RE: Unfair Kamikazes?

This is one example but we have a guy down here in Canberra who believes
that it is fair to FTL his whole or half of his fleet into your
deployment line.  It is a legitimate tactic but one of no thought or
style.	Is this tactic or rule going to be got rid of?	

Simon LeRay-Meyer
Slerayme@pcug.org.au

		-----Original Message-----
		From:	Dave Ross [SMTP:frogrckt@interlog.com]
		Sent:	Monday, 24 November 1997 6:11
		To:	FTGZG-L@bolton.ac.uk
		Subject:	Unfair Kamikazes?

		Brian Bell wrote:

		> I would hate to lose this rule. It makes for a good
alternative to a ram
		>as a last ditch effort to stop an enemy.
		>I agree however, that it should not be a commonly used
tactic. Perhaps a
		>manditory rule about purposely leaving the board.
Something like each ship
		>that purposely leaves the play area, counts 4x its
value (points, victory
		>points, or ships).

		This whole thread is very interesting; not just Brian's
comments. I can't
		agree that ramming should deliberately be ruled out for
any speed or
		reason. Why? I hate to say it, but war of any kind is
never, EVER fair.
		Sides fight to obliterate now, not to be gentlemanly.
Consider the Russians
		of WWII deliberately throwing out the lives of hundreds
of thousands of men
		because they know that the weight of pressing numbers is
their best
		advantage over their more mobile, better commanded
German enemy.

		In the Full Thrust universe, if you encounter a
technically or tactically
		superior enemy, and you don't (as a race) have the
ability to win a combat
		or war, then why not build cheap ships to deliberately
ram the enemy? It's
		a tactic that your opponent will have to deal with on a
strategic level. If
		I can build a really cheap ship that takes out your
dreadnought that's 10x
		the cost, that's a REALLY good tactic!! You're gonna be
broke before I am -
		and that is more a part of war than who has the best
equipment. Don't kid
		yourself either  - there will always be lots of
volunteers to save your
		planet, manning these ships!

		Consider finally the typical analogy of nuclear
weapons... If a nuclear
		power can't win a strategic war, it's gonna nuke you on
the way out. Why
		not? It's got nothing to lose, and EVERYBODY loses in a
nuclear war. Now
		that's definitely NOT fair (or fun) but that's war.

		Instead of ruling out ramming, create rules that allow
one to defend
		against it - 'cause it's gonna happen to somebody out
there. As long as
		there are millions of warring races out there, there
will be those that
		ram. After a few battles with a Rammer, if you haven't
adapted your tactics
		for defense - you deserve to be annihilated...

		(Or just make a gentlemanly agreement with your opponent
ahead of time that
		ramming is not allowed.)

		Dave Ross