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+--- Thread: Tedious Play - Kicking Down the Door (/showthread.php?tid=1533)
RE: Tedious Play - Kicking Down the Door - zaarin7 - 07-28-2017
I got the email and sent back a slightly edited copy. It looks ready for playtesting to me.
RE: Tedious Play - Kicking Down the Door - Blackcloud6 - 08-01-2017
So after getting frustrated with the Kicking Down the Door scenario in particular and the assaulting of prepared defenses in general I came up with a rule to provide "suppression" from artillery attacks. It has always seemed odd to me that you could pound a hex with a large amount of artillery factors and roll a 7, get a simple moral check and the enemy passes it, thus the artillery has no effect. I played a couple of scenarios to test the concept and someone else did so also. After seeing the results, I came to the conclusion that the rule either had little to no impact on the scenario, or at one dramatic moment it would have great impact changing the course of the scenario. So in the former case, it is not worth the extra work, and in the latter case it shows the rule is unstable. So I decided to set it aside for now but there are some others looking at it and if their reports show value, I may reconsider the rule for a possible daily content article.
So, I thought about "Kicking Down the Door" in regards to another river crossing scenario I played in the testing I mention above" Hell River" from Fall of France. In that one, the French do not have as strong a river defense as the Soviets do in Kicking Down the Door; the scenario designer did some clever things to make the scenario balanced in my view. In "Kicking" i thought form the start, now why would I try to assault across the river here in the face of a well dug-in defense? Would I not seek a weaker part of the line to make this crossing that is essential to the whole operation (getting the relief force to Berlin)? I felt that the designer wanted the scenario to end up being a fight for the second board between the US forces and the Soviet reserves that come on later. but what happened is the US got bogged crossing the river and the relief force was just going to kill what had got across and seal the breach for good. So maybe the problem with these "prepared defense" scenarios that I get frustrated with is either (or a combination of) scenario design (and lack of adequate playtesting) or my inability to grok the scenario.
RE: Tedious Play - Kicking Down the Door - J6A - 08-02-2017
When was "Kicking Down the Door" published? Was it in the days before adequate development?
One of the reasons I asked about the drumfire (and I still haven't played with the rule) is that it gives a benefit for a longer bombardment and might mitigate some of that "roll a 7, pass the morale check" issue. I've always chuckled a bit at scenarios where one side gets a 1x8 OBA. I always think "Oh, that's really going to terrify people." Until artillery really gets massed (and the Soviets are good at that late in the war), it's always been difficult for it to have devastating effects.
RE: Tedious Play - Kicking Down the Door - Blackcloud6 - 08-02-2017
(08-02-2017, 12:25 AM)J6A Wrote: When was "Kicking Down the Door" published? Was it in the days before adequate development?
One of the reasons I asked about the drumfire (and I still haven't played with the rule) is that it gives a benefit for a longer bombardment and might mitigate some of that "roll a 7, pass the morale check" issue. I've always chuckled a bit at scenarios where one side gets a 1x8 OBA. I always think "Oh, that's really going to terrify people." Until artillery really gets massed (and the Soviets are good at that late in the war), it's always been difficult for it to have devastating effects.
It is from Patton's Nightmare, published in 2012. John Stafford designed the module. But it was before Drum Fire rules came out I think. They were first in Infantry Attacks, right?
Drum Fire might work in this situation but the US forces are pressed to get across as quick as they can to be able to build up forces to meet the massive amount of Soviet reinforcements.
I have yet to use Drum Fire, but in the next one I play that has stout defenses I may try it.
RE: Tedious Play - Kicking Down the Door - Michael Murphy - 08-02-2017
I believe that drumfire indeed debuted in Infantry Attacks as Fred noted above.