Warfighter: The Vietnam War Special Forces Card Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Welcome to Warfighter!
• 1. Contents of the Box
  • 1.1 Cards
    • 1.1.1 Soldiers
    • 1.1.2 Weapons, Equipment, Skills & Service Records
    • 1.1.3 Vehicles
    • 1.1.4 Missions & Objectives
    • 1.1.5 Hostiles & Events
    • 1.1.6 Locations
    • 1.1.7 Action Cards
  • 1.2 Counters
  • 1.3 Tactical Display
• 2. Game Setup
  • 2.1 Preparing the Mission
    • 2.1.1 Mission Types
    • 2.1.2 Objective Types
  • 2.2 Setting up a Team
    • 2.2.1 Soldiers
    • 2.2.2 Weapons
    • 2.2.3 Equipment
    • 2.2.4 Skills
    • 2.2.5 Service Records
    • 2.2.6 Vehicles
      • 2.2.6.1 Calling In a Vehicle
      • 2.2.6.2 Vehicle Attacks
• 3. Playing the Mission
  • 3.1 Game Concepts
    • 3.1.1 Dicey Matters
    • 3.1.2 Keywords
    • 3.1.3 Experience
      • 3.1.3.1 Upgunning
    • 3.1.4 Body Count
    • 3.1.5 Range
    • 3.1.6 Hostile Behavior
      • 3.1.6.1 Engaging
      • 3.1.6.2 Fading
    • 3.1.7 Empty Decks
• 4. Expansion Content
  • 4.1 Expansion-Specific Rules
  • 4.2 Expansion-Specific Mission Types
• 5. Campaign Rules
  • 5.1 Introduction
  • 5.2 Campaign Components
  • 5.3 Campaign Setup
  • 5.4 Campaign Turn
  • 5.5 Playing a Campaign Mission
  • 5.6 Mission Result
  • 5.7 Repeat

Welcome to Warfighter!

Warfighter has titles that vary across a variety of Eras and Settings; in one game you'll be the best of the best the spec ops world has to offer during the day or night, in another you'll be storming the beaches of Normandy and beyond in World War II, and in yet another you'll be guiding fantasy heroes through the darkest of dungeons. And they're all cross-compatible; if you own one game, you can take the Soldiers from there to another Era and Setting.

This is the New Recruit Manual, a document designed to get you into a Mission as fast as possible. This book sidesteps all the rules you don't need to know for anything except your core box. When you're ready, you can refer to the Warfighter Galaxy booklet, which lists every rule in the Warfighter system so that you can look up any rules you may not be sure about or haven't come across yet.

1. Contents of the Box

The list of components:

• The Warfighter: Vietnam New Recruit Manual
• The Warfighter Keywords Guide
• 280 cards of varying types
• 5 punch-out counter sheets
• A mounted Tactical Display board
• 4 ten-sided dice and 1 six-sided die

Punch out each counter sheet and keep identical counters together. You will also need a single, opaque cup or other method of drawing random counters.

1.1 Cards

Warfighter is driven by its cards; they determine the entirety of your Team and their capabilities, and the Mission and Objective you are sent to accomplish. Note that if a card and this manual have contradicting rules, the card always takes priority.

1.1.1 Soldiers

Soldier Cards represent the soldiers you are sending on dangerous missions in Vietnam. Types: Player Soldier, Team Soldier, Non-Player Soldier, Squad Soldier.

• Player Soldiers are flexible and customisable. You choose their Weapons, Equipment, Skills and Service Records. This makes Player Soldiers the most expensive kind of Soldier. They're also the only Soldier type that can draw Action Cards, which you use to find Locations. Action Cards can be thought of as battle tactics, which can be used to improve the situation of the game, or turn things around if the situation goes south.
  • Team Soldiers (TS) are identical to Player Soldiers in their flexibility, but they do not draw Action Cards (signified by the No Action Cards text). This makes them cheaper than Player Soldiers.
• Non-Player Soldiers (NPS) are Soldiers that come with their own set of Weapons, Equipment and Skills which can't be changed. As a result, they are cheaper to bring onto your team and are usually good at fulfilling a singular role, but are less flexible as a result.
• Squad Soldiers (SQS) are akin to the background soldier in a war movie. They're usually very cheap and somewhat weak, but they are very simple to run in comparison to other Soldier types and have all of their relevant stats on the card. If you want a simpler game, or have just a few resources left and need some extra firepower, they are good to bring along.

Suggestion: 2 Player Soldiers in your Team for the flexibility on the Action Cards, but half the fun of Warfighter is experimentation; try everything from one super-strong Player Soldier to a sprawling set of eight Soldiers.

1.1.2 Weapons, Equipment, Skills & Service Records

These four sets of cards are what your Soldiers can be given to take on their Missions.

• Weapons are all the guns and explosives you need to survive the jungle (M16s, M1911s, M60s, Claymores, shotguns and grenades).
• Equipment includes body armor, weapon attachments, bandages and cigarettes; these passive or expendable cards can be just what you need in certain situations.

Warfighter refers to Weapons and Equipment as "Gear".

• Skills can either be passive effects that improve your Soldiers' inherent capabilities, or active abilities that can be triggered at certain points.
• Service Records are thematic representations of specific battles from the Vietnam War that can be given to Soldiers. They give multiple limited use abilities to the Soldier that owns them, or negative abilities that trigger at certain times.

1.1.3 Vehicles

Warfighter Vietnam includes multiple controllable vehicles that you can send alongside your team, from regular jeeps and gunboats to helicopters, each of which have their own attack capabilities and restrictions.

1.1.4 Missions & Objectives

The Mission cards define the game; how many resources you have to spend on your Soldiers, the time you have to complete the Objective, how far away the Objective is, how loaded up your Soldiers can be, and how many VC need to be eliminated along the way. There can also be special conditions or Mission types that change the way the Mission plays.

The Objective cards determine what needs to be done: holding the fort, clearing out the VC, destroying a bridge or finding a command post. Once the Objective is completed, the game immediately ends in success.

A game of Warfighter plays out very differently with certain combinations of Mission and Objective cards; Run through the Jungle plays relatively quickly when paired with Break on Through thanks to the Eliminate Hostiles Objective and the somewhat low Body Count. On the other hand, War Pigs will be a very long game with the California Dreamin' Objective.

1.1.5 Hostiles & Events

Hostiles are the VC and NVA that actively seek out your Team of Soldiers and Attack them to prevent you from completing the Objective. They range in capabilities from simple armed farmers to a full team of troops with a commander. Their behavior is determined by the effect box at the bottom of the card, and the number in the reticle shows how many 'people' are part of the Hostile card to be eliminated. The top right corner of a Hostile card is the Hostile Value, which shows how much Experience is earned if the Hostile is Eliminated.

Hostiles start Unengaged, in which they are hiding in the shadow of the jungle. They're harder to Attack and their Attacks are more likely to hit. On the other hand, Engaged Hostiles are in the open. They are less likely to hit on an Attack but their Attacks can be much more dangerous. Hostiles can Unengage themselves under certain conditions, hiding back in the jungle, or Fade, leaving the game entirely.

Event cards are also drawn from the Hostile Deck, which can shake up the state of the game. Despite the Event cards having different card backs compared to Hostiles, they are shuffled in with the Hostiles to make the Hostile Deck.

Engaging Hostiles is dangerous as they'll hit harder, but you can hit them back easier, and with those potential Allies around it isn't a zero-sum game. Engage at your own discretion.

1.1.6 Locations

Locations are drawn over the course of the game by Player Soldiers and played between the Mission and the Objective for your Team to move through. Locations can be very varied, with different effects, difficulty to enter, amount of Hostiles that will be drawn, environmental dangers, and more. For example, Downtown Area is easier to enter than the Spider Hole and will most likely have less Hostile presence, but is more expensive to play, and you can't risk hitting civilians. You can draw multiple Locations and play them in whatever order you like, but only one can be played per turn.

1.1.7 Action Cards

Action Cards are drawn by Player Soldiers, and contain both a series of resources and tactics that can turn the tide, and Location Markers. There are also Battle Fatigue cards, which are shuffled into the deck for many reasons, and are immediately discarded when drawn, representing the exhaustion faced by the troops in the war. Battle Fatigue Action Cards do not start the game in the Action Deck, but are added by Skills or in-game effects.

1.2 Counters

• Soldier Identification Counters come in pairs; one stays on a Soldier to identify their number, and the other goes on the board to show what Location they are in. There are multiple visually different pairs; use whichever you like. A Soldier Identification Counter can also be used for Vehicles.
• Vehicle Turn Counter is used to track the amount of Turns a Vehicle has been Called In.
• Action Counters are used by Soldiers to perform Actions during the Soldier Turn.
• Ammo Counters show whether or not your Weapons are Loaded, how much ammo you have left for them, and whether or not they are Jammed.
• Objective Hostile Counters keep track of what Hostiles are put into play by the Objective. These are mainly used for the Eliminate Hostiles Objective Type, as a reminder of which Hostiles need to be Eliminated to complete the Mission. The Held counter is used to track which side holds the Objective during Keep Clear Objectives.
• EKIA (Enemy Killed in Action) and Suppress Counters keep track of how many Reticles on a Hostile have been killed or Suppressed.
• Body Count is earned by Soldiers whenever they cause an EKIA on a Hostile. It needs to be either Banked for the Mission or Kept to be spent on special abilities.
• Hardy counters are used by Soldiers to resist the dangers of the environment.
• Hostile Targeting Counters are used to track what Soldier is being Targeted by Hostile Cards.
• Inactive counter keeps track of the Objective and whether it has been reached and activated yet.

1.3 Tactical Display

On the left, you have three spaces for card decks that you'll be drawing from throughout the game, and a space for Banked Body Count (3.1.4).

To the right of the decks, the bottom of the Tactical Display contains slots for the Mission, Location and Objective cards. Each slot has a Location number (often referred to by the game as Location # or Loc #), with the number starting from 1 for the Mission card slot and incrementing by 1 for each space to the right. When Hostiles are drawn from the Hostile Deck, they'll be placed above these slots to indicate what Location they are in. The vertical board size does not limit the amount of Hostiles; they may stretch above the Tactical Display in columns.

In the top-left corner of the Tactical Display, to the right of the decks, is the Mission Timer. The Timer counter will be used to track the amount of turns that remain in the Mission.

The rest of the Tactical Display contains setup and gameplay references.

2. Game Setup

Setting up a game of Warfighter proceeds in two halves: picking a Mission and Objective to play, then preparing a Team of Soldiers to take on that Mission and Objective.

2.1 Preparing the Mission

The first thing you need to do is select what region you're playing. The region determines what Mission, Objective and Hostile decks you'll be using. In the core game, you'll only have the Vietnam region; expansions can add more. You cannot mix together cards from different regions. (The region of a card is determined by the top-right corner of the card.)

Take the Location and Hostile decks for your region and shuffle them both face-down (Unengaged-side up for the Hostiles) and place them on their respective Tactical Display spaces.

Next, choose your Mission and Objective. You may pick any combination of the provided Missions and Objectives, but note that some Missions and Objectives must be played in-set. You may also shuffle the Mission and Objective decks to get a completely random mission, following the above rules. Once you've picked a Mission and Objective, place the Mission in the Mission Card slot on the Tactical Display, and the Objective in the specified Location # on the Tactical Display.

If the Objective has a "Present" card or an "Embedded Objective" card listed, place that card in the same column as the Objective. Any cards accompanying the Objective in this way are not considered to be played and do not have any effect on the Mission until the Objective is Activated.

Place the Timer counter on the listed numbered space on the Mission Timer, and place the Inactive Counter on the Objective. Keep all other counters nearby in a general supply. At this point, you're ready to start choosing your Team (2.2).

2.1.1 Mission Types

There are multiple types of Missions in Warfighter Vietnam that can affect how the game plays out. If a Mission has no specific Mission type as listed below, no rules are changed and simply play as this manual says.

Play a few Missions that don't have any Mission Types like Run Through the Jungle or Fortunate Son first, then come back here. These rules assume you understand the basic Warfighter game.

Holding Action Mission: A Holding Action Mission can be compared more to a 'wave defense' mode than a regular Warfighter Mission. Follow the below steps during setup:

• During Setup:
  • Place the Holding Action Mission (The Front) and Objective (Fallback Position) in their respective spots on the Tactical Display; do not put an Inactive counter on the Objective. You must play the Holding Action Mission and Objective cards together.
  • Draw a random Location for each empty Location # between the Mission and Objective cards. Do not draw any Hostile cards for these Locations.
  • Place all of the Soldiers' Identification Counters on the Objective Card; they start there, instead of on the Mission Card. Soldiers act as normal throughout the Mission.
• During the Mission:
  • Any "Timer", "Place" or "Maintain" Keywords on Hostiles are ignored.
  • Keywords that add to the Mission Time can reduce it instead, while Hostiles that would reduce Mission Time add to it.
  • After the Environment step of the Soldier Turn, draw one Hostile card for each Location, excluding the Mission and Objective.
  • The Hostile Reinforcement Draw step is also performed as normal.
  • During the Hostiles Close Range step, instead of moving Hostiles closer to the Soldier matching their Hostile Targeting Counter, roll a D10 for each Hostile with no Suppress counters; if the roll is at least 2 higher than the Entrance cost of their right-Adjacent Location, they Move to that Location. Hostiles never move between Locations outside of this step during a Holding Action Mission.
  • If any Hostile Cards are in the Objective at the end of the Soldier Turn, the game ends in a loss.
  • If no Hostile Cards are in the Objective at the end of the final Soldier Turn (the Timer counter is on the 1 space), the Objective is completed (do not perform a final Hostile Turn).

Escort Mission: An Escort Mission requires you to take a certain card during Setup, escort it to the Objective, and defend it along the way.

• During Setup:
  • You must buy the card listed (the "Escort Target") on the Mission Card for your Team. The Escort Target does cost the listed Resource Points.
    • If the Escort Target is a Vehicle, the Escort Target must be Deployed on the first Soldier Turn before any other Actions are taken by Soldiers. The Vehicle does not perform any Vehicle Turn Limit, in this case.
  • (For the "War Pigs" Mission card, you must buy "K.C." for your Team, and "K.C." must be Deployed immediately.)
• During the Mission:
  • If the Escort Target is ever Downed, the Mission is a Failure.
  • Alongside completing the Objective and fulfilling the Body Count requirement, the Escort Target must reach the Objective.
    • If the Mission is also an Escape Mission, the Escort Target must reach the Mission card instead.

Rescue Mission: A Rescue Mission causes some of your Team to be stranded in the Objective, and you need to reach them and bring them back to the Mission card in order to complete the Objective.

• During Setup:
  • Place the Rescue Mission and Rescue Objective cards in their respective spots on the Tactical Display. You must play a Rescue Mission and Rescue Objective together.
  • Draw the listed amount of Soldier types at random. These Soldiers are part of your Team, but are placed in the Objective to start the game. These Soldiers cost Resource Points. You may buy cards for these Soldiers as per normal rules. The rest of these rules will refer to these Soldiers as "Rescue Soldiers". (The "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" Mission in the box requires you to draw a random Non-Player Soldier and Squad Soldier, but expansions can change the number and type of Soldiers.)
• During the Mission:
  • The Rescue Soldiers on the Objective card cannot leave the Objective until a non-Rescue Soldier Moves into the Objective card, but may otherwise perform Actions normally.
  • The Mission card will have a number, followed by a +. This determines the amount of Rescue Soldiers that need to Move to the Mission card in order to complete the Objective. If too many Rescue Soldiers are lost and this condition cannot be fulfilled, the Mission ends in failure. (For the above Mission, one of the two drawn Rescued Soldiers must get to the Mission card.)

2.1.2 Objective Types

The Objective needs to be completed, and the moment it is completed, you win the game.

Eliminate Hostiles:

• When the Objective is Activated, add an Objective Hostile counter to every Hostile card drawn for the Objective.
• If any Hostiles are drawn for the Objective during the Reinforcement step, give them an Objective Hostile counter as well.
• The Objective is completed when every Hostile that has an Objective Hostile counter has been removed from the Tactical Display and the Objective has no Hostiles at the end of a Soldier Turn (even regular, non-Objective Hostiles).

Keep Clear:

• During Setup, add the Held counter to the Objective, Enemy Held side up.
• At the end of each Soldier Turn, if there are no Hostiles in the Objective, flip the Held counter to the Friendly Held side, and add the Keep Clear counter to the Objective. If the Keep Clear counter is already there, increment the Keep Clear counter.
• If a Hostile is in the Objective at the end of the Soldier Turn, remove the Keep Clear counter if any, and flip the Held counter to the Enemy Held side.
• If the Held counter on the Objective is on the Friendly Held side and the number on the Keep Clear counter equals the Keep Clear number, the Objective is completed.

Destroy the XXX:

• These Objective cards can be Attacked directly following the normal Attacking rules, using the details on the card. If the Objective is given enough EKIAs equal to the number of "Hits", the Objective is completed. (The Objective is not treated as a Hostile in any way otherwise.)

Find the XXX:

• Perform a Search (3.2.2.13) by rolling a ten-sided die, and if the roll is equal to or higher than the Search rating on the card, the Objective is completed.

2.2 Setting up a Team

With your Mission and Objective clear, you can start thinking about how to load out your Team.

Warfighter uses a points system called Resource Points, which you use to buy Soldiers and cards to be equipped to those Soldiers. The amount of Resource Points you have available to spend is equal to the Resources listed on the Mission card. You do not need to spend all the Resource Points given to you, but you cannot exceed the total available Points.

The Resource Points cost of every card is shown in the top right corner of each Soldier, Weapon, Equipment, Skill, Vehicle and Service Record. You may buy any Weapon, Equipment, Skill or Service Record multiple times, even if you only have one copy of said card - you may use a proxy or some other way of maintaining who has a copy. A Soldier cannot have more than one copy of a Skill or Service Record, but Weapons and Equipment are fine. You cannot use a Soldier or Vehicle with the same name more than once on the same Team.

I personally lay out my Soldiers so that I can use vertically-aligned face-down cards I'm not using as 'proxies'.

Take as long as you like setting up your Team. When you're ready, move to Section 3 and start playing your Mission.

2.2.1 Soldiers

• You will need at least one Player Soldier (PS) on your Team. They can be equipped with any card and draw Action Cards during the Mission.
• Team Soldiers (TS) can be equipped with any card, but don't draw Action Cards.
• Non-Player Soldiers (NPS) come with a set of Gear and Skill cards. Extra Gear and Skills cannot be bought for them unless otherwise stated on the Gear or Skill.
• Squad Soldiers (SQS) have all of their information on their card, making them easy to run but relatively weak. Extra Gear and Skills cannot be bought for them unless otherwise stated on the Gear or Skill.

You can tell what type of Soldier a Soldier Card is by looking in the top left corner, below their Nationality flag, for the abbreviation listed to the left. Player Soldiers do not have an abbreviation here, but are sometimes referred to by "PS".

Example, the Player Soldier D. Niederlander:

The top-right corner of the card lists the Soldier's Cost in Resource Points.

The Soldier's Nationality and Soldier Type are in the top left. You can only buy cards for a Soldier if it matches their Nationality, or if the card being bought has no Nationality. A Gear/Skill/Service Record with no flag has no Nationality.

The Soldier's Movement Value is on the right side of the card, below the Cost, below the upwards-pointing arrow. This determines how easily they may move between Locations during Missions; higher is better.

The Soldier's Terrain Cover is in the bottom left corner of the card underneath the semicircle. The higher this value is, the more likely the Soldier will walk away from a Hostile Attack without being Wounded.

Soldiers receive every card listed in their effect box (their Printed Gear) for no Resource Point cost. The beige text determines a Gear card; in this case, the M60 Machine Gun Weapon. Underlined text is a Skill. And red underlined text signifies a Negative Skill; in this case, Battle Fatigue 2. Any remaining black text is Abilities, effects with no associated card; check the Keywords List or this rulebook.

If a Soldier comes Printed with a Gear or Skill they normally wouldn't be allowed to use, they can use it as normal.

Player and Team Soldiers have three values in the left of their effect box.

• Health is how many Wounds a Soldier can take before they are Downed and their default Handsize. Wounds taken by the Soldier reduce their Handsize.
• Loadout is how much the Soldier can carry; the amount of Loadout Cost in Gear can never go above this. Note that Loadout may be modified by the Loadout value on the chosen Mission Card across all Player and Team Soldiers, and any Printed Gear on a Soldier's card still counts toward their total Loadout.
  • This does mean a combination of a Soldier's Printed Gear and Loadout penalties on certain Mission cards can cause some Soldiers to not be usable as bought - they'll need Equipment such as the M1956 LCE.
• HtH adds to Attack Rolls when this Soldier Attacks with a HtH-Type Weapon in Striking Range, such as the Fighting Knife.

Non-Player Soldiers have a different effect box on their card. Instead of having a Health value, their Health is determined by the highest number in the table at the top of the box. For example, H. Ha Thuan has 3 Health, and every Wound he takes loses him an Action. Non-Player Soldiers do not have a Loadout value, they can simply carry all the Gear they are provided with, and their HTH value is communicated through a Keyword. A Soldier with two Nationality flags (e.g. South Vietnam and US) can equip Gear from all the listed countries, while still representing the country he fought for in the war.

Squad Soldier effect boxes are similar to the Non-Player Soldier - Health and Actions are determined by the table. Their card also outlines their Attack capabilities here instead of using a Weapon like other Soldier types. Lower numbers are better; for example, if Hicks takes a Wound, he's less likely to land a shot as a higher number is harder to roll during an Attack.

2.2.2 Weapons

Weapons are used by Soldiers to Attack Hostiles during the Mission. Example: the M16A1 Rifle.

The top of the card shows the name of the Weapon, with its Nationality, Year, and Type of Weapon (the M16A1 is Ranged). The Type can be referenced by other cards. The Year can be referenced by certain Missions.

Below the Type is the Cost of the Weapon in Resource Points. There is also a Loadout Cost. If a Weapon has no separate Loadout Cost, then the Loadout Cost is the same as the RP Cost, but in the case of the M16, the Loadout Cost is listed separately, so this Weapon will take 3 of a Player or Team Soldier's total Loadout.

In the bottom right corner of the card is the Ammo square, which determines how many Ammo counters the Weapon starts with. Stack all of the Ammo counters face-up on the Ammo box; the Weapon begins "Loaded" with Ammo this way.

You may buy extra Ammo for a Weapon by adding 1 to the Resource Point Cost and Loadout of the Weapon. If you do, you may take another set of Ammo. This may be repeated multiple times. If you wanted to, you could pay a total of 4 RP and 5 Loadout to have an M16A1 with 18 Ammo.

Some Weapons have the Expended Keyword, like the M67 Grenade. When you attack with a Grenade, the counter for the Weapon is returned to the supply. You must buy Expended Weapon cards for their listed Cost (and Loadout) one by one. Add a counter to the card for each Expended Weapon or Ammo bought this way.

Some Weapons have Keywords in their effect box on the right hand side, which affects the behavior of the Weapon. Expended is one of them, but there may be Pre-Req such as on the Stoner 63, which indicates that to buy the Weapon the Soldier requires a Skill, or "Start with 1 XP", which gives the Soldier a bonus. Reference the Keywords Guide.

Note that the "Pen" Keyword is very important; it improves your Defeat Cover Rolls during your Attacks, making otherwise out of reach Hostiles just that little bit more vulnerable.

To the left of each effect box is the Weapon's Attack Table and Fire Modes. The Attack Table lists the Range of the Weapon (which Locations the Weapon can Attack), the Reload value of the Weapon (if you roll this number or less on an Attack Die, you must Reload [3.2.2.6] your Weapon), and the Kill value of the Weapon (whether the Weapon hits the enemy). You use the relevant column for the Range of the Hostile you are Attacking.

The Fire Modes determine how many dice you roll during an Attack with the Weapon. When you Attack with a Weapon that has multiple Fire Modes, you may pick which Fire Mode you want to use. You roll the number of Attack Dice specified under the Rolls column. Using a Fire Mode with more dice means you are more likely to Reload, but also more likely to reach the Kill number on one of those dice.

If the Fire Mode table on a Weapon lists modes with "X XP", you need to spend that much Experience from Soldiers in order to use those Fire Modes. These modes are usually more powerful than the standard Fire Mode as a result.

Some Weapons have Bipod boxes; give these Weapons a Bipod counter. Unless stated otherwise, the Bipod starts on the Undeployed side. When the Bipod is deployed, the box states the benefit gained by the Weapon. When a Soldier Moves or Enters Striking during the Mission, any Deployed Bipod on their Weapons is Undeployed.

Weapon Attack Example: I use the M16A1 Rifle to Attack a Hostile at Range 1, using the tables on this page. I use the Kill number of 8 and the Reload number of 3. I choose to use the Auto Fire Mode, so I roll 3 Attack Dice (d10). The results on the three dice are 1, 5 and 10. The 10 is above the Kill number, so it may cause an EKIA or Suppress. The 5 is below the Kill number but above the Reload number, so it has no effect. (The Weapon does not have Spray, so it would have no effect thanks to the 10 result, even if it met the Kill number.) The 1 is below the Reload number, so it causes the Ammo counter Loaded on the Weapon to flip to the Empty side after the Attack.

2.2.3 Equipment

Equipment cards are utilities which can be used throughout the Mission to benefit Soldiers. Equipment works the same way as Weapons when it comes to Cost; the Cost is also the Loadout Cost unless otherwise specified.

There are three kinds of Equipment. Some provide a general bonus across the entire Mission, and applies immediately as soon as the Equipment is bought (so with the M1956 LCE you can take advantage of the extra Loadout capacity while setting up your Team).

The second kind of Equipment is Equipment that is Expended, much like Grenades from the previous section. When a Soldier buys this Equipment, place the appropriate counters from the supply on the Equipment. During the Soldier Turn, the Soldier with the Equipment can return a counter from the Equipment to the supply in order to take advantage of the Equipment's effect. For the Hardy Canteen, a Soldier may use it to draw 3 Action Cards or gain a Hardy counter of any type.

The third type of Equipment are Weapon Attachments. These can be bought for Weapons for Player and Team Soldiers and Attached to Weapons that share a word in the name as in the effect box. The 3x Optic Scope could be attached to the M16A1 Rifle but not the M1911 Pistol. These Attachments are locked to the Weapon when bought, cannot be swapped out in any way during the Mission, and provide the benefits listed in the effect box for the Weapon it is attached to.

Note that if a piece of Equipment or a Skill says "Any Soldier", the Equipment or Skill can be bought for Non-Player and Squad Soldiers along with Player and Team Soldiers.

2.2.4 Skills

Skills are inherent effects and abilities that can be bought for Soldiers. They have their Name at the top, with the Cost next to the name. Unlike Gear, Skills do not have any Loadout cost; a Soldier may have as many Skills as they want, but no Soldier can have more than one Skill with the exact same name.

Skills will often provide either a passive benefit to actions performed by your Soldier, or an active ability that needs to be used. In the case of Semi Expertise 1 you simply increase the results of your Attack Rolls with Semi Fire Mode.

In the case of Eyes On, this is an active ability that can be performed any time during the Soldier Turn by the Soldier with the Skill (by paying the listed requirement), while simultaneously providing a passive benefit.

Some skills have an Upkeep listed on the card, such as Sic 'em; the cost listed on the card needs to be paid during the "Pay Retain Costs" step of the Soldier Turn, or the Skill is removed from the Soldier and no longer takes effect.

There are also Negative Skills like Battle Fatigue which provide nothing but a deficit. However, these Skills cannot be bought - they are included along with Soldiers in order to provide a downside to using them.

2.2.5 Service Records

Service Records can be bought for Soldiers. These cards have a Cost in the top right, and like Skills, do not cost any Loadout. They can be purchased for any Soldier type listed in the top right corner of the card - Player and Team Soldiers are identical, in this case.

When you purchase a Service Record card, place Service Record counters equal to the amount stated on the card for each effect. For Battle of Khe Sanh, the Soldier would gain one A counter, two B counters and one C counter.

During the Mission, a Soldier may use any of the abilities, provided the ability is being used at the correct time and counters of that letter remain. For example, a Soldier would need to wait for a Hostile to enter their Location to use the A ability. If an Ability does not specify a time to use it, you may assume the sentence starts with "During the Soldier Turn". When an ability is used, remove one associated counter from the game.

Abilities in red text must be activated as soon as the timing on the ability specifies. Then remove the associated counter from the card.

2.2.6 Vehicles

Vehicles can be a little complicated in usage and flexibility. I recommend playing a couple of Missions without them first. Feel free to skip straight to Section 2.3 'Completing Setup' if this is your first time playing, and come back here later.

Vehicles can be brought along on Missions to up your firepower or utility; however, they only last for a limited time, so they must be used wisely. Vehicles act like Squad Soldiers; they can Move and Attack, and all of their relevant abilities are printed on their card.

Vehicle Cards are Soldier cards; their Name, Nationality, Terrain Cover, Cost and Movement Value are all in the same place. It's mainly the effect box that is different. The bottom of the effect box of a Vehicle lists Keywords that determine the Vehicle's behavior. In the case of the Capt. D, it has 2 Health and 4 Actions, its Terrain Cover starts at 4, but drops to 2 if a Hostile Attacks it from Range 0.

2.2.6.1 Calling In a Vehicle

By far the most important Keyword on a Vehicle is Turn Limit. Vehicles do not start with the Team during the Mission; they remain off to the side and their Soldier Identification Counters are not placed on the Mission.

During the Soldier Turn, a Vehicle may be Called In. When a Vehicle is Called In, place one of the Vehicle's Soldier Identification Counter on the Location of any Soldier, and place the Vehicle's Hostile Targeting Counters into the Target Cup, and shuffle the Target Cup. The Vehicle is now in play and may perform Actions. A Vehicle with the Boat Keyword may only be Called In to a Water Location.

After the "Advance Mission Timer" step of the Hostile Turn, place a Vehicle Turn Counter, or increment one if present, on every Called In Vehicle. If the Vehicle Turn Counter's number is equal to that Vehicle's Turn Limit, the Vehicle is removed from the Mission; remove the Vehicle's Soldier Identification Counter from the Tactical Display and remove the Hostile Targeting Counters from the Target Cup. Any Experience or Kept Body Count on the Vehicle is lost. The Vehicle may not be Called In again for the rest of the Mission.

2.2.6.2 Vehicle Attacks

The Attack Table is handled somewhat differently to a Squad Soldier. You'll notice Range, Attack and some Keywords. In the case of the Capt. D, you have two Weapons to pick from when Attacking; the Rockets and the MG.

Instead of the rows representing Fire Modes, the rows represent roll results. Rolling an 8 on an Attack Roll at Range 1 will deal 3 Hits, while 6 or 7 will only deal 2 Hits, and 5 or under is a Miss. The "Prox" keyword means the equivalent of Spray or Explosion; you inflict multiple EKIAs or Suppresses on a single Hostile Card. The Pen. 3 increases the Defeat Cover Roll. If no amount of dice are stated for the Attack, roll one Attack Die.

The MG hits at short range, and works very similar to a regular Attack; roll 3 dice, Spray to hit more Reticles, adds 1 to the Defeat Cover Die. Relatively simple by comparison.

2.2.6.3 Vehicle Miscellany

Vehicles cannot be Healed like a Squad Soldier; cards that wish to heal Vehicles must have the "Fix" Keyword. Vehicles cannot be added to the Team on Missions if the Mission card has the Interior keyword. Treat Vehicles as being Squad Soldiers for the purposes of card effects that mention Soldiers, unless Vehicles are specifically mentioned on the card.

Vehicle Example: I buy "Fixer" while I'm setting up my team for 12 Resource Points. I pick B. Duy Ca as the NPS for the special text. I give Fixer the pair of Soldier Identification Counters and set of Hostile Targeting Counters labeled as #5 for "Fixer" and #6 for B. Duy Ca, and keep them to the side for later.

While the Timer counter is on Turn 7, I decide to deploy Fixer. B. Duy Ca is added to my Team for the rest of the Mission. I add one of Fixer's and Ca's Soldier Identification Counters to the Location of the Soldier that Deployed Fixer, and I add Fixer and Ca's Hostile Targeting Counters to the Target Cup.

Fixer spends an Action to move into another Location, and an Action to Attack a Hostile at Range 0 with Cover 4. I roll 3 Attack Dice and a Defeat Cover Die. The results are 8, 6, 4 and 3 on the Defeat Cover Die, which is upped to 5 thanks to Pen. 2. This places 2 EKIAs and a Suppress on the Hostile thanks to the Spray keyword; for the example, we'll assume this is enough to Eliminate the Hostile. Fixer Banks the 2 Body Count gained by this on the Mission, as when Fixer leaves, the Body Count would be lost. Fixer gains the Experience from the Hostile as normal.

The Reinforcement Draw results in a Hostile drawing one of Fixer's Hostile Targeting Counters. The Hostile Attacks Fixer during the Hostile Turn from Range 0 and causes Fixer to take two Wounds and a Suppress. The Timer counter moves to Turn 6, and a generic counter is placed on Fixer.

Fixer spends an Action to remove the Suppress. Fixer has 1 Health remaining, which triggers the Immobile Keyword, so Fixer cannot Move. Fixer performs another Attack, using the last Action.

A Hostile Attacks Fixer again, but due to the actions of the rest of the Team, the Attack only causes a Suppress. The Timer counter moves to Turn 5, a generic counter is placed on Fixer, and since the amount of generic counters on Fixer is equal to Fixer's Turn Limit, Fixer is removed from the Mission. I remove Fixer's Soldier Identification Counter from the Tactical Display, all of the matching Hostile Targeting Counters from the Target Cup, and all of Fixer's Experience and Body Count is discarded. Each Hostile that has been Targeting Fixer gains a new Target from the Target Cup.

2.3 Completing Setup

Once you have your Mission set out and your Team equipped, follow the remainder of these steps, and then proceed to Section 3.

• Shuffle the Action Card deck. Place it on the Action Deck space.
  • If any Skills, Gear or Mission cards add Battle Fatigue cards to the Action Deck, add them in first before shuffling the Action Card deck. Keep any unused Battle Fatigue cards nearby, as they may be added to the Action Card Deck later. If you must add a "Battle Fatigue" Action card to the Draw deck and do not have any more physical "Battle Fatigue" cards, ignore the requirement.
• Give each Soldier on your Team a pair of Soldier Identification Counters; place one of the two on the Mission card and the other near the Soldier card.
  • Give each Vehicle two Soldier Identification Counters, but keep them both on their cards.
  • Rescue Mission: Any Rescue Soldiers have a Soldier Identification Counter start on the Objective, not the Mission.
• Give each Soldier on your Team an amount of Action counters, Action side face up. A Soldier has two Actions by default, unless any of their cards say otherwise.
• Find the matching Hostile Targeting Counters for each set of Soldier Identification Counters you've given to Soldiers, and place them inside an opaque cup or other method of random drawing. This is the Target Cup.
  • Do not add any Hostile Targeting Counters attributed to Vehicles; keep them nearby.
• Soldiers gain Experience, Body Count and Hardy counters if noted on their cards.
  • Body Count is Kept by the Soldiers; they may not Bank Body Count earned this way. (3.1.4)
• Each Player Soldier draws a hand of Action Cards equal to their Health.
  • If a Player Soldier draws a Location Marker Action Card, they may follow the text on the card immediately, before the game begins. If a Player Soldier draws a Battle Fatigue card, discard it, and do not draw a card to replace it.

3. Playing the Mission

Once the Mission is set up and you have a Team, you can start the Mission. Missions play out like this:

• Your Soldiers start out on the Mission card. Play starts from the Soldier Turn (3.2).
• Player Soldier(s) will draw Location cards (3.2.2.2) to play in the empty slots between the Mission and Objective (3.2.2.7).
• Soldiers will Move between these Locations to get to the Objective. (3.2.2.4)
• Once they reach the Objective, they must Activate the Objective to Move onto it and complete it by fulfilling the requirements on the Objective card. (3.2.2.8)
• Over the course of the Mission, Soldiers must also Bank (3.1.4) earned Body Count. In order to complete the Objective, the total Body Count banked must equal the Body Count value on the Mission card.
• You win immediately when the Objective is completed and enough Body Count has been Banked.

And you lose if all your Soldiers are Downed, the Objective is failed, or you run out of Time.

3.1 Game Concepts

3.1.1 Dicey Matters

Ten-sided dice are used for all die rolls in the game, except for Defeat Cover Rolls during Attacks. If a ten-sided die roll has a result of 0, treat it as a 10.

3.1.2 Keywords

Many behaviors in this game are conveyed by Keywords on cards, which are words that do not have any definition included on the card itself. When you come across a word like this, look at the Warfighter Keywords Reference included in the box. Note that Keywords are updated regularly; check the DVG website for an updated Keywords Reference.

3.1.3 Experience

When Eliminating a Hostile card, that Soldier gains Experience Points (XP) equal to the Hostile Value of the Eliminated card. When Experience must be paid from a Soldier, Experience any Soldier has earned can be used to pay for the cost. When a Soldier is Downed, all of that Soldier's Experience is lost.

3.1.3.1 Upgunning

When a card has text surrounded by [square brackets], this means the card can be Upgunned. To Upgun a card, any Soldier may spend 1 Experience Point, even if the Soldier is not the one using the effect. Once a card is Upgunned, all text inside of [square brackets] on the card may be used instead of the regular text.

3.1.4 Body Count

When an Attack results in an EKIA, the Attacking Soldier earns 1 Body Count counter. Some effects on Hostile Cards may increase or decrease the Body Count earned.

When the Team earns a Body Count counter, they must choose to do one of two things with it immediately before proceeding:

• Keep: The Soldier who caused the EKIA keeps the Body Count counter.
• Bank: The Body Count counter is placed on the Body Count space of the Tactical Display. Once Body Count is Banked, it cannot be interacted with, and cannot be used for any purposes within the Mission.

Body Count needs to be banked in order to complete the Mission, but Kept Body Count can be used to activate powerful effects. You'll need to Bank around 80% of the Body Count earned through a Mission to have enough to complete the Objective.

Body Count Kept (but not Banked) by a Soldier is lost if that Soldier is Downed. Whenever a cost involves Body Count, any Soldier's Kept Body Count may be used to pay the cost (discarding that Body Count in the process).

If you haven't Banked enough Body Count over the course of a Mission, you can perform the Search Action (3.2.2.13) in order to bring more Hostiles into play.

When a card refers to Body Count, count the Kept Body Count across the entire Team, not just one Soldier. You are not required to spend Body Count to activate these effects.

3.1.5 Range

Most cards in the game refer to a "Range". In Warfighter, Range 0 is considered to be "this Location", i.e. where your Soldier or the Hostile is at that moment. Any Hostile and Soldier in this Location column is Range 0. Range 1, Range 2 and so on are that many locations away horizontally from said Location.

In the illustrated example, Soldier #1 is Range 2 from the Armed Farmers Hostile, Soldier #2 is Range 1, and Soldier #3 is Range 0. Soldier #3 is the only one in Range of the Range 0 Attack of the Armed Farmers, but the Armed Farmers are not Targeting Soldier #3.

3.1.6 Hostile Behavior

Hostiles have a Reticle count in the bottom-right corner of their picture; this determines how many EKIA or Suppress counters a Hostile Card can hold.

Hostiles become less effective as EKIA or Suppress counters are added to them. While just one Suppressed reticle is enough to keep an enemy from Moving during the Hostile Turn, they will still Attack if every Reticle isn't at least Suppressed.

An attack's effectiveness is determined by the table in the effect box - the numbers at the top of the table say how many uncovered reticles are needed to use this column of the table. In the example, inflicting an EKIA or a Suppress on two Reticles is enough to stop the Stragglers Hostile getting "3 Wounds" when Attacking.

This can also apply to other text on the card; see how the "Entrance Cost" Keyword has two numbers, separated by a slash? These follow the same rules as the columns; if you have uncovered reticles equal to the numbers in the left-most column, use the left-most number, and so on. In this case, Suppressing two reticles is enough to drop the Entrance Cost penalty by 1.

Hostiles also have Keywords and other text at the bottom of their effect box; most Keywords and other text are active at all times; until all reticles are Suppressed or have suffered an EKIA. Some Keywords remain in effect though; reference the Keyword Sheet for which Keywords work this way.

3.1.6.1 Engaging

Whenever a Hostile is drawn, it is Unengaged. Unengaged Hostiles are differently dangerous than Engaged Hostiles, but they offer different rewards for being Eliminated by Soldiers.

Each Hostile's Unengaged side has a unique condition to be Engaged. There are two types of these conditions:

• A requirement that requires you to pay a cost, such as "Engage: 2 Action Cards".
• A requirement that occurs at a specific time, such as "Engage: If a Soldier is in their Location."

If an Engage condition lists a cost, the cost may be paid at any time during the Soldier Turn by any Soldier. When this happens, flip the Hostile card to the Engaged side. If an Engage condition lists a specific timing, flip the Hostile card to the Engaged side as soon as the condition has been fulfilled.

(Example: the Armed Farmers will Engage when in a Location with a Soldier, becoming less powerful, but then they will Fade if they are not accompanied by more Hostiles.)

If a Hostile card has EKIA or Suppress counters, the card maintains these counters when they are flipped to their Engaged side. They also keep them if they flip back to their Unengaged side.

Some Hostiles, when Engaged, become Soldiers. These Soldiers can be added to your own Team by paying any costs listed on the card. If you add a Soldier to your Team, give them a pair of Soldier Identification Counters, one of which goes on the Location the Hostile was located in before being Engaged. Add Hostile Targeting Counters into the Target Cup matching those Soldier Identification Counters, shake the Target Cup to shuffle it, and give the new Soldier the appropriate amount of Action counters.

3.1.6.2 Fading

During the Fade step of the Hostile Turn, Hostiles that have a Fade keyword have the condition checked. If the condition is met, the Hostile is discarded, and no additional Body Count or Experience is awarded. Some Fade conditions have costs listed; the cost can be paid to prevent the Hostile fading. (In the example, a Soldier can be Suppressed in order to prevent the Fade.)

3.1.7 Empty Decks

When any of the decks on the Tactical Display are empty and another card needs to be drawn, shuffle the discard pile of that deck and place it back on the Tactical Display face-down as per setup, then continue drawing.

3.2 Soldier Turn

The Soldier Turn is where you perform Actions with your Soldiers in an attempt to complete the Mission. You may perform as many actions as you have the resources to perform, and you may end the Soldier Turn at any time, proceeding to the Hostile Turn.

At the beginning of the Soldier Turn, refresh all Soldier Actions by flipping them to their Action side.

3.2.1 Environment

The Environment step occurs before any Soldiers take their Actions.

For each Soldier that is on a Location with an Environ: keyword, roll a ten-sided die. If your Soldier does not meet or exceed the number listed, you choose whether they suffer a Suppress or a Wound.

Some Equipment / Skills / Abilities give you Hardy: XXX counters, where XXX is the name of a keyword. If you fail your Environ roll and the Hardy counter matches the keyword, you may discard one Hardy in order to ignore the results of the roll. If your Soldier has a Hardy (Any) counter, it can be used if any Hardy roll is failed.

If the Location has the Deadly Environment Keyword, roll a ten-sided die for each Hostile as well, and give them a Suppress if the roll is less than the stated amount.

Sometimes, you want to take the Wound so that a Soldier has a spare action available to them. This could mean the difference between failing and succeeding.

3.2.2 Actions & Activities

In this step, you may perform Actions with any Soldier available to you in any order. In most cases, these Actions will cause you to flip an Action counter to the Used Action side. It cannot be used for another action until the next Soldier Turn. We'll mention this by having an (Action) in the Section title. An (Activity) has no inherent cost, but may come with extra costs attached. You must finish performing one Action or Activity before you can start another.

3.2.2.1 Remove 1 Suppress (Action)

While a Soldier is Suppressed, they are incapable of performing any other Actions. Spend 1 Action to remove a Suppress from the Soldier and allow them to perform Actions.

3.2.2.2 Discard and Draw (Action)

A Player Soldier may discard as many Action Cards from their hand as they wish, then draw Action Cards to their hand up to their current Health (printed Health minus Wound counters). If you draw any Location Marker cards, you may perform the text in the effect box immediately. If you draw any Battle Fatigue cards, discard those cards immediately. Do not redraw any cards to replace the discarded Battle Fatigue cards.

3.2.2.3 Play an Action Card (Activity)

To play an Action Card, simply place it in the Action Card discard pile and perform the effect written on the card.

Most Action Cards are free to use and are discarded after using them. Most Action Cards can be used during the Soldier Turn, but not in the middle of another Action (you can't have a free Move in the middle of an Attack, for example). You may use multiple Action cards at a time. If an Action Card has a cost, it must be paid in full or the card cannot be used.

Some cards have a Type and a number, which shows an extra cost to use that Action Card. The number is the amount of other Action cards you discard from the hand of the Player Soldier that wants to play the card.

3.2.2.4 Move (Action)

Soldiers take this Action to move between adjacent placed Locations. If there are no placed adjacent Locations to move to, a Soldier cannot Move. Soldiers may only ever Move once per Soldier Turn.

To Move, a Soldier's Movement Value must meet the Entrance Cost of a Location. The Entrance cost of a Location is stated in the top right corner of the Location card. There may also be an extra penalty to the Entrance Cost, whether that be on the Location itself or on a Hostile occupying that Location. You must meet or exceed the total of ALL of these numbers.

To meet this cost, a Soldier has a basic Movement Value. Soldiers may also discard Action cards to add to their Movement Value for a single Move. Player Soldiers must discard Action cards from their own hand and nowhere else. Any Player Soldier may discard cards for Team, Non-Player and Squad Soldiers. Every card discarded this way adds 1 to the Soldier's Movement Value for this Move.

Player Soldiers may also set Action Cards aside for specific Soldiers, including themselves. Place Action Cards set aside this way near the Soldier in question. When that Soldier Moves, they discard all Action Cards placed aside for them and add 1 to their Movement Value for each. Once an Action Card is set aside in this way, it cannot be used for any other purpose. It is not in that Player Soldier's hand anymore; they may Discard and Draw normally, not counting put aside cards as part of their hand. This can be used if a Player Soldier is heavily Wounded and can't spend all of the cards needed to Move a Soldier in one hand of Action Cards.

When a Soldier has met or exceeded the total Entrance Cost, they may move their Soldier Identification counter to the new Location. If the Soldier that Moved has a Weapon with a Deployed Bipod counter, flip the Bipod counter to the Undeployed side.

3.2.2.5 Attack (Action)

You Attack with a Soldier in order to remove Hostiles from your path to the Objective. Attacking takes place in multiple steps that should be followed in order. The Tactical Display has a reminder of this order as well.

Declare Attack: To Declare an Attack, pick a Hostile that is within range of one of your Weapon cards that has a non-Empty Ammo counter and no Jam counter, or a Weapon with the Expended keyword that has counters on it. This is your Targeted Hostile and chosen Weapon for the Attack. You can only Attack a Hostile card within Range of your chosen Weapon. HtH-Type Weapons are not in Range unless the Attacking Soldier is in Striking (3.2.2.15) specifically with the Hostile being Attacked. This is the time that you play Action Cards that modify your Attack in some way. For Squad Soldiers, refer to the table on their card, use the column that equals the Health they have left, check the Range of the Hostile, and that will tell you your Kill number.

Declare Fire Mode: Pick a Fire Mode as listed on your chosen Weapon for the attack. This determines how many dice you roll. (Squad Soldiers and Weapons with one Fire Mode do not perform this step.) More dice means more chances to land that killing blow, but you stand a higher chance of needing to Reload.

Roll Dice: Roll as many ten-sided dice as your Fire Mode states, and one six-sided die. The ten-sided dice are your Attack Rolls, and the six-sided die is the Defeat Cover Roll. Only roll a single ten-sided and six-sided die for Squad Soldier Attacks.

Check for Reload: If any of the ten-sided dice are equal to or lower than the Reload number on your Weapon, and your Weapon uses Ammo, flip the currently loaded Ammo to the Empty side of the counter. This weapon cannot be used again until you perform a Reload action. Weapons that have the Expended keyword always return a counter to the supply. If the Weapon has a Jam keyword and any of your Attack dice roll 1 above the Weapon's reload number, add a Jam counter to the Weapon. A Weapon cannot be used for an Attack while Jammed (3.2.2.6). One Attack can have a Reload, Jam, and Kill result across multiple Attack Dice.

Apply Modifiers: Any modifiers from Equipment, Skills, and played Action Cards are now added to the rolls. Modifiers do not count for checking Reloads. (Using three Steady Aim cards and rolling 1 on an Attack Die might reach the Kill number, but you'll still need to Reload.)

Check to Defeat Cover: Note the number on the bottom left of the Targeted Hostile card; if your modified Defeat Cover roll equals or exceeds this number, you have defeated the Hostile's cover.

Resolve Attack: Look at your final Attack Rolls.

• If all of your modified Attack Rolls have lower than the listed Kill number on the Weapon used for this Attack, and you did not defeat the Hostile's Cover, you have missed the shot; the Hostile suffers no effect.
• If one or more of your modified Attack Rolls have equal to or higher than the listed Kill number, but you did not defeat the Hostile's Cover, or if you did defeat the Hostile's cover but none of your modified Attack Rolls were equal to or higher than the Kill number, the Attack leaves a Suppress on the Hostile. Place a Suppress on one of the Hostile's reticles.
• If both an Attack Roll was equal to or higher than the Kill number and the Hostile's cover was defeated, you have scored an EKIA. Place an EKIA counter on one of the Hostile's reticles. The Soldier earns a Body Count (3.1.4).

If this results in EKIA counters being equal to the reticle number on the Hostile, discard the Hostile, return its Hostile Targeting Counter to the Target Cup, and the Soldier that performed this Attack gains Experience equal to the Hostile Value of the discarded Hostile.

Things to note about Attacks:

• Each Reticle on a Hostile can only have one Suppress or EKIA on it at a time. If all reticles on a Hostile are already Suppressed and you add another Suppress, nothing happens. However, if you get an EKIA and all reticles are Suppressed, you flip one of those Suppress counters to EKIA.
• You only ever add 1 Kill to a Hostile during an Attack Roll, unless the Weapon used for the Attack has the Spray keyword or the Fire Mode of the Weapon is Explosion. In either case, you add EKIA counters to the Hostile equal to the amount of Attack Dice that equal or exceed the Kill number.
• If an Event or non-Attack effect causes a Hostile to gain the last EKIA required to Eliminate them, give the Experience to the Soldier who last caused an EKIA via an Attack on the Hostile.

3.2.2.6 Reload / Clear Jam (Action)

If an Attack results in a Reload, causing an Ammo counter to be flipped to the Empty side, you can Reload as an Action to discard the Empty Ammo counter to the supply. Replace it with any of the other Ammo counters on the Weapon as placed there before the mission, Empty-side face down.

If a Weapon Jammed during a previous Attack result, it will have a Jam counter on it. Spend 1 Action to return the Jam counter to the supply. If your Weapon is both Empty and Jammed, you must perform two Actions; one to clear the Jam and one to Reload the Weapon. Clearing a Jam does not remove any Ammo counters.

3.2.2.7 Play a Location Card (Activity)

If a Location Card is in a Player Soldier's hand, it may be played in an Open Location slot. Any Soldier must be adjacent to an Open Location slot for a new Location to be played, not only the Soldier with the Location in their hand. If you have a Location adjacent to the Objective, leaving no Open slots between the Mission and Objective, you may not play a Location. You may only play one Location per Soldier Turn.

Location cards can have a cost to play, which is written on the card itself. "Free to play" costs nothing, it can simply be played. "1 Action", "1 Body Count" and "1XP" are all self-explanatory.

When playing a Location card, the number of Hostiles that show up depends on what Location # the Objective is in. That number is the line you use on the new Location card to see how many Hostiles arrive when the new location is placed. Draw Hostiles from the Hostile deck and place them in the same column as the newly placed Location. Every time you draw a Hostile, refer to the amount of Reticles in the Hostile Card's picture, and add it to an ongoing total. Events are considered to have 0 Reticles; do not add to the ongoing total when an Event is drawn. When the total amount of Reticles drawn this way equals or exceeds the number on the Location, stop drawing Hostiles. If this number on the table is equal to 0 (either printed or due to card effect), draw exactly one Hostile card, and then stop.

Drawing Hostiles Example: I play a Location with the Hostile table in the illustration. The Objective is in Location #5, so I need to draw 4 Reticles worth of Hostiles. I draw a Hostile with 1 Reticle (1). I draw a Hostile with 2 Reticles (3). I draw an Event (zero reticles, the count remains 3). I draw a Hostile with 2 Reticles (5). This exceeds the required Reticle amount, so I stop drawing.

Give each placed Hostile a random Hostile Targeting Counter from the Target Cup; this is now their Targeted Soldier. Some Hostiles say they "Target X"; they do not draw randomly, but instead take a counter from the Target Cup to meet the listed requirements.

Hostiles drawn and placed in a Location slot with no Location card act normally. Hostiles drawn and placed in the Objective while it is Inactive also act normally.

If you need to draw Hostiles but the Hostile Deck is empty, shuffle the discards and place them as a new Hostile draw deck, and continue drawing Hostiles as needed.

When you place Hostiles, be sure to check for Keywords that may affect how the Hostile enters play. As a result of that, if a Hostile is to be placed to the left of the Mission, place them on the Mission. If a Hostile would be placed to the right of the Objective, place them on the Objective.

Locations may have Keywords on them; reference them now, just to be sure you do not need to place any more Hostiles or other side effects.

Note that Location Cards are considered Action Cards; if you do not wish to play a Location, you may still discard the card for Move, Discard and Draw, or costs for other Action Cards.

3.2.2.8 Activate the Objective (Activity)

The Objective, and any attached Embedded Objective cards, start out Inactive. When a card is Inactive, it is treated as if it doesn't exist - Soldiers cannot Move into an Inactive Objective, Present and Embedded Objective have no effect on the Mission, etc. When a Soldier is Adjacent to the Objective, they may Activate the Objective by removing the Inactive counter from it, and drawing Hostiles in the same way you would for a Location. The Objective and any Present or Embedded Objective cards may now be interacted with. Be sure to check for Keywords on the Objective and any cards there, as they go into effect now.

If you have time left in the mission, take the time to get all your Soldiers onto the previous Location, and attack it in one big swing...unless that's not your tactic. Be flexible.

3.2.2.9 Pay Retain Costs (Activity)

Certain Action Cards have a Retain cost. If you pay the listed Retain cost, you may keep the effects of those cards into the next Soldier Turn. If this cost is not paid, the card is discarded and the effect is lost at the end of the current Soldier turn.

3.2.2.10 Trade Between Soldiers (Activity)

Player Soldiers in the same Location may freely hand Weapons, Equipment and Ammo back and forth between each other, assuming they do not exceed their Loadout value. Non-Player Soldiers may receive Ammo equivalent to their Weapon's caliber from a Soldier with the same caliber weapon (the caliber is listed in the Weapon's Ammo Box), but they must never exceed the amount of Ammo the Weapon has listed. Player Soldiers may also drop Weapons and Equipment on a space for another Player Soldier to acquire later.

Note that if a Weapon or Equipment has been used this Soldier Turn, it cannot be traded or dropped this Soldier Turn.

This can be a way to give the friendly Player Soldier you can find in the Hostile Deck a Weapon!

3.2.2.11 Deploy Bipod (Action)

Some Weapons have Bipod counters. A Soldier can spend an Action to deploy a Bipod (flip the counter) on one of their Weapons, gaining any listed benefits on the Weapon card. If the Soldier with a Deployed Bipod Moves or Enters Striking, the Bipod is Undeployed (flip the counter), and must be deployed again.

3.2.2.12 Call In Vehicle (Activity)

A Vehicle may be Called In following the rules in 2.2.6.1.

3.2.2.13 Search (Action)

A Soldier can spend an Action to roll a ten-sided die; if their roll is higher than the Search number on the Location card they're in, they draw the top card of the Hostile Deck and place it in their Location. This can be used if you're missing the Body Count you need for the Mission.

Some Soldiers have a Search value on their card; add this number to the result of the roll after it is made. Other modifiers on Hostiles or Locations can change the result of a Search roll.

3.2.2.14 Mid-Mission Healing (Action)

If a Soldier has Healing Equipment or a Skill, they can use it to remove Wounds from a Soldier. Declare the Wound to be healed, then follow any instructions listed on the card. If you Heal equal to, or more, points compared to the Wound counter, discard the Wound counter.

If you roll less, calculate how many points are left on the Wound by subtracting the Wound total from the roll's total, and replace the current Wound counter with a new Wound counter, equal to the total, then flip the new counter to the bandaged side; you cannot attempt to heal this Wound for the remainder of the Mission.

Healing Example: A Soldier tries to heal another Soldier in their Location of a 2 Wound counter using the M-5 Medical Bag Equipment. They roll the die and get a 6. This heals 1 of the 2 Wounds. They discard the 2 Wound counter, take a 1 Wound counter, flip it to the bandaged side and give it to the Wounded Soldier. If the roll was 7 or higher, the Wound counter would be discarded entirely.

3.2.2.15 Move into Striking (Action)

This Action allows Soldiers to move into Striking Range (hand to hand combat) with any Hostile in the same Location as them.

The Soldier must pay the Striking Cost listed on the Location in Actions. For Locations with a cost of 2 or higher, the Soldier can set aside Actions on one Soldier Turn, then pay the rest of the total on the next Soldier Turn, but the Soldier cannot perform any other Actions until the Action cost is paid in full; otherwise, all saved Actions are lost. The Soldier may perform Activities that do not cost Actions.

When all Actions are paid, you may use the matching Soldier Identification Counter's numbered Striking Counter to mark the Hostile the Soldier is engaging in Striking with; that Soldier is now in that Hostile's Striking Area. If that Hostile is Targeting another Soldier, change the Target counter to the Soldier that just engaged in Striking. One Soldier can only be in Striking with one Hostile at a time, but multiple Soldiers can be in Striking with one Hostile.

Your Soldier is now in "Striking Range", a new kind of Range. Some Actions change for Soldiers in Striking Range (any unmentioned Actions still work as normal):

• They may specifically Attack their engaged Hostile using HtH-Type Weapons, or they may Attack any other Hostile following normal Attack rules.
• They may Move to another Location, however Moving will result in moving out of Striking Range and into Range 0 in the new Location; remove the Striking Counter from the Hostile.
• They may return to Range 0 by paying the Striking Cost on the Location, in which case, remove the Striking Counter from the Hostile.

A Soldier also returns to Range 0 for free if the Hostile they're in Striking Range with leaves the game (by being discarded or Eliminated).

Some Locations have the "Close Quarters Combat" Keyword. When you Enter Striking in these Locations, you are not in Striking with any particular Hostile, but with the Location itself, and may Attack any Hostile in the Location with HtH Weapons. Place the Striking Counter on the Location instead of any particular Hostile.

A Soldier cannot enter Striking Range with a Hostile that is being Screened. If a newly-drawn Hostile Screens the Hostile the Soldier is in Striking Range with (either via entering the Location or becoming unsuppressed), the Soldier can move back to Range 0 or into Striking Range with the Screening Hostile at no cost. Simultaneously, if a Screening Hostile engaged in Striking with a Soldier is no longer Screening any Hostiles, that Soldier may freely Target (move the Striking Counter to) any of the previously Screened Hostiles. They may also move back to Range 0.

Think of it as the Screening Hostile being a 'bodyguard'; you need to take out the bodyguard before you can attack your target. If the bodyguard shows up and gets between you and the target, you can freely switch to attacking them, and if you take out the bodyguard, you can go back to attacking the Hostile the bodyguard was protecting.

3.3 Hostile Turn

The Hostile Turn is an entirely AI and dice-driven turn in which Hostiles will Reinforce, Attack your Soldiers, Move, and the rest of the game's systems are maintained. You'll follow this turn to the letter as you play (and the Tactical Display has a good reminder for you in what order to do this in). Once this set of procedures is over, you'll go to your Soldier Turn, until the time on the mission runs out.

3.3.1 Reinforcement Draw

For each Location that has a Soldier on it, and each Location that has "Always draw for Rein." written on it, follow these steps. If the Location has "Reinforce: None", do not follow these steps.

Draw the top card of the Hostile deck and compare the amount of Reticles the Hostile has to the Reinforce: value in the top left corner of the Location. If the amount of Reticles is the same as, or falls into the range of this value, the Hostile is added to the Location and given a random Target from the Target cup, otherwise it is discarded. Any Events drawn during this are played in the Location, and another card is drawn.

3.3.2 Attack

Hostiles will Attack Soldiers if the following conditions are met:

• They are in Range of the Soldier with the Soldier Identification Counter matching their Hostile Targeting Counter.
• They have at least one uncovered (no EKIA or Suppress counter) Reticle.
• No other effects such as Keywords prevent the Hostile from Attacking.

Hostile Attacks work in a similar way to your Attack action, however, they reference a table on the card itself to determine what Attack they perform. Hostiles Attacking a Soldier in Striking Range with them use their Range 0 Attack.

Roll a ten-sided (Attack) die and six-sided (Defeat Cover) die. Check how many uncovered Reticles the Hostile has, and reference the roll on the Attack Die to the column of the Hostile attack chart equal to the uncovered reticles. Compare the Cover value of the targeted Soldier and the Defeat Cover die.

• If the ten-sided roll is a Miss on the Hostile attack chart and the Cover roll did not defeat the target Soldier's Cover, nothing happens and the Attack ends.
• If the Attack roll is not a Miss but Cover was not defeated or vice-versa, the Soldier is Suppressed - place a Suppress counter on the Soldier.
• If the Attack roll is not a Miss and Cover was defeated, reference the table for the effect to be applied - it may be a Keyword.
• If a Soldier is Wounded as a result, give them a new Wound counter equal to the Wounds dealt. Every Hostile Attack that causes a Wound causes a new Wound counter, equal to the value listed.

Note: You do not need to discard Action Cards as a Player Soldier if you are Wounded; you simply draw up to your current Health during a Discard and Draw.

Hostile Attack Example: This NVA Squad with one EKIA counter attacks a Soldier that has Cover 2, and rolls a 10 on the Attack Die and 1 on the Defeat Cover Die. The Pen bonus brings the Defeat Cover die up to 2. The Attack Die references the right column, as there are 3 uncovered reticles. The Attack would result in 2 Wounds, given to the targeted Soldier via a single 2 Wound counter. If the NVA Squad had one less Suppressed / EKIAd reticle, it would instead refer to the left column, and this attack would cause 3 Wounds.

3.3.2.1 Soldier Down

If a Soldier has 0 Health or less remaining after a Hostile Attack, they are Downed - removed from the game, basically. Remove their Soldier Identification Counter from the Tactical Display, discard any Action Cards they were holding (if any), all of their Weapons, Equipment and Ammo are dropped in the Location they were downed (and can be picked up by any Player Soldier). Any Experience or Kept Body Count that Soldier has is returned to the supply. Remove the downed Soldier's target counters from the Target Cup and Tactical Display; all Hostiles that were targeting this Soldier receive new Hostile Targeting Counters from the Target Cup.

3.3.3 Hostiles Close Range

A Hostile will only Move if it has no Suppress counters and is not within the listed Range of its Target. Move Hostiles one Location closer, or further away, from their Target. Unlike Soldiers, Hostiles can move into Open Location slots.

If a Hostile is within Range of a Soldier, but cannot Attack its Target, move the Hostile closer to the Target.

If a Hostile has a Soldier in its Striking Area, but its Hostile Targeting Counter does not refer to that Soldier, specifically pull one of that Soldier's Hostile Targeting Counters from the Targeting Cup, and place it on the Hostile. Return any other Hostile Targeting Counters to the Target Cup and shake to shuffle.

Keep Hostiles that are a real threat Suppressed! One Suppress is enough to leave most Hostiles in the dust, and bigger threats are less threatening the more Suppressed they are.

3.3.4 Remove Suppress Counters

Remove one Suppress counter from each Hostile card.

3.3.5 Fade

Check all Hostile cards for Fade conditions. If a Hostile's Fade condition is met, discard the Hostile. If a Hostile is in a Location with the Critical Site Keyword, do not check if they Fade.

3.3.6 Advance Mission Timer

Move the Time counter on the Mission Timer one space downwards. If the Time counter would move lower than the 1 space at this point, the Mission ends in failure. Return to the beginning of the Soldier Turn.

4. Expansion Content

If you don't have any Warfighter: Vietnam expansions or if this is your first time playing, STOP HERE AND PLAY A GAME! The rest of the manual concerns expansion content.

As of its launch, Warfighter: Vietnam contains 12 standalone expansions and a Campaign Expansion, Heart of Darkness. This section of the manual goes over the rules unique to those expansions.

4.1 Expansion-Specific Rules

Which Expansion?: The bottom-left corner of each card mentions what numbered expansion the card is from.

Enemy Difficulties: Expansion #4 adds Frontline Hostile difficulty levels, signified by the letter under the Hostile Value. During setup, you can choose to shuffle either the Frontline (F), Elite (E) or both sets of Hostiles into the Vietnam Hostile Deck. Shuffling in just the Frontline Hostiles is easier than the mix, while using just the Elite Hostiles is the most difficult.

Ability Checks: Ability Checks are introduced in the Tunnel Rats expansions. The skill check usually lists an Ability, then a bonus or detriment, all of which are in (parentheses). To perform an Ability Check, you roll a d10, add the bonus or subtract the detriment from the result, and check it against the Soldier's Ability. If the number is equal to or higher than the Soldier's Ability, the check is a positive result, otherwise it is a negative result.

An Ability Check can only be performed by a Soldier that has the Ability either on their card, or has the Ability as a result of a Skill card. The Ability Check difficulty is determined by the Soldier's card; in the example, the initial Pick difficulty is a roll of 8 or higher for a positive result. You can Upgun the Pick roll for one Ability Check, changing it to a 6 or higher. When a Soldier does not have the Ability for an Ability Check and is forced to perform the check, the roll is automatically treated as a 1 and cannot be modified.

Some checks provide a Success bonus, which is what happens when the check is a positive result, and a Fail condition, which is what happens if the check is a negative result. If the check does not have a Success or Fail heading, assume you need a positive result in order to gain the benefit.

Ability Checks with Success conditions cost a Soldier 1 Action to perform, and if the check is a positive result, the Soldier that performed the check gains the listed benefit.

Ability Checks with Fail conditions must be attempted as soon as a Soldier enters the Location with the Ability Check. This does not cost an Action. If the check is a negative result, the negative effects are applied to the Soldier.

If an Ability Check with a Fail condition is drawn for a Soldier's Location, that Ability Check must be immediately attempted by any Soldier in that Location.

Traps: Traps are introduced in the Tunnel Rats expansions and are indicated by the Trap keyword, followed by an Ability Check in (parentheses). Traps are Events that are drawn from the Hostile Deck. When a Trap is drawn for another Location, the Trap is resolved when the first Soldier attempts to Move into that Location. If the Trap is drawn for a Location that a Soldier is in, the Trap must be resolved immediately by any Soldier in that Location, even during the Hostile Turn.

To resolve a Trap, a Soldier must make an Ability Check against the Trap. After the roll, check the result against the table in the effect box. The Soldier performing the Ability Check suffers the result.

If no Soldier has the required Ability to perform the Ability Check, the roll is automatically treated as a 1, and cannot be increased in any way. If multiple Soldiers are in the Location and no individual Soldier can perform the Ability Check, choose one of those Soldiers at random to suffer the penalty.

Unless otherwise specified, the Trap is discarded after the Ability Check.

4.2 Expansion-Specific Mission Types

Escape Mission: This mission involves working backwards from the Objective and reaching the Mission card. Note that this Mission type is on an Objective card, not a Mission card.

• During Setup, all Soldier Identification Counters start on the Objective, not the Mission. Do not place the Inactive counter on the Objective.
• During the Mission:
  • When all Soldiers reach the Mission card, the Objective is complete.
  • Cards that mention "Front-most" are placed ahead of the Soldiers (between the Mission card and the left-most Soldier) while cards that say "Rear-most" are placed behind the Soldiers (between the right-most Soldier and the Objective card).

Multiple Objectives: These Missions add multiple Objectives to the Tactical Display, not just one.

• During Setup:
  • Place Objectives in each Location # according to the Mission card.
  • Place the Inactive counter on the left-most Objective.
• During the Mission:
  • When an Objective is Activated, move the Inactive counter to the next Objective to the right. (If the Activated Objective is the final Objective, return it to the supply.)
  • All of the Objectives must be completed.

Tunnel Rats Mission: Expansions #6 and #7 add the Tunnel Rats Mission type.

• During Setup:
  • You must use Tunnel Rat Missions and Objectives.
  • No Vehicles can be brought on a Tunnel Rats Mission.
• During the Mission:
  • Soldiers can only use Weapons with the Self-Defense Keyword and HtH Type.
  • Soldiers cannot use Weapons with the Pen Keyword or Explosion Fire Mode.
  • Soldiers cannot play Action Cards with the Support type. (They may still be discarded.)
  • Hostiles for Tunnel Rats Missions are one-sided cards; whenever they are drawn, place them face-up.

5. Campaign Rules

5.1 Introduction

The Deployment Campaign "Heart of Darkness" is available as an expansion for Warfighter Vietnam. This section of the manual will cover the rules to play a Deployment Campaign (referred from here on as a "Campaign").

The eventual outcome of the Campaign is written on the Campaign Map; if the Campaign's Objective is completed, you win the Campaign. If your entire Team is Downed during a Mission, the Campaign ends in failure.

5.2 Campaign Components

Some components are updated or work differently in the Campaign and some new components are included as part of the Campaign; this section of the manual will cover those differences.

Soldier Cards: Soldier Cards are mostly the same in the Campaign, but with two notable differences.

• Soldiers have Levels, which determine their effectiveness; higher levels have higher capabilities, but cost more initial Resource Points. The Level is indicated above the Soldier's Terrain Cover value. (Dare is 5th Level.)
• A second number is below the Soldier's cost in (parentheses). Soldiers can be leveled up during the Campaign for this cost in Hero Points. (Dare can be leveled up to his 6th Level card for 6 Hero Points.)
• Gear and Ammo that Soldiers expend during a Mission is not returned to them at the end of a Mission, even if printed on their card; you will need to spend Gear Points to refill their Weapons and Equipment.

Soldiers otherwise work the same as in a standalone Mission.

Tiers: Many cards in Campaigns are now sorted by Tiers. There are five separate Tiers - Nuisance, Common, Renowned, Legendary and Mythical. The difficulty of these cards increases in that order - Common Hostiles are more dangerous than Nuisance Hostiles, as an example. This causes the difficulty of the Campaign to slowly become harder as the Campaign goes on. The rules will use the Tier names to refer to what Tier of cards to use, but each reference to a Tier is color coded, so you can simply match the colors and not the names.

Town Cards: Town Cards are a new type of card that represent individual places visited over the course of a Campaign. The Town Card will have a specific Mission and Objective to play, and can provide bonus effects or drawbacks on top of that. Keep them separated by their Tier and shuffle them individually.

Hostile Cards: Hostile Cards are now separated by Tier, determined by their color. The Tier determines how dangerous a Hostile is, and the further into the Campaign your Team gets, the more dangerous Hostiles you will face. As with Town Cards, separate the Hostile cards by Tier and shuffle.

Location Cards: Locations are now sorted by Tier, in the same five colors as the Hostile Cards. Again, separate and shuffle by individual Tier. Location Cards in the Campaign have a different method of drawing Hostiles from the regular game; the new set of skulls in the bottom-right corner of each Location card determine a number of Reticles to be drawn from each individual Tier.

Mission and Objective Cards: Mission and Objective cards now come in pre-set pairs, with the name of the Objective being listed on the Mission card. The bar on the right side of the Mission card names the Town that this Mission goes with; therefore, a Town, Mission and Objective are a "set".

New fields on the Mission card include Hero and Gear Points earned for completing the Mission (used to upgrade your Team throughout the Campaign), and a series of symbols indicating in what order Location cards are to be drawn and played, above the effect box, to the left of the Striking Cost. The Town associated with the Mission is listed in text to the right of the card's picture, below the Entrance Cost.

On the Objective, the Hostile table has been replaced with a symbol above and to the left of the effect box, showing the Hostiles to be drawn when the Objective is Activated.

Keep each Mission and their listed Objective together, for easy reference when the Town card for that pair is drawn.

Campaign Map: Your Team will progress through the Campaign, moving from Town to Town, playing through Missions in order. You'll earn Hero and Gear Points along the way to slowly upgrade your Team to face more intense challenges, until you either succeed in the Campaign's objective or your entire Team is Downed. The Campaign Map has a visual representation of this; slowly working your way through Vietnam to the Campaign's objective. The Campaign Map determines the parameters for the Campaign, such as the amount of Resource Points you start with, how to construct the Town Deck, and any special rules in play.

5.3 Campaign Setup

Select Campaign: Pick a Campaign by selecting its Campaign Map and placing it somewhere nearby.

Making the Initial Team: In the top left corner of the Campaign Map is the amount of Resource Points you start the Campaign with. Use these points to make the Team you will be starting the Campaign with, following the regular Team building rules, noting the following rule:

• Every Resource Point you don't spend is turned into a Gear Point. Take Gear Point counters equal to the amount of Resource Points you don't spend. These stay with you during the Campaign and may be spent later.

You will have two different point types during the Campaign. Hero Points are spent on getting new Soldiers and Skills for those Soldiers, while Gear Points are used to buy Weapons, Equipment and Ammo. If you don't spend those Resource Points on Soldiers now, you won't be able to spend them for Soldiers later; it'll be entirely for Gear and Ammo.

Shuffle and Go: Shuffle each Location and Hostile deck by their Tier and place them in their individual piles. Locations and Hostiles from outside the Campaign are not used.

The list of Towns that will be used is listed on the Campaign Map; you will use these numbers to build a Town Deck. To build the Town Deck for the Campaign, follow these instructions in order:

• Shuffle each Tier of Town Cards individually and place them in front of you.
• Draw the listed amount of Mythical Town Cards face down, and place those cards above the Town Cards to form the Town Deck.
• Draw the listed amount of Legendary Town Cards face down, and place those cards on top of the Mythical Town Cards drawn previously for the Town Deck.
• Draw the listed amount of Renowned Town Cards face down, and place those cards on top of the Legendary Town Cards drawn previously for the Town Deck.
• Draw the listed amount of Common Town Cards face down, and place those cards on top of the Renowned Town Cards drawn previously for the Town Deck.
• Draw the listed amount of Nuisance Town Cards face down, and place those cards on top of the Common Town Cards. This finishes the Town Deck.

This process makes it so that the easy Towns are on the top of the Town Deck, and slowly get harder as you progress through the Town Deck, eventually ending up at the hardest Towns at the bottom.

Keep the remaining Town Cards off to the side; these will be used for Desperation Missions. Begin your first Campaign Turn.

5.4 Campaign Turn

Enter the Town: Draw the top card of the Town Deck and keep it nearby. Find the Mission that mentions the name of the Town Card and its matching Objective, and keep the pair nearby for later. Read the Town card: it may have an effect you perform immediately, or an effect that occurs during or after the Mission. Proceed to the next step.

Replenish: All Soldiers reset their Printed abilities - Experience, Body Count, etc. - to what is printed on their card. If a Soldier does not have a Skill card printed on their card, they gain that Skill now. Proceed to the next step.

Town Activities: You have multiple Activities that can be performed in Town, and you can perform each as many times as you have the Hero and Gear Points available to do so.

• Map Activities: Each Campaign Map has text determining a special action you can perform in the bottom left corner of the board; simply follow its instructions.
• Buy and Sell: You can buy any Gear that you can afford and sell Gear for its original RP cost. Gear bought this way comes with any counters listed in their effect boxes as per normal rules. Weapons that use Ammo and Gear such as the M-5 Medical Bag must have counters equal to or higher than the number in the effect box before they may be sold. You can use the Buy Ammo Activity to refill a Gear card to its listed amount, and then use the Sell Activity to sell that Gear.
• Buy Ammo: Spend one Gear Point to buy an amount of Ammo counters for any Gear equal to the number in the Gear's effect box. (Example: My M16A1 has three Ammo counters. By spending a Gear Point, I gain six Ammo counters, bringing my total Ammo on the M16A1 to nine Ammo counters. After buying the Ammo, I have 9 Ammo counters, exceeding the 6 written on the card's Ammo box, so I can sell the M16A1 card for 2 Gear Points.)
• Improve Soldier: Spend Hero Points to either level up a Soldier or buy Skill Cards for a Soldier. The Hero Point Cost to level up is the number in (parentheses) on the Soldier card, while the cost in Hero Points for a Skill card is the RP cost. If you level up a Hero and the new level gains or loses Gear of any kind, gain or lose that Gear. You don't gain anything for any lost Gear caused by this. If the new level has a Skill you already bought for the Hero, you get the cost of that Skill as Hero Points.
• Purchase Soldier: Spend Hero Points to buy a new Soldier at the Soldier's cost; give them any cards they're entitled to as listed in their effect box. This Soldier joins your Team immediately and can be used on the next Mission.

5.5 Playing a Campaign Mission

A Campaign Mission plays out the same way as a standalone Mission, but the following rules are different. Use the Mission and Objective set aside earlier when you drew the Town Card to set up the Mission; regular setup for a Mission does not change.

Locations: In a Campaign Mission, Locations must be drawn and played from specific Tiers and in a specific order, as shown by the Mission card. (The "On the Attack" Mission requires a Common, two Renowned, and a Legendary Location be played, in that order.)

When a Soldier would draw a Location card, the Soldier draws from the next Location Tier that would be played. The Soldier may draw multiple Locations from this Tier.

Once a Tier has the amount of Locations in play as listed on the Mission card, that Tier of Locations can no longer be played. For the example, once a Common Tier Location has been played, no more Common Tier Locations can be played on this Mission. If you have more of a Tier's Locations in a Soldier's hand that can be played, they can still be used as Action Cards to discard for Move Actions, Action Card costs, or other associated actions and activities.

Playing Locations Example: The On the Attack Mission, example above, is being played. A Common Tier Location must be played first. A Soldier draws a Location Marker, discards it, and draws a Common Tier Location. This Location is not to his liking, so he eventually draws another Location Marker and draws another Common Tier Location. The Soldier plays it. The other Common Tier Location in his hand can no longer be played; he discards it to help pay the Movement cost to move into the new Location. The Soldier now draws Renowned Locations until there are two Renowned Locations in play.

Drawing Hostiles: When a Location is played, refer to the table in the bottom right corner of the Location card to determine how many Hostiles are drawn for that Location. For each Tier of Hostile that has a number in it, draw Hostiles from the respective Hostile Tier deck and place them in the Location until the number of Reticles matches or exceeds the number listed on the card. (For example, a Location could have you draw 2 Reticles of White Tier Hostiles, followed by 6 Reticles of Green Tier Hostiles.) Tiers with a - do not have Hostiles drawn for them.

When drawing Hostiles for an Objective card, refer to the circles above and to the left of the effect box. Follow the same rules as above; draw Hostiles of the Objective's Tier until the number of Reticles are equal to the displayed number. (For example, 5 Yellow Tier Hostile Reticles are drawn.)

Downed: When a Soldier is Downed during a Campaign Mission, their Soldier Identification Counter remains on the board. All of their XP, Body Count and Action Cards are discarded, and any Hostile Targeting Counters are removed from the Target Cup and board and new ones are drawn for Hostiles as per normal rules.

While a Soldier is Downed, they may not act (use Actions, Activities, Gear or Skills) in any way, nor may they pass Gear to other members of the Party, although other members of the Party may take Gear from Downed Player or Team Soldiers.

A Downed Soldier does not leave the Team; you may pay to Heal a Soldier from Downed in the next Town Activities step, if your Team survives. You keep any Gear that was on the Downed Soldier.

5.6 Mission Result

Whether or not your Mission is a Success or you Retreat, the Campaign continues. The only time the Campaign ends is if your entire Team is Downed during a Mission.

Success: If the Mission was completed, you gain the listed Hero and Gear Points on the Mission card for your Team - take the relevant counters. Use them to level up Soldiers and purchase Gear / Skill cards during the Town Activities step.

Retreat: If one Soldier has at least 1 Health at the end of a Turn during the Mission, you may Retreat. Follow these steps:

• Do not gain the listed Hero or Gear Points. Those are for winners.
• Heal all Soldiers of all their Wounds.
• Gain 4 Gear Points.
• Discard the current Town.
• Perform the Replenish and Town Activities step again; do not reveal the next Town.

At this point, you may play a Desperation Mission. To perform a Desperation Mission, choose a Town from the set-aside Towns from the Setup process, and perform the listed Mission and Objective as per normal Campaign rules. Although this lets you play another Mission, gaining extra Gear and Hero Points, it also reduces your overall Campaign score. Treat this Desperation Mission as a normal Mission, following the instructions in Playing a Campaign Mission.

While a Desperation Mission is not good for your Victory Level, it does mean that you can replenish all of your troops and continue the campaign without being stopped by one bad Mission.

5.7 Repeat

Return to the start of the Campaign Turn and repeat the sequence until the end of the Campaign, whether you succeed or fail. (And if you fail, try again!)