25 February, 2013

Please Advise

The conclusion...although the Package has been secured, an American contractor has been captured and is being used as an unwilling technical advisor to the rebels.


A small group of elite operators is sent in to rescue him – should the rebels be taught a harsh lesson it would be considered a bonus.

Quiet streets, for now - you can see the four Delta operators getting ready behind a nearby building 
A rebel group patrols down a nearby laneway - they're in a good position to directly reinforce the main compound or attempt a flanking movement
Delta approach compound - they've made a quick movement down the side of the buildings, avoiding the main street and the traffic. Just behind the white and orange taxi is a news team, who've somehow gotten wind of the hostage situation - any trip-up will cause a media storm
They're engaged by the rebels in the compound - one of them gets hit and as they try to return fire under movement an unarmed civilian crosses the road in front of them!
They cross the open ground and rebel fire hits the old woman - one of the Delta operators stops to give her basic first aid before dragging her into cover
They're under serious time pressure now, but a heliborne sniper has joined in to  help them out. The shots from above takes out two rebels nearby as Delta storms the smaller building, wiping out another rebel group. Unfortunately for them the hostage is nowhere to be found: he must be in the main building
Delta form up for an assault, but with incoming fire and the helicopter driven away by RPG fire, they hunker down and must exfiltrate before more rebels cut off their route
Once again, a very close-run affair - keeping to a strict time-table is difficult with only four men, and Delta only seemed to realise the urgency of things in the last two turns.

18 February, 2013

Eyes On

With rebel forces in control of the Package, a SpecOps team has been sent in to put eyes on it, and destroy  it along with any threat to the stability of the region.


A two-man hidden sniper team lies conceals, attempting to put 'eyes on' the Package in order to call in an air strike to put it permanently beyond use.

Patrols are out in force, they patrol the compound in a tightly controlled circuit. So far the hidden observation team hasn't located the Package, but has ruled out two of the buildings in the main compound
An unknown vehicle approaches along a dirt road, and immediately the patrols' alertness is raised. One patrol makes its way across to check out the vehicle.
One patrol spots something in the small copse of trees beyond. The observation team  has just compounded it's failed roll to check out the third building - maybe in their frustration they left their laser designator flash in the sunlight... 
Snipers in the undergrowth! The patrol engages them in a firefight and overwhelms them . The snipers let out a squawk on their radio as they call in the quick reaction force!
The QRF swoops in! These guys mean business - despite the attention of two four-man patrols and a machine-gun team on a rooftop they barely take any return fire at all as they wipe out each of the three rebel groups
The SUV (which was just a resupply run for the rebel group) and the other patrol make their way to the compound. The  rebel leader with the package remains hidden but hopes to sneak into the vehicle while the rebels hold off the inbound gun truck
The special ops team aboard the gun truck careen around the compound trying to cut off the SUV's escape route. The rebel leader makes a run for it but is shot down as he leaves the building. 
With the rebel leader out of the action, the nearby rebels grab the package and jump into the SUV instead. The gun truck pulls up alongside and shoots down three of the four rebels. The last guy, huddled in the corner with the briefcase, loses his nerve and surrenders to them 
A close-run affair in the end - while the QRF were amazingly effective, the rebels were one morale check away from victory in the last turn!

14 February, 2013

The Package

At Warpcon a couple of weeks back I ran the Brave New World campaign from the 'Classified' book

An arms dealer delivers the package to the rebels by light plane.


A small special forces mission is sent in to arrest the militia leader and confiscate the small briefcase

The rebel village looks peaceful, a small patrol is seen in the distance picking its way through the supply dump
But two special forces squad rush into the village, taking out the rebel machine gun team perched on the rooftop of the largest building (believed by their intelligence to be the rebel HQ)
Another group of rebels has leapt into their SUV and raced across the main road  to where their leader is meeting with the arms dealer - they bundle him aboard, trading fire with the special forces
The arms dealer's mercenaries escort him back to the aircraft, where their pilot has kept her nerve and is getting it ready. As they get into the plane rebel forces nearby pause from their firefight with the assaulting special forces to open fire on them! Do they think the arms dealer has sold them down the river?
The rebels hold on to their stronghold, stopping the special forces dead in their tracks and causing the arms dealer's plane to skid to a halt - despite their losses they've gotten their leader away
Nice and quick, and I think the tactical options open to all sides make this one eminently re-playable.

08 February, 2013

Contracting Trouble - Redux

After the first game a crowd of us sat/stood around the table for some varied chat; until I charged a couple of them to give Contracting Trouble another go, since the terrain was already set up and all.


During the last post I compared this to 'Suicide Mission' (from Space Hulk) - what I meant was that the mission is challenging for a beginner, but experienced player can give themselves a much better shot at success...

The first fire team reaches the contractors without much trouble, with their comrades on a rooftop behind they  feel safe
Two things are not in their favour however: one large group of insurgents has broken away from contact and moved all the way around the main street, aiming to cut off their line of retreat
The other group near the SUV has hugged the wall of the building and is now actually out of line-of-sight of the overwatch team, while being able to attack the rescue team. The insurgents wipe out the rescue team, taking the contractors and one of the soldiers prisoner

The second fire team rushes to their rescue, though the initial exchange of fire is in the regulars' favour, they're stuck for time and assault through the insurgents killing every last one and saving one of the mates and the contractors

Their time is running out and as they flee the scene of the wrecked SUV, the insurgents lining the walls and in nearby building open fire and overwhelm them

A white-wash in favour of the insurgents, careful manoeuvring along with some poor decisions by the regular player made it a bad day for the squaddies

05 February, 2013

Contracting Trouble

On Sunday of Warpcon I ran a couple of games of the classic starter scenario, Contracting Trouble.

An SUV carrying two civilian contractors was hit by gunfire as it moved through a neighbourhood in one of the city’s red zones. UAV footage indicates that the contractors are injured but alive. The contractors have held the small group of Insurgent gunmen who attacked their vehicle at bay for nearly a quarter of an hour, but more armed men have been spotted converging on the disabled SUV. 


A squad of soldiers is in the vicinity and can be on-site within the hour. They must locate the contractors and escort them back off.

Exultant RPG gunner overlooking the stricken SUV
Those contractors are definitely in trouble
The inbound patrol comes to the rescue, bounding up the street tactically and  taking out a couple of the lone RPG-armed insurgents
Two insurgent leaders have made their way across the street and are conferring pending the arrival of further insurgents
Those reinforcements strengthen their hand and they prepare to strike
The first fire team, led by the squad leader, goes on overwatch from a nearby rooftop
Insurgents rush to the rooftops to surround wreck and engage the two fire teams across the way in a heavy firefight 
 A few more recent arrivals lurk around the corner from the second fire team, which has just arrived on the scene
More insurgents arrive, close to the covering fire team and causing them to lose their ability to concentrate on the SUV
The other team takes casualties on way out from across the street, where a large group has bided its time 'til the withdrawal
The sergeant leads his men down to the street to conduct a fighting withdrawal, but with a lot of insurgents nearby, they're unable to make their way to safety in time
Nicely balanced intro scenario I thought, akin to that Space Hulk classic 'Suicide Mission'.

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