QUAD - Four Stat Operational Level Rules

As a kid who grew up playing Battle Masters, Star Fleet Battles and SPI/Avalon Hill hex map games I learned to appreciate the value of hexes to simplify movement and terrain rules. Have you ever heard someone argue line-of-sight rules in a game using a hex map? I thought not - nor will you run into "front of base" vs. "center of base" measuring silliness. Now that my nephews are playing and loving Battle Masters I've been toying with improving the game by, you know, having the players need to make decisions! With that in mind here is a simple set of rules I cooked up - remember it is intended as a gateway game that still includes player decisions.

QUAD

Setup
Units have four stats - Quality, Unit Speed (I admit this one is a naming stretch), Attack, and Defense. Each player requires a deck of regular playing cards and a few D6. Players begin by identifying each unit with a number card (10's represent my heavy cavalry, etc.) and taking 3 of that card as part of their deck, the fourth card can be set aside to help remember which units are represented by which card. Once all the unit cards are in a deck add one face card per three units in the army, plus one per level of your leader. The number cards are called activation cards and the face cards are called tactics cards. In the event that there are too many units for the number cards either add additional decks with unique backs or allow certain face cards, ie. Jacks and Queens, etc, to represent units instead of tactics cards. Players start by drawing one card per three units in their army, plus one per level of their leader.

The Turn

• All players may draw one card from their draw decks
• If a player has no cards left in their draw deck shuffle discard pile and return it to their draw deck
• Inactive player(s) may now steal the activation at any point by paying a tactics card or will
• Active player plays activation cards one at a time until one of the following occurs
• Player releases activation without playing any cards, and draws two cards
• Player runs out of cards in hand
• Player voluntarily releases the activation
• Another player steals the activation by playing a tactics card

Units can only take one action per activation, either moving or attacking, and can be activated as many times as the player has action cards for them.

Stats

• Quality - The overall effectiveness of a unit - a combination of their numbers, training, equipment, and determination. Can take values of 1-5.
• Unit Speed - The mobility of a unit, in hexes. Typical values are 1-3.
• Attack - The offensive capabilities of a unit. Can take any value zero or greater.
• Defense - The defensive capabilities of a unit. Can take any value zero or greater.

Combat

When a unit attacks an enemy unit the attacking unit rolls 1d6 for each point in their attack score, a unit with attack 3 would roll 3d6. Any rolls greater than the opponents quality score a hit. Hits scored with a roll of 6 cause the units quality to decrease by 1 if left unblocked while any other rolls that cause a hit force the target to fall back one hex if unblocked. A unit increases its attack score by 1 for each allied unit that is adjacent to the target.

Once all hits have been noted the defender rolls 1d6 for each point of defense - any rolls above the attackers quality score a block. The defending player may choose which hits to block (6 or non-6 hits) if there were more hits than blocks. If there are more blocks than hits the attacker suffers a loss of quality for excess rolls of 6 and falls back for excess non-6 rolls.

If a unit that is forced to fall back cannot do so because of terrain, enemy units, or other effects they lose 1 quality per hit instead. Units that reach 0 quality are eliminated, having either fled the field or been cut down to a man.

Example 1: A Q:3 A:4 unit attacks a Q:5 D:2 unit. The attacker rolls 4d6, rolling a 1, 3, 5, and 6. The 6 is the only roll greater than the defender's quality, and therefor scores a hit. The defender rolls 2d6 in defense, rolling a 4 and 6, both of which are greater than the attacker's Q of 3 and therefor successes. The defender now chooses which success to use to block the attackers hit and which to apply as a hit. As the attacker was occupying a key position the defender chooses to block with the 6 and applies the 4 as a hit to the attacker, forcing the attacking unit back 1 hex.

Example 2: A Q:5 A:5 unit is attacking a Q:3 D:3 unit. The attacker rolls 5d6 rolling a 2, 4, 5, 5, 6 scoring 4 hits, one causing the targets quality to decrease and the other 3 causing the defender to retreat. The defender rolls a 1, 4, 5 - no blocks. The defender is now Q:2 and must retreat 3 hexes.

Morale

There is no morale system as hit scores of 2-5 simulate an abstract the effects of breaking and rallying.

Terrain Effects

Units moving into difficult terrain are "attacked" by the terrain - if the attack hits the unit doesn't move otherwise the unit may move into the hex.
Open - no effects
Forest - difficult, +2 defense
Slope - difficult when moving up, +1 attack, +1 defense on high ground
Fortified - difficult, +4 defense
River - difficult, +2 defense

Special Rules
Amphibious - rivers don't count as difficult terrain
Charger - the unit may move and attack in a single action, and gains +2 attack when doing so
Elite - successful attack rolls of a 5 or 6 decrease the target's quality by one
Forester - forests don't count as difficult terrain
Green - all successful hits decrease the quality of the unit
Ranged - Written as #1/#2, the unit has an attack value of #1 at a range of up to #2 hexes
Steady - this unit retreats one hex less than the number of hits otherwise dictates
Support - units adjacent to this unit gain +1 defense



As always - feel free to critique!