OBT Forum

So I was reading your after action report and came across this bit of text...

Quote from: Klinktastic

Additionally, we had a restriction on the mission, to limit collateral damage to the buildings of the city. Damage could be subtracted from our contracted amounts. Additionally, LOS was fairly restricted except along main passages.

Now your final analysis of the battle suggested that your use of infantry was pretty poor. Would use of Smoke and APCs as infantry blockers been helpful here or better utilized?

Well, it was a few things really.  Most of us were not used to using infantry.  We definitely made the mistake of disembarking them in the street right in front of enemy infantry which were in buildings.  Smoke would have helped, but not too much.  What would have helped was using the "Using Non-Infantry Units as Cover" Rule from TacOps page 108 would have drastically increased their survivability.  What would have been better, would have been a bit more patient and dropped them off on the otherside of the building.  Sure its slower, but they could have gotten into the building without getting shot up.

Also, 

Quote from: Klinktastic

Turn 5 – This is dominated by infantry combat.  Our infantry has now broken into the buildings the enemy infantry were in.  In an attempt to root them out, we use some special rules that handle infantry assaulting mechanics.  It’s basically one roll modified by number of infantry engaged in the battle and it determines the outcome of how many troops die.  It’s quick and works well enough.  Pretty interesting rules.

I'm very interested in learning more about this rule.

Yes, it is very interesting and it speeds up infantry use tremendously in actual game play, which is why we used it and why I recommend it.  The rules begin in TacOps on page 199, but begin in earnest on page 201 under the title of "Infantry vs Infantry Action Inside A Building".   You will need to actual read it to get a full appreciation for the rule, but I'll summarize.  In essense, each side's infantry gets tallied up to determine the total number of "Marine Points" (MPs), which is a unit of measure to determine who has the stronger side.  Then the totals MPs are compared, the better the ratio of attacker to defenders (or visa versa) the better chances at a favorable outcome.  One pair of dice is rolled, and the the chart on page 205 is consulted for the outcome.  The rule is fairly complex, but in actual play its very quick once some of the inital leg work is finished. 

It also seemed like the opposition didn't make best use of their special infantry. Thoughts?