Updates and Coordinated Attacks

After my recent Flash! demo game as well as after hearing some feedback on the matter from Cutnose, I've gone ahead and switched back the attack modifiers and cover system back to the way it is in blitz as well as removed the +1/-1 modifier for EW/LD tests based on speed.  I was frankly hesitant about that last part without trying full specialized recon units but I worried about it the more I thought about it.  As with changing the firing bonuses, I kept thinking that players would opt to stay put for an additional +1 rather than maneuvering to lessen the amounts of cover bonus to the target number by 1.  Initially I thought that removing the in the open cover state and increasing firing range bonuses would increase the lethality of the game but it instead caused the game to keep the same lethality only moved from optimal to suboptimal range; I can see the same thing happening if I encourage staying being stationary for EW events as well.  Since this is the first time I'm updating a large part of the blog, I figured I'd list the format I'll be using.  I'll detail the individual changes and reasons in the regular blog posts like this but just delete/change them in the formal sections that I've listed under the Table of Contents to the right of this post.

Now, on to the new stuff.  Another interesting issue brought up during the last game was that the lack of coordinating fire use.  Neither my opponent nor I used the rule during the entire game.  Part of the reason likely was that my demo squads had upgraded weapons on the CGLs which normally neither of us use.  Another more subconscious reason is likely that the smaller squad size decreases the end effectiveness of the coordinated fire action.  In normal Blitz, you give up one (usually mediocre) action of firing by the CGL to give 4 other models in the gear squad a benefit.  If you decrease that total number down to 3 as I have, the mental math doesn't necessarily work out as well.

There are several ways to approach this.  One would be to do nothing and simply use the lessened coordinated fire action sparingly.  The second would be to create a separate "free action" that CGLs and 2iC models can  once a turn that doesn't take up an action of their own with either no penalty or a -1 penalty to all actions as per the original Blitz and RPG rules.  The final route (and the one I've decided to go with) is to incorporate the coordinated fire rules into another action so that the model may still do something else that turn as well.

Coordinated Attack: A CGL (or 2iC if the CGL is dead) may nominate the target of his successful FO with the additional effects listed under Coordinated Attack in the Field Manual at no additional action cost.  While any friendly model may use the FO as per the normal rules, only models from the same fire team/section as the CGL may benefit from the coordinated attack effect.  Coordinated Attack may still be used as written in the Field Manual as an independent action, gaining the ability to still work if blocked by ECM within 3" + EL.

As always, feel free to comment.