Re: Where's the Cheese?

"Glover, Owen" wrote:

> It is using the rules to gain the advantage rather than the game
> mechanics or tactical employment of your squads that makes it cheesy.

    How do you simlute suppression fire, then?	It is a valid tactic and
takes advantage of the mechanics of the game, not the rules.  It's not
something that creates a loophole that give you an incredible
advantage.  It simply shifts the way your fire has effect and allows you
to opt for fire that is more likely to suppress than kill.  In RL, I can
do this, why not in SGII?

> In RL (quaint abbrev for Real Life), a squad leader will use fire
> control orders to manage his squads fire. He may command the rifle
> teams to engage one target and his SAW team to fire on another, but if
> engaging one target it will be a single order.

    But the SL can also order the SAW to lay down suppression fire.

> Taking it even further in cheesiness, I've seen guys try to argue that
> since they have 6 riflemen with FP 3 rifles that they are wasting the
> fire of two of them (6xFP3=18 but they only get a d12) so they wish to
> fire 4 rifles in one action and then use a second action to fire the
> other two!!

    But that's not what we're talking about here.  Even so, I'd allow it
in my games.  The squad IS using up it's second action.

> The best try was to fire three rifles getting a d10 (remeber you round
> up?) in the first and then the second three rifles with a d10 in the
> second action.

    That sounds a bit cheesy, but it's not strictly illegal.  I don't
know that I'd use it, but I'd play against a guy who did.

> Now throw a couple of IAVRs in each action; argued that if the
> riflemen aren't firing the Rifle then they can fire the IAVR!!

    Actually, this example is in the book on p 15:

"Note that even if all the squad is together, one action NEED NOT affect
ALL members of the squad - the player may decide to have some squad
members (eg: the ordinary troopers and the SAW gunner) fire at one
target, while he uses the other action to make the squad's missile
launcher fire at another target such as an enemy vehicle."

> This is only one example of where a player can exploit the 'letter of
> the rule' and not play in the spirit of the game. Needless to say
> no-one plays against him very much!

    I'm not convinced it's an exploitation and not in the spirit of the
game.  It's a choice to go for the suppression rather than the kill,
which is a valid military tactic.

> So, where do you 'cut the cheese'?

    Hopefully no one will choose to do so at GZG-ECC III. <g>

-Mike

--
Michael Sarno

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