jaldon454 wrote:
(Merging): Gone, dropped, not to be used. The mechanics of it are going to be difficult to write, doesn't fit in the background as I have laid it out in another thread, and is not the return of enough of a reward for busting ones butt to get at the synapse creatures.
If that's your call, fine. However, I disagree strongly that merging rules would be difficult to write. I think it's about 3 sentences and a couple inevitable FAQs. Most of the discussion on here is theoretical, extrapolating some pretty exotic situations.
I also disagree it's against the background. I understand the high-handed chain of command concept you outlined and I like it. It is, of course, the defining way to defeat Nids - tear them up enough and they completely break down. However, the ebb and flow of Tyranid swarms has been a big feature as long as Nids have been around. It's been a characteristic of Epic and 40K rules as well as the fiction.
Finally, I think the option to merge creates an interesting tactical choice. Merging is a choice over which penalty to take. The uncontrolled swarm is weak and hard to control, but it is an additional activation and a formation which can spread out to cover separate ground. Merging strengthens a swarm and gets units back under control but it forfeits an activation and "destroys" a formation.
Quote:
(Instinctive Penalty):
I'm not big on prescribed actions. They are nearly impossible to write rules for.
Incentives, on the other hand, are relatively easy to work with. A combination of sufficient Initiative penalty and appropriate bonuses to the preferred "instinctive" actions will create a very strong incentive for the army to act "Nid-ish" without forcing it by other rules. For example, something like a 2+ Initiative, +2 Engage, -3 Synapse penalty means that an uncontrolled swarm will only activate on a 5+ or, more likely, 6+ if it wants to do anything except Engage. That strongly reinforces "instinctive" behavior without making it mandatory.
