• Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 379

Topic: I just got a NICE present

Vietnam era minis!  Eric here in town can't use them anymore, and had been asking me to try and draw up a Vietnam era army list or two before I even knew he was chucking 'em.  This is what I drew up overnight.  Lemme know if it looks sucky, ok, whatever.  Tweaked a few of the rules to fit the setting. Now I'm going to go home after work and toss my pre-painted US Army grunts and NVA regulars around big_smile  Just got to buy some VC.

Matt

Notes: Allowed CO stats even though the tech level is too low because I thought a Vietnam based game needs stealth rules.  Also allowed field save stats (reword them as “field craft” if you want) to allow troops saves against successful weapons hits.  Assault rifles are tandem combo weapons that allow single or auto fire.  Ranges decrease for automatic fire.  On average, I took the maximum effective range of a weapon, divided it by 4, then converted the resulting number into tabletop inches using the DVG scale of 1” = 2m.  The maximum effective range was typically given a 9+ target to hit value (or as close as I could find in the tables). I was surprised to see that my attempts tended to match what's already posted for a few real life weapons in the DVG rulebook.

The M-14 was apparently a lousy automatic weapon, so its effective has been tweaked somewhat.  Sniper rifles have the “K” modifier to simulate a sniper's ability to suppress troops even with a near miss.  NVA and VC officers are meant to reflect junior officers, political officers or grizzled “old hands,” respectively. Shame is there for a “comrade” to be shamed back on his feet.  If he fails, assume the political officer popped him one with his pistol.  Know No Fear is just there in an attempt to show political indoctrination. Local VC have a somewhat slower movement than the norm to reduce their offensive capabilities AND show how they really aren't all that well trained in small unit tactics, although they are perfectly capable of conducting ambushes.

Let me know what you like, don't like.

Vehicles to come (including two pieces of Vietnamese armor, some US tanks and the old M113 APC).

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 379

Re: I just got a NICE present

Even if anyone doesn't want them smile

US guys.  It'll be fun to try em out anyway.

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 379

Re: I just got a NICE present

Even if anyone doesn't want them smile

US guys.  It'll be fun to try em out anyway.

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 379

Re: I just got a NICE present

View these as playtest only (being unofficial/informal on top of THAT).  I wanna play with the augmentations and weapon load outs for the US troops.

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 480

Re: I just got a NICE present

Sounds like fun!

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 379

Re: I just got a NICE present

Well I played a small game using the Vietnam weapons and troop stats.  I noticed the version I have up so far as a couple of typos.  I'll address those when the thing gets finalized.  Additions are going to include the M48 tank, M113 APC, and some Soviet kit.  I also wanted to include CDWs to simulate Claymores (I'm thinking a one-time use shrapnel device) and suicidal anti-tank weapons for the opposition.

I should explain, too, that I have selective fire assault rifles as tandem combo weapons rather than using the split feed rate rule because I like that printed/established rule, but didn't see it reflecting the fact that accuracy goes down with automatic fire.  Stoppage still applies, as you have to roll when applying suppression, but really, a M-16 firing at full auto is not going to be as accurate at long range as a M-16 firing single shots.  It's basically following the same train of thought tha forces all the general purpose machine guns (like the RPD and M-60) to brace before firing.  No "from the hip" here.

Anyway, I got to test what I have so far and had fun this weekend big_smile  Basically a really small battle featuring a LRRP team against two squads of NVA regulars. 

And troop quality counts for a LOT.  Allowing Elite level troops to act independently makes them lethal.  And the rules got high marks from the group watching us play for rules including suppression fire, the stoppage roll, and the various army morale rules.  Allowing troops in this setting to use field saves/saving throws added a bit to their life expectancy, but didn't slow things down dramatically.  And once we have the rules down PAT, we'll start looking at more of the advanced options, like the "super realistic" options included near the back.  One thing we walked away considering:

Should RPGs and LAWS have AOE templates (1")?  I don't think so.  The fact that they're AV, and so automatically infantry protection, makes them viable against grunts and vehicles, but while these things can be used to bust spider holes and dug in infantry, they're not artillery.

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 261

Re: I just got a NICE present

Hi Matt,

Yeah, RPGs might have a "real world" blast radius but I think it's fair to keep it non-AOE AV, in order that it's in line with its intended use...you could always give it an after-burst augmentation...

Qucik Q: what scale are your minis?  If they're 20mm, it might be worth using the 15mm scale stats, since this makes battles somewhat more realistic in terms of movement/flanking capability and weapon ranges.

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 379

Re: I just got a NICE present

Yer right about that.

Wont get a chance to play again this weekend, but I want to add stats for the PT-76, T-54 and M113.  Already drawn up the M-48 Patton.