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Well I was getting tired of the hum drum boring holding objectives for VP scenarios.
People just seemed to grab one and sit on it barely making any effort to take any others.... more of half hearted efforts to just deny others their objectives.
So on the fly it hit me. Expirations. We've played this one out.... and it's brilliant! Some pics with descriptions are in my gallery as to the overall action of how the game played out.
It was a three way fight on an apocalyptic scale. To put things into perspective we are battling it out on a 5' x 8' table. The army sizes I haven't fully pegged down to a number given I just obtained my of the army books.... but my total Red Blok army at the ready was over 15000 points with what I'm pretty sure will be an even larger Therian pointed army and a slightly less sized Karman army.
Here are the basics. 5 objectives are laid out on the field roughly evenly dispersed. There were 4 regular objects (represented by star wars "trash can" droids action figures I had cut the legs off of) and 1 major objective (another star wars action figure prop a computer terminal) in roughly the center of the board.
All the objectives were given a stack of 5 VP tokens (1 VP per token value...no exchange rate). For all objective the controller (uncontested by any enemy unit ) received one of the objectives VP token at the end of a complete round. Objectives could be controlled only with infantry but contested with AFVs. When the tokens for an objective ran out the controller would not receive any more from that objective. Objectives were also destructible terrain with 4 damage points and a armor of 14. The 5th main objective had special VP tokens as the second last and last token in its token pile. On drawing the second last token the drawer’s opponents would lose 2 VP tokens they had. On the drawing of the last token of the main objective the other 4 objectives would be destroyed denying any further VP tokens.
On a side note anyone who looks up the pics… the trees (or p**** pops as the guys call’m) are destructale terrain as well. They do not lock line of sight for firing however they act as a unit in the line of fire so hits are scored against them first. They have a 1 hit point value with an armor of 10. Yes people are mowing down trees to get to enemy units. So have been felled by mortars and some via flamers. It’s added an interesting angle.
Deployment was 4 units/squads (any type you wished) with everything else in your army in reserved...there was a LOT reserved. Reserves were called in at the end of every round by rolling three dice. Initially on a roll of 5-6 you would get a re-enforcement to enter a controlled deployment zone. Further re-enforcements could be called in by taking a turn action and spending 5 LP to roll a die which on a 5-6 was a successful re-enforcement and a unit entered and acted. If you failed the re-enforcement roll you essentially missed your turn. Adding LP to your calling price increased your chances by lowering your die roll need by 1 per LP. So if you paid 9 LP you automatically got a re-enforcement.
We play by a ratically different but simple set of house rules that use LP rather than pre-set card ordering to determine turns in alternating order.....too long a story...but it's a much more dynamic system then the rock paper scissors one via the card order.
The table was sectioned off into 6 zones. At the start we rolled die to determine a zone of deployment each zone of the board represented by a number. To control a zone and therefore allow you to drop re-enforcements into it you had to have a controlling amount of infantry in the zone or be the sole occupier of the zone. AFVs did not count as controlling a zone.
Basically on the scale we are playing this is not a quick and dirty game..... in fact we're not done. Having the benefit of a game room I can lock the cat out of allows us to continue until we grow tired of the game or it ends. But thus far it certainly has given the desired effect of forcing maneuver.
So far things have gone in my (the Red Bloks) favor. We drew a objective light sector but luckily away from the other armies. The Therians and Karamans have been fighting what can only be described as the Battle of Kursk over 4 of the six sectors of the battlefield while I move slowly (as always with the Snail Bok) to cover 2 sectors. In holding one objective I've managed to squeeze out 2 VP from a regular objective while the Morphs and Monkeys cull each other mercilessly. The Monkeys managed to squeeze out a VP from a regular objective from the madness and chaos. However they have eaten down the Therains and will wipe them out in good order next round given the Therians failed to obtain re-enforcements this round. With this the Karmans are sure to turn against my Blok with full furry.... and seeing what they did to the Therains it’s not going to be pretty. As it stands the Monkey re-enforcements landed on the main objective and look like they will hold it. My only hope is that I've managed to bring enough units into the fray to make a suicide push to deny them that objective
.....whatever the cost.
.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Please forgive all the spelling mistakes. It seems whole letters have vaporized in ZZ fire. THink of it as someone biligual in Hadesian trying to write in Avain.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2009/09/24 05:30:56
I have to admit that a Queue of points per objective is cool idea. Although your rule of AFV's can't capture but only contest kinda screws some factions on their special rule.
My group will try out the Point Queue. That's a nifty idea.
As I was growing up I was told I could be anything I wanted.... so I became an donkey-cave.
Ya we're still working out the bugs.... So far everyone seems to field AFVs up front in a smash a hold type manuver... and then have there infantry in reserve. I wanted only infantry to hold and contest ground and objectives but there was just too much wimpering.....
Ya destructible terrain is VERY useful particularly if they are the objectives.
We don't really like to limit anything... we like to play on the realistic bases that if it's avalible... an army would call on it in need.
But we decided to end that engagement as it turned out the Therian player couldn't make it and we had a new player coming in as UNA. So we called it a Red Blok victory... all be it a hollow one.
So we played out the same scenario on the same board set up... to save time. This time the UNA entered where the Therians did and rather dealing with the Monkey threat they attacked me. Newbie... didn't realize the threat factor the Monkeys posed. But he downed 3 of my kolossus suits (out of 7) that were moving on the closest objective to me. But I struck back knowing the way this was stating we were both doomed to monkey domination if not working together. I managed to kill off his Tac Arm squad that hit me (4 steel tacs and 3 Jam Tacs) with Urod and her 2 Hussar escorts.
The first turn of the Monkeys taught the newb a valuable lesson as his 12 man steel trooper squad and fire toad squad were toasted in short order. Served. getting a lucky break on the re-enforcement roll the UNA managed to bring in 3 re-enforcements.. and this time the newb brought heavy hitters for revenge.
By this time I've firmly convinced him the Monkeys had to be obtained and human kinds greater good was at stake. I moved into scoring range without danger and decided the best strategy was to deny all the other objectives to the monkeys by destroying them.
The UNA no on side did there best to hold off the Monkeys but much to the same fate as the Therians they were mopped up... but not without putting up an impressive show. The UNA fought valiantly and did there best to knock out the objectives thus denying them to the monkeys. They fell just short however.
The Red Blok not just sitting by and watching this time managed from a distance (LOVE those Hussars and Urod... so gotta get more Hussars) to destroy the Primary (major) objective just in time to prevent the Monkeys control. I was also able to come so close to denying a second objective that I was actually in sight of taking.
The UNA at this time had managed to tie up the Monkeys SICK AFV squad with 2 guru buggies and a and a second squad with a king mammoth and a diamond buggy. There loses were terrible.... 2 M8 cobras, a defender snake, and 2 cornel stark AFV (one one had the cornel) along with another Steel Tac and Jammer Tac squad. The monkeys, took nothing.
But thanks to this valiant effort… many monkeys died at the hands of the Red blok. First blood fell when a karaman easy trike didn’t quiet pay attention to cover and again my Hussar Assassins on over watch took’m out. “we’ve got the shot”.
The devastating next few turns for monkey kind was a successful call for re-enforcements which brought old dutchy on the board…… I just hope she forgives me for all the smack talk I gave her… because she is gold in my book now. She runs up and owns 2 squads which hoped to control the center objective…. Now dust from my earlier scorched earth policy. 24 Monkeys. Gone. But wait she’s now about to get hit by the Easy Trike squad . But salvation. To position themselves the trike trigger overwatch and again forget line of sight in the Forrest is a dicey thing to play at. Hussar fire wipes another trike out. Dotchy is saved. And low and behold gets re-activated. (remember we play with leadership points and commands…long story) She moves up again and rather then finish off the trikes liquefies another monkey inf squad.
The red Blok are in a clearly dominate position….. but alas time and tide are not on the collectives side. With the monkey heavies freed from UNA encumbrance they turn on our sole objective and take aim with scorched earth revenge on their minds. Nearly destroying it. The half beaten Kolossus unit hold the objective valiantly throw themselves in front of the objective to sacrifice themselves for the collective and Avanity. But it was not to be.
Losing the only objective and having secured only 2 VP to the Monkeys surely 3VP next turn without effort meant even the Collective knew when blood would be uselessly drained.
