Another (probably stupid) Dinant question

John Fedoriw

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Hi gents,

Rereading DN4.615 and it says:
"4.615 SCENARIO COMMENCEMENT & SETUP: ...Purchased "?" may be placed on Good Order units if: a vehicle is in Concealment Terrain and out of LOS of all Good Order enemy units; Infantry is either out of LOS of, or ≥ 17 hexes away from, all Good Order Enemy units. Dummies are NA, and remaining are lost. (See SSR CG4 at night.) ..."
Does the prohibition of dummies apply to the initial scenario? The way it is worded I think it must.

I know COWTRA...so sorry if I am treading on its toes here. But the fact the the Frenchies get free concealment for the initial scenario made me kind of assume they were allowed to make dummies. There's not too many choices for the French to purchase and M3 seemed like an OK one ...because I was thinking they could get dummies for the initial scenario. If not I really need to reconsider this.

Thanks for any replies....
 

Carln0130

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Hi John, so two points on this. "The Initial Scenario provides setup instructions for that scenario" so both sides get the freebie of everyone in Concealment Terrain gets Concealed. However, the word "otherwise" is in there and Dummies are N/A. Also, the 'what phases get used for the Initial Scenario' includes the rule above. Dummies are NA is specifically part of that rule and not overridden by the Initial Scenario rules, so no, you cannot buy Dummies. The footnotes help you out here also by way of why this is so. This was not a set piece defense by the French. They barely beat the Germans to the Meuse. This was more of a meeting engagement with a river in the middle of it than anything else.

The short answer is, no Dummies. Your entrenchments do get set up HIP and are revealed as in E1.16. Also, once you begin play, remember that the Kindling/Spreading Fire DR for Woods has a -2 DRM. It is harder to start/spread fire in this game than in most, at least in the woods anyway. Also remember for that Initial Bombardment, that only hexes with units in it are hit, buildings or Bridges. Should a Roadblock or several be purchased and lands in the Bombardment, that has a chance to be flattened too per C1.822. No deviation from the normal rules there, just pointing it out by way of reinforcement. Bottom line on the Initial Scenario is those rules take precedence and where they do not, fall back on the section above. When are you guys planning on starting this? If it is on VASL, I'll be happy to ride shotgun on the rules if available, to make sure you get off to a good start with it.
 
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Carln0130

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John, also see the rules & errata section of this forum. It has a couple of VERY important pieces of errata for Dinant.
Thanks.
 

John Fedoriw

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Hi Carl,

COWTRA once more. Thanks...again you are extremely helpful.

We start the CG Wed Feb 24 at noon EST on VASL. The initial plan was tentatively to start yesterday but I have had such a hard time setting up that we delayed until then. (I set up twice and scrapped the setup twice - and I have considered about 3 ways to approach this). I am glad we didn't start yet though because I had a major rules misunderstanding about the dummies - sometimes you need to reread those rules a few times to have the important points sink in (in my case its also sometimes hard to quash preconceived ideas LOL).

I feel the way the French must have during this campaign. I am looking at all the stuff he can buy (how many HMG/MMGs!?) and I start quaking in my boots LOL. It makes me feel defeatist LOL. Then I repeat the mantra "Its only cardboard LOL".

However...in a weird kind of way this may make my job actually easier. I promised myself I would get my setup to my opponent before Sat to give him time to work on his. Luckily I still have tomorrow afternoon to look at it.
 

Carln0130

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Hi Carl,

COWTRA once more. Thanks...again you are extremely helpful.

We start the CG Wed Feb 24 at noon EST on VASL. The initial plan was tentatively to start yesterday but I have had such a hard time setting up that we delayed until then. (I set up twice and scrapped the setup twice - and I have considered about 3 ways to approach this). I am glad we didn't start yet though because I had a major rules misunderstanding about the dummies - sometimes you need to reread those rules a few times to have the important points sink in (in my case its also sometimes hard to quash preconceived ideas LOL).

I feel the way the French must have during this campaign. I am looking at all the stuff he can buy (how many HMG/MMGs!?) and I start quaking in my boots LOL. It makes me feel defeatist LOL. Then I repeat the mantra "Its only cardboard LOL".

However...in a weird kind of way this may make my job actually easier. I promised myself I would get my setup to my opponent before Sat to give him time to work on his. Luckily I still have tomorrow afternoon to look at it.
Most of the folks who play this campaign, from both sides I might add, complain that they have no shot going in :). I could not be more pleased. If everyone is complaining, I'm happy.
 

John Fedoriw

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Most of the folks who play this campaign, from both sides I might add, complain that they have no shot going in :). I could not be more pleased. If everyone is complaining, I'm happy.
I agree....IMO that's always a good way to tell if a scenario is balanced - if both sides think they are going to lose.
 
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