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Miniatures Adventure => The Conflicts that came in from the Cold => Topic started by: Maxx Von Morton on June 06, 2018, 03:37:07 PM

Title: Rules for civilian?
Post by: Maxx Von Morton on June 06, 2018, 03:37:07 PM
Hi everybody!

Does anyone have some house rules, or can suggest some official ruleset, to use civilians in modern skirmish games? I have some really cool models from Spectre and Eureka that I can't use in any way other than "scenery decorations"... I'd love to use them in a more articulated way (for ex, to conceal militians, or as a malus casualty point in certain operations...).

Thank you for your advice!

Maxx

Title: Re: Rules for civilian?
Post by: Will Bailie on June 06, 2018, 04:59:12 PM
Osprey Games 'Black Ops' has rules for civilian bystanders.  They can feature in stealth missions, where civilians can do something like expose a sneaky or disguised agent, or get in the way.  Factions may (or may not!) be restricted in whether they can harm civilians, or even be required to take action to protect them.  Black Ops ends up being a bit detailed, as you are called to test for reaction for EVERY civilian on the board, so can quickly bog down if you have more than a couple of civies.  Black Ops also has a concept of 'noise' - stealth missions generate noise tokens, once enough 'noise' is generated then the stealthy group has their cover blown.  Civilians can be used to generate noise.  Here's an AAR for a Black Ops game I ran that featured civilians:  http://willstoysoldiers.blogspot.com/2016/08/black-ops-just-another-day-in-kandahar.html

Force on Force has special rules for civilians as well.  Considerations include rules of engagement, generation of mobs, what actions a mob might take, hiding insurgents.  The FoF book on Afghanistan (Enduring Freedom) includes a scenario focussed on a search for a suicide bomber in a market, that includes special rules for approaching civilians, attempting to identify the bomber, without turning the civilians against the soldiers.

Title: Re: Rules for civilian?
Post by: Maxx Von Morton on June 06, 2018, 05:35:32 PM
Thank you, Will!
That's exactly what I was looking for  :)
Title: Re: Rules for civilian?
Post by: Red Orc on June 07, 2018, 08:59:52 AM
In Setting the East Ablaze there's a section on civilians that can become influenced by agitators (all factions can be assumed to have someone whose job it is to win 'hearts and minds' whether that's an Orthodox priest, Bolshevik commissar, an Imam etc). These civilians (assumed to be an unorganised crowd of law-abiding and probably frightened citizens) can exist in 4 states corresponding to levels of organisation (and anger). They can move from being law-abiding citizens through states of being a restless mob to an angry mob, and then to a final state of being an armed mob who are in effect another unit on the table. These stages represent how much influence the demagogue in question has bee able to influence the crowd.

The specific context of the rules limits the role of agitator somewhat; the general principle is easily applicable.