Based Infantry |
|---|
Copyright 2003 by Mike Fischer |
According to the standard StarMarines rules, one counter equals one soldier. This is no problem with a squad-sized or platoon-sized game. But with bigger games, involving hundreds of units, a player could get overwhelmed by the sheer number of soldiers (not to mention their weapons and attributes). "Did I move that soldier yet?" "Has he already attacked somebody in this round?" "Hey, you already moved that guy!" For those who would like to simplify their battlefield, these supplemental rules may be what you're looking for.
The name "based infantry" derives from gaming with miniatures, where more than one soldier figure can be mounted on the same base. With based-infantry rules, one counter equals one level-1 formation of three to five soldiers, depending on the army. Each counter is assumed to carry a common mix of weapons, and has a fixed attack value. You can also buy one special weapon for that counter, usually a medium weapon. Casualties reduce the counter's combat ability; you keep track of these with a casualty marker. Thus, a fire-team of StarMarine troopers and their weapons, which would require four counters and 4-6 weapon markers, becomes one counter and one marker with based-infantry rules. Most other rules are unchanged.
This rule book is an optional supplement to StarMarines.
You cannot buy individual attributes for soldiers in a base. The only exception is the zero-level leader, which always goes to the first soldier in the base. Thus, the greatest possible number of counters in a stack is four -- the soldier counter, the special weapon marker, the zero-level leader marker, and the casualty marker. This might sound like a lot, but under normal StarMarine rules, you'd need four stacks of 2-3 counters for the same soldiers.
The rules for individuals, like leaders, healers, and heroes, are unchanged.
Certain heavy soldiers get one extra close-combat attack, and one less ranged attack. Some soldiers get no special close-combat attack; all their attacks use ranged data.
Take all combat data from the Based-Infantry Table, not from the usual tables in the races' rule books. The Pelgari are an exception; with their self-adjusting weapons, they don't have fixed attack ratings. Instead, assume all the soldiers in a base are armed with the weapon named in the Based-Infantry Table, and figure the AP and damage based on the range, using the standard Pelgari Weapons-Effect Table. Also, the N'Kakk robots will get their attack data from the weapons you arm them with; each type of robot can carry only one kind of weapon, not a mix. Resolve combat as usual, first with the special weapon (if any), then with the other soldiers' weapons.
Frag-type weapons are especially effective against based infantry. A frag weapon counts as one attack on each soldier in the target base, so if a Norx throws a bang bomb at a full-strength team of StarMarines, that counts as four attacks, one on each soldier. Heavy frag weapons that affect more than one hex could take out a dozen troops or more if they hit a concentration of soldiers.
If a soldier is wounded or killed, this does not take out the entire base. Instead, you stack a casualty marker with the base to note the remaining strength of that base. A casualty marker shows how many soldiers in that base are left, and this affects the attack ability of the base. A full-strength base will have no casualty marker. When the casualty count falls to zero, the entire base is removed from the map.
When a base takes a casualty, the ranged-attack soldiers get hit first. The soldier armed for close combat will be the last to fall, except for the special-weapon soldier. If the first soldier is a zero-level leader, it's assumed that he will be the last one to fall.
All casualties are assumed to be wounded. A healer unit can improve the casualty marker of one base by 1 per turn, as long as at least one soldier in the base is still fighting.
Some vehicles allow a single soldier to ride and use his weapon. This is not allowed with based infantry.
| Unit | Cost | Qty | Move | Armor | Tough | Morale | Aim | Ranged | Close | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Colonial Militia | ||||||||||
| Trooper | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | (4) 2-2 | 2-3 | 1 medium |
| Ranger | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | (4) 2-2 | 3-2 | close-combat +1 to-hit |
| Seal | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | (3) 3-1 | 2-3 | none |
| Para | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | (3) 2-2 | 2-3 | ranged 2 shots |
| Gunner | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | +1 | (8) 5-4 | nil | 1 heavy |
| The Dran Empire | ||||||||||
| Footman | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | (3) 2-2 | 2-3 | 1 medium |
| Hackman | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | (2) 1-3 | 2-4 | 2 close-combat |
| Airman | 6 | 3 | 2 (4) | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | (2) 2-2 | nil | 2 shots each |
| Hitman | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | +1 | (7) 4-5 | nil | 1 heavy |
| The Ghouls | ||||||||||
| Hunter | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | (4) 2-2 | 3-2 | 1 medium |
| Killer | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | (4) 2-2 | 2-3 | none |
| Terror | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | (3) 2-2 | 3-2 | 2 close-combat |
| Glider | 6 | 4 | 2(4) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | (3) 2-2 | 2-3 | ranged 2 shots |
| Slayer | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | +1 | (7) 4-4 | nil | 1 heavy |
| The N'Kakk Robots | ||||||||||
| PistolC | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ~ | 0 | varies | nil | none |
| SMG Car | 5 | 4 | 2(4) | 2 | 2 | ~ | 0 | varies | nil | 2 attacks |
| LWepCar | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ~ | 0 | varies | nil | none |
| MWepCar | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ~ | 0 | varies | nil | none |
| HWepCar | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | ~ | 0 | varies | nil | none |
| The Norx | ||||||||||
| Lineman | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | (4) 2-2 | 2-2 | 1 medium; ranged -1 to-hit |
| Linback | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | (4) 2-2 | 2-3 | 2 close-combat; ranged -1 to-hit |
| Blocker | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | (3) 2-2 | 1-2 | ranged 2 shots, -1 to-hit |
| Blitzer | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | (3) 2-2 | 2-2 | ranged 2 shots, -1 to-hit |
| Blimpy | 5 | 5 | 2(4) | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | (3) 2-2 | 2-2 | ranged 2 shots, -1 to-hit |
| Qtrback | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | +1 | (8) 5-4 | nil | 1 heavy |
| The Pelgari | ||||||||||
| Gunman | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | see CLR | nil | 1 medium |
| Dervish | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | +1 | nil | 3-3 | 2 shots each |
| HSeeker | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | nil | see CLP | none |
| RRunner | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | see CLS | nil | 2 shots each |
| Falcon | 5 | 3 | 3(5) | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | see CLS | nil | 2 shots each |
| TkBreak | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | see CL Burst | nil | none |
| Skipper | 5 | 3 | 3(4) | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | see CLR | nil | none |
| Pointer | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +2 | (2-12) 3-5 | nil | none |
| The Saurs | ||||||||||
| Lestes | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | (3) 2-3 | nil | 1 medium |
| Sittaco | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | (7) 3-4 | nil | 1 Pack |
| Deino | 5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | +1 | nil | 3-3 | none |
| Ptero | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | (2) 1-2 | nil | 1 grenade |
| Styro | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | nil | 4-2 | Horn Bombs |
| StarMarines | ||||||||||
| Trooper | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | (4) 2-2 | 2-3 | 1 medium |
| PARM | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | (2) 2-2 | 3-3 | 1 medium; 2 close-combat |
| Scout | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | +1 | (3) 3-1 | 3-2 | none |
| JumpTroop | 6 | 4 | 2 (4) | 2 | 2 | 4 | -1 | (3) 2-2 | nil | 2 shots each |
| Gunner | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +1 | (8) 5-4 | nil | 1 heavy |
| The Swarm | ||||||||||
| BluRunr | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ~ | 0 | nil | 2-3 | all close-combat |
| RedRunr | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ~ | 0 | nil | 3-2 | all close-combat |
| Dragon | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ~ | 0 | (2) 2-4 | nil | none |
| Racer | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ~ | +1 | nil | 2-2 | all close-combat |
| Hopper | 5 | 5 | 2-4 | 2 | 3 | ~ | +1 | nil | 3-3 | all close-combat |
| Spitter | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ~ | +1 | (7) 3-3 | nil | none |
| The Victors | ||||||||||
| Walker | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | (3) 2-4 | 2-3 | 1 medium |
| Thumper | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | (2) 1-3 | 3-3 | 2 close-combat |
| Sledder | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | (2) 2-4 | 2-3 | 2 shots each |
| Sapper | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | (2) 2-3 | 2-3 | none |
| Lobber | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | +1 | (6) 4-4 | nil | 1 heavy |
| The Zrute Alliance | ||||||||||
| Normal | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | (4) 2-2 | 2-3 | 1 medium |
| Runner | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | (2) 2-3 | 2-3 | 2 shots |
| Bounding | 6 | 4 | 2 (2-3) | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | (2) 2-3 | 2-3 | 2 shots |
| Stealth | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | (4) 2-2 | 2-3 | 1 medium |
| Melee | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 | (4) 2-2 | 2-3 | 1 medium; 2 close-combat |
| Drone | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 0 | (4) 2-2 | 2-3 | 1 medium; 2 close-combat |
| Flying | 6 | 4 | 2 (4) | 2 | 2 | 4 | -1 | (2) 2-3 | nil | 2 shots each |
| Airlift | 6 | 4 | 2 (2) | 2 | 2 | 4 | -1 | (2) 2-3 | nil | 2 shots each |
| Weapons | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | (8) 4-4 | nil | 1 heavy |