MkII Charger APC and Maginot Tower first look on Dropship Horizon

My name is Gavin Syme.  You might know of me as 'GBS' from 15mm.co.uk or The Ion Age or in connection with Laserburn or Alien Squad Leader, perhaps USEME or HOF Fire-Team.  I am the creative manager of Alternative Armies and I run all of the above as part of my job.  A job I adore and those who know me will know that wargaming is my passion; that and making wargamers happy in 15mm scale!  I was delighted to be asked to come in as a contributor to the venerable Dropship Horizon blog.  I think I can offer a lot to this blog.  We begin today with a post that was going to appear on the 15mm.co.uk blog but instead this first look is here and only HERE on Dropship Horizon. Enjoy!  GBS

A month ago 15mm.co.uk said goodbye to the MkI Maginot Defence Tower and the Charger APC model codes in the HOF 15mm Science Fiction range.  We promised they would be back and that they would be re-mastered and more...this will happen on the 4th April 2016!  What is more the 4th of April is the start of our two week (alongside Alternative Armies and The Ion Age)  Salute Season period that will see not only many new releases and offers across those two weeks but also free worldwide postage on all orders over 10.00GBP value during the two weeks until the 18th April.  

While we will give you full information as well as loads of pictures and scale shots too when the release happens next week we wanted to tell you all as promised that they were coming and just what to expect.  Designed by Sam Croes all of these new MkII versions are 100% compatible with the original HOF27 and HOF28.  The original Maginot and Charger had resin and white metal parts. These new ones are all resin and come supplied in as few pieces as possible for easy assembly and the Charger comes with an option sprue giving a choice of configurations; turret, top hatch, buttoned up or crewman in hatch.  Here are the coming codes:

HOF27 Maginot MkII Defence Tower Kit 

HOF28A Charger MkII Wheeled APC Kit

HOF28B Charger MkII Hover APC Kit 

HOF28C Charger MkII Tracked APC Kit 

Yes!  Originally a wheeled vehicle the Charger APC is now in a choice of wheeled, hover or tracked propulsion!

These models feature large in the Human Colonial Armies of the Alien Squad Leader rules system and are part of the sub-set of the HOF Range that is Security Force Alpha.  Click HERE to see all the SFA codes. The SFA range contains more than fifty different poses of 15mm white metal miniatures and vehicles allowing a wargamer to assemble a cohesive force for their campaigns. A whole integrated range within HOF.

All across the Human Colonies and on Terra itself there is a need for security after, during and even before the high rollers and expensive kit arrives in the battle zone. Security Force Alpha is just that force filling in as police, paramilitaries, mercenaries and planetary militias too. They are the faceless grunts that do the thankless jobs needed by all those who govern, control or enforce. Use them as you will from the near to the far future! 

Roll on 4th April!

Thanks for Reading,

GBS

Free Shipping from 15mm.Co.Uk

by Chris

In honor of the May Day holiday, 15mm.Co.Uk is offering free worldwide shipping on all orders. From the announcement:

In celebration of the start of summer and to buck the system (all grand traditions on 1st May every year) we have decided to offer FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE on all orders regardless of size placed on our website.  Just add your chosen items to your cart as normal and then on the shipping page YOU MUST select 'May Day Free Shipping' from the top of the shipping option list and then you will pay no post and packaging on the order.  Proceeding to the checkout you will see there is no postage charge.

This offer is valid until 12 Noon on Tuesday 7th May 2013.  Place as many orders as you wish.

Please note:  If you wish a signed-for option you must still select it from the postage rates.

Now is your chance to expand your forces for the coming summer.  Remember our recent releases including Security Force Alpha, The Ziggurat of Clem IV, Vergan Squad and much more.  Choose any items you like!

Plus you will get the discount voucher in your package.  See our Special Offers page for details of the voucher.  See the Home Page of 15mm.co.uk for more on Free Shipping.

New USE ME Box Set, Brog, Cossacks, and more Tomorrow Black

by Chris

15mm.Co.Uk has released The Ziggurat of Clem IV - the second boxed starter set in the USE ME series.

Just like the first boxed starter (Danger on Outpost 32), this set provides a complete 15mm science fiction game experience in a single package. It includes the USE ME UM001 rulebook, a printed scenario/force roster pack (also available as a PDF download), 2 dice, 27 plastic bases, and 27 Zidhe and Octopod figures from the HOF range.

These starter boxes are perfect ways to introduce more gamers to the 15mm SF fold. Something tells me they will be huge sellers at Salute next weekend.

And speaking of Salute, don't forget that 15mm.Co.Uk is still running their 15% off sale! 

*     *     *     *     *

Rebel Minis continues to expand their PF-sculpted alien forces. The Brog Empire receive two packs - a Command and Heavy Weapon set, and a Mortar Teams pack. 

I'm impressed by how quickly this line has grown. In less than a year, Rebel Minis has released the Manth, Brog, Vott, Shalur, and Pangalactic Legion - five complete ranges of highly-detailed space opera forces. And they're a good balance to me - more than rubber-suit humans or anthropomorphic animals, but still humanoid enough to work with any 15mm rules.

*     *     *     *     *

Khurasan Miniatures has added the Cossack Light APC to the Nova Respublik faction.

Designed to be a modernized Soviet BTR-40, it offers the Nova Respublik a low-tech vehicle for command, scout, recon, and transport roles. To support this release, Khurasan adds two more figure packs. One is a nice little recon/observer pack:

And the other is a group of seated riders:

I've been hoping for something like this rider pack for awhile now. Even though the Cossack isn't really my thing, this pack would let me use another open-top transport vehicle (like a Hammer's Slammers Cargo Car) with the Respublik figures. Very useful stuff there!

*     *     *     *     * 

Highlander Studios has added the Murg Imps to the Tomorrow Black range

These disgusting little gems are great for post-apocalyptic and sci-horror settings. I can imagine a few bases of these popping up in shanty towns and dark alleys on urban tables... some kind of nasty pest stowing aboard transport ships, or an unfortunate byproduct of terraforming. Lots of potential in this little range - it's well worth a look.

Danger on Outpost 32 - Custom Terrain Features

Once I had finished painting all the figures from the USE ME Danger on Outpost 32 box set, the time had come to take a close look at the scenarios. The first game in the campaign is a plan shoot-'em-up, with teams of Zeta Reticulans entering the Outpost's domes through airlocks. The scenario page includes this suggested setup map, designed for a 2' x 4' table:

My tables are mostly 2' x 2', and I chose my badlands-style table for this campaign. I figured the smaller size would be fine with the low figure count, as long as the terrain density increased just a bit. Finding terrain to represent the two airlocks on the Zeta Reticulan table edge were simple enough - I knocked together some IMEX Cyberclicks bits leftover from my 40K days to build two of these:

The doorway is obviously designed for 28mm figures, but works fine as part of a larger (invisible) structure. So that took care of the airlocks. I already had plenty of hills, but the water features posed a bit of a problem for me. The only decent water feature in my terrain collection is a swamp for my Red Planet board... not really useful for this scenario. So why not take the opportunity to build a quick water feature for my badlands board, and use it for the Outpost 32 campaign?

The scenario fluff describes the two water features as tourist beaches. My version of Outpost 32 feels more like a refugee colony, so I decided to make them simple lakefronts instead. Then I had the idea... if I made two lakefronts that were identical in width, they could combine to be a single small lake in other games. 

So I found a good-size scrap of MDF out in my garage and traced a basic lake shape. Then I drew a straight line right through the middle, cut out the two pieces with a jigsaw, and cleaned the rough-cut edges with a sanding sponge. Once they were clean, I borrowed one of my wife's spray paint cans... a blue pastel to give me an easy basecoat for the water.

Once the spray paint had dried, I found an appropriate-size scrap of packing styrofoam to form the "shoreline." To get the right shape, I flipped the lake pieces upside-down and clamped them to the styrofoam. Then I just used a hot-wire cutter to trace the lake piece, removed the lake piece, cut the inside,  and then shaped the ground texture. A few cheap craft paints, a bit of white glue, and the water features were ready for the tabletop. And since the foam and MDF were already in my garage, I was able to add to my terrain collection without spending a penny on extra materials.

Here's my final interpretation of the Scenario One setup map:

Up next: Scenario One AAR. 

Cheers,

Chris

Danger on Outpost 32 - The Last Few Figures

Nothing feels better than painting a complete set of minis faster than expected.

Having finished the Zeta Reticulans and the alien militia and citizens of Outpost 32 in three painting sessions, all that remained were the six armed human figures which represent the Outpost's security forces. They consist of an SHM Bounty Hunter and five HOF Muster infantry. I started with the Bounty Hunter figure, which is a pretty nice sculpt and pose. I basecoated the figure with Vallejo Heavy Ochre and painted  his jacket and boots with P3 Cryx Bane Base. A quick brown wash over those areas give his pants and shirt a nice "fatigue" appearance, and the impression of a leather jacket. Then it was a simple matter of painting his face, hair, hands, and gun.

 

After my earlier failed experiment with a yellow color scheme, I decided to try something a bit different. Using the same ochre color, I painted the paints and sleeves of the five Muster troopers. Then I drybrushed the Sun Yellow over the ochre. This gave me a much "richer" yellow color than doing two coats of Sun Yellow directly over white. Then I painted the armor, boots, gloves, and helmets with Vallejo Scarlett Red, the backpacks, weapons, and faceshields with Reaper Master Tarnished Steel. After applying black Wonder Wash to the entire figure, I went back and very lightly drybrushed the yellow again, and added a yellow stripe to my chosen leader.

I really like how the Muster troops turned out. The sculpts didn't seem all that detailed when they were bare metal, but really came out once I started painting. And it gave me another excuse to use another Big Ten conference color scheme... who would have thought that football uniforms work so well as Space Opera military colors?

It only took about three hours to finish these, not counting the drying time for the bases. So in four sessions, I finished every figure in the Danger On Outpost 32 boxed set. Not a bad way to spend a week!

Up next: a close look at the scenarios, including a few custom terrain pieces.

Cheers,

Chris

Danger on Outpost 32 - SHM Aliens Finished

Another day of painting, another step closer to playing the USE ME Danger on Outpost 32 scenarios.

With the Zeta Reticulans out of the way, I was left with five HOF Muster Troops and nine figures from the SHM Range. I decided to group the Human Bounty Hunter mini in with Muster Troops - those can wait for the next painting session. That left me with four armed aliens, three unarmed aliens and one human miner (which I'd already decided to paint as an alien anyway). The molds on the SHM Range figures are still nice and fresh, so there was very little to clean or file. I proceeded in the same way as the Zetans - white glue to mount four figures each to two craft sticks, and sprayed with white primer.

The process from here was a little more complicated, but a bit more fun. With the Zetans, I was able to paint them assembly-line style. All the grey on the first stick, then grey on the second stick, then grey on the third stick, then orange on the first... and so on. But I wanted to give each of these alien figures a unique paint scheme. So I painted all of the base and highlight colors on one figure before moving onto the next, then went back with the final washes and touch-ups after all eight figures were finished.

Here's the completed "unarmed" figures:

On the left is my favorite sculpt of the lot - the Starport Urchins. It's a "mama bear" alien figure (that somewhat reminds me of the Mystics from The Dark Crystal) clutching an assortment of four alien children. I decided to paint the tallest child as a human, since there were no obvious alien features. In hindsight, I should have reversed the blue and green of the second and third figures - there isn't much contrast between the green child and its foster mother. But overall, I like the finished result.

The next figure is called a Baroka Crime Lord. It's a pretty ubiquitous sculpt - could be used as a village elder, an old spice trader, or even some kind of Yoda-esque mentor figure. It has quite a few details that I didn't pick out this time, but I can always paint another one in a different style later. The Miner was sculpted as a human, but I used Vallejo Heavy Warmgrey to give its skin an alien color. I really like its mining tool, which could also be used as a large spanner in a starport workshop. Finally we have the Calamite Preacher. It looked like an aquatic being to me, so I thought a blue robe might have some religious significance.

Moving on, we have the armed figures:

I fought the temptation to paint the Snake Alien in the same green scheme as my Critical Mass Astagar and went with black scales. For its clothing, I decided to get some more practice with yellow - a color that has never quite been within my painting skills. Well... I obviously need more practice. On the other hand, I'm very pleased with the white armor on the Trandan Mercenary. It would be great to see a few Trandan variants - I would like to field a complete team of this race in future games. The Gizbin Mercenary reminded me more of a Star Wars alien than any other sculpt in the lot. It definitely has a future as a bounty  hunter in one of my game settings. 

Finally there's the Prang Soldier - in my opinion, this is Eli's best sculpt. This guy just looks as strong as a gorilla, and clearly possesses a very advanced tech level on top of the brute strength. Eli has already been working on a few variants of this sculpt, and I'll buy plenty of them when they're available. This species will play a key role in a space opera setting I've been writing in my spare time.

My average working time on this batch was about 25 minutes per figure, and they are certainly ready to play.  So, in three sessions, I've finished 21 out of the 27 figures included in Danger on Outpost 32. Just a half-dozen humans left to finished, and then it will be time to start picking apart the game scenarios.

Cheers,

Chris

Danger on Outpost 32 - Zeta Reticulans ready to invade

In the last article, I said plenty of nice words about the USE ME - Danger on Outpost 32 boxed game from 15mm.Co.Uk. But actions speak louder than words, right? To highlight its "starter set" strengths, I'll demonstrate how long it takes to build and paint all figures and play through the scenarios.

The figures in the box set can be divided roughly into three factions - the Zeta Reticulans, the human defenders, and the assorted alien figures from the SHM range. Since the Zetas were the most numerous, painting them first seemed like would make the rest of the painting seem easier. 

The Zetas are an assortment of figures from the HOF Grey Aliens range. They are extremely clean castings - the mold lines were easy to remove with small hobby files and there was just a bit of flash between two figures' legs. My only complaint about the figures is the thickness of their cast bases. But the pewter is fairly soft, so a few minutes with a full-size metalworker's file was all it took to reduce their height. I divided the figures into three groups (which, other than two figures, unintentionally matched the HOF blister packs), mounted them to craft sticks with white glue, and hit them with white primer.

While the spray primer dried, I grabbed a handful of pennies and painted them with Model Master Euro Gray. Danger on Outpost 32 does include 20mm plastic bases for all figures. And I was tempted to use them - thinking that I might turn this box set into some kind of standalone travel game. But I ultimately decided not to limit their future use, and went with the same type of bases as the rest of my 15mm figures.

The primer was dry by the time I had an initial coat on the last penny. So I chose my base colors for the Zetas and went to work. I picked Vallejo Stonewall Grey for their skin, Vallejo Fire Orange for their uniforms, and P3 Cygnar Blue Base for trim/contrast.

Sure, it may look like a bright and somewhat garish color scheme. But I assure you it perfectly fits my vision for the Zeta Reticulans, and has nothing whatsoever to do with my internal bet of painting a 15mm force to correspond with each football team in the Big Ten conference's colors... Anyway, it took about three episodes of The Walking Dead to get those base colors applied to all 13 Zetas. I painted the grey first, then the orange, and finished with the blue. In hindsight, doing the uniforms before the exposed skin would have been slightly better. But it still got the job done. Figuring in the time it took to clean, file, undercoat and basecoat... about 3.5 hours work. Plenty for the first day.

The second day was quite a bit easier. I painted the eyes black, the weapons and other equipment with Vallejo Glorious Gold, then the cast bases Euro Gray (same as the pennies). Then I touched up a few bad spots with the original three colors and finished with black Wonder Wash applied to each figure. 

While the wash dried, I painted another coat of Euro Gray onto the pennies. Then some inspiration struck me. Alien Greys are quite a staple in Alien Squad Leader games, and there was enough figures here to build three stands. So I dug out a few of the square skirmish trays built in my early 15mm days. By the time I had three of them painted, the Wonder Wash on the figures had dried. Here's why I use white glue on the craft sticks - it's easy to pop them off with a hobby knife, and any residue will clean off easily. I superglued the figures to the pennies, and flocked the skirmish trays while the figures were setting...

...then flocked the figures themselves, and sealed the texture with another coat of thinned white glue. It was only two hours' work to get this far on the second day, plus a bit of time for the white glue to dry. 

And that's it. Less than six hours work and I'm already halfway done with the new figures. They'll never earn me any "oohs" or "aahs," but I'm more than happy to use these on the battlefield. Here's the Zeta Reticula infantry figures:

The specialists:

And the leadership.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how these guys perform in the Danger scenarios. And I'll have to grab a couple packs of Grey Soldiers with my next 15mm.Co.Uk order. Combined with these figures, I'll have a pretty good start on another Alien Squad Leader army, and have more flexibility with them in future games of USE ME.

Next up on the painting table: two sticks of SHM range figures.

Cheers,

Chris

Danger on Outpost 32 - Unboxing and Early Impressions

It's been just over a month since 15mm.Co.Uk released Danger on Outpost 32 (their introductory boxed game for the USE ME series), and they've already announced the follow up title. Sales of this boxed game completely exceeded their expectations. So what's the secret of their success? Well, here's a close look at Danger on Outpost 32's contents, scenarios, and the irresistible appeal of the USE ME system.

Gavin Syme was kind enough to send me a review copy upon the game's initial release. I've been playing 15mm sci fi for just a few years now, and have found the experience to be very different compared to commercially-popular 28mm games. I have an expectation when I receive a package in the mail from 15mm.Co.Uk... and that expectation certainly doesn't include something like this!

It may not be covered with store-friendly artwork, but you won't doubt for a second that you're dealing with a cohesive, ready-to-play wargame. One of the toughest "selling points" of 15mm Sci Fi is the lack of starter systems - boasting that newcomers can simply pick and choose individual miniatures and rules systems is a truly foreign concept to many 28mm players. So when I first held this box, I realized that those days are gone. If somebody expresses interest in 15mm sci fi, there won't be a better starting point than these USE ME boxed games.

Okay, enough waxing poetic. Let's get down to business!

The box contains: 

• A copy of the USE ME UM001 rulebook (good thing too - my old one is getting pretty beat up!) 
• A two-sheet insert with the introduction, game scenarios, and force roster. If you want to check this out before you buy the game (or if you already have most of the figures), it is available as a separate download on the catalog page.

And a compartmentalized styrofoam insert with the actual game contents.

• Two bags of Gray Aliens from the HOF range. At first, I wasn't sure about these as a starter force. After traveling to Roswell a few times for work, these types of aliens seem more like gift-shop novelty toys than credible gaming pieces. But you know what? They're really growing on me, and really don't have a greater "cheese" factor than most other aliens.
• A bag of Ion Age Muster troops. I've always meant to pick up a few packs of these, and now I have a chance to come up with a good paint scheme.
• A bag of assorted goodies from the SHM range. I think this is what really sets Danger on Outpost 32 apart from other "introductory" game systems. How many starter sets on the market include a variety of mercenary and civilian figures along with two organized military units?
• Plenty of 20mm plastic bases. Personally, I like the heft of steel washers. But again, this is something that makes it a complete package for 15mm newcomers, and many veterans use these as well.
• Two surprisingly small D6s. I must admit a small chuckle when I first held these little guys. But now I realize they don't bounce off the tabletop or chip the finish of terrain like my larger dice... and now I'm thinking about replacing most of my gaming dice with this type. 

I'll review the figures a bit more thoroughly as they get painted, and I reviewed the main rulebook some time ago. But the scenario pages are worth an early mention.

The final verdict will have to wait until I play them all the way through. But it looks like Gavin knocked these out of the park. They each have the right amount of flavor text - it gives you a mental picture of the situation, but offers enough flexibility that you can adapt it to your own terrain and background. They're designed to be played by beginners, but offer plenty of room for advanced strategy. They also include the notes required to utilize the Solo Play mechanics. 

The scenarios provide a good roadmap for creating your own later on - showing what can be done with just a few little tweak and special rules. And, most importantly, the force rosters allow the miniatures to be utilized anytime you like, not just when fighting these three battles.

Danger on Outpost 32 establishes a very high standard. By choosing the right variety of minis and preparing a great scenario and force guide, 15mm.Co.Uk packed a complete and expandable wargaming experience into a small and inexpensive package. I'm definitely looking forward to getting these figures painted and playing through the scenarios!

Cheers,

Chris

15mm.Co.Uk Releases USE ME Starter Set

The USE ME series of rules (especially UM001 Science Fiction) has been a huge success for 15mm.Co.Uk. Not to take away from the rules or miniatures themselves, but a major reason for that popularity is how well Gavin Syme responds to customer requests and feedback. Between his blog, the Barking Irons website, the Notables Yahoo! Group, and email conversations, he is constantly looking for ways to help serve the gaming community.

So, what did the community wanted to see from the USE ME series? A complete boxed game.

And here it is! Danger on Outpost 32 is a complete 15mm science fiction experience in one box. It includes rules, scenarios, a great assortment of miniatures, stats to use those minis in the starter scenarios, and even a pair of D6s round things out. The specific contents are:

• The USE ME UM001 Rulebook
• Danger on Outpost 32 - scenarios and stats for the boxed game (also available as a free PDF)
• A force of fourteen HOF Grey Aliens
• A team of four HOF human troops (Muster Infantry in the Ion Age setting)
• An assortment of nine characters from the SHM range (including Eli's Prang, which is one of my favorite 15mm alien sculpts)

That's a pretty sweet deal for £20.00. It's the perfect introductory system for newcomers to 15mm Sci Fi, a nice travel set to keep alongside your primary collection, a demo game for clubs or conventions, or even a simple reinforcement for your existing figure ranges. And Gavin promises this is just the first - we can expect to see a few more boxed sets to complement the USE ME series.

Also, Gavin has a weekend surprise for the Dropship Horizon faithful. We had been emailing about the best way to debut Danger on Outpost 32, and...

I can offer them a little something though, a special code to get 10% off their order until 27th August, only on DSH.  Details below, you could put that in the posting.  The code is live as of now. 

Get 10% off your 15mm.co.uk order until 27th August 2012 for readers of Dropship Horizon blog.  To get the discount put items in your cart as normal, then when finished go to the postage screen and select your region.  Then proceed to the checkout (white background on this page) and enter this code as it appears here in the Discount/Promo box – ‘ dropship ‘ .  Your total will automatically reduce by 10% on screen.  This offer is valid for use with any products on the website including USE ME, HOF, SHM ranges.

So, why are you still here? Head on over to 15mm.Co.Uk and place an order!

Cheers,
Chris

Dominion Wastelands - a USE ME test game

The flock on my Dominion Wastelands terrain set had barely finished drying when I played my first game. :) 

Game Preparation

Looking at the USE ME unit cards I had already made, I decided to throw in a few changes before the playtest.  In USE ME, Elan is a combined measure of the characters' morale, training, and experience. I had instinctively given the elite Expeditionary power armored troops the highest Elan stat (6). Thinking about my storyline, this just didn't fit. These troops have been in space, and had been training to fight a different enemy. Combining that background with the idea that Earth's terrain has been substantially changed, even the most elite Expeditionary troops should be at a disadvantaged.  So I lowered their Elan to 4 for this first game.  

I also gave them an APC - a light vehicle with a 12" move and a vehicle automatic weapon.  Assuming the driver wasn't a member of the Elite cadre, I lowered its Elan to 3.

The Dominion troops received a slight bump to match the offset. I gave the standard troopers Elan 5 for this first game, and the larger battlesuit the highest Elan rating at 6.  A force of six troopers and one Battlesuit would be the Dominion forces in this battle. I figured this would represent a basic patrol force - locating deposits of the precious blue crystals and identifying any enclaves of human resistance.

Even with the modified stats, this didn't look very balanced.  I simply removed five of the Expeditionary troops and set up the game itself.  I kept the table mostly the same from my "work in progress" photos, simply removing the Armies Army troops from the settlement.  The Dominion forces deployed on either side of the lower-right hill, while the Expeditionary forces would enter on the gravel road (chosen by a coin toss).

The Battle

With their higher Elan ratings, the Dominion had the first chance to act. I simply advanced them toward the settlement, using the crystals as cover.  The Expeditionary APC entered from the left.  It moved into the settlement, deploying its passengers into the cover of the storage shack. The APC took a pot shot at the Dominion battlesuit, but only managed to kick up some loose gravel.

The Dominion forces acted quickly. While the troopers advanced from both the lower and right-hand sides of the board, the battlesuit fired upon the APC. Its armor proved too strong for the battlesuit. Even though it was partially covered by a wrecked armored vehicle, concentrated fire from the Expeditionary troopers (including their heavy weapon) managed to bring down the Battlesuit.  Meanwhile, the APC raced across the road to divide the Dominion troopers.

The delay was successful - only one of the trooper units managed to get within assault distance of the Expeditionary troopers. Despite their lack of experience, the Expeditionary force outnumbered and outgunnned the Dominion troopers, and had the advantage of both power armor and a defensive position.  All three aliens advancing from the lower edge were winged or struck. 

During the next round, two of the Expeditionary troops broke cover to engage the second Dominion unit. They coordinated with their APC and set up a deadly crossfire. All three aliens were killed, with only a single human being winged.

By now the Dominion had completely failed in its mission. They attempted to close in and use their superior close combat abilities, but still couldn't do significant damage the Expeditionary power armor. The two flanking Expeditionary troopers returned to the melee, but the fight was already over.

Mission Debriefing

The game was far more lopsided than I predicted - the USE ME rules are very robust and playable. The downside?  They realistically favor an entrenched defender over an equivalent attacker!  But it gave me a chance to see how I want to run these characters as I develop the Dominion Wastelands campaign.

• Dominion Troopers.  They had normal Infantry Small Arms, and I just don't think it works for the Critical Mass Kaamados Vivipara figures. I'm going to change them to the Flamethrower rules found in the USE ME Post Apocalypse book. 
• Dominion Battlesuit.  Very underwhelming performance from an excellent Kaamados Draco battlesuit. I'm going to try upgrading them from Armored Infantry to an unarmored Light Vehicle, just to see if that makes a significant difference.
• Expeditionary Elites.  Going to upgrade them to Elan 5, but use them only sparingly. In future skirmishes, there may only be one or two of these power-armored figures leading a fireteam of normal Expeditionary grunts.
• Expeditionary APC.  It delivered what it promised!

I definitely enjoyed having USE ME as the framework.  But I may not be using it at its full capability. Omer Golan included some really neat ideas in the Post Apocalypse section - specifically using Toxic Pits.  I might find a way to utilize the Blue Crystals in-game; possibly doubling the optimal range or adding +1 penetration to Dominion figures in base contact.  That would certainly change the strategy for both forces!

Cheers,

Chris

USE ME Terminus - Primal Score AAR

(TV announcer voiceover)

Previously, on Terminus...

Terminus had promised each challenge would prove more difficult.  After they placed Trooper Jamiss' remains into a cryo-pod, Commander Aiden checked his scanner.  He saw numerous small blips in the adjacent valley, closing in on their position.  And unlike the mechanisms they had just fought, these appeared to have life signs.  There was no time to grieve.  He ordered his men to unpack the drone-mounted rail cannons, and sent his lead scout to find a good firing position.

"You may just be getting warmed up, Terminus," thought Aiden.  "But you still have no idea who you are facing.  No matter what you have, we'll be ready." 

Scenario Two - Primal Score

The second scenario in Gavin Syme's Terminus campaign pits the Challengers against a massive horde of primitive troops.  My challengers escaped the previous scenario relatively unscathed - just a single Winged model at the start of this game.  I added two crewed heavy weapon systems (Micropanzer Gun Drones) and swapped the flamethrower for a sniper rifle.  

Lacking suitable primitives in my collection, I decided to go with mindless-yet-controllable creatures - Oddzial Osmy Spaceworms.  A total of 28 would be used in this scenario, broken down into swarms of four Worms.  One swarm would enter the table each turn.

The scenario calls for a long and skinny valley, with the Challengers in a suitable overwatch position.  I set up a 1' x 3' table instead of my usual 2' x 2' setup, and imagined rocky cliff walls on either side of the table.    

The game pretty well ran itself.  I gave the Worms a movement stat of 6", so they could cross the table pretty quickly.  But their aggressive setting meant that they wouldn't fire their weapons (I figured they had the equivalent of sidearms) until getting close, and would actually favor melee combat.  The gun drones had an optimal range of 16" and a max of 32".  They were able to wear down each horde from a distance, and the survivors were mopped up by rifle fire as they crept closer.

At least, that was the theory.  

The first few swarms were completely wiped out.  But the Worms kept appearing, and my early luck started turning into poor dice rolls.  The Worms were able to fire their first shots at the Challengers, and one of the gun crews was Struck.  I had to burn one turn rotating out riflemen at the guns, which allowed even more Worms to close in.

By the tenth game turn, everything had devolved into a brutal melee.  The hilltop was soon covered with blood and slime, and most figures were Winged or Struck after a few rounds of melee.  Seven Challengers were taken out of action, and finally Commander Aiden fell beside them.  But even with its superior numbers, Terminus couldn't break their spirits.  Two Challengers survived the onslaught, killing the last of the vicious Worms.

Aftermath

I started the game with ten Challengers, and only had two still standing at the end.  Fortunately, the post-battle rolls were very kind to me.  Six returned unscathed, a seventh returned with a Winged counter.  The two survivors weren't as lucky, and will also carry their Winged counters into the third scenario.

Commander Aiden regained consciousness, and was quickly overwhelmed by the stench of mutilated Worm carcasses.  His men helped him to his feet so he could assess the situation.  One of his best men, Corporal Gray, had been killed.  Nearly everyone was hurt, but they could make it back to the safety of their ship.  Aiden hoped they would get a few hours to rest and recover - they had certainly earned it. But deep down, he knew Terminus wouldn't give them the chance.

This was a really fun game - kudos to Gavin for providing me with an entertaining evening!

Cheers,

Chris