Rally Checks

Each player has an opportunity to make rally checks during his movement step, in an effort to improve the morale of units that are shaken or routed. The only units that cannot be rallied are ones that are in base-to-base contact with enemy units.

For a shaken unit, a rally check is optional. During his movement step, each player can make a rally check for a shaken unit instead of moving it. If the rally check is successful, the unit returns to good order; if it fails, the unit remains shaken. In neither case can the unit move (including a change in facing or frontage) later in the same turn. Likewise, a unit that has already moved, or changed facing or frontage, cannot be rallied in the same turn.

For any routed unit not in contact with an enemy unit, a rally check is mandatory. If the rally check is successful, the unit becomes shaken, and the figures in the rallied unit can be turned to face any direction the player wants.

A rally check is made the same way as a general morale check, using any morale rating modifiers that apply. A unit suffers no actual penalty for failing a rally check, other than being forced to remain shaken or routed. However, that can have its drawbacks: A shaken unit that fails to rally has lost a turn of movement. A routed unit that fails to rally is forced to begin (or continue) fleeing from the battlefield, and if it moves off the field it is lost forever.