G ENERAL R ULES
TESTS
Whenever the rules require you to make a test,
you will roll a number of 6-sided dice (D6s).
Each 6 that you roll is referred to as a success.
For example, if a skill calls for a Strength test,
you roll a number of D6 equal to the fighter’s
Strength characteristic and count the number of
6s that come up.
Modifiers
Unless otherwise specified, modifiers, such as +1
or –2, modify the number of D6s that you roll,
not the target number that you need to hit for a
success. For example, if you’re +1 to hit because
you’re firing at short range, that means you get
to roll an extra D6, not that you get to add +1 to
any of D6s that you roll.
Crits, Bust, and Critical Busts
Unless otherwise specified, one success is
usually enough to accomplish the effect that
you are looking for. Additional successes that
are rolled are referred to as crits, which may be
spent for various effects. For example, when
taking a shot, if you roll two successes, the first
success will hit the target, and the second
success, or crit, can be spent to increase the
damage, pin the target in place, or bypass some
of the target’s armor.
Conversely, not every test turns out for the best.
When you roll more 1s than you roll successes,
you have busted. Busts don’t necessarily mean
that you have failed the roll (because a success is
still a success), they just mean that perhaps a less
than favorable outcome may occur in addition
to the success. For example, a bust while
shooting may cause you to run out of ammo, but
if you still hit if you roll any successes.
If you score no successes, and more than half
your dice turn up as ones, then you have rolled
a Critical Bust. For example, if you’re making a
Reliability 4 check and roll no 6s and two 1s,
you have suffered a critical bust and the weapon
has exploded.
CHARACTER PROFILE
Every character has the following basic
characteristics.
Move: Move is a measure of the fighter’s
movement speed.
Aim: This characteristic represents how adept
the fighter is with ranged weapons. The average
Aim for a human is a 3.
Fighting: Fighting is a measure of how good the
character is in mixing it up toe-to-toe, whether
with weapons or unarmed. The average fighting
skill for a human is a 3.
Brawn: Brawn is a measure of the fighter’s
muscle mass. It effects how much gear he can
lug around the battlefield without being slowed
and how hard the fighter hits in melee combat.
The Brawn characteristic may also be used for
certain endurance tests for continuous activities.
For example, you may have to roll a Brawn test
to keep from getting flung off a raging bull.
Toughness: Toughness is all about how much
physical abuse the fighter can take before he
drops.
Quickness: The Quickness characteristic is a
measure of the fighter’s physical and mental
reaction time, as well as his ability to seize the
initiative. Quickness also covers tests relating to
a fighter’s agility, dexterity, and balance.
Grit: Grit is a measure of how much fight is in
the fighter. Whether it is bravery, meanness,
orneriness, or cold determination, the fighter’s
grit determines how much he is willing to fight
before he quits.

Smarts: Smarts are a measure of the character’s

intelligence and savvy. Smarts also determines
the characters facility with technology, and it
may play into his leadership ability as well.
 P LAYING THE G AME

THE TURN common activities available to all fighters can be

Each turn is divided into three phases: found in the sidebar. Depending on the fighter’s
skills, equipment, or situation, other activities
 Initiative may be available to them as well.

 Combat An activity can either take one or both of the

fighter’s actions for the turn. Unless otherwise
 Recovery specified, you may only take one of each action
type per turn, but you can take them in any
INITIATIVE PHASE order.
In the initiative phase, each player rolls a
number of dice equal to his Captain’s Smarts. Common Actions
The player with the most successes can either
Actions Activity
elect take the initiate and go first or force his
opponent to go first. In case of a tie, the Captain 1 Move up to your Movement
with the highest Smarts goes first. If the
2 Run up to double your Movement
Initiative is still tied, roll a D6 to determine who
has the initiative. 2 Charge into melee combat
1 Hide
After Initiative is rolled, any affects that happen
in the Initiative phase are resolved. 1 Shoot a weapon
1 Aim a weapon
COMBAT PHASE
The Combat Phase is where the meat of the turn 1 Take Cover
takes place. The player with the initiative 2 Go into overwatch
chooses two fighters to activate. Activated
1 Reserve an Action
fighters take their entire turn (as described
below), and then initiative passes to the other
player to activate two fighters. Each fighter can
only be activated once per Combat Phase, so it
is helpful to put a counter by them to signify
RECOVERY PHASE
One every fighter has acted, then comes the
that they have been activated.
recovery phase.
The combat phase ends when all fighters are
activated.

Activation
When activated, a fighter has two Actions,
which can be used to do things like move,
shoot, hide, hack, and the like. A listing of the
 M OVEMENT
CONTROL ZONE
The area within 1” of a fighter’s base is his
“control zone.” Enemies may not move through
a fighter’s control zone, except to engage
engaging the fighter in melee combat.
Fighters lose their control zone if they are
stunned, injured, pinned, or already engaged in
hand-to-hand combat.
FACING
STANDARD MOVEMENT
Walking (1 Action)
For one action, a fighter can walk a number of
inches up to his Speed.
Running (2 Actions)
Devoting both of a fighter’s actions to
movement allows the fighter to run up to twice
his Speed.
Charging (2 Actions)
When you declare that a fighter is charging, he
may move up to twice his Speed. If his move
takes him into base-to-base contact with an
enemy, he may also fight that enemy in hand-
to-hand combat. Charging also gives you a +1 to
your Fighting skill for the first round of combat
only.
Note, you may not charge an enemy who you
do not have line of sight to unless you first pass
a Smarts test to spot the enemy.
SPECIAL MOVEMENT
Moving over Difficult Terrain
Falling
Fighters who fall are pinned and take a hit with
a power equal to the distance they fell. For any
Wounding Crits, roll on the Wounding Crits
table with the following as the Weapon Specific
result.
6: KO: The fighter cracks his head in the fall
and is knocked out of the fight.
Jumping Down
A fighter who intentionally jumps off a ledge
can take a quickness test to lessen the damage.
If the test passes, you may half the distance of
the fall. Any crits remove one additional inch
from the distance of the fall. Fighters who pass
the test are not pinned if they are not wounded,
and may continue their turn as normal.
For example, Johnny leaps of a six-inch tall
structure. For his quickness test, he rolls two
successes. The first success halves the distance
fallen from 6 inches to 3 inches, and the crit
reduces that distance by 1, so he takes a Power
2 hit. That hit doesn’t wound him, so he can
use his second action to take a shot at the
fleeing pirate.
Traversing Obstacles & Jumping Gaps
Generally speaking, obstacles less than two
inches tall and one inch wide and gaps less than
2 inches wide can be scaled on the fly. To
traverse an obstacle, the fighter must take a
Quickness test.
Traverse Test (Quickness)
Pass: The fighter traverses the obstacle and
may continue with any unused
movement and take unused actions.
Fail: The fighter traverses the obstacle, but
with some difficulty. His turn ends.
Bust: The fighter slips and his turn ends. If he
is traversing an obstacle, he does not
make it to the other side. If he is
jumping a gap, he falls.
Climbing
A fighter can climb as part of another move
action. When a ladder or other feature
intended for climbing is available, the fighter
may use any movement available to him to
climb. No test required.
If, however, the fighter needs to climb
something not intended to be climbed — such
as a cliff face or the side of a building — he must
take a Quickness test.
Climbing Test (Quickness)
Pass: The fighter may climb as if the vertical
surface was difficult terrain, and he may
take any other unused actions.
Fail: The fighter may climb up to ½ his
Speed. His turn ends at the end of this
movement, however.
Bust: The fighter falls.
ENCUMBRANCE
Your fighters can only carry so much before
their combat effectiveness takes a hit. Guns,
Armor, and Equipment all has a weight value,
which ranges anywhere from ½ on up. A
fighter’s encumbrance is the total weight of all
his items, with any fractions rounded down.
charge is going to fall short, however, they pull
up after moving their Speed.
No fighter may carry more than twice his or her
Strength.
For example, Thomas is armed with a machine
pistol (Wt 1), a cutter (Wt 2), and a sword (Wt
½) for a total encumbrance of 3.5, which is
rounded down to 3. Since his Strength is 3,
Thomas fights normally. If he picks up another
sword, however, he would suffer the ill effects
of encumbrance.
HIDING, SNEAKING, AND SPOTTING
(1 ACTION)
A fighter may hide by spending one action to do
so. Other fighters do not have line of sight to a
hidden fighter. Hidden fighters remain hidden
until they use a weapon, run, charge, or are
spotted.
Spotting Hidden Fighters
If a hidden fighter moves in the open within the
line-of-sight of an enemy, he is automatically
spotted.
Fighters on their own turn can spend 1 Action
to try and spot hidden enemies. Take a Smarts
test.

A fighter whose encumbrance is equal to or less

than his or her Strength value can fight without
ill effect. Fighters who carry more than their
Strength value cannot run and have their
quickness halved rounding down. Encumbered
fighters can charge normally if they are able to
engage an enemy with the double move. If the
 R ANGED C OMBAT

SHOOTING TEST 2 Suppressed: The target may not move

When taking a shot, first the shooter rolls dice
equal to his Shooting skill, modified by cover,
range, or any special rules that apply. A single
success is sufficient to threaten the target. In
addition, you may roll to wound the target as
well. Additional successes, or crits, can be spent
to modify the effect of the shot.
closer to the shooter until he passes a
grit test in the recovery phase.
2 Bypass Armor: Your opponent reduces
the rating of Armor by 1. In addition,
ignore any of the armor’s weapon-
specific defenses.

Designer Note: Combat is a lot more fun when

the dice rolls represent cinematic action rather
than bland game mechanics. So here is how the
mechanics would translate to the big screen:
The shooting test represents the shooter getting
the rounds too close for comfort, forcing the
Ammo & Reliability
target to keep his head down. Whether or not
If the shooting test comes up a bust, the weapon
any bullets actually make contact is represented
may have run out of ammo. Use the weapon’s
by the weapon’s Power roll, so no successes
reliability characteristic to make a reliability
means that the hail of fire missed its mark. If
check. If the check fails, the weapon is
the shooter’s successes are cancelled out by the
unusable for the remainder of the game. If the
target’s toughness roll, however, that means
reliability check fails and is a bust, it explodes,
that the target was only grazed or the bullet was
inflicting a single hit at the weapon’s
stopped by armor.
Power –1.
Shooting Crits
SHOOTING TEST MODIFIERS
You may spend shooting crits in the following
Anyone can score a hit during the carefully
way:
controlled environment of a shooting range.
Unfortunately (or fortunately if you’re the one
SHOOTING CRITS
being shot at), you rarely find ideal conditions
Crits Effect
in a firefight.
1 Increased Power: +1 to the weapons
Power on the wound roll. As a general rule, if modifiers may not reduce
the shooters Aim below 1, so if you are in range
1 Hit & Run: The shooter may move up
you can always attempt a shot. If the modifier
to ½ his movement after taking the
would be a negative number however, decrease
shot. This is a bonus movement that
the weapon’s power by the amount of the
does not require actions. Only one crit
negative.
may be spent this way per turn.
1 Pinned: The fighter is pinned in place, For example, Tomaz is a piss poor shot with an
and does not get to move toward cover. Aim of 2. He is firing at a small target (–1) in
full cover (–2), so his modified Aim would
be –1. He gets to roll 1D6 to take the shot, but
the weapon is at –1 Power for the due to the
poorly placed shot.
Cover
It is tough to snipe a target that only has his
head sticking up from behind a plate steel
barricade.
If at least a quarter of the target is obscured
from the shooter, the target has partial cover
and is at –1 to hit. If more than half of the
target is obscured, the target has full cover and
is at –2 to hit.
Take Cover: 1 Action
A fighter can use a take cover action to make
the best use of the cover available to him.
Taking Cover increases the effectiveness of
cover by one point, so it would be –3 to hit full
cover, and –2 to hit partial cover. Fighters who
are not in cover do not get any benefit from a
take cover action, unless they are prone.
Since the fighter who is taking cover is
concentrating on not getting shot, his own
shooting suffers. Any shots he takes this turn
are at –1 to hit.
Concealment
Sometimes atmospheric effects, such as fog,
smoke, glare, or darkness may provide
concealment to the target. Concealed targets
are at –1 to hit.
Target Size
Small targets (½ inch or smaller) are –1 to hit.
Large targets (3 inches or larger) are at +1 to hit.
Target’s Speed
–1 to hit the target if it is moving more than 12
inches a turn.
Aiming: 1 Action
If a fighter spends an action to aim before
shooting, he gets a +1 modifier to the shooting
test. Aiming cannot be carried over from round
to round, so you must aim in the same round as
the shot you’re taking.
THREATENED TARGETS
A target that is threatened by a shot is forced to
dive for cover and be pinned. If not already in
cover, the target must move up to his movement
value toward the closest cover, even if that
involves moving closer to the shooter. Once in
cover, the target is pinned. Lay the model face
up.
Recovering from Pinning
When activated, a fighter who is pinned down
may attempt to escape pinning if he has an ally
within 3 inches. Roll a Grit test. If the test
passes, the fighter is no longer pinned and may
take his turn as normal. If the test fails, or the
fighter has no nearby allies, then the pinned
fighter must spend both of his actions to escape
pinning.
BLAST WEAPONS
Blast weapons deal damage over an are use
templates to f
Scatter
DOING DAMAGE
If the shot succeeds in threatening the target,
roll a number of dice equal to the weapon’s
Power. The target rolls a number of dice equal
to his Toughness (plus any modifiers for armor,
etc.). Subtract the target’s successes from the
shots successes. If the Attacker has one success
left over, the target is wounded, and you may
roll on the injury table. Any additional
successes may be spent for rolls on the injury
table or the special damage table. INJURED FIGHTERS
Fighters who are injured are placed face down
INJURY TABLE on the battlefield. While injured, all of their
D6 Effect stats are halved (rounding down), and they can
1 Flesh Wound: The wounded fighter only take one action per turn. Injured fighters
stays in the fight, but at a –1 to his who are pinned can test to escape pinning as
Shooting and Fighting skills. normal, or may escape pinning by spending
their only action.
2–5 Injured: The wound is serious. Place
the fighter face down. Injured fighters Injured fighters may be shot and wounded as
may only take a single action, and have normal. Any additional roles of Injured,
all of their stats (except for toughness) however, are ignored. They may suffer
halved rounding down. additional flesh wounds, however (so they will
6 Out of the Fight: The fighter is be at –2 to both Aim and Fighting if they
knocked unconscious or forced to recover.)
retreat from the battlefield. Remove
Injured fighters that are engaged in melee must
him as a casualty.
pass a Grit test or they are automatically
knocked out of the fight. If the test succeeds,
they recover with a flesh wound.
SPECIAL DAMAGE
D6 Effect Recovery
During the recovery phase, every Fighter who is
1 Stunned: The fighter has no actions
injured must roll again on the Injury Table. If
until he can pass a Grit test in the
they recover to a flesh wound, all of their stats
recovery phase. Stunned fighters may
and actions are returned to normal, except of
fight in melee combat, but have all of
course for the –1 to Aim and Fighting from the
their stats halved.
flesh wound.
2 Bloodcurdling Scream: Allies within 8
inches of this fighter must pass a Grit
check or fall back.
3 Chest Wound: -1 Strength and
Toughness until the end of the game.
4 Arm Wound: One of his arms becomes
worthless. He suffers a –2 penalty to
use any two-handed weapons.
5 Leg Wound: Until the end of the
game, this fighter suffers –1 to his
Speed and Quickness.
6 Weapon Specific: Each weapon
technology keyword has a critical
effect listed.
 M ELEE C OMBAT
FIGHTING
The two fighters in melee combat each roll a
number of dice equal to their fighting skill. For
each success they may make one move in this
round of the combat.
The Fighter with the higher Quickness has the
edge, and chooses whether he or his opponent
will make the first move. If the fighters’
Quicknesses are the same, each takes a
Quickness test to see who goes first.
The fighter who goes first selects a move from
those listed below. His opponent may then
respond with a move, and vise versa until both
fighter’s moves are expended. After all the
moves are determined, you roll for the wounds
caused by strikes.
Bust
If a fighter Busts on the Fighting roll, he
stumbles and his opponent automatically gets
the edge. If both fighters bust, then determine
the edge as normal.
Moves
Strike: If the strike is unblocked, roll to wound
at the end of combat.
Block: Negates a strike. A block must be played
with the immediate responding move to a
strike.
Footwork: You may move the combatants D3
inches in a direction of your choice. At the end
of the move, you can rotate the combatants in
the direction of your choice. If a footwork
move pushes an opponent into an obstacle, he
must pass a quickness test or lose one move. If
he is pushed over a ledge, he must pass a
quickness test or fall.
Break Off: Breaking off allows a combatant to
escape hand-to-hand. Once the fighter declares
that he is breaking off, his opponent may use
any moves he has remaining. Assuming that the
combatant who wants to break off is still on his
feet, he must take a Quickness test, with a +1
modifier for each move he hadn’t used. If the
test passes, he may move 2 inches plus an
additional 2 inches for each success in the
quickness test. If the test fails, he panics and
must run 2D6 inches toward the nearest table
edge.
Ronnie and Carson are engaged in melee
combat. Both fighters make a Fighting check.
Ronnie gets 2 successes, Carson gets 1. Carson
has the higher quickness, so he has the edge,
which he uses to force Ronnie to go first.
For his first move, Ronnie declares a strike. In
response, Carson uses his move to block the
strike, negating it. The edge passes back to
Ronnie, who uses his second and final move to
strike. Since Carson is out of moves, he can’t do
anything about this second strike and takes a
hit.
Injuries
Any unblocked strikes roll to wound as normal.
Instead of rolling on the injury table, however,
the wounded fighter must pass a Grit test or be
knocked out of the fight. If the Grit test
succeeds, he takes a flesh wound instead.
MELEE MODIFIERS
+1 Off Hand Weapon: If the fighter is using two
melee weapons, he gets a +1 modifier to the
fighting roll.
+1 Charging: The fighter who charged gets a +1
to the Fighting roll for the first round of combat
only.

-1 Improvised Weapon: Fighters not armed

with a melee weapon fight at –1.

-1 Fighting Over an Obstacle: Melee combat

can be fought over an obstacle so long as both
fighters are in base-to-base contact with the
obstacle. Each fighter, however, fights at –1.

Multiple Combatants