Optional rules proposal

[Camulogene]

Hi,

So here with a few optional rules proposals... Please don't blame me too much if you don't agree, or because of my poor English ! 

I hope that I don't push open doors, but I was surprised that the "Late French" (list n° 20) don't get the same optional "LMG" rule as the British one (list n° 16) ; from 1917 onwards, Chauchat LMGs were widely issued (about one every 20 men), thus considerably increasing the French fire power during assaults, with "walking fire" tactics.
So I make this little proposal of optional rule, for list n° 20: All infantry units have LMG bonus. This adds 1D6 per infantry unit when assaulting (dice separately or use different colored dices; hits on "6" only because of the notorious unreliability of the Chauchat LMG).
If using this, add 2 points (instead of 3 for Lewis guns) to the cost of all infantry units. This is optional if you what to save points.

The other surprise concerns list n° 46, which presents no availability of ACs. The Makhnovists did have an armored unit, composed of ex Russian tsarist armored cars, and led by the famous "Roger" whose nickname was "the Frenchman". My proposal is : allow 0/1 AC (light or heavy) to list n°46 "Ukrainian peasant army", and increase in return the Army status value to 25 instead of 24.

My third proposal concerns the light "trench" light artillery pieces, such as the French 37mm gun, etc., which were specifically intended to be carried in bad going. In SB, there is no difference for basic movement between "light" an "standard" artillery; so my proposal is : allow a 3/4/5/6 roll to exit difficult scenery for light "trench" guns, with in return points cost increased to 12 instead of 10.

Thanks in advance for your advice..

[Sean Clark]

This all sounds good.

It's always interesting to hear of how people look at rules and come up with interesting ways to play the game and recreate specific units or characteristics of an army.

I think the aim of all RFCM games is to be as streamlined as possible with as few extra bits added on as possible. But slight amendments in how you build an army with the associated points cost changes is good. It sees the game grow as new (or old!) information becomes available or is interepreted.

As you have said these can be optional rules, which usually means they can only be used with your opponents consent.

Well done!

and your English is great!

[martin goddard]

SB is quite generic in terms of equipment.

The following comments are based on tournaments etc.
In no way are they intended as a criticism of your ideas Pierre.
Better say that again, for those who read too fast
In no way are they intended as a criticism of your ideas Pierre.

Players can do whatever they like with the rules amongst consenting adults.
SB attempts to encourage plausible armies that each have good and bad points.

Luckily SB does not usually allow a player to benefit from "super combinations"  too much.
If players  wish to use French as Lewis gun armed fine, just pay the points.  I would be very very cautious about added complexity. Just find an equivalent. So if they are a bit like Lewis gun armed Brits then do that.

New rules can often cause unintended, "trickle down" effects. This might seem innocent initially but some player will find a great combination of pre-game outcomes linked with great weapons.



I like to win, but enjoy  using what I think are "normal/vanilla" armies.


The odd change of a plus 1 etc might become  a real game changer.

I intend SB to be  a high level game about units and formations, rather than weapon differences.

[Camulogene]

Thanks for your answers, Martin and Sean,

In fact I should have said precisely "optional chrome" instead of "optional rules", as the SB rules are perfectly conceived as a whole, and need no modifications.

As Sean emphasized it, those small ideas above are submitted to mutual agreement of consenting adult players, and only intended to add "chrome" to specific scenarios, and, of course, never as part of a tournament situation !..

I perfectly understood the aim of the SB "high level game" concept, which suits entirely with my way of thinking ; I have been a WW1 wargamer for nearly 30 years and own no less than twelve 15mm WW1 armies (mostly Peter Pig of course !..), but Square Bashing remains to my sense the best WW1 rules ever written.

Thanks again to the RFCM team, for keeping offering us many good times of friendliness 

[Smiley Miley 66]

I think the other thing people are forgetting is SB is not a Squad/Section/Platoon/Company game. That's why some of us have called for WW1 PBI, something similar to SCW rules. PBI WW1 in early and later war years as well as Desert, East Africa would be a great game, very mobile, very bloody and not much technological equipment. But of course you then would be spanning 3 games that PP already do in  similar vain. PITS,SB and SCW.
SB is more on a higher unit Level, correct me if I am wrong but each stand represents 100-200 men? Depending if the units are up to full strength or not.
Miles

[Camulogene]

I think the other thing people are forgetting is SB is not a Squad/Section/Platoon/Company game.

Not at all in my case !  I adhere to the "high level game" concept of SB, which I am looking for and playing since the first edition of Square Bashing in the 90'.

To take as an example the "Chauchat" idea, I followed the reasoning :
-   1 full strength Square Bashing unit = 4 x 200 men = 800 men
-   So, a full strength late French unit will be issued 800 : 20 = 40 LMGs

That's why the "Chauchat chrome" idea is only intended to make a slight difference between the firepower of a 800 men fully rifle-equipped unit, and that of a 800 men unit with 40 of them equipped with LMGs.

[martin goddard]

I agree with what you say Pierre!

[Smiley Miley 66]

But that's already allowed for in the rules ? 1base in 4 gets a LMG bonus If I remember rightly ?
But LMG at this time unless in a close ranged game won't be game changers ? Too few of them to count.
It wasn't until the Germans in 1939? with their bloody MG34 did LMG really make a difference?
Miles

[Camulogene]

But that's already allowed for in the rules ? 1base in 4 gets a LMG bonus If I remember rightly ?

Are you sure you don't mistake with an other ruleset ?...

But LMG at this time unless in a close ranged game won't be game changers

That's why the LMG "Chauchat" optional rule idea is only intended for assault situations, and not firing. 

Too few of them to count

??... 262 000 Chauchat LMGs were issued during the last years of WW1...

(18 000 of them were built by the Gladiator factory for the US Army expeditionary force in 1918, re-chambered to fire the 30-06 US ammunition, but those were of poor design and mostly responsible of the Chauchat bad reputation of unreliability)

[Smiley Miley 66]

Hence why I put a question mark after the statement !
I am still learning SB, personally a WW1 PBI game would be of more interest for me.
We have played it at Warfare one year using V2 PBI rules and thought it great.
I know you can get a bonus for it in the ranks, I couldn't remember where ? To get a bonus in assault would sound better rather than firing, as I said before too few to make a real difference.
I only really play the game one day a year, maybe next year as it's on my Bday Weekend I might have to give it a miss ?
Miles

[Leman (Andy)]

Once a YEAR?  Keep sweating the small stuff Miles.