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Sunday, September 23, 2012

Melee Phase

At the start of the Melee phase, the player whose turn it is declares which of his units wish to Charge.

The player then moves the models in his Charging unit.

Models which fired in the Firefight phase may not Charge.

The closest Charging model may move up to 8" towards the nearest unengaged enemy model.  Then the next closest, etc.  If all enemy models in range are engaged, then the charging model must try to reach base to base contact with a friendly model engaged in melee.  Continue until all models have moved.

The opposing player now must Pile In.  He moves any his models within 8".  They must move towards enemy models in the same fashion as above.  Only units with engaged models may so move into Melee.  (So it doesn't pull in units farther away.)  They may move even if they fired in the Firefight phase.

Divide the board into individual Melee.  A Melee contains all opposing units that have a models engaged with each other or any other enemy unit.  A Melee may thus daisy chain many units.  If A is in Melee of B, and B is in Melee of C, then A B and C are all in one Melee .  You may find that you have one giant Melee across the whole board, or you may find you have several small Melee, each having only two units.  Either is fine; we are only dividing them up for ease of resolution.

The player whose turn it is chooses the order in which to resolve each Melee.  (Again this should make no difference to the outcome; it's just courtesy.)

All hits and wounds in the Melee is assumed to occur simultaneously. Each player rolls To-hit for their models involved in the Melee.  Both players then allocate hits.  Each player should roll To-Wound.  Finally, the players roll Saves for their models.  If there's any dispute over who rolls dice first, defer to the player whose turn it is.  It should make no difference to the outcome anyway.

You may be able to to simplify the dice rolling by combining rolls or stages, but you should only do this if you and your opponent agree.

At the end of the Melee phase, test Leadership for units that are eligible to Break.

Moreover, test Leadership for any Suppressed unit that was engaged in either Firefight or Melee in this player's turn.  If they fail, they must Fall Back.  If they succeed, they may chose to remain where they are or they may voluntarily Fall Back. Units that remain in Melee must make a Pile In move as described above, bringing as many more models as possible into base to base contact.  Units which fought in Melee in this players turn, but are no now longer engaged in Melee may make a Follow Up move.  Resolve Fall Back before Pile In Before Follow Up.

A unit that Falls Back makes an immediate normal move directly away from as many enemy models as possible, ending as far away as possible.

A unit that Follows Up makes an immediate normal move in any direction.  However, its models may not end closer to any enemy models.


Geek Notes

I've tried here to write sensible rules for Melee, but I'm sure there will be all sorts of questions about coherency and charging during play-test. I expect significant expansion to cover all kinds of melee weirdness.



Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Firefight Phase

In the Firefight phase, all models within 12"of an enemy model have an opportunity to fire.

Divide the board into individual Firefights.  A Firefight contains all opposing units what have a model within 12" of each other or any other enemy unit.  A Firefight may thus daisy chain many units.  If A is in range of B, and B is in range of C, then A B and C are all in one Firefight.  You may find that you have one giant Firefight across the whole board, or you may find you have several small Firefights, each having only two units.  Either is fine; we are only dividing them up for ease of resolution.

The player whose turn it is chooses the order in which to resolve each Firefight.  (Again this should make no difference to the outcome; it's just courtesy.)

All shooting in the Firefight is assumed to occur simultaneously. Each player rolls To-hit for their models involved in the Firefight.  Both players then allocate hits.  Each player should roll To-Wound.  Finally, the players roll Saves for their models.  If there's any dispute over who rolls dice first, defer to the player whose turn it is.  It should make no difference to the outcome anyway.

You may be able to to simplify the dice rolling by combining rolls or stages, but you should only do this if you and your opponent agree.

At the end of the Firefight phase, test Leadership for units that are eligible to Break and apply Suppression for all relevant units, friend or foe.


Geek Notes

The Firefight phase is the sharp end of the stick.  In Shooting, it's hard to completely destroy an unit of Infantry.  In Firefight it will be pretty easy.  Any unit that wishes to advance on an objective (or enter Melee) must dare the Firefight phase. In Shooting and Movement phases, your goal should be to set up a favorable Firefight for your boys. 

Let us consider a couple of scenarios, in which two otherwise equally matched forces engage in firefight.  We will assume neither has any advantage in equipment or skill.  They will hit on 4+s, and wound on 2+s.  Each unit numbers 10 dudes with RoF 2 small arms and an RoF 10 Machinegun.

Scenario One

Red Squad moves into range of Blue Squad.  Neither has any cover.  Red unit gets 30 shots.  They have -1 to Hit because they have moved.  So they Hit on a 5+.  They hit 10 times, and wound 8.33 times.  Blue Squad saves 2.7 times. Blue Squad takes 5.6 or so casualties.

Blue Squad gets 30 shots too.  They have no penalties to Hit.  So they Hit on 4+ .  That's 15 Hits and 12.5 Wounds.   Red Squad is Suppressed and takes 8.3 casualties.

Moral: Don't charge into Firefight range without making preparations, you're gonna get slaughtered.

Scenario Two

Red Squad moves into range of Blue Squad.  Blue Squad is Suppressed.  Blue Squad is Concealed and in Soft Cover.   Red unit gets 30 shots.  They have -1 to Hit because they have moved and -1 to Hit because Blue Squad is Concealed.  So they Hit on a 6+.  They hit 5 times, and wound 4.11 times.  Blue Squad saves on a 4+. Blue Squad takes 2.6 casualties.

Blue Squad gets 30 shots too.  They have also have -2 to Hit.  So they Hit on 6+ .  They hit 5 times, and wound 4.11 times.  Red Squad saves on a 5+. Red Squad takes 2.74 casualties.

The result is a wash in terms of raw casualties, but Red Squad isn't Suppressed and Blue Squad is. Moreover, Blue Squad will have to test or retreat at the end of Melee

Scenario Three

 Red Squad has brought along its identical twins Purple Squad and Mauve Squad.  Red Squad, Purple Squad, and Mauve Squad move into range of Blue Squad.  Blue Squad is Suppressed.  Blue Squad is Concealed and in Soft Cover.   Red, Purple and Mauve gets 90 shots.  They have -1 to Hit because they have moved and -1 to Hit because Blue Squad is Concealed.  So they Hit on a 6+.  They hit 15 times, and wound 12.5 times.  Blue Squad saves on a 4+.  Blue Squad takes 6.25 casualties.

Blue Squad is half-dead and Suppressed. It must test to Break. Blue Squad will have to test or retreat at the end of Melee.

This is the way to handle a Firefight: Move multiple attackers into Firefight Range in Movement.  Suppress the enemy squad in Shooting.  Then gang up on the target in Firefight.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Shooting Phase

The player whose turn it is selects a unit to shoot.

Each model in the unit may select a different target. 

Targets must be within range and line of site of the shooting model.

Models may not normally shoot through friendly models.  However, a friendly model may voluntarily forgo shooting in order to allow another friendly model to trace line of sight though its base.  We will call this Lying Down.

Models may shoot through enemy models, provided line of sight is not completely obscured.  The target models will count as being concealed and in soft cover.

Models within Firefight distance of an enemy may not shoot in the shooting phase.  (They will shoot in the firefight phase.)  They may not Lie Down in the Shooting Phase.

All shooting is resolved one friendly unit at a time.

At the end of the Shooting phase, apply Suppression and test Leadership for all relevant units, friend or foe.

Geek Notes

Again, these are pretty standard shooting rules for casual wargaming.  They are closer to Flames of War than Warhammer 40k.  In particular, I have allowed individual models to target different units.  I find this makes a lot of sense.  I have limited friendly units from firing through each other freely, which prevents any amount of silly "screening" shenanigans.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Movement Phase

Standard Infantry will move 6" per phase.  Terrain will not slow them, but some terrain may be impassible.

Infantry has a coherence distance of 2" between models. Models in coherency distance of the leader or incoherency with a unit model in coherency distance with the leader are said to be in coherency.  Models out of coherency must move into or directly towards coherency or remain stationary. 

Standard Vehicles will move 12" per phase.  Terrain will slow them to 6" per phase.  Difficult Terrain requires a test on 2+ to avoid becoming Immobilized.  Very Difficult Terrain will require a test on 4+ to avoid becoming Immobilized.  Different types of Vehicles may move a different speeds.

Models may move at double speed, provided they do not come within Firefight distance (12") of an enemy model .  Models that have moved at double speed suffer the following penalties till their next turn:
  • May not shoot in the Shooting Phase.
  • Count as Suppressed in the Firefight Phase.
  • Suffer -2 to their Cover Saves.
Geek Notes

The Movement phase is pretty boring, which is why I've waited so long to say anything about it.  The movement distances and rules here are pretty standard for beer-and-pretzel war-games.  Only a few points need comment:

First, I have rejected random movement distances, which seems to be the new way to add a little bit of uncertainty into games that allow pre-measuring. I just don't see the point -- Flames of War has fixed movement and pre-measuring, and I've never felt the need for more randomness when playing.

Second, I don't want terrain to slow the game down too much, so movement distances are pretty generous even in terrain.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Doctrines

Each force will have Doctrines, which represent aspects of their equipment and training.  Some Doctrines will apply to the entire force.  Other doctrines may be specific to a particular unit.   Special Leader models may also have Doctrines which only they may confer on nearby units.

Doctrines are activated from a pool of Activation Dice.  Activation Dice come from Leaders.  Typically, each Leader will generate one die.  (Some mighty commanders might generate two dice, or second-rate Leaders in poorly trained armies might generate none.)  A player receives their full pool of dice at the start of their turn.  Any left over dice from the previous turn are discarded.

Once per Phase, a Leader may attempt to activate a Doctrine for any single unit within 12” and under him in the Chain of Command.  This may be any doctrine intrinsic to the force, any Doctrine specific to the targeted Unit, or an Doctrine the Leader himself is eligible to confer on it. 

Doctrines will indicate in which Phase or Phases they may be Activated.  Usually, they may be Activated at any time, in reaction to events.  If both players wish to activate an ability at the same time, the player whose turn it is activates their Doctrine first.

The activating player then chooses how many Activation Dice he wishes to roll to Activate the Doctrine.  Each Doctrine has a target number (typically 4+), depending on how mighty or complex it is.  If any Activation Die equals or exceeds the target number, the Doctrine is Activated.  Otherwise it fails to activate.

If he succeeds, the Doctrine is activated.  If he fails, the Doctrine is not activated.  No other Leader may attempt to activate the same Doctrine on the same unit that Phase.

Geek Notes


Doctrines are another way to differentiate armies and give them character.  Even similarly-skilled and equipped forces may differ radically in their approach to combat.

I'm very inspired by Saga's approach to the Dark Ages.  Saga gives each army a series of abilities, activated by special dice.  Even though almost all Dark Age forces had the same equipment - a big round shield and a hand weapon - the Saga armies play very differently, based entirely on their Battle Board.  (You can read my thoughts about Saga here.)

Now, I didn't want a full Battle-Board and all that for my game.  I think that on top of rules for equipment, vehicles, and so forth, it would just be too complicated.  But I do like the idea of resource management.  I also welcome the chance to regularize the mechanics for those special unit and army rules most wargames tend to accumulate.  Why not make them all part of the same leadership mechanic?

 A Dice pool is really easy to keep track of -- it's got dice!  Remove them as you roll them.  But you'll have to decide where and how to spend them.  Since Leaders must activate Doctrines, it matters where your Leaders are on the battlefield, and how they are part of the chain of command.  That gives the chain of command more of an in-game role, too.

So, consider the various Space Marine chapters in the Warhammer 40k universe.  They are all equipped basically the same - power-armor, bolter, combat knife, chain-sword, and some specialty stuff like jet-packs or terminator armor.  In the background, they have really interesting backgrounds and a strong character.  But it's always seemed to me that 40k struggles to translate the background into rules.  It can give them a few special rules and juggle the equipment options, but the different Chapters don't end up playing that much differently.

With this system, even armies equipped the same could have different Doctrines.  So one army might specialize in close shooting.  Maybe its Doctrines would allow a re-roll failed to-Hit rolls in Firefights or grant all its weapons +1 HE.  Another might specialize in close combat; maybe its Doctrines would let it re-roll Hits in Melee or grant its models an increased Rate of Attack.  Perhaps a third is renowned for its stoicism; its Doctrines might double the number of Hits required to Suppress it or allow it re-roll failed Leadership tests.  Instant variety.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Leaders

Every army has a chain of command.  Certain models in your army are Leaders.  Leader models are associated with a particular level of the army’s command structure.  Typically, this runs:
  • CiC of the Force
  • Battalion Leader(s)
  • Company Leader(s)
  • Platoon Leader(s)
  • Squad Leader(s)
  • Team Leader(s)
The game recognizes several types of Leaders: Unit Leaders, Independent Leaders, and Special Leaders  

A Unit is a group of Models that must maintain Coherency and which maneuvers separately . It may be at any level of the command structure, but is usually a Squad.  Bigger armies, with poor command and control, may have Platoon or Company-Sized units.  

A Unit leader is the integral Leader model for a Unit. Every Unit has a Unit Leader and cannot be without one.  If the Unit Leader dies, another model immediately becomes the new Leader.  This must the next highest ranked model in the Unit, if the Model can be discerned by equipment or markings.  Otherwise, any model in the Unit may be designated. 

Independent Leaders are not part of a Unit, but are able to roam freely about the battlefield as lone Models.

Special Leaders have Doctrines that only they may activate or confer on nearby Units.  These Doctrines represent that specific Model's abilities.  If that Model dies, the special Doctrines are lost with it.  The Special Leader may also be a Unit leader.  If a Special Unit Leader dies, the new Unit Leader may only use Doctrines associated with the Unit itself.  It does not inherit a slain Special Leader's Doctrines.

Geek Note

Casualty removal is semi-random, meaning sometimes you will lose a Leader. In FoW, a dead command stand completely hoses over a Unit until a new one is appointed.  This strikes me as a little too much realism - nothing is more annoying than having your army hosed over arbitrarily.  So I am going to assume that as long as a Unit keeps making Break tests, it manages to keep functioning somehow.  Even if the Officer or NCO perishes, perhaps a particularly inspiring common trooper takes over temporarily.  

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Suppression


A unit is Suppressed if in any single Phase, it takes a number of Wounds equal to the number of models it contains.  This is checked before any casualties are removed or Cover Saves are rolled.

A Suppressed unit fights less effectively.

  • It fires at -2 to-Hit in the Shooting and Firefight phases.
  • A Suppressed unit may not charge into Assault.  Once in assault, it fights normally.

Geek Note

Many Wounds fail to remove a model, because of cover saves, so Suppression is often more important than actual casualties.

 Most models will have an RoF of 2.  Against a target of equal Ranged Skill, in the open, it will require a 4+ to Hit.  With no advantages or disadvantages, its weapon will Wound on a 2+.  This means that evenly matched units in the open will Suppress each other slightly less than 50% of the time.  It also means that as a unit becomes larger, better skilled or better-equipped, it will be harder to Suppress. 

 It also means that units will not easily be Suppressed by weapons which cannot hurt them effectively.  So elite, armored Space Marines will wade blithely through lasgun fire, Death Robots won’t care about Sherman tanks, and so forth.