Revealing a face card during an Activation phase allows a unit to perform a special action. Special actions in Atomic Africa merit individual descriptions, due to the unique effect each one brings the game.
Dig-in
The Dig-in special action means the unit spends most of its effort finding places to hunker down, avoiding exposure by limiting mobility. Only infantry may Dig-in, and troopers cannot move when doing so; do not place In-transit or Destination figures. A unit Digging-in computes its Attack score using either the highest or lowest die score, depending on the posture of the assigned order card (see Table 5). Sum the remaining two dice scores; this is the unit's Defense score.
Mass Fire
Infantry units from the Second World War onward wield an awesome amount of firepower for their size, including support weapons like light machine guns, rifle-fired and hand thrown grenades, and even small rockets. The Mass Fire special action reflects an infantry unit successfully coordinating its various weapons on a single target. Figure the unit's Defense score using either the highest or lowest die rolled, depending on the posture dictated by the orders. Make two separate attacks against the same target using the two remaining dice to generate two Attack scores. Resolve the attacks separately; range and the target's Defense score affect each attack normally. Only infantry may Mass Fire, and troopers cannot move when doing so; do not place In-transit or Destination figures.
Split Fire
Infantry units may also use their considerable firepower to attack two targets simultaneously. If declaring a Split Fire special action calculate the unit's Defense score using either the highest or lowest die rolled, depending on the posture dictated by the orders. Use the two remaining dice to generate two Attack scores, making an attack against two separate targets. During the Declaration sub-phase, the player wishing to Split Fire must also declare which target faces the highest Attack score (not yet rolled). Some sort of marker serves as a convenient reminder; I like to use a piece of thick spaghetti painted yellow-white or orange with acrylic paint to look like a tracer round streaking to the target. Only infantry may Split Fire, and troopers cannot move when doing so; do not place In-transit or Destination figures.
Fire Heavy Weapon
Vehicles and foot soldiers both employ heavy weapons; arms that while exceedingly deadly prove cumbersome to operate at times. Atomic Africa simulates the slow nature of heavy weapons by requiring players use special actions to fire them. A firing unit computes its Defense score as either the highest or lowest die score, depending on a defensive or offensive posture respectively. The Attack score equals the sum of the remaining two dice scores. Some heavy weapons may only be fired on dispersed targets (troops) or point targets (vehicles and terrain features); the Unit Data Sheet should note the eligible target type. In addition to target type restrictions, some heavy weapons feature an Armor Penetration (AP) value against particular targets. The value adds to the target's Armor, effectively lowering it. Example: a Unit Data Sheet lists both dispersed and point targets as eligible targets for a tank's main battle gun. The sheet also lists the gun has an AP of -2 against point targets only. Although the gun's rounds certainly prove dangerous to an infantry squad, against an enemy tank they would drop its Armor from 5 to 3. Firing a heavy weapon requires the attacking unit to sacrifice its mobility; do not place In-transit or Destination figures.
Rally
The Rally special action allows a unit, infantry or vehicle, to attempt to eliminate one suppression marker, outside and in addition to the normal Morale sequence at the end of the turn. A unit may use the Rally special action on itself, or on a friendly unit. The Rallying unit must have less suppression markers than the unit it is attempting to Rally. The overall force commander (usually the platoon leader), is exempt from this requirement; he may Rally another unit no matter how many suppression markers he has. Table 5 highlights which dice units assign to their Attack, Defense, and Rally actions, depending on posture. Measure the range between a Rallying unit and the unit benefiting from the Rally. If the Rally score exceeds the sum of the range and the number of suppression markers on the target (range 0 for self-Rallies), remove one suppression marker. Generally units must have line-of-sight (LOS), but in ultra-modern and future settings featuring tactical communication devices, non-LOS Rallies are allowed with a +1 penalty added to the range. Do not place In-transit or Destination figures for a unit performing the Rally special action.
Call for Fire
Fire support, either air power or artillery, sometimes plays a vital role in infantry operations. The Call for Fire special action allows appropriately equipped troops (typically the command element or scout troops only) to spot for off board fire support elements. A spotting unit computes its Defense score as either the highest or lowest die score, depending on a defensive or offensive posture respectively. The Spotting score equals the sum of the remaining two dice scores. Fire support attacks require the attacker to roll two d12s of different colors, one indicating scatter direction (clock position), the other showing scatter distance. Subtract the Spotting score from the scatter distance, treating any result less than 0 as a direct hit on the intended target. The spotter only needs LOS to the target; range does not matter. Only infantry may Call for Fire, and troopers cannot move when doing so; do not place In-transit or Destination figures.
Sprint
Light Infantry and Vehicles (only) utilize the Sprint special action to increase mobility. Place a Destination figure during the Movement Sub-phase of the Activation phase, as if the unit were performing a basic "shoot and move" maneuver with an order card of printed value "10". Determine the unit's Attack and Defense score based on its posture, as depicted in Table 5, during the Action Resolution Sub-phase. The highest die score becomes the sprint bonus. Resolve any attacks by or against the sprinting unit, then displace the unit a number of 4.5cm increments (9cm for vehicles) equal to the sprint bonus. The extra movement may be in any direction.
Special actions form an important part of Atomic Africa, but even more fundamental are suppression and confusion rules, coming up next!
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