An elite strike force loyal to Devlin Stone has managed to infiltrate the Word of Blake Space Defense System (SDS) protecting the Devils Tower Castle Brian. Their mission is to cripple the SDS by any means necessary. Will they be able to locate the Command and Control and knock it out in time? Or will the WoB defenders rule the day?
This game was played at Historicon 2011 and uses the A Time of War combat system. Several modifications are in effect as well as redesigned record sheets more suitable for skirmish level infantry combat.
Miniatures are a mix from MERCS and Iron Wind Metals. Terrain used is from World Works Games and was painfully constructed by Saxywolf and myself. We used their TerrainLinx system to build the two level SDS. I plan on having a full post describing the construction of the terrain later on.
Delvin Stone Loyalists
- Heavy Weapons, MG
- Heavy Weapons, Dual SMGs
- Heavy Weapons, Man Pack Flamer
- Assault Leader, Rifle
- Assault Leader, SMG, Vibroblade
- Soldier, Rifle
- Soldier, SMG
- Assassin, SMG, Vibrodaggar
Word of Blake Security Detail
- Manei Domini Leader, Rifle and Vibroblade, Full Body Myomer
- Manei Domini Assassin, Pistol, Vibrodaggar
- Security Guard Captains, Rifles
- Lots and lots of Redshirts, Pistol, Rifle
Prototype Record Sheets
We used a new record sheet for this game and I’m glad to share a few examples with you. I’m not 100% happy with the result thus far but it showed a lot of promise during the game. A few more adjustments and it will be ready for prime time.
Breaking In
Our adventure begins with the group of loyalists already inside the SDS. A compromised set of security codes helped them gain access. Standing in the opening hallway they are undetected… for now.
The main door towards the elevators to the lower level is blocked by a hardened security door. The security code they have doesn’t work. The team has to find another way through.
Instead of splitting up, the team decided to stick together and makes a right turn into what appears to be a barracks or living area.
The Barracks
The team fans out and attempts to sneak into position. As luck would have it, the Assassin is the first to fail a stealth skill check and alerts a nearby guard of their presence. The hapless guard peeks out his door and gets a bullet through the eyes for his trouble from one of the Soldiers in the back of the room.
The Soldier did not have a silenced weapon though and all the rest of the guards in the room go on alert and draw weapons.
As the guards pile out of their comfortable quarters, they are gunned down by numerous concentrated volleys from the Loyalists. The team fans out and secures each room in sequence leaving no witnesses. The team recovers fatigue, reloads and positions themselves to advance through an adjoining long hallway.
Corridor A
Two guards are chatting about halfway down the hall. The assassin takes a quick peek to setup a shot but again fumbles his Stealth check and the two guards turn to attack. One fires away while the other runs backwards and around a corner for better cover. The guard that stands and shoots is quickly gunned down and the team moves up to take positions at the open door.
A strong perception check alerts even more guards in the room on the opposite side of the hallway. Five more guards rush into the fight and take cover in the small L section of the hallway out of sight for now.
The assault team moves into the hallway, forsaking cover to lay down a wall of suppression fire at the corner of the hallway. Two guards test their luck and move for a shot but win the bullet catching contest.
The Loyalist assault leader readies a grenade and rushes up to the corner after suppression fire dies down. A quick reflexed guard at the corner sneaks off a double shot and hits twice. The point blank shots rip through the Assault Leader’s armor and kills him. And then there were seven.
The Loyalists take no chances now and spray the area with suppression fire again. As one of the guards readies a grenade of his own the team seizes the initiative and overtakes their position gunning down everyone in their way.
Corridor B
Meanwhile in the other attached hallway a set of guards lie in wait alerted by the noise of gunfire close by. As the team attempts to move in, they are greeted by several volleys of suppression fire. As one guard lays down cover the other edges closer for a potential kill shot next turn.
Sensing the danger, the Heavy Weapons wades into the suppression fire, taking a hit in the process, but manages to stay on his feet (thank you pain resistance…) long enough to shoot up the near guard. The assassin and dual wielding Heavy Weapons back him up and pummels the other guard with longer ranged gun fire.
Searching the Area
With the hallways clear, the team once again reloads and restores fatigue. The room at the end of Corridor A appears to be an armory of sorts. There are plenty of HE and AP mini grenades, TK Assault Rifles and plenty of associated ammo that won’t fit most of the team’s weapons.
The other hallway is a security room. The assassin goes to work and unlocks the video feed to all of the security cameras. Green markers are placed on the map to represent guards that are not yet alerted. The next task is to disable the lock on the hardened door blocking their way to the elevators. The Assassin fumbles his skill check and the door remains stubbornly locked.
Moving Back
The security and armory are dead ends so the team moves back to the main entrance. As they make it to the door a frustrated guard opens the security door to take a pot shot at the incoming team. His shots miss and the Assault Leader lays down suppression fire wounding the closest guard but failing to hit a guard further behind.
More guards from an adjacent room begin to threaten as they take up positions behind their closed door. The team is caught in a tricky balancing act trying to cover two directions at once! Overlapping suppression fire and overwatch actions do the work and prevent the guards from overwhelming them. As the rest of the team moves into position the pressure subsides as more guns in the area make it easier to divide up tasks. With the security door unexpectedly open, the team can push towards their objective but not without coving their flank from potential attacks from alerted guards in unexplored rooms.
Moving On
With their teammates covering the rear the two Heavy Weapons shuffle down the main corridor spewing lead. The guards manage to sneak a shot onto the MG Heavy who shrugs off the damage and mows them down to the last man.
With the way clear the team peels off the rear guard one by one and moves into the large center room which happens to be an infirmary. After numerous perception checks by almost all members of the team they end up finding less than useful supplies.
The Assassin takes the lead now and makes his stealth check turning the corner on a pair of guards. With the drop on them both he primes a grenade and gently rolls it between their feet. BOOM!!! No more guards. The team gains access to the elevators and pushes the button to go down.
Second Level
As the elevator door opens the MG Heavy Weapons unloads a fierce volley into two unwitting guards who dodge most of the long range shots and trade bullets with the team for a turn before being done in.
The team moves aggressively down the long hallways and use copious amounts of suppression fire to clear the way. There are two doors to the SDS control room. The team splits up to cover both doors while the guards inside scurry around to take positions to ambush. The players then notice a curious looking barrel of potentially volitile contents. With two teammates on overwatch covering the door they roll the barrel into place in front of the left door.
After taking cover, they pull the pin on a grenade and toss it on the barrel. The resulting explosion kills two guards outright and blasts the door into bits. On cue, the team at the other door burst through and lay down cover fire. The hapless guards can do nothing but flail about and get shot up.
Easy Street
As the team makes entry the door to the center of the SDS flashes open and a Security Guard Captain pumps a burst into the chest of the Dual SMG Heavy Weapons. Another Captain peeks out the other door and sprays a suppression fire action into the tightly grouped Loyalist squad approaching from the right door.
The Flamer and MG Heavy Weapons both take hits as well as the Soldier. The Soldier is KO’d, the Flamer starts to bleed from a wound and the MG can’t keep his footing and falls to the floor.
Return fire from the Dual Wielding Heavy knocks down and bleeds one of the Captains. The Manei Domini Assassin moves into the fray from the doorway but misses both of his shots. The Loyalist Assassin returns the favor and hits solidly, causing a fortunate KO.
The Manei Domini leader now moves into view and lays down another pattern of suppression fire covering the team coming from the left door. Every one of the Loyalist Assault Squad is now inside a suppression fire area of effect and cannot act without first potentially getting shot up!
The Dual Heavy Weapons tries to break the suppression fire but takes more wounds in the process and now takes a stun as his Pain Resistance has reached it’s limit.
In a desperate act the Soldier near the left door primes a grenade and chucks it wildly at the Manei Domini Leader. The throw is awful and manages to bounce off a wall and BACK into the Loyalist squad. The explosion kills the Assassin, mortally wounds the Heavy Weapons and mildly damages the Soldier who threw it. Lesson learned, try to throw grenades from the FRONT of a group of friendlies and never from BEHIND them.
Redemption
Things are looking grim when the Man-Pack Flamer Heavy Weapons avoids the numerous suppression fire rounds and pours plasma onto the Manei Domini and the Security Captain. The Captain is put out of commission while the MD Leader is stunned and bleeding. The suppression fire trap is broken and the remaining Soldier, Assault Leader, and Flamer Heavy Weapons move in to finish off the wounded Word of Blake troops.
With the Word of Blake forces defeated, the remaining Loyalist force takes control of the SDS and makes contact with the anxious leadership topside. The SDS is down and the invasion can proceed!
Posted under
After Action Report
These are the default settings and are fine for a local thumb drive portable app. If you ever attempt to use MercRoster on a real webserver, you will need to change your mysql password to something a bit more secure. You can find password settings in the Privileges Tab in PhpMyAdmin.
