The cost of specialist Infantry

[wolf90]

We've been plugging away at a number of tasks here in CP Fnord, and I've come across an issue that I would like people to weigh in upon. That issue is the cost (or even existence) of sub-specialized Infantry.

First off, the "basic" specialized Infantry (Marines, HWTs and Combat Engineers) are all well-known to cost twice that of standard Infantry, or 4 VP per squad. But where I've hit a wall is what sub-specialized Infantry should cost.

We have posted draft rules for Heavy Weapon Teams, and included in them is the concept of Marine HWTs. Additionally, a draft of Combat Engineer rules are up, and although not specifically mentioned in that treatise, the idea of Marine Engineers was broached in the first edition of Ogre Miniatures. So sub-specialized Infantry are not new, just less socialized.

In the HWTs posting, I proposed that Marine HWT squads cost 3x that of a standard Infantry squad (6 VP). I got to that cost through the Cobb calculator along with some internal discussions. However, I initially started with the idea that you double the cost with each specialization, or 4x the cost of standard Infantry (8 VP) for Marine HWTs. With some retrospection, I think my first instinct was correct. (Note: Marine Combat Engineers are given a 5 VP cost in Ogre Miniatures!).

My argument is as follows: First, specialist Infantry should be rare, and expensive. They shouldn't be "balanced" against other units; quite the opposite. They should only be "worth it" in very specialized situations or specific scenarios. Otherwise why take regular Infantry? A HVY, GEV or MSL and a single squad of Infantry should most of the time be a better choice than a single Marine HWT squad (both 8 VP).

Second, the war machine of the Last War was cranking out battlesuits and tanks as fast as it could. Taking the time to develop the specialized battlesuits and train the soldiers in their use generally took too long. Plus, later in the war as the powers moved to the Factory States era, there wasn't the R&D to develop these weapon systems. What remained of functional military command was just picking over the bones of previous empires.

Finally, the VP cost may be discarded when needed during scenario construction. Say you want to create a scenario around a number of islands in an inland sea? The scenario might automatically grant Marine status to all Infantry. The point is that currently published scenarios haven't been vetted through these sub-specialized Infantry, and the risk of "breaking" a scenario is very real.

So, despite the calculated cost of 3x standard Infantry for these sub-specialists, I'm proposing that the published cost be 4x. Obviously, everyone is free to play as they choose, but we need to put something out there!

So . . . what do you all think?

D.