Send in the Para's !!

by **Halmir** on Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:59 am

Concise description:

Add the ability for folks creating games to enable the following (disabled by default): allow players to drop some or all of their reinforcements (at round start or from card cashing mid turn) onto territories that they don't own. Thus they can drop the paratroopers behind enemy lines to cause chaos & confusion!

Specifics:

Using the various WW2 maps as an example, you own Britain, the US, Russia etc but not Axis Europe prior to D-Day. So in the reinforcement phase you could choose to drop your 3 troops onto Berlin. I doubt they'd last long, but it would seriously annoy the other player, and probably breaks his territory bonus!
If your airborne forces survive the initial drop (even a 3 vs 1 can still be a total loss, presumably with a loud splat!), they are then free to act as a normal army. However without a direct connection to the rest of the army, they can't be reinforced until next turn.
Drops can be made on more than one territory - however the outcome should not be known until the reinforcement phase is complete.
Alternatively, this could be a map specific option where a player needs to hold an airfield territory (such as on Berlin 1961).

This will improve the following aspects of the site:

If enabled, it now means that more of your forces need to be kept back from the front line in order to guard key installations and bonus territories.
Anyone doing this is not reinforcing their own holding nor regaining what they've just lost, so this may be a huge gamble for them

by **Evil Semp** on Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:36 am

I like this. It would really change the game.

by **72o** on Wed Sep 09, 2009 10:38 am

I'm not sure I understand. You want to attack a territory behind enemy lines, I get that, but let's assume they have a 2 back there. You propose to "para" with 4 troops. Is this like a mandatory auto-attack until your 4 either loses or kills both the troops there and takes the territory? What would happen if you lose? (What happens to the one troop left over?)

by **captainwalrus** on Wed Sep 09, 2009 2:40 pm

This wouldn't really work... Then it would make it so you would have to reinforce every territory to hold a bonus, and everything is open to attack. It would be simpler if there was just a paratrooper territory on maps where it would apply that can attack certain territories.

by **ubersky** on Thu Sep 10, 2009 3:07 pm

72o wrote:I'm not sure I understand. You want to attack a territory behind enemy lines, I get that, but let's assume they have a 2 back there. You propose to "para" with 4 troops. Is this like a mandatory auto-attack until your 4 either loses or kills both the troops there and takes the territory? What would happen if you lose? (What happens to the one troop left over?)

I think it would have to be Auto-Attack. They either win or they die. Also there would be no advancement, which makes sense as it's done from Reinforcement Phase.

by **ubersky** on Thu Sep 10, 2009 3:08 pm

captainwalrus wrote:This wouldn't really work... Then it would make it so you would have to reinforce every territory to hold a bonus, and everything is open to attack. It would be simpler if there was just a paratrooper territory on maps where it would apply that can attack certain territories.

I think there should be a limit to how large a para operation could be (maybe 4 max?) and the territory in question should likely get one bombardment round before engagement to try to shoot down the paratroops.

by **ubersky** on Thu Sep 10, 2009 3:12 pm

Another option would be to make this operation only allowable on Spoils Cash-ins. You give your Spoils up for a Para Operation. You cash the spoils at the start of turn like normal, and you have to signify the territ to hit as well. Once your turn is done, The Para-Operation executes as indicated above.

This would make it a) not an every turn option and b) something that has to be planned, not spur of the moment. This would likely reduce the "break the bonus every turn" problem, as you don't get them every turn, and who would want to bet on para-troops breaking a bonus unless it's dire.

I think it would simulate the way Airborne is used more closely, and make it less of a gameplay breaker.

by **Halmir** on Thu Sep 10, 2009 6:43 pm

All good thoughts & comments here! Such an option (if enabled by the Host) is obviously going to change the game play - that's why it should be disabled by default, but would make it a bit of quirky fun if permitted!

by **wolfpack0530** on Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:16 pm

Since in real combat, it is more expensive, and very hard to paratroup lots of armies at once. So, make it doable, but make it a penalty also. Make it cost double to paratroup. So if I am allowed to deploy 20 armies at the start of my turn, I have the option of 20 armies (the current way) or 10 paratroupers to drop whereever. Or if I have 20 armies I can send 4 paratroupers and that would leave me with 12 armies left for regular deployment.

Keep in mind, that this would make it VERY easy to target a certain player in quads games.

by **GoraROM** on Thu Sep 17, 2009 9:01 pm

Yeah, I agree that it should cost more, but I think ALOT more, maybe 5 troops for one paratroop to really make it costly...( maybe even more than 5 for 1 para!!! ).