State of Rule
Time for a brief update on the state of the rules for Heavy Gear and Jovian Wars.
I have been working on an update that is more of a house cleaning and errata set of rules though there are some notable additions.
The most difficult issue with a rules update at this point is identifying the critical issues. The most important items to deal with are in order:
1) Required errata. This is stuff that is just plain wrong or worded awkwardly in the rules. Contradictory or unclear wording needs to be fixed.
2) Errors in the model stats. It happens. It needs to get fixed.
3) Re balancing Threat point Values (TV). Experience and many many game reports informs that some models are just a bargain for the points. The risk of this is that there are a lot of possible biases that can occur in this process. Differences in table set ups, experience of players, composition of armies, etc. There is a lot to consider but evidence often mounts over time that leads to a simple conclusion.
4) Updating rules: Some rules were not written as well as they could be. A rules update is a chance to fix issues completely without patching them.
5) Rules Additions: A rules addition can happen. Someone suggests a change or something new that improves the rules. The new Patch Up action for models with the Medic trait are an example of this:
Add: “Patch Up (action): A Medic Model may spend an action to remove one point of damage from a friendly infantry unit within 3”. This action may only be used on Infantry units with an Infantry Movement type (I:X”) of 5” or less.
[AP:X] Armor Piercing:X: Weapons with AP:X that hit a target with a MOS of 0 resolve damage normally. If target Armor Rating is greater than the Penetration rating of the weapon then the AP:X trait will do up to X damage that does not exceed the margin of success of the attack. Against targets with an Armor Rating equal to or less than the Penetration rating of the weapon add X to the PEN of the weapon. Example: A PEN:7 AP:2 weapon hits a target with AR:12 with MOS:3. Normal damage resolution would result in zero damage but the AP:2 trait will cause 2 damage. Example 2: An AP:2 weapon with PEN 7 hits a target with AR:6. The weapon counts as PEN:9 for damage resolution.
This change also requires a small adjustment to some AP values:
anti-vehicle Rocket Pack: Delete: AE:4, Add Split:2, AP1. Delete: Ballistic.
Combat Weapon: Add Parry:2
Railgun: Change AP:2/4/6 to AP:2/3/4
Shaped Explosives: Change AP:2/3/4 to AP:4.
Spike Gun: Change PEN to 5/6/7. Change AP:2/4/6 to AP:3.
Vibroblade: Change PEN to 5/7/9. Change AP:1/3/5 to AP:2. Add Parry:1
Note that the change to the *RP weapon is pretty drastic. It is simply a case of the gears needing a weapon that can damage larger vehicles at range without becoming the default weapon. Also the sheer time it took to resolve all the AE attacks was a negative.
[Parry:X] Parry:X: Melee attacks targeting this model from the front arc diminish the Pilot skill of the attacker by X to a minimum of 6+. Example: A model with Pi:4+ attacks a model with a Parry:1 weapon from the front. The attack is resolved with a Pi:5+.