Traveller: Interstellar Wars, using Dirtside II in 15mm

Megz and I decided to try a little Dirtside II while visiting the Tri-State Gamers Day of Games in Springfield, PA this past 17th November. Megz had never played before (though is familiar with StarGrunt II) and I hadn't played in some 4 years - time to knock some rust off.

We were joined by Cliff B. and Gil (?), which was a pleasant development (They were enthralled by the GEV APCs and first thought it was a Hammer's Slammers game - why disappoint them?)

Imperials Advance
I have no idea why my camera is tinting blue.

This was another "Assault on Alpha Centauri" scenario, first taken from the old boardgame Imperium and answers the statement "You should only attack with 3 to 1 odds." with "Sometimes, you only have  2 to 1 odds and you hope to get lucky...". Happens in Imperium all the time.


(Picture note: my I*Phone was fussing, so the first picture turned out rather blue-ish. We switched to the MegzCam(TM) for the rest of the game.)

The Vilani make a key mistake...they bunch up.

The Imps weren't playing very clever, we were just trying to close to range. Bit of a mistake, really. The Terran mortars took out an artillery scout sled, and then sustained heavy missile fire and high velocity rounds from the light tanks (nicknamed "Terridens") destroying the T53 Area Defense sled. Loss of the AD sled is always bad, as it protects the advance against missiles and mortar rounds. And so, the defeat begins...

The line is dressed,
and the advance may now continue...

Some good news; the artillery spotters were able to deploy a pair of mortars on the reverse of the ridge. The third mortar was still in the burning hover sled. Also, an attached Electronic Warfare sled set up jamming of the Terran communications.

Dirtside II doesn't have EW rules, so we ported them in from StarGrunt II. An active EW stand receive three chits, each can be spent to spot units, jam commo or spoof enemy guidance systems. The Imperial immediately began to jam the Terran artillery spotters requests for mortar fire. This blunted the Terran mortar fire, but did not entirely halt it.

The Terrans had very little capability to counter these EW attacks - Terran Tech lags behind Imperial, so their ECW assets aren't effective except in quantity, and there had been no room to land those expensive, and limited effective units.

The ConFed Marines would defend the giant
 drink cup facility, whatever the cost...

Terran Marine platoon, dug in on three low rises. The big building is some sort of infrastructure objective - maybe it refines and bottles water. It has to be strategically important for the Vilani to capture and not simply nuke.

The marines are supported by light, airmobile AIFVs and a pair of light tanks (with hi-velocity guns). There are mortar teams behind the crests of the rises, the squad leaders are acting as spotters - something the Vilani would never contemplate.

The near squad has lost their Chariot-class AIFV to the 44mm gun of the T53 sled. These small vehicles are light enough to drop into positions, but they have thin armour. All Terran Marine Jump Infantry vehicles are built on the same light chassis, easing logistics ever so slightly.

The view of the Vilani, humping over the ridge, from the Terran ConFed perspective. The Terran mortar teams are still being jammed, as the Command Post attempts to re-activate a mortar section to hit the Imps. This was another StarGrunt II rule we imported - a command unit may pass it's activation to a subordinate unit upon making a successful commo roll.

One thing we did not get on camera was an auto-cannon armed Chariot raced down the Vilani right flank and shot up several elements - Imperial mortar section and spotter section as well as the EW sled.  Megz is a lunatic, but the attack worked. Though the "Mad Chariot" was destroyed by the 22mm autocannons of an Imperial AIFV, with the loss of the Imperial EW team, and the supporting mortar, AND the squandered T43 ADA sled, the Vilani cancelled the assault.

The Vilani have second thoughts...

Post Game Thoughts:

Designing Interstellar Wars ground actions can be tricky, especially if you're trying to stay in Traveller Canon. The first few wars must have been a nightmare, with the Ziru Sirka/Vilani lobbing tactical nukes about like lawn darts. The Terran ConFed would need to keep very mobile, which would be somewhat difficult if they're dropping light troops from orbit - unless they're dropping directly onto targets the Imperials can't (or won't) nuke.

Ziru Sirka/Imperial scouts - these poor b@stards.  Light, open hover-sleds leaves them vulnerable to all kinds of artillery shenanigans. They might need their own Area Defence Artillery, also in a light, open hover-sled.

The Electronic Warfare sled was a lot of fun to play. Blocking unit activations makes up for a lot of a beating. In hindsight, we should have jammed both mortar sections and the command post. Live and learn.

Converting Traveller vehicle designs is, in itself, entertaining. Ken Pick has several excellent articles over at Freelance Traveller - highly recommended....Ω

Marines watch while a Chariot brews up.
Let's hope the crew got out.

Traveller - 15mm Ziru Sirka Point Defense Sleds

Sharushid Type 53 Fire Support/Point Defense ACV IFV

The Type 53 uses the standard Imperial Type 52 hover-sled chassis, with the addition of a larger turret housing a 44mm mass-driver and coaxial VRF gauss gun. Most of the infantry stations have been removed to accommodate the sensors and fire control computer.  The MD gun is designed to destroy light tanks and APCs/AIFVs, though it can also be used to shoot down indirect-fire munitions.  Supplementing the main gun, and linked to the main fire control is the coaxial VRF gauss gun. The VRF gauss gun is tasked as the primary Point Defense and anti-infantry weapon.
 

The majority of armored vehicles in Ziru Sirka service represent some sort of trade-off, and the Type 53 is no exception. Designed to provide medium fire support to infantry, the Type 53 is also tasked with providing point defense against enemy missiles, rockets and artillery shells, leading one Terran military expert to describe the Type 53 as a cross between an alligator and an ostrich.
 

The 44mm MD gun being insufficient to penetrate the front armor of most ConFed tanks, the T-53 mounts four 84mm anti-tank missiles in the anti-armor role. Missile reloads are stored in the vehicle: a veteran crew can replace each spent missile in about a minute per missile.

Critics of the Type 53 often cite the weak armor (easily penetrated by the latest RAM grenades) relative slow speed of the missiles, and dual role.  By combining fire support and point defense into one vehicle, the Imperium has essentially created a high-value APC that looks like a tank, hunts like a tank and draws fire like a tank, while having none of the advantages of a tank.   

The coaxial mounting of the main gun/VFR gauss gun forces the Type 53 crew to concentrate on one task at a time (either Fire Support or Point Defense), which proved limiting during the Interstellar Wars.

Variations

During the later period of the Interstellar Wars an additional VRF gun was mounted atop the turret* displacing the EMS sensor dome. This allowed the upgraded Type 53 (designated Type 53A1) to engage multiple targets without degrading performance....Ω

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*the Frontier Legion is credited with salvaging a Type 52 and creating the first Type 53A1 prototype. Imperial Quartermasters deny this, of course, as the proper patents were never submitted.

Interstellar Wars: The Defense of Alpha Centauri B

In preparing an article for an upcoming Ragnarok, I decided to compare Future War Commander with Jon Tuffley’s Dirtside II. Before doing so, it was necessary to re-acquaint myself with the DSII rules, as while we play StarGrunt II fairly regularly, we hadn’t played DSII since the late 90’s.  Bearing in mind that DSII will be twenty years old in 2013, the Friday Night Pals went with a simple scenario, based on a situation well known to anyone who has played GDW’s IMPERIUM – a planetary invasion.

Since we were playing using 15mm miniatures, we increased some of the distances, like command grouping (extending from 3” to 5”) while leaving other ranges unchanged (movement, firing ranges). The Usual Suspects were playing: Rob C., DJ and Kenzie, with yours truly refereeing the game.

Scenario: The Third Interstellar War is not going well for the Terran Confederation. The Imperium has sent the defeated remnants of the ConFed fleet back to the Sol System where they are scrambling to defend Earth. The confident and haughty Vilani have decided to pause in the Alpha Centauri system to reduce that system to obedience. The Terran 8^th Interstellar Division is supporting the Alpha Centauri B Planetary Defense Force, with orders to fight to the last Infantry Anti-Vehicle Rocket.

Using counters from GDW’s Imperium game, I randomly drew what would be a standard-sized garrison of a Terran world in your garden-variety Imperium game – a “2” strength army plus PDF battery.  Each strength point would equal 1000 Dirtside points. To make things manageable, I reduced the points to 2000 attacking 1000.   The Vilani would be attacking at 2-1 odds.

The PDF anti-space missile battery was set up on a mid-sized hill, with an administrative building/barracks adjoining. Four squads of Terran infantry were dug in amongst the silos, supported by light APCs, while a half-troop of light tanks, anchored to the admin building, held the right flank.  On the Terran left, a GMS/L team held the high ground. A separate mortar battery held the high ground to the rear.

Terran Positions - Minis by GZG and Force XXI

The Imperials had a platoon of line infantry – eight squads of infantry on four heavy GEV APCs, plus a Fire Support/Point Defense GEV AIFV, all commanded from a GEV TOC.

Turn 1 – the Imperials advanced and their infantry de-bussed and set up their light RAM mortar.  Terran missiles flew fast and furious as Terran mortar shells began to rain down.  The Imperial Point Defense vehicle was able to stop most of the incoming fire (good shooting, Kenzie) and bad rolls on DJ’s part stopped the rest.

Imperials Advance - minis by GZG and Stan Johansen

Turn 2 – Encouraged by the poor Terran showing, the Imperials advanced.  A squad of Imp infantry that wandered out from under the protective point-defense umbrella were hit with mortar fire and wiped out. Random fire also took out their Imperial APC, as the dreaded “boom” chit made it’s first (but as you will shortly read, not it’s last) appearance.

First Blood to Terra!

Turn 3 - The Terran tanks gained two kills on the nearest Imperial APCs (two more “boom” hits). The PD AIFV now switched to it’s Fire Support role in an attempt to knock out a tank, but failed to hit. 

Fire Support AFV vs. two Light Tanks - "that trick never works..."

Turn 4 – the Imperials were now doubtful of their success, and I was inclined to agree, but I also asked them to game out an infantry assault on the defended positions around the missile silos, which they gamely did. Four squads of Imperial infantry stormed up the slope (losing a squad in the process) and chased the Terrans out of the position.  Even if they had carried the position, the Terrans were in control of the rest of the objectives, and we all agreed it was a Terran win.

Infantry Assault

Post Game Thoughts:

After years of playing StarGrunt II, going back to Dirtside II is very similar to the proverbial walk known memory lane.  One can see how the DSII system will be refined in SGII, and despite it’s age, DSII still makes for a fast, fun game.

First APC goes "BOOM"

We had misinterpreted the F~ chits, and instead of applying them to the firing unit (you press the fire pedal and nothing happens) we were adding them to the target’s woes.  Live and learn.

The Point Defense/Fire Support vehicle is a mixed blessing - it works great knocking down mortar rounds and missiles - especially from the lower tech earthlings.  When it switches to direct fire mode, that safety umbrella is lost, and it's not too good as a tank killer.  One must time this carefully. I love it.

A rematch is planned, either with the original group or with the Ratrap Hill Mob in Maplewood. Ω