Tears for Arusage - Redux

This past TravellerCon/USA, I needed a Traveller-themed miniatures game for the Sunday morning slot, and decided to give "Tears for Arusage" another go.

To prevent the game from descending into the bogged-down slug-fest from LAST TIME, I took a page from DirtSide II and assigned objective markers to various spots in the encounter zone. These represent abstract victory conditions met, so even if a side didn't recover all four missing nukes, it might be possible, through reconnaissance, to find clues where the nukes might be.


Unfortunately, Player #1 (Dan - Condor Legion) took a lucky (or unlucky) hit on the first turn, and it threw his game off permanently.

PWND! Condor Legion debus and take cover:
the card disk is mortar searching fire.

Player #2, Beta Quandrant Security (aka The  BQS Mercs aka David) won the initiative and deployed their weapons team (mortar) and disabled the Legion's leading APC, incidentally scoring 2 - 3 casualties as well.


The surviving Legion decided to debus ("Call the shop!) and take cover beneath the ornamental-yet-sturdy Vilani-built fortifications. They also were "suppressed".

This is StarGrunt; naturally they were suppressed.




Player #2 (David) had his BQS mercs occupy the housing block and motor pool. A simple quality roll would activate an APC (originally abandoned by the Viliani withdrawal and virtually identical to the Legions vehicles. The objectives (4 abandoned nukes) must be exited from the table on a vehicle.

David kept his mortar team behind the ramparts and used his officers as artillery spotters - not very accurate, but effective in keeping the pressure upon the Legion.

Centre: the Khikkei/Vilani Cenotaph, while at top, the
2nd Legion Squad occupies a block house.

Turn 3 - 4: As an additional stroke of undeserved good luck, the BQS Mercs found one of the missing nukes in the back of a salvaged APC.

Jammy B*ggars.

Meanwhile, the Legion commander decided to debus his troops from their TL10 mortar-magnets and move to cover, while using the APCs (armed with single .30 cal MGs) as infantry support.

Condor Legion troop occupy the missile silos - are the
warheads still there?

The Legions gambit was pretty effective, in that his two APCs, aided by unexpected reinforcements (more on that in a moment) tied up the BQS Mercs long enough to recover two nukes.


Unfortunately, both Legion APCs were destroyed/disabled by RAM grenades or the LAG AP rifle of the weapons team.

The arrival of a Condor Legion recon team in TL10 air/rafts did cause some trouble, as they arrived on the rear flank and immediately threw fire on the mortar team.

The mortar and accompanying security dashed into a nearby block house and returned fire - suppressing the recons.

At this point, as we were running out of time, the Condor Legion player conceded the game.


Post Game Thoughts:

Rough game for the Condor Legion. Due to an error (third person) in setting up the map, the Legion was given an extended approach, while the BQS Mercs arrived on board and "Bobs yer uncle!" they were in cover. This doesn't mean Dan had to drive straight down the road, but, to his credit, he was acting according to his briefing, in that no opposition was expected.

The objective markers did help a bit in preventing a huge "pit of suppression" at the silos, and I will use these again in the next re-fight.

I think Dan's counter-attack was more-or-less sound, and if he hadn't lost the first APC, he could have carried off at least 2 - 3 nukes and won the game.

The Beta Quadrant Security Mercs also had a slight quality advantage, being Veterans to the Condor Legion's Regular status. This gave them the initiative advantage about 2/3rds of the time.

Rules, no matter how well written, can't compensate for bad luck....Ω

Rebel Minis Red Guard to Solomani Naval Assault Infantry

It's been a while since we've played Striker II, but the 15mm Red Guard from Rebel Minis have me dusting off the rules book and practising my Solomani Manifesto as they prepare to square off against my Imperial 99th Provisional Marines.

These were easy to paint with good detail and animation. I based mine for Striker II - I found that I can adapt based figs to StarGrunt II using Mark Clambo's StrikerGrunt rules hack.

They are in desperate need for some support troops, not to mention some C3 figures as well.

I went with a dark field grey as a nod to those other famous Confederates - the C.S.A. It doesn't hurt that it also resembles WW2-era Wehrmacht: I don't buy into the Solomani-are-Space-Nazis meme, but it does help to give them a bit of character.

The various light and dark greys were rather monotonous to paint, but I didn't want to mess about with a camouflage pattern.


 
Next is my DLD-era GAIFV (Grav Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle).  It looks to me like Dave at DLD was thinking of the Sd.Kfz. 251, also of Wehrmacht fame.

The original model had a sort of duck's bill arrangement under the prow - I tossed those in favour of a milliput fender.

The turret mounts a plasma gun and was purchased from Brigade Models about eight years ago.


 My Assault (Naval) Infantry template postulates that the Solomani don't use marines in the same way as the Imperium does. The ConFed have ship's troops (marines) for shipboard security, but for rapid deployment of heavy combat units, my ConFed uses Naval Infantry in the same manner as the Soviet Union used to do.

Naval Assault Infantry Platoon

Solomani Doctrine may not be as effective as Imperial, but then again, they did come off the worse in the Rim War...Ω

For Confederation and Cause!

A quick dig through the storage boxes resulted in these ready-made grav tanks; mothballed since 2004 and awaiting the Call to defend the Solomani Cause.

They were originally intended as Imperial light scout tanks, but as Jon at GZG has released some models which are much more like those depicted in Traveller, these will now be pressed into the service of the ConFed.

Shown with 15mm GZG New Anglian Confederation officers and staff

These are a kitbash, using the long OOP DLD 15mm Civet hull. Back in the day, I had purchased three, which is just enough for a light platoon of scout tanks.  I might be able to stretch that to two platoons by adding some air/rafts with observers and some infantry in cavalry APCs.

The turret is from John McEwan's Reviresco Starguard line -  part of the Devil Cat Light Tank kit.  Though Starguard is closer to 20mm scale, the big turret fits well to the modern 15mm hull.

The main gun is from the Starseige Rebellion Imperial weapons pack - I think it was designed for some Gundam-style mobile suit. The box off the side of the cupola is a mini-missile launcher.

These models will do fine as GRPZ-IV's - a light grav tank used in the recon companies of the ConFederation Assault Brigades.

All that's left to do is to detail the tanks with Solomani markings and possibly add some dry-brushing, as my tastes have changed a bit in the near-decade that's passed since I first finished them.

Then, ALIENS BEWARE!...Ω

Rebel Minis Red Guard - Solomani Enough for You?

I've just seen the new 15mm release from Rebel Minis and I'm newly inspired to paint up a batch of Solomani Confederation troops to tussle with my (Third) Imperials.

Rebel Miniatures Red Guard

These little beauties are strongly reminiscent of those illustrated by Blair Reynolds in the DGP Solomani and Aslan book - and I think he captured the look of a parallel development, compared to the 3I, while maintaining an esthetic distinction.

About ten years ago, when getting into 15mm sci-fi (thanks to Jon Tuffley and GZG-Con) I began to build elements of my ConFed army - vehicles were easiest, especially grav tanks and grav sleds - but finding ground troops with the right animus was difficult.  Rebel Minis has resolved this issue for me...Ω

Forgotten Photos - Tears for Arusage

Here are some pics from TravellerCon 2010 which I previously neglected to upload, probably because the scenario didn't play as well as I'd hoped. This was based on an adventure from the defunct QuickLinks Interactive module: Merc Heaven.

The setup: It's the Imperial Year 996, and the Solomani Rim War is in full swing. In a remote backwater sector of the Gateway, the Sollies are working to destabilise an Imperial client state on the planet Arusage. The Imperial Navy hires mercenaries to shore up the Vilani-cultured client state.

The fighting revolves around an abandoned Vilani nuclear base, except that when the Vilani withdrew, they forgot to bring the nukes. The Solomani-backed Condor Republic has over run the region and the Imperial mercs must prevent them from carrying off the nukes.

The Vilani Base - Blocky but Functional

The Imperial mercs were operating well behind enemy lines, and according to the pre-game intro, had walked in from a drop-off point about 10 kilometres away.  In addition to their Advanced Combat Rifles, they had only light support weapons - a mortar and a 20mm LAG. They would have to work fast, find the nukes and some transport and then get out, because the area was teeming with Legion patrols.

The mercs had access to an air strike, which would shift the victory margin one step in the Legion's favour - pilots don't like getting shot down behind enemy lines.

The Condor Legion had local reinforcements, mainly in the form of Air/Raft Recon units and the odd APC carried section.

Nuclear Missile Silo

The Condor Legion platoons dismount...and are immediately suppressed. Welcome to StarGrunt II...

The tech level gap was negligible, TL9 Legion to TL10 Mercs. Numbers were also about even - with a platoon each.  It would be a pounding match.

The Mercs recover an abandoned APC, and are engaged by Condor Air Recon

The Condor commander decided to ignore the single mortar that the Imperials deployed, much to his subsequent regret.

The Condors are well and truly Borked...the orange markers indicate Suppression.

The Legion eventually got two nukes on an APC and ran for the border.  The Mercs called in the airstrike, which destroyed the APC about four inches from the table edge.

Tie Game...

Huzzah...

Post Game Thoughts.

Imperial Merc Commanders...Pondering

You can see that neither side of players is particularly enjoying themselves. This is in part due to my converting the scenario so that it is so balanced as to be a stalemate. Not much fun, that...

Another issue was the use of dummy counters.  I think they add a great "Fog of War" effect, but some players don't like not knowing what they're dealing with. 

The Condor Legion commanders at left.  Contrast with the players at the table to the rear.

Mark Klambo is not looking his normal, ebullient self...
Guy in the middle is contemplating "using the tooth..."

(I think I had just snapped an answer at Mark, as he has something of that "what a b!tch" look about him...sorry old boy...and get your elbows off the table)

The final realisation is that, verbum sapientii,  not all elements that make for a fun RPG scenario will transfer to the miniatures table.  The big "gotcha" in the module is, after landing behind enemy lines, avoiding enemy patrols, and infiltrating the base, the players are met with the sight of the Condor Legion loading nukes into their vehicles.  The "Just In Time" hook doesn't work so well for a miniature game, because there's no way to build up the same tense atmosphere an RPG can.

Viewing these pics and looking over my notes, I'll have to give this scenario another go - perhaps with the Friday Pals Brigade, who boast a number of former military vets, and a suitable tweaking...or not... Ω