Setting Up a Game (Control Campaign)
Quick Reference
- Nominate Leaders — each crew picks a non-Absent model with Natural Leader (see fallback rules if none available).
- Choose Location — if either crew has 0 Games Played, skip to Step 4 (Wasteland + Skirmish). Otherwise each Leader makes a Strategy Test (3I); the winner chooses one of the five Boston Locations or the Wasteland. Ties = Wasteland.
- Determine Scenario — roll a die: 4 or less = lower-Reputation crew chooses and Attacks; 5–7 = Skirmish; 8+ = higher-Reputation crew chooses and Attacks. The Attacker picks from the scenario table for the Location.
- Set Up the Battlefield — place Major Terrain, then Minor Terrain, then Objective/Search Tokens, then optional Decorative Features.
- Prepare Crews — set Absent models aside; players may declare models Sitting Out (at least half the roster must play).
- The Leg-Up — per full 50 points of Reputation difference, the lower crew gains a Bonus Ploy (+50 Temporary Reputation, max 3); any remaining difference becomes a Chem Budget in Caps.
- Purchase Common Chems — roll dice equal to Tier for extra Caps, then secretly buy Common Chems and hire Legends of the Wasteland.
- Starting Positions — Deploy per the Scenario Listing; take Ploy Tokens equal to Tier + Bonus Ploys. The first Round begins.
When setting up a game, players should follow the steps listed here in order. [Battle for Boston pg. 36]
Before setup, both players should be familiar with the anatomy of a Scenario Listing, which provides an Overview (annotated Battlefield map, number of Rounds, and starting Initiative), Starting Positions, Scenario Details (how the winner is determined, plus any Story Phase Outcomes), and Special Rules. [Battle for Boston pg. 36]
Temporary Reputation
During setup, some effects temporarily increase or decrease a crew's Reputation. Whenever this happens, the temporary value is recorded in the crew's Temporary Reputation box. While there is a value in this box, it is used in place of the crew's Reputation. Temporary Reputation only lasts until the end of the game, after which the box is cleared. [Battle for Boston pg. 36]
Step 1 — Nominate Leaders
Each Faction has a default Leader — a model that starts with the Natural Leader perk. When taking to the field, every crew must have a Leader. [Battle for Boston pg. 36]
At this stage, each player must select a non-Absent model in their crew with the Natural Leader perk to lead them into battle. If a crew has no model with the Natural Leader perk available, check the following to determine what to do: [Battle for Boston pg. 36]
- If the crew has an Absent model with Natural Leader, then select a Champion model to become the Leader for this game. If there are no Champion models available, select a Grunt instead. [Battle for Boston pg. 36]
- If the crew has no models with Natural Leader at all, then they must select a Champion model to become the Leader for this game. That model gains the Natural Leader perk (this does not affect the model's Rating). If there are no Champion models available, they must select a Grunt instead. [Battle for Boston pg. 36]
Tied Reputation
If the rules ever refer to the crew with the higher or lower Reputation, and both Reputation values are tied, the players Roll Off. The loser's Reputation temporarily decreases by 1 (marked in the Temporary Reputation box). [Battle for Boston pg. 36]
Step 2 — Choose Location
First Clash of the War?
If either crew has not played any games before (the "Games Played" value on its Crew Roster is 0), skip to Step 4; the game automatically takes place in the Wasteland and uses the Skirmish Scenario. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
Boston is made up of many different Locations, but five are hotly contested and bitterly fought over by the Factions of the Commonwealth: the C.I.T. Ruins, the Combat Zone, Diamond City, Goodneighbor, and Trinity Tower. The Wasteland of the Commonwealth surrounding Boston isn't part of the ongoing battle for the city, but many conflicts still take place there. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
Each player makes a Strategy Test (3I) for their Leader. The player who scores the most Hits chooses a Location for the game — either one of the five Boston Locations or the Wasteland. If both players score the same number of Hits, the game takes place in the Wasteland. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
Step 3 — Determine Scenario
Roll a die and look up the score on the table below to determine which Scenario to use for the game. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
If both crews have the same Reputation, both players roll a die, re-rolling draws. The player with the higher result is treated as having the higher Reputation for this step. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
| Score | Result |
|---|---|
| 4 or less | The crew with the lower Reputation chooses a Scenario, and is the Attacker. |
| 5–7 | Play the Skirmish Scenario. |
| 8 or more | The crew with the higher Reputation chooses a Scenario, and is the Attacker. |
[Battle for Boston pg. 37]
Scout: Scenario Choice
Before the die is rolled, either player can declare that they will spend up to 3 Scouting Points from the game's Location. The player with the higher Reputation decides first, then their opponent. For each point spent by the higher-Reputation crew, increase the die score by 1; for each point spent by the lower-Reputation crew, decrease the score by 1. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
Choosing a Scenario
If the Skirmish Scenario hasn't been forced by the roll, the Attacker chooses a Scenario. They must pick from the table below, based on the Location where the game is taking place. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
| Scenario | The Wasteland | Enemy Home Turf | Hostile Location | Other Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skirmish | X | X | X | |
| Kidnap | X | X | ||
| Midnight Raid | X | X | ||
| Sabotage | X | X | ||
| Cattle Drive | X | X | ||
| Trapped! | X | X |
[Battle for Boston pg. 37]
The columns describe the relationship between the Attacker, the Defender, and the game's Location: [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
- The Wasteland — only Skirmish and Trapped! are available. Trapped! can only be chosen if the Defender's Reputation is at least 50 points higher than the Attacker's. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
- Enemy Home Turf (the Defender has this Location marked as their Home Turf) — Kidnap, Midnight Raid, Sabotage, Cattle Drive, and Trapped! are available. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
- Hostile Location (the Defender has more Control in this Location than the Attacker) — Skirmish, Kidnap, Midnight Raid, and Sabotage are available. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
- Other Location (any other case) — Skirmish and Cattle Drive are available. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
Both players should read the Scenario Listing before continuing to the next step. [Battle for Boston pg. 37]
Step 4 — Set Up the Battlefield
The players now create a Battlefield for the game, following the guidelines below. Before doing so, check whether the Scenario has any special instructions regarding the setup of Terrain Features. [Battle for Boston pg. 38]
Place Major Terrain Features
The players Roll Off, and the winner places a Major Terrain Feature. After they are happy with their placement, the other player does the same. All Major Terrain must be placed at least 3" apart from any other Major Terrain. This process continues until both players agree there is enough Terrain. In general, Fallout: Factions operates best with 4–6 pieces of Major Terrain — more, however, is almost always better. [Battle for Boston pg. 38]
Place Minor Terrain Features
After all Major Terrain has been placed, the player who did not place the last piece now places up to two pieces of Minor Terrain anywhere on the Battlefield. Unlike Major Terrain, there are no spacing restrictions on Minor Terrain — it can even be placed on top of Major Features, if possible. Once the first player has placed their pieces, the second player does the same. This continues until both players agree there is enough Terrain. [Battle for Boston pg. 38]
Place Objective Tokens and Search Tokens
Next, the players place any Objective Tokens and Search Tokens, following the instructions in the Scenario Listing. [Battle for Boston pg. 38]
Optional: Place Decorative Features
If the players wish, they can add Decorative Features to the Battlefield. Remember that these have no impact on the rules, so players can add as many or as few as they wish. [Battle for Boston pg. 38]
Custom Battlefields
These guidelines are merely here to encourage more-or-less balanced Terrain setups, so that your contests might be fair. If both players agree, you might create something far more thematic — a loving recreation of Trinity Tower or of Diamond City in all its glory. The most important thing to remember is that a game of Fallout: Factions is at its best when there are lots of places for models to hide and plenty of Terrain that breaks up Lines of Sight. Big, open Battlefields lead to uninteresting games. [Battle for Boston pg. 38]
Step 5 — Prepare Crews
Each player now gathers their crew for the game. If any models from a crew are Absent on the Crew Roster, they cannot take part in this game and are set aside. [Battle for Boston pg. 38]
Sitting Out
Players can declare that some models in their crew will Sit Out the game. A model that Sits Out is not Deployed in Step 8 and cannot be added to the Battlefield for any reason, but it can still be used during the Story Phase. A player cannot do this if it would mean fewer than half of the models on their Crew Roster (rounding down) take part in the game. [Battle for Boston pg. 38]
Models that are Sitting Out do not count toward the crew's Reputation, so their Rating(s) should be deducted and the Temporary Reputation box updated. Absent models should already have been accounted for. The player with the Initiative declares any Sitting Out models first, then the other player does the same. [Battle for Boston pg. 38]
Step 6 — The Leg-Up
For every full 50 points of difference in the crews' Reputations, the crew with the lower value receives a Bonus Ploy and increases its Temporary Reputation by 50. A crew can receive up to three Bonus Ploys in this way. Bonus Ploys come into effect in Step 8, Starting Positions. [Battle for Boston pg. 39]
If there is still a difference in Reputations after Bonus Ploys have been allocated, the crew with the lower value receives a Chem Budget in Caps equal to the difference. This will be used in the next step. [Battle for Boston pg. 39]
Example: The Leg-Up
The Fifth Patrol (Reputation 337) are facing off against the Section Alpha Deployment (Reputation 273). The difference in their Reputations is 64. This means the Section Alpha Deployment receives a Bonus Ploy, and their Temporary Reputation becomes 323. They then receive a Chem Budget of 14 Caps. [Battle for Boston pg. 39]
Step 7 — Purchase Common Chems
Both players now roll a number of dice equal to their crew's Tier, then add a number of Caps equal to this result into their Chem Budget. [Battle for Boston pg. 39]
Each player can now purchase Common Chems for use in the game. Each player does this in secret, then both players reveal their choices at the same time. [Battle for Boston pg. 39]
When purchasing a Chem dose, mark a single diagonal line in the first available box for that Chem on the Roster, and reduce the crew's Caps Stash by the amount shown after the Chem's name. Once all three boxes are marked, no more doses of that Chem can be purchased. [Battle for Boston pg. 39]
If a crew received a Chem Budget in the previous step, this grants bonus Caps that can be used to purchase Common Chems. This budget can also be used to hire Legends of the Wasteland. Any unused Chem Budget is lost. [Battle for Boston pg. 39]
Scout: Repositioning
It's possible for a crew to Reposition some of their models at this stage using Scouting Points. [Battle for Boston pg. 39]
Step 8 — Starting Positions
Players follow the instructions in the Starting Positions section of the Scenario Listing. [Battle for Boston pg. 39]
Once this is done, each player takes a number of Ploy Tokens equal to their crew's Tier, plus one for each Bonus Ploy they received in the Leg-Up. [Battle for Boston pg. 39]
Setup is now complete, and the first Round begins. [Battle for Boston pg. 39]