"Rational for this skirmish strength" Topic

This is fromGoG:N but you don't need to know the game. What I can't understand is the Skirmish firing Strength

Close Range
Normal Unit 4
Skirmish formation 3 (same number of men as Normal Unit)
Ok, get that

Medium Range ('Unreformed' AKA Prussian or Line system)

Non-reformed infantry 0
Non-reformed + skirmish attachment 3
Reformed line infantry 3
Reformed + skirmish attachment 4
Light infantry 5

Why are Lights so powerful?

Training.

I think the "steps" between the abilities of different formations are too coarse but the wanted to show distinctions. Maybe running the scale from 0 to 10, rather than 0-5 would help. It might be that there could be "saving throws" in the game that would give the effect of finer 'grain size'.

Why are Lights so powerful?

Only the designer could answer that question. We all are just guessing why.

Could just be typo? Otherwise it looks very wrong to me as ‘unreformed ‘ units could volley just as well as anyone else. Often these combat modifiers are an attempt to replicate tactical or command and control failings that rules find harder to replicate without placing constraints on players that are more complex and often disliked.

As McLaddie says. But looks like a combination of training (each man in the unit being trained to skirmish) plus numbers (more likely to deploy more of the unit than a line unit which is prepared to send out skirmishers).

That is what I've been trying to vocalise, is they will have more skirmishers, but why better than a line unit at close range?

That is what I've been trying to vocalise, is they will have more skirmishers, but why better than a line unit at close range?

I don't understand your OP then. Your OP has light infantry better at medium range, not close range.

Maybe the rules are not written well enough and/or adequately play tested before publish- seems a lot of those out there these days.

In FoG(N) version 2, there is no longer any 'skirmish' formation. All small units now get 4 dice at close range (6 if they have an artillery attachment).

Medium range fire(which represents artillery and/or the effect of skirmish lines out ahead of the unit) in v2 is the same as v1.
ie: 3/4/5 for reformed/ref+skirm/LI.

As to the question: why so many dice for LI?

I think it all goes back to a view held by the authors that the average LI regiment would be able to throw up a significantly stronger, better trained and more effective skirmish screen than the average line regiment could. This would certainly be true for, say, Russians but perhaps less true for French.

Back in the very early beta stages (2009!) I understand the numbers at medium range were 4/6/6 (for line/l+sk/LI). It was judged this made medium range fire too effective and a dice was dropped from each category. A subsequent tweak was made to only give a sk attachment +1 dice (rather than original +2). I can't remember why. Anyway, the resulting 3/4/5 is what we ended up with in v1.

This hasn't been changed in v2, although the effectiveness of LI overall has been reduced by the removal of skirmish as a formation, plus their points (for average drilled) have risen from 12 to 14 points a base.

As McLaddie says. But looks like a combination of training (each man in the unit being trained to skirmish) plus numbers (more likely to deploy more of the unit than a line unit which is prepared to send out skirmishers).

Not just that, but the Lights (and especially the Rifles) could fire much more effectively, due to actual marksmanship training. capable of 2-3 rounds a minute at specific targets, like the officers, NCOs/file closers, and standard-bearers.

Take out the leadership and the line troops are likely to bolt!

Not just that, but the Lights (and especially the Rifles) could fire much more effectively, due to actual marksmanship training. capable of 2-3 rounds a minute at specific targets, like the officers, NCOs/file closers, and standard-bearers.

Lion: 2-3 rounds a minute? Rifles while aiming? That is as fast as smoothbores. [3 times]

Scharnhorst found that smoothbore muskets fired faster 3-5 times, while rifles had more accuracy: About 2:1. He at one point [after the 1811 tests] thought of arming all infantry with rifles because you would get the same damage with half the ammo. However, he decided no, too expensive requiring more training.

Line infantry were often trained to aim also, particularly as light infantry throughout this period.

a rifleman was trained to hit, firing quickly was a low prerogative in training, indeed they got advised only to shot when there was a good target.