Star Wars Game Day

Had a great Star Wars Game Day with my brother Paul on Saturday.    We Started off with the board game Assult on Hoth.  Paul played the Rebellion Ground Forces, his son, my nephew, Aaron played the Snowspeeders, and I was the Imperial Commander.  The game was great fun.  I managed to get one AT-AT down to the shield generator, but the fifth Transport got away before I was able to fire on it.

Our game played very similar to the events in the movie. Aaron did get reinforcement snowpeeders right at the very beginning which was very useful.  Luke was of little use, his force enhanced rolls were flops. Card driven unit activation makes the games suspenseful, and you just never know when those transports are going to get away.

Next my brother and I played Star Wars Flying Lead.  We played a Gunfight at the Dewback Corral scenario.  There was a small portion of Mos Eisley set up complete with a pen of Dewbacks.  The forces of Jabba the Hutt set out to confront some hired hands of rival crime boss Lady Valarian.

Jabba's goons included a couple of Gammoreans, and a couple of his skiff guards and had the edge in close combat weapons.  One skiff guard held off a flanking move by taking out a couple of foes who moved around behind a building on the edge of the battle.  We used a special rule Gunfighter, which id the firing portion of Combat Fiend.   We let Combat Fiend apply to hand to hand and Gunfighter does the same for ranged attacks.

I had a couple of Gran who did well and managed to shoot up Ephant Mon and whittle down his Tough.  He ended up being Shaken and had problems trying to recover.  One of my spaceport scum was able to jump out and put him out of his misery.  Things went downhill for Jabba's men from there.  Someone will have to report the failure to The Great one.  That someone will most likely end up as Rancor chow.

I didn't get many pictures but will try to cobble together a battle report and post it soon.

Death Star in a day....sort of

I decided to make some modular terrain scaled for action figures.  I wanted an Imperial Base type terrain that I could use for installations, starship interiors etc...  I found some black photo boxes at Michael's and then printed out a bunch of decals on 8.5x11 shipping labels and stuck them to the boxes.

I got the background from diorama sites like Neinnumbs and Stormtrooper Eric's websites and the old google search.    the whole thing is modular and I used Terraclips to support the walls a little better.  I raided my bit container and made a haul at the dollar store, for consoles and stuff.  The round control stations are plumbing parts.  Really easy and one of my favorites.

I completed the whole thing in just over a day.  I ran out of printer ink, and then decided to add some additional consoles.  I ended up painting the cannon from my old 1977 Death Star Playset.  I want to try adding a seat to the cannon platform.

I have a game set up and will get a battle report up soon.  I am using Flying Lead with some modifications.   A group of Rebels is trying to disable the laser cannon on a orbital defense platform and disrupt communications with the planet surface so an attack can be made by ground forces.

I am hoping to play this weekend.  Lately I have been writing papers and doing projects for school.  But all work and no play can't go on forever.

Complications

I wanted to work on giving the Flying Lead/Flashing Steel Star Wars adaptation a couple of play tests.  I decided to focus on trying out a little more of the lightsaber combat.  Here is a synopsis of what went down.  Just for background a Jedi and a padawan had located a holocron and were instructed to rendezvous with a clone pilot in the area.  They are intercepted along the way and a lightsaber duel breaks out.

Game went went well my son was visiting from Austin and we played  and discussed the game.  We liked the way that the swashbuckling rules came into play.  The Dark Jedi was using lightsaber form VII and so had the murderous ability.  We took it that when she caused a fallen result against the Jedi that she could attack again.  That seemed the logical interpretation of the rule.  

I was still not completely happy with where I stand on vehicle weapons and some other weapons at the moment.  I am going to tweak the weapon chart a bit before I try out an armored vehicle on armored vehicle scenario.  I am looking forward to getting things where I want them for Tacticon in Denver this year.  

Knights Errant

Below is a battle report for a game using the adaptation for Flying Lead for the Star Wars universe.  I am still tinkering with the rules and will discuss a few points after the battle report.

Overall I was quite pleased with the game.  There were a couple of things I would consider changing.  I felt like the Padawan was perhaps too low in quality, and should perhaps have been Quality 3 Combat 2,     she did fail a few activations, and should perform better than your average Joe.

The droideka was also problematic.  Sprinter is not what I am looking for here, a double move only once per game is not it.  I think a change to Wheel formation and then long move is ok.  An action to change from wheeled to unlimbered and back and an action to activate shields and short move when unlimbered is good.

Also I was not happy with the armament on the droideka.  In the movies the shots were blocked by the Jedi, and the shields were nearly impenetrable.  I differentiate Blaster Cannons and Laser Cannons, the first being used as HE weapons and the latter as AT weapons as in the Flying Lead rules.

There is no deflecting the Blast (HE) shot, so this seemed troublesome.  I think I would stat the weapon as Medium Repeating Blasters Twin Linked.

 I give a +1 to weapons that are twin linked.  

The shield rules which I used the Force Field rule from MDRG, seemed a little underpowered.  I would change the roll fro 5+ to 3+ to better reflect the invulnerability of the shields.  Only against infantry type weapons and Blasts (HE)  no use against Laser Cannon (AT) fire.

Coming soon... A lightsaber duel and some armored vehicle combat!

Star Wars Flying Lead

I have had a new interest in using Flying Lead as the basis with rules added in from other games such as Mutants and Death Ray Guns and Flashing Steel as well as some from the Song of Blades and Heroes series.  I came up with some ideas for using Jedi and the Force, all my previous games had been Rebels vs Empire or Empire vs Pirates.  So I wanted to expand what I could do a little.

Here is a sample of what I came up with for some rules for Jedi.

The Jedi Knights

The Guardians of Peace and Justice of the Old Republic.  A big part of a Star Wars setting.  They were among the greatest warriors in the galaxy and trained from a very young age.  These are very powerful characters.

There are three levels of Jedi for gaming purposes.  

Jedi Padawans, Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters

They all have the following abilities and special rules:

All have the Acrobat special rule. 

All have the Lightsaber Combat special ability

All have The Force special rule

All have Jedi Deflection when shot at 

Jedi Knights also have mastered one of the seven forms of lightsaber combat

Jedi Masters will have mastered two forms of lightsaber combat.

Some Jedi Knights and most Jedi Masers will have the Hero special rule.

The seven forms of Lightsaber combat are:

Form I Shii-Cho, The Way of the Saarlac.  This form involves broad sweeps and strikes in is good against multiple opponents.  In game terms the Jedi will have the special rule Multiple Foes.

Form II Makashi, The Way of the Ysalamiri.  This form has more controlled cuts and thrusts than Form I and is more of a fencing style.  The Jedi will have the Special Rule Panache.  Using Swashbuckling rolls to befuddle opponents.

Form III Soresu, The Way of the Mynock.  This form is very defensive especially against blasters.  This gives the Jedi the Great Defense Special Rule.

Form IV Ataru, The Way of the Hawkbat.  This form relies on acrobatics and constant movement.  It allows the character to use the Running Blow Special Rule.

Form V Shien/Djem So, The Way of the Krayt Dragon.  This form relies on steady attacks forcing an opening to strike.  It gives the Jedi the Riposte Special Rule

Form VI Niman/Jar’Kai, The Way of the Rancor.  This form is a mix of other forms and incorporates using the force to pull opponents off balance and into the path of the lightsaber.  This is also the form used to wield two lightsabers.   In game terms it will give either the Combat Fiend or Main Gauche ability or both if taken twice.

Form VII Juyo/Vaapad, The Way of the Vornskr.  This is a very aggressive style and runs along the edge of the dark side.  It gives the special rule Murderous. (see Dark Side Points below) 

The Lightsaber Combat ability reflects the training and skill in the use of the lightsaber or the weapons used against lightsaber wielding foes, for example the IG-100 MagnaGuards.  Also Characters like Asajj Ventress and General Grievous use Lightsaber Combat, but are not Jedi.

Lightsaber Combat 

This rule is an adaptation of the Swashbuckling Rule in Flashing Steel. 

Examples would be:

• Using The force to throw small objects at an opponent, or throwing things by hand.

• Kicking the opponent or objects in his direction

• Punching with free hand or lightsaber pommel.   

• Shoving or pulling the opponent with the Force or physically pushing or striking.

The difference being that a Shaken result does no mean the opponent ends up prone.   

Jedi Deflection

Jedi are skilled and blocking incoming blaster shots with their lightsabers.  Whenever a Jedi is shot at and missed there is a chance that the shot may be deflected. Usually if the target cannot affect the shooter, this in an exception.

The Jedi may use the weapon modifier of the lightsaber (change from normal ranged combat)   

If the Jedi triples the shooters score he may deflect the shot at any target in his line of fire.  The shot will use the Jedi’s Combat and any Ranged Fire Modifiers and the weapon modifiers.

If the Jedi doubles the shooters roll the shot can be deflected back to the shooter. 

If the Jedi beats the shooters roll the shot is deflects harmlessly away.

The Force

The following Force Powers may be used:

Force Leap:  The Jedi may use the Force to jump in any direction, even straight up, Short on 1 success, Medium on 2, and Long on 3. 

Force Push:  The Jedi will spend one action to use the power: the target must pass a Q check, at +1 isf Big, +2 if Huge, and +2 if wearing Power Armor. If the roll fails the target is pushed up to one short distance away (the Jedi moves the model) and there is a 50% chance that the target will fall. This ability can be used to push away a model in Hand to Hand combat , even a model in combat with the Jedi himself!  The model moved away from close combat receives a Free Hack as normal

Force Disarm:  This power can be used to disarm an opponent.  The Jedi must spend one action point to use the power; the target must pass a Q check, at +1 if Big, +2 if Huge, and +2 if wearing Power Armor.  If the roll fails the Target is disarmed and the weapon thrown up to Long distance away.  The Jedi decides where the weapon lands (place a counter there) but cannot place a weapon off the tabletop.  If the weapon is a grenade, there is a 1 in 6 chance of it exploding at the end of movement.  

Lightsaber Recall:  The Jedi may use the Force to recall a dropped lightsaber which must be in line of sight.  The distance that the lightsaber may be recalled is , 1 success for Short, 2 for Medium and 3 for Long.  May not be recovered if further than Long.

Jedi Mind Trick:  This attack hits at Long Distance and uses the Jedi’s and the opponent’s basic Combat scores.  If the Jedi wins the target is confused (-1 to Q rolls until he spends 1 action to regain his senses; a confused Leader loses its bonus and cannot give group orders). If the Jedi doubles the Target, the target is Shaken (does not go prone, but must spend 2 actions to recover).  If the Jedi triples the Target, he will mid control the target until the Jedi is Killed, Out of Fight , or becomes Mind Controlled himself.  The controlled target will have a -1 on Quality and a -1 on Combat rolls.  The Controlled target will act as if part of the player’s group.  The Jedi must keep concentrating on the model and cannot use a Jedi Mind trick against any other target without letting go of the controlled model.   Jedi Mind Tricks do not affect Artificial models such as droids. Normal Targeting restrictions do not apply to Jedi Mind Tricks 

Telekinesis:  Jedi may use the Force to strike foes with objects in the environment, (rocks, equipment, etc.)

 The player declares his intention to use the Force with the model at activation, and rolls one, two or three dice. The number of successes rolled is the number of Force power points he has to use. So with 2 successes you have a power 2 Force ability, for example.

Not all the successes need be used in using Telekineses -- for example, a Jedi who rolled three successes may use one success to move and two to use a power 2 Telekinesis. Or he may move twice and use a power 1 Telekinesis. Or he may abort using Telekinesis and move three times. Telekinesis  can be used as a ranged attack, attacking with a Combat score equal to the power of the Force points used, with a range of Short if power 1, Medium if power 2, and Long if Power 3. This represents the Jedi sending more, or larger objects flying at his opponents. They can be used at multiples of the basic range, so for example a Power 1 Telekinesis with a range of Short can be used to attack a target up to 3xShort away, at -1 per range band beyond the first.

If used as ranged attacks, all normal targeting restrictions apply. So you can’t use Telekinesis  on someone who is engaged in hand-to-hand, for example.

Force Choke: The player declares his intention to use the Force with the model at activation, and rolls one, two or three dice. The number of successes rolled is the number of Force power points he has to use. So with 2 successes you have a power 2 Force ability, for example.

Not all the successes need be used in using a Force Choke-- for example, a Jedi who rolled three successes may use one success to move and two to use a power 2 Force Choke. Or he may move twice and use a power 1 Force Choke. Or he may abort using Force Choke  and move three times. Force Choke can be used as a ranged attack, attacking with a Combat score equal to the power of the Force points used, with a range of Short if power 1, Medium if power 2, and Long if Power 3.  They can be used at multiples of the basic range, so for example a Power 1 Telekinesis with a range of Short can be used to attack a target up to 3xShort away, at -1 per range band beyond the first.

If used as ranged attacks, all normal targeting restrictions apply. So you can’t use Force Choke on someone who is engaged in hand-to-hand, for example.

 A Jedi or non Dark Side Force user must declare he is using a force choke because if he  ever rolls 3 failures he must make a Dark Side Check)

Force Lightning:The player declares his intention to use the Force with the model at activation, and rolls one, two or three dice. The number of successes rolled is the number of Force power points he has to use. So with 2 successes you have a power 2 Force ability, for example.

Not all the successes need be used in using force Lightning -- for example, a Jedi who rolled three successes may use one success to move and two to use a power 2 Force Lightning. Or he may move twice and use a power 1 Force Lightning. Or he may abort using force Lightning and move three times. Force Lightning can be used as a ranged attack, attacking with a Combat score equal to the power of the Force points used, with a range of Short if power 1, Medium if power 2, and Long if Power 3.  They can be used at multiples of the basic range, so for example a Power 1 Force Lightning with a range of Short can be used to attack a target up to 3xShort away, at -1 per range band beyond the first.

If used as ranged attacks, all normal targeting restrictions apply. So you can’t use Telekinesis  on someone who is engaged in hand-to-hand, for example.

The Dark Side Check

If a non Dark Side force user or Jedi uses a Force Choke and rolls three failures he will gain a dark side point.  If he ever gains Dark Side points equal to his quality he has turned to the Dark Side.

Likewise if a character using lightsaber Form VII ever scores a gory death against an opponent he will gain a Dark Side Point as above.  

I adapted rules from several sources, as I felt each brought something to the game.  I really like the way Flashing Steel captures the Lightsaber combat aspect of the game and adds some depth to the melee combat from Flying Lead.

I will post some short battle reports soon showing how this ties together in a game. 

Jousting at Conquest

I have seen some photos of the game of Joust, played at Conquest in Sacramento.  I was thrilled to see others playing and using the big knights.  Here is a link to a blog with some pics from Conquest.

http://twotharksonecup.blogspot.com/2012/03/conquest-sacramento-2012.html

Deep Dark Dungeons: Battle Report: Heroes vs. Orcs!

Well done.  SBH is great for playing all kinds of games. Looking forward to seeing more blogs in the future!

Ken

Dark Lord Down

I made this Battle report using Comic Life 2.  I was using Flying Lead from Ganesha Games and Action Figures.  Using some triple sized Measuring Sticks

Great Jousting at Castle Games and Man Cave Pics

I had a great time Running joust last night at Castle Games.  I forgot to take any pictures.  Here are a couple of pics of the new Man Cave.  I am really looking to playing some game in there.

Relocated to Colorado Springs

It has been two months since the last post.  I have been really busy relocating to Colorado Springs.  I am pretty much settled in and am looking forward to my first night of games since moving.  I am really grateful that Ed from THW put me in touch with a group of players here.

Thursday night I will be putting on a Game of Joust: Heroes of the Lists.  That seemed like a good intro game at a new group.  Plus it is all still packed from MCon. I will miss my friends in Texas, yet I look forward to making new ones here.

The upside is I now have an incredible Man Cave!  Complete with a fireplace, and my grill and smoker right outside.     I will put up some pics soon.