'Nam project - Campaign game 2

The LRRPs were given a new mission from HQ - they were to do a Bomb Damage Assessment of a crater made from a low to medium payload. The Pilot had dropped some bombs on what he thought was a unit of NVA moving towards one of the many U.S. fire bases  in the area. Now those higher up wanted confirmation of the enemy presence in the area.

The game set up showing the crater

 The LRRPs inserted not too far from the crater, choosing to patrol into the area rather than risk being caught in an ambush at what could be a major infiltration route for the NVA.

The LRRPs begin their patrol

As they approached the crater, potential enemy activity began to show up on the other side from their approach.
 

The LRRPs slowly approach the crater...

The first possible encounter moves out of the AO to the top of the area.
 

...while a possible encounter appears and moves off

Enemy activity seems to increase as two more blips move around the AO, this time both heading towards the crater.

More possible encounters..

... as the LRRPs draw close to their objective.

Another potential encounter proves to be nothing to worry about

Enemy or not?

Not it would seem

Which might have been good for the blip

The first one cause a bit of alarm in the LRRPs, but it was a 'hit and run'. Rather than take on the LRRPs the enemy fires a 'spray and pray' in the LRRPs direction and then melts into the near by jungle. 

The threat passed, the LRRPs shake out into a line formation to  search the crater and surrounds.

More blips appear

and move closer to the LRRPs

as the LRRPs begin their search.

The next encounter turns into another hit and run as this time the LRRPs take suppressing fire before who ever the firer was melts away.

The JNR Scout is fired at.

 With the suppression dealt with and no more encounters around, the LRRPs get on with their mission.

Searching the crater and the sides.

 No sooner had they cleared the crater when torrential rain began and visibility was reduced.

Objective complete it begins to rain.

Just before the LRRPs reform into patrol single file another potential encounter arises.

Enemy or another hit and run?

Fortunately this is nothing to worry about and the LRRPs change formation before moving off to be picked up for a return to base, with their mission a success.

The LRRPs move into single file and into the jungle.

Once back at base the LRRPs pass on what intel they found; there was evidence of enemy equipment in the crater in the form of a back pack. Nothing was inside the back pack, but it was NVA issue. There was also evidence of an active enemy in the area, but not in large enough formations to openly take on the LRRP patrol.


Game notes

This is the first game I used my new card idea, and it worked really well. I rolled a lot of blips to begin with and oddly enough they all seemed to be coming from the same area.

 Each time a blip was spotted I would draw a card from my 'encounter deck' and every time it turned up 'no encounter'.  Once the game was over I found I was lucky, as the very next card in the deck was the enemy, as was a few close at hand.

 When ever a blip spotted the LRRPs before being spotted itself it would fire a burst of snap fire at the LRRPs which I considered to be harassing fire.

 This system worked really well, and when determining the enemy ratings at the start of the game I can also determine the ratio of enemy cards to no encounter cards allowing for heavy or light enemy activity in the area.

 This game was also the first time a random event came up during play, which was the torrential rain. Not a very exciting event, but one that could have allowed the enemy to get right on top of the LRRPs before they were spotted.

 I also need to do more work on my intel charts to see what type of intel the LRRPs can gather during a mission.

 This was the third game I have played using the Disposable Heroes Point Blank rules, and I am liking them a lot.  The rules are well suited to small actions involving small teams of elite troops like the LRRPs.

'Nam project - campaign game 1

I played my first game in my Vietnam Campaign today, and it was an odd one - not a single shot was fired!

The Mission

 Team 22 is to position itself near a trail and observe any enemy activity before withdrawing from the area for ex filtration.

 They are to observe the enemy and collect information only. They are to count the number of enemy in the area and make a note of weapons and equipment.

Once in the vicinity of the trail they are to set up an observation post and remain undetected. 

 Should the Team be contacted they are to conduct a fighting withdrawal to a PZ.

area of operations

Intel

 Intelligence indicates that trained local VC are operating  in small groups.

The Set up

 Using my charts I determined that the enemy would be local VC that are trained but with poor T&E. I placed my LRRPs in their OP.  Due to a poor insertion, the threat pool for the game would be at +1 for the game, meaning a blip would appear on a 1 - 7 at the start of each turn.

 The mission would last until all blips had been used (a total of 6 blips were rolled for) or the LRRPs were contacted and forced to withdraw.

The LRRPs set up their OP with two men watching the trail, with the other four pulling security around the perimeter. 

 The LRRPs would get one Victory Point for every blip spotted, while the VC would gain 1 VP for every LRRP removed from play.


The Game

 The first blip placed turned out to be nothing. Maybe it was a wild animal in the undergrowth.

First blip was a false alarm

 The next blip was a party of VC moving east to west along the trail. The LRRPs spotted the VC and started making notes for their debrief back at base.

 Chattering amongst themselves, the VC failed to notice how close they were to death.

chattering VC - discussing what was for dinner maybe?

 The next few turns saw two more blips appear, both moving east to west.

activity on the trail increases

The first of the two blips turned out to be a false alarm, but the second one was another group of VC.

The closer blip was a false alarm

Again the VC failed to notice the lurking LRRPs. Realising that only two watching the trail could cost a VP or two, I pushed one of the LRRPs into a position closer to the trail, but making sure he remained hidden.

But the next one wasn't.

After a bit of inaction another blip turned up, this time traveling West to East along the trail. They were spotted, but luck remained with the LRRPs, who remained unnoticed.

The repositioned LRRP is hiding near the trail.

The final blip appeared on the East end of the trail, and the VC and the blip crossed paths.

The VC automatically spot their own.

  This final blip was nothing of importance.

No enemy - time to go home.

With all the blips now activated the mission parameters had been met and the LRRPs moved off to their PZ for the return trip back to base.

Final Notes

 The LRRPs gained a full 6 VPs for the game. As I mentioned, not a shot was fired. This would have changed had the VC spotted the Team hiding near the trail.

 The poor T&E of the VC is what made this mission a success. They basically needed to roll a 1 on a d10 to spot the LRRP team lurking near by.

 Due to their higher T&E, the LRRPs had a 50% chance of spotting a blip, and given that their activation pool was higher too, they had more chances to make spotting attempts each turn.  As it was they almost missed spotting one blip.

 I created a number of charts for determining the set up for the game - what type of enemy, their level of training etc.

 I need to come up with a random terrain generator, and make some extra trails and river sections to allow for this random set up.

 Not all games will be this easy, and a better trained and equipped enemy would have busted the LRRPs earlier on, setting up a fire fight.

 I also want to have a crack at making some small sampans so I can have some river traffic to observe as well.

Iron Ivan Games

"One Game to rule them all, One game to bind them,

One game to bring them all and around the table find them."

Have I found a set of rules that I can use for skirmish games of any type? From Ancients to Modern or from Fantasy to Sci-fi?

I think I have.

Iron Ivan Games' Disposable Heroes Point Blank is a very versatile and with the use of their supplements it is possible to play any game set from WW1 to Modern/Horror.

By using the "This Very Ground" rules for the French & Indian War I am convinced that I can now play Point Blank for any period using black powder weapons: Pirates, Three Musketeers, AWI, SYW, Napoleonics, Crimean war and ACW for example.

 Add "This Very Ground" and "No More Room In Hell" and I can play Horse and Musket Horror games. Provided I come up with rules for things like vampires and werewolves.

 This interests me a lot, as one of my favorite films is "Brotherhood of the Wolf"

By using WW1 rules I can play colonial games - Zulu War, Boxer Rebellion, French Foreign Legion or Boer War.

 If I remove black powder weapons from "This Very Ground" I have basic rules for Ancients to Medieval that I just need to modify slightly.

 With a few tweaks I can come up with rules for fantasy games and spells or Sci-fi games with lasers.

 And one of the best things about the Point Blank rules is that you only need a squad or so per side to play a game.

 This means a lot of started projects that I have only a handful of figures for can get a new lease of life as I have most of the figures I would need to start playing. Once I have painted them up that is.

It will also allow me to play my Alternative History games I had lined up that, due to the fact they are alternative history, getting figures for a full game was almost impossible.

 To wit, my 28mm WW2 setting where China, instead of Japan, is the aggressor in the Pacific. I have some Brigade Games WW2 Chinese and Australians but not enough to play large battles.

 Now I can, so expect something Alternative some time soonish. Once I have painted all of my VC/NVA.  Or maybe at the same time.

'Nam project - first game: redux ARR

So, having read the background of how I set the game up in my previous post, this time I have an ARR for the first game of Disposable Heroes Point Blank.

Mission
 Patrol 22 is to insert and patrol according to the AO indicated in the grids given and is to report on any enemy activity and gain any intelligence.

The first few turns went without a hitch. A 'blip' came up in the first turn and proceeded to move around the board, and approached the tail end of the LRRP formation.

 I had some lucky dice rolls and the LRRPs spotted the blip, which turned out to be the LMG team, who in turn seemed oblivious of the hiding LRRPs.

 Still seeing nothing the VC were joined by another blip, which turned out to be the section command element.

As LRRPs tried not to openly engage the enemy I didn't attack the VC. Instead the information was sent via radio to the Tactical Operations Centre as per SOP.

As my system for moving the enemy blips and figures required a new direction to be determined when two or more groups join up, the VC merrily went on their way unware that they were under the watchful eye of the LRRPs.

With the VC now out of sight, the LRRPs pushed on to their first check point and then set up a hasty ambush in case the VC came snooping around.

The ambush didn't go as well as expected - the VC spotted the LRRPs before being spotted themselves and went right in to counter ambush drills.

 The jungle and the prepared position of the LRRPs made it difficult for the VC to gain the upper hand in the battle, as slowly, one by one, the VC went down, and the battle went in the favor of the Recon Team.

Once the firefight was over some of the LRRPs searched the bodies of the dead VC for intel while the other LRRPs covered them.

 It was just as well they were covered for a new blip had shown up and started to pour fire down upon the LRRPs until the blip was spotted. As soon as it spotted the blip faded away in to the jungle.

 Grabbing the intel they had found the LRRPs began to shake out in to their formation and head back the way they had come for extraction.

 Another blip decided to change their plans though.

 Seeing how sucessful the LRRPs had been at hiding before I kept the rear security in place. This was a big mistake. The VC spotted the LRRPs and opened fire, taking out the JNR Scout in the team.

 The JNR RTO returned fire and killed both VC.

Not taking any more chances the LRRP team moved to the extraction point, taking their wounded comrade with them.

End notes
 The game ran very smoothly after coming up with the new ideas for the blinds. This added a bit of tension to the game as I was not sure what would be out there. Of all the blips that did appear three were blinds and even though they were not representing actual figures, they did cause some worry with hit and run tactics until they were spotted by the LRRPs.

 The rules state that any figure wounded is removed from play. As LRRPs didn't leave people behind I decided that I would leave the wounded LRRP on the table and carry him off.

 I left the wounded VC on the table as well, as searching the bodies for intel played an important part of a LRRP patrol. I think next time I will add a rule that any dead/wounded VC that doesn't have continuous LOS on it will be removed and a blood trail put in its place.

 I used the spotting rule - I am still not sure if I like this rule or not yet, but it did work well for jungle warfare and made for a very close up battle. It did prevent me from using the resources a LRRP would have, namely artillery fire and gunships.

 I have an idea on how to fix this though. More on that another time.

 Grenades were used a few times in the battle, and I was not overly impressed by them. I found it almost impossible to suppress troops with them. You have only a 10% chance of killing with a grenade, and if you don't kill with one, you have only a 10% chance of suppressing with one.

 Because of this I ended up using a lot of rifle fire as this was very effective and pinning enemy troops.

 I will go over the grenade rules again to see if I was missing anything, but failing that I might tinker around with them. Grenades do have a Morale Modifier, but again I need to read over the grenade rules again to see if I missed something.

I played with what scenery I had on hand at the time, and I definitely need to make more scenery, especially for playing in jungle areas.

Gaining the intel was an important part of my game, as I have charts for a campaign that rely on intel for follow up games.

Disposable Heroes Point Blank is a great game for having an opponent. Not knowing what your opponent will do and moving the right figures at the right time makes for a great game.

 Playing it solo was not too bad. I was able to get it to work for me, but I definitely need to have a scenario and a set of guide lines for what the mission objectives are and a clear cut set of Victory points.

As I will have to play this one solo (my regular wargaming buddy is a Vietnam Vet and doesn't want to play, which is perfectly understandable) I will continue to improve on my solo system.

 But I intend to play a Rhodesian Bush War campaign with my mate, so I will still get to play some games of Point Blank with him.

I am happy to discuss and share ideas for anyone wanting to try out my solo rules.