Hey guys,
We all know the AA50 OOTB version is severely missing a Battle of the Atlantic
We’re looking for some suggestions on rules to makes SUBs more viable, especially for Germany
These should be very small and simple rules tweaks which don’t involve introduction of any new units or setup changes
Generally these rules should involve the following
Subs should be more viable purchases, especially for Germany
Subs should have capabilities for economic attacks
Subs should have capabilities to harass transports
Subs should have increased survivability on defense
Subs should not be overly strong as warships
With that said, I do have some initial thoughts…
1. I think we have to reinstitute Convoy Raid damage like we had in AARe
-This can be done as an NO, I would include it for US,UK,Japan, and Italy
-Keep all enemy SUBs away from your shipping lanes
-Lose 2IPC for every enemy sub within 1 SZ (ie. adjacent)
-Lose 1IPC for every enemy sub within 2 SZ
For AA50, I would just include the areas around the capital ICs, not every IC. For US, it would be bothe EUS and WUS. Subs that became submerged would count for AA50.
2. I think SUBs should be allowed a Special Attack(needs a name) against enemy transports
-Any attacking force consisting only of SUBs, attacking any enemy fleet with at least 1 transport, has the option to avoid Regular Combat, and instead launch a Special Attack against the trasnport(s).
-For each DD in the defending force, roll a die. This is considered a Sub Screen, and actually takes place before the attacking subs roll
-Any roll of 2 or less is considered a hit and results in an attacking SUB being removed immediately
-Any surviving SUB is considered undetected, and is allowed to ignore all other defending units and specifically attack a transport.
-Any roll of 3 or less is considered a hit and results in a defending TRN being removed immediately
-Surviving SUBs can now submerge
What this does is give Germany some chance of slowing the UK(or US) in the Atlantic. SUBs become a nusiance for the Allies. they will have to invest some resources to either kill SUBs or better defend their fleets (more DDs, replacement TRNs). US and Japan can harass each other in the Pacific as well. For the Super Subs Tech, I would say the Sub Screen drops to 1 or less, and TRNs are sunk at 4 or less. I would not have Super Subs give any benefit to the regular attack. Subs stay specialized for their economic role and don’t become a cheap warship.
3. The last component of SUB rules for AA50 Enhanced would be giving them some increased survival. As to how, I’m not quite decided yet
-there have been some ideas thrown around though…
A. SUBs are detected on a 1:1 basis. 1 DD detects 1 SUB. If attacked, any undetected SUB may submerge prior to the battle.
-this is not bad, though it doesn’t give much protection for lone SUBs. I would add a rule that ANY SUB, can submerge after 1 Round of Combat, regardless of whether or not an opposing DD is present.
B. Using Detection Rolls as in AARe. To me, this just doesn’t feel right for AA50. DDs and SUBs are cheaper. It seems a bit more complex than it needs to be. I suppose it works, but I’m hoping there are simpler ways.
C. SUBs can only be attacked and killed by DDs. The idea here is that if SUBs are attacked, only the opposing DDs get to roll against them. I would say at a roll of 2 or less, 3 or less if a FTR or BMBR is present (could even do this on a one-to-one ratio). The idea here is that SUBs must be hunted down by DDs. I worry though, that this makes SUBs too powerful, especially in the Pacific where SUBs may outnumber DDs by a significant amount.
Anyways, this last aspect is important for SUB viability. There’s no use producing SUBs if they can be killed so easily. You don’t want to overdo it though by making them too hard to kill either. I’d like to see what other suggestions are out there, or how we can modify one of these existing options to make it suitable for use.
