Liking the "leave damage on, reducing at end of turn" Ithoriel is testing.
The other thing xxC needs is Blinds/Spotting, to give Recce something to do; Sunjester says at the moment Recce doesn't do a lot.
Suggestion (ALL NUMBERS UP FOR DISCUSSION)
Units that move are on blinds until they
a) Fire
b) are spotted
A blind represents 4 to 8 units. They are a piece of card 15cm by 10. Battalions that have more than 8 units have multiple blinds. Blinds in the same battalion must touch along an edge - at least half of the shortest join (So 2 blinds could be staggered like bricks, or a T shape, or a column or line) What is on each blind must be noted
If any unit on a blind fires ALL that blind is revealed
Blind move at ?15? They have a understood CV of 9, measured from the middle of any blind in the battalion - this can change from command to command
Spotting.
A Command (Battalion) may make 1 spot per turn, Measured from one unit of the spotter's choice
Revealed Recce units may make one attempt each
Each unit type has a spotting value- or maybe a universal value which Recce and Infantry add to
Lets assume the latter
Spotting Value 6
Infantry and Blinds +1
Recce +3 (Must be revealed)
Target blind declared as ALL foot Infantry -1 (Command counts as Foot) Mark blind as "Foot"
Cover -1 to -3
Roll that many dice.
Total equal or more than range, closest to closest, blind is spotted
If a blind marked as Foot has any vehicles on when revealed then it retires 1d6 per non Foot before the models are placed. This isn't cheating, it is taking chances with subterfuge (and if you make it cheating then it just starts arguments later!)
Hidden
Defenders may start Hidden. they must occupy a defined terrain feature capable of blocking LoS/making spotting harder/Affecting shooting etc.
Positions marked on Map
If they move they are put onto a blind
If they Fire they are put on a blind
If they are spotted while hidden they go onto a blind. They may NEVER declare as All Foot while hidden.
QuoteThe other thing xxC needs is Blinds/Spotting, to give Recce something to do; Sunjester says at the moment Recce doesn't do a lot.
Bloody hell, mine are always overworked and under manned!
Revealing unspotted units, FAO LoS extension and the ever useful +1 to a HQ's CV are something you can't get enough of!
TBH I'm not sold on blinds - we use them for French Indo-China (they're in the rules in CWC) and we've tried them elsewhere but the vagaries of the command system mean they're actually covered without any extra rules, and are more of a hindrance to a game than a help. Other mileage may vary, of course ;)
I've tried blinds in lots of games and frankly never found them worth the effort. If you want Fog of War play on a PC :)
I like blinds. I don't understand what the +1 CV is all about.
If you mean you don't know what it represents, it's your recce unit feeding an HQ intel that allows them to plan a move or an attack better making it more likely to succeed.
If you don't know what the abbreviation means, that probably explains why you think recce are underutilised in BKC :)
I like toys on the table, not bits of card.
I know what the rule is, and the fact that its an abstraction. I just don't think it makes any sense.
"Captain, are you going to go and find the enemy?"
"No sir, thought I'd sit here and give you advice."
It's representational - are your recce getting you the best information back for your commander to make a good decision?
It's like the dice - your tanks are not actually firing dice at the enemy hoping it comes up a six and the enemy bail out ;)
BKC (well, the *Commander series in general) is one of the few games where recce is actually useful! Really, really useful. So useful the limit of one recce stand per 1000pts is deeply annoying :D
Good recce means a commander can say,"OK lieutenant, take 2nd platoon down that lane until you come to the drainage ditch, take cover there then blast the hedgerow opposite because recce says it's crawling with krauts!" rather than,"OK lieutenant, the enemy are somewhere up ahead, find them and engage them!"
I'm reminded of the Adm. Woodward sending HMS Alacrity to check the Falkland Sound was "free of shipping" (aka check if it was mined by sailing into them...), and the captains response being "Would you like me to zig zag around a bit, Sir..."
I would be interested in using blinds in BKC. I gave the I Ain't Been sh*t Mum rules a go and whilst I did not like the game I really enjoyed the blinds mechanic.
Pbeccas - there's some rules for blinds in CWC I you have it. Basically you have one per HQ plus some extras and keep the troops off table until spotted; there's a table for "revealing" what they represent depending on how close you are and what you are (eg recce). Worth a look but they need some thought applying!
Yep, the CWC rules for Hidden Movement work well IMHO.
Agree about the CWC Hidden rule