Final Days miniature game rules

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Transcript of Final Days miniature game rules

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Created By: David S. Kenzer, Noah Kolman with Jamie LafountainEditors: Noah Kolman and David S. Kenzer

Proofread by: Jeff Abar, Eric Englehard, Brian Jelke,Steve Johansson, Don Morgan, and Mark Plemmons

Art Director: Bob BurkeArtist Liaison: Mark Plemmons

Logo Design: Jennifer “Jiffy” BurkeCover Artist: Steven Cummings

Cover Colors: Scott Kester

Interior Illustrations: Steven CummingsMap/Terrain Illustrations: Keith DeCesare

Behind-the-Scenes: Jeff Abar, Jennifer KenzerTesting Manager: Eric Engelhard

Testing: Doug Click, Jim Colletti, Eric Engelhard, Gigi Epps,Brian Jelke, Jamie Lafountain Don Morgan, David S. Kenzer,

Noah Kolman, Robert Landry, Mark Lane, Mark Plemmons, MarkPrater,Anthony Roberson, Joe Selby, John Williams, D. M. Zwerg

© Copyright 2004, 2006 Kenzer and Company. Allrights reserved. The Kenzer and company logo, FinalDays and the Final Days logo are trademarks ofKenzer and Company.

Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used ficti-tiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book is protected under international treaties and copyright laws of the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced, with-out the express written consent of Kenzer and Company. Permission is granted to the purchaser of this product to reproduce sections of this book forpersonal use only. Sale or trade of such reproductions is strictly prohibited.

Questions, Comments, Product Orders? Phone: (847) 662-6600Kenzer and Company Fax: (847) 680-8950511 W. Greenwood Ave. E-mail: [email protected] IL 60087 Visit our website: www.kenzerco.com

CREDITS

Special thanks to Scott Leaton, without whom this game would not have been possible.

Miniatures Game Rules

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Save a Bullet for Yourself

Introduction

And lo there was a great earthquake; and the sunbecame black as sackcloth, and the moon became asblood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth,

even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when sheis shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven depart-

ed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and everymountain and island were moved out of their places.

This is Final Days, the skirmish-level miniatures gameof the struggle at the end of time: the biblical Apocalypse,post Rapture, as foretold in Revelations. In other words,Final Days is Hell on Earth. The sun no longer gives offlight and has plunged the world into eternal twilight. Itappears now only as a black smudge in the sky, as if cov-ered by a dark shroud. The moon, now a blood red orb,sheds its macabre reflection across the heavens creating anever-crimson sky. The black sun and scarlet moon sharethe heavens as immobile fixtures, for the earth no longerspins on its axis. Day and night no longer have meaning.The survivors of the Apocalypse, known as the Forsaken,no longer have a need to measure time. There is onlytemporary survival driven by mankind’s instinctual will tosurvive.

But this world is a world most unfriendly. The oceans,springs, and rivers are rife with disease and poison. Mostplants and animals have perished, and those that survivecarry fetid, stinking maladies or flesh-eating bacteria. Forthe Forsaken who strive to continue their horrible exis-tence, life is a never-ending struggle to find potable waterand edible foodstuffs.

At first, many chose death, but those around them soonlearned that death was not among their choices. Thosethat sought death’s release often did not find it. Rather,they rose again in undeath, as many humans that perishduring this time are doomed to rise again, cursed to walkthe earth in search of living flesh to devour. Worse still,many of the millions of dead destroyed by the upheavalof Armageddon have likewise risen in the form of flesh-eating zombies, doomed to wander the lands in search ofliving prey.

But brainless and slow-moving zombies are not thegreatest danger in this nightmarish world of eternal dusk.

The forces of darkness have opened the Bottomless Pitand released its fury upon mankind. The Legions of thePit include prowling ghouls, wicked vampires, and colos-sal demons of the underworld. All these horrors havebeen unleashed upon the surviving humans ofArmageddon: the Forsaken.

While hope is lost to them, mankind’s indomitable willto survive has led the Forsaken to defend themselvesagainst this dark host. Searching through the rubble offormer cities, the Forsaken find tools to aid in theirdefense. They scavenge clubs, knives, shotguns, andchainsaws from long-empty shopping malls and morepotent arsenals from former police and military facilities.These are the tools of an emerging group of heroes, thelast champions of mankind.

Such is the time of the Final Days. Defend yourfriends and loved ones, but remember to always…

Save a Bullet For Yourself

WHAT IS FINAL DAYS?Final Days is a skirmish-level miniatures game for two

or more players. Each player controls a number of minia-ture figures and strives to eliminate his opponent’s figuresor otherwise attain a pre-determined scenario victory con-dition.

Wh at You Need to Play

• Miniatures representing the Forsaken and theLegions of the Pit. There are many of these availablefrom various sources including the Final Days boxedset.

• A playing surface

• Terrain

• A measuring device, such as a ruler or tape measure

• A standard deck of 54 cards, including jokers

• This rulebook

Included with these rules you’ll find everything youneed but a deck of cards and a measuring device, and Ibet you have both of those nearby.

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A Note on TerrainFinal Days comes with battlefield maps and cutout

obstacles to use on the battlefield. For more variety, westrongly encourage players to use or create 3-D terrainsuch as destroyed vehicles, ruined buildings, fallen trees,etc. Most hobby stores have model railroad terrain thatworks very well. Note also that Final Days’ miniature fig-ures [available in the boxed set] may be painted to add afurther level of enjoyment to play.

Basic Card MechanicsIn Final Days, combat results and many other actions

are resolved with the use of a standard 54-card deck ofplaying cards. This deck must contain ace through kingof each suit (clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades) and twojokers. Players usually draw from a common deck,though there is no reason each player couldn’t have hisown. When the deck has fewer than ten cards remainingin it, one player should reshuffle the deck.

Turn SequenceIn Final Days, a player

moves and attacks with all the fig-ures he controls on his turn. He mayactivate his figures (begin their movement and combat)in any order he wishes, but once he activates a figure hemust complete any and all combat and movement that hewishes it to perform before he activates another. Once heactivates another figure, he may not then go back to apreviously activated figure and perform actions.

FiguresThe many combatants in Final Days are represented on

the tabletop by pewter figures. Each figure has severalqualities, including attributes, skills, and traits. Thesequalities define how the figure functions in the game. Itis extremely helpful to keep an explanation of all of yourfigure’s qualities in front of you, so you are always awareof what each figure can accomplish.

AttributesAttributes describe the natural abilities of a figure.

Every figure in Final Days has three attributes: Strike,

Ward, and Supernatural.Attributes are measured inpoints, and represent a fig-ure’s strength in three basicareas. The more points afigure has in an attribute,the better or stronger theyare in that area.

Strike points representthe figure’s natural strengthand attack capability. Afigure with Strike points isable to make attacks with its natural weaponry. Whenmaking a hand-to-hand attack with natural weapons, thenumber of Strike points determines how many cards thefigure receives for his attack.

Ward points represent a combination of the figure’s lifeforce, toughness, agility, defensive capability, and will tosurvive. When a figure is the target of an attack, thenumber of Ward points he has determines the base num-ber of cards he receives to defend himself. Without Wardpoints, a figure is unable to defend itself effectively.

Together, Ward and Strike points make up a figure’sVitality. Vitality is a measure of how much dam-

age a figure can sustain. Whenever a figure suf-fers damage, the controlling player removes

one point of Strike or Ward (his choice)for every point of damage inflicted.When a figure has no more Vitalityleft, he is dead (in the case of humansand dogs), banished (in the case ofdemons), or destroyed (in the case of

undead).Supernatural points represent special knowledge or abil-

ities that the figure possesses. A player spends supernatu-ral points to invoke specific effects. All supernaturalpoints have a type that is determined by the race or skillsthe figure possesses. The type of Supernatural pointsdetermines how these points are spent. Unlike Ward andStrike, Supernatural points are not part of a figure’sVitality; the figure’s controller spends the points as anaction and he cannot remove them when a figure suffersdamage.

SkillsSkills represent knowledge or abilities that a figure has

acquired. Skills usually allow the figure to modify orbreak the rules in some way. For example, a figure with-out Strike points normally cannot make attacks. But if

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For an even more exciting game inwhich it is more difficult to antici-pate what cards are remaining inthe deck, combine two standarddecks (including two sets of jok-ers, for a total of four) into one108-card deck. This option offersmore time between shuffles andincreases the difficulty of cardcounting. We strongly recommendthis option. It really adds quite abit more fun to the game. Playersmay also wish to combine morethan two decks, though the result-ing deck will be difficult to shuffle.

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that figure has the weapon skill,they can use weapons to makeattacks. Using a Skill is option-al.

TraitsTraits are innate qualities or

abilities that a figure possesses,usually because of his race.Unlike skills, traits are notlearned, and they are alwaysactive on a figure. Similarly,inanimate objects, such as

weapons, may have certain traits.

InitiativeInitiative is the process of determining the order in

which players may take their turns. At the start of around, each player takes a single card from the top ofthe deck and keeps it face down as his Initiative Card.It isn’t important in which order the players drawtheir Initiative Cards, and usually one player will deala card to each player at the table. A player may lookat his own Initiative Card at any time, but may notshow it to others.

For the purposes of initiative, a king is the highestcard and an ace is the lowest card. Jokers are wildcards for initiative, enabling a player holding a jokerto take his turn whenever he wishes. After all play-ers have received an Initiative Card, one playershould begin the Countdown, starting with king andproceeding down through the ranks to ace. At eachrank, he should pause to allow players to announcetheir turn. Once the Countdown reaches ace, thePack Step (see below) occurs. After the Pack Step,the one player should begin the Countup, startingwith ace and proceeding up through the ranks toking. A player may take his turn when theCountdown reaches his Initiative Card, or after the PackStep when the Countup reaches his Initiative Card. Anyplayer who did not take his turn during the Countdown(see below) must act when his card is called during theCountup. Once king is called for the second time, it isthe end of the round, all players turn in their initiativecards, and the initiative process begins anew.

A player announces that he will take his turn by reveal-ing his Initiative Card and declaring its value. Rememberthat this can occur either during the Countdown or theCountup, but not both. Each player receives only one

turn during a round. A player holding a joker mayannounce his turn at any point during the Countdown orsubsequent Countup.

Initiative TiesIf two or more players announce initiative at the same

time, each of those players should draw another card todetermine who goes first. The player who draws thehighest value (aces are still low) can choose when he orshe acts, followed by the second highest, and so on untilthe players have chosen the order. Once a playerannounces his initiative, he must take his turn at thatpoint in the count; he cannot wait for the Countup. The

joker is an exception. A player holding a joker mayinterrupt the count at any point and take his turn.He may even announce his turn in response toanother player announcing his, in which case theplayer with the joker goes first. If two or more play-ers simultaneously announce joker cards for initiative(remember, if you use the combined deck option youcan have more than two jokers in the deck), thoseplayers draw cards to determine who goes first, withthe higher number making the choice. Before a playertakes his turn, he must discard his Initiative Cards,including any additional cards that were drawn toresolve ties.

Pack StepSome types of figures, such as zombies and dogs, have

the pack trait. These units move after ace on theCountdown, but before ace on the Countup. This is thePack Step. If there are multiple players who control packunits, they draw face-up Initiative Cards at the start ofthe Pack Step to determine which player’s pack units actfirst. The highest Initiative Card chooses when he acts,followed by the second highest, and so on until the play-ers have chosen the order.

ActionsOnce a player activates a figure, he may take two

actions with that figure (except for Paralyzed figures, seebelow). He does not have to announce both actionsbefore executing the first. He may take an action andthen consider his second action based on the results ofthe first. See Table 1: Actions for a list of legal actions. Aplayer may choose to have a figure perform the sameaction twice (attack twice, move twice, etc.). Not everyaction will be legal or possible for every figure type.

Note that certain actions take so little time or effort

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Table 1:ActionsAim

AttackMove

Open Door or WindowPass

Pick Up an ItemReload

Resist EffectSupernatural Power

Special Action*Take Cover

Unjam Weapon

*varies by figure type

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that they are free to perform (i.e., performing them doesnot consume an action). These include such things asshouting commands, dropping an item, cursing, etc.Other actions are included as part of a listed action, suchas pulling the pin on a grenade, lighting dynamite,pumping a shotgun, etc. Figures in Final Days do nothave facing. A figure may turn in place as part of anyaction other than a Resist Effect action.

AimA figure may use an action to Aim his ranged weapon.

To do so he chooses a target figure on the battlefield inhis line of site and announces his intention to Aim at thattarget (do NOT check distance when aiming, only checkfor line of sight!). If the target figure has not broken lineof sight before the Aiming figure’s next action (whichmay occur either immediately after the Aim action or inthe next round), the aiming figure receives a +1 cardbonus to his Attack Draw.

AttackAs an action, a figure may make a hand-to-hand or

ranged attack against another figure. Hand-to-handattacks are made only when one figure’s base is in physicalcontact with another figure’s base. Ranged attacks maybe made against a figure to which the attacking figure hasline of sight (see Line of Sight in the Combat Section).Figures may not make ranged attacks if they are in physi-cal contact with a non-friendly figure. Attacking isdescribed in more detail in the Combat Section.

MoveFigures have a base movement score expressed in inches

(multiply inches by 2.5 to play the game in centimeters).A figure may move up to his maximum base movementas one action. Certain types of terrain (lakes, lava, etc.)are impassible by all or some types of figures. Individualscenarios define impassible terrain. Some figure types,such as ghouls, can move along vertical surfaces with nopenalty.

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