Excelsior Entertainment Forums
Warzone => Events, Army Ideas, Battle Reports => Topic started by: Horned Owl on February 02, 2012, 07:55:34 AM
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One of the posts in the Warzone General Discussions threads prompted me to take one of my favourite small press games from its shelf. And then I asked myself (since the rules are fairly general and adaptable to nearly any military fiction background), why not? Why not use it with Mutant Chronicles?
I reactivated Andreas, one of my friends from my old MC role-playing days. He was all for it.
Since this is mainly an UWZ forum, and we used a different set of rules, I´ll have to ask whether it´s okay to post this. Any objections? I´ll spice it up with enough flavour text to make it worthwhile for the Warzone guys and gals on here. Promise. :)
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I am in no way giving an official answer, but in my opinion it would be cool to see Warzone and Chronopia battles fought with other systems.
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I don't think anybody has something against a well told Warzone story. It doesn't matter if you used a different set of rules as long the story is great.
The people are open-minded in this forum and a lot of people are playing different games in anyway.
I'm looking forward to read your battle report!
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Post away,please!
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Pictures lots of pictures and terrain lots of terrain.
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You´ll be disappointed in the pictures... it´s all proxies. Haven´t seen a good tabletop in months. But I´ll try to oblige you.
:(
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The starry night was clear and cold. Icicles hung from the barbed wire, glittering when the glare of the searchlights pierced the night. Snow covered the trench walls and sandbags in a thick white layer, adding to the misery of trench life. Hussars huddled into their dugouts, trying to get some warmth from the kerosene lamps. Their greatcoats were stiff with frost, and there was rime on their shoulder pads and spiked helmets. This was the northern rim of the Ring of Strife, close to the Circle of Ice, Venus´ white polar cap. Too close for Capitaine Velasquez´ liking.
Not even the barn-sized Grizzly battle tanks, whose topmost turrets were visible over the tallest fir-trees far behind his line, could reassure the Capitaine on this night. From this angle, their huge-bore barrels took on the aspect of empty eye-sockets staring balefully out over a dead landscape, gouged by trenches and spitted with guard towers. Half a mile away, across the frozen valley, were similar encampments, where the Imperial Conquistadors had dug in, on the edge of the village of Korograd. Several platoons, probably even two companies. Through his field glasses, Velasquez could make out the tops of tents, a limp Union Jack banner, snow-covered foxholes. All was quiet. Too quiet.
The Capitaine put down the binoculars and continued down the trench. Some soldiers half got up and touched the rim of their helmets when they saw him come up, which was what passed for a salute on this miserable section of the border. More often than not, they didn´t even move, too lost in their own personal hell to care. Velasquez knew he would have to instill some discipline soon, maybe even make a few examples. He didn´t like it. He was troubled, as troubled as the men under his command, and he was glad that his hussar´s faceplate hid his face. He kept his back very straight and his stride purposeful. But his stomach tightened, and he suddenly wished he had a cigarette. He pushed that thought back. Ever since he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, he had given up smoking, and by the Light, he was not going to start now.
The next clump of soldiers he passed were praying, passing around a small signed image of the Cardinal. He heard the mumble, and out of habit, his lips moved behind the mask, silently continuing the prayer as he walked on. "... of our sins absolve us, and guide us to the Light, strength give us to renounce the Dark..." The words rang hollow. On a night like this, they seemed devoid of meaning. An unholy chill gripped his heart. He felt it, the men felt it. Something was about to happen. Something awful.
The next post saluted but kept his eyes on the valley ahead. The soldier was smoking a cigarette, but hid the glow behind a cupped hand. Commendable, the Capitaine thought briefly. He kept his voice to a whisper. "Report?"
"Soldier Nyberg, Herr Capitaine. All quiet, sir. I do not like this."
"Nothing of the patrol?"
"No, Herr Capitaine."
"You´re right, soldier. I do not like it either."
There was a pause as both men stared out at the valley, each lost in his personal thoughts. Then Nyberg turned his head. The face below the helmet was very young.
"May I ask you something, Herr Capitaine?"
Velasquez frowned at the familiarity, but his mask hid the expression. He ****ed his head.
"Well, sir, you know, this is my first assignment, and, well, I´m – I´m scared, sir. If the Imperials attack, well, I don´t really know – I don´t know whether I´ll be able to – whether I´ll let my comrades down, let my officers down. Whether I´ll be able to do honour to my father." The words just poured out. "I want to make him proud. I want to – and I just don´t know. I´m sorry, Herr Capitaine. I´m sorry."
Velasquez said nothing, but laid a hand on the soldier´s shoulder pad and stared into his eyes. The boy looked up.
"Does it ever get better?"
The Capitaine slowly shook his head.
"No, soldier. If anything, it gets worse with each battle." He watched the young man pale, bravely holding back the tears.
"But when the fighting starts, you will know what to do. Because that is the nature of combat. It doesn´t leave you time to think or be afraid. You will do the right thing, because you won´t have a choice."
Both men looked at each other. And then they caught a movement in the corner of their eye. Instantly they were on the dugout´s rim, raising their field glasses.
"A spiked helmet, Herr Capitaine! That is the patrol!"
Velasquez narrowed his eyes. There was something wrong with the soldiers marching across the valley. They moved with a pained gait, swaying slightly and dragging limbs behind. Were they wounded? But he had never seen a wounded man walk that way. All his bad premonitions flared up.
"Your name was Nyberg, soldier?"
"Yes, Herr Capitaine." There he was, proud that an officer remembered his name. Velasquez shook his head.
"Run down the trench and rouse the third platoon, Soldier Nyberg. They are to take up their positions. I want weapons locked and loaded, and the machine guns manned with extras. Understood?"
"Third platoon to take up positions, weapons loaded, machine guns manned with extras. Zu Befehl, Herr Capitaine." The soldier started clambering up into the trench from the dugout.
"And soldier?"
The boy turned back hesitantly. "Yes, sir?"
"You couldn´t spare a comrade a cigarette, Soldier Nyberg?"
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Not a week ago, Imperial conquistador troops captured the Bauhaus town of Korograd, located on the snowy northern rim of the Ring of Strife on Venus. They retooled the production facilities for their own use and left behind a heavily armed occupation force to protect their investment from its erstwhile owners. Already Imperial advertises to the customers that it will keep up supply of Bauhaus-Korobond(tm) steel fittings to the market, and promises that prices will be substantially lower than they were under the Bauhaus aegis.
Not wishing to create an incident (and afraid of alienating Korobond´s customers), Bauhaus currently refrains from attacking the facilities, trying to settle the matter through diplomatic channels. The trench garrison force of Hussars from the 43rd Venusian regiment is under orders to keep a close watch on the Imperial lines, but to initiate no hostile action unless they are attacked themselves.
Tensions run high on the Bauhaus line, as a platoon-strength patrol has gone missing. Unbeknownst to their comrades, the patrol disturbed a sleeping subterranean Citadel of Algeroth. Killed and resurrected, the platoon returns to their own lines as animated Legionnaires. Suddenly, the relative importance of stock values and market shares is lost on the soldiers, who are shaken to the bone.
Because of the political pressure against a firefight, and because the troops are afraid of shooting their own patrol by accident, the Legion forces are represented by inverted counters until spotted and identified. Two of the counters actually represent survivors from the platoon. "Recon by fire" or blind firing might kill the Hussars´ comrades, which will cause all Bauhaus units in line of sight of the killed soldiers to drop a morale level. The Legion player must use at least one action per turn to move the survivors´ counters closer to the Bauhaus lines.
As soon as the survivors´ counters are identified, control of them is switched to the Bauhaus player. The survivors have exhausted most of their ammunition, and their resolve has been shattered by the fate of their comrades (BROKEN morale level). They are not of much use in a fight, but if at least half of them can reach the Hussars´ lines, the morale of all Bauhaus units will rise one level.
The Legionnaires´ mission is to capture as many Hussars as possible for braincoring and reanimation – whether dead, wounded or alive is of no real concern to their masters. Their "med-evac" support consists of vehicles fitted with large cages that can transport the cadavers and prisoners to the citadel.
Maintaining morale will play an important role for the Hussars, to be able to withstand the inevitable close assault by the Legion.
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(http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/8831/img6768k.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/600/img6768k.jpg/)
Made the hills of stacked books covered with a green fleece blanket. It´s not a bad way to represent hills if you have no ready terrain. The counters in the foreground are unit and leader quality (REGULAR-2) and morale level (SHAKEN).
(http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/630/img6778t.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/507/img6778t.jpg/)
We used my old Spacelords battleclone miniatures to represent the Bauhausers, and Andreas´ BattleTech Kurita and Steiner infantry for the Legionnaires. I didn´t take pictures of the vehicles, but they were represented by shoals of pocket calculators. *cough*
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(http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/2228/img6770hp.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/140/img6770hp.jpg/)
The Legionnaires take fire as they advance but shuffle on regardless. Their wounded just get up and crawl along despite their injuries. Note the suppression markers on the Bauhaus squad on the right – those mean that they have taken fire and have to keep their heads down, unable to fire at the advancing undead.
The squad on the left has one wounded, but already patched him up (the red cross marker). Med-evac is on its way. The Undead have one untreated wounded (the blood splotch marker).
(http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/9035/img6775e.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/109/img6775e.jpg/)
The Legion assaults the dug-in Hussars´ position. The Legionnaires´ Terror effect and immunity to morale meant that despite being extremely low quality troops and taking a terrible mauling by the Bauhausers, they still managed to rout the Hussars and follow through with the assault. It was unnerving watching my troops being victorious by a score of two or three to one, yet having their morale drop to rock bottom and retreating nonetheless.
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(http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/756/img6779t.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/37/img6779t.jpg/)
Legionnaires firing over a low wall (represented by pens). In all, fire by the Legion didn´t result in too many casualties, but the Ashnagaroth machine guns with their high rate of fire managed to inflict a lot of suppression results, which left the Hussars wide open to close assault.
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Differences from Warzone in a nutshell:
- StarGrunt II has a differentiated morale system where troops under stress may drop in morale levels – from CONFIDENT, via STEADY, SHAKEN, BROKEN all the way down to ROUTED. It will take several failed morale tests in a row to send a squad packing or retreating, but they will gradually become more reluctant to expose themselves to fire, and once broken, morale will stay low. Morale level is also the deciding factor in close assault situations, more so than unit quality or equipment.
- Officers can activate squads a second time during a turn (similar to the Give Orders action).
- Firing is resolved by squads (or in larger games, by half-platoons), not by individual soldiers, which speeds up the game.
- Ranged combat results in very little casualties. Two forces can fire at each other across a range all day with little result. Ranged fire is mainly used to suppress units and keep them from moving or sticking their heads out so they can either be overrun in a close assault, or blown to bits with artillery and mortar strikes.
- Firing ranges are not dependent on the weapon, but on the firing unit´s quality – a veteran soldier can hit to wound or suppress at a far greater range than a green recruit with the same rifle.
- Gunfire may kill soldiers or wound them. Wounded have to be carried (hampering the squad) or med-evacuated. If they have to be abandoned, this is usually accompanied by a sharp drop in morale level. Conversely, med-evac can raise the soldiers´ morale.
- It explicitly says in the rules that someone who wants to fire at medical rescue vehicles may do so, but will have to buy all the beers afterwards (which is StarGrunt´s way of enforcing the Geneva convention). Incidentally, this may make playing the Dark Legion somewhat expensive in the long run.
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Stargrunt II requires players to draw up a theoretical TO&E for their troops, complete with support units that are not actually represented on the table, such as med-evac, artillery, mortars, and air support. My troop layout for this scenario was as follows:
Part of 2nd Company, 5th Battallion, 43rd Venusian Regiment:
--- Company HQ:
--- REGULAR-1 (D8 Quality die) - Armour D8 (full light armour) - Sensors D6 (aided vision)
------ Capitaine Velasquez (company commander) - armed with a MP-50 submachinegun (close range only, Firepower 3, Impact D8)
--------- and officers´ sabre (+1 close combat)
------ Company sergeant - armed with a Hagelsturm assault shotgun (close range only, Firepower 3, Impact D8, +2 close combat)
------ 2 Hussars - armed with Panzerknacker assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D10)
--- 3rd Hussar Platoon
------ Platoon command unit:
------ REGULAR-2 (D8 Quality die) - Armour D8 (full light armour) - Sensors D6 (aided vision)
------ Mounted on horses (Move 10 / 2D10)
--------- Leutnant Korolev (platoon commander) - armed with a MP-50 submachinegun (close range only, Firepower 3, Impact D8)
------------ and officers´ sabre (+1 close combat)
--------- Platoon sergeant - armed with a Hagelsturm assault shotgun (close range only, Firepower 3, Impact D8, +2 close combat)
--------- 2 Hussars - armed with Panzerknacker assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D10)
------ 1st Squad:
------ VETERAN-2 (D10 Quality die) - Armour D8 (full light armour)
------ Mounted on horses (Move 10 / 2D10)
--------- Sergeant Branduari (squad commander) - armed with a Hagelsturm assault shotgun (close range only, Firepower 3, Impact D8, +2 close combat)
--------- 1 Hussar - armed with a MG-80 heavy rotary machinegun (Firepower D12, Impact D10)
--------- 5 Hussars - armed with Panzerknacker assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D10)
------ 2nd Squad:
------ REGULAR-2 (D8 Quality die) - Armour D8 (full light armour)
------ Sergeant Hardt (squad commander) - armed with a Hagelsturm assault shotgun (close range only, Firepower 3, Impact D8, +2 close combat)
------ 1 Hussar - armed with a MG-80 heavy rotary machinegun (Firepower D12, Impact D10)
------ 1 Hussar - armed with a disposable rocket launcher (Firepower D10, Impact D12*, 3 rounds of ammo)
--------- and a Panzerknacker assault rifle (Firepower 2, Impact D10)
------ 4 Hussars - armed with Panzerknacker assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D10)
------ 3rd Squad:
------ REGULAR-1 (D8 Quality die) - Armour D8 (full light armour)
--------- Sergeant Gerbrand (squad commander) - armed with a Hagelsturm assault shotgun (close range only, Firepower 3, Impact D8, +2 close combat)
--------- 1 Hussar - armed with a MG-80 heavy rotary machinegun (Firepower D12, Impact D10)
--------- 1 Hussar - armed with a disposable rocket launcher (Firepower D10, Impact D12*, 3 rounds of ammo)
------------ and a Panzerknacker assault rifle (Firepower 2, Impact D10)
--------- 4 Hussars - armed with Panzerknacker assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D10)
--- Light armour platoon:
--- REGULAR-2 (D8 Quality die)
------ 4 Jackal PZRV light scout tanks - size 2 High Mobility Wheeled vehicles - Armour 2* - Sensors D8 (scout sensors)
--------- armed with a turreted HKP-3 cannon (Firing system D8, Impact D12 x 3)
--------- and a pintle-mounted MG-80 heavy rotary machinegun (Firepower D12, Impact D10)
--------- designated as artillery liaison elements for the Grizzly support
--------- Crew: Armour D6 (partial light armour) - Move 8" / 2D8"
--------- 2 crew to each vehicle - armed with a MP-50 submachinegun (close range only, Firepower 3, Impact D8, +1 close combat)
This looks like a lot, but in SGII firing and moving is done in whole squads at a time. All troops start the game at the TIRED fatigue level. Mission Motivation is MEDIUM.
Off-table assets:
--- Light mortar section
--- at company level, 1 turn inbound:
------ 4 light mortars (burst radius 3"), anti-personnel (D12 vs infantry / D8 vs point targets)
--- Support fire from Grizzly battle tanks (behind the lines)
--- at regimental level, 2 turns inbound:
------ 3 tank guns, firing indirectly (burst radius 6"), anti-vehicle (D6 vs infantry / D12 x 2 vs point targets)
--- Med-evac vehicles
--- at company level, 1 turn inbound:
--- REGULAR-2 (D8 quality die)
------ 3 Converted Sabretooth half-track bikes: - size 1 Tracked vehicles - Armour 1*, open-topped
--------- hold 2 wounded soldiers each
--------- Crew: Armour D6 (partial light armour) - Move 8" / 2D8"
--------- 2 crew to each vehicle - armed with a MP-50 submachinegun (close range only, Firepower 3, Impact D8, +1 close combat)
The company officer has four priority counters.
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Survivors of the patrol:
--- Remnants of 4th squad
--- REGULAR-2 (D8 Quality die) - Armour D8 (full light armour)
------ Sergeant (squad commander) - armed with a Hagelsturm assault shotgun (close range only, Firepower 3, Impact D8, +2 close combat)
------ 3 Hussars - armed with Panzerknacker assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D10)
------ 2 wounded Hussars
--- Remnants of 5th squad
--- VETERAN-2 (D10 Quality die) - Armour D8 (full light armour)
------ 3 Hussars - armed with Panzerknacker assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D10)
------ 1 Hussar - armed with a MG-80 heavy rotary machinegun (Firepower D12, Impact D10)
All survivors start the game at EXHAUSTED fatigue level and BROKEN morale level. Mission Motivation is LOW.
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Company Gorgaz - 3rd Kohort of the Venusian Reapers
--- Company command section:
--- VETERAN-2 (D10 Quality die) - Armour D8 (full light armour)
--- (ignore morale and fatigue)
------ Centurion Gorgaz (company commander) - armed with a Belzarach assault rifle (Firepower 2, Impact D10) and Skalak sword (+1 close combat)
------ 4 Necromutants - armed with Belzarach assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D10) and bayonet (+1 close combat)
--- 1st section:
--- UNTRAINED-2 (D4 Quality die) - Armour D4 (ill-assorted armour pieces) - Move 4" / 2D4"
--- Undead (ignore morale, fatigue and suppression) -
--- Wounded legionnaires canot fight except in close combat (at -1 die type), but move of their own accord.
--- May not go prone. - May not call for support. - If leader is dead, no actions possible until reorganised into another squad.
--- Terror effect
------ Necromutant (squad commander) - armed with a Belzarach assault rifle (Firepower 2, Impact D10) and bayonet (+1 close combat)
------ 9 Undead Legionnaires - armed with Kratach assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D8) and bayonets (+1 close combat)
------ 1 Undead Legionnaire - armed with Ashnagaroth light machinegun (Firepower D10, Impact D8)
--- 2nd section:
--- UNTRAINED-2 (D4 Quality die) - Armour D4 (ill-assorted armour pieces) - Move 4" / 2D4"
--- Undead (ignore morale, fatigue and suppression) -
--- Wounded legionnaires canot fight except in close combat (at -1 die type), but move of their own accord.
--- May not go prone. - May not call for support. - If leader is dead, no actions possible until reorganised into another squad.
--- Terror effect
------ Necromutant (squad commander) - armed with a Belzarach assault rifle (Firepower 2, Impact D10) and bayonet (+1 close combat)
------ 9 Undead Legionnaires - armed with Kratach assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D8) and bayonets (+1 close combat)
------ 1 Undead Legionnaire - armed with Ashnagaroth light machinegun (Firepower D10, Impact D8)
--- 3rd section:
--- UNTRAINED-3 (D4 Quality die) - Armour D4 (ill-assorted armour pieces) - Move 4" / 2D4"
--- Undead (ignore morale, fatigue and suppression) -
--- Wounded legionnaires canot fight except in close combat (at -1 die type), but move of their own accord.
--- May not go prone. - May not call for support. - If leader is dead, no actions possible until reorganised into another squad.
--- Terror effect
------ Necromutant (squad commander) - armed with a Belzarach assault rifle (Firepower 2, Impact D10) and bayonet (+1 close combat)
------ 9 Undead Legionnaires - armed with Kratach assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D8) and bayonets (+1 close combat)
------ 1 Undead Legionnaire - armed with Ashnagaroth light machinegun (Firepower D10, Impact D8)
--- 4th section:
--- UNTRAINED-2 (D4 Quality die) - Armour D4 (ill-assorted armour pieces) - Move 4" / 2D4"
--- Undead (ignore morale, fatigue and suppression) -
--- Wounded legionnaires canot fight except in close combat (at -1 die type), but move of their own accord.
--- May not go prone. - May not call for support. - If leader is dead, no actions possible until reorganised into another squad.
--- Terror effect
------ Necromutant (squad commander) - armed with a Belzarach assault rifle (Firepower 2, Impact D10) and bayonet (+1 close combat)
------ 9 Undead Legionnaires - armed with Kratach assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D8) and bayonets (+1 close combat)
------ 1 Undead Legionnaire - armed with a flamethrower (close combat only, +2 close combat, Terror effect)
--- 1st Support section:
--- REGULAR-2 (D8 Quality die) - Armour D6 (partial light armour)
--- (ignore morale and fatigue)
------ Necromutant (squad commander) - armed with a Belzarach assault rifle (Firepower 2, Impact D10) and bayonet (+1 close combat)
------ 2 Necromutants - armed with Ashnagaroth light machineguns (Firepower D10, Impact D8)
--- 2nd Support section:
--- REGULAR-3 (D8 Quality die) - Armour D6 (partial light armour)
--- Undead (ignore morale and fatigue)
------ Necromutant (squad commander) - armed with a Belzarach assault rifle (Firepower 2, Impact D10) and bayonet (+1 close combat)
------ 2 Necromutants - armed with disposable rocket launchers (Firepower D10, Impact D12*, 3 rounds of ammo each)
--------- and Belzarach assault rifles (Firepower 2, Impact D10) and bayonets (+1 close combat)
--- 1 Razide
--- REGULAR-2 (D10 Quality die) - Armour D12 (metal structure - counts as power armour)
--- Undead (ignore morale, fatigue and suppression)
--- Terror effect
------ armed with a Nazgaroth heavy machine gun (Firepower D10, Impact D12)
--- 1 Razide
--- VETERAN-2 (D10 Quality die) - Armour D12 (metal structure - counts as power armour)
--- Undead (ignore morale, fatigue and suppression)
--- Terror effect
------ armed with a Nazgaroth heavy machine gun (Firepower D10, Impact D12)
Light armour section:
REGULAR-2 (D8 Quality die)
(ignore morale and fatigue)
--- 4 Hellhound light tanks - size 2 High Mobility Wheeled vehicles - Armour 2* - exposed movement system
------ armed with a turreted heavy flamer (close range only, Firing system D8, Impact D12 x 4)
------ and a pintle-mounted Nazgaroth heavy machinegun (Firepower D10, Impact D12)
------ Crew: Armour D6 (partial light armour)
------ 3 crew to each vehicle - armed with Voriche pistols (close range only, Firepower 1, Impact D10, +1 close combat)
Off-table assets:
--- Unholy Carronade section
--- at Kohort level, 2 turns inbound:
------ 3 Carronades(burst radius 4"), anti-personnel (D12 vs infantry / D8 vs point targets) or anti-vehicle (D6 vs infantry / D12x2 vs point targets)
--- "Med-evac" vehicles
--- at company level, 1 turn inbound:
--- REGULAR-2 (D8 quality die)
--- (ignore morale and fatigue)
--- Converted Reaver troop carrier: - size 2 Hi-mobility Wheeled vehicle - Armour 2*, open-topped
------ holds 10 wounded, captured or dead soldiers
------ Crew: Armour D6 (partial light armour) - Move 8" / 2D8"
------ 2 crew to each vehicle - armed with Voriche pistols (close range only, Firepower 1, Impact D10, +1 close combat)
No priority counters. The Legion player has four dummy counters.
All Dark Legion troops start the game at CONFIDENT morale level (and will stay that way, since they´re all immune to morale tests).
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The Hussars had deployed in a staggered pattern, with the Jackal recon platoon on the right flank and the Company and Platoon HQs somewhat behind the troops, taking the center. There was movement all over the valley, and the Capitaine´s gut knotted with fear. This was not some skirmish: it was an assault in force. He turned to the soldier with the comm equipment, motioning for him to open the company channel. He would have to act fast to save the situation.
There was one cluster of enemy troops moving faster than the missing patrol on foot could have managed. He sent the Jackals skirting a rocky outcrop, their large tires throwing up sheets of snow as they turned. A rocket spiralled out of the darkness, briefly illuminating the faces of necromutants before exploding on the fender of a Jackal. The tank commander briefly looked at the blackened dent on his vehicle´s front before turning the pintle-mounted machinegun on the section. A necromutant was wounded. Meanwhile, the other tanks had identified the hostiles – a squadron of four Hellhound tanks, illuminated by the reddish flames licking from the ominous muzzles of their cannon. Clinging to their flanks like grotesque clumps of lice were hordes of Undead Legionnaires. The Homebuilder commanders called in artillery from the Grizzly tanks and mortars in a wide pattern and watched with satisfaction as the hellish tanks veered off and retreated. Even the Dark Legion could not risk this sort of barrage.
The other Legionnaires, under the command of their Centurion, advanced inexorably towards the Bauhaus lines. Capitaine Velasquez organised his forces, having them send second and third controlled bursts at the Legionnaires despite the heavy reurn fire from the Necromutant teams. The undead were dismembered. Gangrenous fluids and limbs were scattered everywhere, but still they advanced.
Then the horizon was lit with reddish flashes, and there was the whistle of artillery overhead. Already, Hussars started leaving the trench positions, not wishing to be caught in the projected blast of the Carronades.
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The earth erupted as the Homebuilders´ mortar shells impacted on the Undead lines. One Hellhound was hit by a storm of flechettes which blew apart the Legionnaires clinging to its sides. A second later, it emerged unharmed, long gouges lining the flesh-like protuberances on its armoured skin. The other Hounds slowed down, allowing their unliving passengers to disembark – straight into the hail of bullets from the Hussars´ rifles.
The Jackals raced across the snow-covered valley and engaged the Hellhounds, under orders from the Capitaine. Two of the tanks exploded spectacularly under the tightly controlled cannon fire, while the second volley blew the tires out from under another. The necromutant crew bailed out of their burning vehicle, only to be caught in the open in the stream of tracers from a Hussar´s machinegun. The last Hound was hit on the turret, and the flamer nozzle was blown clean off.
The razides and necromutants had taken up positions behind clumps of brush and low walls, and laid down a swathe of suppression fire at the Hussars´ positions. Two soldiers were wounded when the squads who had just vacated their trenches were caught in the open on the hilltop. They hit the ground, pinned by the hail of Black Bullets, while their comrades ducked into the trenches, unable to help. Then the lead Jackal exploded from a necromutant´s rocket, bathing the scenery in a hellish light.
The survivors from the patrol stumbled closer to their own lines, finally recognised by the Jackals, but one squad had to hit the dirt when Centurion Gorgaz ordered one of the Legionnaire sections to fire at them. Though the fire was wide and sporadic, the disheartened men had to duck into cover and were pinned in the shadow of the burning Jackal.
Leutnant Korolev rode up to Branduari´s position, keeping low on her horse´s neck to avoid the necromutants´ fire. Together with the sergeant, she managed to galvanise the Hussars into action. Somewhat shame-faced, they mounted quickly and followed her as she drew her sabre and spurred her horse on towards the nearest position, held by a Razide and a group of necromutants.
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Finally, the heavy shells from the Grizzlies made the ground shake and threw up huge clouds of dirt. They impacted on empty landscape, but the threat of being dismembered by the huge-bore cannon had split the Undead advance to the left and right, forcing them to take detours around the likely beaten zone, and sent the Hellhounds into retreat, where they were caught and defeated by the Jackals. On the other side of the battlefield, the carronnades churned up the deserted trenches and showered two Hussars with shrapnel wich pinged off their armour and left their greatcoats in tatters.
Before the Razide could unlimber its gun and train it on the Leutnant, the squad of Hussars dismounted from their horses and immediately opened fire, forcing the huge creature to bend double in an almost comical attempt to duck behind the low wall. A necromutant was hit in the eye and went down, which made the rest of his section hug the ground.
Under this covering fire, Korolev gallopped up and charged the Razide´s position in a desperate attempt to silence the Legion´s guns. She could see into the thing´s yellow eyes, smoldering with unholy fire, and her resolve wavered for a moment, but she steeled herself and spurred her horse into action. Her sabre cut through a necromutant who tried to spear her with the sharp edges of his Asnagaroth MG, her Hussars dispatched another. The platoon sergeant´s Hagelsturm bellowed, gouging great chunks of flesh and iron from the Razide´s superstructure, but the bio-technological horror drew itself up to its full height, and towering over the sergeant, smashed down with the bulky frame of its Nazgaroth. The Homebuilder was thrown from the saddle like a rag doll and lay limp. His horse rolled on the snowy ground with a broken back, whimpering piteously. A blow from the Razide´s fist felled the next soldier, who tried in vain to stab it with his bayonet. Over the thick carpet of bloody snow, the Razide glared at the Leutnant, who pushed a lock of hair from her face and raised her sabre with a shaking hand.
Down came the Nazgaroth, impaling the next Hussar on its barrel and pulling him off his horse, which kicked in terror at the Razide. Momentarily off-balance, it swayed, and Korolev leaped at it from her saddle. Her machine pistol stitched bullets across its belly, causing it to roar in pain. It lashed out, knocking the pistol from her grip. But when it pushed itself upright on its huge arms, the Leutnant´s sabre slashed across its face, extinguishing the hellish flame in the eye-sockets. The return stroke severed the pipes in its neck, spraying Korolev with a reeking greasy liquid. Gurgling and choking, the Razide fell – just as the mounted Hussars, on a command by the Capitaine, closed in on the position with fixed bayonets. They helped their Leutnant up as their comrades fired across the field at the other necromutants´ position.
Yet the damage had been done. The Undead Legionnaires were still near their original strength, though many limped and crawled along like grotesque roaches, and they had reached positions from where they could start a close assault the Bauhaus lines. Sporadic Kratach fire held down the defenders as Gorgaz regrouped his undead for the final push. The Carronades had fired, but the Jackals rolled out into the open, braving next turn´s artillery fire to relieve the embattled infantry.
In the middle of the field, the shambling remnant of the Legionnaires that had been blasted off the Hellhound´s back, all in various states of dismemberment, issued an ululating howl and charged the position of one survivor squad near the burning Jackal. The soldiers – fatigued and demoralised – had no reserve of strength or courage to face the undead. They scattered before the assault as the Legionnaires overran their position, leaving their wounded to the mercies of the Legion who grabbed them and started dragging them away.
Being left in the open, and having nowhere to turn to without getting closer to Legion troops, the sergeant threw down his empty shotgun, and surrendered his men to the mercies of the Legionnaires. The soldiers watched the shambling cadavers uneasily as they were ushered towards the rear, prodded by the Necromutant´s Sectioner bayonet. Already, the silhouettes of the Reaver carriers with the large iron cages rumbled ominously towards the lines.
This was a terrible blow to morale – watching their comrades being overrun and captured put the fear of the Cardinals into the tired Hussars. The line wavered. Sergeant Hardt called in med-evac, but the medics were needed elsewhere – the voice crackling over the comm unit told him to hold his position and wait. Hardt glanced at the soldier with the first-aid kit, who looked up at him and nodded, trying to put on a brave face though the Black Bullets were impacting all around them. Their comrades were field-dressed and would make it. If there was time.
-
The Jackals rode through a hail of fire. Carronade shells exploded on the roofs, throwing one of the recon tanks on its side and killing the crew of another. The driver and gunner from the wrecked tank blew out the hatches and crawled painfully from the vehicle, but as they tried to get to the intact PzRV, they were pinned by a necromutant´s Belzarach fire. They went prone and fumbled for their sidearms as an undead section closed in on them, dragging along the captive Hussars. The Reavers passed within yards of the terrified crewmen and threw open the cages. The captives and wounded were ushered inside, and the bars clanged shut with an ominous tortured sound.
The last of the Jackals opened fire in desperation, and the shell impacted on the Reaver. Two of the captives and a Necromutant were thrown upon the bars and died from the shock, but the vehicle was unharmed. Trailing smoke, it executed a sharp turn and headed back to its own lines.
There was no Bauhaus artillery – far in the back, the Grizzlies spoke to a different part of the line, their thunder could be heard rolling along the forest. The Hussars said a last prayer and steeled themselves against the assault.
His face a grinning mask, Centurion Gorgaz organised his troops for the assault. He had the Necromutants and remaining Razide pouring salvo after salvo into the terrified defenders, pinning them down and preventing them from shooting back. Then the Legionnaires broke into a loping run, levelling their Kratachs at the Hussars.
The howling horde terrified the soldiers of squad Gerbrand. They could not hold and fell back, while the Undead swarmed the hill in pursuit. Hardt held his men together and stood his ground, and within a minute he was surrounded by a desperate melée. Hussars stabbed with their bayonets, one man impaling two cadavers before caving in the face of another with the butt of his rifle. Hardt fired short bursts with his Hagelsturm, beset on all sides by the shambling creatures. A man went down under the press of reeking undead bodies. Then the soldiers had enough. They broke and ran. Hardt brought up the rear and faced the Necromutant, who raised its Belzarach to fire. He snapped off a burst into its face, watching it fall.
Then suddenly, all was quiet. A look over his shoulder told Hardt that the Undead did not pursue. They stood motionless on the crest, swaying slightly. The loss of their leader had left the section without a will of their own. Something moved between the Legionnaires; the Hussar who had been wounded in the melee feebly lifted his hand. His eyes were wide, imploring, and Hardt stared helplessly. He slowly shook his head, then turned around and ran after his men for the trenches. The image of the wounded man he had abandoned to his fate would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Capitaine Velasquez watched his front crumble and his positions being overrun. He nearly ripped the comm unit from a dead trooper´s back and called Leutnant Korolev, who immediately took stock of the situation. Still white-faced from her close encounter with the Razide, her short blonde hair smeared with blood, she sent the riders of Branduari´s veteran squad towards the lines at a mad gallop. Not bothering to dismount, they poured Panzerknacker fire into the Legionnaires on the hilltop, salvo after salvo. The Bauhaus musketry´s renown was justified; accurate fire scythed through the cadaverous troops, sending rotting limbs everywhere. Velasquez heaved a sigh of relief and switched channels. He had to shout at the artillery aide until he got a mortar mission confirmed – aimed at the nest of Necromutants and Razides threatening his last men with their heavy weapons.
The Legionnaires in the rear charged the Jackal crew and overran them. The Dragoons emptied their magazines, killing many of the undead, but they went down under the assault and were clubbed mercilessly with the butts of the Kratachs. Wounded and pale, both managed a last look at each other before they were dragged to their feet by rotting hands and pushed towards the Legion´s lines.
The remaining survivor squad hunkered down in the cover of a patch of light scrub, too frightened to move out. They stared, wild-eyed, as their comrades were captured and led to an uncertain fate, but did not dare to raise their rifles for fear of calling attention to themselves. Their fighting spirit was entirely gone.
-
When the mortars came through, they enfolded the Necromutants and Razide in a huge cloud of shrapnel. Two wounded Necromutants staggered from the beaten zone, and when the smoke cleared, the Razide rose bellowing from one of the flechette-strewn craters. Green fluid poured down its flank, but its self-repair systems had kept it on its feet despite having been in the beaten zone of three mortar rounds. It bellowed and fired its Nazgaroth into the smoke where it assumed the mounted Hussars´ position, but the tracers went wide.
Behind it, the Reavers made their retreat with their living cargo, disappearing into the snowy night.
Velasquez and Korolev continued to co-ordinate the mounted Hussars´ efforts. The soldiers fired at the Razide to keep it busy, then lined up for a close assault – the only way to rescue their captured Dragoon comrades. The horses shied when they smelled the rotting stench, but the veterans steeled themselves and charged the Legionnaires. Sergeant Branduari fired his shotgun into the Necromutant´s face, and his men quickly dispatched the Legionnaires with thrusts from their bayonets. Sliding from the saddle, two Hussars eased the wounded crewmen onto the backs of their horses as Branduari regrouped the squad.
On the right, Gorgaz had the remaining section leader reorganise the last few undead. The hill was strewn with decomposing bodies. With grunts and bellows, the Necromutant pushed the survivors of both sections into line. Then, at a nod from Gorgaz, they streamed down the hill at the Hussars cowering in the trenches. Both squads, with their backs to the wall, could not flee and surrendered. The Legionnaires took six as hostages (as many as they could guard) and quickly killed the others. Gorgaz´ smile widened.
He turned when he heard the roar of the Jackal´s Vinciano-Traffaux diesel engine. Skidding to a halt shortly before the Centurion, it sprayed his position with its machinegun. The Centurion jerked as the bullets tore through his body, raising his Skalak in a last gesture of defiance before collapsing into the snow.
The Legion were down to a Razide and a Necromutant with a handful of Legionnaires, most of whom were wounded. To reach their own lines, they would have to break through the mounted Hussars and the Jackal, whose turret turned ominously in their direction. They had lost their leader, and their enemy still had two officers to keep them co-ordinated.
Still, the Homebuilders could not fire at the Legionnaires without risk of hitting the captives, and their morale was at a low ebb. There was always a chance that they would not have the courage for another close assault.
-
Staring at their adversaries across a blood-soaked snowy landscape, the Undead Legionnaires began to move straight at the terrified survivors, grinning through rotting lips. Their captives were mercilessly driven through the hip-deep snow. Capitaine Velasquez and his command squad moved closer to the mounted Hussars, and Leutnant Korolev drew her sabre. She shouted encouragement at the men, who took heart and gripped their rifles tighter.
The Jackal´s driver threw his tank into reverse, backing up until he could see the Razide through the underbrush. The turret swung around, and then the gun spoke. When the smoke cleared, the Razide was spread across a wide circle, some of the pieces still trying to move with a life of their own.
-
Before the Legionnaires could storm the survivors´ position, the mounted Hussars rode up. But they were tired and terrified, and they had seen more than their share of fighting with a horrid enemy. Their courage broke, and they stood by helplessly as the Undead rushed the squad. The demoralised Hussars surrendered and were killed where they stood with bursts of Kratach fire.
That galvanised Leutnant Korolev, who spurred her exhausted mount into action. Tears streaming down her face, she rode down the Necromutant and turned at bay, swinging her sabre in a wide arc. The last Legionnaires rushed her, but were cut down by Homebuilder steel.
She dismounted and set her foot on the Necromutant´s broken body. The thing was still quivering, clinging to life with an unholy strength, and its eyes glared hatefully at her. She put her sabre´s tip to the creature´s neck.
"You... will all die... human", the Necromutant gurgled. "And be reborn... to serve my master... the Apostle of War. You... cannot win... if you war on Him... who is... war itself." There was a sound like a dry chuckle, which was cut short when Korolev pushed the tip of her sabre into its neck. The Necromutant´s body thrashed and shook.
It took a terribly long time to die.
-
This truly was how the battle unfolded? I can't wait to hear the summary.
Wonderful batrep!
So all in all, how did you like using Stargrunt II rules? I've owned them for years, but haven't played them. I like how they are universal...adding in the Warzone weapons and unit names is easily (and well) done!
-
Well, this was, by and large, how it went. As with most Stargrunt II games, this one was over quickly, but packed with action. Activating and firing by squads speeds up things considerably.
I really like playing StarGrunt II. I love the cascading morale system; and having served in the military, I appreciate the "realistic" feel of the game when it comes to aspects of small-arms combat such as treatment and carrying of wounded, suppression by fire, close-assaulting positions, taking and holding ground, and so on. Like in no other game, you get into the action and start thinking like the soldiers would – in the last rounds of this battle, for example, I could have dispatched the Legion troops with ranged fire or artillery, which would have been much safer than trying an assault with demoralised troops – but that would have placed the captives in the line of fire. The Hussars wanted to free their comrades, not to deny the enemy victory points. SGII quickly gets you thinking along those lines.
Seeing your troops carry their wounded has you feeling for the men you send into the teeth of enemy fire, and there are plenty of heartbreaking scenes where fleeing troops have to abandon their wounded to the mercies of the enemy. When you see a shaken tank crew disembark from their immobilised but still serviceable vehicle you may swear if it disrupts your battle plans, but you can still understand their fear. This is the great merit of playing SGII, in my opinion.
The gallantry of Lt. Korolev aside, Warzone in general has a much more "heroic" feel, and is therefore more suited to the Mutant Chronicles background than SGII. Usually, trying individual heroics won´t get you far with SGII, and I fully expected to lose the Leutnant in that rash first assault. I was rather surprised that I didn´t, more thanks to an incredible streak of dice results than any tactical superiority *cough*.
-
The young soldier´s eyes stared up sightlessly at the night sky. He had lost his helmet, and the sandy-brown shock of hair was smeared with blood. Most of him was there, had been found by the soldiers and gingerly put together in a pitiful puzzle: The Undead had dismembered those who they could not carry away, literally torn them apart. Poor boy, the Capitaine thought. He suddenly felt terribly old, and had to fight down a pang of guilt. He looked at the body for a long minute, then gently reached down with a gloved hand and closed Nyberg´s eyes.
Something silver glittered in the breast pocket of the boy´s armour, and without thinking, he reached out for it, picked it up. He cradled it in his hands and stared blindly at it.
"Herr Capitaine, Sir."
Velasquez turned wearily. An exhausted Leutnant Korolev, still in her battle-scarred and bloody suit of armour, clicked her heels and stood rigidly at attention. Her face was a mask of pain and misery.
"Report."
"I´ve lost you over half the platoon. My only excuse is inexperience. This is my fault, sir." The voice was terse, but the pained undertone said it all. Those men had meant something to her, and now they were lying in the snow, torn to pieces, under the merciless Venusian moons. And six were still missing, taken to the enemy´s lair for a fate that was certain to be worse than death.
Velasquez´ hands shook. He clasped them behind his back, trying to get the numb feeling out of his spine. He felt a painful cough coming up.
"Nonsense, Leutnant." He had expected hope, or belligerence, any emotion at all, but her expression did not change. He tried another approach. "An officer´s function is to lead, not to follow personal glory. You might have been killed in that assault, and that would have left your men without a leader."
She did not flinch. "Yes, Herr Capitaine."
"Still, you led from the front, as a Homebuilder officer of lineage should. You and your sergeant silenced the monsters´ guns, and you set a fine example for your troops with your courage. You single-handedly saved eight men from being captured and subjected to – whatever they do to those they capture." He cleared his throat uneasily. "I know you care for your men. But they died to spare others from the same fate – those helpless civilians we are sworn to protect."
"Sir."
"So, at the end of the day, you did well. Don´t let your impetuousness get the better of you, but try to preserve that courage. I´ll send a recommendation to your family, and the report will probably get you a medal. I don´t believe you will let it get to your head, Leutnant. But don´t get cynical about it, either."
"Thank you, Herr Capitaine." But she did not sound thankful at all. Velasquez sighed. "Dismissed."
"Sir." She turned on her heel, swaying slightly with fatigue, and left.
Capitaine Velasquez turned back to the trench lines. The weary Hussars were digging graves. Already the relief platoon had started to trickle in – more scared young boys with pale faces. He would have to speak to their officer, issue a warning. Just now he could not bring himself to look at them.
He flipped open the flat silver box and mechanically withdrew a cigarette. Placed it between his lips, then fumbled for his lighter. He greedily inhaled the smoke as he walked, suppressing the cough that constricted his chest. He joined Korolev in the dugout.
"All quiet so far, Herr Capitaine."
"They will come back", he said. She nodded. "I´ll talk to the relief officer. He needs to know."
Korolev nodded again, then turned to the Capitaine. "I thought you had stopped smoking. Sir."
He turned the silver cigarette box in his hands and slowly nodded. "So I had."
"With due respect, Herr Capitaine, those things will kill you, with your condition."
He nodded again, frowned, and took a short puff, staring off into the distance. "Maybe they will, Leutnant. Maybe they will."
-
We counted coup at the end of the day. Andreas had lost the whole of his Legion force, and carted off a measly 3 living and 2 dead soldiers. His Nepharite superior was not available for comment, but usually well-informed sources from the Citadel´s inner circle hinted at him being "not amused".
If the final Homebuilder assault had not come through, things would have been quite different. Morale had been a deciding factor, and I had kept my force back (to hammer the Legion with the Bauhauser´s long-range rifles). This reluctance to advance nearly spelled disaster for me, as the enemy quickly captured both elements of my missing patrol, causing my units´ morale to drop sharply. When the undead reached my lines, two squads of Hussars could hardly put up a fight in the face of the Legionnaires´ terrifying assault. They broke down on the spot and surrendered. Had they still had their morale up at that time and stood their ground, they would probably have made short work of the cadaverous troops (since most of those were already half-dismembered by the Homebuilders´ rifle fire by then).
Speaking of dismemberment – there is something terrifying watching a squad of undead take a spate of wounds but carry on regardless without even breaking stride, the wounded just getting up and shambling after the others. And I had the worst infernal luck allocating hits – not one single shot of that storm of lead ever so much as nicked a necromutant leader. Halfway through the game, I would have gladly exchanged all my troops for a single pair of snipers.
Of course, Lady Luck more than made up for this with my Leutnant´s performance. Korolev pulled off two close assaults which had pretty low chances of success. The first one was a rather rash attack on the Razide which deservedly cost me the platoon HQ section almost straight away. Facing down a Razide definitely crossed the line from gallantry to folly. Counting as a power armoured troop, its Close Combat score was doubled – witness the way it dispatched three Hussars in a single go. I was incredulous when Korolev emerged victorious.
The second assault was a last ditch try to rescue the eight soldiers captured by the Undead. If the exhausted Leutnant had not made her morale check to attack the Legionnaires (which had a pretty low chance at that time, what with her being demoralised and the Undead´s terror effect), they could have left the table with their quarry unhindered, and the Legion would have won.
That said, the Bauhaus side did not feel very victorious. The platoon was in tatters, more than half were dead and wounded. The Capitaine, Leutnant and mounted Hussars were all at SHAKEN, while the rest were BROKEN or ROUTED. The fatigue level had dropped to EXHAUSTED, which meant this platoon would not be going anywhere unless they got some R&R.
-
One fun part of SGII is the reorganisation of troops after the battle. This wasn´t a campaign, but I did it anyway for the heck of it. Rolling for replacements, I was provided with two horsemen and five troopers – green recruits – to be assigned to the understrength units.
I promoted the mounted Hussar´s sergeant to platoon sergeant and seconded him, with two of the mounted troopers, to HQ, then filled up the gaping hole in the squad´s TO&E with the two mounted replacements. The corporal who now was acting sergeant of the squad was a bright chap (actually turning out to be a better leader than his old sergeant had been), but with the new replacements, the squad´s overall quality sharply dropped from VETERAN to REGULAR. On the positive side, Lt. Korolev was now backed up by a VETERAN HQ, which I found quite appropriate.
The rest of the replacements would probably drag the average level down anyway, so I recombined the remnants of the two Hussar squads into one REGULAR squad, under Sergeant Gerbrand, while Sergeant Hardt got all the new recruits, for a GREEN squad. The HMGs and disposable launchers of both squads had been lost.
The tank platoon had two serviceable vehicles left, and a third could be salvaged and its suspension repaired. The difficulty was getting enough men into the tanks – the two surviving Dragoons were hospitalised for a few days, and even after they returned, that would still leave me one tank crew short. So the salvaged tank was dismantled, and its HMG given to squad Gerbrand.
There would be several days´ time until squad Gerbrand would be at any strength – most of its troops were wounded in hospital, and severely traumatised. The platoon would have to be rotated to the rear anyway, and I also figured that the regiment´s Brotherhood advisors would want to check those men who had been hit by Black Bullets, and found that one had succumbed. He started foaming and raving, but was quickly put out of his misery by the Inquisitorial aide.