Hey guys,
just wanted to leave you a small sign of life here and keep you updated on whats going on behind the scenes and the veil of silence. We´ve recently (finally) finished another mission for the Operation Firefly Campaign and I´m preparing a little post to summarize the action, in a slightly different way than the last few reports. We´re already preparing the next mission, but unfortunately I don´t have all the required files transfered to my new computer yet, but this will happen soon and we´ll probably be able to pick up a decent pace on the campaign again.
Apart from that, I´m sculpting a German MG3-Gunner every now and then, adding bit by bit. It´s already in a decent state, but again, the new PC doesn´t (yet) have a SD-cardreader and I don´t have my USB-cable with me for some reason, so, no pictures until I either start up the old one, put the pics there and upload from there, or get the USB-cable (or a cardreader) for connecting the camera to the machine. As I´m home at my family for the easter holidays, I´ll have the opportunity to grab my cable (and my external drive) and transfer some data when I get home.
Thirdly, I´m improving my terrain by overhauling my irrigation ditches (and adding new modules). I recolored them to make them look more dirty, greenish instead of the deep blue, and I´ll add some water effects very soon (bought the ingredients today, I´m curious how this experiment will turn out). If all is going well, I might be adding river tiles to my list of things to do. I´m also finally adding some sand to the bases of my trees and walls, to better blend them into the background. To get some more elevated terrain, I´m still thinking about buying some pre-painted rock formations, as I discovered a decent offer recently - so rocky outcrops might soon appear on the battlefield.
I´m also thinking that I´ll get back to painting some more minis soon, I still have a bunch of civilians, Marines and Urban Insurgents lying around waiting, that I´d originally planned to work on in January. But you know how things are, you get distracted with other things - in my case, sculpting my own minis - and suddenly you wonder how much time has passed...
Soo, I´m hoping that things will roughly go as outlined above, and not the other way :D
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Nobody likes riddles
As the participation of my last attempt of a riddle was underwhelming, I´ll end that small chapter by revealing the finished mini.
This:
was the first step of creating this rifle:
Of course, it could have been any other rifle, but noone even tried to guess or put questions in, so I didn´t feel very inclined to answer or give more hints ;)
Anyway, that´s a QBZ-95 (or Type 95), the modern chinese assault rifle. Which brings us to the concept scetch of the mini:
The first work in progress looked like this:
And finally evolved into:
(The muzzle broke off twice - that´s why it doesn´t look the same in those two pics. Quite fiddly work to fix that thing)
For reference, the original:
He has turned out a little "stronger" than the original, but apart from that I´m very pleased with the result. Probably will sculpt some more PLA-soldiers just for fun and artistic challenge. The Marine sniper is also 99% finished, got to add two more pouches to him and he is ready to go. However, he is a little too large because I got his legs wrong due to his kneeling pose (had to cut them down considerably, looks okayish now, but he is still a very tall guy). I´ll keep you updated, and no more riddles, seems like you didn´t like it ;-)
This:
was the first step of creating this rifle:
Of course, it could have been any other rifle, but noone even tried to guess or put questions in, so I didn´t feel very inclined to answer or give more hints ;)
Anyway, that´s a QBZ-95 (or Type 95), the modern chinese assault rifle. Which brings us to the concept scetch of the mini:
The first work in progress looked like this:
And finally evolved into:
(The muzzle broke off twice - that´s why it doesn´t look the same in those two pics. Quite fiddly work to fix that thing)
For reference, the original:
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| Right guy |
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Battle for Qalah-eh-Bagh - Day 3: The Raid
The third installment of my small solo-campaign. Again, with Force on Force + my house-rule set that is explained here, in case you didn´t stumble upon it earlier.
I´ve also started a small riddle on what I´m currently sculpting. I´ll update the post with new hints, and reveal the figure when someone has made the right guess on what kind of mini I´m working on. Post your guesses in the comment section ;)
Check out the riddle here - "What am I?"
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After attaining valuable information on the nature of the drug business in the region from the last raid, the Bataillon commander has decided to organize a raid on a local warlord whose involvement into the heroin trade was indicated in the captured documents. His compound, bristeling with activity, was the target. Somewhere around the building, hostile elements where storing large amounts of heroin, repackaging it before sending it out into the wide world.
The Soldiers of 3rd Platoon would be flown in by helicopter, landing right in front of the targeted compound to catch the defenders by surprise and ensure strategic initiative. The task was easy: Get in, clear the compound, find the drug storage and destroy the heroin, then get out of the area before more Insurgents flock in. Two helicopters would be flown in, carrying a total of 21 men to the battlefield. The first wave was to establish a perimeter,waiting for the second wave before advancing to the compound and clearing it out...
Seconds before landing, the UH-60 Helos were greeted by scattered RPG-fire, none of which hit the vehicle. The first troops where dropped off and came under fire from two directions, with one team getting pinned down. Return fire was able to supress one of the enemy units.
One of the teams began its advance on the wall to prepare breaching the mud enclosure. Having laid all explosives, they triggered the charge and cleared the courtyard, aided by the dust and shock that disoriented the two lone enemy fighters inside.
With the first helo taking off again, the and the second hovering in, the troops where now at their most vulnerable - should the second helicopter be shot down, desaster would ensue...
Fortunately, neither the remaining RPGs, nor the DShK that now opened fire on the incoming helo was able to cause any damage to the vehicle. The delivery of troops went by flawlessy...
Drawn in by the sounds of the helicopters, a large group of Taliban closed in on the landing zone. With two teams on overwatch, the Taliban where quickly pinned down and taking casualties.
Unfortunately, being surrounded and taking fire from all directions, some Taliban, firing from the cover of nearby fields did actually manage to inflict two casualties on one of the teams.
Meanwhile, the troops inside the compound where busy sealing off a tunnel that was running into the courtyard. Placing some explosives and claymores ensured that no hostile units would pop up in their back.
Calling in the medic, the troopers tried to save their downed comrades. After a short triage, the medic attested that one of the men was dead and beyong saving, while the other casualty was more lucky and ready to continue fighting after getting a dose of morphine.
With the tunnel secured, a second team was sent on their way to support the clearing of the compound.
Meanwhile, a small two-man team was dispatched to outflank the entrenched Taliban in the round building. Hit in the flank and under fire by the overwatch-unit did only cause one casualty, but enabled a third team to advance unhindered.
Meanwhile, the team inside the courtyard prepared to close in on their target and checking one of the potential storage sites (green marker). Encountering a HMG-position aiming in on them and one suspect individual operating a phone, the troopers unleashed hell on both targets, suppressing the DShK and killing the suspect.
Checking the suspected storage site didn´t yield any heroin, only a silo of grain.
With the Taliban around the landing zone finally succumbing to the firepower of the US teams, one unit attempted to outflank the MG-position. To the horror of the soldiers inside the walls, the suspected triggerman got up again after taking a definite hit. Only quick reflexes saved the American soldiers...
Moving in cautiously to check if the triggerman was finally killed for good, the Americans found him squealing on the ground, bleeding from a few cuts and seriously bruised, but alive and not too seriously hurt. Handcuffing the rather resilient guy after carefully checking him for boobytraps, the soldiers prepared to storm the target building...
The Triggerman wasn´t the only Taliban that probably took some of the drugs himself before joining the battle, as the HMG suddenly reopened fire...
With some assistance from the second team, the HMG was finally silenced and the group could continue their advance on the second suspected storage site...
...finding the storage, but also a very nasty present!
The soldiers scrambled to cover, taking one casualty from the explosion. Again, the casualty was not serious injured - thanks to the bodyarmor and the medics quick intervention, the team was up and ready to go very quickly. The triggerman didn´t share that lucky fate...
After several rounds of preparatory fire and breaching attempts into the building, the Americans inside the walls where finally able to enter the fortified compound. Encountering five ambushers, they overwhelmed the disorganized and scattered opposition hiding inside.
Though the operation took longer then scheduled, the resistance of the Taliban was light. A very clear victory for the Americans, who fulfilled both main objectives but where not able to leave the area in time. The Taliban rolled very badly for reinforcements and didn´t get the opportunity to counterattack.
However, the Operation did cost another soldiers life - casualties are mounting, slowly, but steady.
I´ve also started a small riddle on what I´m currently sculpting. I´ll update the post with new hints, and reveal the figure when someone has made the right guess on what kind of mini I´m working on. Post your guesses in the comment section ;)
Check out the riddle here - "What am I?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After attaining valuable information on the nature of the drug business in the region from the last raid, the Bataillon commander has decided to organize a raid on a local warlord whose involvement into the heroin trade was indicated in the captured documents. His compound, bristeling with activity, was the target. Somewhere around the building, hostile elements where storing large amounts of heroin, repackaging it before sending it out into the wide world.
The Soldiers of 3rd Platoon would be flown in by helicopter, landing right in front of the targeted compound to catch the defenders by surprise and ensure strategic initiative. The task was easy: Get in, clear the compound, find the drug storage and destroy the heroin, then get out of the area before more Insurgents flock in. Two helicopters would be flown in, carrying a total of 21 men to the battlefield. The first wave was to establish a perimeter,waiting for the second wave before advancing to the compound and clearing it out...
Seconds before landing, the UH-60 Helos were greeted by scattered RPG-fire, none of which hit the vehicle. The first troops where dropped off and came under fire from two directions, with one team getting pinned down. Return fire was able to supress one of the enemy units.
 |
| US Forces getting pinned down on the Landing Zone. |
With the first helo taking off again, the and the second hovering in, the troops where now at their most vulnerable - should the second helicopter be shot down, desaster would ensue...
Fortunately, neither the remaining RPGs, nor the DShK that now opened fire on the incoming helo was able to cause any damage to the vehicle. The delivery of troops went by flawlessy...
 |
| Second Wave arriving at the LZ. |
Drawn in by the sounds of the helicopters, a large group of Taliban closed in on the landing zone. With two teams on overwatch, the Taliban where quickly pinned down and taking casualties.
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| Taliban under fire by two Overwatch-units |
Unfortunately, being surrounded and taking fire from all directions, some Taliban, firing from the cover of nearby fields did actually manage to inflict two casualties on one of the teams.
Meanwhile, the troops inside the compound where busy sealing off a tunnel that was running into the courtyard. Placing some explosives and claymores ensured that no hostile units would pop up in their back.
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| The Landing zone from the perspective of the Helo crew. |
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| Medic! |
Calling in the medic, the troopers tried to save their downed comrades. After a short triage, the medic attested that one of the men was dead and beyong saving, while the other casualty was more lucky and ready to continue fighting after getting a dose of morphine.
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| The second team advancing towards the compound. |
Meanwhile, a small two-man team was dispatched to outflank the entrenched Taliban in the round building. Hit in the flank and under fire by the overwatch-unit did only cause one casualty, but enabled a third team to advance unhindered.
Meanwhile, the team inside the courtyard prepared to close in on their target and checking one of the potential storage sites (green marker). Encountering a HMG-position aiming in on them and one suspect individual operating a phone, the troopers unleashed hell on both targets, suppressing the DShK and killing the suspect.
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| Two dangerous encounters while approaching the target building |
Checking the suspected storage site didn´t yield any heroin, only a silo of grain.
 |
| No drugs over here. |
With the Taliban around the landing zone finally succumbing to the firepower of the US teams, one unit attempted to outflank the MG-position. To the horror of the soldiers inside the walls, the suspected triggerman got up again after taking a definite hit. Only quick reflexes saved the American soldiers...
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| Outflanking the MG |
Moving in cautiously to check if the triggerman was finally killed for good, the Americans found him squealing on the ground, bleeding from a few cuts and seriously bruised, but alive and not too seriously hurt. Handcuffing the rather resilient guy after carefully checking him for boobytraps, the soldiers prepared to storm the target building...
The Triggerman wasn´t the only Taliban that probably took some of the drugs himself before joining the battle, as the HMG suddenly reopened fire...
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| "We´re pinned down by heavy fire!" |
With some assistance from the second team, the HMG was finally silenced and the group could continue their advance on the second suspected storage site...
...finding the storage, but also a very nasty present!
 |
| BOOM! |
The soldiers scrambled to cover, taking one casualty from the explosion. Again, the casualty was not serious injured - thanks to the bodyarmor and the medics quick intervention, the team was up and ready to go very quickly. The triggerman didn´t share that lucky fate...
After several rounds of preparatory fire and breaching attempts into the building, the Americans inside the walls where finally able to enter the fortified compound. Encountering five ambushers, they overwhelmed the disorganized and scattered opposition hiding inside.
Though the operation took longer then scheduled, the resistance of the Taliban was light. A very clear victory for the Americans, who fulfilled both main objectives but where not able to leave the area in time. The Taliban rolled very badly for reinforcements and didn´t get the opportunity to counterattack.
However, the Operation did cost another soldiers life - casualties are mounting, slowly, but steady.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
What am I?
A small sculpting-riddle ;)
So, what is this? What am I working on? ;)
It´s still early work in progress, but it would be too easy if I added more.
EDIT: Copied the hints from the comment section to the post:
It´s obviously a gun in the early stages of scultping, yeah :D
It is however, already the complete length of the gun. Approx. 10mm long, nothing will be added to the rear part of the sculpt as it is. Additions on top and bottom will obviously be made.
It is not an M4-type-weapon.
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More hints:
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It has nothing to do with either Afghanistan or Iraq.
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| What am I? |
So, what is this? What am I working on? ;)
It´s still early work in progress, but it would be too easy if I added more.
EDIT: Copied the hints from the comment section to the post:
It´s obviously a gun in the early stages of scultping, yeah :D
It is however, already the complete length of the gun. Approx. 10mm long, nothing will be added to the rear part of the sculpt as it is. Additions on top and bottom will obviously be made.
It is not an M4-type-weapon.
-------------
More hints:
--------------
It has nothing to do with either Afghanistan or Iraq.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Battle for Qalah-eh-Bagh - Day 2
Now, on to the action!
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After establishing a safe staging area for further operations deeper into the city, the troopers of 3rd Platoon were allowed to get some rest. Though all objectives had been achieved and the initial resistance was broken, the losses of the first day already amounted to 3 men - almost 10% of the deployed force. Fortunately, the injuries of one of the casualties where actually less severe than it first seemed, and after a good nights rest and some professional medical treatment, he was able to return to duty rather quickly. The other two wounded men, however, where sent out of theatre for further treatment and recuperation and would not see any combat anytime soon.
Meanwhile, the Operation to secure Qalah-eh-Bagh continued. After the first major fight, the platoon commander Sergeant Deloran gave the battered Squads some rest, while the remaining elements would continue operation. The plan for day two was to advance further, sweeping the enemy from the farming areas around the city. Supporting the attacks would be elements of the US Marine Corps, tasked to act as a blocking force while Army units would conduct the sweeps.
Unfortunately, in the process, elements of the blocking force in one of the sectors that where already flagged as secured where suddenly surrounded by Insurgent fighters, finding themselves outnumbered and outgunned. Under heavy fire and attacked from well prepared fighting positions, the Marines dispatched a squad to outflank the enemy and enfilade their positions. Unfortunately, as the Marine Squad embarked on their mission, they bumped right into a hornets nest. Separated from the rest of their platoon, with the closest friendly elements pinned down, the only forces to come to their rescue where the Army grunts of 3rd Platoon - who where just preparing for their sweep. Supported by an F-18 fighter-bomber on priority air support, the soldiers hurried to the rescue...
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| Marines surrounded by Taliban fighters |
Hurrying through the fields to come to the rescue of the troubled Marines, who where already taking casualties, the soldiers where briefed on the fly. Their task was to get in, grab the Marines, engage and destroy the enemy if possible. A secondary objective was to check out a compound in the area, where suspicious activities had been spotted by surveillance drone preceding the operation.
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| Army units advancing through the treeline to rescue the marines. |
A small note on the scenario: The Marines are unable to move from their position, but they may fight the enemy as usual - the twist is that while they can buy some time doing this, all casualties inflicted by the Marine group are automatically returned to the game as reinforcements on the next turn. Only casualties inflicted by the Army units are removed. This puts some time pressure on the Army, but doesn´t leave the Marines completely defenseless.
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| Fireteam 3-2 advancing and engaging the enemy head on. |
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| Closing in, but still too far away! |
After setting up their M240, the MG-Team assumed an overwatch posture and covered the further advance of Fireteam 3-2. The other fireteam split off to attempt a pincer movement, coming in from behind the Marines position, while the main action focussed on the centre of the battlefield.
The small command element cleared the compound, finding a set of documents that would prove valuable in the subsequent crackdown on the drug trade...
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| Firefight in the centre |
With the Taliban taking heavy losses from Overwatch fire and the aimed shots of the fireteam, the Americans where able to advance with impunity. Again, the overwhelming firepower was a good reminder for the Taliban to stay in place, preventing any advance towards the Marine team. Meanwhile, the second half of the Army rescue force was advancing through the fields, away from the main action.
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| Hasty maneuvering through the fields - rough terrain is slowing the advance. |
For the Marines however, things where starting to look bleak, as more enemy advanced towards their position. Concentrated fire from close distance and several directions decimated the team, until no more shots from 5,56mm NATO-caliber could be heard...
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| Marine defense collapsing |
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| Finally through the fields! |
With the Marine position on the verge of being overrun by the Taliban, the US squad leader requested Air Support to discourage the enemy from assaulting the Marine positions. Their request was quickly granted due to the severity of the situation - and the F-18 flying overhead was given a target.
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| F-18 strafing the Taliban positions |
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| The Taliban are hunkering down! |
Trying to pick off the disturbed Taliban, the Americans found out that the Taliban morale might be shaken, but far from broken:
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| Fireteam 3-2 taking casualties! |
Despite the powerful demonstration of force by the airstrike, the Taliban where finally able to overrun the Marine position, storming in from an angle that was not targeted by the Airstrike.
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| Taliban overrun the Marine position from the adjacent compounds! |
Now under severe pressure, the US resorted to more desperate and aggressive measures. After calling in another Airstrike failed, the commander on the ground decided to risk an all-out assault to reconquer the Marine position before a bad fate could befall them.
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| Both casualties where saved by their Body Armour! |
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| Fireteam 3-1 preparing to storm the building - a long way lies ahead. |
Intoxicated by their victory of storming the infidel position and taking several hostages, the Taliban kept their nerves despite being faced with a close fight with well trained American soldiers and repelled their attack by punishing defensive fire. Two of the American soldiers went down, forcing the rest of the team to abandon their assault and take a defensive posture.
Fireteam 3-2 advances through the fields in an attempt to support a potential subsequent attack from the north, after reorganising.
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| Taliban crushing the US close assault! |
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| One KIA, one serious wound! |
No further assault will be conducted by this team. Fireteam 3-2 takes overwatch duty from their central position on the battlefield - meanwhile the MG-team relocates from their overwatch-position, as the round white compound restricted their field of view. Instantly coming under fire from the Taliban forces, an RPG exploding close by hits the assistant gunner...
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| Another man down! |
With Fireteam 3-1 occupied with tending to their wounded comrade, the only available forces left are the second Machinegun-Team, that hadn´t fired a single shot up to now. Finally, after maneuvering through the fields and spending the majority of the battle carrying around their heavy equipment, the M240 finally spits some lead - with good effect on target.
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| Second MG-team taking out the Taliban inside the Marine position |
After dispatching the Taliban inside that building, the US are finally back in full offensive swing. With almost all resistance now obliterated, they finally push through to the Marines.
Unfortunately, they find one of the Americans dead, mutilated by the Taliban - and two seriously injured. But alive, at least. A bitter victory.
Finally, the Insurgents resistance is broken and the Americans secure the village, pushing through to the next area.
To their horror, they discover that not all civilians had fled the battlefield before the start of the fighting...
The Taliban where not the only ones killed by the Airstrike - three civilians where caught be the cannonfire.
Still, all objectives have been achieved - and though it feels like a bitter and worthless victory, it still is a victory. The village is cleared, the Taliban have been utterly destroyed, suffering a substentially larger casualties than the US. Two American soldiers have been saved from the claws of the enemy, where they´d have faced certain death. And important intelligence had been found on the drug trafficing into Pakistan...
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More will probably come along soon ;-)
Friday, February 22, 2013
Experimental House Rules - Set 1
Howdy!
Yesterday I played another solo-game, and here´s the result. Let me start off with a small introduction to some hacks and rule-changes I applied. I´ve been tinkering around with some thoughts on how to tweak FoF even more to my pleasure. The rules work great as they are and I´m far from being dissatisfied, but recently I´ve started experimenting to tweak some aspects that I thought needed some improvement. Maybe its just me, maybe I´ve got a wrong idea of how modern combat really works, as I´m in the fortunate position to be a complete civilian and have no military experience apart from playing ARMA and watching documentaries - but somehow I felt that simple infantry engagements produced too much casualties under certain circumstances. I know that Fof compresses time and that a round of fire is a sequence of up to several minutes, with a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes - I have no problem with this, but it doesn´t feel right when it comes down to maneuvering and basic infantry tactics (in my opinion). While the overwatch-mechanic works very well and awards the use of bounding movement and fire, I feel that flanking the opponent doesn´t offer any bonus to the flanking side - I only becomes viable when you´ve so many men that a frontal assault would result in a completely clogged up situation. But from what I´ve learned so far in theory, flanking is one of the most important and effective tactics to defeat an opponent. I´ve tried setting up several small scenarios where the attacker has to clear out a defensive position, but either the flanking move was useless because the enemy was utterly destroyed before they reached a viable position, or I decided to completely forego flanking and move in from the front, using the extra firepower outright instead of delaying its use until reaching a flanking position (which offers no bonus anyway).
In short, the attacker always overran the defender (with comparable TQ of course) without using flanking. Thus, my conclusion: Find-fix-flank - doesn´t work that well in FoF. Adding a bonus for flanking wouldn´t rectify the real problem (which is that troops suffer casualties too easily). Even if it would, fixing the enemy is almost impossible. I somehow came to the conclusion that the morale system is the primary fault. There is simply no way to fix the enemy. "Pinned" results force units to move away from the attacker into the closest cover - unfortunately, there´s no explanation on what happens if they already are in suitable cover. Even if they had to stay there, they´d be in a very bad position without any flanking going on. Their drop in TQ means their defensive qualities are reduced significantly. Add to this that for normal confidence troops, a pin usually means that one fire is already down (which subtracts another def-die), overwhelming them with fire is very easy at this point, if enough attackers are left to fire - no need to flank. If not enough attackers are left, the enemy may move away, as there is no way to fix him in place (which is what pinned is supposed to mean...). Suppressive fire doesn´t work too well for me either. The simple reason is that loosing 2 FP means loosing 2 very real chances to inflict casualties with the current mechanism. Rolling a 7 or 8 as a regular adds a good chance to cause a casualty, which has a suppressive quality on its own. Actually, the chance to cause another casualty with this 2 additional die seems to be greater than the enemy failing his suppression check (that´s my impression, I haven´t done the calculation yet).
Now, if I take the above, and add the already discussed anomaly that having more troops in one unit dramatically raises your chances to defend yourself sucessfully, I´ve decided to adapt the defense and morale system in a small experiment:
-FP is calculated as before
-All FP die are rolled as usually after making a reaction test and determining the winner.
-Now, instead of rolling a defense die based on the number of troops + cover modifiers and pairing off the results against the sucessfull FP-die, the defender rolls a classic save on a D8 - one D8 for every sucessfull FP. To display the different properties of defense, some modifiers have to be applied:
Units in Cover become casualties on a 1 or 2.
That´s my current list, which is already too long - but should incorporate the basics. As always, examples are more telling than pure theory:
A US Fireteam shoots at a group of 4 Taliban in solid cover somewhere in a treeline. With his 6 Firepower die, he rolls: 1,3,6,6,7,7 (4 sucesses). The Taliban player now rolls 4 saves. He is in solid cover (1 & 2 will kill - e.g. saving on a 3+). The Taliban are Local Irregulars, with no combat experience, which reduces their survival chance by 1 - e.g. saving on a 4+ (1,2,3 will cause casualties). Rolling his 4 defense die, he scores: 1,6,7,8 - one casualty!*
*Note that under normal FoF-rules, there would be at least 2 casualties by the 7s alone.
The changes in the morale system are rather small: Troops now take a morale check for every successfull FP die. On the first failed check, they become "pinned" - which now only means they cannot move away from their current position - no more drop in TQ. A TQ drop only happens when they fail a second time, becoming "suppressed" - e.g. hunkering down and hoping for the best, greatly reducing their effective defense.
Continuing on our example above:
After getting hit by 4 successfull FP, the Taliban take 4 Morale checks:
4,4,6 - 2,6,6 - 1,4,9 - 2,2,5 - As the last roll was a failure, the Taliban are now pinned in place and fixed. They cannot move away and can be outmaneuvered for this turn. If they suffer from shrinkage, the´d lose another man through rolling a 1.
As they are not suppressed, they may return fire with 2 soldiers. The result is a 5 and a 5 - two successes. The enemy is in cover (3+), but well trained, not in OR, not flanked, etc - nothing else applies. Rolling 2D8 results in: 1,8 - Man down!
Taking two morale checks: 3,4,6 - 2,7,9 - everything fine, the troops shake off the fire.
Body-armour and stimulant drugs can be modeled through different first-aid-tables. The existing table is fine for western troops with Body armor. Less well equipped troops should be downgraded one step - e.g. 1,2 = dead, 3,4 = serious, 5,6 = light wound. Caveman casevac as normal, stimulant drugs extend this to 5,6 = ok.
Rolling the first aid checks on the beginning of the next turn shows:
The American is seriously wounded despite his body armor (2), the Taliban combat ineffective (5).
Next turn, the Americans are still confronted with the Taliban (who lose their pinned-status and have to be kept under continious fire) and have to deal with them eventually - instead of cleanly wiping them out in 1 turn. Moving into Optimum range, closing in for the kill - will increase your chances to destroy those pesky enemies. If you can dispatch a team to flank them, all the better, as you´ll further increase the chances to kill the enemy.
Being in OR and Flanking adds means that you´ll can double your chances on a casualty. Once suppressed, you can also mount a close-assault to flush them out. But be careful with maneuvering your forces around the enemies flank, as he might pin the attacker as well. If playing a kinetic engagement, the defender might actually survive long enough to retain initiative and start an ordered retreat, covering his moving units with overwatch.
Basically, these changes make things much harder for the attacker, as dislodging the enemy becomes more of a hassle. This means that you´ll either need more attacking forces (to outmaneuver and overwhelm the enemy with more firepower) or more indirect firepower (Air & Arty) to pound the enemy into submission. As overwhelming defenses now takes longer, you might want to increase the length for some scenarios by one or two turns. Furthermore, you´ll find that small units are more survivable now and it doesn´t make a difference if a unit gets shot from 2x4 guys or 1x8 or any other potential combination. Grouping them together might still yield a bonus, as you roll only 1 reaction test instead of several, and you get hit only by 1 concentrated attack instead of multiple Rounds of Fire.
I´ll show you how these changes work out in practice in the next AAR, where I applied them. Feel free to use them or modify them as it suits you! If you have any questions, I´ll try do my best to answer and clarify.
That´s it for now, more coming soon - here´s a small glimpse on the next mission:
Yesterday I played another solo-game, and here´s the result. Let me start off with a small introduction to some hacks and rule-changes I applied. I´ve been tinkering around with some thoughts on how to tweak FoF even more to my pleasure. The rules work great as they are and I´m far from being dissatisfied, but recently I´ve started experimenting to tweak some aspects that I thought needed some improvement. Maybe its just me, maybe I´ve got a wrong idea of how modern combat really works, as I´m in the fortunate position to be a complete civilian and have no military experience apart from playing ARMA and watching documentaries - but somehow I felt that simple infantry engagements produced too much casualties under certain circumstances. I know that Fof compresses time and that a round of fire is a sequence of up to several minutes, with a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes - I have no problem with this, but it doesn´t feel right when it comes down to maneuvering and basic infantry tactics (in my opinion). While the overwatch-mechanic works very well and awards the use of bounding movement and fire, I feel that flanking the opponent doesn´t offer any bonus to the flanking side - I only becomes viable when you´ve so many men that a frontal assault would result in a completely clogged up situation. But from what I´ve learned so far in theory, flanking is one of the most important and effective tactics to defeat an opponent. I´ve tried setting up several small scenarios where the attacker has to clear out a defensive position, but either the flanking move was useless because the enemy was utterly destroyed before they reached a viable position, or I decided to completely forego flanking and move in from the front, using the extra firepower outright instead of delaying its use until reaching a flanking position (which offers no bonus anyway).
In short, the attacker always overran the defender (with comparable TQ of course) without using flanking. Thus, my conclusion: Find-fix-flank - doesn´t work that well in FoF. Adding a bonus for flanking wouldn´t rectify the real problem (which is that troops suffer casualties too easily). Even if it would, fixing the enemy is almost impossible. I somehow came to the conclusion that the morale system is the primary fault. There is simply no way to fix the enemy. "Pinned" results force units to move away from the attacker into the closest cover - unfortunately, there´s no explanation on what happens if they already are in suitable cover. Even if they had to stay there, they´d be in a very bad position without any flanking going on. Their drop in TQ means their defensive qualities are reduced significantly. Add to this that for normal confidence troops, a pin usually means that one fire is already down (which subtracts another def-die), overwhelming them with fire is very easy at this point, if enough attackers are left to fire - no need to flank. If not enough attackers are left, the enemy may move away, as there is no way to fix him in place (which is what pinned is supposed to mean...). Suppressive fire doesn´t work too well for me either. The simple reason is that loosing 2 FP means loosing 2 very real chances to inflict casualties with the current mechanism. Rolling a 7 or 8 as a regular adds a good chance to cause a casualty, which has a suppressive quality on its own. Actually, the chance to cause another casualty with this 2 additional die seems to be greater than the enemy failing his suppression check (that´s my impression, I haven´t done the calculation yet).
Now, if I take the above, and add the already discussed anomaly that having more troops in one unit dramatically raises your chances to defend yourself sucessfully, I´ve decided to adapt the defense and morale system in a small experiment:
-FP is calculated as before
-All FP die are rolled as usually after making a reaction test and determining the winner.
-Now, instead of rolling a defense die based on the number of troops + cover modifiers and pairing off the results against the sucessfull FP-die, the defender rolls a classic save on a D8 - one D8 for every sucessfull FP. To display the different properties of defense, some modifiers have to be applied:
Units in Cover become casualties on a 1 or 2.
- Improved cover: +1 (e.g. troops are only hit on a 1 - or, in an alternative reading with the same outcome: the Saving roll is modified by +1, which means rolling a 2 results in 2+1 = 3 which is a success...)
- Smoke: +1 (harder to see, harder to hit)
- Being irregular / poorly trained: -1 (poorly trained, not good in utilizing cover, no military experience...)
- Attacker in Optimum Range: -1 (picking off targets is easier if they are close enough)
- Being in the open / exposed: -1 (no cover means you´re easier to hit)
- Rapid movement: -1 (rushing forward, exposing yourself more...)
- Subjected to Airstrike/Artillery: -2 (as those weapons are inherently more deadly)
- Flanked: -1 (getting flanked is bad, as you cannot effectively defend to either side, you get enfiladed, etc.)
That´s my current list, which is already too long - but should incorporate the basics. As always, examples are more telling than pure theory:
A US Fireteam shoots at a group of 4 Taliban in solid cover somewhere in a treeline. With his 6 Firepower die, he rolls: 1,3,6,6,7,7 (4 sucesses). The Taliban player now rolls 4 saves. He is in solid cover (1 & 2 will kill - e.g. saving on a 3+). The Taliban are Local Irregulars, with no combat experience, which reduces their survival chance by 1 - e.g. saving on a 4+ (1,2,3 will cause casualties). Rolling his 4 defense die, he scores: 1,6,7,8 - one casualty!*
*Note that under normal FoF-rules, there would be at least 2 casualties by the 7s alone.
The changes in the morale system are rather small: Troops now take a morale check for every successfull FP die. On the first failed check, they become "pinned" - which now only means they cannot move away from their current position - no more drop in TQ. A TQ drop only happens when they fail a second time, becoming "suppressed" - e.g. hunkering down and hoping for the best, greatly reducing their effective defense.
Continuing on our example above:
After getting hit by 4 successfull FP, the Taliban take 4 Morale checks:
4,4,6 - 2,6,6 - 1,4,9 - 2,2,5 - As the last roll was a failure, the Taliban are now pinned in place and fixed. They cannot move away and can be outmaneuvered for this turn. If they suffer from shrinkage, the´d lose another man through rolling a 1.
As they are not suppressed, they may return fire with 2 soldiers. The result is a 5 and a 5 - two successes. The enemy is in cover (3+), but well trained, not in OR, not flanked, etc - nothing else applies. Rolling 2D8 results in: 1,8 - Man down!
Taking two morale checks: 3,4,6 - 2,7,9 - everything fine, the troops shake off the fire.
Body-armour and stimulant drugs can be modeled through different first-aid-tables. The existing table is fine for western troops with Body armor. Less well equipped troops should be downgraded one step - e.g. 1,2 = dead, 3,4 = serious, 5,6 = light wound. Caveman casevac as normal, stimulant drugs extend this to 5,6 = ok.
Rolling the first aid checks on the beginning of the next turn shows:
The American is seriously wounded despite his body armor (2), the Taliban combat ineffective (5).
Next turn, the Americans are still confronted with the Taliban (who lose their pinned-status and have to be kept under continious fire) and have to deal with them eventually - instead of cleanly wiping them out in 1 turn. Moving into Optimum range, closing in for the kill - will increase your chances to destroy those pesky enemies. If you can dispatch a team to flank them, all the better, as you´ll further increase the chances to kill the enemy.
Being in OR and Flanking adds means that you´ll can double your chances on a casualty. Once suppressed, you can also mount a close-assault to flush them out. But be careful with maneuvering your forces around the enemies flank, as he might pin the attacker as well. If playing a kinetic engagement, the defender might actually survive long enough to retain initiative and start an ordered retreat, covering his moving units with overwatch.
Basically, these changes make things much harder for the attacker, as dislodging the enemy becomes more of a hassle. This means that you´ll either need more attacking forces (to outmaneuver and overwhelm the enemy with more firepower) or more indirect firepower (Air & Arty) to pound the enemy into submission. As overwhelming defenses now takes longer, you might want to increase the length for some scenarios by one or two turns. Furthermore, you´ll find that small units are more survivable now and it doesn´t make a difference if a unit gets shot from 2x4 guys or 1x8 or any other potential combination. Grouping them together might still yield a bonus, as you roll only 1 reaction test instead of several, and you get hit only by 1 concentrated attack instead of multiple Rounds of Fire.
I´ll show you how these changes work out in practice in the next AAR, where I applied them. Feel free to use them or modify them as it suits you! If you have any questions, I´ll try do my best to answer and clarify.
That´s it for now, more coming soon - here´s a small glimpse on the next mission:
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| Teaser for Day 2 - Marines in serious trouble! |
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Battle for Qalah-eh-Bagh - Day 1
Located at the entrance to the Lagaskhar Valley and along a historical (but now defunct) trade route, the city of Qalah-eh Bagh had been a strategic position for centuries. As far as two thousand years ago invaders tried to control this vital spot to dominate the flow of trade and control the entrance to the isolated, but densely populated and once prosperous valley.
After years of continuous fighting, the city lies shattered, only a shadow of its former glory and wealth. During the civil war, Qalah-eh-Bagh took severe damage, and though the people rebuilt parts of the city, it has never recovered from the blows that modern weaponry dealt to it. After the foreign intervention in Afghanistan, the regional town had first been ignored - located in the remote parts of southern Afghanistan, without access to major roads or infrastructure, it was neither a good spot to set up a base, nor a strategic obective to control. But with the US taking over responsibilities from ISAF-forces as part of the troop surge, the town has attracted some attention due to its role in the notorious and flourishing drug trade. Local Taliban and Warlords have made the city a major trading hub, resurrecting its former status as a great centre of commerce...
In order to disrupt the economic foundations of the Insurgent forces, US commanders did not only launch Operation Firefly - a campaign into the Lagashkar valley, which is both an insurgent stronghold and a major production centre for heroin, but also decided to take control of Qalah-eh-Bagh, where the drugs have been distributed to foreign dealers, mostly located in Pakistan.
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The first stage in the Operation to secure Qalah-eh-Bagh is to root the Taliban out of the surrounding villages and the outskirts of the city to establish a strongpoint, from where further Operations can be organised.
One of this strongpoints is a compound dubbed "A7", controlling the western approach to the city.
Two rifle-squads are tasked to free the area from insurgents and to destroy all machinegun- and AT-placements in the area to make sure that supplies and reinforcements can arrive along the road unhindered.
Mission Objectives:
-Take the compound with the green marker
-No Taliban in LOS of this position, Destroy all
-Destroy both DshK-Positions and the SPG9.
The area was crowded with civilians when the operation began. The local basar was in full swing when the US forces arrived.
The US fireteams repositioned themselves along the wall, trading fire with the group in the house and engaging the first DshK-Position after positively identifying it as hostile. They watched with horror as one of the civilians was caught in the line of fire and went down under the hail of 12,7mm-bullets.
Meanwhile, the APC repositioned to prepare a pincer movement on the Taliban blocking position conducted by the troops in their cargo. Meanwhile, an enemy popular leader recruited local men and distributed weapons among them.
Trying to approach the building, one soldier of 1st Squad, B-Team was hit by incoming fire from the armed mob in the market square. One of his buddies ran back to him to drag him along, only finding out later that the bullet had killed the soldier instantly.
Despite definite and clear orders from their commander, the fireteams refused to outright assault the building.
Instead, more volume of fire was brought to bear on the enemies inside.
Undeterred, the Americans poured in more fire, finally silencing the enemies before cautiously moving into the position to find 10 dead enemy fighters inside.
Meanwhile, their leader tried to close in after releasing the civilian from their protection. Again, the mob in the market square tried to drop off shots, but failed to bring enough precise fire onto the Americans. However, after the exhausting spring across the open field, one of the soldiers collapsed after a heatstroke.
On the other side of the former blocking position, 2nd Squad, B-Team was trying to clear another compound to enable safe passage for the Stryker, but took a casualty while doing so.
Hit by RPG-fire, the unit was pinned down near the entrance to the compound, but managed to seriously shatter the Insurgent morale.
Finally, the Stryker pulled up to assist in clearing the building.
After getting stuck in the open while tending to their heat casualty, the troopers of 1st Squad, A-Team where hit by fire from the second DShK HMG, causing more casualties.
Fortunately, both casualties where only lightly wounded and combat-ready after getting patched up. The casualty on the other side of the battlefield wasn´t as lucky - the RPG had littered him with shrapnels, causing severe injuries to his extremities. Fortunately, the Insurgents where shaken and timidly cowering in their cover, which gave the soldiers a vital break to tend to their casualty, only forced to drop a round off once in a while to remind the enemy of their presence and keep their heads down.
Meanwhile, the Stryker continued down the road, busting a poorly prepared ambush by the SPG-9-crew. The fire from his M2-HMG sent two of the crew fleeing and killed the last.
In the market, the fierce fighting continued. With the civilians fleeing from the field, the line of fire was finally open to deal the real blows to the Insurgents.
With the two last Crew served weapons down, this mission objective is suddenly in reach - originally, I didn´t think that I could achieve all three goals with only four teams and one IFV...
The other threats were as easily dispatched.
And the advance towards the target building continues:
And finally, the US forces overwhelm the opposition:
After getting up TWICE ! the DShK-HMG was finally killed for good, but only in the last turn and by the combined action of two teams:
Decisive Victory for the US! The Taliban are shattered and retreat into the center of the city, leaving the outskirts to the Americans. After a hard won victory, the soldiers are getting to rest in their new strongpoint, preparing for the Action of the following day...
After years of continuous fighting, the city lies shattered, only a shadow of its former glory and wealth. During the civil war, Qalah-eh-Bagh took severe damage, and though the people rebuilt parts of the city, it has never recovered from the blows that modern weaponry dealt to it. After the foreign intervention in Afghanistan, the regional town had first been ignored - located in the remote parts of southern Afghanistan, without access to major roads or infrastructure, it was neither a good spot to set up a base, nor a strategic obective to control. But with the US taking over responsibilities from ISAF-forces as part of the troop surge, the town has attracted some attention due to its role in the notorious and flourishing drug trade. Local Taliban and Warlords have made the city a major trading hub, resurrecting its former status as a great centre of commerce...
In order to disrupt the economic foundations of the Insurgent forces, US commanders did not only launch Operation Firefly - a campaign into the Lagashkar valley, which is both an insurgent stronghold and a major production centre for heroin, but also decided to take control of Qalah-eh-Bagh, where the drugs have been distributed to foreign dealers, mostly located in Pakistan.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first stage in the Operation to secure Qalah-eh-Bagh is to root the Taliban out of the surrounding villages and the outskirts of the city to establish a strongpoint, from where further Operations can be organised.
One of this strongpoints is a compound dubbed "A7", controlling the western approach to the city.
Two rifle-squads are tasked to free the area from insurgents and to destroy all machinegun- and AT-placements in the area to make sure that supplies and reinforcements can arrive along the road unhindered.
Mission Objectives:
-Take the compound with the green marker
-No Taliban in LOS of this position, Destroy all
-Destroy both DshK-Positions and the SPG9.
The area was crowded with civilians when the operation began. The local basar was in full swing when the US forces arrived.
 |
| US Forces arriving |
Meanwhile, the APC repositioned to prepare a pincer movement on the Taliban blocking position conducted by the troops in their cargo. Meanwhile, an enemy popular leader recruited local men and distributed weapons among them.
 |
| Preparing a two-pronged assault on the building |
Trying to approach the building, one soldier of 1st Squad, B-Team was hit by incoming fire from the armed mob in the market square. One of his buddies ran back to him to drag him along, only finding out later that the bullet had killed the soldier instantly.
Despite definite and clear orders from their commander, the fireteams refused to outright assault the building.
Instead, more volume of fire was brought to bear on the enemies inside.
 |
| 2nd Squad, A-Team refusing to assault, 1st Squad, B-Team (almost) clearing the building with firepower |
After the firing from the MG had died down and not resumed, 1st Squad, A-Team hurried to aid the fallen civilian, who was miraculously unhurt, except for some bruises. Obviously, none of the bullets had actually hit him, whistling past him while he huddled himself into a fold in the ground, praying for his life.
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| 1st Squad, A-Team checking on the former MG-position and aiding the civilian. |
Just as the soldiers though they´d secured the building, more enemies appeared at the windows...
 |
| Reinforcements! |
 |
| Blocking Position overwhelmed. |
Meanwhile, their leader tried to close in after releasing the civilian from their protection. Again, the mob in the market square tried to drop off shots, but failed to bring enough precise fire onto the Americans. However, after the exhausting spring across the open field, one of the soldiers collapsed after a heatstroke.
 |
| Fog of War- induced Heat Casualty. |
On the other side of the former blocking position, 2nd Squad, B-Team was trying to clear another compound to enable safe passage for the Stryker, but took a casualty while doing so.
Hit by RPG-fire, the unit was pinned down near the entrance to the compound, but managed to seriously shatter the Insurgent morale.
Finally, the Stryker pulled up to assist in clearing the building.
After getting stuck in the open while tending to their heat casualty, the troopers of 1st Squad, A-Team where hit by fire from the second DShK HMG, causing more casualties.
 |
| More Insurgents! |
Fortunately, both casualties where only lightly wounded and combat-ready after getting patched up. The casualty on the other side of the battlefield wasn´t as lucky - the RPG had littered him with shrapnels, causing severe injuries to his extremities. Fortunately, the Insurgents where shaken and timidly cowering in their cover, which gave the soldiers a vital break to tend to their casualty, only forced to drop a round off once in a while to remind the enemy of their presence and keep their heads down.
Meanwhile, the Stryker continued down the road, busting a poorly prepared ambush by the SPG-9-crew. The fire from his M2-HMG sent two of the crew fleeing and killed the last.
 |
| SPG-9 crew fleeing after failing their ambush. |
In the market, the fierce fighting continued. With the civilians fleeing from the field, the line of fire was finally open to deal the real blows to the Insurgents.
With the two last Crew served weapons down, this mission objective is suddenly in reach - originally, I didn´t think that I could achieve all three goals with only four teams and one IFV...
The other threats were as easily dispatched.
 |
| Snipers on the tomb! |
 |
| Stryker engaging enemy presence in target compound. |
And finally, the US forces overwhelm the opposition:
 |
| Compound cleared! |
 |
| Game over! |
Decisive Victory for the US! The Taliban are shattered and retreat into the center of the city, leaving the outskirts to the Americans. After a hard won victory, the soldiers are getting to rest in their new strongpoint, preparing for the Action of the following day...
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