Dragons Portés VB Group

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  • #167314
    LordRao
    Participant

    Hi all,

    I can’t for the life of me get my head around the Dragons Portés VB Group from the Battle of France campaign book (p.85). What does this 120pts unit actually contain? This entry supposedly “augments” the Dragons Portés section from France and the Allies, p.14. So, is it an NCO with rifle and 4 dudes with VB Launchers? If so, why are the VBs now only 14pts each, rather than the normal 20? And can I take any extra men?

    Thoughts?

    Kind regards,
    LR

    • This topic was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by LordRao.
    #167319
    Stuart Harrison
    Participant

    I can’t give you any clear guidance, just confirm that you’re not alone trying to make heads or tails of that unit. Looks to me like the author simply messed up that unit entry.

    There’s no way to tell what it’s intended to be from what’s there, only make educated guesses.

    The line that should tell you how many men (composition) instead mentions weapons.

    The line that tells you “weapons” borrows the as modeled wording from HQ entries, but forgets to provide a list of the options you can choose to model it from (ie: “pistol, rifle, or SMG, as depicted on the model), and it forgets to mention the VB launchers on the men’s rifles.

    The weapons line also refers to an officer, where I suspect it means a non-commisioned officer (two very different things under the rules). If it is indeed an officer, it fails to distinguish what rank of officer to define morale bonus, snap to it actions etc.

    By the fluff, I’d guess leader (NCO) plus 3 men with VB launchers (the number of squads you have to take to field the group, as you are concentrating the launchers from the squads to form the group). Whether the group leader should also have a VB launcher, or another weapon as modelled would depend on whether the platoon is meant to have a fourth VB launcher in the platoon headquarters (?).

    By the maths, I’d guess four men with VB launchers, including the “NCO” – 10 point regular plus 20 point VB launcher = 30 points each, x4 for total of 120 points. NCO without VB plus 3 men with VB = 100 points, overcosted by 20 points. NCO without VB plus 4 men with VB = 130 points, undercosted by 10 points. If we allow the “officer” to be an officer rather assuming NCO, we get 2lt plus 3 men with VB launcher – 125 points (undercosted by 5 points), or 1lt plus 3 men with VB launcher – 140 points (undercosted by 20 points).

    If it’s meant to be an actual officer, a similar effect could have been achieved by taking the normal officer entry and adding a line to options:

    “add up to 3 men, each with rifle and VB launcher, for +30 points each”

    and the option line for motorcycles.

    What’s also missing is an either/or clause so you either field a VB group, or you can have VBs in your squads – the platoon only has so many to employ.

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