The current Gang Rating for each gang participating in the battle is determined now. Gang Rating is the total rating of all fighters on a gang's roster that are not Captured including Hired Guns, and also Special Territories. Each Merc increases their gang's rating by their fighter rating. Each Hangers-on increases their gang's rating by their hiring cost. Each Special Territory a gang has increases the gang's rating by 50.

Compare the Gang Ratings of each gang participating in the battle to determine their order from highest to lowest. Ties between gangs with the same Gang Rating are broken by comparing number of battles fought, then Reputation. If there is still a tie, the tied players should roll off with a D6, with the "winner" being considered to have the lower Gang Rating in the upcoming battle. The outcome of this comparison is applied hereafter in the Pre-Battle Sequence whenever the rules refer to the gang with the higher Gang Rating or the gang with the lower Gang Rating.

The gang with the lowest Gang Rating participating in a battle is considered the Underdog for that battle. Each scenario will indicate what benefits an Underdog gang gains (if any) when fighting a battle of that kind.

Arbitrator

In some situations the Arbitrator may decide or be asked to choose and set up the scenario for a battle between two other players. Special rules in effect (if any) are explained to the players by the Arbitrator and agreed upon before the battle begins. This can be an opportunity to do something fun or custom, introduce an interesting bit of terrain, and so on. All players have the option to not participate in the battle without penalty and determine the scenario another way. The Arbitrator should not abuse this option to set their own gang up for success or to bypass the scenario determination for their own battles

Some rules of thumb for when this is a fair and legitimate use of Arbitrator privilege follow. If three or more gangs will be participating in a battle, this is the approach that should generally be taken. If the set up of the scenario can be documented and replayed by other gangs in the Gang War or even added to the Random Scenario Determination chart, this can add a lot of flavor to the campaign and benefits everyone involved. If players who are not the Arbitrator are bored with the standard scenarios and want a challenge or just something different, allowing the Arbitrator to come up with something custom can keep them engaged with the Gang War.

Rescue Mission

If one of the gangs has Captured any of the other gang's fighters, the Captured fighter's gang can choose to mount a Rescue Mission, in which case that is the scenario that is chosen. If they opt not to mount a Rescue Mission the scenario to be played is resolved normally.

If both gangs have Captured any of the other gang's fighters, then the gang with the fewer number of fighters who are not in Recovery and not Captured gets to chose first. If they opt not to mount a Rescue Mission the other gang may decide to do so. If neither gang wants to mount a Rescue Mission the scenario to be played is resolved normally.

Turf Struggle

If one of the gangs currently has Turf Size 0, that gang's player can choose the Turf Struggle Scenario (even if the gang's type cannot gain Turf).

Player Agreement

If none of the above scenario selection options apply, the players have the option to mutually agree to play a Scenario of their choice.

Random Determination

If none of the above scenario selection options apply, roll on the Scripted Scenario chart below to randomly determine the scenario. If two (2) players are playing roll a D6, if three or more players are playing roll a D3. Scenarios marked with a * such as The Rescue Scenario are never randomly selected, and are instead chosen when relevant.

Each type of randomly determined scenario offers a primary set up and a variant set up. Players may choose amongst themselves whether they want to play the base scenario or the variant unless there is some assumption or criteria that makes one or the other option not viable; if no agreement can be reached by the players the controller of the gang with the worst Win / Loss record may chose, with ties broken by Comparative Gang Rating, followed by a roll off.

The primary version of a scenario is typically more straightforward, while the variants offer intriguing alternatives that can help to keep a campaign fresh, and can help players to weave a narrative into their campaign experience. For instance the player of an Orlock gang might find thematic enjoyment defending a caravan in The Transport variant of The Bushwhack Scenario, while the player of a Delaque gang might find similar thematic enjoyment by being the attacker in The Hit variant of The Razing Scenario.

Scenario Specific Set Up

If the selected scenario has explicit battlefield setup instructions including top-down diagrams (such as the case with many Zone Mortalis scenarios), battlefield set up is done by following the scenario's directions.

Player Agreement Set Up

In the absence of other direction players can simply arrange the battlefield as they see fit, placing and arranging terrain collaboratively, or allowing a fair-minded player to simply do it themselves...perhaps ahead of time before the other player(s) arrive. If all participating players agree to the resulting set up, no further elaboration is necessary.

Standard Method Set Up

If the players cannot agree on how the battlefield should be set up, the following method is used.

Zone Mortalis

If the scenario has a defender, the defender goes first. Otherwise roll off to determine who goes first. Then in alternating turns each player selects a terrain piece and places it on the playing surface.

First, board tiles are placed. Each tile after the first must be placed so that at least half the length of one of its edges is touching an existing tile. A tile cannot be placed if it would make the entire board more than four tiles wide in any direction. At any time, as long as at least three tiles have been placed, a player can declare that they have finished placing tiles. Their opponent then has the opportunity to place one more tile.

If a special tile is selected that require doors or obstacles or other board elements to be placed (such as the Secure Vault), the player who placed that tile also places the other required board elements.

Next doors are placed. The player who places a door can also choose to place a door terminal on either side or both sides if they wish (turning the door into a locked door). At any time, as long as at least three doors have been placed, a player can declare that they have finished placing doors. Their opponent then has the opportunity to place one more door or one door terminal if they want to.

Next barricades and scatter terrain are placed. At any time, as long as at least three barricades or bits of scatter terrain have been placed, a player can declare that they have finished placing board elements of this kind. Their opponent then has the opportunity to place one more board element of this kind if they want to.

Then, if there is an attacker, they can place up to two ductways; otherwise, each player (starting with the one who did not place the last barricade) sets up one ductway then stops. The battlefield set up is complete.

Sector Mechanicus

The players should agree on the size of the play area; the standard assumption is 48" x 48" but smaller or larger sizes can be used if both players agree to it. Then roll 2D6; the result is the minimum number of board elements that must be placed on the battlefield.

If the scenario has a defender, the defender goes first. Otherwise roll off to determine who goes first. Then in alternating turns each player selects a single large terrain piece or a handful of smaller board elements such as scatter terrain and barricades or ladders and railings and places their selection on the playing surface, observing common sense and safety. It is permissible to nudge already placed terrain a bit to line up bridges, pipes, and the like or for aesthetic reasons with the opponent's permission.

Terrain should be relatively stable and resistant to falling over if the table is bumped; anything too likely to fall over during the course of play can be vetoed by the other player.

Once the minimum number of board elements has been placed the players can continue to place terrain but either can declare that they are done at which point the other player may place one more board element and then stop. The battlefield set up is complete.

Blocked Areas

In some cases, particularly when fighting a battle in Zone Mortalis, part of the battlefield might be blocked off and unreachable from the rest of the battlefield. These unreachable areas of the battlefield should be considered to be off limits and to effectively not exist for purposes of deployment or terrain placement; they are basically decorative.

Each player chooses a Crew from their available fighters, using one of the following methods. The scenario will state which method is used by each player, or might instruct one or both players to use a scenario specific method. Unless the scenario states otherwise, any fighters not included in the Crew will not take any part in the battle.

All Eligible Fighters

All fighters on the gang's roster who are available for the battle (not in Recovery, or otherwise unavailable) must take part in the battle.

Random Selection (X)

The player first removes from their deck of fighter cards any fighters who cannot take part in the battle (for example, because they are in Recovery or have been Captured). Then the player shuffles their deck and deals out a number of face-down cards dictated by the number shown in brackets (for example, a player using the Random Selection (D3+4) method would roll a D3, add 4 to the result and deal out that many cards). The fighters shown on these cards are the gang’s Crew for this scenario.

Custom Selection (X)

The player chooses their Crew, in secret, by creating a face-down pile of fighter cards. They cannot include any fighters who cannot take part in the battle for any reason. The number in brackets shows the maximum number of fighters that can be included in the Crew, if this is a random number (for example, D3+4), this should be determined before the Crew is chosen. If there is no number in brackets, there is no maximum size to the Crew.

Note that it is possible to hire one or more Hired Guns at the beginning of a Pre-Battle Sequence, only to have them be excluded from the Crew that actually participates in the battle. Mercs were added to the gang's roster; but fortunately they only charge upkeep for battles they participate in.

Determine Crew Rating

At this step in the Pre-Battle Sequence a gang's Crew Rating is the total Rating of all fighters who are in the gang's starting Crew for the upcoming battle including Hired Guns, Bounty Hunters, Dramatis Personae, and any Special Territories. Each Merc increases their gang's rating by their fighter Rating. Each Hangers-on increases their gang's rating by their hiring cost. Each Special Territory increases their gang's rating by 50.

Some scenarios allow Reinforcements, fighters who may join the battle after it starts. This complicates the process of determining Crew Rating, particularly for the purposes of determining Underdog status. Individual scenarios may describe a specific way to manage this, but by default the total Rating of fighters who are held as Reinforcements is not included in the Crew Rating.

Determine Underdog Status

If one gang's Crew is significantly weaker than the other gang's Crew, the weaker gang is the Underdog and may benefit from some compensatory benefit; whether a gang is the Underdog or not for the upcoming battle is determined now. Some scenarios describe a specific way to determine Underdog status for that scenario, but the default method in a two player battle is to subtract the lower Crew Rating from the higher Crew Rating to determine the difference. For instance, if one gang's Crew Rating was 1500 and the other gang's Crew Rating was 1000, the second gang is the Underdog with a Crew Rating difference of 500 points.

Scenarios often offer some kind of Underdog Bonus to Underdog gangs.

Fighters Recover

For each fighter that was excluded from Crew selection because they are in Recovery, clear their Recovering box on their gang's roster now. These fighters are able to take part in their gang's next battle. They are also able to take part in Post-Battle Actions after this battle.

Each player prepares their deck of Tactics Cards; see the guidelines for gangs Tactic Card Decks in the Campaign section. Some scenarios allow a player to choose cards from their deck of Tactics Cards, some scenarios require a player to shuffle their deck and randomly draw some number of Tactics Cards, and other scenarios provide specific direction on how Tactics Cards are selected. Additionally, some scenarios allow an Underdog player to select or draw extra Tactics Cards, where indicated.

Some cards, such as the Rigged Door and Hidden Passage cards, are intended for use in Zone Mortalis battles only; they cannot be chosen for Sector Mechanicus battles. Similarly, some cards such as Three Point Landing are only usable in Sector Mechanicus games, and cannot be used in Zone Mortalis battles. Any Tactics Cards that cannot be used in the upcoming battle should be set aside and not included in the gang's Tactics Cards deck for this battle.

The Tactics Cards drawn or selected should be set aside, face down, so that opposing players do not know what they are until such a time as each card is played. A player may look at their own Tactics Cards and any Tactics Cards opposing players have played at any time, but a player cannot look at an opposing players' unplayed Tactics Cards.

Many scenarios have specific deployment guidelines which should be followed. However, if none are provided for a scenario the following default method should be used.

Each player will have a deployment zone, an area on the battlefield where they must set up the fighters in their gang's Crew. The size of the deployment zone for each player is dependent on the size of the battlefield

By default the size of a deployment zone is 1/4 the total width of the battlefield from a selected board edge; thus on a 48" x 48" battlefield, the default deployment zone would be 12" measured from opposing board edges, while on a 36" x 36" battlefield this would be shortened to 9", and on a 24" x 24" battlefield it would shrink further to a 6" deployment zone.

For Zone Mortalis battles it can be convenient to instead define one, two, or three rows of squares on opposing tile edges as the deployment zones, if preferred.

If a Sector Mechanicus deployment zone includes raised platforms, fighters can be deployed on those platforms.

If a deployment zone includes unreachable areas, fighters cannot be deployed in those areas. For instance, on some Zone Mortalis battlefields part of a tile might be entirely blocked off from the rest of the battlefield by walls.

If a deployment zone is not big enough to fit all of a gang's Crew, the extra fighters can be deployed outside the deployment zone but in base contact with a friendly fighter that is in the deployment zone.

The players roll off, and the winner decides whether to take the Priority marker or give it to their opponent. Then, the player with the Priority marker chooses one of the edges of the battlefield and sets up one of their fighters within the deployment zone from that edge.

Their opponent then places a fighter within the deployment zone of the opposite board edge. This continues, alternating back and forth between each player, until all the fighters who can be deployed onto the battlefield have been.

The Battle Sequence begins with the player who has the priority marker activating an Active fighter.