Combat Patrol! My Go at WWII Squad Level Wargaming Rules
Move! Move! Move!
Moving in Combat!
Something that drives me utterly insane about tabletop games is minis not being able to do very basic things that even I (someone who is far from in military shape) can do. I can run and jump over fences so why can’t my guys?
Well in Coimbat! they can it’s just risky.
As a general Rule crossing any kind of Fence like obstacle consumes 1 Inch of Movement to cross.
Difficult Terrain like a ploughed field count as double when moving through them. One Inch of Movement in a Field counts as Two Inches in Open Ground.
However this is a Squad level game where seconds count.
Soldier’s can run through difficult terrain and can run over obstacles they just run the risk of slipping or tripping.
When running across Difficult Terrain the solider can “Gamble” and declare that he will move X amount of Inches as if the terrain was open. If the soldier does this choose the value and roll a D10. If the result is higher than the chosen number then nothing happens and the move is completed as normal.
If the roll is failed roll another D10. Move the soldier this many inches then halt them and they become pinned. If a 10 is rolled the opponent decides this number.
If a soldier wants to vault over a fence while making a Combat Move then they just subtract 1 Inch from their movement for each obstacle they vault.
If a soldier wants to vault over a fence while making a run move first declare a start and end point and mark this in some way. If you want to be quick simply count the number of fences and roll a D10. If the result is lower than or equal to this number then the soldier has tripped and is pinned after vaulting a fence. The fence that the soldier tripped over is determined by the dice rolled.
For example if you wanted to cross two fences and roll a One then you cross the first fence and trip but if you rolled a Two then you will be tripped after crossing the second fence.
Designers Note: It’s a bit more complicated but a bit more thematic if you instead of just failing on a low roll you fail on a different number.
So if your Soldier is Two Inches from a fence he wished to vault (One Inch) then travel Three Inches before crossing another fence (One Inch) before moving another Two inches.
So instead of failing on a 1-2 the soldier would trip on a 3 or 7 since it takes Three inches of movement to cross the first fence and Seven to cross the second.
just for a bit of flavour but by no means a rule.
Close Combat
This should be very rare. When the other guy has a Semi Automatic or an SMG it’s generally not a good idea to charge them but it can happen and so there are rules for it.
To initiate close combat make a combat move into base contact with the enemy. They can choose to do one of Two things.
1. Fire
or
2. Retreat
The target Soldier can choose to Fire in which case they make a Standard Firing Method Attack with an additional -2 to Hit.
If they choose to retreat then make a Combat move that must be more than Six Inches from the starting point of the enemies charge move.
If the enemy makes it into base contact then both players roll a single D10 and consult the chart below.
If neither person is hit roll again. If nothing happens again, leave the soldiers in base contact and go on with the turn, rolling once at the end of each of any soldiers activation.
I like your movement system, @elessar2590 – especially for the very small-scale, almost RPG level of action it seems like you are going for here.
The only thing I would add … is in regards to the “Close Combat” being rare. Maybe I’m not understanding, do you mean “hand-to-hand” combat being rare? If so, I agree for the most part. But “close assaults” (usually with grenades or EXTREMELY close firearms) is VERRRY common, it’s usually the only way to get enemy infantry out of places like hedgerows, improved positions, or any kind of building.
You’re 100% right I’ll change the wording.
This might not be the best way to simulate hand to hand combat but I’m trying to promote Grenades and Close range fire as much as possible rather than bayonet charges (Which drives me insane in Bolt Action).
I thought about having things like crouching or going prone but that felt way too far for what I’m hoping is just a fun quick game with some depth.
No worries, @elessar2590 – you seem to be well on the way. Just make it clear in the design rules that defender’s counterfire happens FIRST for hand-to-hand combat, SIMULTANEOUS for close assault (people spraying EACH OTHER with SMGs and throwing grenades). That’ll cure any and all would-be “Bayonet Jedi” in the crew. 😀 It’s been my experience that for learning a game, getting good at a game, and especially for designing a game, the secret sauce is always in the turn sequence. Some designers like to pile on special rules for this and “card abilities” for that. No thanks. Just… Read more »