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Hypnobeard posted:I'm happy to answer any questions or whatever, but I'll be checking out of the thread while we're playing a scenario to avoid seeing Jobbo's side of things. Yeah I got a question. If you were to replay the scenario, what would you do differently? In terms of deployment and strategy. Edit: Op4 player post on previous page.
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Jan 6, 2021 01:12
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| # ? May 3, 2024 18:26 |
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As an SFB player, the ASL Rules intimidate me. I watch with interest, and enjoyment.
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Jan 6, 2021 01:38
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I view the ASLRB as another form of RNG, since it's almost impossible to get through any non-trivial scenario without getting at least one rules reading wrong. Both players do their best, but sometimes the battle just goes a particular way.
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Jan 6, 2021 02:02
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saintonan posted:I view the ASLRB as another form of RNG, since it's almost impossible to get through any non-trivial scenario without getting at least one rules reading wrong. Both players do their best, but sometimes the battle just goes a particular way. Yeah, its best not to get too hung up on it, sorta like if you forget a rally or flub a LOS check. Happens to everyone who plays, and its best not to dwell on it unless there's a prize on the line 
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Jan 6, 2021 02:28
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saintonan posted:I view the ASLRB as another form of RNG, since it's almost impossible to get through any non-trivial scenario without getting at least one rules reading wrong. Both players do their best, but sometimes the battle just goes a particular way. I wish there was a computer version of ASL, I think that would make it much more approachable. Keep track of the bookkeeping, never worry about forgetting a rule. Then again I think most tabletop games, once they get past a certain fuzzy point of complexity, would do better as video games. That's just me. But I tell you what, I wouldn't be anywhere near as into Battletech as I am if it wasn't for Megamek letting me play it on the computer.
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Jan 6, 2021 02:47
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IIRC there’s a game in development that somebody in the grognard thread said looked very much like computer ASL, it’s just called Second Front. Supposed to hit early access at some point.
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Jan 6, 2021 03:11
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Shoeless posted:I wish there was a computer version of ASL, I think that would make it much more approachable. Keep track of the bookkeeping, never worry about forgetting a rule. Then again I think most tabletop games, once they get past a certain fuzzy point of complexity, would do better as video games. That's just me. But I tell you what, I wouldn't be anywhere near as into Battletech as I am if it wasn't for Megamek letting me play it on the computer. VASL allows some of that help, specifically with LOS, labelling, etc. I've always wanted to see if Combat Mission could be played in a similar fashion to ASL, but never really progressed far into that idea. Additionally, there's at least one game coming out in the near future that looks to be VERY ASL, called Second Front. The only thing I'm a little wary about is the amount of content it will come out with initially and how much will be DLC, as well as how well it will emulate/replicate ASL's combat. If its reasonably close, I may attempt to showcase scenarios via that for a different look every once in a while. Otherwise, there was a game called Tigers on the Hunt (I think?) and it is basically a PC version of ASL but the UI is dogshit and I hate it and it sucks. Lastly, there is always the Licensed Avalon Hill's Squad Leader  Its bad and complicated and one of my favorite games and I don't know how to get it to run properly on a Windows 10 PC.
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Jan 6, 2021 03:12
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Pirate Radar posted:IIRC there’s a game in development that somebody in the grognard thread said looked very much like computer ASL, it’s just called Second Front. Supposed to hit early access at some point. Jobbo_Fett posted:Additionally, there's at least one game coming out in the near future that looks to be VERY ASL, called Second Front. Oh wow that DOES look good, thanks for the suggestion. Yeah if it's a mostly accurate translation of ASL to computer I'll definitely be getting that once it comes out!
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Jan 6, 2021 04:02
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Shoeless posted:Yeah I got a question. If you were to replay the scenario, what would you do differently? In terms of deployment and strategy. A lot of things, honestly. I'm still getting a feel for stacking preferences and the general rhythm of combat. Some major ones that stick out: * Pick a side to concentrate on and advance more aggressively until I got into contact. The VP are split: if the Chinese kill enough Mongolians by turn 5, things are done; otherwise, they need to occupy the buildings to achieve victory. By focusing on one side of the tracks or the other and advancing aggressively, you can get into contact and start inflicting casualties (hopefully enough to trigger the early win) or put yourself into place to clear the buildings (hopefully enough to reach the win threshold at the end). * Realize that I read the OB wrong and that I had ~4 Dare Death units rather than 1, which makes them a bit more useful. * Not completely misunderstand the ? counters and actually use them as decoys (as Jobbo did). * Remember that Prep Fire is not halved before the last turn of the game and actually use it more. * Be more deliberate with assaulting held positions, trying to trigger disadvantageous fire from the targets rather than just moving up and getting shot to pieces.
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Jan 6, 2021 04:21
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Shoeless posted:I wish there was a computer version of ASL, I think that would make it much more approachable. Keep track of the bookkeeping, never worry about forgetting a rule. Then again I think most tabletop games, once they get past a certain fuzzy point of complexity, would do better as video games. That's just me. But I tell you what, I wouldn't be anywhere near as into Battletech as I am if it wasn't for Megamek letting me play it on the computer. I'm totally in agreement here. MegaMek but with ASL would be awesome. ASL is one of my favorite games to watch someone else play in a context like this. I get the story and the highlights. Hopefully Second Front turns out well.
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Jan 6, 2021 16:55
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Shoeless posted:I wish there was a computer version of ASL, I think that would make it much more approachable. Keep track of the bookkeeping, never worry about forgetting a rule. Then again I think most tabletop games, once they get past a certain fuzzy point of complexity, would do better as video games. That's just me. But I tell you what, I wouldn't be anywhere near as into Battletech as I am if it wasn't for Megamek letting me play it on the computer.
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Jan 6, 2021 17:09
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FT-117: The Argun Knot Location: Argun River, East of Manchouli, Barga Province, Manchuria Date: 16-December-1911 quote:After four years of unexplainable tax increases, including "Future" taxes, the Mongolians wanted their land back. The Chinese garrison at the Argun River watched in dismay as Russian troop trains rumbled through - prompting the Chinese to build fortifications. At the beginning of September, China ordered all schools in Barga to teach only in Chinese. The mongolians finally had enough, so local Mongolian chieftains asked for the removal of the Chinese troops. This request was refused. The Chinese Civil War to overthrow the Manchus (Ch'ing Dynasty) was only two months old when the Mongolians decided to join the fight.   It's a night mission. The Mongolians have to be vewy quiet as its now their turn to attack from the same direction as the Chinese did 3 years prior. This is going to be tough, the Mongolians still have a manpower deficiency, and I have a meager two support weapons to use at my disposal. Now, I've never played a night scenario, so this will prove to be quite interesting.Victory Conditions: The Mongolians win at the end of any Game Turn upon earning more than 26 Victory Points, without suffering more than 18 Casualty Victory Points in return. Mongolian Strategy From what I understand about night missions, my forces are rather invisible to any defensive aggression. Not to mention that, as you might imagine, there are some limiting factors such as Night Vision Range, a value that determines how far a unit can see. This will help my smaller force close the distance before I have to engage, which in turn means I can focus on delivering a strong punch at a particular location, at just the right time. The 17 partisan squads, of various sizes, along with some leaders, will split into three groups. The left group will focus on pushing the pillbox by a route that isn't covered by its view (The arrow direction), eliminate it, and allow the rest to move up through the brush. Worst comes to worst, everyone pushes around the pillbox and straight into the building(s). I should have a good base of fire that covers my approaches on that flank as well. The majority of my forces will be on this side because... The center group has the job of taking the horses and galloping all the way to the top-most hill hexes where the railroad path opens up into the town. By grabbing the high ground and staying in cover, I can either force some melees to occur if things go my way, or, at the very least, use them to deny any movement from the right side of the map to the left. Its all exposed terrain, which will be devastating should my luck of die rolls continues. At worst, it makes my opponent think about moving in or sacrificing his troops. And lastly, there's the right group. Their job is solely to act as a threat to the right flank. Its unlikely I'll just have them sit in the sidelines, which means I'll have to expose them eventually. If I can get them to meet up with the center group, they can add to being a deterrent for anyone moving across the railroad. Having not played a night scenario before, and judging by what I have (or don't have), I have a feeling I will have to be aggressive for this one. As long as I'm not losing units, I'll be in a good position. After all, 27 VP is just about 13 squads of casualties to inflict. A 1 for 1 ratio won't be good, but I can settle for it at times if it means taking the W.
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Jan 7, 2021 05:08
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Ah, for a second there I thought you were replaying the same scenario with swapped sides, and was about to yell incredulously that you'll be a bleached skeleton before you ever see the end of this endeavour
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Jan 7, 2021 11:23
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Gort posted:Ah, for a second there I thought you were replaying the same scenario with swapped sides, and was about to yell incredulously that you'll be a bleached skeleton before you ever see the end of this endeavour Yeah I hadn't paid attention to the scenarios as they played out, thought it'd be something with Russians, only to find it was the same maps, same sides, about halfway through the last scenario.
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Jan 7, 2021 14:04
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I'm assuming the "flame" counters just represent illumination right? Is that actually part of the game/scenario rules or is it just a handy way of keeping track of which hexes are lit up? e: also, as long as I'm asking questions, what's the hex scale in ASL? Is it consistent between scenarios and campaigns? (I've read some Stalingrad AARs in the past that seem to be at a smaller scale, but that could just be poor memory) sum fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Jan 8, 2021 |
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Jan 8, 2021 00:25
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sum posted:I'm assuming the "flame" counters just represent illumination right? Is that actually part of the game/scenario rules or is it just a handy way of keeping track of which hexes are lit up? Yeah the hexes that have light in them is purely so I can remember which hexes have some form of light. Only VASSAL allows for the darkened board, which will look even better as star shells start flying and gunflashes occur. As for scale, as a rule of thumb its meant to be 40 meters per hex. This is obviously not the case in some respects, such as with street/road hexes. The scale is also different for any non-geomorphic mapboards, as they are usually supposed to reflect a specific location.
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Jan 8, 2021 01:12
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If you're playing these thrown in chronological order, what's the first campaign and when does it take place? Also, could you include your order of battle for the current scenario? It's hard to tell exactly what you have available to you with the ? counters.
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Jan 8, 2021 01:47
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Shoeless posted:If you're playing these thrown in chronological order, what's the first campaign and when does it take place? Also, could you include your order of battle for the current scenario? It's hard to tell exactly what you have available to you with the ? counters. The first one to come along should be The Long March by Heat of Battle. While not a campaign in the sense of HASL's like Red Barricades or Festung Budapest, the missions can be strung together for a campaign-like experience, and where there's a reason to keep tabs and perform well throughout the series of scenarios. Currently, the OoB I have is 14 full squad Partisans, 3 half-squad Partisans, 3 leaders, 2 LMGs, 1 DC and 4 horses.
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Jan 8, 2021 03:24
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What's the difference between a half squad and a squad?
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Jan 8, 2021 06:03
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White Coke posted:What's the difference between a half squad and a squad? Less men, so they have modifiers to certain actions. A halfsquad has a harder time clearing rubble, or a roadblock. They don't perform as well in CC versus a vehicle, they can only fire a SW instead of two for a full Squad. Digging foxholes is harder, etc.
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Jan 8, 2021 06:11
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Do they have the same stats as a full squad?
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Jan 8, 2021 09:25
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White Coke posted:Do they have the same stats as a full squad? Absolutely not. There's not a single Half Squad I can think of that equals a Full Squad, they typically only have reduced firepower, but frequently also lose out on range and even morale at times! (Not counting the reduced broken morale) Partisans 
Jobbo_Fett fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Jan 8, 2021 |
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Jan 8, 2021 14:32
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FT-117: The Argun Knot Under the cover of darkness, the Mongolian forces are set to attack the Chinese garrison. It has been three years since their last exchange in this region of the world, and they are poised to teach the Chinese yet another lesson in combat! Turn 1 - Mongolians  The night is dark and visibility is low for all. This is perfect for us as everyone moves up. Unfortunately for me, a misread rule means I don't move nearly as far as I could've, delaying what could've been an even faster advance into enemy territory. [Effectively, none of my units moved at the maximum capacity they could have. At the very least, this is incredibly useful knowledge for future night scenarios. As an aside, it is my first night scenario as well.]  In the Defensive Fire Phase, my opponent attempts to place some Starshells, but poor rolls make this a non-issue for me. [Starshells are shot into the air to provide a light source in a 3-hex radius from the designated point, +/- an accuracy roll for placement] Otherwise, the majority of my units continue their moves into concealment and just closer to the enemy in the Advance Phase. Turn 1 - Chinese Nothing of note. There's been no combat [Whoops!] and his troops are at rest and, for the most part, couldn't move anyways. Turn 2 - Mongolians  As with the last turn, it is a bunch of moves towards the enemy. On the right flank (moves not specifically shown), I have two units pull up to the buildings. Gaining ground there will allow me to use it as a base of fire, and otherwise keep those nearby units pinned. Unfortunately for me, he had some men laying in foxholes in 44C10 and a squad of mine strolled right into their path. The subsequent shot broke them, but at least I have ground to rout to. [Just realized that in a night scenario you can only Low Crawl, so instead of being in F8 they should've gone to E9 and stayed there. As for the middle section, getting to the edge, or off of, the hill was easy. A surprise shot coming from the right-side bunker caused the men to go to grounds, but the sound of a few men shouting obscenities, presumably at their weapon. While on the left flank, the only ones not to move are a squad in P8, O8, and P10, both out of caution and to act as a base of fire.  No other surprises materialize, thankfully. I advance into 6 different Chinese-controlled Locations, discovering three groups of dummies (which are automatically eliminated). On the right, at the foxholes, I almost lose both a Squad AND a Leader. The Casualty Reduction random selection that was achieved by the Chinese player was a doubles, so the Leader was wounded and the Squad reduced to a Half Squad. The Leader had to check for wound severity, and a roll of under 5 (1 die) meant he didn't need to be evacuated, or simply outright die. Elsewhere, in 44H10/8H0, both a full Mongolian and a full Chinese squad perish in vicious Hand-to-Hand fighting. Lastly, in 8K1, the fighting is even, and with no clear victor, the fighting devolves into a Melee.  State of the map at the start of Chinese Turn 2. Victory Points Mongolians: 4 VP Gained \ 3 CVP Lost Mongolians win if they accumulate more than 26 VP, provided they don't lose more than 18 CVP. [Edit: The Mongolians start with 37 CVP worth of units.] To Be Continued... Jobbo_Fett fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Jan 9, 2021 |
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Jan 9, 2021 00:37
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Thanks for the arrows and notations on the map. Makes it a lot easier to follow what is happening. Still can't tell if you are being successful or not, but small steps 
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Jan 9, 2021 02:36
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DTurtle posted:Still can't tell if you are being successful or not, but small steps Mongolians are never beaten in battle, they can always come back for another go.
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Jan 9, 2021 03:05
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DTurtle posted:Still can't tell if you are being successful or not, but small steps This is a sentiment often applied to ASL as a whole, to be honest. Its not too uncommon for scenario to come down to the wire, even if it seems like one player has it clinched. Edit: As an aside, because I want to add a tiny little flag for each location a scenario takes place, duplicate will get a colored bar added to the flag. I will likely have to create a ranking system eventually, but for now its just a simple yellow bar.
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Jan 9, 2021 03:31
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Seems like things are going better for Hypnobeard this time, at least the dice aren't screwing them so hard. From your perspective, what do you think these Chinese's best option is in this situation? You're running in, trying to get into hand to hand. Should they be moving their units into the houses where the fighting is going on to reinforce those, or hold back and possibly have those units take shots from the buildings they're already in? Something else entirely? I ask because from my limited knowledge of the game, I struggle to think what options the Chinese have here with it being night, it seems like shooting at your stuff while they come in is going to be very ineffective, but moving out of cover in ASL also is usually a fantastic way to get people killed or at best routed so reinforcing seems like maybe a bad move, unless they can run out safely due to the darkness?
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Jan 9, 2021 05:42
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Shoeless posted:Seems like things are going better for Hypnobeard this time, at least the dice aren't screwing them so hard. So the biggest issue for the Chinese player is that they are locked into their hexes until his best leader rolls below a number in order to allow himself to move, who then can go around to other units and wake them up. As for what I would have done differently, both Hypno and I didn't realize that being in an illuminated Location made it impossible to see non-illuminated ones. Makes sense, its like going into a dark room suddenly, and nothing is visible until your eyes adjust. One of the SSRs also forces them to position units in those buildings. Additionally, not setting up in the buildings sounds dangerous to me, as you don't have the same amount of cover, which you'll likely need once dawn breaks. The only thing I thought could be done differently would be having a Leader (a.k.a. a good chance) for throwing out Starshells and catching the Mongolians in open ground ready to be shot.
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Jan 9, 2021 06:00
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No stream tonight, unfortunately.
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Jan 9, 2021 15:45
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Reason #71 why I love ASL. [This is my apology for no update this weekend]
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Jan 9, 2021 22:52
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FT-117: The Argun Knot - Part 2 Turn 2 - Chinese  Its an ominous start as the Chinese squad in the right pillbox attempt to repair their machine gun, only to discover it is completely out of commission. Turn two begins with numerous Starshells thrown into the sky. Daybreak may be coming soon, but the Chinese don't want to wait for that to happen. Additionally, re-reading the rules on the "No Movement" counters made us realize that those should have been coming off a little more than they had, so a lot of Chinese units gained the ability to get out of any predicament, should they want to. Any of the shots lead to no results. The Mongolians don't shoot much either, if only to retain their concealment. It is much more valuable for them for movement than it is for an attack this instant.  With the end of the turn nearing, it is time for the melee to continue (in 8K1). Noticing that the Chinese squad is a Conscript unit, I choose to attempt to capture them. Not only do I get a -1 to my roll for choosing this option, but Prisoners are worth more points for me at the end of the game.  Thankfully, Hypnobeard's roll wasn't low enough to get anything on me, but my capture attempt is. As a result of capturing a unit, you can "Deploy" a squad, a.k.a. separating it into 2 half squads. One halfsquad is designated the guards for the prisoners, and they are absolutely going to book it home for precious VPs. Turn 3 - Mongolians  In my rally phase, I get lucky and my broken squad in 44F8 come to their senses. Plenty of movement goes out, and the last turn of darkness helps me move along. My squads in 8O2 move closer to the unknown units in the same building, with one going outside to get into the single-hex building in L3 in the Advance Phase. Two of my cloaking counters in the bottom left move straight towards the O2 building. Once they get in there, they can specifically target the Chinese units, and do as much damage as possible. The units in 44L10, realizing that their position is precarious, and a good (or bad) set of rolls could doom them all, immediately split into three groups, 8L1, 44L10, 44M10. The guards, and their prisoners, begin the move south. Ultimately, they will go for the singular building on board 44 before shuffling off the map to safety. The right side group is also chaotic. Plenty of shuffling of units around, unconcealed, concealed, and cloaking alike! In the end, two conscript squads reveal themselves in 8D2 and break a squad of mine (yellow line). Luckily for me, the wounded leader hadn't moved yet, so his plan is to run away (purple line on right side) to the nearest rout location. This way I'll be able to rally them immediately, provided I get some good dice to go with it.  Post-Advances. There are three Close Combats on the map (I forgot to put the counter on the one in 8J1, in the Foxhole. The further left hex is filled with fakes, no CC occurs. In 8M1, my units [erroneously] ambush the Chinese and kill them before they have a chance of retaliating. Later I realized the hex was Open Ground, but Hypnobeard opted to keep playing instead. (Sorry, buddy!  )In 8L1, it is 1.5 Mongolian Squads versus 1 Chinese Squad. The Hand-to-Hand combat is so vicious that there are not enough survivors on either side to constitute a remaining unit. The Chinese are fighting to the last, now, it would seem!  Mission success. Also, I realized this afterwards, but I think I would have had to try to for a building up north? Reminder for next time. Turn 3 - Chinese  Very little is accomplished during this turn. The Chinese shoot at a few units, I opt to retain concealment wherever possible, some Chinese units move, but nothing of significance occurs for either side. Turn 4 - Mongolians  *Hissssss* It's too goddamn bright! All my cloaking counters are replaced with fat stacks of units.  Movements and shots, I do everything I can to encircle the Chinese units on the left. Killing them is my Number 1 priority, as they should provide enough Victory Points for a Win. Lots of Assault Movement to reduce the possibility of taking bad shots or modifiers. Chinese shots are the teal arrows, my own in the Prep Fire Phase is a squad with twin LMGs, but it did little if anything against the target.   My 8-1 Leader, carrying a lovely satchel charge, takes up all his movement to Set the DC against the Pillbox. The squad inside the Pillbox can't shoot at him, and the other Chinese squads are preoccupied with closer targets. He needs to survive until the next Friendly Fire Phase and then I can detonate it! Why low-firepower squads suck. All these shots and the only results are a Pin in 8N0.  Meanwhile the guards move down into 44M3 for the 1VP it provides. Next turn, they move off-map and give me 4 VP (x2 value for Prisoners).  Closing out the Mongolian side's 4th turn, there are several advances. The DC Leader moved into 8O2, the two MGs and the carrying squad stay there, while everyone else moves out into 8N2. The units in 8J2 and 8J1 are there to pressure the Chinese units in K2, as well as protect against any units trying to cross the railroad tracks. As for the unit that threw themselves into CC on the right, it was either that or get shot at multiple times. As a side note, I cannot advance into the buildings (or specifically the floors) that have been Fortified (the large gray square counters under the stacks in M2 and K2. I have to break them or use a DC against the building to create a breach. Too late for that one! Victory Points Mongolians: 12 VP Gained \ 7 CVP Lost Of the 12 VP Gained, 2 VP are from control of buildings. Mongolians win if they accumulate more than 26 VP, provided they don't lose more than 18 CVP. To Be Continued...
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Jan 15, 2021 03:35
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Oof. This is not going well for the Chinese! So from my perspective, this scenario seems a lot more one-sided than the previous, even with the awful dice luck for Hypnobeard previously. But I don't know how much of that is the dice and the chinese player being inexperienced. So what's your thoughts, Jobbo? Being unable to move and shoot early on for the Chinese, having to basically sit back while the Mongolian player moves into position and seemingly has all the initiative, seems pretty disadvantageous to me, but maybe I'm missing something?
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Jan 16, 2021 03:41
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Shoeless posted:Oof. This is not going well for the Chinese! I think Hypno made the mistake of pairing his leaders with units in buildings to start. To be completely fair to them, that is 1000% a mistake I wouldve made as well. Having the leaders out and available to pop starshells would have done more to hinder my progress. As well, they were really unlucky to break both support weapons. Thats a huge chunk of firepower that is gone without paying for itself. The fact that we didn't quite realize the No Move thing until near the end of night doesnt help. And while the Partisans do have good Hand to Hand capabilities ( I think I keep forgetting their -1 for Ghurkas), it should be said that the Partisans start at a SW, Leader, and Manpower deficit. Its also important to think about the objectives. Re-reading them before the start of a session is a big help in my opinion. It keeps my objective fresh in my head, and I can calculate how many points I need and where to go from there. If I played this as the Chinese, I might've done a similar setup, as I certainly liked the placement of some of his dummies. There were just enough real units to keep me guessing. I would be sending more units to the left flank at the moment. Theres potentially 7 to 9 VP of mine there, off-hand, and I probably stand to lose 3/4, but he has like double that immediately adjacent to them. I also liked the way he's split his fortified buildings, especially in conjunctiom with the leaders. They are valuable bases of fire, and without DCs or heavy weaponry, they are tough to take out.
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Jan 16, 2021 04:09
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I cant stress enough, either, that the Mongolians have to be careful not to lose units needlessly, 50% or so elimination rate can creep up real fast once the attacking player doesnt have night as cover, or has to be exposed constantly to get at targets
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Jan 16, 2021 04:13
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FT-117: The Argun Knot - Part 3 State of the Board  The board at the end of my 4th turn sees me with control over most of the "western" portion of the map, save the pillbox and twin fortified positions. On the right, I have a tenuous position, at best, as the melee will likely doom the remaining half-squad, the (improperly) concealed half-squad in 44D10 will likely get thrashed when the concealment comes off, and my foxhole group is kinda just... stuck. In any case, my goal(s) for the remaining session is to take out everyone on the left, nab the yellow pillbox if possible, and attempt to consolidate the Purple perimeter or, barring that, be a big ole nuisance. Turn 4 - Chinese  The Chinese don't take kindly to my aggression and attack a number of units on my left flank. 8M3, 8K3, 8J2, and 8J1 all come under fire, but no results are achieved aside from the unit in 8K3 pinning. I breathe a sigh of relief as my units stand firm. On the right, a shot from 8D2 breaks the half-squad in 44D10, whereas the somewhat ridiculous back and forth between 44C10 and 8C1 continues. On the flipside, they move both pillbox squads out, with both subsequently coming under fire. The right-side pillbox occupants are fine, running into the olive groves just next door. On the left, a shot from the Mongolians along the road does well enough to break them in open ground. A lucky shot from N2 to M2 yields nothing but a Sniper to activate, pinning the guys in the woods at N10. No other shots have any effect.  The aftermath of the turn's shooting and moving. The unit outside of the pillbox has to rout back into it, while my unit in 44D10 was able to rout south to the wounded leader I have over there. The other two encircled locations are broken LMGs. Turn 5 - Mongolians  Without the ability to self-rally any of their troops, the broken Chinese squad in the pillbox at 8O1 is resigned to their tomb. Opening shots granted me a boon, with the shot from N2 to M2 (on board 8) managing to not only break a squad, but also pins the other! (This is very important for later). The attacks against K2 are less successful, and the squad at 44C10 continues to shoot at their next door neighbours with no result. The DC is a big fat DUD, with the detonator having proven to be faulty. The pillbox (and its occupants) are spared, for now. From the Chinese side, the fire laid down on K3 from across the road was enough to break the squad, causing me some concern. Them breaking is opening the door to a possible escape for that stack.  After squads on both sides have routed, its time for the advances. There's some back and forth between units in M3 and N2, as well as L10/K1 on the left side. The goal being to send units back to attack the pillbox. That dud DC robbed me of 4 Victory Points, so I now need to send some men to fix it. As well, I can finally advance some men into M2. Under normal circumstances, you cannot move into the same Location that contains enemy units. Furthermore, you cannot Advance into a Fortified Location, unless the occupants are broken or pinned. Getting that lucky shot that broke and pinned the squads in that stack was a turning point in that scenario.  Quick to capitalize on the boon, the Mongolians pour into the building, outnumbering the pinned Chinese squad. (The broken unit routed to the 2nd floor) I was almost guaranteed to ambush my opponent as well, as I had a -2 DRM, while the Chinese squad had a +3 (or was it +2? Regardless.) Dice were rolled and the Chinese were caught off guard. Hand-to-Hand was initiated, and only Mongolians remained. Turn 5 - Chinese  The last Chinese Prep Fire sees the units in K2 break the adjacent men occupying K1, and the regular shots against my foxhole squad on the right continues to yield no results. As the movement phase begins, the enemy reveal a Dare Death Squad, whom immediately go berserk and run to the foxhole in 8J1. Not being able to shoot as a Fire Group is really penalizing me here. The Berserkers survived 4 separate attacks and were in a prime position to kill my units inside and relieve the units in K2! I haven't been keeping track of points all that well as I play, but its becoming more and more stressful as I try to figure out my best options to win this one. And then, through repeated attempts, a good shot materializes against the K2 defenders, breaking them all! Not all is guaranteed, however, as losses in J2 could jeopardize my hold on that front.  Post-rout phase, however, tells a different story. As the Chinese never sent more men into the fray, particularly throwing bodies towards J2 after they'd already shot at the Dare Death squad. I would attribute this to lack of experience. Hypnobeard shouldn't beat himself over it, it happens, even to experienced players. The CC in the foxholes of J1 is a bloody one. With no possible ambush, the fighting immediately turns to Hand-to-Hand, with no survivors once the sounds die out. Turn 6 - Mongolians  The last game turn is used entirely for movement on my end. 1.5 Squads make their way to the pillbox in 8O1, where their goal is to attack the occupants in CC. Several units shuffle back in order to eliminate the broken squad on the upper floor of O2. The 8-1 leader and the men with him run into K2, and the 9-2 leader and his men make their way into K3, and subsequently into the upper floor. The two Conscript squads in 8H3 do their best to prevent this, and they almost succeed. A good set of rolls spares my Leader, who's use of the -2 DRM helps to prevent at least one squad from breaking. On the right, a HS declares CX (Counter Exhaustion) and makes his way northward. My goal is entirely to grab that pillbox in 8E1, regardless of casualties incurred. I've forgotten how many points I'm at, but I know I can spare some squads being eliminated. The HS only makes it two hexes before it draws fire from the occupants of 8C1, which opens up the possibility of CX'ing the full Squad in G7. Dodging shots along the way, they safely make it to 8E1, ready to advance into it should they not die. Oh, and I didn't forget the prisoners I had, they were directed off-board with the halfsquad to secure 4 VP for me.  By the start of the Rout phase, it becomes clear that this may be the end. The broken unit in 8O2 is eliminated for Failure to Rout, as well as the stack in the upper floor of K2. The broken squad inside the pillbox 8O1 isn't eliminated. I'll have to fight for that one. The broken half-squad on the right is seen after moving into the woods at F7.  State of the board at the end of the game. Victory Points Mongolians: 39 VP Gained \ 10 CVP Lost Of the 39 VP Gained, 10 VP are from control of buildings. Mongolians win if they accumulate more than 26 VP, provided they don't lose more than 18 CVP. Edit: I totally forgot the Aftermath to the scenario Historical Aftermath Equipped with Russian weapons and Chinese LMGs procured by the local Mongolian leaders, and remembering Chinese lessons, the Mongolians felt the time was right to deal with their taxing problems. Using night to offset the Chinese numerical advantage, the Mongolians attacked before dawn. The Chinese awoke to armed Mongolians shooting everything and everyone. The Chinese garrison, unable to make an effective stand, fled in every direction and was all but wiped out. The Barga Mongols gained their independence and turned to Russia for more assistance. Russia had also learned to help a neighboring country to become her "friend". Jobbo_Fett fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Jan 18, 2021 |
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Jan 17, 2021 18:38
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Addendum: I liked Hypnobeard's setup, barring one or two previously mentioned things. The defense out front was a good mix of fakes and real units that kept me guessing. The loss of both MMGs shortly after their first use(s) was a horrible example of getting diced, and the 8FP would surely have been appreciated elsewhere. I haven't verified, but if Hypnobeard was capable of deploying squads into respective half-squads, that's something that, if ever replayed, should be considered for this scenario. If only to cover a larger area. The Leaders being where they were was an unfortunate misunderstanding of the rules, and I would have done the same. There's a lot of other possibilities for strategies on this (like most) ASL scenarios. Using the pillboxes as bait, having Set DC's within fortified locations specifically to force big fights against the Chinese, right before the survives get A-sploded in a blaze of glory. If I had to criticize my opponent's moves, I'd say it was not reacting fast enough against my men on the left, or being too complacent after No Moves were removed. I mean this in no derogatory way, and is one of the growing pains of playing ASL; as time goes on, Hypnobeard'll be that much better at counter-attacking. I felt like the match was close, especially at the end when I'd lost track of the Victory Point numbers. A few more rolls their way, or a few less in my favor, could've been the difference here, such as the Dare Death Squad dying in the HtH CC in the foxholes. Fun all around for me, and a great learning experience. Next up will be a unique experience in the opening days of World War 1. We're going to
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Jan 17, 2021 19:11
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Aloha! Another scenario down, thousands more to go! I'm looking forward to the World War 1 stuff, though it's all too brief. We'll see if the brave poilus can deal with the Hun. Not too much more to say about the last one. I thought my performance was better, though obviously still had some issues. I completely missed the gun crews, which would have freed up a couple of 1st line infantry MMCs, and didn't use the Dare Death squads particularly effectively, but on the whole I'm reasonably happy with things. In the end it wasn't a close-run thing--Joboo clobbered me casualty-wise, and the building VPs were just the icing. Didn't feel like a horrible loss, though, which is the important bit, and the night rules weren't too horrible on the whole. I don't think I'd like to play them all or even most of the time, but it was interesting. Happy as always to answer whatever questions up until we start the next scenario.
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Jan 19, 2021 14:58
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Yeah I have a question. What was your mindset in choosing your deployment? When I was looking over the scenario at the beginning, I thought to myself "I wonder if you could just push hard to deploy all the chinese onto one side and fill the other with decoys, and force the partisans to assault a much more tightly defended single position instead of a more spread out one." Did that idea ever get consideration when you were deploying?
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Jan 20, 2021 01:04
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Shoeless posted:Yeah I have a question. What was your mindset in choosing your deployment? When I was looking over the scenario at the beginning, I thought to myself "I wonder if you could just push hard to deploy all the chinese onto one side and fill the other with decoys, and force the partisans to assault a much more tightly defended single position instead of a more spread out one." Did that idea ever get consideration when you were deploying? I can partially answer that one. One of the scenario's special rules is that the Chinese player must have 2 counters (not specifically real units) in each multi-hex building. So you have to spread your forces out.
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Jan 20, 2021 01:06
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Shoeless posted:Yeah I have a question. What was your mindset in choosing your deployment? When I was looking over the scenario at the beginning, I thought to myself "I wonder if you could just push hard to deploy all the chinese onto one side and fill the other with decoys, and force the partisans to assault a much more tightly defended single position instead of a more spread out one." Did that idea ever get consideration when you were deploying? As Jobbo noted, I had to spread things out a bit. My main concern was trying to make sure that the buildings weren't easy to take, so there was some dilution of strength as a result. I have no idea why I didn't stick the 6+1 with a dummy up on the top of the map though. I was generally planning to use the conscripts and 1st line as the in-place defenders and keep the dare death elites as a reaction force. Which I did, but poorly.
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Jan 20, 2021 13:54
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