"FFT3 Campaign Recovery Ideas" Topic

I'm starting up a FFT3 campaign based in 1986-1987 West Germany. Pretty standard PACT v. NATO, Race to the Rhine kind of stuff. Anyway before it gets started I was considering adding some rules, 'depth' perhaps, and wanted to get some feedback on it before we start.

Each side (PACT and NATO) must (or may, I'm not sure on that yet) include an ambulance stand, representing a battalion aid station, and/or an ARV stand in a given scenario. Now, I like campaign games since it forces losses absorbed during a scenario to mean something- lining up your miniatures across the table from mine and rolling dice until there is one stand remaining doesn't do it for me. When the forces I can use for the next game reflect the losses I incurred during the last game… well now I'm interested. My intent for the recovery and aid stands is to force the players' consideration for managing service-support in addition to the combat and combat support which are on the table.

The rules for which I'm still developing, but leaning towards these: please feel free to let me know what you think of them.

Battalion Aid Station (Ambulance)/ Armored Recovery Vehicles (ARV)

1. Follow the rules per 15.4, Dedicated Forward Observers except that they cannot themselves observe for Area Fire. (specifically, that they can't fire nor be targeted by enemy direct fire or artillery if they are within 4" of an friendly stand.)

2. ARV effects- Side achieving a Victory (major or minor per 25.3.3, Objectives and Victory Points) with an ARV stand on the table and in cohesion at the end of the game may recover 2/3 of vehicle stands destroyed vice the 1/3 allowed by 25.4.2.

3. Ambulance effects- (this was a little more difficult to come up with) Following the scenario during Recovery and Reorganization, a side with an Ambulance stand that was still on the table and in cohesion at the end of the game may recover 2/3 of infantry stands which were lost due to failed QC rolls as normal and may additionally recover half (rounded up) of the remaining infantry stands.

Infantry stands destroyed (e.g. those failing QC rolls following their carrier vehicle being destroyed) are recovered at the rate of 2/3, vice 1/3 per 25.4.2.

So what do you think? I wanted the players to have to keep these recovery units on the table and somewhat forward (hence the requirement to be in cohesion) while still protected, rather than hiding on the owner's table edge for the whole game just to be there at the end. I also wanted the players to get some benefit from doing so, without giving back everything that they lost. Looking forward to your thoughts.

I'd try to fit the quality check in there somehow.

Infantry might be a little on the high side for certain cases. Most of their wounds will probably be fatal if chemical weapons are being used in the area.

You might also have slower percentages for Warsaw Pact forces. Not sure if their tanks are built for a quick turnaround.

For NATO, you might eliminate or drop to a very low percentage for vehicles lost and the Warsaw Pact forces move beyond. Hard to recover a vehicle when the front line is past the point where it was destroyed or damaged.

I play with something similar but have the ambulance and ARV at Formation HQ, eg Brigade or Rgt.

I play it that any inf casualties are moved back to the Formation HQ as soon as they are made casualties, eg destroyed or fail QC.

At the end of every 2hr turn for every 3 stands at the HQ:
return 1 stand to a Bn in the Formation
remove 1 stand from the game as permanent loss
move 1 stand to DivHQ.

Overnight process the stands at DivHQ by 3's in the same way.

For AFV casualties leave the AFV at the location it was knocked out. At the end of each 2hr turn send an ARV out from the Formation HQ to try and recover the wreck back to the Formation HQ.

The ARV can be shot at by direct fire upto 1200m and by interdiction arty. If the ARV survives it can recover 1 AFV per ARV stand.

Then process recovered AFVs at the Formation HQ in 3's as per inf.

This has the effect that in order to recover AFV wrecks you need control of the battlefield.

Before making up additional rules, I'd recommend having a go at the FFT3 campaign casualty recovery rules "as-written" in the rule book.

Having played a campaign using the as-written rules, I found them perfectly workable. I will say, however, that they are already (IMHO) fairly generous in recovery rates. I think if you increase return rates as suggested above, there may not be much point playing a campaign, since you'll start every battle with your campaign force almost as good as new!

If you desperately want the ARVs, ambulances etc *on-table* during the battle (which it sounds like it might be the driver), then I'd probably just make their presence the pre-requisite for using the standard FFT3 recovery rules (which I think assume their presence anyway). If they aren't present or allocated to a battle, go with Nil casualty recovery of destroyed stands.

@bishnak- I have played a few FFT3 campaigns, albeit short ones, and now that you mention it the recovery rates are pretty generous. Maybe you're on to something… instead of a bonus if the recovery units are still on table, impose a penalty if they're not. That might be something to playtest.

Let me ask another question then: In the recovery rules as written, both sides recover at the same rates. Does that matter? Should the defeated side recover at a lower rate than the victor? If the winning side controls the field, should they not have more opportunity to recover vehicles than the side that just got bounced?

We rounded up fractions for the winner, and down for the loser. It makes a noticeable difference.