The latest installment of the Historical Turning Points, Antallos, has arrived and it promises to break new ground by bringing in aerospace to the mix of combined arms action. The well known Geoff Swift is at the helm for this installment. I am very anxious to dive into this PDF to see how aerospace is folded into the Chaos Campaign mix.
Best Laid Plans
In the Civil War era the opportunistic Snow Ravens are not your stereotypical honor driven fundamentalists of the original invasion. For an interesting change, it is not as clear who is the bad guy in this short fiction. The action is fast paced and provides an excellent introduction to the tone of the PDF. Pirate or Clan? Who will you be rooting for?
Antallos
Antallos is a water poor planet plagued by a persistent pirate influence. Scarred and forgotten by the Succession Wars it seemed only natural that pirates would be quick to fill the power vacuum.
This section gives a quick overview of the history of the planet while providing background information on the current state of the densely populated but sparely located cities. A selection of recommended mapsheets and optional rules plucked from Tactical Operations rounds out the section.
All of this is standard fare for the Turning Points series. However, I would like to mention that I find the background of Antallos to be especially inviting for campaigns and adventures. While never a front line planet in the succession wars, there has been no end to conflict which can be used as a backdrop for further adventures on or around the planet.
The Cleansing of Antallos
The Cleansing of Antallos picks up the history of the planet beginning in 3067 with the Snow Ravens looking to solidify their alliance with the Outworlds.
Soon after the Ravens land forces on planet a small but technologically advanced Word of Blake force joins the fray. Throughout the battle, Aerospace forces remained a significant participant (or target) of attacks.
Whether you are a fan of the Clans, the pirates, or the Word of Blake there is a little something for everyone in this battle.
Random Assignment Tables
RAT tables are provided for Periphery, Snow Ravens and Word of Blake. The very notable new item is Aerospace fighters for each faction. These will come into play in the tracks section and is very exciting to see.
A short vehicle RAT is provided for the periphery and Word of Blake to account for conventional forces used in specific battles.
Commanders
The commander of the Snow Ravens and the Pirate force are each given a brief bio and relevant RPG stats. However, there was no Word of Blake commander; potentially because there was no significant leader to speak of. Or perhaps they were running long on the page count.
Both commanders have a short yet detailed bio with added A Time of War stats. Not a complete record sheet but rather a quick set of basic skills/traits to be used as a baseline to create a full character if needed by an ambitious game master.
Combatants
Each combatant is provided a short set of notes, unit logo, and the usual stats we have come to expect from a Turning Points PDF. The unit abilities were well on the safe side of things and rarely strayed from situational initiative/piloting/gunnery bonuses or penalties.
The notable exceptions come from the Word of Blake. There is a word of blake special ability involving suicide fusion engine explosions. Whats not to like about that?
There is also a surprise entry by the Clan Dark Caste but it still feels like the section as a whole is somewhat disappointing.
Tracks
Eight warchest tracks are presented in Antallos, on par with earlier Turning Points releases.
Welcome to the first Quick Strike / BattleForce centric Turning Point PDF. Seriously, the force sizes recommended in the tracks are enormous. The force descriptions regularly reference cluster or regiment size forces. Turn Out the Dark recommends players use the Dark Caste’s entire force of 48 OmniMechs. These are potentially huge battles.
Throughout the tracks there is also a strong campaign theme. Tracks frequently make use of “surviving” units from prior tracks. While playable as individual scenarios it seems the authors intended a much larger connected campaign. Imagine you are stating with the entire TO&E of the combatants involved and slowly commit them to action, rolling in survivors into new battles as the campaign wears on.
Aerospace forces make frequent appearances in ground support operations while taking center stage in two space battles.
The available objectives are on a whole kept rather ordinary (kill the other guy). What keeps the tracks from seeming stale are the interesting use of terrain features (ammo dumps, crowded urban) and special rules (pirates trying to make off with loot while fighting, dropship capture). I regularly harp on uninspired objectives and optional bonuses but Antallos manages to get away with it by adding something special to each track.
There are some very interesting tracks to be played. Turn Out the Dark, one of the two space tracks, has multiple competing pirate slots that would allow for a lot of different people to play in the game. Maybe a great convention track? While you are not directly competing with the other pirate players, only a handful of you are destined to make it away from the pursuing Ravens. I’m sure that will result in some interesting decisions and either some noble sacrifices or nefarious backstabbing.
Record Sheets
Only a single record sheet is provided and it is of a dropship used in one of the space missions. This is an uncharacteristically low number of record sheets for the Turning Points series. Being an aerospace centric release I would have liked to see at least one custom aerospace fighter. Certainly the pirate force would have had customized ‘Mechs within their ranks. This section ends up being a letdown.
Summary
Antallos is full of hits and misses. The product as a whole fits between the best and the worst of the Turning Points series. If you are a fan of BattleForce or Quickstrike, you will find a lot of great scenarios to play. The tracks are a good mix of interesting situations that make up for otherwise lackluster objectives. The huge recommended force sizes and campaign undertones will be a boon to some and a turn-off for others.
Antallos is very much worth the $5 entry fee. There is a great story inside but it may not fit into your must have list right this instant. Your mileage may vary.
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