Goatboy – Looking at 6th and What’s Ahead – Vehicles
Goatboy here again and amid the outrage of price increases as well as the thought of resin minis I’ve decided to try and talk through some ideas on what 6th can do to create a better game.
I plan on doing more of these as I look at different aspects of the game that I think could use some work and some tweaking. So without much other thought lets look at the main boogey man of 5th edition – Vehicles.
If you have been playing 5th for awhile you know the battle field is controlled by roving boxes of doom. The game has moved away from the old times of getting out and doing some damage to utilizing the increased ability of vehicles to dominate the game. So lets look at ways to help resolve this. I got a few ideas I threw around this past weekend when I played at the Alamo 40k GT.
I didn’t want to do anything crazy with the rules. I have seen a lot of chatter about this online with most suggestions moving into the overly complicated territory. I always believe a simpler game is a better game as it allows more people to get involved. These rule thoughts are just utilizing the same rule system with simple tweaks in order to hopefully push the game in a better direction that is both fun for vehicles as well as for those with boots on the ground.
1) Make the Vehicle Damage Chart More Damaging.
I agree that one chart to roll on is for the best. Anything that lessens the amount of times you have to reference a chart is always for the best in a game. How many games have you played where you have to reference multiple things to get a result? That takes so long so having one chart is always the key to a better game. So the question is how do we fix it? Well I think the best thing to do is make all results on the charge make the vehicle not be able to shoot. That way you don’t do an immobilization result and have you still get shot by 3 Dark Lances or whatever “evil laser beams” your opponent has aimed at your line. This would allow you to move onto the next vehicle a little easier and make the opponent have to decide to get out to try and damage your line. I think this one change would dramatically effect the game and create a much bigger range of movement as we will end up having to get out a lot more to do something to your opponent.
2) Based Vehicle Cover Saves Only Grant a 5+.
I think the 4+ is very damaging to the game right now. How many games have you had where your opponent “blocks” all your shots with some vehicle shenanigans. This will make games a lot more intense as we try to move around. It might hurt some “high” cost vehicles as they lose some survivability but I think the game needs it as a whole. The max save a vehicle would end up getting is a 4+ and this just helps make some things not so invulnerable and damaging. I do think that going flat out should still leave you at a 4+ due to the idea that you lose your shooting but it is something that could be tried at a 5+. I also think for regular troops the max save you should get is a 4+ due to stealth, ruins being reenforced, and shrouding. But that is for another article.
3) Getting Blown Out of a Vehicle Automatically Pins.
This is a hard one as it is a major change to the game. I think it might be needed as a way to curtail you blowing up a vehicle and then watching as the guys in the middle of the wreckage get out, flame you, and then charge and kill you. Lets say you were in your car and you got in an accident that basically flipped it and ruined your ride. Do you think you could just get out, dust your shoulders off, and then flamer the guy that hit you? No you would be groggy and have to look around and get the wreckage off of you. So every option should cause pinning if you get blown up or just blown out. This would make the idea of moving 12 inches forward, jumping out and firing a much better option as well as make the idea of losing your ride much more damaging and risky.
4) Get Rid of Pivoting to Gain Movement.
I am getting tired of seeing longer models pivot and gain 2-3 inches of “free” movement. I think the rule should be – the max you can move is from the closet tip to the direction you are facing to the new location. That is it. I know this is not the biggest thing for many of the armies but there are a few with longer vehicles (Orks, DE, Land Raiders) that can utilize this unrealistic movement trick. I know this is a game of plastic men but this little thing would help. With the most likely introduction of pre-measuring in the upcoming update I can see this being less of an issue as we can easily figure out what the distance is and if things are really within range before there are any cheeto stained hands on the models.
In another post I want to look at some thoughts on assault as well as the shooting phase. I think this game is getting pretty close with most of the core rules “decent” enough for most games. There are some issues as there are new added rules and game design but those are things that can always be looked at later.
So give me your opinions on my vehicle ideas? Or do you have others that you think will help shake up the 5th edition 40k parking lot?
