More rules questions

[Peter Bogdasarian]

Hi,

Set up and tried the demo Last night with a friend. Things went pretty well, but he pretty much got his clock cleaned as the Americans. I like the way you've improved on the fire mechanics from PLATOON.

Anyhow:

1. The demo rules say that the 1st number on the counter is the range and the 2nd the firepower for MMCs. On the support weapons,this is reversed. I'm guessing that you actually want it the other way on MMCs (we certainly played it that way).

2. As it stands, the rules appear to indicate that all units 'hide' at the end of the turn and must be spotted again. Is this the correct interpretation?

3. The sniper mechanics are the only thing I did not like. First of all, it's somewhat counterintuitive, involving a lot of math for little result. Second, I think snipers are a little too accurate, since they can never miss units in 0 or +1 terrain, and equally strangely, a target in a stone building can never be hit by a sniper. That's more than a little bizzare. I think you need to think about going back to an opposed roll for this.

4. It appears on the TEC that either the sample hex for high grass or the one for brush is marked wrong.

5. The event markers in the demo are not indicated as being either LOS or Entry. The example indicates that marker A is LOS, but not B&D.

6. The spotting rules appear to indicate that a unit can spot and then immediately fire at the spotted units if successful. Is this the correct interpretation?

[Mark H. Walker]

Hi,

Thanks for finding that stuff. Answers numbered below.

1. yes. Yank squad has 2FP range of 6.
2. Yes, correct. It's not that they are hiding, it's that your squads don't have an exact location. In real life units shoot, duck, roll, shoot again. This reflects that.
3.I'll revisit the rules. But remember, even if the sniper hits, the target takes a morale check. If the target passes, no harm comes to it. Good call on the stone building. Lets saya roll of "6" before mods always hits. BTW, sniper routine is only two roll: to hit, and target morale check. But I see your point.
4.High Grass is wrong.1F7 --the yellow stuff-- is high grass.
5.Our bust, we forgot the event markers. We will update the demo either today or tomorrow. For now B & D are Occupatiuon and A is Line of Sight.
6. Exactly, the unit spotting an enemy unit may immediatley fire on it.

Thanks for playing, guys.

Best,
Mark

[Peter Bogdasarian]

I understand that there's a check made by the unit even if the sniper hits, but I think the sniper gets off too easy by always hitting units in +1 or less terrain. I think he ought to, at the least, miss on a roll of 1.

There's another problem I noticed, which is that its nearly impossible to use a sniper for countersniping - with the terrain modifier doubled, he'll never hit.

A possible solution - use an opposed roll to see if the sniper hits, but have the sniper roll 2d6 and compare to the defender's 1d6+terrain mod. That way, (1) even a sniper in a stone building with a +8 terrain mod. can be hit by another sniper, (2) a whole new specialized mechanic isn't required for snipers (we noticed during the game that we had to keep checking on these things) and (3) the sniper, will, as your current rules indicate, generally hit.

My biggest problem with LnL is that the elegant simplicity of the game becomes damaged by each specialized subsystem that requires its own set of mathematics. I'd prefer to see a Version of the opposed roll deployed for spotting rolls and the like.

Oh, another question, can I use a leader to make a spotting check, or do I have to use an MMC along with him?

[Mark H. Walker]

Good points, Jormdkfjhgjk (what's your real name?). Especially the sniper versus sniper problem. I feel the sniper and spotting rules are simple. Spotting merely has two variables (leadership modifiers excepted): Spotting unit morale and type of terrain. The sniper just rolls once (and the defending unit checks morale). But nevertheless you have good points. Perhaps if "1" was always a miss, "6" always a hit, and the target wasn't modified for attacks from Snipers?

Yes, leaders can spot. In fact they are quite good at it. Note that the rules allow leaders to spot, and subsequently direct fire against a hex that they just spotted. But also note that the spotting places an "Ops Complete" marker on them, so that they can do nothing else that turn (except direct fire against the hex that they spotted, in the impulse that they spotted it.

Your thoughts?

BTW, thanks for all the great feedback. Intereseted in testing the armor rules?

Best,
Mark

[Peter Bogdasarian]

Real name's Peter Bogdasarian... not exactly easier

The automatic miss on 1 and automatic hit on 6 rules for snipers covers it pretty well for me. After further thought, my 2d6 suggestion probably changes the odds too much.

Oh, and I'd love to test the armor rules.

[Mark H. Walker]

Hi Peter,

Email offline, please, and we can discuss armor.

Best,
Mark