Location: Game Kastle, Santa Clara, California
Day Game Attendance: Glenn,
Kris Miller, Chris Kinney
Evening: Kris, Lisa, Chris
Knox-Davies, Angela, Shad, T.C., Kate, Andrew Heim, Chris Knight, Glenn
Menu: Joao's Restaurant
On the king’s side were the Gram Army platoon (on foot, with a
single big vehicle, probably a 50dton cutter), a few squads of
Wardshaven PD with a grav squad car and a wheeled APC, and the king and
his retainers (location unknown at the beginning of the game).
The Sacnoth side had the Cadian special forces platoon, a Tharagavverug
heavy weapons squad (with AA missiles and a very small mortar), and
some local rebels (or resistance fighters, depending on who is telling
the story), working in small groups and as individuals.
Neither side knew which civilians were actually resistance members.
Both sides had ortillery assets on the way. Gram had a Gram Navy
ship dedicated to the platoon on the ground, but prohibited from firing
into Wardshaven. Sacnoth had a merchant ship with its laser
turret weapons.
The Sacnoth side was trying to kill the king and carry the body (the head and hand, anyway) away. The Gram forces were trying to rescue the king and get him away alive – failing that, they were to keep control over the body, and make sure that no one knew that he was dead.
The area of operations included part of the city of Wardshaven,
occupying somewhat less than half of the area and being the east side
of the area, farmland to the south of the Wardshaven Pike, and a forest
to the north.
The orientation of the area of operations, as far as I recall, was as
follows: Wardshaven was on the east side of the table.
The forces initially on the table were the King and his retainers, in
the form of inverted counters that had to be spotted (and some dummy
counters of course, as well as at least one booby trap), the Wardshaven
police, and the civilians. (Matt of Game Kastle acted as the TNS
photographer, and got some great shots before being driven off by the
police. If I can get a copy of the pictures, I’ll post them in
the yahoo group file section.)
The king’s shuttle was crashed against a building in Wardshaven, with a
plume of smoke rising up the side of the building. The various
counters were in and around buildings in Wardshaven near the crash
site. Beat police had partially cordoned off the crash site
intersection. A SWAT team manned a roadblock/checkpoint on the
Wardshaven Pike (complete with Jersey barriers and orange
barrels). Civilians included a corporate security team at the
corporate towers a block away; a priest and nun walking two blocks
away; a businessman and a party-goer a block away; a starship crew and
a drunk at the bus stop within a block of the crash; another drunk
about a block away; and a migrant farm worker (maybe from Garda-Vilis)
on the main cultivated area outside of town.
Entering the map on turn 1 was an opposed die roll. Gram chose to
enter by its one big grav vehicle to start out as close as possible to
the King. Sacnoth revealed its hidden remote AA missile launcher,
and tried to shoot down the cutter. [Note: It was possible
that the entire Gram platoon would have been lost, turning the game
into a race by the police to find the king and get him to surrender to
a unit that wouldn’t kill him. It might be better to give the
Gram Army two or three smaller vehicles.] The missile couldn’t
get a lock, and so it wasn’t launched, but it was spotted because of
its radar signature.
The cutter landed in a clear area between the farm and the city.
Gram Army units exited the cutter on Turn 1 and took up positions in
brush cover. One Gram squad ran out of the forest and into a
street one block away from the crash site.
The SWAT sniper fired on the Tharagavverug heavy weapons squad and
suppressed it. The civilians moved toward the crash site, and the
police ordered them to disperse. [Note: the
civilians/rebels rule needs to be clarified and streamlined so that
that doesn't take up as much time. The main function of the
civilians is to spot counters for the Sacnoth forces; the main function
of the police is to prevent that.]
The police squad car moved to the farm and ordered the farm worker to disperse. She was a rebel and may have been under the influence of artificial stimulants. Instead of dispersing, she drew her heavy auto pistol and ran screaming off the farm onto the highway, where she shot and killed Officer McCormick of the SWAT team. Shouting “they killed Kenny!” SWAT team Officers Cartman, Broslofski, and Marsh returned fire, killing the farm worker several times.
The corporate security team assembled in the courtyard between the corporate towers.
On turn 2, the Cadians began to appear on the table. Cadians
could enter the table from any city edge or partial edge, and did not
allhave to enter from the same edge. [Note: Next time, I
think that I will require the Cadians enter from the same edge, for
balance and to reflect that they really don’t know where the shuttle
might go down.] The first Cadian squad entered from the south,
and attempted to close assault the nearest Gram unit, but didn’t get
far enough on its combat move. The Gram unit tried to do reaction
fire, but couldn’t see the Cadian unit when it was between movement
actions.
The police APC ordered the corporate security team to go back to work, but they, being rebels, ran into one of the corporation buildings and started shooting at the APC. The APC retreated and put its more heavily-armored front toward the rebels. A civilian businessman talking on his cell phone entered the building with the smoke plume, and set off a booby trap, permanently ending his telephone call.
The Gram Army squad in the street shot through a building at the Sacnoth squad that had tried the close assault, and caused several casualties.
Then it was time for dinner, and all forces laid down their arms.
[Note to self: correct mission briefing to reflect 250 years
under Gram, not 150.]
[Note: It was possible that the entire Gram platoon would have
been lost, turning the game into a race by the police to find the king
and get him to surrender to a unit that wouldn’t kill him. It
might be better to give the Gram Army two or three smaller vehicles.]
[Note: the civilians/rebels rule needs to be clarified and
streamlined so that that doesn’t take up as much time. The main
function of the civilians is to spot counters for the Sacnoth forces;
the main function of the police is to prevent that.]
[Bring digital camera!]
[Note: Next time, I think that I will require the Cadians enter
from the same edge, for balance and to reflect that they really don’t
know where the shuttle might go down.]
Descent: Journeys in the Dark: Kris (Overlord), Lisa, Chris Knox-Davies, Angela, Shad. Ended at 4:20 AM with Overlord victory.
Descent: Journeys in the Dark: T.C. (Overlord), Kate, Andrew Heim, Chris Knight, Glenn. Ended about midnight with an Overlord victory.