Rules options suggestion

[boggo2300 (OP)]

Erik, 

something I've been thinking about for quite awhile is an additional level of specialisation for ground forces,  specifically I'm thinking something like Naval and Aerospace for ground units (the main reason this keeps sitting in the back of my mind is near future multi-faction starts)  Something like a bunch of low tech Naval and Air-force support units,  since you already have ground forces split by size and role,  maybe adding a few new roles to cover air support and naval roles could be something? 

for example;
Ground Attack (GAT)  training points +25 Cost +30 Attack 4 Defense 4 Size +0 Movement 4

kind of thing

Matt

[Erik L]

What about a Command Option instead of an actual unit? Something along the lines of

Air Strike The general calls in an air strike. Designate one hex as the target and roll for deviation. The accuracy portion of the drop determine the directionality of the strike. The affected hex and 2 on either side of it based on the directionality take two 15 point Morale strikes. Cost: 1 Option.

[boggo2300 (OP)]

yeah I can see that working well for the air support side of things,  and you could do something similar for Air-mobility,  what about the Naval side of things?

the original itch that made me start thinking about it was I'm currently (Still) working on a multi faction Earth start starting circa 2020,  and I'm extrapolating military from current military forces,  current militaries still have Naval and Air as major parts of their strike ability,  for example one of my factions is the Commonwealth of Nations,  who's only Nuclear strike capability is based on old British Trafalgar and newer Vanguard class boomers.  

as it stands I've gone through and converted the combined armies into game stats,  but I've been struggling to find a way to simulate the existing Naval/Air Force strengths of the factions (without them, the US looks like it has a bleak future, as the US Navy is the balance against Chinas gigantic army 2.2 million versus .5 million active duty army personnel)

I can see the differentiation between land/sea/air becoming far less important as technology increases, however I can see Local Naval and atmospheric military units being relatively important for colony garrisons for quite awhile.

Actually the more I think about it the more I like your command option method of dealing with it,  though for my purposes limiting uses of the option based on OOB rather than an option cost would help with what I'm trying to simulate more

[Erik L]

There isn't any real provision for terrain on the ground combat map. The general ruggedness of the planet modifies the attack or defensive values overall. And terrain would be required for naval units.

For non-nuclear naval bombardments, I'd use the artillery strike command option. For nuclear strikes, probably an orbital strike.

You can create a "pool" of Command Points based on actual OOB. If there are 50 nuclear missiles, that is 50 points dedicated to orbital strikes.

[boggo2300 (OP)]

Yeah,  I like that, then have a few command options like the Air Strike one you wrote up,  maybe an Air Superiority one that prevents opposing Air Strikes,  possibly an Air Transportation one like Forced Move with a longer range but possibly a one turn downtime at the end of the move maybe.  Then handle the Naval parts as you said with rewording of the Artillery Strike and Counterbattery without the Armour Company requirement but an additional point cost maybe?

Hmm what about assigning Missile Launchers (without ships,  just the launchers themselves) to stand in for the Nuclear Arsenal and using the Orbital strike using those as the way to handle Nuclear attack,  and then basing the Command Pool on the size of the support elements (Navy/Airforce)?

[Erik L]

I like the idea of an Air Superiority unit. Not Option

Air Superiority (AIR)    +40 Training, +50 Cost, +3 Attack, +2 Defense, +1 Size, 4 Move

The AIR unit may attack ground units and be attacked by them, or defend against Air Strike Options. To defend against an Air Strike, the AIR unit must be within 2 hexes of the strike point. If it is, the AIR unit interdicts the Air Strike, negating its effect. Any Command points spent on the strike are lost.

Air Transport This option allows a unit to move 2 additional hexes. Cost: 3 Options.

At Tech Level 3, each Capital has 1d10 - 3 missile silos. This is increased by 1 for every 50 ground units. A silo is required to perform a Nuclear Strike. Once a silo has performed a Nuclear Strike, it requires 1d10 + 3 months to replace its capability.

Nuclear Strike This is a nuclear attack on the battlefield. The Nuclear Strike may be Strategic or Tactical. A Strategic strike requires the use of 5 silos and performs a 100 Morale strike on the entire battlefield. High-tech units (greater than TL 4) reduce the amount of damage by 10. A Tactical strike covers a 4 hex-radius area on the map. Designate and roll for deviation as normal. A Tactical strike requires 1 silo. The strike does a 50 Morale hit to all units in the area. Units higher than TL 4 reduce this by 10.

[ooc]Issue here is this greatly out-damages the orbital strikes. Though those are non-missile weapons. [/ooc]

Naval Bombardment Provides a barrage of five 10 Morale point hits on the target, rolling for deviation as a drop. Two adjacent areas suffer 5 points of damage. Cost: 1 Option.

[boggo2300 (OP)]

Excellent!  that works for pretty much everything I wanted!

2 things though,  Tech level 3 is pretty high tech for the Nukes I would've thought,  maybe start them at a lower tech and reduce their effectiveness below TL3? (I really wasn't thinking of having any of my starting factions with that high a TL in anything, and 6 of them are Nuclear Powers)

what about Naval Interdiction,  allowing blocking of Naval bombardment.

Matt (never letting anything be simple!!)

[Erik L]

I like the idea of an Air Superiority unit. Not Option :)The AIR unit may attack ground units and be attacked by them, or defend against Air Strike Options. To defend against an Air Strike, the AIR unit must be within 2 hexes of the strike point. If it is, the AIR unit interdicts the Air Strike, negating its effect. Any Command points spent on the strike are lost.

At Tech Level 3, each Capital has 1d10 - 3 missile silos. This is increased by 1 for every 50 ground units. A silo is required to perform a Nuclear Strike. Once a silo has performed a Nuclear Strike, it requires 1d10 + 3 months to replace its capability.
[ooc]Issue here is this greatly out-damages the orbital strikes. Though those are non-missile weapons. [/ooc]

I've added this to the rules. Along with this addendum:

. Missile silos may be present at TL 2 (but no earlier). The chance of TL 2 missile silos is 25%.