Soulmage
Mongoose
Playtested a scenario for our local convention that I will be running.
(From memory, may be missing some details.)
Alternate (very alternate!) history. . . U.S. looses the Battle of Midway! Carrier fleets on both sides are largely destoyed. (Or whatever. I wanted to run a surface action. . . probably won't have any die-hard history buffs playing. . . and they won't care about the fluff after the first salvo anyway!)
The Japanese have stopped the island hopping campaign cold, before it even got rolling. Japanese forces are massing around the Hawaiian islands preparing to wipe out the naval base at Peal Harbor. If Pearl Harbor falls there will be nothing to stop Japanese battleships from shelling U.S. cities on the coast of California! (Had to provide a little drama.)
The Japanese have dispatched task force Sekigahara led by the mighty Musashi to reinforce the strike on Pearl. Accompanying the Musashi are two Kongo class battlecruisers, a Mogami class cruiser, and two Fubuki class destroyers.
The U.S. has scraped together task force Hail Mary to intercept the Musashi, consisting of three obsolete battleships (West Virginia, Texas, and South Dakota), the cruiser Phoenix, and three Fletcher class destroyers. (IIRC)
The Japanese players have to destroy the WV and SD to prevent them from participating in the battle at Pearl, and get the Musashi off the other edge of the table.
The US has to destroy the Musashi, and preserve either the WV or the SD. (Texas is too old and impotent to count as a valuable reinforcement for Pearl.)
If neither side achieves its objectives, its a strategic loss for both sides that promises a drawn out Pacific campaign and many thousands of additional lives lost on both sides.
Played the game for the first time last night. Discovered that without targeting restrictions, the game is essentially going to be a draw every time. The U.S. has enough firepower to cripple or sink the Musashi without too much difficulty. . . while the Japanese fleet is powerful enough to ensure the destruction of the U.S. capital ships.
(This is why we playtest.)
So for the purposes of this scenario, I'm going to put in a rule that any turret-mounted weapons must target the nearest enemy ship of equal or larger class to the shooter. That will introduce some more tactical manuvering element in getting the "right" ships from each side to engage, as well as give the destroyers an advantage in that their secondary weapons and torps are free to target anyone.
Its an introductory Con game, just to whet people's appetite and have a good time. Playing without any special rules (night fight etc.) or special actions and implementing a couple house rules:
1. The torpedo belt rule says that torpedoes confirm crits only on a 6 instead of the normal rule.
2. Secondary weapons don't take any negative modifiers to hit. (Although with the stripped down version of the game, there's not a whole lot for them to take.)
Then. . I'm going to write two scenarios for the defense of Pearl and will run them in a later session. One scenario each depending on the outcome of the first battle. Probably use some land-based aircraft from Pearl (might houserule those to be more effective) and a big fleet on both sides for a huge apocalyptic battle.
(From memory, may be missing some details.)
Alternate (very alternate!) history. . . U.S. looses the Battle of Midway! Carrier fleets on both sides are largely destoyed. (Or whatever. I wanted to run a surface action. . . probably won't have any die-hard history buffs playing. . . and they won't care about the fluff after the first salvo anyway!)
The Japanese have stopped the island hopping campaign cold, before it even got rolling. Japanese forces are massing around the Hawaiian islands preparing to wipe out the naval base at Peal Harbor. If Pearl Harbor falls there will be nothing to stop Japanese battleships from shelling U.S. cities on the coast of California! (Had to provide a little drama.)
The Japanese have dispatched task force Sekigahara led by the mighty Musashi to reinforce the strike on Pearl. Accompanying the Musashi are two Kongo class battlecruisers, a Mogami class cruiser, and two Fubuki class destroyers.
The U.S. has scraped together task force Hail Mary to intercept the Musashi, consisting of three obsolete battleships (West Virginia, Texas, and South Dakota), the cruiser Phoenix, and three Fletcher class destroyers. (IIRC)
The Japanese players have to destroy the WV and SD to prevent them from participating in the battle at Pearl, and get the Musashi off the other edge of the table.
The US has to destroy the Musashi, and preserve either the WV or the SD. (Texas is too old and impotent to count as a valuable reinforcement for Pearl.)
If neither side achieves its objectives, its a strategic loss for both sides that promises a drawn out Pacific campaign and many thousands of additional lives lost on both sides.
Played the game for the first time last night. Discovered that without targeting restrictions, the game is essentially going to be a draw every time. The U.S. has enough firepower to cripple or sink the Musashi without too much difficulty. . . while the Japanese fleet is powerful enough to ensure the destruction of the U.S. capital ships.
(This is why we playtest.)
So for the purposes of this scenario, I'm going to put in a rule that any turret-mounted weapons must target the nearest enemy ship of equal or larger class to the shooter. That will introduce some more tactical manuvering element in getting the "right" ships from each side to engage, as well as give the destroyers an advantage in that their secondary weapons and torps are free to target anyone.
Its an introductory Con game, just to whet people's appetite and have a good time. Playing without any special rules (night fight etc.) or special actions and implementing a couple house rules:
1. The torpedo belt rule says that torpedoes confirm crits only on a 6 instead of the normal rule.
2. Secondary weapons don't take any negative modifiers to hit. (Although with the stripped down version of the game, there's not a whole lot for them to take.)
Then. . I'm going to write two scenarios for the defense of Pearl and will run them in a later session. One scenario each depending on the outcome of the first battle. Probably use some land-based aircraft from Pearl (might houserule those to be more effective) and a big fleet on both sides for a huge apocalyptic battle.
