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More questions!

I set up a little skirmish to play out tonight. Good idea! I can see how the pieces are fitting together and interlocking! It's been fun! But I have found what I think is a gap in the rules, and looking for how other people fill it! (And if I missed this in the rules, I apologize.)

Okay. Let's imagine this:
1. The American PCs are Marching and keeping Lookout.
2. I draw an encounter card with some Soviet troops
3. I roll to determine how far away the PCs are from the Soviets
4. Per the rules, the PCs make an unopposed Recon roll to see if they spot the enemies first, or are spotted first.

Okay. Let’s pause for a moment.

We now have NPCs. We now have a range between the PCs and the NPCs.

Question: Do I pull out a terrain map and set up the PCs now?

I ask because of this:

The PCs can decide to a) engage; b) avoid the encounter; c) set an ambush, which entails making another, opposed, Recon roll to sneak up on the PCs.

I’m assuming we’re in the map now, so the PCs/Players can decide where to set up the ambush. I mean, they might get closer than the initial range for the encounter. The question, are we now tracking hexes moved and turns taken as the PCs move along the map to set up the ambush (and maybe the Soviets are moving as well) even though we are not shooting. And if this the case, have we drawn Initiative cards yet — since no one is shooting yet?

Or — if the PCs decide to ambush, do we place them at the already determined Encounter range with the assumption that having spotted the Soviets they set up a hasty ambush? (Which of course robs them of the chance to be clever on their own terms about what the ambush should be in terms of terrain and what not?)

Or — is setting up the ambush just abstracted as we make the Recon rolls, and only after we get the results of success or failure do we place counters on the map?

The rules make it clear that the how close you want to get to the enemy is a modifier for your Recon roll when you set an ambush. So a sense of distance, terrain and so forth seems to be required to set up and play out the ambush in a fun and engaging way for the players.

But the rules say nothing about how these two pieces fit together.

So maybe I'm missing something. But maybe I'm not!

Curious how others deal with this!

Thanks!

I would definitely put them on the map before they make choices about responding to the encounter. That's where you, the GM, have determined that they have spotted it. If they don't like the odds or where they are, they can choose their extraction, move to set an ambush, etc., and make Recon rolls as appropriate.

Great question, and something i have wrestled with also.

1. If the PCs spot the enemy at range "X" then i'll put the PCs on a map to represent the ground they are on at the point of detecting the enemy. They can then decide to "wait there" to ambush the enemy. Or, they can try and move closer to engage.

2. If they move closer to engage and are successful in not being seen, I provide a new terrain map to put the PCs on. This ground/map may be better or worse than the original map - but that's the randomness of war and chance that you take in closing the distance. You don't know what the terrain or map will be like when you get there, but you achieve your goal of being closer.

An advantage to the players or team that has not been seen, is that in both cases above they kind of get to choose to take cover or not before the enemy gets a chance to be placed on the map. Its a small advantage, but can be important. And of course the ambushing team gets to choose when to engage ie normally when the enemy has left the tree line!