"40k RPG-based skirmish rules development" Topic

I'm developing a skirmish ruleset based on the 40k RPG system (Dark Heresy et al.). The purpose is both to facilitate mass combat within RPG sessions with miniatures, and create an independent skirmish ruleset for 40k miniatures (though why not to others as well?).

The system is D10-based. Statistics for troops are derived from the RPG books themselves.

Here's what I have so far before the Christmas break:

40k RPG Miniatures game

Stat conversion:
Divide by 10 and round down to get the "ability bonus" for the following stats and skills (minimum 1):
Ag, WS, BS, St, To, Pe(rception), WP, Wo(unds), Co(mmand),
Other Stats:
Att(acks) = Equal to rank in Attack Talents
Fate: Heroes only, spend to activate unique abilities, re-roll a personal roll (not damage), or negate 1 hit.
Arm(our): A rough average of the AP on each body part according to their hit chances.
Example statline:
Imperial Guardsman
Agi WS BS Str Tou Per Will Wou Com Att Arm Fate
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 2 1 3 0

Nerves of Steel (Re-roll failed Pinning test)
M36 Lasgun (Range 50", Str 3 Pen 0)
Space Marine, Devastator
Agi WS BS Str Tou Per Will Wou Com Att Arm Fate
4 4 4 10 8 4 4 2 4 1 9 0

Astartes Bolter (Range 50", Str 9, Pen 4, Tearing (may re-roll wound rolls)

Actions:

A unit can make two actions or one full action on its turn.
Actions include:

Sneak (Agi value)
Move (double the Agi value)
Shoot
Attack

Full Actions include:
Run (Quadruple the Agi value)
Charge (triple the Agi value followed by a melee attack with +1 to hit)
Aimed Shot (Ranged attack with +1 to +2 to hit depending on the weapon)
Concentrated attack (Melee attack with+1 to hit)
Suppressive Fire

Shooting:
Weapons have one or more firing modes from the following list:
Single (Single shot capability)
Semi (Semi-automatic capability, target unit receives 1 extra hit for every +2 the hit roll beats the target number. For example: the target number is 3, the hit roll is 1. The target receives 2 hits instead of one.)
Auto X (Automatic fire capability, where X represents the number of dice the weapon can make when firing with automatic fire. There is normally a -1 penalty to hit for automatic fire. Each die can produce extra hits similar to semi-automatic fire.)

Wounding: Str+d10 vs Tou + (Arm-Pen).
Fail to beat: no effect.
Beat by 1-5: figure knocked down. Half action to stand. Previously knocked down figures suffer a wound.
Beat by 6-11: Suffer a wound and knocked down as above.
Beat by 12-17: Suffer two wounds and knocked down as above.
ETC.
A roll of 1 never causes a wound. A roll of 10 lets you roll another D10 and add it to the result. If followed by another 10, roll another d10 and so on.

The game will use a command phase similar to Dust Warfare (based on the commander's Com value instead of unit number), meaning some units can act before the turn proper, and a reaction mechanic based on D10+Agi (or total Initiative value). Suppression either through heavy enough incoming standard fire or suppressive fire actions can leave the unit with just one action and a compulsion to stay in cover.

If you've got any ideas for the system, let me know.

Sorry, a bit late to the party. I don't know enough about RPG's to comment on your rules but have you checked out "Inquisimunda"?
link
It's a blend of Inquisitor and Necromunda that looks to be pretty well done. At the very least, it may give you some good ideas.

For 40k Skirmish, I use "In The Emperor's Name"…
link
…but I don't think it's granular enough for what you want to do.

Best of luck with the project.

Thank you, at the very least they'll give me ideas for scenario design and balance, it just needs to be in the ballpark, and with these rules the differences between troops can get really big, just look at how the Devastator needs a 2+ to dispatch the poor guardsman on a hit while the guardsman needs a 10 followed by another 10 and then a 6 to dispatch the marine outright (less to hurt or wound him, of course, but you get the point). A tactical marine would be even more skilled, let alone a veteran.

But that's what I and many others have wanted to see in a 40k ruleset, I think.

Yeowch! That's a huge difference in the needed to-kill rolls. You'd have to have a hundred guardsmen on the table to take out a squad of marines. Maybe it reflects the fluff, but that doesn't sound like it's going to give a very playable game. There is a reason that no one seemed to play the "Movie Marines" codex that appeared in WD a few years back.

Inquisimunda and In The Emperor's Name do have some stark differences between Marines and Guardsmen but nothing that extreme.

Sorry if this comes across a bit harsh. Still, if you have a group of folks that have expressed an interest in the type of rules you decide, then full speed ahead!

The point isn't to let guardsmen kill marines easily in a skirmish ruleset. The roll to wound a marine is just a ten followed by a five, so just over 1 in 20. That's just with a bog standard lasgun. How does that sound?

The game isn't really about pitting marines against a handful of guardsmen with lasguns, even though those are the examples I gave. They just show the two extremes of the system.

In a skirmish system, the objective shouldn't be "kill everyone" on both sides. Mission objectives are emphasized.

Strange how you'd draw such conclusions from just one example I gave, perhaps you misunderstood that that was the roll to achieve anything and would represent the normal game play within the rules.