Malevolence An Experiment in Death Introduction This is my attempt to make a small-scale skirmish game used primarily for gaming zombie games. I was inspired to write it after seeing some of Hasslefree s miniatures and wishing to use the lot in a game that would be able to show off their character, as well as provide some good zombie-blasting fun. This game is geared towards low figure counts (1-3 figures per player) with greater detail and might be considered a quasi-rpg like Inquisitor. Update History V0.1 As this is the initial version, it is very bare-bones and has only my ideas for the core game. I intend to expand it with further rules to make it more detailed, but for now, I m just trying to tweak the system to make it work. Terminology - The entire game is run with D6s, and when references are made to dice, I mean D6s - Successes are rolls of 4+ on a D6, and critical successes are 6s. This rule can be modified, but unless explicitly stated, this is the general definition. - Exhaust is referred to temporary expenditure of a particular attribute (APs, Ready orders etc) which is restored at the end of the turn while Expend is used to refer to the permanent expenditure of an attribute (Ammo, medikits, Special ability uses) - A figure refers to any single model in the game, character is the term used to refer to lone figures. Groups are a associated set of figures (i.e. pair of assassins, survivalists, a family). Unit is the catch-all phrase for groups AND characters. - All measurements are in inches. - Line of Sight is required for all Attack Actions. Line of sight is determined by drawing a straight line between any point on the figure s base and the target. If the line does not cross any overly high intervening obstacles, then LoS is clear.
Character Sheet Name: Eve Initiative: 4 APs: 4 Equipment: Weapons: 1. Semiautomatic Pistol Range: 6 /12 /18 WD: 3/2/1 RoF: 1 Equipped: Y 2. Semiautomatic Pistol Range: 6 /12 /18 WD: 3/2/1 RoF: 1 Equipped: Y 3. Range: / / WD: / / RoF: Equipped: N 4. Range: / / WD: / / RoF: Equipped: N Armour: 1. Civilian Clothes AV: 3 2. AV: 3. AV: Inventory: 1. Painkillers (x2) Heal two flesh wounds up to the most recent Severe wound. 2. Pistol clip (x2) 3. 4. 5. Special Abilities: 1. John Woo Style Can fire two ranged weapons at the same time but no critical successes possible. 2. Gun Kata Can use pistol weapons in close combat. (Stackable) Wound Track O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
Explanation: Initiative: Determines when in the action phase a unit acts (Avg: 4) AP: Action points, determines how many actions a figure can take during its turn (Avg: 4) Weapons: Each figure can carry up to four weapons, though it can only equip two at a time. Range: The three numbers represent 3 range bands, short, medium and long. WD: Weapon dice, number of dice thrown at each range band, successes damage target. RoF: Rate of fire, number of times weapon fires with each attack action. Armour: Each figure can only carry and wear 3 pieces of armour at any one time. AV: Armour value, amount of Armour Boxes it adds to the wound track. Inventory: Miscellaneous items carried by the character. Items only stack 5 deep. Special abilities: Inherent and activated special abilities. Wound track: Boxes which represent the general state of the character s health. Except for Evasion, they are ticked off from left to right. (Avg: 10 Boxes of wounds) Orange boxes: Evasion (see combat) (Avg: 1 box for humans, 0 for zombies) Blue boxes: Armour boxes modified by AV of armour worn at any time. (Avg: 3 to none) Red boxes: Flesh wound Five flesh wounds cause on severe wound. (Avg: 10 flesh wounds total) Purple boxes: Severe wound Each severe wound sustained makes the figure lose 1 AP and 1 Evasion (Avg: 1 for every 5 flesh wounds) Black box: Death (Counts as a Severe Wound for Severe Wounding rule)
Game Rules Basics The game is divided into a series of Turns. In each Turn, each character and group takes its Action Phase according to an order determined in the Initative Phase of the round. During its Action Phase, a character or group may move, fire or execute special commands/abilities. Play then moves on to the End Phase, where various special effects etc are cleared up in preparation for the next round. Turn Sequence 1. Initiative Phase 2. Action Phase 3. End Phase Initiative Phase During this phase, all characters and groups roll a D6 and add their initiative value to it. This sum is then modified as below: +1 per AP the unit Readied the last turn if it did not exhaust its Ready order (for groups, add lowest AP saved, and subject to the condition that the entire group must have Ready orders). Action Phase During the action phase, each unit activates according to their descending initiative value. Highest initiative goes first, then second highest and so on. A unit can take several actions during its action phase as below: Move Action - Advance - Sprint - Charge Attack Action - Attack - Reload Special Action - Ready Order - Duck and Hide - Crawl - Aim Order - Activated Special Abilities
Move Action - Only ONE move action may be selected per phase. Advance - The figure moves 2 for each AP it expends. - No penalties on other actions. Sprint - The figure moves 3 for each AP it expends. A minimum of 2APs must be spent in this way. - The figure cannot initiate an attack action, and may not move into contact with an enemy. - The figure cannot initiate special actions apart from Duck into Cover and Crawl. - The figure adds 1 point to its evasion temporarily until it s next Action Phase. Charge - The figure moves 3 for each AP expended. - The figure must declare a specific enemy figure and must end its movement in base contact with that figure. - The figure gains one bonus melee attack on the enemy targeted with no counterattack possible. Movement penalties: Movement speed is halved over difficult terrain No sprinting over difficult terrain. Vertical movement up ladders is halved No sprinting up ladders. Jumps are counted quarter movement. (I.e. If a figure wants to jump 1 up and 2 forward, it would expend 12 of normal movement in this way) Attack Action - As many attack actions may be initiated as long as the figure has APs remaining. The figure can continue its move action, if applicable, after the attack. (i.e. Advance (1AP) -> Attack twice (2AP) -> Advance(1AP)) Attack (1 AP) - The figure attacks once with a melee or ranged weapon. Reload (1 AP) - The figure reloads ONE of its weapons. Attacking Ranged Attack (Shot) 1. Declare target and measure range to target. 2. Roll number of WD equal to the number for that particular range band of the weapon. 3. Each 4+ is a success, each 6 is a critical success. 4. Mark boxes off target s wound track. (See wounding) Melee Attack 1. Declare attack. 2. Roll WD equal to value for melee weapon.
3. Each 4+ is a success, each 6 is a critical success. 4. Mark boxes of target s wound track. 5. If target is still alive, it gets to counterattack. (I.e. It gets a free attack back at its attacker at no AP cost, this makes melee combat all the more deadlier to both combatants.) 6. If a figure attempts to move out of a melee, all enemies in base contact are allowed one counterattack. Wounding the Target 1. Assign numbers rolled for successes in descending order from left to right on the target s wound track. 2. If the number for evasion is NOT A SIX (6) then that success is discounted. If it is a six, then mark off one extra wound box on the right. 3. If there are two sixes in a row, and neither of those sixes lie on the Evasion or Armour boxes, immediately mark all boxes to the nearest Severe wound (Severe Wounding Rule). Continue marking boxes to the right of the severe wound if more successes are scored. 4. Double 1s indicate the weapon has run out of ammo and needs to be reloaded. Example: Using the example of Eve from above, her wound track is EAAAFFFFSFFFFD (E=Evasion, A= Armour, F= Flesh wound, S = Severe Wound and D = Death). Zombie #1 attacks her, rolling 3 WD and getting a 3, 4, 4. One four is allocated to the E, and one more to the A. Mark off the A box. Wound track is now EAAFFFFSFFFFD. Zombie #2 attacks her, rolling 3 WD and getting a 6, 6, 1. One six is allocated to the E, and one more to the A. Mark off TWO A boxes. There are two sixes in a row, but one lies on the E, and the other on an A, so no Severe Wounding occurs. Wound track is now EFFFFSFFFFD. Big Zombie #1 attacks her, rolling 5 WD and getting a 1, 1, 3, 6, 6. One six is allocated to the E, and the other one to the F. (If the Big Zombie was using a gun, it would now be out of ammo). Though both sixes are in a row, one is allocated to the E, so the Severe Wounding doesn t occur. Wound track is now EFFFSFFFFD Traitorous Albert Wesker unloads double Uzis into her back. Rolling 3 WD x 3 (RoF) x 2 (double guns). He gets a (666), (235), (544), (112), (345), (332). Allocating each shot separately; for the first shot, one 6 is absorbed by her evasion and is dealt as 1 flesh wound, the other two sixes severely wound her (FFFD); for the second shot, one flesh wound is caused as the E box has been removed due to the severe wound (see charsheet explanations), (FFD); third shot misses totally, fourth shot causes two more flesh wounds (D) and the last shot misses her. As can be seen, Eve is now on the brink of death. She has one box remaining on her wound track. As her armour boxes are all gone, her civilian clothing can be crossed off the character sheet. She has no more Evasion, and she is now down to 3APs per turn. Notes: The rather convoluted mechanics of allocating shots and whatnot are to ensure two things:
1. I wanted multiple critical successes to deal major damage. 2. I wanted the evasion and armour to actually absorb the damage. Since evasion is more of a trait/ability rather than something that physically stops the hits, I had it as a sort of sink that would remove one or two shots that were below critical successes as well as stopping Severe Wounding if the figure isn t wearing much armour. Armour on the other hand functions almost exclusively to stop the Severe Wounding occurring as long as it is present. Special Actions - A figure may initiate as many of these as it likes as long as it has the AP to pay for them. Ready Order X (X AP) - X AP is set aside to interrupt the action of another figure. - The interrupt can only take place if the interrupting figure can see the interrupted figure take an action APART FROM Crawl. - All interrupt actions must target the interrupted figure. - Interrupting actions are Attack Actions (Ranged) or Move Action (Charge) only. - You can only interrupt ONCE per turn. (i.e. if you have 3APs, interrupt someone by shooting him and he dies to your first shot, the remaining 2APs are wasted). Duck and Cover (1AP) - Figure hunkers down and takes advantage cover that is AVAILABLE. (Cover such as difficult terrain, building windows, corners etc) - When in cover, the figure adds temporary ablative armour (1, 3 or 5 points that are replenished during each End Phase) to its wound track. - Ablative armour only applicable if logical. (Hiding behind a corner, figures shooting through the corner would have to get through the ablative armour, a figure creeping up behind the hider wouldn t) - Any move actions will break this cover. Figure cannot break cover and move back into cover of the same piece of cover in one turn. (I.e. figures can dash from hidey hole to hidey hole, but they cannot stand up and duck down just to replenish their ablative armour on their own turn) Crawl (1AP) - Move 1 - Figure does not break cover (if in it) - Figure does not trigger interrupts. Aim (1AP per shot) - Only useable if the figure has moved 2 or less - Critical successes on the shot occur on 5+ rather than 6s. - Only applicable for SINGLE shots. (RoF 3 weapons can only fire a single shot if aimed) - One Aim action is required per shot. Re-arm, Re-armour, Use items (1AP) - May change equipped weapons. - May pick up armour.
- May use items in inventory. - May search item drop sites. Special Abilities - Can initiate if its conditions are satisfied. End Phase - Remove all Ready Orders - Replenish Ablative armour for figures under cover. Special Abilities (Tentative) Weapon Abilities - Accurate Successes on 3+ (does not work if Untrained) - Deadly Critical successes on 5+ (Some weapons have Deadly (Close) which means this applies only in the Close range band) - Melee Base to base combat only, no ammo - Blast X Weapon dice successes determine radius of blast around target point in inches, X dice are rolled for damage. - Quick Reload No APs spent reloading, reloads with next attack action or during the End Phase. - Ammo Hog Each attack automatically runs the weapon out of ammo. - 2-handed Only one of these weapons can be equipped at any time. - Indirect No line of sight required. Inherent - Flurry in melees, this figure can conduct all its attacks before the enemy counterattacks. - Athletic this figure moves 4 /AP when sprinting, and jumps at ½ movement rather than ¼ - Crack shot Shots made count as accurate (Stackable, works on Single shots only) - Slippery Figure may move out of combat without being counterattacked. - Killer Instinct Attacks count as deadly (Stackable, there are Melee and Ranged versions) - Untrained Successes occur on 5+ only. - Gun Kata Can use pistols in melee (Stackable) - John Woo Style Can use double pistols but no Critical Successes possible. - Zombie Movement AP costs are double. Sight range is 6 rather than unlimited. - Abomination No severe wounds or Severe Wounding. Flesh wounds all the way. Activated - Sniper Shot (3AP) conduct a single attack action with a RoF 1 weapon. This shot succeeds on a 2+ and criticals on a 4+
Units to be used for testing. - Zombie, AP4, Init2, Claws(3, Melee), Zombie, FFFFSFFFFD - Dead dog, AP4, Init4, Bite (2, Melee), FFFFD - Shotgun 5/10/15, 5/1/1, 2-handed, Deadly (Close) - Grenade 5/8/-, 3/3/- Indirect, Blast 4 - Bare hands -/-/- 1/0/0, Melee - Katana -/-/- 4/0/0 Deadly