Initiative die roll

[Dukewilliam]

I was wondering what people's opinions are regarding the extra troops afforded the big winner of the initiative roll. We've only played two games so far, 800 and 1000 points and my opponent won the initiative by three both times and then had a huge advantage with almost an entire extra division.
How do people feel about a point based game that can become wildly unbalanced based on a single die roll? We have agreed to no longer use the rule and were wondering if anyone else does it. If used, that single rule will insure that neither of us will ever play in any tournament setting.

Thanks for any input,
Steve

[deadtorius]

40 points is hardly an extra division. At best if he didn't take any he can grab a small unit of Dragoons, they can come in very handy, or perhaps make some small units to large units.

In our games it hasn't always been a game breaker for either side. The large hill placed where the defender wants is nice, you can get plenty of troops up there. The extra cavalry unit can be a real pain, but if you are careful you can send the enemy cavalry off routing with lucky shooting rolls. I have gotten the extra troops and then lost the game.

We find that a well placed building or two can really cause headaches as it takes time to clear it out while your opponent is pressing one of your flanks in the open, with nothing but bodies to try and stop them.

[BrettPT]

Hi Steve

I also don't have any issue with the 40 point extra unit on a 3+ initiative. Are you playing the rule correctly? The attacker only gets a single (commonly average drilled infantry or Dragoon) extra regiment, the defender gets +2 on their army morale (and the larger hill).

In my view the extra unit is less important than getting to deploy second and move first - especially with a small high quality agressive army where you want to maneouvre quickly and get a local advantage before the enemy's numbers come to bear.

While I was not initially a fan of the initiative rules, I have changed my mind on this now and quite like it.

Cheers
Brett

[Dukewilliam]

Ahh, a *total* of 40 points. The rules don't say that, they say they can be any size or type but can't exceed 40 points. That *is* different. We've been adding two 40 point units. I swear there is a decent game in that mess of a ruleset somewhere.

Thanks for the help, I am sure to be a regular here if we try to keep playing,
Steve

[terrys]

Ahh, a *total* of 40 points. The rules don't say that, they say they can be any size or type but can't exceed 40 points. That *is* different. We've been adding two 40 point units. I swear there is a decent game in that mess of a ruleset somewhere.

To clarify - 40pts in total may be spent on the bonus unit(s).
Reading the rule now, I agree it can be misinterpreted to mean 2 extra units at 40pts each.

To get 2 units, both would have to be poor, conscript or irregular line infantry or poor conscript cavalry.
Although these could be of use, the bonus is usually taken as a single unit.

[deadtorius]

Once you become more familiar with the rules you will find it really is a very good game.