It has bothered me that Leaders don't do much in World at War – not the “ I can't play this game, it's stupid ” type of bother but set me thinking type bother.
Anyway what are squad leaders for? .... Motivation
When do squads need motivating most? .... When they are under fire and suppressed.
When the going gets tough the tough guys get the other guys up and going again. That's their job.
How to reflect this on the gaming table? .... What simple mechanic will let the Leaders and NCO's have a chance to lift suppression and get things moving again.
I am thinking of a variable leadership rating value diced for before the battle (a note on the squad card or a small dice against the model will help you remember just how good Gerfreiter Willi Flascher really is in the heat of battle) .... I like a bit of variety and randomness in my gaming, it simulates the chaos of reality better.
At the very least it now gives them a purpose other than being the model with the fancier paintjob.
How does it work?
Throw a dice for each leader on the table shown below – this will give you a leadership rating. Elite units (eg: Commandos) throw a D6 and everyday line units a D12
[/b]each 6 rolled will remove 1 suppression
To use this house rule obviously ignore the 1st suppression dice rule in the main rules.
Pro-Tem leaders elected from the ranks due to battle attrition will have zero leadership quality.
D12
1-2 Uninspiring 0 dice
3-6 Competent 1 leadership dice
7-9 Respected 2 leadership dice
10-11 Inspiring 3 leadership dice
12 Heroic 4 leadership dice
D6
1-2 Respected 2 leadership dice
3-5 Inspiring 3 leadership dice
6 Heroic 4 leadership dice
Each time the unit is activated for an action or re-action the leader can roll his leadership dice to see if he can lift the men and get them back to full capability again.
Remember - a sub-leader can only influence the element he controls if they are split off from the main squad. While hooked up to the full squad he is subordinate to the squad leader (even if he has the higher leadership) and the squad will use the squad leader's dice. If the squad leader dies in combat then the squad can us the sub-leader's dice if he is still with or re-joins the main body of the squad.
This is just an idea by the way – I have not play tested this at all (lack of FTF opponents at the moment)
Any comments? - Great Idea? Stupid? Un-balanced? Too complicated? Superfluous?
Anyway what are squad leaders for? .... Motivation
When do squads need motivating most? .... When they are under fire and suppressed.
When the going gets tough the tough guys get the other guys up and going again. That's their job.
How to reflect this on the gaming table? .... What simple mechanic will let the Leaders and NCO's have a chance to lift suppression and get things moving again.
I am thinking of a variable leadership rating value diced for before the battle (a note on the squad card or a small dice against the model will help you remember just how good Gerfreiter Willi Flascher really is in the heat of battle) .... I like a bit of variety and randomness in my gaming, it simulates the chaos of reality better.
At the very least it now gives them a purpose other than being the model with the fancier paintjob.
How does it work?
Throw a dice for each leader on the table shown below – this will give you a leadership rating. Elite units (eg: Commandos) throw a D6 and everyday line units a D12
[/b]each 6 rolled will remove 1 suppression
To use this house rule obviously ignore the 1st suppression dice rule in the main rules.
Pro-Tem leaders elected from the ranks due to battle attrition will have zero leadership quality.
D12
1-2 Uninspiring 0 dice
3-6 Competent 1 leadership dice
7-9 Respected 2 leadership dice
10-11 Inspiring 3 leadership dice
12 Heroic 4 leadership dice
D6
1-2 Respected 2 leadership dice
3-5 Inspiring 3 leadership dice
6 Heroic 4 leadership dice
Each time the unit is activated for an action or re-action the leader can roll his leadership dice to see if he can lift the men and get them back to full capability again.
Remember - a sub-leader can only influence the element he controls if they are split off from the main squad. While hooked up to the full squad he is subordinate to the squad leader (even if he has the higher leadership) and the squad will use the squad leader's dice. If the squad leader dies in combat then the squad can us the sub-leader's dice if he is still with or re-joins the main body of the squad.
This is just an idea by the way – I have not play tested this at all (lack of FTF opponents at the moment)
Any comments? - Great Idea? Stupid? Un-balanced? Too complicated? Superfluous?
