You know, I rather like squads because you can simply attach a bunch of dudes to a little plate and move that whole unit around without thinking about it too hard - that's something I'd like to see preserved. But we're not here to talk about squad combat.
stubby wrote:6. An Officer unit. This guy will be pretty common, not limited by Ego the way Heroes are; his job is to hand out those kinds of inspiration bonuses automatically. The current plan is that any Squad with at least one Officer will get a +1 die size Skill boost to everyone in the Squad automatically, up to 1d8. But this could be more varied - maybe they can choose between a +1 Skill size, a +2" Move, a +1 Momentum, etc. Maybe any Squad with an Officer gets an Instant Benny every turn, although those are better suited for individuals than for squads.
I like it, and currently play with these: works fine to me. I don't know about the alternate bonuses: while they're cool, I think having more than 3 of them delves into "here's a big list of bonuses we're going to 'allow' you to have" territory. Instant Benny doesn't quite sit right with me.
stubby wrote:7. A Leader unit. As opposed to Officers, this role will be exclusive - only one guy can be Leader at any time, although maybe there would be ways to pass on the role if a Leader is killed. His job would be to hand out the kinds of general inspiration bonuses that we're currently getting from Heroic Feats, available to anyone, not just his own squad. He would be able to grant inspiration to one action per turn, but there's no limit to how many units might participate in that one action; this makes a Leader's bonus most effective when applied to a bunch of people working together rather than an individual action. (Examples: Everybody fire on that entry hatch, everyone brace for impact, everyone double-time it to the latrines, etc.) I don't like idea of making a new class of Leadership Feats - it just sits wrong with me for some reason - but that might be an option; I would also look at granting Blessing-style rerolls.
Right now, most brikwars players just use their hero as their leader. This idea's really cool, but I think calling this guy a "leader" would just confuse people - that's still your hero's job since he's clearly the most badass. Instead, what about a "Commander" (not to be confused with Commando)? I think that the "one action" should be applicable to the whole army whenever possible ("move towards the enemy objective, board all transports, attack the giant lobster"), but would have to be more specific than "attack the enemy."
That said, I like the Brikwars philosophy that while officers and commanders hold the leadership roles on the field, it's still the heroes that call all the shots. Giving a commander any better than 1d8 skill would be inadvisable: 1d6 may even be more appropriate. What other stats would you consider for a Commander? Officer stats? Minifig stats?
stubby wrote:8. A Banner equipment item that serves to inspire nearby units, either within a certain range or within the squad that posesses it. Any inspiring symbol will do; holy relics, artifakt weapons, giant drums, whatever. These would be much more likely tied to specific bonuses - a trumpet of +1d6 attack damage, an icon of +1d6 Armor, a Leonidas's Mom of +1 Skill, etc. The bonuses are handy but, because it's an equipment item, it can be stolen and then you get the equivalent penalty when your enemies parade it around all desecrated or whatever.
Hell yes. My vote's for them to benefit squads, but only if forming up as a squad doesn't cost an action and is just stupidly easy to do. I know the original intention of the action cost was to speed up the game, but recently I've discovered that players shouting "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT COSTS AN ACTION" slows it right back down, along with debating whether or not it's worth the action. No penalty means no question, which means the game goes on.
Colette wrote:There should be a politician/diplomat stat card, for people who do order withdrawing from combat safely, negotiating more diplomatically, and surrendering more sweetly.
What are you, french?
A diplomat working off of the same principle as the alliance/betrayal dice pool is hilarious though. Give him +1d6 every turn, and treat his d6 like a curse that affects all friendly units' skill as long as he's alive and filibustering. Heroic and Professional minifigs are unburdened by the politikal red tape, but most common minifigs with 1d6 skill suffer negatively from the bureaucratic blunders.