Skirmish Game

[Thaluikhain]

So, my laptop died on me recently, and while waiting for my new one to arrive I distracted myself with coming up with a system for a rules light skirmish (as you do), trying to fix things that might not have been broken and coming up with solutions and then looking for problems they applied to.

Anyhoo, I thought I'd post up what I've dreamt up so far:

The players alternate turns, and each turn is made up of a number of phases.

First action phase:
Each active model belonging to the player whose turn it is can make one action; normally to move, shoot or clear a jammed weapon.

Second action phase:
Most active models will be able to make another action unless something is preventing them. However, no model gets to make it's second action until all models have made their first.

Command action phase:
Leader models allow nearby models to take additional actions. Exact definition of "nearby"and how many actions will probably depend on the type of leader. Just struck me that this could allow a model to move into LoS in the first action phase, fire in the second, and back out of LoS in the command, might have to think about that.

Injury phase
Injured models may recover or further succumb to injuries (see below)

Fighting phase
If a model moves into base to base contact with an enemy model, it must fight in the Fighting phase and cannot leave until the fight is resolved. Both players roll one dice for their model and add it's Fight statistic. The one with the highest number wins, and the loser takes the difference in hits. If it's a draw, neither model is injured. For multiple combats, a model divides it's Fight stat amongst it's opponents however the controlling player likes.

Similarly, with Shooting, the controlling player rolls (normally) one dice and adds the model's Shoot stat. Each area of terrain has a Cover stat, the target model takes the dice roll + Shoot stat - Cover stat in hits. A roll of 1 means the weapon has jammed, and cannot be fired again until an action is spent to cleared it. On weapons which fire more than once and jams more than once, each jam must be cleared before firing.

For every hit, the attacking player rolls one dice and takes the highest. On a 5 or 6, the model is removed from play. On a 3 or 4, the if affected by a persistent effect until their next injury phase, at which time they roll again. On a 1 or 2 they are affected by a temporary effect which lasts until their next injury phase, at which time they are back to normal.

I was thinking for normal humans, 1-2 would result in them being unable to act except in the first action phase and having half stats, 3-4 resulting in them unable to do anything at all, and being automatically removed from play if attacked in the fight phase in no friendly models are in combat, or by their opponent spending one action in one of their action phases (so they don't hold up an enemy model until it's Fight phase if it's the enemy turn, but can be rescued if a friendly model can get into base contact if it's their turn), and 5-6 being dead.

For zombie style monsters, 1-2 has no effect, 3-4 has them at half stats and only moving in the first action phase and 5-6 being dead. So they can shrug off some hits, and you end up with injured monsters crawling at the humans before recovering or expiring.

Instead of having stats for armour or toughness or more powerful weapons, I was thinking of rolling extra dice and selecting the original number from them.

For example, if a human elite with one point of armour took 2 hits, you'd roll 3 dice, the controlling player chooses 2 and you apply the highest result. You'd still be effected, but be more likely to survive.

This also applies to weapons, a human elite might have a more accurate/powerful weapon which allowed you to roll 3 dice and choose the highest when shooting.

I was also thinking of areas of terrain that are (presumably magically) Dark, where if you shoot a target in there you roll 2 dice (your normal Shooting roll and one more for the Darkness) and take the lowest.

Conflicting dice cancel each other out on a one for one basis, if the same human elite fired the weapon into a terrain piece of magic Darkness, it'd be 2 dice and take the highest.

Currently, I was thinking that zombies would have 2 for Fight and not be able to shoot, human militia having 2 for both Fight and Shoot, human soldiers having 3 for both and human elite having 4 for both.

Human soldiers or militia can either take a normal weapon with no special rules, or one where they roll 2 dice and take the highest, but can't hit the target more than once. By my maths, which one of those is better is situational, one isn't inherently better than the other.

Human elites take one or the other of those two and a piece of equipment (still thinking about exactly what), or a heavier weapon. I was thinking of a weapon that was 3 dice and pick the highest, a weapon that was 1 dice normally but three dice (not picking the highest, 3 shots) if the model has fired in the previous action at a target within 45 degrees, and a weapon that is 2 dice and pick the highest normally but 3 dice and pick the 2 highest f the model has fired in the previous action at a target within 45 degrees. Again, to me, that looks like the best one is situational.

Currently, movement is 10cm per action for everyone, weapon ranges are unlimited, terrain pieces are A4 sized sheets of paper laying on the battlefield, the size of which is "a convenient clear space on the floor". I plan to revise this somewhat.

I still have to come up with some equipment for the elites to carry (was thinking medi-pack (add another dice for recovery for each action you spend in base contact with an injured model) weapons reload (allows you to clear someone else's jams), something to get rid of magic Darkness and maybe replace it with magic Light which has the same effect on monsters associated with the Dark), possibly something similar for normal human soldiers (trading their weapon for a short ranged pistol).

I was also thinking of terrain pieces having 2 different Cover stats, one for being well-lit and one for being dark, and some way of changing this (smoke, flares, shooting up the lights), haven't decided if that is worthwhile.

Also, thinking up names for things, as "the 3 dice and pick the highest gun" works well in my own head, but writing it down is cumbersome.

EDIT: Knew I'd forget something, also have not quite decided on rules for shooting through cover, whether terrain blocks line of site beyond it, or whether you take the highest Cover stat along LoS and apply that.