The Great Paine Robbery! - AAR for High Moon

Here's another AAR for the new High Moon game.  This time I wanted to try the Bank Robbery encounter, but with a twist; I'd be robbing the bank with monsters!

Here's my group:

Ursula:  Witch (Star);  Rep 5 - Quick Relexes
Morgan:  Smart Zombie; Rep 4;  Pistol
Lucy:  Werewolf;  Rep 4; Pistol
Gravid:  Vampire; Rep 3; Pistol.

Since Vampires don't usually work well with werewolves (and neither is fond of zombies), I hard Ursula hire all 3 allies.

This is essentially a Raid encounter, expanded as a Bank Robbery.  The four start outside the Tim Paine Bank.  When we started, Lucy peeked into the window to identify those inside (Mental Challenge).  When she succeeded, I resolved the PEF's.

Two of the PEF's didn't resolve (one Passed 1d6).  The last resolved as a Gunman (Rep 5; Red), Cowboy (Rep 4; Red; top right corner), and 3 bank workers (Townspeople Rep 3; Blue and Green).  The one in the top left corner atop the d6 was guarding the $.

Lucy picked the lock (Mental Challenge), and we won In Sight.

 Entering the bank, Ursula approached the teller and successfully cast a Suggestion spell.

"Go show your friends the stampede outside."

Sure enough, he approached the cowboy and gunman and tried to get them to look out the window.

"Look!  Stampede!"

Both men failed their Mental Challenge and looked.  This left the other two tellers unguarded.

Morgan sneaked up to the one closest to the door and 'silenced' him, and Lucy did the same for the one guarding the door.

As we tried to escape though, the cowboy and gunman heard us (successful mental challenges) and drew their guns.

Gravid tried to eliminate the cowboys, but his guns missed, and they returned fire.  They scored direct hits, but luckily, none of them used silver bullets (They apparently hurt both vampires and werewolves in the West).

Ursula then jumped in and took out all 3 with magical bolt spells.  Our group then took off into the night.  Afterward, I rolled for the loot and Rep improvements.  Ironically, Gravid improved to Rep 4 while no one else did.

Since that encounter ended too quickly, we robbed 2 more banks.  Those got a little bloodier, especially the third, when I decided the gunfire attracted the law who attacked from outside the bank.  All 4 of us survived, but only Gravid and Morgan advanced.  Ursula and Lucy (who got the highest kill counts) failed each time.

Next time, things could get a little darker.  Apparently, our actions have attracted the attention of Alabama Adams, a singing cowboy and the bane of all innocent creatures of darkness.  Upon hearing of darkness falling on the town of Westbrook, Adams immediately went to work assembling a posse to help him.

But Ursula is assembling some help as well.

Until next time . . .

Terror on the Prairie - a High Moon AAR

Sheriff Rogers looked up as the newcomer entered the bar.  He had a shotgun slung over his shoulder, a pistol in one holster, bags that sounded like rattling bullets in the other, and a book under his arm.  

Nearby, leaning against the bar, Bad Tad York, chuckled.  "He don't look like nothin.'"

"Behave, Tad," Rogers said.  "He's going to help us."  "Hey, over here," he called out to the stranger, kicking out the chair across from him.

The stranger sat, placing his book and Rogers pushed a mug over to him.  "This whiskey's the strongest this side of Rockies.  When the man ignored the drink, Rogers pulled it back.  "So you're the one known as Gothe."  His eyes fell on the book.  "Your Bible?"

"Book of legends and tales," Gothe answered.  "What's the job?"

"Well recently, we've been hearing of strange things up in those hills," Rogers answered.  "Last night, something massacred an entire militia."  He took a drink and Gothe noticed the sheriff's hands trembling.  He continued.  "Now I heard you've dealt with things like these before, and you got a debt to pay off.  Now, I haven't got much for you to go by, but-"

"A thousand," 

Rogers looked at him, stunned.  "What?"

"My price," Gothe said again, "a thousand.  You said yourself  it took out a militia."

The sheriff sighed.  "Fine, a thousand, once the deal is done of course."

Just then, Tad sauntered by the table.  "Why don't you give me the thousand, 'stead of this here runt."

"Not now," Rogers said, pinching the bridge of his nose, "this is not a good time, Tad."

Gothe started to stand, but Tad placed a hand on his shoulder.  "What's the hurry, tough guy?  You too good for whiskey?"

"Remove you hand, please," Gothe said, keep his voice steady.

Tad burst out laughing.  "Please?  Why this pearly white city boy's got manners.  I wonder if he's got a pair though.  Care to show me, Mr. Manners?"

Gothe shook his head.  "Some other time, now again, please remove your hand."

He reached for his book, when Tad snatched it.  "Well look what we have here.  Mr. Manners fancies himself a reader!  You wanna read to me Mr-"

Suddenly, Gothe grabbed Tad's arm, twisting it, and slung the larger man into the air, sending him crashing onto his back.  Lifting the book, he glared down at Tad.  "Do not touch my book."

As he walked out, Tad looked over at Rogers, who simply shrugged.  "All that," the sheriff said, "over a book called Fantasmagoriana."

Gothe:  Rep 5 Gunman; Quick Reflexes, Nerves of Steel; Shotgun w/ Silver bullets if needed.

For this game, I combined the Prairie Walk and Confrontation encounters.  The object was to find the cause of the attacks and deal with it.  I also used a couple house rules as follows:

• When I resolved a PEF with a roll of Doubles, that PEF would be the main threat.
• If I didn't encounter it after resolving all 3 PEF's, I'd start Gothe back in Section 9 with 3 more (treating it as a new area).

I added the second rule after my third PEF turned out to be a cowboy who said hi and walked away.  I then started a new location.

After greeting the cowboy and wishing him well, Gothe continued exploring the forest until he heard screams.  Spinning his shotgun around, he spotted several people (PEF resolved as multiple townsfolk) running toward him.

"Monsters!"  they screamed as they rushed past him, not slowing for a moment.

Continuing in the direction they ran from, Gothe spotted a young man hiding behind a tree and reloading his pistol.  "You all right?"

The young man continued reloading bullets and didn't even look up.  "It ate my ma and pa!"

"Which way?"

The kid pointed.  "I'm going with you.  I owe whatever it is a bullet or two."

Gothe shrugged.  "Suit yourself."

Readying his pistol, he nodded.  "Friend's call me Lucky."

"Gothe."

As the continued, they heard a strange groaning and peered ahead.

"Zombies?"  Lucky gave a chuckle and pointed his pistol.  "This shouldn't be so-"

Gothe yanked him back just as a bullet struck a nearby tree.

Lucky gawked.  "They got guns?"

"One of them at least," Gothe said, watching the grinning zombie as it pointed a pistol at him.

Before it could fire though, Gothe point his shot gun and dropped both of them.

Lucky studied the two dead creatures lying on the ground.  "Those things didn't kill my folks.  They're too small."

As if on cue, they heard a pair of howls and two creatures emerged from the brush.

"A werewolf!"  Lucky said, his voice breaking.  "And a . . . what the hell is that?"

"Were-coyote," Gothe answered.  He pointed his shotgun, but the werewolf lunged forward, knocking him off his feet.  It tried to dig its fangs into Gothe's neck, but he smacked it with the butt of his gun and rolled away (Saved by Star Power).  The coyote-like creature lunged at Lucky.  He got a shot off, but it didn't flinch.  It reached the younger man, who fought to keep it at bay.

Taking a step back, Gothe aimed his shotgun at the werewolf and fired, taking the thing's head clean off.  He then turned to see the were-coyote attacking Lucky and kicked it off before firing again and dropping the creature.

Helping Lucky to his feet (Lucky Passed 2d6 on Recovery table but failed the Infection test).  "I feeel weird," the boy said.

"You've got the infection in your blood," Gothe said.  "Go seek out one of the tribes up the mountains.  They might be able to help you."

"If not," Lucky held up his gun, "I'm dealing with this any way I can."

The two parted ways and Gothe collected the werewolf head, bagged it, and returned to town for his reward.

(Gothe got 4d6 Increasing d6 and improved to Rep 6.)


And that was a High Moon Game.  High Moon is the newest game from Two Hour Wargames, and it mixes the wild west with the supernatural.  Expect your cowboys and Indians to encounter zombies were-creatures, vampires, witches, and lots of other creatures of horror.  High Moon is a stand-alone game that needs no other game rules.  It even plays well as a straight-up western game if you're not a fan of horror.  But where's the fun in that?

You can find High Moon at:

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

KA-#%%^#$%^$##$%-BOOM! CR 2015 . . . with Grenades!

Col. Vondel of Germany, having lost most of his squad in a recent battle, fled to the town of Basque.  Reduced to using only pistols, they found a cache of grenades and decided to literally go out with a bang.  Meanwhile, Major Lockheed of the United States Army arrived in the town, and his troops had also come upon the explosives.  Vondel thought no one would be stupid enough to trade explosives in such a small town.  Vondel had never before met Americans.

The purpose of this game was simply to have fun blowing people up.  Everyone was armed with grenades and pistols (in case they couldn't ready a grenade in time).  Vondel and Lockheed are Rep 5, while everyone else is Rep 4.  Once again, Radio Operators allow their group to act as Rep 5 for Activation and Reaction tests.

This battle is set up with Vondel's forces in Black on the left and Lockheed's forces in Blue on the right.

In addition, I created a house rule for Grenades versus Buildings.  Here's how it works:

• Every time a grenade goes off (not counting misses), a Blast Circle is placed.
• At the end of every round, I count every Blast Circle touching a building.
• I then roll 2d6 versus the number of Blast Circles for that building.
• Pass 2d6:  Building collapses.  On Doubles, the rubble can still be used for cover.
• Pass 1d6:  Building is Damaged (Orange circle).  +1 to number of circles for rest of game.
• Pass 0d6:  No damage.

The battle started with both sides remaining in cover and tossing grenades close to their opponents' positions.  This did little damage to troops, but the buildings felt the effects.

After the first round of combat, several buildings were crippled and one was reduced to pieces, though allied forces could still hide behind the debris.  And while a few troops got singed, no one suffered serious injury . . .

 Then a soldier, whose name must be German for, 'Butter-fingers,' lost control of a grenade and got a face full of shrapnel as his buddy just barely dove away from it.  Unfortunately for him, he ended up flat on his chest while American troops opened fire.  Now, this guy's name must have been German for, 'Dodge,' because he managed to roll and avoid all incoming fire (None of the American troops could ready their grenades in time).

One American soldier decided to leap over the debris he was hiding behind and launch himself at the enemy.  The German soldiers saw him first and both pulled out their grenades.  Unfortunately again, it seems Mr. Butter-fingers had a brother.  And this time, neither avoided the blast.

One German, though, decided to get brave and charged forward, chucking a grenade at Lockheed and his ally.

"Incoming!" the soldier yelled.
"Oh &#@&!"  Lockheed yelled as they both dove back into the street.

This, however, put them right into Vondel's line of fire, and the two group exchanged fire before Lockheed's group sled into an alley.

Seeing the advantage, Vondel ordered his troops to continue their assault, driving the Americans even farther back.  When grenades failed, they rushed forward, firing wildly at their foes.

This hasty move coast them dearly as Lockheed chucked a grenade right at them.  "Catch!"

And Vondel did just that.  The grenade went off in his hands, and one other soldier was dead before he could face-palm.  The remaining soldier opened fire and caught Lockheed in the chest with a lethal shot (Star Power succeeded once but failed the second time).  The last two Americans turned and bolted from the town, giving the wins to the Germans.


Overall, it was a fun and quick game.  Since troops kept tossing grenades at the corners of alleys instead of directly at opponents, I rolled fewer In Sight tests, which sped up the game.

Next time I'll be running my first High Moon game, which is a new game from THW and covers the supernatural wild west!

World War II! CR 2015 Large-Scale battle.

For my next game, I decided to try a larger scale battle, with about 20-30 troops on each side.  Since I don't have enough Rebels or Imperials, I chose to use my WWII minis instead while using streamlined Nuts FV rules.

Here's the set-up.  Germans in Black and British in Blue.  Also, Squad leaders (with rubber bands around them) were Rep 5 (including my Star), while everyone else is Rep 4.  I also included Radio Operators, who act as squad leaders for their group when rolling for Activation and Reactions.

 This is a simple game with the objective simply being to eliminate all opponents.  In addition, all buildings are 1-story.  Snipers who duck back can move backward to another building as long as it's no more than a space away.

The first round began with everyone making a mad dash for the center.  Multiple In Sight tests took place, and bodies quickly littered the streets (which you can see by the figures beside the map).

This British Demolitions Officer and Radio Operator got cocky and tried to split German defenses.  Unfortunately, they failed the IS test against both groups and got slaughtered.

This is what happens when you roll Activation without an RO.

My Commando (with the red rubber band) lost his IS test.  While he managed to avoid both the enemy DO and RO, he got caught by the Sniper.  I rolled OD for damage, but I still had my Star Power to save me!

CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Luckily, those in range past their Crisis Test and continued on without their brave leader.

Inspired by their leader's loss, my troops continued on and quickly thinned out the enemy's ranks.  Pushing forward, they eliminated our foes . . .

 . . . one at a time.  This left the Germans with their Sniper/Squad Leader and an RO against, well, quite a few opponents.  Their brave leader may be gone, but my loyal and able troops have this fight in the bag!

Or not.  At least we still have 2 against 1.  

Make that 1 against 1.  But the sniper lacks movement.  My last remaining soldier passes 2d6 on Fast Move and attempts to flank the enemy.   We still hvae a chance!

Never mind!  and what's worse, the enemy Squad Leader would've advanced to Rep 6.

Overall it was a fun game, though at times, I forgot who had acted and whose turn it was.  when in doubt though, I just stopped and rerolled Activation.

Once again, this used CR 2015 rules from Two Hour Wargames, which made battles with this many troops easier, at least for me.  If you like games like these in the WWII genre, I highly reccommend Nuts Final Version.  This game covers multiple aspects of WWII, with armies, weapons, random encounters, and scenarios.  Also, you can pick up supplements that cover battles in Russia, France, Japan, and (in upcoming books) Italy and Norway.  You can even find a supplement covering experimental technology like lasers and robots.

Go to www.twohourwargames.com for more details.

Next time, I'm going to try for a smaller game, but everyone will only have pistols and grenades.  I also completed rules for Grenades vs. Buildings.  Let's see what happens when everyone is just trying to blow each other up!

Battle of Keren (Naboo): SW Chain Reaction 2015

Here's the latest installment in my Chain Reaction game using Star Wars Minis.  I decided to try a larger-scale battle, with about a dozen troops on both sides, and since I read that several post-Endor battles between the Rebels (now New Republic) and the Empire took place on Naboo, I decided my next battle would take place there.  I used the city of Keren, since it's only mentioned briefly on the Sw Wiki (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Keren/Canon ).  Also, it's an easy name to write (Yes, i'm lazy!)  Since I was focused mostly on the battle itself, I'll keep the story simple.

Four months after the battle of Endor, the Empire, declaring Palpatine a martyr, has sought to control his former home world of Naboo.  As Imperial troops rush to secure the city, a squad of rebel troops, led by Commando Hathis, infiltrate the streets to launch a counter attack against the Empire.

Oh, and did I mention the city is filled with former Alderaanian citizens who still harbor a dislike for the Empire?

The Set-up:

Rebels start in Sections 7-9 in 3 groups.  Hathis is a Rep 6 Rebel Leader.  Everyone else is Rep 4.

Imperials start randomly in Sections 1-6.  General Klast (having escaped from the Endor capture) is a Rep 6 Imperial Scout Trooper.  All others are Rep 4.

Objective:  One side wins when the all members of the other side are either OD, OOD, or leave the board.

Having heard of insurgents in the city, Klast (remaining in the control room in Section 1) send a squad into the streets to investigate.

Hathis, meanwhile, split her squad, leading one group through one alley, while a second group enter through another.  The third group, two pilots, having landed their X-Wings right under their opponents' noses (I have no clue how!), make a beeline for the street.

Rebels win Activation, and Hathis's team approaches the Imperials.  Winning In Sight, they open fire and drive the troops back behind the buildings.

The two pilots act next and exchange fire with two storm troopers.  This actually goes back and forth several times (Both sides kept rolling successfully on Crisis Table) before the storm troopers eventually backed into a shop.

The third team then made its attack, causing a massive fire-fight in the streets.  All sides repeatedly rolled successfully on both Crisis tables before finally the remaining Imperials maneuvered to place a column between themselves and the rebels.

  And so ended the very first round of the encounter.

Round 2 began with the Imperials striking first.  Klast emerged (winning In sight) and dropped one of the rebels with his sniper pistol.  He also fired at Hathis, but she survived by the skin of her teeth (Star Power).  Hathis returned fire but missed, and Klast fired again, singing Hathis' shoulder (Star Power again, but down to 3d6 now).  Hathis finally got a turn, but she ran out of ammo (Figures!).  

The remaining troops couldn't Activate.  On the next turn, the rebels won Activation, and Hathis fired on Klast, driving him back into the operations center.  Her remaining group got the jump on the other storm troopers and fired, taking out most of them.

Rebels won Activation again, but not wanting to take chances, Hathis decided to use a thermal detonator.  All 3 members of her team successfully rolled on Who's got the detonator, but Hathis used hers, tossing into the building.  Klast couldn't react in time as the device bounced off the wall and landed right at his feet.

Her teammates then threw theirs to take out the remaining troops.  (At this point, I decided on a house rule where, each time you use a detonator, you suffer a -1 to your Rep each time you roll again on the table.  This prevents a team from spamming explosives.)

One trooper remained, and he slipped back across a bridge, with the two pilots giving chase.

This was followed by an exchange of fire on the bridge itself.  With no cover to hide behind, both men dropped prone and continued firing.  This allowed Pilot #2 to join in, and he finished the trooper off.

The remaining troops (Any OOF) were captured.  For rescuing the city from the Imperials, Hathis was promoted to General (though her Rep didn't increase), and she joined her squad and the people of the city in celebrating in Club Deeja.

Mission Hoth: a Star Wars adventure for CR 3.1

The Heroes snuck their craft into Echo base on Hoth, the former headquarters of the Rebel Alliance.  Slipping through the caves, Hathis led her group to search for why the Empire had recently taken interest in the base.

The group consisted of:

Hathis:  Rep 6 Human female Commander
Rorrk:  Rep 4 Duro male Tech Specialist
Quin:  Rep 3 Human male Pilot
Broff:  Rep 3 Human male Soldier.

As they entered the base, Rorrk plugged his handheld datapad into a base computer and frowned.

"I think we've got a problem."

"How big a problem?"  Hathis asked.

"Several stories tall, with powerful gun, and it approaches," the Duro answered with a frown.

Hathis frowned as well.  "How much time we have?"

Rorrk thought for a moment before answering.  "Less than an hour."

(I ruled that every time I rolled Doubles on Activation, the walker would move one section closer.  Let's hope they complete their mission in time!)

The group explored the base, passing a hanger with an X-Wing and Snow Speeder that were left behind.

"I wonder if those work," Broff said.

"Probably not the X-Wing," Quin said, "but the speeder might've survived over a year in these caves.
"Shh!"  Hathis snapped.  The group piled along the wall as she peered around the corner.  "I heard voices," she whispered.

(I started with 4 PEF, but only 2 ended up as opponents.  Since they were in the same room, I combined them into 1 group.)

"Here they come," she said.  "Back up, back up."

The Group slipped around the corner as several troopers appeared from one of the rooms.

5 Storm Troopers:  Rep 3;  rifles
2 Snow Troopers:  Rep 4; rifles.

"Broff, Quin, distract them," Hathis ordered.  Nodding, the two disappeared into the room using a side door.

(Opposed Challenge:  Pass.)

A minute later, the troopers turned to find one of the motors running in the shop.  As they inspected the device, the group moved past them into a room on the opposite side of the hall.

Hathis held up a fist as they noticed a lone Imperial in the room inspecting a hologram of the Death Star hovering above the computer.

"I know him," Rorrk whispered.  "That is General Tanz.  He tried to test several weapons on my people."

"Not this time," Broff said.  He snuck up behind Tanz, holding his pistol just inches from the general's helmet.

"Admiral Ackbar wants him alive," Rorrk said.

Bross nodded.  "It's set to stun.

(In Sight check:  Passed.  Ranged attack:  Pass 1d6 at close range = Hit.  Damage = Duck Back.)

Broff fired just as Tanz lowered his head to inspect the console, and the blast clipped the edge of his helmet.  Not even spinning around, he leaped around the corner, his pistol already out.

(Challenge to see if troopers heard the noise:  Passed 1d6, then 2d6.)

"What was that?"  Hathis spun around as she saw the troopers emerge from the shops.

(In Sight check versus 2 storm trooper groups.  Rebels passed.) 

Shoving, Quin, they ducked into the room.  Quin tried to tackle Tanz (Opposed Physical; fail), but the general kicked him in the knee, sending him sprawling against a computer.  Bring his pistol up, Rorrk fired dropped the general to the ground.

At this point, 1 storm trooper and the 2 snow troopers engaged Rorrk and Broff from the nearby door.

 (Rebels pass In Sight check.)

Peering around the corner, Broff fired his pistol and dropped 1 snow trooper and storm trooper.  The remaining trooper slipped behind the wall.  Peeking out, Rorrk fired but missed, and the trooper backed off further.

The remaining troopers charged the main door.  Hathis hid near one side while Quin hid behind the other.  As 2 troopers entered, Hathis and Quin opened fire and dropped the two in seconds.  The remaining troopers turned and ran across the hall into the shop.

The two exchanged fire, with Hathis shooting 1 trooper while the other ducked into an office.

"Quin, Rorrk, flank him," she ordered.  We'll try and keep him pinned here.

The two snuck into the side door and opened fire, but both missed.  Now the trooper was trapped, and he decided his only way out was to leap onto one of the cargo lifts so he was out of sight of both groups.  He then peeked out just as a laser blast skimmed the wall above his head.  Ducking, he returned fire blindly.

And he scored a direct hit, catching Quin in the chest.  Rorrk backed through the doorway, and the trooper inched forward, no doubt gaining a measure of confidence,  Unfortunately, he forgot to watch his back, and a shot from Hathis' pistol sent him face-first to the ground.

Returning to the main office, Rorrk deactivated the hologram.  "It appears they brought the plans for the previous Death Star here, possibly to find a way to build another."

"Download it, and we'll bring it with us," Hathis said.  "Just make sure we have the only copy."

Hearing Tanz groan, Broff rushed over and cuffed him.

Suddenly the walls shook and the three rushed to the console.

The walker loomed outside, no doubt attempting to contact those Imperials believed to be inside.

"Once they learn it's just us, we're toast!"  Hathis backed into the doorway.

"Perhaps not," Rorrk said.  "Quin stated the snow speeder may still work."

"Yeah," Broff said, "but our pilot is in no shape to fly it."

"I might be able to program it to fly a shot distance on its own," Rorrk replied, "enough for a collision."

"It's worth a try," Hathis said.  "Let's go."

The two rushed into the hanger, where Hathis hit the button to open the doors while Rorrk worked to program the speeder.

(I decided this required 2 Hard Challenges, and both Passed 2d6.)

Direct hit!  The speeder flew out of the hanger, smashing into the walker's cockpit.  With a huge explosion, the now-headless machine collapsed on its side.

Peeking out the hanger doors, Hathis whistled.  "I think you hit it."

Rorrk could only stare in shock.  "I honestly did not believe it would."

Passing him, she tapped him on the back.  "You're getting a stamp on your uniform for that one.  Let's head back to the computer and contact Admiral Ackbar."

(Roll to improve Rep.  Hathis:  Fail, Rorrk:  Pass, Broff:  Fail.)