Re: Low-Tech Forces in DSII

MR DAVID E PETERS wrote:

>	I am planning to design two scenarios for DSII set in The 
> Fading Suns setting.	 Fadings Suns has a very background it is a 
> mixture of low and high tech forces.	 I am looking for a few 
> suggestions for creating low tech forces.   I have gone through the 
> Fading Suns Players Companion and found their description of the type 
> of troop type interesting.

Hm. If low-tech forces are effective against high-tech ones, something
is
badly wrong...

>      Here are some low tech troop type that I have created and would 
> like to get other list members comments:   
> 
>      Melee Militia Troops:
> 
>	These troops are armed with spears or axes and engage in close 
> combat.   They took two hits and draw two chits in close combat.  
> Cost 5 points.

I'd say "draw 1 chit in close combat per 2 elements, AFTER the high-tech
force has fired". These guys are trying to get within spear or sword
reach of enemies armed with assault rifles/SMGs, hand grenades etc.
Since
DSII assaults are fought out at ranges up to 200 meters, there's no way
they'd be as effective as normal high-tech line infantry. Cost? Not
sure,
but I don't think I'd want to pay more than 1 point.

Read some battle descriptions from the Zulu war, for example - the Zulus
were pretty much like how you describe the low-tech Melee Militia, but
the British were far, far inferior of even a DSII militia unit - and
they
still slaughtered the Zulus in most of the fights. (When the Brits
didn't
do something terminally stupid, that is... <g>)

>	Archer/ Crossbow men Troops.
> 
>	Troops equipped with bows or crossbowns,light armor and melee 
> weapons for self-defense.   They have a range of 3" for bows and 4" 
> for crossbows. They take two hits, cannot initiate close combat and 
> draw two chits for ranged combat.

In DSII, 1" = 100 meters. Unless the bows and crossbows you're talking
about have modern composite bows and very advanced sights, there is no
way an archer or crossbowman can hit and do any real damage at 3-400
meters. Within DSII close assault range (2", ie 200 meters in real life)
their weapons can have some effect - but even a trained archer can't do
much better than 12 arrows per minute; a crossbowman with a light
crossbow might manage 3. How much lead can an assault rifle fire in that
time?

I realise this sounds as slamming down on your ideas. I don't mean to
sound that harsh, but... unless the background gives some very good
explanations as to how the low-tech forces can be even a remote
challenge
for the high-tech ones, the low-tech ones should be slaughtered in
droves
while inflicting very little damage on the high-tech troops. The
exception is when a small high-tech detachment gets ambushed or attacked
while sleeping.

Later,

Oerjan Ohlson
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
  What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
- Hen3ry