Alternate Ground Combat
- The Stars Without Number title, Starvation Cheap, has a mass combat system that is substantially less complex than the Ground Combat system currently under development. The source is provided here.
- The rules below are at a very early stage and should not be considered grounded (no pun intended) with any hard procedures or values.
Building the Forces
The Federation has the ability to create as many ground forces as it requires. However, other non-superstates are limited in this capacity primarily by population. The first step...
Vital Points
A war is won or lost by control of Vital Points. These points can be physical locations on the planet, such as a peak with a commanding field of fire on the only usable pass through a mountain range, or they can be more metaphorical points, such as the support of a high-tech enclave of religious enthusiasts who have an advanced factory complex. Each Vital Point initially belongs to a side, and if all of their points are captured or destroyed, the side is no longer capable of prosecuting the war.
The number of Vital Points to choose for a side depends on the size and the importance of the war to that side. A powerful, hegemonic nation that really isn’t all that interested in the fight might have only a few Vital Points, representing the limited reverses that they’ll tolerate before they decide the war isn’t worth the effort. A hard-pressed group of guerrilla rebels might have only a few Vital Points as well, as they’re a fragile force that can’t take many losses before they’re destroyed. Conversely, a small nation fighting desperately for its survival might have significantly more points that have to be reduced before it collapses.
For Star Fleet's perspective as an invading force, the first concern is securing one or more landing zones (LZ). Once at least one LZ has been secured as a beachhead, the forces will move out to capture pre-identified points that will serve as Star Fleet's Vital Points. Star Fleet may willingly relinquish the beachhead if another Vital Point serves the purpose better. However, until at least one other beachhead is established, the initial one must be retained as a critical Vital Point to control. Loss of all beachheads will mean forces already on the ground will be unsupported and unable to take advantage of the recovery assignment (detailed below). Reinforcements will be denied (with the exception of battalion-size special forces units) until at least one beachhead is secure for an entire war turn. That can be achieved by capturing (or re-capturing) an appropriate Vital Point or establishing a new one through another planetary assault.
On-planet forces will have pre-established Vital Points that are required for their ability to continue fighting (and existing). To determine these positions:
- Roll 1d10 + 2 for the number of Vital Points.
- Roll 1d8 for Type:
| Roll 1d8 | Type |
|---|---|
| 1 - 2 | Military |
| 3 - 4 | Industrial |
| 5 - 6 | Social |
| 7 - 8 | Political |
- Roll 1d6 for specific type of Vital Point:
| Roll 1d6 | Type |
|---|---|
| Military | |
| 1 | entry |
| 2 | entry |
| 3 | entry |
| 4 | entry |
| 5 | entry |
| 6 | entry |
| Roll 1d6 | Type |
|---|---|
| Military | |
| 1 | entry |
| 2 | entry |
| 3 | entry |
| 4 | entry |
| 5 | entry |
| 6 | entry |
| Roll 1d6 | Type |
|---|---|
| Military | |
| 1 | entry |
| 2 | entry |
| 3 | entry |
| 4 | entry |
| 5 | entry |
| 6 | entry |
| Roll 1d6 | Type |
|---|---|
| Military | |
| 1 | entry |
| 2 | entry |
| 3 | entry |
| 4 | entry |
| 5 | entry |
| 6 | entry |
Star Fleet's VP are determined...
War Turn
The term war turn is unique to ground warfare and represents a fluid amount of days, generally a week, but can be redefined to be more or less, as the circumstances require. It is the only unit of time in ground combat, with one exception: planetary invasions are comprised of several phases in their war turn. One landing zone may have a war turn that does not equal that of landing zone, but they all progress through the same phases that comprise one war turn.
Following a planetary invasion, a war turn refers to one full round of combat engagement between large military units. The first event of the war turn is the assignment of action to each combat unit. These are determined simultaneously for all the sides (no initiative) and are not revealed to the opponent (yet). The selection of assignments are: attack, defend, recovery, or reserve:
- A unit with an Attack order is assigned to capture or destroy a Vital Point. More than one unit may attack the same Vital Point and they are considered as relocated to the relevant planetary region once the order is given.
- Units that are kept "on the line" at a Vital Point they have already fought for are considered to have Defend orders. They may not move from that assigned location for this war turn.
- Recovery allows the assigned unit one war turn in which they are pulled from their current Vital Point and moved to the rear, where they may regain some capability that may have been lost. Roll 1d6: on a 3+, the unit regains one lost level of readiness, up to Fresh. Units that have been battered down to a smaller effective size by battle damage cannot normally regain their lost size in the available timeframe of a war. If new sources of recruits or supplies can be found, this limit might be sidestepped. Units in recovery may not attack nor defend a Vital Point.
- Units held in Reserve are removed from any Vital Point they may be occupying or brought back from recovery status to serve as a defensive force that will quickly deploy in the defense of a targeted Vital Point under attack by the enemy. They have been pulled from the line but kept close enough to the fighting to respond to any enemy incursions. Units in reserve can’t effectively repair combat damage, but they’re assumed to be fast enough to get to any Vital Point in time to make a difference.
The second event is the reveal: opponents indicate their decision for each unit under their command. This is the point at which reserves are allocated to the attacked Vital Points.
third event: determination of possible special operation missions relevant to each Vital Point (friendly- and enemy-controlled).
fourth event: assignment of special forces units to selected vital points and resolution of those missions
fifth event: attacking a vital point (p. 67)