Civil War OnLine
Still Nameless Naval Module (SNNM)
Rules Addendum for Fall 2010 Game
There are no rules that are specifically for the new naval module that
accompanies the ROTD land module. The naval code was all taken from the
PATE module of NWOL, and the large majority of the PATE rules still
apply. Players interested in the naval rules for the Civil War game
should look through the PATE rules.
There are some changes and additions to the PATE rules; they are
outlined below. The changes and additions are organized in the same way
as the sections of the PATE rules. Note that in some cases I'm only
about 90% sure of the accuracy of these rules. Email me (Steve Schmidt)
if you think there are errors.
1. Map
1.1. There will be two naval maps, one American and
one European, but different in scope than the PATE maps. The American
map will (tentatively) show Halifax to Cuba and the mouth of the Rio
Grande to Bermuda. The European map will only show the western end of
Europe, include relevant British and French ports, maybe Spanish, maybe
Dutch. Ships on navigable rivers will also be on the ROTD strategic
map, so really there will be three maps. At the moment the purely naval
maps do not exist, we're only using ships on rivers.
1.5.
Some ports will be river ports as well. Precisely how this works will
remain a little unclear, but obviously river ports will not have
"coastal waters" and players will move to them by their strategic
square reference rather than by name (unless I can allow both in which
case I will).
2. Ships and Transport Groups
2.1. There will be (at least) six ship types.
Oceangoing ships will be IC Ironclad, FR Frigate, and TR Transport
Group. Rivergoing ships will be RI River Ironclad, GB Gunboat, and RT
River Transport. All CSA ironclads will be River Ironclads (probably).
We might also need a Sloop ship type, and maybe a Tinclad type, but at
the moment I'm hoping not.
4. Submitting Orders
4.5. Players can now specify moving to a specific river
strategic square. They can also indicate whether they want to run
batteries in the course of doing it or not.
4.7. Ships can bombard land targets. They have to be
adjacent to the river and the same rules as bombard in ROTD/GITM apply.
At the moment this is mostly only going to be useful for bombarding
cities, or other rare cases where a land unit has to hold still to be
shelled.
5. Detection
5.1. Two ships on rivers will detect one another if
they are in adjacent squares. Ships will detect land units in adjacent
squares. Land units will detect ships the same as they would units.
6. Movement
6.1. Ships can also specify a river strat square to
move to. You don't need to specify the path to take, there's only one
option and the program can find it. You move up to 20 squares per turn.
You'll stop if you encounter enemy ships or river batteries and combat
will take place at the start of the following turn. You can pursue
enemy ships in your presence that move. You cannot evade arriving enemy
ships - no room to manuever clear on the river.
6.4.
Ships
will eventually be able to sail from rivers into oceans and
conversely. All rivers have ports at their mouths. Ships on rivers will
sail to the strategic square of that port and be placed into the harbor
of that port. From there they'll go to the coastal waters of the ports
normally. Ships coming in from the ocean will sail to the harbor of the
port (crossing any shore batteries as required) and will be able to
move to river strategic squares from there.
7. Combat
7.1. Combat is nearly unchanged. Ship strengths by type
are: 135 for IC, 100 for RT, 50 for GB, 25 for FR, 0 for TR and RT.
Some adjustments are likely. River batteries have strength of 100 if on
flat land, 200 if on hills, 300 if on high hills.
7.8.
Ships that evade river battles, or flee after losing them, will be
moved 8-10 squares in the direction from which they came. (There will
eventually be an option to run through an enemy fleet or enemy
batteries.)
8. River Strategic Movement
8.1 Units which begin their turns in strategic squares with friendly-controlled rivers, and do not make strategic movements by foot, may make river movements. If no enemy unit is present, the moving unit can be anywhere in the strategic square; if an enemy unit is present, the moving unit must be adjacent to a river tactical square to move by river. Paths cannot include diagonal moves, but must be north, south, east, or west. A unit which makes a strategic move under rules section 7 cannot also move by river. A unit cannot move by both rail and river in one turn.
8.2 A river square is friendly-controlled if it contains no enemy river batteries and the last warship to sail in that square was friendly. If a square contains both friendly and enemy gunboats, the square may not be used for river movement.
8.3 To move by river, units enter the destination to which they want to move. They may optionally submit a waypoint to move through as well. Units will move via the shortest valid path between the unit's location and its destination (and through the waypoint if one is submitted). If the unit cannot reach the destination square, either because enemy units block the move or because it exceeds its movement limit, it will move as far as it can towards the destination.
8.4 Units which move by river specify an entry tactical square. Units moving by river can enter in any tactical square that is adjacent to the river and does not contain an enemy unit. They will be placed in the tactical square meeting these conditions that is as close to their requested entry square as possible.