Date: Sun, 21 May 1995 13:30:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: Andrew JACKSON <ajackson@cs.mcgill.ca>
Subject: SWRPG: two bonuses for TACTICS rolls.
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Concerning the TACTICS skill:

On Wed, 3 May 1995 barry.po@deepcove.com wrote:

> Yes, it would be great to have your ideas and how the companion says it's
> supposed to be used.  I really do believe that skill would be a great thing for
> both the NPC's in the campaign I'm (trying to) run, and the PC's... My friend
> is also starting a campaign of his own, and I'd like to include tactics as one
> of my skills as well.

This is for Barry, and any others interested in adapting the TACTICS 
skill into their game. This may also give you ideas for other bonuses for 
tactics rolls. The ideas below do not replace roleplaying, but 
instead allow a way of giving game bonusses for good tactical desicions 
by the PCs or the Enemy. Please add the appropriate description. "Feint", 
"flanking", "point guard", "spearhead", "attack pattern ___", "defensive 
position ___" are all words that can be used by the GM to describe why a 
bonus is being given for a tactics roll. The last two are especially 
useful if you want the PCs to hear enemy commands to their troops--'cause 
they have no idea (well, maybe) what is going to happen in "attack 
position X-35alpha", and thus it is not surprising the enemy gets a bonus for 
Tactics.

I use the two bonuses for Starship Tactics in the Rules Companion (pg 
45) for most tactics rolls (especially "Tactics: squads"). Modified 
versions follow:
----------------------------------
Tactics is a knowledge skill. It is often a specialization. Tactics: 
capital ships, Tactics: fleets, Tactics: starfighters, Tactics: ground 
assault, and Tactics: squads are all specializations that have been 
identified by WEG. There are more.

Two bonuses are given for successful tactics rolls:

1) Anticipate Enemy: 
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A Moderate tactics roll is needed to anticipate the 
enemy. If the roll is successful, a commander's troops/ship gets a free 
"Haste" action at NO penalty. If Haste rules are not being used: the 
commander's troops/ship all get to perform ONE action that is resolved 
BEFORE their enemy's action(s). Already declared actions may NOT be changed. 
All damage results (or other results) are resolved before proceeding with the 
rest of the round. 

2) Deceive Enemy:
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A Difficult tactics roll is needed to "deceive the 
enemy". Success on this roll allows a commander to REDECLARE all his/her 
actions (and those of all his/her troops) after hearing what his/her 
opponent(s) have declared--even if the commander and the troops have already 
declared. This rule is good way of getting the enemy to do 
something you want (by baiting them with your first declaration) and then 
using that action against them (by redeclaring). This rule is very 
powerful when the declaration order is based on PER or DEX. I think it would 
also be advantageous with initiative-based *declaration*.

NOTE: the character must indicate which tactical bonus he/she is trying 
for BEFORE the tactics roll.

NOTE: if both sides in a conflict are making tactics rolls, I use Opposed 
Rolls to resolve who gets a bonus. The roll must still be over the 
difficulty number, of course. Only one side gets any tactical bonus in a 
round.

In many cases the Tactics skill will replace the Command skill, or be used 
in conjunction with it. This is because to deceive an enemy, sometimes 
you must get your troops to perform a coordinated action (ie a "probe" or 
a "feint"). GMs may wish to have two rolls made: one for the commander's 
tactical knowledge, and one to command the troops to do his/her wonderful 
idea. IE a Tactics roll followed by a Command roll.
 ---------------------------------
The first bonus is often due to the commander *evaluating* the tactical 
situation and *predicting* (anticipating?) what the enemy will do. I 
think it relies mainly on the commander's evaluation of the situation 
rather than any actual troop manuevers he has commanded.

However, the second bonus, IMO, is often due to "feints", "probes" and 
the like that are designed to reveal how the enemy will act. I often 
use the word "feint" to describe why the commander gets a bonus. Other 
descriptions can be more involved and more interesting.

Andrew.