TACTICS

Miniatures Combat Evolved

In the year 2552 humanity is at war with the

alien alliance known as "the covenant". Is a
lost war, with millions of world burned to the
ground and billions death in this genocidal
camping humanity only hope lies in the brave
soldiers of the UNSC to defend earth and
avoid extinction. This rulebook provides the
rules for fast, tactical miniatures battles (skirmishes) in the Halo universe.
The entire Halo universe forms the backdrop
for this fast-paced, action-packed miniatures
game. With all the heroes, villains, vehicles
and aliens of the creatures to choose from,
you command forces that can sway the
course of historyor at least the next battle!
You pick your faction. You select your troops.
You command your forces. And its up to you
to prove yourself against the competition in
head-to-head action set in the fantastic Halo
universe.

TACTICS

Created by Leon Delgado

Credits
Writer and Head of Project: Leon Delgado
Designer: Leon Delgado
Art: Several authors. Digital art taken from several sources
from the Internet without authorization of their authors, this
is a free share project and I will ask for forgiveness from
the owners of the rights of this images.
Rules consultant: Camilo Valencia.
Special thanks: To all those who help me with their ideas
and endure the play testing of this rules..

Index
Introduction.....................................................2
Basics of the game.........................................4
Characters........................................................6
The Turn.........................................................10
Movement.......................................................14
Combat...........................................................18
Weapons.........................................................24
Powers and Special abilitieses....................30
Terrain............................................................34
Organising a battle........................................40

Introduction

In the year 2552 humanity is at war with the alien alliance

known as the covenant. Is a lost war, with millions of world
burned to the ground and billions death in this genocidal
camping humanity only hope lies in the brave soldiers of
the UNSC to defend earth and avoid extinction. This rulebook provides the rules for fast, tactical miniatures battles
(skirmishes) in the Halo universe.
The entire Halo universe forms the backdrop for this
fast-paced, action-packed miniatures game. With all the
heroes, villains, vehicles and aliens of the creatures to
choose from, you command forces that can sway the
course of historyor at least the next battle!
You pick your faction. You select your troops. You command your forces. And its up to you to prove yourself
against the competition in head-to-head action set in the
fantastic Halo universe.

The two ways of play

Halo Tactics is a modular game build using the Halo ActionClix/HeroClix rules as a base set of rules and expanded into new ways of playing, this game have two basic
ways of being played: Grid system or Open terrain, leaving
to the players to choose his favoured mode of playing.

Open Terrain: The open terrain game mode is the standard way to play Halo Tactics. In this mode, the game will
set up in a table in which the player will set up 3D terrain
that will use in the battle.
Grid system: When a player chooses to play using the
Grid system the will use a battle map (a 2d map that show
the terrain features from a top point of view) which is divided in a square grid of 1 (also called 1 UM). This system
is also used when a miniature move inside of a building.
The rules for playing in a Grid system is explained in the
apendix 1: Grid System.

Measure units

In Halo Tactics we will use MU, also call Measure units, in

order to determine distances. One MU is equal to 1 inch.

What You Need to Play

You need to bring a few things with you when you come to
the table to play.

Halo Cards: You use Halo cards buy special equipment

and abilities for your characters. See Halo Cards on
page 8.

Other Items

Youll need various tokens and other pieces to keep track

of things during the battle. Make sure you have enough
action markers to mark all your character activation during
a turn and objective markers.
Youll also need some Damage tokens (to keep track of
injuries to your creatures) and markers to keep track of
your grenades pool.
At the end of this book you can find several pages of useful tokens that you can photocopy for your use, and also in
the Website of Halo Tactics you will find several PDF files
that will make easy for you creating your own tokens. Set
each of these components nearby so that each player can
easily reach his or her miniatures, cards, and tokens.

You cant fight a battle without troops. Heres what you

need to create your squad.
Miniatures: Your squad must contain at least 3 miniatures
(you can have more than one of the same kind; see Building Your own force on page 40).

Character Cards: Each miniature has an associated

Character card, which lets you keep track of your characters on the battlefield and lists their game statistics and
abilities. See How to read a Character card on page 6.

Basics of the
Game

In a skirmish, a UNSC squad and a Covenant squad battle

each other. The winner is the player whose squad defeats
all the enemy characters. For other sorts of scenarios,
including multiplayer and team skirmishes, see Select a
mission on page 46.

THE MOST IMPORTANT

RULE!

Halo Tactics is an involving game, with many different factions, weapons and possibilities. In a game of this size
and complexity there are bound to be occasions where
a particular situation lies outside these rules, often when
unusual models interact. At other times you may know the
rule is covered but you just cant seem to find the right
page. Then again you may know the rule, but the reality of
exactly where your models are on the table may make it a
really close call.

All of these instances can lead to arguments, so it is important to remember that the rules are just a framework
to create an enjoyable game. Winning at any cost is less
important than making sure both players not just the victor have a good time. If a dispute does crop up then work
out the answer in a gentlemanly manner. Many players
simply like to roll off and let the dice decide who is right,
allowing them to get straight back to blasting each other
to pieces. After the game you can happily continue your
discussion of the finer points of the rules, or agree how you
will both interpret them should the same situation happen
again. You could even decide to change the rules to suit
you better (this is known as a house rule).

The most important rule then is that the rules arent all that
important! So long as both players agree you can treat
them as sacrosanct or mere guidelines the choice is entirely yours.

How to Win

To win you must score victory points equal to your squat

point value or by defeating all the enemy characters. The
Halo tactics game contain several missions, each one explains the way to obtain victory points and special victory
conditions.
Tie-Breaker: If no character has damaged an enemy character, made an attack roll, or forced an enemy character to
make a save for 10 rounds in a row, total up the points for
characters that have been defeated. The player who has
defeated the most points worth of characters is the winner.
If players are tied, the winner is the player who has a character closest to the center of the battle grid. If players are
still tied, the player with the highest-cost character nearest
the center is the winner.

DICE (D6)

In a Halo Tactics battle you often need to roll dice to see

how the actions of your models turn out how effective
their shooting is, what damage theyve done to a vehicle, if
they avoid an explosion, and so on. Almost all of the dice
rolls in Halo Tactics use standard six-sided dice (usually
referred to as D6).

ROLLING A D3

is two dice rolled and added together for a score of between 2-12. Another method is to multiply the score of a
dice by a certain amount, such as D6x5 for a total between
5 and 30. Finally, a combination of methods may be used,
such as 3D6-3 giving a total of 0-15.

Re-rolls

In some situations the rules allow you a re-roll of the dice.

This is exactly as it sounds pick up the dice you wish to
re-roll and roll them again. The second score counts, even
if it means a worse result than the first, and no single dice
can be re-rolled more than once regardless of the source
of the re-roll. If you re-roll a 2D6 or 3D6 roll, you must reroll all of the dice and not just some of them, unless the
rule granting you the re-roll explicitly specifies otherwise.

Roll-offs

If the rules require players to roll-off, this simply means

that each player rolls a dice and the player that scores the
highest result wins the roll-off. If the players roll the same
result, both dice must be rolled again until one player is
the winner.

Measuring distances

In games of Halo Tactics, distances are measured in

inches (), also called measured units (MU), with a tape
measure o a measuring stick. You can always check any
distance at any time.
This allows you o check whether your units are in range of
their target before they attack

In rare circumstances you may be told to roll a D3. Since

theres no such thing as a three-sided dice, use the following method for determining a score between 1 and 3. Roll
a D6 and halve the score, rounding up. Thus 1 or 2=1, 3 or
4=2 and 5 or 6=3.

Distances between models and all other objects (which

can be other models, terrain features and so on) are always measured from the closest point on one base to the
closest point on the other base.

MODIFYING DICE ROLLS

For example, if any part of a models base is within 6 of

the base of an enemy character, the two characters are
said to be within 6 of each other.

Sometimes, you may have to modify the result of the dice

roll. This is noted as D6 plus or minus a number, such as
D6+1 or D6-2. Roll the dice and add or subtract the number to or from the score to get the final result. For example,
D6+2 means roll a dice and add 2 to the score, giving a
total of between 3 and 8.
You may also be told to roll a number of dice in one go,
which is written as 2D6, 3D6, and so on. Roll the indicated
number of dice and add the scores together, so a 2D6 roll

Sometimes the rules will call upon a character to move directly towards another character, or some other feature on
the battlefield. Where this is the case, draw an imaginary
line from the centre of the miniature to its destination, and
move the character forwards along this line a number of
inches equal to the distance stated.

CHARACTERS

Halo Tactics is played using collectable miniature figures

standing on a base. Together, the figure and the base are
called a character. Each character has a corresponding
stat card that lists its game statistics.
Characters you play are called friendly characters, and
characters your opponents play are called opposing characters. Characters can only be friendly to one force. Some
game effects may change a character from friendly to opposing (or vice versa); when that game effect ends, the
character returns to be friendly to the force it was friendly
to before the game effect took place.

How to Read a Character

Card

Look at the stat card displayed below (both sides, Front

and Back)

Visual representation (Front Card side)

A picture of the miniature that correspond to this card is

displayed in the front of the card for easy matching.
Name
Match the name on each stat card to the name on the base
of the miniature.

Faction Symbol
Your squad belongs to a specific faction, which corresponds to the sides participating in the battles that rage

across the Halo universe. Each characters stat card has

a symbol that identifies which faction it can fight for. Characters must have the same faction symbol to belong in the
same squad. Factions have a special ability that affect the
members of that faction, each faction special ability are
explained in powers and Special abilities, in page 30.

ary number (in the red circle) of his stats, this secondary
number is called Fatigued stat.

Cost
The cost is the number of points you pay to add a character to your squad. A squad can contain up to 400 points of
characters.

Defense: represents how hard the character

is to hit in combat. An attacker must roll this
number or higher to hit the character and
deal damage.

Keywords: All creatures have one or more keywords,

which some Command cards and effects refer to. For example, a Command card might be usable only by a creature with the Spartan keyword.

Attack: is a measure of how effective the

character is in combat. When the character
makes an attack, roll two 6-sided die (2d6)
and add this number. If the result equals or
exceeds the enemys Defense, the attack
hits.

Statistics
This section provides information you need to play the
game.
A character has five combat values, this values are set in
two columns next to the symbol of the same type: Speed,
Attack, Defense, damage, and Health.
Each stat is divided in two colours: Blue and Red. The blue
Colum (also called Fresh stats) is the stats that the character MUST use when he has full health or more than half
(rounded down) of his Initial Health.
When a character health drops below half of his initial
Health (rounded down) he become fatigued. When a character is wounded or fatigued he can only use the Red stat
value. Then a Character health value is equal or less than
the half of this initial Health (rounded down) he become fatigued. From that moment he can ONLY USE the second-

Speed: This is the number of MU (Measure

units) or inches that the character can move
when spend a Move action.

Damage: is how much damage the character deals when an attack hits.
Health: Tells you the health level or how
many wound had remaining the character, is
time the character takes damage his health
level decreases. When a character health
reaches 0 is considered KO or out of play.
When a character Health is equal or below of his Fatigued
Health value, he become fatigued and from that moment,
all his other stats change to his fatigued version.

Special Abilities

If a character health increase during the game (using medpacks, special effects, etc), and his Health score is greater
than his threshold value (his health/2 rounded down), he is
no longer fatigued and use again his blue stats.

Commander Effect

When a character health value become 0 is KO and is

retired from the game.

These include any special attacks, qualities, or limits a

character has. Special abilities may override the general
rules.

Some characters can help the rest of their squad, directing them, encouraging them, or coordinating their attacks.
These effects are listed here.

Weapon block

Here you will find the rules for the weapon that the character begins the battle and the range in inches of this weapon
(next to the Cross symbol), a target must be in a distance
equal or minor of this value in order of being in range of
your attacks.

Fresh Stats and Fatigued Stats

All the characters start the game using their blue stat value
(also called Fresh stats). Some powers can only be used
when a character is Fresh. This is indicated with a blue
circle or symbol next to the power.
Each time a character takes damage, his health value
is reduce equal to the damage taken. When a character
health is reduce to a number equal or below of half of his
health he become fatigued.
Each character has an arrow in his Health value that shows
the Health number threshold for the fatigue value for easy
reference. So for example, a Marine has Health 5 and Fatigue threshold of 2. This is indicated in the card like this:

Multiple Cards

Some characters are so large that one card is not enough.

Usually this cards are use to hold special rules or weapons
that the character posses. The first card has his statistics
and the secondary special rules for the character.

Halo Cards

Halo Cards list equipment the characters can use. Both

UNSC and Covenant characters can use Halo Cards. The
rules governing the cards are listed at the top of the card.
All Halo Cards can only be used once. When you build
your team you can purchase Halo cards and designate
those to a character,
Point cost: Here you will find the point cost of the halo
card, this point cost increase the point cost value of the
character that purchase this halo card (increasing his VP
in some missions).
Requirements: Here the card will specify which characters can use that card. Some halo cards can only be use
by specific characters or character with an specific keyword.
Rules Text: This area describes the actions the Command
card allows the creature to take.
Attach text: Some halo cards have a special effect that
you attach to a character by sliding the card underneath
that character card. This attach text grants the character
an additional power or imposes a hindrance until the halo
card is removed.

Weapon cards

All characters start the game with a weapon. This is also

called weapon block or weapon card.

So when he only have 2 or les of health is considered fatigued.

When a character is fatigued he can only use the secondary stat of each one of the stats (speed, defence, attack,
and damage), this secondary stat is in a red circle and is
called fatigued stat value. His Health dont change, and he
keeps the damage taken so far.

In that weapon blog you can find the range of the weapon
and the special rules that apply to the character when he
make an attack using that weapon.
Weapon damage: When a character use a weapon he
makes a damage equal to his Damage value, some weapons increase this value.

Swapping weapons: Characters can switch weapons

with one another if they are on the same team and they
are touching bases as a free action.
Dropping weapons: When a character is eliminated from
the game for any reason, all Weapon and Halo cards the
character has will be placed on the space where he was
eliminated. The next character to land on the space can
claim some or all the cards as a free action.
A character can carry only one weapon at the time (except
for dual weapon sets) when he picks up a new weapon his
old weapon is place it on the board.

Character types

There is many types of soldiers and war machines in the

Halo universe, for all propose of these rules all are called
Characters. Characters are divided in infantry, Monstrous
creatures, vehicles and Flyers.

Infantry

Infantry units include all types of foot soldiers, whether

human or alien. A typical infantry character has a small
or large base (25 mm for medium size characters and 40
mm for large character). Infantry are fairly slow moving,
but can cross almost any terrain (given enough time) and
make the best use of cover to avoid enemy fire. Infantry
are the most common and dependable characters in the
Halo universe and the bulk of the rules are concerned with
them.

Jump infantry.

Jump infantry are equipped with jump packs, jet packs,

wings, teleport devices or other means of moving quickly
over short distances. They commonly take advantage of
these by dropping onto the battlefield in the midst of the
enemy heroically or foolishly depending on your perspective. Jump infantry can move like normal infantry or
activate their jump device to make a high-speed move,
leaping over intervening terrain and models. Jump infantry
tend to be a rare and valuable commodity in most armies.

Vehicles

Some characters in the Halo universe are vehicles or characters riding a vehicle. In this case they move and act like
a normal character, with some exceptions.

Armor

target and then trace the line of sight from each weapons
mounting and along its barrel, to see if the shot is blocked
by terrain or models. If the target unit happens to be in
cover from only some of the vehicles weapons, then work
out if the target gets cover saves exactly as if each firing
weapon on the vehicle was a separate firing model in a
normal unit.
On some models it will be actually impossible to literally
move the gun and point it towards the target, because of
the way the model is assembled or because the gun has
been glued in place. In this case, players should assume
that the guns on a vehicle are free to rotate or swivel on
their mountings. In order to make clear how much any gun
is supposed to rotate, refer to the vehicles entry, where
each weapon has been classified as either turret-mounted, pintle-mounted (or bolt-on), sponson-mounted or hullmounted. Then apply the following guidelines:
Turret-mounted weapons can usually rotate 360, together with the entire turret, unless the design of the model
prevents this.
Hull-mounted weapons can fire in a 45 arc from their
mounting point.
Sponson-mounted weapons vary greatly, as some can
cover the full 180 of the flank they are mounted on (or
even slightly more), while others are more limited. This is
determined by the shape and position of the sponsons
mounting.
Pintle-mounted (or bolt-on) weapons can either fire in a
360 arc, if they are mounted on the vehicles turret; or
can fire in a 45 arc from their mounting point, if they are
mounted on the vehicles hull.
In the rare cases when it matters (your tank might be targeting a sniper high up in a bell tower), assume that guns
can swivel vertically roughly by 45, even if the barrel on
the model itself cannot physically do that!

Flyers

Some vehicles and character have the special ability Fly.

Characters that fly ignore terrain and move over other
characters. They cannot end their movement over impassable terrain or other characters and they cannot be attack
by melee attacks. Only ranged attacks can hit a vehicle
that can fly.

Some vehicles have an armor value with a number in

brackets, for example Armor (2), this number is the damage reduced from an attack (just like shields and toughness abilities), but they cannot be penetrated by normal
weapons. Only Armor piercing weapons can ignore the
Armor special ability.

Vehicle weapons & line of sight

Just like infantry, vehicles characters need to be able to

draw a line of sight to their targets in order to shoot at
them.
When firing a vehicles weapons, point them against the

THE TURN

A tremendous amount of action takes place in a battle:

squads are constantly manoeuvring and shooting, tanks
rumble into action and artillery fire roars overhead in a
torrential downpour of destruction.
A game of Halo Tactics represents the flow of battle but, in
order to turn the chaos into a manageable game, players
alternate taking turns moving and fighting with their
characters.

Initiative Roll

A skirmish begins with an initiative roll to determine

who goes first. Each player rolls 2d6. The player with the
higher initiative roll chooses who goes first. (Reroll ties.)
Sometimes youll want to go first; other times youll want
to see what your opponent is up to before committing your
forces.

Rounds, Phases, and Turns

A skirmish is played in rounds.

One round is divided in several Phases. In each phase,

players activate characters in their squads to take actions,
each activating two characters at time. You can only
activate a character once in a round (see pushing below),
and you must active 2 characters in phase. If you do not
have any characters to activate your phase is over.

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When both players have activated all their characters, the

round is over.
When you activate a character you can give him one free
action and one action (see actions below)
First Player: Activates two characters, one at a time.
Activating two characters this way is called a phase.
Second Player: Activates two characters, one at a time.
First Player: Activates two more characters. These are
characters that have not been activated yet this round.
Second Player: Activates two more characters. These are
characters that have not been activated yet this round.
Repeat until all the characters have activated. Sometimes
a player has more characters than his or her opponent and
activates many characters at the end of the round.
Each character can be activated only once in a round.
When a character activates, that is the characters turn.
To indicate that a character has been activated in a round,
put an action token or turn its stat card.
A round ends when all players have activated all their
characters once. Then a new round begins with a new
initiative roll.

The turn sequence

As we see before both players alternate phases in a turn.

The order that a Turn must be played is this:
1. Roll for initiative
2. Phase A: Player A activate 2 characters.
3. Phase B: Player B activate 2 characters.
4. Repeat Phase A and B until all Characters are
activated or has an Action token (see action Tokens
later).
5. Repeat Step 1.

GIVING ACTIONS TO CHARACTERS

During your phase, you must activate two characters, when

you activate a character you can give him any number of
free actions and one action. When a character is given an
action, that action can be used for only one power or ability
that requires that type of action to activate.
You must completely resolve the activation of one
character before you activate the next character, also you
must completely resolve one action before you begin the
next action.
Resolving an action includes resolving any free actions
or game effects that action allows followed by applying
action tokens and then pushing damage to each character
that received a second action token during that action.
A character can never be given more than one non-free
action per turn.

ACTIONS

Each phase you must activate two characters per turn,

until all your characters have being activated. You can
give a unit only one action per turn. Some actions involve
moving your unit, attacking with your unit, or both.
All aspects of these actions are described in this section.
Choose from the following options when assigning actions
to your units:
Each phase you get two actions to give to your units. You
can give a unit only one action per turn. Some actions
involve moving your unit, attacking with your unit, or both.
All aspects of these actions are described in this section.
Choose from the following options when assigning actions
to your units:
1. MOVE: Move the Character. The character can move
up to his speed value in MU or squares.
2. RUN/ FULL SPEED: The character speed increase in
+6, but he cannot make any attack during this phase.
3. ATTACK: The unit can shoot at, throw a grenade at (see
Weapons), or use a special ability against an enemy unit
(a unit controlled by an opponent), all this is explained in
the combat section.
4. MOVE AND ATTACK: Move the unit and then attack
(shoot, throw a grenade, or use a special ability). If your
unit moves up to 4 and attacks, it does not suffer any
attack penalties. If your unit moves more than 4, it can
still attack, but you must subtract -3 from its attack value.
5. ATTACK AND COVER: The unit can attack and then
move up to 4.
6. Move and OPEN A DOOR: The character can move up
to his speed value, if at the end of his movement is next to
a door (in base contact) he can open the door.
7. OPEN A DOOR and MOVE: If the character is next to
a door (in base contact) he can open the door and then
move up to 4 MU (or squares).
8. OPEN A DOOR and ATTACK: If the character is next
to a door (in base contact) he can open the door and then
attack, but you must subtract -3 from its attack value.
9. Do a Power/ Special Action: You can use one of your
powers or special actions. You can read more in the Power
section.
10. Dont do anything: You can choose to dont make an
action when activate the character.
Replaces Attacks: Sometimes the text of a special
ability or power says that it replaces attacks. In this case,
a character can use that special ability or power instead of
making its usual attack.

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A character can use this power if he is able to make an

attack and has the same penalties if he moved more than
4 spaces, also if he makes the special ability or power
before moving he can only move up to 4 spaces.

activated several times in a turn, giving him more than one

action token, also some powers can confer an action token
in a character. If a player get a second Action token, that
character suffer Pushing damage (see Pushing, below)

ACTION TOKENS

CLEARING ACTION TOKENS

An action token can be as simple as a dice, coin or

complex as a proper marker that you modelled for this
specific event. IN the end of this rulebook and in the Halo
Tactics web site you can find several tokens that you can
print and use for your games.

PUSHING

When you give a character any action (other than a free

action see below), give the character an action token as
the action resolves and put it near the characters base on
the map. You can use any small object, such as a coin or
bead, as an action token. A token reminds all players that
a character has been given an action.

No game effect can result in more than 2 action tokens

on a character. If part of a game effect would cause this
to happen, that part of the game effect
are ignored. Whoever, a character can be

12

At the end of your turn, after you and your opponent have
finished taking and resolving all of your actions (including
free actions that occur at the end of your turn) and
declared your turn to be over, remove all action tokens
from each of the characters the battlefield. This is called
clearing your action tokens.

You can activate a character more than one time in a round,

this is called PUSHING a character. To PUSH a character
you must select a character that is at no more than 12
from the character you want to push and activate that
character that has no action tokens (is not yet activated in
the turn), this character is given up his activation for his
teammate.

One character can Push a teammate that is not more than

12 of distance. Doing this put another action token on the
target teammate and allow him to activate immediately for
a second (or even more) time.
When a character is activated a second (or more) time,
receives one pushing damage after his action is resolve.
Game effects that evade, reduce, ignore, or transfer
damage do not affect pushing damage unless the effect
specifically says it does.

Standard, Free/ minor, and

Immediate Actions

When you activate a character (see activation above) is

considered that he is taking an Standard action. There is
other two special actions a character can use as result of
a power or Command card: free and immediate actions.
Standard: Most actions are standard, often an attack of
some sort. A character you control can take a standard
action only during your Activate phase and only during that
creatures activation. Standard actions are: Move, Run/ full
speed, Attack, Move and attack, Attack and cover, Move
and open a door, Open a door and move, Open a door
and attack, Do a power/ special action, Dont do anything.
Taking a standard action put an action token on that
character.
Free/ Minor: These represent quick actions, such as
drawing a hidden blade, or setting up for an attack. A
creature you control can take free actions at any time
during its activation, whether its have an action token
or not. Theres no limit to the number of free actions a
creature can take during its activation.
Immediate: Immediate actions are usually responses to
other actions. They can be played on any players phase.
Taking an immediate action may (or not) put an action
token in the character, depending on the source of the
action.

Actions

When one of your phases start you must activate 2 characters under you control until all your characters are activated. When you activate a character, it takes its turn. On
its turn, a character can do one of the following things.

MOVE

You can choose to just move the Character. The character

can move up to his speed value in inches or squares (if
you are using a grid system). Some terrain may hinder
your movement or just block the advance of the character.
During his movement a character can also make special
movement actions like Hide, jump, scale, jump down, all
part of moment. Movement will be explained in detail on
the Movement section (page 14).

RUN/ FULL SPEED

Moving in the battlefield sometimes will demand that a

character or vehicle move at higher ratio in order to avoid
attacks or reach a critical position. A character can choose
to increase his speed in +6, but he cannot make any attack
or use special power (unless the power allow it) during this
phase. Running will be explained in detail on the Movement
section.

ATTACK

A character can shoot at, throw a grenade at (see

Weapons), or use a special ability against an enemy unit
(a unit controlled by an opponent). There are two types of
attacks: Melee attacks (to targets adjacent to the character)
and range attacks (to hit distant targets), all this is explained
in the combat section.

MOVE AND ATTACK

A character can move and during the same action make

an attack if he move up to his speed. With this action you
can move the character and then attack (shoot, throw a
grenade, or use a special ability). If your character moves
up to 4 and then attacks, it does not suffer any attack
penalties. If your character moves more than 4, it can still
attack, but you must subtract -3 from its attack value. After
resolving the attack the character activation ends.

ATTACK AND COVER

Sometimes you have a clear shoot but you are in the open,
so you can try to shoot and then go back. A character can
attack and then move up to 4.

Move and OPEN A DOOR

The character can move up to his speed value, if at the

end of his movement is next to a door (in base contact)
he can open the door. The door will remain open until the
character move away or is KO. Interactions with doors will
be explained in detail on the Movement section.

OPEN A DOOR and MOVE

If the character is next to a door (in base contact) he can

open the door and then move up to 4. The door will close
after this if is no character in base contact with the door.

OPEN A DOOR and ATTACK

If the character is next to a door (in base contact) he can

open the door and then attack, but you must subtract -3
from its attack value (just like if he moved more than 4).
Interactions with doors will be explained in detail on the
Movement section.

Do a Power/ Special Action

You can use one of your powers or special actions. You can
read more in the Power section.

Dont do anything

You can choose to dont make an action when activate the

character.

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13

MOVEMENT

During its turn, a character can move up to a number

of squares equal to his speed value in the base of the
miniature if he moves before attacking, or up to 4 MU if he
moves after attacking.
A character can move up to movement rate their in any
direction. They may move up and down ladders and stairs,
and over low obstacles such as barrels, boxes, etc.
In normal circumstances, characters do not have to move
their full distance, or at all if, you do not want them to.
All exceptions are explained later and invariably involve
compulsory moves.

MOVEMENT DISTANCE

A character can move a distance equal (or less) to his

Speed score in inches with a movement action. This
represents most creatures moving at a reasonable pace but
stopping several times to scan the surrounding landscape
for enemies, communicate with their commanders,
etc. It is perfectly fine to measure a units move in one
direction, and then change your mind and decide to move
it somewhere else (even the opposite way entirely!) or
decide not to move it at all.

14

Moving models

When moving models, its a common mistake to measure

the distance and then place the model on the far side
of the tape measure. This is incorrect, as it adds the
entire length of the models base to the distance moved.
While this is not a huge error on a 25mm base, it makes
a considerable difference on a vehicle, in which case it
might almost double the move (as shown below). The two
diagrams here show examples of the right and wrong way
to move your models.

MODELS IN THE WAY

A model may not move into or through the space occupied

by another model (which is represented by its base or by
its hull) or through a gap between friendly models that is
smaller than its own base (or hull) size.
A model cannot move so that it touches an enemy model
during his movement action unless he wants to fight him
using the Move and attack action. To keep this distinction
clear, a model may not move within 1 of an enemy model
unless assaulting.
If a character moves into base to base contact with an
enemy character, is considered in combat with that
character. A character can only move out of an combat
with another character, thats next to (adjacent to) an
enemy, if he pass a break out check (see page 23.
If character pass close to an enemy character (2) and
dont stop, that enemy can make an immediate attack
against that character.

In the example above, we can see that the first example (top) is an
incorrect way to move the miniature, while the example in the bottom is
the correct way to measure the distance and move the miniature.

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15

Hiding

The Hiding rule represents characters concealing

themselves in a way that our unmoving and dramatically
posed models cannot. A hiding characters keeps as still as
possible, just peeking out of cover.
A character can hide if he ends his activation behind a
low wall, a column or in a similar position where he could
reasonably conceal himself. The player must declare that
the character is hiding and place a Hidden counter beside
the model for it to count as being hidden.
A character that make any action other than move (up to
his speed) cannot hide that phase. His sudden burst of
speed does not give him time to hide.
A character may stay hidden over several turns, so long as
he stays behind cover. He may even move around so long
as he stays hidden while doing so. If an enemy moves so
that he can see the hidden character with no cover, the
model is no longer hidden and the counter is removed.
When hidden, a character cannot be seen, attack or subject
to powers or special abilities. While hiding, a model cannot
attack or use power/special abilities without giving away
its position. If a hidden model attack, or moves so that he
can be seen, he is no longer hidden and can be target at
as normal.
A character may not hide if he is too close to an enemy
character he will be seen or heard no matter how well
concealed. Enemy character will always see, hear or
otherwise detect hidden foes within 12.

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WALLS AND BARRIERS

Walls, hedges and other low obstacles form barriers that

you can either go around or leap over. A model can leap
over a barrier that is less than 1 high. This does not affect
its movement in any way

Climbing

In the ruined cities during the battles of the Halo universe

your characters will face the need to climb to reach the
upper floors of buildings.
Any model (except animals!) can climb up or down fences,
walls, etc. He must be touching what he wants to climb at
the start of his movement phase. He may climb up to his
total Movement spending a power action. Any remaining
movement can be used as normal. If the height is more
than the models normal move, he cannot climb the wall.
To climb, a character must take an climb test, rolls 1d6 and
with a 3+ he succeed. If he fails it whilst climbing up, he
cannot move that turn. If he fails it while climbing down,
he falls from where he started his descent (see the Falling
section).

Jumping down

Your warrior may jump down from high places (up to a

maximum height of 6) such as walkways and balconies
at any time during his movement phase. Take a jump
test, you need a 3+ in 1d6. If he fails any of the tests, the
model falls from the point where he jumped, takes damage
(see Falling) and may not move any more during the
movement phase. If successful, the model can continue
his movement as normal (jumping down does not use up
any of the models Movement allowance).

Jumping over gaps

Models may jump over gaps (up to a maximum of 3)
and streets, (e.g., from the roof of a building to another).
Deduct the distance jumped from the models movement.
If your model does not have enough movement to jump
the distance, he automatically falls. If your model is able to
cover the distance, he must pass an jump test or fall (3+
in 1d6).

Warriors knocked down

If a warrior is knocked down within 1 of the edge of a roof

or building, there is a chance that it will slip and fall off. Roll
1d6, with 3+ the character is safe. If the test is failed, the
model falls over the edge to the ground and takes damage
as detailed below.
Falling
A model that falls takes a damage equal to the height in
inches that it fell (e.g., if the model fell 4, it would take 4
points of damage). This damage can be reduced but not
avoided. A model that falls may not move any further or
hide during that turn, even if it is not hurt.

Doors

Doors can open and close during the course of a skirmish.

Building has doors and those must be determined before
the game if can be opened or not. Doors are closed and
considered walls unless they are open.
Opening a Door: A door becomes open at the end of any
characters turn when a character is adjacent to the door.
An open door has no effect on movement, line of sight, or
cover. (Its effectively not there anymore.)
Closing a Door: A door remains open until a characters
turn ends with no character adjacent to it, at which point it
becomes closed. A character can chose to close a door as
a free action during his activation. The door will open again
when a different character is in base contact with the door.

Large Characters, Huge Characters, and Moving

Large characters use a base of 2 wide and 2 long. Huge

characters base instead uses a base 3 wide and 3 long.
They pay the extra costs for moving into low objects or
difficult terrain if any part of their base moves into such
an area. They cannot move if any part of their base would
move into a space containing an enemy.
Squeezing: Large and Huge characters can squeeze
through small openings and down narrow hallways that
are at least half as wide as their normal space (rounding
up to 2 for Huge creatures), provided that they end their
movement in an area that they can normally occupy. Large
characters cant squeeze past enemies. Some very big
androids and vehicles cant squeeze at all.

Movement and Terrain

The battlefield terrain can affect your movement speed, in

the terrain section all terrains are explained but here will
see that for movement purpose there is three basic types
of terrain:
Clear terrain can be moved across without any penalty,
and generally covers most of the battlefield.
Difficult terrain slows down models wishing to move
through it, and can sometimes be dangerous to models
passing through it. A character can move through difficult
terrain but each 1 of movement will cost him 2 of his
speed.
Impassable terrain cannot be moved across or into.

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17

COMBAT

Some characters in the Halo universe attack with Machine

guns, others use combat knifes, and others wield energy
swords. When a character attacks an enemy, you choose
your target, make an attack roll, and, if the attack roll hits,
deal damage.
The following general rules apply to both close combat
attacks and ranged combat attacks.

Attacking

If you want to attack with one of your characters (both

into Melee combat or ranged combat) you must follow this
steps when you activate the character during your phase.
1. Activate your character.
Pick one of your Characters and give him one of the five
actions that can make him attack (attack, move and attack,
attack and cover, open a door and attack, do a power/
special action).
2. Check line of sight & pick a target.
Check its line of sight and choose a target for it. Only if
your character can see his target he can attack him.
3. Check range.
The target must be in a distance equal or lesser than your
attack range.

18

4. Roll to hit.
Roll 2D6 for each attack you have, some character
can make more than one attack (this is the special rule

multiattack). If the score is equal or greater than the

targets defence you hit.
5. Resolve Damage.
For each shot that hits, the target receive a damage equal
to your damage score. If your have an attack that targets
multiple targets you split the damage into the targets.
6. Remove casualties.
Each wound suffered may be cancelled or reduce by some
power or gear, after resolving each hit individually you
must mark the new Damage score of the target.

Choosing Your Target

Before making an attack, choose which enemy the

attacking character (attacker) is targeting.
Line of Sight: The attacker must be able to see the enemy.
See Line of Sight, below.
Cover: A character cant target an enemy who has cover
unless that enemy is the closest enemy. See Cover, below.
Determining Range: Count the distance between the
character and the target for determining range, as you
would count distance for movement. If the distance is
greater than the range of the character he cannot attack
that target.
Adjacent Enemies: If enemies are adjacent to the attacker
(base to base), it must target one of those enemies.

Check range

All weapons have a maximum effective range which is the

furthest distance they can shoot. Printed on the card of
all characters is the Range score value that is the range
of the attacks of that character. If a target is beyond this
maximum range, the shot misses automatically. This is
why you have to choose your target before measuring the
range.
When youre checking range, simply measure from the
firer to the target. If the distance between the attacker and
the target is equal or less than the Range score, the target
is in range.
Aiming to the Ground [Especial Rule]
Any character can choose to make an attack to a specific
point in the battlefield. Put a marker in the place you are
aiming (a small base or dice) and then resolve the attack
as if that point have Defense 14. You must be able to see
the marker (true line of sight) and the marker can only get
cover from intervening models.
If you hit resolve your attack as normal. This attack action is
useful with range weapons with the blast rule, sometimes
is easier to hit the ground next to a really dodgy character
than the character himself.

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19

Line of sight

Line of sight determines what a model can see. Many

situations call for you to determine whether or not a model
has line of sight. A model normally needs a line of sight
whenever it wishes to attack an enemy, whether with a
combat knife, energy sword, pistol or plasma gun. Line of
sight literally represent your warriors view of the enemy they must be able to see their foes through, under or over
the battlefield terrain and other models (whether friendly
or enemy).

not, but players should always be generous and give their

opponent the benefit of the doubt.
Sometimes, all that will be visible of a model is a weapon,

For one model to have line of sight to another, you

must be able to trace a straight, unblocked line from
its eyes to any part of the targets body (the head,
torso, arms or legs).
Generally, a character can target any enemy (the defender)
it can see. Seeing a defender is determined by finding
line of sight. Draw an imaginary line from any point in the
attackers space to any point in the defenders space. If the
player who controls the attacking character can draw that
line without touching a wall, that character has line of sight
to that defender. A line that nicks a corner or runs along a
wall does not provide line of sight. If a wall outline does not
extend to a corner, line of sight can be drawn only through
that corner. Only walls, closed doors, and big objects that
count as walls block line of sight. Characters, low objects,
difficult terrain, and pits do not block line of sight.

banner or other ornament he is carrying. In these cases,

the model is not visible. Similarly, we ignore wings and
tails, and antennae even though they are technically part
of the models body. These rules are intended to ensure
that models dont get penalised for having impressive
banners, weaponry and so on.

Cover

Characters and certain kinds of terrain, such as low objects

and walls, can provide cover against attacks. A character
can attack an enemy with cover only if its the nearest
enemy. If the attacker can attack that enemy, the enemy
gets a +1 bonus to its Defense for having cover.
No matter how many terrain features or characters provide
a character with cover, it gets the +1 bonus to Defense just
once. A character never has double cover.
An adjacent enemy never has cover.
Cover - Open terrain system: If your character can see
the complete body of the target, see line of sight above,
the target has no cover. If any part of the miniature has
some kind of cover, the target benefits from cover.
Characters and Cover: Characters provide cover,
whether theyre allies or enemies.

Line of Sight: Open terrain system

Halo Tactics uses what we call true line of sight. This

means that you will take the positions of models and terrain
at face value, and simple look to see if your characters
have a view of their targets.
True line of sight makes the game feel much more cinematic
and puts you in the heart of the fighting - existentially, if not
physically. There is nothing like getting a models view to
bring a game to life. Of course, this does mean that there
are occasionally borderline cases when it is
hard to tell if a model can see a target or

20

When are models in Cover?

When any part of the target models body (as defined on
page 16) is obscured from the point of view of the firer,
the target model is in cover. This is intentionally generous,
and it represents the fact that the warrior, unlike the model,
will be actively trying to take cover (as well as the smoke,
explosions and flying debris that are mercifully absent from
our tabletop battlefields).
Firers may of course shoot over intervening terrain if they
are tall enough or high up on some terrain piece so that
their line of sight is completely clear. As usual, check the

firers line of sight by taking a good look from behind their

heads, and see what they see.
Intervening models
If a target is partially hidden from the firers view by other
models, it receives the same +1 cover bonus to his Defense
in the same way as if it was behind terrain.
This does not mean that intervening models literally stop
the shots, but rather that they obscure the sight of the
firers or otherwise spoil their aim. A failed hit because of
cover in this case might mean that the firer has not shot at
all, missing the fleeting moment when the target was in its
sights. This is because, in the case of intervening friends,
the firer would be afraid of hitting his comrades; while in
the case of intervening enemies, the firer is distracted by
the more immediate threat.
Scenic rocks and other decorative elements that players
might have placed on the base of their models are always
ignored from the point of view of determining cover (you
cannot take your cover with you!).
Example: in the figure above you can see that the figure
B and C have cover. Both improve their defense in +1.
Figure A has no cover.
Exceptions
In order to keep the game flowing at a faster pace, we
have made a few exceptions to the cover rules given on
the previous page, namely:
Inside area terrain: Target models whose bases are at
least partially inside area terrain are in cover, regardless
of the direction the shot is coming from. This represents
their increased chance of diving into or behind a piece of
covering terrain.
Firing over a barrier: Models that are in base contact with
a linear piece of terrain they can see over, such as a low
wall, barricade, tank trap or a fence, can fire at enemies
on the other side without the barrier getting in the way of
their shots.

THE ATTACK ROLL

To determine whether or not an attack succeeds, the

attacking player rolls 2d6 (the attack roll) and adds the
result to the attackers Attack Value. The sum is the Attack
Total. If the Attack Total is equal to or greater than the
targets Defense Value, the attack succeeds and is a hit (it
is a successful attack roll); otherwise, it fails and is a miss.
If an attack misses, damage is not dealt by the attack.
Certain game effects allow characters to evade a hit
evading a hit turns it into a miss.
Attacking Allied Characters
A character cant attack an allied character. This restriction
doesnt prohibit the use of special abilities that also harm
alliesonly attacks.
DEALING DAMAGE
When an attack hits, the damage dealt to the target is
equal to the attackers Damage Value, modified by any
game effects. The target health value is then reduced by a
number equal to the damage taken.
As a target health value reduce he must use the
corresponded column in his statistics box that has the
same number of health than his current health. So, if a
Character has 8 points of health and takes 3 points of
damage, his health is reduced to 5, he must use from that
moment the Column that show a health value of 5 from
that moment on.
Unless specified otherwise, effects that would increase
damage dealt are calculated before effects that would
decrease damage dealt. If multiple game effects would
allow for damage dealt to a character to be reduced or
ignored, only one game effect can activate, to be decided
by the characters controlling player. If damage dealt is
reduced to 0, then the target is not damaged. Damage
dealt cannot be reduced below 0. Game effects that
reference the amount of damage a character has been
dealt use the damage dealt value after all modifiers have
been applied to it.

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21

NO DAMAGE
Damage from an attack that deals no damage cant be
modified. Attacks that deal no damage deal neither critical
hit damage to the target nor critical miss damage to the
attacker (see Rolling 2 and 12: Critical Misses and Critical
Hits, below).
PENETRATING DAMAGE
Penetrating damage is damage dealt that cant be reduced
(such as by the Toughness power), but can be evaded,
ignored, increased, or transferred to another character.
UNAVOIDABLE DAMAGE
Unavoidable damage is damage dealt that cant be
evaded, reduced, modified, ignored, or transferred to
another character.
HEALING
Characters can have their damage healed through the use
of powers like Regeneration, Steal Energy, and Support,
as well as through other game effects. When a character
is healed of damage, his damage score will reduce and
therefore he will use the new corresponded stat column.
A character damage score cannot be reduce below 0. A
character is not considered healed unless a game effect
causes it to reduce his damage score.
ROLLING 2 AND 12: CRITICAL MISSES AND CRITICAL
HITS
If you roll a two (two 1s) on an attack roll, you automatically
miss the target, even if your Attack Total would allow you
to hit the target. This is called a critical miss. Immediately
deal the attacking character 1 unavoidable damage; this
represents a weapon backfire or your character straining
or wounding itself during the action. This unavoidable
damage is not part of the attack.

22

If you roll a 12 (two 6s) on an attack roll, you automatically

hit the target, regardless of what you needed to roll to hit.
This is called a critical hit. A critical hit increases damage
dealt by 1 to each successfully hit target.
When using the Support power (see the Powers and
Abilities Card) and a critical miss is rolled for the attack
roll, the attempt is an automatic miss and the target is dealt
1 unavoidable damage instead. If a critical hit is rolled for
the attack roll, the attempt is an automatic hit, and you add
1 to the amount of damage healed by the target.
KNOCK BACK
When a player rolls doubles on a successful attack roll, the
target is knocked back after any damage taken from the
attack is applied. Knock back represents a character being
thrown backward by the force of an attack. Certain game
effects might knock back a character or allow a character
to ignore knock back. Check for those game effects before
applying knock back.
A knocked back character is moved back one 1 for each
1 point of damage taken. Move the character in a straight
line away from the attacking charactercalled the knock
back path. If multiple characters take damage from a
game effect that causes knock back, resolve the knock
back starting with the character farthest from the attacker.
Movement along a knock back path ignores the effects of
hindering terrain and objects on movement.
Some blast weapons or attacks have the Knock back rule,
in that case the main target of the attack (the character in
the center of the blast) is move following the rules of knock
back, and other characters under the blast template move
away from the centre of the template.

KNOCK BACK DAMAGE

A characters knock back path cant continue beyond a
space that blocks movement (like a wall). If it would do so,
the characters knock back path ends in the space before
its path would cross into the obstacle, and the character
is dealt 1 damage. This damage dealt is called knock
back damage. It can be reduced as normal and is applied
separately and after damage dealt by the attacker. Knock
back into a terrain feature does not destroy it.
If the knock back path would cross a space occupied by
another character, put the knocked back character in the
last unoccupied space adjacent to the other character.
Stopping in this way does not deal damage to either
character.
KNOCK BACK OFF ELEVATED TERRAIN
When a character is knocked across the rim of elevated
terrain (i.e.: from a higher elevation to a lower elevation, the
knock back path ends in the base of the elevated terrain
(or first square of a lower elevation, in the grid system) and
that character is dealt falling damage as usual (1 point of
damage for each 1 of falling distance). If the first space of
a lower elevation along the knock back path is occupied
by another character, the knock back path ends in a space
next to that character (selected by the knock back target)
and the knock back target takes falling damage and the
secondary character takes 1 knock back damage.
Characters using the Flight ability (see the Powers and
Abilities Card) which are knocked back off of elevated
terrain are not dealt knock back damage, though they still
end their knock back path in the first empty space of a
lower elevation.
Attack (Close combat) Action
Close combat represents fierce melee attacks that the
characters do, like using combat knifes, energy swords,
even the bare fist. Character with a range of 0 can only use
Close combat attacks.
Attack (RANGED COMBAT) Action
Ranged combat represents attacks that take place over
distance, such as thrown bombs, repulsor rays, machine
guns, energy blasts, and psionic attacks.

If a character attacks more than one target, that character

must be able to draw a line of fire to each target. A character
can use its full range against each character targeted.
When your character targets multiple targets with a ranged
combat attack, make only one attack roll; compare this
Attack Total to every targets Defense Value. Divide the
attackers Damage Value any way you choose among the
successfully hit targets. A successfully hit target can be
dealt 0 damage or any non-fractional amount of damage,
provided that all damage dealt is divided among the
successfully hit targets.
Example #1: Jason gives a ranged combat action to A,
which has Multiattack (2). Jason chooses two opposing
characters within As range and line of fire.
A has an Attack Value of 9. Jason rolls 2d6, with a result of
8. The Attack Total is 17 (10+7=17). Jason compares his
17 to the Defense Value of the two targets: One is B, with
a Defense Value of 18, and the other is C, with a Defense
Value of 15. A misses B, but he hits C for 3 damage. A cant
deal less than 3 damage to C.
Example #2: Norm uses A to make a ranged combat
attack targeting B and C, hitting both targets and dealing
4 damage. Norm could choose to deal 2 damage to each
target, 3 damage to one target and 1 damage to the other,
or 4 damage to one target and 0 damage to the other.
Especial: A character with the Multiattack special rule
cannot use it with a weapon that has the Area special rule.
BREAKING AWAY
If a character that is next to one or more enemy characters
is given an action and attempts to move, that character
must successfully break away before it can move.
To break away, roll a d6. On a result of 3 or less, that
character fails to break away and cant move; the enemy
next to the character can resolve one attack against that
character and the active character cannot many any other
action. On a result of 4 or higher, that character succeeds
in breaking away from all opposing characters adjacent to
it.

Every character has a weapon range value printed on its

card. This is the maximum number of MU (or inches) that
a characters ranged combat attack can reach. If the range
value is greater than 0 and your character is not adjacent
to an opposing character, then your character can make
a ranged combat attack. A character can attack in any
direction, regardless of the direction it is facing.

A character that successfully breaks away generates an

attack of opportunity

MULTIPLE RANGED COMBAT TARGETS

Some characters can make more than one attack, this is
done with the special ability Multiattack. This ability has a
number, for example, Multiattack (2), this number is the
maximum number of different targets the character can
target with a single attack action (for unless a game effect
indicates otherwise (for example, by indicating targets all
characters). A character can target the same character
more than once during an attack.

Only one successful break away roll is required to move

away from all adjacent opposing characters or other game
effects that may require break away from that space.
Once a character successfully breaks away, it can move
through spaces (or squares) adjacent to every opposing
character or game effect from which it broke away; but
ends its movement as normal if it becomes adjacent to an
opposing character that it did not break away from this
action.

Regardless of any game effects, a d6 roll of 1 automatically

results in a character failing to break away, while a d6 roll
of 6 automatically results in a character succeeding in
breaking away.

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23

WEAPONS

During the Covenant and human wars, warfare spawned

innumerable weapons, ranging in capability from the
simple but efficient Magnum pistol to the barely controllable
energies of the plasma cannon. In this section we describe
how characteristics and special rules reflect the differences
between different weapons.
Every weapon has a profile that consists of several elements, for
example

Weapon special rules

Weapons have several common rules that apply to them.

Assault weapon: a character using a weapon with this
rule can move more than 4 and dont suffer penalties.
Barrage (X): place a counter of on the battlefield (a small
dice of 1cm is fine). Make an attack roll against defence
14. If you attack roll hit, leave the counter in that position.
At the beginning of your next face (before you activate your
own characters) place the blast marker center over the
counter, all miniatures under the marker are hit and takes
damage equal to X. If the attack misses the attack then
roll 2d6, pick the highest result and disregard the other
roll, your opponent can place the marker anywhere on the
battlefield distance equal to the result of the roll in inches.

24

Barrage and ruins: Barrage weapons work by lobbing

munitions high into the air, bringing death to the enemy
from above. The advantage of these indirect fire weapons

is that they can be used to engage targets beyond the

limited lines of sight. The disadvantage is that they explode
the moment they strike a structure, meaning warriors can
shelter deep within ruins.

Grenades

Some characters start the game with grenades, as indicated

by the icon respective grenade icon their character cards.
If a character gets a grenade, put a Grenade token on its
character card; a character can throw a grenade only if it
has a Grenade token on its card.
Frag: Range 8. Area (3), Damage 4. Targets hit
by this weapon are knock back 4. Deal 2 extra
damage to the target if its knock back path is
blocked.
Flashbang: Range 8, No damage, Area
(no damage). Put an action token on all hit
characters that have zero action tokens.

Barrage weapons always strike the highest level that is

under the hole in the centre of the marker. Only models on
this level and under the template are actually hit.
Blast: This rule always have a number in brackets, like
Blast (1). When you hit a character with a weapon with this
rule you must place a blast marker (a circle with 3 radius
with a hole of 1 cm in the centre) in a way that the centre of
the marker is inside the base. Any miniature touched by the
marker receive damage equal to the number on brackets,
this damage cannot be Penetrating or Unavoidable.
Burst of fire: A character using a weapon with this special
rule can reroll the attack roll.
Heavy: This is a massive weapon and need a special
support to be fired, only characters with inhuman strength
special rule can carry a Heavy weapon.
Overheating: a character that rolls a double 1 using a
weapon with this rule cannot make another attack with this
weapon for a complete round.
Slow: Slow weapons require time to aim and makes
impossible to move and shoot at the same time. A weapon
with this rule cannot be shoot at the same face that the
character move.
Precision: +2 to attack if the target is at 4 or more.
Penetrating: the damage from this weapon is penetrating
damage (see special powers).
Unavoidable: the damage from this weapon is Unavoidable
damage (See special powers).
knock back (X): Targets hit by this weapon are knock back
a number of inches equal to X.

Plasma: Range 8, Area (3) (Especial). On a

hit mark the hit character. At the beginning of
your next turn, deal 4 damage to the character
marked in this way and apply the area damage.
Targets hit by this weapon are knock back 4.
Deal 2 extra damage to the target if its knock
back path is blocked.
Thermite: Armor Piercing, Penetrating, damage
4, Blast (3), Targets hit by this weapon are knock
back 4. Deal 2 extra damage to the target if its
knock back path is blocked. A character with
this grenade can use it to clear an area of 4 of
blocking terrain or walls

UNSC weapons

Name: Magnum Pistol

Range: 12
Cost: +5
Properties: Assault weapon. Precision.
Name: M45-TS Shotgun
Range: 12
Cost: +5
Properties: Assault weapon. Deal +1 damage at 8 or
less.
Name: M7057/DP Flamethrower
Range: 12
Cost: +5
Properties: Blast (1). Damage +2 against swarms.
Name: MA5C Assault rifle
Range: 24
Cost: +20
Properties: When this unit succeeds at a shot and the
attack roll is doubles, you may shot again at any target.
Name: BR55 Battle rifle
Range: 24
Cost: +20
Properties: When this unit succeeds at a shot and the
attack roll is doubles, the shot deals an extra 1 damage.

25

25

Name: M7 / Caseless SMG

Range: 24
Cost: +20
Properties: When this unit succeeds at a shot and the
attack roll is doubles, the shot also deals 1 damage to
every enemy unit adjacent to the target.
Name: S2 AM Sniper Rifle
Range: 48
Cost: +45
Properties: Precision. Heavy. When this unit succeeds
at a shot and the attack roll is doubles, deal an extra 2
damage.
Name: M41 SSR MAV/
AW (SPNKr) Rocket
launcher
Range: 36
Cost: +45
Properties: Blast (2), Armor Pearcing, +2 Damage, -1
to attack when attacking non vehicles. Targets hit by this
weapon are knock back 4. Deal 2 extra damage to the
target if its knock back path is blocked.
Name: M247 GPMG
TURRET
Range: 36
Cost: +45
Properties: Penetrating. Burst of fire.
+2 Damage. When this unit succeeds at

26

a shot and the attack roll is doubles, you may shot again
at any target.

Covenant weapons
Name: Energy Sword
Range: 0
Cost: +5
Properties: Owner can
only attack adjacent
characters. On a hit deal
+1d6 extra damage.
Name: Gravity Hammer
Range: 0
Cost: +5
Properties:Blast (2) (This blast dont affect user of the
weapon). Owner can only attack adjacent characters. On
a hit deal +1d3 extra damage. Targets hit by this weapon
are knock back 4. Deal 2 extra damage to the target if its
knock back path is blocked.
Name: Plasma Pistol
Range: 12
Cost: +5
Properties: Assault weapon. Penetrating.

Name: Plasma Rifle

Range: 24
Cost: +20
Properties: Overheating. When this
unit succeeds at a shot and the attack
roll is doubles, you may shot again at
any target
Name: Fuel Rod Cannon
Range: 36
Cost: +45
Properties: Blast (2),
Penetrating, +2 Damage, -1
to attack when attacking non
vehicles. Targets hit by this weapon are knock back 4.
Deal 2 extra damage to the target if its knock back path is
blocked.
Name: Plasma Cannon
Range: 36
Cost: +30
Properties: Damage +2.
Penetrating.
Name: Spiker Rifle
Range: 24
Cost: +20
Properties: Penetrating. In
close Combat deals an extra
1 damage.

Name: Needler rifle

Range: 24
Cost: +20
Properties: Blast (1). Assault weapon.
Name: Covenant Carabine
Range: 24
Cost: +20
Properties: When this unit
succeeds at a shot and
the attack roll is doubles,
the shot deals an extra 1
damage.
Name: Brute Shot
Range: 24
Cost: +25
Properties: Blast (1).
When this unit succeeds
at a shot and the attack roll is doubles, deal an extra 1
damage. In close Combat deals an extra 1 damage.
Name: Particle beam rifle
Range: 48
Cost: +45
Properties: Precision. Slow.
When this unit succeeds
at a shot and the attack roll is doubles, deal an extra 2
damage.

27

27

28

29

29

POWERS AND
SPECIAL
ABILITIES

Character have special abilities (also called special rules)

and powers that allow them to do actions that are not normally allowed (like moving all his speed and making an
attacks without penalty). Powers and special abilities are
always printed on a character card, are visible through the
statistic box.

Rules for Special Abilities,

Powers, and Commander
Effects
Special abilities, powers, and commander effects all have
some rules in common.

Replaces Attacks

Many special abilities and powers allow a character to use

them anytime during its turn, and their use doesnt prevent
that character from being able to attack during that turn. If
using a special ability or power replaces attacks, this fact
is noted in the abilitys rules text on the stat card and in the
definition in the glossary at the end of this booklet.
Special abilities and powers that replace attacks can be
used only on the acting characters turn, and any moment
that he could use an attack. For example the character can
move and use the power (like moving and attacking), or
use the power and move 4 (like attack and move).

30

Some special abilities and powers replace a characters

entire turn. A character cant do anything else that turn, not
even move.

Targets of Special Abilities and Powers

When you choose an enemy as a target for a special ability, use the same rules as for attacks.
Line of Sight: You can choose only an enemy that the acting character can see.
Cover: If an enemy has cover, his defence increase in +1
against the power, and you cant choose it as the target
unless its the nearest enemy.
Adjacent Enemy: If one or more enemies are adjacent
to the acting character, you must choose one of these enemies as the target.

Simultaneous Effects

If several effects happen at the same time, play them out

one after the other. Usually it doesnt matter what order
these effects happen in. If it does matter, use the following
rules.
Players Choice: If several effects apply to one players
character or characters, that player determines the order.
Acting Player First: If the effects apply to more than one
players characters, the acting player (the one whose character is doing something) goes first.

Standard and named powers

A standard power is a power with only its name printed

next to the circle on the character card (such as Blades/
Claws/Fangs); an explanation of its effects appears on the
Powers and Abilities section. A named power, like SEISMIC BLAST (Quake), is a standard power with a specific
descriptive title. It is capitalized next to a circle and is followed in parentheses by the name of the standard power
(which is explained on the Powers and Abilities Card). All
references to a standard power in a game effect refer to a
standard or a named power.

Reading powers and special abilities

The majority of the powers are explained in the card for

easy reading, but for space reasons some are just mention
by name (like Infiltration), in that case is a common special power that is described in this section and you must
rules and you must check in the basic rules for the description of the power.

Activating powers and abilities

Special abilities are passive special rules that affect the

character or characters that interact with the owner of
the ability. To use these abilities usually you dont have to
spend a Power action to use it. In the description of the
Special ability you can see how it affect the actions of the
character.
Most special abilities are automatic. They either always
work, or they work under certain conditions. For example,

an OSDT has Infiltration (can be deployed anywhere on

the battlefield at 14 or more of enemy characters) and
Deflection when he is Fresh (+2 to defence against ranged
attacks). If youre activating the ODST, you dont have to
choose whether to use a special ability, and you dont have
to choose between them. Both abilities work whenever
you need them to.
Powers instead need to use a power action in order to
use it, in the description of the power explain the benefits
and results of using a power. When you spend a power
action, the character is limited to do only what his power
allow him to do, he cannot move (unless the power allow
him) or make an attack (also, unless the power allow him
to attack).
Usually powers and Special abilities are permanent to the
character, but some powers and Special abilities can only
be used when the character is Fresh or Fatigued. In this
case the power or Special ability has a Blue circle if can
only be used when the character is Fresh, and a red circle
when is fatigued.
Some power and Special abilities has a specific icon correspondent with one of the stats with a blue or red colour.
This is just like having a blue or red circle and is only to
indicate that when the character become fatigued he replaces the blue power with the power marked with red.
For example: Spartans has the Shields special ability
when they are fresh, and Dodge when they are fatigued.
When a power or ability indicates that the character may
do something, that indicates an option that the player of
that character can make when the situation presents itself. Other than that, powers and Special abilities are not
optional. A special power that says Character can use
Blades/Claws/Fangs and Stealth does not allow the character to choose whether or not it is using Stealth (since
that standard powers description does not use the word
may) but does allow the character to choose when it will
roll a d6 for its close combat attack (since the description
of that standard power does use the word may).

Power availability

Some powers have a symbol of blue or Red colour next

to them in the stat card, this symbols represent that the
power is only available when the character is fresh (with a
blue symbol) or Fatigued (with the Red symbol).

Command abilities

Some characters are able to influence allies on the battlefield. These characters have commander effects. Commander effects do not normally affect Mechanical, Vehicles, Swarm or Savage characters.
Command abilities are global effects that are always active and affect one or more miniatures as described by the
power.

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31

For a character benefit of the command ability from another character he must:

Assault weapon: If you move more than 4 and attack,

you dont subtract 3.

Had line of Sight with the commander

Burst of fire: You may re-roll the attack dice if you want,
you must keep the second result even if is worse.

Be in range of the command ability.

Team abilities

Team abilities are special abilities a character can use due

to its alliance with a team or an affiliated group. When a
characters card includes a team symbol, it indicates the
character possesses the team ability, as described on the
team abilities description. Characters may have more than
one team symbol on their card; this grants the possession
of multiple team abilities. Characters can also possess
team abilities through special powers or trait abilities or
Additional Team Ability cards. Unless specified otherwise,
these granted team abilities do not replace the symbols or
team abilities currently possessed by the character.
UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND (UNSC): When
this character is adjacent to a friendly UNSC characters
modify his range values by +2. Give this character a power action and choose an adjacent UNSC friendly character. The chosen character modifies its damage value by +1
while adjacent to this character and making ranged combat attacks this turn. Uncopyable.
Covenant Empire:Characters with the Covenant Empire
team ability may replace their attack value with the unmodified attack value of an adjacent friendly character with
the Covenant Empire team ability
THE FLOOD: Characters using the Flood Ally team ability
treat hindering terrain as clear terrain for movement purposes. Give this character a power action, he can move
and his speed value increase in +4 (he still need to make
any break away test if necessary).
Insurrectionists: Characters using the Insurrectionists team ability treat hindering terrain as clear terrain for
movement purposes. If this character has cover, his cover
bonus is +2 instead of +1.

Special powers and abilities

Here is a summary of all the special rules, power and abilities of the Halo Tactics characters.
Active Camo: Modify this characters defense value by +2
against range attacks.
Aimed shot: give this character a power action, he makes
a ranged combat attack modifying his attack value by +2.
Ambidexterity: You can carry two weapons at the same
time.
Armor (X): Damage dealt to this character is reduced by
X. Only weapons with the armor piercing special rule can
overpass this reduction.

32

Charge: If this character move and then attack, he dont

suffer penalties for moving more than 4.
Claws: +1 damage in close combat attacks.
Close and deadly: This character can reroll any melee
attack roll he makes.
Combat Dodge: Modify this characters defense value by
+2 against close combat attacks.
Combat reflexes: Modify this characters defense value
by +2 against close combat attacks. When this character
takes damage from an attack, it may choose to be knocked
back. This character ignores knock back damage.
Deflection: Modify this characters defense value by +2
against ranged combat attacks.
Detonate: when the this character is next to an enemy
character or his health value is reduced to 0 he explodes.
Place a blast marker over this character, all characters under this blast take 3 points of damage and are knock back
5 away from the explosion.
Dodge: When this character is hit by an attack, you may
roll a d6 before damage is dealt. On a result of 5-6, this
character evades the attack. Weapons with Unavoidable
special rule ignore Dodge.
Double tap:When this character hits an enemy character
with a grenade, after the attack is resolved he may immediately make a ranged combat attack targeting the same
enemy character as a free action.
Far shot: if this character dont move, he increase the
range of any weapon he carries in 4.
Fury: Give this character a close combat action. After the
close combat attack resolves, it may make a second close
combat attack as a free action.
Guide attack: Give a power action to this character, all
friendly Marines characters at 6 get +1 to attack rolls until
the beginning of next turn.
Hologram: This character can only be hit by close combat
attacks. Cortana cannot use any weapon or grenade. This
character always pass break up test.
Hunter: At the beginning of the game pick up an enemy
character, this character has +1 damage against that enemy character. When the chosen character is removed from
game you can select a new enemy character.
Incapacitate: Give this character a power action. Make
one attack with a range of 24 that deals no damage. If the

attack hits, give the target an action token. (this power can
cause Push damage).
Infection: If this character destroys a non-flood enemy
character, reduce the health value of the flood infection in
1. The defeated character remains in the battlefield, in the
next phase that character return to game under the control of the Flood player with a health value of 5. This new
infected character keeps his weapons and gains Claws,
Fury and Toughness (1) special rules and the gains flood
team ability replacing any previous team ability.
Infection carrier: After this character Detonates, replaced
it with two 2 Flood infection bases (characters), one in the
space previously occupied for this character and other
next to it.
Infesting spores: Each time an opposing character takes
damage from a close combat attack made by this character, heal this character of 1 damage.
Inhuman Strength: This character can carry heavy weapons.
Infiltration: Characters with this special rule are deployed
last, after all other units (friends and foe) have been deployed. If both sides have infiltrators, the players roll-off
and the winner decides who goes first, and then alternate
deploying these characters. Infiltrators may be set up anywhere on the table that is more than 14 from any enemy
unit. This includes inside a building, as long as the building
is more than 14 from any enemy unit.
Inspire confidence: Give a power action to this character,
you can use the UNSC team ability and as a free action
this character can make a range attack.
Jump infantry: A character with this special rule or tyope
can fly over the battle field instead of moving on the surface, landing at the end of its move. It isnt slowed by terrain features that normally slow movement, such as difficult
terrain or obstacles. It can move over pits but cannot end
its movement on them. A jump infantry character can move
over other characters, ignoring them (though it cannot end
its movement in a space occupied by another character or
in an illegal position). This character still needs to make
checks for break away.

Power attack: give this character a power action, he

makes an immediate attack modifying his damage value
by +1.
Precision: +2 attack against units more than 4 away.
Precise shot: when this character make a ranged attack
reduce the cover bonus of his target in -1.
Penetrating Damage: the damage from this weapon or
attack cannot be reduced.
Runner: give this character a power action, she move up
to his speed +8 this round.
Shields: Damage dealt to this character is reduced by 1.
Smash: A character hit by a close combat attack from
this character takes +1d3 additional damage.
Slow: You cannot move in the same turn you make a
range attack or use this weapon, you may still make a melee attack.
Quickfire:When this character hits a character with a grenade, after the attack resolves he may immediately make
a ranged combat attack targeting the same character as a
free action.
Take Cover: Modify this characters defense value by +2
against ranged combat attacks.
Toughness (X): Damage dealt to this character is reduced
by X. Only weapons with the Penetrating special rule can
overpass this reduction. (Hip cost x(x-1))
Unavoidable Damage: the damage from this weapon or
attack cannot be avoided or evaded.
We are in the path of Rightness: Once during your turn,
this character allows you to reroll one of your rolls, ignoring
the original roll.

Massive: This character cannot be push back.

Marksman: The character can reroll any range attack roll
he makes.
Multiattack(X): A character with this ability can make a
number of extra attacks equal to the X number. A character with the Multiattack special rule cannot use it with a
weapon that has the Blast special rule.
Override: At the end of this character turn as a free action designate 1 door that he can see as open or closed. It
remains open or closed until the end of this character next
turn, or until is defeated.

33

33

TERRAIN

The galaxy is a vast place with millions of different

warzones: ice worlds, desert worlds, hive worlds, feral
worlds and many other exotic types of battlefield if you
can imagine it, then it probably exists somewhere. The
terrain covering these worlds can vary from broad, empty
plains to sky-scraping towers of plexiglass and plasteel,
from verdant jungles to barren moonscapes or baking
hot deserts. How to represent terrain on the battlefield is
discussed later.
For now, were going to discuss terrain only in terms of
how infantry move through it.

Terrain types

Terrain provides useful cover from enemy fire, but can

also impede the movement of your units. Troops can be
slowed by pushing through or climbing over barriers and
obstructions. There are three general classes of terrain:
clear, difficult and impassable.
Clear terrain can be moved across without any penalty,
and generally covers most of the battlefield.
Difficult terrain slows down models wishing to move
through it, and can sometimes be dangerous to models
passing through it.
Impassable terrain cannot be moved across or into.

34

Terrain effects

Terrain moving through terrain has different effects as

detailed below.
Clear terrain: A character moving through clear terrain
has no penalties to his movement.

Dangerous terrain: as mentioned previously, some

terrain features will be dangerous to move through. This
is represented by the dangerous terrain test. Roll a D6 for
every model that has entered, left or moved through one or
more areas of dangerous terrain during its movement. On
the roll of a 1 or 2, the model suffers 3 points of unavailable
damage.

An old mine field is Dangerous terrain

Low Objects: Low Objects (a battlefield feature that

will only cover up to 50% if the character) are treated as
Difficult terrain for movement proposes.
An open street is a good example of open terrain

Difficult/ hindering terrain: Is a character is moving

passing an area of difficult terrain, an area containing
rubble, broken ground, or other difficult terrain, each 1 of
movement will cost him 2 of his speed.

Pits: Pits are considered Impassable terrain, and thus

block movement.

Rubble and debris are difficult terrain.

For example, a soldier with speed 7 move 2 in open

ground, and then he moves 2 over some barrels (costing
him 4 of movement), after passing the barrels he only
have 1 of movement left.
Impassable terrain: models may not be placed in
impassable terrain unless the models concerned have a
special rule in their profile granting them an exception (like
being able to fly above the terrain) or both players agree
to it.

Walls: Walls that only cover 75% (or less) of the character
are considered difficult terrain. To pass the wall the
character must climb up the wall, to do this reduce the
height of the wall from the speed of the character. If the wall
height is double of the character is considered Impassable
terrain instead. Some big objects count as walls.
Doors: Doors act like walls while closed and have no
effect while open.
Low Visibility Zone: A terrain with this rule block line of
sight. You can see any character inside the terrain (the
character gets cover) but you cannot see characters that
in the opposite side of the terrain. This represent debris,
trees or bushes that block your view in the battlefield.

This old oil depod is Impassable terrain

35

35

Buildings

Impassable buildings and movement

If a building is agreed to be impassable at the start of the

game, it follows the normal rules for impassable terrain,
and models cannot go inside it for any reason.This is not
to say that models will not interact with the building it will
of course block line of sight and provide cover for models
sheltering in its lee.
Remember that if it is possible to physically place models
on top of an impassable building, jump infantry are allowed
to end their move there, treating it as dangerous terrain.
As usual, a brief discussion with your opponent about the
building before the game begins is well worthwhile.

The bloody battles of the halo universe often envelop

cities, towns, defence lines, research outposts, city blocks,
pumping stations, army barracks, mining colonies, space
ports, tribal forts, ancient tombs, sacred shrines and
countless other types of building. In the middle of a war
zone, such structures are generally deserted, and as such
they can be used as defensive positions for troops from
either side. Depending on their size, buildings can house
anything from a small squad to an entire army.
Not all buildings need be designed with a military purpose in
mind they merely need to be intact structures (preferably
with thick walls and good arcs of fire) that troops can use
as a defensive position against an oncoming foe.
Which pieces in your terrain collection count as buildings
is up to you and your opponent, but they can range from
unprepossessing wooden shacks to stone dwellings and
ceramite bunkers to ancient alien structures and battle
fortresses.
Buildings of all types use aspects of the transport vehicle
rules. The main difference between them and actual
vehicles is that they cant move, and units from either side
can go inside.
Some bunker or bastion models may be fitted with their
own weapons. These weapons cannot be used to shoot
unless previously agreed with your opponent, or unless
there are special rules for that terrain piece or the mission
you intend to play that specifically say otherwise. It is
generally a good idea to assume that these weapons were
abandoned long ago, and that they no longer work.

Impassable buildings

There are times when a players collection may include

buildings that makes no sense for warriors to enter huge
storage tanks, vast solid monuments and the like. In game
terms we refer to these structures as impassable buildings.

36

Occupying buildings

Models can enter or exit a building through a doorway or

other opening that the players have agreed to treat as
an access point. Players should decide what the access
points are before deployment, in order to avoid any
possible confusion on this matter.
This aside, moving into or out of a building works the same
as moving in the battlefield, if you can remove the ceiling
of the building and place/ or move your miniatures inside
of the terrain as normal. If this is not possible (maybe
the model of the building not allow this), then you must
remove the miniatures from the table and place them into
a template of the interior floor.

Ruins

Some buildings were destroyed for the war, those are

incomplete or in ruins.
All ruins are area terrain (providing a +1 cover bonus to
Defense) and difficult terrain. Players may also agree at the
beginning of the game to treat some ruins as dangerous
terrain as well, representing unstable structures on the
verge of collapsing or that are still on fire. Of course, the
nature of ruins means that the boundaries of the area
terrain can be somewhat indistinct. The best way to
counter this is to ensure that both players are clear on the
limits of each ruin before the game begins.

An example of a building with removable ceiling.

A template of the inferior of a building can be made with

cardboard (or better materials) and is a silhouette of the
building that shows the walls, doors and windows, and
allows the players to keep track of the positions of the
miniatures inside the buildings. This works just like moving
in the battlefield.
Building are always difficult terrain to represent desks,
interior partitions, etc. You cannot make a range attack
through a building from outside to outside, even if you
can draw LoF through openings.
Occupying building - abstract system: An more abstract
and easier way is just put the miniatures in a side table
and keep track of in which level and window is each
miniature. Going up a level cost them 4 of movement and
moving inside (changing of position) cost them 4. In this
variant, if an character enter and occupied by enemies, he
cannot move out or to other floor until all enemy characters
are defeated, he can try to break away to go back to an
unoccupied floor.

Firing from buildings

Just like some transport vehicles, buildings have fire points

that allow characters inside to fire out. These could be the
fire slits on bunkers and bastions or the windows on other
buildings. Players should agree beforehand where these
fire points are. Unless the players agree otherwise, up to
two models may shoot through each fire point of a building.

Attacking characters inside buildings and

Buildings.

You can target characters inside buildings, they are

threaded as having cover. Unless you agree to it, you
cannot destroy buildings.

Ruins with bases

A ruin may be mounted on a base, decorated with rubble,

collapsed walls and other debris, in which case it is best
to treat the base exactly the same as the upper floors
as area terrain (providing a +1 cover bonus to Defence),
difficult terrain and has the Low Visibility Zone rule.

Ruins without bases

If the ruin has not been mounted on a base, then the

ground floor is not counted as either difficult terrain or
area terrain.

COPING WITH DIFFERENT HEIGHTS

With characters in ruins you will often need to measure

weapon ranges between models on different levels and
at different heights. Measure the distance from base
to base, holding your tape measure at an angle as
necessary. Sometimes a wall of rubble or an exposed
stanchion will get in the way and youll find it difficult, or
impossible, to accurately measure the distance. Should
this happen, its more than acceptable to estimate based
on what you can measure.

37

37

Guidelines on categorising
terrain

It is a relatively simple matter to classify terrain within

these four categories, and it is important that you and your
opponent agree what class of terrain each feature falls into
before starting your game.
Clear terrain includes open areas, such as fields,
moorland, grass, deserts, ash wastes and gentle hills. This
could be embellished with the odd tree, shrub or cactus (or
alien equivalents) for visual appeal.
Difficult terrain includes areas of rubble, jungles, woods,
ruins, brush and scrub, rocky outcrops, boggy ground,
low walls, hedges, fences, razor wire, barricades, steep
hills, streams and other shallow water (as well as terrain
features that combine several of these types, such as a
ruin surrounded by woods). If the terrain feature includes
hazards, such as booby traps, carnivorous plants, toxic
vents, erupting geysers and the like, then it may be
additionally categorised as both difficult and dangerous
terrain.

38

Impassable terrain includes deep water, lava flows, steep

rocky cliffs and buildings that models cannot enter, as
agreed with your opponent. Remember that other models,
friends and enemies, also count as impassable terrain.
Low Visibility Zones include the interrior of buildings
(always), some area terrain (Like rubble, jungles, woods,
ruins, brush). Many area terrain can be considered as
a Low Visibility Zones, is recommended to have some
areas that have this rule, but not too many so range units
become obsoletes, between 1 up to 3 Low visibility zones
in a battlefield is enough.
Buildings that models can enter, like bunkers, bastions
and other fortifications.
You will notice that buildings appear in more than one
category.
Area terrain
Sometimes a terrain feature has clearly defined edges,
such as a crater, a stream or an intact building. Other
times, however, this might be slightly less clear, as in the
case of marshes, woods, ruins and other types of rough
ground. In reality a wood might be a tangled, overgrown

mass of foliage, without a clear edge. If it is represented

like this on your tabletop, then it will be very difficult to
stand models on it, and it would be difficult to decide if the
models are inside or outside it.
For the clarity of the game it is important to be able to
tell where the boundary of the terrain feature is, as these
pieces normally count as difficult terrain. This is where we
need to introduce the concept of area terrain. You can
show the boundary of a piece of area terrain by using a
flat baseboard, an outline of lichen or sand, or by painting
a slightly different colour on your gaming board. Trees,
rocks, ruins, or whatever is appropriate for the kind of area
terrain you are representing, are usually placed within the
boundary of the area terrains base.

You should discuss all such terrain features with your

opponent before the game and agree exactly what
everything counts as and where boundaries of terrain
features lie. When the game is underway, it will be harder
to discuss it quite so impartially.

When moving models into this area, you may temporarily

remove the rocks, trees, etc. (if they are not glued in place!)
to make moving the models easier. Remember, however,
to put them back where they originally were (or as close as
possible!) after you finish moving, as they may affect the
line of sight of models shooting through that area terrain.

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The Halo Universe give you a vast array of heroes and

characters to select for your squat

ORGANISING A
BATTLE

Now that youve learned the rules for moving, shooting

and fighting with your characters, well look at how to
organise a game of Halo Tactics, including how to choose
your forces, how to set up the battlefield and how to select
a mission to play.

Building your own Squat

Each character has a point value. For a standard Halo

Tactics game, you must have a squat of at least three
characters that have a combined total point value of 400
points or less. You cant include any units in your starting
force that cost more than 150 points. You can play with a
force with a greater point value, but games will take longer,
or play with a force of 200 points for a quick match.
In an advance game you can include in your forces
vehicles, with a cost greater than 150 points, but you must
agree with your opponent to use those vehicles.

Choose Sides

When starting a new game, first choose sides one player

will be UNSC, the other Covenant. If there are more than
two players, break into equal teams and decide if you want
to strategize together, or if each player will be responsible
for an individual unit within the team. There is also two
optional factions in the game, one is the parasitic flood and
the other is the rebel colonial human forces that opposes
to the UNSC.

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UNSC: The United Nations Space

Command, more commonly known
as UNSC, is the military, exploratory,
and scientific agency of theUnified Earth
Government. The UNSC formed halfway
through the 22nd century as remnants of
old cultural ideologies clashed for supremacy in the Sol
System and mainly oversaw United Nations military
operations in space. The UN massively militarizing its
off-world colonies via propaganda and then defeated
communist and fascist forces in the Interplanetary
War which consisted of several side-battles that took
place on Mars, the Jovian Moons, and the South
American rainforests. Although the Interplanetary War
brought great suffering and death unto Earth and its
colonies, it united humanitys militaries into a common,
armed force by the end of the 22nd century.
Humanity
was
in
chaos
before
the Covenant attack on Harvest in 2525. The UN was
waging a bloody struggle against groups of terrorists (or
freedom fighters) called theInsurrectionists, who wanted
independence from the Unified Earth Government.
The UNSCDF, a branch of the UNSC, constantly battled
the Insurrectionists. In an attempt to help end the longrunning war against the rebels, the UEG commissioned
theORION Project(also known as the SPARTAN-I project)
and later theSPARTAN-II Program, which created a group
of elite super-soldiers to combat the separatists and the
insurrections that they spawned. When the HumanCovenant war began, and the technologically superior
aliens began decimating the Outer colonies, these
Spartans became humanitys best hope for survival. Faced
with genocide on an unprecedented scale, the UNSC
mobilized for total war.

most variable faction in the trilogy, as it can infect and

mutateHumansand Covenant species, such asSangheili,
and Jiralhanae, into Combat Forms. They are widely
considered to be the greatest threat to the whole existence
of life, or, more accurately, biodiversity, in the Milky Way
galaxy.
Insurrectionists:
The Insurrectionists,
nicknamedInnies by theUNSC Marinesand
also known asInsurgentsor simplyRebels,
were groups of individuals rebelling against
theUnified Earth Government, and the main
enemy of theUNSCduring theInsurrection, an undeclared
civil war between the UNSC and numerous Insurrectionist
factions.

Squad-Building Etiquette

Construct your squad in secret, using the stat cards. Dont

identify which characters youre using yet; just keep your
hand of stat cards ready. You reveal your squad when
setting up the battle grid.

The right squad for the right battle

Squads have different strengths and weaknesses,

depending on the mix of characters and the factions they
belong to. Try creating several different squads and get a
feel for how they play. Each rewards different strategies and
tactics. One might consist of a large number of low-power
characters, another could feature a few very powerful
characters, while a third combines the two combat styles
in some unique manner. The more combinations you try,
the more tricks and tactics you learnand the more youll
win!

The Covenant Empire: The Covenant

Empire, also referred to asthe Covenant,
was a theocratic hegemony made up
of multiple alien species that maintain
control over a large portion of the Orion
Armin theMilky Waygalaxy.
The
Covenant
waged
a
genocidal
campaign against humanity, declaring that humans are
n affront to their gods. The Covenant was a political,
military, and religious affiliation, originally a mutual alliance
between the San Shyuum and Sangheili following a brutal
conflict between the two warring races. Its expansion to
include at least six other races united in the worship of
the Forerunners and the Halo Array soon began after the
original formation.
The Flood: Also called The dead
reincarnated or The Parasite, by
theCovenant, is a species of highly virulent
parasitic organisms that can reproduce
and grow by consuming sentient life forms
of sufficient biomass and cognitive capability. The Flood
was responsible for consuming most of the sentient life in
the galaxy, notably theForerunners, during the 300-yearlong Forerunner-Flood War. The Flood presents the

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Prepare the battlefield

The gaming surface
Standard missions are designed to be played on a 4x4
gaming surface, with each player sitting behind one of
the long table edges (his own table edge, see diagram
below). The concept of own table edge is important,
because when units fall back, they will always fall back
towards their own table edge. We assume this is in the
direction of their base of operations. The remaining two
edges of the gaming surface are referred to as the two
short table edges, which do not belong to any player, as
shown in the diagram below.
If you are playing a game with a very large or small points
limit, you may want to consider larger or smaller gaming
surfaces. Whatever the size and shape of your table, it
is important to establish the different table edges as
described.
Bigger battlefields.
If the players use a bigger force (over 400 points) or play
a multiplayer game, they can shooce to use a bigger
board, ussually 6x4 is fine for a bigger battle. There is
no restriction on the board size, the only rule is that the
distance between deployment zones must be 24.

setting up terrain

Setting up a well-modelled, interesting battlefield will

enhance the enjoyment that you get from playing a game
of Halo Tactics. Many players will collect several characters
before considering the possibility of investing in some good
terrain. This is a shame, as a new set-up for your games
can breathe fresh life into the most heavily played armies
and missions. Adapting your tactics from fighting in rolling
woodland to capturing buildings, ruins and other heavily
defended positions is both challenging and fun.

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It is best if the players place the terrain together, ensuring

that the set-up is acceptable to them both. Alternatively,
you may ask a third person to set up the terrain in a fair
manner. A third common way of setting up the terrain is for
the player hosting the game (or arriving first at the club) to
set the terrain up, and for the other player to automatically
win the roll to choose who deploys first (see missions).
In tournament play, terrain will normally be pre-set by the
organisers.

how much terrain?

As a general rule in Halo Tactics, the more terrain, the better the
gaming experience. If you use too little terrain, games will be
short and not very satisfactory, with too much advantage going to
the player who gets to shoot first. For a balanced game, where
close combat troops have a chance to get into contact with the
enemy without being completely blown away in a couple of turns,
we expect that about a quarter of the total playing surface should
have terrain on it.
In your terrain collection there should be a good mixture of
types. An equal division between terrain which interferes with
line of sight and provides cover (such as woods or ruins), terrain
which provides cover, but does not block line of sight (such as
barricades, craters, scrubland and low rubble) and terrain which
blocks line of sight completely (such as hills, rocky outcrops,
buildings, etc.) makes for good tactical play. It is best to build your
terrain collection with this in mind, otherwise the game balance
could be seriously affected. Terrain that completely blocks line
of sight is particularly important. Too much of it and your ranged
firepower will be seriously impaired favouring assault troops; too
little and the game will turn into a shooting match, with very little
movement or tactical choices.

Define the terrain

Before continuing, you should agree with your opponent
how to define each piece of terrain you are using (see
pages 34 to 39 for more details). This doesnt take more
than a few minutes, but it is important to do before the battle
starts otherwise it has a tendency to cause confusion
and arguments in the middle of the game. Of course if you

Example of a wilderness terrain set

Ruined city terrain set

are playing with your usual adversary on the same

terrain that you always do, this will be as simple
as saying Just like last time, okay? However
with a less familiar opponent, or if you are
playing over some new terrain, remember to
clarify the following:
Which terrain pieces are area terrain,
difficult terrain or dangerous terrain (or a
combination)?
Which terrain
impassable terrain?

pieces

are

Which terrain pieces are ruins?

Which terrain is just hindering
terrain but not confer cover?
Which area of terrain is have
the low visibility special rule?

A perfect board for Halo Tactics

Which buildings are impassable?

What are the access points and capacity for any buildings?

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Deployment

Sometimes battles occur between forces that have been in

place for weeks, carefully preparing their positions, while
at other times a skirmish between patrols escalates into
a major engagement, with reserves pouring in from other
sectors. You can either agree with your opponent which
type of deployment to use for your squats, or roll a D6 and
consult the chart:
1d6
1-2
3-4
5-6

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Result
Middle ground
Spearhead
Contact

Middle ground

The table is divided lengthways into two halves, by drawing

an imaginary line through the middle of one of the table
edges. For example, a 4x4 table would have two 4x2
halves.
The players roll-off, and the winner chooses to go first or
second. The player that goes first then chooses one of the
table edges to be his own table edge. He then deploys his
force in his half of the table, with all models more than 12
away from the tables middle line (this is his deployment
zone). His opponent then deploys in the opposite half.

Spearhead

Contact

The players roll-off, and the winner chooses to go first or

second. The player that goes first then chooses one of the
table edges to be his own table edge. He then deploys his
force in his half of the table, with all models more than 12
away from the tables middle line (this is his deployment
zone). is opponent then deploys in the opposite half.

The players roll-off, and the winner chooses to go first or

second. The player that goes first then chooses one of
the long table edges to be his own table edge. He then
deploys his force in one of the two table quarters on his
side the table, more than 12 away from the centre of the
table (this is his deployment zone). His opponent then
deploys in the diagonally opposite quarter.

Trace a imaginary line that go from one of the table edge to

the opposite table edge dividing the table into two halves.
For example, a 4x4 table would have two triangles halves.

The table is divided into four quarters, formed by drawing

two imaginary perpendicular lines through the centre
point. So a 4x4 table would have four 2x2 quarters.

Defining the game size

Before playing the players must agree about the size of

the game they are going to play. This rules are build with
the idea of all players are going to play an stardart game,
but they can change the size of this as they see fit.
The size of the game define the number of points the
players have to spend in the squat they are going to build.
Being 200- (quick), 400- (standard), or 600-point cost
limits (epic).

Ending the game

To win a mission you must score a number of victory points

equal to your squat building limit, usually 400 victory points
for a standard game. The way to earn those victory points
depend on the mission that the players are playing.
Some Missions have a different way to end the match (like
the Hardpoint mission), in this case this is defined in the
mission rules.

wipeout!

Regardless of the victory conditions, if at the end of any phase

your enemy has no units left on the table, you
win the game!

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Select a mission

Missions define how to work out which side has won,

dictating the tactics that the players will have to employ
during the battle. The three standard missions in this
section are the most common Halo tactics battles are
played. They are relatively simple, and do not require an
team that is designed specifically towards a single style
of play. You can either agree with your opponent which
mission to play, or roll D6 and consult the chart below:
1d6
1-2
3-4
5-6

Result
Hard point
Assault
Slayer

Hardpoint

Each team must fight over the control of three tactical objectives on the map, those represent data cores, injured
teammates, lost weapons caches, etc. Take and hold
these hardpoints to earn VP.
Number of Players: Two.
Squats: Build a squat with 200- (quick), 400- (standard),
or 600-point cost limits (epic) using the standard squat
construction rules (see Building your own squat, p. 40).
Setup: Hardpoint uses the standard set-up procedure for
terrain (see Preparing the battlefield, p. 42). After placing
and defining the terrain, you must place an objective in the
middle of the board (Alpha target), then each player must
place 1 tactical objectives in their own deployment zone at
12 (or more) from the table edge and all must be 12 apart
of each other.
Deployment: After positioning the objectives, you deploy
your squat. Hardpoint uses the standard Deployment procedure (see Deployment, p. 44).
Scoring Victory Points: There are two ways to score victory points.
Killing the Team Leader: Each player must select one nonvehicle character from their squat, that is the squat leader. If you manage to kill the squat leader from the enemy
squat you score 20 victory points (in a quick match), or 40
victory points (for standard matches), or 60 victory points
(for epic games).
Controlling objectives: At the end of a round, for each objective that you control you score 25 victory points (in a
quick match), or 50 victory points (for standard matches),
or 75 victory points (for epic games). You control an objective if there is at least one of your characters, and no
enemy characters, within 3 of it.
As different objectives vary in shape and size, it is important to agree at the beginning of the game exactly where
this distance will be measured from. You can use counters
or designed a terrain piece in the battlefield as objective,
in that case the control area is measured from the base or
hull of the terrain.
Ending the game: This mission last a random number of
game turns. At the end of game turn 5, a player must roll a
dice. On a 1-3 the game ends immediately, on a 4+ a new
game turn is played. If this is the case, a player will roll
another dice at the end of each turn after the 5th, until 1, 2
or 3 is rolled, in that moment the game ends automatically.
Victory Conditions: When the game ends (see ending
the game, above) the player with the higher number of victory points wins the battle.

46

In a Hardpoint game, at the end of any phase victory goes

to the 1rst player to score victory points equal to point cost
limit used in squats construction; for example, 400 points
in a 400-point battle.

Assault

Slayer

Number of Players: Two.

Number of Players: Two.

Squats: Build a squat with 200- (quick), 400- (standard),

or 600-point cost limits (epic) using the standard squat
construction rules (see Building your own squat, p. 40).

Squats: Build a squat with 200- (quick), 400- (standard),

or 600-point cost limits (epic) using the standard squat
construction rules (see Building your own squat, p. 40).

Setup: Assault uses the standard set-up procedure for terrain (see Preparing the battlefield, p. 42). After placing
and defining the terrain, you must place 3 tactical objectives. Each player setup one objective in their own deployment zone at 12 from the table edge and the final objective are placed in the middle of the board (alpha objective).

Setup: Slayer uses the standard set-up procedure for terrain (see Preparing the battlefield, p. 42). After placing
and defining the terrain, you must place 1 tactical objective
in the middle of the board.

This scenario, the standard, rewards combat effectiveness

and clever manoeuvring.

Deployment: After positioning the objectives, you deploy

your squat. Assault uses the standard Deployment procedure (see Deployment, p. 44).
Scoring Victory Points: There are two ways to score victory points.
Destroying enemy Characters: You score victory points
equal to the cost of each destroyed enemy characters. If
the character has any items assigned to it when it is destroyed, you score victory points equal to the cost of those
items as well.
Controlling objectives: At the end of each round, if any of
your characters control the objective set in your deployment zone, you score 10 (quick), or 15 (standard), or 20
(epic) victory points. If Any of your characters control the
objective in the middle of the board you score 20 (quick),
or 40 (standard), or 60 (epic) additional victory points. And
finally if you control the objective set in your opponent deployment zone you score 30 (quick), or 60 (standard), or
90 (epic) additional victory points.
You control an objective if there is at least one of your
characters, and no enemy characters, within 3 of it. As different objectives vary in shape and size, it is important to
agree at the beginning of the game exactly where this distance will be measured from. The number of victory points
granted by this objective depend of the size of the game
(quick/ standard/ epic).
Victory Conditions: Victory goes to the 1rst player to
score victory points equal to point cost limit used in squats
construction; for example, 400 points in a 400-point battle.

This scenario represents a quick clash between small

groups of skirmishers.

Deployment: After positioning the objectives, you deploy

your squat. Slayer uses the standard Deployment procedure (see Deployment, p. 44).
Scoring Victory Points: There are two ways to score victory points.
Destroying enemy Characters: You score victory points
equal to the cost of each destroyed enemy characters. If
the character has any items assigned to it when it is destroyed, you score victory points equal to the cost of those
items as well.
Priority target: At the beginning of the game, each player must select one enemy character between the 3 enemy character with higher point cost in the enemy squat.
From now on that is the priority target and destroying it
will reward you with his point cost in VP plus 25 VP in a
200-point battle, 50 VP in a 400-point battle, and 80 VP in
a 600-point battle.
Controlling the objective: At the end of each round, if any
of your characters control the objective set in the middle
of the board you score 25 (quick), or 50 (standard), or 75
(epic) additional victory points.
You control an objective if there is at least one of your
characters, and no enemy characters, within 3 of it. As different objectives vary in shape and size, it is important to
agree at the beginning of the game exactly where this distance will be measured from. The number of victory points
granted by this objective depend of the size of the game
(quick/ standard/ epic).
Victory Conditions: Victory goes to the 1rst player to
score victory points equal to point cost limit used in squats
construction; for example, 400 points in a 400-point battle.

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