"A character can use Tactics at any time when he wants to determine the best military course of action in a combat."

This seems like the kind of thing i enjoy deciding myself, posing a tactical challenge and therefore fun in gaming.

Not something i want the DM to tell me because i made a skill-check.

So i´m curious: Other than the example included in the book (ambush) when does anyone in your group roll for tactics?

When da boyz need a real cunnin' plan!

I'm thinking like an ork again aren't I?

I would say it is a good way to get feedback from the GM as to the wisdom of a certain course of action.

Yes, the players generally come up with the actual strategy, but a good and appropriate tactics roll would allow them to actually know that it actually a sound idea.

I allow for Tactics(pods) to allow the players to make a wise decision on where to (kind of an abstract notion), and better success results in a more favorable location (were they observed, are they near the enemy, are they landing in the exact manner they want to).

in my group case it goes something like that.

before every deployment, after team chose how they want to accomplish given mission (armoured strike, stealth, assault...) and depending how much time they will have to plan or how much intelligence they have to polish their plan, i allow chosen leader Tactic test, depending on roll result i give some advices.

Also i sometimes allow on mission Tactic test to give some advice or some bonus.

How I'll work it is that the PCs have a decent general knowledge of tactics (they are veteran space marines after all) but the Tactics skill represents a level of mastery over an aspect of tactics. In practical terms, it means I'll point out a bit more information to those who have the skill and more still to those who make successful tests when appropriate.

I think it can be used for different functions for different types of player.

For example if you havea player who is poor at or has no interest in tactics, it can be used to supply tactics or suggest courses of action if the player feels "stuck"

If you have an average player it can be used to check the workability of strategies or suggest alternate approaches.

If you have a very strategically minded player it can be used to supply a piece of information they couldn't otherwise get or a course of action they can't actually see.

For example seeing a building thats occupied with traitor guardsman, a tactics roll might let them know that the typical size of that unit is 100 men, or their doctorine states to store their fuel and ammo on the left hand side of the bulding on the ground floor.

In many ways its the "Being a Space Marine in a War" skill, if the player is out of his depth or looking for options in a military situation, Tactics is a good skill to roll.

Where the opportunity presents itself I fully expect to integrate the Mass Combat System being put out in the upcoming Rogue Trader :: Battlefleet Koronus into play with Deathwatch. The Command, Tactics, Common Knowlege: War, etc skills will come in handy there.

It's for the GM to sanity check player plans with, or a desperate plea for help from the PCs.

PrimarchX said:

Don't expect Battlefleet Korouns to make use of the Tactics skill set since it doesn't exist in Rogue Trader.

Sometime i give bonuses to my player with the tactic roll, like re-roll and +10 to use during the scene when the tactic roll had been made or also more bonuses to squad mode like tank buster with maybe 1 more metre for each DoS or 2DoS, ... etc

Guys those are some good idea's for usage of the tactics skills. I think I will use some in my groups next game. We use it a lot to help our squad when we get stuck in a situations where the player that is the leader for the mission isn't sure what to do. I have to keep reminding myself that the Space Marines is the ultimate soldier and that I am just a guy with no military knowledge beyond trhat of history books and the History channel. So I usually make an idea (keeping with the RPG fun) then ask to make a tactics roll to see if that is what the SM would do.

Keep in mind that each chapter and class of Marine will see things differently in battle a given situation. Our GM has us make tactic rolls to have other players give advice to each other on how other chapters deals with different situations and sometimes to force the RP aspect. heres an example. our DW squad is moving onto a camp of Orks. Our leader was an Assault Marine, Blood Angle, wanted to do full on assault onto the camp during the night. busting out of the tree line (was a deathworld) while having our DA Dev lay down h.bolter fire. He made a tactics roll and did really well with it and most of us agreed. But our Wolf Tactical Marine (after being told by the GM) made a tactical roll (and a really good one at that) and pretty much told the DA (our leader) that he was a fool and that we should circle to the other side of the camp and attack from morning light when the 2 suns would be at our backs and blinding the Ork's. Made for some great RPing since the Wolf and the 2 DA really don't like each other. Will still ended up doing it the DA way, pissing of the SW, and made a successful assault, pissing off the SW even more (he really really hates the DA tactical marine which is another story)

I don't know if it helps any, the story, but it is a good way to put the tactics skill to use for RP purposes.

When it comes to planning stuff, I tend to ask players to make a tactics role AFTER I've listened to them discuss stuff for a while. That way, if they've missed something obvious, I can use it as a way of passing the information to them, but without spoonfeeding them.

Tactics should never be used as a way to avoid thinking. It shouldn't be a way of the GM simply telling PCs what to do.

I'm also a big fan of giving out re-rolls for good planning. If the party sit and come up with a great infiltration plan or something without resorting to making dice rolls, I'll give them a couple of re-rolls to use during it.

HappyDaze said:

What does that matter? Give me 2 seconds and I'll make a bridge a Tiger II could drive across to mend the differences.

Hidaowin said:

+1, we use it the same here.