A Fast Tabletop game of Vehicle Combat
By Sean Patten

OVERVIEW
Road Wolf is a game of vehicle combat on a deserted highway, where fast cars and savage drivers battle for resources and survival on the open road!  Just watch The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2), and you'll know what the game is all about.

COMPONENTS
To play ROAD WOLF, you will need:

GETTING STARTED
Start by setting up the road and choosing a MISSION. Then, determine the POINTS VALUE for the game (between 2 and 6 is good).  This is the number of points each player may spend on vehicles, AND the number of CREW AND GEAR tokens each player may choose.  Then determine start points for your vehicles based on the scenario.  Unless noted by the scenario, shuffle the ROAD CARDS and place them face down off the board, near the BACK end of the road.

TAKING TURNS
When you're ready to start, have each player roll two dice- whoever has the highest roll goes first, and turns continue around the table in a clockwise order.  If playing teams, stagger the players so teams alternate.

When it's your turn, you may do TWO things with each of your Vehicles.  These things are called ACTIONS.   Continue until ALL of your Vehicles have done two actions (or chosen to do nothing).  Then it's the next player's turn!  At the end of everyone's turn, the ROAD TURN  occurs (see below for details).  Continue around the board until the mission has ended (see MISSIONS below for how to end a mission).

A WORD ON MEASURING
When measuring for vehicle move, measure from the SAME POINT on the vehicle for its start and end position.  In other words, DON'T add the vehicles length or width to your move!  When measuring range for a ranged attack, you may measure from ANY point on the attacking vehicle to ANY point on the target vehicle.  You may not measure THROUGH another vehicle or wreck.  Vehicles are ADJACENT if there is less than a finger's width between any part of them.



VEHICLE SIZES and TYPES
Vehicles have some interesting features that tell how they will work during a game, plus values to ensure players have an even match.  When selecting units, ALL PLAYERS must have the same amount of points unless otherwise indicated by the scenario.

VEHICLE SIZE.  All vehicles have a SIZE value.  This size is how many dice they roll in a RAM, and how much DAMAGE they can take before being destroyed.  A vehicle may take one CREW token  for each size point it has.

HEAVY VEHICLES. Although heavy vehicles are powerful due to sheer size, they are also less maneuverable, and thus have the following special rules.
SIZE  HEAVY
4 Armored Car / Limo
5 Big Rig
CREW AND GEAR. Vehicles can take TOKENS to represent additional weapons or crew- one marker per points value of game being played.   Some tokens can be lost (runs out of ammo, etc.) as indicated.  All tokens must be placed on a vehicle record sheet.  At least one crew must be in the Driver position for the vehicle to do anything!  Any crew (other than Veterans) may NOT use their special abilities while driving. CREW  NOTES


GEAR  NOTES




THE ROAD
To represent the hurtling speeds of the vehicles in a game of Road Wolf, imagine that you are watching the action from a helicopter, keeping pace with the chase as the road rolls by below.   When you spend actions MOVING, you are really just moving around RELATIVE to the other cars.  Your vehicle should ALWAYS be pointing FORWARD, unless noted otherwise. ROAD TURN
At the end of every turn after all the players have gone, the ROAD gets its own turn!  Follow these steps below in order. ROAD CARDS

ACTIONS
Vehicles do things by performing ACTIONS.  A Vehicle can perform TWO actions each turn.  It may perform the same type of action TWICE if they wish!  For example, in one turn a vehicle could move two times.  Here are all the types of actions a vehicle can perform: WIPEOUT CHECKS
Some events or combat results will call for a vehicle to make a WIPEOUT CHECK.  This is a contested roll between the VEHICLE and the ROAD.  A player that is opposed to the vehicle's owner must play the role of the ROAD!

COMBAT
CONTESTED ROLLS: All forms of combat are contested rolls.  This means the attacker and the defender both roll dice, and compare the results.   The type of combat determines how many dice are rolled (see below for details).  You can read more about how contested die rolls work by reading this page.

COMPARE THE ROLLS: To see who won, compare the dice rolls.  Don't add your rolls together- instead, notice what number was rolled on EACH of your dice.  Whoever has a die with the HIGHEST number on it wins.  In the case of a tie, compare the NEXT HIGHEST dice, and so on until the winner is determined (or it is a tie).  For example, an attacker that rolls 6 and 1 will beat a target that rolls 5 and 5, because the 6 is the highest roll.  An attacker with three dice that rolls 3, 2, 1 will beat a defender that rolls 3, 2 because the attacker's die that rolled 1 is still more than nothing (so having more dice is a big help).  Remember that Veterans get a reroll in all types of combat- this means they may reroll one die when involved in that type of combat.

OVERKILL: If the winning roll consists of any dice that rolled HIGHER than the loser's HIGHEST die, then OVERKILL occurs.  You do one point of OVERKILL for each die that rolled higher than the opponent's highest die.


DAMAGE

ABANDONED
Place a SKULL marker on the vehicle to show it is abandoned.  If an abandoned vehicle is not taken over by the start of it's next turn, it must make a WIPEOUT check.  If it survives, it becomes IMMOBILIZED.

IMMOBILIZED
Place a vehicle facing BACKWARDS to show that it is IMMOBILIZED.  To get an immobilized vehicle moving again, you must spend one action turning it around.  Until this is done, the vehicle may not do anything else except transfer crew or gear tokens.

TAKEOVERS
 To take over an ABANDONED vehicle, your vehicle must be adjacent and spend 1 action.  Your vehicle must give up 1 crew token to become the driver of the target vehicle.  If your DRIVER changes vehicles, your vehicle becomes ABANDONED.  During a takeover, you may transfer any GEAR tokens to the target vehicle for free.  A newly taken over vehicle immediately gets ONE action.  It will have two actions as normal on the next turn.



MISSIONS
Players must agree to what type of mission they want to play before starting a game.  The mission determines how to set up and end the game.  Each mission has its own story to tell, so try them all or invent your own!
 
INTERCEPTOR SETUP  GOAL 
One team, the Runners, are intercepted by another team of equal points value, the Interceptors, and must do whatever it takes to get away! Runners start at  the START of the road.  Interceptors start on any other board edge. Runners go first!  Game ends when all  Runners have escaped or been stopped. Runners earn one point for every vehicle they get off the end of the board.  The Interceptors earn one point for every vehicle they stop.    The team with the most points wins!
BREAKOUT SETUP GOAL 
One team, the Convoy, must break through with their truckload of precious cargo!  The Convoy must take a Big Rig (size 5, closed, heavy) in addition to any other vehicles, up to a total of 10 points.  The attackers get 12 points.
The Convoy starts at the START of the road.  Attackers start on any  board edge. The Convoy goes first!  Game ends when the Big Rig has escaped, been captured, or destroyed. The Convoy wins if they can get the Big Rig off the end of the road.  The Attackers win if they can capture, immobilize, or destroy the big rig. 
TWO-WHEEL TERROR SETUP GOAL 
One team plays a marauding biker gang, preying on civilian vehicles!  They may only take bikes (use buggies if you don't have enough bikes).  The Enforcers must try to stop them! 
Put out an equivalent number of various civilian vehicles too.   Civilian vehicles have 1 driver each and must  be evenly spread out along the road. 
Bikes start at the START of the road.  Enforcers start on any board edge and must place before the game starts.    Turn order is Enforcers, Bikers, Civilians, Road.  BUT for the FIRST turn, the Enforcers are SKIPPED!  Civilian vehicles may not do anything.   Whichever team is losing may control the wipeouts for civilians. Any SUPPLIES touched by a damaged civilian will repair 1 hit on them.

The bikers win if they can immobilize or destroy all the civilian vehicles. They may take over civilian vehicles if they wish!  The Enforcers win if they can take out all the bikers before the civilians are all wiped out.

THE PRESIDENT SETUP GOAL 
Enforcers must protect the President's armored limo!  Enforcers must take a size 4, Closed, Heavy vehicle in addition to any other vehicles. The Limo and escorts start at the START of the road.  The Insurgents start on any board  edge.  The Limo and escorts go first. The Enforcers win if they can get the  Limo off the end of the road.  The Insurgents win if they can capture the limo and get it off the end of the road.  If the Limo is destroyed, the game is a draw.
HIJACKERS SETUP GOAL 
A custom Truck (Size 4, Closed, Street, Veteran Driver) is the target of two rival gangs, who both want to capture it!
The Truck can be damaged, but it never loses its last hit.
The Truck starts at the START of the road.  The gangs start on opposite board edges, anywhere along the edge.  Until captured, the truck moves forward 2 sticks each turn, after the gangs. Whichever gang can capture and drive the Truck off the END of the road wins!
MONSTERS SETUP GOAL 
Monster trucks are terrorizing the highways- can the survivors end their reign of terror?  The Monster player may take two Monster Trucks (size 4, Closed, Heavy, Dirt, May Nitro,  Melee +1 die, Ram does not end a move).  The survivors may take 10 points of vehicles, size 3 or smaller. The survivors start at the START of the road.  The Monster Trucks start on any board edge.  The survivors go first. The Monsters win if they can destroy all of the survivor vehicles.  The survivors win if they can destroy both monster trucks.  The game is a draw if any of the survivor vehicles exit off the BACK end of the road.

CHASE ESCALATION GOAL 
Runners must get past dozens of Cops!  Cops start with NO crew or equipment tokens except those that come with the vehicle (IE, driver, Nitro).  Runners start at the start of the road.  Cops start on any board edge.  Runners go first.  Any BRIDGE road cards are BRIDGE OUT- runners automatically jump the bridge, and Cops are automatically destroyed if they go over the  bridge.
Each time a cop vehicle gets destroyed or immobilized, on the next cop turn, a replacement vehicle of equal value may enter the board from any board edge, and may take ONE crew or equipment token  from the list below.  They may take any rank equal to or less than the number of cop vehicles that player has lost. 
RANK 1: Nitro, Gunner RANK 2: Shotgun, Spikes RANK 3: Veteran, Ambush
The Cops win if they can stop all the Runners from exiting off the BACK end of the road.  If any Runners escape, they win if 3 or more times the starting points worth of cop vehicles are immobilized or destroyed.  Any other result is a draw.

THE WAGES OF FEAR
EXPLOSIVE
GOAL 
Can two trucks loaded with volatile explosives make it through a valley full of suicidal raiders?

Both teams get 14 points to spend.  The Explosives team must purchase two specialized trucks (Size 4, Closed,  may not nitro).  Both trucks are explosive for the duration of the game!

The Explosive team starts at the start of the road, and goes first.  The Raiders start on any board edge.
Any time an explosive truck takes damage from a ram, it explodes!

Any time an explosive truck has to make a wipeout check, if any of the dice roll a 1, it explodes! (Veteran drivers may use their reroll to try to avoid a 1).

An exploding truck will do 6 dice of damage to any vehicles within 1 stick of any part of the truck (treat as a Ram). 

Yes, this could cause the other truck to explode, so keep them a safe distance apart!

If EITHER truck can make it off the end of the road intact, the Explosives team wins!

If both trucks are destroyed or captured before they can make it off the end of the road, the raiders win!



GAUNTLET
ATTACK! GOAL 
All players are Couriers who must cross  a valley of death- plagued by mutants, ambushes, and worse!    Couriers start at the start of the road with 4 points of vehicles, plus one additional free Nitro.  Couriers may not attack each other.

Place a road card EVERY stick, not every 2 sticks.  Cover the entire road with cards this way before starting!  Cards should NOT be revealed until they are within 3 sticks of the lead car. 

Roll off to see who gets the first turn.  From then on, TURN ORDER goes by VEHICLE POSITION: The LEAD vehicle goes first, then the next vehicle, and so on.  Roll off for ties.

After each ROAD turn, each player must draw one random Gear/Crew token from their tin to represent an enemy attack.  The vehicle in the LEAD must draw TWO tokens!
Enemy ATTACK tokens:

Ambush, Gunner, Shotgun, Molotov: Place a 1 point MUTANT on the side of the road closest to your lead vehicle.   They attack your vehicle with that weapon!  Mutants can be shot, meleed or rammed- they defend with one die, and are killed if they lose. 
Spikes: Your vehicle hits spikes!
Veteran, Nitro: A 2 point enemy BUGGY with a driver will NITRO into your lead vehicle from off-road!  If you are off road, they will ram without nitro.
Driver,
Brawler: An enemy bike with a driver and a brawler will move next to your vehicle and melee!
Mechanic: Nothing- no attack.

Any mutants, bikes or buggies left on the board at the beginning of the next enemy turn are removed - they run away.
--For every enemy you destroy, you may ignore ONE attack (you may choose after drawing it).  Use Skull markers to keep track of destroyed enemies.

--Game ends when all couriers have been destroyed or have exited the valley.  To exit the valley, you must drive off the  end of the road, but can do so ONLY after the LAST road card has been placed!

--The first Courier to exit earns one point.  Each vehicle that exits earns one point.    The courier who destroyed the most points of enemies earns one point.  Whoever has the most points wins!

DERAILED RAMMING
ALL ABOARD
GOAL 
 Any number of teams must compete to take control of a powerful freight train!

Place a track down the middle of the board, and TWO roads, one on either side of the track.  Draw road cards for BOTH roads- if either one is a TUNNEL or BRIDGE result, the OTHER road is blocked off at that point as if it were offroad!

Place a train consisting of two Gondola cars and an Engine in front.  The back of the train should be 1 stick ahead of the start of the road.

Any vehicle that crosses the tracks at any time for any reason must make a WIPEOUT check.
Any vehicle hit by the front of the train is rammed by 6 dice.  The vehicle (or wreck) will then be moved 1 stick in a random direction.

Any vehicle colliding with the side of the train should be treated as BEING RAMMED by the train, with 3 dice. 

If a vehicle rammed by the train ever wins with overkill, the train is SLOWED DOWN 1 stick.

The train and its cars are indestructible, and never take wipeout checks. 
The Gondola cars are treated as OPEN and can hold any number of crew. To board a Gondola from a vehicle or another Gondola, there cannot be any opposing crew in the Gondola.  Melee and ranged combat can occur between the two Gondola cars.

The Engine is treated as CLOSED and can hold 2 crew.  It starts with 2 neutral crew members.  Crew in the engine can ONLY be attacked by crew in the front Gondola.  To take control of the engine, a crew in the front Gondola must kill all rival crew in the engine, then spend an action to board it.
Once in a Gondola, a crew may spend an action to search for supplies.  Draw a random token from your bin- if it is a Shotgun, Ambush, Molotov, or Spikes, you may keep it!

Once in control of the engine, a crew may spend an action to move the train forward one stick.  They may not move more than 1 stick forward per turn.  The engine may not use Nitro.

Whichever team can drive the train off the end of the board wins!


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