Dustup is my take on the popular set of science fiction platoon level rules Stargrunt II published in 1996 by Jon Tuffley and Ground Zero Games. All material taken from the Stargrunt II rules is reproduced here with permission but remains the copyright of Jon Tuffley and GZG. Stargrunt and Stargrunt II are trademarks of GZG.
I started playing Space Hulk in the 1980s and amassed a few alien figures as well as a variety of human styled miniatures. I wanted to play traditional tabletop wargames set in the "Aliens" universe (ie based on the Ridley Scott movie and sequels) and other similar settings, but there were no rules that really worked. Then along came Stargrunt II with its gritty near future feel, perfect for the Colonial Marines, the Mobile Infantry and other similar space faring humans. However, unfortunately, it did not really model the aliens very well and the promised supplement never materialised.
I tried various modifications to get what I wanted and eventually settled on something approaching what you find here. Essentially, I needed to modify the close combat rules to give a bit more variety to the different alien species and add some different psychology (confidence) rules. In subsequent years these rules were revised and adapted to allow me to play in other settings such as "a galaxy far, far away", a "timey wimey doctor", Barsoom, and the 41st Millennium.
The core rules are available here and as I write them up, I will include the various supplements for other settings. Please have a go at them and let me know what you think.
Dustup Core Rules generic rules for science fiction skirmish games.
Dustup Quick Reference Sheets.
A Right Bloody Dustup rules for inter-war skirmishing in the (fictional) Australian Civil War. See Matthew Clarkson's blog for more information on "A Right Bloody Mess", and the Eureka Miniatures web site for some suitable figures.
The rules for 'Grim Dark Dustup' wil be posted here one day...
Grim Dark Dustup Vol 01 Common Rules
Grim Dark Dustup Vol 02 Humans
Grim Dark Dustup Vol 03 Formics.
Please
email
me with any comments questions or feedback
Some links to other Stargrunt resources:
Stargrunt II on Board Game Geek
Stargrunt II on the Miniatures Page
A video review of Stargrunt II
A review of Stargrunt II on RPG.net
A review of Stargrunt II on military.com
Some house rules and other material by HyperBear
My blog that occasionally has posts about Stargrunt/ Dustup