Re: NBC

Here we go, getting closer to something that perhaps could be used in a
game.
The guys I usually GM 'Grunt for are probably going to hate me, but what
else
are friends for, anyway.

Thomas Barclay had these interesting things to say:

> Henrix... (sorry, I may have called you Hendrix the first time, but
I'm jus'
> a po' dumb Canuck tha' cannae speak.... er... type... in this case...)

Don't worry, I'm used to it. My name is really Henrik, the -rix is from
Gallophilic (as in Asterix, Obelix, Vercingetorix, etc.) tendencies
rather than
musical.

>
> ** How about this for resolving casualties from such hostile
environments:
> 1-3: Dead
> 4-5: Wounded
> 6: Okay (lightly wounded, but able to fight)

I am not certain I would bother with such a relatively small difference,
I'd
just forget it in the heat of battle ;)

> ** Yep, but I think it should maybe take an action to button up.
Either the
> one you haven't yet used this turn or the lose your next activation...
this
> makes fake chem attacks a nice plus as it forces the enemy force to
button
> up and consume time...

Let's give them a suppression marker! It only takes up half an
activation (if
you're lucky), but it is easier and more in line with the game
mechanics. Or
give them two suppression markers, if you want, one for the arty and one
for the
gas.
Perhaps we should give everybody who isn't buttoned up a suppression,
after all
somebody is throwing some nasty stuff around  less than (let's see, my
ordinary
gaming table is 75 in across=) 750m away!

By the way, I don't really believe in fake cham attacks. If you go
throwing
stuff around to fool any detectors, why not use something that has a
chance of
making somebody's mother very sad. Use something that evaporates fast if
you
want to go into the area immediately after. I could see some use for
making a
fake contaminated area, a spot of land the enemy probably will not
thread, but
which does not in any way hinder you, but...

>
> ** I think you'd be wrong. I believe you'll find a number of places
where
> chemical agents have been used in the world lately have had the kind
of
> agent used were of a variety such that some small number of milligrams
of
> the agent, undetectable by smell or sight, and which kills you in
under 30
> seconds, and I believe in some cases were skin absorbtive.

I am fairly certain you need to get a minute drop on you (or a slightly
larger
on your clothes), but with more advanced  delivery systems aerosol
spraying and
other carriers you could probably manage that too. Besides I cannot see
what
difference it would do for the game, unless you want to go _full_
wysiwyg and
condemn figures in short sleeves or shorts to a lingering death :-}

>
> ** Hmmm.... don't think so. You're assuming conventional wounds are
easy to
> treat. Fragmenting rounds, Napalm, rounds laced with poisons, etc.
etc. -
> there are plenty of horrors covered and all the GZGverse does is
abstract
> these, the turn length (could be 5 min) and the medical tech. Chem
weapons
> are hideous but we should try to not modify mechanics for wounding if
we can
> avoid it based on the idea we can't comprehend how hideous their other
> weapons would be...

Well, I agree actually. Perhaps in some scenario where the enemy
presents a new
secret weapon (LSD-32455?), and effective cures are not yet available to
our
average Johnny Grunt.

>
> ** What should trigger reaction tests, and how severe:
> 1) Being under NBC attack (taking a casualty, detector going off, etc)
>	  I'd suggest this one be TL +2/+1/0 for various motivations...
> 2) Entering a contaminated area
>	  I'd suggest this one to be TL +1/0/NTR

1) I would say it is worse than being under artillery attack, which is
+2/+1/+0,
or perhaps cumulative with (I assume they are delivered by some sort of
artillery), so being under the beaten zone of a BC attack would be a
Confidence
test at TL 4/2/1, pretty severe.
2) Entering a contaminated area I would give a Reaction test at 0, or +2
if the
unit only has obsolete/basic protection.

but you forgot
3) First time BC is used, all units on the side being attacked must take
a
Confidence test at TL +3/+2/+1, while all units on the side using BC
takes one
at +1/+0/NTR, being, hopefully, a slightly more prepared for it.
Furthermore I think this is cumulative with being under attack, so a
unit hit by
the first round of biochemicals takes one test for being under attack
and one
for first use.

Oh, and I almost forgot: Panic. This is a terror weapon, which means
that any
Regulars (or below) test for Panic when first attacked.

This would give a Regular unit under the first biochem attack a
confidence test
at an immense TL of 7 (ouch!) as well as a Panic test, and one or two
suppression markers. Tough! But perhaps "realistic"?

Of course, we could have a situation where BC weapons have become in
relatively
common use, when the latter (+1/+0/NTR) should be used for both sides. I
am
assuming that NBC is used only as some sort of desperate last-ditch
thingy,
unpopular with the home audience, and severely frowned upon by the UN
(if
anybody cares). (Maybe we should put a warning label on these rules,
saying
"Mature Players Only!" . But then, aren't all Grunt players mature,
managing
without any points system *grin*.)

>
> ** For resolving the attack
> Attack Dice: Quality of Agent (Basic, Enhanced, Superior)

Should probably be quality of Agent/Delivery system, meaning that a good
(Evil?)
agent delivered badly will still be basic.

>
> Defence Dice: Quality of Defending Unit
> Modifiers: Defender quality +1 DS if superior MOPP gear
>	       Defender quality -1 DS if basic MOPP gear
> Results: Attack < Defence dice - no effect
>	   Attack = Defence dice < 2x defence dice - wounded
>	     Attack 2x or more Defence dice - dead

Uhm, yes, sounds pretty good. I would like to add
Modifiers: +1 DS if in PA or full BA (but that's possibly what superior
MOPP
gear is all about, I don't know. Or is PA immune?)
		+2 DS if not first use of BC on table or entering known
contaminated area.

How do we deliver the biochemicals. Artillery (Ortillery, first you drop
the BC,
then you drop the fully insulated Power Armour troops), or can anybody
think of
anything else?

How about this: Every arty round gives one to three biochem counters
(wherever
did I put my Dirtside counters?) per round, depending on size of
delivery
system: Medium - 1 , Large - 2, and, of course, Very Large - 3. Scatter
them
around the impact point as for normal deviation (clockface, D8 in
distance).
Anything within 6 in of a counter is affected. And if the agent is
lasting, that
is evaporates slowly, just leave the counter for the rest of the game,
otherwise
remove at the end of turn.

--
Henrix