Flying Lead : Rules Modifications

1. Results of Shooting

The aim of these modifications is to reduce the direct lethality of shooting and, by introducing a gradual upscaling of consequences, make the game more tactical.  They have been tested and work well.


Scored more than the target :
The target Goes to Ground (basically implying suppression).  The target is now Prone, which may cause him to drop out of LOS, but cannot otherwise move.
If already Gone to Ground, the target becomes Shaken and must, if possible, crawl S to another piece or area of cover out of LOS of the last firer.
A Gone to Ground character must spend 1 Action to remove this state, and cannot do anything else until he does; this action also allows the character to stand up if he wishes; otherwise he remains Prone.

2x the target's result :
The target is Shaken.  The target may crawl S to better cover than currently occupied, or to get out of LOS of the shooter.  In any case the target is Prone, which may cause him to drop out of LOS.  If a Shaken character is targetted, the prone modifier is not applied to the firer, whilst the target has a -2 penalty (rather than a +2 for the shooter but all hits Lethal, as in the standard rules).

A Shaken character cannot do anything whilst he remains in that state.  He or she may not be part of a group activated by a Leader, nor a Fire Team.  To recover he or she must activate with three dice (hence increasing the risk of a turnover).  2 Actions must be spent in the same activation to recover, after which the character is now Prone.

Whilst a character is Shaken, all shooting results are downgraded one level (for example : a shooter scoring more than a shaken target causes a second shaken result; doubling the shaken target puts it Out of Action).

If a Shaken character receives another Shaken result, he must take an immediate morale test, apply its results (not requiring one action to stand up from Prone), and after any forced movement will once again drop Prone.
Should such a fleeing character be targetted during his forced move (typically by an enemy on Overwatch), the firer benefits from the usual bonus for firing at a Shaken target.


3 x the target's result :
The target is Out of Action

4 x the target's result :
The target is Killed in Action.  If the firer's die roll was a 6, this results in a Gory Death.


2.  Prone

A character may freely go Prone at the end of any Movement action.
To hit modifiers stack for a target that is both Prone and in cover.


3.  Targeting priorities

A character must fire at the closest target (but can choose between a target in cover and one that is not).
The firer may choose his target if he succeeds a Q test on one die.  +0Q if the desired target is the second closest, +1Q if the third closest, and so forth.  If the Q test is a failure, the firer may not shoot at all.


4.  Some rules to remember

These are not rules changes, but rules that tend to be forgotten :
-  Ambush (p.8) is possible even in the midst of combat, if a firer emerges from a position in which the target could not see him; if the firer was prone, consider he was standing up for the purposes of checking if ambush is possible
-  Hard Cover (buildings etc) allows a shot to be ignored if the difference is only 1
-  Body Armour gives a modifier that is not cumulative with cover or prone; characters with body armour have less need to remain in cover because of this, although it does help to be close to cover t hide behind if Shaken.
-  Targeting priority is something I often forget
-  A firer rolling a '1' is an automatic miss, and if another '1' is rolled, the weapon has jammed or otherwise malfunctioned and must be repaired
-  Overwatch (p.16) is not available for figures of Q5 or more; requires 2 Actions; requires a Q check not to fire; and remains in place if the weapon firing has a High Rate of Fire or used Select Fire capability to obtain it.
-  Concentrated Fire (p. 18) is available to characters directed by a Leader or forming part of a Fireteam.