vehicle itself is destroyed and the fateof each )omponent is somewhat academic with the exception of the #river who shouldwill be !illed on a dD score of 1, or D. *his will be important if a series of lin!ed gamesare being played and in this case #rivers will be !illed on a 1, or D if the vehicle isdestroyed in any fashion /$uel *an! explosion, hitting a olid 6b ect etc.0

A destroyed vehicle suffers 9oss of )ontrol unless it was stationary.

)hec! for the following )omponents after each line is removed. *he first group arepresent on all vehicles. *he second group will be dependent upon the individualconfiguration of the vehicle being damaged.

F!"&+ 5"$ )F e. T'(8 2 If destroyed, vehicle is destroyed in a nice, satisfying fireball. 9eave thevehicle where it is and mar! with cotton wool or overturn it.

D"!,e" 2 If destroyed, driver is dead. >ehicle suffers 9oss of )ontrol and is abandonedwherever it ends up.E( !(e - 6n first destroyed result, the engine is actually ust damaged and MA isimmediately halved. 6n a second destroyed result the engine is actually destroyed andthe vehicles MA will decrease by 1@ per game-turn as the vehicle grinds to a halt.S+ee"!( - 6n first destroyed result the steering is actually ust damaged and thevehicle"s * 4; rating is reduced by %. 6n a second destroyed result the steering isactually destroyed and the vehicle"s * 4; rating is reduced to ( and may not turn at all.

o-called B teering@ damage actually covers a multitude of sins including the steeringsystem itself, wheels, tyres and suspension.B"'8e& - If destroyed the vehicles # ) is reduced to +. If the # ) already was + then

that ust shows how good your bra!es were in the first placeJ

Se


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L$&& $= C$(+"$.>ehicles that suffer 9oss of )ontrol immediately have a randomi=ed move. *hrow a

ames Wor!shop catter #ie /or some other form of randomising a direction0 and thevehicle moves off in that direction. *he distance moved is dependent upon the speed ofthe vehicle, and as noted above in )ombat, this is the plotted move /plus nitro bonus ifany0 regardless of how little or far the actual vehicle has yet moved in this turn.

S)ee# $= Ve !


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-E6UIPMENT LIST DROPPED WEAPONS

*he value in brac!ets is the )apacity cost re8uired to mount the Weapon or )omponent.ach Weapon or )omponent is liable to be lost at *hreshold )hec! and must be rolled

for.

9ight Weapon /%0Medium Weapon /+0*urret /% per weapon included0$lamethrower /+ - Includes a second )omponent $9AM *A;5 - loss of this destroys thevehicle. *he cost for the entire system is + 2 $lamethrower and $lame *an!0Mine #ropper /%0

pi!e #ropper /%06il #ropper /%0;apalm #ropper /%0

mo!escreen #ropper /%04amplates /%0 /see note %0Heavy 4amplates /+0 /see note %0$ire xtinguisher /%03ody Armourehicle can perform a drop at any point during it"s move, so long as it has moved atleast ?K in this game turn. /*his rule is prevent the nonsense whereby a >ehicle turns at

the start of the move and immediately drops into space it has never occupied0. Flacethe relevant template immediately behind the vehicle with the short edge /%. K0 againstthe rear of the >ehicle or >ehicle base. It is permissible to drop multiple templates incontact with each other.

#ropped Weapons come in five varieties.

Mines are a small scattering of proximity-fused explosives.6il lic!s are oil or ball bearings, designed to ma!e pursuers lose control.

pi!es covers a whole range of pointy, tyre-shredding implements from caltrops, spi!ednets and Folice-style KstingersK to the good, old-fashioned box of tin tac!s.;apalm also covers flaming oil and anything li8uid and flammable 2 any fire that coversthe ground and burns throughout the game.

mo!escreens are large clouds of smo!e that might be oil or phosphorous based and


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designed to limit visibility.

If a >ehicle travels over a Mine template, the proximity fuse may detonate. 9ightvehicles set off mines on a dD roll of 1L, Medium on ?L, Heavy on +L. If a Mine templatedetonates, the target immediately ta!es +dD damage and suffers from 9oss of )ontrol.*he Mine template is then removed. ndetonated Mine templates are not removed.

If a >ehicle travels over an 6il lic! template, it immediately suffers from 9oss of)ontrol. *he 6il lic! template is ;6* removed. 9ight >ehicles may ignore an 6il lic!template on a roll of or D on dD.

If a >ehicle travels over a pi!es template it suffers from #AMA # steering /actuallythe tyres but who"s counting:0. If the steering was already #AMA #, the steering is# *46C #. *he pi!es template is ;6* removed.

If a >ehicle travels over a ;apalm template it automatically catches $ire. *he ;apalmtemplate itself continues to burn and is not removed.

A mo!escreen template bloc!s all line of sight and so >ehicles may not fire through it.At the end of each turn /when the effect of fires would be rolled for0 roll dD for eachindividual mo!escreen, on a D that mo!escreen is removed from the game.

;ote that a >ehicle destroyed by a Mine, is destroyed by a $ire caused by ;apalm orsuffers 9oss of )ontrol from an 6il lic! that causes it to be destroyed in a crash countsas a K!illK for the player who dropped that template.


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10 - SCENARIOS AND OT ER IMPEDIMENTIA

De'+ *'+<*he classic APA set-up. *he tabletop represents a walled arena somewhere deep in thewastelands or in a corporate-controlled domed city. Flayers enter the arena throughblast-doors that close behind them. /K)lose the blast-doorsJ )lose the blast-doorsJK0. *he

fight is to death, cheered on a baying crowd.

et up a table with a few olid 6b ects to bloc! 9ine of ight and to force the players tosteer around things. Flayers enter the table on the first turn spaced out roughly evenlyand at peed D. It is assumed that blast doors close behind the players and the entiretable edge is therefore a olid 6b ect of metres-thic! concrete. Alternatively in awasteland setting this is more li!ely to be an electric fence or having the arenasurrounded by minefields or radioactive sludge-filled trenches. *he game effect isidentical in either case and will destroy any vehicle that hits it.

*he winner is the last surviving player.

$or further complexity, and assuming all players are in agreement, up to +dD ;apalmtemplates, 6il lic! templates or pi!es templates may be placed in the arena. p to dDramps may be placed in the arena. p to dD wrec!ed vehicles may be placed in thearena.

Te'* 5'*e&A #eathmatch can be played in teams. It is helpful if a team"s vehicles are identified insome way such as being all the same colour or similar. Actually, only one team need becolour-coded so long as no vehicle on the other side has the same colour - that way a

team scenario can be organised between K*eam 4edK and K*eam ;ot-4edK or similar.B'#.'(#& A*> &3adlands Ambush is a scenario for two sides. *his may be a two player game or a multi-player one.

In this scenario one side umps the other. 4oll dD for each side, the high scorer is theAttac!er and the low scorer the #efender.

*he Attac!er secretly nominates one or two entry points, these may be corners or themidway points of table edges.

#efender starts in centre of table having nominated a direction of travel. #efendersvehicles are travelling at %(K and pointing in the direction of travel. If a road terrainpiece is available, it can be laid out to match the direction of the defenders travel withother terrain features re- arranged to accommodate it but this is purely visual and hasno game effect.

Attac!er vehicles then enter within DK of either of their entry points, but if two entrypoints were selected then each entry point must be used by at least one vehicle.Attac!er vehicles start travelling at % K.

Any vehicle that exits the table edge /more than half of it"s base off-table0 counts aslost. ach vehicle immobilised or destroyed scores % point for the opposition, regardsof cause of that loss. In the result of a draw, the #efender side wins as the Attac!ers had


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the burden of attac! and the speed advantage in the first game turn.

E(,!"$(*e(+'. C$(#!+!$(&nvironmental )onditions offer an optional way to add a bit of extra chaos on the

battlefield. *here are D here so you can randomise them with a dD.

1 - A"+!..e"% B$*>'"#*e(+$or some unfathomable reason, the battlefield starts to be used as a firing range by anarmy with big guns lur!ing over the hori=on. ach turn turn a ranging shot comes overthe hori=on. 4andomise it"s position by any acceptable means. Any vehicle directly underthe ranging shot is hit for +dD damage. ;ext turn a huge barrage will be coming incentred on that position. #uring that next turn any vehicle directly under the rangingshot ta!es +dD damage and any other vehicle with DK ta!es %dD damage, any vehiclewithin %+K ta!es %d? damage. And of course, another ranging shot is coming insomewhere else on the turn in which the barrage arrivesJ

2 - R'#!'+!$(4andomly place dD mar!ers representing radiation hotspots. ach time a vehicle comeswithin DK of one, note a single point of 4adiation xposure to the driver and roll a dD. Ifthe roll is less than the number of 4adiation xposure points scored by that vehicle, thedriver dies from radiation exposure.

- A

adding % to the result if the last game turn was affected by a cloudburst. If a D or E isscored a cloudburst occurs. All fires and ;apalm templates are immediatelyextinguished. *he maximum firing range becomes %+K. # ) rates are reduced by %.

: – A(# T e C"$ # 5$ W!.#

An excitable audience are in tonight, possibly due to the arena promoter spi!ing thedrin!s in the refreshment !ios!s. At the start of each turn roll a dD, adding % to theresult for each car destroyed in the previous turn. If a DL is scored the crowd are driveninto a fren=y by the action and the drivers get driven to new pea!s of performance 2each vehicle gets one re-roll during the next turn. nused re-rolls are lost after this turnof crowd excitement.


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S $"#&G S !e.#& '(# De'+ &- e'#&Influenced by a recent film, which itself was probably influenced by a few 5art-racingvideogames. *he weapons on the vehicles are all lin!ed to !ill-switches controlled by theoverseer of the arena event or race 2 e.g. an evil MI9$ prison governor. Add a few %@diameter counters to the table, each mar!ed with a word or a hield. A vehicle cannotfire it"s 9ight and Medium Weapons until it has run over a word. A vehicle cannot fire it"s

#ropped Weapons until it has run over a hield.

#eaths-heads are sun!en concrete posts with steel spi!es that start the game below thesurface of the table. 4epresent them with a few %K diameter counters mar!ed with as!ull. When sun!en #eaths-heads can be driven over and ignored. *hey can be raised bya amesmaster at any point, usually to ma!e life aw!ward for a driver who is stayingout of the fight or is getting ust too good or ust too coc!y.

#eaths-heads are olid 6b ects so destroy any vehicle that hits one, furthermore as thesteel spi!es impale the driver"s compartment, the #river will automatically be !illed 2 nore-rollsJ

L'#% N',! '+$"&Also influenced by a recent film, some televised or Internet-streamed events may havelady navigators shipped in from the women"s prison in the interests of glamour-pussappeal. Alternatively Queen 3ee from the lifer"s wing might turn up and as do the ob aswell or indeed better than the eye-candy.

If 9ady ;avigators are being used,they count as a )omponent but cannot be !illed asthey sit in automatic e ector seats. hould they be lost they safely bail out unless thevehicle is currently indoors in which case the bail out attempt goes horribly and messily

wrong.Fresence of a 9ady ;avigator grants that vehicle one re-roll.

9ady ;avigators fire all #ropped Weapons and these weapons may not be fired if the9ady ;avigator has e ected.

9ady ;avigators are also treated as a $ire xtinguisher system for the purposes ofchec!ing $ires.

In a campaign, 9ady ;avigators score one extra re-roll for each event in which they

survive without e ecting.

Re-"$..&everal rules offer a re-roll. A re-roll is a chance to roll a single die once again but to

always accept the second result even if it is worse. Multiple re-roll cannot be used to re-roll that second roll. Cou may only re-roll one of your own dice.

O)+!$('. R .e – Allow re/rolls to be spent on forcing re/rolls of opponents dice.

E7'*).e

pi!es KHerbieK Written has 3ody Armour and his experience from an earlier game giveshim a 4e-roll. His vehicles ta!es enough damage to lose his second line of boxes and

pi!es" player rolls a for )omponent destroyed chec! on #river. *his would normally


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!ill pi!es but he uses his 3ody Armour re-roll. *his comes up D and still !ills pi!es, hecannot use that second 4e-roll to have another go - that second score of D issacrosanct.

E7)e"!e(


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APPENDIX I - T$% C'" C$(,e"&!$(

Axles and Alloys is designed for cars of the Hot Wheels


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which, inverted and with the handgrip cut off ma!es an excellent weapon for this scalewhich ends up loo!ing li!e the renade 9auncher from #ar! $uture.

$or painting, I usually spray prime the model blac! and wor! up from there with heavydrybrushing involved. Where glass is visible, the KgemK style of painting can be adopted,blending blac! to light blue in a rough-and-ready fashion and finishing up with a few

dots or short lines of pure white to represent reflections. $or an more in-depth guide toKgemK painting oogle search for 3attletech painting guides as this is the way that the3attletech players paint coc!pit canopies.

$or a wastelandsA glue andcovered in sand. *he model can be then attached to the base by supergluing theunderside of the wheels and applying some pressure /to get the car to sit properly on allfour wheels0 while the glue dries.

$or a tarmac


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APPENDIX II - S


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APPENDIX III - B!>.!$ "') %

If you"re at all interested in this automotive combat genre then you should grow up.$ailing that the following sources were inspirational and important in the drun!enconception, gestation, birth, upbringing, neglect, forced expulsion from the familyhome, and grudging prodigal son style return of Axles and Alloys.

F!.*Mad Max, Mad Max +. ssential viewing. I refuse to ac!nowledge the existence of anyMad Max film that has the number K?K anywhere in it"s title. *hat never happened. At all.*he )ars *hat Ate Faris. 9ow budget Aussie movie that paved the way for the originalMad Max. )ars and attendant insanity come together in a modern day ta!e on the oldK)ornish Wrec!ersK tale.#eath 4ace +(((. *he original. I haven"t seen the modern rema!e as rema!es of classicsma!e me come out in hives. / top Fress 2 I have now seen the rema!e and it isn"t really arema!e, so...0#eath 4ace B+(('@. ;ot actually a rema!e.

5'*!(#ar! $uture / ames Wor!shop0. ;ever en oyed the game but the associated hobbyinterest of die-cast conversion was obviously seminal.)ar Wars / O 0. APA is a reaction against the increasing complexity and unwieldiness of)W, especially when it branched out into 3oat Wars, *an! Wars, Invalid )arriage Wars,

hopping *rolley Wars and olf )art Wars. It remains the #addy though.$ull *hrust / U 0. Heavily ripped off to produce APA.

V!#e$ '*!(

3adlands /Atari ames0. Fost-apoc uper print.mugglers 4un + /4oc!star0. Another ta!e on )ra=y *axi but with an excellent bac!groundof smugglers using off-road cars to smuggle contraband across the borders of war-=ones.*ran= Am / ltimate Flay *he ame0. U pectrum classic, essentially 4ally- without thema=e.)armageddon / )I0. *he original is still the best. )unning tunt 3onusJ


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APPENDIX IV – A7.e& '(# A..$%& C.'&&!<

*he original Axles and Alloys used a different method of turning that involved the use of protractors /preferably transparent or translucent ones0. If you want to revert to thismethod, the changes are described below.

% 2 >ehicles rotate once at the start of their move. All of their movement is thenunderta!en in a straight line.+ 2 A vehicle may rotate in increments of ?( degrees. *hese e8uate to numbers on acloc! face 2 ta!ing the vehicle"s current direction of travel as being %+ o"cloc!, thevehicle may turn anywhere between & o"cloc! and ? o"cloc!. %(, %%, % and + o"cloc! arepoints between these two extremes, %+ o"cloc! is simply full speed ahead /and damn thetorpedoesJ0? 2 All turning is pre-plotted along with the move. All players pic! their speed and alsowrite which cloc! face they intend to turn to this turn.1 2 All movement is simultaneous, for collisions only the end point of vehicles matters.*here is an exception to this rule, see point .

2 $or running over dropped weapons 6;9C, a straight line that runs over a droppedweapon counter counts as running over it. olid items of terrain are assumed to besteered around during the move, only if the move ends upon one is it assumed that acollision occurred.D 2 All shooting is simultaneous after all vehicles have been moved.E 2 *he first teering damage event prevents a vehicle from steering to & or ? o"cloc!.#estroyed steering prevents a vehicle from steering at all.

axles and alloys 2 - oct 2014

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