>CORE RULES<
ABBREVIATIONS
I am a two finger typer,so the following abbreviations will be used:
GM: Gamemaster.
CP: Contingency plan ("if this happens, I'll do that" etc.).
BFF: Bounding First Fire
SG#: Segment (1-4).
IF: Intensive Fire.
DFF: Defensive First Fire.
RADIO MESSAGES
Messages should be no more than one paragraph,but non-informational chatter
such as boasting about kills & four letter words do not count against this
limit. Hex coordinates may not be used.Landmarks,direction & distance will
be used instead. Distance should be expressed in 50 metre intervals only.
Overly intricate battle plans are not appropriate.For instance,you could
say: "I'll move north around the farmhouse to try to get a side shot,then
head east.I'll pop an sD if I see any other tanks" etc.
But NOT:
"I'll move 80 metres north,turn east,move 120 metres,turn south,attempt sD,
move 40 metres southeast,fire once,move 80 metres east,fire again if I have
ROF,reverse 40 metres..." etc.
The GM should not be too picky about the wording of your messages,but try
to keep them in the spirit of the game.
Radio 1&2
These messages are sent at the start of the turn directly to the recipients.
A copy must also be sent to the GM. These messages are sent before SHOCK/UK
recovery rolls,so if you began the turn in that state you may not send.
If a player is unable to send Radio 1 due to being SHOCKED/dead,that player's
PL will be informed not to expect Radio 1 from him. If a PL is unable to
send Radio2,the GM will notify the players & go straight to SG1 from Radio 1.In
neither case will anyone be told whether the player in question is dead or
just SHOCKED (unless someone saw the player get knocked out,in which case
that player only would be told).
Radio3
This message may be sent as soon as you get a "GO SG2". Since each player
has only 2 days tomove,you should send Radio3 ASAP if there's something you
want your buddy to know before he sends in his SG2. You may also wait & send
this message during SG3,but sometimes there won't even be a SG3.
Only one Radio3 will be allowed per player turn & is sent directly to the
recipient. A copy must also go to the GM. At the GM's option,light recon
vehicles may be allowed to send multiple Radio3's. Radio3 is a new addition
to the rules & is untested. Your GM may not want to include it in the game.
MOVEMENT
When the GM resolves your move,he will interrupt it & end your segment (unless
it is segment 4) immediately when you sight a previously unknown enemy.
The remainder of your plotted MPs will not be spent.
Units will be moved simultaneously one MP at a time,but not like platoon
movement. Some units may expend more or less MPs than others. This
occasionally creates a "time warp" effect during defensive first fire.
For instance,if one unit plots 3MP & another plots 5MP they will both be
moved 3 simultaneously & then one will move 2 more. The first unit has still
only spent 3 for the purposes of case J.
Sometimes a number of units will have their moves interrupted in the same
hex. We are not using platoon movement,so technically one of the units would
have entered before the other(s). For this reason,those units are not subject
to overstacking penalties of any kind (including non target hits) when their
moves are all interrupted.Overstacking does apply if one of the units was
stationary before the other unit(s) entered the hex
Units which inadvertantly move through the same hex do not pay overstacking
MP. If units inadvertantly end the MPh overstacked,the GM should get them to
send a quick mailing to readjust their positions if desired. Players will
likely not have 2 days to respond to such a mailing,so they may wish to
include CPs to cover the situation if congestion seems likely.
FIRE ORDERS
When you fire,be sure to give orders for ROF/IF,MGs & ammo type where
applicable. Your MGs will not be fired unless you order it. All shots will
use the vehicular target type (EXC:SMOKE) unless ordered otherwise.
If you fire outside your CA,list whether your turret or VCA changes.
If you fail do specify,the GM will turn your turret.
DEFENSIVE FIRE
Obviously in a PBEM game we cannot send out a separate mailing for each
hex a unit enters in case anyone wants to first fire. When the DEFENDER is
told that a unit has entered his LOS he may either fire immediately or send
CP's ordering fire when certain conditions are met.
This is by far the trickiest part of PBEM ASL.The traditional way of handling
first fire does'nt work well in a multi-player double blind game, so the
following system will be in use. This may seem complicated at first,but most
shots are pretty simple & you won't even need to use the system. You are
always free to write out your orders in plain English,but sometimes you may
find yourself in a tricky situation & will want to use order strings.
Order strings
Players may use order strings to set perameters within which thay will take
action during first fire. An action will be taken only if ALL conditions set
forth within the string are met.Normally this action will be to fire (MA &/
or MGs),but you may also place other actions such as motion attempts and the
firing of smoke dispensers at the head of your strings. The term "fire" will
be used below for simplification. Here are the commands & their
abbreviations (in parentheses).
Leaving CA or LOS (LCA/LLOS):
A unit is considered to be "Leaving" if it is within 1 MP expenditure of
exiting the specified perameter. For example,if a unit was in motion & facing
a hex that were out of your LOS,that unit would be "LLOS". If your order was
"Fire LLOS" you would fire at that point.
You may also include a number preceeding the abbreviation if you wish to
fire at a unit >1 MP expenditure from leaving. For example, the order "Fire
2LCA" would have you fire when the unit was TWO MP expenditures from exiting
your CA. You might want to do this to assure a chance for an additional ROF
or IF shot.
Range (R#):
Fire if the target is at or closer than the specified range.
Target facing (see below):
This will fire if the target shows a certain facing aspect,as follows:
ANY S/R: fire at ANY side or rear aspect.
ALL S/R: fire only if ALL aspects facing you are side or rear.
ASS: fire only at ANY rear aspect.
ALLASS: fire only if ALL aspects facing you are rear.
MPs in LOS (#MP):
Fire if the specified # of MPs are spent in your LOS. You can also just say
"case J" or "case J1" if you want to wait until the specified case is
applicable.
Stopped (STP):
Fire as soon as the target stops.
To Hit number (TH#):
Fire as soon as you would hit with a natural roll of the specified #.
NOTE: this command might force the GM to do a lot of computations,only use
it when the other commands will not suffice. It is mainly useful when the
target is moving through an area where there are lots of LOS hindrances/TEM.
Also,in some cases you may not know the target size of the enemy. When this
occurs,your order will be computed using no size DRM.
Order strings at work
You may combine the above commands into strings.Separate the commands with
a comma. A shot will be taken only if ALL conditions set forth within the
string are met.For example, in the string "fire: STP,R2,case J" you would
fire only if your target stopped within 2 hexes & was subject to case J.
You may write more than one string,allowing you to prioritise your shots.
Separate your strings on different lines vertically. Example:
"fire: LCA,case J"
"fire: STP,R1"
"fire: ANY S/R"
In this order you would fire at the target if he was leaving your CA and
subject to case J,OR if he stopped adjacent (or in your hex),OR if he ever
showed a side or rear aspect. The different strings have no relation to each
other. If he shows side/rear you would fire regardless of range,case,motion
status or position.
Your strings will remain in force for ROF shots unless you state otherwise.
If you want Intensive Fire,you must order it specifically.If you have more
than 1 target,specify which string belongs to what target.If any of your
shots would be out of CA,specify whether turret or VCA changes. If you fail
to specify,the GM will turn your turret.
CONTINGENCY PLANS (CPs)
Contingency plans are "if/then" commands which are used to facilitate
PBEM.It would be nice if we did'nt have to use them,but then there'd have
to be seperate mailings for each hex of movement & we'd all grow beards.
CPs are not mandatory,but if you never use them you'll be at a severe
disadvantage.Hopefully by segmenting the MPh your CPs can be reasonably
simple & informed.
You may include CPs in any of your mailings. Any kind of CP you can dream up
is legal provided it is based on something you can see from your tank & the
GM understands you (& of course it must be within ASL rules). For instance,
you might want to watch the effects of someone elses prep fire before
deciding whether to fire yourself,or move in reaction to someone elses
move.In any
case,you must include complete orders for all courses of action.
CP example: "If tank A kills the enemy I'll move as follows....."
"otherwise I'll prep fire at the enemy with full ROF & MGs".
LIMITED VISIBILITY
In order to more accurately portray the effects of being in a damn tank,
the following rules will be in force. A unit will always be made visible
when it fires within another unit's LOS.
A CE tank will be able to first fire at a target in it's rear facing only when
that target has spent >1MP in continuous LOS.
A BU tank will be able to first fire at a target in it's side facing only when
that target has spent >2MP in continuous LOS.
A BU tank will be able to first fire at a target in it's rear facing only when
that target has spent >3MP in continuous LOS.
A target must spend additional MP in LOS before being first fired at for each
of the following conditions:
1MP per +1 of hindrance DRM.
1MP per range bracket beyond "1-6".
2MP if the firer is marked with a fire marker of any kind (EXCEPTION,BFF).
1MP per small target size DRM (-1 MP per large target DRM).
1MP per +1 TEM (including hexside).
The above rules also apply to the ATTACKER's ability to see DEFENDERs during
the MPh. In this case the DEFENDING units would not even be made known to
the ATTACKING player until he had spent enough MPs in LOS. See the Gamemaster
section if you want to see exactly how this is handled in the GO mailings.
For application of TH cases C1/C2 or J1/J2 or motion attempts,the first MP
expenditure in which a target becomes visible/eligible to be first fired at
is the first MP spent in continuous LOS. The facing of turreted AFVs will be
based on whichever aspect is most favourable to them for the purposes of
this rule.
All units will be visible to one another when within 2 hexes range,regardless
of facing/BU status (assuming LOS exists of course).
NOTE: in the original game ATTACKING tanks were not even made known to the
DEFENDER until they had spent the requisite number of MPs,but this creates a
delay in the mailings to the DEFENDER's tank,so now all ATTACKERs in LOS will
be made known with the restriction that they may not be first fired upon (or
motion attempts made,etc.) until sufficient MPs are spent.
Astute readers will notice that this is not consistent with the procedure
for the ATTACKER's ability to see the DEFENDER,but trust me,it works better
this way. At least I think it does. I'm getting confused. Let me just work
this out again......yeah,it works,it's just hard to explain.
When tanks approach from the sides & rear they are almost always trying to
get quick flank shots rather than actually trying to hide from view,so I changed
the rule as above. However,if you are in a situation where you actually DO
wish to pass by without being seen,notify the GM in your mailing & he will
move you in stealth mode. In this case your move will not normally be
interrupted by seeing enemy units while you are not visible to them,& your
position will not be made known to them.
If you wish to use stealth mode you must plot your entire stealth move at
once. You may combine stealth & normal movement in the same move,but you
may not end a segment in stealth mode. When using stealth mode,you will
likely want to include CPs to react to enemy units because your move will
not be onterrupted to inform you of their presence.
If you don't have a clue what I'm talking about,you might try reading the
GAMEMASTER GUIDE section to see how the mailings are handled. This situation
really does'nt come up very often anyway. Maybe best not to think about it.
INDENTIFICATION/CONFIRMING KILLS
When you see an enemy you mat not know exactly what type of AFV it is.
This is determined by a set of arcane formulas used by the GM (see the
GM INFO section for details).
When you fire at an enemy or see a shot taken you will be told one of the
following:
1) Miss.
2) Hard hit (final TK DR is within 1 of the TK#. Target could be dead,shocked,
immobilised,or okay).
3) Confirmed kill.
4) Stunned.
CREWS
Crews are not normally used in the rumble. The GM may let your crew take
counter form in extreme circumstances,but for the most part crews do not
appear in the game.
ARMOUR LEADERS
The use of armour leaders is strictly up to the GM. He may allow them to be
earned for acts of heroism.
MALFUNCTION/RECALL
MA's will be repaired on a dr of 1 or 2 & will not become disabled on a 6,
unless they malfunctioned during intensive fire,in which case the standard
rules are in effect. Recalled tanks will sit out a turn then re-enter.
DUTIES OF THE PLATOON LEADER
The PL's job is not necessarily to boss folks around,but rather to keep the
platoon informed & coordinated. Of course,he will likely issue "orders",
but players are always free to move their tanks however they want. It is
hardly any extra work to be PL,but the best candidate is someone who can
mail Radio2 as quickly as possible.
If any of the PL's platoon have enemy in sight,he may specify who should
prep fire first.
If a PL is killed,his second in command will take over after a full turn
delay,during which time there will be no PL.
