0167 - Three Year Anniversary and the Big Picture

Three years ago tomorrow the team started on this journey. The date (in game) back then was 18 JUL 2000. Three years later (real time), the time line has moved on to 21 AUG 2000, or just over a month later. A lot of has happened since then, powder has been burned and friends lost. The team escaped from the death trap of Kalisz and made their way south. In some cases, they made new friends or enemies. The world has less marauders because of them and they have found a home among the Cav troopers.

 

In the next phase, we will begin to see some movement on the front. Winter is coming and the troops need to find a cantonment for the winter. Some of the forces that moved during the recent offensive will return to their jumping off points, some will stay in place and maybe start a new cantonment.

 

For this, I will be using inspirations from both the a great little book for solo wargamers: The Solo Wargaming Guide from William Silvester. The book has suggestions on playing solo wargames both at the strategic and tactical level. What is interesting in the solo wargaming rules are strategic rules for enlistment/recruitment, supply, sieges, commander competency and morale and mutinies for the big picture. What number of forces can the cities and towns support? Where are all the warm bodies coming from to fill up the ranks? The book was written in a general form and the topics are just as relevant in a T2K world, maybe even more so.

 

 If there is combat, I will be using the Ground Combat System for Harpoon4, found in the module South Atlantic War. This emphasizes the combat power of the units and their weapons system and is based on Quantified Judgment Model (QJM) from Colonel Trevor Dupuy. Put simply, the units have weapon systems and each is given a value (for example, M16/M203 0.0040). One can multiply the number of systems by the value and then determine the combat power of the unit. Factors such as tactics, terrain, etc. will modify the combat power but it really comes down to a ratio of forces, for example 3:1. You can then roll on a table and determine the losses to both side. It is a good way to handle combat in the background that does not affect the characters directly.

 

It is going to be interesting but it may mean the team has to wait in the wings for a bit.