Alien War Beta 1

1Designed by Howard Whitehouse

INTRODUCTION

Alien War is a game of ground combat for 28mm (1/56 scale) models set in the year 2260. The rules are de-signed to give you an authentic feel for future warfare including unpredictable events sudden rushes, explo-sions, ambushes, and malfunctioning weapons that challenge your strategy and tactics as a tabletop gen-eral. The terrain can be as elaborate or as simple as you like; but the game is best played with lots of cover (buildings, trees, rocks, downed landing ships, etc). The playing area can represent anything from a futuristic cityscape to an alien forest to a Bug-infested hive!

Each player controls a Force that can be as small as a squad (6-15 models) up to a platoon or even a company in size (40-100 models or more). Some Forces may involve more models than others since they consist either of less skilled human troops (like colonial militia or poorly armed and trained conscripts) or aliens whose strength lies in their overwhelming numbers. As players become more experienced, they can control larger numbers of troops as well as vehicles and incorporate more advanced rules for future warfare. At its most basic size (squad level), a game of Alien War should take an hour or less to play.

What you need to play:

Regular Six-sided Dice (D6) we recommend a mix of at least 3 red, 3 green, and 6 white dice. Tape Measure

Templates

Alien Warhardplastic28mm(1/56scale)modelsbyDefianceGames

Terrain items for the playing area

Interspersed throughout these rules are some quick commentaries by Howard Whitehouse, the designer. Its as if Howard is sitting with you at the game table and able to lean over and give a word or two of advice on how best to proceed!

Howard's Notes:

A Bit on Scales: in Alien War each model represents a trooper and each terrain item is exactly as shown. What You SeeIsWhatYouGet:ifthereisadooronascalebuilding,assumeitispreciselywhereitisshowntodeterminedistance and line-of-sight.

Groundscalealsorelatesdirectlytothe28mm(1/56scale)models,soaninchisalmostfivefeet.Thismeansthatweaponrangesarefarshorterthaninreallife-aweaponthatfires48onthetablewouldbeshootingonly75yards in real life! Likewise, a moments thought will suggest that the time scale must be very short indeed, since a standard4actionisonly18feet,abarefewsecondsforanymoderatelyfitpersontowalk.Asthegamedesigner,Iaskyoutothinkbrieflyoftheseissues,thensetthemasideinfavorofsimplyplayingafast-movinggame!

2ContentsINTRODUCTION 1

FORCES IN Alien War 4

SQUADS, ELEMENTS, AND TROOPS 4

ELEMENTS 4

SQUAD AND TROOP GRADES 5

SAMPLE FORCES 7

PLAYING THE GAME 10

TERRAIN SET UP 10

MODEL DEPLOYMENT 10

ACTIVATING 11

ACTIONS 11

WHAT THE...?!? 12

REACTIONS 13

MOVEMENT 14

ROUGH GROUND AND OBSTACLES 14

SHOOTING 15

DECIDING TARGETS 15

SUPPORT WEAPONS SPECIAL RULES 15

MARKSMEN SPECIAL RULES 16

TARGET TYPES 16

INFLICTING LOSSES 18

CASUALTIES 20

LEADER CASUALTIES 22

SPRAYING LEAD! 22

PINNED DOWN! 22

3HITTING THE DIRT 23

RALLY 23

SPECIAL WEAPONS 24

GRENADES 24

FLAME THROWERS 25

CLOSE COMBAT 26

CLOSE COMBAT RESULTS 28

WINNING AND LOSING 30

VICTORY POINTS 30

DESIGNER'S NOTES: 31

4FORCES IN Alien War

To get started with Alien WaryoufirstneedtocollectaForceof28mm(1/56scale)modelsfromDefianceGamesrapidlygrowingAlien Warrange.YoumaychoosefromtheUAMC,Germans,AlienBugs,oroneofthe other Core or Edge Forces in the game. Visit http://www.defiancegames.com to see the latest releases!

SQUADS, ELEMENTS, AND TROOPS

The most basic Force is made up of a single squad. A squad consists of 6-15 troops divided into two to four ele-ments,calledfireteams(orsomethingsimilar)inmanyarmies.ThesquadisledbyaSquadLeaderwithoneormore element leaders reporting to him.

Along with regular infantry troops, elements sometimes include a specialized support team built around a heavy weapon designed to pin down the enemy while your own troops can move freely. One or more troops may have aspecialistrolegrenadier,marksman,flamethroweroperator,etc.

ELEMENTS

Elements are a group of models acting together, even if they are not performing the exact same series of actions. Eachmodelmustbewithin3ofanothermodelintheelementevenifthereareobstaclesbetweenmodels.AnelementledbyanNCO(Non-CommissionedOfficer)willusuallyperformbetterthanonewithout.

Sometimes an element may consist of just one model as in these situations: A single model expected to act alone such as a sniper or a medic. These single models are also permitted to

act as part of a larger unit whenever the player prefers.

A model who becomes separated from his initial element will count as an element on his own until he re-joins his element or joins another.

In practical terms, a squad will usually consist of two or four elements at the start of the game. These may break up into smaller elements as the game goes on.

You may form new elements, or divide the elements you have, when you activate your Force. There is no limit on this beyond the obvious fact that the die roll might not permit all elements to act at once.

Example: Elements can form and disperse as the player wishes. A UAMC squad might be counted as a single element while riding in a dropship or landing craft, or rushing forward onto a landing zone. Once deployed for action it would usually break up into its separate fireteams (three elements). A fireteam might then break up into two distinct elements if the gunner and assistant set up their weapon while the other marines moved forward. A marksman might move to a firing position to get the best target.

Howard's Notes

OnGender:Weuseheorhimthroughouttherulesforsimplicity,butthefuturisticbattlefieldsofAlien War are filledwithwomenaswell.Infact,thereareevenall-femaleForcestobereleasedfortheAlien WarrangebyDefi-anceGames!

5SQUAD AND TROOP GRADES

Squad Grade

Each squad is rated according to its training either as Professional (regular squads of high calibre) or Grade 2 (militia,bandits,conscripts,etc).Additionally,theverybestGrade1squadsarecountedasElite which have the highest level of cohesion and mutual understanding.

Troop Grade

Withinthesquad,eachtroophasagrade(Green,Experienced,Veteran)whichshowshislevelofcombateffec-tiveness. This is expressed by a number between 2 and 4, known as a Combat Value(CV).MostarithmeticinthegameisbasedonrollingaD6andscoringequalorlessthanthisCVnumber.TheruleswillsayTestagainstCVwhenthisisrequired.Experiencedtroops,withaCVof3,willthushavea50%chanceofperform-ing any test required of them.

Greentroopsaretrainedbuthaveseenlittlecombat,orseasonedbutpoorlytrainedfighters. Their basic CV is 2.

Experienced troops have been in combat previously. They are average troops. Their basic CV is 3.Veteran troops have considerable combat experience. Their basic CV is 4.

Leadership

Leadership is critical in Alien War. Since different Forces have theirownspecificcommandstructures,welluseasimpleRankformat to explain how the leaders are rated in value and impor-tance.

Rank 0 Enlisted Personnel Basic TroopsRank 1 Fire Team Leader/Junior NCORank 2 Squad Leader /NCORank3 PlatoonSergeant/SeniorNCOorWarrantOfficer

Rank 4 Platoon LeaderRank 5 Company Leader Rank6 FieldOfficer-Major,LieutenantColonel,orFull

Colonel Battalion and Regimental staff.

Above Rank 6 are the generals and admirals. In practical terms, Alien War is a squad and platoon level game, so leaders of Rank 6+ will appear only in the biggest games unless as part of a sce-nario(i.e.GettheGeneralOffPlanet!).

Howard's Notes

Havingveryfewelementsmeansthatitseasytogetthewholeforcetoobeyyourorders,butlacksflexibility.ItalsomeansthatwholechunksofthatforcemaybePinnedDownbyheavyenemyfireagainstonepartofit.Hav-ing too many elements means that some may not activate at all, and small elements are easily Pinned Down under fire

6Weapons

The standard weapons used in Alien War are graded according to their range, how many dice are rolled when they shoot, and by Impact the power of each shot to damage its target. Standard weapons include:

Assault Rifle (AR) (Impact 1)Thebasicinfantryfirearmofthe23rdcentury.Itfires2D6upto18,1D6upto36.TheARmaybefiredwhilemoving,rollingonly1D6witharangeof18.Oneormoretroopspersquadmay be designated as Marksmen,abletouseaimedfireonaspecifiedtarget.

Squad Support Weapon (SSW) (Impact 1) The SSW is a larger, bulkier weapon designed primarily to pin downatarget.ItcountsasaSuppressiveWeapon,whereeachD6rolledforfireeffectcountsas2Dtowardsanytesttopindownatarget.Itfires4D6upto48,but6D6ifsetuponabipodinafixedposition.Itmaybefiredwhilemoving,rolling2D6toarangeof24.

Medium Support Weapon (MSW) (Impact 1) The MSW is a heavier version of the SSW, and like it serves topindownatarget.ItcountsasaSuppressiveWeapon,whereeachD6rolledforfireeffectcountsas2D6towardsanytesttopindownatarget.Itfires5D6upto48,but7D6ifsetuponabipodinafixedposition.Itmaybefiredwhilemoving,butsinceitisbulkyitonlyrollsoneD6toarangeof24.

Heavy Support Weapon (HSW) (Impact 2) The HSW is a tripod-mounted large calibre gun requiring a two-mancrew.Itfires8D6whensetupandcannotbefiredwhilemovingexceptwhenmountedonavehicleorhardsuit (power armor trooper).

Grenade Launcher (GL) (Impact 1)TheGLisadedicatedindirectfireweaponforlobbingexplosivesintoen-emypositions.Itmayfireavarietyofloads,includingahighexplosivegrenade,combustiblerounds,andcloserangeshotgunshells.Itseffectivenessisbasedonatemplate.AsmallerversionoftheGLmaybeattachedtoan AR.

Flame Thrower/Acid Dispenser (Impact 2) Flamethrowers and acid weapons serve to clear bunkers and other confinedspaces.Theireffectivenessisbasedonaconicaltemplate.

Armor

Armor is standard for almost all but the most primitive or under-supplied troops. Armor is graded according to this system:

No Armor (Armor 1): No protection beyond occasional helmets or impro-vised padded garments.

Helmet/Flak Vest (Armor 2 ): Basic body armor and head protection.

Light Armor (Armor 3): Current issue helmet, torso, and leg protection.

Battle Armor (Armor 4): Full body and head armor.

Enhanced Battle Armor (Armor 4): Full body and head armor with exo-skeletal or similar power aids for arms and legs. High mobility and limited jump capacity May carry enough ammunition to support a SSW/SAW. Pos-sible integral stimpack.

Scout Power Armor (Armor 5 ): Light hardsuit with high mobility and jump capacity. Integral stimpack. Capable of deploying two main weapons.

7Medium Power Armor (Armor 6 ): Battle-grade hardsuit with limited jump capacity. Integral medical systems. Capable of de-ploying a heavy weapon or 2-3 lighter weapons

Heavy Power Armor (Armor 7): Heavily protected hardsuit with limited mobility. Integral stimpack. Capable of deploying a heavy weapon and several supporting weapons. Armor grade com-parabletoalightwalkerorsmallarmoredfightingvehicle.

As Forces are introduced to the Alien War setting, there will be other weapons and armor types added which will be referenced in those Forces individual Force Files.

Communications

There are three ratings to measure the effectiveness of communi-cations among troops. See the individual Force File for the Com-munication rating of your unit.

Hive Mind Part of a collective intelligence with all elements in-stinctively acting on cue.

Linked Communications High tech systems with voice and opti-callinksbetweenfighterscoordinatedoff-board.

Voice and Visual Communications Basic hand-and-voice com-mand system.

SAMPLE FORCES

To explain how Alien War works, weve created opposing squads from two of the main Forces in the Alien War universe: United AmericasMarinesandGermanPanzergrenadiers.WellusetheseExamples throughout the rules to play out a basic squad-on-squad engagement where two patrols meet.

To make this more memorable and interesting (hopefully!) weve named all the members of the two squads and given them a bit of background. The engagement all takes place on the UA colony planetofAleutiawheretheGermansandAmericansarefightingoveraccesstothatworldssignificantlithiumdeposits.Thisiscomplicated by the presence of the Vralk an indigenous intelli-gent species who have their own plans for their planets newfound wealth!

ThefirstExampleunitisaUAMCsquadof12MarineswiththeSquad Leader doubling up as a Fire Team Leader (Hes short one Fire Team Leader because Corporal Ettrick Russell wandered off base and was killed and eaten by a local carnivore, the crocodile- tiger-like predator known in the Vralk language as a Paarlgh!)

Example Squad Organi-

zations

Now that weve introduced grades, elements, weapons, armor, and com-munication for Alien War, here are Ex-amples of typical squad organizations fortheMarinesandGermans:

UAMC Marine Rifle Squad Organi-zationSquad Leader (Sergeant Rank 2) armed with an M-46 carbine or M-46 assaultrifle(AR)withagrenadelauncher(GL)attachment.

3 Fire Teams, each made up of:

Fire Team Leader (Corporal - Rank 1) armedwithanM-46ARwithGL.

M-2800 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW)Gunner

AssistantSAWGunnerwithAR

RiflemanwithAR(Marksman)

13 Total Troops at Full Strength (other options are detailed in the UAMC Force File)

German PanzerGrenadier Gruppe (Full Strength)Gruppenfuhrer(UnteroffizierRank2)armedwithaG54ARorG54KCarbine

Soldatx3withG54ARorGAW30GL.

Gunner(AssistantSquadLeader)withMG11MediumSupportWeapon(MSW)

AssistantGunnerwithG54ARandspare ammo/spare barrel for the MSW

GunnerwithMG11MediumSupportWeapon (MSW)

AssistantGunnerwithG54ARandspare ammo/spare barrel for the MSW

Germangruppescanbedividedintoavariety of different elements.

8 Total Troops at Full Strength (other optionsaredetailedintheGermanPanzergrenadiers Force File)

8UAMC Squad

97th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Echo Company, 2nd Platoon (Pla-toon 317), 1st Squad (Grade: Professional; Armor 3)

Fire Team Alpha (Element 1)

NAME RANK GRADE WEAPON ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND Points

Al Gonzales 2 - Sergeant Veteran AR/GL Squad Leader/Fire Team Leader

Son of career marine, raised all over. Plays hockey and steel guitar.

35

Andy Torres 0 - PFC Exp AR Marksman Cheery big guy from Mexico City

15

Deniece Sung 0 - PFC Exp SAW SAW Gunner High jump champ from Flint, Michigan. Takes no nonsense from anyone.

20

Lenny Smith 0 - Private Green AR Assistant Gunner Tells stories nobody be-lieves. Perpetually nervous. From outside LA.

5

Fire Team Bravo (Element 2)


Jeff Hayes 1- Corporal Veteran AR/GL Fire Team Leader Seen action in three cam-paigns. Doesnt talk much about it.

28

Lavonne Jones 0 - PFC Veteran AR Marksman Has twin daughters on Earth. Shell show you vids. Lots of vids.

20

DeShawn Wright 0 - PFC Exp SAW SAW Gunner Muscle builder from New Chicago. Likes to carry all his own ammo.

20

Kim Muamba 0 - Private Green AR Assistant Gunner Eighteen, just out of boot camp. She seems sharp.

5

Fire Team Charlie (Element 3)


Chanjit Khaur 1- Corporal Veteran AR/GL Fire Team Leader Once killed a bug with a hairdryer. Highly respected.

28

Kevin Asamoah 0 - PFC Exp AR Marksman Little guy, so black you cant see him at night., ex-cept for his grin. Grins a lot.

15

Michael ONeill 0 - PFC Exp SSW SSW gunner Says his family were kings in Ireland. Hes from South Boston

20

Joe Bromley 0 - Private Exp AR Assistant gunner Another tour and hes out to get married to his childhood sweetheart on Washington VII

10

9German Squad

Panzergrenadier Battalion 501, 2nd Kompanie, 3rd Zug, 1st Gruppe (Grade: Professional; Armor 4)


Heinz Muller 2 - Unterof-fizier

Veteran AR Gruppenfuhrer (Squad Leader)

Son of a much decorated veteran, joined the army on 18th birthday. Still only 23.

40

Jens Heismann 1- Obergefre-iter

Veteran MSW Assistant Gruppen-fuhrer

MSW Gunner

Can make tasty soup from almost anything. Snores badly.

45

Hans Schreiber 0 - Grenadier Green AR Assistant Gunner Right out of training - smokes a pipe to look older

7

Sebastian Linz 0 Grenadier Exp MSW MSW gunner Former shoe salesman from Essen. Likes his current work better.

28

Sigrid Schwartz 0 - Grenadier Exp AR Assistant Gunner Not the little sister of the gruppe. Tough and proud.

13

Ahmed Ertegun 0 Grenadier Veteran AR Marksman Captain of the company football team. Repeats same joke over and over.

25

Andraos Rosada 0 Grenadier Exp GL Granatschtze (Grenade Launcher Specialist)

Made rockets as boy in Hamburg. Now shoots them for a living.

18

Willi Hoffmann 0 Grenadier Exp AR Marksman Expert marksman. Writes to his five sisters every week.

18

Theeightmembersof1stGruppearefurtherdividedinto3ele-ments.UnteroffizierHeinzMullerwith3grenadiers,ObergefreiterJensHeismannwithhisassistantgunner,andGunnerSebastianLinz with his assistant gunner.

Example: Dave invites Bob to play Alien War for the first time. They decide to do a simple encounter between two squads on patrol in an abandoned Vralk village. Dave takes the German gruppe and Bob plays the Marines squad. Well use their game as a way to explain the rules in more depth in the following pages.

Howard's Notes

Once you build your squad, you might choose to mark their bases with either a name or number to keep track of your models. One method is to put a white dot to show a Veteran, a green dot for a Greentrooper,twowhitedotsforaCorporal,andthreewhitedotsfor a Sergeant. Experienced troops (which make up most of your squad) are not marked.

10

PLAYING THE GAME

Now that you understand the Forces in Alien Waritstimetolookattherulesthemselves.Thefirstthingweneedtodoissetupthebattlefield.

TERRAIN SET UP

Startbyarrangingterrainonthetable.Thiscanbedoneeitheraccordingtoaspecificscenario(availableontheDefianceGameswebsite)orhoweveryouandyouropponentchoose.

MODEL DEPLOYMENT

Once the terrain has been set up, each player rolls a D6 and whoever has the lowest number can choose whether hewantstodeployfirst,ormakehisopponentdoso..Ifyouaredeployingfirst,youalsochoosewhichsideofthe table you deploy from.

Youwilldeployyourmodelswithin6ofyoursideoftheboard.Youmustdeployatleastoneelementandmaydeployallofyourelements.Onceyouvefinishedyourdeployment,theotherplayerdeployshisownmodels.

If you have chosen not to deploy all of your elements at the start, they may enter at the board edge as you play your turn. Hidden movement and concealed elements are accounted for in the advanced rules. The player who deploysfirstwillalsohavethefirstactivation.

Example: Dave and Bob lay out the village with a main street crossing from left to right and lesser roads joining it. Once they are satisfied with the layout, they roll to determine the start. Bob wins by rolling a 1 and decides to bring his Marines in on the north side of the board. Bob places his lead element (Alpha Fire Team) of four marines under the Squad Leader, Sergeant Gonzales, behind a house on his left flank. He brings another element (Bravo Fire Team) onto the baseline in the center, and keeps the third element (Charlie Fire Team) off board. Dave has divided his squad into 3 elements. He selects a position in the centre of his base line, about 5 from the edge where the ruins of a warehouse allow good vision and places one of his MSW teams there. The other MSW team (under his Rank 1 assistant leader Jens Heismann) is left off-table. The three grenadiers (with assault rifles) under the Gruppenfuhrer, Heinz Muller, gather under cover of damaged buildings to the left of the warehouse. The scene is set!

Howard's Notes

The basic squad-level version of Alien Warcanbeplayedwithina24squareareabutifyoudliketoplayonalargertablehaveatit!(Alargerplayingareawilldefinitelybenecessaryonceyourefieldingplatoonsinsteadofsquads.)

Discuss the terrain to decide which features count as soft or hard cover, which cannot be moved over, and any other aspects of the terrain that might pose questions as the game goes on; its far better to decide that a rickety old shed providesconcealmentbutnoprotectivecoverfromweaponsfirebeforethegamethantoarguethepointonceaplayer has models inside it and claims that it is lined with reinforced transparent aluminum!

11

ACTIVATING

You start by rolling a die to activate your Force. How well you do and how many elements you can activate - depends not only on the die roll but the Communication rating of your unit. If the unit is Elite, once per game youmayre-rollactivationalthoughyoumustusethesecondrollevenifitsworsethanthefirst.

Die Hive Mind Linked Communication (Professional troops)

Linked Communication(Grade 2 troops) or Voice & Visual (Professional)

Voice & Visual Communi-cation(Grade 2 troops)

1 All elements may perform two actions

All elements may perform two actions






Any element led by Rank 1 and above may perform two actions








One element may perform two actions



One element may perform two actions

The element led by the senior leader may perform two actions

6 Roll on the What the...?!? Table

Roll on the What the...?!? Table



Example: Bob starts the first turn and rolls a 4. Since his squad is rated as Professional and in Linked Com-munication, this means that all three of his elements activate as each is led by a leader (rank 1 or higher). If he had separated his Force any further, there would have been at least one element without a Rank 1 leader, which would not have activated.

ACTIONS

Each Activation roll allows the element(s) to perform one or two of the following actions: Move either Creeping, Walking, or Running. Most troops can shoot while Creeping or Walking but not

Running. There is no restriction against Running on successive actions or turns.

Take up an Overwatch pose, covering an area where an enemy target is expected to appear with the inten-tionofshooting.Thismayoccuronthefirstorsecondactionoftheturn.Theelementmustremainhaltedin place in order to take best advantage of Reaction shooting on the enemys turn. An element in Over-watch can shoot if it was stationary when making a Reaction.

Take up a Counter-attack pose, covering an area where an enemy target is expected to appear with the intention of charging into close combat. (Note that it isnt possible to be in both Overwatch and Counter-attack postures at the same time.)

Shoot a weapon.

Fight hand to hand. This action happens immediately if an element moves into contact with an enemy ele-ment.Ifthisoccursduringanelementsfirstaction,thiselementmaynottakeanotheractionthisturn.

Leap through a window, climb a wall, or dismount from a vehicle etc.

12

Set up a bipod for applicable weapons. A tripod takes two actions.

Treat a wounded model.

Other special actions required for a scenario such as defusing bombs, downloading data, opening gates, etc

Elements can repeat an action - for instance, they can run or shoot twice in succession. You can do these things in any order you like. Once you have completed your actions (and the results have been worked out), your turn isoverandtheturnsequenceresumes.Everyelementonthemovingsidemustcompleteitsfirstactionbeforeany element starts its second action.

Example: Dave rolls a 5 for his own activation, which allows only those elements with leaders to activate. His MSW team in the warehouse has no Rank 1 or higher, but since at least one member of the main group under the Gruppenfuhrer is within 3, all six models count as one element for right now. He decides to move his off-board MSW team under the Assis-tant Gruppenfuhrer to a building at the table edge and then to climb inside through a window. This means he moves them 4 to the window, then whatever distance is needed to place them actually inside the structure.

WHAT THE...?!?

Whenyourolla6,somethingknownastheWhatthe...?!?occurs.Thisisasequenceofeventsthatbringsran-domelementsintothegame.WhenaWhatthe...?!?occurs,therearefoursteps:

1. Checks the status of your wounded models (if any).

2. All communications drop one level. If there is a Communications Tech present, he may test against his CV at the end of the next turn for his squad and repair the damage on a pass. If he fails, he may test at the end of each turn. If no Comms Tech is present, the system remains out of action until the player rolls a 1 for Activation.

3. You select one element to perform one action only, and decide whether to do so before or after step 4...

4. You roll a D6:1. Roll on the Thats Good table on your Force File.2. Roll on the Thats Bad table on your Force File3. Roll on the Thats Good table on the opposing players Force File4. Roll on the Thats Bad table on the opposing players Force File5. Roll on the Theatre of War table.6. Roll on the Mission table. If there is no Mission table, roll on the Theatre of War table

Example: On the next turn, Bob rolls a 2 and continues to move forward, bringing Fire Team Charlie on to support Gonzales advance team. On his own turn, Dave rolls a What the...?!? Neither side has any wounded or Out of Action models to recover or lose at this stage of the game. He does lose his satellite link and has to rely on Voice and Visual Communication from now onwards. He chooses an element to activate, and makes one (not the usual two) actions. He rolls a 1 which then allows him to roll on his Thats Good table in the Marine Force File. He gets a 5 which gives him The One Man Army and he selects Gefreiter Hoffmann to become that special character for the rest of the game.

13

REACTIONS

Reactions - interrupting the sequence of your opponents turn - are an important aspect of Alien War. As your opponent moves, you may be able to play one or more Reactions on him, although no element can make more than one Reaction during your opponents turn. Your Reaction may be any type of Action such as shooting, close assault, treating a newly wounded comrade, or simply pulling back from danger.

Each of your elements may react once to any of his Actions. This can happen during each of his turns and he canreacttoyourActionsduringyours.AReactionmustbearesponsetoaspecificActionbyvisibleenemyforceswithin24itsnotsimplyafreebieAction.ToReact:

An element that is Pinned Down cannot React in any circum-stance.

An element that has taken up an Overwatch position may shoot at full effect at the enemy in its forward arc (180 degrees ahead) and Line of Sight.

An element that has taken up a Counter-attack position may charge at an enemy in its forward arc.

Any element that isnt included under the criteria for 1, 2, or 3 may attempt to React by testing against the CV of its leader. If it passes, it may shoot as if moving, may counter-attack, or retreat from its present position. A second element may now try to React, andsoon.Ifthefirstelementtotestfails,ittakesnoactionand no other allied elements may try to React this turn.

Normally the Reaction takes place right after your opponent's firstActions,butsometimesyoumaywanttoReactduring those Actions. For instance, you may want to shoot at models crossing a gap between buildings or disappearing into cover. In those cases, you may only React after your opponent has moved a model at least1orcompletedoneactionshootingweapons.

Example: Bob watches Dave move an element of models. He has placed Bravo Fire Team on Overwatch in LOS of Daves grenadiers. As soon as the two leading troops cross an alley, he announces that he is choosing to React at that moment, and opens up with his Fire Team for one action of shooting at full effect.

Howards Notes: Test against CV: This core mechanism of Alien War is simple roll a D6 and score equal or less than the CV of themodelinquestion.Sometimestheremaybemodifierstothetestas,forExample,TestagainstCV-1whichmeans that a veteran model whose CV is 4 now needs a roll of 3 or less to pass the test.

Line of Sight (LOS)

LOS refers to the ability of one model to see another within its forward arc. If a straight line can be drawn between the models unimpeded by obstacles, LOS may exist for both parties. There is no distance limit placed on LOS exceptwhereaspecificexcep-tion is stated (such as Heavy Rain or Blinding Snowstorm from the Whatthe...?!?Tables)

Since we understand that actual troops try hard to use concealment as much as possible, well assume that the models (usually posed in active, upright positions) dont exactly represent what the trooper is doing; therefore well draw an imaginary base-to-base line from one model to another. If there is no obstacle between the two, unrestricted LOS exists. If there is one or more obstruction between the two models, a decision must be made as to the validity of the target. See the Target Table.

14

MOVEMENT

You must state what each element is doing before you move. This is to make clear what type of movement the model intends to make, what sort of cover they are in, and where they are moving to. Troops on foot are classi-fiedasslow,standardandfast.

An element may run on successive Actions and turns. Most Runningmodelsmoveat4plus1D6,sothatpotentiallyamod-elmaymovebetween5and10.Yourollforeachelement.Theres no reason to carefully measure every models distance; just move the group and make sure that no model moves further than the distance allowed.

Example: Bobs foremost fire team needs to cross an area of ground covered by Daves Medium Support Weapon element. Its 6 to safety. On his first action, he moves everyone up into a line so that the men at the back arent left behind. On his second action Bob declares that his men are running across the gap. He rolls a 5, so his men can run up to 9. If Bob had rolled a 1 the group would be caught out in the open until his next turn, in a sort of freeze-frame moment which would invite Dave to shoot them all!

Example: The UAMC move at standard rate. The Panzergrenadiers are encumbered by their heavy armor and equipment, so move at slow speed. In this scenario there are no fast troops.

ROUGH GROUND AND OBSTACLES

You should discuss the terrain with your opponent before starting the game. Troops can move over most rubble pileswithoutapenaltyorthroughaploughedfield,butsometerrainisveryhardtomovethroughexceptslowlyswamp, sharp rocks, or steep slopes for Example. Move at half speed, counting every inch as two inches for measurement. No running is allowed.

Troops are assumed to be able to leap over low walls, fences, etc without any penalty, but head-height walls, wide ditches, and thick hedge rows take an Action to cross. Troops cannot leap onto a second story from the ground,butonetroopcanhelpanotherup.SomesignificantobstaclesmightdemandtwoActionsandtwotroops working together.

Example: Bob moves his Fire Team Alpha forward. The Marines have to cross an area of loose rubble with big blocks of concrete, designated as rough ground before the game began, and then have one Marine climb an 8-foot tall wall. In the rough ground they walk 2 instead of the usual 4. At the wall, he suggests that it will take two Actions for one Marine to help the other climb over the wall, and Dave agrees. This is one of those situations where players are expected to cooperate in making the game work smoothly!

Howard's Notes:

Remember that an element may not always move in the exact formation it begins the action in. Models running out of a door will be following at least one inch apart, so the last model may be several inches behind the leader. A low die roll may leave the unlucky one at the rear caught in the open, even if his comrades are safely in cover!

Type Creep Walk Run

Slow 2 4 4 + D6 (Maximum 8)

Standard 2 4 4 + D6

Fast 3 6 6 + D6

15

SHOOTING

Shooting has two objectives in Alien War. One is to actually hit your opponents models and put them out of the gameofcourse!Theotheristomakeyouropponentsmodelsduckforcoversothattheirownabilitytofireisseverely limited. Therefore we focus attention as much on the target as those doing the actual shooting.

DECIDING TARGETS

The player shooting selects a target in LOS. This includes not just a single model, but all the enemy troops in LOSwithinanelementforinstance,ThosefourmodelsbehindthewallIcanjustseetheirheads.Thetargetelementmayincludeanynumberofmodelsaslongastheyarewithin3ofanothermodelintheelement.Refer to the Weapons Table below to determine ranges and whether or not you may shoot while moving. You may not shoot while Running or climbing obstacles that require both hands.

You may not deliberately target the wounded or those in the act of helping them. Wounded troops may be subjectedtoareaweaponsandtofireonagroupoftheircomrades,butitsnotpermittedtoshootdirectlyatwounded opponents unless the shooters are listed as Hating the type of enemy in question on their Force File.

Sometimes the target element will not all be in the same type of cover or some members of the element may not be in LOS. Although the element will count as a single unit for the purposes of possible suppression, the shoot-ing player should divide targets up according to the cover they are in as fairly as possible. If there is a question about this, start with the most exposed model in the target group, count all that match his cover state , and re-solveshootingwithhalftheshooters(roundedup).Remainingshotswillthenbefiredatothermembersofthetarget group according to the cover they are in.

The shooting player will then check the range, check to see how many dice he is allowed to roll, and check whetheranymodifiersapplyduetorangeormovement.ThenhewillrollthediceforALLshootingonthatparticular target.

Example: Daves gun team shoots at Bobs Fire Team, which is moving through ruined buildings 15 away. Dave is able to bring to bear his bipod-mounted MSW (7D6), fired by gunner Linz, plus shooting from the Gun-ners Assistant (D6) for a total of 8D6 against Bobs Marines.

SUPPORT WEAPONS SPECIAL RULES

The Squad Support Weapon (SSW) or Medium Support Weapon (MSW) is operated by a team of two the GunnerandAssistantGunner(AG).TheAGsjobistocarryammunition,assistwithclearingjamsandreplac-ingbarrels,andtotakeovertheguniftheGunneriskilledorwounded.TheAGmayfirehisownrifle(1D6only).TheAGmustbewithin2oftheGunnertocarryouttheseduties,orelsethegunnercountsasoperatingalone.

Howard's Notes:

Different color dice help distinguish the shots from different shooters. Use red dice for Veterans, white for Experi-enced,andgreenforGreentroops.

16

IfaGunnerisalone,anyShootingrollthatfeaturesmore6sthannumbersequalorlessthantheGunnersCVmeans the weapon has jammed, and will take an action to clear. Hits on the enemy before the gun jams still count.

A Heavy Support Weapon (HSW) is also operated by a team of two and sometimes supervised by an NCO. Theloaderisfullyoccupiedwithfeedingammunitionintothegun.TheNCOcanfirehisownweapon.AllaretrainedtousetheHSW,andcantakeovertheGunnersorLoadersroleswithoutpenalty,buttheweaponmustbe operated by two troops.

All members of a Professional or Elite squad are cross-trained and can operate these weapons at their usual CV. OthermembersofaGrade2squadcanoperatethegunatCV-1.

MARKSMEN SPECIAL RULES

Troops designated Marksman are one step down from elite snipers. Marksmen may shoot normally, counting as one CV grade better than usual due to their special skills.

Alternatively,ifthemarksmandoesnotmoveonhisaction,hemaychoosetoshootataspecific(singlemodel)target as an aimed, shot rolling 1D6 to hit. This roll is shifted one column to the left on the Target Table. A suc-cessful Hit from aimed shots by a Marksman shift one column to the right on the Cheating Death Table.

TARGET TYPES

TherearefivebasicTargettypesinAlien War: Easy. The target is standing or moving upright in the open, and is still in the open at the end of his move-

ment. Targets being shot at from their rear arc, bunched up in a tight element, or inside a vehicle or en-closed space also count as Easy.

Basic. The target is in the open, but crawling, kneeling or lying prone, or keeping as close to cover as possible without actually being behind it. The target is moving from one piece of cover to another. If the shooter is Reacting while the target moves between cover, it counts as a Basic target.

Concealment. The target is concealed by trees, bushes, or other features that dont stop a bullet, but make the target harder to spot. The target is using a low wall, a hastily-dug foxhole or similar, but can be seen by the shooter.

Cover. The target is using a brick building, a properly dug foxhole or trench, or another solid object, but can be seen by the shooter.

Fortified. The target is inside a solidly built pillbox, bunker, or similar enclosed structure but, can be seen by the shooter.

Example: Dave will roll 8D6 against Bobs Fire Team which has two Marines who have reached the cover of a ruined house. One is hidden completely behind a high wall and the other is still moving through the heavy rubble, which they have already agreed to count as Concealment. They agree that Dave should roll the 7 dice for the Medium Support Weapon against those in cover, since those are directly in front (he needs a roll of 1 since the MSW gunner is Experienced) but the Assistant Gunner may shoot at the rearmost Marine ( in Con-cealment). The Experienced Grenadier Rosada needs a 1-2 to score a hit. Dave rolls two hits with the Medium Support Weapon on the men in cover and one more on those in Concealment.

17

Howard's Notes:

If an entry in the Target Table has more than one number, it means that the target is so hard to hit that rolling a 1 is not enough. To hit such a target, you must roll to hit twice: 1then1-3meansyoumustfirstrolla1andthenroll3orlesstoscoreahit. 1then1-2meansyoumustfirstrolla1andthenroll2orlesstoscoreahit.

TARGET TABLE

Shooter is: Easy Basic Concealment Cover Fortified

Veteran 5 4 3 2 1

Experienced 4 3 2 1 1, then 1-3

Green 3 2 1 1 then 1-3 1 then 1-2

WEAPONS TABLES

Weapon Range Impact dice per shot without moving

dice per shot while moving

Pistol 9 1 1 1

Combat shotgun (slug) 18 2 2 (1 at 9 or beyond) 1 (up to 9 max)

Combat shotgun (shot) 18 1 3 (2 at 9 or beyond) 2 (up to 9 max)

Sub-machine gun 24 1 2 (1 at 12 or beyond) 2 (up to 12 max)

Standard Assault Rifle 36 1 2 (1 at 18 or beyond) 1 (up to 18 max)

Squad Support Weapon* 48 1 6 set up on bipod; 4 if not 2 (up to 24 max)

Medium Support Weapon* 48 1 7 set up on bipod; 5 if not 1 (up to 24 max)

Heavy Support Weapon* 72 2 8 (only if set up on tripod, set-up takes 2 actions)

N/A

Hard Beam weapon 72 3 2 1 (up to 24 max)

Grenade Launcher* 9-36 1 2 or 3 Template Template weapon

Flame Thrower 24 2 Template weapon May not fire while advancing

* Counts as a Suppressive Weapon count double dice to determine if a target is Pinned Down.

Heavy Weapons (Mostly Off Table)

Range Impact Dice per Shot(Stationary)

Dice per Shot(Moving)

Light Mortar 12-72 2 4 Template N/A

Heavy Mortar 12-72 3 6 Template N/A

Light Artillery 72 3 4 Template 1 (if vehicle mounted)

Medium Artillery No limit 4 6 Template 1 (if vehicle mounted)

Heavy Artillery No limit 6 8 Template 1 (if vehicle mounted)

Light Missile No limit 2 4 Template 1 (up to 24)

Medium Missile No limit 3 1 1 (up to 24)

Hard Beam No limit 3 2 1 (up to 24)

18

INFLICTING LOSSES

Countthenumberoffiringdicerolledagainstatargetelement.Iftheyareequaltoormorethanthenumberofmodels in the target element, the element rolls to see if it is Pinned Down. Count the number of dice that scored Hits.

The owner of the targeted models must then roll the Hits:

First,decidewhichmodel(s)mightbeHit.Themostexposedtargetmodelisdesignatedasthefirstpossiblecasualty. After that the owner simply chooses who might be a casualty, sharing out the Hits among the targeted models as evenly as possible. He may choose to include wounded troops among the potential casualties. No model may be given a second hit until all of the targeted models have been given one. Do not count models who are already Out of Action when distributing Hits.

Next, Roll on the Cheating Death table for each Hit and compare the die score with each target model's grade. Modelswhichhavealreadybeenwounded(StunnedorHurt)andhavenotyetrecoveredcountasGreeniftheyare unlucky enough to be hit a subsequent time. (They are assumed to be oblivious to their danger.)

Example: Bob has received eight shots at his four man fire team, three of which Hit. One hit went to the Marine moving through rubble (Concealment) and two hits went to those in a ruined house (Cover). Bob points to the Marines in the house, Smith and Sung. Both these models need to roll on the Cheating Death table. He does the same thing with the Marine in concealment and - being only one possible candidate - puts the Hit on PFC Torres.

CHEATING DEATH TABLE

Subtract the Impact of the weapon against the Armor of the target. This tells you which column will determine the result of the Hits. Roll a die for each Hit.

Roll 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 >

1 Retaliate Retaliate Retaliate Retaliate Retaliate Retaliate Retaliate OK OK W

2 OK OK OK OK OK OK OK Wounded Wounded Out of Action

3 OK OK OK OK OK OK Wounded Wounded Out of Action

Out of Action

4 OK OK OK OK OK Wounded Wounded Out of Action

Out of Action

Out of Action

5 OK OK OK OK Wounded Wounded Out of Action

Out of Action

Out of Action

Out of Action

6 1-3 OK 4-5 W 6 OoA

1-3 OK 4-5 W 6 OoA

1-2 OK 3-4 W 5-6 OoA

1-3 W 4-6 OoA

Out of Action

Out of Action

Out of Action

Out of Action

Out of Action

Out of Action

Howard's Notes:

Note that Veterans are most likely to make the saving roll, but are usually the most valuable models in the unit, whileGreentroops-whoaremostlikelytobecomecasualtiesarelessusefulinactionbutcounttowardsthetotal losses that decide winning and losing.

19

Modifiers: Shift one column to the right for a Hit with an aimed shot (Marksmen and Snipers only)

ShiftonecolumntotherightforaHitonaGreentarget.

Shift one column to the right for an explosive shell or grenade inside an enclosed space (room, bunker etc).

Shift one column to the left for an artillery or mortar shell if target is shielded from the blast by intervening cover.

Shift one column to the left for a+ Veteran target.

Armor Grades Impact Grades

0 - 0 Very Light Weapons

1 No armor 1 Standard AR and SSW, Grenade

2 Protected Helmets/Flak Vests 2 HSW, Light Mortar or Missile

3 Light Armor Helmets, Body, and Leg armor 3 Medium Mortar or Missile, Light Artillery

4 Battle Armor - Full Body Armor 4 Light Tank Main Gun, Medium Artillery, Heavy Mortar

5 Scout Grade Hardsuit /Light Recon Vehicle 5 Battle Tank Main Gun

6 Full/Warrior Hardsuit 6 Heavy Artillery

7 Light Walker/Heavy Hardsuit/Armored Recon Vehicle or Personnel Carrier

7 Mother of All Bombs

8 Heavy Walker/Light Tank 8 -

9 Main Battle Tank 9 -

Example: Bob checks the Cheating Death Table. His Marines all have Light Armor (Armor 3) and have taken fire from weapons listed as Impact 1. This means that the base column he has to roll on is Column 2. Veterans will roll on Column 3, Green troops on Column 1.

Cheating Death Results

Retaliate If the target model is not also Wounded or taken Out of Action, he immediately fires back at the en-emy shooter! Count as if shooting while moving. The enemy will NOT shoot back if they get a Retali-ate roll. A model can only Retaliate once each time it is targeted, regardless of how many dice give a Retaliate result.

OK! The target model is not hit.

Wounded The target model is Wounded, and is placed face up where he falls. Roll on the Wounds Table.

Out of Action Roll on the Out of Action Table. On a 6 the model suffers a Gory Death. Otherwise the target model appears to be either dead or critically injured. He is placed face down where he falls.

A model will always take the worst result out of the Hits rolled. If a model rolls a Wounded or Out of Action result, it cannot Retaliate.

Example: Bob rolls for each of the Marines who have taken Hits. Sung, an Experienced trooper, rolls a 4 and is Wounded. A second roll of 2 means he counts as Stunned. Smith, a Green rookie rolls a 6 and is taken Out of Action. A second roll of 1 indicates that Smith is Seriously Wounded. Sgt. Gonzalez rolls a 1 and PFC Torres a 3, meaning that both shots narrowly miss. The Retaliate result means that he fires one burst of his assault rifle (1 die in this case) back at the Panzergrenadier gun team. He rolls a 5, which misses.

20

CASUALTIES

Wounded Models are not simply ignored as non-functioning playing pieces, but are treated as fallen comrades whomustbelookedafter.Thosethatreceiveminorwounds,orarestunnedbyablast,mayreturntothefight.Those who are more seriously injured should be treated to stabilize their condition and moved to a safe place. Failure to protect and treat wounded comrades is a serious mistake in Alien War.

Whenever a model is Wounded or Out of Action roll a D6 to see what condition it is in:

WOUNDED TABLE

Die Wound Type If Treated If Untreated

1-3 Stunned

The model can move to safety (4 per Action). Cannot shoot or fight at all until returned to action.

The model returns to play automat-ically at the end of their next turn. No other effects.

The model returns to play automat-ically on next roll of 1 or a What the...!?

4-6 Hurt

The model can crawl to safety (2 per Action). Cannot shoot or fight at all until returned to play

Test vs. CV:

Pass- The model returns to play. -1 CV from now on

Fail- test again next turn.

If a 1 is rolled for activation, the model returns to play automati-cally.

If a 1 is rolled for activation, the model returns to play automatically at -1 CV.

If What the...!? comes first, the model becomes Out of Action.

OUT OF ACTION TABLE

Die Out of Action Type If Treated If Untreated

1-3 Seriously Wounded

The model cannot move unaided. Cannot shoot or fight at all.

The model can be stabilized by a comrade testing against CV. Test can be repeated until successful.

The model can be revived by a med-ic only. Test against medics CV:

Pass The model is now consid-ered Hurt. Test on subsequent actions to return to combat.

Fail The model is stabilized but out of action for the rest of the game.

Fail on roll of 6 the model dies during treatment.

The model bleeds out and dies at first What the...?!?

4-5 Killed in Action. Already dead. Already dead.

6 Gory Death.

Notably bloody death in combat.

Test vs. CV for all friends within 6 who have LOS to this model.

Fail choose to be Pinned Down (1 Pinned Down marker) or retreat one action immediately.

21

It's important to tend to fallen comrades. Players must make efforts to check on casualties and move those who are not dead to a place of safety. Wounded models and any models helping them are activated as part of the element they belonged to in the previous turn; they do not become a separate element that needs its own activation.

Stunned and Hurt models can move on their own; seriously wounded menmaybecarried2peractiontowardssafetybyasinglecomrade,or4bytwo.Theyshouldnotbedeliberatelyshotatbytheenemy,al-thoughtheyarestillvulnerabletoshellandgrenadefire.

Wounded models should be attended to by a squadmate, which takes one action by the helper, who must be in base contact with the Wounded model. This may be done either by the squadmate moving to his friends aid or the victim crawling or staggering towards assistance.

Treatment consists simply of one action using a basic medi-pack, carried as a standard issue item.

A Stunned model recovers automatically when a comrade takes an action to treat him.

A Hurt model has a more serious condition. Professional troops roll against their CV to treat the Hurt casualty successfully,andmaytryonsuccessiveturnsifthefirstattemptfails.Grade2troopsareassumedtohaveonlythe most basic training and limited supplies, so they must roll against their CV - 1 to treat the Hurt model. Once the test is passed, the casualty returns to action, at -1 CV from now onward.

Several models may attempt to treat a casualty as a group, if the player wishes, rolling for each model. If the roll fails they may try again next turn.

Ifawoundedmodelbecomesacasualtyforasecond(orsubsequent)timebeforerecoveryfromthefirstwound-ing, it counts as a green model for the Cheating Death roll. Thats because he is more concerned with the wound hes just received than avoiding taking another.

Out of Action modelsmustbeattendedforsignsoflife(KilledinActionandGoryDeathexcepted).Theseriouslywoundedcanbecarriedbytwomen,at4peractionoroneat2.

Seriously Wounded models are treated in the same way as those who are Hurt. However, the result of a success is that the victim is stabilized prior to evacuation; he cannot return to combat. Only a medic model can revive a seriously wounded model.

Out of ActionmodelswhohavenotbeentreatedbyacomradewhenthenextWhatthe...?!?isrolleddieoftheir wounds.

Example: Private Smith has been Seriously Wounded by the German shooting. He cannot move on his own and will need to be treated by a comrade or (ideally) a medic or he will bleed to death on the next What the...?!? His comrades Sgt. Gonzales and PFC Torres must come to his aid.

Multiple Wounds: a model may receive more than one wound (either at the same time or on subsequent turns).

A model can be Stunned more than once with no change in his status.

A model which receives two Hurt wounds counts as Out of Action, Seriously Wounded.

22

Medics improve the chances of casualties surviving. They may be rated as CV 3 or 4. A medic will automatically succeed when treating both Stunned and Hurt casualties.

A medic may attempt to revive a Seriously Wounded model from Out of Action to Hurt, and then to recov-ery. There is a chance (roll of 6) that the patient will die.

Additionally,inacampaigngamethepresenceofamediconthebattlefieldwillimprovethechancesofseri-ously wounded models recovering for the next combat.

LEADER CASUALTIES

When a leader is Wounded or Out of Action, the player must select a member of the element to take his place (usually the most experienced model) and announces that he will lead the element from now onwards.

SPRAYING LEAD!

Actuallyhittingenemytroopsisonlypartofthereasontroopslaydownfireonatarget.Troopswhohavebeenshot at may be forced to stop moving or shooting, and take cover. When a target has been Pinned Down by a hail of bullets and explosives, it attempts to get under cover as completely as it can. Once troops are Pinned Down it requires bold leadership to get them going again.

PINNED DOWN!

A target element may be Pinned Down If the target element is inside the blast radius of a grenade or mortar shell. Members of the element outside

that radius are unaffected by the blast itself, but may become pinned down along with their friends within the blast zone as everyone seeks cover.

Ifthenumberofshotsfiredequalsorexceedsthenumberofmodelsinthetargetelement.

IfthenumberofshotsfiredequalsorexceedsTWICEthenumberofmeninthetargetelement,itrollstwice, and may receive two Pinned Down markers. Two markers are the most an element may receive.

Some weapons (primarily SSWs, MSWs and HSWs) are listed as Suppressive weapons. They count doubledice,so(forExample)fiveshotsfromaSSWagainstatargetelementcountastenforthepurposeof deciding whether the element is Pinned Down.

Test against CV for the target elements leader. If he fails, place a Pinned Down marker next to the element. The player then chooses whether to have the element go to ground in its present position (counting Heads Down) ortorunforsafety.Itmayrun2+D6inanydirection,endinginadivetowardscover.Ifthedierollisa1theelement is caught upright in a freeze frame position and counts as an Easy target.

Theelementcandonothingduringitsnextaction.ItcannotshootorfightwhilePinnedDown.

Atargetelementmayreceivetwomarkersfromheavygunfire,fromanartilleryshellorfromtakinganotherpinmarker while already Pinned Down. This has no effect except that the element must rally twice to return to ac-tion instead of simply once.

Nomatterhowmuchfireanelementreceives,itcannottakemorethantwopinmarkersatonetime.

23

Example: Bobs rifle team has taken eight shots against the Fire Team of four marines. Since the number of shots is more than the number of men, he must test to see if the element is Pinned Down. In fact, the shooting caused twice the hits than the number of targets he has to test twice. Sergeant Gonzalez is a veteran, and will pass on a roll of 4 or less; he rolls a 2 and a 5 so, failing one, the element is Pinned Down until the sec-ond action of their next turn offers a chance to recover

HITTING THE DIRT

Sometimestheplayerwillwanthismodelstodiveflat,eveniftheyarenotPinnedDownbyenemyfire.Itslikebeing Pinned Down voluntarily. He may simply announce that the models are going prone at the end of their movement.

Theplayermayalsodecidetoorderhistroopstohitthedirtduringanenemysturn,afterthefirstactionoffireagainsthismen.ThisdoesnotcountasanReaction..

Models who have hit the dirt count as Pinned Down, and must test against CV to recover.

Models who have hit the dirt count as being Heads Down.

RALLY

AnelementthathasbeenPinnedDownmaytrytoRally,sothatitwillfollowtheplayersorders.OnitsfirstturnafterithasbeenPinnedDown,itspendsthefirstactionsimplyreactingtobeingsuppressed.Nowtestagainst the CV of the leader of the element. If it passes the test, the element can act normally on its second ac-tion of the turn. If not, it remains Pinned Down until its next turn, when it can try again.

An element that has two pin markers rolls once to re-movethefirstpinmarker.Ifitsucceeds,itmayimme-diately roll again to remove the second pin marker. If it passes both tests the element only misses one action, and can act on its second action. If it fails the second attempt to rally, it remains Pinned Down with a single Pinned Down marker left in place.

Example: On his next turn Sgt Gonzales Fire Team spends the first action Pinned Down. On his second ac-tion he needs to roll against his CV of 4 to rally from be-ing Pinned Down. If he passes, his element will be able to act immediately. However, he rolls a 6 and fails. The turn played is wasted for Sgt Gonzalezs element. He must wait until his next turn to try once more to rally.

Howard's NotesHeadsDownmeansthatthetargetedmodelsarelayinglowratherthantryingtoshoot.Theyoftendisappearfrom sight, and cannot be shot at. At other times, they will be prone but still eligible as targets. Look at each instanceasitoccurs;forinstanceamodel(s)goingproneinanopenfieldisabasictarget,whiledoingthesamethinginawheatfieldmeansatargetinconcealment.Droppingbehindabrickwallorpileofrocksmeansthetargetcannot be hit by small arms, although the enemy may know where he is.

24

Model Status Trigger Rallies Effect

Hit the Dirt Voluntary Test vs. CV (free) Cannot shoot or React

Considered heads down

May crawl to cover

Pinned Down one Pinned Down marker

1 check if shots equal to ele-ment #

Within grenade or mortar blast

Test vs. CV (free) Same as above

May run away from the enemy

Pinned Down two Pinned Down mark-ers

2 checks if shots are double element #

Within artillery blast

Test vs. CV (free)

Rally to one Pinned Down marker after first successful check

Same as above

May run away from the enemy

SPECIAL WEAPONS

GRENADES

Inthebasicgame,grenadesareonlyusedbyamodelwithadesignatedgrenadelauncher(GL).

ThesemaybethesmallGLsattachedtoanassaultrifle(withlimitedammunition)ordedicatedweaponswithawider choice of grenade types.

The grenade launcher can be used in two ways:

Upto9thededicatedgrenadelauncherfiresashotgunround,rollinginthesamewayasacombatshotgun.ForthesmallerGLattachedtoanassaultrifle,countshootingunder9asstandardriflefire.

Between9and36thegrenadelauncherfiresagrenadeinanarcthatwillbringthemissileontothetargetfrom a steep angle.

Choosethetarget.Usethe3diameterblasttemplateforthededicatedgrenadelauncher,the2templatefortherifle-attachmentGL.

The player places the template on top of his chosen target. Testagainstthefirerasifshootinganyotherweapon,withmodifiersasusual.Thekeydifferenceisthata

target in cover that is open from above counts as being in concealment only; he is hard to spot, but has no overhead defence against the grenade.

If the grenade hits the target, and place the blast template at the intended spot.

The grenade lands in the precise centre of the template Note where the potential casualties from the gre-nade are placed in relation to the grenade; some may be able to claim cover from the blast.

All models inside the template test on the Cheating Death table to see if they are hit by the grenade blast. In a multi-room house, this may mean some men are safe simply by being in a separate part of the build-ing.

Test to see if the survivors are Pinned Down; the test is against the CV of the senior model still standing

25

If the grenade misses the target, it lands one inch away for every point that the shooter missed his die roll by; for Example if a veteran (CV4) aimed at a target in cover, he would need a roll of 1-2. If he rolled a 5, he missed his roll by three points. The targeted player may move the grenade by three inches. This may be measured centre to centre or edge to edge (easier in practice). He chooses which direction it goes, with the obvious hope of avoiding any of his own troops and, indeed, hitting those of the enemy. If that happens, treatitasafriendlyfirehitonthem.Otherwise,itexplodesharmlessly.

Example: Dave sneaks his grenadier, Andrada to a position where he can launch grenades into Sgt. Gonzalezs position. Dave places the template onto the middle of Gonzalezs position, where it covers most of the element. Gonzales Fire Team is Pinned Down in the ruined house, so counts as concealment rather than hard cover since the missile is lobbed in from above. He rolls for Andradas shot, which misses when he rolls a 4; He needs a 2 or less, as an experienced troop shooting at a target in concealment, so the grenade lands 2 away from its intended target, which (no matter which way he moves the template) still includes one Marine within the tem-plate radius. Its the already wounded Private Smith. He rolls a 5 which would put him out of action even if he wasnt already wounded, and then again. Its a 6 a Gory Death and he is obliterated by the explosion.

MORTAR SHELLSaretreatedlikegrenades,exceptthatthetemplateis4foralightmortar,6forheavy.indiameter. There is no range restriction.

Mortarshellmissesdeviate2foreverypointbywhichtheshootermisseditsdieroll,soadifferenceof4meansthattheshelllands8fromtheintendedtarget.

Example: Dave is moving his own assault team to attack Sgt. Gonzalezs element. Bob plays an off-table mortar round onto the Panzergrenadiers and registers a direct hit. There are four Panzergrenadiers inside the target radius. Dave has a fairly disastrous run of die rolls on the Cheating Death table, ending with two Out of Ac-tion Seriously Wounded (Hoffmann and Rosada) and one wound (Hurt), his Unteroffizier, Muller. The element must also roll to see if it is Pinned Down, and since Muller is down the roll is made against the CV of the senior man still standing, the experienced Ertegun.

ARTILLERY SHELLSaretreatedlikemortars,exceptthatthetemplateislarger(4forlight,6medium,8heavy) in diameter and men within the radius test against CV twice to see if they are Pinned Down. There is no rangerestriction.Likemortarshells,artillerymissesdeviate2foreverypointthattheshootermisseditsdierollby,soadifferenceof4meansthattheshelllands8fromtheintendedtarget.

FLAME THROWERS

Flame Throwers are used primarily against enemy bunkers and other hard positions. Theoperatorhastorevealhimselftofire,andwillalwayscountonegradehigherasatargetthanifhewasusingsmallarms.e.g.AflamethroweroperatorhidinginsomebusheswouldcountasaBasictargetinstead of a Concealed target.

Theflamethrowerusestheconetemplateprovidedwiththerules.

Theoperatormusthaltandtakeanactiontoaimtheflamethrowerbeforefiring.TouseaflamethrowerasaReaction, the operator must already be stationary and and in Overwatch position.

Thenarrowendoftheconetemplateisplacedinbasecontactwiththemodelusingtheflamethrower,andallmodelsunderthetemplatehavetotestasapossiblecasualty.TheflamethrowercountsasImpact2onthe Cheating Death table.

26

Any wound result is counted as an automatic Out of Action Seriously Wounded, any Out of Action result as a Gory Death.Anyflammablematerial(eitherpartofascenariooragreeduponbytheplayersbeforethestartofthegame)insidethetemplatecatchesfireandisdestroyed.

Flamethrowershavealimitedcapacity.Afterthreeuses,rolladie.Ifthescoreis4-6,theflamethrowercanbe used again. After the fourth shot roll again, roll a 5-6 to remain in action, and so on.

Iftheoperatoristargetedbyenemyfire,arollof1onthetohittablemeansthatthetankhasbeenstruck.Theoperatorwillgoupinflames,fatally.Anymodelwithin3musttestagainstCV.Anythatfailthetestmust roll again: 1-2: merely singed.3-4: burned and Out of Action5-6: Fatally burned.

CLOSE COMBAT

One of the most decisive types of battle is the assault which results in Close Combat. For human troops in the universe of Alien Warthismostoftenmeansashortrush,anintensefire-fightatextremelyshortranges,andpossiblyactualhand-to-handfightingwithrifle-butts,edgedweapons,andfists!Physicalcombatcanhappen,butingeneral,closecombatisdecidedbyfirepower.Forsomealienraces,CloseCombatmayinvolveclose-range shooting, spitting acid or poison, or attacking with claws and teeth.

The sequence of Close Combat is as follows:

1) Announce

You announce that you wish to attack one or more enemy elements at the start of your turn. You select which elements are about to make the assault. For each element making the attack, make an Assault Test by rolling against the element leaders CV. If he passes, the whole element may attack. If he fails, the element stays where it is. If more than one element is expected to charge, test for each of them before going on to the next step.

Example: Bob rolls an all elements turn. He decides that Sgt. Gonzalez needs to rally his Fire Team, but the other two teams are moving forward to make an assault on the Panzergrenadier MSW positions. He rolls for Gonzalez, gets a 2, and passes. His Fire Team returns to action. The assault can begin.

2) Attacking Element Movement Iftheelementhastwoactionsitmayadvancewhilefiringonitsfirstaction.Itwillthenmaketheactualassault,running(nofiring)onitssecondaction.

If the element only has one action, or the playerchoosestoassaultonthefirstaction,thengodirectlyintoclosecombatwithoutfir-ing or hurling grenades.

Example: Corporal Hayes moves forward, the Marines shooting-while-advancing on their first action. The four models score two hits, fail to actually hurt anyone, but cause a pin test on the Panzergrenadiers (which they pass). The Marine team will charge on the second action.

27

3) Supporting Fire

Troopsnotactuallyassaultingtheenemypositionmayfireinsupportoftheattack.SupportingfiremayNOTbe used if the assaulting troops will make contact with the target on this action.

Example: Gonzalez team fires its SSW (4 dice, counting as 8 as Suppression weapons) while PFC Sung and the Gonzalez himself (2 dice each) shoot at the Panzergrenadier MSW team, who are in cover. Linz, the German Squad Support Weapon gunner is Hurt by a bullet.

The Marines have fired 12 dice against 2 Panzergrenadiers, This means two tests for suppression are needed and Grenadier Schwartz rolls since her superior is wounded. She rolls a pair of 2s and passes.

4) Enemy Reaction

The usual rules for Reaction apply, so that any enemy forces eligible to react by shooting, counter-charging or simply retreating may do so.

5) Defender Nerve Test

Test against CV of the leader of each element targeted for attack. Add 1 to CV if the defenders are inside solid coverorfortifications.

Pass: The defenders keep their nerve and make their Defensive Fire.Fail: Immediately retreat one normal action, or to nearest defensible cover to the rear whichever is closer. Endthemovementfacingtheenemy.Donotretreatifinsideblockhouse-stylefortifications.DonotmakeDefensive Fire

Fail by 3+ die points: ImmediatelyfleeoneRunningactionawayfromtheattacker(s).Endthemovementfacing away from the enemy. Do not make Defensive Fire.

6) Defensive Fire

Thisappliestothetargetofthechargeonly.IftheyareNOTPinnedDownthedefendersnowfire,eveniftheyhave just shot as part of the Reaction phase. This shooting occurs as the assaulting troops are just short of reach-ing the enemy; they count as a Basic Target, since they are running. All members of the targeted defending ele-mentmayfire,eveniftheywillnotbecontactedbytheattackersduringthisturn.

Example: The wounding of Linz means that his number two, Schwartz, takes over. Since hes operating a two-person weapon on his own, it will jam if he scores more 6s than hits.

7) Firefight at close quarters

Both sides count their models. Modelswithassaultrifles,combatshotguns,andSMGsrolltwodicepermodel.

ModelswithSSWsrollfourdicepermodelinthefirstround,buttwodicepermodeliftheclosecombatcontinuesbeyondthefirstturnoffighting.Theassistantisassumedtofightwithhisownpersonalweaponrather than keep passing ammo to the gunner.

HeavySquadSupportWeapon,flamethrowers,mortarcrews,etc.rollonediepermodelastheyreachforpistols,rifles,orcarbines.

28

Roll for shooting, counting the attacker at Base Target. If the defenders are clearly in concealment or cover, use the appropriate column.

Models who have Hit the Dirt or are Pinned Down count as -1 to CV.

Two Pinned Down markers count as -2 to CV.

Wounded(StunnedandHurt)modelscannotfightuntiltheyhaverecoveredandreturnedtothefight.Seri-ouslywoundedmodelscannotfightatall.

Example: On the UAMC side, Corporal Hayes and his three comrades each get two dice for their assault rifles shooting at close range. They are in the open (basic target) while the PZG position still counts as cover.

The new Panzergrenadier MSW gunner, Schwartz rolls four dice in the first round of close combat; the wounded Linz is unable to fight.

The Marines get three hits, the Panzergrenadiers two.

CLOSE COMBAT RESULTS

For each hit, roll again on the Cheating Death Chart, as if taking casualties from shooting. Ignore Retaliate results.

Hits from close combat are distributed evenly, so one model cannot take two or more wounds if there are others unwounded.

Example: The Marines take their hits on PFC Bromley who rolls a 2 and is safe. The second goes onto Muam-ba who rolls a 4 and is stunned. The Panzergrenadiers have three hits on one unwounded trooper. Grenadier Schwartz saves all three hits. Linz, previously wounded and not in combat, is not counted as a potential casu-alty.

Compare each sides losses, one point each for a wounded model (Stunned or Hurt), two points for a model OutofAction-SeriouslyWounded,threeforamodelKilled,fourforaGoryDeath.

Ifthedefenderinflictstwice as many points as he receives, the attack is beaten off. Surviving attackers test againstCV:thosethatpasswillrun3D6backwardstowardsfriendlycoverandarePinnedDownthere;if there is no cover, they run the full distance. All casualties (wounded and Out of Action) are left behind. Those that fail the test surrender.

Iftheattackerinflictstwice as many points as he receives, the defender is beaten. Surviving defenders test againstCV:thosethatpasswillrun3D6backwardstowardsfriendlycover,whilethosethatfailsurrender.If there is no way to retreat, or no potential safe cover, all will surrender unless one side Hates the other; in thatcasethefightwillcontinue.

Troops who surrender are removed from play immediately.

Note that it takes at least two points to double the opponent: one point is not considered to be twice zero points.

Example: The Marines have one stun, but that isnt enough to make a difference, so the fight continues. However, the Marines are considered to have come hand-to-hand with their opponents, so the surviving Panzer-grenadiers cant count as being in cover. Furthermore, Schwartz only gets two dice rather than four, since she is effectively swinging the weapon as a club!

29

If neithersideinflictstwice the losses it receives, the close combat will continue on the next turn. This will be actual hand-to-hand combat, and all participants simply get two dice per model, unless they have a specialist close combat weapon or ability (noted on their card).

ClosecombatismandatoryandrequiresnoActivationroll;thoseengagedinthefightsimplycarryon.

Playersmaybringextramodelsintothefightontheirownturn,joininginwithoutfiringintothemelee;theclose combat continues with these new participants involved.

Attheendofeachturnofclosecombat,comparelossestoseeifeithersidehaswon.Ifnot,continuefight-ing.

WhereoneorbothsideHatetheiropponent,thefightwillcontinueuntilallthemodelsononesideareWounded or Out of Action. At that point the winner is assumed to immediately kill all remaining enemies who are Out of Action. Those surviving losers who are Hurt or Stunned may try to escape the scene of de-feat; if caught, they are automatically hit once by each pursuer, and must roll on the Cheating Death chart. Shift one column to the right for Stunned, two columns for Hurt.

Example: The Panzergrenadiers have the next turn, but Dave has no more models he can bring into the fight. Grenadier Schwartz faces three opponents. Each combatant rolls two dice. Schwartz scores one hit on Wright (who saves) but Bromley hits and wounds the MSW gunner. Jones also hits Schwartz and wounds him, putting him Out of Action. The close combat is over.

30

WINNING AND LOSING

Eachscenariowillhaveitsownspecificvictoryconditions,butingeneralitwillbeclearwhenonesideortheother is no longer able to carry on. If any three of the following conditions are true, the squad is defeated and must retire from the board: If the squad leader (Rank 2+) is Out of Action, or Wounded and not yet recovered, or Surrendered.

If all the junior leaders (Rank 1) are Out of Action, or Wounded and not yet recovered, or Surrendered.

If at least half of the original unit are Out of Action, or Wounded and not yet recovered, or have retreated off the board, or Surrendered.

If all remaining models are Pinned Down.

If two of those conditions for defeat are true, test against CV for the senior leader still in action; if he passes the game continues, but if he fails, the remainder of the squad retreats from the board. If a third condition occurs, the squad is defeated automatically.

It is assumed that a losing squad is able to take all Wounded and Out of Action men, as well as any prisoners with it as it retires. This is unrealistic, but allows the squad to progress from game to game!

Example: Elsewhere on the battlefield Corporal Khaurs Fire Team have engaged the second Bundeswehr MSW in an indecisive firefight that has caused no casualties. But the PZG have lost their Gruppenfuhrer and four other grenadiers wounded or Out of Action. This means that two of the conditions for retreat have been met. The senior Panzergrenadier, Heismann (operating the remaining MSW) tests against his CV, rolls a 5, and so the game ends as the Germans pull their remaining troops off the table. Its likely that, had he remained, the two other UAMC Fire Teams would be able to outflank his position and overrun it, so a retreat seems the most rational option.

VICTORY POINTS

If the squad is completely successful in completing its mission, it gets 50 Victory points (VPs). If it is partially successful at the time its opponents concede defeat, it gets 25 Victory points.

Subtract for injuries:

Grade KIA Seriously Wounded Hurt

Veteran 5 VPs 4 VPs 2 VPs

Experienced 4 VPs 3 VPs 2 VPs

Green 3 VPs 2 VPs 1 VPs

VP losses for leaders count double

Example: The Marines get 50 points for a complete victory. They have one Marine killed, the green Smith (3 VPs). The only other casualties were Stuns on Sung and Muamba, which being the most minor wounds - arent counted. There are no bonus points, so the squad finishes with 47 VPs.

The PZG have been beaten, so they get no VPs for their failed mission. They have three grenadiers Out of Ac-tion Seriously Wounded, with their Gruppenfuhrer Muller and gunner Linz both hurt. Thats a total of 15 lost VPs, so the final total is -15 VPs.

31

DESIGNER'S NOTES

None of us know what ground warfare will be like in the year 2260. Its possible there will be no such thing. ConflictsmayberesolvedbytoparaphraseEllenRipleynukingfromorbit.Buttheresanentireschoolofwhat some call military science fiction which combines present day tactics and organization with alien enemies and (often) planets, set either in our own time or the future. Based on this, Alien War is a game that places rec-ognizablemilitaryformations,usingtacticsandweaponsrelatedtothoseincurrentusage,intoasciencefictionenvironment.

Thats our way of saying that the vision of warfare in Alien War is derived as much from documentary footage of modern battles as from SF literature, from movies like Black Hawk Down as much as Aliens. Its based on actual memoirs of combat, and on the experiences service personnel have been willing to share. What those tell us is that actual soldiers arent nearly as obsessed with the specs on weaponry as they are on whether the tools of their trade work reliably in action. Most of all they are concerned with their comrades. Thats why Alien War focusesontreatingcasualties;amodelthattakesahitisntjustsomelostdicefromthenextfiringcalculation,but an actual brother-or-sister in arms who needs to be saved and restored to health.

Alien War is a game with model soldiers, not an exact simulation. The actual game rules are kept as simple as possible,soastokeepafastflowtothegame.Bothsidesareinvolvedintheactionthroughout.Weaponsaredangerous, but not to the point that everyone always dies; there are no templates for explosions that destroy the wholeboard,norareaweaponsthateliminateallwithinrange.Toemphasizethefluidnatureoffire-and-maneu-ver tactics, we have used a turn sequence where each action may be countered by a reaction. Weve designed an activation system that is chaotic rather than predictable, where a successful player wins by managing that chaos better than his or her opponent. Its not a chess players wargame.

A group of people have been involved in designing Alien War.JeremyBernhardthastakenonthedifficultroleoflookingforplaceswhereawin-at-all-costs,rules-lawyersortofplayerlookstoexploitmyownLetsbegentlemenaboutthisapproachtowritingagame.KarlWittehastestedthegameoverandoverwithme,proving that a smart twelve year old can easily outwit the designer. Bryan Bromley, Alex Hoover, Chris Heis-mann,GaryandJoePelletier,JohnDiffley,RichardGaulding,JoshuaBowling,EricRussell,ChuckTurnitsa,MarkTemple,JohnSanford,DaveKoske,ChuckTurnitsa,LelandEricson,BillButler,MickFarnworth,JoeCamel,TangiersandGallahadhaveallhadahandinplay-testing.CharlieWaltherandKarenOstertaggetcreditforsuggestingbooksIshouldbereadingforthisproject.TimBarryandJohnMorseofDefianceGamesdeservespecialmention.MostofalldeservingofthanksgoestoTonyReidy,CEOofDefianceGames,whodefinedtheuniverseofAlien War and made the whole thing happen.

Howard Whitehouse (Eaten by allegedly friendly aliens, 2260)

Documents

Alien War Beta 1