CoC Korea

 

Somewhere in Korea October 1951

Darryl Cox and I kicked off our foray into Chain of Command Korea with a Patrol Mission. The Australians from 3 Bn Royal Australian Regiment send a platoon strength Fighting Patrol out to identify Chinese PVA positions in this poor looking scrubby landscape…..

Although the Aussies rolled a meager Force Morale of 8 against the PVA of 10 they quickly got the upper hand. In spite of their right section taking suppressing fire their return fire was very effective using the Five Rounds Rapid inflicting shock and wounding the PVA Squad Leader. On the Aussies left flank their fire was more effective in inflicting significant shock on a PVA squad attempting to crawl in to assault range!

Not a good start for Chinese!

 

 

 

Suddenly the staccato roar of a Maxim Machine Gun rips out from the centre of the PVA positions! However this only inflicted a small amount of shock on the centre Aussie section.

To the horror of the Chinese Commander, the Aussies had a surprise of their own with a Vickers Machine Gun in support! In the ensuing Machine Gun duel the PVA gun team took 3 yes, THREE, casualties! The middle section adds its Bren gun teams fire with 5 Rounds Rapid and quickly the PVA machine gun is first Pinned and then a final casualty routs the hapless Maxim’s remaining team member.

 

The Chinese Force Morale is dropping rapidly and the Commander decides belatedly to send his right hand squads forward hoping to kill or capture the Vickers gun, the section next to it and the Platoon Commander who happens to be here as well!

While the right hand PVA squad has inflicted significant shock on the Aussie section to its front the return fire is equally accurate thanks to the Platoon Commanders fire direction (5 Rounds Rapid causing 9 hits and resulting in a LOT of shock!).

Unfortunately this move by the Chinese is too little too late and the Aussies are able to bring the combined firepower of two sections AND the Vickers team on the luckless Chinese. First the LMG team is wiped out, the Chinese Sergeant (Inferior Senior Leader) is then wounded and more riflemen killed and finally only two riflemen are left. With far too much shock (11 on 4 figures) they break and route taking both wounded Leaders with them.

With the loss of this PVA squad the Chinese Force Morale has dropped to 4 losing them a Command Dice and consequently the engagement; leaving the battlefield in Aussies hands.

Old Faithful 3 RAR have lived up to their name!

The last image shows the final disposition of troops.

The Chinese have one squad in good order and the second has accumulated too much shock to be effective although not yet Pinned, however the Chinese Commander is alone (except for his bugler) in the centre of the field and unable to help.

On the Aussies side there are two sections in good order supported by the Vickers and they have not yet brought forward the sniper, 2” mortar and M20 Super Bazooka teams!     

A great game and this will be definitely the first of many!

As usual the Chinese forgot to take advantage of the “Bunched Target” with the Vickers co-located with two other teams on the flank.

The Aussies made good use of the 5 Rounds Rapid fire control!

Great game thanks Darryl and well deserved win!

Detail of Owen's Chinese force (1st Corps and Warlord figs)

By Paul:

WoW - what a fabulous looking game! I haven't tried CoC v2 yet and have had a Korea itch for some time, so this really appeals to me.

That's a great CHICOM force you've assembled mate, sorry to see them wiped out in their first game but we all know the fate of newly painted figures in their first game! :-) Maybe I need to do a USMC force....

Reminds me that I still have that modular Kapyong battlefield we made for the club open day back in...'98 I think? maybe it deserves to be unearthed for this!

Great work Owen and Darryl - looking forward to the next bout!

Paul

CoC: Belov Escape To Victory

 

Belov Escape To Victory Mission 2

A Chain of Command V2 Game report.

Russian forces to the East are pressing hard against the German 221^st Security Division forces using the heavy forest as cover to infiltrate close the German positions with the aim of breaching the wire and minefields. Later this day the German field commander will hear that the green troops were no match for the veteran Russian Urragh charge.

However this is news to come. In a small village east of Roslavl a German platoon under the command of the Company Captain have a much better defensive position. The troops here are a seasoned Regular platoon with MG34s instead of the second rate MG26t, they are supported by two Pak 36 AT guns and have a bunker in a commanding position.

The Situation So Far

It is May 1942 and forces under the Russian General Pavel Belov are desperate to break out of a German encirclement. The Soviets have divided into two columns, with the first, under General Kazankin, striking with a first echelon led by the 1st and 3rd Guards Cavalry Regiments; the second column under Belov led by the 5th and 6th Guards Cavalry regiments are attacking a little to the North East. If both attempts are not successful there will be a third attempt again near Roslavl.

A village somewhere near Roslavl…

An aerial view of the battlefield. A typical Russian farming village with crops yet to be harvested and open fields to the East.

 The German Commander has a position very favourable to defence with open fields of fire to a flank and buildings that will channel any enemy advance ideal for the Germans to ambush from.

As the Russian commander conducts his recon he is concerned about navigating the tight street through the village. His Guards Cavalry will need to dismount his troops leaving the horses to be mounted again later if required as the squads try to infiltrate using the woods as cover.

The Russians push a squad forward to the edge of the village with the T60 moving cautiously through the woods on the track. To the left flank a 75mm field gun has deployed and a sniper team that has moved forward has identified an enemy bunker and dug in infantry. The Germans open fire and wound the guns commander!

Wary of German ambushes the first squad cautiously advance to the village.

 The T60 has advanced to the edge of the woods to engage the German bunker but takes fire from a carefully positioned Pak36! The first shot damages the T60s engine and in retaliation a Russian sniper team hiding in the wheat fields lays down effective fire killing one crew member and causing shock!

 

The Russian infantry move forward on the flank using the farm houses to stay out of sight of any German defenders but unfortunately they are seen through a gap between two buildings and take effective fire from a German squad positioned near to Pak36! Heartened by the arrival of the infantry squad the Pak 36 fires at the T60 this time scoring a direct hit resulting in a very impressive explosion.

On the Germans right flank the bunker is taking a lot of fire from the Russian sniper team in the fields near the edge of the woods and the 75mm field gun but so far have taken no casualties.

The Russian Platoon Commander pushes another squad up to the village to support the troops taking fire from the German MG34 and accompanies them to keep momentum and prevent them bogging down!

The Russian field gun continues to fire on the German bunker but return fire as well as HE shells from the Pak 36 start causing casualties!

The Russian Commanders decides to throw caution to the wind and orders his platoon to mount up and sprint past the German Defenders who have left a flank apparently unguarded! A faire maiden was never won by a faint heart!

Unfortunately for the Russians the German Company Captain, an experienced officer from battles in Poland, France and now in Russia has two more squads in reserve and with deft co-ordination of the MG34 and two rifle squads catches the Russian cavalry in a deadly enfilade!

The first cavalry squad is wiped out! The second cavalry squad following also takes heavy casualties including the squad leader and the platoon commander!

 

While the Russian Guard Cavalry fought heroically the weight of fire of the German Machinegewher was too much for them. Seeing all their leaders killed or wounded, the supporting T60 destroyed and one squad completely wiped out broke their resolve. The German platoon held this salient and now wait to see General Belov’s next desperate move.

Campaign summary to date

The first mission was a resounding victory for the Russians who overwhelmed a Green German Platoon, easily breaching the wire defences. A terrifying Urragh charge by 3 squads against two already depleted green squads wiped them out! Surging with success they carried on to assault a third squad rushing to plug the gap but they were ultimately also swept away. The Pak36 was unable to dent the Russian T34s armour and German morale quickly plummeted.

This second mission was fought very differently with the Russians attempting to bypass the German defences. Unfortunately the T60 did not fare so well as the T34 in the other battle and two shots from the Pak36 resulted in a spectacular explosion. The last straw came when the cavalry tried a desperate sprint to escape only to be cut to ribbons by the wall of machine gun and rifle fire from the defenders.

 The scene is now set for the third and final battle!

Here is a preview of the battlefield. The road has a slight embankment offering some cover and the scrubby area will also offer some cover but the tangled low bushes impede foot and cavalry movement. The Russians will have plenty of concealment to deploy behind the farmsteads.

 

Bolt Action vs Chain of Command

My posts last year about moving on from 1st edition Bolt Action (BA) brought forth some interesting commentary about different rules sets.  I thought I'd indulge myself with a post to answer them.

Disclaimer: Everyone has their own opinion, and none are more valid than any other.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so whatever you play just have Fun! There is no "one rules system to rule them all"

Bolt Action: for me this is a fun and cinematic, Hollywood-esque style of game.  If you want to play Commando/Battle Comics (with appropriate quotes such as "Gott und Himmel, these Englanders fight like madmen!") then you'll have a lot of fun with these.  Chances are that you can easily find an opponent and there are lots of tourney opportunities if thats your thing.  The new(ish) 2nd edition rules iron out a few of the loopholes which were exploitable and introduce the ability of officers to activate more than one subordinate unit in a coordinated fashion - that can quite change game play and makes Officers far more valuable (and thus juicy sniper targets too!).

Pros: Large community, tight rules sets, relatively quick play, easy to learn (Reilly beat me in his first game!), and quite expandable (we have played 3 v 3 and 2 v 2 games with minimal changes)

Cons: Several abstractions (to make the game quick and tourney friendly) which can be frustrating, lots of extra rulebooks to buy (not that you need them), no historical organisations mandated (you can use them, like I do, but that wont be optimising you effectiveness)

Personal Note: BA allows player to build units from scratch to their hearts desire, regardless of historical ORBATs.  Personally, I like to use historical section/squad organisation to retain the right feel.

Chain of Command: I also very much like these rules from Too Fat Lardies.  They are in my opinion a much better tactical game, and sometimes just trying to overcome your situation is the most satisfying challenge to overcome.  It also has a great scouting phase at the start of the game to establish the front line and deployment areas, which is really interesting.  C2 really impacts the game in a really interesting way and delivers lots of flavour.  However, as a result I think they suffer from less balance (which is, ultimately, historical right?!)

Pros: more depth/historical feel, historical organisation (well, its a pro for me anyway), good campaign system, lots of nice cheap Campaign supplements available.

Cons: less balance, smaller community, longer play time, rulebook less well laid out and difficult to read/comprehend IMHO

I quite like Anatoli's detailed review here: http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/chain-of-command-rules-review.html

Conclusion: There are many other rules sets out there at the WW2 Platoon level, and each has their champion player or gaming group.  Please see my disclaimer at the start; as long as you and your friends are having fun then all power to you!

For me both BA and CoC are good games for different reasons - I recommend both and will keep playing them both.  However, I find that BA is a much easier game to pickup again quickly after an absence, while CoC is more difficult to do that with.

Good Friday Gaming

To kick the Easter holidays off properly, John hosted a club game at Chateau Slowp8tr.  We played a 2 v 2 game of Cain of Command, using Dux's very nice Brits and Dave's lovely and just finished early war French (which we played a Vichy).  I really loved the sculpts of the Moroccan troops.

Dave's great Moroccan Section

I was the only one who had played before (and my last game was 2 years ago) so I rediscovered the trait of this great game - its darn hard to play without a teacher.  I did have to 'phone a friend' with some questions (thanks Comrade James!) but in the end we struggled through.  Despite this foible, it really is a great game.

Dux's Britsh deploy forward and try to dominate the centre of the battle area 

Only to have the Moroccans deploy along the road (and behind cover) to lay down a murderous fire upon them

In response, Dux deployed a Vickers MMG team with enfilading fire down the road, negating all cover.  It got a bit nasty for the Moroccans (who held steady it must be said) but then a supporting French Squad brought the Vickers team under fire with these results. Five 6s = 5 dead, from a 5 man team.  Nasty!

So the French beat the British, proving once and for all that wine and cheese is superior to tea and tiffin, and uncharacteristically Dave's newly painted army was not utterly destroyed in the usual adage that he who is painted last dies most prolifically.  Once again I also showed that I seem only to be able to beat Dux with help, though he maintains that I did not beat him - my partner did...

I enjoyed playing with an unfamiliar army and if CoC takes off at the club I might build myself a new force to play with - something a bit different.  In fact, I'm thinking Bersaglieri and the Italian rules for CoC have some interesting twists: http://toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?p=2025#  Because I needed a new project...

Thanks for a great night fellahs and for hosting us John!

WINTERCON- Part 2

This is the second and final part of my Wintercon 2014 coverage, and I'll focus on the two games I was lucky to play in.
The first day I tried to help defend Pegasus Bridge from the surprise attack of the Brit Paras in a Chain of Command re-enactment fought on a massive table.

Gaming buddy Jason D and his fellow gamers Andrew and Brad built an amazing table complete with the Warlord Games Pegasus Bridge model and hotel. Jason made three Horsa gliders for his paras , which landed in almost perfect positions for their assault.

Chain of Command uses an innovative activation mechanic whereby each player at the start of their turn rolls a number of dice, usually 5-6, to determine what types of units may activate. In true Fat Lardies style, the game focuses on the effect of leaders at all levels, and hence rolling a 3 or 4 allows a leader to activate a squad with themselves, whereas a 1 or a 2 activates a small team or a squad without a leader. Leaders can add extra bonuses to the squad they activate, so a 3 or 4 is always handy. A roll of two or more 6's enables that player to have the next turn, and hence you can get big runs for one side if the dice roll well.

And that is exactly what happened....the Brit paras stormed out of their gliders, killing the defenders of one flank and seizing the 50mm ATG almost immediately, and were able to close right in close to the MG bunker and 37mm AA gun on the opposite flank.

 Into em lads!

Ach! Ve are surrounded!!

The HMG in the bunker managed to get off one burst, but the panicked Ostruppen inside was only able to hit 2 paras. The 37mm AA gun fared a little better, taking down 3 paras with its HE rounds. The ATG crew gave a good account of themselves, killing 4 paras in close assault, but the remaining Red Devils finished off the crew, seizing the ATG for later use...

 The Brit paras used their PIAT teams to take out the HMG bunker and then the AA gun, before the Jerries could fire again.....with all the casualties, the German Force Morale level was reduced to below breaking, and the scenario was over. The lads played a second game that afternoon, which involved a German armoured counter attack, but the Paras managed to hold on and keep the Germans off the bridge by the end of the scenario.

 On the second day I took part in an 8 player, 4 per side game of Bolt Action, using 1250pts of Late War Germans.

As the attackers, our job as the Axis was to break through past the halfway line into the enemy deployment zone, and the closer we got to the baseline, the more points per unit we would get. Of course, killing the enemy was a good idea too (and scored us points) so I set about doing exactly that.
I faced off against a French army, commanded by John, of War and Peace Games who is a wonderful gentleman and great opponent. Highlights of the game were my sole airstrike lining up my own command squad instead of the Char B tank I had assigned it (stop laughing Paul!) , my PzIVH getting its second kill ring from the French R35, and my Veteran Infantry squad that deployed from the halftrack at point blank range into a French squad, wiping them out with shooting, assaulting the French Sudanese veteran squad before they could assault me and wiping them out, and then withstanding an assault by French regulars before finally being wiped out by another assault.
I was a little too involved in the game to take many pics, so the ones above are of the last two turns showing my PzIV pushing up the centre, and my two squads holding off the Char B on the other flank. I should add my sniper scored three kills from 4 shots before being killed by a direct hit from the Char B's 75mm gun, and I was able to fire my Panzerschreck and both Panzerfausts in my infantry squads , to no effect, except a big morale boost :-)

That ended day 2 of Wintercon 2014. I'll cover the loot in my next post.....;-)

Last Levy

I've been wanting to do a "Fall of the Reich" style German force for Chain of Command/Bolt Action so was excited to see this last week:

NEW: LAST LEVY, THE DEFENCE OF BERLIN

May 2, 2014 - Bolt Action, Bolt Action - German, Latest Products - Tagged: Bolt Action, Featured, German

In the last days of Germany’s war, many desperate civilians were drafted into the Volksturm to defend Berlin. Armed with whatever they could lay their hands on, old men, wounded soldiers, and even those too young for regular service were expected to hold back the unstoppable Red Army.

This new metal boxed set brings you the rag-tag elements of what would be forever called ‘The Last Levy’.

The Volkssturm (literally, ‘People‘s Storm’) were militia recruited from amongst the old, unfit and young. Many were drawn from the ranks of the Hitler Youth or from amongst veterans of World War I. They were ill-equipped with a variety of weaponry including crudely made Volkssturm MP3008 submachine guns and Volkssturmgewehr rifle. Others carried weapons captured from other nations earlier in the war or guns dating back to the previous century. Most did not have a uniform, but wore civilian clothing with just a black armband emblazoned with Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht to show their allegiance. Volkssturm battalions were theoretically formed only for the defence of their own military district, but many ended up being sent to the frontline.

A paramilitary organisation, the Hitler Youth was set up by the Nazi Party to promote its ideology to the youth of Germany, and thus indoctrinate the next generation of Party members. They were not trained for combat, but by the end of the war were being conscripted into military service. Teenage boys were given basic weapons training and expected to fight and die in defence of the Fatherland. Often the NCO was a veteran or a formerly invalid soldier returning to duty. Despite their age, these boys often fought with great courage and tenacity, sacrificing themselves for a hopeless cause.

As you can see from the miniatures shown above, there is a wide variety of uniforms and equipment used by these proud defenders of the German capital.

This boxed set contains 20 highly detailed and characterful metal miniatures:

HQ: NSDAP party official with pistol

HQ: Bund Deutscher Mädel (German League of Girls) medic

Infantry: Hitler Youth Squad. NCO with MP40 SMG, 4 ‘men’ with Kar98K rifles/panzerfausts

Infantry: Volksturm Squad. NCO with Gustloff VG 1-5 assault rifle, 4 soldiers with Kar98K rifles and panzerfausts.

Infantry: Volksturm Squad. NSDAP party worker NCO with Beretta SMG. 1 soldier with MP40 SMG, 3 with Kar98K rifles and panzerfausts

Soldier with Krummlauf assault rifle (fires around corners!) and panzerfaust.

2 soldiers with Luftfaust hand-held anti-aircraft rocket launcher and assault rifle.

Separate Figure Heads: Heads with Volksturm caps, German fire brigade helmet, and regular German army headgear.

http://store.warlordgames.com/products/last-levy-the-defence-of-berlin/

The Battle of Mouen

For historical context and game setup see here: http://tasmancave.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/coc-counterattack-at-mouen.html

Game setup prior to the Patrol Phase: Flanking Attack

Chain of Command (CoC) commences with the patrol phase, which is rather different and reflects pre-game reconnaissance.  Being a Flank attack, the British deployment area was one corner quarter of the battlefield, while the Germans advanced their tokens from two edges.  It certainly made for a different symmetry to start from.  The Germans advanced their 6 markers from both edges while we Brits pushed hard in one direction only.  In the end James had snuck a Jump off point nicely up the closer long edge of the board while the Germans on the other side were locked down before advancing far onto the board, so we could try and make the most of the wooded terrain with open fire lanes to the front which the Germans would have to advance through.

Battlelines are drawn after the Patrol Phase completes

The German Perspective-Deployment: Our plan was cunningly simple and fiendishly clever....as the scenario simply called for us to break the British Force Morale before our own was reduced to 3, and our forces had the firepower advantage, we determined our best course of action would be to set up in good cover and pour it on the hapless British till they had had enough...

The Germans deployed first, with a few squads and a Pz IV (James was still scarred by the game where it never came on and didn't want to take any chances!).  I then rolled well for my phase, getting 2 sixes to gain the next phase also.  I quickly deployed an infantry squad in the woods, and ran up to the hedge to let the advancing Jerry squad have it.  Lots of dice were subsequently thrown and while it could have been worse, that German squad was pinned and a shadow of its former self.  A good start I said to myself.. 

That that Jerry! Brits open up on advancing SS PzGrenadiers in the open

German Perspective- Surprised as we were by the aggressive British patrolling, my Panzergrenadier comrade found his forces caught in the open as they tried to take up their positions against the hedges...my Wehrmacht lads were able to exploit the advanced patrol areas on the British right flank and start a firepower duel with the Brit MMG that appeared behind the ruined farmhouse. My Platoon Commander, starting on the table, dispatched the Panzerschreck team to an advanced position on the opposite side of the field, so they could put some wunderbar HE into the PIAT team skulking in the farmhouse....

"Made a diary entry this morning.  Simply says: Bugger!"

...which is where my opposing number thought it was time to bring on another squad into a flanking position and bring up a Tiger tank for direct fire HE in support.  Coupled with HE shots from the advancing Pz IV on the right flank, it was a grim day for that squad and the three remaining chaps beat a hasty retreat as the broke.  That said, exchanging one regular Infantry squad for an elite PzGren squad with 2 MG42s was well in my favour, just don't ask the NOK. On our right flank we deployed an infantry squad and a MMG to cover the wire obstacles and a long range exchange of fire with a German squad commenced with mild, mutual attrition. 

German Perspective- The temptation to advance the Tiger forward to crush the Britishers once and for all was ALMOST overwhelming for my comrade, but he held his Teutonic discipline and held back, thus not subjecting the Tiger to being swarmed...the PzIV had a cracking good time pumping HE rounds into the British lead section, whilst the Bow MMG sprayed the PIAT team to keep its head down...

One of the support options the Germans took was a preliminary bombardment (for 2 points).  Given the nature of the game with no units on the board when the battle starts, this is executed in an abstract fashion - a 50% chance that a unit will actually deploy until the first Turn ends.  This turned out to be invaluable as British units continued to fail to deploy (having been deployed by shells, diverting around shell holes etc etc).  This included a few infantry squads and both Churchills which let the Panzers roam freely in the meantime.  For 2 points, it was a very effective support option, and one which makes sense for a counterattack too.  The Churchills did eventually come on, through the one access point over a bridge and the lead tanks started a long range duel with the Pz IV, which started well, tapered off in the middle and the less said about the end of it the better from the British side of the house.  

There goes the 5 quid that tank's driver owes me...

As a result, my Churchill was stuck on a bridge behind a flaming wreck (again) and unable to get into the battle. 

German Perspective- The PzIV had entered Overwatch as soon as the rumbling of lost tanks was heard down the road...this proved an excellent psychological weapon more than actually effective, as the first shot went wide.

We got right into the vehicle rules over the next few phases as each side hit but failed to penetrate, whilst the Tiger managed to fire an 88mm HE round at point blank into the nearest British squad to little effect....

Back up at the main forward line, the infantry clash continued unabated with lots of lead flying in both directions. 

The PIATs were brought into action against the PZ IV, scoring a couple of hits to wound the Commander, damage the bow MG but not knock it out completely. 

German Perspective- That was a bummer..... fine German engineering right there....

PIAT teams in the building take aim at the Panzer down the road

The infantry firefight, supported by close range fire from the Tiger, was starting to really knock the British around now, with Force Morale down to 6 having lost another infantry section unit and the MMG .  The Germans were also down to 6 though, having had a number of leaders wounded along the way.  At this point we had a really interesting set of interruptions which showed the mechanic very nicely.  It went something like this:

• Brit Player 1 declares shooting by an Infantry section onto an enemy squad
• German Player 1 expends a CoC point to interrupt this action to fire with the squad being targeted.
• Brit Player 2 declares an interruption with a separate Brit rifle section to fire at the same German squad (ie before it could fire)
• German Player 2 declares an interruption with the Pz IV to take the second British squad under fire.

In resolving this in reverse order, the:

• Pz IV inflicted 2 casualties and 1 shock upon second British section.
• The second British section opened up on the Germans, also inflicting 2 casualties and 1 shock on the German section, which resulted in it being pinned.
• The now pinned German squad engaged the original British section with much reduced firepower due to being pinned, with minimal result, and
• The original British section engaged the German squad, inflicting further casualties.

That sounds complex but it was quite straightforward to determine and execute.

EDIT - it also appears that we did this quite incorrectly, and that only a single interrupt is possible.  Pity, as this was pretty cool.

At this point we had run out of time (4 hours) and had only just gotten the last of the units onto the board (except my Sgt, who has never actually made it onto the battlefield in 3 games!) and a draw declared.  Comrade James's Pz IV earned its first kill ring (which painted on after the battle) while my Churchill has now survived 3 battles, two by hiding on a bridge concealed by the wreck of a flaming comrade!

Comrade James's Pz IV proudly sporting its new kill ring

German Perspective- We had just deployed the 81mm off-board mortar battery FO and the Sniper team, but sadly were unable to bring either to bear.....the off-board fire support mechanic looks particularly interesting, especially coming from a Bolt Action background, as there are opportunities for multiple fire missions in one game, and the choice between using spotting rounds for better accuracy or going straight to FFE for speed quite realistic.

Overall a most enjoyable game, but we did spend a bit of time looking for different rules and mechanics, particularly the second level effects like Tank HE vs Infantry, or the effects of "Slow Tank" and "Heavy Armour" attributes.  We found them all eventually (thanks mostly to the online FAQ it must be said) but it did slow down the game.  much of this was an artifact of our inexperience though.  Having played two games now, we'll consolidate our thoughts on the CoC system and publish that separately.