This is the updated rules for Iron Dawn, which the fantastic Narric of Second Sphere helped me immensely with. Without further ado, the rules:
Getting into the game
To play Iron Dawn, you need models. These are used to represent troops on the battlefield under the command of an officer. When starting out, it is better to pick models which you like the look of rather than being too worried about how powerful they are. Once you’ve played a few games with your models, you can start to collect an army. The best way to do this is to consider how you like to play; if you prefer charging headlong into the enemy’s line, statically defending positions and moving slowly forward or just destroying men, vehicles and buildings alike, you can build an army to suit you.
Dice
The dice used are ten sided, and numbered from 0-9. Two are used, either separately or together, to decide critical actions, damage, results and the like throughout the course of play. For most actions, players will roll only one die. In the case where 2 dice are thrown together, one colour is chosen as the first number to be read. This should be decided by the players at the start of the game, so as to minimize arguments over whether the player rolled a “12” or a “21” and will speed the flow of gameplay. Sometimes, players will be required to roll a D5, or a 5 sided die. While D5s are available, for the sake of simplicity it is possible to simply half the result of rolling a D10, rounding up for rolls of halved uneven numbers. For example, a roll of 1/2 would equal 1, 3/4 would equal 2 and so forth.
Characteristics
Infantry
There are a variety of warriors on Aenyreon, from the lowly human Volksmilitia to the heavily armoured and fearsome Sparaxian Triatarch, from the agile Sparaxian Juggernaut to the hulking Kurae Ancient Host. To cover the differences between the different infantry units, infantry have 7 characteristics that show how they move, shoot, engage in close combat and perform actions, and how effective they are at it.
SPD – The speed of the unit. This number represents how fara unit is allowed to move in inches.
ACC – The accuracy of the unit. This shows how skilled at shooting a particular unit is, and how accurate their weapons are.
MEL – The close combat ability of a unit.
ATT – This is the Attack value of a unit, which represents how strong a model is when it comes to engaging in close combat. A unit with a higher ATT rating is able to hit harder and do more damage when they strike
DEF – This is the defence value of a unit. It represents the natural resilience of and the armour worn by a model. A model with a high DEF rating means it is either wearing a suit of heavy, thick armour, naturally able to shrug off attacks that would kill others, or a mixture of the two.
HP – This is the Hit Points a unit has, and shows how many hits a model is able to take before dying
MOR – This is the morale of a model, and represents how hard they are willing to fight and how motivated they are. A unit with high morale is far more willing to stand and fight than one with low morale
Vehicles
Like the infantry above, a variety of vehicles are used to wage war across Aenyreon, from the light, fast Woruxi Bloodclaw Attack Bike to the hulking, behemoth Sea People Tortoise Heavy Tank. Unlike the infantry, however, vehicles are covered on all sides by armour, the failing of any of which could result in the vehicle being knocked out, abandoned or even turned into a burning wreck. Vehicles have multiple Defence values which represent the different armour facings the vehicle in question has. When shooting, choose the one that represents the direction from which the vehicle is being shot at.
SPD – This is the Speed value of a unit. It shows how fast the vehicle is able to move in inches.
TUR – The Turn value of a unit represents how wide a vehicle has to turn in inches. Each vehicle must use up as many inches as their turn value states when making a ¼ turn. If the turn is less than ¼ turn, round up to the nearest ¼. This is explained more under Vehicle Movement in the Movement section of the rules.
ACC – The accuracy of the unit. This shows how skilled at shooting a vehicle’s gunnery crew is, and how accurate their weapons are.
TD – The Top Defence of a unit. This shows how thick the armour is on the top of a vehicle, and is only used when a vehicle is hit by artillery fire.
FD – The Front Defence of a unit. This shows how thick a vehicle’s frontal armour is, and is used when a vehicle is being shot at by a target directly in front of it.
SD – The Side Defence of a vehicle. This represents the thickness of a vehicle’s side armour, and is used when a vehicle is being attacked by a target directly on either side of it.
RD – The Rear Defence of a vehicle. This represents the thickness of the armour that covers the rear of a vehicle, and is used when a vehicle is being attack from behind.
HP – The Hit Points of a vehicle. This shows how many hits a vehicle can take before being either abandoned or destroyed outright
Weapons
Across Aenyreon a variety of weapons are utilised in conflict, ranging from small pistols to large cannons
RNG – This is the range of a weapon, and dictates how far a weapon is able to shoot, measured in inches. The range of a weapon is divided into two parts, for example the human loch has a range of 12″/24″: The first number is the effective range, while the second is the maximum effective range, and shooting at ranges between the first and second numbers incurs a penalty of -1 to the shooting units accuracy.
ACC – This represents the accuracy of a weapon, and is determined by factors such as recoil, barrel length, and rate of fire
ATT – This shows the attack value of a weapon, and represents how much damage a weapon does, and how capable it is at penetrating the opponent’s armour.
ROF – This is the rate of fire of a weapon. It shows how many shots a weapon is able to fire in a single phase of shooting
Type – This is the weapon type, and shows how heavy the weapon is and what kind of targets it is designed to combat. Weapon types are discussed later, in the Weapons section
Turn sequence
Each turn is made up of phases, of which there are 4: Initiative, First Action, Second Action, and Third Action. During each of the Action phases, the player is allowed to perform one of the following actions: Movement, Shooting, Assault or a Manoeuvre. These may be performed only once per turn with the exception of Movement which may be performed twice. Squads may perform only 2 actions unless a squad leader is present, and all other units are allowed to perform all three actions. During the Action Phases, each player must declare what action if any each unit is going to perform.
Initiative
Both sides roll D100, or 2D10 numbered 0-9 using one to represent tens and the other to represent ones, adding or subtracting any applicable modifiers, which are explained later. The player with the lowest number declares and moves first. Since rolling a double zero is equivalent to 100, any player that rolls “00” automatically LOSES the initiative, regardless of any modifiers.
Movement
All movement in the game is in inches. However, any type of unit can be used, as long as it is consistent. A model or squad has its movement expressed as a number: if the move rate is 4, then the model can move four inches (or other agreed upon units) per turn. The model’s default facing is denoted either by the way it is looking, the front of the vehicle in the case of tanks, or a mark on the models base. Infantry squads must move as a unit, and any squad that moves must have every model move.
Any infantry unit may move over a piece of terrain as long as it is equal to or less than half the height of the model. Vehicles have no such restrictions, and are able to drive through light cover. They may also drive through heavy cover using Engine Deregulation.
Movement expenditures
A model can move up to its declared movement rate with no penalties. A player can chose to move a model twice as far as its movement rate, but this must be declared, and they are not allowed to engage in shooting or close combat for that turn.
Turning/Pivoting
Models can turn their heading when they move. A turn of 90 degrees costs ONE inch of movement. Any change LESS than 90 degrees is considered to be HALF an inch, for speed of play. (Example: a model with a move distance of 5 may change facing 45 degrees, move 4 inches, and finish by turning another 45 degrees for a total of 5 inches).
Vehicle movement
Vehicles move slightly different than character models and squads. They still move in inches (or units) but have an additional score marked turn, or TUR. This is the vehicles turn radius, and defines how tight of a turn and how far a vehicle can turn per round. It is expressed in a number of inches, and a fraction. Thusly: tur=3″ 1/4
Now, say our vehicle in question has a move of 12, and decides to turn. It can turn at any point along its allotted 12″, but we will say it does so halfway through. We move the vehicle six inches, and decide to take full advantage of its turn ability and make a tight turn. We measure out from the centre of the model 3 inches to find our turn centre. Now, the 1/4 means that the vehicle can swing around that point to make exactly one quarter of a circle. So we use our game ruler as a compass, holding the fixed point at 3″ from the centre of the vehicle, and swing the vehicle around one quarter of a full circle. We then continue to move the vehicle 6″ along its new heading to complete its 12″ move.
This sounds complicated, but is actually quite simple and fast to do on the table top. If you need clarification, please see the diagram on moving in the centre of the book.
Tactical Spacing and unit coherence
All infantry models must stay within 3 inches of another model that is a part of the same unit or combat group. If for whatever reason they are forced out of this, then they must move back to within 3 inches of another model in their unit or combat group whenever they next allowed moving. If they are further away from the unit they must join than their movement allows, they must still re-join. This is done by moving the excess distance, and forgoing ANY combat that turn. If there is no combat that turn, then first action is to be forgone by said unit on the following turn.
Combat
Melee
Melee is begun by declaring a charge. Select one of your own units to use. Your units’ charge range is double its SPD value, and your charging unit may not move further than this. If the enemy unit is within range, move your unit into base contact with as many models as possible.
Shooting
. To make a shooting attack, select a unit to shoot and an enemy unit. Check the range to the enemy unit against the Range of the weapon, and multiply the number of models in range by the ROF of the weapon(s) being fired. If the squad is using multiple weapons, use different coloured dice to represent each different weapon (but not for multiples of the same weapons, however)
Accuracy and Melee Tests
Melee and shooting attacks are resolved in much the same way. However, melee attacks use a model/squad’s MEL characteristic while shooting attacks use a model/squad’s ACC characteristic. For each attack, or shot from a weapon, pick up a single D10 and ensure that different weapons and skill levels have been separated.
The score needed (after modifiers) to “hit” the enemy model/squad is determined by comparing the ACC with the ACC of the weapon for shooting, or 10 minus the MEL characteristic
Shooting “To Hit” chart
Weapon ACC Unit ACC
\ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 9 8 7 6 5 4 4 3
2 9 7 7 6 5 4 4 3
3 8 7 6 5 4 4 3 2
4 7 6 6 5 4 3 3 2
5 6 6 5 4 4 3 3 2
Melee “To Hit” chart
Attacker’s Skill 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Score 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
A natural roll of 10 causes an additional hit point to be removed from the enemy model/squad. A natural roll of 1 is always a miss regardless of modifiers. When a roll of 10 is achieved against a vehicle, roll a D10 for the Critical Hit chart below.
1: Crew stunned – no movement or shooting for 1D5 turns
2: Secondary weapon destroyed – any hull mounted first, then cupola mounted
3: Engine damaged – no movement for two turns
4: Secondary weapon destroyed
5: Armour Penetrated – All hits on current vehicle side now critical for remainder of game
6: Crew killed – roll 1D5 – 1= commander (cupola weapon unusable), 2= secondary weapon gunner (hull weapons unusable), 3= gunnery crew (main gun unusable), 4= driver (immobilised), 5=entire crew (vehicle counts as being destroyed)
7: Main weapons destroyed – includes any co-axial weapons
8: Engine destroyed – The Vehicle is not allowed to move for the remainder of the game
9: Vehicle explodes – 1d5 ATT Infantry hit to all models within 6″
10: Vehicle explodes spectacularly! – 1D10 ATT Infantry hit to all models within 6”
Defence Tests
For this, the player must roll a d10 for every successful hit, and roll the Defence characteristic. Defence Tests are failed by rolling over the unit’s Defence characteristic, and every failed test removes a hit point. Vehicles also take Defence Tests, however rolling 1 causes the vehicle to lose a hit point and take a second Defence Test. Defence tests are modified by comparing them to the attacker’s Attack characteristic. If the Attack value is higher than the target’s Defence value, then the unit suffers -1 Defence for the purposes of the defence test for every point of difference between the Attack and Defence value; and if the Attack value is lower than the Defence value then the unit gains +1 for their Defence Tests for every point of difference between the Attack and Defence values. For example, if a Woruxi marauder pack engages in combat with a Sparaxian legionary cohort, the Sparaxians gain a +1 bonus for their defence tests, as the Sparaxians’ Defence value is 6 but the Woruxis’ Attack value is only 5.
Removing models
For each roll that is higher than the enemy’s DEF (after modifiers), remove 1 hit point. Each model that is reduced to 0 hit points is removed from the board. You always remove the models closest to the attacking enemy model.
Suppression
If half or more defence tests caused by shooting attacks are passed, the target unit is suppressed. Suppressed models/squads suffer a -2 penalty to shooting attacks in their next shooting phase. Suppressed units may hold objectives, but forfeit the objective if an enemy unit/model enters the Capture Radius (explained later) of the objective. The non-suppressed enemy unit/model captures the objective as if the suppressed unit is not in range.
Manoeuvres
Manoeuvres are abilities that certain models, units and unit types may undertake in the Action Phases, as explained earlier. Some Actions are only available to specific models. Each unit or model may only use a specific action once per turn
Command Radius
Every commander unit has a Command Radius, within which units gain bonuses and are affected by orders the commander issues. The command radius is an aura that extends within a set amount of inches in all directions. Junior commanders each have a command radius of 18”, and give a bonus of +1 morale to any infantry unit within the command radius with the exception of other Commanders. Senior commanders each have a command radius of 24” which grants all infantry units within it +2 Morale, with the exception of other Commanders.
Orders
Some Manoeuvres are known as Orders, which may only be used by commander units, and affect every unit within the Command Radius of the commander. To perform an Order, the player takes a morale test and if the test is passed the Order is successful and all units within the Command Radius of the commander must perform the action the order entails. This counts as an Action for the phase the order is issued in but an infantry unit without a squad leader is allowed to perform their two actions that turn.
Overdrive
Movement Manoeuvre, Vehicles only
The vehicle moves and gains +2 to its SPD characteristic in this phase. In exchange, the vehicle may not rotate its turret (if it has one)
Run – Movement Manoeuvre, Non-vehicles only
Unit moves in that phase, and gives +1 Speed and the unit suffers -1 Accuracy
Inspire – Order, Movement Manoeuvre, Non-vehicle units/models affected
Upon a successful Morale test, all units within the Command Radius gain +1 to their SPD and MOR characteristic for this turn
Dig In – Non-vehicle units/models only
The model/unit gains +1 Cover Bonus as well as +1 to their ACC. Place a suitable counter next to the dug in model/unit. Until the owning player decides, the unit continues to be treated as Dug In. Dug In units that are forced to move, halve their SPD rounding down
Repair – Model type specific
A model/unit with access to this Manoeuvre may forgo shooting, to repair a vehicle it is in base contact with. The vehicle gains +1 to its hit points up to its starting maximum, for each model with access to this Manoeuvre
Rig It to Blow! – Model type specific
A model/unit with access to this ability may forgo shooting to place an explosive device upon a vehicle or piece of terrain. Enemy vehicles suffer a single ATT 7 Vehicle type automatic hit. This also affects all non-vehicle models (friend and foe) within 3” of the rigged vehicle or terrain who suffer an ATT 7 Vehicle type hit each
Hull Down – Vehicles only
In exchange for not being able to move, the vehicle gains +1 to its DEF characteristic. Place a suitable counter next to the Hull Down vehicle. Until the owning player decides otherwise, the vehicle continues to be treated as Hull Down. Hull Down vehicles that are forced to move halve their SPD characteristic rounding down
Armour Penetrating Round – Shooting Manoeuvre, Non-vehicles only, Squad leaders/Characters only
The Squad Leader/Character may forgo shooting normally this turn, instead firing a single ATT 9 Vehicle type shot. Roll to hit as normal.
Disable That Vehicle – Order, Shooting Manoeuvre, Non-vehicle models/units only
After a successful Morale test, all units must fire at the same target. Resolve shooting as normal, and if a vehicle is damaged it is additionally immobilised.
Hold the Line – Order, Enemy Phase Manoeuvre, Non-vehicle models/units affected only
After a successful Morale test, for this phase all units within the Command Radius may reroll any Morale test they are called to make. Orders are not affected by this
Concentrate Fire – Order, Shooting Manoeuvre, All within Command Radius affected
After a successful Morale test, all units within the Command Radius gain +1 ACC for this phase, and must all shoot at the same target
Fall Back – Order, Movement Manoeuvre
After a successful Morale test, all units, including Suppressed units, within the Command Radius fall back at double their SPD characteristic. Units/models with a Dug In or Hull Down counter are unaffected by the order, and remain stationary
Suppressing Fire – Shooting Manoeuvre
An enemy unit being targeted with Suppressing Fire does not suffer hit point losses. After Defence tests, if the target unit would be Supressed it is instead Pinned. Pinned units/models cannot move or shoot until the next turn
Units
Unit Types
Every unit in Iron Dawn falls into one of two types: Infantry and Vehicles. Infantry units refer to foot soldiers that are armed with small arms and heavier anti infantry and anti-tank weapons while vehicle units refer to the mighty war machines used by every faction, be they tanks or stationary guns. They are impervious to small arms fire, and can only be damaged by Vehicle class weapons.
Solo Units
A solo unit is a unit that consists of a single model. This could be a commander, an elite soldier, or the sole survivor of a destroyed squad. Units that start off alone, such as commanders, human Kommandos, Sparaxian Juggernauts and Woruxi Pack Elders, can join or leave any other unit at any time by simply moving them within 3“ of the unit they’ll be joining. Moving them out of this will remove them from the unit. Solo units may only join units of the same type; infantry type solo units may only join infantry units. Infantry units that have been destroyed and consist of a single survivor may join another similar unit and count as part of that unit. They join the unit in the same way as every other solo unit and count as a part of that new unit from then on and may not leave. Doing this, however, causes a point to be forfeited as the old unit counts as being destroyed for victory point calculation purposes, which is explained later. Note that no vehicles may join or leave units. A squad leader that merges with a unit that has lost their squad leader gives back any bonuses the unit lost.
Combat Groups
Any infantry unit consisting of 6 or more models may split up into two units called Combat Groups. These groups must have an equal number of units in them, and up to half of the special or heavy weapons in a squad. If a unit starts off with an uneven number of models, such as the human Grenadier Squad which has 7 members, split the unit up evenly and put the squad leader into a group last after splitting up the unit into Combat Groups. Combat Groups act independently from one another.
Squad Leaders
A Squad leader, be they a Draekor, a Vybil, a Pack Alpha or a Corporal, gives a squad the ability to perform a third action during a turn instead of the normal two, and removes the requirement for morale tests when performing actions. If a squad does not have a leader, they must take a morale test before performing any action. They do not have to do this if an order is issued. If a squad loses their squad leader, they are only able to perform two actions per turn and must take morale tests to perform their actions.
Commanders
A Commander is a one model unit that leads a player’s force into battle, and represents the player on the battlefield. Each commander is a solo unit unless they are accompanied by a retinue. Commanders are classified as either Junior or Senior; Senior Commanders have a greater Command Radius and gain +1 Morale for the purposes of issuing Orders. If a commander joins a unit, the unit uses the commander’s Morale value until the Commander leaves the unit or is removed from the board
Ranks
In Iron Dawn, every unit has a rank, which determines how able they are in combat and on the battlefield. There are four ranks: Conscript, Trained, Crack and Veteran.
– Conscript units are those with little to no real training, instead relying on instinct to get them through, and units shooting at a unit with the Conscript rank gain +1 to their roll on the Accuracy table.
– Trained units are professional soldiers who have been given enough training that they can handle their weapon proficiently, keep relatively calm under fire and manage to act autonomously to complete their objectives; Trained units have no bonuses or drawbacks.
– Crack units are soldiers trained to the highest limit possible for a faction, and have honed their skills through veterancy, at least to some extent, and are granted access to the most advanced and powerful armour and weaponry a faction can provide; Crack units are able to move and fire heavy weapons right afterwards like a vehicle.
All ranks can be upgraded to Veteran ranks (Veteran Conscript, Veteran Trained, Veteran Crack); these are troops have been baptised by fire and have learnt to stay alive in battle. Units shooting at a unit with a Veteran rank suffer -1 to their roll on the Accuracy table
Morale
The morale of a unit shows how willing they are to keep fighting and strong their will is; well trained and veteran troops have higher morale than conscripts just pressed into their first skirmish. Every infantry unit has a morale value, or MOR, that can be modified positively or negatively through events that occur during the course of play, be it the morale boost of a nearby officer or the drain of having squad mates, friends and brothers cut down beside them. A morale test, which is used to determine whether a squads nerve will hold or not, is performed by rolling a D10 and comparing the result to the morale value of the unit taking the test. If the result is higher than the unit’s morale value the test is failed, with a roll of 9 or 10 failing no matter what and if the result is lower than the unit’s morale value the test is passed. If a unit has a morale value of 10 or 11, then they are able to reroll results of 10 and 9 respectively.
Weapon Classes and Types
Each weapon has a Class and Type which dictates what they are best against and what needs to be done in order to allow it to be fired. There are two classes, Infantry and Vehicle, and two types, Mobile and Heavy.
Weapon Classes
– Infantry class weapons are smaller arms designed to kill enemy infantry but simply bounce off vehicles because of this. Infantry class weapons can only harm Infantry type units.
– Vehicle class weapons are weapons designed to deal with heavily armoured targets, be they large cannons mounted on tanks or rifles firing larger calibre armour piercing shells. Vehicle class weapons can harm both Infantry and Vehicle units and models.
Weapon Types
– Mobile type weapons are weapons that are light enough to be carried by infantrymen and be fired on the move to allow them the mobile firepower they need to survive against other infantry. Mobile type weapons can be fired in the same turn they move.
– Heavy type weapons are large and powerful weapons that require time to set up and aim properly to ensure they do what they are needed to. Heavy type weapons cannot be fired in the same turn they moved unless they are mounted on a vehicle.
Explosives
Some weapons, such as tank mounted cannons, landmines and booby traps, are filled with explosives to deal with any foe that triggers them. Explosive weapons that hit a target (in the case of tank shells) or are triggered (in the case of landmines and booby traps) also count as hitting every model within three inches of the closest model to the firing vehicle or to the model that triggers the explosive.
Flamethrowers
These weapons come in various sizes, from portable flamethrowers carried by grenadiers to the large and unwieldy Lava Cannon sometimes mounted on Woruxi vehicles, shooting streams of searing hot fire at their targets to burn them and everything in between the shooter and their target. Flame weapons shoot in the same way as any other direct-fire weapon, but a straight line is drawn between the base of the model holding such a weapon or from the barrel of the weapon if they are mounted on a vehicle and their target. All units, friend or foe, caught within 2” of this line count as being hit, suffering a single hit each. All flame weapons are Infantry class weapons
Indirect Fire weapons
Some weapons, be they mortars, rocket artillery or the Sparaxian railarc cannon, do not fire directly at their target but instead fire in an arc at a target found by a spotter, bombarding their target with rounds from above. Indirect Fire weapons take accuracy tests as normal, but must also roll on the Indirect Fire chart below to determine where their shots scatter, if they do at all. To roll on the Indirect Fire chart, roll a D5 and a D10. The D5 result determines which way the shot scatters and the D10 result shows how far it scatters. Critical rolls still apply, with a 1 causing the shot to fail automatically and a 10 to both not scatter but to kill a single model outright. Casualties are taken as normal, but the target is suppressed for the rest of the turn as long as at least 1 round scatters within 6” of the target unit in any direction
Indirect Fire chart
1: Shot scatters D10” forward of the target
2: Shot scatters D10” left of the target
3: Shot scatters D10” behind the target
4: Shot scatters D10” right of the target
5: The shot hits!
Cover
Cover is directional, meaning that it only counts if it comes in between a shooting or charging unit and their target. There are three types of cover: Light, Heavy and Natural.
– Light cover refers to thin, easily destroyed pieces of cover made of materials such as wood. This cover can be destroyed by either targeting it or a unit behind it. Any accuracy tests that are taken against a unit in light cover but fail to hit (excluding any 1s) count as hitting the cover and are taken as defence tests against the cover. Three failed tests render the piece of terrain destroyed and any units behind it lose any cover bonus they would have gotten.
– Heavy cover refers to denser cover made of materials like steel, concrete, stone or any dense, resistant exotic materials. These can only be destroyed by vehicles firing at them with cannons.
– Natural cover refers to things like rocks, cliffs, hills, etc. These cannot be destroyed. While objects such as trees could fall under Natural Cover, their density and ability to be destroyed means that they are considered Heavy Cover.
Any terrain that covers up to 50% of a model grants all units a +1 Defence Cover Bonus for the purposes of Defence Tests. Terrain that covers 50-90% of a model grants +1 Defence and any units shooting at them suffer -1 Accuracy. Any unit that has cover that covers it completely cannot be shot at as it cannot be seen through the cover. Vehicles also gain the +1 Defence, but it only affects the side that is being shot at, and does not apply to indirect fire, unless the vehicle is hulled down. This can be determined through using the ‘models point of view’, which is described in the next paragraph.
To determine whether a unit can see another, draw a line between the unit trying to see and their target. If it is obstructed by something big, like a hill, a building or a tank, then it is obvious that the unit cannot see its enemy. However, when they’re in cover, it’s best to look from the level of the model to determine just how well covered an enemy is from a unit/model’s position, or the ‘models point of view’. To do this, look at the target unit/model from behind the models themselves. This is the best way to determine just what is visible and what is not.
Flame weapons are able to set terrain on fire; this occurs when a piece of terrain intersects the line drawn between a flame weapon and its target. Burning terrain causes all infantry models within 2” of it to suffer an automatic hit with the following profile: RNG:2”|ATT:5|ROF:1| Type: Flame
Buildings and ruins
Buildings count as being heavy cover, and can only be entered through entry points, be they a door, a large window or even a gaping hole in the wall. They must be at least three quarters of the size of a model for a squad to enter through Units in buildings with multiple levels are able to move to any level within the building or rubble, and count as moving when they do so. A unit in a building is able to fire normally as long as there are sufficient openings; a wall with no windows, doors or holes cannot be fired through, while a wall full of holes can have every unit in a squad firing through them; a window may only have 2 models using it to fire, and a hole or a door can have up to 5 depending on how wide it is. Buildings and ruins are able to be set on fire; this is done in the same way as burning terrain, and cannot be occupied when it is on fire. Any unit caught inside when a building or ruin is set alight must abandon it immediately and are not allowed to move, shoot, and charge or perform any action in the next Phase; they’re suffering from smoke inhalation and need to recover before they do anything. Units from either side can enter buildings at the same time; this causes the units to automatically engage in close combat in the next phase.
Trenches
Trenches work in the same way as buildings. Their entry point is the top, and units in a trench may move up to 10” of their starting point within the system of trenches they occupy. They may also enter any buildings attached to the system as long as it is within the 10” limit. Trenches are divided up into sections, and units occupy individual sections. Enemy units may occupy the same trench system, but when they are in adjacent sections they must engage in melee combat as per the rules for buildings.
Weapons mounted in terrain
Sometimes, stationary weapon positions such as machine guns or anti-tank guns will be set up in buildings, ruins, trenches, or anywhere else that provides cover for the firer while providing them with a clear line of fire. These weapons are used by nominating one member (or 3 for an anti-tank gun) of a squad next to it to not fire the weapon they are armed with to instead fire the stationary weapon instead. These weapons are fired when the squad the users are a part of fires, and must target the same unit. They have an arc of fire of up to 45 degrees to the left and right of the weapons initial starting position or until its movement is obstructed by the terrain it is mounted on.
Vehicles
Most of the rules up to this point have dealt with infantry
Movement
Vehicles move slightly different than character and infantry models. They still move in inches (or units) but have an additional score marked turn, or TUR. This is the vehicles turn radius, and defines how far a vehicle turns in inches up to 90 degrees. Turns up to half of the 90 degrees is considered to be half the TUR value, rounding down, while turns between 45 degrees and 90 degrees are considered to be half of the TUR value rounded up
Vehicles may also turn on the spot, which is known as pivoting, by turning the direction the front of the vehicle is facing. Vehicles suffer the same penalties as infantry when they pivot.
Combat
In combat, tanks may ram, although doing so means they can’t move in the next movement phase. They charge in the same way as infantry would, and inflict a hit on every model they hit. Units can take a Morale test and if they pass they dodge out of the way; if they fail, however, they are hit. Each hit does as much damage as the defence value of the front armour. The target unit takes Defence tests for each hit as in normal combat, and hit points are removed as in normal combat.
Turrets
A vehicle can have up to 2 main turrets, but typically only has one for the main gun and a coaxial secondary weapon. The main turret can turn full circle, but can only swing up to 180 degrees per phase. In the case of a twin turret vehicle, they may only turn 90 degrees. A turret is assumed to elevate to 75 degrees from zero and depress 30 degrees from zero as standard.
Sponsons
Sponsons are similar to turrets, but cover only one side of a vehicle in a range of 180 degrees or less. They may not contain the main armament, but only secondary weapons. They may face/point anywhere within their arc per turn.
A vehicle may have any number of sponsons, but typically only one per side.
Transports
Some vehicles have only light weapons, if any at all, instead replacing their storage space for additional room which is used to carry their comrades into battle. These vehicles will be designated as transports, and each has their own transport capacity. The transport capacity determines how many infantry models a transport is able to carry. When a unit embarks into a transport, they do so by moving within their movement distance of the entry of the vehicle and must embark. Embarking is a separate action that can be done in the same turn as the unit moves near an unoccupied transport. A unit disembarks a transport by being placed within their movement distance of the entry point(s) of the vehicle, but counts as moving in the phase they disembark. A vehicle with an open top may have units inside disembark through the roof to be placed on either side of the vehicle. A unit in a transport that suffers a critical hit must bail out, and disembark immediately. If a transport is destroyed while a unit is embarked, the unit is placed directly next to the transport and each model suffers an ATT 7 Infantry type hit which is resolved as per normal.
Abandoning and Re Crewing a Vehicle
When a vehicle reaches its final hit point it takes a Bail Out test by rolling a dice and on a roll of 10 the crew bails out. This causes the vehicle to be abandoned, preventing it from moving or shooting, and counting as heavy terrain. A squad of infantry may attempt to re crew an abandoned vehicle by moving within 3” of the abandoned vehicle and taking a Morale Test, passing which causes the vehicle to be re crewed and models to be removed from the table equal to the number of crew needed, which is stated in the relevant Army List entry for each vehicle. When a vehicle is re crewed, it gains the rank of Conscript
Game length
Although Iron Dawn is made up of turns, there is no set length. Instead, the game ends after one player manages to hold the majority of the primary objectives for three turns. The player that manages this is the winner. However, this is not the only way to win. Games can also use victory points where a player gains points based off whether a unit or model is destroyed, below half strength and at full strength, and players can also win by eliminating their enemy’s army or all units capable of capturing objectives (described below), or for destroying enough units to outnumber your opponent 2-1
Objectives
Objectives are special pieces that represent tactical objectives on the field. These may be supplies dropped to relieve troops, a sacred ruin, medical supplies, fallen comrades, or anything else a force might have to fight for. They are scattered throughout the centre of the table and to capture an objective a player must move an infantry unit within 3” of the objective. This 3” circle around an objective is called the Capture Radius, and staying within this is the only way to hold objectives. If both sides are within the Capture Radius, it is considered to be contested and the player who was there first maintains control but explosives may not be planted on it.
ARMY BUILDING
Games of Iron Dawn are played using armies of miniatures. This section covers how to build such an army.
Choosing an army
The first step in building an army is choosing a faction. In Iron Dawn, there are 5 factions: Humans, Sparaxians, Woruxi, Sea People and Kurae. Each force has their own strengths and weaknesses, and play differently, so it is best to choose one that you feel best matches how you want to play, be it rapid ambushes and harassment, slow unyielding advancements, unbreakable defence or powerful armoured strikes. As all forces are capable of playing any way you want to differing extents, when starting out it is best to pick a force you are happy with the look of.
Building an Army
Once you’ve gotten an army picked, the next step is building up your army. Armies are made up using points, which are spent on units All armies are divided into three categories: Commanders, Infantry and Vehicles. As a rule, an army must have at least one Commander unit, and at least 10% of an army’s points must be spent on their commander. Beyond this, there is no limitation to what an army can contain, as long as it doesn’t go over the points limit set. An exception to the 10% Commander rule is command vehicles. These are upgrades that some forces have access to, and count towards the Commander limit.
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