The Strategic Layer - Botting the campaign...A Campaign Design Process update

 

This is the latest version of the scouting table, the one which governs the clearance or failure to clear a Possible Enemy marker (new name pending). 

The most significant change is the target numbers for clearing the markers, then a couple of modifiers were added/changed.

Additionally, I am including my updated notes on what the player is striving to do at the same time the bot is doing its thing.These are a bit rough and lack some context, which I hope the last few posts serve to provide.

In response to the placement of Possible Enemy markers...

"Scouts will attempt clear the possible enemy marker. If they succeed, the marker(s) are removed. If they fail, they will need to skirmish with the marker or evade it.

If they skirmish, they will fight a skirmish battle (either by die roll or on tabletop)

If they win the fight, their scouting causes the possible enemy marker(s) to resolve into a main body, the strength of which is based on both the level of success of their skirmish as well as the number of possible enemy markers at that location.

If they lose the skirmish, the possible enemy marker remains in place at that location, meaning it will gain another such marker at the start of the next turn, and will also lose one or more SPs and may become fatigued (meaning it is less useful in scouting until it recovers remains in place for two campaign turns).

If friendly main body attempts to remove a possible enemy marker, it has a greater chance of doing so. If it fails, the possible enemy marker gains two new markers and immediately resolves into enemy main body at that new strength.

Enemy main body strength can range from one to six Possible Enemy markers, plus any garrisons from depots in range.

These determine the number of die rolls on the army generator table.

The degree of success or failure, when testing to resolve Possible Enemy markers into an enemy main body, also modifies the enemy flank attack die roll. Which the player rolls at the end of every tactical turn after the first, so at the end of turn 2, rolls to see if enemy flanking force arrives on a table edge. These rolls continue to happen as a second or more flanking force may arrive, but with modifiers that reduce the chances."

I intend to have the final table finished and begin typing everything for this part of the bot into actual rules by this weekend. Hopefully, my friends in California will be able to test it extensively in an ACW campaign.