Band of Heroes Demo

Brian Banshee (order #6459653)



• Leader only• Units in the same hex with this Leader are

given Assault Movement capabilities as defi ned in 6.1

ASSAULTER-SkillCard.indd 1 06.06.2005 13:23:48SkillCards-BACK.indd 1 11.06.2005 11:43:54



Assault on Vierville…

Order of Battle

AmericansElements 1st Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Infantry: set up fi rst within three hexes (inclusive) of 15H6:

• 2 x 2-5-4• 1 x 1-4-4 • 1 x M1919A4

• Cpl Medrow• 1 x Sniper (enter play as per 11.4)

GermansElements of 1058th Grenadier Regiment: enter per Special Scenario Rule (SSR):

• 3 x 1-6-4• 1 x 1-5-4• 1 x MG42• 2 x MG34

• Lt Plassmann• Lt Koch• 1 x Medic

Vierville, France, June, 1944The French village of Vierville straddled the road from Utah Beach to St. Come du Mont –a location key to the Americans and Germans alike. The Yanks captured Vierville on June 6th, 1944, but on June 7th, most of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment vacated the town, leaving only a small holding force from the 1st Battalion to guard the village. It was then the Germans decided to mount a counterattack. The battle was a wild free-for-all as fi rst one side and then the other sent reinforcements, and although the Germans briefl y recaptured most of Vierville, by the end of the day the American paratroopers had driven them out. - Mark H. Walker

Victory Conditions

To win, a side must control four building hexes within three hexes of 15H7. To control a hex the side must either have a good order MMC or Hero in the hex or have been the last side to pass a good order Hero or MMC through the hex. The Americans control all the building hexes at the scenario start.


Scenario Length: Six Turns. German player has the initiative for the first turn.

1 2 3 4 5 6Special Scenario Rules

• All buildings are level one. • Neither side may generate heroes.• The German 1058th Grenadier’s point of entry is randomly determined. Before the fi rst German impulse on Turn

One roll 1d6. If the number rolled is 1-2, the Germans enter on the east edge, 3-4, the north edge, and 5-6 the west edge. The German player never enters via the south edge.

Paragraph OneOn the outskirts of the city your scout spots the dusty fi eld gray of the Wehrmacht. Reinforcements! Beginning in the next friendly impulse the German player may bring on 4 x 1-6-4, 1 x MG34, 1 x MG 42, and Sgt. Baumann (with Assaulter Skill Card) on any board side except the south side. All units must enter the same side, and follow normal activation rules during entry. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the scout reports an American column hot on the German’s heels. In any friendly impulse AFTER the fi rst German reinforcement unit enters the board the American may bring on Major Tom, 1 x 2-5-4, Hero Walker (no Skill Card), and 1 x BAR on any board side adjacent to the side on which the German units enter (including the south side). All units must enter the same side, and follow normal activation rules during entry.

Paragraphs…

Event Markers

• Event Marker A (Occupation) place on 15J5: German activation only. When activated remove Event Marker A and B, read Paragraph One.• Event Marker B (Occupation) place on 15F5: German activation only. When activated remove Event Marker A and B, read Paragraph One


Ordnance Fire Table (OFT)Firing Weapon Die Roll Modifi cation Target Die Roll Modifi cation Mounted on a vehicle using Assault Movement or an Ops Complete Vehicle/Helicopter +2 Marked with a Moved marker. +1

Turreted weapon firing outside covered arc. In other words, did the turret pivot in order to bring its gun to bear on the target? +1 Adjacent -2

Weapons Team or non-turreted vehicle pivoting to fire outside covered arc (allowable for Opportunity Fire), or turreted vehicle pivoting chassis. Not moving to new hex. +2 In Terrain with a Target Modifier As Per TEC

Firing Captured SW +1 Helicopter In Hovering Mode +1

Vehicle is Open -1 Helicopter in Flying Mode +2

Armor Leader Leadership - (Leadership)

MMC/SMC Marked with Assault Move Marker firing Support Weapon +1

SMC (not Hero) firing Support Weapon +1

Firing during night scenario at a non-adjacent unit that is not illuminated by a Star Shell +2

Helicopter in Flying Mode +2

Per hex of Degrading Terrain the LOS crosses enroute to the target (Maximum two hexes) +1

DFT Attacking Unit’s Die Roll Modifi cationsLeadership Modifi er Add to die rollTarget is non-vehicle unit marked with Move or Assault Move marker or currently moving (not Low Crawl / Stealth) +1 to die roll

Target unit is vehicle marked with Move or Assault Move or currently moving or target is helicopter in Hover mode -1 to die roll.

Target is Helicopter in Flying Mode -2 to Die Roll

Attacking unit is Helicopter in Flying Mode -2 to Die Roll

Firing during night scenario at a non-adjacent unit that is not illuminated by a Star Shell -2 to Die Roll

Target Unit is adjacent +2 to die roll

Per Degrading Terrain hex through which the LOS passes (maximum of two - a third Degrading hex blocks LOS) -1 to die roll

Attacking unit is Passenger on (not in) non-moving vehicle -1 to die roll

Attacking unit is Passenger on (not in) moving vehicle -2 to die roll

Vehicle mounted MG firing after Assault Movement -2 to die roll

Vehicle mounted MG firing after vehicle pivots in hex without moving to new hex. -1 to die roll

DFT Defending Unit’s Die Roll Modifi cationsPer Target terrain +/- Terrain’s Modifier (See TEC)

Support Weapon Portage and Usage TableUnit May Carry May Fire NotesSquad 2 Support Weapons 1 SW and retain inherent Firepower, or 2 SW and forfeit inherent Firepower.

Half-squad / Crew 1 Support Weapon 1 SW and forfeit inherent Firepower.

SMC 1 Support WeaponReduces MF by 2

1 SW at half of the SW’s normal Firepower (fractions rounded down). Two SMCs may fire a SW without this reduction.

Medics, Snipers, and Chaplains can’t fire or carry Support Weapons. Leaders forfeit Leadership modifier when firing.

Melee TableOdds Ratio 1-3 1-2 1-1 3-2 2-1 3-1 4-1 5-1

Kill Number 11 10 8 7 6 5 4 3


Direct Fire Table (DFT)

Good Order MMC Shaken MMC

Good Order SMC

(Not Hero)

Shaken SMC (Not Hero) Hero

Armored Vehicles /

Armor Leader

Unarmored Vehicles Helicopter

Die Roll < Morale No Effect No Effect No Effect No Effect No Effect No Effect No Effect No Effect

Die Roll > Morale and < 2X Morale Shaken Casualties Shaken Wounded Wounded Shaken Shaken Damaged

Die Roll > 2X Morale and < 3X Morale

Casualties Casualties Wounded Wounded Wounded Shaken Destroyed Destroyed

Die Roll > 3X Morale

Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated Abandoned Destroyed Destroyed

Shaken: A Shaken unit flips its counter to the Shaken side (Exception: Vehicles are marked with a Shaken marker). A Shaken unit may return to Good Order by passing a rally attempt DR (2d6) in an ensuing Rally phase. All vehicles may Self-Rally. Shaken units may not fire their weapons or any Support Weapons they posses. Shaken units may not advance toward an enemy unit in their Line of Sight (LOS). If engaged in Melee, and there are no other Melee-eligible friendly units in the hex, they are automati-cally eliminated (Note: Vehicles do not melee.).

• Shaken Leaders cannot rally troops, but may attempt to rally themselves. Shaken Leaders may not use their Leadership for any function.• Shaken Medics may not heal soldiers (or themselves).• Shaken Snipers may not snipe, but may Self-Rally (SR).• Shaken Chaplains may not rally troops.• Heroes never shake.• Shaken U.S. Advisors no longer increase the Morale of ARVN units stacked with the Advisor.• Shaken vehicles must Button, halve their movement allowance (drop fractions), and may not fire any of their weapons.• Shaken vehicles that receive another Shaken result are Abandoned.

Abandoned: Abandoned vehicles are just that: abandoned. Place an Abandoned marker on the vehicle. It may not move or fire for the remainder of the scenario… no one wants to climb into a target. The Crew is placed underneath the vehicle and makes a MC. Failure Shakes the Crew (see sections 14.0 & 15.4). Passengers of Aban-doned vehicles disembark and make a Morale check. Mark disembarking units with a Move marker.

Damaged: Damaged helicopters must immediately exit the board. They may not unload passengers or fire.

Destroyed: Destroyed vehicles/helicopter are replaced with a wreck counter. Both Crews and passengers must take a Bailout check (see sections 15.4, 16.1, and 16.2). Destroyed helicopters crash. Roll 2d6 to determine the direction from the hex in which it was engaged the chopper crashed. The colored die is used to determine direc-tion. A die roll of one is due north, two is northeast, etc. Half the number on the white die (rounding fractions up). This gives the number of hexes from the hex in which it was engaged the bird crashed. Place the crash marker in this hex. All units present in the crash hex are attacked by a 4 Firepower attack. This attack is resolved as per normal procedure (i.e. the 4 Firepower is added to a die roll, etc.)

Casualties: Replace a full Squad with a Shaken Half-squad. Eliminate a Half-squad or Weapon Team.

Wounded: Unit must stop movement. Flip the SMC to Shaken side (Hero excepted) and mark it with a Wounded marker. Wounded Leaders have their Morale, Leader-ship modifier and Leadership range decreased by one (i.e. they may only activate units in the same hex). SMCs under a Wounded marker who are Wounded again are eliminated. Medics may heal wounded SMCs.

Hero Creation: There is a chance that a Hero is created during play whenever a one (1) is rolled during a Damage Check caused by enemy fire. Roll the die again. If an even number is rolled, a Hero is created in the hex (ARVN excepted (see section 13.4)). Randomly pick a Hero and a Skill Card (see Single Man Counters).


Terrain TypeMovement Cost(P=Prohibited) Target

Modifi er Notes Height as Obstacle Example

T O R Leg

Stone Building Blocking P P P 2 +4Dark gray/black roof. Three hex or larger stone buildings are two story buildings. Costs two MP to change levels in same hex. Stacking limitations apply to each level.

Level One or Two 14D2

Wooden Building Blocking 6 12 P 2 +3Reddish brown roof (Exception -18I2 building). “T” and “O” class vehicles with frontal armor > 3 may enter wooden buildings. This rubbles the hex. Roll a 2d6. If the number is > the vehicle front hull armor the vehicle is abandoned in the rubbled hex. A die roll of 12 always causes abandonment.

Level One 14J3

Bamboo Hut Blocking 4 9 12 2 +1Vehicles with frontal armor > 1 may enter Bamboo Huts. This rub-bles the hex. Roll 2d6 -2. If the number is > the vehicle front hull armor the vehicle is Abandoned in the hex. A die roll of 12 always causes abandonment.

Level One 1K4

Bocage Blocking *+9 P P *+4 +2

Units adjacent to bocage hex side can be seen, and need not be spotted, unless required by other terrain in hex. Units adjacent to the bocage that receive fire across the bocage hex side receive the TM, but outgoing fire from units adjacent to the bocage that crosses the bocage hex side receives a -1 modifier for non-ordnance fire, and ordnance receives a +1 on their To Hit dice roll. Units rallying in a hex bordered by bocage subtract 2 from the rally die roll, as described in 3.0, IF all potential enemy unit direct fire would cross the surrounding bocage hex side. No modifier against indirect fire, including M-79 Skill Card and onboard mortars. Blocks LOS traced through, or along, the bocage hex side from the same elevation to the same elevation. Doesn’t block LOS to a hex in which the bocage forms a hex side (as described previously). LOS IS blocked when traced along the bocage hex side. Bocage does NOT cast a one hex shadow. Ordnance Opportunity Firing on vehicles receives +1 to their penetration factor in the first hex the vehicle enters after crossing the bocage hex side. * Denotes cost to cross hex side.

Level One 14D4/14D5

Hedges Blocking +0 *+3 *+4 *+1 0

Blocks LOS traced through, or along, the hedge from the same elevation to the same elevation, with the following exceptions: 1) Doesn’t block LOS to a hex in which the hedge forms a hex side, 2) when traced FROM a hex through a hedge that forms one of the hex’s sides, or 3) when the LOS is traced from the firing hex along a hedge that connects the firing hex to the target hex. For example, LOS from 15K1 to 15L3 is not blocked. Negates movement modifier against direct fire traced across Hedge hex side. No modifier against indirect fire (including M-79 Skill Card (Forgotten Heroes module). * Denotes cost to cross hex side.

Per height of terrain 15K2/15L3

Walls Blocking *+1 P P *+1 +1

Blocks LOS traced through, or along, the wall from the same elevation to the same elevation, with the following exceptions: 1) Doesn’t block LOS to a hex in which the wall forms a hex side, 2) when traced FROM a hex through a wall that forms one of the hex’s sides, or 3) when the LOS is traced from the firing hex along a wall that connects the firing hex to the target hex. For example, LOS from 15K5 to 15L7 is not blocked. +1 TM against direct fire traced through wall hex side. No modifier against indirect fire (including M-79 Skill Card (Forgotten Heroes module). TM is in addition to other terrain in hex. * Denotes cost to cross hex side.

Per height of terrain 15F4/15G4

Cemetery Degrading P P P 1 +2 None Per height of terrain 15J6

Wheat Fields Blocking 2 2 6 2 0 Negates +1 Moving or Move marker penalty for target unit. Per height of terrain 15L2

Heavy Jungle Blocking P P P2 +2 No vehicles unless on road. Limits stacking to two squads (or

equivalent), two SW, and two SMC. NVA ignore this stacking restriction.

Level Two 1K81 for VC +3 for NVA or VC

Light Jungle Degrading 4 6 82 +1

None Level One 1I31 for VC +2 for VC

Low Crops Degrading 1 1 3 1 0 Negates +1 Moving or Move marker penalty for target unit. Per height of terrain 15B3

Forest Blocking P P P 2 +2 No vehicles unless on road. Forest hexes contain more than four tree silhouettes. The silhouettes overlap. Level Two 14H3

Light Woods Degrading 4 6 8 2 +1 Light Woods contain four tree silhouettes per hex. None of the silhouettes touch. Level One 15K5

Brush / Flowers Degrading 1 1 2 1 0 Negates +1 Moving or Move marker penalty for target unit. Per height of terrain 13M5/18G4

Tall Grass Blocking 1 1 2 2 0 Negates +1 Moving or Move marker penalty for target unit. Level One 1F3

Rice Paddy Open P P P 2 +1 None Ground Level 1F2

Clear Open 1 1 2 1 0 None Ground Level 17D7

Rubble Degrading 4 P P 3 +3 Degrades LOS through ANY portion of the rubbled hex. LOS traced down the edge of the hex is not degraded. Level One Created during

play

Road Open 1 1 .5 1 0 Ignore terrain in hex when moving from one contiguous road hex to another.

Per other terrain in hex 15H6/13F4

Wire Open 2 4 6 4 0 None Per height of terrain

Created during play


Soccer Field Open 1 1 1 1 0 None Per height of terrain 3K3 / L4

Soccer Field Stands Degrading P P P 2 2 Units in stands are considered to be at Level One. Level One 3K4 / 3L3

Hill Per terrain in hex and rules

Per other terrain

+1 against fire from a lower level None Per height of

terrain 1D5+1 MP to move to higher elevation

+2 MP for ‘R’ move to higher elevation

Pool Open P 0 None Ground Level2 – D4 / D5

Hexside3H5

Bunker / Foxhole Open As per other terrain +2 / +1 Units in bunkers and foxholes can be spotted per the rules of the terrain in their hex.

Per height of terrain Placed in setup

Smoke Blocking As per other terrain +1 Blocks LOS through hex or traced down the edge of the hex. Level Two Created during play

Vehicle or Wreck Degrading As per other terrain +2Degrades LOS through any portion of the vehicle/wreck hex. LOS traced down the edge of the hex is not degraded. TM applies to other units in hex, not units on the vehicle.

Per height of terrain N / A

Marsh Degrading P P P 2 +1 Weapon Teams may not enter. Ground Level 17G2

Bridge See Notes 1 1 .5 1 See NotesIf LOS crosses the bridge bordering wall, the TM and LOS restric-tions are the same as Wall (above). When traced down the length of the bridge, the terrain is Open.

Ground Level 17H4

Terrain TypeMovement Cost(P=Prohibited) Target

Modifi er Notes Height as Obstacle Example

T O R Leg


DEMO RULES OF PLAY V2

© 2007 Lock ‘n Load Publishing, LLC


CONTENTS .................................................................................................................. 31.0 GENERAL CONCEPTS ........................................................................................... 51.1 Scale and Counters .......................................................................................... 51.2 Dice ................................................................................................................... 51.3 Stacking ............................................................................................................ 51.4 Hexes ................................................................................................................. 51.5 Morale ............................................................................................................. 61.6 Support Weapons and Weapon Teams............................................................. 6

1.6.1 Support Weapons ....................................................................................... 61.6.1.01 Tripod Machine Guns ............................................................................. 61.6.1.1 Jamming .................................................................................................. 61.6.2 Flamethrowers and Satchel Charges......................................................... 61.6.3 Weapon Teams ............................................................................................ 7

1.7 Event Markers ................................................................................................... 72.0 OUTLINE OF PLAY ................................................................................................ 73.0 RALLY PHASE ....................................................................................................... 74.0 OPERATIONS PHASE ............................................................................................ 84.1 Operations Complete Marker ........................................................................... 8

5.0 FIRE COMBAT ....................................................................................................... 95.01 Leader’s Infl uence on Combat .................................................................... 9

5.1 Direct Fire Table (DFT) Results ......................................................................... 95.2 Multiple Attacking Units ................................................................................... 95.3 Opportunity Fire .............................................................................................. 10

6.0 MOVEMENT ........................................................................................................ 106.1 Assault Movement .......................................................................................... 106.2 Double-time .................................................................................................... 116.3 Low Crawl ....................................................................................................... 11

6.3.1 Weapons Teams and Special Movement.................................................. 116.4 Stealth Movement ........................................................................................... 11

7.0 LAYING SMOKE .................................................................................................. 118.0 MELEE COMBAT ................................................................................................. 118.1 Post Melee ...................................................................................................... 12

8.15 Reinforcing a Melee ................................................................................... 128.2 Zero Firepower and “M” rated MMCs ............................................................ 12

9.0 ADMINISTRATIVE PHASE ................................................................................... 1210.0 LINE OF SIGHT AND SPOTTING ........................................................................ 1210.1 Spotting ......................................................................................................... 1310.2 Buildings and Hills ........................................................................................ 1310.3 Figuring Line of Sight ................................................................................... 1310.4 Terrain Characteristics ................................................................................. 14

11.0 SINGLE MAN (OR WOMAN) COUNTERS (SMC) ................................................. 1411.1 Leaders ......................................................................................................... 14

11.11 Leader’s and Combat ............................................................................... 1411.12 Leaders and Skill Cards .......................................................................... 14

11.2 Heroes ........................................................................................................... 1411.3 Medics ........................................................................................................... 1511.4 Snipers .......................................................................................................... 1511.5 Chaplains ...................................................................................................... 1511.6 Advisors ........................................................................................................ 1511.7 Scouts ........................................................................................................... 1511.8 Armor Leaders .............................................................................................. 15

12.0 SKILL CARDS ................................................................................................... 1613.0 NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS FOR LOCK ‘N LOAD .......................................... 1613.8 German ......................................................................................................... 16

13.81 SS ............................................................................................................. 1613.82 Wehrmacht Half-squad Creation ............................................................ 16

13.9 Americans World War II ............................................................................... 1613.91 Well Supplied .......................................................................................... 1613.92 American Glider Soldiers ........................................................................ 1613.93 American Glider Troops Half-squad ....................................................... 16

EXAMPLE OF PLAY: BASIC INFANTRY COMBAT ........................................................ 17Situation: ........................................................................................................... 17Rally Phase: ...................................................................................................... 17Operations Phase: ............................................................................................. 17US Impulse: ....................................................................................................... 17German Impulse: .............................................................................................. 17US Impulse: ....................................................................................................... 18Admin Phase ...................................................................................................... 18Rally Phase ........................................................................................................ 18Operations Phase ............................................................................................... 19German Impulse: .............................................................................................. 19German Impulse: .............................................................................................. 19Example of Melee: ............................................................................................. 19

COUNTER REDUCTION CHART .................................................................................. 20GLOSSARY OF TERMS .............................................................................................. 21CREDITS ................................................................................................................... 22THE LOCK ‘N LOAD CREW ...................................................................................... 22MATRIX GAMES ...................................................................................................... 22

Contents


5

1.0 General Concepts

1.1 Scale and CountersEach hex is 50 meters wide. Multi-Man Counters (MMC) include Squads, Half-squads, vehicle crews (hereafter called Crews), and Weapon Teams.

A Squad represents 8-12 men and is depicted by a 5/8” counter with two men. A Half-squad or Crew represents 4-6 men and is depicted by a 5/8” counter with one man.

A Weapons Team (WT) represents 3-5 men and a heavy weapon and is depicted by a 3/4” counter showing the weapon’s silhou-ette and two men.

A Single Man Counter (SMC) represents a single man or woman, and is depicted by a counter with either a single individual or —in the case of leaders— a face.

Support Weapons are individual weapons that must be fi red by a Squad, Half-squad, Crew, or specifi c SMC. Weapon Teams (WT) may not carry or fi re additional Support Weapons.

Turns represent 2-4 minutes.

1.2 DiceThe game uses a pair of six-sided die. 2d6 means both die are rolled and, unless otherwise indicated, summed. 1d6 indicates one die is rolled.

1.3 StackingEach side may have up to three squads (or their equivalent), two vehicles, one airborne helicopter (Forgotten Heroes module), and two SMCs in a hex. Each vehicle or helicopter wreck marker counts as one vehicle for stacking. One Weapons Team or two Half-squads/Crews are the equivalent of a Squad. Some terrain, such as Heavy Jungle and multi-story buildings, modify the stack-ing limits. Consult the Terrain Effects Chart (TEC) for details.

A multi-story building may have up to three Squads (or their equivalent) and two SMC on each level. The lower level may ad-ditionally include two vehicles. The hex may also include one airborne helicopter.

These stacking limitations apply at ALL TIMES.

For example: a player may not move units through a hex if the sum of the moving and stationary units in the hex exceeds stacking limitations.

1.4 HexesUnless otherwise noted in the scenario’s special rules, the half hexes along the edge of the map are playable and have the same stacking limitations and movement cost as full hexes. The two joined half hexes where boards meet are considered a sin-gle full hex.

There is something uniquely captivating about tactical war gaming. Perhaps it is the sense of being there, reliving the moment, that so engages gamers’ minds. Unfortunately, past squad-level games were a bit longer on rules than fun. Lock ‘n Load changes that. Here is a game system long on personality, but short on complexity.

Dynamic individuals, morale, and national characteristics are the game’s cornerstones, as is the interactive give and take of the Op-erations Phase. You’ll fi nd that Lock ‘n Load feels a bit like a role-playing game in addition to a tactical tour de force. That’s intentional. We want you to care about the men and woman you command, cheer when they do well, and feel a pang of regret when they die. In short, like a good book, we want to suspend your disbelief and bring you to the bocage of Normandy, rice-paddies of South Vietnam, the rocky hills of the Falklands, or somewhere in the future.

From the moment, in October of 2001, that I fi rst put pen to the Lock ‘n Load design paper, I knew that I had a time machine in my hands. A game that was capable of taking gamers to any confl ict within the last century. And because of that ability, coupled with our desire to give you a complete product, these version two (V2) rules are complete. In them you will fi nd the latest update to ALL LnL rules, be they about Wehrmacht’s Panzerfausts fi ring from the concealment of Norman bocage or the First Cav’s Hueys landing beside a South Vietnamese rice paddy.


6

The terrain surrounding a hex’s center dot defi nes the elevation and terrain type of the hex.

For example: 13B7 is a ground level Forest hex.

1.5 Morale Each unit in Lock ‘n Load has a morale rating. This morale repre-sents the unit’s training and willingness to fi ght. There are two Morale levels in Lock ‘n Load: Good Order and Shaken. Good Order units are cohesive, steady, and ready to fi ght. They are depicted by the front of the unit’s counter. Shaken units are frightened, disorganized, and generally tired of the whole wargame bit. The back of the counter depicts this. Many things may shake a unit’s confi dence, but a poor result on the Direct Fire Table (DFT) is the primary instigator.

Morale checks are resolved by rolling 2d6. The dice are summed and modifi ers applied. If the result is greater than the unit’s mo-rale rating, it fails the check.

1.6 Support Weapons and Weapon TeamsAny 5/8” counter with the silhouette of a weapon, such as a ma-chine gun, bazooka, LAW, fl amethrower, satchel charge, or RPG, is a Support Weapon (SW). On the other hand, 3/4” counters with the silhouette of soldiers fi ring a weapon, such as a German 88mm ATG or American 60mm Mortar, are Weapon Teams (WT), which includes both the weapon and its fi ring crew.

1.6.1 Support Weapons Support Weapons are 5/8” counters that have no crew and must be carried, crewed, and fi red by an MMC or eligible Single Man Counter (SMC). A Squad may carry up to two Support Weapons, a Half-squad or Crew may carry one, and a SMC may carry one Support Weapon, but forfeits two movement points while doing so. Consult the Support Weapons Portage and Usage Table for a summation of portage costs.

The unit directly above a Support Weapon possesses that weap-on. Units may capture and use enemy Support Weapons, but if such Support Weapons use the Direct Fire Table (DFT), they are fi red at 1/2 Firepower, fractions rounded up. If the captured Sup-port Weapon uses the Ordnance Fire Table (OFT), it receives a +1 die roll modifi cation on its To Hit dice roll (14.0).

A Squad may fi re one SW and retain its inherent Firepower, or fi re two Support Weapons and forfeit its inherent Firepower. A Half-squad or Crew may fi re one Support Weapon, forfeiting its inherent Firepower in the process.

Eligible SMCs may fi re a SW, be it captured or friendly, at half of the SW’s normal Firepower (fractions rounded up).

For example: a German Fallschirmjager Hero or Leader may fi re a MG-34 at 1 FP, the same Leader also fi res a M1919A4 tripod-mounted MG at 1 FP.

Designer’s Note: Lock ‘n Load’s SMCs represent the cream of their armies. Accordingly, they would oper-

ate an enemy weapon (or anything else for that mat-ter) better than the typical line squad.

Medics and Chaplains may not carry or fi re SW. Leaders fi ring a SW forfeit all Leadership modifi ers, even in their own attack.

If a Squad carrying two Support Weapons is reduced to a Half-squad, it must drop one SW of its owner’s choice. If a unit carry-ing Support Weapons is eliminated, the SWs remain in the unit’s hex.

A Good Order unit of either side that has entered a hex contain-ing a dropped SW may recover it during their Rally Phase, assum-ing the unit is eligible to carry another SW and that there are no enemy units in the hex.

1.6.1.01 Tripod Machine GunsMachine guns shown with a tripod are special Support Weap-ons. They may not be moved when pictured with the tripod side up. A good order Squad or Half-Squad may fl ip the counter in the Rally Phase. Tripod machine guns other side either depicts the machine gun in bipod confi guration or dismantled. Either may be transported like any other support weapon. When units enter a scenario from off-board, their tripod weapons are either dismantled or in bipod mode.

1.6.1.1 JammingNo machine guns in Band of Heroes jam. This rule is only appli-cable to modules —such as the Falklands— that specifi cally call for it. On the Falkland Islands, the L7A2 and MAG58 were sus-ceptible to jams. Whenever either machine gun is participating in an attack (not Melee) and the opposed die rolls match (for example, both players roll a “1”), the machine gun jams. Flip the machine gun to its Jammed side and subtract its Firepower from the attack. Flip the counter to its unjammed side in the next Rally Phase if the gun is in possession of a Good Order SMC or MMC. If more than one machine gun is attacking, only one jams.

1.6.2 Flamethrowers and Satchel ChargesFlamethrowers are Support Weapons with two special capabili-ties: Flamethrowers may be used in Melee, and fl amethrowers may cause targeted units to retreat. If a fl amethrower, or a mul-tiple unit attack that includes a fl amethrower, Shakes an enemy unit when fi ring on the DFT (not when used in Melee), the en-emy unit must retreat one hex.

The retreat must increase the distance between the retreating unit and the unit conducting the fl ame-thrower attack. The re-treat may not reduce the distance between the retreating unit and any other enemy unit in the retreating unit’s LOS. Retreating units are marked with a Move marker and may trigger Opportu-nity Fire. If the unit has no hex into which it may legally retreat, it is eliminated.

Satchel charges represent rucksacks stuffed with TNT. They may be used in Melee (8.0), thrown into an adjacent hex, or used when Close Assaulting a vehicle (17.1). Satchel charges are used once and then removed from the board.

Leadership does modify satchel charge attacks, unless the Lead-


7

er is using the satchel charge him or her self, but satchel charges do not receive any other DFT Attacking Unit’s Die Roll Modifi ca-tions, nor is their Firepower halved when used by an eligible SMC (Leader, Hero, Scout, and Advisor). Satchel charges may be used whenever a unit is eligible to use a Support Weapon. Resolve the Satchel Charge attack as you would any other support weapon.

For example, if an American 2-5-4 throws a satchel charge into an adjacent hex it would attack the hex with 6 Firepower. On the other hand, if the same American Paratrooper Squads fi res its in-herent Firepower into the adjacent hex ANDS throws the satchel charge, it would attack the hex with 10 FP (2 for its inherent Fire-power, + 2 for fi ring its inherent Firepower at an adjacent hex, + 6 for the satchel charge).

1.6.3 Weapon TeamsWeapon Teams represent heavier or more specialized weapons along with their crew. The teams manning these weapons often represent the best soldiers in the company and hence have bet-ter Morale, can Self-Rally (SR), and possess other unique advan-tages. Weapon Teams may not be carried nor fi red by other units, but have their own movement factor and inherent Firepower. Weapons teams marked with a gun size greater than 20mm may not set up or enter buildings (huts, stone, and wooden build-ings), nor cross wall, hedge, or bocage hex sides.

If engaged in Melee, Weapon Teams defend with a nominal Fire-power of one (1), and may not counterattack. If a Weapons Team is eliminated, its weapon is considered destroyed and may not be captured or re-crewed as Support Weapons can.

Weapon Teams with a red arrow in the corner of their counter may only fi re in the direction defi ned by the arrow, as explained in the section on ordnance (14.0). They will need to change fac-ing to fi re at enemies outside their arc of fi re. They may either change facing within their hex in lieu of fi ring at a cost of 1 MP per two hex sides pivoted, change facing and fi re which incurs a penalty on the OFT but is permitted when conducting Opportu-nity Fire (5.3), or they may face any direction after entering a new hex. Place a Move marker on any Weapons Team that changes facing.

Recoilless Rifl e Weapon Teams may not fi re from inside a build-ing. They may, however, fi re from inside a bunker. Weapon Teams may not Close Assault (17.1) vehicles.

The German 88mm ATG cannot move. It uses its movement fac-tor to pivot within its hex, as described above.

1.7 Event MarkersMost scenarios include Event Markers. These markers, when activated, initiate special events (such as unexpected reinforce-ments, story telling elements, etc.) that bring the scenario to life. There are two types of Event Markers in Lock ‘n Load: Occupation and Line of Sight.

Occupation markers are activated when the side indicated on the scenario card occupies the marker’s hex. If no side is indi-cated, both sides may activate the marker. Line of Sight markers are activated when the side indicated on the scenario card has a Line of Sight to the marker’s hex.

When an Event Marker is activated, read the indicated paragraph from the scenario card. No reading ahead — it spoils the fun!

2.0 Outline of PlayEach game turn consists of a Rally Phase, an Operations Phase, and an Administrative Phase.

In the Rally Phase, Shaken units may be rallied and Half-squads can be combined. In addition, eligible units may pick up SWs in their hex or swap them with other units. Only Good Order units may swap Support Weapons.

During the Operations Phase, the players alternate impulses. In an impulse, one hex/building level and all the units in it may be activated to fi re or move. When activating a Leader, units not only in the Leader’s hex, but also in all hexes adjacent to the Leader’s hex may be activated.

In a multi-story building, only one level of a hex may be activated per impulse. Exception: a Leader may choose to activate both the level he occupies and the levels above and below.

For example: a Leader in the Upper level of 15I5 could activate units in the Upper level of 15I6, 15J5, or the Up-per level and ground fl oor of 15I5.

In the Administrative phase, gamers clean the map of irrelevant markers, including Fire for Effect, Move, Assault Move, Low Crawl, Fire, Ops Complete, Smoke 2, and Spotted markers. Smoke 1 markers are fl ipped to Smoke 2 markers.

3.0 Rally PhaseEach player rolls 1d6. The player who rolls highest has the ini-tiative. Ties go to the player who had the initiative the previous turn.

The player with the initiative rallies any Shaken troops. When he is fi nished with all rally attempts, the other player rallies. Shaken leaders rally fi rst. Shaken troops in the same hex/building level with a Good Order Leader (exception SS soldiers 13.81) may at-tempt to rally by rolling less than or equal to their morale with 2d6. Leadership modifi ers are subtracted from the die roll. Ar-mor Leaders (11.8 and 15.41) can only rally the tank they are crewing. Troops in terrain with a positive Target Modifi er, such as Forest, Light Woods, and Wooden Buildings, subtract two from their die roll. (Target Modifi ers are listed on the Terrain Effects Chart.) Troops without a Good Order Leader in their hex may not rally (Exception: troops in a hex with a Hero may attempt to rally, vehicles may always attempt to rally, and troops marked with a SR may Self-Rally). Leaders may only rally units whose counters have the same background color as the Leader.

For example: SS leaders may not rally Fallschirmjager sol-diers.

Snipers, Weapon Teams, and other troops designated with a SR on their counter may Self-Rally without a Good Order Leader. Good Order Leaders present in the hex may still apply their Leadership to the rally attempt.


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You may not create half-squads, they may only be created as a result of combat or provided in the scenario OOB.

Any two Good Order Half-squads (not Crews) of the same na-tionality and type may join to form a Full-squad in they are in the same hex as a Good Order Leader. The units may not be locked in Melee.

Any Good Order MMC, excluding WTs, or eligible SMC may pick up an unpossessed Support Weapon present in its hex. Friendly good order units may also “trade” Support Weapons. Place a Sup-port Weapon directly beneath a unit that possesses it.

4.0 Operations PhaseThis phase consists of a number of impulses. During each im-pulse, the players take turns activating and controlling units or passing. The player with initiative goes fi rst, then his opponent, and so on until the phase is complete.

Once all units have either moved, fi red, been marked with an Ops Complete marker, or after three consecutive passes (i.e. Player One passes, Player Two passes, Player One passes again), the Op-erations Phase ends and the Administrative phase begins.

During an impulse, the active player may activate all or some of the units in a hex. If the activated hex contains a Good Order Leader, the player may also activate any units in adjacent hexes.

In a multi-story building, only one level of a hex may be activated per impulse. Exception: a Leader may choose to activate both the level he occupies and the levels above and below.

For example: a Leader in the Upper level of 15I5 could activate units in the Upper level of 15I6, 15J5, or the Up-per level and ground fl oor of 15I5.

Each activated unit in a hex may either move or shoot (not both, except in the special case of Assault Move). Not all units in a hex need to perform the same function, but all fi ring units within a hex that are activated in the same impulse must engage the same target. There is, however, an exception. Support Weapons with To Hit tables on the back of their counters (such as Bazoo-kas and Panzerfausts (PzF30)) must either fi re separately (i.e. not adding their Firepower in with any other units targeting the same hex, but rather making an entirely separate roll) or fi re at another target altogether. They still must fi re during the same impulse as the unit possessing them.

Support Weapons may not activate separately from the Squad that possesses them.

For example: a Squad might activate to fi re its MG42 at an enemy out of the range of the Squad’s inherent FP. Even though the Squad does not fi re separately from the SW during this activation, it may not subsequently acti-vate again until the next turn.

All moving units that begin their move in the same hex and are activated in the same impulse must move together. Note that when units in a hex are activated together, some may move and some may fi re, but those that fi re must do so together (follow-

ing the special rules for SWs noted above) and those that move must also do so together. All squads in a hex, however, are NOT required to activate in the same impulse.

For example: Ed activates a hex with three squads, but only moves one squad, hoping to draw fi re from the BAR at the end of the street. Because he neither moved nor fi red the remaining two squads, he can activate them in another impulse.

Moving through a hex occupied by other units does not force them to accompany units passing through. This rule only ap-plies to units that start in the same hex during the impulse in which they are activated.

Mark units that move with a Move, Low Crawl, Assault Move, or Stealth marker (see Movement), and those that fi re with a Fired marker. Those units may not be used again this turn except to defend in Melee. (See 6.1 Assault Move for the sole exception to this.) Mark helicopters that move –but haven’t fi red- with an Operations Complete Marker.

4.1 Operations Complete MarkerUnits that Spot, attempt to lay smoke, or perform other actions described in the subsequent rules as rendering them Ops Com-plete are marked with an Ops Complete (Operations Complete) marker. Except for the instances described below, units beneath Ops Complete markers may not Spot, fi re (including sniping), move, or use their Leadership ability.

MMCs under an Ops Complete Marker may Opportunity Fire, but do so with one-half Firepower (fractions rounded down). Units with an unmodifi ed FP of 0 fi re with a “-1” Firepower. The Firepower is modifi ed BEFORE considering any other Attacking Unit’s Die Roll Modifi cations.

For example: a 2-6-4 SS Squad under an Ops Complete marker would Opportunity Fire with 2 FP (2 FP X .5 =1 FP + 1 for fi ring at a unit marked with Move or Assault Move marker) at an American Squad in Clear terrain that moved into its LOS two hexes distant. A Wehrmacht 0-5-4 Half-squad would engage the same American Squad with 0 FP (-1 FP + 1 for fi ring at unit marked with Move or Assault Move marker = 0 FP).

SW owned by Squad that is marked with an Ops Complete mark-er may also fi re with the Squad. Machine Guns or Flamethrowers are halved, while Support Weapons that use the OFT suffer a +2 DRM to hit penalty.

Vehicles/Helicopters under an Ops Complete Marker may Op-portunity Fire, but their machine guns do so with one-half Fire-power (fractions rounded down), and ordnance that uses the OFT suffers a +2 DRM to hit penalty. See section 5.3 below for more details on Opportunity Fire.

A unit under an Ops Complete marker may fi re at FULL Firepow-er at a hex it Spotted, during the same impulse in which it Spot-ted the hex. By the same token, Leaders under an Ops Complete marker may add their Leadership to this fi re’s 1d6 roll, but only if directed against a hex that the Leader Spotted during the cur-rent impulse. In other words, a unit may immediately fi re upon


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any hex it has successfully Spotted.

Designer’s Note: The intent is to allow a unit to fi re at an enemy hex that it Spotted. It only makes sense that if a unit was focusing on a specifi c area, it would have time to fi re its weapons at it.

5.0 Fire CombatTo fi re on enemy units, they must be within the range of the fi ring weapon(s), within the fi ring unit’s Line of Sight (LOS), and Spot-ted. You can fi re through friendly units located in a hex between the fi rer and the target, but may not fi re into a hex that contains both friendly and enemy units. It’s just unethical. Nor may you fi re into a hex marked with a Melee marker. That’s a turn-based time continuum thing.

To determine range, count the hexes from the fi ring hex to the target hex. Include the target hex, but not the attacker’s hex.

See the section on LOS (10.0) to determine LOS and Spotting procedures.

If range, LOS, and Spotting requirements are met, the attacker adds its Firepower to 1d6, adds any applicable Leadership modi-fi ers, and then modifi es the results with any target movement or Degrading Terrain (see section 10.3) modifi ers. The defender rolls 1d6, adds the Target Modifi er of hex terrain occupied by the targeted troops and compares it to the attacker’s die roll.

If the attacker’s modifi ed die roll is less than or equal to the de-fender’s modifi ed die roll, the fi re has no effect.

If the attacker’s modifi ed die roll is greater than the defender’s modifi ed die roll, each of the defending units must take a Dam-age Check by rolling 1d6, adding the difference between the at-tackers’ modifi ed die roll and the defender’s modifi ed die roll, and then consulting the Direct Fire Table (DFT).

If a Good Order Leader is present, his Leadership modifi er is subtracted from the Damage Check die roll of the other units in the hex (not himself ). The Leader must survive his own check for damage fi rst in Good Order, before aiding the other units in his or her hex.

5.01 Leader’s Infl uence on CombatLeaders not under a Move, Low Crawl, Fire or Ops Complete marker may aid ALL attacks conducted by same nationality/force units in their hex during their impulse.

Specifi cally, their Leadership modifi er is added to a unit’s Fire-power that is using the DFT and/or subtracted from the to hit dice roll for Support Weapons and Weapon Teams using the OFT. Note that the Leader may aid both Squads using their inherent Firepower/ Support Weapons (LMGs, fl amethrowers, etc.) AND Support Weapons or Weapon Teams using the OFT that are ac-tivated in the Leader’s hex in the same impulse. Leaders that aid such fi re are placed under a Fired marker.

5.1 Direct Fire Table (DFT) ResultsShaken: A Shaken unit is fl ipped to its Shaken side. A Shaken unit may return to Good Order by passing a rally attempt during a later Rally Phase. Shaken units may not use either their inherent Firepower or any Support Weapons they possess. Shaken units may not advance toward an enemy unit in their Line of Sight (LOS). Shaken units may not Spot, nor are enemy units that they are adjacent to considered spotted by the adjacency. If engaged in Melee, they surrender and are removed from the board.

Shaken Leaders cannot rally troops, but may attempt to rally themselves. Shaken Leaders may not use their Leadership for any function.

Shaken Medics may not heal soldiers (or themselves).

Shaken Snipers may not snipe, but may attempt to Self-Rally (SR).

Shaken Chaplains may not rally soldiers.

Shaken U.S. advisors no longer increase the morale of ARVN units stacked with the Advisor.

Shaken vehicles must Button (see section 15.0), have their move-ment factor halved, and may not fi re.

Heroes never Shake (Just ask Sara Pezzini).

Casualties: Replace a Full-squad with a Shaken Half-squad. Elimi-nate a Half-squad, Crew, or Weapons Team.

Wounded: If the unit is moving, it must stop immediately. Flip the SMC to its Shaken side (Hero excepted, they fl ip to their wound-ed side) and mark with a Wounded marker. Wounded Leaders have their morale, Leadership modifi er, and Leadership range decreased by one (i.e. they may only activate units in the same hex). SMCs under a Wounded marker, or wounded Heroes who are wounded again are eliminated. Medics may heal wounded SMCs (see section 11.3).

Hero Creation: There is a chance that a Hero is created during play whenever a Squad or Half-squad (even if Shaken) rolls a one (1) during a Damage Check caused by enemy fi re. Roll 1d6. If the result is even, a Hero is created in the hex. Randomly pick a Hero and a Skill Card (see section 11.2 below). The Hero assumes the activation state of the squad that spawned it.

For example: if the Squad spawning the Hero is marked with a Fired marker, so is the Hero.

5.2 Multiple Attacking UnitsOnly units in the same hex may fi re simultaneously, and then only at the same target. One unit leads the fi re and fi res at its full FP. Each additional MMC adds 1/2 of its Firepower to the at-tack. Heroes add their full Firepower. Zero (0) Firepower units add nothing (unless they are fi ring a Support Weapon). Machine guns and fl amethrowers add their entire Firepower. The total Firepower is summed; remaining fractions are rounded up and the combat is resolved as in the section on Fire Combat.


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Remember that, for the most part, all units fi ring from the same hex, in the same impulse, must target the same hex. There are, however, exceptions. Support Weapons with To Hit tables on the back of their counters (for example, Bazookas) Weapon Teams, helicopters, and vehicles must fi re separately even when fi ring in the same impulse. Although Weapon Teams, helicopters, and vehicles may fi re in a different impulse, Support Weapons must fi re during the same impulse as the Squad that possesses them.

5.3 Opportunity FireUnits that are not marked with a Move, Low Crawl, Stealth, or Fire marker, and that have a clear Line of Sight (LOS) to a hex in which an enemy unit expends at least one movement factor by any kind of movement other than Low Crawl may fi re on the mov-ers. This is called Opportunity Fire, occurs during the opposing player’s impulse, and is not considered an impulse. Low Crawling units may only be the target of opportunity fi re if they are spot-ted in the hex they enter.

Additional units/hexes may also fi re but all units in the same hex must fi re at the same time and at the same target. Remember, however, that Support Weapons with a To Hit table on the back of their counter, Weapon Teams, helicopters, and vehicles must fi re separately as described in 5.2.

The moving unit(s) may not be attacked more than once per movement point expended in the hex, unless attacked by Sup-port Weapons with a To Hit table on the back of their counter, Weapon Teams, helicopters, and vehicles who are stacked with the units that fi rst fi red.

Place a Fired marker on units that Opportunity Fire. Opportunity Fire must be declared before the target units leave the hex, and the player currently moving must give suffi cient time for his op-ponent to declare the Opportunity Fire.

An Opportunity Fire attack is conducted like any other, with the exception that the attacker receives a +1 bonus (unless fi ring at Low Crawling units) to their die roll for fi ring at moving units, unless the moving units are in terrain that negates that modifi er. For example, Low Crops.

If the target hex contains both moving and non-moving units, both are affected by the Opportunity Fire attack, but only the moving units suffer the +1 modifi cation to the attacker’s die roll.

For example: a German 1-6-4 fi res at an American 2-5-4 as it moves through a clear terrain hex that also holds a non-moving 2-5-4. The German player rolls a single 1d6 and adds 2FP (its base FP of 1 + 1 for fi ring on a moving unit) against the moving Squad, and 1FP against the sta-tionary Squad.

Note that even though moving units are automatically Spotted, the stationary Squad in the hex retains the same “Spotted” status that it had prior to the attack. In other words, if the stationary unit wasn't Spotted before the Opportunity Fire attack, it re-mains unspotted after the moving Squad departs the hex. This is the ONLY exception to the rule that states, “If one unit in a hex is Spotted, the entire hex is Spotted.”

Target units that become Shaken must end their movement. This includes units that are Shaken due to Casualties or Wounding. If not all of the moving units in a stack are Shaken, the remaining Good Order units may continue moving.

6.0 MovementUnits move from hex to hex, paying the movement point cost of each hex as it is entered. These costs are summarized on the Terrain Effects Chart (TEC). All units that move from the SAME hex, in the SAME impulse, must be moved together (exception, if some units in moving stack are Shaken —see 5.3).

A hex that contains an unshaken, unwounded, yet to be acti-vated Leader, may activate both the units in that and adjacent hexes. Units in the same hex, but on a different level of a multi-story building are considered adjacent. Units in an adjacent hex, but on a different level of a multi-story building are not. Units starting in adjacent hexes to the Leader are free to move or fi re separately from the Leader. The units in each hex, however, must move or fi re together if they do either.

For example, if all three 1-6-4 German squads in a hex are acti-vated, some may move and some may fi re, but those that move IN THE SAME IMPULSE must move together, and those that fi re IN THE SAME IMPULSE must fi re at the same target (exception: Ordnance 14.0, may fi re at separate targets).

The number of movement points that a unit may spend each turn is called its Movement Factor (MF) and is marked on the counter. As noted above, MMCs, WTs, and SMCs under a Move or Assault Move marker that are fi red upon suffer a modifi er of “1” added to the attacker’s DFT die role.

Unless such a move would bring a Shaken unit closer to an en-emy unit in their LOS, units with a movement allowance equal to or greater than one may always move one hex, no matter the cost, or change levels within a multi-level building. If a unit must expend ALL its movement points to move one hex it may not Low Crawl (or Assault Move… obviously) into the new hex.

Units may move through hexes containing friendly units (sub-ject to stacking restrictions), but must stop upon entering an enemy occupied hex and Melee (see section 8.0).

6.1 Assault MovementUnits whose movement factor is boxed in red —for example, He-roes, may Assault Move. These units’ intentions are declared at the beginning of their impulse and they are marked with an As-sault Move marker. Leaders may also Assault Move with eligible units that they start their impulse with.

Units which Assault Move may spend up to one-half of the movement points printed on their counter, modifi ed by double-time movement if applicable (fractions rounded up), and subse-quently fi re (or Opportunity Fire). Subtract two from the total at-tacking fi repower of units using Assault Movement. For example, two American Airborne Full-squads using AM would fi re with a Firepower of 1 (2 for lead squad + 1 for second squad -2 for AM = 1). Support Weapon Ordnance, such as Bazookas, suffer a penalty on the Ordnance Fire Table (OFT).


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Once the units fi re, they are also (in addition to the Assault Move marker ) marked with a Fired marker; neither the Assault Move or Fire marker is removed until the Admin Phase. The units need not fi re in the same impulse that they originally moved but can be activated again later to fi re or may instead engage in Oppor-tunity Fire if the appropriate situation arises. They must, how-ever, move when they are fi rst activated.

6.2 Double-timeUnits that begin their impulse, and move the entire impulse, with a Good Order Leader may increase their movement allowance by two points. The units may not move further than the Leader’s printed movement factor. Weapon Teams may not double-time.

6.3 Low CrawlA unit or stack of units may spend its entire impulse to move one hex. This is a Low Crawl. Units Low Crawling are not automatically Spotted unless they are in Clear terrain or adjacent to an enemy unit. Enemies targeting Low Crawling units do not receive the +1 bonus to their FP. Low Crawling units may change levels within a multi-story building, but may not change levels AND move to a different hex. Weapon teams may not Low Crawl.

6.3.1 Weapons Teams and Special MovementWeapons Teams may neither Low Crawl or Double-time.

6.4 Stealth MovementUnits designated with a bright-yellow square outline surround-ing their movement may move up to half their movement allow-ance (drop fractions) and subsequently fi re. Such fi re is modifi ed like Assault Movement fi re —subtract two from the total attack-ing fi repower of units using Stealth Movement fi re (Scouts Ex-cepted). Stealth Movement capable units are NOT automatically spotted when they move —even if adjacent to an enemy unit —the enemy unit must either perform a successful spotting at-tempt (10.0), the Stealth Movement capable unit must fi re, or move into clear/open terrain in the LOS of a Good Order enemy unit. Units may NOT use Stealth Movement while Double-tim-ing (6.2), but may use Stealth Movement to enter Melee. Heroes and Leaders may not use Stealth Movement unless specifi cally designated.

7.0 Laying SmokeGood Order MMC counters that are not marked by a Move, Low Crawl, Fire or Ops Complete Marker may attempt to lay smoke in their own or an adjacent hex.

Select the hex and roll 1d6. If the die roll is equal to or less than the unit’s smoke laying capability, place a “Smoke 1” marker in the hex. Regardless of whether the attempt was successful, place an Ops Complete marker on the unit attempting to lay smoke.

Smoke Laying Capabilities:

• All Band of Honor Units: 2• U.S. Vietnam: 3• NVA, ANZAC,

British (Falkland), Argentine: 2• VC: 1• ARVN: 1

Smoke is Blocking terrain with a Target Modifi er of +1. The Target Modifi er is added to the hex’s existing Target Modifi er. Hence a smoked Forest hex would have a TM of +3. Units fi ring from a smoked hex must subtract one (1) from their die roll.

In the Administrative phase after the “Smoke 1” is laid, replace the marker with a “Smoke 2” marker. In the next administrative phase, remove the “Smoke 2” marker.

8.0 Melee CombatWhen you move into a hex with enemy units, you must Melee. Mark the units that entered the hex with a Move marker. Units may not use Assault Movement to enter Melee. Units in multi-story buildings must be on the same level to Melee. Melee com-bat is normally simultaneous (Nationality characteristics, Events, and Skill Cards may alter the sequence) and losses aren’t taken until the round of Melee-combat is concluded.

The inherent Firepower of all the attacking units (the units that moved into the hex) and eligible Support Weapons (machine guns, satchel charges, and fl amethrowers) is compared to the Firepower of any defending units (and their LMGs, satchel charg-es, and fl amethrowers) the attacker chooses and an odds ratio is determined, dropping any fractions. For example, 4 FP attacking 2 FP is 2-1, whereas 5 FP attacking 2 FP is not 2.5-1, but also 2-1. Not all defending units must be attacked, but at least one must be attacked. Unmodifi ed attacks at less than 1-3 are treated as 1-3, but may not be conducted against multiple units. Roll 2d6 and consult the Melee Table (MT). Leadership modifi ers apply for the attacking units and are added to their die roll. If the attacker rolls equal to or greater than the kill number, the defending units are eliminated. Eliminated units are NOT yet removed. The defender then follows exactly the same procedure against any of the at-tacker’s units he chooses. After assessing damage, remove elimi-nated units from both sides. Mark the hex with a Melee marker.

If the Melee combatants include Heroes, they shift the odds one column in favor of their side when attacking. Multiple Heroes do not grant multiple shifts.

Attacking, in the context of this section, means that your unit is making a melee attack – it has nothing to do with whether you entered the hex. Defending means your unit is the target of a melee attack. A unit that may only defend cannot make melee attacks but is not automatically eliminated either.

Unless modifi ed for Ambush (13.1) or Skill Cards, Melee combat-ants use their unmodifi ed, inherent FP.

For example: two 2-5-4 Squads equal 4 FP factors in Melee combat or three 1-6-4 squads and a bipod MG42 equal 5 FP factors.


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Squads and Half-squads must still abide by the Support Weapon usage restrictions delineated in the section on Support Weap-ons and Weapon Teams (1.6). In other words, a Squad may fi re one SW and its inherent FP or two SW and forfeit its inherent FP. A Half-squad may fi re one SW and forfeit its inherent FP.

Leaders/Advisors carrying a melee-eligible Support Weapon (machine gun or fl amethrower) attack and defend with half of the Support Weapon’s Firepower (i.e. “1” or “2”), unless two Lead-ers/Advisors are crewing one Support Weapon, in which case they attack/defend with the Support Weapons printed Firepow-er. Note that Leaders/Advisors carrying a satchel charge may use the charge’s entire (6) Firepower, but remove the charge after one use. Just to be clear, satchel charges are always removed af-ter use. Heroes defend with their printed Firepower unless they are crewing/using a Support Weapon. Note that Skill Card spe-cial rules supersede these rules.

8.1 Post Melee

Units remaining after the round of Melee are locked in Me-lee. Place a Melee marker on the units to so annotate. Locked units may not move (unless withdrawing) nor fi re, but may use an impulse in the following turn to either Melee or attempt to withdraw. Melee markers may not be removed as long as units from both sides inhabit the hex. Once one side’s units have been eliminated, the Melee marker is removed in the ensuing Admin Phase.

Units that wish to withdraw must announce their intention at the beginning of their next impulse (before they are once again engaged in Melee by the opposing player) and pass a Morale Check (Leadership modifi ers apply). Failure to pass incurs no penalty. Units that pass the Morale Check may exit the hex, pay-ing appropriate movement costs. If a player withdraws all friend-ly units from the hex, the Melee marker is immediately removed and the remaining enemy units are eligible to Opportunity Fire on the withdrawing units. Note that a player may intentionally leave a unit behind as a rearguard to prevent this from occur-ring.

Leaders and Advisors not carrying a melee-eligible Support Weapon (machine gun, satchel charge, or fl amethrower), Snip-ers, Chaplains, Medics, and Shaken units do not attack, nor may they be targeted in Melee. They are considered non melee-eligi-ble units. If all Good Order MMCs, Heroes, and Leaders/Advisors carrying a LMG or fl amethrower in the hex are eliminated, non melee-eligible units are removed. If a unit enters a hex contain-ing only enemy units not eligible for Melee, then all the enemy units are eliminated and the unit that moved in must halt.

Designer’s Note: Although one man operates a fl am-ethrower, the operator frequently used a spotter to direct his fi re. Hence, without the spotter, the FP is halved.

8.15 Reinforcing a MeleeUnits from either side may reinforce a Melee. If they do so be-fore a round of Melee has been fought in the current turn, they may participate normally in the Melee. If they reinforce the hex after the Melee has been fought, they may not participate in the

Melee until the following turn. If the reinforcing units have the “Ambush” capability (13.1), their tripled fi repower is added to the other friendly unit’s normal Firepower, but the Melee combat round is considered simultaneous.

8.2 Zero Firepower and “M” rated MMCs MMCs with a Firepower of 0 (zero) attack and defend with a Fire-power of 1 in Melee. For each zero Firepower MMC participating in an attack, 1 is subtracted from the die roll. For each zero Fire-power unit participating in defense, 1 is added to the attacker’s die roll.

For example: Two 0-5-4 German Half-squads attack a 2-5-4 in Melee. The odds would be 2 vs. 2 or 1-1 (each 0 FP Half-squad counts as 1 FP for the attack). The Germans must, however subtract 2 from their dice roll. Hence, the VC player would need to roll 10 or better (10-2 =8, which is the minimum needed to kill the opposition in a 1-1 at-tack) to eliminate the 2-5-4. Conversely, the 2-5-4 would attack the two German Half-squads at 2 vs. 2 or 1-1, but would add two to its dice roll. Accordingly, it would elimi-nate the two VC Half-squads on a roll of 6 or better (6 + 2= 8).

Units with an “M” superscript add “1” to their Firepower when at-tacking or defending in Melee.

9.0 Administrative PhaseOnce all units have either moved or fi red, or after three con-secutive passes (i.e. Player One passes, Player Two passes, Player One passes again), the Operations Phase ends. In the Admin Phase, players remove all Move, Assault Move, Low Crawl, Fire, Operations Complete, and Spotted markers. FFE markers are ei-ther fl ipped to their Spotting Round side or removed. Smoke 1 counters should be turned over to become Smoke 2 counters and Smoke 2 counters removed from the map. Once all mark-ers have been removed, advance the turn marker one turn and begin the Rally Phase.

10.0 Line of Sight and SpottingA unit has a LOS to another unit if, in the real world, it could see that unit. Units may not fi re at targets to which they do not have a LOS. LOS is traced from the center of the fi ring unit’s hex to the center of the target hex. Line of Sight that crosses the silhouette of a piece of Blocking or Degrading Terrain is considered blocked or degraded. LOS is not blocked or degraded by small pieces of terrain that extend from the fi ring unit or target’s hex into an adjacent clear terrain hex. See below for additional details.


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10.1 SpottingEven if a unit has a LOS to its target, the attacker might not see the enemy.

For example: a Squad of soldiers is hidden in a building two hexes distant. There may not be anything blocking your own Squad’s view of the building, but that does not mean they see the enemy.

To be able to fi re on an enemy hex, it must be Spotted. Hexes, rather than units, are spotted, so if one unit in a hex is Spotted, the entire hex is Spotted.

Different levels of a multi-story building within the same hex are considered different locations for Spotting. In other words, Spot-ting the units on the second fl oor does not allow you to fi re on unspotted units on the fi rst fl oor.

Spotting is status driven. A hex (and all units within it) is spot-ted if any of the following apply: the hex is marked with a spot-ted counter, a good order enemy unit is adjacent to the hex, a friendly unit is currently moving or assault moving through the hex, a unit in the hex is marked with a Move/Assault Move/Fire/Melee marker or the hex is open terrain. Note that the status of a hex may change over a turn. For example, if the hex is spotted because it is adjacent to a good order enemy unit and that unit is either shaken or moves away, it will no longer be spotted.

Note that Low Crawling units and units using Stealth movement are not automatically spotted during their movement.

If all units leave a hex, any spotted counter on it is removed.

Units (including Open vehicles) may attempt to Spot unspotted units to which they have a LOS. Units in blocking terrain are spot-ted with a 1D6 roll of two or less. Those in degrading terrain are spotted on a 1D6 roll of three or less.

For example: if a unit is attempting to Spot an enemy in Degrading Terrain, it must roll a three or less to succeed.

One is added to the spotter’s die roll for every hex of Degrading terrain its LOS passes through en route to the target unit. Note that the LOS must actually pass through a piece of the Degrad-ing terrain in the Degrading terrain hex.

One is also added if it passes through the silhouette of Degrad-ing terrain that is in part of an otherwise open hex. If the LOS passes through more than two hexes of Degrading terrain, or silhouettes of Degrading terrain within two open hexes, it is blocked. Leadership modifi ers apply and are subtracted from the die roll.

LOS is not blocked or degraded by small pieces of terrain that extend from the fi ring unit or target’s hex into an adjacent clear terrain hex.

Once a unit (helicopter excepted) is Spotted, the entire hex is Spotted and a Spotted marker is placed there. Spotted markers are removed during the each Administrative phase or if all units leave the hex.

Spotting attempts do not require an impulse, but only one at-tempt may be made per friendly impulse, and a unit attempt-ing to Spot is marked with an Ops Complete marker regardless of the result of the attempt. Units marked with Fire, Move, Low Crawl, Ops Complete, Stealth or Assault Move markers may not Spot.

Helicopters (19.0), which are included in other Lock ‘n Load mod-ules, are a unique situation. Choppers are always Spotted, but their status does not affect the units below them. In other words, although a helicopter hovering over a Heavy Jungle hex that is occupied by a Squad is Spotted, it does not mean that the Squad in the jungle beneath it is.

10.2 Buildings and HillsMost of the terrain in Mark H. Walker’s Lock ‘n Load! is ground level. There are, however, hills that are level one and two. Progres-sively darker shades of brown represent taller hills. Each level above ground level denotes a rise of about 2-5 meters.

By the same token there are one and two story buildings. All three-hex or larger stone buildings are considered two story (multi-story) buildings. Staircases are in each building hex. Units may move from the ground fl oor to the upper level of their hex by paying two MPs. Units in a single story building occupy ground level. Units on the upper level of a two-story building are two levels above the terrain the building rests on.

For example: units on the Upper level of building that is built at ground level (“level 0”) are at level two or the same height as a unit on a level two hill.

Units in adjacent hexes, but different levels of multi-story build-ings ARE NOT considered adjacent.

10.3 Figuring Line of SightThere are two types of terrain that affect LOS in Lock ‘n Load: Blocking Terrain and Degrading Terrain. Examples of Blocking Terrain include buildings, forest, and bocage. Think of Blocking Terrain as 2-5 meter tall objects that are either solid (buildings) or semi-solid (Forest).

Examples of Degrading Terrain include Brush, and Light Woods. Degrading Terrain is either semi-transparent or short (1 meter tall) terrain that degrades LOS traced through it, but does not block it (except as noted below).

LOS traced through Blocking Terrain that is at the same elevation as both the attacker and the target is blocked. Blocking Terrain in either the attacker’s or target’s hex does not block LOS.

LOS traced through Degrading Terrain that is at the same eleva-tion as the attacker and the target is degraded. Subtract one from the attacker’s die roll for each Degrading Terrain hex through which the attacker’s LOS passes. If the LOS passes through more than two Degrading Terrain hexes, or Degrading silhouettes ex-tending into two otherwise open hexes, the LOS is considered blocked, and no attack or Spotting attempts may be made. De-grading Terrain in either the attacker’s or target’s hex does not degrade LOS.


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Note the LOS must actually cross the silhouette of the obstacle, not just enter the obstacle’s hex, to be either blocked or de-graded. Conversely, if the LOS crosses a Blocking or Degrading silhouette extending into a hex that is considered open terrain for defensive purposes, the LOS is also affected.

Note, however, that LOS is not blocked or degraded by small pieces of terrain that extend from the fi ring unit’s or target’s hex into an adjacent clear terrain hex.

Designer’s Note: So why have the “bleed-over” pieces if they don’t affect LOS? Two reasons: They DO affect LOS. In fact, they provide uncounted instances of unique fi re lines and cover. Secondly, the bleed-over effect adds greatly to the appearance of the maps.

LOS traced through Blocking or Degrading Terrain that is lower than both the fi ring unit and its target is not blocked or degrad-ed. LOS traced through Blocking Terrain (such as a hill or multi-storied building) that is higher than both the fi ring unit and its target is blocked. LOS traced to lower terrain is blocked if it must cross a silhouette of blocking terrain that is on the same level as the attacker’s hex. LOS traced to lower terrain is degraded if it must cross a silhouette of degrading terrain that is on the same level as the attacker’s hex. It is blocked if it crosses more than two such hexes of Degrading Terrain silhouettes.

Units on higher terrain can see and fi re over Blocking and De-grading Terrain in lower elevation hexes. However, level one and level two Blocking and Degrading terrain hexes cast a one-hex shadow that blocks LOS to units directly behind those obsta-cles.

10.4 Terrain CharacteristicsEach piece of terrain has distinct advantages for units seeking shelter in it, and varying movement costs for units attempting to move through it. These advantages and movement costs, along with other information, are delineated on the Terrain Ef-fects Chart (TEC).

The terrain surrounding a hex’s center dot defi nes the elevation of the hex, and the type of terrain in the hex.

For example: 15F5 is a stone building.

11.0 Single Man (or Woman) Counters (SMC)Single Man Counters (SMC) represent signifi cant individuals that have the power to affect the course of the battle. These counters include Leaders, Advisors, Heroes (or Heroines), Snipers, Chap-lains, Medics, and Scouts. There will be other types of SMCs in subsequent modules.

11.1 LeadersLeaders are individuals with exceptional skills. They are usually offi cers or outstanding NCOs. Leaders have no Firepower, and cannot (unless crewing a Support Weapon) individually fi re at enemy troops or voluntarily enter Melee alone. If enemy units move into the hex of a solitary Leader who is not carrying a me-lee-eligible Support Weapon (machine gun, satchel charge, or

fl amethrower), the Leader is eliminated.

A Leader’s Leadership modifi er may be used to aid Direct Fire at-tacks, modify Damage Checks, rally units, and lead troops in Me-lee, as well as for the other functions mentioned in these rules.

11.11 Leader’s and CombatLeaders not under a Move, Low Crawl, Fire or Ops Complete marker may aid ALL attacks conducted by same nationality/force units in their hex during their impulse. Only one Leader may aid each attack.

Their Leadership modifi er is added to a unit’s Firepower that is using the DFT and/or subtracted from the to hit dice roll for Support Weapons and Weapon Teams using the OFT. Note that the Leader may aid both Squads using their inherent Firepow-er/Support Weapons (LMGs, fl amethrowers, etc.) AND Support Weapons or Weapon Teams using the OFT that are activated in the Leader’s hex in the same impulse. Leaders that aid such fi re are placed under a Fired marker.

Leaders may not call onboard mortar fi re or off board artillery and add their leadership to a direct fi re attack in the same turn.

11.12 Leaders and Skill CardsScenario rules may assign a Skill Card to a Leader. These cards grant special abilities such as enhanced morale or sighting.

11.2 HeroesHeroes are ordinary soldiers who perform extraordinary feats of courage. Heroes may be part of a scenario’s starting forces or cre-ated during play. There is a chance that a Hero is created when-ever a one is rolled on a Squad or Half-squad’s Damage Check. Roll 1d6 again. If the number is even, a Hero has been created. Randomly pick a Hero and a Skill Card.

Newly created Heroes assume the activation status of the unit that spawned them.

For example: if the Squad that spawned a Hero was al-ready marked with a Move marker, the Hero would also receive a Move marker.

If spawned by a moving MMC, the Hero is assumed to have spent the same number of movement points as the Squad had before it spawned the Hero. If creation of a Hero would violate stacking limitations, the owner may place the Hero in any adjacent hex that has no enemy units.

Heroes may Assault Move. Heroes may assault vehicles. Heroes always add their FULL Firepower to multiple unit attacks. Units in the same hex as a Hero may attempt to rally, even if there is no Leader present. Heroes shift Melee odds one column in their side’s favor (in addition to adding their own Firepower) when attacking (not defending). Remember, in melee attacking has nothing to do with whether you moved into the hex, only that you are currently conducting a melee attack.

Each Hero randomly receives a Skill Card when created during play or is assigned a specifi c Skill Card by scenario rules. If a Hero


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that begins the game on the map is not assigned a Skill Card he does not draw one.

11.3 MedicsMedics represent exceptional medical personnel. They may not carry or fi re weapons, nor may they Spot enemy units. They can, however, use their medical kits to heal units.

During each Rally Phase, a Medic may attempt to either remove the Wounded marker from one SMC or fl ip a Shaken Squad to its good order side. In either case, the subject of a Medic’s atten-tions must be located in the same hex as the Medic. To perform either function, the Medic must fi rst pass a Morale Check rolled with 2d6. Two is subtracted from the dice roll if the Medic is in terrain with a positive Target Modifi er. There is no penalty for fail-ing the check, but the Medic may not perform any function in that Rally Phase if he (or she) fails the check. A Shaken Medic may not attempt to Heal SMCs or MMCs until it is rallied.

Medics do not attack or defend in Melee. If all friendly MMCs, and melee eligible SMCs, in the same hex as a Medic are eliminated, the Medic is removed from play.

11.4 SnipersSnipers have no movement allowance and aren’t initially placed on the board. Once the scenario starts, the Sniper’s owner may place the Sniper at any time in any hex whose terrain has a posi-tive Target Modifi er, as long as enemy units do not currently oc-cupy that hex.

Once placed, the Sniper may not move. The Sniper may immedi-ately attack any Spotted enemy hex within its LOS utilizing the Direct Fire Combat routine. The Sniper, however, rolls 2d6 for its attack instead of 1d6. If there are multiple units in the target hex, randomly determine which target the Sniper attacks. The Snip-er’s attack only affects one unit.

For example: if the Sniper declares an attack against a hex containing an enemy Squad and a Leader. The play-ers would randomly determine which unit the Sniper at-tacks.

Snipers may be fi red on like any other unit, but double their own hex Target Modifi er when rolling against incoming attacks from all units except artillery/mortar barrages and enemy Snip-ers. Snipers may stack with MMCs, but forfeit their special terrain modifi er when doing so. When stacked with MMCs they may at-tack in the same impulse as the MMCs, but fi re separately within the impulse.

Shaken Snipers may Self-Rally

Snipers may not voluntarily enter Melee. Snipers do not attack or defend in Melee. If during Melee all friendly MMCs and Melee eli-gible SMCs in the same hex as a Sniper are eliminated; the Sniper is removed from play.

11.5 ChaplainsChaplains are not included in Mark H. Walker’s Lock ‘n Load: Band of Heroes. The courage of combat chaplains is legendary. Many

accompanied the troops to the battle, frequently risking their own life to rescue the wounded or console a shaken soldier.

Lock ‘n Load chaplains have Leadership ratings just like Leaders. These ratings may only be used to rally troops and not to assist in a Damage Check nor assist in fi re attacks. Chaplains may not attempt to Spot enemy units.

Chaplains do not attack or defend in Melee. If during Melee all friendly MMCs and Melee eligible SMCs in the same hex as the Chaplain are eliminated; the Chaplain is removed from play.

11.6 AdvisorsAdvisors are not included in Mark H. Walker’s Lock ‘n Load: Band of Heroes. Throughout the war in Vietnam, the Americans pro-vided advisors to the ARVN. An Advisor has morale and move-ment ratings. An Advisor raises the morale of all ARVN units it is stacked with by one (1). Advisors may Spot and fi re Support Weapons.

11.7 ScoutsScout’s may use Stealth Movement (see 6.4), and subtract 2 from all their spotting die rolls. Scouts do not subtract 2 from their Firepower after using Stealth Movement. Scouts have a FP of 0. They may assist in crewing a SW, but lose all Scout abilities in do-ing so. Scouts fi ght as “0” Firepower MMCs (8.2) in Melee.

Units moving with (i.e. during the same impulse as and stacked with) a Scout pay only one movement point per Heavy/Light Jun-gle, Forest, Light Woods, Wheatfi eld or Tall Grass hex entered.

Scouts may call artillery fi re.

11.8 Armor LeadersArmor Leaders are 5/8” counters with a pictured Armor Leader, Morale, and leadership rating. Armor Leaders have no Movement Factor. In Band of Heroes, the two armor Leaders are Lt Rindt and Sgt Darius.

Armor Leaders are unique in that they completely share the fate of the tank they command. The may not be wounded, but rather are Shaken, which represents the shaking of the entire tank crew, or forced to abandon the vehicle that they crew, in which case they are removed from the board.

Armor Leaders can only rally the tank they are crewing. Tanks with an Armor Leader assume the Leader’s morale for all purpos-es and subtract the Leader’s leadership from the die roll when rallying or performing Damage Checks. Vehicles with Leaders check DFT results under the appropriate column on the DFT: Armored Vehicles or Unarmored Vehicles NOT the Good Order SMC column.

The Leader’s leadership rating may be subtracted from To Hit die rolls, and added to machine gun attack die rolls (but not HE equivalent attack die rolls). He may affect both in the same turn. If forced to abandon the tank, the Leader is removed from the board.


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12.0 Skill CardsSkill Cards bestow unique characteristics on the SMC or MMC that owns the card. Some cards bestow traits or advantages that may only be used once. Others give benefi ts that last for the en-tire scenario, and still others equip the owner with unique weap-ons or items. Each card explains its trait and when/how it may be used. In most scenarios, the Skill Cards are pre-assigned to the leaders. If a unit is not assigned a Skill Card or does not draw one during creation (Heroes) it does not possess a Skill Card. Obvi-ous? Yes… but we get these questions.

13.0 National Characteristics for Lock ‘n LoadLock ‘n Load features numerous distinct fi ghting organizations. Included in Band of Heroes are just some of the combatants to discover more armies buy the other games in the series. Below are the armies contained in Band of Heroes.

13.8 German 13.81 SS

Fanaticism: The SS were well known as never-say-die fi ghters. To simulate this they ARE NOT automatically eliminated when a melee eligible squad enters the hex with Shaken melee eligible units. Instead, the SS units attempt to rally. Leaders attempt to rally fi rst, and then other units in the hex. Good order leaders may apply their leadership as described in 3.0, but a good order Leader IS NOT necessary for the SS units to attempt to rally be-fore melee. Units that fail to rally are automatically eliminated; those that do rally can fi ght in the melee normally. Note, this means that if the only good order units that are in the hex after the attempted rally are non-melee eligible units (non-machine gun equipped Leaders, for example) they are eliminated.

Dedicated: The SS were completely dedicated to the Father-land’s fi ght. To represent this, in each Rally Phase, the German player may either attempt to rally one SS unit that is not in a rally eligible hex, or re-roll an unsuccessful rally attempt for one unit. In this case, rally eligible hexes are defi ned as hexes with a friendly Leader or hexes containing a hero.

13.82 Wehrmacht Half-squad CreationWhenever a German half-squad is created roll a die. If the result is even it’s a “1” FP squad, if it’s odd, it’s a “0” FP squad. See the Squad Reduction Chart in the back of this rules book.

13.9 Americans World War II13.91 Well Supplied

In any scenario in which Americans are allocated artillery, they may continue to request artillery after they have used their last module allocated on the scenario card. To do so, they call for an additional mission as described in 18.2. After placing the spot-ting round marker, but before rolling for scatter, roll 1d6. If the number rolled is < 3, continue resolving the spotting round and subsequent fi re mission normally. If the number is greater than 3 the Americans receive no more fi re missions for the entire sce-nario.

13.92 American Glider SoldiersGlider soldiers (1-6-4 Squads) in both the 101st and 82nd Air-borne Divisions were equipped like leg infantry squads —with a mixture of M-1 Garand semi-automatic rifl es, M-1 Carbines, and a Thompson sub-machine gun for the squad leader. The glider troops lacked a bit of the élan the paratroopers had, but were is-sued the Browning Automatic Rifl e (BAR), which the paratroops weren’t. To simulate this extra long range fi repower, multiple Glider Rifl e Squads (or Half-Squads) fi ring from the same hex are not halved when fi ring. For example, three 1-6-4 Squads have a combined Firepower of 3. Glider Rifl e Squads (but not Half-Squads) receive a one column shift to the right when attacking, or to the left when defending, in melee. This is per attack, not per Squad. For example, three 1-6-4 Glider Rifl e Squads attacking one 3-3-4 Fallschirmjager Squad in melee would attack at 1-1, shifted one column to the right to 3-2.

If Glider Rifl e Squads are participating in melee with other types of Squads —for example, American paratroopers— the U.S. player only receives the melee bonus if Glider Rifl e MMCs consti-tute the majority of the friendly melee units. For example, if two Glider Rifl e Squads (or Half-squads) and one paratroop Squad (2-5-4) are attacking in melee the U.S. player gets the column shift. If only one Glider Rifl e MMC is attacking with one paratroop Squad, he does not.

13.93 American Glider Troops Half-squadWhenever a glider rifl e squad (1-6-4) is reduced to a Half-Squad roll a die. If the result is even place a 1-5-4 Half-squad on the map. If it is odd, place a 0-5-4 Half-squad on the map. See the Squad Reduction Chart in the back of this rules book.


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Example of Play: Basic Infantry CombatIn this mini-battle, you have the chance to learn the mechanics of Lock ’n Load’s infantry combat. Follow the steps to practice how to Spot, calculate Firepower, resolve damage, check morale, rally troops, Assault Move, Melee and more. Or, if you’re already get-ting the hang of the system, try setting up your troops as in the fi rst diagram below, and see if you can achieve a different result.

Situation: Soldiers of the US Army Airborne and the German Fallschirmjag-er, each at platoon strength, have just started a meeting engage-ment. In the preceding turn, the American unit at F5 was about to cross the road when it took casualties from E3. It is now the Rally Phase of the next turn.

Rally Phase: Both sides roll a 5 on the initiative die roll. Since the German play-er held the initiative in the previous turn, he wins the roll. There are no units eligible for rally on either side, so play proceeds to the Operations Phase.

Operations Phase: German Impulse: Capt. Weiss attempts to Spot hex G4. Because G4 is Degrading terrain, Weiss must roll three or less on a 1d6. His Leadership factor of 1 is subtracted from the Spotting roll so he needs to roll a four or less (see 10.1). Weiss rolls a 5 and fails to Spot. An Ops Complete marker is placed on Weiss. The German player passes. He could instead have moved any eligible unit, or engaged in combat on some other part of the game board where there were eligible targets.

US Impulse: CPL Medrow attempts to Spot Weiss’ hex. “Where are those Germans?!” He has no Leadership bonus so he must roll a three or less. Medrow rolls a 1 and a Spotted marker is placed on Weiss’s hex. “Ach, this is gonna hurt,” exclaims Weiss. Medrow is now Ops Com-plete, but he may direct fi re (or call onboard mortar fi re (18.1)) against the hex he Spotted in this impulse. He activates his hex and the Shaken Squad in the adjacent F5. The good order squads in his hex will fi re on Weiss’s hex, and the Shaken Squad will Low Crawl to the Medic in F6. The player chooses to resolve the fi re combat fi rst. His fi rst Squad contributes its entire 2 Firepower, the additional Squad half its 2 Firepower, or 1, and the M1919A6 machine gun its entire Firepower of 2. This is because additional squads fi ring from a hex must halve their Firepower (American glider troops are an exception), but machine guns always fi re at full FP. The total FP of the attack is thus 2+1+2 or 5 FP. Medrow has no Leadership bonus, and no other modifi ers apply, so the US player rolls 1d6+5. A four comes up on the die, for a total of 9.

The Germans receive a +1 Target Modifi er for Light Woods, so the German player rolls 1d6+1. A 4 comes up on the die for a total of 5. The attacker’s modifi ed die roll exceeded the defender’s modifi ed die roll, so a Damage Check must be conducted for every defending unit in Weiss’s hex. The difference between the modifi ed die rolls was 4, so the German player must roll 1d6+4 for each unit, starting with the Leader, and check the results on the Direct Fire Table (DFT). Weiss rolls a six. 6+4 = 10. Looking on the DFT in the column for Good Order SMCs we see that a modifi ed die roll greater than his morale, but not up to twice his morale, causes the result Shaken. Weiss is fl ipped to his Shaken side. The Half-squad under Weiss rolls a four. 4+4 = 8, and since the Leader is Shaken, his Leadership bonus does not apply. The Half-squad’s morale being six, the Squad is also Shaken.

The US player places a Fired marker on Medrow’s stack. He then fi nishes his impulse by Low Crawling his Shaken Half-squad at D5 to E5. Not the most brilliant move possible. But hey, this is an example of play, not a tournament. They are bringing back their wounded under the cover of the rest of the platoon’s fi re. A Low Crawl marker is placed on that Half-squad.

German Impulse: The German player decides to use Assault Movement to move his two squads at F2 to F3, and put down some fi re on Medrow’s hex. Because the men in Medrow’s hex have fi red the hex is now Spotted for the rest of the game turn. The Fallschirmjager squads may Assault Move as designated by the red box around their movement factor. It costs one movement point for a Fallschirmjager Squad to enter a Low Crop hex, and they may use up to one half of their printed movement allowance of 4 to Assault Move. Hence the move


18

is legal. The Fallschirmjager squads, together with their MG34, are moved to F3 and an Assault Move marker is placed on the stack.

At this point, if any American units were eligible to fi re and had LOS, they could Opportunity Fire on hex F3 with a +1 modifi er for attacking a moving target. But since there is no one eligible to Opportunity Fire, the Germans proceed to carry out their Assault Fire. If he wished, the German player could also allow one or both of the squads to fi re in a later impulse, or Opportunity Fire during an American impulse.

The Fallschirmjager 2-3-4 with the MG34 equals 4 Firepower, the additional Fallschirmjager squad equals 1.5 Firepower, rounded up to 2 Firepower. So the total Firepower is 2 + 2 + 2 or 6. Because the Squads Assault Moved subtract 2 from their Firepower for a total of 4 Firepower. Not bad for 20 men and an MG34 who just dashed 50 meters across some Low Crops. So, the German roll 1d6 + 4. A fi ve comes up on the die, for a total of 9. A Fired marker is placed on the stack.

American troops in Light Woods receive a 1 Target Modifi er, so they roll 1d6+1. A two comes up on the die for a total of 3. Bad luck for the Americans. They must face a DC6—a Damage Check with a +6 modifi er to their disadvantage. The Leader rolls fi rst and rolls a 6 for a total of 12. His morale is 6 so this result is twice his morale. So cross checking on the DFT we see that Medrow is wounded. A Wounded marker is placed on him, which reduces his Leadership and morale by 1, and he is fl ipped to his Shaken side. The next Squad, which possesses the M1919A4 .30 Cal, rolls a six also, for a total of 12. Their morale is six, so we check on the column for good order MMC at double or greater their morale. The result is Casualties. The Squad counter is removed, and is replaced with a Shaken Half-squad. The fi nal Squad rolls a 1, which totals to 7. It is fl ipped to its Shaken side.

Things are looking very grim for the Americans, but wait a moment! The most recent DC roll was a 1, before modifi cation. That means they can roll for Hero creation. The Squad succeeds in getting an even die roll and a Hero counter is created in that hex. He draws a random skill card and is placed in the hex with the others. The Hero assumes the activation status of the MMC that spawned him (11.2), so he is placed under a Fired marker.

US Impulse: Both sides now Pass until the Ops Phase ends.

Admin PhaseThe diagram to the right shows the board at the beginning of the Admin Phase. Unnecessary markers, such as Moved, As-sault Move, Low Crawl, Fired, Spotted and Ops Complete are now removed. Wounded markers are not removed. The turn counter is moved forward and a new Rally Phase begins.

Rally PhaseThe U.S. player wins the initiative roll and begins by rallying eligible troops. Initially he tries to rally Medrow. Medrow is wounded which reduces his Shaken morale from 6 to 5. Since he occupies terrain with a positive Target Modifi er two is sub-tracted from his rally dice roll, so he needs a 7 to rally (3.0). The Yank rolls boxcars (i.e. 12) and fails. Normally, the squads in his hex would therefore not be eligible to rally, and the Germans would easily overrun the Shaken troops, throw the Airborne out of Carentan, the Americans off the Norman coast, win World War II, and I’d have to write this in German. But units may attempt to rally if they are in the same hex as a Hero. The Shaken Half-squad has a morale of 5, and the positive TM modifi er, so he passes on a 7 or less. He rolls a 6 on the 2d6 and passes. The Shaken Squad at the bottom of the stack also passes on a roll of 3. Things are looking up for the red, white, and blue.

The Medic must pass a morale check to patch up the Half-squad in his hex and fl ip them to their Good Order side. He rolls a 4 with 2d6, which passes. He is in terrain without a positive TM, so he had to roll against his straight morale of 6. Everyone except for Me-drow rallied.

Now the German player rallies his men. Remember that Leaders are always eligible to attempt self-rally. In E3 Weiss has a Shaken morale of 6. Since he’s in terrain with a positive Target Modifi er (TM) he receives a modifi er of 2 to his advantage. He needs to roll a 8 or less on 2d6 to pass. Weiss rolls a 3 and rallies. His counter is fl ipped to his Good Order Side. The Shaken Half-squad in the same hex may now also attempt to rally since there is a Good Order Leader in the hex. The Squad has a morale factor of 6, plus 2 for terrain,


19

and 1 more for Weiss’s Leadership. It needs a roll of 9 or less, rolls exactly 9, and passes.

Operations PhaseUS Impulse: Units must be Spotted again to be eligible targets for direct fi re in the new game turn. The US Squad in G4 attempts to Spot F3. The target hex is in Degrading terrain, so he needs to roll 3 or less. He rolls a 4 and fails to Spot. He is Ops Complete. Stunned, the US player chooses to pass the rest of his impulse, and heads for the consolation of a nearby refrigerator and its stock of cold beverages.

German Impulse: Weiss decides to light up hex F6, the hex with the Half-squad and the Medic. The Half-squad in Weiss’s hex is manning a MG34. According to the Support Weapon Portage and Usage Table, a Half-squad may man a SW, but sacrifi ces their inherent FP (see 1.6). There is also one hex of intervening Degrading terrain in F5 so they fi re at FP2 (MG34), -1 (intervening Degrading terrain), +1 (Weiss’s Leadership) for a total of 1d6+2. They roll a four, which gives a total of 6.

The US player defends with 1d6, since Clear terrain does not give a positive TM. He rolls a three, which is 3 less than the German total of 6, so he must face a DC3 (damage check with +3 modifi er).

The Medic rolls a four on a 1d6, for a total of 7. He is Shaken. He will need to be in the hex of a Good Order Leader or Hero before he will be able to rally. The Half-squad rolls a one, which gives a 4. It passes. A roll to check if a Hero is created gives a 5 which, being odd, fails to generate a Hero. The Americans tighten their grip on the stock of their M-1 Garands and await their impulse.

A Fired marker is now placed on Weiss’s hex, and the hex is Spotted. The U.S. Hero and his hex activate to fi re at Weiss’s hex. It’s pay-back time. Unfortunately for the Americans the full Squad in that hex earlier tried to Spot a different target hex, so it is Ops Complete and may not participate in this attack (it could Opportunity Fire against moving enemy units in a future impulse). If the fi re attack had been against the same hex, in the same impulse, it had earlier tried to Spot, they would have been allowed to fi re. Only the other units may participate. The Hero has 1 FP, and the Half-squad mans its M1919A4, forfeiting its inherent Firepower for a total of 2 FP. 1+2 gives a total of 1d6+3 for the attack. A six comes up on the 1d6 for a total of 9. Now we’re talking!

Weiss’s hex defends with 1d6+1. They roll a fi ve, for a total of 6, and the hardened Fallschirmjagers gasp… they face a DC3. Weiss rolls a four, which makes 7, and Shakes. His Half-squad rolls a fi ve, which gives 8. This gives a result of Shaken on the DFT.

A Fired marker is placed on the Hero’s hex, but keep in mind that the Squad didn’t fi re, and is under an Ops Complete marker, not under the Fired marker.

German Impulse: The Fallschirmjager stack at F3 is moves, via G3, to G4 to melee the US units in that hex. When the stack has entered G3, but before it moves into G4, the US player announces Opportunity Fire. His remaining non-fi red Squad, under the Ops Complete marker has the right to Opportunity Fire at half its normal Firepower. The target in G3 is adjacent, which gives the fi ring American paratroopers +2 bonus, and moving, which gives +1. Half of the Squad’s FP gives 1, plus 3 more for the adjacency and target moving bonuses, which gives a total of 4 FP. But the dice are against the US. The attack yields No Effect and a Melee begins.

Example of Melee: Two Fallschirmjager squads (2-3-4, 3-3-4), with an MG34 machinegun, storm into the hex of a US Tommy-gun toting 2-2-6 Hero, a 1-4-4 Half-squad with an M1919A4 machinegun, a 2-5-4 Squad and a Shaken Leader. A Moved marker is placed on the German Squads. They may now attack any Melee-eligible unit or units in the hex. They choose to apply their 7 FP against the 1-4-4 Half-squad with the M1919A4. This gives them 7-2 or 3-1 odds (actually, it’s 3.5 to 1, but we drop fractions) on the Melee Table, which gives a Kill Number of 5. They roll 2d6 and get 9, which is easily equal to or higher than the Kill Number. The US Half-squad will be removed at the end of this Melee resolution. But fi rst the US player is allowed to Melee back. The Hero has 2 FP, the (now doomed) Half-squad contributes 2 FP (2 for its M1919A4 –it forfeits its inherent FP when fi ring a SW (1.6)), and the other Squad contributes 2 FP for a total of 6 FP. All this is applied to the German Squad carrying the MG34 for 6-4 or 3-2 odds. But because they contain a Hero, the odds are shifted one column in their favor, to 2-1, which gives a Kill Number of 6. The US player is taking a gamble. He could have chosen to attack the Squad without the MG34 instead and gotten better odds. He rolls exactly 6, which destroys the German Squad with the MG34. Both sides’ destroyed Squads are removed. The MG34 and M1919A4 are left in the hex in no one’s possession, and a Melee marker is placed on the hex. Next turn, the Melee may continue, or one or both sides may attempt withdrawal according to the Melee rules (see 8.0).

Who will win this skirmish? Will the wounded Medrow survive to return to his lovely wife Susan? Or will Capt. Weiss lead his Fallschirmjagers to victory? I’m betting on the Americans.


20

Counter Reduction ChartThe chart below graphically explains how to reduce each squad in Mark H. Walker’s Lock ‘n Load: Band of Heroes:


21

Glossary of Terms

1d6: roll of one die

2d6: roll of two dice

ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam

APC: Armored Personnel Carrier. A lightly armored vehicle used to transport troops; for example, the M-113.

DC: Damage Check

DFT: Direct Fire Table

FFE: Fire For Effect

FP: Firepower

HEAT: High Explosive Anti-Tank

HE: High Explosive

INFANTRY: Generic term that includes all MMC and SMC counters.

INHERENTFIREPOWER: The Firepower printed on a counter. For ex-

ample, a U.S. Airborne Squad’s inherent Fire-power is “2”.

LAW: Light Anti-tank Weapon

LMG: Light Machine Gun —Support Weapon Ma-chine guns (5/8” counter), such as MG42, MG34, M1919A6 .30 cal, BAR, M60, and RPD.

LOS: Line of Sight

ORDNANCE: Ordnance are weapons that have a To Hit ta-ble on the back of the counter. They include Support Weapons, -such as the Bazooka, Pan-zerfaust (PzF30), Panzerschrek (RPzB54), LAW, Weapon Teams –such as the 75mm anti-tank gun (ATG), 73mm RR, and vehicle or helicop-ter-mounted weapons –such as the M-4A1 tanks’ 75mm cannon or the Huey’s rockets. These weapons use the OFT to determine modifi cations to their To Hit die rolls.

MF: Movement Factor

MG: Machine Gun —Normally interchangeable with LMG, but also used to denote machine gun weapon teams (3/4” counters), such as the U.S. .50 cal machine gun.

MMC: Multi-Man Counter (Squad, Half-squad, Crew, Weapons Team)

MP: Movement Point(s)

MT: Melee Table

NVA: North Vietnamese ArmyOFT: Ordnance Fire Table

Panzerfaust: (PzF30) Relatively crude German anti-tank weapon.

Panzerschreck: (RPzB54): German anti-tank weapon similar to, but better than, the American bazooka.

RPG: Rocket Propelled Grenade

SMC: Single-Man Counter (Advisor, Leader, Hero, Sniper, Medic, Chaplain)

SR: Self-Rally

SSR: Special Scenario Rule

SW: Support Weapon

TEC: Terrain Effects Chart

TM: Terrain Modifi er, also known as terrain Target Modifi er

Tripod Mounted: Both the M1919A4 and MG42 were mounted on a tripod for better accuracy. The MG42 also came in a bipod version (2-10).

UNIT: Generic term that includes all moveable units. For example, tanks, MMCs, etc.

USA: United States Army

USMC: United States Marine Corps

VC: Viet Cong

WT: Weapons Team


22

Credits

THE LOCK ‘N LOAD CREWMark H. Walker: Concept, game/scenario design, and develop-ment

Nikolas Eskubi: Counter Artist

Bill Ash, Marc Schwanebeck, Louis Jones: Map Art

Bill Ash: VASSAL module.

Bill Ash, James Luck, Mike Mirfi n, Stuart Poll, Oliver Revenu, Peter Bogdasarian, Tom Konczal, and Paul Pratt: Play testing, develop-ment, scenario design, and grammar checking.

Dedication: To Roy Hobbs at bat, Good Charlotte at volume, Switchfoot (I’m not giving up), Kelly Clarkson with heart, Ayrton Senna at speed, Takuma Sato on the outside, Fosters beer in the bottle, mini-skirts on long legs, good games on wooden tables, beautiful beaches and that one particular harbor, Bryan Randall who’s more than a quarterback, but a man as well, Virginia Tech football, and all the stupid crazy stuff that inspires us. But most of all thanks to God for his guiding hand, my wife Janice, and the coolest three daughters on the face of this - or any other - planet.

MATRIX GAMESExecutive ProducerDavid Heath

Associate ProducerErik Rutins

Art and GraphicsMarc Schwanebeck, Louis Jones

Box Design Marc Schwanebeck

Manual Design and LayoutMarc Schwanebeck

Public Relations & Marketing Joe Lieberman

AdministrationLiz Stoltz

Customer Support StaffMarc Schwanebeck, Mike Vahan, Daniel Heath, Alex Fiedler, Erik Rutins, David Heath

Forum AdministrationPaul Vebber, Marc Schwanebeck, Erik Rutins , David Heath

Web-Database Design & DevelopmentAlex Fiedler

Network and System AdministratorMike Vahan

Network & PC SupportRon Duquesnel

Very Special Thanks Ron Tedesco, Debra Pugh, Renee Schoenfelder, Marti Nagy, Tho-mas Heath, Yvonne Heath.

Matrix NexGenDavid Vebber, Megan Vebber, Rowan Lieberman, Andrew Heath, Nicholas Heath, Shane Heath, Austin Stoltz, Noah Stoltz, Cam-eron Eckenfels, Hannah Eckenfels and Erik Conkling.

Our Strength:We thank God for giving us the ability and strength to complete this project and follow our dream.We also like to thank our families and friends for giving us their non-stop love and support during this project.


For those of you who are tired of tactical board games that are long on rules and short on fun, we present Mark H. Walker’s Lock ‘n Load: Band of Heroes. It’s a squad-level battle game that

is “more game, less guff.”

Mark H. Walker’s Lock ‘n Load: Band of Heroes is the second complete module in the Lock ‘n

Load game system and it covers the battles of America’s airborne troops during the invasion of

Normandy. It’s an easy system to learn and even better, gamers who are familiar with the Lock ‘n Load system can jump right in. As with the original game, each hex is 50 meters and turns are a few moments; counters represent squads, leaders, heroes, medics and even the occasional chaplain or scout.

Band of Heroes emphasizes the impact of the individual. Leaders and heroes can produce dramatic results, frequently turning the tide of battle with daring assaults on machine gun positions, or by accurately directing the fire of their men. Lock ‘n Load’s innovative Skill Cards add even more flavor, assigning unique abilities - such as increased range, great bravery, or additional firepower - to Leaders, heroes, and even squads.

But the game is about more than individuals. This is squad-level combat at its best, and the game focuses on the squads that fought in Normandy, the weapons they used, and the tanks that fought along side them. The module includes U.S. Airborne (both 82nd and 101st), Airborne Glider troops, SS Panzergrenadiers, Fallschirmjager, straight stick Wehrmacht, StuG IIIG,

PzIIIJ, Marder I, Pz35-S, Tiger I, M4A1, M10, M5A1, Jeeps, 88mm, 57mm, and 60mm and 81mm mortar Weapon Teams, MG42, MG34, M1919A4 .30 cal, BAR, all drawn with lavish detail, and gamed on maps that will set the industry standard for years to come.

But counters and maps do not a game make. You must have a coherent and accessible set of rules, and the scenarios to play them with. That’s good news, because LNL gets you up and playing in less than twelve pages of rules, and the game’s alternating impulse system and opposed die rolls keep both players actively involved in the fast-paced, frantic battles.

And scenarios? Well, the scenarios play to one of LnL’s strong suits... story telling. Event markers trigger unexpected events - such as hidden minefields, reinforcements, and new objectives - that bring the missions to life, and make no mistake, there are plenty of missions to enliven. We have the battle of Medal of Honor where two paratroopers (later supported by a platoon) took down an entire German artillery battalion. The Alamo depicts the final battle in Saving Private Ryan, Flash... Thunder demonstrates the chaotic struggle of the first scattered paratroopers as Germans and Americans randomly appear, and still another (The Call of Duty) dishes up some tough choices for the commander of the 327th Glider

Regiment. There are also straight up, tactical firefights such as Coming Through... a meeting engagement between elements of the 37th Regiment 17th SS Panzergrenadiers and the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, The Road to Foucarville, where the 502nd attacks toward Foucarville through the 1057th Regiment of the 91st ID, Ewell’s Charge, in which the 501st PIR attempts to flank the 6th Fallschirmjager at Dead Man’s Corner.

• Stunning graphics. This art will pull you out of your work-a-day life and throw you into the streets of Carentan, the bridges over the Merderet, or the Bocage of Normandy.

• Unique impulse system keeps players involved. No more snoozing while your opponent takes a lengthy turn.

• Squad level battles take gamers inside the struggle for Normandy. Heroes, Leaders, medics, squads, anti-tank guns, tanks. It’s all here, letting you play and create the battles that shaped a generation.

• Event system morphs battles into breathing entities that challenge gamers, and as more than one player has said, “feel more like a movie than a game.”

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10987654321

Players:1-2

Time: Each turn = 2-5 minutes

Map:50 meters per hex

Units:Individuals, squads, weapon teams, tanks, weapons


Documents

Band of Heroes Demo