The tank was first used to its full capability during World War II and formed an important strength of the armies of all the major combatants. Tanks are fast moving, heavily armed and almost impervious to regular infantry arms. As well as these powerful fighting machines all manner of vehicles were employed during the fighting, including trucks, jeeps and armoured carriers. With the advances of Rift-Tech, more advanced fighting vehicles are now joining the battle, including walkers capable of more agile manoeuvrability than tanks, particularly in difficult terrain.
This section deals with a different type of unit – vehicles – including jeeps, trucks, armoured cars, assault guns, tanks and mechanised walkers. Before looking at the role of vehicles in depth, we shall briefly discuss how the various rules already given differ in respect to vehicles. In all other respects the rules for vehicles and infantry are the same.
Different vehicles have different damage values, carry different kinds of weapons and may have specific abilities relating to the kind of vehicles – for example, trucks and armoured carriers can transport troops, tractors and some other vehicles can tow guns, and so on. These specific details are covered in the Army Lists.
Vehicle units always consist of a single model, a tank, a walker, a truck, and so on. All vehicle units have a crew sufficient to operate them, although it is reasonable to simply assume these are present where necessary. We do not take separate account of the crew; once their vehicle is destroyed they are considered to be out of action as well.
Vehicle models do not normally have a base so most distances are measured to and/or from the hull of the model itself. When shooting with the vehicle’s armament measure from the muzzle of the weapon fired. Note that this does confer a minor advantage to tanks and tank destroyers armed with especially long barrelled guns – a fair reflection of reality!
For general purposes what a vehicle can see is determined from the position of its crew or, in the case of a tank or similar vehicle where the crew are concealed, from the commander’s cupola atop the turret, or wherever the usual vision slits or periscopes are positioned on the hull.
When shooting with vehicle-mounted armament the line of fire is worked out by sighting as closely as possible along the barrel of the weapon fired.
Although players often like to model their armoured vehicles with the commanders and other crew exposed – as this makes for a very attractive feature – we do not penalise crews that would normally be safe and secure inside their tank, armoured car, and so forth. We will assume that crews withdraw into their vehicles and close any hatches as they go into combat. So, in the case of such vehicles ignore any exposed crew models when it comes to working out what can be seen – they retreat inside their tank or other armoured vehicle.
German Spinne Light Panzermech
With the exception of Down orders as noted below, vehicles are given orders in the same way as infantry. Exactly how the different orders apply to vehicles is covered below, but the basic procedure is the same as already described for infantry.
A vehicle cannot be given a Down order or reaction because it obviously can’t ‘get down’ in the same way as an infantryman. Instead we reserve the Down face of the orders die to indicate a vehicle that is halted and unable to make any further action that turn for whatever reason. This is all that the Down marker represents in the case of a vehicle. A vehicle that is marked Down does not received any of the benefits otherwise described for infantry units with the same marker.
Vehicles that fail an order are marked Down to show that they are halted that turn. If they have pin markers they must first move away from the enemy to their front before going Down as noted below.
Vehicles can conduct the full range of reactions with the exception of Down. They are subject to all the normal procedures including receiving pin markers for failed reaction tests.
Fully-enclosed armoured vehicles, such as most armoured cars, walkers, and tanks, cannot be pinned by hits from small-arms.
The effects of heavy weapons hits on fully-enclosed armoured vehicles depend on the quality of the vehicle’s crew – untrained crew are spooked by anything that engages their tank, while more experienced men learn how to distinguish impacts from different weapons and react accordingly.
Fully-enclosed inexperienced vehicles receive a pin marker every time they are hit by an enemy unit firing a heavy weapon (or any other attack that has a Pen value of at least +1), regardless of whether the hit can actually damage the vehicle or not.
Fully-enclosed veteran vehicles are not pinned by hits that are not powerful enough to damage them. They can only be pinned by hits from heavy weapons, and other attacks with a Pen value, that are powerful enough to potentially cause damage on the vehicle (after applying all Pen modifiers).
Therefore, if you score a hit with a Pen value of at least +1 against a veteran vehicle, work out whether the hit can actually damage the target or not (after adding all relevant modifiers). If it cannot, then it bounces off its armour, causing no pinning whatsoever. If your shot can actually damage the target, then place a pinning marker on it and proceed to roll to damage it as normal.
A Soviet Cossack Light Walker stands guard as the Red Army advances.
In other words, if you roll to damage a veteran vehicle, but fail to equal or beat its armour, at least you get the consolation of placing a pin marker on it!
Example: A Stuart tank scores a hit with its light anti-tank gun against the front of an enemy veteran Tiger I (Damage value 10+). The Pen value of the Stuart’s gun is +4, but the shot is at long range, so the Pen suffers a –1 modifier, making it +3. As the maximum result the Stuart’s shot can reach is 9 (rolling a 6 and adding 3), which cannot even equal the Tiger’s front armour – this means that no pinning marker is placed. If the shot had been in short range, or the Stuart had been shooting at the Tiger’s side armour (or both!), the shot would immediately cause a pin marker and then the player would roll to see whether it managed to damage the Tiger.
Note that if a weapon/rule applies pin markers automatically or does not have a known Pen value, then the pin markers are inflicted normally, even on veteran vehicles.
Example: If a veteran vehicle with Damage value 10+ was the subject of an air strike, it would automatically receive D3–1 pin markers at the start of the air strike sequence, like all units around it. However, when the type of plane and consequently the Pen value of its attacks are determined, the vehicle might be immune to the additional pin markers if the Pen value of the attack was unable to damage it.
Fully-enclosed regular vehicles hit by attacks with a Pen value of at least +1 will randomly behave either as an inexperienced or a veteran – every time they are hit by such attacks, the controlling player rolls a die. On a result of 1–3, treat them as inexperienced and place a pin on them regardless of the hit’s chances of damaging them. On a result of 4+, treat them as veteran and place a pin on them only if the hit is powerful enough to damage them, and then roll for damage as normal.
Open-topped armoured vehicles such as carriers, some armoured cars, many tank destroyers and most mobile artillery are pinned by hits from small arms in the same way as soft-skins and infantry.
A pinned vehicle is treated somewhat differently to a pinned artillery or infantry unit. A pinned vehicle must still take an order test to attempt an action, but if this is failed and if the vehicle has visible enemy to its front arc it must make a reverse move away from the enemy if able to do so before going Down (front arcs are explained here). This represents the vehicle reversing away from danger and then coming to a halt. If a vehicle is unable to comply because there are friends or some impassable obstruction blocking its path, or if it reaches the table edge, then it moves as far as it can and goes Down. If unable to move because it is immobilised, it just goes Down. If there are no visible enemy to its front arc then the vehicle goes Down where it is.
Officers can potentially ride on vehicles, in which case their command bonus applies to the officer unit itself, any other units carried in the same vehicle, and the vehicle. The normal 6” range for the command bonus does not apply of the officer is in a vehicle.
The same is true for the special rules of medics, spotters, forward observers and other similar units, whose abilities do not work while they are being transported. The general rule is if a model is being transported, and hence not on the table, its special abilities cannot be used.
Vehicles are faster than men on foot over most types of terrain, but they are considerably less manoeuvrable. Orders of Advance and Run affect vehicles differently from infantry, and even tracked vehicles differently from wheeled ones. The differences are explained below.
This order represents a cautious advance, stopping to check routes and slowing to fire at the enemy. This is the basic or standard movement rate for vehicles on the battlefield.
Tracked vehicles move straight forward up to 9”. At any point during this move (before moving, after, or at any point between) the vehicle can make a single pivot around its centre of up to 90° to face in a different direction. Wheeled vehicles are the same as above but it moves up to 12” and can make up to two 90° pivots at any point during its move. These two pivots can be combined in a single pivot of up to 180°.
Half-tracked vehicles move at the same speed as tracked vehicles but with the same manoeuvrability as wheeled vehicles. A half-track moves straight forward up to 9” and can make up to two 90° pivots at any point during its move. These two pivots can be combined in a single pivot of up to 180°.
Walkers move straight forward up to 12”. A walker can make up to two 90° pivots at any point during its move, these can be combined into a single pivot of up to 180°.
Whilst vehicles cannot literally run, we use this order to represent a move at full speed. The vehicle drives as fast as it possibly can giving up all idea of firing.
Tracked vehicles move straight forward more than 9” and up to 18”. The vehicle may not make any changes of direction.
Wheeled vehicles are the same but move more than 12” and up to 24”, and can make a single 90° pivot at any point during the move.
Half-tracked vehicles move at the same speed as tracked vehicles but with the same manoeuvrability as wheeled vehicles. A half-track moves straight forward more than 9” and up to 18” and can make a single 90° pivot at any point during its move.
Walkers move straight forward up to 18” and are permitted to make a single 90° pivot at any point in their movement.
A vehicle can reverse straight backwards only at up to half its standard Advance rate unless it is a recce vehicle. A recce vehicle can reverse at its full Advance rate in most instances and can manoeuvre as if driving forward, i.e. a wheeled vehicle or half-track can make two 90° pivots or and a tracked vehicle can make a single 90° pivot. As indicated in the vehicle descriptions, some recce vehicles can reverse at their Run rate if they are especially small and manoeuvrable or if they have dual direction steering – as did some German armoured cars. These exceptions are indicated in the Army Lists.
The effect of terrain on movement, including vehicles has already been described here, but for ease of reference, the terrain chart is repeated here.
OK – The unit can move through the terrain without hindrance – this is the default or normal rate for all kinds of troops over open ground.
OK* –The unit can cross this kind of terrain without hindrance unless it has been designated as an anti-tank obstacle, or impassable bocage, or the equivalent, in which case it is impassable to all types of vehicle.
OK** – Can cross this type of terrain without hindrance unless designated impassable to walkers.
No Run – The unit cannot cross or move within this kind of terrain if undertaking a Run action, but can cross or move over with an Advance action.
No – The unit cannot enter or move within this kind of terrain at all.
No* – The unit cannot enter or move within this kind of terrain, except that it can be deployed within the terrain at the start of the game. In this case it cannot move once deployed. This represents situations where guns are 'dug in' to positions prior to the battle as discussed later in the section on Artillery.
No (!) – The unit cannot enter or move within this kind of terrain, except that heavy and super-heavy tanks and walkers may move through and demolish some buildings in some situations. See the rules for buildings.
×2 – The unit's move rate is doubled if it moves entirely along a road or track. This enables vehicles to move rapidly along roads where the opportunity permits.
Most vehicles carry some sort of armament even if it is only a single machine gun. Tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles often have a main weapon mounted in a turret and additional machine guns as well. On the whole, weapons mounted in vehicles are treated in the same way as already described in the Shooting section, with the following exceptions and additions.
We assume that vehicles have sufficient crew to employ whatever weapons they carry. The special rules that apply to infantry-operated team weapons and artillery are ignored. The special rules that apply to infantry-operated fixed weapons are also ignored when firing vehicle-mounted weapons. The following rules apply to vehicle-mounted weapons instead.
Weapons mounted on a vehicle are likely to have only a restricted field of fire. All weapons mounted on a vehicle will be able to fire in certain specific arcs, as described in the vehicle’s entry in the appropriate Army List.
To determine these fields of fire you will need to imagine lines bisecting the corners of your vehicle to create four 90° arcs, as shown on the diagram below. As you can see we divide a vehicle’s potential of fire into four – the front, the rear, and the two side arcs (left and right).
Casement- or Hull-mounted weapons. The vehicle description indicates the arcs covered by any hull-mounted weapons the vehicle has. Vehicles that have guns mounted directly to the hull or a casement built on top of the hull will normally have a forward facing fire arc, for example the main gun on a Jagdpanther or Jagdtiger, or the machine gun mounted onto the front glacis of most tanks such as the Sherman, Panzer IV, Panther and so on.
Turret-mounted weapons. Weapons mounted on turrets can usually fire all around (i.e. into any arc). Some turret-mounted weapons have restricted arcs because of the design or position of the turret, and these cases are indicated in the description for the vehicle. It is not strictly necessary that model turrets are able to rotate, as many players prefer to glue turrets firmly in place to prevent accidental damage. Just take it as read that turrets are able to rotate, and be prepared to compensate for this when measuring shots and working out line of sight.
Pintle-mounted weapons. Some vehicles carry one or more machine guns on a swivelling type of mount known as a pintle. These pintle-mounted weapons were commonly fitted to soft-skins such as jeeps and trucks, as well as to armoured carriers. They were also fitted on top of tank turrets for defence against low-level air attack; however, they were inevitably used against ground targets when the opportunity arose. Depending on where they are mounted, a pintle-mounted gun can cover anywhere from a single arc to 360° as noted in the vehicle’s description. Pintle-mounted machine guns can be fired against aircraft and therefore have the flak special rule.
Co-axial weapons. A co-axial weapon is usually a medium machine gun mounted alongside a tank’s main gun and has the same arc of fire. Co-axial machine guns were used as defence against infantry and were operated by the tank’s gunner. A co-axial can be fired instead of the vehicle’s main weapon, but not at the same time – the player must choose either to fire the main gun or its co-axial MMG.
Arm-mounted weapons. Many walkers mount weapons in or on their arms. Weapons mounted in walker arms may fire in the side arc of the relevant arm (left or right) and also in the front arc.
When a vehicle shoots it can fire with all the weapons it carries and which it is otherwise permitted to use. Each weapon can shoot at a target that lies within its range and arc of fire. Where more than one weapon can be brought to bear in the same arc, each can shoot at the same or different targets as the player wishes.
When shooting against vehicles, proceed as already described in the Shooting section. In most cases target reactions do not apply, as vehicles are not permitted to go Down. However, note that vehicles that have the special recce rule are allowed to react by making an escape move before the shot is worked out as explained here.
This has already been covered in the main rules section for shooting and works the same way. The vehicle section of the Damage table is repeated below for ease of reference. Note that the descriptive terms are used purely as a convenient way of defining the Damage value of the vehicle. A vehicle defined in this way as a light ‘tank’ could equally well be a tank destroyer (such as a Hetzer), a motor gun carriage based on a light tank chassis, or even a light tank converted to use as a recce vehicle as were some turretless M5s, for example.
| DAMAGE VALUE TABLE | |
| Troops and Soft-Skinned Targets | Result Needed |
| Inexperienced infantry and artillery | 3+ |
| Regular infantry and artillery | 4+ |
| Veteran infantry and artillery | 5+ |
| Soft-skinned vehicle, scout walker | 6+ |
| Armoured Targets | Result Needed |
| Armoured car, carrier or light walker | 7+ |
| Light tank, medium walker | 8+ |
| Medium tank, heavy walker | 9+ |
| Heavy tank, super-heavy walker | 10+ |
| Super-heavy tank | 11+ |
When shooting against soft-skinned vehicles, any hit that results in damage destroys the vehicle outright. This is exactly the same as a hit on an infantry model. Either the crew have been killed or the vehicle itself has been disabled, set alight, or blown to smithereens.
Because armoured targets have a Damage value of 7+ or greater it is impossible for them to be damaged by small-arms fire. Hits from small-arms fire are ignored, they cannot damage the vehicle and hits do not pin. Note that open-topped armoured targets are an exception to this general rule as described under open-topped vehicles.
When shooting against armoured vehicles with a heavy weapon, the following penetration modifiers apply in addition to the weapon’s own modifier as shown on the weapons charts. Remember, these additional modifiers do not apply to small-arms fire or to fire against soft-skinned vehicles, but only to shots from heavy weapons against armoured targets.
| ADDITIONAL PENETRATION MODIFIER FOR HEAVY WEAPON AGAINST ARMOURED TARGETS | |
| Vehicle’s side or top armour (not walkers) | +1 |
| Vehicle’s rear armour (not walkers) | +2 |
| Long range | –1 |
Vehicle’s side armour. The sides of most armoured vehicles are less thickly armoured that the front and therefore make easier targets. If the shooter is positioned within the side arcs of the target vehicle, the weapon’s penetration value is increased by +1. Armoured walkers are an exception to this rule as walkers are designed to be protected all around, although their armour is often thinner as a result. There is no penetration bonus for shooting a walker in the side arc.
Vehicle’s top armour. Some weapon strikes, most obviously mortar fire, always hit the thinner top armour of armoured vehicles regardless of the position of the shooter. These instances are specified in the rules where necessary. When striking a target’s top armour, the weapon’s penetration value is increased by +1. As with side armour, there is no penetration bonus for shooting a walker in its top armour.
Vehicle’s rear armour. The rear armour of tanks and most other armoured vehicles is thin compared to the front. This vulnerability is compounded by the presence of engines and fuel, making a strike the rear potentially devastating. If the shooter is positioned within the rear arc of the target vehicle, the weapons penetration value is increased by +2. Again, the design of walkers makes them an exception to this rule, there is no penetration bonus for shooting a walker in the rear arc.
Long range. Anti-tank guns have an optimum range beyond which they lose kinetic energy and become less effective. The same is true of Rift-tech energy weapons that lose energy as they travel further distances. If the target is beyond half the maximum range of the weapon its penetration value is reduced by –1.
Soft-skinned vehicles and open-topped vehicles of all kinds that are hit but not damaged are pinned in the same way as infantry. Place a pin marker on the target. Note that some armoured vehicles have open turrets or are otherwise open-topped, as in the case of tank destroyers such as the American M10 and British Archer, as well as self-propelled artillery such as the German Wespe and Hummel. It is best to keep these vulnerable vehicles out of range of small-arms fire where possible.
Enclosed armoured targets can only be pinned by hits from heavy weapons fire. A hit from a heavy weapon will pin an armoured target as detailed in the Vehicles and Pinning rules.
Not all shots that damage an armoured target will destroy it. An anti-tank shell that penetrates the hull of a tank might wreak havoc inside and kill the entire crew, but a shot could equally result in only superficial damage to a vehicle’s wheels, engine or other mechanical components. It is even possible that a shell might pass right through a target momentarily stunning or panicking its crew.
To represent this an armoured target is not immediately removed when it is damaged like an infantryman or a soft-skinned vehicle. Instead, for each hit that has scored damage roll a D6 and consult the damage results table below to see what happens.
| DAMAGE RESULTS ON ARMOURED TARGETS | |
| Die Roll | Effect |
| 1 or less | Crew stunned. The crew is stunned or momentarily overcome by smoke or shock. Add one additional pin marker to the vehicle. Place a Down order die on the vehicle or change its current order die to Down to show that it is halted and cannot take a further action that turn. Note that automaton vehicles ignore this damage result on a roll of 4+ on a D6. |
| 2 | Immobilised. Part of the vehicle’s tracks, wheels or legs are blown apart. Add one pin additional pin marker to the vehicle. The vehicle cannot move for the rest of the game. If the vehicle has already taken an action this turn, flip the order dice to Down to indicate that it has been brought to a halt. If a further immobilised result is suffered the crew abandon the vehicle and it is considered to be knocked out (as below). |
| 3 | On fire. The hit ignites either the vehicle’s fuel or ammunition. The crew are driven into a panic.Add one pin additional pin marker and then make a morale check for the vehicle. If it is passed the fire has been put out. Place a Down order die on the vehicle or change its current order die to Down to show it is halted and cannot take a further action that turn. If the test is failed, the crew abandon the vehicle and it is considered to be knocked out (as below). |
| 4,5 or 6 | Knocked out. The vehicle is destroyed and becomes a wreck. Mark the vehicle in some fashion to indicate it is wrecked. Wrecks of armoured vehicles count as impassable terrain to tracked, wheeled, and half-tracked vehicles. |
| Superficial damage – Roll D6-3 | |
| Full damage – Roll D6 | |
| Massive damage – Roll two results (see below) | |
| Open-topped hit by indirect fire – Add +1 | |
| When an armoured vehicle is hit by an HE shell, do not roll for multiple hits and instead roll once to penetrate using the Pen value of the shell (see here). | |
If the die roll to damage has scored the exact minimum needed after all modifiers are taken into account, then the shot can only cause superficial damage. In this case deduct –3 from the damage result dice roll before consulting the table. For example, if the roll needed to damage a tank was 5 or more and the die came up a 5 then the shooter has caused only superficial damage and the –3 penalty is applied to the result. As you will see superficial damage cannot knock a vehicle out, but it can still cause fires or panic the crew forcing them to abandon it.
If an anti-tank gun penetrates an armoured target by a total of 3 or greater than the minimum score required, then the player rolls twice on the damage results chart and both results apply. For example, where 9 or more is required to penetrate an enemy medium tank, any total of 12 or more would result in massive damage. The player rolls two dice and applies both results from the damage results chart.
Some armoured vehicles have open fighting compartments and we describe them as open-topped. An explosive shell landing in an open-topped vehicle is more likely to damage the vehicle or kill its crew. To represent this, if an open-topped armoured vehicle is hit by indirect HE fire add +1 to the result roll. Note that shots landing on the upper surface of an armoured vehicle always add +1 to the penetration value as well. This means that open-topped armoured vehicles suffer a double penalty +1 both to the penetration value of the shot and +1 to the damage result dice.
Vehicles must normally stay more than 1” from enemy units, as per the 1” gap rule. However, a tank driven directly at a formation of enemy infantry or artillery is capable of overrunning or scattering it. The sight of a rapidly approaching tank is enough to test the courage of even the most battle-hardened troops.
Only tanks are allowed to make an assault move to close quarters (see here). Note that by tanks we also mean to include assault guns, tank destroyers and other armoured vehicles of a similar kind – all of which have a damage value of 8+ or greater. Cars, trucks and other soft-skinned vehicles, and even armoured cars and carriers with a damage value of 7+, are not allowed to make an assault move.
To assault an enemy infantry or artillery unit, a tank must be ordered to move at full speed (i.e. Run) and must be able to strike the target by driving straight forward without manoeuvring. Because a Run order is required, the tank cannot shoot and must move at least half of its maximum permitted move. Note that this move can take it beyond the target in some cases as described below.
German Spinne Light Panzermech
The target of the assault can react as normal, by making either an escape or stand and shoot reaction in accordance with the reaction rules. If the tank is not destroyed or immobilised as a result, move the tank forward at least half of its permitted Run move. If the target has made an escape reaction the assaulting tank must continue its original line of advance. If the vehicle makes contact with the target (or another enemy unit) resolve the close quarters combat as below. If the tank would end its move on top of the target it assaulted, move the infantry models aside by the minimum distance required to get out of the way and maintain unit coherency.
If further enemy infantry or artillery unit lie under the path of the tank, they may also be assaulted. In such cases assaults are worked out one at a time, starting with the first unit contacted. Move the tank as far as the first target and work out the assault, then continue its move to the second target and so on. Subsequent targets may react to being assaulted as normal.
A tank’s assault is worked out differently from the close quarter combat between infantry units. When the vehicle makes contact with the target unit, the target takes a morale check. If the test is passed the target allows the tank to pass through their position without harm. If the test is failed the target unit suffers D3+1 pin markers. For each pin marker received, roll a D6. The unit suffers a casualty for each roll of 4+. If the target is an artillery piece, it is also destroyed on a roll 4+ on a D6.
Where infantry models that have been assaulted would otherwise end up underneath or within 1” of the assaulting tank, they are moved aside by the minimum distance required to get out of the way and maintain unit coherency.
Medium and heavier (Damage values 8+ or greater) walkers with the assault special rule are allowed to make an assault move to close quarters. Walkers without the assault rule are treated as tanks with regard assaulting infantry and artillery (using the rules above).
To assault an enemy infantry or artillery unit, a walker must be ordered to full speed (i.e. Run) and must be able to move straight forward without manoeuvring. Movement to contact must be in a straight line but walkers don’t move through units they assault, they make contact with the target and end their movement on the target’s position. Targets can react to the assault as normal using the reaction rules to either escape or shoot.
Walkers operate in a similar manner to infantry once in close quarters and engage in a round of close quarters combat in the same way. Medium and heavier walkers may choose to conduct point-blank fire or conduct hand-to-hand combat like infantry. In hand-to-hand combat walkers are considered to have 2 attack dice plus an additional dice for each fist they possess. An artillery piece assaulted by a walker is automatically destroyed.
Infantry and artillery respond to the assault in the normal manner, conducting either point blank fire or conducting a hand-to-hand assault as detailed below. The walker is treated as having advanced, so 6s will be required to hit the walker in hand-to-hand combat as normal. If the infantry inflict no damage on the walker, they lose the combat if they suffer a casualty. If the Infantry destroy the walker they are clearly victorious. Otherwise the combat is a draw and both units will consolidate or conduct follow-on combat as per the Close Quarters section of the rulebook. As detailed below, the walker can elect not to make a consolidation move; the infantry must instead surrender their position.
Walkers are not built for collisions with other armoured vehicles but are often able to inflict critical damage with powered fists or dedicated anti-armour weapons.
Only a walker with the assault special rule is allowed to make an assault against other vehicles. The walker must be given a Run order and moves in the same manner as when assaulting infantry. The target may react as normal by either attempting an escape or a stand and shoot if able to. Walkers without the assault special rule are not able to assault other vehicles.
Once in contact with the target roll a D6 for both the walker and the vehicle, the walker rolls an additional dice for each fist it is equipped with. The walker adds +1 to its roll(s) if it has a higher Damage value than its target. If the walker has a lower Damage value than its target it must subtract –1 from each of its rolls. If the walker rolls higher than the target on any of its dice, then the target is destroyed if it is soft-skinned; if it is an armoured vehicle, it receives a single pin marker and then roll on the armoured vehicle damage chart to determine damage. If the target has a higher Damage value than the attacking walker, it only suffers superficial damage on the damage chart. If the target vehicle rolls equal to or higher than the walker it suffers no damage but receives a single pin marker.
Once the assault is resolved, the walker moves 1” away from the target, neither unit makes a consolidation move.
A tank with a Damage value of 8+ or greater is allowed to make an assault against another vehicle in the same manner as a tank assaulting infantry or artillery. The vehicle that is being assaulted can react by shooting at the approaching enemy in the usual manner. If a tank wishes to assault another tank or walker, rather than a soft-skin, armoured car, or similar vehicle, it must make its order test with a –3 modifier. It must make this order test even if it is not pinned and no order test would otherwise be required. Note that this is the same as for infantry attempting to assault an armoured vehicle, although in the case of tanks they do not fear assaulting armoured cars/carriers – see tank fear, below. If the assaulting tank drives home its attack move the models into contact and work out the result as follows. Roll a D6 for each vehicle. If either vehicle is an armoured vehicle add its Damage value (i.e. 7, 8, 9 etc.).
The highest scoring vehicle is the winner. The lowest scoring vehicle is the loser. If both score equally then both are losers.
Losers are destroyed outright if they are soft-skins. If the loser is an armoured vehicle roll on the armoured vehicle damage chart to determine damage. If the loser has an armour Damage value that is greater than his opponent, then roll for superficial damage only (e.g. if the loser is a heavy tank and his opponent is a light tank the result is superficial damage).
Winners take no damage if they have a Damage value greater than that of the loser. For example, a heavy tank takes no damage if it rams a light tank and wins the assault. If winners have a Damage value equal to, or lower than, the loser then they also suffer superficial damage. Once this has been worked out, any surviving vehicles come to an immediate halt. Show this by turning each vehicle’s order die to Down or place a Down order die next to it if it hasn’t yet taken an action this turn. Finally, each surviving vehicle, whether making the assault or being assaulted, suffers one further pin marker in addition to any already taken either from reaction fire or from a damage result during the assault.
Infantry can assault vehicles in some situations. Troops making an assault against a vehicle are assumed to be using hand grenades and may have access to hand-held anti-tank weapons in some cases. This works in a comparable way to other assaults with the following exceptions.
If a vehicle is making a Run action it is moving at high speed and cannot be assaulted by infantry. However, a vehicle that has made a Run action and subsequently been immobilised or halted that turn can be assaulted and in these cases its order die will have already been flipped to Down to show this.
An infantry unit that is not equipped with anti-tank weapons as noted below must take and pass an order test when attempting to assault any kind of fully-enclosed armoured vehicle. This test is required even if the unit is not pinned and would not normally need to pass an order test to take its action. A –3 tank fear modifier is always applied when testing in this way. For example, a regular unit wishing to assault a tank will need to pass an order test at a morale value of 9 – 3 = 6.
Note that this test is not required if the vehicle is open-topped. The test is also not required if the assaulting unit is equipped with the following anti-tank weaponry: anti-tank rifles, flamethrower, bazooka, PIAT, super bazooka, panzerschreck, panzerfaust or anti-tank grenades or the equivalent. Note that anti-tank grenades are not considered as separate weapons, but troops designated as tank hunters carry them as explained here.
If able to do so, a vehicle may make a stand and shoot or escape reaction in the usual fashion.
Once the vehicle has made any reaction fire, and assuming the infantry have not been destroyed as a result, work out the assault as follows. Hits against vehicles are not scored automatically. If the vehicle is immobilised, if it has been brought to a halt and therefore has a Down order placed next to it, or if it has yet to take an action and therefore has no order, in all these cases each attack from the infantry will score a hit on a dice roll of a 4, 5, or 6. If the vehicle is making an Advance action the assaulting troops must roll 6s to score hits because it is still moving at a pace that makes it difficult to attack.
Regardless of the number of hits scored, make a single roll to damage the vehicle. Roll a D6 and add the number of hits scored to the result to determine if the vehicle is damaged. For example, a score of 7+ is required to damage an armoured carrier, so if 4 hits were inflicted a dice roll of 3 or more would be needed to cause damage.
If the vehicle is a soft-skin, or if it is an open-topped armoured vehicle, then it is destroyed automatically if damage is scored.
If the vehicle is a fully-enclosed armoured vehicle and it suffers damage, then roll on the damage result table as for shooting. The superficial damage result applies where the score to damage is equal to the minimum score required (i.e. the same as for shooting damage). In addition, the superficial damage result also applies if the assaulting unit otherwise carries no anti-tank weapons, as indicated above.
If the vehicle survives after close quarter combat has been worked out the assault is over. The assaulting infantry must make a regroup move as described for an infantry versus infantry combat.
If a vehicle’s primary purpose is to carry troops it is referred to as a transport. Transports include vehicles such as trucks and jeeps as well as armoured carriers. If a vehicle is a transport this will be clearly indicated as part of the vehicle’s description in the Army Lists. Various extra rules apply to transports.
Transports and any unit they carry are, of course, two separate units and must be given two separate orders. The rules for issuing orders to troops aboard transports are given below.
US Heavy Infantry
The role of transport vehicles is to carry troops, and once they have arrived in the combat zone their job is done. Some transports are equipped with fire-support weapons such as machine guns, but even so they are not assault vehicles, and their crews would not expect to find themselves face-to-face with enemy.
To represent this, all empty transports that end their turn closer to an enemy unit of any kind than to a friendly unit aside from other empty transports are automatically removed from the battle and count as destroyed. We assume their crews abandon them or else they are driven rapidly away from the action and do not return.
Weapons mounted on transport vehicles can only be fired if the vehicle is carrying a unit whose members act as weapon crew – each weapon being fired needs one man to operate it. If the vehicle has no passengers, it cannot fire any of its weapons.
Transport vehicles can carry infantry units up to a specified maximum number of men. A single vehicle can transport any number of entire units so long as the total number of models aboard does not exceed the vehicle’s carrying capacity. A unit cannot be divided between two or more transports. Infantry units can be placed in a transport vehicle at the beginning of the game, or they can board a transport during the battle.
Infantry units are only allowed to get into a vehicle that is stationary. Troops cannot board a vehicle that has been ordered to Advance or Run. Similarly, a vehicle that is boarded during the turn cannot subsequently be ordered to Advance or Run. However, we do allow troops to board vehicles that have already moved if they have subsequently halted for whatever reason, and such vehicles will be marked with a Down order to show this.
To board a transport, a unit must be given a Run order and all of its models must move as close as possible to the vehicle. If they can all move to within 1” the unit has successfully climbed aboard. If only some can move close enough then the unit cannot board that turn. This keeps things manageable, and units unable to board immediately should be able to do so easily in the following turn assuming the vehicle does not move.
Once a unit is aboard a transport, its models are temporarily removed from the table and put aside, taking care to make it clear which models are in the vehicle. You must still give orders to units carried in this way, but the only order permitted is Down if you want the unit to remain on the transport, or Advance or Run if you want them to dismount. Units carried aboard transports cannot be given any other orders and are therefore unable to shoot.
Units carried aboard a transport vehicle cannot be targeted directly by the enemy. They can however suffer damage and pin markers if the vehicle itself is fired upon. Any time a vehicle takes pin markers, each unit it carries suffers the same penalty. If a transport vehicle is destroyed, each unit on board suffers D6 hits and must immediately dismount and go/remain Down.
Disembarking from a vehicle is easier than getting on board, and troops can do this even if the transport is moving slowly. Units can dismount from a vehicle that is either stationary or which makes an Advance action that turn. Troops can dismount either before or after the vehicle itself takes its action.
If a vehicle makes a Run action, any units it carries cannot dismount that turn except where they are forced to do so if the vehicle is assaulted, immobilised or destroyed, as noted below.
A unit dismounting from a vehicle must be ordered to Advance or Run. Make the action as normal, measuring the unit’s move from the vehicle. Although a unit can use a Run action to dismount from a vehicle, it is not allowed to use this move to make an assault upon an enemy in the same turn.
If a vehicle is immobilised by enemy fire any troops on board must dismount immediately regardless of any orders already given to either the vehicle or its occupants. Troops forced to dismount in this way are placed within a basic 6” move of their transport and then go/remain Down. If a transport vehicle is assaulted by enemy infantry, any troops on board will automatically dismount and fight close combat with the enemy. In this situation dismounting troops can do nothing else; they cannot also react by shooting at the assaulting unit, for example. The vehicle itself can react by shooting as normal, assuming the target lies within the firing arc of its weapons. Units must dismount if their vehicle is assaulted regardless of any orders already given to the vehicle or its occupants. The resulting close quarter combat is fought between the assaulting unit and one unit disembarking from the vehicle. Should the dismounting unit be destroyed then the transport risks being destroyed at the end of the turn, as it will most likely be an empty transport that is closer to enemy than to friends.
If a transport vehicle is destroyed then units on board take D6 hits and automatically dismount and go/remain Down as described for immobilised transports.
The following special rules apply to a variety of vehicles as indicated in the Army Lists. More specific rules for individual vehicles are included in the vehicle descriptions in the Army Lists.
Automatons have basic decision making ability but lack quick reactions and true human judgement. Automatons have the following special rules:
1.They cannot be given assault or Ambush orders.
2.They cannot carry out reactions
3.They must take an order test on every receipt of an order, even if they have no pin markers.
4.They are immune to horror.
5.They cannot benefit from national special rules.
Restricted to walkers, a vehicle with this special rule is permitted to assault enemy infantry and vehicles using the unique rules for walkers detailed in the vehicle close quarters rules.
Command vehicles are equipped with two-way radios that enable them to direct squadrons of tanks, tank destroyers, and other armoured vehicles into battle. The command vehicle adds a morale bonus of +1 to itself and to any other friendly armoured vehicle within 12”.
Some tanks have a machine gun mounted to specifically cover the back of their turret. When firing, first select a target for the tank main gun (or co-axial machine gun) and resolve it. Whichever arc the main gun has engaged an enemy, the rear-mounted machine gun can only shoot into the opposite arc.
So, if the main gun fires forwards the rear-mounted gun must shoot behind, if the main gun fires to the right quarter the rear-mounted gun must shoot to the left quarter, and so on.
Some heavily armoured vehicles are designed to simply keep pace with accompanying infantry. A vehicle that is designated as slow has a basic move rate of 6” when advancing and 12” at a Run.
Vehicles with the tough special rule may have a number of ways of resisting damage, most commonly through heavier armour or robust build but also due to redundancy of systems and ease of repair or replacement of parts. A vehicle with the tough special rule rolls a D6 every time an opponent rolls equal or over its Damage value; the damage is ignored on a roll of 5+
This special rule applies to scout cars, light armoured vehicles, and light walkers operating in a scouting, recon, or recce role. Recce vehicles would advance ahead of a formation to probe out the enemy’s defences – as such they are super-alert to the enemy presence and prepared to avoid trouble.
Once per turn a recce vehicle, that is not towing, is allowed to react to an enemy shooting or assaulting them by making a special recce reaction. The player can choose to do this whether the vehicle has already taken an action that turn or not. A reaction test must be made as normal when the shooting or assault is declared. If the test is failed the vehicle may attempt another recce move later in the turn.
If a target of a recce vehicle is successful in making a firefight or stand and shoot reaction, the recce vehicle may elect to attempt a recce move reaction to that response instead of continuing its previous order. Should the recce reaction fail, it cannot revert to its original Fire or assault order and its order dice is flipped to Down. Note that it can still make further recce reaction attempts later in the turn as normal.
The recce move reaction allows the vehicle to make a reverse move at their basic move rate to try and escape the threat. A combination of open hatches, training and vehicle agility allows the vehicle to manoeuvre as if they were moving forward as a standard advance order. Some recce vehicles are allowed to evade at their run movement rate as described in the vehicle descriptions.
Once a vehicle has made its escape move it comes to a halt and its order die is flipped to Down, or a Down order is placed next to it if it has yet to take an action that turn. The enemy’s shot or assault is then conducted as normal based on the recce vehicle’s new location. If the recce vehicle has moved out of range or line of sight then the shot automatically misses or the assault fails.
Recce vehicles will also spot hidden enemy at longer ranges than other vehicles as noted in the rules for hidden set up.
Amphibious vehicles are either designed to float or fitted with floatation devices that enable them to do so. An amphibious vehicle can move directly forward only over otherwise impassable deep water at half speed by means of an Advance action, i.e. a vehicle that would normally advance at 12” can move over water at 6”. A vehicle cannot make any other action whilst moving over water, cannot reverse, cannot turn, and will ignore all rules that otherwise oblige it to reverse or go Down. A vehicle that is immobilised whilst in the water is sunk or abandoned and is therefore destroyed together with any occupants. Note that vehicles can shoot whilst afloat, but if equipped with floatation screens will not be able to do so with any hull-mounted weapons.
Some armoured vehicles are open-topped – meaning they have open turrets or open fighting compartments as opposed to fully-enclosed vehicles such as tanks. Typical open-topped armoured vehicles include half-tracks, most self-propelled artillery pieces, many tank destroyers, and some armoured cars. Open-topped armoured vehicles are more vulnerable to HE fire than equivalent fully-enclosed vehicles, and are susceptible to close quarter attack by enemy infantry tossing grenades inside an exposed cab. Rules governing open-topped armoured vehicles are included throughout the rules and are repeated here for ease of reference. Open-topped armoured vehicles are pinned by hits from small arms in the same way as soft-skins and infantry. If assaulted by infantry open-topped armoured vehicles are destroyed automatically if the vehicle is damaged, in the same way as for soft-skins.
If hit by indirect fire then add +1 to the damage result roll to represent the effect of a shot falling into an open-topped vehicle. Note that all hits upon the upper surface of armoured vehicles count +1 penetration regardless of whether the target is open or not – so open-topped armoured vehicles suffer a double penalty: +1 penetration and +1 damage result.
The US have pioneered heavy repulsors using Rift-tech to allow their walkers to operate as jump-capable vehicles. Whilst not as versatile as the infantry versions, it allows the walkers to navigate through hazardous terrain and clear intervening obstacles and troops.
Vehicles with the jump special rule ignore terrain when moving so are always considered to be moving in open terrain. A vehicle with the jump special rule may also move over intervening models so long as it has enough movement to clear the troops and can land over 1” from any other unit. All jump movement is conducted at the vehicle’s Run movement rate and must be in a straight line – no turns are permitted.
Some walkers are equipped with powered fists that imitate the functions of a hand. These are mainly applicable in close quarters combat but also assist the walker in navigating rough terrain and clearing obstacles.
Certain light walkers have a level of agility that makes traditional vehicles look slow and obsolete. A vehicle with the agile special rule may make an additional 90° pivot at any point its movement (Advance or Run).
