Introduction to Stargrave

 Stargrave is a science fiction wargame, by the same author, and borrowing some rules, from Frostgrave.  In Frostgrave, a player controls an adventuring party with a Wizard, an Apprentice, and up to 8 hired soldiers, each with different skills and specialization.  In Stargrave, the player controls a crew, led by a Captain, a First Mate, and up to 8 crew.

The Captain selects a Background (from 8 available). Then the Captain selects 5 Powers. These are special abilities, that could represent innate skills or powers, alien abilities, strange technology, etc. at the players choice, either 3 or 4 (out of the total of 5) from a list associated with the background. The other 1 or 2 Powers come from the overall list of Powers, but cannot be ones from the character’s Background. This ensures that all characters are very individualized.

The 8 Backgrounds are interesting.

1. Biomorph - genetically modified or strangely alien body
2. Cyborg - part machine, with all the perks
3. Mystic - space wizards, like Lensmen or Jedi
4. Robotics Expert - robot creation, robot control, etc.
5. Rogue - Han Solo and his ilk
6. Psionicist - mind powers 
7. Tekker - use and pursue technology
8. Veteran - former military, with associated skills

The Captain starts out at level 15, which is represented by an advanced set of stats, and of course the five Powers.

Once a Background and Powers are selected, then the Captain can choose any equipment they like. The Captain has six slots for equipment, but can change what they carry each game. Normal equipment is not paid for.

Once the Captain is done, then the player can build the Second Mate. Unlike Frostgrave, where the Apprentice has the same school of magic as the Wizard, in Stargrave the First Mate can be the same Background as the Captain or a different Background.  The First Mate then chooses 4 Powers. Again, at the players choice, either 2 or 3 come from the Background, and the remaining 1 or 2 come from the open list.  Finally, select equipment, the First Mate has 5 equipment slots.

The First Mate is considered to be level 0, unlike the Captain, and this is reflected in a lesser stat line.  The character levels are important for campaign play.

Finally the player has 600 credits to hire up to 8 crew.  Up to 4 of those can be from the Specialist Soldier List, and the remainder are from the Standard Soldier list.

Space Gaming - 2d vs 3d maps

A discussion group on Facebook that talks about Traveller related items has been talking about 3d mapping vs 2d mapping.  I am a big fan of Classic Traveller (1977) and its derivative games.  Those include MegaTraveller, T4, T20, T5 and Mongoose Traveller.  One of the things about them, however, is that going back to the original, they render star maps in a 2d fashion, typically on a hex grid.  Let me say, that I am a big fan of the 2d representation, because it is not true (form a Physics sense) but it does represent a presentation of game/setting information in an intuitive and extremely useful format. What could be better?

On a Traveller map, the first thing you will notice is hexagons, some with "world systems" marked in it.  Each hexagon represents a parsec (roughly 3.26 light years), and any parsec that has a solar system in it that is potentially of interest, has a marker on it showing such.  This is a nice reality on the space involved, for each hexagon might be home to several solar systems (if a denser region of the galaxy, this might be a higher number), or it might be void.  But regardless, only "interesting" systems are marked.  That means, systems that either might have a civilization/colony on them, or might represent the possibility for such.

Regina Subsector - from the Traveller Wiki

But the maps are in 2 dimensions.  Originally they were in simple black and white, and these days it is common to find them in color, with the various regions and system colors indicating some details.  But the maps are still on a 2d hex grid.  So on the example above, the planetary system Forboldn is 1 hexagon away from Knorbes, which means an approximate 1 parsec difference between them.  This is great for the game, because the interstellar capabilities of the ships are measured in the ability to 'jump' between points of normal space, that are limited in (because of the technology involved) distances of roughly 1 parsec.  So a jump-1 ship could travel from 1 hexagon to another (a vast distance) in the space of a week - but that makes this rendering of the starmap very useful for game navigation.

But what about a 3d version of space - you know since space is basically a 3 dimensional construct, and all that...  Well, there have been some game maps that have done a good job on this.  I would like to talk about three, briefly, but in the light of a tabletop gaming constraint.  That constraint is that the map should be able to be printed out and passed around at the table, as an artifact to be consulted during game play.  A very nice 3d map on a computer that can be rotated, zoomed in and out of, is fabulous, but of more limited use during tabletop gaming.  In computer gaming, however- but that is a different story.  On to the examples I have.

Space Opera
In the game Space Opera, the materials that were released by Fantasy Games Unlimited (the publisher of the game) were often placed on planets in their published Sectors.  These were regions of space, published as game setting modules, that featured a number of planetary systems in a cube of space.  The examples below are from The Mercantile League (which, if I recall, is Star Sector Atlas #2).

The maps were published in their 8.5x11 Star Sector Atlas books, and the scale (which required the use of a ruler on the page to determine distances) was typically 1mm to 1 light year.  So you get out your ruler, determine that two worlds are 36mm apart from each other on the page, and you say "They are 36 light years apart".   Without having to use X and Y coordinates, and without having to do the Pythagorean Theorem calculation -- square root of ((x1 - x2)^2 + (y1 - y2)^2).

But, the 3d portion comes in with the fact that each world had a positive or negative measure (in light years, or LY) above or below the plane of the map.  So, taking the difference of these two gives you a second measure, the difference in the Z coordinate between the two points.  So now, with the X/Y measure in hand (the distance on the page), and the Z measure (calculated from +/- height differences) you can get the absolute 3d difference by again applying pythagoras as above.

The game publications gave you, in each Star Sector Atlas, a basic travel distance table that listed the distances (and some game economic factors) for the pairings of the more interesting/important worlds within the sector, so the distances were already calculated.

Finally, the last thing that was provided, in terms of a mapping assistant, for the FGU Space Opera Star Sector Atlas products, was the map showing the common space lanes (i.e. - the ones described in the "Fares and Cargo Rates" table).  This was simply the sector map with star lanes drawn on it.

Pros/Cons of the FGU method - these are easy enough to understand, and having the Z coordinate on the map makes for an easy transition to 3d.  As always, with a 2d depiction of 3d space, the map can be illusionary in some instances, where there is a sharp Z difference between two points that are otherwise (X/Y) close on the map.  These maps are nice because there is no real grid (they would come, later, with an Index, matricing a number vs. a letter axis, to make finding planets a little easier), but the obverse of that coin is that you need a ruler graduated in millimeters (or would have to convert inches, each to 25.4 mm), in order to find distances that are not on the quick look up table.

Universe
The SPI effort to enter the roleplaying game market was with the game Universe.  Universe had three very nice things going for it.

1. The character generation sequence had a great way to compare physical stats for characters from different geophysical planetary backgrounds (i.e. - difference in physical parameters based on the planetary environment you were born/raised in). 
2. The starship construction/combat rules were very nice (describing a setting with generally common ship hulls, perhaps as in the Niven Ringworld universe, but with different modular components), as you might expect from an experience board game publisher that had devised printed several sets of starship combat rules by the time the RPG arrived.  In this case it is the DeltaVee game.
3. The 3d space map of the area roughly in a sphere of about +/- 25 light years around Earth.

This article is interested in discussing the space map.  It worked, in concept, very similar to the map from FGU but with some important differences.  It incorporated iconography and color (as do the more modern Traveller maps) to indicate something about the stellar systems mapped.  In the case of Universe the colors correspond to the stellar sequence.  Different from the FGU Space Opera maps, it used a graph/grid to show the location of the worlds, so you did not need to use a ruler to find the difference of planets. But it did mean you had to apply Pythagoras.  One of the nicest things about the Universe map is the fact that it included the X,Y and Z coordinates for each system.  Also, Earth/Sol is at (0,0,0) so measure to other worlds from Earth is pretty easy to do.

Finally, the third method of showing a 3d space on a 2d map is from the old Metagaming science fiction empire building game, Godsfire.  This game represented three dimensional space on a hex map.  The measurements for space were abstracted (slightly) and objects pressed on to a hex map, to make counting and measuring movement and disances between star systems to be quite easy (just count the hexes).  The Z component was brought in by making sure that each hexagon only represented the space at the plane of the map.

Within the hexagon, there was a series of 11 spaces, 5 representing levels below the map, 1 representing the planar level of the map, and five representing levels above the map.  As this was a map for a multiplayer wargame, moving objects on the map was necessary, and could be accommodated by moving the object (ship, fleet, etc) by moving it "up" or "down" within a single hex, or from hex to hex (arriving at the same level in the new hex, as the level that you departed the old hex from.

Pros/Cons - It is abstracted (as mentioned), and not as precise as the other methods, but it is certainly quick to navigate and move pieces around in.  Very simple and straightforward for campaigning and wargaming.

As you can see from the image, each "hexagon" is actually represented as a square, but using offset rows, means each is spatially related to the six around it (essentially a hexagon).  And the spiral showing the levels (from +5 down to -5) within the hex.  Very convenient.

This map was used by a group I played in years ago, as the campaign map for a Leviathan wargaming campaign.  It was an elegant way to do three dimensions, and it was very interesting to see players get surprised by a fleet that appeared similar, only to realize that it was at +4, and they were -3, adding (effectively) 7 more spaces of difference between the two fleets.

So, there.  Three different methods of doing 3d mapping, on a 2d space, with different pros and cons for each.

If interested in this topic, I can (not strongly enough) recommend Winchell Chung's page on 3-D Starmaps over at his Project Rho website.  Winch is a wargamer and artist and generally interested in the intersection between science and sci-fi and gaming, and his web pages are chock full of the most excellent information.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away

So, the most excellent new gaming magazine from Flying Pig Games has recently come out with issue number 3.  The magazine is Yaah!, and it covers all manner of board games - many historical, but also science fiction and fantasy.

I will leave it to the readers of the blog to discover the goodness of the magazine (if you haven't, please do yourself a favor and purchase a copy - full color, excellent articles, and a game in every issue).  But I will toot my own horn by saying that in issue three I have had an article (actually two, but they are connected, as you will see) published. 

Yep - that X-Wing/IA mini-campaign mentioned on the cover is Me!

The first article is a mini-campaign for the Star Wars X-Wing miniatures game (from Fantasy Flight games).  The mini-campaign is actually fought as one battle, but as they resolve it, the players are also rolling dice to see how two concurrent battles are turning out.  If one side or the other wins one of those other battles, then they have the possibility of sending reinforcements to the main battle.  It is an interesting scenario, and one I borrowed from "Hey You in the Jail" (miniature rules by Martin Goddard, from Peter Pig).  The Star Wars article in Yaah! magazine, introduces some interesting features that will make it useful for other X-Wing mini-campaigns, other than the one presented in the article.

Now, I mention that I also had a second (but related) article, and that one is a Star Wars Imperial Assault mini campaign (a series of linked scenarios like the campaign that comes in the booklet with the main game).  This time it is related to the results of the X-Wing game (or you can play it alone).  It has to do with a small group of rebel commandos trying to capture a space station (that their starfighter squadron recently secured, or hopefully so, in the X-Wing scenario).  The starting conditions are necessarily different if the Imperial Forces won the X-Wing scenario, but internally many of the scenarios are similar.  Again, some unique stuff that is pertinent to this mini-campaign is presented as part of the article, I hope you get a chance to read it.

Traveller Amber Zone - Sword Dance

There was a good looking Amber Zone contest over at Amber Zone.  Unfortunately, with my travels (real life) lately, I missed the submission date.

Here it is - set inside one of the two super powers on the balkanized world of Margesi in the Vilis subsector of the Spinward Marches.


Amber Zone - Sword Dance (1105, Margesi/Vilis)
Location: Western edge of the Chergen Mountains, in People's Republic of Gome (PRoG)

Patron: Commander Sinew, Imperial Naval Intelligence, contacting the travellers clandestinely, in the Kingdom of Evariidi, or perhaps the Margesi starport.

Mission: Travel to the western edge of the Chergen Mountains, contact some of the local clans of Chergen cossacks, who never fully assimilated into the People's Republic. One in particular, Katrinka the Knife, has agreed to serve as a guide. She knows the location of a Sword World Military cache buried underground, at the old Gram Star-Militia troop site - situated to provide a training cadre for the capitol city of Isenstadt, on the other side of the Mountains. When Gram controlled Margesi for the Sworld Worlders, Isenstadt was the world capitol, and home of the main starbase. The cache has unknown amounts of military supplies buried in protected containers, but of interest to the Imperial Naval Intelligence, are some memory tanks with technical details of a Sword World missile frigate being designed 20 years ago, and now coming into production.

Payoff: The Intelligence officer will offer some consideration in removing past offenses from the records of the travellers, and also agrees that they can keep half of all the military stores they uncover, with the other half going to Katrinka the Knife, and her band of Cossack warriors.

Complications: The location is deep inside a militarized Soviet style country that is still very loyal to the Sword World, even though 20 some years ago, the planet came back into Imperial protection. Also, the location is rural and hazardous (the cache is in a rocky highland valley). Dealing with the Cossacks is not going to be easy, and in fact, to prove themselves the players will have to spend a night successfully carousing with the band (Carouse or Liaison skill test to be successful), and one of the members of the group will have to try the sword dance (Art: Dance, modified by Dex). Three dice rolls are required, of successful harder difficulties (6+, 8+, 10+) representing faster and faster Cossack music. If the player passes all three, the Cossacks are completely loyal allies, lesser results will have the Cossacks being less tightly allied to the players.

Reaching the cache is tough enough (survival and mountaineering may be required), but occasional patrols of PRoG solders (flak, autorifle, hand grenades) may cause additional problems. The extremely rough terrain precludes the use of long-range radio, but after 2 or 3 days the loss of PRoG army patrols will be noticed.

The cache is underground, inside a small bunker complex. Katrinka knows the location of the entrance, but not how to get in. The complex is protected by a series of TL10 security measures. The stash includes the digital memory tanks for the Intelligence officer, as well as dozens of TL10 small arms; cloth armor; ammo; and most important, a dozen each of TL10 communicators and TL10 medikits.

The special challenge for the travellers, will be escaping with the goods. On the way out of the area, with whatever stash they can carry on horseback (or vehicles if they risk it), they (and Katrinka's band of cossacks) will be attacked by another band of Cossacks, intent on thieving the goods. They will be armed with a variety of small arms, but not grenades or armor. They make up for their lack of armor in excellent ambush skills and fieldcraft.

Theremin Thursdays - two Mashups, one musical, one wargaming

It has been a while since a Theremin Thursdays entry has been made here at Gaming with Chuck.  This entry is being made because of two different things coming together that I want to write about.  The first is a cool (actual Theremin) mashup music piece I came across, and the second is a gaming item that is as much a mashup as the first.

Mashup Number One - Musical
So the first (musical) mashup is this . . . a room full of lovely musicians, playing Beethoven's Ode to Joy, using Theremins inside Matryoshka Dolls.  It's just so wonderful . . . sort of like Astronaut Bowman looking into the Stargate and seeing all those stars. . .


So, evidently that group is a Matryomin (Matryoshka Theremin) ensemble.  I can't think of two things that are possible cooler to mashup than Matryoshka's and Theremins.  Except . . .

Mashup Number Two - Wargaming
The second mashup here is one of wargaming.  A friend of mine (Geo) and I had been talking about a couple of different 15mm wargaming projects.  These have come together in an unlikely way.

The first one was fictional forces in a modern African setting, with countries, coups, warlords, and international forces bashing over temporary objectives and unlikely ideological clashes - in short, the game "AK47 Republic" by Peter Pig.  We started assembling miniatures, coming up with backgrounds for our forces, and in general securing the ideas for a gaming setting and some battles to fight. 

The second one is wargaming with 15mm science fiction forces in the Traveller universe.  I had recently been running a table top Traveller RPG game (although only a few sessions before my schedule kicked into high gear), with details over at The Collace Rift.  Still in a Traveller mood, we started talking about wargaming - and began assembling forces, painting miniatures, talking about former battles, etc.

Then it happened - local conflicts on worlds within the Third Imperium (Traveller) resemble the brush wars described by AK47 Republic, but with the addition of some different levels of technology, and the attendant science fiction hardware.  But, what if we kept the battles MOSTLY to the tech levels of, say, 5,6,7,8 (corresponding to the military hardware of, respectively, WW1, WW2, 1960s, 1990s) - then we would be right on target for the wide variety of forces found in AK47 Republic.  But, if it was going to be in the Traveller Universe, then it needed a planet.

Enter, Margesi - a world on the edge of Imperial space, that was (until recently) contested, and controlled by the Sword World Confederation.  The world is balkanized, many a bunch of competing governments. After checking what the Traveller Wiki has to say, it appears that there are (conveniently enough) two super powers, the Kingdom of Evariidi and the People's Republic of Gome.  Having also posited that there would be any number of smaller nations, allied to one or more of those super powers, we have the third world setting of Earth, transposed to another world.  To make things even more interesting, we made the two super powers being aligned with the two interested Interstellar Governments - the Kingdom of Evariidi is the current ascendant power, and is backed by the Imperium (clandestinely), but the world's Starport (Margesi Down Station) is located within the Kingdom, and is operated by Imperial Starport Authority.  The other nation, the People's Republic of Gome (representing Brezhnev-era Soviet style rule), is backed (clandestinely) by the Sword World Confederation.

The world of Margesi, in the Vilis subsector of the Spinward Marches

The nations identified on the map are those identified by the last Imperial Interstellar Scout Service survey of the world, and most likely will include any number of smaller entities, and may have shifted or changed those listed.  The world map features hexes that are 160km across, to give you a sense of the size of the planet - somewhat smaller than earth.  Here is a list of nations.

A. Kingdom of Evariidi (major power)
B. Latavia
C. Boruckistan
D. Sinnibad
E. Siluria
F. Nordkapp
G. Geonia
H. Burland
J. Ionus Island
K. Mogumba Island
L. North Windango
M. South Windango
N. Droma
P. People's Republic of Gome (major power)
Q. Snowwald
R. Icetor
S. Sudland
T. Oakstaal
U. Pargonia
V. Zo'Osia
W. Umbongo Freistaat (free states)
X. Termania

Pictures of miniatures and military details to follow . . .

OGRE scenario - Withdraw from Greywater

Working on some linked scenarios for a mini-campaign ("Withdraw from Greywater"). These will revolve around the GEV map. Before I talk about the scenarios, take a look at this - the manilla paper map that was in the first of the Metagaming releases of GEV (this was the version I owned).

Very different feel (even thought it is technically the same map) from the later full color offering that Steve Jackson Games put out.


The first scenario in "Decision at Greywater" represents a heavy Combine formation moving from east to west, trying to get off the map, while wreaking havoc on the built up areas in their path. The story is this - a very heavy Combine column has made a raid on a Paneuropean industrial area, smashing the Greywater Cybertank maintenance yard,  On returning back to Combine lines, some resistance is encountered, but it is not very strong (at first).  Arriving reinforcements make the fight more interesting, very quickly.  Providing a high guard (and orbital overwatch) of the Combine column is a trio of recently launched Laser Satellites.  But with a life expectancy that is measured in hours and minutes, these are not expected to have a long lasting effect on the war, or even on this one encounter.

Winchell Chung image of a Light Tank and Heavy Tank (from http://www.goingfaster.com/ogre/originalartwork.html)

Combine Forces:
The Combine commander starts with a company of heavy tanks (10 HVY), supported by a pair of  superheavy tanks (2 SHVY), enter the eastern map edge.  These enter on turn one, and can enter anywhere on or with 2 hexes (north or south) of either of the two roads that enter the eastern edge of the maps (hexes numbered 1403 and 2514). 

Combine Goal:
The goal is for as many of those 12 units to escape off the western edge of the map.  Victory points are also scored for reducing any Target hexes to rubble.

Paneuropean Forces:
The Paneuropean commander stars with two platoons of ground effect vehicle tanks (6 GEV), supported by two companies of Infantry (18sp).  At least one strength point of infantry must begin in each of the following hexes (0412, 0413, 0513, 1411, 1412, 1018, 1118, 1119).

Paneuropean Goal:
The goal is to stop as many Combine HVY and SHVY tanks before they can either exit the map, or rubble Target hexes.

Turning Town hexes into Rubble.

Map Rules:
For this scenario, the long bridge at hex 2214 is not destroyable.
There is an additional long bridge that stretches from hex 2518 through 2418 and into 2318.  It is also not destroyable.
The eight town hexes that the Paneuropean Infantry start in are all "Target" hexes for Combine victory points.

Possible HVY Tank, by Wootten (http://concepttanks.blogspot.com/)

Special Rules:
1. Laser Satellites - The Combine player has access to three Orbital Laser Satellites (recently launched, and not expected to last long).  At the beginning of each turn, the Combine player may target any hex on the map with each surviving Satellite.  He makes a note of the hex number(s) he is targeting (each satellite targets a separate hex), and then during combat he will make a STR 6 attack against a unit in that hex, and then spill over attacks to any other units in the hex.
For each HVY or SHVY unit that is destroyed, the Paneuropean player rolls 2d6.  If the result is 11+, then one of the Satellites is knocked out.

2. Reinforcements - The Paneuropean Player receives reinforcements at the end of every Odd numbered turn (beginning with the first).  Roll on the following chart (first to see what the reinforcing unit is, and second to determine starting location). Roll separately for the first column (Unit) and the second column (Start)

Die	Unit	Start
1	2xGEV	hex 2331
2	2xGEV	hex 2331
3	2xHVY	hex 2331
4	2xHVY	hex 0210
5	2xMSL	hex 0210
6	1xMHWZ	hex 0414

Victory Conditions:
The Combine player gets 1VP for each HVY he exits off the western edge of the map, and 2VP for each SHVY.  In addition the Combine player gets 1VP for every Target hex that gets reduced to rubble.
The Paneuropean player gets 2VP for every HVY destroyed, and 4VP for each SHVY destroyed.  For each Satellite destroyed, 2VP are awarded to the Paneuropean player.

Possible SHVY tank by Vitaliy (http://concepttanks.blogspot.com/)

OGRE Designer's Edition - Big

So, the Designer Edition of OGRE - from being backed on Kickstarter by me and hundreds of other gamers, to a tune of almost $1million - has finally shipped and reached the new owners. I received mine last week, just before going to a conference.  I finished opening it this week (and fawning on it, and constructing the hundreds of 3d models that come in it).  Lovely, and huge.  Over 30 years old, and still a wonderful game.

This is a big fricking deal (to come close to misquoting Vice President Biden).  The box and the contents therein weigh 28 pounds.  There is, as one of the main components, the large two piece OGRE map, reminiscent of the full color treatment of the original game, as was done by SJG once they got the title on Steve's departure from Metagaming.  Here is an image of the second Metagaming printing (an image of what the first printing appears lower down in this article), which was black and white (the second printing is the edition I originally owned), and that is followed by the first SJG (color) version.

B and W Version from Metagaming's Second Edition

Color Version from SJG's First (black plastic box) version

The game then, as it is now, is the tale of an OGRE - a large unmanned cybernetic tank, reminiscent of Keith Laumer's BOLO creations - that is driving towards a CP (Command Post), and the defenders must try to stop it.  The hitch?  The OGRE is indestructible - it can only have various components shot off of it (like guns, missile launchers, and tread units).  A very, very compelling game, and always well balanced almost every time.  Ignore those who whimper about the four howitzer defense - it is manageable by an experienced cyber-commander.  If you haven't heard of the four howitzer defense, you have to read this article - it isn't a sure fire way to keep that monstrosity from overrunning the CP, but it does help.

Okay, so what about that first printing of the black and white map?  The very first printing of OGRE, back in 1977 (same year Star Wars came out, same year Traveller came out - a pretty good year for Science Fiction, I think) had a rather plain (even plainer than the one above with the black and white craters) map, and simple counters.  The counters were printed on a single piece of card stock, and you had to cut them out.  Glorious (I loved it then, and I still love it).  The original looked like this (except this version has actual die cut counters) -

Reprinting of the Original Edition - out in 2013

Yep, the original map had solid black hexes for craters, and the ridge lines looked like thick black lines.  But it STILL worked.

As mentioned, the Designer Edition comes with a version that looks a lot like the color version above, but it is extremely large.  Extremely.  The original map was 8.5" by 14" (or close to that).  The new map is 

The sister game to OGRE (which is also well represented in the new Designer Edition) was GEV (which stands for Ground Effect Vehicle - the name given to the fast and nimble hover tanks of the OGRE universe - somewhat reminiscent of the blower tanks of Hammer's Slammers universe of David Drake, but maybe not as tough).  GEV had a much more interesting full color map (with forests, roads, cities, swamp, rivers, streams, train tracks, and even ocean), and had scenarios for armies from the OGRE universe (2085AD) fighting with each other, sometimes without an OGRE making an appearance.  Also included in the Designer Edition are terrain overlays, so that you can modify any of the maps included - by adding or extending or reducing elements such as cities, forests, water, roads, bridges or railroads.  Almost anything is possible with what comes in the kit.  And if that ain't enough, there are planned expansion terrain elements coming out (which I plan to get).

The map for GEV is included in the new designer's edition.  Along with a handful of other expansion maps to go along with it.

Color version of GEV map, from SJG - the original Metagaming version was white, with colored ink used for terrain.

In my own personal gaming history, I owned GEV before I owned OGRE.  And I loved it.  The four basic scenarios that came in the game were awesome, and I still love them (breakthrough, ceasefire collapse, raid, and so forth).  What an absolute great game.  And the map (above) and a handful of other GEV compatible maps (geomorphic, so they can be combined with any edge of the above map, to create larger battlefields) are in the designer edition.  Along with plenty (PLENTY) of units from GEV.

So what about units?  The Designer Edition comes with many, many units.  More OGREs than I have ever thought of using in a scenario.  These included 3d model versions of everything from MK IIs up through MK VIs - and variants along the way.  The variants are the MkIIIb, the Fencer (and Fencer-B), the Doppelsoldner, the Vulcan, and others.  In both Paneuropean and Combine version.  And the Paneuropean MKIIIs and MKVs have their alternate names on the bottom (Legionnaire and Huscarl).  Also, OGREs in the colors of other factions - generic grey/white, green (Kickstarter only?), etc.

Units from the Designer Edition - MkV OGRE on the left, MkIII OGRE on the right, and ground units in between.  3d model of a Laser Tower (to protect against cruise missiles, natch)

The smaller units (conventional units) are available for both main armies (North American Combine, and Paneuropean Alliance), as well as other armies.  Including the Black Rose Mercenaries, and others.  Lots of troops.

In fact, with all the maps provided, and all the figures provided, you could play several games simultaneously.  Provided you have room for the massive maps.  Makes it a great game for club night, or a convention - as one game can keep 6 or 8 gamers going for a while, easily.  And the battles (if kept reasonable) fight quick enough that round robin swapping of opponents could make for a very satisfying evening. To make all this possible, the Designer Edition came with a handy-dandy bag, to make carrying this behemoth (OGRE) of a game, possible.

Picture of the game, in the bag, from BGG, with the owner's punched out countersheets up top.  This game is almost 7" thick, and over two feet across...

I plan to take this baby to a game night in Columbus sometime soon, at the new location of Moxie Games.  I will report back on progress, with pictures, when I do.

Star Wars X-Wing - simple campaign rules

I have played this a few times now, and really like it.  The models are great, and the game system is a nice modification of the Wings of War (Wings of Glory) system.

Picture of an X-Wing game in progress, from Boardgame Geek http://tinyurl.com/mel9bxn

One of the things, especially given the great stories about the conflicts between different units of Imperial and Rebel units in the Expanded Universe (books, comics, games, etc), is the idea of an ongoing campaign within a sector of space.

I have been thinking of how to do this, especially given a map, and some unit logistics, and access to different units (ships, fighters, etc), but it is still in the works.

However, for some simple "pilot focused" games, where a player is rewarded for good performance with the same pilot, I offer up these rules.  This is based on the situation where either a Club or Game Store is the location for regular, weekly (or whenever), play.  With players able to play games with other players in the campaign.

We're all in it together.

 1. Once a player chooses a unit (ship, fighter, etc - including all upgrades), that player will play that unit until they either (1) are *killed* in a game, or (2) gain enough experience points to purchase a new confuration.

2. Once a new player enters the campaign, they are allowed to purchase a fighter, with a pilot and upgrades, for a set amount of points (suggested - start with 15 or 20 pts for Imperial players, and maybe 25 points for Rebel players). See alternative below, for all players being in the same squadron.

3. For each game that a player "survives" they receive 1 new point ("increase points").

4. For each point of damage (regular or critical) that they inflict on an enemy ship, they receive 1 new point.

5. For each enemy ship that they inflict the killing shot (this could be shared, by ships firing simultaneously), they receive 1 additional new increase point.

6. Anytime a player wants to use their points (added to their starting value) they may replace their unit with a different unit.

Trophy in the Ready Room.

Option 1: "Part of the Rebel Alliance" All players are (either) Rebel or Imperial.  In any game, some of the players (or bystanders) will have to play units of the other side.  If campaign players are playing the "bad guys" then after the game is over (regardless of how they do), they will receive points "on account".  These points will be awarded to their total, after the next game that they play, as a regular player (piloting their regular ship).  The amount of points that they receive varies based on how well that they do.  If the "bad guy" pilot survives the encounter and their side wins, then they receive 1 point for every ship (or fighter) on the "good guy" side.  If the bad guys lose, then they receive half (round down) of this amount.

Option 2: "The Force is Strong in this One" When a player finally dies, they get to come into the game with a new pilot at the starting level.  If that pilot survives their first battle, then they immediately receive Half of the increase points that their prior pilot had.  This represents the training that a pilot could have received from their (now dead) mentor.

Note that a campaign referee should "ok" any games, in terms of scenario, balance of forces, etc.  In the case of players being on both sides (Imperial and Rebel) this is less important, but in the case where all the players are on one side, it will quickly get out of hand, if a Referee is not part of the solution.

This system would work much better if there are multiple games each week (or each club get-together), with smaller faster encounters making for a better campaign.

Great reviews of old Amber Zone articles

The blog Deep in the Stacks has had some really good reviews of old Amber Zone articles.  Amber Zones were articles (first in the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society, then elsewhere) that detailed the outline of an adventure.  They would describe the situation, the patron, the payoff, and the basic activities that the players would have to go through.  As well as, often, a series  of possible complications or outcomes. In short, it is an outline for a game scenario. for the GM to use to run a self contained adventure.

What the author of Deep in the Stacks (one of my favorite blogs - combines gaming with orthodox Christian philosophy and other stuff, like a love of books) has added to his reviews is some additional information that might be relevant to the GM of today who is going to pick up the adventure and run it.  Like in the article reviewing the adventure "Ticket to Swords" by Robert Camino.  The blog author has crafted a very nice map of the setting for the adventure (which features the players serving as officers of a mercenary unit that gets hired to train some locals to defend against a rebel uprising). 

I can recommend two things - first, follow Deep in the Stacks, and second, never give up on the goodness of those old adventures.

Writeup on Sphere Fenix - First posting on new Traveller Blog

The first of the new posts over at The Etzina Passage has been posted, this is an introduction to the stellar nation that the Etzina Passage is within - Sphere Fenix. A little bit has been written about the history, and the government.

Traveller Tuesdays - System Details for Baiti (Ark/0202)

System Details - Baiti (Ark/0202)

Baiti      0202 B475436-C  S Ni        620 Sx

UWP:	B475436-C	Location:	Crucis Margin/0202	System:	Baiti
Starport:	B	Good Starport (Shipyard: Spacecraft; Repair: Overhaul; Fuel: Refined)
Planetary Size:	4	Small (e.g. Mars) (5,600-7,199km)
Atmosphere:	7	Standard (tainted)
Hydrosphere:	5	Wet World (45 - 54% water)
Population:	4	60,000
Government:	3	Self-Perpetuatlng Oligarchy. (Government by a restricted minority, with little or no input from the masses)
Law Level:	6	Moderate Law (All firearms except Shotguns)
Tech Level:	C	Average Interstellar Community
Base(s):		Scout Base (Sphere Fenix)
Zone:		Green: Unrestricted
# of Planetoid Belts:	2		# of Gas Giants:	0

Marlan Primate Embassy, Kreft Outpost in the distance, on planet Baiti

---

It turns out that the Baiti system, which orbits around a giant red star named Beta Aurelis, consists of 8 interesting orbits.  Although not conclusive, stellar physicists believe that there were originally four other occupied orbitals, that have been consumed by the expanding star over the millenia.

Orbit 1 - The first one, within the inner zone, contains a size 7 terrestrial world, known as Bleak, with two moons (Fault and Past).  Bleak is interesting, and normally would be completely scorched and barren, but its rotation means that the same side is almost always facing towards Beta Aurelis, so there is a very hot side, and a dark side.

• The band of twilight in between the two is very interesting.  The twilight zone of Bleak is home to some very interesting, pre-human ruins.  These were first discovered by the early colonists from Terra, but have never been satisfactorily explored.

Orbit 2 - The next orbit out is already in the habitable zone, but still within the jump shadow of Beta Aurelis.  This is a very small world, size 1, called Mite.  Mite has a natural satellite, Gnat, which is only slightly smaller.  The two have almost a coequal orbit around each other, but Mite, because of its slightly higher mass, remains the centroid (although it is wobbly).  Mite has no atmosphere and no free standing liquids.

• Mite has some very interesting crystalline formations in subsurface caves.  This has attracted a large (pop 7,000) processing facility to have been erected.  The entire facility is located in underground habitations, called Vinci Base.  It is run by the NamTek corporation. The value and properties of the crystals is kept under extreme secrecy.

Orbit 3 - The first orbit outside the jump shadow of the primary, is the world of Baiti itself - the main world of the system.  It is a size 4 world, but the natural atmosphere and hydrosphere make it a rare gem of a world.  Baiti has two moons, Tut and Ramses.

• Baiti features a B class star port, with a down port located at Kreft Outpost (the largest point of habitation, with a population of 8,000, mainly a startown around the port), and also a high station called Laughing Fish Orbital Starport.  The name Laughing Fish has some (forgotten) relevance to the early Chinese settlers of this system, from old (pre-Rule of Man) Terra.  
• In orbit around Baiti is a dispersed manufacturing facility, owned by Posix, a company that makes artificial metals and high strength metal foams (grown in microgravity).  The facility houses 7,000 employees and family members, but is spread over a dozen different facilities.  Much of the spaceship traffic in orbit around Baiti are Posix shuttlebugs flying back and forth between the different stations.
• Ramses is the home to a sizable Sphere Fenix Scout Base, which also operates the observation crew on the research lab in orbit over Frost, and the X-Boat courier station out in the Shank Ruin asteroid belt.  
• Tut is the home of a Marlan Primate missionary colony - they operate a very large TL-12 hospital, called Serene Harmony Station.  The missionary colony has a staff of 10,000, mostly technicians and medical staff, but also family members, and an entire meditation temple, with hundreds of monks.  The hospital has its services offered free of charge, but the Brothers and Sisters of the Temple along with Elder Farnush who runs the temple, refuses to allow weapons on the station.  Armed ships docking at the station (which is in orbit around the moon Tut) must agree to weapon-locks while in orbit at the station.  The Government of the Marlan Primate operates an embassy on the planet (Baiti), and this is under control of the secular government, not the temple.  It is located some distance from Kreft Outpost, but is in constant communication.

Orbit 4 - The next orbital out, also within the habitable zone, contains the ice world Frost, size 3.  Frost has no natural satellites.

• Frost is currently under interdiction because of an out of control scientific research project, originally run by the Araminta Scientific corporation, now under control of the Science Directive of the Sphere Fenix Scout Service.  Araminta Scientific built the orbital lab, Research Station K-Nova (staff of 40), and from there introduced robotic agents into the biosphere on the surface of Frost.  These self-replicating machines quickly got out of hand, and began building amazing structures on the surface.  The company maintains their innocence, and claim that something "took control of the robots".  The station is now watched over by Scout Service personnel, and the planet (Frost) is under patrol (aerial only, not surface).

Orbit 5 - The fifth orbital of interest contains another small rock, similar to Mite, called Little Erg (size 1 rocky world).  It has two smaller satellites, Lance and Fount.

• Lance has some interesting geo-thermic properties (especially for such a small body), and a small remote station is operated there, by a skeleton crew (and robots) of NamTek corporation personnel - they collect energy, and use it to provide for NamTek starships coming into system.  This is often a point of contention to the operators of the Baiti starports, who see it as lost profit.

Orbits 6,7 - The sixth and seventh orbitals contain asteroid belts.  Both of these are still within the habitable zone.  It is guessed that both were once planets, but that something catastrophic happened to them.

• Char Belt is home to Harbison Stadium - a major grav ball facility, with training camps, multiple arenas, hotels, restaurants, and facilities for tournaments featuring up to 12 teams.  The local team is sponsored by the Scout Service academy, and this is their home stadium.  The Sphere Fenix Scout Service team are called the "Hummingbirds" and have had a winning record in recent years.
• Shank Ruin Belt is home to an X-Boat courier base, Waymark Station, operated by the Scout Service.

Orbit 8 - Finally, the eight orbital, outside the habitable zone, and in the outer zone, is the planet Fatal.  Fatal is the same (roughly) size as Baiti, but it is so far away from Beta Aurelis, that it is not really suitable for large scale colonization.  Fatal does not have any natural satellites.

• The dark and cold surface of Fatal conceals an underground facility known as the Chalmers School.  It is operated by a very old committee of trustees, along with a staff of about 80 (faculty and technicians).  The students are the sons and daughters of noble land owners from Baiti as well as other worlds, who are to be educated in the fine, old traditions of Vilani style noble house traditions.  This includes, as well as traditional education in liberal arts, math and sciences - also important skills such as courtly graces, fencing, poison detection and so forth.

The population of 60,000 Sphere Fenix citizens that call Baiti home live, mostly, dispersed over the northern continent of the planet.   The largest concentration (8,000) is at Kreft Outpost, which is mostly a startown surrounding Baiti Downport.  The planet government comes under the rule of the Humas household, with Duke Yancy Humas IV as the current ruler.  House Humas controls government house at Kreft Outpost, and is in theory due the tax receipts of the inhabitants, and serves as a go between providing Sphere Fenix with news from their Marlan Primate neighbors through the embassy here, and providing the Marlan Primate secular government (operating through their Earthly Heaven corporation) with access to Sphere Fenix mercenary troops.

The remaining 52,000 live in dispersed colonies across the northern continent, in communities centered around family-bond units (consisting of sometimes a dozen or more adults in a "contract marriage" arrangement, with multiple generations of children and extended family members - more like a small company or village than a traditional family).  These are largely self-sufficient, augmented by robots, and seek to harvest the sylph weed that grows across the northern climes.  These family-bond units are somewhat nomadic, following the floating seas of sylph weed waiting for it to come into bloom for the harvest, and avoid upsetting the delicate balance of the ecosystem, prefer to ride the giant tarbants (8000kg beasts, used for riding and pulling vehicles and loads).

The southern continent is home to a minor race, the Racivi - a short, slender race of beings appearing like a flightless bird, but with evolved arms and hands replacing wings.  They have a society of clans and chiefs, and live at approximately TL-2.  They are not especially fond of humans.

Here is a map of the main world.  Kreft Outpost is located at "A".  The northern continent is at "B", and the southern continent is at "C".

Traveller Tuesdays - Planetary Map for Nibok (Ark/0302)

[It's not Tuesday, but still - some Traveller material from my ongoing development of the 10 systems in the Etzina Passage]

Quoted from the original posting on the Nibok System, we know this about the main world:

Nibok itself is a small world, the surface is reasonably diverse, with spread out mountains following the edges of the planet plates.  There are three major seas, and the population (100 million) is located mostly in the cities surrounding the seas.  The three seas are the Calmly Sea, the Serene Sea, and finally the Placid Sea.  The various cities are all controlled by a centrally controlled bureaucracy.  Appointments are by technical examination, and the senior organizing council are chosen by retired workers by bi-annual lot.  The main city, Choden (population 30 million), is home to the organizing council.  The main starport is an island in the middle of the Serene Sea, and is connected to a number of the surrounding population centers by a network of public high-speed tube trains.  The groups of cities around each of the three seas are all also so connected.

Taking a look at the map, we can see the three seas, and some other details.  Each hex here is 96km across.  The population, as you can see, is highly concentrated in 9 cities representing 76 million of the total planetary population (100 million).  The remaining population is located in much smaller settlements, and approximately 10 million represent a demographic that has decided to inhabit the lands in and around the central forests just south of the Glynn Jungle.  This population are called the Harp Climbers. These make their home in tree houses, in the towering multi-trunked Harp trees common to the region.  A Harp tree is a lot like a banyan tree from Earth, except that Harp trees can have trunks that each perhaps 20-25 feet in diameter, and the tree itself is massive, towering almost to the heights of a Giant Redwood from Earth.  The canopy of a single Harp tree can be hundreds of meters across, and multiple families are likely to have complex structures built in the extensive branch and trunk structures of one of these giants.

First, there are a number of major geographical features that are named.  These include:

1. The Calmly Sea - with the polar ice flows at the northern tip, and the hilly Knotly rainforests at the southern tip.  Location of the Northern Fold of Cities.
2. The Serene Sea, with Losel Island at the center, home to Losel Downport (the main starport of the world). Location of the Central Fold of Cities.
3. Viron Mountains - home to many mining ventures by various corporations.
4. Treacle Mountains - many toxic vents from the geothermic activity throughout this volatile border between planetary plates keep much life from this area.
5. Glynn Jungle - a pre-sentient race of reptilian bipeds occupy much of this jungle.  To the immediate south, as the land dries out, and the vegetation becomes less dense, the giant Harp trees are home to the Harp Climber tribes of humans.
6. Sobear Mountains - Unlike the Treacle Mountains in the northern hemisphere, these towering peaks are home to a wide variety of different types of life.  Very popular as a hunting destination, for leisure.
7. Fannon Jungle - Curious ruins (pre-human) are located here.
8. The Placid Sea - Main source of foodstuffs for the 100 million inhabitants of Nibok. Location of the Southern Fold of Cities.

In addition to the various geographical features, there are also a number of main settlements on the world.  As mentioned, the world is under a single, centrally controlled, bureaucracy.  The majority of the population, however, live in a number of cities.  Here are the names, and a few details.

1. Dorji City (5 million)
2. Losel Downport
3. Choden City (30 million) - Seat of the planetary government (the Shrove Council)
4.  Sonam  (3 million)
5. Sangay (20 million) - Built around Sird Temple, seat of the Zen-Sird Religion
6. Kencho (8 million)
7. Dawa Port (3 million)
8. Chencho (2 million)
9. Sherig City (3 million)
10. Lopen  (4 million)

The four southern cities (Dawa Port, Chencho, Sherig City and Lopen), all around the Placid Sea, are referred to as the Southern Fold, and the three cities along the coasts of the Calmly Sea (Sonam, Sangay and Kencho) are referred to as the Northern Fold.  The two cities of Choden City and Dorji City, along with Losel Downport, are referred to as the Central Fold.  Losel Downport, and the accompanying starport city on the island surrounding it, are under the direct control of the Sphere Fenix Port Authority, but are still considered part of the Central Fold when the population of locals that work at the starport are part of the conversation.