Re: DS/SG Landings

>>But assume ressources are limited.
>>Assault landers/recovery vehicles are expensive/rare/take up lots >>
of 
>>cargo space, drop pods are cheap/plentyful/easily stowed.

>Sorry, I have trouble seeing disposable drop pods as being more cost
>or space affective than a reusable drop ship.
>
>Roger

Well, look at the various means of getting stuff into orbit:
rockets vs. shuttles. There are arguments either way.

Here's some points I want to make

1. Landing on a coastline is not the same as landing somewhere on a
planet - 
defending the line of a coast must be easier than defending orbital
airspace 
and every field a interface lander could set down on

2. Unlike landing on a coastline - when proximity to embarkation point
is an 
issue, every point on a planet is pretty much as easy to get to from
orbit

3. Of course the attacker will probably want to land in proximity to 
objectives, thus cutting down the area needed to protect

4. The Torch Landings during WWII landed in an area where resistance was

probable, it would have probably been easier to land elsewhere -
presumably 
because it was in line with the mission goals for Torch; to secure
Tunisia 
and Morocco in a mutually supportive manner and to catch Axis forces 
inbetween US and UK forces.
: the point to the long-winded sentence being that if you want to land
where 
you can achieve objectives there will probably be resistance (even if it
can 
be politically solved)

5. Opposed landings are fun

So what I do is have a strategic hex map for the world in question -
[you'll 
get one of these from the Traveller world book, or Battletech's
Battleforce 
book]

Decide on the location of major cities, resource centres
Decide which hexes have strategic air defence
Decide on quality of air defences

Attacker decides where he wants to land
[may want to send in a crack platoon of PA to take out air defences in 
daring commando raid]

Roll Quality of Interface Craft piloting +ECM
vs.
Quality of Air Defence
[as you would for Aerospace Attacks in DSII]

Air Defence result exceeds Interface Craft = everyone loses their lunch
= 
troops on board lose one Confidence Level, Green troops panic

Air Defence result doubles Interface Craft = black hawk down, as it were

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