Firestorm Base Rules

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Firestorm - Base Rules

By: Tom Richards, Scott Grasse & Christian Sorensen


5/31/2019

[All images herein are labeled for reuse]


2
Firestorm – Base Rules

Overview 3

Beginning the Campaign 4


Choose a Base Force 4
Create a Firestorm Support Pool 4
Unit and Command Card Exceptions 5
Choose Generals 5
Deploy Starting Firestorm Troops 5
Starting Sector Control 5

Round Battle Phase 6


Conducting Rounds in the Campaign – The Battle Phase 6
Check Supply Routes 6
Determine Initiative 7
Place Battle Arrows 8
Commit Firestorm Troops on the Campaign Map 8
Determine Player Matchups and Battle Assignments 9
Players Determine Firestorm Support Units 9
Determining Attacker and Mission Type for the Battle 10
Building Gaming Tables 10
Play the Battles 10

Round Resolution Phase 11


Determine the Score of Each Battle Arrow 11
Resolve Battle Arrows that were not played 12
Determine the Winner of each Battle Arrow 12
Determine Firestorm Troop Loss 13
Determining Firestorm unit retreats 14
Take Control of Defeated Sectors 14
Advance Victorious Troops 14

Round Strategic Phase 15


Exploitation Moves 15
Strategic Moves 15
Place Reinforcements 15
Stacking Restrictions 15
Checking Victory Conditions 16
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Overview
Firestorm: Base Rules is a core set of rules used by FireStorm – SoCal in conducting Firestorm
Campaigns. There are other FireStorm rules sets, this is not meant to be a replacement; rather
this is our version of the rules that we use in Pasadena. We hope you find them useful.

Each of our FireStorm campaigns uses these core rules. Each campaign has a specific
FireStorm – Player Pack containing campaign specific information including but not limited to:
- The campaign map, including sectors and victory points
- Allowed Unit Lists and Formations
- Terrain rules specific to the theater of operation
- Specialized missions, if any
- Turn sequences and special events
- Victory conditions specific to the campaign

As with typical Firestorm campaigns, players will use historical troop tokens played on a
campaign map. Battles played affect subsequent dispositions of tokens on the campaign map.

The results of each turn are determined by playing individual Flames of War battles. There is
no limit to the number of games that can be played each turn. Games can be played in any
location across the world with the results being submitted to the Campaign Organizer (CO)
electronically.

For each battle played players can receive commendations which unlock benefits as the
campaign progresses. Additionally, commendations may have point values that will be added to
scoring factors at the end of the campaign.

This campaign system is similar to other Firestorm campaigns and should be familiar to those
who have played.

The one notable rule difference to point out is that players are not assigned specific Firestorm
Units to include with their Force but instead pre-purchase a pool of Firestorm units that they
draw from when choosing extra units in their forces.
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Beginning the Campaign


A player’s force consists of two components:
- Base Force
- Firestorm Support Pool

Choose a Base Force

Base Forces are specified in the Firestorm – Player Pack for the campaign. Only units from
these sources can be used to build formations.

Point totals for the base force can be any amount that the Campaign Organizer sets, or
opponents agree to. Suggested totals are 70, 85, 90, 97, or 109 points. Each force will include
additional units of roughly 10-25 points value as Firestorm Units. See the Player Pack for any
further restrictions based on the campaign round or missions being played.

Create a Firestorm Support Pool

The campaign grants extra units called Firestorm Units that players add to their forces for each
mission. Instead of using normal Firestorm rules, players instead use extra points to build their
own pool of Firestorm Units from which to draw on later battles. This has the benefit of giving
players more choice and eliminates the problem of not having the proper models to field
Firestorm units when assigned by the campaign.

1. A minimum of three (3) Units must be purchased, and all must be different.
2. Each Unit must be legal choice as a Support or Combat Unit choice that would normally
be allowed in your Force. This includes adhering to restrictions that may be imposed by
certain Missions or Campaign Rounds.
3. Your support pool as a whole does not need to be a legal formation by itself, only the
individual Unit choices do.
4. A maximum of one unit may contain Tank teams with front armor 4 or higher. This Unit
is designated your “Tank Support” Unit.
5. A maximum of one unit may be an Allied Support choice.
6. No Unit may cost more than 29 points.
7. Independent teams such as an OP must be assigned to one of your support units and
are deployed only with that unit.
8. Only Unit Command Cards or Build Command Cards that apply to a Unit (not a Force or
Formation) may be purchased as part of your support pool and are subject to all
Campaign special rules. Any exceptions will be noted in the Force Diagram.
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Unit and Command Card Exceptions


Each Player Pack will have a section devoted to Unit and Command card restrictions in effect
for the Firestorm campaign. Units, formations and command cards must follow these
restrictions to make the design of the campaign work.

NOTE: These unit and command card exceptions were arrived at by the designers based on historical records of the
campaign. These unit exceptions are optional and can be ignored if you want to play pure V4 based on the way
Battlefront has organized command cards in the allowed source references. We believe these exceptions will help
capture the spirit of the fighting for this campaign and should be used if that’s the desired outcome.

Choose Generals

Determine a Commanding General (CG) for each opposing side. Generals may be the CO
(Campaign Organizer), TO (Tournament Organizer), players or non-players. Commanding
Generals determine directions of attack on the campaign map, assign players to battle, and roll
initiative dice for each campaign turn.

Deploy Starting Firestorm Troops

Begin the campaign by placing all Firestorm Troops on the board within sectors as described in
the Starting Unit Locations section.

Starting Sector Control

Indicate sector control on the campaign map using the tokens supplied in the Firestorm – Player
Pack for this campaign.
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Round Battle Phase

Conducting Rounds in the Campaign – The Battle Phase


Each round of the campaign is now played, using the following sequence for each round.

Note: The duration of each campaign round is determined in the Firestorm – Player Pack. Most
rounds will be two weeks in duration, but some may be more or less according to the design of
the Player Pack and maybe even discussions at the club level. Regardless of how many real-
time weeks are set for a round, each battle may be played as many times as desired, giving
players a chance to try different scenarios and sides if desired. Just report the result for each
physical battle before the end of the round. Then the Campaign Organizer will average the
results and determine sector results for the next round.

Check Supply Routes

To be in supply, Firestorm Troops must be able to trace a path through controlled sectors to a
Supply Sector. On the Campaign Map, this symbol indicates a supply sector:

Firestorm Troops that are out of supply are easier to destroy. Battle Arrows may not be placed
from sectors containing Firestorm Troops that are out of supply.
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Determine Initiative

At the beginning of each Campaign Turn both Commanding Generals for the Axis and Allies
rolls a die. The highest roll has initiative which determines who places their Battle Arrows first. It
also grants priority when making exploitation moves.

The Player Pack may modify the initiative die roles, see the Player Pack for details.
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Place Battle Arrows

Starting with the side that won initiative each side places their available Battle Arrows as
follows:
● Each side may place two Battle Arrows
● The side that won initiative may place three.
● Attacks may be made only from sectors containing Firestorm Troops that are in supply.
● Arrows are placed across two sectors indicating attacks from one sector to an adjacent
sector with the following exceptions:
○ Arrows may be placed by either Axis or Allies within the same sector if the sector
is co-occupied by an Allied Airborne Firestorm Troop.
○ Multiple Battle arrows may originate from the same sector but must attack
different sectors.
● A Battle Arrow may not be placed between two sectors currently linked by a Battle
Arrow.

Commit Firestorm Troops on the Campaign Map


After placing each Battle Arrow, the commanding General declares which Firestorm Troops on
the campaign map will be participating in the battle as follows:
● The defending General nominates Firestorm Troops committed to the defense.
● A maximum of two Firestorm Troops may be committed to a single Battle Arrow.
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Determine Player Matchups and Battle Assignments


The Commanding Generals, facilitated by the Campaign Organizer, select players and assign
them to a specific Battle Arrows. Starting with the first Battle Arrow placed, the attacking
General chooses a player to field their attacking Force, then the defending General chooses a
player as the defending force. Matchups should attempt to align with the Firestorm Troops On
the Campaign Map that are participating in the Battle. The Campaign Organizer has final word
on all matchups.

Players Determine Firestorm Support Units


Each round of battles gains the use of one Firestorm Unit from a players Firestorm Support
pool. This is in addition to Units part of the Base Formation.

Note: Point values for the additional units or command cards must be added to your force total
for purposes of determining reserves.

To determine the specific Unit you use from your Pool roll a die and modify by the following:
● +1 if you are the Attacker of a Battle Arrow and at least one Attacking Firestorm Troop is
Armored
● -1 if you are the Defender of a Battle Arrow and at least one defending Firestorm Troop
is Defense.
On a modified result of 5+ use your Armor Support Unit. Otherwise, determine the Unit
randomly from your non-armor support units.

Each battle indicated by the battle arrows can now be resolved to complete the round.

If players want to conduct a Flames of War battle, then that has to be played and resolved in
order to provide results for this sector to the campaign organizer.

NOTE: Player battles for sectors is optional. If you can’t find people to play the battle then there
is a resolution section below to figure out what happened.

NOTE: Remember that a battle can be played between players as many times as desired, just
feed each result to the campaign organizer, who in turn will average out all the results for the
round to determine round results.

Allowable missions for each battle of a campaign round are determined from the following
sources:
● More Missions supplement (v4, downloadable from Battlefront)
● Seize and Hold mission (updated for v4, originally sourced from v3 BF supplement
Airborne Assaults).
● Hit the Beach mission (updated for v4, originally sourced from v3 BF supplement
Amphibious Assaults).
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Firestorm – Base Rules

The mission for each battle is determined from Battle Arrow placement, the Sector the battle is
in, the allowed missions for that campaign turn and the Firestorm Troop types participating in
the battle.

Determining Attacker and Mission Type for the Battle

The attacker in each mission is the side that placed the battle arrow, regardless of the force
compositions. Then:

● The Attacker may only choose Attack or Maneuver and the Defender may only choose
Maneuver or Defend on the Mission Matrix Table.
● If the defending sector contains a Defense Firestorm Troop, the Attacking force must
choose Attack, and the Defending Force must choose defend.
● In Round 1 If the Battle Arrow originates from an Offshore sector, the mission is Hit the
Beach.
● In Round 1 if an Allied Battle Arrow originates within a sector co-occupied by an Axis
Firestorm Troop the mission is Seize and Hold and is played using the Night Rules.

Building Gaming Tables

To build game tables, use the terrain type and roads as shown on the campaign map and
consult the Battle Table Terrain Chart section. If a sector contains multiple terrain types you
may use the dominant feature, use both schemes, use one type determined at random or
choose one that is agreeable to both players. In organized play tables may be set up ahead of
play. In this case, try representative examples that the campaign map has. The CO/TO will
attempt to assign tables for each battle based on the terrain type in the sector being fought.

Play the Battles

Missions corresponding to each Battle Arrow are now played!

Note: The time limit for any FOW battle for this campaign round is 8 turns or 3 hours, whichever
comes first.
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Round Resolution Phase


After the campaign round duration ends, which may be several weeks of allowed real-time for
the round, the campaign round will be declared ‘done’ by the campaign organizer. Next the
campaign organizer will tally the results to determine what the round results were, and
subsequently communicate that to the commanders of each side in preparation for the next
campaign round.

Determine the Score of Each Battle Arrow


Compare the scores for all missions played to determine a single score for each Battle Arrow.
For example, 4 missions played with scores of 8-1, 3-3, 6-3 and 3-6 would roughly equate to a
7-2 or 6-3 overall score. You can also use an averaging method. To do this, average the points
for each side separately and match the ratio of the averages to the closest scoring ratio of the
Victory Points table in the rule book. For example, if 3 battles are played to resolve one Battle
Arrow and the results are 2-1, 6-3 and 1-8, the average becomes 3-4 which is closest to a draw
in terms of victory points.

The final score for each Battle is then converted to VPs according to the following:
● 8-1. Winning side get’s 3VP
● 7-2. Winning side get’s 2VP
● 6-3. Winning side get’s 1VP
● Draw. Either side get’s 1VP if they scored at least 3 points.
● Mission timed out. Both sides -1 VP
● Other. Neither side gets any VP

The Player Pack may specify additional details regarding scoring of Battle Arrows.
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Resolve Battle Arrows that were not played

If there are more Battles than players, the Campaign Organizer resolves the un-played battles
for the campaign round randomly.
● First, determine the winner by rolling a die for each side.
○ For each Firestorm Troop in the battle, add 1 to the roll.
● The highest score is the winner.
● Next, determine the score by rolling a die. Apply the difference of the two modifiers used
to determine the winner to the die roll, adding to the roll if the attacker had a higher
modifier, or subtracting if it was lower. Then consult the table below.

Die Roll Score

1-2 Roll a second die:


1-2 = 1-1
3-5 = 2-1
6 = 3-1

3-4 6-3

5, roll a second die 6-3; 7-2 if 5-6 rolled on second die

6, roll 6 on second die 7-2; 8-1 if 6 rolled on second die

Determine the Winner of each Battle Arrow

To simulate the effect of the overwhelming force against a withdrawing enemy, the Allies win
battles in which they are the attacker if they score more points than the Axis.

NOTE: For the Firestorm - Sicily Player Pack, in Round 1 only, Allied attacks are automatic
Allied wins against Gela and Syracuse.
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Determine Firestorm Troop Loss

Each Firestorm Troop involved in a battle risks damage or destruction. For each participating
Firestorm unit, the opposing general rolls a die modified by the following, then consults the table
below.

Modifiers
● If the opponent’s Firestorm Troop was out of supply +1 is added to the die roll.
● If the Axis Firestorm Troop type is Defense, the Allied player adds +1 to the die roll.
● If you had more Firestorm Troops participating in the Battle than the opponent had
defending +1 is added to the roll

Results
● If the result of the die roll equals the score needed and the Firestorm Troop is Division-
sized, it is destroyed.
● If the result of the die roll equals the score needed and the Firestorm Troop is a
damaged Corp-sized Troop it is destroyed.
● If the result of the die roll equals the score needed and the Firestorm Troop is an
undamaged Corp-sized roll a die:
○ On a result of 1-3, the Troop is destroyed.
○ On a result of 4+, the unit becomes damaged and is considered out of supply for
the next turn..

Your Victory Points Score needed to Damage/Destroy Enemy

8+ 4+

7 5+

3-6 6

1-2 No damage
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Determining Firestorm unit retreats

● If the attacker won the battle (see Determine the Winner, above) all remaining surviving
defending Firestorm Troops must retreat to any adjacent sector that it controls.
○ If there are no available sectors the Firestorm Troop is captured. A captured
Firestorm Troop is destroyed (removed from the campaign) and is worth victory
points.
● If the defender wins they have held their ground and repulsed the attackers. All surviving
attacking Firestorm Troops return to the sector they attacked from.
.

Take Control of Defeated Sectors

If the attacker wins the battle the sector is now under the victor’s control. Change the control
marker to that of the victor. If the sector contains an objective with Victory Points, they count
toward the captors total Victory Points..

Advance Victorious Troops

In the case of a victory, the attacker may move any Firestorm Troops from the attacking sector
to the newly controlled sector. All participating Firestorm Troops must be moved before any
non-participating ones.

NOTE: The first Firestorm Troop moved must be one that participated in the battle.
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Round Strategic Phase

Exploitation Moves
Each side may make exploitation moves. To do so, move any one Firestorm Troop into an
adjacent enemy-controlled sector that is not occupied. The unit need not be in supply at the end
of the move.

Exploitation moves are made first by victorious units from the side that has initiative, followed by
victorious units of the side that does not have initiative. Moves are then made by any remaining
non-victorious units, beginning first with the side that has initiative.

NOTE: No more than one exploitation move may be made per Firestorm Troop per turn.

Strategic Moves
Each side starting with the side with initiative may move any Firestorm Troop that did not make
an exploitation move, up to two sectors to any adjacent controlled sectors.

Axis side may move up to four Firestorm Troops per turn from Messina Sector to off map. Units
exiting in this manner are not counted as destroyed but may not reenter the map.

NOTE: Strategic Moves may not pass through or into sectors that were exploited in the same
turn.

Place Reinforcements
Place Firestorm Troops in their arrival sector at the end of this Phase prior to the turn they start.
If they are unable to do this because the arrival sector is enemy-occupied, they are destroyed.

Stacking Restrictions
No more than three (3) allied Firestorm Troops can be in one sector at the end of the Battle
Resolution Phase.

If this cannot be prevented, Firestorm Troops are chosen by the owning player for destruction
until no more than 3 remain. Defense Troops must be destroyed first before any non-Defense
troops.
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Firestorm – Base Rules

Checking Victory Conditions

Each Firestorm Player Pack will specify victory conditions and points awarded for capture of specific
sectors on the campaign map.

Note: Victory levels may have an impact on subsequent Firestorm Campaigns in terms of Firestorm
Troops and options.

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