To add to the ambience of my games, I created the following scatter terrain:
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Big Piles
Two terrain items that are iconic to The Division setting are large piles of uncollected trash and collections of dead bodies in body bags.
New Setting: The Division - Los Angeles
I like the setting for the video game The Division, a near future first person shooter that takes place in a wintery Manhattan following a devastating bioterror attack. While I've heard complaints about the game play, there is no denying that the design is darkly beautiful.
I've put together a co-existing setting that takes place in Los Angeles (the game clearly states that other cities around the world have also been attacked). I played a quick game in the world using Evil Bear Games OSC.
I've put together a co-existing setting that takes place in Los Angeles (the game clearly states that other cities around the world have also been attacked). I played a quick game in the world using Evil Bear Games OSC.
Turn 1, scavengers deployment point
Turn 2, Scavengers get into camp
Turn 1, California National Guard deployment
Turn 2, CNG squad takes cover and opens fire
Turn 2 end, Grenade hits police car and wipes out most Scavengers
Turn 3, CNG soldier gets behind but jams
End game, TPK for Scavengers
Friday, July 22, 2016
Done with European Intifada
I just checked the news and read of the shooting at Munich's Olympia-Einkaufszentrum mall. This follows on the horrific terror attack in Nice that took the lives of 84 people, including many children. The Nice attack, of course, followed other vicious and horrific terrorist atrocities in Paris and elsewhere in Europe.
I can only conclude that an ugly reality has merged with my ugly fantasy of the wargame setting of European Intifada. As a consequence, I am going to cease creating, playing, and posting scenarios for my European Intifada setting. It's just too close to home.
My goal when writing the European Intifada was to create a near-future setting for miniature wargames players that was marginally realistic and located in places they knew or at least knew of. While there has always been the possibility that this scenario could play out in real life, I did not believe that it would come to pass even in part. I always held out the hope that the fictional combatants would always remain fictional and that real life would be a brighter, more hopeful place. While reality hasn't caught up with the dark totality of what I envisioned as a playland, that is a small comfort in the face of the atrocities being committed now.
I would like to thank the readers and commenters of Small Plastic Warriors and I appreciate your thoughts and well wishes. I will continue to create, play, and post modern wargame scenarios, but I'm going to move other near-future settings and alternative histories.
And I'm going to hope like hell that these other imaginary wars and fighting don't come to pass as well.
I can only conclude that an ugly reality has merged with my ugly fantasy of the wargame setting of European Intifada. As a consequence, I am going to cease creating, playing, and posting scenarios for my European Intifada setting. It's just too close to home.
My goal when writing the European Intifada was to create a near-future setting for miniature wargames players that was marginally realistic and located in places they knew or at least knew of. While there has always been the possibility that this scenario could play out in real life, I did not believe that it would come to pass even in part. I always held out the hope that the fictional combatants would always remain fictional and that real life would be a brighter, more hopeful place. While reality hasn't caught up with the dark totality of what I envisioned as a playland, that is a small comfort in the face of the atrocities being committed now.
I would like to thank the readers and commenters of Small Plastic Warriors and I appreciate your thoughts and well wishes. I will continue to create, play, and post modern wargame scenarios, but I'm going to move other near-future settings and alternative histories.
And I'm going to hope like hell that these other imaginary wars and fighting don't come to pass as well.
Monday, April 18, 2016
Skirmish Sangin and Special Operations Mission Generation
This is a copy of a PDF piece that I posted at http://skirmishsangin.freeforums.net/thread/206/skirmish-special-operations
Nations, corporations, and even wealthy or
powerful individuals sometimes require services that a traditional military
does not and cannot perform. This area of action is often in violation of local
or international law and may require a degree of deniability. This is the arena
of special operators, highly trained individuals with specialized skills, who
conduct asymetric warfare and other missions.
Skirmish Sangin is an excellent rule set for simulating these Special
Operations missions. The system for designing and skirmishing both traditional
and asymetric forces allows players to pit operators from any side of a
conflict in these situations.
This type of combat is fought between an
aggressor and a defender. The aggressor is almost always a small team of Elite
or Veteran figures, while the defender is usually a larger force of Novice and
Average figures stiffened by a few Veterans in important locations. Players
should decide beforehand who is going to take on what role, either by mutual
agreement or by rolling off.
Creating a Special Operations mission is as
simple as rolling 4d6. The first die determines the Mission Type
for the aggressor. The second and third die, compared against the appropriate
tables under Mission Details, determines the target and type of
location, respectively. The fourth die determines the Specific Locations where
the combat takes place.
Mission Type
|
D6 Roll
|
Mission
|
|
1
|
Assassination
|
|
2
|
Extraction
|
|
3
|
Espionage
|
|
4
|
Sabotage
|
|
5
|
Raid
|
|
6
|
Surveillance
|
Mission Details
Assassination
|
D6 Roll
|
The target is...
|
And is currently...
|
|
1
|
...an important
politician.
|
...being moved out.
Roll on the Hub table.
|
|
2
|
...a specialist or
scientist.
|
...on the road. Roll
on the Road table.
|
|
3
|
...an informer or
spy..
|
...resting. Roll on
the Compound table.
|
|
4
|
...a defector.
|
...at a safe house.
Roll on the City table.
|
|
5
|
...a general.
|
...at a manufacturing
site. Roll on the Industrial table.
|
|
6
|
...a family member of
one of the above (re-roll).
|
...hiding out in the
boonies. Roll on the Rural table.
|
Extraction
|
D6 Roll
|
The target is...
|
And is currently...
|
|
1
|
...a politician.
|
...preparing to move
out. Roll on the Hub table.
|
|
2
|
...a defecting
specialist or scientist.
|
...in transit by
convoy. Roll on the Road table.
|
|
3
|
...an informer.
|
...being held incommunicado.
Roll on the Compound table.
|
|
4
|
...a defector.
|
...being held in a local
hotel. Roll on the City table
|
|
5
|
...a captured spy.
|
...being held at a
local manufacturing site. Roll on the Industrial table.
|
|
6
|
...a family member of
one of the above (re-roll).
|
...out in the boonies.
Roll on the Rural table.
|
Espionage
|
D6 Roll
|
The target is...
|
And is currently...
|
|
1
|
...a communication or
encryption device.
|
...being prepared to
be transported away. Roll on the Hub table.
|
|
2
|
...an experimental
weapon.
|
...in transit by
convoy. Roll on the Road table.
|
|
3
|
...an experimental
formula.
|
...being held at a
local site. Roll on the Compound table.
|
|
4
|
...secret enemy plans.
|
...being held in an
urban location. Roll on the City table.
|
|
5
|
...experimental
materials.
|
...being reviewed at a
local manufacturing site. Roll on the Industrial table.
|
|
6
|
...incriminating
financial records.
|
...being held out in
the boonies. Roll on the Rural table.
|
Sabotage
|
D6 Roll
|
The target is...
|
And is currently...
|
|
1
|
...a communications
hub.
|
...switching vehicles.
Roll on the Hub table.
|
|
2
|
...a cache of weapons.
|
...stashed near a
road. Roll on the Road table.
|
|
3
|
...a supply of drugs.
|
...being stored at a
private location. Roll on the Compound table
|
|
4
|
...a mainframe or data
storage.
|
...in a building. Roll
on the City table.
|
|
5
|
...a surveillance
device.
|
...in a local
manufacturing facility. Roll on the Industrial table.
|
|
6
|
...a shipment of
chemicals.
|
...stashed away from
prying eyes. Roll on the Rural table.
|
Raid
|
D6 Roll
|
The target is...
|
And is currently...
|
|
|
1
|
...an enemy force.
|
...preparing to leave
the country. Roll on the Hub table.
|
|
|
2
|
...an enemy force.
|
...in a convoy. Roll
on the Road table.
|
|
|
3
|
...an enemy force.
|
...holed up at a
private site. Roll on the Compound table.
|
|
|
4
|
...an enemy force.
|
...in a local
building. Roll on the City table.
|
|
|
5
|
...an enemy force.
|
...protecting a
manufacturing site. Roll on the Industrial table.
|
|
|
6
|
...an enemy force.
|
...hiding among the
locals. Roll on the Rural table.
|
|
Surveillance
|
D6 Roll
|
The target is...
|
And is ...
|
|
1
|
...an area of
interest.
|
...a transport hub.
Roll on the Hub table.
|
|
2
|
...an area of
interest.
|
...in transit by
convoy. Roll on the Road table.
|
|
3
|
...an area of
interest.
|
...a local residence
or business. Roll on the Compound table.
|
|
4
|
...an area of
interest.
|
...a safe house. Roll
on the City table.
|
|
5
|
...an area of
interest.
|
...an industrial
center. Roll on the Industrial table.
|
|
6
|
...an area of
interest.
|
...an out-of-the-way
location. Roll on the Rural table.
|
Specific Locations
|
D6 Roll
|
City
|
Compound
|
Hub
|
Road
|
Industrial
|
Rural
|
|
1
|
Slum
|
Corporate Campus
|
Subway/Train Station
|
Cemetery
|
Office Building
|
Farming Coop
|
|
2
|
Suburb
|
Corporate Farm
|
Dock/Pier
|
National Preserve
|
Junkyard
|
Trailer Park
|
|
3
|
Shopping Mall
|
Private Estate
|
Rooftop Heliport
|
Construction Zone
|
Refinery
|
Amusement Park
|
|
4
|
Business District
|
Church
|
Private Airport
|
Highway Over/Underpass
|
Factory
|
Village
|
|
5
|
Museum
|
Motel
|
Truck Stop
|
Bridge
|
Warehouse
|
Ghost Town
|
|
6
|
College Campus
|
Private Clinic
|
Train Switching Yard
|
Tunnel
|
Mine
|
Housing Development
Under Construction
|
Example Missions
|
Roll
|
Mission
|
Target
|
Location
|
|
3, 1, 1, 5
|
Espionage
|
Encryption device
|
Truck stop
|
|
6, 3, 3, 4
|
Surveillance
|
Area of Interest
|
Church
|
|
2, 1, 2, 5
|
Extraction
|
Friendly politician
|
Bridge
|
|
4, 1, 5, 6
|
Sabotage
|
Comms device
|
Mine
|
|
5, 1, 3, 3
|
Raid
|
Enemy
|
Private Estate
|
|
1, 6 (3), 6, 1
|
Assassination
|
Family member of informer
|
Farming Coop
|
Game Narrative
Players should attempt to add as much of a
narrative element to their game as possible. This not only adds to the fun, but
allows players to determine victory conditions.
The first example mission is Espionage of an
encryption device while at a truck stop.
The players agree that the device is in the back of a heavy truck and
being transported across the country and is protected by a squad of soldiers
travelling in a separate vehicle. The Aggressor’s victory condition is that one
figure must next to the truck for at least one full turn allow it to get an
image of the device. The Defender’s victory condition is to prevent this from
happening.
Campaigns and Linked Scenarios
The small size and elite nature of the Aggressor
in Special Operations missions makes for interesting and unique campaigns. One
scenario can lead to another, depending on the interpretation of the die rolls
and which player wants to take on the role of the Aggressor and the Defender.
Example Campaign
The easternmost province of the small central European nation of Moldova
is a break-away state known as Transnistria. A group of Transnistrian
ultra-nationalists (the Defenders) are attempting to reignite the conflict and
establish themselves as heroes and leaders. They have financial backing in the
form of a supply of narcotics from an international criminal organization that
has been promised safe haven in the new country.
The surrounding nations wish to prevent the
conflict but none desire to be part of a diplomatic embarrassment should their
efforts come to light. Consequently, a team of operators (the Aggressors) is
covertly inserted into the area to stop the ultra-nationalists.
·
Mission One: Extraction
of a family member of a useful informant being held at a motel.
·
Mission Two: Sabotage of
a cache of drugs located at an ultra-nationalist village.
·
Mission Three: With
their plans revealed and their cache of drugs sabotaged, the ultra-nationalists
prepare to flee the country from a private airport. The operators are to Raid
the airport and kill or capture the ultra-nationalist leaders.
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