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HAVOC
“ Cry ‘Havoc’, and let slip the dogs of war, that this foul
deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men, groaning for burial.”
- William Shakespeare
Designed, created, & inscribed by Brent
All grammatical, spelling, & formatting errors by Brent
and
Miniatures
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Thanks to Ed and Kaitlynn @ Reaper
www.reapermini.com
Spivey
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eBob, sculptor of the Rebellion miniature line that can be seen at
www.ebobminiatures.com
Special thanks to Eric Sack for:
being there at the beginning, all the playtesting, brutally honest feedback,
Tuesday night meetings, and helping to make the cannon rules what they are today.
‘Well played, sir... well played indeed!’
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Spivey
And to Carrie...
Thank you for your patience, belief, encouragement, and support.
But most of all... thank you for being hot.
Any artwork that I have not created myself comes from Public Domain sources.
A good portion of the works (& most of my favorites) are by
Gustave Dore, Edmund Dulac, and Arthur Rackham. Thanks guys!
To ‘The Three Gamers’...
Evan, Will, & Perry remember: don’t leave without first getting your stuff from under
the mattress, stay away from anything that ‘begets darkness’, nobody wants to be at the
back of the party, and the immortal words of Quin... ‘Oh, I’ve seen scarier.’
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visit voodooink.wordpress.com for information and updates
on Voodoo Ink Publishing products & releases
HAVOC© 2007-2009 Brent Spivey
ISBN: 978-0-9843037-0-0
All Rights Reserved
HAVOC, The HAVOC Game System, HAVOC: Tactical Miniature Warfare,
Voodoo Ink Publishing, the Voodoo Ink logo, and all likenesses of
Phineas Giles (the Voodoo Doll) are all Trademarks of Brent Spivey.
All Rights Reserved
CONTENTS
A Beginning............................... page 9
Introduction to HAVOC....... ......... 10
O.D.D.S. ..................................... ........ 11
Heuristic Balance............................... 14
‘The Three Law’................................... 17
‘The Rules of Form’............................ 18
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Characteristics........................... page 19
Base Sizes.............................................. 20
Size and LOS .............................. ........ 21
MAD & RAT....................................... 22
ARM & Damage Reduction............ 25
DMG: Damage................................... 26
Rules of Engagement.................. page 29
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Turn Overview............................. ......... 30
The Opening ..... ................................... 31
Phase I & II .................................. ........ 34
The Actions............................................ 37
Movement..................................... ........ 38
Move-to-Melee................... .39
Cavalry & Chariots............ 41
Impact Hits................. ....... .42
And Terrain.......................... 46
Crossing Obstacles..... ........49
Ranged Attacks..................................... 53
Ranged Attack Modifiers.. 56
Concentrated Fire............... 58
Mixed Weapons.... .............. 61
Volley Fire............................. 63
Artillery....... ........................................... 65
Reload ............................................ ........ 73
Take-a-Knee........................................... 75
Scuttle, Sabotage & Raze..................... 78
Burning!.................................................. 82
Sound the Maneuver!.......................... 84
The Game of Activations............... ........ 86
Arcane Actions...................................... 87
The Assault............................................. 88
The Pendulums Swing........ 96
Combined Assault.............. 98
Standard Bearers ............................ .... 101
Melee & Terrain................................... 106
The Hazards of Water......................... 109
Cut Scenes............................................ 111
Barracks & Stables.............................. page 113
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Constructing an Army......................... ............ 114
‘The One List’ .................................................... 116
Infantry...
Spearman .................................. .......................... 118
Spear & Shield.................................................... 120
Melee aka ‘The Skirmishers’ .............................121
Melee & Shield....................................................122
Two Melee Weapons aka ‘Dual Wielder’ ......123
Two Handed Weapon aka ‘Great Weapon’ ..124
Musician............................................................... 126
Standard Bearer....................................................127
Artillery Crewman.............................................129
Ranged Infantry...
Archer.................................................................. 130
Crossbow........................................................... 132
Musket/Rifle...................................................... 133
Cavalry...
Heavy Cavalry................................................... 134
Heavy Cavalry with Lance............................... 136
Light Cavalry aka ‘Anti-Cavalry’ .................. 138
Heavy Chariot ................................................. 140
Mounted Musician .......................................... 144
Mounted Standard Bearer............................... 146
Ranged Cavalry...
Light Cavalry-Ranged .....................................147
Regulator .......................................................... 148
Beast...
The Behemoth ................................................. 150
Artillery...
Artillery aka ‘Cannon’ or ‘Bolt Thrower’ .... 152
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‘The Named’........................................ page 153
HAVOC Tokens & ‘Arrow Time’.................... 155
Challenge!............................................................ 158
‘Wreaking HAVOC!’ ............. .......................... 160
HAVOC Tokens In Review.............................. 162
The Way of the ‘Exploding’ Six ..........................164
‘The Named’.......................................................... 165
Skirmishers as ‘Named’ ..................................... 176
The Giant............................................. page 179
Some truths about Giants................................. 180
The Giant.............................................................. 181
Unbelievably Large............................................ 182
Flinging aka ‘Teeing-Off ’................................... 183
Smashing............................................................... 187
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Magicks & Arcanum............................ page 189
The Magus............................................................ 191
Augmentation..................................................... 192
Intervention......................................................... 195
Masteries & Enhancements.............................. 198
Spells...................................................................... 200
Elevations ............................................................ 205
The Magus: An Overview................................ 206
Scenarios & Situations............................ page 207
Prideful Observances aka POINTS................................. 210
The Beginning........................................................ 211
Edges, Quadrants, & Corners.............................. 214
The Scenarios...
Open Field................................................ 215
Parley.......................................................... 216
Raid, Pillage, & Raze.............................. 218
Dangerous Crossing................................220
Dusk or Dawn...........................................222
Hunter’s Moon......................................... 224
Scavenge, Salvage, & Scuttle...................226
Terrain Review........................................... 228
Some Options........................................ page 229
Fantasy versus History....................................... 230
Terrain: Optional Rules & Variants................231
The Appendix....................................... page 233
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Rules of Form....................................................... 235
The Three Laws.................................................... 236
Turn Overview.......................... .......................... 237
The Opening........................................................ 238
The Actions of Phase I & II.............................. 239
The Assault........................................................... 240
The Pendulums Swing........................................ 241
Cut Scenes............................................................ 242
‘So, you’ve taken-a-knee...’.................................... 243
Ranged Attack Modifiers................................... 244
‘Talk of Terrain and Obstacles...’......................... 245
‘The One List’....................................................... 246
HAVOC Tokens in Review............................... 247
Challenge!............................................................. 248
Augmentation, Intervention, & Spells............ 249
Thanks & Parting Thought................................ 250
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And so it begins...
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A Beginning...
“The wind was not the beginning. There are neither
beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time.
But it was a beginning.”
- Robert Jordan, The Eye of the World
“Beginnings are always messy.”
- John Galsworthy, Nobel Prize winner 1932
here to begin? Perhaps a formal introduction is in order.
Welcome, gentle reader, to HAVOC, a tactical miniature war
game that allows you to conduct both historical and fantasy
battles on your tabletop. If you’ve stumbled across this rule set
somehow, having never played a miniature tabletop game before,
well... ‘you’re not in Kansas anymore’. But, stick around, read on,
grab some minis, make some mistakes, kill some stuff, and have
some fun- it’s what war gamers do!
In this section of the book, for both the tabletop veteran and novice alike, we will
highlight some of HAVOC’s defining characteristics, The Rules of Form, and review
The Three Laws. Not all of this, to be sure, will make perfect sense at this time, but will
hopefully serve to make the rules easier to understand as you read on.
-Introduction to the HAVOC system-
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or, ‘The hopefully helpful highlights of HAVOC...’
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1. Any Mini Welcome (not ‘a small hello’)
2.. O.D.D.S
3. ‘Chain Reaction’ Activations (featuring Organic Formations)
4. Simple Elegance & Self Limitation
5. Heuristic Balance
6. ‘The Named’
7. The Three Laws
8. The Rules of Form
Any Mini Welcome
Any mini. Any manufacturer. One of the best aspects of the miniature war game hobby,
is well... the miniatures. HAVOC uses a force creation tool known as The One List, that is
built for the express purpose of allowing you to use any miniature you like.
Ideally, these are 28-30mm in scale. However, if you have miniatures of another scale (be
it 10/15/20mm) the system is more than flexible enough to accommodate.
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O.D.D.S.
The Opposed Dice Determination System (O.D.D.S. for short), is the
basis of the HAVOC game system. The concept is simple. For every roll that a player
makes, his opponent will make an opposed roll. A comparison of the results of the two
rolls will determine the outcome. There is only one rule to remember in the
system and only one exception to it.
-The RuleNo matter how many dice are rolled, the player may
keep three, and only three, dice of their choosing.
-The ExceptionWhen rolling damage, the player keeps all dice rolled.
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That’s it! Pretty simple, right? You see, thing is, O.D.D.S. is, oddly enough, all
about playing the odds. Four dice will most likely beat two dice. A roll of three dice should
beat two dice... but will it? One die versus one die... you are trusting your fate to luck (or
destiny, perhaps). Just remember, even if you play the odds ‘correctly’, the dice may have
other plans- that’s what keeps it interesting; that’s what creates war stories.
‘Chain Reaction’ Activations
Models in the game of HAVOC are Activated by ‘Chain Reaction’. I’m not going to detail
what that means here. That will require a rules explanation that would go beyond the
scope of the discussion that we are conducting here and is better left for
the section entitled Rules of Engagement.
What I will say here, is that if you choose to use formations in HAVOC (and I say choose,
because you do not have to use any formations if you prefer), then they will not be lifeless
blocks, squares, or rectangles moving around the tabletop. Instead, they will be Organic.
This means that they can move in a line formation, ‘morph’ to engage and engulf an enemy
in melee combat, scatter and break apart to avoid a cavalry charge (or volley of arrows), or
even join another formation. They are like living things- changing moment to moment on
the battlefield as you (or your enemy) directs.
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‘Chain Reaction’ Activations continued...
So, what can you do with the ‘Chain Reaction’ Activation system and Organic formations?
Even though there are no formal formations in HAVOC,
you can simulate any formation seen historically.
Do you want to have a force that is comprised of mostly spearmen in traditional phalanx
formations? You can do it. Want to have lots of heavy cavalry in wedge
formations? Go ahead. Use the schilitron formation of the Scots for your spearmen? Sure.
Can you combine spearmen, swordsmen, and handgunners in a single formation like the
Spanish did at the end of the Middle Ages? Absolutely.
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In HAVOC, there are no ‘static’ blocks of troops. Any formations that you create are
‘Organic’. They can march in ranks, disperse to attack an enemy, join other units, or
reform in a new formation.
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In HAVOC, you are only limited by your imagination (and available points!) as to the
type of force and style of play you can use and, since no formal units or formations exist,
you can even change things ‘on the fly’ during a game to tactically suit the ever changing
battlefield conditions.
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Simple Elegance & Self Limitation
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The design concept that drives the game of HAVOC is summarized this way:
Simple Elegance & Self Limitation. But what, exactly, does that mean? Many war games
insist on having a ton of complex rules (that many times seem complex for the sake of
being complex), to try and take into account every single situation, and ‘spell out’, in
written terms, the advantages/disadvantages they create. While this is a noble effort, there
is quite simply no way that you can account for every situation that may arise during play.
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This usually leads to holes in the game design, in the form of overlooked situations, as well
as confusing and ineffective interactions when different rules collide that the designer
didn’t plan for. In HAVOC, there are a good variety of rules, that are kept as simple as
possible- to keep interactions ‘clean’. When these rules are coupled with the architecture of
the game turn, the effect is that players have a huge amount of options available to them at
any one time. So, complexity comes in the form of properly (and timely) applied tactics,
not in the form of obscure and convoluted rules.
As well, once you get in to the actual rule set, you will notice there are no complicated
modifiers/rules for charges, running, move-and-fire, fire-and-move, flank charges, or
marching. Don’t worry! It is possible to simulate all of these, and the benefits/drawbacks
of doing so will be dictated by the situations presented on the field, not the text of a rule.
In this way, the rules don’t have to plan for every situation. They quite simply occur. The
system - self limiting; benefits and drawbacks within it - self evident.
So, any time that a rule or situation seems to give you a problem during game play, you
should just look at the simple and systemic application of the rule and NOT read too
much in to it. If by doing this you are able to do something that may seem a little
‘outrageous’ ( like with The Ultimate Chain Reaction) , then I have tried to anticipate this
and expound upon it in italics (within the step-by-step rules) or address it in a call-out box.
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Heuristic Balance
One topic wargamers love to debate endlessly is that of balance. ‘Perfect’ balance,
in a game where players purchase their own forces is impossible to achieve, as there are just
too many variables. HAVOC has been designed to give players the best possible mix of
flexibility, fun, strategy, and tactics while maintaining a reasonable balance.
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If two players can agree at the beginning of any game, that the
outcome of the engagement is unknown, then a reasonable
balance has been achieved.
The ‘value’ of a model in HAVOC is measured in a ‘heuristic’ sense, much like that of a
chess piece. That value is summarized like this:
The ‘cost’, or points value, for a model in HAVOC, represents how valuable it is when
used to its maximum potential, in the optimal situation.
This means that even if two different models have the same points value, they are not
necessarily equal in ability or purpose. It means that they have the same strategic value but
not the same tactical value. Let’s look at a chess example to make this clearer.
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Pieces in the game of chess are
assigned a points value. Since
the board is already set, and
players do not purchase their
forces, these values are used to
represent how valuable they
are strategically.
Queen= 9
Rook= 5
Bishop= 3
Knight= 3
Pawn= 1
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So, are two Rooks actually
more valuable than a single
Queen? It really depends on
a lot of factors. Whose turn is
it? What is the location of the pieces on the board? Where is the King? If any of these
circumstances is unknown, it is impossible to calculate which is most powerful at the time.
If any of the answers to these questions change, the relative value of the pieces may change.
Does this mean that the heuristic values of the pieces is incorrect? No! What it does mean,
and the whole reason I bothered with this discussion of balance, is just this:
Points values, and hence game balance, do not
exist in a vacuum.
So, when constructing an army, remember expensive heavy cavalry models can be taken out
by cheaper spearmen. Point values are relative to the situation; they are not absolutes! In
the right situation, even a pawn can take a queen...
‘The Named’
Instead of having the customary ‘General’ or ‘Leader’, HAVOC employs a system of
‘Naming’ your models that allows ANY model to become a figure of importance. Being
named is not always equated with leadership; it is, however, always equated with renown.
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These are the models in your force that are known to all- both friend and enemy alike.
Their exploits on the field of battle have earned them titles, legends, stories and
reputations... their feats have earned them ‘Names’.
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‘So, do they get anything besides a ‘cool’ Name?’, you ask. You bet they do!
Models that have the distinction of being ‘Named’ gain abilities that allow them to change
the flow of battle- to bend and break rules. These include, but are not limited to:
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1. gaining HAVOC tokens
2. the ‘Challenge!’ ability
3. ‘Wreaking Havoc!’ in Cut Scenes
4. the ability to act in ‘Arrow Time’
5. changes to base characteristics
This is your chance to take your favorite sculpts and conversions and use them like you’ve
always wanted to. It is also a way for you to reinforce the theme of your army.
‘Hey, check this out!’
Anytime you see the little guy to your left, there will be some unique
information in a call-out box like this one. It may be: a useful game tip,
a reminder, a philosophical question, a clarification, a movie
recommendation, some pointless rambling, or just a bit of ridiculous
nonsense. Yeah, I guess it could be just about anything...
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The Three Laws
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Before riding off in to battle, there are many things that a would-be general should know.
Of all the things that are helpful to know, The Three Laws are at the core; remember these,
and all game interactions should remain relatively simple.
The First Law
aka ‘The Law of Odds’ or ‘Damage is King’
No matter how many dice are rolled, the player may keep three, and only three, dice of
their choosing. The ONLY exception to this is when rolling damage; when rolling
damage, ALL dice are kept.
The Second Law
aka ‘The Law of Concentration & Combinations’
Concentrated Fire and Combined Assault Maneuvers are NEVER modified in any way.
-Not for Terrain, Taking-a-Knee, Augmentation, range, nor by HAVOC tokensThe ONLY exception to this rule is a Combined Assault Maneuver gaining dice for
Standards and/or Captured Standards.
The Third Law
aka ‘The Law of Multiples’
There can only be multiples Engaging on one side of a melee combat at any given time.
Models acting in Support DO NOT count as multiples.
There is NO exception to this Law!
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entleman Gamer (or Lady Gamer, as dictated by the player’s
gender) is a term that is embodied in The Rules of Form.
You see, even though battle is a brutal, dirty, violent
business, it does not have to be totally uncivilized. In
HAVOC, you will be rewarded in real gaming terms for
‘sporting’ play; likewise, you will be penalized for breaches
of form and forgetfulness. The Rules of Form that follow are
absolutes- not options. However, if you feel a situation
warrants recognizing your opponent with a ‘Well played!’ or
a ‘Good Show!’ that is not included in the letter of the rules,
but is embodied in the spirit, then by all means... do so. You
can even penalize yourself if it seems appropriate!
The Rules of Form
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-‘Poor form!’ or “Bad form!’If a player commits one of the following breaches of form or etiquette, then the opposing
player may decry ‘Poor Form!’. Once this has been done, the offending player may either 1)
end their turn on the spot OR 2) right the infraction and continue with their turn BUT
give their opponent a die that may be used on a future Momentum Roll.
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1. Players army/force is not completely painted.
- there is no way to right this on the spot, and as such, is always a penalty2. Player begins to Activate a model BEFORE declaring how many, and which.
- one cannot touch or move models until declaring which will be Activated3. Purposefully avoiding a model with which you are engaged in a ‘Challenge!’.
- this is a ‘one time’ penalty per ‘Challenge!’- ‘Well played!’ or ‘Good Show’I believe it was Napoleon who said, ‘Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a
mistake.’ Well, in HAVOC you may actually want to- depending on the situation. If your
opponent has forgotten a benefit of some sort, or a special ability, then you may remind
them. Your opponent may then 1) forgo the benefit and play on OR 2) apply the benefit
or ability as is appropriate BUT give the noticing player a friendly ‘Good Show!’ and a die
that may be used on a future Momentum Roll.
1. Having a fully painted army/force.
- If both players have a fully painted force, then they would exchange Momentum die- Benefits do NOT ‘cancel’ each other!2. Reminding a player of a beneficial ability/rule after they have forgotten it.
3. If a player does anything that you feel is especially sporting or ‘above-and-beyond’
the call of duty, then recognize them with a ‘Well played!’ or ‘Good Show!’.
- of course, you would give them a Momentum die as well!- As always, it should be noted that most of the above will not be clear as you have not been
immersed in the Rules of Engagement... yet. However, I wanted to introduce the concepts
here and later reinforce them in the actual text of the rules.
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