We Remember

We remember and honor those who died in service to our country. May God bless them.

Napoleonic Knockout # 4

Decided to do a quick knockout using my quick play MicroBattle rules.

This time, The British invade Napoleon's empire. Napoleon rushes back from consolidating his gains in Germany. He meets Wellington at a little town of Le Lamentin.

Opening positions. Artillery is stationed in the town.

The French light infantry drive away the British rifles in the woods. The British gain the upper hand in the center.

And they drive away the French infantry. But then the British run into the French guard.

Meanwhile, 2 corps of British infantry assault the town. The Imperial Guard defeats a British corps. And disaster strikes! A French bullet strikes down Wellington!

Repulsed from the town, the remaining infantry try to tackle the Guard.

But they fail.

Vive L'Empereur!

Aftermath

The disaster forces the British to capitulate to Napoleon.

Now our map of Europe looks like this.

We are now ready for an epic showdown between the Turks and the French!

Nightwatch Experiment

As I mentioned Tuesday, I have taken an interest in Nightwatch (NW for short). I decided to do a little experiment inspired by the rules.

The Scenario

I'm using the first scenario from NW. There was an attack on a caravan. The party finds the lone survivor and must escort him back to their order's headquarters.

In game terms, the party must escort a figure from one end of the board to the other.

The Combatants

I did not fully stat out the party. I assume that it has 2 blades (melee fighters) and 2 trackers (archers). All members of the party are level 1. The survivor is level 0.

The enemy consists of a number of randomly generated zombie wolves, which count as level 0.

The Rules

I kind of made them up on the spot, based on my MicroQuest rules. The number to hit depends on the relative levels.

The Fight

I only snapped a few shots so I'm not going to bother with a full recounting.

Here the party (red) and the survivor (blue) is heading up the road, coming from the bottom. Three zombie wolves converge.

A nasty scrum. The wolves wound a tracker and knock out the other.

The party manages to clear out the wolves and escape from the forest.

Alas, the KO'd tracker does not make it. He dies of his wounds. :(

Thoughts

This was a brisk, short fight. I think the concept has promise. I need to try a scenario with a mancer (magic user) and alchemist.

Nightwatch

Recently, I saw a post on Lead Adventure Forum about a game called Nightwatch, a solo or cooperative game of monster hunting. The premise intrigued me so I investigated it. 

That's when I discovered I already purchased an earlier version.

Perusing it, I realized why I initially did nothing with it. The system uses the gamut of polyhedral dice, a mechanic I intensely dislike.

This time, however, I've been reading it all the way through to see if I can glean some good ideas. I really like a few aspects of it.

• The setting is cool - your team of 2-4 hunters + retinue is part of a secret organization dedicated to hunting down monsters.
• As mentioned, it is designed for solo or coop play.
• The campaign system looks simple yet enticing. Each campaign lasts for 7 to 10 games. Throughout the campaign, you fight increasingly difficult foes until you reach the final scenario. There, you meet the big bad boss for an epic final confrontation.
• Your characters level up during the campaign. The leveling mechanism is simple - move up a level every 2 or 3 games.

Anyway, I may give the campaign system a try.

Tank on Tank

Vacation News

I'm on vacation! That means you may be getting a slew of content, assuming I get a chance to play.

First Up

I'm going to start my vacation postings with a quick post about a board game.

Recently, I happened to stumble on a board game sale at Lock 'n Load Publishing. Tank on Tank was going for only $17.50!

Several years ago I purchased the computer version and I liked the game. Alas, that computer died and I don't know where the game files went.

Anyway, I now have an analog version.

First Game

I played the first scenario last week. Both the Americans (left) and Germans are trying to secure 3 towns in the central part of the board.

Here are the opening positions.

I'm not going to give a turn by turn recounting. However, here is a crucial turn. Having missing on attack where they only needed a 5 on 2D6, the Americans scored 2 unlikely kills (they needed an 8 and a 9 on 2D6). The counters with crosses represent the destroyed units.

The final turn. The Americans hold all 3 towns.

Thoughts

ToT has a lot of elements I like.

• The rules are simple. They are somewhat abstract but the game is still fun.
  
• It was a quick game. I did not track the time but I guess that it was under 30 minutes. I think later scenarios are somewhat longer. But it is still a quick game.
• The board is bigger than my homebrew games but it was still somewhat compact - 11" x 17" in believe/

Drawbacks? There are a couple.

• WW2 is not a particularly favorite period of mine. Therefore, I see this as a game with which I will occasionally dabble.
• As mentioned, it was a little bigger than my typical games. As such, it won't always fit on my gaming spaces. For example, I played this scenario on a footstool in my bedroom. And yes, I often play there. I did not have room for rolling dice so I rolled in a box on the floor. The size may inhibit play.

Despite these drawbacks, I'm glad I bought the game. I see myself using it as a filler game on occasion.

Caravan Trouble

The Emberville Five Klicks Campaign - Turn 3

Preliminaries

After their previous foray into the wasteland, our heroes have a chance to recuperate. They try to gather some scrap but fail. They decide to wait for the trade caravan, but it never arrives.

Concerned by the caravan's disappearance, the settlement sends out our heroes to investigate.

Game Note - I got "caravan ambushed" as the random event for this game turn. Sounds like a perfect motivation to venture into the waste.

Set Up

Random set up resulted in a hill in the center, impassable terrain to the bottom left, and a lot of cover. I did some quickie terrain - a brown gorge for the impassable terrain, scraps of construction paper for brush, and a wood rectangle for a wagon.

Instead of Meeples, I picked up some wood circles and drew some crude top down figures - black for the enemy and red for the heroes. 

I numbered the heroes as follows:

1. Ash
2. Jazz
3. Rock
4. Spike

The party started on a small hill at bottom center. The enemy will appear randomly on the board.

The Approach

The party heads down the road used by the caravan. They see vultures circling a distant hill. As they get closer, they see an abandoned wagon. It must be the caravan; but why is it abandoned?

"Wait!" says Rock as he trains his eye on the wagon. "I think I see bodies."

Then the party notices a snarler beast in the brush beyond the hill to their right.

From the Fallout wiki. You get the idea.

Game Note: Sorry, forgot to take a photo.

The Fight

The party spots a beast in the brush on the right. Spike flanks to get a good shot while the rest of the party moves into some scrub closer to the wagon.

But the beast moves towards the wagon. And suddenly, another one appears on their left and approaches the wagon.

Ash and Rock shoot at the beast on the left. Ash misses but Rock's shot glances off the beast's thick hide.

Both beasts charge Rock. He manages to wound one. Spike takes up a position on the flank and shoots. Again, the beast's hide deflects the bullet.

Rock gets mauled!

The beasts attack Jazz and Ash. Jazz manages to avoid damage while Ash takes down a beast!

The remaining beast continues to attack but Spike puts it down with a well-aimed shot.

Aftermath

Ash rushes over to Rock. Fortunately, he is fine - just knocked unconscious. His armor took a few hard knocks but they easily fix it.

Note - a "lucky break" on the casualty roll and a good result on the durability check. Whew!

The party checks the caravan. There are a number of bodies torn to shreds and partially devoured. Probably the work of the snarlers. Fortunately, the cargo is mostly intact, and they find some burner ammo.

The party returns home. The settlement is now safer (I raise Security to 1). In addition, our heroes become more adept (they all level up). I think Jazz and Rock will improve their combat skill while Ash and Spike increase their toughness.

Game Notes

That was a tough fight. The beast's hide served well as armor. Fortunately, most of our heroes managed to dodge any damage (the beasts rolled low for damage). And Rock got a lucky break on the casualty roll and emerges unscathed.

I played the game pretty much using the 5K rules. I figured it was easier than trying to convert to MicroBattle. The 5K system is actually pretty easy.

Five Minute Fights

I completed the next chapter of my 5K campaign; stay tuned for an AAR.

In addition, I've been toying around with the Five Minute Fights idea since the weekend. I decided to try a quick experiment.

Set Up

I decided to try it on a smaller board, appropriately enough a 5 x 5. I used my 4 heroes (red) and randomly rolled 6 enemies.

I used my Micro Battle table to determine the terrain.

I don't have any specific scenario goals other than kill the enemy.

The Play Test

I'm using a version of my Quick Play Micro Battle rules. In these, a hit means you are wounded or dead. There is no "no effect" result. This greatly speeds up play, albeit making for a bloody experience.

I cut down ranges from the 5K rules. The 5K military rifle shoots 4 spaces in this version.

In this case, all figures have equal stats. I assume them to be average fighters. I'll need to decide how to apply bonuses.

Anyway, after 6 minutes and 51 seconds, here is the result. The enemy is pressing the 2 remaining heroes. But the bad guys lose their nerve after reaching 50% casualties.

CONSIDERATIONS

I think the rules will work. I just need to consider how to apply bonuses,

The big debate in my mind is basing and scale. Do I want individual fighters, as in this experiment, or do I want units? The units could be squads, companies, or what have you. I think units would better fit the ground scale, but I do like having individual characters.

Random Thoughts

While sitting on my couch before church last Sunday, I was having some random thoughts.

Five Minute Fights

While my Five Klicks battle was enjoyable and quick (under 30 minutes including set up), I'd also like something I could do in 5-10 minutes. Thinking again about 3 x 3 Portable Wargame and if I can use something similar for skirmishes.

Icespire Stinks

I've been struggling to play the next chapter of my Icespire Peak campaign. I was pondering why that's the case.

• In general, the adventures are pretty lackluster. Also, they don't translate well to solo play. I have to make some tweaks for them to interest me.
• I am stuck on one adventure - the Woodland Manse. I struggle to transform it into a solo module.
• I finally thought up a plan. I'm just going to make it a linear series of encounters - outdoors, first floor, and upper floor, or something similar.
• I want to get this campaign over with so I need to start simplifying the adventures. Perhaps I'll just create a series of five minute fights?

Scrag Skirmish

The Emberville Five Klicks Campaign - Turn 2

The settlement needs more resources so our heroes must set out into the wasteland to look for salvage.

Preliminaries

• Event - Personal Improvement - I roll randomly and Rosy gets an XP
• Actions - Train - Ash, Rock, and Spike train and get an XP.
• Trade - I skipped this step. I assumed that you only get Trade Points in the first turn. Turns out I was wrong, but I messed up trade in the first turn so it evens out.
• Explore - out they go into the wasteland. I decide to leave Rosy at home.

The Expedition

This turn, our heroes venture out into the wastes and discover a couple of abandoned buildings. But as they approach, they see that a party of scrags, "poorly armed fools trying to make a name for themselves in the dust," are exploring the site as well.

Set Up

Rather than wait until I get proper counters or figures, I decided to use Meeples. They are way out of scale with the terrain. Oh well.

The party starts at the bottom of the board. The members are (from left to right) 

• Jazz the scavenger (yellow)
• Spike the soldier (green)
• Rock the hunter (blue)
• Ash the merchant (red)

I'm using stacks of wooden rectangles to represent buildings. The sticks represent fences.

The Skirmish

Seeing the building, Ash's greed gets the better of him. He rushes forward.

Rock joins him in the building. Ash tries to negotiate with the scrags, but they unleash a fusillade of shots. One bullet ricochets off Spike's armor.

Jazz and Spike return fire, taking out one of the scrags.

Ash takes out another while Jazz and Spike advance to the fence line.

A shot strikes Ash. He retires into a safe part of the building. Meanwhile, Spikes covers Jazz as she assaults the other building. She manages to take out the scrag there.

With so many dead scrags, will the lone survivor flee? No! He decides to seek revenge. He wounds Rock. But Jazz and Spike flank him and take him out.

Aftermath

All in all, a successful outing. Our heroes gain experience, loot a musket from the dead, and manage to bring back enough salvage to improve Emberville's resources.

Game Note

How did I come up with the events of the aftermath? Following 5K's post-battle sequence, I determine:

1. Casualties - Ash and Rock will be able to recover from their wounds.
2. Durability - no check needed this time
3. Experience - Each character gains 1 XP. I give Jazz another XP as the MVP of the day. She managed to kill 2 of the 4 scrags. No one levels up yet.
4. Improve Home - since the party held the field, I roll to improve the settlement. I succeed so I can raise a stat by 1 point. I choose Resources, assuming that the party finds some good salvage in the buildings.
5. Loot - I roll a musket. Seems reasonable because that's what the scrags had.

The Campaign Begins

The Emberville Five Klicks Campaign - Turn 1

Now that I have my heroes ready, time to start adventuring.

Preliminaries

In 5K, you don't just rush into the wasteland. You have to prepare!

There are a series of pre-battle steps. Here is what happened this turn.

• Event - scrap find. I use it to improve their trade.
• Trade - the party acquires sturdy binoculars, a fine pistol, and military armor. I give the armor to Spike
• Actions - Send out a patrol - this will reduce the number of enemies in any subsequent battle
• Explore - out they go into the wasteland.

Note: I was only supposed to keep 2 trade items but I forgot that rule until after the second campaign turn. Oh well, I'll let it stand.

The Wanderer

The party meets a wandering freelancer. Ash, with the speech skill, negotiates with the stranger.  Ash does well, and the newcomer, Rosy, joins the party.

Aftermath

There was no battle so nothing going on afterwards.

A little disappointing, but it is nice to have reinforcements.

Five Klicks Campaign

As I mentioned last time, I've taken an interest in the campaign system found in Nordic Weasel's Five Klicks from the Zone (5K).

The Setting

In 5K, your party has a home base, a settlement, that it tries to improve. You do that by sending the party into the wasteland, hunting for salvage.*

My party's home will be a settlement named Emberville.

The Party

In 5K, you start with a party of 8 adventurers. That seems like a bit much for me to juggle, so I decided to cut the party in half. I'll do the same with enemies when the time comes.

I proceeded to use the 5K rules to stat out the party members. Here they are:

• Ash, a merchant (34031) with survival and speech skills. Armed with a civilian carbine.
• Jazz, a scavenger (34052) with the leader skill. Armed with a civilian carbine.
• Rock, a hunter (26032) with the survival skill. Armed with a military rifle and scout armor.
• Spike, a soldier (34332) with the leader skill. Armed with a military rifle and scout armor.

The numbers represent the character's stats - Initiative, Speed, Combat Skill, Toughness, and Nerve.

They're now ready to venture into the wasteland!

Created with Gencraft
Ash, Rock, Jazz, and Spike

* A Note on Morality

For most RPG or RPG-style wargames, I am not fond of acquisition as a motive. It feels so mercenary. I generally prefer my heroes to fight for a greater cause - defeat the dark lord, preserve law and order, stop an invasion - that sort of thing. That's why I never really got into 5K's sister game, Five Parsecs from Home. But for post-apocalyptic, acquisition seems to be a greater cause. It is necessary to rebuild civilization. So I'm going to stick with it for this campaign.

Fallout Follies

It's been quiet on this blog. I just haven't had any gaming inspiration.

But that may be changing because of this.

I watched the first two episodes this week and now I'm in the mood for some post apocalyptic skirmishing. But, I have a couple of problems...

Rules

I've been looking for rules. Not that I'm going to use them as is. I will likely use a modified version of my Micro Battles for the actual game. I'm really looking for a campaign mechanism, otherwise games feel kind of stale after a while.

Right now, I'm focused on Five Klicks from the Zone.

Figures

I don't have any miniatures to play the game. I thought about getting some, but then I quickly realized that they would end up sitting unpainted on a shelf.

I could use Meeples. Even the smallest ones, however, seem a bit large for the small boards I use. I'd like something more in a 6mm scale.

Now I am pondering homemade, top-down counters. These will be easy to create, easy to store, and I can make them generic so they can do duty in other genres.

Stay tuned for more!