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FIRE TABLE OF CONTENTS

• SETUP………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4

DROP Quick n' Dirty Drop Pod Warfare

• STEPS OF PLAY…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………..5
• CREATE A MISSION…………………………………………………………………………………………………….………..5
• CHOOSE A DIFFICULTY…………………………………………………………………………………………..………..6
for 1-4 Players • PLACE OBJECTIVES……………………………………..…………………………………………………………………..7
• PLACE NESTS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………..10
War! What purpose would we have in this life without it?
• PLACE EXTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………………………….………..11
It’s been five years since the Siphonapterian scourge
• CREATE A SOLDIER………………………………………………………………………………………………..………..12
was first encountered on Apterion VI. In the years since,
the superflea plague has spread across more and more • SQUAD ABILITIES………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………13
of our great Empire. We still do not know how they • SOLDIER ABILITIES…………………………………………………………………………………………………..………..14
spread, but we do know wherever our ships went after
fighting them last they would appear, as if following us— • ORBITAL DROP……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………15
clearly aiming to discover our homeworld and consume it. • FIGHT LIKE HELL…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………16
Now more than ever, we need good and honorable • SOLDIER TURNS…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………..17
Soldiers to take the fight directly to the Siphonapterians • ENEMY TURNS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……….18
and show them there’s nothing a little national pride and
a heaping dose of lead (and explosives) can’t solve. • EXTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………20
Oorah! • PHASES OF PLAY…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………21
• SPOILS OF WAR………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….22
• RANKS………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….23
• WHAT NEXT?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……..24
CREDITS
• MISSION NAME TABLE……………………………………………………………………………………………..……25
Design and Layout: Christian Sorrell • HEXMAP…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…..26
Editing: Jarrett Crader
Art: Perplexing Ruins, Thomas Novosel (via Patreon) • SOLDIER CARD……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……27
Publishing: MeatCastle GameWare
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 SETUP STEPS OF PLAY
In FIREDROP you play as a Soldier dropped from low orbit 1. Create a Mission
to fight the hordes of superfleas infesting the planet. 1. Choose a Difficulty
Each mission is unique, with its own Objectives,
Siphonapterian Nests, and Extract Point. Your job is to 2. Place Objectives
complete the Objective and, if you can, extract with your 3. Place Nests
life intact. To aid you in battle you have a number of
clone reinforcements available upon your death, as well 4. Place Extract Point
as high impact firepower like sentries, orbital 2. Create a Soldier
bombardments, and more.
3. Orbital Drop
FIREDROP is a quick n’ dirty hex and dice game of drop 4. Fight Like Hell
pod warfare. To play you need:
5. Extract
• Hexmap (pg.26)
6. Claim Spoils of War
• Soldier card for each player (pg,27)
• 1 twenty-sided die (d20)
• Many six-sided dice (d6), ideally in three colors
CREATE A MISSION
Before deploying as Soldiers, the players will build their
• Writing utensils
mission collaboratively.
Dice Usage
The players may take turns rolling and placing
Throughout play you will use one color of d6 to act as Objectives, or have a single player (or highest ranking
your Soldiers (displaying 1-4 to allow unique identification player, for veterans) act as Squad Leader and roll and
per player), another color of d6 to act as the Enemies place all Objectives and Nests.
(displaying 1-6 to match their Strength), and a third color Create a Mission Steps
of d6 to act as miscellaneous Ability or Objective
markers as needed. Everything else (like Objectives, 1. Choose a Difficulty
Nests, and more) will be written directly onto the hexmap. 2. Place Objectives
3. Place Nests
4. Place Extract Point

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 CHOOSE A DIFFICULTY PLACE OBJECTIVES
As a group, choose the mission difficulty, which Objectives must be completed to achieve mission
determines the number of Objectives needed to success. If you extract prior to completing an Objective
successfully complete the mission, the number of Nests you will take a Demerit when claiming Spoils of War.
in the area, and the number of reinforcement clones and
orbital resupply caches available. New recruits and small Certain Objectives require you to locate and kill a group
squads are recommended to start with lower difficulties. of enemies, others require a certain number of actions
be spent working on the Objective itself, and yet others
Difficulty require the passage of time (in Rounds) to complete.
• EASY • Medium First, roll 1d6 to determine the Objective from the list on
• 1 Objective • 2 Objectives the next spread (re-roll repeats). Next, roll 1d20 and place
the Objective in the corresponding hex on the map (re-roll
• 3 Nests • 6 Nests repeats). On a roll of 20, decide the Objective placement
• Reinforce: 5 • Reinforce: 4 as a group.
• Resupply: 5 • Resupply: 4

• HARD • HEROIC
• 3 Objectives • 4 Objectives
• 9 Nests • 12 Nests
• Reinforce: 3 • Reinforce: 2
• Resupply: 3 • Resupply: 2

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Objectives Objectives (continued)
1. Kill Everything - An area of concentrated enemy 4. Rescue Citizens - An overrun colony of Good, Loyal
activity. Citizens.
• Destroy all enemies on marked hex to complete. • Spend actions overriding lockdowns and wait for
citizens to reach the rescue shuttle.
• Enemies created as part of this Objective do not
move from this hex and do not merge with other • Requirements:
enemy groups. • Actions: 3
• Enemy Strength: • Rounds: 3
• Easy: 2, Medium: 3, Hard: 4, Heroic: 5

5. Destroy Asset - A facility we cannot allow to fall into

2. Recover Data - A transmitter station with valuable enemy hands (well… “feelers” technically).
data. • Spend actions dismantling the facility.
• Spend an action activating the signal and wait • Requirements:
for transmission to complete.
• Actions: 3
• Requirements:
• Actions: 1
6. Soldiers’ Choice
• Rounds until completion: 3
• Pick any Objective.
Requirements:
Actions: 3
Soldiers’ Choice
Pick an option from the list above.

3. Launch Missile - Complete a successful launch from a

planetary ICBM launch facility.
• Spend actions activating onsite terminals and
wait for launch.
• Requirements:
• Actions: 3
• Rounds until completion: 5

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 PLACE NESTS PLACE EXTRACT POINT
Siphonapterians reproduce through a network of In order to keep the superflea menace from following us
breeding chambers, fungal tunnels of dirt and stone we from world to world, it is imperative our ships are on the
call Nests. In little time, a superflea Nest can produce a ground for as little time as possible. This is why Soldiers
deadly amount of new fleas. firedrop and why their only means of planetary escape is
a single shuttle, once per mission.
Nests spawn a new Enemy every 3rd round (starting on
Round 3) at the beginning of the round. If a Nest spawns Roll 1d20 and put the Extract Point in the corresponding
with another Enemy group in its hex, it adds its value to hex on the map. On a 20 your squad decides placement
their Strength, up to a max of 6 Strength, after which the collaboratively.
remaining Strength is added as a new unit. Mission
Difficulty denotes the Nest’s spawn strength as well as The Extract Point calls down an evac shuttle, and must
the total number of Nests on the map. be activated like an Objective. The shuttle arrives in
3 Rounds.
Enemy Spawn
After placing the Extract Point, name the Mission if you’d
• Easy - 1 Strength like, using the Mission Name table on page 25.
• Medium - 2 Strength After placement, populate each Nest, Objective, and
• Hard - 3 Strength Extract Point on the map with Enemy groups equal to
the Mission’s Enemy Spawn (see Place Nests, pg.10). To
• Heroic - 4 Strength mark an Enemy group’s position on the map, place a d6
Roll 1d20 and put the Nest in the corresponding hex on with the number equal to the unit’s strength face up.
the map (re-roll repeats, including Objective locations). Be sure to use dice of one color/type to signify Enemies
On a 20 your squad decides placement collaboratively. and avoid confusion during play.

Infestation Level Next, move on to creating your Soldiers.

• Easy - 3 Nests
• Medium - 6 Nests
• Hard - 9 Nests
• Heroic - 12 Nests

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 CREATE A SOLDIER SQUAD ABILITIES
To be a Firedrop Soldier is to be among the bravest and All Soldiers have access to Squad Abilities, and each
most elite of all the warriors in the galaxy. Few are those Soldier’s Squad Abilities have their own individual refresh
who would dive into Siphonapterian hell and be expected timers after use. Squad Abilities usage is also tracked
to survive, let alone actually accomplish Objectives. individually and is limited by Difficulty, meaning on an
The galaxy stands safer with you in it. Now, get out there Easy mission each Soldier has 5 uses of both Reinforce
and kick some superflea thorax! and Resupply.
Soldier Stats Squad Abilities
Soldiers have three Stats: • Reinforce - Drops in a new cloned squad member.
• Armor is a measure of your ability to shake off • Arrives in 1 Round.
damage before receiving a mortal wound. • Refreshes instantaneously.
• Speed is a measure of your ability to dodge attacks • Limited by Difficulty.
and move quickly across the battlefield.
• Incoming Soldier(s) may roll a Speed Test to
• Firepower is a measure of your ability to inflict harm augment their drop position (pg.15).
on the enemy.
• If all Soldiers die at the same time, a squad-wide
Augment Stats Reinforce will be called in automatically. All Soldiers
mark this as 1 Reinforce use.
All Soldier Stats start at a value of 3. When creating a
Soldier before a mission, augment each starting Stat with • Resupply - Drops in a cache of supplies.
one of the following values: +2, +1, -1. • Arrives in 1 Round.
Soldier Stats • Refreshes in 5 Rounds.

• Armor: 3 • Limited by Difficulty.

• Speed: 3 • Any Soldier in the same hex at any time during

the round of the Resupply’s arrival fully refills their
• Firepower: 3 Ammo.
After augmenting, these are your Stats for the entirety • After 1 Round, the Resupply is lost amid the
of the mission. That said, feel free to tweak Stats and chaos of battle.
Abilities between missions as desired.
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 SOLDIER ABILITIES 4. Enhanced Weaponry - A specialized or heavy weapon
(an LMG, a rocket launcher, etc.).
Each Soldier brings 1 Soldier Ability into a Mission. These • Grants +2 Firepower (but costs 2 Ammo per
are available only to that Soldier, can be used as often Combat)
as desired (after they refresh), and have their own • May be picked up by any Soldier in its hex.
strengths and weaknesses. When creating a Soldier, pick
1 Soldier Ability to use for the entirety of the mission. • Lost entirely on Soldier death.
• Arrives in 1 Round.
Soldier Abilities
• Refreshes in 3 Rounds.
1. Sentry Gun - Automated machine gun turret, acting
as another Soldier in combat. 5. Quartermaster - You are equipped with an ammo pack,
capable of supplying your squad.
• Stats: A: 4, S: 0, F: 5
• You have +2 max/starting Ammo and can give
• Attacks 2 times per Round. any amount of your Ammo to 1 Soldier in your hex
• Remains in its hex until destroyed. per turn as a free action.
• Arrives in 1 Round. 6. Medic - You are equipped with and trained in the use
of cutting-edge healthcare tech.
• Refreshes in 5 Rounds.
• Whenever a Soldier (including yourself) would take
2. Orbital Bombardment - A heavy bomb, dropped from a wound in your hex, you may spend 1 Ammo to
low planetary orbit. negate 1 wound as a free action (once per turn).
• Deals 5 damage to everything in targeted hex
(can target own hex or an adjacent hex).
• Arrives in 1 Round.
• Refreshes in 5 Rounds.
ORBITAL DROP
With your Mission laid before you and your squad at your
3. Airstrike - A sweeping, low-impact strafing run. side, there is nothing left to do but get in your drop pod
• Deals 2 damage to all units in 2 adjacent hexes and descend into battle! For Freedom!
(can target your hex or 2 continuous hexes On the first drop and on Reinforcements, each Soldier
adjacent to your own). rolls 1d20 to determine their starting drop position. Next,
• Arrives instantaneously. each Soldier rolls Speed. For each success, Soldiers may
alter their drop position by one hex before landing.
• Refreshes in 3 Rounds.
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 FIGHT LIKE HELL SOLDIER TURNS
Battle: dealing and being dealt death—the meat and On your turn, you may Move and take 2 Actions. You
potatoes of Astral Army life. If war is hell then you best may move before or after any of your Actions, and you
be a demon or, better yet, the Devil himself. This is where may split your total movement across different portions
all Missions, all fronts, and all wars are won and lost. Get of your turn.
killing, Soldier. Oorah! Move:
Rounds • Roll a Speed test and move a number of hexes up
to the number of Successes rolled (minimum: 1).
Every 3rd Round, Nests spawn new Enemies according to
the Mission’s Enemy Spawn at the beginning of the Actions:
Round. Next, any arriving Abilities land (and if relevant, • Combat: Fire on an Enemy in your hex. Expend 1
deal damage). Ammo and roll a Firepower Test.
Soldiers always act first, in rank order. In case of equal • Each Success lowers Enemy Strength by 1.
ranks, players choose the turn order. • When Enemy Strength reaches 0, the Enemy
After all Soldiers have taken a turn, Enemies act in order group is defeated and is removed from the map.
of their hexmap location (low to high). Enemy movement • Use Ability: Call in an orbital drop ability.
and attacks may be resolved by any Soldier.
• Select targeted hex in accordance with specific
Stat Tests ability.
• Mark usage (for Squad Abilities) and begin
• To roll an Armor/Speed/Firepower Test, roll a number tracking refresh (on Soldier card).
of d6s equal to the Soldier’s relevant Stat value.
• Advance Objective
• Every 5 or 6 rolled is 1 Success.
• Mark 1 action on a relevant Objective.
Ammo
• Clear Nest
• Soldiers begin the mission and Reinforce with
• Expend 3 Ammo and destroy an Enemy Nest in
6 Ammo.
your hex.
• Any Soldier in the same hex as a Resupply on the
same turn it arrived is fully resupplied.

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 ENEMY TURNS Combat - Enemies attack all Soldiers within their hex,
using their Strength value for the combat test.
Siphonapterians act in a much more straightforward • Enemy rolls a Strength Test.
pattern than Soldiers, only knowing how to move and kill
(a deadly combination). • Each Success deals 1 point of damage.
• Targeted Soldier rolls a Speed Test to see how well
Move - Enemies move 1 hex per Round. they dodge the attack.
• If they begin their turn adjacent to a Soldier or • Each Success removes 1 point of Enemy damage.
Sentry Gun, they always move into the Soldier or
• Targeted Soldier rolls an Armor Test to see how
Sentry Gun’s hex.
much wear their armor withstands.
• In the case of multiple adjacent Soldiers, they
• Each Success removes 1 point of Enemy damage.
always move towards the largest group of
Soldiers. In the case of a tie, roll on the • Any remaining Enemy damage deals a mortal wound
movement guide to help determine which to the Soldier. The Soldier dies immediately and will
occupied hex they enter. need to be Reinforced by a teammate (or will be
Reinforced automatically in case of full squad death)
• If they do not begin their turn adjacent to a
in order to return to the battle.
Soldier, they move randomly using the hex
movement guide (on hexmap). After all Enemies have moved and/or acted, the Round
ends. At the end of the Round, advance all time
• For each Enemy group, roll 1d6 and move the
trackers 1 Round (relevant Objectives, Abilities, Nest
Enemy in the direction denoted (re-roll if
Spawns, etc.).
movement is not possible due to the edge of
the map).
• When an Enemy moves into the same hex as
another Enemy, they combine Strength and
become a single unit if possible (up to the
maximum Enemy Strength of 6).

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 EXTRACT PHASES OF PLAY
Once the Mission is complete, your only job is to get off To most easily keep track of the battlefield’s many
the planet alive. To do so you will need to reach the moving parts, use the following phases of play within
Extract Point, activate it, and await rescue. each Round of gameplay to ensure nothing is
overlooked (both on your behalf and the behalf of your
While you may extract at any time, doing so before Enemies).
completing all Objectives is an act of light (Class III)
treason and will result in severe Demerits. It is often 1. Spawn Phase:
better to die a warrior’s death and be revived shipside 1. Fill 1 box on the Spawn Track on the Mission Sheet.
from your updated clone state than to extract before
completing your Mission. 2. If Spawn Track is full, spawn a new Enemy
(according to Difficulty) in every Nest and empty all
Extract Points must be activated (1 Action). boxes on the Spawn Track (pg.10).
2. Ability Phase:
Once activated, Extract Points take 3 Rounds to call and
land a shuttle. After the shuttle arrives, you have 1. Previously used Soldier Abilities land on the
3 Rounds to get into the same hex and extract. hexmap in their appropriate hexes (pg.14).
The shuttle always leaves at the end of the 3rd round. 3. Soldier Phase:
Once all Soldiers are in the same hex or after 3 Rounds 1. Soldiers take turns in rank order (pg.17).
(whichever comes first), the shuttle leaves and the
4. Enemy Phase:
mission ends.
1. Enemies take turns in order of hexmap location
Keep in mind, completing the Objective(s) and extracting (pg.18).
are separate goals. It is possible to complete all
Objectives but fail to extract. Failed extraction incurs 5. Cleanup
Demerits on a per-Soldier basis when claiming your Spoils 1. Remove any Resupplies from the hexmap.
of War.
2. Fill 1 box on all active Ability Refresh Tracks.
3. Fill 1 box on all active Objective Tracks.

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 SPOILS OF WAR RANKS
Throughout history, great warriors have routinely said As Soldiers earn Medals, they rise through the ranks,
things like “to the victor belong the spoils” and “history gaining more power over and respect from their fellow
is written by the winners.” Never have these kinds of Soldiers over time. While Ranks do not denote any
phrases been more true than in our continued offensive change of overall procedure or equipment, Ranks (and
against the superflea menace. When you succeed in orders from any higher rank Soldier than yourself) must
your mission and successfully extract, you will receive a be respected within your squad at all times during a
number of accolades from Astral Army Command. In Mission. Any insubordination incurs an individual Demerit
terms of the history-writing bit, you need not worry of -1 per instance of insubordination at the end of a
about that outside of your own personal journaling (and, Mission.
as far as our scientists are aware, the Siphonapterians
Title Medals Earned
are not capable of written language).
Private 0
At the end of the Mission (either after extraction or Corporal 5
after all Soldiers die without remaining Reinforcements), Sergeant 10
each player is awarded Merits and Demerits.
Ensign 15
Merits Lieutenant 25
Commander 35
• +1 Medal per completed Objective (squad-wide)
Captain 45
• +1 Medal per every 3 Nests closed (squad-wide)
Major 70
Demerits Colonel 85
• -2 Medal per incomplete Objective (squad-wide) Commodore 90
General 110
• -1 Medal per un-extracted Soldier (squad-wide)
Marshal 130
• -1 Medal per instance of insubordination (individual)
Lord 150
Hero 175
Platoon Specialist 200
Expert of Operations 250
Admiral 300
Supreme Commander 400
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 WHAT NEXT? MISSION NAME (d20 x 2)
The war never ends. Take your surviving Soldiers and
THE NAME #1 OF NAME #2
head back out into battle again, restarting the steps of
play, possibly adjusting the difficulty, and generating a 1 Destruction 1 Xepheria
new Mission. The most competitive Soldiers shoot for the
highest number of Medals claimed from a single Mission, 2 Desolation 2 Acheron III
either as a squad or as a solo combatant. 3 Liberation 3 Earth-2
In the future, new Soldier Abilities, Objectives, map 4 Emancipation 4 Chronia XVI
shapes, and more may be available as part of an official 5 Annexation 5 Neo Triton
Astral Army Requisition Pack (as long as the supply lines
hold strong). In the meantime, keep up the fight (and feel 6 Cleansing 6 Despina Prime
free to create your own new options too)!
7 Purge 7 New Mars
8 Devastation 8 Cleveland
9 Battle 9 Sao-Laomedeia
10 Redemption 10 Juupiter™
11 Deliverance 11 Psamathe
12 Salvation 12 Kylos-3
13 Extermination 13 Plutarch IV
14 Annihilation 14 Little Titan
15 Obliteration 15 Ouranos II
16 Decimation 16 Morecury
17 Ruination 17 S/2002 N6
18 Slaughter 18 Antisol
19 Massacre 19 TechnoVenus
20 Sanctification 20 Piebald Alpha
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FIREDROP is a quick hex-and-dice game
of drop pod warfare for 1-4 players.
Play as a SOLDIER dropped from ORBIT
to fight hordes of SUPERFLEAS
infesting the planet. Each mission is
unique with its own OBJECTIVES, enemy
NESTS, and EXTRACTION POINT.
Complete the mission and extract, if you
can, before time and resources run out.

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