beyond the gates of antares outline rulebook

7/30/2019 Beyond the Gates of Antares Outline Rulebook

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Dark space corp


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Outline RulebookWork in progress

Turn Sequence Dice and Stats Fluid Combat Status Actions and Reactions Weapons and Armour Shooting Summary MovementThis document is a WORK IN PROGRESS OUTLINE RULEBOOK. It isnt by any means finished or fully

tested. We want to involve you in the process of GoAs development so please feel free to play thegame using this basic outline, youll need to use your own miniatures at this point of course and then

get involved with the ongoing discussions were having on all areas of the rules in the forums.

Thank you!

Rick Priestley


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GAME TURNS

The battle is fought in a series of rounds or turns which we call game turns.

During each game turn, both sides work through the following turn sequence. Once both sides have

completed the sequence another game turn begins.

TURN SEQUENCEBoth sides work through each step of the sequence. In some steps both players participate, in other

steps one or other of the players acts, depending upon the situation.

1. Combat Status Checks units that are already broken or exhaustedare obligedto make a combat status checkat the start of the turn.

2. Roll for Combat Intensity Level roll a D10 and add or subtract anymodifiers that apply to establish the combat intensity levelfor that game turn.

3. Roll for Priority the players each roll a D10 and add or subtract any modifiersthat apply to establish which side choosespriorityfor that game turn.

4. First Combat Turn

4.1.The player with priority selects any one of his units and makes an action. An action byone unit can potentially trigger one or more reactionsfrom opposing units, or supportingactions by

other units on the same side.

4.2.Once the player with priority has completed his units action and any consequentactions and reactions have been resolved, the opposing player selects one of his units and makes an

action in the same way.

5. Subsequent Combat Turns Play continues in this fashion, with playersalternating combat turns until each player has taken the number of combat turns corresponding to

the intensity level.

6. Turn over once each side has completed all of its combat turns, the players make anychecks, tests or adjustments required at the end of the game turn.

Okaythats the basic turn sequence, and as you can see there are elements within it that need to

be explained in detail, but for now Ill just describe these in broad terms as I go along. Ill take you

through the sequence and then Ill make a few observations about how the sequence and elements

within it impact upon play.


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To start with note we have game turns and combat turns, with each game turn comprising a

number of combat turnsIll probably rename the latter rounds to avoid any potential confusion

for now that should be clear enough.

At the start of the game turn both sides make combat status (CS) checks. There are four CS levels:

1 active 2 ready

3 exhausted

4 broken

CS levels are likely to drop when you are shot at and when you take casualties, depending on a test.

Units that have already dropped to either exhausted or broken must check their CS now at the start

of the game turn. Neither exhausted nor broken units can take basic actions or make unit reactions

during the game turn, and although they will automatically take part infire fights and close combat

if attacked, all their dice rolls are heavily penalised. Exhausted units that pass this initial test recover

a CS step to readyif they are a good distance from any threat if they are close to the enemy they

remain exhausted (hunkered down sort of thing). Exhausted unit that fail this test remain exhausted

if safely distant from the enemy, and drop a step to broken if under threat. Broken units aredestroyed if they fail a testbut they can be given a regroup action during play and this allows

them to potentially step up one level to exhausted if they pass their following game turns CS test.

Units dont become either exhausted or broken until they have taken some damage, so it doesnt

affect the game in its initial stages.

The next step is to establish the number of combat turns that youre going to play in that game turn

(CIL). This is basically a D10 roll but modifiers do apply and these need to be firmed up with play

testing but the basic idea is that if opposing troops are close the CIL goes up:

+1 24

+2 12

+3 6These are provisional working values but they seem to be holding up at the moment. CIL is also

capped by the total number of units in play. As we progress we might find other modifiers to apply,

and this is a value that can be potentially adjusted by situational or technological factors.

Once you have the CIL for the game turn each player rolls off for choice ofpriority i.e. who will go

first in the combat turn for the duration of that game turn. This is also a value that can be potentially

modified, but for now we are sticking with straight roll-offs for choice of whether to go first or defer

to your opponent. This is a level position for development purposes .

The combat turns are simple alternating turneach player selects a unit and takes an action one

after the other until each player have taken the number of actions equal to the CIL. I am treating

this as a hard mechanic at the momenti.e. we dont apply exception to this sequence and I think

that is necessary to establish a good base for balancing purposes. The minute you allow players to

double or treble action you introduce the potential for unbalancing the system so although I wont

say never I certainly say not now! In fact, players can defer an action with a support action which

does allow units to move in concert but as a deferred action it 1) alerts the other player

beforehand, and 2) requires prior sacrifice so there is a tension of choice built into this already.

Okay so what is an action? The two basic actions are engageandmanoeuvre. Engage means move

up to a basic move and either shoot or fight close combat, and manoeuvre means make up to a


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double move without shooting or fighting. Only active and ready units can make these basic actions.

The other common action is rest, which takes a units CS up one level so long as it is not already

broken. Other actions come in to allow units to support or for broken units to regroup but for now

its important to know that actions are what move and shoot your units and allow them to recover

CS.

As you can see actions can trigger reactions and whilst this sounds like it might get complicated

|Ive narrowed down the way units can react so that it flows naturally. Some reactions are triggered

automatically for example afire fight.

Afire fighthappens when you shoot at an enemy who can shoot back at ranges of 12 and less. In

this situation both sides get to shoot simultaneously the shooter and targetand thats basically

what afire fightis. Other actions are proactive and the player has to decide to trigger them or not.

Only units that are ofactiveCS can make these reactions. Reactions include returning fire if shot at

from ranges greater than 12, taking opportunity fire against moving targets more than 12 away,

taking cover if shot at from more than 12 away, and withdrawing if enemy move within 12 without

contacting. These types of actions require a test to be used successfully, and if this test is failed it can

affect a units CS negatively, so there is always a risk involved but as only active units can make

reactions the worse result is a drop one step to ready.

Finally, Ive added a tidy up phase at the end of the turnthis is when you figure out whether youve

won the game by achieving the victory criteria, any temporary markers are removed, and any end of

turn checks made. This is simply a holding rule at the moment but having the phase ready

establishes a basic design principle for making periodic checks.

So how does that work in practice well there is the potential to move the same unit multiple timesas the number of actions a unit can take in a turn is unlimited (base value unlimited is a working

hard rule but the potential for limits is obviously there). This tends to tempt first-time players into

leaping forward with a single unit and here you come across the first internal tension in the game

play: do I concentrate at a point or spread my effort? Its a genuine nail biter too because if you go

for the point and leave half your army out of the fight you will tend to get overwhelmed in the end.

Then theres the question of whether you use your actions to keep your CS levels up or risk

committing ready units in the hope of knocking opposing units down to exhausted. As CS is

calculated per unit there is an advantage to having smaller units but smaller units have less hitting

power and can do corresponding less per action. Again, we have a natural tension arising from the

size of units, and expending actions getting stragglers back to active CS is hardly worthwhile

compared to activating larger units.

Overall, once players get the hang of the basic sequence, game turns are quite rapid. Of note is the

fact that a player with many exhausted or broken units will always hope for a high CIL as it gives him

enough actions to rest and regroup conversely a low CIL will just bring the CS checks all the sooner

and he risks losing a good chuck of his forces. The drop in CS levels resulting from enemy shooting

means that the game gets increasingly edgy as vital actions are needed both to keep your own side

together and knock the enemy about so the game play gets increasingly tense and picks up in pace

as actions are quickly expended on resting units in readiness for a push.


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I realise I have written a great deal about what is actually a very short section of rules, and I hope I

have not given the impression that play is in any way complex or laborious because it certainly

isnt! Rather, I wanted to give you all an insight into how these things are done, and why certain

decisions are made in certain ways, and how you lay the foundations for a game in something as

simple as the turn sequence. I hope you found it interesting. If this is the sort of approach you favour

let me know via the forums if not also let me know and I can adjust these sections going forward

so that they are as useful and as informative as I can make them.


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DICE AND STATSBefore we can start to work with the initial game development we need to know how the basic dice

rolling works, and how the stats of the models affect dice scores and game play. At this stage we do

not need to flesh out the detail for dice roll modifiers, or restrictive qualifiers such as movementaffecting whether a model can shoot or not. So, heres the basics to get us started. This just leaves

the descriptions of actions and reactions and we will have enough to play an outline game

sufficient to work with the overall dynamic and scope.

Types of DiceD10s are used to make tests against stats, and this includes the basic rolls to hit a target, to resist

damage, to undertake reactions to enemy actions, and to check combat status. A number ofD10s

are required and it is helpful to have a few distinctly coloured dice as this helps greatly with hit

allocation from weapons with different strike qualities, for example where a unit shoots plasma

carbines and a plasma cannon at the same target.

D4s, D6s, D8s and D12s are also used to generate random values, most commonly for weapons with

blast effects. One of each will be enough or values can be generated using D10s and working

down, for example generate 1-8 by re-rolling 9s and 10s. Well also be using D3 (halfD6 roll) and D5s

(halfD10 score) and such-like variationsbut Ill assume we are all familiar enough with that kind of

thing.

Dice TestsThe D10dice is also used to make tests against a models stat or the stat of an item of equipment or

weapon. In most cases these stat values will also be affected by situational and unit status modifiers,

but for purposes of explanation we can ignore those for now. The basis stat test works as follows:

To test against a stat value, roll a D10 and if the score is equal to or less than the value you are

testing against the test is a success. We sometimes refer to this test as a check. For example, to

make a check against a value of 5 simply roll 5 or less on a D10 for success. In this case a roll of 6 or

more is a fail.

Regardless of any modifiers applied to the stat under test, a D10 dice roll of a 10 is always deemed a

failure. If the score required is less that 1 then it is still possible to succeed if you roll a 1, in which

case roll the dice again and if another 1 is rolled the test is a success anyway. So, to summarise, a roll

of a 10 is always a failure regardless, and if you need to roll any number less than 1 to succeed you

need a 1 followed by another 1 ( a 1% outside chance).

Another principle that will be applied throughout the rules is a dice roll of a 1 counts as a critical

success. This rule doesnt apply if the score required is 1 or lower, in which case it is impossible to

generate a critical success result, but so long as you are testing against a value of 2 or greater any

roll of a 1 on the D10 is considered a critical success. A critical success affects the results of some

tests, and this varies depending on the test that is being made. In the case of shooting it affects how

casualties are allocated. Some tests are binary and critical success makes no difference, they either

pass or fail, but in general look out for the 1s as they often mean something special.


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GAMES VALUES AND STATSEvery model has a set of associated game values representing its own skills and abilities. In the case

of most troopers, henchmen, drones and other grunts these will be basic values for their species,

whilst leaders and heroic individuals are likely to have enhanced values that separate them from

their more ordinary fellows.

These values are commonly called stats (statistics) and are written in a stat-line together with the

description of the model and its designated type. For example, here is the work-in-progress stat-line

for a standard human fighter a Reveror basic Panhuman.

Unit Type Ag Acc Res Str Init Cou Tech Com Sp

Rever Inf 5 5 5 5 5 7 1 2 *

The unit column just lists the model an ordinary Reverfighter in this case and the Type is a basic

definition for rules purposesin this case infantry. Different types have different rules in respect to

movement, damage effects, and so on but we are only concerned with the standard fighter types at

this stage.

All of the stats are scored out of 10 with 1 being the lowest value possible and 10 the highest for this

type. Values lower than 5 are relatively weak and values in excess of 5 are relatively powerful.

Agility (Ag).The Agility stat is a measure of an individuals ability to traverse terrain, climb,and bounce about in an athletic fashion. It is used mostly for movement tests in demanding

situations. It is used by some individuals with special skills for close combat.

Accuracy (Acc).The accuracy stat is a basic measure of how capable the individual iswhen it comes to handling and shooting a weapon. The higher the value the better shot the

individual is. This stat is used for all shooting included ranged shooting,fire fights and assaults.

Resist (Res).The resist stat indicates the individuals ability to withstand a blow, weaponstrike or physical traumathe higher this value the tougher or harder the individual is: the more

easily the individual can resist damage. This value is affected by armour of various kinds as well as

cover.

Strength (Str).This stat is a measure of brute strength. Brute strength is not animportant consideration unless it comes down to grappling at close quarters when it is very

important indeed! Strength is also important should it come to tasks requiring sheer power; such as

lifting a heavy object or forcing open a heavy airlock seal.

Initiative (Init).The initiative stat is a measure of alertness and speed of reactions, and assuch it is the key value that we test against when a unit reacts to an enemys action. Troops with

high values will be more easily able to return enemy fire or go to ground quickly when shot at.

Courage (Cou).Courage is a measure of how cool the individual is under stress, howsteady his nerves are, or how brave he is when things get tough. We test against this value when

checking Combat Status, which means it affects a units ability to fight in most situations. Courage is


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one of the most important stats in the whole game because technology can compensate or

augment other stats but there are few (safe) ways to bolster your courage!

Technology (Tech).This value is a measure of an individuals technical skills which may be innate or which may result from belonging to an IMTel Shard. This skill is used as a

measure and test when it comes to operating some technological devices including some kinds of

weapons.

Compute (Com).This stat is a measure of an individuals facility with logical calculation,and it is far more important for machine intelligences than for living creatures. Although it is

occasionally used where a test of pure intelligence is called for, the principle use is for WarDrones

and other kinds of sentient machines, where compute is generally used instead of courage.

Special (Sp).This isnt a stat the column at the end of the stat-line is a placeholder usedas a memory jogger for any special rules than might apply to that particular model.

Comment on Stats

This is a work in progress stat line and it is intended to establish a base level for purposes of game

balance and working out variable parameters. It seems to be holding up quite well at the moment in

our games, although bear in mind that modifiers do generally tend to take the probabilities down a

bit, and all the more so for units that have suffered reduction of their combat status.


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FLUID COMBAT STATUS

The Beyond the Gates of Antares game makes use of a unit activation based turn sequence. At itscore, this means that players take it in turns to activate one unit of troops or one vehicle at a time

which sounds rather simple but in practice things get a little more involved. When units are

activated they make actions, other units on the same side can make supporting actions, and

opposing units can make reactions. This means that a unit advancing towards the enemy can

suddenly trigger afire fightinvolving opposing units, or troops dashing from cover to cover can find

enemy troops taking pot shots at them as they do so. This is the basis on which the Beyond the

Gates of Antares game works and as you can imagine it is a very involving game where both

players take an active part all the time.

A units ability to undertake actions, to support friendly actions, and to react to enemy actions, areall determined by its combat status. Combat status varies during play, and is affected by casualties,

enemy fire, and sometimes by a units own actions. There are six different status levels four key

steps and two subsidiary types.

The key steps are:Alert, Ready, Exhaustedand Broken.

Alert units are able to act and react without penalty they are prepared, equipped and fully

motivated for combat. Ready units are degraded to some degree, either because of casualties,

fatigue or demoralisation; Ready units can also undertake the full range of actions, but can only

undertake a limited range of reactions, and suffer various penalties whether acting or reacting.

Exhausted units can only undertake certain mandatory actions and reactions, and are otherwise

unable to act or react at all. Broken units are effectively out of the game badly shot-up or so

fatigued as to be useless they are unable to do anything apart from try and regroup. These are the

four basic combat status levels and I always think of them as like a traffic light with Alert, Ready

and Exhausted equivalent to Green, Amber and Red. Broken is practically out of the game I think of

this as black lights out!

The two subsidiary combat status types areAlert+Supportand Broken+Regroup. As the names

suggest these are variants ofAlertand Broken respectively,Alert+Supportallows a unit to make an

action in concert with another nearby unit it is a way of acting with more than one unit at once.

This is an important part of the games tactics, as it allows a player to mount a coordinated attack

involving a group of units. Broken+Regroup allows a Broken unit to try and regroup and whether it

does so or not will depend upon a Combat Status(CS)check. This is the only way Broken units can

come back so, once again, it is a potentially important part of the game.

As you can seea units combat status affects its ability to fight specifically its ability to make

actions and reactions during play. In other words,Alert(Green for Go!) units can achieve a great

deal, ready(Amber) units can also do well but are only one step away from being exhausted(Red)

and effectively useless. Exhausted units also risk slipping to broken (black), and now youre really in

trouble! The important thing to realise is that exhausted (Red) and ready(Amber) units can improve

their status by making a recover action. This means the player expends an activation to recover the

units combat status by one step. A single unit can be activated any number of times during a game

turn so players are presented with the choice of making moving or shooting actions with tired

units, or taking the time out to recover their combat status. This is what we mean by a fluid combat


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status combat status changes as units fight and can be changed again by the playerbut its

always a tough decision! The total number of activations a player can make each turn is limited, so if

you spend all of your activations recovering worn out units you wont be able to launch your own

attacks against the enemy. The number of activations available each turn (the escalation level as it is

called) is also not entirely predictable, although it is affected by the progress of the battle so far. Its

a careful balancing match between preserving your own troops and eroding the fighting ability of

the enemy and all within a limited number of turns.


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OUTLINE OF ACTIONS AND REACTIONS

OKthis is going to be a bit of a long section as Im going to try and cover the basics of actions and

reactions in the game. One change Ive made recently is to change the name of combat status greenunits from active to alert as this avoids confusion with units that are acting or taking actions as

discussed on the forums at one point and duly noted so thank you those who contributed to that.

ACTIONSThere are six actions in the game and some types of unit can only undertake a limited range of

actionsbut no need to worry about that for now. More importantly, a units choice of action is also

restricted by its combat status. Make sure you are familiar with the combat status system before

reading this as the two key together during play. These are the actions:

Rest Manoeuvre Engage Support Regroup Special

RestThe unit recovers its combat status by one step.

ManoeuvreThe unit moves without attempting to engage the enemy.

EngageThe unit engages an enemy unit either by shooting at it or by moving to close quarters.

SupportThe unit waits for another unit to make an action, and then makes its action.

RegroupA broken unit can make a regroup action to try and return to the fight.

SpecialThe unit uses the action to set-up or activate a machine, attempt a repair, or otherwise do

something specific to that unit. These kinds of special actions may be defined at the unit level or as

part of the scenario being played. Examples include, to activate a med-drone, deploy a sizeable

weapon such as a heavy fractal cannon, open a hatchway into an environmental module, focus a

displacer dish, or initiative a launch sequence on a sphercraft. Dont worry about these at the

momentSpecial is a placeholder action that will cover a number of specific unusual or occasional

actions.


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REST ACTIONA readyor exhausted(i.e amber or red) unit can use its action to rest. The units combat status is

raised one step: ready units become alert, and exhausted units become ready. Units with other

combat status (green/black) cant rest.

MANOEUVRE ACTIONAn alertor ready(i.e. green or amber) unit can use its action to manoeuvre. When a unit makes a

manoeuvre action it can move at up to double its Move Rate (use a base value of 6 inches Move Rate

for now) without attempting to engage the enemy. This action is commonly used when a unit needs

to move fast, and where it is in no immediate danger from enemy attack. Units with other combat

status (red/black) cant manoeuvre.

ENGAGE ACTIONAn alertor readyunit (i.e. green or amber) can use its action to engage with the enemy. This allows

a unit to move up to its Move Rate and either shoot at an enemy unit or engage an enemy unit at

close quarters. Units with other combat status (red/black) cant engage.

SUPPORT ACTIONAn alertunit (i.e. green) can make a support action changing its combat status to alert + support.

Place a supportmarker with the unit to show this. Such a unit is described as supporting or as a

supporting unit. Note that only an alertunit can make a support action.

When a unit makes a support action it does nothing during that player turn. Instead, it defers its

action until an adjacent unit (within 6 base value for now) makes an action. A support action is used

where you want several units to act in unison.

REGROUP ACTIONOnly a broken (i.e. black) unit can make a regroup action and this is the only action a broken unit is

allowed to make. When it makes a regroup action, the units combat status changes from broken to

broken+ regroup. Place a regroup marker with the unit to show this. For convenience we describe

such units as regrouping. For now all we need to know is that this affects the chances of the unit

passing its combat status check at the start of the game turn. Broken units that fail their check are

normally destroyed and those that pass their check remain broken. Broken+regroup units that fail

their check remain broken and those that pass step up to exhausted (i.e red).

SPECIAL ACTIONSpecial actions are often defined by a scenario, or as special rules for a specific troop type. Whenand how such actions are made are therefore not fixed. However, in most cases, units that are alert

or readycan make a special action, whilst units that are exhaustedor broken cannot.


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REACTIONSWhen a unit makes an action during the players turn it is possible for one or more enemy units to

make a reaction in response. Reactions are triggered or declared at the moment when the acting

unit has completed any movement it is going to make and before it does anything else. E.g. before it

shoots.

A unit can only make a single reaction in response to an enemy units action. In some situations, two

or more units may be able to each make a reaction in response to the same enemy units action for

example during opportunity fire reactions.

There are two kinds of reaction: combat reactions and unit reactions. The difference is that unit

reactions are voluntary and require a test to be successful, where combat reactions are triggered

automatically and override any unit reactions otherwise available to the player.

COMBAT REACTIONSA combat reaction is triggered when a unit makes an engage action and either shoots at an enemythat can shoot back within 12", or moves into touch with an enemy unit that can fight back.

A combat reaction is triggered automatically, resulting in either afire fightor an assault.

If a units action triggers a combat reaction no unit reactions are allowed. The assaultorfire fight

reaction overrides all other reactions that might otherwise be possible.

FIREFIGHTA firefight is triggered if a unit makes an engage action and shoots at an enemy target within 12"

that is capable of shooting back.

Afire fightis triggered regardless of the combat status of the target unit, even if the target is

exhausted or broken and therefore normally unable to shoot. If the target unit is supporting or

regrouping then its status automatically reverts to alert(i.e. green) or broken (i.e black) and it loses

its supporting/regrouping markers.

Well deal with howfire fights work another time but in summary a firefight is an exchange of fire

and generally of small arms only both the shooters and targets fire and shots are worked out

simultaneously. Once both sides have fired units that are hit must make combat status checks.

ASSAULTAn assault is triggered when a unit makes an engage action and moves into touch with an enemy

unit.

An assault is triggered regardless of the combat status of the target unit, even if the target is

exhausted or broken and therefore normally unable to move or shoot. If a target unit is supporting

or regrouping then its status automatically reverts to alert(i.e. green) or broken (i.e black) and it

loses its supporting/regrouping markers.


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Again well cover assaults later but in summary an assault is broken into two phases the first

assault phase is an exchange of fire at point blank range worked out the same way as a firefight

the second phase is a grappling phase resolved using the opposing Strength or in some cases Agilty

stats of the opposing units.

UNIT REACTIONSOnly status alert(i.e. green) units can attempt a unit reaction. Other status units are affected by

combat reactions (firefights and assaults) but cannot make unit reactions. This is an important

distinction and one of the chief differences between alert(green) and other status units.

A supporting unit can always revert to alertto make a reaction, if you do this the unit is no longer

supporting and the support marker is removed.

Remember very importantly - unit reactions are only permitted where the acting units action does

not trigger a combat reaction (firefightor assault). It is always one or the other: combat reactions or

unit reactions.

Unit reactions can be made in response to enemy manoeuvre or engage actions only. Other actions,

such as restor support, do not trigger reactions. Because reactions are voluntary, the player must

declare when a unit is reacting and must state aloud what reaction it is making.

If more than one unit is reacting then the player must declare all reactions at onceyou cant react

with a single unit and, if unsuccessful, try and react with another.

Units can never make reactions to other reactions in case you were wondering a reaction can

only be triggered by an enemy units action.

TEST INITIATIVE FOR SUCCESSMake a standard checkagainst the units Initiative Value. If successful the reaction is allowed. If

unsuccessful the reaction is not allowed and the units combat status drops one step to ready (i.e.

amber).

Return Fire if a unit is shot at by enemy at over 12" range then you can attempt toreturn fire. If the test is successful both units shoot simultaneously work out shooting for bothsides.

Dash for Cover if unit is shot at by enemy at over 12" range then you canattempt to dash for cover. This move has some specific restriction like you do have to try and move

into coverwhich we wont go into here. For now, it is sufficient to know that the dash to cover

allows the unit to move up to double its Move Rate (2xM) into or behind cover or out of sight of the

shooter.


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Go to Ground if unit is shot at by enemy at over 12" range then you can attemptto go to ground. Again for now just think of this as throwing yourself to the floor this reduces the

chance of being hit but means your next action cannot be engage you have to get back up

(manoeuvre) before you can start to shoot.

Opportunity Fire if an enemy unit moves within the units field of fire atmore than 12" range and without shooting at an opposing target, then you can attempt opportunity

fire. Test once the enemy unit has moved even if it has moved out of your line of sight if successful

you can shoot at the unit at the point where it was closest and within line of sight.

Close to contact if an enemy unit moves to within two standard movedistances (2xM) of your unit without triggering a firefight or assault, you can test to close to contactand trigger an assault if successful immediately move into touch and an assault is initiated.

Withdraw- if an enemy unit moves to within two standard move distances (2xM) of yourunit without triggering a firefight or assault, you can test to withdraw if successful immediately

move up to two standard moves away from the enemy unit you are reacting to.

NOTE: these various reaction moves are described in more detail in the rules for moving andshooting, but the outline versions given here should be enough to get you going.

REACTIONS FROM MULTIPLE UNITSIf two or more units successfully react to the same enemy action, work out each units reaction one

at a time. Remember, all reactions have to be declared initially and tested for success, so only those

units that pass their Initiative check will actually react.

REACTIONS AND SUPPORTING ACTIONSWell describe how supporting actions work in more detail later on, but for now bear in mind a

supporting action can be any other action including manoeuvre or engage. That means supporting

actions can also trigger reactions. However, because supporting actions are always made one at a

time after each other, this doesnt introduce any additional complexity in the process. The units act

and reactions are made just as with any other action+reaction sequence.


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NUMBER OF REACTIONSA unit can make any number of reactions in the game turn so long as its status is alert(i.e. green).

We place no limitations on reactions other than the requirement to make a successful Initiative

check each time a unit reaction is attempted.

NOTES ON REACTIONSCombat reactions (fire fights and assaults) are an inherent part of game play and will happen in

every game as opposing units close in upon each other. Unit reactions are options that involve a

degree of risk namely a drop in status and that means you have to decide whether it is a risk

worth taking.

Reactions to being shot at, return fire and dash for cover/go to groundare doubly risky because if

the test is failed your unit will be more vulnerable because of the status drop. This means it is only

worth attempting these reactions if you feel your chances are pretty poor if you donttake a chance:

for example, if you have been caught in the open and are about to be shot up by a large, well-

equipped enemy unit.

Opportunity fireon the other hand is less risky, because you can always recover your status to alert

(i..e green) in your following combat turn in which case all you will have lost is a shot. However, note

that opportunity fire is less likely to hit than a normal ranged shot, so whilst it is best to pass the test

and give yourself a possible two shots (opportunity fire followed by engage in your own combat

turn), failing the test is still a poorer result than just sitting tight and taking the engage shot in our

own turn. Decisions decisions!

Withdrawis a fairly safe option and can sometimes actually help you to complete a mission where

you are attempting to move away from the fighting. However, on the whole battles are not won by

running from the enemy!


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MAKING A START WITH WEAPONS

This update introduces some basic weapon types and starts to put some flesh onto the bones of the

mechanic. We have yet to described the rules for shooting and combat in any detail, although if youlook at the example video footage youll get a fair idea of how these things work.

Im going to make a start by talking about the two most common weapons carried by troops,

mercenaries, drones and most armed individuals: the Mag Gun or Plugger and the Plasma Gun.

There are different version of these basic weapons and Ive gone out on a limb by including the stats

for all the mobile (i.e. man carried) versions these are all weapons carried by one man. Youll

notice that some weapons dont have a point blank range listed this is because only side arms have

point blank ranges heavier man-carried support weapons are restricted in their ability to move and

shoot effectivelyand Ive included summaries of the full rules to give you an idea of how this

works.

Ive also listed the more exotic Compression Gun as carried by our Hansa Nairoba model this is a

rare and expensive weapon and more of an individual armament. Ideal for our Freebooting hero!

STAT FORMATThis is the basic stat format I am working with I may need an extra column for special rule

annotations but for now Ive just made notes beneath each stat bloc.

Type of Weapon:Shoot:The number of shotsin some cases also the multiplier for blast weapons but wellcome to them some other time. The number shown is the number of dice rolled and therefore the

potentially number of hits that can be scored each time the weapon fires.

Range:The range bands in inches it is generally easier to hit at effective range than at longor extreme range but the actual modifiers vary depending upon the type of fire (Firefight, Range,

Opportunity, Return).

Strike Value:The modifier applied to the targets Resist roll to avoid taking damagefrom the hit e.g. SV 1, Resist stat is at1.

Type of

weapon

Shoot Range Strike

ValuePoint blank Effective Long Extreme

Plug Pistol 1 6 12 18 36 0


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THE MAG GUN or PLUGGERThe common everyday, effective, practical and adaptable weapon carried by most self-equipped

troops is the Magnetic Carbine or Mag Carbine. Magnetic guns propel a metallic or metallically

coated projectile by means of a magnetic pulse. Pistol, Carbine, Rapid Repeater and larger General

Purpose Support (GPS) versions are all common battlefield weapons. They are manufactured

throughout the galaxy and there are many different designs reflecting local technology levels. The

projectile itself takes the form of a spike, needle or plug and it is the last of these that give

weapons of this type the common name of Plug guns or Pluggers. Cheap versions are unitary designs

with the shot fed from a magazine. Expensive version are composite designs that can be extended

by adding sections together to create a weapon that is larger and more powerful, or smaller and

handier. The best quality Mag Carbines carry their projectiles in a compression field built into the

body of the weapon. These can hold thousands of rounds, and weapons equipped in this way can

synthesise their own ammunition from an integral HCM core given a few hours. All Mag guns shoot a

single plug or burst, but the rate of fire varies, with Concord and Isorian military manufactured

weapons being more versatile, rapid firing and reliable in general. Rapid repeater Mag guns are

sometimes called Zippers a reference to the noise make by the spikes as they fly past.

Special Rules:

GPS. The General Purpose Support (GPS or jips) version is a large man-mobile weapon that follows

the rules for man-carried support weapons. (Summary: the model cannot move and shoot during an

engage action the model has to be stationary to shoot. Exception: the model may attempt to move

and shoot by passing a Strength text having moved, and then shoots at1 Accuracy ((rapid fire on

the move)) ).

Type of

weapon

Shoot Range Strike

ValuePoint Blank Effective Long Extreme

Plug Pistol 1 6 12 18 36 0

Plug Carbine 1 6 18 30 60 1

Plug Rapid

Repeater

2 6 18 30 60 1

Plug GPS 3 NA 24 48 96 1


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THE PLASMA GUNPlasma weapons are the most powerful mobile weapons available to the military of the Concord and

other advanced forces. Plasma weapons are mostly likely to be carried by shock troops and

WarDrones. Because they are high energy weapons their effectiveness depends on the individual

guns conversion rate, which tends to decline with long use; and more rapidly so without routine

maintenance. Plasma weapons fire a brief pulse of energy most often in the form of a laser

causing an ionisation reaction turning the point struck to a plasma. A man-mobile support version

the Plasma Cannon Heavy Support (HS) provides greater range and power, and is usually carried as a

mobile support weapon by Concord strike units.

Type of

weapon

Shoot Range Strike

ValuePoint

Blank

Effective Long Extreme

Plasma

Pistol

1 6 12 18 36 1

Plasma

Carbine

1 6 18 30 48 2

Plasma

Repeater

2 6 18 30 48 2

PlasmaCannon HS

1 NA 24 48 96 3

Plasma Cannon HS.The Heavy Support or HS cannon is a large man-mobileor drone mounted weapon that follows the rules for man-carried support weapons. (Summary: the

model cannot move and shoot during an engage action the model has to be stationary to shoot.

Exception: the model may attempt to move and shoot by passing a Strength text having moved, and

then shoots at1 Accuracy ((rapid fire on the move)) ).


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THE COMPRESSION GUNThis particular weapon is something a little more unusual and for that reason you have to consider

this as an early draft in terms of the rules and statshowever Ive included it as an example a more

exotic weapon. It is also the weapon carried by our special Hansa Nairoba model (his pistol is a Mag

Gun of primitive and antique construction but effective in a tight spot!)

Compression guns use the same technology that forms compression fields and hyper-compressed

materials, in this case compressing everything within a pulsed beam projected by the weapon. The

pulse rate is reactive to the density of the atmosphere and is calculated to allow the compression

effect to advance as the initial pulses compress any air allowing the following pulses to reach

progressively further forward. For thisand safety reasonsthe weapon doesnt function at short

ranges and has a narrow range of effectiveness. It is most effective when the shooter is stationary.

They are generally large carbine sized weapons man-mobile if less convenient that a regular Mag

Carbine or Plasma Carbine. They are commonly called Gripplers (General Purpose Light Compressor)

and Compo Guns (Compressor Gun). There is a mobile heavy support (HS) version of the weapon,

which effectively mounts several projectors together, giving it a rapid fire capability. There is also a

version focussed for short range effect which is a development of the tools used for asteroid mining

this is the Mass Compactor.

Type of

weapon

Shoot Range Strike

ValuePoint Blank Effective Long Extreme

Compression

Carbine GPL

1 Min 6 18 30 48 X/3/2/1

Compression

Autocannon

HS

3 Min 6 18 30 48 X/3/2/1

Mass

Compactor

1 6 12 24 NA 3/2/1/X

Minimum Range.GPL and HS Compression guns have a minimum range of 6 andcannot be used during Assaults.

Compresion Autocannon HS.The Heavy Support or HSautocannon is a large man-mobile weapon that follows the rules for man-carried support weapons.

(Summary: the model cannot move and shoot during an engage action the model has to be

stationary to shoot. Exception: the model may attempt to move and shoot by passing a Strength text

having moved, and then shoots at1 Accuracy ((rapid fire on the move)) ).


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Strike Value. The Strike Value of a Compression Gun varies according to the range to the target as

shown PB/E/L/Ex.

HL Armours. Compression fields have negative energy emission signatures and are therefore

invisible to HL armours HL armour have 0 Resist value against a Compression Gun.

ARMOURProtection is based around field defences rather than hard armour but these field defences need a

metallic base to hang around and for this reason most armours consist of metallic plates, strips or

patches. As well as functioning as protective armour some of the battle suits worn by trooper of all

factions have to function as atmospheric suits. Again this can be achieved purely with an energy

seal but heavily militarised units prefer to employ a double sealed system with an encased

armoured suit protected by an energy seal.

At this stage its a bit early to introduce the various kinds of armour in any detailso Ill just give you

an overview of the system we have been using for development purposes. Some of these values are

speculative at this stage and require refinement.

Most armed troops are equipped with a basic protective armour fieldthis is a field that is on all

the time and which absorbs energy whether thats the kinetic energy of a solid object such as a plug

from a Mag Gun or laser energy from a Plasma Gun. This type of armour increases the wearers

Resist stat by +1 in all situations e.g. from a Panhuman base of 5 to 6. Note that this effectively

cancels out the Strike Value of a Mag Gun and reduced the Plasma Gun to and effective1.

The best equipped troops of the C3 (Concord Combined Command) wear a reactive armour that

recognises an impacting shot and reacts directly against it this is called a HyperLight armour as thereaction mechanic basically recognises the incoming energy signature and mounts a defence before

even laser bases weapons can strike. Hyper-Light armours offer a variable modifier the longer the

range of the shot and the higher its energy signature the more effectively it protects the wearer.

Hyper-Light defences make long range weaponry almost entirely ineffective, and this is one of the

reasons why most combat takes place at relatively short distances. For initial purposes, this value is

+2 where the weapon shoots at effective range or closer, +3 at long range, and +4 at extreme range.

Some weapons can defeat HL armours, but these tend to be specialised short-ranged weapons such

as Compression guns.

Isorian phase armour utilises the silicon based bio-tech developed by the Isorian Shard during theIsoris long war against the alien TSan Kiri during the long isolation prior to the rise of the Seventh

Age. It is this strange alien-derived bio-technology that marks the Isori apart from other humans and

places them and the Concord at odds two rival but incompatible technologies, each driven by an

Integrated Machine Intelligence that identifies the other as an invasive viral intruder. Some

Freebooters manage to combine these technologies by using sterilisers to purge the respective

nano-clouds and re-seeding with an isolate nano-technology. However, such isolates are prone to

contamination upon contact with IMTel. Phase armour offers almost complete protection from all

kinds of harm by shifting the wearers position in special reality but at the same time it renders the

wearer unable to fully interact with real space. Everytime the wearer moves, shoots or attempts to

touch something the armour has to shift phase to allow him to do so, opening up a chink in the


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armour. When shot at without making or attempting any reaction in response the protective value is

+3 at all ranges. When making a reaction it drops to +1.


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SUMMARY OF SHOOTING

This is a summary of the shooting rules. It covers basic combatants and is very much work in

progressbut its enough to play out some simple engagements and get a feel for the way the game

plays.

WHO SHOOTS?Units that make an engage action can shoot if they move they move and then shoot.

Units can also shoot as a reaction: opportunity fire, return fire,fire fightorassault. Well cover

assaults in the rules for hand-to-hand fighting ignore this for now.

Shooting procedureShooting is worked out using the following procedure.

Declare target Check line-of-fire and range Target declares any reaction it is allowedto make. Roll to hit Roll to damage Target takes casualties Target makes combat status check

An alerttarget is allowed to declare a unit reaction to an enemy unit shooting at it with an engage

action.

Where units shoot as a reaction no further reactions are permitted or caused. Units never react to

reactions.

Declare TargetA unit can direct all of its fire against a single target (generally an enemy unit) OR a unit can divide its

fire amongst different targets, with different unit members shooting at different targets.

A unit shoots most effectively when it shoots at a single target. When a unit divides its fire, its shooting

will be less effective; the greater the number of targets the less effectively it will shoot.

For purposes of explanation we will assume the target is a single enemy unit.

CHECK LINE-OF-SIGHT AND RANGEOnly models that can draw a clear line of sight to their target and whose weapons are within range of

the target unit shoot.

LOS (summary) draw LOS from the centre of the models base to any model in the target unit a clear

LOS does not cross the base of any other model friend or foe.


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Note there are exceptions where LOS is not requiredwell cover these later.

Range individual shooters might be at different range bands in each case measure

shooter to the closest part of the target where the shooter has LOS. The shooter is shooting

at the unit.

WORK OUT SHOTS

Each weapon has a number ofshots. This is the number of D10 dice rolled for the model or team firing

the weapon. In most cases what we call a shot is actually a burst of fire rather than a single shot.

Check the range from each shooter to the target to make sure the shooter is within range. Roll a D10

for each shot.

To score a hit the shooter must make a successful test against his accuracystat (Acc), modified by the

following shooting modifiers. For example, if the shooters Acc is 6 the shot will hit if the dice roll is 1-6.

Where the shooters are using the same weapons and require the same role for success, it is

convenient to make all the dice rolls at the same time

If a unit is armed with different kinds of weapons then it will usually be necessary to resolve the

shooting from each type of weapon separately. This is most conveniently done using different coloured

dice, and this also makes it much easier when allocating hits, as described below.

If some shooters are at different ranges or where different modifiers apply to their checks, it will be

also necessary to roll dice in separate batches.

The shooting player can decide which order to shoot weapons in where he has different weapons in a

unit. Any hits scored they are allocated against models in the target unit as you go along.

MODIFIERS TO SHOOTINGIn different circumstances it will be easier or more difficult to score a hit upon a target, and

to reflect this we apply modifiers to the shooters Accdepending upon the shooters combat

status, the weapon range, the type of fire, and the target size. Because we have four

different kinds of shooting - from controlled ranged fire to frenziedfire fights, spontaneous

return fire and sudden opportunity fire - different modifiers apply to each shooting mode.

This is summarised on the table below. Dont worry if this looks a little complex to startwith: most of the common modifiers are fairly intuitive, whilst many apply only to specific

types of shooting and soon become habitual.

Rick Note. Ive put this on a chart for now as it makes it easier to reference but as you will

see most of the modifiers could be handled as bonuses to the basic ranged shot; unit

reactions are just1 over all ranges for example. Dont worry about the presentation too

much at the moment. I will probably change this once we get the definitive modifiers worked

out and make it friendlier.


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SITUATION TYPE OF SHOOTING

Ranged Firefight Return

Fire

Opportunity

Fire

Shooter Combat Status

Alert 0 -1 0 -1

Ready -1 -2 NA NA

Exhausted NA -4 NA NA

Broken NA -6 NA NA

Range

Point Blank (small arms only) +1 0 NA NA

Effective 0 0 -1 -1

Long -1 NA -2 -2

Extreme -2 NA -3 -3

Type of Fire

Aimed (engage+stationary) +1 NA NA NATargetted per reticle marker +1 NA NA NA

Repeater 2+ shots -1 -1 -1 -1

Divided per divide -1 NA NA NA

Target Size

Small/Gone to Ground/ -1 -1 -1 -1

Very Small -2 -2 -2 -2

Large +1 +1 +1 +1

Very Large +2 +2 +2 +2

SHOOTER COMBAT STATUSFor ranged shooting units with a combat status of ready (amber) lose 1 from their Acc valueand therefore shoot less accurately than alert (green) units. As exhausted and broken units

cannot make an engage action they cannot shoot ranged fire, so there is no modifier and this

is shown on the chart as NA (not applicable).

Forfire fights a further1 is applied to alert and ready units to reflect the frenzied nature of

an intense exchange of shots at close ranges. As exhausted and broken units can also

participate infire fights they also have modifiers, and the penalties in these cases are greater

again.

Return fire and opportunity fire are unit reactions and so only apply to alert units. In this case

the return fire is treated as a controlled shot with no modifier, and opportunity fire is treated

as a fleeting shot and hence a penalty is applied.

RANGEWeapons have different range bands depending upon the weapons size and configuration.

Only small arms have a point blank range at which distance (generally 6) they get a bonus of

+1 for ranged fire; however, this doesnt come into play often as fire at such close range

usually triggers a firefight or unit reaction.


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Otherwise the range modifiers are simple steps, with an extra1 applied for unit reactions.

Note that opportunity fire is effectively an extra1 because of the standard penalty applied to

alert units firing in this mode.

TYPE OF FIREThese modifiers allow for more unusual situations and are explained separately. They dont

come into every game and I suggest players accustom themselves with the game play before

considering these options.

TARGET SIZEWe also allow for target size but note that this does not affect normal play where targets are

more-or-less man sized throughout. These modifiers simply allow for the possibility that the

target is a very large vehicle, a building, spacecraft or similarly large construction at one end,

and perhaps a control panel, valve mechanism, or small drone at the other. Well cover this in

more detail later.

OUTSIDE CHANCEIf the D10 roll required to score a hit after modifiers have been applied is less than 1 then

there is still an outside chance of scoring a hit. Roll a D10 anyway if you score a 1 then roll

another D10 if this second D10 is also a 1 then you have hit!

CRITICAL SUCCESSIf the D10 roll required for success is 2 or greater then any roll of a 1 indicates a critical

success. In the case of a weapon shot this means the shooting player gets to allocate which

of the models in the target unit is hit, rather than the player whose unit has been shot at, as

is normally the case. See Allocation of hits below.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF FIREAs shown on the table, there are four special types of fire: aimed, targeted, repeater, and

divided. The most commonly occurring of these is aimed fire. These work as follows.

AIMED FIREIf a model carries a mobile weapon then it automatically counts aimed fire if the unit makes

an engage action and shoots but does not move. The entire unit must remain stationary to

count as not moving, and only those models armed with mobile weapons receive the bonus.

TARGETED FIRETargeter drones and targeting weapons and devices can mark targets; we call all of these

things targeters. This will be covered separately; in summary, instead of a unit making a

shot at the target, a targeting reticle marker is placed next to one model in the unit. Any

shots made against the target by any unit with a guided weapon add +1 to the Acc for each

reticule. Guided weapons are covered in the section on weapons, but note that some

weapons can have built in guidance systems whilst others can benefit from a guidance

device carried by a member of the unit or by another unit they can patch to.

A target retains all of its reticle markers whilst it remains stationary. If the target moves so

that it is more than 6 from the reticle markers all the markers are removed and the targetis no longer targeted. If the target moves but not enough to remove all the markers then the


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number of markers is halved rounding up, and the marker stack is moved and placed next to

one of the units models by the targeting player.

Targeting reticles can also be dispersed by some devices or certain types of model.

Targeted fire can be combined with aimed fire the bonus from each is added together.

REPEATER FIRESome weapons have two, three or more shots these have1 penalty on all shots.

Repeater fire cannot be combined with aimed fire or targeted fire.

DIVIDED FIREA unit can choose to divide ranged fire onto different enemy targets if the player wishes,

some models shooting at one target and some at another. This is called divided fire. A unit

cannot divide its fire if this would result in a fire fight. If a fire fight is triggered then all of a

units models take part in the fire fight.

To successfully divide its fire a unit must make an initiative check. If this is failed there is no

penalty, but the unit cannot divide its fire and must select a single target in the usual way. If

the check is passed the unit can divide its fire by shooting at two or more targets the

player must state which models are firing at which targets before working out shooting.

Once you have done that work out the shooting against each target one at a time, in the

order chosen by the firing player. As each shot can potentially trigger a reaction, work these

out as you go along.

ALLOCATION OF HITSAs hits are scored on a target it is, in most cases, necessary to allocate each hit to a model in

the target unit. To do this, take the dice that scored the hit and place it next to one of the

models in the target unit. Hits are allocated by the player whose unit has been shot at,

unless a critical success roll is made when rolling to score the hit, in which case that hit can

be allocated by the shooter. Regardless of which player is allocating a hit, hits must be

spread out as evenly as possible, i.e. make sure every model in the target unit has one hit

before allocating a second hit to any models.

If the target comprises models that are armed and armoured in exactly the same way it

make no difference where the hits are allocated, in which case it is easier to simply place thedice that scored hits against the unit. In most cases, however, there is likely to be a mix of

armaments within a unit, so it is important to know which hits are allocated where. This is

especially true where different weapons are shooting. This is why it is a good idea to use

different coloured dice for shooting with different weapons, as it just helps to keep things

clear.

Note that it does not matter whether individual models are hit by a weapon that is within

range, ranges are always calculated to the unit by measuring to the nearest model. So long

as the unit is within range all models in the unit can potentially be hit by that weapon,

regardless of whether they are within range or not.


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If the target unit includes some models that are out of the line of sight ofall the models in

the shooting unit, then these models cannot be hit by weapons that require line of sight to

their target. In these cases hits are allocated only against those models that are within line

of sight of the shooters. Hits scored must still be allocated as evenly as possible amongst

models within line of sight. Note that some weapons do not require line of sight to shoot at

their target, and in these cases hits are allocated between all models in the unit regardless.

RESIST CHECKSFor each hit scored against a model the player whose model it is picks the dice from next to

it and makes a resist check. For example, if a models resist stat is 5 any D10 roll of a 5 or

less is a pass, whilst rolls of 6 or more are a fail. If the resist check is passed the model is

unharmed. If the check is failed the model takes damage. In the case of most human-sized

models this is sufficient for the model to immediately fall casualty. In the case of some

larger models, vehicles, buildings and so on then we instead go on to resolve the damage

result (still to be done). However, for now we need only concern ourselves with our regular

fighting troopers, so we may assume that any model taking damage falls casualty and isremoved from the game.

A models resist stat will be modified depending on the weapon that has scored the hit, the

targets combat status, whether the unit is in cover or not, and what armour the unit has.

These modifiers reduce or boost the models resist stat. See below for how these modifiers

work.

Note that the resist check represents the individual models chances of avoiding a hit on the

unit as a whole. Many hits will fall within the area occupied by the unit but not strike any

individual trooper, or perhaps will strike only a glancing shot, or in some cases be repelledor absorbed by a troopers armour. For this reason most trooper models have a resist roll

that is set fairly high representing their chances of keeping to cover, avoiding exposing

themselves to danger, and using their experience as fighters to minimise their personal risk.

Better and more experienced fighters will therefore have a better resist roll than poor or

untrained fighters, whilst civilians and non-combatants may have a substantially lower resist

stat than a typical fighter of their species.

CRITICAL RESISTIf the score needed to make a successful check is less than 1 once modifiers have been

taken into account, then any dice roll of a 1 followed by another D10 roll of 1 will alwayspass the check and the model will survive. In this case the individual has flung himself aside

or managed to put something between himself and his attacker that has deflected the shot.

AUTOMATIC FAILA dice roll of a 10 always fails a resist check regardless of any modifiers that apply to the resist stat. 10s

always fail.


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RESIST MODIFIERSModifiers affect a target models resist stat, these include the strike value of the weapon, the target

units combat status, cover and armour.

STRIKE VALUEAll weapons have a strike value (SV), in some cases this is constant and in others it varies over

range or has a random element. This SV is deducted from the resist value of the target model.

So, if a model has a resist stat of 5 and it is struck by a Mag gun with SV 1 its resist value is

reduced to 4.

TARGET COMBAT STATUSThe targets combat status reduces its ability to react to shooting, seek localised protection or

avoid being hit, and we represent this by applying the following penalty to the resist stat of all

the units members.

Alert 0Ready -1Exhausted -2Broken -3

COVERWe recognise three levels of cover in the game: light, dense and emplaced. A model is within cover if itis within terrain that offers cover such as dense undergrowth (light cover) or if it has been placed

directly behind something that offers coversuch as a wall. Dont worry too much about this at

present.

Cover light +1Cover dense +2Cover emplaced +3

Troops that have gone to ground increase their cover bonus by a further 1 and those who have no

cover count +1.

ARMOURMost troops are protected by some kind of armour usually in the form of an armour field defence.

Some armours offer a fixed value bonus and others vary depending upon circumstance.


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REMOVE CASUALTIESRemove casualties as they occur. If models have yet to shoot back, for example during a fire fightor

with return fire, it is preferable to either lay the model down or turn it around to show it has fallen

casualty until you have worked out all shooting.

Target checks STATUSOnce all shooting resulting from an action has been worked out and any casualties removed, it is

necessary for every unit that has suffered at least one hit to test its combat status. A unit that hasnt

been hit does not have to test. Note that it doesnt matter whether hits cause casualties units have

to test even if they successfully resist all hits scored.

COURAGE CHECKThe unit make a standard check against its Courage value, taking into account any bonuses to Courage

that apply. These bonuses accrue from special rules that apply to individual leaders or to equipment,

so we shall ignore them for now.

Deduct 1 from the units Courage value for each casualty it has suffered as a result of the action that

has been completed. For example, if a unit has Courage of 7 and suffers 2 casualties it tests against a

value of 5.

If the test is passed there is no change to the units status. There is no extra benefit to a critical success

roll of a 1 in this case.

If the test is failed the unit drops one combat status level, for example from alert(green) to ready

(amber). If the unit is already broken it is destroyed if the test is failed: in this case remove the entire

unit and all of its models count as falling casualty.

INDIRECT FIRESome weapons do not necessarily need line of sight to a target in order to shoot. Either the weapon

fires a missile that is self-guiding, or it relies upon another observer to guide it to the target, or the

shooter simply lobs a bomb high into the air and the shooter trusts to luck that it will land on an

enemy. In all cases we refer to any shot where the shooter cannot see the target as indirect fire.

Only those weapons indicated as able to use indirect fire can do so.

We wont worry about indirect fire weaponry for now as this would just add an extra level of

complexity and we need to make sure the core direct shooting is solid to start with.


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RICK NOTES AND COMMENTSThe rules for shooting do look quite complicated and I would suggest working through the ranged

shooting and ignoring reactions for a run through. In general, the shooting rules are quite specific in

terms of which models are shooting at what which means it becomes necessary for individual

shots to be assessed for range and LOS and to allocate hits as described. This is not as fast as a

more abstract system but it allows for more a more detailed style of game abstract systems have

to be tailored to a specific size and type of game to work properly. We have found that in practice

shooting can be worked out quite rapidly once you get the hang of it but it does help to start out

by allocating individual hits as you go along you can easily short cut the process once you know

how it works.

Stats we have used the base line stats for fighters and the feeling so far is that you can go +1/-1

on these for variants of pan/sim but that is about it - +2/-2 is a big difference! With weapons and

armour the same is broadly true with +2/-2 representing quite a swing in capabilities. See the WIP I

did on weapons Mag guns and a basic +1 armour are the base line. I am trying to set the game up

so that the numbers do the work rather than having endless conditional rules affecting armour and

strike values but this needs stress testing.


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GETTING A MOVE ON! THE BASICS OF MOVEMENT

When it comes to moving troops about the battlefield we will ultimately have to consider vehicles of

all kinds, anti-grav troopers, and various kinds of machines and suspensors but to start with we are

only concerned with ordinary troopers humanoid fighters and Wardrones. Of course, many of thesame rules apply to all so this is a good place to start.

Move distancesAlthough we will no doubt wish to include some variation of movement rates, to start with all

humanoid troopers and WarDrones move at the same pace namely a standard move of6.

Because a manoeuvre action is a double move this means troops can often move up to 12 at a time.

Measuring a moveIm not going to worry too much about defining how to measure moves just measure from a point

along the base edge and make sure no part of the base moves further than the maximum distance

permitted.

Moving round other models on the samesideWhen a model makes a move, its base cannot move over the base area of any other models

belonging to different units on the same side. Models that begin their move in the sameformation

can move through each other as they move.

Moving round enemy modelsWhen a model makes a move its base cannot come within 1" of the bases of any enemy models atany point, unless the two units are engaging in an assault i.e. hand-to-hand fighting.

TurningTroopers of the kind we are talking about can pivot freely about their midpoint as required as any

time they can pivot as they move and they can pivot to shoot either during an action or reaction.

Pivoting in this way does not count a movement and models that pivot and do not otherwise move

are counted as not moving (e.g. for purposes of aiming and shooting team-based and static

weapons).

Area TerrainThe playing surface can potentially represent different kinds of environments such as crowded urban

areas, dense jungles, glutinous swamps, volatile ash-wastes, and much more besides. These kinds of

terrain are defined by a delineated areas for example an area of strewn boulders, an area of

scrubland, an area of woodland or jungle, and so on. Players can agree to delineate these kinds of

area terrain in anyway they wish.

Different kinds of terrain have different move penalties associated with them, but to start with just

treat movement within area terrain as half pace. All movement either wholly or partially made

through terrain is doubledi.e. 1 counts as 2 and so on. This applies to models that are either

wholly or partially within the terrain and for so long as they remain so.


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Agility checkThe kinds of troops we are talking about can make a check to try and avoid the movement penalty

for terrain - the test is made as soon as the unit enters the terrain, and then subsequently if the unit

begins its move in the terrain. Make the check for the whole unit against its Agility rating. If

successful the penalty is waived for that move if fail the penalty is applied as described. This means

troops can often avoid penalties for terrain, but cannot be certain of doing so.

Moving over obstaclesWe often include barriers or obstacles such as a wall, wire fence, brushwood stockade, or barricades

built of barrels, boxes, or whatever junk is lying around. Such obstacles make excellent defensible

positions. In general, a construction of this kind should be no wider that a models base, although we

have to make concessions to whatever model scenery is at hand and allow up to double a models

base width so long at these are pointed out before the game so that players are aware.

Obstacles divide into two types for height those that are low enough to form a defensive barrier or

cover generally lower than the height of a human sized trooper and therefore low enough to seeover and those that are too high to see over but which are not so tall as to be impassable. Once

again, it is necessary for such obstacles to be clearly indicated before the game begins.

Low obstacles form no hindrance to movement. The kinds of troopers we dealing with can move

over them with penalty and can draw LOS over them.

High obstructions these are generally up to about double the height of a man in these cases a

unit can cross so long as1 the unit is making a manoeuvre action, 2 the unit takes and passes an

Agility check when it reaches the barrier, and 3 the unit gives up half of its total move that action

(i.e. normally 6). If the agility test is failed the unit does not cross and remaining movement is lost.

Obstructions taller than this are generally impassable to troopers on foot.

Splitting or Amalgamating a SquadA unit can amalgamate with another unit by being within 6 of the unit and making a manoeuvre

actionthe unit can them move 6 so that its troopers form together with the merged unit the

remaining 6 of movement is lost.

A unit can split with a manoeuvre action in the same way the two parts separating so they are

more than 1 apart and moving up to 6.

Merging units of the same combat status retain that status. If units are different status test courage

for the lower status unit (it will be ready as exhausted and broken units cannot manoeuvre) and if it

passes the whole unit is now the higher status, if fail the whole unit is the lower status.

On the whole the maximum size a unit can be is 10 models and there is no minimum size. These are

placeholder values for now larger units might need some governing rules to make them less easy

to control, but for now it is easiest to set the limit at 10.


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REACTION MOVESThe following are moves that can be made as a reaction: dash for cover, go to ground, and withdraw.

See Reactions.

Dash for CoverA dash for cover is a reaction move made in response to an enemy unit shooting from more than 12"away.

A dash to cover is a move at double the units move rate with the objective of reaching cover. As

many of the units models as possible must attempt to place themselves in or behind cover or out of

LOS. Models already in cover will not move out of it unless they can reach alternative cover when

they move. The move cannot be used to initiate an assault, and the unit must remain further than 1"

from enemy units at all times as is the usual rule.

Go to GroundInfantry units can go to ground either during a standard manoeuvre action or as a reaction to being

shot at a described in the rules for Reactions. Troops that go to ground drop to the floor and find

what shelter they can: folds in the ground, street furniture, discarded or broken equipment, shell

holes, and such other features as we care to imagine. This reduces the chances of taking hits from

enemy fire, but it also makes it harder to move again as troopers have to get up first!

A unit making a manoeuvre action can go to ground by surrendering half of its total move distance.

So, a unit with a Move rate of 6" can normally make a double speed move of 12" and can move up to

6" and go to ground. Once a unit has gone to ground a marker is placed next to it to show this. This

marker remains with the unit so long as it remains gone to ground.

A unit that has gone to ground cannot move except by making a manoeuvre action and surrendering

half of its total move distance. The unit ceases to have gone to ground status as soon as it moves.

The unit cannot otherwise move whilst it remains gone to ground, and cannot make any reactions

that allow it to move other than assault (see below).

Once a unit has gone to ground various modifiers apply when shooting at it as described in the

Shooting section. In summary:

Target Gone To Ground -1 to accuracyTarget Gone to Cover +1 to resistHits from Blast Weapons Total hits halved rounding down.

An infantry unit can go to ground whilst behind cover if you wish basically ducking back out of sight

or keeping a low profile. A unit in this position would benefit from the shooting modifiers that apply

to targets behind cover as well as those applying because it has gone to ground.

If a unit is assaulted whilst gone to ground it loses its gone to ground status and takes part in theassault as normal.


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WithdrawA withdraw move is a unit reaction made when a unit approaches to with two of your own units

standard moves (i.e. 12 as standard). Note that a unit cannot make a withdraw reaction if the

enemys action triggers a firefight or an assault as these are combat reactions and override all unit

reactions. This means that withdraw reactions are only likely in situations where one or other side

does not shoot.

A withdraw move is up to two standard moves (12) and cannot bring the unit closer to the enemy

unit it is reacting to at any point i.e. it has to be away from the triggering unit. The withdrawing

unit must end its move at least one standard move further from the trigger unit where possible.

Where this is not possible the withdrawing unit must move to as far from the enemy unit as it can.

beyond the gates of antares outline rulebook

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