""No End in Sight". NWG modern platoon rules. Feature list" Topic
15 Posts
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Weasel | 03 Sep 2014 1:04 p.m. PST |
Getting to the point now where I know what the feature list will be for my platoon level modern rules, as each section is either written or outlined. So a few pointers on what IS and IS NOT included. The general scope of the game is platoon level infantry combat in the late 20th century, today and tomorrow. Scifi stuff isn't explicitly covered but shouldn't be terribly hard to do. There WILL be a hard scifi expansion or standalone game later on.
Basic game rules include what you'd expect: Moving around, shooting at people, suppression fire built into the fighting mechanics, reaction fire mechanic (when crossing fire swept ground, troops move in rushes rather than the robot-advance we usually do in war games). Everything is geared towards trying to break away from some of the norms of table top gaming and maybe, just maybe, try to get a tiny bit closer to how a fire fight plays out when we read about it. More interesting parts includes insurgent troops, handling civilians, booby traps and IED's, searching buildings and notes on interior fighting, human waves, communications, intel advantages, heroic troopers and a few other nice bits. Vehicles are covered but from an infantry commanders perspective. A tank is a tank and an APC is an APC and they are there to support the grunts. Tread heads will have a list of traits to build their vehicles from. An Abrams might have Improved Defences, Target Acquisition, Superior Armour and Super Tank, while the hapless Iraqi T55 opposing it is Cramped and Inferior Ammo. As usual for NWG stuff, You get a character generator for your squad leaders, detailing their motivations, character traits and whatnot, solo gaming aids and a healthy campaign section covering both generic campaigns and with random outcome tables for peace keeping, liberation, domino theory and potential ww3 scenarios. There's also a scenario generator complete with a Blunder table if you want to know exactly how HQ screwed up this time. What you do NOT get:
Page upon page of TO&E charts. (though I do include a crash course) Points systems. Pontification about who is good or evil. A complex simulation of the impact of a 120mm shell at 37 degrees against a T62 produced in the late summer of 1964, when the gunner has had a good lunch but is slightly concerned that his girlfriend never writes him any longer. Release hopefully in the next month or so. I'd love to get it out by the end of this month but that depends on a few factors.
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Weasel | 03 Sep 2014 1:07 p.m. PST |
Also, since I like to hear myself talk, here's the guiding principles I tried to stick with when writing the game. Testers have been almost universally approving. *A platoon battle will come down to a series of heroic actions by small groups of soldiers.
*Small arms fire primarily results in the enemy being pinned down. Casualties are much less common than normally assumed in games. *A vigorous fire fight can result in one side being pushed back without having suffered significant losses. *Wounded and dead will significantly impact a squads ability to operate effectively. *Irregular militia and insurgent troops should operate differently from regular, trained forces. *Tabletop scale should be treated realistically. Your typical gaming table represents "the tip of the spear" in most cases, engaging the enemy at very close ranges. *Games should be playable on a relatively small table and without spending a fortune on figures. |
dragon6 | 03 Sep 2014 2:10 p.m. PST |
Well, if you do not include this A complex simulation of the impact of a 120mm shell at 37 degrees against a T62 produced in the late summer of 1964, when the gunner has had a good lunch but is slightly concerned that his girlfriend never writes him any longer. then it is so obviously incomplete as to be unplayable. sniff! |
Weasel | 03 Sep 2014 2:17 p.m. PST |
It'll be in the must-buy expansion :) |
Dennis0302 | 03 Sep 2014 2:19 p.m. PST |
Sounds excellent and I've added the rules to my "must buy" list. Just a thought, some TO+E charts would be nice. Modern stuff can be hard to find and when you do there are six different versions all of which claim to be right (PLA squad structure comes to mind as an example). If you could include some I think it would be appreciated. |
delta6ct | 03 Sep 2014 2:57 p.m. PST |
I am really looking forward to this, it sounds great. Mike |
Weasel | 03 Sep 2014 3:09 p.m. PST |
Dennis – I'll give it some more thought. Right now, there's a crash course to how these things are generally organized. I might add a few in for good nature, though I'm a bit wary since people always seem to be upset about it being wrong for this or that particular month in the north-western provinces or whatever :-) |
Thorfin11 | 03 Sep 2014 3:39 p.m. PST |
I really like the sound of this – release eagerly anticipated. Good luck. |
Weasel | 03 Sep 2014 4:06 p.m. PST |
Oh, there'll be helicopters too, at least for landing guys. Though since most games will take place within 150-200 meters of the bad guys, you gotta make sure you want it bad enough before you land the chopper in range of every RPG and ATGM in the neighbourhood |
Just Jack | 03 Sep 2014 8:02 p.m. PST |
Ivan, They sound fantastic, I'm looking forward to them and will pick them up once available. I sure wish I had time to playtest for you, but you're popping rulesets out too quick! ;) V/R, Jack |
Weasel | 03 Sep 2014 8:05 p.m. PST |
I've had a good core of testers on this one, plus the testing I've done over the past few months privately so all in good hands :) |
LORDGHEE | 04 Sep 2014 11:16 p.m. PST |
Dennis I am sure that all the version of the PLA Toe are right, somewhere in China. |
Weasel | 05 Sep 2014 9:29 a.m. PST |
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Weasel | 05 Sep 2014 8:42 p.m. PST |
Two campaign styles are finished. The general campaign rules gives you the basics: Some chances to upgrade men and leaders, replacing casualties and whatnot. You get a general "military operations" system where you set up a number of objectives in the region you are fighting in. As you win battles, you can chip away at those objectives until they're overcome. The second campaign is the "hearts and minds", suitable for Iraq, some Vietnam games, Afghanistan (coalition and communist) and many more.
Here, you are trying to increase the Stability of the region. With each battle, stability may go up and down, which will affect rolls on the hearts&minds table. The enemy may gain or lose strength and ultimately, the region will either become pacified or be ruled uncontrollable. So if you fancy seeing how well your platoon will do pacifying a particularly unruly province in Afghanistan, this is for you. As an extra bonus, you'll have to contend with political demands each battle as well. Some regions you may be forbidden to fire artillery at the enemy, you may be restricted in forces or there may be structures or locations of political importance that can't be ignored. I'll share more about the next campaign styles tomorrow if all goes well.
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Weasel | 06 Sep 2014 7:26 p.m. PST |
The next campaign option is "Domino Theory". This is basically a sort of sped up, exaggerated version of the domino theories around the spread of a contrary ideology. Fight communism in Asia, fundamentalist religion in the Middle East, liberalism in eastern Europe or apocalyptic cultists in middle America. As you play games, you'll roll to see how neighbouring countries are either falling under the influence of the ideology in question or becoming more resilient to it. Do well on the battle field and things become a bit easier. This is very well suited for a club or similar organization where you can play a lot of games for each turn in the campaign. |
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