Iron Cow Scenario Ic2103 Plb

IRON COW 2103 AD:

P HAS E L IN E B R AV O

A Fan Supplementt of House Rules for Iron n Cow 2103 3AD 6mm Sc cience-Fiction Micro-A Armor Rule es Compile ed by Andreas Udby June, 2010

Iron Cow 21 103AD is a copy yright of Steve Blease B and Wess sex Games. This s unofficial supp plement is not produced, supporrted, or endorsed by y them, and they y retain all origina al rights.

1 warner airey (order #2882082)

Table of Contents

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IRON COW 2103A AD: PHASE E LINE BRA AVO

FOREW WORD Iron Co ow 2103AD D is a set of o “light” rulles for scien nce-fiction g ground-com mbat wargam ming. The rule es generally y match th he excellentt line of 6mm sci-fi microarmorr available from Brigade Models, whiich I highly recommend d. IC2103, being a light rule set, forms a co ore rule set that does not, n at this time, delve e into more spe ecific warga aming possib bilities. Thu us this supp plement was s born. The e contents of this supplement first saw w life as pos sts on the Brigade B Models discussio on forums. I want to thank t all the po osters there e for their time and participation.


Table off Contents

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IRON COW 2103AD: PHASE LINE BRAVO

TABLE OF CONTENTS INFANTRY ................................................................................................................ 4 General Infantry Rules: .......................................................................................... 4 Close Assault ........................................................................................................ 4 Targeting infantry (tanks) ...................................................................................... 4 Targeting infantry (artillery) ................................................................................... 4 Urban cover ......................................................................................................... 4 Special Infantry Teams .......................................................................................... 5 Forward Observers ................................................................................................ 5 Jump Infantry ....................................................................................................... 5 Anti-Tank Infantry ................................................................................................. 5 Medics and Mechanics ............................................................................................ 5 Snipers ................................................................................................................ 5 Mortars ................................................................................................................ 5 Dragoons ............................................................................................................. 5 Anti-Aircraft Infantry ............................................................................................. 5 MISSILES, ROCKETS, AND MORTARS ............................................................................... 7 Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) .......................................................................... 7 Salvo Rockets ....................................................................................................... 7 Mortars ................................................................................................................ 7 Counter-Mobility ................................................................................................... 9 Emplacement ....................................................................................................... 9 M-Type Obstacles .................................................................................................. 9 L-Type Obstacles................................................................................................. 10 Scatterable Mines ................................................................................................ 10 Demolitions ........................................................................................................ 10 Breaching .......................................................................................................... 10 Bridging ............................................................................................................. 11 Clearing ............................................................................................................. 11 SUPERTANKS.......................................................................................................... 12 Composition ....................................................................................................... 12 Stats ................................................................................................................. 12 Damage ............................................................................................................. 12 Firing ................................................................................................................ 13 Movement .......................................................................................................... 14 Command, Control, and Electronic Warfare ............................................................. 14 UNCONVENTIONAL WEAPONS ...................................................................................... 15 Nanite Clouds ..................................................................................................... 15 Chemical Weapons .............................................................................................. 15 Tactical Nukes .................................................................................................... 16 Remote or Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) ........................................................ 16 Shield Generators ............................................................................................... 17 LOOKING FORWARD .................................................................................................. 18


Table of Contents

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IRON COW 2103AD: PHASE LINE BRAVO •

INFANTRY

•

In most 6mm scale sci-fi games, infantry are either steroid-addled, power-suitwearing, tac-nuke-carrying superhumans (think OGRE) or they're there to give the tanks something squishy to feel between their roadwheels (BattleTech). Infantry also present a challenge towards the game designer in terms of balancing their advantages and disadvantages and incorporating both in gameable terms.

General Infantry Rules: Close Assault Infantry who are in base-to-base contact with another unit are considered to be in Close Assault. They receive double their normal effectiveness against hard targets (so, for instance, the ONESS infantry squad would double their effectiveness from 8 to 16). This gives them a chance to actually kill some heavy tanks by overwhelming them with RPG's, satchel charges, and limpet mines.

Let's start with a list of key advantages: • • • • • •

Low profile/Can hide easily More mobile in certain terrain (urban, jungle, etc.) Superior infiltration abilities Important communications link (think spotting for artillery) Can enter tight spaces (buildings, tunnels, caverns, etc.) Can capture some objectives better than tanks (buildings, intel, etc.)

Targeting infantry (tanks) Tanks may only target infantry at the 300mm range band or under, and must treat Static infantry as if the target stand were one range band further away (i.e., infantry 140mm away would normally be in the 150mm range band, but if under a Static order, would have to be engaged using the tank's values for the 300mm range band). This represents the effects of the infantry hugging the ground.

Now some disadvantages: • • • • •

Slow Thin-skinned/Lack of armor Undergunned/Lack of firepower Lack of systems (ECM, radar, fire control, etc.) Less mobile in certain terrain (water, swamp, temperature extremes)

Targeting infantry (artillery) Artillery can fire at infantry at all range bands, not just 300mm or lower, but firing at Static troops is done as if the infantry were two range bands further away, representing the difficulty of injuring troops who are dug-in.

Of course, both of these lists are using a modern concept of infantry, with no provisions made for tech levels or whatnot. Because the IC2103 rule set is largely structured along "fast play" lines, the challenge was this: •

Don't overbalance them (turning them into little tanks, as it were) Retain the fast-play feel of the overall rule set

Urban cover Infantry in bunkers or in buildings ignore the first successful attack on them each turn. A subsequent successful attack would kill the stand, however.

Give the infantry enough of a punch to justify including them


Infantry

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IRON COW 2103A AD: PHASE E LINE BRA AVO Special Infantry I Tea ams

chanic attac ched, vehicular unit has a Mec orale rolls. thatt unit gains +1 to its Mo

Forward Observers Infantry designated as Forward d Observers s (FOs) may m only engage e in direct fire e combat at the "Und der 50" rang ge band, as s they are e armed on nly with light personal defense weapons. However, artillery fired d on a targ get within their line of sight would d use the range to the target as figured d from the e FOs. Exam mple: an FO O stand is in n woods with w line of o sight to o a targett 100mm and calls in artillery from a battery 700mm aw way. The artillery a can n roll to hitt using its 100mm 1 % to o-hit value.

Snip pers If us sing the opttional Morale rules, a sniper stan nd causes a decrease in Morale fo or its targ get. If th he target is i infantry, the Morale penalty is -2 and the stand must mak ke a Moralle roll. Iff the targe et is vehicular, therre is a -1 penalty to any Morale roll ta aken that turn, butt no auto omatic Mora ale roll is req quired. Morrtars Infa antry units equipped e with mortars may fire over blocking terra ain, using the artillery rules but the infantry range r bands. The bla ast template would only be 50m mm across ra ather than 100mm. 1

Jump Inffantry Jump tro oops are eq quipped witth jet packs s that allo ow them to move at normal n rate e over any y terrain. Of O course, unit integrity y rules stilll apply! Ju ump troops attempting g to move into Close Assault by air may be e fired upo on by the target unitt as if they y were airc craft.

Drag goons Drag goons are e mounted d troops who have dism mount to fight. D Dragoons mottorcycles, an nti-grav skim mmers, or some s othe er unarmore ed, fast forrm of trans sport. an Consequently, dragoons s under Adv vance orde er may mov ve double their norm mal speed,, but cannot make any attacks that turrn.

Anti-Tan nk Infantry AT team ms receive +25% + to-hitt bonus and d +4 to their t Penetration when targeting g armored targets AND when und der a Static c order. If I not underr a Static order, o there e is no to o-hit bonus s, but there is still a Because Penetration bonus. e they are e carrying heavy antii-armor wea apons, they y can only carry lig ght person nal defense e weapons s as small arms; therrefore, they y can only y target othe er infantry units at the e "under 50" 5 range ba and.

Antii-Aircraft Inffantry Infa antry stands s equipped with w AA mis ssiles targ get aircraft with w increas sed accuracy y and effectiveness, giving g them m +3 to their AA factor.

Medics and a Mechaniics If using the optiona al Morale ru ules, medics s reduce morale m pena alties for in nfantry, and d mechanics for vehic cles. If an infantry unitt (not jus st a single stand, butt an entire e platoon) has a Med dic attached d, that unitt gains +1 1 to its Mora ale rolls. Liikewise, if a


Infantry

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IRON COW 2103A AD: PHASE E LINE BRA AVO

Possible Natiion-Specific P c Infantry Trraits: A America Rep public: ............................... C Chinese Dem mocratic Soc cialist Union: ...... E EuroFed Reg gular Army: ........................ E EuroFed Legion Etrange ere: ...................

No Mo orale penaltty for Ambush No An nti-Tank allo owed; No Morale M penalty for Ambu ush No Po ower-Armor allowed; frree Mortar stand s per platoon No Po ower-Armor allowed; +15% + To-Hit when in Urban, Woo oded, and Jungle terrain Indonesian Republic: R ........................... No Po ower-Armor allowed; +10% + To-Hit when in Ju ungle terrrain K Khallistani Le eague: ............................. No Ju ump Infantry y allowed; No Morale penalty p for casu ualties taken; O ONESS: ............................................. One free f Power-A Armor stand d per platoo on P Pacific Federration: ............................... One free f Medic per p platoon S South African Commonw wealth: .............. All inffantry are trreated as Dragoons N Neo-Soviet R Regular Arm my: .................... +20% % to hit whe en attacking en masse (four ( or more stan nds attackin ng same targ get) N Neo-Soviet P Peasant Infa antry: ................ Double Morale pe enalties for casualties taken; may y force a succ cessful Mora ale roll by sacrificing on ne stand


Infantry

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IRON COW 2103AD: PHASE LINE BRAVO ATGMs above, tied to their Penetration value, but a salvo rocket launcher may be up to 1.5 times the carrying vehicle’s Front Defence Factor.

MISSILES, ROCKETS, AND MORTARS Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) ATGMs are classified by their Penetration value, i.e., an ATGM system with a PEN value of 10 would be a Class-10 ATGM.

A unit firing salvo rockets at a target does so using the small artillery barrage template.

Vehicles may only mount ATGMs equal to their Front Defence Factor. Since there is no “size class” statistic in IC2103, the Defence Factor is the closest proxy. Example: the ONESS Thor MBT could carry ATGMs up to Class-12, while the Lynx APC could carry up to a Class-6 ATGM.

Damage to the targets under the barrage marker is calculated as follows: Total up the Penetration values for all individual models in the firing unit, then divide by the number of targets caught under the barrage template. For example, three Lynx Salvo Rocket APCs, each carrying a Class-9 (Front Defence Factor of 6 times 1.5) salvo rocket launcher, fire on a collection of enemy vehicles and infantry. The total Penetration value is: 9 x 3 = 27 There are five enemy pieces caught under the barrage template, so each receives: 27/5 = 5 …worth of Penetration against it. The vehicles are undamaged, but the exposed infantry are destroyed. If using the Morale rules, the vehicles would still have to account for the attack against their morale.

The exception to this rule is VTOLs, which may carry ATGMs equal to 2.5 times their Front Defence Factor. Example: The AmRep AH-604 VTOL has a Front Defence Factor of 6; therefore, it could carry ATGMs up to Class-15. Fractions should be rounded down. ATGMs retain the same Penetration value no matter the range, although their % ToHit falls with greater range, just as for ballistic weapons. ATGMs may not target infantry. ATGMs can be jammed. At the beginning of a turn, the opposing player can make a Jamming roll against the unit armed with ATGMs; however, instead of stopping or changing their order chit, the affected unit would be rendered unable to fire for that turn.

Salvo rockets, being unguided, cannot be jammed. Mortars Mortars allow a unit to fire over blocking terrain, using the artillery rules but with the range bands normally used for that vehicle's direct-fire equivalent. The blast template would only be 50mm across rather than 100mm.

Salvo Rockets Salvo rockets are unguided rockets fired in large batches, such as WWII-era Calliopes or modern Hydra-70 rockets. Salvo rockets also have a Class rating, as

Mortar fire against infantry under a Static order inflicts damage using the


Missiles, Rockets, and Mortars

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IRON COW 2103AD: PHASE LINE BRAVO Penetration value as if the infantry were two range bands further away Mortars also cannot be jammed.


Missiles, Rockets, and Mortars

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IRON COW 2103AD: PHASE LINE BRAVO "Obstacle" and the other side with "MType" or "L-Type" or something comparative. Or, if you want to be more descriptive, you could label it "Wire" or "Dragon's Teeth" or "Mines". When a vehicle encounters an obstacle marker, it stops at a point 40mm from the marker and flips it over, then treats the obstacle as described below.

COMBAT ENGINEERING In IC2103, combat engineers, also known as “sappers”, have two main functions: mobility and counter-mobility. Mobility (MOB) consists of bridging rivers and gaps, breaching obstacles, and reducing terrain features to a point where maneuver units can traverse them.

Emplacement Engineer units may emplace an obstacle by taking a Static order. They do not receive the normal defensive bonus since they are standing out in the open, laying out mines and wire, blowing cratering charges, etc. They may not make any attacks, although they may defend themselves against aircraft as per any other unit. At the end of the turn, the player may place an obstacle marker adjacent to the unit. An engineer unit may move out of its obstacle's effective zone, but may not move back into or through the obstacle without breaching it.

Counter-mobility (CMOB) is, in effect, reshaping the battlefield to channel the enemy where you want them to go; landmine warfare, tank ditches, wire obstacles, blowing bridges and roads, abatis, etc., are all examples of CM ops. These house rules focus on MOB and CMOB operations at an appropriate level of abstraction for Iron Cow. At the level of abstractness and granularity of IC2103, specifically-antipersonnel obstacles are mostly irrelevant, so the rules below don't differentiate between antipersonnel and antitank.

Obstacle markers' effective zones may overlap, requiring multiple breaching efforts of each one in turn by enemy engineer units.

Counter-Mobility Anti-tank obstacles, consisting mostly of minefields, concertina wire, dragon's teeth, and ditches, should have one of two effects: an effect on mobility or a lethal effect. For simplicity of the discussion, we'll just call those "M-Type" (for mobility) and "L-Type" (for lethal).

Obstacles may also be placed within rivers and water, representing wire or dragon's teeth being placed along the banks or mines being placed on the bed of the river itself.

For game purposes, an obstacle counter effects an area within a 40mm radius from the center of the counter (which we'll call the "effective zone"). Example: if a unit (or portion of a unit, such as a single vehicle) moves within 40mm of an obstacle counter, it has to roll as below.

M-Type Obstacles When a ground vehicle encounters an MType obstacle, it stops and rolls a single d10, then doubles it; the result is how many 10% increments its speed is reduced by during that turn. Example: A Zhu De platoon moves 60mm up a road, where it encounters an

An obstacle on the table is represented by a simple counter labeled on one side with


Combat Engineering

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IRON COW 2103AD: PHASE LINE BRAVO If an aircraft attempts a FASCAM mission, it must be called in by a HQ unit as per the Aircraft rules. Its attack also simply results in an L-Type obstacle marker; however, any enemy vehicles in a 10cm x 20cm rectangle extending from the target point may fire on the aircraft as normal. A successful hit not only destroys the aircraft, but it prevents delivery of the FASCAM mines.

M-Type obstacle. The unit stops to roll how much its speed is reduced. The player rolls a 3, which is doubled to 6; thus, the unit has had its speed reduced by 60% this turn, or from 240mm to 96mm. Since they already traveled 60mm to get to the obstacle, the player can move them another 36mm before they have to stop. This represents the time lost in traversing the obstacle, manually cutting wire, etc.

FASCAM obstacle markers are always placed down with "L-Type" facing upwards (or mine symbols, or whatever you prefer).

L-Type Obstacles For an L-Type obstacle, there is no movement penalty, but the unit moving into its radius must stop while the opposing player rolls a single attack on the unit, at %/PEN of 60/20. For each 10mm the unit travels through the L-Type obstacle's zone of effect, the unit must suffer another attack, until it either withdraws or is destroyed completely. Withdrawal from a minefield may be accomplished by moving directly back the way the unit came at no danger to itself; exiting it any other direction will subject it to more attack rolls.

Demolitions An engineer unit may destroy a bridge by sitting adjacent to it for a full turn while on a Static order. This represents the time it takes to place demolitions or use breaching guns to destroy enough of the span to prevent enemy units from crossing it without special equipment.

Mobility An engineer unit that is breaching, bridging, or clearing may defend itself against Aircraft as would any other unit.

Running into an L-Type obstacle also results in a -3 Morale effect. Scatterable Mines FASCAM (scatterable mines) are remote mines delivered by artillery or aircraft. If an artillery battery wishes to fire a FASCAM mission, the entire battery must participate (as per the Battery Fire rules); no gun tubes can be reserved for counterbattery fire or other fire missions.

Breaching A combat engineer (or "sapper") unit that enters the effective zone of an obstacle marker may choose to breach the obstacle. This requires a Cautious Advance order, and the sapper unit stops moving at the nearest edge of the obstacle's effective zone. If it is an LType obstacle, then the opposing player gets one attack on the sapper unit at the normal 60/20 attack value.

Rather than a blast template, the mission simply results in an L-Type marker being delivered on the targeted spot, which must, of course, be within range of the battery.

The sappers may not make any attack other than their breaching effort, which also consumes any unused movement


Combat Engineering

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IRON COW 2103A AD: PHASE E LINE BRA AVO Clea aring Arm mored doze ers and co ombat engineer vehicles (CEVs s) may atte empt to re educe the movement penalty of difficult terrrain. During this task, they may not make e any othe er attacks.

they may y have had left. They also do nott receive the t defense e bonus norrmally given n with Cau utious Adv vance orde ers, as they y are standing right out o in the op pen as they y attempt to breach th he obstacle! The brea ach is automatic and reduces r the e effective radius of the t obstacle e marker by y 1d10 x 5mm (millimeters, no ot percent).. So, if the e d10 roll is s 8 or greate er, then the e obstacle marker is removed entirely;; otherwis se, it is redu uced by thatt amount. A die or small s chit can c be plac ced on the e obstacle marker sho owing the ne ew effective e zone.

An engineer un nit may mo ove into Wo oods, Jung gle, or Urban U terrrain while on Cau utious Adva ance orders s and clear away a brus sh, trees, debris, d and d rubble. After mov ving into th he terrain, the unit must stop p, and then may roll a single die, perm manently re educing both h the movement pena alty and defensive bonus of that Or, while terra ain feature e by 1d10%. w already on terrrain of this s type, the unit may y reduce the t terrain''s modifiers s by 2d10% by takin ng a Static order.

Example e: A Zhu De e platoon moves m into a minefield d and lose es a tank.. On the e player’s next turn, he issues a Cautious s Advance e order to a sapper platoon p and d then mo oves them up u to the ne earest edge e of the minefield (40 0mm from th he center off the marrker). They y execute the t breach,, and the player rolls a d10. He rolls a 5, so o the effe ective radius of the minefield m is s reduced to 15mm from f the ce enter of the e L-Type marker m (40m mm minus 25mm). 2 He e places a small ha and-written chit with h "15mm" on it to o show th he reduced d effective zone. Bridging Bridging requires an engine eer unit to o move to the edge of o a river or gap. Theirr order the next turn n must be Static, S and d during this time they may nott make any y attacks, and neithe er do they receive the e normal defense bo onus for being b on a Static order. o Afterr one full tu urn spent in n this posiition on a Static S orde er, you may y place a Bridge marker across the river orr gap, sho owing that units may now move e normally y across the e river or gap g at thatt specific point. p

Plac ce a chit on the spot where the engineer unit was sitting g, showing the new w modifiers in effect fo or that piec ce of terra ain. The ch hit covers an area 20m mm in radius, so multiple clearing g efforts ma ay be requ uired to imp prove a patth through thick swathes of vege etation. An engineer un nit may exe ecute this order o multiple times s on the same piec ce of grou und if neces ssary, so long as it is given g the proper orde ers each turrn.

M67A2 Wolfhound W Combat Engineer Vehicle aken at Jethro Colon ny, Mars Photo tak April 9, 2098 2


C Combat Engineering

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IRON COW 2103AD: PHASE LINE BRAVO The Shénlóng, our example supertank, has the following stats:

SUPERTANKS A fun theme to play with in sci-fi games is the concept of the supertank, such as Keith Laumer’s BOLOs or Steve Jackson’s O.G.R.E. tanks. These massive constructs tend to overshadow everything else on the battlefield.

CPU unit: Armor 22 Drive units: Armor 20; Speed 120mm Forward Hellbore battery: Armor 20; %/PEN: 80/30, 72/28, 64/26, 56/24, 48/22, 40/20; no AA factor

One of the challenges associated with supertanks is making them impressively powerful but balancing that with enough drawbacks that not everyone in a game will rush to replace all their tank platoons with BOLOs.

Infinite repeaters: Armor 18; %/PEN: 75/18, 60/14, 45/10, 30/4, --/--, --/--; AA factor: 3 Vertical launch missile system: Armor 18; %/PEN: 80/12, 70/12, 60/12, 50/12, 40/12, 30/12; no AA factor

Composition A supertank is treated as a single-model unit within an Iron Cow brigade. So rather than multiple tanks moving and fighting together, the unit is a single supertank consisting of an equal number of components as it replaces individuals in the order of battle. Perhaps, for even bigger ones, it might even take the place of an entire tank company!

Air defense system: Armor 18; AA factor: 6 Damage The various components are targeted and damaged independently, but rely on each other to keep the supertank functioning. For instance, the CPU and drive units have no weaponry, whereas the weapons components have no independent drive.

A supertank's components each have stats as for an individual vehicle. For instance, the CDSU Shénlóng supertank has eight components: • • • • • • • •

Again, one of the difficulties is in properly balancing the super-duper weapon systems, such as Hellbores, so that they don't unbalance the game. The BOLO series features Hellbore cannons that can shoot starships out of near orbit! But there needs to be some offsetting weaknesses; in this case, the limited firing arc and tweaks to the firing and defensive bonuses should hopefully be sufficient to keep some balance in play.

The CPU Front drive unit Rear drive unit Forward Hellbore battery Left side infinite repeaters Right side infinite repeaters Vertical launch missile system Air defense system

The Shénlóng takes the place of two, fourtank units from a tank platoon in the CDSU order of battle.

A diagram of the supertank should be sketched out showing the location of the various components:

Stats


Supertanks

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IRON COW 2103AD: PHASE LINE BRAVO moving at one level of orders lower; so, if it is on Advance orders, it fires as if at Cautious Advance, and if on Cautious Advance orders, it fires as if on Static.

Front Drive Hellbores Left Repeaters

CPU

Right Repeaters

As a target, the supertank does not receive the defense bonuses associated with order types; it does, however, receive the cover bonuses of terrain types, if it is completely on the far side of the terrain from the firing unit.

VLMS Rear Drive When taking direct fire, the targeted component must be one of those facing the firing unit. For instance, if a tank is shooting at the Shénlóng from the supertank's right-front quarter, then the tank may target the Front Drive, the Hellbores, or the Right Infinite Repeaters. If the Hellbores or Right Infinite Repeaters are already destroyed, then the firing tank may target the CPU.

A supertank targeted by artillery and aircraft may have all its external components targeted at once (but not its CPU). However, because of the massive nature of the tank and the interlocking armor plating, the defending player may roll 1d10 and reduce the artillery or airstrike's Penetration value by that much.

The CPU acts as the HQ unit, issuing orders to the whole monstrosity. If it is destroyed, the tank shuts down. The supertank may have backup CPU components; if a CPU is destroyed, the supertank must take a Static order for the following turn, after which the backup CPU may come online and the tank may resume normal function.

An artillery battery firing at a supertank may choose to target its attacks on a single external component, using Battery Fire. When this happens, the attacking player may roll 2d10 for each gun in the battery and add it together to get the total Penetration being applied to the supertank's target component. However, the maximum value contributed by each gun is its maximum Penetration, and this value may still be reduced by a 1d10 roll by the defending player.

If a single drive unit is destroyed, the supertank's possible speed drops by half; if the second unit is destroyed, the unit is immobilized. If a weapons component is destroyed, then those weapons are gone.

Example: The Shénlóng is being targeted by a battery of three EuroFed Sigurd SPG's, which normally have a maximum PEN of 14 each. The EuroFed player rolls 2d10 for each gun, resulting in a 7, 18, and 15. He is able to apply 7+14+14 in PEN towards the attack, or 35. The CDSU player then rolls 1d10 to see what the amount of PEN reduction is, but only rolls a 6, so the final PEN value of the EuroFed battery is 29. The attack destroys the

Firing Weapons components may only fire in a 180º arc in their facing (Front, Left, Right, Rear), unless the component in question is a missile system, such as on the Shénlóng above. Then it may fire on any arc. Because of the stability of the supertank, its weapons always fire as if it were


Supertanks

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IRON COW 2103A AD: PHASE E LINE BRA AVO targeted componentt, which had an Armorr value of 20. Movement Supertan nks are so big that their t tracks s and susp pensor lifts can c pretty much m ignore e most terrrain that would be a re eal problem m for norm mal-sized tanks. T The terrain n moveme ent penalty is i therefore reduced by y 3d10% each time the superttank moves s through it. Supertan nks cannot move acros ss standard d bridges, and must fo ord rivers. This means s they ma ay have to find f some way w around d the ends s of a steep canyon. If using the optiona al Combat Engineering g rules, the t superta ank ignore es obstacle e markers. Comman nd, Contrrol, and Electronic c Warfare The CPU (or CIC C, if it's a manned d supertan nk rather th han a BOLO O or OGRE)) issues a single order that app plies to the e entire ta ank. The weapons systems fire e independ dently, but with the bonuses and d penalties s described above. The CPU U on board the superttank cannott be jamm med, since itts communications run n along hard-wired systems s inside heavy y anti-mag gnetic and radiation r sh hielding. As s such, su uccessful jam mming rolls s cannot be e applied to t the superrtank. The CPU is able e to mount a jammer,, however. The sup pertank can nnot sufferr a Morale e failure, iff using the Morale rules s.


Uncon nventional Weapons

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IRON COW 2103AD: PHASE LINE BRAVO

Nano-D can only be given Move or Static orders. They attack automatically if in base-to-base contact with a target.

UNCONVENTIONAL WEAPONS Just to add more variety and flavor, here are a few ideas for unconventional weapons for the Iron Cow battlefield.

Nano-D can be jammed. At the beginning of a turn, the opposing player can make a Jamming roll against the Nano-D cloud itself; the result would be an automatic Static order chit. There is also a 15% chance per jamming vehicle that a NanoD cloud can be ordered to disperse, effectively removing it from the game.

Nanite Clouds Note: I've taken some inspiration for this from Ian Douglas's Inheritance trilogy as well as other sources. Nanite disassemblers ("Nano-D") are microscopic, semi-independent robots that attack targets at the atomic level, breaking the bonds between molecules in order to reduce the affected materiel to a simple grey sludge.

Nanite clouds can attack and reduce some terrain elements, as well, such as fighting positions, buildings, bunkers, and trees. Land masses and water are not affected by Nano-D. The cover bonuses for terrain are reduced by the same amount as for attacks above.

"Clouds" of floating Nano-D are delivered by artillery. A player would have to declare during the Orders phase that he was firing Nano-D onto a target. The blast template would be a 1" circle or 25mm base topped with a ball of cotton (it would be good to maybe paint some streaks of green or silver or something onto the cloud to differentiate it from regular smoke!). Nano-D clouds would have the following stats:

Nanite clouds cannot be attacked using conventional weapons, so counter-nanite clouds, chemical or acid aerosols, and electronic jamming are among the countermeasures available. Most vehicles in this environment would be equipped with such countermeasures, so if a NanoD cloud fails its attack roll on an enemy unit or bunker, it is removed from the game under the assumption that it was effectively neutralized.

Speed: ............... 50mm Defence Factor: ... *Special* %/PEN: 85/5, --/--, --/--, --/--, --/--, --/-AA factor: ........... None

Chemical Weapons Chemical weapons can be delivered by artillery or aircraft. A unit firing chemical weapons at a target does so using the small artillery barrage template.

Nano-D clouds can only engage in close assault. A successful hit by the nanites reduces the target unit's Defence Factor by 5 points on all sides. If a target is reduced to less than 5 Defence Factor on any one side, it is destroyed.

Chemical weapons only have lethal effects on exposed infantry, and have a PEN value of 10. However, vehicles moving through a chemically-contaminated area have to move at half-speed due to being buttoned-up.


Unconventional Weapons

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IRON COW 2103AD: PHASE LINE BRAVO catch fire; add smoke markers (cotton balls) to represent the obscuring effect.

Chemical agents are persistent. The area under the blast template is contaminated for the rest of the game. Any unit entering the affected area faces an attack or movement restriction as per the above.

The area under the blast marker cannot be moved into or through for ten turns. After that, vehicles may move through it at half speed, while dismounted infantry cannot move through it at all without suffering an attack as above.

Example, three Lynx APCs and their dismounted infantry squads are caught in a chemical strike. The infantry all take attacks at the % chance To Hit of the firing artillery unit and a PEN value of 10. All three infantry squads die, and the APCs decide to beat feet out of the affected area. However, their movement is halved as they do so.

Neutron Artillery Essentially the same as for tac nukes above, except that there is no thermal or overpressure damage, so buildings, vehicles, trees, etc., under the blast template continue to exist and don't catch fire.

Tactical Nukes Nukes are hard to incorporate into many games because of their vastly-outsized, apocalyptic effects. However, here's one possible way for integrating low-level, "tactical" nukes into Iron Cow. Examples of tactical nukes would include manpack suicide bombs, US Army M110 nuclear artillery batteries, "Honest John" light atomic rockets, etc.

Exposed infantry are killed automatically, including those in buildings and Defence Factor 0 (thin-skinned) vehicles. Under the assumption that vehicles are lined with radiation shielding, they take an automatic attack at 15 PEN; if they fail, the crews succumbed to the neutron rays and the vehicles are out of action. If they succeed, they may operate normally.

Tac nukes would be delivered by artillery, aircraft, or suicide attack from a vehicle or infantry squad. If the delivery mechanism is destroyed before they can be launched, the nuke is disabled and doesn't go off.

After a neutron strike, there is no lasting radioactive effect, so units may move through the area normally. Remote or Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) Small vehicles may be remotely piloted in order to attack enemy targets. The Brigade Models’ Land Ironclad line of 2mm-scale models may make ideal UGVs for Iron Cow! Or, for hover vehicles, small beads mounted on sequins may work. UGVs have the following base stats:

A tac nuke in IC2103 is considered to be sub-kiloton device. As such, it uses the large blast template. Everything under the template is destroyed, period. That includes buildings, trees, vehicles, infantry, etc. Anything within direct line of sight and 300mm range of the center of detonation takes an automatic attack of PEN 10 due to thermal damage from the flash of the bomb. Trees and buildings immediately



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IRON COW 2103AD: PHASE LINE BRAVO Speed: 120mm (tracked) or 200mm (hover/grav) Defence Factor: 10 (plus special below)

Vehicles with shield generators are able to create a repulsor bubble around themselves that is impervious to incoming fire. While their generator is on, they may not do anything but move, and may only do so at half their normal rate. A plastic toy bubble is placed over the vehicle to denote their shielded status.

Because of their small size and fast movement, UGVs cannot be attacked by direct fire at ranges beyond 225mm. UGVs may have a ranged weapon or a suicide attack. The ranged weapon has the following stats:

A shield may be raised at the beginning of the player's movement phase, and may only be dropped at the end of that player's turn, after all movement and firing has been concluded.

%/PEN: 75/15, 60/12, 45/8, 60/5, --/--, --/--; AA factor: None The suicide attack is essentially an onboard PETN shaped charge designed to detonate at close range. The UGV must be in base-to-base contact to make an attack, which has a %/PEN of 80/20. A failed attack still means that the UGV is destroyed, as it has blown itself up trying to kill its target!

Vehicles traveling while shielded are still affected by terrain, land mines, obstacles, etc. Only direct and artillery fire are prevented from damaging them.

UGVs must be commanded from dedicated command vehicles. A single command vehicle can control four UGVs. UGVs can be jammed if the jamming player targets the controlling vehicle. If a successful attack is made, the UGVs assigned to the jammed C3 vehicle immediately go onto a Static order.

A vehicle that is shielded is unable to make any attacks whatsoever. Further, the stasis bubble inhibits targeting systems, laser capacitors, railgun magnetics, etc., so a vehicle may not drop its shield and then immediately fire. Once a vehicle drops its shields, it may do nothing else until the following turn. Command vehicles may still issue commands and jam enemy vehicles.

Shield Generators This is a concept I have been working on for my own homebrew 6mm sci-fi rules. The shields would be represented by the clear plastic domes of "toy capsules" or "vending machine bubbles" such as this, placed over the miniature:

Infantry may be unloaded from a shielded APC and share its shield until they move away from base-to-base contact with the APC. Vehicles may not share a shield. Units with a shielded unit between them and an enemy do not have line-of-sight to the enemy unit for purposes of direct fire. Aircraft and infantry may not carry shield generators.



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LOOKING FORWARD These are only a few possible ideas for adding spice and variety to your games of Iron Cow 2103AD, and I encourage you to develop your own ideas and house rules. And if you come up with some you really like, feel free to bring them to the Brigade Models forums and share them with the rest of us! Thanks for reading! Andreas Udby a.k.a. javelin98 June, 2010


Looking Forward

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Iron Cow Scenario Ic2103 Plb

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