Tuesday, February 5, 2013

GHQ MicroArmour Rules Special Rules

The GHQ Micro-Armour rules, which I use for 15mm WWII actions where 1 stand represents a platoon of troops or vehicles, has some neat "special rules" in it to add a kind of personal touch to troops (tank marines, the hot shot, charge for the guns, etc)

I was thinking about adding a few light-hearted concepts which, hopefully, do not change or alter the course of the game but instead add some personalized touches to player's armies, at least making the troops "feel" less ubiquitous, with traits or characteristics that the nation's men might have had.

I am presenting my ideas - if anyone has any feedback I would be most grateful for it!


British Infantry:  Stubborn.  When being close assaulted, or over-run, British infantry receive a 1 column shift in their favor (left on the combat results table) if they beat their cohesion roll by half.  

I like this rule because after reading Antony Beevor, Cornelius Ryan, FW Mellenthin, and of course Redcoats, one of my favorite books, it seems the British have a tenacity in the defense that is seldom matched.  I propose the following rule - whatever the British unit's cohesion, eg. 15 or less on a 1D20 for paras, or 13 or less on a 1D20 for Territorial Army, etc, if they beat their cohesion score by 50% rounding up, they receive a favorable column shift from the attacker's die roll.


Zimmerit / Schurtzen: German Tanks post Summer 1943 & beyond: German AFV defensive value increased by 1 for any vehicles pre-designated with Schurtzen or Zimmerit.  This would be a points-cost driven ability and would not be free like the British Infantry rule above.  This is a "game changer" however, and reflects German innovations in spaced armor and anti magnetic coatings for mine protection.

So a late war Panzer IV's armor of [7] would increase to [8] with this purchase...


Fire For Effect / Time on Target: US Artillery which are serving units with a GHQ cohesion of 14 or greater receive a 1 column shift in the attack regardless of caliber.  This is to reflect US efficiency in call for fire, fires prioritization, and fire support doctrine.


Kommissar Rule: (you knew this one was coming!) USSR infantry units within BOTH line of sight AND marching distance (4 inches) or attached to ANY Soviet GHQ or command unit automatically pass cohesion rolls!  This applies to infantry only.  "It takes a brave man to retreat in the Red Army"

Now here are some light modifications that could apply to any side in WWII:


Efficient Staff Bonus:  Players automatically receive 1 "free" movement order each turn - applicable to any side under the right circumstances...


Low Ammo Rule: This is one rule I got from Johnny Reb III and I loved it - units scoring a "snake eyes" on the Combat Results Table achieve an "E" result (eliminated) and really nail the bad guys, but use up all their ammo and are now low.  They receive a +4 to all cohesion rolls when firing.


Scouts Out!: Recon units may make single "spotting" cohesion roll which counts for up to 4 other units (a large Company sized element) for their cohesion roll for firing or calling in Artillery actions. (think of it like a movement group assembled during the movement phase, except this is a firing group)  Player's choice.  This is only allowed once per turn and the Scout unit must not be in movement posture, suppressed, disorganized, under a close assault, or over-run, and must be within spotting distance, and line of sight.

I like this because it makes scouts a targeting priority, just like in real war.

This is another potential game-changer so use with caution.  I don't want to tip the scales in favor of anyone - however I think one flaw of GHQ's rules are that the recon troops are not properly used.  The only thing they can actually do is move on their own initiative without penalty.  Well that's great but what can I actually use them for?  A few Americans in a jeep don't offer me much in the way of firepower.  A fireteam of Russian scouts is great for sneaking around and cutting out tongues of German officers, but what good does that do me on the wargaming table???

When used properly, scouts can direct fires on the battlefield by finding and potentially fixing enemy targets.  When used in conjunction with a Company-sized unit they can achieve amazing results - providing they live long enough...



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