Paul Grace writes:
Jeff Bolton requested a copy of my airboat amendments - Here they are:
An uncrewed airboat costs 2AP.
Airboats must be crewed by at least one foot element or Hero in order to
function.
Each airboat can carry up to 3 elements, including crew. Airboats cannot carry other aerials, behemoths or lurkers. The only mounted element an Airboat can carry is a Hero.
Uncrewed airboats cannot move, and if attacked: Any 'recoil' result against it will destroy the airboat. Any 'recoil' result against the attacker will be ignored and any 'destroyed' results are reduced to a 'recoil'.
Elements on board an airboat are kept off the table. Either make a written note of the location of each element (Each airboat should be named or numbered and easily identified) or place them on a holding tray or card representing the airboat. The occupants of an Airboat need not be revealed to the other player.
The crew or passengers on board an airboat make no effect on combat resolution and cannot partake as individuals in close combat, distance shooting or bespelling. Exception: An airboat carrying the general is classed as the general element whilst he is aboard. Passengers and crew do not require any movement PIP whilst aboard.
Only friendly elements may board airboats.
Unloading Troops: Airboats can only land on water. To disembark crew and / or passengers, an airboat must either start or end its movement on a lake-side, river bank or coast. It costs 1 PIP per element to board or disembark (in addition to any other movement costs). Disembarked elements are placed adjacent to each other with at least one element in contact with the airboat. If disembarkation takes place at the start of the turn, both airboat and disembarked may then make a normal move. If it takes place after the airboat has moved, then the elements may make no further movement.
These rules were written for my Noggin The Nog campaign and are based on the machine described (and illustrated) in the story 'Noggin and the flying machine'. It is a boat with wings - having no landing gear it can only land on water. At last your water lurkers can be offered gainful employment!
For those using airboats equipped with landing gear, I offer the following addenda to my airboat transport rules:
Airboats equipped with some form of landing gear or undercarriage are not restricted to landing on water. They may land and take off on any area of flat, good going. They may not land in, or land in contact with, bad going e.g. built up areas, water features, hills or woodland. Nor can they land within one base width of any non-aerial troop units (enemy or allied) or stronghold.
Crash Landing: Airboats run the risk of damaging themselves and their crew by making a heavy landing. When attempting to land to load or unload troops: Roll D6: the airboat crash lands on a score of 1 and is destroyed and removed - test all passengers & crew (individually) for damage: an odd number rolled on a D6 indicates that the element is destroyed in the crash. Surviving elements must be placed so that part of their base would be touching part of the edge or area occupied by the base of the destroyed airboat.
Boarding : basically the reverse of embarkation i.e. a ground element or group can move to make contact with airboat and embark one element per spare PIP. If the elements were in contact at the start, they may pay their PIP's to embark and then spend a further 2 PIP for the airboat to move away. An airboat can begin the game with crew and passengers already on board.
Hot Landing Zones: Elements may not board or disembark if the airboat is in base contact with an enemy element, but elements may disembark even if, when placed on the table, it would bring them into immediate contact with an enemy element.
If an airboat is destroyed: all passengers and crew on board are also lost.