Forces of Fantasy - Vol 2 - Fighting Fantasy Battles

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Vol,2.

FIGHTING FANTASY BATTTES

TEXT Richard Priestley & Bryan Ansell ART John Blanche f,2

BOX

Vol 2:- Cover Blanche

Art:- Tony Ackland, Interior lllustrations:- Tony Ackland

and John

with additionai material by Patricia Turner, Nick Bibby, and Charles Elliott.

If you have no GM then you can use method 3 above, but instead of the GM choosing the scenery roll on the chart below to determine the scenic items.

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players are going to fight a fantasy battle then thE first thing they will need is a third person to act as the Games Master (GM) - or Umpire. It is the GMrs responsibility to enforce the rules of the game, and to interpret them where necessary. It is possible to fight a friendly game without a GM - so long as both players are willing to co-operate a little and adopt a reasonable attitude.

ROLL 2 D6.

2 I 4 5 6 7 I 9 10 1l 12

SETTING UP YOUR BATTLEFIELD

It is the GMrs job to set up the field of battle and invent the plot line for the game. This is often the most important part of the entire battle, so it is vital that the GM puts a little thought and imagination into the plot.

will need a fairly large table or area of floor to fight on, 5'x 4' is about the size you will require for a modest game. Having prepared your playing area the GM may then place the model You

He can sel up the seenery entirely at his

own

discretion.

2.

He can set up the table symetrically so that both sides of the table are the same. In this way no advantage is conferred to either side.

3.

He can ask the players to secretly write down how many pieces of scenery they would like on their half of the table (up to a maximum of L item per I' table length). The GM can then apply a plus/minus I modifier and choose the items of scenery himself. The players may then place their own items on their half of the table. Players place their pieces down alternately, first one and then the other, until one runs out of pieces. The player with pieces remaining then places them on the table. Roll a D5 to decide who places the

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Wood 5xx

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Hedge/Watl Pool/Lake 6rtx

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Soft Sand 6nx 6u

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A Wood approximately 6"x 6't. A Hill approximately 5"x 6r'. 15" of Hedge, River or Low Wall A single small building.

Hill

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first piece.

Using this method it is still up to the GM to choose the scenery, so he must still be as fair as possible. Typical items of scenery could be:-

Hill

Areas of the same featune can be combined into larger features if the players wish. For example 2 Woods can be combined to give an area of l2rrx 5tr. The actual shape of the area is up to the player who places the item. No feature can be namower than lil at its narrowest point, except hedges and walls which are always lrr. 2 Hills may be placed on top of each other to give a single hill with steep slopes.

scenery, woods, hills, rivers and buildings. Obviously the scenery available will dictate the extent and type of items you can have. When positioning scenery the GM can adopt one of several policies.

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Grave Yard 6ttx6rt Debris/Ruins 6"x6r' River (and Bridge/Ford) 1 Small Building Bog 6nx 6n

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Rivers must have at least one Bridge or Ford - whieh the GM may position as he sees fit. Rivers must enter and leave the table, they cannot simply sLop!

Example of a table set up for play. Player A has positioned 4 scenic items, and player B f scenic items as indicated.

ADVAT\CED RIJLE - TERRAIN

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HIDDEN MONSTERS

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Players whose troops wander into Lerrain features may run the risk of encounterinq hidden monsters or dangers. Roll on the chart the first time a particular terrain feature is disturbed. !

FEATURE

o/o

WOODS

O].05 SPIDER'S DEN

CHANCE

a

''-

ENCOUNTER 5olo

chance of

entanglement per model. l-l Giant Spiders.

05 O7 BUILDINGS

& RUINS

SCORPION'S LAIR WOLF DEN O8-]-O TREEMEN

I

01-05 RATS 05-07 BEETLES

l-5 Giant. Rats 1-lGiant Beetles -

Giant Scorpion l-5 Pack Wolves

l-2 Treemen. D5

1-2 STAG ]-4 CARRION 5-5 WEEVIL chance of f alling masonry in areas with

50olo

Weevils.

08-09 SPIDER DEN

10

HAUNTED

5olo chance of entanglement per model.

l-l Giant Spiders I Ghost

HILL

O1-05 BARROW

1 Wight, Inactive in daytime. I Randomly generated Enchanted Weapon inside.

RIVER/

01-05 FROGS

I-1 Giant Frogs

BRIDGE

06

TROLL

I Troll

POOL/BOG

0]-05

FROGS

I-5 Giant Frogs

GRAVE

YARD

05-09 FISHMAN LAIR

l-5 Menf ish

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HAUNTED

01-05 RATS 05-10 HAUNTED 11-14 HAUNTED

15

HAUNTED

Spectre

I-5 Giant Rats

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Ghouls Ghost

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Games Maslers who have set up their own battlef ields and scenarios may wish to construct their own encounters, and can control lhe actions of the monsters and characters.

For example you could have a scenario in which Imperial forces clash with a Rebel army in a small border town. The Games Masler could decide Lhat. some of the townsfolk will stay behind and

defend their properLy against pillage and occupation....by either side. In this case lhe Games Master plays the part of the townies as they leap out from behind hedgerows, launch household rubbish out of house windows and generally make a nuisance of themselves.

DEPLOYMENT

ET{GINES OF WAR

Once all of the scenery is in place play can begin. If the Games Master has worked out the plot beforehand then he can tell the players where they may set up their pieces. For instancel in a game in which Malin Ironhide, the Dwarf, is besieging a Goblin Fortress the Games Master could say, - Goblins can set up anywhere within the Fortress and Dwarfs anvwhere on the table but no closer than l2rrto the Fortress.

In a straight encounter game belween two players any army may have I engine of war, paid for at Lhe points indicabed and crewed by an appropriated number of infantry types paid for separately. In special games involving fortresses and other seige equipment

In a straight encounter game each player may set up his troops within his half of the table and within 6" of his starting edge. An example of a table top set out for battle could look like t,his.

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to allow players extra engines as they

Dwarfs and Orcs are an exception in thal any Orc or Dwarf Battalion may have up to 3 bolt-throwing and I stone-throwing engine at the points indicated. Crew must be paid for separately.

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Movement. The engine can be manhandled by the crew of J at 1tl per turn - but is normally set up somewhere near the rear and not moved during the battle. If crew should be killed or lost then you may move at lrr per crew member. Engines move only in the first Movemenl Phaser they never get to move in the Second Movement

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BOLT TFIROWING ENGINES

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Games Masters may decide

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first player A places a unit, and lhen Player B places on one of his units, and so on. As an alternative both players may make a rough map of the baLtlefield and their initial dispositions. Once both players have marked down where all their units are going they may place them on the table in accordance with the maps. In this way you have to try to work out Players may place units on alternately,

To reload the device the crew must remain stationary durinq the entire turn - they may not move and fire.

Firing. The engine may fire once during the active players Shooling Phase. When firing Engines of War use the Bow Skill (BS) and Initiative (I) given for the Engine. Characters who have Engineering as a Skill may instead use their highest Skill (be it WS or BS) and Initiative Level. In any army there may be one Engineer as part of the crew of one engine, and all of the crew benefit from his knowledge and good advice. This allows for specialist characters to be more effective with Engines - but stops characters who just happen to be good with Bows etc from instantly knowing how to operate the heavy equipment.

To fire first select your target. Throw 'To Hit' as normal - if you hit your target then the velocity and power of the bolt is so great that it causes ID5 'Hitsr on the model slruck. Roll to see how many hits you have caused. The Strerqth of the hit is 5 at short range and 4 at long range. If your target has a Saving Throw remember to modify the score for being attacked by weapons with high St,rengLh Grade hits.

If the bolt slays the model hit Ehen it will go straight through and hit any figure stood in a second rank behind the first. The Strength of the attack is reduced by one level for each rank pierced in this way, but any number of ranks may be pierced. Range

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where your opponent is going lo place his troops and out guess him.

Long

To conLinue our example Player A made a rough sketch map of his

Points cost is 30 points plus the cost of crew

disoositions as follows.

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Close Combat. The Engine itself has a nominal Toughness (T) of C, and can take 2 Wounds (W) -just in case someone should want to

aclually try to destroy it. The Engine cannot be aLtacked by shooting. It can be rhacked and dismantledr in close combat.

The crew will have their own normal character profile, WS, BS etc, and can abandon lhe Engine anytime they like. If the Engine should be attacked lhe crew may fight hand-to-hand with close combat weapons. The crew may be shot at by enemy missilemen, the Engine counts as soft cover.

If a crewman should be killed then another ordinary figure may take his place. If this is not possible then the Engine may still fire but must roll a dice (Oe) to determine whether the Engine is ready. Number of Crew

Player A indicates where he is to place each Regiment

Score needed on D5 to fire that turn

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Firing is automatic

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If the crew

has an Engineer leading it then various sorts of special missile may be fired, such as flaming pitch bolts.

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Turning to face a targel counts as movement

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Arc of fire for bolt-throwing engines

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1|" radius cardboard circle. You can easily make these up

STONE THROWING ENGINES

using

any card you might have, use the design and instructions given.

These War Engines have a counter-weighted arm

for hurling

rocks

at any enemy foolish enough to be in the way. The Engine may fire once per turn during your Shooting Phase. Maximum range is 48", Minimum range is l8t'. The machine cannot fire at troops under L8t' away, although it is possible to hit troops within this distance if you should happen to miss your target and undershoob.

Place the effect template with the center directly over your target point. Now throw to determine how accurate your shot is. Roll a D6 for over shoot in inches - move the template as indicated. Now

roll a D5 for undershoot in the

same

way. Now roll a D5 for left

deviation in inches. Lastly roll a D6 for right deviation in inches. Now you know exactly where your shot has landed.

h4ovement. The Engine can be moved along by means of the crew pushing. This distance moved is always lrt for each crew member. The maximum speed possible is 6". Engines 11ry get a move in [he secondary Movement Phase. You may finish the Movement Phase by turning the Engine to face the direction you desire. If you lurn

the engine more that 45o then you may not fire that turn. Otherwise if you move you may be able to fire. If you move the engine at all, including turning it about' then their is a chance it wonrt be relaoded in time to fire. Roll a D5. Irzrt and you may not

fire that turn.

4r515 and you may

fire as normal.

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D6rerrdeviation

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{-t D5

undersho",

of the bulkiness and general difficulty in moving the Engine it can easily become bogged down . Roll a D5 at the beginning of the turn. If the score is a I then the maehine has Because

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D5 overshoot

D5 right deviation

roll a D5 and deduct that number of inches from the move that turn. Next turn the machine is automatically free but must roll to see if it is bogged down again.

bogged down,

Firirg. You must have at least J crew in order to fire the engine. 2 crew may fire if they roll a 41516 on a D5. f crewman may fire if he scores a 5 on a D5. Ordinary troops may be 'drafted in to make up a crew if necessary. To fire your Engine firstly nominate your target point. This can be any point visible to the crew, or the middle of a formation which the crew can see. The target point must be within the f8r'-48" range band, and must lie within the 45o firing arc of the War Engine.

Every model whose base is either wholly or partly underneath the effect template may be hit. Roll a D6.

Ir2r3

The model manages

to

get, out

of the way -

no damage.

41516 The model is struck by the rock

and debris.

Large models are less agile and so more likely to be hit. Creatures add I to the dice. Creatures over I0rtall with 5 or more wound points add 2.

over l0'tall

Each model struck receives J-D) Strength 5 hits. Dice 'To Kill' as appropriate. Take any Saving Throws, remembering to save against

each wound/kill caused. Saving Throws have a -2 modifier for Strength 5 attacks.

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Combat. With most of these engines, such as the Orc War l4achine Crewmen may be attacked in eombat or shot at. Large engine' count as hard cover for Eheir crew. If all of the ctew are killed in close combat then the victors may attempt to topple over the Engine thus destroying it. Roll a D6 add 1 per Strength Level of the troops involved, if Lhe score is 5 or more the machine is pushed over and wrecked. If the attackers have a Strength Level of less than 4 then at least 4 men are required to try to push over an Engine.

The strueture of the engine may only be attacked by creatures,

engines or magic with a Slrength Attack of 4 or more. Every time a rKill' is caused roll a D5 - a seore of 5 will topple over the engine and destroy it.

The Ral Partha Goblin War Machine has a special armour plate which prevents the crew being shot at from lhe front, or attacked frontally in combat. In hand-to-hand combat the crew of the Goblin War Machine may attempt to push the spiked wheels and armoured skull over any enemy. This counts as 1D5 attacks with a Weaponskill of f and Strength Attack of 4. Opponents may only go on to atLack the crew if they actually succeed in pushing the War Machine back, and may then fight an extra combat round that turn. Only troops with a Strength of 4+ may attack an engine rather than the crew. All troops pushing, fighting from and operating the Engine counl as being behind hard cover . If crewmen are killed then the speed of the machine will drop, and f iring may be restricted, but ordinary troopers may be drafted in to make up the

They attack at the Strength indicated. Chariots with scythes I additional attack per scythe at the Strength indicated. If the chariot is pulled by creatures who would norrnally receive an independant attack, sueh as wolves, then they may try to attack as receive

well. They have a 5096 chance of being able to attack.

A Chariot ean take a fixed number of rKills' - and is then useless out and fight on foot. A Chariot can take 5 Kills before it is out of action. and the crew must pile

Everytime a Hit is scored on the chariot throw to rKill' as normal. Everytime a Kill is scored there is a chance that some vital damage has been caused - Roll a D5. If the score is 6 then some sort of damage has occured, roll a D6 again and consult the chart below.

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numbers.

The Goblin War Machine is a really fearsome huge Engine of War designed mainly for attacking the walls and ramparts of fortresses. The Engine features a vast bestial ram at the front. When battering down doors count the Strength as lhe total of all of the Slaves pushing the Engine all x 2. So a full crew of 6 pushers would exert 6xZ = LZ Strength. This should be enough to break down even an Extra-Heavy Door - roll a D5 per Turn, requiring a 4 to break in

the door. Normal doors are just swepl aside automatically

2

Orc War Machine Goblin War Machine

l8-48n 5 18-48[ 5

E E

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Goblin War Machine:- In eombat has D6 Attacks, WS J,

A wheel eomes off - roll a D5 to decide which Lr2r3 LefL,4,5,5 Right. The chariot must keep

turning 90o to the left/right

or

stop

altogether.

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and

Heavy Doors are broken in on the score of a 2.

Range Strength ToughnessWounds

One of the animals drawing the Chariot has - deduct 2rt from the Speed and I from the Strength of Ehe Chariot. If all the animals are killed the chariot may not move. been killed

Initiative

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The reins are severed - you can no longer control the beasts, roll to determine speed and direction of travel. Roll IDIO for speed. Move the chariot where you actually want it to go and then roll a D6 for Left deviation and a D6 for Right deviation. The axle snaps - Bhe chariot crunches to a halt. Skid D4". You may attack any troops contacted during the skid.

S 4.

The chariot pole snaps and the animals pulling it charge and attack the nearest enemy. The body of the chariot slides to an ignominious rest - leaving the crew in a state of stationary embarrassment.

Points cost is I20 points for the Orc and I80 points for the Goblin engine. Crew are paid for separately.

Capturirg Ergircs. If all of the crew should be killed then the victors may capture an Engine rather than destroy it. Engines can be pushed away, but may not be used by normal troops. Captured engines may be used only under the direct supervision of a

The animals go Berserk - charginq and attacking the nearest troops - friend and foe alike, goring and biting insanely. All you can do is hang on, apologise to friends getting killed and try to regain control. Roll a D5 in the Rout phase - if you score a 6 you have

character with Ergineering Skill.

If a character with Engircerirg Skill is available as part of your crew then the Engine may fire more accurately. Roll as normal to determine tovershoott, rundershoot', trightt and tleft devialionr; but if you should throw a 5 count it as 5 instead.

regained control.

CI-IARIOTS

Some armies, and

a few Heroes, are permitted to ride chariots;

DESCRIPTION

[hese come under the special rules given here.

Movement. Chariots are of two kinds LIGHT and HEAVY. Liqht Chariots may have no more than 2 Crew, one of whom is the driver. Heavy Chariots are built to carry in excess of 2 crew members. No mat,ter which kind of creature is pulling the chariot the move rate is 5'r for Heavy Chariots and 7" for Light Chariots. The only exception is creatures whose move is normally less than 7 or 5 inches, in which case the chariot may move no faster than the

HEAVY CHARIOT LIGHT CHARIOT Scythes (2)

Ws

5 7

3 3

4

t

3

Bs 5 4

POINTS

w D 5 D 5

A 3 5

t

D' D3

40+Crew J0+Crew

2

l0

If the creatures pulling have their own attack then full

points must be paid for bhem.

creature.

Combat. The crew of a Chariot will have all the normal 'profile'W5, BS, Strength etc - as if they were ordinary foot figures. The Chariotrs crew will still have their normal number of wound points, and these are recorded separately from damage on the chariot.

PROFILE M

tvlwntirg/dismanntirg. Any crew may get. on or off the chariot as part of their normal move. It takes half of your movement to do so, provided that the chariot is moving no faster than 2" durinq that move phase. If the chariot is going fasler then you can still iry to get off, but take I automatic Strength 2 hit as you bounce off the floor.

In combat the driver may not attack, the rest of the crew may strike as normal and may strike all round lhe chariot. When a chariot is fired on or enqaged in combat, its opponent must strike against the chariot - rnt against bhe crew. The chariot itself causes a random number of attacks as the animals pulling it stamp and gore and bite, and the chariot careers about trampling and

pulverising the unfortunate enemy. Roll the dice indicabed on the Attacks for the chariot - most chariots have l-f attacks (* a D5).

Frenzy and Fear. where animals are subjected to Frenzy or Fear the Games Master should take a hand and decide what shoulC happen. Frenzied animals can act like 6 above - attacking and moving randomly whilst the crew hang on for dear life. Animals subject to Fear or Terror could try to get away from the source of what is frightening them, or they could just go wild and move in a random manner. It is up to the Games Master to apply common sense here. If in doubt determine randomly.

DESTROYING FORTIFICATIONS AND BUILDING5

When you have played Warhammer a few times, and you are familiar with the methods of play, you might wish to introduce fortifications and buildings into youn games. This really adds a whole new dimension and can form the basis for a scenario - with one side trying to defend a village or fort and lhe other side trying to destroy it.

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Buildings and fortif ications may be damaged by hits with a Strength Attack of 5 or more, but not less. Large creatures or monsters may try to pull buildings or walls apart if their Strength is 5 or more, they have as many Attacks as normal and hit automatically. Before your llame decide how may 'Kills' each of your buildings is going to have. A typical cottage type building could have J Kills' a small shed I Kill, a stone building 5 Kills. Walls and large buildings should be done in sections, with each 4" section having a fixed number of Kills - usually 5 for a stone wall.

All buildings

have a Toughrcss of F. Stone walls andbuildings have a 5,5 Saving Throw against each Kill caused. Wooden stockades and improvised barricades have a Toughness of E.

Kills scored against buildings must be recorded. When lhe building has suffered its full amount of Kills it is destroyed, or that section of wall falls down. Troops either inside or on top of f alling buildings automatically receive I Killr with normal Saving Throws.

You might wish to have special destroyed models of your buildings and wall sections. Alternatively you ean use pieces of black card to place over fallen walls, or on top of destroyed buildings.

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FIRE WEAPONS

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Buildings may also be damaged by fire.

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