Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Master_Vega Jul 03, 2010 23:46:29	So my friends and I recently started playing a heavily houseruled (much more gritty) post-apocalyptic campaign. The scenario is that our characters are a first wave rip-van team whose long-term goal is to Restore Order and Peace (TM) to the wastelands wrought by the overuse of tectonic weaponry. The short term goal is to gather as much information as we can about the surrounding area before the others (thousands of cryo'd soldiers) wake up. I'm playing a leader/fighter-type lieutenant (Cha2/Str1/FO2 [going straight to 10]) with one pier, and one superior awake at the moment. What I thought I was going to be doing was leading strike teams on vital missions. It appears I wasn't entirely correct. The next part is technically not necessary to read, but it should give you some idea of what's going on. As a result of a tectonic shift, the cryo facilities were separated from the "Hanger" (it houses mechs and other ground vehicles, too), which itself was cevered down the middle by a 6"-ish shift (yay sheered wiring). To make things worse, one of the early teams was spotted during the hike to the hanger, bringing our base full of ancient and powerful armaments to the attention of not so nice locals... locals who happened to have some suspiciously powerful mecha. We managed to bulldose their initial attack, but at a pretty high cost. In addition to the deaths of a couple techies and a mecha pilot, our commander took one bullet too many and went under (we don't know for how long). In the mean time, the other lieutenant seems to have his hands full just managing his subordinates (aviators, mecha pilots, and a bunch of engineers) to get the place in as good of shape as possible... and it appears out of the two of us I'm the more battle-oriented guy. Okay this is next part is necessary to read in order to answer my question. So here I am, sitting on a stockpile of mecha, grounded aircraft (rocks covering the aircraft exit), presumably tanks and MLRS's, and a whole lot of man-packable weaponry, expecting a heavier attack sometime soon. I'm not sure of the Hanger's capacity to manufacture the aforementioned tools of war, but I'm assuming that we will be able to at least slowly restock our supplies from within our base. I'd like to play this conservatively, but not undershoot. I have ~40 guys in the base, ~20 under my direct command. Since a good number of the guys not under my command will be unable to operate at full capacity until the aircraft doors are dug up and fixed, the aforementioned doors are probably a priority. That's going to take awhile, though, and if it's pursued at the same time as other means of defense (getting MLRS's into nice hiding places... oh, and above ground so they can, you know, fire) both endeavors might fail. Oh, I also have a combat-capable UAV in the air. It carries a quortet of hellfire missiels (three left, for reasons you can probably figure out), and it makes for a very nice scout. I'm thinking it'll be safest to get some of my eggheads to hide several mortars in the mountain the Hanger resides beneath, pre-targeted near the main entrance (which is the only one the enemies seem to know about) and rigged to go off on command - probably by wire since I dunno if I feel comfortable setting a bunch of mortars to go off on a radio signal. If the enemy attacks up close again, they're in for a mortar shower. If they attack from afar, I'll move men to operate the mortars and shell them back repeatedly. Do any of you have critiques for this battle plan, or any plans you'd like to offer? My character is much more skilled in Knowledge (tactics) than I am. What I have applies to strategy videogames more than real life. >_>
#2 razor529 Sep 05, 2010 10:33:33	Well, you certainly asked in the right place. I'm certainly qualified. From what you said, I like your plan, but there are a few things you could improve upon: 1. Command: Whether the men are under your direct command or not is irrelevant. You are an officer. They will obey your orders unquestionably. Just talk to the other LT., and let him know what your plan is before you do it. Chances are, due to a lack of a better one, he's going to agree with your plan. The other LT. will probably go along with whatever you say you need his troops to do. If he doesn't, then talk to your superior about the plan. Unless he has a better one, your plan will go into effect, whether the other officer likes it or not. Don't play nice when lives are at stake. Having someone not like you is better than having someone dead. I learned that lesson a long time ago. 2. Don't shell around the entrance of the hangar with mortars. This will give you hell later when you need to use those planes, because holes in the runway/hangar entrance mean crashing planes. Also, metal rain by remote (or wire...) is risky business. If the enemy attempts to sneak around, gets to the top of the mountain, or is trying to find another entrance, and they happen to find those mortars (very likely) a quick switch of targeting settings will put the odds against you. Also, the could just steal them, and then you'd be out a few toy cannons. Instead put snipers in the mountains, and a few guys with shoulder-mounted Missile/rocket launchers. This way, the snipers will SEE the enemy coming before they even get there, and be able to warn you about where they are going, what they are doing, how many of them there are, their weapons, etc*. The launchers can take care of some of the vehicles. This should only be 4-5 people. You should keep two of those guys (At all times) watching the left and right, to keep the enemy from flanking your position. You'll have the mountain behind you to keep them from firing at your back. The UAV can be used here for some great reactions from the enemy such as "Why the hell did 3 of my Mecha just blow up?" 3. Choke points. You don't have a lot of soldiers under your command, so the enemy has a good chance of outnumbering you. Get your men into a position where they can "Bottleneck" the enemy, so that their numbers work against them. Force them through areas that (literally) are not wide enough for guys to move through many at a time. A single machine gun at a choke point saves the day. For you, the biggest choke point will be the hangar entrance. The entrance to a hangar is clear and has no cover, to keep planes and other aircraft safe as they take off. The enemy will have to run across an open area to get to you, limited by the actual width of the hangar doors. Guns watching those doors will be fatal to them. Ideally, this should be 15-20 people/mechs. Also, a few mines, claymores, and booby traps will help.  4. Reserves and security: Always keep a small portion of your men "In your pocket." This means keeping them in a location that is safe, but allows them quick access to all/most areas of the battlefield, so that they can reinforce the locations that need it most. This keeps you from having to pull back units already engaging an enemy to fight in a different area. It's quicker, safer, and better with pocket men. These guys are called reserves or Reinforcements. Also, keep a few units in locations that are important to you, but will not necessarily be attacked. An example will be the other hangar entrances. The SEEM to only know about the main entrance. But things are not always as they seem in war. They could have staged the entire first attack just to make you think that's the only entrance. Wire the other entrances with explosives and traps, and keep a couple men (NOT JUST ONE!) posted at each one (and give them a way to detonate the traps). If you don't have enough men to protect all the other entrances, then barricade or destroy them. Use your engineers. 5. The MLRS systems: This is all Dependant on time. Do you have time to set them up outside? If yes, hide them in the mountains and valleys facing the direction the enemy has the best chance of attacking from. (And keep them safe with infantry/other light vehicles) If no, don't bother. The Snipers in the hills will be a big enough long-range deterrent) 6. Air: Do the enemy have air units? Keep your men in the hangar/under cover at all times if they do. No exceptions. 7. vehicles and mecha. Obviously, I've never used anything like a mecha in real life (other than a Bulletproof shield), but generally the more the better, right?  As far as vehicles, heavy armor is always first. Make a line of big guns and cannons in the hangar entrance. This gives your infantry/pilots/Engineers/etc* cover and puts an exclamation mark on the end of "That's a lot of firepower." Keep them in good repair, too. A damaged vehicle is a dead vehicle. This should be done definitely before the fight begins. 8. Last but not least, Nobody is useless: So you have aviators but no planes. Train them to use guns, give 'em kevlar and helmets, and keep them as reserves. They want to help, so let them! If you're worried about time, keep it to simple items. Hand grenades require no intelligence or training, other than "Don't hold it past four seconds" and "Pull the pin before you throw" and they should already be trained to use Handguns. Shotguns are powerful defensive weapons, which are very easy to use.  Many of them will be able to use some weapons already from prior experience. I realize that's lots of info, but it's all important. ---With regards to your safety, The MCPO