ScrapYard Armory

The year is 3028 and Wolf’s Dragoons are caught in an epic struggle with House Kurita.  Anyone who has even a passing knowledge of the iconic Wolf’s Dragoons will at least have heard of Misery.  I had too, but until now I didn’t have a clear grasp of the scope of the conflict.  Time for a stroll down memory lane as Jason Schmetzer takes the reigns for this next chapter in the Historical Turning Point product line HTP: Misery.

Inconceivable

For such a short bit of fiction I found it more challenging than usual.  I found myself checking the dictionary a few times.  I needed to look up actinic, denuding, and one more.  That combined with the opening sequence of Japanese injections forced me to read it twice just to be sure.

That and the action sequence was fantastic.  The combat is metered and brutal.  It tells the reader in a few short paragraphs all they need to know.  Misery was a long battle fought hard by opposing forces unwilling to give way to the other.  The injustice at the end of the story sets a gloomy tone.  While I am not a Kurita sympathizer, I was forced to feel a certain amount of empathy for the main character in the story.  That empathy was short lived as we continue through the PDF.

Misery

The Misery overview section is long on geographical content and less on history, which I found disappointing.  I would have liked to see a bit more on military significance than the monotone descriptions of coast lines and agriculture.

In one sentence it mentions the Dragoons coming in the mid-3020’s and their “betrayal”.  I would have liked to see more on this considering the topic of the PDF.  I’m not going to hold it against them however.  It’s a lengthy PDF and the best parts are yet to come.  The bulk of the who-what-why details come later anyways in the Battle of Misery section.

Included for adventurous players are random map tables and a set of recommended optional rules from Tactical Operations.

Random Assignment Tables

We have seen RAT tables before in The Red Corsair and HTP: Galtor and I really enjoy seeing the ones here.  It helps solidify the feel of these era specific tracks.  Players can always use more RAT tables and here in these retrospective products, the writers are answering the call and making the product fun and useful.

The Battle of Misery

This section kicks off the official description of how it all came to pass and the outcome of major battles.  The first two paragraphs seem very pro-Dragoon.  Where before there was talk of Dragoon “betrayals” we now read of DCMS criminal acts, minion Warlords, and Dragoons not willing to back down.

The Dragoons are painted in a very positive light.  Makes me want to see them win.  Just a note, in the Credits section they do list a number of resources that the curious could use to fully flesh out the details of this and other conflicts involving the Dragoons.  Obviously, this is a Dragoon Turning Point first.  The Draconis Combine is second fiddle in this story.

The remainder of this section gives a great birds eye account of the entire battle.  Very good stuff and it’s a great appetizer for the tracks to come.

Commanders

New for this Turning Points is a small section devoted to the commanders of the two forces involved.  After a historical brief on each, they are given a RPG makeover in A Time of War style.

Combatants

The combatants section is the bread and butter Turning Points style with the obvious Historical Turning Points differences.   Unit experience continues the standard set in Galtor (which is good) but also continues the lack of a notes section we became so familiar with in the JTP PDFs (which is bad).  I miss the notes which offered short but valuable descriptions of unit history.

The Dragoons as you may expect are heavy on special abilities and random unit generation modifiers.  These units are the best of the breed and their abilities mean business.

Tracks

My favorite section by far is the tracks.  These are the successors to the FASA era scenario packs and continue the tradition of Chaos Campaigns started in Dawn of the Jihad.  We are treated to seven in this release, on the high end of quantity similar to HTP: Galtor.

Mr. Schmetzer continues to impress with his cunning linguistic skills… laager, geld, arroyo.  Way to keep us on our toes.

At first glance, the objectives for the Misery tracks look mundane.  However, once fully read through, I felt an appreciation for how the story was being told.  Each track is a faithful re-enactment of a battle described in brief earlier in the PDF. The tracks do a good job of tying into earlier sections of the PDF.

Complimenting the excellent storytelling are a varied but interesting mix of special rules, objectives and force deployments.  After reading through, each track had a particular flavor that I felt deserved a play through.  Those are the best kinds of tracks; the one I’m so intrigued by that I simply have to give it a try to see how it comes out.   Misery delivers nicely here and is one of the better series of tracks in the Turning Points series.  Top honors still go to Galtor which blew the roof off my expectations.  Still, for one off scenarios or an extended campaign, players are going to find something to like in Misery.

Record Sheets

We have three new custom variants to play with on Misery, two DCMS and one Dragoon.

With only 3025 era technology to play with one shouldn’t expect drastically different designs with oodles of new equipment.  Despite the limitations though, the modifications should lead to vastly different play styles.

Ostroc Michi shakes up it’s movement profile for better armor and weapons loadout while attempting to keep mobility unchanged with the addition of jump jets.  A very interesting change that may fare far better in battle than a standard chassis depending on the terrain involved.  Oh by the way, the Ostroc uses the old unseen artwork!  Nice touch Catalyst!

Stalker Jagawen changes its weapons loadout for a SRM heavy configuration.  This creates a ‘Mech that is better suited for close in combat than the original.  I am a bit more scared of this design, especially in the frigid conditions on Misery that can all but nullify long range combat effectiveness.

Atlas Danielle follows the theme set by the Stalker above and modifies the weapons for a more close combat oriented solution.  As if a 3025 Atlas wasn’t scary enough.

In the End

Misery is another welcome addition to the Turning Point PDF family and is well delivered.  Already I am thinking about playing out a few of these battles with friends and if time allows, follow an entire campaign around the exploits of the Dragoons as they trounce the DCMS.  I’ve heard of Misery plenty of times before and am glad to have gotten a chance to learn more through this PDF.