Using 5150 Fighter Command with Other Universes

There’s been some discussion on the Two Hour Wargames forum (5150 rules) and on the Starshp Miniatures Gaming group on Facebook  on how to adapt 5150 Fighter Command to other universes. Well the authors, Javier and me, have provided the answer.

There are two documents here.

1. These are stats for Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Wing Commander – 5150Crossover02
2. These are stats and rules for the Terran Trade Authority universe – 5150 Fighter Command – Terran Trade Authority rules

http://twohourwargames.com/51fico.html

And if you want to add extra flavor to your Fighter Command games, check out 5150 Carrier Command which puts you in the role of the commander of a Carrier and all its space fighter assets, adds new rules for electronic warfare, new ships, and more.

http://twohourwargames.com/51caco.html

Enjoy!

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Druid’s Children – Death in the Woods

In the first encounter Evrard discovered that the thieves appear to be children – and very hairy, according to one farmer. He needs to venture into the Deepwoods to find them – they could be orphaned children,  children from a caravan of Wanders, or perhaps even the elusive Druid’s Children of the deepest places of the woods.

Encounter #2 – Wandering

The boughs of the Deepwood enfold you, reducing your world into a sun-dappled gloom of foliage. It’s easy to get lost in these ancient woodlands, easy to hide. Plenty of bandits have made their home here – and…other beings and creatures.

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Evrard will be travelling in the Day Part — he’s not that keen on going into the Deepwoods at night! Evrard, Giles and Oxbow set off on foot into the Deepwoods, horses being more a hindrance than a help in such a forest. I need to roll 2+1/2d6 PEFs to see how many PEFs my character needs to resolve, scoring a total of 4 PEFs.  The PEFs could resolve as a range of things – Animals, Monsters, Beings (Elves, Goblins, etc.), or Challenges that need to be resolved.

PEF 1 – Physical Challenge 

Evrard and company follow a promising series of game trails into the Deepwoods, scouting for tracks or signs of the children – or creatures – they seek. However the game trails lead them to a rugged area of steep wooded ravines with deadfalls, swiftly flowing streams, and some mucky ponds.

“Oxbow, do you recognize this area?” asked Evrard. “I don’t see an easy way across this area, we may have to back track.”

“Nah, sahr, Oi thinks Oi knows where we are,” replied Oxbow, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “There should be a path which takes through the worst of it.”

“Very good, Oxbow, lead on.”

This is a Physical Challenge representing some difficult terrain that has to be traversed. I’m not sure if it’s an Easy or Difficult Challenge, I don’t have to determine that – but I decide it would be interesting to roll randomly. I decide that it will be a 1d6 roll,  1-2= Difficult, 3-5=Normal, and 6= Easy. Evrard rolls a 2, this is a Difficult Challenge. So he rolls 2d6 vs REP 4 (REP 5, -1 for Difficult). He scores 5, 6 and passes 0d6 – Failure!

This means we haven’t resolved PEF 1 yet, and immediately for another PEF. They also get one Decreasing d6 rep.

After hours of going up and down rugged wooded ravines, crawling under fallen trees and plodding across mucky ponds and streams Evrard calls for a halt and confronts Oxbow.

 

PEF 1, re-roll – Animal Encounter

Rolling again on the Encounter table we get an Animal Encounter. So then we check the What Animals Are They Table and end up with a Great Cat.

Class: Melee

REP: 5

AC: 4

Special: Loner, Stealthy, Rage

After hours of going up and down rugged wooded ravines, crawling under fallen trees and plodding across mucky ponds and streams Evrard calls for a halt and confronts Oxbow.

“Look here, Oxbow, you say you know these woods, yet we’ve been blundering about for hours — do you know where you’re going??!,” demanded Evrard, arms crossed impatiently. “We’re mucky, covered in bug bites and no closer to our goal.”

“Well, about that…Oi, you see…say, Sarh Oi think that’s a pawprint yonder,” replied Oxbow, eager to change the subject, pointing to what appears to be a game trail ahead of them.

Oxbow rushes over to the tracks, squatting down to examine them, where looks up excitedly and says, “”Oi think they moight be from a…a Great Cat!”

ROOAARRR!!!!

AAAHHHHH!!!

The Great Cat rolled the Advantage, and then each side rolled on the Action table. The Great Cat gets an additional benefit for being Stealthy, and ends up winning on the Action table and gets to attack first. I rolled 1d6 to see which figure is attacked, and rolled Oxbow’s figure (thus the narrative).

The Great Cat…an albino which us unusual for the Deepwoods (it’s the figure I had on hand…) is REP 5, but with Rage fights as REP 6. Oxbow fights at REP 4. The Great Cat rolls a 2,5 and passes 2d6. Oxbow rolls 5,5, pass 0d6! The Great Cat passed 2d6 More, and Oxbow is Obviously dead.

The Great Cat leaps from the dense foliage near the game trail and lands full on Oxbow’s back, its powerful jaws clamping down on his neck and skill while the clawed hindlegs rip at his back and legs, killing Oxbow in a spray of blood.

“NOOO!!!” yells Evrard, pulling out his sword and charging the Great Cat. Giles shrugs with a bare grunt, and follows Evrard into combat, his blade also at the ready. Since multiple figures are fighting, they all roll in this Melee action.

• Evard rolls as REP 5, scoring 1,3 for a Pass 2d6
• Giles rolls as REP 5, scoring a 2,5 for a Pass 2d6
• The Great Cat rolls as REP 6, scoring a 1,5 for Pass 2d6

Claws flashin, jaws snapping, swords whirling, the melee continues with each figure counting as -1REP.

• Evard rolls as REP 4, scoring 3,5 for a Pass 1d6
• Giles rolls as REP 4, scoring a 1,1 for a Pass 2d6
• The Great Cat rolls as REP 5, scoring a 2,5 for Pass 2d6

Evrard was beaten by the Great Cat with a Pass 1d6 more result, but he has armor. Rolling a 1d6 vs his AC4, the score of 3 is lower than his armor, so he fights again at -1 REP. But since Giles and the Great Cat also Passed Same, they also continue fighting at -1REP.

Evard is knocked to the forest floor and the Great Cat leaps on him, attempting to disembowel him with its powerful hind claws, but is foiled by Evard’s chainmail armor. Giles knocks the Cat off of Evrard and the Melee continues.

• Evard rolls as REP 3, scoring 1,2 for a Pass 2d6
• Giles rolls as REP 3, scoring a 3,4 for a Pass 1d6
• The Great Cat rolls as REP 4, scoring a 5,5 for Pass 0d6

Evrard beats the Great Cat with Pass 2d6 or more, and as Giles distracts the Great Cat he rolls to his feet and slashes the beast’s neck open, killing it. Whew, close call. Evrard gets one Increasing d6 Rep for defeating the Great Cat, but also one Decreasing d6 Rep for Oxbow’s death.

 

PEF 2 – A band of REP 4 and 5 Elves

As Evrard and Giles lean on their swords, panting and covered in blood and minor wounds they hear the sound of slow clapping, and an exotic lilting voice says loudly, “Oh, well done, three men in armor against a dumb beast with claws, slain with only one loss of your own. I see the warriors of the Border Kindoms are in fine fettle!”

Turning towards the sound of the clapping, Evrard and Giles see an Elf in light armor and clothes that seem to bend and shift in their vision standing some 10 yards away up the game trail. With barely a sound, two other Elves appear like ghosts from either side of them, bows held loosely in hand.

Surprised by this turn of events, Evrard struggles to form a reply, and says heatedly, “Who are you, Elf, to mock us in our sorrow – we have lost a friend here today!”

“Ah, yes, my apologies, we had been following your blunders for some time before growing bored — the Great Cat did make things more interesting, but we should leave you to your grief,” sighed the Elf. “Come, let us leave them – perhaps they will draw more attention to themselves and less to us.”

One of the Elves gives a barking laugh before they all draw back out of sight. Head spinning, Evrard can scarcely believe the Elves had been there, no sign of their presence remains. “Blasted Elves!!”

This was an NPC Interaction challenge, each side’s Leader rolling 2d6 against their REP or People Skill. The Elf leader rolled against a REP 5, Evrard rolled against a People Skill 4. Evrard ended up getting a Pass less d6 result, and since the Elves are also Red Sun Alignment the result is that they make snarky comments, offer no help and Evard gets a Decreasing d6 Rep for having failed the challenge.

 

PEF 3 – Physical Challenge

Evrard and Giles bury poor Oxbow, and after Gile deftly skins the Great Cat’s pelt (“worth a few pints,” he grunts when challenged by Evrard), they both make their way up the game trail seeking a way out of the maze of ravines and streams they’ve gotten lost in. This time Evrard gets a Pass 2d6 result and they manage to leave the rugged terrain behind and push deeper into the forest, aware that the Sun is starting its slide towards the horizon. He also gets one Increasing d6 Rep.

 

PEF 4 – Mental Challenge

As the the shadows lengthen and a deeping gloom begins to settle on the forest, Giles stops suddenly and raises his hand.

Peering around, Evrard asks, “What is it, what do you see Giles.”

“Not what I see, it’s what I smell — wood smoke. From further up ahead.”

Evrard lifts his face to the evening breeze and also detects a whiff of smoke. He and Giles carefully follow the smoke trail, now catching a glint of campfire through the darkening woods. Moving quietly to the edge of a clearing, they see what they’d been searching for.

Evrard gets a Pass 2d6 result and resolves the Mental Challenge and the last PEF, completing the Encounter. He also gets one Increasing d6 Rep

NUTS! Stalingrad Scenario – Fillipov at the Bridge

This is a free scenario from the NUTS! Stalingrad – Heroes All campaign book.

SITUATION
Early Morning, November 22. Soviet Lt. Col G N Filippov, commander of 19th Tank Brigade of the 26th Tank Corps, launches a surprise attack against the key bridge at Kalach-on-Don — the 6th Army’s life-line to Stalingrad. Filippov’s attack is lead by three captured German vehicles, two Panzer III tanks and an armored car. Fillipov’s group passes unchallenged through the German lines and rolls towards the bridge, the follow-on units waiting until the first group starts its attack. German troops at Kalach, primarily mechanics and supply personnel, cheer when they see the tanks roll into town…until Feldwebel Wiemann, a security guard and gunner of an 88mm Flak gun, notices the tank riders on the Panzers aren’t German!!

Yelling in alarm as he scrambles for his gun, “Achtung, Achtung!!,” the Feldwebel is the first to react as the tanks open fire on the guards at the bridge. A desperate battle swirls around the bridge, the fate of 6th Army is at stake.

NUTS Stalingrad – Filippov at the Bridge

 

 

 

Druid’s Children – in Which We Begin Our Tale

In Druid’s Children my main character, Evrard, is the Deputy to the Shire Reeve of the Deepwoods  province of the Border Kingdom called Les Marches. The Deepwoods is the back country, a pretty quiet place except for the odd goblin or bandit problem or so.

Evrard shifted in his chair with annoyance as he tried to ignore the man interrupting his meal.

“I’m the Shire Reeve, and I’m telling you Deputy you need to stir your backside from your ‘office’ here the in the Hanged Dog,  and find out who the thieving gits are what are causing problems in our farms!”

Evrard took a long pull on his ale, peering through the cloudy glass bottom of his tankard at the florid faced little man leaning across the table towards him.

 Ya know…Evrard thought…he almost looks like a drowned rat…don’t supposed he’s part wererat…

With a sigh he pushed his chair back and stood up. Another perfectly good day ruined by the demands of the job.

“I hear ya, Shiriff…I’ll head out and see what all the fuss I about.”

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I tweaked the beginning character to suit my tastes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name: Evrard

Star or a Grunt? Star.

Race? Men – Border Kingdoms.

Attributes? Swordsman, Cast Spells, Hard as Nails

Alignment? Red Sun.

Reputation? 5.

Class? Warrior.

Armor Class? AC 4.

Evrard is accompanied by Giles– a Rep 4 Border Kingdoms Warrior AC 4 Neutral with the Fanatic and Clever Attributes. Giles is a local Constable, pretty much the only back-up I can count on. Evrard and Giles saddled up and mosied out to the small farming and logging town of Ville Boisée de Merde out under the very eaves of the oldest part of the great forests covering much of the province.

The first Encounter is Carousing – Evrard needs to find out what’s going on and try and recruit more figures to his band.

#1 – Carousing

Evrard reigned his horse in front of a gathering of surly looking farmers. Out here at the edge of the Deepwood, folks were a bit suspicious, guess they had a right to that – they got all kinds of grifters and conmen peddlers out these ways. But his job was to find out what’s happening and put a stop it…and maybe cage a lunch off these fine folks…is that roast chicken I smell?

 

 

 

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I need to roll 2+1/2d6 PEFs to see how many PEFs my character needs to resolve, scoring a total of 5 PEFs.

Evrard, with the never smiling Giles at his side, makes his way through the mass of people gathered in the village square listening to a stocky bald-pated man yawp at the crowd about getting to the bottom of it all, why the Shiriff himself is here now, he says, waving at Evrard.

PEF 1 – REP 3 Farmers & Locals

I rolled the first PEF as a group of x3 REP 3 Farmers. Rolling on the NPC Interaction table, Evrard blows it and actually Passed less d6 against the Farmers. Since they are they same Alignment they make snarky comments, and Evrarad gains 1d6 Decreasing Rep.

“Well, I’m not the Shiriff, but I’m here on his behalf,” says Evrard loudly to the closest Farmers, trying to win over the crowd. “He ordered me…er…selected me personally to come out to this bungho–burgeoning town, a fine town, yes, to help you fine folks!”

“Boo, we want the Shiriff, not some old hack in old tack!”

 

PEF 2 – A REP 5 Knight and his retinue

Spotting a group of Knights watching curiously from horseback at the edge of the crowd, he quickly moves away from the Farmers towards them where he tries to speak with the Knight, hoping he may know what’s going on and even perhaps lend a hand. Evrard rolls on the NPC Interaction Table and gets  Passed Same result, resulting in little interaction.

“Good Sir Knight, I bid you greetings on this fine day!”

The Knight and his retinue simply stare at Evrard, their horses gently whinnying.

“Have you seen anything untoward in these parts? That is…”

One of the warriors with the Knight hawks and spits on the ground…

“…have you seen anything, anything at all???”

“Master Evrard, perhaps we should try asking folks at the tavern what’s what ’round here?,” interuppted Giles.

“Good thinking Giles!”

 

PEF 3 – A group of REP 3 Farmers & Locals

Moving to the more comfortable surroundings of the Piney Ale House Evrard fines a more amenable crowd of locals engaged in gossip and local chat. He breaks into the conversation and chats with them for a bit. He gets a Passed more d6 result on the NPC Interaction table and gains some information about sightings of odd looking children stealing from the locals and running off into the woods.

“Why the missus, she seen ’em! They was like hairy kids and they stole the linen right off the line, and near to emptied out the granary!”

“I saw ’em my ownself, odd little fellas they was, like on to being kids, caught ’em milking me cow before I could and they run off into the wood with me best wooden bucket!”

“Mebbe they’s orphans from some lumbercamp got themselves killed by Goblins.”

“I heard they’s wee folk from the Deepwoods itself.”

“Nah, that’s bull feathers!”

Evrard chose not to try and recruit, but gained one Increasing Rep d6.

 

PEF4 –  a band of REP 4 & REP 3 Warriors

Evrard makes  cycle of the alehouse, chancing upon a small group of despondent looking Warriors in one corner of the public room. They looked a bit down on their luck, having just been released from service by the grumpy knight Evrard had met earlier. They’d been hired to accompany him on a journey to Ekra, but then fired suddenly after they reached the town. Evrard scored Passed more d6 on the NPC Interaction table and recruits one of the Warriors, a REP 4 Shooter (Archer) named Oxbow. Oxbow knows a bit of the area and joins up on the promise of coin and more ale. Evrarad also gained one Increasing Rep d6.

 

PEF5 – Group of REP 4 & REP 3 Thieves

Evrard finally decided he’d heard what he could in the alehouse, and with his new recruit in tow decided to make one last turn about the public square, maybe speak with the Alderman of the village and then continue on with his investigation. Shortly after leaving alehouse Evrard noticed a small group of x4 men lazily following them, giving off that shifty, up to no good vibe. Not wanting to deal with them later, Evrard decides to confront them head on.

“What’s all this then, eh?,” barks Evrard.

“Who us, beggin’ yer pardon sir, I don’t know what you mean,” replies the leader, a slender man with a bad complexion. “We’re just strolling on the square, like, takin’ in the air.”

“Not likely — as the Law in these parts, I can see yer up to no good, so bugger off before me and my Constables bugger you up!”

Put off by his in your face attitude the men decide to look for easier pickings elsewhere. Evrard rolled on the NPC Intimidation table, and scored Passed more d6, intimidating the Thieves away and he gained one Increasing Rep d6.

 

After the Encounter

After the Encounter was over Evrard had gained a net +2d6 Increasing Rep. I applied 1d6 to Evrard’s REP and one to Giles’ REP. I failed to increase Evrard’s REP, but Giles’ REP increased to 5. Well done! With information in hand and a new member of the band, Evrard continues on his mission.

Next up Encounter 2 – Wandering.

 

A Visit to the Border Kingdoms

The Druid’s Children scenario book for Talomir Tales is set in the Border Kingdoms. Standing between the Established Lands of the west and the wilder lands to the east, the Border Kingdoms serve both as a bulwark and a pressure valve for the human realms of Talomir. The Border Kingdoms are comprised of three primary Kingdoms – Les Marches in the north, Donnerwald in the center, and Jellway in the east of the Kingdoms.

The Border Kingdoms are just that, a group of allied kingdoms on the border between humanity and the barbarian and humanoid hordes of the East.

The “Kingdoms” were carved out of multiple humanoid lands generations ago when the Brethren led a crusade northwards to drive the goblins and others back from the borders of humanity. The fierce fighting by the Brethren and opportunistic adventurers conquered territory mostly from Zog-Rot, the Goblin lands, but also chunks of territory from the the Dark Elves (Elves of the Black Sun), Orc tribes, and also from the human nomads of the Hykar tribes and the once proud human Mirish empire.

Over many years a range of humans humanoid peoples tried to colonize and conquer the Border Kingdoms. The result is the most diverse population in Talomir – Red Sun-aligned Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and even lesser known races like the Fur Feet and Beastmen, living and working together across the Kingdoms in relative harmony.

Naturally, the Ekrans with their long family lineages look down on the Borderers as common upstarts. The Treyine have a more pragmatic view and recognize the toughness of the “Borderers,” occasionally recruiting units of them into their own army.  The Mirish look upon the Borderers as little more than thieves and vultures who stole lands rightfully theirs, while the Hykar horse nomads with their loose idea of land ownership barely even recognize the Border Kingdoms at all…unless it’s raiding a Kingdoms village or caravan.

This means that the Borderers are indeed a tough breed. They need to be, because they are constantly being raided by the Goblins of Zog-Rot over the border, in addition to forays by other powers looking for an opportunity to expand. Of course, the Borderers also regularly raid the Goblins and others too. After all, fair’s fair!

Les Marches

The northernmost of the three Kingdoms, Les Marches is sandwiched between the Goblins to the east, Ekra to the west and Treyine on its southern border. King de Beauvriere rules from the main city of Acromerinth on the River Slyde, which acts as the main trading gateway to the rest of the world.

Donnerwald

The second largest Kingdom is bordered by Goblin Lands to the north, and by Treyine and Mirish to the south. Like the other Border Kingdoms, most of Donnerwald’s population lies along the River Slyde, the natural “highway” of the Kingdoms. Queen van der Walk rules from her castle in the river port town of Alwinton.

Jellway

The southernmost Kingdom, and the least wealthy, Jellway is ruled from the town of Harbottle by the King Childebert de Valons. The young king is barely in his majority and relies much upon his uncles. Jellway is situated in what is basically a broad highlands valley that rises between the mountainous Goblin Lands to the north and a series of high hills and tors to the south of the River Slyde and the Mirish Empire. As the land rises, it becomes an arid high desert as the River meets the lands of the Hykar nomads and the Magewastes.

The Border Kingdoms swirl with intrigue and danger — a wild kingdom on the frontier where any adventurer with nerves of steel and a strong sword arm can carve small kingdom of their own from the land.

Excellent to-scale 28mm Beastfolk

I’ve always had a fondness for Reepicheep from Narnia and similar characters from Brian Jacques’ Redwall series, and the characters in the Mouse Guard graphic novels and role playing game. So when my son wanted to do some gaming, I created the Deepwoods campaign using the Talomir/WHL rules — and Ed at Two Hour Wargames said, hey, turn that into a game book! And so I did.

And since I’m a gamer who likes figures, I searched high and low for the right figures I could use in my games. There are a number of fun figure lines out there with Mouse warriors and so on — the figures are too big! My collection is mostly 28mm scale, and most of these anthropomorphic adventures were as large as a “normal” sized human and my terrain.

But then I found the Splintered Light collection of “28mm Woodland Warriors” — a perfect match! Now your Mouseling or Squirrelkin figure is about waist high on a human or an orc, a Badger Lord is as tall as a person, they all fit well together.

Here’s a scale comparison showing Splintered Light miniatures next to other 28 human and Orc figures.

 

 

 

 

 

Now I don’t have to recreate any terrain or figures to mix the Druid’s Children into my games.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s also a new terrain line that looks like fun by Sarissa Precision for the new Burrows & Badgers game by Oathsworn Miniatures. I don’t know how the figures compare in scale to human sized 28mm figures, but the laser cut MDF buildings and homes would be a great fit for your Druid’s Children village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.oathswornminiatures.co.uk/c/4585273/1/scenery-terrain-by-sarissa-precision.html

 

Talomir Tales – Druid’s Children goes to print!

Huzzah, my first original fantasy title for Two Hour Wargames’ “Talomir Tales” co-op and solo-friendly table top RPG system is now available!  The “Druid’s Children” adventure scenario book is set in the Deepwood Shire in the Border Kingdoms, the fringe of settled human lands in Talomir.

Druid’s Children introduces a new playable race to Talomir, friendly “beastmen” in the guise of Mouslings, Squirelkin, Badger Lords and more. These beings draw directly from Splintered Light’s “Druid’s Children” miniatures line and a pastiche of themes related to well known classics like Brian Jacques “Redwall” novels, the Mouseguard graphic novels, Narnia and so on.

Here’s the back cover text:

Befriend a new race of beings. Check!
Stop the Liche Lord. Check!
Save the Kingdom. Sure, but …

Will there be Ale?!

A simple criminal investigation puts you on a collision course with mystery and conspiracy at the heart of the Kingdom. It’s time to get on the road, but remember…
Not all may be as it seems!

WHO: Play as Evrard, a Border Kingdom Warrior or create your own Character from 11 different human lists or 15 different Race lists.

WHAT: 16 Scenarios giving you one Job. Investigate the rise in theft and property damage along the Deep Woods. But what you think it is may not be what it actually is! This will require you to Carouse in Taverns, Confront numerous enemies, Defend the defenseless, Rescue hostages and 12 more adventures, all related.

WHERE: You can adventure in the Border Kingdoms and the mysterious Deep Woods. The Border Kingdoms, home of many different Creatures and Races.

That’s all for now — I’ll post some adventure logs in a bit, and don’t forget to check out the Splintered Light miniatures!

NUTS Two Hour D-Day – The Town

This is the second report of a Co-op NUTS! WW2 game in which each player commanded one squad or section of 3rd Platoon, Dog Company, hitting the beach during the Invasion of Normandy, June 6 1944. While the basic coastal terrain and the town was mapped out and placed on the table, the players had no idea beach defenses they’d run into until they landed on the beach (using the Amphibious Landing rules from the NUTS! Compendium).

First part – The Beach: https://sbminisguy.wordpress.com/2018/08/14/two-hour-d-day-the-beach/

The area they would be landing in was loosely based on Utah Beach, with the beach rising to sandy slopes, behind which was a low laying swampy area and then a small town. The player’s objectives were to clear the beach defenses, then attack across the swampy area and causeway and try to take the town, which had x3 Potential Enemy Forces (PEFs) to clear.

After being dropped on the beach the platoon came under heavy fire from an MG bunker and a German squad in trenches. While 1st Squad bogged down in front of the bunker, 2nd and 3rd Squad took out the trench line, and then the Engineering section destroyed the bunker with a flamethrower.

Having cleared the beach defenses and captured the surviving defenders,  the platoon pushed forward to try and take the small village of Ville Cotiere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Views of the town

1st Squad, the HQ section and the Engineering section paused to allow the Medic to make some recovery attempts on downed figures, and then moved up across the bridge. 2nd Squad went across the marsh on the right flank. On the left flank, Sgt. Ricci decides not to make for the causeway, and has 3rd Squad move up and into the low laying marshy area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As they cross the marsh (at half movement rate) the spot one of the PEF markers that had moved up from the center of the town. PEF markers represent possible enemies, and they will move around the table based on the type of scenario and dice rolls. Sgt Ricci rolled to resolve the PEF, and since we were adding some of the Chocolate & Cigarettes LiteRPG rules in NUTS!, the marker actually resolved as French civilians.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sgt Ricci and his squad move up and speak with the civilians. The Sgt rolls his REP in d6 (REP 4 means he rolls 4d6) on the interaction/challenge table looking for successes (rolls of a 1, 2, 3). He scores three successes, the civilian only one success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Champ de mines, what the heck is he talking about?,” said Sgt. Ricci out loud. “Champ, is that like a boxer?? This guy saying he’s a boxer?”

“Say, Sarge, my grandma was French, I think champ means field…mines…minefield!?!”

Since the player won the test he ended up getting valuable information, letting him immediately resolve another PEF on the table. The dice roll results in a fixed defense, a minefield the Americans now know to avoid — the French civilians just saved lives, Vive le France! Second squad would have blundered into the minefield, but now maneuvers to avoid it. The last PEF remains at the far end of the village.

On the next turn during the activation roll the US player ends up getting reinforcements. What happened each is side rolled for activation (1d6 vs Leader REP), and in this case the US player rolled a 4, the German player a 3. The US player won activation, and adding the dice together equals 7 — chance of reinforcements. The US players end up getting tank support!

A Sherman with wading gear trundles out of the surf line and into action.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lt. Dan decides to slow down and let the tank catch up, and sends runners to 2nd and 3rd squad with new orders. Pretty simple — 3rd Squad will advance up the left flank, 2nd Squad and the Engineers up the right flank, and 1st Squad and HQ will accompany the Sherman into the town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the platoon moved forward, 1st and 2nd squads ended up following along behind the Sherman, while Lt. Dan decided to climb up on the tank “for a better view.” Cpl Hulka told Lt. Dan that’s probably not the wisest idea, and then had his Engineer section move up through the walled gardens behind the houses on the right side of the village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sgt. Ricci led 3rd Squad up the left side of the village, where they cleared one house and moved up until they made contact with the final PEF. As soon as they came into Line of Sight, Sgt. Ricci rolled on the PEF resolution table, and it turned out to be an enemy Squad with AT weapons (Panzerfausts).  These were placed on the table, and an In Sight test made — each side being REP 4. The German’s won the In Sight test and opened fire on 3rd squad, knocking one figure Out of the Fight and forcing the rest to Duck Back into cover and out of sight, ending the action.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the burst of gunfire and yells of medic! medic! filling the air, Sgt. Toomey decided he didn’t want to have to break in another Lt. and hollered at Lt. Dan, perched on the tank — “Lt. Dan, come one down from there — 3rd Squad needs you, and you’d better ask the Sherman to cover us on the left flank!” The excitable 2nd Lt. gave directions to the Tank Commander and then hopped down and moved over to the left side with the HQ section.

3rd squad took cover in a ruined house, and started to exchange fire with the German defenders. Lt. Dan and the HQ section also entered the bombed out structure and the Americans moved up to the walls and windows to engage the Germans, sparking a fierce firefight. The Germans again won the In Sight and opened fire first. A figure next to Lt. Dan took a hit, but being Unlucky and all, the hit was applied to him instead. He burned a Star Power die to convert the hit from Out of the Fight to Duck Back. The Americans that could returned fire ineffectually, ending the turn On the next turn the US player won In Sight and the sniper managed to kill a German figure, but accurate German return fire killed the sniper figure in return and again forced the Americans to Duck Back.

On the next turn the US player failed their Activation roll, and the German play was able to move up unopposed (the Americans in the house were in Duck Back while 2nd and 1st Squads didn’t have Line of Sight on the German figure), and send a barrage of grenades into the house causing chaos among the Americans! The grenades killed and disabled three American figures, forcing the rest to keep in Duck Back mode.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Sgt Toomey of 1st Squad directed the tank into action and laid some payback down on the Germans. The fusillade of fire and a 75mm HE shell from the Sherman blasted the Germans back away from the fire fight at the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Engineering section continued its flanking move up the right side of the village, and 2nd Squad under Sgt. Johnson decided to move up the main street to try and flank the Germans engaged with 1st Squad, the HQ section and the Sherman. It was an aggressive move that failed, German figures at the end of the village won an In Sight test and the brief fire fight left one US figure dead and the rest doing a Duck Back for cover. The Medic went into action, helping one OOF figure recover and go back into the fight.

The Medic rules, by the way, allow for a Medic test on an OOF figure to see if it can be recovered. The results can range from the figure being only stunned and the Medic gets it back into the fight with no penalty, to walking wounded (able to take some actions), to still OOF. The Medic figure helped several figures recover during the game.

Lt. Dan then ordered everyone forward, and tasked the Sherman to move up the main street to support 2nd Squad, which was taking cover in doorways and behind debris, taking fire from a German MG-34. The Sherman blasted the house the Germans were in with MG fire and a 75mm HE shell, setting the building ablaze and forcing the Germans back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lt. Dan orders his troops forward after a flurry of grenades that killed and knocked out several German figures, and then movesd up into the face of the shocked German defenders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sherman also advanced, along with 2nd Squad, and the German defenders had their Panzerfausts ready to go…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…when the Engineering section completed its flanking move through the village and attacked the Germans from the rear, catching them by surprise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Combined with Lt. Dan’s continued attack, in combination with 1st Squad, the remaining German defenders surrendered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With all the PEFs resolved, the Mission was over. As more troops made it ashore, 3rd Platoon gratefully turns the fight over to them and stands down. After the Mission is done, if you’re doing a Campaign Game, you can check to recover casualties, get replacements and try to improve the REP of your figures.

Let’s see how that works.

1. After the Battle: This was a tough Mission, there were a total of 15 American figure casualties. Three were recovered during the game by the Medic, leaving 12 more casualties. Of these, seven were Obviously Dead, leaving five OOF figures that could be recovered for the next game.  Rolling 2d6 vs REP 4, we end up recovering three of those figures. They will be available for the next Mission.
2. Replacements: Lt. Dan has lost nine figures, almost an entire squad. He asks for Replacements from his Company Commander. He rolls 2d6 vs REP, passes 2 and ends up getting two replacement figures into the Platoon. For subsequent Missions, the Platoon will be short seven figures — the Player(s) will have to decide how that’s distributed in future.
3. Improving REP: It’s possible for your Star and its squadmates to improve their REP if they did well, and they might lose REP if they had a really bad Mission. Most games will have a core Star and Squad in them you want to track, but the player’s could check for the whole platoon in this case. Both Sgt Toomey and Lt. Dan took OOF results during the game, so even if they used Star Power not to get knocked out, they can’t improve their REP. We check for Sgt Ricci with a d6 vs REP roll, he rolls below his REP and stays at REP 4. We check for Sgt. Johnson, he also stays at REP 4. We check for Cpl Hulka, rolling above his current REP 4 (the roll was a 5), so he goes up one REP level to REP 5. Checking for the rest of the Platoon, six additional figures go up one REP level — but some of the figures that were injured lose a REP level. You can track this during a Campaign if you like.

Since this is the start of a Campaign, we also check to see if US or German morale has changed. Each side starts off at Campaign Morale 4 in this case. Basically you will run a series of Missions, and as you succeed or fail the morale will change until one side hits 0 Morale Level and retreats from the area. The US player won the Mission, so they roll 3d6 vs 2d6 for the German side. The US player gets Pass 3, the German player gets Pass 2 — so the US player won the roll by 1, and that reduces German Campaign Morale to 3.

Now we see what the next Mission is — since the US players were on an Attack Mission and they were successful, the Fight On table says the next gig is also an Attack Mission. Let’s liberate France, one ville at a time!

If you missed it, here’s the first part of the mission report: https://sbminisguy.wordpress.com/2018/08/14/two-hour-d-day-the-beach/

 

 

 

 

NUTS Two Hour D-Day – The Beach

This was a Co-op game in which each player commanded one squad or section of 3rd Platoon, Dog Company, hitting the beach during the Invasion of Normandy, June 6 1944. While the basic coastal terrain and the town was mapped out and placed on the table, the players had no idea beach defenses they’d run into until they landed on the beach (using the Amphibious Landing rules from the NUTS! Compendium).

The area they would be landing in was loosely based on Utah Beach, with the beach rising to sandy slopes, behind which was a low laying swampy area and then a small town. The player’s objectives were to clear the beach defenses, then attack across the swampy area and causeway and try to take the town, which had x3 Potential Enemy Forces (PEFs) to clear.

The  view from the Town

The View from the Beach

Most of the players weren’t that familiar with NUTS!, so we started them out with one unit each of a Star and the appropriate number of REP 4 Grunts (to make it easy on the dice rolls). Each Star had their own ID card with their Attributes, REP and personal weapons on it. The units were:

• HQ Section under Lt. Dan
• Engineering Section under Cpl Hulka
• 1st Squad under Sgt Toomey
• 2nd Squad under Sgt Johnson
• 3rd Squad under Sgt. Ricci

 

After the commands were split up (and appropriately, the youngest player given the roll of Lt Dan), each Squad was then placed into an LCVP and ready to hit the beach! At this point Lt Dan determined in which LVCP the HQ and Engineering sections would be, and what the general plan was once they landed. The player running Lt. Dan also rolled for the Beach Defenses (page 39). The Enemy Investment Level starts at 4, so rolling 2d6 against that resulted in a Pass 2d6, so it was a defended beach. Rolling 1d6 to see what kind of defenses led to a roll on the Beach Defensive Position table. The resulting roll (an 8) meant the players would be facing a Bunker, a squad in trenches and two rolls on the Fixed Defenses table — two mine fields.

Oh boy…at this point I called on the players to make their final plans and gave ’em the “30 Seconds!” warning!

Lt Dan rolled for activation, passing more than the German Non-Player Enemy (which was also a default REP 4), and each Sgt in charge of an LCVP rolled on the Beach Landing table (Compendium p. 41) to see if their guys got dropped in the surf or on the beach. 3rd and 2nd squad got a nice ride to the beach, but 1st squad got dropped short, 6″ in the surf and would have to wade to shore under the guns of whatever is in that bunker in front of them.

Turn 1 – Hit the Beach!

Resolving the action from the left side, since 3rd Squad seemed to face no opposition, we see 3rd Squad Fast Move across the beach with one figure straying into a minefield and going Out of the Fight – boom!

2nd Squad piled out of their LCVP and tried to Fast Move, failed, but charged up the beach and spread out, triggering an In Sight test with the German trench line. Sgt. Johnson won the In Sight and the resulting awesome American dice rolls saw many of the German defenders Duck Back, the remaining figures Returned Fire, also causing a few Duck Backs.

1st Squad got the full treatment — wading to shore while under fire from an MG-42 and rifles, immediately causing casualties! Two figures were killed (Obviously Dead) and other OOF, while several other figures Ducked Back behind obstacles. Sgt Toomey took a hit that would also be Obviously Dead, but used his Hard as Nails Attribute to change it to Out of the Fight instead. And here’s where being a Star is useful — he used his Star Power ability to avoid the hit and instead Duck for Cover. Call it being experienced, the Sarge threw himself behind cover to avoid what was surely a fatal hit!

Lt. Dan has the Unlucky Attribute and had to check if the round hitting the figure next to him actually nailed him instead — whew, still missed! Lt. Dan then used his Born Leader Attribute to keep his men moving forward!

1st Squad comes under heavy fire as it hits the beach in front of the MG bunker

In the next few turns, 3rd Squad continues across the beach and moves to put flanking fire on the German trench line. 2nd Squad advances straight at the trench line, laying down heavy fire from the platoon’s .30cal MG and rifle grenadier — amazing US attack attack rolls kill several German figures, and see almost every figure in the trench line forced to Duck Back! That’s a lot of sixes on the attack rolls! With the trench defenders suppressed, the Engineering section moves up ready to attack with satchel charges and flamethrower.

However, 1st Squad is stuck advancing into the meat grinder. An attached Sniper manages to kill a defender in the bunker, but the return MG fire is devastating.

1st Squad advances into the meat grinder

While 1st Squad bogs down in front of the bunker, 2nd Squad drives its assault home on the trench line with a series of accurate grenades and a blast from the flamethrower that effectively wipes out the German defenders. That’s the way to do it boys, fix, flank and finish!!

The Engineering team breaks the trench defenders

2nd Squad moves up to occupy the trenches

As 1st Squad seeks cover on the beach behind anything it can find while trying to suppress the bunker, 2nd Squad, led by the Engineering section assault the bunker from the flank, press on on through rifle fire and unleashing a deadly blast from the flamethrower.

The Engineering section silences the bunker

With the beach defenses neutralized, 3rd Squad pushes forward off the beach and moves into the marshy area to begin scouting the PEFs in the town.

To be continued in Two Hour D-Day – The Town.

 

 

 

 

Finishing a Corsec 1/56th scale LCVP

OK, I’m a bit slow on the workbench. A few months back I purchased three 1/56th scale LCVP kits from Coresec Engineering for a D-Day scenario.  The kits are in laser cut MDF and plasticard. The laser cuts are nice and clean, and all the pieces separate easily for assembly.

http://www.corseceng.com/products/28mm-lcvp-landing-craft-kit

I used LVT crew figures from Company B:

1. Gun tub MG crew: https://company-b-models-and-miniatures.myshopify.com/collections/crews-for-afvs/products/miniatures-usn-lvta-tub-gunners2?variant=15950897667
2. General LVT crew: https://company-b-models-and-miniatures.myshopify.com/products/miniatures-usn-lvta-4-crew-2?variant=15950880835

And ship fittings in 1/48 and O-scale from ebay, and used Woodland Scenics transfers for the ship ID numbers. Too bad I can’t find the proper scale-sized rope fenders and such as well, but I’m happy with how it turned out!