Battlefront WWII
Onboard Artillery
Optional rules
Onboard Artillery
The standard artillery rules specify that the discipline rating (DR) be added as a modifier to any IDF attack resolution conducted by on-board artillery. This leads to some anomalous situations that are seen primarily when the artillery is conducting a mission that is being called by a different unit. Specifically:
- Veteran and Elite units are given an extra +1 just for being on the board. While the a unit's skill would definitely come into play if it is correcting its own fire on a target it can see, it is the skill of the observer which should matter when conducting fire that is being directed by someone else, and this is reflected in the call-for-fire roll rather than the combat resolution. Also, in mega-games, where artillery assets which would normally be off-board appear on the table, giving them the DR modifier to their attack resolution gives them an unwarranted advantage just because the game is large.
- It is unclear what happens when the the units in a on-board battery have different DR numbers - for example if one unit is suppressed while all the rest are in good order.
To address these anomalies, try out the following optional rules:
- Apply the DR rating normally to any IDF attacks from on-board artillery units that are conducting Self Observed fire (p.38).
- Apply only NEGATIVE DR ratings to IDF attacks from on-board artillery that are being called by a separate observer.
- If units from the same battery have different DR and conduct a battery fire mission, either:
- Use the worst modifier that applies (see rule 2 above as well - only negative modifiers are used).
- OR only allow units with the same DR to join in the mission (a 4 mortar battery where one is suppressed would lay 3 templates)
Gamemasters should be aware of the anomalies of onboard artillery and use some of the above options (specify which in the scenario) to address them.