Thunderbolt Apache Leader: Expansion #2 – Air Assault!
Thunderbolt Apache Leader: Expansion #2 – Air Assault! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
To add these components to your Thunderbolt-Apache Leader game, add the cards to each of their core game decks, and the counters to their core game counter pools.
New Aircraft Notations
"Negate Attacks as..." – These expansion Aircraft were not part of the core game, and are not listed on the enemy attack Hit counters. Use the noted core game Aircraft type to negate enemy attacks.
Example: A UH-60 notes, "Negate Attacks as AH-1". The UH-60 ignores hit counters with the AH-1 notation.
If an Aircraft does not have a "Negate Attacks as..." notation on its card, it does not have this ability.
"Transport..." – These expansion aircraft have the ability to transport Air Assault soldiers and cargo. The Transport value notes the maximum number of Weight Points of Cargo or Air Assault soldiers you can load on to the Aircraft.
"Pylon" Damage, and other effects that reduce Weight Points mid-Mission do not reduce Transport points.
Cargo: Each Day, instead of assigning the Aircraft to a Mission, you may have it fly a Mission to deliver supplies to your squadron. Ignore the Special Condition and do not draw Mission Event cards for this Mission. Gain 1 SO Point during the Gain Special Option Points step for each 5 points of Transport, or portion thereof. Assign a Pilot to the Mission as normal. The Pilot suffers 0 Stress from flying the Cargo Mission, and subtract their Cool from their Stress during the Record Pilot Stress step as normal.
Example: An Aircraft has Transport 2 and you assign it to deliver supplies. You gain 1 SO Point. The Pilot has 1 Cool. Reduce the Pilot's Stress by 1 during the Record Pilot Stress step.
Air Assault: You can load the Aircraft with up to the noted number of Air Assault soldier Weight Points. These Weight Points count against the Aircraft's normal Weight Points of Ordnance.
Example: An Aircraft has a Weight Point limit of 8 and a Transport limit of 6. You load 3 WPs of Air Assault soldiers on to the Aircraft, it can only carry 5 WPs of Ordnance.
"Speed..." – The Aircraft's minimum and maximum Speed.
The MQ-9 and MQ-1C can fly at High Altitude without drawing Pop-Up counters.
New Weapons and Notations
"Cannon" – Treat these Weapon counters as being the Aircraft's Cannon, rather than a Weapon counter. Limit 1 Cannon counter per Aircraft. Aircraft with a built-in Cannon cannot arm Cannon counters. Cannon counters cannot be discarded to pay for Event card penalties. Cannon counters with a "x2" notation may still only attack a single target.
M134: A 7.62mm minigun. The "M134 x2" represents a pair of M134 miniguns. If an Aircraft is allowed to arm the M134, it is allowed to arm the M134 x2.
(The rules show the M134 and M134 x2 counters here.)
GAU-19: A .50 caliber machine gun. The "GAU-19 x2" represents a pair of GAU-19 machine guns. If an Aircraft is allowed to arm the GAU-19, it is allowed to arm the GAU-19 x2.
(The rules show the GAU-19 and GAU-19 x2 counters here.)
Air Assault Battalions
Air Assault missions simulate sensitive missions when a high-value objective must be secured with ground forces. This includes eyes-on elimination missions, as well as various recovery and rescue missions.
Air Assault missions are so noted in their card titles.
(The rules show the example card "[Air Assault] ALLIED VIP", reading: "[Same Hex: 1 VIP, 3 Infantry, 2 Buildings. Rescue VIP] 1 AAA & 1 AAA Site; 1 SAM & 2 Trucks. Gain 3 SO. Enemy Transit. +1 Loiter turn. Fixed. Success: Subtract 3 Stress from each Participating Pilot." The card's battalion VP value is 3.)
Shuffle the Air Assault cards into your Special Condition deck. When you draw an Air Assault card, you immediately gain the benefit noted in white text shown first on the card (if present).
Example: When you draw the card above, you immediately gain 3 Special Option points.
When you draw an Air Assault Special Condition card, you fly the Mission like a normal Mission for the Day. When you draw an Air Assault card, if you fail to complete the Mission that Day, you lose VPs equal to the Battalion's VP. If you successfully complete the Mission that Day, you gain the noted VP as normal, and the Success bonus.
Example: In the card above, if you fail to Rescue the VIP, you lose 3 VPs. If you successfully complete the Mission, you gain 3 VPs as normal, and also subtract 3 Stress from each Pilot that participated in the Mission.
Treat Air Assault missions as standard missions with the following exceptions:
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May only be completed using Air Assault soldiers.
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Air Assault soldiers use the same WP cost, Ordnance cost, Attack, and Attack range values as other Ordnance counters. Air Assault soldiers are noted with an "AA" (Air Assault) on the counters. If a game instruction requires the loss of Ordnance from an Aircraft, you cannot discard Air Assault soldiers, unless the instruction notes that you can.
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The Objective of each Air Assault Mission is noted with a Mission type within the Same Hex notation.
Example: "Rescue VIP"
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Air Assault Objectives are noted with an "AA" on the counters.
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"Same Hex" notation: Place the Objective counter and all the noted types of enemy counters in the same random hex. After placing the Same Hex counters, randomly place all the other enemy counters as normal.
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Before you can attack or complete the Objective counter, you must Destroy all the other enemy counters in the Objective's hex. Enemies that are listed in the "Same Hex" notation may only be Destroyed by Air Assault soldiers. If any "Same Hex" enemies are Destroyed by non-Air Assault soldier attacks, the mission fails.
Example: "Same Hex: Cmdr and Infantry", "[8/Capture Cmdr]". You place the Cmdr and all Infantry counters in the same random hex. You must Destroy all the enemy counters in the hex before you can attempt to Capture the Commander (Cmdr). The Infantry counters must be Destroyed by Air Assault soldier attacks.
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Enemy counters that were randomly placed in the Objective's hex may be Destroyed by Air Assault soldiers or Aircraft attacks.
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Aircraft may not start the mission in a hex with an Objective.
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Discard the Mission at the end of the Day. Do not add it to the Sector Map.
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Objective Keywords:
Eliminate – Perform a successful attack with an Air Assault soldier.
Rescue – Have a Deployed Medic Air Assault soldier in the hex.
Retrieve – Have a Deployed Specialist Air Assault soldier in the hex.
Capture – Have a Deployed Riflemen in the hex that has not yet attacked this turn.
Example: You are running a mission against a "Capture" Objective. After Destroying all the other enemy counters in the hex, you must have a Riflemen that has not yet attacked this turn.
- For all Objective types, if you complete the Objective and do not Transport the surviving Air Assault soldiers and Objective counter back to base, the mission fails.
Performing an Air Assault Mission
Perform an Air Assault mission as a normal mission with the following exceptions:
- During the Arm Aircraft step, load one or more Air Assault soldier counters on to Aircraft with Transport capability. Pay their WP and Ordnance costs as normal.
Deploy
To Deploy Air Assault soldiers into a hex, the Aircraft must be at Low Altitude and in a Hover (center of the hex). Move the Air Assault soldier counters from the Aircraft to the hex during the Aircraft's Altitude Move/Attack step. Soldiers can Deploy the same turn the Aircraft Moved and adjusted Altitude. An Aircraft may Attack as normal the Turn it Deploys Air Assault soldiers.
Air Assault Soldier Attacks
Air Assault soldiers perform Attacks after all Slow Aircraft have acted.
Air Assault soldiers perform Attacks using the normal Attack rules. Declare and resolve each Attack before declaring the next.
Movement
Air Assault soldiers cannot move out of their hex.
Extract
To Extract Air Assault soldiers from a hex, the Aircraft must be at Low Altitude and in a Hover (center of the hex). Move the Air Assault soldier and Objective counters from the hex to the Aircraft before the start of the Fast Aircraft's Altitude Move/Attack step. An Aircraft may Attack as normal the Turn it Extracts Air Assault soldiers.
Enemy Attacks
Place the Ground Forces Hit counters in a cup at the start of the Campaign.
Enemy counters treat Air Assault soldiers as normal player-controlled units when randomly selecting a target. Enemy counters do not target Air Assault Objective counters.
Draw 1 Ground Forces Hit counter for each enemy counter in the Objective's hex when attacking an Air Assault soldier. An enemy counter cannot attack an Air Assault soldier when it is in a different hex.
Each Ground Forces Hit counter will result in a No Effect, 1 Hit or 2 Hits. Replace each counter into the cup before drawing for the next.
(The rules show the "1 Hit" Ground Forces Hit counter here, and Riflemen and Specialist Air Assault counters, with the Riflemen counter's front and back sides shown.)
The first Hit flips an Air Assault counter to its back side. A second Hit eliminates the counter.
Some Air Assault counters only have a front side, and are eliminated if they suffer 1 Hit.
If the Aircraft Transporting Air Assault soldiers is Destroyed, the Air Assault soldier and Objective counters it is Transporting are also Destroyed.
Friendly Fire
If you perform an attack with a Hex Attack munition (such as a Mk.20) in the same hex as Air Assault soldiers, roll attacks against the Air Assault soldiers and Objective as if they were enemy counters. However, instead of adding the Pilot's Skill to the Attack rolls against Air Assault soldiers and Objective, subtract their Skill from those Attack rolls.
Example: A Pilot with +2 Skill drops a Mk.20 in a hex with enemy counters and Air Assault counters. Add 2 to the Attack rolls against the enemy counters, and subtract 2 from the Attack rolls against Air Assault soldiers and Objective.
Lose 1 VP for each Air Assault soldier eliminated by a Friendly Fire attack.
Pilot XP
Pilots gain XP as normal.
Non-Air Assault Missions
You may also use Air Assault Soldiers as part of regular Missions.