Tusk

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TUSK (pdf edition) Contents Basic Scenarios

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Introduction

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Scales and basing

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The hunt

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Basic rules

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The king is dead

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Hunting parties

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Prehistoric beasts

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Turn sequence

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Brontosaurus

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Action points

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Tyrannosaurus rex

Fire

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Movement

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Gun and artillery fire

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Missile combat

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Victorian adventure scenarios

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Close combat

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Specimens

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Beast reaction

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Escape from island x

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Terrain effects

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Victorian adventures

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Miniatures

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Acknowlegements

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Credits Written by: Matthew Hartley Photos: Steve Blease Miniatures: 15mm Tusk range from Irregular Miniatures Thanks to: Ian Kay for agreeing to the idea of a PDF edition.

TUSK (pdf edition), all rules, text, graphic and photos are © Wessex Games 2009. TUSK (original edition), © Irregular Miniatures 1994. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publisher. This publication is sold subject to the following conditions: 1. It shall not be by way of trade or otherwise be lent, resold or hired out or in otherwise circulated without the publishers prior permission in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it was published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. 2. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording scanning or otherwise without prior permission of the publishers. Published 2009 by Wessex Games Remember – illegal copying is theft and every penny you steal from us by doing it, impacts another project we are working on for wargamers.

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TUSK (pdf edition) Introduction

All human and dogs bases should be of the same dimension and the beasts should be based on a base as appropriate for the model.

Tusk is a fun simulation of mammoth hunting during the late Stone Age. It can be played either as a solo game or multiplayer with any number of players.

Basic rules The basic rules allow for games of mammoth hunting by Stone Age hunters.

Each player represents the leader of a hunting faction within a tribe, and as such will control spear- and bow-armed hunters, hunting dogs, and those mysterious individuals who have harnessed flame - the Firemakers.

Hunting parties Each player has a certain number of points to "spend" on building his particular hunting faction. Points are spent buying bases of different types. The points costs vary according to base type:

Players determine amongst themselves the terrain and objectives of each game (although examples have been included in the rules), so no game need be the same as the last.

Hunters with spears/axes Hunters with bows/slings Firemakers Og the Hero Dogs

Additional rules are included for "fantasy" games allowing players to hunt Brontosaurus and Tyrannosaurus Rex, as well as for firearms, so players can recreate scenes from the Victorian Science Fiction novels of H G Wells and such movie classics as The Land That Time Forgot.

2 3 4 3 1

There are no limits on the mix of bases in any hunting party. Hunters can either enrage or, possibly, kill outright their prey. Dogs merely enrage, whereas Firemakers can make fire which scares the beasts and could herd, entrap, and kill them.

Scales and basing These rules have been written for use with 15mm or 6mm scale figures. Official Tusk miniatures are produced by Irregular Miniatures in both scales.

Og the Hero represents individuals who are desperate to prove their courage or, alternatively, have had a few too many "magic" mushrooms....They either kill their quarry with a single blow or get stomped on in the process.

Clearly marked card counters can be used as a substitute for figures (but that wouldn’t be as much fun!).

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TUSK (pdf edition) Turn sequence The game is played in a series of turns. Within these turns events unfold in a particular order: i) Fire progresses ii) Players roll 1d6 for Action Points. iii) Hunters move. iv) Firemakers light fires v) Hunters with slings/bows shoot vi) Hunters with spears/axes fight vii) Beasts roll on their reaction tables. viii) Fire deaths.

At the beginning of every turn, use directional dice to determine wind direction.

Action points

All existing Fire markers are flipped over to their Burned Out side and new Fire markers are placed adjacent to them in the same direction as the wind.

Action Points indicate how much control you have over your hunting party. Each player rolls 1d6per turn to discover his Action Point allowance for that turn.

Additionally, fire spread is determined by rolling once for each fire on the table below:

Action Points allow you to move bases (1 point per base), increase the movement distance of some bases, and make Firemakers light fires (for 1 point).

1 or 2 3 or 4 5 or 6

In multiplayer games, Action Points not used for movement are used to determine who attacks first in combat. Action Points cannot be stored from one turn to the next, and are diced for again each turn.

Fire goes out. Fire marker flipped over. Fire remains. No fire spread. Fire spreads. Place one additional marker adjacent to the existing fire marker in the direction determined by the wind.

Fires may not move across areas which are already Burned Out or on to water, or marshes or over cliffs. A Fire marker may partially occupy a Burned Out, water, marsh, or cliff edge area, but only the part of the marker not over such areas will be considered as harmful for reaction, movement and killing purposes.

Fire Fire is represented in this game using 2½ cm square card markers. Each counter should be marked on one side Fire and on the other Burned Out.

Any base that is on a Fire marker at the end of a turn is destroyed and removed from play.

Fire can only be produced by Firemakers. Firemakers can produce fire on turns on which they did not move and their controlling player has spent one Action Point on them, if they roll a 5 or 6 on a 1d6. If the roll succeeds, the player can place a 2½ cm square Fire marker anywhere adjacent to the Firemaker base, except on an area with a Burnt Out marker on, or containing either humans or dogs.

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TUSK (pdf edition)

Movement

On a roll of 12 the beast is killed outright, otherwise it is eligible to roll on the missile attack column of its reaction table in the beast reaction phase.

Any base in a hunting party which has an Action Point spent on it may move in a turn. Beasts may move, according to a reaction die roll.

If bases from two or more different hunting parties are shooting at the same beast, then the base whose leader has the most remaining Action Points goes first (roll a die to decide ties).

In a multiplayer game the player with the most Action Points moves first (roll a die again to determine the order of ties).

Close combat

Different bases have different movement speeds: Humans (all types) Dogs Mammoths

A base of hunters armed with spears/axes can attack a beast within 2cm or less of any part of its base.

5cm per turn 15cm per turn 8cm per turn

Each base should roll 2d6. On a roll of 10, 11, or 12 the beast is killed outright, otherwise it is eligible to roll on the close combat column of its beast reaction table in the beast reaction phase.

Humans and dogs can move up to another 5cm in a turn if 1 additional Action Point is spent on them. Movement can be in any direction but cannot take a base over a cliff edge or through a fire marker. Water features can be designated as impassable if so desired.

If bases from two or more different hunting parties are in close combat with the same beast then the base belonging to the leader with the most action points goes first.

Missile combat A base of hunters armed with spears/slings can attack a beast within 10cm or less of any part of its base. Each base should roll 2d6.

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TUSK (pdf edition) Og the Hero rolls only 1d6 when within 2cm of a beast. On a roll of 4, 5, or 6 the beast is killed, otherwise Og is removed as a casualty. Irrespective of other results, the beast rolls 2d6. On a roll of 8 or more, a randomly determined base within 2cm of the beast is killed and removed from play. This roll is made even if none of the bases within 2cm have attacked the beast.

Beast reaction The reaction table conditions are read from left to right and the roll is made on the first applicable column:

Beasts are not controlled by players but by a preset reaction table. Each beast is rolled for only once per turn on the reaction table. Score 1 2 3 4 5 6

Fire < 7cm W W F F PF PF

Close Combat A A A W F PF

Dogs < 2cm G G A A W W

Missile Combat A A W F F PF

Humans 12cm G G G G W W

Terrain effects

W (Withdraw): move 1/2 maximum movement (rounded down) away from nearest human, dog or fire base, avoiding marshes, water or cliff edges. Must end movement no closer to any human base than it started. If this is impossible then the beast has an Attack result.

Water and marshes half movement for all bases.

F (Flight): move maximum movement distance away from the nearest human, dog or fire base. Movement avoids cliff edges and must end no closer to any base than it started. If this is impossible then the beast has an Attack result.

Cliffs and pits are fatal to anything that falls in or over them.

Beasts become stuck in marshes and therefore humans add 2 to Close Combat rolls against beasts in marshes.

All other terrain enhances the visual appearance of the game but does not affect play.

PF (Panic Flight): move maximum movement distance directly (180 degrees) away from nearest human, dog, or fire base. Any human or dog base in the way of the fleeing beast is trampled to death. If the beast crosses a fire marker it is killed. A (Attack): move maximum distance towards nearest human or dog base. G (Graze): move 1cm in a random direction (determined as per wind direction), avoiding water, marshes, cliff edges, or human or dog bases.

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TUSK (pdf edition) Basic scenarios

This is the basic solo game which pits one hunting party against a single mammoth.

Here are two basic scenarios for Tusk, the first for solo play, the second for a multiplayer game. Players should feel free to design their own scenarios.

Each game should take roughly 30 minutes to play. The player has 10 points to build his hunting party. The 60cm square play area should be set up as indicated below.

The hunt

The mammoth should be placed in the centre of the area. The bases of the hunting party can enter from any direction. The game ends when either the Mammoth is killed, or all the hunting party is dead, or the mammoth moves off the play area.

The king is dead The tribal leader has died and the players are vying to replace him. The leader who proves his worth by having his hunting party kill the most mammoths out of a small herd will become the next chief.

There should be twice as many, plus 1, mammoths as there are players.

Each player has 15 points to build his hunting party.

The mammoths are placed in the centre of the 120cm square play area.

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TUSK (pdf edition)

Prehistoric beasts

Hunting parties can enter the play area from any direction but all the bases in a party must enter at the same point. If a mammoth dies from falling into a pit or off a cliff, or from fire, the leader with the nearest human base to the beast at place of death counts the kill of that beast. If a mammoth moves off the play area it is considered out of the game.

Whilst we all know that cavemen and dinosaurs did not exist at the same time, the idea is so rooted in Hollywood lore that it cannot be ignored, so here are the dinosaur reaction tables for the herbivorous Brontosaurus and the carnivorous Tyrannosaurus Rex. Players should feel free to invent their own reaction tables for their favourite dinosaur.

These games can be easily varied by altering terrain, beasts, or points to build up the hunting parties.

Brontosaurus Score 1 2 3 4 5 6

Fire < 7cm W F F F F PF

Close Combat A A W W F PF

Dogs < 2cm G G A W W F

Missile Combat A W W F F PF

Humans 12cm G G G G G W

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TUSK (pdf edition) Tyrannosaurus Rex Score 1 2 3 4 5 6

Fire < 7cm W W W F F F

Close Combat A A A A W W

Dogs < 2cm G G A A A A

The maximum move distance of a Brontosaurus is 6cm per turn, and 8cm for a Tyrannosaurus Rex. These beasts can be introduced into the basic scenarios, replacing mammoths on a one-for-one basis

Humans 12cm G G G G G A

Adventurers are the starring characters. They all carry guns and can act as Firemakers. Stalwarts are brave regular soldiers or sailors, or lesser big game hunters. They all carry guns.

Victorian adventures

Rabble are native porters, scared soldiers or terrified citizenry and even if carrying firearms they are too scared to use them. They fight in close combat as per hunters with spears/axes but with a - 2 on their die roll (so they need to roll 12 to get a kill).

All the basic rules apply. There are however some more base types with their own points cost: Adventurers Stalwarts Rabble Sir Harry Artillery

Missile Combat A A A W W F

6 4 1 3 8

Sir Harry is the Victorian equivalent to Og the Hero, and the same rules apply.

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TUSK (pdf edition)

Determined to take at least one living specimen back to England, you have a couple of net-lined pits dug. Now all you need do is entice the beasts into the trap.

Artillery represents anything from a Gatling machine gun to a 7-pounder mountain howitzer to a submarine’s automatic cannon. Artillery moves 2cm per turn and cannot fire in the turn it moves.

You have 12 points to construct your hunting party. Remember you want to try to capture the creatures alive in the pits. If the base of a beast partly or wholly covers a pit the beast is taken to have fallen in and been successfully captured.

Gun and artillery fire Guns have a range of up to 12cm, artillery of up to 20cm. Distances are measured as per normal missile combat.

The 60cm square play area should be set up as indicated below, three beasts should be placed in the centre of the area. Any three beasts can be used, but I recommend starting with Brontosaurus.

Guns kill beasts on a roll of 10, 11, or 12. Artillery rolls 1d6 and kills on a roll of 5 or 6. Beasts shot at by guns or artillery are eligible to roll on the fire reaction column with a +2 on the die roll, treating the closest shooting base as the nearest base for determining Panic Flight results.

Victorian adventure scenarios Here are a solo and a multiplayer scenario using the new base types and new rules above.

Specimens

Escape from island x

You lead a party working for the Natural History Museum, London. During your exploration of the Peruvian jungle, you come across a small herd of extraordinary creatures.

HMS Unconquerable with her passengers - all leading members of the Great Britain and Empire Archeological and Exploratory Society,

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TUSK (pdf edition) The player who evacuates the most bases from his party wins the game.

is anchored off a small island somewhere in the South Pacific. The discoveries by the eminent explorers of supposedly extinct creatures would have electrified the scientific communities in Europe, however their visit has coincided with an upsurge in volcanic activity that threatens to destroy the island. As the very ground shudders beneath their feet, the different parties of researchers and their escorts must flee back to the ship.

Miniatures Irregular Miniatures, publishers of the paper edition of Tusk, also produce two ranges of supporting white metal miniatures in 15mm and 6mm scales. Their website is: www.irrgeularminiatures.co.uk

Unfortunately, their path is blocked by an agitated herd of Tyrannosaurus Rex!

Whilst the miniatures in this PDF edition are based individually, there is no reason why you cannot base your figures in groups as Nick Whittock has done here. After all, a base is a base in the rules, regardless of how many cavemen or Victorian explorers are on it.

Each player must lead his party to shore to be picked up by the Unconquerable. Each player has 15pts to build his party. The 120cm by 60cm play area should be set up as shown below. The players can start anywhere in the area indicated, the Tyrannosaurus, twice as many as the number of players, start half way between the players and the shore.

Acknowledgements Okay, so who have I pinched mechanisms from ? Mostly from Jim Webster, from his excellent Sci-Fi rules Hellfire and Hell By Starlight (published by Wessex Games), but also from Phil Barker and Richard Bodley Scott' ground breaking De Bellis Antiquitatis (published by the Wargames Research Group). Any glitches in the game are, of course, my responsibility.

The two artillery bases on the Unconquerable will fire every turn at the nearest beast within range. On the fire progress phase of each turn roll 2d6, if a score of 10, 11, or 12 is rolled the Island is in imminent danger of destruction and the players have 6 turns after the current to evacuate bases. Any base which reaches the shore is assumed to have been rescued, bases not evacuated after the time has expired are left to an unpleasant fate as the Unconquerable is forced to abandon them.

If you are interested in Victorian Science Fiction or "alternative" games like Tusk, you should join the Society of Fantasy and Science Fiction Wargamers. Please visit www.sfsfw.org for more details. Matthew Hartley July 1994

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