http://www.miniforums.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=263 Army Structure Rules for VOID 1.1 Tourney Play Ben Brownlie - Tue Dec 23, 2003 9:39 am Good day. Here are the rules for army structure to be used with official tournament play and some reasoning behind what is being done. This is still work in process (although very nearly completed) but we would like to at least show you some of what we are doing before this is finally polished and released officially sometime next month. Your (constructive) comments would be very much appreciated for which i will start another thread - Thank you Overview and Introduction: Throughout the evolution if the VOID 1.1 universe we have tried to preserve as even a keel as possible between the forces on the battlefield as this is not only important for the enjoyment of the game over all but also for as and when official events such as tournaments, leagues and official campaigns are run. It is clearly understood that variation is an important part of the game but balance is more so and we have become ever more aware of the impracticalities of maintaining a ?free for all? style army plan. A system in where an army of suicide bombers can try to take out an army of mortars may well be fun but there is something fundamentally wrong with the randomness in which armies may appear. In the real world when nations ready for war they don?t put all of their eggs in one basket as they cannot know all of what they will find and although some scenarios will call for certain forces to act, they will deploy their standard infantry many times more often than their highly trained specialists. Some balance is needed in a force and as a reflection of this, whilst we encourage inventive play and accept that in friendly games anything agreed upon by the players should go, when it comes to competitive play and tournaments things need to be a little more structured and formalised. As a result, when you create your VOID 1.1 army for competitive games there are certain guidelines that should be followed. These rules are still in progress but are very much down the line. Please take them as the official Army Composition rules for tournament play. What this all means for the player and what we have to look forward to: Well, for many players this will mean a reorganisation of their forces to some degree or another, but great care and attention has been taken to ensure that the structure of this project remains not only solid and balanced, but also as flexible as possible. Yes some armies will need juggling and yes some armies will become unplayable without serious reconsiderations, but in light of what we aim to do this is unavoidable and for this we can only apologise. The upside is that this system of army construction should make a much more balanced environment for competitive games to be played as well as providing some sort of template for new VOID gamers to decide what troops they will need or indeed those experienced players looking at developing another force. The other advantage of this system is that it also becomes easier for us to focus our attentions on the creation of new forces, whether they are splinter armies from the main factions such as a Pirate Syndicate or a Suppressor Rapid Response Force or completely new armies and races altogether. It is a framework and guideline for us to work around as much as it is for you. This format will also allow us to easily insert new troop types as from now on any further troop types released will be classed not only by its structure but also by its unit type. Eventually named characters will have less of a place in tournament play as generic characters are crated in their stead. Again we now have somewhere to give them a home when they are ready. - - - - - THE RULES: ### Unit Types: To give some structure to the method of army construction the various troops types found within the Force Books (and subsequent publications) have been split into four main categories depending on both their level of ability and their abundance within the forces they fight for. These four categories are - Basic Troops. These represent the core units available to your chosen army. They are plentiful and will usually form the bulk of any army. - Support Units. As the name suggests these are the units that support your basic troops. They have superior training to the basic troops and/or more specialised equipment. - Heavy Units. This title encompasses most types of vehicles, Mechs and heavy artillery. - Special Forces Units. These are the crème de la crème of your army, your elite warriors with the finest equipment and highest levels of training and clearance or your officers and leaders of renown. In addition to the armies being split into sections the other main difference in competitive army selection is the appointment of your Leader. The rules covering the benefits and restrictions applying for Leaders will be covered later, in the meantime suffice to say that an individual or squad leader in your army must be assigned as the force?s ?Leader?, options on who may lead your army depends on the force in question. ### Ratios: There are very few rules in regards to troop type limitations in the game. Points limits (other than the overall points limit for the entire army) are not a consideration and neither are percentages of the total. All you have to follow to have a Tourney legal army is the following basic layout: Your army must contain a minimum of two Basic Units. That is the only minimum requirement there is. Depending on the points that you have left to spend on your force, for each Basic Unit in your army you may purchase a Support Unit, for each two Basic Units in your force you may purchase a Heavy Unit and you may purchase a Special Forces Unit. (There may be further special faction or troop type specific rules depending on the army you choose such as designated troop transports or internally restrictive ratios but they will be dealt with as and when they arise) As an example of this an army may for 3 basic units, 3 Support Units, 1 Heavy Unit and 1 Special Forces ......# of..........# of................# of.............# of Basic Units..Support Units..Heavy Units..Special Forces (Min) 2...........0-2..................0-1................0-1 ........3...........0-3..................0-1................0-1 ........4...........0-4..................0-2................0-2 ........5...........0-5..................0-2................0-2 ........6...........0-6..................0-3................0-3 ......+1...........+1..........+1 per 2 Basic....+1 per two Basic ### Leaders: As mentioned above, once you have decided what units you will have in your force, one of these units will need to be nominated as the forces Leader. The leader of the force can take any form from an iron hearted Lictor controlling his penal legions, to a Biomechanoid leading a research incursion, to a junior Officer mixing it in the front ranks of his forces, to a forward recon unit leader calling in the support and anything in between. The Leader appointment can be given to any Individual or to any Squad Leader model (i.e. a squad?s Sergeant, Decurion, Alpha etc.). In the case of the Leader being attached to a squad then models need to be with LOS and 6? of the Leader?s Squad rather than just the Leader model itself in order to be effected by the following special rules. The Benefits of Leadership: A leader is a figure that the common soldiery and the elites should look up to with equal respect and their very presence can inspire greater acts of courage and determination from those in their service and the following rules apply: - Any friendly unit within 6? and LOS of the Leader automatically uses the Leader?s base CD stat for all Morale based tests including Rally, Sole Survivor and loss of combat tests, provided that the Leader itself is not in a state of panic regardless of whether it is higher, lower or the same as the troopers own CD. All other applicable modifiers that the friendly unit normally has still apply and unless the unit in question is the Leader?s unit then it uses its own special skills, not those of the Leader. - Any friendly unit within 6? and LOS of the force?s Leader, including the Leader?s own squad if applicable, gains +1 to any Morale, Sole Survivor, Rally or loss of combat test that they are called upon to make in addition to any other modifiers they already have, provided that the Leader itself is not currently in a state of Panic. - Any such units other than the Leaders squad will, if they fail a panic test whilst within the Leaders 6? and LOS radius, suffer the effects of Shaken instead of Panic, provided that the Leader itself is not currently in a state of Panic. - Units already in a state of panic prior to being within 6? and LOS of the Leader still count as being panicked but get a +1 on their rally roll as above, provided that the Leader itself is not currently in a state of Panic. The Responsibilities of Leadership: Obviously a figure held in such high regard by its troops will have an adverse effect on army morale if anything untoward should happen. Those in close proximity to the leader will react badly to such circumstances and the following rules apply: - Any friendly unit within 6? and LOS of the Leader when it is in a state of panic must make a morale test at -1 at the end of their next activation or become panicked, unless they are in close combat in which case they must take any lost combat morale check, if applicable, at -1 instead. If the Leader recovers from panic before the unit?s next activation then the test is unnecessary. Models that are immune to panic are immune to this effect. - Any friendly unit, including the Leader?s own unit if applicable, that is within 6? and LOS of the Leader when it dies must pass an unmodified CD test on their next activation in order to do anything at all. If they pass they may act as normal, if they fail then they may only carry out move orders unless in close combat in which case they may attempt to break off or defend themselves, but not attack. This effect is only for the single activation and no unit need test more than once. Please note that even models that are normally immune to panic must test for this. The Cost of Leadership: Obviously the benefits of a Leader come at a cost and it is at this stage that one should decide carefully as to whom to appoint should the choice arise. Would your force benefit from a chivalric front line leadership mixing it up with the enemy? Or would a calculating field officer be more in keeping with your plans. Whichever model you choose it will convey mostly beneficial effects upon your battle force and as a result the cost of that model will rise. The following rule applies: - Whichever model is nominated as the force?s leader costs half again its normal points cost rounding fractions down, so for example a Viridian Assault Marine Sergeant made ?Leader? would cost 21 x 1.5 = 30.5 points which is rounded down to 30 points. In the case of customisable Leaders multiply the base cost by 1.5 and then add extra equipment and upgrades afterwards. ### Current Faction Unit Classification: Viridian Forces: - Basic Troops: Marines, Commandos, Assault Marines, Commando Scouts - Support Units: Marine Support Battery, Commando Support Team, Interdict Marines, Gauss Cannon, Cynoraptors, Pteroraptors - Heavy Units: Behemoth, Terrasaurs, Jaguars - Special Forces: Strike Commandos, Shock Marines, Fenrir Assault Marines - Leader Options: Any non-Heavy Unit Individual or Squad Leader may be nominated as the force?s leader. Junker Forces: - Basic Troops: Legionaries, Lancers, Grenadiers - Support Units: Suicide Bombers, Sandrunners, Dune Raiders, Lictors* - Heavy Units: Salamander Field Gun, Marauders, Suicide Bikers, Praetorians - Special Forces: Berserkers, Exo Suits, Centurions*, Legion Standards*, Censors*, Praetors*, Tribunes* - Leader Options: Any non-Heavy Unit Individual or Squad Leader may be nominated as the force?s leader, however if there are any generic characters such as Lictors, Praetors, Centurions etc. or named Characters within the force then one of them must be nominated as the force?s Leader. Further if there are any Censors present then a Lictor may not be nominated as Leader and if there are any Praetors present in the army then a Tribune may not be nominated as Leader. Syntha Forces: - Basic Troops: Standard Marines, Prosthenes, Assault Androsynths - Support Units: Tactical Androsynths, Assault Teratosynths, 2000 Series Grav Bikes - Heavy Units: Cyclops Grav Tanks, Macrosynths - Special Forces: Tactical Teratosynths, Biomechs* - Leader Options: Any non-Heavy Unit Individual or Squad Leader may be nominated as the force?s leader. If a Biomech is nominated as Leader then the title must be given to the highest level Biomech in the force. VASA Forces: - Basic Troops: Marines, Suppressors, (Designated Ronin**), Militia - Support Units: Archangels, Viper Wings - Heavy Units: Birds of Prey, Ronin - Special Forces: Black Legion, Shuriken Guard, Meta Knights* - Leader Options: Any non-Heavy Unit Individual or Squad Leader may be nominated as the force?s leader. If a Meta Knight is nominated as Leader then the title must go to the most senior Knight in the force. Independent Colonial Forces: - Basic Troops: Light Infantry, Regular Infantry, (Designated TAV APC**), Militia, Urban Gangs - Support Units: Androsynths, Support Battery, Road - Gangs, Striders, Penal Conscripts - Heavy Units: Skybolt Incursion Cruiser, TAV Decimator, Tiger APC - Special Forces: Sniper Team, Special Operations, Storm Rangers, Officers* - Leader Options: Any non-Heavy Unit Individual or Squad Leader may be nominated as the force?s leader, however if the force contains any Officers then the highest ranking Officer in the force must be nominated as the Leader Koralon Forces: - Basic Troops: Araktons, AraktoBrood, Larvan Hybrids, Skull Swarms - Support Units: Larvan, Brood, Phazon Hybrid, Harpikons - Heavy Units: Hydra, Spider Tank - Special Forces: Phazon, Brood Master Leader Options: Koralon work in an alien way to the human mind and their Leader is always set in a formulaic manner. If there is a Brood Master present then it will always be the leader, failing that the hierarchy descends as follows: Phazon, Larvan, Phazon Hybrid, Brood, Larvan Hybrid, Arakto Brood, Arakton, Harpikon. An army must contain at least one of these units and the highest ranking present will be the Leader. * Special and/or Generic Characters will always take up a Special Forces slot unless they are included as part of a unit, in which case they do not take up a slot of their own at all. Do however bear in mind the golden rule governing Individual : Squad ratios i.e. that you cannot have more than one individual per one squad in your army ** Vehicle?s bought as a designated transport may only transport the unit that is was purchased with and it may not carry other units. The vehicle so purchased does not count as either a basic troop choice or as a heavy unit but as a part of the purchasing unit as far as army organisation is concerned. However in game play terms it counts as a separate unit as far as both activation and unit coherency are concerned.