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Stargrunt II Rules Clarifications

The following rules clarifications are house rules that modify existing SG2 rules. Use as many or as few of these rules as desired.

Aerospace Changes

The aerospace rules in Stargrunt II are fairly simple, but they are also rather unforgiving with respect to "bugging out".

In the rules as written, if an aerospace vehicle is hit but the armour isn't penetrated, the vehicle's pilot must make a Threat Level 2 Confidence Test. If he fails, he aborts the mission. This all-or-nothing test seems a bit severe. This simple house rule results in a less severe penalty while treating aerospace vehicles like any other unit on the game table.

Aerospace vehicles are given a Confidence Level marker just like any other unit on the table. When the Confidence Test is made, treat it like any other unit on the table. If the vehicle fails the test, the vehicle's Confidence Level drops by one level. If the Confidence Test was half or less the number needed to be rolled, the vehicle drops two Confidence Levels.

• A vehicle can operate normally while it has a Confidence Level of "Confident" or "Steady".

• If the vehicle's confidence drops to "Shaken", the vehicle immediately departs the board and heads to the Loiter box of the Inbound Chart. The vehicle may not attempt to arrive back on the table for one turn. After the one turn wait is over, it may attempt to return to the table top, but a Reaction Test must be made. If the Reaction Test is failed, the vehicle is treated as having been activated for that turn.

• If the vehicle's confidence drops to "Broken" or "Routed", the vehicle aborts its mission and heads back to base.

Note that this Confidence Test is made for non-penetrating hits on a vehicle while it is on the tabletop, or for ADE fire on the vehicle as it attempts to come onto the tabletop. If the vehicle drops to "Shaken" while attempting to arrive on the table, it is instead moved to the Loiter box for one turn, as noted above. The vehicle will only abort if its Confidence Level hits "Broken" or "Routed".

If you want to make use of Mission Motivation, this aerospace vehicle Confidence Test should be made at a Threat Level of 0/2/3 for High/Medium/Low motivation troops. As a default, treat the vehicle's Mission Motivation as medium motivation (which gives the TL 2 test used in the rulebook).

Morale Changes

Introduction

The morale system in Stargrunt II was too forgiving. Here are three rules for simply changing the Confidence Tests that give more drastic, and realistic, results. These rules can be used together or separately, though it is suggested that you use all three rules.

High Casualty Test

One of the most severe morale tests is made whenever a unit suffers casualties greater than the number of figures remaining in the unit after the combat result. This test has a Threat Level (TL) of 4/3/1 for Low/Medium/High motivation troops. If a squad has 5 men and loses 3 (with 2 remaining) it would make this severe Confidence Test. If the squad of 5 lost 2 figures (with 3 remaining) it would not make the severe Confidence Test. Instead, the squad would make the lesser "squad took casualties" Confidence Test is with a TL of 2/1/NTR.

The problem is that this test doesn't take into account severe casualties made to a squad over time. For instance, if a squad has 8 men and loses 2 men per turn, it would never have to make this severe Confidence Test. Even after 6 of the original 8 men are wounded, the squad still doesn't have to make a difficult morale check. This often leads to squads reduced to 1 or 2 figures with Confident or Steady Confidence Levels.

To remedy this, use the following two simple changes to the morale rules:

1. The Threat Level 4/3/1 Confidence test for Low/Medium/High motivation troops is made whenever a unit suffers casualties greater than or equal to the number of figures remaining in the unit.
2. The squad information sheets have a space for filling out the squad's Full Strength complement. Whenever a squad has lost a running total of 50% or more of its original Full Strength complement, it must make a Threat Level 4/3/1 Confidence test for Low/Medium/High motivation troops. For instance, a squad that originally had 8 figures would make this test when it was reduced to 4 or fewer figures. This test is made once a squad has lost half of its original complement and for every casualty thereafter.

When combining two or more units, you need to know the Full Strength complement of this new, combined unit. The new unit would have a Full Strength complement equal to the original Full Strength complement of the largest unit, or the number of figures in the new unit, whichever is greater.

Example of the Rule Modification in Action

A squad of 8 figures is attacked three times. Each time it takes 2 casualties.

In the original rules, this would result in the unit having to make 3 TL 2/1/0 Confidence Tests, even though at the end of it the unit would have suffered 75% casualties. One more casualty would result in another TL 1/1/0 test, in spite of the fact that only one figure would be left in the squad.

With this rules modification, the unit would make a TL 2/1/0 Confidence Test when it lost the first 2 figures, a TL 4/3/1 test when it lost the next 2 figures (it would be down to half strength at this point), and a TL 4/3/1 test each time it took any more casualties.

Abandoning Wounded

There is a +3/+2/+1 modifier (for Low/Medium/High motivation troops) to Confidence Tests for abandoning wounded. According to the rules this only applies when there's another Confidence Test (see the errata and clarifications section of this web site).

This house rule applies a TL 3/2/1 Confidence Test at the moment the wounded are abandoned. For instance, if a squad retreats from an enemy, leaving wounded behind, a 3/2/1 Confidence Test is made. If another Confidence Test is required against a unit that has abandoned wounded, the +3/+2/+1 modifier still applies.

Jon Tuffley, Stargrunt II's author, thinks that this is an interesting house rule. "I think this could work well, especially for those people who don't feel that confidence degrades fast enough in the rules as written."

Artillery and Aerospace Attacks

The Situation in the Rules As Written

There is a +2/+1/+0 modifier (for Low/Medium/High motivation troops) to Confidence Tests when a unit is under artillery or aerospace attack. This modifier applies to any Confidence Test made by a unit when it is under artillery attack or aerospace attack.

As per Jon Tuffley's errata on Confidence Tests, this is a modifier to a Confidence Test, not a Confidence Test in its own right. If targets come under artillery fire but they aren't suppressed for the first time and don't take casualties, it's unlikely they will suffer any ill effects.

Artillery and Aerospace Confidence Test House Rule

If a unit makes a Confidence Test while under artillery or aerospace attack, treat the attack as a +2/+1/+0 modifier as per the regular Stargrunt II rules.

If a unit is under artillery or aerospace attack and doesn't have to make a Confidence Test for some other reason, the unit must make an Artillery and Aerospace Confidence Test. This is a TL 2/1/NTR Confidence Test (for Low/Medium/High motivation troops).

The Artillery and Aerosapce Confidence Test is made if no other Confidence Tests apply tothat unit. If there is another Confidence Test, apply the +2/+1/+0 modifier to that test instead.

Example: On turn 1 a medium motivation squad is suppressed for the first time by an artillery attack. It must make a TL 2 Confidence test: TL 1 for being suppressed for the first time, and a TL +1 for being under an artillery attack. On turn 2 the same squad is attacked again by artillery, but

Jon Tuffley, Stargrunt II's author, thinks that this is an interesting house rule. To quote: "I think this could work well, especially for those people who don't feel that confidence degrades fast enough in the rules as written."

Transfer Action Changes – A Recommended Fix for "Commander in the Corner"

Stargrunt II games often result in the "commander in the corner" syndrome. Due to the transfer action rules, there is no incentive to place a command unit anywhere but in the corner of the board somewhere, safe from fire and out of line of sight of the units in its command. This is due to the fact that once the command unit is out of the 6" command radius of a unit it needs to communicate with, a communication roll is needed regardless of whether the subordinate unit is 7" ahead in clear terrain, or 48" away behind hills and woods. It makes sense, then, to place the command unit somewhere safe where it doesn't have to move.

Another oddity is the 6" command radius rule. If a command unit is within 6" of a subordinate unit, it doesn't have to make a communication roll. This is the case if the commander is actually attached to the subordinate unit, or the subordinate unit is on the other side of a building. As long as the two units are within 6", no communication roll is needed.

This rule modification gives a command unit an incentive to stay closer to the troops it commands.

When a command squad attempts to transfer an action to a subordinate squad, a communication roll may or may not be necessary. If it is necessary, there may or may not be a modifier to the communication roll. The conditions for communication rolls are as follows:

1. If the subordinate squad is within 6" and in line-of-sight (LOS) of the command squad, no communication roll is necessary. The Transfer Action occurs automatically.
2. If the subordinate squad is within 6" of the command squad but there is no LOS between the two units, a regular communications roll is needed to conduct a Transfer Action.
3. If the subordinate squad is more than 6" away from the command unit but the command unit does have LOS to the subordinate unit, a regular communications roll is needed to conduct a Transfer Action.
4. If the subordinate squad is more than 6" away from the command unit and the command unit does not have LOS to the subordinate unit, a communications roll with a -1 modifier to the die roll is needed to conduct a Transfer Action.

Vehicle Bail Out Changes

The Stargrunt II rules are somewhat unclear as to what happens to a squad inside a vehicle when the vehicle is disabled. The rules don't explicitly state whether or not the vehicle's occupants bail out for free, or if the unit must do it on its next activation, or if at all.

The interpretation I use, which was assumed by several people on the GZG mailing list, is that when a vehicle is disabled the squad gets to bail out of the vehicle for free. However, the squad is automatically suppressed once it bails out, due to it having been fired on. As per the vehicle rules, the squad may have to make a morale roll due to sustaining casualties.

Note that the bail out distance is 6", the same as for a squad disembarking from a vehicle. That is, the unit bailing out may be placed anywhere within 6" of the disabled/destroyed vehicle. However, for a modification to this range, see Vehicle Loading/Unloading Range, below.

Vehicle Loading/Unloading Ranges

The Stargrunt II rules allow passengers to embark on a vehicle if the passenger unit is within 6" of the vehicle. Likewise, when a passenger unit disembarks a vehicle, it can be placed within 6" of the vehicle. This doesn't take into account the speed of the passenger or the terrain. As written, a unit could technically disembark over unpassable terrain. Consider this: you are allowed to move a vehicle up to a set of woods and disembark infantry, with a D6 movement rate, 6" into the woods. An infantry unit with D6 movement standing beside the vehicle could only move 3" into the woods.

This rule replaces the 6" load/unload range.

When loading, a passenger unit must be within one regular move action of the transport vehicle. The passenger unit must take terrain into account. If the unit could not move to the centre of the vehicle, it is not allowed to load onto the vehicle.

When unloading, the passenger unit is allowed to make a regular move, measured from the centre of the transport vehicle. Terrain must be taken into account.