Tabletop RPG Podcast and Roleplaying Resources

Month: September 2017 (Page 1 of 2)

Orion’s Gate: Star Wars Stat Blocks

Using the Orion’s Gate rules (version 1.2.0) I’ve constructed some Star Wars stat blocks.

Imperial Fleet

TIE Fighter Squadrons (as Scouts, 1 pts) [Have 6]

Move 10″, Cruise 15″, Ram -, Range 6″
Accuracy 6, Strength 0, Evasion 13, Toughness 7
Components:

  • (None)

TIE Fighter Squadrons (as Fighters, 2 pts) [Have 6]

Move 8″, Cruise 12″, Ram 12″, Range 12″
Accuracy 4, Strength 2, Evasion 11, Toughness 9
Components:

  • ☐☐ Laser Cannons (Cannon: May be fired at one enemy unit within 18”, has Accuracy 3 and Strength 5.)

Imperial Light Cruiser (Destroyer, 6 pts) [Have 0]

Move 6″, Cruise 9″, Ram 9″, Range 18″
Accuracy 2, Strength 4, Evasion 9, Toughness 11
Components:

  • ☐☐ Shield #1 (Shield: The ship gets +1 Toughness.)
  • ☐☐ Turbolasers (Giga Cannon: may be fired at one enemy unit within 6”, has accuracy 2 and Strength 8.)
  • ☐☐ Laser Cannons (Cannon: May be fired at one enemy unit within 18”, has Accuracy 3 and Strength 5.)

Victory-class Star Destroyer (Battleship, 12 pts) [Have 1]

Move 4″, Cruise 6″, Ram 6″, Range 12″
Range 24″, Accuracy 0, Strength 6, Evasion 7, Toughness 13
Components:

  • ☐☐ Shield #1 (Shield: The ship gets +1 Toughness.)
  • ☐☐ Tractor Beam (Tractor Beam: Target enemy ship within 18” is moved D6” toward the ship.)
  • ☐☐ Shield #2 (Shield: The ship gets +1 Toughness.)
  • ☐☐ Turbolasers Cluster (Missile Cluster: The missile cluster may be fired at up to three enemy units within 12”, has Accuracy 3 and Strength 3.)
  • ☐☐ Turbolasers (Giga Cannon: may be fired at one enemy unit within 6”, has accuracy 2 and Strength 8.)
  • ☐☐ Laser Cannons (Cannon: May be fired at one enemy unit within 18”, has Accuracy 3 and Strength 5.)

Victory-class Star Destroyer [Hanger Variant] (Battleship, 12 pts) [Have 1]

Move 4″, Cruise 6″, Ram 6″, Range 12″
Range 24″, Accuracy 0, Strength 6, Evasion 7, Toughness 13
Components:

  • ☐☐ Shield #1 (Shield: The ship gets +1 Toughness.)
  • ☐☐ Tractor Beam (Tractor Beam: Target enemy ship within 18” is moved D6” toward the ship.)
  • ☐☐ Shield #2 (Shield: The ship gets +1 Toughness.)
  • ☐☐ Turbolasers Cluster (Missile Cluster: The missile cluster may be fired at up to three enemy units within 12”, has Accuracy 3 and Strength 3.)
  • ☐☐ Hanger Bay (Hangar: The hangar may release a swarm of close range interceptors, which attack all enemy units within 6”, have Accuracy 6 and Strength 0.)
  • ☐☐ Laser Cannons (Cannon: May be fired at one enemy unit within 18”, has Accuracy 3 and Strength 5.)

Rebel Fleet

X-wing/Y-Wing Squadrons (Fighters, 2 pts) [Have 4]

Move 8″, Cruise 12″, Ram 12″, Range 12″
Accuracy 4, Strength 2, Evasion 11, Toughness 9
Components:

  • ☐☐ Laser Cannons (Cannon: May be fired at one enemy unit within 18”, has Accuracy 3 and Strength 5.)

Rebel Transports (Destroyer, 6 pts) [Have 0]

Move 6″, Cruise 9″, Ram 9″, Range 18″
Accuracy 2, Strength 4, Evasion 9, Toughness 11
Components:

  • ☐☐ Shield #1 (Shield: The ship gets +1 Toughness.)
  • ☐☐ Boarding Pods (Boarding Pods: The ship has +3” range when trying to board enemy ships.
  • ☐☐ Laser Cannons (Cannon: May be fired at one enemy unit within 18”, has Accuracy 3 and Strength 5.)

CR90 Corvette (Destroyer, 6 pts) [Have 1]

Move 6″, Cruise 9″, Ram 9″, Range 18″
Accuracy 2, Strength 4, Evasion 9, Toughness 11
Components:

  • ☐☐ Repair Bay (Repair Bay: Remove one point of damage from a friendly ship within 3”. Note that you may only take 1 repair bay per ship.)
  • ☐☐ Laser Cannons (Cannon: May be fired at one enemy unit within 18”, has Accuracy 3 and Strength 5.)
  • ☐☐ Laser Cannons (Cannon: May be fired at one enemy unit within 18”, has Accuracy 3 and Strength 5.)

Nebulon-B Frigate (Destroyer, 6 pts) [Have 1]

Move 6″, Cruise 9″, Ram 9″, Range 18″
Accuracy 2, Strength 4, Evasion 9, Toughness 11
Components:

  • ☐☐ Hyperspace Drive (Warp Drive: The ship may be placed anywhere within 2D6” of its position.)
  • ☐☐ Turbolasers (Giga Cannon: may be fired at one enemy unit within 6”, has accuracy 2 and Strength 8.)
  • ☐☐ Laser Cannons (Cannon: May be fired at one enemy unit within 18”, has Accuracy 3 and Strength 5.)

 

Armies

2 Players (1 Rebel, 1 Imperial)

  • Imperial Fleet: Victory-class Star Destroyer (Battleship, 12 pts x 1), TIE Fighters (1 pt x 6) = 18 points
  • Rebel Fleet: CR90 Corvette (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), Nebulon-B Frigate (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), X-wing/Y-Wing Squadrons (Fighters, 2 pts x 3) = 18 points

3 Players (2 Rebel, 1 Imperial (using Destroyer with Hanger))

  • Imperial Fleet: Victory-class Star Destroyer (Battleship, 12 pts x 1) = 12 points
  • Rebel Fleet: 2 of these 3: CR90 Corvette (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), Nebulon-B Frigate (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), X-wing/Y-Wing Squadrons (Fighters, 2 pts x 3) = 12 points

4 Players (3 Rebel, 1 Imperial)

  • Imperial Fleet: Victory-class Star Destroyer (Battleship, 12 pts x 1), TIE Fighters (1 pt x 6) = 18 points
  • Rebel Fleet: CR90 Corvette (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), Nebulon-B Frigate (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), X-wing/Y-Wing Squadrons (Fighters, 2 pts x 3) = 18 points

5 Players (4 Rebel, 1 Imperial)

  • Imperial Fleet: Victory-class Star Destroyer (Battleship, 12 pts x 1), TIE Fighters (1 pt x 6), Imperial Light Cruiser (6 pts x 1) = 24 points
  • Rebel Fleet: CR90 Corvette (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), Nebulon-B Frigate (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), X-wing/Y-Wing Squadrons (Fighters, 2 pts x 3), Rebel Transports (Fighters, Destroyer, 6 pts x 1) = 24 points

6 Players (4 Rebel, 2 Imperial)

  • Imperial Fleet: Victory-class Star Destroyer (Battleship, 12 pts x 1), TIE Fighters (1 pt x 6), Imperial Light Cruiser (6 pts x 1) = 24 points
  • Rebel Fleet: CR90 Corvette (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), Nebulon-B Frigate (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), X-wing/Y-Wing Squadrons (Fighters, 2 pts x 3), Rebel Transports (Fighters, Destroyer, 6 pts x 1) = 24 points

7 Players (4 Rebel, 3 Imperial)

  • Imperial Fleet: Victory-class Star Destroyer (Battleship, 12 pts x 1), TIE Fighters (1 pt x 6), Imperial Light Cruiser (6 pts x 1) = 24 points
  • Rebel Fleet: CR90 Corvette (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), Nebulon-B Frigate (Destroyer, 6 pts x 1), X-wing/Y-Wing Squadrons (Fighters, 2 pts x 3), Rebel Transports (Fighters, Destroyer, 6 pts x 1) = 24 points

 

 

 

Coming Full Circle: One-hour Wargames

Back in February 2010, after having researched wargames on several online forums, I ended up purchasing my first set of wargaming rules. It was a book by Neil Thomas called Ancient & Medieval Wargaming.

I breezed through the book and loved it! I was intrigued enough to buy another couple of books that month: Field of Glory and Black Powder.

Both of these latter two books had high production values and looked like great fun, but both required a dauntingly large set of miniatures and expansive gaming spaces. I had neither of each at the time.

Fast-forward to 2017. Now that my kids have moved out, I have more gaming space, more time, and gaming buddies who are willing to try out just about any roleplaying or miniatures games.

I did some more research wargame rules, and bought Sword & Spear. I tried to field a game a few weeks ago, but none of the two other players who were showing up had time to read the rules. They rules are only 50 pages, but even that was more reading than our busy work week allowed.

Afterwards, I thought of the uber-simplicity of the rules in the Neil Thomas book. I researched online and found that he had since published another set of rules called (fittingly) One-hour Wargames: Practical Tabletop Battles for those with limited time and space.

I bought this and devoured it. In this book are several sets of one-page rules, each optimized for a different historical time period. Moreover, the games are optimized for quick, 1-hour games! Also included are 30 different scenarios (things like ‘hold the bridge’ or ‘retreat with minimal casualties’). Instead of focusing on a pitched battle-to-the-death between two meticulously balanced, totally-equal forces, Neil Thomas has focused on quick games that are easy but with lots of tactical nuances in scenarios that were much more like real battles.

The quick, 1-hour gameplay also means you can do campaigns. An evening could easily have 3 games where you try for the ‘best of 3’. Thinking about a future World War II themed campaign we have in mind, we could easily fight out side-skirmishes before (or after) our roleplaying games to complement the main campaign story. Lots of potential fun here!

Anyway, although I’m still anxious to play Sword & Spear wargame rules at some point, I think I’d like to start with Thomas’s simpler one-page rules, and only graduate to Sword & Spear or other more complex rulesets after we’ve had a change to get our feet wet with these simple rules. And it would not surprise me if these simple rules are all we ever decide we need :-).

One Page Starship Rules: Orion’s Gate

I recently ran across a set of one-page starship rules called Orion’s Gate. It’s no longer supported by the author, but reading through it, it really seems to do all the things I really want in a lightweight ‘beer & pretzels’ style starship wargame, namely:

  • Easy to pick up even if you haven’t read the rules in months.
  • One-page handout is all you need to use during the game.
  • Ability to stat out Star Wars, Star Trek, and other IPs.
  • Ability to mix Capital size large destroyers alongside small squadrons.
  • Potential to play a full game in 1-2 hours.

I also like A Sky Full of Ship for the above purpose, but I think Orion’s Gate might actually do the job more simply.

I do want to try this game out sometime soon. Here’s some Star Trek ships I stat’d out using the Orion’s Gate rules.

Constellation Class / Intrepid-Class Ship (Destroyer, 6 pts)

Range 18″, Accuracy 2, Strength 4, Evasion 9, Toughness 11
Components:

  • ☐☐ Shield
  • ☐☐ Photon Torpedoes (Canon)
  • ☐☐ Phaser Bank (Missile Cluster)

U.S.S. Excelsior, Galaxy Class (Battleship, 12 pts)

Range 24″, Accuracy 0, Strength 6, Evasion 7, Toughness 13
Components:

  • ☐☐ Shield #1
  • ☐☐ Tractor Beam
  • ☐☐ Shield #2
  • ☐☐ Photon Torpedoes (Tsunami Canon)
  • ☐☐ Shield #3
  • ☐☐ Phaser Bank (Missile Cluster)

Klingon K’Vort Bird-of-Prey (Destroyer, 6 pts)

Range 18″, Accuracy 2, Strength 4, Evasion 9, Toughness 11
Components:

  • ☐☐ Shield
  • ☐☐ Photon Torpedoes (Canon)
  • ☐☐ Phaser Bank (Missile Cluster)

Klingon K’t’inga Battlecruiser (Battleship, 12 pts)

Range 24″, Accuracy 0, Strength 6, Evasion 7, Toughness 13
Components:

  • ☐☐ Shield #1
  • ☐☐ Klingon Irradiated Photon Torpedoes (Plasma Canon)
  • ☐☐ Shield #2
  • ☐☐ Photo Torpedoes (Cannon)
  • ☐☐ Shield #3
  • ☐☐ Phaser Bank (Missile Cluster)

I’ll also work out some house rules, such as when you have no shield components remaining, you would announce your shields being down to X 10%.

Sometime soon I’ll also stat out a Star Wars fleet for use with my Star Wars Armada minis. Here are the ships I’ll stat out in a future post:

REBEL FLEET

  • CR90 Corvette
  • Nebulon-B Frigate

IMPERIAL FLEET

  • Victory-class Star Destroyer
  • X-wing Squadrons
  • TIE Fighter Squadrons

Ancient & Medieval Wargame Rules By Complexity

Here’s an an analysis of several leading wargame rulesets for Ancient and Medieval wargaming, ranked from least complex to most complex.

Ancient and Medieval Wargaming (AMW) by Neil Thomas
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/32404/ancient-medieval-wargaming
2 hours playtime; Weight: 1.00 / 5
Buy at: https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Medieval-Wargaming-Neil-Thomas/dp/0750945729

Resources:
Ancient and Medieval Wargaming
http://theminiaturespage.com/rules/boards/msg.mv?id=1117
http://prufrockian-gleanings.blogspot.com/2013/01/ancient-and-medieval-wargaming-amw-with.html
http://timsbattles.blogspot.com/2012/08/first-play-test-of-neil-thomas-medieval.html

One Hour Wargames by Neil Thomas
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/170298/one-hour-wargames
1-2 hours playtime; Weight: 1.50 / 5
Buy at: https://www.amazon.com/One-hour-Wargames-Practical-Tabletop-Battles/dp/1473822904

Resources:
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=351079

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1308184/quick-review-one-hour-wargame

Sword & Spear
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/161726/sword-spear-wargames-rules-ancient-and-medieval-ba
2 hours playtime; Weight: 2.50 / 5

L’Art de la Guerre
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/51429/lart-de-la-guerre
2 hour playtime; Weight: 3.00 / 5

Resources:
http://www.madaxeman.com/L_Art_de_la_Guerre_page.php
http://www.northstarfigures.com/list.php?man=179&cat=140&page=1
http://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=6555

Field of Glory
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31542/field-glory
3 hours playtime; Weight: 3.74 / 5

Discussion on Rules-Light Wargames:
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=210533

Notes on 60mm Frontage Standards for Wargames

Memorializing a note that when wargaming with Robert, we have standarized on 60mm frontages for bases. This works well with almost all rules for figures at the 25mm, 28mm, and 1/72 scale. 15mm scale would then use 40mm bases.

See a discussion here on 60mm and potentially using 25mm or 1/72 plastic figures as the scale for these frontages.

Here were bases Stan bought but that weren’t right scale.

Stan’s Litko Bases (not the right size, but shows example components).

To actually have the 28mm figure be attachable, here’s what Litko said:

Most customers use the magnetic base bottoms on the actual figure bases, then use the flex-steel base bottoms as inserts in the trays.

Your half way there, you can use the base bottoms you have and stick them into the tray. You just need to order the magnet base bottoms for your figures. Looks like your using the 25mm circle bases.

http://www.litko.net/products.php?product=Circular-Miniature-Bases%3A-25-mm

See pics below for Robert’s figures.

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