DK's Arms Research System…

A&A 1940 Global

Hey Young Grasshopper,

Can you say a few words about why you’re writing these house rules, who they’re for, or what you hope to accomplish with them? Hard to offer comments in a vacuum.

Because there are no neutral victory cities in Anniversary, I’m not sure your VP system changes anything beyond just counting up each victory city as one point. Any time I take a city, that means you lost a city, and vice versa. Normally, when I take a city, I gain +1 VP and you lose -1 VP, so the total VP swing per city is 2 points. Under your system, when I take a city, I gain +2 VP and you lose -1 VP, so the total VP swing per city is 3 points.

That’s it – you’re changing the swing from 2 points to 3 points, but it’s not like you can conquer half a victory city, so it really doesn’t matter if the swing per victory city is 2 points or 3 points or 50 points. I’m pretty sure it all works out the same in the end. No? I imagine you’re trying to reward players for being aggressive/proactive, but I don’t think your rule actually accomplishes that.

Also, to echo Baron Munchhausen’s concern, I don’t like the idea of allowing intercepts against bombers that only deal 1d6 damage, because then it virtually never makes sense to launch a bombing raid. It really doesn’t pay to launch more than 2 bombers against the same factory (you wind up wasting some of their power because the damage gets maxed out, but you still risk losing them to flak). So if I can defend my home factory with 2 or more fighters (really not that hard) then there is no point in bombing anything – between the 2 pips on the fighter and the 1 pip on the AAA gun, you have almost a 50% chance of losing your bomber on each run. 50% chance of dealing 3.5 damage vs. 50% chance of losing a 12 IPC bomber is a terrible trade-off. Sure, you could escort your bomber with fighters – but nobody in Anniversary has that kind of air power to spare. If you can spare 4 planes for a mediocre bombing raid, you should be using them to take territories. Just my two cents. If you’re going to import the interceptor rules, I’d like to see some kind of buff to the bombers.

@CWO:

@Erocco:

@Argothair:

Some early thoughts on your mix of units:

Many of your units are quite similar to each other mechanically, especially on land. E.g., a tank destroyer is C5 A4 D4 M2, whereas a light tank is C5 A5 D4 M2 – do you really need two different units whose statistics are within one point of each other? Another example is Mech. Inf. (C4 A2 D4 M2) vs. Armored Cars (C4 A3 D3 M2). With d12 dice, these small differences will only matter once every 12 rolls. Consider whether your players will want to buy extra minis, carefully squint at the setup, etc., so that they can enjoy the result of these small differences.

I though of this long and hard. I love to have a choice of many different types of units for every situation. I own most of the HBG sculpts so I figured why not.

Just a comment on a possible middle ground between two valid points: your valid point that having special extra units is fun and interesting, and Argothair’s point that having too many special units – some of them having only minor differences between them – complicates things excessively.  A possible way to split the difference is to have a rule saying that, out of the full range of available special extra units, each power is only allowed to buy X types per game (say, for example, 2 types).  This helps to keep things manageable, because each player only needs to remember the specifications for a very limited number of extra types, not for dozens of them.  It doesn’t restrict game-to-game variety because, from game to game, the various players won’t necessarily buy the same special units.

An additional concept to consider would be to have certain types of special units only be available to certain powers, rather than to everyone.  This could result in interesting situations in which the opposing forces can never be precisely matched in composition…and it would also have a historical basis, because in WWII not all powers fielded every type of weapon.

I should start posting some of the work completed to date because that’s exactly what I’ve done. Every Nation has 2 specific units with the exception of Italy which they have one (ideas for a second unit are welcome) and depending on the unit you can only build 1 or 2 per turn. So anything you suggesting CWO Marc has been implemented.

Hi all!
I made this new research table breakthrough for A&A Global, cause i think the original ones was too weak. Stuff like War Bonds or Improved Shipyards are strange concepts imho (spend money to recieve money back overtime ? :? ). Those rules can be used of course on every A&A game, not only Global 1940.

I just want to share this new research with you all, and listening at your feedbacks, you veterans!  :-D
Please let me know what do you think!
Enjoy!  :lol:

(N.B.: 1,2,3 Ground and 1,5,6 Air/Naval are the same of standard rules)

NEW RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT RULES BY ZAIBACH

Research and Development sequence
1. Boost research
2. Roll research dice
3. Roll breakthrough dice
4. Invest in research

1. If you don’t have any research token in your reserve, go directly on step 4. If you have at least one research token, you can choose to boost research for that turn. If you do so, spend 5 IPCs: only for that turn the research is boosted.
2. Roll a die for each research token in your reserve, +1 die if you boost the research for that turn. If you score at least one “1”, you made a breakthrough: remove all research tokens from your reserve and go to step 3. If not, skip step 3 and go to step 4.
3. Choose one table and roll a dice to determine the research you’ve gotten.
4. You can choose either to invest or do not invest in research. If you do not invest, you lost all the research tokens in your reserve. If you do invest, you spend 5 IPCs and add one research token in your reserve.

Example:

On first turn Japan starts with 0 research token and so go directly on step 4. He decides to invest in research, spending 5 IPCs and taking one research token. On second turn Japan decides to boost his research, spending 5 IPCs. He then roll two dice, one for the token and one for the boost. He scores 2 and 5, no breakthrough. He then decides to continue investing in research, spending 5 IPCs, acquiring a second research token. On third turn Japan decides to not boost his research, and then roll two dice for the two tokens he has. He scores 6 and 1, breakthrough! He remove all the tokens and got a research. Then he decide to continue investing in research, spending 5 IPCs. He now has one research token in reserve.

GROUND TABLE

1. Advanced Artillery. Each of your artillery units can now provide greater support. One artillery unit can support up to 2 infantry and/or mechanized infantry units per attack. Up to 2 infantry and/or mechanized infantry units when coupled with 1 artillery unit have attack values of 2.
2. Rockets. Your air bases can now launch rockets. During the Strategic and Tactical Bombing Raids step of your Conduct Combat phase each turn, each of your operative air bases can make a single rocket attack against an enemy industrial complex, air base, or naval base within 4 spaces of it. This attack does one die roll of damage to that facility. Rockets may not be fired over neutral territories.
3. Paratroopers. Up to 2 of your infantry units in each territory with an air base can be moved to an enemy controlled territory 3 or fewer spaces away that is being attacked by your land units from adjacent territories and/or by amphibious assault. When moving, paratroopers must obey the same restrictions that air units do. If the territory being attacked has AAA (antiaircraft artillery) units, the paratrooper infantry units are subject to antiaircraft fire in the same way as air units. If attacking along with land units from adjacent territories, paratroopers may retreat as normal.
4. Improved Factory. Each of your industrial complexes can now produce additional units beyond their normal production ability. Major industrial complexes can mobilize up to 12 units, and minor ones can mobilize up to 4 units. Also, your industrial complexes have now built-in Artillery. Major industrial complexes have 2 built-in Artilleries and minor ones have 1 built-in Artillery. You can use this Artilleries in battle only for defence. This special Artilleries are added on the battle board but can’t never be taken as a casuality. If in any round, after remove casualities, there are no other defence units except for built-in Artilleries, they are immediatly removed. In any case, at the end of the battle, remove them from the battleboard.
5. Accurated Bombardment. Your Artilleries can now be parried with Fighters. This improve the Artillery both Attack and Defence by 1 (from 2 to 3). A single Fighter can both be parried with an Artillery and a Tactical Bomber in the same moment.
6. Fast Tanks. Only on the first cycle of combat, your tanks can support infantry/mechanized infantry (just like artilleries).

NAVAL/AIR TABLE

1. Super Submarines. The attack value of your submarines is now 3 instead of 2.
2. Antiaircraft Cruisers. Your Cruisers have now a built-in AAA (antiaircraft artillery).
3. Torpedo Bombers. Your Tactical Bombers are now equipped with a single Torpedo. Only during the first round of a Naval Combat, both Defending and Attacking Torpedo Bombers roll an extra dice called “Torpedo”. Those dices have attack and defence value of 2 (3 if coupled with a fighter). Enemy aircrafts cannot be hitted by “Torpedo” dices. When you have to allocate hits, first of all allocate “Torpedo” dices, and then proceeds with the others.
4. Dreadnought Battleships. Your Battleships now have long range cannons. Before a naval battle begins (even before AAA phase), there is a single special round fight. In this special round only Battleships attack and defence with a value of 2, and submarines and aircrafts cannot be taken as casualities. For each Fighter on your side you can increase one Battleship attack and defence to 3. Casualities are immediatly removed and cannot take place in the normal battle.
5. Long-Range Aircraft. All of your air unit’s ranges are increased by one space.
6. Heavy Bombers. Your strategic bombers are now heavy bombers. When attacking, whether in a battle or a strategic bombing raid, roll two dice for each bomber and select the best result.

Torpedo Bombers, Example:
A Japanese Aircraft Carrier and an American one are standing in the pacific ocean. They have both one Fighter and one Torpedo Bomber.

During the Japanese turn, the Japanese attack with his Fighter and his Torpedo Bomber on the sea zone with the American Aircraft Carrier. The Japanese has 1 dice of 3 for the Fighter, 1 dice of 4 for the Tactical Bomber, and 1 more dice “Torpedo” of 3.
He rolls and obtains 6, 4, 2 respectively, inflicting 1 normal hit and 1 “Torpedo” hit.

The American has 1 dice of 2 for the Aircraft Carrier, 1 dice of 3 for the Torpedo Bomber, and 1 dice of 4 for the Fighter. His “Torpedo” dice is lost, because there aren’t ships on Japanese army.
He rolls and obtains 5, 5, 3 respectively, inflicting 1 normal hit.

The Japanese assign the hit to his Fighter, which is destroyed.
The American first of all have to assign the “Torpedo” hit, he has to assign it to the Aircraft Carrier, because it has to be assigned on ships, which is now damaged. Then he assign the normal hit at his Torpedo Bomber, which is destroyed.

At this point the Japanese decide to pull back with his Torpedo Bomber, returning on his Aircraft Carrier.
The American Fighter cannot land in the Aircraft Carrier, because it’s damaged, and cannot also land in any place, so it’s destroyed.

With this attack the Japanese, losing only 1 Fighter, has inflicted a devastating blow to the American fleet, destroying two Aircrafts and damaging an Aircraft Carrier!

OK I am going to give that one its own thread in house rules so it doesn’t get lost and forgotten.  Simple fix to a few issues.  Sorry I didn’t mean to hijack this thread, but it seemed to have already switched topic from the Murmansk NO

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=35771.0
I also added the phrase “on the Europe map” so Russia can’t get the NO for its cities by declaring war on Japan.

OK please go back to Murmansk

These VCs could actually be very good for fixing some one problem of the game. “Capture the capitals” is always a terrible victory condition, and because of the slow warfare in this game, the CPs basically have to get an economic advantage to stand a chance (which is virtually impossible). I don’t agree with the non-capitals having production capacity, but I could be convinced if it led to better balance. However, I would change it to 12 VCs after round 4, with one of them having to be an enemy capital, and shared or revolted Russian VCs counting as half a point for both sides. (Perhaps only for the CPs if Russia intentionally revolting itself becomes a problem) Contested VCs are still nothing for either side.

sounds very promising!

Germany should have a reasonable chance to stop them or just have Germany cough up 16 ipc as soon as the Allies take NW Europe.  The way you have it set up Germany runs the risk of losing the fighter (10 ipc) just trying to stop it.  It adds up to alot of cash.  Maybe reduce the ipc amount lost 5-8 ipc.  I know that doesn’t seem like much but the amount of money Clint Eastwood & Telly Salvalus (sp  :-() were after was alot for a relatively small bunch of guys but would be maybe 10 ipc at most.  The money represents millions of working man hours not gold reserves.

I’m not trashing your idea, nothing wrong with it.  You could expand this thought to a Commando rule or Commando unit, drop them by bomber or transport to sabotage an enemy factory kinda like a SBR.  Enemy infantry could be the security for the factory and would have a chance to stop the Commando raid, if security fails its roll then Commandos do their sabotage & then retreat.  The Brits did alot of commando raids after Dunkirk just so they could hit back at the Nazis.