Para-deploy

[dmcgee1]

May models that deviate less than 3" off the board be placed on the nearest open ground within 3", marked Prone, with no AC remaining?

To me, this seems logical, as the rules state that other terrain (water, etc.) which would cause a hazardous landing may be avoided in such a  way.

If a model is about to land within 3" of an enemy model, and would be lost, may it avoid it by taking the above action?

Thoughts?

[Topkick]

If I understand this question then you are asking if forces that are removed from play by deviating of the table edge up to 3" can instead be deployed at the edge of the table but prone and without actions. Is that correct?

While it is true that placing the troops prone and without actions places them at a disadvantage, your proposal would seriously strengthen Para-deploy. Based on my time at Ft Bragg the rule as written would seem to represent the fact that forces which are scattered beyond the table edge are effectively removed from the battle as an effective force. The forces in question would have to rally, orient themselves to the terrain and hike to the battlefield. As most battles in Warzone are skirmishes, they most likely be so far removed from the fight that by the time they accomplished all this the battle would effectively be over.

Your proposal places a para-deploy unit at a momentary disadvantage at best. It would effectively eliminate the negative counter that balances out the positive. This would have the effect of unbalancing the SA and the game.

[Dragon62]

Normally anything off the table is gone from the game, but I would have no trouble with a model that landed 1 or 2 inches off table being placed on the tables edge where it went off as long as it's open ground.

[dmcgee1]

I think that you understand, however, what I am proposing is no different than a model landing in a lake, but having open ground within 3", per the rules. According to the rules, if they land on terrain, or in water, they may be moved to the nearest open ground within 3", placed Prone, and have no AC's remaining.  To me, this means that they are somewhat self-guiding, but are gonna land hard if they miss their intended LZ (hence Prone with 0 AC). If they land more than 3" off board, then they would be, truly, lost.

Does this make my point clearer, or have I muddied it further?

[Topkick]

No it affirms that you are suggesting what I thought.

However, there is a major difference in the example of landing in a lake or on terrain and landing off the board. There are provisions in the rules if there is no open terrain w/in 3 inches - the troops are lost. The terrain off the board is undefined. The only way to know what the terrain is would be to map it out and if you are going to do that you might as well just increase the board size by 3 inches. I see too much potential to unbalance the SA and not enough to insure the balance would remain. Trust me the guys at Bragg would be the first to tell you that missing the LZ is bad mojo.

If we do this it would open up the game to all sorts of compromises on the rules that would effectively ruin the balance of the system.

[dmcgee1]

Convincing, Hal.  However, my only other remark to attempt to sway you would be to say that the "off-board terrain" does not need to be defined - it is assumed bad, and therefore, in order for the model to remain in play, it must choose the defined option as if it had encountered bad terrain.

[Topkick]

still not convinced but I have an alternative.

Para-deploy in the military is actually a series of interconnected skills. In addition to Dirt Dart 101 (a nickname for standard static line jumps) there are HALO, HAHO, and the red headed step child of para insertion Air Assault.

HALO is an anacronym for High Altitude Low Opening. This form of insertion is used for getting in fast and unobseved. The jumper exits the plane at a high altitude and free falls until the last possible minute. You hit the gorund hard but you have the element of surprize. To represent this in game terms HALO would be like the standard para-deploy but the troopers would retain an extra action.

HAHO is an anacronym for High Altitude High Opening. This form of insertion is used for getting in unobseved and in areas of limited clear terrain. The jumper exits the plane at a high altitude and opens his chute while still high in the atmosphere. Bottled oxygen is needed to allow the jumper to breathe. Troops deployed in this manner can hit an LZ with greater accuracy. To represent this in game terms HAHO would be like the standard para-deploy but the troopers would gain a reroll to their Deviation Check to represent their ability to track using thier steerable canopies. Another alternative would be to halve their deviation for the same reason.

Air Assault is a method of deploying via rappelling lines from helicopters. This form of insertion is used for deploying on top of urban structures or when terrain would make a para-drop a poor deployment choice. To represent this form of deployment  in game terms reduce the landing zone to 1 and one half inches. Troops would use their first action to hit the deployment zone and would make a Status Check as normal. Failure would indicate that the troop lost his balance and fell, got hung in the rope or some other unforeseen occurance. A critical failure would indicate a terminal hook-up or other malfunction that occured upon exit. This would be resolved using the falling rules form a height of 4" (25 ft). In all cases except a critical failure a second action would have to be used to clear the problem. There is no danger of deviating but Air Assault deployment craft are more susceptble to rocket and missile fire. A Ducal Militia RL Spec could seriously screw up the  day of an entire squad of Dopes on a Rope - a nickname for Air Assault troops.

[Topkick]

I wrote these a long time ago when UWZ was beign developed. At the time I suggested that Para-deploy be a multi-level skill from basic para-insertion thru Air Assault, HALO and then HAHO. the current para-deploy is what we ended up with. The reason I never posted these before is that I never worked out the point costs.

[luckyone]

From a former member of the 101st - Air Assault!

[warzoneD]

Isn't air assault also called fast roping?  I wrote a tv pilot a while ago for a show about AF special forces.