Free Challenging Tabletop Wargame Rules For WW2 Air Combats

STURMOVIK COMMAN !R

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Mar)in ,er'o%i)Iain Werr+

INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Sturmovik Commander a wargame which deals with air combat during World War Two. The game is based on a manoeuvre system and, unlike most wargaming systems, isn't based on alternating turns. Before you start, remember one im ortant thing! this is "ust a game, not a dull simulation, and so many as ects are sim lified or a little abstracted. #ur main idea was to write a fast and easy system, with few tables and with a minimum of book$kee ing and overdone rules. #n the other hand, not everything is erfectly balanced, as Sturmovik Commander is based on historical factors. Sturmovik Commander is an o en system the s%uadron lists or rules resented here are not finalised, and later we will add more lane ty es, shi s or ground targets. &or this game you will need a table to lay on 'around (')*' for medium battles+ a cou le of ,* dice, a measuring ta e and, of course, miniatures to re resent aircraft and ground targets. We recommend the use of *mm or -.mm scale aircraft, mounted on round or he)agonal bases 'about /.mm in diameter+. 0ou may use this same scale to re resent the ground targets in the game. 1n case of shi s or other large ob"ects, use -2-3.. or -23(.. miniatures 'as no wargame kee s consistent scale+. Before the game, rint the counters from the dfs and cut them out carefully you will need them to re resent s eed, altitude and other information about the aircraft. This will save bookkee ing during the game. 4lternatively you may use green and blue ,-. dice to re resent s eed and altitude. 4nd one last note! you may consider the te)t style of this document a little crude, but this is intentional. Sim le te)t is much easier to inter ret, and much more understandable for non$5nglish layers, and sim le formatting makes the rules rinter friendly.

Living system
Sturmovik Commander is designed as a living system, with new or corrected rules ublished on our web age. The current rule version status will be clearly marked on our official ortal. We are very grateful for any comments or new rules suggested in our forum we may even use them6

Modules
Sturmovik Commander is a modular system. There are many modules, bringing in o tional rules, which may be used in your games. The layers may customise their games by choosing the modules which fit them best.

Version 1.5
This revised version of the core rules was written to make the game even more cinematic, the dogfights even more wild, and bullets more deadly. 1t was based both on layers suggestions and our gaming e) eriences. 4ll -..)) s%uadron lists and modules are com atible with version -.7 of the core rules, but we cannot guarantee that newer ones will work erfectly with version -.. of the core rules.

Ranges
The game uses inches to measure distances. 1n the case of lanes, measure from base edge to base edge. 8layers may use different bases as this does not have much influence on the game. 1n such cases, measure distances from base stem to base stem, and add 9-: to all ranges. 1f the enemy is u to (: away then they are in close range, if they are over (; and within <: then they are at medium range, and if they are more than <: away and within -3: then they are at long range. 1n game, remeasuring is forbidden until it is time to actually make the shot2move2etc.

The s uadron
1n Sturmovik Commander, both layers command a grou of lanes, which consists of between one and twelve aircraft. We will name this grou later as a s%uadron, although it isn't always historically accurate. S%uadrons are com osed using the s%uadron lists, u to an agreed oints value, which are included both in this ublication and on our web age.

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!lane statisti"s
5very lane is described by the following statistics! -. 8oints value. 4ll lanes 'and some ground ob"ects+ have a oints value, which must be s ent when a layer fields the aircraft. 3. Ty e. The ty e of the lane is im ortant to determine in which scenarios it may be used. There are three common ty es of lanes! fighters, bombers, and recon aircraft. Some multi role lanes may belong to a few categories, such as fighter2bomber or bomber2recon. =round defences and ob"ects are a s ecial category and are described later. 4dditional ty es of the lanes2other ob"ects may be added by modules. /. >its. >its re resent the damage which an aircraft may take before it is shot down. When the number of hits are reduced to ., the lane is destroyed. Bigger or well armoured lanes tend to have more hits. 4 ty ical fighter has two hits, while heavy bombers may even have eight hits. (. ?anoeuvrability. ?anoeuvrability re resents how agile the lane is and which manoeuvres it may erform. 8lanes with a low manoeuvrability may erform manoeuvres -$/, medium manoeuvrability aircraft may erform manoeuvres -$*, high manoeuvrability aircraft may erform manoeuvres -$@, and very high manoeuvrability aircraft may erform manoeuvres -$-3. 7. ?a) s eed . This re resents how fast the lane may move. *. ?in s eed . This re resents how slow the lane may move before it stalls and crashes. A. 4ltitude. The altitude value indicates how high the lane may fly. <. Thrust. Thrust describes by how much the lane may accelerate or decelerate. @. S ecial rules2o tions. Some lanes have s ecial rules, which are described later. Some lanes may be fielded in two or more variants 'like common field modifications+, which may vary in oints values. -.. Wea ons. ?ost of the lanes are armed. Wea ons are described later. --. #rdnance . 8lanes may have one or more additional wea ons 'such as bombs, rockets or gun ods+, described as 'wea on loads', which may be bought for them.

#ea$on statisti"s
5very wea on is described by the following statistics! -. Wea on ty e. 4 general descri tion of the wea on. 3. &ire arc. This is the fire arc in which the wea on may be used. /. &ire ower . &ire ower has three numbers. &irst is the fire ower at short range, second is the fire ower at medium range, and third is the fire ower at long range. (. ,amage. ,ifferent wea ons have a different chance of doing serious damage to the target. 4 lower value means that the wea on has more hitting ower. 7. 4mmo. This indicates how many times the wea on may be fired in the game 'including tailing fire+. Sometimes it will be marked as unlimited 'ul+, es ecially in case of heavy bombers or ground defences. *. S ecial rules. Some wea ons may have s ecial rules.

The game turn se uen"e

The -. 3. /. (. 7. *. A. <. game turn has the following hases! ,etermine initiative. Both layers roll ,*. The winner has the initiative in this hase. Beserves hase. 1n these hase the lanes hold in reserve arrive. #rders hase. 1n this hase both layers secretly write down the orders for their aircrafts. Tailing. 1n this hase resolve tailing fire. 44 fire. 1n this hase resolve 44 fire. ?oving. 1n this hase both layers move their lanes and erform manoeuvres. &iring. 1n this hase lanes may fire their wea ons. 5nd hase.

%lternate a"tivation
?ost actions in SC are made using alternating activations, which means that one layer makes an action for his first lane, then the second layer makes actions for his first lane, followed by the first layer activating his second lane, and so on.

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T&' TURN
Determine initiative
Both layers roll a dice. The winner holds the initiative in the current turn. 1n case of a draw, the layer who did not have the initiative in the revious turn is the winner 're$roll draws in the first turn+. 1nitiative has an effect in the Beserves, Tailing, 44, ?oving and &iring hases. The layer with initiative for the turn have to declare who goes first in all hases, so only one decision is made for whole turn 'so you move, shoot,etc. either first or second+.

Reserves $hase
1n this hase the lanes hold in reserves arrive to the battlefield. The conditions and details of arriving from reserves are written in the scenarios 'or sometimes in other document like s%uadron list+. The layers alternate the rolls for arriving from reserves and ut the lanes on the table immediately after successful roll.

Orders $hase
5ach layer secretly writes a manoeuvre for every aircraft. 8lanes with low manoeuvrability may erform manoeuvres -$/, lanes with medium manoeuvrability may erform manoeuvres -$*, lanes with high manoeuvrability may erform manoeuvres -$@ and lanes with very high manoeuvrability may erform manoeuvres -$-3. 1f a lane is given a manoeuvre which it cannot erform, or if it does not have any manoeuvre assigned, count it as having ?anoeuvre -.

?anoeuvrability
-. ?ove straight The lane moves in a straight line.

4llowed manoeuvres
3. Turn The lane turns u to /. degrees. Cow may! $- altD 9- s eed /. ,ive6 The lane move in a straight line. ?ust 'all+! $',/E9-+ altD 9,/E s eed

Cow manoeuvrability

Cow may! 9- altD $- s eed #B $- altD 9s eed ?edium9 may! 93 altD $3 s eed #B $3 altD 93 s eed (. Shar turn The lane turns between /. and *. degrees.

?edium manoeuvrability

>igh manoeuvrability

Fery high manoeuvrability

?edium may! $- altD 9- s eed >igh9 may! 9- altD $- s eed #B $- altD 9?ust! >igh9 may! s eed $- s eed Turn u to /. degrees. A. Barrel rolls <. Coo @. >alf loo 2Wing over The lane may turn u to /. The lane may turn u to /. The lane turns -<. degrees 'no degrees. 1t is counted as a hard degrees. The lane does not more, no less+. target until ne)t moving hase. change s eed, but moves ,*; less. ?ust! ?ust! 9- altD $3 s eed $- s eed ?inimum s eed ( #B $- altD no s eed change -.. >igh$= turn --. Chandelle -3. S in The lane turns between *. 8ut the lane facing any 8ut the lane facing random and @. degrees. direction. direction ?ust! $- s eed E $ roll the dice once and a ?ust! 9,/E altD $,/E s eed ly the result both to s eed and altitude ?ust! $',/9-+ alt

?edium9 may! ?edium9 may! 9- altD $- s eed #B $- altD 9Turn u to /. degrees. s eed 7. Side sli *. Shar climbing ?ove the lane u to -2/ of its The lane moves in a straight movement left or right, but do line. not change it's orientation. This move is taken from the normal ?ust! move distance. 9',/E9-+ altD $,/E s eed

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Tailing (ire
1n this hase, lanes which are tailing the enemy may make an additional, bonus, shot which uses ammunition as normal 'see &iring, later+. 4 lane counts as tailing the enemy only if he has the enemy in his front arc, is also in this lanes rear arc, is within <:, is at the same altitude, and has at least medium manoeuvrability. 8layers should alternate firing with eligible aircraft. 1n addition, if the attacking lane, after resolving tailing fire, asses a crew skill roll 'see later+, then it may force the o onent to reveal their order for the attacked lane, and then secretly change its own order. 4lso the lanes with ground attack lane s ecial rule may strafe in this hase 'check &iring later+. 1t is counted as bonus shot with also uses ammunition as normal. #f course the lane which strafe the enemy may not tail the enemy lane.

#at"h your si)* rule

,uring the Tailing &ire hase, if the attacked lane has a gunner's+ who may shoot at the attacker, and it asses a crew skill roll 'see later+, it may o en fire on the attacker first. That is what rear gunners were for6 #nly one attem t to shoot attacker is allowed every tailing hase.

+ee$ ,iring- lads*

1f the 44 cannon is strafed by ground attack in tailing hase is may return fire in the analogous way as tailed lanes in Wach you si)6 Bule.

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%nti.air"ra,t ,ire
1n this hase, resolve 44 fire. ,eclare the 44 gun and resolve fire using the &iring rocedure below. 1f both layers have 44 artillery, they resolve it by alternating attacks.

Moving
1n the movement hase, both layers alternate moving their aircraft. &or every s eed oint, the aircraft must move 3: $ no more, no less. 1f a manoeuvre changes the s eed of the lane, it will not take effect until after the current turn. 4ltitude re resents how high the aircraft is above ground. 4ltitude varies from . 'ground+ to @. 4ltitudes levels from -$/ are counted as low, from ( to * as medium and from A to @ as high. Bombing attacks de ended on the altitude, and some lanes erformance may vary de ending on the altitude which they are at. When a lane's altitude is ., then it has hit the ground and crashed. Bemove it from lay. When the lane's altitude is higher than the ma)imum altitude marked in its stats, it stalls and crashes. Bemove it from lay.

%d/usting thrust
5very lane may accelerate or decelerate u to its thrust value. Change the aircraft's s eed before moving it, and this has an effect in the current turn. Bemember that some manoeuvres change the s eed, but these changes are made after the move and therefore they will affect the movement distance ne)t turn. The lane may not decelerate below its minimum s eed. 1f it does, the lane stalls and crashes remove it from lay. The lane may not accelerate beyond its ma)imum s eed. 1f it does, the lane can either sim ly stay at its ma)imum s eed or use the '5)ceeding ma)imum s eed' rule below. These are general rules, which are used through the whole game.

Moving $ro"edure
-. 3. /. (. 4d"ust thrust ?ove the lane any distance in a straight line, u to the current s eed limited distance. 8erform manoeuvre. 4 ly s eed and altitude changes if needed. ?ove remaining distance in a straight line.

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(iring
1n the firing hase, lanes may 'sur risingly6+ fire their wea ons.

(ire %r"s
Wea ons may have the following fire arcs! &ront *.. directly forward Bear *.. directly rear Ceft -3.. in the left Bight -3.. in the right 4ll round /*.. G ?ay fire on targets at the same altitude or one altitude higher ,own ?ay fire on targets at the same altitude or one altitude lower 1f the enemy lane is in two fire arcs 'remember you measure from base to base+ you may choose which fire arc to use. Hote! ?ark fire arcs on the aircrafts base if using round ones. This makes the game much smoother6

(iring $ro"edure
1. 2. 3. ,eclare the firing aircraft. #f course the lane has to have ammunition left. ,eclare the wea on's+ and the target's+. The aircraft may shoot only at one target within its fire arc. 0ou may shoot at different targets in different wea on arcs with the same wea on 'i.e turrets+, if you declare it before rolling the dice. =uns and cannons may be fired once, but the lane may shoot any number of rockets or bombs. Besolve fire. To resolve fire, roll one ,* for every oint of fire ower at the current range 'if the enemy is out of range, the hit automatically misses+. To hit the target you have to roll e%ual or more than the re%uired value 'see 'to hit rolls', below+. Then, roll a ,* for every hit, to damage the target. 1f the rolled value is e%ual to or more than the ,amage value of the wea on, the target is damaged and one >it oint is lost. 5very salvo from the wea on costs one oint of ammo, whether successful or not. Besolve critical hits. Be eat from oint 3 until all declared wea ons are fired.

4. 5.

To hit rolls 0gun,ire1

Shooting at enemy aircraft at the same altitude! 79 on ,*. Shooting at enemy aircraft one altitude oint lower or higher! * on ,*. Shooting at ground target 'strafing+! 97 ' lane has to be at altitude -+E on ,*.
E 8lanes may strafe ground targets only with forward$fi)ed guns. Shooting at ground targets by gunners has no effect.

Criti"al hits
1t is ossible that the hits cause some very nasty damage to the target lane, for e)am le disabling the engines, hitting the ammunition, ilot or fuel tanks, ri ing off the wings or sim ly turning the lane into the ball of fire. To re resent this, after resolving fire, roll a dice for every oint of damage the lane suffers. #n each result of a * the lane suffers an additional ,* oints of damage 'the result of * is always counted as instant kill+. ,esigner note! this rule makes larger lanes easier to shoot down. #n other hand, it allows a articularly lucky gunner to defend a bomber with their uny light machine guns even against a heavy fighter6

2tra,ing runs
4 layer may decide that the lane instead of concentrating on a single ground target, will make a strafing run. 1n such situations, the fire ower is halved 'rounding u +, but resolve the attack against every ground target ',/9-+: behind original target 'measure base to base as normal+ in a straight line from the attacking lane. Strafing runs may be made only with guns and cannons. Hote! count all hit targets as being in the same range as the initial target.

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&ard targets
Some targets are very difficult to hit, or some wea ons are less effective in certain situations 'i.e. due to a low rate of fire or being difficult to aim+. 1f one or more of the conditions below are fulfilled the target is counted as hard and the attacker has to re$roll any successful to hit rolls. Shooting at enemy aircraft in a head$on osition 'both aircraft are in the others forward arc+ Shooting any target at night Shooting any target in, or from, clouds other situations clearly marked in the core rules or module documents

%nti.air"ra,t guns
44 guns follow the same rocedure as standard wea ons, but hit on *s. The guns shoot at lanes at low altitudes as normal, at medium altitudes as one additional range band, and at high altitudes as two additional range bands. Check the table below for clarification. ,istance from target Close '.:$(:+ ?edium '(:$<:+ Cong '<:$-3:+ Target's altitude Cow Besolve as close range Besolve as medium range Besolve as long range ?edium Besolve as medium range Besolve as long range Target out of range >igh Besolve as long range Target out of range Target out of range

Ro"3ets
Bockets are resolved as gunfire but count any air targets as hard targets. 4ll rockets are also heavy wea ons.

4om5ing
1n game terms, bombing is resolved in a similar way to attacking targets with gunfire, and is erformed in the same hase together with firing other wea ons. There are a few ways to bomb ground targets, de ending on the attacking bomber ty e, which is clearly marked in its s ecial rules.

6round atta"3 $lanes

=round attack lanes may dro bombs from low altitude only and hit on 79. 4lso the lanes with this rule may also strafe ground targets or make strafing runs 'but not dro bombs+ in tailing hase.

Dive 5om5ers
,ive bombers may dro bombs from low altitude like ground attack lanes, but hit on *9. When a dive bomber dro s bombs from low altitude after erforming a ,ive6 manoeuvre in the movement hase it hits on a (9. Hote! des ite the ,ive6 manoeuvre is erformed in movement hase the dive bombing is resolved the shooting hase as normal.

Lo7 level 5om5ers

Cow level bombers may dro bombs from medium altitude and hit on 79, or from high altitude and hit on *9. They may not dro bombs from low altitude. 1n the turn when bombs are dro ed, the low level bombers have to erform ?anoeuvre - and may not change their altitude, otherwise they will count all ground targets as hard targets.

Other $lanes 0i.e. ,ighters armed 7ith 5om5s1

#ther lanes may dro bombs only from low altitude and hit on *9.

4lasts
Some heavier bombs have a Blast ')+ value 'ie. Blast '3:++. This re resents the chance to destroy or damage more than one target with a single dro . Boll to hit for every ground ob"ect within ): of the target.

Tor$edoes
Tor edoes are described in the WaterI&ire module, which outlines the rules for anti$shi actions.

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Ty$es o, ground targets

There are a few general ty es of ground targets. =round units 'tanks, trucks, infantry, guns, arked lanes, etc.+. These are hit using the standard rules. Strategic targets 'railway stations, stock iles, cam s, factories etc.+. These usually may be harmed only by 'ground attack only' wea ons, or rockets. Strategic targets are immune to instant kill, but may suffer e)tra damage as normal. Shi s 'warshi s, trans orts, submarines etc.+. Bules for shi s are described in the 'Water and &ire' module.

'nd $hase
1n the 5nd hase, check if the victory conditions for the scenario have been fulfilled, or if the game has ended 'the game length may vary de ending on different scenarios, but is never more than -7 turns+. Boll for a dangerous situation for every lane which e)ceeded its ma)imum s eed through descending.

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OT&'R 6'N'R%L RUL'2

'in al habetical order+

%"es
4 ilot 'or crew+ with 7 or more kills 'ground or aerial+ becomes an 4ce. 4n 4ce has 9- to his crew skill rating. 4 ilot with -. or more kills is a ,ouble 4ce. 4 ,ouble 4ce has 93 to his crew skill rating. 4 ilot with -7 or more kills is a Tri le 4ce. 4 Tri le 4ce has 9/ to his crew skill rating.

4ailing out
When a lane is destroyed, make a crew skill roll. 1f this is assed, the crew manage to "um with arachutes or crash land safely. 1n ractice, this only has a conse%uence in cam aign games and allows the layer to save e) erienced crews, or when calculating victory oints in some scenarios.

Clouds
4ny targets which are attacked in, or from, clouds are counted as hard targets, whatever the wea on ty e. Before the game, roll a dice! on the roll of (9 the sky is cloudy. 4ltitude levels ,*9- and above are cloudy.

Cre7 s3ill
Crew skill ratings determine how good the crews are from the current army, and their values are clearly marked in the s%uadron lists. The best crews have a crew skill value of 39 'a roll of - is always a fail+ and the worst have a crew skill value of *9. To ass the crew skill test, the lane has to roll the same or higher number on a single ,* dice.

Dangerous situations
1n a dangerous situation, the lane must roll a ,*. #n a roll of - 'or on the roll of a -$3 if at night+ it must ass a crew skill test or is destroyed and removed from lay. ,angerous situations are as follows! -. Two lanes ass each other at the same altitude 'they contact bases+. Hote! both crews have to make a crew skill roll, but if both fail then both lanes are destroyed. 1f at least one crew asses the test then no lane is destroyed. 3. ?oving with s eed 7 or more at altitude level - 'test after ad"usting thrust+. /. 8erforming 'not finishing+ manoeuvres ($-3 at altitude level -. (. Being within a bomb's blast range at altitude level -. 7. 4 glider which lands. *. Canding on a damaged runway. A. 5)ceeding ma)imum s eed by descending.

')"eeding ma)imum s$eed

The lane may 'but does not have to+ e)ceed ma)imum s eed by - oint 'and only - oint, u to a ma)imum s eed of @+ by descending during a manoeuvre. Such a lane may stay at this e)ceeded s eed, but has to test as a dangerous situation in the end hase. 1n the ne)t turn, it may move with this e)tra s eed 'or reduce it using its thrust value+ and after its move must reduce s eed by at least one oint, unless e)ceeding ma)imum s eed again by descending. Hote! ma)imum s eed is always calculated by taking into account the limited erformance rule.

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6a$s in the rules

Gsing ga s in the rules is forbidden. 1f you wish to do something which is not covered by these rules, you must consult with your o onent before the action, or you will acce t to his2her inter retation of the conse%uences. Bemember always choose the most logical and realistic solution. 1f you still cannot agree, roll a dice. 4nd remember to let us know about any ga s6

Landing
To land, an aircraft has to make a move at altitude - at minimum s eed 'after a lying thrust+ and erform manoeuvre -. 1f it moves along the a)is of a runway 'within a /.. tolerance+ it lands successfully remove it from lay and ut one stationary aircraft near the runway. 1f the lane lands it may not take$off again.

Limited $er,orman"e
1n some situations, a lane may not fly as well as it should, and is therefore marked as 'limited erformance'. 1t then has one level worse manoeuvrability 'with a minimum of 'low'+ and reduces its ma)imum s eed by one. 4 lane has limited erformance in the following situations! -. The lane is at the wrong altitude 'check the altitude bad erformance rule+. 3. The lane is damaged 'has its hits total reduced to half or below the starting value+. /. The lane carries ordnance or tows a glider. 4ll these enalties are cumulative. So even the best lane in some situations may be nothing more than a sitting duck6 1f a lane's ma)imum s eed is below its minimum s eed, it stalls and crashes. Hote! if the lane has a basic s eed of 3, any ordnance does not limit it's s eed 'although it may limit its manoeuvrability+. #ther factors have full effects as normal.

Night
4ny attacked targets 'whatever wea on ty e+ are counted as hard targets during night missions.

Ordnan"e
?any lanes may carry bombs, rockets, gun ods or other uncommon wea ons all these wea ons are marked as ordnance. 4 lane with ordnance has a limited erformance until the ordnance is used 'i.e. bombs are dro ed+. =un ods limits the erformance even after all ammo is used.

Dro$ tan3s
,ro tanks have an effect in s ecific scenarios. They have no effect in the standard game 'we consider that they were used and dro ed before the battle+ and are not marked in s%uadron lists. Check the other rules 'es ecially the short range rule+ and the scenarios section for details.

6un$ods
=un ods follow the standard rules for gunfire and are counted as forward firing guns.

'mergen"y dro$
Bomb and rockets may be dro ed at any oint during the game they do not hit any target, but cease limiting the lanes erformance from that oint. =un ods may not be emergency dro ed.

One re.roll only

There are no multi le re$rolls ossible. Ho re$rolled dice may be re$rolled again whatever the source of the re$roll is. 4lso, if one or more dice from a multi$dice roll are re$rolled, all dice are counted as having been re$rolled, and no further re$rolls are allowed. 1f a few different re$rolls are allowed 'although we try to avoid such situations being ossible+, there is the following riority of re$rolls ossible! re$roll from core rules, from modules, from s%uadron lists, from lane s ecial rules and then other sources.

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Over3ill
1n some situations it is really hard to survive being shot down, es ecially if the lane is torn into ieces. 1n the following situations the crew has to re$roll any successful bail$out test! -. 1f the lane suffers more hits that it has damage oints left. 3. 1f the lane is destroyed by an instant kill /. 1f the lane is destroyed by a failed dangerous situation test. (. The lane hits the ground.

!ain* rule
o There is no base stacking in Sturmovik Commander. 1f your lane finishes its move on another lanes base, the onent may decide if it sto s before or after the other lanes base.

Random dire"tion
When determining random direction 'i.e. in a s in manoeuvre+ you may use either a scatter dice, or a ,-3 dice and change the lane orientation to corres ond to the hour rolled 'with -3 oJclock being the original direction2facing+. Whatever method you choose it do not has meaning until you use it during the whole game.

2ave our...
When a lane's s eed dro s below its minimum s eed, it's altitude goes above its ma)imum, or a lane hits the ground due to an unfortunate manoeuvre, the situation may be saved by assing a crew skill roll. 1f assed, the lane remains res ectively at minimum s eed, ma)imum altitude or 4lt-. But, if this test is failed, the crew is counted as killed in action, along with their lane, which finally s ins or crashes to the ground. #n the other hand, the layer may decide that the crew bails out and automatically ass their bail out test in such situations.

Ta3ing.o,,
When taking$off, a lane is ut at the end of the runway, facing in the direction of the runway, with minimum s eed and at altitude one. Bemove one stationary aircraft from the airfield.

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%IRCR%(T 2!'CI%L RUL'2

'in al habetical order+

Dive 5ra3es
4 lane with the Kdive brakesJ rule may roll two dice when rolling for altitude and s eed during a ',ive6' manoeuvre, and the layer may choose which result to a ly.

Dura5le
Some lanes are es ecially well armoured and2or have a very sturdy construction. 8lanes with the durable s ecial rule may ignore damage on the roll of a 79 on a ,* 'roll for every damage oint se arately+. Besults with cause e)tra damage may not be saved. &or e)am le 1l$3 is hit once by a 3.mm cannon 'damage /, e)tra damage *+D a result of a -$3 causes no damage as normal, a result of a /$7 causes one damage oint, which may be saved on 79, and a result of a * cause two damage oints as normal, which cannot be saved. ,urable lanes also roll 3 dice when suffering a critical hit and discard the higher.

')"ellent "lim5ing
4 lane with this rule may roll two dice when rolling for altitude and s eed during a 'Shar Climbing' manoeuvre, and the layer may choose which result to a ly.

(ragile
Some lanes lack armour, self$sealing fuel tanks, have engines very vulnerable to damage, etc, which makes them very rone to enemy hits. When they receive damage, it is doubled on a ,* roll of a 79 'roll for every damage oint se arately+. &ragile lanes also roll 3 dice when suffering a critical hit and discard the lower.

6liders
=liders are towed by other aircraft and count as se arate targets. Gntil released, they move "ust behind the towing aircraft with the same s eed and altitude, and erform the same manoeuvres. 4 glider may be released at the beginning of any movement hase, before ad"usting for thrust. &rom this moment it moves se arately, and has the same starting altitude and s eed as the towing aircraft. =liders have thrust $- which means that they must decelerate by - oint er turn. They land as normal, but need not have a minimum s eed, nor be on a runway to do it. 1f the lane towing the glider is shot down, the glider is released immediately.

&eavy
8lanes with the KheavyJ s ecial rule 'i.e. ($engine heavy bombers+ are easier to hit but more difficult to damage. When shooting at heavy aircraft, the attacking layer may re$roll any failed to hit roll and the o onent may re$roll any damage rolls 'the second result stands, even if it is worse+. >eavy lanes are hit as normal when they are hard targets.
Hote! this rule makes large aircraft vulnerable to cannon fire and resistant to light machine guns fire, which is historically accurate.

Night 5om5er
Hight bombers do not count ground targets as hard targets when attacking them at night. Hote! they do count them as hard targets if other conditions a ly.

Night ,ighter
Hight fighters do not count aerial targets as hard targets when attacking them at night. Hote! they do count them as hard targets if other conditions a ly.

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Re"on
To take a recon hoto of an ob"ect 'see the Scenario section+, a lane with the recon s ecial rule has to be within (: of it at medium altitude, or within <: of it at low altitude. 8ut a marker near the ob"ect with the letter '4, B, C, ,+ associated with the recon aircraft. 1f this aircraft survives the battle, you gain oints for hotogra hed targets. #ne target may be hotogra hed by several recon lanes ' ut a ro riate markers near it+ to cover the loss if one of the recon lanes is shoot down. 5ach target scores a ma)imum of only once for gaming ur oses, no matter how many times it is hotogra hed.

2hort range
Short ranged lanes 'like the Bf$-.@ or S itfire+ may not be used in some scenarios unless they carry dro tanks which cost more oints and which often limits the other ayload o tions. 1t will be clearly written in a scenario descri tion if such aircraft may be used.

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#'%!ON2 2!'CI%L RUL'2

'in al habetical order+

')tra damage
Some more owerful wea ons may cause more than one oint of damage. This e)tra damage consists of two numbers 'i.e. *2$ or (2*+. 1f the roll to damage is e%ual to or higher than the first number, the target suffers two damage oints. 1f the roll is e%ual to or higher than the second number, the target is destroyed immediately 'instant kill+.

6round atta"3
=round attack wea ons may be fired only against ground targets or shi s.

&eavy
Some wea ons are marked as heavy, which means that they are %uite difficult to aim 'but they usually cause terrible damage+ due to a low rate of fire, huge recoil or similar causes. When heavy wea ons are fired against air lanes with a manoeuvrability of medium or better, after counting the limited erformance rule, they hit on a * instead of 79.

Re"oil
Some wea ons, es ecially the e)tremely heavy cannons carried by some ground attack lanes, had huge recoil6 5very time the wea on is fired, the s eed of the lane is reduced by one immediately.

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!R'!%RIN6 T&' 4%TTL'

Before you start to lay, follow the ste s below! -. Choose the year of the war2theatre of war and agree which modules you are using. 3. ,etermine the scenario and the oints value. /. ,etermine which layer is the attacker. (. ,etermine the time of the battle.E Boll ,*! -$7 its daylightD * its night$time. Some armies, in certain situations, may choose the time. 7. ,etermine the weather.E Check the Clouds general s ecial rule. *. Choose your s%uadrons. The aircraft you may choose are determined by the scenario and the year of the war. The details and rofiles of the lanes are found in the relevant s%uadron lists. A. Start laying6
E $ layers may ignore these oints if they wish

Theatres o, #ar
&or gaming ur oses there are two theatres of war 5uro e 'including 5astern front and Horth 4frica+ and &ar 5ast28acific, and some lists have two availability tables. We know that it is little sim lified, but is done to avoid countless variations of s%uadron lists. >ighly historically orientated layers may add some additional limits if they wish.

2 uadron lists and $lane availa5ility ta5les

5very s%uadron list has a table included, which indicates which lanes the layer may use according to the s ecific year of the war. Check the column for the year and lane which you wish to include in your s%uadron. 1f there is in the intersection you may use the lane without limits for that year. 1f there is 'ma)' value you may use this ma)imum number of lanes as indicated. 1f there is an L mark at the intersection, you may not use this ty e of lane at all in this year. The s%uadron lists are neither closed or definite. They may be u graded or additional lanes may be ublished on our web age. 1f you think that some lanes are missing, do not be afraid to add them as a house rule and let us know we will gladly im rove the lists6

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