RFCM

Quote from: martin goddard on January 26, 2019, 02:52:42 PM
Yes same side PBI is still being worked  upon slowly. I will get it out to folk who are interested in March.

VERY interested!

The Bane

No problem.

I used a Wacom tablet for a few years before getting the XP-PEN. It worked really well and is cheaper than a screen tablet. I will say the eye-to-hand coordination, at least for me, took a couple weeks to get used to but your brain will work it out.

I know you asked about a screen tablet, but I guess it depends on what you want to use it for in the long run and how much you want to pay for it.

Either way. Dive in.
The Bane

I use one. Have had it about 9 months and absolutely love it and recommend it!

It is an XP-PEN 15.6

I use Medibang for software (it's free, has a low learning curve and has features found in high end software).

As for nibs, the pen is battery free (huge plus in my book) and I am still on my first nib with very little wear. Should mention it comes with two pens as well and spare nibs in the pen stand.

When not using it for drawing/art/etc. it makes a great third monitor as well.

The ONLY thing that I would mark off for this particular tablet is that it only has 6 shortcut keys on the tablet and two on the pen and it doesn't come with a stand. I used it for the first 6 months leaned up on some books, but then found a good cheap ( < $24 ) stand on Amazon. But for the price (they are still pricey) it's still quite a bit cheaper than other brands/models. Four & a Half Stars from this user.

If you have any questions, let me know!
The Bane

Quote from: Peterloo on January 07, 2019, 01:44:41 PM
<Snipped>
I suppose if the CC was in a vehicle, he would have to use his follow me to get the vehicle he is in to move then it could be argued he gets 2d6 and if other vehicles are in his square they would move with him.

If he is on foot , he ignores terrain , but if in a vehicle the vehicle would have to include for terrain so 2d6 would seem correct.
I certainly wouldn't quibble with that. - PBI are not WRGAncient competition rules - there's a fair amount of player agreement in a game.  put it to your opponent and see what they agree with.

Thanks. The CC is in fact mounted sitting in a square with mounted stands (everyone is being 'Transported' on motorcycles). I did not see where the dice are limited to movement only however. I was thinking with 2d6 he might get them to dismount and provide some suppression fire then use his last action to move away.

Playing solo, so my opponent doesn't know the rules any better than myself. I will discuss it with him and see what he thinks. 

Best,
The Bane

Leslie BT, thanks for the response!

I understand the three options available to the CC, the one I was referring to was actually "Lead" on page 65, where it says, "A CC may use one of his actions to roll a D6 for AP for a square that he is already in, without needing to motivate the square..."

Basically I am trying to learn PBI and working through the steps in a turn. I am on the CC step. He has failed to "Help" a nearby PC, and now wants to "Lead" two LMG squads that are co-located in his square to act. They are all (CC and two stands of LMGs) mounted on transports (unarmed motorcycles).

The question results from the above situation. Does the CC roll 1d6 for the square he is in per the "Lead" rules on page 65, or does he roll 2d6 under the vehicle / transportation rules to determine action points?

I just don't know,
The Bane

Does a mounted CC Lead with 1d6 AP or 2d6 AP? The Lead option says 1d6 while mounted troops get 2d6 AP when motivated...

Every time I sit down to do a Turn I seem to get lost in the sauce (LLMF), so any answer is appreciated.
The Bane

Nice looking table. Thanks for sharing. Like to see awesome tabletops, allows me to live vicariously through others. 

Quote from: Sean Clark on January 03, 2019, 08:41:48 PM
Having said that I can't see what can opportunity fire at him if he makes that westward move? Opportunity fire is only from proximity squares that are face touching....i.e. no diagonal opportunity fire.

Doah!! I hadn't realized that! I thought face touching fire fell under "Here they come!" fire, and only when charging. I thought Opportunity Fire was at anything 'moving' in visible squares with LOS...

Thanks!
The Bane

So, trying to figure out the rules and ended up with a question...

As I work my way through the steps of the Turn, I am on the CC's activation. The German CC is just to the right of the road with 2 LMG stands. He has failed to "Help" the PC, and now wants to "Lead" himself and the LMGs to the hill just down the road on the opposite side. He has 7 APs to do so, more than enough in my understanding of movement, and since they are all mounted with no mounted weapons won't be able to fire when they arrive (lacking enough APs to dismount and fire).

That's not my issue. The issue is how do I move him? He gets one diagonal... If he doesn't use it immediately to move onto the road (South-West), and instead just goes left (West) one square to do so (where there are three yet unactivated squads) would he invoke an Opportunity attack and be considered Clustered?

Basically, if I move him diagonal first I can't get him to where I eventually want him to end up, but if I move him left first I can, but think/believe he would be eligible for a potentially very large Clustered Opportunity fire attack if he does...

LOL, definitely not the simple game I had thought it was when seeing the tutorial videos, and I probably would have driven half of you mad already if this was a live game based on reading "Your top 5 pet peeves" thread (Solo AND Slow) ROFLMAO.

The Bane

Note: I just discovered, as I am working down the turn sequence, that Opportunity Fire does not start until step 4 of the turn sequence, so figure that the AT Gun shouldn't have checked for that since the active unit was activating in the Asset turn. Correct?

Best,
The Bane

Edit: So my units still mounted on motorcycles get 2d6 AP vs having to be motivated by PC or CC right? That's what I paid the extra points for I think.

What do they say about the best made plans do not survive first contact with the enemy, and all that!?

Well, the proverbial SHTF...

So I decided I was going to try and Sneak the Western squad down the Western flank. I was imagining them going for the rocky terrain to get eyes on the center NAI and eventually the ones I planned to send down the middle would position themselves on the North-West hill IF they saw no resistance...

I decided to use half (5) of the d6 I had for the German Sneak Asset. I rolled; 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 - Success!
I dismounted them to Sneak, for free per the Asset description and moved them down into the depression. Rolled a 3 - Success!
Continuing down the depression, my next roll was a 6 - Success! "Come on baby! No Whammies!"
I cut across using my one diagonal and rolled a 2 - Success! But I had planned to stop there, and in retrospect I probably should have!

Well, I went and tried to see if the AT Gun would take opertunity fire and rolled a 1 - Fail! But I envisioned it as the gun crew running up to the gun and the scout section seeing it! I figured they would see that as a major hindrance to any follow on mechanized blitzkrieg so would want to take it out!

They Assault, as the Asset says they can for free not needing to roll AP and up the rough hill they go...

The rules say a Deployed gun acts like an Infantry Squad in an Assault, so I gave them 2d6 (3d6 - 1d6 for being an AT Gun) and they rolled a 2 and a 6! One Hit! The Germans save on a 3+ vs "Here they come!" fire, but they rolled a 2!!!

One squad of the three is taken out scurrying up the hill... 

I rolled for the Assault square for the Sneak, but really didn't need to I guess. Rolled a 1, and the Sneaking was Kaput! anyway.




Into the Assault we go...

With only 2 squads remaining I totaled their Assault dice; 3d6 base + 1d6 for being Veterans, meant the Germans rolled 8d6!! Nice.
The Germans rolled; 2, 2, 2, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6! Two 6s so more than enough to take out the AT Gun who gets no Save when deployed...

The Polish gun crew, fighting like an Infantry Squad (3d6 base - 1d6 for being a Gun Crew) rolled 2d6, and score a; 2 and a 6! "What the..!?" Killing another German squad on the hill...




So here the sole surviving German LMG Squad sits - exhausted, hill top in hand, but even worse off that the Polish Gun Crew was when this all kicked off!




Now to work my way across the battle field. Not going to change my plan, or try not to at least, but so far it's getting pretty ugly in Northern Poland for the German Reconnaissance!

Thought? Did I mess anything up? Really looking for anything that I may have done wrong before I continue on. Thanks in advance!

The Bane

Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on December 30, 2018, 06:13:09 PM
<snipped>
Hey - who remembers sand tables?

Oh boy I sure do. They were quite prevalent back when I was in the military (showing my age). Saw some mighty elaborate ones. Then bigger seemed to become better and I saw what I considered sand tables become a thing of the past and balloon into things as large as fields... well, no matter. Reflections of a prematurely old man. LOL

Best,
TB

Alex918 & All

Based on the conversation, and the appeal it has for me, I am thinking of the following scenario rules to determine victory conditions... (again, thinking as I type so the following may actually turn out to be trash  )

Germans must move in and identify as many Polish Forces (Stands) as possible within the NAIs defined. I will be considering that most of the Polish forces will be in cover or hidden until such time that they are engaged, attack, or are spotted.

Basically I am thinking that:

• Each identified NAI hex, and all eight adjoining hexes must have had 'Eyes On' before the Germans can withdraw.
• To get 'Eyes On' the Germans must have a clear LOS to the square.
• When LOS is established, the Germans may expend 2AP to 'Scan | Reconnoiter' a square. Each squad from the reconnoiter square with LOS will get 1d6 to reconnoiter an individual square (their own square, so a squad of 3 stands could reconnoiter 3 separate squares, or if one squad fails, a second squad could 'take another look'
• The following modifiers will be applied to the Reconnoiter Test.
      -1 to Reconnoiter a Partial hex
      -2 to Reconnoiter a Difficult hex
      +1 if hex performing Reconnoiter Test has been engaged by small arms (Infantry Stands) from target test hex (easier to identify if being shot at)
      +2 if hex performing Reconnoiter Test has been engaged by anything larger than small arms (LMG, AT Gun, etc).
• Successful Reconnoiter is achieved if 1d6 result is higher than number of troop stands in the target hex.
• German success is contingent with the CC making it off the Northern edge of the battle space with the Intelligence. (Friction point; how much 'in the fight' will the Germans want the CC to be? Do they want him to get back, or want the additional Motivations / Actions?)
• Arrival of Polish Reserves may cause Intelligence to be inaccurate! When CC departs, count must be within X% of current strength for German success.

So that's my SWAG at some house rules to play the scenario. What am I forgetting, or what should I change / modify?

Thanks again all,
The Bane

Quote from: Alex918 on December 29, 2018, 07:29:24 PM
The Bane,

QuoteI'll be honest I don't know too much about early war tactics. Not sure my modern Movement to Contact drills would be appropriate in this situation. I mean, maybe I am over analyzing it, but I'd like to have a game that is enjoyable and believable for the time period.

TBH, all dependent on what intelligence picture the German CC has of suspected resistance. Putting aside the table top game and considering a bit of Fog of War, motorised troops (racing to reach further objectives beyond this village) would probably go for it down the road (Advance to contact) with some sort of flanking/overwatch force inserting into the elevated positions to the right of the village to:
a. Cut and secure the northern Road R to L
b. Look into the town for possible resistance
c. Look for depth positions beyond the town

Obviously with our game heads back on and the Polish positions are known, the path of least resistance would be down the left, take out the gun and secure the high ground, then fight through from L to R. Keeping the victory conditions/objectives in mind.  Smoke always saves your troops from annihilation, dependent if you have it and of course actually get it!

regards

Al

Alex918

Thank you for this well thought out response! It is appreciated.

Here is my train of thought, based on that guidance, as I have it... (typing as I think)

So based on your A-C fog of war approach, I went back to a previous slide that just had terrain and objectives on it to think it through. If I, as the German commander, was given those objectives then securing the hill to the right (German's left) would be key real estate. For all the reasons you suggest; cutting off a possible reenforcement route, eyes on the village that all the objectives revolve around, and an advantage point on which to see the hills to the South (Where if I was the Polish, would set up an observation post).

If I was to do that, which is logical, wouldn't I want to attempt the same thing for the hill to the West (I am defaulting to up is North for this)? But having a single platoon to do it, might be over stretching my frontage... An alternative might be to shoot for the hill North-West of the village instead , but I risk not being able to fend off any reinforcements from the West... who would have a straight shot into the fortifications (buildings) of the village.

But, then again, the same could be said of the road coming in from the South. I hadn't considered the effect, honestly, of what the offset East to West road would have on an attack...

A stronger attack, would be like you suggest when taking the fog of war out of the mix, fixing the frontage and flanking to the West to secure the gun site and assault through West to East...

Wait! I know better, or you would think I would after being an Army Scout for nearly ten years! If I apply my modern doctrine training to this, considering I am a commander of a Reconnaissance Company! and not even a full company at that! (I'd figure a full company would be at least three platoons, but I may be off on German TO&Es for WW2). Anyway those are Infantry Objectives, and though PBI is Infantry based, maybe I should be thinking like a Recon Commander?

Did WW2 Reconnaissance units even take and hold ground, or where they considered interchangeable with Infantry? Just being a rapid motorized assault force in WW2? Should I be considering them (the Objectives) as NAIs (Named Areas of Interest) instead? I would think, again based on what type of mission I would have been given in such circumstances nowadays, would be to 'Get Eyes On' and 'Report'.... for the follow on Infantry / Armor.

I am thinking it makes more sense for the 'higher ups' to know if they can plan to; just push through, bypass and cordon, or make a deliberate assault...

If I think of them as NAIs, how do I 'game' identifying the enemy? I mean, I never gave the Germans much hope of 'taking' those objectives anyway. They are out numbered and the Polish are in defensible positions...

What if I instead tweak the scenario a bit?

What if I then said that the German Reconnaissance had to get 'Eyes on' all three NAIs, 'identify' (however I mechanically do that within the game rules) 70% of the defending Polish forces, and then get back off the Northern (German edge) of the battle space while retaining say 50% of their forces?

Does that make more sense tactically? Would it make for a better game?

Wow, what a thinking man's game we have here in PBI.

Best,
The Bane

Quote from: Colonel Kilgore on December 29, 2018, 09:10:32 AM
The Bane,

This PowerPoint thing is really excellent! One thing that's important in PBI (and also the Spanish Civil War rules) is to be able to keep track of which casualties belong to which platoon, as these affect morale.

So, one tweak you may wish to make is to be able to distinguish one platoon from the other - perhaps with a differently-coloured outline to your base markers?

Colonel Kilgore,

Yes, PowerPoint does make it easy if you know the software and have access to it.

Funny thing is, in reference to distinguishing platoons, I had done just that but changed them back to black outlines just before posting here. At the zoom level I am playing at (200%) it looks fine, but if you zoom out to 85% to 100% (where I am taking screen shots at) the outline appears to change the color/tint of the base color of the 'miniature'. I couldn't quickly identify a solution without changing the line thickness each time I wanted to take a screen shot at 100% zoom.

But yeah, it is something I will have to figure out how to mitigate here pretty quick.

Anyone Reading

So got up today and started thinking about Courses of Actions (CoAs) for the Germans since they activate first, which got me immediately thinking about responses of the Polish. This is no checkerboard game, even though it's played on squares! My OCD has me swimming in options to consider! For example, if the Germans blitzkrieg a section down the road (as they wouldn't actually know who's there or where), how and when would the Polish react!? I'll be honest I don't know too much about early war tactics. Not sure my modern Movement to Contact drills would be appropriate in this situation. I mean, maybe I am over analyzing it, but I'd like to have a game that is enjoyable and believable for the time period.

I mean, do I as the German CC send a squad down the left flank using Sneak Move this turn or do I try and Smoke the village and blitzkrieg the road with a Road Dash? Or do I Sneak this turn and Smoke next? Or rather try too because Assets are guarantied!.... so many options, too many really?

Best,
The Bane