Sharing a new Hit rule

[Battleback]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and thought I would share a hit rule that I created in case anyone is interested. I'm pretty new to BKC and the one rule that put me off a little was removing all hits at the end phase. I also tried using the Static Hits optional rule but that also didn't feel right either because of the commander's ability to order units multiple times in a turn making too easy to eliminate units. I do like the combined arms aspect of the game but I thought it should be more of a choice of when to use it rather then the default combat method.

So I created what I call Rally Rules and basically it uses the Commander's CV value to allow units to recover hits. For example CV 10 = 5 hits, CV 9 = 4 hits, CV 8 = 3 hits and CV 7 = 2 hits. Each commander gets one free Rally Action to any unit under their command at the start of their Command Phase and they can issue a Rally Command Action during the Command Phase just like any other Command Action. But of course this mean they might not be able to issue other orders depending on if the dice gods are on your side or not.

The other big aspect of the Rally Rules is that Suppressed Commanders don't get the free Rally Action and suppressed units can't be rallied at all. Suppression plays a big part in the game because now maybe you don't want to focus all your fire at just one unit, maybe you would rather split up your targets once you have suppressed them, forcing your opponent to choose to Rally units and possibly losing them the next turn or to use another command action instead.

I think the Rally Rules find a nice middle ground between the 2 other hit rules in the game and they have been popular in my matches.

You can download the full Rally Rules here:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Zk5nWfvO3-BAyqysBoKHdPyfK3-LiLBG/view?usp=sharing if you would like to try them out and any feedback is welcomed!       

[Steve J]

Welcome on board and an interesting first post, which is worth considering.

[Battleback]

Welcome on board and an interesting first post, which is worth considering.

Thanks Steve J, I look forward to sharing my current (Ardennes Offensive 1944) and future projects on the forum.

[paulr]

Welcome

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Moaning kid

[Techno]

Welcome to the forum BB ! 

Cheers - Phil

[Battleback]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone!

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Really we are trying to frighten you away 

[hammurabi70]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and thought I would share a hit rule that I created in case anyone is interested. I'm pretty new to BKC and the one rule that put me off a little was removing all hits at the end phase. I also tried using the Static Hits optional rule but that also didn't feel right either because of the commander's ability to order units multiple times in a turn making too easy to eliminate units. I do like the combined arms aspect of the game but I thought it should be more of a choice of when to use it rather then the default combat method.

So I created what I call Rally Rules and basically it uses the Commander's CV value to allow units to recover hits. For example CV 10 = 5 hits, CV 9 = 4 hits, CV 8 = 3 hits and CV 7 = 2 hits. Each commander gets one free Rally Action to any unit under their command at the start of their Command Phase and they can issue a Rally Command Action during the Command Phase just like any other Command Action. But of course this mean they might not be able to issue other orders depending on if the dice gods are on your side or not.

Great post; my reaction when introduced to the rules by those who enthused over BKC. Currently I use ROMMEL but this idea has the capacity to be a game-changer.

[henjed]

Hi, sounds interesting.. my son and I have been exploring different options for casualties in our last few games ( we have six under our belts now) and I'm keen to try this out.

Just two queries: when you say it's a free action, do you mean that it doesn't affect later rolls (either if the roll fails - or, if they pass, in not requiring a -1 modifier for a subsequent order). Or do you mean they can freely remove hits from one unit, but then need to roll again with modifiers if they want to assist a second unit, and so on?

Do forgive me if I have  made a hash of interpreting the text.

Mike

[Battleback]

Hi, sounds interesting.. my son and I have been exploring different options for casualties in our last few games ( we have six under our belts now) and I'm keen to try this out.

Just two queries: when you say it's a free action, do you mean that it doesn't affect later rolls (either if the roll fails - or, if they pass, in not requiring a -1 modifier for a subsequent order). Or do you mean they can freely remove hits from one unit, but then need to roll again with modifiers if they want to assist a second unit, and so on?

Do forgive me if I have  made a hash of interpreting the text.

Mike

Hi henjed, I probably should have named the 2 different Rally rules a little differently for clarity. But yes for the Command Rally you don't have to roll for it, its a "Free" Rally Command Action to every commander as long as they are within 20cm of the unit they are trying to Rally and neither the Commander or the unit is suppressed. If the unit is suppressed they can't be Rallied, if the Commander is suppressed then they lose the "Free" Rally Command Action and would have to roll against their CV rating with a -2 modifier like any other Command Action and just like any other Command Action you would subtract -1 to the next Command order attempt so its not "Free" but an option the player has to use if they feel its worth it.

My idea behind doing it that way was if your opponent is focusing their fire on just one unit under that Commander's control then you would still have the ability to heal that one unit (according to their CV rating) but not everyone, so its not much different then the vanilla rules but if the unit is suppressed then it turns into something more akin to the Static rule, but with an option to heal other units if you really want, but at a cost of using a Command Action.

The big difference that the Rally Rules add over that of the vanilla rule or the optional rules I've tried/read about is Suppression. You really want to try and suppress as many units as you can, that way the hits stay on the units (ala Static rule) so its better to spread out the damage, but you still have the option to focus fire when you want to dislodge a unit and hopefully they will get suppressed in the process so it will be easier to take them out the next turn if you don't kill them outright. 

[henjed]

Right, thanks for the clarification.   I'm tempted to try this out in my upcoming encirclement game (I'm the one encircled, unfortunately).

So the idea is that you only do the second type of action if you can't do the first (because you're suppressed). The first is an action which you can do f'or free' before issuing any orders.  But the second you could try and do at any point that you are still able to make (or try to make) successful command roles.?

Is there an intention to perhaps permit more than one such action per Commander each phase? So if an un-suppressed Commander had a few units in range which had taken casualties he had could reduce one unit's damage for free and then make a command role (-1 each time after the first)  to alleviate others?  And likewise for a suppressed commander? I can envisage a situation in which units are able to engage in initiative fire with close enemies and a Command unit might want to use its command actions principally to reduce casualties in units around it, needing not to give any direct orders.

[Battleback]

Right, thanks for the clarification.   I'm tempted to try this out in my upcoming encirclement game (I'm the one encircled, unfortunately).

So the idea is that you only do the second type of action if you can't do the first (because you're suppressed). The first is an action which you can do f'or free' before issuing any orders.  But the second you could try and do at any point that you are still able to make (or try to make) successful command roles.?

Is there an intention to perhaps permit more than one such action per Commander each phase? So if an un-suppressed Commander had a few units in range which had taken casualties he had could reduce one unit's damage for free and then make a command role (-1 each time after the first)  to alleviate others?  And likewise for a suppressed commander? I can envisage a situation in which units are able to engage in initiative fire with close enemies and a Command unit might want to use its command actions principally to reduce casualties in units around it, needing not to give any direct orders.

The Free command action was put in so the player has the ability to heal some units without having to chance it with a CV dice roll or affecting their future command orders resulting in a -1 modifier. But its limited so the player can't just heal everyone. After the Free command action is done now you can still Rally any unsuppressed unit just like any other order but you have to roll against your commanders CV rating and incur a -1 dice modifier for the next order attempt.

So the Active Player's Turn Sequence would work like this:

• Resolve your Scheduled Phase
• Resolve you Initiative Phase
• Now each of your unsuppressed Commanders can Rally ONE unsuppressed unit under their command
• Now start your Normal Command Phase but with these options: Move, Deploy, Fire or Rally.
• Now move to the End Phase (minus the vanilla rule for Removing all outstanding hits) and everything else is the same

I kicked around the idea of moving the Free Command Rally to the Initiative Phase but it doesn't really fit into the concept of the phase, as its intended to be the phase where your units are acting on their own initiative without getting orders from their commander. So the Free Command Rally is really more of a Pre-Command Phase house keeping action, if that makes sense.

I made this rule to find a middle ground between the vanilla and the Static hit rules. So the Free Command Rally and the Rally Command Action is similar to the vanilla rules of removing hits and Suppression is the switch that turns on the Static Hit rule of not removing any hits and its all centered around the command and control of your commanders, which is a principle design concept of BKC. So for me the rule works because it doesn't change the core concepts of the game too dramatically.

If you do try out the rule let me know how it goes or if you think something needs to be changed.
 

[henjed]

I'll certainly do so - it may be a week or two since our last game as I am expecting some more desert terrain - and some extra trucks and a tank or two from Pendraken.

I wonder if the rule/idea could be used in some way also to reflect troop quality. Vets get +1 casualties hits, greens -1?  When my son and I were experimenting with different ideas for retaining/losing hits, one we used was that veteran forces always return to just one hit when hits are removed (in the basic rules) while greens only lose one hit (down to a minimum of one) and average troops two (likewise).

There are so many different ways of playing it, but I like the Command element in your version.  Thanks for posting it here.

[Battleback]

I'll certainly do so - it may be a week or two since our last game as I am expecting some more desert terrain - and some extra trucks and a tank or two from Pendraken.

I wonder if the rule/idea could be used in some way also to reflect troop quality. Vets get +1 casualties hits, greens -1?  When my son and I were experimenting with different ideas for retaining/losing hits, one we used was that veteran forces always return to just one hit when hits are removed (in the basic rules) while greens only lose one hit (down to a minimum of one) and average troops two (likewise).

There are so many different ways of playing it, but I like the Command element in your version.  Thanks for posting it here.

You easily could add that to the rule to add some more flavor. Before we settled on the Rally Rules we did try playing it where Veteran units auto healed 3 hits, Regular 2 hits and Green units 1 hit, but a unit couldn't heal if they were suppressed and it worked pretty well.

The things I didn't like about it was:
1) Since all the unsuppressed units would recover some hits every turn, it felt a little bland and you always knew ahead of time who would heal and by how much.
2) It slowed down the game in larger battles. One of the things I really like about BKC is its a fast play system and I felt it didn't fit in quite right. So thats when I started thinking about how to have a similar feel that was more engaging, but wouldn't slow down the game play too much. I think the Rally Rules works in those respects because the rule only really adds more time to the game during the Free Rally. The Rally Command Action shouldn't slow it down at all because its just another choice not a procedure that needs to be attended to on the game table.

Also I'm thinking the Free Command Rally should be implemented as its own Phase, that way it won't be as confusing to players.

So the game Phases would go like this:
1) Scheduled Phase
2) Initiative Phase
3) Rally Phase
4) Command Phase
5) End Phase

What do you think, does that make more sense?