Maximum number of partisans

[Courtenay]

I am completely confused whether there is a maximum number of partisans that can be in a country at one time, and if there is, what that maximum is. I have read RAC 13.1 several times, and I can find no indication that there is a maximum number of partisans in a country. However, the Players Manual section 8.7.1.15 has the following text, which is duplicated in the F5 help page:

PartisanMaxHelp.jpg (256.52 KiB) Viewed 529 times

However, take a look at the F5 command from my current game:

PartisanF5.jpg (199.33 KiB) Viewed 529 times

India has a partisan number of 6, and occurs twice on the partisan table, so, if the above rule is in effect, then India should have a maximum number of partisans of 6 * 2 / 5 = 2.4, rounds to two by the WiF rounding rule. Note that India has three partisans at the moment. So is there any limit of the number of partisans in a country?

Also, the F5 table has a column "Max #". As far as I can tell, this number is always 3. I have no idea what it means.

[paulderynck]

I am unsure what the maximum number means there. The table corresponds to the way partisan generation works in the board game, which is partisan number plus existing partisans minus garrison. If you roll 1D10 and add that to the garrison and the result is still lower or equal to the partisan number plus existing partisans, than a partisan is generated.

As long as the garrison is lower or equal to the partisan number plus the number of existing partisans, there is some chance a partisan will occur. In the board game, the counter mix sets a limit on the overall number that can be on the map but MWiF does not.

Actually in the board game, for the amount the sum of the first two exceeds 10, one partisan is guaranteed to arrive. For example with China and no partisans there, with a garrison of 8, there would be one partisan arriving for sure and a 20% chance of one more, providing they can be placed. But, you'd still have to roll China on the table with your first roll.

IIRC what Steve did was translate those all to a percentage chance of appearance each turn by factoring in the number of occurrences of a country on the table, and so although China's chance for a partisan would be higher in the above example, getting at least one would not be a guaranteed. But to make up for that, every country with a chance of a partisan is tested every turn.

I don't think there is any theoretical limit to how many partisans could end up being in a country in MWiF.

[Orm]

If my memory serves there was a discussion about the fact that the boardgame had a limited number of partisans to place and that the game had an unlimited number of partisans. To compensate for that the maximum number of partisans in a country was introduced.

That it the maximum number is three for all countries might be a bug, or that it is not yet fully implemented. I always assumed that it worked (with 3 as a maximum for all countries). Easiest way to check it might just be to check and see if there can appear a fourth partisan in India in your game. At least that is easy for me to say.

[Courtenay]

I just went back to the create partisan stage of my last turn (when India did not get a partisan), and manipulated the die rolls so that India did get a partisan. India happily got a fourth partisan. So the partisan limit is not implemented, and who knows what the Max # column means on the F5 table.

I had not realized how few partisans there were in the board game version of WiF -- only 15 in WiFFE. On the other hand, I can't ever remember ever running short in any of the games I played.

[paulderynck]

In the board game running short was often an advantage to the side that controlled a country with an enemy partisan in it. The rule states: "If no partisans are left in the force pools, you can choose to remove any partisan from the map (even if only just set up)."

I have seen games where we ran out and a troublesome partisan was magically removed from somewhere to teleport and become a troublesome partisan to the other side.