Buying HeroClix from TrollandToad.com

As I continue test-playing Power Legion, I should note that I've invested in miniatures to play the game with:  HeroClix.  For a few bucks, you can have pre-painted miniatures that are roughly (very roughly) 28mm sculpts of your favorite heroes and villains.

First, though, a word of warning:  when you first go looking for HeroClix, you'll be upset with the economic model that this game uses.  You buy a base set with known heroes, and buy individual or 4-5 at a time boosters that are sealed and have unknown miniatures inside.  You could spend hundreds of dollars on packs of unknown figures and never get the ones that you want.  And after the current movie tie-in or comic promotion is done, they are surplus on a shelf and can be found at discounted rates.  Why, it's almost like someone was trying to create a resale market for someone willing to open the packs, catalog miniatures, and let you buy exactly the HeroClix you want for a dollar (or less) each!

Enter TrollandToad.com.  Shop away and find the miniatures you want and have them shipped to your door.  I spent about $75, including shipping, for 50-some miniatures.  Here's what I picked up:

My ordering experience wasn't perfect, however.  Three of the miniatures provided were the wrong ones, and three different ones showed up in their stead.  The most unfortunate aspect of this was its effect on the Wrecking Crew:

You can see the sad look on their faces.  They happen to be short this fellow:

That's Thunderball, the scientist-turned-villain who wields a wrecking ball while pursuing criminal ventures with his fellow villains in the Wrecking Crew.

I contacted Troll and Toad and informed them of the mishap in filling my order.  Within 24 hours, I received an email back informing me that an order containing two of the three missing miniatures was packaged and being shipped to me.  They refunded the third miniature, which they happened not to have in stock.  A few days later, the postman delivered another Troll and Toad box to my door.  Now the Wrecking Crew is in a much better mood:

I've heard it said that you should judge a system by how well  it fails, not how well it succeeds.  By that measure, Troll and Toad has done right by me.  They set right everything that went wrong with my order in a timely manner.  I plan to use them again.

Anyone reading this - please don't buy up all of the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  I have plans for a showdown after I've wrapped up an Avengers campaign or two.

Power Legion Review and Test Play: Captain America vs. Boomerang and Constrictor

Having played a heavily simplified game of Power Legion with my boys, I decided to take the rules out for a spin on my own in a solo test play session.  In an effort to learn the rules as thoroughly as possible, this write-up will be an open beta test of sorts - I'll list out the math of the dice rolls and let commenters tell me if I'm doing it right.

The scenario is the When You Wish Upon a Star scenario from the Power Legion rule book.  In this scenario, heroes and villains fight over a crashed asteroid, hoping to gain control over the mysterious and potentially powerful space rock.  The board is a 3' x 3' woodland setting with trees dotting the landscape.  The translucent green rock lies in the middle of a crater next to a tree felled by the asteroid's impact.

The contested asteroid, lying in a crater.

I pitted Captain America versus two villains who were both, at one time, members of the Masters of Evil - Boomerang and Constrictor.  The stats for these guys were graciously provided by the gentleman running Dinah's Cat of Danger.

Captain America (956 Points)
M	A	S	K
d6	d10	d10	d10
Knockout	d10+3	Activation	d12
Shield d12 (Device), Armor d6, Marksman d12, Leadership d10, Tactics d12, Ranged Damage d8 (Device), Strong Will d10, Weapon Master d12, Acrobat Boomerang (532 Points) M A S K d6 d8 d6 d8 Knockout d8 Activation d8 Marksman d10, Ranged Damage d8 (Device: Boomerang), Sonic Attack d8 (Device: Boomerang), Flight d6

Constrictor (530 Points)
M	A	S	K
d4	d6	d6	d8
Knockout	d8+2	Activation	d6
Armor d4, Lethal HTH Attack d8, Entangle d8, Damaging Aura d10

For those paying really close attention, I've increased Captain America's Strength statistic from d8 to d10.  I've done this because I think that the current trend of Captain America - both in the Ultimate Marvel Universe and in the Captain America and Avenger movies - is to show Cap as stronger than peak human performance.  I agree with it, and this raised his point value from the link to 936 to 956.   So, 1062 points of bad guy distributed among two minis versus 956 in one good guy mini.  Enuf' said - it's clobberin' time!

The view from Cap's perspective.

The bad guys, Boomerang and Constrictor.

Turn 1:
Owing to his Leadership Trait, Captain America rolls a d12 for initiative; between Constrictor and Boomerang, Boomerang has the higher initiative with a d8.  Cap rolls a 12, Boomerang a 7.  Cap goes first.
Cap rolls a 7 on activation, giving him 3 actions.  He uses all three and stands astride the meteor's crater at the end of his turn.
The badguy strategy at this point was to use Constrictor's Entangle, Damaging Aura, and Armor to tie Cap up while Boomerang swoops in to grab the meteor.
Constrictor, however, rolled a 3 for activation, getting a single action.  He moved forward but didn't tie Cap up as needed.  Boomerang rolled a 2, and took his single action to fly over Constrictor with his boot jets and try to put the meteor between himself and Captain America.

Turn 2:
Cap rolled a 4 and got two actions.  He crossed the meteor crater and advanced to Boomerang and threw his shield at the flying villain.  Here, I didn't know exactly what to do.  The Weapon Master trait says to throw at -1 with Agility (d10), but he has Weapon Master at d12.  I rolled a d10 to hit (maybe should have been a d12); not having clear guidance from the rules, I decided that a 1 would mean that the shield would fly past Boomerang and not return, but anything more would mean he would get the shield back (this seems generous - I'm open to suggestions).
Cap rolled an 8, Boomerang a 1.  He hit with 4+ than his opponent, meaning a Major Wound.  Using the play aid I downloaded from the Ganesha Games Song of Blades and Heroes Yahoo! Group, I checked the chart (this is not a part of the rules, but seemed to work well).  Cap rolled a 6 - knockout roll.  Cap rolled a 2, Boomerang a 3, which still meant that Boomerang took a one die hit to his knockout (d8 to d6), was Knocked Down (melee attacks at +1 to hit) and Stunned (cannot use tricks, fate, or bank actions).

Cap closes the distance and knocks Boomerang out of the sky with a shield throw.

Boomerang and Constrictor each rolled one action for activation; Boomerang stood up and removed Knocked Down, but was still Stunned.  Constrictor moved closer, but was still out of contact and out of actions with Cap.

Turn 3:
Cap rolled a 1 and initiative went to the baddies.
Bad guy plan was for Boomerang to use a sonic attack or ranged attack to soften Cap up, while Constrictor closed for the kill.
Boomerang used his sonic attack; I rolled a d8 and, not sure what the defensive die should be (Agility - if so, does Acrobat apply; Strong Willl; Mind?) I used Agility and Cap won.  The sound beam/wave missed.  I realize now that Boomerang was still technically Stunned at this point - not sure whether I needed to remove that first.

Cap faces down Boomerang's sonic attack.

Boomerang chose to get on with the plan - he flew up and over Cap with one action, then spent his last action grabbing the meteor.  Having done that, I realized he should have just skipped the attack and gone for the stone to begin with.
Constrictor rolled a 1 and turned it back to Cap.

Turn 4:
Cap rolled an 8, took his three actions, and ran up behind the currently landed Boomerang, and spent two actions in a Power Blow (+1 die shift to his Weapon Master with the shield, goes to d20) and rolled an 8 to Boomerang's 1.  Applying a house rule I saw at the excellent Chicago Skirmish Wargames site, anything 4+ to hit adds a die shift of damage.  So his Strength went from d10 to d12 for this roll, and he got a 6 to Boomerang's 2 - a 4+ difference, so a Major Damage roll.  Another 6, so another Knockout Roll.  He was reduced to a d6 KO at this point, and rolled a 5 to the 6 previously rolled for damage by Cap - he collapsed in a heap, and dropped the meteor.

Captain America attacks Boomerang with a crushing shield blow, putting the villain out of the fight.

Constrictor rolled a 5 and got two actions.  He closed the distance to Cap and attacked from behind (I didn't see anything in the rules for a bonus for this, so the dice will decide what happens).
Constrictor weighed a few options - Lethal HTH Attack, Entangle, or Damaging Aura.  Damaging Aura gave the best chance to hit, so he employed that.  Cap got a bonus from his Acrobat, so was at d12 instead of d10 (I assume that applies here).  Constrictor rolled a 10, Cap a 4, so I gave Constrictor the positive die shift for damage.
Cap rolled a 5 (+3 for Armor) = 8, Constrictor an 11.  A difference of 3, so a Minor Damage roll.  The result was a knockback.  Cap was knocked straight back and, applying the positive shift in damage roll, went a full 2 x long (about 14") from the electric shock that Constrictor applied.

The shock from Constrictor throws Cap for a loop.  It's a long way to the crater and Constrictor now.

Turn 5:
Cap rolled another 1.  Turn over, but understandable - he just took a bunch of volts.
Constrictor rolled a 4, got two actions, and used one to get to the meteor and another to pick it up.

Turn 6:
Cap rolled a 3, and advanced one Medium move.
Constrictor rolled a 4, got two actions, and made two Short moves in the opposite direction, hoping for an exit off of the board (reduced from Medium to Short because he was carrying the space rock).

Turn 7:
Cap rolled an 8, got three actions.  He advanced with one and threw an aimed shot (+1 die shift).  Reading his stats, I realized that Marksman (d12) for Cap applied, and the +1 shift makes it a d20 to Constrictor's d6 Agility.
Cap rolled a 20, Constrictor a 1.
Rolling on the Major Damage table (4+ difference again), I got a Blinded result - Constrictor must have looked over his shoulder to see how far back Cap was and got beaned in the head for his trouble.  He dropped the meteor and tried to shake off the effects of the hit.  Again, I didn't have a house rule for this, but Cap did roll a 20 to hit, so the shield rebounded back to him.

Cap throws a dead-on shot with his shield, blinding Constrictor.

Constrictor rolled a 2, got one action - less than the two needed to come out of Blinded.  He moved one medium in a random direction, per the effect description.  I rolled a 12 for clock-face determination, got a 2, and shifted him accordingly.  Constrictor went from d8 to d6 Knockout.

Turn 8:
Cap rolled an 8, got three actions.  He advanced two medium and took another shield throw shot as his shield fell into his hands just as he advanced into throwing stance again.  Constrictor, being Blinded, had all attacks at +2 - so another d20 versus d6.
Cap rolled a 5, Constrictor a 1 - back to the Major Damage table.  Knockout Roll, with Constrictor reduced one Knockout value from his previous Major Damage, so a d6 (+2 for his d4 Armor Trait) versus the 5 that Cap rolled to hit.  Constrictor rolled a 6, so still in the game, but Knocked Down and Stunned (and still Blinded).  Not having a rule to say otherwise, Cap got his shield back.

Cap follows up with another shield throw that knocks Constrictor off of his feet.

Constrictor rolled a 5 to activate, so two actions.  He removed Knocked Down and Stunned, but was still Blinded.  Second Major Damage took Constrictor to d4 Knockout.

Turn 9:
Cap rolled a 9, got three actions.  Closed the distance with one, used two in a Power Blow (+1d shift damage) with his shield.
Constrictor was Blinded, so the d12 Weapons Master for Cap went to d20 to hit.  He rolled a 16, Constrictor a 1.  He shifted one die up for the 4+ difference, and another die for the Power Blow.  The damage went from d10 (strength) to d20.
Cap rolled a 12, Constrictor a 2, then got +2 for his d4 Armor Trait; 12 to 4.
On the Major Damage table, Cap rolled a 5, got Slowed (-1 to Activation).
Constrictor, however, would have had his Knockout reduced below d4.  I determined that - new house rule - any reduction below d4 Knockout means that the character is Knocked Out.  Even if it's not explicit in the rules (see p. 12) it makes sense.

Cap delivers rough justice to Constrictor.  Down for the count.

So Cap, being a cast-iron badass, did what we've seen him do on multiple occasions in the comics.  He trounced two medium-strength villains with a mix of pinpoint shield throws and crushing melee blows.

Review:
1.  Superheroes are awesome.
2.  This is a more complex game than Song of Blades and Heroes, and necessarily so.  Not only does this incorporate different types of dice (more complex than the SoBH roots from which it derives), but the additional special rules to account for super powers add a good bit of variation.  I highly recommend getting stats set up in the format provided at the aforementioned Dinah Cat of Danger blog, which incorporates Armor into Knockout and provides the Activation roll (can come from Mind, Agility, or a Trait).  You should then copy from the PDF of the game the properties of each Trait that your heroes and villains will have, and print it out.  Example from this game:

3.  I liked the house rule of elevating damage when making a hit with 4+.  Probably a keeper.
4.  Not sure about the dodging of the sonic attack.  Is that an Agility roll?
5.  I need a house rule for when Cap gets his shield back via rebound after using it in a missile attack, and when it flies wide or gets stuck.  I'm open to suggestions.
6.  If there's one area where the game as written falls short, it's in the gaming aids department.  The two pages in the back of the rule book provide coverage of the Major Damage effects well, but fall short in the Minor Damage department.  The damage rules also seem ripe for using the difference between damage rolls as a modifier on damage tables.  The rules let the attacker pick the effect (I think), but it would work better as a game mechanic with a table.
7.  Solo playability is high for Power Legion.  You're just playing out a comic book scenario - it's like being a kid with some superhero figures, plus a few rules.  High marks on that front.
8.  My HeroClix are ripe for some rebasing.  Open to suggestions on that, too.  I've seen some clear bases, plain black bases, and varying terrain bases under HeroClix - let me know what you think works best across varied battlefields.

Well, that's it for now, true believers!  Stay tuned for more playtesting.  I'll eventually put on a campaign or two with Power Legion.

Library of Force on Force AARs

If you're reading this in the full web site version, you should see a listing, "Force on Force:  Theaters of Conflict."  Within each of these links is a brief description of the eleven Force on Force games I've played over the last year or so.  For those of you reading this in the mobile version of this blog, I'm duplicating the directory below:

Force on Force: Theaters of Conflict

• Force on Force: Iraq
• Force on Force: Afghanistan
• Force on Force: Libyan Civil War
• Force on Force: Special Operations
• Force on Force: Miscellaneous

Real life concerns - work, kids, and such - have brought a halt to gaming as of late, but I'd still like to get around to a Special Forces campaign set in Afghanistan and a campaign set in the Libyan revolution.  We'll see if/when I get around to those.

Enjoy the AARs!

Power Legion!

Blog has gone dark for a while, been busy with real world commitments.  In the meantime, I picked up a couple of new games.  The first, Song of Blades and Heroes, is a marvel of simplicity and streamlined gameplay.  Ran through a brief test game, but no pics to tell the tale.

I also downloaded:

Power Legion!  This is the Ganesha Games (known for Song of Blades and Heroes) Superhero Skirmish game.  As it happened, the boys and I wandered through the local wargaming store and picked up a few Heroclix figures to test it out.  I ran the When You Wish Upon a Star scenario from the Power Legion rule book.  In this scenario, heroes and villains fight over a crashed asteroid, hoping to gain control over the mysterious and potentially powerful space rock.

The Heroclix minis that we got a deal on are mostly DC characters (I'm more of a Marvel kind of guy myself) but we had a great time regardless.  Members of the Justice League squared off with a gang of baddies and a Rigellian with a ray gun who was intent on recapturing her lost space pebble, represented by a translucent green Lego brick.

Here's a couple of pics of the games, which we played twice under heavily simplified rules.   

First game:

Justice League takes the initiative and Bizarro gets ready to jump into the fray.  Scarecrow is already down on the right flank, having been crispered by Superman's heat vision.

Cyborg knocks out the Rigellian while Aquaman takes it to Bizarro.  Superman mopped up the rest of the badguys and the Justice League triumphed.

Second Game:

The Rigellian takes the initiative and races to the meteor crater.  She starts to make off with the rock as the heroes and villains fight around her.

The Beetle and a street thug get bowled over as the Rigellian nears the edge of the board.  Superman finally zaps her with his heat vision in the nick of time and the Justice League carries the day again.

First impressions:

We didn't really play the game by the rules, but simplified every mini down to one quality die - d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20.  As I've started preparing for gaming under the full rules, I've come to agree with this review, which stresses the importance of preparing character sheets or other paperwork before playing.  I've been copying profiles from Dinah Cat of Danger's blog and have to admit, the simplicity of Song of Blades and Heroes can't be replicated with superheroes.  There are too many variables and too much of a range of abilities, so be forewarned - this game takes a bit more prep than the Ganesha flagship title, and rightfully so.

Regardless, I really look forward to playing a Captain America/Avengers-driven campaign.  More to follow.

A Gift for Earle

My gaming over the last year has been much more enjoyable because of Earle, another semi-regular at Colorado Springs Gamers Association.  He has also given me quite a few resin-cast vehicles.  As a parting gift, I painted these for him:

Enjoy!

New Avatar

I've got a new avatar photo, which displays a miniature I commissioned from Enfilade Figures.  Here it is:

KSK Recon Team Rescue, Afghanistan, 2005

Saturday night I ran a game of Force on Force at CSGA - what will probably be my last in Colorado.  Here's the scenario:

Paktika Province, 2005. A four-man German KSK reconnaissance team has been compromised in the hills of Southeast Afghanistan. Harried over difficult terrain and carrying one team member with a serious wound, the team has called for assistance and extraction. Air assets have yet to arrive due to weather conditions, but an 8-man US Special Forces ODA and an ANA platoon have almost arrived at the KSK team’s location at the end of a draw in the mountainous terrain. The ODA and ANA must save the KSK team before the Taliban can overrun the German position. US/ANA/KSK have initiative for the first round, subsequent rounds roll for initiative.

Here's the initial layout of the table, with a cul-de-sac of a valley terminating at a copse of trees where the KSK recon team (from Enfilade Figures, and just added to my collection) have taken cover:

The US Special Forces ODA and ANA advance into the end of the valley.  Local Taliban have assembled in the buildings near the mouth of the valley, while hardcore Taliban and some foreign fighters close in on the KSK position at the far end of the table.  The troops to the right of the vehicles are actually mounted at this point - we were just lining them up next to the vehicles to keep track of who was mounted in which truck.

The KSK recce team's position.  This counted as an 'excellent position' and gave an extra die of cover.  One figure is down in the background with a serious wound.

Hardcore Taliban (d6 Troop Quality, d10 Morale; regulars) assembled on a hill overlooking the KSK position, getting ready for a final assault on the infidels.

I commanded the four KSK operators (d10/d12) and the 30 ANA troops (d6/d8) mounted in four pickup trucks, two equipped with DShK machineguns.  Earle ran the eight-man Special Forces ODA (d10/d12), mounted in two uparmored HMMWVs.  Nick (of Little Nicky's Gameroom) commanded the 46 Taliban that covered the surrounding hills and manned buildings in the valley, which included a mix of hardcore Taliban (d6/d10), foreign fighters (d8/d12) and local Taliban that ran to the sound of the guns (d6/d8).  I should note here that the Enduring Freedom supplement for Force on Force provides a great rundown on the various forces in Afghanistan and theater-specific rules.

The ODA and their Afghan allies drive up the dry creekbed that serves as a makeshift road, under the watchful eye of several groups of Taliban waiting to open fire.

Turn 1:
The KSK went on overwatch while the relief convoy headed into the valley.  The Taliban commander wisely waited until the US/Afghan portion of the turn was over so as not to invite mass reactions from units with line of sight - reactions in the non-initiative phase of the turn are limited to units responding directly to fire against them.  Insurgent fire destroyed the lead ANA pickup and immobilized the rear vehicle.  A lucky US Fog of War card brought a General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) team on to the battlefield at the rear of the convoy.


The KSK recon team fell off of overwatch but nonetheless inflicted a number of casualties on two squads of hardcore Taliban and took none in return.  When a squad of foreign fighters opened up, however, all three of the KSK operators went down as casualties.  The foreign fighters took casualties of their own, however, and retreated back to cover.

Taliban casualties (minis laid on their sides) stack up as the KSK recon team proves its mettle against vastly superior numbers.

Turn 2:
The lead SF vehicle began to inflict casualties on the local Taliban manning nearby buildings, and the GPMG team and ANA that dismounted from the immobilized rear pickup wiped out the Taliban in the nearest building.  A pair of RPGs launched at the lead SF HMMWV, one of them hitting the mark and immobilizing it.  The Taliban foreign fighters peeled off to the sides of the valley, hoping to close with the infidels and their lackeys in a double-pincer move.

The US GPMG team and an ANA squad combine their fires to wipe out a squad of Taliban.

Turn 3:
The US forces retain the initiative.  Three of the four SF operators in the lead uparmored HMMWV dismount from their immobilized vehicle and, with their small arms and the .50 caliber in the turret, wipe the remaining hardcore Taliban squad from the hill overlooking the KSK position.

A whole squad of hardcore Taliban fall to very effective SF fire.

An ANA squad advanced between two buildings to counter one of the foreign fighter squads - the ANA won initiative and fired but failed to inflict a single casualty.  The foreign fighters returned fire and wiped out the ANA squad to a man.

My ANA don't fare well when they mix it up with some d8 Troop Quality foreign fighters.  As in, they all get shot.

Meanwhile, a combination of SF and ANA fires and a Fog of War-induced explosion take out all of the local Taliban in the two buildings furthest in to the valley.

Local Taliban fighters on these two buildings get wiped out.  Just above and to the right of the far building, the other squad of foreign fighter Taliban continue maneuvering to the fight.

Lead SF operators and an ANA squad in the thick of the fight.

 The other foreign fighter Taliban squad continued its march around the far side of the valley, hoping to intercept the trail SF vehicle and ANA as they advance to the KSK position.

Foreign fighter Taliban hug the side of this compound, waiting to fire on the SF HMMWV in frame as it advances to the KSK position in the foreground.

Turn 4:
By now a gang of local Taliban reinforcements had arrived, but none with leaders.  A mob of them - fifteen or so - sat at a Hotspot in a field, but failed to get into the fight.  While the US and ANA maintained the initiative, the Taliban foreign fighters waiting for the remaining mobile SF HMMWV to advance scored a hit and destroyed the vehicle.  All inside passed their casualty checks however, and an ANA element conducted a rapid move to exchange fire with the ambushing foreign fighters.  A Fog of War card gave the Taliban an off-board sniper team with insane firepower, which they promptly put to good effect by wiping out the US GPMG team.

Turn 5:
At this point, the US and ANA players conferred and agreed that the original game plan was dead - there were no functioning vehicles, and they wouldn't be able to extract the KSK casualties at all.  The priority became garrisoning the buildings in the valley and securing the KSK operators and holding out until help came, at the cost of scenario victory points.

Accordingly, the trail SF team moved to the KSK position and exchanged fire with the second to last group of foreign fighters, making casualties of all of those Taliban.

The trail SF team is visible in the copse of trees where the KSK team had sought cover.  The foreign fighters they smoked are obscured by the ... ahem... smoke of the burning building.  SF and ANA forces have moved in to the building at the left of the frame and are about to open fire on the foreign fighters just outside, a killing blow to the Taliban.

The lead SF team and the remaining ANA squad then advanced into a building and opened fire at the foreign fighters immediately on the far side, wiping out those Taliban.  This served as the coup de grace - the Taliban had no remaining leaders and no hope of overwhelming the US and ANA forces.  We called an end to the game.

The state of the battlefield at the end of the fight - vehicles burning, casualties everywhere.  Both sides content to hold their positions.

We didn't bother to tally up victory points - I had botched the US victory points and hadn't put in any for inflicting Taliban casualties - so as written, this was a clear victory for the Taliban on scenario points.

Closing Observations:
- The scenario victory points need to be amended to give some (not a lot) points to the US/ANA for inflicting casualties on the Taliban.
- The US/ANA commanders should have given up on a full evacuation of the KSK team from the battlefield sooner.  The casualties piled up quickly on both sides, and there was no way to get everyone out.  Better to seek a more modest goal when the initial plan fizzles.  As Mike Tyson said, "everyone's got a plan until they get punched in the face."
- The disparity between Troop Quality levels proved decisive throughout.  Whether it was SF operators wrecking Taliban, or foreign fighters wrecking the ANA, I've never seen a battle where so many elements were wiped out wholesale.  An interesting opportunity  for commanders able to pair up their strengths with their enemy's weaknesses.