Dune: War for Arrakis – Desert War
Dune: War for Arrakis – Desert War Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Harkonnen faction: 2 Escort Ornithopters; 6 Suspensor Troopers; 4 Harkonnen Desert War tokens.
Atreides faction: 2 Fremen Sandriders; 6 Fremen Rocket Launchers; 3 Fremen Camps; 3 Fremen Camp tokens; 1 Atreides Leader card.
Shared: 4 Reference cards (Atreides Desert War; Rocket Launchers / Sandriders; Harkonnen Desert War; Suspensor Troopers / Escort Ornithopters).
Additional Setup
- The Harkonnen player keeps the 2 Escort Ornithopters, the 6 Suspensor Trooper figures, and the Suspensor Troopers / Escort Ornithopters Reference card within reach, and the Harkonnen Desert War Reference card on the right side of their dashboard.
- The Atreides player keeps the 6 Rocket Launcher figures, the 2 Sandrider figures, the 3 Fremen Camp figures and tokens, and the Rocket Launchers / Sandriders Reference card within reach.
- The Atreides player places the Sandriders Leader card faceup on the Desert Power Action box of their dashboard and the Atreides Desert War card on the right side of the dashboard.
Compatibility
Note: The Desert War expansion is not compatible with the Mahdi Solo Mode.
Special Conflicting Leaders Rule
Using the Sandriders Leader card, it is possible to end up with 2 Leader cards in the Desert Power Action box (if the Wild Maker enters play). In that case, the player can execute any of the two Leader's special Actions spending only that Leader's card.
Additional Rules
When playing with this expansion, use the following rules.
Harkonnen Desert War Tokens
At the end of each Vehicle Placement phase, the Harkonnen player places a Desert War token on each empty slot of the first column of the Spice Must Flow board. Slots occupied by Action dice are not empty, therefore it is not possible to place Desert War tokens on them (any tokens that cannot be placed on the Spice Must Flow board won't be used this round).
Harkonnen Desert War Actions
During the Action Resolution phase, each time the Harkonnen player spends an Action die, they may additionally discard 1 Desert War token from the Spice Must Flow board to perform 1 Desert War Action, either before or after the Action provided by the die. Once discarded, a Desert War token becomes unavailable until the next round.
A Desert War Action may be chosen from the following:
- Deploy 3 Suspensor Troopers in 1 or more empty Desert Areas in the same Sector, connected to an Air Zone occupied by a Harkonnen Vehicle.
- Move 1 Suspensor Trooper.
- Remove a Suspensor Trooper figure to reveal any Sietch and all Deployment tokens in 1 Area adjacent to it. (This Action counts as Scouting; it is therefore not available if the Spacing Guild Ban is active.)
See Suspensor Troopers on page 7 for more details.
Fremen Camps
At the start of each Action Resolution phase, the Atreides player places all available Fremen Camp tokens facedown in empty Desert Areas of their choice, each in a different Sector. The player chooses which token is placed in which Area, then places a Fremen Camp figure on top of the token.
Each Fremen Camp token shows a different Prescience symbol and allows the Atreides player to deploy Rocket Launchers (see below).
- Areas containing a Fremen Camp are considered Free for both players.
- If a Harkonnen Legion enters an Area containing a Fremen Camp, that Fremen Camp token and figure are removed from the board.
During the End of the Round phase, all remaining Fremen Camps are removed from the board.
Atreides Desert War Actions
Each time the Atreides player takes a Desert Power Action, they can also perform a Desert War Action, either before or after the Desert Power Action.
A Desert War Action may be chosen from the following:
- Deploy 3 Rocket Launchers in 1 or more Areas containing a Fremen Camp.
- Make a Rocket Launcher special attack.
See Fremen Rocket Launchers on page 6 for more details.
End of the Round Phase
During each End of the Round phase, all remaining Escort Ornithopters, Fremen Camps, and Desert Troopers (except for Sandriders in the same Area as a Sandworm) are removed from the board.
Harkonnen Escort Ornithopters
Escort Ornithopters are a new type of Vehicle available to the Harkonnen player (and to the Corrino ally in 3-4 players mode).
In any phase of the Round, when placing 1 or more Ornithopters, the Harkonnen player may place 1 (and only 1) Escort Ornithopter instead of a standard one.
- The Escort Ornithopter does not have the normal Scouting or Troop-Transport options. Instead, it has the Escort Troops option.
Escort Troops
When the Harkonnen player performs an Action to either move or attack with a Legion, they can increase its movement or the range of its attack by using 1 (and only 1) Escort Ornithopter in an Air Zone connected to the Sector where the Legion starts its movement, identically to Troop-Transport. However, instead of being removed, the Escort Ornithopter is immediately added as a Generic Leader to that Legion, being placed in its Area.
- When inside a Legion, an Escort Ornithopter is no longer considered an Ornithopter and is in all respects equivalent to a Generic Leader, except that it can be assigned 2 Hits to be removed instead of 1 (if it's assigned only 1 Hit it is also removed).
The Escort Ornithopter remains as a Generic Leader in that Legion until it is removed in battle or until the End of the Round phase, when it is removed along with the Vehicles.
Example: A Harkonnen Legion moves 2 Areas away by using an Escort Ornithopter in a connected Air Zone. The Escort Ornithopter then becomes part of that Legion as a Generic Leader, being placed in their Area.
Desert Troopers
Using this expansion, players of both factions can deploy Desert Troopers: the Fremen Rocket Launchers, the Fremen Sandriders, and the Harkonnen Suspensor Troopers. These troopers are specialized in desert warfare, engaged in reconnaissance and guerrilla actions rather than large scale military operations.
All Desert Troopers, both Harkonnen and Atreides, share the following characteristics:
- They are neither Units nor Leaders, and they are not considered a Legion nor part of a Legion in the same Area. This means they cannot be deployed in the usual ways, they do not count towards a Legion's stacking limit, they don't move or retreat with a Legion, they do not participate in battles involving a Legion in the same Area, and they cannot be inflicted any Hits from any source – including Coriolis Storms and Sandworms.
- Areas containing only Desert Troopers are considered Free for both players.
- As soon as one or more Desert Troopers are in the same Area as an opposing Legion, they are automatically removed as casualties.
- Sandworms may move into Areas containing Desert Troopers, as an exception to the Sandworm Movement rules on page 31 of the Dune: War for Arrakis rulebook. When this happens, however, all Desert Troopers in that Area (both Atreides and Harkonnen) are automatically removed as casualties (with the exception of Sandriders – see Fremen Sandriders on page 6). This does not count as a Sandworm Attack.
- Eliminated Desert Troopers always become available for future recruitment, like other figures.
- During the End of the Round phase, all remaining Desert Troopers, except for Sandriders in the same Area as a Sandworm, are removed from the board.
- Each type of Desert Trooper has additional properties, detailed in the following sections.
Fremen Rocket Launchers
Rocket Launchers are a type of Desert Trooper available to the Atreides player (and to the Fremen Ally in 3-4 players mode). In addition to the normal characteristics of all Desert Troopers, they can be deployed or make special attacks using Atreides Desert War Actions (detailed in the Additional Rules section earlier in this book).
- When making a Rocket Launcher special attack, choose a Sector containing Rocket Launchers and roll a number of Combat dice equal to the total number of Rocket Launchers in that Sector. Remove 1 Harkonnen Vehicle of your choice from an Area adjacent to the attacking Rocket Launchers or in a connected Air Zone for each Hit and each Special result. Then, remove 1 Rocket Launcher from that Sector for each Vehicle removed.
- If the attacking Rocket Launchers removed 1 or more Harvesters with their special attack, the Atreides player may remove from the game the Fremen Camp in their Area to gain 1 Prescience point matching the symbol printed on that token. That Fremen Camp is no longer available for the rest of the game.
Example: A Rocket Launcher special attack is resolved in a Sector with 2 Rocket Launchers. They roll 2 Combat dice, scoring a Hit and a Special, so 2 Harkonnen Vehicles are removed from that Sector – a Harvester adjacent to a Rocket Launcher and a Carryall in a connected Air Zone. Finally, the Atreides player must remove both Rocket Launchers, then decides to permanently remove the Fremen Camp, gaining 1 Kwisatz Haderach Prescience point.
Fremen Sandriders
Sandriders are a type of Desert Trooper available to the Atreides player (and to the Fremen Ally in 3-4 players mode). In addition to the normal characteristics of all Desert Troopers, they have the following special properties:
- Each time the Atreides player uses the Desert Power Action to Place 2 Wormsign tokens, they can choose to place 1 (and only 1) Sandrider figure instead of 1 of the Wormsign tokens, in an empty Desert Area of their choice.
- The Sandrider Leader special Action allows the Atreides player to place 1 Sandworm (not the Wild Maker) in an Area containing a Sandrider and no other tokens or figures, and then to place 1 Wormsign token in a different Desert Area without a Wormsign, Sandworm, or Sietch.
- A lone Sandrider is considered a Wormsign token for Sandriding purposes. If a Harkonnen Legion enters an Area containing a lone Sandrider (either by moving, retreating, or by advancing after a victorious battle), the Sandrider is immediately removed as a casualty and a Sandworm appears in its place, with the usual consequences for the Harkonnen Legion (see page 30 of the core rulebook).
- When a Sandworm is placed or moves into an Area containing a Sandrider and no other figures, the Sandrider is not removed. Instead, both figures remain on the board and, from then on, whenever the Sandworm in the same Area moves, the Sandrider moves with it. If the Sandworm attacks, the Sandrider figure is removed as well.
- A Sandworm in the same Area as a Sandrider can move or attack up to 3 Areas away (instead of 2) and rolls 5 Combat dice (instead of 4) when attacking. If the Sandworm attacks at a distance of 3 Areas, both the first and second Areas must be Desert.
- During the Desert Hazards phase, when resolving Wormsigns, if a Sandworm in the same Area as a Sandrider is taken and placed somewhere else on the board, the Sandrider does not move with it.
Example: A Sandrider with a Sandworm attacks a Harkonnen Legion 3 Areas away, rolling 5 Combat dice.
Harkonnen Suspensor Troopers
Suspensor Troopers are a type of Desert Trooper available to the Harkonnen player (and to the Corrino Ally in 3-4 players mode). In addition to the normal characteristics of all Desert Troopers, they have the following special properties:
- No Wormsign tokens can be placed in an Area with Suspensor Troopers unless the Suspensor Troopers are in the same Area as a Harkonnen Legion or a Harvester.
- If a Suspensor Trooper ends its movement in an Area containing a Wormsign token, that token is discarded without revealing it.
- If a Suspensor Trooper moves into an Area containing 1 or more Atreides Desert Troopers, the Harkonnen player removes the Suspensor Trooper and 1 Atreides Desert Trooper from that Area.
- Suspensor Troopers can only be deployed and moved using a Harkonnen Desert War Action (see the Additional Rules section). When they move, they follow the normal movement rules, except that they can move 2 Areas instead of 1, ignoring Impassable Borders. Both the traversed Area and the destination Area must be Free.
- Remember that, like all Desert Troopers, Suspensor Troopers cannot be inflicted Hits from any source, including Coriolis Storms and Sandworms.
Example: If a Suspensor Trooper moves into an Area with 2 Rocket Launchers, the Harkonnen player removes the Suspensor Trooper and 1 Rocket Launcher.