Mass Battle Trial Rules

So far, all the houserules I've presented in my Flash! blog have been to (hopefully) make the game quicker and easier to play at the skirmish level as I feel the current rules fit best in that model count type game. That said.. there will always be people who prefer playing larger games of Heavy Gear (including myself frequently) and I hope that the following will help with that at least partially. One of the strengths of Heavy Gear is the incredible freedom it gives to players compared with other games like Warhammer 40,000. Unfortunately, that freedom also invariably leads to bogging down the game partly at 1000TV+. Any effort to try and streamline the game beyond the already presented rules already presented in the blog will reduce that complete freedom.

Previous FLASH! Rules:  Do NOT use the fireteam squad building variants but rather build your army exactly as presented in your Field Guide; otherwise continue using the other rules like datacards as presented in previous chapters.  The rules below may also be used independently of the previous FLASH! rules as noted below.

Squad Coherency: If a non-infantry squad consists of more than one model, they must be within 3" + 1"x EL (minimum 3") of another model in the squad at the end of the squad's activation. Use the highest EL stat of the models involved. If casulties result in a model becoming out of coherency, you must move that model back into coherency on its next activation. If you are not using my variant stats, you must be within autocomm range of another model in the squad.

Moving/Firing: Upon squad activation, you declare one speed for the entire squad instead of individually per model and each model in the squad must be capable of moving that speed. Use a single movement indicator next to the CGL (or other model if the CGL is dead) instead of one per model. When the first model in your squad is ready to fire, you must declare a single enemy squad as the target for your ENTIRE squad's firing. You may choose any model in that squad as the initial target and your activated models in that squad must fire on that target until it is destroyed. Once it is destroyed, you may select another model in that target squad as the next target until you run out of models in the target squad or your own squad's actions.

Split Fire! (NEW ACTION): If your CGL (or 2iiC if the CGL is dead) declares this action, you may instead declare two speeds and/or two squads as targets of your squads fire. In this case, you must mark the movement individually per model in the squad as per the normal Blitz rules.

ECM: Electronic warfare is tablewide in the mass battle rules and not directed at countering a single enemy action. A model with the ECM trait may declare it is using it as an action. Roll the EW skill (modified by EL) versus a TN 6. If successful, you may add your ECM rating to the target number of any enemy EW tests made. The ECM penalty is cummulative and multiple models may add them together. If no test is required for an EL action due to another rule (like being within a number of inches equal to size to detect an enemy), this penalty has no effect. You may also as a reaction or even pre-emptively declare an action to use defensive ECM as well. In this case, you make the same EW test above and subtract it your ECM rating from any enemy ECM during that turn. If you are not using my variant stat card rules, you instead roll your EW (+/- Comm) to use the table wide counter measures and add your ECM rating for offensive actions or ECCM for defensive actions.

Take the above with even more grains of salt that previous entries as I haven't tried them yet in a real game but rather only in preliminary solo games.  If you try them out, feel free to post the results and your thoughts in the comments.