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A few more rules tweaks, neither of which I can claim to have come up with but, as previously stated, I want this to be a collaborative effort, and if people come up with rules that improve the experience, they will be adopted and credited accordingly!
i) Break points for broken units - special thanks to my brother Martin for this one. There were several occassions during the campaign where units that had been broken in one battle fought again in the war. This allowed us as players to play with wild abandon and throw them at the enemy knowing full well that it wouldn't matter a damn if they were destroyed. As much fun as this was, it didn't seem particularly realistic, so we came up with this amendment.
Before play, new break points should be calculated for broken units using exactly the same system as shown above on the depleted force break points rule ammendment. These break point values apply during this battle only, and should be recalculated every time the affected units find themselves in battle. If there is only one model left in a unit, the break point is 1.
If, during play, an already broken unit reaches its new break point, no VPs change hands, but the unit must make a morale test with a -1 modifier (units who have already been broken less likely to stand up to more punishment and more likely to flee). The usual rules would apply for falling back and rallying, except that the rally roll should also be made with a -1 modifier.
ii) Forced retreat - special thanks to forum legend Ulric for coming up with this one. In the rules for battles, it stated that once the VPs have been reached for a battle, one or, in the case of a draw, both forces would have all of their units go on to Fall Back orders immediately. The result of this was utterly soul-destroying as you had to watch your forces be mercilessly mown down as they attempted to exit the board. Ulric pointed out that in modern warfare, defeated forces are likely to stage an organized withdrawal from the battlefield rather than the "flee for your lives" solution that I previously suggested. That being the case, the following rules apply once one or both players reach the VP threshold that signals the battle has been won, lost or drawn.
If a player has lost the battle, or if both players have drawn, an organized retreat ensues. A victorious player can continue to order his units as he pleases, but the losing player, or if there is a draw, units on both sides must be placed on Advance or Charge orders. In addition, during the movement phase, they must move at least their full advance rate back towards their side of the board. Vehicles are simply slammed into reverse so can move their standard move rates while backwards still facing the enemy. Infantry can fire 360 degrees so it doesn't matter which way they are facing. The one exception to the rule applies to Titans. They still must use their Advance or Charge order but a Titan in reverse cannot move as quickly as it would moving forward. They can only move half their move rate in reverse. Therefore, Titans must move backwards at least half of their advance move rate.
Provided they are on advance orders, retreating forces may still fire as normal in the advance phase.
Morale will be low in a retreating force, therefore, should any unit be broken, morale checks should be made with a -1 modifier, with the usual rules applying for Fall Back if they fail, but any further morale checks should also be made with a -1 modifier.
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