tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79488147780095131112024-02-07T03:36:36.575-03:00FantaloniaSolo gaming and papercraftRicardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.comBlogger364125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-2944940951735301262017-11-20T11:00:00.000-02:002017-11-20T11:00:27.149-02:00Taking a break for a very good reasonAfter a while, I am back with an update... In a couple of weeks I will be married, and the last few months have been occupied with work and wedding planning.<br />
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This is all to say that this blog will probably be updated only after the holidays. My fiancée likes board games but we still have to play miniature games to find out if she likes them. Maybe my posts will shift away from solo gaming?<br />
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<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-9070265887964161902017-03-21T07:00:00.000-03:002017-03-21T07:00:13.557-03:00Battle for Threnger: the supply rafts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is the last linked game using <a href="http://fantalonia.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/moth-for-6x6-challenge.html">MOTH for the 6x6 Challenge</a>. After the misdirection and attack on the enemy control outpost, it is time for Platoon 24 of the League of Canlaster forces to strike on a sabotaged supply raft. However, as the enemy took back the outpost, they had time to warn nearby patrols to defend the raft. So now the ambush has turned on its head.</div>
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This is the board setup: Canlaster has two 5-soldier squads, while Yordan has two 6-soldier squads near the raft. To win, Canlaster must gain a 2:1 advantage on remaining forces or drive all enemy 4 inches away from the raft, while having some forces in contact with it.</div>
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The Yordan forces, acting defensively, took positions on the hill and forest patch. The Canlaster forces also advanced through the patches of difficult terrain, to have some cover. Unfortunately, when the firefight began the Yordist fared better (in their damage rolls), nearly wiping one of the attacking squads.<br />
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This allowed all of the enemy forces to focus on the remaining Canlaster squad, which did not survive much longer.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
In the end, the League of Canlaster (i.e. my forces) won 2 out of 6 games. In my defense, I would say that the enemy forces had advantages in numbers and placement, to keep the games challenging. Of course, that is just to avoid looking so bad.<br />
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What about MOTH for solo play? It is, as expected, an upgraded version of USE ME. The adoption of d10s instead of d6s means there is more room to add modifiers to movement and fire, and thus, the feel of a more detailed game. There are also some ranged fire options (suppression shot, aimed shot and break shot.) Likewise, there is more detail in soldier weapons and armor.<br />
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With all that said, for my solo games I would keep USE ME, maybe adding the suppress shot option. One reason for this is lower level of detail feels a little quicker to play. Another reason is that I would have to keep playing MOTH with 15mm figures halving the measurements, whereas USE ME is already designed to play at 15mm scale. However, I would surely use the improved solo system from MOTH in those games.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-45281376816557500722017-03-18T10:00:00.000-03:002017-03-18T10:00:24.701-03:00Battle for Threnger: Defending the outpost<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is the fifth linked game of <a href="http://fantalonia.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/moth-for-6x6-challenge.html">MOTH for the 6x6 Challenge</a>. This time, Platoon 24 of Canlaster forces must hold the enemy outpost while attacked in two fronts. Since the previous game was successful, I decided to have both sides with equal numbers of soldiers. This is the board setup:</div>
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The League of Yordan forces on the right moved to fire at one of the Canlaster squads before they could get some cover. One soldier was badly wounded, and the squad leader decided to counter attack.<br />
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The attack was successful, as most of the Yordist squad was defeated while the Canlaster squad lost a single soldier and had another two wounded.<br />
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On the other side, Yordan and Canlaster squads were exchanging fire without many losses... until the Yordists decided to charge into melee.<br />
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That was a bloodbath, nearly wiping out the second Canlaster squad.<br />
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After this, the first Canlaster squad, which had some wounded soldiers, moved in, but were received by enemy fire. A couple rounds later, the League of Yordan advantage was enough that I decided the game was a loss.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
The battle started well for the League of Canlaster, but some bad rolls on the melee between squads turned the tide against them. Overall, a fun game, and the result means the last battle will see some reinforcements for the Yordan defense.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-12113499523533184162017-03-15T00:16:00.000-03:002017-03-15T00:16:51.678-03:00My first regiments for Morale NapoleonA brief interlude from the MOTH games: I have been putting together some figures in preparation to play <a href="http://www.twohourwargames.com/moralenapoleon.html" target="_blank">Morale Napoleon</a>. These are the results:<br />
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All the figures are from Walkerloo Print-Fantry. The ones on the left are from the "Les Grognards: Old Guard Grenadiers" set, while the ones on the right are from the "Coldstream Guards" set. All of them were printed at 30% scale, resulting in figures that are 15mm tall (from foot to eye level), then placed in sets of 4 on 60mm x 20mm bases -- the standard for infantry battalions in Morale Napoleon.<br />
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I still have to try a few battles in MapTool to get a better feel of how many more stands I will need to play the game.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-4495279005162179482017-02-25T10:30:00.000-03:002017-02-25T10:30:10.610-03:00Battle for Threnger: Fighting retreatThis is the fourth out of six linked games of <a href="http://fantalonia.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/moth-for-6x6-challenge.html" target="_blank">MOTH for the 6x6 Challenge</a>. In this battle, Platoon 24 of the League of Canlaster must make a fighting retreat out of enemy territory, after making a diversionary attack. The platoon is represented by a force of 8 soldiers, being chased by two 5-soldier squads of the League of Yordan.<br />
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The goal of the Canlaster forces is to reach the left board edge with at least half the initial troops. The Yordists want to prevent that. The Canlaster and one of the Yordan squads have Elan 6, while the other Yordan squad has Elan 5.<br />
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As the game began, Canlaster had the initiative and started to move away. At some point I thought, "hey, I could use an action to shoot at the enemy to slow them down, instead of just running." While it did allow me to take a couple of enemy soldiers down, this brilliant idea let the enemy get in close range. Close range means a bonus to hit and to damage, and suddenly five out of eight Canlaster soldiers were dead, and the game was over.<br />
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I kept playing just to try and escape with at least one soldier. But the Yordan forces kept chasing them and eventually, there was no one left.<br />
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After the game, I noticed that I forgot to use the "suppress shot" action, which does not actually hurt enemies but grants a defensive bonus for moving troops. I guess if I had use that (or maybe simply run), the Canlaster troops might have escaped...<br />
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In any case, this concludes battle #4. In the next game, Platoon 31 will try to hold the control outpost they captured.Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-14740210394932021002017-02-23T20:27:00.001-03:002017-02-23T20:27:20.495-03:00Battle for Threnger: The control outpostThis is the third battle using the <a href="http://fantalonia.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/moth-for-6x6-challenge.html" target="_blank">MOTH rules for the 6x6 Challenge</a>. Now, the Canlaster forces must take control of the enemy control outpost.<br />
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Recently, as I was cleaning and sorting some old stuff, I found these <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tente_(toy)" target="_blank">Tente</a> bits that are almost 30 years old. So I used them to make the control outpost.<br />
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In the first game, Canlaster lost many troops while <a href="http://fantalonia.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/battle-for-threnger-breakthrough.html" target="_blank">invading enemy territory</a>. Then in the second game, it was the <a href="http://fantalonia.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/battle-for-threnger-drawing-enemy-fire.html" target="_blank">Yordan forces which suffered heavy losses</a>. Thus the third game should be balanced; I decided that each side would have two squads of six soldiers each. Here is the board setup.<br />
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To win, Canlaster must eliminate the opposition or stay in contact with the control outpost while no enemy forces are closer than 4 inches from the outpost. As the battle began, the Yordan defenders took cover in nearby hills and forests, while the Canlaster squads advanced. Soon, they started to exchange fire, but all Canlaster forces focused on a single enemy squad.<br />
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The attack was successful and it did not take long before both enemy squads were defeated. At this point, I considered that Canlaster had won, rather than chase the few remaining enemy soldiers.<br />
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In summary, after losing soldiers in game #1, Platoon 31 managed to take over the enemy outpost. This should help Platoon 24 on their way out in game #4.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-30251451034542846262017-02-17T19:53:00.000-02:002017-02-17T19:53:24.800-02:00Battle for Threnger: Drawing enemy fireThis is the second battle in a series of linked games using <a href="http://fantalonia.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/moth-for-6x6-challenge.html" target="_blank">MOTH for the 6x6 Challenge</a>. This time, I played on Tabletop Simulator using a virtual 6'x4' board with virtual paper figurines (I still have to find some 3D models that I can use.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the battlefield from one of the Canlaster squads.</td></tr>
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While <a href="http://fantalonia.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/battle-for-threnger-breakthrough.html" target="_blank">Platoon 31 tried to break through the enemy defenses</a>, Platoon 24 was ordered to strike at an observation post, to draw enemy fire. Canlaster forces start on the left. Each squad consists of 10 muster troops (including two Emeritas). Meanwhile, each Yordan squad consists of 7 muster and 1 Emeritas. Squad 1 has Elan 7, squads 2 and A have Elan 6 and squad B has Elan 5. The hills and forest patches block line of sight. The Canlaster forces win if they cause 50% or more casualties to the enemy while losing less units. Alternatively, they win if they are on the hill with the observation post with no enemies.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Force setup. The observation post is the light brown structure (made of wooden blocks) near squad 2.</td></tr>
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The Canlaster squads spread out, moving behind cover to reach the enemy. The Yordan troops just positioned themselves on the hills, waiting for an opportunity to fire. In the 10th turn, the first exchanges of fire happened.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canlaster squad A opens fire on Yordan squad #1. The yellow and red units indicate grazed and struck status.</td></tr>
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Canlaster squad A eventually managed to defeat Yordan squad #1, while squad B advanced through a forested area. By the end of round 15, Canlaster had sustained 40% losses (8 units), while Yordan had lost 62% of their troops (10 units), thus meeting a victory condition for Canlaster.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Firefight between Canlaster squad B and Yordan squad #2. The yordists killed one enemy but lost another 2.</td></tr>
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While the Canlaster forces suffered many losses in the breakthrough, they managed to draw the attention of their enemies to the observation post. The third battle will see both sides with weakened forces.<br />
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A quick note about playing in Tabletop Simulator: the interface has gone through noticeable improvements (I love the new top-down view to check the position of everything on the table.) Now it is possible to find a number of wargaming terrain models in the workshop. The custom figurine is still quite limited, so I had to create my own figurine model in Blender. Measuring is still cumbersome. Luckily, MOTH has simplified squad movement because measuring the movement of every single figure would have been tiresome with the current interface. I think that playing miniature games with area movement or grid-based movement will be a much smoother experience.Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-5448065222958745702017-02-13T01:37:00.000-02:002017-02-13T01:37:59.412-02:00Battle for Threnger: BreakthroughThis battle is part of the 6x6 challenge, being game #1 of my <a href="http://fantalonia.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/moth-for-6x6-challenge.html" target="_blank">series of six linked MOTH games</a>. It was played in a 90cm x 60cm board with 15mm figures, halving the distances and ranges from the game. The forest patches and hills count as difficult terrain, and they block line of sight and fire across them. The rest of the board counts as normal terrain.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setup for the battle.</td></tr>
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The League of Canlaster troops (blue armor and gray bases) must cross the board and leave it by the right edge. They are organized into two squads of six soldiers. The one closer to the hill is led by Emeritas Adrian (elan 7) and the other is led by Emeritas Baker (elan 6). Both are equipped with standard weapons and armor.<br />
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The Yordist troops are organized into three squads of six soldiers (from top to bottom, the elan ratings are 5, 6 and 5), also with standard equipment -- some figures feature medical equipment or rocket launchers, but those are to be disregarded.<br />
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The plan for both sides was simple: the Canlaster soldiers would advance through the center, while the Yordists would try to hold the chokepoints, leaving one squad as reserve. A few rounds in, the first shots were fired, with casualties for both sides.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first exchanges of fire, at the edge of optimum weapons range.</td></tr>
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The squad led by Emeritas Baker was caught in a crossfire by two enemy squads. At least, this allowed Emeritas Adrian to position his squad and cause losses to the enemy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emeritas Adrian strikes from the hilltop.</td></tr>
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Unfortunately, this was not enough. The reserve enemy squad moved ahead and attacked Adrian's soldiers. In the end, the Canlasterian forces were scattered, even if the Yordists suffered losses.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emeritas Baker still managed to take out a couple of enemies, but it was not enough.</td></tr>
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Canlaster lost 10 soldiers (out of 12) while Yordan lost 8 (out of 18). Not a bad result considering the superior numbers and defensive positioning of the Yordists, but still a failed mission in this mini-campaign.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-80764882836782596832017-02-05T20:51:00.002-02:002017-02-05T23:36:30.689-02:00MOTH for the 6x6 ChallengeTo get started with the 6x6 challenge, I have read the MOTH rules again and played a couple of test games. The solo system provided with the game is interesting: it gives a general plan for the enemy and allows some variation in actions. With a little work, I think it can be used for other games, too.<br />
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My plan is to have a series of six linked games. I will be using up to 12 Canlaster muster soldiers per game, while the enemy will be up to 18 Yordan muster soldiers. For both sides, figures will usually be organized in 6-soldier squads. The games are organized as a two-sided assault on Yordist defenses during a larger battle in Kendall III:<br />
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Game 1: Platoon 31 must break through the enemy perimeter, on their way to an Yordist control outpost. They must cross the battlefield with at least 1/2 of their troops.<br />
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Game 2: Meanwhile, platoon 24 must stage an attack against an observation post, to draw the enemy's attention. They must destroy some enemy targets and then withdraw to succeed.<br />
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Game 3: Now platoon 31 must take over the enemy control outpost, which is being used to coordinate enemy supply rafts. Available forces will depend on success in game 1. If platoon 24 won game 2, enemy forces will be reduced.<br />
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Game 4: Platoon 24 is making a fighting retreat after the action from game 2. They must be able to flee with at least 1/2 of their forces. If platoon 31 wins game 3, enemy forces will be reduced.<br />
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Game 5: Platoon 31 now must hold the control outpost against enemies that are trying to take it back. Available forces will depend on success in game 3. Enemy forces will depend on the success of games 2 and 4.<br />
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Game 6: Platoon 24 is assigned an ambush to destroy Yordist supply rafts that have been disabled using the control outpost. If platoon 31 lost game 5, the enemy will have more defenses.<br />
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This is the plan, and I should have the first report this week.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-23260685581866991002016-12-31T14:17:00.000-02:002016-12-31T14:17:24.457-02:00My entry to the 6x6 Challenge 2017So, it seems my expectations of getting back to the world of gaming in September were optimistic, and here we are at the last day of the year. This time I am not making a review post. Instead, I will be skipping right to 2017 with the 6x6 Challenge.<br />
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I found out today, through <a href="http://shaun-wargaming-minis.blogspot.com.br/2016/12/6x6-chaellenge-for-2017.html" target="_blank">Shaun's blog</a>, about the <a href="https://hordesofthethings.blogspot.com.br/2016/12/six-by-six-challenge.html" target="_blank">6x6 Challenge by Kaptain Kobold</a>: pick six games, play each six times through the year and blog about these plays. After months of inactivity, I expect that this provides motivation to get back to some miniature gaming in the next year.<br />
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My chosen games are six titles that I have not played yet (or only tested a bit.) Two are not miniature games, but are dedicated solo games:<br />
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1) And a Bottle of Rum (Two Hour Wargames): some time ago, I got the bundle with the Free Ports expansion, so this includes all things pirate. Sea battles, exploration, skirmishes, large battles. I have a number of ship tokens and pirate paper miniatures that may be useful.<br />
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2) Clash on the Fringe (Nordic Weasel Games): a game about space adventures and exploration, including campaign and solo rules. I wonder how I have not yet played this, since I mostly play sci-fi skirmishes.<br />
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3) Mercenary Air Squadron (Victory By Any Means Games): a solo strategy game about leading a group of mercenary pilots, making profits and upgrading equipment. I have meant to play this a few times but always stop at the preparation.<br />
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4) Morale Napoleon (Two Hour Wargames): a game of large Napoleonic battles, a bit scary to me as I do not have any experience with that period (and very little experience with historical wargaming.) Still, if things get too complicated, I can play the "alternate universe" card and get things done regardless of proper uniforms!<br />
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5) MOTH - The Ion Age (Alternative Armies): a miniature game of sci-fi battles. It comes with its own setting and forces, but seems flexible enough to create variations. It seems to share some rules with USE ME, which is a system I like.<br />
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6) Star Trader (Zozer Games): a solo strategy game about managing a trader starship, using the Traveller RPG rules. I read and played a bit with the Traveller rules, and I expect that this game will give some structure to play solo with them.<br />
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So that is it, the clock starts ticking in a few hours (in my timezone) and even if I cannot play each of these games six times, trying them all will be great anyway.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-36069714670223071022016-09-26T18:19:00.001-03:002016-09-26T18:19:42.057-03:00Back to the world of gaming!The last months have been really busy, but now I am finally getting back to miniature gaming. I have a number of Osprey wargames to read (bought in a <a href="https://bundleofholding.com/index/pastbundles">Bundle of Holding offer</a>), including <i>In Her Majesty's Name</i> and <i>Fistful of Kung Fu</i>.<br />
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I have just noticed that Tabletop Simulator now supports figurines with fronts and backs, so I might have yet another use to the large number of paper miniatures I have been buying (and not always printing) over the years.<br />
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By the way, I would really love to try it with HTC Vive to see how close it gets to the actual tabletop experience. Has anyone tried it yet?<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-20435202082699957732016-06-13T21:33:00.000-03:002016-06-13T21:33:09.403-03:00Blast Pistol<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It seems shaking my habit of buying rule sets is harder than I thought, as I have added a few to my collection, including Blast Pistol. This is the new game from Nordic Weasel, and intended for quick pick-up games in sci-fi settings.<br />
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One interesting thing about Blast Pistol is that it is published as a "living rules system", meaning it will be updated as time goes. Right now the rule book is very bare-bones, and I would normally be wary of this proposition (having purchased rules that were later abandoned in a bad state by other authors). However, considering how Five Core has evolved in a relatively short time, I think it will work well.<br />
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Right now, Blast Pistol is a very simple rules system, with an alternate activation turn sequence in which players select and activate a number of units at a time. Miniatures are single based and grouped into squads or act as individuals. There are some unit templates for squads, heroes and vehicles. The writing is clear but since the document is very concise, it requires attention. For instance, in my first read I was hunting for the definition of damage in vehicles, which is presented in a bullet point on the section about big models.<br />
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As a pick-up game, battles are played as meeting engagements, fighting four turns and counting how many points in units each player has destroyed after that. Here is one simple example with balanced forces: on one side, three colonial militia squads, a gunsliger and a hero (302 points) against 3 precursor squads (300 points).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Board setup: a virtual 4'x4' table with some obstacles. Precursors at the bottom of the image, colonial forces at the top. The grey patches are rock formations that are impassable and block line of sight.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turn 1: the colonial forces go first but don't kill anything. The precursors cause damage to one of the colonial militia squads.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turn 2: colonial forces keep advancing and the hero and gunslinger move. In the exchange of fire, both sides lose some units.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turn 3: the colonial forces move to a position where they can fire more effectively, but miss most shots. The precursors are then able to shoot back and cause lots of damage. Two colonial squads flee the battlefield.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turn 4: the precursors defeat the gunslinger and hero. The last colonial squad only hits one enemy. The game ends with a clear victory for the precursors.</td></tr>
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After this battle, I played again two more times (that is the beauty of a virtual tabletop: you can set up a scenario, save it and then quickly replay it several times.) On the second, the precursors won by 146 vs. 120 points (point costs of defeated enemies.) The third was also won by the precursors, 210 vs. 120 points. I guess the terrain favored the longer range of the precursor weapons, although I also had some terrible rolls for the colonial forces.</div>
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These are only my first impressions, as I have not tried battles using vehicles or other big models. I also want to try other board sizes and setups. So far, it seems to work well for quick games. Based on the rules for activation and morale, I think smaller squads (of 4-5 troops) are better than larger ones.</div>
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There are no solo rules, and I do not think this game is aimed at solo play. That said, I think it would be simple to adapt the solo rules from Five Core or No End in Sight if one wanted to.</div>
Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-6232826275084595132016-06-05T00:40:00.000-03:002016-06-05T00:40:04.071-03:00The ruins of Algor'nas: a 4 Against Darkness adventureI picked up 4 Against Darkness (by Ganesha Games) a few weeks ago and played my first adventure this weekend. My party of four adventurers consisted of the following, in marching order:<br />
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Stegmo: level 1 warrior, equipped with light armor, mace, shield. Carrying 1 bandage. 7 life.<br />
Kernas: level 1elf, equipped with light armor, sword, bow (default). Spells: blessing. Carrying 1 bandage. 5 life.<br />
Abugol: level 1 wizard, equipped with a dagger and spell book. Carrying a lantern, 1 bandages and 10 gold. Spells: 3x fireball. 3 life.<br />
Sharnas: level 1 rogue, equipped with a sling (default), dagger, light armor and lock picks. Carrying 1 bandages, rope and 10 gold. 4 life.<br />
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The entrance to the dungeon was a large room with two doors and a poorly lit corridor. Before trying the doors, the adventurers decided to move down the corridor. They found a closed door and beyond, another room with an alchemist in it. They did not have enough gold to purchase the strange potions he had, and so he moved on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting a dungeon. I opened the provided graph paper template in Gimp and scribbled the rooms there.</td></tr>
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They opened the next door to find a weird bug-like creature with four claws, dripping a green goo from its mandibles. "Iron-eater!", Stegmo shouted and leaped at the creature, hitting its head with his mace. Kernas hit a weak spot of its carapace with an arrow, and Sharnas exploded one of its eyes with a good sling toss. The monster dropped to the ground. After the fight, Kernas found a magic sword that somehow was not eaten by the monster. [<i>Besides finding the treasure, Kernas gained a level.</i>]<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
The room with the Iron-eater had a single <i>visible</i> door. The adventurers opened it to find a large cavern-like space with 8, no, 9 fungi-folk in it. The misshapen humanoids made weird humming sounds and seemed like they were making some kind of ritual. Confused by the sight, the party started attacking. Kernas quickly fired two arrows from his bow, taking down two fungus men. Sharnas felled other two with sling stones. Abugol screamed something about the god of fire and a ball of flames leapt from his hands, exploding in the middle of the room, incinerating other two fungi-folk, while Stegmo crushed the head of another. The remaining creatures fled in terror, and Abugol found a <i>Sleep</i> scroll.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NWVNk8QaJtY/V1OPWD1uMMI/AAAAAAAAEsg/o2-DacWAPCglo1vMXsRjD2kUGmH6D2oGgCLcB/s1600/4ad02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NWVNk8QaJtY/V1OPWD1uMMI/AAAAAAAAEsg/o2-DacWAPCglo1vMXsRjD2kUGmH6D2oGgCLcB/s320/4ad02.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dungeon so far.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Upon entering the next room, the party found six vampire frogs (!) feasting upon the bodies of the fungi folk that tried to escape the battle. Once more, Kernas defeated two creatures with arrows, and Stegmo destroyed another. One of the frogs bounced on a wall and landed on Stegmo's face, wounding him. The warrior desperately tried to push away the bizarre creature while Kernas and Sharnas switched weapons and Abugol flayed his dagger around with no effect. Finally, he pushed the frog away and crushed it, and Kernas destroyed the other two monsters with his magic sword. After the fight, the adventurers patched their wounds and found 7 gold coins on the ground.<br />
<br />
Continuing with their exploration, the adventurers entered the nest of a giant spider. Kernas hit it with the magic sword and Sharnas stabbed it with a dagger. The creature made a loud shriek and fled before they could react. They found some delicate jewelry tangled in the spider's web [<i>two items, one worth 30 gold and the other 160 gold! Sharnas took the most expensive and Stegmo got the other.</i>]<br />
<br />
The adventurers walked back to the room where they fought the fungi-folk and opened another door. Inside, another part of the ruined dungeon with three giant centipedes. Abugol freaked out and hurled a fireball at them, but he was so scared that the flaming projectile hit the ceiling without harm. After some fighting, Stegmo and Kernas destroyed the creatures.<br />
<br />
The rest of the dungeon beyond the room with the centipedes was inaccessible, so the adventures walked back to the dungeon entrance. They opened another door and found a giant spider -- was it the same as before? They fought, and this time defeated, the spider. However, both Stegmo and Kernas were hurt by it. Abugol found a Lightning Bolt scroll and the group found another 3 gold coins. [<i>Stegmo went up a level, too.</i>]<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
The adventurers opened the last door at the entrance and following a dark corridor, found a huge orc wielding a vicious-looking axe, in front of an elven treasure chest. Kernas leaped forward and slashed the brute [<i>too bad Bosses don't suffer multiple wounds -- Kernas' attack roll total was 23, thanks to exploding dice!</i>], and Sharnas also stabbed him. Abugol tried to use the Lightning Bolt scroll, but it fizzled. The orc then swung his huge axe -- Kernas was hit and pushed back, while Stegmo and Sharnas dodge the attack. The group attacked again, hitting the orc with all they had, and the brute hit back, wounding all but Abugol. Finally, Kernas slayed the orc. Within the treasure chest, the adventurers only found an Escape scroll. [<i>However, Abugol gained a level.</i>]<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJT214rVeoOG1ENKYclom8URUhPMx6NRsBvlTuYUzE6iQpqDORKrneWGUkFY4gzcTB421b8fuWOBagpWLp7ywFPhOpryOagtbgxknAy7kAP3jDPzJG9t2Se3BGtZ0FBVl1zssI6OSfhc/s1600/4ad04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJT214rVeoOG1ENKYclom8URUhPMx6NRsBvlTuYUzE6iQpqDORKrneWGUkFY4gzcTB421b8fuWOBagpWLp7ywFPhOpryOagtbgxknAy7kAP3jDPzJG9t2Se3BGtZ0FBVl1zssI6OSfhc/s320/4ad04.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final map of the dungeon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After fighting the orc brute, the adventurers left the dungeon without any more trouble. Their situation after leaving the dungeon was (after healing):<br />
<br />
Stegmo: level 2 warrior, equipped with light armor, mace, shield. 8 life.<br />
Kernas: level 2 elf, equipped with light armor, magic sword, bow (default). 1 spell slot. 6 life.<br />
Abugol: level 2 wizard, equipped with a dagger and spell book. Carrying a lantern, 1 Sleep scroll, 1 Escape scroll and 1 bandage, 10 gold. 4 spell slots. 4 life.<br />
Sharnas: level 1 rogue, equipped with a sling (default), dagger, light armor and lock picks. rope and 10 gold. 4 life.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Total gold: 200 gold, split like this: 70 for Stegmo, 30 for Kernas, 30 for Abugol, and 70 for Sharnas, because some of them gained items (magic sword and scrolls.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Conclusion</b></div>
<div>
My first experience with 4 Against Darkness was good. The game is easy to learn and plays fast. I like the idea of boss monsters and weird monsters to create some surprises.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
When I was adding the cross-hatching to the map image, I noticed that I missed a door, which could have extended the dungeon exploration for a bit. Other than that, I did not notice other mistakes while applying the rules.</div>
Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-28809093798104780492016-05-18T05:00:00.000-03:002016-05-18T05:00:20.793-03:00The Five Core Expanded Steatlh RulesA while ago, I posted about Black Ops and it was fun playing stealth missions with that system. Afterwards, I bought Five Core Field Guide, which has a number of optional rules and extensions to the Five Core rules. One of the most interesting is the expansion for stealth missions, which was also incorporated into Five Core 3rd edition.<br />
<br />
The expanded stealth rules include more detailed rules for patrolling defenders, distractions and stealth kills. Here is a battle report using them with "basic" Five Core 3rd edition rules.<br />
<br />
In this battle, the infiltrators, set up on the left, must contact the small building guarded by the defense forces and make a task roll to plant explosives. The following picture shows the table setup. The red dice are patrol points. The two chainsaw-wielding soldiers in front of the building are static sentries. The rest of them may move between patrol points.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJz7ddy9qyGOI0UeAJXRsaXUBIUiBu8HU397CsL6kSo5dZk31hFw9_1y_DQ6mXKaZNo5UegYVgZF4U0jBBXx8Xz2cyaWoGvJPV36_lYwp1mIvA4uTPVezMNVehvGDIaGz79zueqP_v5D0/s1600/st-00-setup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJz7ddy9qyGOI0UeAJXRsaXUBIUiBu8HU397CsL6kSo5dZk31hFw9_1y_DQ6mXKaZNo5UegYVgZF4U0jBBXx8Xz2cyaWoGvJPV36_lYwp1mIvA4uTPVezMNVehvGDIaGz79zueqP_v5D0/s320/st-00-setup.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Game setup</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One fire team of the infiltrators moved through the woods while the other waited in cover. The patrolling sentries started moving towards the other patrol points.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TxMNVZjaRvE/VzqAXfMUXzI/AAAAAAAAEq0/MET7jAdzY6IqN09Bo1g-xZRqjf0X5pbQgCLcB/s1600/st-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TxMNVZjaRvE/VzqAXfMUXzI/AAAAAAAAEq0/MET7jAdzY6IqN09Bo1g-xZRqjf0X5pbQgCLcB/s320/st-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let's get moving.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the infiltrators created a distraction for the closest sentry (marked with the green die), allowing the other two to run behind the other patch of woods. However, the noise from running caused another sentry to cross the woods and find them. The sentry raised the alarm and the stealth segment was over.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1FRd4xhu-mw/VzqA3NUy4dI/AAAAAAAAEq8/VNhbxhxrUAoFTNB0pRzvQGiHLw3YDWgPQCLcB/s1600/st-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1FRd4xhu-mw/VzqA3NUy4dI/AAAAAAAAEq8/VNhbxhxrUAoFTNB0pRzvQGiHLw3YDWgPQCLcB/s320/st-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's that noise? Surprise!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One of the infiltrators fired at the sentry but missed. From this point on, it took a few standard Five Core turns (with only one rolled fire fight and no scurry turns) until the infiltrators were pushed away from the map.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yVk2PyfkoWk/VzqBeuqb6KI/AAAAAAAAErI/YWPZLaHdHx45LSSNAETiYlMwxuca68MtwCLcB/s1600/st-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yVk2PyfkoWk/VzqBeuqb6KI/AAAAAAAAErI/YWPZLaHdHx45LSSNAETiYlMwxuca68MtwCLcB/s320/st-03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few turns later, only the infiltrators in the ruins remained.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The infiltrators in the ruins still tried to make another push, taking cover behind the hill, but when they got closer to the building, the rest of the defenders had already taken positions to suppress any attempts of getting closer.<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
Compared to Black Ops, the stealth rules in Five Core are less complex but also result in a fun game. I have the impression that in Black Ops it is more difficult for the defenders to raise the alarm. Maybe this is because that game is noticeably inspired by "stealth-action" video games, so the focus is in smaller, elite infiltration forces that try to keep hidden until the end of the mission.<br />
<br />
In Five Core, it seems to me that stealth will play a part in initial infiltration and positioning of a strike force. In particular, I am interested in trying a few more games between evenly matched forces, to see if stealth can compensate for the positioning advantage of the defending force.<br />
<br />
There are no specific rules for handling the sentries in a solo stealth game using Five Core (or at least I could not find them), so here are my house rules:<br />
1. Spread patrol points to make a large triangle on the board, with one patrol point near the defenders' edge of the table. Number the patrol points: the one closest to the defenders' edge is #1, the others are #2 and #3.<br />
2. Roll a die for each patrolling sentry. On a 1-2 they will make a circular route around the patrol points. On a 3-4, they will move back and forth between points #1 and #2. On a 5-6, they will move between points #1 and #3.<br />
3. Roll another die to define direction of patrol. For circular routes, even means clockwise and odd means counter-clockwise. For linear routes, even means the sentry starts moving towards point #1, and odd means they start moving towards the higher-numbered patrol point.<br />
4. Deploy the patrolling sentries within 8" of the edge. Sentries in a linear route should be placed as close to halfway through the route as possible. Sentries in a circular route should be placed near patrol point #1.<br />
5. When a patrolling sentry moves, they will approach a noise marker if it is closer than the next patrol point on their route. Afterwards, if there is no contact, they will resume their route.<br />
<br />
It might be possible to fine tune these house rules by taking into consideration the level of aggression of the defenders and other factors.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-1857141101190200012016-05-14T19:00:00.000-03:002016-05-14T19:00:29.905-03:00Tone Pulsar and the missing com-linkI have just finished playing my first adventure using Future Tales by Two Hour Wargames. Here is the report, followed by some first impressions about the game.<br />
<br />
I started by creating my Star, and then recruiting (rolling) a co-star and grunt to help:<br />
<br />
Tone Pulsar / Rep 5 Star / Human Male<br />
Star power: 4 (base 5)<br />
Attributes: Nerves of steel, Pilot<br />
Class: Adventurer / Circle: Exotic (SS 3) / Profession: Pilot<br />
Weapons: Laser pistol, shock dagger<br />
Home: Office at the commerce area of Starlis station, orbiting planet Gablum<br />
<br />
Yeerox / Rep 3 Co-star / Klorian Female<br />
Attributes: Genius, Tough<br />
Class: Civilian / Circle: Civilian / Profession: Merchant<br />
Weapons: Laser pistol<br />
*Klorians are a humanoid alien race with bat-like heads and furry skin.<br />
<br />
Ingrid / Rep 3 Grunt / Small human Female<br />
Attributes: Initiative, Slight<br />
Class: Criminal Element / Circle: Criminal / Profession: Thief<br />
Weapons: Knife<br />
<br />
<b>A bit of invented lore</b><br />
The post of Free Agent was created after the Galactic Empire was forced to admit that there was just too much going on for the imperial forces to handle. An Imperial Free Agent is granted a limited amount of power to conduct investigations on the Empire's behalf in distant sectors of the galaxy. They are allowed to form an agency and hire deputies and assistants. In practice, investigations often turn into conflicts with local crime lords, which the Empire is glad to ignore.<br />
<br />
<h4>
The Missing Com-link</h4>
<br />
Lieutenant Wilka came looking for help after she and friends were attacked while on leave. She had her com-link stolen, and it held some intimate pictures. That is why she came to the agency: she wanted it solved before any of it reached the galactic network. The incident happened on the space station orbiting planet Kerris, and so that was Tone's first stop.<br />
<br />
[<i>I rolled a "Find object" mission requiring 3 clues. The "Big Bad" class was Royal Pain, which became Baron Brezal (Rep 6 noble)</i>]<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d9Ot6b7uRHk/Vza3HBuWbUI/AAAAAAAAEqQ/2qctyX6wkJMV3vkxakPFfIcVIgzJjsqewCLcB/s1600/scifirocketplanet-800px.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-d9Ot6b7uRHk/Vza3HBuWbUI/AAAAAAAAEqQ/2qctyX6wkJMV3vkxakPFfIcVIgzJjsqewCLcB/s320/scifirocketplanet-800px.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Retro-futuristic rocket approaching a planet. <br />[Source: https://openclipart.org/detail/214100/sci-fi-rocket-and-planet]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Scene 1</b><br />
<b>Planet Kerris / Space station Morgane / Quarters</b><br />
<br />
Tone and crew flew on their agency spaceship to Space Station Morgane, orbiting planet Kerris. During their travel, Yeerox found out that a security engineer might have footage of the assault against Lt. Wilka, so their plan was to look for him. They arranged a meeting at an electronics supply store in the quarters sector of the station -- a place that should be safe.<br />
<br />
The store was empty when they arrived -- a trap. Three large guys carrying heavy guns surrounded them: two coming from the storage area and one closing the front door. Tone tried playing the "free agent" card and it paid off: the thugs admitted working for Baron Brezal, who apparently didn't pay them too well. From what they said, Brezal had ordered the attack after Lt. Wilka had ignored his advances. A petty motive, but not surprising for local nobles.<br />
<br />
[<i>Still, this scene was a failure as they didn't gain a clue about the object.</i>]<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<b>Scene 2</b><br />
<b>Planet Kerris / Drakya Settlement / Slums</b><br />
<br />
Sooner or later Brezal would find Lt. Wilka's pictures and try to blackmail her or worse. Still, military com-links are encrypted and Brezal would need help to break it. Ingrid said she knew some people on the Kerris underworld who might give information about this. They took a shuttle down to the planet, to look for gangsters on the Drakya settlement.<br />
<br />
Ryna, the leader of a local gang, was Ingrid's contact and they arranged a meeting in a warehouse. On their way, they met some gang members and Keve, who looked like just a teenager carrying a heavy laser pistol, joined them.<br />
<br />
The gang leader was wating for them inside the abandoned warehouse, which actually was a well-equipped base of operations. Still, she had no information about people looking for hacking services. The best she could do was to give the location of The Witch, a thief and information trader operating from the forest in the Barrens.<br />
<br />
[<i>Two scenes, two failures -- if you get as many failures as the Star's Rep, the mission is over.</i>]<br />
<br />
<b>Scene 3 </b><br />
<b>Planet Kerris / Barrens / Forest</b><br />
<br />
Tone and crew left Keve behind and boarded the floating train that crossed the Barrens. There was still an operating station in the plains and from there, they could get to the woods by hover-car.<br />
<br />
While in the train, Tone was approached by a man offering a case full of alien gems for him to drop the investigation. He followed the man to his cabin, intent on ambushing him there and questioning him about the com-link. Unfortunately, the man was an alien in disguise, immune to the toxic fumes that filled his cabin. When Tone stepped in, he was instantly knocked unconscious.<br />
<br />
Tone woke up in a small, dark room. Two large men stood beside him, while someone looked out from a video-link monitor -- Baron Brezal. The noble spent over twenty minutes complaining about how Tone should not interfere in the life of his betters -- more than enough for him to get his bearings and make up an escape plan. As Brezal ordered the thugs to beat him down and the video-link screen turned off, Tone started a fight and escaped the room. The place he was looked like an abandoned depot near the Barrens. He then stole a cargo truck and drove to the floating train station, where he met with Yeerox and Ingrid.<br />
<br />
The rest of the trip to the forest was relatively calm. Yeerox drove the hover-car while Tone slept to recover from the fight and escape. Ryna's information was right and they didn't take long to find the ruins that The Witch used as a base of operations. However, she was nowhere to be found. They met with a Kerdugan expeditionary forces team, who didn't know anything about her. All this trouble had been for nothing.<br />
<br />
At least, while they looked for Tone, Ingrid found another lead: a manager on Space Station Morgane might have information on the flights of Baron Brezal's ships.<br />
<br />
[<i>3 failed scenes out of a maximum of 5.</i>]<br />
<br />
<b>Scene 4</b><br />
<b>Planet Kerris / Space station Morgane / Hangars</b><br />
<br />
The crew flew back to the space station and met with a few managers and other workers at the station's hangar but no one had any information. However, they found out that Brezal's ships used Space Station Ordalis, also orbiting Kerris.<br />
<br />
[<i>The manager, who was the "person of interest" to be questioned, was not found, resulting in a total of 4 failed scenes out of a maximum of 5.</i>]<br />
<br />
<b>Scene 5</b><br />
<b>Planet Kerris / Space station Ordalis / Hangars</b><br />
<br />
Tone and his group took a shuttle to Space Station Ordalis and reached the security building in the hangar sector without much trouble. Tone and Yeerox distracted some workers while Ingrid searched the database records. With some effort, they obtained a copy of the flight records, showing that on the same day of the attack on Lt. Wilka, the Baron's ship stopped at planet Zaor. Yeerox's contacts pointed that the Baron was seen with Mistress Zeli, a famous "pleasure specialist."<br />
<br />
[<i>At this point, Tone's luck started to change, with the first clue gained. Two more to go...</i>]<br />
<br />
<b>Scene 6</b><br />
<b>Planet Zaor / Zaor City (Urban) / Undercity</b><br />
<br />
To avoid drawing too much attention, Tone and crew used a space liner to reach Zaor. They entered the Undercity at night and managed to avoid any confrontations.<br />
<br />
Mistress Zeli confirmed that the Baron was with her and gloated about the attack. It seems he wasn't part of the assault team but followed everything from a distance by holo-vid. Finding a copy of the holo-vid would allow them to negotiate with the Baron.<br />
<br />
[<i>Finding Zeli and having her cooperate in the Questioning table resulted in another clue...</i>]<br />
<br />
<b>Scene 7</b><br />
<b>Planet Kerris / Space station Morgane / Command</b><br />
<br />
Using all their available contacts, Yeerox and Ingrid found that one of Brezal's thugs was holding a copy of the holo-vid, possibly to try some blackmail on his own. The thug was stationed in a residence at the Command sector of Space Station Morgane, so they traveled back there.<br />
<br />
On their way to the residence, they avoided contact with anyone suspicious. Tone met a pilot robot who had flown with him before, along with its maintenance team. After this, they managed to infiltrate the thug's apartment and stole the holo-vid. Now they could face Brezal.<br />
<br />
<b>Final Scene</b><br />
<b>Planet Kerris / Space station Ordalis / Commerce</b><br />
<br />
Brezal arranged to meet them on a theater at the commerce sector of Space Station Ordalis. It would be a simple trade: the holo-vid for the com-link. Not the best scenario, as the villain could escape easily from the station, but there weren't many options.<br />
<br />
On their way, they met some minions of the Baron. From previous encounters, Tone managed to convince them to stay out of the fight, and then they reached the theater.<br />
<br />
Baron Brezal obviously didn't want to make the trade, and his two goons with laser rifles started shooting as soon as Tone and his crew had entered the building. Ingrid dodged some shots and tried to subdue one of the shooters, but was knocked out.<br />
<br />
In the middle of the fight, Tone's laser pistol scorched the Baron's shoulder, who promptly ran away. Tone would try to chase, but Yeerox was shot down and he stood back to help her. The thugs started to retreat but Tone took both down.<br />
<br />
<b>Epilogue</b><br />
<br />
Ingrid recovered after the fight but Yeerox did not survive her wounds.<br />
<br />
The com-link was never recovered, but Lt. Wilka's pictures never showed up on the galactic network either. Still, the public opinion was that Tone Pulsar had made a mess of an affair that either was not worth it, or should have been solved more efficiently.<br />
<br />
[<i>In the end, Tone accumulated 9 decreasing Rep dice, and 4 increasing dice. He rolled a 1 on the decreasing dice, thus lowering his Rep from 5 to 4. Too bad for all this trouble.</i>]<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
After nearly reaching the limit for failed scenes, I got enough clues... and then the villain's Coward attribute worked against me.<br />
<br />
This adventure took quite a few hours to play out, but that was in part because I was learning, playing and taking notes at the same time. Then it took an extra hour to go through the notes and turn them into this report.<br />
<br />
My first impressions about Future Tales are positive: it is like a refined, sci-fi themed version of Larger than Life (the old version; I do not own the newer Director's Cut to make the comparison.) While Fringe Space provides a "sandbox" game world where players can do what they want, Future Tales is aimed at playing more structured stories.<br />
<br />
Because of this more structured approach, the Player Aid pages with hyperlinks to the appropriate sections make navigating the PDF version of the book very easy.<br />
<br />
I think the longevity of this game comes from building the history of the adventurers. For instance, in the next adventure Tone Pulsar already has two planets, a bunch of locations and characters that he might meet again. This way, further games do not become a matter of rolling on the same tables but creatively stitching together old and new information.<br />
<br />
Last but not least, some character names were generated with help from this site: https://donjon.bin.sh/scifi/name/<br />
<br />
That is all for now!Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-45079813042993398952016-05-11T06:00:00.000-03:002016-05-11T06:00:08.151-03:00The VagrantPreviously: Winston and crew reached Zetaris, a Zhuh-zhuh controlled world, and sold some stolen cargo there. Now they must find another job.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ff3CwQ-j0BY/VqFmHdDMHTI/AAAAAAAAEdo/39p0P1jquZkVBIU38gK_cLdMUgt2R0BwACKgB/s1600/vagrant.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ff3CwQ-j0BY/VqFmHdDMHTI/AAAAAAAAEdo/39p0P1jquZkVBIU38gK_cLdMUgt2R0BwACKgB/s320/vagrant.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Month #9</b><br />
One night, Winston was heading back to his hotel when a Xeog and a friend surrounded him. He had seen it before: expensive clothes, unfocused eyes from drinking or something else. These were the stressed-out corp execs looking for a living punch bag. Axor had stayed behind, looking for who knows what, and reached Winston as the Xeog held him and the other girl hit in the stomach. The Xeog let Winston lose as she felt Axor's grip on her neck. She spun around impossibly and hit him with a kick, to which he barely flinched. While the two fought, Winston and the other human also traded blows. In the end the troblemakers were laying on the ground, knocked out.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6bVJEI7bco8/Vy-xPM7TsPI/AAAAAAAAEoM/YlDzK7z00AIesGz2MVduvnzFcQDx5KUoACLcB/s1600/zetaris.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6bVJEI7bco8/Vy-xPM7TsPI/AAAAAAAAEoM/YlDzK7z00AIesGz2MVduvnzFcQDx5KUoACLcB/s400/zetaris.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Winston spent the rest of the month looking for jobs on Trellis. He had had enough of Zetaris but he wanted someone to pay for the expenses of leaving the planet to somewhere else. He got a delivery job with Togal, to bring a shipment of industrial components to Krema, another Zhuh-zhuh colony on the first sector of the fourth ring.<br />
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<b>Month #10</b><br />
Winston and crew went to the Mutant Shack, the night before they left the planet -- only Pingh stayed preparing the ship. When they left, they met the same corp execs they beat last month, only this time they had a Razor friend. The Razor let out a mental blast that hit Winston like a punch, and he hid behind cover. Tanya took a bullet and crumpled on the ground. The Xeog jump-kicked Axor, only to have him grab her in the air and smash her unconsciou on the ground. Winston then peeked from behind cover and fired twice at the Razor, taking her out of combat. Axor charged the remaining enemy. In an act of desperation, she managed to fire at point blank range. The bullet exploded through the back of Axor's skull and the giant fell lifeless. Winston then shot her down.<br />
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Pingh was enraged when he heard the news. He wanted to leave the band, but Winston convinced him to stay. Still, Tanya was now recovering from the shot, and in no condition to control the ship. So Winston went out to find at least one more crew member. He recruited Sheri, a young Razor who was hanging with a group of bounty hunters.<br />
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<b>Month #11</b><br />
While they made the last preparations before leaving the planet, Winston was called by the Trellis police for an investigation on some kind of trouble at the spaceport. He was worried that the someone might have traced him to the fight with the corporate execs but this was not the case and they let him go. Still, that was one more reason to leave Zetaris.<br />
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Finally, Winston and his group left the planet, setting course to the first sector. They crossed paths with a Star Navy cutter, a suspicious ship that might have been slavers, and a convoy of Gaea Prime freighters, but avoided trouble in all cases.<br />
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<b>Month #12</b><br />
The Vagrant landed on the spaceport of Kremalion, the main settlement in the Krema planet, and Winston finally delivered the cargo.<br />
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Winston spent the rest of the month doing small jobs and learning about the settlement. One night he bumped into a Zhuh-zhuh who was following him; she might have been trying to rob him but he convinced her that he was a dangerous bounty hunter.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
It is always fun to have random elements providing you with a story -- such was the case with the random event rolls that resulted in the two confrontations with the same group and then the police investigation.<br />
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After these four campaign months, Winston remains at Rep 7, with a lifetime total of 9 Rep dice. With this report the Vagrant completes one campaign year. I have bought the new Legends of Araby from Two Hour Wargames and now I am convinced to stop using the optional, simplified Rep D6 table (given in the bonus section at the end of the Fringe Space book) and start tracking Rep D6 for each member of the group.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-45049416335547962132016-05-07T20:00:00.000-03:002016-05-07T20:00:01.728-03:00Battleblade: first impressionsI recently purchased <a href="http://www.echidnagames.com/">Battleblade</a> by Echidna Games. It is a fast and simple rules set for fantasy skirmish battles. The author notes that Song of Blades and Heroes was an influence, and it does share the feature of having a short stat line and special rules (abilities) for figures.<br />
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The game uses an IGOUGO turn system, with limited number of activations per turn. There are no reactions, but to be honest I do not think those are so necessary in medieval fantasy battles (as opposed to modern or sci-fi battles.)<br />
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Most actions are resolved with a single roll with a few modifiers, and there is little need for status markers on the table. Since figures can have various abilities, a roster sheet or some unit cards will probably be helpful for players.<br />
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The rules are easy to learn -- furthermore, they are very well organized and clearly written. The book also features pictures at the right places, serving as welcome examples, and I think this must be one of the most newbie-friendly miniature game books around. It assumes very little from the reader, states things clearly, shows many examples and has a decent glossary and turn flowchart (even though the turn sequence is quite simple.)<br />
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One interesting bit is that the game is written for 54mm scale miniatures mounted on 50mm round bases. The larger scale makes the recommended table size 4'x4', but it also means that it is possible to play with 28mm scale miniatures mounted on 25mm round bases on a board as small as 2'x2'. I played a few test battles on MapTool to learn the rules and it worked well.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznjKA9NZCw-VAt67-bf6TjxAYmf0vop6WfvFU9mcyB2mJGl4lsEWWZtxFiV7Goscvdmlv01XHVU-9puSXdeB_3-wnMOKyXxnwgymz6mEqeZVffTJonQeXkQx5F3UkIjqKhC1KXfAbcOU/s1600/bblade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznjKA9NZCw-VAt67-bf6TjxAYmf0vop6WfvFU9mcyB2mJGl4lsEWWZtxFiV7Goscvdmlv01XHVU-9puSXdeB_3-wnMOKyXxnwgymz6mEqeZVffTJonQeXkQx5F3UkIjqKhC1KXfAbcOU/s320/bblade.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A test battle between 100-point forces in Battleblade, in a simulated 2'x2' board with 28mm miniatures</td></tr>
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And what about solo play? The rules do not mention it, but I think it would not be hard to include ideas from Featherstone's books or from other rule systems, given the simple turn structure and combat rules. In fact, setting a goal for the enemy band and using "blinds" before enemy contact might be enough for basic solo play with this game. However, I still have to try that.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
My first impression of Battleblade is that it is a good introductory miniatures game. It plays quickly and it is not difficult to pick up a figure and build its profile to use in the game. There are other game systems with similar purpose, but at its low price, it might be worth looking.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-39337258277546006932016-05-04T06:00:00.000-03:002016-05-04T06:00:00.331-03:00A large battle of elves vs. orcs in MapToolAfter some time of inactivity, here is a battle report of elves vs. orcs using Rally Round the King, played in MapTool. In this battle, the elves led by Yoselith the Defender have arrived to challenge Warchief Zagul's campaign of conquest.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tb0AGUwPb88/VyaiwHUOhNI/AAAAAAAAEm8/gbjHCJdoiAMTo_DVgYLAaUY2AuBWN6c8wCLcB/s1600/rrtkovs-00-setup.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tb0AGUwPb88/VyaiwHUOhNI/AAAAAAAAEm8/gbjHCJdoiAMTo_DVgYLAaUY2AuBWN6c8wCLcB/s320/rrtkovs-00-setup.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Game setup, with a 1" grid and force leaders marked</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Yoselith's forces are concentrated at the center. At the front there are four units of elf archers, followed by two bodies of elf soldiers. At the rear, Yoselith stands with three units of elf marines, ready to come to support the battle as needed. [<i>As I played the elves, I made the recruitment rolls and deployed them before finding out what the orcs would do.</i>]<br />
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Zagul's main forces are a wide line of melee troops including ogres at the center, black moon orcs and then orc soldiers. In front of them are three units of skirmishers (orc archers.) Warchief Zagul stands with two units of wolf riders and two units of soldiers. Ready to take the other flank are two units of trolls and another two units of soldiers. Lastly, their reserve is composed of two more units of soldiers.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
The orc skirmishers advanced, followed by their line of soldiers. The elf forces moved too, their archers firing before the orcs could get into range. The skirmishers moved back, now pressed against the advancing wall of their own troops. Meanwhile, the trolls and wolf riders kept shouting at their own commanders, unable to maneuver to the flanks.<br />
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Angered with his troop's lack of discipline, Zagul sounded his horn to make all the forces (but the reserve) advance. The orc skirmishers ran to the woods to make way for the soldiers... and then the orcs charged, a tide of metal advancing on the battlefield. The elite elf archers stood their ground and fired at the approaching enemy, causing some damage but later they suffered heavy losses and routed. The elf soldiers directly behind the archers charged, but the orcs counter-charged and engaged again in melee.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kfx7rPQwa00/Vyay--5JXLI/AAAAAAAAEnM/tP0YBEC9oPAyJa9eZUciIKWGhu_ks9EQwCLcB/s1600/rrtkovs-04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kfx7rPQwa00/Vyay--5JXLI/AAAAAAAAEnM/tP0YBEC9oPAyJa9eZUciIKWGhu_ks9EQwCLcB/s320/rrtkovs-04.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turn 4: the orc infantry charges the elf archers, while some of the elf soldiers were still maneuvering</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The rest of the orc line advances, and the ogres enter combat. Despite their losses, the elf soldiers manage to push back some of the ogres and orcs. Elf discipline starts to show: the other body of elf soldiers makes an about-face and charges the side of the orc formation, causing a unit of orcs to rout. Meanwhile, the orc skirmishes start maneuvering again, to strike at the elves engaged in combat.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5ylvijwaCQ/Vya7ydNpcKI/AAAAAAAAEnc/_JdU2mas5JoVRLXrQPeSymiQk8B6DXT7ACLcB/s1600/rrtkovs-05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5ylvijwaCQ/Vya7ydNpcKI/AAAAAAAAEnc/_JdU2mas5JoVRLXrQPeSymiQk8B6DXT7ACLcB/s320/rrtkovs-05.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">End of turn 5: the first line of orc warriors may be hurt but the trolls are coming to their aid</td></tr>
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Warchief Zagul decided to join the battle and charged the second body of elf soldiers. However, the elves resisted and he found his dire wolves stuck between the enemy and his own troops [<i>and unlucky rolls for his undisciplined units prevented them from joining the melee</i>]. Eventually he was wounded and forced to abandon the combat. This caused some of the orcs to scatter, but the trolls and other orc soldiers were so filled with bloodlust that they kept fighting.<br />
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The battle continued and it was time for Yoselith to enter the fray. His elf marines managed to defeat the remaining orc soldiers, but with heavy losses. He then faced the raging trolls, hurt them but was forced to abandon the fight -- and along went the remaining elves.<br />
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In the end, only the trolls remained in the battlefield, looking for more victims of their blood frenzy. The orc invasion had been halted, but the elves were also left weakened.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
This was a pretty balanced battle, with the elves elite units capable of countering the orcs' frenzy. Playing this on MapTool worked well (I also had some tokens on the hidden layer to help pivoting units). In fact, I intend to move all games larger than skirmishes to the virtual tabletop -- after all, I have been playing them mostly with flat counters. Surely, these screen captures using very simple tokens end up looking like some weird Tetris clone but I intend to make some better-looking ones.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-17663769979494210892016-03-26T20:00:00.000-03:002016-03-26T20:00:10.312-03:00Starfighters for MapToolHere is another token pack for MapTool. This time there are four starfighter styles, in three color schemes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3HpA-8HRi4Xdq-KSuLkVozWwJxYqJX_1J-1on3bCs_GQxlBomz6TUVS_pY8u7Y1Ia4Tiv-tzBW-mmA7Cr1wx37he1_FHeQhyphenhypheni3iAOPg_uEXxenU70KkcqfU4PGSo8Tv4apv2zIEAMo4c/s1600/preview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3HpA-8HRi4Xdq-KSuLkVozWwJxYqJX_1J-1on3bCs_GQxlBomz6TUVS_pY8u7Y1Ia4Tiv-tzBW-mmA7Cr1wx37he1_FHeQhyphenhypheni3iAOPg_uEXxenU70KkcqfU4PGSo8Tv4apv2zIEAMo4c/s320/preview.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
A compressed file containing the tokens and the Inkscape file with the original vector drawings can be downloaded by <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2fMfkEgwxcbdm81RWp6X204NlU/view?usp=sharing">clicking here</a>. The files are shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.<br />
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Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-69926354338129987062016-03-19T20:00:00.001-03:002016-03-22T21:56:10.260-03:00The Vagrant - ZetarisPreviously: Winston and team left Letos II after some troubles, and are on route to Zetaris, a Zhuh-zhuh controlled world. On the way, they picked up some cargo from pirates that attacked the Vagrant.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ff3CwQ-j0BY/VqFmHdDMHTI/AAAAAAAAEdo/FHZAI-WkJSw/s1600/vagrant.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ff3CwQ-j0BY/VqFmHdDMHTI/AAAAAAAAEdo/FHZAI-WkJSw/s320/vagrant.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Month #7</b><br />
The rest of the trip to Zetaris was uneventful. Winston and crew landed on the spaceport of Trellis, a smaller, industrial settlement, and went looking for someone to sell the pirate cargo.<br />
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On their way to the Mutant Shack, a seedy tavern at the Pub & Rec area, they met a couple of scientists looking for "recreational drugs." During the rest of the night, they attracted the attention of a local gang, but Winston managed to avoid a fight. Then a band of drunk administrative workers also tried to pick a fight but Pingh convinced Winston that they would not find any dealer around, so they left.<br />
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<b>Month #8</b><br />
Winston was contacted by Gek, leader of the gang he met last month, who invited him to go and meet some "important people." While they went to the Triangle Casino, they met Anders, a local dealer. Winston arranged to meet him again later.<br />
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At the casino, they met with Togal, a Zhuh-zhuh that Gek described as "the owner of the trade business in Trellis." Winston caused a good impression on him, who said that he might have some jobs for him later. [<i>Note: this was a chillin' encounter caused by a random event.</i>]<br />
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Anders and Winston met at the Mutant Shack. It seemed that his luck was changing: he had no encounters on his way and Anders was, indeed, waiting for him at the tavern. They arranged a meeting at the Spaceport area the next night.<br />
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Winston went along with Pingh and Axor. Anders was accompanied by three mercenaries. Winston tried to haggle a better price for the cargo, but did not succeed. Still, the cargo was sold and thus, they had more money on hand. Time to go somewhere else, but not before talking to Togal one more time.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
Winston gained two Rep D6 for selling the pirate cargo, but they did not cause a Rep increase (neither die rolled a 6.) His lifetime total is 6 dice, still too low for a comfortable retirement.<br />
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Note: This post accidentally went "live" on march 19th, and then was corrected and updated on march 22nd.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-91437833284484238632016-03-16T05:00:00.000-03:002016-03-16T05:00:08.523-03:00An ambush between tribesmen<div>
Theg, a veteran warrior, is on patrol with his nephew Dorn and Ebner, the archer. There have been conflicts with a neighboring tribe and they have to make sure no enemies are hiding in their territory.</div>
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[<i>The warriors must reach the opposing board edge and return, having passed through both patches of wood to complete their patrol. The yellow pieces are possible enemy forces.</i>]</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YomQx0SrsIs/VuGc_liGUlI/AAAAAAAAEk8/3gbIc5GnBjY/s1600/ambush01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YomQx0SrsIs/VuGc_liGUlI/AAAAAAAAEk8/3gbIc5GnBjY/s320/ambush01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A group of two warriors and an archer appears from behind the large rocks. The enemy archer shoots an arrow at Theg, missing. They run towards cover of the nearby low wall and Ebner takes down the archer. The enemy warriors are scattered, running for cover.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n4QYxWYBMRM/VuGc_dZWM9I/AAAAAAAAEk4/XTbFG_v8Pak/s1600/ambush02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n4QYxWYBMRM/VuGc_dZWM9I/AAAAAAAAEk4/XTbFG_v8Pak/s320/ambush02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Theg and companions advance, then the enemy springs from the woods. Another group of two warriors and archer. Again, the enemy archer misses Theg, and then the warriors enter combat. Theg manages to hurt his opponent before being cut down. Dorn, eager to enter combat, is quickly defeated with a stab in the chest.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CdfU4ds0DIo/VuGc_rTV-8I/AAAAAAAAElA/FlhsPD8bci4/s1600/ambush03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CdfU4ds0DIo/VuGc_rTV-8I/AAAAAAAAElA/FlhsPD8bci4/s320/ambush03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Terrified, Ebner flees and the enemies do not chase him.</div>
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<b>Conclusion</b></div>
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This battle was played using Chain Reaction Swordplay 2015 and only took two turns in 20-30 minutes of play. Flat terrain was drawn with sharpies and colored with crayons in a bout of arts and crafts mood. Miniatures are very simple outlines of warriors and archers done in Inkscape and built in tri-fold shape. Everything was done in reduced scale, using centimeters instead of inches.</div>
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The battle between Theg (rep 5 star) and the enemy veteran warrior turned into a mini-game with several rounds. It got me rolling for Star Power three times, and this was the first time I saw all Star Power dice being expended in a battle. Meanwhile, Dorn lost the first round of melee and his opponent rolled a natural 6, killing him right away.</div>
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Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-55471497314061940962016-03-12T20:00:00.001-03:002016-03-12T20:00:10.518-03:00The Vagrant - Letos IIPreviously: Winston and team took a transport job to take a Hishen investigative reporter to Letos II, in the 5th ring.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ff3CwQ-j0BY/VqFmHdDMHTI/AAAAAAAAEdo/FHZAI-WkJSw/s1600/vagrant.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ff3CwQ-j0BY/VqFmHdDMHTI/AAAAAAAAEdo/FHZAI-WkJSw/s320/vagrant.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Month #4</b><br />
There were no more events during the trip and the Vagrant landed on Polara -- the one and only settlement on the planet. Letos II was an independent planet and Polara served as a trading post and headquarters to a few corporations. Due to the weather and radiation, most of Polara was built underground.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r84Hwagy60E/VsDyZptfkYI/AAAAAAAAEjM/EG4rzXDlV28/s1600/letos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r84Hwagy60E/VsDyZptfkYI/AAAAAAAAEjM/EG4rzXDlV28/s320/letos.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spaceport of Polara on Letos II.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Keorn paid the rest of the credits for the trip and left them on the spaceport. Winston decided to go looking for information traders in the pub & rec area of the settlement.<br />
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Late in the night, Pingh sighted him entering the cheap hotel in a hurry. "What's up?" he asked in the usual reproving tone. "Maybe we should get out of this place..." Winston sounded tired. He told about the Xeog corporate executive who picked a fight with him for no reason, and ended up bleeding in an alley, and the Razor who tried to rob him on the way back. "And of course, you couldn't find any broker," Pingh finished, shaking his head.<br />
<br />
Still, the pay for the transport job was good, and he was alive and without any bullet holes. [<i>This month, Winston accumulated 3 increasing Rep dice, which added to his lifetime total. He also increased his Rep to 6, thanks to a good roll.</i>]<br />
<br />
<b>Month #5</b><br />
Convinced that the planet was more trouble than it was worth, Winston decided to go to Zetaris, a Zhuh-zhuh class 1 world on the fourth ring, sixth sector. Thus they took off from Letos II and on to the jump gate.<br />
<br />
On the way, they avoided contact with another Hishen ship, and then were approached by a Zhuh-zhuh cutter on patrol, who inspected the Vagrant but did not find anything unusual.<br />
<br />
<b>Month #6</b><br />
Before they could reach the jump gate, the Vagrant was attacked by a pirate ship. The pirates came in firing their lasers and demanding that Winston and crew surrendered. Instead, he was able to outmaneuver and cause extensive damage to the enemy ship.<br />
<br />
Seeing that their ambush did not work, and unable to escape due to his damaged ship, the pirate captain surrendered. Despite Pingh's suggestions, they put all the pirates on life pods, sent them to a nearby planet and destroyed the ship, gaining some contraband.<br />
<br />
After this, they met a Xeog named Virka, in command of a trader ship. They traveled together to sector 6 and then parted ways. Zetaris was now near, and Winston had high hopes of finding buyers for both the data pack and the cargo gained from the pirates. [<i>This month, Winston gained 1 increasing Rep die because of the combat with the pirate ship. It rolled a 6, causing another increase in Rep!</i>]<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
These three months were very good for Winston, although he still has a long way to go if he wants to retire comfortably. Now, at Rep 7, he can take more risks.<br />
<br />
This time I had my first ship to ship combat in Fringe Space. The rules take a bit to get used to, as the battle flows from table to table (like in Red Sun Black Moon, for instance) but they work well and do not require setting up a board, especially if there are only two ships involved.<br />
<br /></div>
Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-61694757506207303792016-03-09T05:00:00.001-03:002016-03-09T05:00:15.111-03:00Battle for Zorpel: Closing Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ACd-dcXuMIE/VkqWu5QIzLI/AAAAAAAAESw/wNqpJckXqCc/s1600/zorpel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ACd-dcXuMIE/VkqWu5QIzLI/AAAAAAAAESw/wNqpJckXqCc/s320/zorpel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
After ten battle reports, I think it is time to finish the Battle for Zorpel campaign. A few thoughts about the campaign and the tools presented in Five Core 2:<br />
<br />
The campaign system is good, with its random events and character advancement. The campaign progress system may result in quite long campaigns if you play until one side reaches 10 progress points. During these 10 battles, it fluctuated between -2 and 2.<br />
<br />
The mission generator is great. The board setups that I ended up playing were quite different from each other and different from what I would have made on my own. I barely used the force generator but I can see them both used together to create very different one-shot games.<br />
<br />
The character classes and skills add detail and variety to the forces and worked really well in this campaign, in which each side had 3-4 figures.<br />
<br />
Despite all of these tools, I should have worked more on the background of the campaign. The general setting (directly inspired by Legions of Steel) gave some meaning to the battles but they still felt disconnected. A region map with settlement locations etc. might have helped.<br />
<br />
Likewise, an outline of the colonial forces and maybe a detailed description of a few recurring characters (instead of an unlimited supply of new grunts replacing the losses) might have made the battles more meaningful.<br />
<br />
The two battles fought using MapTool worked well (even if they did not look pretty). Now that I have learned how to rotate tokens in small increments (using Control+Shift+Mouse wheel) I have to try playing games with element bases in it.<br />
<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-31442610913000737412016-03-05T20:00:00.000-03:002016-03-05T20:00:10.923-03:00Black Ops: Data Theft"Ok folks, all we need to do is to enter the building, copy those files and move out." Even when keeping her voice down, Kate could put <i>energy</i> in her words. The rest of the team nodded. Jamie had checked her machine gun twice. Bill and Eric had their automatic shotguns ready. For a stealth mission, this was a lot of <i>noisy</i> hardware, but that's how they played: if the plan went wrong, would you rather have a silenced pistol or a heavy machine gun at your side?<br />
<br />
This was a stealth mission played using Black Ops. The special ops team (pictured left) are Kate (leader), Jamie (heavy), Bill and Eric (soldiers). The opposition is a mercenary commander and six soldiers. Each side is just below 50 points.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M4lvTXGUCLM/Vrd_fKwrfrI/AAAAAAAAEgw/4FeTsktokwU/s1600/dt01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="116" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M4lvTXGUCLM/Vrd_fKwrfrI/AAAAAAAAEgw/4FeTsktokwU/s320/dt01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The opposing forces, roughly 50 points per side.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The operatives must enter the building closest to the center, then spend two activations inside to steal the data files. Then they must leave through the same edge they entered. There are two mercenaries on patrol, and the rest are in buildings.The ones in the buildings will only leave on a reaction roll of 7+. This is similar to the espionage scenario in a city board, from the game rules.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zrHCXX4Bi58/VreAPoxDqcI/AAAAAAAAEg0/nEGTpeg1uwk/s1600/dt02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zrHCXX4Bi58/VreAPoxDqcI/AAAAAAAAEg0/nEGTpeg1uwk/s320/dt02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting board. The spec ops enter from the bottom edge; the mercenaries are spread around.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Kate and her team moved out of the alleyway, taking cover behind the nearby car and from there to the park. Meanwhile, the enemy sentries were oblivious to their approach. Jamie moved behind some crates to cover for Kate, who advanced to the white van. She saw an opportunity to dispatch a nearby distracted sentry... sneaked close for the kill... but he turned in the last moment. She hit his face with the stock of her submachine gun but not strongly enough to take him out. [<i>In game terms, she did score a hit in close combat but the mercenary managed to save...</i>]<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6RQP1aRgP0/VreBrM-m16I/AAAAAAAAEhA/kqsdpuRnj9Q/s1600/dt03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6RQP1aRgP0/VreBrM-m16I/AAAAAAAAEhA/kqsdpuRnj9Q/s320/dt03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm even more inclined to ignore armor of the target in stealth kill attempts...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The noise from the continuing fight attracted the other sentry, who saw Kate and started calling for help. Jamie thought it would be better to silence the sentry with her machine gun, but that attracted more attention. Eventually, the mercenary commander came out of his quarters, only to see Kate still engaged in combat. He raised the alarm and all the remaining guards came out of the nearby buildings. A bloody firefight ensued and in the end, Bill, Eric and three mercenaries were out of combat.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f0YvYiFa0mw/VreCiSe5krI/AAAAAAAAEhE/GvOFMZU4XO8/s1600/dt04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f0YvYiFa0mw/VreCiSe5krI/AAAAAAAAEhE/GvOFMZU4XO8/s320/dt04.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this should have been a stealth mission.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With their losses and the alarm, which was certain to draw reinforcements, Kate and Jamie decided to cancel the operation and leave. Jamie took down one more mercenary on the way out but their mission was still a failure, as they could not obtain the data.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LpOdIzEo1XI/VreDNz2_AXI/AAAAAAAAEhI/T66_SCe6_Yg/s1600/dt05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LpOdIzEo1XI/VreDNz2_AXI/AAAAAAAAEhI/T66_SCe6_Yg/s320/dt05.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Live to fight another day, and all that...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Kate and Jamie left the metropolis without even contacting their employer; they needed a head start, as he would surely want them dead after this mission.<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
The stealth kill attempt was a gamble, and attacking with the machine gun was not really bright. I was confident that a few noise markers would not be enough to wake up the mercenary commander, but the dice proved me wrong.<br />
<br />
This game worked well, on a 50cm x 50cm board using 15mm miniatures and halving the measurements. The limited field of view (90 degrees, compared to 180 degrees in some games) and observation mechanics made it work even though there were some long corridors. The limited weapon ranges also contribute to this.<br />
<br />
Previously I commented on the problem with saves in close combat, even more in the case of stealth kill attempts. Currently, a civilian has 44% chance of surviving a stealthy close-combat attack from a professional soldier. If wearing body armor, that increases to 56% -- and most profiles include body armor. In future Black Ops games, I will house-rule that stealth kills ignore body armor. It is not a huge change but I think it fits the game style.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7948814778009513111.post-26055799727137461002016-03-02T05:00:00.000-03:002016-03-02T05:00:09.303-03:00A Treasure HuntI recently bought the Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes book. While the core rules remain the same, there are some new options for activation, as well as special rules for weapons and an expanded magic system.<br />
<br />
In order to try the new activation, I played a battle between dwarves and orcs, using profiles given in the book. Note that now the standard force size is 400 points (up from 300) with more allowance for personalities.<br />
<br />
The dwarf warband was composed of Captain Tormak (Leader Swordsman w/shield), Brelik (Hero Swordsman w/shield), 2x Trained Heavy Axeman, 2x Veteran Heavy Axeman, and 2x Veteran Crossbow Wielder.<br />
<br />
The orcs had Warchief Krakk (War-Leader), 4x Armored Spearman and 4x Chosen Bowman.<br />
<br />
The new book does not include scenarios so I used the Treasure Hunt scenario from the "basic" Song of Blades and Heroes. There are three treasure markers and both warbands compete to find the treasure and take it away through their starting edge of the map. This is the initial board setup. The treasure chests mark the possible locations of the treasure.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRDU1G_39Anhij1MZW9Re0rVscFhsTd-wU_CuNHb3OtVsCFfPcLWTUH2ucAOp6A4-3P3EdCjlCdx_qOCf9OYwJAGPazXrbjnMt7-LNe3q_Y2TBn_tbPb5oh6KcVOn_oCCmVcWbm76LGw/s1600/asobh-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRDU1G_39Anhij1MZW9Re0rVscFhsTd-wU_CuNHb3OtVsCFfPcLWTUH2ucAOp6A4-3P3EdCjlCdx_qOCf9OYwJAGPazXrbjnMt7-LNe3q_Y2TBn_tbPb5oh6KcVOn_oCCmVcWbm76LGw/s320/asobh-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For some reason, the short movement stick was not included in the exported screenshot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The plan for the dwarves was to have their leader activating as a group with the trained axemen, going for the treasure marker in the distant forest patch. The hero would go for the marker in the ruins, covered by the crossbowmen, and the two veterans would move to the closest marker.<br />
<br />
The orcs split in three groups, with the leader and two spearmen going for the farthest marker, and two teams of spearman and bowmen going for the other two markers.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>The orcs won the initiative and moved to the forest patch closer to them. However, the treasure was not there. Captain Tormak led his team to the other forest patch and had better luck. A dwarf crossbowman took the opportunity to move and fire at the orc warchief but missed.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJeyuxNWFq5Pq7ps_uTwkWRJwiUNt6RmiWugFtHFioOuonafBNBIA4fVQUywNaYynM6G-Tz1H4PN_tHTpymruIm_hrk6oA0F-nc4QBx8nmcQYpi2CX0wROviHkFO3l_MD4w-a6ox0YZbc/s1600/asobh-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJeyuxNWFq5Pq7ps_uTwkWRJwiUNt6RmiWugFtHFioOuonafBNBIA4fVQUywNaYynM6G-Tz1H4PN_tHTpymruIm_hrk6oA0F-nc4QBx8nmcQYpi2CX0wROviHkFO3l_MD4w-a6ox0YZbc/s320/asobh-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I replaced the treasure chest with a red marker to represent the found treasure.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The warchief ordered the nearby orc team to move and attack the dwarves with the treasure. A bowman and spearman ganged up on a dwarf axeman, but they could not take him out. Meanwhile, the orc archers and dwarf crossbowmen exchanged fire but no one got hurt.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBy7TjnkBI3tOgdujz24gZTzaNQBFAfFdcWdz6xKu4n0OC6ct79gyyqUA5CwSuHO82Ww01yvaUB6IbyCh8HyCRVCe3Nu7CsjVC5ivOzJinkwrVjzy3tV6bH8N1tiU6_NOKbNBr2BlzB4/s1600/asobh-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBy7TjnkBI3tOgdujz24gZTzaNQBFAfFdcWdz6xKu4n0OC6ct79gyyqUA5CwSuHO82Ww01yvaUB6IbyCh8HyCRVCe3Nu7CsjVC5ivOzJinkwrVjzy3tV6bH8N1tiU6_NOKbNBr2BlzB4/s320/asobh-03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pairs of axemen and spearmen spent most of the time idling.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Captain Tormak activated his team, killed the armored orc and the axeman got a gruesome kill on the orc archer. A nearby orc archer ran in fear when he saw his companion's head rolling out of the woods. Another orc archer knocked down a dwarf crossbowman, but did not kill him.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pAnMn0eJubk/VrlGDU5v4FI/AAAAAAAAEiE/dJnfLIZEllk/s1600/asobh-04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pAnMn0eJubk/VrlGDU5v4FI/AAAAAAAAEiE/dJnfLIZEllk/s320/asobh-04.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The knocked down dwarf managed to react and stand up before the orc could shoot him again.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After this, the orcs still tried to advance and at least cause some losses to the dwarves, but they managed to leave with the treasure, winning the scenario.<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
Advanced Song of Blades and Heroes remains the same fun game as usual. The new reaction option is probably great when playing against other people. For solo play, it adds another decision that is not particularly easy to automate. I will probably keep using the basic rules, maybe with some of the new traits and spells, when playing solo games.<br />
<br />Ricardo Nakamurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07646452040751892430noreply@blogger.com7