Slitherine

two questions about shooting

HP3B (Hits per 3 bases) 1 HP3B = 1 hit per 3 bases in the battle group, except that:
 Elephants and artillery count front rank bases only, but each counts as 2 bases.
 Battle wagons count the bases from one rank or file, whichever is the greater number. Each base counts as 2 bases.
 Other troops count all bases in the front 3 ranks only.
 Commanders’ bases do not count.

So if we apply this, an unit shooting on a column of twelves HF needs only two hits to create condition for a cohesion test for this HF column, is it correct?

secondly do we count also 3 ranks during the cohesion test for HPB2?

A single element wide column of anything except battlewagons will have to take a cohesion test if it suffers just one hit.
A silngle element column of elephants and artillery will test with a -1 for 1HP2B from a single hit, other troops will need 2 hits to make 1HP2B.

In a more normal formation 12 pike 4 deep will have to test if they receive 3 hits (1HP3B) and take a -1 if they receive 5 hits (1HP2B).

Hope that helps

Hammy

One of the things that struck us, was we could not easily find a POA or something for shooting someone in the back. Is there a penalty/bonus for getting shot in the back?

The only penalties I can think of for being shot in the back are:

If you can shoot you can't shoot back unless you are light horse and then you are at a - POA

and if you are being shot in the back then there is a good chance you have a threatened flank although skirmishers aren't enough to threaten a flank.

That was the long answer.

The short answer is no

Perhaps troops should be considered 1 level lower in terms of armour although anyone without a shield probably wouldn't care which direction missiles were arriving from.

Hammy

hazelbark wrote:One of the things that struck us, was we could not easily find a POA or something for shooting someone in the back. Is there a penalty/bonus for getting shot in the back?

We are trying to keep things simple. We don't want to get back to "+2 for shooting at enemy from behind their shieldless flank".

If troops get shot at from more than one direction they will indeed suffer because they can usually be shot at by more shooting bases.

The BGs are "Mega-units" - a mix of perhaps 6-10 individual units under a junior general.

The rear individal units would just turn tound to protect themselves. Its not as if they are really unshielded say as a result of beign shot at fromt he rar - but it would be pretty disrurbing for morale.

hence

No penatly in the POAs but there is a damn good chance of you creating a threatened flank for a -1 on the cohesion tests.

This mega-unit view of the Battlegroup is what drives much of the "simplifation" philospohy of such things and IMHO dirves the effeectiveness of the game mechanisms in modelling a big battle - so more a helicoptering than a simplicification if that makes sense.

Si

thanks hammy for your answer. I was pretty sure of that except for the mistake of 1 hits, sometimes I'm very bad in calculation .