Grimdark Future: Battlefields (Fan Content)

A fan made OPR modification by EMD for playing games in the Grimdark Future in 8mm scale.

With some core rule and scale changes, Grimdark Future: Battlefields (GDF:BF) allows for small scale games with small scale models, all the way up to massive scale games where the battlefield is dominated by massive war machines and monsters.

If you have any questions, or difficulty getting started, feel free to ping EMD on the OPR Discord.

Army Books, Unit Proxies, and Steam Workshop Links

Steam Workshop Introductory Game with Pre-made 2000pts Armies

Army	Current Version	Army Forge	Steam Workshop	2D Printouts
Alien Hive	0.2	link
Battle Brothers	0.2	link	link
Blessed Sisters	0.2	link	link
DAO Union	0.2	link
Dark Elf Raiders	0.1
Havoc Brothers	0.1
High Elf Fleets	0.1
Human Defense Force	0.3	link	link
Knight Brothers	0.2	link	link
Orc Marauders	0.2	link	link
Prime Brothers	0.1	link
Robot Lords	0.3	link	link
Schism Battle Brothers	0.2	link
Schism Sol Defense Force	0.2	link
Strategic Assets	0.2	link
Titan Lords	0.2	link	link
Wormhole Daemons	0.1

General Principles

While the core principles of the OPR system still apply, there are a few key and rule changes that will be listed below.

Scale Conversion

GDF:BF uses 8mm miniatures that are mounted on round bases of various sizes representative to the unit's presence on the battlefield. Each base may have multiple miniatures mounted on it, like a swarm of Alien Hive with 10 models on a single base, or an elite force like Battle Brothers will be represented with 5 infantry models per base.

• Infantry: 40mm round bases.
• Large Infantry: 50mm round bases.
• Bikes: 50mm round bases.
• Monsters and Walkers: 40mm round bases.
• Vehicles: 40mm or 50mm round bases.
• War Machines: 60mm or bigger round bases.

If making a 2D printable version, all models can be represented by 39/40mm rounds (poker chips) for ease of purchasing and transportation.

Measuring Distances

To help game feel with the smaller scale, it uses a Base-4 system. This means that the standard unit movement in the game is 4", instead of 6". In Army Forge, this is achieved by the majority of units being given the Slow special rule.

Important: If a rule or weapon contains 9" as a measurement, read it as 8".

For example, in GDF:BF, Ambush is 8" away from the nearest enemy.

Line of Sight

Designer recommends only using Top-Down Line of Sight (aka 2D LoS) for determining line of sight when playing GDF:BF, making sure all terrain has easily identifiable edges so there is limited confusion if a model is or is not in cover.

Preparation

Preparing the Battlefield

As a part of converting to Base-4, the standard table size is reduced to 48"x32", with no-man's land being 16". For larger games where each player is bringing war machines and monsters, or is looking for more movement based strategies, a 6'x4' surface would be appropriate.

The Mission

Standard games are still based on a length of 4 rounds, but for games on larger tables with massive armies the round limit should be extended to 6.

Preparing your Army

Designer recommends only having 1 hero per 2000 pts, but this is more around how they are primarily designed as a booster for other units in your army.

Force Organization

For building out units in Army Forge, ignore the unit copy limit for transport units that have been attached to infantry units.

Deploying Armies

The deployment zone for players is 8" from their table edge instead of 12".

Game Structure and Movement

Unit Coherency

All models in a unit must stay within base contact, or as close as possible, to at least one other model in its unit.

If a Transport Unit is attached to an infantry unit, it must stay within coherency to that unit.

Shooting & Melee

Transport Unit and Wound Allocation

When a unit with an attached Transport Unit takes hits, it must chose to assign those hits to the unit or the transport. As with standard rules, when a Tough unit takes a wound, it must be assigned all hits until it is removed from play. For example: If the player decided to assign hits to their unit's Light APC and one of those hits causes a wound, all future hits must be assigned to that Light APC until it is removed from play.

If a large number of hits would be assigned to a model that are likely to remove it from play, players should roll a number of defense dice equal to the models remaining tough at a time. If the model is removed as a casualty, any remaining hits will be redirected to a different model in the unit.

Melee Resolution & Morale

Morale & When to Test

A unit losing 25% or more of its current tough value in a single activation, or losing a melee, must take a moral test.

For example: An Orc Hoard with 3 models remaining at the beginning of the turn (tough value of 18) suffers 5 wounds from enemy shooting. Because the unit lost 25% or more of its remaining tough value from the start of the turn they must take a moral test at the end of the current turn.

Shaken Units

Shaken units count as being Fatigued, suffer a -1 penalty to all dice rolls (melee, shooting, defense, morale, etc.), and may not contest or hold any objective. A Shaken unit may remove their Shaken status by remaining idle and doing nothing during their activation.

Terrain

Cover Terrain

Defense rolls automatically succeed on a roll of 5 or 6.

Intact Buildings (Optional)

Units in an Intact Building gain +1 to Defense rolls and the Protected special rule.

If attacking a unit in an Intact Building with a Blast(6+) or Deadly(9+) weapon, roll your attacks against the building first. When determining hits, gain all hits from Blast regardless of the building's size. Buildings have Defense 3+ and the Protected special rule. If the building would suffer 6 wounds in a single attack, it is destroyed. Roll as many dice as the remaining tough value for any units that were in the building, and for each result of 1-3 the unit takes one wound, which can't be ignored.

Replace any destroyed intact buildings with ruins of appropriate size. This new terrain piece has the Cover, Difficult, and Dangerous Terrain rules.

Special Rules

Hero

Models with the Hero special rule may not be targeted by any attack or charge unless they are the closest model to the attacking unit.

Transport Unit

This model and its unit move +2" on Advance, and +4" on Rush/Charge.

Designer Note: This is the unique mechanic to GDF:BF; units do not sit within their transport, removed from the board until they exit, instead all units remain in play throughout the duration of gameplay. The rule should be read as 'the unit this model is attached to moves at the same rate and with the same special rules as the transport unit'. For Army Forge, many transports have the Slow special rule, this is so that a unit like that Light APC with no unit attached will move at 6", instead of 8". In all the Steam Workshops, the movement stat is/should be written as the final movement speed for the model.

Transport: X

Attach an X to this unit. (Purchase an X and deploy it with this unit)

Designer Note: For Army Force, these unit upgrades cost 0 as the cost comes from adding the unit to your army list. When attached, the transport may not leave the unit, and as stated above ignore the Force Organization warnings for multiple copies of transports added to your list if they are purchased for the unit upgrade.

Unit Design Principles

Standard Unit

The standard unit in GDF:BF has the following stat line:

Size	Movement	Quality	Defense	Tough	Ranged Weapon	Melee Weapon	Cost
2	4"	4+	4+	3	Rifles (8", A3)	CCWs (A3)	50pts

The unit represents a squad of 8-12 infantry, split between two bases to make up the unit. As with other OPR systems, there is a soft recommendation for unit creation based on their equipment, and for GDF:BF, what is the theme of the unit on a larger scale battle.

Unit Size

• 1: For powerful hero units, larger vehicles, war machines, and massive monsters.
• 2: Squads of infantry that have a transport upgrade options, elite infantry units, and sections of vehicles.
• 3: Specialty units that focus on one thing like rapid movement, heavy weaponry, or melee combat.
• 4: Larger infantry units that don't have transport options, but aren't themed around being a hoard.
• 5: Hoards, platoons, and swarms of bodies. These units have a lot of weight behind them but normally find themselves running on foot across the board.

Movement Speed

• Immobile: Turrets and buildings.
• 4": The standard movement rate for GDF:BF.
• 6": Standard vehicle and fast infantry movement speed.
• 8": Really fast vehicles only. Not recommended for melee focused units as we'd like to avoid first activation charges.
• 10": Very, very fast units. Maybe for aerospace transports, but no assigned units yet.

Quality and Defense

• Same for standard OPR.
• For vehicles, Defense 2+ should be reserved for very powerful or thick armors heroes, monsters, and vehicles only. The vast majority of vehicles should also have the Protected special rule.
  • Light APC: Defense 3+, Tough(3), Protected
  • Battle Tank: Defense 3+, Tough(6), Protected
  • Heavy Tank: Defense 2+, Tough(9), Protected

Tough

• 3: The standard tough value, only narrative things should have less.
• 6: More durable units, monsters, and hoards.
• 9: Heavy vehicles.
• 12: Super heavy vehicles.
• 15+: Titans and War Machines. Things you don't bother shooting at unless it's with Deadly(6+) weaponry.

Weapon Attacks

• 1: Barely and effect, or there as an additive as an attached unit.
  • For example: Light APC with a Storm Rifle (8", A1, AP(1)) so it can add to the Battle Squad's Heavy Rifles (8", A4, AP(1))
• 2: Weak ranges or melee attacks, or low model count within the unit.
• 3: Standard for ranged and melee combat.
• 4; Skilled fighters for that weapon system.
• 5: Specialist for that weapon or large model count within the unit.
• 6+: Specialized weapons or elite level unit.

Example Units

HDF Infantry Platoon

Size	Movement	Quality	Defense	Tough	Ranged Weapons	Melee Weapons	Cost
5	4"	4+	5+	3	Rifles (8", A5)	CCWs (A3)	200

While each units has a large number of bases, and models per base, the HDF Infantry don't have a great survival rate, or will retreat from battlefield if too many soldiers from their squad are killed; hence the low tough value. There is however an entire platoons worth of rifles pointed down range, so volume of fire they can dish out if very high.

Battle Brother Squad

Size	Movement	Quality	Defense	Tough	Ranged Weapons	Melee Weapons	Cost
2	4"	3+	3+	6	Heavy Rifles (8", A4, AP(1))	Heavy CCWs (A3, AP(1))	225

The standard infantry unit from a more elite army, the Battle Brothers are more durable and better armored than the standard infantry unit, and despite low numbers they are more deadly with their application of firepower; so an increase in Tough and number of ranged weapon attacks.

Assault Grunt Swarm

Size	Movement	Quality	Defense	Tough	Ranged Weapons	Melee Weapons	Cost
5	6"	5+	5+	6		Claws (A6)	305

A mass of deadly bodies running quickly across the battlefield. Individuals aren't nearly as dangerous as the swarm, which will just absorb wounds until they inevitably get within a claws reach; so a fast speed, a hoards worth of wounds, and a specialized units for close range enemy removal.

Orc Rocket Mob

Size	Movement	Quality	Defense	Tough	Ranged Weapons	Melee Weapons	Cost
3	4"	4+(5+)	5+	3	Rocket Launchers (8", A2, AP(2), Deadly(3))	CCWs (A3)	140

A specialized unit of Orcs that are hoping for a lucky hit, but when they hit boy does it hit hard.