A post-collapse

tabletop miniatures game

and narrative RPG

Welcome to the Resurgence.

Around two centuries ago, Earth was on the verge of total collapse. Clouds of pollution
smothered every major city, rising oceans threatened to burst coastal defenses, failing crops
left millions starving. World leaders collaborated on a last-ditch effort to save humankind,
which they called the Exodus. It was a grandiose plan involving the colonization of distant
solar systems. The Exodus was designed to include several waves of evacuations, and
promised a fresh start for humanity. A last-ditch effort to escape from a decaying planet.
It was hope.
It was a lie.
Only a choice few ever made it to the stars. Countless billions were left behind.
Now, generations have passed, and a new society has emerged from the
ashes of the subsequent collapse. Recovery for those left on Earth has
been slow and painful. Few grand cities remain, and even fewer great
leaders. With no centralized structure, the powerful fight over the
scraps of the old world, while the weak struggle just to make it
through another day.
Wreck Age is a game of survival and community. In Wreck Age,
you can play a strictly pen and paper RPG, take your painted
miniatures to battle on the tabletop, or play a unique
hybrid of the two systems. Take control of a crew of
your choosing, picking from the nomadic Drifters, the
pragmatic Stakers, the tech zealots known as the
Reclaimers, or the vampyric Stitchers as well
as a cast of others; you may even choose to
venture off into the Wilds without the support
of an organized faction.
This quickstart guide is designed to help you jump right into the action.

Quickstart Rules

Wreck Age Quickstart Rules

This quickstart guide gives you the basic rules needed to start playing Wreck
Age, a game of survival and community. To delve deeper, the main Wreck Age
rule book contains chapters on encounters and adventuring in the world of
Wreck Age, character creation and archetypes, factions and the continent of
Merika, as well as the equipment, skills, and traits that round out the world.
Hyacinth Games also produces a full line of metal and resin miniatures for
Wreck Age, as well as an expanding line of RPG content and fiction.
In Wreck Age, the rules are designed to be simple, quick, and fierce. This
allows plenty of room to customize your gaming experience in whatever
direction you choose. All you need are some friends, some standard 6-sided
dice, and optionally, some models.
These are a few of the key terms used throughout the rules:
Narrative Role Playing Game Interactive and cooperative storytelling.
Tabletop Skirmish Game A game played with miniatures and terrain.
Narrator Person who determines what will happen during adventures
and encounters. While not strictly required for a tabletop game, it always
helps to have someone refereeing and helping move the action along.
Encounter This is the action Characters are involved in, it could be a
showdown between two rival crews, or an attempt to battle the environment. Any time the action slows down and requires characters to takes
tests, it is considered an encounter.
Player This is you! The players are the people who control the action.
Model/Miniature The physical representation of a Character (if playing
with miniatures). This is sometimes used interchangeably with Character.

Check us out on the web at www.wreck-age.net or on your favorite social

media by searching for wreck age, or hyacinth games.

Attribute Tests (see pg. 66 of the Wreck Age rule book)

When attempting to achieve a goal involving skill or chance, you will use an
attribute test to determine success or failure. An attribute test involves rolling
the number of dice equal to the specified attribute rating, attempting to get
a result higher than or equal to the Target Number, (or TN) which varies
based on difficulty. For example, to make a Wits test at TN 5+, you roll a
number of dice equal to your Wits attribute, and each 5 or 6 rolled counts
as one success. Many tests only require one success, but some will require
multiple. The TN and successes needed for these tests will be either spelled
out by the type of action (such as shooting or fighting), the encounter you
are involved in, or will be determined by the Narrator.
Opposed Tests & Initiative: An opposed test occurs when two forces are
pitted against each other. This may be a character versus another character,
or a character versus an object or the environment around them. Initiative is
one example. To determine who activates first each turn, roll an amount of
dice equal to the highest Wits rating for each side. The side with the highest
single die roll wins. In the case of a tie, discard the highest die and look at
the next highest result. If all dice are tied, re-roll. The side winning initiative may either activate one Character or force his opponent to activate one
first. Activations then alternate between sides until all characters have been
activated.

Characters

Characters are the individuals that you control within the game of Wreck Age.
You may control a large crew, or a solitary loner. The basics of all Characters
remains the same, regardless of how many you choose to command.

Training Level (pp. 63 and 94)

Training is the relative experience that a Character has, and indicates how well
they handle combat or other situations, along with their Target number for
suppression checks (see Nerves in the next column). There are 4 basic levels
for humans: Green, Trained, Veteran, and Elite. The higher the training, the
higher the attributes that a Character will have.

Attributes (p. 63)

All Characters will have 8 attributes rated between 1 and 6 (except for
Renown). They are Action Points, Movement, Power, Shooting, Fighting,
Nerves, Wits, and Renown. The rating of the attribute in questions indicates
how many dice will be rolled for tests involving that attribute.

Renown (R)

Renown represents how well a Character is known, and their cultural prowess. It
is loosely tied to a characters station in life, and their level of fame (or infamy).

Wits (W)
Wits is a composite of Charisma, intelligence, and mental stability. Using Wits,
its possible to sometimes talk your way out of situations that might otherwise
require a confrontation. Its also an indication of innate survival instincts. Wits
is used for a large variety of skills tests.

Nerves (N)
When Characters are shot at, attacked, outnumbered, or overwhelmed they
use Nerves to attempt to keep their composure. If a Nerves test (also called a
Suppression test) is failed, that Character gains a suppression marker. Each suppression marker reduces AP by 1. A Character with 0 AP becomes unnerved, and
may not activate normally. Characters with 1 or more suppression markers may
attempt various Nerves tests (such as a regroup) to rid themself of suppression
markers. The Target Number (TN) for a Nerves test is based on training level.
When a Character is shot at from long range or closer, whether they are hit or
not, they must immediately take a Nerves test or gain 1 suppression marker.

Suppression Test table (p. 83)

Green:

Nerves tests have a TN of 6+

Trained/Beast:

Nerves tests have a TN of 4+

Veteran:

Nerves tests have a TN of 3+

Elite:

Nerves tests have a TN of 2+

Shooting (S)
Characters may spend 2 AP to shoot. To attempt to hit, roll as many dice as
that Character has rank in this attribute. See attacking below for modifiers.

Fighting (F)
When engaged (in base-to-base contact) a Character uses their entire activation to
attack. They roll as many dice as their Fighting attribute, hitting on a 4+ (which
may be modified). If a hit is scored, roll a Power test to see if damage occurs.

Movement (M)
Movement indicates how far, fast, and well a Character can move. Characters
with a M(ovement) of 3 may spend 1 AP to move 3, may spend 2 AP to run: 3+
the roll of one die, or may spend 3 AP to sprint: move 3 + the roll of 2 dice.

Power (P) and Damage (p. 84)

Power determines the attack strength of a Character or weapon. It is also used
by a defender to prevent damage from successful attacks.
When a hit is occurs from fighting or shooting tests, each Character involved rolls
a Power test with a base target number of 4+ (this may be modified). The defender
subtracts their successes from the Attackers successes. The number of successes
the attacker has remaining determines what damage (if any) occurs to the target.

Some modifiers to damage Power tests:

Power of the hit doubles the base Power of the defender: -1 TN modifier
for the attackers damage test.
Defending Character is in soft cover: +1 Defensive Power.
Defending Character is in hard cover: +2 Defensive Power.
Subtract the Defenders successes from the Attackers. If the attacker has:
0 successes: Defender is cut/scraped/bruised. (No lasting effect).
1 success: Wounded. +1 TN modifier for Shooting, Fighting, and Power
tests. Wounded effects stack, so a second wounded result will result in a
Character going out of action.
2 successes: Out of Action. Characters may not activate when in this
state. At the end of each turn, they may attempt a difficult Power test
(6+ TN) to return to action as wounded
3 successes: Dying. Knocking on heavens door, this Character will die
without prompt medical care, and cannot activate.
4+ successes: Dead. No hope of revival.
Non-lethal damage works in a similar way, but with 1-2 successes, the target
is groggy. With 3 or more successes (or a second groggy effect) the target is
rendered unconscious. Groggy has the same effect as wounded, and unconscious
is the non-lethal version of out of action. However, neither non-lethal condition
has any effect after the encounter.

Reload (1 AP, p. 73) If you run out of ammo, you must reload.
Change weapon (1 AP, p. 73) Used to ready another weapon.
Regroup (free action, pg. 72) On a successful Nerves test remove
1 suppression marker.
Concealment (2 AP, p. 72) Attacks on Concealed Characters have a +1
TN modifier. Characters lose concealment if they shoot or move.
Muster (end phase action) +d3 AP (d6/2, rounding up)

Stat Lines
An average, green (training level) adult human may have the following attributes:
Action Points: 3 (Able to do up to three simple actions in a turn)
Movement: 3 (Able to move 3 + the distance of extra AP used)
Power: 2
Shooting: 1 (1 would indicate someone who has little firearms training)
Fighting: 2 (1 would be completely inexperienced in melee combat)
Nerves: 2 (1 would be very cowardly)
Wits: 2 (1 would be mentally unstable)
Renown: 0 (No one is particularly impressed by their social standing)

Character Traits (p. 117)

Character traits are abilities that allow individuals to achieve feats of various
sorts. This is a small sampling of those traits:
Concentrated Fire: Allows Characters to take more than one shot in a turn.

Action Points (AP)

Action Points are used to attempt all actions. AP refreshes at the end of every
turn. To activate, a Character must have at least 1 AP available, which can be
reduced through suppression.
There are 4 types of actions that a Character may take:
Free Actions (p. 71) One free action may be taken at the end of a Characters activation, unless they take a complex action, or they may spend 1
AP to take a free action at any point during their activation.
Simple Actions (p. 72) These are given an AP rating. This rating
indicates how many AP it takes to attempt these actions.
Complex Actions (p. 75) These require the total concentration of a
Character (using all AP) for one or more turns.
End Phase Actions (p. 77) These occur at the end of each turn.
Each specific action may be attempted only once every turn. Here are some
samples of actions that a Character may attempt:
Walking (1 AP, p. 74) Move the base Movement rating.
Sprinting (3 AP, p. 74) Move the Movement rating + the result of 2 dice.
Charging (complex action, p. 75) +1 F and +1 P for chargers activation.
Shooting (2 AP, p. 82)
Aimed shot (complex action, p. 75) -1 TN modifier to that shot.
Un-jam weapon (complex action, p. 77)
Parlay (Varies, p. 231)

Nerves of steel: It takes 2 suppression markers to remove 1 Action Point

from this character.
Nimble: Nimble Characters are considered fast moving if they move 8 or
more, rather than the usual 11, as long as they are not wearing any armor
(although they may carry a shield).
Sniper: Allows a Character to add 1 Shooting to all aimed shots. Additionally, all shots at extreme range have a base target of 6+, rather than 7+.
Old Tech: Has the understanding or knowledge of what pre-Exodus technology looks like, and a basic understanding of what it does.
High Tech: Has the knowledge of complicated processes and concepts
required to understand high technology, such as particle acceleration, cold
fusion, and so forth.
Knowledge Skills: Allow specialization in a variety of post-Exodus skills,
such as language, computer science, business & politics, and so forth.

Resource Units (also known as RUs)

Crew and commmunities advancement is done by achieving objectives,
which earns Resource Units (RUs). These RUs can be used to buy upgrades,
advance your community, and train and equip new members for your crew.

At t a c k i n g

When rolling shooting or fighting, one die of a separate color will be the Malfunction Die. If that die result is a 1, your weapon may malfunction. Consult the
Weapons Failure Chart on the next page for how to resolve a Malfunction. If fighting, all enemies engaged with that Character gain an immediate free attack!

Shooting - To Hit (p. 82)

The base roll needed to hit when shooting is dependent on range to the target:

SHOOTING TARGET NUMBERS

Range:
Distance:
Target:

Point Blank

Short Range

Long Range

Extreme Range

2 or less
3+

as weapon
4+

as weapon
5+

x2 long distance
7+

This can be modified by many factors:

Each natural 6 beyond the first adds +1 to the result of one of the die
results, and also boosts the Power of the attack by 1.
Target in cover (any part of the target is obscured): +1 TN modifier.
Attacker walked: +1 TN modifier, if attacker ran: +2 TN modifier.
Characters who sprint may not shoot in that turn.
Concealed (the target has taken a conceal action): +1 TN modifier
(cumulative with cover).
Fast moving: Target has moved 11 or more (or 8+ w/ nimble): +1 TN
Slow moving: -1 TN modifier.
An aimed shot (complex action) -1 TN modifier.
Example: your Character has a Shooting of 4. Your target is at long range (5+
TN), fast moving (+1 TN) and behind cover (+1 TN) Normally, you would
not be able to hit this target (you would need a 7+ to hit). However, you get
extraordinarily lucky and roll 4 sixes. This adds +3 to your roll, thus making one
of the results a 9, a single success, which hits the target.
The Power of the hit depends either on the Power of the weapon or Character.
Only 1 shot (of any type) may be taken per turn, unless the Character has the
concentrated fire trait.

Fighting - To Hit (p. 79)

The base roll needed to hit in close combat is 4+.

Fighting is a complex action, and can occur only if 2 or more Characters are
engaged (in base-to-base contact).
This is modified by many factors:
Charging adds +1 to your Fighting, and +1 to the Power of any hits
for the first activation of an engagement. Characters may charge a
maximum of the results of the number of dice equaling their AP-1 plus
the distance of their base Movement. If a Character attempts a charge
action that doesnt result in an engagement, they are considered slow
moving until their next activation, even if they have moved 11 or more.
Each natural 6 beyond the first boosts the Power of the hit by 1.
Attacking through cover (if you charged and moved through a
window/closed door, over an obstacle, etc): +1 TN modifier.
Fast moving: Target has moved 11 or more (8 w/ nimble) +1 TN
Slow moving: -1 TN modifier.
Outnumbering: For each Character you outnumber by, gain +1F, and +1P.
Wounded or groggy Characters attack with a +1 TN modifier.
The Power of the hit is based on the Power of the attacker, which may be
replaced or modified by weapons.
You may use guns with the pistol trait in an engagement with a +1 TN modifier. If you roll an out of ammo result on the Weapons Malfunction Table,
you may not reload until after the combat is over. If you hit with the pistol,
you use the weapons Power rating rather than your own.

Weapons & Armor

Weapon Name

Short:
Long:
4+ Target 5+ target

Power Traits:

Small Melee

Melee

Medium Melee

Melee

Pipe Rifle
Revolver, Light
Auto Pistol, Light

6
4
4

18
8
15

4
3
3

inaccurate, slow 1, unreliable

pistol, reliable, sturdy
pistol, unreliable

Break Action Rifle

12

48

accurate, reliable, slow 1

Shotgun

15

reliable, scatter

Hunting Rifle

12

96

accurate, armor piercing 1, slow 1, scoped

12

48

accurate, silent, unreliable

Laser Rifle

User+1

sturdy, silent, thrown, hold-out

User+1/+2 reliable, sturdy, silent, thrown

Availability

Hands:

Common

Common

1/2

Common

2
1
1

Uncommon
Uncommon
Uncommon

Common Staker

Uncommon

Rare

Very Rare

Light Armor

-1 TN modifier to the Defenders Power test

Medium Armor

-1 TN modifier to the defenders Power test & +1 Defensive Power

Shield

+1 Defensive Power
Roll 1 die as an end phase action. On a 5+, the condition of damage improves by one step.
May be used on others as a complex action.

Chem Injector

Tech
Level

High Tech

Short and Long range: The

distance up to which the
weapon may attack at the
indicated target number.
Power: The number of dice that
a successful hit will roll for a
Power test (may be modified).
Traits: Weapon Traits.
See below.
Availability: How hard it is to
acquire this weapon. Some
factions have access to equipment others would find hard to
acquire. Availability affects RU
cost for that piece of equipment.
Tech level: The skill you must
have to be proficient at using
that particular weapon.
Hands: How many hands it
takes to use this weapon.

If a Weapon is High Tech or Old Tech, then the Character must have the associated trait to properly use it. They may still attempt to use it, but their Shooting or Fighting attribute
will be lowered by 1 for Old Tech, and by 2 for High Tech. If this brings that attribute below 1, they may not use that weapon at all.

Weapon Traits (p. 178)

Armor Piercing
Each level of the armor piercing trait reduces 1 die of
the Defenders Defensive Power bonus from armor
or cover. If the target isnt using any bonus dice to
Defensive Power, then this trait has no effect.

Pistol
Weapons with the pistol trait gain +1 Power at close
range or shorter. Additionally, they may be used
during an engagement utilizing the Fighting attribute
rather than the Shooting attribute, with a
+1 TN modifier.

Accurate
Accurate weapons give +1 to the Shooting attribute
at extreme range.
Hold-Out
A weapon with this trait can be slipped past the guard
with an opposed Wits vs. Nerves test. The Character
attempting to find the hold-out weapon, rolls their
Wits. The Character attempting to hide the weapon
uses Nerves.
Inaccurate
May not be used at extreme range.
Medium Melee
Medium Melee weapons may be used with one or
two hands. One handed, they provide +1 Power
to the attack, while using them with two hands
provides +2 Power.
Non-Lethal
Non-lethal weapons dont cause permanent or
deadly damage. They use a non-lethal track for
damage instead. See damage.

Reliable
These items roll one additional die when rolling
on the Weapon Malfunction Table.
Scatter
Scatter adds +1 to the Shooting attribute of the user
while they are using a scatter weapon; but at long or
extreme range, the Power of the weapon is halved
(rounding up).
Scoped
A rifle scope enables a longer range of use but is
not as effective at closer ranges. For a weapon so
equipped, at point blank, short range, and extreme
range, the target is 6+. At long range, the base
target is 4+. There are other types of scopes.
Shock
Weapons with the shock trait ignore armor,
disallowing the defenders use of defensive bonuses
from armor or cover.

Silent
Hidden models do not break their concealment
when using a silent weapon as long as they remain
still during that turn.
Slow
Characters must spend a number of AP equal to
the slow rating (usually 1 or 2) to prepare a slow
weapon. This is cumulative with the out of ammo
or malfunction results. So a slow 2 weapon that Is
also out of ammo will require 3 AP to prepare to
shoot again.
Sturdy
An item that is sturdy will ignore any explodes
result, and instead re-roll on the Weapon
Malfunction Table if a 0 or less is rolled.
Thrown
A thrown weapon can be used at range, but is
propelled by muscle power and typically has a
limited effective distance. Thrown weapons use
the Fighting attribute for their attack roll, even
though it is a ranged attack.
Unreliable
These items roll one less die when rolling on the
Weapons Malfunction Table.

Weapons Malfunction Table (p. 88)

Weapons are prone to breakdown, and vary greatly in quality. Furthermore, ammunition is scarce, and its quality is often lacking. As such, when a natural 1 is rolled on the Malfunction Die when rolling to attack, there is potential for a weapon failure. Follow up with an additional roll of 2 dice (unless
otherwise indicated by a weapons trait). The results may be modified. Typically you will select the single highest die result and then consult this chart:
0 or less

The item either explodes or otherwise shatters in the Characters hands. The Character immediately takes a hit at a Power 1 less than the items
typical Power, OR at Power 2 if the item has no Power.

The item is damaged or broken. If kept, the Character may potentially repair the item at a later opportunity.

The item is jammed or lodged into another object. The Character may discard this item immediately if desired (the item is considered lost).
Otherwise, in the following turn, that Character may perform an un-jam weapon action in order to utilize it again.

3-5

The item has run out of ammunition/charge/energy. A Character must make a simple action to reload the item to be able to use it again. This
result has no effect on melee weapons or on single-use items.

6+

No effect.

You now have all of the basic rules needed to play Wreck Age. Please check out the full rule book, as well as our line of miniatures, RPG supplements, and fiction stories at:
www.wreck-age.net