--------------------GEV List Thingy, Oct 7th-------------------- Subject: Home-cooked rules From: Christopher Camfield To: hcobb@fly2.berkeley.edu Disclaimer: I developed these a couple of years ago; due to a lack of opponents, I haven't actually played GEV in *far* too long. :( I also have no knowledge (besides what I've heard here) about the various specialist infantry that have been developed. Are these for the miniatures rules? (Something I don't have. Is it possible to convert the concepts?) And the helicopter rules *are* awkward, I know. Just food for thought (I hope :). I.00 Infantry heavy weapons These rules are for those who believe the infantry in OGRE/GEV are underarmed, or have just had their infantry trashed by another %&*#@ Ogre. I.01 Types of heavy weapons There are three infantry heavy weapons: the heavy machine gun, heavy missile launcher, and mortar. I.011 Heavy Machine Gun The HMG is a weapon carried by one man with an attack strength of 1 and range of 1. I.012 Heavy Missile Launcher The HML is a reusable three-man missile launcher. It has an attack strength of 2 and a range of 2. I.013 Mortar The mortar is a small indirect fire weapon with a crew of two. It has a range of 2 and attack strength of 1. I.02 Weapons allocation Each infantry squad may only be assigned one heavy weapon, but each weapon comes with the necessary crew, so the infantry squad can fire both its regular and heavy weapons. If the squad is destroyed then the weapon and crew are also considered destroyed. I.03 Overruns Only the HMG has its attack strength doubled in an overrun, but the HML and mortar do not. Infantry with heavy weapons still have their normal attack strength doubled in an overrun situation. I.04 Costs and values Heavy weapons are bought using Heavy Weapon Points (HWPs). Normally a player is given, for free, one HWP for every two squads of infantry he has. Weapon WHP Cost HMG 1 HML 3 Mortar 2 I.05 Rationale I obtained the basis of these rules from Battlesuit, Steve Jackson's infantry combat game in the world of Ogre/GEV. In Battlesuit, an ordinary infantryman's weapon has a range of 20 hexes 37.5 metres wide at nearly full strength, a range of 40 hexes at about half strength, and an absolute maximum range of 80 hexes. The first range, coincidentally, is 750 metres (the radius of a GEV hex), the second 1500 metres (the range of infantry in GEV), and the third 3000 metres. It seemed to me that the printed combat strength should represent the basic weapons of the infantry and possibly light machine guns. I created these rules to fill the gap. H.00 Helicopters These rules came about after I read "Tank: present, future: Ogre", an article in The Ogre Book written by Charles B. Bowles. He wrote "The development of the small-caliber nuke ... might mean the end of the close support attack aircraft and helicopter." But a helicopter in OGRE/GEV could carry BPC armour... H.01 Helicopter design Each Helicopters have two basic components - the size of its payload (weapons, armour, etc) and its speed. H.011 Helicopter speed The maximum speed of a helicopter must be specified during design. Speed is expressed like a GEV's - two numbers specifying the speed of the helicopter in the first and second (GEV) movement phases. In all cases the second number cannot be more than the first or more than two less than the first. The highest speed a helicopter can possess is 5/4. H.012 Payloads There are three sizes of helicopters in OGRE/GEV: small, medium, and large. The small helicopter has a payload size of 10 spaces, the medium has 20 spaces, and the large has a 30 space payload. Spaces may be filled with weapons, defences, fuel, or can be used to carry infantry. The following chart gives the values for each of these options. Item Attack/Range Spaces Cost Autocannon 1/1 2 1 Hypervelocity autocannon 1/2 2 3 Light missile pack 2/2 1 2 Heavy missile pack 3/4 2 4 Defence * * Fuel * 0 Space for 1 infantry squad 5 0 H.0121 Helicopter weaponry Helicopters in 2085 use two basic weapon types: autocannons and missiles. Since all weapons use tactical nuclear charges, separate missiles for use against infantry, tanks, and other helicopters are unnecessary. H.01211 Autocannons These weapons are the standard weapons of combat helicopters. They may be used against any target. Autocannons are considered to have enough ammunition to last for an entire game. H.01212 Missile packs These are small groups of fire-and-forget missiles that can be used against any unit. These are obviously one-shot weapons. H.0122 Helicopter defence Each time this option is taken, the helicopter's defence strength is increased by 1. A helicopter can have at most D2. Without this option, a helicopter has D0 - destroyed by any attack! The following chart shows the cost and number of spaces taken up by this option: Helicopter size Spaces Cost Small 1 1 Medium 2 2 Large 3 3 H.0123 Fuel The length of time a helicopter can stay airborne depends upon the relative size of its fuel capacity. Any size of fuel tank is allowed. # spaces fuel Air time (in movement phases) = ------------- x 30 (rounded down) payload size The "Payload size" includes the space taken up by the fuel tank. If a helicopter does not return to its base (see H.02) before it runs out of fuel, it crashes and is destroyed. H.0124 Spaces for infantry squads This option allows the helicopter to carry one infantry squad inside it. There is no limit, other than payload size, on the number of squads that a helicopter can carry. Infantry cannot fire while in a helicopter, and may only be dropped off at the end of the helicopter's first movement phase. They may be picked up at any time during movement, but a squad may only be carried by one helicopter in a turn. If a helicopter carrying infantry is destroyed, the infantry are also destroyed. H.013 Helicopter costs The value of a helicopter is determined by the following formula: Payload size x Speed + Payload cost VP value = ----------------------------------- 5.5 "Speed" is the sum of the helicopter's movement in both phases (e.g. 4/3 is speed 7). The cost in Armour Units, of course, is the VP value divided by six. H.02 Helicopter bases Helicopter bases are CPs with either a adjacent landing field or (if mobile) pad large enough for one helicopter on top. The location of any friendly helicopter bases should be specified in a scenario where helicopters are being used. Normally a player will have only one helicopter base in an area. All helicopters, unless specified by scenario, must begin play at a base. H.021 Refueling and rearming Helicopters which end a movement phase at a base can land. They can then refuel and/or rearm. Each action takes one movement phase to perform, and only one may be performed on a helicopter in a movement phase. For example, if a helicopter lands during its first movement phase it can refuel in the second movement phase and take off at the beginning of the next turn. Any number of helicopters can be rearmed and/or refueled at a time at an immobile base. If the base is a mobile one, only one helicopter can be serviced at a time. Helicopters may only be rearmed if extra missile packs have been bought. H.022 Extra missile packs Extra missile packs can be bought at the beginning of a game by trading in armour units. One armour unit can be traded in for 16 packs of light missiles, 8 packs of heavy missiles, or some combination of the two. H.023 Bases and combat If a base is destroyed, any ordnance at the base and any helicopters which spent their last movement phase at the base are also destroyed. Helicopters may not attack or be attacked while at a base. H.03 Helicopter movement Helicopters pay 1 MP to enter all terrain but towns, which cost 2 MPs for helicopters to enter. Helicopters have doubled defence strengths in town hexes. H.04 Helicopters in combat There are a number of exceptions to the regular combat rules when helicopters are in play. H.041 Firing on helicopters Due to their great speed and agility, attacks on helicopters are usually penalized. All fire except for Ogre missiles and that from SAM vehicles and lasers have their attack strength halved when firing on helicopters. H.0411 SAM vehicles Missile-firing vehicles (e.g. MSL TNKs) can be specially equipped to allow them to fire at full strength at helicopters. This increases the cost of these vehicles by .5 AU (3 VPs). A "missile-firing vehicle" will usually have a range of 4 to 6 hexes and an attack strength of not less than half the vehicle's range. H.0412 Lasers Lasers and laser towers firing at helicopters must take into account their restrictions with firing into and/or through towns, forest, swamp, and rubble because helicopters can hide in or behind such terrain, just like a cruise missile. H.0413 Damage A "D" result against a helicopter does not disable it, but instead damages it. When a helicopter is damaged, roll a die and consult the following chart: Die Degree Roll of damage 1-2 2 3-4 3 5-6 4 The helicopter loses a number of movement points equal to the degree of damage minus the defence strength of the helicopter. Movement is always reduced to leave either an equal movement rate in both phases (e.g. 2/2) or leaving the second movement rate one less than the first (e.g. 2/1). If a helicopter's movement drops to below half its original speed then it is considered so damaged that it crashes. H.0414 Helicopters and cruise missiles Since helicopters are airborne, they use the same table as GEVs for cruise missile effects. Helicopter heavy missiles count as Ogre missiles when used to intercept cruise missiles. H.042 Limited number of targets A helicopter can fire at a maximum of four units each turn. H.043 Overruns In an overrun situation in forest, swamp, or towns, any attacking helicopters automatically have first fire. N.00 New vehicles These new vehicles fulfill a variety of roles which are unfilled in OGRE/GEV. N.01 Vehicle types The new vehicles are: the Scout Tank (SCT TNK), the Heavy Missile Tank (HMSL TNK), the Main Battle GEV (MB GEV), and the Military Infantry Combat Vehicle (MICV). N.011 The Scout Tank The SCT TNK is built on a MSL TNK chassis but with some of the armour removed to increase its speed. Its purpose is to find the enemy and conduct hit-and-run attacks in rugged terrain unsuited for GEVs. The SCT TNK cannot carry infantry. N.012 The Heavy Missile Tank This vehicle is an improved MSL TNK with more missiles, more armour, and a heavier suspension. It combines heavy support fire with fairly good movement. Infantry cannot ride on a HMSL TNK. N.013 The Main Battle GEV The MB GEV is usually found in small numbers in regular tank units. It provides firepower equivalent to a Heavy Tank but can cross rivers and lakes, a capability HVYs lack. The MB GEV cannot carry infantry. N.014 The Military Infantry Combat Vehicle Although the GEV-PC usually provides sound infantry transport, much of the battlefield would be too rough for it to travel through, particularly in heavily wooded areas. The MICV fills this gap. It too can carry three squads of infantry, but only one squad of infantry rides on top of the MICV and can fire, and the other two are carried inside and cannot. The squads carried inside are only destroyed if the MICV is destroyed. N.02 Statistics and values Below are given the summarized statistics and the values of the new units. Name AS RN DS M1 M2 T AU INF SCT TNK 3 4 1 4 0 H 1 0 HMSL TANK 4 4 3 2 0 H 1.5 0 MB GEV 4 2 2 3 1 G 1 0 MICV 3 2 3 3 0 H 1 3 Notes: AS=Attack Strength RN=Range DS=Defence Strength M1=Movement in phase 1 M2=Movement in phase 2 T=Travel mode: H=travels as HVY, G=as GEV AU=Value in armour units INF=Number of infantry squads that can be carried.