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Re: Where's the Cheese?

From: Michael Sarno <msarno@p...>
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 11:41:04 -0500
Subject: Re: Where's the Cheese?

Magic wrote:

> Now as for the other riflemen in the squad.  Splitting them to
"Maximise the
> dice potential" of thier fire is definitly treading into cheese mode.
> Though possible (barely) the SL would not split the fire of his troops
on
> the same target.

    Why wouldn't the SL split fire?  Splitting fire is merely an
abstraction.
It's hard to say exactly what would be occuring in a turn when a player
chooses
to split fire, but it could indicate any number of perfectly reasonable
tactics.  Firing to suppress, rather than kill is a perfectly valid RL
tactic.
    When I first thought about this, I agreed with you on all counts. 
It wasn't
cheese to split the SAW fire, but it was cheese to split rifle fire. 
However, I
thought more about it, and it makes sense to me.  I'm not saying that
anyone
needs to think more on this subject.  If you like the idea, great.  If
you think
it's cheese, that's great, too.  Both are reasonable conclusions and
there are
plenty of SGII players to allow you to find an opponent who will play
according
to the interpretation you prefer.  Just so you know how I've reached my
conclusion, consider the following.
    Cheese is something that may be reasonably interpretted as legal
under the
rules, but is unrealistic and grants an unfair advantage.  Without all
three,
you have something other than cheese.  As I mentoined above, I don't
think it's
unrealistic.  Given the abstraction of the system, one would be hard
pressed to
come up with a definitive description of the action that is unrealistic.
 As far
as granting an unfair advantage, I just don't see it.  I costs you a
full action
to fire the weapons that didn't fire in the first action.  Thus, a squad
which
chooses to split fire could not move or remove suppression or do
anything else
in that activation.  All they are doing is concentrating on firing for
that
activation.  In exchange for that action, they're getting to throw the
dice a
little differently, with a slight advantage towards to scoring multiple
suppressions and almost no advantage, if any of scoring more hits.
    One of the features of SGII that I like the most, is the fact that
good
tactics are always rewarded.  If a squad is at the right place at the
right time
and has that "extra" FP, or can get a slightly more advantagous effect
from
spending both actions to roll the dice differently, why not them do it?

-Mike

--
Michael Sarno

http://vietnam.isonfire.com
Check out the Charlie Company Discussion Group:
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skirmish wargame of infantry combat in Vietnam 1965-1972

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 arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen
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 -G.K. Chesterton

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