Friday, April 01, 2016

Refining/Extending The Morale Rule

Currently the morale rule reads as follows:
MORALE
Test when a unit loses 25 percent effectiveness or more from firing or loses a melee.
Roll a die. If the following score is not made, remove a further 25 per cent effectiveness.
Elite: 3-6.
Regular: 4-6.
Poor, militia: 5-6.
A general may be attached to any unit. Such a unit adds 1 to a morale throw. The general may switch units but is eliminated if the unit it is with is eliminated.
A unit adds 1 to its morale throw if it has a friendly unit directly behind and able to reach it in two turns by normal movement (such a friendly unit can only give support to one unit). Exception: light infantry and artillery units cannot give support in this way.


There is also this related rule under melees:
After a round of meleeing, the unit suffering the most hits, including any inflicted by firing, retreats a full move - with the usual possible distance-variation adjustment - and ends the move with its back to the enemy. A tie results in another round of meleeing on the following turn.
A retreating unit is eliminated if its retreat is obstructed by another unit that is not light infantry or artillery.
If the blocking unit is friendly, it must take a morale test, unless it is cavalry retreated into by infantry.


I am now adding the following to the rules for firing (musketry and artillery):
A unit that loses 25 percent or more effectiveness from firing, and fails the resulting morale test, retreats a full move - with the usual possible distance-variation adjustment - and ends the move with its back to the enemy. Exception: not applicable if an enemy unit with which fire has been exchanged also loses effectiveness and fails a morale test.
A retreating unit is eliminated if its retreat is obstructed by another unit that is not light infantry or artillery.
If the blocking unit is friendly, it must take a morale test, unless it is cavalry retreated into by infantry.


Further, I am adding this:
A retreating unit will be diced for at the start of each move of retreat, needing a 5 or better to return to normal action. A general present with the unit adds 1 to the die throw.
Note that elite units are treated the same as other units - if they broke in the first place, something very serious must have happened to them.

The effect of this rule will be to reduce the gaping holes bereft of troops that appear too frequently on the table.

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