Whiskey/Hotel game 2019 - Day 1.

[grizzlymc]

You could do the bush clash with what a tanker.

[tim.w]

Thanks for another terrific day of fun guys.
Just a few thoughts on possible rule tweaks.
Troop quality : Nothing too complex, maybe +1 to hit for elites and -1 for militia.
Mortars and grenade launchers. I didn't really like the idea that "Anything but a 1" is a direct hit. Perhaps 2-4 should scatter.
RPGS etc. Are the ranges a bit too long? Unless you're deploying guided stuff like Milans or TOWs I think that they should be much more up close and personal. Keep them common but tone them down.

To contain the Armoured Fist tendency maybe next time we could have a mini Kursk before the real game. The tankies clash in the bush and after a fast and furious engagement only the survivors get to town.

Yes to all that, mortars need a tweak. They should ideally need to zero in. I think I misprinted the RPG ranges as they shouldnt have had a 36 range? I couldnt undersand why but I have the first rules with me so will check.

Re: tank war. This can be inexpensively done in 6mm. I happen to have the scenery to do it but no tanks yet.

We didn't get through half the events cards available. Be glad you didnt pull the Hearts and Minds card. You also didnt activate Kumbah-Kong a second time, which was lucky/disappointing.

So, sadly The President is dead. The actual one, not one of many doubles. Bombed out of his secret tunnel while trying to hop it into Soviet exile.

Well done chaps on another decent into chaos. I'm going to update the rules and will send you out a copy.

The Peoples Republic of Bongo was ominously quiet this year and we only saw a few Soviets at the end turning up to help in vain the presidents escape. Could the Bongolese be building a vast Soviet backed force ready to sweep down into Zumba and its newly annexed protectoate Kumbahya, run by the Goldberg Corporation?

[grizzlymc]

So, radio reports of Kumbayah citizens thronging the streets to welcome their Zumba liberators are to be believed then?

[Paul]

As an indicator for RPGs, the prolific RPG7 is reckoned to have an effective range of about 200m compared to the effective (rather than maximum) range of an AK47 which is around 300m.
Rather than a misfire for RPGs etc..which was just effectively a miss. Why not just make a special dice? You can buy blank dice and maybe have 3 or four 'hit' sides and the rest with scatter arrows. Differing weapons could have a varying scatter so maybe D2 for grenades or D3 for RPGs. You could even use a variety of symbols on the dice , perhaps one mishap, three hits and two scatters?

As for restricting the use of armour, tanks should not be able to transverse their gun turrets to hit any moving target at the sort of ranges we're talking about here. It's one of the things that makes them so vulnerable without Infantry support in built up areas. I would make tanks need a spotting roll and be unable to shoot moving targets at under 24 or maybe even 36 inch range. If you look at footage of modern combat in BUA tanks seem to be mostly used as assault guns to take out buildings and dug in troops.
Also give the tanks some chits of HE and AP 'rounds' to carry around. Allow players to sort them as they wish but once they're gone they're gone and...oh dear you want to shoot the enemy tank but only have HE loaded......shame

[Buff Orpington]

Seems fair. The assault gun idea is sound. Perfect for deploying the SU 100 next time.

[Buff Orpington]

I did offer my version of events in General Wittering. http://www.looseasswargamers.org.uk/pos ... =9&p=33599

[Norman D. Landings]

Thing about the mortars zeroing in - last year, I had a radio op spotting for the mortars.
I abandoned it this year because we quite obviously weren’t using the same rigour with any other weapons, by which I mean firing tank guns so that targets out of direct LOS of the tank were in ‘splash damage’ range, allowing template areas to cover multiple levels of elevation, and allowing grenading around blind corners where the ‘1000-foot general’ players could see there’s a target, but the grenade thrower could not.

I don’t know what the fuss is about tanks.
There was an element of concern during the original set-up about armour overpowering the game. Turned out they were heavy ordnance magnets and all died early on.
They were heavy ordnance magnets again this year. They all died early on.
Are you lot playing secret Kumbayah games without me where tanks are pwning everything and need to be nerfed?

We can ‘fix’ RPG’s without an additional roll or special dice.
As it stands now, ‘1’ is a misfire, everything else is a hit.
How about:
CLOSE RANGE: 1=misfire, 2=scatter, 3,4,5,6=hit.
EFFECTIVE RANGE: 1=misfire, 2,3=scatter, 4,5,6=hit.
MAX RANGE: 1=misfire, 2,3,4,5=scatter, 6=hit.

[Buff Orpington]

That sounds good to me.

[Norman D. Landings]

Further thoughts: no troop quality can possibly get a -1 to hit.

The way the mechanics work, it’s a gamebreaker. Here’s why:

At long range, you need a 6 to hit.

If you give militia a -1, they can’t hit at long range.

Result? You’ve created a ‘magic’ range band wherein regulars can stand out in the open with their dicks in one hand and a rifle in the other, pulling off trick shots against militia with complete impunity.

(It’s not insoluble - the usual rules solution to ‘impossible’ shots is: take any sixes you roll and roll them again to see if they hit.
I don’t like this idea - it adds extra rolls and extra dice, and I hate that.)

My suggested solution is this: elites count as ‘light cover’ even when in the open.
When moving, they’re more aware of potential fields of fire, & move tactically in short rushes, exposing themselves as little as possible & making them harder to hit.
When not moving, they ‘go to ground’ effectively, making best use of marginal cover and good camo.

Also:
Group coherence: maybe, off the top of my head - four inches from another group member for militia, six for regulars, eight for elites.
The in-game result of this would be to make regulars and elites less vulnerable to blast effect weapons because they’re less likely to ‘clump up’.
(I don’t propose any penalty for being ‘out of cohesion’ - next action, the figure has to rejoin his unit and that’s his full action. Shouldn’t pose any problem with the generous movement rate in the game.)

[Paul]

My suggested solution is this: elites count as ‘light cover’ even when in the open.

Absolutely agree with this, with some reservations. Trained troops should have a better awareness of their surroundings and what cover is available etc...
My one reservation is that we are talking specifically about an 'African' society where a larger proportion of the population will be proficient in 'bushcraft' than us in the west. This would include the elements of stalking including (to quote Monty Python) trying not to be seen and accurate use of weapons.

Militia troops are likely to spray bullets everywhere at short range whereas regulars will be more controlled. I would suggest something like this:

Type : Short range : Long Range
Militia : 2 dice at 6 : 6
Regular : 4 : 6
Elite : 3 : 5 Count open as light cover


This gives a hit % of 28% (2.8% of two hits) at short range and 16.7% at long for militia. 50% and 16.7% for Regulars and 66.7% and 33.3% for Elites. (In reality thats probably far too high but we need a playable game)

Norms unit cohesion sounds good.