Combat Assault Vehicle
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CAV or Combat Assault Vehicle. A Miniatures Wargame by Reaper Miniatures.
Taking its name from the 30-foot tall war machines that walk the battlefields of the galaxy.
The date is 2274 and the fragile peace the galaxy has known for the last 11 years has been shattered. The second Galaxy War has started and every galactic government is looking out for number one, damn the rest of the galaxy. Fueled by a decade of clandestine wars, secret agendas and unprecedented military preparation, the racial, religious and nationalistic governments across the galaxy have begun grabbing resources, nationalizing UCORs and Mercenaries and folding everything into vast war machines capable of intergalactic domination and destruction.
Past the point of return, it is now the time of reckoning for the galaxy, and if you hope to survive this conflict you must choose a side.
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[edit] Game Concepts
[edit] Reaper Adventure Game Engine
CAV is the second game to use the Reaper Adventure Game Engine, or R.A.G.E. for short. As a master system, RAGE allows you to learn a few basic rules and then take this knowledge with you from game setting to game setting. One system for many games means that you spend less time learning and relearning rules and more time playing and painting.
[edit] CAV Models
CAV models are all cast in N-Scale by Reaper Miniatures. Currently there are around 100 different models available for the game, with prices starting around $8.00(US) and reaching $15.00(US).
The models cover the wide array of units available in the game, ranging from the namesake CAVs to aircraft, infantry, fighting vehicles, tanks, armored personnel carriers, support models and weapons packs.
When CAV was first released, all the aircraft and APC models were cast in 2/3 N-Scale to make them more affordable for customers. Thanks to numerous requests from the CAV community, Reaper has changed this practice and has begun to re-cast all aircraft and APC models in true N-Scale as of mid-2005. These new "true scale" models carry a different SKU than the old models, so gamers on a budget can still purchase the smaller, less expensive models if they choose. The old models are still legal for all CAV events.
[edit] Data Card
Each model in the game has a set of ratings that dictate how well it performs in the game. These ratings are listed on a Data Card, which is an easy to read record sheet. CAV 2 Data Cards will be the size of a standard playing card and have a color picture of the model on one side for easy recognition and the model's stats on the other side.
A key component of CAV, and all R.A.G.E. games, is the Damage Track. Each row of stats on the Data Card represents a Damage Track, or the total points of damage that the model can sustain before being destroyed and removed from play. When undamaged, you use all of the stats listed across the 0 Dmg row. If your model takes 2 points of damage, you use the stats on the 2 Dmg row. If your model has more points of damage than it has rows in the Dmg column, its destroyed.
[edit] Army Building
When planning a game of CAV, the first thing that you must decide on is the Game Size. The Game Size is the number of points that each player will be allowed to spend on models for his army. Each model has its own corresponding Point Value. After choosing the models that you want to use for your Task Force, you total up their Point Values to determine your Army Size. Your Army Size must be equal to or less than the Game Size for it to be legal.
A Task Force is comprised of several smaller groups of models called Platoons. Each Platoon is made up of a number of models based on its type. Platoons are separated into two categories: Primary and Secondary. No Task Force may have more Secondary Platoons than it has Primary ones.
The different Platoon types are outlined below:
Primary Platoons
- Armor platoons have 4 CAVs or tanks in them. No more, no less.
- Mechanized Infantry platoons have 4-8 Infantry models plus Transports to carry them.
- Rifle platoons have 6-10 Infantry models.
- Specialist platoons have 1-4 models of any type. They are the catchall of platoons and each Task Force may only have one Specialist Platoon.
Secondary Platoons
- Drop Infantry platoons have 4 Infantry models, which must each have the Airborne Special Attribute.
- Fire Support platoons have 3 CAVs or Vehicle models with the Fire Support role and 1 model of any type.
- Flight platoons consists of 2 Aircraft models.
- Mortar platoons have 2-4 Infantry models with the Fire Support role, 0-3 Transports and 0-1 model of any type.
- Recon platoons have 4-6 Recon CAVs or Vehicles
[edit] Game Play
CAV games are usually played on either a 4’x6’ or 4’x8’ area. 4’x’4 foot areas are also acceptable for small games. Each Task Force will have its own Deployment Zone; this is the area where all of an army’s models begin play. Each player’s Deployment Zone is usually as far away from the other players’ as possible. In a game with two sides, this usually means opposite sides of the table. If there are multiple players or sides involved, the Zones are usually equally spread out around the table.
To determine when each player gets to take a turn, CAV utilizes an Initiative Deck. Using a standard set of playing cards, each player is assigned a color, suit or number, depending on the number of players involved. They are then given 1 card for each Platoon that they have in their Task Force. These cards are all combined to create the Initiative Deck, which now has one card for each Platoon in the game. The Initiative Deck is shuffled and the first card turned over. The player who “owns” that card gets to select one of his Platoons to Activate.
When a Platoon is Activated, each model in the Platoon gets to perform two Actions. Actions come in two varieties: Combat and Non-Combat. Combat Actions cover things like firing a model’s weapons, performing special attacks, initiating close combat or attempting to repair a damaged model. Non-Combat Actions consist of things like movement, loading or unloading infantry from a transport and regrouping depleted Platoons into full-strength Platoons. Each model may perform two Actions, but only one of them may be a Combat Action.
The two basic mechanics of the game are Movement and Ranged Combat. Movement is fairly straightforward. Each model has a Mov rating on its Data Card which is the number of inches it can move when performing a Movement Action. So a model with a Mov of 12 could move up to 12” during its turn. Actually, since Movement is a Non-Combat Action, the model could perform two Movement Actions during its turn and move up to 24”. However a model’s movement may be slightly altered by terrain on the battlefield. Items such as rough terrain, water, trees and hills can hinder a model, forcing it to pay additional movement costs.
Ranged Combat deals with four primary stats in CAV: # of Attacks (#DA or #IA), Ranged Attack Value (RAV), Range (Rng) and Defensive Value (DV). First off, there are two different types of Ranged Attacks: Direct Attacks (DA) and Indirect Attacks (IA). Direct Attacks may only be performed in there is an un-interrupted Line Of Sight between the acting model and its target. Indirect Attacks may be performed against any target, regardless of Line Of Sight. All weapon systems in CAV are designated as either DA or IA and may only be used to perform those types of attacks.
The basics of resolving an attack are:
- Declare which of your models is attacking, the type of attack it is using (DA or IA) and its target.
- Roll 1d10 and add your model’s RAV to the die roll
- Subtract any modifiers the target might have for range or cover
- If your modified roll is equal to or greater than the target’s DV, you inflict a point of damage.
CAV also has a mechanic for Critical Hits, which can inflict multiple points of damage.
After all of the models in the active Platoon have performed their attacks, any enemy models that were attacked get a chance to perform Defensive Fire. The Defensive Fire mechanic represents the level of automation and advanced technology that exists in the CAV game world. Each time a model is attacked, its on-board computer automatically retaliates by firing back at its attacker. In game terms, when a model is the target of one or more Ranged Attacks during a Platoon’s Activation phase, it gets to perform one Defensive Shot. The player who controls the targeted model gets to choose one of the attacking models to be the target of his Defensive Shot. The model may only perform one Defensive Shot per Activation, regardless of how many models attacked it or how many Ranged Attacks were performed against it. However Defensive Fire is triggered by the simple act of declaring a Ranged Attack against a model, so even if the attacks do no damage, the target model still gets to perform his Defensive Shot.
If any models ever sustain more points of damage than they have Damage Tracks, they are destroyed. Destroyed models may be replaced with counters to represent their location or simply laid on their side, but either way, they remain on the table and serve as part of the battlefield, providing cover for other models.
Once all of the models in the active Platoon are finished with their Actions, their turn is over. The next card in the Initiative Deck is turned over and the “owner” of the next card gets to activate one of his Platoons. When all of the cards in the deck have been flipped over, the current Turn is over. If any Platoons were removed from the game by either being totally destroyed or by Regrouping with another partially destroyed Platoon, those Platoon’s cards are removed from the Initiative Deck. The ratio of Initiative Cards to Platoons should always be 1:1 at the beginning of a turn.
[edit] Outside Resources
[edit] Official Sites
- ReaperMini.com - makers of the CAV game
- Asylum Online Store - Can't find CAV minis at your friendly local game store? Order them direct from Reaper!
- ReaperGames.com - Reaper web site for finding CAV players, player rankings, official downloads and errata.
- Black Lightning web site - Home of Black Lightning, the official Reaper Games demonstration team. Playtesters and runners of CAV demos.
[edit] CAV Fan Sites
- Mil-Net - CAV's original fan site and the largest CAV forum on the Internet
[edit] Other Sites
- Exodus Road Hobbies - Offering 20% off MSRP Classic BattleTech miniatures, Reaper Warlord minis, CAV, Dark Heaven Legends, Warmachine, Hordes, sci-fi, fantasy and other tabletop miniature games
- Talon Games - makers of the BattleHex Terrain System, the official miniature terrain for CAV
