GZG DS2 Mikko: Genres for DS2.

Mikko Kurki-Suonio <maxxon@swob.dna.fi> wrote:
>...Which do you want to game? Modern
>warfare with laser guns added, or your fave scifi story, even though it
>might be slightly unrealistic? Would you enjoy having your carefully
>crafted "Imperial Hoth Assault Force" slaughtered by a "realistic"
>opposing force just because AT-AT isn't a viable design in DSII? Comes
>down to personal preference, I think...
    If I had a carefully crafted Imperial assault force, I would be sure
that my opponent was using a realistic, carefully crafted Rebel scum
defence
force. Putting them up against WH40K Epic Eldar, Hammer's Slammers or
ultra
modern US Army would just be a mockery!
    It's important that both sides are in the same genre. It should be
possible to look at each vehicle and infanty element and unit and know
whether or not they fit the chosen genre.
    In my games, I insist that every player have a strong easily
described
concept for their forces. Myself, I am assembling a planetary defence
force/ultra-modern army based on the Swiss Army and what I think the New
Zealand armed forces should be like. The vehicles are low cost, high
mobility wheeled vehicles armed with lots of GMS with no energy weapons.
The
infantry is all militia. Most units are green with a few regulars.
    My second force is based on Battletech planetary raiders/mercenaries
and
is comprised of all walkers, some aerospace, but no infantry or
artillery.
Most units are veteran with a few regulars.
    Kris, one of my friends, has designed an army using modified WH40K
Epic
Eldar miniatures. He uses stealth, ablative armour, HEL's, DFFG's, GRAV,
FGP
and only PA infantry. Unit quality is all veteran. His vehicles are
enormously expensive with high levels of stealth and fire control!
    His second force is based on Hammer's Slammers. After reading Jon's
excellent article on the appropriate conversions for Hammer's Slammers,
we
haven't come up with capable opponents yet! They can be quite scary!
    We also have bug forces, loosely based on Starship Troopers (the
book).
They have no technology, just swarms of infantry/bugs. These are very
easy
to play, just cover half the table with bits of paper to represent the
bug
hordes, and advance groups 6" per turn. Get to the far end of the table
and
they win!
    Our other genre is Ultra-modern/near future where everything we read
about in military magazines is permissable and available. So then we
have
rules for indirectly fired GMS, artillery firing GMS, more GMS sizes,
laser
and missile AA defences, toss bombing, etc. All these are available in
my
web site.
    Along with vehicles and infantry appropriate for their genre, we
also
have genre specific rules of war. For example, when we fight human(oid)s
vs
human(oid)s, we disallow nukes and chemical weapons. We reason that
higher
command has decided that these are not available as the planet is at
stake.
When we fight against bugs, sequestering aliens or WH40K jean steelers,
nukes and chemical weapons are available, as failure for the defending
human(oid)s usually has far greater consequences.
    Other genre limitations you might consider are technologies. For
example, GMS, CFE, HMT and non-energy weapons might be unavailable as
the
ammunition, fuel costs and supply train problems would be prohibitive.
This
would be appropriate for Imperial and Rebel forces.
    If you want, you can have no limitations, just a points value per
side.
Then the game rapidly decays down to who has the most nukes and forward
observers, and is lucky with their morale rolls.

Andrew Martin
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