The current problem with theoretical wars, and how to fix it

The current problem with tw



I want to start out by saying that I like TW, I just think it can be improved.

What I’ve noticed is that we have more fun with the silly one, yet we want a more structured one. I think that there is currently one big problem with the structured one: It isn’t detailed enough. In the silly ones we always go super in depth on our insane ideas, and it’s a blast. The only problem is that it often turns into a shouting match. With the serious one however, it feels very removed. You have battalions that you use to conquer large chunks of land, and that’s it.






I think that the solution is to rework the way battle is done, to make it more interactive. Instead of using a battalion and rolling a die, it will work like this: You have an army group. This army group is broken into 3 battalions. These battalions are separated by the type of unit (Cavalry, cannons, infantry) and you can break those troops into groups however you want (for example, you have 150 infantry, you can break it into a troop of 10 and 140 if you want to.) Instead of taking large chunks of land, you have to fight for cities. You decide the formation of your troops before attacking, and when you begin your march the enemy makes their formation.



What the dice are used for



The Dice have 5 purposes in this version of battle:



Ambushes (secret)



Encirclement (can be secret or open information)



Defending



Friendly fire



Capture



Secret attacks are something that you state so it happens, but that the enemy can’t change their pattern to stop.



How troops work



There are 3 troops

Cavalry

Infantry

Cannon

The troops work in a rock paper scissors pattern (cavalry>cannons>infantry>cavalry.) If a troop is attacked by an enemy they have an advantage over, they gain a plus two on their defense dice roll. When a group of units is attacked, they have to roll to counter attack. Each unit has a certain amount of feet in which it can counter attack (infantry-30, cavalry-60, Cannon-can’t attack 10 feet in front of it.) If a cannon is out of range for a counter attack, you have to roll to dodge instead. It’s still the same, you just don’t get to do damage back.



Example Battle



I will now show an example of a battle. I will simulate the dice rolls to simplify it.



Player 1: I march army group A on to take Paris. For battalion one I break my infantry into 2 groups of 50, (a and b) and 1 group of 75 (c) I move Infantry a (IA) to the left flank, IB to the right flank, and I use IC to form the center of the army. I split my cannons into 2 groups of 25 (a, b.) I place CNA at the bottom left flank, and CNB at the bottom right flank. I split my cavalry Into 3 groups of 30 (a, b, c.) I place CA to the left of IA, CB to the right of IB, and CC in front of IC. I split Battalions 2 and 3 into speed formation, (cavalry in front, infantry in back.) I split the 100 cannons left from Battalion 2 and 3 into two groups of 50 (a, b) and move the two groups to join battalion 1 CNA and CNB.



Player 2: I move battalion 1 out to meet the enemy. I keep battalions 2 and 3 in Paris to defend the city. I keep my infantry in 1 group, and move them to the front of my battalion. I split my cannons into 2 groups of 50 (a, b.) I place CNA to the bottom left of my Infantry, and CNB to the bottom right. I keep my cavalry in 1 group, and keep them in the rear of the battalion. I put battalions 2 and 3 into defensive formation (infantry in a defensive line with cannons dotted in the middle) and circle as much of Paris as possible. I leave my cavalry in the city as potential reinforcements. I leave 20 cavalry along the edges of the defensive line as scouts.

Player 1: I send Battalion 2 to the left of Paris, and Battalion 3 to the right in an attempt to flank the city (secret) (dice roll, 6)



Player 2: The enemy attack fails, I attack the enemy infantry with my cannons (dice roll, 8) and race my infantry forward to attack the enemy cavalry (dice roll, 10)





PLAYER 1 HAS LOST 60 INFANTRY AND 60 CAVALRY



Player 1: I begin to retreat with my remaining troops, and attempt to link up with my main battalion.



Player 2: I chase after the retreating forces with my cavalry, and attempt to finish them off (dice roll 9.)



DUE TO THE LOWERED MORAL OF THE RETREATING ARMY, THE ATTACK IS EXTRA EFFECTIVE. PLAYER 2 SUCCESSFULLY FINISHES OFF THE 2ND AND 3RD BATTALIONS OF PLAYER 1.



Player 1: I attack the French infantry with my cannons from a distance of 75 feet.



Player 2: I attempt to dodge the enemy attack on my infantry (dice roll 4) and attempt to encircle the enemy with my cavalry from battalions 2 and 3 (dice roll 11).



THE DODGE IS UNSUCCESSFUL. THE FRENCH LOSE 80 OF THEIR TROOPS FROM BATTALION 1. THE ENCIRCLEMENT IS SUCCESSFUL, THE ENEMY NOW HAS NO ESCAPE.



Player 1: I attempt to escape the encirclement, using my infantry to attack the enemy cavalry (dice roll 5)



THE ATTEMPT FAILS, 20 INFANTRY ARE LOST.



Player 2: I attempt to capture the enemy battalion (dice roll 11.)



THE ENEMY HAS BEEN CAPTURED, AND HAS NOW JOINED YOUR RANKS.


(this is just the start of this, but I want to get it posted while I have the chance.)

Port, eeeeef, John Marston, Uranus, Darth Vader, Gerd von Rundstedt, Clausewitz, 𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘴𝘬𝘺