Main Rules
Game Structure
Plastic Mechs and Iron Men is divided into three main phases of play: army selection, unit placement, and battle. First, in army selection, forces are selected according to the rules in the scenario, by both players simultaneously. Unit placement occurs second, with rules varying according to the scenario. Finally, in the battle phase, players alternate unit activations.
The Structure of the Battle Phase
In the battle phase, gameplay consists of rounds, in which players alternate activating their units until all units have been activated. If it is a player’s activation, but all their units have been activated, they do not make any actions that turn, and play proceeds to the next player with units available to activate. When all units have been activated, the round ends and unit activations are cleared.
Activations
A non-mech unit may move once and attack once during its activation, in either order. A Warmech may move once and attack up to twice during its activation, in any order. A Warmech may not attack with the same weapon more than once in an activation.
Movement
A unit may move a number of hexes up to its MOV. Some scenarios include impassable terrain, which may not be moved over.
Attacking
When a unit attacks, its player selects one of the attacking units weapons and an enemy unit no more hexes away than the RNG of the weapon the attacker is using. Then, the player makes a single attack roll of 2d6 + the weapon’s ACC, and if the roll is equal to or greater than the target’s DEF, deals damage equal to the weapon’s STR minus the defenders ARM, times the weapon’s REP. If the target is a non-mech unit, this damage is subtracted from the target’s current HP. If a unit’s current HP is ever reduced to 0, that unit is destroyed.
If attacking a Warmech, the damage is dealt to one of its hit locations. The location damaged by an attack is determined randomly, according to the type of the warmech. If a hit location is destroyed, the Warmech may not use any weapon mounted in that location. If an attack would hit a destroyed part of a Warmech, the hit location is rerolled. See the Warmech section below for further details about hit locations and their effects when destroyed.
Unit Design
Basic units (non-mechs) are composed of two parts: a chassis, representing the movement and defenses of the vehicle or infantry, and a weapon, representing the primary weapon of the unit. Basic units take one weapon of TON equal to their SPT.
Chassis Statline: HP, MOV, DEF, ARM, SPT, PTS
- HP is hit points, the amount of damage a unit can take before being destroyed
- MOV is movement, the distance in hexes a unit can move in a turn
- DEF is defence, the difficulty of hititng the unit
- ARM is armor, protection against damage
- SPT is spare tonnage, used to mount weapons
- PTS is the points cost for the unit, including weapons.
Weapon Statline: RNG, ACC, RPT, STR, TON
- RNG is range, the maximum distance a weapon can hit at
- ACC is accuracy, a bonus to attack rolls
- RPT is repetitions, the number of shots per hit
- STR is strength, the amount of damage per shot
- TON is tonnage, the spare tonnage taken up by the weapon
Chassis
| Chassis | HP | MOV | DEF | ARM | SPT | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infantry | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 5* | 2 |
| ODA | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 5* | 3 |
| Beetle | 2 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| GEV | 2 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 4 |
| Mammoth | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 4 |
| Tyrant | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 15 | 6 |
| Nebula | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 6 |
* Infantry and Orbital Drop Armor units use 5-ton weapons with a -1 penalty to RNG.
Weapons
| Weapon | RNG | ACC | RPT | DAM | TON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sabot cannon | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| L. Plasma Cannon | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| M. Plasma Cannon | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| H. Plasma Cannon | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 15 |
| Minigrenades | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| L. Autocannon | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| M. Autocannon | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| H. Autocannon | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| L. Laser | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| M. Laser | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| H. Laser | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| L. Particle Cannon | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| H. Particle Cannon | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| Gauss Gun | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
Warmechs
Warmech Statline: TONS, SPT, MOV, DEF, ARM, HP stats, PTS
- TONS is the total tonnage of the Warmech
- SPT is spare tonnage, used to mount weapons
- MOV is movement, the distance in hexes a unit can move in a turn
- DEF is defence, the difficulty of hititng the unit
- ARM is armor, protection against damage
- HARM is arm HP, the amount of damage each of the Warmech’s arms can take
- HLEG is leg HP, the amount of damage each of the Warmech’s legs can take
- HTOR is side torso HP, the amount of damage each of the Warmech’s side torsos can take
- HCEN is center torso HP, the amount of damage the Warmech’s center torso can take.
- PTS is the points cost for the Warmech, including weapons
Warmechs may not have all four of HARM, HLEG, HTOR and HCEN. See the following sections for details about specific categories of Warmech
Humanoid Warmechs
Humanoid Warmechs have left and right arms, left and right legs, and left and right torso segments. If both torso segments are destroyed, the Warmech is destroyed. If both legs are destroyed, the Warmech is immobilized. Note that if both arms are destroyed, the Warmech is not destroyed, but is merely unable to attack.
The humanoid Warmechs detailed below must take two weapons with total tonnage equal to their SPT, mounting one on each arm.
| Warmech | TONS | SPT | MOV | DEF | ARM | HARM | HLEG | HTOR | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy | 100-120 | ||||||||
| Paladin | 120 | 30 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18 |
| Mjolnir | 110 | 35 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| Lancelot | 100 | 30 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 15 |
| Medium | 55-95 | ||||||||
| Jaeger | 95 | 30 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
| Avenger | 90 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| Timber Wolf | 80 | 30 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| Leopard | 70 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| Vinge | 60 | 20 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Light | 35-50 | ||||||||
| Basset | 50 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Ultralight | 20-30 | ||||||||
| Ripper | 30 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
Humanoid Warmech Hit Location Chart
| Roll | Location |
|---|---|
| 1 | Left Arm |
| 2 | Right Arm |
| 3 | Left Leg |
| 4 | Right Leg |
| 5 | Left Torso |
| 6 | Right Torso |
Avian Warmechs
Avian Warmechs have left, right, and center torso segments and left and right legs. An avian Warmech is destroyed if its center torso is destroyed. As with humanoid Warmechs, if both legs are destroyed, the Warmech is immobilized.
The avian Warmechs detailed below must take one weapon with tonnage equal to their SPT, mounting it in their center torso.
| Warmech | TONS | SPT | MOV | DEF | ARM | WTOR | WLEG | WCEN | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drake | 60 | 20 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Rattler | 50 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Corvus | 40 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 |
| Shrew | 20 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
Avian Warmech Hit Location Chart
| Roll | Location |
|---|---|
| 1 | Left Leg |
| 2 | Right Leg |
| 3 | Left Torso |
| 4 | Right Torso |
| 5 | Center Torso |
| 6 | Center Torso |
Saurian Warmechs
Saurian Warmechs have left and right arms, a center torso, and left and right legs. A Suarian Warmech is destroyed if its center torso is destroyed. As with Humanoid Warmechs, if both legs are destroyed, the warmech is immobilized.
The Saurian Warmechs detailed below must take three weapons with total tonnage equal to their SPT, mounting one in each arm and one in the center torso.
| Warmech | TONS | SPT | MOV | DEF | ARM | HARM | HLEG | HCEN | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grumbler | 120 | 40 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 18 |
| Grenadier | 85 | 30 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| Terrier | 45 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
Saurian Warmech Hit Location Chart
| Roll | Location |
|---|---|
| 1 | Left Arm |
| 2 | Right Arm |
| 3 | Left Leg |
| 4 | Right Leg |
| 5 | Center Torso |
| 6 | Center Torso |
Scenarios
Scenario: Take and Hold
Sides: two, symmetric.
Points: 72 per side.
Warmechs: 2 per side.
Map: 20x14 hexes, short grain.
Deployment: Each player deploys along a long edge of the map. Infantry deploy within four hexes of the edge, vehicles and Warmechs within two hexes of the edge.
Objectives: Six objective hexes are located along the center line of the map, with a 1-hex radius capture zone around them. At the end of each round, if one players has more units adjacent to an objective, that player gains one Victory Point. The first player to end a turn with more than 10 Victory Points while having more Victory Points than their opponent wins.
