RULEBOOK VERSION 2.1
Game start:
Game Mode is agreed upon, and the board is set. If one player sets up the board, the other player may choose their starting side. For more than two players, one player sets the board up and the other players take turns choosing their starting side.
For each unit the cost of the unit and each arm are listed under the “COST” on the card, so a Gladius-1 is cost is 19/2 so with two functional arms, the unit would cost 23 points. The weapons and equipment for the unit must be assigned to a location for most units the 2 location indicates the right arm, the 5 location indicates the left arm, and the 6 location is the torso of the unit. The “X” to the left of the equipment cost is where you indicate the purchased parts, and the numbered boxes to the right of the cost indicate the location of the equipped part. If the unit has hands purchased they may store extra equipment on the unit that can be switched out. Mark the location boxes for the currently equipped items, if the item is purchased but not equipped, only mark the “X” box for now. Items that have an asterisk next to the name are hand-held equipment and can only be selected by units with hands. If a piece of equipment has a “+” for the cost that means that weapon is coaxial with the above weapon and is included in the cost for the above weapon.
Each player rolls 1d6+ the REACT bonus for each unit. for tied numbers, the unit with higher bonus goes first. Write a “+” next to the INITIATIVE SCORE of the unit that will go first. This INITIATIVE score will establish the order of all actions for the remainder of the TURN. Mark the INITIATIVE in the box on the unit’s card until the TURN ends. Players then place their ACEs one at a time adjacent to the game map, with their chosen weapons in hand if applicable, in order of INITIATIVE. If there are more than two players, units for all players must be at least 16" from map corners.
Each TURN will consist of 6 PHASES, represented on the unit’s card.
All measurements are made in 4” increments, for movement measured from the unit’s foot or base if the unit is on a base (4” round base), all attacks and LOS determinations are made from the head of the unit.
Each PHASE, each unit will choose to:
MOVE- move 4”. The unit may rotate to any facing at the end of the move. They do not have to move the full 4”. When Moving mark off one MOVE box on the unit’s card.
ATTACK- RANGED or MELEE attack on any unit in LINE OF SIGHT (LOS) Melee attacks must be within 4" range, measured from the torso of the units, unless specified by the melee weapon. Attacks use one WEAPON action, mark off one box on the unit’s card in the selected location.
GUARD- A unit can elect to GUARD. The unit stays in place for the phase, but may make an ATTACK at any point during the phase. A unit in GUARD can ROTATE at the end of the PHASE for free. If the unit has any remaining actions they may continue to GUARD on following phases, or exit guard and move/ perform actions as normal.
SWITCH WEAPONS only applies to units with hands. This uses one WEAPON action for the location used on the unit’s card. This can also be used to pick up a DROPPED weapon. A unit may DROP a handheld weapon on the ground to switch weapons with no WEAPON cost, and can still move this PHASE, but still takes one PHASE to perform.
JUMP/CLIMB- A unit can jump or climb up or down at an additional MOVE cost (1+ 1 per FLOOR [Roughly 6” height]). The climbing unit must be within 4” of the terrain it is climbing at the beginning of the phase. If there is an enemy unit within 4” of the landing location, a DROPKICK may be performed. A unit can jump down at no additional MOVE cost, but will take 1 LEG damage instead.
Each unit will continue these PHASES one at a time until all actions are resolved. If a unit runs out of movement points, and has not yet used all actions this TURN, they are considered to be in GUARD until the end of the TURN.
FACING: A unit may only attack in it's FACING ARC direction, defined as a 180 degree arc of the front half of the unit, measured from the shoulder joints. A unit being attacked in it's REAR ARC gets a -2/-1 penalty to defense.
RANGED ATTACKS:
A ranged attack can be performed with any EQUIPPED weapon on a unit. Line of sight (LOS) must be established to the targeted unit, measured from the unit’s heads. If LOS is partially obstructed, the unit will gain an additional bonus to their ARMOR of +1/1 for 30 to 50% cover, and +2/2 for up to 90% cover. If the obstruction is less solid (ie. bushes, vehicles) the unit only gets a concealment bonus of +1/0 or +2/0. The RANGE is measured in 4" increments, and dice are rolled by the attacker. Consult the weapon on the unit card to resolve the attack.
Attacks should be rolled with 4d6, two white dice for the ACCURACY, one red die for DAMAGE LOCATION, and one black for DAMAGE.
Refer to the weapon listed on the attacking unit's card for the ACCURACY chart, if the roll (with all modifiers applied) is equal to or greater than the defending unit's ARMOR score, the unit is hit. Use the defending unit's card with the DAMAGE LOCATION roll to determine where to apply the points of damage on the defending unit's card. Use the attacking unit's weapon damage modifiers, minus any armor damage modifier from the defending unit to determine damage. Any damage roll cannot be modified below 1.
The defending unit will then cross out the number of boxes on their unit's card on the DAMAGE LOCATION. Always fill in all gray boxes before red boxes. Once at least one red box is filled in on a location, that location is DAMAGED. Once all boxes are filled in, that location is DESTROYED. Any excess points of damage are applied to the TORSO of the defending unit.
A CRITICAL HIT (natural 12) ignores all damage modifiers, including the defending unit's ARMOR and equipment. A CRITICAL FAILURE (natural 2) (ranged attack only) disables the weapon used for the remainder of the game. If a damage roll on a CRITICAL HIT is also a 6, the targeted damage location is instantly DESTROYED. Each weapon may fire once per TURN unless specified by the weapon. Only one weapon can be fired per PHASE at the cost of 1 ACTION. When a weapon is used, mark out the corresponding box on the WEAPON actions on the unit’s card.
DAMAGE EFFECTS:
LEG DAMAGE- Minus one movement per damaged limb (minimum 1).
LEG DESTROYED- Minus two movement per damaged limb (minimum 1). Can no longer climb up, only down, which now causes 1 LEG or 1 TORSO damage per floor.
ARM DAMAGE- -1 ACCURACY with any weapons on/ held by the affected limb.
ARM DESTROYED- Disables all weapons on that limb (or drops, if unit with hands), unit can no longer operate two handed weapons.
HEAD DAMAGED- -1 to REACT, -1 ACCURACY on all ranged attacks.
HEAD DESTROYED- -2 to REACT, -2 ACCURACY on all ranged attacks.
TORSO DAMAGED- Unit is DISABLED and cannot perform any actions. Pilot may attempt an emergency restart once per PHASE rolling 1d6. On a roll of 6, the emergency restart is successful, the unit reactivates and can perform as normal, with a -1 to all die rolls.
TORSO DESTROYED- Unit is destroyed.
WEAPON TYPES:
GUNS (GUN)- Standard ballistic firearms, May fire once per turn, unless the weapon has MULTI(X) where (X) is the number of attacks available per turn.
HE (EXP)- Rockets, Missles, RPGs etc. HE weapons cause SPLASH DAMAGE. Roll a second damage location after resolving the attack and apply the weapon’s damage bonus as damage to the second location. If the same location is rolled, there is no effect. If the unit is in melee with other units, roll splash damage for those units as well.
CANNONS (CAN)- Large-bore AP Autocannons. CANNON weapons are ARMOR PIERCING (Ignores cover damage modifiers, as well as one point of defending unit's ARMOR damage modifier).
SHOTGUNS (SHG)- Burst rounds of multiple pellets. SHG weapons apply full damage at range 1, and -1 damage per 4” range unit past that, minimum 1.
MELEE- MELEE attack on any unit within one 4" unit of distance. A melee attack can be made as a free action after moving in the same PHASE. The unit rolls an attack, and the defending unit rolls one ACCURACY die. The attacking unit adds any attack bonus from their melee weapon to the ACCURACY. The defending unit adds any defense bonus from their melee weapon, and +1 for a SHIELD. Rolls are -1 per destroyed DAMAGE LOCATION on the unit. If the attacker’s total is higher, they deal damage plus the melee weapon’s damage bonus. If the defender’s total is higher, they deal damage equal to the difference of the roll.
Any unit in MELEE COMBAT gains a +2 DEFENSE to all RANGED attack from other units.
If a RANGED attack on a unit in MELEE misses, a second attack is rolled against the next unit in the MELEE with the lowest REACT at +3 DEFENSE, and if that misses, it is rolled against the next slowest unit at +4 DEFENSE etc., until a unit is hit, or all adjacent models are missed. A unit that has moved 2 or more consecutive PHASES (including the attacking PHASE) before performing a MELEE attack may perform a CHARGE attack. The unit will declare a CHARGE attack, and it's RECKLESS BONUS from 1-5. The RECKLESS BONUS is subtracted from the attacker's ACCURACY roll, but added to the amount of DAMAGE. A CHARGE attack, once completed, ends the attacking unit's turn, and if successful, the targeted unit's turn as well.
A unit at least one FLOOR above another unit may perform a DROPKICK attack on a unit within 4” of the landing location. The attacker and defenders roll as in standard MELEE combat, but the attacking unit must declare a RECKLESS bonus of 3-5, which is added to the DAMAGE taken by whichever unit loses the MELEE COMBAT. Regardless of outcome, both the attacking and defending unit's turns are ended after a DROPKICK.
A unit in MELEE range may KICK an opponent in Melee range. Both units roll 1d6, -1 per DAMAGED LEG and -2 per DESTROYED leg. If the attacker rolls a natural 6 the attack always succeeds. The unit being kicked is moved 4” away from the kicking unit and cannot perform an action during the next PHASE. If the attacker succeeds, they may move their unit 4” away as well, if the defender wins, there is no effect.
Units may make multiple attacks in a TURN (one per PHASE), at -1 ACCURACY for each previous attack that turn. Each weapon can only be used once unless specified by the weapon. MELEE weapons can be used twice per TURN by a unit.
A unit with a functioning empty second hand gains +1 ACCURACY to attacks made with weapons in the other hand.
EQUIPMENT:
SMOKE GRENADES- an 8" circle is placed adjacent to the unit at the beginning of the next PHASE. roll 1d6 for the number of PHASES that the smoke cloud lasts. Any unit inside the smoke cloud gets a -1 ACCURACY on RANGED ATTACKS, and +2 to DEFENSE. If a unit is not inside the smoke cloud, then the cloud blocks LOS for units attempting to fire through the cloud.
COMBAT SHIELD- Units with a SHIELD apply damage from the FRONT ARC to the SHIELD first before taking damage to any location. MELEE DAMAGE is split 1/2 on the SHIELD, 1/2 on the targeted location, rounded down. Once the SHIELD is DESTROYED, it is discarded and damage is applied as normal to the target limb. ARMOR PIERCING weapons apply the first 1 point of DAMAGE to the SHIELD, and the rest as normal.
GAME MODES:
All game modes are played with 100 Points of units per player.
CONTROL: The board is divided into 12”x12” SECTORS. Each sector is worth 1 point.
Each DESTROYED or DISABLED unit is -1 point. At the end of each PHASE, any sector with only your unit in it is controlled by your team. Contested sectors are not scored. If your unit leaves a sector, it is under your control until occupied by another player. At the end of turn 6, the player with the highest score wins. If there are only 2 players, the starting row on your side is controlled by your team automatically.
HARVESTER PUSH: Place a neutral harvester unit in the center of the board. Any unit within melee distance of the harvester has control of the unit. If contested, the harvester will not move. The harvester has 3 movement points per turn. The player with the harvester closest to their starting edge of the board at the end of turn 6 wins.
HARVEST: Place meteor tokens on the board (3 for 2 players, add 2 per additional player). Each team will get an additional Harvester unit. Any Harvester unit may collect a meteor token within melee range. The team with the most collected tokens on their functioning harvester at the end of turn 6 wins.
DEATHMATCH: 6 turns. Each team gains a point for each DESTROYED limb on a functioning unit under their control, and 6 points for each unit DISABLED or DESTROYED at the end of turn 6. The player with the lowest score wins.
