A Little Pulpishness...

Have been rummaging through my many boxes of minis this evening in search for The Crimson Scorpion and The Creeping Claw (Pulp Figures) to paint as characters for Pulp Alley and Starnge Aeons. I found them - AND the boy zombie from Zombiesmith that I thought I lost before moving to our house 3 years ago!

I'm just about finishing a Bretonnian archer for Pike & Shot AND Zombies (and the Medieval Painting Order at the LAF), and the next couple of weeks I shall be focusing on 1: A half-painted Evil Hooded Minion, 2: Short Round, 3: The Crimson Scorpion (to use as leader for my Evil Hooded Minions), and 4: The Crimson Claw (either a leader by himself, maybe even a Terror (super villain), or a sidekick for The Crimson Scorpion. On the side I have some more minis to re-base onto washers, so I'll be awfully busy.

When they are done, hopefully I have got the zombies for PSZ, and am about getting them ready for some primer.

DreadBall Kickstarter Finished!!

I got the last 60 minis from my Kickstarter pledge a couple of days ago - and my order for the Season 2 Rulebook + the Dreadball Season 3 box set.

I all 64 models that count against my Finished/Received tally, but not my new Finished/Purchased ratio. I purchased the Kickstarter models almost a year ago, and the 4 giants in the Ultimate box are just a side effect. Cheating? No. I did not buy the box to get the models, but for the rulebook, the cards, and the multi-team pitch.

The pitch is printed on some kind of heavy black canvas, and I really like it. I'm not sure how often I'm going to use it, but I decided a long time ago to keep my collection of the DB rules complete, although I can see myself playing DreadBall Extreme much more often than Ultimate.

Star Wars: X-Wing: Big Ships.

I played a game with my daughters Friday, as we were at home because they had come down with a fever, but were better in the afternoon.

My youngest offspring (7) played Han Solo in the Millennium Falcon, while my eldest girl took control over the Delta Wing Shuttle piloted by Captain  Kagi, and I escorted her as Mauler Mithel with Determination (the only upgrade we used).

I did not take any pictures of the game, but here's my impressions:

The Millennnium Falcon is a killer! Its ability to fire all around (turret) makes it impossible to out-maneuver, and a single Tie-Fighter is not capable of posing a real threat to it. Remenber the scenefrom A New Hope, when the Millenium Falcon arrives to Alderaan (or should have).

The Shuttle is best suited for special scenarios, I think. It has some staying power with Hull 5 and Shield 5, but with only Defense 1, this is also needed!

We didn't finish the game, as my wife came home and took the girls to shop for riding gloves, but I had already been shot to pieces, and the Shuttle had taken one Critical Hit, while the Falcon still had 2 shileds up. Only a matter of time, methinks.

I think the Falcon is underpriced, points-wise, but if you want to recapture the feel from the original trilogy, it's perfect. I am sure you could throw several squadrons of Tie-Fighters at it, and it would still be able to fight its way through.

Star Wars: X-Wing: Quick Start Rules AAR, Episode II

TURN 6 

The Academy Pilot (AP), makes a Speed 3 (I think - that pic is really blurred) bank left to close in on the X-Wing, which in turn makes a Speed 3 bank left, too, to avoid getting in the crosshairs of both Ties.


I must have forgotten to take some shots, here, but the Obsidian Squadron Pilot (OSP) seems have taken a Speed 3 bank right, then fired at the X-Wing.






The dice again cancelled each other out, and the turn ended without any damage done.

 

 

TURN 7

The AP, thinking that the rebel pilot is trying to circle his wingman, makes a Speed 3 turn left to cut the enemy off.











The Rookie Pilot (RP) makes a Speed 3 turn left, tailed by the OSP who fires another salvo at the rear of the X-Wing at Range 2.








The Imperial Player rolls 1 Critical, 1 Focus, countered with 2 Blanks by the Rebel. The X-Wing takes 1 Damage.









End of turn 7.

TURN 8

The AP makes a Speed 3 bank right, and is faced by the RP making a Speed 2 turn left, while the OSP looses the advantage by making a Speed 3 bank left, letting the X-Wing off the hook.









The RP (Skill 2) fires first at the AP at Range 2, both pilots rolling 3 dice. The RP rolls 1 Hit, 2 Focus, while the AP rolls 1 Evade (cancelling out the hit), 1 Blank, 1 Focus.

Unharmed, the AP fires back, rolling 1 Critical, 1 Focus, and the RP 1 Evade, 1 Blank - and again, no harm is done.










End of turn 8.

TURN 9

The AP makes a Speed 4 Koiogran Turn, while the RP tries to avoid being caught in cross-fire by flying Speed 4 straight.

 The OSP makes a narrow Speed 2 turn left, and again catches the W-Wing in his crosshairs at Range 2, rolling 1 Hit, 1 Focus, which is countered by 1 Evade, 1 Blank.








The AP also gets to try his skill at shooting, Range 2. He rolls 1 Hit, 1 Blank, which is countered (and cancelled) by the RP's 1 Evade, 1 Blank.







End of turn 9.


NOTE:

I have played a couple of games since this one, and it's NOT common to make this little damage i n so many turns. This was a solo game played by me, though, and I always roll strange results, it seems.

 

TURN 10

The AP makes a Speed 2 bank right, while the X-Wing ducks and weaves with a Speed 2 turn left, folowed by the OSP with a Speed 3 bank left.

NOTE:

The OSP could not move far enough to clear the base of the AP; when this happens, the moving ship must be moved back along the ruler and placed in touch with the blocking base in a way so that the ruler lies between the tabs at both ends of the moving ship's base.

The OSP fires at Range 2, rolling 1 Hit, 1 Focus, again countered by 1 Evade, 1 Focus.







The AP also fires at Range 2, rolling 2 Hits. This time, the RP again rolls 1 Evade, 1 Blank, only cancelling out 1 Hit. The X-Wing takes another point of damage!













This concludes Episode II. To be Continued...

Star Wars: X-Wing: Quick Start Rules AAR, Episode I

As promised, I shall now offer a thorough description of a game using only the basic quick-start rules - in other words, the version you are most likely to meet if you play for the first time, or use when introducing new players to the game.

Let's start with the box; as you can see below, the starter set is crammed with high-end heavy duty cardboard counters and game aids - actually everything you need to play is included.

Special dice, movement rulers, orders wheel - you name it, it's got it!

 The set is really good value for money, but you'll probably want 2 sets for both players to have a full set of dice and rulers. The extra Tie Fighters and one more X-Wing should come in handy, too ;o)

Have a good look at all the components – with the prepainted models an impressive sight, right?

Well, let's get down to business! The basic scenario pits the rebel Rookie Pilot against the Empire's Obsidian Squadron Pilot and Academy Pilot.

Starting positions as seen from the Rebel Player's side

I opted to use a 3' x 3' / 90cm x 90 cm board for the game, which is the recommended size - and just happens to be the size of my Black board - although a larger or smaller area can be used. I would not recommend using a smaller surface than 2' x 2' / 60cm x 60 cm for this game, and I would not use a smaller table than 3' x 3' for engagements with more than 4-5 ships per side. You do need some room for maneuvering, if you want to use any kind of tactics, rather than just attack head-on.

Starting positions seen from the Imperial side,
with the Order Dials in place

The antagonists start on opposite table edges, otherwise there is no restrictions. The board here is laid out with ships at starting positions and the tools of trade ready for use.

TURN 1

The first thing to do is chosing an order for each pilot. Every ship type in the game has its own unique 'Maneuver Dial' (which is assembled from 2 punch-out components and a plastic nave). To select an order, just turn the dial until the maneuver, you would like the pilot to make, shows, and then place the dial face-down next to the ship.

Some maneouvres have green or red arrows instead of white, but these are not used in the basic starter scenario, just as 'Actions' are not.

When all orders have been placed, the pilot with LOWEST Skill reveals his order and takes the movement ruler associated with the manouvre on the wheel.

Bank (soft turn) to the right. The ruler is placed in front of the ship (it fits between 2 tabs on the base), and is held firmly in place on the table while the ship is moved to the front end of the ruler and placed so that the ruler againg fits between 2 tabs, this time at the rear of the base.

As you can see, the Imperial Academy Pilot (with Skill 1) performs a Speed 3 Bank (soft turn) to the right. The ruler is placed in front of the ship (it fits between 2 tabs on the base), and is held firmly in place on the table while the ship is moved to the front end of the ruler and placed so that the ruler againg fits between 2 tabs, this time at the rear of the base.

The rebel pilot (with Skill 2) has chosen to outflank his opponents. With a Speed 3 Turn to the right, he seeks to avoid being caught in cross-fire between the 2 Ties.

The Imperial Obsidian Squadron Pilot (Skill 3) has not foreseen the maneouvre of the X-Wing, and makes a soft turn to the left – undoubtedly to try getting behind the Rebel, but now seemingly leaving the lesser skilled Academy Pilot to exchange the first blows with him.

After all maneuvers have been completed, it's time to check if any enemy ships are within the firing arc (indicated on the front part of the ship base) and firing range (the firing ruler) of each ship, but the ships have not moved far enough for
that, yet.

TURN 2

The Academy Pilot proceeds cautiously with a Speed 2 bank left, while the Rebel pilot continues circling his enemies with a Speed 3 bank right.








The Obsidian Squadron Pilot, realizing his initial mistake, makes a Speed 3 bank right to start closing the gap to his wingman.

The X-Wing and the Tie-Fighter of the Academy Pilot are just outside range of each other, and the turn ends with no shots being exchanged.

 

 

 

TURN 3

The Tie Academy Pilot, anticipating that the Rebel will continue circling him, decides to make a Speed 4 Koiogran Turn, which makes the ship fly in a straight line, turning 180 on the way, ending up pointing in the opposite direction.

The shrewd Rookie Pilot, though, makes a Speed 2 turn right, which may be very bad news for the Academy Pilot, while the Obsidian Squadron Pilot makes a Speed 3 turn right to join the fray.

Closely tailing the Tie-Fighter, the Rookie Pilot opens up with his primary weapons, the laser cannons.

When firing its primary weapons, a pilot rolls the number of RED Attack Dice indicated by the RED number on the Pilot Card (and Ship Base), 3 in the case of an X-Wing. In addition, the target is in Range 1, giving the firer 1 bonus attack die.

The result of the roll is: 1 Blank, 1 Focus, one Hit. The eye is asociated with the Action 'Focus', and thus counts as a blank in this scenario, as actions are not used under the Quick Start Rules. The bonus die comes up with another Focus.

To counter an attack, the defender rolls the number of GREEN Defence Dice indicated by the GREEN number, 3 in the case of a Tie-Fighter. The result of the roll is 1 Blank, 2 Evade.

Each Evade cancels out one Hit, thus the Imperial Pilot easily escapes the deadly laser bolt hail, and the turn ends.

I apologize for the awful fotos of the dice; I played in our conservatory, and the glass walls let so much light in, that the slightly glossy surface of the dice reflected it from every angle. I'll experiment with the camera settings the next time.

TURN 4

Dodging the laser bolts, the Academy Pilot makes a Speed 1 turn left to get out of the rebel scum's visors while the Rookie Pilot uses full thrust with a Speed 3 bank right to face the Obsidian Squadron Pilot now rapidly approaching with a Speed 5 straight. I like to leave the movement rulers in place to visualize the dodging and weaving of the fighters, that's why the right turn shows fot the X-Wing in the first pic.

The Obsidian Squadron Pilot, Skill 3, opens up first, rolling 2 attack

dice for the Tie's primary attack value, and 1 bonus attack die for Range 1. Results are: 1 Focus, 1 Hit, 1 Critical Hit. The Critical Hit just counts as a normal hit in this scenario.

 

The Rookie Pilot rolls 2 defense dice, resulting in 2 Evade; No blood is drawn, and the X-Wing returns fire, rolling 3 dice for the pilots attack value, and 1 bonus die for Range 1.

The Rookie Pilot then returns fire with its 3 attack dice + 1 for range 1, scoring 1 Critical, 2 Hits, 1 Blank. A Tie-Fighter has Defense Value 3, and rolls 1 Focus (Blank), 2 Evade, cancelling out 2 of the hits – BUT the Tie has been hit 1 time and suffers 1 damage – marked by a card from the Damage Deck face down on the Pilot Card (under the full rules, if suffering a Critical Hit, the card would be face up, and the effect on the card would come into play.

NOTE:

Under the Quick Start Rules, Shield Tokens are not used. Normally, if a ship has shields, it has a number of Shield Tokens equal to its Shield Value (a Tie-Fighter has Shield Value 0, an X-Wing 2), and it spends Shield Tokens to cancel out Damage (the shields are knocked down first). Under the QSR, though, the ships are just able to sustain damage equal to its Hull Value + its Shield Value.

The Academy Pilot has no bearing on the X-Wing, and the turn ends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TURN 5

The Academy Pilot wants to turn as quicly as possible to follow the X-Wing. Normally, this would be accomplished with a Koiogran Turn, but it requires a certain speed, and the Tie-Fighter is too close to the table edge at this point. If a any part of a ships base at any time crosses the table edge, that ship is considrered to have fled the battlefield.

Thus, the AP uses a Speed 1 Turn instead, minimizing the distance traveled away from the action.

Having tasted blood, the Rookie Pilot takes his cumbersome X-Wing into a Speed 2 turn right to bring his laser cannons to bear as soon as possible, and the Obsidian Squadron Pilot makes a Speed 3 Koiogran Turn to get behind the RP.

 

I think I have forgotten to take a pic of the OSP measuring the distance to the X-Wing, but it must have been in Range 2, with no bonusses to either attack or defense.

The OSP rolls the 3 Attack Dice of the Tie-Fighter, 1 Critical, 1 Hit, and the RP rolls the 3 Defence Dice of the X-Wing, resulting in 1 Blank, 2 Evade, cancelling out the hits.

”Only Imperial Stormtroopers are that accurate” - Oh, well, but this is a pilot XD

The AP is still too far away, end of turn 5.

 

 

 

This conludes Episode I of this AAR. To be Continued!