Convoy question

[xavilongo]

After comparing both versions of Convoy, I think the book version did not took into account the night modifier (intentionally or by mistake). Otherwise, that attack tactic makes no sense.

[43Supporter]

OK, I'm a little confused -- which version of _Convoy_ are we talking about here?

[xavilongo]

Originally Posted by 43Supporter

OK, I'm a little confused -- which version of _Convoy_ are we talking about here?

Convoy has two editions, the "book" edition and the previous ADQ (Autoduel Quarterly) edition. The Book edition is the one that has numbered paragraphs but does not mention visibility conditions. The ADQ edition mentions visibility conditions.

[swordtart]

My feeling is too many of the programmed adventures work on the principle of:

1) What level of danger encounter do I want at this stage in the story.
2) What vehicle/set-up produces that level.
3) Come up with a reason why that vehicle/set-up exists.

The trouble is that the reason is the last consideration. For the encounter to make sense you need to do it the other way round.

For this encounter the justification is that the baddie is trying to cripple a vehicle in the hope the convoy leaves it and moves on.

Tire shooting is a reasonable tactic. Oil and mines are the traditional route, but they need to be placed well. Having a back up all aspect direct fire weapon and an obscuring system is also reasonable.

The issue is deciding to do it against a quarter of a million dollar convoy with a car worth about a tenth of that. To even attempt it you would need to stack the odds in your favour.

So what could you easily do without completely restructuring the encounter?

With only a single direct fire weapon you can replace that HR computer with a single weapon version. That frees up $1500. Swap the normal paint with glow-in-the-dark paint and some LII goggles and four proximity fuses for the mine droppers.

Now you have a reason for attacking so far out. That extra -2 will keep you safe. You have a reason for attacking at night as you are only -1 while your opponents are probably at -3. If the paint hits even better. If you use the spotting rules the night will also help conceal your mines (not this would help if you were playing solo).

It's not great, but it's a bit more credible.

[xavilongo]

Well, the simplest fix for the bad guy:

-option a: fire when at pointblank range (+1 for range)
-option b: normal targeting, firing at nearest vehicle's front.

Anyway, my main interest is to get sure if the -3 for night is supposed to apply in the book version of Convoy or only in the previous ADQ version. Given paragraph 40 script, and also the no mention of visibility conditions, makes me suspect that the book version of Convoy does not apply the -3 for night.

[swordtart]

c) He decides not to attack unless fired upon as the convoy is too tough a target.

This is probably the most sensible response, but it makes it a bit of non-event encounter.

I think the -3 is supposed to apply, as a general principle it can't say in the encounter text as the time of day is determined by the variable time it took you to get to that paragraph number.

There should have been general guidance at the front maybe, but modifiers for weather etc. were a core part of the game rules from at least 3rd edition (and could therefore be assumed). None of the encounter text mentions the effects of paint either (for example) as it is also in the core rules.

I am not sure if earlier editions had rules for weather etc. (which may be why they were included in the ADQ version). Even so they may have been there to re-enforce it.

Basically it is your call whether the -3 was a deliberately excluded but I would expect any exception to the core rules to be called out in the encounter text. It isn't and so the -3 should apply.

A quick look on google street maps of the West Kentucky Parkway 10 miles out of Elizabethtown shows no lighting whatsoever. If that is true today, I am going to assume it didn't have any in 1983 and therefore doesn't have any in 2033 (as generally we extrapolate from the situation when the scenarios were written). The same is true of I-65 the other side of Elizabethtown (other than near junctions etc.) and other interstates in other states for that matter. There are plenty of unlit sections of road so that indicates the -3 should generally be applied outside of towns (and depending on the facilities in the town probably even then). Remember this is -3 to hit, not "it's so dark you cannot see your opponent". Even lit roads at night don't have light levels equivalent to daylight.

On that basis he is not expecting to hit with the direct weapon, but he might as well fire it as not and a lucky hit to his specified target is likely to be decisive. He is relying on his DW suite (and to be fair it is pretty extensive). The bodyguard is designed as a tail ender and that RL is just there for self defence. He probably isn't even expecting success, but that night time modifier and his distance will probably mean he gets home safe at least.

If you have allowed your escorts to use night vision equipment, you should afford him the same courtesy.

[xavilongo]

Your information about the actual lightning of the roads is very interesting! . Because of this, I suppose the best way to go is apply the -3 for night and house rule any problem that may appear, adapting the different situations.

[swordtart]

It occurs to me that whilst he starts 120ft away there is nothing stopping him sitting out there relatively safely building a sustained fire bonus and then suddenly braking to bring him to closer range to actually get a telling blow in.

[xavilongo]

Originally Posted by swordtart

It occurs to me that whilst he starts 120ft away there is nothing stopping him sitting out there relatively safely building a sustained fire bonus and then suddenly braking to bring him to closer range to actually get a telling blow in.

He did not have the time to do this. We destroyed his rear while he was vainly trying to hit our tires.

[43Supporter]

OK -- grabbed a PDF of the "book" version, so I'm on the same page [ B) ] as everyone else.

SWCs didn't exist when the book was published, so that's a non-starter.

Looking at the Grabber's _Bodyguard_: I'd start him at one edge of the road; have him set the dropped weapons to auto-fire; then cut a D3, and drive diagonally across the road, which not only blankets the road with DW, but also presents a flank to the convoy, which means full speed mods to hit; and repeat ad nauseam.

I'd have to silly-walk through the entire scenario to see when the Grabber appears; it could be he appears in the morning rather than at night, so the night-time modifier might be applicable, or it might not. (There's mention of post-adventure activities, so one might encounter him "after" the actual adventure.)