As I stated in another thread there was an FRASL tourney that had a homemade scenario. So the questions that I have is how often does this happen and how do most players feel about homemade scenarios.
As I stated in another thread there was an FRASL tourney that had a homemade scenario. So the questions that I have is how often does this happen and how do most players feel about homemade scenarios.
It all depends on who has created the scenario and whether it appears to be any good. Today's homemade scenario may be tomorrow's Journal scenario; on the other hand, it may be tomorrow's birdcage lining.
In the "old" days, many ASL tournaments featured all new scenarios.
I guess I would want to know how well playtested the scenario is and it would have to be part of the official list being played. I could see something like that happening at a local tournament for instance, not knowing what the FRASL is.Originally Posted by Priest
If it was my opponents turn to pick a scenario and he whipped out a homemade scenario in a tourney, then no. Well, who am I kidding. I am never going to win a tournament so I probably would play it
Michael
"As Patton said, a bad plan violently executed today is better than a great plan tomorrow..."
-Hartman Hughes, CCN reporter
I think that there are no problems with homemade scenarios, even they are very interesting... but only if you are playing with people you know ( not against them, it is a play men ), when you hace confidence in your opponent and the main purpose of the game is not to "win" it. Probably, a lot of ASL players ( if not all ) are avid WWII stuff readers. It is not uncommon to read about a little action, not portrayed in a ( known to us ) ASL scenario. Or simply the lectures "inspire" you and you want to play a situation related to that little aspect of the war, not limited by official scenarios. The situation is even more atractive if you are ( or have been ) a Roleplayer, where the "made it yourself" stuff is the norm.
So you re-read it, take some notes and prepare a scenario. Sometimes one or two hours are enougth. Sometimes, you had it in the head for weeks. And finally you write it. There is no playtesting, and no intention for it to be a "balanced" scenario. It is VERY difficult to build a balanced game without playtesting it. But it must be INTERESTING and PLAYABLE, that are the key words.
Then you archive it... and after some days, weeks or even years you will recover it, and present your little work to your circle of ASL players. Sometimes it will result in a bad work, a flawed scenario... sometimes it will be simply regular. But when you play a "made yourself" scenario and your ASL friends cheer you after a good and inspired work... Oh, man.... it is heaven.
Probably my POV is very influenced by 15 years of experience as a roleplayer. Appart the HASL campaigns, my ASL experience is about playing and having a good time, not about winning. So a balanced scenario is not important for me.
I wouldn't be enthusiastic at all about playing someone's homemade scenario. If someone wants to create a scenario & playtest it, do it normally & then submit it to MMP or whatevr TPP, but don't whip it out on some unwary players in a tournament .. there should be a law against this or something.
Out of curiosity, what is the practical difference in a tournament between a scenario that I design and playtest and debut at a tournament as opposed to a scenario that I design and playtest and debut in a third party publication? It is the same scenario, either way.
I would think the biggest difference would be that since it is a tounament game, you do not want to be given a scenario that is a potential dog right out of the box.
When tournament standings are on the chopping block, that would not be the time to be playtesting.
Now, if we were at the festival ASLOK, and this was not a GROFAZ game, then I would not mind playing something that needs playtesting (but I would not spend my entire ASLOK time doing this)
Since I am the one who designed this homemade scenario and came up with the idea for the tournament let me give you a little more background.
First of all it is a Fog of War tournament where you only know your OB and not your opponents. We have too many Grognards that have played hundreds of scenarios and remember most of them too well to try and sneak a published scenario by them.
Second of all to take into account any play balance problems we have a special way of scoring the scenario. You are only compared to the players who are playing the same side as you. That way if it is unbalanced in favor of one side every person who plays that side faces the same imbalance. Players are given points for things such as CVP's, exit CVP's, CVP's maintained, and personal leader points. The player on each side with the most points gets a trophy for best Axis or Allied commander.
Thirdly it is just a local one day tournament and everyone knows ahead of time that this is the format. In fact I give them their OB and VC's a month ahead of time so they can plan as much as they want and have their pieces pulled and strategies set. You play only one opponent and I try to match everyone up as closely as possible as far as skill level.
This is our 4th year we have been holding this tournament and I have had several of our guys tell me this is their favorite tournament because it is a different format. I got the idea from the March Madness tournament that was held several years ago. I thought the idea was too good to let die.
You won't see one of my scenarios in the Journal or anywhere else for that matter. I don't design them to be played that way. They could be tweaked to be played as a regular scenario but as of yet we haven't done that. Tom Repetti was thinking of helping me submit one of them to Coastal Fortress to post on their website but they became defunct before that could happen.
I too would be a little leery of a homemade scenario in a regular format tournament but for a change of pace it is really a lot of fun. You never know what kind of surprise you are in for or what waits for you around the next corner. I would encourage others to try this type of tournament with their local groups, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Hi all-
I submitted Visions of Arnham to Critical Hit! but I will post it here if anybody wants to give it a try. No rules are used from Gen 48, I wanted to try and make this scenario for eveybody to play. So here is a homemade scenario for you all to enjoy.
Scott
Visions of Arnhem
Once Manshiyeh had been taken, total chaos reigned throughout the town. The mass exodus was at its height now and the British army assumed full responsibility for the defence of Jaffa. Reinforcements from Cyprus and Malta arrived, and British vessels were ready in waiting off the Tel Aviv shore. The British governor of Lydda district informed Israel Rokach, Mayor of Tel Aviv, that if the Irgun did not stop the fighting, the city would be shelled by tanks on land, and bombarded by ships offshore and by RAF aircraft. The ultimatum was ignored by the Irgun command, and the following morning the British began to shell the Alliance school area, where the Irgun headquarters were located. At the same time, British tanks and armored cars moved towards Manshiyeh, and directed heavy fire at the newly-occupied area.
Aftermath:
This was the first occasion on which the Irgun fought the British directly. Despite the clear superiority of the British artillery and armor, the Irgun fighters battled courageously and refused to retreat. Senior commanders went into battle at the head of their troops, and held up the British armored force by blowing up houses and scattering the debris on the roads and alleys. 2nd Battalion 1st Independent Parachute Brigade which had veterans whom had fought at Arnhem and led by noneother then Col. John Frost Smashed their way towards the Jaffa Police station, but stubborn Isreali resistance and the purposful destruction of city blocks slowed the BritishArmor and infantry advance to a crawl. With casulties mounting on both sides, both British and Irgun forces signed a truce, but not before the Irgun blew the Police station into rubble. Days later the British withdrew from Isreal thus leaving what was left of Jaffa open to Isreali occupation.....
Notes:
2nd Battalion 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, arrived in Tulkarem, Palestine in April 1946. The 2nd Bttn. was under the command of Col John Frost- of Arnhem fame. The battalion was engaged in anti terrorist activities involving the Stern and Irgun
gangs in the Jaffa area of operations.
The battle for Jaffa Websight:
http://www.etzel.org.il/english/ac18.htm
Visions of Arnham
Victory Conditions: The British win immediately if they control building 20H3 (even if Rubbled) or at game end by inflicting 24 CVP’s on the Isreali forces. The British lose automatically if 30 CVP’s are inflicted upon them.
Mapboard Layout:
[---------------------------]
[ ]
[ ] N
[20------------------------] ^
Turns: 6 1/2 Israeli Set-up First British Move first
Elements of the 2nd Battalion 1st Independent Parachute Brigade Set-up east of hexrow Y of board 20. ELR 5 SAN 4
648x16 10-2 9-1 8-1x2 8-0 LMGx4 MMGx2 Churchill VIIx3
Elements of the Irgun Set-up west of Hexrow Y (see SSR 3) ELR 3 SAN 5:
447x8 558x6 10-2 8-1x2 8-0 LMG(a)x4 DC(a)x4
SSR:
1. EC’s are dry with no wind at start. Genesis 48 Rules are not ineffect. All buildings are Ground and first level only(EXC 20H3 Police Station) and are Stone. Kindling is NA.
2. Israeli units are treated as “Allied Minor” for Nationality purposes with the following addition Israeli broken side Morel is one higher. Both 447's and 558's Morel is treated as underlined. Use American 447's, 558's and SW’s from Gung Ho to represent the Irgun. Israeli Units have Mol (A22.6) and ATMM(C13.7) just as if they were Germans in 1944.
3. Prior to the Start of play, both the Israeli and British play may place 4 Rubble counters each. Falling rubble(B24.12) is possible.
4. The Israeli player may use HIP for two Squad equivalents and any SW/SMC that set-up with Them. The Israeli player may fortify 4 Building locations. (Tunnels are NA)
We have run at least 4 or 5 non-ASL tournaments here at SZO (WHQ) that used the format described above. The tournaments featured all new scenarios that had never been released before. Now I know a few with blather on about playtesting, but the emphasis here was on fog-of-war and command decisions. So we found an easy way to ensure balance: identical OOBs. That's right, we pitted a BLUE force against an identical RED force. Since the OOBs were the same the real decisions centered around proper use of recon, the terrain, etc. Interestingly, the scenarios often times produced results just as lopsided as some of the scenarios branded as "dogs." YMMV.
The Taste of War tournament that is currently running used a variation of this tournament format for Round 1. When we first started this several years ago there was some resistence to the idea, but after trying it many people loved it and wanted more of the same. I'm not saying it's the best way to do a tournament, but it is one valid method.
"I have always known about man. From the evidence, I believe his wisdom must walk hand and hand with his idiocy. His emotions must rule his brain. He must be a warlike creature who gives battle to everything around him, even himself." - Dr. Zaius
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