Re: [SGII] Electronic Warfare

On 23 Sep 2003 at 10:15, Ian Fletcher wrote:

> Having read through the rulebook, and played a couple of games (a fair
> while ago, admittedly) I came across the Electronic Warfare section.
> Very useful looking, given how powerful command units are, however I
> was wondering - is there actually any value in having your EW rig
> switched off?

The EW rules are perhaps the worst written part of the book. The 
value of having the EW rigs turned on is explained, but there is no 
explanation as to whether or not it costs an action to turn it on and 
whether or not there is a downside to having it on or an upside to 
having it off.

It's been mentioned here before, but Jon T. hasn't weighed in with a 
ruling and no consensus has ever been reached.

There are two typical house rules to fix this problem. One is to 
require the activation of the set to cost an action, with some other 
effects thrown in. This has a certain appeal, but it also usually 
means that the TO&E in the back of the book are badly hobbled due to 
the EW unit being part of the command squad. For this reason, players 
using this option usually split off the EW personnel from the command 
unit.

A second rule is much simpler: just allow the EW set to go active 
automatically as soon as the unit with the EW set is activated. So, 
if it's the command squad, the player gets the 3 EW chits whenever 
the command squad is activated. This has a couple of benefits in game 
play: it's quick (and goodness knows SG2 doesn't need anything _else_ 
slowing it down) and it requires the player to make an important 
tactical decision regarding when he should activate the command unit.

Both of these are detailed in the house rule section of my web site. 
You'll find, if you go there, that the EW rules aren't the only 
section that need clarification. There are also problems in the 
artillery rules, allocating casualties, vehicle loading and 
unloading, and bailing out of vehicles. You can see how I handle 
these, and usually an explanation for my interpretation, at:

http://sg2.hyperbear.com

My site also has the _Stargrunt II Index_, which makes navigating the 
rule book a lot easier.

I hope this helps.
Allan

-- 

Allan Goodall		     agoodall@hyperbear.com
http://www.hyperbear.com

The only normal people are the ones you don't know 
well! - Joe Ancis