One of the most common mechanics in tabletop wargaming is casualty removal. A figure is hit, it fails a roll, and it’s gone from the battlefield. It’s a simple and familiar mechanic, but some rulesets take the idea further by including medics, casualty recovery, and the unpredictable nature of battlefield survival. In my latest video, I take a closer look at how different games model these elements and what they add to our tabletop experiences.
If you’re interested in how tabletop wargames represent the human side of battle, and how these mechanics affect both playability and immersion, this is a discussion you won’t want to miss.
As a scenario objective, absolutely! As a general mechanic, doubtful.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Phil.
ReplyDeleteMost of what you mention as examples are games where a player is an NCO or company commander and thus close to the action and the need to closely manage casualties. When the player is supposed to be taking the role of higher command, casaulties must be abstracted to preserve the scale of the game and not confusr the player's supposed role. Thus, roll to hit and roll to save does this without forcing a corps or brigade commander to micro manage.