Ending a Turf War
RAW ✔️ Source: Gang War
Each Turf War in a campaign only runs for a limited time, and ends with an Apotheosis - a climatic series of battles which will determine an eventual winner. Then there is a period of Downtime before a new Turf War begins.
Apotheosis
During the final Cycle of a Turf War, Apotheosis is in effect. A number of additional rules come into effect to represent the escalating clashes across the Zone(s).
Additional Rules
During this week the following additional rules are in effect:
Desperation
If a gang has a lower Reputation than their opponent, they roll 2D6 when making Bottle tests, discarding the highest dice. In a multi-player battle, any gang which does not have the highest Reputation among those taking part benefits from this rule.
Consolidation
At the start of the Receive Rewards step of the post-battle sequence, the losing gang decreases its Turf Size by 1, to a minimum of 1.
Ignominy
If the winning gang has a lower Reputation than the losing gang, the losing gang's Reputation is decreased by 1 and the winning gang's Reputation is increased by 1. This happens in the Adjust Reputation step of the post-battle sequence in addition to any other adjustments.
The Showdown
Once the last Cycle of the Turf War has been completed, there is a Showdown to determine which gang takes ultimate control of the Zone, If the campaign uses more than one Zone, there will be a Showdown for each.
The Arbitrator decides the two Top Dogs in the Zone. These are the two gangs with the highest Reputation (with Gang Rating used as a tiebreaker). Each of these gangs prepares for the final confrontation - they follow steps 2, 4, 5 and 6 of the post-battle sequence, collecting income as though it were the first battle in a Cycle then making post- battle actions, updating their roster and reporting any changes to the Arbitrator. However, the Fighters Recover step of Updating the Roster is skipped - there is not enough time for fighters to recover from their injuries.
Then there is a battle between the two Top Dogs, using the Stand- Off scenario (see page 55) or an alternative Showdown scenario published elsewhere. Owing to the climactic nature of the engagement, each gang automatically passes any Bottle tests it makes, unless it wishes to voluntarily fail.
The gang who wins the Showdown becomes the Zone's Overlord, gaining a number of bonuses in the next Turf War. In the case of a draw, the gang with the higher Reputation becomes the Overlord; if this still fails to resolve an Overlord, use the higher Gang Rating, then the higher Turf Size. Carry out the post-battle sequence as normal.
Downtime
Downtime is just that - a period of time during which the campaign is effectively 'on pause". It represents the gangs settling back into their normal routine and grabbing onto any turf they still hold, their aggressions and grudges having been temporarily vented. For the players, Downtime is a chance to relax after the events of the Apotheosis, and to take a short break from playing campaign games. The Arbitrator should decide how long the Downtime will last; they should consider what their players want, giving them enough time off to make them want to return but not leaving it long enough that people lose their enthusiasm.
The Effects Of Downtime
Although Downtime does not have as much of an effect on a gang as a campaign Turf War, its fighters are not frozen in time. After their last game of a Turf War (the Showdown if they were a Turf War (the Showdown if they were one of the Top Dogs, or their last game in the Cycle otherwise), players complete the following steps at the end of the post-battle sequence:
1. Fighters Recover
Any In Recovery boxes on the gang roster are cleared.
2. Captives Are Returned
Any Captured fighters are released. The gang that had captured them receives half their Credits value (rounding up to the nearest 5 credits).
3. Experienced Juves Are Promoted
If a Juve has five or more Advancements, they are promoted. Their characteristics and credits value are unaffected, but their Type is changed to Champion. From now on, they are treated as'a Champion in all respects.
Preparing For The Next Turf War
At some point during Downtime, the Arbitrator needs to set a deadline for players to register their interest in participating in the next Turf War. This is a great opportunity for new players to join in, or for existing players to duck out if they wish.
When a player registers their interest, they need to either state that they will use their existing gang, create an offshoot gang or found a new gang.
Existing Gangs
Players who took part in the previous Turf War can use their existing gang, as it was at the end of the Turf War. If they were an Overlord at the end of the previous Turf War, their Turf Size stays as it is - otherwise, it is reduced by D6 (to a minimum of 1). Then, if the gang is particularly large, it might fracture as fighters depart to seek their own fortunes, or are reallocated by their House. If the gang's Rating is more than 2,000 (more than 3,000 if they were the Overlord in the previous Turf War), the player must reduce their Gang Rating to below this amount by retiring fighters, deleting them from their gang roster.
Buying Back Fighters
If any fighters are retired at this point, the controlling player should keep their Fighter cards, marking on them how many Advancements the fighter has received. When hiring fighters at the Visit the Trading Post step of the post- battle sequence during the subsequent Turf War, a player can re-hire one of their retired fighters by paying their full credits cost. They return with O Experience, but their full number of Advancements.
Offshoot Gangs
Players who took part in the previous Turf War can instead choose to create an Offshoot gang. This is the same as founding a new gang - they have a budget of 1,000 credits, as normal - but follows these steps:
1. Nominate A Leader
The player picks a Champion from their former gang to be the Leader of their new gang. This Champion's Fighter card(s) are transferred to the new gang, and they are added to the new gang roster. They must be paid for, in full, at the cost shown on their old gang roster.
2. Choose Followers
The player can pick up to two Juves from their old gang to transfer across to the new gang in the same way. They can also pick up to half of the Gangers in their old gang
Bring In New Blood
The player can purchase new fighters from their House list with any remaining credits in their budget, as though they were founding a gang from scratch. Any fighters transferred to the new gang are deleted from the old gang roster. The old gang does not take part in the new Turf War, but could potentially come back for a later one.
New Gangs
This is the only option for new players, but existing players can take this option if they wish to try something new. The player founds a new gang as they would at the start of the campaign, with a budget of 1,000 credits.
Allocating Zones
Once the registration deadline has been reached and all gangs have been submitted to the Arbitrator, they should be split into Zones (if multiple Zones are being used). This is done in the same way as at the start of the campaign, with the exception that Overlords always return to the Zone they were in previously.
A New Turf War Begins
When the Arbitrator is satisfied that all players are ready, a start date can be set for a new Turf War. Again, they will need to set the length of a Cycle and how many Cycles will be in the Turf War.