Modern Skirmish: Terminator Genisys, Batrep #1

Fighting for the Future is easier than you think!

Components busted out of the box - I was playing in 15 minutes of leisurely examination.


All I needed for scenario 1: three Resistance and one Exoskeleton - easy assembly.

Excited to finally get this game on the table after owning it for a months [interrupted by 1:1 Army time]. Broke items out of the box, started punching and assembling, and trying to remember to think of this as a "Board Game without game board movement." Quick points:

GETTING STARTED

• heavy card pieces solid, nice printing, punch easily.
• figs assemble easily - if unglued, arms can be switched out allowing you to change weapons on Resistance fighters [but arms fall off w'handling].
• diagram explaining weapons on Resistance sprues a nice touch.
• no prob starting play with intro rulebook and QRS.

FIRST GAME, scenario 1 "Firefight": This intro scenario from the short booklet of Basic Rules pits one Endoskeleton with Terminator Claws [Close Combat Weapon] and Plasma Gun [a powerful d8 RoF2 gun] against a small patrol of three scattered Resistance Soldiers armed with combat knife [a medium-strength d6 CC weapon - by comparison, fists are a d4 and Endos are a d8 in CC] and Plasma Rifle [a powerful d8 gun with RoF 2 w'in Short Range and 1 at Long Range. So, not as good as the always RoF2 Plasma Gun of the Terminators, but they have a stabilized combat chassis, so I'm good with this]. The Mission is to Survive by eliminating all the enemy.

Turn 1. Skynet wins Tactical Roll-off [TRo], but rolls "Fate" result and gets no Activation Markers. Humans then do the same. I mistakenly proceed to Turn 2. I should have kept alternating Impulses of Fate Dice rolls untill all pieces had activated. Oops!


Turn 2. Humans win TRo, get 2 Activation Markers which they use on flank fighters. These close in at a Walk and Attack, but miss. At Long Range they get only one shot and need a '6', so unsurprising. Skynet goes and roll one Activation Marker [all it needs] and the Exo fires at the right fighter, needing a 6+ and getting a '6'. However, the Barrier gives him a Cover Save of 4+ and he rolls a '5', so the plasma blast takes a chunk out of the Barrier.

Finally, the last Resistance fighter at center Activates, he moves forward to the Barrier and misses his shot. Turn over.

Turn 3. Skynet wins TRo but rolls a 'FATE' result [1/6 chance] so no Activation for its Exo.

I then give all humans Activation Markers. That's a mistake - I should've rolled the "Fate" dice and kept alternating Activations until one side was done.

I close in with the Resistance and fire, getting two hits [another error, they should get 2 shots each]. Exos are "Mindless" so get no Cover Save, and I roll to Damage but neither dice is an '8', so no Damage is inflicted.


On the Resolution rolls, one per Hit, the Exo gets a '5' [Reeling, lose one turn of Activation] and a '1', which means it Retreats from the board.

Exo marches off to get its circuits recalibrated. Or, perhaps, to report to Skynet that the Humans are patrolling this area and need to be dealt with by a larger force!


Game 2. I shifted the Exo left on Turn 1, running it [they don't feel right, running] left to gain distance from the right-most Resistance fighter, and hoping to knock out one or both of the others, first. As there's no cover advantage for the Exo, terrain only helps if it blocks LoS.

Resistance shifts left and closes in to get two shots a fig, and gets enough Hits to cause the Exo to "Reel" from the Hits [sort of a suppression feel for human targets and a system shock / overload for machines, good mechanic] and lose ability to act. Resistance keep pressure up and add more Done markers [red] so Exo is effectively helpless [suppressed]. One brave fighter closes in and caps Exo in face, "Hasta Ha Vista, Baby!" [HLVB!]

Game 3, Turn 1. Humans win TRo, roll 1 Activation, shoot center Resistance fighter, but he misses [needing a '6']. Exo then also rolls a 1, Activating and Fast Moving towards the Dense Terrain. This puts it out of LoS of the right Resistance fighter, and at Long Range from the left one. Once again hoping to take on only two humans and eliminate one or both.

Exo being done, remaining Humans activate. Left human runs up to Dense Terrain, out of LoS, as does the right one. They're both out of LoS, so it is a 1-1 fight, between the Exo and the Human Resistance fighter in the center - the best chance I can think for the Exo.

Turn 2. Humans win TRo, get one Activation, fires center Human at Short Range with two Shots, Hits with one, fails to inflict Damage, but causes Exo to Reel [it now has two red "Done" markers]. This means it can't Activate, so the Humans will now put an Activation Marker on all remaining unactivated Humans, and get to work finishing off this Exo!

Only choice is should I move/shoot with left Human first, or just go straight to try and eliminate the Exo with the right one using HLVB! special rule.

Playing it cautious, I move / shoot the left human, but he misses. The right human moves up, is at Close Combat Range and needs a 2+ to Hit. Of course, he rolls a '1'. Apparently, getting close to Terminators makes him nervous.


All figures lose one Done Marker [leaving one on Exo, who can't Activate]. Turn over!


Turn 3. Exo can't Activate, but at end of Turn will lose one Done Marker, so could Activate next Turn if it doesn't acquire more Done Markers by more Reeling results. Good luck!

And Humans provide the luck...Right Resistance guy rolls another '1' [REALLY??] and left misses shot again. Center guy shoots, gets two Hits but neither damages [needs an '8'], but gets another "Reeling" result, putting another Done Marker on the Exo, who now can't Activate next turn, either. This doesn't look good for the Exo. All the humans are now free to close in and HLVB! it at their leisure, and only very bad dice could prevent this.

Turn 4. Human luck takes a turn for the better even as patience runs out. Right fighter hits on a '3', then rolls 8+ to damage Exo, rolling a '19'. HASTA LA VISTA, BABY! Finally!

Took a bit of play, but I'm getting the hang of it.THOUGHTS

• as a medium-complexity game, one should respect the advice of the designers and start with the intro scenarios. I found myself making numerous errors of play for the first several games [with just 4 pieces] until I got into the swing of things.
• game provides reasonably expression of firepower combat, while providing a "fluffy" reason to close in - easier to destroy the heavily armored Exos if you do. This makes the Exos sort of like a tank, which infantry find easier to destroy at close range. This is fine, and "realistic" for the genre. It also provides more excitement when playing.
• traditional 4-stage dice mechanic of rolling: Hit -> Cover Save -> Armor -> Morale a bit dated; different dice types [d6, d8 and FATE in today's playtest] further slows combat resolution down, especially as pieces in play increases. So in a straight-up shoot out with all four pieces, there can be as many as 8 dice rolled PER attack, assuming that the weapon is RoF2, for a max of 32 dice rolled per turn.
• However, if one wants to express many aspects of weaponry, targets, terrain, etc, this mechanic is still one of the easiest ways to do it and it "feels" logical to both new and long-time gamers. It also makes it easier to express subtle differences in training and tactics thru various special rules, useful for other genres and time periods.
• Game could easily be simplified a bit more for young and newbie gamers. Subject matter [extermination of mankind] probably not suitable for children, however!
• The matchup of 3-1 Human v. Endo is too easy for the Humans. That, or I'm not playing the Endo well! I tried 3-2 and the Endos still lost.

TACTICS

• Exos want Long Range. 2 shots @6+ is 2 x 3.75 chance to hit w' a d8, v. 4+ Armor is .625 chance to wound OR 3.75 chance for Resolution test w'd8 and a .625 chance for a Reeling effect, and .325 for no effect.
• Exos need support. This reduces risk of "Hasta La Vista, Baby!" on them.
• Humans want to close in. At Long Range, they get 1 shot for 6+ or .17 to hit, v. 8+ armor is only .125 chance to wound, and Resolution [also at d8] is 3.75 chance for no effect. Also, the "Hasta la Vista, baby!" is a Close Combat Range rule.
• Turn Sequence very interactive, a bit random. So there's a random factor in the order of play, but I believe good planning and tactics will balance that out, i.e. the better player should still have an edge.
• Generally, players will want the first Activation if they win the TRo, and they'd use it to shoot up enemy figs who have not yet Activated - if they cause them to Reel, they lose a turn. This will result, in scenarios with more pieces in play, in more pieces losing their Turn to Reeling results unless they've Commanders who can Activate. It is possible at the start of some games that one would want to force the opponent to Activate first, either to take shots at long range or see where they move.

CHANGES? Few if any needed.

• more advantage for not moving and shooting? There is some w an advanced rule.
• no fast move for Exos - doesn't seem in character for them to move fast. It also usually isn't a help, since moving closer is a disadvantage for them.
• 2 Close Combat attacks for Exos seems more in character for the movies. If their hyper-alloy combat chassis can take most firepower damage, then it should be more dangerous up close.

I will hold off on any changes for now, after all, just getting started.

END THOUGHTS

• Outstanding skirmish rules, tightly written, well organized!
• Lots of applications in the firepower era - Afghanistan, Bladerunner, heretical 40K obvious next steps for me, but zombies and WWII equally possible.
• Easy to get started for any gamer. Might take more effort for total newbie to get things figured out, but excellent organization of game a big help.
• Looking forward to the advanced rules and variety of units, especially the Command abilities which will add a lot to both realism and tactical choices.

FINAL VERDICT:

http://rocky.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._T

"I pity the fool, that don't play these rules!"