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[Variant] Alternate Aerospace Rules

 Post subject: [Variant] Alternate Aerospace Rules
PostPosted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:22 pm 
Purestrain
Purestrain

Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 10:52 pm
Posts: 9617
Location: Nashville, TN, USA
Per several requests, following are the rules as posted on the old SG boards.

These are NOT intended as a NetEA rule change.
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4.1 AEROSPACE UNITS
In Epic there are two types of aerospace units:

Aircraft: The unit type includes all ‘fixed wing’ aircraft that can operate in a planet’s atmosphere. Most aircraft are powered by powerful jet engines and are capable of carrying heavy payloads and of flying at thousands of kilometres an hour. Aircraft can range in size from small single-seat fighters to huge transport landers that can carry entire formations of troops. Aircraft belong to one of three manoeuvre classes that determine how easily they can turn when they move, as described below. The three classes are: Fighters, Bombers, and Fighter-Bombers. An aircraft’s manoeuvre class is noted instead of its speed on its data sheet.

Spacecraft: This category includes all of the interstellar spacecraft used by armies to move from one star system to another. These craft can vary in size from small escorts to huge battleships armed with enough firepower to level a hive city! In Epic they are assumed to be operating from low orbit where they can land drop pods and provide long-range support for ground troops.

4.1.1 Aerospace Formations
Aerospace units are organised into formations just like any other unit. However, although aerospace formations do receive Blast markers, they cannot be broken or suppressed. In addition, they can’t be assaulted, lend support to an assault or be used by another formation to claim a crossfire, etc, while in the air. Once landed, an aerospace unit may be assaulted and be used in a crossfire, and is affected by Blast markers normally.

4.2 AIRCRAFT
Aircraft formations are not set-up with other units. They are kept off table (where it can be imagined they are in orbit or stationed at a nearby airbase) but can be set up on the board when they take an action. Aircraft that are capable of transporting other units may be set up with the these units already on board. The aircraft (plus any units they are transporting) may only enter play using the following rules.

Aircraft formations can only take the following actions:

Ground Attack, Combat Air Patrol, Air Assault, Evac or Stand Down. Aircraft formations that fail an action test must take a stand down action rather than a hold action.

Ground Attack: Take an action test for the formation and if it passes set up the formation touching your table edge. The formation may then make an approach move and then attack enemy ground units. In the end phase, the formation must make a disengagement move and exit the table.

Combat Air Patrol (CAP): Only fighters and fighterbombers can choose this action. Take an action test for the formation and if it passes set up the formation touching your own side’s table edge to show where it will enter play. Formation remain on CAP orders remain on CAP until they intercept or undertake a new action in the following turn in the same fashion as a ground formation on Overwatch.

Interceptions: A formation on CAP may choose to carry out an interception in reaction to an enemy ground attack, air assault or evac’ approach move. In effect CAP allows you to interrupt an enemy air action and ‘bounce’ the enemy aircraft before they finish the action. No action test is required to carry out the interception. It takes place after the enemy formation has made its approach move, but before AA weapons are fired at them. The intercepting formation must then make an approach move and may attack enemy aircraft units that are within range and arc of fire. After it has completed any attacks it must make a disengagement move and exit the table. The enemy formation that triggered the interception may then complete its action. No more than one formation that is on CAP may intercept an enemy formation.

Air Assault: Only aircraft that are set up at the start of the battle carrying ground units may take this action. Take an action test for the aircraft formation and if it passes set up the formation touching your table edge at any point. The formation must then make an approach move and may then disembark any ground units it is carrying. The ground units may fire with the aircraft or make an assault if desired (see 4.2.7). After all units have disembarked and any assaults have been resolved the aircraft must make a disengagement move and exit the table.

Evac’: Only aircraft that are capable of carrying ground units may take this action. Take an action test for the formation and if it passes set up the formation touching your table edge at any point. The formation must then make an approach move and may then embark any ground units within 15cms (see 4.2.8). After all units have embarked it must make a disengagement move and exit the table.

Stand Down: The formation may do nothing this turn. An aircraft formation that fails its action test must choose to take a stand down action.

4.2.1 Aircraft Approach Moves
Aircraft carrying out an interception or ground attack action are set up touching their own side’s table edge (choose an edge randomly if your side doesn’t have a table edge in the scenario being played). After the formation is set up it carries out an approach move. Aircraft making an approach move may travel an unlimited distance over the tabletop when they move. Aircraft are assumed to be travelling high enough above the ground to fly over terrain, zones of control, and other units (in other words they ignore all three things!) By the same token, other units may ignore aircraft and aircraft zones of control when they move. Note that aircraft may not assault other units.

Aircraft must generally travel straight ahead in the direction they are facing, and can only change direction by turning. Aircraft belong to one of three manoeuvre classes that determine how easily they can turn when they move, as described below. The three classes are: Fighters, Bombers, and Fighter-Bombers. An aircraft’s manoeuvre class is noted instead of its speed on its data sheet.

Fighters: Fighters may make one turn of up to 90º after moving at least 30cm. Once the fighter has made a turn it must move another 30cm before it can turn again.

Bombers: Bombers may make one turn of up to 45º after moving at least 30cm. Once the bomber has made a turn it must move another 30cm before it can turn again.

Fighter-Bombers: Fighter-bombers manoeuvre as bombers when making an approach move if they are carrying out a ground attack action (because they are laden down with bombs or rockets), and behave like fighters under any other circumstances.

4.2.2 AA Attacks
AA weapons are designed to fire defensively against an attacking enemy aircraft, and may therefore shoot immediately after an enemy aircraft formation makes an approach move but before it makes its attack. This is sometimes called a flak attack. Note that this means that aircraft carrying out a ground attack, air assault or evac’ mission may use any AA weapons they are armed with to shoot at enemy interceptors after the interceptors make their approach move. Attacks made against disengaging aircraft are resolved once the aircraft reaches the table edge, but before it is removed to ‘fly back to base’.

Flak attacks may not be carried out by units belonging to a formation that is marching or broken. This aside, flak attacks are a ‘free’ or bonus attack, and making a flak attack does not stop the unit attacking again later in the same turn. What’s more, a flak weapon can make any number of flak attacks per turn against different aircraft formations, as long as it does not attack the same aircraft formation more than once in a turn. Making a flak attack does not remove overwatch status from a ground formation.

No line of fire is required when firing at aircraft, as it is assumed that they are high enough above any terrain features to be seen by all units. Make flak attacks one unit at a time, in any order you like.

AA weapons are designed to track and shoot at enemy aircraft as they move past them, and because of this they may shoot at an aircraft formation that moved within their weapon range at any point during their move, even if the aircraft is no longer within weapon range when the attack is made. Attacks made against disengaging aircraft are resolved when the aircraft reaches the edge of the table, before it is removed to ‘fly back to base’. Units that shot at an aircraft formation as it approached may not shoot at them again as they disengage.

4.2.3 Aircraft Interception Attacks
Aircraft carrying out a interception are allowed to attack any enemy aircraft that are in range of their AA weapons after the interceptors have made their approach move. The attack is carried out in the same manner as any other AA Attack, but takes place after the interceptors have been fired at by ‘defensive’ AA fire (see 4.2.5). Aircraft making an interception may add +1 to their to hit rolls with any AA weapons that they fire. After the attack has been resolved the interceptors must disengage, and then the formation that was intercepted may complete its action.

4.2.4 Disengagement Moves
After an aircraft has either attacked or embarked/disembarked units, then it must exit the table. Aircraft may exit along ANY table edge. Simply move the aircraft as you did when it made its approach move, until it reaches a table edge. This is called the disengagement move, and it takes place at the start of the end phase before any ground formations rally. Note that the Disengagement Move must begin with a 30cm move in a straight line just as an Approach Move does. Movement in the Approach Move is not “carried over” to fulfill the requirement in the Disengagement Move.

4.2.5 Aircraft Ground Attacks
After aircraft carrying out a ground attack have made their approach move they are allowed to make a ground attack after they have been fired at by any AA weapons (see 4.2.5). Aircraft carrying out a ground attack action may attack an enemy ground formation

Aircraft are assumed to be flying high enough in the air to ignore any terrain that might block the line of sight when they shoot at any targets, and the crossfire rule does not apply to aircraft attacks. If the aircraft stops over the target formation the direction of the attacks is considered to be from the direction of the approach move.

The above changes aside resolve the attack using the normal shooting rules. After the attack has been resolved the aircraft must disengage.

4.2.6 Transporting Ground Units
Aircraft with a transport capacity are known as transport aircraft and are allowed to pick up and drop off ground units. Troops being transported are kept off-board embarked on the transport aircraft until it is deployed. Transport aircraft are treated in the same manner as war engine transport vehicles, and are only allowed to transport units from another formation as long as the whole formation can fit inside the transport aircraft (see 3.1.3). If a transport aircraft is destroyed while carrying ground units, then any transported troops are lost with it (no saves in this case!)

Transport aircraft can drop off and pick up their cargo by making an Air Assault or by Evac, respectively.

4.2.7 Air Assaults
Ground units may be set up embarked in the transport aircraft at the start of the battle, but can then only be deployed by carrying out an air assault action.

An aircraft with loaded troops can disembark troops after making their approach move and having being fired upon by any enemy flak. After the aircraft has completed the approach move, any units being transported may disembark and are placed within 5cms of the transport aircraft (skimmers and units with jump packs can be placed within 15cms, to represent them dropping from the aircraft). Note that the limitations that apply to units disembarking from a war engine transport vehicle also apply to units disembarking from an aircraft (ie, they can’t take an action on the turn they disembark but can shoot with the aircraft – see 3.1.3). The aircraft and disembarked units may then fire normally.

Transport aircraft and any units that disembark are allowed to fight an assault instead of shooting. If this option is chosen then any units that disembark may enter enemy zones of control as if they were charging. Aircraft always ignore Zones of Control. The aircraft and any units that disembark are treated as a single formation for the duration of the assault, in the same manner as units disembarking from a war engine taking an engage action (see 3.1.3). If the aircraft loses the assault it is destroyed unless it is Fearless, but any units that have disembarked may withdraw normally.

The transport aircraft must disengage after all units have disembarked and any resulting firing or assaults have been resolved.

4.2.8 Evac’
Transport aircraft carrying out an Evac mission may pick up any ground units that are within 15cms and it is capable of transporting (see 4.2.1). The units embark after the transport aircraft have made their approach move and being fired upon by any AA weapons or interceptors. Evac moves by ground units do not trigger Overwatch fire. After the units have embarked the aircraft must make a disengage move and exit the table. Evacuated units may not return to play later on. It is possible for an evacuation move to split up a formation (see 1.7.4).

4.2.9 Blast Markers
Aircraft collect Blast markers in a similar manner to other units, but are effected by them rather differently. The following fairly simple rules reflect the time it takes to rearm and refuel aircraft after a mission. Aircraft in a formation that has come under heavy attack and therefore have a lot of Blast markers will take longer to get ready, and so there is an increased chance that they may not get to carry out a mission.

Aircraft formations collect Blast markers under the following circumstances:

• Any aircraft formation that suffers any AA attacks receives one Blast marker for ‘coming under fire’. The formation can only receive one Blast marker during the approach move and another Blast marker during the disengagement move, no matter how many different units from however many different formations attack it.

• The aircraft receives one Blast marker for each aircraft unit that is shot down or point of damage that is suffered if it is a war engine.

• The aircraft receives an extra Blast marker if it exits from any table edge other than its own table edge, to represent the possibility of it being attacked while flying back over enemy territory.

Aircraft are not suppressed or broken by Blast markers, but are not allowed to rally in the end phase either. Instead, the next time that you want to take an action with the formation, take the action test as before, but apply a -1 modifier for each Blast marker on the formation (this modifier replaces the modifier for having one or more Blast markers).

All of the Blast markers are removed from the formation immediately after it takes the action test, whether it passes the test or not. If it passes the test, it may carry out an action, and if it fails it may not.

Aircraft that land are affected by any Blast makers they have picked up normally, and are allowed to rally in the end phase. Any additional Blast markers they pick up will be ‘carried off ’ with them if they later take off again.

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 Post subject: [Variant] Alternate Aerospace Rules
PostPosted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:24 pm 
Purestrain
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Location: Nashville, TN, USA
4.3 SPACECRAFT
Most armies have access to spacecraft that can be used to land ballistic entry vehicles and unleash potentially devastating orbital attacks. Each type of spacecraft an army can use has its own datasheet with details of the drop pods and weapons carried by the spacecraft. The spacecraft of the 41st Millennium are huge. Even a small Imperial Lunar class Cruiser would be over 5 metres long if we made an Epic scale model of it. Because of this neither side is allowed to include more than one spacecraft in their army.

Spacecraft can carry out orbital bombardments, pin-point attacks and land units with the planetfall ability when they take an action. They may carry out all three of these things as part of the same action if they have the ability – their huge crew allows them to carry out a multitude of tasks.

4.3.1 Planning Spacecraft Operations
In order to carry out spacecraft operations you will need a Battlefleet Gothic model representing the orbiting spacecraft.

Spacecraft operations must be planned well in advance, and because of this any spacecraft models must be set up right at the start of the battle before any ground units are deployed. If both players have spacecraft, they should take turns in setting them up, starting with the player with the higher strategy rating.

Spacecraft are set up touching their own side’s table edge (choose an edge randomly if your side doesn’t have a table edge in the scenario being played), facing in any direction. As each spacecraft is set up, the player must declare out loud on which turn the ship will arrive. Note that the turn the spacecraft will arrive is not a secret – they are far too large to sneak up on the enemy! You may choose any turn, from the first turn onwards. However, you may not choose a turn that has already been taken by another spacecraft, and no more than one spacecraft can travel over the battlefield on the same turn.

In addition to saying when the spacecraft will arrive, you must secretly record the drop zone for units entering play using the planetfall ability, (see 4.4) and also where any orbital bombardments will fall. Each player needs to do this in turn while the other player is not looking. Simply write down on a piece of paper the coordinates of thedrop zone and/or bombardment in relation to the position of the space craft model. The coordinates you plot will determine the centre point of the drop zone and any orbital bombardment your spacecraft fires. For example you might write “my drop zone will be 60cm up, 30cm right, and my orbital bombardment will come down 45cm up and 30cm left”. This would mean that the drop zone would be located 60cm up and 30cm to the right of the spacecraft model, while the orbital bombardment would hit a point 45cm and 30cm to the left of the model.

4.3.2 Carrying Out The Operation
Spacecraft operations take place in the action phase of the turn. Simply take an action test for the spacecraft as you would for any other formation. If the test is passed, the spacecraft may make orbital bombardments, pin-point attacks, and carry out a planetfall as described in the sections that follow (see 4.3.3, 4.3.4 & 4.4).

After any attacks or landings have taken place, the spacecraft model is removed. If the test is failed then the spacecraft has been delayed and fails to arrive this turn; you may roll for it again next turn as long as no other spacecraft are scheduled to arrive that turn. If the next turn has been taken, then the delayed spacecraft will arrive in the first available free turn.

4.3.3 Orbital Bombardments
If a spacecraft can carry out an orbital bombardment this will be noted on its datasheet.

Orbital bombardments cover an area considerably larger than an artillery bombardment, and so require a barrage template that is 12cm across. By a remarkable stroke of good fortune this happens to be the same size as the Ordnance template used in Warhammer 40,000, and if you happen to have any of these we recommend you use them (I know, it’s almost like we planned it, isn’t it) If not then make your own templates from card or acetate. Take one of the templates and place it with its centre at the coordinates you recorded at the start of the battle. Not that you don’t need to pass a second initiative test in order to carry out the bombardment – the one you passed earlier on allows the bombardment to take place.

Once the position of the orbital bombardment is known, attack any units under the templates just as you would for an artillery barrage (see 1.9.8). Orbital bombardments never benefit from the crossfire rule.

4.3.4 Pin-Point Attacks
Pin-point attacks may be made on enemy war engines (war engines are the only things big enough for a spacecraft to pick out on the battlefield). Pick a target anywhere on the table and then attack it with any pinpoint attacks the spacecraft may have. You may target different war engines with each pin-point attack if you wish, or concentrate all of the attacks on a single target. Note that you do not need to record the co-ordinates of pin-point attacks.

4.4 PLANETFALL
Some armies are allowed to land ground units from orbiting spacecraft in specially modified vehicles. These vehicles are mainly used to carry troops from orbiting spacecraft to the planet below. Some are more like manned missiles than aircraft, and are designed to be fired at extremely high speeds into the planet’s atmosphere. At the last moment, powerful jets slow the descent of the vehicle allowing it and its cargo to land safely on the planet’s surface. The high speeds that the vehicles travel at makes it almost impossible for weapons to engage them before they have landed. This is known as making a planetfall.

Any unit capable of making a planetfall will have this noted on its datasheet. The datasheets for a spacecraft will note the type and number of units it may carry that can make planetfall. Units entering play by planetfall and their cargo (if any) should be kept off the table until they have landed.

Carry out the planetfall as part of the spacecraft’s action after carrying out any bombardments and/or pin-point attacks. Take the planetfalling model and place it anywhere on the table that is within 15cms of the drop zone co-ordinates recorded at the start of the game (see 4.3.1). The unit then scatters 2D6cms in a random direction (we recommend using a Games Workshop scatter dice to determine the direction, but any mutually agreeable method will do). Carry on doing this until all of the units with the planetfall ability that are on the spacecraft have landed. Units that end up out of formation due to scattering as they land must move back into a legal formation when they next take an action (see 1.2.1 and 1.6.1).

If the unit lands on terrain that is impassable or dangerous for it, or on top of any sort of unit (friend or foe), or in an enemy zone of control, then it is assumed that on-board automatic guidance systems will divert it towards a safe landing point and the unit is moved by the opposing player to the nearest area of clear ground where it can land. Units entering play by planetfall are destroyed if they land off the table.

Any units being transported are allowed to disembark immediately on landing, or stay on board and disembark later. Landing and disembarking counts as movement for the purposes of triggering enemy overwatch fire.

Units that land by planetfall may take an action later in the turn. In effect the units land from the spacecraft when the spacecraft takes its action, and can take an action of their own later in the same turn. Remember that any formations that have landed by planetfall and scattered out of formation must move back into a legal formation when they take an action.

4.4.1 Drop Pods
<<< Replaces the rules with the Space Marine Drop Pod >>>

Some armies are allowed to land ground units from orbiting spacecraft in special ballistic entry vehicles known as Drop Pods. Drop Pods are fired off in a tight group, each carry small number of troops. They are primarily a delivery vehicle and once serving their purpose have little further effect on the battle.

Formations entering play in Drop Pods must start the game embarked on a spacecraft, and may not enter play until the spacecraft carries out an action. Take a drop pod vehicle model (or any other suitable marker) and follow the Planetfall procedure as above.

If the Drop Pod has any weapons it may shoot them immediately after it has landed. It is then removed from play and replaced by one of the units from the formation it was carrying. Any other units in the formation may be placed within 5cms of a unit that has already been deployed from their formation, but not more than 15cms from where the Drop Pod landed, and not in impassable terrain or in an enemy ZOC. (This rather arcane procedure represents in an abstract way that the units in the formation are landing in several drop pods rather than just one. If players wish they may leave the Drop Pod model on the table, but it will have no effect on play).

Although troops landing in Drop Pods do not disembark, per se, they do count as having done so for the purposes of triggering Overwatch.

4.4.2 Planetfall Aircraft
Some armies are allowed to deploy aircraft from orbiting spacecraft. These aircraft will be noted as being capable of Planetfall. An aircraft capable of Planetfall may take an action later in the turn that the spacecraft carries out operations (but not before). The aircraft receives the following benefits to the action it carries out:

Planetfall aircraft maintain greater control than other planetfalling units but must brake their descent sooner. They do not follow the Planetfall rules above but instead take a normal aircraft action with the following advantages:

1. The aircraft does not have to make an approach move when it carries out its first action. Simply place it anywhere on the table desired, and then carry on with the action as normal.
2. Enemy AA weapons suffer a –1 to hit modifier a formation entering play via Planetfall, and enemy aircraft on CAP may not intercept.

Aircraft that land via Planetfall make their disengagement move normally, and thereafter are treated as normal aircraft for the rest of the game (they are assumed to make their way to hastily constructed emergency airfields nearby).

If the aircraft fails to activate in the same turn as the spacecraft it may enter play in later turns as a normal aircraft. In this case it is assumed that a guidance error or necessary diversion resulted in the aircraft dropping into the atmosphere elsewhere and then proceeding to the battle area under normal power.

4.4.3 Free Planetfall
Some few units are capable of dropping to a planet’s surface without the need for support from a spacecraft.

The Free Planetfall location is plotted exactly as Planetfall in section 4.4 above and the turn in which the formation arrives is plotted as a spacecraft, per section4.3.1. However, because these units are much smaller than orbiting spacecraft they may be plotted to arrive in the same turn as an enemy spacecraft or other free planetfall formation arrives.

On the designated turn the Free Planetfalling unit is activated in the normal activation sequence, as with Spacecraft. Nominate the action for the formation and roll to activate. If the unit fails to activate its arrival is delayed to the next following turn. If the activation is successful, place the formation at the plotted landing zone and determine scatter according to 4.4 as if it were a normal Planetfall, including loaded units disembarking up to 5cm. Landing does not count as movement for the purposes of triggering enemy overwatch fire. Disembarking triggers overwatch fire as normal.

The formation’s action proceeds as normal in all respects from that point. In other words, the formation gets a “free move” from Planetfall placement at the beginning of its action but in all other ways activates as normal. Note: The action is chosen at activation, before scatter is determined. Choose the action carefully as a poor scatter roll could render some actions ineffective.

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 Post subject: [Variant] Alternate Aerospace Rules
PostPosted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:25 pm 
Purestrain
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Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 10:52 pm
Posts: 9617
Location: Nashville, TN, USA
Closed.

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 Post subject: [Variant] Alternate Aerospace Rules
PostPosted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 5:29 pm 
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Opened for a moment.

Can we change "Free Planetfall" to "Self-Planetfall" just for a bit of clarification?

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