Kimeran Defense Forces

The colony planet of Kimera is notable for having successfully freed themselves from the rule of the Tyranian Star Empire.  The outbreak of interstellar war between the Empire and the Independent Systems Alliance proved to be the opportune moment for the Kimerans to launch their rebellion.  The bulk of the Kimeran Defense Force ground troops that fought in that conflict were rifle platoons organized along the following lines.

KIMERAN DEFENSE FORCE RIFLE PLATOON

Troop Quality: D8-D10

Morale: D8-D10

Confidence Level: Confident to High

Supply Quality Level: Normal to Abundant

Overall Tech Level: 2

On Grid? No

Body Armor: TL2, Hard (2D)

TYPICAL UNIT ATTRIBUTES

• Forward Observer
• Terminal Air Controller
• Medic

SPECIAL GEAR DESCRIPTIONS

PA3 Advanced Combat Rifle: The standard assault rifle of the Kimeran Defense Force.

PA17 Squad Automatic Weapon: (Lt. AP:1) Uses the same caliber ammo as the PA3, but in large assault pack magazines.

Multi-role RPG: (Med. AP:2/AT:2(M) With its flexible armament, this grenade launcher support weapon is adaptable to either an anti-personnel or anti-vehicle role.

PA45 Sniper Rifle (Med. AP:2/AT:1 (L)  A heavy sniper rifle capable of firing light armor-piercing explosive rounds.
 

KDF RIFLE PLATOON

KDF Rifle Fireteam

1x Team Leader w/PA3 ACR

1x Grenadier w/MRPG (Med. AP:2/AT:2 (M)

1x Gunner w/PA17 SAW (Lt. AP:1)

2x Rifleman w/PA3 ACR

KDF Rifle Squad

1x Squad Leader w/PA3 ACR

2x KDF Rifle Fireteams

KDF Rifle Platoon HQ Squad

1x Platoon Leader w/PA3 ACR

1x Platoon Sgt. w/PA3 ACR

1x Medic w/PA3 ACR

1x Sniper w/PA45 Sniper Rifle (Med. AP:2/AT:1 (L)

1x Spotter w/PA3 ACR

KDF Rifle Platoon

1x KDF Rifle Platoon HQ Squad

3x KDF Rifle Squads 

These 15mm miniatures are from the now-defunct Force XXI Miniatures line.

Contracting Trouble

A squad of US Army figures from Rebel Minis recently made their way onto my painting table, so that meant I had appropriate figures for the Contracting Trouble scenario from the Force on Force rulebook.  I was able to play this scenario twice, once from each side, with a friend a few days ago.  Here's a shot of my US Army squad:

I set up the board for the scenario.  I didn't have any hot spot markers made, so I just used piles of little stones in the number corresponding to the number of the hot spot to mark their positions.  My buildings tend to be bigger than those shown in the maps in the book, but I can usually get a pretty similar set up, making sure I have the same relative open areas and blocking terrain.  Here is an overview of my board for Contracting Trouble:

And a close up of the contractors that need rescuing, taking cover next to their wrecked SUV:

I was playing the insurgents.  I could not catch a break with the reaction tests; it seemed every time the regulars failed a test, so did the insurgents.  My opponent had one squad make a rapid move up to the corner of a stone wall, close to the center of the board and took out both RPG-wielding figures in hot spots 3 & 5.  Here they are at the end of their move:

Then the other squad made a rapid move to the the walled area on the other side of the street.  They took fire from the insurgents at hot spot 1, but took out one of them with no hits in return.  When they moved into the line of sight of the insurgents at hot spot 4, they again won the reaction test for the round of fire and wiped them out.  Here they are in their final position:

With the firepower of that squad dwindling, I thought maybe I could sneak a leader out of the alley towards the insurgent group at hot spot 1, but they mowed him down anyway.  Then I tried to send one to hot spot 2 and he was taken out by the other squad.  Enough of that!  I rolled for reinforcements and got 2 insurgents with small arms (no leader) added to hot spot 1 and 5 insurgents with small arms added to hot spot 2.  Here is how things stood at the end of the first turn, note how the left side of the board is now completely empty of insurgents:

My opponent starts turn two by putting one of his squads on overwatch, then the US squad closest to the SUV starts the second turn by making a rapid move to pick up the contractors and start heading towards the west edge of the board down the street.  My two insurgent groups were out of line of sight, so no reactions were made to this move.

My first non-initiative unit action is to move the insurgent group into the building from hot spot 2 and then firing on the squad with the contractors.  The overwatch unit shoots and I choose not to return fire, so they can fire at their original target.  My group takes 2 casualties and passes their morale test.  They then lose the reaction test to their main target, who also inflict two casualties.  The insurgents pass their morale test again, but whittled down to 3 figures, only inflict one casualty on the US squad.

My other insurgent unit can only see the US squad that was placed on overwatch, so they fire at them.  The regulars lose a reaction test for the first time!  But I can't manage any casualties and the US squad inflicts 3 kills on the insurgent group with their return fire.

I roll for reinforcements and get 4 figures at hot spot 2 and 3 figures at hot spot 1.   Here is how things look at the end of turn two:

At the start of turn three, my opponent rolls his first aid check and the soldier is dead.  The squad passes their morale test and can act normally.  He places the other squad on overwatch again.  The US squad goes to move off the west board edge with the contractors for their first action.  I react with fire from the building near hot spot 2, take fire from the overwatch squad and lose 3 figures.  I decide to return fire on the overwatch squad, hoping to keep them from firing at my other unit later.  I inflict one casualty, but they pass their morale test.  As the US squad continues its move towards the board edge, they become visible to the insurgent group at hot spot 1 down a narrow alley.  The overwatch squad loses the reaction test, so that fire will occur last.  The insurgents lose the reaction test with the other squad and take two casualties, then return fire without getting any hits.  Here they are about to leave the board:

So the contractors are rescued.  The insurgents lose a couple more figures to fire from the overwatch squad's fire.  Reinforcements are rolled and a small group appears at hot spot 2, behind the building where they can't see the US squad left on the table.  The first aid check shows that the casualty is dead.  The US squad passes its morale test and can act normally.  My opponent orders the squad to move off the south board edge.  I react with fire from the group at hot spot 1, but fail to inflict any casualties and they easily escape.

The final victory totals are 15 points for the US army and 4 for the insurgents, so a decisive victory for the US player.  I think we both made pretty good decisions in the game, but I had the misfortune of only winning a couple of reaction tests the whole game and my opponent had both his casualties result in death, which ironically is a better outcome than seriously wounded, as long as they pass the resulting morale test.  A serious wound means the unit may only react to fire for the next turn, which would have slowed him down and allowed time for me to get more reinforcements and take more shots at him.

We reset the board and switched sides for a second play.  Things were going even better for me than they had for my friend as the US player.  I got the contractors off-board during turn four with no casualties suffered on my side.  At the end of that turn, my friend rolled a large group of reinforcements for hot spot 1, the group ended up being 11 figures.  When my remaining squad went to leave the board, they were engaged by a round of fire from that large group of insurgents.  I won the reaction test, but only caused a couple casualties.  The return fire, with the maximum of ten dice (they had an RPG and an RPK), wiped out my unit completely!  We assumed with the other squad gone that the insurgents could easily capture them, so we didn't play any further and just rolled a first aid test for the captured unit.  The result was two dead and two POWs.  That made the final score 14 points for the insurgents and just 10 for the US side.  An indecisive result according to the scenario victory table, thought nearly a marginal victory for the insurgents.

So in the end, I was unable to taste the sweet nectar of victory playing either side, but I had a great time.  I'm looking forward to getting more of my US army figures painted and playing more scenarios.

The Big Muddy

The first scenario I've worked up for Tomorrow's War is an adaptation of one of the scenarios from the rulebook.  I had all the troops on hand, and with my newly finished buildings I was ready to go.

THE BIG MUDDY

Landara Province, Kimera, 04.05.2258

As Imperial forces advanced on the Kimeran capital city of Daiman during the Rebellion, operations were temporarily halted by severe weather on May 2nd & 3rd. The heavy spring rains transformed the rich soil of Landara Province into a muddy mess that made travel difficult for days afterward.

When operations were continued, two squads of Imperial Shock Troops were assigned to secure a power generator facility, believed to be only lightly guarded, that supplied power to a suburban area of Daiman where the Imperial forces planned to station their headquarters during the final advance on the capital. On the afternoon of May 4th, they rolled into the area in their Strike Transport APCs expecting only token resistance. However, while the Imperial surveillance drones were grounded during the storms, a platoon of veteran Kimeran Defense Force troops had occupied the facility. The Imperials found themselves unexpectedly engaged in an intense firefight for control of the power generator.

SCENARION INFORMATION

Duration of game: 6 turns

Initiative: Imperial for turn 1, test thereafter.

Special Conditions: Muddy Ground (see Special Rules below).

Fog of War: Generated normally by Reaction Tests.

Table Size: 2' x 2'

Note: Kimeran forces set up anywhere on the board outside of the Imperial deployment zone and may begin the game Hidden.

All structures are Average buildings of Quality construction (6D10).  If the power generator facility is destroyed by fire from the Imperial vehicles, then it doesn't count for Imperial victory points as described below.

IMPERIAL MISSION

The objective is the main power generator building. It's important to do as little damage as possible to the facility, so that the generator can supply power to the Imperial Battalion HQ when it is established. Only use the anti-tank weapons as absolutely necessary! And be careful driving off-road in the “Big Muddy”...

Victory Points

• For each Imperial infantry unit at half strength or better within 6” of the power generator building at the end of turn six: 5 points
• For each KDF infantry unit reduced below half strength: 1 point
• For each vehicle that fires its main gun at a building: -1 point

Imperial Shock Troops Assault Force

Basic Attributes

Confidence: High

Supply Quality: Normal

Overall Tech Level: 2

On Grid? No

Body Armor: TL2, Hard (2D)

Troop Quality/Morale: D8/D10

Fireteam Alpha

1x Squad Leader w/Laser Rifle

1x Grenadier w/Grenade Launcher (Lt. AP:1)

1x Gunner w/Rapid Fire Laser Support Weapon (Lt. AP:1)

1x Trooper w/Laser Rifle

Fireteam Bravo

1x Team Leader w/Laser Rifle

1x Grenadier w/Grenade Launcher (Lt. AP:1)

1x Gunner w/Rapid Fire Laser Support Weapon (LWS, Lt. AP:1)

1x Trooper w/Laser Rifle

Fireteam Charlie

1x Squad Leader w/Laser Rifle

1x Grenadier w/Grenade Launcher (Lt. AP:1)

1x Gunner w/Rapid Fire Laser Support Weapon (LWS, Lt. AP:1)

1x Trooper w/Laser Rifle

Fireteam Delta

1x Team Leader w/Laser Rifle

1x Grenadier w/Grenade Launcher (Lt. AP:1)

1x Gunner w/Rapid Fire Laser Support Weapon (LWS, Lt. AP:1)

1x Trooper w/Laser Rifle

Transport

2x Strike Transport (ST-II) APCs

Imperial ST-II APCs

Class: Medium

Type: Tracked

Basic TL: 2

Weapon TL: 2

Armor TL: 2

Sensor TL: 2

Front Armor: 3D8

Side Armor: 2D8

Rear Armor: 2D6

Deck Amor: 1D6

Main Gun: Heavy Laser (TL2, LWS, AP:4/AT:2(L)

Crew MGs: TL2, Lt. AP:4

Secondary Weapon: n/a

Attributes & Notes:

Hardened

TL2 Detonation Field

KIMERAN DEFENSE MISSION

The Imperials are obviously here to take control of the power generator facility. They have a couple vehicles, but luckily we have a couple RPGs. We have to hold the facility and drive off the Imperial assault force.

Victory Points

• For each Imperial trooper killed or seriously wounded: 1 point
• For each Imperial APC immobilized or destroyed: 3 points

Kimeran Defense Forces

Basic Attributes

Confidence: High

Supply Quality: Normal

Overall Tech Level: 2

On Grid? No

Body Armor: TL2, Light (1D)

Troop Quality/Morale: D8/D10

Platoon HQ Squad

1x Platoon Leader w/Gauss ACR

1x Platoon Sgt. w/Gauss SAW (Lt. AP:1)

1x Gunner w/ RPG (TL2, Med. AP:2/AT2(M)

1x Trooper w/ Gauss ACR

Squad 1

Fireteam 1A

1x Squad Leader w/Gauss ACR

3x Troopers w/Gauss ACR

Fireteam 1B

1x Team Leader w/Gauss ACR

3x Troopers w/Gauss ACR

Squad 2

Fireteam 2A

1x Squad Leader w/Gauss ACR

1x Gunner w/RPG (TL2, Med. AP:2/AT2(M)

2x Troopers w/Gauss ACR

Fireteam 2B

1x Team Leader w/Gauss ACR

3x Troopers w/Gauss ACR

SPECIAL RULES

The Big Muddy

Two days of drenching rain have left the ground a swampy mess, making driving off-road difficult and occasionally deadly, as what appears to be a big puddle may disguise a deep sink-hole. Any time a vehicle moves off-road, it must take a Troop Quality check. A failed check indicates some sort of mishap. Consult the following chart:

Roll 1D6	Result
1-2	Mud covers the crew's vision screens, so the must rely on sensors alone. The vehicle suffers a -1 to Reaction Test rolls.
3-4	The vehicle is bogged down in deep mud. It may only move at half tactical speed this turn.
5	The vehicle drives into a deep pit – it is stuck where it is and counts as Immobilized for victory conditions. Each crewman/passenger must pass a Troop Quality check to avoid becoming a casualty.
6	The vehicle drives into an apparently bottomless sinkhole, disappearing in a splash of muddy water. Vehicle, crew and passengers count as Destroyed/KIA for victory conditions.

Sci Fi Buildings in 15mm

I've been gearing up for some Tomorrow's War action and I needed to make some 15mm buildings for sci fi games.  I'd seen some other folks do buildings using electrical boxes and I thought that looked like a good idea.  So a took a trip to the lumber yard and for a little under $10 I had the start of six buildings.  I glued on some shapes cut from styrene, mat board, cereal box card stock and a few other bits from my recycled junk box.  You can see the results in the picture below, just before I primed them for painting.

The seventh, black building in the picture above was a frozen entree container I had saved quite a few years ago with just such a future project in mind.  After priming I painted them with acrylic craft paints and sealed them with a clear matte spray varnish.  I was pretty pleased with the results.

I wrote up a scenario that would use these buildings and the figures I currently have painted, based loosely on one of the scenarios from the rulebook.  More about that in a future post...

My latest miniature gaming obsession was sparked by picking up a copy of the new Force on Force rulebook from Ambush Alley Games.  I'm most interested in playing modern asymmetrical games, so I've been busy making buildings for a middle eastern town.  Here are a couple pictures of my buildings set up on a 2' x 2' board (for 15mm scale).

I picked up the "Operation Darkstar" campaign battle box from Rebel Minis, and the layout shown above is based on the first scenario from that set.  The buildings are all made from foamcore and have detachable roofs for placing figures inside.

After assembling the buildings, I drew areas onto the foamcore where I intended to show exposed bricks, then covered the rest of the wall surfaces with spackling, to give give them that stucco look.

With this done, it was time to paint up the minis.  The battle box from Rebel Minis comes with 13 special forces figures, to represent Task Force Black, 24 terrorists, and 1 hostage.  Here is a picture of the three fire teams that make up Task Force Black.

I wanted my Task Force Black minis to look like they were in multicam.  I tried several variations; it was hard to simplify it down to give the right impression in 15mm.  But I'm relatively pleased with the results.  Here's a close-up of one of the four-man fire teams.

And here is a close-up shot of the five-man assault team armed with SMGs and combat shotguns.

The terrorists are organized into six-man cells.  All my minis are based on 3/4" steel washers for magnetic storage.

Here's a close-up of the hostage, who appears to be in big trouble.

My terrorist figures have a color-coding with their hoods, an idea I got from the forums on the Ambush Alley Games site.  The leaders have very light gray hoods and the support weapon guys have red hoods.  Makes them easy to pick out of the crowd.

I plan to post battle reports for the "Operation Darkstar" scenarios as we play them.  So be on the look out for that.

Despite my best intentions, we have been unable to finish our AWI battle, so the battle report will have to wait.  Instead, this entry will be a short article describing our last monthly board game day.  On the first Sunday in June we played the following:

TOBAGO

We got started with a four-player game of Tobago.  My friend Billy loaned me the game, so that I could learn it for game day.  I like the logic puzzle nature of the game, as players work collectively to determine the location of treasures on the island.  This mechanic is what sets this game apart, as I haven't seen anything quite like it before.  I played the game twice during the week with my sons, and from my three plays, I can say that I do like the game, but I probably won't be looking to pick it up.  The game is fairly light, the sort of fare I like to play with my family and folks that aren't hobby gamers.  But it has the rules complexity of a more middle-weight game.  This mismatch between the depth of play and the learning curve means it would not likely get played very often at my house.

CROKINOLE

I always bring my crokinole board and set it up, and it saw a number of plays throughout the day.  It's one of the Mayday Games boards, from their first shipment.  There were reports of some serious problems with the quality of these boards, but mine had no issues and I've been really happy with it.  As you can see from the picture, it's a game that can be enjoyed by all ages.  You can explain how to play in a few minutes, so it's also a great option for people who might be a bit daunted to learn a new strategy game.

LORDS OF VEGAS

I didn't have a chance to join the game of Lords of Vegas, but my sons said they quite enjoyed it.  I like dice games and area control mechanics, both featured in this one.  I will have to give it a try in the future.  The components looked to be very nice quality as well.

HEY WAITER!

I forgot to take a photo of this game in progress.  It's a very light card game for 2-4 players.  The box claims it's for ages 13+, but I taught my eight-year-old nephew the game and he picked it up just fine.  The age range on the box probably has more to do with the avoiding entanglement with the CPSIA law than the complexity of the game.  It's a nice little filler and I like it best as a four-player partnership game.


INGENIOUS

This is a perennial favorite at game days.  Simple rules and engaging tactical play are what makes this game shine.  It also scales well, with an easy change of playable board area, for 2-4 players.  I'm tempted to pick up a copy of the newest printing by FFG, simply because of the peg-and-hole score tracks.  My only complaint about the game is how easy it is to accidentally shift the little cubes used to keep score in the original version.  Well, I suppose I also complain that the orange cube looks nothing like the orange color on the tiles, and the orange plastic peg in the new edition looks to be much better matched.  I'm slowly talking myself into a purchase here.

TICKET TO RIDE

TTR is a family favorite.  I wasn't a part of this game, but in my most recent play I achieved something I've never done before.  I was able to use all my trains and managed to have them all in a continuous route.  We were playing the "Mega" game with the 1910 tickets.  I believe they decided to use the standard tickets plus the Mystery Express tickets for this game.

YSPAHAN

As I write this up, I see I had a day of pretty light games.  I'm quite fond of Yspahan, though I've played it more online at Yucata lately than over the board.  So it was a pleasure to roll some actual dice for a change.  I'm afraid I rather ran away with this game, but my opponents got a first-hand view of how to work the caravan for serious points.

GUILLOTINE

I had not ever played this before.  It was a good way to end a day of gaming; chaotic, silly, and plenty of opportunity for screwing with other players.  There was a lot of laughter and half-earnest finger-pointing.  I was thinking whether I already had a game in my collection that fit into this category - perhaps Survive: Escape from Atlantis! though it's about twice as long in playing time.

It was a terrific day of gaming and my thanks to everyone who came and played.

Neil Thomas inspired rules for the AWI
I have long been interested in gaming battles of the American War for Independence, and I came across a set of variant rules based on Neil Thomas' "Napoleonic Wargaming" rules.  There are actually a few such variants floating around the interwebs; the set I like best was written by Brian Cowan and posted the the Neil Thomas Yahoo group.

The first few playtests have gone quite well.  The rules seem to capture enough of the flavor of the period without getting bogged down in details, which is what originally drew me to Neil's rules.  The only house rules I'm using at this time involve morale rolls, where units that fail continue to roll until they pass or run out of stands, and the artillery rules.  The standard rules call for an artillery unit to be immune from charges by enemies when within 8cm of a friendly unit.  This has led to some very irregular situations on the battlefield.  So at this time I'm experimenting with a rule to require an infantry unit to attach to an artillery unit to protect it.

I thought it would be fun to post a detailed battle report with pictures.  First, I'll give the army lists used for the battle.

Continental Army List:
4x Continental Regulars (Infantry, Average)
2x State Militia (Infantry, Levy)
1x Dragoons (Cavalry, Average)
1x Artillery (Light, Average)







British Army List:
4x Line Infantry (Infantry, Average)
1x Grenadiers (Infantry, Elite)
1x Light Infantry (Infantry, Average)
1x Dragoons (Cavalry, Elite)
1x Artillery (Light, Average)








As you can see the lists share several units of similar quality, but the Continentals get inferior militia units while the British get versatile light infantry and elite grenadiers.  To offset this clear advantage somewhat, the Continentals will be put in the role of the defender in the scenario and the militia will have a sturdy stone wall to line up behind.  The playing area is 36" square and the Continentals will be allowed to set up anywhere on their half of the board.  The British army will approach their position, starting within 6" of their board edge.

The next post will show the initial deployment of forces and the opening turns of the game.