One more for tonight, tell me to stop when you are bored...
As mentioned in one of my other threads, one thing I really think might benefit the rules as a whole is a tightening up of the language a little.
I've played GW games since 4th Ed Fantasy/2nd Ed 40K, and in all honesty, outside of Epic:Armageddon, they have always been a little loosey goosey when it comes to language, which often leads to the criticism of poor rules writing and the RAW/RAI arguments of lore. Not to mention rolling a D6 for the "correct" interpretation.
While no ruleset survives contact with the enemy (gamers have a nasty habit of tearing something apart on sight, yes I appreciate the irony of that comment given my current thinking...) I think more modern rulessets can do a better job, and I'd love to see that be applied here.
As an example, here is a first pass at the pinning rules, as mentioned, I felt they didn't quite explain the full intent of pinning in the current rules, though with a little thought its pretty obvious what was being driven at.
I've tweaked the language a little, and added a clear (I hope!) definition of exactly what pinning does in game language, dropping the more fluffy aspects of the language where possible. Fluff is for fluff, cold hard rules are for rules, if that makes sense?
It reads a lot more sterile, which is not as fun to read, but hopefully it helps convey the rules in a more clear manner.
I've also introduced the "key word" concept more fully. This is something that may be a huge undertaking to edit in to future documents, but if you can highlight any and all regularly appearing game terms, then include them in a glossary at the back of the book then I think it can really help clear up player confusion.
Again, this is all old hat for many of you, but if you are looking to attract new blood and convert people to the game, it may help. I appreciate not everyone thinks like me, so this might not be what you are looking for, but its a different take on the same end principle of a useful set of rules to learn and play Epic.
Note, some of the formatting will be lost on a forum, so this isn't WYSIWYG yet. I may produce a PDF to more closely illustrate what I think it might look like.
Quote:
Pinning Class
Pinning class refers to the ability to physically restrict your enemy from leaving close combat, and is a general indication of size and mobility.
When a unit is engaged in close combat by another unit from the same or higher pinning class it is said to be pinned. A pinned unit cannot disengage and leave close combat until it has killed the unit(s) causing it to be pinned, or is itself destroyed.
Pinning classes, in order from smallest to largest are:
Unit Type/Pinning Class
Infantry & Light Artillery /1
Cavalry & Walkers/2
Vehicles & Heavy Artillery/3
Superheavy Vehicles & Knights/4
Titans & Praetorians/5
Example: A Warlord titan and a Land Raider tank are in close combat. The tank is pinned but the titan is not. The Warlord can walk away during any movement phase, but the Land Raider must win close combat or die.
Hint: To engage a unit in close combat that is from a higher pinning class than you, charge it after it has completed the movement part of its activation.
Quote:
Special Rule: Skimmer Pinning Class
Skimmers cannot be pinned by units that are not themselves skimmers and at least of the same pinning class, and may move out of close combat on their next move (even if their next move is in the same turn). However, if the skimmer decides to stay it is considered pinned for that turn ONLY. That means opponents may not be able to fire at the skimmer since it is in close combat and considered pinned for that turn. If the skimmer survives the turn it may move normally next turn.
Quote:
Glossary of terms.
close combat – hand to hand fighting between two or more units
pinned – a unit is held in close combat by an enemy unit
pinning class – represents the size and mobility of a unit and its ability to hold up enemies
skimmer(s) – units that float just above ground level, using anti grav or possibly magic to remain aloft
unit(s) – each stand of troops, tank, titan or aircraft is a unit. Basically a model
Appreciate I can be a little verbose at times, but I just like talking about toy soldiers I guess.
