Zappit
Staff member
I’ve been getting into building Lego Mechs lately, and when I was looking up different builds, I came across Mecha Frame Zero, a tabletop game. I checked it out, and...it seemed unnecessarily complicated. I thought to myself that I could crate a set of rules for a simple, fast-paced Lego mech game that’s much easier to pick up and play.
So I’m going to use this thread as a developmental area for Warcore, which will be a free set of rules. I’ve written the absolute bare-bones basics so far. I need to create the Faction Rules. There will be five when I’m done, but it will be very easy to expand. @Dave, maybe if this pans out, Halforums could serve as a hub and host for the rules, and give the forums a little something extra to offer folks. Just a thought. Think about it.
Here’s the first few pages for basic play - no lore of Factions yet.
Welcome to Warcore!
Warcore is a versatile, highly customizable tabletop game of clashing squads of advanced mechs. Warcore does not any dedicated miniatures to represent the various units in the game, but requires players to construct their own from various building kits. Blocks, model kits, or miniatures from other games are completely welcome on a Warcore battlefield. Use your imagination, and have fun!
Players will assemble their squads, but must keep track of the types of units, weaponry, and war-gear used. This information should be made available to all players to ensure fair and honest play.
The universe of Warcore is a hostile one. Various factions are constantly at war over territory, resources, or to simply wipe each other out. This has resulted in a galactic war of attrition that threatens to destroy them all.
Please consult the Faction Guides for specific rules, Armories, and Unit Values.
There are three types of units in a squad. These are:
Light Mechs: Light Mechs are fast-attack units that can carry Light and Medium Weapons and Equipment. While payloads may vary, all Light Mechs use the following rules:
Light Mechs may move up to 12” per turn. They may fire Light Weapons while moving, but must remain stationary during any turn they fire a Medium Weapon.
Light Mechs have 2 Structure Points.
Light Mechs have 4 Armory Points.
Heavy Mechs: Heavy Mechs are slower, stronger units that can carry Light, Medium, and Heavy Weapons and Equipment. While payloads may vary, all Heavy Mechs use the following rules:
Heavy Mechs may move up to 8” per turn. They may fire Light and Medium Weapons while moving, but must remain stationary to fire Heavy Weapons.
Heavy Mechs have 4 Structure Points.
Heavy Mechs have 8 Armory Points.
Super-Heavy Mechs: Super-Heavy Mechs are plodding engines of destruction that can carry all Weapons and Equipment. While payloads may vary, all Super-Heavy Mechs use the following rules.
Super-Heavy Mechs may move up to 5” per turn. They may fire Light, Medium, and Heavy Weapons while moving, but must remain stationary to fire Armageddon-Class Weapons.
Super Heavy Mechs have 6 Structure Points.
Super-Heavy Mechs have 14 Armory Points.
A squad may only include one Super-Heavy Mechs.
Use the Faction Rules to assemble a squad. Each player has 20 Mech Points to spend assembling his or her squad. The Faction Rules list Mech Points Values.
Rules of Play
Each player must assemble their squad before the game, and have a written of typed unit report that includes all units and their weapons and equipment. This information must remain public and available to all players. Players will need multiple six-sided dice to play.
Try to reflect the Weapons and Equipment on your units. This will help all players keep track of individual units and reduce player confusion.
There are four types of missions in Warcore. Choose one type of mission to play.
Territorial Dispute: Each player must place three Resources on the board within their starting zone. These may be communications arrays, supply depots, bunkers, etc...
Players will have ten turns to capture as many enemy Resources as possible. To capture a Resource, a unit must be within 1” of a Resource. If an enemy is also within 1” of the Resource, it cannot be captured until the enemy moves or is destroyed.
After ten rounds, the player with the most Resources under his or her control is declared the winner.
Escort Mission: This mission must be played between two players. If more players are involved, they must divide into equal teams.
One player/team is the Escort Force. The other player/team is the Aggressor Force.
Place a starting point on the edge of the table on the Escort Force Starting Zone. Choose an Arrival Point on the edge of the table on the Aggressor Force Starting Zone. These points should be a minimum 20” apart from one another.
Place a Non-Combatant Unit on the Starting Point. This may be a vehicle or mech. The Non-Combatant Unit May move 4” per turn. It has 12 Structure Points.
The Escort Force must get the Non-Combatant Unit to the Arrival Point in order to win. The Aggressor Force must destroy the Non-Combatant Unit to win.
Capture: Place a Target in the middle of the board. This may be a building, weapons cache, etc. All players must attempt to seize the Target and maintain control for three consecutive rounds.
A player may claim the Target if he or she moves a unit within 3” of the Target. That player maintains control as long as he or she has the most units within the 3” range until the end of the turn.
A player must maintain control of the Target for three consecutive rounds to win. If two players have he same number of units within 3” of the Target, neither player has control.
If all other players are eliminated, the surviving player wins by default.
Let the World Burn: All players compete in a free-for all. The last remaining player is declared the winner. This mission may be modified to a team format, in which case the last remaining team is declared the winner.
Setting Up the Board
The play area should be a minimum of 24”x 24”, but may be larger. Each player will select one corner of the board to be their Starting Zone. Players must deploy their squad within an 8” radius of the corner.
If more than four players are playing, designate an area around the edge of the board for each player.
Choose the mission type.
All players deploy their units simultaneously. Place all units in each squad on the board. Depending on the mission, place any Resources, Targets, and Non-Combatant Units on the board.
Playing the Game
There are several phases to each turn. These are:
Start of Turn: The Active Player moves his or her units.
Attack Phase: The Active Player will declare attacks, and make all attack rolls. Resolve successful attacks using the Armory Rules from the Faction Rules.
End of Turn: The Active Player may activate any End-of-Turn Abilities.
Roll dice to determine turn order. When a player takes his or her turn, that player becomes the Active Player.
Start of Turn: The Active Player May move his or her units around the board. All units in a squad must adhere to the Unit Movement Rules.
Light Mechs may move up to 12”.
Heavy Mechs may move up to 8”.
Super-Heavy Mechs may move up to 6”.
Attack Phase: Each unit the Active Player Controls may fire on opposing units or Targets. Choose all targets and fire weapons according to the Armory entry in the Faction Rules. These entries dictate attack accuracy. For example:
Standard Rifle - Acc 4-6 Def 5-6 Shots 1 / Damage 1 Abilities: None
Shots indicates how often a weapon can fire. The Stardard Rifle may fire a single shot each turn. Acc indicates accuracy. Rolling a 4, 5, or 6 on six-sided die results in a successful hit. The Defending Player must roll a 5 or 6 to successfully deflect or dodge the shot. If the Defending Player does not roll a 5 or 6, the targeted unit will take 1 Structure Point of Damage.
Close Combat Weapons cannot be used unless the defending unit is within 2” of the attacker.
Units that do not have a Close Combat Weapon equipped use the following profile for Close Combat attacks: Acc 6 / Def 4-6 / Shots 1 / Damage 1 / Abilities: None
When the Active Player has resolved all attacks, move on to the End of Turn phase.
Cover: Units partially obscured by foliage or structures are considered to be in cover. Shooting attacks targeting a unit in cover suffer an Acc penalty of 1. For example, an Acc of 4-6 becomes Acc 5-6.
Cover does not affect Close-Combat attacks.
Units that are destroyed are turned on their side. They are considered cover.
End of Turn: Some Equipment will have special abilities that can be activated after the Attack Phase. The Active Player must declare he or she is using these abilities at this time. Then, the turn passes to the next player.
After each player has taken a turn, the round is complete. Depending on the mission, keep track of the number of rounds played.
So I’m going to use this thread as a developmental area for Warcore, which will be a free set of rules. I’ve written the absolute bare-bones basics so far. I need to create the Faction Rules. There will be five when I’m done, but it will be very easy to expand. @Dave, maybe if this pans out, Halforums could serve as a hub and host for the rules, and give the forums a little something extra to offer folks. Just a thought. Think about it.
Post automatically merged:
Here’s the first few pages for basic play - no lore of Factions yet.
Welcome to Warcore!
Warcore is a versatile, highly customizable tabletop game of clashing squads of advanced mechs. Warcore does not any dedicated miniatures to represent the various units in the game, but requires players to construct their own from various building kits. Blocks, model kits, or miniatures from other games are completely welcome on a Warcore battlefield. Use your imagination, and have fun!
Players will assemble their squads, but must keep track of the types of units, weaponry, and war-gear used. This information should be made available to all players to ensure fair and honest play.
The universe of Warcore is a hostile one. Various factions are constantly at war over territory, resources, or to simply wipe each other out. This has resulted in a galactic war of attrition that threatens to destroy them all.
Please consult the Faction Guides for specific rules, Armories, and Unit Values.
There are three types of units in a squad. These are:
Light Mechs: Light Mechs are fast-attack units that can carry Light and Medium Weapons and Equipment. While payloads may vary, all Light Mechs use the following rules:
Light Mechs may move up to 12” per turn. They may fire Light Weapons while moving, but must remain stationary during any turn they fire a Medium Weapon.
Light Mechs have 2 Structure Points.
Light Mechs have 4 Armory Points.
Heavy Mechs: Heavy Mechs are slower, stronger units that can carry Light, Medium, and Heavy Weapons and Equipment. While payloads may vary, all Heavy Mechs use the following rules:
Heavy Mechs may move up to 8” per turn. They may fire Light and Medium Weapons while moving, but must remain stationary to fire Heavy Weapons.
Heavy Mechs have 4 Structure Points.
Heavy Mechs have 8 Armory Points.
Super-Heavy Mechs: Super-Heavy Mechs are plodding engines of destruction that can carry all Weapons and Equipment. While payloads may vary, all Super-Heavy Mechs use the following rules.
Super-Heavy Mechs may move up to 5” per turn. They may fire Light, Medium, and Heavy Weapons while moving, but must remain stationary to fire Armageddon-Class Weapons.
Super Heavy Mechs have 6 Structure Points.
Super-Heavy Mechs have 14 Armory Points.
A squad may only include one Super-Heavy Mechs.
Use the Faction Rules to assemble a squad. Each player has 20 Mech Points to spend assembling his or her squad. The Faction Rules list Mech Points Values.
Rules of Play
Each player must assemble their squad before the game, and have a written of typed unit report that includes all units and their weapons and equipment. This information must remain public and available to all players. Players will need multiple six-sided dice to play.
Try to reflect the Weapons and Equipment on your units. This will help all players keep track of individual units and reduce player confusion.
There are four types of missions in Warcore. Choose one type of mission to play.
Territorial Dispute: Each player must place three Resources on the board within their starting zone. These may be communications arrays, supply depots, bunkers, etc...
Players will have ten turns to capture as many enemy Resources as possible. To capture a Resource, a unit must be within 1” of a Resource. If an enemy is also within 1” of the Resource, it cannot be captured until the enemy moves or is destroyed.
After ten rounds, the player with the most Resources under his or her control is declared the winner.
Escort Mission: This mission must be played between two players. If more players are involved, they must divide into equal teams.
One player/team is the Escort Force. The other player/team is the Aggressor Force.
Place a starting point on the edge of the table on the Escort Force Starting Zone. Choose an Arrival Point on the edge of the table on the Aggressor Force Starting Zone. These points should be a minimum 20” apart from one another.
Place a Non-Combatant Unit on the Starting Point. This may be a vehicle or mech. The Non-Combatant Unit May move 4” per turn. It has 12 Structure Points.
The Escort Force must get the Non-Combatant Unit to the Arrival Point in order to win. The Aggressor Force must destroy the Non-Combatant Unit to win.
Capture: Place a Target in the middle of the board. This may be a building, weapons cache, etc. All players must attempt to seize the Target and maintain control for three consecutive rounds.
A player may claim the Target if he or she moves a unit within 3” of the Target. That player maintains control as long as he or she has the most units within the 3” range until the end of the turn.
A player must maintain control of the Target for three consecutive rounds to win. If two players have he same number of units within 3” of the Target, neither player has control.
If all other players are eliminated, the surviving player wins by default.
Let the World Burn: All players compete in a free-for all. The last remaining player is declared the winner. This mission may be modified to a team format, in which case the last remaining team is declared the winner.
Setting Up the Board
The play area should be a minimum of 24”x 24”, but may be larger. Each player will select one corner of the board to be their Starting Zone. Players must deploy their squad within an 8” radius of the corner.
If more than four players are playing, designate an area around the edge of the board for each player.
Choose the mission type.
All players deploy their units simultaneously. Place all units in each squad on the board. Depending on the mission, place any Resources, Targets, and Non-Combatant Units on the board.
Playing the Game
There are several phases to each turn. These are:
Start of Turn: The Active Player moves his or her units.
Attack Phase: The Active Player will declare attacks, and make all attack rolls. Resolve successful attacks using the Armory Rules from the Faction Rules.
End of Turn: The Active Player may activate any End-of-Turn Abilities.
Roll dice to determine turn order. When a player takes his or her turn, that player becomes the Active Player.
Start of Turn: The Active Player May move his or her units around the board. All units in a squad must adhere to the Unit Movement Rules.
Light Mechs may move up to 12”.
Heavy Mechs may move up to 8”.
Super-Heavy Mechs may move up to 6”.
Attack Phase: Each unit the Active Player Controls may fire on opposing units or Targets. Choose all targets and fire weapons according to the Armory entry in the Faction Rules. These entries dictate attack accuracy. For example:
Standard Rifle - Acc 4-6 Def 5-6 Shots 1 / Damage 1 Abilities: None
Shots indicates how often a weapon can fire. The Stardard Rifle may fire a single shot each turn. Acc indicates accuracy. Rolling a 4, 5, or 6 on six-sided die results in a successful hit. The Defending Player must roll a 5 or 6 to successfully deflect or dodge the shot. If the Defending Player does not roll a 5 or 6, the targeted unit will take 1 Structure Point of Damage.
Close Combat Weapons cannot be used unless the defending unit is within 2” of the attacker.
Units that do not have a Close Combat Weapon equipped use the following profile for Close Combat attacks: Acc 6 / Def 4-6 / Shots 1 / Damage 1 / Abilities: None
When the Active Player has resolved all attacks, move on to the End of Turn phase.
Cover: Units partially obscured by foliage or structures are considered to be in cover. Shooting attacks targeting a unit in cover suffer an Acc penalty of 1. For example, an Acc of 4-6 becomes Acc 5-6.
Cover does not affect Close-Combat attacks.
Units that are destroyed are turned on their side. They are considered cover.
End of Turn: Some Equipment will have special abilities that can be activated after the Attack Phase. The Active Player must declare he or she is using these abilities at this time. Then, the turn passes to the next player.
After each player has taken a turn, the round is complete. Depending on the mission, keep track of the number of rounds played.
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