RPG Thursday – Striker!

Great inspiration for getting a session of Traveller going!

Wargame Wednesday – Some BSG Space Battle Inspiration

Music is a bit off from what I think should be used for a space battle but for a homemade film it looks GREAT!

Threat Tuesday – Can I Drive?

Where do I get the keys? (AP Photo)

In this undated image made from KRT video, North Korea’s new young leader Kim Jong Un appears from a military vehicle at an undisclosed place in North Korea, aired Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. Kim Jong Un, who was named “supreme leader” of North Korea’s people, ruling Workers’ Party and military following the death last month of his father, Kim Jong Il, was shown observing firing exercises and posing for photographs with soldiers in footage that was shot before his father’s death and aired as a documentary Sunday.(Daylife – AP Photo)

It certainly looks like the NorK propaganda machine is working hard to portray the newest youngster dictator as a vibrant, happening kinda guy. Gone are the days of the Jonger simply walking  around on an inspection. The kid at least climbs around his toys.

But just how much is he in charge? According the the NorK propaganda machine, he was making go-to-war decisions since at least 2009:

Ominously, the younger Kim is also seen shaking hands with officials at a satellite control centre after scientists launched a missile test in April 2009 – and saying he was ready to declare war if the missile had been shot down.

That test firing stoked regional tensions and earned North Korea international sanctions and condemnation.

‘I had decided to wage a real war if the enemies shot down’ the rocket, Kim Jong Un was quoted as saying.

A voice-over described Kim Jong Il as saying his son was in charge of the military’s anti-rocket interception operations at the time.

North Korea has said it successfully sent a satellite into orbit as part of a peaceful bid to develop its space program. U.S. and South Korean officials, however, said no satellite or other object reached orbit, and accused the North of using the launch to test its long-range missile technology.

At the time, Japan had threatened to shoot down any debris from the rocket if the launch went awry. U.S. lawmakers also urged their military to shoot the rocket down. (The Daily Mail)

RPG Thursday – Wargaming Prime Directive RPG

Courtesy Starfleetgames

I have been a Star Fleet Battles (SFB) player since 1979. I am very well versed in the mythos of the Star Fleet Universe (SFU). For a while there I collected nearly ANYTHING SFU. That included the Prime Directive RPG.

Over the years, Prime Directive (PD) has been released in several versions.  The First Edition (1E) featured a “house” system that I am not all that familiar with. Amarillo Design Bureau (ADB) then jumped on the OGL-bandwagon and released Prime Directive d20 as well as a GURPS version (which I don’t have). More recently, a Modern d20 version has been released (PD20 Modern).

In 2011, ADB entered into an agreement with Mongoose Publishing. In addition to releasing a new version of A Call to Arms there is also talk of a Mongoose Traveller RPG version of Prime Directive.

Getting excited, I pulled out my old Prime Directive d20 and rolled up a character. IN doing so I realized something I had never noticed before; character feats directly translate to Star Fleet Battles effects.

Specifically, I am talking about the Naval Line Officer Class found in the Core Rulebook. A character in this class “progresses” through tours in Helm, Astrogation, and Gunnery (Weapons). Feats such as “Helmsmanship, Exceptional [General]” are earned. But what does that feat give you. What I never noticed before was the feat near-entirely describes what Star Fleet Battles rules apply or are modified!

Courtesy Starfleetgames

Lets take a look at the “Helmsmanship, Exceptional [General]” feat. The benefit reads “The specialist is so familiar with the ship that the ship’s turn mode is increased by one letter grade (B to A, etc). The ship has the Legendary Navigator’s ability with erratic manuevers and high energy turns. See rule (G22.8) for more translations of this Feat into Star Fleet Battles abilities.” (Prime Directive d20, Core Rulebook, p. 46) In only one other place do I find a similar rule, that being under the Pilot Class where a pilot with the “To the Max!” feat gains the Ace Pilot ability in SFB.

Maybe this is why I stayed away from PD for so long? What is admittedly a core character class is described in SFB terms? If you don’t play SFB you can’t benefit from the character feats? To be fair, in a few places the SFB ability is translated (loosely) into an abstract d20 space combat effect. Too few to be really useful. To further complicate matters, the flagship ADB product these days is Federation Commander, a streamlined version of SFB that doesn’t even use Legendary Officers.

All this has me worried about Traveller Prime Directive. Mongoose has a rather poor track record in my mind when translating franchises into Mongoose Traveller terms. I worry that the “source material” in this case may be too poor to begin with. I can only  hope; and withhold my dollars until I can be sure!

 

Wargame Wednesday – Tomorrow’s War Really is Yesterday

Courtesy BGG

Product:Tomorrow’s War: Science Fiction Wargaming Rules (Ambush Alley Games/Osprey Publishing, 2011).

System: Force on Force. The game is self-touted as “a science fiction military miniatures wargame with emphasis on “hard” science fiction rather than “Space Opera” or “Science Fantasy” (p. 5).

Appearance: Mid-size (9.6”x7.7”x0.9”) full-color hardcover. Cover art is a bit dark but evocative of setting. Content is 260 double-column pages with border art. Inset text-boxes and tables use a darker shade of green-gray for offset which is easy to distinguish from the core test. Interior art is a mix of color miniature photos and artwork.

Content: Twelve (12) chapters along with Introduction, five Appendix, Fog of War Cards and Index.

• Introduction (5 pages) – The true introduction is written by Jon Tuffley, designer of my favorite future skirmish rules Stargrunt II. Here is where you also find the time and distance scale (both undefined) as well as Designer’s Notes (in two sections – core text and an inset box)
• Tomorrow’s War: Interstellar Combat in the 24^th Century (24 pages) – Introduces the “optional” setting. Can be a bit confusing since several game concepts (such as Tech Level) are discussed without any game reference to assist in understanding
• Commonly Used Terms and Concepts (2 pages) – Not an index but a compilation of 20+ items; interestingly most do not appear to be cross-referenced with the index
• The Turn Sequence (3 pages) – Details the Sequence of Play for “Equivalent Forces.” Through experience I have discovered this chapter covers only a very basic game and does not cover many of the other rules
• The Basics of Play (10 pages) – Covers “the basic, recurring mechanics” though “the actual application of these mechanics is explained in more detail later” (p. 38)
• Units & Leaders (8 pages) – “…explains the structure and characteristics that define the nature of units and leaders” (p. 48)
• Infantry Combat (44 pages) – The heart of the game and in many ways the “basic rules.” This section ends with a 3+ page “Putting It All Together: Lost & Found” scenario that attempts to showcase the rules just introduced
• Mechanized Combat (25 pages) – Rules for vehicles and interactions with them. Ends with the “Putting It All Together: Tigers by the Tail” scenario
• Close Air Support and Interface Operations (12 pages) – Rules for airstrikes and VTOLs and paradrops; no “Putting It All Together” scenario provided here
• Off-Board Artillery (6 pages) – Artillery fire mission rules. Ends with the “Putting It All Together: The First Battle of Vallin Farm” scenario
• Special Unit Types (23 pages) – I call this the sci-fi special rules section; robots and drones and aliens and (most importantly) the Grid – or network centric battlefield rules. Ends with the “Putting It All Together: Bugs in the Reactor” scenario
• Asymmetric Engagements (7 pages) – An obvious nod to asymmetric warfare of today (and a legacy of the Force on Force rules), this section covers rules for irregular units. The scenario “Putting It All Together: Ambush at Bonaventure Crossing” is found here
• Tomorrow’s Campaign (17 pages) – Designed to make your games more than just “one-shot” scenarios. Adds an “After Action Sequence” as well as rules for developing your combat team and combat fatigue. Even talks about how to build an insurgency
• Appendix 1: Common Unit and Vehicle Attributes (8 pages) – Defines attributes for squads and vehicles
• Appendix 2: Organization Examples (16 pages) – Uses the “optional” Tomorrow’s War setting
• Appendix 3: Vehicle Examples (8 pages) – Again uses the “optional” setting
• Appendix 4: Scenarios (20 pages) – Lays out five scenarios yet again based on the “optional” setting
• Appendix 5: Artwork (1 page) – Credit where credit is due
• Fog of War Cards (16 pages) – Actually eight sheets since each is printed front-back. Not made to be cut out unless you do it yourself
• Index (2 pages)

Comment: I have already stated my bias above; when it comes to sci-fi skirmish games I love Stargrunt II as well as Striker from the Traveller game line. I am also a long-time RPG player where in many cases combat is basically a skirmish rule set.

Verdict:  BLUF – There is a good game here…somewhere.

I bought this game as an impulse buy at Barnes & Noble. I saw the beautifully illustrated hardback on the shelf and was sure that the association with Osprey Publishing would guarantee the inside to be lavish and interesting. So what if it was $34.95 retail? I get my 10% off as a B&N member! Surely it is worth $31.50, it’s Osprey! I have to say the package is a bit disappointing. Inside you don’t find the nice Osprey 3-D maps or the Osprey uniforms that are so wonderfully detailed. Instead you get pseudo-computer display maps and artwork that is evocative but not the “Osprey style” that I associate with the name. I do like the miniatures photos (actually I am jealous of all those nicely painted models).

I was also drawn in by the promises in the Designer’s Notes. The authors boast:

“This isn’t to say that Tomorrow’s War is just a modern or WWII wargame dressed up in a space-suit. The battles you’ll see unfold on your table will have some things in common with those fought today or even sixty plus years ago (tactical skill and human factors of morale and confidence will always make themselves felt as long as men are present on the battlefield), but you will see significant differences. We’ve gone to great lengths to model the presence and impact of realistic advances in technology with these rules. You’ll see robotics used to support (and sometimes replace) human troops on the field and the impact of a truly networked command structure. These and other “futuristic” developments will make your games of Tomorrow’s War unique in flavor, both from other science fiction games and from historical games in general.” (p. 8)

Unfortunately, I think Ambush Alley misfired with Tomorrow’s War. I expect more from a system that costs over $30 and claims it is going to be a “unique” experience. Indeed, for a game that draws on their Force on Force roots I expected more finished package. To begin with, the order of rules is horrible. Everything from Terms & Concepts through Infantry Combat is essentially the basic game but some rules are introduced before other dependent rules and there is little cross-referencing. This makes it hard to follow. Fortunately, you can play this part as the Sequence of Play is (generally) complete.

Mechanized Combat to Asymmetric Engagements feels more like bolt-on modules that can be added or subtracted from the game. But even doing that is hard because there is no overall Sequence of Play beyond the very basic one introduced early in the book. So many rules state that they take place at the nebulous “beginning of a turn” without further detail. I cannot help but feel that each of these “modules” was built in a vacuum from one another or even the basic game. The “Putting It All Together” scenarios are a great idea but fail in execution. For example, the “Tigers by the Tail” scenario at the end of Mechanized Combat focuses on infantry versus vehicles only; for vehicle versus vehicle combat you have to use “The First Battle of Vallin Farm” which doesn’t have any artillery though it is located in that section. “Vallin Farm” also uses the Grid which is not covered until the next section! Indeed, only one other scenario (Scenario 4) has anybody on the grid.

Nearly 20% of the book (closer to 25% if you count the scenarios) is devoted to the “optional” setting. This is not as bad as it seems since I find the “optional” setting quite well thought out and interesting enough. I especially like the stories in the flavor text. This focus does make me think Ambush Alley missed their chance to try and make the game a “generic” system. Why not show us a mercenary tank regiment? How about two armies with one based on genetic replicants and the other on Smart Bots? What about humans against a force of bots and synthetics? Oh by the way, synthetics are talked about in the flavor text but there are NO RULES!

Then there are the Fog of War cards. First off, these are not cards or even sheets but pages. There is no clean way to cut them out. Sure, Ambush Alley says you can go to their webpage and download a version. That is what I want to do after spending over $30 – NOT!

The two items that the designers hang their hat on as the core of the “unique” gaming experience, bots and the Grid, are covered in 11 pages,or less than 5% of the overall content. The Grid appears in only two of 10 scenarios. Bots actually do not appear in ANY scenario though you do get one scenario with bugs (aliens) and one with powered armor.

I don’t think Ambush Alley achieved their goal of avoiding a modern game dressed up in a spacesuit. Nice concept; poor execution.

Threat Tuesday – Jonger Was a Navy Man

Courtesy Daylife.com

The late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (C) inspects a navy vessel in this undated picture released by KCNA December 26, 2011. Kim Jong-il, who ruled isolated and impoverished North Korea from 1994, died on December 17, 2011, according to the state’s media. (Reuters)

Given the photo was released after his death we are forced to assume that one of the Jongers last acts was to visit a navy base somewhere. Build morale; make them feel important. Note the open-top turrets and the general lack of electronics. The seemingly dark-grey paint scheme may work in twilight against a dark landmass. But really, no matter how you cut it, this is still a 1940′s-era boat.

RockyMountainNavy Christmas – 2011 Edition

This year’s visit from Santa featured many games for the family. Some are classics, some will be classics, but all are great.

Courtesy BGG

Teen RMN got the classic Battleship for her middle brother. As we all know, Battleship has little skill or tactics and generally depends on luck. That still makes it OK and fun for the RMN kids as they go head-to-head with multiple battles. Due to the lack of tactical thinking required, this game can be easily played by any age, meaning that even the youngest RMN kid can take on any of his older siblings on a generally even playing field. It also works against the grandparents. This game has been played on a daily basis over the winter break. The kids are even challenging each other to rematches and tracking their overall win-loss records. WINNER!

Courtesy BGG

Santa and DaddyRMN combined to give the youngest RMN kid Heroica: Fortaan and Heroica: Waldurk. Both are part of the Heroica series with Fortaan being the “Basic” set and Waldurk being an “expansion” though each game can be played separately. Heroica is basically a dungeon-crawl game. Each player has a “hero” which is a character with a different special ability. The players must fight their way across the board (map) fighting monsters of different levels, gathering treasures and the like before defeating the “monster king.” The game can be played as a campaign series which allows players to accumulate treasure and gold from game-to-game and buy weapons to become more dangerous. All this sounds like a basic Dungeons & Dragons game, ehh? Well it is, but with Legos! The rules lend themselves very nicely to the 7-10 year old crowd. This one proved so popular with the youngest RMN that he actually used his Target gift card to buy Heroica: Draida Bay. He has also pointed out that his birthday in February would be a great time to get the last expansion…. WINNER!

Courtesy BGG

Another game that made an appearance under the tree this year was Forbidden Island. Forbidden Island is a cooperative game where each player is part of a team that is trying to get four treasures off a sinking island. Each player must use their special ability to benefit the team and all must work together because the island starts sinking faster and faster as the game goes on. Think of a group Indiana Jones adventure! Some people on BoardGameGeek deride this game as “Pandemic-lite” but since we don’t have Pandemic (heretic you say!) this doesn’t bother us. What is important is that all the RMN kids, from the youngest 7 year old to the oldest (16) can – and do – play together. Mommy RMN really likes this game because of the coop format – the kids have to work together to win not try to one-up or out-think each other.  They can’t wait to introduce Grandpa to this game too. WINNER!

Darth Vader, Dictator

Who remembered that one of the greatest speeches defending democracy was spoken by a silent film star? Watch!

For the reference see Wikipedia The Great Dictator.

IMTU* – Federation of Arden

*IMTU – In My Traveller Universe. Take a part of the Traveller RPG universe and make it your own!

Spinward Marches (Courtesy RPGeek)

AS I READ through the Mongoose Traveller (MgT) supplement The Spinward Marches, my interest was piqued when I read about Arden in the Vilis Subsector. Arden is a high-population world (1.03 billion) with a “solid TL8 economy.” A major political player is the Arden Society, dedicated to creating the Federation of Arden.

So I got to thinking; how could the Federation of Arden come about IMTU? In doing so I have looked at several problems including the stellar system, technology, and military forces.

The Arden Star System is only loosely defined. In MgT terms the planet is C5549CB-8. This is actually a bit off from what some sources say (several credit Arden with TL9 by c.1105) so I guess they are on the cusp of the TL changeover (more on that later). The Arden system is credited with one planetoid belt and no gas giants. Using the Star System Generation format found in Traveller 5 (beta), I went ahead and created the entire system. The results will be the subject of a separate post.

The results of the Star System generation led to thoughts on technology. In terms of space travel, at TL8 Arden has “Space Shuttle, Space Stations, and non-Grav maneuver 3-5 capability” (Technology Transportation, Comparative Technology Levels, LBB9, p. 65). Spinward Marches states the government of Arden has “a handful of small jump-capable ships,” obviously bought elsewhere since Arden cannot produce starships themselves (a combination of TL and a C-class starport).

NASA Antimatter Concept (Really!)

IMTU, the Arden system has 12 planets spread out over two stars. The companion star (M5V stellar class) is in the Remote System of Arden in Orbit 16. The companion system has five worlds with 10 satellites. So how do the Ardens reach this major portion of their system? The answer came in the form of Paul Elliott’s Slower-Than-Light (STL) ruleset. STL covers the creation and operation of reaction drive ships using NERVA-style nuclear thermal rockets or a Fusion Rocket. Several STL designs for Arden as well as some travel commentary will be the subject of yet another separate post.

The last area I have looked at is military forces. In doing so I have drawn heavily on Trillion Credit Squadron (TCS), Power Projection: Fleet (PPF) as well as The Spinward Marches and Spica’s new The Outer Veil. Though many Traveller fans will argue over the validity TCS (and PPF which reimplemented the same system) in terms of a realistic budget, the exercise is nonetheless enlightening. Again, this will be the subject of a later post.

So let me conclude by making the following observations:

• Traveller can make you think
• Not all thinking is fun, but thinking about Traveller is fun!

Softly softly catchee spy, a traveller fanfic – FanFiction.Net

Traveller RPG fanfic

Softly softly catchee spy, a traveller fanfic – FanFiction.Net.