Central London Fog
A wildly unoffical set of house rules for an unnamed ancient wargame
Generals & Commands:
Each army is broken down into 3 or 4 "Commands", each with a general who can only influence his own troops. The CinC can take a Command, or he can be an "Independent CinC" (with no units). In either case the CinC can influence troops in any command.
Optional Rules for Commands: Commands are specified in the army list but are separate to order of march / deployment. (Or Commands are allocated after deployment as an option for using existing army lists / when trying out these new rules.)
After deployment, an Independent CinC can nominate up to 2 units from any of his subordinates commands, which will then form the CinC's own Command. (These units are not redeployed).
The Turn Sequence:
The game is divided into a series of "Big Turns" in which both sides move, shoot, fight and react (equivalent to both players making a turn each in standard FoG). Each Big Turn is broken down into a series of "Mini Turns" where each Command (the "Active Command") makes all its charges and moves, and resolves all combat and shooting.
Each Command can only be the Active Command once per Big Turn.
The order in which each Active Command moves is decided by the players dicing for "Activation" in the following way.
" The Poker Game" Each player (secretly) chooses the command they wish to move. (Suggestion - both players number each command 1-3 or 1-4 left to right, and then turn a hidden dice to the number of the command they wish to Activate).
Both players reveal the command they wish to be their "Active Command"
Both players roll 2D6 - adding +1 if their nominated Active Command is led by an FC, and +2 if by an IC.
The Command with the highest modified score then becomes the Active Command and all of its units undertake a complete turn sequence, including all charges / moves / shooting / melee / routs / rallying.
Routers and Generals move at the end of their Mini Turn,
Any non-skirmishers can be rallied at the end of their Command's Mini-Turn (even if they have dropped a morale level in the same Mini Turn). (#1)
Enemy units can react and make actions during the Mini Turn of the Active Command by : evading, intercepting, shooting at units of the Active Command who are in range and are a target priority, and will fight in both impact and melee combat, and make rout moves
Where an army has units from more than one of it's Commands involved in the same melee phase (a "Complex Melee") all units involved in the melee fight every time any of the involved units is part of an Active Command.
Units involved in a Complex Melee can be rallied at the end of any Mini Turn of a Command from their army in which units from the own side fight in the Complex Melee
Units of both sides react to friends breaking by taking CTs as and when they occur.
Impacts occurring during pursuit are resolved in the next Mini Turn in which either of the involved units is Active. These are Unresolved Charges.
Units who drop a level during a Mini Turn before, or as a result of, being contacted by an Unresolved Charge cannot rally before the resulting Impact phase happens.
(This revised sequence can lead to units evading, shooting or fighting multiple times in each Big Turn. Well, sometimes s--t happens)
Both players then move onto choosing another Active Command until all Commands have moved once.
A player with 2 or more Commands yet to move and who's opponent has finished moving can choose the order in which their Command are Activated.
Any player choosing a non-existent or already Activated Command in The Poker Game forfeits the right to choose or dice - instead their opponent can nominate any command of either player to move next.
Any unit can be rallied at the end of the Big Turn (in the "Super JAP"), when Generals can also move, and where routers make another move.
(#1) This means non-skirmishers have slightly more opportunities to rally as in standard FoG as they can also occasionally rally in the turn they drop cohesion. This partly compensates for the increased number of melee rounds a unit might end up fighting in this revised turn sequence, and also shifts the balance of the game slightly more towards defeat by base losses rather than failing successive (or exceptionally unlucky) CT's.
By choosing the sequence of Command Activations carefully a player might find they could be able to rally Disrupted or Fragmented troops before the enemy has an opportunity to charge them, make 2 consecutive moves before an enemy can react, or tempt an enemy Shock unit to charge out of formation by causing them to make 2 consecutive moves.
Combining the charges of units from different commands will be a greater challenge - but a series of well timed charges will now have a truly devastating effect as the target units suffer multiple rounds of impact and melee combat each Big Turn, each with its own resulting cohesion tests - giving an unstoppable momentum to a well planned and executed attack!
Minor Rules
Charges/Evades: Any 6:1 VMD roll means the evaders are caught (at the chargers move distance plus 2 MU), irrespective of how far away they actually start or how far they move.
Bad Luck Insurance Flag: The side with initiative also starts the game with a marker or "Flag". This allows the holder to re-roll one complete set of dice being rolled by one of their own units at any stage in the game. Once used, the Flag passes to the opposing army. The Flag can only be use once per mini-turn and it cannot be used by both players in the same combat. It cannot be used for VMD tests or tests not to charge. It does not qualify or create opportunity for any additional re-rolls (you can re-roll a set of dice before quality re-rolls, in which case you also then get quality re-rolls. If used after quality re-rolls, you re-roll all the dice but have no further re-rolls)
Dead Generals : If a General is killed, they will return at the start of the next Mini Turn by their Command and will be placed in contact with one of the highest quality units in their Command. They will lose one grade - so an IC becomes and FC, and an FC becomes a TC. TC's suffer a -1 in Activation rolls (see Standard Rule 2.)
Optional Rule : Dead TC's also lose either the ability to rally troops or to affect combats - roll a D6, with a 50/50 chance of either. For added comedy value this roll can be delayed until the first time they attempt either to join a combat or rally a unit!
Go Get 'Em! : Rolling a natural 6-6 (before re-rolls) on a CT which is also passed causes a unit to jump 2 levels of cohesion. Non-shock troops jumping 2 levels from "steady" or "disrupted" also become "Shock". " Shock troops jumping 2 levels from "steady" or "disrupted" take an additional -1 modifier on the "not to charge" CMT for the remainder of the game.
Panic! : Rolling a natural 1-1 (before re-rolls) on a CT which is also failed causes a unit to drop 2 levels of cohesion. This does not apply to units accompanied by a General.
Pursuing a fleeing Enemy : There is no -1 on CT's for being near the enemy table edge
Driven from the Table : Units evaded off table count as 2 APs if the army baggage has been lost, otherwise as 1 AP.
Unaccompanied March Movement: Units outside 10" of enemy can move twice without a general but take a cohesion test (yes, not a CMT!) after their 2nd move.
Spears - Increased Resilience: The POA for Spears in more than 1 rank counts if the 2nd rank of the unit has at least half as many figures as the front rank 4.
Vulnerable Skirmishers : Skirmishers when shot at by non skirmishers get a -1 on death roll, not -2 " Note : This may not be required given the reduced opportunity to rally skirmishers in Standard Rule 3
