Working on my very own 28mm Sci-Fi ruleset

So, I've been playing with the idea of writting my own ruleset for 28mm sci-fi battles ever since I finished writting Pax Stellarum, which is a ruleset for Space battles.

Recently, as I was away from my paint desk for a couple weeks, due to a work travel, I found myself with too much free time during the evenings, locked at a hotel room, with only bad options on the cable, and so I decided to finally get on to it.

The system is going to be called Para Bellum, and I'll be sharing my initial work on that here on the blog over the next weeks.

Meanwhile, I've dozens of Napoleonic Portuguese to finish, and my Deadzone shipment that just arrived, full of goodies begging to be painted...

MODEL STAT LINE

The basic stat line of any infantry and HQ model is as follows:

• Movement (MVT)
• Shooting (SHT)
• Fighting(FGT)
• Body (BDY)
• Endurance (EDR)
• Discipline(DCP)
• Equipment and Special Rules (E&S)

Movement determines the limit of inches the model can be moved, in any direction, when activated. For infantry, it ranges from 1” to 10”.

Shooting indicates the model’s ability in firing ranged weapons. This stat determines the lowest number the model requires on a D6 to pass a roll to hit. It ranges from 6 to 2+.

Fighting indicates the model’s ability in close combat. It is compared to the enemy’s Fighting stat to determine the to-hit number. It ranges from 1 to 10.

Body determines the model’s physical built, which involves its strength, used in close combat, and its toughness, that is, its resilience to damage. When a model’s Strength is different from its Toughness, it will be indicated under its Special Rules and Equipment. It ranges from 1 to 10.

Body determines the base size for each model. Players should agree on sizes of bases to fit the following categories:

·         BODY 1-3 – small base (suggestion: 25mm base)

·         BODY 4-5 - medium base (suggestion: 40mm base)

·         BODY 6-7 – large base (suggestion: 50mm to 60mm base)

·         BODY 8-9 – very large base (suggestion: 100mm to 150mm base)

·         BODY 10 – Collossal base (suggestion: 200mm to 300mm base)

Endurance indicates the number of damage points the model can sustain before becoming a casualty. It ranges from 1 to 10, with most infantry models having a single Endurance point.

Discipline determines how orderly, self-controlled and organized the unit is. The greater its Discipline, the more effectively it will perform in the battlefield. The model’s value for this stat determines the lowest number the model requires on a D6 to pass a Discipline Check. It ranges from 6 to 2+. Units always take Discipline Checks on the Discipline Stat of their unit leader.

Equipment and Special Rules indicate weapons, armor and any other wargear the model carries, as well as any specific rules it has.

Ex:

Modern Human Soldier (Tech 3)	MVT	SHT	FGT	BDY	EDR	DCP
	5”	4+	3	3	1	5+
	E&S	Combat Armor (Armor 2) M4 Rifle Frag Grenades

TURN SEQUENCE

The game is played in turns. In each Game Turn, players take turns activating each of their units, until they have no more units to activate, or are out of Command points to allocate to unactivated units.

At the beggining of each turn, both players determine their number of Command Points. These are generated by Commanders, heroes, bosses or whatever way they are called. Let’s refer to them simply as HQ’s (Headquarters).

The turn sequence is as follows:

·           Both players determine their number of Command Points;

·           The active player allocates command point(s) to a friendly unit. That unit is then activated to perform up to 2 Short Actions or 1 Long Action;

OR

The Active player activates 1 friendly unit to act on its own Initiative;

·           The other player follows the same procedure;

·           Initiative of play returns to the first player.

A unit can only activate once per Game turn, either to act on its own Initiative or to perform orders received from a HQ.

Once a player is out of units to activate, or out of Command points, the other player resumes activating in sequence all of his units still remaining and in condition to be activated, and then the Game Turn is over. Another Game Turn begins, and the player who finished first on the previous turn is the first active player.