Re: FMA AAAR, ASAP, OK? [longish]

On Sat, 28 Aug 1999 13:43:32 GMT, "John C" <john1x@hotmail.com> wrote:

>A few thoughts:
>  Anyone figured out how to do multiple targets with automatic weapons?
 My 
>feeling is that you should drop the firepower die by one level for each

>additional target, as long as the targets are within X inches of each
other. 
>  What X should be, I don't know.

Hey, John.

Drawing on my knowledge of other game systems, there are essentially two
ways
of doing this: the way you suggested, or the "beaten zone" approach
where some
sort of area is marked off, either as a template or as a cone from the
firing
weapon.

The "beaten zone" approach is usually done in games of a larger scale.
Conceptually this is, sort of, what SG2 does, just that the beaten zone
is
against the entire enemy squad.

In skirmish games at this scale, I have seen your approach done in
several
games. 

Here's what I suggest, from what I've seen in similar games.

Automatic weapons are divided into two classes: personal automatic
weapons
(SMGs, and assault rifles on full auto) and support automatic weapons.

PAWs use their full firepower on one target. They can fire at two or
more
targets within 1" of each other, but both targets are fired with one die
shift
down in firepower. For every additional inch, there is another die shift
down.

SAWs use their full firepower on all targets within a 2" area. That is,
one
figure is chosen as "it" and any figures within a 2" diameter of that
figure
are attacked with normal firepower. For every additional 2" the
firepower die
is shifted down one.

Example 1: We have 5 figures standing shoulder to shoulder (1" apart, as
SG2
figures have 1" wide bases). If an attacker fires his SMG at the middle
figure, he can do so with no modifier to his firepower die. If he fires
at the
middle figure and the one immediately to its right, both figures are
fired at
with the firepower die shifted down 1. If he fires at the 3 in the
middle
(total distance separated = 2") all figures are fired at with 2 die
shifts
down. To fire at all 5 figures (total spread: 4") would require 4 die
shifts
down.

Example 2: Instead of an SMG, the attacker is firing a gatling SAW at
the
group. If he fires the SAW at the middle figure alone, he does so at
normal
firepower. If he fires at the middle three figures (total of 2" apart)
he does
so with no shift in firepower. If he fires at all 5 figures, he shifts
the die
down by one firepower die.

This makes automatic weapons, especially SAWs pretty nasty. Welcome to
the
lessons learned in WWI. Figure separation becomes a big issue with this.
It
also allows a SAW to have a reasonable chance of pinning an entire
squad.

As an option, you could distinguish between light and heavy support
weapons by
altering the distance up or down. A light MG, for instance, may work
more like
a Personal Automatic Weapon, but with a 2" separation instead of a 1". 

This is just a thought. 

>Multiple suppression would be a good thing, I think.  As a mechanism,
how 
>about limiting the number of suppression that can be placed upon a
figure to 
>his motivation level?	A highly motivated soldier could then only
suffer 
>from one suppression, while a poorly motivated man could have as many
as 
>three at a time.

The only problem I see is that wouldn't you use the motivation level to
remove
suppression markers? If so, you are doubly penalizing low motivation
troops
(or giving a double bonus for high motivation troops). Mind you, that
might
not be a bad thing... I tend to go with the SG2 limit of 3 for all
figures,
myself...

Allan Goodall		       agoodall@interlog.com
Goodall's Grotto: http://www.interlog.com/~agoodall/

"Surprisingly, when you throw two naked women with sex
toys into a living room full of drunken men, things 
always go bad." - Kyle Baker, "You Are Here"