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| TIE fighter begins his strafing run over Mos Eisley as both inhabitants and the various factions scatter |
We played our fourth game in our
Star Wars skirmish campaign using
Space Weirdos rules. After being fired on indiscriminately by the residents of Mos Eisley, the Empire planned to strike back at the treacherous locals. A TIE fighter squadron would strafe the streets, letting the locals know who to fear on this planet. Knowing their operational security was porous and possibly compromised, they waited till the last minute to inform local patrols to withdraw from the streets. Unfortunately, a corporate security patrol and a squad of stormtroopers led by Darth Pylor were unable to get off the streets in time after their transport vehicles were blown up by the rebels.
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| 7 players gathered around for our 4th Star Wars campaign scenario using 'Space Weirdos' rules |
Seven factions were caught out in the open when TIE fighters began roaring overhead and blasting away indiscriminately at anything moving in the streets. I used my hexagon shaped board. Most factions had to escape to the location of their bunker off the opposite board edge from where they started. They received +2 Victory Points for each of their four figures they got off-board. In addition, they received a bonus +1 VP for killing knocking their enemies out of action. Two factions, though, had completely different objectives. The Criminal Syndicate and the mercenaries of the Bronze Legion were trying to conduct a prisoner ransom and swap in the center of the board when the TIE terror broke out. The Bronze Legion had two members of the syndicate they had captured in the last scenario. Their goal was to get them to the criminals who would pay +4 campaign victory points to get their leader and trusted associate back.
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| Darth Pylor & a squad of Stormtroopers advance towards the central square in Mos Eisley |
Each turn, though, a TIE fighter blast would strike randomly on the board. I worked out a system to randomize where the blast would hit and all figures within two movement sticks would suffer an attack. The closer to the blast location, the more deadly the attack, of course. The players did not know where or when they would come, only that one would arrive somewhere every turn. It gave them incentive to get the heck off the board. Being gamers, though, they couldn't resist the opportunity to fire at their foes, though. I had counted on that. It made for a chaotic and deadly scenario. Darth Pylor lost all three Stormtroopers in his squad, while their Corporate Security also had three of their force taken out of action. Admittedly, they were a bit outnumbered. Their normal allies the Bronze Legion were not technically hired for this mission. They were in full self-preservation and "get the ransom!" mode. Keith did little to help either Mike S (Empire) or Corporate Security (Joel), unlike normal games, when he is fairly bloodthirsty in his pursuit of the empire's goals.
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| Allen moves is patched-together Criminal Syndicate force towards the meeting point with the Mercs |
Surprisingly, neither the Criminal Syndicate nor the Bronze Legion double-crossed each other. TIE fighters struck close to the Bronze Legion on the very first turn. By the time Keith's troopers made it near the central square, it was a battleground and deadly crossfire. The Bronze Legion called out and motioned to the criminals to cross to their side of the square where they could make the exchange under less fire. Like an evil game master, I had arranged the various faction's missions so that nearly all of them would likely meet in the center. Allen, controlling the Syndicate, sent his battle droid across to the mercenaries to make the exchange.
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| Joel moves up Corporate Security, keeping a wary eye on his brother's Syndicate thugs |
I told both players that once any of their figures made it into base contact with each other, they would each receive a bonus, out-of-turn order action. They would need to roll for initiative again, and could choose to go first or second. The two players in contact had four possible choices for their action: (1) Do nothing; (2) Exchange the item/prisoners; (3) Shoot the other figure; (4) Melee the other figure. Both chose to honorably fulfill the exchange -- Keith even handing over the remote which controlled the Taze-cuffs the prisoners were wearing AND the detonator to the bomb he'd planted on their bodies! Like I said, I was surprised by Keith -- who is known for saying, "Shoot the prisoners!" -- and his honorable conduct.
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| The first blast from a TIE fighter lands dangerously near the mercenaries -- who sprint for cover |
With 20,000 untraceable credits in hand, the Bronze Legion quickly and orderly exfiltrated the tabletop. Another TIE Fighter strike hit the streets near them, but they were unharmed. Keith was the first to leave the table. Mission accomplished, plus several Mos Eisley citizens who fired on him were gunned down, as well. Allen had a much longer path to return to his original board edge and escape. Time after time, TIE fighter blasts knocked down or staggered his criminal enforcers. The battle droid tucked each of the ransomed prisoners, who'd obviously been drugged, under an arm and sped across the table. His metallic boots rang across the central square as he crossed to the opposite side and disappeared down one of the side streets. Three of the four criminal syndicate's enforcers were able to escape off the board edge, with only Sluggr left lying unconscious in the main square.
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| Firing line of Mos Eisley citizens, Syndicate thugs, & Rebel Alliance troopers pour fire into the Empire |
Both the Rebel Alliance and the local rebels were stoic in the face of the TIE fighter strafing runs. Neither appeared to be in a hurry to get across the table. Instead, the found good firing positions and fired at the imperial forces. When we decided to call the game, we reasoned that barring an unlucky TIE fighter blast, they should be able to escape. On the other hand, the outlook was not so rosy for Darth Pylor's Stormtroopers or the Corporate Security agents. Both had only one figure escape off-board. The rest lay, unconscious where they'd been shot by either of the rebel factions or perhaps the enraged Mos Eisley citizenry.
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| Explosions and chaos rocked the streets as seven different factions ran for cover & shot at each other |
The Mos Eisley residents were a late addition to the game, as Andy was able to make it. I started his four armed and angry citizens inside one of the buildings bordering the main square. He needed to escape to a bunker complex, as well, off the same table edge as the Bronze Legion. As the TIE Fighter blasts rocked the homes around the central square, Andy's fighters quickly emerged and began a running firefight with the Imperials and the Bronze Legion. They sought cover behind the barricades around the radar array in the square or behind the walls of some of the buildings. Seeing they had similar goals, the rebels and citizens joined forces to pour fire into Mike S and Joel's forces. Andy continued firing and moving, though, effectively skirting the edges of the square and taking cover behind the buildings surrounding the square. Once behind them, his forces sprinted towards the board edge and did a good job getting off.
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| As the blaster fire on the Stormtroopers builds, they begin falling -- some revived, only to fall again! |
All in all, the players appeared to have a lot of fun. There was some grousing by the imperial forces, perhaps justifiably. However, with seven factions each with their own goals, there were a lot of "moving parts" in this scenario. A more aggressive Bronze Legion could easily have negated their disadvantage. Additionally, a less bloodthirsty Rebel or citizenry faction would also have lessened the hail of fire that rained down on them from both above and below. The game played fairly quickly with seven players, as well. When things were winding down, and figures began to escape off-table, I looked at the time. We had only played for two hours at that point. We called it a bit after three hours, though if we had decided to play out the last turn or so, it wouldn't have taken long. Most factions were in "run for cover" mode by that point and not as many shots were being fired.
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| TIE fighter streaks just above the rooftops of Mos Eisley -- yes, I had them hanging from the ceiling! |
The winners of the scenario? The Rebel Alliance (cue Star Wars music...!) with 17 points. Interestingly, the normal player (Mike W) was out of town so Jenny stood in and played his faction. I've been teasing Mike W that his rebels are way too concerned for their own safety and tentative in the games. Jenny was more bloodthirsty, as I imagined she would be -- downing three enemy troops. Here's the chart showing the scores for this scenario.
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| Jenny's cool efficiency gunning down enemies & getting her rebels off-table scored her the victory! |
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| Another shot of the players gathered around my 4' across hexagon mat that I made for free-for-alls |
MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025- Miniatures acquired in 2025: 306
- Miniatures painted in 2025: 269
TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025
- Terrain acquired in 2025: 62
- Terrain painted in 2025: 72
SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025
- Scatter acquired in 2025: 144
- Scatter painted in 2025: 212
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| It's very close at the top of the total campaign VPs with 3 factions separated by 3 points! |
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| Criminal Syndicate thugs escaping off-table with their rescued members, Foxhurst & Quiddo |
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