WARLORD RULEBOOK

The first Global War surprised no-one, it had been on the cards for years and, like many others, your nation had prepared secure underground bunkers to ensure the survival of the chosen few. Unfortunately the debates as to who exactly the few should be grew a little heated... especially when the bombs started dropping. In the end, ruthlessness and superior firepower were the deciding factors. After a brief, but extremely bloody battle, Colonel "Iron Jaw" Stevens declared himself 1st Supreme Commander of Bunker One, a title later shortened to WARLORD, and now inherited by your good(?) self.

These rules are for Warlord at Tech. Level One. As your empire advances in technology, further information sheets will be supplied with your printout giving details of extra orders, further unit types, and more violent and deadly weaponry.

To take control a sector, all you have to do is move one of your divisions through the sector. The only exceptions are sea sectors or sectors belonging to an ally. In addition, at the end of your turn, uncontrolled sectors which are adjacent to at least five other sectors already controlled by you, become part of your empire.

Sectors under your control are shown on the strategic map as light shading (dark shading is enemy territory). Tactical maps show sectors earning you income as dark shading, with light shading for sectors which you own but as of yet provide no income.

A region is a group of sectors which have lines of supply to the same city (or cities). If two or more regions are ever linked, they will become a single region.

Each city has three production centres, each of which can be used to build new units for your armed forces. Everything which is built costs a number of PPs and also takes a number of turns to build. If you do not have all the PPs needed to build the unit of your choice available at the start of the turn, the centre will lay idle until you do. New units arrive at the end of a turn, ready for use the following turn.

Production can be cancelled before completion but any PPs spent will be wasted. An order to construct following a cancel order will use the centre where production was cancelled.

Each type of unit which you can build has an ID number. This is used in the order to specify which type of unit you wish to build at your city. Ships can only be built at coastal cities.

You can also use the construct order to improve city defences. The defence level will increase by one for each construction centre used. The PP cost is five times the current defence level. For example to increase defence level from two to three would require one centre and ten PPs.

A city with a defence level of zero costs no PPs but a production centre is still required. The maximum defence level is nine.

For example C 23 1 Start building infantry in city 23.

C 23 18 Start building fighters.

C 23 21 Build one defence level.

C 23 36 Halt production at centres 2 and 3.

These are divided into three main army types, the Corps, Division, and the Regiment. A corps is two or more divisions located in the same sector. There is no restriction on the type or number of divisions which can be in a corps. While together they fight and defend as a single force.

A division has between 1 to 45 regiments all of which will be the same unit type (ID number). It will be shown as the number of the division, the skill level, ID type and number of regiments.

Regiments are how the cities produce land forces. Initially, you will be able to build five types of regiments: infantry, engineer, tank, truck, and artillery. They will appear at the end of the turn in the city and will join any division with their ID type as long as the size of the resulting division does not exceed 45. If it does, or there are no suitable divisions for it to join, it will form a new division.

Corps = 2 or more divisions; Division = 1 - 45 regiments; Regiment = unit built at city.

Infantry (ID 1) The least expensive unit to build. Infantry is composed of lightly armed men with no transportation.

Engineer (ID 2) Specially trained squads equipped with motorised construction equipment. They have few weapons and minimal combat ability.

Tank (ID 3) Tracked vehicles with heavy armour and heavier weaponry. Capable of rapid movement in minor terrain but unsuitable for use in forest, mountain or swamp.

Truck (ID 4) Designed solely to provide rapid movement for infantry units. Each truck unit can move one infantry unit at a speed of six.

Artillery (ID 5) High calibre weaponry, similar to tank, but poorly armoured. Also includes anti- aircraft weaponry.

There are also three types of sea force: the fleet, flotilla, and ship. The fleet is two or more flotillas in the same sea sector. Again, they will fight and defend as a single unit, and can contain any mix of sea vessels.

Flotillas have 1 to 45 all of the same type of ship. It will be shown as the number of the flotilla and quantity of ships.

Ships are the unit which is produced and like regiments will enter a flotilla if one is available at the city or will form a new one. The ship types which you can build at tech. level one are destroyer, cruiser, battleship, transport and submarine. As your technology grows, further unit types will become available.

Fleet = 2 or more Flotillas; Flotilla = 1 - 45 of the same type of ships; Ships = built at cities

Destroyer (ID 10) The smallest warship. Fast moving but lightly armed. They are able to detect the presence of enemy submarines and prevent surprise attacks.

Cruiser (ID 11) A mid sized warship. Slower than a destroyer but more powerful.

Battleship (ID 12) The most powerful ship available. Moves at the same speed as a cruiser but better armoured and with more powerful guns.

Transport (ID 13) Cargo vessels capable of carrying all kinds of land unit. They have poor combat abilities and should be provided with an escort if moving in enemy waters.

Submarines (ID 14) Underwater vessels able to move undetected by most other ship types, giving them the advantage of surprise in most situations.

There are just two types of aircraft, fighters and bombers. Every city is equipped with an airbase which can hold any number of bombers or fighters. Once a plane has been built it will automatically be flown to the city's airbase ready for operations on the following turn.

Fighters (ID 18) Small, fast and manoeuvrable with light weaponry. Used mainly in air combat or observation but can be used to attack ground forces too.

Bombers (ID 19) Large aircraft with long range and a large payload, usually used for carrying heavy bombs. They can also be used to airlift land units of all kinds. Their lack of manoeuvrability makes them vulnerable to fighter attack.

An army which could not move would be of little use to anyone. The speed of a division is determined by the terrain it is moving through and the type of regiment which is in it. Each division has a set number of movement points which are spent whenever it moves into a new sector. The number spent is determined by the terrain type.

The movement points available for each type of unit are shown below.

As you would expect, terrain affects different types of units differently. Armoured divisions have difficulty with marsh and find mountainous terrain impossible to cross. On the table opposite, use the INF column for the movement costs of infantry and engineer divisions and ARM for all other land forces. Imp means that this terrain is impassable for this type of division.

The movement cost for water is one point but only naval units can enter these sectors, likewise, naval units can not move overland for equally obvious reasons.

A division which has been ordered to move will do so until its move orders are complete, it runs out of movement points, its route is blocked by impassable terrain, or it is forced to retreat during combat.

Each turn is divided into six movement phases. During a phase, all the units of one player may move, then the units of another player until all players' units have moved. The player sequence is randomly determined for each phase. Your units always move in numerical order; unit one moves first, followed by units two, three, four, etc. Each unit may move just one sector per phase, unless a division gets on a ship, and the ship then moves.

The Advance order will move a division towards a particular sector or in a certain direction. It will move each turn towards its objective until it reaches it, is blocked, or is issued with new orders. Where possible it will attempt to steer around impassable terrain to reach its objective. To move towards a sector write that sector in the order. To move in a direction write the direction code as shown opposite.

For Example A 12 12387 Unit 12 advances towards sector 12387.

A 10221 2 Units at 10221 advance in direction 2.

This will order a division to follow a specific route which it will do unless it runs out of movement points or is blocked. Units with this order will not steer around impassable terrain. It is possible to specify which movement phases your force will travel in by using a zero for the phases you wish to pause in. Use direction codes to show your desired route.

For Example M 3 122 Move unit 3 north, northeast and northeast again.

M 03454 0011 Units at sector 03454 pause for two movement phases then move north and north again.

If you specify a location instead of a division as the target of the A or M order, all units at the location will move together UNLESS they have been given separate orders, or they are on transports. Orders to a single unit take preference over orders to a location.

If movement orders are given to a location containing infantry and truck divisions, with at least one truck regiment per infantry regiment, then the truck and infantry will move together with a speed of six using the ARM movement column.

A division with at least one movement point may move into a sector even if the sector cost exceeds the units remaining movement points. For example, an infantry division with just one MP remaining could enter a mountain sector. Of course, divisions still can not enter impassable terrain types.

Land divisions of all kinds may be moved across water using transport flotillas. The transports must first be moved next to land, then if land units are ordered to move into the sea sector containing the transport they will board them. The transports will then carry these units with them wherever they go. Once the transports are next to the desired landing point, an order to the units on board will disembark them. You can not land directly into a city which you do not own.

The number of regiments which may be carried by a transport flotilla depends on the type of regiments being carried and the number of ships. Each transport may carry thirty Size Points. The size of the different regiments are shown in the box opposite.

Fighters can travel 30 sectors and bombers 50. On most missions aircraft must return to their airbase after the mission, giving operational ranges of 15 and 25 sectors at tech level one.

Combat is a regular occurrence in Warlord. At the end of each movement phase a check is made to see if there are any units in the same sector as enemy cities or units; if so then combat occurs.

Each battle lasts for up to three combat rounds. If at the end of any combat round, the attacker's combat strength is three times greater than the defender's, then the defender must retreat. If retreat is not possible due to terrain type or no retreat sectors without enemies are present then the units are wiped out. Combat may also end as a result of either side being destroyed.

If the attacker fails to dislodge or destroy the defender, the attacker must retreat to the sector occupied before combat started. Any unit forced to retreat loses any remaining MPs and can not move again that turn unless forced into a second retreat.

Combat casualties are always complete regiments or ships. A division or flotilla which is reduced to zero regiments or ships is destroyed.

Each division has an attack and defence value. The attack value is an indication of how much damage it can do, similarly, defence value shows how much damage a unit can receive before being destroyed. In addition to attack and defence values, combat is also affected by terrain type, a division's experience and the presence of generals.

A division which destroys or forces an enemy to retreat gains an experience rank. Each rank adds a 10% bonus to the divisions attack strength. All divisions start as Novice and advance to Seasoned, Veteran, and finally Elite.

To attack a city you must first defeat all enemy divisions in the city sector and then, if successful, the surviving force will attack the city itself. The attack will last for up to three combat rounds, during which you must reduce the city defence level to zero. If it has not been reduced to zero the attack has failed and surviving units must retreat.

Air combat is calculated in the same way as ordinary combat but does not usually occur during movement. Combat resulting from bombing missions occurs before movement while combat from observation orders occurs after movement. The only time air combat occurs in movement is when fighters on watch find enemy units entering their airbase sector.

The leaders of your armed forces are your generals. They are totally loyal to your cause. Used wisely they can be a valuable source of information as for each general under your command you receive a tactical map showing terrain and all forces in an area seven sectors square. At tech level one, you have two generals.

All generals begin with a skill level of zero but this can quickly increase. If your forces have a battle and you have a general in range (three sectors) the general's skill will increase by one. Each general in range gains skill, up to a maximum of five points per turn. The maximum skill level is 100.

Whenever a battle occurs within range of a general (three sectors), the general's skill level will be added as a percentage to his sides combat strength. For example, a general with a skill of ten would increase the combat strength of his troops by ten percent. A general's combat bonus can be applied to any number of combats as long as they occur within range. If a player has two or more generals within range, the general with the highest skill will take charge and only he will contribute to the skill increase.

If a general is with a division which gets destroyed, he is presumed "lost in action" and will be replaced by a new one, with skill zero, at your home city. If you no longer control your home city, then at the lowest numbered one.

A general may be moved to any of your units using the P order.

For Example P 2 34 Assign general 2 to unit 34.

When you give your airforce an order, the closest airbases with planes available will automatically be selected to complete the mission. There is no need to specify which planes you will use.

This will provide an observation report on an area measuring seven sectors square centred on the sector specified. If two or more fighters are sent they will attack the first enemy unit found in their search area. The report will appear on your strategic map. Observation orders occur after movement. Note: Your map may drop off in size if you don't issue repeated 'O' orders.

For Example O 5 20120 Send 5 fighters to recon sector 20120.

Your bombers will attempt to destroy any enemy forces in the target sector. If fighters are available (and the target is in fighter range), up to the specified number of fighters will be sent to protect them against enemy aircraft or ground forces. Bombing missions occur before movement.

For Example B 5 10011 Up to 5 bombers (and 5 fighters if in range) will bomb sector 10011.

Bombers can be used to move divisions from one airbase to another. One bomber squadron is required for each size point of the unit. The bombers do not return to their home base but stay at the destination base so they have a range of 50 for this order. Divisions can only be airlifted to and from airbases you own.

For Example V 2 23 Airlift division 2 to airbase 23.

V 22211 45 Airlift all units at 22211 to airbase 45.

This order transfers aircraft between airbase one and airbase two. You must own both airbases. As the aircraft only travel one way fighters have a range of 30 and bombers 50. This is a standing order which means that each turn, if the specified number of aircraft are available, they will be transferred until the order is cancelled. A maximum of nine fighters and nine bombers may be transferred each turn.

For Example F 123 32 23 Fly 2 fighters and 3 bombers from airbase 123 to airbase 32 each turn.

F 123 0 0 Cancel transfer order at airbase 123.

If you wish, you can set a number of fighters as a defence force to protect your airbase and city. Planes assigned to airbase defence can not be used on any other air missions. They will attack any enemy units or aircraft entering the sector. Any fighters not assigned to another mission will assist the air defence force.

For Example W 123 5 Keep 5 fighters on watch at airbase 123.

Fighting at sea between ships is very similar to land combat. As with regiments, each ship has an attack and defence value which is compared with the enemies to assess ship losses. After three rounds of combat, the loser will have either been destroyed or retreated.

This order is very similar to the Bomb order for planes. Your capitol ships, (destroyers, cruisers and battleships) can bombard coastal sectors with their guns. Initially, they have to be adjacent to the target sector as they have a range of just one sector. Capitol ships are not limited on the amount of times they can fire in a single turn. Capitol ship bombardments are calculated to do the same amount of damage as 1, 2 or 3 bombers respectively.

If you specify a number in the order, that number of bombers (and fighter escort) will also bomb the sector as long as they are in range and have not already have been used.

For Example B 0 12323 Bombard sector 12323 with all capitol ships in range

B 5 12323 Bombard sector 12323 with 5 bombers and all ships in range

Spies can be used to obtain a wide variety of information on other players. Any information gained is printed at the end of the normal report.

Spying on a player costs PPs, the more you spend the more information you are likely to receive back. The maximum amount of PPs you can spend on a spy order is five times your tech level so at tech level three you could spend 15 PPs per order.

The I order can also be used to perform counter espionage. This is achieved by specifying the player number as yourself. Unlike spying, counter espionage is a standing order so you will spend the same amount every turn unless you cancel it by spending 0 or by spying on someone else. This will greatly reduce the amount of information obtained by enemy spies.

I 10 3 If you're player 10, spend 3 PP per turn on counter-spying.

I 10 0 If you're player 10, stop spending on counter-spying.

In the years of isolation, much scientific and technological knowledge has been lost or forgotten. You have read about the 'old' weapons and know that if your armies could be equipped with them, this would give you a distinct edge in your battles but so far you do not know how to build them. By performing research and exploration your scientists will be able to relearn much of this information. The amount of knowledge recovered is represented by your Tech Level.

With each tech level gained you will receive a special rules update. This sheet will explain what has been learned and the order formats you need to use this new knowledge.

The progress of your research efforts will depend upon the amount of production points (PPs) you are prepared to spend. The more the better. Even if your research fails this time, it will improve the chance of success on future attempts.

You can sometimes make progress by engineers investigating old ruins or from spying on players with higher tech levels than your own.

For Example E 5 Spend 5 PPs on research.

Your engineer units are specially trained and equipped with a wide variety of engineering equipment. Although they can be used in combat it is better to use them for the purpose for which they were designed, engineering. As your tech level rises engineers can be used to undertake all manner of tasks.

If an engineering division is in a sector which contains a ruined city you can order it to spend the turn looking for remains of pre-holocaust technology and raw materials. While the division is doing this, they can not move.

For Example K 23 1 Unit 23 will investigate ruins.

You may declare up to eight allies. Your divisions will not claim territory from a player listed as an ally, and will not attack their forces or cities. IMPORTANT - Players listed as allies can still attack you!

Use the player number to declare an alliance with another empire. Alliances are not permanent. They may be cancelled by issuing a second declare order against the same player.

For Example D 24 Change status of player 24 to ally or enemy.

This order will link two or more divisions or flotillas of the same unit type, providing they are in the same sector. The new unit will take, as its division number, the lowest number from the units being combined. They can then be moved as one saving on the number of orders which need to be issued.

When units are linked, the skill ranking is taken as an average of the units which combined.

Land units on board a transport and transports with cargo can not use either of these orders. You must unload first.

For Example L 2 3 Link units 2 and 3. The new division or flotilla will be number 2

L 2 0 Link unit 2 with all others at the sector of same type.

This does the opposite of the Link order, it will split a division or flotilla into two smaller units. The number you enter as the last parameter is the number of regiments or ships which you want to split off. The number of the new unit will be the lowest available currently unused. Again, land units on board transports and transports with cargo have to unload first.

For Example S 3 2 Split 2 regiments or ships from unit 3 to form a new division or flotilla.

This is used to name your cities, airbases and generals. Choose 1 to name a city, 2 for an airbase and 3 for a general. Names can be up to 12 characters long, including spaces.

For Example N 1 1 GRAAK Change name of city 1 to GRAAK.

N 2 32 POOTON Change name of airbase 32 to POOTON.

N 3 1 SLAVER Change name of general 1 to SLAVER.

Whenever you meet other players' forces, their address will be printed on your turn sheet. You may use this to write a letter to the player directly if you wish, possibly to negotiate an alliance or swap information. In Warlord it is also possible to communicate through the game system and print a message directly on a players turn sheet using the Message Order.

At the back of the rulebook is a list of the various messages which you can send to another player. To send individual players a message use their player number but to send it to all players use 101.

Once you have picked your message, use the relevant code numbers in your order format. Where curly brackets are used you should insert the number as part of your order format, with square brackets the computer will insert the correct value for you. The @ sign prints your name and address.

For Example Y 10 151 155 117 message sent to player ten would read;

-- 20 123 310 3 Broadcast sent from player ## follows....
Greetings! What is your address. Mine is ...... Player 20
has been sending me threatening messages. Can you help
me? I have 3 Cities.

Each turn your Empire rating will be shown on your results sheet. Rating values are based upon tech level, total strength of your forces, number of cities and defence levels and your Empire's PP income. The ratings enable you to measure your progress and compare it with those of other players.

Each turn consists of three main steps;

1 - The orders for all players are input into the computer.

2 - The game is processed by the computer.

3 - The results are printed and mailed out.

Step two is the most important as this is where your orders are actually are processed. During processing the computer follows a set sequence and it is important to understand this in order to get the most from your orders. The sequence of processing is:

1) P, W, D, L, S and N orders are carried out immediately.

2) Aircraft are assigned for O, B, V and F orders.

3) Production stoppages are processed.

4) PPs are deducted for C, I and E orders.

5) B, V and F orders are processed.

6) A, M and K orders are issued to units.

7) A, M and K orders are processed.

8) C orders produce regiments, ships, aircraft and city levels.

9) E orders are processed.

10) O orders are processed.

11) Y orders are processed.

12) I orders are processed.

With the exceptions of the S and L orders, no unit may be issued with more than one order per turn. For example, you may not move an engineering division and then order it to investigate ruins.

Not sure what to do on your first turn? Try this:-

Each turn you will receive a printout showing the results of your orders. The printout is divided into several sections, each showing a different aspect of your growing empire but the most important and interesting are the various game maps.

The strategic map provides an overview of your whole position and valuable information on enemy forces and cities. Land which you control is lightly shaded with enemy land and units in dark. Forest, mountains and marsh are also shown so that you know where not to move your tanks, artillery and trucks.

Below the strategic map is a list of your generals. In our example, 1) 26149 (6) means general one is at sector 26149 and has a skill rating of 6.

The next section lists all your available forces and all cities, including enemy and unowned ones. It lists them in the following format;

Sector Unit/city number Rank Name Size Comment

In the comments section, you will be told if it is an enemy city or if the division has any special orders. These could be an advance order which is not yet completed or if on board a transport as 'In Transit'. Generals travelling with a division are shown as a * before the location.

Example 1 23926 63 GENDOR MARGE 4 Enemy 63

This says that at sector 23926 is city 63 called Gendor Marge. It has a defence level of 4 and is owned by player 63.

Example 2 23943 4 N Engineers 1

At 23943 you have the 4th Engineers, a novice division containing just one regiment.

Example 3 * 26149 3 N Infantry 14 A 26150

A general is with the 3rd Infantry division at sector 26149. It contains 14 Novice infantry regiments which have orders to advance next turn to 26150.

Under the list of your forces are any enemy or allies units which you have spotted. These are listed as location, owner and amount of regiments or ships.

For each general which you control you, you receive a 7 x 7 map around the sector where he ends the turn. These are called Tactical Maps. They provide extra detail on terrain, man-made features and show details of enemy forces in the area, even without a recon report. Different symbols show the terrain of each sector and type of unit present. If more than one type of unit is present, the largest will be shown. The rest will be shown in the list below the map.

Man-made features are shown above the terrain while the owner of the sector is shown below.