
Spectre have released their Razor model and alongside it brought out some rather cool rules to include it in their Spectre Operations game.
The Razor has a few key characteristics that separate it from other vehicles. These are
- High speed even over rough terrain
- Small size, light weight and lacking in armour
- Carrying capacity
- Weapon carrying
Using this set of ideas as a starting point, I donned the writing helmet and delved into my pile of rules (covered in great detail here). The first issue that came up was OSC and Danger Close. Both these rule sets currently lack rules for vehicles (although OSC is getting its rules in the next update). In those games, a Razor would be sited just off the board to act as a resupply or MG position and provide support. This left three rulesets to take a look at. Spectre’s rules does include the Razor 4 variant, different to the model that is released, but for now we will focus on the smaller Razor 2.
These rules are in their very early stages and so may be slightly unbalanced. If in doubt, talk them through with your opponents and tweak if needed. Think of these as guidelines.
Black Ops
Black Ops is a cool system that is super easy to get into and great fun to play. It’s rare that you will bring your own vehicles to the party (relying on stealth and all that) but for the Razor we can make an exception.
Razor 2 Stats
Name | Front | Side | Rear | Card | Equipment | Crew (Passengers) | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Razor 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | King | LMG (commander's) | Driver, Commander (2) | 6 |
Rules
- Razors count as man-sized targets when shooting at them (like bikes). When hit, they use the car row in the hit location table.
- The Razor, as you can see in the stats, has no armour. You’ll want to drive very quickly.
- Razors are fast: Cautious Move is 7″, Advance is 14″ and Run is 22″
- The front machine gun always counts as stationary (so you always gain the additional shot)
- The Razor has a quiet engine. It does not immediately raise the alarm, instead it generates a noise counter every turn it moves. This is increased to two noise counters if it Advances or three if it Runs
Options
- The commander LMG can be upgraded to a GPMG for 1pt or a minigun for 4pts
- The roof slot can be fitted with a heavy weapon. This turns one of the passengers into a gunner. The weapons available are: LMG 2pts, GPMG 3pts, HMG 4pts, AGL 5pts
- The vehicle can carry two additional weapons (bought from those available to its faction) that can be used by character. Additionally, including a Razor allows the squad to take an additional squad upgrade for the usual points cost.
Force on Force
So Force on Force isn’t my favourite game and I haven’t used a ton of vehicles in it. However, looking around, it seems like many of the stat lines are standardised and anything on the small side will look pretty similar. I’m basing this off the Chenworth DPV with a few small tweaks. I was tempted by Deathtrap as an attribute but I think it would be a negative too far. Instead Technical makes it a less effective gun platform.
For weapon stats, check the rulebook.
Name | Class | Type | Firepower | Gun Rating | MGs | Front | Side | Rear | Deck | Crew | Attributes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Razor 2 | S | W | (Optional) M2HB or Mk19 or M240 | (optional) | M240 (3D) | 1d6 | 1d6 | 1d6 | 1d6 | 2+2 | Technical |
Skirmish Sangin
Skirmish Sangin provides me with a problem as there are two ways to implement the Razor – treat it as a vehicle or use something similar to the motorcycle rules covered in Dispatches 2. I prefer the second option due to its increased detail but in case you don’t have a copy of Dispatches 2 I’ll present both options.
The Vehicle Option
The Razor 2 in Skirmish Sangin is generated the standard way depending on the crew experience level. The important information is the following:
Vehicle | Armour | IED Protection | Primary Weapon | Secondary Weapon | Crew | Cost | Morale Mod | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Razor 2 | 0 | 0 | None (Can be replaced with MMG, HMG, GMG) | MMG (can be replaced with LMG) | 2 + 2 (3+1 if primary weapon is bought) | 100 (not including weapons) | 0 | 4 |
The Razor can be used to carry additional gear. Players before the game can pay points values to store weapons and hand grenades in the vehicle. It takes 2AP to collect an item from the vehicle. I recommend limiting it to a small number of grenades and between 2 and 4 long arms. Mention your loadout to your opponent before the game starts and keep track of which character has which weapon by using a token.
THE BIKE-ISH OPTION
The other way of showing off the Razor is to treat it like the motorbikes in Dispatches 2 (page 61) but with some minor tweaks due to it being a slightly larger and more stable platform. I’d use the following changes:
- A Razor is bought as a vehicle using the profile above but without crew. It is instead crewed by four other figures bought as normal. These use their Drive skill. As ISAF troops would be more used to driving motorised vehicles, they get the skill for free. It is generated the same way – BODY x experience level.
- A Razor has 4 crew positions – Driver, Commander and two rear passengers.
- The Driver’s Drive skill is used for all tests involving the vehicle moving.
- The Commander uses the commander seat’s weapon (their own weapon has been stashed away) and using their heavy weapon skill. The firing arc is from the forward position to the 4 o’clock position
- The rear passengers can only shoot backwards and use their own weapons. They can only fire pistols, SMGs, Assault Rifles, Shotguns, grenade launchers, LMGs or MMGs while in that seat and only in the rear arc.
- If a heavy weapon has been purchased it is mounted on the roll bars. One of the rear passengers is now the gunner. They can only fire in a forward arc, must use their heavy weapon skill and only shoot when the vehicle is stationary.
- If a Razor collides with a character, it does not inflict damage on the crew. However, it does force a morale test.
- If the Razor crashes, the crew take 1D10 damage. However, the vehicle can then move on after the crew members take a morale test.
- If you attempt to ram a vehicle with the Razor, the other vehicle takes 1D10 damage. The crew of the Razor take 2D10 and must then take a morale test.
- The team on board operates as a fireteam, with all crew members using the driver’s activation phases. They each get 3AP to use on the table on page 61 of Dispatches 2 but act in a random order.
- When shooting, the crew take the modifier for shooting on the move. The driver does not shoot – his hands are on the wheel.
- The Razor moves the full distance of 40 metres no matter how many crew it is carrying.
- If a crewman is hit, they do not need to take a drive test to remain in the vehicle. However if the driver is hit while moving, the vehicle will move forward half its move distance in the next turn. If it impacts difficult terrain, it crashes.
- The Razor provides light cover to anyone on foot behind it.
- When disembarked, the Razor’s commander weapon can be used by a model standing close to it. It takes 1AP to begin using the weapon and 1AP to disengage from it. The firing arc is from the front of the vehicle to the rear of the vehicle as long as it does not clip through the Razor’s body.
- The Razor can still carry gear using the rule mentioned above in the vehicle section.
That’s it for now. I hope more people will take a look at these cool vehicles and see that can be used everywhere, providing a new set of capabilities in any fire fight. Try out the rules, see what works and I look forward to your feedback!