WINTER CONTINGENCY has been declared. All units are mobilized and ready.

Significant revisions to playbook moves, a new weapon and many other smaller changes. Primarily, removed "Frag Grenade" as a single move and replaced it with a smaller number of identified use cases that and individually addressed: 

1. Area damage now falls under a new "+blast" keyword on the new Grenade Launcher and the Rocket Launcher. 
2. Urban clearance now added as a core move to the Sergeant and the Trooper.

Changelog:

• Added a new section "Enemy Encounters" to give GMs a small and by no means exhaustive list of potential enemies.
• Changed the core move "Move Through the Combat Zone" quite significantly, generally increasing the risk of using it. Marking stress to improve results may only be done once, and the range of negative events are increased. Options to mark stress in order to avoid danger have generally been removed.
  • Designer's note: In a previous playtest these rolls often did not deliver the drama they ought to have, being too easy to pass with a good Scout.
    
• Removed the playbook core move "Frag Grenade".
  • Designer's note: The "holy trinity" of Halo is the trio of guns, grenades and melee, so I felt compelled to add a widely available grenade move. However, "Frag Grenade" was wordy and complicated and was not nearly cool enough to justify its weight. My editorial opinion is also, in addition, that grenades are quite a specialised tool that ultimately don't need to be represented so prominently.
  • Replaced on the Sergeant and Trooper by a new core move "Breach and Clear".
• Removed the Trooper's optional move "Grenade Pouch" has no purpose now that "Frag Grenade" has been removed.
• Added a new weapon, the Grenade Launcher.
  • Designer's note: This, along with the later move "Breach and Clear", is designed to replace "Frag Grenade". 
• Added a new weapon, the Energy Sword.
  • Designer's note: Picking up Covenant weapons, no matter how inadvisable, is also part of Halo gameplay.
• Changed the Rocket Launcher text to describe Harm 6 on direct impact and Harm 4 splash damage. Changed text to match the Grenade Launcher (now "you may not get up close and personal with this weapon", was "when you target a weak spot, you must mark ammo").
• Changed the Sniper Rifle to Harm 5 (was Harm 4).
  • Designer's note: Harm 4 feels too low now that the Rocket Launcher does 4 on its splash damage.
• Changed the Beam Rifle to Harm 6 (was Harm 4) and changed it to always draw unwanted attention (was: may not pool ammo).
  • Designer's note: Given changes overall in the high damage low-ammo category, a one-ammo-track weapon can afford to be powerful. I did want to retain some additional downside, however, as another key difference between this and the Sniper Rifle is that it is not a heavy weapon, so added this new text which I think shall keep it from being an automatic pickup.
• Changed the Plasma Pistol's text to refer to any shielded enemy (was: Elite or Jackal) for neatness.
• Removed the Assault Rifle in the Specialist's loadout and replaced it with the Grenade Launcher.
  • Designer's note: This hurts the Specialist's access to high-ammo weapons, but they are the Specialist after all.
• Removed the Battle Rifle in the Sergeant's loadout and replaced it with the Grenade Launcher.
  • Designer's note: The Sergeant is a CQB-focused leader and this is intended to solidify them in that role. They still have access to the general-purpose Assault Rifle for damage at normal ranges.
• Changed the Scout's core move "Let Them Pass" to interact with the core move "Move Through the Combat Zone" rather than have its own, fairly verbose rules.
• Changed the Scout's core move "Take the Shot" to apply when a comrade would plunge into danger as well as draw unwanted attention.
  
• Changed the Officer's optional move "Final Protective Fire" to apply when a teammate is pinned as well as going out of action, and renamed it to "All Guns, Urgent Tasking" as a result.
• Changed the Trooper's optional move "Pour It On" to apply to getting up close and personal as well as taking the fight to the enemy.
• Removed the Specialist's optional move "Laser Rangefinder" and replaced it with a new move "Concealed Position".
  • Designer's note: Laser Rangefinder had not been updated in line with changes to targeting a weak spot made during Playtest 03. I do want the Specialist to be capable of consistency where it matters, so rejected drafts such as a simple +1, being able to pick 1 less bad option or giving an alternate less-bad choice. Instead, Concealed Position should allow Specialists to make that single, potentially mission-defining shot even if it costs them dearly.
• Removed all instances of "you may not pool ammo" from Covenant weapons.
  • Designer's note: While a fun nod to game mechanics, this rule has never come up in any playtest. This is an abstract ruleset and I should exercise discipline with the rules that I keep.

A small note that I do not wish to draw an undue amount of attention to in case I am wrong, but I am starting to sense that there will be fewer and fewer major revisions to the rules going forwards. This may reasonably be interpreted as the game progressing towards being ready for release.