THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE HAMMER’S SLAMMERS THE CRUCIBLE RULES SYSTEM HANDBOOK

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Operation Night Crow 2: All or Nothing

Click thumbnail to enlarge All photos by Tony Francis & John Treadaway

MECHANISMS One of the systems fundamental to the Hammer’s Slammers: The Crucible rules is the concept of Leadership Points. Each turn, a distinct unit of whatever size (ranging from a small troop to a larger detachment) bowls a pair of D6 and then adds the result to a fixed leadership rating based on the officer in charge, cross-referenced to the quality of the troops he or she is leading. For example, a unit led by an Elite Colonel might have 2d6 plus 12 LPs. However, a small unit led by a trained Sergeant might have 2d6 plus only 2 LPs. When using the system, it’s important to understand that this is not a ‘currency’ as such but represents the commanding officer (or NCO’s) ability to actually give orders: the amount of shouting at your troops a leader can do. Leaving aside the other things that affect this total (for example, some Elite skills given to personality leaders can boost this total, but – conversely – every kill received by a unit drops the total by one LP as orders become harder to give as the casualty rate – and the chaos which ensues – mounts). I have found that this is a good system for representing ordering troops around. And yet I missed the trick. This scenario, and – in future – any other similar scenarios I run that require units to be ‘activated’, will use a far more granular approach to activation. In those circumstances I would – after perhaps a first turn where genuine surprise might mean that the defenders will not have the initiative (therefore losing the opportunity for a first shot) – they would bowl a series of Leadership Point rolls.