RE: [Epic] tunnelers (was: Squats -- After Review:)

From: David Lado <lado_at_...>
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 22:57:25 -0400 (EDT)

[on tunnelers]

>This is OK, though unless you let the tunnelers move *really* quickly
>(ie march move while underground, which seems a bit fast) they should
>get a couple of turns' of movement before a game begins, assuming it's a
>set battle and not an ambush. Or just give them the Infiltration
>special ability, or make it an intrinsic to the "tunneler" special.
>
>> Actually, I would prefer the drop pod method, since it is simpler
>> still, and requires no new rules.
>
>My main problem with this is that it's *too* random. Tunnelers
>shouldn't be quite *that* blind; just pay attention to how fast you're
>going for how long, for a rough estimate, or there's intertial guidance
>and maybe some others.
>
>How about this:
>Special Ability:Tunneler. Tunnelers are machinges that move underground, and appear beneath enemy troops. A tunneler may dive or surface once a turn. When a tunneler dives is goes below ground and stays below for the rest of that turn. when it surfaces it goes above ground and stays above ground for the rest of the turn. While below ground tunnelers may not fire, be fired on or participate in CC/FF And they ignore terrain. If they start they game below ground tunnerls my infiltrate, also below ground. When a Tunneler surfaces it may not actually surface where it intends. This is because while the vehical is below ground the model only tracks it's intended location. For each turn a tunneler spent below ground, roll deviation, i.e roll the scatter die and move the model a number of centimeters in the indicated directrion. For each turn the tunneler spent below ground on normal orders roll 1D6, for assault roll 2D6, and for march orders roll 3D6. Each deviation is rolled sepera!
tly. A infiltration move counts as assault. Troops leaving a tunneler are treated like troops leaving a transporting flyer.
>

I think this is a good way to put more randomness into tunnelers without
making them like drop pods. In any case, I think it will require the
creation of some similar sort or "Tunneler rules" that are distinct
from other transports (rather than just trying to squeeze them into
an existing rule).

My personal thought was:

Tunnelers

Tunnelers always enter the board as reserves with a reserve speed of
"up to 30 cm". During the movement phase in which they are scheduled
to arrive, the owning player may place the HQ unit anywhere on the
table. All the other units must be placed within 15 cm of the HQ
unit.

The tunnelers may not move during the phase they arrive, though any
troops on board may debark paying the normal 5cm penalty. Once on
the surface, tunnelers may move normally (after their first movement
phase of course), but they may not go underground again.

To add a little extra flavor to the tunnelers, I thought of a couple
of extra rules which might or might not be useful:

Option #1: after all tunneler units have been placed, they must
make a "dangerous terrain test". (In SM/TL, they had a chance to get
stuck underground when they tried to surface)

Option #2: detachments on tunnelers (includeing the tunneler
detachment if they are all together) may not be given any special
orders until the HQ has sufaced and/or debarked. (This is to place
a little limitation on tunnelers, so they can't pop up under an
enemy unit and assault it on the same turn, nor can they go to overwatch
on the turn they surface).

NOTES: These are based on the drop pod rules, with the tunnelers having
more control over their placement. This advantage is countered by:
(1) The cost of the tunnelers (drop pods are free) and (2) the use of
either optional rule.

David
Received on Sat Jun 14 1997 - 02:57:25 UTC