Movement: Take 2

M. Samsonov. Battle Reconnaissance Group

SandWyrm here. Time to take a another crack at those overly complicated movement rules. :)

(Edits In White)

Moving Models


Models Always Move In Units

All models in the game will belong to a unit, even if a particular unit consists of only one model.

Command Radius

Each unit's leader has a Command Radius, in inches, equal to double the unit's Leadership (Ld) characteristic. Every model in a unit that intends to move must either end it's move within the Command Radius of the unit's leader or make a Regrouping Move (see below).

Models which do not move do not have to remain within the leader's Command Radius.

Unit Coherency

Each model in a unit must remain within a certain distance of at least one other model in that unit. This distance is called a unit's Coherency. A unit's Coherency is equal to it's Ld Characteristic.

The Leader Always Moves First

The Leader of a unit is always the first model to move. If a unit's leader has been killed, then the unit itself may not move at all, although it may still Dig-In, Shoot, or perform other actions.

Swarms Have No Leader

A unit with the 'Swarm' rule has no defined leader. Instead, the unit's leader is chosen by it's owning player from amongst all surviving models at the beginning of the unit's movement for that turn.

Combat Tactics

A unit with the 'Combat Tactics' rule has been fully briefed on the details of the engagement and will know what to do even if the unit's original leader is killed. If the unit's leader is slain, simply swap any other surviving model in the unit with the original leader model.

Moving A Unit

To move a unit, you first select the unit's leader and make note of which models in the unit are within the leader's Command Radius. For infantry, simply turning the In-Command models to face inward, and the Out-Of-Command models to face outward should make it clear later which models are in command and which are not.

After determining which models are in command, you will then move the unit's leader a certain number of inches. You then move the unit's models which started the phase In-Command so that they are both within the leader's command radius and are in coherency with at least one other model in the unit that has already moved.

How far the leader, and unit as a whole, is able to move will depend on the unit's Movement (Mv) characteristic and the type of move you wish to make. There are 4 different types of movement in M42.

1. Halt
2. Advance
3. At-The-Double
4. Dig-In

A Halt move represents a unit pausing to regroup and organize itself around it's leader. In a Halt, the leader does not move, but the other models in the unit may move around or regroup towards the leader.

An Advance move allows the unit leader to move, in inches, a distance equal to or less than the unit's Movement (Mv) characteristic. This represents a typical movement situation, where the models in the unit are moving cautiously and using the local terrain to shield themselves as best they can from enemy fire. A unit performing an Advance move may shoot in it's following Shooting Phase, but will suffer a -1 penalty to it's Ballistic Skill (BS).

An At-The-Double move represents an all-out effort to cover ground quickly. When moving At-The-Double, a unit may move up to double it's Mv characteristic. However, the unit is sacrificing caution for speed and therefore will suffer a penalty of -1 to it's Evasion (Ev) characteristic. A unit moving At-The-Double may not fire it's weapons in it's following shooting phase.

A Dig-In move is a static move, where the unit does it's best to improve the defensive qualities of the position it's holding. A unit performing a Dig-In move may not move any of it's models and may not fire at all during it's following shooting phase. But will gain a +1 bonus to it's Toughness (To) characteristic to represent it's improved defenses. This bonus is not cumulative over multiple turns and will only apply to hits from enemy shooting, not assaults.

Regardless of the type of move selected, no model in a unit may come any closer than 2" to any enemy model during any part of it's move from it's starting point to it's ending location; unless the unit's leader has first initiated an assault (see below).

Moving Leaders Must Start In Command

For a unit leader to perform an Advance or an At-The-Double move, the leader model must have at least half of the total surviving models in the unit within his Command Radius. If a unit leader does not have at least half of his surviving models within his Command Radius, the unit may only Halt or Dig-In.

Regrouping Out Of Command Models

Every moving model in a unit must remain within the Command Radius of the unit's leader at the end of their movement. However, non-moving models in the unit do not have to remain within the Command Radius of the unit's leader.

This rule allows units comprised of vehicles to move, even when some of their vehicles are stunned and unable to follow the unit's leader. It also allows infantry units to 'Drop Off' heavy weapons teams to cover their advance as the rest of the unit moves forward.

Any models in a unit that start the movement phase outside of the leader's command radius may either remain where they are, or they may perform a regrouping move towards the unit's leader.

In a regrouping move, you must individually measure the movement for each model that is attempting to rejoin the leader. These models may move no further than the unit's Mv characteristic in inches, regardless of the type of move performed by the unit's leader. In addition, they must move as directly as possible towards the unit's leader. If the most direct route to the leader is blocked by either enemy troops or dangerous/impassible terrain, then divert the regrouping models the minimum distance needed to avoid these obstacles. Out of Command models that start the movement phase within 12" of enemy troops may not attempt to regroup.

Moving Into Assault

To initiate an assault, a unit's leader must perform either an Advance or an At-The-Double move that brings it into base-to-base contact with at least one model in an enemy unit.

Enemy units which are assaulted will usually get a chance to conduct Defensive Fire at the End of the assaulting player's shooting phase.

(End Draft)

Thoughts?