Post by acefromearth on Feb 26, 2017 0:10:44 GMT
I've been working on a Martian invasion scenario set in the late 1950s to early 1960s, that wonderful era when the US Army was transitioning for the atomic battlefield, missiles were still nascent technology, and visions of communist conspiracies fueled peacetime war stockpiling. I realize that this scenario moves out of the HG Wells background, but as a kid I was introduced to WotW via the (colorized) 1953 movie. Anyway, here's a very rough first draft of some concepts for units and the modern battlefield. Comments are appreciated.
AQMF is a very simple game-- that's part of it's fun. I don't want to go FoW depth, but some concepts don't translate well to the existing WWI-era rules. First up are some suggested changes to reflect the modern battlefield. I wanted to keep the US Army units in line with the AQMF Army units as a baseline. Martians will be adjusted to fit from there. Tricky areas include the greatly increased armor and speed for most vehicles from their WWI counterparts.
Real brief background: the world picked itself up and began to rebuild following the Great Martian War. New empires formed from the old, and within a generation border clashes and resource disputes grew as the new countries exercised claims based on the pre-war borders and alliances. Technological advances that could have been gleaned from the Martians are largely sidelined in efforts to rebuild and reclaim cities from the red weed. Many remote areas are never fully recovered, leaving pockets and enclaves of potential trouble. The Martian forces seem to have disappeared completely and most governments are happy to turn their attention elsewhere as rumblings of inter-human war begin. Long story short, world war breaks out again, culminating with the development of the atomic bomb. The bombs stir something deep underground, something that's been hiding, building their forces and improving their technologies... In 1947 amateur pilot Kenneth Arnold reports seeing "saucer-shaped craft" near Mt. Rainer on a routine flight. Later that year mysterious wreckage is recovered by the Army Air Force at Roswell, NM, prompting a host of secret black project research as the realization that the craft was an advanced alien scout...
Machine Guns: Two types of machinegun are recognized: the general purpose MG and the heavy MG. GPMG are man-portable squad and platoon support weapons (M1919, BAR, M60), HMG are crew-served weapons (M2 .50 cal). GPMG: Range 20" Power - Rapid 3. HMG: Range 20" Power +1 Rapid 2.
Armor Facings: Most vehicle types have heavier armor on the front to deflect direct impacts from weapons. Thinner armor on the sides and rear are a compromise to save weight. Vehicles have armor ratings for the front, side, and rear. If no armor value is listed in the profile then it is assumed to be armor 0, or unarmored. Vehicle type: Walker, Tripod does not have armor facings and is considered to have the same armor value over 360 degrees. *May extend this to all walkers to reflect their ability to move with more agility than a conventional vehicle.
Flanking: approaching a target from the side or rear can catch a crew unaware. Armor is often thinner on the sides of vehicles, cover and concealment are often not as prepared, and the crews are generally fixated on their front axis. As such, elements that are flanked reduce their Defense value by 1 for flanking attackers. In order to be considered flanking, an attacking element must be roughly 90 degrees off the Front facing (in reality, this represents anything from more than 45 to180 degrees).
Difficult Targeting: on the modern battlefield, speed is survival. Elements moving more than 8” in their movement phase receive +1 Defense value. This does not apply to template or barrage weapons. This rule also applies to hover/flying elements and is cumulative with any benefits provided by flying. *possibly change to: elements receive +1 to Defense for ever 8” moved.
Full Speed: Human engine technology greatly improved with the expansion of fossil fuels. Transmission and suspension systems also improved, allowing combat vehicles to become incredibly agile compared with their predecessors. Human vehicles may perform a move action at standard or double speed. Elements moving at double speed may not enter difficult terrain, or area terrain that provides any Defense bonuses, and may not fire any weapons (too difficult for targeting). *Possibly allow GPMGs to fire. **Possibly change to move+half clear terrain, or move+double on roads.
Attacks From Above: Armor on a tank is generally more thin on the top and rear of the vehicle, a trade-off to allow for much thicker frontal and turret armor. Enemies able to get an angle onto the top decking of a tank will be more able to cause damage. Tripods and hover drones within 6” and any aerial attacks count as hitting side armor. Indirect attacks that score a direct hit count as hitting rear armor.
Turreted Chassis: Turrets on vehicles affect weapon arcs and top armor. The “turret” special rule on vehicle profiles denotes the vehicle has a large, notable turret. Turrets like this allow a vehicle to go “hull down” in defilade, and the thick, rounded armor helps protect the top of the tank from indirect attacks. Turreted vehicles affected by indirect attacks or aerial attacks) add 1 point to the rear armor when working out potential damage. Weapons with the “turret” special rule denote being mounted in the main turret of a vehicle. These weapons must fire at the same direction as the main weapon of the vehicle.
*May do away with turret/cupola fire arcs for simplicity.
Cupola: weapons with the “cupola” special rule are mounted on their own special equipment independent of the main turret. These weapons may fire in any arc regardless of the direction of the turret’s main gun.
Anti-Aircraft Mount: allows the weapon to freely fire at flying units. *flying rules not finished.
AQMF is a very simple game-- that's part of it's fun. I don't want to go FoW depth, but some concepts don't translate well to the existing WWI-era rules. First up are some suggested changes to reflect the modern battlefield. I wanted to keep the US Army units in line with the AQMF Army units as a baseline. Martians will be adjusted to fit from there. Tricky areas include the greatly increased armor and speed for most vehicles from their WWI counterparts.
Real brief background: the world picked itself up and began to rebuild following the Great Martian War. New empires formed from the old, and within a generation border clashes and resource disputes grew as the new countries exercised claims based on the pre-war borders and alliances. Technological advances that could have been gleaned from the Martians are largely sidelined in efforts to rebuild and reclaim cities from the red weed. Many remote areas are never fully recovered, leaving pockets and enclaves of potential trouble. The Martian forces seem to have disappeared completely and most governments are happy to turn their attention elsewhere as rumblings of inter-human war begin. Long story short, world war breaks out again, culminating with the development of the atomic bomb. The bombs stir something deep underground, something that's been hiding, building their forces and improving their technologies... In 1947 amateur pilot Kenneth Arnold reports seeing "saucer-shaped craft" near Mt. Rainer on a routine flight. Later that year mysterious wreckage is recovered by the Army Air Force at Roswell, NM, prompting a host of secret black project research as the realization that the craft was an advanced alien scout...
Machine Guns: Two types of machinegun are recognized: the general purpose MG and the heavy MG. GPMG are man-portable squad and platoon support weapons (M1919, BAR, M60), HMG are crew-served weapons (M2 .50 cal). GPMG: Range 20" Power - Rapid 3. HMG: Range 20" Power +1 Rapid 2.
Armor Facings: Most vehicle types have heavier armor on the front to deflect direct impacts from weapons. Thinner armor on the sides and rear are a compromise to save weight. Vehicles have armor ratings for the front, side, and rear. If no armor value is listed in the profile then it is assumed to be armor 0, or unarmored. Vehicle type: Walker, Tripod does not have armor facings and is considered to have the same armor value over 360 degrees. *May extend this to all walkers to reflect their ability to move with more agility than a conventional vehicle.
Flanking: approaching a target from the side or rear can catch a crew unaware. Armor is often thinner on the sides of vehicles, cover and concealment are often not as prepared, and the crews are generally fixated on their front axis. As such, elements that are flanked reduce their Defense value by 1 for flanking attackers. In order to be considered flanking, an attacking element must be roughly 90 degrees off the Front facing (in reality, this represents anything from more than 45 to180 degrees).
Difficult Targeting: on the modern battlefield, speed is survival. Elements moving more than 8” in their movement phase receive +1 Defense value. This does not apply to template or barrage weapons. This rule also applies to hover/flying elements and is cumulative with any benefits provided by flying. *possibly change to: elements receive +1 to Defense for ever 8” moved.
Full Speed: Human engine technology greatly improved with the expansion of fossil fuels. Transmission and suspension systems also improved, allowing combat vehicles to become incredibly agile compared with their predecessors. Human vehicles may perform a move action at standard or double speed. Elements moving at double speed may not enter difficult terrain, or area terrain that provides any Defense bonuses, and may not fire any weapons (too difficult for targeting). *Possibly allow GPMGs to fire. **Possibly change to move+half clear terrain, or move+double on roads.
Attacks From Above: Armor on a tank is generally more thin on the top and rear of the vehicle, a trade-off to allow for much thicker frontal and turret armor. Enemies able to get an angle onto the top decking of a tank will be more able to cause damage. Tripods and hover drones within 6” and any aerial attacks count as hitting side armor. Indirect attacks that score a direct hit count as hitting rear armor.
Turreted Chassis: Turrets on vehicles affect weapon arcs and top armor. The “turret” special rule on vehicle profiles denotes the vehicle has a large, notable turret. Turrets like this allow a vehicle to go “hull down” in defilade, and the thick, rounded armor helps protect the top of the tank from indirect attacks. Turreted vehicles affected by indirect attacks or aerial attacks) add 1 point to the rear armor when working out potential damage. Weapons with the “turret” special rule denote being mounted in the main turret of a vehicle. These weapons must fire at the same direction as the main weapon of the vehicle.
*May do away with turret/cupola fire arcs for simplicity.
Cupola: weapons with the “cupola” special rule are mounted on their own special equipment independent of the main turret. These weapons may fire in any arc regardless of the direction of the turret’s main gun.
Anti-Aircraft Mount: allows the weapon to freely fire at flying units. *flying rules not finished.
