Return of the Saurian Scholar - AAR for Swordplay

I haven't played many fantasy games in a while, so I thought I'd start with Swordplay, the base fantasy rules, which are free to download from Twohourwargames.com. Later, I'll probably upgrade to Talomir Tales, but for now, I figured I'd keep it simple.

Years ago, I read a novel called, The City of Dreaming Books, by Walter Moers, and it has become one of my all-time favorite novels. Moers created a fantasy world called Zamonia and filled it with creatures of every shape and size. But what I love most is the city in the novel, Bookholm, a city devoted 100% to reading, writing, creating, etc. books. Even coffee shops make pastries in the shape of books. It even has adventurers, called Book Hunters, risking life and limb to explore underground cities for rare and valuable tomes.

But since I don't want to run my games there, yet, I figured I'd start in Talomir and work my way there, but using the world for background. I'm also borrowing from Edd's Pub, another game from THW.

Let's get started with my Star.

Drastica Trembletoes is a Saurian (race from Edd's Pub), a lizard-like race. However, unlike her people, she dislikes violence and prefers to spend her time reading and writing books. Eventually, she learned about magic and began training in the mystical arts. This dedication to scholarly pursuits didn't sit well with her otherwise war-like people, so she ran away. Then, upon learning about Bookholm, the City of Dreaming Books, she decided to seek out this city, in the land of Zamonia. first though, she entered the portal at Edd's Pub and entered Talomir. To reach her goal, she must find her way through Talomir, hoping that her adventures eventually help her locate the legendary city of books.

Since Saurians aren't listed as races in Swordplay, I rolled at random and got Rage. This fits since her people have rather sharp claws, but doesn't help her much as she prefers to catch spells. For her random Star Attribute, I rolled Resilient, which allows her to survive some vicious attacks.  Finally, she enters Talomir only with the robe on her back, and it isn't even magical.

For my figure, I took a dinosaur figure and wrapped it in tissue paper. For everyone and everything else, I'll use the cut-outs that come with Swordplay.

Drastica Trembletoes: Rep 5 Saurian Caster; AC 2; Rage, Cast Spells, Resilient.


The first Encounter is an Explore, with 4 PEFs. Upon entering Talomir, Drastica found herself in a forest at the edge of a mountain range. Noticing bones under some trees, she decided to stay on her guard.

The first PEF resolved as a Troll (Rep 5/AC4).

Hearing a crunching sound, Drastica did her best to avoid it. But while attempting to maneuver around a tree, she found herself face to stomach with a troll, who was munching down on . . . something, that had worn armor. Seeing Drastica, the troll dropped her meal.

"You interrupt me, petty creature?" roared the troll. "Then you become next!"

Combat begins with a roll on the Action table. The Troll, having the Slow Mover Attribute, suffers a penalty. Drastica goes first.

Drastica hated violence, but the thought of getting consumed, her bones chewed to powder, sent a shiver up her spine. Raising her hands, she whispered some words and launched a Magical Bolt right at the creature's chest.

The bolt struck the troll, sending her backwards. She smashed into the tree and collapse. And while she still breathed, the creature would be out cold for a while.

Drastica scored a hit, and the Troll went Out of Fight. Drastica gained 1 Increasing d6.


Now on to the second PEF.

I rolled 3 Men; 1 Knight (Rep 5/AC 6) and two Soldiers (Rep 4/AC 4 and Rep 3/AC 2). The Knight and first Soldier have the Resilient Attribute while the last Soldier has Slippery.

An hour later, Drastica came upon three men who sat around a campfire. All three were visibly armed and armored. One of them, the leader, stood up and approached her.

Taking the Friends or Foes test, I got no confrontation. So I went with an Interaction.

"Who are you?" asked the knight, his hand falling to his sword.

"My name is Drastica Trembletoes," she answered.

He eyed her. "You're a Saurian?"

She nodded. "I escaped my people because I prefer the study of knowledge to violence. I'm seeking the city of Bookholm. Have you heard of it?"

Unfortunately, I failed on the Interaction. However, and fortunately (because Drastica was outnumbered), no fight occurred.

The knight sneered. "Books here are for the weak. Try sitting under a tree to read out here and you'll find yourself giant food. Now stop wasting my time." He returned to the campfire.

Drastica gained 1 Decreasing d6 and ended that PEF.

Now onto the third PEF.

A few hours later, Drastica found herself in a clearing. Thank goodness, she thought. Now I'll have an easier time watching my back.

"You, you hurt Tonnie!"

Turning to the voice, Drastica found herself facing another troll, but this time a male.

"We were supposed to go out to dinner tonight! Now you're dinner!"

The Troll was Rep 5/AC 4, and this time he had the Advantage, meaning he'd win on a tie on the Action table. Luckily, Drastica won and went first.

Raising her hands, Drastica fired off another Magic Bolt. Just like the first, this slammed into the troll, knocking him to the ground. He rolled down the hill and vanished from sight.

Another hit and another OOF result. Drastica gained another Increasing d6.

One PEF left.

Some time later, Drastica heard a roar. Suddenly an ogre burst through some trees and towered over her.

Tonnie and Byde be friends of Gur," he growled. "You pay big now!"

This time, the PEF resolved as a Rep 4/AC 2 Ogre, and again he had the Advantage. Fortunately, Drastica again succeeded on the Action table and rolled first.

The ogre may have gotten the jump on her, but if the past few hours had done anything, they had greatly improved Drastica's reflexes. Not even hesitating, she raised her hands and fired another magic bolt spell.

The bolt struck the ogre between the eyes and he fell to the ground, taking down a tree with him.

Direct hit and another OOF result. Drastica gained 1 Increasing d6.

Seeing a town in the distance, she decided to make a beeline for it, hoping for a little rest and safety.

This ends the Encounter. Drastica came away with 3 Increasing d6 and 1 Decreasing d6, result in 2 Increasing d6 total. Rolling, I got a 3 and 5; she did not improve her Rep. At least not yet.

The next Encounter is supposed to be a Raid, but i'm thinking of doing another Explore, but this time in a town so she can recruit and get some help.

Nuts AAR - No Way in Hell!

I've been away for a while after moving last year. And with a 1 br apartment being our only option, most of my games and figures went into storage, I had to wait until we upgraded this year. Now I can finally play games again, though with unpacking becoming a slow process, I had to make due.

This game I played is Nuts, a World War II wargame from Two Hour Wargames. Now in the base game, you get your choice to play as forces who are American, British, German, or Russian. However, the Compendium, which includes loads (and I mean LOADS) of options, allows you to play as other forces. For my game, I went with Norwegian forces, and my game is based on the Norwegian resistance.

Quick history lesson. When Germany began taking over countries all over Europe, very few just sat around and accepted their rulers with open arms. Most fought back in subtle fashions, making life miserable for their occupiers. And Norway was no exception. In fact, when you try and control the descendants of Vikings, don't expect a happy ending.

I went with a slightly alternate history here where the resistance was even more violent and vicious. In my game, the Germans not only landed on the southern coast but also the north-west region and are trying to move south. This means passing through the village of Hell. And while the name normally means something like 'cliff,' this time it's going to take on a less-than-innocent meaning.

Now games from THW require no Game Master, and in fact, everyone can play on the same side if they wish. I'm playing solo, and I'm playing the Chocolate and Cigarettes version of the game, which is more squad based and with more RPG elements.

My first game will be a Defend Encounter, since I felt it fit the story the best. The goal is to hold off enemy forces as long as possibly and, if possible, drive them off the board. You can use any board or figures for the game, so I found an old generic board to use and army men figure for my troops. Norwegians are Blue and Germans are Green.

I placed my squad at the bottom of the board and lined them up so I could remember which soldier was which. Each soldier has a Reputation (Basically functions as character level, hit points, combat ability, etc.), which foes from 3-5. In addition, soldiers have Skills (Fitness, Savvy, and People) and Attributes.

Here they are in order:
Boss: Rep 5; Fit 4, Sav 3, Pep 5; Self Rally, Charismatic; SMG.
Shaggy: Rep 4; Fit 2, Sav 4, Pep 3; Wussy, Dim; SMG.
Punt: Rep 3; Fit 3, Sav 1, Pep 2; Knifeman, Rage; Bolt-Action Rifle w/ bayonet.
Bull: Rep 4; Fit 4, Sav 4, Pep 2; Crack Shot; BAR.
Smiley: Rep 4; Fit 3, Sav 2, Pep 4; Plucky, Smooth; SMG.
Scrooge: Rep 3; Fit 1, Sav 2, Pep 3; Greedy, Logical; SMG.
(S) Vyper; Rep 3; Fit 2, Sav 3, Pep 1; Touch, SMG specialist, Fit; SMGs (x2).

Vyper is my Star, the character I control. Usually the highest Rep is your Star, but I decided to try something different. Also, I gave him dual SMGs, which means he has a 1 in 6 chance of scoring a hit. Hopefully firing 6 shots a turn will almost guarantee a hit each time. Hopefully.

The red d6 at the top are PEFs, which stands for Possible Enemy Force. These could be enemies, civilians, for nothing at all. And until we find out, they move around the table, just as if they were alive.

Now let's gets started!

Rolling for Activation (initiative), we go first. I'm using Green d6 for us and continuing to use Red for the enemy.

I split my forces into 2 groups: Boss, Shaggy, and Punt are the first group, while the rookies are in the second. Boss takes his group up the west side, hoping to flank the enemy. My group, meanwhile heads up the other side of the buildings.

Now it's their turn.
One PEF moves away from everyone. The other two move toward my rookie group, stopping in an alcove.

Group A continues north, inching along the outer walls of the buildings. Group B meanwhile rushes ahead, sopping behind a wall. PEF A inches forward, while PEF B retreats. PEF C though remains in place.

Finally, one of the PEFs emerges and it's 4 German troops, patrolling the road. Another PEF slips in behind it, but it's not a threat at the moment.

This immediately triggers an In Sight Test (sort of a Surprise check). We win, with Bull and Smiley dropping all 4 opponents.

Back to Group A, they spot 3 German troops through an alley and attempt to sneak up on them.

Success! My team wins its In Sight test and opens fire for 3 easy kills. By the way, the bottom trooper only fell out of sight; he was well within Shaggy's crosshairs before the shot.

Only 1 PEF left. And Group B is ready for anything.

Scratch that - they're ready for Almost anything. You see, in addition to enemies and civilians, sometimes PEFs resolve as Random Events. In this case, I rolled Artillery. And Bull and Smiley  are right in the LOS.

I rolled damage for all 4, since Shorty and Vyper, while behind cover, are still in the Blast circle. The d6 represent damage. If they're equal to or higher than Rep, you're Out of the Fight (meaning incapaciated but alive. If it's a 6, you're Dead. Bull takes two hits and gets knocked unconscious, but Smiley and Scrooge aren't as lucky. Vyper however gets singed but survives.

Vyper remains standing, and had this been an actual opponent, combat would continue. Fortunately, the Artillery is off the map so he is able to rescue Bull and reunite with the others.

That what the last PEF and my squad survived, so this Encounter is a success. The Germans were driven out of the village of Hell for the time being, but a group of them, with a really big gun, sit somewhere outside the village. We'll have to find them another time.

After the Encounter, I rolled to see who improved his Rep or Skills. Only Boss did though, moving up to Rep 6. At least our leader is still strong for the time being. But we're down two troops and the enemy is nearby. Will they take our beautiful village?

Hell no!

Nuts is available from Two Hour Wargames and can be found here, along with the Compendium:

https://twohourwargames.com/ww2.html

You can also find a number of scenario books covering battles from all over the war.

National Novel Writing Month is almost here!

It's almost time for another National Novel Writing Month, the online contest in which you try to write a 50,000 word (about 150 page) novel in 30 days.  Last year I wrote a horror/slash/ghost story that was a lot of fun to write, even though I think I'd have more success if I marketed it as a cure for insomnia. 

This year, I was planning on starting with a blank slate and just making up the story as I went.  But then after talking with some people on the message boards, I decided to try something else.  Also, after 7 months, I finally finished writing my science fiction novel, Dark Stream.  Since I felt drained after that, I figured this year's NaNo would just be a fun project instead.

Last year, I read Zastrozzi, which has become one of my favorite novels.  In it, the 'hero' Zastrozzi hunts down and makes life miserable for the 'villain' Verezzi.  Now I used quotes because the actual roles of hero and villain are a gray area to most.  Personally, I see the title character as the hero, especially after he killed his scumbag father.  Unfortunately in a bittersweet ending (spoiler alert!), the novel ends in a bittersweet manner with Zastrozzi causing Verezzi to kill himself but getting arrested and executed himself. 

Enter my fanfiction story.

In Zastrozzi, the Rescue, the title character's servants; Bianca, Bernardo, and Ugo, set out to rescue their friend.  I even made a cover just for fun, along with a synopsis.

After witnessing the murder of her parents at the hands of a corrupt priest, young Bianca flees her Italian village and meets Zastrozzi.  Under his guidance, she learns to focus her anger and to use her mind and creativity to strike at those who threaten her.  Disguised as a a crone, Bianca serves Zastrozzi and helps him achieve revenge against his father and half brother.

But when Zastrozzi gets arrested and the priest who murdered her parents sentences him to execution, Bianca hatches a plan, and with the help of Zastrozzi's former servants, Bernardo and Ugo, sets out not only to save her friend but to get her own measure of revenge.

If you're interested in trying NaNo, you can find the web site here:

https://nanowrimo.org/dashboard

Sign up is free.  You just need a way to write on your computer, tablet, Ipad, etc.

Good luck!

Captain Nemo - Unleash . . . Tickle?

August 23, 19-

It's been ten years since Captain Nemo gave me command of his vessel, the Nautilus.  Since then, my friends and I found an island and turned it into our base.  The natives, we befriended, and I ended up finding a wife, a lovely and intelligent woman who picked up my language far quicker than I could learn hers.

We also discovered a baby creature resembling the ones who attacked our vessel years earlier.  This one, the offspring of a much larger beast, watched its mother get slaughtered by British naval ships.  Despite its species' propensity for violence, this little guy attached itself to us once we rescued it.  I named him Tickle, since he liked to tickle my arm with his tentacles.

Now he's fully grown and seeks to help us guard our island from outside threats.  I believe the time has come to put our little friend to the test.

Captain Nemo is a roleplaying game from THW Games Design.  In the base game, Nemo loans you command of the Nautilus and sends you on a series of missions.  If you prove yourself, if ultimately gives you his ship and retires.  These missions vary from collecting food, to fighting opponents, and even attacking naval vessels and sea monsters.

Not long ago, I had finished the missions and got the Nautilus.  However, the game doesn't have to end, and I decided to run the missions as post-quest encounters.

"Captain!"  Mr. Mars motioned for me to look through his binoculars.  "Ship approaching and rapidly!"

I looked through and saw it, a British Cutter.  The natives had told us about soldiers who assaulted other villages and kidnapped their people.  The natives here were our friends, and I wasn't about to leave them to the mercy of the British military.

Perhaps it was time for Tickle's first test.

Captain Nemo contains two types of table for Naval Battles, one for ships and one for sea monsters.  I used the sea monster one with the enemy vessel in place of the Nautilus.  Since this was Tickle's first test, I started him at Rep 3.  Unfortunately, I generated an enemy ship with a Rep 5 captain.  Tickle's first challenge was going to be a tough one!

"Open the gates!"  I called to my crew.  Tickle spent most of his time resting in the giant cave that we converted into the Nautilus' hanger.  With the gates opening, the giant creature sawam out.  Noticing the enemy ship, he bee-lined straight for it.

Despite having the lower Rep, Tickle gained the advantage and struck the enemy ship, causing minor damage.  The ship attempt a ram but missed.  The battle went back and forth for several minutes (real time) until Tickle finally gained the advantage.

Finally, the ship failed its final roll and keeled over (See what I did there?).

We could hear the screams all the way from the shore as the great beast dragged the ship and its crew to the depths.  An hour later, he returned to the cave and slept for several days straight.  We don't know the details of what happened, but I dread the thought.  And although what he did to the ship and its crew may have been horrifying, what those men would do to the natives, I fear, would be worse.  As far as I'm concerned, they're the real monsters!


That ended the encounter with Tickle winning.  Awarding him Increasing d6 (1 for the ship kill and I decided on 2 more for completing the encounter against a tougher foe), I rolled 3d6 and scored 1d6 higher.  Tickle gained experience and increased to Rep 4.


"Captain, soldiers on the beach!"  Mr. Toad pointed and I saw a small group of soldiers appear on the shore with weapons drawn.  Quickly, they vanished into the brush, heading straight for the nearby village, and we hurried to intercept them.  Whether they survived the attack or were dropped off before mattered little.  They sought revenge, and I determined to deny them all.  


I chose a Confrontation encounter for this one, with my group consisting of myself, Mr. Toad, and Mr. Mars.

Rolling for the enemy, I got 4 opponents, Rep 5, 5, 4, and 4 from the British Navy.  Now, usually you don't face the Naval soldiers on a Confrontation encounter, but I decided to make them the enemy after the previous encounter.  That's the beauty of THW games, it only takes a few tweaks to change the variables as you see fit.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the entire battle, so I'll summarize.  We won on the Action table and opened fire.  All of us carried weapons that fired more than one shot, and everyone scored a hit with at least one of their shots.  I hit once and missed the second.  Mr. Toad missed his first and scored with the second.  And Mr. Mars scored with both of his shots.

The numbers represent what I rolled for damage.  We scored kills or incapacitating shots on the first 3 opponents.  The 4th took off running, though I heard the natives found him, and although they didn't volunteer inf on what occurred, I chose not to ask.

My characters were already Rep 7 and above so instead of rolling our Increasing d6, I just kept them to go toward our retirement. 

A short game, but a fun one, especially with my first test of playing as the Sea Monster.

Re-introducing Chain Reaction!

Two Hour Wargames has just upgraded its Chain Reaction rules.  Chain Reaction are a set of sample rules to show you how THW titles are played.  Although THW titles range from wargames to roleplaying games, they all have one thing in common; no Game Master is needed.  You can play each of the games single player, same side, or even head to head.

Here is some sample game play from CR 2018:

While the previous version of CR used a 3 x 3 map for its games, CR 2018 uses a Battle Board, which is an 8"x 10" board.  This can be anything from a printed out map to an ordinary sheet of paper.  You can even buy a set of Battle Boards from THW.

Unfortunately, my printer ran low on ink, so I couldn't print out the Battle Board that came with the game and instead threw together a board from some game tiles.

My group of soldiers are ready for battle.  

Since there's no game master to tell you what's going on, games use Encounters to give you an objective.  I'm playing a Raid, in which my soldiers are attacking the enemy.  The details can be anything I wish.  In my case, my troops are livid after the enemy hijacked a shipment of bathroom supplies that we were expecting.  And if there's one thing I learned, it's never to come between a killing machine and his loofah!

Here's the game board.  It's a little bigger than an 8x10, but it does the job.  Since the enemy is defending, they'll be placed in the building.

In THW titles, your enemy is created using PEFs, or Possible Enemy Forces.  These create a sense of uncertainty for your adventures.  Maybe we'll encounter nothing at all, or maybe we'll face an entire army!

With the 3x3 game maps, PEFs would be placed in random positions, but for the Battle Board, you simply resolve them one at a time.  When one resolves as Contact, you place the opponents on the board.

The first PEF resolves as "Something is out there!"  Nothing appears right away, but my troops see movement in the building and know for sure that it's not empty.  This increases the chance of a later PEF resolving successfully.

Sure enough, this one resolves as contact.  Rolling for how many, versus my group of 4 results in 6 enemies.  Rolling for Who are they results in Mercenaries.  Someone paid these guys to steal our loofahs.  I bet they're holding them hostage in that building!

Now, I line everyone up for battle.  Normally, your Star (the character you control) is in the center and lined up with the enemy leader, but I forgot about this and instead lined them up on the side.  The numbers on the dice represent the characters' Reputation (or Rep).  Rep represents your character's experience, combat skill, health, and (depending on the game) non-combat ability.  Each character also carries certain weapons and has attributes based on their classes.  My troops, who are Military, get a bonus when shooting.  The Mercenaries get a bonus when rolling on the Action table (which determines who moves first).

Despite their bonus, we win on the Action table and go first, with my character starting.

My Star goes first and opens fire on the enemy leader (2 shots) and the soldier closes to him (1 shot).  I kill the leader and incapacitate the soldier.

The next soldier in my group opens fire, missing twice on the enemy before scoring a vicious hit with the third shot.

My third solider scores a hit, but it results in Duck Back, meaning the enemy soldier ducks behind cover, ending his turn if he hasn't acted yet.

My final soldier shoots at the two remaining opponents, causing one to Duck Back and missing the last one.  The last soldier, meanwhile, is now able to return fire, and he causes my soldier to duck back.

He now attempts to shoot again at the same soldier, but luckily he scores another duck back result.  

Now that this round is over, we roll for Will to Fight.  This is a morale test taken by any side that loses troops.  Since they lost teammates, the  two opponents have to take the test.

And they fail, resulting in one opponent fleeing and leaving only one to deal with.

Now it's our turn again.

I let the closest soldier in my group open fire and he scores a direct hit, dropping the last mercenary and ending combat.

But wait, that was only the second PEF and we're supposed to have 3 . . . 

Whew!  Lucked out as nothing else appeared.  We win the encounter and my team goes home knowing their loofahs now safe and sound!

This is a sample of game play that you'll find in other THW titles.  In most games, you'll have a wealth of other options.  Not all encounters will end in combat.  Sometimes, your group will simply wander the town and chat up the bars.  Or maybe they'll stop in and gamble a bit.  but don't drop your guard because a possible brawl is always around the corner!  Other encounters have you defending your group against an enemy attack; possibly a burglary or a fight on equal ground.

In addition, different games give your characters more options.  Maybe they're not soldiers.  Maybe they're knights defending the kingdom from enemy bands or monsters.  Maybe they're pilots flying space ships across the galaxy.  Or maybe they're just average Joes trying to get through a normal day . . . until the zombies attack!  More character classes, attributes, and skills allow you to create all types of characters.

Want to keep playing your same characters?  Most THW titles include campaign rules where your characters get stronger and more skilled as they progress.  Or they might lose a skill if games end badly.  

THE titles cover all sorts of eras.  Talomir Tales cover fantasy worlds of warriors, wizards, and monsters.  5150 covers the future, with space ships and laser guns.  Nuts covers World War II, with supplements and rules to let you play every inch of the war.  And All Things Zombies covers, well, guess!

But if you want to try out the THW rules first, check out Chain Reaction, which you can download for free, at www.twohourwargames.com.

Chain Reaction rules can be found here:

http://www.twohourwargames.com/free.html.

Happy gaming and hope your characters survive!

Returning to Nuts an AAR

I recently received the updated rules for Nuts! a World War II game from Two Hour Wargames.  In addition, I got the Compendium, with covers a number of optional rules, such as ski troops, mascots, weather, air strikes, and urban fights.

After playing the videogame Snipe Elite 4, in which you go through Italy during WWII, I decided to play my own sniper game.  I like this especially because the rules in Nuts allow for unlimited maps and missions.

This will be a Chocolate and Cigarettes game, meaning a game with smaller numbers of troops, as my entire 'team' consists of one lone sniper.  Since I wanted to be a good guy but still a cold-hearted, ruthless killer, I went with a Russian soldier.

Meet Dimitri Kozlov, a Rep 5 Russian Sniper.  Fitness 5, Mental 4, People 3.  Basically, his skills mean he's in incredible shape with above average intellect and average people skills.  Hopefully he won't have to do any negotiating.

For Attributes, I went with the Compendium rules, which allow for a wider variety.  I started with the Sniper Package, which is Sniper Expert and Stealthy.  I then randomly rolled Dim, which means he's a hell of a sneaky shooter, but he really, really doesn't play well with others.

The campaign starts with both sides at Morale 4 and Investment at 4.  As the first Encounter is a Patrol, Investment is a 3.  Using the Compendium rules, this will be a Sniper Patrol, meaning I not only have to reach the top of the map, but I must drop two major opponents, whether they're officers, enemy snipers, ect.

In case you're wondering, no Dimitri is not about to play Twister.  Using my living room as the board, I set Dimitri at Section 9 at the top of a hill.  The orange and green represent the forest at sections 1, 4, and 7.  The red circles are the three PEFs, starting in Sections 2, 4, and 5.

PEF #1 resolves as Nothing.  However, PEF #2 resolves as an NCO and a Rifleman ( I rolled at random because at the time, I wasn't sure how to resolve specific troops).  PEF #3 resolved as 3 Riflemen. 

Rolling Activation, the Germans move first.  This triggers and In Sight Check, with the winner basically getting a free turn.  I rolled Red d6 for Dimitri and Green d6 for the Germans, with 1, 2, and 3 being Successes.  The side with the most successes win In Sight.

Uh oh!  Even though they get a -1d6 penalty for my Stealthy Attribute, they still win and get to go first.  While the NCO has an SMG which doesn't have the range to hit me, the Rifleman has a Bolt-Action Rifle that can, even without a scope.  He's a Rep 4, but I'm at the top of a hill and prone so the chances of him scoring any kind of hit are-

Crap!!!!  Not only does he score a direct hit, but for damage I roll another 6, which is Obviously Dead!  He scored with a head shot to my soldier!

Wait, I still have Star Power!  That means my Star, the character I control, rolls a number of d6 equal to his Rep, and as long as he rolls, 1, 2, and/or 3, he can reduce and even ignore the damage completely.  All he needs are a couple of those rolls and he'll be completely in the clear-

Um, yeah . . .about that . . .

So ends the saga of Dimitri Kozlov.  In his first mission, a lone, lowly enemy soldier puts a single bullet right between his eyes and ends his adventures. 

Luckily, it's not over yet!  I rolled up a new character and the Russian platoon, upon learning of poor Dimitri's fate, has sent another sniper to take his place.  I'm keeping the campaign the same.  Luckily, the Campaign Morale remained the same.  However, since I lost the Patrol encounter, my new character will start his adventure with a Defend. 

But that's for another story.

For now, RIP Dimitri Kozlov.  Dropped before he ever fired a bullet.  And this will go down in history as my quickest RPG adventure yet.

Hopefully, my new character has better luck.