Wow, it's been so long since I wrote
Hammer & Anvil that I forgot all about its
ERRATA. Glad I started browsing the forum.
To answer your question,
randomgeneric: As I
originally wrote the scenario, that Command Post decoy was supposed to be a "Hardened Command Post," with a Defense of 3 (to make it look all the more believable, and therefore
tempting).
That detail got left out of the printed version simply because I forgot to include the CP Decoy
description when I typed up the rules in the PDF that I sent to SJG. (It should have been at the beginning of
1.11, Setting the Bait.)
While I'm addressing
Hammer & Anvil Errata though, I'd like to correct a much more grievous error: There was a rules limitation in the scenario design contest which specified that the scenario (at least in its Basic version) had to be playable using only the units that came in the Deluxe Ogre set. Well, my original had given the Ambusher some Heavy Weapon squads -- which I didn't consider a problem, because when I first wrote
Hammer & Anvil, there was not yet a separate miniature for HW Infantry (or I wasn't aware of it, anyway), so I figured the infantry figures that came with Deluxe Ogre could be used as
either kind, as necessary. (Which would mean the only limitation was 'No more than 21 squads of Infantry can be used, but they can be of
any type.')
After I submitted the scenario though, SJG pointed out that they had (or were about to introduce; I don't remember) a separate figure for HW Squads, and it
wasn't included in Deluxe Ogre -- so I had to write those HW Squads
out of Hammer & Anvil.
So I did; but then somehow, a communication failure of some sort occurred -- because the numbers that actually got printed in OSB1 were
neither the correct, original numbers
NOR the properly-adjusted but limited-to-Deluxe-Ogre numbers that I
thought I submitted.
So -- for the record, here are the original,
correct line-up of forces in
Hammer & Anvil (which can be formed from what's available in Deluxe Ogre, as long as you don't mind using Regular Infantry figures to represent HW Infantry):
Basic Scenario:
- 1 Command Post (decoy) - Hardened, Defense 3
- 12 Standard Infantry Squads
- 6 Heavy Weapons Infantry Squads
- 16 Armor Units (no stationary howitzers)
Advanced Scenario:
- 1 Command Post (decoy) - Hardened, Defense 3
- 18 Heavy Weapons Infantry Squads
- 24 Armor Units (no stationary howitzers)
Point Value Comparison:
Basic, OSB1: Ambusher has 120 points
Basic, Original: Ambusher has 144 points
…versus a 100 point Mark III.
Advanced, OSB1: Ambusher has 180 points
Advanced, Original: Ambusher has 216 points
…versus a 150 point Mark V.
Obviously, my original version gives the Ambusher a far more significant point advantage -- but I assure you, it is nowhere near as
substantial an advantage as it might appear, because all those Heavy Weapons squads only get
one shot each before they're just plain ol' Infantry; and furthermore, the strict requirements I set on the entry locations of the Ambusher's forces
are there for a reason. So are the elaborate Objectives and Victory Conditions, for that matter -- they're all the result of playtesting and adjusting that scenario dozens upon dozens of times, from long before that scenario design contest even came along.
With my original lineup of Ambusher forces, it can make a
big difference whether the Ogre "Takes The Bait" or not -- whereas it makes almost no difference whatsoever in the OSB1 version -- and it also makes a difference what kind of path through the craters the Ogre chooses for its exit, and whether it dares to grab for extra kills on the way out. That original lineup of forces is a finely balanced game, which will give you a hot, viciously contested fight -- while the OSB1 version is
noticeably slanted in favor of the Ogre, despite the apparent point advantage to the Ambusher.
I strongly recommend the original; and if you play it, please be sure to try it both ways -- Ogre Takes The Bait,
and Ogre Smells The Trap -- so you can see how that one extra turn's worth of movement can make all the difference.
And then let me know how the game(s) went!