Friday, April 4, 2025

Review: Alternative Armies 15mm Sci-fi

REVIEW


An Alternative to... high prices and bad service? Yes!

In my time looking around for odds'n ends, bits and bobs, I stumbled across AA's website [CLICK], and seriously considered getting some items.  So when they had a "Battle of Pavia 20% off sale" that was advertised at the [quite good] "15mm Sci-Fi Gaming" Fb page, I bopped over to check it out once again - glad I did!

I should mention that I have no affiliation with AA and this was my first order / interaction with any of the people involved as well. Don't get to bonnie Scotland very much anymore...!

BLUF:
HUGE range of figures, vics, walkers, 'bots and buildings in mostly 15mm, but also other scales like "Fleet", 6mm, and 28mm.  
- Prices on many of the lines is low, remind me of the 1990s.
- Sales occur periodically and stack with discounts!
- Service is excellent and  cheerful.
- Website is well organized - essential since it has LOTS of offerings. Lots of pics.
- Ordering is relatively painless - the website was above average easy.  

Summary: 
A visit to AA is Strongly Recommended!  
You may find some perfect additions to your ongoing project, 
or you may find a brand new project.

At first, I was a bit overwhelmed as I looked through *just* the 15mm sci-fi offerings. There are several major categories, and in some of them dozens of products. But it was also kinda fun, as nearly all the miniatures have good pictures of very solid paint jobs, so there was an "eye candy" aspect to it all.

Eventually, I decided that paying $6-8 for full-sized [40mm x 80mm or so] resin vehicles was too good a price to pass up. I got a squadron / company of those with infantry. Also grabbed a bunch of other items that flesh out some needs, like crew-served weapons, useful "jeep" type vehicles [but anti-grav], and a pack of 20 Laserburn low-tech mercenary infantry. 

Overall, the order was nearly $400 total, and I saved over $80 from various sales and discounts. It went pretty fast and arrived safely:
Placed Order Feb 27 --> Shipped March 3 --> Delivered March 12
Only hiccup was my credit card security measures jumped on the transaction.
This was promptly handled by...

Gavin SymeCreative Manager at Alternative Armies.
Gavin was helpful and polite, and even interested in how I came to order from them.  I was impressed that he was interested in how I found out about them and their sale. Catch him on Fb [LINK] or the AA Blog [LINK].

So, that was all a positive experience.  Now, on to the products!  
Note: all prices are with the 20% off sale and sometimes other discounts that stack.

These are modern size, 15mm foot-to-eye. From left, Laserburn Officer, RAFM Traveller TL15 Imperial Infantry, Martian Metal Imperial Marine [old 15mm, foot-to-head], Brigade Models / GZG Hammer's Slammers Gunner [18mm] and AA resin sprue Security Force Alpha [20mm - more below]

Laserburn Officer w'Pistol [500], Merc w'Assault Rifle [501], Merc w'Rifle [502],  

Laserburn Merc w'Jump Pack and Laser [504], Merc w'SMG [503], [504 again]

Mercenary Dreadnought [506] Could also be a big guy with armor, carrying a disassembled mortar [which is what I thought it was at first...!]

Don't know if intentional or not... the pack comes to four identical teams, so two squads, each with a squad leader and a mortar team [back]. This Section of two squads has one Section Leader.  Your organization may vary!

Posing in a slammer APC. If I used them for this, I'd cut the bases down and make them shorter.

V006a Support Bolt Cannon, and V006b Light Mortar
6a looks a lot like a recoiless rifle, and can easily be futuristic weapon type or a traditional CPR weapon or rocket firing bazooka. The stand can be shaped easily, which I've done on the left.


With RAFM and Martial Metal "crew" for xomparison

Shaped the platform to make it more of a tripod - looks a bit better.

HOF153 Grey Alien Portable Weapon Platform with 5 Weapon Options [barrels] is top left and center.  The hole takes any of the barrels. Variety is nice, from funky zap rays and hair dryers to a traditional CPR gun looking thing.

To top Right is HOF45 Robot Scout Drone which I couldn't resist. Looks like it has lenses, I might mount it on smaller piano wire so it "floats" better.
V006b Light Mortar [bottom].  Nice model - different but still obviously a "mortar".

Some bonus bits. Lion with huge pole axe thing on a grav cycle, and a space plant monster in resin, both very nice. The left would make nice Aslanni for Traveller.

V005 Heavy Laser Cannon Artillery Laserburn Artillery Piece [CPR]

Cannon in its pieces. You can see that the barrel has a peg, goes into the hole on the platform, and the shield is mounted with two pegs - makes for easy assembly, so "nicely done!" far as I'm concerned. Gunner goes on seat at lower side of platform.
And assembled, below.

Gunner, below - not much to him.

The gun assembled. I like that the main gun is set back and more portable. This differentiates it from modern pieces. I see it folding up quite compactly.

But, if you wanted a more traditional look, no reason you can't mount it forward.

Below, some anti-grav utility vics, aka "sci-fi jeeps", a ground worm monster, and body bags [I am likely to use them as casualty markers]. These are all nicely done, inexpensive and will be useful either as "scatter terrain" or as actual vics with rules [I like to have rules and victory conditions about evacuating wounded].

HOFA01 Security Force Alpha (Core Army Set) This included two of Maginot Turret, 75 resin sprue infantry, and 6 Mark II Hover Charger APCs. All for about $82, so a nice deal.  The full-sized vics work out to around $6.40 each. You can't beat that with a stick!  So a no-brainer, long as you like the style.

To flesh out a full squadron, I got 6 more Charger Mk II's and 3 Scrofer Hover AFV. Each vic somes with the sprue for a closed hatch, commander, large closed hatch or turret.  I think the AFV looks a bit "undergunned" and will likely buy larger turrets for them.
The Scrofa [left] is one main piece, super easy to deal with. The Charger is two pieces and will require a bit of cleaning and shaping to assemble, not a lot. View from the back [below] shows the higher AFV on right with large rear ramp.

Infantry sprues. There are 5 of the guys with a support rocket, and 10 of the bottom infantry. Lovely figs, just way too big for my collection. A bit disappointing and I wish that the description included sizing as they are nowhere near 15mm, more like 18mm and quite bulky as well.  They will look great on someone else's table.

Maginot Turret is a nice model, very clean.

Door is more of a hatch, a bit small, and suits the armored pedestal of the model.

I couldn't resist getting a light flyer to act as an artillery spotter / command flyer.  Below, what comes in the pack, a lot of heavy metal - will need a substantial base to hold it in the air. Obviously, this would make a great resin kit, reduce weight and cost.

And below what it looks like painted [from the AA website].  Had to show it off, nice job!

Hope you not only got something out of these looks at some of the models, but also that you can see the relative price points.  
- A bunch of these resin vehicles are around half the market price [they are older], and using the various sales and deals infantry can go to 50 cents apiece.  
- Full price, the resin Security Force Alpha 20mm figs are around 80 cents each. 

My only caution / critique is that you should carefully check descriptions and ask any questions of Gavin regarding figure size / scale.  They have three in the 15mm sci-fi offerings [old 15mm, new 15mm, and super-sized contemporary size-creep 18mm] and the vic seating sometime looks a tad small. Your concern with this may vary.  I am fine with the overall "look" of a model and crew unto itself, and rarely have the figures alongside one another anyway [disperse = survival in modern combat, and in the future as well, I say!].

But taking into account the entire experience, including great communication, service, and stacking discounts / sales, I think Alternative Armies is worth checking out!

Monday, March 17, 2025

Striker 1e Playtest #6

Battered copy, but the review is still spot-on! 



So, after a lot of work to find a good balance of Firepower, Morale, and Damage [casualties] in the rules [playtests 1-5, check older posts], I took my modifications to the tabletop again.

My Changes:
  1. The rules had some detailed mechanics regarding individuals that emphasized the RPG aspects, like firing and taking casualties as individual figures.  In other areas, it streamlined things by teams or made a mechanic automatic [like Leaders rallying Routing teams].  I divided all the mechanics between two types: RPG style, and Wargame Style - the latter are more streamlined and use the Team as the basic "Unit" for quality, capabilities, etc.
  2. I reversed Morale Check values so that rolling high is always good, and rolling low is always bad [I hated that it switched around].
  3. I divided the Command and Panic Phases; now each Side has a Player Turn that is identical to the other.
  4. I added a Friendly Fire Phase 1 before the Friendly Move Phase.  Now you can blast things with preparatory fire and then Move. It doesn't increase the amount of Fire Units get - that's still once per player Turn, max - but it increases options for "when" you can Fire.
  5. I clarified the Leader rules for Rallying.
  6. I modified the Personnel Wound Table to make low-value results a morale check instead of it wounding a figure on a 3+ [nearly always], and clarified both the top [11+] and bottom [2-] ends. I added an "Obviously Dead" on a natural '12' [cuz...it happens...sometimes].
  7. Morale Check results were a bit confusing - I cleaned them up a bit into two categories, Suppressed [Fall Back], and [Forced Back] Rout, and made it clearer how far a failing Team moves.
  8. I cleaned up a few of the move rules, including Dis/Mounting vics.
  9. I made a '1' mod to Spot Low IN teams more easily, and harder to spot High IN Teams [recruits are notorious for not taking hiding seriously].
  10. I added a couple of mods for Hits in DF, including -1 for "Suppressed Target" and +1 for Target Ran. I also switched Burst Size to Diameter instead of a "box centered on the team", so one can radius [1/2 Burst Diameter] which is easier to measure.
  11. My main complaint - the Armor Combination Table makes no sense according to Newtonian Physics as I understand it.  So now I simply take 1/2 the smaller AV and add it to the Larger AV.  If you have a Combat Environment Suit AV6, and you're behind a Wall AV4, your total is therefore AV 8.  In the Raw, it would be...13!  I am open to a smarter person explaining why it makes sense as-is, but until then...!
Overall, I made combat results more Morale-driven, and less Wound-driven.  That is on the basis of my reading of modern war, especially from the last 20 years, where most small arms fire is suppressing, and not even attempting to aim and hit you.  This worked nicely because the forces on the table for this batrep are...TL9!  So just a few years in the future, but they are mostly using weapons from 20 years ago our timeline.

Given this changes, I was excited to see how they played out.

***   Scenario Intro   ***  

For the two sides, I had 30 Conscript Zhodani figures, local militia, trying to interdict the advance guard of a Long-Service Mercenary Striker force of 20.

The Z's have 5.5mm Assault Rifles [M16s] and 4cm RAM Grenade Launchers [GL, 1 per Team]. They are Armor Value [AV] 4 with a combo cloth armor / helmet. The Platoon Leader PL has Image-Enhancing Goggles.

The Striker's have 7mm Assault Rifles [AK47], 7mm Auto Rifles [BAR, BREN, 1 per Team], and 4cm RAM Rifle Grenades [RG].  AV is 5 and they have the same Image-Enhancing Goggles for their PL.

The prices came out to 600K in personnel, and 55K in gear apiece, with only 55 pts difference.

The main difference in tactics is that the Strikers can volley RG's by Team, while the Z's have 1 per Team, 6 for the force [these could have been consolidated, but they would then have been more vulnerable].  Both sides have the same ammo limit, 6 mags [12 Fire phases, 6 Fire Phases using full Auto].

In terms of Scenario Design, the Strikers have a +1 advantage in Direct Fire [DF] due to higher quality. Their Auto Rifles also have a '+1' advantage to Hit and to Penetrate. Both sides have Cover from the hill crests they are on, and Concealment from the brush that covers the entire area. Also, both sides have carefully taken up positions with camouflage, the attacking Strikers setting up in the cover of the dark just before the dawn.

I'm using scenario #7 Flank Attack from "One-Hour Wargames", which is a straight forward flanking effort. Were this a Traveller 1e session, it would have gone down like this: "The Strikers [the PCs] won the roll for Surprise in Foothills, chose an engagement range of 200m for their flanking force [which puts them in effective Rifle Grenade range] and the defenders did not choose to attempt an Escape."

With all this in mind, let's see what happened!

***   Scenario with Story   ***

   It's the sort of ticket you love; a TL9 world that has border incursions often enough to keep the locals on their toes, and a fanana republic with enough money to buy a little insurance - your company of Mercenary Strikers. The shooting war is under way, and you are taking the fight to the neighboring Zhodani colony. 
   While anything could get you killed, you're confident in your people and their skills. You jumped on this because you were short on cash and long on experience; besides, the money was too good to pass up! So now you find yourself leading the tip of the spear, a Section of long-serving professionals, clearing the main road ahead of the advance. While your other section is off to the left on a parallel trail, you doubt you'll need them. Besides, they won't be able to show up in time with all this heavy bush, anyway.
   There are 20 men in your section, including yourself and your Section Sergeant. All of them have been in several firefights, and the two squad leaders are also solid. Intel has reported a Zhodani blocking force on a hill overlooking the road, and tasked you to maneuver in the early hours to drive them off. Your Section Sergeant [SSG] leads one squad to engage them frontally in a firefight. While they pin them down, you'll lead 2nd Squad against their left flank - they carelessly left a small wood unguarded, and it will be your initial attack position. After achieving Fire Superiority, you plan to smash the defense with a classic hammer and anvil!
   "Tiger 2, Tiger 1 - we are in position. One Z-Team spotted on hill corner. Ready to kick off when you are."
   "Tiger 1, ACK. Spotted a Team near that corner. I'm sure there's more near it. Opening Fire."  They start laying down long bursts at full Auto to shock and awe the defense.  You give the closest Team Leader a 3-2-1 finger count, and they open up as well - the firefight is on! 

In Game Terms, S spotted two Teams [green squares], the corner one with the PL's Image-Enhancing Goggles. This Team is a priority to Spot as it can be fired upon by both squads. The two Zhodani Teams on the left flank are a priority to drive off, so that the PL's Squad can begin flanking the hill. 

Zs *almost* spotted a Team, so now believe there is enemy out there, and *could* use "Recon By Fire if they wanted - but the chances aren't good for a Hit.

Strikers start the firefight in the Enemy Fire Phase. 1Sq hammers the corner Team with rifle grenades, causing two casualties and a light wound - the Team Falls Back, Suppressed [red circle] away from the crest of the plateau. The other Spotted Team takes Hits then [barely] fails a -3 Morale Check, and are also Suppressed.
The Z Section Sergeant then fails Morale upon seeing his Team's casualties; now he is also Suppressed!

The hill's corner erupts in explosions, and bits of brush fly everywhere as bursts of automatic Fire and Rifle Grenades are accurately placed. No Z are in sight, now!
   "That's it, men, pour it on!" you shout into the Section Push. And just a bit farther back, barely visible but right where you expected them...another Team is Firing back at you.

In their Fire Phase, the Z open up with the one Flanking Team, which really needs to get some retaliatory Hits, but they roll bad and miss despite the fact that the Striker's are in Effective Range. At the end of the EFP, the PL *just* manages to Spot the other flank team with his IEGs, which bodes well for the Friendly Fire Phase.
However, the Z are also able to spot a three Striker Teams, and they will be able to lay down some effective Fire soon - right after the next Striker Fire Phase.

   "Tiger 1 to all Tigers. Enemy Teams Suppressed. There's more farther back on the hill. Keep on 'em, I want Fire dominance!"  You keep looking for more enemy - they must be along the hill line...or are they hiding in defilade?

The Flanking Squad hammers the newly-Spotted Team with another volley of Rifle Grenades, completely wiping it out. The squad's survivors Panic then Rout!

You keep pounding the hill, spreading Fire around, just in case there are more Zs near the spotted teams.  Suddenly, the entire hill line opens up - all the fire is focused on 2nd Squad, your base of fire. You hear the 2Sq TL:
   "Raikul's hit, bad!  We're pulling back behind the crest!" Out of the corner of your eye you see the SSG rise to a crouch, gesturing sharply.

The Z  spotted the Second Squad's Teams, and Severely Wound one Soldier. The rest of the Team unexpectedly head to the rear! [They rolled a '3' and are Forced Back].
Turn 2, more Fire is exchanged in the Enemy Fire Phase, but not much results. 

   You consider saying something, but the SSG knows his job. 1 Squad has already stopped firing, as there is no sign of the enemy teams.
   "1 Tigers, execute 'Hammer', repeat, execute 'Hammer'!" You take one last look at 2nd squad, then begin leading 1st Squad to their right, which will outflank the Z position. While you walk, you switch to 2nd Squad's push, to check on that situation. SSG Korleits is letting them have it.
   "...takes another step back will be shot, then I'll walk over and kick his *** from here to hell and back!  You get me!? Pull yourselves together and get back on the line, NOW!  Follow me!"

After some hot dice, the Z return Fire goes cold. Turn 3 the fleeing Team is rallied by the SSG while his other Teams lay down some Smoke Grenades. 1st Squad commences their flanking maneuver.  2nd Squad still has two Teams Firing, so they Fire Incendiary Smoke Grenades, building a Dense screen that blocks Line of Sight for the Z on the hill front.

Turn 3, there's some more Firing and Spotting all around. Nothing decisive happens, so C-Team advances towards the hill behind the Smoke screen.

   "1st Squad, let's go, angle in there!" You shout into the push. They continue advancing through the brush at the hill's edge. You can see some movement, but nothing clearly. You know the Z are there, but...where?

Turn 4 passes quickly, as both sides re-position. The Strikers are pushing against the flank and front. The Z order their reserve Team forward, and make a new line facing their left flank. All the leaders are busy Leading.

   As the smoke starts to thin, C-Team opens up and lays some heavy Fire on a Z-Team that was moving up into position, Suppressing it. 1st Squad advances and the hill is quiet, but it's not a good quiet - they're still out there!

The smoke screen thins a bit, so C-Team pops off Rifle Grenades - they are easily within range after their dash forwards. A series of explosions erupt, tight together, and at least one Z flies through the air and lays still at the crest. Another dashes to the rear.

Running forwards, the Striker Team crosses a range band for their RG, get three of four Hits, and takes out 3 of 4 in the Z Team which Routs [red pipe cleaner]. Another Team on the hill's front is Suppressed but takes no casualties.
Z return fire causes a -2 Morale Check on C-Team, but they easily pass. 
The SSG consolidate the two Teams. "All of you - on me!" he says forcefully. C-Team takes a bunch of Fire, but they clearly are giving better than they get. 
   You can all see 2nd Squad advancing to the hill. "Tiger 2, we're on the hill, but can't see any Z yet."
   "Tiger 1, we're still Suppressing the Z on our side - they gotta be feeling the heat at this point!" he says enthusiastically.

As the smoke screen dissipates, C-Team lays another volley of RGs on the last Z-Team facing them on the hill, causing a wound and Suppressing them.

   Right on front of you, 1st Squad creeps forward. You are looking thru the IEGs, and are *certain* the Z are just ahead, some slight movement, shadows... 
   "All First Tigers, volley some RGs just ahead of us, they're out there!" Dull thrumps are heard, followed by explosions. Some cries and red movement, you know you've caught some of the defense! More are ahead, so you quickly ready and fire off an RG, and a red body is flung through the air.
   "Gotcha." You say to yourself, with satisfaction.

In game terms, I split the -4 for Recon By Fire into a -2 for "suspected" enemy and left the -4 only for true RBF, when there's no reason to *believe* in game terms anyone is there. The below exchange has Teams so close that they can sense and catch little glimpses, and so are able to Fire with only a -2 instead of the -4 penalty [Book1 16.D]. In a real game, the Z would be Dummy Markers against the Striker players. Still, with the Z PL in the Team, they easily pass the Morale Check despite a -5 penalty [they have a +4 bonus!].

Anyway, altho the squad caused a light wound and a Morale Check, the High IN PL fired and caused a Serious Wound, removing a member of the Z command Team. Nice shootin' there, Tex!
I prefer how this evolved into a Spotting and Quality contest that takes a couple of Player Turns to "peel the onion", instead of the simple "move'em up and shoot" of most wargames.

SSG Korleits runs forward, with both Teams right with him. Grenades explode on the hill top, and a red body is goes down. But there's movement at the hill crest, and then Fire erupts - a merc to the right suddenly halts and flops on the ground. There's no time to stop, no time at all..."

After a Turn spent gathering them up, the 5 mercs advance with the SSG. Surprisingly, a lucky shot from a Z Team that moved up takes out a merc - nothing you can do about hot dice!

   "Give them another volley!" you shout into the 1st Squad push. A few seconds later, grenades explode all over the crest of the hill. Then you launch your own more on instinct than aim. A flash of red in the bush. Gotcha again, ya red bastard."

As Turn 5 continues, the Strikers got their say. The Team missed, but the PL again got a good Hit and a Serious Wound that was rolled onto the Z Platoon Leader! There's an ugly Morale Check, but the sole survivor rolls high, and only gets Forced Back instead of a Rout!

Counting up the casualties, the Zhodani are over 50%. Time for them to gather their wounded and retreat from the field!
And in their Move Phase, they do, with all their Teams Running except for one that is Suppressed.

   "Tiger 1, I'm seeing movement to my front - how about you?"
   "Nothing here, but we'll press forward" you say. Catching the eye of the two TLs, you point forwards and to the right. The Squad begins to cautiously advance. After a few meters, the IEGs show some forms crouching in the brush...
The remaining Z Team with a Section Sergeant [Veteran] are recovering from being Suppressed and can't move or fire. 1st Squad is closing in on them.

   Suddenly, the red figures dash away, into the brush!
   The Z Team fails its Proximity check, and Runs for the rear with the rest of the defenders. By Turn 7, the hill will be uncontested, plenty of time to call it a win.

As you press onwards, uncertain if this is a ruse or not, a break in the foliage gives you a good few beyond the hill. Dashing in and out of the brush are at least a dozen Z, with some slower moving groups behind, moving their wounded.
   "All Tigers, proceed with caution, but it looks like they bugged out."  You pull off your helmet, keeping the push near your ear, and feel the cool breeze of morning run over your nearly shaved head.  You glance at your chronometer - it's only been about three minutes since the attack began, and it's already over.  Another little hill, in another little war. You're elated!

Overall, I was very satisfied with how this played out. The balance of the key mechanics including the shooting and wound table seemed good. The Z force had four figures Run from the field, and 16 Wounds. About 8 of them were Serious Wounds, and 8 were Light Wounds.  Most of the Serious Wounds were from Contact Hits by Rifle Grenades.

The Strikers had 2 Serious Wounds. Three would have Run from the field if the PL hadn't dashed over and Rallied them.

In terms of Ammo, the Strikers used 2/3 of their Rifle Grenades, and the 2nd Squad - Base of Fire - used half their ammo.  The Z who stood and fought used up half their ammo and grenades.  

***   Alternative Outcomes   ***

If the Z had stronger Morale, I believe the fight would have ended differently, with both sides low on ammo and the Z holding a corner of the hill, which would have been a loss for the Strikers.

Had the scenario been different, say, in T1e terms, the Strikers had not achieved surprise, the engagement would have begun at longer range and the initial attack would have been less effective. The forward deployment on the hill for the Zs would have been more effective, as they could have fired upon the Strikers who would be on the move, without the benefit of a prepared, camouflaged attack position. This would likely have resulted in the Z driving off the Strikers, as they have more people to pull more triggers.

Another option for Team Z who are sitting on a win - the hill - would be to start and stay in defilade, and not dispute the advance of the Strikers. While I plan to try this tactic, I think that the use of grenades - including smoke - and better morale will see the Strikers closing in quickly and winning the close fight after carefully developing it.

***   Reality Assessment   ***
In terms of modern warfare, I think the game played 'realistically' with the options and modifications I chose as a Referee. Forget the space suits, change the figures out for 15mm 'Nam or any Cold War insurgency, and it would have played almost identically. With slightly updated gear, it would feel like modern US / ISAF in Afghanistan.

You have a mission with parameters, a situation you have to develop using Spotting and choosing when to open Fire and what type of Fire.  So... altho I've mostly been a gamer wargamer, now I'm leaning in to gaming the spotting and ammo - two things that a lot of gamers flat out refuse to do. 

Striker is granular enough that you have to be familiar with each phase of the fight, when you will Fire, when you will Maneuver, when you will lay your smoke screen, etc.  Once you've made decisions [A LOT of decisions!] about how to create, arm, armor etc a Force, you need to learn how they work together with their gear in game terms.  The good news is that you can largely re-use what you learn, especially in a campaign setting which is my ultimate goal.

I hope this inspires you S1e and T1e fans out there to dust off your stuff, get it on a table, and post some bat reps of your own - your ticket is waiting!

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Striker 1e: Informed Amendments

"We're ready to have a good time with this game, Sir...
...if you can just get the mechanics to run a bit smoother!"

Well, the staff here has been working hard on just that, so let's see what we have...

I consider these "informed amendments" as these changes are mostly oriented around achieving a certain type of game flow, with certain technology, etc, after numerous playtests and close examination of the rule mechanics - including the math! Pictured below are numerous Fire rolls by a Team, to see results and if those results deliver the right "feel":
Goal1 with this permutation of Striker 1e on the table, was to use a TL that was more or less contemporary to test the "feel" that the game mechanics could provide.

The gauge for this was to balance all the variables [many variables...] for a result that 2 Teams Firing would usually force a Target team to  take a Morale Check with a 50% chance of  a "Suppressed" result. Pulling back to TL 9 and down put Striker 1e into my understanding of late Cold War conflicts and Iraq / Afghanistan, which made it easy to test "feel" in Striker 1e.


Goal 2. Striker 1e is a military / wargame supplement for an RPG system. It is therefore not immediately apparent how to throw a balanced game that fulfills the host's intentions - whether they are for a traditional 1-off Wargame, or part of the plot line of an ongoing Traveller 1e campaign.  I'm interested in understanding how to do either one, since I regularly host both an ongoing T1e campaign and 1-off wargames. Also, I have the miniatures needed for several historical and futuristic settings.  

So, I wanted to write up a short sheet of directions explaining how to set up a balanced game, complete with comparison of forces and terrain use, to hopefully achieve the goal.

Goal 3. Test the culture clash between RPGs v. Wargames that S1e sits astride.

RPGs often work at a relatively small level, and are much more personal than a wargame. So a typical Traveller campaign would likely have several characters and NPCs working in / with a small unit, probably just a squad or two, for an "encounter" that could be resolved with the T1e Book 1 & 3 encounter mechanics in a reasonable amount of time, say three hours. 

The closest that Wargaming gets to this is usually skirmish wargaming, perfectly exemplified by the Larry Brom classic "The Sword & The Flame", which encourages you to play about 20 figs a person and give each Soldier a name! More typical, especially today, is for a higher level of combat to be played, often a full company per player with a platoon as a "Game Unit". This is perfectly exemplified by the popular "Flames of War" WWII wargame, and its many derivative competitors. Altho a 1:1 scale game [where 1 fig = 1 Soldier, 1 vic = 1 vic], FoW leaves all those chaps as anonymous faces on the table, with only 1-2 heroic types a side being named and considered as individuals.

--> a subsidiary spin-off today is the small skirmish game that is similar in mechanics to the above FoW abstraction level, with small forces that are named.  As a fast-play narrative driven game, these are increasingly popular. 

There are a bunch of S1e game mechanics that are there to provide detailed information, mostly combat results, about every Soldier, crewed weapon, and vehicle. All of which is just fine for an RPG, where you are *most likely* going to be running a smaller fight, even if it is part of a larger campaign.

I like that they push the human factor and "real feel" of the game forward, into your face. It does, however, slow the game down and cause some confusion at times, at least until you are fluent in the game [as a GM/Referee should be!].

For example, altho Soldiers are organized into Teams of 4 and based together [generally], they shoot, get shot at, and are casualties as individuals. And casualties usually can't move, resulting in an awkward clash between the recommended basing and game play, where a Team of 4 that has a lightly wounded Veteran can sit in place and the Vet still fights; but Move, and he is left behind and "removed" from play.


Goal 4. Clarifying and separating the mechanics that deliver RPG-level details from those that deliver wargame manageable abstraction became another goal.

Smoothing out these wrinkles into two clear versions of the rules - one for RPG and one for Wargaming - makes S1e even more useful, as it can cover the sensibilities of both communities of players.

Summary of Mechanical Wrinkles, Infantry focus:
  1. Turn Sequence [9] need modifications that Frank Chadwick [designer] included in all his subsequent games using this design: an initial Friendly Fire Phase. Teams can still [generally] only shoot once in their player turn and once in the opposing player turn. But, this allows a Shoot-->Move option, in addition to the already present Move-->Shoot option. The -2 penalty for moving and shooting may be needed if any movement is to be performed. Or Firing in Friendly Fire Phase 1 may result in one not being allowed to Move, depending on the TL and the units.
  2. Rally [10.E]. The RAW game mechanic presently allows Leader to auto-rally all Forced Back and Routed Teams within 100m and Line of Sight. RPG style would have the Leader move into contact with those Teams for face-to-face encounter resolved with a Morale Check die roll.
  3. Morale Check Failure [12.C] mechanics need to be streamlined; the few subtle differences between Pinned and Running away are over-engineered.
  4. Spotting [14.D]. Should have a quality bonus for figs / Teams.
  5. Direct Fire [17.B] resolution has RPG style four quality types of figure, all with different bonuses to Hit. Game style would use three Team Initiative levels instead; then the entire team can roll together, instead of separately.
  6. Personnel Wound [28] effects are also resolved individually, RPG style, including a Fire penalty, Move penalty, and Removal. Needs abstracting to the net effect on a Team for a wargame.

Striker 1e Game Turn [modified]

Player 1 Player Turn
1.   P1 Command Phase
2.   P1 Prep Fire Phase
3.   P1 Move Phase
4.   P1 Advancing Fire Phase:
     a.   P2 Defensive Fire
     b.   P1 Advancing Fire
5.   Panic Check Phase

Player 2 Player Turn
1.   P2 Command Phase
2.   P2 Prep Fire Phase
3.   P2 Move Phase
4.   P2 Advancing Fire Phase:
     a.   P1 Defensive Fire
     b.   P2 Advancing Fire
5.   Panic Check Phase


These are the most significant of my "informed amendments", which ultimately are becoming two versions: one is RPG and single-figure focused, and the other is wargame focused, with only Leaders getting any individual figure rules.

Already playtesting these, and will shortly post on them, so "Stay Tuned"!