Rulebook Redesign v1.1 (4/8/11)
WELCOME WHAT IS THIS GAME?
your orders but you can’t be everywhere so you have to spend your resources carefully!
Battleground: Fantasy Warfare is a point-based miniatures game – but without the miniatures. Battleground uses cards rather than painted models to represent your forces. This means a much lower price as well as easier transportation and setup, but don’t be fooled – this is not a ―light‖ war game or a CCG. Battleground is a serious, award-winning wargame that will challenge you at every step, from army design and deployment to tactical maneuvers and command decisions until battle’s end.
GET STARTED NOW If you want to learn the minimal about of stuff needed to play the game, there we’ve got you covered. Unfortunately, the rules for a quick start scenario haven’t shown up yet. They’re probably still sleeping off last’s night’s partying. They’ll be here shortly, though!
WHAT YOU GET
ONE MORE THING: GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP
Each Battleground army comes in two different decks: Army Starters contain eighteen unit cards, a thirty-card Command Deck and two quick-start reference cards, plus the basic rules. This gives you all the cards you need to get started. In play terms, each unit card is the equivalent of a boxed set of miniatures.
They say that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. If your finely-honed plan depends on precise measurement between two units to determine your entire army’s victory or defeat… it may not have been a very good plan to begin with. So in the name of good sportsmanship, do the best you can to reasonably keep the game moving along. If you have a question about a rule, let fate decide and roll a d6. If you have two measurements that aren’t easily distinguishable from each other by human eyes, then treat them as the same thing.
Army Reinforcement decks each contain fifty unit cards – enough for almost any army you can imagine – and the advanced rules. Reinforcement decks also include two unit types not available in that army’s Starter.
In short—don’t be ―that guy‖. Nobody likes playing with him. (Or her! We don’t discriminate here.)
All you need in addition is a flat surface, an opponent, some dice and a couple of dry-erase markers.
BASICS OF PLAY As the general of a fantasy army of Men, Orcs, Elves or whatever faction you choose, you will muster your forces and command them in battle. You will have an agreed-upon number of points to spend on your army, which will determine the size of the battle. You and your opponent will then take turns deploying your forces on the battlefield. Finally you will give them their orders and the battle begins. During play you will have a limited number of Command Actions each turn – one for every 500 points available for building your army. These Command Actions represent what you can do as a general. You can spend them to change a unit’s orders or take direct control of a unit for a turn, rally routed units, draw cards that can provide small combat bonuses or to use your special army ability. Unlike most tabletop wargames where you have complete control over every soldier’s actions, Battleground puts you in the role of a true general. Your troops are loyal and will obey
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INTRODUCTION UNIT CARDS
Some units also have a ranged attack. If they do, the maximum range of that attack will be listed here. Attack stats are usually modified based on the distance between a ranged attacker and its target.
Each unit card represents a single unit of troops in your army. On the front of each unit card is its Stat Bar and an overhead view of the unit. This side of the card will remain face up during the game.
Both ranged and melee attacks use the same offensive stats, but those stats may be modified based on a variety of factors, including whether the unit is engaged in melee or performing a ranged attack. DEFENSE A unit’s defensive stats represent its Defensive Skill (how difficult it is to hit) and its Toughness (how difficult it is to wound with those hits). These stats are also subject to modifiers, but not as often as offensive stats.
The back of each unit card has a close up view of the unit, the unit’s point cost, and any special rules that apply to that unit.
MOVEMENT A unit’s movement is how far it can move during a given turn. Certain effects, such as terrain, can increase or decrease a unit’s movement. COURAGE Courage is what gives a unit the will to carry on in the face of adversity. Most often, units will make a courage check after taking damage or when facing fearsome and terrifying enemies.
FRONT ARC
STAT BAR
In general, your units can’t see enemy units clearly if they aren’t in front of them. In Battleground, this is called being in their front arc. To determine this, extend the line of the forward edge of the unit card in both directions. If any part of an object is ahead of the line, that object is in the unit’s front arc.
A unit’s stat bar contains all the major information you need about a unit’s capabilities on the battlefield.
FACING SIDE For any of your units, the facing side of an enemy unit is the
card edge that is facing your unit. To determine which edge is the facing side, extend imaginary lines diagonally through the corners of the enemy unit. The side of the imaginary line that your unit’s front center point is on is the facing side.
OFFENSE All units have a set of offense stats which determine how many dice they roll when attacking, as well as their Offensive Skill (how easily they hit other units) and Power (how likely they are to damage units that they hit).
COMMAND CARDS
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Command cards represent your tactics, battle tricks, and the ability to inspire your troops in battle by shouting commands or encouragement. Each player uses his army’s deck of 30 command cards. Two players may play Battleground using the unit cards from a single Set and drawing from the same deck of command cards. Players start with no command cards in hand, but may acquire them during play.
Each player’s deployment zone for a standard scenario starts at his table edge and goes in 7.5‖ (3 card widths). It does not include the last 5‖ (2 card widths) on either end of the battlefield.
Command cards come in three colors: red, blue and green. Red cards can be played when your units are attacking, blue cards when they are being attacked, and green cards are played at other times, but the colors are just a reminder; the card itself always says exactly what it does and when you can play it. A few cards have several options, and so have more than one color in their background.
DEPLOYMENT & STANDING ORDERS 1)
2) 3)
VICTORY CONDITIONS Play until all of one player’s units are destroyed or flee the field. The survivor wins!
4)
SETUP
Starting with the player who has the most units, players alternate placing units within their deployment zones until all units are deployed. For ties, see below. Players who purchased command cards during army building draw them. The player who spent the least points building his army (including command cards) chooses who will take the first turn. Starting with the player who has more units, players alternate issuing standing orders to their units.
Note: Standing orders are covered later in this rulebook. For beginners, assigning “Range” to all ranged units and “Close” to everyone else should be sufficient.
Battleground can be played on any size surface. A standard game, described here, is played on a surface 2’6‖ wide by 3’ long. Before battle, each player shuffles his or her command card deck and sets aside the units in his or her army.
DEPLOYMENT TIE RESOLUTION If both players have the same number of units, the player who spent the least points on his army (including command cards) chooses which player must place the first unit and issue the first standing order. In this case, the player that places first will get to choose which player will take the first turn.
THE BATTLEFIELD The table, or the part of the table set aside for play, represents the battlefield. Units cannot normally leave the battlefield unless they are destroyed.
If both players have the same number of points, roll dice and the winner of the roll is considered to have spent the least points.
THE DEPLOYMENT ZONE
TURNS
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A game of Battleground is organized into turns. Players do not take turns for individual units or phases; instead, players alternate taking complete turns. On a player’s turn, that player is called the active player.
PHASES OF THE TURN Each turn is broken up into four phases. The next three chapters explain these phases in detail. They are:
Movement and Command Pre-Combat Courage Combat Post-Combat Courage
THE FIRST AND SECOND TURNS The first and second turns of the game are not full turns. Instead, the following special rules apply. On the first player’s first turn, the game begins in the combat phase. (Units do not move and the active player gains no command actions. If the first player’s army doesn’t have spellcasters or units with extreme range, nothing happens). On the second player’s first turn, the turn proceeds as normal, but the active player gains only half the normal number of command actions rounded up during his or her movement and command phase.
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STANDING ORDERS ADVANCE TO SHORT/LONG RANGE Instead of ordering a unit to advance to within its maximum range (listed in the unit’s stat bar) you can order it to advance to within short range (7‖) or long range (14‖). This works exactly like the basic Ranged order, but for the purposes of deciding when to stop movement, treat the unit as if it had a 7‖ or 14‖ maximum range instead of the range on the card.
Standing orders represent the orders that you, as the general, have provided to the leaders of your units. These orders determine how your units move and fight without your direct intervention. You can instruct them to attempt to engage the enemy in melee or at range, to hold their ground, or any of several other options. These orders are described below. You can also modify standing orders to create more detailed ones. Between standing orders and standing order modifiers, you can shape how your troops carry out your plan for the coming battle.
A unit advancing to short or long range still fires if any enemy unit is within the maximum range printed on the card. It just continues to move each turn until it’s within the selected range of the nearest enemy unit.
To recap: Standing Orders are how units determine what their objective for the turn is. The Movement chapter covers how units actually get there.
Units with the Ranged order always advance in the movement phase if they don’t have a legal target to shoot at, so giving a unit an Advance to Short/Long Range order won’t prevent the advancement of a unit with a 4‖ range, for example.
ASSIGNING STANDING ORDERS Using the appropriate initials, use a dry erase marker, wax pencil, or crayon to write a unit’s standing orders and any modifiers in its command circle.
CONDITIONAL & VARIABLE RANGED ATTACKS If a unit has an inconsistent ranged attack (such as the Hill Giant who can be given a ranged attack at the cost of command actions) you may still give that unit a Range Attack order. Treat that unit’s range as the range of the conditional attack. For example, even if you don’t pay for it’s ability that turn, you can give the Hill Giant a Range Attack order and it will move as if it has a 21‖ range.
H Each player marks standing orders for their units at the beginning of the game. After a standing order is marked, it does not change unless you spend a command action to do so.
Some units, especially spellcasters, have more than one ranged attack option. For example, the Elementalist has one attack with 17.5‖ and one with 10.5‖. If a unit with the Range Attack standing order has several possible ranges, you choose each turn which range it will attempt to achieve.
BASIC STANDING ORDERS CLOSE If possible, a unit with the Close order will perform a final rush on the nearest enemy unit. If that’s not possible, it will move towards the nearest enemy unit.
HOLD The unit does not move unless it is attempting to reach a point objective, as described in the Standing Order Modifier section. Units on Hold will shoot at the closest legal target, or fight in melee if engaged.
RANGED Units with a range stat that isn’t a dash may be given the Ranged standing order. If the unit is in range and has the appropriate facing to shoot the nearest enemy unit, it remains in place. Otherwise, it moves toward the nearest enemy unit. In either case, it will fire at the closest legal target during the Combat phase.
FOLLOW The unit moves to line up its front center point with the nearest non-front center point of the nearest friendly unit. Units with their front side contacting a friendly unit’s rear side are subject to the Back-Up rules detailed in the Courage section.
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NEAREST UNIT
7.1—Nearest Enemy (Close Order)
C
Most orders will cause your unit to take some action towards the nearest unit.
R
CLEARLY VISIBLE For all orders, in order to be considered a unit must be clearly visible to your unit in order to be considered the nearest. It must be in your unit’s front arc, and you must be able to draw a line from the front center point of your unit to any part of the target without passing through any other units or line of sight blocking terrain.
A
If there are no clearly visible units in your unit’s front arc, then units behind it and units behind line-of-sight blocking terrain can be considered as well.
B
C
D
C>A B>D B
MEASUREMENTS Of all clearly visible enemy units, determining the nearest one is different for units acting under the Close order and units acting under other orders.
C Lines C and B are the longest lines between their respective facing corners. Of those two lines, B is the shortest. The unit on the right is the closest enemy for your unit’s Close order.
CLOSE ORDER For each enemy unit: 1)
2)
INDICATING ORDER MODIFIERS
Measure the difference between each corner on the front side of your unit and the mirror-image of that corner on the enemy’s facing side. The longest of those two measurements is the effective distance to that enemy.
To indicate an order modifier, write the appropriate modifier to the right of the letter for the base order in the unit’s command circle. You can modify an order in a number of ways but you can give each unit only one of each type of modifier. For example, you can give a unit both an objective and a movement cap, but not two objectives or two movement caps.
The nearest enemy is the enemy unit for which the effective distance is the shortest. (See Diagram 7.1) If there are multiple units tied for the nearest enemy, then the player may choose which unit to designate as the nearest one.
OBJECTIVE MODIFIERS There are two types of objectives: unit objectives and point objectives. By giving your unit an objective, you tell it about its priorities. Unit objectives designate a certain friendly or enemy unit as the closest to your unit, while point objectives direct your unit to move to that location. (See Diagram 8.1)
Units that aren’t currently airborne can ignore units that are airborne when determining the closest enemy unit for a Close order. OTHER ORDERS For other orders, the nearest unit is the one that has the closest center point to your unit’s front center point.
Because both unit and point objectives fall under the same modifier type, you can give a unit one or the other—not both.
ORDER MODIFIERS
UNIT OBJECTIVES By writing a number after your unit’s standing order and marking another unit with that number, you designate that unit as your unit’s objective. In all orders that involve the nearest unit of a given type (friendly or enemy) the marked unit will always be considered the nearest unit of that type.
Order modifiers let you instruct your units more precisely than the basic standing orders described above. Any of the basic standing orders can be modified to reflect instructions such as ―hold the hill‖ or ―charge the enemy archers.‖ To issue even more complicated commands, you may want to take direct control of a unit.
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For movement purposes, unit objectives supersede all normal requirements for designating a unit as the nearest one. For example, your unit’s objective doesn’t need to be clearly visible in order for your unit to move towards it.
choose to maneuver the on the objective however you like without spending a command action, as long as the unit never stops touching the objective. Any further movement will require a change in standing orders or assuming direct control.
In combat, unengaged ranged units will always fire at their objective, regardless of their standing order (assuming the objective is currently a legal target). If the objective isn’t a legal target, then a ranged unit will instead fire at the closest legal target.
MOVEMENT CAP MODIFIERS By writing a measurement after your unit’s standing order, you can set a maximum movement distance for that unit. The unit carries out its orders as normal, but will not move farther than the number you assigned. This can be useful if your units have different movement rates but you want them to advance together.
If the designated unit is destroyed, erase the unit’s objective modifier, leaving only the base standing order behind.
The number must appear on the movement category chart and must be at least 1.25‖.
POINT OBJECTIVES By writing a number after your unit’s standing order, and placing a die, token, or other marker displaying that number elsewhere on the battlefield, you can choose a specific point as your unit’s objective. During the movement phase, your unit moves towards that point, regardless of its base standing order.
A unit with a movement cap will never move more than the capped distance, but its base Movement Category is unchanged. Penalties for maneuvers or terrain only reduce a capped unit’s movement if they would lower it below the cap. (See Diagram 9.1)
Units count as having reached the objective as soon as any part of the unit touches it. At that point, erase the modifier from the unit’s command circle. The unit will immediately carry out its base order with any remaining movement it has for the turn. When a unit on Hold reaches its objective location, it immediately stops movement. On your next turn you may
The cap applies both to conventional movement and to unusual voluntary movement, like flying or final rushing. It does not apply to involuntary movement, like the movement caused by the Dark Elf faction’s Siren Song spell.
Diagram 8.1—Objective Modifiers
3
2 1
A
C
B
Unit A has marked Unit 1 as an objective. Despite there being a closer enemy on the left, Unit A will always choose to fire at Unit 1 until its order changes or the enemy unit is killed. Unit B has marked Unit 2 as an objective. Unit B is under the Close order. Performing a Final Rush on the unit between them is the fastest way to get to Unit 2. Unit C has Location 3 as an objective. It will move to that location using the Fastest Path, despite putting its flank right in the sights of that enemy to its right. Your units’ lives are in your hands, so make good choices!
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AIRBORNE MODIFIERS A unit with the flying keyword ability printed on the back of its unit card may be given the special Airborne standing order modifier by writing an ―A‖ after its standing order in its command circle. This modifier indicates that the unit is currently airborne. The meaning of this modifier is explained in later sections but it is included here for completeness. Unless described as a special rule, adding or removing the Airborne modifier follows the normal rules for changing standing orders.
Diagram 9.1—Movement Cap
Right! Base MC: 5‖ (SS) Terrain Penalty: -1 MC Effective Base MC: 3.5‖ (L) Capped MC: 3.5‖ (L) Actual MC: 3.5” (L)
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Wrong! Base MC: 5‖ (SS) Capped MC: 3.5‖ (L) Effective Base MC: 3.5‖ (L) Terrain Penalty: -1 MC Actual Move: 2.5” (S)
This unit is currently in a forest, with a Movement Cap of 3.5” and a Point Objective. Its base Movement Category is 5”. The Movement Category penalty for forests is –1 MC. The unit’s maximum move distance is reduced to 3.5” for this turn. Since that is within the assigned movement cap, the unit is able to move the 3.5” towards his objective.
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MOVEMENT & COMMAND In the Movement and Command phase, you must move all of your units according to their standing orders, and you may spend your command actions. You can do these things in any order as well as mix them together. For example, you can spend one command action, then move two units, then spend another command action, then move another unit, and so on.
Because you handle the movement and command phase in whatever order you like, you can change a unit’s standing order either before or after you move it this turn.
DIRECT CONTROL You may spend one command action to take direct control of one of your units for the turn. For the rest of this turn, ignore the contents of the standing orders in that unit’s command circle. It can move and/or maneuver however you like. If it has a ranged attack, you can pick which unit it fires at when you choose defenders.
COMMAND ACTIONS As a general, you have the ability to adapt to the flow of battle by intervening directly with your troops. In some cases this will be through your personal attention, but in others it will be via junior officers, signal flags, horns, magic spells, or the like. Whatever the specific method, the actions taken by you as a general (and by your command structure) are represented in Battleground by command actions. Command actions are the resource you use for both controlling your forces via changing their standing orders, and commanding them to greater efforts via drawing command cards or using special faction abilities.
Important: A unit currently under direct control cannot perform a final rush. (Final rushes will be covered later.)
DRAWING COMMAND CARDS You may spend one command action to draw a command card from your deck and put it into your hand of available cards. You may have any number of cards in your hand at once.
GAINING COMMAND ACTIONS
If you want or need to draw a command card and your deck is empty, reshuffle your discard pile to replenish it. If your deck and discard pile are both empty, you can’t draw a card.
At the beginning of each of your Movement and Command phases, you gain one command action per 500 points in your army’s points budget. For example, a starter army’s budget is 1500 points, so you would gain 3 command actions per turn.
FACTION ABILITIES Each faction has one or more special abilities that require command actions to activate. These abilities are described on the faction details card included in the faction’s starter deck.
Note: The first and second turns of the game are special, so you won’t get as many command actions on those turns. You gain command actions based on the initial size of your force, not the current size. So even if you spent fewer points than your budget, or have lost large numbers of units, you still gain the same number of command actions each turn.
RALLYING For one command action, you may rally one of your routing units. (Routing will be covered later in the rules.) This must be done before the routing unit performs its rout movement. Face the unit in any direction and give it the Hold order, with no modifiers. That unit may not move, shoot, cast spells, nor have its standing order changed this turn.
You gain (and can spend) command actions only on your own turn. If you are not the active player, you cannot spend command actions. At the end of your movement and command phase, any unused command actions are lost.
SOUND THE CHARGE! You can spend all the command actions you gained this turn to sound the charge. If you do, you may change the standing orders of any number of your non-routing units to Close or Range (with no modifiers). You then rally all of your routing units.
SPENDING COMMAND ACTIONS You can spend any number of command actions on any of the following options, mixing and matching however you like.
CHANGING ORDERS You can spend one command action to change one of your unit’s standing orders. Simply erase what is written in the unit’s command circle and replace it with whatever order and modifiers you like. You can’t change the standing order of an engaged unit.
SKIRMISHER RECALL Units with the Skirmisher special rule can be recalled behind your lines as a special command action use. See the Skirmisher section in the Special Abilities chapter for more information.
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MANEUVERS
MOVEMENT
Any movement that isn’t straight ahead is considered a maneuver. With the exception of turns, maneuvers reduce a unit’s Movement Category by the given amount (which reduces the total distance it can move for that turn).
Units with standing orders will interact with their objectives as described in the Standing Orders section. In most cases this means that they will be moving straight or turning. Units under direct control or with objectives will more often deviate from these simple movements. If you want your unit to behave in a fashion that isn’t in line with their orders, you need to spend a command action to take direct control of that unit.
A unit can perform any number of maneuvers in a turn or perform a single maneuver any number of times but all penalties for all maneuvers apply. A unit can’t perform a maneuver if the penalty for that maneuver would decrease its MC to less than the total distance it has already moved this turn.
MOVEMENT CATEGORIES & DISTANCE A unit’s distance stat falls into a movement category (MC), and is the maximum distance it can move in a turn. Maneuvers, terrain, and some command cards or army abilities may modify a unit’s MC.
TURN Position the ruler against the unit’s outside front corner, parallel to the unit’s outer-facing side. Rotate the ruler from a straightahead line to the direction the unit will face after the turn, rotating no farther than the front-facing side of the unit. Line the unit’s outer-facing side with the ruler, making sure that the outside front corner doesn’t move farther down the ruler than any remaining distance allowed by that unit’s MC.
Battleground cards measure 3.5‖ on the long edge (L) and 2.5‖ on the short edge (S). To make measuring and movement easier, all distances and ranges in Battleground are divisible by card lengths. This allows the use of a spare unit card as a convenient measuring tool.
MOVE BACKWARDS Without changing a unit’s facing, you may move backwards. Moving backwards reduces the unit’s MC by 2.
A chart of possible Movement Categories is listed below. When a unit’s MC changes, simply move the required number of steps up or down on the chart. For example, if a unit that moves L has its MC reduced by two, it will now move ½ L. Inches:
0
1.25
1.75
Card Sides: N/A ½ S ½ L
2.5
3.5
5
6
7
8.5
S
L
SS
LS
LL
LSS
MOVE SIDEWAYS Without changing a unit’s facing, you may sidestep to the left or right. Moving sideways reduces the unit’s MC by 1. ABOUT-FACE Flip the unit 180 degrees, so its front and rear are swapped. This reduces the unit’s MC by 1.
For each new Movement Category, turn an S into an L. If there is no S, turn an L into SS.
REFORM Keeping the center of the unit in place, rotate the unit to face any direction. This reduces the unit’s MC by 2.
MOVING STRAIGHT To move straight, measure from either side of the front of the unit and move it directly ahead, making sure to not ―strafe‖ the unit to the left or right.
Diagram 11.1—Maneuvers
C C Moving Sideways
C Moving backwards
Turning
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OBSTACLES A unit that comes into contact with a friendly unit stops moving. If a unit contacts movement-reducing terrain, its Movement Category is reduced according to the rules in the Terrain chapter. Impassible terrain is, naturally, impassible.
AVOIDING OVERLAP You should not move your units in such a way that they ever overlap other units or impassable obstacles. You can move multiple units simultaneously in order to avoid situations of unacceptable overlap. If this kind of movement is otherwise impossible, you can overlap friendly units or impassable obstacles during or at the end of your movement so long as no center point of any unit overlaps another unit or impassable terrain. You may never overlap with enemy units. Note: This is different than the rules for routing into friendly units, which is covered in the Courage chapter.
MOVEMENT UNDER STANDING ORDERS Units moving under standing orders will attempt to take the Direct Path to their objective. However, they may need to do some pathfinding when obstacles are in the way.
DIRECT PATH The direct path between a unit and its objective is the one that reduces the distance between the two by the greatest amount. FASTEST PATH The fastest path is the one that would allow a unit to reach its objective in the fewest number of turns while reducing the distance between the two by the greatest amount. The unit assumes that friendly units will stay in place between now and the time it reaches its objective. If there are no obstacles between a unit and its objective, this will be the same as the Direct Path. In the case of a tie between two equal Fastest Paths, you may choose which path the unit will follow. CHOOSING A PATH On each turn, units will attempt to follow the Direct Path to their objective. If obstacles are present along the Direct Path, players are able to decide the path to the objective as follows. For each obstacle along the Direct Path, starting from the closest, you may decide if your unit will avoid that obstacle. If so, calculate the Fastest Path around it. If there are any obstacles along this new path, then repeat this process and
Diagram 12.1—Movement Under Standing Orders
Direct Path
Fastest Path
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calculate a new Fastest Path to your objective, taking into consideration all obstacles you’ve chosen to avoid for this turn.
In the movement phase, all final rushes must be resolved before any normal movement. However, you can still spend command actions before any of your units rush or between each unit’s rush. You may handle your rushes in any order you wish, including simultaneously if needed.
The path your unit ultimately ends up following for this turn is considered your unit’s Chosen Path. Units under the Close Order will perform a final rush on enemy units along the Chosen Path. Units under all other orders will treat enemy units as friendly units, which means that they can decide to go around them or move right up against them without becoming engaged with them.
Only units acting under the Close order may perform a final rush. If such a unit has multiple legal final rushes, it rushes the nearest legal target. Units under direct control may not perform a final rush. If your unit has a Close order with an objective modifier, it will rush an enemy unit only if that unit is the objective or if it lies along its chosen path.
Impassible Obstacles If an obstacle is permanently impossible to move through then units are able to see this coming in advance and will act accordingly. When choosing a path for the turn, units must choose the Fastest Path around impassible obstacles.
As described in the Combat Modifiers section in the Combat chapter, a unit performing a Final Rush will almost always gain the Charging attack bonus, while units being charged by Fearsome, Terrifying, Large and/or Colossal units may be subject to penalties.
Units moving outside of Standing Orders (but not under direct control) might make movement decisions differently according to their situation (such as routing or being forced to move by a spell or other effect). See those sections for details.
CLEARLY VISIBLE A unit may only rush an enemy unit if that unit is in your unit’s front arc. In addition, you must be able to draw a line from the front center point of your unit to any part of the target without passing through any other units or line of sight blocking terrain.
FINAL RUSH In the final seconds before engaging the enemy, when the command ―CHARGE!‖ echoes through the air, troops forget about careful lockstep maneuvers and make a final rush toward the enemy. The Final Rush rule represents this by allowing units to move more flexibly if they are within range to come to grips with an enemy.
OPEN SIDE A unit must be able to fit at least half of its front against a side of an enemy unit to rush that enemy, and you must final rush the nearest open side. Most of the time, this will be the facing side, but other open sides are also legal as long as the unit has enough movement to reach it.
Diagram 14.1—Final Rush
In this example, your unit has three different enemies to consider as a Final Rush target. (Note that this diagram isn’t to scale.)
A
Enemy A is engaged to its front and left sides, making its right side the closest open side. However, there’s no clear path to that side because of that forest. If there were an enemy engaged on that side, then Enemy Unit A would not be clearly visible anymore.
C
D
Enemy B is behind a forest, which prevents it from being clearly visible. If the forest in front of it were a deep lake instead, then Enemy B would be visible. Its right side would be the nearest open side, since regular units can’t move through deep water. Enemy C is too far away from your unit to be a legal Final Rush target.
B
Enemy D is clearly visible, and there is a clear path to an open side that is within your unit’s Movement Category. Therefore, Enemy D is the only legal Final Rush target available to your unit.
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OPEN PATH Your unit can only rush if there is an open path to the nearest open side of the enemy unit.
least half of their front to at least half of the enemy’s side. Consequently, you can normally only use this rule if your units are final rushing a side that is at least L (3.5‖) in length.
First, you must be able to draw a straight line from the front center point of your unit to the center point of the open side. This line may pass through part of your own unit, but may not pass through any part of any other unit, including the unit which your unit is final rushing. Second, this straight line must pass through a lane that is at least 2.5‖ wide at its narrowest.
Conflicting Final Rushes Sometimes, more than one of your units will be in position to rush the same side of an enemy unit but the Two’s Company rule doesn’t apply. In that case, move the unit of your choice first. If a unit’s final rush ever becomes illegal before you can resolve it, measure again to see if it has another legal final rush. (Remember, you must resolve all final rushes before any normal movement).
DISTANCE To measure the distance for a final rush, measure from your unit’s front center point to the center point of the nearest open side of the enemy unit. If that distance is less than the unit’s current MC (including terrain modifiers, movement caps, etc.) then the unit is within legal rushing distance.
Leading a Final Rush with a Flank In some cases, a unit may not physically be able to engage with its front, due to impassable terrain, other units, or other obstacles. It might otherwise have a legal final rush, and might have enough room to engage with a flank. In this case, you may choose to have the unit final rush with its flank instead.
Do not calculate any necessary maneuvers in this distance. In many cases, a final rush will be legal even if the unit wouldn’t be able to otherwise move that distance due to maneuvering penalties.
Place the unit’s flank against the enemy unit’s open side, lined up as much as possible, but otherwise treat the final rush normally. You must be able to engage at least half of your flank (1.25‖) with at least half of the enemy unit’s side.
NO TURNING BACK After determining all eligible rush targets using the above rules, if your unit’s front center point is within 1.25‖ of any eligible enemy units at the start of the turn, then if your unit performs a final rush on this turn, it must be against one of those units.
It does not cost a command action if you choose to final rush with your flank, but unlike other cases with a legal final rush, you are allowed to choose to avoid it.
Note that you can spend a command action to change your unit’s standing order or to take direct control of it in order to prevent it from rushing.
The normal combat modifiers for fighting with your flank apply. Unlike other cases of attacking to your flank, if a unit final rushes with its flank, it does count as charging that turn. See the Combat section for combat modifiers.
MOVEMENT DURING A FINAL RUSH If one of your units is cleared to perform a legal rush, simply pick the unit up and place it in contact with the enemy unit, lining up their center points as much as possible. Because a final rush is less controlled than normal battlefield movement, you don’t need to worry about maneuvering like you would for a normal move.
Final Rushes and Pinches Sometimes a unit’s final rush will appear to place it in a pinch. Because units only become engaged when one of them final rushes the other, a unit will never become pinched as a result of its own final rush. If possible, leave a small gap between units to clarify that they are not engaged. Even if this is impossible, though, the final rush is still legal and only the units involved in the final rush become engaged.
UNUSUAL FINAL RUSHES Sometimes, final rushes aren’t as smooth as you’d like. Below are some unusual situations.
Two’s Company If two or more units would final rush the same side of an enemy unit, you may perform those final rushes simultaneously such that the nearest two units final rush and each engage half of that side. As noted in the section on Combat, units must engage with at
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COMBAT Battleground simulates the simultaneous nature of warfare. In the Combat Phase, all of the active player’s able units will make ranged attacks, and all engaged units from both sides will attack in melee.
A unit with a legal target must fire; you can’t choose to not take a ranged attack. A unit with no legal target won’t fire this turn. NEAREST ENEMY For ranged attacks, the nearest enemy unit is the one that has the closest center point to your unit’s front center point. That unit must be within your unit’s front arc and its maximum range.
The combat phase contains four steps: 1) Choosing Defenders 2) Active Player’s Attacks 3) Non-Active Player’s Attacks 4) Combat Consequences
LINE OF SIGHT If you can draw an unblocked line from the front center point of your unit to any center point of the nearest enemy unit, that unit is your target. Otherwise, try again with the next closest enemy unit. These lines can be blocked by different things, depending on the type or raged attack used. Lines are never blocked by the firing unit or the target unit themselves.
Even though the active player’s units attack before the inactive player’s, this is for convenience only. For the purposes of the game, attacks are assumed to be simultaneous. Even if your unit is damaged or destroyed by an enemy unit, it still makes its own attack and does so at its initial effectiveness for the phase.
Repeat this two-step process until you have determined your unit’s target, or until you have determined that all units in maximum range are illegal targets.
CHOOSING DEFENDERS Each unit attacks a maximum of one enemy unit each turn, regardless of how many legal targets it has. For units that are shooting, targets are usually determined by the unit’s standing orders. For engaged units, if more than one enemy unit is a potential target, you get to decide among them. The different methods of determining targets attacks are explained in the following sections.
Reminder: Units with an enemy unit assigned as an objective count that unit as the closest. They still fire at the closest legal target if the objective unit isn’t a legal target. RANGED ATTACK TYPES Unless otherwise specified by the unit card, all raged attacks are considered Indirect Fire attacks by default. Depending on the type of ranged attack used, different things can obstruct a unit’s view of its potential targets.
Able units will always attack, regardless of their standing orders or whether they’re under direct control. For example, an unengaged unit with a ranged attack will fire on the closest legal target even if it has the Close standing order. If it were under direct control, it would still be required to attack, but you would get to choose its target.
Indirect Fire attacks are not blocked by friendly troops. Indirect Fire and Line of Sight attacks are not blocked by any units smaller than the target.
ENGAGED ATTACK DEFENDERS Engaged units may only attack units they are engaged with; they can’t make ranged attacks. If a unit is engaged with more than one enemy unit, it attacks one enemy unit of your choice that it is engaged with.
Low Arc attacks have the same rules for Indirect Fire, except that they can’t fire at engaged units. However, they also ignore units smaller than their target when determining if their target is engaged. (This effectively means that a Low Arc unit will never be subject to the penalty for shooting at an engaged target.)
RANGED ATTACK DEFENDERS The active player calculates which in-range enemy unit each of their non-engaged units with a ranged attack will shoot at.
Examples Unless a ranged unit is under direct control, it will fire at the closest legal target. If a ranged unit is under direct control, you can pick any legal target to shoot at. Except for being the nearest enemy, a target must meet all additional requirements for a unit under direct control to fire at it.
A Large sized attacker with a line of sight attack can fire over friendly units smaller than Large or Colossal size, but a regularly-sized unit can’t fire over friendly units.
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An Orc Crossbowmen unit (a line of sight attacker) can’t fire at an enemy Hawk Swordsmen unit (a normal sized infantry unit) if there is a friendly or enemy unit between them. The Orc Crossbowmen can, however, fire over any regularly-sized units to attack a Hill Giant (a Large-sized unit). A Dwarven Ballista (a low-arc weapon) is unable to shoot at a unit of Orc Axemen (a normal-sized unit) that is engaged with a unit of Dwarven Shortbeards (also normal-sized). However, the Ballista can fire at a unit of Trolls (a large-sized unit) that’s also engaged with those Shortbeards, since the Trolls are larger than the Shortbeards. This means the Dwarven Ballista is also not subject to the penalty for firing at an engaged target.
ACTIVE PLAYER ATTACKS When it is your turn to attack in the combat phase you resolve all your attacks (and actions that count as attacks, like spells). Resultant damage should be marked immediately so you don’t forget, but any consequences of attacks or attack damage don’t apply this phase; units function at the they level they were at the start of the phase even if they are damaged or destroyed.
RESOLVING MULTIPLE ATTACKS When it is your turn to attack, resolve your attacks in any order you choose. You don’t need to resolve shooting attacks before or after engaged attacks, or even all at once; you can resolve some shooting, then some engaged attacks, then go back to shooting if you find that preferable. If one of your units ends up attacking a unit that has already taken enough damage to be destroyed, you don’t need to roll that attack if you don’t want to. However, once the choosing of defenders is complete those targets are ―locked in‖ for this phase. Even if a target takes enough damage from other units to be destroyed, you can’t switch targets. Note that because you don’t apply any consequences of attacks until after all attacks have been made, the order you resolve attacks in rarely matters. Even if an attack damages or destroys an engaged unit, it still fights at initial strength, counts as being at that strength for the whole phase, and so on. Be sure to refer to the Combat Modifiers section to determine the amount of dice rolled as well as your target numbers.
ROLLING AN ATTACK An attack consists of rolling two sets of dice. First, you roll to hit your opponent. Then you roll to see which hits successfully deal damage. For both of these rolls, you start with a certain number of dice, each of which represents a single attack. Every die comes up equal to or less than its target number succeeds and dice that are greater than the target number fail. A roll of ―1‖ on a die is
always a success. A roll of ―6‖ on a die is always a failure, but see the Overkill rule for more information on converting failures to successes. To determine the number of dice you roll and their target numbers, look at the attack stats on your unit card as well as the defense stats on your opponent’s unit card, and consult the sections below. ROLLING TO HIT When you roll to hit, roll a number of dice equal to your unit’s attack dice (the one in parentheses), which is the first of your unit’s attack stats. The two numbers after that are your offensive skill and your power, respectively. A unit’s defensive skill and toughness are the two numbers next to the shield icon in their stat bar. Subtract your unit’s offensive skill minus the enemy unit’s defensive skill. Any die that is equal to or less than that number counts as a hit. Example: Your Ravenwood Swordsmen ( (5) 5/5) are attacking a unit of Orc Spearmen ( 2/3). You roll 5 dice, and get 1, 2, 2, 5, and a 6. 5 minus 2 is 3, so each die that rolls 3 or less is a hit. You’ve scored three hits. For each of these hits, you then roll to see if it deals damage, described below.
ROLLING TO DAMAGE When you roll for damage, the number of dice you roll is equal to the number of hits you just scored. If an effect forces you to make a damage roll without making a hit roll, it will specify the number of dice you roll. Each die hits if it is equal to or less than your unit’s power minus the enemy unit’s toughness. For each successful hit, mark off one damage box on the enemy unit. Example: Continuing the example from the previous section, your Ravenwood Swordsmen have scored three hits on the opponent’s Orc Spearmen. Therefore you roll three dice, and roll 2, 3, and 6. Your target number was 2 (5-3) so you score one damage. Your opponent marks off the first damage box on the Orc Spearmen. OVERKILL When rolling either to hit or damage, your target number might be six or higher if one of your attack stats is significantly higher than one of the opponent’s defense stats. This is called Overkill.
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A roll of ―6‖ on a die is always a failure, but for each number that your target number exceeds five, you can turn one ―6‖ you roll on a die into a ―5‖. This applies before command cards that modify dice.
REMAINING ENGAGED UNITS At the beginning of your Movement and Command phase, line up the center point of each of your engaged units with the center point of the side of the enemy unit they are engaged with as much as you are able to. Do not change the facing of either unit and don’t move units in this way if doing so would break an existing engagement.
Example: If your unit has an Offensive Skill of 7 and your opponent’s unit has a Defensive Skill of 1, your target number is 6. You roll five dice and get 2, 3, 3, 5, and 6. Because your Offensive Skill is greater than your opponent’s Defensive Skill by 1, you can turn the 6 into a 5 and hit with all five dice. If you had rolled a 2, 3, 3, 6, and 6, you could only change one 6 into a 5, and would hit with four of your dice.
Other than this movement, if a unit is engaged with one or more enemy units, it is completely immobile until the engagement ends. Engaged units cannot move or maneuver, regardless of standing orders or direct control.
OUTMATCHED If your unit is outmatched by its opponent, your target number might be 0 or less. When you roll to hit or damage, a roll of ―1‖ on a die always succeeds. There is no functional difference between a target number of 1 and a target number below 1.
This rule applies even if the unit was engaged from the rear, flank, or similar unfavorable position; the unit is locked in the same position until the engagement ends.
COMMAND CARDS
Note: Command cards change a unit’s stats, not your unit’s target numbers. For example: your unit’s Offensive Skill of 4 minus your opponent’s Defensive Skill of 5 results in a target number of -1 in order to hit. You then play a command card that gives your unit +2 to their Offensive Skill. Your target number then becomes 1, not 3.
Most Battleground command cards are played during attacks. Each card will specify when you can play it, but cards are also color coded for your convenience. Red cards apply to your attacks, purple cards apply to your opponent’s attacks, and green cards are not used in attacks.
NON-ACTIVE PLAYER ATTACKS
You can play command cards during any attack when appropriate. Unless the card says otherwise, you don’t need to pay command actions or any other costs to play it. However, you can only play one card during a given unit’s attack, so if you play a card to boost your attack roll, you can’t play another card before your damage roll to boost that as well. You can, though, play further cards on that unit this phase if appropriate. For example, you can play a defense card when an opposing unit attacks yours.
After the active player performs all melee and ranged attacks, the non-active player gets to perform melee attacks with his engaged units. Ranged attacks are only performed by the active player during a given turn. Follow all the above steps, starting with Choosing Defenders, and resolve all of the inactive player’s melee attacks before proceeding. Remember that units fight with the effectiveness they had when the combat phase started.
The specific rules of a command card or unit override any general rules in this section or the next, so if for example a unit says you can play two cards on its attack, that overrides the rule that says you can only play one.
COMBAT CONSEQUENCES DAMAGED UNITS When a unit is knocked into the yellow, or if a unit takes any damage at all in the red, that unit must make a rout check at the next available opportunity. Damage that doesn’t trigger these conditions or destroy the unit has no immediate effect.
COMMAND CARD PRIORITY Before and after each time any dice are rolled, both players can play a command card, if able. The attacking player gets the first chance to play a command card, then the defending player. The defending player can play a card even if the attacking player decides not to. If the defending player does so, the attacking player has another chance to play a card, but if both players pass in a row, plays moves on.
As described in the Psychology section, units take only one rout check for any given Rout Check step. Because of this, a unit makes only one rout check if, for example, it is knocked directly from green to red or takes more than one damage while in the red during a single combat phase.
DESTROYED UNITS
Apply the effects of command cards immediately, as soon as they are played. No one can play further cards until the current card has been applied in full.
Any unit that has no remaining health boxes is destroyed. Remove it from the battlefield. If a unit is destroyed in another phase, such as the Courage Phase, remove it from play at the end of that phase.
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COMBAT MODIFIERS
Close standing order, was not engaged at the start of the turn, and is attacking to its front. This is regardless of which unit performed a Final Rush on that turn. Units will often both receive the charging bonus against each other on the first round
Many battlefield situations are beneficial or detrimental to a unit’s ability to fight. In Battleground, these situations are represented by combat modifiers which give units bonuses or penalties to the numbers printed on the unit card. These modifiers are grouped into four categories:
of combat. Charging units get
(+0) +0/+1.
IMPACT HITS Some units are particularly dangerous on the charge, their large size or raw determination ensuring that they simply plow into the enemy, causing some casualties by mass alone. If a unit is entitled to one or more impact hits, add one die per impact hit to the damage roll when that unit is charging. You don’t need to roll to hit with these dice; simply add them to the pool of dice when you roll for damage. You get these dice even if all your initial attacks missed.
General Engaged Ranged Terrain-based
Engaged and ranged modifiers only apply to those kinds of attacks, even if the conditions can hold for an attack of a different kind. For example, only engaged attacks receive a bonus for attacking the rear of an enemy unit.
All charging cavalry units are granted one free impact hit, unless the unit card notes otherwise.
Any and all appropriate combat modifiers apply to each attack or unit, and all the bonuses and penalties are cumulative.
FLANKS If a unit attacks the left or the right of an enemy unit, that unit is
GENERAL COMBAT MODIFIERS
flanking and gets
General combat modifiers represent conditions that apply to a unit at all times, regardless of what kind of attack it is performing, or even if it isn’t involved in an attack at all.
(+0) +1/+0.
If a unit attacks an enemy that is engaged with one of its side points, that unit is attacking to its flank and gets
IN THE YELLOW OR IN THE RED When a unit has lost all green health boxes, it is in the yellow. When it has lost all green and all yellow boxes it is in the red. For example, a unit of Orc Swordsmen has four green health boxes. It is in the yellow after taking four damage. Units in the yellow or red get the listed penalty:
REAR ATTACKS If a unit attacks the rear side of an enemy unit, that unit is rear attacking and gets
(+0) +1/+1.
If a unit attacks an enemy unit that is engaged with its rear side point, that unit is attacking to its rear and gets
In the Yellow:
(-0) -1/-0
-1
In the Red:
(-0) -2/-0
-1
(+0) -1/-1.
PINCHES If your attacking unit is engaged with only one enemy unit, and that enemy unit is also engaged on a different side, your attacking unit is pinching the enemy unit. (See Diagram 20.1)
FRIGHTENED A Frightened unit is afraid enough of the enemy that its attacks are less effective, but not so afraid that it has turned to run away. Usually, this occurs as the result of a Fear Check. A Frightened unit gets
(-1) -0/-0.
Units that are pinching get (+0) +1/+1 for each additional unit the pinched unit is engaged with. The unit being pinched must also make a Courage check in the pre-combat Courage phase. Units that fail this check will rout.
(-1) -1/-1.
A unit that normally passes all Courage checks, passes all Fear checks or has no Courage stat is immune to the Frightened penalty, and will never perform a Fear check.
Each pinch provides a bonus, and those bonuses are cumulative. For example, if an enemy unit is engaged by your units on three sides, your units each get
ENGAGED COMBAT MODIFIERS The following combat modifiers apply only to attacks made by engaged units.
(+0) +2/+2.
OUTREACHED If your unit charges is charged by a larger unit, your unit is Outreached and gets (-1)/0/0. This penalty is in addition to any Frightened penalty that unit may suffer.
CHARGING When units initially make contact, they will sometimes rush towards each other, their momentum lending strength to their initial attacks. In Battleground, a unit is charging if it has the
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Diagram 20.1—Pinching
ENGAGED TARGET If your unit is shooting at a target which is engaged with
C The Goblin Wolf Riders are pinching the Blade Dancers.
another unit, it gets
(-0) -1/-0.
Note: Units can’t normally shoot while engaged. But if they can, they aren’t subject to this penalty unless another unit is also engaged with their target. See the Javelin Rule in the Special Ability section.
The Dusk Lances are pinching the Goblin Bowmen.
C
FAST MOVING TARGET If your unit is shooting at a target which would move 7‖ or more based on its current standing orders and any other
R
modifiers, it gets
(-0) -1/-0.
TERRAIN MODIFIERS
C
Terrain influences the battle in many ways, if present, most of which are described in the Terrain section. There are, however, several kinds of combat modifiers that apply to units based on terrain features, collected below.
Neither the Goblin Bowmen nor the Blade Dancers are pinching anyone, since they are engaged with more than one enemy unit.
HIGH GROUND A unit has the High Ground if more than half of the unit is on a higher elevation than more than half of the enemy unit. If a shooter is on higher ground than its target then the target counts as being 2.5‖ closer, and the shooter gets
RANGED COMBAT MODIFIERS The following modifiers apply to ranged attacks.
If a shooter is on lower ground than its target then the target counts as being 2.5‖ further away.
LONG OR EXTREME RANGE If a target unit is more than the listed distance away from your unit, your unit gets the listed penalty: Long Range (7‖):
(-0) -1/-0
Extreme Range (14‖):
(-0) -2/-0
Units on high ground have line of sight to anything on lower ground not blocked by non-airborne units or LOS blocking terrain of equal or higher elevation. Units engaged with a unit on lower ground get
Note: Long Range and Extreme Range are the same for all units, regardless of maximum range. Some units are unable to fire at long and/or extreme range due to their shorter maximum range.
(-0) -1/-0.
LARGE OR COLOSSAL TARGET If your unit is shooting at a target with one of the following keywords printed on the back of the unit card, it gets the listed bonus: Large:
(+0) +1/+0
Colossal:
(+0) +2/+0
(+0) +1/+0.
SOFT OR HARD COVER A unit has cover against attacks if more than half of the unit is within a terrain feature that grants it. In the case of covergranting terrain that a unit doesn’t stand inside (like a wall or fence) the unit has the appropriate cover if at least half of the side facing the attacker is up against the obstacle and the defending unit’s standing order is Hold.
CAVALRY TARGET If your unit is shooting at a target with the Cavalry keyword printed on the back of the unit card, it gets
(+0) +1/+0.
Units attacking an enemy in cover get the listed penalty: Soft Cover:
(-0) -1/-0
Hard Cover:
(-0) -2/-0
Note: Cover applies to both ranged and engaged attacks, but some terrain (like forests) may specify that the cover applies only to one or the other.
MOVE AND SHOOT If your unit is shooting on a turn in which it moved, it gets (-0) -1/-0.
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WEAPON SPECIAL RULES In Battleground, very few weapons have special rules covered by the rulebook. Instead, most weapon special rules, for example spears, bows, and so forth, are described directly on the back of the units that are equipped with them.
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COURAGE Death isn’t the only way your troops might fall prey to the dangers of war. Psychology plays a critical role in the integrity of your army, and some units are as likely to flee as to fight to the last. Many circumstances might cause a rout, and they can arise at any time, but in order to keep things organized, units always check in the courage phase.
courage check. Otherwise, it fails.
Like the combat phase, the courage phase recognizes that battles aren’t really fought in organized turns. Thus, even if it isn’t your turn, you will roll courage checks for each of your units that are required to do so, rather than waiting for your own turn to roll those checks. The active player rolls all of her courage checks for each step, then the inactive player rolls for those steps before moving on to the next step.
TYPES OF COURAGE CHECKS
COURAGE CHECK MODIFIERS Courage is modified by the unit’s health. If the unit is in the yellow its Courage is reduced by 1. If it is in the red it’s reduced by 2.
There are two types of courage checks that are inherent to the game rules: Rout Checks and Fear Checks. In addition, some spells or unit abilities might force different kinds of courage checks. Both rout checks and fear checks are simple courage checks, without any special modifiers to the unit’s courage beyond those described above.
PRE-COMBAT AND POST-COMBAT The Courage Phase occurs twice in each turn, once before combat and once after. These are called the Pre-Combat and Post-Combat courage phases. Each phase is otherwise identical and all rules in this section apply to both phases.
ROUT CHECKS Rout checks occur when a situation might cause your unit’s courage to fail entirely, sending it running in a rout. While this situation is not irreversible, it is bad news, especially if the unit was engaged when it routed.
COURAGE PHASE STEPS The courage phase consists of six steps, listed below in the order that they occur.
Various situations cause rout checks. Situations that normally cause rout checks include pinching and being knocked into the yellow or into the red. Any unit that had at least one rout check forced on it since the last opportunity to perform rout checks performs a single check in this step.
1) Rout Checks 2) Fear Checks 3) Other Courage Checks 4) Free Attacks 5) Rout Movement 6) Courage Cleanup
FAILED ROUT CHECKS When a unit fails a rout check, erase its standing order. Until that unit rallies, its standing order remains blank to indicate that it is routing. If the unit is unengaged, turn it to face your board edge. If it is engaged, turn it to face directly away from an enemy unit of your choice that it is engaged, if able.
Each unit checks only once per step, no matter how many checks were called for since the last opportunity. Six checks is the same as one. The remaining checks don’t build up or carry over into future steps or phases.
If a unit that is currently routing fails a new rout check, it is immediately destroyed.
Example: During your opponent’s movement and command phase, your Hawk Swordsmen are pinched by a Skeleton Troll and a Zombie Troll (both Fearsome) and the opponent plays Wave of Terror (which causes all of your units to make fear checks in the next courage phase). Therefore, three fear checks and one rout check (for the pinch) were called for. The Hawk Swordsmen roll one rout check in step 1, and one fear check in step 2. All the other pending fear checks are disregarded.
During the free attacks step each non-routing unit will get a free attack against each routing unit it was engaged with at the beginning of the phase. Free attacks are covered later. Sometimes, in the process of turning a routing unit away from an enemy, it will no longer be touching one or more other enemy units that it began the phase engaged with. Even if this happens, all the enemy units that began the phase engaged with it will get free attacks on it.
PERFORMING A COURAGE CHECK To check your unit’s courage, find the value on your unit card, apply any modifiers, and roll three dice. If the sum of the dice is less than or equal to your unit’s courage, the unit passes the
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BACK-UP UNITS A back-up unit represents deeper ranks in your army. When a unit serves as a back-up unit, it stands ready to replace a friendly unit should that unit rout or be destroyed.
OTHER COURAGE CHECKS Some command card or unit abilities might call for courage checks that are neither rout checks nor fear checks. Take these checks after all rout and fear checks have been taken, and follow the instructions on the card for success or failure.
If an unengaged unit is on Close or Follow and any part of its front is touching any part of the rear of a friendly unit, it is considered a back-up unit for that friendly unit. (Thus, each unit can normally be a back-up unit to two friendly units if desired).
In general, if the consequences of a courage check would be irrelevant (because, for example, a unit has failed a rout check and the consequences of a second, different kind of check don’t apply to routing units) you don’t need to roll the check.
If a backed-up unit is ever destroyed (either by the above method or any other way) you may elect to move one of its back -up units into its place. If a backed-up unit fails a rout check, you may choose to destroy it instead of having it rout in order to take advantage of this.
FREE ATTACKS After both players have rolled all courage checks for the round, each unit takes their allowed free attacks, starting with the active player’s units. These attacks work just like engaged attacks in the combat phase. A unit can always take these attacks even if it already attacked in the combat phase, has already made a free attack against a different unit in this phase, or attacked in some other way.
Replacing a destroyed unit with a back-up unit does not count as normal movement. It is assumed that the back-up unit trickles in gradually, replacing the original unit as it flees or is destroyed. Therefore, it happens immediately, regardless of the MC of the backup unit. Neither side is considered charging or final rushing, and no fear or terror checks occur. Treat the situation as an ongoing engagement, so nothing that normally happens at the beginning of an engagement occurs here.
All relevant combat modifiers apply to free attacks as well. In virtually all cases, for example, at least one unit will get the rear attacking bonus because of the new facing of a routing unit . A unit that is in the routed state because of a failed check earlier in this specific Courage phase doesn’t actually disengage and move until all free attacks are complete. This is important because some units get bonuses for their free attacks against units in the routed state. A unit’s card will list if it’s entitled to these bonuses.
FEAR CHECKS When a unit finds itself in an unusually distressing position, the soldiers in the unit find it difficult to fight at full effect because of the frightening nature of the situation. This is represented by a type of courage check called a fear check.
ROUT MOVEMENT
Units perform a Fear Check on the turn that they are charged by a unit with the ―fearsome‖ or ―terrifying‖ keyword. Some command cards or unit abilities might call for fear checks at other times. Just like rout checks, each unit will take only one fear check per Courage phase.
After all free attacks are complete, each still-alive unit that was routed this phase moves. If, after this movement, the routed unit is still engaged with one or more enemy units, the routed unit is destroyed.
If the unit fails the check it gets the Frightened penalty for the rest of the turn. By the next round, the fear is assumed to have passed, and the unit fights normally unless it needs to take another fear check on that turn. If the unit doesn’t need to take the check at all (because it is immune to Fear) it doesn’t take the Frightened penalty.
Whenever you move a routing unit, you don’t pay for maneuvers. Simply measure from the front center point of the routing unit to the location it is routing to (keeping the effects of any MC-reducing terrain in mind). Then, pick up and move the routing unit, keeping the same facing. This movement is similar to the final rush movement.
A unit that normally passes all Courage checks, passes all Fear checks or has no Courage stat is immune to the Frightened penalty, and will never perform a Fear check.
DISENGAGEMENT On the turn it routs from an engagement, a unit will move to maximize the space between it and the enemy units with which it was engaged. This path is called its Disengagement Path..
Since routing units never attack, and the Frightened penalty only applies to attacks, you don’t need to roll fear checks for units that already failed rout checks this phase. (They won’t be doing much attacking this turn!)
THE “MAGIC MILLIMETER” A routed unit’s Disengagement Path might be blocked on one or more sides by friendly units, preventing the routing unit from moving at all. The game assumes that there is at least
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enough room (a ―magic millimeter‖) for the routing unit to cleanly disengage from the units that it’s running from. A unit in this situation counts as disengaged, and also counts as having routed into any friendly units into which its Disengagement Path would have had it travel.
still only require that type of check to be made once in a given Courage phase. While unlikely, repeating the phase may trigger yet more courage checks. Do not leave the Courage Phase until all outstanding checks have been resolved.
A unit with its Disengagement Path blocked in this way by enemy units or impassible terrain is still considered to be engaged, and is destroyed as previously mentioned.
Note: Each time you perform step 1, 2, or 3, every unit with one or more outstanding courage checks takes exactly one check, and disregards any other pending checks for that step. Therefore, you only repeat the phase if a new check arose after its given step.
SUBSEQUENT MOVEMENT On further turns, a routed unit moves towards its owner’s table edge at its full MC. You can’t invoke the Fastest path rule or other voluntary movement rules for this move, so your unit will not avoid difficult terrain or friendly units. You must still observe rules like the Impossible Path rule. (Your units aren’t that scared!)
ROUTING INTO FRIENDLY UNITS If a routing unit’s path would move it into contact with a friendly unit, it stops moving for the turn, positioned against the friendly unit. If a routing unit begins the turn in contact with a friendly unit and the path of the rout would take it through that friendly unit, pick it up and move it to the opposite side of the friendly unit. The friendly unit cannot move or fire this turn, and must make a rout check during the pre-combat Courage Phase this turn. ROUTING TO THE TABLE EDGE If a routing unit moves into contact with its owner’s table edge, it stops for the turn. If a routing unit begins in contact with its owner’s table edge and would move off that edge, it is destroyed.
ENGAGED WHILE ROUTING If a routed unit ever becomes engaged with an enemy after its initial disengagement, it is immediately destroyed.
COURAGE CLEANUP Normally, after free attacks and rout movement have been resolved, the courage phase ends. In some cases, however, additional courage checks might be triggered as a result of events that happened in the courage phase but after the appropriate step to take that check. For example, a unit might rout due to damage and then take enough damage during the free attacks to require a second rout check. In the Courage Cleanup step, if any courage checks have been triggered since the last time checks of that type were made, go back to step one and repeat the courage phase from the beginning. Keep in mind that multiple checks of the same type
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ARMY CREATION For your first few games of Battleground, we recommend you keep it simple. Play with a starter army (included with your faction,) and a basic open battlefield. After you get the hang of the game, though, you’ll want to try your own mix of units to suit your play style and the situation at hand, and you might want to mix up the battlefield with terrain, unusual objectives, or adverse conditions. This combination of terrain and special rules is called a scenario.
elite, some scenarios might place limits on these units or otherwise talk about them. In these cases, non-core, non-elite units are called standard units.
This section tells you how to mix it up. From rules for making your own custom army to ways to incorporate scenarios into your games, this section tells you what to do before the first unit card is placed.
MERCENARIES
Note: The first three Battleground armies released predate the Core and Elite rule, so their unit cards don’t specify the status of the units. Core and elite status for these units is given in the Errata section.
Battleground features some factions, that can be fielded as mercenary units in any army. In addition, some scenarios might allow you to use different factions as mercenaries or you and your opponent may agree to designate any faction as mercenary. This section explains how to add mercenary units to your army.
POINTS BUDGETS At the beginning of the game, agree with your opponent on a points budget for your armies. Every unit card (and some army special abilities) costs army creation points. You can also buy starting command cards for 25 points each, drawn at random after units are placed but before orders are issued.
Note: Unsurprisingly, you shouldn’t add mercenaries to a historical army if you’re trying to simulate a historical conflict. PRIMARY FACTION Each player picks a primary faction when creating his or her army. Any units that don’t belong to the primary faction are considered mercenary units.
You don’t need to spend all of your points budget. Any rule that depends on army size, like the rule determining how many command actions you get per turn, depends on the points budget, not how many points you actually spent or how many points worth of units remain on the table.
CORE AND ELITE MERCENARIES Mercenary units, even if they are core, can’t fulfill any core unit requirements for your army. Elite mercenary units can be included, but they are subject to the overall elite restriction for a given army.
Standard points budgets are 1500 for a small game, 2000 for a standard game, or 2500 for a larger game. Higher or lower points budgets are perfectly acceptable, but might need special rules. See the entries on Large Games for more information.
MERCENARIES AND COMMAND CARDS You must use your primary faction’s command deck.
CORE AND ELITE UNITS For each faction, some units form the backbone of your forces, called core units. Some, on the other hand, are rare and unusual, called elite units. A unit’s status as core or elite, if any, is listed on the back of the unit card, after the points value.
Each card that is common to all factions (numbered 1-20 in the command deck) functions normally on all your units, primary or mercenary. Each faction-specific command card (numbered 21-30) can’t be played on or otherwise influence a mercenary unit.
You must have at least one core unit in your army per 500 points in your point budget.
If you are playing with mercenaries, you can choose to remove cards 21-30 from your deck after deployment if you wish.
You can’t have more than one of each of your elite units in your army per 1000 points in your point budget.
MERCENARIES AND ARMY ABILITIES Each unit, primary or mercenary, uses its own army ability or abilities, not the army ability of the primary faction. Using a mercenary unit’s army ability costs 1 additional command action, if applicable.
Example: A 1500 point army must have at least three core units (of any type). That army can have any number of total elite units, but no more than one of each type of elite unit. Note: While there are no limits on units that are neither core nor
You can’t use non-unit army abilities (for example, Carthage’s
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Foresight ability, or the Dark Elf Premeditation ability) if that faction isn’t your primary faction.
should consider expanding the battlefield and deployment zones for larger games, so that weak but numerous armies continue to be able to threaten the flanks of more elite forces. You might also find that with more command actions and points, you need to add additional decks of command cards or even additional reinforcement decks, though this should occur only in very large games.
Example: If a Dark Elf army is using Monsters & Mercenaries as a mercenary faction:
The Dark Elves can use Pain Touch and all command cards as normal, with no penalties.
The Monsters & Mercenaries units can’t use Pain Touch or unique Dark Elf command cards.
The Dark Elf player can still use the Spoils ability on Monsters & Mercenaries units but it would cost 2 command actions each instead of 1.
MULTIPLAYER The easiest way to have more than two players in a game of Battleground is to fight in teams. The players on each side divide up their points and command actions appropriately. Because the team with more players will often have a harder time making efficient use of their command actions you may wish to award that team additional building points, or some other scenario-based advantage.
SCENARIOS Scenarios are special sets of rules that change the battlefield, add terrain or add special rules and/or victory conditions. Scenarios might also change the rules of army creation, or anything you like. You and your opponent can agree to play a scenario of your choosing before the battle, and we also provide several products that contain scenarios that we’ve balanced for fun play.
Example: Player A plays 3,000 points against player B, playing 1,100 points, and player C, playing 1,900 points. On player A’s turn he has 6 command actions, and on the shared B and C turn, player B has 2 command actions while player C has 4 command actions. Note: Each player may play a different army and or faction.
Unlike some wargames, Battleground gives you the freedom to tailor your army without the expense of buying more units, since you get everything in the faction box. Because of this, we suggest you build your armies after you’ve seen the terrain and scenario. A unit you normally dislike might be just the thing to crack an unusual situation.
Note: Players may only use command actions and play command cards on their own units.
OFFICIAL SCENARIOS As of this printing, Your Move Games provides scenarios in three ways. The Scenario Book is a booklet of eight pre-made scenarios that can inspire you to make your own special rules, and introduce you to factions you don’t own. Kingdoms is a card-based scenario generation system that makes randomized scenarios by matching cards containing terrain with cards containing special rules. By dealing out one of each, you never play the same game twice. Kingdoms also contains rules for combining multiple games into an ongoing campaign. One desk is all you need to run a large campaign. Historical releases (currently the Punic War) contain scenario booklets with the Expansion set. These scenario booklets contain suggestions on how to re-enact famous battles of the age using the Battleground system.
LARGE GAMES Games with a point budget over 3000 points are considered large games. You can play a large game normally, but you
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TERRAIN While we suggest you play your first few battles without terrain if you are new to tabletop wargaming, the presence of even simple terrain features on a battlefield makes the game feel very different. The following section explains the rules for different terrain features.
Example: A unit of Hawk Swordsmen ( 3.5‖) on a road (+1 MC) advances 4‖ and then reaches the end of the road. The unit would advance the full 4‖, but stop before any part of the card left the road.
TERRAIN AND COMBAT
Terrain can be very interesting, but also highly unbalancing. If one player has a strong defensive position, it can represent a large number of effective points if used correctly. Many official Battleground scenarios contain pre-balanced terrain. You can also make terrain symmetrical as an easy way to assure that neither side gets an advantage.
Terrain provides various combat bonuses or penalties to units within it, noted by keyword in the terrain descriptions and fully explained in the combat modifiers section. Unless otherwise stated, half of the unit card must be within the terrain feature to gain the bonus or suffer the penalty. If the terrain feature is a fortification (like a wall) that units hide behind rather than occupy, at least half of the side of the unit card facing the attacker must be abutted to the terrain feature.
REPRESENTING TERRAIN Your Move Games makes an official Battleground terrain pack, which contains fifteen square feet of dry-erasable, cut-out, flat terrain, on similar stock to the unit cards but laminated. All official scenarios use terrain from this terrain pack.
TERRAIN AND UNIT ELEVATION Terrain elevation can help your missile units see over intervening obstacles, including not only other terrain but also units. For the purposes of determining if a unit’s ranged attack is blocked, you can ignore units that are shorter than the height of a hill or other terrain feature that the shooting unit is standing on.
You can also represent terrain with any system of your own devising, from detailed miniatures terrain to construction paper with a tree drawn on it.
TERRAIN EFFECTS
On the other hand, units standing on terrain features might block missile attacks if the height of the unit combined with the height of the feature is more than the attacker can ignore. When calculating shooting attack defenders, count the height of the unit plus the height of any relevant terrain when comparing unit sizes. Like combat modifiers, half of the unit card must occupy terrain to gain any elevation from that terrain.
Terrain has three broad effects: movement, combat, and elevation. Each kind of modifier is described below. Each terrain modifier is a keyword; the effects of these keywords are combat modifiers.
TERRAIN AND MOVEMENT Terrain acts to reduce or (in rare cases) increase the MC of units in it. A unit moves as slowly as the slowest moving part of that unit. So, if any part of a unit passes through terrain that hinders movement, the whole unit is slowed. Conversely, in order to get a bonus to MC based on terrain, the unit must be entirely within that terrain feature for the entire move.
For simplicity, we assume units have effective heights based on whether they have the large or colossal keywords. Normal units are assumed to be 10’ high, large units 20’, and colossal units 30’.
Some unit keyword abilities change the bonuses or penalties that unit gets from terrain. In such cases, units might have more than one relevant keyword, for example High Elf Chariots, which are both cavalry and wheeled. If so, apply the least favorable keyword.
The following terrain types represent a reasonable list of natural features for a battlefield, including relevant effects. You might want to use terrain that doesn’t clearly fit any of these types; if so, agree with your opponent in advance on the effects of the terrain.
If a unit would encounter a hindering terrain feature (or leave a helpful one) and has already moved farther than the reduced MC would allow, advance the unit to the point where its MC would decrease, then stop moving it.
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TERRAIN TYPES
ROADS A unit moving along a road gets +1 MC, or +2 MC if it is wheeled.
FORESTS STAKES
A unit moving in a forest gets -1 MC, or -3 MC if it is large, colossal, or wheeled.
Unlike other terrain, stakes are directional: they form a wall of sharpened sticks with a facing. When you place the terrain piece, determine the facing. (Official stakes from the terrain pack have clear facing due to the graphic on the card).
Forest provides soft cover against shooting attacks. More than 2.5‖ of forest blocks line of sight; forests are 30’ high.
LOW BRUSH
Units behind the stakes (on the non-sharp side) get soft cover from attacks by units they are engaged with on the other side of the stakes. Units moving out of the stakes get -1 MC if they are cavalry (no penalty otherwise). Units moving into stakes get -1 MC, or -3 MC if they are cavalry. Stakes are impassable (in either direction) for wheeled units.
A unit moving in low brush gets -1 MC, or -3 MC if it is wheeled.
SHALLOW WATER A unit moving in shallow water gets -2 MC, or -1 MC if it is large. Colossal units ignore shallow water.
HEDGES, LOW WALLS OR FENCES DEEP WATER
Non-large, non-colossal units moving across walls or fences get -1 MC. Walls and hedges are impassable to wheeled units.
Large units move through deep water at -2 MC, colossal units at -1 MC. Deep water is impassable to other units. Units in deep water can’t shoot.
Non-large, non-colossal units behind walls or fences get soft cover from all attacks by non-large, non-colossal units.
VERY DEEP WATER Colossal units move through very deep water at -2 MC. Very deep water is impassable to other units. Units in very deep water can’t shoot.
HILLS Elevation lines are usually used to indicate the height of hills; each elevation line indicates 10’ of elevation. Units moving uphill (crossing at least one elevation line) get -1 MC. Units on a hill have the high ground with regards to units on a lower elevation. Increase the unit’s effective height by the elevation of the part of the hill it occupies.
RIVER RAPIDS Large units move through river rapids at -3 MC. Colossal units move through river rapids at -2 MC. River Rapids are impassable to other units. Units in River Rapids can’t shoot.
FORTIFICATIONS
SWAMP OR BOG
Fortifications represent a building that units can occupy, like a stone fortress, bunker, etc. Units in a fortification get hard cover from all attacks by units outside the fortification. Fortification walls are impassable to all units. (Make sure to incorporate a door somewhere in the fortification!)
Units moving in a swamp get -2 MC, or -1 MC if the unit is large. Swamps are impassable to wheeled units. A unit moving in a swamp has soft cover against missile attacks. Colossal units get no benefits or penalties from being in a swamp.
Fortification doors are hard cover for units defending them. Units can exit and enter them freely if no enemy unit is defending them. (Units defend a door by being abutted to it).
SHORELINE Units on a shoreline count as having the high ground when engaged with units in the water.
WET GROUND OR SAND A unit moving on wet ground or sand gets -1 MC, or -2 MC if it is wheeled.
ROUGH GROUND A unit moving on rough ground gets -1 MC, -2 MC if it is cavalry, or -3 MC if it is wheeled.
VERY ROUGH GROUND A unit moving on very rough ground gets -2 MC. Very rough ground is impassable to cavalry and/or wheeled units.
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SPECIAL ABILITIES Most unit special abilities are fully described on the unit cards. Some units, though, have special abilities written in bold on the back of the unit card. In some cases, these keywords are ―empty‖ and only serve to interact with other rules or unit abilities. In other cases, they are rules that are wordy, but used on many cards, which sometimes don’t have room for the full text. The rules for these abilities are described below.
STANDARD KEYWORDS Some keywords exist to note features of a unit that aren’t always relevant, but that combat modifiers, terrain modifiers, and other units might reference. Some examples are the cavalry, wheeled and large keywords. These keywords don’t have special rules of their own, but might come into play with terrain, other units, or combat modifiers. You don’t normally have to pay attention to these rules because they’re noted on the combat modifier card or the individual description for the terrain type, so they’re hard to forget about, but they are collected below for ease of reference.
modifiers, a unit with the flying keyword may be given the Airborne standing order modifier, indicating that it is currently airborne. While airborne a unit is considered to be at the same elevation as other airborne units and to be on a higher evaluation than all grounded units and terrain, though it is not considered to be actually in the terrain that it is above. Thus, a unit that is airborne has the High Ground bonus against all grounded units. While airborne, a unit may not engage or become engaged with units on the ground. A unit must begin the turn on the ground in order to final rush. Airborne units may shoot and be shot at, keeping in mind the High Ground range modification. An airborne unit may move straight and turn, but may not make any other maneuvers. It uses its flying movement stat including the turns it takes off and lands. It may not take off and land in the same turn. When it lands it automatically reforms without an MC penalty.
Other units might have keywords that don’t appear to do anything at all. In these cases, a faction ability or other aspect of the army will clarify what the keyword means. Example: Units in the Undead army have the ―Lesser Undead,‖ ―Greater Undead,‖ and ―Major Undead‖ keywords. These keywords relate to the Reanimation army ability and don’t do anything on their own.
WHEELED Wheeled units are vehicles that rely on flat, unobstructed ground for their mobility and typically have trouble with rough terrain, but benefit from good roads. Wheeled units get different movement modifiers from other units in most terrain; the rules for each type of terrain, found in the Terrain section, note whether wheeled units have unusual difficulty with that terrain.
Airborne units may overlap and move over other units (including other airborne units). They cannot land on top of other units. Unless directly controlled, an airborne unit with the Close standing order will land if its move takes it within its ground final rush distance of the nearest enemy and it will land as close to that enemy as possible. If possible it must land on what was at the start of the turn the facing side of that enemy. If it started partially or fully above the nearest enemy unit it will land on the far side of that unit if possible. An airborne unit with a point objective will land when it reaches that objective. If the objective is occupied it will fly as close as possible to the objective then land. During deployment an airborne unit may not be placed over another unit.
CAVALRY Cavalry units consist of soldiers riding on large animals, usually horses, but sometimes drakes or other exotic creatures. All cavalry units are powerful on the charge and get an impact hit to reflect this. Cavalry also move in a looser formation than infantry, giving them some protection from missiles. Some terrain is unusually problematic or advantageous for cavalry, as noted in the terrain’s description in the Terrain section.
Flying units automatically take off when routing and are considered airborne until they are rallied. When a flying unit is rallied, give it the Hold order with the airborne standing order modifier HA. A player may not attempt to create a draw by refusing to land airborne units. Once a player has only airborne units left on the field, he must either seek to engage the enemy at a reasonable
FLYING In addition to its standing order and any standing order
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speed or fly his units off the field (if appropriate to the scenario being played).
LARGE Large units consist of creatures that are significantly bigger than usual. This makes them easier to hit with missile fire. Large units also have more or less difficulty with some terrain than conventionally sized units, as described in the Terrain section.
JAVELINS Some units carry javelins or other ranged weapons that are launched as the unit charges. The Umenzi Javelineers and Ravenwood Centaurs use this rule; more recent units specifically state on the back of their card that they use the Javelin rule. These units make line of sight ranged attacks as normal when unengaged but also get an extra ranged attack during the turn they engage if:
COLOSSAL A colossal unit comes as two cards, with half of the artwork on each card. We recommend taping these cards together using clear tape on the back of the cards. You can then fold along the taped edge to fit the cards back in your deck box.
They final rush that turn, OR They were unengaged at the start of the turn and are engaged on their front by a unit that began the turn out of their range.
The free attack is made at the start of the combat phase (or before free attacks if the javelin unit pinched an enemy unit and it routs) and is treated like a normal ranged attack (meaning only range attack modifiers are used).
If a rule or modifier applies to large units, that rule also applies to colossal units unless it states otherwise. For example, if a unit gets a bonus against large units, it gets the same bonus against a colossal unit. If the rule mentions both types of units like in the Terrain section), apply only the colossal unit rules.
If the target is put into the yellow or into the red by the free ranged attack it will suffer the appropriate penalty during its own engaged attack.
If a colossal unit moving with the Close order has the option to invoke the Fastest path rule, and it chooses to stop right at the edge a non-colossal friendly unit rather than go around, it does one damage to that friendly unit. This rule doesn’t apply if the colossal unit’s movement is capped or it is otherwise unable or unwilling to move far enough to be blocked by the friendly unit.
Units with the javelin rule get no penalty for move and shoot.
PILAS The pila rule is a special case of the javelin rule. When making a pila attack, us the offensive profile of (3)X/6 (where X is the unit’s offensive skill). In all other ways, a pila attack functions like a javelin attack.
If it fails to do at least one damage during an engaged attack (before any damage prevention or redirection effects) it does one damage instead.
Example: If a unit with a pila attack has offensive stats of (5)5/5, its ranged attack stats would be (3)5/6.
It may final rush into any space that would be big enough for a normal unit.
A pila attack is not penalized for a unit being in the red or in the yellow. It is affected normally by all other ranged attack modifiers (command cards, terrain, etc).
If there is insufficient room to fit both cards of the colossal unit, slide the front card under the enemy unit. (This represents the colossal unit standing over small enemies or grappling with large ones). If more room becomes available later, slide the card back out.
SKIRMISHERS Skirmishers are light troops that are generally unsuited to fighting regular infantry or cavalry units. Skirmishers use the same standing orders as other units but with slightly different effects. A skirmisher on Close will only perform a final rush on a nonskirmisher unit if the final rush is on a side other than the enemy unit’s front side. It will ignore that restriction if a final rush results in a pinch of the enemy unit. (Two skirmishers will choose to final rush simultaneously in order to create a pinch).
It is considered to have three center points on its flank (the center of each card and the point where the two cards come together). Enemy units will final rush the nearest of these center points when final rushing this unit’s flank. In the case of two units final rushing the same flank, simply place them so that both cards get the maximum frontage engaged.
If one of the above conditions doesn’t apply, then instead of performing a final rush, move the skirmisher unit normally to get as close to its nearest enemy as possible without engaging.
It does not take rout checks from being pinched, unless the pinching unit is also colossal.
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Skirmishers get and give pinching bonuses to attacks as normal when attacking. However, when determining if a nonskirmisher unit would take a rout check from being pinched, ignore Skirmishing units that are a part of that pinch.
FEARSOME AND TERRIFYING
A skirmisher with the Ranged order will not move into final rush range of an enemy non-skirmisher, provided this does not cause it to miss a ranged attack.
During the courage phase, if a unit was charged by a fearsome or terrifying unit this turn, it must make a fear check with the normal consequences for failure.
Example: a unit of Velites is 8” away from an enemy unit of Libyan Foot. It would move so that it was just out of final rush range of the Libyan Foot.
Units don’t need to make fear checks against units that aren’t any more scary than they are. For example, if a fearsome units is charged by another fearsome unit, it doesn’t make a fear check. Fearsome units do, however, need to make checks when charged by terrifying units.
If an unengaged skirmisher is rushed by a non-skirmisher it automatically routs during the next Courage phase with no check taken. Instead of being subject to free attacks, however, the skirmisher takes one point of damage for each unit that engaged it or two points of damage for each unit that engaged it that has a higher MC than the skirmisher. A skirmisher that can’t leave combat with its rout move is destroyed as normal.
Some units are so massive, weird, horrific, or just have such a bad reputation that normal troops waver when facing them. These units have the fearsome or terrifying keywords.
If a unit that is neither fearsome nor terrifying becomes engaged with a terrifying unit, it takes its fear check at a –2 penalty.
SPELLS Certain factions have units that cast spells or army abilities that are considered spells. In most cases these can be understood easily from the description of the units or army ability in question; these rules cover how spells from different factions interact.
Example: A unit of Caetrati is engaged by a unit of Veteran Equites. It routs, takes two points of damage, and moves directly away from the Equites. Routing skirmishers rally automatically during their controller’s Movement & Command phase, provided there are no enemy units currently eligible to final rush them (i.e. unengaged and within final rush range).
SPELLCASTING ORDER Unless otherwise stated, spells occur during the combat step, at the time the spellcasting unit’s controller is making attacks. Like attacks, you can choose to cast spells at any point during that time. Casting a spell counts as making an attack, so a unit can’t make its normal attack and also cast a spell. Unless the spell description says otherwise, units can’t cast spells while engaged.
SKIRMISHER RECALL During the active player’s Movement & Command phase, a player may spend one command action to have any number of their skirmishers rout voluntarily. This must be done before any skirmishers move. Routing Skirmishers Skirmishers are trained to retreat through other friendly units. If a skirmisher is making a rout move and its movement would cause its front center point to overlap any part of a friendly unit, move the skirmisher to the far side of that unit (or units, if necessary), then it automatically rallies. This does not affect the movement of the other friendly unit. If a skirmisher’s rout movement would cause it to move through a friendly unit and it can’t do so (for example if the friendly unit is up against impassable terrain or the board edge) the routing skirmisher is destroyed. If a skirmisher routs through another friendly non-routing skirmisher, the second skirmisher must take a rout check in the next available courage phase.
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TARGETING SPELLS Spells with the attack keyword work like attacks, and are targeted in the same way as an attack of the appropriate type. Other spells are special; regardless of standing orders, you can target any unit with these spells, within the rules (range, types of targets, etc) for the specific spell. SPELL RANGE Spells with the attack keyword calculate range as appropriate for the type of attack they grant. For other spells, measure from the front center point of the casting unit to any center point of the target unit. Non-attack spells don’t need line of sight, and are unaffected by terrain, front arc considerations, or other obstructions; if the target is in range, the spell can be cast. A few spells have a range of ―battlefield‖; these spells can target any unit (within the specific rules of the spell) regardless of distance or any other considerations.
SPELL KEYWORDS Spells have certain keywords to help determine how they interact with other spells. For the Umenzi and Undead factions, these keywords were not initially printed on the cards, and can be found in section the Errata section. Spells can have any number of these keywords. Blessing and Curse If a spell has the blessing or curse keyword, it gives some kind of persistent beneficial or detrimental effect to the target unit. Indicate this by writing on the unit card with your dry erase marker or placing a token on it. The specific spell rules indicate what benefits or penalties the unit gets, and what causes the token to be removed, if anything. A spell’s blessing or curse takes effect regardless of whether or not the spell hits or damages its target. A unit can have one blessing and one curse at any given time. If a new blessing or curse is applied, the newer one replaces the older one. Healing Spells with the healing keyword typically remove damage from a unit. A unit can only ever be the subject of one healing spell per turn. (This limit applies to all spells with the healing keyword, even if they don’t actually heal any damage). Attack An attack spell gives the unit an alternate way to make an attack. The attack profile is listed in the spell description; if a range () is listed, the spell is a ranged attack, otherwise, it is an attack that is used while engaged. These spells are treated as if the unit had the appropriate stats and was making a normal attack of the appropriate type. Casting an attack spell counts as attacking for the turn, even if the unit also has a conventional attack it could legally use. If a unit has more than one attack option, pick which one to use. A few spells have the attack keyword, but deal direct damage instead of listing an attack profile. Casting such a spell counts as a successful attack that deals the appropriate amount of damage. Thus, a direct damage spell counts as an attack that deals damage for the purposes of command cards and abilities, but doesn’t involve stats or die rolls.
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ERRATA Death Curse An attack spell.
Some factions were printed before the current rules, and as such, have had their rules updated or clarified to be in line with the current rules. These changes are listed below.
An Umenzi unit with the army ability Faith Armor cannot be the target of any healing spell. Nor can the Giant War Elephant.
CORE AND ELITE UNITS The first three factions in the game, the Men of Hawkshold, Orc Army, and Undead Army, predate the release of the Core and Elite rules for army creation (5.2). Because of this, their Core and Elite units aren’t noted on the backs of the cards. Instead, they are listed below.
JAVELIN UNITS Two units, the Umenzi Javelineers (Umenzi Tribesmen) and Centaurs (Elves of Ravenwood) have the Javelin rule, or a close variant thereof, but predate this rule. Their rules are updated in the following two sections.
MEN OF HAWKSHOLD Core Units—Bowmen, Militia, Peasant Mob, Spearmen, Swordsmen Elite Units—Knights, Longbowmen
UMENZI JAVELINEERS Umenzi Javelineers use the Javelin Rule exactly as written for their ranged attack. Use that rule instead of the description on the card.
UNDEAD ARMY Core Units—Ghoul Pack, Skeleton Bowmen, Skeleton Horde, Skeleton Spearmen, Zombies Elite Units—Death Knights, Giant Catapult, Abomination
CENTAURS Centaurs use a special version of the Javelin Rule. Because of their great skill, they get their free javelin attack whenever an enemy unit final rushes their front, even if that unit was already in range of their javelins. In all other ways, the Centaur ranged attack uses the javelin rule.
ORC ARMY Core Units—Goblin Bowmen, Goblin Raiders, Goblin Spearmen, Orc Spearmen, Orc Swordsmen Elite Units—Goblin Bomb-Chucker, Trolls
LOW ARC UNITS Two units, the Dwarven Ballista (Dwarves of Runegard) and High Elf Scorpions (High Elves) have low arc ranged attacks but predate this rule. The low arc rule applies to these units as printed in the Combat section instead of the ranged attack targeting restrictions printed on the back of the card. These units are still unable to move and shoot, and have the same penalties while engaged, rules about faction abilities, and so forth as printed on the back of the card.
OLDER SPELLCASTERS & SPELL ABILITIES Two factions, the Undead Army and the Umenzi Tribesmen, have spellcaster units or abilities that function like spells, but predate the current spellcasting rules (7.8). The updates below bring these factions in line with the current spellcasting rules. UNDEAD ARMY The Undead army ability, Regeneration, is considered a healing spell. Thus, a unit cannot be Regenerated and healed by another spell in the same turn.
INDIVIDUAL CARD ERRATA Some command cards or unit cards have been changed since their initial printing. You can always find the most up-to-date versions of your unit and command cards on our web site.
UMENZI TRIBESMEN Umenzi spells work as follows: Bless A blessing. May only be cast on Umenzi units, not allies or mercenaries.
http://www.yourmovegames.com/pages/battleground_errata
QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK A rules and card FAQ can be found on the battleground pages at www.yourmovegames.com. The Your Move Games team also monitors and provides regular answers on the Battleground forum at the site. Feel free to post rules questions or feedback there.
Hex A curse. Heal A healing spell. May only be cast on Umenzi units, not allies or mercenaries.
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Credits Game Concept: Robert Dougherty Game Design: Robert Dougherty, Chad Ellis Dark Elves Design: Niko White Dark Elves Development: Chad Ellis and Niko White Dark Elves Playtesters: Craig Ambler, Todd Bartel, Noah Bartel, William Butler, James Hovey, Sean McHugh, Mike O’Brien, Randall Shaw, Corey Somavia, Bob Stark, Niko White, Zack Wieler, Chea Willis, Panayiotis Zinoviadis Dark Elves Art: Richard Kitner Jr. Cover Art: Richard Kitner Jr. Graphic Design: Kaile Dutton
Dave Humpherys is a whiter shade of pale elf.
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Turn Sequence
Orders
I. Movement and Command (in any sequence) Change Standing Orders (1AP) Direct Control (1AP) Rally Routing Unit (1AP) Use Army Ability (1AP) Draw Command Card (1AP) Sound the Charge (All APs) Maneuver according to Standing Order II. Pre-Combat Courage sequence Rout Checks (engaged by 2nd enemy) Free Attacks Second Rout Checks (result of Free Attacks) Rout Movement Fear Checks (engaged by fearsome enemy) III. Combat sequence Choose Attackers & Defenders Active Player Attacks (ranged & melee) Non-Active Player Attacks (melee only) Remove Destroyed Units IV. Post-Combat Courage sequence Rout Checks (in the yellow, or any red) Free Attacks Second Rout Checks (in the yellow, or any red) Rout Movement Effect
Notes
Roads
+1MC
Wheeled: +2MC
Forest
-1MC
Wheeled, Large, Colossal -3MC Soft Cover vs Ranged LOS Depth 2.5"
Low Brush
-1MC
Wheeled: -3MC
Shallow Water
-2MC
Large -1MC Colossal No Effect
Deep Water
Impassable
Large: -2MC Colossal: -1 MC May not shoot out of deep water
Very Deep Water
Impassable
Colossal: -2 MC May not shoot out of deep water
River Rapids
Impassable
Large: -3MC Colossal: -2MC May not shoot out of river rapids
Swamp
-2MC
Shoreline
Large: -1MC Colossal: -0 MC, no Cover Wheeled: Impassable Soft Cover vs Ranged High Ground vs Water
Wet Ground
-1MC
Wheeled: -2MC
Sand
-1MC
Wheeled: -2MC
Rough Ground
-1MC
Cavalry -2MC Wheeled -3MC
Very Rough Ground Stakes
-2MC
Cavalry & Wheeled: Impassable
-1MC (into)
Hedge, Fence, Low Walls
-1MC
Hills (uphill)
-1MC
Fortifications
Impassable
Movement Categories Inches 0‖ 1.25‖ 1.75‖ 2.5‖ 3.5‖ 5‖
Large & Colossal: No effect Wheeled: Impassable Soft cover vs non-Large/Colossal Hard Cover
Card Sides ½S ½L S L SS
Inches 6‖ 7‖ 8.5‖ 9.5‖ 10.5‖
Card Sides LS LL LSS LLS LLL
Special Maneuvers About Face
-1MC
Backwards
-2MC
Sideways
-1MC
Reform
-2MC
Unit Status In the Yellow In the Red Frightened
(-1)+0/+0 (-2)+0/+0 (+0)-1/-1
Advantages in Engagements Charging Impact Hits on Charge Flank Attack Rear Attack Pinching (per unit)
(+0)+0/+1 1 Extra Damage Die/Hit (+0)+1/+0 (+0)+1/+1 (+0)+1/+1 cumulative
Disadvantages in Engagements Attacking to your Flank Attacking to your Rear
(-1)+0/+0 (+0)-1/-1
-1 -2
Ranged Combat Modifiers Long Range (7.01‖-14‖) Extreme Range (Over 14‖) Cavalry Target Fast-Moving Target (7‖+) Move and Shoot Engaged Target Large Target Colossal Target
(+0)-1/+0 (+0)-2/+0 (+0)-1/+0 (+0)-1/+0 (+0)-1/+0 (+0)-1/+0 (+0)+1/+0 (+0)+2/+0
Combat Terrain Modifiers High Ground (shooting down) Low Ground (shooting up) Soft Cover Hard Cover
Cavalry: -3MC and -1 MC to move out of Wheeled: Impassable Behind: Soft Cover
High Ground
Hold Close Advance to Maximum Range Advance to Long Range (14‖) Advance to Short Range (7‖) Follow Airborne Modifier: Maximum Move Modifier: Objective
Melee Combat Modifiers
Terrain Type
H C R L S F (A) # #
(+0)+1/+0 2.5‖ closer to target 2.5‖ further away from target (+0)-1/+0 (+0)-2/+0
Battleground: Fantasy Battles Master Reference Sheet for Rules v3.0 Updated from the original by Aron Clark & Brian Miller (2006) Updated by the Schenectady Wargamers Association http://www.swa-gaming.org Hosts of one of the biggest Battleground tournaments in the USA Last update: February 15, 2011
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