Song of Tracks and Turrets (SBH solo variant)

So I purchased the cool little fantasy skirmish game Song of Blades and Heroes (SBH) a while ago, but have yet to play it.  It seems like a great system and with a little tweaking other people have used it well for solo gaming.  I intend to add my tweaks as well, and then use the basic game engine to model some tank platoon on tank platoon futuristic violence.

Why tank battles?  Well, basically because building 6mm terrain is so much easier than 15mm.  Also, tanks are much easier to sculpt than figures and I want to use some of my scratchbuilds in combat.  Before I can do any of that however, I need to get back to those rules tweaks.

Some solitaire rules I've seen have the player controlling his side and an AI logic controlling the enemy side.  I've tried these types of setups and have never really enjoyed myself.  Instead, I prefer to play each side as objectively and logically as possible against each other.  Still, one side will usually have a neat miniature or cool paint job and I'll be tempted, at least subconsciously, to favor that side.  To help me play it straight I include various randomizers and other ways to simulate the fog of war, such as card activation, chit-draws, etc.  Here's my modification to the Song of Blades and Heroes engine that I plan to implement with my tank games.  If the playtesting works then perhaps I'll try a real SBH game with the modification, despite my dearth of fantasy figures.

Using this modification requires 3 six-sided dice of different colors, and 2 different colored ten-sided dice which match the color of a d6 each.  For example I use a white d6, an orange d6 and green d6; and a green d10 and orange d10.  Additionally, the modification requires a standard deck of playing cards with the Jokers included.

Each unit has a command track consisting of a row of four boxes, each box either blank or featuring a different card suit.  The name is a bit of a misnomer, as the track really reflects the activating miniature's ability to gather and process battlefield information and, more importantly, communicate that information to other members of the unit.  Thus, it should really be called the "commo track", since communications equipment and not the competence of the platoon leader really drives the situational awareness of the unit.

If a unit has only basic communication equipment with no jamming protection and negligible if any sensors, its command track starts blank.  If the unit has well-maintained, contemporary commo gear with anti-jam capability and networked sensors, then it starts with one box on its command track filled with a card suit (it doesn't matter which suit).  If the unit possesses truly revolutionary situational awareness gear, then the command track starts with two of the boxes filled with two different card suits.

The platoon leader's ability to process all this incoming information and then transmit easily understood orders also influences which actions the units take.  If the platoon leader is particularly inept, or extremely inexperienced, remove one playing card suit from the command track (minimum of four blank boxes obviously).  If the leader is trained and not exceptionally talented or experienced but not a hindrance, the command track remains unchanged.  Finally, if the leader has a talent for command or years of combat experience, add a third suit to the track.  Thus, after considering both communications gear and leadership ability, command tracks can have anywhere from zero to three playing card suits displayed.

During the start of the solo game, designate the default aggressiveness of each side on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most risky and 1 the most conservative.  At the start of each turn, choose a miniature to activate and then draw a card from the top of a shuffled deck.  If the suit on the drawn card matches any suit on the activating model's command track, then the miniature has a clear picture of what's happening on all parts of the battlefield.  This allows the solo player to act as a "100 foot general" and choose how many activations the figure will attempt.  Roll the appropriate number of d6 against Quality and take any activations earned as in SBH and most of its variants.

If the suit on the drawn card does not match any on the command track of the miniature's unit, then the figure possesses a skewed picture of what's really going on, either through poor or misinterpreted communication, or just general lack of information.  The model decides its own number of activation attempts, based on its situational awareness.  The number on the card indicates the activating miniature's aggressiveness, with face cards using the default aggressiveness declared at game start.  Roll all five dice, the 3d6 and 2d10 together.  Treat the aggressiveness number on the card (we'll call it X here) as the beginning of the following sentence: "X+ rolled on a d10 results in the discard of the matching color d6".  Remove the appropriate dice from the table and then compare any remaining d6s against the unit's Quality, as per normal SBH.  So the higher the aggressiveness of the figure (as dictated by the card), the more likely all three dice will be used in an activation attempt.  Repeat the process with the next miniature, either on the same side or opposing side depending on turnovers, placing markers to record which models have attempted activation.  The turn ends when all miniatures have rolled for activation, but the card deck is not reshuffled (see below).

The first Joker draw results in all three d6 being rolled for activation, but initiative is not turned over, regardless of the number of failures.  Set this Joker aside from the normal discard pile as a reminder.  A second Joker draw results in an immediate end of the turn and reshuffling of the card deck.  So, first Joker: good; second Joker: bad.

If SBH, Mutants and Deathray Guns or Flying Lead players out there have any interest in my solitaire variant, please try it out and let me know how it works.