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Now if anybody has played total war or various rank-and-file type of games you'll notice the more a unit runs, fights, etc. wears it out just like a lot of activity tires out anybody in the real world. Even if it can't really get tired (a daemon or undead) their equipment might break apart or limbs might get chopped off and make them less effective in combat. So i think depending on how many rounds a unit has fought, run or even possibly charged too far it expends their energy whereas in the beginning of the game they start fresh and periods of inactivity allow them to fight a little more effectively later. This would make pursuing into another combat a little more tough for the attacker than the defender although i suppose the defender can only hold and also takes the break tests anyway.

Not quite part of the same thing as the thread title but i also would like to think more numerous opponents or a unit with more ranks should move slower. We already have ranked units having disadvantages to skirmishing units but i feel this could be added and possibly make steadfast less annoying for people fighting against it (even though the game has lately turned into a fast cavalry game with magical elf cavalry.

-1 Leadership per round after the first?

You didn't really suggest any rules in your post

The difference between this game and Total War is one simple thing; in Total War you have a computer to do all the bookkeeping for you.

Do you want to keep a pad and paper or some note keeping device on hand for your army (let's just say it is 8 units) and having to keep track of the individual combat rounds it has, times its run and times its charged? Furthermore, having to determine how many of those runs/charges was "too much"?

This is the good kind of abstraction. There's nothing fun in that much bookkeeping.

 curran12 wrote:
The difference between this game and Total War is one simple thing; in Total War you have a computer to do all the bookkeeping for you.

Truth +1. Plus, how often do you have multiple rounds of combat going on? I'd call that a great game. Usually it's a unit or two in CC in T2 (if podded) and then one other fight happens in T4 which is often mop up duty once the first round is resolved. We already have a fatigue element - the time to play for us and the leadership test for the loser.

Edit: Hmm, I thought I was in the 40k forum. Ignore the pod comment, but the leadership/morale test is the same - plus you take more if a nearby unit breaks.

 curran12 wrote:
The difference between this game and Total War is one simple thing; in Total War you have a computer to do all the bookkeeping for you.

+2.

Great idea, but honestly even keeping running tallies for things like spells that alter characteristics is a big enough pain in the ass. For some armies at higher points levels this just derails the game.

 flamingkillamajig wrote:
This would make pursuing into another combat a little more tough for the attacker than the defender...

This seems to be the crux of the concept.
Rules can "make sense" and "sound fun" and all that, but the bottom line is: why do you feel it necessary?
The answer to that question seems to be "because units pursuing into another combat is too easy/effective/etc." Is that about right?

It's an interesting concept. And I think it'd be a cool thing to implement in a campaign. But I don't see a problem with units pursuing into other combats. It doesn't happen too often, and when it does, it's usually because one player managed to apply a lot of pressure to a small part of their opponent's forces, and broken through the line. Which is something that should be rewarded, because it's hard to do.