Still trying to get my head around Settlement mode (which seems to me the best part of this excellent game!), and I had a few questions.
Are the cards in Settlement mode intended to be limiters on actual availability of equipment? For instance, only one unit can ever be equipped with Las Pistols or Boards at a time? Or, if I have a card available, can I use that card to equip multiple units? And if I am holding a specific item card, does this mean I cannot ever find another? What if multiple players are involved - does each have their own item deck, or do they share a single deck? Can I customise my item deck to remove items I never want? Can I use TWO sets of item cards, to increase the supply of items?
Also, does the default equipment, from AI cards, prevent other units from using that equipment? For instance, if I am using Brotherhood, and field Aspirant Goddard, does this prevent me from equipping anyone else with T-60?
Iâd say do whatever works best for you and your group. I think the intent is to set up a single deck for the game, but so long as your partner is ok with it, I wouldnât see any problem with doing your own decks.
For myself, Iâm working on a set of smaller decks by theme. (Nuka Cola deck, junk deck, medical deck, etc) And intend to roll for items. Iâll use that for single player play at the very least, and if the people interested in playing the game with me would like to, then we can use the same with them.
And Iâm pretty sure that unless an item is labeled as âUniqueâ youâre welcome to equip it to as many characters as you would like.
Hi YogoZuno. You are right that the cards in your deck determine what you can find out in the Wasteland when using your Settlement. The cards are not intended to be a limited resource so you can print more, and the PDFs of all the cards with caps values are available in the Fallout: Wasteland Warfare Downloads section on the Modiphius web site.
However, the number of cards found during using your settlement are limited. For example, if you draw 1 Laser Pistol card then you only have 1 Laser Pistol card with which to equip a Unit whether that Unit comprises of a single or multiple model(s).
The default method is to use all the cards you have and place these in the draw decks for when using your Settlement; however, the aim was also to allow players to create the world they wanted, so you can choose which cards you place in draw decks for when using your Settlement, i.e. you may decide you are in an area rich in weapons but little junk and tailor your draw deck accordingly. (Similar to what Gatekeeper said they do.) Settlement mode is a personal option players can choose to use, but if you play multiple games against the same opponent and are both using Settlement mode then you should use the same decks or agree on some structure. (Players could just put in only the cards they want to draw but then they would only be cheating themselves, and players can just not use Settlement Mode if they want to specify exactly what cards they equip rather than draw cards at random.)
With regards AI, use your settlement as usual and then, if any of the cards for the AIâs standard equipment are already in use by your models, just assume the AI has their standard equipment and use your card as reference. In the example you give, you equip one of your models with the T-60 and then Aspirant Goddard is also wearing T-60 but the card for it is assumed. (You could also print duplicates of cards too.)
Just to confirm my understanding, it looks like the design intent is that the single physical card can generally only be assigned voluntarily to one unit in Settlement mode. Default equipment from an AI card does not interfere with this.
No offense GateKeeper, but that response didnât really help a lot. Any group playing any game can do whatever they want all the time. Generally, when asking this sort of question in a gameâs official forum, the asker is looking for designer intent rather than permission to just houserule it.
Which means you can never have multiple units using the same piece of gear in Settlement mode, except for what they have on their AI cards. Which is fine, but good to know - canât bank on having different units with the same equipment.
If youâve found multiple copies of the same gear (and had enough maintenance sheds and stores to keep them/send them on the mission) you could have each unit equipped with the same weapon. You can always print off more of the item cards from the download page if you want increase the chance of finding them. For narrative reasons you could say that the increased amount of that weapon was due to your settlement being near an old Army base or something like that
Sure, again, you can do whatever you like in the privacy of your own homeâŚbut with the standard set of cards included in the starter box, you have exactly one copy of each card. If you keep one of those cards to equip it to someone during the Settlement process, itâs no longer in the item deck, and you canât possibly find a second one. That seems to be a deliberate design decision. For the same reasons, if you are using the cards during a non-Settlement game, and donât have extra copies, you wonât be able to find any weapons you already have equipped if you manage to draw an item from a Searchable.
I would take that therefore to mean that the reason for there only being one of each card is simply because of production costs, and is not at all intended as a limit on what you can have equipped and be able to find in the wasteland
Yes, you need a seperate card everytime an item is assigned to another figure.
That seems to say they ARE a limited resource. Even if I CAN print more, Modiphius-James also said -
(Players could just put in only the cards they want to draw but then they would only be cheating themselves, and players can just not use Settlement Mode if they want to specify exactly what cards they equip rather than draw cards at random.)
Which seems to indicate you shouldnât customise the deck, which infers you use one copy of each card only. I mean, even if there werenât printable PDFs available, I could create my own cards, or even just create a table with all of the cards listed, and use dice or other random number generators to randomly select a table entry. In those cases, though, I could potentially generate multiple copies of one single card, which you canât do with a deck of cards.
Slightly different question on the same topic. The first game in a settlement campaign (so before youâre really set up your settlement, and are just starting). What are the limitations on the force you first field? (random draw of equipment, or pick what you want and then only get to keep what you can store?)
I assumed that Steveâs comment was just to refer to how many of the item you had actually found in the wasteland. Ie, if you found a laser rifle card, it represents one laser rifle you can give to a single model (and you couldnât use it to equip a unit of multiple models with laser rifles).
As for Jameâs comment, I took that to mean that thereâs no point only putting in cards you want to equip your units with (as you may as well play Battle or Narrative mode), but that doesnât mean you shouldnât customise the deck? Part of the reason for settlement mode is to roleplay after all, so it makes sense to put in cards that would fit the area that theyâre being found in.
As an example, lets say I have Nora equipped with a laser rifle, exploring an abandoned military base (a location where a laser rifle might feasibly be found). The fact that she happens to already have a laser rifle wouldnât change whether or not the army left any behind 200 years ago, so Iâll print off an extra laser rifle card and include it in the deck among other items (which will be a combination of what I believe to be generic and location appropriate cards, not items that Iâm wanting to find and equip my force with).
Thatâs how Iâve interpreted the rules anyway, and I personally feel itâs what best fits from a roleplaying perspective (and many aspects of the rules have been designed to be flexible and allow players to have roleplay if they wish). Thereâs nothing forcing you to roleplay things like that though, and you can keep things strictly randomised if thatâs what you prefer
Ie, if you found a laser rifle card, it represents one laser rifle you can give to a single model (and you couldnât use it to equip a unit of multiple models with laser rifles).
No, thatâs incorrect as well. On the bottom right of p24 of the Campaign book, under âCreating a Force and Settlementsâ it says
âŚthe player may equip units with any of the Item cards they selected from their pool during Step 3. The number of models in the unit does not matter (although the value of the items must still be calculated for each modelâŚ
Modiphius seems pretty laid back and relaxed when it comes to this ruleset (they might be with them all, this is the only one I have experience with). They pretty much let you do what you want, which is fine. Until you hit a tournament or you have a local ârules lawyerâ at which point these rules are going to get combed thru and youâll get a lot of ugly armies popping up. But unless youâve run into the âRules Lawyerâ type most people tend not to look at rules the way they do. Iâve brought up issues with lists and the reply was to pretty much do what I wanted to enjoy the game. You may just have to accept that until they come out with some sort of Tournament style rule set that there will be holes in the army creation procedures.
Dude, Iâm not trying to tell you how you have to play the game, I was just trying to help out by saying how I personally choose to do it. While Iâm glad that itâs not a traditional pen & paper RPG (as fun as those are, I wouldnât realistically be able to get a group together for it), I do like adding in roleplaying elements where I can, and from a roleplaying perspective it makes more sense to me that finding one of an item means I only have one of that item. Iâm not trying to use the rules to make the most powerful army I can, I just want to have a bit of fun with a force that feels thematic.
Itâs a game at the end of the day, neither of us are wrong as long as weâre enjoying ourselves
You did say this was how you interpreted the rules, and I was saying I donât believe your interpretation is the correct or intended one.
Sure, rule zero is assumed, but having a rule zero doesnât mean you canât have rules that work, or have a method the author intended to be used. And as my English teachers always used to say about poetic licence, you canât break the rules unless you understand them. Iâm trying to understand what the authors meant. People telling me their house rules doesnât really help much with that.
Which is cool, and I do like the rules set overall. I really love some of the elements - my fave so far is the rule from the General Atomics Facility scenario for the Supermutants to figure out that the terminals are the objectives of the hoomies. That is one of the most flavourful mechanic I have ever seen in a tabletop game.
Rules Lawyer isnât always a dirty word. I like to play most rules sets as much by the Rules as Written as possible, to cut down on potential arguments when playing against strangers. Itâs so much easier if you can show WHY you play a particular way.
Of course thereâs nothing wrong with disagreeing with me, but putting down my interpretations like that seems a little harsh? I was just trying to help think of possible explanations to your queries, and other ways the authors may have intended rules to be taken. I apologise if my comments have been un-useful or annoying somehow
