Predesignate actions or not?

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Predesignate actions or not?

Post by MLB »

Do you need to declare both actions for a unit before carrying any out, or can you wait to see the outcome of one action before determining the next?
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Quackstheking
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Re: Predesignate actions or not?

Post by Quackstheking »

The gamer in me says you can decide the 2nd action after the first; the historian in me thinks the leader would give an order such as "fire and reload" or "fire and advance" etc. I have played it such that if the order was say to advance to the wall and fire. and the unit falls short then the second action can be changed to a move to comply with the order.

Of course the tricky thing comes with uncontrolled volleys and regaining control mid activation!.

I guess to keep it simple you should declare both the units actions before undertaking them!

Ultimately however you can choose to play whichever way your group chooses to iread the rules!

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Re: Predesignate actions or not?

Post by MLB »

Quackstheking wrote: Thu May 13, 2021 8:17 am!
Ultimately however you can choose to play whichever way your group chooses to iread the rules!

Don
And therein lies the problem, the group cannot decide which way to read it!
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Re: Predesignate actions or not?

Post by MLB »

Just found this in the FAQ, although it’s a bit vague:

Q: Before moving, do you need to declares how many dice you are using to move and where you are moving to?
A: The rules don’t demand that. There are some situations where you may declare that you are using a number of Actions to move, but then need to add to that. For example, if you say “I am moving with one action to that wall and will then fire” but you only roll 1” for movement, it is perfectly reasonable to then decide to use your second Action for movement so that you get to the wall.
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Re: Predesignate actions or not?

Post by Captain Reid »

It's by far easiest in the long run to make players describe the intent of the entire Activation. That lets you interpret movement rolls sensibly.

So 'I will move to the wall and fire' should become two move Actions if the wall was, say 3" away and the roll for the movement Action was a 1 or a 2. In my experience if you allow players to make up their minds Action by Action the game takes longer (as they dither over two decisions per Activation rather than just one), too much micro-management of movement gets performed, especially when moving in the open to close down range, and - perhaps surprisingly - players tend to get more muddled as to how to incorporate free move Actions.

Expressing the intent of the Activation is also much more in keeping with 'playing the period' in my view. "Advance to musket range and open fire" or "Volley and move forward" is more expressive than 'Um, I'll roll a d6 for movement. Now I'll fire because I'm within long range."
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Re: Predesignate actions or not?

Post by Archdukek »

I agree with David (Captain Reid). The game flows far more smoothly if players state their intent in the form of the order which the Leader is giving before any dice are rolled.

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Re: Predesignate actions or not?

Post by MLB »

That all makes sense. I’m inclined to settle on predesignating the actions but allowing for flexibility if a first move action fails to get you to the intended destination.
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Re: Predesignate actions or not?

Post by Captain Reid »

I think it's not so much predesignating actions as expressing intent. Almost all issues disappear if a player expresses his intent and then both players combine to determine the process in terms of Actions where a situation arises that may require either one or two move Actions to be made to reach a specified point or enter terrain.
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Re: Predesignate actions or not?

Post by sjwalker51 »

Predesignate but apply common sense (“play the period”) where needed if the second action depends on the outcome of the first.

So, if the unit is ordered to move up to a wall 4” away and then fire, then rolls low on the movement dice, I’d allow them to use their second action to continue the move up to the wall.

On the other hand, if the unit was using its first action to move at least 4” forwards across open ground to bring it into close range before firing and then rolled lower, I’d expect them to still use the second action to fire: the Leader misjudged the range to the target without a point of reference (the wall in the first case) and should suffer the penalty accordingly.
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