Introduction
Here are two basic scenarios for my playtest.
Basic Asymmetrical Scenario
Attacker and Defender
Randomly determine attacker and defender. The Attacker uses their Attacking list. The Defender uses their Defending list.
Setup and Objectives
The Defender picks a table edge to defend. His Deployment zone is within 18" of his edge.
The Attacker takes the opposite table edge. His Deployment zone is within 12" of his edge.
The Attacker places one objective between 12" and 6" from the Defender's long table edge.
The Defender places one objective between 12" and 6" from Defender's long table edge.
Deployment
The players alternate placing squads in their deployment zones, starting with the Defender.
Game Play
The Attacker has the first turn. Any Defenders may start the game Cowering.
Victory Conditions
The Attacker wins if, at the start of his turn, he has troops within 6" of an objective and the Defender does not.
The Defender wins at the start of his 10th turn.
If either army breaks or is completely destroyed, then their opponent wins.
Basic Symmetrical Scenario
Attacker and Defender
Both players use their Attacking lists.
Setup and Objectives
Roll off. The winner becomes the nominal Attacker.
The Attacker picks a table edge. His Deployment zone is within 12" of his edge.
The Defender takes the opposite table edge. His Deployment zone is within 12" of his edge.
The Attacker places one objective between 12" and 6" from the Defender's long table edge.
The Defender places one objective between 12" and 6" from Attacker's long table edge.
The Attacker places one objective between 12" and 6" from Attacker's long table edge.
The Defender places one objective between 12" and 6" from Defender's long table edge.
Deployment
The players alternate placing squads in their deployment zones. Roll off to see who places first.
Game Play
Roll off to see who has the first turn. Any models may start the game Cowering.
Victory Conditions
Either player wins, if at the start of his turn, he has a unit within 6" of an objective in the enemy's deployment zone, and the enemy does not.
If either army breaks or is completely destroyed, then their opponent wins.
If neither player has won by the end of 10 turns, the game ends in a draw.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Playtest Doctrines
Introduction
Here are a few sample Doctrines for my two playtest armies. I intend to try games with and without Doctrines. I have given the Free Cities army Doctrines that reflect the usages of its special troop types, and so it has more Doctrines than the more homogenous "normal" Colonist army. The Scutatores and the Venatores each have one Doctrine that's mostly useful when they are operating in pure formations of their own kind, and a second that they can use when operating in a mixed formation with other types.
All Doctrines activate on a 3+, and cost one Activation Point. Each Platoon leader and each Squad leader generates may use one Activation Point per turn.
The Colonists
Lieutenant Doctrines
Only the Lieutenant may use these Doctrines, activating them on a target friendly Squad within 12".
Rally
The target squad may immediately reroll a failed Leadership test.
Squad Doctrines
Any Squad leader may activate these Doctrines on his own squad. The Lieutenant may also activate these Doctrines on a target squad within 12".
Rapid Fire
Any model in the squad armed with a rifle may fire at RoF 3/1/1 until the end of the phase, provided the target is within 12".
Bayonet Drill
Any model in the squad armed with a rifle may attack at RoA 2 until the end of phase.
Suppressive Fire
Until the end of the phase, any weapon base in the squad armed with a machinegun gains the Suppressive 1 characteristic. However, the weapon loses its HE characteristic and all target cover-saves against it are made at a +1 bonus.
Target that Gun
Designate one enemy target model. Until the end of the phase, any weapon base in the squad armed with a mortar may reroll to-Hit rolls against that model.
The Free Cities
Triarch Doctrines
Only the Triarch may use these Doctrines, activating them on a target friendly Squad within 12".
Rally
The target squad may immediately reroll a failed Leadership test.
Squad Doctrines
Any Squad leader may activate these Doctrines on his own squad. The Triarch may also activate these Doctrines on a target squad within 12".
Hunters
Until the end of the phase, all models in the unit count as being Concealed. The majority of models in the squad must be Venatores at the time of activation.
Assassinate
Designate one enemy target model. Until the end of the phase, one squad Electrojavelin may reroll to-Hit rolls against that model.
Shield Wall
Until the end of the phase, all models in the unit gain +1 Armor. The majority of models in the squad must be Scutatores at the time of activation.
Protectors
Until the end of the phase, the controlling player may assign two hits to any Scutatores model in the unit before assigning one to any other model type.
Fusillade
Until the end of the phase, all blaster pikes gain the HE 1 characteristic.
Here are a few sample Doctrines for my two playtest armies. I intend to try games with and without Doctrines. I have given the Free Cities army Doctrines that reflect the usages of its special troop types, and so it has more Doctrines than the more homogenous "normal" Colonist army. The Scutatores and the Venatores each have one Doctrine that's mostly useful when they are operating in pure formations of their own kind, and a second that they can use when operating in a mixed formation with other types.
All Doctrines activate on a 3+, and cost one Activation Point. Each Platoon leader and each Squad leader generates may use one Activation Point per turn.
The Colonists
Lieutenant Doctrines
Only the Lieutenant may use these Doctrines, activating them on a target friendly Squad within 12".
Rally
The target squad may immediately reroll a failed Leadership test.
Squad Doctrines
Any Squad leader may activate these Doctrines on his own squad. The Lieutenant may also activate these Doctrines on a target squad within 12".
Rapid Fire
Any model in the squad armed with a rifle may fire at RoF 3/1/1 until the end of the phase, provided the target is within 12".
Bayonet Drill
Any model in the squad armed with a rifle may attack at RoA 2 until the end of phase.
Suppressive Fire
Until the end of the phase, any weapon base in the squad armed with a machinegun gains the Suppressive 1 characteristic. However, the weapon loses its HE characteristic and all target cover-saves against it are made at a +1 bonus.
Target that Gun
Designate one enemy target model. Until the end of the phase, any weapon base in the squad armed with a mortar may reroll to-Hit rolls against that model.
The Free Cities
Triarch Doctrines
Only the Triarch may use these Doctrines, activating them on a target friendly Squad within 12".
Rally
The target squad may immediately reroll a failed Leadership test.
Squad Doctrines
Any Squad leader may activate these Doctrines on his own squad. The Triarch may also activate these Doctrines on a target squad within 12".
Hunters

Assassinate
Designate one enemy target model. Until the end of the phase, one squad Electrojavelin may reroll to-Hit rolls against that model.
Shield Wall
Until the end of the phase, all models in the unit gain +1 Armor. The majority of models in the squad must be Scutatores at the time of activation.
Protectors
Until the end of the phase, the controlling player may assign two hits to any Scutatores model in the unit before assigning one to any other model type.
Fusillade
Until the end of the phase, all blaster pikes gain the HE 1 characteristic.
I like the Swapable Heads...
This range of steampunk infantry might interest some of you. I can see them fitting right into Mars...
http://meridianminiatures.blogspot.com/
http://meridianminiatures.blogspot.com/

Sunday, June 16, 2013
Two Simple Army Lists
Introduction
Here are two sample army lists for my playtest. For the Colonists, the defending force consists of two squads, each with a LMG. The attacking force consists of four squads. The Free Cities troops, with their integral armor, are slightly more valuable than the Colonists, so I've given them fewer troops (and given the Colonists some support weapons) to compensate.
The Colonists
Attacking Force
1x Lieutenant, 2x Aides, 2x Mortars
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
Defending Force
1x Lieutenant, 2x Aides, 1x LMG
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
Leadership 4+
The Mortar is Suppressive 1.
The Lieutenant may assign Weapon bases and Aides from his command squad to any of the squads under his command at the beginning of the game. He may assign one Aide to command the mortars as a separate squad.

The Free Human Cites
Attacking Force
1 Triarch and 2x Decani
1x Decanus, 9x Venatores
1x Decanus, 9x Scutatores
1x Decanus, 9x Lanceatores
Defending Force
1 Triarch and 2x Decani
1x Decanus, 6x Venatores
1x Decanus, 6x Scutatores
1x Decanus, 6x Lanceatores
The Triarch may arrange the Venatores, Scutatores, and Lanceatores into squads however he wishes, provided each is led by a Decanus, and provided they are assigned in multiples of 3. Any remaining Decani become his command squad. Once the troops are assigned, the Triarch may supply them with any valid weapon options.
The Venatores are armed with a Blaster Carbine. One out of every three may be armed with an Electrojavelin.
The Scutatores have no ranged weapon.
The Lanceators are armed with a Blaster Pike. For every three Lanceators, two may be replaced with a Weapons Stand. The Weapons Stand is armed with a Blaster "LMG".
The Triarch and the Decani may be armed as any type of infantry (usually Venatores), with the same equipment and armor. If the Decanus of the Scutatores has a big shield, he is also Armor 3.
(I have given up on the cover save from the shields, representing the force field with just the Armor rating.)
Leadership 4+.
The Colonists
Attacking Force
1x Lieutenant, 2x Aides, 2x Mortars
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
Defending Force
1x Lieutenant, 2x Aides, 1x LMG
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
1x Sergeant, 7x Soldiers, 1x LMG Weapons Stand
Leadership 4+
Name
|
Shooting Skill
|
Melee Skill
|
Toughness
|
Armor
|
RoA
|
Infantry Model
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
LMG Weapon Base
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
Mortar Weapon Base
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
Name
|
Range
|
RoF
|
Massive
|
AP
|
HE
|
AT
|
Rifle
|
24
|
2/1/1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
LMG
|
36”
|
10/0/5
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
Mortar
|
36”
|
Medium Template
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
The Lieutenant may assign Weapon bases and Aides from his command squad to any of the squads under his command at the beginning of the game. He may assign one Aide to command the mortars as a separate squad.

The Free Human Cites
Attacking Force
1 Triarch and 2x Decani
1x Decanus, 9x Venatores
1x Decanus, 9x Scutatores
1x Decanus, 9x Lanceatores
1 Triarch and 2x Decani
1x Decanus, 6x Venatores
1x Decanus, 6x Scutatores
1x Decanus, 6x Lanceatores
The Triarch may arrange the Venatores, Scutatores, and Lanceatores into squads however he wishes, provided each is led by a Decanus, and provided they are assigned in multiples of 3. Any remaining Decani become his command squad. Once the troops are assigned, the Triarch may supply them with any valid weapon options.
The Venatores are armed with a Blaster Carbine. One out of every three may be armed with an Electrojavelin.
The Scutatores have no ranged weapon.
The Lanceators are armed with a Blaster Pike. For every three Lanceators, two may be replaced with a Weapons Stand. The Weapons Stand is armed with a Blaster "LMG".
The Triarch and the Decani may be armed as any type of infantry (usually Venatores), with the same equipment and armor. If the Decanus of the Scutatores has a big shield, he is also Armor 3.
(I have given up on the cover save from the shields, representing the force field with just the Armor rating.)
Leadership 4+.
Name
|
Shooting Skill
|
Melee Skill
|
Toughness
|
Armor
|
Venatores
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
Scutatores
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
Lanceatores
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
Triarch/Decanus
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
Weapon Stand
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
Name
|
Range
|
RoF
|
Massive
|
AP
|
HE
|
AT
|
Blaster Carbine
|
24”
|
2/1/1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Blaster Pike
|
24”
|
3/1/2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Blaster “LMG”
|
36”
|
10/0/5
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
Electrojavelin
|
24”
|
Small Template
|
2
|
2
|
4
|

Sunday, June 9, 2013
Army Complete: Martian Colonists
I have finally finished a test army for my Martian Colonists.
They are Old Glory No Man's Land British infantry.
The whole platoon. |
A sample squad. |
Here are the extra LMG figures defending a building. |
The building from the front. |
Here are some pictures of the Colonists confronting a force from the Martian Free Cities.
A wide shot of the attack. |
One flank. |
Another flank. |
The Martians defend. |
The Martian hill defense. |
A close up of a Martian squad. |
Bang! |
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Getting Ready for Playtesting
Now that I have two armies painted and represented, I can begin play-testing on a more serious basis. (See next week for my post of my completed Colonists.) To that end, I have updated a few of the rules, mostly to incorporate my latest ideas on Rate of Fire and Wounding. Plus, I have messed around a bit with the Melee rules.
Rate of Fire/Rate of Attacks
Rate of Fire has three values, written like this A/B/C. The first value is the stationary value. If the model has not moved that turn, it fires at this rate. The second value is the moving value. If the model has moved that turn, it fires at that rate. The third value is the Suppressed value. (Or the Buttoned value, if it is a vehicle.) If the unit is Suppressed or Buttoned, it fires at this rate UNLESS it has moved, and the moving value is lower.
A value of .5 means that only every other otherwise eligible model (round up) may fire or attack once.
Geek Notes
Most small arms will have a value of 2/1/1. Slow-firing ones will have a value of 1/.5/.5. So typical infantry model will gain an advantage if he is stationary. An unwieldy weapon (like a heavy machinegun) will have a low moving value, or even a value of 0, to represent the difficulty of setting it up. It may have a higher Suppressed value, however, since one in position, it is relatively to fire.
Removing the to-Hit penalty for moving and Suppression does all kinds of good things to the matrix of math by reducing the necessity to roll 6+s for things.
To-Wound For each Hit, you will need to determine if the model is Wounded.
The to-Wound roll is subject to modifiers:
Otherwise, roll a die for each model. The score needed to wound the model must exceed the total modifier score.
Geek Notes
In my previous playtests, I found it really hard to calculate in my head the score I needed to wound things. And rolling a 2+ for so many models took a lot of time, without much affecting the game. This system simplifies the addition. However, to achieve roughly the same statistical to-wound, I will need to increase all Modifiers by 1. So a Toughness 1 Brute (wounded on a 3+ under my older system) will now need to be a Toughness 2 Brute. The same with armor values.
Firefight
Models that are planning to Charge in the Melee phase may fire Pre-Assault Shooting. Models that fire Pre-Assault shooting fire at their Suppressed RoF rate and count as moving. These models do not actually become Suppressed by making this choice -- they just use the Suppressed value. They also suffer a -1 penalty to Hit.
Melee
At the start of the Melee phase, the player whose turn it is declares which of his units wish to Charge.
Suppressed models may not charge.
Models that fired or Lay Down in the Shooting phase may never Charge. Models that fired or Lay Down in the Firefight phase may not normally Charge. However, models that made Pre-Assault Shooting may charge, provided their unit is not Suppressed.
The player then moves any eligible models in his Charging unit.
Geek Notes
I've hesitated over how exactly to handle shooting by a model that is moving from Firefight to Melee. I don't want to forbid such shooting entirely, but I do want a Charging model to sacrifice performance in Firefight. That way, troops that are best in Firefight may not want to Charge, and troops that are best in Melee will be poor in Firefight. I'm still not sure I have the mixture right.
Next Up....
... I need to make full stats for my two playtest armies.
Rate of Fire/Rate of Attacks
Rate of Fire has three values, written like this A/B/C. The first value is the stationary value. If the model has not moved that turn, it fires at this rate. The second value is the moving value. If the model has moved that turn, it fires at that rate. The third value is the Suppressed value. (Or the Buttoned value, if it is a vehicle.) If the unit is Suppressed or Buttoned, it fires at this rate UNLESS it has moved, and the moving value is lower.
A value of .5 means that only every other otherwise eligible model (round up) may fire or attack once.
Geek Notes
Most small arms will have a value of 2/1/1. Slow-firing ones will have a value of 1/.5/.5. So typical infantry model will gain an advantage if he is stationary. An unwieldy weapon (like a heavy machinegun) will have a low moving value, or even a value of 0, to represent the difficulty of setting it up. It may have a higher Suppressed value, however, since one in position, it is relatively to fire.
Removing the to-Hit penalty for moving and Suppression does all kinds of good things to the matrix of math by reducing the necessity to roll 6+s for things.
To-Wound For each Hit, you will need to determine if the model is Wounded.
The to-Wound roll is subject to modifiers:
- If the model has Armor or Toughness, then the difficulty increases by 1 for each level of Toughness and/or Armor.
- If the attacker has a Massive weapon, then reduce Toughness for each level of Massive.
- If the attacker has an AP weapon, then reduce Armor by each level of AP.
- Once Toughness or Armor is reduced to 0, neither Massive nor AP have any additional effect.
Otherwise, roll a die for each model. The score needed to wound the model must exceed the total modifier score.
Geek Notes
In my previous playtests, I found it really hard to calculate in my head the score I needed to wound things. And rolling a 2+ for so many models took a lot of time, without much affecting the game. This system simplifies the addition. However, to achieve roughly the same statistical to-wound, I will need to increase all Modifiers by 1. So a Toughness 1 Brute (wounded on a 3+ under my older system) will now need to be a Toughness 2 Brute. The same with armor values.
Firefight
Models that are planning to Charge in the Melee phase may fire Pre-Assault Shooting. Models that fire Pre-Assault shooting fire at their Suppressed RoF rate and count as moving. These models do not actually become Suppressed by making this choice -- they just use the Suppressed value. They also suffer a -1 penalty to Hit.
Melee
At the start of the Melee phase, the player whose turn it is declares which of his units wish to Charge.
Suppressed models may not charge.
Models that fired or Lay Down in the Shooting phase may never Charge. Models that fired or Lay Down in the Firefight phase may not normally Charge. However, models that made Pre-Assault Shooting may charge, provided their unit is not Suppressed.
The player then moves any eligible models in his Charging unit.
Geek Notes
I've hesitated over how exactly to handle shooting by a model that is moving from Firefight to Melee. I don't want to forbid such shooting entirely, but I do want a Charging model to sacrifice performance in Firefight. That way, troops that are best in Firefight may not want to Charge, and troops that are best in Melee will be poor in Firefight. I'm still not sure I have the mixture right.
Next Up....
... I need to make full stats for my two playtest armies.
A (Resin) River Runs Through It
The warp storms surrounding Gale Force 9's supply chain lifted for a brief moment, and I was able to locate some more Battlefield in a Box terrain I've been trying to get for a while. Especially a river! So I snapped it up. Here are some pictures. Our regular Martian military carnage will return next week.
The haul in its glory. |
Some of the terrain, with a small cloud backdrop. (I haven't been able to get the cloud to work right for many pictures.) |
The table. |
Again with the table. |
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