Re: [GZG] FMA multiple activations

On Sat, Mar 7, 2009 at 6:59 AM, Damo <damosan@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Mar 7, 2009, at 4:20 AM, Tom B wrote:
>
>>
>> That mechanic did not seem to handle mismatched forces very well.
>> The normal alternating activation mechanic with leaders simply
>> transfering commands seemed better.
>>
>
> Activation points really requires a bell curve of sorts so that good
> leaders will, on average, score better than mediocre ones.  Did
> leader activation not work because of the ratio of leaders to
> troopers?  In your asymetric games perhaps the lower-tech force had
> too many leaders?

Excellent point, that last one.

One of the issues for poorly-trained forces is that while they
frequently have the requisite number of corporals, sergeants,
lieutenants, etc. as per an MTOE in the sky, lack of leader
development means that they really don't get the same use out of them
that a force with long-service professional leaders gets out of
theirs.  Something to consider is that if your overall force quality
average is green, at least half of the "leaders" out there are not
much more good than any other guy with a rifle, and shouldn't be able
to pass activations.  This gets worse with militia types whose leaders
are selected on the basis of social status in the civilian world
rather than military experience.

This isn't to say that all leaders for a lower tech/lower trained
force would be ineffective, just that the effective ones will have
more to try to handle, and the overall force structure is much more
sensitive to the loss of those leaders that are effective.  Shoot a US
or UK lieutenant, and his platoon sergeant will (as a general rule)
step up and fight the platoon just fine.  Shoot an old Soviet
lieutenant, and you've killed the only guy who can read a map and
perform many other functions--his "platoon sergeant" is a draftee with
perhaps a year's experience.  Maybe he'll step up, maybe he'll run
away.

John
-- 
"Thousands of Sarmatians, Thousands of Franks, we've slain them again
and again.  We're looking for thousands of Persians."
--Vita Aureliani

_______________________________________________
Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@vermouth.csua.berkeley.edu
http://vermouth.csua.berkeley.edu:1337/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gzg-l