You may have seen a few Bolt Action articles floating around on the site recently. Well Dave and I are now diving in with an escalation campaign for ourselves.
These rules are still in draft format and may well change over the next few days/weeks. This article will be kept live with a log of any changes at the top.
They are based almost entirely on Games Workshop’s Crusade system for Warhammer 40k. I’ve also heavily leaned on the Chicago Dice campaign rules. In fact, if you’re in to Bolt Action, I highly recommend you take a look at their site!
Also, check out the Command Post, which provides a fantastic Mission Generator for your games, this was the source of the Missions in this campaign.
The Woehammer Bolt Action Escalation Rules
Pick a nation
When you start an army, all of the units in your Order of Battle must be drawn from a single nation (i.e. Germany, Soviet Union, Hungary etc).
Order of Battle
A player’s Order of Battle is a list of all the units that they have as part of their army. A player’s Order of Battle can consist of any number of units, but each unit must have their weapons, abilities and experience level listed. A starting force cannot exceed 500 points and this is your force’s Supply Limit. The Supply Limit can be increased by playing battles. Make a note of each unit’s weapons, abilities and experience on your Order of Battle.
You can add new units to your Order of Battle at any time, provided that doing so does not exceed your army’s Supply Limit. Once you have added models to your army, you cannot change their equipment without spending Requisition Points to do so. Further models may be added to units at a later date if that unit is not at full strength. All weapons must be decided at the point of purchasing those models.
You can remove units from your Order of Battle at any time, but once you have removed a unit you cannot add it back into your Order of Battle (so any experience, awards etc they have gained, are lost). Removing a unit from your Order of Battle does not affect your Supply Limit (so removing a unit can potentially leave you with the ability to add a new unit to your Order of Battle).
Battle Tally, Requisition Points and Other Information
Each player taking part in the campaign must also have a tally of the number of battles they have played, as well as their current number of Requisition Points (RPs). When you first embark on a campaign and you create an Order of Battle, you will start with 5 RPs. You can also include any other information you want on your Order of Battle, including notable victories or defeats, any vendettas or grudges you feel your army would have, or any additional background that you wish to add to your force or units within it.
Fighting a Battle
Battles are fought between two members of the campaign, at a points level agreed by both parties. The army used in the game must be constructed from units present in your Order of Battle.
Missions
Once you have a Battleplan, you must also roll 2D6 for a mission from the below list. This will act as your secondary objective for the game.
At the end of the game, if you completed your Mission successfully you treat a Defeat result in the scenario being played as a Draw, and a Draw as a Victory. In the cases where both players have succeeded in their Mission, the missions are disregarded when working out which side has won, drawn or lost.
| Die Roll (2D6) | Mission | Objective |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Control the Flanks | At a turn end phase, have one or more friendly units fully within 12″ of each table side edge on the opponent’s half of the table. |
| 3 | Decapitation | Kill an enemy officer during the game. |
| 4 | Envelopment | At the end of the game you must have a friendly unit fully within 12″ of the opponent’s table edge. |
| 5 | Fuel Shortage | A vehicle model must not be given an Advance or Run order for 3 consecutive turns. |
| 6 | Hold This | During setup, before deployment, you place an objective marker (roughly 2″ in diameter) within 12″ of your table edge. At the end of every turn, a friendly model must be within 3″ of the objective marker. |
| 7 | Keep Up The Pressure | At the end of any turn at least 4 enemy units have at least one pin marker. |
| 8 | Probe Defences | The first friendly unit to be pinned must fall back to your own lines to report enemy positions, using consecutive Run orders until it reaches your own table edge. |
| 9 | Reckless Bravery | Do not use a Down order during a turn (at turn end phase, none of your units have a Down order next to them). |
| 10 | Shock and Awe | At the end of turn 3 you must have 3 or more friendly units fully within the opponent’s table half. |
| 11 | Take Prisoners | Defeat an enemy Infantry or Artillery unit in close combat to capture a prisoner. Add the enemy model to your assaulting unit. The prisoner is unarmed. Keep the prisoner alive and under control – at least one model of your unit and the prisoner must survive – to the end of the game. |
| 12 | The Mole | Just before beginning the first turn of the game, after all deployment is finished (including snipers, spotters and observers), you place an objective marker representing the hiding resistance operative on the table, following the same setup instructions for the objective in the Hold Until Relieved scenario on page 114 of the Bolt Action Rulebook. You must be within 6″ of the resistance operative with an Infantry unit, at which point the resistance operative will reveal themselves (place another model on the objective, at which point they join the friendly unit as a regular, pistol armed soldier), if there is no enemy unit within 6″. The operative needs to leave the table by moving into contact with your own table edge. |
Experience
When you add a unit to your Order of Battle, it will start with the lowest experience available to it (i.e. if a unit can be bought as Regular or Veterans, then players must choose the Regular unit), the unit will then start the campaign with the minimum number of experience points available to its rank as shown in the table below.
Units can spend their experience points to go up in quality or by improving the unit.
Infantry and Artillery Experience
- Battle Experience. At the end of a battle, each unit that survives gains 1 experience point.
- Death Dealers. A unit gains 1 experience point for every enemy unit it has destroyed from shooting.
- Courageous. A unit gains 3 experience for destroying an enemy unit in assault.
Infantry and Artillery Experience Purchases
| Experience Points | Benefit |
|---|---|
| 5 | Move up in troop quality (inexp. to reg, reg to vet) |
| 5 | Purchase an infantry bonus skill |
| 10 | Purchase a second infantry bonus skill |
| 15 | Purchase a third infantry bonus skill |
Infantry Bonus Skills
| Infantry Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Stubborn | If forced to make a morale check, they ignore negative morale modifiers from pin markers. Remember that order tests are no morale checks. |
| Fieldcraft | Units with Fieldcraft using Hidden Set-up may start the game in Ambush. In addition, in the first turn of the game, all Fieldcraft units treat all Rough Ground and Obstacles as Open Ground for the purpose of movement. |
| Tough Fighter | When a Tough Fighter scores a casualty in assault against Infantry or Artillery, it can immediately make a second damage roll. |
| Behind Enemy Lines | When Outflanking, ignore the -1 modifier to the Order test for coming onto the table (American players re-roll this as this skill is already incorporated into your National Rules – Modern Communications) |
| Resolve | If the unit possess any pins at the end of each turn, roll a single die. On the roll of a 5+, a single pin marker is removed. |
| First Aid | Every time the unit receives casualties from small arms, rolls a single die. On a roll of 6, one casualty may be ignored. This skill can be used in addition to a medic. |
Artillery Bonus Skills
| Artillery Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Stubborn | If forced to make a morale check, they ignore negative morale modifiers from pin markers. Remember that order tests are no morale checks. |
| Mountain Gun | Treats Rough Ground as Open Ground. (Players should discuss before game if they think some terrain does not apply, such as water features, etc) |
| Prepared Positions | The crew has dug out cover effectively, and counts as having a Gun Shield. If the gun already has a Gun Shield, it counts as providing protection from the front and sides of the gun. |
| Enhanced Sights | This unit takes no penalty for firing at long range. |
| Steady | This unit does not suffer a penalty for only having one crew member remaining. |
| Resolve | If the unit possess any pins at the end of each turn, roll a single die. On the roll of a 5+, a single pin marker is removed. |
Officers and HQ Experience
- Battle Experience. Officer gains 1 experience for surviving the battle.
- Snap to Action. An officer gains up to 1 experience for initiating “You men, snap to action!” which results in an enemy unit taking casualties. (Can be earned once per game).
- Lead from the Front. An officer uses a morale bonus to assist friendly unit in a successful order test, morale test or rally. (Can be earned once per game).
- Medic! Medic succesfully saves a casualty (Must be a medic and not from First Aid bonus skill). Can be earned up to three times per game.
Officer and HQ Experience Purchases
| Experience Points | Benefit |
|---|---|
| 5 | Move up in Rank quality (2nd Lieutenant to 1st Leitenant, Captain to Major) |
| 5 | Purchase an Officer bonus skill |
| 10 | Purchase a second Officer bonus skill |
| 15 | Purchase a third Officer bonus skill |
Officer and HQ Bonus Skills
| Artillery Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Strong Leader | Add 3″ to the morale bonus range of this officer. |
| In Control | The Officer can remove one pin marker from a unit within its morale bonus range per turn at the cost of an Order. |
| Cut Throat | The officer is known for their tenacity in combat, as such any units in close quarters can add +1 to their combat rolls. |
| Skilled Observer | If this Officer is an Artillery Observer or Forward Air Observer, add +1 to their Artillery Barrage Chart, Smoke Barrage Chart or Air Strike Chart roll. Note that a 1, will still count as a Miscalulation or Rookie Pilot. |
| Skilled Shot | This Officer has a reputation as a crack shot, and such confers a +1 to hit for a single unit within its morale bonus range as that unit tries to emulate the officers skill. |
Vehicle Experience
- Battle Experience Vehicle gains 1 eperience for surviving the battle.
- Death Dealers. Vehicle gains 1 experience for destroying an enemy infantry, artillery or soft-skinned vehicle.
- Tank Hunter. The vehicle gains 3 experience for knocking out an enemy armoured vehicle.
Vehicle Experience Purchases
| Experience Points | Benefit |
|---|---|
| 5 | Move up quality (Inexperienced to Regular, Regular to Veteran) |
| 5 | Purchase a Vehicle bonus skill |
| 10 | Purchase a second Vehicle bonus skill |
| 15 | Purchase a third Vehicle bonus skill |
Soft-Skinned Vehicle Bonus Skills
| Soft-Skinned Vehicle Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Wheelman | May make an extra pivot as part of an Advance or Run order. |
| Resolve | If the unit possess any pins at the end of each turn, roll a single die. On the roll of a 5+, a single pin marker is removed. |
| Forward Scout | This vehicle may make an Advance move (without shooting) after deployment but before the start of Turn 1. |
| Behind Enemy Lines | When Outflanking, ignore the -1 modifier to the Order test for coming onto the table (American players re-roll this as this skill is already incorporated into your National Rules – Modern Communications) |
| Shoot n’ Scoot | Can fire then move as part of an Advance order. |
| Recce | When reversing, either voluntarily or because of a failed order test, a Recce vehicle can reverse at it’s full Advance rate rather than at half rate, and can manoeuvre as if driving forward, i.e. a wheeled vehicle or half-track can make two 90 degree pivots and a tracked vehicle can make a single 90 degree pivot. Some Recce vehicles can even reverse at their Run rate if they are especially small and manoeuvrable or if they have dual direction steering. These exceptions are indicated in the Army Lists. If they fail an order test, these vehicles will always reverse at a Run rate. Recce vehicles will also spot hidden enemy at longer ranges than other vehicles – as noted in the rules ofr hidden units. |
Armoured Combat Vehicle Bonus Skills
| Armoured Combat Vehicle Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Armoured Cupola | This unit does not count as Open-topped when firing its pintle mounted weaponry. If this unit does not have the option to take a pintle mount, re-roll this skill. |
| Resolve | If the unit possess any pins at the end of each turn, roll a single die. On the roll of a 5+, a single pin marker is removed. |
| Maximum Impact | Once per game the vehicle may increase the main gun damage modifier by D3. This is selected before the roll To Hit. (Re-roll this skill if vehicle does not have weaponry with a penetration modifier) |
| Bulldozer | This vehicle always counts as passing the Order Check to Tank Assault another vehicle regardless of the number of Pins. No check is needed, and 1 Pin is removed. (Re-roll this skill if your vehicle is armor 7, as it cannot Tank Assault vehicles). |
| Lucky | The first time this vehicle takes a penetrating hit, reduce the number rolled by 1 on the Damage Chart. (First time each game) |
| Recovery Vehicle | Add +1 to the roll to see if this vehicle survives during the Casualties Phase. |
Transport Vehicle Bonus Skills
| Transport Vehicle Skill | Effect |
|---|---|
| Wheelman | May make an extra pivot as part of an Advance or Run order. |
| Resolve | If the unit possess any pins at the end of each turn, roll a single die. On the roll of a 5+, a single pin marker is removed. |
| Forward Scout | This vehicle may make an Advance move (without shooting) after deployment but before the start of Turn 1. |
| Getaway Driver | This vehicle can make an Advance move during its activation even if troops have embarked on it this turn. |
| Dedicated Gunner | This vehicle may fire two weapons instead of one, even when empty. If this vehicle cannot take more than one weapon, re-roll this skill. |
| First Aid | Every time a friendly Infantry Squad receives casualties from small arms within 6”, roll a single dice. On the role of a 6, one casualty may be ignored. This skill can be used in addition to a medic. |
Requisition Points
Requisition Points can be used to purchase Requisitions. These can upgrade your army, or the units within it. Each time you spend a Requisition Point, reduce your total by 1. Any Requisition Points you do not spend are saved and can be used later. As you play more battles, you can accrue additional Requisition Points, but an army can never have more than 5 RP, and any additional Requisition Points after this are lost.
Each time you play a battle you will gain 1 RP after that battle has been completed, regardless of the result.
Requisitions
Increase Supply Limit (1 RP)
Purchase this Requisition at any time. Increase your army’s Supply Limit by 50 points.
Fresh Recruits (1 RP)
Purchase this Requisition at any time. Select one unit from your Order of Battle. Roll a die for each casualty a unit has received in the campaign so far, on a 2+ a fresh recruit is drafted into the unit to replace it’s unfortunate predecessor. Due to limited manpower, sometimes the replacements you receive will not b the same quality as the troops that were lost. To represent this, if more troops are being replaced than are left in the squad roll a die. On a 4+, the replacements are the same level as the current squad; on a 1-3 the unit loses a single level of experience.
When men are lost from an Infantry Team or Artillery Crew, these troops are replaced immediately (with the replacement being drafted in from another unit in your roster).
Rearm and Resupply (1RP)
Purchase this Requisition at any time. Select one unit from your Order of Battle. You can change any weapon options that models in that unit are equipped with, within the weapon limitations as described for that unit in that Nation’s army list.
Repair and Recuperate (1RP)
Purchase this Requisition either before, or after a battle. Select one unit from your Order of Battle that has one or more Battle Scars. Select one of that unit’s Battle Scars and remove it from it’s listing on your Order of Battle. By removing a Battle Scar, your Order of Battle Strength will increase by 1.
Casualties
After battle, roll a d6 for every model that was removed during the game. Make your rolls one unit at a time. Do the same for vehicles that were Knocked Out.
- For Inexperience models, they survived on a die roll of a 6+
- For Regular models, they survived on a die roll of a 5+
- For Veteran models, they survived on a die roll of a 4+
- Vehicles that were Knocked Out during the game will survive on a 4+ regardless of quality.
If all models from an infantry team or unit die, that unit is wiped out, and it should be removed from your Order of Battle.
Vehicle models that do not survive, are not available for selection in the next game, as a replacement crew is found. Roll a die, on a 4+ the vehicle retains its experience level, on 1-3 it reduces a level in experience.
Territory
After each game, the winning player rolls a D6 and gains that many territories. The losing player gains half that figure (rounding up).
Territories are used to rank the players throughout the campaign.