Bolt Action - Transports - House Rule???
Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2016 12:45 pm
So, as you are all well aware, transports, especially armoured transports are pretty expensive in BA, don't prevent your troops from being pinned, die if they get near the enemy AND can't fire their guns if they are empty. Is it any wonder then that we don't see many of them on the tabletop? They could make a huge difference to certain missions, mainly the ones where one player has to cross the table and capture objectives/escape from the far edge.
What I would like to propose as a house rule is:
When an infantry squad disembarks from it's transport, it may leave one man behind to act as a gunner for the vehicle. This gunner may not disembark at a later point in time and for all intents and purposes becomes a part of the vehicle's crew. The gunner may only operate the vehicle's primary weapon. Artillery and other units with the Team special rule (e.g. MG Teams, Snipers etc), may not leave a man to act as a gunner. Observers and Medics may not leave a man to act as a gunner as well. (Effectively only infantry squads and junior officer units will be able to use this rule).
A unit may not provide more than 1 gunner per game, even if the original transport is destroyed.
A transport with a gunner follows all the rules for an empty transport except it may still fire it's primary weapon. (i.e. it is still destroyed if it gets too close to the enemy or gets assaulted).
The rationale - It's historically accurate for units to provide a crew for their transport. German Panzergrenadier units had a designated driver and gunner within the unit. When they went into combat the driver and gunner would remain on-board the Hanomag and provide supporting fire. British Bren Carrier sections operated in much the same way. Transports, armoured and otherwise played a big role in WW2, they should be viable units in a game based on the conflict.
What I would like to propose as a house rule is:
When an infantry squad disembarks from it's transport, it may leave one man behind to act as a gunner for the vehicle. This gunner may not disembark at a later point in time and for all intents and purposes becomes a part of the vehicle's crew. The gunner may only operate the vehicle's primary weapon. Artillery and other units with the Team special rule (e.g. MG Teams, Snipers etc), may not leave a man to act as a gunner. Observers and Medics may not leave a man to act as a gunner as well. (Effectively only infantry squads and junior officer units will be able to use this rule).
A unit may not provide more than 1 gunner per game, even if the original transport is destroyed.
A transport with a gunner follows all the rules for an empty transport except it may still fire it's primary weapon. (i.e. it is still destroyed if it gets too close to the enemy or gets assaulted).
The rationale - It's historically accurate for units to provide a crew for their transport. German Panzergrenadier units had a designated driver and gunner within the unit. When they went into combat the driver and gunner would remain on-board the Hanomag and provide supporting fire. British Bren Carrier sections operated in much the same way. Transports, armoured and otherwise played a big role in WW2, they should be viable units in a game based on the conflict.
Could I suggest we also look into adjusting this rule also?