Command Skill for Combined Action: Revised

[Ning Leihrec]

The RAW says a character can only combine the actions of as many people as they have dice in the command skill. This is stupid. And the RAW also determines difficulty of command rolls based on the skill level of those under him and difficulty of the task. This is also dumb. The skill level of those being commanded is already accounted for in the base dice of the combined action itself, and the difficulty of the task is, of course, represented by the difficulty number. Therefore, the command difficulty should be set based on the number of people combining actions and a modifier representing the groups cohesion & morale (how well/often they work together & the overall mood of the group [are they fed, rested, prepared, inspired]).

Very Easy: 1-10 people
Easy: 11-20 people
Moderate: 21-30 people
Difficult: 31-100 people
Very Difficult: 101-500 people
Heroic: 501-1,000 people

Cohesion & Morale modifiers
High Cohesion: -5 command diff
Moderate Cohesion: -0 command diff
Low Cohesion: +5 command diff
High Morale: -5 command diff
Moderate Morale: -0 command diff
Low Morale: +5 command diff

Combined Action Bonuses:
1-30 people accrue +1 pip per person. A group of 30 gets a +10D bonus.
From 30-100 people the bonuses accrue at a rate of +1 pip per 10 people. A group of 100 gets +12D.
101-1,000 people get +1 pip per 100 people. A group of 1,000 gets +15D.

As a group becomes larger it accrues action bonuses more slowly. Once a group exceeds 30 people it is more efficient to break the group into separate units under several capable commanders. If there are not enough trained commanders available or if the point is to gain the extra action dice from extremely large groups, then a single skilled commander leading hundreds or even thousands of people is necessary.

[Savar]

Looks interesting, need to read the RAW.

[garhkal]

The RAW also says "If a task is very easy and the characters are highly
skilled or experienced, you may even allow a leader to
combine actions for more characters than he has command
skill dice" SO they Can already combine more than his dice # would normally allow.
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[Ning Leihrec]

[Naaman]

In our games, Stormtroopers (but not basic Imperial soldiers) can combine actions in combat without a commander. It helps make them a little more dangerous and adds a bit of significance to an encounter against military troops versus just some common riffraff.

[Ning Leihrec]

That rule makes sense, Naaman, in the context of the RAW for combined actions, because they're weakly written. By revising the rule most leaders of average experience can get groups of 10-20 people of all skill levels to work together, which seems to me to be more realistic and far less limiting than the RAW. I'm sure my mechanic could benefit from tweaks, but I believe it will function better and with fewer necessary exceptions (such as the one needed for stromtroopers) than the RAW.

[Naaman]

Im all for doing what works best for the campaign amd the gamimg group.

In our case, we just treat stormtroopers as "special" compaired to the regular troops (they arent the goofballs we see in the OT, bit rather like the clones in all the more recent stuff such as RotS, TCW, and the other TCW.

Basicaly, even if the leader is killed, the stormtroopers can still work efffectively as a unit.

[Whill]

[Naaman]

It may be a relic or carryover from 1st Ed that survived in our gaming group, though, Ive only ever played using 2RE "officially."

[garhkal]

[Naaman]

That works for me. I might allow trops from the sameelement to combine fire for free, regardless of the size of the element. For example, 3 squads of storm troopers would count as separate units, unless tey were all from the same pltoon, in which case, the could combine.

Keep in mind, though, when working with an element that size, there will be much more than just a couple of targets (bigger than a group of 3 or 4 PCs). So having 30 guys combine fire against one dude is probably never going to happen. 30 guys combining fire against a walker or a low flying starfighter makes some sense.

[Whill]

[Ning Leihrec]

The optional mechanic in Rules of Engagement seems like it's chipping away at the overall problem to me. Namely because it only addresses combined fire when there are all manner of possible combined actions. And I don't think the number of people being coordinated should be unlimited, but it also shouldn't be capped by the number of command dice the leader has. Hence the difficulty levels I laid out. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on the rules I've proposed (how they might be improved / glaring holes) unless I'm the only one who thinks the RAW is lacking.

[garhkal]

[Naaman]