Firelock Games has announced the release of version 1.02 of the Oak & Iron rulebook, which includes several updates and clarifications to the popular naval war game. With this new version, players will find improved language on some vague areas of the rules as well as a pretty big change to Crew Actions. For the most part these changes are minor and aim to enhance the overall player experience, making Oak & Iron even more accessible and engaging.
I’ve compiled a list of the changes in the rulebook in a short article below. I’ve also added some brief commentary at the end of the article.
Summary of the Oak & Iron v1.02 Rulebook Errata and Changes to the Game
Errata
- A dice re-rolled via Skill can only be re-rolled once, unless the further re-roll is made using a Fortune Point (pg. 11).
- Minor clarification for playing Initiative Cards (pg 12).
- The wording has been changed to clearly allow attacks from Entangled ships against ANY ship, not just Close Combat against an Entangled ship (pg 14). Meaning even if you have been boarded, you can make Broadsides or Partial Attacks against other nearby ships.
- Multiple clarifications on Cut Free Actions (pg 14).
- Ships may now move directly sideways or backward during a Cut Free with a Move 1. This helps avoid a repeat collision and becoming re-Entangled.
- A ship that Cuts Free may not take a Crew Action during the Movement Phase.
- The example outlining a round of action on pg 18 has updates to reflect the changes for Cut Free.
- Clarification was added that Partial Attacks can never be reduced below 1 Dice due to Fatigue (pg 22).
- The rules for destroyed ships and auto cutting free were clarified in the End Phase (pg 23).
- Fatigue does not affect a Fireship attack (pg 33).
- Clarification was made to allow Skill re-rolls to apply when targeting the crew or rigging (pg 33).
- FAQ Clarifies that you CAN make Broadside and Partial Attacks while Entangled (pg 33).
- If multiple ships are Engtangled you can cross friendly Out of Actions ships to make an attack on an enemy, but it can only become Shake and may not be captured or destroyed (pg 33).
Changes and Improvements to the Game
- Possibly the largest change to the game is the option to make a 2nd Crew Action instead of an Attack if there are no hostile ships within Pistol range:
During the Attack Phase, players will alternate attacking with their ships, 1 ship at a time, until all ships have activated. After a ship has activated, remove its Wake marker to indicate that it has attacked (or won’t) this phase. During an Attack Phase activation, a ship may instead take an additional Crew Action if the ship has no opposing ships within Pistol Shot. If it does make an attack, it may make 1 (and only 1) of the following attacks: Broadside, Partial Fire, or Close Combat.
pg 20
- The “Down!” Initiative card has been nerfed. It now adds the following text to the end of the current text: “Ships in this Squadron may only take ‘Rally” Crew Actions this turn.”
How do the v1.02 Rules Affect Oak & Iron Gameplay?
The majority of changes aren’t really changes per se. They are really more clarifications or areas where there were gaps or holes in the rules where things were unclear. There two items however, that WILL affect the outcome of games.
- The “Down!” Initiative Card was a go-to card for many players. It was a powerful ability allowing you to avoid a lot of Fatigue from of incoming fire during the round. It has been changed to weaken it significantly and to make it fall more in line with its historical origin. By choosing to play this card you are choosing to not attack or repair. Your crew hunkers down and rides out the incoming fire and can only Rally. Being limited to Rally Actions only moves this card to the bottom of the deck for me. The effects make it more of a specialty card rather than one I put in every game.
- The ability to take 2 Crew Actions a round rather than make an attack could have big consequences for a game! While I’ve yet to playtest it very thoroughly, it does have the potential to extend the length of games. Ships now have the option to duck out of combat or hide behind an island and Rally or Repair. Then after patching up their shredded ships could return to the fight. A skilled admiral could also stagger their ships to hide wounded vessels from other ships. Denying an enemy line of sight would allow you a round or two to recover and recoup.
It will be interesting to see how this change affects the outcome of games. At first blush, I like the change. It adds a layer of depth and strategy as players have to consider whether it’s better to recover or attack. And I’m always in favor of adding new tactics to a game as long as it doesn’t break the rules.
If you have thoughts and opinions on the new rules, I’d love to hear them. Feel free to share them in the comments below.
Download the Latest Copy of the Oak & Iron v1.02 Rulebook
For more information, go here to get the latest copy of the v1.02 rulebook. Additionally, you can get a copy of the new v1.02 version of the Glossary and Quick Reference PDFs developed by Paul Kingtiger.