Re: [SG] Smoke

On Tue, 29 Oct 2002 19:57:50 -0800, Yves Lefebvre <ivanohe@abacom.com>
wrote:

>We played that throwing smoke count as a fire action, so you can't
while
>suppressed. The list of availlable action you can do when suppressed is
>pretty limited (p.18). 

However, smoke is in the Advanced Rules section and it doesn't say _how_
it is
done. The rules don't say if it's part of a fire action, part of a
reorganise
action, or a separate action. Since it's not listed, the rules don't
state if
it's a Leader Action (as defined on page 16) or a Motivation Action.

This is one of the (several) holes I'm trying to plug in the rules. This
is
why I asked, originally, for the proper doctrine in real life. 

I think it should cost an action. Up until now I've been treating it as
a fire
action, but I don't think it's fair to consider the figure throwing the
smoke
(and, again, the smoke rules don't specify _who_ is doing the throwing;
is it
a group, or do you have to detail a specific individual) as having
"fired".

Since I've heard on the list that you can pop smoke when suppressed, and
due
to the rules placing smoke within 6" of a unit, I think it should be a
separate action but not a fire action. I think it should be possible to
do it
while suppressed. Since it's such a powerful tool, I think it should be
done
as an action, thus the squad has to be activated to do it.

One of the reasons for allowing it while suppressed is how I've seen
smoke
used in other games. In particular, the computer game _Steel Panthers_
had
units pop smoke before they bugged out. It seems logical to me that if a
squad
was taking heavy fire, they would chuck smoke grenades nearby (from the
safety
of whatever cover they have) in order to protect against incoming fire. 

Allan Goodall		       agoodall@hyperbear.com
http://www.hyperbear.com

"We come into the world and take our chances
 Fate is just the weight of circumstances
 That's the way that Lady Luck dances
 Roll the bones." - N. Peart