HHH Modern Warfare Testing Session 1

I've been busy with creating my own set of rules that bridge the gap between a pure skirmish and mass combat, something that could handle a platoon or so of regular troops, with the possibility of mixing in character (PC) heroes and vehicles or other heavy-hitters.  Tentatively named Heroes, Heavies, and Hordes, my system uses traditional d4-d20 numerical progression.  I've used these rules to play Modern Warfare:  Alien Invasion, Chapters 1 and 2, but I'm still working out the kinks.

I started my first play-test with just the 'hordes' portion of the rules test, trying out the conventional ground combat to ensure that the basics work in this system before adding anything else.  Before I can add superpowered characters, psionic powers, and suits of power armor to the mix, I need to make sure that it can handle modern ground combat.

For the scenario, two squads of US Army troops (total 18 soldiers) will square off against six insurgent sections of seven men each, with the goal of rescuing a downed pilot stuck in an insurgent-controlled area.  Here's the layout:

 

 US Army fire teams on either side of both of the roads.

 Downed pilot in need of rescue.

 Looking down the road on the right...

 ...and the left.

 An early round of fire knocks out most of an insurgent cell and chases the surviving two fighters out the back of the building

 

Turn 2:

 US fire team at bottom lands effective fire on the insurgent cell at top center of frame as US forces trade fire, but don't advance very far.



Turn 3:

 Insurgent cell fires on US fire team making a break across some open ground, at far end of shot.  They failed to connect and the Americans capitalized on poor insurgent marksmanship.

 Turn 4:

 Americans in building at left take casualties while dishing out some fire on the insurgents at right.  The green stress markers reduce unit efficiency as they accumulate in the turn.  The orange markers represent wounded troops, the red markers dead ones.

 Turn 5:

Same firefight, reverse angle - US fire team on right, insurgents on left.  The first aid skills of the US troops keeps their casualties in the fight, even if wounded.  The insurgent cell isn't faring as well.

 Same fight, insurgents getting wiped out.

 The insurgents closest to the downed pilot take casualties in a long-range exchange of fire.

 Turn 6:

 The same insurgent cell miraculously administers effective first aid and gets back up to fighting strength.

...and then a lucky grenade launcher shot lands inside the building and wipes them out.

Of the last two insurgents, one is killed by American fire, and the other is no match for the mass of US firepower on the board.

 

 

Lessons learned:

1.  I need to settle on a morale system.  As the game went on, I tinkered with different ideas about how to execute it.  The insurgent morale needs to be lowered for factions without leaders.  Leaders will add both initiative and morale bonuses to insurgent cells, just as they do to conventional units, but the insurgents will have lower baseline statistics and need leaders to try to keep up with conventional troops.

 

2.  I need to finalize my first aid system.  Still playing with how to handle this.

 

3.  Optics need to cost more.  Right now, rifles have 24"/48"/96" ranges, and the effect of all optics - reflex or magnified - is to double range.  This makes optic-equipped rifles deadly in the hands of conventional troops with adequate marksmanship training, and gives them a marked advantage over the insurgents.  An overwhelming advantage, almost.  At no point did the insurgents ever have much of a fighting chance after the bullets started flying.

 

4.  Grenade launchers need to cost more.  In Force on Force, they just add another die of firepower.  When you give them a blast radius, a lucky shot can be a game changer as it was at the end of this play test.

 

Overall, not a bad test of the developing rules, but I've got a ways to go.



Star Wars: Legion Test Play

Went to my friendly local gaming store with the boys recently to check out Star Wars:  Legion.  Here's my brief review based on a test play recreating the Battle of Endor.  The Empire and the Rebel Alliance clash over control of the bunker housing the new Death Star's field generator.

The forces:
- The Empire had two fire teams' worth of storm troopers, a three-vehicle unit of speeder bikes, and Darth Vader.
- The Rebel Alliance had two fire teams' worth of troopers, an open-topped mini-walker (like an AT-ST, but smaller), and Luke Skywalker.

The two sides seek cover and exchange fire.  The speeder bike trio, partially obscured by the tree trunk at left, advances on the Rebel flank.



The Rebel troops exchange fire with the storm troopers.

The speeder bike trio has already been reduced by Rebel fire, and then Skywalker jumps out and cuts down the remaining bike.

Skywalker seizes the initiative and jumps into melee combat with the nearest storm trooper unit, wiping them out.  You can see that the storm trooper team to the right of Vader has taken casualties from accurate Rebel fire.





Skywalker, however, proved no match for dear old dad.  Vader closed the distance and promptly cut Luke down.

Unfortunately for Vader, the rest of the Empire force has been destroyed by the combined weight of Rebel fire.  Now he has to brave the whole weight of Rebel blasters while closing the distance with the Rebel line.

Vader couldn't close the distance in time.  He almost made it, but a lucky streak from the Rebel firing line brought him down.

 

A quick run-down of my impressions:

- Unit activation runs on different command schemes that let a different type and number of units activate, and in different priority.  I generally liked it, and prefer it to 40k's system.
- The proprietary dice system is apparently a carryover concept from the X-Wing system.  It took a minute to get used to, but I thought it worked well from what I saw.

- The unit types played true to Star Wars orthodoxy.  Vader proved slow moving but a wrecking ball in melee combat.  Luke was more agile and still formidable, but unable to go toe-to-toe with his old man.  Rebels outshoot storm troopers but don't have the same armor and, hence, ability to soak up damage.

- I didn't get a chance to really ring out the possibilities that the vehicles might offer.  The small-ish board meant that the speed and flanking possibility of the speeder bikes weren't really in play.  And they proved surprisingly fragile in the face of Rebel fire.
- I'm not a fan of the scale of the miniatures.  The existing Star Wars miniatures used in the 28mm-ish Imperial Assault are much smaller than the Legion line.  For perspective, I'm of the mind that anything bigger than 20 or 25mm is ridiculous for anything primarily involving gunfire, and the 32mm/heroic scale figures in Legion go well beyond that.  I readily admit that they aren't as complex as 40k minis to assemble, and paint up quite beautifully.  I'm just not sold on the size, and was told that the AT-ST model will be as big as 7-11 Big Gulp cup.

Bottom Line:  While enjoyable and more nuanced than some other sci-fi fire team-based games, I personally didn't care for the large scale of the miniatures.  I don't plan to invest in the system, but won't be opposed to my boys getting in to it.