CRUX

UNIVERSAL WARGAMING
Published by Ill Gotten Games
Written by Dutchmogul
Art by Ingmar Edmund Freske
Designed by Dutchmogul and Jeremy Larsen
Edited by Laurel Larsen

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 3
Core Rules 4
Building Forces 6
Battles 13
Narrative Campaigns 15

Special thanks to:

Alex Bates, Arthur Cordeiro, Austen Zaleski, Ben Doane, Ben Toomey, Carlos Felipe, Dan Pettit, David Frost, Doug
Zwick, Elliot Hodge, Gustavo Cosio, Jake Burgess, Jaycee Fairclough, Jeff Bowers, Jeff Wagnaar, Julio Ibarra,
Ingmar Edmund Freske, Kalan Nutsford, Kes Simpson, Meron Miles, Nate Stephens, Nick Gossage, Nicolai
Østergaard, Pedro Corin, Phil Ortega, Ron Lewis, Ted Blackford, Alysa Walker, Marc Majcher, Sable Badger, and
all of our supporters on Patreon, Kickstarter, and itch.io

CRUX: Universal Wargaming

Version 2.0
© Ill Gotten Games, 2020
 INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS CRUX?
CRUX: Universal Wargaming is a setting agnostic rules
set for tabletop battles with miniatures. Any minia-
tures, any world. Whether you want to curate genre
elements and build a structured campaign setting, or
use anything from your collection in a multiverse free-
for-all, this system will help you put rules to your mad
creations.

WHAT DO I NEED?
To play a CRUX wargame, you’ll need the following:
• A bunch of miniatures.
• A full set of standard polyhedral dice (d4, d6, d8,
d10, d12, and d20, one set per player).
• A play space (at least 3’ x 3’ is good) and some
terrain (or proxy terrain, like upside down cups
and bowls or stacks of books).
• A measuring tape (or use maps or tiles with built in
grid cells).

WHAT ABOUT ROLEPLAYING?

CRUX: Universal Wargaming is fully compatible with
CRUX: Universal Roleplaying, along with any other
game built on the CRUX engine.

We designed these sister-systems with an eye toward

integration. This book should help provide you with the
tools you need to adapt any CRUX material into a
wargaming format, and includes a bunch of material
that can be useful in your roleplaying games as well.

Page 3
 CORE RULES

To begin, let’s cover the core rules and how to set up Combine the scores of the four attributes to deter-
and run a game. First up, here’s a few key terms with mine the unit’s HP.
which you’ll want to be familiar: • Speed (SPD): How fast the unit moves. Combine
BUL and VIT to determine SPD.
• Activation: The act of announcing a unit’s turn and
having them use actions. • Skills: Modifiers to applicable attribute tests.
• Adjacent: (Range 0) If two miniatures are touch- • Traits: Special abilities.
ing, by the base or otherwise. • Experience (EXP): Points gained through battles
• CRUX die: The die used to make attribute and that will allow the unit to gain new skills and traits
skill tests. Starts at d4, raises to d10 with training. and increase their CRUX die.
• DV: Difficulty value. Number needed for a test. • Combat Value (CV): The cost to hire the unit for
your force.
• Force: Your gang, warband, or whatever else you
want to call your group of fighters.
• Increment: An inch, grid cell, or whatever meas- SETTING UP
urement method you’re using. Inches are generally Players will each bring an agreed-upon total Combat
good for standard (28-32mm) scale miniatures. Value to the table for each battle. This is your force’s
• LoS: Line of sight, meaning a straight line can be deployment.
drawn from one miniature to another. Set up a table full of terrain, use a grid map, or do
• Modifier: The total value added to a die roll. whatever else you like for your play space.
• Score: The value of a single attribute or skill. Both players roll off. The winner will choose their table
• Unit: Any character represented by a miniature. edge, then deploy all of their units within 6 increments.
The opponent will then do so from the opposite edge.
UNIT STATS
We’ll cover force/unit creation later, but every unit is MAKING TESTS
comprised of the following abilities: Players roll their unit’s CRUX die and add any appli-
• CRUX die: The die rolled whenever a unit tests cable modifiers when making a test. The result is com-
one of their four attributes (below). pared against a test made by another unit, or against
• Bulk (BUL): Attribute for size and physical power. a static difficulty value (DV) set by a special scenario.
• Vitality (VIT): Attribute for raw athleticism. (This could be DV 8 to climb a wall, DV 12 to hack a
• Presence (PRE): Attribute for force of personality. computer console, et cetera). Opposed tests that tie
• Aptitude (APT): Attribute for wits and learning. go to the defender, and rolling a 1 on the CRUX die is
auto-failure.
• Health Points (HP): Ability to sustain damage.

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 CORE RULES
ADVANTAGE is a special condition that can apply to MOVEMENT/RANGE A unit can move up to their SPD
a test based on the situation. If a unit has advantage, in increments as an action. Rough terrain is 2 SPD per
increase their die by one step (a d6 becomes a d8, et increment.
cetera, max d20). Multiple instances stack.
Once per turn, a unit may rush, rolling a d4 and add-
• A unit has advantage to defend if they have cov- ing it to their SPD during a move action. A unit may
er (the model is partially obscured). make a free Fighting attack at the end of a rush (a
• A unit has advantage to attack if they are on charge).
higher ground (their base is on terrain at least
one increment higher than the enemy). STEALTH: Any unit may announce that they are using
• A unit has advantage to attack when the enemy is stealth at the start of a move action, provided they
overwhelmed. After one attack has been made are either outside of enemy LoS or would benefit from
against a unit, each consecutive action in order of cover to any enemies within LoS.
the initiative queue that is used to attack the same • Stealthing costs an additional SPD for every incre-
unit will add an instance of advantage. Once that ment moved.
chain is broken by any unit using an action other • If an enemy attacks a stealthing unit that would
than an attack against that unit, they are no long- benefit from cover (see Advantage) they must first
er overwhelmed, and all advantage is lost. make an Alertness test opposed by an Athletics
test made by the stealthing unit. If they win, the
ACTIONS stealthing unit may be attacked normally. If they
After units have all been deployed, players will make lose, the attacker loses their action.
a PRE + Alertness test for each unit. Record the values • A unit is no longer considered to be stealthing
in a list descending from the highest to lowest. This is once they have been attacked, have made an at-
the initiative queue. tack, or if an enemy unit starts their turn with fully
unobstructed LoS to the stealthing unit.
Each unit can use 2 actions when activated. An action
can be used to attack, move, or do anything else that
AIMING/BRACING: An action can be used to aim,
references spending actions.
granting advantage to the next attack, or to brace,
If there are multiple units at the same queue position, gaining advantage to all defense tests until the start
the player who deployed first will activate their unit of your next turn.
first. Players will then trade off one activation at a
time until all units at that queue position have acted. EQUIPPING ITEMS
A piece of equipment will describe how it is used. In
ATTACKING: Attacks are made with VIT + weapon
general, a unit may wear one kind of armor, one
skill (Fighting for melee or Shooting for ranged at-
piece of headgear (such as a helmet), and have one
tacks), provided the attacking unit may draw LoS to
weapon or device equipped to each hand. (Most min-
the target. The defender tests either VIT + Athletics to
iatures have two hands, but traits may modify this.) A
dodge or VIT + Fighting to block (other melee attacks
unit may carry more items on their person, but may
only).
only benefit from their hands-worth of items during a
If the attack test is higher, roll for damage as listed given activation (or test made during an enemy turn).
by the weapon and subtract that value from HP.
(Unarmed attacks deal d4+BUL-2 Smash damage.) If MORALE / VICTORY
an attack beats the opponent’s defense test by 5 or
Once half of a player’s deployment has been defeat-
more it is a critical hit. Double the total damage.
ed (rounding up), they must start testing for morale at
A unit at 0 HP can only use one action per turn. Below the start of each new turn. To do so they choose a unit
0 they are defeated and are removed from the bat- and make a PRE + Willpower test. The DV is a d4
tlefield. If you’re playing a campaign, keep track of (rolled by the opponent). Each turn the DV rises by
their negative HP value, as you’ll need this for injury one die step. If this test is failed, the game ends as the
rolls. (See the Campaign section.) rest of the units flee. Defeating all enemies ends the
game as well.

Page 5
 BUILDING FORCES

You likely already have a bunch of miniatures that

you want to turn into a fighting faction. That’s the first
ATTRIBUTES
Units will have scores in the four attributes: BUL, VIT,
step in force creation. It doesn’t really matter how
PRE, and APT. The human range for all of these is 1-5,
many you have or how many you want to use, just
with a 2 representing human average. You could as-
build out their stats and you’re ready to play at any
sign points or roll for them. Just make sure that you
level.
and opponents agree on the method.

UNIT CREATION If you really want to embrace the random method, roll
once for each attribute in order from BUL to APT, al-
Each miniature you field is a unit and will have its own
lowing your friends to witness the roll. To appeal to
stats, powers, and equipment. It may be helpful to
this “anything goes” style of play, we’ll include some
build generic unit profiles, establishing a template
randomized options at the unit creation steps.
type of character that can be repeated and modified.
An “Elven Host Ranger,” “Trans-Human Star-Marine,”
“French Hussar,” or whatever else fits your theme. This d20 SCORE
is helpful if you’re crafting a limited setting in which to 1-3 1
play, especially if you’re building out a wargame for 4-11 2
a group who isn’t into designing from the ground up. 12-16 3
This is simply a suggestion, however, and if you’re 17-19 4
comfortable with crunching the numbers, you should 20 5
build however you see fit.
SUPERHUMAN ATTRIBUTES: Any scores over 6 or
CV: Every battle will have a max amount of total
under 1 are outside of the human range. Non-human
combat value that may be fielded by each player,
units such as robots, aliens, or mythical beings will of-
and we’ll be referencing the CV costs as we go so you
ten have modifiers to their scores. (See Archetypes.)
can tally the unit’s cost as you create them.
SUB-ATTRIBUTES: There are two sub-attributes de-
CRUX DIE rived from the core four:
Starting units begin with a CRUX die of d4. This will • Add all four attribute scores to determine HP.
advance up the dice chain as the unit gains EXP, be- • Add BUL and VIT to determine SPD.
coming a d6 next, then a d8, then eventually stopping
as a d10. If you choose to start units with EXP values CV: Add the HP value to CV. If later additions (like
(nominating certain units as “champions,” for exam- traits) add or subtract HP, come back and adjust this
ple), they may begin with a CRUX die at d6 or higher, value.
though this will be at your group’s option.
Page 6
 BUILDING FORCES
SKILLS 6: DUELIST When you and an opponent are the clos-
Skills have scores between 1-5 and are added as a
est enemies to one another, you may force them to re-
modifier for applicable attribute tests. For example, a
roll their attack or defense die once per test.
fighter attacking or blocking with a sword would roll
CRUX die + VIT + Fighting. To determine skills:
7: FAST You gain +1 SPD.
• Roll for five starting skills -OR- choose three skills.
• Each skill rolled adds +1 its score. 8: FOOTPAD You move at full SPD when using stealth.
• If you roll and get the same skill, combine the bo-
nuses! 9: HARRIER If an opponent is within range when they
use any action other than a Fighting attack, you may
d8 immediately make a free Fighting attack against them
before their action is resolved.
1: Alertness (PRE): Determine initiative
2: Athletics (VIT): Dodge attacks 10: HEROIC NUDITY While unarmored you may re-
3: Fighting (VIT): Make melee attacks roll your CRUX die once when making tests to dodge
4: Magic (APT): Cast spells attacks made by armored opponents.
5: Shooting (VIT): Make ballistic attacks
6: Strength (BUL): Move heavy stuff 11: HURLER Add your Strength skill score to weapon
7: Technical (APT): Operate tech range modified by BUL.
8: Willpower (PRE): Determine morale
12: MULTI-WIELD Once per turn you may spend an
CV: Add your skill scores to the CV. action to make an attack with each weapon you have
equipped, but suffer an instance of disadvantage to
SKILL TRAITS all of them.
Skill traits are special abilities learned through train-
ing. Choose one skill trait -OR- roll for one and get a 13: QUICK RELOAD Reloading weapons requires one
bonus skill roll as well. less action.

CV: All skill traits add 2 to the CV unless they modify 14: RESILIENT Add your BUL twice when calculating
HP, in which case they add that value instead. HP.

d20 15: SHARPSHOOTER You gain a bonus to Shooting

attack range equal to your total Alertness modifier.
1: ARMOR TRAINING Reduce penalties from armor
and helmets by 1/2 (round down). 16: SKIRMISHER You may reduce all damage from
Shooting attacks by a CRUX die roll when benefitting
2: BODYGUARD When an adjacent ally is attacked, from cover.
you may make an Alertness test against a d20 DV
and, if successful, move yourself in between them and 17: STEADY STEP You treat rough terrain as normal
the attacker and become the new target. ground.

3: BRUTAL You gain a +1 bonus to damage rolls 18: STRAFE: Make a free attack at disadvantage at
from attacks made with the Fighting skill. any point during your movement when using two con-
secutive move actions.
4: CAREFUL AIM You may re-roll your CRUX die once
when aiming. 19: TOUGH You gain +2 HP.

5: COMMANDER: You and allies within 6 increments 20: WALLOP When aiming you gain a bonus to
and LoS gain advantage to Willpower tests. Fighting attack damage equal to 1/2 your Strength
score (round down).

Page 7
 BUILDING FORCES
SPECIAL TRAITS LOW-LIGHT VISION You ignore penalties imposed by
darkness. CV: +2
While skill traits cover abilities that anyone can learn
by training, special traits are inherent to the unit’s spe-
MANA (X) You possess a pool of (X) mana points.
cies or granted by events such as mutation or super-
These may be spent in place of losing HP for casting
natural powers. All human characters have the Adap-
spells. One mana point is replenished per hour of rest.
tive trait. The Archetype section will give you some
CV: +(X)
ideas for integrating other special traits or you can
just add whatever fits your overall vision.
NATURAL WEAPONS D(X) Your unarmed attacks
deal BUL + d(X) damage at range 0. Choose a type
ADAPTIVE Choose an additional skill trait or increase
of damage inflicted as well (Cut, Pierce, or Smash)
one skill by +1 (to a max of +5). CV: +1
when the trait is recorded. CV: +1/2 max die value
CAMOUFLAGE You may test Athletics for stealth
REACH (ANY) (X) You gain a +(X) bonus to Fighting
while standing in plain sight. CV: +2
attack range. CV: +(X)
DAMAGE RESISTANCE (ANY) (X) Choose a damage
REGENERATION (ANY) (X) You regain d(X) HP at
type (Concuss, Corrode, Cut, Burn, Freeze, Irradiate,
the start of your turn when at 0 HP or higher. CV: +
Pierce, Shock, Smash, et cetera). You reduce it by (X).
max die value
CV: +(X)
SUPER-STRENGTH D(X) You gain a d(X) bonus to
DAMAGE SUSCEPTIBILITY (ANY) (X) Choose a dam-
your Strength score and half of this (round down) to:
age type (Concuss, Corrode, Cut, Burn, Freeze, Irradi-
ate, Pierce, Shock, Smash, et cetera). You take (X) ex- • HP.
tra damage from that type. CV: -(X) • SPD.
• all BUL-modified tests (including damage with me-
EXTRA LIMBS (X) You have (X) additional hands for lee weapons).
equipment and gain a +(X) bonus to Athletics tests • Athletics tests made to climb, leap, and swim.
made to climb. CV: +(X)x2 CV: +(X)x5

FLIGHT You may move in any direction. CV: +10 SWIFT (X) You gain +(X) SPD. CV: +(X)

FURY You may re-roll damage tests once when at- UNDIFFERENTIATED You don’t suffer increased dam-
tacking at range 0. CV: +2 age from critical hits. CV: +10

HULKING Double your BUL when calculating HP. CV: UNLIVING You are not a living being and:
charge for increased HP as normal • are immune to (and may not benefit from) any
effect that specifically affects “living” beings.
INCORPOREAL As an incorporeal being, you: • double your total HP score.
• reduce damage from non-Incorporeal sources by CV: charge for increased HP as normal + 5
d20.
• non-incorporeal enemies reduce damage from VENOMOUS D(X) If you deal at least 1 damage to a
your attacks by d20. living being with an unarmed attack they will immedi-
• ignore rough terrain and may move through ene- ately suffer an additional d(X) Poison damage, then
mies and solid terrain, but must end your move continue to suffer that damage with disadvantage
where the miniature can be placed. each round until the die goes below d4, at which point
CV: +10 the poison will stop. CV: + max die value x 2

INNATE POWER (ANY) You may cast a single spell VIGOR (X) You gain +(X) HP. CV: +(X)
using Willpower in place of the Magic skill. CV: value
of the spell + 2

Page 8
 BUILDING FORCES
ARCHETYPES
If you’re using these rules to build a setting for your
games, you should consider building some archetypes.
These are pre-assembled collections of attribute modi-
fiers and traits that will be applied to the unit creation
steps and can be based on species, occupation, or
really anything else you can imagine.

To make a modest occupational archetype, start with

three skills at +1 and one skill trait tailored to the
concept.

Special traits and attribute modifiers will typically

come from species-based archetypes. If you want to
keep things relatively balanced, keep in mind the to-
tal CV, and be warry of attribute modifiers beyond
+1 or +2 (especially when it comes to VIT). Sometimes
you need big stats to describe a particularly potent
creature though.

For example, a Human archetype comes without at-

tribute modifiers, but includes the Adaptive trait.

A Soldier archetype might start with Alertness 1, Ath-

letics 1, and Shooting 1, along with the Sharpshooter
skill trait.

You could then add those two together to make a Hu-

man Soldier archetype (but the naming convention
could be anything to suit your campaign).
SPELLS
For a more elaborate archetype, let’s look at the ex- If a unit has the Magic skill, you may add up to d4
ample of the Hill Troll: spells in place of a skill trait. Units with spells may use
a single action and spend 1 HP to cast them, then fol-
HILL TROLL low the spell directions. Spells are not used up, and
the same spells may be re-cast (as long as the caster
BUL VIT PRE APT SPECIAL TRAITS doesn’t mind expending the HP to do so).
+5 -1 -1 -1 Hulking, Some spells can be maintained. This means that as
Natural Weapons d8, long as the caster spends an action each round to
Regeneration d4 maintain the spell, the effect will remain in play.
Some spells apply modifiers to attribute or skill scores.
As you can see, this will make for a powerful unit, but
Modifiers from multiple power effects will not stack.
also a relatively expensive one. Ultimately, it will be
Always use the highest single instance at any one time.
up to you to determine how to use archetypes for your
campaign. Ideally points are points and the CVs Attacks made with spells use the Magic skill in place
should balance out somewhat, but you could choose to of Fighting or Shooting, but are treated the same.
limit the archetypes allowed and even the number of
a given archetype in one force. CV: Every spell adds its own CV. If you want to come
up with your own spells, consider using the CV of a
spell you feel is similarly powerful.

Page 9
 BUILDING FORCES
d20 LoS and deal an automatic d4 Freeze damage to
everything within 3 increments. CV: +5
1: CURSE Choose a unit within LoS. They will suffer
disadvantage to all tests as maintained. CV: +2 11: HEX LASH Test Magic to make a range 6 attack
that deals d10 Hex damage. CV: +5
2: APPORTATION Choose yourself or another unit
within LoS. Move the subject directly to any location 12: LIGHTNING BOLT Test Magic to make a range
that is also in LoS, provided the miniature may be 50 attack that deals d10 Shock damage. Anything
placed there. Subjects with a PRE score may attempt between you and the target must defend against the
to resist this effect with Willpower, testing against same attack. CV: +10
your Magic result. CV: +10
13: MEND Choose a unit at range 0 and make a
3: AWARENESS Grant a bonus equal to your Magic Magic test to restore up to that many lost HP. Subjects
skill score to Alertness tests as maintained. CV: +2 that also have this spell or the Magic skill may not
benefit from this healing. CV: +10
4: CINDERTOUCH Test Magic to make a range 0 at-
tack that deals d12 Burn damage. CV: +2 14: PARALYTIC GRASP Test Magic to make a range
0 attack against a living unit that deals no damage. If
5: CLAIRVOYANCE Choose a point on the battlefield the attack succeeds, the subject must succeed at a
and place a counter. You may count LoS as though Willpower test against a DV equal to your Magic re-
you were also standing there as maintained. While sult or may not act and will become helpless
this spell is active you may take no actions other than (unmodified d4 to all defense tests) as maintained
casting spells and may not defend against enemy at- (also requires use of a hand as maintained). CV: +2
tacks (roll an unmodified d4 for defense). CV: +5
15: PHASING Grant the Incorporeal special trait to
6: COSMIC NUDGE Make a Magic test. Choose any yourself or to another unit within LoS as maintained.
number of units within LoS whose combined value in Subjects with a PRE score may resist this effect with
BUL scores do not exceed your test result. Move them Willpower, testing against your Magic result. CV: +5
all a single increment in directions of your choosing.
Subjects with a PRE score may attempt to resist this 16: PROPER DEATH Test Magic to make a range 20
effect with Willpower, testing against your Magic re- attack against an undead being that deals d20 Smite
sult. CV: +5 damage. CV: +5

7: DOMINATION Choose a unit with a PRE score with- 17: UNSEEN HAND You may use your Magic skill in
in range 20 and LoS and make a Magic test. They will place of BUL and VIT skills and make attacks out to
oppose this with a Willpower test. If you win, you may range 30 as maintained. CV: +10
control the subject’s actions as maintained. CV: +10
18: VIVIFY Make a Magic test. Grant 1/4 of the re-
8: FETCH Make a Magic test and choose a unit or ob- sult (round down) as a bonus to both BUL and VIT tests
ject within LoS with a BUL score no greater than 1/4 for either yourself or another unit within range 10 and
of your result (round down). Move the subject so that it LoS as maintained. CV: +5
is adjacent to you at a point you choose. Subjects with
a PRE score may attempt to resist this effect with Will- 19: WARD Choose a unit within range 10 and LoS
power, testing against your Magic result. CV: +5 and make a Magic test, granting them resistance to a
damage type of your choice equal to the test result as
9: FIREBALL Choose a point within range 20 and LoS maintained. CV: +5
and test Magic to make an attack against everything
within 3 increments of the point. The attack deals d12 20: WRATH AND RUIN Choose yourself or an ally at
Burn damage. CV: +10 range 20 and LoS. As maintained, max die rolls for
damage allow the die to be rolled again and added,
10: FROST CLOUD Choose a point at range 12 and even on subsequent max rolls. CV: +2

Page 10
 BUILDING FORCES
EQUIPMENT
Final stretch! Now its time to outfit your unit with some
equipment based on what you see on the miniature.

WEAPONS: Each weapon is listed with damage

(DAM), damage type (TYPE), range (RNG), hands re-
quires to use it (H), and combat value (CV).

FIGHTING DAM/TYPE RNG H CV

Hand Weapon d6+BUL/* 1 1 +7
Great Weapon d10+BUL/* 1 2 +10
Pole Weapon d8+BUL/* 2 2 +9
Shield d4/Smash** 0 1 +8
* Cut for sharp, Pierce for pointy, or Smash for blunt
** -d4 damage from enemy attacks while held
SHOOTING DAM/TYPE RNG H CV
Primitive Ballistic d10/Pierce 24 2 +27
d8/Pierce 12 1 +15
Modern Ballistic d12/Pierce 36 2 +40
d10/Pierce 18 1 +22
Advanced Ballistic d20/Pierce 48 2 +56
d12/Pierce 24 1 +29 are available in your setting. You can also easily use
these rules to adapt weapons and armor from CRUX
roleplaying material.
ARMOR: Only one suit of armor may be worn. Armor
is listed with damage resistance (C = Cut, P = Pierce, Damage: The CV cost for damage is equal to the max
S = Smash, and MISC for any other types), penalties die value. Melee and thrown weapons generally add
imposed on the wearer’s SPD (SPD) and Athletics BUL to damage, but this is not included in the CV (the
(ATH), and combat value (CV). unit’s already paying for their BUL). Be sure to select
an appropriate damage type as well. Cut, Pierce,
ARMOR C P S MISC SPD ATH CV and Smash are the most common, but here are some
others that might apply: Burn, Concuss, Corrode,
Light Armor 2 1 4 Freeze 2 -1 - +8
Freeze, Irradiate, or Shock.
Heavy Armor 6 4 2 - -2 -1 +9
Resistance: Armor may reduce damage of certain
Modern Armor 6 6 4 Concuss 2 -1 -1 +12 types. Increase CV by total resistance values.
Advanced Armor 8 8 8 Concuss 4 - - +28 Range: Increase CV by the item’s range.
Hands: Reduce CV by one for a two-handed weapon.
CUSTOM EQUIPMENT: The options listed above are
the most generic forms of equipment and are here to Penalties: Armor and headgear (or really any cum-
give you a baseline example. You could easily use bersome item) may apply penalties, usually to SPD or
these profiles if you want to keep things less compli- the Alertness or Athletics skill. Reduce CV by the total
cated, but, just as traits and spells can be used to ex- penalties applied.
plore a wide array of tactical options, the same can
Traits: In addition to those listed in the Special Traits
be true of equipment. The following should help you
section, here are a few that are unique to equipment:
put together a list of weapons, armor, and more that
Page 11
 BUILDING FORCES

BLAST (X) Blast weapons deal damage to everything THROWN Add BUL to the weapon range. (As we
within a radius: don’t bother to track ammo in the CRUX wargaming
• Choose a point within range and make an attack rules, there’s no need to track the quantity of thrown
roll. weapons either.) CV: +0
• Roll a d10. If your attack is lower, move the point
a number of increments equal to the difference in CHAMPIONS
the direction the top point of the die is facing. Sometimes you’ll want to bring fighters into the game
• Everything within (X) increments of the point suffers who have a little experience under their belt. You can
the weapon damage. achieve this by simply starting a few of your units with
CV: + (X) x 10 some experience points (EXP).
BURST D(X) Spend an extra action to attack and roll How many units and how much EXP is up to you. As a
the associated die. Add that value to the attack roll. rule of thumb, you could allow up to two units to have
This attack will affect the target and anything within 5 EXP (granting them two advancements and raising
one increment. A weapon may only use Burst once per their CRUX die to d6) and one with 20 EXP (granting
round. CV: + max die value x 2 that unit six advancements and raising their CRUX die
DANGEROUS You are hit on a die roll of 1. CV: -1 to d8). Limiting yourself to this will give your force a
couple of lieutenants and a leader who will stand
FLEXIBLE Cannot be used to block. Enemies suffer dis- above the rest of your fighters but still have plenty of
advantage to block this weapon. CV: +0 room to grow as your campaign goes on.
HEAVY Enemies gain advantage to dodge this weap-
on and disadvantage to block it with a non-Heavy CODIFYING YOUR FORCE
weapon. CV: +0 Once you’ve got a cohesive collection of units, set
POINT BLANK Gain advantage when attacking at aside a place to keep notes. Write out the roster
1/2 range or closer. CV: +1 (listing with CV values can help), come up with a back-
story, and make a space for notes and resources
PROTECTION D(X) Reduce enemy attack damage by gathered during your campaign.
d(X). CV: + max die value
Don’t worry too much about the size of your warband.
RELOAD (X) You must spend (X) actions to reload the It can be as big or small as you like. Since battles in-
weapon before it can attack again. CV: -(X) volve an agreed upon total CV (more on that in the
SCOPE Double range when aiming. CV: +1 next section), you can set the points to accommodate a
certain value and can always cater a game to whoev-
SHIELDING Advantage to defense tests. CV: +1 er has the least models if you need to.

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DEPLOYMENT off to the side of the battle. These units will not be de-
ployed on the first turn, though any/ all of them may
Before staging a battle, you’ll want to determine a
be deployed at the top of any later turn. When
total CV that each player will be deploying from their
bringing a unit in from reserves, roll initiative and add
force. This is referred to as your “deployment,” a por-
them to the queue. When their turn arrives, they will
tion of your force sent off to fight.
move in from your designated deployment zone’s ta-
ble edge as their first action.
So how much should you allot per battle? Well, this is
hard to nail down, as the average CV per unit can
vary wildly depending on your setting, the allowed BATTLE SCENARIOS
archetypes, and equipment. For example, units from a We’ve already covered the basics of staging and
sci-fi setting tend to be a lot more expensive than me- running a battle back in the core rules, but what if you
dieval warriors. Even though you might play with the want to spice things up? That’s where battle scenarios
same number of miniatures, the deployment cost might come into play.
be twice as high. In an effort to appeal to the
The goals and conditions of a battle can vary wildly.
“anything goes” spirit, we would suggest somewhere
Before each battle, you and your opponent may
between 200-500 CV for a proper “skirmish” battle,
choose or roll for scenario aspects.
but you should take this with a heavy grain of salt.
Ultimately, we would advise to start small, experi-
ment, and find what’s right for your players. BATTLEFIELD/d6
Roll on the following table to determine how you’ll
UNDERDOGS build your map.
1 URBAN: Place houses, ruins, or other buildings so
If a player chooses, they may deploy under the de-
that they form a dense city or township.
ployment value. For every full 10% a player’s de-
2 OUTPOST: Place a single building in the center of
ployed CV is lower than the next highest deployment,
a sparse wilderness table.
grant them a +2 bonus to the roll-off for table edge
3 VILLAGE: Place a few buildings with a few natu-
and any roll-offs for objectives.
ral terrain features (a 50/50 ratio is good).
4 WILDERNESS: Place natural terrain features
RESERVES (trees, hills, et cetera).
What if you don’t want to field your entire deploy- 5 INTERIOR: Place terrain tiles to detail rooms and
ment all at once? Sometimes holding some of your hallways (or caverns and tunnels). This is a great
units back to be deployed later in the fight can be excuse to use a grid-based system, but you can
strategic. You may choose to keep up to 1/2 of your measure as normal if you prefer.
deployment in reserves (round down), keeping them 6 Roll again, and then roll for conditions.

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 BATTLES
CONDITIONS/d8 normal. Each unit must use their first action to move
into the map. Roll a d10. On a 2-9, the unit enters
Roll on this table if you got conditions on the previous
the map from the numbered counter. On a 10, you
table, or if you just want to include them. You could
may choose which counter the unit uses. On a 1,
also give conditions a 50% chance of appearing.
your opponent may choose. The same is true for
1 Bright Light: Disadvantage to all Alertness and
any units you keep in reserves.
Shooting tests.
4 GAUNTLET: Roll off. The winner will choose a map
2 Chasms: DV d10 to leap across, falling for d20
edge, and the loser must deploy their forces up to
Concuss damage on failure. Units that fall are
4 increments in. The winner will then deploy their
counted as defeated regardless of damage.
forces up to 2 increments in from the adjoining two
3 Darkness: Disadvantage x 2 to all Alertness and
map edges, but each of their units must be at least
Shooting tests, disadvantage to Fighting, Magic,
6 increments apart from one another when de-
and Technical tests. Advantage to Athletics tests
ployed.
made to stealth.
4 Deep/Rapid Water: Athletics DV d10 to move.
Move action is lost on failure, d10 Drown damage OBJECTIVE/d4
upon critical failure. 1 CONQUEST: The last force standing is the winner.
5 Fog: Reduce Shooting and spell attack range by 2 OCCUPATION: Place something at the center of
1/2. Advantage to Athletics tests made to stealth. the map as a point of strategic importance.
(Not applicable in interior maps or indoor terrain.) Whenever a game turn ends, a player will gain a
6 Hazard: Designate an area or terrain feature that single “victory point” if they are the only force to
deals d6 damage when entered and when acti- have at least one unit within 3 increments of the
vated there. Roll a d6 to determine damage type: objective. Once three victory points have been
1 Burn, 2 Corrode, 3 Freeze, 4-5 Irradiate, 6 accrued, the opponent automatically routs. Other-
Shock wise, the battle is fought as normal.
7 Rain: Disadvantage to Alertness and Shooting 3 ESCAPE: Roll off. The loser must attempt to exit
tests. (Not applicable in interior maps or indoor the battlefield by moving their units off of a map
terrain.) edge of the winner’s choice. At least half of the
8 Roll twice more and combine. Re-roll if you get units must be moved off of the map to achieve vic-
the same condition. Darkness and Bright Light will tory, otherwise the opponent will be the winner.
cancel one another out. 4 TREASURE HUNT: Roll off. Take turns placing d8
treasure counters (chests, crates, barrels, et
DEPLOYMENT/d4 cetera). The first must be placed within 6 incre-
ments of the center of the map. The remainder
Roll on the following table to determine special ways
may be placed at any point that is at least 6 in-
units will be deployed.
crements away from another treasure counter and
1 PITCHED: Standard deployment.
12 increments away from a table edge (measure
2 AMBUSH: Roll off. The player who loses must de-
horizontally, ignore elevation). A unit that comes
ploy all of their units within 8 increments of the
into contact with a counter during a movement ac-
center of the map. The other player then deploys
tion may “grab” the counter and move with it (max
their units up to 3 increments from any of the map
of one counter per unit). Any remaining movement
edges.
or further moves cost +1 SPD per increment. If an
3 BEDLAM: Each player rolls off. Starting with the
enemy is in contact with a counter, it may not be
winner, take turns placing 8 counters around the
moved by either. At the end of a battle, any unit
outside of the map edge. If you have extra d10s,
(including routing units) possessing a counter will
these work well. The counters should be numbered
net their force d20 bonus resource points (see
between 2 and 9. Each counter must be placed so
campaigns).
that it is at least 6 increments from another coun-
ter. If you have grates, hatches, sewer entrances
(or similar terrain), you may choose to place coun-
ters near those. All units are held off to the side of
the map at the start of the battle. Roll initiative as

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 NARRATIVE CAMPAIGNS

You can throw together a list for tournament-style bat- CV: Permanent injuries from the Injured results will
tles whenever you like, but if you want a deeper ex- reduce the unit’s CV:
perience, why not try a narrative campaign? • Attribute penalties will reduce CV by however
much they reduce HP.
INJURY • Skill penalties will reduce CV by that value.
Roll to check for injury for each unit that was defeated • The Severed injury applies -2 CV.
after a battle has ended. Roll a d20 and subtract • The Hobbled injury will reduce CV by the value
their negative HP value (down to a minimum of 1), SPD is reduced.
then consult the table. A natural roll of 20 always
counts as Battle-Versed regardless of the HP penalty. RESOURCES
In a campaign, resources can represent anything of
1 Dead. Remove the unit from your force. value. Money, a precious material, even renown. For
2 Maimed. Roll twice more (minimum results of 3) the simplest use, resources may be tracked to deter-
mine victory. Set a goal for your campaign and
3-5 Injured. Roll a d10: award d20 resources for every battle victory. Once
1 Severed. Lose the use of one hand the first force reaches the goal, they’ve won the cam-
paign. The Treasure Hunt battle objective is a great
2 Hobbled. SPD cut by 1/2 (round down)
example of a way to incorporate resources into your
3 Mutilated. BUL -1 campaign play and you could easily come up with
4 Enfeebled. VIT -1 your own.

5 Traumatized. PRE -1 FORCE MANAGEMENT: If you want another use for

resources (and one better suited to ongoing cam-
6 Brained. APT -1 paigns without a clear end in sight), consider setting a
7 Weakened. Athletics -1, Strength -1 limit to your total starting force. By setting a cap,
you’ll have to make more difficult decisions when
8 Blinded. Alertness -d4 forming deployments and victory could essentially be
9 Deafened. Alertness -d4 achieved by wiping a rival out of existence.
10 Demoralized. Willpower -1 In this mode, resources may be spent to hire new units,
or even to buy new equipment for existing ones.
6-10 Convalescing. Unit must miss the next battle.
When playing this way, you’ll want to ensure that loss-
11-14 Recovered. No effect. es award recourses as well. (A d20 roll for every
15+ Battle-versed. +1 EXP player is a good call.) To incentivize victory, apply the
Treasure Hunt objective to all battles.

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 NARRATIVE CAMPAIGNS

ADVANCEMENT EXP REWARD

Each unit will earn one experience point (EXP) at the
end of each battle, +1 EXP every time they defeat an 2 Advancement
enemy unit with an attack. Track EXP as it is gained. 4 CRUX die increases to D6
At the landmarks designated on the table, units will 5 Advancement
increase their CRUX die and will gain access to
8 Advancement
“advancements.” For each advancement, you may do
one of these: 11 Advancement
• Increase a skill by +1 (to a max of +5). 14 Advancement
• Take a new skill at +1.
18 Advancement
• Select a new skill trait.
20 CRUX die increases to D8
ESCALATING CV: As you use skill enhancements, in- 22 Advancement
crease the unit’s CV as follows:
26 Advancement
• +2 for each CRUX die increase
30 Advancement
• +1 for every skill raised
• +2 for every skill trait added (or by HP adjusted) 34 Advancement
• Spells have their own CV costs 39 Advancement
44 Advancement
ESCALATING DEPLOYMENT: As you fight battles in a
campaign, you and your friends may consider increas- 45 CRUX die increases to D10
ing the deployment allowance. Anywhere between +5 50+ Advancement every 10
-10 CV allowance per battle fought after the first points from here on….
works well.

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