House Rule: Strategic Shipping Raids

[Brian Montgomery]

Here's a house rule I'm thinking about trying out. Anyone see any glaring weaknesses?

We have strategic bombing raids for bombers how about Strategic Shipping Raids for subs.

Strategic Shipping Raids

After checking for victory at the end of a round:

For each Axis sub in a sea zone adjacent to an Allied territory, the Allies must pay 1 IPC to the bank.

For each Allied sub in sea zone adjacent to a Japanese controlled territory, Japan must pay 1 IPC to the bank.

Super subs force 2 IPC's to be forfeited to the bank instead of 1.

A maximum of 1 IPC per SZ can be forfeited to regular subs. A maximum of 2 IPC's per SZ can be forfeited to Super Subs.

Is this house rule worth trying?

[ April 02, 2004, 08:27 AM: Message edited by: Monty ]

[Anzio]

I kind of like it - definitely worth further debate (and trust me, you will find it here!)

[Anzio]

Due to the nature of submarines, I never really thought they should be treated as normal A&A combat units anyway. The odds of a sub running into another one in the middle of the Atlantic for instance, is slim to none.

Do you realize how HUGE the oceans are?

If a system could be designed to allow subs to affect enemy shipping without making them actual combatants, I am all for it. This is what subs do - they are NOT intended to float under your main battle fleet to join in major attacks.

I have never felt that the true nature of the Battle of the Atlantic has been captured under the current system. The German subs just get killed by enemy aircraft right off the bat and can never really be built in enough strength to fill their historical role.

Maybe subs could be "hunted" by destroyers, etc. with a die roll determining if they can even be attacked and another roll determining success.

Thoughts?

[Reyoso]

:confused: Sounds like the German National Advantage " U-Boat Interdiction " to me.

[Gorak]

Ya, pretty close to it.

[DocD]

Strafed, you are right on the money. Subs are not their historical selfs in AandAR.
Monty, my only question is how do you mix the U-boat NA with this new optional rule?
Oh yeah, also, is that 1 ipc for the Entire Allied team per seazone, or each one pays 1 ipc? :confused:

[Brian Montgomery]

I wasn't really intending on mixing it with the national advantage. I was looking for a way to enhance subs for both sides, not just Germany like the NA.

It works like the middle east in A&A:Europe, where the Allies must decide among themselves who will give up the IPC's.

[DocD]

Ok, I like this idea alot. Subs are now just transports with torpedo tubes, and not the hungry sharks they once were. Using this rule puts some bite back into subs.

[Sinister]

Perhaps u-boat interdiction doubles the amount or something. It's pretty crappy when the german player never takes his subs out of the Southern Europe sea zone and still gets to use u-boat interdiction.

[Anzio]

Yes, germany would get a small bonus to this when using the Interdiction Option, since their subs were especially proficient at "wolf pack" tactics.

This rule has real potential - let's refine it.

Steve
SRG

[Anzio]

So far we have Germany getting 1 IPC "point" against Allied totals for each sub in the Atlantic. This will get a bonus when Interdiction is used.

I think that there should be certain sea zones that count toward this.

Germany should have to have some risk involved.

How are we going to handle sub hunting and combat?

[DocD]

I don't have the map in front of me right now, but the seazones can easily be worked out. I would not change any rules as far as sub hunting and combat (Unless it's DocD's SUBS ARE ALLOWED TO SUBMERGE AFTER ONE ROUND OF COMBAT even with destroyer present). I think the rules have subs pretty weak and if you give subs strategic raid ability and try and give them an edge in combat, that could be a bit too much. :cool:

[Anzio]

I was thinking more along the lines of eliminating the sub as a standard A&A unit.

The sub pieces would still be used to mark the fact that the sea zone does have submarine activity (and subsequent loss of income to the enemy)but subs would no longer be used in combat at all.

To keep sub owners on their toes, a set of rules will need to be implemented to allow the Allies (or Japan) to deal with the threat.

Certain units (I'm thinking destroyers and fighters) should be allowed to move into a sea zone with a sub "marker" and attempt to eliminate it. This could be determined by rolling dice, etc. Having the "enigma code" would offer a bonus to this roll. As Germany gets more and more involved with Russia, they will have less money to replace these subs, and thus the Battle of the Atlantic will have been realistically played to its conclusion.

What do you guys think?