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"SF rules for 15mm tank warfare..." Topic


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Uesugi Kenshin Supporting Member of TMP16 Sep 2021 11:46 a.m. PST

There are a number of excellent SF tank models in 15mm out there. Khurasan being one in particular I'd like to pick up.

Is there a set of rules that you feel handles tank-v-tank combat particularly well as opposed to just the run of the mill SF skirmish rules?

Thanks for any suggestions!

emckinney16 Sep 2021 1:26 p.m. PST

Grav armor, or just conventional/hover vehicles?

Uesugi Kenshin Supporting Member of TMP16 Sep 2021 1:42 p.m. PST

I was thinking of Super-Heavy style tracked tanks, but I'll say include Grav/ Hover.

McWong7316 Sep 2021 4:14 p.m. PST

Hammers Slammers. Has a mix of tank types in both size and propulsion, and is very much a tankers game.

emckinney16 Sep 2021 4:21 p.m. PST

Slammers doesn't cover fast grav vehicles, if that matters.

Stryderg16 Sep 2021 7:58 p.m. PST

I've heard good things about Dirtside (it's 6mm) and Stargrunt (15mm). Downloaded them and skimmed over, never got to play, though.

link

McWong7317 Sep 2021 2:42 a.m. PST

The TAS list in HS are grav. I don't know if the rules support the orbital insertion capability thats in the fluff though.

Thresher0117 Sep 2021 3:50 a.m. PST

Here's a link to the "Grav Armor for FUBAR" rules I wrote for my Topgun range of 15mm Sci-Fi Grav Tanks:

link

You can scroll down on the FUBAR links page, to the 15mm Sci-Fi section, to find the "One Page" rules (front and back), as well as the stats I created for my range of vehicles, and some of those from GZG and Critical Mass (neither companies approved of the ratings for their vehicles, so they are unofficial, and my personal opinions). Those can be easily changed, and I suspect you can derive ratings for any others that you desire, from the examples provided, say for Old Crow, Combat Wombat (really miss these, Scotty), Rebel Minis, and others.

Make sure to grab a copy of the Excel stats sheet to go with the rules too, to facilitate game play.

I strongly recommend that with my rules, you use the optional D10 Die Activation Process instead of using the standard D6s for FUBAR for that, since otherwise the lower-tech level forces will be terribly over-matched and unable to activate far too often.

Using the D10s still permits some differentiation between the forces, especially over time (numerous turns), but lower quality troops and vehicles are able to activate more often than with the D6s.

There ARE orbital insertions rules for these, but they should only be permitted for the more advanced Grav Armor designs – the older-style, Grav vehicles with side pod repulsors are early/ancient tech, are more vulnerable to enemy fire, and can only be inserted from orbit on pallets, or inside drop ships. They are also unable to climb more than a few meters above the surface of a planet, due to very limited grav repulsor power, so cannot fly at tree-top level or above, unlike the more sophisticated ones produced later.

I don't have any stats for tracked or GEV vehicles, but those are pretty easy to create if desired. They'll just be slower, unable to insert from orbit, unless on "drop pads" equipped with anti-grav, or rocket-powered tech, etc., and far more likely to be adversely affected by difficult terrain. Grav vehicles can freely fly or cruise above those, so are unaffected by it.

They are a generic set of rules, so you can use them with any miniatures and scales. Using 1/300th minis with these will make the high speeds of the vehicles look even more impressive on the tabletop.

Give them a try and let me know what you think.

They're free, so you can't beat the price.

Enjoy!


The miniatures shown below were very nicely painted by a customer, so I can't take credit for them. His name escapes my now, so my sincere apologies for that.

picture


Here's another nicely painted unit by another customer too, again whose name escapes me (again, my sincere apologies), but IIRC, he lives/lived in the Pacific Northwest.

picture

I still need to get some of my own assembled and painted up. Can't believe it has been more than 10 years since I wrote the rules.

Thresher0117 Sep 2021 5:17 a.m. PST

Hmmm, was reviewing the stats sheets for the vehicles, and for the GZG Advanced Grav Armor, their speeds should really be 9" or 10" for standard moves. Feel free to adjust those.

Of course, you can also increase them to the same speeds as the "Superior" vehicles too, and the armor ratings as well, if you have a mind to do that.

I created the ratings as is, so there was some differentiation between the various ranges to make battles more interesting, but can see an argument for making the "Advanced GZG Grav Armor" ratings to be equal to those of the "Superior" Topgun vehicles too, if desired.

It's pretty easy to tweak ALL the ratings to your liking.

Only Warlock17 Sep 2021 6:52 a.m. PST

Stargrunt II and Gruntz are really good for Armor heavy fights. Tomorrow's War does really well with combined arms.

emckinney17 Sep 2021 8:26 a.m. PST

Thresher, thanks for that! I wanted to mention your rules, but I couldn't remember who created them …

Still absolutely love your tanks.

Patrick Sexton Supporting Member of TMP17 Sep 2021 9:09 a.m. PST

Our group uses Treadaway's Hammer's Slammers rules.

link

They work well for large battles or small.

chalanekstation.blogspot.com

Personal logo javelin98 Supporting Member of TMP17 Sep 2021 9:33 a.m. PST

You can get Striker, the Traveller minis combat rules, from RPGdrivethru.

Uesugi Kenshin Supporting Member of TMP17 Sep 2021 4:10 p.m. PST

I'm wondering if Dirtside can/has be scaled up to cover 15mm minis (perhaps using 2 or 2.5 times the movement and range).

(Though I confess, I find the idea of Hammers n Slammers appealing even though I haven't read the fluff).

Uesugi Kenshin Supporting Member of TMP17 Sep 2021 5:37 p.m. PST

A question about Spammers. Does it have a dedicated line of miniatures made for it or does it have generic stats that can be applied to any line of sci to minis?

Oberlindes Sol LIC Supporting Member of TMP17 Sep 2021 6:22 p.m. PST

Striker and Striker II were written for 15mm figures and are both playable and fun -- and you get to design your own vehicles and weapons systems.

Stryderg17 Sep 2021 7:56 p.m. PST

Uesugi Kenshin – If you enjoy military sci-fi, I highly recommend the novels.
Site for the rules and fluff: link
Site for minis: link

Uesugi Kenshin Supporting Member of TMP17 Sep 2021 11:34 p.m. PST

Thanks Stryderg! That's a lot of factions!

Uesugi Kenshin Supporting Member of TMP19 Sep 2021 1:34 p.m. PST

Stryderg, is this a good place to start on the fluff or do you have another recommendation?

link

commanderroj08 Oct 2021 10:06 a.m. PST

I have messed about a bit with What A Tanker for sci-fi. I used 6mm vehicles, and it is a bit sketchy, but the principles of what I did are there in these two blog posts. Might be of interest:

link

Covert Walrus17 Oct 2021 4:19 p.m. PST

Uesugi Kenshin, that's an excellent start.

Capt Flash13 Nov 2021 8:01 p.m. PST

Late reply here- but check out Trilaterum… good fun!

trilaterum.com
The game also has a simple DIY section.

Part time gamer04 Dec 2021 5:22 p.m. PST

those look cool

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