I've been working not just on vehicles but concepts for the Cavalry portion of
the Cascadian Armed Forces. I started by determining what their mission(s)
will be, and also working out the terms and organization. I've borrowed from
history, gaming, mixed and matched, and here's the model:
Cascadian Cavalry (CasCav) comes in two flavors: Armored Cav (Also called
GravCav), and AirCav. The platoon-level unit is called a Lance, and
consists of 3-6 vehicles/airframes (Still working on the precise
number). The company level unit is called a Squadron. Except for support
assets,
Squadrons are usually all of the same kind of Lances. The next level is the
Troop. Troops can be made up of Squadrons of different types, depending on
their mission. The highest level of organization for CasCav is the Regiment
- a term used ONLY in the Cav, not in any other CAF force.
I've decided to mix the old, romanticized uses of Cavalry with more modern
uses to come up with CasCav's three main missions: Recon in Force for main
forces, Rapid deployment/response, and Planetary Colony Garrisons (Other
units will also be assigned this task, but Cav will provide the garrison
equivalent of light armor and LRP).
Given that the Cav must be versatile on their roles, I've decided their
vehicles should be equally versatile. The idea has been discussed
before -
one basic platform Grav Vehicle, with interchangable mission packs that change
it from an APC to a light tank to an MICV to a Fire Support Vehicle, etc. The
basic platform is:
Class 3 AntiGrav (FGP of course) Armor 3 Stealth 2 Superior ECM (Firecon's
linked to the specific Pack)
CasCav does include Infantry, but all PA. For roles where their mission
mirrors the Armor/MechInf roles, the basic packs are a tank and APC
pack.
For LRP/Garrison/Recon roles, the pack will be more of a MICV/Merkava
type
pack. Any suggestions/Comments?
> --- Brian Bilderback <bbilderback@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I've decided to mix the old, romanticized uses of
Hussars, Dragoons, Grenzers?
> CasCav does include Infantry, but all PA. For roles
OK, given that you want reasonably armament and a infantry complement which
must be PA:
It'll take 8 capacity points for 1 team. You want a size 1 weapon (MDC, likely
because Grav has FGP anyway) for direct fire. 3 cap points.
And either GMS/L and 2 APSWs or GMS/H. I personally
like the 2 APSWs and the GMS/L. You've got hellacious
capability vs. light armor and infantry. Since you're mostly fighting enemy
recon assets, and fighting delaying actions vs. his main force you don't need
the
smack-down ability of the GMS/H. If tanks show up,
you're going to be outclassed anyway, so why tempt fate by giving your cav
troopers the illusion of being tank hunters?
> John Atkinson wrote:
Hussars and Dragoons I'm familiar with, but Grenzers I'm not. That's an
option I hadn't considered, though.
> > CasCav does include Infantry, but all PA. For roles
All good points. The only downside is if I follow the 1 item/class
rule. That means My PA element is 1, the MDC 1 is another, I have enough left
for one more item. I'm tempted to use the GMSH, just because there's room (HR
states the MDC 1 counts as a second APSW, so that's covered). As for the
temptation to be tank hunters, that's a tough call - hopefully it can be
trained out.
2B^2
> --- Brian Bilderback <bbilderback@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >Hussars, Dragoons, Grenzers?
Grenzers: Austrian border troops, mostly Croatian in anscestry. Mix of light
infantry skirmishers and light horse. Literally "Borderer". Greek word is
"Akritai." Between Scotland and England there was also a "Borderer" culture
which provided "Border
Horse" which were some high-quality but pretty damn
undisciplined troops. Had a tendency to decide they had done enough for that
battle, and go loot the baggage train.
> All good points. The only downside is if I follow
Well, I generally don't count the PA as a "weapon". It's cargo. It's your
house rule, you run with it.
> John Atkinson wrote:
> Grenzers: Austrian border troops, mostly Croatian in
Very interesting. We'll see where I go with it.
> > All good points. The only downside is if I follow
The closest I come with House Rules is that I count all infantry/cargo
as one slot. Maybe I'll allow myself to, say, allow 1 APSW per class without
counting towards the weapon limit, provided I pay capacity for it.
2B^2
> John Atkinson wrote:
> > All good points. The only downside is if I follow
No, you're the one who use a house rule when you *don't* count infantry
elements as "weapons" :-/
For the purposes of the "only one weapon system per size class" rule on DS2
p.11, an infantry team is indeed considered to be a "weapon". That's not a
house rule; it is the [OFFICIAL] interpretation, supplied by Mike Elliott to
the DS2 FAQ.
Whether or not that interpretation makes *sense* is another question, of
course :-)
Later,
> --- Oerjan Ohlson <oerjan.ohlson@telia.com> wrote:
> For the purposes of the "only one weapon system per
That's abusing the definition of weapons. Besides, I'm not a big fan of this
rule in the first place. What then the poor Ratel, which has 3 machine guns
and
an RFAC/1 (20mm autocannon), but is most definitely
NOT a size 4 vehicle, more like 2.5 rounded to 3. And if we include the 7
passengers (2 teams) then we have 6 weapons. Bad South Africans, BAD!
> At 5:31 PM -0800 1/29/02, John Atkinson wrote:
My preference is the ACAV from Vietnam. 3 MGs, 2 Infantry teams in a size 3
track. Or the Merkava. 1 120mm, 4 MGs, and a 60mm mortar. Plus you can stuff 4
guys in back if you don't have a heavy ammo load.
> John Atkinson wrote:
> > For the purposes of the "only one weapon system per
Oh, I know. That's exactly why I wrote that "Whether or not that
interpretation makes *sense* is another question, of course" bit :-)
Later,