Selecting SAN

[Cult.44]

How do folks decide what SAN to use for a scenario?

With the scenario I'm working on for MwT IV, I kept the SANs low. The defenders are members of a British searchlight regiment and so are second-line troops. There were no references to snipers in the source material and I'm guessing the searchlight troops didn't employ trained snipers. So should it have been SAN 0? I figured while they may not have trained snipers, the searchlights did have time to settle into their position and some soldiers may have served that role. Also, the way snipers are abstracted in ASL, it seems like that along with trained snipers, the rules might also represent occasional opportunity fire from the rank and file, i.e., a rifleman who's a pretty good shot gets a chance to take out an officer or NCO. I decided on SAN 3 for the British. Is this reasonable?

The German attackers are part of the probing edige of a panzer division on the move and so would have little time to set up snipers or familiarize themselves with the terrain. I decided on SAN 2 for the Germans. This seems in line with a lot of other scenarios.

 

[Vinnie]

Sounds reasonable to me. SAN is an amalgum of several factors, stray shells, bypassed positions, good fire discipline from one side or another and also a means of controlling the sides taking a large number of very low odds shots. I generally willnot take a 2+3 shot (no chance of effect) but will forgo a 2+2 or 2+1 shot if the enemy SAN is high. These low odds shots can unbalance a game.

 

[jrv]

SAN is a way of introducing factors outside the normal ASL rules that affect units. Snipers are one thing that in "real life" (i.e. WWII movies) affect units, but if the commander stepped on a nail and had to be carried off the field, you could look at that as a SAN result too. You could conceivably use it to reflect an organization that is poorly adapted to combat conditions (e.g. a supply organization) and was likely to break apart at enemy contact. You could use it in combination with SSRs and/or ELR too. In fact the higher SAN at night might reflect general confusion rather than a larger number of guys armed with high-powered rifles.

JR

 

[witchbottles]

Don't forget the rather well received idea of linking a higher SAN # to a SSR such as one finds in J1 Urban guerrillas. This can be a powerful tool for designers.

you can make a scen as one player was searching for with a SAN 5, and a SSR that any SAN 4 or 5 results in a 4 FP FFE:2 OBA drawn random direction / distance ( halved FRU) from the sniper counter. ( This to represent indirect Heavy MG grazing fire from across a large lake to one side of the playing area.). NOt an idea fully developed to work well, but an interesting concept for one to examine.

another use: SAN 5 ; SSR reads any SAN 5 result will result in 1 Axis SMC becoming beserk ( determine who randomly). Use can be imagined.

Just thoughts and ideas about SAN development.

Generally speaking; SAN represents all the things named above, as well as what you supposed, someone of average shooting ability getting lucky and taking that head shot on the enemy squad's sergeant. Remember, but for the grace of an order to stand down as it was not civil to shoot enemy officers; a simple rifleman would have ended the life and military career of General Washington on the Potomac.


KRL, Jon H

 

[indy_go_blue60]

Elijah Hunt Rhodes, prominently mentioned in Ken Burn's "Civil War" series, speaks of being across the river and seeing Stonewall Jackson with his wife and others picknicking shortly before the Chancellorsburg battle. According to Rhodes, they waved at each other.

Thanks for your comments about SAN; I like the rule but this thread has given me a deeper understanding of it.

 

[Cult.44]

(snip) ...

Thanks for your comments about SAN; I like the rule but this thread has given me a deeper understanding of it.

Indeed. It opens up the possibilities of how SAN might be used.

 

[MrP]

+1 to what everyone else said.

My rule of thumb is SAN=3 unless there's a good reason for it not to be, Japanese on the defence, blitzkrieg offence, friendly fire or some game mechanic that you want to work with it ala Urbane Gorillas. It might even be something as simple as a way of discouraging one side from taking low odds shots.