Re: [SG] Bounding movement

On Wed, 6 Nov 2002 03:26:09 -0800 (PST), Robert Makowsky
<rmakowsky@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>This will quickly become the standard movement to
>contact if used.  I think this is exactly what we
>need.

Except that a unit making this kind of advance is just about as fast as
a
regular unit that isn't worried about running a little ways and dropping
into
cover.

As I mentioned in my previous post, you can still do this with Overwatch
rules
and the movement system as it stands. Put a squad on Overwatch. Move a
second
squad 2". You now have the moving squad in about the same range band as
the
overwatching squad. Next turn, place the stationary unit on overwatch
and then
move the previously overwatching unit 4" (so that it's now 2" beyond the
previous unit).

The end result is a squad that's moving and another that is on
overwatch. This
movement is much slower than if both squads moved their full distance
instead
of bounding, but this is realistic based on what Tom said. You only need
one
house rule (OW) rather than two.

What you can't do is move the first unit and have it go on OW, at least
not
with my current OW rules. My OW rules, and Tom's, restrict you to
spending two
actions to go on OW. Maybe this is a flaw, and it should only cost one
action.

For that matter, what happens if we introduce a Reserve Action rule in
SG2
like we have introduced in FMAS? This rule would allow a squad to set
aside an
action for use later in the turn. If we had a Reserve Action rule in SG2
this
is what you could do:

Activate the first unit. Move it 2" and reserve its second action. Later
on,
move the second unit 4", and then reserve its second action. Later on
spend
the first unit's reserved action to move an additional 4". You then have
the
option of moving the second unit another 4" with its remaining reserved
action, or leaving that action on reserve in case anything pops up.

Okay, so you don't get OW reaction fire. No biggie, because here is what
can
happen:

Activate the first unit. Move it 2" and reserve its second action. An
enemy
pops up and fires at this unit. Use its second, reserved action, to fire
on
the enemy (assuming the squad wasn't suppressed). Since this squad is
only 2"
away from the firing squad, you can activate the firing squad normally
and
have it fire on the enemy.

Second example: Activate the first unit. Move it 2" and reserve its
second
action. Later on, move the second unit 4", and then reserve its second
action.
At this point the enemy fires on the second unit. The second unit was
suppressed. Activate the first unit to use its reserved action and fire
back
at the enemy. Activate the second unit to use its reserved action to
remove
suppression.

I've always liked the idea of a reserve action in SG2, having tried it
in
FMAS, but it will slow the game a little.

At this point TomB is probably going to point out that my reserved
action idea
does not give the same result as OW. This is because his OW rule, if
it's like
what he proposed for FMAS, would allow the OW-ing unit to fire before
the
enemy unit. In other words, squad A1 goes on OW, squad A2 moves, enemy
squad
B1 announces it will fire at A2 but A1 gets to fire first at B1. My OW
rules
don't allow this, they only allow the OW-ing unit to fire in response to
an
opponent's action.

I'm thinking I'd like to playtest this. I think the Reserve Action rule
might
actually work for doing what Tom suggests. While adding another house
rule, at
least it adds one that will probably show up in FMAS.

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

"We come into the world and take our chances
 Fate is just the weight of circumstances
 That's the way that Lady Luck dances
 Roll the bones." - N. Peart