Re: [GZG] [SG] IAVRs

Responding to a couple of messages in the digest.

> From: "laserlight" <laserlight@quixnet.net>

> > Anyway, you're right - balance is a challenge.  In the
> > case of the ambush	scenario, you probably have to place
> > limits for the ambusher ("you have to  complete as much
> > damage as you can as quickly as possible and then withdraw
> > to preserve your force") so they don't try to die in place
> > to win...
>
> As that memorable low-casualties SG2 game you ran a couple
> of years ago.

I don't know about Adrian's game, but I ran an ambush scenario at
GenCon with those limits. In 15mm scale, too!

The scenario, Plasma Ambush on my web site, had a small force of PAs
with Plasma Guns take on a convoy rushing to the aid of a force
outside of a city. John would probably have a cow at the set up, but I
envisioned two local colony forces with some military gear (and
originally one side was using mercenaries) when I set it up. Basically
a "come as you are war" on some backwater, with good equipment, but
not a lot of it and not a lot of training in it. Kind of like the wars
in Africa in the last 50 years, but with the bigger Tuffleyverse
powers able to supply weapons openly.

Anyway, I received complements on the game from several players. The
ambushers had to disable or destroy 3 out of 4 vehicles and get half
the force off the board for a marginal win, and all 4 four a decisive
win. The tricky part is this: in order to have a good chance of taking
out at least 3 of the 4 vehicles during the ambush, the attacker has
to set up along the road in some depth. This means that part of his
force has to extricate itself a fair distance. In almost every case,
that part of the force gets beat up pretty badly.

It's an example of both a fun ambush scenario and why ambush scenarios
are very hard to balance. Basically, if the ambusher tries for a
marginal victory only he usually wins. If the ambusher tries for the
decisive victory, he usually loses. But in all playings of the game
the result was pretty close.

> From: "Michael Brown" <mwsaber6@msn.com>

> Another take is to have anyone taking cover next to a wreck be
"attacked" by
> small arms and fuel cooking off.
>
> I will let wrecks block LOS (smoke and flame). I have not seen them
used as
> cover though.

I allowed wrecks to be used as cover in my ambush game, provided the
wreck was disabled and not destroyed. I probably need to specify house
rules for going near a wrecked vehicle.

> From: Roger Books <roger.books@gmail.com>

> So does anyone require a roll to leave an APC under fire?  I know that
is
> the
> absolute worst place to be, but I can't imagine how difficult it is to
get
> out
> of that nice bullet blocking armor.

If a vehicle is fired on but it isn't penetrated, doesn't the vehicle
receive a suppression marker? And doesn't the rules explicitly state
that the suppression marker prevents troops inside the vehicle from
escaping?

On the other hand, I have house rules on my web site where troops have
to make a roll to stay inside a disabled vehicle.

> From: John Atkinson <johnmatkinson@gmail.com>

> That's why one of the basic ambush concepts is left and right security
> with eyes-on, who can let the main killing force know what's following
> the convoy.

John, how do you handle this in SG2, since SG2 has pretty specific --
and restrictive -- rules for spotting hidden counters, and problems
with activating squads in a moving vehicle?

> From: "laserlight" <laserlight@quixnet.net>
>
> Unless, of course, you decide to run fireteams as SG
> "squads".

But it's not quite _that_ simple, is it? What about the squad leader,
what does he do? And what about morale? Is Confidence kept for each
fire team, or for a squad as a whole?

John's comment that a squad leader only uses his weapon about 10% of
the time is very telling. I've been thinking a lot about the fire team
rules. The easiest idea I came up with is to have the squad leader
activate as normal (check the rules; it's quite clear that you
activate squad leaders, not squads, in SG2) and then he does a
transfer action to each of his fire teams. If he stays within 6" this
is done without a communication roll, otherwise it requires a
communication roll. Confidence is done per squad, not fire team, but
in all other areas a fire team acts like an SG2 squad (and I'm willing
to try Confidence per fire team). The one wrinkle is how can a squad
leader move and fire with his squad. John answered part of the
question; the squad leader doesn't usually fire as part of the squad.

That leaves movement. It's not realistic that a squad leader orders
fire teams to move but has to remain stationary because he ran out of
actions, particularly in a 3 to 5 minute turn. So I came up with a
rule that a squad leader could move with one of his fire teams for
free, but I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not.

Haven't playtested these rules, due to a dearth of players where I live.

--
Allan Goodall		 http://www.hyperbear.com
agoodall@hyperbear.com
awgoodall@gmail.com

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