Chopper Down! Specialty Terrain Piece

    A helicopter has gone down in a ruined cityscape - a specialty terrain piece for an upcoming scenario

I was trying to think of something to lure my post-apocalyptic survivor gangs back into another free-for-all after their last cooperative scenario. Someone on the excellent Lead Adventure Forum suggested a downed aircraft in the city. Each gangs wants to scavenge ammunition and tech from the wreck before the others. Since my campaign is based around the Terminator concept with the apocalypse being the war between the sentient Machines and humans, this fit in well. I decided to use as my wreck a helicopter, with the story being humans fighting back were using it against the Machines when it was shot down.

`The chopper wreck lies partially on its side, having crashed into a building and mostly destroyed it

The helicopter in question is one of the $2.99 ones in the bins at Menards home improvement store, where I picked up many of my die cast vehicles. I also decided this would be a perfect time to tinker with the pack of flickering tea candles I'd bought a couple months back. My idea would be that the chopper came down in an urban area, so I'd have a shell of the walls holding it up and it would be resting on the tea candle. I broke out the plastic windows (except for the front) and used wire cutters to trim away the bottom and one of the sides of the helicopter. The candle was still too large (or the wreck too small) for the candle to be essentially inserted into the underside. I decided to try slicing away the top of the candle, and that worked. I found out that really you need only the bottom half of a flickering tea candle for it to remain intact and keep flickering.

    The brick pattern base and the ruins were painted and readied before gluing the chopper into place

I used some Acheson Creations stone and wood post fence pieces to create "U shape", then added more bricks to enclose the wreck on three sides. The base was a piece of brick-patterned styrene plastic from Hobby Lobby. I cut a hole out for the candle to pop in through the bottom (so I could replace it if and when the battery died). I also added in lots of coarse ballast painted black and dry brushed gray like the rest of the stone walls to represent rubble and debris. I even recycled a few slivers of the tea candle's top as pieces of the helicopter torn off onto the ground.

    Two rotor blades were "snapped off" and embedded in the walls, the others bent by the collision

I had fun with the rotors, too. First, I trimmed off two of them and then embedded parts of them in the fence. The other two were bent at an angle to give it even more of a wrecked look. I had painted the walls and bricks first, then glued the spray painted black chopper in place. I used Tacky Glue and hopefully it holds. It seems pretty secure. I added some dark olive to the chopper here and there on the parts that would be furthest from the flames. Finally, when I was satisfied with how it looked, I stuffed in batting (pillow stuffing) and teased it out through the open windows. Then I turned on the candle and was pretty happy with the look of flames still flickering inside the helicopter.

    A final look at the downed helicopter, which you will hopefully see in a few weeks in a scenario!

All in all, I'm fairly happy with how it turned out. I won't win any contests with it, but it should add to the "cool" factor of a nicely set up tabletop! What's next, terrain-wise? I have several corner wall sections primed that I bought from Diabolical Terrain at Advance the Colors 2023. I also am getting ready another 3-D printed ruin from Jarls Workshop. So, stay tuned...more on the way!

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures purchased in 2024: 15
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 21

President of Kammebalango's Nightmare Motorcade through Capital

    I ran my "To Kill a President" scenario for Wars of Insurgency at DayCon 2022 this past weekend

I wanted one final tuneup of my Wars of Insurgency scenario that I am taking to Historicon next weekend. So, I scheduled an afternoon session this past weekend at DayCon 2022 for "To Kill a President." It is a reworking of a scenario that I had first run in 2018 at Advance the Colors. For this version, I added a sixth player faction. I wanted to run it to make sure things still ran relatively okay. I also pared down and reworked the order of battle a bit more, too, so things would move quickly with six players.

    The table at DayCon (and rule books) all set up prior to the start of the game

The six factions include the President in his motorcade of two jeeps with heavy machine guns (HMG) and two up-armored SUVs. Inside these four vehicles are the drivers and two extra crewmen or passengers of "Professional" status (best troops in Wars of Insurgency). The player controlling the faction decides which vehicle the President will ride in, and where in the vehicle itself. They can choose between one of the two SUVs or two jeeps. He can't be a driver or machine gunner, though!. On the President's side is the Peoples Militia of Kammebalango. They are immensely loyal to the "Great Elephant," and are there to escort him the president and keep him safe. They control three squads of 10 Militia with small arms. Each squad also has a Militia light machine gunner (LMG) and RPG man.

Players read through their mission briefings to learn their individual goals & victory conditions

Opposing the President is one of the local army commanders. He is from a rival tribe whose people have been neglected, mistreated, and persecuted by the president's regime. The general has brought soldiers loyal to him in a bid to assassinate the president. They are riding in two armored vehicles, each equipped with a HMG and an extra crewmen. Each vehicle also carries a squad of four Regular soldiers with small arms and one with LMG. Also attempting to prevent the president from escaping off-table (he is on his way to the airport to fly to Cairo for a meeting of African leaders), is a Mercenary faction. These have been hired by an unnamed country who wants to have a "chat" with the president to convince him to sign away some mining rights to them. Their job is to kidnap the president and take him to the undisclosed location where the "chat" will take place. They arrive in two helicopters, each armed with a LMG, and each carrying a squad of four Professional mercs with small arms.

    'Kammebalango for Kammebalangans' (K4K) arrives on table through the park playground

Slightly less anti-president is the faction of UN Peacekeepers from Ghana. For their own selfish political reasons, they do not want the president of Kammebalango to attend the meeting in Cairo. Their forces have been ordered to divert or prevent him from escaping off the designated board edge heading to the airport. They are NOT to kill him -- that would be a disgrace to the nation of Ghana if their peacekeepers killed the president of their host nation. The peacekeepers are all on foot. They have two Regular squads of eight men armed with small arms, plus a LMG and RPG gunners in each squad. Finally, the forces of a new and somewhat mysterious movement are present in the capital - Kammebalango for Kammebalangans (K4K). They also have two squads armed identically to the UN peacekeepers. However, their mission is to attack and drive off any foreigners. They believe only citizens of Kammebalango should determine the future of the nation.

    The Peoples Militia of Kammebalango marches down the dirt road to meet the President's motorcade

So, the way I intend for it to work out is there are three factions somewhat on the president's side, and three factions who are somewhat (or wholly) against him. They all have their own individual victory conditions which do not coincide perfectly. Even the goals of the intensely loyal People's Militia are subtly different than the President's. Each faction doesn't know the other players' goals, so it is a bit of a free-for-all rather than a straight up, two-sided confrontation. I ended up with five players signed up, so Jenny volunteered to play the role of the President since she will actually be helping me run this scenario at Historicon. I am also running Mean Streets, so she's giving me a break or two from GMing. She was there to observe and learn, and what better way to learn than to be thrown into the role of the President and his motorcade, trying to navigate the streets safely to the opposite corner of the table?

    As gunfire erupts in the streets, two helicopters hover over the downtown streets of the capital

The game opened in a relatively low-key fashion, with two squads of the Peoples Militia advancing down the alley, cheering as they met the Great Elephant's motorcade on the main street. A third squad began sneaking down the long table edge behind the buildings, climbing the chain link fences separating each apartment block from each other. To the President's right, the two squads of K4K advanced through the park playground and took up positions along the wall, making his bodyguards very nervous. Gunfire first erupted, though, from the Peoples Militia climbing the fences when they spotted the Ghanaian peacekeepers. One blue-helmeted trooper went down. With the sound of gunfire, all the forces on table suddenly became alert, fingers on their triggers.

    The rebellious army commander's troops roll onto the table inside two APCs, ready for a fight

More shooting was about to erupt, though. The armored vehicles of the rebellious army commander rolled onto the table almost precisely where the President would be trying to exit. They moved steadily towards the intersection with the main street, down which the motorcade was progressing. Turning the corner, they saw the President's jeeps and SUVs, escorted by a massive throng of the militia, all headed towards them. BRAAAAP!! The gunner on the HMG opened up on one of the President's escorting jeeps. The other Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) turned the corner and opened up on the same jeep. Sparks flew and the vehicle shuddered to a stop. Its occupants were Professionals, though, and immediately began firing back, pouring rounds aimed for the driver's observation slit. With two jeep-mounted HMGs hosing down the APC, one round made it inside, killing the driver of the lead vehicle. It rolled forward past the median and slowly ground to a stop. 

    Blue-helmeted peacekeepers march onto the table and take up positions on the Jersey barricades

Gunfire erupted up and down the main street, echoing off the walls of the downtown buildings. The sound of the gun battle reverberated back and forth, at first masking the sound of the rotor blades of two khaki-colored helicopters suddenly arriving overhead. One of them hovered inches above the hotel's roof. Four white mercenaries leapt out and raced for the trap door, leading to the ladder from the roof to the building's top floor. Soon, the clamor of the helicopters began to drown out the sound of the gunfire. With the arrival of the mysterious choppers, two other factions leapt into action. The K4K squads clambered over the park walls and advanced down the alley way. One squad of UN troopers dashed along the concrete Jersey barricades between the street and the hotel. The other squad ducked through a side door into the neighboring, three-story apartment building. Half of those blue helmeted troopers dashed upstairs to the second floor, as well. From there, they engaged the militia they could begin to see advancing down the street. The militia had fired first, after all - at least that was how they interpreted their rules of engagement!

    Cheered on by the jubilant militia, the President's bodyguards escort him down the main street

The APCs continued to fire upon the militia and the bodyguard. The second jeep was also disabled, but both HMGs were still operational and firing back. The militia added their small arms fire to that of the bodyguard's, as well as keeping up a running gun battle with the UN troopers. Everyone kept eying the hovering helicopters, which so far, had yet to tip their hand why they were there. As the helicopter over the roof lifted off, the two switched places, disgorging another squad of mercenaries onto the rooftop. Suddenly, one of the choppers descended abruptly to low level, alongside the three-story apartment building. The crew chief's LMG roared to life shattering the glass and riddling the second floor firing position of the Ghanaian peacekeepers. The Mercs were firing on the UN! 

    The tiger-striped K4K troopers spring into action, vaulting the park walls and advancing

The blue helmets ducked to avoid the spray of bullets and then returned fire. Sparks flew and bullets ricocheted or pierced the sides of the chopper. From the first floor, an RPG rock screamed skyward and slammed into the underside of the helicopter. The explosion sent red flames rushing out the sides of the aircraft, which lazily spiraled down to the street. It crashed onto the pavement, turning partially on its side as broken rotor blades whirled like deadly scythes through the street. The UN troopers continued to fire on the wreckage. Both pilots were killed, but the crew chief was able to sprint from the wreckage for safety.

    The President's escorting HMG-armed jeeps begin to take fire from the rebel's APCs

Meanwhile, the president's bodyguard had a decision to make. There was a lot of shooting and flames in the intersection they had been rolling towards. Talking back and forth by radio, the bodyguards decided to turned down the alley behind the Shell station. Maybe the SUVs could work their through the alleys and rejoin the main road beyond the intersection? They kept their eyes on the tiger-striped, K4K troopers who seemed to have no interest in them. Both K4K squads disappeared in the direction of the intersection. One of the squads ducked inside the Shell station and took up firing positions looking across the street towards the hotel and the diner. The  other crept alongside the buildings towards the same intersection.

    A huge gun battle erupts in the streets as the milita and bodyguards return fire on the rebels

The bodyguards in the disabled jeeps kept firing on the rebel soldiers. Both APC squads dismounted and scrambled for cover along the front of the gas station. One squad eventually worked up the nerve to get back into the fight and moved to the corner of the building and opened fire. The other passed by the K4K, giving them a wide berth, and ducking into the service bay of the Shell station. There they watched the opening, ready to engage the motorcade if it came that way.

    UN troopers take up a firing position on the 2nd floor of an apartment building overlooking the street

Meanwhile, the mercenaries' day continued to get worse. The first squad descended the stairs and into the alley. For some reason, they decided to go around the front of the building rather than rear. The K4K player had been waiting all game for the perfect opportunity and he opened fire. "Die Mzungu!" Half of the mercenary squad went down, the rest retreating into the diner. The second squad, hearing the gunfire erupt where their companions had gone, wisely ducked around the back of the building, making their way towards where the President would have to exit the board. 

    Chopper down! Concentrated gun & RPG fire from a UN squad forces shoots down a Merc chopper

The UN troopers celebrating the downing of the helicopter were surprised when the militia squad, which had been clambering over fences, suddently burst into the first floor of the apartment building. A point blank range gun battle erupted. Wood splinters, stuffing from chairs, and shattered glass flew into the air. The UN troopers were badly outnumbered, even when their mates from the second floor hurriedly clambered down the stairs to join them. The Ghanaians eventually fled the building and joined their other squad at the Jersey barricades.

    A K4K squad takes up a firing position overlooking the diner and hotel (and some rebel infantry)

The key moment of the game was approaching, though. First, one SUV zoomed past the service bay of the Shell station. The rebel soldiers fired into the engine block and tires, hoping to disable it. Bodyguards, with their red berets, fired back. The first SUV successfully ran the gauntlet and accelerated through the gas station's lot. But was that the one carrying the President? Then it was the turn of the second SUV. It also braved the rebel soldiers' gunfire. It also made it past without being disabled, these being special up-armored limos purchased from the United States. As it turned out, the passenger in the back seat of the second SUV was the President. Had the troopers known this, and fired upon him rather than the vehicle itself, they could have won the game then and there. However, his armored limo escaped only slightly damaged, and the President's driver hit the gas and accelerated to safety. 

    Return fire from the President's bodyguards and the militia begin to whittle down the rebel ranks

We'd reached the three hours allotted for the game, so we decided to call it a Presidential victory. The surviving mercenary squad decided to exfiltrate rather than block the president's exit. The UN had come under fire by K4K, too, so knew they couldn't do anything to stop the limos at long range. My players all said they enjoyed the game. I was very happy with how it progressed. Everyone was involved, everyone was firing on rival factions. There was an air of mystery till the end on what some of the factions were doing. So, I liked that dynamic. My favorite part was how it literally came down to the last attack roll of the game. If the rebel soldiers had scored more hits, and the limo had made fewer of its armor saves, the President may not have made it out alive.

    A squad of mercenaries descend the stairs into the alley, preparing to move out

I look forward to my two runnings of this at Historicon Friday night and Saturday morning. The game at DayCon certainly set a high bar, though! It's hard to see how things can go as well as this game, at least from a GM's perspective!

    A full squad of K4K advances towards the intersection, continuing to hold their fire

    A squad of militia burst into the ground floor of the apartment, surprising the UN troopers

    The President's bodyguard decides to turn the SUVs into the alley and try to find an alternate route

    One of the Merc squads wisely advances along the backside of the diner away from the gun battle

    The President's limo and decoy limo turn up the alley - but which is which??

K4K squad fires at the 2nd limo putting two hits on it, but not disabling it - the President escapes!

    The battle's end - a great game with a gripping ending. Most importantly, everyone had fun!

Chopper Down...Salvage!! Post-Apoc Scenario

    One of the many 'bad guys' that showed up to attack the players -- a Machine Patrol bot

I'd been waiting for an available Sunday evening to run the sixth scenario of our post-apocalyptic campaign. After the cooperative game of "Where the Dark Things Gather," this would be a competitive one. In the beginning, players were avoiding shooting each other. Eventually, though, they got into the spirit of it and began blazing away at each other around the smouldering, downed helicopter. The back story was that their survivor gang had seen a military chopper go down but with no resulting explosion. They surmised the pilot must have auto-rotated a soft enough landing, which meant one thing: available salvage!

    The players map out their routes towards the downed chopper in the middle of the board

Only four of my players were available, so I sat out and GM'd the affair. Each started in their respective corner back edge and began moving towards the center of the board where my recently-constructed downed chopper terrain piece was placed. I had six potential salvage spots, two on the helicopter's base and four flung out 10" in each of the the cardinal directions. The center spot was an intersection in a heavily damaged section of a city. Wrecked vehicles blocked sight lines along the roads leading to the chopper. The rest of the board was filled with my ruined buildings and urban scatter that I have been working steadily on now for a couple years.

    The view from my end of the table with the Bass Reeves on the left and the Bucknuts the right

The players were unaware that I had increased the chance of arrival of wandering "bad guys." Normally, after each 10% casualties on the board, something appears -- usually a Machines Scout Bot. As each
subsequent 10% level is reached, they go up to a Patrol Bot, then Military Bot, and (maybe one day) Destroyer Bot. I gave a 50/50 chance that the Scout Bot would be an aerial drone instead. Same stats, but flying. I also gave a 50/50 chance it would be a ground creature drawn by the noise of the gunfire. I had my giant rats (ROUS's - Rodents Of Unusual Size) and feral dogs out, but only the rats arrived other than machines. At one point, I had four bad guys on the board, but it was usually just one or two at a time. In addition, before the 10% casualty level was reached, I gave a 20% chance a bad guy would show up.

    As the Followers of the Dark Prophet were sneaking forward, a Scout Drone appeared in their rear

A new innovation this time (that I will likely continue using), was that I had the players "roll off" to see whose sector the bad guy showed up in. Low roller got the creature or machine. Everyone except Joel had a bad guy show up in their sector. Some of them did no damage to the players -- the Bass Reeves killed the ROUS with a shotgun blast after its first move couldn't contact one of their survivors. Others suffered heavily. The lethal Bucknuts lost two of their four men to a rabid ROUS. Allen's Followers of the Dark Prophet had two guys wounded and downed, but each time luckily drew an Ace or Queen of Hearts next turn to recover.

    Brutus & Jackie of the Bucknuts use the available cover of vehicle wrecks to close in on the chopper

On the section of the board closest to me, the Bucknuts and Bass Reeves deployed opposite each other. They did not advance forward, but both began to shift laterally towards the center. The Bucknuts were the first to dash someone forward to snag salvage that had been flung from the wreck. The Bass Reeves sent Dreadz climbing up the tall, corner ruin to obtain a great sniper spot. He held off on shooting any of the rival survivors until the Bass Reeves were attacked first. Dreadz was also lucky to move early in the turn, when he began his climb. Shortly after he scrambled up a couple levels, a ROUS appeared well within range of where he'd been standing. Frustrated by the disappearance of the human it had (apparently) been stalking, it charged across to the gang's leader, Big Bass. Hearing it skittering towards him, but coming up short, Big Bass stepped around the corner of a building and blasted it with his shotgun. It gave a squeal and went down for good, relegated from a threat to rat burgers with one shot!

    The Bass Reeves stalk laterally through the ruins, using the walls of buildings as cover

Across from the Bass Reeves, firing broke out as the Followers of the Dark Prophet reacted to the sudden appearance of a Scout Drone Bot from behind them. It whirred forward and blasted away, wounding one of the dark-robed survivors. The remaining three members whirled round and blasted away at the drone, Eventually, Dafyd hit a vital spot on the machine and it dropped to the ground. More salvage! Across from Allen's troops, his brother Joels' F Troop was taking advantage of the distraction provided by the drone to advance closer to the smouldering wreck. No signs could be seen of any survivors. Had they escaped on foot, or had the rats gotten to them? No one was sure, but their looked to be all kinds of things to loot from the helicopter -- ammunition boxes, rations, medical kits, and electronic components.

    The Scout Drone is no match for the firepower of the Followers of the Dark Prophet!

At this point, the lure of avarice took over. The survivor gangs ended their unspoken truce and began firing at each other. Ironically, it was Joel's F Troop who fired the first shot -- at his brother! We joke how Allen's wife admonishes Joel every Sunday evening when he picks up her hubby to "not kill your brother!" So, it is a running gag that sometimes they follow her directives and other times all bets are off. F Troop had moved Pvt. Picnic up near the chopper while the other three remained behind vehicles and walls to cover him. Not to be beaten to the punch, Allen moved Dafyd (who'd knocked down the drone) up to contest the salvage. Shots were fired, but both men remained standing.

    A standoff between Bucknut's Jackie and Amram of the Followers, each wanting the salvage

Allen took that as cue to sprint Amram towards the metal box that could be seen on the ground, just feet away from the helicopter. Amram was astonished when Jackie ran up, as well. Both looked from the metal box to the other, sizing each other up. Shots rang out all around them as men and women from all four factions began firing at each other. The "Bad Guys" added to the cacophony as a Patrol Bot clomped onto the board's far edge. Its machine gun had plenty of range, though, and it blasted away and another of the Followers of the Dark Prophet fell to the ground wounded. 

    The firefight around the chopper is truly underway, with all four factions firing at each other

Someone fired at Ned of the Bass Reeves, and that gang of survivors joined in the shooting, as well. Tosh took advantage of the confusion to sprint forward and snag the closest piece of salvage, a duffel bag that looked as if it had been tossed from the helicopter on impact. The players had been careful in the early turns, and minimized exposing their survivors to enemy fire. However, risks were taken now as the desire to snatch up the loot before their rivals overcame their caution. One of the early successes, Wrich of the Bucknuts, had dashed back to what he thought was the safety of the buildings after snatching up a box of ammunition he'd seen lying in the street. He ducked behind the walls, panting from the exertion, relieved that he was no longer in the open street.

    Brutus felled by an ROUS - the second Bucknut to be knocked out of action by the hulking beast

A high pitched shreik from behind him startled Wrich. He turned, horrified, as a ROUS bore down on him. He spun, leveling his rifle, but too late. The giant rat was upon him and clamped him in his jaws. The beast shook him back and forth battering his head several times against the stone walls. Wrich went limp and lost consciousness. In the ruins of the next building over, Brutus saw the attack and inadvertently shouted, "Jesus H. Christ!" The rat heard him, dropped the unmoving prey from its jaws and began skittering towards Brutus. The large man screamed in terror and tried to slam home the magazine he'd been loading into his weapon. He fumbled and the metal magazine clattered to the ground. The ROUS launched itself at Brutus and seized him him by the shoulder. Brutus was a big man, but the rat's weighed dashed him to the ground, senseless.

    As bullets from rival factions ricochet all around, F Troop hunkers behind a burnt-out pickup truck

All the shouting drew the attention of Coach Coop, the Bucknuts leader. He shifted to get a better angle on the rat and let loose a burst of his assault rifle. The creature turned and bared its bloody jaws at him. Coop cursed and drew a bead on its beady eyes and fired twice. The rat let out its last squeal and fell dead. Coop called to Jackie to fall back, and moved up to see if his friend was still alive. Many of the survivors looked up as another Scout Drone whirred overhead, the machine's guns blazing at their human foes. Bullets kicked up all around F Troop's Pvt. Picnic and he fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder. Meanwhile, the Followers of the Dark Prophet called to each other and began to withdraw from the open streets, moving through the ruins towards the table edge. 

    Bucknut leader Coach Coop grimaces at his losses as Joel surveys the field and does likewise

The casualties and increasing number of machines and feral denizens of the city convinced the factions it was time to pull back. Those that could grab some last salvage or supplies did so, while hugging the cover of the ruined buildings. All of them had taken hits and most had at least one of their four out of action. The Bucknuts and F Troop were each down to half strength. Carrying their wounded, they withdrew from the bloodied intersection. Each hoped that the blood spilled was worth the rewards they had gained.

   F Troop utilizes the cover of the ruins and wrecks to move up early in the game

I felt the scenario had started out a little slow, but it picked up speed and was a blazing hot mess by the end. The players were laughing and having a good time spraying their rivals with gunfire at each opportunity. I really liked giving the players "control" over where the enemies appeared by having them roll off. Allen saved his worst rolls for then, but in general his Followers of the Dark Prophet came on top. They picked up two caches of supplies, knocked out a drone, two rivals (Ned of the Bass Reeves and Pvt. Angel of F Troop), and escaped with all four members off-board. His success may lead to future challenges, though, as I give players who lost a member to enemy fire bonus victory points in subsequent missions for exacting revenge and taking out one of theirs.

    Wrich of the Bucknuts creeps closer to the salvage at his feet, while keeping an eye out for enemy

Joel's F Troop took it on the chin, again. I'm not sure why, but fortune has not favored this former army unit in its post-apocalyptic missions. Joel escaped with no supplies and lost two members (both of whom fortunately ended up being just "winged" and okay for the next scenario). The rat-ravaged Bucknuts discovered a weakness in their formerly lethal, long-range tactics. They lost two members to an ROUS, Wrich being just "winged" while fleshy Brutus will recover with some rest time. They did kill one rat and escape with one cache of supplies, so all was not lost.

    Pvt. Picnic goes down to a Machines Scout Drone as F Troops sour luck in scenarios continues

Mike W's Bass Reeves picked up three caches of supplies (which includes carving off enough rat burgers for a feast). They carried Ned off the battlefield (who fortunately was also just "winged") and killed the ROUS. All in all, the players rolled VERY well in their post-battle recoveries. It could have been much worse for them. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Now that I retire in just over a month, we hopefully will be playing more post-apocalyptic scenarios soon. Then again, don't I say that every time after every game??

    The streets are silent as the Machines scour the area looking for human survivors to terminate

Miniature Painting & Purchasing Tally for 2024

• Miniatures acquired in 2024: 64
• Miniatures painted in 2024: 57

'Hot LZ' Challenges Big Red One with 2nd Toughest Mission

    Sgt. Kern's ill-fated team begins to disembark from their Huey slick under fire in Surviving 'Nam

Having just finished off my 28mm Huey helicopter last week, I felt the time was right to revisit my infantry squad of the Big Red One (1st Infantry Division) and take up the tale of their tour in Vietnam. That, and the release of the rules on Ganesha Games and Wargame Vault, motivated me. This was July, their 7th month "In Country" -- so mission #7 for Sgt. Frey, Sgt. Kern, and the boys. They were tasked with a helicopter insertion and assault on a suspect Viet Cong position on a riverbank. Jenny would help me play out this game, controlling Kern's under strength fire team of four soldiers, augmented by newly-promoted 1st Lt. Fickell, his radioman Spec. 4 Byars, and the platoon medic, Spec. 5 Frank. I would be controlling Frey's similarly under strength team plus the M60 machine gun team of Cpl. Boston (just returned from recovering from his wounds in the battalion field hospital), and the very capable assistant gunner, Cpl. Warfield.

    The Landing Zone where the squad will arrive -- red circles mark where the Viet Cong enemy are

Listening to the chatter between the Huey crew on the headset, Sgt. Frey heard the pilot say that the first slicks in were reporting the LZ would be "hot." That meant Charlie was present and firing on the choppers as they landed. The pilot instructed both door gunners to lay down suppressive fire and for Frey's grunts to be ready to disembark quickly once they touched own. Frey acknowledged and lowered his head. This was not what he wanted to hear. Their squad had done helicopter insertions before, during their seven months in Vietnam, but this would be the first "hot" one. With hand signals, he informed his team of what was ahead and saw their faces drop, too. Frey stood up and leaned forward between the pilot and copilot, surveying the rapidly expanding clearing where they would land, which was lit up by flashes of gunfire. Most of it seemed to be coming from across the river as they approached. Hopefully, the trees surrounding the LZ on this side of the river would be clear.

    Sgt. Frey's team was the first to land, stepping off into a maelstrom of enemy fire

He turned back and moved towards his team, who were staring at the trees growing larger as they descended rapidly. He caught Cpl. Carter's eyes, one of his more experienced soldiers, and motioned for him to keep an eye on the new guy, Stoneburner, in his first month in Vietnam, and their M-79 gunner, Pvt. Pace, in his second. He put his hands on Boston and Warfield's shoulders, who had risen and were poised by the right hand doorway. As he felt the Huey's skids touch the ground, he patted each of them, but they were already moving. Boston looked back at him after a few steps and Frey pointed to a patch of trees not far ahead. No gunfire seemed to be coming from it. Together, the three soldiers sprinted towards for the treeline, hearing the snap of enemy rounds go overhead and the hammering fire of the door gunners trying to keep the V.C.'s heads down.

    V.C. begin to mortar the LZ, as Cpl. Carter and Pvt. Stoneburner race towards the cover of the trees

On their way in, Frey had noticed the fire still seemed to be coming mostly from across the river, but now he saw enemy shooting at them from the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. A plan of assault began to form in his mind, but first they had to get off the LZ and into cover! Boston was the first to arrive at the treeline. He wheeled and his M60 joined the sound of the Huey's machine guns, doubtless directed at the V.C.'s own machine gunners. He and Warfield took up position to either side of Boston, as brass flew in short bursts from his "hog". Suddenly, AK-47 fire rang out behind him. He heard the distinctive sound of rounds "snapping" over his head. He turned and saw three V.C. about 20 yards away, advancing from the trees behind them. Frey fired and saw one go down. He shouted to Warfield to engage them with his M-16. Frey turned back to survey his team's progress.

    As the American helicopters arrive in the clearing, V.C. across the river rise up & shoot at them

"Son of a bitch!" Frey cursed, as he saw Pvt. Pace prone just a few steps from the Huey, his head darting this way and that as he tried to get his bearings. Bullets tore up the ground around him, but he appeared to be uninjured. He caught sight of Carter, way ahead, entering the treeline to his left, trailed by Stoneburner, who seemed unsure what to do. Carter turned and waved frantically to Stoneburner to hurry up and get in cover. Their was a blast of wind as the Huey took off and spitting fire from its machine guns as it cleared out, so another helicopter with Kern's squad could arrive. Frey noticed Pace still pinned on the ground, and muttered, "Get up, Pace...!" 

    Sgt. Frey, center, and his buddies M60 gunner Boston & assistant gunner Warfield step off the Huey

It seemed only a few heartbeats before the next Huey roared in, throwing up dust all around the clearing, again. When a V.C. machine gun opened up, Frey pointed it out to Boston, who shifted his fire and quickly suppressed it. Out of the corner of his eye, Frey saw yet another V.C. stand up to the left. He patted Boston on the shoulder and pointed. The M60 gunner wheeled and fired a burst, adding his hail of lead to Warfield's. Frey saw Pace stand up and start to run, then throw his hands up in the air and fall to the ground not moving. "Pace is down!" he shouted. "Warfield, when you guys are finished with those V.C. on our flank, can you go check on him? He looks pretty messed up!"

    There is a chance in 'Hot LZ' that the V.C. will disable one of the Hueys while it disembarks troops

Meanwhile, Frey watched Kern's squad dismount from their helicopter and head towards the closest cover. Suddenly, another enemy machine gun opened up on them from a nearby patch of trees, but on this side of the river. All three soldiers emerging from that side of the helicopter hit the dirt. When the machine gun's fire paused, Kern was the first up, and Frey could see him directing his M-79 gunner Cassidy to fire a grenade at the enemy bunker where the machine gun was located. Kern then shook Cpl. Hawk, who had just returned to the squad after three months recuperating from his wounds in Japan. Frey could see blood on Hawk's much fresher uniform, but the veteran soldier got up and hobbled fiercely towards the trees with Kern. The machine gun in the bunker fired again and both went prone. Kern appeared to be trying to return fire, but Hawk was motionless. "Damn it," Frey cursed. Kern's team badly needed help from the slick's door gunners or the circling gunships. 

    First chopper takes off, leaving Pvt. Pace pinned nearby while new guy Stoneburner sprints away

His mind registered all of this while he was firing his own M-16 at an enemy machine gun directly across the clearing. He saw Lt. Fickell and his radioman pounding towards them and duck into the treeline, just a few yards away. Frey shouted to them, "Kern's in trouble -- enemy bunker!" Both wheeled, spotted the bunker, and let loose with their M-16's on full automatic. The machine gun in the bunker fell silent. Frey waited a few heartbeats, but it did not fire again. He chuckled, "Get some, L.T.! Maybe we should have you carry the hog instead of Boston??" Frey saw Boston flash a momentary grin at him, his eyes and teeth white against his dark face. Frey added, "Lieutenant, if you don't mind, get these gunships to do something besides sitting on the sidelines and cheering!" Fickell immediately took the microphone from Byars, and began to relay their situation to the colonel, who was in one of the choppers circling overhead. "Tell the colonel we have several men down already," Frey added, "and we'll need medevacs once the LZ is clear!"

    New group of V.C. emerge from the jungle behind Frey, Boston, & Warfield and open fire on them

Next to him, Boston spun back around, "Me and Warfie took care of Charlie behind us!" Frey gave him a thumbs up, then kept firing at the machine gun across the clearing. An explosion in the trees across the LZ erupted, where another V.C. machine gun had been. He could make out the shape of Carter, in the treeline, unslinging his M-16 after eliminating the position with a grenade. He chuckled, and called over to Boston, "Carter just got a machine gun, the L.T. got one, when is my '60-gunner' gonna get one?" Frey smiled as Boston's head shook back and forth, his machine gun spiting flame and pinning V.C. all across the battlefield. 

    From left, Cassidy, Kern, Hawk, & Tatum leap out of the Huey and begin to move towards cover

"Yah see, Warfie?" Boston laughed. "Us 'Splibs' get no respect!" He turned to look at his friend, but Warfield was already racing past him into the clearing. Head down, he sprinted to Pace's position and checked him over. Frey could see him shake his head and quickly apply a bandage. Once it was secured, he tossed the heavyset soldier over his shoulder and began jogging back towards the treeline. Frey and Boston fired frantically to keep the V.C.'s heads down while Warfield was exposed. Both sighed in relief when Warfield staggered into the trees, and set Pace down next to the radioman and lieutenant. Byars immediately took over and began applying more bandages to the unconscious Pace.

Enemy bunker is revealed dangerously close to the 2nd chopper & fires on Kern's disembarking team 

"That was some serious Bronze Star shit," Frey said. "Hell, he's even faster than you, Boston." The M60 gunner grinned and snapped the cover shut on another belt of ammunition. He replied that the only reason his friend Warfield was faster was because he was carrying one of those "little toy guns you guys carry." He slapped the M60, smiled, and lowered the bipod down to the ground and began firing again. Frey looked back to Kern's beleaguered fire team, only to see a cloud of smoke begin to obscure his view of the distant river -- their objective. One of Kern's men had thrown a smoke grenade, probably so that they could get to the wounded without enemy machine guns pinning them down in the open.  He swore as he saw the platoon medic Frank was one of those who was down, too. Warfield must have noticed this, too, because he sprinted back out into the clearing. Upon reaching him, he rolled Frank over and saw the medic was unresponsive. He quickly bandaged his wounds, then tossed him over his shoulder as he had done with Pace. His legs churned resolutely and Warfield soon had Frank in the cover of the trees, and bent over to give him more treatment.

    The chopper roars off, leaving a handful of U.S. soldiers pinned in the open by enemy fire

Frey called out, "Hey L.T.! Are you seeing this?" Just then a rocket from a gunship slammed into the riverbank and erupted, tossing V.C. to the left and right. Finally, Frey thought! He called for the lieutenant to shift his position down to where Warfield and Boston had been -- he'd have a better angle for his airstrikes. Soon enough, the two scurried past him, both craning to see the river in between two patches of jungle. Their eyes widened as they saw several squads of V.C. wading across to take the battle to the Americans. Apparently, their line of sight had been blocked where they'd been hiding in the trees. Frey saw them too, and pointed the fresh waves of enemy to Boston, who immediately shifted his fire. Waterspouts spurted up all around the V.C. Boston was muttering about Charlie being crazy. They should have stayed hidden because now his squad was going to have to mess them up!

    Their line of sight blocked by some of the jungle patches, V.C. emerge and stream across the river

As the tendrils of smoke grenade expanded and spread over a wider area, Frey noticed Kern get up and begin to carry Hawk towards the woods. Tatum raced in and threw Hawk's other arm over his shoulder. Frey silently urged them on till they reached the cover of the trees. He called over to the lieutenant, "Sitrep for Kern's team: Hawk and Frank are down. Cassidy is wounded, but on his feet. For my boys, only Pace is down." Lt. Fickell held up a hand and responded to a call on the radio. After he was done, he turned back to the sergeant and told him to gather some men and make a push across the river. "Yes, sir," Frey nodded. He waved and caught Carter's attention across the clearing. He motioned for him and Stoneburner to begin pushing towards the river from their side of the clearing. "Let's go, Boston! We're going to join your friend, our future Bronze Star winner." Boston gathered up his ammo and followed the sergeant along the treeline, heading towards the river.

    Tatum throws a smoke grenade to give his comrades a chance to reach the 3 soldiers down

As he and Boston stalked through the trees, he realized he could hear more choppers circling overhead, but no new squads had been inserted into the field. Maybe they considered it too hot, and were deploying them to alternate landing spots? "Sarge," Boston called, "there's still a lot of V.C. in this clearing. I think I should stay and keep them pinned down." Frey caught the machine gunner's eyes and nodded. "Oh, send Warfield back when you see him -- I'm running low on ammo!" Frey gave him a thumbs up as he ducked under the trees. He passed where Frank and Hawk lay, tended by Cassidy, whose sleeve was covered by more bandages than uniform. The look of pain on his face as he tended to his friends was clear, and Frey told him to hang in there. They almost had the enemy on the run. 

    Cpl. Carter leads FNG Stoneburner along the treeline to begin working their way towards the river

Just as he reached Kern, he heard another explosion from a gunship's rockets. "Get some, L.T.!" he quipped. Kern's smile in response was weak and pained. His team was having a rough day. "Come on, buddy," Frey said. "Fickell wants us to gather some men and cross the river. He says if we cross, the enemy will probably fall back to avoid being cut off." Kern nodded and they collected Tatum as they advanced. As gunfire rang out all around the clearing, the three moved quickly towards the edge of the trees bordering the river. 

    Newly-promoted 1st Lt. Fickell calls in Fire Missions on the V.C., catching some in the open

As the three looked up and down the river, Kern whispered, "You have seniority in sergeant rank on me, Frey...you first!" The trio crouched at the edge of the river. V.C. were hunkered down along the river bank, about 50 yards away. Frey took a deep breath. The lieutenant was right. If the V.C. knew they were being outflanked, they'd likely withdraw. He aimed his M-16 at the closest V.C. and fired, seeing him fall. Then he sprinted across the river as he heard the startled V.C. shoot wildly, trying to draw a bead on him. Once in the trees, he began firing bursts to cover the crossing of Tatum. He could see the V.C. were getting nervous, looking behind them. A single shot rang out, though, and his heart seemed to stop as he saw Kern crumple against a tree. Sniper! Dammit!!

    V.C. pinned down by the air strikes & Boston's M60 fire begin to waver & look to their rear

"Light them up, Tatum!" Frey ordered. Together they blasted away at the V.C. in the river. A couple fell, but the rest began withdrawing back into the trees on the other side of the river. He heard Boston's M60 fire chasing them as they disappeared into the greenery. "All right, Tatum," he said. "we did what the colonel asked. Now, let's go check on our buddies and get some medevac choppers here!" The two sprinted back across the river to check on Kern. 

    Sgt. Frey & Cpl. Tatum make it across the river, which prompts the remaining V.C. to 'but out'

Whew! That was a one bloody game -- probably the squad's most casualties since the very mission! Of the 13 soldiers who rode in with Frey and Kern on the Hueys, six flew out in medevacs. I had to hope that my rolls on the Recovery Table were kinder than Jenny's Event Card deck draws during the game. Our misfortunes began when the Bunker! card came up very early -- while the second helicopter was unloading. Also, the early cards drawn in response to activation failures brought a lot of additional figures on the table. 

One of the things about Surviving 'Nam is the constant reshuffling of the event deck (which controls V.C. actions) in response to certain cards drawn means specific cards may come up more often in one game and never appear in others. So, one mission may be drastically harder than the next, or alternately seem like a cakewalk, depending on the deck and your activation rolls. In fact, one part of a game may seem easier, and then suddenly (as the card says), All Hell is Breaking Loose! We were also handicapped in that both of our M79 gunners were out of the fight almost right away. We lost two big important support weapons with Cassidy wounded and Pace out of action.

    Two of the squad's wounded, Pvt. Pace & Spec. 5 Frank, moments being cut down by enemy fire

So, how did my wounded guys fare on their post-game rolls? Jenny had four of her seven guys wounded during the game. Team Leader Sgt. Kern fortunately (for us) rolled "Bad Luck! The unlucky soldier comes back to unit after just a few days of medical care, and is available for the next mission." Yes, the verbiage is tongue in cheek, but it is the best roll possible for a player. For Jenny, it just got worse. Poor Cpl. Hawk, the thrice-wounded, one-time team leader rolled, "Million Dollar Wound! Their injury was serious enough that he will be sent home, but is not permanently disabling." Oh, Hawk -- we hardly knew ye...but you were "lucky" in the end! Much less fortunate were Cpl. Cassidy and Spec. 5 Frank. Both rolled "Lost a Limb! They will be honorably discharged once recovered." Wow, that is three of Jenny's four wounded who aren't coming back to the squad. Tough mission for Sgt. Kern!

Now, it was my turn to roll. I had lost only (!) two guys -- poor Pvt. Pace (who never really made it past stepping off the helicopter) and Cpl. Carter, who was shot at the very end of the game and then carried off by his loyal newbie, Pvt. Stoneburner. Pace rolled "REMF for a month! They will be in a field hospital in the rear for a month and be unavailable for missions during that time." Okay, only one mission out -- not too bad. Older readers might appreciate my reference to the 1970s sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter when I say his name upon activation, "Mr. Cah-TER! Anyway, my very experienced Cpl. Carter rolled "Enjoy Japan! They will rehabilitate in Japan and be unavailable to the fire team for the next 3 months." Unfortunate for the team, but good for him!

    Moments after Kern's chopper touched down, with Pvt. Pace still pinned & unwilling to move

What does all of this mean for Mission #8? Sgt. Kern would have two newbies next mission, called "FNGs" in the rules (N is "New Guy" and you can probably guess what the "F" stands for)! Thankfully, Sgt. Frey would have only one FNG. A previously wounded soldier, Pfc. Elliott, would be returning from his recuperation. There is a chart in the rules to see what type of soldier you get as a replacement (IF you get one). Essentially, there is a 75% chance it will be a FNG of one sort or another, either a "Cherry" fresh from the States or a rear area "Pogue" who screwed up and got transferred. I got VERY lucky, and for two of them, rolled "Grunts" (experienced soldiers coming back from injuries or transferred by the company commander who took pity of the squad). So, though Frey and Kern's boys will go into next mission under strength again  -- four soldiers instead of five -- we will have newbies only for a Medic and in one of the fire team positions. Considering this was our our second deadliest mission of the tour, it could have been a LOT worse.

    My 'Surviving 'Nam' rules are out and available -- see below for links!

Since a player's mission in Survivng 'Nam is to get as many of their soldiers home safely during their 12-month tour (12 games) as possible, how is my squad doing after its seven month? At this point, both Frey and Kern's fire teams each have two men who were with the squad at the start of the campaign (including themselves). The headquarters element have exactly the same number. Carter will eventually be back and is an original member, too. So, slightly over 50% of the squad's original roster has gone home wounded or been killed in action. The best part about doing the game as a campaign, though, is how you begin to cheer for them and root for them to make it home in one piece. Even though you lost them, you kind of smile when you know that one of your guys gets to go home with his "million dollar wound."

If you want to follow the adventures of my squad of the Big Red One, click on the various links below. I will update the blog each time I play a new mission. In the meantime, if you are interested in the rules, they are now officially available for sale by Ganesha Games and a number of distributors. Click on this link for more information on how you can buy the printed or PDF download version.

 Links to missions my squad from the Big Red One in Vietnam has performed:

• Mission 01: Check out the Hooches
• Between Missions - Promotions & Replacements
• Mission 02: Temple at River Bend
• Mission 03: Perfect Ambush 
• Mission 04: Downed Airmen
• Mission 05: Perilous Paddies
• Mission 06: Tanks for the Help!
• Mission 07: Hot LZ!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 135

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 28

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59