RE: [SGII] Follow Me! Varient Rules for Platoon Leaders

Thomas Barclay has many of these rules (slight variations from what you
have posted) on his website, Stargrunt.ca
(http://www.stargrunt.ca/rules/rules_index.htm) [Platoon Sergeants,
Leaders
as Individuals, Head to Head Rallying].

I have played in a game where some of these are used and it does not
seem
too unbalancing. But both sides had PSGs. Intuition points to having
more
squads on a side without PSGs to maintain balance (but I do not know how
many. 2-5 to make up for the reactivations?).

---
Brian Bell
bbell1@insight.rr.com  
ICQ: 12848051
AIM: Rlyehable
YIM: Rlyehable
Cygnus X1.info
http://www.cygnusx1.info/
---

-----Original Message-----
From: John Atkinson [mailto:johnmatkinson@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 14, 2002 17:37
To: gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
Subject: [SGII] Follow Me! Varient Rules for Platoon Leaders

OK, I'm sick of the damn 2LTs (Subalterns for you
Brits) sitting on their side of the board immobile,
next to the EW guy and "leading" via FM.  These rules
aren't playtested, but I propose:

1)Use the varient PSG rules, allowing both the PSG and
PL to pass activations.  If your background doesn't
include long-service professional NCOs with a
tradition of and training for battlefield leadership,
then you're just plain assed out for a second
reactivation.  (ESU, FSE conscript troops [not
Colonial Legion], IFed, etc.)  Note:  This means you
REALLY have to be careful when balancing scenarios
involving crap troops.	The second reactivation could
be badly unbalancing.

2)Simulataneous Movement/Commo permits LTs and PSGs to
move while passing an activation.  Reduced move
(4"/6"/8", instead of 6/8/12), and cannot do
simultaneous movement if he has been fired on since
his activation in the previous turn.  Once he is stuck
in, his attention is a bit more distracted.  :)

3)Tagalong.  An officer or PSG can 'tag along' with a
squad.	Tagging along makes a leader part of the squad
for movement purposes and exposes him to a chance of
being hit when the squad is fired on.  If a leader is
tagging along, he can only use 1 action and the only
thing he can do with that action is Communicate (to
include passing activations).

4)Follow Me!  If an LT or PSG wishes to pass an
activation to a unit within 6" of himself with a clear
line of sight between each other, then he may declare
"Follow Me" and move with the unit (yes, even if they
use both their actions to move) and go in position if
they do so.  He cannot take any other actions as part
of the squad, not even firing his weapon, EXCEPT that
he may participate normally in Close Assault.

5)A unit being led by an LT or PSG of quality 2 or
better in declared "Follow Me" automatically adds 1 to
all Confidence Checks.	

6)If a unit is fired on during or immediately after a
bonus activation passed via Follow Me, the leader
counts as 3 soldiers for purposes of determining
chance of being wounded if the fire is effective.  IE,
if an LT is leading an 8 man squad and they get fired
at, instead of a 1 in nine chance, he has a 3 in 11
chance.

7)Note: A single leader may not take advantage of
Tagging Along,	Follow Me, and/or Simulataneous
Movement/Commo in the same turn.