Last update 8 April 04

FIGHTING ON STATIONS / PLANETSIDE

On occasions, the marines have to fight on board the orbital space ports to be found at all colonies.  These are large spinning cylinders, and have both gravity (caused by the spin) and atmosphere.  This requires some amendments to the main rules.

1. Movement is reduced as in the following table

2. Grenades have a maximum range of 20 inches, and a -1 on accuracy die rolls.
3. APGW have a maximum range of 18 inches.
4. Wirepod has a 1 in 6 chance of faulty deployment due to coriolis forces.
5. Spacefoam only deploys up to half the height of a corridor.
6.  There is a maximum range to direct fire weapons caused by the 'horizon' of the curved deck.  This will vary according to the size of the station, and the deck number you are on.  The umpire will rule as appropriate.

UNDERWATER:  

1. Movement: TRUCs cannot move effectively (they need to be towed by a marine).  Movement speeds as under 1g.
2. APGW and Grenades cannot be used.
3. Spacefoam can't deploy.
4. Wirepod has a 2 in 6 chance of failing to deploy properly.
5. Maximum range of energy weapons of 15"

Otherwise everything is as before.

CASUALTIES

Marine casualties are usually either a ‘suit kill’ in which the occupant survives, or a ‘marine kill’ where the marine inside is killed.

Damage to a suit sufficient to inflice a serious wound on the marine would be sufficient ot breach the suit - and in a vacuum this would kill the marine anyway. So, marines that surivive in a suit kill, are much more likely to only have a minor wound or no serious injury at all.

+1 if they can be brought to a ship's sickbay and doctor within an hour of the hit (see also hospital ships rule below)

For each armoured marine casualty roll 1d6

For each spacesuited casualty roll 1d6

In the case of a minor wound, roll 3xd10 and add the scores for the number of days that the person is unfit for combat duty.  

Serious wounds mean that the marine will live, but no longer be fit for duty.  They will be invalided out of the service when you reach the next base / colony.

LOST EQUIPMENT

In most cases, the marines have access to repair facilities for damaged armour and weapons.  Where this is not readily available - such as during a prolonged detatched operation, it is necessary to know what damage the 'suit kill' did to the suit.  In addition, combat robots can be recoverd because slight damage on a critical system can cause the robot to be knocked out for the duration of the battle - but still fixed afterwards.

For each casualty - irrespective of the injuries to the occupant - roll 1d6 for each suit of armour/spacesuit.

For ease of record keeping, the weapon is included with the suit/robot.  Ammo  (i.e. demo charges and grenades) is always recovered.

HOSPITAL SHIPS

If a casualty can be brought aboard a specialised hospital ship within 15 minutes (90 turns), then apply this to any that roll 'killed'  or 'serious wound' on the above tables.

Roll 1d6 again for each killed or serious wounded, read off the score in the table below:

FIGHTING WHILST WOUNDED

It is possible for marines recovering from a minor wound to be thrust back into action in an emergency.  They will, of course be much less effective.  Any further injuries are, of course added to the existing injuries.

EFFECT OF FIGHTING WHEN WOUNDED.

Only marines with less than 15 days to go of recovery time can fight at all.

1. Wounded marines have the same reaction speed as crew
2. Wounded marines move at half speed
3. Wounded marines are easier to hit - +1 on any incoming fire
4. Wounded marines can't shoot straight -2 on any outgoing fire.
5. Wounded marines can't throw straight - all grenades count as indirect

Wounded Marines must be clearly marked.

MARINE EXPERIENCE

Combat experience is important to marines, even though they already start at a peak of training and efficiency, they get better as a result of real combat experience.

We reflect experience as the regiment’s marines indulge in more combat. It also allows us to distinguish between veterans and drafts of novices just joining the regiment from the depot.

There are, at present, 4 classes:

Class	Description	Effect on rules	Colour (2)
Novice	Fresh out of the training depot. No combat experience.	-1 on direct fire. -1 on grenade accuracy roll. Counts as crewman on order of fire rule.	Green
Experienced	Fought at least one action(1)	All standard rules apply. This is the baseline.	No sticker
Seasoned	Fought at least 10 actions	+1 on grenade accuracy and SCA direct fire roll (not APGW).	Yellow
Veteran	Fought at least 20 actions	VETERAN : +1 on ALL die rolls. Fire before combat robots and other marines in order of fire. Counts as dissapearing target at all times (= harder to hit)	Red

(1) Fighting an action is defined as being in a squad that has boarded a hostile ship and fired its weapons in anger.

(2) We use small coloured stickers on the marine figure's base to indicate experience.

Being wounded in action counts as 2 actions for the above.

Non-Marine Experience

Non-marines (such as pirates and combat crew) can gain experience in combat, but they start off at a lower base, and gain benefits much more slowly.

Class	Description	Effect on rules	Colour (2)
Raw	First time in space armour	Counts as non-combatant in rules.	White
Novice	Only a bit of combat experience	-1 on direct fire. -1 on grenade accuracy roll. Counts as crewman on order of fire rule.	Green
Experienced	Fought at least 5 actions	All standard rules apply.	No sticker
Seasoned	Fought at least 15 actions	+1 on grenade accuracy and SCA direct fire roll (not APGW). +1 on Morale rolls	Yellow
Veteran	Fought at least 30 actions	+1 on grenade accuracy and SCA direct fire roll (not APGW). Does not need to take morale rolls.	Red

LOGISTICS

There are rules on logistics in the standard set.  Some items are not listed there - this is the complete list of stores and pallet loadings.

To keep it simple, each pallet may only contain a single type of ammunition/supply.

• The contents of a pallet CANNOT be intermixed

A man can carry 1 pallet at half speed (or 2 men at normal speed).

In gravity/Underwater: 2 men must carry a pallet, at half speed.  If there is space, four men can carry a pallet at normal speed.

ADDITIONAL TROOP TYPES

Close Support Marine:  Marine with a modified APGW launcher attached to their armour.  The Marine has to give up a personal weapon (and therefore cannot 'paint' targets) and grenades / demo charges.  Otherwise rules as before.  The manpack APGW unit can carry only 6 missiles per man.

Fusilier Robot:  Armoured combat robot equipped with an SCAIII.  As an armoured target only takes one hit to kill.

Additional Weapons and Equipment

WirePod™:A man portable unit that acts as a corridor blocking unit. The 2 metre high end pieces deploy explosively to opposite sides of a corridor, and deploy between them an array of monofilment razor wire.

Employment: The barrier provides no effective obstacle to SCA or APGW fire, but prevent all movement of larger bodies such as men or robots. Works on corridors 3" wide or less with near-parallel facing walls (+5 degrees).
The WirePod™ takes one turn to place against one wall (in firing phase), and is then command deployed the following turn (or later), the barrier becoming fully effective at the end of the turn.
The WirePod™ unit can be man carried (no other actions are possible) at normal speed. It will also fit on a standard ammunition carrying robot, occupying a full pallet load.

The unit can be destroyed by close range SCA fire or a demo charge or APGW fire. Treat as equivalent to a door.

SpaceFoam™ : A development of the standard planetside police store RiotFoam™, modified for marine operations. This is a dispenser of fast-hardening foam that fills a space up to 3" across with a temporary obstacle. The version of foam used is optimised for zero-G vacuum operations.

SpaceFoam Dispensers take one turn to deploy (in firing phase), and then are command activated.
The foam takes one complete turn to deploy and the barrier is fully effective by the end of the turn.
Foam dispensers are quite large, and can be marine portable with little effect on mobility. They comprise a full pallet load for logistic purposes.

SpaceFoam can be dissolved by a specific solvent, which can be deployed by a man-pack spray gun. It takes 2 turns to remove the obstacle by close range spraying.
The foam can be destroyed by SCA fire, APGW or demo charges, taking two hits to fully remove the obstacle. SpaceFoam takes damage like a ship's door.