Nick B: RKE Steve is right, this was just a mechanics test with the insurgents. We didn't explore asymmetric warfare too deeply.
Joe: Too early to tell how much they will differ in depth. From what we played, I'll say the following:
1. More lethal. From the grenade launcher mechanics to the function of optics, the capability gap between regular and irregular forces may be larger than in Force on Force. As I make clear in the write-up, Reid and I are both veterans had a deep discussion on grenade effects. I've slung some 40mm with a Mk. 19 in 2-way live fire and always thought that grenade launchers were sold a bit short in FoF. Same for optics, which get short shrift in FoF. Striking the right balance on these is important, looking forward to Beta testing.
2. Casualties are handled better. In FoF, casualties aren't casualties until they get treatment. You start turns by treating previous turns' casualties, but don't roll until someone renders aid. The descending 12-sided die in DEFCON ZERO better replicates the Golden Hour dynamic of needing to provide aid ASAP.
3. Fog of War – Random events don't upend the game. Anyone who has played FoF and pulled the chemical alarm card or any other paradigm-shifting Fog of War card will tell you that you need to scrub which cards you keep in the deck. I've got a number of cards set aside from my FoF deck that never get put into a live game unless they match some aspect of the scenario. In this game, the differing missions and potential mismatch of faction goals may lead one side to think they are winning when they aren't.
Areas where I'm interested in seeing the final DEFCON ZERO rules:
- Asymmetric warfare. See above.
- Vehicle rules. I grew up playing Twilight: 2000, which is granular in the extreme with vehicle penetration and damage. FoF is at the other end of the spectrum, and I house rule vehicles heavily to fix what is probably the weakest part of FoF as written. Would like to see a happy medium.
- Model/Unit traits. FoF has confidence and supply levels that don't normally add much to the game; my d8 guys are better than your d6 guys, but you have more of them – let's roll some dice! The follow-on game to DEFCON ZERO, A.R.C. Shadow Wars, is a modern pulp game where JSOC dudes are teamed up with psionics to fight supernatural or high-tech evil. Somewhere that's going to entail traits that add more flavor to the game than FoF. Color me intrigued.
None of this is to say that FoF is a bad system. I may have more FoF game AARs posted on my blog than anyone else on the web. It's the game that brought me back to war gaming after 20 years away. But there's nothing like some new energy to revitalize modern games at the squad- to platoon plus-level.
My library of Force on Force AARs, organized by theater of conflict:
Iraq
link
Afghanistan
link
Libyan Civil War (I dig technicals)
link
Special Operations
link
Miscellaneous
link
See you on the high ground!
finds bridges to match the river sets.
