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PLAYTEST VERSION 11/FEB/2010 1 - FOREWORD AND PREAMBLE Axles and Alloys II is a game of stupid automotive combat using Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars converted into post-apocalyptic, crudely armoured gun-toting wagons. Which then proceed to chase each other around a radioactive desert landscape attempting to destroy each other for absolutely no bloody good reason whatsoever. It's main influence is the toy car conversion scene that sprang up around Games Workshop's Dark Future in the 1980s along with my feeling that Dark Future was never a very good game in the first place and that Car Wars was too large and cumbersome to be worth playing. The original Axles and Alloys, way before it ever got written up for web distribution back around 2001 or so was little more than a homebrew adaptation of Full Thrust with Hot Wheels cars rather than Spacecraft. Axles and Alloys was the form the game took when dragged around the wargames convention scene in the English Midlands. It turned out to be surprisingly popular when released onto the intertubes for reasons I can't really grok but I suspect that it was a hit because it didn't take itself very seriously, offered a great outlet for the sort of creative urges that enjoy converting Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars into post-apocalyptic, crudely armoured gun-toting wagons etc. and that previous attempts at this sort of thing (like the aforementioned commercial games) weren't actually very playable. So this is 2010's version and it's called Axles and Alloys II. As is the modern fashion it also has a subtitle Dork Future. It's still fundamentally the same game, but with new, better movement rules and a load of stuff written down for your convenience that wasn't actually written down before. It's also still completely free. It's important to remember when reading the rules and playing the game my thoughts on Battletech. For me Battletech is an excellent little game of Giant Robots Kicking The Shit Out Of One Another. And games that revolve around Giant Robots Kicking The Shit Out Of One Another work best when they limit themselves to being games that revolve around Giant Robots Kicking The Shit Out of One Another. Honestly it has Giant Robots Kicking The Shit Out Of One Another and that's all it needs. Once games like Battletech drift off into possessing fan scenes that take great pains to remain canon with the background and worry about whether their camo painting is accurate for a universe that doesn't exist and making sure that their vision of the world of Giant Robots Kicking The Shit Out Of One Another matches the game designer's one 100%... it gets stupid. Axles and Alloys II is a game of Converted Hot Wheels And Matchbox Cars Driving Around And Around And Around and Trying To Shoot The Shit Out of One Another. It doesn't deserve a game treatment any more involved than this one. Do you want something on a par with Advanced Squad Leader when all you are doing is Converting Hot Wheels And Matchbox Cars And Then Driving Around And Around And Around and Trying To Shoot The Shit Out of One Another? No? Good. Read on. Required Toys and Equipment Each player will require a toy car, preferably of Matchbox/Hot Wheels size (but notes on scaling for larger cars can be found in Appendix II) referred to in the rules as a Vehicle. See Appendix I for notes on converting these cars. Cars don't need to be based but assuming you are using cars of the Matchbox/Hot Wheels size nearly all of them will fit neatly into a 3 x 1.5 base. Some players prefer to leave the cars unbased so that they can continue to enjoy the tactile feel of whizzing cars across the tabletop. Some players prefer to leave the cars unbased but glue the axles up to prevent them rolling off slopes. Some players like the look of a model on a proper base with groundworking. YMMV.
Speed is measured in inches. A Speed of 12 means that the vehicle will be moving 12 inches this game-turn. At the start of each game-turn, each player writes down their vehicle's speed for the forthcoming game-turn. This speed will be based upon the speed used in the last game-turn and may be adjusted downwards by a maximum of the vehicle's DEC rating and upwards by a maximum of the ACC rating. Unless a nitro charge is being used the speed may never exceed the MAX rating. Vehicles moving backwards use their ACC rating as their MAX rating. Vehicles with a DAMAGED engine have the MAX speed halved. If a car suffered a DAMAGED engine in the last game-turn and was travelling faster than it's new adjusted MAX then the car's current speed will be the MAX rating. Vehicles with a DESTROYED engine will have their MAX rating reduced by 4 each game-turn until stationary at which point they will longer move. Stationary vehicles will start with an assumed speed of 0" so that they move anywhere between 0 and their ACC rating in the game-turn n which the start moving again. Players intending to use nitro in this game-turn will note down the use of a charge. This will add 2d6" to a vehicle's move in this game-turn but this is a temporary boost - next game-turn the vehicle will be assumed to be travelling at the speed written down. The 2d6" bonus is effectively ignored when the next game-turns speed is plotted. Nitros have two charges. Once all players have written their speed down, the game-turn may begin. Optional Rule As nitro systems have two charges you may like to allow the truly insane to use both at once for a 4d6 bonus as opposed to the standard intention of allowing two boosts of 2d6 in separate game-turns. For obscure in-joke reasons this is known as doing a Scott.
Examples Hirsute Helga is at the wheel of Der Bahnstormer (MAX 24, ACC4, DEC3). Last game-turn she travelled at 22". This game-turns movement may be anywhere between 19" (current speed minus DEC) and 24" (current speed plus ACC but capped at MAX). If she were travelling at 12, this game-turns movement may be anywhere between 9 and 16. Mad Mick is at the wheel of The Paddywagon (MAX 20, ACC5, DEC4). Last game-turn he travelled at 18" but suffered a DAMAGED result to his engine. His MAX is now halved to 10, but as 18" is greater than 10 his speed is reduced to 10 for this game-turn. He may now move between 6" (current speed minus ACC) and 10" (new MAX)
25+
4,5,6
Skids are sideways movements of the vehicle and the vehicle will skid in the opposite direction to the turn so if a vehicle skids when turning to the left it will be moved sideways to the right. Move the vehicle the length of the skid in inches. If the two dice thrown for skid distance come up double six, the vehicle suffers Loss of Control. If they come up double one, the vehicle overturns and is destroyed. [Needs diagram] If the skid occurs at the start or mid-point of the vehicles movement, the vehicle has having used the distance of the skid as part of it's move. This does not affect the vehicles speed for next turn. Example Hirsuite Helga turns at the mid point of her movement, turning to the left. Her speed is 20 so after rotating the vehicle left up to 45 degrees, her player throws d6. A score of 5 indicates a skid. Helga is driving a Lightweight vehicle so throws 2d6 but checks the individual scores, not the total. The scores are 3 and 4 and Helga therefore skids 3 directly to the right. Helga had travelled 10 at the point of the turn and has used 3 in the skid therefore she only moves forwards another 7 for the rest of her movement.
Drifts When drifting a vehicle turns through more than 45 degrees in a turn, up to a maximum of 90
Heavy Guns are too heavy to be mounted on vehicles so they are included out of a sense of completeness and for special scenarios involving fixed defences. When firing Guns, a number of d6 are rolled depending upon the Gun Class and range. Gun Class Light Medium D6 Rolled 1d6 up to 12 range 2d6 up to 12 range, 1d6 up to 24 range
Target numbers to hit depend upon speed of the target vehicle. Speed is taken as the distance plotted for the vehicle in this turn whether or not it has yet to move vehicles yet to move are not stationary unless they have 0 for their plotted movement. Include any nitro bonus in the speed of the target. Speed of Target Vehicle 0 1-12 13-20 21+ or Jumping Target Numbers (d6) 4s and 5s do 2 Hit Points, 6s do 4 Hit Points 4s and 5s do 1 Hit Points, 6s do 2 Hit Points 5s and 6s do 1 Hit Point 6s do 1 Hit Point
Flamethrowers Each Flamethrower attacks as a Light Gun. A successful hit is one that cause damages. Each time a vehicle is successfully hit by a Flamethrower a fire is started. Mark each fire on a vehicle with a small piece of painted cotton wool or similar. Vehicles may be suffering from multiple fires, we assume this is just a very large fire. At the end of each turn roll a d6 for each FIRE in the game. d6 1,2 3,4 5,6 Result Fire goes out and is removed Fire continues to burn vehicle takes 1 Hit Point of damage Fires burns fiercely vehicle takes 2 Hit Points of damage
If the vehicle is fitted with a Fire Extinguisher use the following table instead. d6 1,2,3,4 5,6 Result Fire goes out and is removed Fire continues to burn vehicle takes 1 Hit Point of damage
Turrets When designing a car any or all weapons may be turreted. Each vehicle may only have one turret (keeps things nice and simple). A turret counts as a Component (see Damage below) and is liable to loss so that a single turreted weapon is essentially twice as fragile as a non-turreted one because loss of either turret or weapon will disable it. A destroyed turret will destroy its weapon or weapons. If a Flamethrower is a in a turret, loss of the turret destroys the Flamethrower not the Flame Tank. Turrets take up space and are heavy they take up a point of Capacity (see 2 - Vehicles) per weapon fitted in them. A turret with two light weapons will therefore cost 4 points of Capacity. Optional Rule You may find turrets to be overly powerful and indeed they seem to become more powerful the smaller the table size becomes. To help balance them you might find preventing them from firing into the rear 60 degree fire arc makes for fairer games.
Once moved, the vehicle's new facing is unimportant. The vehicle misses it's next turn while the driver gets his breath back and restarts the stalled engine. Once it is able to move the vehicle may be turned to face any direction at the start of it's move for free. Designer's Note Yes, this can give totally nonsensical skid results that completely ignore whatever the vehicle was doing before such as which direction it was actually travelling in. This solution is nice and simple though and I'm not sure that the silliness of the whole game really calls for anything more involved. If yer knows of a better 'ole then go to it. Just remember the Giant Robots Kicking The Shit Out Of One Another and this rule will seem perfectly OK. Honest.