Fireteam Andromeda
Something old, something new, something
borrowed, something blue...
Add up to a rather good set of sci-fi rules
apparently. Let me explain. I was attracted to this rules system by the
advertising blurb which promised that it would "easily handle 50 infantry
models and 15 vehicle models a side in a two hour time frame". I thought this to be an entirely outlandish
claim but in fact it is a very fast system and although I am not there yet I
can see myself having games of this size in around this period of time.
I bought the PDF so can't comment on the
quality of the physical product. I do
have to say I really like the lay out with it's blue section headings. Some may miss a more professionally
illustrated product but personally I love the high legibility even when reading
on a 7" tablet. It is very well
laid out, not skimping on space. Don't
forget to download the free quick reference sheet. Again this is superbly produced document
meaning it will be a rare occasion you need to refer to the main rules after a
few games.
The rules are 92 pages long and breakdown
as follows. P1-P41 rules, P42-46 scenarios, P47-73 army construction, P75-78
weapon charts, P79-90 background fluff and sample army lists, pages 91-92
appendix and blast templates.
I do have to admit that I gave up on my
first two attempts to read the rules.
There are active units, command points, command ratings, shared
activations, active commands, reactive commands, it all seemed a baffling
mess. Then it clicked, once you get the
command and control system, you realise it is model of simplicity that gives
you agonising tactical decisions to make, straight from the off.
This system is entirely new to me and as
far as I am concerned sheer genius.
Basically you get a number of commands to issue in a turn equal to the
number of units you have on table in good order plus 1D3. So as units get shaken or destroyed the
number of commands you can issue in a turn reduces. Play alternates between players with the
number of commands which can be issued in a given phase equal to the leadership
rating of the active players best commander on table plus one. Commands can be used to activate a unit, give
an extra command to an already activated unit, add +1 to the initiative roll
for the following turn or call in a reserve unit. When you are the active player your opponent
can use reactive commands to return fire, take cover or react to an
assault. It may sound confusing but I
promise you in reality it is simplicity itself.
Why do I love it? Instead of using your best units first and
spending the rest of the turn trudging through the also rans in your army every
command you issue counts. Units shaken
in the current turn cost 2 commands to activate. Do you skip that shaken unit, pull it back to
remove suppression or pay up as you just can't afford to let it do nothing for
a turn? Your opponent fires at your best
unit and does little damage, why not use a reactive command to return fire, you
can still activate the unit later and get another shot! You are closing in for an assault and get
fired on, should you use a command to take cover or save it to use on another
unit entirely? Is it worth one of your
units not getting to do anything because you used it's command to get a bonus
to hit with one of your best units? In
short it never feels like it's not your turn, you are always involved in the
action. I also find that the system
lends itself to banter as you encourage your opponent to prematurely use up all
their commands allowing you to wreak havoc without reply if it comes towards
the end of the turn and you still have commands and they don't. Or you raise an eyebrow when they use a
reactive command to take cover when you know it is exactly the right move.
The turn sequence is very simple consisting
of sorting out the values for command and control, deciding who has initiative,
alternating issuing commands, close combat and calling in reserves. When a unit is activated it attempts to
regroup removing damage or morale effects by a successful die roll based on the
quality of the unit. All units have an
experience value based on whether they are poor, average or superior. The unit can then move and shoot. Infantry and mechs can get a second run move
instead of shooting if they prefer. Movement
rates are high compared to other rules systems which makes for an all round
faster game. Units which did not take a
second move can assault.
All the rules are streamlined for speed of
play. You only use D6's. There are only two types of terrain, those
providing cover and buildings which give reinforced cover increasing the armour
value of units inside. Vehicles can bog
in terrain and can't enter buildings.
Shooting is standard score of 5+ for poor, 4+ for average and 3+ for
superior modified by a grand total of six modifiers. Once you hit you compare the power of the
attacking weapon to the armour value of the target on a table which gives a value
for saving rolls. Now that does seem
familiar, something borrowed perhaps?
Shooting against vehicles you add 1D6 to the power of the weapon and you
have to at least equal the armour value of the target to get an effect. The more you exceed the armour value by the
more devastating the effect on the target.
Assault involves strike ranks and specific weaponry for close combat
along with a table giving the to hit score required by comparing the quality of
the units involved.
In four short pages there are rules for
three different types of scenarios and numerous types of deployment. Objective based scenarios have a complex way
of deciding who won using a points system based on the types of units fielded
as well as the objectives captured. Which
is neat, no need to throw in the towel because you are never going to recapture
the one objective more that your opponent has.
As you would expect from the rest of the book these are clearly
presented and easy to follow. And so to
army building. There are points! There are points that actually make sense! The points work from the experience rating of
the unit and build up from there. This
make so much sense. As you can see from
shooting a superior unit has about twice as much chance to hit a target as a
poor unit, so guess what, it costs about double the points.
You choose a platoon type which determines
what type of units you can choose. There
are compulsory choices of basic units you have to take before taking more
exotic choices. What constitutes a basic
unit depends on the type of platoon chosen.
Units have traits, a freebie modifying stats or something else about the
unit. They can also have 1-3 upgrades
depending on the type of unit and upgrades to weapons. In short if you enjoy tinkering with unit
stats and army lists you will find oh so much to enjoy here. Any points system has it's limitations but I
have found this one remarkably robust. A
couple of times I have thought I have spotted a game breaking flaw only to
realise there is a rule stopping me exploiting the loop hole I thought I had
seen. Weapon choices come down to
trading rate of fire for power. Weapons
are not individually pointed but divided into classes, small arms, support
weapons, light and heavy weapons. You
can choose freely within a class.
The final section of the book introduces
the authors own Terminus Nebula setting and gives a couple of sample army
lists. I would think that most people
will use their own favoured background and with the wealth of unit building
options available reflecting the capabilities of existing sci-fi units should
not be a problem. I think the unit
builders will lend themselves particularly well to encounters between troopers
and bug type armies along with battles between armies with mismatched
technology levels.
There are a couple of things missing and a
couple of problems with the rules. It is
not clear whether unit upgrades cost are per model or per unit in some cases,
the default is per model but this is not made clear in the rules. The assault rules as written on when moving
into assault occurs are confusing. The
movement happens in the player phase and the fighting in the assault phase,
this is perfectly simple and intuitive but needs stating more explicitly.
The most notable absentee is any kind of
army list roster or computer aid for designing units. You can do it by good old pen and paper and
creating vanilla units without much chrome is a doddle. Making and recording more complex units is
more of a challenge. Power claws for
infantry or vehicles are not covered.
These are fairly standard sci-fi weapons and I hope they are included
soon. I don't find the lists of unit
upgrades as appealing as some other systems, I hope they can be further refined
and developed.
A couple of big errors have crept in. There is a major balance issue with the rapid
fire weapon trait. In the rules as
written it gives +1 rate of fire if stationary, the authors are currently
working on a fix, the current version is it allows misses to be re-rolled for
stationary units firing inside effective range.
This revised rule has worked fine for me. The main rules refer to experience checks
being used for regrouping, in fact it is confidence checks as stated on the
QRS. This would have a major effect on
play if you used the wrong roll. I do
have to say the authors have not failed to provide answers to a single rules
question I have posed on their facebook page.
So what do these rules add up to? There are lots of old and borrowed mechanics,
the staples of many different rule sets.
I see nothing wrong in using the best mechanics available. Also lots of sound maths in weapon stats and
unit points. Something new, in as far as
I know, a unique, and more importantly brilliant command and control system.
Something blue in the choice of colour for section headings. I am conflicted in that I can't help thinking
the rules could do with just a little more polish but on the other hand they
actually feel more complete than other systems which have been in development
for years but never seem to leave a state of flux.
It should be said that the rules do not
intend to portray the "realities" of future warfare, just the
framework for a good game. If your
figure collection has outgrown your current rule set and you are looking for a
way to get more models on table and still finish a game in a reasonable time
period. If you are looking for a fast
paced game that does not get bogged down in minutia but still has great
tactical depth. If you enjoy unit and
army building in a points based system that holds up well. Then Fireteam Andromeda may well be the rule
set you have been looking for.
- by Podsy McPod
