Combat COMMANDER vol.
4 – Resistance!
playbook G a me De sig n by C had Je n se n
Table of Contents Partisan Leader Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Partisan Fortification OBs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Random Scenario Generator Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 New Rules R1 Partisan Faction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 R2 Partisan Unit Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 R3 Partisan Stats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 R4 Partisan Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 R5 Irregular Melee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 R6 Sewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 R7 Sighting Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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R8 Infiltrate Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 R9 Muster Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 R10 Knife Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 R11 No Quarter Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 R12 Trap Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 R13 Inexperience Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 R14 Patriotism Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 R15 Stealth Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Design & Development Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
back cover
Card Manifest & Point Values . . . . . . . . . . .
back cover
GMT1113
PARTISAN LEADER TABLE
ComBAT Commander: Resistance — Playbook
Introduction Combat Commander: Resistance! (CC:R) expands upon CC:Europe and CC:Mediterranean by adding partisans and their war behind the front lines. This fourth volume of the Combat Commander series features special rules and components for fighting with Partisan forces against the Axis nations of Europe. CC:R is not a standalone game: it requires ownership of both CC:E and CC:M to play.
Contents Combat Commander: Resistance! includes:
Roll 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Nina, Local Hero
Modifiers vs. Italy
-1
Dimitri Nikolai Mikhail Katrina Yevgeny Vassili
●● 3 back-printed 17˝ x 22˝ game maps (6 maps total) ●● 6 double-sided scenario cards (12 scenarios total) ●● 1 sheet of die-cut counters ●● 55 cards ●● this 10-page Playbook
PARTISAN FORTIFICATION OBs Pic
#
Type
HASTY MINEFIELD 9x Mines (6-Firepower)
VP Cost 6
BARBED WIRE 9x
Wire
4
ENTRENCHMENTS 3x
Foxholes
1
TRENCH LINE 3x
Trench
2
STRONGPOINT 1x
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© 2011 GMT Games, LLC
Bunker + Trench
3
Example (cont.): The point value of this force would be 14 VPs—two Leaders at 2 VPs each and ten non-Leaders at 1 VP a piece.
Random Scenario Update Assignment
Step 5 — Order of Bat tle
The Partisan faction doesn’t have an Order of Battle Table. Instead, OB selection during step 5 is performed as follows: 1) The Axis player selects his OB from those available on his Order of Battle Table. He informs his opponent of his choice. 2) The Partisan player makes an “OB Roll” by revealing the top card of his shuffled Fate Deck. He multiplies the roll by 6 (resulting in a number between 12 and 72). He then selects for his OB any combination of Partisan units totaling exactly that many silhouettes, with two restrictions: ◦◦ No Leaders may be chosen; and ◦◦ At least half the silhouettes must be comprised of Troop units [R2]. 3) The Partisan player notes which of the two dice on the OB Roll was the highest: this is how many weapons he draws at random for inclusion in his OB [R4]. 4) The Partisan player notes which of the two dice on the OB Roll was the lowest: this is how many Leaders he will receive during step 6 of the RSG process. Initiative—The Initiative value of a Partisan OB is always 14. Point Value—The Point Value of a Partisan OB is equal to: ●● the ●● the
number of Leaders allotted, x2: plus number of non-Leader units selected.
Example: The German player decides to play a Rifle Detachment, informing the Partisan player of his choice. The Partisan player then makes his OB Roll and gets “2•5”. The sum (7) is multiplied by 6 to arrive at “42”: this is the number of silhouettes his initial force must be made up of, with at least 21 of these silhouettes comprised of Troops. He selects 6 Troops (the minimum), 2 Gangs and 2 Sections for a total of 42 silhouettes on 10 non-Leader units. The higher of the two dice was “5” so the Partisan player blindly draws a total of five weapons from the draw cup and places them with his starting forces. The lower of the two dice on the OB Roll was “2” so that’s how many Leaders he will acquire during step 6.
Step 6 — Leaders
The Partisan player uses the Partisan Leader Table (shown on the facing page). The number of Leaders he receives is determined by the OB Roll, above. S t e p 7— S u p p o r t R o ll s
Partisans have no Support Table. Instead, if the Partisan player is allowed a Support Roll during step 7 of the RSG he instead draws the top card of his Force Deck [R1]. He may purchase either, both or neither of the units shown on the Force card, and in any quantity desired subject to the limits of the counter mix. Step 8 — Order Limit
In a random scenario, the Partisan player’s Order Limit is always set to the following: ●● Order ●● Order ●● Order
Limit of 2 if Defender Limit of 3 if on Recon Limit of 4 if Attacker.
Step 9 — For tifications
A Partisan player assigned the Defense Posture must purchase his fortifications from the Partisan Fortification OBs (shown on the facing page) rather than from amongst the Fortification OBs found in the CC:E/CC:M playbooks. S t e p 11 — R a d i o s
There are no Partisan Radios so, if on the Attack, they must skip step 11.1 of the RSG in the CC:Mediterranean playbook. S t e p s 10 -13 — S i g h t i n g M a r k e r s
In a random scenario, the Partisan player automatically receives a specific number of Sighting markers [R7] as follows: ●● 2 ●● 3 ●● 4
if Defender if on Recon if Attacker.
He may purchase an additional 2, 4, 6 or 8 Sighting markers at a cost of 1, 2, 3 or 4 victory points, respectively (half a point each).
ComBAT Commander: Resistance — Playbook
When using the Random Scenario Generator (RSG) and the year is 1942 or later, a player assigned both the Russian faction and Line quality may instead choose to play the Partisans. This decision must be made at the end of step 3 before Objective chits are drawn in step 4. If he does, that player permanently changes his nationality from “Russia” to “Partisan” (troop quality remains Line). From this point forward, he will utilize Partisan cards, pieces and tables rather than those used for Russia. The RSG then proceeds as normal except as amended below.
Sighting markers are placed on the map anywhere within his given setup area at the same time he sets up his starting units. S t e p 15 — C a r d s
The Partisan hand size is one less than normal, so they will draw only 3, 4 or 5 cards (instead of 4, 5 or 6) depending on their Posture.
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New Rules
ComBAT Commander: Resistance — Playbook
The following rules are in effect for any scenario – whether published or randomly created – in which the Allied player commands the new Partisan faction. If so, they are to be used in conjunction with any other special rules that particular scenario may have: though, when a conflict arises, those scenario special rules will override what is written here.
R 1. Par t isa n Fac t ion
R 1.3 D i s c a r d Re q ui r e m e n t
The Partisan faction has a discard capability of “All”. What this means is that, if the Partisan player announces no Orders on his Turn, he must discard every card in his hand.
Force Deck
The Partisan faction has no Support Table; instead it has a 19-card “Force Deck”. Prior to every scenario, the Partisan player shuffles his Force Deck and places it on the table to form a face-down draw pile. Whenever the Partisan player announces an Infiltrate order [R8] (or would otherwise get to make a roll on a Support Table, like during step 7 of the Random Scenario Generator) he reveals the top card of his Force Deck and selects from the two units shown there. He also reveals a Force card whenever one of his units with circled Morale is breaking [R3.2]. Revealed cards are placed face-up into a discard pile. If the draw deck ever empties, reshuffle the discard pile to form a new face-down draw pile. Cards comprising the Force Deck are not Fate cards and are never considered to occupy a player’s hand.
R 1. 4 S u r r e n d e r L e v el
The Partisan faction does not use a Surrender marker, and thus will never lose the game by surrendering [6.3, first condition].
Partisan Force Card
with random (1 VP)
Infiltrate: Disperse: (2 VP)
card PF-16
Partisans use a 36-card Fate Deck as opposed to the 72-card deck used by the other faction. Despite its diminutive size, it functions as a normal Fate Deck for all rules purposes.
A Partisan player has a hand size one less than normal. Thus: ●● Defender – 3 cards ●● Recon – 4 cards ●● Attacker – 5 cards
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R 1.6 V P Val u e s
All Partisan units are worth 1 VP each when eliminated or when voluntarily exited off the map (yes, even the hero).
R 1.1 F a t e D e c k
R 1. 2 H a n d Si z e
R 1.5 Rein f o r c e m e n t s
Partisans entering the map from the Time Track do so at Sighting markers rather than along their friendly board edge [R7.2.2].
Infiltrate:
R 2. Par t isa n Uni t s t ruc t ur e Partisan units are structured differently than units of the other six factions: they lack regular squads and teams. Partisans instead have five non-Leader unit types of varying size (and thus different stacking values) to represent their main fighting forces: ●● Gang – 6 partisan icons ●● Band – 5 partisan icons ●● Troop – 4 partisan icons ●● Section – 3 partisan icons ●● Crew – 2 partisan icons
Any reference to a “squad” or “team” on a card or in a rule will never apply to a Partisan unit. The unusual size arrangement of the Partisan faction mainly helps to facilitate the functions of these units’ circled Morale [R3.2] and Muster capability [R9]. And for reasons of flavor and aesthetics, Partisan leaders are identified by common names rather than by military rank.
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Band
7
5 2 2
R 3. Par t isa n S tat s
Many Partisan units have a circled Morale and/or a circled Movement number. Most Partisan Leaders also have a new “Leadership” stat in place of the normal Command stat.
Most Partisan Leaders have a new stat called Katrina 8 “Leadership.” Leadership only ever appears on a 1 unit’s unbroken side (in the same spot on the coun1 4 5 ter where its Command would be) and is identified by a number inside an eye. Leadership functions identically to Command in every way with one exception: during unit activation, Leadership has no set “radius” [3.3.1.1]. Instead, when an (unbroken) Partisan leader with Leadership is activated it may activate all, some or none of the friendly non-Leader units within its LOS to perform the same Order/Op Fire.
R 3.2 C ircl e d M oral e
Circled Morale appears on the back (broken) side Section 6 of all non-Leader Partisan units. Whenever a broken unit with circled Morale would break again, 1 1 2 the Partisan player must reveal and discard the top card of his Force Deck and reference the bottom unit on that card (the one below the barbed wire): 1) Casualties— If the referenced unit is the same size or larger than the breaking unit – that is, it has the same number of or more partisan icons – the breaking unit is eliminated as normal. 2) Disperse—If the referenced unit is smaller than the breaking unit – that is, it has fewer partisan icons – the breaking unit is replaced with that smaller unit (if one is available in the countermix) instead of being eliminated. So a broken Troop (4 icons) that breaks could possibly be replaced with a broken Section (3 icons), Crew (2 icons) or specific Leader from the countermix instead of being eliminated. If none were available in the countermix to replace it, the Troop would be eliminated normally. If replaced, the breaking unit is placed back into the countermix instead of onto the Casualty Track. The replacement unit enters play broken. If there was a weapon, Suppressed or Veteran marker on the replaced unit, the replacement unit retains the marker. Also, the replacement unit is treated as being the same unit from which it was created—so if the replaced unit had been activated previously that same turn, the replacement unit is considered to have been activated as well, and any pending results against the replaced unit (such as having to become Suppressed) will immediately affect the replacement unit.
A unit with a circled Movement number treats all Gang 7 in-hex Terrain as if it had a normal Move Cost of “1”. Also, such a unit ignores the normal Move 6 2 1 Cost of all hexside Terrain – i.e., Fences, Hedges and Walls – and does not pay +1 MP to Move uphill. Cliffs (having no “normal Move Cost”) affect Partisan units normally. This is not to imply that a Partisan unit is some sort of “superman” possessing superior strength, stamina or agility over his Axis counterpart. It instead is meant to portray their likely intimate familiarity with the local terrain. Heav y Weapons
All circled Movement bonuses cease as long as the unit is carrying a Weapon with a detrimental Movement modifier. So a Gang – circled Movement of 1 – carrying a Heavy MG would be unable to Move (it could still Advance out of its hex, of course, or take advantage of a Stealth event).
R 4. Par t isa n W e apons
Prior to the start of any scenario involving Partisan forces, the following Partisan weapons (28 yellow counters in total) should be placed into an opaque container – such as a clean, dry coffee cup – so that they may be drawn at random as needed: ◦◦ 8 Molotov Cocktails (from CC:Mediterranean) ◦◦ 12 Light MGs ◦◦ 3 Medium MGs ◦◦ 1 Heavy MG ◦◦ 1 Light Mortar ◦◦ 1 French ‘75’ ◦◦ 2 Satchel Charges Partisans will not usually be assigned specific weapons as is the case with other factions. Instead, Partisan forces will often be assigned a certain number of random weapons: prior to setup, the Partisan player will draw this many weapons at random from the draw cup and use what he gets. Any random weapons acquired by the Partisan player during play will also be drawn from this pool.
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ComBAT Commander: Resistance — Playbook
R 3.1 L e ad e rship
R 3.3 C ircl e d M ov e m e n t
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R 5. Irr e gular M e l e e
R 5. 2.3 M ele e Re s ul t
Whenever the Allied player is commanding Partisan forces, melee is no longer immediate. Instead, the following section replaces rule O16.4 in its entirety.
Eliminate all units belonging to the side with the lower Melee Total. In case of a tie, both sides are eliminated unless one player began the melee in a Bunker [F101] or Pillbox [F104], in which case only the other side is eliminated.
ComBAT Commander: Resistance — Playbook
R 5.1 M e l e e M ar k e rs
Whenever a hex contains units of both sides, immediately place a Melee marker in the hex if one is not already present. A Melee marker makes the hex it occupies a “melee hex”. A melee hex has two effects:
R 6. S e w e rs R 6.1 S e w e r E n t ra n c e s
●● Units
and weapons in a melee hex cannot fire (they otherwise function normally).
●● A
melee hex can’t be the target of a Fire Attack, nor can an SR be placed in or adjacent to one (a melee hex could still be affected by artillery if the SR subsequently drifted into or adjacent to it).
Whenever a melee hex ceases to contain units of both sides, remove the Melee marker. The hex immediately ceases to be a melee hex.
R 5.2 R e solvin g M e l e e
At the beginning of the Axis player’s turn – only; never the Partisan player’s turn – a melee ensues in every melee hex. If there is more than one melee hex, the Axis player selects the order in which they will be resolved, one at a time.
R 5. 2.1 M ele e S t r e n g t h
In each melee, after both players have played and resolved any Ambush actions [A25], each adds up the current FP of each of his remaining units – not Weapons – in the melee hex. To this total is added +1 for each of those units with a boxed FP to arrive at his “Melee FP”. If, due to Ambush actions, one or both sides have no units remaining in the hex, the melee ends with no further effect.
R 5. 2. 2 M ele e Roll
The Partisan player adds his Melee FP to a die roll to arrive at his “Melee Total”. Then the Axis player adds his Melee FP to a die roll to arrive at his Melee Total. The rolls – while ostensibly simultaneous – are staggered in order to facilitate triggers and possible use of the Initiative after the first roll. Also note that both player’s Melee FPs are locked in just prior to the Partisan Melee roll, even if a trigger during that roll alters the composition of one or both sides.
If a scenario special rule instructs the players to place one or more Sewer Entrance markers on the map, the following rules are in effect for each hex so designated (only). A hex containing a Sewer Entrance is deemed a “Sewer hex”, or just “Sewer”. Sewers are neither Fortification nor Terrain.
R 6.2 Trav e rsin g S e w e rs
Any number of Partisan units (only; no other nationality may utilize sewers) activated for an Advance Order (only; never Move) while in a Sewer hex may attempt to advance directly to any other Sewer hex on the map, even if not adjacent. To do so, the Partisan player indicates to his opponent how many of his activated units in a Sewer hex will make the attempt and which Sewer hex is the intended ending point of the advance. The Partisan player then makes a Sewer Roll: the result is doubles, the Axis player chooses a Sewer hex other than the one being vacated. The Partisan player then chooses one or more of the following:
●● LOST—If
◦◦ places any number of his designated units into the chosen Sewer hex; or ◦◦ places any number of his designated units on the next space of the Time Track. Note: If the last Partisan unit on the map is removed in this way, it is considered a “voluntary exit” for purposes of rule 6.3 in the basic rulebook. ●● SUCCESS—If
the result is not doubles, the sewer advance is successful and the advancing Partisan units are placed in the intended Sewer hex.
Weapons with a negative movement modifier cannot be taken into Sewers. Any unit possessing such a weapon can use Sewers only if it first voluntarily eliminates the weapon.
R 6.3 S e w e r Elimi n at io n
If a Blaze marker is placed in a Sewer hex, permanently remove that Sewer Entrance marker from the map.
If, due to a trigger during a Melee Roll, one or both sides have no units remaining in the hex, the melee ends with no further effect.
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© 2011 GMT Games, LLC
R 7. sI GH T ING m A R KE RS
Sighting markers represent possible locations of hidden Partisan units. Sighting markers are neither units nor weapons and are not affected by fire attacks, enemy units, etc.
R 8. Infilt rat e Ord e r
?
Sighting
R 7.1 P lac e m e n t
R 7.2 e ff e c t s R 7. 2.1 Si g h t in g M a r k e r M o v e m e n t
Every time either player reveals a random hex due to a die trigger, the Partisan player must move any one Sighting marker already on the map into, or adjacent to, that random hex.
R 7. 2. 2 P a r t i s a n Rein f o r c e m e n t s
Whenever one or more Partisan units enter the map as reinforcements [6.1.2, step 5] the Partisan player performs the following steps in the order given: a) Place the reinforcements in any hex(es) containing a Sighting marker (instead of having to place them along the player’s friendly board edge, as normal). Stacking limits must be observed, so if there are not enough Sighting hexes to accommodate all arriving Partisan units the excess are forfeited and put back in the countermix. If there are no Sighting markers on the map, all incoming reinforcements are forfeited. b) Remove from the map one Sighting marker from every hex into which at least one Partisan reinforcement was placed. Put removed Sighting markers back in the countermix.
After paying the victory point cost of the order, the Partisan player chooses to do one of the following: ●● place ●● place
a Sighting marker on map [R8.1]; or a reinforcement unit on the Time Track [R8.2].
R 8.1 P lac e S i gh t in g M ar k e r
When an Infiltrate order is announced and the Sighting marker option is chosen, the Partisan player places a new Sighting marker in or adjacent to any hex containing a Partisan unit. If all available Sighting markers are already on the map, this option cannot be chosen.
R 8.2 P lac e R e inforc e m e n t s
When an Infiltrate order is announced and the reinforcement option is chosen, the Partisan player performs the following steps in the order given: a) Reveal the top card of his Force Deck [R1]. b) Select one of the two units shown on that card (ignore any VP cost associated with the unit). If neither unit can be chosen because they’re not available in the countermix, the order ends. c) Place the selected unit (along with its randomly-selected weapon, if any) into any space of the Time Track. This ends the order. This new unit will enter play as a reinforcement [6.1.2, step 5] if and when the Time marker enters its space.
R 7.3 R e moval
One Sighting marker is removed from the map whenever one or more Partisan units are placed into its hex as reinforcements [6.1.2, step 5]. Place the removed Sighting marker back into the countermix, out of play.
ComBAT Commander: Resistance — Playbook
Each scenario will assign the Partisan player a specific number of Sighting markers (which could be zero). Unless the scenario special rules say otherwise, Sighting markers are set up on the map in the same manner as other Partisan forces. New Sighting markers may also be gained during the course of play via the Infiltrate order [R8].
When an Infiltrate order is announced, the Partisan player loses (spends) an amount of victory points equal to the number identifier of that particular order – 0, 1, 2 or 3 – as shown on the card itself. No unit is activated during an Infiltrate order.
For those readers familiar with the Sighting markers in CC:Pacific, note that these work quite a bit differently.
© 2011 GMT Games, LLC
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R 9. M us t e r Orde r
R 11. No Quar t e r A c t io n
Mustering is a mechanism by which a specific Partisan unit forms up into a slightly larger unit. This is most often useful when a higher firepower is desired over mobility.
ComBAT Commander: Resistance — Playbook
When a Muster order is given the Partisan player activates a single, unbroken unit (only). The unit must be of the same type – Band, Troop, Section or Crew – as that listed on the order itself.
R 9.1 M us t e rin g
The Partisan player removes the activated unit from the map, placing it back in the countermix. He then places the next largest Partisan unit from the countermix into that hex. So an unbroken Crew is always replaced with a Section; a Section with a Troop; a Troop with a Band; and a Band with a Gang. In the unlikely event that the next largest unit isn’t currently available in the countermix, no replacement unit is received.
As an addendum to rule A38, the German No Quarter action can also be played against a Partisan opponent.
R 12. Trap A c t io n
Trap may only be played just after one or more enemy units Move or Advance into a hex. That hex cannot be Water Terrain nor already contain a Fortification of any type. Effect—The Partisan player chooses to do one of the following: ●● place
a Mines marker into that hex then immediately make a Mine Attack [F103.2] against each of those moving/advancing units; or
●● place
a Wire marker into that hex.
Note that Trap may be played regardless of the Partisan player’s Posture, not just when on the defense.
In which case you shouldn’t have played the order. If there was a weapon, Suppressed or Veteran marker on the removed unit, the replacement unit retains the marker. The replacement unit is considered to have been activated for the turn. Design Note: When a unit Musters it is assumed to be forming a more effective fighting unit by ostensibly incorporating a straggler or two in order to fill the ranks—maybe even some of those same men rendered temporarily combat ineffective due to the reduction in size of a broken unit earlier in the game. Mustering can also represent the sudden acquisition of a captured weapon or two, an influx of ammunition, or something as simple as bravado or a sudden surge of zeal amongst those who were until now timidly “holding the rear.”
R 13. In e x p e rie n c e Ev e n t
When this Event occurs, the Partisan player must discard every card currently in his hand.
R 14. Pat rio t ism Ev e n t
When this Event occurs, the Partisan player Rallies [3.2.5] one of his broken units, if any. If he does, he places a Veteran marker on that unit if it doesn’t already have one [E44.1].
R 15. S t e alt h Ev e n t R 10. K nif e A c t ion
Knife may only be played immediately prior to the Partisan player making a Melee Roll.
When this event occurs, the Partisan player may select one of his units or Sighting markers on the map. If he does, he removes that unit/marker from the hex that it occupies and places it into an adjacent hex. A unit cannot be placed into an impassable hex in this manner (such as a Blaze).
Effect—Increase the Melee Roll by +1. Immediately after the conclusion of the Melee, if at least one participating Partisan unit survived, the Partisan player draws a card. Like all modification-type Actions, Knife is cumulative—so if multiple Knife Actions were played and the Partisan player won the Melee, multiple cards would be drawn.
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© 2011 GMT Games, LLC
Design & Development Notes by John Foley
Since Chad’s design is centrally about the narrative experience of combat, we had to spend time carefully thinking about how to support his new work with a telling narrative in scenario form. Resistance against oppression takes many forms, all of which are noble and necessary but some forms of resistance focus so much on the action of the individual that a general force-on-force simulation is not appropriate. Research showed that we could classify the forms of armed resistance as follows: ●● Raids
(to secure food coupons or gain or destroy documents);
●● Temporary
Liberation of Areas (as shown by famous uprisings, many of which involved terrible retribution);
●● Guerilla
Warfare (to destroy critical transportation junctions and facilities, especially railroads and bridges);
●● Espionage
and Forgery (among the more exotic of the notable operations);
●● Political
Resistance (the most common mode available to the people at large);
●● Hiding
and Breakouts (of objects and/or persons of great political or military value or of evacuation of trapped forces).
From a design perspective, the game engine is not able to represent some of these types of resistance in a form that provides two players the opportunity to explore unit tactics and command in some kind of meaningful way. This leaves us with looking at situations where temporary liberation of areas, guerilla warfare and (in the case of trapped forces) breakouts with detachment and company-sized forces are involved. A most sensitive subject faced us next, which is that – given practical limits for what a module should contain in size and cost – we had to make choices about which resistance forces to represent. Moreover, we care deeply about finding the actual ground where the actions occurred (thus the new maps are
historically accurate), which sometimes made it not possible to represent a historical action (if we had no way to locate the action properly). We made the scenario choices as follows. First, we needed some scenarios that fundamentally could test and validate the design. These were the earliest scenarios used while the system underwent its gestation. Since the partisan forces in the system are “nearly” conventional, it stands to reason that the best test of the design would show itself by using Partisan, Soviet, Greek and French resistance forces. Second, we knew that there would be an interest to see how the conventional representation of irregular forces (for example, CC:E’s scenario #7) compares against the new (and unconventional) representation of these same forces. Thus two of the scenarios revisit previously published scenarios expressly to enable you to do this comparison, while also enjoying the tactical challenges. Third, and the hardest choice perhaps, was to reveal instances of the various different types of armed resistance while yet delivering a coherent narrative. We found that – in keeping with the central narrative vision of Combat Commander – the great Enemy Offensives (Yugoslav Partisans against German and Chetnik forces) delivered a variety of situations and revealed the narrative arc of resistance, from the very desperate to the very well-planned. Lastly, we thought that it was worthwhile to display some of the key technical methods in the warfare, which you will find in scenarios emphasizing the Partisan response to suppression and extermination (the “bell”), the German response to resistance (the “cauldron”), and shared military operations with resistance forces and commandos. Picking twelve situations to accomplish these goals and showcase the insights designed by Chad necessarily left many worthy resistance efforts for a later date. We hope you’ll understand the reasons behind our choices and we do look forward to representing the noteworthy resistance efforts of other peoples.
ComBAT Commander: Resistance — Playbook
The greatest resistance effort (in size, success and variety of operations and purposes) against the Axis powers occurred in Europe. From a design perspective, the partisan module elevates these efforts practically to the level of an additional conventional fighting force in the series. Chad did not, however, produce a conventional force with weak stats and some unusual capabilities. Instead, he did two difficult things: (1) he completely reframed the structure of unit hierarchy and unit force capability (which you will discover greatly changes how you use units in the game) and (2) thoroughly integrated this new structure inside the common central engine of Combat Commander. You are given something that you will know how to move around the field of battle rather quickly only to discover that you have in your hands a strikingly unique force. The effect for players (so far) is to intensify the experience of Chad’s original design.
Finally, since this module requires that an irregular force (introduced later in time) works properly against standard forces (previously designed), we had to have the best possible testing. Over years, Chad and Kai perfected the design through extensive testing. Then, for this game, Kai led one of the most superior testing teams we’ve ever experienced. When you read the names of the testers on the back page of this booklet, know that you are looking at one of the most dedicated and valuable groups of people in the hobby. They had a significant and positive impact in the quality of what you now have in your hands.
© 2011 GMT Games, LLC
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Scenario Design Point Values
Advance ........................................ Artillery Denied ........................ Command Confusion ................ Fire........................................................ Infiltrate ........................................ Move ................................................ Muster ................................................ Recover ........................................ Rout ................................................
5 4 1 7 4 5 4 4 2
ACTIONS Ambush ........................................ Assault Fire ................................ Command Confusion ................ Concealment ................................ Crossfire ........................................ Demolitions ................................ [Opportunity] Fire ........................ Hand Grenades ........................ Knife ................................................ Marksmanship ................................ No Quarter........................................ Smoke Grenades ........................ Spray Fire ........................................ Sustained Fire ................................ Trap ................................................
3 1 4 4 4 1 7 4 3 2 3 1 1 3 2
Dimitri ........................................ Georgi ........................................ Josef ........................................ Katrina ........................................ Maria ........................................ Mikhail ........................................ Nadia ........................................ Nikolai ........................................ Vassili ........................................ Viktor ........................................ Yevgeny ................................ Yuri ........................................
229 288 236 221 257 191 211 205 202 238 207 218
................
263
Nina, Local Hero OTHER
Gang ................................................ 89 Band ................................................ 80 Troop ................................................ 72 Section ................................................ 68 Crew ................................................ 67 random weapon
........................ 42
Sighting marker
........................ 50
Game Design — Chad Jensen
EVENTS Battlefield Integrity ................ Breeze ................................................ Hero ................................................ Inexperience ................................ Interdiction ................................ Interrogation ................................ Malfunction ................................ Medic ................................................ Mission Objective ........................ Patriotism ........................................ Reconnaissance ........................ Sappers ........................................ Scrounge ........................................ Stealth ................................................ Suppressing Fire ........................
2 6 2 7 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 4 1
TRIGGERS Event ................................................ 3 Jammed ........................................ 4 Sniper ................................................ 5
Developer — Kai Jensen Series Developer — John A Foley Art Director & Packaging Design — Rodger MacGowan Counters — Lee Brimmicombe-Wood, Rodger MacGowan and Chad Jensen
CREDITS
Partisan Fate Deck
ORDERS
LEADERS
Cards — Chad Jensen and Mark Simonitch Maps — Leland Myrick and Chad Jensen Playbook & Scenario Layout — Chad Jensen Play Testers — Mark Beyak, Richard Pardoe, Cindy Nowak, Brice Feal, Bryan Collars, Markus Klaas, Justin Rice, Beetlejuice, Dave Stiffler, John Leggat and John Vogel Production Coordinator — Tony Curtis Producers — Gene Billingsley, Tony Curtis, Andy Lewis, Rodger MacGowan and Mark Simonitch
GMT Games, LLC
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P.O. Box 1308, Hanford, CA 93232-1308
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www.GMTGames.com