Sunday 22 March 2015

Generals in 'Liberated Hordes'

Although I've posted bits of this before I thought that it would be useful to put the rules I currently use for general in 'Liberated Hordes' into one place. Whilst they are written for that game, I'm sure they can be applied to other HOTT/DBA variants, so may help inspire someone else.

All generals are either Poor, Average or Good.

Poor - The second PIP roll of '6' this general gets during a game is immediately converted to a '1'.

Good - Once per game the general may choose to roll two dice for PIPs and use the highest score.

The principle behind these rules is that the general gets one moment during the battle where they suffer a penalty due to their indecision or incompetence, or get everything moving together in an inspired manner. It's up to them, or their opponent, to be in a position to exploit that moment.

The following are additional traits which may be added to a general of any quality. A Good general can still be a Coward, for example.

Predictable - The general's tactics are well-known to the enemy, or lack imagination. After the general has deployed his army, roll the first PIP dice. This is the score he will use when he takes his first bound. At the end of the general's bound roll the dice to see what PIPs he will have in his next bound. If he scores a ‘6’ for PIPs, then he may either keep that score, or chose to discard the roll, but roll normally for PIPs from then onwards. Note: A Poor general immediately has the second roll of '6' converted to a '1', so cannot chose to discard it.

Strategist - The general has a good eye for terrain or an ability to get his army just where he needs it to be. If you are the Defender then you only set up three of your elements. The attacker then sets up the whole of their army before you then set up the rest of yours. If you are the Attacker you may number one edge ‘1-4’, a second ‘5’ and a third ‘6’. You may completely ignore one edge.

Panicky - The general is prone to panic or confusion when things start to go wrong. At the end of any bound in which the element the general is with recoils, or in which a friendly element has been destroyed within 100p of  his element, roll a D6. On a ‘1’ the general quits the field.

Coward - The general lacks the will to fight. He counts as Panicky, but in addition an element he is with does not get the +1 to a losing combat score.

Reckless - The general leads from the front, but is prone to putting his troops into danger when doing so. The general still gives +1 to a losing score if he is with an element that is shot at. However he instead gives an element in close combat a +1 to its combat score, as with a normal HOTT general. However any non-artillery element he is with, or to which his element provides overlap or flank/rear contact support, automatically pursues if it wins a close combat. In addition the element the general is with must resolve its close combat before any other elements in the army.



The following traits apply to campaigns only, and assume the use of Demoralisation Points and Political Tokens.

Inspiring - The general can keep an army together throughout any adversity. When rolling against Demoralisation Points before a battle, add one to the roll.

Politician - The general is an astute politician, able to exploit his victories for the good of the country. When rolling to force the enemy to lose Political Tokens, subtract one from the roll.

1 comment:

  1. Fascinating ideas - maybe some can be even used in MSM?

    Victor

    ReplyDelete

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