Re: [HoE] Ambush Ethics

["Steve Davidson, RN" <goofazoid@earthlink.net>]

Just my two cents... in the military we are trained that when ambushed, CHARGE IT!
That moves you out of the kill zone, and gets you to where you can (hopefully) see
the bad guys and try to kill them.

Sam & Max wrote:

> Heya
>     Unfortunately ambushes by their very nature aren't fair. :) If the posse
> misses all their checks and clues they are in for a nasty time. If the clues
> aren't to hard and the cognition rolls not to difficult either, the posse
> should be able to spot it. A hasty rough ambush may have a Fair (5) Cognition
> check to detect, better set ups would be harder to spot of course.  If they
> spot it they may still be doomed as some posses think that in an ambush
> situation you simply stand your ground and return fire. If they try that, kill
> 'em. Its ignorant. Not moving from an obvious kill zone that an enemy has
> prepared is suicide.
>     You can either weaken the ambush itself by having escape routes that can
> be exploited or weaken the bad guys themselves by lowering their skills and
> weapons. If you want the players to realize they are dealing with a smart and
> well trained group let them get hammered by the ambush and then discover how
> little it took to do it.  Rockets are cool but an ambush using relatively weak
> weapons that inflicts a big hurt will make them wary of what would have
> happened if the enemy had _had_ those big guns.
>     A smart bad guy who can retreat and inflict damage on the PC with
> relatively weaker weapons is a much more dangerous threat than powergaming
> goons who just stand there and blast away. Plus when the posse wins
> (hopefully) the rewards from the ambush wont be over powering.  Bad guys that
> have their own survival at the top of the list are a pain in the butt.
> hehe.   They don't stay and fight. They don't take wounds and keep coming.
> They just escape and hide and plink and run. They like taking single long
> aimed shots at a PC's head from 200 yards with a 30.06 and then dont stay
> around to try for more shots after the first, because they cant be located
> from a single shot.
>     Anyway. I hope this helps.  :) Good luck.
>
> Thomas Mayfield wrote:
>
> > I've got hypothetical situation that I've been pondering, and need you
> > guys' input.  Say that the posse is fighting a group of bad guys who are
> > smart enough to have good knowledge of tatics.  They manage to set up a
> > fairly well-done ambush.  The posse missing clues and/or Cognition rolls,
> > walks right into it.  The bad guys get the drop on the heros, letting
> > flying with big nasty ranged weapons (snipers, rockets, etc) from cover.
> > The dice, and common sense dictate that the heros are smeared like a fine
> > red jelly- all without getting a good look at the enmey or a chance to
> > fight back.  Realistic, yes, but hardly fair.  How do I do realistic ambush
> > type situations that show the bad guys' prowess but aren't unfair to the
> > players?
> >
> > -Evil Marshal Mayfield
> >
> > -------------------
> > Tastes like zombie!
>
> --
> David Heth
> "Pow! And the rabbit is vapor!"
>
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--
-Steve
"The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!"