Mooks in Space

Just a quick question for all the old school skirmish vets - the game of Rogue Trader we played this week (full report to follow when I have an hour to type it up!) was interesting, in that the sort of rules and game we were playing occassionally called for more detail than Rogue Trader can provide, but still looked great with 10-20 models per side (about 500 points including a vehicle each). This got me thinking about using the Inquisitor rules (with 28mm miniatures) to better play the actions of the heroes, but as we all know, that ruleset is best suited to 3-5 miniatures per side, which isn't the sort of game we're often after.

It occured to me that there might be a compromise, and I wondered if anyone else has tried it. Has anyone written a set of house rules that allow the fielding of hordes of lowly 'mooks' in Inquisitor, leaving all the detailed rules to the 'stars'? Fantasy Flight Games' Deathwatch RPG does this, allowing the players to command 'Hordes' of NPCs against the enemy (who may be Hordes or NPCs too).

If not, maybe I'll have a go. That way, we could try a game where the heroes get to be heroes, and the red shirts do what they do best too!

Mysterioulsy Acquired Crazy Syndrome!

So then, we had a get together and some pizza last night to talk about the mass of rules we use in our gaming, as they've evolved over the last couple of years from 'counts as Necromunda' to 'almost Rogue Trader'. Below are the principles and house rules we decided to settle on, and we hope they might be of use to others doing something similar.

Gripped firmly by MACS, we've decided to go over to the core Rogue Trader rules, with the following House Rules...

Movement
As a matter of convenience, Reserve moves should be made as per the Run move rule from Necromunda.

Climbing, Jumping and Falling rules from Necromunda will be used.

The Stand and Shoot charge reaction may only be made if the charger is visible to the charged model at the beginning of the move, and over half his charge move away.

Chargers who wipe out their opponent in one move will be able to make an Overrun move.

Shooting
All of a player’s shooting attacks should be declared before any dice are rolled, as per the commentary in the GM section.

Overwatch may be used in small scale games, and at the GM’s discretion. To do so will require a successful Cool Test.

Ammo Checks may be used in small games, when the GM rules they are necessary, perhaps because the scenario suggests it or one side are true irregulars with no steady resupply chain.

In small scale games, the Necromunda Injury system will be used.

The ‘Duck Back and Shock’ advanced rule will be used.

Shooting at a Pinned target incurs an additional -1 to hit.

Flak armour will gain +1 Save vs Blast Weapons as per Necromunda.

Psykers
A psychic power may be generated or chosen as a mutation.

Mutations cost no points, but all those generated must be applied.

Psykers will take Perils of the Warp tests as per Necromunda rules when their psi-points drop below their Willpower score and they have to start rolling the use their powers.

Psykers specialising in esoteric disciplines (Pyromancy for example) or from primitive worlds may generate spells from 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battles (to continue the Pyromancy example, taking fire-themed Elementalist spells), as the two systems are compatible.

Vehicles
The vehicle rules published in the White Dwarf Compendium are to be used.

Players designing their own vehicles should be mindful of the high Toughness value many of the pre-generated vehicles have, and limit Toughness to around 6 except for true armoured vehicles.

Robots
The Robots rules published in the White Dwarf Compendium will be used.

In small scale games, the rules programs will be used, but in larger games players should use the rules for issuing Specific Orders.

Players should limit the Toughness values of their robots so that small arms have a chance of damaging them.

Campaigns
In small scale games, warbands may be selected using the Rogue Trader rules for generating personalities, up to a total warband starting value of 500 points.

Any equipment may be chosen, as we trust each other not to take the Michael.

The Rogue Trader Injuries in Campaigns rules will be used.

At the end of a campaign game, whoever is GMing will award Advances to each side, which count as ‘Advance Points’ as detailed in the Rogue Trader Personalities section. A character may advance any one characteristic by +1 per game, up to the racial maximum (remember to recalculate the characters’ points values, as the other side may be a one-off warband made to an equal points value for just one game). The GM will also award Points to spend on equipment, new warband members etc, as befits the scenario.

GMs may use and award any of the skills from Necromunda, but should be mindful that characters don’t get too unwieldy or overly powerful (Space Marines should always have Rapid Fire for example, but most of their power is derived from their stats and equipment). Players wishing to give such skills to their characters as advances will have to clear it with the group.

Aside from pistols and grenades, all weapons etc should be represented on the miniatures.

House rules

Here are some of the house rules we've used so far.

Messy Death: Inspired by the WW2 skirmish game 'Operation Overlord', we decided that when a model killed by a high impact weapon (Str 7+) goes out of action, all friendly models within 6" (rather than the normal 2") should take a Leadership test. Furthermore, that model doesn't get to roll on the Serious Injuries table after the game - he's dead Jim!

Pinned: we reckon a target that's just ducked for cover would be harder to hit. Therefore, shooting at a Pinned model is at a further -1 to hit.