Hi all,
I am new to FWC, signing on with the Second Version. First up, thanks for a very nice ruleset, it is obviously a labor of love, I think the core mechanisms are going to play out really well, and there is a wonderful Future Wars vibe to the whole thing that makes it exciting reading ! I'm looking forward to playing a game and am just throwing my first two lists together.
My question relates to the "Artillery Assets" and "Air Assets" section at the bottom of each army list, and in a more general sense, to Artillery Ammunition types.
The Artillery Units in the lists have Ammunition Types listed.
Question 1 : is this the ammo they have (ie. unlimited and free, the points cost already included) or, as I assume, the ammo they are restricted to and can fire if such ammo has been separately paid for, with HE of course being free ?
p.98 of the rulebook mentions the "Asset" section of the army list, and suggests that "Preliminary Bombardments" may be found there. They are not, however, mentioned as such. I initially thought the Artillery Assets were the number of Preliminary Bombardments that could be made with each ammo type, but it can't be that because there is no mention of HE.
So, putting all that together, my thinking is that when the Artillery Asset section says "Artillery Toxic 50 pts each / 3", this could mean that :
- I can equip three Artillery units (On Board or Off Board) with Toxic munition, paying 50 pts per unit, and they can fire it to their heart's content.
or
- I can equip any number of Artillery units (On Board or Off Board) with Toxic munition, paying 50 pts per unit, and each unit so equipped gets 3 rounds of it.
or
- I can equip any number of Artillery units (On Board or Off Board) with Toxic munition, paying 50 pts per round (so, 150 pts for three rounds), each unit only being able to have 3 rounds of it maximum
or
- Maybe something else : )
As for Preliminary Bombardments, I imagine there is a limit to the number I can plan, but where can I find that ?
Still in the Artillery Assets section, there is mention here and there in the army lists of "Smoke Ammunition", but as this is absent from the Assets section, I assume that v1 Smoke = v2 Obscurants, and it is just a minor typo ?
There is also mention here and there of Artillery being able to fire Plasma Ammunition, but Plasma is absent from the Assets section, is that a minor omission or a deliberate choice ?
The Assets section also mentions "Orbital Strikes", for example "Light Orbital Strikes : 3". There are Off Planet Naval Support batteries in the army lists, but how to know which are "Light" and which are "Heavy" ? And what does the limit of 3 imply, is it the number of times my Off Planet Naval Support battery can fire, or use Preliminary Bombardments, or something else...
Last question, in the Assets section, what does "Aircraft : Ground Attack" mean ? If for example it says 10 pts each / 2, what do I get for my 20 pts ?
Thanks very much to all for your answers !
Lee
Sorry, just read back over some other questions on the forum, and I see that the one about Orbital Strikes has been answered before. So scratch that question on my original post : )
Hi Lee
& welcome to FWC.
I've tried to answer your questions below (in
bold)
Cheers
Mark
QuoteHi all,
I am new to FWC, signing on with the Second Version. First up, thanks for a very nice ruleset, it is obviously a labor of love, I think the core mechanisms are going to play out really well, and there is a wonderful Future Wars vibe to the whole thing that makes it exciting reading ! I'm looking forward to playing a game and am just throwing my first two lists together.
My question relates to the "Artillery Assets" and "Air Assets" section at the bottom of each army list, and in a more general sense, to Artillery Ammunition types.
The Artillery Units in the lists have Ammunition Types listed.
Question 1 : is this the ammo they have (ie. unlimited and free, the points cost already included) or, as I assume, the ammo they are restricted to and can fire if such ammo has been separately paid for, with HE of course being free ?
> HE is 'free' (or included as standard) in all units such as Artillery (on & off-table) and Air (on & off-table) or Mortars (on & off-table) but you must buy your other Ammo types selected from the Assets section of the Army Lists.
So if your list states - Smoke @ 20pts and there is a 3 in the box - then you can buy for 20pts per unit and equip up to 3 units with Smoke ammo for the entire game. If the unit with Smoke is Knocked Out, you've lost that Smoke capability (it is not transferable). These unit can then fire Smoke as you request it, throughout the game.
NB: often experienced 'Commander Rules' players will tell you that you should only equip 1 unit in a battery of off-table artillery with Smoke, as you only need 1 firing to drop a full Smoke template.
p.98 of the rulebook mentions the "Asset" section of the army list, and suggests that "Preliminary Bombardments" may be found there. They are not, however, mentioned as such. I initially thought the Artillery Assets were the number of Preliminary Bombardments that could be made with each ammo type, but it can't be that because there is no mention of HE.
> You've answered this one yourself above. But not all lists have Preliminary Bombardments - but it was omitted in error on some of the earlier printed and online lists and will be corrected in the next Errata list. Apologies for that.
So, putting all that together, my thinking is that when the Artillery Asset section says "Artillery Toxic 50 pts each / 3", this could mean that :
- I can equip three Artillery units (On Board or Off Board) with Toxic munition, paying 50 pts per unit, and they can fire it to their heart's content.
> Yup - spot on
or
- I can equip any number of Artillery units (On Board or Off Board) with Toxic munition, paying 50 pts per unit, and each unit so equipped gets 3 rounds of it.
> Nope. See above
or
- I can equip any number of Artillery units (On Board or Off Board) with Toxic munition, paying 50 pts per round (so, 150 pts for three rounds), each unit only being able to have 3 rounds of it maximum
or
- Maybe something else : )
> you were right 1st time :D
As for Preliminary Bombardments, I imagine there is a limit to the number I can plan, but where can I find that ?
> It will be in the Assets section (when that is corrected) and you'll have a limited number. They must all be delivered at the same time at the start of the game (as they are a Preliminary action) but each can target a different area on the board in a pre-planned basis.
Still in the Artillery Assets section, there is mention here and there in the army lists of "Smoke Ammunition", but as this is absent from the Assets section, I assume that v1 Smoke = v2 Obscurants, and it is just a minor typo ?
> Smoke is just another type of Obscurant - but well spotted - we'll adjust that one :)
There is also mention here and there of Artillery being able to fire Plasma Ammunition, but Plasma is absent from the Assets section, is that a minor omission or a deliberate choice ?
> It is added to lists that have it - most wont have it as it is very specialist - other special ammos will only apply to certain list types as more lists come online.
The Assets section also mentions "Orbital Strikes", for example "Light Orbital Strikes : 3". There are Off Planet Naval Support batteries in the army lists, but how to know which are "Light" and which are "Heavy" ? And what does the limit of 3 imply, is it the number of times my Off Planet Naval Support battery can fire, or use Preliminary Bombardments, or something else...
> Again, these are designated in the Assets section of each list, as appropriate. It is not the number of times your off-planet (or even conventional aquatic) naval support can fire. They operate in the same manner as other off-table artillery. Think of Orbital Strikes a bit like the 'Bugs' (in Starship Trooper - old flim reference) directing asteroids at the Earth or longer range heavy weapons fired at the Battlefield.
Last question, in the Assets section, what does "Aircraft : Ground Attack" mean ? If for example it says 10 pts each / 2, what do I get for my 20 pts ?
> this is a bit of a 'hang-over' from 'Cold War Commander' but Ground Attack (GA) air units can remain on-table during the game (if you're brave enough to give it a try). So they can initiate Airstrikes (ordered in by an FAO) and the number of those is indicated by the 2 @ 10pts per action. So they come in (hopefully survive the enemy AA) hit the target and then fly out immediately. But GA units can also be ordered to fly onto the table and operate under Commanded orders (from an HO or CO) and remain on-table. So they basically operate like flying tanks (for want of a better description).
BM air units are bombers - so they usually deliver higher altitude strikes - so they can only be ordered to deliver Air Strikes (& cannot operate on-table under Commander orders) - so they have a limited operational capability. So if your list allows you to buy 2 airstrikes, once your 2 airstrikes have been completed, that's the Bombers job done. So if you buy both GA & BM air units, you'll need to buy airstrikes & I'd suggest you allocate them to your BM air units (or they will be unusable - just flying around up there awaiting orders that will never arrive) ;D
Thanks very much to all for your answers !
>NP - there's a lot to get your head around - but I'm happy to answer questions when I can. I'd suggest you try out a few small games initially to test out specific mechanisms - also look at some of the BKC & CWC forum threads - as things like Ambushes (which always throws people - even experienced players) will often have Q&As posted on those threads that can apply to FWC as well. All 3 sets of rules pretty much have the same Core Rules Mechanisms. Enjoy.
Lee