Thunder Road
Last Update: 12/3/98
Expanded Rules
Introduction
Welcome to the Thunder Road - Feel the Roar expansion rules. Our goal in this was to add some real value to the game, while keeping the game simple enough to pick up & learn quickly. Okay, that's a total lie, our goal was to have fun & goof off & play with toy cars. And boy did we ever succeed! Anyway, my friends and I have been working hard play-testing this, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Board Set-up
Each player rolls a 1d6, & the player that rolls highest chooses if he wishes to place his vehicles on the board first or go first. If he chooses to place his vehicles first, then he will go last in the turn order. If he chooses to go first, he will get last pick for vehicle placement on the board. (Turn order is the opposite of the vehicle placement order).
Place your first three vehicles on the 3 starting spots for any open color, in any order you wish. Flying vehicles may not be placed in the initial 3 starting spots. If you have less than 3 non-flying vehicles, you must fill the rear most starting spaces first. If you have more than three vehicles, place the extra ones in a square touching the back edge of the board at the beginning of your turn (before you roll the movement dice.) If all the squares along the back of the board are full, place the extra vehicles in the closest squares available to the back of the board.
Power-ups
The original game didn't have any power-ups. This was the biggest flaw in the game, at least in my eyes. So, we've added some. In order to do this, cut up some index cards into 1 inch squares, & label them on one side. The power-up section goes into great detail about how many of each to make & what each of them do. You will also need to select and label 4 places for power-ups to appear on each board. Label each power-up location 1-4. Make most of the locations offroad, or in odd locations.
Before the game begins, someone roll the road bonus die. That is the number of power-ups that appear on the 2nd board. Place the power-ups face down in the appropriately marked squares. Whenever a new board is added, roll the road die again, & place the power-ups in the appropriately marked locations.
To pick-up a power-up, the vehicle must move thru or stop in the square the power up is in. You always have the option of NOT picking up a power-up once you flip it over. However, once you equip a power-up, you may not remove it. If a vehicle picks up a power-up it is not allowed to have, the power-up remains face up in the square it started the turn in. Indicate power-ups a vehicle has by keeping the markers underneath the vehicle. (Keep them face up now, so everyone can see what each vehicle has equipped.) For mutli-use items (AKA the Flamethrower, which has 2 uses), place one power-up marker underneath the vehicle for every use it has remaining.
Rule Modifications/Revisions/Additions
The first rule is that if a power-up or special ability contradicts the basic rules, use the rules for the power-up. For example, the movement rules say you must always use your entire movement. Vehicles equipped with Pneumatic Brakes, however, have the ability to move less than their full movement.
Armor Roll: Roll below the armor value of the vehicle(+/- any bonuses). Unless stated otherwise, failure indicates a wrecked vehicle.
Drive Roll: Roll equal to or above the armor value of the vehicle (+/- any bonuses). Unless stated otherwise, failure indicates a wrecked vehicle.
Board Dump: Any time ANY vehicle reaches the forward edge of the board, & their movement would take them off the edge of the board, the back board is removed, & all units on the back board are 'dumped'. Any dumped unit(including flying units) is out of the race. Place the back board in front of the old remaining board, roll for power-ups on the new board, and replace the 'standard' wrecks. The player then finishes his movement as per normal. A vehicle which goes off the board at any location other than the forward edge of the board is considered dumped.
Vehicle types: There are two basic vehicle types: Ground based & flying vehicles. Ground based vehicles (Motorcycles, Hover-craft, Rolling & Treaded Vehicles) must move forward, in a 180o arc. Actually, it's more like a 120o arc or so, because the three squares in front of you are at an angle, but the original manual refers to it as a 180o arc, so that's what we'll use from here on. There are also special rules that let you turn these vehicle around & move it 'backwards' in a 180o arc. All flying vehicles can move any direction they want, but they may not enter the square they just left. So, a flying vehicle could effectively stay in place by moving repeatedly moving thru the same 3 squares in a triangle pattern.
The Basic Turn: Each turn consists of 2 phases, movement & attack. The movement phase is always finished before the attack phase begins.
Movement Phase: The first part of the movement phase is rolling the movement dice. Roll 1d6, plus an additional 1d6 for every vehicle you still have in play. Also roll the Road Bonus die. After the roll, choose each vehicle is assigned one die to represent it's base movement. If your vehicle is on the road, it may add in the road bonus die for movement. Then, add any movement modifiers for the vehicle to determine the vehicle's movement for the round. If for some reason, the vehicle's movement is 0 or less, the vehicle's movement for the round is one square.
Vehicle Movement = (1d6 Base Move Die) + (Road Bonus Die if onroad) +/- (Vehicle Movement Modifiers)
All vehicles are required to use all their available movement, however vehicles eligible for the Road Bonus do not have to use it. You may not move thru another vehicle's square, although you may move into it for a ramming/shoving attempt. No more than 2 land vehicles/hover-craft may occupy a square at any time, however there is no limit to the number of flying vehicles that can occupy a square.
That first turn: No vehicle may attack another on the first turn. This includes shooting, ramming, shoving, or using any special power-ups or abilities (No Nitro Boosters, Jump Jets,etc).
Road Bonus: Any non-flying which spends its entire movement on the road may use the road bonus die. If a vehicle starts on the road & goes offroad, it may use the road bonus die, but must make a Drive Roll when it enters its 1st offroad square.
Running thru wrecks: You may move thru a square occupied by a wreck. To see if you pass thru safely, Double the armor value of the wrecked vehicle (normal wrecks have an armor of 3, doubled =6). That's the value you have to beat (not tie). Roll 1d6 and add it to your armor value. Note a 1 on a 1d6 automatically fails, and a 6 automatically succeeds. Do this when you enter the square. If you are successful, continue your movement as normal.
Attack Phase: After you have finished moving all of your operational vehicles, it's time for your attack phase. There are two basic forms of attack: Shooting & Ramming. Any vehicle may shoot at any other vehicle. Due to the natural maneuverability of flying targets, any attempt to shoot a flying vehicle is done with a -2 penalty. Motorcycles have a similar -1 penalty to hit them. This penalty is known as a dodge bonus. To shoot a vehicle, the target must be in your normal firing arc. For most vehicles, the arc consists of the 3 squares in front of and adjacent to your vehicle. You may also shoot at a vehicle in your square. To Ram or Shove a vehicle, you must enter their square during the movement phase. Flying vehicles can ram/shove any other vehicle, but land based vehicles & hover-craft may not ram flying vehicles (although they may counter-ram/shove them.) Due to the light weigh of Motorcycles & Flying vehicles, they suffer a -2 penalty during any ram/shove encounters. Hover-craft suffer a similar -1 penalty, while treaded vehicles gain a +1 bonus. Once you have entered their square, both you and the defender roll 1d6, and add that value (& any modifiers) to the armor value of the vehicle. If the attacker wins, the defender's vehicle is wrecked. If the defender ties or wins, then both vehicles survive. The defender now has the option to counter-ram/shove (see below).
Shooting: When attacking with a weapon(standard or special), a value of 6 on the attack die will automatically succeed, and a value of 1 will automatically fail. This does not hold true for ramming/shoving or any other rolls. In order to shoot a vehicle, they must be in your firing arc. Firing arcs differ for each of the different basic weapons. Then simply roll an attack roll. If the value on the die ties or beats their armor value, the vehicle is destroyed. If you move into their square to shoot at the vehicle and miss, they have the option of counter-ramming or shoving you. If this fails, however, the combat ends, & you may not counter-counter attack. (Unlike typical ramming/shoving contests, see below).
Counter Ramming/Shoving: If you are successfully defend a Ramming/Shoving attack, you have the option of Ramming/Shoving back (your choice as to which attack to use, it is not dependent on which you were attacked with). If you wish to attack back, treat as per normal rules, only now you are the attacker, & your opponent is the defender. Of course, if you fail in your attack, then he has the option of becoming the attacker again... and again... and again...
New Maneuvers
Stop: (Non-Flying Vehicles) Before you roll the movement dice, declare you which vehicle(s) you wish to stop. That vehicle must have brakes. Do not roll a movement die for each vehicle which is stopping. That vehicle does not move that round, but may attack normally during the attack phase.
180o: (Non-flying vehicles) The vehicle makes a 180o turn in the square it is in. This maneuver requires 2 movement points, and a successful drive roll. The vehicle must be equipped with brakes. Once the 180o has been completed, the vehicle must continue to use any remaining movement.
Quick Turn: (Non-flying vehicles) The vehicle makes a sharp U-turn. The end result is the vehicle ends up 2 squares above or below where it stared, and is now facing the opposite direction. There are 3 ways to accomplish this action. The 1st is to declare the Quick Turn before the movement dice is rolled. Remove the movement die for each vehicle doing a Quick Turn. The vehicle completes the maneuver successfully and may attack at the end of the round. The 2nd way to do a quick turn is to spend 5 movement points, and then finish up movement normally. The 3rd way is to spend 3 movement points & make a successful drive roll, and then finish up movement normally. NOTE: The vehicle doesn't teleport there, it is simply doing a U-turn. If there is an object in the way of the turn, the vehicle must make whatever rolls are necessary to get thru it (or not do a Quick Turn altogether if the object is another running vehicle.)
Charge: (Flying Vehicles only) The vehicle devotes its entire turn to moving forward, very fast. It may not attack or pick up bonus items that round. Choose two movement dice & use both of them to determine the vehicle's movement that round. The vehicle must move in a straight line. Charging must be declared before the movement dice are rolled. Because charging uses the only extra movement die, only one vehicle per team may charge each round.
Shoving: Similar to Ramming, only the purpose of shoving is to push your opponent out of the way. The attacker gets a +1 bonus to succeed in a Shoving attempt. If successful, the defender is shoved into any of the 3 adjacent squares in front of the vehicle (attacker's choice). If the defender is shoved into an offroad square, he must make a drive roll. If he is shoved into a wreck, he must ram thru it as per normal ramming rules. If he is shoved into another vehicle, he must ramming/shove (his choice) the new vehicle. Resolve all these effects before continuing on with the active player's turn. The defender may choose not to defend, and automatically be shoved.
Power-ups
The number in parenthesis indicates how many cards to make for each power-up. If there are two numbers in parenthesis, the 1st number is how many to put in the power-up deck, the rest are to serve as markers for the multi-use power-ups. Unless stated otherwise, bonuses do not combine. AKA: Rockets & Larger Caliber Weaponry does not give you Rockets with +1 damage, they give you normal rockets and +1 damage to your standard attack. When determining firing arcs for special weapons, vehicles without weapons or with hand weaponry may assume that their "normal firing arc" consists of the square the vehicle occupies, as well as the square directly in front of them.
(1)Extra Vehicle: At the end of any your attack phase, choose any vehicle in your destroyed pile and place it on the course in any square adjacent to the crack between the 1st and 2nd board. If you have no destroyed vehicles, you may use any of the standard starting vehicles that come with the game (Doom Buggy, Avenger, Eliminator, or Thunder Chopper). Vehicles replaced in this way lose any power-ups they picked up during the game.
(1*)Ice Beam (1-shot): Target vehicle is frozen (automatic). Target must be in attacker's normal firing range. Frozen vehicles may not move or attack. Flying vehicles frozen are destroyed instantly. Each round, the vehicle owner rolls an Armor check before rolling his movement dice. If successful, the vehicle has unfrozen & may move normally. Do not roll a movement die for frozen vehicles. *Don't forget to make a few frozen vehicle markers to indicate disabled vehicles.
(2)Rocket (1-shot): May attack any vehicle within 6 hexes. The target must be within the vehicle's normal firing arc, and the attack must have a clear line of sight to his target. (Use a ruler or other straight object, if there is another vehicle or wreck in the way, then you don't have a clear line of sight.)
(2)Heat-Sinker(1-shot): Works just like a Rocket, only the range is 3 hexes, you don't require line of sight, and the target doesn't have to be in your normal firing arc. Hmm... come to think of it, I guess it doesn't work at all like a Rocket, does it? =)
(2,4)Flamethrower(2-shots): Hits all three adjacent squares in front of a vehicle, as well as the square the vehicle occupies. Works just like "Basic Vehicle Weaponry", except that it hits all targets in these four squares (except for the attacker). Because the Flamethrower is an area-effect weapon, any vehicles attacked by the Flamethrower do not gain their dodge bonus (Flyers, Motorcycles, etc.)
(2)Mercurium Armor Coating: +1 Armor, -1 to Drive Rolls (Drive roll stays the same)
(3)Larger Caliber Weaponry: +1 Damage to your Standard Weapon
(2)Anti-Air Artillery: You may shoot any airborne target in your normal firing arc. The target receives no dodge bonus. In fact, you man shoot at any vehicle, and they don't get their dodge bonus (Flyers, Motorcycles, etc.)
(2,4)Nitrous Booster(2-uses): At any time during your movement phase, you may add the road bonus die to your vehicle's movement. (Pick it up and roll it again.) This is in addition to any other movement bonuses the vehicle is already using. If the vehicle is non-flying, it must make a drive roll to use this ability when offroad.
(2)Jump Jets(Non-Flyers only): You may jump over one hex. Each vehicle equipped with jump jets may only jump once per round. This may be used to avoid wrecks or to ram flying units. If your vehicle does not land on the road, you must make a drive roll. If you wish to Ram (or shove) a flying unit, you must jump thru the square they are in. (You must have enough movement to move thru their square). Move all your other vehicles first. Move the attacking vehicle into the square of the flying vehicle & declare your attack (don't forget how much movement the vehicle has left.) If the attack is successful, finish that vehicles movement. If the attack is unsuccessful, the flying vehicle has one chance to counter-ram/attack. That ends the combat. (You may not counter-counter attack). If both attacks fail, continue moving your vehicle as per above. Resolve wrecks/shoves per normal.
(2*)Large Sharp Object(1-shot): Place directly behind your vehicle. Any ground based vehicle moving thru or in the square must make a drive roll. Vehicles which are in the square when the L.S.O. are put down wait until their next movement phase before making their drove roll(s). Hovercraft & Treaded vehicles get a -2 bonus to this drive roll. Failure indicates the driver failed to dodge the sharp object and now has a flat tire (or similar for treaded vehicles & hover-craft. Failing the 1st drive roll does not auto-wreck the vehicle Vehicles failing the 1st drive roll must now make a second drive roll. Failure indicates the driver lost control & wrecked the vehicle. Success indicates he brought it to a safe stop, & now must attempt to fix his vehicle. Vehicles disabled in this way may not move or attack until repaired. Every round before your movement phase, make a drive roll to repair the vehicle. Success indicates the vehicle is ready to go, & may move and attack normally that round. Do not roll a movement die for disabled vehicles. *Don't forget to make a 'flat tire' vehicle markers to indicate disabled vehicles.
(1)Bomb: It's a trap bud. Make an armor roll.