FoW- getting started

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FoW- getting started
Topic Started: Feb 25 2011, 01:11 PM (147 Views)
dethtron	Feb 25 2011, 01:11 PM Post #1
Pyrophant Judge Posts: 990 Group: Moderator Member #4 Joined: June 17, 2009	Hoags asked me to post this a while ago, so it's long overdue, but here is an overview of FoW. Rules system- similar to other games we've played, with a move/shoot/assault/cleanup phase. Biggest difference is that a unit's skill doesn't determine target numbers, but their target's skill does. Units are rated as Conscript, trained, and veteran. ANY unit shooting at ANY conscript unit needs a 2+ to hit and any unit shooting at vets needs a 4+. The logic is that modern weapons don't require much skill, but gaining cover from them does- I actually really like this idea. Spraying somebody with a machine gun is easy, but finding something good to hide behind and keeping your head down is not. once hit, targets get a save (always 3+ for infantry) and armored vehicles make an armor test based on the firing weapon's antitank rating. Infantry tend to be very hard to kill while tanks are simply hard to kill. Supposedly this game usually has a pretty low body count. A German Panzer IV has front armor 6. If a Russian T/34 shot it with it's antitank 9 gun, the Panzer rolls a die and adds 6. if the roll is less than 9, it's killed. If it's equal to 9, the crew bails out, and can try and get back in their tank in the future. If they roll over 9, the shot bounces off. Units have generic movement rates based on type (eg infantry move 6" and fully tracked vehicles move 12"). These rates are not slowed by terrain, but units can get stuck ("bogged down") in various types of terrains. Roads speed travel for some units and many units are capable of moving at the double. All in all, I think the game treads the line between abstraction and simplification quite nicely. Rules book- a hardcover book is available for $50 and is packed with extras. Just like GW, there is a complete, but smaller softcover edition w/o fluff, available in a $40 boxed set. I got the box set. It comes with 3 Shermans and 2 German StuGs- a great value, actually. If anybody else ever picks up that kit, I will gladly trade my shermans for your stugs (note that pretty much every allied force can use shermans- not just the US). The rules are well organized and have a no bullshit approach to the presentation- rules are displayed in italics, while extra info or real world explanation is in standard print. Rules then get a clear summary bullet for reference and each section of the rules has its own summary chart of the important steps of phases or special rules. Special rules can be found in a wide variety of source books, but all of them have now been compiled in a surprisingly cheap paperback called Das Book. Haven't picked this up yet, since I want t focus on basics for now and not worry about landmines and bocage and stuff.... Time Periods- the game is split up into 3 time periods meant to function pretty independently of one another- early, mid, and late ware. The early period is a newer development and features lots of low tech stuff and is centered around Germany beating the piss out of Poland and France. Mid war is pretty popular for tournaments and the like. Late war is about as popular as mid war and features a very wide variety of awesome technology and has a lot of models available for it. I've chosen late war for starters. Products (books and models) are clearly marked E,M, and/or L to note which period they're suitable for. Getting started with sourcebooks- army lists are contained in a variety of sourcebooks. Most of these have forces for multiple nationalities available. "Blitzkrieg" is currently the only Early book available. Mid war is contained in 3 books "Eastern Front" "north Africa," and "Mid War Monsters," which is experimental vehicles and appears wildly unpopular and unnecessary. I don't think it's like Nazi UFOs and stuff, but it's mostly failed prototype vehicles. Late war, however is spread out all over the place. A number of old books about Normandy and Brittany have been condensed into the "Earth and Steel" (axis) and "Turning Tide" (allies books) spanning June-September 1944. I have earth and steel and it features over 20 lists in it, some of which are great, others of which seem too specific for beginners purposes. So rather than a generic Panzerkompanie, for example, you get something like the 12. Hitlerjugend Panzerdivision. I'd assume the allies book is the same way. I also have the Late war book "Fortress Europe" which covers the war in Europe from Jan-Aug 1944. This book is far more general in nature than some of the other books. It features 5 lists each for Russia, Great Britain, the US, and Germany. This books seems like a very good starting point, giving you a broad variety of unit choices and letting you see what's available to the enemy. There is a new series of smaller books about the late war east front being published that all have "Stalin" in the title. I have "Stalin's Europe." It's kind of neat and offers lists for Romanians, Czech, Russian, and German forces. Building a force- pick a list from any book you see fit and work through an organization chart. Units are divided into the HQ , combat platoons, weapons platoons, and divisional support platoons. All armies must have a 1 and only 1 HQ selection. Generally they must then have 2 or more combat platoons which are generally tanks or infantry as appropriate to the list type. They may then choose any number of other platoons as fit. The chart is organized in a tree diagram where each platoon is listed as a box. Black boxes are required and gray ones are optional. Within each box there may be a few choices for types of platoons, but you may only select one per box. It's a little hard to explain w/o pictures, so check out this link. In the middle of the page is a Panzerkompanie chart from "fortress europe" you can see that you must take an HQ and 2 combat platoons. For the combat platoons you can choose between Panzer IVs, StuGs, and Panthers. In divisional support, you can add up to 2 infantry platoons. One of these choices gives you 5 units to choose from and the other 2. 1,500 points is a standard starting point, but I understand that 1,750 is becoming popular as well. I am aiming at a 1,500 point army to start with. hope this helps, let me know if anything else would be helpful



dethtron	Feb 25 2011, 01:15 PM Post #2
Pyrophant Judge Posts: 990 Group: Moderator Member #4 Joined: June 17, 2009	forgot to mention- I was planning on keeping my FoW playing at games plus. THey play a lot of it there and have a couple of tables that have lots of good terrain on them. This way I don't have to make terrain in a new scale and can get out of the house a bit. They have games every Weds night and I think lots of pick up games are available on weekends.



Memento Mori	Feb 25 2011, 02:16 PM Post #3
Administrator Posts: 1,476 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 12, 2009	I picked up the starter pack last weekend, although I don't plan on getting the ball rolling on this for a little while yet (too much other shit to do!) but I will be learning the rules in readiness. 15mm stuff is no problem for painting. I will probably want to pick up a book with Late war British army lists in, which one of those would you recommmend mate?



Frank	Feb 25 2011, 02:19 PM Post #4
Arbite Posts: 547 Group: Moderator Member #2 Joined: June 16, 2009	I'm in, might be awhile before I'm able to purchase anything though. I'm leaning towards Americans so if you still have the Shermans laying around when I'm buying stuff I'll work out a trade with you.



Memento Mori	Feb 25 2011, 02:21 PM Post #5
Administrator Posts: 1,476 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 12, 2009	Frank Feb 25 2011, 02:19 PM I'm in, might be awhile before I'm able to purchase anything though. I'm leaning towards Americans so if you still have the Shermans laying around when I'm buying stuff I'll work out a trade with you. with me? or Dethy? either way my tanks will be up for grabs, as i'm fielding the Brits. Tally ho!



dethtron	Feb 25 2011, 02:34 PM Post #6
Pyrophant Judge Posts: 990 Group: Moderator Member #4 Joined: June 17, 2009	Lol Hoagy Brits used the shit out of Shermans, especially in the late war. So in addition to your crusaders and crocodiles and stuarts, having a few shermans on hand will be good for you. as far as books go, "Fortress Europe" is a good starting point and "Turning Tide" goes into deep detail about the allied powers, with lots of lists available for all, but like I said in my review, I think that book gets very specific about things, and might not be a great starter.



Memento Mori	Feb 25 2011, 02:38 PM Post #7
Administrator Posts: 1,476 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 12, 2009	Sweet, I have some Amazon gift cards coming my way, I'll see if I can snag it on there So, are these books to re-fight historical battles, or are they so you can play out your own encounters in that backdrop? Edited by Memento Mori, Feb 25 2011, 02:41 PM.



dethtron	Feb 25 2011, 02:50 PM Post #8
Pyrophant Judge Posts: 990 Group: Moderator Member #4 Joined: June 17, 2009	some of the books offer scenarios and refight type stuff, but the game is intended to work any way you want it. Americans can fight Americans, Germans could fight Italians, etc.



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