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.

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

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'.