Dice can be so cruel...

[The Plodder]

Cross-posted from Grogheads:

I'm currently having a solo play through of "The Cavalry" scenario from Heroes of the Nam. This is my first proper game of LnL Tactical so I've been making some mistakes and referring to the rule book a lot.

The major turning point has been 2 sections (squads) of NZ infantry with a leader and M60 went into melee against a VC squad with a leader and BAR. At 3:1 odds the Kiwis needed a kill number of 5 or better on 2D6 with the leader adding 1 to the roll. They rolled a 3. The VC needed 11 at 1:3 odds (I didn't realise at the time that you can pick who you want to attack in melee, otherwise I would have just attacked one NZ section to get better odds), they rolled 12! 2 sections and a leader killed just like that.

The Kiwis got some back next impulse when, inspired by the previous melee result, 2 VC squads decided to try and ambush a NZ section through heavy jungle from 2 hexes away and got opfired when they were right next to them. One squad was reduced and another was shaken. There was another VC squad in the hex they were passing through, and realising that all units in the hex must roll in fire combat, they were shaken as well.

I thought the game was done after that melee result but with a lot VC squads shaken with no leaders near them, it might tip it back to NZ's favour.

Great fun and once I get a hang of the rules, it'll be fairly quick to play as well.

edited to correct the ratios to 3:1

 

[Jeff Lewis]

Is 4:1 a misprint here?

Should be 3:1 to get a Kill Number of 5, and 2 x 1M-FP Squads + a 2-FP M-60 vs. a 1-FP VC Squad + a 1-FP BAR would be 6 vs. 2 or 3:1.

 

[The Plodder]

You're correct, it was 3:1. My memory was a bit faulty from playing until 4am this morning.

 

[Ryan Shannahan]

I had a lot of fun with this scenario, as well. This is also where I really picked up on the helplessness of those units that become shaken away from a leader.

 

[Cantatta]

I had a lot of fun with this scenario, as well. This is also where I really picked up on the helplessness of those units that become shaken away from a leader.

Indeed, I'm no fan of placing individual MMC any farther than an adjacent hex from leaders, if it can be arranged. There are arguments against running your dudes around in stacks with leaders, with claims about how easy it is to negatively affect so many units at once. While I can't argue with the inherent risks, for me the payoff is more than worth it. Large stacks (not necessarily super stacks) with a leader have more advantages than disadvantages, IMHO. High firepower, additional movement potential and better chances for a successful Rally, MC and/or DC, easily outweighs the chance that my opponent will disrupt the entire stack. Even if the entire stack ends up shaken, leader included, there is a good chance they will rally next turn. And, I don't have to run my leader(s) all over the place for one shaken MMC here and one shaken MMC there. In fact, there are times I will simply ignore those single shaken counters in favor of momentum or opportunity.

I am not unaware of Melee rules and what happens to shaken units that are overrun. This risk must be taken into account when you plan your moves and combats. Risk management is a part of every impulse, the player who better handles this aspect of the game should achieve an advantage over his/her opponent, all else being equal.

 

[The Plodder]

The Kiwis got some back next impulse when, inspired by the previous melee result, 2 VC squads decided to try and ambush a NZ section through heavy jungle from 2 hexes away and got opfired when they were right next to them. One squad was reduced and another was shaken. There was another VC squad in the hex they were passing through, and realising that all units in the hex must roll in fire combat, they were shaken as well.

Just realised I made another error, VC have to obey the stacking restrictions of Heavy Jungle hexes of 2 MMC so the 2 squads shouldn't have been able to pass through the hex with the other squad. I thought they were the same as NVA but after having another read of the rules, obviously not.

I was looking through the issues of LoF and I saw some optional rules for Anzac forces that I really like. One is that they can use the same jungle movement as VC as there were some very experienced troops in jungle fighting due to service in Malaya and Borneo in the early 60's. The other one is that when defending in fire combat, enemy units take -1 off their TEM due to the 7.62 callibre of both the M60 and the L1A1 SLR that most Anzac troops were issued with. It's noted that these may upset balance but they sound right to me in regards as to what they could do.