Re: Re: [GZG] [Stargrunt] Wanted

Jon & Allan, did you see the mods Stuart Murray proposed? I've pasted it
below:

SGII - Company Mods
It became apparent to my gaming group that the typical platoon-level SG
game was over too quickly if one side lost a single squad from arty or
aerospace attack.  We kind of stopped using these in games so games
lasted a little longer.  I started thinking about this more and I
realized that what I wanted to play was a reinforced company level
combined arms game in which a small amour contingent could effectively
support a single company (including organic mortars/HMGs) and not skew
the game too much with its firepower.

One problem with using larger forces is the alternating action phase. 
Because opponents can react to the actions of a single squad operational
coherency quickly dissolved.  It seemed wrong to me that a company
commander could not gain an advantage by activating a whole platoon
rather than a single squad.

Another disadvantage of playing larger SG games is the time it takes to
move lots of individual figures.  While playing I observed that players
tend to worry greatly about the facing and disposition of individual
troops.  I noted that in larger games this focus on the individual
troops tended to distract the commanders from the 'larger picture' of
the tactical battle.

I began tinkering with how I could activate whole platoons in a timely
manner while lifting the tactical level from squad combat to
platoon/company combat.

To speed moving figures and relieve the player of worrying about
individuals I started to gang base squads. I found that too much detail
was lost when basing squads so I dropped the multi-basing to the level
of fire teams. I tried it a few times and it seemed to work out. I then
tried lifting the tactical level by activating platoons/or platoon
equivalents (such as a pair of tanks) with a single chit, like Dirtside.

I tried it a couple of times on gaming buddies before bringing it to the
GZG ECC.  The feedback from them was positive.	There is very little
'learning curve' and the leaner game appealed more than regular SG to a
player who was new to SG (he had only played a couple of times).

So, what I ended up with is a way to play faster, more complex, games of
SG in an evening and I still get to use all my little toys*

Mods for company gaming: (NB, I use 15mm figs)

Basing
Fire teams, or functional groups (such as command, SAM, ATGW etc) are
based on a single base. I use a 1" base, usually square. This represents
the team within a 10mx10m area (SG scale is stated as 1"=10m)
Fire teams are two (high tech and PA), to four figures (low tech) per
base. Specialists are usually 2-3 figures. 
Example Platoon: Commonwealth Infantry Platoon
Command: Base of Lt., Sgt, RTO
3x Rifle Sections: Base of NCO and 1 rifleman, 2x (Base of 2 riflemen
and 1 SAW)
Support: Base of Marksman and 1 rifleman, Base of ATGW (2 figures)
Platoon rides in 4x IFVs
Company Command
Only company command has EW and artillery support chits. Platoons do
not, this helps preserve the chain of command for such
request/priorities.
Activation
A single platoon group (or equivalent) is activated at a time. When
activated all bases/elements in the group may perform independent
actions, i.e. in an infantry platoon some may fire while others move (An
example of cover fire and move, otherwise not modeled well in SG). All
SG rules apply, such as leader replacement etc (in this case it will be
a base that is promoted).
Movement
I typically choose a base near the center of the platoon, measure and
move that base, then move all the other bases without measuring.
Firing
Firepower is calculated per figure in a fire team, as SG. NB, the
PLATOON is firing, so, it is up the player how they resolve fire team
firing. Pick targets and detail how many fire teams are firing at each
target. Example: a Commonwealth Infantry platoon firing on a Union
infantry group. The Commonwealth player chooses to target the Union
group with three sections (three groups of three fire teams). First
determine the firepower for each section; resolve as SG for each section
independently.
GMS: Any figure with a GMS may fire with either the GMS, or with a
rifle/SMG etc. I do not limit the GMS to 3/4 shots; the fire team will
carry reloads.
Mixed bases: bases with riflemen and a SAW gunner may fire either
combined i.e. SAW in support, or just as a SAW.
Casualties
Each base can take TWO wounds; this is independent of the number of
figures actually on a base. If a base gets one hit I place an untreated
casualty marker next to, or on, the base. If the casualty gets treated I
replace that with a treated casualty marker (I use regular casualties
for untreated and figs on stretchers for treated). I use casualty marker
castings from Peter Pig. If a base gets two hits it is dead and I
replace it with two untreated casualty markers. (I adopted an idea from
a historical gamer, he used two sets of generic markers, one green, one
grey, that way he did not have to buy specific casualties, he used the
same ones for everything. It sounds strange, but I find it is effective)
Any casualty (treated or not) is moved with the fire team. Casualties
can be 'pooled' for protection, left at an aid point, or recovered by
medevac; if so I use a small marker (a small piece of pipe cleaner
placed on the base) to represent the base having one 'hit'.
Alternatively, casualties can be abandoned like regular SG and the base
marked accordingly.

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