Re: [SG2] House Rules for Fire Team Units

I have been back from my trip for a while.  Now that I am caught up
with Real Life, I have the time to put in my two cents.  :)

I think the Team house rules look pretty good, but there are some
things to consider wile working on them.

First, there are some real-world forces which use fireteams but the
Squad leader is not seperate, rather he leads one of the teams.

e.g.1  British squads consist of 6 riflemen (SL+5) and two soldiers
armed with LSWs, formed into two balanced 4-man teams with the LSWs
divided between them.  The SL leads one team and the ASL leads the
other.
e.g.2  Soviet/Russian squads consist of 5 riflemen (SL+4), two soldiers
armed with RPKs (=LSW), and a 2-man RPG team.

Based on the way these are used in the real life, there is a need in
SG2 when using teams for the option of Squad-Level actions, such as
Reorganize, to allow the squad to change the make-up of its teams.
e.g.1  British squads routinely reform into a "gun group", consisting
of the ASL and the LSW gunners, and a "maneuver group" consisting of SL
and riflemen.
e.g.2  American squads (SL +2x4-man fireteams) have one member of each
fireteam as the "Anti-Armor Specialist".  He is a rifleman, but the two
AAS can form a ATGM team to use Dragon or Javelin ATGMs.
e.g.3  WW2 USMC squads (SL +3x4-man fireteams) used to reorganize the 3
BAR gunners and their assistants into a base of fire team while the
rest of the squad would maneuver against an enemy position.

Second, there are a number of RL organizations that have both fireteams
and crew-served weapons teams in the same squad.  SG squad-team rules
need to take these into account.
e.g.1  an older UK organization was 6 riflemen (SL+5) and a 2-man GPMG
team (bipod, belt-fed MG).  The GPMG was replaced with 2 LSWs after the
SA-80 was adopted.
e.g.2  an older soviet organization was 5 riflemen (SL+4), a 2-man PK
team (bipod, belt-fed MG), and a 2-man RPG team.  The PK was later
replaced by 2xRPK.
e.g.3  an older US army organization (c. Vietnam) consisted of SL,
2x4-man fireteams, and a 2-man M-60 team (bipod, belt-fed MG).

Thirdly, while having teams be the same Q as the SL is a good baseline,
there are situations where you might have a team with a dfferent Q than
the SL (e.g. if you use the replacement rules from SG2).  The rules
should keep in mind this possibility.

Keeping these in mind, as well as the desire to encourage the SL to
keep up with his teams, I have some suggestions.

SQUAD COHERENCY
- Squads w/o fireteams use the coherency RAW; i.e. 2" between figures
OR 6" radius.

TEAM COHERENCY
- Teams use the following coherency rule:  Either 2" between figures OR
a radius equal to HALF the team's Quality Die Type.
e.g. a Regular Team (d8) is 2" betwen figures or all figures within a
4" radius.

SQUAD-TEAM COHERENCY
- Teams must remain within coherency of either an independent SL or
another team from the same Squad.  Measure from the closest member of
the two teams/individual.  S-T coherency is equal to the lowest QD of
the units in question.
e.g. a Regular fireteam must be within 8" of a Veteran SL.  A Veteran
weapon team must be with 8" of a Regular fireteam from the same squad
or 10" of a veteran SL.
By allowing teams to measure coherency to another team, the squad may
be positioned in a line rather than clumped around the SL.

- Teams may leave S-T coherency if they are given specific orders by
their SL or higher command.
e.g. "take and hold Hill XYZ", "move to Pos. ABC and lay fire to cover
2nd squad", "occupy that farmhouse and observe enemy movements".

SQUAD-TEAM ACTIVATIONS
- Teams normally are activated individually.  However, a special "Squad
Activation" may be used by teams in close proximity to their SL.  When
the SL is activated, any unactivated teams from his squad within HALF
the QD of the lesser QD of the SL and team may be activated at the same
time.  Measure from the closest member of the team to the SL or the
closest member of his team if the SL is not independent.  This allows
all the activated figures/teams to take their actions in the same
activation, but teams still have 2 actions each.  Note that this is
only available for unactivated teams, and so cannot be used for
reactivations due to transfered actions unless the particular team is
not yet activated.
e.g. A Veteran SL has a Veteran team and a Regular team.  When the SL
is activatd, the Veteran team may also take its activation if it is
within 5" of the SL, while the Regular team may take its activation if
it is within 4" of the SL.

SQUAD ACTIONS
- When a Squad-Team is activated, it may Reorganize its teams to
transfer figures from one team to another, to form a specialist team
from among the memebrs of the squad, or to combine depleated teams into
one larger team.  This counts as one action for each team involved as
well as the SL if the SL is independent.

COMMUNICATIONS
There is a suggestion I read on a website (either Stargrunt.ca or
Hyperbear.com, I'm not sure which) about applying a die type shift for
PLs who are far away attempting to rally units.  I like this idea, and
the principle can be expanded.	It inspired the following.

BASIC COMMUNICATIONS
This represents verbal communications, hand signals, messages passed
via PFC Jones, etc.

- Units within HALF the QD range between nearest figures can
communicate without a roll if they are unobstructed.  Those who are
obstructed must make a communications roll.
e.g. a Regular SL and a regular fireteam are in alleys on opposite ides
of a wide street (3")  they can communicate w/o a roll.
If they are on the same side of the street and seperated by a
playgroud, they may also communicate w/o a roll.
If they are in alleys on the same side of a street on opposite sides of
the same building, they are Obstructed and must make a roll.

- Units within 6" but >half the QD must make a roll if unobstructed,
and -1 die type if obstructed and w/o comms.  Units w/comms get no
penalties for being obstructed if they use their comms, but there may
be scenario reasons to avoid using comms.

- Units attempting basic communications w/o comms while suppressed who
would normally not have to roll must make a communications roll, and -1
DT per suppression after the first.

- Units attempting basic communications w/o comms while suppressed who
would normally have to roll must make their communications roll with -1
DT per suppression.

TRANSFERRING ACTIONS TO TEAMS
- The Command radius of a SL is the lesser of either his QD or the QD
of the Team in question.
- A SL can transfer actions to subordinate teams within his Command
Radius w/o penalty.  Note that transfers may require  communication
roll, and transfers over 6" also require comms.
- A SL can transfer actions to subordinate teams outside his command
radius w/ a -1 DT penalty.
- A SL attempting to rally a subordinate team without being within TEAM
COHERENCY suffers a -1 DT penalty.  This is in addition to any penalty
to being outside Command radius.
E.g. a Regular SL can transfer actions to a regular team within 8" or a
green team within 6" w/o penalty.  He can transfer actions to either
team at greater ranges, but suffers a penalty.

Comments?

J