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FUTURE WAR COMPANY COMMANDER

 Post subject: FUTURE WAR COMPANY COMMANDER
PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 12:54 pm 
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Hi all,

As per my previous topic I've been looking for a good ruleset for ages to play 10-20 element games, with infantry based on FoW bases with between 3-1 men (depending on how tough they are and army organisation). The men and vehicles are treated 1:1.

I got FWC at the end of last week and it's almost perfect, but a little too abstracted for the level I want (particularly in the way command units work). When you're looking at 30 men in fireteams it's too weird that the commander runs around 60cm.

So I've been working on this mod all weekend, with a hybrid of the command rules from the skirmish version and a few other tweaks.

There's probably still a couple of minor rules I need to work out the kinks with but for the most part (and games I'll be playing) they seem to be working really well. I'd love to know what others think.

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FUTURE WAR COMPANY COMMANDER

This is a set of modifications for Future War Commander to allow it to function at the platoon – company level.
I’ve been basing my 15mm sci-fi on Flames of War style bases, with 3 infantrymen on a base, 2 on a command base and support weapons in teams.
This modification allows me to use those stands, and accompanying vehicles representing roughly 1:1 (i.e a base of 3 men represents 3 men). Games should be around 1,000 points.

A Note on Abstraction

All wargames are abstracted to a degree. Future War Commander’s abstraction is mostly in the way communications and command are represented. The company modification strips some of the abstraction from command, but does add some to ‘hits’ if you don’t think of them in a certain way.
How can a team of 2 men (with a ‘Hits’ profile of 3) survive 2 hits from a weapon and carry on operating normally for the rest of the game? Well, that’s because they haven’t suffered 2 hits. The 2 hits represent the cumulative effect (physically and psychologically) of that weapons fire. These can be recovered from if it doesn’t knock them out. This might mean patching wounds, it might mean dusting yourself off and picking up your rifle again.

General Rules

Unit are limited to 3 activations per turn.

Use the Command Rules from below.

For breakpoint purposes, all units now count (including snipers, recce etc.) unless specified by special rules.

In your end phase remove 1 hit from each unit. This is instead of removing all (or the alternative rule of none).

Command Rules

Command Models should be less abstracted than in regular FWC. There should not be vehicles mounted on the base and they should take a similar format (though perhaps a different number of men) as line infantry.
So for example, my Terzion Alliance Patrol force has regular grunts mounted in teams of 3, some teams having a squad level weapon. The Command Stand is 2 men (Company Leader and Advisor), and the stats reflect this.

CO and HQ models use the rules from the Skirmish rules – i.e. they are a regular unit with a combat profile plus half the CV cost from the stat-your-own section. They fight, and can be harmed as detailed in the Command rules in the skirmish section of the book.

You may also have 2 additional stands with a CV value of one lower than your CO (created in the same way as the CO) per 1,000 points. This represents things like section or platoon leaders.
If the CO dies command is still handed off at a -1 penalty to another stand, but that stand now becomes a secondary command. The CO becomes one of your already constructed HQ choices (until none remain, then CO is handed off in the usual way). So in other words when your Company Captain dies, your platoon leader becomes CO (using the CV he already had) and a squad sergeant is handed a CV from the CO (at -1).

Notes on Statting Units

Because of the way units are statted you may find that they are more expensive (in points) than you are used to in regular games of FWC. This is experience is even across both forces, so won't affect game balance.

For regular men (be they well armoured troopers or scouting grunts) it is best to give the stand 1 more hit than the number of men it represents. So a 3 man team should have 4 hits. Tougher troops will have better saves and perhaps additional hits.

To stat a squad level weapon the best approach is to think about the main stat as representing the cumulative fire of the troops when all weapons are in range, then a secondary weapon representing the effect of the support weapons extra range.
3 grunts with Rifles might be 3/30. If the team had an SAW they might be 5/30 (representing the cumulative fire of the rifles and SAW) plus a secondary weapon of 2/60 (representing the SAW at a longer range than the rifles). I'd give the 5/30 the split fire trait too.

APC and IFV spaces will need working out differently - Now transport can carry a number of hits, each costing 1 point. So, for example, a chariot battle taxi can carry 6 men. 6 men from my Terzion Alliance patrol are 8 hits, therefore that would cost 8 points. I might decide to apply 10 points (for 10 hits worth of transport) for a degree of flexibility.

Models with saves of 4+ or better take up 2 hits worth of space per man. So 3 Power Armour troops (4 hits, 4+) require a transport with space for 8 hits. However, you've probably only got 1 or 2 Power Armour models per stand.

Snipers work as detailed in the FWC main rules (not the skirmish rules) except that they also cause 1 hit each successful shot. Generally snipers should be given the ‘slow firing’ trait for balance

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And that's it - any thought on anything I might have missed? A weekend full of playtesting seemed to suggest this works, at least for me!


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 Post subject: Re: FUTURE WAR COMPANY COMMANDER
PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 1:45 pm 
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Yes, I have a copy of FWC ... Pretty good set of rules. With Epic and a number of other 6mm systems, usually a "stand" of Infantry is 3-5 or 6 figures. And 1 to 1 for vehicles. We like that concept. As opposed to games like Command Horizon, where 3 vehicles or so are on a base. Like I said, we like 1-1 for vehicles ...

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 Post subject: Re: FUTURE WAR COMPANY COMMANDER
PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 3:52 pm 
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Glad you liked FWC.

I know what you mean about the very abstract nature of the HQs - takes a bit of getting used to. I kind of think of it less like a real stand and more like a number of focussed views of the battle field where the higher command structure is focussing attention that "turn." And sending runners etc. Obviously it started with the psudo-medieval of warmaster and the idea of messengers works there. By Blitzkrieg the concept began to be stretched and with Cold War and Future War Com it looks a bit odd with radios, psycic telepathy etc... Therefore we have stuck with epic for the scifi games.

Your mod sounds interesting though. Will have to give it a try!


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 Post subject: Re: FUTURE WAR COMPANY COMMANDER
PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 12:34 pm 
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Cheers.

The way I see my mod is that communication is happening everywhere - any order and any initiative action is happening because of communication. What the command range now does is create a sense that a CO has control of his nearby battle line - wither issuing orders, shouting, psychic or simply being inspiring and helping his troops act.

My post isn't the best written explaining the mod, but I'm really chuffed with this mod - it's now behaving exactly as I wanted a ruleset too for 15mm, FoW basing and nothing I've done knocks the point balance out (as far as I can see).


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